NVivo 7- QUALITATIVE RESEARCH SOFTWARE

Today, 28 February 2008, I attended half day Nvivo 7 Workshop organised by Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, National University of Malaysia (UKM). The workshop has been conducted by Assoc Prof. Dr. Noriah Mohd Ishak from Education Faculty, UKM. I really enjoyed the workshop and I find that NVivo is a powerful tool in allowing us to manage our data and record ideas. NVivo's search and modelling functions are proving to be invaluable in helping me understand the data and the interactions that are occurring. Here are the summaries of the workshop.

Qualitative research is all about exploring issues, understanding phenomena and answering questions. Unlike quantitative research, which uses numbers to arrive at conclusions, qualitative research uses unstructured information – like field notes, interview transcripts and survey responses. If we need to handle very rich text based information, where deep levels of analysis on both small and large volumes of data are required, is our solution. It removes many of the manual tasks associated with analysis, like classifying, sorting and arranging information, so we have more time to explore trends, build and test theories and ultimately arrive at answers to questions.

The software lets us manage, shape and make sense of this information quickly and easily. Qualitative research software helps people to manage, shape and make sense of unstructured information. It doesn't do the thinking for us; it provides a sophisticated workspace that enables us to work through our information. With purpose built tools for classifying, sorting and arranging information, qualitative research software gives us more time to analyze our materials and discover patterns, identify themes, glean insight and develop meaningful conclusions.

SETTING UP OUR PROJECT

With NVivo 7, we can hit the ground running. It's easy to navigate, imports a wide range of data and facilitates teamwork.

The days of double handling are over. Map out our project steps - setting up frameworks to organize our ideas before we have even started. We can create our own documents, and import and export a range of data including Microsoft Word documents.

The new face of research software. NVivo 7 is designed using Microsoft Windows XP guidelines. Its familiar look makes it easy to learn and to teach.

A new standard in security. Our project database and documents are stored together in a single file, reducing the risk of file corruption and allowing your project to be completely portable.

NVivo 7 speaks our language. We can work in a combination of languages in the same project, including character based languages such as Japanese.

Bringing teams together. An inbuilt merge function allows us and our colleagues to work separately on copies of the same project and then merge them together.

WORKING WITH OUR DATA

Working with our data has never been easier or more powerful. NVivo 7 provides tools that allow us to work to far greater depth than we thought possible.

Organizing our data. Highlight key points and assign visual 'codes' to them - allowing us to quickly track them down and collate them later. They're just like markings made with highlighter pens. If we are performing repetitive tasks, NVivo 7 also offers auto-coding options.

Recording our insights. Just like notes scribbled in a margin, NVivo 7 allows us to edit and annotate our documents after they've been imported. We can also create memos to capture more detailed thoughts, and link them to our research documents.

Change the way we view relationships. Our 'relationships' tool allows us to explore and query evidence about relations between items, processes and people

MAKING SENSE OF OUR DATA

NVivo 7's superior querying and graphical tools let us go back and revisit our information, test theories and explore our concepts.

Let our curiosity get the better of us. Use NVivo 7's multiple level 'undo' function to try new ways of working and then retrace our steps back to safe ground. NVivo 7 is the only qualitative research software in the world that offers an undo function.

Question everything. 'Queries' bring us even closer to our data - we can find patterns, pursue hunches and view information in a range of contexts. Designed to mirror commonly used Internet search engines, queries can also be saved and re-run through new data.

A picture paints a thousand words. 'Models' allow us to graphically display new ideas, connections and findings in real time.

"Thank you to Encik Rahim of FSSK and Assoc Prof. Dr. Noriah for the great job. You really assist us to make the workshop is successful. I hope to attend the Nvivo 7 workshop again"

THE CLUB OF ROME

On 15 February 2008, Dr Jalaludin Abdul Malek taught us about Power of Globalisation : Nation State vs Open Society. I am so eager when he informed us about the The Club of Rome. He did not give us any detail about this club. This is first time I heard about this club. So try to find in UKM's Library and check with Encyclopedia of Economics and Governance. The Club Of Rome is A Global Think Tank and Centre of Innovation and Initiative. The Club is to act as a global catalyst of change that is free of any political, ideological or business interest.As a non-profit, non govermental organisation (NGO), it brings together scientists, economists, businessmen, international high civil servants, heads of state and former heads of state from all five continents who are convinced that the future of humankind is not determined once and for all and that each human being can contribute to the improvement of our societies.

