EdUHK study finds digital literacy a moving shield against cyberbullying

The Education University of Hong Kong

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Students’ cyberaggression, digital literacy, and cybervictimization remained fairly stable over time. Higher digital literacy was linked to less cyberaggression and fewer later experiences of cybervictimization, while prior cybervictimization appeared to push some students to strengthen their digital skills one year later  

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Credit: EdUHK

A new longitudinal study by the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) has uncovered a nuanced relationship between digital literacy1 and cyberbullying among local adolescents.  The findings show that teens with lower levels of digital literacy are more vulnerable to cyberaggression, and those who make the least progress over time are at heightened risk of becoming victims of cyberbullying.  In contrast, adolescents who experience cyberbullying early on often develop stronger digital literacy skills, likely because they learn to navigate threats, avoid attacks and protect themselves in an increasingly aggressive online environment.  

Led by Dr Tao Sisi, Assistant Professor from the Department of Early Childhood Education at EdUHK, in collaboration with Dr Frank Reichert and Professor Nancy Law at the University of Hong Kong, the study tracked 679 adolescents (average age 15) across two time points during 2018/19 and 2020/21 school years. It examined the bidirectional relationship between digital literacy and cyberbullying, including both cyberaggression and cybervictimisation.  

Findings show that: 
•    Adolescents with higher digital literacy - defined as the confident, critical, and responsible use of digital technologies for learning, work, and social participation, were less likely to engage in later cyberaggression.  
•    Those who had engaged in cyberaggression earlier demonstrated lower subsequent digital literacy. 
•    Adolescents who had experienced cybervictimization tended to show higher later digital literacy, suggesting that some students respond to online harm by building skills to protect themselves and navigate digital environments more effectively.

Further analysis revealed a critical pattern: adolescents whose digital literacy improved the least over time were more likely to become new victims of cyberbullying, while those who moved out of victimization showed stronger digital literacy growth. This indicates that digital literacy is not a fixed trait, but an ability that must continually develop as adolescents’ online lives change. 

The study, recently published in published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, used a performance-based assessment of digital literacy rather than relying solely on self-reports, thereby strengthening the evidence on how adolescents’ actual digital competence relates to their online experiences.

The findings also challenge the assumption that once acquired, digital skills continue to provide lasting protection. Instead, the study underscores the need for sustained development of digital literacy, supported by schools, families, and policymakers. 

“Effective education should extend beyond technical know-how to include digital ethics, online communication, privacy protection, problem-solving, and cyber-resilience,” Dr Tao said. “Prevention efforts should not only stop harmful behaviour after it occurs, but also build students’ long-term capacity to respond to shifting online risks.”

Next, Dr Tao will further examine how risky online behaviours such as cyberbullying develop in young children, and how they can be effectively prevented and addressed through digital literacy education at the family, school, and community levels. 

-Ends-

1. Digital literacy  is  the  ability  to  access,  manage,  understand,  integrate,  communicate,  evaluate  and  create information   safely   and   appropriately   through   digital   technologies   for   employment,   decent   jobs   and entrepreneurship.  It  includes  competences  that  are  variously  referred  to  as  computer  literacy,  ICT  literacy, information literacy and media literacy. When assessing people’s digital literacy skills, it contains five competence areas: information search, evaluation and management; communication and collaboration; content creation; safety, wellbeing and responsible use of digital technologies ; problem identification and solving.  (UNESCO working paper)  

Journal

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

 

Study reveals overlooked breadth of chimpanzee culture

A long-term study suggests chimpanzee culture includes many everyday behaviors essential for survival

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

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Infant chimpanzee (left) peering at the hands of a juvenile (right) engaging in ectoparasite inspection with a leaf.

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Credit: Nora Slania

Scientists have identified dozens of previously overlooked cultural behaviors in wild chimpanzees, suggesting that the great ape’s culture extends far beyond complex skills like tool use. In a single community, they found nearly 70 behaviors that chimpanzees appear to learn from one another—almost doubling previous estimates of cultural behaviors across African chimpanzee populations.

Researchers spent several years observing wild chimpanzees in the Ugandan rainforest to document the range of skills that chimpanzees learn by observing others. They discovered that chimpanzees culturally learn a wide array of “basic” skills including foraging, grooming, playing, and wound care, many of which are essential for survival.

