Maldives National Journal of Research
The Maldives National Journal of Research (MNJR) is a research journal of the Maldives National University published by the Postgraduate Research Centre. MNJR is a multidisciplinary journal of research in all disciplines relevant to the Maldives. Although in the coming years, it is expected that this journal will evolve into specialist journals in various disciplines, the first one is generalist in nature. The journal publishes research articles, literature reviews, book reviews, comments, opinion and perspectives.
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Item Unravelling the forces behind language endangerment : an overview of Dhivehi language loss and preservation strategies(ރިސާރޗް ޑެވެލޮޕްމަންޓް އޮފީސް، ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޤައުމީ ޔުނިވަރސިޓީ , 2023-12) Riyaz, Aminath; Zahir, Aminath; Ibrahim, Zulfa; އާނިމަތު ރިޔާޒް; އާމިނަތު ޒާހިރު; ޒުލްފާ އިބްރާހީމްThe article aims to provide a theoretical examination of the causes of language loss and propose measures for the preservation of the Dhivehi language. Language serves as a repository for culture, identity, and collective memory intricately tied to the way of life, history, and values of a populace. The unreadable loamaafaanu (copper plate documents) of Maldives’ history, currently understood only by a few who have learned the script, is an example of the void created by the loss of a language or a dialect. The shift to or adoption of another language, often driven by rapid economic changes fueled by globalization, is a common trend in countries such as the Maldives. Such communities first become bilingual populations, next the use of the mother tongue gradually disappears, and finally the second language begins to prevail. The growing preference for English over Dhivehi suggests a potential halt in Dhivehi transmission within the next few generations. To alter this language shift, it is imperative to elevate the status of the Dhivehi language within the Maldivian community. Drawing on scientific literature, this study identifies five key factors for Dhivehi language preservation: (1) promoting plain Dhivehi usage by minimizing code-mixing or code-switching, (2) shaping educational policies to foster a Dhivehi-speaking environment, (3) implementing the national language policy, (4) providing training in linguistic fundamentals and teaching techniques, and (5) ensuring the sustainable development of Dhivehi reading material. Taking these into context, this study underscores the importance of assessing the current state of the Dhivehi language using the UNESCO framework for identifying language endangerment.Item Stability of values and opinions during the COVID-19 crisis: panel study data from the Maldives(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2023-07) Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; ހައްވާ ޝިއުނާ މުސްތަފާ; Moosa, Sheena; ޝީނާ މޫސާ; Riyaz, Aminath; އާމިނަތު ރިޔާޒު; Raheem, Raheema Abdul; ރަހީމާ އަބްދުލް ރަހީމްThe underlying assumption of the present COVID-19 crisis is that it can profoundly change the public values and opinions during its various phases leading to permanent societal and economic changes. This research is part of a longitudinal study of values in a crisis during the different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The same set of respondents from the wave 1 of Values in Crisis (VIC) survey of May 2020 (n=1026) were invited to participate in wave 2 in November 2021, achieving a response rate of 60.0% (n=615). To check the stability of values, Kendall’s tau-b coefficient was used to estimate the correlation coefficient to measure the strength of association of selected variables. These include national pride, political orientation, faith, social trust, financial satisfaction, work-life balance, satisfaction with life and social relations, health, trust in institutions, and social cohesion. The main findings indicate that, during the two years of the crisis, values and opinions remained largely stable in the Maldives. The research concludes with reflections drawn and opens avenues for debate for social science practitioners expecting drastic changes in people’s values and opinions due to the COVID-19 crisis.Item Post-divorce challenges faced by men in the Maldives: An exploratory study(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2024-12) Mohamed, Masha; މަޝާ މުހައްމަދު; Riyaz, Aminath; އާމިނަތު ރިޔާޒުDivorce is a transition that brings considerable emotional, physical, and economic changes to a person. While navigating this complex adjustment can be challenging and unsettling for both parties involved, these difficulties may vary for men perceived as less expressive than women. This research aims to identify the challenges men face after a divorce. The study will also explore how these challenges influence and shape how they move on in life. This research employs qualitative semi-structured one-to-one interviews and an online focus group discussion. Interview participants included divorced men from three socio-economic backgrounds who were willing to share their experiences. The online focus group comprised of divorced men discussing life after divorce in a generic context. Thematic analysis of participant responses, guided by relevant literature, focused on identifying the challenges men encounter and evaluating the impact of these challenges on their lives. The findings indicate that the degree of conflict between divorcing individuals during and after their separation significantly influences how men cope with the divorce and the intensity of post-divorce challenges. Notably, maintaining an amicable relationship with their ex-wife, particularly when children are involved, emerged as a significant topic of concern. Participants emphasised the need for psychological support throughout the divorce process and beyond. They highlighted interventions such as advice on effective co-parenting strategies and implementation of parenting plans to facilitate active father involvement in raising their children even when the child primarily resides with the mother post-divorce. These findings suggest implications for policy changesthat aims to promote smoother post-divorce transitions for all parties involved.Item Parental divorce as a predictor of attachment style in children’s adult intimate relationships: evidence from the Maldives(Maldives National University, 2022-07) Shazra, Aminath; Riyaz, AminathA quantitative analysis was carried out to determine the impact of parental divorce as a predictor of children’s attachment style in their adult intimate relationships using the Experiences in Close Relationship (ECR) Scale in combination with general demographics of the participants as well as their circumstances of the familial relationship with the divorced parents and stepfamilies. The questionnaire was set up using Google Form online tool. The link for the online questionnaire was shared among various social media groups, requesting participants aged 18 and above who have experienced parental divorce in their childhood. A total of 113 completed questionnaires were received (from 24 males and 89 females). The findings from this research construed anxious-preoccupied attachment style as the most prevalent among the participants. The analysis of the results show that these participants have a negative outlook on themselves and a positive outlook on others. The findings also show the importance of devising informed interventions and incorporating