How Reliable and Valid are the Evaluations of Digital Competence in Higher Education: A Systematic Mapping Study

Evaluating digital competencies has become a topic of growing interest in recent years. Although several reviews and studies have summarized the main elements of progress and shortcomings in this area, some issues are yet to be explored. Very little information is available about the ways of ensuring the validity and reliability of the instrument used. This study addresses this issue through systematic mapping covering the period from January 2015 to July 2020. Based on 88 primary studies, we conclude that a growing number of studies have emerged over the years; most of them are based on European university students in social science programs; the quality of the journals where they were published is low; and the instruments used are mostly questionnaires and ad-hoc surveys that measure the various dimensions of digital competence based on participants’ perceptions. Out of the eight possible types of quality assessment, studies commonly report only four (one in the case of reliability and three in the case of validity). More than 50% of the studies do not provide evidence of having assessed the reliability and validity at the same time. Although participant discipline resulted in a significantly association with the practice of reporting reliability and validity assessments, no specific dimension explained such association. A non-parametric multivariate analysis reveals, among other interesting patterns, that the practice of not reporting quality assessments is more present in studies where participants belong to the fields of Engineering and Technology, Health Sciences, and Humanities.

The Application of Salutogenesis in Hospitals

Hospitals, in developed countries the center of curative health care in practice, research, and education, still have a dominantly pathogenic orientation. Therefore, salutogenic principles definitely have to offer quality improvement of cure and care in hospitals. But salutogenesis also is a considerable challenge to be implemented in hospitals, and hospitals are challenging for health and salutogenesis promoters. In this chapter, the authors first demonstrate how salutogenesis, if understood as a specific dimension of hospital quality, could considerably contribute to better health gain for patients and hospital staff. Second, drawing on a comprehensive literature search, it is highlighted which aspects of salutogenesis in relation to hospitals already are covered in descriptive and intervention research focusing on patients (and family members), staff, and the hospital as an organization.

Diseño y análisis psicométrico de una escala para evaluar riesgo suicida en adolescentes argentinos

Design and psychometric analysis of a suicide risk scale for Argentinean adolescents and young people Abstract: Suicidal behavior in adolescents and youth has become a public health issue which requires improving the available scales in order to enable the early detection of risk cases. Therefore, for this purpose, this study presents the design and psychometric analysis of the Argentinean Scale of Suicidality for Adolescents (EASA-I by its Spanish acronym) Screening. It measures a specific dimension of suicidal ideation and five risk factors: low self-esteem, negative perspective of the future, low emotion regulation, difficulties in problem-solving and lack of social support. This study was aimed at analyzing content construct and face validity, as well as convergent and discriminant validity evidence with external measures. Internal consistency of the scores was also examined. The sample was composed of 291 adolescents and young adults. Results suggest that the EASA-I constitutes a short and simple scale with adequate psychometric properties suitable to be used in different areas of application and research. Keywords: adolescents; youth; suicide risk; multidimensional assessment; screening. Resumen: Los comportamientos suicidas en la adolescencia y la juventud constituyen un problema de salud pública que exige mejorar las herramientas de evaluación disponibles, de cara a detectar precozmente casos en riesgo. Se presenta el diseño y análisis psicométrico de la Escala Argentina de Suicidalidad para Adolescentes EASA-I Screening. Su objetivo reside en la medición de una dimensión específica, i.e., la ideación suicida, más cinco factores de riesgo: baja autoestima, perspectiva negativa del futuro, baja regulación emocional, dificultades para la resolución de problemas y falta de apoyo social. Basándonos en una muestra de 291 adolescentes y jóvenes, se analizaron evidencias de validez de contenido, aparente y de constructo, así como de validez convergente y discriminante con medidas externas. Se examinó, además, la consistencia interna de las puntuaciones obtenidas. Los resultados indican que la EASA-I posee adecuadas propiedades técnicas para su uso en población local en diferentes ámbitos de aplicación e investigación. Palabras clave: adolescentes; jóvenes; riesgo suicida; evaluación multidimensional; screening.

