Universiti Teknologi Malaysia - Research Data

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3D surface reconstruction for lower limb prosthetic model using modified radon transform
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2017) Mohd. Sobani, Siti Syazalina
Computer vision has received increased attention for the research and innovation on three-dimensional surface reconstruction with aim to obtain accurate results. Although many researchers have come up with various novel solutions and feasibility of the findings, most require the use of sophisticated devices which is computationally expensive. Thus, a proper countermeasure is needed to resolve the reconstruction constraints and create an algorithm that is able to do considerably fast reconstruction by giving attention to devices equipped with appropriate specification, performance and practical affordability. This thesis describes the idea to realize three-dimensional surface of the residual limb models by adopting the technique of tomographic imaging coupled with the strategy based on multiple-views from a digital camera and a turntable. The surface of an object is reconstructed from uncalibrated two-dimensional image sequences of thirty-six different projections with the aid of Radon transform algorithm and shape-from-silhouette. The results show that the main objective to reconstruct three-dimensional surface of lower limb model has been successfully achieved with reasonable accuracy as the starting point to reconstruct three-dimensional surface and extract digital reading of an amputated lower limb model where the maximum percent error obtained from the computation is approximately 3.3 % for the height whilst 7.4%, 7.9% and 8.1% for the diameters at three specific heights of the objects. It can be concluded that the reconstruction of three-dimensional surface for the developed method is particularly dependent to the effects the silhouette generated where high contrast two-dimensional images contribute to higher accuracy of the silhouette extraction. The advantage of the concept presented in this thesis is that it can be done with simple experimental setup and the reconstruction of three-dimensional model neither involves expensive equipment nor require any service by an expert to handle sophisticated mechanical scanning system
4-CYANO-4’-n-pentylbiphenyl liquid crystal physical gel for twisted nematic and dynamic scattering electro-optical applications
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2017) Leaw, Wai Loon
Liquid crystal physical gels were invented to improve the electro-optical performance of the liquid crystal displays. The characteristic of liquid crystal physical gel is greatly dependent on the physicochemical properties of the gel networks. Most of the conventional gelators produce only fibrous gel networks and their morphology is solely dependent on the order of the sol-gel transition temperature (Tsol-gel) of the gelator as well as the isotropic-anisotropic transition temperature (Tiso-lc) of the liquid crystal. Therefore, the optimisation of electro-optical performance is restricted by the gel structure that cannot be tuned substantially. In the present study, a type of gelator that anomalously possesses mesomorphic state was explored. Resulting liquid crystal physical gels showed electro-optical switching on twisted nematic and light scattering modes. Remarkably, a sample with 48.0 wt% cholesteryl stearate/4-cyano-4’-pentylbiphenyl was able to create extraordinary light scattering effect. The light scattering effect is produced by the randomized liquid crystal director orientation as induced by the plate-like aggregates of the gel network. During the gelation, the chirality of the cholesteric type gelator altered the nematic phase of the mixture into chiral nematic phase, and hence different gel structure was produced. The size of the gel aggregates was also optimised by cryogenic cooling using liquid nitrogen. The excessively high cooling rate had prevented the secondary aggregation. As revealed by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the gel network was composed of smaller gel aggregates which assembled to form identical spherical pores of micron size. As a result, a contrast ratio (CR) of 4.2 for the light-scattering display was achieved. In addition, the threshold and saturation voltages, as well as rise time were retained as low as5.0 V, 29.0 V and 3.7 µs, respectively. This cholesteryl stearate gelator was suitable for the preparation of liquid crystal physical gel since the liquid crystal molecule was not strongly entangled despite the high randomization power
A contingency-based framework of strategic management accounting, sophisticated budgeting and costing techniques in Malaysian small and medium entreprises
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2015) Nejad Kalkhouran, Abolfazl Amanollah
Survival in the current competitive business environment requires updated and accurate accounting information through adoption of appropriate management accounting practices (MAPs). However, improving organizational performance may require businesses including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to not merely adopt those practices but also to observe the fit between MAPs and the contextual variables that determine performance. Knowledge regarding MAPs in SMEs is still scarce; hence, the need for further understanding of factors affecting the adoption of MAPs and how appropriate the fit between those factors and practices enhances SMEs’ performance. This study aims to examine the effect of perceived environmental uncertainty (PEU), advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) and chief executive officers’ (CEOs) involvement in networks and characteristics on advanced MAPs including strategic management accounting (SMA), advanced budgeting and sophisticated costing techniques. The study also explores the mediating effect of advanced MAPs on performance. An online survey was conducted among 1470 manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia which produced 186 useable responses. The Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used and the data was analysed using SmartPLS 3. The results provide evidence of the positive relationship between the contingency factors and almost all MAPs as well as between MAPs (with the exception of costing techniques) and performance. In addition, the main result suggested that in a situation of high PEU or when CEOs are highly educated and experienced, the increased use of budgeting practices will yield higher performance. Moreover, when CEOs are more educated, using more SMA can have similar effect to firm performance. This study elucidates the appropriate MAPs for SMEs by offering empirical evidence based on the integration of the theory of contingency and upper echelon theory. This model helps SMEs adopt suitable advanced MAPs for better response to particular circumstances that their firm faces
