The 13th International Symposium of Victimology

Location: Tokiwa Uni, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan

Duration: 23-28 Aug 2009

Mr ayah was given the golden the opportunity to present a paper which was co-authored with Dr Gaboury entitled "Establishing Human Trafficking Centers Globally: Humanitarian & Economic Perspectives during the abovementioned symposium.

Stacey, mr ayah & Dr G

Parallel session no.5, slot no.1 (Human Trafficking I), which was the 1st to go. Dr. G decided to let the student to present, which mr ayah and his colleague Stacey did. Alhamdulillah it went smooth. Stacey did the 1st part, and mr ayah did the next portion of the paper, which is the proposed solutions/conceptual proposal. Stacey is a CJ major in her Sr. year. She helps a lot for our paper. Tak sangka ramai lak yg berminat nak bertanya, tapi due to time constraint, the chair allows 3 Qs. Semua nak tuju kat mr ayah lak tu, tapi Alhamdulillah boleh la jawab.

mr ayah in action.. hehehe

The paper looks into human trafficking in the perspective of economy and humanitarian, yg mana the research focus on the economical aspect of a country that contribute to the push & pull factor of human trafficking activities. The establishment of human trafficking centers globally would be the workable solutions to address both reactive and proactive measurement to stop the crime. The centers would be best deployed at regional and sub regional level, since every region/country have their own unique issues and challenges regarding human trafficking.

muka lega dah abis present paper

Mr ayah would like to thank beloved mrs mama for the great support and understanding. Can't really do it without your support & patience. To all family members and friends for the prayers and encouragements. Special thanks to Dr G, for giving the opportunity and advices during the preparation of the paper. (Siap offer nak jadi SV kalau nak buat PhD nanti tu. Ada la dekat 10x dia ulang)

InsyaAllah we are working towards to publish this paper in one of the journals later.

If only mr ayah can share this with Arwah Ayah.. Ayah, this is for you...

Heading to the Land of the Rising Sun

Present Location: KLIA
Destination: Tokiwa Uni, Mito, Ibaraki, Japan

Mr ayah skrg ni tgh tunggu flight nak ke Jepun. Alhamdulillah, at the very last minutes the management bagi approval utk ke sana. Tujuan trip kali ni utk present the paper yg mr ayah prepare masa buat MSc dia dulu. Mr ayah is the co-author of the paper with his supervisor. The paper was accepted by the International Symposium of Victimology few months ago, cuma opis mr ayah je baru bagi approval utk pegi.

Terasa pressure gak nak present paper kat International forum ni. Sure ramai Prof2 yg cerdik pandai standby nak critic nanti. Sure ramai expert2 dari seluruh pelosok alam ada nanti. Dah la kena time bulan puasa ni. Mr ayah punya session will the the 1st slot of parallel session #5 in symposium, since ada 8 parallel session lain. Awalnya... Hopefully all will go well.

Tiap kali dtg KLIA ni sure terasa sentimental. Dah la sejak balik dari US, dah 5-6 kali ke KLIA ni sebab tugas luar. Kat KLIA ni la last dgn arwah ayah. Everytime lalu the exact same spot lepas turun dari escalator nak masuk departure, sure pusing blkg tgk atas. Still terbayang2 lambaian dia masa nak pegi US dulu. Pejam celik Dec 2007 dah lama dah berlalu.

InsyaAllah with all the doa' from the love ones, hopefully the presentation in Japan ni went well.

Mr ayah dedicate this presentation for Almarhum Ayahanda, Hamzah Mohamed. Al-Fatihah.

Nilai Sebuah Pengorbanan

Tempoh masa 15 bulan terasa cepat berlalu. Rasa mcm baru semalam jejak kaki di bumi US ni dlm keadaan yg sejuk, jakun tgk snow. 

Alhamdulillah berkat usaha dan doa dari mak & arwah ayah, segala usaha dlm tempoh 15 bulan tu membuahkan hasil. Dlm tempoh masa tu, mcm2 peristiwa berlaku. Agaknya betul la pesanan arwah ayah, "Kita ni kalau nak berjaya, kena la berkorban sikit".

Terima kasih buat arwah ayah dan mama for the encouragement, support & doa. Buat adik2 & famili, thanks for the regular updates. New and old friends from near and far, thanks for the help and assistance. To the professors and advisor, thanks for the knowledge and guidance.

Special thanks to mrs mama & littleman for the continous support, patience and companionship. I love you so much for being there always.

