NobleBlocks

University of Wollongong Malaysia

UniversityShah Alam, Malaysia

Research output, citation impact, and the most-cited recent papers from University of Wollongong Malaysia (Malaysia). Aggregated across the NobleBlocks index of 300M+ scholarly works.

Total works
824
Citations
11.0K
h-index
48
i10-index
263
Also known as
KDU University CollegeKolej Damansara UtamaUOW MalaysiaUniversity of Wollongong Malaysia

Top-cited papers from University of Wollongong Malaysia

Ilmu Kesehatan Masyarakat
Rahmawati Rahmawati
2021256doi:10.31219/osf.io/dc7tf

Alhamdulillah, segala puji dan syukur penulis panjatkan kehadirat Allah Swt. karena buku ini telah selesai disusun. Buku ini disusun agar dapat membantu para mahasiswa dalam mempelajari seluk beluk tentang ilmu kesehatan masyarakat khususnya mahasiswa keperawatan beserta mempermudah mempelajari materi ilmu kesehatan masyarakat terutama bagi kaum awam yang belum mengenal ilmu kesehatan masyarakat itu sendiri.Penulis pun menyadari jika di dalam penyusunan buku ini mempunyai kekurangan, namun penulis meyakini sepenuhnya bahwa sekecil apapun buku ini tetap akan memberikan sebuah manfaat bagi pembaca. Akhir kata untuk penyempurnaan buku ini, maka kritik dan saran dari pembaca sangatlah berguna untuk penulis ke depannya.

A review on production and implementation of hydrogen as a green fuel in internal combustion engines
Yew Heng Teoh, Heoy Geok How, Thanh Danh Le, Huu Tho Nguyen +3 more
2022· Fuel247doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126525

Huge and continuously growing non-renewable energy consumption due to human daily activities is accountable for the fossil fuel source crisis in recent decades. The growing concern about the emissions from internal combustion engines also impels the development of new energy sources to replace or reduce conventional non-renewable energy usage. In this context, hydrogen is found to be a promising solution in internal combustion engines to address these issues. The novelty of this review is to provide an overview of the use of hydrogen as internal combustion fuel, covering the operations in both spark-ignition (SI) and compression-ignition (CI) engines. Majority of the studies had shown that hydrogen enrichment fuels marked incredible engine performance in terms of thermal efficiency, fuel consumption and energy consumption. In addition, reductions in exhaust emissions such as smoke, soot, HC, CO, CO 2 and NOx can be achieved in both SI and CI engines with proper operating conditions. Moreover, outstanding combustion behaviours were observed in both internal combustion engines with the application of hydrogen fuel. These enhancements were mainly attributed to the physicochemical properties of hydrogen, which exhibits higher calorific value and rapid flaming speed as discussed in this paper. To summarize, hydrogen utilisation in the IC and SI engines aided improvements in engine performance, exhaust emissions, and combustion behaviours under appropriate operating conditions and minor engine modifications such as ignition system and iridium spark plug for SI engines.

Impact of brand experience on loyalty
Chuan Huat Ong, Heng Wei Lee, T. Ramayah
2018· Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management213doi:10.1080/19368623.2018.1445055

Economic value has moved beyond delivering quality services to include distinctive brand experiences. Brand experiences are vital in developing brand loyalty and achieving business sustainability. Business performance, in particular, is influenced by customer loyalty directly through purchase behavior, as well as indirectly through attitude towards a brand. Customers may encounter different types of experience with a brand through sensation, affection, behavior, and intellect. Hence, this paper seeks to determine the relationships between each component of brand experience and customers’ true brand loyalties. Customers revisiting successful SMEs in the restaurant industry provided 228 units of feedback for this study. Findings revealed that different types of brand experience influence each customer’s true brand loyalty differently. Managerial implications are addressed in the discussion section.

