Carbon-based materials such as graphene oxide are known as attractive candidate to improve the current optoelectronic and laser devices. In this work, neodymium nanoparticles doped zinc-tellurite glass coated with graphene oxide (GO) denoted as ZBTNd (NPs)-GO was prepared via low-cost melt-quenching method and simple spray coating method. The structural properties of the glass system had been carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and confirmed its amorphous structural arrangement with non-existence of crystalline structure. The TeO3 and BO3 structural units were found dominant in tellurite glass network as determined by Fourier transforms infrared spectrometer (FTIR). High number of oxygen functional groups and stacked of graphene layers on the glass surface were revealed by field scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and Raman spectroscopy. The optical band gap energy values were found to decrease in the range of 2.665?2.405�eV along with dopant concentration. In the meantime,.....

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Air pollution is one of the phenomena that adversely affect the environment and negatively impact human health. Air pollution occurs when there are excessive air pollutants in the atmosphere. This study aims to identify and discuss the sources of PM10 emissions according to land use around Ipoh using descriptive and boxplot analysis. There are five areas selected as a sampling location for this study: Ipoh, Lahat, Chemor, Tanjung Rambutan, and Simpang Pulai that located in Hulu Kinta and Sungai Raya district. This sampling location's primary focus is located around Ipoh city, concentrated in the industrial area. Ten land use-based sampling stations are selected to measure. PM10 data were recorded for one week during working and non-working days in July 2020 on 10 sampling stations around Ipoh. The result shows PM10 concentrations consist of industrial, infrastructure and utility, commercial, residential, and recreational areas, as shown PM10 values were recorded for one week during wor.....

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This paper examines the relationship between the stock price and nominal exchange rate in Malaysia to ascertain the significance of using rubber price as a correction mechanism. The Johansen cointegration test was employed to investigate the effects of linear combination and the relationships among the components in a multiple time series. A two-regime, intercept-adjusted Markov switching vector error correction model was also used to examine the parameters concerned. Rubber price is used as a correction mechanism. Because rubber is one of Malaysia?s main exports, using rubber price as a correction mechanism may affect the country?s economy. The results of this study show that the said variables have cointegrating relations. Further, the nominal exchange rate has a negative relationship with the changes in stock price. Markov switching vector error correction model was found to be suitable for examining the data as the findings had a small variance. ? 2021 by De La Salle University...

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English is an SVO (Subject, Verb, Object) word order language. This canonical SVO pattern is the default unmarked word-order configuration typical of English, which makes this language to be classified under the typology of SVO languages. However, driven by the major purpose of language as an instrument of human communication and social interaction, and as a semantic system for making meanings, addressors sometimes depart in their discourse from this basic canonical order of constituents where a grammaticalized system like inversion takes place, resulting in inverted constructions. Through testing and developing the Degree of Focus Hypothesis, proposed by Huffman (1993), this study, which employed a mixed methods research design, sought to explore the communicative and semantic values of inversion; and the pragmalinguistc functions of preposing, i.e., clause-initial adjuncts, to the pragmatic process of communication. The study confirmed the Degree of Focus Hypothesis where the hypothe.....

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The benchmarking of smart e-tourism data management applications falls under the problem of multicriteria decision-making (MCDM). This claim is supported by three issues: 12 smart key concepts need to be considered in the evaluation, criteria importance, and data variation among these criteria. Thus, an MCDM solution is essential to overcome problem complexity. To end this, this study presents a decision-making framework on the basis of the extension of interval type 2 trapezoidal-fuzzy weighted with zero inconsistency (IT2TR-FWZIC) integrated with the Vlsekriterijumska Optimizcija I Kaompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method for evaluating and benchmarking the smart e-tourism data management applications. Our methodology comprises two consecutive phases. In the first phase, a decision matrix is constructed using the intersection between the 12 key concepts and smart e-tourism data management applications of each category and subcategory in smart e-tourism. In the second phase, the integratio.....

