BackgroundThis study aims to assess the reliability and validity of the Quality of Life Scale (QOLS-6) among bank employees in Guangxi, grounding the investigation in the theoretical framework of quality of life measurement and psychological well-being. Given the increasing importance of mental health in the workplace, understanding how psychological conditions impact life quality is critical. The QOLS-6, a widely used tool for measuring quality of life, has been shown to have potential for application in diverse populations.MethodsA cluster sampling method was used in the study. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 3,974 employees of a bank in Guangxi Province of China. To evaluate its performance across different mental health conditions, 298 participants in the suicidal ideation group and 3,676 in the non-suicidal ideation group. The non-suicidal group was randomly divided into two subsamples, with subsample A (n = 1,838) for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and subsample B (n = 1,838) for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability and validity were assessed for each group, enhancing the understanding of QOLS-6’s sensitivity and effectiveness in capturing quality of life variations across different psychological profiles. Cronbach’s α coefficient was used to analyze the internal consistency reliability. EFA and CFA were used to examine the construct validity. Spearman correlations was used to evaluate the concurrent validity.ResultsThe QOLS-6 demonstrated good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s α values of 0.908 and 0.857 for the two groups, respectively, and 0.865 for the overall sample. Its construct validity was supported by high KMO values of 0.841, 0.805 and 0.818 for the suicidal ideation group, subsample A and total sample, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis of the QOLS-6 revealed a single-factor structure. However, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that a three-factor model provided a better fit. The QOLS-6 showed negative correlations with depression, loneliness, hopelessness, and job burnout while positively correlating with job satisfaction and family function.ConclusionThe QOLS-6 has demonstrated strong reliability and validity among bank employees in Guangxi, China. While exploratory factor analysis suggested a one-factor structure, confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor model, indicating a multidimensional nature. Based on the theoretical framework of quality of life and the design of the scale’s content, the three-factor model demonstrates statistical and theoretical validity. Additionally, the scale exhibited significant correlations with key psychological factors, further supporting its applicability. These findings suggest that the QOLS-6 is an effective tool for assessing quality of life in diverse psychological contexts.
Barthélémy Toumgbin DELLA , Fernand Kouassi GNAHOUE
L’objectif de cette étude est d’amener les usagers de la machine intelligente à réduire au mieux ses impacts nocifs sur l’intersubjectivité. À partir des démarches descriptive, critique et prospectives, nos résultats sont ainsi présentésː l’intelligence artificielle est la principale marque du machinisme contemporain. Par conséquent, la machine intelligente tend à se substituer à l’autre dans l’intersubjectivité. Pour éviter cette situation, il s’avère nécessaire d’envisager un machinisme sur fond d’humanisme. En somme, l’impact de la machine intelligente sur l’intersubjectivité est fonction de la posture que se donne notre liberté. Intelligence artificielle, Intersubjectivité, Liberté, Machinisme contemporain, Oubli de l’autre
Joemer C. Maravilla, Shoshanna L. Fine, Astha Ramaiya
et al.
Abstract Background There is a lack of country-level evidence for the association between social support and adolescent mental health while existing studies vary greatly in how they account for the interplay of multiple sources of social support. Methods This study utilised data from the National Adolescent Mental Health Surveys, nationally representative surveys of adolescents aged 10–17 years and their primary caregiver in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Patterns of social support among adolescents in each country were assessed using a latent class analysis. The association between the identified social support classes and any mental disorder, suicidal ideation, and self-harm in the past 12 months was assessed using the Bolck–Croon–Hagenaars method, adjusted for demographic characteristics and caregiver mental health. All estimates were weighted to the respective country’s population and presented with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results Three latent social support classes were consistently identified in Kenya, Indonesia, and Vietnam: Caregiver-focussed support, Other support, and Limited support. The Caregiver-focussed support class had the highest proportion of adolescents in all three countries (Kenya: 65.3%, 95% CI: 63.0–67.5; Indonesia: 54.0%, 95% CI: 50.4–57.6; Vietnam: 81.6%, 95% CI: 79.0–84.1), although the proportions varied significantly by country. Adolescents in the Caregiver-focussed support class had significantly lower odds of any mental disorder (Kenya: adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.25–0.38; Indonesia: aOR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.17–0.31; Vietnam: aOR: 0.39, 95 CI%: 0.26–0.57), suicidal ideation (Kenya: aOR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.10–0.19; Indonesia: aOR: 0.17, 95% CI: 0.10–0.29; Vietnam: aOR: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.24–0.76) and self-harm (Kenya aOR: 0.07, 95% CI: 0.04–0.13; Indonesia aOR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.11–0.47 and Vietnam aOR: 0.16, 95% CI: 0.09–0.27) compared to the Limited support class. Adolescents belonging to the Other support class also demonstrated lower odds of these outcomes than those in the Limited support class. Conclusions The association between social support and poor mental health indicates the critical role of primary caregivers, other family members, and peers in adolescent mental health. These findings highlight the need to develop interventions that leverage an adolescent’s existing support networks.