I dedicate this degree to arwah ayahanda Hamzah Mohamed . A true gentleman, leader, friend and idol. This is for you, ayah. (Al-fatihah)

Observation Exercise

There was no class on Tuesday last week sebab Dr T went somewhere for work. Tapi sempat dia assigned us with an "observation exercise" for the week yg takde class tu and to come out with our findings during the next class this week.

The task was simple, we have to watched a movie - Deja Vu (2006) at least twice. Every time lepas tengok movie tu, we have to come out with our findings based on apa yg kami observed. Meaning that, during the 2nd viewing, we are expected to observe apa yg kami missed during the 1st viewing. We need to observe the scenes from an intelligent analyst point of view.













Casting:
ATF Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington)
FBI Agent Paul Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer)
FBI Agent Jack McCready (Bruce Greenwood)
Heroine Claire Kuchever (Paula Patton)
Scientist Prof Alexander Denny (Adam Goldberg)
Terrorist Carroll Oerstadt (James Caviezel)

In a nutshell, Deja Vu is about a domestic terrorism bombing of a ferry loaded with 543 people consisted of US Navy crew and civilians in New Orleans, Louisiana on Fat Tuesday. The FBI took over the case from the ATF after learning that there is a possibility the bombing maybe related to an act of terrorism.

FBI Agent Paul Pryzwarra decided to recruit ATF Agent Doug Carlin to assist the investigation due to the fact of his background being local having a link to a victim of the event. The investigation utilizing a tool called Snow White enabled the FBI to "travel" back 4 days and 6 hours in past to trace the event. Agent Carlin believes that a lady victim, Claire Kuchever who was found at the shore nearby the bombing area 6 minutes prior to the bombing may have a link to the event. The rest of the story was another FBI kinda movie. They get the bad guy, Agent Carlin travel back through time to save Claire Kuchever.

I guess the reason why Dr T wanted us to observed this movie is the movie was designed to create complexity by traveling back and forth through time. Apart from the fact he was a former Bureau. I think, it is a good movie to train your observation and analytic skills. Since we were asked to view the movie at least twice, hence we are expected to observed the details in the movie.

But from a movie viewer point of view, it is only rated fairly since the storyline is pretty basic. It is just another FBI movie.

Report on 10th Annual International Colloquium on Intelligence 2008

Sheraton Hartford, East Hartford CT
August 4 - August 7, 2008

Alhamdulillah the colloquium went well after 4 days berkampung kat Hartford. There are 6 NSP Grad students assisted including, yours truly.

Overall it was a successful event. It gathers professionals and academias to discussed the role and future of intelligence studies. Diverse group of people came from former intelligence officers, academias from related field of studies, graduate and undergraduate students came from all across the United States and few from Europe.

The NSP Grad Students with Dr T

The highlight was Dr. Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert from Europe. He is internationally known as the leading expert on Hezbullah, Hamas, al-Qaeda and other militant Islamic movement. In his opening keynote, he emphasized on the importance of research in mapping terrorism. Other speakers are from diverse line up of expertise in the field of national security, intelligence and terrorism. The closing keynote address was delivered by a prominent figure in the National Security Branch of FBI, Mr John P Mudd.

Dr Magnus Ranstorp

The only setback was the trip to the Naval Base to visit the submarines. We were informed that all the subs were deployed and none were left. Over and above that, it was raining heavily on the planned day.

However, the dinner hosted by the US Coast Guard Academy was still on. It was a great event, great crowd and great place. Being at the USCG Academy, really brings back the good old days memories in the RMC.

With Rear Admiral Burho (Superintendent of USCGA)

The Colloquium was a success from our view. Personally I did benefit from it; the presentations, discussions and the most important is the networking. Its really great to have the opportunity to meet new friends especially that speaks common issues. I really feel glad to be given that opportunity (even though the "sponsor" tak nak bayar... *sigh!)

10th Annual International Colloquium on Intelligence 2008

The NSP of UNH is honored to host the Colloquium this year. It is one of the most prestigious event for the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE). I feel fortunate to be part of this since I am a Graduate student in the NSP. Please find the info related to this event extracted from the NSP news section on UNH website.


- IAFIE logo extracted from www.iafie.org

Host: National Security Graduate Program, University of New Haven
Theme: "The Role of Research in Intelligence Studies"
When: August 4 - 7, 2008
Where: Sheraton Hartford Hotel, East Hartford, Connecticut

What: As an outgrowth of the 6^th consecutive meeting of Intelligence Community professionals and scholars in 2004, the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE) was founded. From various intelligence disciplines including national security, law enforcement and competitive intelligence, the founding members of IAFIE recognized the need for a professional association to serve as a forum that would span their diverse disciplines and provide a catalyst and resources for their development of what generically is referred to as Intelligence Studies.

