The aim of this thesis is to examine and analyse the images of graffiti contained within the portfolio of ‘Pudu Jail’s Graffiti (PJG)’, documented work from the abandoned prison facility in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 2002 and 2003. The objective has been to discover whether the ‘Pudu Jail’s Graffiti’, has a distinct visual narrative(s) compared with other prison graffiti research, concluding that its qualities lies in the complexity of visual cultures brought within the space of the prison cells. The prison graffiti retrieved from this portfolio has been analysed through a process of qualitative review; in order to find its thematic alignments based on comparative categorical contexts. This research will assess the concepts of the proposed themes of the PJG (there are ten themes such as Names, Time, Food, Religious gates, God(s), etc.) noting that the graffiti’s visual and textual narrative context was based on the local, vernacular culture, and social influences, which remained as part of the inmates’ or the cells’ previous occupants memories and the cultural embodiment that they had reflected onto the cell walls. It will look into the PJG’s significance and function, which contained a mixture of memories, events, places, professions of love, religious commitments and various tell-tale signs of messages that seemed to have been made exclusively for the inmates themselves. These personalised marks would throw light on the relationship between the inmates and the prison cells’ embodiment of their narratives. Thus, this research represents a continued effort to obtain an updated description of prison graffiti by finding an alternative approach within prison graffiti research. Combining both elements of the research, namely the meaning of the images and the acknowledgment of the space in which they reside, may lend greater argument to prison graffiti research and reveal the deeper connections that graffiti may have towards its cultural surroundings.

Background: A marked increase of type 2 diabetes and associated morbidity and mortality rate over the last 10 years has been recorded in Malaysia. Ineffective diabetes management and a lack of self-care practice among type 2 diabetic patients have been identified as the major reasons for this problem. Research in other countries has highlighted a range of factors influencing effective self-care of type 2 diabetes including patients' perspectives of diabetes, sociocultural issues, religious beliefs and support from healthcare. Nevertheless, there is paucity of research conducted in Malaysia. Therefore, the exploration of self-care practice and self-care support provision in patients with type 2 diabetes in Malaysia is needed to understand the problem. Aims: To understand the self-care practice of patients with type 2 diabetes in Malaysia and the factors that influence the patients' self-care practice. To understand the type 2 diabetes’ self-care support provision in Malaysia from the perspective of patients, healthcare professionals, and healthcare system. Methods: A qualitative, single embedded case study design was utilised. Eighteen patients with type 2 diabetes and 19 healthcare professionals (physicians, diabetes educators, nurse, pharmacist and dietician), involved in self-care support provision primary- and secondary-care settings in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Malaysia, participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews between November 2012 and June 2013. In addition, data were collected through participant-observation of clinic consultations, and analysis of relevant documents used in the provision of diabetes management in the respective clinics. The framework technique supported analysis of data. Data were stored and managed using Nvivo 9 software. Findings: The findings indicate that patients with type 2 diabetes had a good understanding of diabetes and self-care, but a lack of self-care support meant that effective self-care was difficult to sustain. Healthcare professionals’ (HCPs’) provision of self-care support was restricted due to several factors, including lack of opportunity to provide self-care support, unsuitable clinic environment and a fragmented management within primary and secondary care. Additionally, barriers in patient–HCP communication, a combination of the personal, interpersonal and inter-professional HCP factors, and a traditional medical model adopted by Malaysian healthcare system, seem to have influenced the practice and quality of the service delivered. Conclusion: It is clear that the increased incidence of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes is not merely due to poor self-care practice by patients, but also due to constraints in service delivery and underdevelopment of self-care support provision. The evidence generated can assist in the development of strategies to improve the quality of care and facilitate changes in the self-care support provision in Malaysia.

This thesis explores the capacity of a state feminist institution in a non-Western setting in implementing gender empowerment initiatives. This study adopts a cross-cutting approach using state feminism and a feminist institutional analytical lens especially the idea of formal and informal rules, to develop a dynamic analysis of the factors that shape the capacity of a state feminist institution in a post-colonial context. This research uses a holistic single case study to analyse the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development in Malaysia by examining four key determinants: 1) institutional structure, 2) resources, 3) relationship/network and 4) the WPA’s policies implementation (as shaped by the institutional structure, resources, and relationship) to assess the Ministry’s capacity. This research highlights the variance of capacity level of the Women’s Policy Agency in Malaysia has in the implementation of gender empowerment initiatives within its institutional environment. The WPA demonstrates competency in specific areas of gender empowerment programmes especially economic empowerment but is often constrained in their ability to navigate through a gendered state institution which is highly centralised and strongly hierarchical. Masculinised political culture and institutional socio-religious perspective on gender roles also play a part in weakening the Ministry’s capacity in pushing for gender empowerment initiatives that challenge the conservative outlook of gender roles in society. .This study explores the strengths and constraints of state feminism in Malaysia using feminist institutionalism analytical tools of formal and informal rules as the dynamic interaction between the formal and informal rules in a diverse, developing and semi-democratic context characterise the WPA’s capacity within its institutional setting. This thesis provides important insights on the conditions that shape the WPA’s capacity and alternative understanding of state feminism in a non-Western context, and thereby, provides guidance for gender policy advocates and future practices.