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The main purpose of this study is to investigate in-service teachers' familiarization of the CEFR-aligned school-based assessment (SBA) in the Malaysian secondary ESL classroom. It also intends to explore teachers' knowledge, understanding, and perceptions of the CEFR-aligned SBA. The study also examined the implementation of the SBA and the challenges that TESL teachers faced embracing the CEFR-aligned SBA in their ESL classroom. An exploratory mixed-method research design was employed. Data were collected by administering a survey to 108 in-service teachers, and 12 in-service teachers participated in the interview. The results show that the in-service teachers have rather a good level of familiarization with CEFR-aligned SBA and a moderate level of awareness and comprehension of the CEFR-aligned SBA. However, the in-service teachers are aware of the importance of CEFR-aligned SBA to assist students to improve their proficiency. In-service teachers exhibit a good understanding of sele.....

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The zinc doped nickel oxide (Zn:NiO) nanostructures with 0 at.% (UD), 1 at.% (1ZNO), and 2 at.% (2ZNO) of Zn concentrations were successfully deposited on the NiO seed-coated glass substrates. The films were successfully produced from two synthesis techniques: the sol-gel spin coating for NiO seed-coated and the solution immersion for the Zn:NiO nanostructures. The films were then pre-baked at 150 �C and subsequently annealed at 500 �C. The Zn doping concentrations affecting NiO in terms of morphological, structural, and optical properties were investigated. The surface morphologies and cross-sectional images of the Zn:NiO nanostructures were observed by field emission scanning microscopy. The observation showed that the groups of nanoflower (NF), which were grown above the nanosheet (NS) array were gradually decreased with the increasing percentage of the Zn doping. The thickness of the NS also drastically decreases as the Zn dopant is increased. The thicknesses measured are 910 n.....

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From 2010 through to 2021, this study critically assessed Malaysia's government efforts to increase industrial involvement in the country's TVET system. The goal of this research is to look at what the Malaysian government has done to strengthen industrial involvement in the country's TVET system from 2010 to 2021, as well as to make recommendations for any future changes. A textual narrative synthesis, based on three elements: strategy, execution, and the impact of those policies in promoting industrial involvement in the Malaysian TVET system, was used to conduct a systematic review. Five government policies since 2010 have been extracted from 231 linked-literature sources, each of which presented a strategy to improve industry-TVET cooperation. All of these government measures, according to the report, adopted a corporatist paradigm, in order to encourage corporate participation in the national TVET system. This was done by providing various incentives, including tax breaks, trainin.....

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An index is one of the approaches to measuring behaviour and is commonly used in economics and social sciences. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the key factors for indexing environmental sustainability literacy knowledge among Malaysian youth using exploratory and confirmatory analyses. Respondents consisted of 100 Malaysian youth who were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire using a Likert scale was used to get the responses. The results show that study items achieved acceptable reliability with Cronbach Alpha values for each variable greater than .70 and meet the test of normality. Then, the data obtained were processed through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to observe the factor structure of environmental sustainability literacy knowledge. Next, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was also conducted to validate the accumulated variables. In conclusion, the findings from both analyses have identified and validated the four key factors i.....

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Purpose: This paper aims to examine bases of effectiveness in internal Shariah auditing undertaken in Islamic financial institutions (IFIs). Design/methodology/approach: This paper is theoretical in approach taking, as its starting-point, an extensive literature review. From a general agency theory, an Islamic agency theory is articulated and then applied to ascertain attributes of internal Shariah audit effectiveness revolving around the concept of independence. Findings: Effective internal Shariah auditing, as a mechanism of assuring Shariah compliance by IFIs, varies directly with the degree of independence enjoyed by internal Shariah auditors themselves. The research propounds that an articulated Islamic agency theory holds potential to serve as a theoretical foundation to build a multi-dimensional conceptual framework based on independence utile for evaluating internal Shariah audit effectiveness. Research limitations/implications: Evidence is drawn strictly from secondary sources.....

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