“Animal culture doesn’t have to be rare or complex. It can include basic skills used every day, like finding food and knowing how to eat it,” says first author Nora Slania from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.

Chimpanzees possess the largest known culture in the animal kingdom. Historically, chimpanzee cultural research has focused on striking behaviors such as using sticks to fish for termites, first famously documented by Jane Goodall in Gombe National Park. These behaviors were considered clear examples of culture, because neither genetic nor environmental factors could explain why some chimpanzee communities showed them and others did not. “Excluding genetic and environmental causes of behavioral variation was an important first methodological step to demonstrate social transmission and as such the existence of animal culture,” adds Slania.

Using this approach, previous research had identified 39 chimpanzee behaviors as cultural. But the new study suggests these earlier numbers may have greatly underestimated the true cultural breadth of chimpanzees. The researchers propose that cultural transmission can be shown through directly studying behaviors that are part of this process, irrespective of genetic and environmental influences.

“In humans, our everyday lives are full of culture, including the way we speak, dress, or eat. We don’t require behaviors to be especially remarkable or independent of our environment,” says Dr. Caroline Schuppli, senior author of the study. “Animals, however, have long been held to stricter standards. By adopting a more inclusive view of culture—and standards more comparable to those applied to humans—future research may reveal that many animals possess richer cultures than previously recognized.”

The team of international researchers focused on peering, which is when one animal watches the behavior of another closely and attentively. Peering is particularly well studied in orangutans and capuchin monkeys as a method of learning. In chimpanzees, peering had previously been shown to help individuals acquire complex skills such as using tools, but it has never been studied as a way for assessing the full scope of chimpanzee cultural learning.

For over two years, the research team followed 28 wild chimpanzees of all ages, from infants to older adults, at the Budongo Conservation Field Station in Uganda. From morning to late afternoon, they observed the daily lives of the apes in detail, recording the behavior of focal individuals as well as others within five meters. This allowed them to track what and whom chimpanzees observed closely.

The team accumulated over 1,000 hours of observations, finding 366 instances of peering. While they could not directly test whether peering caused learning, several patterns strongly suggest it plays a key role in knowledge acquisition. Chimpanzees peered during development, when they need to acquire their skill sets. Young chimpanzees paid special attention to learning-intensive behaviors, such as very rare and complex skills, and peered only at experienced chimpanzees, often their mothers but also – whenever they had the chance – at other group members.

When the researchers analyzed the behaviors that were the focus of peering, they identified 69 distinct actions. Only two of these – using leaves for wound care and to inspect parasites – had been recognized as cultural in earlier research. While some of the behaviors were rare, most observations comprised everyday activities such as exploring, playing, grooming, and feeding. Strikingly, the majority of behaviors— around 60%—were related to identifying, processing, or consuming food, including fruits, leaves, and other plant materials.

“The fact that so much of a chimpanzee’s diet is socially learned highlights how important social learning is for their development,” says Schuppli, a group leader at MPI-AB. “While some behaviors may be simple and learned quickly, acquiring the full range of their culture still takes young chimpanzees many years,” she adds.

The authors say that recognizing these broader cultural elements is important not only for understanding animal minds and how closely they resemble those of humans, but also for conservation efforts. In future, the team would like to extend this approach to other populations of chimpanzees and primates.

“Behavior allows animals to respond flexibly to the world around them, and cultural transmission offers a fast way to learn new behaviors. Ultimately, understanding the full scope of animal culture will help us protect the diverse ways these species adapt to changing environments,” adds Slania.

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Peering at grooming [VIDEO] 

Infant King (middle) peering at his mother Kutu grooming the adult female Janie, including the removal of a parasite with her mouth and stroking Janie’s fur for inspection.

Credit

Nora Slania

Journal

iScience

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2026.115922 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Chimpanzee culture beyond the conspicuous: Evidence for broad-scale observational social learning in wild individuals

Article Publication Date

20-May-2026

 

Social mammals live longer – but bigger groups don’t add many extra years

University of Southern Denmark

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A new study, published in Ecology and Evolution, shows that social living is associated with longer lifespan, but also that the benefits of sociality level off once animals move beyond living in pairs.

The researchers behind the study combined large databases of life-history traits, using records of maximum lifespan for each species alongside information on body mass and social organisation. Species were broadly grouped as solitary, pair-living, or group-living.

