Development of a computer software for the monitoring of subsidence

A computer software has been developed at the Faculty of Geoinformation Science and Engineering, UTM for the purpose of detecting subsidence of ground surface or manmade structure by using Visual Basic 6.0 and FORTRAN computer languages. This software can be used for processing data from GPS and precise levelling methods. The software requires GPS baseline vectors (∆X, ∆Y, ∆Z). Relative ellipsoidal heights based on the WGS84 ellipsoidal surface must be derived from these baseline vectors. The derived relative ellipsoidal heights are then adjusted using least square estimation method. The adjusted heights will be used for further subsidence analysis. Stransformation is used to transform results from least square estimation using minimum constraints to a selected datum. This paper examines the method of subsidence using the iterative weighted transformation. In this method, the stability of reference points must be checked through a single point test. Stable points will then be adjusted again together with object points. Lastly, the stability of object points will be determined. User of this software requires little knowledge on deformation monitoring processing, as the user needs to follow the procedure of inputting data required by the software. The output from the software will give the stability of the all control points whether they have moved or otherwise

Why the need to triangulate in the study of tourism's economic impact

Over the years, Input-Output (I-O) analysis has been popularly used for measuring the economic impact of tourism; but discussions in the literature of data collection methods have not been as prevalent as the discussions of empirical results and ways of modifying the basic I-O model. Due to its strong attachment to the economic multiplier concept, positivism paradigm has been preferred by researchers for estimating the spin-off effects that arise from the tourist expenditure in a region’s economy. However, quantitative data obtained from tourism establishments and secondary sources may not be accurate - for example, is the tourism establishment proprietors’ estimation of tourist count reliable? This paper suggests the use of triangulation method (including qualitative technique) to cross-check data collected from quantitative technique, so that a researcher can hope to overcome the weakness or intrinsic biases and problems that can emerge from a single-method or single-observer or single-theory study. Overall, the quality of the triangulation’s outcome depends to a great extent on how systematic the researcher is in analyzing qualitative material and his or her ability to justify the role of mixed methods in the research

Economic Valuation of Forest Goods and Services of Ayer Hitam Forest, Puchong, Selangor

The conversion of forestland to other land uses has resulted in substantial loss of biodiversity and other potential economic values to the community. However, the potential economic values of forest resources have been largely ignored by policy makers and land use planners. An economic valuation of forest resources of Ayer Hitam Forest (AHFR), Puchong, Selangor was carried out to determine its economic value and its impact on land use changes. The study focused on valuation of timber resources, recreation, community roles and wildlife conservation. The results show that the economic value ofAHFR is substantial and ignoring this value in land use development would provide a wrong signal to policy makers. Future land use planning should consider not only market-based economic returns but also its non-market and other environmental benefits

Investigation of Brake Pad Wear Effect due to Temperature Generation Influenced by Brake Stepping Count on Different Road Terrains

The use of vehicles in Malaysia has become a need and important to commute to the workplace and commercial business transportation. This necessity resulted in an increase in the number of cars on the road that eventually increase the number of accidents that resulted in the loss of life which is also one of the leading killers in Malaysia. Deriving from this phenomenon, car maintenance especially brake systems has become imperative that eventually become the main objective of this research to investigate the effect of different road terrains to brake pad wear. The experimental vehicle is operated in two different road terrains namely hilly and flat roads and each road terrain is set to complete 1000km of investigation traveled distance. Three main investigation parameters are brake pad thickness wear, the temperature generated from rubbing the brake pad with the rotor, and the brake force applied on the brake pedal. A CANedge external onboard diagnostic (OBD) logger is used to collect real-time data on the relevant parameters from the vehicle’s ECU for analysis. The result from the experiments found that the average brake pad wear rate during hilly roads is 53% higher than that of flat roads. Likewise, brake pad temperature generation on a hilly road is 34% higher than that on a flat road. However, the brake pedal force applied during braking is 60% higher on flat roads compared to on hilly roads. From the findings, data from the vehicle OBD2 and the brake pad wear can be analyzed to provide an electronic signal for indication of timely maintenance for the brake pad

Isotherm Studies of Pyrogallol-imprinted Polymers via Precipitation Polymerization

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been the most convenient and selected methods in detection and extraction for many types of specific targets in various fields. MIPs were prepared by mixing template molecule with functional monomer in the presence of cross-linker, solvent and initiator. The selectivity of MIPs is strongly influenced by the types of functional monomer, solvent and polymerization process used. Pyrogallol-imprinted polymer (Py-IP) and non-imprinted polymer (NIP) were synthesized via precipitation polymerization using 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP), divinylbenzene (DVB) and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as functional monomer, cross-linker and initiator, respectively. Pyrogallol (Py) was used as a target molecule. The synthesized polymers were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and UV-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis). In this study, adsorption capacity was measured by the dosage effect, contact time and selectivity study. Results showed that maximum adsorption capacity by Py-IP is above 50%. The Selectivity study shows that k’ is >1, which indicates that Py-IP has a good selectivity towards pyrogallol. Therefore, it has a good potential to be used as an adsorbent

Neuromarketing: a review of research and implications for marketing

In this research, we reviewed existing studies which used neuromarketing techniques in various fields of research. The results revealed that most attempts in neuromarketing have been made for business research. This research provides important results on the use of neuromarketing techniques, their limitations and implications for marketing research. We hope that this research will provide useful information about the neuromarketing techniques, their applications and help the researchers in conducting the research on neuromarketing with insight into the state-of-the-art of development methods

Perkembangan bahasa dan pertuturan kanak-kanak Melayu pengguna implan koklea di bawah Program Implan Koklea Kebangsaan, Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia

Kemahiran bahasa dan pertuturan merupakan antara komponen penting dalam menentukan keberhasilan penggunaan implan koklea. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur pencapaian kemahiran bahasa dan pertuturan kanak-kanak Melayu pengguna implan koklea menggunakan borang soal jawab skala perkembangan dan mengenalpasti faktor demografi yang menyumbang kepada pencapaian kanak-kanak. Kajian ini melibatkan 26 orang kanak-kanak Melayu pengguna implan koklea daripada Program Implan Koklea Kebangsaan di bawah Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia dengan umur kronologi antara 33 hingga 99 bulan (min=70, SP=18.9), umur semasa implan antara 18 hingga 71 bulan (min=40, SP=13.5) dan umur pendengaran antara 13 bulan hingga 48 bulan (min=30, SP=10.5). Instrumen yang digunakan adalah The Integrated Scale of Development-Malay version 2 (ISD-Mv2). Borang soal jawab diberikan kepada ibu bapa atau penjaga seterusnya temubual melalui telefon dilakukan. Hasil kajian menunjukkan hanya 9 subjek (35%) yang berjaya mencapai skor purata ISD-Mv2 setara atau lebih dari umur pendengaran. Antara enam komponen ISD-Mv2, komponen kognitif mencapai peratusan tertinggi dengan 96.79 peratus manakala penghasilan bahasa adalah yang terendah (76.21%). Ujian korelasi Pearson menunjukkan hubungan positif yang kuat antara kemahiran mendengar dengan pemahaman bahasa (r=0.554, p<0.05) dan kognitif dengan komunikasi sosial/pragmatik (r= 0.625, p<0.05). Tahap pencapaian bahasa dan pertuturan kanak-kanak dengan faktor demografik tidak menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa majoriti kanak-kanak Melayu pengguna implan koklea mempunyai tahap pencapaian bahasa dan pertuturan yang lewat berbanding kanak-kanak berpendengaran normal sebaya