Search results for: Mohd Fairuz Iskandar Othman
309 Green Synthesis of Butyl Acetate, A Pineapple Flavour via Lipase-Catalyzed Reaction
Authors: S. Mat Radzi, W.A.F. Mustafa, S.S Othman, H.M. Noor
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Nowadays, butyl acetate, a pineapple flavor has been applied widely in food, beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, Butyl acetate, a flavor ester was successfully synthesized via green synthesis of enzymatic reaction route. Commercial immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RMIM) was used as biocatalyst in the esterification reaction between acetic acid and butanol. Various reaction parameters such as reaction time (RT), temperature (T) and amount of enzyme (E) were chosen to optimize the reaction synthesis in solvent-free system. The optimum condition to produce butyl acetate was at reaction time (RT), 18 hours; temperature (T), 37°C and amount of enzyme, 25 % (w/w of total substrate). Analysis of yield showed that at optimum condition, >78 % of butyl acetate was produced. The product was confirmed as butyl acetate from FTIR analysis whereby the presence of an ester group was observed at wavenumber of 1742 cm-1.
Keywords: Butyl acetate, immobilized enyzme, esterification, flavor ester, green synthesis
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3757308 Determination of Sensitive Transmission Lines Due to the Effect of Protection System Hidden Failure in a Critical System Cascading Collapse
Authors: N. A. Salim, M. M. Othman, I. Musirin, M. S. Serwan
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Protection system hidden failures have been identified as one of the main causes of system cascading collapse resulting to power system instability. In this paper, a systematic approach is presented in order to identify the probability of a system cascading collapse by taking into consideration the effect of protection system hidden failure. This includes the accurate calculation of the probability of hidden failure as it will provide significant impinge on the findings of the probability of system cascading collapse. The probability of a system cascading collapse is then used to identify the initial tripping of sensitive transmission lines which will contribute to a critical system cascading collapse. Based on the results obtained from this study, it is important to decide on the accurate value of the hidden failure probability as it will affect the probability of a system cascading collapse.
Keywords: Critical system cascading collapse, hidden failure, probability of cascading collapse, sensitive transmission lines.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1785307 Performance of Modified Wedge Anchorage System for Pre-Stressed FRP Bars
Authors: Othman S. Alsheraida, Sherif El-Gamal
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Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is a composite material with exceptional properties that are capable to replace conventional steel reinforcement in reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures. However, the main obstacle for their wide use in pre-stressed concrete application is the anchorage system. Due to the weakness of FRP in the transverse direction, the pre-stressing capacity of FRP bars are limited. This paper investigates the modification of the conventional wedge anchorage system to be used for stressing of FRP bars in pre-stressed applications. Epoxy adhesive material with glass FRP (GFRP) bars and conventional steel wedge were used in this paper. The GFRP bars are encased with epoxy at the anchor zone and the wedge system was used in pull-out test. The results showed a loading capacity of 47.6 kN which is 69% of the bar ultimate capacity. Additionally, nylon wedge was made with the same dimensions of the steel wedge and tested for GFRP bars without epoxy layer. The nylon wedge showed a loading capacity of 19.7 kN which is only 28.5% of the ultimate bar capacity.
Keywords: Anchorage, concrete, epoxy, FRP, pre-stressed.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2514306 Analysis for MHD Flow of a Maxwell Fluid past a Vertical Stretching Sheet in the Presence of Thermophoresis and Chemical Reaction
Authors: Noor Fadiya Mohd Noor
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The hydromagnetic flow of a Maxwell fluid past a vertical stretching sheet with thermophoresis is considered. The impact of chemical reaction species to the flow is analyzed for the first time by using the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The h-curves for the flow boundary layer equations are presented graphically. Several values of wall skin friction, heat and mass transfer are obtained and discussed.
