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The use of navigation applications changed the way people find their way in an unfamiliar environment. A combination of maps, images and textual route instructions shown (or with audio) on one screen guides the user to the destination but may sometimes be overwhelming. This article investigated the spatial knowledge participants acquired after being presented with different types of route instructions, human and computer-generated, in an online wayfinding task using Google Streetview (without the 2D map) of an unfamiliar environment. The results showed a significant difference in the wayfinding performance for deviations from computer-generated instructions, whilst there was no difference in the time spent and the scene recall. Sketch maps revealed both route-like and survey-like characteristics. But most sketch maps are characterised by high route-likeness. Furthermore, this study showed a significant effect of the environmental layout on the participant's performance based on deviations incurred during wayfinding. The results of this study have implications for improving navigation system instructions and design as well as for learning with geospatial technologies.

This longitudinal case study from a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) perspective touches upon an under-researched issue: L1 development over the lifespan. Levinson (1978) predicts three stages in adulthood: early, mid and late, with a decline in late adulthood. We examine Diane Larsen-Freeman's publications over a period of 50 years (from age 27 to 77) and trace seven complexity measures--three lexical (density, sophistication and diversity) and four syntactic (mean length of sentence, finite verb ratio, dependent clause per T-unit and complex nominals per clause)--to investigate whether early, middle, and late stages in adulthood occur as predicted. After employing common CDST methods to find out if there are significant peaks or interactions among the variables over time, we used a Hidden Markov time-series analysis to locate moments of self-organization, suggesting a new stage of development. The HMM shows a clear phase shift between middle and late adulthood when the writer was 63. Her vocabulary became more diversified, but her sentences were shorter, but not less complex. Therefore, we argue that this shift should not be seen as a decline in complexity but a shift in style as more precise words may lessen the need for more words.

Research in validity suggests that stakeholders' interpretation and use of test results should be an aspect of validity. Claims about the meaningfulness of test score interpretations and consequences of test use should be backed by evidence that stakeholders understand the definition of the construct assessed and the score report information. The current study explored stakeholders' uses and interpretations of the score report of a workplace English language proficiency test, the TOEIC[R] Listening and Reading (TOEIC L&R) test. Online surveys were administered to TOEIC L&R test takers and institutional and corporate score users in Taiwan to collect data about their uses and interpretations of the test score report. Eleven survey respondents participated in follow-up interviews to further elaborate on their uses of the different score reporting information within the stakeholders' respective contexts. Results indicated that the participants used the TOEIC L&R test scores largely as intended by the test developer although some elements of the score report appeared to be less useful and could be confusing for stakeholders. Findings from this study highlight the importance of providing score reporting information with clarity and ease to enhance appropriate use and interpretation.