Service recovery, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: evidence from Malaysia’s hotel industry
Boon Liat Cheng, Chin Chuan Gan, Brian C. Imrie, Shaheen Mansori
2018· International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences207doi:10.1108/ijqss-09-2017-0081

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of service recovery dimensions on customer satisfaction and, subsequently, on customer loyalty in the context of the hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 500 respondents who had the experiences of staying in the hotels in Malaysia. The structural equation modelling technique was used to study the relationship between the model and the developed hypotheses. Findings The findings revealed that service recovery dimensions are significantly related to customer satisfaction and have a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Practical implications As the main sector in the hospitality business, hotels play a vital role in the tourism industry. Therefore, the developments in tourism and hotels go hand in hand, as they are mutually dependent on each other. With significant yearly developments in the tourism industry and at a constant rate, hotel operators should reconsider their business strategies to achieve customer loyalty and sustain their businesses. In view of that, the findings of this study not only benchmarks better hotel services but also provides an improved understanding of service recovery that will effectively aid hotel operators in handling service failures; otherwise, customer dissatisfaction may occur if poor service recovery strategies are implemented. Originality/value The intense competition in the service industry has driven companies to place extra attention on service recovery so as to ensure continuous success. With a yearly significant development in the tourism industry at a constant rate, hotel providers (one of the major beneficiaries) are driven to reconsider their business strategies to achieve customer loyalty and sustain their business.

Internet of Things (IoT) using LoRa technology
Alireza Zourmand, Andrew Lai Kun Hing, Chan Wai Hung, Mohammad AbdulRehman
2019191doi:10.1109/i2cacis.2019.8825008

LoRa is the new communication technology under the Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). It emphasizes on the long-range communication with the high receiving sensitivity ability which allows it to work under the noise interference or noise floor effectively. The range of communication has become the critical part on most of the IoT system, especially in Wi- Fi and Bluetooth-based IoT system. With the emergence of LoRa technology, further improvements to applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) can be realized. By using a single receiver in the LoRa network, it is able to handle many nodes at multiple locations within the area, unlike Wi-Fi-based system which needs to have many access points to increase the coverage area. The combination of LoRa and Wi-Fi technology reduces the cost of deployment of the IoT system. In this paper, the actual deployment of IoT system using LoRa technology with the combination of Wi-Fi technology. Besides, this paper presents the performance and the actual coverage area of the LoRa network in both the indoor and outdoor condition. For the indoor condition, a different set of LoRa parameter including Spreading Factor and Bandwidth is tested at different locations. As a result, the quality of the LoRa network does not only depend on the distance from the gateway but also the effect of path loss due to the structural element. Moreover, a single LoRa gateway located at the middle floor of the building is able to handle the LoRa end-devices at any location within the campus with Spreading Factor of 9. A better indoor coverage can be improved by adding an additional LoRa gateway in the campus. While for the outdoor condition, the maximum coverage area in the LoRa network for Spreading Factor of 12 is 330 meters with an indoor gateway deployment.

A Study on the Tribological Performance of Nanolubricants
Yeoh Jun Jie Jason, Heoy Geok How, Yew Heng Teoh, Hun Guan Chuah
2020· Processes156doi:10.3390/pr8111372

In recent years, the tribology field has expanded with the advent of nanolubrication. Nanolubricants are the name given to the dispersion of nanoparticles in a base oil, and has attracted researchers due to its potential application. In addition to being used in the tribology field, nanoparticles are also used for medical, space, and composites purposes. The addition of nanoparticles in base oils is promising because it enhances specific tribological characteristics including wear-resistance and friction, and the most important reason is that the majority of them are environmentally friendly. This paper reviews the tribological effect of various nanoparticles as lubricant additives. Parameters of nanoparticles that affect tribological performance, the technique to enhance stability, and lubrication mechanism that is currently believed to function will be delineated in detail. Moreover, this review facilitates an understanding of the role of various nanoparticles, which helps in developing and designing suitable nanolubricants for various applications.

Heart Disease Risk Prediction Using Machine Learning Classifiers with Attribute Evaluators
Karna Vishnu Vardhana Reddy, Irraivan Elamvazuthi, Azrina Abd Aziz, Sivajothi Paramasivam +2 more
2021· Applied Sciences136doi:10.3390/app11188352

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) kill about 20.5 million people every year. Early prediction can help people to change their lifestyles and to ensure proper medical treatment if necessary. In this research, ten machine learning (ML) classifiers from different categories, such as Bayes, functions, lazy, meta, rules, and trees, were trained for efficient heart disease risk prediction using the full set of attributes of the Cleveland heart dataset and the optimal attribute sets obtained from three attribute evaluators. The performance of the algorithms was appraised using a 10-fold cross-validation testing option. Finally, we performed tuning of the hyperparameter number of nearest neighbors, namely, ‘k’ in the instance-based (IBk) classifier. The sequential minimal optimization (SMO) achieved an accuracy of 85.148% using the full set of attributes and 86.468% was the highest accuracy value using the optimal attribute set obtained from the chi-squared attribute evaluator. Meanwhile, the meta classifier bagging with logistic regression (LR) provided the highest ROC area of 0.91 using both the full and optimal attribute sets obtained from the ReliefF attribute evaluator. Overall, the SMO classifier stood as the best prediction method compared to other techniques, and IBk achieved an 8.25% accuracy improvement by tuning the hyperparameter ‘k’ to 9 with the chi-squared attribute set.

