Browsing by Type "doctoral thesis"

This is a multimodal genre analysis study of Malaysia Regional E-Travel Guidebooks (MRTGs) by adapting the frameworks of Bhatia (2004) and Kress and van Leeuwen (1996, 2006). The analysis focused on examining the rhetorical structure, communicative purposes, linguistic features, professional practices, and visual components present in MRTGs. The analysis is done to understand how this genre-which successfully helped Tourism Malaysia to improve its tourism industry- is built up and written. To accomplish the study's objectives, a combination of textual analysis and semi-structured interviews was employed, utilizing specialized software tools such as Atlas.ti and Sketchengine. The study revealed that MRTGs exhibit a distinct structure comprising ten core moves (Headline, Introducing the Country, Urging Action, Targeting the Market, Trivia, Justifying the Destination, Endorsement, Related Info, Service Info, and Closing Info). Notably, the findings highlight the strategic deployment of linguistic features to capture the readers' attention, promote the featured destinations, motivate action, and furnish pertinent information about Malaysia. MRTGs adeptly employ a synergy of informational value, salience, and framing to offer travellers a comprehensive and captivating informational resource. Additionally, the visual elements employed in MRTGs effectively convey meaning and engage readers with the featured destinations. Crucially, the findings show that professionals within Tourism Malaysia believe that MRTGs are essential for attracting and assisting travellers, and ensuring visitor satisfaction, with a focus on transitioning to online platforms and continuous improvement. This study provides multifaceted insights that extend beyond the specific context of MRTGs, contributing significantly to the domains of genre analysis, professional communication, digital marketing, visual communication, and destination marketing. Additionally, it elucidates practical implications for professionals in the tourism industry, enhancing their comprehension of the art of crafting compelling and effective promotional materials with regards to English for Tourism.

This study proposes a hybrid crowdfunding model to enhance financial services for microenterprises in Indonesia. The hybrid concepts of the proposed model are threefold namely product offering, services provided and service modes. The model encourages community involvement by engaging local investors who are geographically close to the microenterprises, allowing them to retain offline interactions with each other. Thus, this model suggests ways of improving and meeting the needs of microenterprises in Indonesia by providing affordable financial services. The research applied a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology. The interview was conducted to validate the hybrid crowdfunding model's suitability, sustainability, and prospects. The experts confirmed the proposed model have the suitability for unbanked and marginalized communities. Besides, the experts opine that the model is applicable in Indonesia, which has large Muslim population and microenterprises. They emphasized that the model could significantly enhance financial accessibility for these businesses by fostering a sense of community-based support. Additionally, experts highlighted the potential for this model to increase financial inclusion, especially in underserved rural areas, by leveraging local networks and trust. The quantitative part of the study examines the factors influencing the behavioural intention of microenterprises to use the proposed hybrid crowdfunding model. An extended technology acceptance model (TAM) was adopted, which incorporates perceived risk (PR), perceived trust (PT), government support (GS), and two moderating variables, Age and Experience, in addition to two original TAM factors, perceived ease of use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU). All predictors' direct and indirect effects are examined using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and logit regression. The result of the PLS-SEM found that all hypothesized relationships between predictors (PR, PT, PEOU, PU, GS) and the criterion (BI) are statistically significant. Age moderates the relationship between predictors, namely perceived risk (PR), government support (GS), and endogenous variable behaviour intention (BI). On the other hand, the moderating effect of experience on the relationships between the constructs specified is found to be insignificant. Based on the logit regression result, both the basic and interaction models (the simple effect) confirmed that only three predictors, perceived risk (PR), government support (GS), and perceived ease of use (PEOU), are statistically significant in affecting outcomes, but PT and PU are found to be insignificant. The interaction term between age and four predictors (PR, PT, PEOU, and GS) is statistically significant. The interaction term between experience and three predictors (PT, PEOU, and GS) are confirmed to be significant. The study concluded that the hybrid crowdfunding model is acceptable in general. It highlights the need for strong support from the government in establishing robust data protection and privacy regulations for microenterprises who may be concerned about the security of their personal and financial information. Therefore, policymakers should consider formulating policies and guidelines, promoting the use of the proposed hybrid crowdfunding model, and building related infrastructure, such as widening internet penetration, especially in rural areas, to support model implementation