Purpose: In this study, we examined the utility of vowel intelligibility testing for assessing the impact of dysarthria on speech characteristics in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We tested the sensitivity and specificity of overall vowel identification, as well as that of vowel-specific identification, to dysarthria presence and severity. We additionally examined the relationship between vowel intelligibility and sentence intelligibility. Method: Twenty-three people with ALS and 22 age- and sex-matched control speakers produced sentences from the Speech Intelligibility Test (SIT), as well as 10 American English monophthongs in /h/--vowel--/d/ words for the vowel intelligibility test (VIT). Data for SIT and VIT scores came from 135 listeners. Diagnostic accuracy of VIT measures was evaluated using the area under the curve of receiver operator characteristics. We then examined differences between control speakers, speakers with mild dysarthria, and speakers with severe dysarthria in their relationship between SIT and VIT scores. Results: The results suggest that the overall vowel intelligibility score showed high sensitivity and specificity in differentiating between speakers with and without dysarthria, even those with milder symptoms. In addition, single-vowel identification scores showed at least acceptable group differentiation between the mild and severe dysarthria groups, though fewer single vowels were acceptable discriminators between the control group and the group with mild dysarthria. Identification accuracy of /I/ in particular showed excellent discrimination across all groups. Examination of the relationship between SIT and VIT scores suggests a severity-specific relationship. Speakers with SIT scores above 70% generally had higher SIT than VIT scores, whereas speakers with SIT below 70% generally had higher VIT than SIT scores. Discussion: Vowel intelligibility testing can detect speech impairments in speakers with mild dysarthria and residual articulatory function in speakers with severe dysarthria. Vowel intelligibility testing may, therefore, be a useful addition to intelligibility testing for individuals with dysarthria.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) impact a substantial proportion of patients with diabetes, with high recurrence rates, severe complications, and significant financial burden to health care systems. Adherence to treatment advice (e.g., limiting weight-bearing activity) is low with patients reporting dissatisfaction with the way in which advice is communicated. This study aimed to address this problem via the systematic development of a motivation communication training program. The program was designed to support diabetes-specialist podiatrists in empowering patients to actively engage with treatment. The development process followed an intervention mapping approach. Needs assessment involved observations of 24 patient-practitioner consultations within a diabetes-specialist foot clinic. This informed specification of a theory of change (self-determination theory) and relevant evidence-based communication strategies (drawing from motivational interviewing). The training program was developed iteratively with changes made following feedback from five diabetic foot health care professionals. The resulting training program, consisting of six one-hour face-to-face sessions over an 8-week period, was delivered to a further six diabetes specialist podiatrists, with five participating in post-program telephone interviews to assess acceptability. Deductive thematic analysis of interview data revealed positive aspects of the training (e.g., valuable and relevant content), ideas for improvement (e.g., online resources and context-specific video examples), the acceptability of motivation strategies, and challenges putting the strategies into practice (such as time constraints and breaking old communication habits). This study contributes to our understanding of integrating motivation principles into routine consultations and holds potential for enhancing adherence to treatment recommendations in patients living with diabetic foot ulcers.

Autistic adults experience disparities in physical health and health care access. A major barrier to addressing these disparities is a lack of federal funding for research on this topic. In seeking funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), we discovered nodes that contribute to structural discrimination in physical health--related research for autistic adults. To examine this structural discrimination, we systematically searched funded research on all physical health--disparity conditions in autistic adults using NIH RePORTER. Among 61 unique studies, none focused on improving the relevant physical health condition through intervention, programs, or services for autistic adults. Thus, we need updated policies and procedures that support research on physical health disparities in populations with developmental or mental health conditions.

The present study examined the relationship between adult attachment and subjective social status (SSS) in college students through a cross-sectional survey (Study 1) and a longitudinal study (Study 2). In Study 1, 1300 college students were recruited via research flyers and online campus advertisements. They completed measures of adult attachment and SSS. The results showed that higher attachment anxiety and avoidance negatively predicted SSS. In Study 2, 958 freshmen students were recruited via the Freshmen Entrance Ceremony and underwent assessment four times (T1, T2, T3, and T4) at monthly intervals. The latent growth model results showed a significant decline in SSS during the first month of campus life, followed by a slow increase over the subsequent 2 months. While attachment avoidance did not predict a decline in SSS, attachment anxiety positively predicted the rate of decline in SSS, which meant that the higher the attachment anxiety was, the slower the rate of decline in SSS. Both studies indicated that both dimensions of attachment influence freshmen's SSS and that only attachment anxiety plays a role in the dynamics of SSS.

Adults remember items with shared contexts as occurring closer in time to one another than those associated with different contexts, even when their objective temporal distance is fixed. Such temporal memory biases are thought to reflect within-event integration and between-event differentiation processes that organize events according to their contextual similarities and differences, respectively. Within-event integration and between-event differentiation are hypothesized to differentially rely on binding and control processes, which may develop at different ages. To test this hypothesis, 5- to 12-year-olds and adults (N = 134) studied quartets of image pairs that contained either the same scene (same-context) or different scenes (different-context). Participants remembered same-context items as occurring closer in time by older childhood (7-9 years), whereas different-context items were remembered as occurring farther apart by early adolescence (10-12 years). The differential emergence of these temporal memory biases suggests within-event integration and between-event differentiation emerge at different ages.

