Bullying in secure settings, a mixed method study in Malaysian juvenile justice institutions

This thesis investigates bullying and victimisation in juvenile justice institutions. It examines the role of personal characteristics and aspects of institutional environments, and explores how these factors relate to bullying behaviour. The research collected quantitative and qualitative data using a mixed-­method approach. The study comprised a survey completed by 289 male and female young people, aged 12 to 21 years old, in 8 juvenile justice institutions, using the scale version of Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist (DIPC­‐SCALEDr) and Measuring the Quality of Prison life (MQPL) instruments. In addition, 24 interviews were carried out with 16 young people and 8 institutional staff, comprising both male and female participants. The findings showed that 95 percent of young people reported at least one behaviour indicative of bullying others, and 99 percent reported at least one behaviour indicative of victimisation in a month. The DIPC‐SCALEDr scored significantly higher on verbal forms of bullying and victimisation than psychological, physical, sexual, theft­‐related and indirect forms. In addition, eight predictors are found to underpin bullying behaviour, including four personal characteristics i.e. time spent in the institution; experiences of punishment inside the institution; gang membership; and no self-harm ; and four institutional dimensions i.e respect; bureaucratic legitimacy; fairness; and family contact. In the interviews, young people and staff members identified four functions underpinning aggressive behaviour in the institution, including 'protecting oneself from threatening events', 'exerting control over others', 'access to goods' and 'building alliances'. Furthermore, young people and staff members identified eight predictors that influenced their choices and decisions in bullying others. The strong desire to protect and enhance one's sense of power and self-worth underpins illegitimate coping such as bullying others. In contrast, perceived negative outcomes of bullying conduct decreased an individual's likelihood of bullying others. To conclude, bullying behaviour seemed to be normalized in juvenile justice institutions.This thesis investigates bullying and victimisation in juvenile justice institutions. It examines the role of personal characteristics and aspects of institutional environments, and explores how these factors relate to bullying behaviour. The research collected quantitative and qualitative data using a mixed-­method approach. The study comprised a survey completed by 289 male and female young people, aged 12 to 21 years old, in 8 juvenile justice institutions, using the scale version of Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist (DIPC­‐SCALEDr) and Measuring the Quality of Prison life (MQPL) instruments. In addition, 24 interviews were carried out with 16 young people and 8 institutional staff, comprising both male and female participants. The findings showed that 95 percent of young people reported at least one behaviour indicative of bullying others, and 99 percent reported at least one behaviour indicative of victimisation in a month. The DIPC‐SCALEDr scored significantly higher on verbal forms of bullying and victimisation than psychological, physical, sexual, theft­‐related and indirect forms. In addition, eight predictors are found to underpin bullying behaviour, including four personal characteristics i.e. time spent in the institution; experiences of punishment inside the institution; gang membership; and no self-harm ; and four institutional dimensions i.e respect; bureaucratic legitimacy; fairness; and family contact. In the interviews, young people and staff members identified four functions underpinning aggressive behaviour in the institution, including 'protecting oneself from threatening events', 'exerting control over others', 'access to goods' and 'building alliances'. Furthermore, young people and staff members identified eight predictors that influenced their choices and decisions in bullying others. The strong desire to protect and enhance one's sense of power and self-worth underpins illegitimate coping such as bullying others. In contrast, perceived negative outcomes of bullying conduct decreased an individual's likelihood of bullying others. To conclude, bullying behaviour seemed to be normalized in juvenile justice institutions

Surviving research on sensitive topics with young offenders

Engaging young offenders in research on sensitive topics can pose many obstacles, especially for novice researchers. This article reflects on some challenges experienced in approaching children and young people in prison settings using either quantitative or qualitative approaches, mainly drawing on a recent project on bullying and victimisation in Malaysian juvenile justice institutions. The primary aim is to share practical challenges raised during the fieldwork and explain how these were handled in appropriate ways. The article discusses initial efforts, including issues in gaining access and the importance of conducting a pilot study. Included in this article are challenges related to how the researcher maintains field relations, manages the survey, and survives during the interviews

