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The occurrence of floods has emerged as a matter of national concern due to its endangerment to life and property, as well as its disruption of social and economic activities. However, the readiness of Malaysians facing floods is still low. Through a focus group interview and survey, this research aims to illustrate an initial proof of concept study for our innovative mobile application. Teru Teru is a mobile app designed as a flood prediction and alerting application, which is embedded with other features like flood reporting, clogged drainage reporting, evacuation centers, and food bank information, as well as CSR initiatives including drainage cleaning and river cleaning. On the other hand, the users' real-time reporting data will be processed to predict the flood at pinned locations. Hence, the sole reason of this paper is to recommend an idea of a digital solution that can be used to solve flood awareness and reporting among Malaysians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) is an additive-manufacturing techniques which used to fabricate thermoplastics. Polylactic acid (PLA) was chosen for this study due to its cost benefits and widely explore due to its biodegradable properties [1], [2], [3]. Due to limited resources to investigate the mechanical properties of CPLA/Fe2O3. This paper aimed to study the mechanical properties of CPLA/Fe2O3 prepared through 3D printing. The samples were fabricated using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) with an addition of powder dispenser as a filler distribution. Different infill densities (100%, 90%, 80%) and different infill patterns (Concentric, Grid, ZigZag) were used as the printing parameters. Tensile testing was conducted to investigate the mechanical properties of CPLA/Fe2O3. The tensile strength of CPLA/Fe2O3 of 100% infill density was the highest compared to 90% and 80%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fourth industrial revolution (IR 4.0) emphasises the importance of technology in our daily life. The demand for skilled workers in the industry is raising everyday because they are well-equipped with useful ability and skills. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) creates a platform for formal and non-formal learning which can contribute to the development of a wealthy and inclusive country. Furthermore, TVET offers potential work opportunities, particularly in meeting the labour needs of IR 4.0. In Malaysia, the number of students enrolled in TVET programmes continues to be lower than anticipated, which signals their negligence towards TVET. Hence, the main objective of this research is to develop the best Decision Tree model that could be used to predict the students' inclination in enrolling TVET after secondary school. Students' interest, parents' interest, society's interest, TVET instructors' interest, and employers' interest are identified as five primary variables that affect students' inclination to enrol in TVET. 14 input variables are derived from the five primary variables respectively. In this study, 428 secondary school students are selected from Kedah, Malaysia. Four Decision Tree models are generated based on different algorithms and data partitioning. As a result, the Decision Tree-based ID3 algorithm with data partitioned 70:30 obtain the best model with the accuracy of 0.7752, misclassification rate of 0.2248, recall of 0.8966, precision of 0.7959, and F-score of 0.8433. The variable "VocationalCourseInteresting" (1.0000) has the highest importance among all variables, followed by "PlanAfterForm5" (0.6207). The developed model will be beneficial for the government in upholding TVET in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insects are gaining popularity in society, especially in light of the recent cultural emphasis on the need of sustainable consumption. Insects' potential is rapidly developing due to the increasing demands of animal-derived protein and their ability to address environmental challenges. The Hermetia illucens larvae contain high nutritional content of protein and lipid. As such, the nutritional content of this larva is a potential food source and is suitable to be used as novel feed for animal, avian and aquaculture. During this study, the larvae were fed with soy pulp until it reaches a pre-pupae stage. The comparisons of fatty acid profiling were done by harvesting the larvae on the 10th day, 12th day and pre-pupae, respectively. After the larvae have been harvested, they are rinsed with distilled water to remove any impurities. Thereafter, the different stages of development of the larvae were dried in an oven at 80°C for 24 hours. Extraction of crude lipids based on different larval development times was performed with n-hexane via soxhlet method. Subsequently, after extraction, a series of lipid analysis were carried to determine the free fatty acid, acid value, iodine value, peroxide value and fatty acid composition. The analyses of lipid were done in accordance with the AOAC methods. Lipid contents of the larvae of different development time indicates that, lipid contents increase from 10th (28.1%) to 12th day (31.14%) before it decreases during pre-pupae stage (30.23%). The acid values attained for 10th day old larvae, 12th day old larvae and pre-pupae