Lead author of the study is population biologist and Associate Professor Owen R. Jones from Department of Biology at University of Southern Denmark. Co-authors are Kevin Healy from National University of Ireland, Galway and Julia A. Jones, who was at University of Southern Denmark, when the work was done. The study can be found here.

Across mammals, both pair-living and group-living species live longer than solitary ones. However, there is little difference between species with populations organized around a single breeding pair and those living in groups of multiple breeding adults.

According to lead author Owen R. Jones, social organisation should be seen as an added layer on top of well-known patterns like body size. “Bigger animals live longer than small,” he says, “but being social seems to pull species upward from the average lifespan expected for their body size.”

Bigger animals live longer because they generally face lower predation risk, allowing natural selection to favor allocation of more resources to maintenance and repair, thereby extending their lifespans.

The study’s findings point to a balance of benefits and costs associated with living with others. One major advantage is protection against predators.

“The big one is defence against predation,” Jones says, “Social species – whether pairs or groups – benefit from increased vigilance. If you watch deer in a field, there’s almost always at least one individual with its head up, scanning for danger. There is also the dilution effect, where the chance of being caught decreases when there are multiple targets.”

But group-living also comes with downsides. Chief among them is a higher risk of infectious diseases spreading between individuals – a cost that may offset the longevity benefits of multi-adult social structures.

“The larger the group is, the higher risk of pathogen transmission,” he says.

This trade-off may help explain why group-living species do not show further increases in lifespan compared with pair-living species.

The study also explored other factors, such as whether animals are active during the day or night, but found only weak or uncertain effects on lifespan compared with body size and social organisation.

The longevity data used in the analysis come from maximum recorded ages for each species, based on a mix of observations from wild populations and animals under human care.

By showing that social behavior is linked to lifespan across species, the study highlights how behavior, physiology and evolution are deeply intertwined.

“We often think of ageing as pure biology at the cellular level,” Jones says. “But we show that behavior and social life matter too. Over evolutionary time, living together changes how species allocate energy to maintenance, disease resistance and reproduction – and those changes become built into their physiology.”

In their article, the authors conclude, that their results “contribute to a growing understanding of sociality as a key life-history trait that, alongside body size and ecological specialisations, shapes the extraordinary diversity of ageing and longevity strategies across mammals”.

The findings may also resonate beyond mammals.

“In humans, social connections are strongly linked to health and longevity,” Jones says. “Understanding how social organisation shapes lifespan in other animals helps us understand ageing as not just a medical phenomenon.”

 

“Social Organisation Predicts Lifespan in Mammals”, Ecology and Evolution. Owen R. Jones, Kevin Healy, Julia A. Jones. April 13, 2026. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ece3.73587

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Journal

Ecology and Evolution

DOI

10.1002/ece3.73587 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

Social Organisation Predicts Lifespan in Mammals

 

Bacterial STIs reach record highs in Europe, and congenital syphilis cases nearly double

Without decisive action, current trends are likely to continue, increasing negative health consequences

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)

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In 2024 the number of recorded  gonorrhoea cases reached 106 331 across the European Union and European Economic Area - a 303% increase since 2015.

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Credit: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

The latest Annual Epidemiological Reports from ECDC indicate a surge in bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across Europe. In 2024, notifications of gonorrhoea and syphilis, alongside congenital syphilis, reached their highest levels in over a decade, reflecting sustained transmission across multiple countries.

The data for 2024 show that gonorrhoea cases reached 106 331, representing a 303% increase since 2015. Syphilis cases more than doubled over the same period to 45 577 cases. Chlamydia remains the most frequently reported STI with 213 443 cases. Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) also continued to see ongoing transmission, with 3 490 reported cases.

Sexually transmitted infections have been on the rise for 10 years and reached record high levels in 2024. Untreated, these infections can cause severe complications, such as chronic pain and infertility and, in the case of syphilis, problems with the heart or nervous system. Most distressingly, between 2023 and 2024, we have seen a near doubling of congenital syphilis, where infections pass directly to newborns, leading to potentially lifelong complications’, says Bruno Ciancio, Head of Unit, Directly Transmitted and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. 'Protecting your sexual health remains straightforward. Use condoms with new or multiple partners, and get tested if you have symptoms, such as pain, discharge or an ulcer’.