A coupled model for particle agglomeration in poly-disperse gas phase fluidized bed ethylene polymerization reactors
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2015) Marandi, Reza
Fluidized bed reactors (FBRs) are widely used in chemical, petroleum and petrochemical industries due to excellent mass and heat transfer. However, there are several drawbacks in the operation of gas phase fluidized bed ethylene polymerization reactor such as hot spot and agglomeration. In this research, two approaches were developed to investigate polymer particle agglomeration in the gas phase fluidized bed ethylene polymerization reactor. Firstly, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was coupled with population balance model (PBM) to evaluate the hydrodynamics, heat transfer, and agglomeration in the gas phase polyethylene fluidized bed reactor. Arastoopour’s equation was also used to investigate the polymer particle agglomeration. A gas-solid multi phase flow equations were developed based on the Eulerian-Eulerian approach. In order to take into account the solid polydisperse particles, the population balance equation was solved along with continuity, momentum, and energy equations using quadrature method of moment. Although the polymer particles were homogenously distributed in the gas-solid FBR, the polymer particle agglomeration could occur in the high temperature operation conditions. Secondly, in order to consider the influence of polymerization reaction on the polymer particle size distribution, a multilayer polymeric flow model (MPFM) was coupled with the PBM to calculate the polymer particle agglomeration under intra-heat and mass transfer resistance. The industrial plant data were used to simulate the growth rate of single polymer particle and the polymer particle size distribution (PSD). Model predictions were in agreement with the industrial data, and the polymer PSD became broader as the agglomeration occurred. Results showed that the MPFM was a very effective model to describe the evolution of polyethylene particles in the FBR
A decision support model for demolition waste management
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2018) Rakshanifar, Mansooreh
Demolition waste management is the process of managing, collecting, handling and disposing of waste in demolition projects. Significant effects on resource preservation, environment, and public health, and safety are the main concerns associated with demolition waste. Hence, lack of a sound decision making system for demolition waste management can negatively affect construction and demolition industry. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an integrated tool in order to assist decision making for demolition waste management. To achieve this target, overall review on the whole life cycle of demolition waste was conducted. In depth literature review and reliable interviews with experts have led to generation of a complete description of factors affecting waste management during demolition projects. Critical factors of demolition waste management were identified by considering risk assessment approach integrated with the Delphi method analysis. Next, critical factors affecting demolition waste management and different waste paths were assessed based on a consensus opinion from the experts’ panel. Analysis of the important data from the experts meeting session was conducted by using Analytic Network Process (ANP) Benefit, Opportunity, Cost and Risk (BOCR) model. ANP BOCR and Rating model have been used to rank the critical factors and demolition waste paths. To evaluate the developed model, the research used three case studies which were The Garden Premium Parking, Masjid AsySakirin and Putra Bus Station. The functionality of the model was evaluated by four evaluators. Conclusively, the result confirmed that the model satisfied 74.5% of the expectations. The developed model namely referred as Demolition Waste Management Model (DWMM) will enable the decision makers in a demolition project to systematically and semi-quantitatively identify, analyze and evaluate waste management factors. DWMM acts as information source that can be used by demolition contractors to identify and evaluate demolition waste related factors to be incorporated into the project design.
A decision support system for demolition safety risk assessment
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2016) Mohammadi, Farahbod
Demolition can be defined as dismantling, razing, destroying or wrecking of any building or structure or any part thereof. Demolition work involves many of the hazards associated with construction. However, demolition also involves additional hazards due to unknown factors which makes demolition work particularly dangerous. In order to make the demolition project safer, everyone at a demolition site must be fully aware of the hazards they may encounter and the safety precautions that they must take to protect themselves and their employees. Safety risk assessment is a planning tool that can be used to improve safety performance at demolition site. In the absence of a special tool for demolition safety risk assessment, a prototype Decision Support System (DSS) based on failure mode and effect analysis that enables decision makers to systematically and semi-quantitatively identify, analyze and evaluate safety risks factors in demolition project has been developed. The prototype is named Hybrid Demolition Safety Risk Assessor (HDSRA). It has three modules; (i) safety risk identification, (ii) safety risk analysis and (iii) safety risk evaluation. Module one aids the decision makers to identify thirty-seven safety risks that is developed by reviewing safety literatures and forming consensus among Delphi panel of experts. In addition, the module introduces seven immediate causes that trigger occurrence of those thirty-seven safety risks. The second module comprised a hybrid decision making model based on Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) that relatively estimates likelihood of thirty-seven safety risks with respect to seven immediate causes. The third module evaluates and prioritizes the safety risks by using two ranking methods; Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR). The HDSRA prototype is then developed by integrating module 1, 2 and 3 and evaluated by a group of demolition experts. HDSRA acts as information source that can be used by demolition contractors to identify safety risks in a systematic way. Therefore, possibility of raising error during risk identification process in the implementation of demolition work is reduced. Decision support system that is produced by the HDSRA prototype, proactively proposes action that should be taken by demolition safety experts to control risks at workplace. And finally, HDSRA can be also used as a training tool to raise safety awareness among demolition workers.
