Outdoor activity among older adults: Exploring the role of informational Internet use

ABSTRACT

The Internet has the potential to enable older adults to live a socially active and self-determined life. An important facet of active aging is participation in outdoor activity. Previous research has shown that older Internet users participated more frequently in outdoor activities. However, understanding of how Internet use can influence the behavior of going outdoors is still limited. To bridge this gap, the goal of this study was to examine whether informational Internet use specific to opportunities and offerings in the city facilitates participation in outdoor activity. Primary survey data from individuals aged 65+ living in a medium-sized city in Europe (N = 1,117) was analyzed. The results show that Internet as an information source predicted community activity for participants living in urban neighborhoods but not in a rural neighborhood. Further, informational Internet use predicted cultural activity for residents living in all three neighborhoods. The results thus emphasize the positive effect of informational Internet use on behavior through providing older adults with useful information about opportunities and offerings available in their neighborhood. Taken together, the findings provide a rationale for the development of digital neighborhood platforms and interventions targeted at older adults’ digital skills.     

Children's Understanding of Parental Differential Treatment

This study examined whether established associations between perceptions of parental differential treatment and sibling relationship quality are moderated by children's perceptions and attributions about parental behavior. Sixty-one children, aged 11–13 years, and their siblings were interviewed separately about parental differential treatment. Children did not perceive PDT in two-thirds of the instances they reported about, and 75% of the children who acknowledged that differential treatment was occurring in their homes did not find this to be " unfair." Children justified differential parental behaviors by identifying ways that they and their sibling differ from one another, that is, in terms of differences in their age, personal attributes, needs, relationship with parents, or strategic behaviors. Children who perceived their parents' differential behavior to be justified generally experienced more positive appraisals about their sibling relationship. Results reinforce the importance of examining how children construct their experiences in their families.     

Social media for professional development and networking opportunities in academia

The research reported on in this article explores the use of social media for work-related or professional purposes. In particular, it focuses on the perceptions and use of social media by academics in the UK. The purpose of the research was to explore the potential social media has to facilitate the changing landscape of higher education and support the individual academic in their role. Of particular interest is how specific social media tools are being used to enhance networking opportunities and contribute to career progression. The use of social media was explored in detail through interviews and a survey. Typical activities that are currently being undertaken were identified and user group profiles developed that articulate different levels of engagement with these tools and the motivations that each group of users have for using social media. The study found that, with increasing levels of activity, the number of motivations for using social media increase, as does the perceived number of successful outcomes, including contributions towards career progression. The main barriers to using social media were identified as a lack of time and skills to undertake these activities, as well as a negative perception of social media. Recommendations for increasing participation are to provide practical training, including the sharing of good practice, and to initiate dialogues within institutions regarding the potential career progression opportunities that social media may afford.     

Within-family differences in Head Start participation and parent investment

There is limited understanding of how parents’ allocation of investments across their children are affected by differences in their children's participation in programs that promote early development. I use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine whether parents reinforce or compensate for differences in their children's access to an early education program, Head Start. I use a family fixed effects approach to contrast measures of parental investment, when children were age 5 through 14, for children who attended Head Start relative to their siblings who did not attend preschool. I find that parents provided lower levels of cognitive stimulation and emotional support to children who attended Head Start relative to their siblings who did not attend preschool. Although impacts are relatively small in magnitude (0.05 SD), results suggest that parent compensate for differences in access to early childhood educational opportunities.     

Teachers making connections: Online communities as a source of professional learning

The impact of the Internet on our lives has been pervasive. People are increasingly turning to the social interaction available on the Internet to satisfy their needs, whether these are professional or personal. The Internet offers users fast access to social contacts such as online chat groups and discussion lists, helping us to make connections with others. Online communities are being increasingly used by teachers for professional support, guidance and inspiration. These are often organised around subject areas and offer teachers opportunities to develop both personally and professionally. Online communities may present as a source of continuous professional development for teachers as they are able to deliver authentic and personalised opportunities for learning. This paper will present the findings of a study that was conducted on three online communities for teachers. It will explore the nature of online community membership and offer some conclusions regarding their potential as a source of professional learning for teachers.     