The Club of Rome was founded in April 1968 by Aurelio Peccei, an Italian industrialist, and Alexander King, a Scottish scientist. Hasan Özbekhan, Erich Jantsch and Alexander Christakis were responsible for conceptualizing the original prospectus of the Club of Rome titled "The Predicament of Mankind." This prospectus was founded on a humanistic architecture and the participation of stakeholders in democratic dialogue. When the Club of Rome Executive Committee in the Summer of 1970 opted for a mechanistic and elitist methodology for an extrapolated future, they resigned from their positions.

The Club identified three major needs that justified its creation:
1. To adopt a global perspective in examining issues and situations with the awareness that the increasing interdependence of nations, the emergence of world-wide problems and the future needs of all people posed predicaments beyond the capacity of individual countries to solve;

2. To think holistically and to seek a deeper understanding of interactions within the tangle of contemporary problems -- political, social, economic, technological, environmental, psychological and cultural in every sense -- for which we coined the phrase "the world problematique"; and

3. To take a longer term perspective in studies than is possible for governments preoccupied with day-to-day problems.

Limits to Growth is a 1972 book modeling the consequences of a rapidly growing world population and finite resource supplies, commissioned by the Club of Rome. Its authors were Donella H. Meadows, Dennis L. Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William W. Behrens III. The book conclude that:

1. If the present growth trends in world population, industrialization, pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime within the next one hundred years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.

2. It is possible to alter these growth trends and to establish a condition of ecological and economic stability that is sustainable far into the future. The state of global equilibrium could be designed so that the basic material needs of each person on earth are satisfied and each person has an equal opportunity to realize his individual human potential.

OUR CITIES OF THE FUTURE

Last week I sent a copy of my thesis framework in a format of flowchart to Assoc Prof Dr Hamzah Jusoh. When I relate my flowchart with literature review on Global Cities, Urban Economic and Urban Governance, I can see how the above topics can relate each other. I can conclude that:

In the Malaysia development, we need to consider the likely future cities development which have significant role in locally and globally. In this respect, there are some possibilities that may develop into opportunities for the betterment of mankind and some that may cause difficulties, if not resolved properly. One area which poses both opportunities and threats is globalisation. Globalisation, almost a flogged horse, brings not only new economic opportunities but also new political, social, technological, and institutional complexities. Therefore, it would be safe to say that in order to benefit from more open and widespread economic interaction we need an efficient city that supports an economic system that promotes and facilitates the ability of business enterprises to compete effectively in international markets and ensure the betterment of standard of living locally.

We need cities that possess a world view which marries dynamism with entrepreneurial characteristics. This will have the Service leap frog from being mere urban services provider and administration, as we are reputed for being the world over, to one of an enabler of partnerships between the private and public sectors in developing a dynamic Malaysia that is very attractive to foreign and domestic investors, alike. The creation of PEMUDAH is but a first step towards realisation of the vision of this journey.Government Policies has been pursuing reform efforts since 1980s such as the Privatisation Policy supported by Malaysian Incorporated Policy and other efforts reflected in initiatives such as MSC, KPIs, One Stop Centre (OSC), Customer Service Office (CSO), and “One Service, One Delivery, No Wrong Door” policy of late.

ADAPTING TO CHANGES & CHALLENGES

However, these initiatives are no longer sufficient to face the challenges and opportunities posed by globalisation, rapidly evolving technologies, changing demographics and rising citizen expectations. We need the skills to pre-empt future challenges and move beyond our laurel’s comforts. Two main possible threats of our cities tomorrow are:-

• Expansion of E-Commerce and Taxation. We will without doubt see the increasing proliferation of e-commerce cause difficulties for nations to identify which business transactions occurred within their legal jurisdiction for taxation purposes.

Are we prepared for this expansion?

• Ensuring Access to Clean Water. Much of the world lives without access to clean water. Privatisation of water resources, promoted as a means to bring business efficiency into water service management, has instead led to reduced access for the poor around the world as prices for these essential services have risen. How the Service deals with this is essential in addressing poverty issues?