This dissertation is an examination of what the elements of responsive planning are, how they can be applied, and why existing planning conditions at the time of this research prevented such an approach from realizing its full potential in community planning for Kota Bharu. The goal of the research was to determine whether community planning in Kota Bharu, Malaysia, could be made more responsive to the residential needs of low-income groups. As a participant-observer, I applied concepts from the planning literature on Third World urbanization, low-income housing and community development to the realities of the planning process I worked in. A survey framework was applied which sought low-income residents' participation in the planning process so that government efforts in urban renewal could be more responsive to community needs. Based on this information, two planning scenarios proposing redevelopment and rehabilitation strategies for the Buluh Kubu site were presented. For planning to be more responsive, it is my conclusion that a change in attitude, not technology, is what is demanded. Depressed neighbourhoods, such as Buluh Kubu, must be seen as organic parts of the total environment, not slums disassociated from the rest of the town. Indigenous planners must realize that substandard housing is only a symptom, not the cause, of the societal in- equality they can work towards solving. Necessary to such an understanding is a redefinition of commitment by indigenous planners regarding their responsibility to serve low-income groups through participatory planning. A major theme of this work, therefore, is that planners should reinforce, rather than destroy, attempts by low-income groups to house themselves. By concentrating on the delivery of communal infrastructure, planners can best utilize their efforts towards community development as a partner with low-income residents who, with the proper assistance, have the potential to provide their own shelter. In terms of Canada's global response to the problems of planning in developing nations, it is the conclusion of this study that foreign aid programs which only stress technological assistance tend to create Third World dependence, not development. It is recommended that more self-help, participatory planning programs be adopted by those concerned so that development responsive to the basic community needs of Third World Nations can be realistically achieved. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第18338号 / 農博第2063号 / 新制||農||1023(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H26||N4845(農学部図書室) / 31196 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 大澤 晃, 教授 髙部 圭司, 教授 北山 兼弘 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Malaysia’s preferential policies have reduced the educational attainment gap between ethnic groups. However, we know less about their effects on ethnic differences in academic achievement. With this point in mind, the overall goal of this study is to examine inter-ethnic differences in mathematics and science achievement based on the cohort of eighth grade (Form 2) Malaysian students who participated in the Third International Mathematics and Sciences Study Repeat Project (TIMMS-R). It sought to determine the extent to which theoretical propositions of the structural and cultural perspectives developed to explain achievement differences in the United States are applicable in Malaysia. Malaysia is an interesting setting for the purpose of the present study for three reasons. First, the interethnic differences in educational outcomes were historically linked to occupational structure and class-and ethnicity-based residential segregation during the Brisish colonial rule. Second, Malaysia is one of the few countries (i.e. Fiji, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Uganda, India, and New Zealand) that have strong public policies to rectify the historical ethnic inequalities in access to education. However, the difference between Malaysia and these countries seems to be in the relative status of the formerly disadvantaged ethnic group in question. Finally, as a new member of the New Industrialized Countries (NICs), Malaysia is in the process of making the transition from an agricultural economy to an indutrialized nation. As such, the importance of mathematics and science education increases along with socioeconomic and technological advance and the discrepancies in mathematics and science achievement can have important implications on socioeconomic disparity among ethnic groups. The primary contribution of this dissertation is that it holistically examines how individual, family and school characteristics affect mathematics and science achievement of the eighth graders in Malaysia. The multilevel modeling analyses showed that Non-Malay students performed significantly better in mathematics achievement than Malay students, even after controlling for family and school characteristics as well as students’ perceived importance of mathematics and educational expectations. Overall, the results suggest that the structural and cultural perspectives work differently for Malay and Non-Malay students.