Youth unemployment has been a significant concern and a pressing issue within many nations. It is essential that all countries prioritize youth empowerment to curtail national security concerns. Although the authorities of Nigeria have made various attempts to provide national security through empowerment programs since its independence, these efforts were not successful due to non-political will. This study explores the potential role of waqf in enhancing youth empowerment for sustainable development in Yobe State, Nigeria. Waqf is considered as a mechanism to achieve economic and social objectives, acting as a platform for entrepreneurship to enhance societal well-being. This study aims to provide the potential roles of waqf institutions to empower the youth and enhance the well-being of the population in Yobe State. This study employed a qualitative method of research, which includes descriptive, historical, analytical and evaluative approaches. This study found that there are numerous factors contributing to youth unemployment, insecurity, and other social vices in Yobe State, such as insufficient incentives in the agricultural sector, lack of vocational skills, the declining quality of the Nigerian education system, corruption, youth involvement in political violence, and high rates of school dropouts. The findings show the potentials of waqf institutions on youth empowerment in Yobe across various domains such as education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, and vocational training. This study concludes that waqf institutions have significantly contributed to youth empowerment in entrepreneurship, education, healthcare, and vocational skills, ultimately advancing the sustainable development goals in Yobe State. Finally, this study offers suggestions and recommendations for effective strategies in utilising waqf properties in the region. Keywords: Waqf, Youth Empowerment, Sustainable Development, Yobe State, Nigeria.

This study addresses issues related to the bioethical ramifications of researching human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) within the context of Islamic jurisprudence. Structured into five principal chapters for a comprehensive analysis of both the biological and ethical dimensions from the standpoint of Islamic jurisprudence, this study delves into the intricate issues surrounding ethical considerations, legal consequences, and theological discussions related to the generation and use of hESCs. Additionally, this study delves into the foundational characteristics of hESCs, addressing crucial issues related to their application in therapeutic contexts. This study sheds light on the metaphysical concerns surrounding the ethical standing of hESCs, emphasising its impact on the inviolability and sanctity of human life according to Islamic values and jurisprudential principles. For this, the researcher has adopted a qualitative approach and literature review to critically examine the bioethical implications of hESC research within Islamic jurisprudence. Employing chosen literature review and qualitative methodology facilitated a comprehensive analysis of perspectives on hESCs, addressing its ethical standing and implications in a thorough investigation. Data collection has been made by two ways. The first involves library materials, especially books and journal articles, dealing with medicine, bioethics, and jurisprudence. The second source consist of unstructured interviews with specialists, including experts of Islamic jurisprudence, clinical embryologists, and stem cell scientists. The spontaneity of unstructured interviews allowed questions to evolve through the dialogue. Reflective practices, analytic memos, and thematic analysis (inductive and semantic approaches) were employed throughout this study. The findings will enrich the discourse on hESC research, offering valuable insights for medical practitioners, policymakers, and scholars in the Muslim world. Advocating for a conscientious integration of evidence-based medicine and Fiqh, this study highlights the potential of alternative cell sources, ultimately aiming for a harmonious alignment of hESC research within the Islamic framework to benefit all of humanity.

Blended learning has gained recognition and government support, but there is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the application of blended learning in the Indian institutions of architectural education. This research seeks to identify important tools and teaching techniques to compare the effectiveness of the blended learning with traditional teaching methods, considering the unique requirements of architectural education. A critical aspect of this research is to investigate the current level of the adoption of the blended learning in Indian architectural institutions and to formulate practical recommendations for enhancing the quality of architectural education in India through implementing a blended learning approach in the light of the IPSIT framework for blended learning. The research methodology follows a mixed-methods approach, incorporating qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques. To achieve the objectives, three questionnaires were developed and administered to a diverse group of participants, including students, faculty members and professional architects in India, along with a detailed literature review. The study also includes a case study with a separate questionnaire to assess the evaluation process using blended learning tools. While developing the research framework, significant attention was dedicated to aligning the research with the guidelines that shape architectural education in India, such as the IPSIT framework for blended learning, proposed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the Model Curriculum for B Arch, proposed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). This study became especially relevant in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prompted educational institutions to explore alternative teaching methodologies. The research reveals a substantial increase in the adoption of blended learning in the post-COVID-19 period. Most respondents have been exposed to blended learning and acknowledge its positive impact on architectural education. They reported that the blended learning significantly improved the quality of education. It offered the benefits such as flexibility, self-learning, software skills development, etc. The study highlighted the importance of the research-based approach to architectural education at the undergraduate level. Most respondents strongly supported this approach, particularly those with higher academic qualifications. The research findings also highlight the effectiveness of Google Classroom and rubrics in improving learning and assessment. The challenges encountered include the limitations of existing tools in facilitating architectural design and drawing. Technical issues, maintaining student engagement, and the need for faculty development are also identified. In conclusion, this research study underscores the potential of blended learning to transform architectural education and recognises its potential to meet the evolving needs of architectural education in India. The research findings offer practical recommendations for educators, policymakers, and institutions seeking to embrace innovative approaches.

