The present study was aimed to test in the domains of prosocial (help giving) and antisocial (aggression) behavior in a Turkish sample, consisting of 887 Hacettepe University students (463 males and 424 females). The results revealed that the social conduct theory within the perspective of judgments of responsibility was partially confirmed in the Turkish sample. The findings implied that both the help giving and the aggressive behaviors could be taken into consideration in the same conceptual framework. Generally, the expected cognition-emotion-behavior sequence was observed; hence, the attributional thoughts of responsibility/controllability determined the emotional reactions of anger and sympathy and these emotional reactions, in turn, directly influenced helping and aggressive behaviors. Indeed, for aggression, the results also indicated that cognitions of perceived controllability had only an indirect effect on aggressive behavior mediated by the emotions of anger and sympathy; there was no direct influence of cognitions on behavioral reactions. Hence, the results partially confirmed the cognition-emotion-behavior theory of social conduct for aggression in which an additional direct influence of cognitions on behavioral reactions was also present as postulated by Weiner (1995). On the other hand, for help giving, the findings were consistent with the literature confirming the theory which proposed that thoughts determined the feelings of anger and sympathy and these feelings, in turn, determined the actions.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the hostile attributional biases of aggressive and nonaggressive boys and girls among primary school children. The status of aggressiveness was assessed with a peer nomination instrument for a sample of 529 (230 girls and 293 boys) fifth grade children. Participants were presented with 11 ambiguous pictures with negative outcomes. For each picture a questionnaire with multiple choice answers was administered to measure the child's tendency to attribute personal/impersonal causality, positive/negative intentions and hostile attributional bias. A 2 (aggressive/nonaggressive) x 2 (sex) ANOVA was used to analyse the data. Results indicated that aggressive children attributed more personal causality, negative intentions to the ambiguous negative outcomes represented in the pictures than to the nonaggressive children. In relation to different forms of aggression such as physical, passive and the verbal, the findings showed some variability. Physically aggressive children displayed more hostile attribution than the nonaggressive ones. On the other hand, the form of passive aggressiveness was not significant in relation to the aggressiveness/nonaggressiveness status. On verbal aggression form, aggressive children indicated a propensity toward hostile attribution when compared to the nonaggressive types. A main effect of sex was obtained; boys attributed more personal causality, more negative intention and hostile attributional bias when compared to girls. All of the results were in line with literature.

Attacks on academic freedom in Turkey have become increasingly systematic in recent years and thousands of academics have been dismissed. This study reflects on the effects of this worsening repression through interviews with academics in the social sciences, both those dismissed and those still active in their profession. Although the dismissed academics are socially in a very precarious position, they are continuing their scholarly activities in alternative, underground forms. This resistance stands in contrast to the accommodation and self-censorship that seem, according to the interviewees, to prevail in university departments.

In wide-ranging attacks on academic freedom in Turkey in recent years, thousands of academics have lost their university positions. At the end of 2016 oppositional academics, many of whom were dismissed from their positions for having signed a peace petition, established a Street Academy as an alternative way to reach out to both students and the public in Ankara. In this study we analyse the experiences of these street academy lecturers from the perspective of Social Representation Theory. Our main aims were to explore teaching experience perceptions and representations and, in addition, also the opportunities and challenges generated by this alternative academy. Data consisted of semi-structured interviews with five female and five male street academy lecturers. The results of a qualitative thematic analysis revealed that the way participants explained their experiences could be organised into three major themes and several subordinate themes. One of the most salient results was that participating in the street Academy had become a way to defend academic freedom. More generally suggested results demonstrated that teaching in this new setting, outside of the universities and away from customised learning environments, was quite a novel experience. The possible implications of street academy lecturers? experiences are discussed.

Countries have taken different measures to limit the spread of COVID-19. However, it is unclear how such measures affect the daily lives of people in different cultural contexts. Using a qualitative research method and the framework of gender roles, this study analyzes the potential effects of the Turkish government’s policies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic on married men and women in Turkey. The respondents answered the open-ended questions developed by the researchers on the Google platform. 20 men (aged 27-54) and 20 women (aged 22-55) participated in the study. The respondents’ experiences were grouped into three themes: gender-related problems; adaptation and new habits/hobbies; and balancing between positive and negative effects. While men stressed the economic effects, women focused on social relations or deeper values of life. The findings were discussed within the framework of Gender Schema Theory and Social Role Theory.