A decision support system for sustainable development of biodiesel industry
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2016) Mohammadi Ashnani, Mohammad Hossein
Energy plays a crucial role in modern life. The recent crises in the world oil market, rapid depletion of crude oil reserves along with growing concerns about emission of greenhouse gas have drawn attention to biofuels sources. Despite the many positive characteristics of biofuels, they cause a variety of environmental, economical, and social challenges that are not known to decision-makers by conventional evaluation tools such as Environmental Impact Assessment. This study designed and developed a specific Decision Support System (DSS) to analyze the sustainability of alternative biodiesel production in Malaysia by integrating and using Eco-indicator 99 method as a damage oriented Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), spatial analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). DSS was carried out to estimate four sustainability damage categories covering human health, ecosystem quality, resources depletion and socio-economic aspects to help decision makers in achieving a holistic insight into the entire system. LCA results show that fossil fuels depletion impact is the highest contributor to the environmental burdens of palm oil and jatropha biodiesel production, by 1.5E3 MJ and 1.99E3 MJ surplus respectively. This is followed by the respiratory inorganics impact with 1.32 E-3 and 3.28 E-4 Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) for palm oil and jatropha biodiesel productions respectively. LCA as environmental analysis tool and Geographical Information System as spatial analysis tool were combined to provide an integrated methodology that is able to determine land use change impacts. Land use change analysis showed that approximately 42.2% of expansion during the period was the result of the conversion of forest, followed by agroforest and plantations (34.8%). The study used AHP to assign criteria weights from a Malaysian perspective. According to AHP analysis, the importance weights of both human health (40.9%) and ecosystem quality (32.2%) damages are higher than both resources depletion (16.5%) and socio-economic (10.4%) damages. Combining the effects on all impact categories as a single score supports the notion that the palm oil biodiesel production with 30.5 Eco-indicator point (Pt) generates 9.7% higher negative impacts on sustainability than jatropha biodiesel production which means jatropha development is more consistent with sustainability criteria and furthermore it could be beneficial in Clean Development Mechanism projects
A framework of social-based learning interaction through social networking tool
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2017) Al-Dheleai, Yahya Mohammed Hashem
The purpose of this research is to develop a framework of social-based learning interaction through the use of social networking tool; Facebook. The sample for this study was Masters’ students of Educational Technology program. The data collection was done through two phases. Phase 1 involved 49 students who responded to the questionnaire, and phase 2 involved 11 students and 2 instructors who participated in one semester’s online interaction via Facebook. This research employed a pre-experimental design, which involved a one-group pretest-posttest to measure the improvement in students’ academic performance after going through online interaction via Facebook. A questionnaire was used to collect data about students’ perceptions of instructor-student interaction (ISI), student-student interaction (SSI) and students’ social presence (SP) while Facebook discussion group was used to collect interaction data among students and instructors. Questionnaire data were analyzed through means and standard deviations and Facebook transcripts were analyzed through frequencies of each investigated category. Next, the data mining decision tree technique was used to identify which SSI categories contributed to higher students’ grades and the association rule was applied to establish a socialbased learning interaction framework. The findings of the questionnaire showed that students have high perceptions of ISI (µ= 4.06) and SSI (µ= 4.18) via Facebook. Moreover, students showed high perceptions of their SP when using Facebook for learning (µ= 4.15). Findings from Wilcoxon’s Signed Ranks Test indicated a significant improvement in students’ performance in test after going through interaction via Facebook, while the effect size test confirmed the large effect of the interaction via Facebook on students’ performance. The findings from the Facebook transcripts showed that the instructors mostly used facilitating discourse (FD) followed by direct instruction (DI). Instructional design and organization (IDO) was the least frequently used category by the instructors. On the other side, students tended more to deliver clarification (C) followed by the interpretation category. Moreover, students transmitted more support (S) than reflection (Ref) or replies (Rep) to others’ questions and asking questions (Q) compare to the Judgment (J) category; which was the least frequently used category. Noticeably, students declined to transmit conflict, assertion and consensus-building statements during their interaction via Facebook. Additionally, students tended to promote more interactive responses (IR) than cohesive responses (CR) or affective responses (AR) in their SP. However, data mining analysis using the decision tree technique showed that students need to transmit more clarification (C) and interpretation (I) categories of SSI in order to achieve grade A in their tests. The social-based learning framework suggested that the FD and DI categories of ISI are associated with the Rep, C and I categories of SSI and the IR category of SP to assist students’ learning and enhance academic performance
A gate-to-gate sustainability assessment method for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2019) Ahmad, Shamraiz