China and Afghanistan have historically maintained ties with each other, but with the eruption of wars, China's engagement with Afghanistan was affected negatively. In 2001, when the United States invaded Afghanistan, China refused to join the United States in its "War On Terror" rather chose to focus on building and expanding its soft power across Afghanistan. This is in contrast to America’s reliance on hard power tools in its relations with Afghanistan. As a major power sharing a border with Afghanistan, China's decision to utilize soft power tools requires deeper analysis to inform contemporary geopolitical considerations. This thesis aims to explore the use of soft power tools by China in Afghanistan and analyze the challenges China faced in building and expanding its soft power. It is significant to assess what specific mechanisms China has used to build and expand its soft power in Afghanistan, alongside investigating the reasons driving its strategic preference for soft power. Furthermore, this thesis critically evaluates China’s success in building and expanding its soft power. This study used thematic analysis for analysing the data collected from China and Afghanistan have historically maintained ties with each other, but with the eruption of wars, China's engagement with Afghanistan was affected negatively. In 2001, when the United States invaded Afghanistan, China refused to join the United States in its "War On Terror" rather chose to focus on building and expanding its soft power across Afghanistan. This is in contrast to America’s reliance on hard power tools in its relations with Afghanistan. As a major power sharing a border with Afghanistan, China's decision to utilize soft power tools requires deeper analysis to inform contemporary geopolitical considerations. This thesis aims to explore the use of soft power tools by China in Afghanistan and analyze the challenges China faced in building and expanding its soft power. It is significant to assess what specific mechanisms China has used to build and expand its soft power in Afghanistan, alongside investigating the reasons driving its strategic preference for soft power. Furthermore, this thesis critically evaluates China’s success in building and expanding its soft power. This study used thematic analysis for analysing the data collected from 15 diplomats, officials, and experts on China-Afghanistan relations. This thematic analysis facilitates the development of a framework for China’s soft power dynamics, providing insights that are essential for scholars studying China’s evolving influence in Afghanistan. The research makes critical contributions to the understanding of China's soft power tools, challenges, reasons and effectiveness and offers significant recommendations for future research in this field. 15 diplomats, officials, and experts on China-Afghanistan relations. This thematic analysis facilitates the development of a framework for China’s soft power dynamics, providing insights that are essential for scholars studying China’s evolving influence in Afghanistan. The research makes critical contributions to the understanding of China's soft power tools, challenges, reasons and effectiveness and offers significant recommendations for future research in this field.

This study investigates the critical success factors for intention to family takaful adoption in Malaysia. The research explores the direct relationships among performance expectancy, effort expectancy, price value, hedonic motivation, social influence, facilitating conditions, and habits concerning the behavioral intention to engage in family takaful in Malaysia. Additionally, the study examines the inverse relationship between behavioral intention and trust. A total of 389 respondents were surveyed using a convenience sampling technique and quantitative methods. Hypothesis testing employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to assess the relationships between variables. The findings indicate that Muslim behavioral intention to participate in family takaful in Malaysia is significantly influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, and price value. Moreover, the association between family takaful participation and behavioral intention is mediated by trust. Trust influences the behavioral intention to participate in family takaful. However, habit and social influence do not significantly affect the behavioral intention to engage in family takaful in Malaysia. This study introduces an extended UTAUT2 model, untested in the context of family takaful, contributing to Islamic financial product marketing and consumer behavior.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become a favourable choice due to the current environmental conditions and limited fuel resources. For efficient operation, EVs often use a lithium-ion battery as its main power source. Nevertheless, during acceleration, EVs require an instant high load demand, which is quite challenging to satisfy with the lithium-ion battery alone due to its slow discharging rate. This frequent fluctuation can damage the batteries’ State of Health (SoH), and to overcome this issue, a Hybrid Energy Storage System (HESS) is proposed. In the system, a Supercapacitor (SC) is used to support the immediate load demand from a vehicle. To ensure that the correct amount of power is extracted, a suitable controller needs to be integrated with a Bidirectional DC-DC Converter (BDC). As a model disturbance can influence both the load demand and system feedback response, a novel contribution of this work is to introduce the application of Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) to overcome this issue. A detailed derivation of this algorithm, along with the investigation of the tuning effect, is presented. To analyse the efficacy of this controller, several numerical simulations have been carried out using MATLAB/Simulink, where the MRAC performance is benchmarked against the Proportional Integral (PI) controller, based on several performance indexes such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of current and voltage, power demand tracking, and controllers’ characteristics. For regular operation, the results show that MRAC outperforms the PI controller in tracking voltage demand by 67% (with constant voltage) and 85% (with variable voltage) with inverting BDC and current demands by 16% (with variable current) in non-inverting BDC. While in the presence of disturbance, MRAC shows its efficacy in current demand tracking by surpassing PI controller with 15% higher accuracy. In this case, MRAC requires some time due to adjust its mechanism to surpass the PI controller in tracking the load demand. To validate the MRAC design, an EV model, designed by MathWorks has been utilised upon the integration of the HESS with a Power Management System (PMS) that operated with four (4) different driving cycles, approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), such as US06, Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS), Highway Fuel Economy Test (HWEFT) and Federal Test Procedure (FTP). The comparison results show MRAC consistently demonstrates superior current tracking compared to PI controller under disturbance conditions, as evidenced by significantly lower RMSE values in HWFET (8.15 vs. 39.74), UDDS (7.4 vs. 31.97), and FTP (6.34 vs. 24.89) drive cycles, respectively. Finally, the results of this study highlight the potential of adaptive control strategies in improving the efficiency, stability, and reliability of power management systems along with BDC for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs).