The core competence of successful owner-managed SMEs
Hee Song Ng, Daisy Mui Hung Kee
2017· Management Decision107doi:10.1108/md-12-2016-0877

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to measure the impact of transformational leadership, entrepreneurial competence and technical competence on firm performance via innovativeness in owner-managed small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from 178 owner-managers of SMEs operating in Malaysia using a self-report questionnaire. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings The results show that, except in the link between transformational leadership and process innovativeness, all relationships linking transformational leadership, entrepreneurial and technical competence with innovativeness, and linking innovativeness with firm performance are significant. Research limitations/implications The self-report questionnaires that were administered to owner-managers of SMEs constitute a limitation for this research, as they may not always produce reliable and valid responses due to single informant response and common method bias. Practical implications The study findings have strong theoretical and managerial implications for owner-managed SMEs seeking to adopt the four core metrics, namely, transformational leadership, entrepreneurial competence, technical competence and innovativeness, as the management core, all of which are necessary for meaningful, sustainable, disruptive transformation to do well in business, even with limited resources. Originality/value The value of this study lies in its effort to focus on the core competence of owner-managed SMEs, which remains relatively underexplored in the context of developing countries. Moreover, little is yet known about their combined effects on firm performance.

Hotel Service Recovery and Service Quality: Influences of Corporate Image and Generational Differences in the Relationship between Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
Cheng Boon Liat, Shaheen Mansori, Gan Chin Chuan, Brian C. Imrie
2017· Journal of Global Marketing105doi:10.1080/08911762.2016.1262932

As the number of tourists continues to grow globally, the hospitality industry players inevitably face more challenges. High competition among the competitors and the emergence of new technologies such as online booking platforms make the competition more intense among players in the hospitality sector. The quality of services provided is undoubtedly crucial to the success of the hotel. Hence, any service failure has to be addressed appropriately in order to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction and to keep the image of the hotel intact. It is therefore vital that service recovery programs are carefully planned to meet various types of service failures which may inevitably occur. In this study, questionnaires were distributed to customers who had experienced service failures. The aim was to investigate the influence of service quality and service recovery on satisfaction and, ultimately, the effect on customer loyalty. The research also tested the mediating effect of corporate image between the relationship of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. The findings showed that both service recovery and service quality had a significant impact on customer satisfaction. Similarly, it was found that customer satisfaction induced customer loyalty towards the hotel operator. The result also showed that corporate image mediated partially between the relationship of customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.

Current State and Challenges of Natural Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites as Feeder in FDM-Based 3D Printing
Nishata Royan Rajendran Royan, Jie Sheng Leong, Wai Nam Chan, Jie Ren Tan +1 more
2021· Polymers101doi:10.3390/polym13142289

As one of the fastest-growing additive manufacturing (AM) technologies, fused deposition modelling (FDM) shows great potential in printing natural fibre-reinforced composites (NFRC). However, several challenges, such as low mechanical properties and difficulty in printing, need to be overcome. Therefore, the effort to improve the NFRC for use in AM has been accelerating in recent years. This review attempts to summarise the current approaches of using NFRC as a feeder for AM. The effects of fibre treatments, composite preparation methods and addition of compatibilizer agents were analysed and discussed. Additionally, current methods of producing feeders from NFRCs were reviewed and discussed. Mechanical property of printed part was also dependent on the printing parameters, and thus the effects of printing temperature, layer height, infill and raster angle were discussed, and the best parameters reported by other researchers were identified. Following that, an overview of the mechanical properties of these composites as reported by various researchers was provided. Next, the use of optimisation techniques for NFRCs was discussed and analysed. Lastly, the review provided a critical discussion on the overall topic, identified all research gaps present in the use of NFRC for AM processes, and to overcome future challenges.

