Objective The objective of this study was to determine the effects of age and gender (bull vs steer) on feeding behavior parameters in young beef cattle fed grass silage. Methods The study was conducted on 180 young beef cattle at 7 to 18 mo of age. The experimental materials comprised 90 bulls produced by commercial crossing of Polish Holstein-Friesian cows with Charolais, Limousin and Hereford bulls (30 animals of each breed) and 90 steers of the same genotypes. The animals had ad libitum access to grass silage; the concentrate was fed separately, in feed stations. They received 28 g dry matter of concentrate per kg of metabolic body weight per day. Bunk visit data and silage intake for all experimental animals were recorded individually using the Roughage Intake Control system (5 feed bunks per 15 animals). Results Age and gender (bull vs steer) exerted significant effects on the feeding behavior of young beef cattle. The frequency of bunk visits and meal frequency decreased, whereas the feeding rate of silage, and the average duration and size of a single meal increased with age (p<0.01). Bunk attendance and meal frequency were higher (p<0.01) in steers than in bulls (49.1 vs 37.4 visits/d, and 8.63 vs 7.99 meals/d, respectively). Daily feeding time was longer in steers than in bulls (102.3 vs 100.3 min/d, respectively), but the feeding rate of silage was lower in steers, and their meals were smaller in size and shorter in duration (p<0.01). Daily silage dry matter intake was higher (p<0.01) in bulls than in steers (4.62 vs 4.47 kg/d, respectively). Conclusion The results of this study indicate that age and gender (bull vs steer) exerted significant effects on the feeding behavior of young beef cattle.

The increasing use of digital resources has changed the way of teaching, where platforms such as YouTube offer large repositories of educational videos. There are many theoretical studies that analyse the digital competences of teachers, but to a lesser extent on the behaviours and use that the teacher makes of this multimedia platform. Thus, the purpose of this study is the development of an instrument in which it is analysed how the behavioural intention of teachers on YouTube impacts their digital competence to search and select information, share information, and interact with other users of the platform, and create educational material. To achieve this, following the partial least squares (PLS) method of structural equation models, a higher‐order causal model was proposed based on an adaptation and extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The study was carried out with a sample of 2157 teachers from all over Spain. The main result was that behavioural intention explained 22.70% of the true variance of teachers' digital competence. In addition, it has been possible to verify the reliability, convergent and discriminant validity of the established causal relationships, determining a model with acceptable goodness‐of‐fit. These findings show that it is a valid and reliable instrument to measure teachers' digital competences on YouTube, behavioural intention, and the system of relationships between factors. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Teachers can use YouTube to search and create creative and innovative educational lessons. The teacher must have adequate digital competence to search, select, evaluate, and effectively use the content of this platform in the classroom. The four central predictors of the UTAUT model (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology) allow to explain and predict the adoption and use of ICT in different contexts. What this paper adds The elaboration of an instrument on the digital competences of the teacher on the use of YouTube as a didactic resource, based on an extended model of UTAUT. Identification of the factors with the greatest incidence on the behavioral intention of the teacher to use YouTube as an educational resource. Identification of how the behavioral intention and the ease of the conditions determine the use of YouTube by teachers to search for educational content, share it or create it by themselves. Implications for practice and/or policy Extensive information on the factors that teachers should pay attention to improve their behavioral intention to use YouTube as a teaching resource. The need to promote improvement policies on technological and digital conditions which will affect the digital competence of the teacher for the usability of YouTube as a more visual, verbal, and interactive educational process. Educational institutions should better prepare teachers for their role as innovative teachers, providing them with adequate digital skills in relation to the use of YouTube as a teaching resource.

This work aimed to validate the use of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS) in Italy. The SDS was devised to assess distraction related to smartphone use in adult populations. A cross-sectional study was conducted among n = 609 adults (females = 76.4%; mean age = 30.26; SD age = 9.90). An assessment of the factorial structure of the Italian version was carried out using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The four factors identified by Throuvala and colleagues were confirmed (i.e., attention impulsiveness, online vigilance, multitasking and emotion regulation). Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.703–0.889). The scale’s scores showed significant linear correlations with validated instruments, including the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS)and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). A multivariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in the means among participants belonging to different age groups (born before 1995 vs. born after 1996). In summary, the good psychometric properties observed led us to assume that this instrument can be applied and used in Italian studies to assess the cognitive dimension of distraction related to the use of smartphones.