In Malaysia, many small businesses failed before their 5th anniversary. Small businesses made up a major percentage of the businesses and provide jobs for 50% of the populace. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors required by small businesses in Malaysia to sustain operations beyond the first five years. The underlying theories discussed in this study were Self-Determination Theory, Self-Management Competency Theory, and Resource-Based View. A review of the literature focused on small business failure and factors required to sustain a business longer than five years which contributed from a good service quality of sports coaching for achieving a sustainable competitive advantage and personal values of the sports coach who were passionate to conduct the effective sports coaching activity. The first stage of this research methodology was to conduct a qualitative research method which is by interviewing 10 small business owners in different fields of the sports industry. Then, the second stage was done by distributing a questionnaire developed from the interview sessions. This research targeted 225 respondents. Data analysis strategies consisted of correlation and regression using SPSS software. Factors required for small business sustainability were: (a) effective strategizing, (b) flexible financial capital management, (c) human capital development, and (d) market positioning and sales. The research found that small business owners in sports businesses were passionate about starting up their businesses and have the necessary skills to strategize effectively and manage capital, thus sustaining their business beyond five years. Information derived from this study may assist small business owners in starting successful companies that support employees, other companies, communities, and families, contributing to the development of the Malaysian economy.

Several recent studies have proved the ability of cement-based materials to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) through carbonation. Yet, the capture capacity may decline over multiple cycles, reflecting the poor regeneration performance inherent in other calcium-based sorbent materials. Partial replacement of nano-sized silica (SiO2) could potentially enhance both CO2 capture capacity and regeneration performance of cement. While previous research has extensively proven the significant improvement in cement properties with nano-silica, limited studies have examined its impact on CO2 capture and regeneration performance. Therefore, this study investigates how partial replacement of nano-silica in cement paste samples affects CO2 capture capacity and regeneration performance. Nano-silica was synthesized from rice husk ash (RHA) through the precipitation method, aiming to utilize agricultural waste. Before synthesizing, the RHA was acid-leached and thermally treated. Cement samples were partially replaced with nano-silica in various percentages (0.00% to 3.00%) and cured for 7, 14, and 28 days. Using the one-factor design from response surface method (RSM), the cement/nano-silica samples’ composition was determined. Characterization and analysis confirmed successful synthesis of high-purity, amorphous silica nanoparticles with diameters below 50 nm via the precipitation method. Nano-silica significantly improved the properties of hardened cement samples, with a notable 34.77% increase in compressive strength achieved with 3.00% nano-silica replacement compared to other samples across curing durations. XRD patterns indicated that nano-silica promoted hydration reactions, resulting in increased peak intensity of the C-S-H phase. Moreover, SEM-EDX analysis revealed the morphological characteristics of C-S-H phase throughout the observed morphology, along with a decrease in the Ca/Si ratio with increasing percentage of nano-silica replacement. The study findings suggest that inclusion of nano-silica significantly enhanced CO2 capture and regeneration performance of cement at room temperature conditions, with maximal improvement observed at 3.00% nano-silica partial replacement and 28 days of curing, displaying approximately 493.76% increment over the reference sample during a 150-minute experimental test. However, at 800℃ experimental temperatures, the presence of nano-silica did not effectively enhance CO2 capture capacity but rather led to its deterioration, potentially due to structural modification of the C-S-H phase during thermal cycles.

