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The purpose of this paper is to compare fracture‐fixation and bone‐healing promotion efficacies of an intramedullary (IM) nail‐type and an external osteosynthesis plate‐type femoral trochanteric‐fracture implants using the results of a combined multi‐body dynamics and finite element analyses. For both implants, fracture fixation was obtained using a dynamic hip blade which is anchored to the femur head on one end and is connected to the IM rod/plate on the other. The analysis was carried out for two pre‐fracture conditions of the femur: healthy and osteoporotic.

The musculoskeletal dynamics portion of the analysis was used to obtain realistic physiological loading conditions (i.e. muscle forces and joint reaction forces and moments) associated with four typical everyday activities of a patient, namely, walking, lunging, cycling and egress (i.e. exiting a passenger vehicle). The subsequent structural finite element analysis of the fractured femur/implant assembly was employed to quantify fracture‐fixation efficacy (as measured by the extents of lateral (found to be minor), flexural and torsional displacements of the two femur fragments) and the bone‐healing promotion efficacy (as quantified by the fraction of the fractured surface area which experienced desirable contact pressures).

The results obtained show that, in general, the IM‐rod type of implant out‐performs the osteosynthesis plate type of implant over a large range of scenarios involving relative importance of the bone‐healing promotion and fracture‐fixation efficacies, health condition of the femur and the activity level of the patient. More specifically, the more active the patient and the larger extent of osteoporosis in the femur, the more justifiable is the use of the IM‐rod type of implant.

The present approach enables assessment of the fracture‐fixation performance of orthopedic implants under physiologically realistic loading conditions.

This study was conducted with the main purpose of recording primary data related to environmental factors, which has become the main criteria in the selection of the Sungai Batu Archaeological Complex (SBAC) as the center of the iron smelting industry and trade in ancient Kedah.

To fulfill this purpose, field studies involving drone photogrammetry mapping, augering, core drilling and geophysical mapping methods were carried out.

The results obtained through the application of the method have shown that SBAC has a good environment, which has a wide and deep river flow, the existence of Mount Jerai and the abundance of iron ores, mangrove Merbok and clay.

Resources did not allow for environment studies of the by-products tourism sites as part of the current study.

The study also included a survey and mapping to obtain potential primary data around SBAC in the process of developing it as the center of the world iron industry.

One finding is that attention to heritage policy and protection must be ongoing at all levels of government and the local community to ensure that the survey and mapping data carried out can be developed as a sustainable heritage tourism product.

This study reveals primary data related to the suitability of paleoenvironment in the SBAC development process as a world iron smelting industry area.

The aim of this paper is to present and evaluate a methodology for automatically constructing and applying the physiologically‐realistic boundary/loading conditions for use in the structural finite element analysis of the femur during various exertion tasks (e.g. gait/walking).

To obtain physiologically‐realistic boundary/loading conditions needed in the femur structural finite element analysis, a whole‐body musculoskeletal inverse dynamics analysis is carried out and the resulting muscle forces and joint reaction forces/moments extracted.

The finite element results obtained are compared with their counterparts available in literature and it is found that the overall agreement is acceptable while the highly automated procedure for the finite element model generation developed in the present work made the analysis fairly easy and computationally highly efficient. Potential sources of errors in the current procedure have been identified and the measures for their mitigation recommended.

The present approach enables a more accurate determination of the physiological loads experienced by the orthopedic implants which can be of great value to implant designers and orthopedic surgeons.

This study has covered many types of solar-powered air-conditioning systems that may be used as an alternative to traditional electrically powered air-conditioning systems in order to reduce energy usage. Solar adsorption air cooling is a great alternative to traditional vapor compression air-conditioning. Solar adsorption has several advantages over traditional vapor-compression systems, including being a green cooling technology which uses solar energy to drive the cycle, using pure water as an eco-friendly HFC-free refrigerant, and being mechanically simple with only the magnetic valves as moving parts. Several advancements and breakthroughs have been developed in the area of solar adsorption air-conditioners during the previous decade. However, further study is required before this technology can be put into practise. As a result, this book chapter highlights current research that adds to the understanding of solar adsorption air-conditioning technologies, with a focus on practical research. These systems have the potential to become the next iteration of air-conditioning systems, with the benefit of lowering energy usage while using plentiful solar energy supplies to supply the cooling demand.

This paper aims to investigate the positive and negative perceptions of residents towards tourism development in Bujang Valley (Lembah Bujang), an underdeveloped rural area that is targeted for world heritage site inscription because of its archaeological value.

A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data among residents and 143 questionnaire were returned.

The results demonstrated that the residents of Bujang Valley have generally positive perceptions towards tourism development and are agreeable with supporting tourism development. Moreover, these results were highly correlated with one another, with residents’ positive perceptions having a positive effect on their support for tourism development, and negative perceptions have a negative effect on their support for tourism development.

The findings of this study can assist the Bujang Valley local authorities to improve the support and participation of residents in tourism planning and conservation programmes, thereby contributing to sustainable development.

This study contributes to the resident perception literature by examining the effects of residents’ perceptions on their support for tourism in an underdeveloped rural area in the developing world.

University research institutes were established in Malaysian Universities to facilitate research activities that do not fit into discipline-oriented departments, including the multi- and inter-disciplinary research that goes beyond the single-disciplinary boundary. This paper aims to report on a case study of one university research institute established in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), known as the institute for environment and development (LESTARI). LESTARI conducts multi-disciplinary research that emphasises research and capacity building on issues related to sustainable development. The aims of this paper are to examine the research evolution undergone at LESTARI, and to ascertain its contribution towards sustainable development goals (SDGs).

LESTARI was established two years after the Rio Conference held in 1992, with the aims of promoting sustainable development through research and capacity building. This paper uses a qualitative approach to evaluate the research evolution of LESTARI, and a quantitative analysis to ascertain LESTARI’s contribution to SDGs.

After almost 30 years of establishment, LESTARI has moved from multi-disciplinary research to inter-disciplinary research. Although the transition was based on respective research areas (e.g. chemicals management and geopark), the research maturity of LESTARI is shown in its transformation from conventional to translational research. LESTARI has proven its capability to conduct multi-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary research, and the research outputs are also contributing to the SDGs.

The LESTARI case study has shown that as long as a research institute has a firm and clear research direction, regardless of how it is evaluated and monitored (e.g. evaluated by SDGs), the research institute remains relevant in the context of its establishment.

The findings from this paper serve to set LESTARI as an example for other university research institutes, whether in Malaysia or in other countries.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this contribution is the first that discusses the transition from multi-disciplinary research to inter-disciplinary research, as well as the contribution to SDGs, among university research institutes in Malaysia.

Like other components of cultural heritage, the preservation of archaeological sites is important because they constitute a unique and irreplaceable legacy, something that has been received from the ancestors and that should be passed on to future generations. The purpose of this paper is to explore how well secondary school students in Bujang Valley, Malaysia, understand the concept and value of archaeology and to what extent they are interested in archaeology.

A questionnaire survey was administered to 110 students, aged 14 and 15 years, from secondary schools in the Bujang Valley area.

The results showed that most of the students were interested in archaeology and had a moderately accurate understanding of what archaeology entailed. Their main information sources included museum visits and participating in local archaeological projects. Participants demonstrated a sense of archaeological responsibility in objecting to the illegal trafficking of artefacts.

Moreover, these findings have significant implications for heritage and education authorities in the Bujang Valley in terms of planning for educational programmes to raising the awareness of local communities.

These findings expand upon the knowledge of students’ attitudes towards archaeology.