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Jangan asal SCOPUS®

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Jangan asal SCOPUS ® ?  Lho, bukannya SCOPUS ®  itu jaminan utama jurnal bereputasi? Sorry to break this to you: Indeksasi SCOPUS ®  bukanlah jaminan mutlak bahwa suatu jurnal itu bagus atau layak untuk dijadikan referensi atau tempat kita diseminasi hasil penelitian dan pemikiran kita.  Di zaman dimana apapun dijadikan peluang bisnis, termasuk kebutuhan dan keinginan untuk bisa publikasi di jurnal terindeks SCOPUS ® , jurnal terindeks SCOPUS ®  juga telah dijadikan ladang uang yang sangat berpeluang, lho! Dan... banyak yang terperangkap di dalamnya, karena kurang hati-hati. Ya... itu tadi, ASAL SCOPUS ® . Kok bisa, ya, SCOPUS ®  tidak bertindak? Saya pikir bukan tak bertindak, mungkin BELUM. Sepengetahuan saya butuh waktu beberapa bulan sampai tahunan untuk SCOPUS ®  menilai dan menilai ulang apakah suatu jurnal masuk kriteria sebagai jurnal yang baik atau tidak. Jadi, untuk jurnal-jurnal pemangsa seperti ini, mungkin tinggal tunggu waktunya diberhentikan statusnya oleh SCOPUS ®.   
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Pembunuh, Pemutilasi, dan Pelakor: Laeli Atik Supriyatin dan 'Dosa' Terbesarnya

Dari ketiga kejahatan yang dilakukan oleh Laeli Atik Supriyatin dengan pasangannya (entah siri atau kumpul kebo--beritanya masih simpang siur), sepertinya kejahatannya yang paling tak termaafkan adalah melakor (sepertinya sekarang bisa menjadi kata kerja) atau merebut suami orang.  Membunuh adalah bentuk kejahatan yang, sayangnya, kita sering dengar. Memutilasi juga bentuk kejahatan yang tak asing lagi, meskipun terdengar sangat sadis, jauh lebih sadis dari membunuh saja. Aduh, berbicara tingkat kesadisan, semua hal yang dilakukan tanpa izin si korban adalah sadis!  Namun, sepertinya yang paling sadis dan yang tersadis adalah menjadi pelakor yang juga membunuh dan memutilasi korbannya. Itulah sebabnya kasus Laeli Atik Supriyatin ini sangat menarik perhatian banyak orang. Padahal, ia tak sendiri melakukan kejahatan ini. Berdua dengan lelaki bernama Djumadil Al Fajri. (Perhatikan nama keduanya, sungguh indah, bukan? Sebagai orang tua saya paham betapa proses pemberian nama pada anak adal
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A Letter to My Grandchild

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Dear future grandchild, Perhaps when you are able to read this letter, I am already in heaven or the transitional place in between heaven and earth (I hope so--mind you, I believe in the Afterlife, and I hope your generation still does). I am writing this letter to tell you of a particular and peculiar time during the course of my life. The year was 2020. I was almost 34 by then, with two kids, yeah... your dad and your auntie (or, your mom and your uncle--depending on to which of my children you belong, dear).  ( https://unsplash.com/photos/iPOzQwvcMLE ) 2020 was a pretty number. It read pretty, at least. But boy.... what that year brought to us! A calamity will sound a bit condescending.  That year, a virus went spiraling down the abysmal well of torture--psychologically and physically.  They said it started in a place called Wuhan in China and it spread uncontrollably all over the world. In some countries, the virus took thousands of death tolls. Italy was the first country to suc
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Belajar dari Tasmania: NOL kasus Covid-19

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Sudah hampir lebih dari dua bulan ini Tasmania tidak mendapatkan kasus baru covid-19.  Nol kasus ini berarti pembatasan sosial berskala besar ala Indonesia yang dikenal dengan PSBB atau di sini singkat disebut 'Covid-19 restrictions’ sudah tidak diberlakukan. Dua bulan lebih cepat dari seharusnya!  Alhamdulillaah... Dari 5 orang saja yang diperbolehkan mengunjungi rumah penduduk, jumlahnya naik menjadi 10, sampai kini boleh hingga 20 orang!  Dari 10 orang saja yang diperbolehkan masuk rumah ibadah seperti masjid dan gereja, jumlahnya naik menjadi 20, dan kini boleh hingga 50 orang!  Tempat hiburan dan liburan, seperti taman nasional dan tempat main sudah dibuka semuanya! Sekolah sudah sejak lama dibuka, tepatnya mulai bulan Mei! Sekolah adalah fasilitas publik yang ditutup paling akhir dan dibuka kembali paling awal.  Alasannya? Banyak! Selain karena pendidikan itu sangat penting, dan penelitian membuktikan anak-anak lebih ‘aman’ di sekolah daripada di rumah seharia
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Foto Bersama Penerima Bantuan: Riya? Untuk Menginspirasi?: Jangan Dulu Su'udzan