Boiler tube leaks are a critical issue in coal-fired power plants, leading to costly unplanned shutdowns and reduced operational availability. Traditionally, detection has relied on manual inspection and reactive maintenance, limiting early intervention and increasing downtime. While previous researches have explored predictive maintenance techniques, they often employed simplistic neural network structures and small datasets, leading to unreliable early prediction of leaks. Additionally, many of these models were developed for fluidised-bed coal-fired boilers, with limited success in pulverised coal-fired boilers, and were often constrained by insufficient data from a small number of sensors. This research addresses these challenges by developing a more advanced predictive maintenance approach using deep feed forward neural networks (DFFNN) for accurate early leak prediction in pulverised coal-fired boilers. The research focuses on collecting and analysing relevant sensor data to form a comprehensive dataset, optimising the design of the DFFNN for accurate leak prediction, and evaluating the model's performance in industrial environments against existing methods. Leveraging over 61 million data points from 2012 to 2020, ten DFFNN models were constructed and thoroughly optimised. Seven key hyper-parameters including activation function, optimizer, mini-batch size, loss function, learning rate, and the number of epochs were fine-tuned through extensive hyper-parameter tuning to refine the network architectures, which comprised 6 to 9 hidden layers with up to 512 neurons per layer. Validation and prediction results were emphasised, with the models demonstrating correlations ranging from 82.8% to 99.3% across both training and testing datasets. This research also implemented a multi-model detection method to enhance leak prediction reliability by analysing simultaneous fault detections across 12 fault events from 2012-2020, as well as in the post learning period data from 2021-2022. By requiring consistent threshold crossings from at least three models over three consecutive days, this method effectively minimised false alarms and increased confidence in fault predictions, achieving early detection of confirmed leaks up to 15 days before shutdowns. The findings confirm the effectiveness of this advanced DFFNN-based method, providing a reliable foundation for future improvements in leak prediction systems for pulverised coal-fired boilers. Comparative benchmarking against established methods demonstrated the improved performance of the proposed models, offering advancements in prediction accuracy, lead time, and reliability, contributing to more effective predictive maintenance practices.

This study explores Malaysian school leaders’ effective practices to solve problems and make decisions in times of crisis. The study employed a qualitative research design with a multi-site case study. The data is obtained through semi-structured interviews with six secondary school leaders in a northern Malaysian state. Each participant has at least 30 years of educational experience and has served as a school leader for at least three years. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) Six-Phase Thematic Analysis is utilised to analyse the interview data. The findings of the study are presented using Bazeley’s (2009) D-C-R: Describe, Compare, Relate. The findings reveal school leaders’ practices for responding to and managing crises. During the crisis, school leaders used a variety of effective problem-solving and decision-making strategies. The findings then revealed the use of an eclectic style of leadership during the crisis. The personalised leadership practices revealed a combination of models and theories that were helpful for effective problem-solving and decision-making during the crisis. Major challenges such as learning disruptions, digital gaps and ensuring equity in learning are also highlighted by school leaders. The findings also suggested that leading a school during a crisis requires significant moral, financial, and professional support. Additionally, school leaders need better training programmes on crisis management, problem-solving, and decision-making. The findings also revealed that school leaders need empowerment and autonomy to effectively solve problems and make decisions during a crisis. Overall, the study adds to the field of education by giving useful insights for school leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders looking to improve leadership effectiveness in crisis management and how to cope with crises in educational settings in the future. Keywords: School leaders, educational leadership, problem-solving, decision-making, crisis management, educational policy.

This thesis studied the contribution of faith-based university towards community development in time of COVID-19 crises with distinct locus to Universitas Darussalam Gontor, East Java, Indonesia. It is designed towards finding out the roleof university for community development and how faith influenced its driving force, motivation, and achievement ends. It analyses the implementation of these developmental activities. This thesis has employed ABCD theory as framework, interviews as the primary source of data collection, and complemented by secondary data such as documents, and reports. As for data analysis, it utilized thematic analysis and content analysis to understand experiences, thoughts, or behaviors across a data set. The findings of this thesis revealed that the University plays an important role in community development. It is also found that faith lays down the foundation and generates initiatives of this university. UNIDA Gontor was founded on the Islamic faith, and its guiding principles are evident in its organizational purposes. The university substantiates its guiding principles through its assets. The assets were individuals, association, institution, physical, culture, and connection.UNIDA Gontor advanced, continued, and sustained contribution in serving the Indonesian community despite generational catastrophe, vulnerable groups, universities‟ closures and uncertain ending as a result of crises. Finally, this thesis has proposed a future study that is built on the same assumptions and to conduct additional research which include wider stakeholders of this university.