them in the relevant laws and policies to tackle the extremely high divorce rate in the Maldives.Item Stress and coping resources of divorced women in the Maldives(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Aboobakuru, Shifaza; Riyaz, AminathThe paper explores the stress level and the coping resources utilized by divorced women in the Maldives. While the study is designed as a quantitative investigation, the general objectives are not to generalize findings but to gain an understanding of divorce demographic and coping strategies of women after divorce. The Taylor’s manifest anxiety scale was used to assess stress, and a second questionnaire assesses divorcees’ current situation and their coping strategies. Both the questionnaires were self-administered by 60 participants identified through snowball sampling strategy. The findings show that divorced women exhibit notable psychological stress, with 46.7% of the participants having high stress, 51.7% having low stress and only 1.7% exhibiting no stress. While other unknown stressors in their life cannot be ruled out, the findings suggest that better socioeconomic, cognitive and emotional resources such as education, employment, adequate finance including child maintenance from the father of the child, emotional support from immediate family as well as friends have a positive impact on reducing stress. Contrarily, the findings also show lack of employment, rental expenses, dependency on an external party for child maintenance support, the uncertainties of a new romantic relationship, and the experience from a painful divorce process can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing. Furthermore, in adjusting to life after divorce, most of the participants seek financial independence through upskilling and employment, while some divorced women seek remarriage for financial and emotional security.Item Determinants of socioeconomic experiences during COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives(Research Development Office, The Maldives National University, 2020-12) Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; Riyaz, Aminath; Moosa, Sheena; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Naeem, Aishath ZeenThis paper evaluates the individual experiences and perceptions of the public about the COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives. The data was collected from a probability sample comprising 1026 respondents using an online survey. The results show that less than 1% of the respondents tested positive for COVID-19 at the time. The fear of the pandemic, in terms of probable health and economic impact, was significantly higher than the actual experience of the pandemic with 6.8 percent reporting loss of employment. Participants who considered religion as very important show a higher psychological wellbeing. Over 12% of the participants believed that the pandemic to be a hoax. The findings showed inclination of the people lay more towards solidarity rather than hostility during these trying times, with at least one third of the respondents identifying with complete solidarity. The findings provide suggestions for health practitioners to communicate more effectively with the public during the crisis.Item Experiences and concerns during the COVID 19 pandemic a qualitative research with employees in the tourism sector of the Maldives(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Adam, Aminath Shafiya; Riyaz, Aminath; Mohamed, Shazla; Sobir, Rania; Abdul Muhaimin, Fathimath Nasiha; Sudha, Aminath; Shadiya, FathimathThe Maldives is a small country, solely, dependent on the tourism sector for its economic growth. The first known case of COVID‑19 in the Maldives was reportedly a tourist from Italy in March 2020. As a result, the government implemented an overseas travel ban. Presumably, the effect of overseas travel ban was inevitable, which resulted in a complete shutdown of resorts. This paper covers a component from a research project conducted March-May 2020, by the Ministry of Economic Development with technical assistance from UNDP, as a rapid livelihood impact assessment of COVID‑19 in the Maldives.The data reported in this paper is concentrated on the qualitative dataset collected to investigate the experiences and concerns of resort employees at the onset of COVID‑19 pandemic. A total of 31 participants across 13 resorts were randomly selected. The data were generated through in-depth interviews which lasted 40-60 minutes either by conference calls or Zoom meetings based on preferred choice of the participants. Detailed notes were made during the conversation and were analysed thematically using the topics from the structured interview guide from the rapid livelihood assessment. The findings highlight the employees’ heightened anxiety about the exposure to COVID‑19 and its possible impact on their health and safety. The findings also highlight the economic impact on the resort workers because of the restrictive pay packages offered by the resorts in dealing with the sudden closure of the resorts in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The findings have useful inputs and implications on future strategic plans of small countries such as the Maldives that depend predominantly on a volatile tourism sector susceptible to external shocks such as the unforeseen COVID‑19 pandemic.Item Survey sampling in the time of social distancing experiences from a quantitative research in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Riyaz, Aminath; Musthafa, Hawwa Shiuna; Abdul Raheem, Raheema; Moosa, SheenaThis paper explores the practical difficulties of conducting an online quantitative survey across the Maldives during the COVID‑19 pandemic response to study people’s values in the midst of a crisis, and addresses crisis experience and perception, value orientation, personality traits, social cohesion, and trust in relevant authorities. This paper reports on the methodological component and not on the survey findings. A stratified systematic random sampling approach was used, with stratification on urbanrural clusters (cities and other islands), gender, and age of the population to recruit at least 400 from the urban and 600 participants from the rural communities. To overcome the practical difficulty of accessing households due to restrictive measures across the Maldives and lockdown status in the greater Male’ area, the latest voters’ registry was used to select every nth participant as the sample frame. Participants were recruited through phone calls, and survey instrument shared via social media, achieving a response rate of 87%.The practical difficulties with the sampling approach were different in urbanrural clusters, ranging from securing the phone numbers for prospective participants, nonresponse to phone calls, discrepancies in internet access, and the lack of control on whether the intended participant was in fact the person completing the survey. To overcome these challenges, a mix of probability and non-probability sampling was utilised ensuring not more than one participant was recruited from any household, while adhering to the stratification of gender and age. The statistical findings on the validity and reliability of the data show that the recruited sample is representative of the population. This outcome highlights the adaptability and applicability of established quantitative research methods to a geographically dispersed small island developing state, under nonconventional situations.