Transmission trends vary significantly across different population groups. Men who have sex with men remain the most disproportionately affected group, with the steepest long‑term increases in gonorrhoea and syphilis. Among heterosexual populations, syphilis is rising, particularly among women of reproductive age, the consequences of which are a near doubling of congenital syphilis cases from 78 in 2023 to 140 in 2024 across 14 countries reporting data.

These figures align with findings from ECDC’s monitoring report on congenital syphilis, which highlights missed prevention opportunities, such as gaps in antenatal screening, lack of follow-up and repeat testing, and treatment. The monitoring report also identified broader hurdles to testing and prevention that require action. Thirteen of 29 reporting countries still charge out-of-pocket costs for basic STI tests. Uneven implementation of services and outdated national strategies limit the impact of proven interventions, as many national prevention strategies fail to account for post-pandemic behavioural changes. ECDC recommends that European countries improve antenatal screening protocols to ensure that syphilis is diagnosed and treated promptly and correctly according to the stage of infection, to prevent transmission to the foetus during pregnancy.

In addition, in January 2026, ECDC provided specific guidance on the use of doxycycline for post-exposure prophylaxis (doxy-PEP) to support STI prevention efforts. People facing higher exposure risks should consult their doctor or other healthcare provider about tailored prevention options. ECDC does not recommend widespread use of doxy-PEP for gonorrhoea due to high levels of antimicrobial resistance and the risk for further acceleration of resistance development.

Reversing increasing trends in STI cases requires accessible prevention services, easier access to testing, faster treatment, and stronger partner notification to stop onward transmission. ECDC urges public health authorities to urgently update national STI strategies and strengthen surveillance systems to better monitor the impact of prevention efforts. Without decisive action, current trends are likely to continue, increasing negative health consequences and widening inequalities in access to care.

Resources:
ECDC Annual Epidemiological Reports for 2024

Congenital syphilis: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/congenital-syphilis-annual-epidemiological-report-2024

Syphilis: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/syphilis-annual-epidemiological-report-2024

Gonorrhoea: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/gonorrhoea-annual-epidemiological-report-2024

Chlamydia: https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/chlamydia-annual-epidemiological-report-2024 

Lymphogranuloma venereum:  https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/lymphogranuloma-venereum-annual-epidemiological-report-2024

 

“Why only copper?”… KAIST reveals key limitation of catalysts that convert carbon into fuel​

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)

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<(From left) Professor Jihun Oh, Ph.D candidate Suneon Wang, (Starting from the left circle) Dr. Beomil Kim, Ph.D candidate Seungchang Han, Professor Stefan Ringe>

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Credit: KAIST

Technology that converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) into fuels and plastic feedstocks using electricity is gaining attention as a core technology in the era of carbon neutrality. In particular, ethylene and ethanol are high-value materials widely used in the production of plastics, fuels, and chemical products, but until now, the only metal that has effectively produced them has essentially been copper (Cu). Through this study, Korean researchers have revealed the limitations of existing catalyst theories that have explained this principle.

KAIST (President Kwang Hyung Lee) announced on the 21st of May that a research team led by Professor Jihun Oh of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, through joint research with Professor Stefan Ringe’s team from the Department of Chemistry at Korea University (President Dongwon Kim), has identified a new operating principle of the electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂ reduction reaction, a reaction that uses electricity to convert carbon dioxide into other chemical substances).

The research team fabricated alloy catalysts made by mixing gold (Au), silver (Ag), and palladium (Pd), and analyzed what substances these catalysts convert CO₂ into.

Existing catalyst theories have predicted that if the “d-band center” (an indicator of the electronic reactivity of a catalyst) and “work function” (the energy required for a metal to release electrons outward), which indicate the reactivity of electrons on the catalyst surface, are similar to those of copper, then the catalyst should be able to produce multi-carbon (C2+) compounds such as ethylene and ethanol like copper does.

Using a co-sputtering process (a technique that simultaneously deposits multiple metals as thin films to create a new alloy with a desired ratio), the research team precisely fabricated a ternary alloy (AuAgPd, an alloy made by mixing three metals: gold, silver, and palladium) with electronic properties very similar to those of copper.

