An Evaluation of Online Edcraft Gamified Learning (EGL): Understanding Motivation and Intention of Recycling Among Youth During COVID-19 Period

Recycling is a process carried out by various organizations and individuals to enhance the environment’s long-term sustainability. Some youth think that recycling is a monotonous action as it may seem inconvenient, less aware of the environmental issues and more time-consuming than they think and rather go for video games. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the relationship between motivation and recycling intention in gamified learning among youth. To address the research aim, this study uses gamification as a motivational driver for a game-like learning experience to improve recycling intentions among youth. Self-determination theory (SDT) and the theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) will be this study's main motivational and behavioural theories. (n=124) high schools and college students were invited to take part in an online gamified recycling activity, Edcraft Gamified Learning (EGL), consisting of two levels of gamified unused plastic-crafting recycling activities. After the activity, the participant will answer a post-event questionnaire and the data collected were analyzed. The result shows that both controlled motivation (CM) and autonomous motivation (AM) positively influenced youth attitudes and social norms. Besides, attitude is the only psychosocial determinant that positively influences the recycling intention of the youth. Gamification only moderates positively between attitude and recycling intention. This study has clearly shown the effectiveness of gamified learning activity towards recycling intention directly and as a component that moderates the relationship between attitude and recycling intention, which shows a favourable evaluation towards recycling intention with gamified learning involved. Moreover, findings show that not all relationships are positive in a gamified learning environment, and it gives a good view on the weakness and strengths with the guide of SDT and TPB.

Expression of Behavior and Attitudes toward Sustainable Tourism in the Youth Population: A Search for Statistical Types

Youth attitudes and behavior in tourism activities are crucial for sustainable tourism development. This study aims to identify the statistical types of youth according to their expressed behavior in sustainability and attitudes toward sustainable tourism development. Survey data were collected from 1085 respondents representing different Baltic Sea countries—Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia. A unique research instrument, constructed by the authors, was developed for the empirical research, responding to the latest theoretical insights and models and was empirically validated by statistical methods (the factor validity of the scales was tested with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, etc.). Attitudes towards sustainable tourism development were measured with the SUS-TAS scale. The factor clustering method used in the study identified the statistical types of the youth included, according to the expression of sustainable behavior and the attitudes toward sustainable tourism development. The results indicated that the majority of youth belong to the “oriented toward sustainable behavior” type (50.6%), while the analysis of youth attitudes showed that 71.5% belong to the socioeconomic type, indicating that young people prioritize the long-term socioeconomic wellbeing of the region, which can be achieved through efficient management, tourism planning, and active public participation in the implementation of tourism policies.

Connection between basic values and emigration attitudes of Russian youth

The ambiguity and inconsistency of the data on the connection between emigration attitudes and metavalues spurs the research on the relation between emigration attitudes and basic values. Hence, the problem of studying the deterministic character of youth attitudes to emigration is seen as of relevance. The purpose of this research is to determine the nature of the connection between basic values and emigration attitudes. Hypotheses: 1. The basic values that make up metavalues act as the predictors of emigration attitudes. 2. The basic values constituting the contrastive metavalues of Preservation and Openness to Change are simultaneously connected with emigration attitudes, and the nature of their connections is different. 3. The basic values constituting the metavalue of Self-Affirmation have a positive correlation with emigration attitudes. The study is carried out on a sample of respondents (N = 646) aged 17 to 35, including 78% (504) of women. The research applies the “Scales of Migration Attitudes” (S. A. Kuznetsova, I. Yu. Kuznetsov, A. V. Feshchenko) modified to study emigration attitudes. The study also uses PVQ-21–ESS7 versions of the questionnaire measuring individual values (Sh. Schwartz) which enables to document the degree of expression of values. Finally, the research makes use of the method of multiple linear regression analysis. The results show that the attitude of the subject is the most pronounced one among all other components of emigration attitudes (the attitude of the loved ones, the expectations of the loved ones). Basic values have a major impact on the revealed connections between emigration attitudes and metavalues. For example, the values of tradition and security have a negative correlation with the metavalue of Preservation. The values of stimulation have a positive correlation with the metavalue of Openness to Change. The values of power have a positive correlation with the metavalue of Self-Affirmation. Evidently, young adults are more likely to plan to emigrate due to their personal attitudes and motives rather than to those of their close environment. Attitudes towards emigration are expressed by those young adults who: 1) are less focused on traditions and customs but appreciate security; 2) strive to enrich their lives with new sensations and emotions; 3) appreciate material well-being. The results of the study reveal the factors contributing to the emergence of attitudes to emigration in young adults. The results of the study can be used to predict international mobility of young adults. Additionally, they are of importance for the psychological work with potential emigrants.

