Mohammad Hussaini Wahab

The Morphology of Early Towns in Malay Peninsula

Malay Peninsula has a very compelling socio geographical, cultural history and town setting comprises historical sites, fortress and early towns that has formed an evolution of the urban sprawl. The history of the early towns on the Malay Peninsula goes as far back as the beginning of the ancient Malay kingdom of Lembah Bujang and Langkasuka; and maybe far before that period. Early Malay towns in Malay Peninsula (currently known as Peninsular Malaysia) have unique characteristics in terms of architecture urban form and history. The morphology study of towns in Malay Peninsula have found characteristics of urban form and setting dating from 5000 BC maybe earlier to 19th century may be classified into four phases of pre-modern settlements cycles. This research employs qualitative approach that encompasses of literature review of scholarly articles and reports, in-depth interview and structured observation. Based on the historical and physical evidences that are still exist, thirteen (13) early town will be selected as a study area. This paper present the finding of urban morphology and characteristic in a chronicle of urban form and setting in the Malay Peninsula dating from 5000 BC up to the 19th century.

Fire Hazard Assessment During Construction of A Mixed-Use Development Project In Kuala Lumpur

Construction by nature is inherently dangerous, with a high degree of hazard and risk. Serious fire has occurred in building under construction, which will not delay their completion dates and loss of life, but also result in serious monetary losses. The objectives of this paper are to investigate the causes of fire hazard during the construction phase; assess the risk level arising from the fire hazard during the construction phase; and tpropose safety control measures of fire hazard during the construction phase. Primary data is obtained from the respondents of a mixed use development project in Kuala Lumpur via questionnaire surveys. The data is analysed via Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) and Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC). The findings show that the most important causes of fire hazard of a mixed-use development project are related to workers site activities. Meanwhile, HIRARC identifies that fire hazard from hot works and use electrical tools are the most important risks. Lastly, safety control measures were proposed to control the identified fire hazard by improving the operating procedure of hot works and use of electrical tools as well as implementing good housekeeping practices and inspection at the workplace.

Trust in management, communication and organisational commitment: Factors influencing readiness for change management in organisation

Organisational change occurs when an organisation makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state in minimising employee resistance and cost to the organisation while simultaneously maximising the effectiveness of the change effort. This paper, aims at appraising the change management of organisation in Malaysia since limited research has been done to examine readiness for change by the employees in the organisation. This paper is materialising its objectives of (1) investigating the current practice of organisation and employees in the organisation towards change management and (2) assessing the factors influencing readiness of organisation and employees in the organisation towards change management. It is found via literature review that change management is a structured approach for ensuring that changes are thoroughly and smoothly implemented to transitioning individuals, teams, and organisations to a desired future state by focusing on the wider impacts of change, particularly ...

Safety of street: The role of street design

Living in the cities poses many challenges for the vulnerable group of user especially women where they are exposed to many issues related to safety. With the changing of lifestyle and demands, women are expected to play multiple roles in the society and working is one of the tasks. When women are expected to be working as men do, they are no longer occupied at one place. Women nowadays travel on a daily basis and being in the streets is one of the important activities. With the influx of diverse group of people into the country, our streets are dominated by different types of people from different background. Due to these factors, there are possibilities of challenges and threats for users especially women. Therefore, city spaces especially the street become an important public realm for women. The design of the street should be able to make women feel safe as these are the public space where they spend time getting to and from work. The way women perceived their environment might be different from men e...

Communication management between architects and clients

Architectural projects are initiated with the designing phase, that tends to translate and materialize the client’s requirements and needs. This phase is highly and directly affected by the exchanged information and communication between architects with their clients. Nevertheless, despite of its importance, studies have proven that communication management, being a significant field of project management, is distinctly overlooked by architects in the architectural industry. Thus, this paper highlights the current practices and attributes of communication management in the context of architectural design phase. It outlines the different aspects’ definitions of communication, as well as communication management standards and practices. By the end of this paper, the findings are expected to increase the communication management knowledge amongst architects to achieve success in projects by promoting the relationships between them and their clients. Finally, this paper uncover the architects’ need for significant improvement of communication management as an insistent matter to ultimately fulfill project success.Architectural projects are initiated with the designing phase, that tends to translate and materialize the client’s requirements and needs. This phase is highly and directly affected by the exchanged information and communication between architects with their clients. Nevertheless, despite of its importance, studies have proven that communication management, being a significant field of project management, is distinctly overlooked by architects in the architectural industry. Thus, this paper highlights the current practices and attributes of communication management in the context of architectural design phase. It outlines the different aspects’ definitions of communication, as well as communication management standards and practices. By the end of this paper, the findings are expected to increase the communication management knowledge amongst architects to achieve success in projects by promoting the relationships between them and their clients. Finally, this paper uncover the architects’ need for signif...

STREET DESIGN AND WOMEN’S SAFETY PERCEPTION

Urbanization is a process that creates many opportunities as well as threats. It is a process that will keep on continuing as population rate, migration, economic and social pattern are changing. Along with urbanization, demand for sustainable development and public space is crucial. Streets are important public space in a city. It is a network for many kind of activities. Design of streets affects the way people use it as well as their perception on safety. As a public space, safety is an important factor to consider. A safe public space will create a liveable environment. Feeling safe is important for human being due to the fact the built environment does affect our perception. Gender plays a role in safety perception where women perceive their environment differently. This study focuses on the importance of street as public space in contributing towards safety perception. In order to evaluate the phenomenon, a mixed method approach was adopted. Four streets in the city centre which are important public space with trading activities, connected to educational institution, offices and other economic activities were chosen. 120 questionnaire were distributed and direct observation were conducted in order to evaluate the phenomenon. Findings revealed that physical elements in the street do affect safety perception. Keyword: Public space, sustainable urban design, street design, safety perception Date Received: 11 May 2017 Date of Acceptance: 13 November 2017 Suhaila Abdul Rashid, Mohammad Hussaini, & Wan Nurul Mardiah Street as Public Space and Safety Perception