Keywords: homotopy, MHD, thermophoresis, chemical reaction, Maxwell
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2077305 Learning Styles Difference in Difficulties of Generating Idea
Authors: M. H. Yee, J. Md Yunos, W. Othman, R. Hassan, T. K. Tee, M. M. Mohamad
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The generation of an idea that goes through several phases is affected by individual factors, interests, preferences and motivation. The purpose of this research was to analyze the difference in difficulties of generating ideas according to individual learning styles. A total of 375 technical students from four technical universities in Malaysia were randomly selected as samples. The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory and a set of developed questionnaires were used in this research. The results showed that the most dominant learning style among technical students is Doer. A total of 319 (85.1%) technical students faced difficulties in solving individual assignments. Most of the problem faced by technical students is the difficulty of generating ideas for solving individual assignments. There was no significant difference in difficulties of generating ideas according to students’ learning styles. Therefore, students need to learn higher order thinking skills enabling students to generate ideas and consequently complete assignments.
Keywords: Difference, difficulties, generating idea, learning styles.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2056304 Flexural Properties of Halloysite Nanotubes-Polyester Nanocomposites Exposed to Aggressive Environment
Authors: Mohd Shahneel Saharudin, Jiacheng Wei, Islam Shyha, Fawad Inam
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This study aimed to investigate the effect of aggressive environment on the flexural properties of halloysite nanotubes-polyester nanocomposites. Results showed that the addition of halloysite nanotubes into polyester matrix was found to improve flexural properties of the nanocomposites in dry condition and after water-methanol exposure. Significant increase in surface roughness was also observed and measured by Alicona Infinite Focus optical microscope.
Keywords: Halloysite nanotubes, polymer degradation, flexural properties, surface roughness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 973303 Mass Transfer Modeling in a Packed Bed of Palm Kernels under Supercritical Conditions
Authors: I. Norhuda, A. K. Mohd Omar
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Studies on gas solid mass transfer using Supercritical fluid CO2 (SC-CO2) in a packed bed of palm kernels was investigated at operating conditions of temperature 50 °C and 70 °C and pressures ranges from 27.6 MPa, 34.5 MPa, 41.4 MPa and 48.3 MPa. The development of mass transfer models requires knowledge of three properties: the diffusion coefficient of the solute, the viscosity and density of the Supercritical fluids (SCF). Matematical model with respect to the dimensionless number of Sherwood (Sh), Schmidt (Sc) and Reynolds (Re) was developed. It was found that the model developed was found to be in good agreement with the experimental data within the system studied.
Keywords: Mass Transfer, Palm Kernel, Supercritical fluid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1815302 Tool Failure Detection Based on Statistical Analysis of Metal Cutting Acoustic Emission Signals
Authors: Othman Belgassim, Krzysztof Jemielniak
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The analysis of Acoustic Emission (AE) signal generated from metal cutting processes has often approached statistically. This is due to the stochastic nature of the emission signal as a result of factors effecting the signal from its generation through transmission and sensing. Different techniques are applied in this manner, each of which is suitable for certain processes. In metal cutting where the emission generated by the deformation process is rather continuous, an appropriate method for analysing the AE signal based on the root mean square (RMS) of the signal is often used and is suitable for use with the conventional signal processing systems. The aim of this paper is to set a strategy in tool failure detection in turning processes via the statistic analysis of the AE generated from the cutting zone. The strategy is based on the investigation of the distribution moments of the AE signal at predetermined sampling. The skews and kurtosis of these distributions are the key elements in the detection. A normal (Gaussian) distribution has first been suggested then this was eliminated due to insufficiency. The so called Beta distribution was then considered, this has been used with an assumed β density function and has given promising results with regard to chipping and tool breakage detection.Keywords: AE signal, skew, kurtosis, tool failure
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1846301 Knowledge Discovery Techniques for Talent Forecasting in Human Resource Application
Authors: Hamidah Jantan, Abdul Razak Hamdan, Zulaiha Ali Othman
