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

Read More

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)

Read More

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.

Read More

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."

****************************************

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.

Read More