This research aims to conduct a comparative analysis on the fatawa concerning the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims that have been issued by muftun and fatwa institutions in Malaysia. Malaysia has a total of 15 fatwa institutions, each with its own jurisdiction over fatwa issuance and is not bound by fatwa issued by other institutions. Due to this circumstance, different fatawa have occasionally been issued in relation to the same issue, which leads to confusion among the general public. This is particularly crucial in light of the problems involving relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, as issues related to this matter have always been a contentious topic in Malaysia and it affects how Muslims and non-Muslims interact with each other. Therefore, this study attempts to evaluate the conflicting fatawa by highlighting the causes for the differences as well as their evidences and arguments. In conducting this research, library research method is utilized in order to gain a better insight into the Islamic perspective in regard to Muslims and non-Muslims relationship. As this research requires data on the conflicting fatawa issued, inductive method is used by gathering all conflicting fatawa issued by both muftun and fatwa institutions. The data is analyzed by applying comparative method on the conflicting fatawa issued in this matter. The primary finding of this study is that there have been ten conflicting fatawa issued on this subject, some of which can be diminished if the root of the conflict is identified. While the contradiction may cause confusion to the public, especially when it comes to matters regarding Islamic belief, it also opens the door for the practice of ijtihad in choosing the better opinion in actualizing maṣlaḥah (common good) for the people in Malaysia.

The implementation of infrastructure development projects through Public Private Partnership (PPP) that involve investments from the private sector has greatly benefited the country. Apart from being an alternative to conventional public infrastructure projects, PPP is also said to be a more efficient method of project implementation for the government as significant risks are transferred to the private partner. Even with the advantages, it cannot escape criticism, especially the implementation of PPP projects, which involve financial implications to the government in the form of “availability payments.” In 2018, the Government of Malaysia revealed the financial implications of PPP projects to the government with a total amount exceeding RM200 billion. This disclosure inspires the researcher to conduct this study, as this problem has not been adequately addressed in previous research. This study is qualitative case study research with Malaysian PPP experience as a single unit of analysis. The data focuses on the experience of government officials, especially their respective involvements in the process of evaluating and implementing PPP projects. A total of 29 officers from several government agencies were interviewed. Based on the data collected which was analyzed using Atlas.ti application, the main findings of this study are related to the loophole in the work process in recommending the implementation of PPP projects. This is in relation to the application of financial allocation. Since the requirement to pay “availability payment” will only appear after three or four years from the date of signing of the concession agreement. Since the allocation involved seems to be operational in nature, i.e., rental payments, the general view at the beginning was that the financial allocation would only be applied after three or four years, and the financial allocation to be applied for is under the annual operating expenditures. The issue has been resolved through a new approach, among others, by using the development expenditure for PPP-related payments, listing the PPP payment commitments as part of the annual development expenditure commitment for each Ministry, and the implementation of a single window approach where the proposed PPP projects are evaluated in conjunction with other infrastructure development projects in the five-year Malaysia plan. Apart from contributing several theories regarding PPP, the results of this study have provided a real case study example, especially on Malaysia's learning experience in dealing with financial commitment issues arising from the implementation of PPP projects.

Maintaining a halal lifestyle is required by Islam. To avoid engaging in any haram (prohibited) behaviors, such as free dating, cohabitation, or premarital sex, Muslims must employ halal (lawful) means when looking for a halal spouse. Halal dating services, including halal speed dating and halal internet dating, have lately emerged in a number of Muslim and non-Muslim nations. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in the number of Muslim immigrants in Japan who require halal matchmaking services for Muslim marriage, both offline and online. Therefore, the goal of this study is to develop guidelines for halal matchmaking services that guarantee religious protection while meeting the needs of Muslim couples looking to be married in Japan. The study used a qualitative approach, analyzing data through thematic and content analysis. The Chiba Islamic Cultural Center’s social media accounts were used to find possible attendees for a halal matching event. Muslims in Japan who were divorced or single and could speak Japanese well were specifically chosen to participate in in-depth interviews. Following the halal matchmaking, semi-structured in-depth interviews with each participant were used to gather feedback. In less than one month, 111 individuals created personal profiles. One hundred and nine (98.1%) of the responses were valid. They traveled from 20 prefectures across Japan. It demonstrated Japan's real need for halal matchmaking services. A total of 35 individuals responded to the initial interviews. Twenty attendees of the matching were asked to participate in in-depth interviews for feedback. According to the study, Muslim couples looking to get married in Japan required halal matchmaking services to get past three major obstacles: the low number of Muslims using Japanese matchmaking services, the time and money-consuming nature of the process, and the anxiety associated with marriage because individualistic marriages lack the trust and assurance that communal arranged marriages do. Nearly all attendees expressed satisfaction with their actual matchmaking experience, and by hearing about their experiences, the study identified new requirements for pre-marriage counseling and education as well as group Q&A sessions with prepared marriage related questions. There are a few research limitations and suggestions for further study. One of these is that not enough samples were gathered from all of Japan’s prefectures for this study, which made it challenging to perform a comprehensive analysis. To address this, it is advised to work with nearby masjids and Islamic centers throughout Japan to gather larger samples. Another drawback was that the findings did not show the steps involved in getting married beyond the first planned encounter. It is advised to interview married Muslims in-depth to learn more about the reasoning behind their decision to marry in Japan.