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Human Resource (HR) applications can be used to provide fair and consistent decisions, and to improve the effectiveness of decision making processes. Besides that, among the challenge for HR professionals is to manage organization talents, especially to ensure the right person for the right job at the right time. For that reason, in this article, we attempt to describe the potential to implement one of the talent management tasks i.e. identifying existing talent by predicting their performance as one of HR application for talent management. This study suggests the potential HR system architecture for talent forecasting by using past experience knowledge known as Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD) or Data Mining. This article consists of three main parts; the first part deals with the overview of HR applications, the prediction techniques and application, the general view of Data mining and the basic concept of talent management in HRM. The second part is to understand the use of Data Mining technique in order to solve one of the talent management tasks, and the third part is to propose the potential HR system architecture for talent forecasting.Keywords: HR Application, Knowledge Discovery inDatabase (KDD), Talent Forecasting.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 4481300 Fast High Voltage Solid State Switch Using Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor for Discharge-Pumped Lasers
Authors: Nur Syarafina Binti Othman, Tsubasa Jindo, Makato Yamada, Miho Tsuyama, Hitoshi Nakano
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A novel method to produce a fast high voltage solid states switch using Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) is presented for discharge-pumped gas lasers. The IGBTs are connected in series to achieve a high voltage rating. An avalanche transistor is used as the gate driver. The fast pulse generated by the avalanche transistor quickly charges the large input capacitance of the IGBT, resulting in a switch out of a fast high-voltage pulse. The switching characteristic of fast-high voltage solid state switch has been estimated in the multi-stage series-connected IGBT with the applied voltage of several tens of kV. Electrical circuit diagram and the mythology of fast-high voltage solid state switch as well as experimental results obtained are presented.
Keywords: High voltage, IGBT, Solid states switch.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 5912299 DACS3: Embedding Individual Ant Behavior in Ant Colony System
Authors: Zulaiha Ali Othman, Helmi Md Rais, Abdul Razak Hamdan
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Ants are fascinating creatures that demonstrate the ability to find food and bring it back to their nest. Their ability as a colony, to find paths to food sources has inspired the development of algorithms known as Ant Colony Systems (ACS). The principle of cooperation forms the backbone of such algorithms, commonly used to find solutions to problems such as the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). Ants communicate to each other through chemical substances called pheromones. Modeling individual ants- ability to manipulate this substance can help an ACS find the best solution. This paper introduces a Dynamic Ant Colony System with threelevel updates (DACS3) that enhance an existing ACS. Experiments were conducted to observe single ant behavior in a colony of Malaysian House Red Ants. Such behavior was incorporated into the DACS3 algorithm. We benchmark the performance of DACS3 versus DACS on TSP instances ranging from 14 to 100 cities. The result shows that the DACS3 algorithm can achieve shorter distance in most cases and also performs considerably faster than DACS.Keywords: Dynamic Ant Colony System (DACS), TravelingSalesmen Problem (TSP), Optimization, Swarm Intelligent.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1318298 An Alternative Proof for the Topological Entropy of the Motzkin Shift
Authors: Fahad Alsharari, Mohd Salmi Md Noorani
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A Motzkin shift is a mathematical model for constraints on genetic sequences. In terms of the theory of symbolic dynamics, the Motzkin shift is nonsofic, and therefore, we cannot use the Perron- Frobenius theory to calculate its topological entropy. The Motzkin shift M(M,N) which comes from language theory, is defined to be the shift system over an alphabet A that consists of N negative symbols, N positive symbols and M neutral symbols. For an x in the full shift, x will be in the Motzkin subshift M(M,N) if and only if every finite block appearing in x has a non-zero reduced form. Therefore, the constraint for x cannot be bounded in length. K. Inoue has shown that the entropy of the Motzkin shift M(M,N) is log(M + N + 1). In this paper, a new direct method of calculating the topological entropy of the Motzkin shift is given without any measure theoretical discussion.