No / Using a critical political economy approach and the concept of labour precarity, the international dive tourism industry in Sabah, Malaysia and its workers’ vulnerabilities are interrogated. Fieldwork data highlights dive tourism’s socio-economic impacts and the precarity of labour within the international tourism sector and also critiques it as a development strategy for a peripheral region. The paper challenges the optimistic views of labour precarity found in the existing political economy literature. Rather than identifying labour empowerment, evidence demonstrates significant worker vulnerability, uncertainty, and contingency – especially among ethnic minorities – resulting from Malaysia’s state-led rentier economy. / British Countil PMI2 (R18)

The restoration of natural wetlands is a wonderful, noble and pragmatic idea, but such efforts often meet resistance from certain segments of society. One reason for this is that the public perceives the environment in different ways than do the experts, such as landscape architects and land managers. This dissertation analyzes people's preferences for wetlands in comparison to those of landscape architects. It specifically studies the conflict about the wetland restoration program in the Malaysia's Kelana Jaya Municipal Park. This dissertation is based on data obtained from a preference survey using photo questionnaires that polled both the public's and landscape architects' group preferences for wetlands. The data was analyzed using the Content Identifying Method (CIM) to determine group preferences for wetlands and factors that influence these preferences. Park managers from several local authorities also were interviewed to determine their expectations of public preferences and attitudes toward wetland restoration and public participation. The public and landscape architects have significantly differed in stated preferences for wetlands. The public strongly prefers park-like landscapes that demonstrate human influences and provide the potential for human involvement; in contrast, landscape architects prefer natural wetlands that are visually pleasing, with well-defined spaces, visual coherence, and visual complexity. In addition, park managers did not accurately predict the public's view of wetlands. Their prediction was similar to landscape architects' preferences. Attitudes toward wetland activities and safety, knowledge about wetland benefits, the motivation to use urban natural open spaces, and familiarity with nature significantly affected the public's preferences. Further, the motivation to use urban natural open spaces was the best predictor of public's preferences. The primary implications of this dissertation are that environmental education should be a core activity in changing people's perceptions of natural wetlands and that opinions of local people should be incorporated in many aspect of wetlands restoration, planning, design, and policymaking, especially in Malaysia. / Ph. D.

Yes / The Internet has become a vital part of our daily lives in the last two decades. However, as a double-edged sword, such reliance has increased the chance of being targeted by various cybercrimes, including cyberstalking. Furthermore, when the crime transcends into the real world, it can result in rape and even murder. Hence, the MYStalk Alert application aims at helping and facilitating the victims of stalking and victims of harassment generally to understand, cope, and document their experience on the crime for a compelling trail of evidence in the criminal justice process. This Application aims to remedy the circumstances by giving access to users to the features that make it easy to document the evidence and provides them with available information on the crime and the legal landscape of stalking in Malaysia. Furthermore, MYStalk Alert also focused on the user’s physical and psychological by providing self-assessment and tips for the wellbeing including mental health test under the feature of victims’ support. The Application is a first of its kind in Malaysia and aims to support victims of stalking in getting the justice they deserved. The preliminary findings revealed contradictory views on the effective response of the criminal justice system towards cyberstalking, which explains the under-reporting of such crime. Significantly, the findings illustrate that the current Malaysian legal framework on cyberstalking is deficient in protecting cyberstalking victims, which calls for an urgent need for a review in the Malaysian laws. / This work was supported by research grant FRGS/1/2019/SSI10/UITM/02/2 by the Research Management Centre, UiTM Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

The central question of this thesis examines how Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore learned and adapted successful terrorist disengagement programs and policies; through their unique and non-military rehabilitation programs. The methodology is a comparative case study analysis of Malaysia and Singapore. In order to understand how the countries of Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore adapted a colonial-era counter-insurgency program to disengage Communist Terrorists into a program that now rehabilitates radicalized Islamist Terrorists, an analysis of the periods of the Malayan Emergency and the post-Cold War era of Malaya/Malaysia and Singapore is necessary. The argument presented in this thesis contends the colonial framework and policies of the Malayan Emergency had a positive impact on Malaysia and Singapore; which both countries have further developed and learned as a foundation for their successful terrorist disengagement programs and policies to counter radical Islamist groups and individuals. The hypothesis is that successful counter-insurgency operations must include disengagement programs, rather than purely military solutions or strategies to ensure countries success in counter-insurgency operations and strategies. The Malaysian counter-insurgency disengagement program and the Singapore counter-insurgency disengagement program can provide lessons for modern day counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism programs and policies.