Activities of today's manufacturing industries have significant impact on all three dimensions of sustainability (environment, economy and society). Although, methods or frameworks have been developed for sustainability assessment, only limited numbers consider all the three dimensions of sustainability. There is rarely a method that considers both stochastic and fuzzy uncertainties simultaneously. Moreover, there is no such method that is based on a weighted and comprehensive set of sustainability indicators for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry. Although food manufacturing is a key industry in Malaysia from the economy and food security viewpoints, it lags behind in applying sustainability practices in its operations. Thus, the development of a comprehensive and integrated stochastic-fuzzy sustainability assessment method for the Malaysian food manufacturing industry is the main objective of this research. This method employed 57 weighted sustainability indicators for all three dimensions of sustainability (triple-bottom line concept of sustainability). The Delphi method was used for the development of these indicators and their weights. The new integrated method included both quantitative and qualitative indicators to perform a systematic gate-to-gate sustainability assessment. This has made it more useful for internal decision making at industry and plant levels. Monte Carlo simulation and fuzzy logic were used to address stochastic and fuzzy uncertainties respectively in an integrated way. Based on stochastic and fuzzy modeling, an overall unit-less sustainability index was generated to evaluate the performance level of sustainability. The Crystal Ball software for Monte Carlo simulation and Fuzzy Logic toolbox of Matlab for fuzzy logic evaluation were used. The applicability of the developed method was demonstrated using two case studies in the Malaysian food manufacturing industry. The analysis showed that the first case company has an "average" sustainability performance with a sustainability index of 0.42. The second company with a sustainability index of 0.43 also falled into the "average" performance range. The case studies and validation process showed that the developed method was useful for evaluating sustainability performance within a system containing complicated uncertainties. Overall, this research has contributed in expanding the knowledge on the sustainable manufacturing and sustainability assessment, and provided practical guidelines for practitioners to evaluate, predict, and improve the sustainability performance of their companies using the developed assessment method.
A hybrid multi-criteria decision making method for risk assessment of public-private partnership projects
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2016) Sarvari, Hadi
As governments embark on Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects to develop their infrastructure, effective risk assessment has become an important step to ensure success of these projects. However, there are many unsuccessful stories of PPP projects that have been reported all around the world. Thus, it is essential for both public and private sectors to apply efficient risk assessment approaches to allocate and manage risks more effectively. Literature review revealed a continuous endeavor for better PPP project risk modelling and assessment. Various techniques have been developed for use in the management of risks in construction. However, these techniques are limited to addressing risks relating to only cost, schedule, or technical performance individually or at best a combination of cost and schedule risks. Previous work so far is lacking a comprehensive model capable of handling impact of risks on all project objectives simultaneously; namely cost, time and quality. Thus, the main objective of this study is to develop a hybrid risk assessment method that capable of capturing impact of risks on the three project objectives comprehensively. To achieve this aim, this research explores the risk assessment approaches and proposes a hybrid alternative method based on the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) and Multiple Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO). The Fuzzy logic was used to convert linguistic principles into systematic quantitative-based analysis. Also, in order to consider the dependency and feedback between risks and criteria, ANP method is applied as a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method. Then, MOPSO, as a MCDM method, was used to assess the risks based on the project objectives. Objective functions have been developed to minimize the total time and cost of the project and maximize the quality. The research approach was a mixed-method approach and the field work included a series of questionnaires and interviews. It started with semi-structured interviews with PPP professionals. A mail survey was administered and more than 114 questionnaires were sent to construction and PPP professionals based in Malaysia. Out of 114, 88 valid responses have been received. An on-line survey was carried out as well in order to enrich the findings of the mail survey. The proposed hybrid approach was used to assess the collected data. A total of 30 significant risks were identified and evaluated. According to the results, it was found that “construction completion”, “construction cost overrun” and “interest rate volatility” are the highest ranks associated with the Malaysian PPP projects risks. Finally, the viability of the proposed hybrid approach was investigated through conducting semi-structured interviews with PPP professionals from construction and administration sector. It is concluded that the proposed hybrid MCDM method for risk assessment is a viable alternative to the existing practice. This may help bridging the gap between theory and practice of risk assessment in construction projects. It also can be applied through the public and private sectors to improve risk assessment and management. The research findings recommend further exploration of the potential applications of hybrid MCDM methods in construction management domain.