The goals of IAFIE are to:

• Expand research, knowledge, and professional development in intelligence education;
• Provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and information for those interested in and concerned with intelligence education;
• Advance the intelligence profession by setting standards, building resources, and sharing knowledge in intelligence studies;
• Foster relationships and cultivate cooperation among intelligence professionals in academia, business, and government;
• Develop, disseminate, and promote theory, curricula, methodologies, techniques, and best practices for pure and applied intelligence;
• Serve as a liaison between other professional organizations and centers of excellence

Why should I attend?

• Reasonably-priced fixed cost lodging & meals package
• Meet & interact with Professor Magnus Ranstorp, one of Europe's leading authorities on International Terrorism
• Get a copy of Mapping Terrorism Research (2007) by Magnus Ranstorp
• Interact with some of America's most prominent Intelligence Professionals
• Learn about the latest issues on Intelligence from practitioners & scholars
• Receptions enabling informal discussions with speakers
• Tour a U. S. Nuclear Submarine
• Get an Intel briefing from a Naval Intelligence Officer at the Groton, CT Sub Base
• Have dinner at the U. S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT

Political Science

There's been a lot had happened to Malaysia's political arena recently. Starting from 12th General Election last March 2008 which have been a hot topic discussed at various levels, until recently few days back when the former PM denounced himself from UMNO. There's a lot of pro's and con's from the aftermath of all the events in the political arena. Well, lets not talk about the political scenario back home. I'm not an expert to address my gestures towards the political games, generally.

Anyway, one of the subject I'm currently enrolled for this trimester is NSP Issues in Research and Policy Analysis. It's basically viewing NS issues that drives domestics and foreign policies from a retrospective view of political science.

- Maxcy Hall, UNH main building where the Political Science Dept is located

The Political Science Department of UNH is among one of the highly regarded college in the States. The late Dr. Caroline Dinegar was behind the success stories of the department. Her vast experience when she serves as Foreign Affairs officer at the US State Department was remarkable. She served for two years as director of the Peace Corps in Malaysia in the mid 70's. Yes! In Malaysia after the May 13, 1969 incident. She was there assisting Malaysia to recover from the traumatic event.

What did really amazed me is what the late Dr Dinegar brought back from Malaysia, place it for display at the Department of Political Science of UNH. These 2 posters in Bahasa Melayu and Chinese was used during the 4th General Election 1974 that witnessed a 87.7% majority of Barisan Nasional with PAS as part of the alliance. To some these posters are just another political posters, but personally I was really touched by it. I can't really describe the feelings the first time I saw it. I really wished the unity spirit is still there within us Malaysian.

Deep down inside I still have faith that what ever the political scenario is in Malaysia, we are all still united as Malaysian, regardless the races, cultures or religions. That what makes us Malaysian unique from the rest of the world.

United we stand... together-gather we...

Cross Impact Analysis

Cross-impact analysis is a method for revising estimated probabilities of future events in terms of estimated interactions among those events. A concept introduced by Theodore Jay Gordon and Olaf Helmer in 1966.


In their initial application of cross-impact principles, Gordon and Helmer developed a game for Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Company in the mid 1960s called Future. The company produced many thousands of copies of the game and used them as promotional gifts in conjunction with its 100th anniversary. The game, which is long out of print, involved a series of cards, each depicting a single future event. The cards were given an a priori probability of occurrence, based largely on Gordon and Helmer's judgment. Then a die was rolled to determine whether or not, in the scenario that was being constructed, the event "occurred." In the game, the die was an icosahedron with numbers written on the faces to correspond to the probability that that face would be turned up. If the probability shown on the die face was equal to or greater than the event probability, it "occurred." (Gordon)

It is a common methodology or approach used in multidiscipline to understands an event by identifying the cause and consequences. It is widely applied in researches by academicians, researchers, analysts and actuarial. Basically, cross impact analysis is about probabilities. The field of study can be apply in various disciplines such business / economics, political science, applied science and even national security. Many might have the perception the toughest part is doing the calculations of the probabilities. Don't be surprise that is not entirely true. The toughest part is actually at the initial stage; understanding the problems / issues and identifying the possible events deriving from the issues. Once the issues are properly addressed and identified, calculation will comes later easily. Not saying its really easy, but it'll helps a lot when issues are all being tackled.

