AMOS the analysis of moment structure

Weather is getting hot here. I am fasting today and quite sleepy. Maybe coz yesterday I cycled quite far - from my home Katsura to Arashiyama. It was very nice and unforgetable journey even just about for two hours... :)))

I just want to put some information about my modeling progress. I believe modeling is easier than programing. I try to memorize back the AMOS that I had play with a year ago. Yikes..I forgot it... not totally but I wonder how can I play with it with out user guide. So I try to relocate the memory. After about 3 hours I gained it back. My mistake is just because not go through the document carefully. Theee heee heee..... So greedy to learn but not in smart way I think. I learn that make notes is sometime make your life easier - management thing!!!

This SEM tool actually opens the door for nonstatistician to solve estimation and hyphotheses testing problems that we would have required the services of the specialist. But by this tool, we can test the hyphotheses by ourselves. It is just about how to learn it and many people like to learn by doing. That's why the user guide is important.

Talking about the AMOS, it provides methods for estimating these structural equations

Maximum Likehood, Unweighted Least Squares, Generalized Least Squares, Browne's asymptotically..., Scale Free Least Square.

I wonder why I don't know these thing and what had happened in my statistic class in my old days! Just one thought - MALAYSIAN we need Math & Sc to survive!

Spring time..

It is a tulip season in Japan

Wow it seems thaat I take quite a long time to write again! A lot of things happened of course and it is hard for me to report everything. The winter season which I don’t really prefer had finished and the weather turns to very nice and warm suits with my feeling. Even almost every day it is raining but the colorful flowers seem blooming everywhere.



The Golden Week has passed by. A week before that, I had an academic camp with my lab mates with our new sensei in Biwako in Shiga prefecture. Well, I can say as a – mengeratkan silaturrahim purpose -. Our new leader, I mean our new sensei has a very different perspective than our last Kitamura sensei. He is younger, more energetic and somehow very sporting. I had a chance to chat with him. He told us that, when he was 25 or 26 years old he used to join a band as a vocalist. I heard that he is really good in singing. One interesting thing about him is when he talks; he will use very loud voice and become very enthusiastic. Each times, he will asks the student to live this life for God, not only for the sake of oneself.





He believes in God (but he doesn’t has religion) and he said that recently, young generations of Japan facing the social dilemmas. They become selfish and lost respect to old peoples and traditions. What he thought is something that really different and mostly of Japanese don’t really care about God. He wants to change the perspective. That’s why he always gives a kind of motivation for Japanese students. In Nihon – Go of course….



But what important for me is – he makes my work easier. I have finished designing the questionnaire and waiting time to collect the data. He likes it - that is the most important thing. I have two months to accomplish everything before I can analyze and write journals. I heard he has a lot of PhD students that can finish the PhD in 2 years. I am not hoping to come back before the time but hoping to gain the PhD on the time! I have a lot of plans after that…. Life is not easy, thou!!!





I need to discipline myself a little bit. Put effort on writing practice, working more on mathematical models, and be fast. Well...The season that I love the most has come!

Introducing the cute little fella

Last week we had visitors from Ampang. It was their first visit to Japan. Before - I always heard about this lil fella from his 'Pak Ngah.' His Pak Ngah told us that this little fella has a lots of talent. When I met him - Yes, he does! He can express his feelings in English very well even he is actually just 6 years old boy (he is studying in International School-lah, that's why..). He likes cartoons very much and almost for all the time he talked about the characters that he had saw. PSP was always in his hands. He is so sweet talker (in a positive way) and talented. Friendly, charming and easy going.


Me and the Pak Ngah entertained this lil fella with his beloved mom and dad to Kobe, Osaka, USJ and also Shogetsu (for yakisoba and okonomiyaki). This lil guy really had a great fun in USJ . Wonder how he did it but his figure and character naturally attracted the Japanese peoples. So he got Japanese friends on that day. Sometimes I had a lil chat with him and he really likes acting and making faces.


On last Tuesday, they went back to Malaysia. It is another experience for the ryugakusei like me -living far away from my family and entertaining the visitors that come and go really makes me miss my home- my parents-my siblings-my stuff in Malaysia.


