ERL Educational Depot Tour

I went to KLIA Express Depot Tour with TRANSIT and the (KTM) Railway Fan Club on Wednesday 9 December 2009. The tour, which took about 2.5 hours, started from KL Sentral station to Express Rail Link depot at Salak Tinggi.

Thank you to all ERL Maintenance Support Sdn Bhd (E-MAS)'s staff for the interesting and informative tour. And many thanks to Moaz and TRANSIT for arranging the visit.

If you are interested in organising similar study visits, here is the contact for the ERL Marketing & Sales Management:

Ms Raihanah Busu Leman
Executive
Ekspress Rail Link Sdn Bhd
Level 2, KL City Air Terminal
KL Sentral Station
50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(T): + 60 3 2267 8888
(Fax): + 60 3 2267 8918
E-mail: sales@KLIAekspress.com

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A Japanese Perspective on Crowding: How Well Have the Japanese Adjusted to High Density?

M. Homma
Psychologia, 1990, vol. 33, pp. 128-137

At the present time, Japan faces many problems related to crowding or high density; shortage of housing, limited space, traffic jams, and urban problems. However, a number of scholars working in different fields have suggested that the Japanese tolerate high density because they have developed coping strategies to deal with crowding. This paper will review these strategies and relate them to the multidensity model of crowding (Paulus, 1980). This model will be used to analyze Japanese adjustment to high density. It is concluded that the Japanese view crowding as a negative experience. The increasingly high levels of density and recent cultural or social changes have inhibited the effectiveness of various coping strategies. There is a need for definitive research on the extent to which the Japanese experience a variety of negative consequences due to crowding.

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Commuting Stress?

Wednesday, 4 March 2009
From QoWL Helper

Almost whenever we get to chat to representatives of a client organisation we can guarantee that the issues that will get the most moans and groans from everyone in the room are 'parking' or 'travelling to work'.

When examined across all our data sets parking and travelling to work seem to have little effect on the average experience of quality of working life. However when we look at individuals these issues can have a major impact.

In almost all of our surveys where people are able to comment in an open question, parking or commuting comments are in the top 10 most mentioned issues and if the overall impression is negative, people's comments often show they are hopping mad about it!

Why should people be particularly upset about such peripheral aspects of a job?

Well, there are a number of reasons, but the best explanation appears to be related to the idea first suggested by Herzberg that there are certain elements of job satisfaction called Hygiene factors where the minimum level you expect is for them to be good. Such Hygiene factors are usually to do with access to the basic resources you need to do your job. For an office worker this might be having the email system up and working, but even extends to whether you are allowed to make personal phone calls at work. Perhaps counter-intuitively having such factors at a better than average level does not seem to improve QoWL by very much, but having them at a less than average level seriously reduces QoWL!

In addition to building more car parks and improving the roads generally, there are many ways organisations and individuals attempt to overcome problems with Parking & Commuting.

Flexi-time is a time honoured method for staggering travel and parking times, quite often commuting just one hour later or earlier can make all the difference. Allowing staff to stagger their start and end times can also have good effects on general home-work interface issues as well, such as not having to rush to drop the kids off at the start of the day.

Car pooling or car sharing potentially helps both travel times and parking issues, but can be frustrating and cause a perceived loss of control if someone wants to leave early and the other person does not!

If you really cannot change anything practically it might be that thinking about the problem in a different way, perhaps by trying to see the advantages of the situation (e.g. Getting fit by having to walk the last half a mile to work). Tony Cassidy has talked about this and other psychological approaches to dealing with commuting-related stress.

Finally, one of the reasons people feel free to voice a negative opinion about issues such as parking or travelling to work is that they are a shared gripe, and they won't be embarrassed moaning about it even to the big boss.

Selected Research Articles
# Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the Nature of Man. Cleveland: World Press. 4 (2) 15-21.

# Cassidy, T.(1992). Commuting-related Stress: Consequences and Implications. Employee Counselling Today. 4 (2) 15-21.

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Possible Implications Of Daily Commute And Mosquito-borne Diseases

ScienceDaily (Sep. 21, 2009) — University of Hawaii at Manoa assistant researcher Durrell Kapan recently published a paper in PLoS ONE highlighting how daily commuting patterns in mega-cities may be a critically overlooked factor in understanding the resurgence of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever, infecting 50-100 million people annually.

Even a small number of infected people who remain active can move a virus such as dengue between different parts of the community, where it will be picked up by mosquitos and, after an incubation period, be passed on to another unsuspecting passerby," says Kapan. "Our research examined whether the standard practice of eliminating mosquito vectors at residences would be sufficient to control dengue if other areas in the community still had several large patches of mosquitos that could become infected by commuters."

To undertake this study, Kapan teamed up with mathematician Ben Adams from the University of Bath (UK), with support of UH Mānoa's Pacific Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Center of Biomedical Research Excellence program, and as participating faculty in UH Mānoa's National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Research Traineeship (IGERT) in Ecology, Conservation and Pathogen Biology.

"Our primary objective with this paper is to prompt researchers, public health practitioners and others concerned with vector control to look beyond the traditional epidemiological definition of a transmission cluster based on home address, and consider novel ways to control community transmission of vector-borne diseases that account for great morbidity and mortality worldwide," says Kapan. "Even a short visit to an infected patch of mosquitos, say at a lunch venue or open market, may be enough to keep the virus circulating."

Adds Adams, "When someone gets infected we need to look at their recent travel patterns to figure out from which group of mosquitoes they got the disease, and to which groups they may have passed it on."

Kapan works on this and other transdisciplinary research focused on applied evolution, ecology and insect genomics at the Center for Conservation and Research Training (CCRT), a research and training arm of the UH Mānoa Pacific Biosciences Research Center.