Believe It or Not ─ Employees Intend to Comply with Information Security Policy because of the Desire for Trade-offs

Most theories of information security policy (ISP), except a few focused on the insider-centric view, are grounded in the control-centric perspective, and most ISP compliance models stem from Western countries. Regulatory focus theory (RFT) proposes two modes of motivational regulation, promotion and prevention focused that are supposed to motivate employee compliance in a trade-off. Culture is crucial to the study of ISP that puts control over human connections. Chinese guanxi, a specific dimension of Chinese culture, is better understood underlying the trust-distrust frame. To bridge the theoretical gap between the control-centric and the insider-centric perspectives, we develop an ISP behavioral model by taking an integrated approach from RFT and the trust-distrust frame. We employed scenario-based events about information security misconduct in the workplace to examine employees’ compliance intention and non-violation choice of ISP upon counterfactual thinking. Our empirical results improve the theoretical and practical implications of security practices.

Natural sound characteristics explain perceptual categorization

As we interact with our surroundings, we encounter the same or similar objects from different perspectives and are compelled to generalize. For example, we recognize dog barks as a distinct class of sound, despite the variety of individual barks. While we have some understanding of how generalization is done along a single stimulus dimension, such as frequency or color, natural stimuli are identifiable by a combination of dimensions. To understand perception, measuring the interaction across stimulus dimensions is essential. For example, when identifying a sound, does our brain focus on a specific dimension or a combination, such as its frequency and duration? Furthermore, does the relative relevance of each dimension reflect its contribution to the natural sensory environment? Using a 2-dimension discrimination task for mice we tested untrained generalization across several pairs of auditory dimensions. We uncovered a perceptual hierarchy over the tested dimensions that was dominated by the sound’s spectral composition. A model tuned to the predictability inherent in natural sounds best explained the behavioral results, suggesting that the perceptual hierarchy parallels the predictive content of natural sounds.

Improving internal service: identifying the roles of employee proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the roles of employee proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity in predicting different aspects of internal service.Design/methodology/approachManagers evaluated 142 professional employees on proficiency, adaptivity and proactivity and about six weeks later 2–3 internal customers evaluated each of the employees on dimensions of internal service, namely reliability (i.e. performing dependably and accurately), assurance (i.e. knowledge, courtesy, and the ability to inspire trust and confidence), responsiveness (i.e. willingness to help customers and provide prompt service) and empathy (i.e. caring and providing individualized attention).FindingsEmployee proficiency and proactivity were the main predictors of delivering reliable services. Employee proficiency was the main predictor for creating a sense of assurance. Employee adaptivity was the main predictor of being viewed as responsive. Employee proactivity was the main predictor for establishing a sense of empathy.Practical implicationsIn a given situation, some aspects of internal service will be more important than others. The results will enable organizations to improve internal service in a more effective and efficient manner by developing interventions that are targeted at the specific dimension of interest.Originality/valueThe authors identified the types of employee behaviors that are likely to be most effective in impacting different aspects of internal service.

Hierarchical Nature of Psychological Problems

All of the dimensions of psychological problem described previously in this book are positively correlated. This means that each dimension of psychological problems has some unique characteristics but also shares important things in common with all other dimensions. The patterns of varying magnitudes of correlations among psychological problems help identify causes and the best ways to prevent and reduce psychological problems. This chapter discusses a formal and testable causal taxonomy of psychological problems to stimulate future research. It is posited that all dimensions of psychological problems are correlated in a hierarchical manner because there is a hierarchy of causes of these problems—and a corresponding hierarchy of the psychological and biological mechanisms through which the causal influences operate. The first level of the proposed causal hierarchy is causal risk factors that are highly nonspecific in the sense of increasing the risk of having some kind of psychological problem but not which specific kind of problem. At the second level of the causal hierarchy, other genetic and environmental risk factors nonspecifically increase risk for any and all dimensions within only one second-order domain of psychological problems, such as only within the internalizing or only within the externalizing problems. Causal factors at the third level are unique to each specific dimension of psychological problems. This testable hypothesis of a hierarchy of causes and mechanisms represents a radical departure from the thinking underlying the putatively distinct diagnostic categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

The Relationship between Students’ Physical Self-Concept and Their Physical Activity Levels and Sedentary Behavior: The Role of Students’ Motivation

