Kesan penggunaan peta konsep ke atas pencapaian mata pelajaran rekabentuk sistem dalam kalangan pelajar program ijazah sarjana muda teknologi maklumat dan multimedia

Peta konsep adalah satu kaedah persembahan yang menerangkan sesuatu konsep dalam bentuk grafik. Penggunaannya dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran mampu untuk meningkatkan pencapaian pelajar dan mengurangkan pemasalahan di dalam pembelajaran. Kajian ini telah dijalankan untuk mengkaji keberkesanan peta konsep dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran Rekabentuk Sistem bagi pelajar tahun dua semester satu Program Ijazah Saijana Muda Teknologi Maklumat Dan Multimedia. Kajian Kuasi-Eksperimental Bentuk Siri Masa Gangguan Sementara yang dijalankan menggunakan ujian pra dan pos ke atas sampel seramai 25 orang pelajar bagi kumpulan eksperimen dan 25 orang pelajar bagi kumpulan kawalan melalui kawalan secara memadan. Kumpulan eksperimen telah diajar dengan bantuan peta konsep manakala kumpulan kawalan diajar secara konvensional. Instrumen kajian yang digunakan ialah borang soal selidik dan set soalan kuiz. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan SPSS 16.0 bagi data deskriptif iaitu frekuensi, skor min dan sisihan piawai serta data inferensi melalui Ujian ANOVA sehala. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan secara statistik Ujian Pra diantara kedua-dua kumpulan (p>0.05) dengan skor min kumpulan eksperimen dan kumpulan kawalan adalah 3.280, manakala terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan secara statistik Ujian Pos diantara kedua-dua kumpulan (p<0.05) dengan skor min tertinggi kumpulan eksperimen adalah 5.760 berbanding kumpulan kawalan iaitu 4.280. Hasil dari kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa penggunaan peta konsep telah meningkatkan keberkesanan pembelajaran Analisis Dan Rekabentuk Sistem. Pelajar juga dapat menerima penggunaan peta konsep dalam proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran

Fiscal Policy Coordination in Asia: East Asian Infrastructure Investment Fund

East Asian countries were seriously affected by the 2008 global crisis through a steep fall in exports. This experience exposed the vulnerability of the East Asian growth model and emphasized the importance of generating regional growth by expanding domestic demand and enlarging intra-regional trade. A key factor to achieving higher regional economic growth and enlarging intra-regional trade is the better connectivity of infrastructure such as roads, ports, airports, and rail links. Although some East Asian countries have made large investments in improving their infrastructures, others still lag behind. In response to the global crisis, East Asian countries have allocated a significant proportion of their stimulus packages to infrastructure development. While these investments have improved national facilities, East Asian countries will only be well connected when there are good cross-border infrastructures in place. This requires a large amount of funding, and funds from both within and outside the region could be mobilized to fulfill these huge financing needs. Hence, an East Asian Infrastructure Investment Fund (EAIIF) is proposed to provide a mechanism to organize this funding and to be a platform for deciding on cross-border infrastructure projects. The EAIIF would be anchored to the existing Association of Southeast Asian Nations+3 mechanism with the leader's summit being the apex of the decision making process. A four-level mechanism is proposed, consisting of cooperation amongst political leadership; a steering committee and secretariat for executing the decisions of the leaders; fund mobilization; and the implementation and monitoring of projects. Projects chosen could be those with a high rate of commercial returns or those with the highest social benefits. The EAIIF would invite the private sector to participate by setting a framework for the sharing of risks between the public and private sectors. Likewise, there would also be a sharing of risks between countries.East Asian Infrastructure Investment Fund; regional crossborder infrastructure investment

An impulsive noise analyser using amplitude probability distribution (APD) for broadband-wired communication