Keywords: Motzkin shift, topological entropy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2011297 Web portal As A Knowledge Management System In The Universities
Authors: Marjan Mansourvar, Norizan Mohd Yasin
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The development of Web has affected different aspects of our lives, such as communication, sharing knowledge, searching for jobs, social activities, etc. The web portal as a gateway in the World Wide Web is a starting point for people who are connecting to the Internet. The web portal as the type of knowledge management system provides a rich space to share and search information as well as communication services like free email or content provision for the users. This research aims to discover the university needs to the web portal as a necessary tool for students in the universities to help them in getting the required information. A survey was conducted to gather students' requirements which can be incorporated in to portal to be developed.
Keywords: Knowledge, Knowledge management system, Knowledge sharing, web portal.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1889296 DACS3:Embedding Individual Ant Behavior in Ant Colony System
Authors: Zulaiha Ali Othman, Helmi Md Rais, Abdul Razak Hamdan
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Ants are fascinating creatures that demonstrate the ability to find food and bring it back to their nest. Their ability as a colony, to find paths to food sources has inspired the development of algorithms known as Ant Colony Systems (ACS). The principle of cooperation forms the backbone of such algorithms, commonly used to find solutions to problems such as the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP). Ants communicate to each other through chemical substances called pheromones. Modeling individual ants- ability to manipulate this substance can help an ACS find the best solution. This paper introduces a Dynamic Ant Colony System with threelevel updates (DACS3) that enhance an existing ACS. Experiments were conducted to observe single ant behavior in a colony of Malaysian House Red Ants. Such behavior was incorporated into the DACS3 algorithm. We benchmark the performance of DACS3 versus DACS on TSP instances ranging from 14 to 100 cities. The result shows that the DACS3 algorithm can achieve shorter distance in most cases and also performs considerably faster than DACS.Keywords: Dynamic Ant Colony System (DACS), Traveling Salesmen Problem (TSP), Optimization, Swarm Intelligent.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1614295 On-line Handwritten Character Recognition: An Implementation of Counterpropagation Neural Net
Authors: Muhammad Faisal Zafar, Dzulkifli Mohamad, Razib M. Othman
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On-line handwritten scripts are usually dealt with pen tip traces from pen-down to pen-up positions. Time evaluation of the pen coordinates is also considered along with trajectory information. However, the data obtained needs a lot of preprocessing including filtering, smoothing, slant removing and size normalization before recognition process. Instead of doing such lengthy preprocessing, this paper presents a simple approach to extract the useful character information. This work evaluates the use of the counter- propagation neural network (CPN) and presents feature extraction mechanism in full detail to work with on-line handwriting recognition. The obtained recognition rates were 60% to 94% using the CPN for different sets of character samples. This paper also describes a performance study in which a recognition mechanism with multiple thresholds is evaluated for counter-propagation architecture. The results indicate that the application of multiple thresholds has significant effect on recognition mechanism. The method is applicable for off-line character recognition as well. The technique is tested for upper-case English alphabets for a number of different styles from different peoples.
Keywords: On-line character recognition, character digitization, counter-propagation neural networks, extreme coordinates.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2431294 New High Order Group Iterative Schemes in the Solution of Poisson Equation
Authors: Sam Teek Ling, Norhashidah Hj. Mohd. Ali
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We investigate the formulation and implementation of new explicit group iterative methods in solving the two-dimensional Poisson equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The methods are derived from a fourth order compact nine point finite difference discretization. The methods are compared with the existing second order standard five point formula to show the dramatic improvement in computed accuracy. Numerical experiments are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.
