Abstract

Sense of community is a subject rounded by a lot of discussions about. Nowadays, lifestyles, consumption practices and cultural changes in global cities make difficult to define sense of community. Traditional notions seem not to agree with peoples perceptions and ways of connect with each other in the city. It is necessary to review theoretical framework, to conduct exploratory studies and to propose assessment scales in order to understand and explain the nature of the communities in contemporary cities. Hiernaux (2001) and Krause (2001) propose to reconsider community and sense of community notions and redefine it in an operational and useful way. A minimal structure for sense of community has been defined by Krause (2001) which includes belonging, interconnection and common culture. Considering Krauses proposal and results of a previous exploratory study in Mexico City a Likert scale was developed. The main purpose is to contribute to evaluation of sense of community in the city. The original 39 items scale was applied to a sample of 202 Mexico Citys in habitants to obtain its psychometrical validation, 50% were woman and 50% were men from 143 different neighborhoods. A proper analysis took place to learn about items discriminative power, reliability and valid factorial structure. Subsequently a Confirmatory Factor Analysis was conducted to verify if the structure obtained from the Principal Component Analysis was correct, and a good fit was achieved (df = 26, x2 = 37.57, p = .066, CFI = .981, RMSEA = .045), the sample for the confirmatory factor analysis was of 218 Mexico Citys inhabitants, 50% were woman and 50% were men from 90 different neighborhoods. Final scale is constitute for 9 items structured in a single factor with a reliability index of α= .85. Neighborhoods sense of community scale is a brief, with criteria validity and culturally outstanding scale.

Abstract

This research evaluates the psychometric properties of the Spanish language adaptation of the Inventory of Statements About Self-injury (Klonsky and Glenn, 2009). This scale assesses the motivations or functions that people with non-suicidal self-injuries report for engaging in self-injurious behaviors. The inventory was administered to a sample of 435 male and female university students with a lifetime history of non-suicidal self-injuries. A confirmatory factor analysis detected 7 interpretable factors (self-regulation, revenge, sensation seeking/toughness, avoiding suicide, marking distress, self-determination and numbness), 5 more than the original instrument. The scale had adequate internal consistency with a Cronbachs alpha of 0.89 and Cronbachs alphas of 0.72 to 0.82 for each factor. Positive correlations between the scale and measures of depression, anxiety and impulsivity suggest the convergent validity of the scale. Overall, the scale presents acceptable psychometric properties for the measurement of non-suicidal self-injuries in a Mexican university population.

Abstract

This study reports validity results of the Spanish Positive Mental Health Scale (PMH) by Lluch (1999), which converged with measures of resilience, in a non-clinical sample of Mexican children, through a cross-sectional study with 194 children (n = 72 men, n = 122 women), between 9 and 12 years old from the city of Toluca, Mexico. An exploratory factor analysis, using the principal components and oblique rotation method, extracted 4 from the six original dimensions, with 39.614% of total variance. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a three-dimensional model which requires further investigation and detail. A satisfactory Cronbachs Alpha was obtained, which proves convergent validity with resilience. The data suggests the need of a conceptual and methodological reviews of the construct in order to have more consistent results.

Abstract

Since adolescence is a particularly vulnerable stage to present depressed mood, and because there is a greater emphasis on depression as a state with the consequent lack of instruments to evaluate it as a feature (understood as the tendency to respond in a depressive way to daily situations), 407 young people with an average age of 20.14 years were evaluated. As the result, a reliable scale of five items was obtained (α = .711) useful to assess depression trait in adolescents. Its validity was confirmed by the convergence of the obtained scores with those resulting from the IDERE (Ramirez, Grau, Martin & Grau, 1989).

Abstract

The current ease of online education allows students to acquire the professional and personal competencies demanded for the XXI century. In this article we study the media empowerment of students, as citizens, using multiple means of communication. We have established the first scale for the measurement of such empowerment, analyzing the exercise of active citizenship and the use of various media, as skills acquired through e-learning. The study was carried out with alumni of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (n=544), constructing a consistent and reliable scale for the two subscales that comprise it: active citizenship (5 items, α = 0.93) and diversified use of media (3 items, α = 0.95).

Abstract

International audience; Traditionally, national mapping agencies produced datasets and map products for a low number of specified and internally consistent scales, i.e. at a common level of detail (LoD). With the advent of projects like OpenStreetMap, data users are increasingly confronted with the task of dealing with heterogeneously detailed and scaled geodata. Knowing the scale of geodata is very important for mapping processes such as for generalization of label placement or land-cover studies for instance. In the following chapter, we review and compare two concurrent approaches at automatically assigning scale to OSM objects. The first approach is based on a multi-criteria decision making model, with a rationalist approach for defining and parameterizing the respective criteria, yielding five broad LoD classes. The second approach attempts to identify a single metric from an analysis process, which is then used to interpolate a scale equivalence. Both approaches are combined and tested against well-known Corine data, resulting in an improvement of the scale inference process. The chapter closes with a presentation of the most pressing open problem

Abstract

Increasingly popular mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps allow users to interact anytime and anywhere with different purposes, such as coordinating work-related issues, staying in touch with people they love, or passing the time. But recent research suggests that MIM may create excessive demands on people and become a source of technostress. For example, users may experience communication overload, invasion of their face-to-face activities, pressure to respond to messages with urgency, or ambiguity regarding the intention or tone of their interactions. Building on these ideas, we develop a specific, multidimensional measure of MIM technostress and explore how it relates to different uses. To do so, we use survey data from a diverse sample of 1,259 residents in Spain. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted on different halves of the sample supported a four-dimensional, second-level construct of MIM stress. Furthermore, structural equation model results suggest that not all uses are equally associated with MIM stress. Relatedness and intimacy uses were not positively related to MIM stress or any of its dimensions. Conversely, work uses, coordination of social activity, and even passing the time were positively associated with all techno-stressors. We discuss our findings with an eye toward promoting healthy use of MIM apps.

Abstract

In the case study "West-Flanders" costs of electricity and heat production are estimated if a dedicated biogas grid using pipelines would be implemented to centralize energy production in a region. Heat may not be used effectively at digester sites, e.g. because of a change in treatment of digestate. A large scale centralized combined heat and power (CHP) engine can produce additional electrical power at a hub, i.e. central collection point, and has lower specific costs compared to decentralized CHPs at digester sites. A biogas transport model is used to calculate transport costs in a grid. These costs, partly balanced by a scale advantage in CHP costs, are attributed to the additional electrical energy (80%) and heat (20%) produced. If the hub is at a digester site, costs of additional electricity can be as low as 4.0 (sic)ct kWh(e)(-1) and are in many cases below 12 (sic)ct kWh(e)(-1), i.e. in the same order of magnitude or lower than costs of electricity from biogas produced using separate CHPs at the different digester sites; costs of heat at the hub show to be lower than 1 (sic)ct kWh(th)(-1) assuming an effective heat use of 50%. In case a hub is situated at a location with high potential heat demand, i.e. a heat sink, transport of biogas from one digester only to a central located hub can provide 3.4 MWth of heat at 1.95 (sic)ct kWh(th)(-1). For such a centrally located hub additional electrical energy costs show to be slightly higher, but with three or more digesters these costs are lower than 20 (sic)ct kWh(e)(-1) and heat costs are around 0.5 (sic)ct kWh(th)(-1). With a centralized hub more renewable energy is produced, i.e. a more efficient use of biomass feedstock. It is concluded that costs for additional electricity and heat can be at a competing level and scale advantages in a CHP can be a driver to collect biogas at a hub using a biogas grid. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.