Autistic children and adolescents often have greater difficulty engaging in deception than their non-autistic peers. However, deception in autistic adulthood has received little attention to date. This study examined whether autistic and non-autistic adults differed in their inclination to lie in everyday situations and the factors that underpin this. Forty-one autistic and 41 non-autistic participants completed self-report measures relating to their inclination to lie, ability to lie and moral attitudes about the acceptability of lying. Participants also undertook a reaction-time test of lie-telling, as well as theory of mind and working memory measures. Autistic and non-autistic adults did not significantly differ in their inclination to lie in everyday situations. The degree to which lying was viewed as morally acceptable positively predicted both groups' inclination to lie. The remaining factors underpinning the inclination to lie differed between groups. Lower self-rated lying ability and slower lie speed predicted a reduced inclination to lie in autistic participants, whereas higher theory of mind and working memory capacity predicted a reduced inclination to lie in the non-autistic group. Implications for our understanding of deception in autistic and non-autistic adults are discussed.

Early adolescence is a time marked by upheaval and change. Youth are navigating increased social pressures from constant connection with peers. Youth have access to 24 hours of social connection via technology, but they increasingly report feelings of isolation, anxiety, and depression (Keles et al., 2020). They are also entering a world with increased political division, climate disasters, and decreases in public safety from events like mass shootings (Coronese et al., 2019; Follman et al., 2022). As youth navigate these new challenges, adults are seeking ways to understand better how to build meaningful connections with youth that may help mitigate the negative impacts of environmental and social stress. The potential for positive effects from adult/youth relationships is high, and even more important for girls, with research suggesting them to be at even higher levels of risk (Stallard et al., 2013). This paper explores adolescent girls' perspectives regarding who they identify as trustworthy adults and what traits make that person trustworthy. This exploration can build a foundation for fostering healthy relationships between both groups.

The concepts of digital obesity and digital literacy, which are interconnected in influencing human beings, can find their place in all areas of life with the virtualized life industry in the globalizing world. Having these competencies, awareness can be explained by the orientation process between these concepts and the individual. In this direction, this study, which aims to examine the relationship between digital obesity and digital literacy levels of individuals, has been carried out, taking into account the existing orientation process. In the study, which was designed as a quantitative research, the relational survey model was used. The research was carried out with 549 participants. The results indicate that the level of digital obesity and digital literacy significantly predict the level. In addition, age, gender and educational status seem to play a partly mediating role in the relationship between digital obesity and digital literacy.

Background: Children who experience sexual or physical abuse often delay their disclosure. This study aimed to clarify the barriers and facilitators to abuse disclosure in a sample of children and adolescents participating in a police interview regarding alleged abuse. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 children (nine girls) who participated in a police interview regarding alleged abuse. They were asked about their abuse disclosure, their own and others' reactions to it, and the help and support they received from health service providers and other adults. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes, categories, and subthemes in the data. Results: The key theme that emerged was the domino effect of disclosures, which occurred in three ways--unintentionally, delayed, or to professionals. Delays in, and reluctance to, disclose is explained in various ways. Four sub-categories emerged: ambivalence in personal and others' reactions, missed opportunities, reflection depending on age, and varied psychosocial support needs. Notably, disclosure delays did occur because children identified abusive acts as transgressions or did not considered the abuse significant. Discussion: The present study reveals the significance of others' reactions to children's disclosures. The pattern showed supportive responses when children reported transgressions committed by adults, whereas peer abuse was met with mixed responses. Importantly, health care providers such as doctors and psychologists were not preferred confidants. In line with previous research, disclosure to friends or non-abusive family members was more common. The present findings underscore the difficulty with which children disclose abusive experiences, even in instances where it led to a police investigation. Conclusions: Child care practitioners need to be better equipped to meet a basic standard facilitating children to confide in others about abusive experiences. To increase the likelihood of keeping children in therapy after abuse, more active involvement of the child during clinical intervention seems important.