Introduction. In this article, the authors analyze the specifics of the criminal liability of minors depending on the scene of crime. The authors cite the current statistics of the Information Center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Sverdlovsk region, which demonstrates the prevalence of crimes against public safety by minors in the territory of the city of Ekaterinburg in comparison with other cities of the Sverdlovsk region. The data obtained made it possible to identify the reasons for committing crimes against public safety in the territory of the city of Ekaterinburg, which, in their opinion, should be taken into account when differentiating and individualizing the criminal liability of the minors. According to the authors, the need to follow a differentiated approach to the criminal liability of minors is a relevant issue, which is expressed in the specifics of punishment imposing, procedure for applying compulsory educational measures, exemption from criminal liability, as well as the calculation of the statute of limitations, taking into account the crime scene. At the same time, the issue of no less importance is the one of executing punishment imposed on minors to achieve the criminal liability goals. Materials and methods. As part of the scientific research, a set of general scientific and private scientific methods was used, including a special legal, statistical, comparative methods and hermeneutics. Results. The authors identify and propose to take into account a number of significant factors affecting the efficiency of the criminal legal system in relation to minors (crime scenes). On this basis, recommendations have been developed, including the ones on changing regulatory framework and the application practice. It is revealed that the approach to differentiation corresponds to global practice, so a number of key principles of criminal responsibility of the minors in foreign legislation are given.
Economic theory. Demography, Regional economics. Space in economics
Several latest elections and referendums were marked by the dramatic failure of electoral forecasts based on mass polls. To respond to the dissatisfaction of the public and politicians, alternative approaches like prediction markets, Implicit Attitude Test (IAT), expectationbased forecasts and so on were developed. IAT proves to be one of the most efficient ways to enrich the forecasting models and improve their accuracy. The problem is that the original form of IAT implies too rigid rules to be applied in the traditional mass poll. As a thorough laboratory-style measurement of nervous reactions to stimuli, IAT requires a special environment, for instance, nothing should disturb or distract respondents from performing experimental tasks. Such an environment is difficult to provide during the mass poll’s fieldwork; thereby, researchers usually implement IAT on small samples. This article presents the Graphic Associative Test of Attitude (GATA) as a tool for mass polls. It is the IAT’s functional analog developed by the author and tested in a wide range of preelectoral mass polls in Russia. GATA is easy to use even with inexperienced interviewers, and its simple and intuitive-clear tasks do not create additional barriers for respondents and do not decrease the response rate. At the same time, in a reliable way, GATA identifies implicit factors of behavior and helps to improve the accuracy of forecast. As a theoretical research, this study proves the ‘dual attitude’ concept of the structural theory of attitude.
This is a case study on migration management in the United States of America, according to the New Political Economy approach. Attention is paid to how Latin American immigrants are treated, given the change in public policies and their economic perception. There has been a shift from open-door immigration policies to raids and massive deportations, violating the founding principles of the United States and the key to its growth and development, since immigrants are not only a greater productive factor of work, but also bring knowledge, technologies and institutions that improve the competitiveness. Faced with this change in public powers, civil society has reacted, with a revitalization of the Sanctuary Movement. This study uses an explanatory methodology on the evolution of the academic disciplines and approaches dedicated to the research on religion-economics-migration relations, to focus its attention on the case study of the Sanctuary Movement.