were 9.60±0.48, 89.24±2.28 and 180.28±8.80 mg KOH/g, respectively. Free fatty acid (FFA) value and acid values of lipids are closely related as the rancidity of crude oils is followed by free fatty acid formation due to the decomposing of glycerides in lipids due to the action of lipase. Based on the results, lowest iodine value observed for 10th day old larvae (22.42±0.14 gI2/100g) and the highest was observed in pre-pupae (55.38±5.17 gI2/100g). A higher iodine value indicates the higher amount of double bond in the crude lipid, which depicts the tendency for the oxidation of the oil. The fatty acid profile indicated that the fatty acid was primarily lauric acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, owing to the development of multimedia technology, various texts, pictures, sounds and animation media have become teaching tools and have proven to improve students' learning achievement. Among them, the previous literature proves that film subtitles have a positive impact on language learning, such as significantly improving listening comprehension, learning motivation, concentration and learning achievement, but there are few literatures on the impact of subtitles for learning professional courses. The study explores the impact of learning professional course by film subtitles for students, and analyse the most suitable mode of film subtitles for students of different knowledge levels. The experimental results show that course films of graphic animations without subtitles can greatly help students learn. If based on text-oriented films, it is more helpful with subtitles than without subtitles. Further analyse the knowledge level, whether using subtitles or not has no significant effect on students with low and medium levels of knowledge. For students with high knowledge levels, they do not require subtitles for graphics-oriented films, but require subtitles help for text-oriented films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PLA has become high interest in the production process. Besides, PLA as a thermoplastic polyester that mostly obtained from renewable materials. Infill patterns can affect the mechanical properties of 3D printed CPLA-Fe2O3 and PLA-Fe2O3. Concentric infill pattern of both CPLA-Fe2O3 and PLA-Fe2O3 have the highest tensile strength value, 55.42MPa and 50.44MPa respectively as compared to grid and zigzag infill pattern. The consistent adhesion between the layers and the inter raster bonding cause the concentric infill pattern experience highest tensile strength and also can cause the lowest elongation at break, 2.06% and 5.80% respectively for both CPLA-Fe2O3 and PLA-Fe2O3, compared to zigzag and grid infill pattern of specimens. The 100% infill density of both CPLA-Fe2O3 and PLA-Fe2O3 have the highest tensile strength value, 55.42MPa and 50.44MPa respectively as compared to 80% and 90% infill densities. It was believed that the higher the infill density, the stronger the inter raster bonding and less air gap between printed layers. 80% infill density of CPLA-Fe2O3 has the highest elongation at break value, 4.98% as compare to 90% and 100% which were 3.46% and 2.16% respectively. Besides, 100% infill density and grid infill pattern have the highest hardness value which they able to withstand the force applied before deformation. As for application, 3D printed PLA-Fe2O3 and CPLA-Fe2O3 can be applied in packaging, pharmaceuticals, textiles, automotive, biomedical and tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wheelbarrow can be defined as a hand-propelled vehicle that is designed to facilitate the transportation of heavy loads from one location to another. It is frequently used for construction purposes because the wheelbarrow conveniently lifts the cements, gravels, concrete, sand and other building materials at construction site. The prevailing issue of the conventional wheelbarrow is its limit function for carrying the materials due to steel tray design of wheelbarrow. In construction site, the conventional wheelbarrow is less efficient, as it mainly focuses on carrying the bulk materials and subsequently leads to utilise other tools to lift the elongated materials. To fulfil the demands of construction industry, the multipurpose wheelbarrow is constructed and designed by using AutoCAD based on the innovative ideas. The idea of trolley and wheelbarrow is combined to upgrade the conventional wheelbarrow to multipurpose wheelbarrow. The multipurpose wheelbarrow is innovated to perform competently as a three-wheeled trolley with rear braking system by using the concept of forklift. It also consists of foldable steel plates, tool handle and front puller. Several tests and interviews are conducted at construction site to evaluate the workability of multipurpose wheelbarrow. Both conventional and multipurpose wheelbarrow are compared in terms of load type, maintainability, cost, amount of effort required and safety. Due to the use of low-cost materials, the cost of multipurpose wheelbarrow is reasonable for long-term use. Besides, less training and effort are required to operate it. The wheelbarrow can be loaded with bulk materials and large elongated materials, such as elongated woods and steels, by opening steel plates into 90°. The steel plate can also be opened in 180° to pour the sand instead of using conventional