Buli dalam kalangan pelatih di pusat pemulihan juvana

This study investigates bullying and victimisation in juvenile rehabilitation institutions in Malaysia, where research on this phenomenon has been particularly limited. It examines the prevalence of bullying and victimisation in these settings and investigates the role of personal characteristics and aspects of institutional environments, and explores how these factors relate to bullying behaviour. The study comprised a survey completed by 289 male and female young people, aged 12 to 21 years old, in 8 juvenile rehabilitation institutions, using the scale version of Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist (DIPC-SCALEDr) and the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) instruments. The findings showed that 95 percent of young people reported at least one behaviour indicative of bullying others, and 99 percent reported at least one behaviour indicative of victimisation in a month. Seven predictors were found to underpin bullying behaviour, including three personal characteristics (i.e. time spent in the institution, experiences of punishment inside the institution, and gang membership) and four institutional dimensions (i.e respect; bureaucratic legitimacy; fairness; and family contact). To conclude, bullying behaviour seemed to be normalized in juvenile rehabilitation institutions. As the heart of institution, staff members play an important role to control bullying behaviour amongst young people. The importance of these findings for bullying prevention strategies and directions for future research are discussed

Meneroka tekanan kerja dalam kalangan kakitangan di institusi pemulihan juvana

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk meneroka tekanan di tempat kerja yang dihadapi oleh kakitangan di sebuah institusi pemulihan juvana. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenalpasti faktor-faktor peribadi dan tempat kerja yang menyumbang kepada masalah tekanan. Selain itu, kajian ini juga dilakukan untuk meneroka keperluan fizikal dan sosial yang diperlukan oleh kakitangan untuk menangani masalah tekanan di tempat kerja. Rekabentuk yang telah digunakan dalam kajian ini adalah kaedah campuran yang menggabungkan data kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Kajian ini telah dijalankan kepada 8 orang informan berusia antara 30 dan 50 tahun. Kesemua informan telah menjawab soal selidik Workplace Stress Survey 1998 yang diperkenalkan oleh American Intitutional of Stress (AIS) dan ditemubual secara berasingan. Data kuantitatif yang telah diperoleh dianalisis secara deskriptif menggunakan program Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Keputusan yang diperolehi menunjukkan bahawa tahap tekanan yang dihadapi oleh majoriti informan masih lagi terkawal. Namun, keputusan data kualitatif mendapati bahawa faktor-faktor seperti masalah peribadi dan keluarga, sikap pelatih juvana dan faktor persekitaran institusi pemulihan menyumbang kepada masalah tekanan kakitangan. Informan turut mengenalpasti beberapa elemen yang perlu ditambahbaik bagi keperluan membantu mengurangkan tekanan yang dialami oleh kakitangan di institusi pemulihan juvana

Pendidikan dan latihan vokasional di institusi pemulihan juvana : peningkatan peluang kerjaya dan pengurangan residivisme dalam kalangan pesalah muda

Pendidikan dan latihan vokasional adalah komponen penting pemulihan jangka panjang dari tingkah laku jenayah dalam kalangan remaja. Di institusi pemulihan juvana, remaja diberi peluang untuk mempelajari ilmu pengetahuan dalam latihan vokasional sebagai persediaan peluang pekerjaan apabila mereka kembali kepada komuniti. Integrasi dengan komuniti menerusi pekerjaan mengekalkan perubahan positif remaja, justeru mengurangkan risiko residivisme atau pengulangan tingkah laku jenayah. Tujuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk meneroka manfaat pendidikan dan latihan vokasional terhadap peningkatan peluang kerjaya dan pengurangan risiko pengulangan tingkah laku jenayah dalam kalangan remaja di dua buah institusi pemulihan juvana di Semenanjung Malaysia. Temu bual mendalam telah dijalankan keatas 16 remaja juvana yang terdiri daripada lapan orang lelaki dan lapan orang perempuan berusia diantara 15 hingga 17 tahun. Hasil dapatan kajian mengenal pasti tiga faedah utama pendidikan kemahiran vokasional kepada remaja juvana, iaitu motivasi menjalani pemulihan di institusi, memberi makna, tujuan dan harapan dalam hidup, dan persediaan dan perancangan selepas bebas. Faedah ini diyakini memberi kesan kepada peningkatan peluang kerjaya dan penyepaduan dalam komuniti, dan kedua-dua kesan ini menyumbang kepada pengurangan risiko pengulangan tingkah laku jenayah. Kajian mencadangkan pengukuhan kemahiran atau latihan bersijil bagi meningkatkan kebolehpasaran dan keupayaan remaja untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan apabila dibebaskan kelak. Kerjasama kukuh antara institusi pemulihan dan industri yang menawarkan program latihan kecekapan perlu dipertingkatkan. Kajian turut memberi implikasi kepada penambahbaikan dasar dan program pendidikan vokasional di institusi pemulihan, sekaligus memperkasa hak remaja dalam sistem keadilan juvana

