Editorial

One objective of Intellectual Discourse is to engage scholars in dialogue on Islam and other faiths. This is much needed especially after the incidents of September 11, 2001 which have further heightened the hostility of the West towards Islam.....

Psychology from an Islamic perspective: a guide to teaching and learning

Current psychological theories of man reject a metaphysical order of reality and ignore the transcendental dimension of the human constitution, contrary to the Islamic perspective. As such, there is an urgent need for a teaching programme that gives students the required exposure to enable them to take account of the differences in the two paradigms. This guide presents the Islamic view of man and compares and contrasts this view with those of contemporary psychology. It then reformulates the latter so that they fit into the Islamic mould

Editorial

Development and progress are essential to achieving higher standards of living and enhanced quality of life. Muslim countries, after independence, have aspired and struggled for development and a decent life without fully comprehending the underlying rationale that formed the basis for this striving. It would be instructive, therefore, to reflect on Martin Lings' explanation of the concepts of "development" (tatawwur), "progress" (taqaddum), "renewal" (tajdid) and "renaissance" (nahdah)....

Stressors and well-being in low socio-economic status Malaysian adolescents: the role of resilience resources

The present study examined the relationship between stressors, resilience resources, and well-being in adolescents with low socio-economic status in Malaysia. The specific aims were: (i) to differentiate between resilient and non-resilient adolescents in terms of their resilience resources; and (ii) to examine the role of resilience resources on the relationship between stressors and well-being. In a sample of 197 adolescents aged 12–16 years (mean = 13.77, sd = 1.49), results of the k-mean clustering technique identified 37.5% of the adolescents as resilient (high stressor, high well-being), 31.0% as maladjusted (high stressor, low well-being), and the rest, adapted (low stressor, high well-being). Resilient adolescents were found to have significantly higher scores on all the identified resilience resources (personality, mother–child communication, social support, school coherence, and teacher support) compared to the non-resilient maladjusted group. Results of structural equation modelling also showed that these resilience resources acted both as mediator and moderator in the relationship between stressors and well-being. These findings are discussed with respect to the current literature on resilience and well-being

Emotional labor and burnout among female teachers: work-family conflict as mediator

With the increasing number of women in the workforce, there is a need to understand how the interrelationship between emotions and the demands of work and family influence their well-being. This study examined how emotional labor [surface acting (SA) and deep acting] and work–family conflict contribute to explaining variance in burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization). In a sample of 102 married, female Malay teachers, with at least one child living at home, results showed that SAwas positively associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. The results also showed that work–family conflict mediated the relationship between emotional labor and burnout. However, no moderation effect of work–family on the SA–burnout relationship was found. The results are discussed with respect to the general literature on the stress–strain relation and work– family conflict

Risk Management Practices of Selected Islamic Banks in Malaysia

This study explores the risk management practices of major Islamic banks in Malaysia with the objective of having deeper understanding of the practices and identifying ways for further improvements. Various aspects of risk management practices are assessed through survey questionnaires, particularly those relevant and specific to the case of the Islamic banks. The study finds that the Islamic banks adopt good risk management practices with few areas of improvements include the use of computerised support systems and more sophisticated approaches to measure risks and the use of Shari\u27ah compliance techniques to mitigate risks. By assessing their current risk management practices, the study hopes to contribute in terms of recommending strategies to strengthen the risk management practices of the Islamic banks so as to increase the overall competitiveness in the Islamic banking industry

Work, family and women's well-being : the influence of culture

This chapter examines work and family roles in relation to women 5 wellbeing. However, the emphasis is on the influence ofculture on how work and family roles are perceived and practiced, and the resulting implications for women 5 well-being. With the increase in the number ofwomen in the Malaysian workforce, the extent to which cultural values and practices may affect this relationship needs to be considered. The paper starts by providing an overview of the literature on women 5 roles and well-being, followed by research in Malaysia on the position ofwomen in Malaysian society and a description of typical contemporary women. As culture defines the appropriate roles ofmen and women, this gendered ideology is considered within the context of the Malays and Chinese, with probable implications for their well-being. Finally, several recommendations are proposed to take into account womens changed experiences, expectations and context

Psychology in Malaysia : looking ahead

Psychology touches almost every aspect of our lives, from the self to the family and to society as a whole. lVhat is our nature, how is personality developed or shaped, and why do people behave the way they do? Why and how are people different in their intelligence and temperaments and can we treat abnonnal behaviors with psychological techniques? These and many other questions arise in our minds at least some time in our lives. Especially in the modern world when man has advanced tremendously in science and technolog}~ he has yet to comprehend his own selfand his fellow beings for increased selfand mutual understanding that would hopefully result in a more harmonious world. There are many views on human behaviors and mental processes offered by psychologists. The development of modem psychology has taken place mostly in the West, particularly in the United State

A resilience based intervention for at-risk adolescents

The present study was carried out to test the effectiveness of a resilience-based intervention in improving at-risk adolescents’ perceived social support, life satisfaction and distress. A program named “Percaya Diri dan Cemerlang” (Believe in Oneself and Excel) was developed to increase resilience in adolescents. It integrates various skills such as goal-achievement, teamwork, relationship between activating events-behaviour-consequences, and problem solving. The participants had to attend a 90 minutes session, each week, for 12-week. It was hypothesized that at-risk adolescents who participated in the program would report more social support, higher life satisfaction and lower distress than a control group who did not undergo the program. Thirty three at-risk adolescents were divided into two groups: the treatment group (n=16) and the control group (n=17). The two groups completed pre- and post-test scores on the three measures of support, life satisfaction, and distress. Results showed that adolescents in the treatment group reported higher social support, but no difference was observed in their life satisfaction and distress scores. The qualitative results provided additional support, indicating the possible beneficial effects of such programs on at-risk adolescents