Electromagnetic interference or noise which is of impulsive nature is known to affect data communication performance. It is useful to correlate the characteristics of the noise with the bit error probability (BEP). The amplitude probability distribution (APD) has been proposed within CISPR for characterisation of the impulsive noise. However, there is no analyser available to perform direct measurement of the noise within the bandwidth of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL2+) communication. This research presents a novel development of APD analyser for measurements of impulsive noise emission and its impact on ADSL2+ communication. A unique noise APD pattern is obtained from each measurement of noise emission from different electrical and electronic appliances. It is vital to have correct measurement set-up, signal power level, sampling rate, sample points and filter characterisation in order to acquire accurate data representation of the noise patterns. The APD graph is generated by the analyser using the APD algorithm method which employs the envelope sampling technique from actual probability. The noises are characterised using α-stable distribution which exhibits its own distinct APD parameters. The APD curve can be related with the single modulation scheme communication channel performance for estimation of bit error probability. The analyser has been developed successfully with dynamic range of 70 dB higher than the 60 dB CISPR 16 requirement, 0.02 dB amplitude resolution compared to 0.25 dB CISPR 16 requirement and 0.59 dB amplitude accuracy compared with the CISPR 16 standard of +/- 2.7 dB. In addition, the limits for noise in copper cable have been proposed for estimating the severity of the interference towards digital communication performance in ADSL2+ system. An advantage of the analyser is its ability to not only record the noise but the ability to regenerate back the noise which can be used for further analysis. In conclusion, the analyser can provide a comprehensive platform for impulsive noise interference verification towards ADSL2+ communication performance

Structural behaviour of circular concrete filled steel tube column fill with selfcompacting concrete incorporating coal bottom ash as fine aggregate replacement

Lack of compaction may affect the interaction between the steel tube and the concrete, hence influence the behaviour of CFST column. Employing selfcompacting concrete (SCC) in CFST column as an infill concrete remove the necessity for compaction. However, higher volume of fine aggregate required in SCC makes SCC less preferable. The objective of this research was to investigate the behaviour of circular CFST column filled with SCC incorporating coal bottom ash (CBA) as fine aggregate replacement. In this research work, sand was replaced with CBA at 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% of replacement levels. Tests for compressive strength, split tensile strength, flexural strength, and water absorption were performed on specimens at 7 and 28 days curing age. The testing results show that 15% of CBA was the optimum percentage suitable used in SCC. In studying the behaviour of CFST columns, 18 CFST column specimens were tested to fail under the axial compression loading. From the experimental results, it can be concluded that the utilisation of SCC with CBA in the CFST column able to improve the behaviour of CFST column. From compression testing results, the strength of CFST column filled with SCC with CBA increased about 45-50%. The experimental results were also compared with the design standard of Eurocode 4 (EC4). From the comparison, the EC4 conservatively predicts the strength of the column specimens. For instance, EC4 conservatively predicted the column strength in series I by about 21-31%. The finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted on the long column to verify the experimental results and from the FEA result, the predicted value for specimens with 140 mm diameter is 0.005% closer to the experimental results. These discoveries are significant as they showed that the utilization of CBA in SCC as an infill in CFST column able to provide the same strength as CFST with normal SCC. Besides, the use of CBA as partially replacement to the sand will help in more sustainable SCC production by lowering energy and raw material consumption

INOVASI FONOLOGIS RETROPLEKSISASI DAN GLOTALISASI DALAM ISOLEK BONAI ULAKPATIAN

This paper aims at describing a variety of a language, namely the Bonai Ulakpatian isolect found in Riau Province. This study is a historical linguistic study that describes the process of phonological innovation of retroplication and glottalization in an isolect used by the Bonai etnic group in Ulakpatian Village, Rokan Hulu Regency. The analysis of phonological innovation is based on the protomalayic (PM) reconstructed by Adelaar. This study applies a deductive top-down analysis method. The data of research is data of speech of society of Bonai etnic group which refers to 200 basic vocabularies which become references in collecting linguistic data. The data were collected by applying conversation method and listening method by using the elicitation technique and recording technique. Data is phonetically described with the IPA symbol. The results are presented by formal and informal methods. The results shows that the Bonai Ulakpatian isolect had a phonological form of retroplexization at the end position of nasal alveolar nasal phoneme /n / * PM into retrospective retardation [ţ] on isolate BU (* PM> BU), PM * n / - #> [ţ] ] / - #, and the glottalization of the initial position of the fristed alveolar phonemes without sound /s / into glottal [h] on the BU (* PM> BU), PM * s / # -> [h] / # -