method. The maximum load that the wheelbarrow can withstand at construction site is approximately 80kg. All in all, the multipurpose wheelbarrow undeniably optimizes its functionality, and improves the work efficiency and safety culture of construction site [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil borehole drilling with standard penetration test (SPT) is a conventional method for a subsurface profiling that able to determine soil bearing capacity. However, full investigation of high accuracy on the subsurface with additional boreholes is strenuous. This method is invasive and time consuming. The multichannel analysis surface wave (MASW) was used in this investigation to test the dependability of this method and potentially converting shear wave velocity, Vs, to SPT-N value. The dependability of the correlation between actual and calculated SPT-N value was high (R2 = 0.7256) by utilizing Vs values using the specified equation (Vs = 97N0.314). Throughout regression analysis, the SPT-N value can be determined based on the generated equation 0.0114Vs1.3721 in the form of power allometric. Hence, allowing the equation to be applied for the local region. A field study was conducted, and Vs profile revealed 80 m/s to 160 m/s of the upper layer at 2-3 m depth representing soft soil, followed by a 2 m layer of stiff soil with Vs in between 130 m/s and 170 m/s, then 4-10 m hard material with Vs in between 190 m/s to 280 m/s, before reaching a harder stratum of 350 m/s and more. As a result, the soil properties were determined and used for soil bearing capacity and factor of safety (FOS) of the slope calculation. Thus, MASW can be executed to determine SPT-N values providing supporting data to the conventional approach. Although, it is consider in the preliminary stage, the developed empirical equation in this study is intended to give a rapid preliminary approach and general view of the profile prior to site investigation/assessment for the geotechnical engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of porous epoxy foams toughened by liquid natural rubber (LNR) were fabricated by sodium bicarbonate (SB) as chemical foaming agent and finding the optimal composition ensuring both high porosity and mechanical strength. In this research, we studied the properties of epoxy foam by adding LNR as toughening agent in contents of (5 to 25 vol%) with adding 15 phr of SB as an optimal content foaming agent. The flexural, fracture toughness, compression, cross-link density, morphology and thermal stability properties of epoxy foam was characterized. Cellular plastics keep mechanical strength loss and plastic weight to a minimum through cells inside the foam. Increasing the content of LNR retarded the crosslinking reaction by increasing the expansion and affected the mechanical strength. A suitable expansion and mechanical strength were observed for epoxy-foam containing 10 to 15 vol% LNR. Densities of the foams can be tuned in a range of up to 0.760 g/cm3 by changing the content of LNR from 5 to 25vol%. The compressive strength was decreased from 8.62 and 4.15 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer blend is known as the simplest method to obtain a new material by just blending two or more materials with suitable mixing technique. Most of the material engineers play their effort to improve the compatibility and miscibility of the blend components since this gives significant effect on the properties of the resulting materials. However, some of the creative engineers used the shortage of the immiscible blend material in the electronic application by inducing the double percolation with the aim to improve the electrical conductivity of the inherently insulating polymeric materials and at the same time conserve the attractive properties of the polymeric matrix. Herein, unfilled NRL/LSR and filled NRL/LSR with 7phr of GNP-SDS blend materials were prepared in order to investigate the effect of LSR content on the crosslink density, tensile properties, tear strength and electrical properties of the blend materials. It was found that the physical and mechanical properties of the materials declined with the increasing LSR content. Nevertheless, the modulus and the electrical properties of the filled NRL/LSR have been improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polylactic acid (PLA) plastics are biodegradable materials manufactured from PLA resin by melt spinning and solvent spinning methods. PLA is widely applied in textile fabric, non-woven, masks and sanitary napkins applications due to excellent safety, environmental protection and good mechanical properties. The process of 3D printing is continuous and able to produce complex three-dimensional structures. PLA/ZnO composite samples were fabricated by a 3D printer. ZnO acts as filler in PLA/ZnO composites to obtain the excellent properties like specific tensile properties and density. However, ZnO agglomeration occurred at higher concentration when viewed via SEM. Printing parameters such as infill density, raster orientation and infill pattern can influence the mechanical properties of 3D samples as well. The objective of this paper is to determine the effect of infill density with different ZnO concentration on the mechanical properties of 3D printed PLA/ZnO composites. Tensile and density