Read the full paper here:
Ben Adams, Durrell D. Kapan. Man Bites Mosquito: Understanding the Contribution of Human Movement to Vector-Borne Disease Dynamics. PLoS ONE, 2009; 4(8): e6763 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006763

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Commuting stress and noise

Source

Research shows that a large increase in background noise at a constant, steady level is experienced as less intrusive as time passes; although prolonged exposure produces lasting elevations in blood pressure.1 If the noise is not only loud, but also intermittent, then people remain conscious of their heightened irritability even after an extended period of adaptation; and their symptoms of central nervous system distress become more pronounced.1

In a laboratory, subjects exposed to a loud, intermittent, and unpredictable noise experience not only showed physiological symptoms of stress but also behavioural symptoms. These subjects became less persistent in their attempts to cope with frustrating tasks, and suffered measurable impairments in performing tasks requiring care and attention.1

In another ingenious experiment, the Psychologist David Glass and his collaborators exposed two groups of subjects to a recording of loud, unpredictable noises. And, whereas subjects in one group had no control over the recording, subjects in the other group could stop the tape at any time simply by flipping a switch. These subjects were told, however, that the researchers would prefer that they not stop the tape, and indeed most of them honoured this preference. Following exposure to the noise, subjects with access to the control switch made almost 60 percent fewer errors than the other subjects on a proofreading task, and made more than four times as many attempts to solve a difficult puzzle.1

Similarly, commuting though heavy traffic is in many ways very stressful, and much more like exposure to loud, unpredictable noises than to constant background noise. Delays are difficult to predict, virtually impossible to control, and one never quite gets used to being cut up by other drivers who believe that their time is more valuable than anyone else’s. Thus, a large amount of scientific literature documents the many stress symptoms that result from protracted driving through heavy traffic.

One theme in this body of knowledge focuses on the experiences of Bus drivers, whose exposure to the stresses of heavy traffic is higher than that of most other road users, but who have also had greater opportunities to adapt to those stresses. Compared to workers in other occupations, a disproportionate share of the absenteeism experienced by Bus drivers stems from stress-related illnesses such as gastrointestinal problems, headaches, and anxiety.2 Many studies have found sharply elevated rates of hypertension among city Bus drivers relative to a variety of control groups, including, in one instance, Bus drivers themselves during their pre-employment physical examinations.3,4 And, additional studies have found elevations of stress hormones such as Adrenaline, Noradrenalin, and Cortisol in town Bus drivers.4 One study even found elevations of Adrenaline and Noradrenalin to be strongly positively correlated with the density of the traffic with which the Bus drivers had to contend.5 And, more than half of all urban Bus drivers retire prematurely with some form of medical disability.6

Your daily commute through heavy traffic is presumably less stressful than operating a bus all day in a busy town. And probably much less stressful than meeting an attractive member of the opposite sex somewhere. Yet, there is no question that the differences are one of degree rather than kind. Studies have shown that the demands of commuting through heavy traffic often result in emotional and behavioural deficits on arrival at home or at work.7 Compared to drivers who commute through low-density traffic, those who commute through heavy traffic are more likely to report feelings of annoyance.8 And at higher levels of commuting distance, time, speed, and months of commuting are significantly positively correlated with increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure.8

This prolonged experience of commuting stress also suppresses immune function and shortens longevity.9,8 Even spells in traffic as brief as fifteen minutes have been linked to significant elevations of blood glucose and cholesterol, and to declines in blood coagulation time (all factors that are positively associated with heart disease). Commuting by car is also linked positively with the incidence of various cancers, especially cancer of the lung, although this is probably because of higher exposure to exhaust fumes.10 Among people who commute to work, the incidence of these and other illnesses rises with the length of commute,10 and is significantly lower amongst those who commute by bus or rail,11 and lower still amongst non-commuters.12

In conclusion, there appears to be persistent and significant costs associated with long commutes through heavy traffic. And we can also be confident that Neurophysiologists would find higher levels of Cortisol, Norepinephrine, Adrenaline, Noradrenalin, and other stress hormones in a seducer who is in a situation that they feel they have no control over. Of course, nobody has done the experiment to discover whether poorly skilled seducers would report lower levels of life satisfaction than the rest of the population. But, because we know that drivers often report being consciously aware of the frustration and stress they experience during commuting, it is a plausible conjecture that subjective well-being, as conventionally measured, would be lower in those seducers. However, even if the negative effects of stress never broke through into conscious awareness, we would still have powerful reasons for wishing to escape them.

References:

1. Glass, D.C., J. Singer & J. Pennebaker, ‘Behavioral and Psychological Effects of Uncontrollable Environmental Events’ (1977) in Perspectives on Environment and Behavior, ed. D. Stokols, New York: Plenum
2. Long, L. & J. Perry, ‘Economic and Occupational Causes of Transit Operator Absenteeism: A Review of Research’ (1985) Transport Review 5:247-267
3. Ragland, D.R., M. Winkleby, J. Schwalbe, B.L. Holman, L. Morse, L. Syme & J.M. Fisher, ‘Prevalence of Hypertension in Bus Drivers’ (1987) International Journal of Epidemiology, 16:208-214; Pikus, W.G. & W.A. Tarranikova, ‘The Frequency of Hypertensive Disease Among Drivers in Public Transportation’ (1975) Terapevischeskii Archives, 47:135-137
4. Evans, G.W., M.N. Palsane & S. Carrère, ‘Type A Behaviour and Occupational Stress: A Cross-cultural Study of Blue-collar Workers” (1987) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52:1002-1007
5. Evans, G.W. & S. Carrère, ‘Traffic Congestion, Perceived Control, and Psychophysiological Stress Among Urban Bus Drivers’ (1991) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76:658-663
6. Evans, G.W., ‘Working on the hot seat: Urban Bus Operators’ (1994) Accident Analysis and Prevention, 26:181-193
7. Glass, D.C., & J. Singer, ‘Urban Stressors: Experiments on Noise and Social Stressors’ (1972) New York: Academic Press; Sherrod, D.R., ‘Crowding, Perceived Control, and Behavioral Aftereffects’ (1974) Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 4:171-186
8. Stokols, D., R.W. Novaco, J. Stokols & J. Campbell, ‘Traffic congestion, Type A Behaviour, and Stress’ (1978) Journal of Applied Psychology, 63:467–480
9. DeLongis A., S. Folkman, R.S. Lazarus, ‘The impact of Daily Stress on Health and Mood: Psychological and Social Resources as Mediators’ (1988) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54:486-495
10. Koslowsky, M., A.N. Kluger & M. Reich, ‘Commuting Stress‘ (1995) New York: Plenum
11. Taylor, P.J. & S.J. Pocock, ‘Commuter Travel and Sickness Absence of London Office Workers’ (1972) British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine, 26:165-172; Koslowsky, M. & M. Krausz, ‘On the Relationship Between Commuting, Stress Symptoms, and attitudinal Measures’ (1993) Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 29:485-492
12. European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, ‘The Journey from Home to the Workplace: The Impact on the Safety and Health of the Commuters/Workers’ (1984) Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.