A hybrid of bekk garch with neural network for modeling and forecasting time series
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2021) Pung, Yean Ping
Gold prices change rapidly from time to time. The change is not only in the mean, but also in the variability of the series. The Malaysian Kijang Emas (MKE) is the official national bullion gold coin of Malaysia and it is high in demand. The purchase and resale prices of MKE are determined by the prevailing international gold market price. However, the value of Ringgit Malaysia (RM) that is used to purchase MKE is affected by United States (U.S.) dollar. Thus, the purpose of this study is to develop the best model for forecasting international gold prices, U.S. dollar index and MKE prices by investigating their co-movement. In an attempt to find the best model, fifteen years of data for MKE prices, international gold prices in U.S. dollar and U.S. dollar index were used. This study initially considered three standard methods namely bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH), trivariate GARCH and multilayer feed-forward neural network (MFFNN). Bivariate and trivariate GARCH are from Baba-Engle-Kraft-Kroner (BEKK) GARCH. The current study further hybridized these methods to improve forecasting accuracy. Bivariate and trivariate GARCH were used to examine the relationship between gold prices and U.S. dollar. The trivariate GARCH was modified to develop GARCH-in-mean model due to the existence risk that was expected in the data. Analysis was done by using E-Views software. However, analysis using MFFNN model and hybridized models were carried out using MATLAB software. Analyses of performances were evaluated using mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and mean square error (MSE). The MAPE for all in and out sample forecasts were less than 1%. The lowest values of MAPE were 0.8% for gold prices and 0.2% for U.S. dollar index. These low values were produced by using trivariate GARCH-in-mean model that was developed by the current study either as a single or hybdridized model with MFFNN. MSE recorded the values when trivariate GARCH-in-mean model was hybridized with MFFNN using 15 hidden nodes.
A malicious URL detection framework using priority coefficient and feature evaluation
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2023) Rafsanjani, Ahmad Sahban
Malicious Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are one of the major threats in cybersecurity. Cyber attackers spread malicious URLs to carry out attacks such as phishing and malware, which lead unsuspecting visitors into scams, resulting in monetary loss, information theft, and other threats to website users. At present, malicious URLs are detected using blacklist and heuristic methods, but these methods lack the ability to detect new and obfuscated URLs. Machine learning and deep learning methods have been seen as popular methods for improving the previous method to detect malicious URLs. However, these methods are entirely datadependent, and a large, updated dataset is necessary for the training to create an effective detection method. Besides, accuracy and detection mostly depend on the quality of training data. This research developed a framework to detect malicious URL based on predefined static feature classification by allocating priority coefficients and feature evaluation methods. The feature classification employed 39 classes of blacklist, lexical, host- based, and content-based features. A dataset containing 2000 real-world URLs was gathered from two popular phishing and malware websites, URLhaus and PhishTank. In the experiment, the proposed framework was evaluated with three supervised machine learning methods: Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and Bayesian Network (BN). The result showed that the proposed framework outperformed these methods. In addition, the proposed framework was benchmarked with three comprehensive malicious URL detection methods, which were Precise Phishing Detection with Recurrent Convolutional Neural Networks, Li, and URLNet in terms of accuracy and precision. The results showed that the proposed framework achieved a detection accuracy of 98.95% and a precision value of 98.60%. In sum, the developed malicious URL framework significantly improves the detection in terms of accuracy.
A measurement model of occupant well-being for malaysian office building
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2021) Mansor, Razlin
There has been a shift in the direction of scientific research related to the energy and environmental performance of buildings towards a focus on occupant well-being, as a majority of the population spend most of their time indoors. The Indoor environment within a building has been identified as a major factor influencing occupant well-being because inadequate indoor conditions in buildings could create risks such as adverse health effects, productivity loss and higher rates of absenteeism. Assessing occupant well-being in office buildings has become a growing concern in facilities management practice as occupants represent the highest percentage of operational costs. However, the effects of indoor environment in office buildings can be difficult to quantify due to the wide range of influencing parameters. Globally, multiple tools have been developed to assess the performance of buildings but the existing assessment tools have not comprehensively assessed occupant well-being as a whole by capturing all essential criteria and parameters that are highly related to occupant well-being particularly in the context of office buildings. Therefore, to overcome this issue, this research was aimed to develop a measurement model to assess the performance of indoor environment in the office building on occupant well-being. The three objectives of this research are firstly, to identify the criteria of occupant well-being and associated indoor environment parameters in office buildings. Secondly, to verify the criteria of occupant well-being and associated indoor environment parameters for Malaysian office buildings; and thirdly, to develop a measurement model of occupant well-being for Malaysian office buildings. The first objective was achieved through the synthesis of theories, models and concepts in the literature review. The second was achieved through a semi-structured interview with experts; while the third was achieved using a questionnaire survey involving sixty-five experts in Malaysia through purposive sampling technique. Data were analysed for the second and third objectives using thematic analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis. A measurement model of occupant well-being for Malaysian office buildings was developed in this research. A total of fifteen parameters were identified which were classified into four criteria; occupant comfort, occupant health, occupant adaptation and occupant safety. AHP analysis found that occupants’ health scored the highest priority in computing the measurement model of occupant well-being for Malaysian office building. This study has made a methodological contribution by developing a novel approach to assess occupants’ well-being in Malaysian office buildings, which is useful to help facility managers in prioritising resources and making decisions to improve occupants’ well-being in office buildings.
