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The aim of this study is to examine whether the body image coping strategies of university students in emerging adulthood affect their self-esteem. In line with sub-goals, it was also examined whether the variables showed a significant difference according to various demographic characteristics and social media usage attitudes. The research was designed as a cross-sectional research in the relational survey model, which is one of the quantitative research methods, one of the general survey model. The study group consist of a total of 105 students who are 1st year students in Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Department of Social Work (n=57) and Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (n=48). Body Image Coping Strategies Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Inventory and Personal Information Form were used as data collection tools. The data were analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics 21 program using statistical analyses method. The findings show that there is a significant difference between the participants' self-esteem and their use of appearance correction strategy and their selfie-taking behaviors. There is a positive and low correlation between avoidance and self-esteem, and the avoidance variable was a significant predictor of self-esteem. As a result, the examination of the emerging adulthood was considered important fot the future of societies and the concepts of body image/self-esteem were evaluated together with the technological development.

Digital technologies have been associated with improved and enriched learning experiences which include more student-centered learning. These technologies have made teaching and learning experiences more interesting. In view of the crucial role of digital technologies in enhancing learning, this study sought to assess teacher attitudes towards the Digital Literacy Programme (DLP) in Kisii County based on gender differences. Does the gender of the teachers involved in the Digital Literacy Programme in Kisii County affect their readiness to uptake and implement the program? A survey research design was applied in the study. The population of the study constituted of 1,420 standard one and two teachers selected from randomly sampled schools of the county. The sample size was determined using the Fisher formula and the sample consisted of 302 standard one and two teachers. Purposive sampling was used to select the specific teachers. Simple random sampling was used to select the specific schools to include in the study and proportionate sampling was used to determine the number of respondents from each school. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. To ascertain the reliability of the research instruments, a pilot test was carried out and a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.76 was realized. Data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics in SPSS. The study established that difference in gender has no effect on the teachers' attitude to the Digital Literacy Programme.

AbstractThe results of econometric modeling are fragile in the sense that minor changes in estimation techniques or sample can lead to statistical models that support inconsistent causal hypotheses. The fragility of econometric results undermines making conclusive inferences from the empirical literature. I argue that the program of evidential pluralism, which originated in the context of medicine and encapsulates to the normative reading of the Russo-Williamson Thesis that causal claims need the support of both difference-making and mechanistic evidence, offers a ground for resolving empirical disagreements. I analyze a recent econometric controversy regarding the tax elasticity of cigarette consumption and smoking intensity. Both studies apply plausible estimation techniques but report inconsistent results. I show that mechanistic evidence allows for discriminating econometric models representing genuine causal relations from accidental dependencies in data. Furthermore, I discuss the differences between biological and social mechanisms and mechanistic evidence across the disciplines. I show that economists mainly rely on mathematical models to represent possible mechanisms (i.e., mechanisms that could produce a phenomenon of interest). Still, claiming the actuality of the represented mechanisms requires establishing that crucial assumptions of these models are descriptively adequate. I exemplify my approach to assessing the quality of mechanistic evidence in economics with an analysis of two models of rational addiction.

Background: Patients with severe mental illnesses (SMI) have low levels of social integration, which could be improved if they used social services. To our knowledge, however, the extent to which they use generic social services remains unknown. Aims: We assessed the extent to which patients with SMI use generic social services and the factors that may drive that usage. Method: In 2014, we carried out a multi-setting clustered survey of patients with severe mental disorders ( n = 1,019, participation rate = 71%) and of services ( n = 517, participation rate = 53%) in 19 networks of services, covering most of Belgium. On the one hand, we asked patients, amongst other, about their health condition, their social integration in the community, and their use of social services of different types. On the other hand, we asked each service to report on its relationships with other services in the services networks. Results: On average, patients' use of generic social services within the previous 6 months was low (6%–16%), with the exception of administrative services. There were few differences in usage according to the severity of patients' symptoms, but some differences according to gender and age were observed. Social integration was improved when generic social services were more central in the networks. Conclusions: We suggest that generic social services should be more central in mental health services networks.

