Navigating Idealism and Societal Expectations: A Genetic Structuralist Analysis of Dewi Lestari’s Perahu Kertas

This study aims to increase students' knowledge of various extrinsic elements of literary works. In this case, the extrinsic element is the theory of basic needs by Abraham Maslow. Extrinsic elements must be analyzed to provide more content and benefits in literary works. The study was conducted at Vocational School 73 Jakarta, especially Class XI of Culinary Art, Hotel Accommodation, and Tourism Business Management programs. Each student was required to analyze a short story by Dewi Lestari's Filosofi Kopi. Students had the option of analyzing either the intrinsic or extrinsic elements. This study took a qualitative approach and was analyzed using descriptive qualitative techniques. The data source was an anthology of a short story entitled “Filosofi Kopi” (Collection of Stories and Prose of a Decade) by Dewi Lestari, published by PT. Bentang Pustaka, eleventh edition, January 2015. Based on the analysis results in three classes, out of 104 students, 17 chose to analyze extrinsic elements; 12 understood extrinsic element analysis and the basic needs theory of Abraham Maslow; and five answered incorrectly. It means that students can understand Abraham Maslow's theory of humanistic psychology. Still, teachers need to pay more attention and provide direction on analyzing the extrinsic elements of literary works so that the students become more daring to analyze extrinsic elements of literary works.

Family socioeconomic status and home-based parental involvement: A mediation analysis of parental attitudes and expectations

BackgroundHigh parental expectations are increasingly recognized as a risk factor for youth mental health, yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain understudied, particularly in contexts like China where academic and familial pressures are pronounced. Existing literature highlights links between parental expectations and psychological distress but lacks clarity on mediating pathways.MethodsThis cross-sectional study analyzed data from 1,445 Chinese college students, using structural equation modeling (SEM). The model examined direct and indirect effects of parental expectations on psychological distress, with perceived stress and core self-worth as mediators, while controlling for co-variables.ResultsParental expectations exhibited a substantial total effect on psychological distress (β = 0.216, p < 0.001). Direct effects accounted for 43% of this association (β = 0.093), while 57% operated indirectly through three pathways: (1) perceived stress alone (27.3% mediation, β = 0.059), (2) a sequential chain of heightened stress, reduced core self-worth, and exacerbated distress (22.7% mediation, β = 0.049), and (3) reduced core self-worth alone (7.0% mediation, β = 0.015). The dual-mediator model revealed how parental expectations trigger stress-driven erosion of self-worth and, independently, a direct erosion of self-worth, disproportionately affecting young adults.ConclusionThese findings underscore the dual nature of parental expectations as both direct and cascading stressors. The study advances stress-appraisal theories by elucidating mechanisms through which external pressures from parental expectation internalize as psychological harm. Culturally tailored interventions should target stress resilience and core self-worth reinforcement. By addressing conditional acceptance and fostering autonomy, strategies can mitigate mental health risks tied to excessive parental demands. This research calls for policy and educational reforms to balance parental aspirations with children’s well-being, emphasizing systemic support for marginalized youth.

Aspirations defined as future‐oriented desires or ambitions, can determine agricultural investments and rural development. Aspirations are shaped by people's social, cultural, and physical environment and can be affected by external factors such as natural disasters. This article addresses the question of how weather shocks can influence individual and community aspirations. Using primary panel data from two survey rounds before and during a major drought in Zambia, we show that such extreme weather events can be associated with adverse impacts on individual aspirations. Further exploratory analyses suggest that aspirations towards assets that are particularly vulnerable to droughts are affected most. We do not find any significant effects of drought on community aspirations.

SummarySociality has been linked to a longer lifespan in many mammals, including humans. Yet, how sociality results in survival benefits remains unclear. Using 10 years of data and over 1,000 recorded injuries in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), we tested two injury-related mechanisms by which social status and affiliative partners might influence survival. Injuries increased individual risk of death by 3-fold in this dataset. We found that sociality can affect individuals’ survival by reducing their risk of injury but had no effect on the probability of injured individuals dying. Both males and females of high social status (measured as female matrilineal rank and male group tenure) and females with more affiliative partners (estimated using the number of female relatives) experienced fewer injuries and thus were less likely to die. Collectively, our results offer rare insights into one mechanism that can mediate the well-known benefits of sociality on an individual’s fitness.