Visual search is faster when a fixed target location is paired with a spatially invariant (vs. randomly changing) distractor configuration, thus indicating that repeated contexts are learned, thereby guiding attention to the target (contextual cueing [CC]). Evidence for memory-guided attention has also been revealed with electrophysiological (electroencephalographic [EEG]) recordings, starting with an enhanced early posterior negativity (N1pc), which signals a preattentive bias toward the target, and, subsequently, attentional and postselective components, such as the posterior contralateral negativity (PCN) and contralateral delay activity (CDA), respectively. Despite effective learning, relearning of previously acquired contexts is inflexible: The CC benefits disappear when the target is relocated to a new position within an otherwise invariant context and corresponding EEG correlates are diminished. The present study tested whether global statistical properties that induce predictions going beyond the immediate invariant layout can facilitate contextual relearning. Global statistical regularities were implemented by presenting repeated and nonrepeated displays in separate streaks (mini blocks) of trials in the relocation phase, with individual displays being presented in a fixed and thus predictable order. Our results revealed a significant CC effect (and an associated modulation of the N1pc, PCN, and CDA components) during initial learning. Critically, the global statistical regularities in the relocation phase also resulted in a reliable CC effect, thus revealing effective relearning with predictive streaks. Moreover, this relearning was reflected in an enhanced PCN amplitude for repeated relative to nonrepeated contexts. Temporally ordered contexts may thus adapt memory-based guidance of attention, particularly the allocation of covert attention in the visual display.

Within the evolving landscape of advertising, educators and employers continuously strive to recognize students and potential employees for every competitive advantage. Creativity, a pivotal determinant of campaign effectiveness, has been recognized as the foremost soft skill sought by employers according to LinkedIn. Grounded in trait theory, this paper posits that personality serves as a crucial tool for educators and employers in identifying individuals predisposed to a career in creative advertising and delineates personality traits that are predictive of an individual's propensity to engage in creative advertising. This not only bridges the gap between personality and advertising practices but also offers empirical insights that could inform educational strategies and recruitment processes. Thus, it contributes a novel perspective to the discourse on talent identification and development in the creative advertising domain. Lastly, this study utilizes HEXACO Personality Inventory, an advancement from models such as the Big-5 to advance trait theory research.

Purpose: With the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI), it is important to consider how young people are making sense of these tools in their everyday lives. Drawing on critical postdigital approaches to learning and literacy, this study aims to center the experiences and perspectives of young people who encounter and experiment with generative AI in their daily writing practices. Design/methodology/approach: This critical case study of one digital platform -- Character.ai -- brings together an adolescent and adult authorship team to inquire about the intertwining of young people's playful and critical perspectives when writing on/with digital platforms. Drawing on critical walkthrough methodology (Light et al., 2018), the authors engage digital methods to study how the creative and "fun" uses of AI in youths' writing lives are situated in broader platform ecologies. Findings: The findings suggest experimentation and pleasure are key aspects of young people's engagement with generative AI. The authors demonstrate how one platform works to capitalize on these dimensions, even as youth users engage critically and artfully with the platform and develop their digital writing practices. Practical implications: This study highlights how playful experimentation with generative AI can engage young people both in pleasurable digital writing and in exploration and contemplation of platforms dynamics and structures that shape their and others' literate activities. Educators can consider young people's creative uses of these evolving technologies as potential opportunities to develop a critical awareness of how commercial platforms seek to benefit from their users. Originality/value: This study contributes to the development of a critical and humanist research agenda around generative AI by centering the experiences, perspectives and practices of young people who are underrepresented in the burgeoning research devoted to AI and literacies.

