Mustafa Baloğlu

Multivariate effects of gender, ownership, and the frequency of use on computer anxiety among high school students

Studies that address the problems associated with computer anxiety are abundant; however, fewer studies took into account multivariate nature of the construct. Moreover, studies focusing on high school students are even more limited. Thus, the present study investigated the multivariate effects of gender, ownership, and the frequency of computer use on computer anxiety levels, after controlling for the possible effects of trait anxiety among 715 Turkish high school students. The Computer Anxiety Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to assess computer anxiety and state and trait anxiety levels, respectively. A 2 X 2 X 3 between-subjects factorial multivariate analysis of covariance was used on three dependent variables that are the three dimensions of computer anxiety: Affective Anxiety, Damaging Anxiety, and Learning Anxiety. Independent variables are gender, ownership (i.e., yes or no), and the frequency of computer use (i.e., everyday, several times a week, or once a week or less). Results showed a significant covariate effect of trait anxiety, significant main effects for gender, ownership, and the frequency of computer use on the dependent variables. No three-way or two-way interaction was detected. After the descriptive and comparative analyses, specific suggestions were provided based on the results.

Psychometric Properties of the Revised Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale.

An exploratory factor analysis and several confirmatory analyses were performed to evaluate the factorial structure of the Revised Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale (RMARS) through the responses of 805 college students. On 559 students’ scores, the instrument’s construct validity was tested through a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and was found to be inadequate. An exploratory factor analysis suggested a modification by dropping five items. After the modification, a second CFA showed that the modified model fit the theoretical model well. Cross-validation of the modified model was tested on a different sample of 246 students and was found to be satisfactory. In addition, concurrent validity of the instrument was found from significant relationships between the modified RMARS scores and students’ self-perceptions of their general and current mathematics anxiety levels. The modified RMARS is valid and reliable and could be used as a screening tool, a placement tool, or a research tool.

The impact of cultural collectivism on knowledge sharing among information technology majoring undergraduates

The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of cultural collectivism on knowledge sharing among information technology majoring undergraduates in Turkey. The study proposes a research model based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA). A structural equation model was used to test the research model against the data collected by means of a self-report questionnaire. Results show that cultural collectivism has a positive and significant impact on attitudes toward and subjective norms with regard to knowledge sharing. Confirming the TRA, results also suggest that behavioral intentions are jointly determined by attitudes and subjective norms. Implications of these findings are discussed. The study investigates the impact of cultural collectivism on knowledge sharing.This study extends the Theory of Reasoned Action.A structural equation model is used to test the research model.Cultural collectivism has a significant impact on attitudes and subjective norms.

The development and psychometric properties of the Turkish Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS)

ABSTRACT The purpose of the present study was to develop the Turkish Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS) and test its initial psychometric properties. Four independent samples participated in the study: 943 college students in item generation, 388 college students in validation, 171 college students in reliability investigation, and 338 adults in cross-validation. Principal component analysis with a varimax rotation revealed that 20 items of the scale contained three factors (i.e., Ambiguity of Death, Exposure to Death, and Agony of Death), which explained over 67% of the total variability. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated acceptable fit. Significant correlations were found between the scale and death anxiety, state anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, and hopelessness in the student sample. In the adult sample, death anxiety significantly correlated with trait anxiety. Reliability coefficients were also found acceptable. The authors conclude that the TDAS is a promising instrument in assessing the death anxiety levels in Turkey.

Individualism and internet addiction: the mediating role of psychological needs

Purpose This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of psychological needs in the association between individualism and Internet addiction. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method design was used by comprising of 602 college students’ (70.3% women) responses obtained through the Individualism-Collectivism Survey, New Needs Assessment Questionnaire, and Internet Addiction Scale. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to investigate the theoretical relationships among the constructs. Constant comparative method was employed to analyze qualitative data that resulted from the transcription of semi-structured interviews with 12 field experts. Findings Quantitative results showed that individualism has a significant effect on Internet addition through affiliation, dominance, achievement, and autonomy (i.e., psychological needs). As students’ needs for dominance, achievement, and autonomy increased their Internet addiction levels decreased. However, increase in the need of affiliation led to...

