Application of advanced technologies (VLE) in teaching, assessment, and techno-cultural barriers in learning outcome (Abstract only)

The objective of the present studies is to look into the application of advanced technologies (VLE) in teaching, assessment, and techno-cultural barriers in learning outcome. The integration of technology in enhanced teaching and learning process is not new. The carousel slide projector was first commercially used in the 1950s which undoubtedly enhanced the quality of lectures by incorporating high-quality graphics and still pictures. Overhead projector, in the classroom, is another example of the application of technology in enhanced teaching at relatively cheaper costs. These technologies help teachers delivering high-quality lecture materials in a logical sequence over a short period. An additional advantage of these technologies is that the materials are re-useable and easy to update thus reduces cost in the long term. Students often use an audio recorder to record lectures of difficult topics and they replay during revision which helps their learning outcome substantially. All these technologies are typically used in classroom-based teaching-learning settings. The VLE, particularly podcast technology records lectures that combine audio, video and slide shows (PowerPoint) in a synchronized manner, so, these recorded materials can be replayed during revision with a better learning outcome, and also, in theory, can be used by a distant learner (as a replacement of classroom-based teaching-learning settings) at his/her flexible time table from his/her home town (“anytime, anywhere”). Technologist and academia believe that VLE will be the future method of teaching and learning through which education cost can be reduced without compromising quality and learning outcome, thus the education institutions be able to function despite increasing government budget cuts. However, there are debates about the effectiveness of the VLE and culture on students learning outcome. The present study is meant to understand the limitations of the technology; student’s learning culture, and ways to overcome the barriers. The present study includes two groups of year 4 students of Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department (same level students) and exposed to Advanced Reaction Engineering Module lectures (a heavy and difficult module at an advanced level). One group of the students was located at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and the other group over in the UK campus. Each group had nearly 35 students. Malaysia campus students received lectures in the classroom settings with access to podcast materials for their revision, whereas the UK campus students received podcast materials and PowerPoint slides on WebCT, UK students also had access to tutorial and consultation provided by a part-time lecturer at the UK campus, and one week (last week) of classroom-based lectures (by module convener) at UK campus. The learning experience of each group of students was different, however, the performance of distant learning group (UK campus students) is found to be slightly better. The average marks for UK and Malaysia campus students were 63% and 61% respectively. One student in each group was absent from their final exam, and one in Malaysia campus failed the module. The present study shows that the current level of technology alone and the vendor’s support is not adequate for distant learners. With the help of student feedback (both groups), a list of barriers is identified. These issues will be resolved over the summer 2011 and be implemented in our next session in spring 2011-2012. Overall, the VLE approach was a success

Effect of aqueous pretreatment on pyrolysis characteristics of Napier grass

Effect of non-catalytic aqueous pretretment on pyrolysis characteristics of Napier grass was investigated using thermogravimetric analyser. Increasing pretreatment severity (0.0-2.0) improved pyrolysis process. The residual mass at the end of pyrolysis for the pretreated sample was about 50% less compared to the untreated sample. Kinetics of the process was evaluated using order based model and both pretreated and untreated samples followed first order reaction. The activation energy of the pretreated samples was similar and higher than that of the raw sample which was attributed to faster rate of decomposition due removal of hetromaterials (ash, extractives and some hemicellulose) in the pretreatment stage. Finally, this pretreatment method has demonstrated effectiveness for the removal of pyrolysis retardants and will improve the quantity and quality of bio-oil yield

Characterisation and thrust measurements from electrolytic decomposition of Ammonium Dinitramide (ADN) based liquid monopropellant FLP-103 in MEMS thrusters

Although Ammonium Dinitramide (ADN) has been targeted as a potential green monopropellant in future space vehicles, its application potential in Micro-electrical-Mechanical System (MEMS) thrusters or microthrusters have seldom reported in open literature. In this paper, electrolytic decomposition of Ammonium dinitramide (ADN)-based liquid monopropellant FLP-103 were carried out in open chamber and MEMS thrusters fabricated from Poly-Dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to characterize the power consumption. Two thrust measurement methods were employed to investigate the electrolytic decomposition of FLP-103 in MEMS microthrusters. The results show that the monopropellant can be successfully ignited at room temperature through 80V,0.1A (8W) using copper wire as electrodes. In the current thruster design, low thrust was obtained at FLP-103 flowrate of 40µl/min but it generated the highest specific impulse, Isp, among all the flowrates tested. The experiments successfully demonstrated the potential application of electrolytic decomposition of FLP-103 in MEMS thrusters

Upgrading of Napier grass pyrolytic oil using microporous and hierarchical mesoporous zeolites: products distribution, composition and reaction pathways

Reaction pathways in ex-situ catalytic upgrading of pyrolytic oil towards formation of specific products such as hydrocarbons are still not well established due to the presence of many different organic components in the raw pyrolytic oil. Currently, only a few studies are available in literature particularly with regards to application of hierarchical mesoporous zeolite in the refinement of sample pyrolytic oil. This study provides the first experimental investigation of ex-situ catalytic upgrading of pyrolytic oil derived from Napier grass using microporous and hierarchical mesoporous zeolites. Two hierarchical mesoporous zeolites were synthesized by desilication of microporous zeolite using 0.2 and 0.3 M solution of sodium hydroxide. Upgrading over microporous zeolite produced 16.0 wt% solid, 27.2 wt% organic phase and 23.9 wt% aqueous phase liquid while modified zeolites produced 21e42% less solid and 15e16% higher organic phase liquid. Higher degree of deoxygenation of pyrolytic oil was achieved with the modified zeolites. Analysis of organic phase collected after catalytic upgrading revealed high transformation of oxygenates into valuable products. Bulk zeolite produced cyclic olefins and polyaromatic hydrocarbons while mesoporous zeolites were selective toward cycloalkanes and alkylated monoaromatic production, with significant reduction in the production of polyaromatic hydrocarbon. Result of gas analysis showed that hierarchical mesoporous zeolite favoured decarboxylation and decarbonylation reactions compared to the parent zeolite, which promoted dehydration reaction. Mesoporous zeolite produced with 0.3 M sodium hydroxide solution was found to be the best-performing catalyst and its reusability was tested over four consecutive cycles. This study demonstrated that pyrolytic oil derived from Napier grass can be transformed into high-grade oil over hierarchical mesoporous zeolite