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Over the past thirty years and with the rise of the digital society, the process of digital exclusion has become increasingly noticeable and represents a sub-type of social exclusion. Shaping digital competences in the era of the intensive development of the information society requires constant reflection on the effectiveness of such activities. This article looks at what kind of barriers are currently blocking the development of digital competences among older people. Using structured interviews, responses were obtained from 30 respondents in Poland, though the respondents themselves did not belong to the demographic of older people. The respondents identified eight main types of barriers to digital inclusion for older people: 1) Fear of new technologies, 2) No need to use ICT, 3) Self-marginalisation in the information society, 4) The characteristics of new media, 5) Attitude to Life-Long Learning, 6) Physical limitations, 7) Economic determinants, and 8) Infrastructural limitations. The results of the qualitative research provide a fresh look at the process of the formation of digital competence among vulnerable groups within the wider process of digital inclusion. This article is the result of an international project REMEDIS supported in Poland by the National Science Centre - NCN [021/03/Y/HS6/00275].

The development of digital competences is currently one of the key issues not only for media pedagogy, but also for other fields where information and communication technologies (ICTs) are at the centre of human activity. This article is part of a methodological discussion on issues of measuring digital competences. The aim of the article fills the gap related to the ordering of diagnostic bases related to the measurement of the efficiency of using ICTs among different age and occupational groups, showing at the same time the most frequent methodological shortcomings in the literature. Referring to the Bolesaw Niemierkos Polish concept of didactic measurement, it is noted that contemporary media educators are exposed to ten errors affecting the adequate measurement of digital competences, such as inconsistency of theoretical framework, problematic selection of diagnostic indicators, one-dimensional measurement, inadequate construction of measurement scales, subjectivity of measurement, too infrequent use of knowledge and skills tests, use of non-standardised tools, uncritical inclusion of available questionnaires in the research process, inadequacy of measurement tools to the examined professions, and lack of longitudinal studies. This article was prepared as part of the international project REMEDIS Rethinking Media Literacy and Digital Skills in Europe (funded by the National Science Centre, 021/03/Y/HS6/00275).

Cechą charakterystyczną zarządzania bezpieczeństwem i kierowania ratownictwem jest złożoność problemów decyzyjnych wynikająca z: dużej liczby uwzględnianych czynników, nieskalarnych funkcji kryterium, silnego ograniczenia na czas rozwiązywania problemu, niepewności i nieokreśloności danych. Implikuje to konieczność komputerowego wspomagania decydentów w podejmowaniu przez nich decyzji. Rozwiązywane problemy można podzielić na cztery podstawowe grupy, tj. takie, które dadzą się: 1) ujmować formalnie w postaci zadań optymalizacyjnych i wyznaczać dla nich rozwiązania optymalne metodą analityczną bądź symulacyjną; 2) ujmować formalnie w postaci zadań optymalizacyjnych, lecz można je rozwiązywać jedynie przy zastosowaniu systemów ekspertowych, 3) przedstawiać jedynie w sposób opisowy, a przy ich rozwiązywaniu wykorzystać wiedzę nagromadzoną w bazie wiedzy w postaci przypadków, 4) przedstawiać jedynie w sposób opisowy i nie ma wiedzy szczegółowej odnośnie do sposobu ich rozwiązania. Są to problemy, które występują po raz pierwszy. Powszechna losowość w bezpieczeństwie, dotycząca: zagrożeń i podatności na nie podmiotu, skutków zagrożeń, kosztów zapobiegania im i reagowania w przypadku wystąpienia itd., to czynniki, które powodują ryzyko podejmowanych decyzji. W artykule zostały przedstawione metody komputerowego wspomagania podejmowania decyzji w bezpieczeństwie z uwzględnieniem ryzyka. Dokonano analizy możliwości i uwarunkowań wykorzystania w zarządzaniu bezpieczeństwem i kierowaniu ratownictwem: analiz sieciowych, symulacji komputerowej, metod eksperckich, systemów ekspertowych oraz systemów wnioskowania przez analogię