A metamodel for academic programme management quality assurance in higher education
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2019) Mokhtar, Rashidah
Academic programme management quality assurance (APMQA) is a management approach to evaluate the quality of performance in the higher education system. Quality assurance documents must be prepared to represent the APMQA system in higher learning institutions (HLIs). There is a gap of understanding document preparation, which later leads to difficulty of sharing best practices and knowledge across borders. Besides, lack of standardised definition describing the details of APMQA model could lead to inconsistency when interpreting the quality assurance guidelines. This study developed a new approach of managing the scattered and complex domain structure by proposing new generic concepts of APMQA system embedded with properties of the current APMQA system. Three research objectives guided this study; (1) to identify the various requirements of academic programme management quality assurance in higher learning institutions, (2) to structurally organise academic programme management quality assurance domain knowledge by using metamodelling technique, and (3) to develop and validate metamodel that encapsulates academic programme management quality assurance domain knowledge in higher learning institutions. A design science research paradigm was used as the lens to solve the problems. The metamodelling approach was employed to produce APMQA metamodel. In this study, 26 models were analysed using 7 steps of the metamodelling approach divided into three phases, namely metamodel development, validation and conformance. Phase 1 was a five-step process to develop the initial metamodel. Next, phase 2 validated the initial metamodel using expert validation technique. Finally, phase 3 demonstrated the metamodel through metamodel conformance using a case study. Then, the validated APMQA metamodel was categorised into five areas that cover the academic programme management comprising curriculum design, curriculum delivery, student assessment, programme improvement and quality improvement. Each of the area consists of concepts, relationships, attributes and operations of the domain and represented by UML class diagram. Findings from the case study showed that the APMQA metamodel organises the concepts, definitions, relationships and attributes of the domain. Besides, it facilitates clearer creation and presentation of the domain properties to hasten system development, and indirectly, reduces the cost of system development time. Another application of the metamodel is that new users would have a better understanding of the domains as the metamodel acts as a domain dictionary, which encapsulates various and evolving processes in the APMQA.
A methodological framework for estimating loss of employment opportunities resulting from abandoned shopping centre development project
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2020) Ngadimin, Nurul Faiezah
Assessing the loss of employment opportunities due to abandoned shopping centre project development is an important task in order to estimate the loss incurred by the community. The objective of the development is to bring about positive impacts to the community through the generation of employment and income. These two are significant indicators of the community's economic well-being as they are critically needed through the construction of a shopping centre. When the development of a shopping centre project is abandoned, employment opportunities were lost, and these detract from the quality of life as well as the economic opportunities of those living in the surrounding area of the project. Although there were a series of research stating that the loss of employment opportunities is one of the impacts of an abandoned shopping centre development project, the loss was not assessed explicitly and further, there was no literature explaining the method of assessment. Therefore, this study attempted to develop a methodological framework for assessing loss of employment opportunities through an economic approach. The theoretical perspective composed of a few significant variables that must be considered in the assessment and they reflected the determinants of loss of employment opportunities. The operationalization of these determinants was conducted in stages; each determinant represented each stage. There were four steps in measuring the loss of employment opportunities namely (1) calculating employment-generating potential by applying a grounded theory method (GTM); (2) analyzing potential workers' catchment area; (3) analyzing market competition of retail supply; and (4) analyzing workplace preference using a combination of two analyses i.e. Rating-based Conjoint Analysis (RBCA) and Productivity Analysis (PA). The combination of these four steps formed the methodological framework in estimating the loss of employment opportunities in this study. This framework was tested by subjecting the estimated loss of employment opportunities to the real case situation of the Subject Property. The study discovered that the ideal tenant mix for a shopping centre was made-up of twenty-one components of tenant-mix classes comprising a variety of compatible retail/service providers, and each tenant mix class has a different size of employee density. This study proposed an average of 22 sq.m. of space per employee for estimating the employee density of a shopping centre. Therefore, with the medium-size gross floor area (GFA) of 370,000 sq.ft. (34,374 sq.m.) of the Subject Property, while considering other competing shopping centres and the local market situation, as many as 1,590 potential employment opportunities could have been lost due to the abandoned shopping centre. This study contributed to the new knowledge and experience in the real estate field, particularly in the aspect of employment density of retail properties.
