Fikri, Yuan Saldsamon

The existence of internet facilities in the workplace as a performance support by some employees is found to be used corruptly. The existence of cyberloafing as a behavior of misusing internet facilities can be caused by various things, which is personality. This research was conducted to determine the relationship between the personality of the five-factor theory and cyberloafing behavior among administrative staff in Universitas Islam Riau. The method of data collection used the scales of cyberloafing and the big five inventory. The research population consisted of administrative staff with a total sample of 172 people obtained using the incidental sampling technique. This study used a parametric analysis technique with the product moment method. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there was a significant positive relationship between the dimensions of openness and cyberloafing, a negative relationship between the dimensions of conscientiousness and cyberloafing, and a significant positive relationship between the dimensions of neuroticism and cyberloafing. The extraversion and agreeableness personality dimensions were found to have no relationship with cyberloafing behavior.

Pamela Akeyo Otieno, Lazarus Millan Okello, Nick Namunga

Inclusion of learners with visual impairment is necessary for ensuring that the learners’ academic goals and objectives are met. Teachers and stakeholders have to identify any barriers that can deter the learners from achieving their goals. Generally, guiding learners with visual impairment (VI) is complex and requires a combination of strategies by the instructor. Besides, the learners also need a better performance to motivate their learning process. Visually impaired learners generally have been noted to perform below average in academics. The objective was to examine the influence of attitude of teachers on inclusion of visually impaired learners in public primary schools in Nyatike Sub-County, Migori County, Kenya. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory was used to explain the roots of inclusion of visually impaired learners. The study employed mixed methodology with a descriptive survey research design. The population of study involved 46 (forty six) head teachers and 52 (fifty two) classroom teachers in public primary schools with visually impaired learners. A sample size of 98 (ninety-eight) respondents were selected using saturated and purposive sampling techniques. Reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained. The study established that teachers’ attitude accounted for 45.8% of variation in inclusion of learners with visual impairment in regular primary schools. From the findings, the study concluded that teachers’ attitude, influence inclusion of visually impaired learners in public primary schools. The study finding may be useful to policy makers and school administrators by providing information on how teachers’ attitude influences inclusion of learners with visual impairment in regular public primary schools.

Katsuyuki Yamasaki, Takayuki Yokoshima, Daisuke Noguchi, Kanako Uchida

This paper follows Yamasaki, Uchida, Yokoshima, and Kaya’s (2017) classification of self-esteem into autonomous and heteronomous self-esteem. Autonomous self-esteem is adaptive and healthy, whereas heteronomous one is nonadaptive and unhealthy. First, several implicit association tests (IATs) were introduced to assess both types of self-esteem. Autonomous self-esteem, in particular, needs to be measured using certain nonconscious assessment tools. Thereafter, from the necessity to enhance autonomous self-esteem, programs to cultivate it, which belong to a group of the programs collectively termed “TOP SELF (Trial of Prevention School Education for Life and Friendship), were depicted in terms of their purpose structure and methods for lower- and higher-grade students in elementary and junior-high schools. Moreover, to reveal the effectiveness of the programs, the results of the previous empirical studies among the lower- and higher-grade students were shown. Lastly, future avenues to widely disseminate the programs were discussed, underscoring the importance of students’ health and adaptation in schools.

Masayuki Kanazawa

It is estimated that genetic factors account for roughly 50% of an individual’s personality. However, statistical analysis has so far failed to show a substantial and consistent relationship between personality tests and genes. Meanwhile, about half or more of Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese people feel that the relationship between genetically determined ABO blood type and personality is legitimate. In this pilot study, data from a medium-scale survey (N = 1,937) were analyzed using a combination of traditional and alternative statistical methods to examine the relationship. The results showed a clear relationship between ABO blood type and self-reported personality traits on several single question items, consistent with the predicted ones. The same traits were also observed in the “no knowledge” group, although the differences were smaller. People in this group might have less interest in and sensitivity to personality. The impact of the interest level on personality was also discussed.

Dushad Ram, Saleh Abdulaziz Al-Zahrani, Mutaab Ali Alshehri

The Covid 19 pandemic affected psychosocial aspect of individuals that can affect the levels of family and life satisfaction. So far, there is paucity of study examining family in Arabic country. Thisstudy was conducted to know the levels and relationships offamily and life satisfaction during Covid 19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. In this cross-sectional community-based study a total of 578 subject were assessed with sociodemographic proforma, Family Satisfaction Scale, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results reveals the mean score onFamily Satisfaction Scale and Satisfaction with Life Scale to be 38.98 (SD=8.66) and 18.60 (SD=4.71) respectively. There was a statistically significant group difference on score of Family satisfaction score by gender and marital status, as well as on life satisfaction score by gender and employment status. Value on score of family satisfaction was statistically significant positively predicted the value on score of life satisfaction. With the finding of the study, it may be concluded that family satisfaction and life satisfaction are positively linked during Covid 19 pandemic.