Youth Attitudes Towards Their Future: the Role of Resources, Agency and Individualism in the UK

Young adults tend to be more optimistic about the future than older people, even during social and economic crises such as those created by the COVID pandemic. In this paper, we analyse survey data from a previous economic crisis to examine why young adults remain optimistic about their personal futures, and to consider what lessons, if any, this can help us with thinking about a post-COVID future. The data in question are drawn from a unique cross-sectional survey of young adults aged 22–29 in England, Scotland and Wales conducted in 2014, when youth unemployment in the UK was still extraordinarily high. Using these data, we assess the effect of resources, agency and individualism on young adults’ optimism. Multiple regression models of these data show that individual resources and individual attitudes not only have an independent effect on levels of youth optimism, but they can also interact. In particular, we argue that self-efficacy is the strongest predictor of youth optimism, together with educational resources, but we also show that some youth attitudes (namely individualism) affect youth optimism in different ways, depending on the level of individual-level resources available to the young person. These findings highlight the complexity of understanding youth optimism and point us towards possibilities for supporting young adults in post-pandemic times.

Rural youth attitudes towards immigrants

The aim of this study is to research the attitudes towards immigrants among rural Finnish second grade students. The study was carried out in Southern Ostrobothnia region which is strongly countryside and where the number of immigrants is the lowest in Finland. Also, the level of education in the region is the lowest in Finland. During the next decades, immigrants will be an important source of labour, since the population in Finland is getting older - faster than in any other European country. The data (n=275) was collected from colleges and upper secondary schools. The analysis showed that gender, parents level of education and the multicultural connections had an effect on persons attitudes towards immigrants. Youths´ attitudes also varied towards different immigration groups and nationalities. Attitudes towards the immigration of children and labour for example, were more positive than attitudes towards unemployed migrants and refugees. In terms of nationalities, Western immigrants were more positively welcomed than immigrants from war zones and those from the crisis areas. Answers to the open-ended question in the end of the questionnaire showed that the attitudes towards immigration were particularly concerned with refugees and the policy of immigration. Open answers included both racist and negative statements as well as statements to helping refugees. The results of this study may be of use when the new refugee policies are implemented in near future. The increase in immigrant labour requires respect, cooperation and cultural tolerance. To stabilize the economy in Finland and to be able to work in the future, new, more tolerant attitudes are needed.

Youth Attitudes to Domestic and Family Violence: A Scoping Review of Young People’s Attitudes and Perceptions in Australia

Domestic and family violence (DFV) has been described as a “national emergency” in Australia, with a suite of policies and interventions introduced over the past decade to better support women and their children. Within these frameworks, young people have been identified as agents of change for primary prevention; however, little is known about their attitudes and knowledge of DFV. This scoping review thus sought to establish the attitudes and knowledge of DFV held by young people (under 25 years old) in Australia. Nine international databases were searched, yielding 11 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The studies were quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods in design, with the findings demonstrating that young Australians have good knowledge about DFV. However, the review also indicates problematic areas around young people’s understanding of the harms of DFV with many continuing to hold victim-blaming attitudes. In addition, much of the existing research is survey-based in nature, there is no strong uniformity across the studies, nor is there an engaged approach to research design. Moreover, the current measures used in research are not sufficient to gauge where young people gain knowledge about DFV, nor do they explain under what conditions attitudes change or what are the medium- and long-term effects of DFV prevention work. We therefore contend that future research ought to be interdisciplinary and intersectional in nature and collaborate with a range of young people in order to understand their full potential as agents of social change and primary prevention.

Spiritual and moral education of the youth: attitudes towards each other, family, society

В статье рассматриваются проблемы духовно-нравственного образования молодежи по итогам анкетирования студентов факультетов истории и международных отношений, информационных технологий Российско-Таджикского (Славянского) университета (Душанбе, Республика Таджикистан). Сохранение исторической памяти, разноплановая и серьезная волонтерская помощь, экологические проекты – лишь часть практической реализации системной программы духовно-нравственного образования студенческой молодежи, реализуемой в РТСУ. The article deals with the problems of spiritual and moral education of young people based on the results of questioning the students of the Faculty of History and International Relations, and the Faculty o Information Technologies of the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University (Dushanbe, Republic of Tajikistan). Preservation of historical memory, diverse and serious volunteer assistance, environmental projects are just a part of practical implementation of a systematic program of spiritual and moral education of students, implemented in the university.

"I realized that cops are just regular people" : changing youth attitudes toward the police through community policing programming.

Existing literature examining youth-police relations has consistently found that willingness to engage with the police is directly influenced by youth attitudes toward the police. Research findings suggest that increasing positive attitudes toward the police among adolescent populations will result in a subsequent increase in behaviours supportive of the police and law enforcement. The current study was a mixed-method evaluation (including survey data and qualitative interviews) of a community policing pilot program designed to increase positive contact between at-risk youth and police officers. The program was effective in positively changing youth attitudes toward the police. Interview results provide evidence of a direct mechanism for increasing trust and cooperation with the police. Survey results indicate that positive contact with the police can shift general attitudes toward the police and reduce perceptions of police discrimination. Further, survey findings support the program as a remedial intervention for youth with previous negative police contact.