Nowadays, the issue of teachers’ psychological well-being causes serious concern, especially in Malaysia. Many studies related to psychological well-being have focused on students rather than on the health and well-being of teachers. Thus, the current study investigated the determinants of psychological well-being (depression, anxiety and stress) from the psychosocial work environment (job control, job demands and social support), and examined the moderating role of job control and social support in the relationship between job demands and psychological well-being among teachers. The design of this study was quantitative research through a survey questionnaire. The sample consisted of 335 high school teachers (23.3%—male; 76.7%—female) who responded to measuring scales of job demands, job control, social support, depression, anxiety and stress, and socio-demographic profile. The data were analyzed using two statistical methods, namely descriptive and inferential statistics. The hierarchical linear regression model was used to analyze the data by assisting the statistical software, i.e., SPSS-23. The results showed that job demands, job control and social support significantly predicted teachers’ psychological well-being. Furthermore, the effect of job demands on teachers’ depression and anxiety was partially moderated by job control and social support. In conclusion, this study has successfully identified the significant predictors of teachers’ psychological well-being and the role of job control and social support as a moderating variable to teachers’ psychological well-being in Malaysia. The result provides insights and contributes to the literature of teachers’ psychological well-being determinants and involves Malaysian respondents with a collectivistic eastern culture.

Today, the spread of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact on world public health and bring about considerable human suffering partly due to government policies on reducing the spread. COVID-19 has significantly affected human health and it has impacted on the occupation of vulnerable groups such as tour guides, drivers and shop assistants. Of these, the present study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 self-isolation policy on the occupation of vulnerable groups in Semarang City, Indonesia. To achieve this objective, this study uses a qualitative method with an ethnography approach considering a rational or non-rational thinking model. The binary opposition thinking pattern pioneered by Lévi-Strauss was used in the interview process with 25 informants in Semarang City, Indonesia. The data analyzed the response pattern of informants through the taxonomy analysis. Three levels of vulnerability among groups relating to occupation were identified; jobs lost, income decreased, and delayed salary. The result of the analysis found that the group who obeyed self-isolation was categorized as a rational thinking; these groups stay at home, do not go to work, and have no income. Besides that, the group who ignored self-isolation is categorized as non-rational thinking; they work, as usual, get their salary, and believe that the COVID-19 pandemic is a disaster and they pray for their safety to God. In conclusion, COVID-19 brings a significant impact on occupation in the forms of postponing, declining, and missing income besides the health effects among vulnerable groups in Semarang city, Indonesia. In avoiding COVID-19 infection, the circumstances of vulnerable groups are worse when self-isolation is required. Thus, this study suggests that the government needs to assist vulnerable groups by focusing on strategic policies, such as strategies for survival, providing access to basic needs, including health, and offering livelihood plans by providing access to medical services and other source of income.

This research intended to reveal

Perubahan kebijakan birokrasi tentang Aparatur Sipil Negara menuntut  perubahan manajemen SDM Aparatur berbasis merit system khususnya dalam pengisian Jabatan Pelaksana di birokrasi pemerintahan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan merit system dalam proses pengisian dan penempatan Jabatan Pelaksana di Badan Kepegawaian Daerah Provinsi Jawa Tengah dan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi proses tersebut. Metode penelitian yang digunakan kualitatif dengan pengumpulan data primer melalui teknik wawancara mendalam dan observasi, sedangkan data sekunder dikumpulkan melalui arsip dan dokumentasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa proses pengisian dan penempatan SDM Jabatan Pelaksana di Badan Kepegawaian Daerah Provinsi Jawa Tengah yang berasal dari seleksi CPNS tahun 2014 dan tahun 2018 sudah sesuai dengan prinsip merit system, meskipun belum sepenuhnya diterapkan secara keseluruhan. Masih terdapat penempatan PNS yang belum sesuai dengan kebutuhan jabatan yaitu kualifikasi dan pangkat yang dipersyaratkan dalam menduduki jabatan tersebut (job spesification). Perlu diketahui juga bahwa dalam  penilaian kinerja melalui Sasaran Kerja Pegawai (SKP) bulanan, kedisiplinan dan kehadiran fingerprint yang berpengaruh pada Tambahan Penghasilan Pegawai (TPP).  Teridentifikasi juga beberapa faktor yang mempengaruhi proses pengisian dan penempatan pejabat pelaksana, yaitu komitmen pimpinan, sumberdaya manusia dan regulasi.

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is essential to study in order to understand environmental changes from the perspective of student character building. This concept is the main foundation that refers to individual personality as a medium to build excellent capacity from an early age. At adolescent age, children experience a period with high emotional growth that encourages changes in attitudes and behavior patterns towards the surrounding environment. This exploratory study aimed at describing the relationship between environmental knowledge and studentsí attitudes and behaviors, along with challenging factors as the moderating variable, involving 320 participants from two junior high schools in two cities in Central Java, Indonesia. The data were analyzed using partial least square Smartpls v3.0. This study found that junior high school students had low environmental and social knowledge, but there was a good attitude and behavior tendency concerning the environment. The studentsí knowledge significantly influenced environmentally-friendly attitudes and behaviors, especially the social environment that the obstacles also became a significant moderating variable. Thus, schools and related parties should develop programs to increase the studentsí study orientation towards the environment and to have a collective awareness of the environment, specifically the ability to analyze and synthesize the surroundings.