Barreras a la inclusión digital de las personas mayores: una reflexión intergeneracional sobre la necesidad de desarrollar competencias digitales para el colectivo con mayor nivel de exclusión digital

Over the past thirty years and with the rise of the digital society, the process of digital exclusion has become increasingly noticeable and represents a sub-type of social exclusion. Shaping digital competences in the era of the intensive development of the information society requires constant reflection on the effectiveness of such activities. This article looks at what kind of barriers are currently blocking the development of digital competences among older people. Using structured interviews, responses were obtained from 30 respondents in Poland, though the respondents themselves did not belong to the demographic of older people. The respondents identified eight main types of barriers to digital inclusion for older people: 1) Fear of new technologies, 2) No need to use ICT, 3) Self-marginalisation in the information society, 4) The characteristics of new media, 5) Attitude to Life-Long Learning, 6) Physical limitations, 7) Economic determinants, and 8) Infrastructural limitations. The results of the qualitative research provide a fresh look at the process of the formation of digital competence among vulnerable groups within the wider process of digital inclusion. This article is the result of an international project REMEDIS supported in Poland by the National Science Centre - NCN [021/03/Y/HS6/00275].En los últimos treinta años y con el auge de la sociedad digital, el proceso de exclusión digital se ha vuelto cada vez más notorio y representa un subtipo de exclusión social. Dar forma a las competencias digitales en la era del desarrollo intensivo de la sociedad de la información requiere una reflexión constante sobre la eficacia de tales actividades. Este artículo analiza qué tipo de barreras están bloqueando actualmente el desarrollo de competencias digitales entre las personas mayores. Mediante entrevistas estructuradas, se obtuvieron respuestas de 30 encuestados en Polonia, aunque los propios encuestados no pertenecían al grupo demográfico de personas mayores, sino desde la visión de los más jóvenes. Los encuestados identificaron ocho tipos principales de barreras para la inclusión digital de las personas mayores: 1) Miedo a las nuevas tecnologías, 2) No necesidad de utilizar las TIC, 3) Automarginación en la sociedad de la información, 4) Las características de los nuevos medios, 5) Actitud hacia el aprendizaje permanente, 6) Limitaciones físicas, 7) Determinantes económicos y 8) Limitaciones de infraestructura. Los resultados de la investigación cualitativa brindan una nueva mirada al proceso de formación de la competencia digital entre los grupos vulnerables dentro del proceso más amplio de inclusión digital. Este artículo es el resultado de un proyecto internacional REMEDIS apoyado en Polonia por el Centro Nacional de Ciencias - NCN [021/03/Y/HS6/00275]

Barriers to digital inclusion among older people : a intergenerational reflection on the need to develop digital competences for the group with the highest level of digital exclusion

Over the past thirty years and with the rise of the digital society, the process of digital exclusion has become increasingly noticeable and represents a sub-type of social exclusion. Shaping digital competences in the era of the intensive development of the information society requires constant reflection on the effectiveness of such activities. This article looks at what kind of barriers are currently blocking the development of digital competences among older people. Using structured interviews, responses were obtained from 30 respondents in Poland, though the respondents themselves did not belong to the demographic of older people. The respondents identified eight main types of barriers to digital inclusion for older people: 1) Fear of new technologies, 2) No need to use ICT, 3) Self-marginalisation in the information society, 4) The characteristics of new media, 5) Attitude to Life-Long Learning, 6) Physical limitations, 7) Economic determinants, and 8) Infrastructural limitations. The results of the qualitative research provide a fresh look at the process of the formation of digital competence among vulnerable groups within the wider process of digital inclusion. This article is the result of an international project REMEDIS supported in Poland by the National Science Centre - NCN [021/03/Y/HS6/00275].En los últimos treinta años y con el auge de la sociedad digital, el proceso de exclusión digital se ha vuelto cada vez más notorio y representa un subtipo de exclusión social. Dar forma a las competencias digitales en la era del desarrollo intensivo de la sociedad de la información requiere una reflexión constante sobre la eficacia de tales actividades. Este artículo analiza qué tipo de barreras están bloqueando actualmente el desarrollo de competencias digitales entre las personas mayores. Mediante entrevistas estructuradas, se obtuvieron respuestas de 30 encuestados en Polonia, aunque los propios encuestados no pertenecían al grupo demográfico de personas mayores, sino desde la visión de los más jóvenes. Los encuestados identificaron ocho tipos principales de barreras para la inclusión digital de las personas mayores: 1) Miedo a las nuevas tecnologías, 2) No necesidad de utilizar las TIC, 3) Automarginación en la sociedad de la información, 4) Las características de los nuevos medios, 5) Actitud hacia el aprendizaje permanente, 6) Limitaciones físicas, 7) Determinantes económicos y 8) Limitaciones de infraestructura. Los resultados de la investigación cualitativa brindan una nueva mirada al proceso de formación de la competencia digital entre los grupos vulnerables dentro del proceso más amplio de inclusión digital. Este artículo es el resultado de un proyecto internacional REMEDIS apoyado en Polonia por el Centro Nacional de Ciencias - NCN [021/03/Y/HS6/00275]

The Role of a Restorative Resource in the Academic Context in Improving Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation and Flow within the Job Demands–Resources Model