Government officials in China have taken different views regarding shadow banking. Some have seen the industry as overly risky, potentially undermining the formal financial system, while others have asserted that it is an increasingly important part of the financial system, filling a gap in finance provision to particular sectors and smaller firms. Do their views matter? Regulators have striven to crack down on the riskiest practices in shadow banking, but are the policies effective? In this article, we analyze the impact of government attitudes and actions on the shadow banking sector. Using a unique data set based on information collected from various sources in a difference-in-difference model, we find that shadow banking regulation plays a strong role in China's financial sector, while contradictory government views (in the form of commentary in the People's Daily) on shadow banking do not. This reveals that shadow banking is strongly affected by political authority when it is codified into regulation. Only some aspects of shadow banking can be legitimized through regulation, while the remainder of China's financial system remains constrained due to state dominance over the financial sector. This underscores the "funny" nature of shadow banking's money flows. This article is one of the first to study the effects of government views and regulations on the shadow banking system.

Abstract. Modern satellite networks with rapid image acquisition cycles allow for near-real-time imaging of areas impacted by natural hazards such as mass wasting, flooding, and volcanic eruptions. Publicly accessible multi-spectral datasets (e.g., Landsat, Sentinel-2) are particularly helpful in analyzing the spatial extent of disturbances, however, the datasets are large and require intensive processing on high-powered computers by trained analysts. HazMapper is an open-access hazard mapping application developed in Google Earth Engine that allows users to derive map and GIS-based products from Sentinel or Landsat datasets without the time- and cost-intensive resources required for traditional analysis. The first iteration of HazMapper relies on a vegetation-based metric, the relative difference in the normalized difference vegetation index (rdNDVI), to identify areas on the landscape where vegetation was removed following a natural disaster. Because of the vegetation-based metric, the tool is typically not suitable for use in desert or polar regions. HazMapper is not a semi-automated routine but makes rapid and repeatable analysis and visualization feasible for both recent and historical natural disasters. Case studies are included for the identification of landslides and debris flows, wildfires, pyroclastic flows, and lava flow inundation. HazMapper is intended for use by both scientists and non-scientists, such as emergency managers and public safety decision-makers.

Urban land expansion (ULE) is a crucial factor for socioeconomic and environmentally sustainable development. However, nowadays, the unprecedented scale of high-speed railway (HSR) construction in China could exert an important influence on ULE. This manuscript first reveals the influence mechanism of HSR on ULE and then employs difference-in-difference (DID) models to investigate this effect based on the data of 280 prefectures and above level cities of 2001-2016. We analyze that HSR exerts a joint effect on ULE from the territorial and local levels and then affects urban land-use intensity (ULUI). HSR opening and HSR station distance both have notably positive effects on ULE, with elastic coefficients of 4.1% and 0.5%, respectively. HSR opening and HSR station distance also both exert positive effects on ULE of the central, eastern region cities and large cities of China, while for the western region and small to medium cities, they are not significant. The impact of HSR station distance on ULUI is negative with a significance level of 0.073, while the impact of HSR opening on ULUI is not significant. Lastly, relevant policy implications are proposed to alleviate urban land waste and spatial disequilibrium under the context of HSR building. This study can provide an important basis for sustainable urban land allocation.

In 2019, youth took to the street to express their fears and ambitions in relation to climate change. Alongside, many adult and senior citizens expressed their solidarity. While the media present environmental issues as being generationally dividing, we know little about potential differences between generations in terms of environmental attitudes. In this paper, we analyze data collected in the framework of street demonstrations in Switzerland and longitudinal data collected in the Swiss population. Our analyses of survey data on climate strike demonstrators in Switzerland show that while the early demonstrations attracted mostly youth, the age composition of climate strike demonstrators became more diverse over time increasingly including members of different generations. Furthermore, we explore how age differences evolved over the last 20 years using the Swiss Household Panel data. Our analyses show that the share of individuals who favor the environment over the economy is greater among younger generations and that the climate strike generation stands out with the largest share of pro-environmental attitudes. However, all generations have moved in parallel over the last twenty years following a non-linear but generally upward trend illustrating that the political context affects all generations. Overall, our analyses contribute to understanding incremental changes in public attitudes in the environmental area and the role played by generational renewal in these regards.