A day-long geoscience educational module, "Sharing and Learning: The Natural Environments of Acoma Pueblo," provided an opportunity to explore the various connections that Acoma Pueblo community members make between their cultural values and geologic concepts. The purpose of such an exploration is to make explicit the cultural understandings of the geologic environment that bring meaning to the Western scientific knowledge, for both future Acoma Pueblo community members and other Indigenous scholars. A mixed-methods approach [sequential transformative design] was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data during the project concerning participants' sense of place and perception of geoscience concepts in relation to Acoma Pueblo cultural values. Indigenous research frameworks informed the analysis of the datasets and provided opportunities during the module for Western science to enhance the Indigenous knowledge system celebrated within the Acoma Pueblo community. In this article, we focus on the analysis of the qualitative portion of the larger mixed-methods study. The qualitative data analysis of a group interview after implementation of the Sharing/Learning program distinguished six primary themes: Traditional Knowledge, Western Geoscience, Education, Stories, Natural Resources, and Geoconnections that persisted throughout the group interview. Results from the study support the idea that a brief intervention which presented geoscientific information alongside Traditional Knowledge did have an impact, with newly recognized "geoconnections" as evidence. Furthermore, engaging Indigenous communities through connections between culture and geoscience has the potential to foster respectful relationships between academic researchers and Indigenous community members, especially when research practices are informed by Indigenous research frameworks. These respectful relationships are the foundation for authentic future research collaborations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples.

Members of Korean American communities have displayed an increasing interest in volunteering opportunities with individuals with severe disabilities that promote social interaction and community engagement among them. However, little is known about community volunteer experiences and how Korean American volunteers can be better supported. In this qualitative study, we documented the voices of Korean American volunteers who work with individuals with severe disabilities. Adopting a phenomenological approach, we interviewed and observed ten Korean American community volunteers to explore the meaning of their experiences and their perceptions of severe disability as well as the social inclusion of individuals with severe disabilities. Through the data analysis, three main themes were identified: changing views on individuals with severe disabilities, inclusion in multifaceted communities, and identified needs of the Korean American community and volunteering system. The results show that the volunteers' initial perceptions of disability evolved during their experiences with individuals with severe disabilities. The data provides practical information about the ethnic community and volunteering system, which foster social integration among the participants and community members regardless of their abilities, race/ethnicity, language, and immigrant status.

Only a very few studies to date have comprehensively assessed children's knowledge of sexuality. In this study, we examined the level of sexual knowledge among children aged 3-6 years in Finland. We analysed children's explanations of what they saw in drawings related to genital naming, conception and childbirth, safety skills, and adult sexual activity. Levels of knowledge were generally low. The largest number of correct answers were given for genital naming and safety skills. Knowledge increased with age. Children's gender was not related to their total level of knowledge. There was a correlation between children's ability to name their genitals and their knowledge of safety skills. The results suggest that only what is known about can be protected. Building on the findings of this study, age-appropriate sexuality education should be provided to all children.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore teen-adult dialogic interactions during the co-design of data literacy activities in order to determine the nature of teen thinking, their emotions, level of engagement, and the power of relationships between teens and adults in the context of data literacy. This study conceives of co-design as a learning space for data literacy. It investigates the teen - adult dialogic interactions and what these interactions say about the nature of teen thinking, their emotions, level of engagement and the power relationships between teens and adults. Design/methodology/approach: The study conceives of co-design as a learning space for teens. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22), a natural language processing (NLP) software tool, was used to examine the linguistic measures of Analytic Thinking, Clout, Authenticity, and Emotional Tone using transcriptions of recorded Data Labs with teens and adults. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC-22), a natural language processing (NLP) software tool, was used to examine the linguistic measures of Analytic Thinking, Clout, Authenticity and Emotional Tone using transcriptions of recorded Data Labs with teens and adults. Findings: LIWC-22 scores on the linguistic measures Analytic Thinking, Clout, Authenticity and Emotional Tone indicate that teens had a high level of friendly engagement, a relatively low sense of power compared with the adult co-designers, medium levels of spontaneity and honesty and the prevalence of positive emotions during the co-design sessions. Practical implications: This study provides a concrete example of how to apply NLP in the context of data literacy in the public library, mapping the LIWC-22 findings to STEM-focused informal learning. It adds to the understanding of assessment/measurement tools and methods for designing data literacy education, stimulating further research and discussion on the ways to empower youth to engage more actively in informal learning about data. Originality/value: This study applies a novel approach for exploring teen engagement within a co-design project tasked with the creation of youth-oriented data literacy activities.