measurement were carried out to determine the mechanical properties of composites. The influence of 80%, 90%, 100% infill rate and ZnO concentration varied by 1 and 5 mol. As a result, higher infill rate (100%) and optimum filler concentration (1 mol ZnO) give the excellent properties thus can be used for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immiscible polyurethane elastomer (PUE)/silicone rubber/graphene nano-platelets blend composites filled with different PUE/silicone rubber blend ratio were synthesised by using solution casting technique. In this work, two different types of silicone rubber: liquid silicone rubber (LSR) and powdered silicone rubber (PSR) were used as secondary matrix based on double percolation concept to construct an immiscible blend that has a balance electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. The electrical conductivity has increased gradually, but the mechanical properties of the composites shows a remarkable decline when silicone rubber loading increases up to 20 vol% for both blend systems. The well balance of electrical conductivity and performance is achieved at 15 vol.% of silicone rubber loading. Overall, PUE/PSR/GnPs at 15 vol. % of silicone rubber content has higher electrical conductivity and mechanical strength as compared to PUE/LSR/GnPs blend system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, poly (methyl methacrylate)/palm kernel shell (PMMA/PKS) composites were prepared by solution casting. The effect of solvent to matrix (S/M) weight ratio and stearic acid (SA) treatment on PMMA/PKS composites were studied. PMMA pellets were dissolved and PKS powders were dispersed into acetone, separately. PMMA solution and PKS suspension were then mixed in ultrasonic bath. The mixture was then poured into a glass petri dish to evaporate acetone at room temperature and finally PMMA/PKS composite thin film was obtained. PMMA/PKS composites were characterized by using SEM and were subjected to tensile test. It was found that tensile strength, modulus of elasticity of composite increased but elongation at break decreased with the increasing S/M ratio and with SA treatment. The improvement of the mechanical properties was due to the improved interfacial bonding following the SA treatment and the formation of crystallized PMMA domain in the composite with the increasing S/M ratio. SEM images revealed even fracture surfaces as S/M increased and with the application of SA treatment that indicate better matrix-filler adhesion. It can be concluded that S/M increment and SA treatment improved mechanical properties of PMMA/PKS composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer behaviours can be defined as the people's emotions, moods, affection and specific feeling on a product. Consumers will exchange information and ideas with sellers in environmental events. Therefore, marketers that exist in society has played an important role to assist in creating exchange information by formulating and executing marketing strategies. Consumer buying behaviours refer to people who make the purchase of products for personal use only. In today's furiously competitive world, it is exceptionally vital for the marketers to discover and figure out the basic aspects to bargain with the competitors, changing client tastes and preferences. The strong competition in terms of product similarity and expanded number of competing brands in the market have driven the marketers to consider and think about the components that are influential in consumers' brand choices and behaviours. The intention to purchase is a Generation Y who has intention and willingness to make the purchase on goods in the future. Besides, past researchers have been discovered that Generation Y student make purchase is based on their past experience, they will be collect information regarding the items that they want to buy, make comparison among the similar items then only will make purchase, the intention will predict behaviour that is considered as a central key. As a result, the positive intention will lead to positive behaviour. This study focused on the factors that influernce the intention to purchase android smartphones among Generation Y. The primary data is collected through the questionnaires distribution and analysed by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). It is found that there are significant positive relationship between those factors (prodcut features, brand name, social influence and product sacrifice) towards the intention to purchase android smartphones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the concept of producing a textured tool with a plasma focus machine is investigated for hardness and built-up-edge results. A textured cutting tool is required to have two important characteristics: texture and hardness. The purpose of the texture is to provide a suitable tool surface for a film of solid lubricant to anchor itself. This has the advantage of reducing the possibility of a built-up-edge from occurring in the dry machining of aluminum raw materials. An enhanced hardness provides greater resistance to tool wear. The plasma focus machine is able to deliver both texture and hardness in a single operation, thus making this process a novel approach to toolmaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]