AbstractIn response to concerns about a lack of democratic engagement among youngsters, many governments intensify their efforts to stimulate democratic engagement and reduce inequalities between advantaged and disadvantaged adolescents. One of the ways in which they try to do this is by on-site citizenship education programs. These include visits to a government institution, interaction with government officials and the reenactment of government institutions. Yet, it remains unclear whether these programs actually boost democratic engagement and compensate inequalities in democratic engagement. This study explores the effect of on-site citizenship education on (inequalities in) democratic engagement. In order to ensure that potential effects are truly attributable to the on-site citizenship program, I isolate the hypothesized causal effects by employing a quasi-experimental design with Difference-in-Difference estimation, reducing selection effects, and controlling for pre-test sensitization and time period. Moreover, I assessed whether the effects last over the course of a school year. The newly collected data consist of four waves among 585 students in thirty classes and three schools. The results show that the high expectations of on-site citizenship education need to be tempered: the main Dutch on-site citizenship program has a robust and lasting effect on political knowledge, but not on political attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, the program generally does not reduce pre-existing inequalities.

Non-uniform compliance with public policy by citizens can undermine the effectiveness of government, particularly during crises. Mitigation policies intended to combat the novel coronavirus offer a real-world measure of citizen compliance, allowing us to examine the determinants of asymmetrical responsiveness. Analyzing county-level cellphone data, we leverage staggered roll-out to estimate the causal effect of stay-at-home orders on mobility using a difference-in-differences strategy. We find movement is significantly curtailed, and examination of descriptive heterogeneous effects suggests the key roles that partisanship and trust play in producing irregular compliance. We find that Republican-leaning counties comply less than Democratic-leaning ones, which we argue underlines the importance of trust in science and acceptance of large-scale government policies for compliance. However, this partisan compliance gap shrinks when directives are given by Republican leaders, suggesting citizens are more trusting of co-partisan leaders. Furthermore, we find that higher levels of social trust increase compliance; yet these gains attenuate or intensify depending upon community-level partisan sentiments. Our study provides a real-world, behavioral measure that demonstrates the influence of partisanship, social trust, and their interaction on citizen welfare. Finally, we argue that our results speak to how trust in government may impact successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract
Although Galton recognized in the 1880s that some individuals lack visual imagery, this phenomenon was mostly neglected over the following century. We recently coined the terms "aphantasia" and "hyperphantasia" to describe visual imagery vividness extremes, unlocking a sustained surge of public interest. Aphantasia is associated with subjective impairment of face recognition and autobiographical memory. Here we report the first systematic, wide-ranging neuropsychological and brain imaging study of people with aphantasia (n = 24), hyperphantasia (n = 25), and midrange imagery vividness (n = 20). Despite equivalent performance on standard memory tests, marked group differences were measured in autobiographical memory and imagination, participants with hyperphantasia outperforming controls who outperformed participants with aphantasia. Face recognition difficulties and autistic spectrum traits were reported more commonly in aphantasia. The Revised NEO Personality Inventory highlighted reduced extraversion in the aphantasia group and increased openness in the hyperphantasia group. Resting state fMRI revealed stronger connectivity between prefrontal cortices and the visual network among hyperphantasic than aphantasic participants. In an active fMRI paradigm, there was greater anterior parietal activation among hyperphantasic and control than aphantasic participants when comparing visualization of famous faces and places with perception. These behavioral and neural signatures of visual imagery vividness extremes validate and illuminate this significant but neglected dimension of individual difference.

