Article implace means journal impact

These days there is a lot of misunderstanding of scientometrics and we often see a confusion of the research with its indicators. Science ministries and university administrators try to push their country's or institution's "research impact" by telling researchers to increase numeric figures that were invented as proxies for later assessment. In obvious juxtaposition to common sense this even leads to direct orders to postdocs "to only publish in high impact journals" and not to engage in other important activities scientists of well-rounded stature will routinely perform, like publication in medium impact journals of their immediate field, in startup journals, in conference proceedings, of book chapters, as grey literature or intended for dissemination to the general public, reviewing, editing, writing blogs etc

The adoption of information and communication technologies in the desing sector and their impact on firm performance : evidence from the Dutch Design sector

This paper analyzes processes and effects of ICT enabled innovation in the Dutch design sector. Although the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is considered as vital in the design sector, little is known about whether and how ICTs affect the firm performance of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in the industry. In introducing a conceptual distinction between ICT supporting the information processing and communication, the paper first examines the determinants of ICT adoption. Next, we analyze the effects of ICT adoption on product and process innovation as well as on firm performance, focusing on the mediating role of the innovation processes. The analyses rest on survey data of a sample of 189 Dutch companies in the Web, Graphic, and Industrial Design Sector in the Netherlands. The results indicate that information processing role of ICT supports the exploitation and communication role facilitates the exploration in organizational learning. The exploitation enables process innovation while exploration enables product innovation. Lastly, Information processing technologies and product innovation are important determinants of superior firm performance

Methodological progress and substantial insights in the field of internet research

We are pleased to present the first issue of the International Journal of Internet Science (IJIS). As the mission statement indicates the journal is intended to cover two kinds of related research. On the one hand it presents methodological research that shows how the Internet can be used as a tool for data collection. On the other hand, it presents substantial research on the social and psychological implications of the Internet and other new online media. It is our conviction that both streams of research can profit from each other so that the journal includes both. The current issue is giving a first impression on the variety of approaches to be dealt with in this journal while exemplifying the common ground that good empirical research is enhanced by a clear theory-guidance. Many of the articles stem from earlier presentations given at one of the international conferences of the conference series General Online Research (GOR). The selection of articles brings together empirical methodological studies on important determinants of response behaviour in online data collection and empirical research on the social implications of web- and computer use. To the first type of research belong the contribution of Smyth, Dillman, Christian, and Stern, the contribution of Krysan and Couper, the paper of Göritz and the article of Ollesch, Heineken, and Schulte. To the second type belong the articles of Mesch and Talmud as well as the paper of Korupp

Using tailoring to increase the effectiveness of a persuasive game-based training for novel technologies

A vast majority of people with motor disabilities cannot be part of the today's digital society, due to the difficulties they face in using conventional interfaces (i.e., mouse and keyboard) for computer operation. The MAMEM project aims at facilitating the social inclusion of these people by developing a technology that allows computer operation, solely by using the eyes and mind. However, training is one of the key factors affecting the users' technology acceptance. Game-based computer training including persuasive strategies could be an effective way to influence user beliefs and behaviors regarding a novel system. Tailoring these strategies to an individual level is a promising way to increase the effectiveness of a persuasive game. In the current paper, we briefly discuss the theoretical development of a persuasive game-based training for the MAMEM technology, as well as how we used tailored communication strategies to further enhance user technology acceptance. The development of such a tailored persuasive game will be essential for increasing acceptance and usage of assistive technology but also for the scientific insights in personalization of persuasion.</p

The Relation Between Autonomy and Well-Being in Higher Education Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education has drastically moved online, which has increased the importance of autonomous learning by students. A decrease in students' well-being has meanwhile been registered across the globe. In this study, we examine which learning characteristics increase student well-being under the pandemic constraints. We investigate students' well-being, specifically burnout, amotivation, and study engagement, and their relation to learning autonomy. Two types of autonomy were included: autonomy at the student-level and autonomy at the instructor-level, measured via the instructors' communication and support provided for online learning. Our analyses show that amotivation and burnout correlated negatively with both kinds of autonomy. Similarly, student engagement correlated positively with both kinds of autonomy. A multiple regression showed that student-level autonomy was the only variable to significantly predict all three well-being variables, while instructor support predicted only study engagement and burnout. Instructor communication did not predict any well-being variables. Implications, limitations, and future directions for the role of autonomy in online learning are discussed

Egocentric Social Network Structure, Health, and Pro-Social Behaviors in a National Panel Study of Americans

Using a population-based, panel survey, we study how egocentric social networks change over time, and the relationship between egocentric network properties and health and pro-social behaviors. We find that the number of prosocial activities is strongly positively associated with having more friends, or an increase in degree, with approximately 0.04 more prosocial behaviors expected for every friend added. Moreover, having more friends is associated with an improvement in health, while being healthy and prosocial is associated with closer relationships. Specifically, a unit increase in health is associated with an expected 0.45 percentage-point increase in average closeness, while adding a prosocial activity is associated with a 0.46 percentage-point increase in the closeness of one’s relationships. Furthermore, a tradeoff between degree and closeness of social contacts was observed. As the number of close social contacts increases by one, the estimated average closeness of each individual contact decreases by approximately three percentage-points. The increased awareness of the importance of spillover effects in health and health care makes the ascertainment of egocentric social networks a valuable complement to investigations of the relationship between socioeconomic factors and health