But I do have a great time as a tourist guide!! These are the photos of lil Firdaus.

Firdaus made a scary face becoz we just finished the Jurassic Park's Ride. But he was the one who resisted to join.

Me and Lil Firdaus before entering the 4D Sesame Street

Owh....this is the Pak Ngah (?) before has the new cut.

This week we will busy for satsugyo-shiki for the undergraduates students. Yana, Farah, Kimi and the boys will go back for good. Nesh and Hannin will extend for Master study. Congrates to Ee and welcome to Kyoto University!! I wish I have a time to send them some appreciation on this 25th.

Kenkyuu...is still upside down like alwizz...^^

Check your bicycle before moving towards PhD

Are you ready to work independently?

Are you have enough energy to fight loneliness?

Is your brain smart enough?

Does your sv fits your research's interest?

What is your secret weapon towards sudden blurr in research?

Are you confident with your topic?

Are you really want to ride the bicycle or use other mode of transport?

sometimes we may feel that we are not good, but never stop the willingness to learn.

I try to be positive - but its getting hot in my head!

With Note
Dear Nur, As for the cycle lane, please visit the web pages below. If you cannot understand the detail, please ask someone Japanese student to translate the article.

Gimme sustainable 'Minyak Cap Kapak'

2 weeks after sensei left us.

Macam-macam perkara berlaku, siang dan malam, malam dan siang bertukar ganti. Tetapi kalau di namakan pening tentang hal kenkyuu ini, ada masa ia berhenti ada masa ia terus memenngkan. Pendek kata mungkin hidup selama 3 tahun dalam kepeningan.

Walau bagaimanapun, jangan putus asa! Walaupun jalan yang dilalui kadang kala menunjuk ke arah jalan yang berbengkok-bengkok.

Associate Prof saya nampaknya sangat berminat untuk menggantikan Kitamura Sensei sebgai sv baru saya. Juga cakap-cakap mengenai pengganti tempat Kitamura Sensei iaitu Fujii Sensei dari Tokyi Institute Technology adalah sangat kibishi.....Juga kerana saya terpaksa menanti kehadiran beliau sehingga April ini...menyebabkan saya mendapatkan khidmat Associate Prof ini terlebih dahulu.

Tetapi, bertambah pening kepala saya apabila, saya terpaksa UP sedikit kerja untuk membandingkan antara risk perception sang motosikalis di Malaysia dengan sang basikalis di Jepun. Memang di Jepun basikal merupakan kenderaan berdaftar paling tinggi walaupun tidak bermotor. Tetapi apakah mungkin dapat di bandingkan antara 2 jenis pengguna jalan raya ini, dan perbandingannya adalah di antara negera maju dan negara (yang mahu maju tetapi sibuk dengan hal politik (?) )yang membangun?

Kerja-kerja untuk mengenal pasti kaitan antara risk perception dan risky behavior saja masih belum selesai, sudah terpaksa di tambah dengan satu framework baru....

Kata Yoshii sensei....kajian ini kan jadi omoshiroi...harap-haraplah.. saya paste kan satu senario basikalis di Jepun yang saya dapati dari Japan Times untuk bacaan umum

Dear Alice,
I was more than a little shocked, upon moving to Japan last year, to see people riding bicycles on sidewalks. Back in Arizona, in the United States, sidewalks are for pedestrians, and it's illegal to ride a bike on one. Each time I ride my bike in Tokyo I wonder if I'm breaking the law. A friend told me it's OK to cycle on either the road or the sidewalk, but another said riding on the sidewalk is only permitted where there are signs that say so. I don't think I've seen such a sign and am not sure I'd recognize one if I did. What the heck are the "rules of the road?" (Or should I say "sidewalk?")

Mark J., Tokyo

Dear Mark, Your second friend is correct. Sort of. Officially, cycling is permitted on sidewalks only where there is a sign that says it's OK, and you could be cautioned or ticketed by the police for riding on a sidewalk anywhere else. Unofficially, the situation is more complex. You're unlikely to get in trouble with the police for riding a bicycle on any sidewalk in Japan, but it could depend on how you're riding and the discretion of the officer who sees you. How's that for a definitive answer?