An interesting case study can be illustrated from this mind game.

Side note: Joey, pinjam case study... Thanks.

Dr Henry C. Lee

Siapa la Dr Henry C. Lee ni? Dah la nama dia ni terpampang kat Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, University of New Haven. The NS Program that I am currently in pun bawah this college.

Dr. Henry C. Lee is one of the world’s foremost forensic scientists. Dr. Lee’s work has made him a landmark in modern-day forensic sciences. He has been a prominent player in many of the most challenging cases of the last 40 years. Dr. Lee has worked with law enforcement agencies in helping to solve more than 6000 cases. In recent years, his travels have taken him to England, Bosnia, China, Brunei, and other locations around the world.

Dr. Lee’s testimony figured prominently in the O. J. Simpson trial, and in convictions of the “Woodchipper” murderer as well as hundreds of other murder cases. Dr. Lee has assisted local and state police in their investigations of other famous crimes,such as the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey in Boulder, Colorado, the 1993 suicide of White House Counsel Vincent Foster, and the reinvestigation of the Kennedy assassination.

Dr. Lee is currently the Chief Emeritus for the Scientific Services and was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the State of Connecticut for over two years and has served as that state’s Chief Criminalist from 1979 to 2000. Dr. Lee was the driving force in establishing a modern State Police Forensic Science Laboratory in Connecticut.

In 1975, Dr. Lee joined the University of New Haven, where he created the school’s Forensic Sciences program. He has also taught as a professor at more than a dozen universities, law schools, and medical schools. Though challenged with the demands on his time, Dr. Lee still lectures throughout the country and world to police, Universities and civic organizations. Dr. Lee has authored hundreds of articles in professional journals and has co-authored more than 25 textbooks, covering the areas, such as; DNA, Fingerprints, Trace Evidence, Crime Scene Investigation and Crime scene reconstruction.

Bila the fellow Americans tanya belajar kat mana, sebut UNH, diorang tak heran sangat. Bila tanya ambik course apa, sebut NSP, baru diorang tengok balik. Most of them will ask "Have you met Dr Henry Lee himself?" Belum ada rezeki lagi la nak jumpa the well known Dr Lee ni. Nak jumpa macam mana, he's all around the country. I do hope at least before habis, sempat la jumpa dia at least sekali.

Note: More info on http://www.newhaven.edu/9/ or http://www.drhenrylee.com/

Academician vs. Practitioner

Note: The banner was taken from the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, UNH Website.

Oftenly heard people would argue who have more credentials statements. Ada orang kata academicians since these people possess vast amount if knowledge and written numerous numbers of books, journals and white paper related to their area of expertise. They are people of an academic institute that promotes academics ideas and thoughts. In contrary with the practitioner, they are the people who work hands on or practices their knowledge and applying them into their daily jobs. Practitioner normally are the people with some skill sets and knowledge that related to their area of expertise. Susah nak cakap sebenarnya siapa lebih handal. Both academicians and practitioners have their own credentials and knowledge. Both ada kepakaran dalam cara masing-masing.

Personally, I would prefer to have both views. As a practitioner myself, I feel that there some needs to have a third party opinion whom possesses knowledge and understanding related to the subject matters, but did not practice them. The theories that derives from the academicians,may at certain extend fulfill the missing link that the practitioner may overlooked. It is easier said than done. In order to draw down a mid-point of argumentation between academicians and practitioners, series of discussions taken place. Practitioners will try to defend the best practice based on their past experience, and the academicians will try to outline the best theoretical approach. Getting the best result out of both is really beneficial for all.

Alhamdulillah kat Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, UNH ni barisan tenaga pengajar mostly are the people who have served as practitioner dalam bidang yang relevant. Especially those that involves with NS Program. Some of them used to work with the law enforcement agencies, Intelligence Community and come from other federal agencies. I consider myself beruntung bukan setakat dapat sambung belajar, tapi dapat berkongsi experience dengan diaorang ni. The intention of the NSP is to prepare the fellow American who are interested to serve the country.

Being the only international student (they prefer to use this term instead of foreign student) dalam NSP ni, I have to admit it is not an easy job to furnish myself as a student and as "Duta Kecil Malaysia". I have to spell out the rite way to answer questions from the professors and colleagues, especially when it comes to NS related matter. So far, as I said before, I do enjoy this moment as a student, and as part of the program.