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Effects to mediate crowding on train's physical structure.

PO ENV 9: XXIII INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY
Madrid, July 17-22, 1994
HOMMA, Michiko; Japan Women's University, Tokyo, Japan.

One of the urban environmental problem is various phenomena occured (or caused) by crowded congestion. In Tokyo, the problem is particularly serious in many aspects. Crowds on commuting trains in the morning and evening rush hours shows this phenomenon.

Recently, the new model train for commuters have been developed seats were fold up in the carriages to provide more room for the commuters during the rush hours to relieve the congestion and to carry as many passengers as possible. However, we suspected whether such a train is effective or not. Because some researchers indicated that the social structure in order mediate feel crowding. Then,it's physical structure is hinder to construct the ordering arrangement of person.

Therefore,on a hypothesis that this new system doesn't seem to help to increase physical density and rather increase the passengers stress and crowding, we conducted quasi-experiment on manipulating 2 independent variables on differences of density and the differences of type the train. Subjects for this study were commuting trains running Yamanote-Line and their perceived density,perceived crowding and heart rate were measured.

As the result, the hypothesis was substantiated. This experiment has proved that this new model carriages for passengers could be obstacle to its proceedings of social structure.

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How to reduce stress while commuting

Aug 20th, 2009

Do you get out of your car with a queasy stomach, a headache and your blood pressure registering through the roof? If you do, that energy vulture called stress may have sent your pulse skyrocketing. In a study conducted at the University of California at Irvine, researchers found that the stress of commuting takes a major toll on health. According to the study, it has direct physiological effects of raising blood pressure and releasing stress hormones into the body. Not only that, long commutes (more than 18 miles one way) may also increase the likelihood of having a heart attack due to exposure to high levels of air pollutants, which appears to be a risk factor for heart disease.

Although there is no antidote to stressful commuting, there are lots of ways to shoo off the energy vulture. Here is how to thrive while you drive.

1. Prepare in advance
One of the best ways to lessen the strain of road rage is to prepare everything the night before. Clothes, documents, attache cases, and even packed lunches should be set the day before to avoid the morning rush. With everything champing at the bit, you would save plenty of time to do your morning routines, devour a good breakfast and enjoy special moments with the family. Best of all, you can dash out the highway free of traffic congestion.

2. Sleep well and wake up early
A good night's sleep rejuvenates the body. Make it a habit to have enough sleep and to rise early. If you are already stressed out the day before, an incomplete repose takes over cumulative stress effects into your life at work and at home. Your frustration levels at work eventually rises, your brainpower falters, and your mood at home sours. You have no energy left for enjoying life.

3. Juggle your work hours
Why pack the freeways with all the other "9-to-5"-ers when you can try a ten-to-six or an eight-to-four shift? Depending on your company's work policy, try to check out other shifts that fit your lifestyle. Choose one that would help you get rid of energy-depleting stress and allow you to lighten your highway woes.

4. Share your ride
It may be a hassle to coordinate your arrival and departure with another person or two, but carpooling is worth it. Studies show that ridesharing lowers commuter stress significantly. With carpooling, there is less air and noise pollution, less traffic congestion, and you can relax more while someone else does the driving.

5. "Cocoon" in your car
Instead of getting worked up when traffic is at a standstill, utilize your time wisely. Listen to the radio or pop in some music tapes to take your mind off the stop-and-go driving and traffic tie-ups. If you like to read but just cannot have time to flip pages of a book, check out books on cassette. Many libraries have full-length books on tape as well as abridged versions. You can even learn a new language or do some car exercises like shoulder rolls, neck extensions and tummy tucks to help you stay awake and relax.

6. Pillow your back and squirm
When you are standing, the lumbar area of your spine (the lower portion) normally curves inward, toward your abdomen. However, when you are sitting, it tends to slump outward squeezing your spinal disks and putting stress on them. Sometimes, it helps to support your back by tucking a rolled towel or a pillow in that lumbar section. In cases of longer drives, since sitting in one position for longer than 15 minutes gradually stiffens you even with a back pillow, make necessary adjustments for a comfy ride. For instance, you can try putting most of your weight on one buttock and then the other. Then, shift the position of your seat or your buttocks slightly. You may even try sliding down in your seat and sit up again for fun.

7. Work out after work
Since the evening rush is worse than the morning rush because of the compounded fatigue from the workday, it is best to wait out the traffic. Work out at a gym near your office or take meditation classes to relieve your stress. If you plan to go to dinner, see a movie or go shopping, try to do these things near work, delaying your departure enough to miss the maddening rush.

8. Give yourself a break
It may be a good idea to give yourself some days off from work. Many companies today offer compressed working hours or longer working days to give way to work-free days for you to unwind.

9. Move your office
If your job is a long drive ahead every day, inquire at work if the company would allow you to work at home some days of the week or if you can work near your place. An alternative work schedule would make you feel less tense and in control thereby reducing stress.

10. Occasionally change your routine
An occasional change of commuting habits may be advisable too. Try walking or bicycling sometimes for a change. There is nothing like a good walk to ease tension especially when it means you do not have to get in your car and fight rush hour traffic.