Global warming has profoundly transformed the natural environment and significantly impacted people's production methods, thereby promoting low-carbon consumption behaviors. While numerous scholars have examined the factors influencing low-carbon consumption behavior, their analyses predominantly rely on classical theoretical frameworks such as planned behavior theory, value-belief-norm theory and The ABC attitude theory. However, there is a notable scarcity of studies investigating the relationship between the social environment and low-carbon behaviors among youth groups. To address this gap in the literature, we aim to explore how the social environment influences youth groups' low-carbon consumption behaviors, as well as identify the mechanisms through which this influence may manifest. This study examines the factors influencing low-carbon consumption behavior from three perspectives: the social environment, low-carbon cognition, and conformity consumption. A theoretical model of low-carbon consumption has been developed, and data were collected through a questionnaire survey involving 600 young individuals in the Xizang Autonomous Region. The hypothesized relationships were tested using structural equation modeling techniques. The findings indicate that the social environment has a significant positive impact on both low-carbon cognition and behavior. Furthermore, low-carbon cognition is shown to positively influence low-carbon behavior. In terms of the relationship between the social environment and low-carbon behavior, it is found that low-carbon cognition acts as a mediating variable. Additionally, it was observed that lower levels of conformity consumption negatively moderate both the relationship between the social environment and low-carbon behavior as well as that between low-carbon cognition and behavior. These findings suggest that engaging young individuals not only fosters environmental awareness but also promotes sustainable consumption, thereby establishing a solid foundation for the protection and enhancement ofour ecological environment. Furthermore, it is essential to disseminate the concept of low-carbon consumerism through various media channels and methodologies. This approach aims to enhance young individuals' understanding of low-carbon principles, guiding them toward more scientifically informed consumption habits while reducing tendencies for blind conformity.

The article presents the results of a study on social pressure as a stimulus context for moral behavior. Three experiments examined how external and internal social pressure, relative to the scenario of a moral dilemma, affects the evaluation of moral actions. The total number of participants was 565, with 127 in the first study, 152 — in the second study and 286 in the third one. The samples did not overlap. In the first and the second experiments, external pressure was applied by informing participants about the percentage of people who responded to the dilemmas in a particular way in a previous study, whereas internal pressure involved indicating in the text of the dilemma the solution preferred by the character’s social environment. The results show that external pressure can shift moral evaluations toward social influence, whereas internal pressure does not significantly affect participants’ choices. In the third experiment, the study investigated how information about the conformity or nonconformity of the character’s action in the moral dilemma affects its moral assessment. According to the results, participants relied on general moral rules in their evaluations, and information about the conformity or nonconformity of the character’s actions did not affect their judgments. The article discusses the findings in the context of a behaviorist approach that treats moral behavior as rule-governed. The hypothesis of the illusion of moral autonomy is proposed, describing a tendency to evaluate the moral behavior of others based on universal moral rules, while ignoring situational context.

In this occasional series we record the views and personal experience of people who have especially contributed to the evolution of ideas in the Journal's field of interest. Raul Caetano qualified in medicine in Brazil. While retaining close academic and cultural links with his native country, he has developed a career as an alcohol epidemiologist with research positions first in Berkeley,California and then at the University of Texas. He has contributed very widely to epidemiological research on drinking but with a sustained ability to develop the important ethnic dimensions of such studies.

Dewi Lestari’s novel entitled Supernova: Kesatria, Putri, dan Bintang Jatuh (KPBJ) depicts problems related to phenomena typical of social realities in real life such as homosexuality, love affairs, and prostitution. Despite the fact that those things are not in accordance with the social values or even highly prohibited, humans actually have the right and freedom to choose their own life path. Therefore, the researcher aims to analyse the novel from the perspective of freedoms of the characters. This article uses Jean Paul Sartre’s theory on existentialism to analyse the freedom of the characters. According to Sartre, humans are creatures with freedom that have the right to take life decisions on their own but are still liable to the consequences of the actions they take. The research is conducted using a qualitative approach and descriptive method. From the perspective of a society that adheres to the social norms and values, homosexuality, love affairs, and prostitution are considered complex issues of a highly delicate nature. In a country like Indonesia, where religious and cultural norms and values are highly regarded, the complexity of these issues is far more undeniable. This hypothesis often obscures the limit of morality and immorality, freedom and oppression.