Karla Arán-Roque, Jose Rodriguez-Gomez

Introduction: Tolerant and benevolent personality traits are held as examples to follow in religious contexts due to pro- social values that Christians are supposed to demonstrated.. However, social scientists have observed that these are not applied unconditionally to everyone. Some denominations have inflexible rules and stances on what is acceptable, tolerated, and sinful which can facilitate negative attitudes as well as antisocial behavior towards a particular group. Method: This study is based on a dataset of 115 men and women from a previous research that attempted to create and validate a Scale of Attitudes, Conducts and Beliefs Towards Homosexuals in Christian Churches (EIACCPHI) created by Rodriguez-Gomez (2020). Purpose: Research in Puerto Rico implied that the levels of homonegativity (negative stigma towards gay and lesbians) were higher among participants that adhered to a religious protestant or evangelical denomination and participated more in religious activities than those who did not. This study attempted to determine if denomination membership, sex differences and years of conversion/participation are associated to negative attitudes, conducts and/or beliefs of church members towards homosexual people. The study consisted of active protestant/evangelical adult church members (n = 115). Comparisons between years of denomination membership, sex differences and years of conversion were significant using the EIACCPHI. Results and Conclusions: In each factor evaluated, all church groups showed a similar level of homonegativity. Therefore, none of the factors studied showed a particular /significant relationship with adult church member’s view toward homosexual people. We conclude that further research is needed and should expand the sample to other parts of the island, other denominations, and further years of memberships to see if we can obtain more relevant information.

Adeyemo Emily Oluseyi

This study was undertaken to examine the extent to which two different measures of examination items prepared for two consecutive years measured a common construct as evidence of teachers’ competence in item development. The study compared item parameter estimates of the 2016 and 2017 BECE items and established the convergent validity with a few of providing information on teachers’ competencies in item development. The research design was ex-post facto while the population consisted of 34,899 and 35,859 students who sat for the Osun State Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Comparability of these items was made in terms of their item parameters; reliability estimates and evidence of convergent validity. Data were analyzed using test score statistics, transformed score and correlation coefficient. The coefficient of correlation showed that the relationship which existed between the test scores of 2016 and 2017 Mathematics items was low and significant r = 0.191, p < 0.05 The coefficient of Correlation of the test score was low, r = 0.191, p < 0.05. The items had different reliabilities estimates and the convergent validity of the tests was low and significant (r=o.191, p < 0.05). Students who sat for the 2016 examinations stood at advantage than 2017. The items of the two examinations did not capture the same construct, an indication of the facts that more training was required for teachers in item development.

Samer Jamil Rudwan, Sultan Mousa Al-Owidha

In this study, we assessed differences in mental health, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and self-efficacy in three Arab countries: Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. We also explored the effect of COVID-19-related PTSD symptoms and self-efficacy on mental health. An online survey was conducted with 2,162 respondents (1,186 women and 976 men), of whom 984 were Syrian, 732 were Saudi, and 446 were Omani. We developed two tools to measure the psychological aspects of self-efficacy and PTSD as they relate to COVID-19 and assessed participants’ mental health status. Significant differences were found among the three groups, with Syrians showing the lowest scores on mental health and self-efficacy and the highest on PTSD symptoms. Multiple regression analysis showed that COVID-19-related PTSD symptoms of hyperarousal, avoidance/numbness, and self-efficacy were good predictors of some mental health aspects. While most previous studies on COVID-19 have examined only its negative psychological effects, the current study focused on the positive aspects such as well-being and self-efficacy. This study emphasizes the importance of psychological factors associated with the pandemic, in addition to deriving new research questions and hypotheses. We compared relatively large samples from 3 different countries. It is important to gather comparative data on the psychological aspects of COVID-19 to plan specific psychological preventive programs for promoting mental health and reducing the negative psychological effects of the pandemic.

Mahnaz Shojaee, Mehrdad Shahidi, Ying Cui, Amin Mousavi

Background: Using R-UCLA-Loneliness Scale, previous studies across Canada and other Western and Asian countries indicated that loneliness could predict some of the mental health disorders such as clinical depression, anxiety, as well as physical problems. Thus, the self-report R-UCLA-Loneliness Scale has been used increasingly to screen and monitor the sense of loneliness in people with and without mental health disorders. A brief review of previous research on the R-UCLA-Loneliness Scale revealed the lack of evaluation of the scale’s fairness/equivalence in measuring loneliness among adolescents and young adults.Method: Four hundred university students aged between 18 and 26 years old participated in this study. Their responses were analyzed using item response theory (IRT) and ordinal logistic regression (OLR). To determine the type of Differential Item Functioning (DIF), uniform or non-uniform, we examined “item true score function plots”.Results: The findings revealed that three items display gender-related DIF. All three items showed non-uniform DIF. The assessment of effect sizes indicated negligible differences for practical utilization.Limitations: A caution should be considered in interpreting the results of measurement invariance across Gender. The samples analyzed in this study were individuals without comorbid symptoms or other mental disorders. Thus, we recommend future researchers focus on the clinical population. Conclusion: This study was the first and major step towards presenting theoretical and practical information regarding the assessment of invariance of the R-UCLA-Loneliness Scale across gender. Future studies may look at different aspects and sources of invariance such as marital status and educational levels for different groups to strengthen conclusions concerning the R-UCLA Loneliness Scale.

Yida Y. H. Chung, Eliza L. Y. Lau

The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the In-game Content Purchase Intention Scale (ICPIS) to study the intention of Chinese online game players to purchase in-game content. The scale’s initial questionnaire items were developed by referring to the current literature and conducting interviews with six online game players. Specialists in the subject (n=5) were consulted to fine-tune the scale. The construct validation study (n=287) was undertaken after a pilot survey (n=10). Self-liberation and self-efficacy are the two dimensions that make up the final version of the scale. Overall, the ICPIS reported good convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. Implications and future research directions are discussed. The scale provides a framework for future research in an increasingly vital field.