Study on the variability of printed documents produced by laserjet Printers (hp laserjet p3005 printers)

This study looks at the variability of prints produced by LaserJet printers. Five HP LaserJet P3005 printers were used to print out a letter consisting of a mixed of letters and numbers at different fonts. Seven duplicates were printed from each printer and compared using a stereomicroscope. Printed samples were also obtained from two selected printers in time interval of a week over a period of about a month. Results based on microscopic examination by stereomicroscope on the printed documents from some printers of same brand and model had shown specific characterizations. Some specific individual patterns are shared by a subgroup of printers that used in our study. Though, it is difficult to link such printed material to an individual printer, this study helps to include or exclude the possible source of the printer from same brand and model. Microscopic examination on the printed documents printed over a period of four weeks revealed the drastic changes between first week and third or fourth week in terms of the thickness of the alphabets appears to be caused by insufficient toner. Hence, it enables to determine the order of printed materials in terms of the time interval of a few weeks. This study agrees with previous reported observation stating that individual characterization of the printed documents can be used to link a document to at least a group of possible printers

Penagih dadah dan orang kena pengawasan

Masyarakat moden kini sedang berdepan dengan pelbagai masalah sosial yang memerlukan perhatian daripada pihak kerajaan dan juga Pertubuhan Bukan Kerajaan (NGO). Salah satu masalah sosial yang dihadapi oleh masyarakat moden ialah isu marginalisasi dan penyisihan sosial (social exclusion) kumpulan atau komuniti tertentu. Isu ini dapat memberikan impak yang negatif dan kemudaratan dari segi kualiti hidup, keterlibatan dalam ekonomi dan sosial negara serta kesihatan mental individu yang menjadi mangsa penyisihan sosial (Duchak, 2014). Dalam hal ini, penagih dadah tergolong sebagai kumpulan marginal dan disisihkan secara sosial. Mereka sering berhadapan dengan pelbagai bentuk pelabelan negatif dan stigma daripada masyarakat termasuk ahli keluarga sendiri. Kesan stigma dan pelabelan negatif ini menjadikan mereka sukar untuk berintegrasi dalam masyarakat umum selepas dibebaskan dari institusi pemulihan dan ini menjadi satu faktor risiko kepada tingkah laku penagihan semula (relaps)

Exploring demography and sociological factors underlying decisions to join gangs among Indians

In general, gang can be described as a group of friends with identifiable leadership with certain internal organization that engage in various illegal activities such as crimes and drug trafficking. Although voluminous studies have been conducted in the West regarding gangs and gangsterism but very few studies were actually explored this issue in Malaysia. With this in mind, this study sought to provide some evidence for reasons behind decisions to join gangs as there is a lack of local qualitative research on the phenomenon of gangsterism. This lack is largely due to the vulnerability of people coming forward to share their experiences. The specific aim of this study was to explore demography and sociological factors behind gangsterism among Malaysian Indians. This study utilised a qualitative research design (semistructured interview) based on the inductive approach. Ex-gangsters and police personnel were interviewed individually. Thematic analysis was used to extract main themes and sub-themes. Three demography factors were identified: age, gender, and educational level. Four sociological factors were generated: poor parenting style, family members who were also gangsters, gang culture in the neighborhood, and financial difficulties. Two new factors emerged from the informants: social power and to experience gangster lifestyles. The outcome of this research is useful for proactive crime prevention in the form of evidence-based knowledge about demography and sociological factors behind gangsterism. This paper also briefly discussed intervention, prevention, and suppression strategies that can be used to curb this gangsterism issue effectively

Buli siber : ketidaksantunan bahasa dan etika media sosial dalam kalangan remaja Malaysia