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) suffers from low energy gain yield (output/cost) and is unsuitable for most practical implementations. Microbial zinc/air cell employing freely suspended white rot fungal Phanerochaete chrysosporium fed with empty fruit bunch (EFB) has demonstrated promising prospects as a sustainable MFC. This work aimed to increase the energy gain yield of the system by minimizing external control features, implementing low-cost design, and increasing the energy output. To fulfil the power output for most low-power applications, multiple MFCs need to be connected in a stacking configuration. However, the variation in individual MFC’s electromotive force (e.m.f) due to living microbes activities induces parasitic currents in parallel configuration. This work introduced a novel open-parallel unit-cell configuration for MFC stacking. All unit cells were connected in parallel configuration but hydrodynamically connected i.e. they shared a common electrolyte. Using this configuration, the discharge capacity of the MFC stack was extended 3.4 times, the total power output was increased by 2.6 times compared to the common parallel configuration, and the parasitic current was effectively eliminated. The microbial zinc/air cell is an air-cathode MFC. The air cathode is the most expensive component in an air-cathode MFC and, in most cases, requires an air aeration system. Therefore, this work designed and fabricated a low-cost and easy-to-fabricate air cathode. It is low cost because it is non-catalytic and the fabrication did not require special processes, only mere mechanical press of the cell holders. Further, the air cathode components of carbon felt, carbon fibre sheet and nickel mesh, were designed for operating under submerged conditions and depending only on dissolved oxygen. Therefore, air aeration is not required. The proposed air cathode was capable of sustaining a discharge current of 1 mA for 42 days (1008 mAh) under submerged conditions thus supporting its viability. Aside from the low-cost design, the cylindrical air cathode configuration also offers the advantage of compact multipolar design. Since the microbial zinc/air cell was fed with lignin rich EFB as a substrate for Phanerochaete chrysosporium, this work assessed its efficacy as a lignin rich agrowaste degradation cell. The rates of lignin degradation were evaluated under self-generated current and externally supplied current. It was found that electric current stimulus enhances the lignin degradation. Externally supplied current induced higher lignin degradation. However, when the current supplied was 5 mA or higher, it disrupted the lignin degradation rates.

Ovarian cancer (OC) poses a significant risk as it usually remains asymptomatic until advanced stages, resulting in delayed diagnosis and lowering the chances of survival. This fifth most common cancer among women globally lacks efficient screening approaches for early stages OC (stage I and II), increasing the threat of OC progression and mortality. In this study, the in silico method was applied to design DNA aptamer hairpins for the detection of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4), an OC biomarker. The in silico work outcome was supported by an in vitro assay. The work began with the HE4 protein modelling using AlphaFold, I-TASSER, and Robetta protein structure prediction servers. Subsequently, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was conducted on each predicted model for 100 ns using the OPLS force field, for structure refinement. The tertiary structure quality was validated by PROCHECK and ERRAT, showing the refined model from AlphaFold, RF1, was the highest-quality HE4 tertiary conformation. All amino acids were located in the favoured regions of Ramachandran plot with ERRAT overall quality score of 97.701. Next, this HE4 structure was docked using AutoDock Vina with four HE4 aptamer candidates (A1, A2, A3, and A4). The HE4-A4 binding energy was -6.0 kcal/mol, and the complex formed 24 hydrogen bonds (H-bonds); 5 identified at the aptamer hairpin loop region. A4 was chosen as the most suitable candidate to be utilised in the designing of the DNA hairpin, as it exhibited good affinity with highest number of H-bonds at the hairpin loop. To initiate the in silico design of new hairpins, the 25-mer A4 aptamer was truncated at the hairpin region, 5’-CGCAAG-3’ and the stem was extended, forming the 5’-GCGCAAGC-3’ sequence. The loop nucleotides, -GCAA-, were substitutionally mutated, producing 256 sequences. These 256 hairpins were docked with HE4 individually, and H16, H101, and H256 have shown good binding affinities with binding energies ranging between -10.6 and -11.6 kcal/mol. Consequently, 100 ns MD simulation using CHARMM27 force field was applied to the HE4-H16, HE4-H101, and HE4-H256 complexes. Based on the RMSD, radius of gyration, number of H-bonds, H-bond occupancy, and the overall total energy, H256 was deduced as the most promising DNA hairpin against HE4 marker with great affinity and stability throughout the simulation. This H256 hairpin was synthesised and its binding with HE4 was analysed via in vitro electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Based on the DNA band intensities, the designed H256 (3.27 %) bound four times better to HE4 than the A4 aptamer (0.84 %). Finally, a preliminary study for future diagnostic potential was carried out by conjugating gold nanoparticle (GNP) with H256. The FTIR and Raman spectra confirmed the presence of amide group, formed by the successful conjugation of the carboxylated GNP with the aminated-H256. The GNP solution changed from red to purple-red, indicating the size increment after conjugation, that was confirmed by particle size analyser. In conclusion, H256 is a promising DNA hairpin in HE4 screening and is recommended for future development of a fully functional OC diagnostic kit, suitable to be used in routine screening for all women, with or without symptoms. This potentially improves the detection among early stages (I and II) patients, enhancing patients’ outcome.