By lessening the stress of getting to work, you are conserving enormous amounts of energy that may be lost over stressful commuting. It does not only leave you a lot more energy to do your job and become more productive but it also makes you feel good and gives you a good reason to always start your day right.

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More commuting news

Nine steps to dealing with commuter stress
Rebecca Smithers, consumer affairs correspondent
Friday 20 April 2007The Guardian

Whether gridlocked in traffic, crammed on to public transport in unbearable heat or forced to sit next to someone with poor hygiene, most of us have experienced downsides to our commute. But now a study has revealed the secrets to avoiding commuter hell.

The findings, presented yesterday by researchers from Nottingham Trent University at the 1st Applied Positive Psychology Conference in Warwick, found travellers used up to nine types of coping strategies to avoid becoming victims of commuting stress.

Effective methods included singing or talking to oneself, doing laptop work, reading, making plans for after work, and "oral gratification" - which includes chewing gum. Talking to other commuters, admiring attractive fellow travellers, and making journeys outside rush hour where possible were also popular.

In contrast, some methods which had little success included venting anger at other commuters, smoking, or drinking alcohol on public transport.

The study, Resilience and Positive Coping as Protection from Commuting-Related Stressors and Strain, was carried out by researchers Glenn Williams and Rowena Hill from the university's school of social sciences. It found those individuals with high levels of resilience to stress were most likely to have the inner-strength to master their commuting environment.

The study included a variety of transport modes - notably car, bus, train, tube, bicycle and foot. About 14% of those who took part were found to have low levels of tolerance and so using simple coping techniques was likely to have little effect.

Worst problems highlighted by commuters included insufficient room, loud music, delays, and personal odours. Others highlighted smelly foods, terror alerts, unreasonable employers, lack of facilities for people with disabilities, and being molested.

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Coping with the daily grind
By David Millward
Published: 12:01AM GMT 15 Feb 2006

The first nationwide study into the daily stress faced by commuters is being carried out by researchers at Nottingham Trent University.

The team, led by Glenn Williams, senior lecturer in psychology, is trying to ascertain how Britons cope with the daily grind of getting to and from work.

Official figures show that Britons are commuting longer distances than in the past, in many cases by road adding to congestion.

"Previous research has shown that commuting often brings about the same physical responses in us than if we were going into battle," said Dr Williams. "We want to see how commuting affects people's physical and emotional well being.

"Most importantly, we are interested in finding out the secrets to a relatively stress-free commute - is it found through going in your own car, walking or public transport?

"We want to capture the diversity of the nation's commuting experiences to provide the authoritative guide on what works to help commuters cope with the stress of getting to and from work."

The study will also take into account how Londoners' reaction to commuting has been chaged by the July tube bombings.

It is recognised that commuting can be stressful at the best of time, especially during the rush hour peaks when space on buses, trains and roads is at a premium.

It has even led to the the production of a beat travelling stress CD by Ashok Gupta, director of the Harley Street Stress Management Clinic.

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Published and Launched

GRIFFITHS, A., KNIGHT, A., & MOHD MAHUDIN, N.D. (2009). Ageing, Work-related Stress and Health: Reviewing the Evidence. London, UK: Help The Aged.

Launched at a seminar held at the Institute of Material, Minerals and Mining, 1 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5DB on 21 October 2009 (14:00 – 17:00).

Download the report here

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For record

National Summit On Urban Public Transport 2009
Theme: Integrating the Public Transport Network
Date: 15/10/2009 (Thursday)
Time: 08:00 - 17:00 p.m.
Venue: Prince Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur
Keynote Speaker: Y.B. Dato' Sri Ong Tee Keat, Minister of Transport
Organized by Asian Strategy & Leadership Incorporated Sdn Bhd (ASLI)
Website

Authors Workshop
Date: 04/08/2009 (Tuesday)
Time : 08:30 a.m. - 13:00 p.m.
Venue : Library Auditorium, Level 1, IIUM Library
Mr Amex Tan
Organized by IIUM Library with the collaboration of Emerald (Asia Pacific).
Emerald Literati Network

Briefing/Dialogue on LRT to Subang Jaya
Date : 25/07/2009 (Saturday)
Time : 16:00 -18:00 p.m.
Venue: 3K Multi-purpose Hall, 3K Sports Complex, Subang Jaya.
Co- organizers: SJRA, USJRA, BSRA, SJ Consumer Assn., Senior Citizen Club SJ, SJ Coffee Shop Assn., Persatuan Koir Song Ling,SJ
Initiated by : MCA Kelana Jaya
Speakers : Prasanara Group MD & Team
Wakil Rakyat YB Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat

Southeast Asia Psychology Conference (SEAP 2009)
Day: 09/07/2009 - 11/07/2009
Venue: Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Theme: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities in Southeast Asia
Jointly organized by the Psychology and Social Health Research Unit and School of Psychology and Social Work, Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Workshop on How to Conduct Meta-analysis
Date: 17/06/2009 - 17/06/2009
Time: 09:00 a.m. - 05:00 p.m.
Venue: INSTED, IIUM
Professor Dr Mohamad Sahari Nordin
Organized by Centre For Professional Development

Seminar on Issues in Psychology No.1
Day: 18/05/2009 ( Monday)
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 p.m.
Venue: Psychology Seminar Room
Presenter: Nor Diana Mohd. Mahudin
Title: Quality of rail passenger experience: the effects of crowding on health, comfort & stress - a systematic review
Organized by Social Events Committee, Department of Psychology, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)

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Thank you to my RAs!