However, the actual experimental results were different. This alloy produced simple products such as carbon monoxide (CO), but it did not produce complex multi-carbon compounds such as ethylene or ethanol at all. This means that complex CO₂ conversion reactions are difficult to explain using only the electronic properties of catalysts. In other words, the study confirmed that how atoms are arranged on the catalyst surface also has an important effect on reaction performance.

The research team expects that this study will provide important clues for developing next-generation high-efficiency catalysts that can replace copper in the future. In particular, the study is significant in that it presents a new direction showing the need for precise catalyst design strategies that go beyond existing designs centered only on simple electronic structure and also consider atomic arrangement.

Professor Jihun Oh stated, “This study shows that existing catalyst theories alone are insufficient to fully explain complex multistep carbon conversion reactions,” adding, “In the future, a new catalyst design strategy that considers both electronic properties and local atomic arrangement, meaning how atoms are arranged on the catalyst surface, will be necessary.”

This paper, with KAIST Dr. Beomil Kim, doctoral student Suneon Wang, and Korea University Dr. Seungchang Han as first authors, was published in the May 2026 issue of the international journal Nature Catalysis.
 ※ Paper title: “Peaks and pitfalls of electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction descriptor models,” DOI: 10.1038/s41929-026-01526-7
 ※ Lead authors: Beomil Kim (KAIST, first author), Seungchang Han (Korea University, first author), Suneon Wang (KAIST, first author), Jihun Oh (KAIST, corresponding author), Stefan Ringe (Korea University, corresponding author)

This research was supported by the Nano and Material Technology Development Program, the Top-Tier Research Institution Collaboration Platform and Joint Research Support Program, and the Individual Research Program of the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, as well as by the National Supercomputing Center at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI).

 

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Journal

Nature Catalysis

DOI

10.1038/s41929-026-01526-7 

Method of Research

Meta-analysis

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Peaks and pitfalls of electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction descriptor models

 

Digital finance tools could transform small businesses

Study suggests simple payment technology may help firms across developing economies grow, compete and adapt faster

University of East London

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A new study has found that simple digital finance tools such as mobile money can help small businesses build long-term competitive strength, not just improve access to banking.

The study, led by the University of East London, examined 113 micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana and found that businesses gained the greatest benefits when digital finance tools became part of everyday business operations rather than being used only for payments. Firms reported improvements in efficiency, customer service and flexibility.

Mobile money services allow people and businesses to send, receive and store money using mobile phones without needing a traditional bank account. The researchers say this means mobile phones are no longer just communication devices for many small firms but are becoming strategic business tools that help companies manage money, reach customers and compete in fast-changing markets.

Researchers, from the Royal Docks School of Business and Law along with partners in Ghana, say the findings could have implications far beyond the African test case.

Across many developing economies, millions of small businesses still face barriers to banking, credit, and digital infrastructure. The study suggests that easy-to-use financial technology could help smaller firms compete more effectively, strengthen local economies, and become more resilient during economic shocks.

Lead author Dr Godfried Adaba, Lecturer in Business Analytics, said, “Our findings show that digital finance can also become a strategic tool that helps small businesses compete and innovate. The wider lesson is that digital finance works best when it is simple enough for everyday use and deeply embedded into how businesses operate.”

The research, published in Global Business Review, also found that ease of use mattered more than many experts expected. Businesses were much more likely to adopt tools that felt simple and reliable.

Co-author Dr Francis Frimpong said, “Ease of use is not a minor issue for small businesses. Indeed, it is often the deciding factor. If digital finance systems are too complex or difficult to trust, many firms simply will not use them. That matters globally because it shows that successful FinTech innovation must be about creating tools ordinary businesses can use confidently every day.”

The researchers say policymakers, banks and technology companies should focus not only on expanding digital access, but also on improving usability, trust and digital skills among small business owners.

Adaba, GB, Ayoung, DA, Frimpong, FB and Kubuga, KK (2026) “From Inclusion to Advantage: FinTech Adoption and Competitive Strategy Among MSMEs in Ghana”, Global Business Review, DOI: 10.1177/09721509261428912.

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Journal

Global Business Review

DOI

10.1177/09721509261428912 

Method of Research

Survey

Article Title

From Inclusion to Advantage: FinTech Adoption and Competitive Strategy Among MSMEs in Ghana