With these threats, we also see three areas of opportunities:

• Growth from Digital Media - The media landscape is changing at a breakneck pace. Media can now be consumed over a plethora of devices anywhere, anytime, and on-demand. The advent of digital convergence and broadband wireless technology creates enormous opportunities to fulfill pressing public needs in areas such as education and workforce development, civic discourse, and public health. This allows for local authority to give better service without borders – be it borders of time or geography.

• Dependency on Public Goods - Everyone depends on “public goods”; neither markets nor the wealthiest person can do without them. Clean environment, health, knowledge, property rights, peace and security are all examples of public goods that could be made global. An efficient city has and must continue to enhance its role in this area for the betterment of societies.

• Public/Private Sector Cooperation - Following on from these ideas on “Public Goods”, the private sector assumes increasingly important roles in producing goods and providing services that were once considered “public” and therefore exclusively the responsibility of governments. Public-private-partnerships (PPP) and other forms of cooperation between the private sector and local and national governments are used frequently around the world to develop better standards of living for all.

These are but some of our threats we need to fend and opportunities we can ride on. To balance and optimise the two, we need urban management to be the change that we wish to see in more effective local authority. We therefore need an efficient city that will rise to these changing yet unchartered expectations.

OUR CITIES OF THE FUTURE
We face today with the scenarios of the past, present and future before us. However
· What makes the Our Cities of the Future?
· Is it driven by digital expansion will reduced urban dweller problems?
· Is it in the intellectual rise with eradication of poverty?
· Is it perhaps in the death of bureaucracy that thrives on customer driven space?
· Could it be on an efficient city that drives Climate and Environmental Agenda?

Our Cities of the Future is not only that empowers local authority as development controller and service provider but to balance development to respond to the threats and opportunities of the times locally and globally. We need to collectively reflect if today, we have an underlying model of continuous improvement to see all these scenarios. But the questions are:
· Have we the mechanism for best practices, and effective accountability to enable us to deal with the future of all faces and facets?
· Have we built the Cities of the Future for our children and grand children?

JOURNAL WORKSHOP

Today I attended Journal Workshop by Thomson Scientific organised by UKM's Library (Tun Sri Lanang Library) at Siber@ptsl 4th Floor, Research Service Division, Tun Sri Lanang Library. The one day workshop conducted by Dr Lim Khee Hiang from Thomson Scientific.

Under ISI Web of Knowledge platform, I find the hands on teach us and provides with a premier, integrated research environment that saves our time and effort. It delivers carefully evaluated content, powerful tools, and sophisticated technologies...all working together to ensure that users can easily access the information they need for their research. Easily access high quality, multidisciplinary content:

• Thomson Scientific resources such as Web of Science® (Science Citation Index Expanded™, Social Sciences Citation Index®, Arts & Humanities Citation Index®, Index Chemicus®, and Current Chemical Reactions®), Current Contents Connect®, Essential Science IndicatorsSM, and Journal Citation Reports®
• Partner resources including BIOSIS Previews®, CAB ABSTRACTS®, INSPEC®, PsycINFO®*, and Food Science and Technology Abstracts™*

Use unique cited reference searching, an exclusive feature that helps researchers find out who is citing their papers; identity experts in their fields and related fields; and analyze data to locate potential funding resources and recipients . Be assured that our search results are drawn from only the most essential, peer-reviewed journals in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities, because of our stringent journal evaluation process. Search multiple resources simultaneously through one unified interface.

Thomson Scientific also provided conference proceedings are a way to uncover research ideas as they are presented for the first time-often before publication in the journal literature. Thomson conference resources enable us to quickly find significant details from conferences held all over the globe. Each year, their products cover thousands of the most important conferences, symposia, seminars, colloquia, workshops, and conventions in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. As a result, we can easily stay up to date with ideas as they emerge.

I would like to thank Encik Shamsudin Ibrahim and Puan Rohalia Md. Rohani from Siber@ptsl for organising the workshop.

