Suchergebnisse

In developing countries, especially most of South East Asia countries, every year landslides, mudslides and flood occur during monsoon rainy season and cause casualties not only in rural areas, but also in urban areas. Public awareness and education activities are important to reduce the casualties of such natural disasters. Nowadays, IT communication technology plays an important role in disseminating information and education. Lately, applying IT communication technology for public awareness on natural hazard becomes a trend among government authorities in these countries. We begin our study in Malaysia on how to reduce landslides casualty for future natural hazard management in These developing countries. For a better understanding on the occurrence of landslides, besides the mechnism On how landslides occur, collecting historical data with location coordinates were carried out and stored in database periodically. Public can browse these historical data via internet and know which areas are more prone to landslides occurrence. At the same time, IT communication technology was used to disseminate alert information after receiving rainfall intensity data from the monitering sites. It was also more efficient to conduct the public and school children awareness education by using such technology, as the simulation of rainfall induced slope failure mechanism and educational video on symptoms of landslides before they occur may give a clearer picture and better understanding to the public and school children.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) chilli shrimp paste has a short shelf life; thus, chemical additives are usually added to extend it. However, certain additives have potential health implications. In this regard, plant essential oils (EOs) which exhibit antibacterial properties can be used as an alternative for extending the shelf life of RTE chilli shrimp paste. The present work intended to (1) establish the microbial profile of RTE chilli shrimp paste, (2) determine the antibacterial activities of black cumin, clove, and ginger EOs against the isolated specific spoilage organisms (SSO) of RTE chilli shrimp paste, and (3) determine their effect on the shelf life of RTE chilli shrimp paste. Biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were used to identify the SSO in RTE chilli shrimp paste. Disc diffusion assay was performed for antibacterial analysis of EOs. To monitor the shelf life of the paste, total plate count (TPC) and yeast and mould count (YMC) were carried out for five days. The results showed that the SSO of RTE chilli shrimp paste were dominated by Staphylococcus spp. followed by Klebsiella aerogenes and Enterobacter tabaci. EOs of black cumin, clove, and ginger showed inhibitory effects against the SSO with the highest inhibition by ginger EO of 27.50 ± 9.19 to 58.00 ± 7.21 mm. Application of ginger EO in RTE chilli shrimp paste showed a 3-log reduction of bacterial population and 4-log reduction for fungal population. It was concluded that ginger EO can be a highly potential candidate to be added into RTE chilli shrimp paste as a natural additive to extend its shelf life.

Regime shifts&mdash ; rapid long-term transitions between stable states&mdash ; are well documented in ecology but remain controversial and understudied in land use and land cover change (LUCC). In particular, uncertainty surrounds the prevalence and causes of regime shifts at the landscape level. We studied LUCC dynamics in the Tanintharyi Region (Myanmar), which contains one of the last remaining significant contiguous forest areas in Southeast Asia but was heavily deforested between 1992&ndash ; 2015. By combining remote sensing methods and a literature review of historical processes leading to LUCC, we identified a regime shift from a forest-oriented state to an agricultural-oriented state between 1997&ndash ; 2004. The regime shift was triggered by a confluence of complex political and economic conditions within Myanmar, notably the ceasefires between various ethnic groups and the military government, coupled with its enhanced business relations with Thailand and China. Government policies and foreign direct investment enabling the establishment of large-scale agro-industrial concessions reinforced the new agriculture-oriented regime and prevented reversion to the original forest-dominated regime. Our approach of integrating complementary analytical frameworks to identify and understand land-cover regime shifts can help policymakers to preempt future regime shifts in Tanintharyi, and can be applied to the study of land change in other regions.

Purpose
This paper aims to evaluate the awareness level of university students on energy conservation by focusing on their knowledge, attitude and practice. Energy awareness is a feasible energy conservation measure, but an inappropriate approach can cause the wastage of resources. The current number of reported awareness studies especially among the university student is quite limited, and focus is more given to the awareness on renewable energy, instead of energy conservation.


Design/methodology/approach
A paper-based survey using a set of questionnaires that involved 2,857 respondents. There are four sections in this questionnaire, which are basic background information of respondents, knowledge (yes/true or no/false choice of responses), attitude (a scale of 1–10, where 10 indicates "strongly agree" and 1 chooses "strongly disagree") and practices (a scale of 1–10, where 10 indicates "Always" and 1 selects "Never"). The evaluation includes the correlation analysis of all awareness variables with an educational background to disclose the most critical aspects that should be highly considered in the forthcoming awareness campaign.


Findings
This research revealed that university students have a high level of awareness of energy conservation. They hold a high knowledge level and show a positive attitude with very good energy conservation practices. However, some issues require serious attention in preparing energy management plans. Effective approaches should be taken by considering the field of study, gender and family economic status to enhance the awareness level of the university students on energy conservation.


Originality/value
The absence of appropriate references complicates the preparation of energy management plans including the establishment of energy policy and strategies. The findings of this research can contribute some contextual information in the local perspective to ensure the effectiveness of the energy management program and strengthen academic leadership by emphasising the element of sustainability. This is crucial for developing an energy saving culture among the young generation that will be our future scholars and leaders.