Boredom at work occurs in the context of low demands and resources and can have a host of negative outcomes for employees. However, the existing literature is lacunary concerning the mechanisms underlying the link between boredom and its negative outcomes. Based on the concept of tedium, this study examines the link between boredom at work and burnout, with a particular attention to the possibility of indirect effects. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 452 adults working in Switzerland. Our study's results showed that the link between boredom at work and exhaustion was mediated by cynicism, representing a disengagement from work. These findings are discussed based on the conservation of resources theory and several practical implications for organisations are highlighted.

This paper draws attention to how markers of adulthood linked to education and employment form an influential social narrative and argues that these help to construct teenage motherhood as problematic. Social policies, informed by this narrative, reinforce the idea of a "correct" path through education and into employment from which young mothers deviate and must be realigned to. This paper draws on a sample of former young mothers who had largely progressed into higher education and sheds light on how their pathways were possible and what challenges they encountered. It therefore joins others in challenging common conceptualisations of teenage motherhood as inevitably leading to educational failure. This paper seeks to open a further avenue to this debate however, in that it questions the wisdom of utilising predetermined markers of success to measure the achievement of young mothers. As the accounts discussed here show, a later data collection point enables us to see how "outcomes", but also priorities, change. Furthermore, by highlighting stories of pride and joy outside of markers of adulthood, it also encourages us to reflect on the effects of a normative social narrative which depicts divergence as failure. The paper therefore seeks to strike a note of caution in the ways in which we define success.

Difficulties regulating emotions during periods of distress may contribute to the high rates of co-occurring depression and anxiety in autistic adults. The emotional support plan (ESP) is a brief intervention designed to support autistic adults to use positive coping skills during periods of distress. Thirty-six autistic adults participated in studies to assess the acceptability of the ESP intervention to cope with stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic and postsecondary education and feasibility of the study design elements to inform future trials. Most participants reported using strategies from their ESP; 86%-89% reported the intervention had a positive impact on them and 67%-71% would recommend it to another person. Completion of weekly monitoring and outcome assessments were high; ecological momentary assessment was more variable. The current results provide preliminary support for the acceptability of the ESP intervention. Important insights were also gained to inform feasibility of the design to assess its potential efficacy in future studies. While further research is clearly needed, the brief nature of the ESP may provide benefit as a starting point for those who may be proactively seeking support to cope with anticipated stressors or those who would benefit from guidance to promote emotion regulation during stressful life events.

In some social situations, autistic people feel pressure to modify their innate social behaviour (i.e. camouflage), while in other social situations they feel free to engage in ways that feel authentic or true to themselves. To date, the latter aspect of autistic people's experience has rarely been explored. Using an online qualitative survey, this study examined 133 autistic people's experiences and perspectives of socialising in ways that felt authentic to them, with a particular focus on mixed-neurotype interactions and the role of nonautistic people. Using reflexive thematic analysis, four themes were generated: (1) embracing diverse communication styles, interests and perspectives; (2) creating a more inclusive mixed-neurotype social environment together; (3) minimising and managing mixed-neurotype miscommunication in mutually beneficial ways; and (4) enjoyable interactions involving reduced anxiety and exhaustion as well as genuine connection and rapport. These findings are discussed with reference to theory and research involving the construct of authenticity both inside and outside the field of autism research. The knowledge generated in this study illuminates a previously underexplored aspect of autistic people's experience and elucidates potential avenues through which to enhance the social experiences and well-being of this group.