The future of health tourism in the industrial revolution 4.0 era
Brian Kee Mun Wong, Sarah Alia Sa’aid Hazley
2020· Journal of Tourism Futures99doi:10.1108/jtf-01-2020-0006

Purpose The technological advances in the Industrial Revolution (IR) 4.0 era escalate the advancement of the healthcare industry, including the health tourism phenomenon. Based on the current trend in connected health care (e.g. mobile healthcare technology; digital health, etc.), this paper aims to propose that the distance between healthcare providers around the globe and its potential patients can be vastly reduced to almost on a real time basis. Design/methodology/approach A secondary literature review is conducted to identify the key development of IR 4.0 technologies in the healthcare industry and its possible trend leading the health tourism sector. Findings The adoption of IR 4.0 technologies is expected to make seeking treatments overseas more affordable, accessible and health records readily available on a real-time and secured basis. However, it is worth to note that the growth of health tourism raises the eyebrows of society from the security, social and economic perspectives. Originality/value This paper contributes to our understanding that the emergence of IR 4.0 technologies changes the landscape of the health care and health tourism industry. Continuous technology advancement is expected to further shape the future trend and escalate the commercialization aspect of the health tourism industry.

Airport passengers' adoption behaviour towards self-check-in Kiosk Services: the roles of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and need for human interaction
Nursyuhada Taufik, Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah‬
2019· Heliyon99doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02960

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing passenger adoption and behaviour of self-service technology (SST) in airports. This study adopted the Theory Acceptance Model (TAM) and extended the model by including the need for human interaction (NI) construct in the study framework. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research framework is based on the theoretical concepts of SST usage from the inter-disciplinary field. Four hundred two questionnaires were collected from passengers who used the self-check-in kiosks in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA and KLIA2). The collected data were analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. FINDINGS: Different factors determine passengers' willingness and adoption of SSTs. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness significantly affect passenger adoption and behaviour of SSTs in airports. However, the passenger was much comfortable with the SST as the moderating effect of need for human interaction shows a negative result. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings contribute to an understanding of how and why passengers use SSTs, which is critical from a customer relationship management (CRM) perspective. Better strategies can be developed to manage and coordinate SSTs delivery in the airport by understanding the passengers' experience from the self-check-in kiosks. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper goes beyond the basic SSTs usage and intentions study by highlighting the nonimportance of human interaction in SSTs usage specifically by airport passengers.

Examining the mediating role of innovativeness in the link between core competencies and SME performance
Hee Song Ng, Daisy Mui Hung Kee, T. Ramayah
2019· Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development89doi:10.1108/jsbed-12-2018-0379

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of core competencies, namely, transformational leadership (TFL), entrepreneurial competence and technical competence on financial performance through the mediation effect of innovativeness, among owner-managed small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach A research model was developed to test nine research hypotheses. Self-report questionnaires designed for this study were sent to SME owner-managers in Malaysia. A total of 178 completed questionnaires were successfully collected. SPSS and SmartPLS were used to perform the data analysis to test the measurement model and structural model. Findings This paper provides empirical evidence that behavioural innovativeness mediates the relationship between TFL and financial performance, product innovativeness mediates the relationships among entrepreneurial competence, technical competence and financial performance and process innovativeness mediates the relationship between technical competence and financial performance. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study are potentially limited by perceptual measures, cross-sectional data and the risk of response bias from a single informant. Practical implications Owner-managed SMEs can focus on developing the core competencies to achieve financial performance through innovative products, processes and behaviours. Policymakers and practitioners can gain fresh insights into the complexity of sustaining the business activities and financial performance of SMEs through the core competencies and innovativeness. Originality/value The extant literature has revealed that entrepreneurship, leadership, expertise and innovativeness are considered key factors in promoting financial performance, yet little is known about the combined effects of the core competencies on financial performance through innovativeness for owner-managed SMEs in the context of a developing country. The study makes an important contribution to filling this research gap.

