Pediatrics wards: healing environment assessment / Roslinda Ghazali and Mohamed Yusoff Abbas.

Malaysian paediatric wards were assessed on their quality status and design trends towards the creation of the healing environment. The objective was to promote best practices in design. PostOccupancy Evaluation (POE) studies were conducted upon paediatric wards in eight hospitals in the Klang Valley. The methodology adopted was the use of UK‟s NHS AEDET and ASPECT Evaluation toolkits, which evaluated the physical qualities and staffs & patients satisfaction levels respectively upon 215 nurses and 217 patients. Results seemed to show the disparity between the positivity of the physical design in relation to users‟ satisfaction. Implications of the findings are discussed

Social behavior of preschool children in relation to physical spatial definition

AbstractPrevious Western-based studies had revealed that preschool children exhibited more positive play/social behaviors within well-defined spaces. This paper investigated 5 types of play/social behaviors among 494 Malaysian preschool children, aged 5–6 years, of both genders, in 20 classrooms categorized into well defined, moderately defined, and poorly defined. The methodology involved personal natural unobtrusive observations, video recordings, behavioral mapping, and interviews. The findings revealed results similar to those of the previous Western-based studies. The implications of the findings were discussed in relation to the design of future preschool classrooms

Blue-Space Restoration Theory extends the Understanding of the Quranic Verses of Water

Through all times, scholars interpreted the Quranic verses of water by emphasising on the essential role of water upon the physical formation of plants. This study aimed to extend this interpretation from a behavioural science background. Mix methods were used, systematic literature review and integrative analysis. With the blue-space theory, It concluded that water does not have a role in building the physical-form only. But, also the spiritual-creation. God mentioned in the Quran that water brings everything alive; it seemed that it was not limited to the physical form of a human, as mentioned by scholars. But also the spiritual form.  Keywords: Blue-space; Water; Quran; Quality Of Life. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i14.219

Single-case Experimental Research: Designing emotions by designing spaces - A pilot study

The belief that the environment shapes human emotions followed by behaviour is not new, as acknowledged by many researchers. Recent studies show that the most significant illness by 2030 is depression, as most of our time spent inside the buildings. Hence, the importance of "re-connecting architecture with emotions" is an essential solution to improve the quality of life. A single-case experimental design (SCED) aimed to investigate the relationship between neural underpinnings of the brain, for a single participant and various environments. Data collected was based on the Electroencephalography tests. Findings showed a significant contrast between different water elements and environmental settings, each with its unique effect on participant emotions as well as the electrical activity of the brain.Keywords: Depression; Neural underpinnings; Water-bodies environment; Quality of Life.eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v5i13.210

Proxemics in waiting areas of health centres : a cross-cultural study.

The design of waiting areas in Malaysia's health centres appears to ignore human feelings and behaviour. This was observed by the present researcher; similar concerns about waiting areas in health centres in the U.K. have been voiced by other authors such as Beales (1978) and Cammock (1973, 1975. 1983). 'Proxemics' or the interpersonal distance relationship between people in conducting their daily activities within their cultural domain is broadly categorised under the study of human spatial behaviour. There is in abundance of studies on human spatial behaviour. but few have focussed on the cross-cultural aspects. Results from those few studies have not been consistent. the reason being methodological (see Hayduk (1983); Aiello (1987); Bell, et. al., (1996). However, those studies that can be categorised as 'truly' crosscultural, that involved natives of the country when the study was conducted, and which used the field / naturalistic unobtrusive observation method - that is in conducting the research at the actual setting rather than in laboratories, and making the observations in an inconspicuous manner, have all supported the hypothesis that there are cross-cultural differences. This method, together with a new technique of measurement, was adopted for the present research. It was used to examine differences in proxemics behaviour between people of Western and Eastern cultures, specifically between the British and the Malaysians in health centre waiting areas. This research is intended to uncover the basis on which subjects made their choices about where they would sit in a waiting room. The factors break down into three main classes: those about the subjects themselves, those that relate to the properties of the seating, and those which relate to the presence of other people. Following a literature review it was hypothesised that the observed behaviour of the British subjects would demonstrate a tendency to maintain interpersonal space in their choice of seats, whereas the Malaysian subjects would demonstrate an interest in using the opportunity for social intercourse. Within the limitations of the present research and the Eastern cultural background of the present researcher, the findings from the present study however remained inconclusive. While several of the fmdings seemed to suggest that the British subjects demonstrated a tendency to maintain inter-personal space in their choice of seats, there were also other findings that suggested otherwise

Disabled childern in public playgrounds : a pilot study / Seyed Hassan Khalifeh Soltani, Mohamed Yusoff Abbas and Mohamad Awang

This is a cross-sectional pilot study on children with disabilities needs in public playgrounds. They often faced problems at public playgrounds, entertainment and amusement areas, due to the lack of ample provisions to cater their special needs

Healing Environment in Paediatric Wards: From Research to Practice

AbstractBest practices was created to helps designers in the creation of more conducive healing environment in paediatric wards. This is benefited to designers in creating spaces not only base on their assumptions. The evaluation focuses the newer paediatric wards in the Klang Valley area. Case study is the strategy involved 3 paediatric wards. Personal on-site observation and evaluation, questionnaires, and documentations are the selected methods. This paper revealed that best practices suggested were not fully implemented. Therefore, it is best for all bodies related to should be made aware of their obligations for a better quality environment in paediatric wards

Disabled children in public playgrounds: a pilot study / Seyed Hassan Khalifeh Soltani, Mohamed Yusoff Abbas and Mohamad Awang.

This is a cross-sectional pilot study on children with disabilities needs in public playgrounds. 7hey often faced problems at public playgrounds, entertainment and amusement areas, due to the lack of ample provisions to cater their special needs. 7he purpose of the study was to inuestigate the current status of infrastructure and design proper public playgrounds in Malaysia. 7he study period was six months. Ouerall 40 disabled children, parents, teachers and doctors were questioned and interuiewed. Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software program was used for analysis. 7he ßnding reuealed that there is necessary need to improue and construct well equipped public playgrounds for children with disabilities

Tessellation planning: relationships between the physical environment and the neighbourhood / Anniz Fazli Ibrahim Bajunid, Mohamed Yusoff Abbas and Abdul Hadi Nawawi.

The fundamental objective of the national housing agenda is to ensure a better quality of life. The challenge is to develop affordable houses whilst sustaining positive social neighbourhoods. In the western world, research equated the physical environment as a dominant influence on the spatial behaviours of communities. Quality of living in Malaysia is only obtainable to the upper echelons in organic planning of housing. These perceived as successful neighbourhoods such as the cul-de-sac or Tessellation Planning create a relationship between the physical environment and the neighbourhood. This paper initiates a search for such literature and identifies key concepts for further deliberations

Social cohesion of the Malaysian Cul-de-sac neighborhoods: brief critical review of concepts / Anniz Fazli Ibrahim Bajunid, Mohamed Yusoff Abbas and Abdul Hadi Nawawi

The national mass housing policies are currently being scrutinised on affordability and quality of life. The consideration of a better neighbourhood design is currently only evident in curvilinear and organic planning designs of neighbourhoods such as the cul-de-sac. The objective of this paper is to identify concepts of the cul-de-sac neighbourhoods and the community’s social cohesion through a critical review of available literature within the framework settings of a Malaysian pluralistic neighbourhood. The paper is anticipated to lead to methodological assessment processes of the physical environment and neighbourhoods as well as expand existing contextual knowledge of the Malaysian cul-de-sac neighbourhoods