The positive impacts that volunteerism carries are undeniable, as it does not only mould quality human capital for the nation, but through it, we are also preparing future generation to lead the country. Malaysia currently has 1.2 million university students, however, unfortunately there is a lack of recent study of the involvement of the university students in volunteerism. Realizing the importance of the involvement of the undergraduate student in volunteerism as it acts as a tool to inculcate the sense of morality in self and social responsibility towards the country, this study seeks to highlight the importance of volunteerism as a tool for educating the youth. It also analyzes a global overview of youths volunteerism with a comparison being made to the local scenario. Most importantly, factors that motivated them in volunteering are also discussed so as to provide a guideline in empowering youth volunteerism.
The grouted splice sleeve connector system takes advantage of the bond-slip resistance of the grout and the mechanical gripping of reinforcement bars to provide resistance to tensile force. In this system, grout acts as a load-transferring medium and bonding material between the bars and sleeve. This study adopted the end-to-end rebars connection method to investigate the effect of development length and sleeve diameter on the bonding performance of the sleeve connector. The end-to-end method refers to the condition where reinforcement bars are inserted into the sleeve from both ends and meet at the centre before grout is filled. Eight specimens of grouted splice sleeve connector were tested under tensile load to determine their performance. The sleeve connector was designed using 5 mm thick circular hollow section (CHS) steel pipe and consisted of one external and two internal sleeves. The tensile test results show that connectors with a smaller external and internal sleeve diameter appear to provide better bonding performance. Three types of failure were observed in this research, which are bar fracture (outside the sleeve), bar pullout, and internal sleeve pullout. With reference to these failure types, the development length of 200 mm is the optimum value due to its bar fracture type, which indicates that the tensile capacity of the connector is higher than the reinforcement bar. It is found that the performance of the grouted splice sleeve connector is influenced by the development length of the reinforcement bar and the diameter of the sleeve.
Rotational Multiple Yield Surface Framework (RMYSF) is an anisotropic soil volume change model developed to integrate shear strength in characterising the soil volume change behaviour from the standpoint of the stress-strain response. The anisotropic soil volume change behaviour is described from the interaction between applied stress represented by the Mohr-Coulomb circle and shear strength in terms of curved-surface mobilized shear strength envelope. This research work is to enhance the current method of RMYSF using normalisation of axial strain to predict stress-strain behaviour. A series of triaxial tests has been conducted on Malaysian sedimentary sandy residual soil grade VI. The stress-strain curves and volume change behaviours were analysed using this enhanced method. Subsequently, the enhance method is apply to predict the soil stress strain respond and make comparison with the actual laboratory stress-strain curve. Essentially the normalised method of RMYSF has improved the accuracy of the prediction as presented in the paper.
The theoretical framework of social capital suggests that individuals bound together in dense social networks, and infused with the norms of reciprocity and trust, are better able and more inclined to act collectively for mutual benefits and social purposes as opposed to atomized individuals. The objective of the social capital model is to improve and maintain society well-being and the economic efficiency. ‘Social capital’ is a contemporary idea defined by Robert Putnam (2000) as those connections among individuals, social networks and the norms ofreciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. This notion is therefore seen as “sociological superglue” that holds society together. The effectiveness depends strongly on a structural and cultural phenomenon. Recently, volunteerism has flourished within youths which have given beneficial effects to local communities. It is worth to scrutinize the elements of social capital within voluntary activities. Thus, youth volunteerism is studied and highlighted based on the social capital model suggested by Putnam (2000). This study is to inspect factors that bind youth in society as with the case study of Teach for the Needs (Malaysia) Berhad (TFTN). A field study is conducted whereby questionnaires were distributed to 100 respondents. Data collected were analysed using SPSS programme. Findings indicate that the norm of reciprocity and trust have a positive relationship with youths’ skills and commitments.
MySLT (Student Learning Time), a manual book for time management, was earlier created to assist students at the university level manage their time for academic activities effectively. It acted as a tool to guide students in time management, and as a preventive measure towards the problems of procrastination, disorganization, interruptions and workload stress. Supplementary to this MySLT manual was an SLT calculator to help students project the amount of time that should be allocated for each course for each semester. However, students who had used this MySLT tool perceived the hardcopy version of the manual as bulky and inconvenient. They suggested a more practical and convenient platform. Thus, a complete mobile application version of this manual, now named MyMobileSLT, was developed, to make it more convenient and versatile. The objective of this paper is to discuss the development of MyMobileSLT, which involved five stages including Identification, Design, Development, Testing and Maintenance. Although the development of this application is still at its infant stage, a pilot study involving 30 undergraduates from a local university shows an overwhelming response. The findings indicate that MyMobileSLT is perceived as convenient and practical compared to the previous MySLT manual. Further works recommended include features like pop up reminders or alarm in personal calendar.
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