Physical and social presence in collaborative virtual environments: Exploring age and gender differences with respect to empathy

Collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) hold the immense potential of enhancing social inclusion and social support not only in younger but especially also in older people. However, there is still considerably little knowledge about the experiences of elderly when using CVEs. Additionally, there is reason to assume that men and women regardless of their age might also differ in their perceptions of CVEs, with this difference very likely being mediated by empathic abilities. Consequently, the main objective of the current study was to evaluate gender specific experiences of social and physical presence in a group of older (N = 62) and younger adults (N = 62) with respect to possible mediating influences of empathy. Results indicate no differences in physical and social presence between the two age groups, yet they support past findings that men experience more spatial presence, involvement and a higher sense of being there than women. Also, the empathy scale Fantasy considerably mediated gender differences in spatial presence, thus strengthening the theoretical assumption of a relationship between presence and empathy. Implications and future directions of these findings are discussed in detail.     

Use of information and communications technology,academic performance and psychosocial distress in university students

This study analyzed the use of information and communication technology (ICT) made by students of a Spanish university for study-related and leisure purposes. It also explored the effects of its use on students’ academic activities and their performance, as well as on their psychosocial adjustment. The results revealed that 14% of students made excessive use of ICT for their studies (more than 4 h per day). In terms of leisure activities, the figure for excessive use rose to 18.6%. There were no differences by sex or subject area. It was found that the younger the students, the higher the use of ICT, and the higher this use, the poorer the academic performance (objective and subjective) and the greater the psychosocial maladjustment.     

Effectiveness of a participatory ergonomics intervention in improving communication and psychosocial exposures

A participatory ergonomics programme was implemented in an automotive parts manufacturing factory in which an ergonomics change team was formed, composed of members from management, the organized labour union and the research team. It was hypothesized that the participatory nature of this change process would result in enhanced worker perceptions of workplace communication dynamics, decision latitude and influence, which in conjunction with anticipated mechanical exposure reductions would lead to reduced worker pain severity. Utilizing a sister plant in the corporation as a referent group, a quasi-experimental design was employed with a longitudinal, repeat questionnaire approach to document pre-post intervention changes. Nine participatory activities (psychosocial interventions) were implemented as part of the process. Communication dynamics regarding ergonomics were significantly enhanced at the intervention plant compared to the referent plant. However, there were no significantly different changes in worker perceptions of decision latitude or influence between the two plants, nor did pain severity change. Possible explanations for these results include limited intervention intensity, context and co-intervention differences between the two plants, high plant turnover reducing the statistical power of the study and lack of sensitivity and specificity in the psychosocial measures used. Further research should include the development of psychosocial tools more specific to participatory ergonomic interventions and the assessment of the extent of change in psychosocial factors that might be associated with improvements in pain.     

Cyberbullying among young adults in Malaysia: The roles of gender,age and Internet frequency

This study investigated the extent of young adults’ (N = 393; 17–30 years old) experience of cyberbullying, from the perspectives of cyberbullies and cyber-victims using an online questionnaire survey. The overall prevalence rate shows cyberbullying is still present after the schooling years. No significant gender differences were noted, however females outnumbered males as cyberbullies and cyber-victims. Overall no significant differences were noted for age, but younger participants were found to engage more in cyberbullying activities (i.e. victims and perpetrators) than the older participants. Significant differences were noted for Internet frequency with those spending 2–5 h online daily reported being more victimized and engage in cyberbullying than those who spend less than an hour daily. Internet frequency was also found to significantly predict cyber-victimization and cyberbullying, indicating that as the time spent on Internet increases, so does the chances to be bullied and to bully someone. Finally, a positive significant association was observed between cyber-victims and cyberbullies indicating that there is a tendency for cyber-victims to become cyberbullies, and vice versa. Overall it can be concluded that cyberbullying incidences are still taking place, even though they are not as rampant as observed among the younger users.