Gamification towards sustainable mobile application
Foong Li Law, Zarinah Mohd Kasirun, Chun Gan
201175doi:10.1109/mysec.2011.6140696

Gamification is not a newly emerging concept. Perhaps, it is a new term to some people. Gamification is a powerful new strategy to influence and motivate groups of people. It applies game mechanics to non-game activities to change the user's behavior of an application. It improves the engagement of user by keeping score of points earned through various activities on the application. The recent gamified websites or a related service such as Foursquare is a location-based application that pinpoints where you are and your activities. Users of the Foursquare can “check in” to various locations on their mobile phones and gain incentives like badges or deals. Gamification is utilised as a mean to build up user loyalty, and not so much to gain their long-term engagement. This article discusses how the gamification can help to drive the sustainability after a mobile application has been delivered and is in use. It is important to make mobile application continuously visible and sustainable if the concept of gamification has been used correctly. The more users can gain from the virtual and tangible rewards of using our application, the more we can be rewarded from our users. It also discusses how adding a “game layer” has improved the basic functions in society like educating people to become more responsible and helpful and use badges as virtual reward to users who contribute photos. Interactive mobile application designed to change the way of people report road accident cases with applying a simplicity and convenience principles. For instance, user just needs to snap photo and touch on screen to report a road accident case.

Thermal Analysis Technologies for Biomass Feedstocks: A State-of-the-Art Review
Jun Sheng Teh, Yew Heng Teoh, Heoy Geok How, Farooq Sher
2021· Processes66doi:10.3390/pr9091610

An effective analytical technique for biomass characterisation is inevitable for biomass utilisation in energy production. To improve biomass processing, various thermal conversion methods such as torrefaction, pyrolysis, combustion, hydrothermal liquefaction, and gasification have been widely used to improve biomass processing. Thermogravimetric analysers (TG) and gas chromatography (GC) are among the most fundamental analytical techniques utilised in biomass thermal analysis. Thus, GC and TG, in combination with MS, FTIR, or two-dimensional analysis, were used to examine the key parameters of biomass feedstock and increase the productivity of energy crops. We can also determine the optimal ratio for combining two separate biomass or coals during co-pyrolysis and co-gasification to achieve the best synergetic relationship. This review discusses thermochemical conversion processes such as torrefaction, combustion, hydrothermal liquefaction, pyrolysis, and gasification. Then, the thermochemical conversion of biomass using TG and GC is discussed in detail. The usual emphasis on the various applications of biomass or bacteria is also discussed in the comparison of the TG and GC. Finally, this study investigates the application of technologies for analysing the composition and developed gas from the thermochemical processing of biomass feedstocks.

Dentists' Perception of the Role they Play in Early Detection of Oral Cancer
Amyza Saleh, Yink Heay Kong, Nedunchelian Vengu, Haja Badrudeen +2 more
2014· Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention64doi:10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.1.229

BACKGROUND: Dentists are typically the first professionals who are approached to treat ailments within the oral cavity. Therefore they should be well-equipped in detecting suspicious lesions during routine clinical practice. This study determined the levels of knowledge on early signs and risk factors associated with oral cancer and identified which factors influenced dentist participation in prevention and early detection of oral cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey on dentists' knowledge and their practices in prevention and early detection of oral cancer was conducted using a 26-item self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A response rate of 41.7% was achieved. The level of knowledge on early signs and risk habits associated with oral cancer was high and the majority reported to have conducted opportunistic screening and advised patients on risk habit cessation. Factors that influenced the dentist in practising prevention and early detection of oral cancer were continuous education on oral cancer, age, nature of practice and recent graduation. Notably, dentists were receptive to further training in the area of oral cancer detection and cessation of risk habits. Taken together, the study demonstrated that the dental clinic is a good avenue to conduct programs on opportunistic screening, and continuous education in these areas is necessary to adequately equip dentists in running these programs. Further, this study also highlighted knowledge deficits and practice shortcomings which will help in planning and developing programs that further encourage better participation of dentists in prevention and early detection of oral cancer.

Computer Game as Learning and Teaching Tool for Object Oriented Programming in Higher Education Institution
Wong Yoke Seng, Maizatul Hayati Mohamad Yatim
2014· Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences56doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1417

The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate how the computer game could apply as a tool for teaching and learning object-oriented programming in higher education institution. Nowadays, computer games have widely applied in learning process due to the burgeoning computer use in the market. Therefore it is necessary to conduct a study on these matters to propose an efficient and effective educational computer game for higher institution learning and teaching process.