Bila Musim Berubah

Without we even realizing it, it has been Spring already. We hardly can tell the differences since area New England ni sememangnya keadaan selalu je sejuk. Even though dah masuk Spring, the temperature never goes above 60 degrees Fahrenheit or kalau dalam Celcius around 15 degrees je. Tapi ni dah kira cukup panas dah untuk kami sepanjang kami tinggal kat sini. Kadang yang buat sejuk tu is the gusty wind. If you're reading this Joey, kami tak tau la kalau area kau tu still sejuk lagi ke tak. As we said, tunggu kurang sejuk baru nak naik tempat kau.

Masuk musim Spring, maksudnya masuk la new Trimester. University of New Haven ni guna Trimester system. Which means that each Trimester ada dalam 3 bulan je, and it coincide with the seasons too. Just imagine, baru je masuk kelas sebulan setengah dah masuk mid term exam. Dah la Graduate classes ni we are expected to be ready prior to classes. The classes was more on facilitating discussions based on the required readings. Sometimes it turns out into a debate dalam class. I have no reservations on that, I even enjoyed the classes. So far, Alhamdulillah I made through my first trimester; Winter 2008, here with a result yang agak menyenangkan hati.

Spring 2008 ni, I'll be taking another 9 credit hours or equivalent to 3 subjects. Nasib baik this trimester semua electives subjects. Nak kata padat sangat jadual, tak jugak. Nak kata sikit sangat 3 subject pun, tak jugak. Basically 3 subjects for a trimester is just nice for a Trimester system. Tapi boleh tahan heavy jugak la subject yang diambik ni. Harapnya boleh bawak la this trimester dengan jayanya.

Academic Period :Spring 2008 Trimester
NSP611(01) : NSP Situational Evaluation and Failure Analysis Models
NSP613(01) : NSP Issues in Research and Policy Analysis
NSP644(01) : Cross-Impact Analysis: National Security Future Issues

Bila kira balik, exactly ada setahun je lagi kami kat sini. InsyaAllah kalau semua berjalan lancar, around this time kami dah sampai balik ke Malaysia. Rasa macam suntuk je masa. Harap semuanya berjalan lancar, and sempat la kami berjalan kat US ni.

Is It Safe to Lie Anymore?

I had an interesting evening class on Tuesday for NSP602. Dr. T had invited his former colleague during his days working with one of those 3 letters agency. Being in a course where all topics are serious and heavy, I have the perception that this guest speaker will be a boring one. Knowing people that works with one of those 3 letters agency, and the stuff they do, I was expecting a very long evening.

Our guest speaker had served the agency for more than 34 years and 2/3 of his service, he was doing "Polygraph". He's now retired. He was the best polygraph examiner in the agency. We were all quite fortunate to have him as a guest speaker. His vast experienced doing polygraph for various reasons really impressed us. His involvement in major cases in the past really deserved an applause. He talked to us on the reliability of the polygraph test to examine the psycho physiological or defection indication or in normal term known as lie detection.

A polygraph is an instrument that measures and records several physiological responses such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions, on the basis that false answers will produce distinctive measurements. The polygraph measures physiological changes caused by the sympathetic nervous system during questioning.

Polygraph test have been widely use here in the States. The Intelligence Community and Law Enforcement Agencies are using it for the obvious reasons. Few years back, polygraph have been used as part of Security Clearance process, which means you need to be polygraphed before you can be granted with a Security Clearance. I can see the relevance here. In order for the organizations/agencies to decide a suitable placement for a candidate, it is best to verify the candidates beforehand. The reason is being that, the only person that can verify what you've stated in your security clearance form (ie SF86) is nobody else except yourself.

The evolution of the psycho physiological test or lie detection test is a growing technology. There are few other options to detect lie using technology such as the Voice Stressed Analyzer (VSA) and Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However the big question is that the reliability of the test. Polygraph technology was there ever since the 1970's but still people are still questioning the reliability. From my personal point of view, there are no single technology in the world is a perfect solutions. It is really hard to define how reliable is reliable enough especially in the Criminal Justice system. It is really a tough job for the investigators, prosecutors and adjudications, and not to forget the policy making people.

The overall session for the NSP602 class was interesting. The talk, the insider stories and the experienced shared was a splendid evening. The session ended with a polygraph demo. A classmate volunteered and the test was conducted upon him. It was like a magic show to us. Hehehe... Personally, I would say polygraph is reliable enough as a defection identification tool. With all the devices being strapped on your body, its enough for me to be nervous and not to tell lie. I would say, I am a bad liar anyways.

And now, the next question arises in my mind is "Is it safe to lie anymore?"

Together signing off...