Valorization of Bambara groundnut shell via intermediate pyrolysis: Products distribution and characterization

This study provides first report on thermochemical conversion of residue from one of the underutilized crops, Bambara groundnut. Shells from two Bambara groundnut landraces KARO and EX-SOKOTO were used. Pyrolysis was conducted in a vertical fixed bed reactor at 500, 550, 600 and 650 o�C; 50 o�C/min heating rate and 5 L/min nitrogen flow rate. The report gives experimental results on characteristic of the feedstock, impact of temperature on the pyrolysis product distribution (bio-oil, bio-char and noncondensable gas). It evaluates the chemical and physicochemical properties of bio-oil, characteristics of bio-char and composition of the non-condensable gas using standard analytical techniques. KARO shell produced more bio-oil and was maximum at 600 o�C (37.21 wt%) compared to EX-SOKOTO with the highest bio-oil yield of 32.79 wt% under the same condition. Two-phase bio-oil (organic and aqueous) was collected and analyzed. The organic phase from both feedstocks was made up of benzene derivatives which can be used as a precursor for quality biofuel production while the aqueous from KARO consisted sugars and other valuable chemicals compared to the aqueous phase from EX-SOKOTO which comprised of acids, ketones, aldehydes and phenols. Characteristics of bio-char and composition of the noncondensable were also determined. The results show that bio-char is rich in carbon and some minerals which can be utilized either as a solid fuel or source of bio-fertilizer. The non-condensable gas was made up of methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which can be recycled to the reactor as a carrier gas. This study demonstrated recovery of high quality fuel precursor and other valuable materials from Bambara groundnut shell

Element characteristic tolerance for semi-batch fixed bed biomass pyrolysis

Biomass pyrolysis to bio-oil is one of the promising sustainable fuels. In this work, relation between biomass feedstock element characteristic and crude bio-oil production yield and lower heating value was explored. The element characteristics considered in this study include moisture, ash, fix carbon, volatile matter, C, H, N, O, S, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content. A semi-batch fixed bed reactor was used for biomass pyrolysis with heating rate of 30 °C/min from room temperature to 600 °C and the reactor was held at 600 °C for 1 h before cooling down. Constant nitrogen flow (1bar) was provided for anaerobic condition. Sago and Napier glass were used in the study to create different element characteristic of feedstock by altering mixing ratio. Comparison between each element characteristic to crude bio-oil yield and low heating value was conducted. The result suggested potential key element characteristic for pyrolysis and provide a platform to access the feedstock element acceptance range

Novel input-output prediction approach for biomass pyrolysis

Biomass pyrolysis to bio-oil is one of the promising sustainable fuels. In this work, relation between biomass feedstock element characteristic and pyrolysis process outputs was explored. The element characteristics considered in this study include moisture, ash, fix carbon, volatile matter, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. A semi-batch fixed bed reactor was used for biomass pyrolysis with heating rate of 30 °C/min from room temperature to 600 °C and the reactor was held at 600 °C for 1 h before cooling down. Constant nitrogen flow rate of 5 L/min was provided for anaerobic condition. Rice husk, Sago biomass and Napier grass were used in the study to form different element characteristic of feedstock by altering mixing ratio. Comparison between each element characteristic to total produced bio-oil yield, aqueous phase bio-oil yield, organic phase bio-oil yield, higher heating value of organic phase bio-oil, and organic bio-oil compounds was conducted. The results demonstrate that process performance is associated with feedstock properties, which can be used as a platform to access the process feedstock element acceptance range to estimate the process outputs. Ultimately, this work evaluated the element acceptance range for proposed biomass pyrolysis technology to integrate alternative biomass species feedstock based on element characteristic to enhance the flexibility of feedstock selection

Quality of life of workers with disabilities in readymade garments factories in Bangladesh

Background: Bangladesh's readymade garment (RMG) sector has developed as a major employer for individuals with disabilities. The number of workers with disabilities in Bangladesh's RMG industry has grown over the past few years. In Bangladesh, there has no statistics about the quality of life of workers with disabilities after their employment, especially after training-based employment support. Therefore, the researcher is interested to find out the quality of life of workers with disabilities in readymade garments factories in Bangladesh that will determine satisfaction over their life in different aspects. The objectives of this paper were to find out the health-related quality of life and overall satisfaction with life among workers with disabilities in the readymade garment sector in Bangladesh. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design and recruited 102 participants with disabilities from various Bangladeshi garment factories who ranged up to 18 years by convenient sampling. The WHOQOL questionnaires were used for data collection through a combination of telephone and in-person interviews. Descriptive statistics were used for the data analysis. Results: Among the total participants 63% of them were women and 37% were men. The results revealed that education and job status significantly impacted on QOL. The majority of participants did not need any assistive devices; most of the participants resided in semi-urban areas, and physical disabilities predominated among them. On the other hand, most of the participants reported their quality of life as neither poor nor good but they were satisfied with health-related QOL. Conclusions: QOL is a vast aspect of every human being. This study finally concluded the overall QOL of maximum Workers with Disabilities in Readymade Garments Factories in Bangladesh was just average and most of them were satisfied with their health-related QOL