Too much,too soon? A critical investigation into factors that make Flipped Classrooms effective

The Flipped Classroom (FC) method is used widely in higher education, with studies claiming various benefits. However, to date, little work has focused on what makes FCs effective for student learning. This study presents data collected from interviews with 14 UK-based undergraduate students, investigating their perceptions of participating in a series of FC sessions. Findings indicate that the FC format discouraged a significant number of students from attending. However, students who did attend the flipped classes reported valuing the resultant learning opportunities and enjoying the experience. This study sheds light on the learning process within the FC. Challenges in implementing the FC were highlighted both by students who attended and by those who did not. We conclude that implementing the FC should not be undertaken lightly or be seen as a quick fix; at minimum, it requires staff willingness and opportunities for engagement and peer learning.     

Social Work Students’ Experiences With Group Work in the Field Practicum

The study reported on in this article assessed MSW and BSW students’ opportunities to practice group work in their field practicum. More than one third of participants had no such opportunity during their yearlong internship, despite their program’s requirement that group work opportunities be available. Among the students who did have experience leading a group for clients, their opportunities to engage in core group work activities and skills was limited, as was their academic preparation to do so. Students demonstrated a desire to practice group work as professionals. Yet the findings call into question whether they were adequately prepared to effectively engage in the modality. The findings underscore the need for schools and programs of social work to collaborate more closely with field instructors and agencies to ensure that students are provided with suitable opportunities to practice group work. Greater attention also must be focused on ensuring that practice opportunities in the field reflect the depth and breadth of the group modality and complement learning in the classroom.     

Gender differences in academic performance in a large public university in Turkey

The paper attempts to determine whether there are significant gender differences in academic performance among undergraduate students in a large public university in Turkey based on three indicators; university entrance scores, performance in the English preparatory school and in the program the student is majoring in. The paper finds that a smaller number of female students manage to enter the university and when they do so, they enter with lower scores. However, once they are admitted to the university, they excel in their studies and outperform their male counterparts. This result holds after controlling for the field of study and individual attributes.     

Students' Knowledge of Aging and Career Preferences

The increased number of older adults attributes to a rising need for future professionals to work in gerontology. Understanding the influence of students' career choices is important. A qualitative study was conducted after students' taking a gerontology course to explore students' knowledge and career preference in gerontology. The results were that students reported higher competency in that their knowledge was higher. Although increased knowledge did not necessarily encourage students to choose careers in gerontology, it may have made students more amenable toward accepting working with the aging population in the future. The study offers suggestions on how to increase students' competency level in practice.     

Animated agent immediacy and news services with handheld computers

The present study considers the design and implementation of immediacy behaviors for an animated agent and the influence of such an agent on viewers. Immediacy, a widely studied construct in human communication research, is defined as the verbal and nonverbal communication behaviors that enhance physical and psychological closeness between people. In this study, the use of animated agent immediacy with new technology, a handheld computer, was studied as a form of affective computing. The purpose of the study was first to find out whether users perceive the communication behaviors of the agent that were intended to enhance immediacy, second, what effects animated agent immediacy has on evaluations of a news service, and third whether affective learning or recall of news content is related to agent immediacy. The results revealed that communication behaviors that enhance immediacy were perceived by the users. Those behaviors were also related to their perception of immediacy. However, the animated agent immediacy did not have a significant effect on evaluation of the news service. Additionally, agent immediacy had no effect on affective or cognitive learning from the news. The results show that it is possible to construct immediacy behaviors for the animated agents, but in this context the influences differed from those reported in human‐to‐human communication. The possibilities for and consequences of agent immediacy are also discussed, as are the reasons why the effects of immediacy on evaluations and learning were not found in the present study.     

The effect of choice on motivation for young children on the autism spectrum during discrete trial teaching

Self‐determination and decision‐making are acknowledged internationally as key rights of persons with disabilities and should play an important role in the development of educational plans and procedures. Not only is the chance for individuals with developmental disabilities to select their own tasks, leisure activities or reinforcers a valuable way of enhancing rights‐based education and personal dignity, but choice‐making opportunities may also function as a useful clinical or educational tool if they actually improve the efficacy of programmes aimed at the acquisition of socially relevant behaviours and life skills or the reduction of challenging behaviours. The study reported here assessed whether or not choice affected effectiveness of an educational procedure for three children on the autism spectrum. Following a preference assessment, a number of discrete teaching trials were conducted with each child and, contingent upon targeted responses, either the child or the therapist selected one of three preferred reinforcer items. Reinforcer choice did not affect intervention effectiveness for two of the children; however, performance and motivation improved for the third child. Results re‐affirmed the importance of thorough preference assessments prior to intervention and showed that additional stimulus choice contingent on the target response may improve motivation and outcomes for some children.     