A millimeter wave reflectarray antenna with tilted side patch elements for fifth generation communication systems
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2019) Dahri, Muhammad Hashim
A flat surface reflectarray antenna is becoming an impending competitor for fifth generation (5G) communications among the generally known conventional antenna systems. Its narrow bandwidth and high loss performance lead to restrict its gain and effciency at millimeter wave frequencies. Additionally, high design sensitivity is also an issue at millimeter waves that can trigger the problem of imperfect fabrications. Therefore, a simple design of reflectarray patch element is required with wide reflection phase range to achieve wideband and high gain performance. Effciency of reflectarray antenna is also needed to be formulated properly to acquire polarization diversity. In this work, a new reflectarray patch element with a tilted side is recommended for a wideband dual resonance operation within 24 GHz to 28 GHz frequency range. Dual resonance of the tilted side patch element offers a reflection phase range of more than 600' and a reflection loss of 1.6 dB with a novel design. Simulated results of the patch element have been verified by the scattering parameter measurements using a waveguide simulator. Additionally, a mathematical relationship has been formulated to predict the effciency of the reflectarray antenna based on its aperture shape and feed distance. It has been found that, a circular aperture reflectarray attains 21.46% higher effciency than its equivalent square aperture reflectarray of the same feed distance. Consequently, a circular aperture reflectarray consisting of 332 variable size tilted side patch elements has been designed and tested at 26 GHz with various possible configurations. The high cross polarization issue due to the asymmetric design of the tilted side patch element has been tackled by mirroring the orientations of the elements on the surface of reflectarray. Moreover, circular ring slots with variable radius have been embedded in reflectarray ground plane for gain improvement. Experimental results show that, the slotted ground reflectarray antenna offers a 3.5 dB higher gain with 22.9% higher effciency and 3% wider bandwidth than a full grounded reflectarray antenna. A maximum of 26.1 dB gain with 41.3% effciency and 11.5% (3 GHz) bandwidth has been acquired with the slotted ground reflectarray antenna. The tilted side patch reflectarray has offered dual linear polarization when its elements are mirrored to each other and dual circular polarization when its elements are not mirrored to each other. Its main beam has been numerically steered up to +20' by a progressive phase shift of 80'. The acquired parameters of the tilted side patch reflectarray antenna fit within the requirements of the 5G communication systems.
A model for effective national housing fund in Nigeria
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2021) Oluwatosin, Adediran Anthonia
The housing sector and home ownership are characterized by a number of benefits which have significant impacts on human lives and economic growth. Effective housing finance system, therefore, plays a key role in assuring the realization of such benefits. Despite the existence of successful housing finance models across countries, Nigeria housing finance system is yet to have a model that supports the operation of government initiated National Housing Fund Scheme, a source of housing mortgages for the public servants and private housing developers. To put it succinctly, housing finance in Nigeria has been ineffective, while workable policies appear to be a long way off the entire policy. This study seeks to fill this gap by developing a model for an effective National Housing Fund Scheme to aid home ownership in the country. This study has three objectives: 1) to identify the constraints affecting National Housing Fund Scheme loan transactions; 2) to develop a model and action plan for effective national housing fund in Nigeria through identified indicators, and 3) to validate the implementation model for effective national housing fund in Nigeria. In accomplishing the research goal, four stages of survey were performed. In Stage 1, interviews were conducted with housing related professionals, academics and mortgage institution officials; in Stage 2, four hundred and fifteen questionnaires were administered among public workers across the southwest of Nigeria; in Stage 3, a two-stage FGD was conducted involving fourteen individuals consisting of housing related professionals, academics, public servants and housing finance experts, and in Stage 4, a questionnaire survey on model validations was carried out with twenty-seven housing experts. SPSS, Structural Equation Model and NVivo were used to analyse the obtained data. The results show that the facilitation of effective National Housing Fund Scheme in Nigeria falls under three categories namely Macro-economic operations, Micro-economic operation and Action Plan, which were then pooled together to develop a model for effective National Housing Fund. A pool of experts unanimously gave their support to the appropriateness, validity and easy comprehension of the model, suggesting its validity. The capacity of the Model in providing guides to all stakeholders on housing mortgage transactions was also confirmed. Based on the findings, the dual stages of effective National Housing Fund Model are essential in enabling concerned individuals or groups to better understand their roles in Housing Finance Originations and subsequent transactions towards stakeholders’ home ownership.