Thousands of refugees have immigrated to Turkey because of the current Civil War in neighboring Syria. This is causing tensions between refugees and locals. These increasingly negative attitudes towards the incoming victims of conflict are of particular interest. The present study, therefore, aimed at determining the premises of the emergence of such negative attitudes. The research sample consisted of university students who all studied at various faculties at Cumhuriyet University in the Turkish province of Sivas. Data were collected by the Attitude Scale Towards Refugees, the Patriotism Attitude Scale, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Cirhinlioğlu Religiosity Scale. Data were analyzed by Independent Sample t-tests as well as using Stepwise Regression Analyses. Results showed that the feeling of empathy correlated negatively with negative attitudes towards refugees, while blind patriotism, religiosity, and having nationalist/conservative orientations, correlated positively. Men were found to be more negative than women. The feeling of empathy was the most prominent factor in predicting the nature of attitudes towards refugees. Religious doctrine and distancing oneself from conservative and patriotic perspectives appeared to be effective in potentially preventing the development of negative attitudes. In conclusion, research results are discussed in the light of relevant literature.

This study was conducted in one of the poverty areas of Ankara with 281 male and female adolescents (ages between 12-16). The aim of the study was to construct an awareness program in relation to prejudice, interpersonal reactivity and locus of control which may contribute to the development of life skills (assertiveness and communication) and self esteem. California F-Scale (Form 40-45), interpersonal reactivity index, locus of control, self esteem, assertiveness and communication scales were administered to observe whether age, gender, prejudice, personal sensitivity and locus of control predicted global self esteem, perception of assertiveness and communication skills of adolescents. The results revealed that, self esteem and perception of life skills (assertiveness and communication) were positively predicted from perspective taking, whereas negatively predicted from disbelief to human agency and personal effort. On the other hand, while self-esteem and perception of communication skill were positively predicted from strict conformity to rules, self-esteem and perception of assertiveness were predicted negatively from lack of personal control. Other results reflected that perception of both life skills were predicted negatively from feelings of personal distress whereas gender predicted only perception of communication, favoring females. Age had no significant effect on either self esteem or perception of life skills.

Bakgrund

I det post-industriella samhället integrerar människor med digitala enheter i vardagen, vilket innebär att saker vi redan gör kan göras på helt nya sätt och framför allt att helt nya saker är möjliga att göra (Statens Offentliga Utredningar [SOU], 2016). Det kan göra våra liv bättre, men också göra dem värre. Trots att smarttelefonen som ett viktigt digitalt verktyg spelar en viktig roll i folks liv, visade tidigare studier att smarttelefonberoende kan leda till en minskning av produktiviteten på grund av att spendera tid på smarttelefonen under arbetet (Duke & Montag, 2017). Mer positiva effekter av digitaliseringen är möjligheten till sociala interaktioner (Hülür & Macdonald, 2020), att hämta kunskap som behövs i det dagliga beslutsfattandet (Mick & Fournier,1998), digitaliseringen har även förändrat arbetsmiljön genom att det möjliggör hemarbete (Okkonen, Vuori och Palvalin, 2019, February).

Syfte

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka attityder till digitaliseringen och hur den påverkar människors liv i termer av att lärande, social interaktion och arbetsmiljön.

Metod

En pilotstudie med kvalitativ forskningsmetod där nio undersökningsdeltagare intervjuades, varav fem var kvinnor (M=32 år) och fyra var män (M=38 år) ingick i studien. Alla deltagarna hade gymnasieutbildning och arbetslivserfarenhet varierade mellan 3 och 30 år. Samtliga deltagare ägde smarttelefoner eller datorer. Två undersökningsdeltagare ägde surfplattor och en deltagare hade också smart TV. Alla undersökningsdeltagare rekryterades med hjälp av bekvämlighets urval. Intervjuguide var semistrukturerad som bestod av fyra övergripande teman (Tema 1. Attityder gentemot digitala enheter, Tema 2. Digitala enheters påverkan på lärandet, Tema 3. Digitala enheters påverkan på sociala interaktioner, Tema 4. Digitala enheters påverkan på arbetsmiljön). 