Implications of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Dengue Transmission in Malaysia
Song‐Quan Ong, Hamdan Ahmad, Ahmad Mohiddin Mohd Ngesom
2021· Infectious Disease Reports51doi:10.3390/idr13010016

We aim to investigate the effect of large-scale human movement restrictions during the COVID-19 lockdown on both the dengue transmission and vector occurrences. This study compared the weekly dengue incidences during the period of lockdown to the previous years (2015 to 2019) and a Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model that expected no movement restrictions. We found that the trend of dengue incidence during the first two weeks (stage 1) of lockdown decreased significantly with the incidences lower than the lower confidence level (LCL) of SARIMA. By comparing the magnitude of the gradient of decrease, the trend is 319% steeper than the trend observed in previous years and 650% steeper than the simulated model, indicating that the control of population movement did reduce dengue transmission. However, starting from stage 2 of lockdown, the dengue incidences demonstrated an elevation and earlier rebound by four weeks and grew with an exponential pattern. We revealed that Aedes albopictus is the predominant species and demonstrated a strong correlation with the locally reported dengue incidences, and therefore we proposed the possible diffusive effect of the vector that led to a higher acceleration of incidence rate.

An analysis on housing affordability in Malaysian housing markets and the home buyers’ preference
Amy Soon, Consilz Tan
2019· International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis50doi:10.1108/ijhma-01-2019-0009

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the housing preference and housing affordability in Malaysian housing markets. There is a lack of research on the gap between supply and demand of houses in this market. Urbanization has increased the demand of houses in urban areas. However, the high demand in residential units increases the housing price which causes the affordability level dropped. Besides, the residences that provided by developers do not meet the expectation of the home buyers. There are three attributes that examined in this research to understand the home buyers’ preference. Design/methodology/approach This paper provides quantitative analysis on the housing affordability and the home buyers’ preference. This paper presents the results on the home buyers’ housing affordability and buying preference on houses. In addition, the study further confirmed the significant relationship between monthly income and type of preferred house, as well as monthly income and range of housing affordability using cross-tabulation analysis. Findings The findings indicated that the housing price in the current market is not affordable by most of the homebuyers and there are certain attributes that important to home buyers which should not be neglected. Research limitations/implications This paper helps to shed light on the planning of Malaysian housing policy especially on the issue of providing affordable housing in urban areas. Practical implications Policymakers shall consider the elements of economics, social acceptance and feasibility of Malaysian housing policies to achieve sustainability in Malaysian housing markets. With the current government’s move to promote housing affordability amongst B40 income groups, local government and housing developers should work together in addressing housing demand in accordance to states and ensure that there is a more targeted housing policy. Social implications With the detailed analysis on the home buyers’ preference, it helps to promote sustainable housing developments in meeting basic housing needs and preference. Originality/value This is the first study to examine relationship between Malaysian housing affordability with monthly income and type of preferred house. In the meantime, the housing affordability is compared with mean housing price and type of perceived affordable house. The paper presented homebuyer’s preference in housing for the consideration of government and housing developers in providing affordable housing.

Effect of nanoparticles additives on tribological behaviour of advanced biofuels
Dong Lin Loo, Yew Heng Teoh, Heoy Geok How, Thanh Danh Le +4 more
2022· Fuel48doi:10.1016/j.fuel.2022.126798

The energy crisis and climate change have brought attention to developing alternative fuels. Waste tire pyrolysis oil is one of the most effective and renewable alternative fuels. Still, the TPO fuel had poor anti-wear properties than either biodiesel or diesel fuel, resulting in the studies conducted with nanoparticles. The lubricity of fuel is one of the important properties since it is the only lubricant in an engine injection system. Nanoparticles can be used as fuel additives to enhance better lubrication performance. This study presents the tribological behaviour of filtered tire pyrolysis oil (FTPO)-biodiesel-diesel blended fuel with the addition of various types of nanoparticles, including magnesium oxide (MgO), graphene (G), aluminium oxide (Al2O3). The tribological experiments were conducted with Four ball tribo-tester, according to the ASTM-D4172 standard at 40 kg, 1200 RPM constant speed and 75 °C temperature. Low concentration for all types of nanoparticle additives provides better performance on anti-friction in the blended fuel due to the protective film formed between the contact surface. 0.1 wt% of Al2O3 nano-fuel showed the best anti-wear performance, which improved by 2.83% compared to the base fuel Al2O3-0.1 and Al2O3-0.2, both reduced 22.09% and 18.33% of WSD, respectively, in compared to PB20FTPO10. The study results indicate that the addition of 0.2 wt% MgO nanoparticles performs well in obtaining smooth surface roughness. The Scanning Electron Microscope and Alicona images show lesser wear and damage to the surface with 0.1 wt% concentration of nano-fuel.