To all these wonderful people:

Siti Rohaizu Ahmad Din
Nawwar Izyan Zulkifli
Mohd. Taufik bin Mohammad
Rabiatul Adawiyah Salleh
Nurzaihan Marzuki
Haniza Mat
Siti Fathimah Che Ani
Suharyati Mat Daud
Intan Sapura Aina Mohd Yusoff
Norwahida Che Abdul Halim
Siti Farhah Ahmad Sazali
Aliya Ahmed M. Yusuf Ahmed
Nuralyani Azlisyah
Munira Abdul Jalil
Mohd Fadzly Foji
Saidatul Akmar Abdul Rahim
Wan Husna Izzati Faharul Azmi
Anisah Zainab Musa
Mardiana Mohd Salleh
Reneilda Revisionery
Nurul Shazrina Muan
Rozita Karal
Nur Syarina Masri
Nabila Ain Ahmad
Nor Atekah Ismail
Nor Soufiah Mohd Musadik
Nur Hasinah Ahmad Akhir
Nurulhuda Ibrahim
Nurul Huda Mohamed Tahir
Aliya Nasruddin
Sharifah Aishah
Siti Zubaidah Mohamed
Saliza Samiran
Norwahidah Md Hata
Nur ’Aliah Amiruddin
Faatimah Salmyyah Raheem
Rozana Ahmad
Siti Rahmah Omar
Halimaatun Syakirah Omar
Hind Aldaw Nour
Aisyah Liyana Midine
Nurulhuda Md Hassan
Mohd Husaini Hussein
Shaera Iza Abdul Halim
Siti Fatimah Md Jaafar
Dayang Asma’ Munirah Awang Damit
Rahatul Asikin Mohd Tahir
Nur Elina Mohd Kamarudin
Nurul Maslizatul Ayu Ilies

I thank you for your support and keen interest in this research. Without your energy and assistance, this research simply could not do what it aims to accomplish. Your dedicated work have made the success of this research possible, and for this I am most grateful. May Allah SWT bless you always and grant you success for this marvelous contribution.

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Stress takes toll on Moscow metro commuters

Underground suicides expected to rise as more Russians lose their jobs
By Shaun Walker in Moscow
Friday, 27 March 2009

Problems at home, worried about losing your job in the economic crisis, or just feeling down? Russian medical experts have the answer – take the bus.

Travelling on Moscow's crowded metro system is provoking a wave of despair among commuters, psychologists in the city say.

About 150 people commit suicide on the metro each year and the figures are expected to rise as more Russians are laid off and confronted with money woes.

"The roar of the oncoming train compounds stress and people have the temptation to solve all their problems with one swift movement," psychotherapist Sergei Nazarov told the newspaper Novye Izvestia. He also said that using the metro for long periods each day could lead to panic attacks and a paranoid fear about being followed.

In neighbouring Ukraine, the authorities are also worried about the metro blues. Regular electricity shortages mean that often only half the lights in the metro are lit, and the Kiev operators are so worried about an increase in suicides that dramatic measures are being taken.

All the "No Exit" signs are to be removed, because of the negative moods they can induce in commuters, reports Novye Izvestia. And there are plans to re-record the on-train announcements that the doors are closing using a child's voice, to promote a happier atmosphere.

The Moscow metro, much of which was built during Stalin's reign, is one of the most efficient in the world. Many of the stations are stunningly opulent "people's palaces", built in a socialist realist style. Nevertheless, using the metro can be stressful because of overcrowding and poor air quality.

A metro spokesman, Dmitry Gaev, said the number of passengers each day has decreased by 200,000 over the past few months, probably as a result of recent job losses. But he added that about 9 million people still used the metro system every day, so the drop in passenger numbers was hardly noticeable.

Foreigners and Russians from the provinces who move to Moscow often complain about overcrowding on the metro. Considerations of personal space are put to one side as passengers rush to fill the cars before the doors close.

The tide of human traffic is such that the drivers often don't wait for everyone to board the train before shutting the doors, often leading to an undignified scrum.

Dizzyingly long escalators lead down to the stations, which are some of the deepest in the world. Many were built with the idea that they could function as shelters in the event of a nuclear attack. The air quality so far below street level is very poor – many of the ventilation shafts are positioned close to main roads, meaning that the air inside the metro stations is polluted.

The situation is even worse for metro workers, who clock up 12-hour shifts deep under the streets of the Russian capital.

In addition to the health risks of breathing in polluted air, they also suffer from the stress of being underground for so long. "Over time every single station employee or driver gets ill in some way or another," says Svetlana Razina, the leader of the Metro Workers' Union.

But for all the problems associated with the metro, Muscovites are sceptical about suggestions to use alternative forms of transport.

"Using the metro is really unpleasant," said Dmitry Sharapov, 29, who spends 45 minutes underground each morning and evening to get to and from work.

"But what's the alternative? Drive, or take the bus? It would take me twice as long and there would be just as much pollution. If it didn't lead me to suicide, it would probably lead me to murder."

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Trains run like clockwork but shoving babushkas drive you to point of insanity
By Shaun Walker in Moscow
Friday, 27 March 2009

As a seasoned traveller on both London's Tube and Moscow's metro, I find it difficult to say which one is worse.

Moscow has obvious advantages over London. The trains run like clockwork – a display records the time since the last train and it very rarely makes it to two minutes before the next one comes roaring into the station. In five years of living in the Russian capital, I can count the number of times I've been held inside a tunnel on the fingers of one hand. And the idea of whole lines experiencing "serious delays" for hours or days is unthinkable. Even when there were terrorist attacks on the metro in 2004, the affected stations were running as normal again the next day.

In a country where things so often don't work, it is a staggering model of efficiency. The unbroken human waterfall that comes cascading down the station escalators for hours on end is breathtaking. And some of the stations really are stunning – Revolution Square, with its life-size sculptures of Soviet archetypes, still leaves me speechless every time I pass through it. Komsomolskaya, with its ornate mosaics, chandeliers and gold trimming, is more Buckingham Palace than Green Park Tube.

On the other hand, the sheer level of pushing and shoving can drive you to the point of insanity. You soon realise that the worst offenders are the small but hardened babushkas, who can ruin your day with a carefully placed elbow to the kidney. Other hazards include unimaginably strong body odour, stray dogs, and ostensibly respectable businessmen who just happen to be necking four cans of 13 per cent watermelon-flavoured alcopops on their way to work at 8am.

