Slimming the body: slimming ads, body dissatisfaction and eating disorders

This study aimed to examine the perceived effects of media exposure of body slimming advertisements on body dissatisfaction and the tendency for eating disorders in a sample of adult women in Malaysia. This study examined two aspects: (a) the level of media exposure to slimming advertisements (media exposure), and (b) the tendency of respondents to make body comparisons with models in slimming advertisements (media body comparisons). Participants were 419 young women (18 – 39 years old) living in Kuala Lumpur. Correlation coefficients showed that media exposure and media body comparisons were positively associated with body dissatisfaction and eating disorders tendency. The findings suggest that mass media play a role by providing slim images that young women in Kuala Lumpur tend to emulate and adopt western cultural ideals of body image and the desire for a thinner body type.

Malay Editorial Cartoons in the 1930s: Humour and Sarcasm in Visualising the Other

This article defines Malay identity through their portrayal of the Malay Other - the Arabs, Indian Muslims and the Europeans. The Arabs and Peranakan Arabs were identified as foreigners in disguise, the Europeans colonisers as harbingers of modernity. From this perspective not much have been written, using editorial cartoons in Malaysia. This article then focuses on the depiction by the Malay of what constitutes the foreigner (and the West). The medium of the cartoon was a recent innovation in Malay-language newspapers, having first appeared in the first issue of Warta Jenaka a weekly pictorial newspaper on 7 September of 1936. This article surveys three major periodicals in the 1930s including that of Warta Ahad and Utusan Zaman in their construction of ambivalence toward colonialism and Western influence. These were the inter-war years. The periodicals capture Malay sentiments couched in humor and sarcasm ranging from the proximate culture of the Arabs to British or European notions of race, modernity and progress. It is cognizant of the colonial condition and the milieu and the inherent character of the Malay press, serving as instruments of criticism and satire. The visual ethno- nationalistic discourse is observed with regard to the trajectory of modernity brought into Malay awareness during the period.

Individual Media Dependency, Social Media and Online Parenting Groups in Malaysia

This research paper examines new mothers’ dependency on parenting social networking sites particularly Facebook in Malaysia by adopting the Individual Media Dependency theory. Due to the ambiguity of the phenomena of transitioning into parenting for new mothers, it is apparent that new mothers rely on parenting social networking sites for support and information. This research is based on parenting social networking sites in Malaysia namely The Breastfeeding Advocates Network and The Parenting Network. Findings from this research suggests that social environment, media systems activity and interpersonal network activity are fundamental intervening conditions in today’s new media environment to fulfil an audience’s goal-oriented needs of orientation, understanding and play.

Pekerja Filem dan Isu Bayaran dalam Industri Filem Malaysia

Film workers in Malaysia were having problems of not getting paid, partially paid or payments delayed by the employers. This research is to investigate the causes of payment issues in Malaysian film industry; to examine the effects of the problems to the film workers; and to provide solutions to the problems. A study was undertaken by interviewing a number of film workers in Malaysian film industry. The findings show that the major causes of payment issues are low clarity in contract employment, poor payment procedure, low understanding of film workers regarding employment contract, ineffectiveness of the film workers associations and insufficient cash flow by employers.

Pencorakan Kepulauan Melayu dan Pulau Pinang oleh Kaum Jawi Peranakan dan Hadhrami Melalui Kewartawanan dan Persuratkhabaran Sebelum 1942: Satu Tafsiran Semula Penulisan W. R. Roff

This article provides a reintrepretation and emphasis on journalism and newspapers, generally through the writings of W.R. Roff. Three of his works significant to this study are Studies on Islam and Society in Southeast Asia (2009: NUS Press Singapore), Bibliography of Malay and Arabic periodicals published in the Straits Settlements an Peninsular Malay States 1876-1941 (1972: Oxford University Press) and The Origins of Malay Nationalism (1967: Yale University Press). From his studies, it is instructive to recall that the Malay-language newspapers was the outcome of the collusion between the culture of the Malay archipelago and the West; and early Malay journalism from 1876 through the beginning of the Japanese Occupation in 1942 was the expression and manifestation of a Malay identity through the Jawi Peranakan and Hadhrami communities in an urban and cosmopolitan climate, with specific reference to the Tanjong Malays in Pulau Pinang.

