DIGITAL DIVIDE, ISRAEL 2008

The paper presents recent findings about the magnitude and determinants of the digital divide in Israel, focusing on gaps in Internet usage in general, and in the usage of collaborative Internet applications (web2.0) in particular

Russian Freshmen Future Profession Choice in the Conditions of Digitalization: New Challenges of Labour Markets

The prestige and values of higher education are traditionally high in Russia and overseas countries. For several generations, there has been a youth orientation towards higher education. Higher education and diplomas are perceived by a person primarily as a means of social mobility. Profession sets a certain “social background” for people’s life. At the same time, however, over the past few decades the assessment of the prestige associated with certain professions and specialties has dramatically changed and the labor market has changed, too. The the desire for higher education among young people continues to grow in Russia. Today’s students, future specialists, face new challenges of the labor market: firstly, availability of desired and demanded professions acquisition on the labor market; secondly, disappearance of old and the emergence of new professions; thirdly, digitalization of the labor market; fourthly, the formation of specialist competencies that are in demand both on the local and global labor markets. The major research objectives were to study the issues of students’ profession choice and their opinion on the demanded / non-demanded professions on modern labor market. The research methodology combines both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The primary data was collected using questionnaires and indepth-interviews. 250 freshmen of the Ural Federal University and 250 freshmen of Saint-Petersburg State University were questioned on the basis of quota sampling. In depth-interviews (15) were organized for the educators engaged in the system of higher education. The study has revealed the issue of inequality in access to higher education as well as of inequality in access to getting prestigious and demanded professions on labor market.The majority of the respondents look for occupation suited to abilities and to their own interests. For young people the main thing is that the profession should not only make profit, but also a career progress and give new professional knowledge. The research has fixed that the majority of the students believe that they have made the right choice of specialty and they are well aware of how their future professional activity will be. About 30.0% of young people do not often choose those professions that they would like to be trained at the university, but those that are possible due to their “accessibility”. The students’ professional choice does not correspond to their ideas about their future profession and their psychological characteristics. Keywords: Higher education, students, freshmen, Russia, labor market, future profession choice, digitalizatio

CONTENT MATTERS, FAKE OR NOT: MEDIA CONTENT INFLUENCE ON PERCEIVED INTERGROUP THREAT

We investigate how consumption of media content leads to change in perception of an outgroup, and how is such change affected when the content is presented as false. 403 Israeli participants filled out a questionnaire measuring realistic and symbolic threat towards EU asylum seekers (EUAS). after 10-14 days, participants read an article about EUAS. Group 1 read a positive article, group 2 read a negative article and group 3 read the same negative article, followed by a disclaimer notifying that fact-check websites found the facts in the article misleading and false. Group 4 read a neutral report and a control group did not read an article. A follow-up questionnaire measured perceived threat towards EUAS again, as well as participant’s evaluation of the articles. The finding show that media content has an immediate effect on perceived threat towards EUAS, and the relevant perceived threat emphasized in each article was significantly changed in the direction of the article (positively/negatively). The change was similar in the case of the negative article presented as a fake article. Further analysis shows that participants evaluated the fake article similarly to the negative article which was not presented as fake. Apparently, in each group the evaluation of the article (reliability, professionalism, convincingness, or objectivity) significantly correlated with participant prior perceived threat towards EUAS. It seems that prior attitude serves as a lens through which media consumers evaluate content, and the question of whether the facts are true becomes negligible compared to one’s own inclination and beliefs

Do disabilities impede the use of information and communication technologies? Findings of a repeated cross-sectional study – 2003-2015

Abstract Background The current research focuses on trends of Internet adoption and digital uses among people with disabilities over a thirteen-year period. Methods The study is based on data elicited from a repeated cross-sectional study collected by means of Annual Social Surveys conducted by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics between 2003 and 2015. The sample included 95,145 respondents, among them 22,290 respondents with disabilities. Results The rate of Internet access and digital uses increased continuously among disabled people; however the gap between them and the population without disabilities was preserved. We found that Internet use depends on a number of socio-economic characteristic. Socio-demographic variables were much more powerful in predicting Internet use vs non-use among the total population, compared to predicting digital uses among Internet users. Conclusions Our findings make it possible to identify disadvantaged groups in which disability intersects with low rates of Internet adoption and belonging to unprivileged groups: Arabs, the religious, the elderly, lower SES individuals. The effects of most of these variables did not change in the period under study. Generally, we recommend finding a way to promote courses that focus on promoting digital literacy in general and eHealth literacy in particular in small groups of people of similar age, digital skill level and motor / health problems. Considering the high representation of Arabs among people with disabilities and lower rates of Internet adoption and use among Arabs, it is recommended that efforts continue to increase the scope and quality of Arabic language content published on Israeli eHealth sites. In order to diminish income-based digital divide we recommend providing publicly accessible free information technologies, for example, in community clubs, senior citizen clubs, and independent- and assisted- living projects for the disabled

Влияние социальных сетей на стратегии принятия решений супругов при покупке товаров

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of social network closeness on the use of spousal influence tactics among immigrants to Israel from the Former Soviet Union (FSU). A survey questionnaire was completed by 442 FSU immigrants, either married or cohabitating, who were asked to describe their social networks and to evaluate their own use of seven influence strategies during a dyadic purchase decision. Our findings shed light on the relationship between macro-level variables of the ecological environment of an individual and micro-level processes and phenomena that exist within his/her family nucleus, namely, the marital dynamics and relationships; we also provide practical recommendations for family therapists and practitioners.Key words: purchase decision, social network, couple decision making, influence strategies, power tactics, immigrants.Целью данного исследования является изучение влияния социальных сетей на использование тактик супружеского влияния среди иммигрантов из бывшего Советского Союза в Израиле. В анкетировании принимало участие 442 иммигранта из бывшего СССР, как состоящих в браке, так и сожительствующих, которым было предложено описать свои социальные сети и оценить использование стратегий влияния при совместном принятии решения о покупке.Данные исследования проливают свет на отношения между переменными макроуровня экологической среды индивида и микроуровня процессов и явлений, которые существуют в его/ее ядре семьи, а именно динамики супружеских отношений. Нами также даны практические рекомендации для семейных психотерапевтов и практиков.Ключевые слова: решение о покупке, социальная сеть, принятия решений парой, стратегии влияния, силовые тактики, иммигрант

Editors: XXIII International Conference "Culture, Personality, Society in the Conditions of Digitalization: Methodology and Experience of Empirical Research" named after professor L.N. Kogan

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