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The woman with no sense of personal space

If I step aboard a crowded train and see that the only free space is a cramped mid-seat gap, sandwiched between two tired-looking commuters, and faced directly opposite by three further passengers squashed close under a detritus of newspapers and laptops, then I will invariably choose to stand. By seizing the free spot, the unavoidable encroachment into my personal space would soon spoil any comfort that might be derived from resting my legs.

A new study suggests my amygdala could be responsible for this aversion. This is the walnut-shaped brain structure, housed deep in the temporal lobe of each hemisphere, that's previously been associated with emotional processing, especially fear. In a new case report, Daniel Kennedy and colleagues have documented a woman, known in the clinical literature as S.M., who has damage to the amygdala on both sides of her brain, and who appears to have no sense of personal space.

When asked to indicate the interpersonal distance at which she felt most comfortable as a female experimenter walked towards her, S.M. chose a gap of 34cm - smaller than any of twenty control participants, whose average preferred distance was 64cm. Moreover, when asked to rate her comfort (from one, "perfectly comfortable", to ten, "extremely uncomfortable") when an experimenter stood in her face, nose-to-nose with direct eye contact, she scored the situation a "one". It was a similar story when an accomplice of the researchers stood unnaturally close to S.M. in a situation that she couldn't have known was part of the experiment. By contrast, the accomplice himself told researchers that he found his proximity to S.M. uncomfortable. S.M. does, however, understand the concept of personal space, and is aware that other people prefer more space than she needs.

Kennedy's team said their finding suggests the amygdala may be involved in the strong emotional reaction that underlies personal space violations. To support their case, they scanned the brains of healthy participants and tested what happened to amygdala activation when the participants were told that a researcher was standing nearer or further away from them in the scanning lab. Crucially, when the participants were told that the researcher was nearer to them, their amygdalae activation was increased.

An interesting question for future research is how a sense of personal space develops. "It is possible that the amygdala is necessary for learning the association between close distances and aversive outcomes," the researchers said, "rather than triggering innate emotional responses to close others."
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Source:
Kennedy, D.P., Glascher, J., Tyszka, J.M., & Adolphs, R. (2009). Personal space regulation by the human amygdala. Nature Neuroscience : 10.1038/nn.2381

Further reading: A companion study published in the same issue of Nature Neuroscience and involving the same patient, S.M., suggests, contrary to prior research, that the amygdala is not needed for the rapid detection of fearful faces.

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Why train designers should avoid three-seat rows

Train companies should consider designing bigger carriages with pairs of seats only, and should avoid rows consisting of three seats. That's according to Gary Evans and Richard Wener whose new study demonstrates that it's not the overall number of people on a carriage that affects how cramped we feel, rather its the number of people in our immediate vicinity. That's why so many of the middle seats are left empty in three-seat rows.

One hundred and thirty-nine train commuters travelling from New Jersey to Manhattan, New York City were assessed after a typical journey into work. The researchers took two measures of crowding: overall carriage density, based on the total number of people on the carriage divided by the number of seats; and nearby density, based on the number of people in each participant's row, relative to the number of seats in that row.

Nearby density was found to have a significant impact on the participants' self-reported mood, concentration (based on a proof-reading task) and stress levels (measured via a cortisol swab). By contrast, overall crowding in the carriage wasn't significantly related to any of these factors.

As well as avoiding three-seat rows, the researchers advised public transport designers to include “territorial props” such as arm rests and small tables in between seats, to help prevent commuters feeling that their personal space is being infringed.
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Source:
Evans, G.W. & Wener, R.E. (2007). Crowding and personal space invasion on the train: Please don't make me sit in the middle. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27,90-94.

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Emergencies inspire crowd cooperation, not panic

Crowd plus emergency equals mass panic, or so urban myths and Hollywood films would have us believe. The reality, recognised by social psychology for some time, is that people in crowds often behave in remarkably cooperative and selfless ways. A new study by John Drury and colleagues suggests that this kind of collaborative behaviour emerges when people in a crowd acquire a shared identity. And contrary to the "mass panic" perspective, an emergency can be the very catalyst that brings people together.

If you've ever been on an underground train that gets stranded mid-tunnel, or on an aeroplane that's overstayed its welcome on a runway, you might have glimpsed a mild version of this feeling of a shared fate. With the temperature rising and information lacking, you and your fellow passengers stop feeling like strangers and start to feel united in your predicament.

Drury and his colleagues asked 21 survivors of mass emergencies about these feelings of unity and about how much helping behaviour and orderliness they'd witnessed. Between them, the participants had been caught up eleven emergency situations including the crush at Hillsborough, the Harrods bomb of 1983, and the over-crowding at the Fatboy Slim beach party in 2002.

Twelve of the disaster victims described feelings of unity among the crowd, whereas nine of them said it was more a case of everyone for themselves. In turn, the participants who said their crowd was united reported experiencing a sense of a shared fate; reported seeing and experiencing more examples of people helping others, including strangers; and they also reported more signs of orderliness such as queuing to escape.

"An aggregate of individuals becomes and acts as a psychological crowd when there is a cognitive redefinition of the self from a personal to a social identity," the researchers said. "...[W]e would suggest that in liberating us from the restrictions of individuality the psychological crowd is a crucial adaptive resource for survival in mass emergencies and disasters."

The authors did also caution that their study has a number of serious limitations. Other survivors, less willing to talk than the current participants, might have had a different story to tell. Also, we know that human memory is extremely unreliable at the best of times, and some of the events described here had happened over two decades earlier.
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Source:
Drury, J., Cocking, C., & Reicher, S. (2009). Everyone for themselves? A comparative study of crowd solidarity among emergency survivors. British Journal of Social Psychology, 48 (3), 487-506 DOI: 10.1348/014466608X357893

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Key Result Areas (KRAs) On Public Transport

Key Result Areas (KRAs) on public transport as announced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia: Source: The Star

The Kelana Jaya LRT line is to get 35 new four-car train sets by 2012 as part of the Government's efforts to increase public transport usage to 25% from the present 16%.

Minister in charged of meeting the targets: Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for improving public transport in a moderate period of time.

