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Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework

We develop an integrative conceptual framework that seeks to explain individual differences in the ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT skills). Building on practice engagement theory, this framework views the continued usage of digital technologies at work and in everyday...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Wicht, Alexandra, Reder, Stephen, Lechner, Clemens M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8054998/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33872320
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249574
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author Wicht, Alexandra
Reder, Stephen
Lechner, Clemens M.
author_facet Wicht, Alexandra
Reder, Stephen
Lechner, Clemens M.
author_sort Wicht, Alexandra
collection PubMed
description We develop an integrative conceptual framework that seeks to explain individual differences in the ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT skills). Building on practice engagement theory, this framework views the continued usage of digital technologies at work and in everyday life (ICT use) as the key prerequisite for the acquisition of ICT skills. At the same time, the framework highlights that ICT use is itself contingent upon individual and contextual preconditions. We apply this framework to data from two recent German large-scale studies (N = 2,495 and N = 2,786, respectively) that offer objective measures of adults’ ICT skills. Findings support our framework’s view of ICT use as a key prerequisite for ICT skills. Moreover, they demonstrate that literacy skills have strong associations with ICT skills, largely by virtue of their indirect associations through ICT use. By comparison, regional digital cultures (as proxied by internet domain registration rates) evince only limited explanatory power for individual differences in ICT skills.
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spelling pubmed-80549982021-04-30 Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework Wicht, Alexandra Reder, Stephen Lechner, Clemens M. PLoS One Research Article We develop an integrative conceptual framework that seeks to explain individual differences in the ability to use information and communication technologies (ICT skills). Building on practice engagement theory, this framework views the continued usage of digital technologies at work and in everyday life (ICT use) as the key prerequisite for the acquisition of ICT skills. At the same time, the framework highlights that ICT use is itself contingent upon individual and contextual preconditions. We apply this framework to data from two recent German large-scale studies (N = 2,495 and N = 2,786, respectively) that offer objective measures of adults’ ICT skills. Findings support our framework’s view of ICT use as a key prerequisite for ICT skills. Moreover, they demonstrate that literacy skills have strong associations with ICT skills, largely by virtue of their indirect associations through ICT use. By comparison, regional digital cultures (as proxied by internet domain registration rates) evince only limited explanatory power for individual differences in ICT skills. Public Library of Science 2021-04-19 /pmc/articles/PMC8054998/ /pubmed/33872320 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249574 Text en © 2021 Wicht et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Wicht, Alexandra
Reder, Stephen
Lechner, Clemens M.
Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
title Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
title_full Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
title_fullStr Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
title_full_unstemmed Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
title_short Sources of individual differences in adults’ ICT skills: A large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
title_sort sources of individual differences in adults’ ict skills: a large-scale empirical test of a new guiding framework
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8054998/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33872320
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249574
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