Linguistic encoding of spatial events has long provided a forum for examining how languages encode space, how children learn their native encodings, and whether cross-linguistic differences affect non-linguistic representations of space. One prominent case concerns motion events in which objects are moved into tight or loose-fit relationships of containment or support. Seminal findings from Bowerman showed that young children learning Korean regularly use specific verbs to encode tight/loose fit across containment and support relationships, whereas children learning English use prepositions to encode containment or support (e.g. "in"/on) across the tight/loose fit distinction. Others have asked how these early-acquired differences affect non-linguistic encoding of similar events. Many of these studies have focused on the "lexical" differences between the two languages -- verbs (in Korean) and/or prepositions (in English). Here, we ask whether this focus might underestimate how English encodes these events by closely examining the range of options used by English speakers to encode loose and tight-fit motion events. In Experiment 1, 3-year-old and adult English speakers described joining and separating events which culminated in loose or tight-fit end-states. Participants' use of lexical verbs together with their syntactic frames differentiated among the event types, especially between "loose-fit" events with asymmetric motion between objects (e.g. a block being put into a bowl) vs. "tight-fit" events with symmetric motion (e.g. two Legos being brought together at the same time). In Experiment 2, we replicated the basic findings using events portrayed with more complex of objects. Our findings show that English affords both children and adults rich resources to encode motion events culminating in tight and loose fit end-states; these devices include both lexical items and syntactic frames. The findings raise important questions about how to examine effects of language on non-linguistic spatial cognition in children and adults.

Purpose: Utilizing datasets of Ecuador, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Peru from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies survey from 2017 to 2018, this study aimed to develop and validate a profile indicating core workplace skills in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach: DeVellis' guide of scale development navigated the development of the profile. Multiple techniques including item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and multigroup confirmatory factor analysis were used on a sample of 7,166 participants to validate the profile of core workplace skills in developing countries. Findings: A resultant five-dimensional profile with 18 items was developed: oral communication skills, reading skills, math skills, information and communication technology skills and learning skills. The estimates of composite reliability showed the profile was reliable. The validity estimates of the profile were obtained from several sources including content, convergent, discriminative and construct validity. The measurement invariance was also held for the profile. Originality/value: Based on the researcher's knowledge, the study is the first attempt to develop a profile to indicate core workplace skills in developing countries. The profile theoretically framed the core workplace skills in developing countries and provides a new measure for identifying, evaluating and thus improving core workplace skills in developing countries for different stakeholders in the era of Education 4.0.

Sharing resources is fundamental for human cooperation and survival. People tend to share resources more with individuals they feel close to compared to those who are more socially distant. This decline in generosity at increasing social distance is called social discounting and is influenced by both social traits and abilities, such as empathy, and non-social psychological factors, such as decision-making biases. People who receive a diagnosis of autism show differences in social interaction as well as displaying differences in non-social domains, such as more restricted and repetitive behaviours. We investigated social discounting in autism and found that autistic adults were more generous than neurotypical participants, which was driven by greater generosity to socially distant others. Crucially, we also investigated framing effects during prosocial decision-making. Autistic participants were less susceptible to whether decisions were framed as causing monetary gains, compared to preventing monetary losses, for the potential recipient. Our results support the view of 'enhanced rationality' in autism as participants' prosocial decisions were less influenced by potential biasing information, such as the closeness of the recipient or how choices were framed. Therefore, the differences seen in autism, as well as posing certain challenges, can also have prosocial consequences.

Research on how adults react to receiving an autism diagnosis is focused on the United States or the United Kingdom context even though cultural differences might have an impact on these experiences. Few interventions for autistic adults exist, and when they do, they are often described as inappropriate. Our study aimed to explore the experiences of French adults diagnosed with autism and the needs they identified following this diagnosis as well as to ask them directly what type of interventions they would have wanted. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 adults and identified three recurring themes: (1) reactions to the diagnosis, (2) relations with others and society, and (3) wants and needs. Results indicated that some experiences were congruent with existing Anglophone literature, while others were heavily influenced by the specific cultural context. Our participants also highlighted a number of unmet needs and offered suggestions for adequate interventions.