In a rapidly evolving urban landscape, the youth of Chennai navigate the complexities of identity formation while facing societal pressures. This paper examines youth identity and alienation among individuals aged 15-24, within the broader context of sociology, development, and democracy. The study analyses the impact of societal expectations on youth identity, explores the extent of feelings of alienation and social exclusion, and examines the prevalence of political disengagement among young individuals, along with its underlying causes. A mixed-methods research design is employed, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. A stratified random sampling method is used to distribute structured questionnaires to 200 respondents. while purposive sampling is used with 25 respondents to capture nuanced experiences. This study shows societal expectations significantly shape youth identities, often leading to a disconnect between personal aspirations and external pressures. Many young individuals experience alienation and social exclusion, further exacerbating their sense of disconnection from their communities. Political disengagement is considered to be prevalent, with respondents showing minimal interest in democratic processes due to perceived lack of agency and understanding of political systems. Overall, this study highlights the urgent need for policies that address the socio-economic and psychological well-being of youth, fostering a supportive environment for their full participation in democratic and developmental processes. Recognizing and addressing these challenges can empower Chennai's youth to reclaim their identities and actively engage in shaping their future.

Asymmetric effects of experimental manipulations of social status on individual immune response

This study was conducted to find the relationship between social competence and home environment of adolescents. This study also aimed at finding the relationship between dimensions of social competence (Personal adequacy, interpersonal adequacy and communication skills) and dimensions of home environment (Protectiveness, parental involvement, academic stimulation, reward, parental warmth, punishment, participation in home affairs, control, permissiveness and parental expectations). Descriptive method was used in this study. The study was conducted on a sample of 800 students of +1 class taken randomly from schools of Jalandhar and Kapurthala affiliated to Panjab school education board, Mohali. Social competence scale by Sharma & Rani (2012) was used to find social competence among adolescents. Home environment scale by Akhtar & Saxena (2014) was used to study the home environment of adolescents. The analysis of data was done by using product moment correlation, mean, standard deviation, coefficient of skewness and coefficient of kurtosis were also calculated to know the nature of data. The results of the study show that the Personal Adequacy (PA) dimension of social competence has positive, low but significant relation with academic stimulation dimension of home environment. All other nine dimensions of home environment have positive, very low and not significant correlation with personal adequacy of adolescents. The results show that there exists positive, very low but significant correlation between interpersonal adequacy dimension of social competence and parental involvement, academic stimulation, reward, parental warmth, participation in home affairs, permissiveness and parental expectation dimensions of home environment respectively while there exists a positive, very low and not significant relation between interpersonal adequacy & protectiveness, punishment and control dimensions of home environment. There exists a positive, low, but significant correlations between communication skills dimension of social competence and parental involvement, parental expectations, academic stimulation and permissiveness dimensions of home environment while the correlation of communication skills with the remaining dimensions of home environment is not significant. There exists a positive, low but significant correlation between social competence and home environment of adolescents. The results indicated that as home plays an important role in developing social competence among adolescents, such a loving and caring environment should be provided at home that gives academic stimulation, protectiveness, freedom to express ideas and opportunities to participate in home affairs.

An early look at parental expectation towards early childhood education among Pakistani parents in Hong Kong: The role of culture and acculturation

The impact of social economic status (SES) on children's academic outcomes has been well documented. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain poorly understood. Furthermore, the process by which SES relates to academic achievement needs to be studied separately for boys and girls. Using a sample of 598 Chinese children (299 boys, 299 girls) in grades 4 to 6 and their parents, this study examined the process of how family SES, specifically family income and parental education, indirectly relates to children's reading achievement through parental expectation and parental involvement and whether this process differs between boys and girls. The results revealed that parental expectation and specific parental involvement behaviors played critical mediating roles between family SES and reading achievement. Moreover, the exact nature of these links differed by the gender of children. For boys, both the effect of parental education and the effect of family income were partially mediated by parental expectation and parent-child communication orderly. For girls, the effect of parental education was partially mediated by three separate pathways: (1) home monitoring; (2) parent-child communication; and (3) parental expectation followed by parent-child communication, while the effect of family income was fully mediated by parent-child communication. These findings suggest a process through which SES factors are related to children's academic development and identify a context under which these associations may differ. The practical implications of these findings are discussed, along with possible future research directions.

Objective This study explored the association between parental expectations and children’s responsibility, testing the mediating and moderating mechanisms of parental involvement and family socioeconomic status. Method We used the Parental Expectations Scale, Parental Involvement Questionnaire, Children’s Responsibility Scale and Family socioeconomic status Scale to survey 424 parents of preschool children. Result Paternal involvement and maternal involvement played mediating roles between parental expectations and children’s responsibility. The relationship between maternal involvement and children’s responsibility was significantly moderated by family socioeconomic status. Children from families with high socioeconomic status are more likely to benefit from high maternal involvement and show better levels of responsibility. The findings revealed the internal mechanism underlying the relationship between parental expectations and children’s responsibility, providing a theoretical basis for enhancing children’s responsibility.