Buli siber merupakan satu amalan komunikasi melalui teknologi yang bertujuan untuk mengecam, mengganggu, memalukan atau mengugut mangsa melalui perkataan yang negatif, penyebaran maklumat palsu mahupun perkongsian gambar atau video yang boleh menjatuhkan imej si mangsa. Buli siber merupakan satu masalah global yang memberi kesan negatif, terutamanya dalam kalangan remaja yang merupakan pengguna media sosial utama. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk membincangkan bagaimana unsur-unsur ketidaksantunan dalam berbahasa serta ketidakpatuhan etika media sosial boleh membawa kepada jenayah buli siber di kalangan remaja. Dengan menggunakan kaedah penceritaan dalam mengupas kes-kes terdahulu, kertas ini akan membincangkan tentang beberapa kejadian buli siber antarabangsa yang mendapat liputan meluas di seluruh dunia. Selain dari itu, kertas ini juga membincangkan satu kajian terdahulu yang melihat corak ketidaksantunan bahasa dalam kalangan remaja Malaysia. Untuk mencapai objektif kajian, satu siri temubual serta pemerhatian telah dilakukan selama 12 bulan ke atas 120 orang remaja di Malaysia di mana 324, 362 perkataan telah berjaya dikumpulkan. Berdasarkan data yang diperolehi, penyelidik kemudiannya menjalankan satu analisis bahasa berasaskan teori ketidaksantunan (Culpeper 1996). Hasil kajian menunjukkan fenomena ketidaksantunan bahasa yang jelas dalam kalangan remaja di Malaysia. Kupasan kes beserta perbincangan hasil kajian yang dilakukan bersama teori-teori berkaitan diharap mampu memberi gambaran yang lebih jelas tentang jenayah buli siber dari sudut etika dan sosiobudaya serta amalan berbahasa dalam kalangan remaja

The experience of internal (Domestic) migration among 30 Homeless Former Prisoners in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The recurring return of homeless former prisoners to Chow Kit Road each time after being released from prison leads to various key questions. One of which: What is so interesting about Chow Kit Road that it has become a focal point for these homeless former prisoners? Their return to Chow Kit Road illustrates two big pictures, either they have no choice or they see Chow Kit Road as a suitable home for them. The repeated return of the homeless former prisoners indicated that they have developed a form of comfort and pleasure with the place. Hence, we conducted a qualitative study to understand the repetitive migration among the homeless former prisoners by interviewing 30 of them around Chow Kit Road. This study stopped the data collection process when the study's overall findings achieved data saturation. Atlas.ti software was utilised to perform the thematic coding process. This software provides a more systematic coding process. Several strategies were adopted in this study to increase the data's validity and reliability, triangulation, member check, peer review, long period in the field and audit trail. This study involved a larger qualitative sample by offering several diverse themes. Based on the findings, 11 sub-themes were grouped into 4 superordinate themes, namely social, economic and urban infrastructure, services, and personal offer factors. The social offer factor superordinate theme included sub-themes of familiarity with the environment, ease of getting drugs, and concentration of friends who are also former prisoners. Followed by the economic offer factor with the sub-theme of finding a job and easy ways to earn. The sub-themes of the urban infrastructure and service offer factor superordinate theme were access to transportation, plenty of food aid, and easy access to hospitals. While the sub-themes of the personal offer factor included wanting freedom, nowhere else to go, and bringing oneself away from family. These results added to the existing knowledge by considering migrations from chronic and marginal groups, i.e., the homeless former prisoners as study subjects

Aggression profiles of incarcerated Malaysian male murderers

Criminological and psychological researches have highlighted aggressive behavior as the basic ingredient of violent crime, including murder. Increased concerns about the rate of murder in Malaysia have called for studies examining aggression profiles of the Malaysian murderers. The present study intends to explore the aggression profiles of Malaysian male prisoners convicted of murder, utilizing Buss and Perry’s Four Structure Aggression Model. A cross-sectional methodology was adapted as a research design of the present study. A guided self-administered questionnaire was distributed among 71 Malaysian male prisoners convicted of murder using purposive sampling method. The entire aggression profiles are assessed using Aggression Questionnaire-12 items (AQ-12). Descriptive item analyses were carried out to elicit the level of responses for each item in the AQ-12 while bivariate analyses were used to ascertain associations among aggression subscales. The aggression profiles indicated that the mean score of anger (8.10, SD = 2.93) was higher than other forms of aggression traits. The least mean score was noted for verbal aggression (6.24, SD = 2.45). Among the respondents, 54.9% of them scored above the mean score (8.10) for anger subscale. This was followed by 52.1% who scored above the mean score (7.77) for physical aggression subscale. The correlations among all the aggression subscales had indicated positive and significant associations which in turn, may enable it to be a platform to inspire other researches in this field. In conclusion, this ground-breaking study among male murderers has successfully explored aggression profiles using AQ-12

Burnout among secondary school teachers in Malaysia Sabah

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between burnout among urban and rural secondary school teachers in Sabah. The study involved 114 teachers currently working in five urban secondary schools in Kota Kinabalu district and five rural secondary schools in Kota Belud district, Sabah. This is a quantitative study in the form of a survey with two (2) questionnaires. Part A contains demographic data while the second part B contains 22 Burnout measurement items using the second version of the Burnout Maslach Inventory (MBI) used to collect instrument data. They were then analyzed using descriptive and t-test to compare two groups. The results of this study indicate that aspects of teacher personalization need to be taken into account as this study clearly shows that there are significant differences between teachers in urban and rural areas. The survey data also showed that rural teachers experienced moderate personalization