There is indeed a sign that permits bicycles on sidewalks, but I'm not surprised you're unfamiliar with it. I've been biking around Tokyo every day for six years, but until I got your question I had never noticed one. Known (to an official few) by the unwieldy moniker of jitensha oyobi hokosha senyo doro hyoshiki (bicycle- and pedestrian-use only road sign), it's a blue circle with a silhouette of an adult man walking with a child, and below and to their right, a bicycle.
Until about 1970, when these signs first started appearing, it wasn't permitted to ride on sidewalks at all. But the rapid increase in the number of automobiles during the first postwar decades forced bicyclists up onto the sidewalks for sheer safety. Traffic was chaotic, and there were few of the safeguards we take for granted today, like guardrails and pedestrian lights. Readers who were in Japan in the '60s and '70s may remember the term kotsu senso (traffic war), coined when traffic fatalities first exceeded the number of Japanese who were killed in the Sino-Japanese war. Dangerous traffic became a social issue, and one strategy to reduce deaths was to change the law to allow bicycles on designated sidewalks.

The trouble with that is that pedestrians and bicycles move at different speeds, and forcing them to share the same space increases the likelihood that they'll crash into each other. In 2005, there were 2,435 collisions between bicycles and pedestrians in Japan that were serious enough to be reported to the police. In six of those accidents there was a fatality.

Other countries have reduced traffic fatalities by providing separate space for motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians, but Japan has been slow to adopt the idea of dedicated bicycle lanes, partially because of a lack of space. Not surprisingly, riding a bicycle in Japan is a lot more dangerous than in other developed countries. According to data from the International Road Traffic and Accident Database, more people die on bicycles in Japan than in Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands put together. Japan also has far more cycling fatalities than the U.S., despite having less than half as many people.

The National Police Agency recently held a symposium on how to make cycling safer. The attitude of the police representatives, according to one participant, was that bicycles should be moved off the roads completely, even if they've got no other place to go but straight into pedestrians' paths. This is one reason why I say you're unlikely to get stopped by the police for riding on a sidewalk, even where it isn't permitted. They like you there. Another reason is that all the police officers I spoke to assured me they look the other way unless the cyclist causes an accident or is doing something else illegal.

That's a good reason to learn the other rules concerning bicycles. Japanese law defines a bicycle as a conveyance for one person, although an adult is allowed to carry one child up to the age of 6, as long as the child is in a seat designed for the purpose. Which means all those moms who ferry two kids at once are breaking the law. So are the high school students and lovey-dovey couples who engage in flagrant futari nori unten (two people on one bike).

You'd never know it from casual observation on a rainy day, but kasasashi unten (riding with an open umbrella) is also against the law in Japan. So is doing anything that impairs your ability to operate the bicycle safely, including talking on a mobile phone. But except for occasional crackdowns on riding at night without a light, the police rarely go after cyclists. They're certainly not likely to chase after a mama chari (mommy bike) because there are two kids aboard.
However, the law against inshu unten (driving under the influence of alcohol) applies to bicycles too, and while rare, there have been arrests for drunk riding. So it's a good idea to walk your bike home after hitting the bottle. Just be sure to stay on the sidewalk, and watch out for plastered pedestrians!

Belasungkawa

Hari ini pagi Jumaat sangat redup. Awan berat dengan tanda-tanda hujan akan turun lagi. Saya menulis ini dari meja sebelah. Owen dan Petr sedang berdiskusi tentang list publications milik sensei hingga tahun 2005.

Belasungkawa

Sensei saya telah lama mengidap kanser perut sejak dari sebelum saya datang ke lab ini. Saya hanya berpeluang menemui dalam meeting hampir 1-2 jam tidak sampai 10 kali. Setiap kali hendak meeting, kecut perut akan terasa yang amat sangat. Kali terakhir saya meeting dengan sensei ialah pada bulan November di rumahnya. Pada ketika itu, beliau baru sahaja selesai operation tumor.

