Work–family conflict and coping strategies: Qualitative study of Muslim female academicians in Malaysia

This study seeks to explore the relationship between work demands related to causes of work–family conflict (WFC) and coping strategies among Muslim female academicians. Five interviews were conducted with five respondents. Two issues were discussed: primary sources of WFC and coping mechanisms for WFC. The participants included five Muslim female lecturers, aged 43–45 years. Most interviewees experienced conflict between work demand and family life. They believe that these conflicts were reasons for decline in productivity, higher rates of absenteeism, higher turnover, lower morale, lower job satisfaction, and lower family satisfaction. To manage WFC, three coping strategies were used by respondents.     

A Logic for Multiple-source Approximation Systems with Distributed Knowledge Base

The theory of rough sets starts with the notion of an approximation space, which is a pair (U,R), U being the domain of discourse, and R an equivalence relation on U. R is taken to represent the knowledge base of an agent, and the induced partition reflects a granularity of U that is the result of a lack of complete information about the objects in U. The focus then is on approximations of concepts on the domain, in the context of the granularity. The present article studies the theory in the situation where information is obtained from different sources. The notion of approximation space is extended to define a multiple-source approximation system with distributed knowledge base, which is a tuple (U,R_P)_{Pßf N}(U,R_P)_{P\ss_f N}, where N is a set of sources and P ranges over all finite subsets of N. Each R _P is an equivalence relation on U satisfying some additional conditions, representing the knowledge base of the group P of sources. Thus each finite group of sources and hence individual source perceives the same domain differently (depending on what information the group/individual source has about the domain), and the same concept may then have approximations that differ with the groups. In order to express the notions and properties related with rough set theory in this multiple-source situation, a quantified modal logic LMSAS ^D is proposed. In LMSAS ^D , quantification ranges over modalities, making it different from modal predicate logic and modal logic with propositional quantifiers. Some fragments of LMSAS ^D are discussed and it is shown that the modal system KTB is embedded in LMSAS ^D . The epistemic logic S5^D_nS5^D_n is also embedded in LMSAS ^D , and cannot replace the latter to serve our purpose. The relationship of LMSAS ^D with first and second-order logics is presented. Issues of expressibility, axiomatization and decidability are addressed.     

Relationship Quality as Mediator of Forgiveness and Psychological Well-being among Transgressors in Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships often blossom in college life. But relationships are not always a bed of roses. One may find themselves to be inflicting hurt towards their partner. The study aimed to explore the role of positive and negative relationship quality as the mediators of forgiveness (seeking and self) and psychological well-being in romantic relationships from the perspective of the transgressors. Data were collected from a sample of 119 college students in New Delhi, India, who have been in a romantic relationship for 6 months at least and who have hurt their partner in the past. They were administered the Seeking Forgiveness Questionnaire, Heartland Forgiveness Scale (self), Positive–Negative Relationship Quality Questionnaire and the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being. The results showed positive relationship quality to be a mediator between forgiveness (seeking and self) and psychological well-being. Additional support for this relationship was provided by the insignificant role of negative relationship quality between forgiveness (seeking and self) and psychological well-being.     

Tailoring the crack-tip microstructure: a novel approach

This investigation demonstrates a way to innovatively modify the ferritic microstructure at a local scale, particularly at the failure prone area such as Charpy V-notch (CVN) root. Tensile pre-strain (PS) up to 6% and 12% were employed before annealing (An) the samples at 650°C for 15?minutes. Ferrite grain size increased sharply and gradually (along the distance ahead of the notch root) within the microstructurally modified region in 6–12% pre-strained and annealed samples, respectively. The critical strain which promotes strain-induced boundary migration (SIBM), was found to be 0.1 which resulted in abnormally coarse ferrite grains.     

The influence of practicum supervisors’ facilitation styles on student teachers’ reflective thinking during collective reflection

Student teachers’ reflective thinking is closely associated with learning and improving practice. Novice student teachers require adequate support to reflect more deeply. The role of ‘others’ in collective reflection and knowledge generation as an outcome creates a platform for deep reflection, addressing both the processes and premises of reflective thinking. Facilitation styles of practicum supervisors could influence the level of student teachers’ reflective thinking during collective reflection. This is a case study using purposeful sampling involving a Malaysian teacher training institution that conducted an undergraduate early childhood programme in collaboration with a UK university. Sources of evidence were interviews, direct observations and documents. Data collected were analysed using both inductive and deductive methods. It was found that facilitation styles influence the depth of student teachers’ reflective thinking during group dialogic reflection. A continuum of facilitation styles from collaborative to instructive typologies was constructed. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Impact of Religious Activities on Quality of Life and Cognitive Function Among Elderly

Journal of Religion and Health - Religiosity and spirituality have previously been found to have significant effects on mental and physical health. This study aimed to compare...     

Book reviews

Rosenbaum, D.A. (1991). Human motor control. New york: Academic Press. Pp. 411. ISBN 0-12-597300-4. $35.95.

Altmann, G.T.M. (Ed.) (1989). Parsing and interpretation. hove, Sussex: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd. Pp. 376. ISBN 0-86377-143-2. £19.95.

Johnson-Laird, P.N. & Byrne, R.M.J. (1991). Deduction. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Ltd. Pp. 256. ISBN 0-86377-148-3. £14.95.

Singer, M. (1990). Psychology of language: An introduction to sentence and discourse processing. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Pp xi + 308. ISBN 0-8058-0005-0. £21.50.     

Anxiety and Depression in Cancer Patients: The Association with Religiosity and Religious Coping

There is a lack of studies looking into religiosity and religious coping in cancer patient. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the religiosity using Duke University Religion Index, religious coping using Brief Religious Coping Scale, anxiety and depression based on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale among 200 cancer patients. The association between religiosity and religious coping with anxiety and depression was studied. The findings showed that subjects with anxiety or depression used more negative religious coping and had lower non-organization religiosity. Hence, measurements in reducing negative religious coping and encouraging religious activities could help to reduce psychological distress in cancer patients.     

Knowledge and attitude of Malaysia’s Muslim faith healers in dealing with the mentally ill

Muslim faith healers are often sought by the Malaysian public as an avenue to address psychological distress. “Ruqyah” refers to the recitation of verses from the Qur'an and/or sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and is used by Muslim faith healers as a method of treatment. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude of Muslim faith healers in dealing with psychiatric patients in Malaysia. Seven Muslim faith healers were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis. The authors identified four themes: understanding of psychiatric illnesses, diagnostic competence, patients' referral, and integrating “ruqyah” into mainstream psychiatry. It was found that the respondents had limited knowledge of psychiatric illness, focusing on “ruqyah” as the main intervention in treating psychiatric illness. Recognizing the important role played by Muslim faith healers in the treatment of psychiatric illness in Malaysia, collaboration between them and fellow psychiatrists is deemed highly necessary.     

The Development of Migrant Entrepreneurship in Japan: Case of Bangladeshis

One of the visible but often neglected outcomes of international migration in Asia is the emergence of immigrant-run businesses. Drawing on the experiences of Bangladeshi migrant entrepreneurs in Japan, this study examines how migrants reposition themselves from the rank of irregular workers to that of entrepreneurs under conditions of temporary migration. It highlights both the opportunity structure and the ingenuity of migrants in entrepreneurship. Unlike traditional migrant businesses, Bangladeshi migrant entrepreneurs engage in transactions in ethnic and non-ethnic products and are driven to adopt innovative strategies to make use of available technology in communication and transport and the globalization of markets. In doing so, they maintain multiple orientations in cultivating both the ethnic and local markets and developing a transnational and/or multinational dimension in growing their businesses.