For the upgrading of public transportation, Najib announced that the Kelana Jaya LRT line would get an additional 35 sets of “4-car” trains to boost the use of public transport among those residing in the Klang Valley.

He said that according to Transport Ministry’s statistics, only 16% of the people use public transport and the Government aims to increase this to 25% by the end of 2012.

“We realise that to achieve this target would require large, sustainable and long-term investment.

“As Malaysia moves forward to achieve a developed nation status, the Government intends to provide the rakyat (people) with a comprehensive public transport system. To achieve this, we need to embark on a serious and long-term effort,” he said.

In response to this KRA, below are the key performance indicators as suggested by The Association For The Improvement Of Mass Transit (TRANSIT).
Reproduced from TRANSIT.my

The announcement made by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for the Key Result area for public transport appears to focus on a single performance indicator, the implementation of 4-carriage LRT trains on the Kelana Jaya line by 2012.

TRANSIT sees this as unacceptable since it only looks at a fraction of the available and important and necessary changes that need to be done for public transport in this country.

By limiting public transport to one easily achievable performance indicator – the 4-carriage LRT trains – Najib has set the bar very, very low on improvements to public transport.

For the record, TRANSIT knows that as many as 5 of the 4-carriage trains have already been constructed and fitted out and at least 2 of these trains have undergone testing at the Lembah Subang depot.

How about implementing some real challenges for public transport?

TRANSIT would like to suggest a few other performance indicators that should be introduced along with the 4-carriage LRT trains, such as:

Governance (to complete before the end of 2010)

• Fully convert the CVLB into the National Public Land Transport Commission, with hiring of additional personell including enforcement officers by the end of 2010;
• Create a Local Transport Authority for the Klang Valley (KUTA) under the authority of the Federal Territories Ministry to handle the planning of public transport in the Klang Valley, by the end of 2010.
• Create Local Transport Authorities in the Kinta Valley, Northern Corridor Economic Region and Iskandar Development Regionlso by the end of 2010;
• Create Transport Councils (comprising the 4-stakeholder groups) in all areas identified above by the end of 2010;
• Call for the elimination of the plainly illegal ‘pajak’ system by the end of 2010.
  

Enforcement (to complete by the end of 2011)

• By the end of 2011, hire 400-500 enforcement officers for the National Public Transport Council, who will specifically concentrate on public transport issues;
• By the end of 2011, hire at least 200 enforcement officers for the Klang Valley Local Transport Authority and at least 100 enforcement officers for all of the other Local Transport Authorities named above;
• Authorize Public Transport Enforcement Officers and Local Council Enforcement officers to have overlapping enforcement authority to increase the number of active enforcement officers;
• By the end of 2011, eforce the legislation to eliminate use of the plainly illegal ‘pajak’ system to the level that pajak use is reduced by more than 75% in Peninsular Malaysia.
  

Infrastructure and Rolling Stock (by the end of 2012-2016)

Universal Design & Accessibility

• By the end of 2014, ensure that all stations on the KTM, LRT and monorail lines as well as all intercity bus hubs are accessible and refitted according to Universal Design Principles;
• By the end of 2015, ensure that 75% of the urban buses in Malaysia are accessible and that all urban bus routes have accessible buses included in the fleet;
• By the end of 2016, ensure that all pavements around LRT stations, intercity bus hubs (to a radius of1km) and bus stops (to a radius of 250m).
  

LRT/MRT Expansion

• By 2012, convert the Kelana Jaya line to 4-carriage operations during all operations hours;
• By 2013, construct and complete the extension of the Kelana Jaya line to Putra Heights;
• By 2013, construct and complete the extension of the Ampang LRT line from Sri Petaling to Jalan Puchong and Petaling Jaya south (KTM lines);
• By 2014, construct and complete a monorail line from Tun Sambanthan monorail station to MidValley and Bandar Sunway, following the Klang River, Old Klang Road, and Jalan Puchong;
• By 2014-2015, construct and complete the extension of the Kelana Jaya line from Kelana Jaya to Shah Alam Stadium;
• By 2014-2015, Construct and complete the extension of the Ampang LRT line from Sentul Timur to Jalan Kuching or Kepong Sentral;
• By 2016, complete the central portion of the Sg. Buloh-Petaling Jaya-Kuala Lumpur-Cheras line from Pusat Bandar Damansara to Taman Connaught;
• By 2016, begin construction on the suburban portions of the Sg. Buloh-Petaling Jaya-Kuala Lumpur-Cheras line from Sg. Buloh to Pusat Bandar Damansara and Taman Connaught to Plaza Phoenix;
• By 2016, begin construction on the Kelana Jaya line, to expand the central core stations (from Universiti to Wangsa Maju) to cater to 8-carriage trains;
• By 2016, begin construction on a line linking Kepong Sentral to Petaling Jaya south, through Taman Tun Dr. Ismail and Bandar Sri Damansara.
  

KTM Railway/Komuter Expansion

• By 2012-2013, operate a KL-Butterworth Fast Train service;
• By 2013, begin the construction of a KTM Komuter Utara service for the Northern Corridor Economic Region, from Taiping in Perak to Alor Setar & Sg. Petani in Kedah;
• By 2014, begin the construction of a KTM Komuter Selatan service for the Iskandar Development Region, from Muar to Johor Baru;
• By 2016, begin the construction of a KTM Komuter Timur service for the East Coast Economic Region, from Kuala Terrengangu to Kuantan;
• By 2016, extend the KTM Komuter service from Seremban to Senewang and Port Dickson in the south, and from Batu Caves to Selayang in the north.
  