BOOK REVIEW - DEVELOPMENT THEORY : AN INTRODUCTION BY PETER W PRESTON

Last 2 weeks, I am looking for a book related to Development Theory. Marcella Carole (A student of Master Development Science, UKM) lend me a book with title DEVELOPMENT THEORY : AN INTRODUCTION BY PETER W PRESTON. I find this book comprehensive discussion of the post-Second World War theories of Third World development and review of the work of the major social scientific figures of the nineteenth century and their impacts in the twentieth.

In this invaluable introduction to the major post-Second World War theories of Third World development, Peter Preston takes as his focus the strategies used to analyse change in the Third World and examines the ways in which different conceptions of the nature of change have led to different lines of policy advice. In doing so, the author demonstrates how the various contemporary approaches to development draw upon strategies of enquiry which are lodged deep within the intellectual traditions of the modern world. The author's approach is based on the premise that the reader can only fully grasp the live issues and debates surrounding development through an understanding of the linkages with the broader frameworks of social theory.

This book offers an excellent overview and critical assessment of the meaning and theories of development. The theories--including mainstream economic and sociological theories, Marxist and neomarxist, poststructuralist, and theories of development--are well explained, referenced, and carefully examined. In the process, the author make clear that 'development' is far more than a technical challenge; it requires a clear understanding of social dynamics (including those shaped by spatially linked accumulation processes) as well as socially defined and motivated criteria for change. In fact, one of the strengths of this book is the authors' willingness to present and use their own criteria for development as a reference point for examining other theories and visions. It will be a very useful addition to any class on economic development.

True to its title, it takes the reader through economic, sociological, marxist, post-ist, and critical realist theories. It is thorough and well referenced. Although it gives intellectual space for theories from a wide range of persuasions, it is a partisan book--and all the better for that. A good read for everyone, and an eminently recommendable text for undergraduate and graduate-level courses on development and social change. Development, one of the founding beliefs of the modern world, is in desperate need of reinvention. What better way to do this than through a sweeping and constructive review of conventional and critical theories alike. Shifting their analytical gaze from modernization theory to Marxism, from critiques of post-Enlightment thought to poststructuralism, postcolonialism, and postdevelopmentalism, lay the basis for 'another development.'

Their convincing and eloquent approach reweaves the longstanding traditions of critical modernity and socialism and renews the call for the betterment of the human condition. This book's challenge must be taken seriously by all those interested in the fate of what until now has been known as the third world. This book does exactly that, questioning all sociological, economic, neo-Marxist, poststructuralist, and radical democratic approaches, as well as an array of development models including modernization, dependency, and neoliberalism. An excellent resource for undergraduate and graduate programs in development economics; highly recommended for academic, research, and professional collections.

Peter Preston is presently Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and has taught at the National University of Singapore, and the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has held numerous research fellowships, most recently a Canon Research Fellowship at the Institute of Comparative Culture, Sophia University, Japan.

GLOBALISATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF CITIES IN MALAYSIA

Malaysia has successfully applied economic planning to guide the development of the country from an economy of agriculture and mining to a largely industrialised one. Now, with its sights set on attaining the economic level of a fully developed nation by 2020, the planning system must be made even more efficient and focused. It must ensure that every investment made in the country, whether public or private, yields not only a maximum returns but must directly contribute towards creating the desirable objective of a strong, modern, internationally competitive, technologically advanced, post-industrial economy. The country must focus on securing a credible share of the lead sectors of the globalised economy. It must make itself fit and conducive to these sectors. The country must also be fully aware of the enormous competition it faces in a region with rapidly expanding and modernising economies, all contending for the same pool of potential international investments.

In the last several decades since independence Malaysia has been experiencing accelerating urbanisation as a result of the structural economic change from dependence on mining and plantation agriculture to manufacturing and services. There has, however, not only been rapid urbanisation but also, in the census decade 1991-2000, a less obvious but highly significant trend in urban development. This is the centripetal concentration of the urban population in a small number of city regions, namely the conurbations around Kuala Lumpur, George Town and Johor Bahru. Indeed, the main concentration is in the Kuala Lumpur conurbation, with George Town and Johor Bahru struggling to keep pace. Johor Bahru has the advantage of proximity to Singapore and can benefit from overspill development from Singapore. George Town has a long tradition of cosmopolitan urban services to its regional sphere of influence and maintains its position as the second city of the Peninsula (having lost its first position to Kuala Lumpur soon after the selection of Kuala Lumpur as the national capital).