A model for the relationship between use satisfaction of healthcare facilities management and core healtcare business
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2019) Amankwah, Oti
Public hospitals in Ghana, as in many other developing countries, are faced with facilities management (FM) challenges due partly to the problem of poor services and user dissatisfaction with FM service delivery. Studies to understand the relationship between user satisfaction of healthcare FM and core healthcare business have not addressed the issue from the perspective of this study. To fill this gap, the study examined the relationship between healthcare FM services based on the FM basic framework (people - patients, place – healthcare healing environment, processes –FM service quality and technology – quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment) and core healthcare business (healthcare personnel, healthcare delivery, adequacy of healthcare resources and healthcare administrative process). The underlying theoretical frameworks for the study included the FM basic framework, SERVQUAL theory, Core Healthcare Business dimensions and A Staff and Patient Calibration Toolkit (ASPECT) which is based on a theory of supportive designs for healthcare facilities. Questionnaire was used to gather data from 622 patients of the three surveyed hospitals (Komfo Anokye, Cape-Coast and Tamale teaching hospitals) in Ghana. The data were statistically tested and analysed by structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. Twelve of the 19 hypotheses were supported. The findings showed that although the patients are satisfied with the quality of healthcare healing environment and the quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment, they were dissatisfied with the FM service quality. Secondly, the results indicated that healthcare FM service quality and quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment did not have a positive significant influence on the quality of healthcare administrative process. Also, the quality of healthcare healing environment did not show a positive significant influence on healthcare delivery. The quality of healthcare infrastructure and equipment also did not have a positive significant influence on healthcare personnel. Lastly, out of the four dimensions used to evaluate the quality of core healthcare business, patients were dissatisfied with the adequacy of healthcare resources and healthcare administrative process. Generally, the study model offered a good understanding of the factors that influenced the relationship between users (patients) satisfaction of healthcare FM and core healthcare business. The findings indicated that healthcare institutions must realize that quality healthcare FM service is a means for the healthcare organisations to stay relevant in the eyes of the patients. Thus, the study recommends that the surveyed teaching hospitals in Ghana should aim to achieve patient centered healthcare service deliver by effectively improving the quality of both their FM and core healthcare services, since patient satisfaction leads to patient loyalty.
A model of argument quality for information adoption in e-commerce review platform
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2020) Che Lah, Nur Syadhila
The viral nature the content of the Web has transformed the landscape of e-Commerce review platforms to be in a state of constant growth. Similarly, the prominent features of these platforms have been recognized to be among the dominant factors in shaping online consumer behavior. Nonetheless, in this regard, if the review platform returns too many reviews, and the reviews are presented in non-relevant manner, in which this may be cumbersome and time-consuming for consumers. Therefore, identifying credible reviews that contain valuable information has becomes increasingly important for online businesses. The main research question to be addressed in this study is to determine on how can a model be developed to improve the argument quality perceptions in the adoption of online reviews across e-Commerce review platform. Subsequently, the main objective to be achieved is to develop a model of argument quality for review‘s adoption in the e-Commerce review platform. The potential effects of consumer relevance judgment from information retrieval perspective have been considered, which include perceived informative and affective relevance in developing the research model by using Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). A quantitative research method has been applied to test and validate the propose research model. The response data from 238 valid respondents was analyzed using the Partial Least Square Structural Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. The findings from the results indicate that content novelty, content topicality, content similarity, content tangibility and content sentimentality could positively influence the perception of argument quality which lead to information adoption behavior. Finally, the importance of information relevancy was also highlighted in this study, which reveals some appropriate features that can be utilized by e-Commerce practitioners to better refine their information search criteria in the online review platforms.
A model of retrofit energy efficiency for sustainable building by using energy performance contract method in Malaysia
(Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 2019) Kiani, Iman
Recently, attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of energy use in buildings in many countries all over the world. Most hotel buildings are deemed as unprofitable non-energy efficient constructions whilst renovations to their energy-efficient system are still non-resolute or unexplored. The Retrofit Energy Efficiency Sustainable Hotel Building (REESH) is not only the best opportunity to minimize energy use, but it also enhances environmental protection, cost-efficient use of resources and health benefits for residents. Sustainable development strategies need a variety of modification towards the sustainability of existing buildings. Improvements can be made based on the concept of Integration Sustainable Development (ISD) on existing buildings by retrofit. The REESH projects are in compliance with the sustainable model development strategy and can be done through the Energy Performance Contract (EPC) method which uses performance indicators to measure the efficiency of the REESH project. This study adapts the energy efficiency strategies to produce energy efficient hotel buildings through the energy contracting method. It also produces energy efficiency modifications to be sustainable in Malaysia. The main objective of the study is to identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Critical Success Factors (CSF) for hotel building renovations using the EPC methods. The second objective is the development of the REESH model that relates to REESH‘s CSF and KPI using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory Process (DEMATEL), hybrid method and model comparison. The third objective is to find out the barriers to the implementation of the guidelines. The last objective entails the evaluation of the Guideline Retrofit Energy Efficiency for Hotel (GREESH) by taking into consideration the REESH‘s model which is required to specify its benefits and limitations. The academic experts and private parties reviewed the validity of GREESH and Model evaluations. The main outcome of this study is the establishment of the REESH model and GREESH guideline that links the 53 CSFs, 8 KPIs and sustainable dimensions for REESH building in Malaysia. From this study it is observed that the most important factors in REESH are project objectives control method, contract type, access to technology, contract award method, effective coordination, organizational leadership capability, accurate measurement and verification, mutual trust, rational organizational structure, time management, and technical background staff related to REESH building in Malaysia. The concluding remark of the research is a proposed model for establishing a retrofit guideline towards the RESSH buildings in Malaysia by using the EPC method.

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