"Bu, mau saya foto penerima sumbangannya? Buat dokumentasi." Saya cepat menjawab, "Nggak usah, Bu. Bagikan aja. Jangan kasih tahu juga saya yang kasih, ya? Nggak seberapa ini."  "Beneran, Bu? Kemarin waktu Pak RW bagi-bagi sembako, malah lebih sedikit dari paket Ibu, kita semua difoto, lho!" "Ya, mungkin sebagai bukti dokumentasi untuk pemberi sumbangan, Bu. Apalagi kalau pemberi sumbangannya pemerintah, pasti ada semacam pertanggung jawaban dalam bentuk foto atau tanda tangan. Kalau saya nggak salah dulu tanda tangan aja cukup. Tapi, tanda tangan kan gampang dipalsukan. Jadi, mungkin diganti foto bersama, biar lebih otentik," terang saya. "Ibu emang nggak butuh bukti saya udah bagi-bagi ke tetangga?" Tanyanya lagi. Saya tersenyum kecut, "Saya percaya sama Ibu. Nggak perlu bukti-bukti. InsyaAllah." "Baik. Nuhun atuh Bu, kalau begitu. Saya bagiin dulu, ya, sembakonya," pamit si ibu tetangga kampung. "Iya, Bu. Mak
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The Lean-To: Our First Home

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Reading Little House Series awoke my own childhood memories from their slumber.  Let's begin the journey through the past: Photo taken from:  https://bogor.tribunnews.com/2018/09/06/kesabaran-mak-acam-10-tahun-tinggal-di-rumah-bilik-kota-bogor-kebocoran-bila-hujan?page=all It was not even a proper shack, more of a lean-to. The lean-to was generously given by my grandfather. It stood ugly next to his brick, white-painted house. It was only made of wood and bamboo with no added colour. There was only one bedroom and a living room flowed into the kitchen. We didn’t even have a proper bathroom and toilet. I guessed Grandpa also generously built a toilet next to the well in his yard, which automatically served as our not-so-private bathroom. I had vague collections of my childhood life, but the house and the outdoor bathroom were vivid in my mind. There was only one big bed that we shared together. Yes. My Dad, Mom, big sister, and me slept together on that big bed. The bed
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The 'Perks' of Working from Home with Two Young Kids: Staying Positive in the Face of Covid-19

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Ah, the privilege of working in solitude, with zero distractions (except for the social media and video-sharing platform icons displayed temptingly on the navigation bar), and boosted by speedy internet connection. How I miss it dearly! What a privilege working from anywhere with such a peaceful isolation. But here's what I got: When I just got a super clever idea for a revision of my journal article, and my hands and my mind tried to concentrate on coordinating so that the idea got transferred into writing . . . my son came and slapped me with a question, "Ambu, do worms change their skin because they are getting older?" "What????????????" I had no idea of what he was talking about. That's not the kind of question that I could simply answer 'yes' or 'no' because I needed to have scientific justification.  I definitely needed some time to think about the answer. And then... I FORGOT what I was trying to type in.  Oh, NO! My
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Let's Not Be the "Privileged Covidiots"

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Alright, I'll be honest. Covid-19 DOESN'T CHANGE MY routine, IT DOESN'T AFFECT my life. source: twitter I still eat three meals a day, enjoying the same snacks. I still have the money to shop at the supermarket and find everything I need to survive, from food to toilet paper (which I don't really need that much). Even my children can still safely play in the yard! They can still have fun, fill their tummy, and sleep well! My scholarship is still flowing in (even though it is only enough for my living expenses here). My monthly salaries from Indonesia are still routinely sent every month (although it's value is reduced drastically when exchanged to dollars, D). My husband can keep his job, too, though it's not a high-paying one. The point is, instead of lacking, I feel very fulfilled. And. . . I realized HOW 'PRIVILEGED' I am! Not that I have zero problems, zero debt, or zero burden. I lead a normal life, with all its burden! HOWEVER, CO
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Is PhD REALLY a Lonely Journey?: My "Crowded" Journey

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Is PhD really a lonely journey? The answer to that will vary, depending on our perspectives. Being quite spiritual and religious myself, I might for example argue that life in itself is actually a lonely journey.  We were born alone to this world (even those with a twin did not come "together" out of their mother's womb), and we will die a lonely death. But, I am aware of the fact that loneliness has some positive and negative ramifications. Most of the time, it is viewed negatively, and as such bears negative consequences. I recently watched a news report telling about how older people who are lonely tend to die earlier than those who are not. Sad. What about PhD journeys? There is no absolute yes or no answer to that. For me, embarking this journey with two little kids and a husband made me feel like it is actually a crowded journey--mostly in a positive sense. errantscience.com I visualize this journey as one that I venture on a small boat enough for one
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"Married at First Sight": Ta'aruf ala Australia

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Setiap negara pasti memiliki acara TV yang "aneh", "neko-neko", atau kontroversial.  Ya, televisi butuh penonton, dan untuk menarik penonton, mereka harus menayangkan acara yang menarik perhatian, sekalipun harus mengundang kontroversi. Nah, di Australia ada satu acara TV yang sangat kontroversial dan tentunya memiliki rating yang sangat tinggi berjudul Married at First Sight yang ditayangkan oleh Channel 9. https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-02/6/23/campaign_images/buzzfeed-prod-web-01/susan-and-sean-forever-2-18470-1486443264-5_dblbig.jpg Ringkasnya, dalam acara ini, tiga orang psikolog atau ahli hubungan rumah tangga memasangkan lelaki dan perempuan (dan baru-baru ini perempuan dengan perempuan) hanya dengan membaca dan mencocokkan profil mereka masing-masing.  Misalnya, setelah membaca karakteristik pria 1, 2, 3, dan wanita A, B, dan C, para ahli ini kemudian memutuskan bahwa pria 1 akan cocok dengan wanita C, dan seterusnya. Mereka
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