Keywords: Explicit group iterative method, finite difference, fourth order compact, Poisson equation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1680293 Effect of Blast Furnace Iron Slag on the Mechanical Performance of Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA)
Authors: Ayman M. Othman, Hassan Y. Ahmed
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This paper discusses the effect of using blast furnace iron slag as a part of fine aggregate on the mechanical performance of hot mix asphalt (HMA). The mechanical performance was evaluated based on various mechanical properties that include; Marshall/stiffness, indirect tensile strength and unconfined compressive strength. The effect of iron slag content on the mechanical properties of the mixtures was also investigated. Four HMA with various iron slag contents, namely; 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% by weight of total mixture were studied. Laboratory testing has revealed an enhancement in the compressive strength of HMA when iron slag was used. Within the tested range of iron slag content, a considerable increase in the compressive strength of the mixtures was observed with the increase of slag content. No significant improvement on Marshall/stiffness and indirect tensile strength of the mixtures was observed when slag was used. Even so, blast furnace iron slag can still be used in asphalt paving for environmental advantages.Keywords: Blast furnace iron slag, HMA, Marshall/stiffness, indirect tensile strength, compressive strength.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1414292 GPS TEC Variation Affected by the Interhemispheric Conjugate Auroral Activity on 21 September 2009
Authors: W. Suparta, M. A. Mohd. Ali, M. S. Jit Singh, B. Yatim, T. Motoba, N. Sato, A. Kadokura, G. Bjornsson
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This paper observed the interhemispheric conjugate auroral activity occurred on 21 September 2009. The GPS derived ionospheric total electron content (TEC) during a weak substorm interval recorded at interhemispheric conjugate points at Husafell in Iceland and Syowa in Antarctica is investigated to look at their signatures on the auroral features. Selection of all-sky camera (ASC) images and keogram at Tjörnes and Syowa during the interval 00:47:54 – 00:50:14 UT on 21 September 2009 found that the auroral activity had exerted their influence on the GPS TEC as a consequence of varying interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) By polarity.Keywords: Auroral activity, GPS TEC, Interhemispheric conjugate points, Responses
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1216291 Calcination Temperature of Nano MgO Effect on Base Transesterification of Palm Oil
Authors: Abdul Rahim Yacob, Mohd Khairul Asyraf Amat Mustajab, Nur Syazeila Samadi
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Nano MgO has been synthesized by hydration and dehydration method by modifies the commercial MgO. The prepared MgO had been investigated as a heterogeneous base catalyst for transesterification process for biodiesel production using palm oil. TGA, FT-IR and XRD results obtained from this study lie each other and proved in the formation of nano MgO from decomposition of Mg(OH)2. This study proved that the prepared nano MgO was a better base transesterification catalyst compared to commercial MgO. The nano MgO calcined at 600ºC had gives the highest conversion of 51.3% of palm oil to biodiesel.Keywords: Hydration-dehydration method, nano MgO, transesterification, biodiesel.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2219290 Research Analysis in Eclectic Theory (Kaboudan and Sfandiar)
Authors: Farideh Alizadeh, Mohd Nasir Hashim
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Present research investigates eclecticism in Iranian theatre on the basis of eclectic theory. Eclectic theatre is a new theory in postmodernism. The theory appeared during 60th – 70th century in some theatres such as “Conference of the Birds”. Special theatrical forms have been developed in many geographical- cultural areas of the world and are indigenous to that area. These forms, as compared with original forms, are considered to be traditional while being comprehensive, the form is considered to be national. Kaboudan and Sfandiar theatre has been influenced by elements of traditional form of Iran.
Keywords: Eclectic theatre, theatrical forms, tradition, play.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2117289 Measurement of Reverse Flow Generated at Cold Exit of Vortex Tube
Authors: Mohd Hazwan bin Yusof, Hiroshi Katanoda
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In order to clarify the structure of the cold flow discharged from the vortex tube (VT), the pressure of the cold flow was measured, and a simple flow visualization technique using a 0.75mm-diameter needle and an oily paint is made to study the reverse flow at the cold exit. It is clear that a negative pressure and positive pressure region exist at a certain pressure and cold fraction area, and that a reverse flow is observed in the negative pressure region.
