Ethnic Differences and Motivation Based on Maslow’s Theory at a Medical University

Introduction: Motivation in Malaysia is to a large extent influenced by the value system amongst all Malaysians. Being able to motivate employees is one of the important keys to the success of the organization. In this paper, an attempt was made to look into the needs of employees in organizations and in particular, the needs based on Maslow’s theory on motivation. Subjects and Methods: Employees which consisted of both academic and administrative employees of the International Medical University (IMU) were surveyed using a standard questionnaire. The aim of this study was to compare which levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory had been fulfilled and which needs were yet to be fulfilled in the different ethnic groups at IMU. Results: Amongst the males, the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups placed most emphasis on the esteem needs and on self-actualization needs. The Malay males gave importance to Safety needs. Amongst the female ethnic groups, all three groups placed most importance on the esteem needs and self-actualization needs. The Chinese females scored the lowest for the Basic needs compared to the Malay and Indian females. The Indian females scored the lowest for Social needs. Conclusion: Organisations should play an important role in the motivation of employees. Human resource development is an integral part in the development of its employees.

Effect of Stress on Medical Students

Stress amongst medical students is often overlooked. Intelligent students are not always the most composed. This study aimed to look at both male and female students of three different ethnic groups and the effects of stress in areas such as academic, social, financial and their everyday life. The Chinese students reported significantly less “academic stress” than the Malay students, and the Malay students reported significantly less “financial stress” compared to the Chinese and Indian students. Medical education can be a health hazard for medical students.

Violence-related behaviours among Malaysian adolescents: a cross sectional survey among secondary school students in Negeri Sembilan

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of violence-related behaviours among adolescents and the factors associated with it.</p><p><b>MATERIAL AND METHODS</b>This was a cross-sectional school survey conducted on 4500 adolescent students, using a structured questionnaire. Data were collected using the supervised self-administered questionnaire [a modified version of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance in the Malaysian National Language (Bahasa Malaysia)].</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Our study showed that 27.9% of students had been involved in a physical fight, 6.6% had been injured in a fight, 5.9% had carried a weapon, 7.2% had felt unsafe, 18.5% had had their money stolen and 55.0% had had their property stolen. Adolescents who carried weapons to school, smoked, used drugs, felt sad or hopeless and played truant were more likely to be involved in physical fights after adjusting for age, sex, and ethnicity.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Violence-related behaviours among adolescents, especially involvement in physical fights, are common and are positively associated with certain factors such as smoking, taking drugs, playing truant, feeling sad or hopeless. Interventions designed at targeting adolescent violence should also address these factors and target the high-risk groups. There may be a need to identify and provide services for adolescents who exhibit these factors.</p>