A multi-group analysis of the effects of individual differences in mindfulness on nomophobia:

This study aimed to investigate the impact of individual differences in mindfulness on nomophobia. We developed and validated two structural models to identify the relationship between mindfulness and nomophobia. The ‘Nomophobia Questionnaire’ and the ‘Mindful Attention Awareness Scale’ were used to obtain data from the subjects. One-way MANOVA results suggested a statistically significant difference in nomophobia based on higher versus lower mindfulness. Further, a multi-group analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships in the structural models for men and women. The results revealed that mindfulness had a significant negative correlation with nomophobia for both men and women. As scores in mindfulness increased, subjects exhibited less nomophobic tendencies. Further, those subjects who had lower scores in mindfulness showed higher anxiety when they were unable to communicate. However, subjects who scored higher in mindfulness showed lower anxiety when they could not access desired information. Independent sample t-test results were variant across men and women in nomophobia. Based on the findings we conclude that mindfulness based treatments can be beneficial in dealing with nomophobia for women.

Okul Yöneticilerinin Bilgisayar Kaygısı Düzeylerinin Çeşitli Değişkenler Açısından İncelenmesi

Teknolojik gelismelere bagli olarak, okul yoneticilerinin bu gelismeleri takip edebilmeleri, kurumlarini teknolojiye uyarlamalari, bu konuda kurumlarina liderlik yapan insanlar olmalari beklenmektedir. Bu surecte yoneticilerin yasadiklari bilgisayar kaygisi gibi olumsuz etkilerin belirlenmesi ve sagaltimina gidilmesi acisindan bu tur calismalar onemlidir. Bu calismanin amaci, cesitli degiskenlere gore okul yoneticilerinin bilgisayar kaygisi duzeylerini incelemek ve konuyla ilgili oneriler sunmaktir. Calismanin orneklemini 368 okul yoneticisi olusturmustur. Bilgisayar Kaygisi Olcegi (Ceyhan ve Gurcan-Namlu, 2000) veri toplama araci olarak kullanilmistir. Arastirma sonunda okul yoneticilerinin bilgisayar kaygisi duzeylerinin belirli duzeyde var oldugu ancak cok yuksek olmadigi gorulmustur. Yas, gorev yapilan okul kademesi, yerlesim yeri ve bilgisayarla bir gun icerisindeki calisma suresi gibi degiskenler okul yoneticilerinin bilgisayar kaygisi duzeylerini etkilemektedir

Türkiye’deki Kadın Üniversite Yöneticilerinin Stres ve Kaygı Düzeylerinin İncelenmesi

This research aimed to examine the stress and anxiety levels of female administrators working in Turkish universities across various aspects. For this purpose, stress and anxiety levels were calculated, variation across administrative position, academic title, marital status, and age were analyzed. Furthermore, the relationship between stress and anxiety levels was tested. Findings derived from 177 administrators indicate that female administrators’ stress levels were moderate whereas anxiety levels were low. Non-married and young participants with low managerial positions reported higher anxiety levels whereas participants with low managerial positions, academic titles, and younger ages reported higher stress levels. Moreover, stress and anxiety levels were found to be positively correlated.

The adaptation and preliminary psychometric properties of the Derived Chemistry Anxiety Rating Scale

The current study adapted the Derived Chemistry Anxiety Rating Scale (DCARS) into Turkish and investigated the preliminary psychometric properties of the Turkish version. The Turkish DCARS is composed of three components, which are derived from 32 Likert-type items that purport to measure anxiety experienced in chemistry-related situations. In the adaptation procedure, English–Turkish conformity, Turkish language conformity and understandability, and back translation were used. In the preliminary psychometric investigation, structural validity, content validity, concurrent validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability were examined. Results show that item translations have high conformity with the original items and experts found the Turkish items understandable. Validity analyses confirmed the adapted scales three-factor structure. In addition, concurrent validity was evidenced by significant positive correlation coefficients between the scale scores and the test anxiety and state-trait anxiety scores. Reliability analyses indicate high consistency among the scale items both at the total and sub-scale levels and that scale and subscale scores were stable over time. We conclude that the Turkish DCARS is a promising assessment instrument in measuring chemistry anxiety levels among Turkish college students.