Psychological and Criminogenic Factors Underlying Gangsterism Among Indians in Malaysia From the Perspective of Ex-Gangsters and Police Personnel

In recent years, gangsterism and gang related activities among Indians are perplexing and alarming. Although this issue is considered as an old phenomenon, researches related to underlying factors for gangsterism are still lacking. With this in mind, this study aimed to explore psychological and criminogenic factors behind gangsterism among Indians in Malaysia. This study utilized a non-experimental research design. This study is a qualitative research (semi-structured, face-to-face individual interview guide) that makes use of the inductive approach based on a combination of subjectivism and interpretivist philosophies. Six ex-gangsters and four police personnel were interviewed; and their experiences of gangsterism were used to gain a reality-based understanding regarding the factors underlying gangsterism. The thematic analyses generated three psychological factors (negative emotional responses, low self-control, and high impulsivity) and three criminogenic factors (substance abuse, having antisocial peers, and dysfunctional families). One new theme emerged: monetary gain, with three sub-themes (ease of obtaining money, amount and immediacy, and benefits derived from illegal monetary gains). The outcome of this explorative research provides insight to the growing body of knowledge on gangsterism in Malaysia and is useful for community leaders and law enforcement agencies to strategize appropriate intervention, prevention, and suppression efforts to combat gangsterism

Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Well-Being of Rural Poor School Students In Sabah, Malaysia

Mental health disorders are major causes of disability to those affected, their families and the wider society. Absence of mental illness, or ambitiously, the presence of psychological well-being is key to the optimal functioning of individuals, for them to lead fuller lives and essential for them to contribute actively to society. Some studies have explored the links between psychological well-being and emotional intelligence. However, no such study has focussed on rural, and more often than not, poor students. Our study looked at the effects of emotional intelligence on the psychological well-being of rural poor students in Sabah, Malaysia. It was a cross-sectional study of 430 students. We found that 73% and 90% of the rural students rated their emotional intelligence and psychological well-being as moderate respectively. Regression analysis showed that emotional intelligence could predict one’s psychological well-being. We suggest further research into the differences between school students and school dropouts, and between urban and rural poor students

Hubungan kesukaran meregulasi emosi dan tingkah laku delinkuen dalam kalangan remaja: perapatan kepada komuniti sebagai perantara

Dewasa ini, banyak kes jenayah menyaksikan remaja sebagai pelaku. Kajian-kajian lepas menunjukkan penglibatan remaja dalam delinkuensi disebabkan oleh pelbagai faktor bermula dari domain individu (psikologikal), sosial, sehinggalah pengaruh di peringkat persekitaran dan komuniti. Walaupun pelbagai kajian telah dilakukan dalam memahami faktor psikologikal, tidak banyak kajian yang memfokuskan peranan aspek perapatan kepada jiran tetangga dan komuniti dalam konteks delinkuen remaja dan kaitannya dengan faktor psikologikal. Justeru, objektif utama kajian ini adalah mengenal pasti pengaruh perapatan kepada komuniti sebagai perantara antara kesukaran meregulasi emosi dan tingkah laku delinkuen dalam kalangan remaja. Kajian ini dijalankan di sebuah sekolah menengah yang terletak di Perak. Kajian ini menggunakan soal selidik yang merangkumi tiga alat ukuran iaitu Skala Perapatan kepada Komuniti, Skala Kesukaran Meregulasi Emosi dan Skala Tingkah Laku Delinkuen Remaja. Kajian ini melibatkan 144 orang remaja warganegara Malaysia yang berumur 13 hingga 16 tahun. Dapatan kajian mendapati perapatan kepada komuniti tidak mempunyai hubungan dengan kesukaran meregulasi emosi (r = 0.069, p = 0.409) dan tingkah laku delinkuen remaja (r = -0.068, p = 0.417). Namun, kesukaran meregulasi emosi mempunyai hubungan positif yang signifikan dengan tingkah laku delinkuen (r = 0.200, p = 0.019). Walau bagaimanapun, perapatan kepada komuniti tidak dapat menjadi perantara antara kesukaran meregulasi emosi dan tingkah laku delinkuen (F (7, 136) = 1.48, p= .179). Kajian ini diharap dapat memberi input dalam memahami masalah delinkuen yang berlaku di Malaysia terutamanya dalam konteks perapatan komuniti dan regulasi emosi