Resultat

Undersökningens resultat visar att undersökningsdeltagarna har igenomsnitt 4-5 timmar skärmtid. Skärmtiden kan delas upp i underhållning och arbete och just denna mix gör det svårt att lägga ifrån sig tekniken och att den är integrerad i vardagen på alla sätt.

Deltagarna rapporterade att ett surfbeteende kan skapa ineffektivitet i ens liv, men även oro över att strålning från enheterna kan vara farlig. Mer positiva saker var att man har all information tillgänglig på enkelt sätt och dessa enheter gör livet roligare och mer intressant. Deltagarna lyfter också upp tillgängligheten och möjligheterna som tekniken erbjuder, den är lika effektiv att underhålla som att använda för att kommunicera med sina vänner och kollegor.

Det finns stora möjligheter att lära sig via digitala enheter, tidigare handlade om att googla medan idag kan man titta på filmer och klipp på saker man vill lära sig. Det är lättare att lära sig självt med digitala enheterna. En annan effekt av digitaliseringen är att det är lättare att underhålla sina relationer och skapa nya kontaktar. Nackdelarna är att det lätt att det blir missförstånd när man kommunicerar via digitala enheter. 

This study examines gender differences in compliant/anonymous prosocial behaviors and perceived autonomy support. The mediation effects of needs satisfaction on relationships between perceived autonomy support and prosocial behaviors in Turkish culture are also tested. A total of 420 freshmen, sophomore, and junior students (210 female, 202 male) from various departments at a small state university in Turkey participated in the study. They were first, third and fourth year students and the mean age was 21.87 (SD = 1.71; range = 19–31). Parental Autonomy Support Scale (Soenens et al. Developmental Psychology, 43, 633–646, 2007), the Learning Climate Questionnaire (Williams and Deci Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 767-779 1996), the Basic Needs Satisfaction in General Scale (Deci and Ryan Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268 2000; Gagné 2003), and the Prosocial Tendencies Measure (Carlo and Randall Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31, 31-44 2002) were used to collect data. With respect to gender differences, a One-Way ANOVA analysis showed that women scored higher than men regarding compliant and anonymous prosocial behaviors. Additionally, mediation analyses revealed that women perceived that they were the recipient of more autonomy support from their university teachers than men. No significant difference was found in respect to the provision of autonomous support from parents, nor with respect to basic needs satisfaction. The analysis of mediation effects of needs satisfaction showed that relationships between compliant and anonymous prosocial behaviors and perceived autonomy support from parents and teachers were mediated by basic needs satisfaction. These results were discussed in the framework of Self Determination Theory.

A core value underpinning activities in early childhood education and care for sustainability (ECECfS) is that these activities be organized to support forms of democratic, intergenerational collaboration in which children can act as “agents of change.” From the perspective of mediational theories of mind, the possibilities for children to participate actively and agentively in ECECfS can be understood by studying the ECEC settings in which these activities unfold as systems of culturally-constituted and historically contingent conditions.

The present study applied this perspective in qualitative case studies of how teachers in three Swedish preschools understand and practice ECECfS, and the degree to which children in these preschools could act as agents of change in relation to ECECfS activities. This research is based on survey and interview data collected from teacher teams in preschools that participated in a series of regional government-sponsored workshops designed to support teachers’ efforts to develop the outdoor spaces in their preschools as sustainable, multifunctional environments. Drawing on concepts from cultural historical activity theory (systemic tensions as underpinning expansive learning), surveys and interview transcripts were analyzed to characterize: how the participating teachers engaged with concepts relevant for understanding their approach to ECECfS (sustainability, teaching, pretend and exploratory play); pedagogical and organizational tensions that teachers described in relation to these concepts; and cultural means that mediated teachers relations to the general object of implementing ECECfS.

Teachers conceptions and practices of ECECfS were in general consistent with findings of prior research of in-service and pre-service preschool staff in Sweden: While teachers understood ECECfS holistically as a project that integrates environmental, economic, and social dimensions, the majority of the activities organized by the teachers emphasized the environmental dimension, with none explicitly emphasizing the economic dimension. Furthermore, teachers in all three schools described their day-to-day preschool practices as inherently about and for sustainability, noting a kind of tension or contradiction with needing to make sustainability explicit in preschool activities.