PurposeThe purpose of the current study is to investigate the effects of individual-level (espoused) cultural values (collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and long-term orientation) on the individuals' acceptability of inappropriate social network behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs survey data collected from 482 social network users (261 in the United States and 221 from India).FindingsResults show that individuals with high power distance, masculinity and long-term oriented cultural values are more accepting of inappropriate social network behaviors of others, while those with strong uncertainty avoidance cultural values have high degree of social network behavior inappropriateness, which is defined as the extent to which behaviors of social network users are considered unacceptable by others.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper highlights the need for more academic research on the intersection of culture and social network behaviors. This study emphasizes the need for adopting an interdisciplinary approach to understand individuals' social network behaviors.Practical implicationsThe paper offers recommendations to global organizations pertaining to the need for creating social network policies in such a way that encourages their global workforce to openly, yet respectfully, share their ideas using social networks.Originality/valueUsing an interdisciplinary approach, the present study extends our understanding of a recently proposed social network behavioral inappropriateness construct and explains how differences in cultural values may lead to differences in individuals' social network behaviors.

This research work has aimed at investigating the level of political awareness among the Al Ain University students and the role of the university in boosting it by using the descriptive survey method. Indeed, this study has relied upon the questionnaire and the interview as research tools, as well as on the intentional sample where 10 teaching team members were interviewed to answer the third question, and on the random sample where the questionnaire was distributed among 980 students- males and females to answer the first and second questions. The findings of this study revealed that there was a considerably high level of political awareness among the university students. It was also found that there were differences in the level of political awareness among students depending on the faculty, which favoured the students belonging to faculties of humanities. The differences also favoured male students when the variable was gender and 4th year students when the variable was the year of study. In addition, the study showed that the university played 15 important roles in developing political awareness as was unanimously agreed by the members of the sample. These roles were identified by using recurrences and percentages ranging between 50 and 90%, while those with percentages lower than 50% were not taken into account.

Received: 17 December 2020 / Accepted: 26 January 2021 / Published: 5 March 2021

The present paper aims at determining the contribution of the Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) and self-esteem to predicting Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) among female university students in Saudi Arabia. It examines the differences in the research variables according to academic achievement. It also identifies the correlations of these variables. The authors applied the research instruments, i.e., the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1), Adult Concentration Inventory (ACI), and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) to a sample of 203 female university students aged 19-31 years (M = 23.29 years; SD= 3.74 years). The results showed no differences in the mean scores of ASRS, ACI, and negative self-esteem in the achievement levels among university students. In contrast, there was a positive direct relationship between ADHD, SCT, and negative self-esteem. SCT contributed significantly (by 40%), whereas self-esteem contributed by 6% in predicting ADHD among university students. The study highlighted the contribution of both negative self-esteem and SCT to predicting ADHD among Saudi university students to understand the nature of the disorder and its predictors. The findings of this study can be utilized to develop preventive programs for enhancing self-esteem and increasing attention among university students.

Received: 17 December 2020 / Accepted: 31 January 2021 / Published: 5 March 2021

The current study aimed at identifying the level of the fear of Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) among the students of the Hashemite University in Jordan, in the light of the following variables: faculty, academic year, sex, religion, residence, social status, birth order, family income, chronic diseases and Facebook account on a sample of 852 male and female students. As for the study tool, the researcher used the scale of fear of Corona based on the statistical analysis of the arithmetic means and standard deviations, as well as (ANOVA- Analysis of Corona. The study came to some results, prominent among which were: the existence of moderate fear of Corona. According to the demographic variables, there were differences of statical significance among the students in the fear of Corona in the light of two variables only: suffering from chronic diseases, and the family income standard. As for the rest of the variables, they had no effect in the differences among students regarding the fear of Corona. Based upon these results, the current study will be a qualitative addition to the current scientific research about the Corona Pandemic, particularly, in the study of the psychological implications of the impact of the Corona Virus on the people of the world.

Received: 26 October 2020 / Accepted: 8 February 2021 / Published: 5 March 2021