The changing world economy superimposes its effects on individual industrialising countries, and these effects are felt particularly in the pattern of urban centres. While the accelerated pace of urbanisation may be driven by internal forces, the concentration of productive investments and population into a small number of city regions is as much a response to external forces, with the necessity to direct international trade, communications and exchange of information, movement of people, and so on, into concentrated channels and points of contact and commerce with the wider world.

It may appear logical to expect that only one large centre would have emerged in a small country like Peninsular Malaysia while other centres would have declined. However, Malaysia is fortunate in that a strong urban hierarchy had already been developed over many years in the colonial and post-colonial eras and this hierarchy, with strong local groups of entrepreneurs, continues to provide a sustainable geographical base for further industrialisation and economic modernisation. A pattern of polycentric interdependent urban centres has emerged with the Kuala Lumpur conurbation being the ‘advanced’ city supported by the George Town and Johor Bahru conurbations.

The vision for ‘Kuala Lumpur - A World Class City’, encapsulates the ambition of Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 (KLSP2020) to make Kuala Lumpur a city that will assume a major global and sub-global role for the benefits of all its communities, workers, visitors and investors. The KLSP emphasizes that the vision and goals of Kuala Lumpur has been formulated with the aims of creating a sustainable city with City Hall ensuring that the planning for Kuala Lumpur will strike a balance between physical, economic, social and environmental development.

IKMAS SEMINAR REVIEW - GOOD GOVERNANCE AND INDONESIA CIVIL SERVICE

Today I and my friends (Danni, Zainal and Pak Euku) have a great opportunity to attend seminar organised by The Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) National University of Malaysia on a topic of PROMOTING TRUST IN GOVERNMENT : A CASE STUDY FROM INDONESIA by Prijono Tjiptoherijanto, Professor Of Economics at the University of Indonesia, Depok. Prof Prijono highlighted that the civil service is analogous to a moving wheel that is able to empower all the resources possessed by a government in order to achieve certain goals, targets or missions so that its people may prosper. Given this context civil sercice reform is badly need in Indonesia at the resent time-especially in institutional and moral character?

The success of government is heavily dependent on the character of its civil service. The Indonesia civil service is considered slow, lacking transparency, unaccountable, short on initiative and sometimes corrupt. At the same time, good governance has become the main pillar of efforts to overcome competition in an increasingly globalised world.The success or failure of democratic reform in Indonesia is a key question for Indonesia itself and for the surrounding region. Although Indonesia's transition to democracy holds out the promise of good governance, this cannot be taken for granted .

Main barriers to change of good governance in civil service are :

a. Poor Leadership

b. Wider Corruption Practice

c. Poverty and Unemployment

d. Colonial Mentality

Forces behind the need for good governance:

a. The role of government has changed overtime;

b. Government policies must be adhered to enable transparency and accountability; and

c. Bureaucracy, especially the civil service must interact with civil society and the private sector

Crucial Characteristic as the key:

a. Leadership to ensure the implementation of any change programme;

b. Effective communication to ensure common understanding;and

c. Formal structure is needed for a better implementation

An independent judiciary, a free press, and a vibrant civil society and important components of good governance. They balance the power of governments, and they hold them accountable for delivering better services, creating jobs, and improving living standards. Some countries can achieve growth for many years without all of those factors. Indeed, Indonesia's history in the 1970s and 1980s is an illustration of that. But the devastating economic crisis that followed here shows how fragile growth can be when institutions that keep governments accountable, transparent, and responsible, are systematically weakened.

To conclude, enforcement alone will not cure corruption. How much we do and how much progress we make depends on the desire of both governments and civil society to create the right setting for sound, strong, sustainable development. The greatest changes come when people's ideas change, and in many countries, people are no longer as tolerant of corruption as they were in the past. A growing middle-class that is independent of government increasingly demands better performance from government. Expanding social safety nets can make even poor citizens less dependent on traditional powerful patrons. And the good news here in Indonesia is that the social and economic achievements of the last 40 years have created demand for government that works. The people of Indonesia recognize that with transparent and accountable governance they stand a better chance of reducing corruption, of improving their quality of life, and of securing a better future for their children.