With respect to opportunities for children to act as agents of change in day-to-day preschool activities, we found examples in all three cases in which children engaged in actions that changed their material environment and/or their participation in relevant community(ies) of practice. Critically, what varied across preschools was if and to what degree these actions were clearly motivated by children’s questions, interests, and/or intentions. We draw on the concepts of instrumental and ontological communities of learners (Matusov et al., 2013) to argue that pedagogical and organizational aspects of each preschool’s idioculture (Fine, 2012) enabled or constrained the possibilities for children to act as agents of change.

There is an agreement among scholars that we need to prepare students to be ready-for-life, as well as the agreement that the future might be characterized by, broadly defined, diversity. Although the benefits of diversity are numerous and praised, there is also an understanding that diversity on its own does not necessarily mean that these benefits will be realized. Working (and living) in a culturally diverse environment poses a challenge and requires skills and mindset to overcome obstacles and reap the benefits. It is no surprise that the global contemporary business world induces discussion on globally competent employees. But employees of tomorrow are today’s students, and therefore, to prepare them for culturally diverse workspaces, the question of intercultural competence and its development during studies becomes relevant. Future employees are to work with a diverse group of stakeholders outside the organization (customers, clients, intermediaries, partners) and to work in a diverse team of colleagues inside their organizations. The internationalization of HEI created an environment that offers opportunities to engage in cross-cultural contacts and advance cross-cultural competence. 

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the debate about advancing and measuring intercultural competence by presenting findings from a pilot study. We conducted 45 interviews on internationalization and diversity in a HEI from the multistakeholder perspective (management, teachers, staff, students) across four schools belonging to a university in southern Sweden. Parallelly, we assessed the intercultural competence of different student groups using Ang’s Cultural Intelligence Scale collecting 177 responses in the process. We will present our experience from the project, initial findings and share a suggestion for a practice that can serve as an alternative to measuring intercultural competence.

Why is it that when most employers are in dire need of highly qualified individuals with experience, they nevertheless tend to reject job applicants with a different cultural background? The reluctance behind employing immigrant experts is rarely made manifest intentionally or on ideological grounds, but the result of an unhappy, and largely inevitable, consequence of lacking experience of cultures other than one's own. With such experience and relevant knowledge of other cultures in place, discriminatory behaviour toward foreign skilled labour is likely to lessen considerably. The chapter suggest several HR practices which would facilitate their employment and integration into the organisation.

In Sweden, the local schoolboard has the ultimate responsibility for school quality and student knowledge development, and is held responsible if the expected outcomes are not met. Assisting the board is the superintendent who is the Chief Executive Officer. The aim of the study is to investigate the board’s relation to and expectations of the superintendent, and this article is a result of a national investigation in which all schoolboard chairs were surveyed. Two main questions were addressed: 1) what expectations does the local schoolboard have of the superintendent, both in general and in relation to student achievements and 2) which tasks are the superintendents expected to prioritise in carrying out their work? Data have been collected through a web-based survey using both structured and open-ended questions. The results show that the schoolboards’ strongest expectations placed on superintendents are to execute the leadership mission followed by managing the organisation within allocated budget frames. Responsibilities for academic outcomes have a lower ranking. Superintendents have many opportunities to influence the schoolboards’ decisions and thereby affect which goals they should prioritise in the local school organisation. The superintendent is an invisible ruler who in the chain of governance occupies the best position to influence both the schoolboard’s acting policy and the schools’ acting practice. By being aware of the existing asymmetric distribution of power, the schoolboard has the opportunity to exercise control over its official whose legal responsibility is to assist its members in their decision makings.

We  examine  how  Swedish  directors  of  education  describe the conditions under which they lead research-based education.  The  empirical  data  was  collected  via  questionnaires  that  were  distributed  via  e-mail  to  all  Swedish  directors  of education in charge of primary and secondary schools. Our results are based on a ‘frame factor’ theoretical perspective.Directors  of  education  judge  themselves  as  being  well-prepared  for  the  task  of  ensuring  that  research-based  education  is provided  to  the  students.  They  envision  their  role as  one  where  they  read  research  reports,  but  they  do  not  disseminate  this scientific  knowledge  throughout  schools.  The  directors  assess  teachers  as  having  the  least  responsibility  for  ensuring  that research-based education in primary- and secondary schools is provided to the students. From a cultural frame perspective, the results of the study reveal that school director considerably overestimate their ability to manage a scientific based education.