Perceived Impact of Ideal Thin Models in TV Advertisement and Behavioral Intention: a Case Study of China National Undergraduate Students in Malaysia

Globally, the influx of Western mass media in non-Western societies has coexisted with the beauty standard of the thin ideal. Therefore, body-image disturbance becomes an emerging issue in Chinese culture as well. Using surveys, this research investigated the perceptual discrepancy between the perceived impact of idealized thin models on self and on others according to the third-person effect theory among mainland Chinese overseas undergraduate female students in Malaysia. It found that respondents perceived that the thin models in TV advertisements exerted a greater impact on others than on themselves. The role of social difference and gender was demonstrated in determining the size of the perceptual gap. This perceptual gap could lead to dieting, excessive exercising, and the likelihood of liposuction undertaking as well as body dissatisfaction. Theoretically, it expands third-person effect theory in body image field in mainland China context. It also gives practical implications to solve body image disturbance among Chinese females.

Kod Etika Kewartawanan Malaysia dan Kepentingannya kepada Profesionalisme Wartawan Akhbar Berbahasa Melayu di Malaysia

Malaysian Journalism Code of Ethics was introduced in 1989 by Malaysian Press Institute (now known as MPI) and the Newspaper Editors’ Association (ONE) has paves the way for the rising of professionalism in national journalism. According to Djohn E. Drewry, there is a need to form an ethic to elevate a career into a professional. Furthermore, with the advancement of media technology and communication, it threatens the careers of journalists and requires into the debates or re-evaluation done on this topic, more so now when journalism work are easily regulated by the public. Do journalists use the existing code of ethics and what is its importance to the professionalism of a journalist’s career? This question needs to be answered by journalists as the use of this code of ethics is still less even though the importance is recognized by many scholars. This study utilises the quantitative approach, whereby 272 journalists from five Malay language newspaper were asked to answer a questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed randomly and analyzed descriptively. This study found that the majority of journalists knew about the Code of Ethics (EKM) and its importance in elevating the professionalism of journalism in Malaysia. Findings from the study also found that journalists possess a high level of ethics according on the practice of the eight EKM.

Gegar Vaganza: Persepsi Pengguna dan Penempatan Produk D’Herbs dalam Rancangan Realiti Televisyen di Malaysia

This study examines the types of product placements used in the television show Gegar Vaganza, particularly in its 5th season and looks at the consumer perceptions on the product placements used by D’Herbs Holdings Sdn. Bhd. Qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews were conducted on eight respondents. The saturation of advertisements in the market has prompted marketers to turn to media product placement to deliver messages to the audiences more effectively. This study found that integrated implicit product placement received positive feedback on the process of recalling a brand or product. On the other hand, integrated explicit placements received positive perceptions in increasing the level of consumer information, however, received negative perceptions towards consumer purchasing intentions.

Analysing Legitimation Strategies in Relationship Advice Articles of Women’s Magazines

This study explores the strategies used to legitimate relationship advice articles in locally produced English language women’s magazines from three different contexts, which are, Malaysia, the US, and two Middle Eastern countries (UAE and Egypt). Six women’s magazines, two from each context, were chosen for this study. Sixty articles, ten from each magazine, from the relationship advice sections of each magazine were analysed using content analysis. We focused on the strategies used to legitimise these advice articles based on similar studies on the legitimisation of advice through the use of intertextuality and voices appearing in these texts. In addition, we also investigated if there are differences in the strategies of legitimation used in these articles due to differences in the cultural norms in the three contexts. Our findings revealed four legitimation strategies which were employed to construct advice in the texts we analysed, namely, ‘Cross-Section of Real-Life’, ‘Appealing to Authorities’, ‘Celebrity Endorsement’, and ‘Popular Culture References’. Our findings also revealed that the writers of sex and relationship articles in all three contexts have to carefully craft their texts in order to produce advice that is considered legitimate and can be accepted by their readers. Finally, our study showed that there appears to be a clear connection between the legitimation strategies used and the socio-cultural aspects of each society.

A Systematic Review: Location-Limited SNSs Research and Psychological Well-Being

The turn of the 21st century witnessed an unprecedented surge in the use of Social Network Sites (SNSs). The developing world also experienced a similar congruent networking transformation in terms of employment of the emerging SNN tools. Correspondingly, research magnitude on the implication of SNSs use has also grown exponentially with recommendations for conducting studies in less privileged countries. The present systematic review is based on doctoral research aimed to present the status of SNSs studies and psychological well-being in both developing and developed countries. The review analyzed thirty-two location-limited articles–conducted in developed countries like the USA—published from 2005 to 2018 and focused on the relationship between SNSs usage and users’ psychological well-being. Given the limitations of the available literature, the review also recommended suggestions for future directions in investigations and studies on the subject.