Act or Object

Many standard definitions of ‘argument’ that recognise an ambiguity between its active and objective senses seek to subsume these in various ways into a single, composite whole. This, it is argued, glosses over the distinction instead of exploiting its elucidatory potential. Whilst optimistic about the prospects of theory integration, the paper recommends a methodology of differentiation as a first necessary step towards any such goal. It starts by assuming that ‘argument’ refers —simultaneously and independently— to two different things, making space between them for a theory of argument based on the then necessary externality of the relation between them.

Overqualification as a Blunt Weapon on Productivity Improvement: Person-Job Fit Theory Integration

Despite the growing number of studies that underlie the influence between perceived overqualification (POQ) and counterproductive behaviour (PKP), there is still a gap in the lack of research involving the role of affective mechanisms on the effect of POQ on PKP. In this study, researchers focused on the mediating role of job boredom (KTP) in the pathway of influence of POQ on PKP. Using a sample of 106 employees and lecturers at Islamic universities in Indonesia and using the integration of the theory of person-job fit, the researchers found that KTP fully mediates the effect of POQ on PKP.

Instructor Evaluation of Business Student Writing: Does Language Play a Role?

Because few studies of disciplinary business writing have examined whether language features play a role in instructor assessment of student writing, this study explored the relationship between student language use and instructor essay scores. Undergraduate business students wrote a case study critique as part of their final exam, and their critiques were evaluated by their instructors for theory integration and essay structure. Student language use was analyzed in terms of error rate, lexical sophistication, lexical diversity, and phrasal complexity. Whereas lexical sophistication positively predicted instructor scores, error rate was a negative predictor of their assessment of business student writing.

Correction: Theory Integration for Lifestyle Behavior Change in the Digital Age: An Adaptive Decision-Making Framework (Preprint)

UNSTRUCTURED REMOVE

Theory Integration for Lifestyle Behavior Change in the Digital Age: An Adaptive Decision-Making Framework

Despite the growing popularity of digital health interventions, limitations of traditional behavior change theories and a lack of theory integration hinder theory-driven behavior change applications. In this paper, we aim to review theories relevant to lifestyle behavior change from the broader psychology literature and then integrate these theories into a new theoretical framework called adaptive decision-making to address two specific problems. First, our framework represents lifestyle behaviors at two levels—one of individual daily decisions (action level) and one of larger behavioral episodes (reflection level)—to more closely match the temporal characteristics of lifestyle behaviors and their associated digital data. Second, the framework connects decision-making theories and learning theories to explain how behaviors and cognitive constructs dynamically influence each other, making it a suitable scaffold for building computational models. We map common digital intervention techniques onto the behavioral and cognitive processes in the framework and discuss possible contributions of the framework to both theory development and digital intervention design.

“Nobody complies with it anyway. Well yes, those who do not smoke” – Combining methods for understanding adolescents’ approach to a smoke-free agreement.

Background: Non-smoking agreements has shown effective in preventing smoking among adolescents. However, to date, this is the first study to explore: 1) if adolescents who do or do not sign have specific characteristics, 2) adolescents’ attitudes towards signing and committing to these smoke-free agreements (SFA). Methods: This is explored by combining questionnaire and focus group data. The questionnaire data is gathered as part of the evaluation of X:IT study II; a smoking preventive intervention targeting adolescents in 7 th -9 th grade. In this paper data from second follow (8 th grade) up is used. Eight focus groups (N=43) were conducted with the adolescents in 8 th grade at two Danish secondary schools. Inspired by theory integration we draw from resistance theory to combine the results from the methods. Results: The questionnaire data showed that adolescents who were partaking in smoking or smoking-related behavior including current or ever smoked as well as have ever tried hash, snuff or electronic cigarettes to a less degree signed a SFA. Focus group analysis showed that even though the adolescents at the two schools emphasized a lack of attention to the SFA, the lack of attention was ascribed to different approaches to smoking and the SFA. In general, adolescents at one of the schools had no intention of smoking and thus willingly signed and committed. Whereas, adolescents at the other school expressed a greater resistance to signing as well as committing to the SFA. Instead, what seemed important for the adolescents at this school was a desire to act freely and appear with no strains, including possibility to smoke, which the SFA seemingly threated. Conclusion: Although non-smoking agreements, implemented in the school setting, have been effective in decreasing smoking among adolescents in other studies, our results suggest that the SFA may appeal differently to adolescents according to certain characteristics, while getting overall very little attention.

A Proto-Theory of Digital Well-Being

How can we live a good life both thanks to and despite the constant use of digital media? The presented proto-theory of digital well-being offers guidance for theory development and theory integration to enable a cumulative science of the impacts of digital media use on well-being. The proto-theory describes the nature of and connections between three relevant phenomena—digital practices, harms/benefits, and well-being—and creates a blueprint for explanatory theories. It focuses on the mechanisms between digital media use and well-being by analyzing the often concomitant harms and benefits arising from individual’s digital practices within structural conditions; these mechanisms are theoretically plausible causal chains that lead from a specific manifestation of digital practice to a relevant individual well-being outcome with some regularity. Future digital well-being studies should prioritize descriptive validity and longitudinal designs.