CRITERIA FOR THE TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD, DEVELOPMENTAL FEATURES AND PERCEIVED ADULT STATUS AMONG BULGARIAN STUDENTS

The study focuses on emerging adulthood and the transition to adulthood in Bulgaria, a topic that is rarely studied in the country. The participants were 233 students aged 18-30. Indicators such as criteria for the transition to adulthood, developmental features, and perceived adult status are examined. The results confirm the presence of a specificity that highlights a period of emerging adulthood in Bulgaria. More than two-thirds of the sample is perceived as emerging adults. The most preferred criteria for the transition to adulthood is Starting a family, and the least preferred Chronological age. Identity and Opportunities / Experimentation are the most valued as dimensions of maturity during the emerging adulthood period. Similarities with data from other studies within EU countries have been identified and discussed.

Social maturity in digital age: issues, transformation and problems of individual self-determination

The aim of this study is to analyze the peculiarities of the perception of social maturity and its manifestations in representatives of different ages. As a research method, the questionnaire method was used, which allows the effectively identifying characteristics of ideas about social maturity and individual self-determination problems. Results of the research: the article describes the peculiarity of the interviewees' ideas about the transformation of social maturity among representatives of different ages. Problems related to individual self-determination are analyzed. The novelty and originality of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the problem of the correlation of social maturity and individual self-determination between representatives of different ages is considered. It is proven that age identity and individual self-determination affect the idea of social maturity. It is revealed that representatives of different ages have similar characteristics and character traits peculiar to their age and there are differences of other ages. It is shown that the main difference between one age and another was the idea of values and priorities.

Estudo sociofonético dos róticos no Vale de Itajaí em Santa Catarina / Sociophonetic Study of the Rhotics in the Itajaí Valley in Santa Catarina

Resumo: Este estudo, sob o olhar da Sociofonética, apresenta uma análise acústica das variantes dos sons de r-forte na fala de descendentes italianos da cidade de Rio do Sul, Alto Vale do Itajaí - SC. Nessa região, encontramos a variante tepe ([ɾ]), como uma das possibilidades de produção nesse contexto. Participaram da pesquisa seis representantes da comunidade, divididos em três faixas etárias: 20-50, 51-70 e acima de 70, do sexo feminino e masculino, que narraram suas histórias de vida em entrevistas de fala semiespontânea. O corpus foi formado por 147 itens lexicais que apresentavam as variantes de róticos em onset silábico inicial ou medial de palavra. Com base nos resultados acústicos, foi verificada a gradiência dos dados e foi constatado que os descendentes italianos da comunidade estudada produzem, como r-forte, diferentes variantes, além do tepe ([ɾ]). Fatores, como idade, identidade e região de origem, parecem influenciar na variedade de róticos produzidos. Foi observada uma diminuição na produção do tepe na dimensão diageracional, o que aponta para um estudo em tempo aparente.Palavras-chave: róticos; Alto Vale do Itajaí (SC); variação; Sociofonética.Abstract: This study, under the perspective of Sociofonética, presents an acoustic analysis of the variants of the sounds of r-forte in the speech of Italian descendants of the city of Rio do Sul, Alto Vale do Itajaí - SC. In this region, we find the variant tepe ([ɾ]), as one of the production possibilities in this context. Six community representatives participated in the research, divided into three age groups: 20-50, 51-70 and over 70, female and male, who narrated their life stories in semi-spontaneous speech interviews. The corpus was formed by 147 lexical items that presented the rhotic variants in initial or medial syllabic onset of the word. Based on the acoustic results, the gradient of the data was verified and the hypothesis was confirmed that the Italian descendants of the studied community produce, as r-forte, different variants, in addition to the tepe ([ɾ]). Factors, such as age, identity and region of origin, seem to influence the variety of rotics produced. A decrease in the production of tepe in the diagerational dimension was observed, which points to a study in apparent time.Keywords: rothics (R-sounds); Alto Vale do Itajaí (SC); Variation; Sociophonetics.

Too Old for Agility? Employee Age and Readiness for Change Toward Scrum—The Moderating Roles of Age Climate and Subjective Age

While demographic change is leading to an aging workforce in many parts of the world, more and more companies are implementing agile forms of collaboration. These enable better adaptation to change through constant, iterative learning but require a corresponding mindset from the employees. According to meta-analytical findings, willingness to learn is negatively correlated with employee age, whereas willingness to change is not. We examined the relationship between employee age and readiness for change toward Scrum—the predominant framework of agile project management—focusing on moderating effects. We hypothesized that readiness for Scrum does not decrease with employee age per se, but that it depends on age climate and subjective age. Using an animated explainer video, we created a scenario in which Scrum gets implemented in the participants’ work area. We tested our hypotheses using two studies with age-heterogeneous samples (N1 = 146, N2 = 198), differing in their mean ages (M1 = 36.9, M2 = 41.6). Across studies, and consistent with expectations, readiness for Scrum increased with age when employees reported lower levels of subjective age. Regarding age climate, the results were mixed: In Study 1, readiness for Scrum increased with age when participants perceived a more negative age climate, whereas in Study 2, it increased in a more positive age climate. Results of the three-way interaction in Study 1 suggest a complex interplay between age identity and age climate. We interpret these results in light of existing theory and discuss possible implications for research and practice.

Specifics of Sexual Self-Concept and Interpersonal Perception in Convicted Non-Imprisoned Sexual Offenders

The article considers the specifics of the sexual self-concept and interpersonal perception in individuals convicted of sexual crimes and serving their sentences without legally imposed loss of freedom. The study was aimed at revealing the structure of intact and damaged elements of the sexual self-concept in this category of persons and the correspondence between this self-concept and the properties found in appetence disorders. The sample consisted of 60 persons: 30 of them were registered (at the time of the study) with Penal Enforcement Inspectorates of the Federal Penal Correction Service for committing sexual offences (without loss of freedom) and had no revealed mental pathology, whereas the other 30 persons had neither criminal records nor any revealed mental disorders. The techniques used were "Masculinity and Femininity", "Age Identity", "The Color Relationship Test", "Encoding". The research work had an increased emphasis on the qualitative analysis of associative images. From the results of an empirical study it was shown that the make-up of the sexual self-identity in a large proportion of the convict subjects has the nature of anomalous necessity, which poses the risk of repeated offences. The results of the study suggest the necessity to make recommendations for the judiciary about referral of this category of persons for a forensic examination of their mental condition. The psychologists of penal enforcement inspectorates were recommended to implement the techniques of diagnosing one's sexual self-concept as part of their day-to-day work on differentiating convicts by the risk they pose.

Writing and identity

This essay explores the relationship between writing and an emblematic notion of our age, identity. It describes the symbolic functions of writing for three planes on which it is instrumentalized as a marker of identity, religion, nation and language. The discussion revolves around scriptures as a means of codifying religion, the practical and symbolic functions of writing for modern nation states, and the question of how writing affects linguistic systems, with regard to individual speakers, communities of speakers, and languages themselves. It thus appraises writing as a culture technique without which god, nation, and self wouldn’t be what nowadays we think they are.