Keywords: Flow visualization, Pressure measurement, Reverse flow, Vortex tube.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1927288 SATA: A Web Based Scheduling Support System
Authors: Rajeswari Raju, Saiful Nizam Warris, Hazlifah Mohd Rusli
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Developing a university course schedule is difficult. This is due to the limitations in the resources available. The process is made even harder with different faculties or departments having different ways of stating their schedule requirements. The person in charge of taking the schedule requirements and turning them into a proper course schedule is not only burden with the task of allocating the appropriate classes and time to lecturers and students, they also need to understand the schedule requirements. Therefore a scheduling support system named SATA is developed to assist ICRESS in the course scheduling process. SATA has been put to use for several semesters and the results have been encouraging. It won a bronze medal in the 2008 Invention, Innovation and Design competition (IID-08) and has been submitted to be patented in October 2008Keywords: Course Scheduling, Scheduling Tool Aid.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1573287 Modelling Extreme Temperature in Malaysia Using Generalized Extreme Value Distribution
Authors: Husna Hasan, Norfatin Salam, Mohd Bakri Adam
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Extreme temperature of several stations in Malaysia is modelled by fitting the monthly maximum to the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The Mann-Kendall (MK) test suggests a non-stationary model. Two models are considered for stations with trend and the Likelihood Ratio test is used to determine the best-fitting model. Results show that half of the stations favour a model which is linear for the location parameters. The return level is the level of events (maximum temperature) which is expected to be exceeded once, on average, in a given number of years, is obtained.Keywords: Extreme temperature, extreme value, return level.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2835286 A Proposed Framework for Visualization to Teach Computer Science
Authors: Muhammed Yousoof, Mohd Sapiyan, Khaja Kamaluddin
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Computer programming is considered a very difficult course by many computer science students. The reasons for the difficulties include cognitive load involved in programming, different learning styles of students, instructional methodology and the choice of the programming languages. To reduce the difficulties the following have been tried: pair programming, program visualization, different learning styles etc. However, these efforts have produced limited success. This paper reviews the problem and proposes a framework to help students overcome the difficulties involved.Keywords: Cognitive Load, Instructional Models, LearningStyles, Program Visualization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1455285 Analysis of Six Sigma in the Aerospace Industry
Authors: Masimuddin Mohd Khaled
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This paper subsidizes to the discussion of Six Sigma in the Aerospace Industry. The main aim of this report is to study the literature review of Six Sigma emphasizing on the aerospace industry. The implementation of Six Sigma stages are studied and how the improvement cycle ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control cycle’ (DMAIC) and the design process is ‘Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify cycle’ (DMADV) is used. The focus is also done by studying how the implementation of Six Sigma on an aerospace company has brought a positive effect to the company.
Keywords: Six Sigma, DMAIC, DMADV, aerospace.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 7360284 Does the Adoption of IFRS Influence Earnings Management towards Small Positive Profits? Evidence from Emerging Markets
Authors: Sawcen Chebaane, Hakim Ben Othman
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This paper investigates the effect of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption on the frequency of earnings managements towards small positive profits. We focus on two emerging markets IFRS adopters: South Africa and Turkey. We tested our logistic regression using appropriate panelestimation techniques over a sample of 330 South African and 210 Turkish firm-year observations over the period 2002-2008. Our results document that mandatory adoption of IFRS is not associated with a reduction in earnings management towards small positive profits in emerging markets. These results contradict most of the previous findings of the studies conducted in developed countries. Based on the legal system factor, we compare the intensity of earnings management between a code law country (Turkey) and a common law country (South Africa) over the pre and post-adoption periods. Our findings show that the frequency of such earnings management practice increases significantly for the code law country.Keywords: Civil law, common law, emerging markets, Mandatory IFRS adoption, small positive profits.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3202283 Power System Security Constrained Economic Dispatch Using Real Coded Quantum Inspired Evolution Algorithm
Authors: A. K. Al-Othman, F. S. Al-Fares, K. M. EL-Nagger
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This paper presents a new optimization technique based on quantum computing principles to solve a security constrained power system economic dispatch problem (SCED). The proposed technique is a population-based algorithm, which uses some quantum computing elements in coding and evolving groups of potential solutions to reach the optimum following a partially directed random approach. The SCED problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem in a way that insures a secure-economic system operation. Real Coded Quantum-Inspired Evolution Algorithm (RQIEA) is then applied to solve the constrained optimization formulation. Simulation results of the proposed approach are compared with those reported in literature. The outcome is very encouraging and proves that RQIEA is very applicable for solving security constrained power system economic dispatch problem (SCED).Keywords: State Estimation, Fuzzy Linear Regression, FuzzyLinear State Estimator (FLSE) and Measurements Uncertainty.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1715282 Heavy Metal Concentrations in Fanworth (Cabombafurcata) from Lake Chini, Malaysia
Authors: Ahmad, A.K., Shuhaimi-Othman, M. Hoon, L.P.