This quantitative study aimed to investigate the impact of professional training (PT), strategic direction of organization (SDO), and strategic leadership of academic leaders (SLAL) on the staff performance (SP) of the State Islamic Higher Education institutions in Aceh Indonesia. Of the 826 targeted participants, 526 lecturers from five institutions (UIN Ar-Raniry, IAIN Langsa, IAIN Lhoksemawe, IAIN Takengon, and STAIN Tgk Dirundeng) participated. The study utilized descriptive statistics, using SPSS version 22.0, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using AMOS version 23.0 to analyze the data and test the research hypotheses. CFA results confirmed the validity and reliability of the constructs of PT, SDO, SLAL, and SP, which were represented by five, four, nine, and four distinct factors, respectively. The study found significant direct causal effects between PT and SP (standardized direct effect of 0.35) and between SDO and SP (also 0.35), aligning with prior research emphasizing the importance of training and strategic direction in enhancing employee performance. Furthermore, SLAL was found to mediate the relationships between both PT and SP and SDO and SP, underscoring the critical role of strategic leadership in improving staff performance. The implications of this study suggest that leadership development and strategic direction should be prioritized in higher education to improve staff performance. Limitations include the absence of external variables that may influence performance and the need for longitudinal data to observe changes over time. Further research is recommended to delve deeper into the constructs of PT and SDO, particularly their impact on staff performance in higher education settings. The findings have significant implications for the Ministry of Education in Indonesia, providing insights to enhance leadership practices and professional development within state Islamic higher education institutions.

This study investigates the causes of the weakening and loss of Islamic identity among Muslim youth in Serbia. Such an investigation entails a prior understanding of the factors underlying the weakening and loss of religious identity and their causal relationship with the fundamental elements in the building of religious identity among youth, and these factors can be categorized into internal and external. Hence, factors that influence the weakening of religious identity and eventual loss are, in most cases, the same factors that influence its building. In regards to the research methods adopted in this study, the researcher utilizes archival qualitative research into relevant books, articles and other written material and the qualitative survey research methods, which involves interviews with Muslim youth in Serbia and their teachers and other staff responsible for students’ discipline; the study thus analyzes reports and views of young Muslim students and opinions of their lecturers of Islamic subjects. The methods to be used in the study pertain to Islamic studies and humanities. Moreover, there are instances of comparative approaches, especially when the interviews conducted within the area of southwestern Serbia, known as Sandzak, will be compared with the interviews conducted in northeastern Serbia and southern Serbia. Interviews have been conducted with lecturers, boarding school governesses, and students at Islamic high schools or madrasah, and lecturers and students in public general high schools. The findings of the interviews highlight the realities of today’s situation regarding Islamic identity among Muslim youth and the challenges they face in maintaining their religious principles and identity. The youth are reasonably well aware of their religious identity and principles. However, they also face challenges such as exposure to alcohol, betting and gambling outlets, and negative influences from media and entertainment. The findings also reveal significant influence of Religious Education teachers in general high schools and Islamic high schools pertaining to the students' commitment to practicing Islam, their understanding of Islamic teachings, and the challenges they face in implementing those teachings in their daily lives. Another significant factor found from the interviews is the influence of family, community, and religious institutions in shaping the youth's religious identity and beliefs. Finally, the study identifies a contrast in perspectives regarding the strength or weakening of Islamic identity among Muslim youth, where some believe there is strengthening of identity through religious education, while others express concerns about the challenges and influences that may lead to a loss of Islamic identity among the youth.