This study aimed to analyze the association between specific dimension (i.e., fitness, appearance, physical competence, physical strength, and self-esteem) of students’ physical self-concept (PSC) and their physical activity (PA) levels (i.e., intentions to be physically active and out-of-school PA levels perceived by students) and sedentary behavior (SB) (i.e., total sitting and screen time perceived by students). We also tested the role of students’ motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation and amotivation) towards PA in these relationships. A total of 1998 Spanish male (n = 1003) and female (n = 995) secondary students, aged between 13 and 17 years (M = 14.92, SD = 0.87) from 22 schools, enrolled in third grade (n = 1081) and fourth grade (n = 917), completed the self-reported questionnaires. Five independent structural equation modeling (SEM) adjusted by students’ sex was used to examine the association between specific dimension of students’ PSC (i.e., fitness, appearance, physical competence, physical strength, and self-esteem) and self-reported PA and SB variables, and to test the role of students’ motivation in these relationships. Overall, most of students’ PSC dimension positively predicted students’ PA outcomes, and were negatively associated with SB. In addition, most of students’ PSC dimension were positively associated with intrinsic motivation, and negatively predicted amotivation. In turn, intrinsic motivation was a positive predictor of PA outcomes, and a negative predictor of SB, whereas amotivation was a negative predictor of PA outcomes and sitting time, and a positive predictor of screen time. Finally, from PSC dimensions, sex as a covariate was a positive predictor of intrinsic motivation and PA outcomes, and was a negative predictor of amotivation and sitting time. These findings suggest the importance of the specific dimensions of PSC perceived by adolescents on their motivational processes, and in turn, on their PA and SB outcomes.

Understanding the experiences of hikikomori through the lens of the CHIME framework: connectedness, hope and optimism, identity, meaning in life, and empowerment; systematic review

Background Hikikomori is a phenomenon describing people who exhibit behaviors of self-secluding themselves at home for long durations of time and usually only having face-to-face social interactions with none other than family. Existing interventions for hikikomori are inconclusive and the majority are absent in using a theoretical framework to guide its components. Therefore, applicability of the psychosocial recovery framework of Connectedness, Hope and Optimism, Identity, Meaning in Life, and Empowerment (CHIME) towards hikikomori care was reviewed. Method Five databases were searched in April 2020 with the search formula from a published systematic review on hikikomori combined with search terms specific to domains of the CHIME framework. Articles included in the review were of the English language, of all publication years, peer-reviewed, quantitative or qualitative research studies and case studies, included study designs that were observational or interventional in nature, and involved populations of socially withdrawn youth. Results CHIME’s comprehensive structure and organized approach could guide researchers or service providers in determining areas needing assessments, measurement, and areas of focus. It is suggested that the CHIME framework is applicable after modifying a specific dimension—‘meaning of mental illness experiences’ into ‘meaning of the hikikomori experience’. Thematic overlap occurred between the domains of connectedness, identity, and meaning. Yet, additional dimensions or domains such as trust building, non-linearity, and spatiality can be included for addressing specific limitations in this application, which would help towards catering services to help hikikomori in recovery or in increasing quality-of-life of those individuals’ while entrapped in this withdrawn lifestyle. Conclusion CHIME framework could be applicable towards hikikomori care after applying the suggested modifications. Additionally, many knowledge gaps were found in literature during this review that warrants further investigation to improve hikikomori care.

Prediction Model of the Resulting Dimensions of Welded Stamped Parts

The combination of stamping and subsequent welding of components is an important area of the automotive industry. Stamping inaccuracies affect the final size of the stamping and the welded part. In this article, we deal with a specific component that is produced by such a procedure and is also a common part of the geometry of a car. We focused on the possibility of using a negative phenomenon—deformation during welding—on the partial elimination of inaccuracies arising during stamping. Based on the planned experiment, we created a prediction model for the selected part and its production, with the help of which it is possible to determine suitable welding parameters for a specific dimension of the stamping and the required monitored dimension of the welded part. The article also includes the results of additional experimental measurements verifying the accuracy of the model and prediction maps for practice.