SOME ADVICES FROM PEOPLE HAD AWARDED DOCTORATE DEGREE

1. PhD student should be able to ask a lot. You must be able to critically attack your own work (and others' works).

2. You must be able to think 'OUT OF THE BOX'!

3. PhD student should be able to voice out and defend his/her thesis by showing convincing experimental results, using appropriate definitions, wordings, or classifications, etc...

4. PhD student should has a good research mentality. You must be motivated to explore new things and do not give up easily when they encounter failures... "Courage to fail is pathway to innovation =)".

5. PhD student should have the ability to relate things (that is seemingly unrelated) with their own research topics, some connections may help to answer the previously unanswered questions...

6. PhD student should be able to find information when needed (e.g. by exploring your University digital library, browsing wikipedia, googling, etc)!

7. PhD student should read literature review surrounding his/her thesis to be very familiar with the current state-of-the-art knowledge and in the other hand, making sure that he/she does not reinvent the wheel!

8. PhD student must constantly monitor what is happening around his/her area, especially the newly published works.

9. PhD student should be able to do multiple tasks at any time. If you become supervisor someday, you'll need to juggle between supervising 5-10 projects, teaching duties, administrative stuffs, plus your family (if you decide to marry someone), etc...

10. For every things that he/she do, PhD student should think of the main idea, how this work will be related to his/her main thesis!

11. PhD student should create a carefully designed research plan with timings, milestone, research goals/objectives, strategic research vision, etc. All of these should be properly formulated to avoid wasting time or wandering in the wrong direction. Frequent contact with your supervisor will help to reduce the problems around this issue.

12. PhD student should keep producing a lot of ideas. Few are useful, most of the others will be just failures. It is worth to note that good ideas exist not because of sudden leap of understanding. They exist only after conceiving many ideas that do not work before arriving at the one that works.

13. PhD student must be good in written/spoken English. Try to read good English magazines/newspapers, e.g. Time, Reader Digest, etc to improve your English language skill, especially grammar/thesaurus/writing skill! It is useful when you need to write long scientific documents in English. Also try to speak more English in various settings to improve your language skill. It is useful for your presentations.

Sources: National University of Singapore

AFTER A MONTH IN UKM

Now is February 2008 . Its mean I already a month in UKM. Since March 2007 after my 3 months Methodology and Quantitative Course for Phd Candidates in INTAN Bukit Kiara. I am thinking and imagine how is my life in university again. Is my life will be up side down? Or this is good time for me to take a rest? I still remember good friend of mine give me an advice before I am decided to enter a world of PhD . He adviced was "Mizam, in the world of PhD you only have 2 choices , if you think doing PhD is a serious job, your life will be chaotic and lot of things to do but you will enjoy it... but if you think doing PhD is your honey moon season, your life will be light and easy but you will be bored. The choice is yours, Mizam". I keep thinking about his advice.

On 22nd December 2007, I met Assoc Prof Dr Hamzah Jusoh and we discussed about my PhD preparation in UKM. He adviced me to read a lot of books, attend public lectures organised by Faculty or UKM, to create my research blog and sit in a few master programme classes. I follow his advices and it is true my time is full and keep me busy. I take my friend 1st advise, doing PhD is a serious job, make my life not chaotic but full a lot of activities. I really enjoy it. I hope its going to be doing well until I complete my PhD... insyallah. In a month I completed My Phd Journal Volume 1. Now I am trying to complete My Phd Journal Volume 2, in the whole of February. I try to discover a theory of development and urban planning in the context of Islam and Western school of thought from 7th Century until 21st century.

I also try to find out how Marxist and Capitalist theories influence the development of urban and regional planning from renaissance era until globalization era. 1st February 2008, I attended Professorial Speech by Prof Dr Kamaruddin M Said, topic on War, Peace and Development Relation to Industrialization. He gave me a new idea and inspiration how sosialist and capitalist theories have related with urban and regional planning the context of physical , economic, social and environment development not in global perspective (macro) but also in Malaysia (micro).

IF ANYBODY WHO READ AND REVIEW MY BLOG PLEASE ASSIST ME WHERE CAN I FIND VERY GOOD REFERENCES.