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

Exploring the concept of “desistance” and age graded theory of informal social control by Sampson and Laub

“Desistance” is a criminological concept that discusses a person’s dismissal from criminal behaviour. The ambiguity of this concept leads to confusion about what words to use: stop, cease, evade or distance from crime. There is even no translation of this concept into the Malay language, which can cause problems, especially when discussing the study of re-offending. Thus, comprehensive research is required to scrutinise the causes of success in stopping or abstaining from crime in a group of former prisoners. This concept paper addresses the questions that arise and summarises the definitions made in previous studies while using the secondary study methodology to underpin this entire study. Also, it includes the Age Graded Theory by Sampson and Laub (1993) because this theory discusses how a person can successfully stop committing crimes through informal social control. This paper also discusses the critical components of this theory in detail, such as crime trajectories, life transitions, and turning points. This study concludes with the strengths and weaknesses of the theory concerning the discussion of the success of a former prisoner in avoiding crime

Competitive Strategy And Performance Of Quantity Surveying Firms In Malaysia

The competitiveness of the construction industry is affected by the number of new entrants, the strength of rivals, clients' expectations and a firm's own resources. However, the country's economic situation also affects the stability of the industry, and thus its competitive strength. This research focuses on the adoption of competitive strategies within quantity surveying (QS) firms of varying sizes during a period of economic fluctuation in Malaysia. The success of any strategy adopted is determined by the performance of the firm. Through a survey, this study revealed that firm size did not have a major impact on the choice of competitive strategy during this economic situation. The QS firms preferred differentiation strategies, and growth strategies were less preferred. The firms created attractiveness in the services offered by expanding the range of services, improving reputation and securing existing clients. For small- and medium-sized firms, this strategy enabled them to achieve the highest business performance, a satisfactory number of clients, and for large-sized firms, the strategy provided positive improvement in the number of projects in hand

Mengukur tahap ketahanan diri mahasiswa B40 dalam kalangan pelajar universiti

Ketahanan diri merupakan aspek penting untuk melahirkan mahasiswa B40 yang bukan sahaja berilmu dan berakhlak mulia malah mampu menyesuaikan diri untuk berhadapan dengan tekanan dan melawan pengaruh yang menghalang kepada kemajuan diri. Oleh itu, artikel ini disediakan bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti tahap ketahanan diri dalam kalangan mahasiswa B40 yang sedang mengikuti pengajian di UKM. Kajian dijalankan dengan menggunakan reka bentuk tinjauan keratan-lintang (cross-sectional survei) secara kuantitatif. Seramai 100 orang mahasiswa B40 yang sedang mengikuti pengajian di Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan telah dipilih sebagai responden kajian. Data kajian telah dianalisis dengan menggunakan ujian deskriptif. Analisis deskriptif kajian menunjukkan bahawa majoriti mahasiswa B40 yang terlibat dalam kajian ini menunjukkan tahap ketahanan diri yang tinggi (63 peratus) ke tahap yang sederhana (37 peratus). Hasil kajian memberi implikasi positif kepada pihak-pihak yang berkepentingan khasnya pihak pengurusan tertinggi universiti dan Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan untuk meneruskan lebih banyak program-program yang menyumbang kepada pemantapan dan ketahanan diri dalam kalangan mahasiswa B40

Rerouting Framework for Sustainable Management in Elephant Conservation

: Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) has been identified as one of the major threats to wild elephants through its range in thirteen countries including Malaysia. With development encroaching into the elephant’s natural territories, the number of HEC cases has increased. The aim of this study is focusing on developing a framework of elephant rerouting and causeway using geomatics technology and 3D Geo-visualisation as strategy to conserve elephant in sustainable way for Taman Negara Rompin. The framework was used to propose alternative pathway based on rational model. Four main elements strongly highlighted in the rerouting framework are elephant diet’s sources, tracking trail, fencing and deterrents and the corridors monitoring. With the integration of Geographical Information system, the knowledge to protect elephants from HEC can be enhanced