Latin America. Spanish America, Regional economics. Space in economics
Background. Currently, AI technologies and systems are being purposefully in-troduced into all spheres of society and the state, their influence is becoming more and more noticeable and tangible in the implementation of human rights, including basic social rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The systems of healthcare, education, social assistance and support are currently integrating the achievements of in-formation technologies and digitalization, striving to ensure a barrier-free environment and high-quality implementation of human rights in the social sphere. This largely actualized the problem of the study. The purpose of the study is to identify potential threats and risks that arise in the process of realizing the right to education in the conditions of information and digital reality and the development of artificial intelligence. Materials and methods. The research tasks set in the work were achieved through the analysis of the norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the current international and Russian legislation in the field of regulation of digital technologies, the use of artificial intelligence. The funda-mental principles underlying the conducted research are the principle of a systematic ap-proach and dialectical interdependence. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was formed by such research methods as the synthesis of the general theory of securi-ty and modern theories, the analysis of social phenomena, as well as comparative legal, logical, formal legal methods. To solve the purpose of the research, a set of complementary scientific methods was used, such as: system and socio-cultural analysis, structural and functional method, analysis of documents and sources. Results. The article examines the potential and real threats and risks that citizens face when exercising their right to educa-tion, due to the new digital reality and the use of artificial intelligence technologies. Conclusions. The study of threats and risks arising in the process of realizing the right to education in the conditions of information and digital reality and the development of artifi-cial intelligence allows us to draw a number of conclusions. First, at present, digital tech-nologies reveal to humanity a huge potential of opportunities, including in the field of edu-cation. But, at the same time, they significantly change the fundamental principles of the activity of both the state and the individual, setting new tasks and challenges. The use of digital technologies not only provides a wide range of opportunities, provides freedom of action, thought, but also requires protection from cyber threats. Secondly, the use of digi-tal technologies in the field of education is associated with a number of risks, among which we can name digital inequality (digital divide), the risk of social stratification of society. The abuse of technologies can lead to bullying in cyberspace, criminal activity, extremism and terrorism. Teachers should prepare their students so they can face new risks. It is neces-sary to protect children from the potentially harmful effects of electronic content. The task of the state, in this case, is to develop a set of measures aimed at protecting children from digital arbitrariness in the global network and involvement in illegal activities, financial schemes or terrorism. Third, it is advisable to include provisions aimed at the sustainable development of the education system in the strategic documents regulating the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, while weighing potential threats and risks.
„Otthon nélkül nem ember az ember.”– Talmud, Jevámot 63a.
A tanulmány alapjául szolgáló kutatás a Práter utcai melegedőt látogató hajléktalan emberek városhasználatával foglalkozik. Egy kérdőíves adatfelvétel elemzése alapján rekonstruálom, hogy a válaszadók hol töltötték el a napjukat, merre jártak, mivel közlekedtek, mikor, mit csináltak. A nappali melegedőben felvett kérdőívek a hajléktalan társadalom sokrétűségét mutatják, ennek kutatása és feltérképezése a városi társadalmak megértésének és fejlesztésének egyaránt fontos eleme. A kérdőíveket adatalapú, térképalapú és videóalapú elemzéssel dolgoztam fel. A különböző megjelenítési formák újfajta látásmódok kialakításához járulhatnak hozzá és segíthetnek a hajléktalanság komplexitásának megértésében. A válaszadók mobilitásának morfológiáját vizsgálva lokális, globális és „otthona az út” típusú közlekedőket azonosíthatunk. Emellett csoportosíthatjuk a részvevőket életkoruk, lakhatási formájuk, tömegközlekedési szokásaik és a hajléktalan létben eltöltött idejük szerint. Az egyes csoportok eltérően használják a várost, a város kínálta lehetőségeket; morfológiai viselkedésüket vizsgálva megfigyelhetők ismétlődő, hasonló elemek, amelyek mintázatokká állnak össze. A kutatás egyik eredményének a tömegközlekedésben rejlő potenciál felismerését tekintem. A tömegközlekedést használók aránya a megkérdezett hajléktalan emberek között kifejezetten magas, ezért a tömegközlekedési eszközök az ellátórendszert nem használók elérésének és segítésének egyik helyszínévé válhatnának.
History (General) and history of Europe, Economic history and conditions
André Strahl, Christian Gerlich, Georg W. Alpers
et al.
Abstract Background The German quality assurance programme for evaluating work capacity is based on peer review that evaluates the quality of medical experts’ reports. Low reliability is thought to be due to systematic differences among peers. For this purpose, we developed a curriculum for a standardized peer-training (SPT). This study investigates, whether the SPT increases the inter-rater reliability of social medical physicians participating in a cross-institutional peer review. Methods Forty physicians from 16 regional German Pension Insurances were subjected to SPT. The three-day training course consist of nine educational objectives recorded in a training manual. The SPT is split into a basic module providing basic information about the peer review and an advanced module for small groups of up to 12 peers training peer review using medical reports. Feasibility was tested by assessing selection, comprehensibility and subjective use of contents delivered, the trainers’ delivery and design of training materials. The effectiveness of SPT was determined by evaluating peer concordance using three anonymised medical reports assessed by each peer. Percentage agreement and Fleiss’ kappa (κm) were calculated. Concordance was compared with review results from a previous unstructured, non-standardized peer-training programme (control condition) performed by 19 peers from 12 German Pension Insurances departments. The control condition focused exclusively on the application of peer review in small groups. No specifically training materials, methods and trainer instructions were used. Results Peer-training was shown to be feasible. The level of subjective confidence in handling the peer review instrument varied between 70 and 90%. Average percentage agreement for the main outcome criterion was 60.2%, resulting in a κm of 0.39. By comparison, the average percentage concordance was 40.2% and the κm was 0.12 for the control condition. Conclusion Concordance with the main criterion was relevant but not significant (p = 0.2) higher for SPT than for the control condition. Fleiss’ kappa coefficient showed that peer concordance was higher for SPT than randomly expected. Nevertheless, a score of 0.39 for the main criterion indicated only fair inter-rater reliability, considerably lower than the conventional standard of 0.7 for adequate reliability.