Biocatalytic Synthesis of Pharmaceutically Relevant Amides and Amino Acids

Noncanonical amino acids and amide-bond containing compounds are particularly important molecules because of their diverse biological activities and wide-ranging applications in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical fields. In view of that, the development of versatile and sustainable catalytic strategies for production of these molecules is of high industrial and academic interest. Biocatalysis has emerged as a sustainable catalytic methodology for amino acid and amide synthesis, and several enzyme classes have been explored for their preparative usefulness. In his thesis work, Mohammad Zainal Abidin successfully applied various enzymes and enzyme cascades for the efficient synthesis of N-arylalkyl-substituted L-aspartic acid derivatives as well as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) derivatives that have proven to be difficult or tedious to synthesize. In particular, the enzyme-catalyzed production of a wide variety of structurally diverse pantothenic acids, including antimetabolite antimicrobials, such as pantothenol and pantoyltaurine, targeting coenzyme A biosynthesis is of high importance. Interestingly, pantothenol as well as pantoyltaurine and its amides, have shown promise as antiplasmodial agents, with the pantoyltauramides also exhibiting selective activity against particular streptococcal infections. Thus, the established biocatalytic synthesis strategies for rapid synthesis of complex aspartic and pantothenic acids are likely to advance our ability to prepare and search for new pharmaceutically active compounds, including those that target CoA biosynthesis and utilization in a variety of pathogens

Review of clinical predictors of haemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke in Emergency Department, HKL : an observational study

The emergence of reperfusion therapy in acute ischemic stroke has revolutionized the management of an acute ischemic stroke. However, this approach have been hampered by lack of urgency from the patients itself, public and medical personnels. These were probably due to lack of knowledge in current management from all involved. Aim of this study is to review common signs and symptoms in stroke and to see if we can safely differentiate between types of stroke. This study also wants to look at time taken by each patient to arrive at Emergency Department. METHOD: A cross-sectional observational study for all clinically diagnosed stroke patients admitted to Hospital Kuala Lumpur from January to May 2005 after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All patients were subjected to brain Computed Tomography. Common signs and symptoms on admission that were reviewed are: Age, sex, ethnic, Glasgow Coma Scale, Systolic and Diastolic blood pressure, loss of consciousness, headache and vomiting. RESULTS: A total of one hundred and forty-three (Eighty-eight male and fifty-five female) patients were included in this study. Sixty-four point three percent of patients presented to Emergency Department six hours after the initial symptoms started with majority of them are ischemic stroke patients. Haemorrhagic stroke patients are more likely to be younger (mean age of fifty-one years versus fifty-six years), to have symptoms of loss of consciousness (twenty-three point one percent: p value less than 0.001), headache (Eighteen point two percent: p value less than 0.001) and vomiting (nine point eight: pvalue less than 0.001), and lower Glasgow Coma Scale (mean=9, Standard Deviation=2.8) and higher Systolic blood pressure (mean=174.77, Standard Deviation=22.5). CONCLUSION: Significant predictors for stroke patients to have higher probability of haemorrhagic type are lower age group, presented with loss of consciousness, headache and vomiting, and have lower Glasgow Coma Scale and higher Systolic blood pressure. Ischemic stroke patients are more likely to present late, more than six hours to Emergency Department while Haemorrbagic stroke patients are more likely to present earlier, within three to six hours