Sebagai seorang yang sangat terkenal di TRB, sensei saya pernah menerima Lifetime Award dalam bidang kariernya pada tahun 2006 sebaris dengan Ben Akiva dari MIT, US.

Sensei saya mempunyai minat membaca pelbagai jenis genre buku.
Semalam, apabila kami berkesempatan ke rumahnya, hampir setengah jam kami membelek-belek rak yang penuh dengan buku-buku, baik novel mahupun akademik. Sungguh memberikan inspirasi. Ada 2 buku tentang Malaysia, dan sebuah buku terjemahan 'The Koran'

Sensei minat kepada model keretapi. Ada beberapa model keretapi dan buku-buku mengenainya. Rupa-rupanya sensei mempunyai hobi yang menarik. Ia memberikan pengertian kepada saya bahawa untuk menjadi seseorang yang 'besar' kita perlu ada sesuatu yang 'unik' dalam diri.

Saya tidak mudah mengalirkan air mata semalam. Malah melihat wajah teman-teman lab yang kemerah-merahan menahan esak menjadikan saya 'blur.' Saya rasa saya bukanlah seorang yang dekat dengan sensei. Saya baru setahun setengah bersama beliau.

Tetapi untuk mengenali seseorang itu, lihatlah pada buku yang dibacanya. The Perception of Risk tulisan Paul Slovic menangkap mata saya dan saya segera tahu bahawa idea kajian saya berpunca dari buku ini. Owen dan Petr sedang sibuk berganbatte mencari kerja. Bulan 9 ni mereka akan tamat Phd. Nama sensei akan memberikan impak yang besar pada mereka. Mungkin juga pada Ari.

Tidak lama lagi akan tinggal saya sendiri. Anggap saja saya tidak bernasib baik kerana tidak dapat berpayung di bawah sensei untuk jangka masa yang lama. Pagi ini, barulah saya terasa betapa banyak peninggalan sensei untuk saya pelajari. Barulah terselit satu rasa untuk memahami cara pemikirannya dan apa kemahuannya.

Sukar untuk meluahkan apa yang tersirat di fikiran. Hidup perlu diteruskan. Berbanding dengan rakan-rakan lain, saya telah mempunyai pekerjaan tetap dan scholarship yang bagus. Tiada masalah untuk saya melebarkan sayap biarpun saya akan bertukar supervisor. Dan supervisor yang baru mungkin tidak sehebat sensei Kitamura.

Tetapi, tuhan telah menyediakan jalan untuk kita susuri. Sekiranya kita percaya kepada sifat ubudiyyah, maka segala ketentuan dan ketetapan yang berada di bawah tangannya akan dapat kita terima dengan redha. Ini adalah satu pengalaman yang mengesankan dalam hidup saya. Tugas penyelidikan saya akan berjalan seperti biasa. InsyaAllah.

Penghormatan terakhir

Esok - Sabtu dan Ahad, kami satu lab akan membantu di majlis pengkebumian. Majlisnya hampir sama dengan majlis untuk orang-orang beragama Buddha mungkin. Saya akan membantu sebagai tanda penghormatan. Di samping itu dapat melihat kepercayaan orang-orang bukan Islam.

Hidup di perantauan memang bukan sesuatu yang mudah. Tetapi kita dapat melihat banyak sudut yang berbeza. Ada waktunya kita perlu terbang jauh melebarkan sayap melihat bahawa dunia milik Allah ini terlalu luas dan penuh dengan pelbagai penciptaan yang tidak pernah terjangkau dek akal. Dan...satu hari nanti, apabila sudah puas terbang, seperti fitrahnya sang burung, kita akan pulang ke sarang...dengan membawa apa yang telah kita lihat untuk dilihat oleh mata orang lain.

Sabda Rasullullah S.A.W - Sebaik-baik manusia ialah manusia yang banyak memberi faedah kepada orang lain.Semoga kita menjadi salah seorang dari manusia yang terbaik itu. Amin

Ryuichi Kitamura Sensei, houtouni doumo arigatou gozaimashita...