Sociology has been taught in Paraguay since 1900. In those years, it was included in the training of other humanities, such as law. Despite this early appearance, the education of sociology is now only 30 years old and exhibits an evolutionary lethargy. The discipline was institutionalized not because it was taught as a major course of study, but because of the publication of two national journals that have existed for more than four decades: Revista Paraguaya de Sociología (Paraguayan Journal of Sociology) and Estudios Paraguayos (Paraguayan Studies). These were the means through which the first sociological articles appeared and currently remain principal channels of knowledge in the field. The objective of this essay is to describe national sociological academic production by analyzing the last five issues of both publications. The classification of topics, methodologies, approaches, use of bibliographies, and types of articles was carried out using hand-coded qualitative text analysis.
Marka imajı, günümüzün pazarlama literatüründeki önemli konu başlıklarından bir tanesidir. Ne var ki, yöntembilimsel bir bakış açısıyla, marka imajını sosyal ağ analizi ile inceleyen çalışmaların sayısının son derece sınırlı olduğu görülmektedir. Bu kapsamda bu araştırmanın amacı markaya ilişkin çağrışımların keşfedilmesinde alternatif ve kullanışlı bir yöntem olarak sosyal ağ analizini tanıtmak ve bu yöntemin marka imajlarının derinlemesine ve rekabetçi biçimde keşfine nasıl olanak sağladığını Turkcell-Vodafone markaları üzerinden göstermektir. Özgün katkı bakımından bu araştırma, hem marka alanındaki araştırmacılara farklı bir analitik perspektif sağlamakta, hem de Türkiye’deki iki rakip mobil GSM operatörü olan Turkcell ve Vodafone markalarına ilişkin mevcut çağrışımları ortaya koyarak sektöre yönelik rekabetçi bilgiler sunmaktadır. Analiz sonuçları Turkcell’in özgün manada “kaliteli”, “interneti hızlı”, “kapsama alanı yaygın” ancak “pahalı” bir marka olarak algılandığını, Vodafone’un ise “avantajlı”, “yurtdışı kullanımına uygun”, “ucuz”, “öğrenci dostu”, zengin promosyonları olan ancak göreceli olarak “kapsama alanı daha dar” ve “orta kalite” bir marka olarak algılandığını göstermektedir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Sosyal Ağ Analizi, Marka İmajı, Marka Çağrışımları, Turkcell, Vodafone.
By accessing language, an individual is granted the means to represent experiences and to share meaning. However, ill-being resulting from workplace bullying makes it hard for the subject to put his/her experience into words. I explored this uneasiness through qualitative research conducted through an interdisciplinary approach. My fieldwork led me to raise questions about the influence of modern managerial discourse on the individual and his/her relation to language. After conducting in-depth interviews with individuals confronted with bullying at work and crossing their narratives with information from organisational websites, I suggest that modern managerial discourse hinders the expression of emotions and thereby the understanding of subjective experiences (both the informants’ understanding of their own subjective experience and the understanding of their experiences by others). I argue that this process is rooted in an internalization of managerial discourse, which weakens the subject as it diminishes his/her enunciative autonomy and limits his/her ability to make sense of his/her emotional experiences. This article considers these findings. Through excerpts from organisational communications, the first part calls on the heuristic dimension of knowing via the senses to question the subjective influence of managerial discourse. The narrative of an experience of workplace bullying then allows for display of the ambivalence of managerial discourse. It appears to be a tool both enabling and hindering subjective expression, as it allows sharing of facts at the expense of sharing emotions. Considering my argument that the internalization of managerial discourse by the subject turns this discourse into “managerial newspeak”, the third and concluding part of the article addresses the issue of sharing understanding of psychosocial processes in scientific work.