Integrated Transport Terminals

• By 2015, construct fully-integrated multimodal public transport terminals at Sg. Buloh (serving the north), Gombak (serving the east), and Shah Alam stadium (serving the Klang Valley and Subang Airport);
• These Integrated Transport Terminals should integrate at least 3-4 modes of public transport including at least 2 rapid-transit services, (such as KTM+LRT+Intercity Bus+ Taxi or KTM+LRT+Bus+Taxi+Intercity Bus)
  

Rolling Stock

• By 2012, order 120 units of the 3-carriages Electric Multiple Unit trains (80 units of the 4-carriage Electric Multiple Unit trains) for use on the KTM Komuter service in the Klang Valley;
• By 2013, order 20 more units of the 6-carriage Electric Multiple Unit trains for use on the KL-Ipoh and KL-Butterworth Fast Train Service;
• By 2014, place an order for 20-30 additional 4-carriage trains for service expansion (to 8-carriage trains) on the Kelana Jaya line;
• By 2016, order new trains for the KTM Komuter services in the NCER, ECER and IDR to replace original stock trains;
  

The list of performance indicators for public transport that we have posted above is a basic list that focuses only on the extension and expansion of rapid transit services that exist today.

The list may seem overwhelming and impossible at first glance but the truth is that everything on the list is achievable in the timelines given – with a political and financial committment from all levels of government and all stakeholder groups.

We have not even considered new services such as bus rapid transit or monorail in other communities, nor have we included the lines proposed in the KL City 2020 Draft Local plan.

We have also not considered basic improvements to bus operations and customer service. These are our rights as customers and should go without saying.

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Public Transport and H1N1

In the era where infectious illnesses and diseases are widespread, public transportation systems need to provide a safe and healthy environment for both passengers and workers. Gershon and colleagues (2005) carried out a structured review of scientific and grey literatures on subway safety from either the mass transit or passenger perspective. These literatures were sought out from Medline, Ovid, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, HealthStar, and CINAHL. They found that apart from general safety (e.g., injuries), violence, and noise (which are the major hazards potentially associated with subways), another major concern relates to the widespread of illnesses and diseases. Here is an excerpt of this article on this issue:

"Another potential health hazard related to subways is the transmission of infectious diseases communicable through close person-to-person spread, or indirectly, through contact with a contaminated fomite (inanimate object). Although it is not inconceivable that both respiratory and gastrointestinal pathogens could be spread this way, this has not been documented. Similarly, transmission of various diseases of the skin and hair [e.g., tinea capitis, ringworm of the scalp, and head and body lice (Pediculus humanus)] may also occur, either through direct contact with infected persons, or indirectly through contact with contaminated objects (e.g., seat backs, clothing). Again, this has been not documented to occur. Because rats may be a problem in some subway systems, it is important to consider diseases that may be spread by these rodents. In particular, Streptobacillus moniformis (rat bite fever), although uncommon in North and South America and most European nations, is a concern because it can be readily spread from infected rats to human through rat bites, which have been anecdotally reported to occur on subways.

Prevention of disease transmission includes maintenance of ventilation systems to lessen the likelihood of respiratory transmission of diseases and adequate sanitation of the system, including periodic disinfection of subway surfaces for other types of pathogens.

At the individual level, hand hygiene is important, including hand washing after leaving the subway and being careful to keep hands away from eyes and mouth during the trip. Control of rats is essential.

Source:
R. R. M. Gershon, K. A. Qureshi, M. A. Barrera, M. J. Erwin, and F. Goldsmith (2005). Health and Safety Hazards Associated with Subways: A Review. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Vol. 82, No. 1: p.17.


Influenza A (H1N1): Guidelines for the public transport industry
Source: Ministry of Health Malaysia

A pandemic influenza a virus (H1N1) is a newly discovered strain of the influenza virus which has infected humans in many countries around the world. The virus is constantly spreading and it is imperative that measures are taken to control this spread among the people. The public transport industry deals with the movement of large numbers of people on a daily basis and measures have to be taken to ensure that the spread of the virus is kept in check.

On Board Measures

• Where possible announcement to be made on board (train and bus) for passengers with the symptoms of influenza A (H1N1) to identify themselves.
• Transport operators, conductors or drivers of public transport should be vigilant and take necessary precautionary measures if there are passengers displaying symptoms such as high fever, headache, coughing and difficulty in breathing.
• Passengers identified as suspects are to be given appropriate protective masks and they should be isolated at the rear section of the bus allowing two rows of seats vacant in front and at the back.
• Toilets should be cleaned regularly and adequate soap and tissues should be provided for the use of such passengers at all times.
• Suspects should be advised to seek medical treatment.
• Adequate signages should be present to inform passengers regarding precautionary measures.
  

Maintain good ventilation in vehicles

• Open the windows whenever possible to ensure good ventilation.
• For closed vehicle compartments, clean the air-conditioning system frequently to maintain a clean environment.

Keep Vehicle Compartments Clean

• Make waste bins available for passengers’ use.
• Wash/wipe vehicle compartments (surfaces, door handles, railings) with diluted sodium hypochlorite (mixing 1 part of sodium hypochlorite with 99 parts of water) regularly.
• Make tissue paper available for passengers’ use when necessary.
• Make vomit bags available for passengers' use.
• If vehicle compartments are contaminated with vomitus or other body fluids, wash or wipe with diluted sodium hypochlorite (mixing 1 part of sodium hypochlorite with 49 parts of water) immediately.
• Persons doing the disinfection of the vehicle should wear mask, disposable apron and glove.
• Hygienic practices like washing of hands with water and soap or alcohol-based hand sanitizes after removal of the gloves should be practiced.
• All protective equipment are to be disposed off with due care.
  

Advice to Passengers:

• Observe personal hygiene.
• Wash hands with soap and water
• Avoid touching eyes and nose
• Cover the nose and mouth with handkerchief or tissue paper when sneezing or coughing.
• Dispose of used tissue paper appropriately.
• Use a vomit bags to hold vomitus and dispose of it properly.
• Consult a doctor promptly if they develop symptoms of respiratory tract infection.
• Passengers with respiratory symptoms are advised to wear masks to reduce the chance of spread of the infection.

Advise to Drivers and Conductors

• To observe personal hygiene.
• Wash hands before and after work
• Don’t rub eyes or nose
• Do self temperature monitoring before and after work shift.
• Inform management if he develops fever and other symptoms of Influnza A (H1N1)

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