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Study was conducted to determine the concentration of copper, cadmium, lead and zinc in Cabomba furcata that found abundance in Lake Chini. This aquatic plant was collected randomly within the lake for heavy metal determination. Water quality measurement was undertaken in situ for temperature, pH, conductivity and dissolved oksigen using portable multi sensor probe YSI model 556. The C. furcata was digested using wet digestion method and heavy metal concentrations were analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) Perkin Elmer 4100B (flame method). Result of water quality classify Lake Chini between class II to class III using Malaysian Water Quality Standard. According to this standard, Lake Chini has moderate quality, which normal for natural lake. Heavy metal concentrations in C.furcata were low and found to be lower than the critical toxic value in aquatic plants. Oneway ANOVA test indicated the heavy metal concentrations in C.furcata were significantly differ between sampling location. Water quality and heavy metal concentrations indicates that Lake Chini was not receives anthropogenic load from nearby activities.Keywords: Cabomba furcata, Heavy metal, Lake Chini, Waterquality
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1937281 Daily Site Risks Associated with Construction Projects and On-spot Corrective Measurements: Case Study of Revamping Projects in Kuwait Oil Company Fields Area
Authors: Yousef S. Al-Othman
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The growth and expansion of the industrial facilities comes proportional to the market increasing demand of products and services. Furthermore, raw material producers such as oil companies usually undergo massive revamping projects to maintain a synchronized supply. These revamping projects are usually delivered through challenging construction projects held and associated with daily site risks related to the construction process. Henceforth, a case study related to these risks and corresponding on-spot corrective measurements has been made on a certain number of construction project contractors at Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to derive the benefits and overall effectiveness of the on-spot corrective measurements during the construction phase of a project, and how would the same help in avoiding major incidents, ensuring a smooth, cost effective and on time delivery of the project. Findings of this case study shall have an added value to the overall risk management process by minimizing the daily site risks that may affect the project lead time, resulting in an undisturbed on-site construction process.
Keywords: Oil and gas, risk management, construction projects, project lead time.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 892280 Effects of Human Factors on Workforce Scheduling
Authors: M. Othman, N. Bhuiyan, G. J. Gouw
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In today-s competitive market, most companies develop manufacturing systems that can help in cost reduction and maximum quality. Human issues are an important part of manufacturing systems, yet most companies ignore their effects on production performance. This paper aims to developing an integrated workforce planning system that incorporates the human being. Therefore, a multi-objective mixed integer nonlinear programming model is developed to determine the amount of hiring, firing, training, overtime for each worker type. This paper considers a workforce planning model including human aspects such as skills, training, workers- personalities, capacity, motivation, and learning rates. This model helps to minimize the hiring, firing, training and overtime costs, and maximize the workers- performance. The results indicate that the workers- differences should be considered in workforce scheduling to generate realistic plans with minimum costs. This paper also investigates the effects of human learning rates on the performance of the production systems.Keywords: Human Factors, Learning Curves, Workers' Differences, Workforce Scheduling
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1862