The perceived quality of the learning environment may influence both motivation and concentration. Little is known about how perceived characteristics of the learning environment, and specifically sub-dimensions of Perceived Restorativeness (being away, fascination, compatibility, and extent), can promote these positive effects in an academic context. We addressed, through a correlational study, the possibility that the characteristics of learning environments may promote concentration and involvement in activity (i.e., flow) via intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for academic study within the job demands–resources model. A total of 165 Italian university psychology classes in a 3-year degree course from two different universities context completed an online questionnaire made up of the construct considered in this study. Results in the hierarchical multivariate regression analyses confirm that the restorative quality of learning environments (i.e., being away, compatibility, extent) is positively correlated with flow. However, there is a non-significant relationship between extent and flow. Regression analyses show a significant indirect effect of compatibility, both through intrinsic and extrinsic student motivation. Furthermore, the results confirm a significant indirect effect of extent through intrinsic motivation and being away, and fascination through Extrinsic motivation. Furthermore, intrinsic motivation is a full mediator between the extent and flow relationship. The results underline the importance of considering the restorative quality of the environment for improving place design, concentration, and student learning motivation

Who Are the Victims of Cyberbullying? Preliminary Data Towards Validation of "Cyberbullying Victim Questionnaire”

In the literature there are more and more works dealing with cyberbullying and adolescents’ perception of this phenomenon. In particular, we are interested in cyberbullying and the effects of cyberbullying on adolescent life. What is more, in 2020 the impact of COVID-19 has increased the digital presence of cyberbullying behaviours. This phenomenon is extremely complex, since it is multicomponential and multifactorial, and many components act on it. Starting with an analysis of the literature, this work offers preliminary data towards the validation of a self-reporting questionnaire; it was administered to 650 adolescents, to evaluate their perceptions of the victims of cyberbullying. The questionnaire consisted of 33 items; Principal Component Analysis was applied, which identified the dimensions resuming the items’ variability. The findings confirmed the multidimensional nature of the issue covered by the questionnaire and highlighted three psychological dimensions: Internalisation, Counterbalance and Marginalisation. The resultssupport the structure of the questionnaire, useful to quickly collect information about adolescents’ perception of cybervictimisation. The assessment of this information might help teachers, educators, and tutors to formulate targeted interventions to combat the spread of cyberbullying aimed for example at improving emotional intelligence, starting from the construction of emotional contagion

Digital life, mathematical skills and cognitive processes

A consistent part of the literature shows the significant role of digital experience in digital natives’ cognitive processes. The main goal of the current study was to investigate the impact of digital learning on the improvement of mathematical skills and on some change in cognitive processes in 166 primary school children from schools located in different parts of Italy. Participants were divided in two group: one group experienced the study of math mainly through digital tools, the other spent more time on pencil-and-paper trainings. All our participants were assessed with a battery of tests measuring numerical and cognitive abilities. Our results suggest the positive effect of a different type of training for the empowerment of visuo-spatial and numerical abilities. Specifically, effects of a digital experience are particularly evident in some specific numerical areas, such us accuracy, speed, semantic and syntactic numerical knowledge. Also, participants with greater experience of digital trainings score higher on spatial orientation

Present and future undergraduate students’ well-being: role of time perspective, self-efficacy, self-regulation and intention to drop-out

Well-being is a multidimensional construct that affects various areas of a person’s life. In the university context, a student’s well-being can influence not only their academic and professional success but also the future development of society. This study aimed to evaluate how the interactions of time perspective (assessed by the Stanford Time Perspective Inventory—Short Form), self-efficacy (assessed by the General Self-efficacy Scale), self-regulation (assessed by the Self-regulated Knowledge Scale—University), and drop-out intention (assessed by the Intention to Drop-Out Scale) affect students’ perceptions of current and future well-being (assessed by the I COPPE Scale). Using a cross-sectional design, 192 students attending the University of Cagliari (Italy) were evaluated. A partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis was performed to examine the relationships among well-being and all the variables examined herein. The empirical findings highlighted the direct and indirect effects of the studied variables on students’ current and future well-being

Moral disengagement, empathy, and cybervictim’s representation as predictive factors of cyberbullying among italian adolescents

This study aimed to evaluate which aspects of moral disengagement (MD), empathy, and representations of the victim’s experience (VER) could be predictors of cyberbullying (CB). One hundred and eight-nine students (11–17 years old) completed 3 self-report questionnaires: An MD scale, an empathy scale, and a CB questionnaire. In relation to the personal experience of CB, four groups were identified: Victim, bully, bully/victim, and no experience with CB. The linear bivariate correlation analysis shows correlations between empathy and VER, between empathy and MD, and between MD and VER. A multinomial logistic regression identified which predictors could increase a subject’s probability of belonging to one of the four groups regarding the personal experience of CB (victim, bully, bully/victim, no experience). Findings highlighted that low cognitive empathy might increase the probability for a student to belong to the bullies’ group, rather than the victims’ group. Furthermore, low perception of the consequences of CB on the victim might increase the probability of belonging to the bully, bully/victim, and no experience groups. Then, a high score in the diffusion of responsibility was a significant predictor of belonging to the victim group rather than the no experience group. Results from this study confirm the need for preventive measures against CB, including the empowerment of cognitive empathy, decreasing the diffusion of responsibility, and increasing the awareness of the consequences of CB on the victim

Digital Treatment Paths for Substance Use Disorders (SUDs)

Today, there is a considerable expansion in the number of new digital tools and systems for mental health assessment, intervention, support, prevention, and treatment [...]