Reasoning in a reading context: Deductive inferences in basal reading series

This study examined three basal reading programs published by Heath (1989), Silver Burdett Ginn (1993) and Houghton Mifflin (1993), to determine how frequently logically necessary relationships are expressed in text used by basal readers, and whether direct instruction in making logically necessary inferences accompanies such expressions in basal reader series. The complete contents of the basal readers, from grades one through eight, and all teachers' instructions pertaining to content read by students, were examined for each series. Frequency counts made by independent raters indicated that readers of these three series have a steady and frequent rate of opportunities to make logically necessary inferences, and to observe such inferences being modeled by the text; no significant differences were found between any of the series in the number of such opportunities. We found that while children's reading materials clearly offer a natural context in which logical understanding may be constructed, instructions for teachers in the basal series we examined did not include directly teaching students to use this kind of reasoning in reading comprehension. Suggestions are offered for how such instruction might be integrated with current teaching strategies in inference-making.     

Protection styles of prostitutes' clients: intentions,behavior, and considerations in relation to AIDS

The perceived costs and benefits of condom use within the context of commercial sex were examined in interviews with 87 clients of female Dutch prostitutes. 8 types of condom users were identified: convinced (46% of the study group), guilty conscience (11%), anti-ridden (13%), defaulting (6%), maximum selective (8%), minimum selective (3%), indifferent (8%), and recalcitrant (5%). Clients who consistently used condoms take responsibility for both the pleasure and safety of their sexual encounter; their attitude toward prostitution is positive and straightforward. Guilty conscience users are motivated to use condoms by feelings of guilt toward their wife and are ambivalent about their participation in commercial sex. Angst-ridden users are motivated to seek out prostitutes more by loneliness than the pursuit of sexual pleasure; they view their personal risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as higher than that reported by consistent users and thus are motivated by fear to use condoms. Defaulting users perceive themselves as the victims of temptation and express a lack of control over the sexual encounter that places them at risk of unprotected sex. Maximum selective users are consistent in using condoms in sex with prostitutes, except when it involves a prostitute whom they see regularly and frequently. Minimum selective users seek frequent contact with prostitutes and base condom use on a subjective assessment of whether the woman is healthy or not. Indifferent users, often disabled and lonely men with no other source of sexual contact, base their condom use or nonuse solely on the wishes of the prostitute. Finally, recalcitrant users are characterized by a desire for power and protest condom use. In general, consistent condom use was related to a positive evaluation of prostitutes, positive attitudes toward the advantages of condom use, an internal locus of control with regard to health, and a higher level of education.     

Text in a Texture of Television: children's homework experience

A survey answered by 842 respondents representing British children aged from 7 to 15 measured their amounts of television viewing, listening to music, serious reading and outdoor games playing, and their attitudes to leisure activities, such as television viewing. Children said whether they did school homework and if so, with or without the television switched on, and if so, whether they regarded it as a help or not. About a quarter of those aged 10 and over said they did work along with television, accepting its presence, and another one in six did so, actually welcoming it. Attitude measures showed clearly different stereotypes of the heavy viewer, reader and music listener. This children's sample had a broadly positive image of a heavy television viewer of their own age. A process of rationalisation is detectable in which those who reported heavy viewing themselves, were more likely to do homework with the television on, to say it helped them and that it was linked with good achievement at school. Reported behaviour and stereotypes were somewhat similar among those who were heavy music users, but noticeably different among those who claimed to read a lot.     

Standardisation and diversity in international assessments: barking up the wrong tree?

ABSTRACT

This article organises potential areas of criticism or challenges embedded in the design and administration of standardised assessments of learning levels in order to promote dialogue and research on educational assessments. The article begins by addressing debates around epistemological claims: issues that pertain to testing in general and issues that are particular to standardised testing. Then, it addresses some political attributes of international tests so as to situate the debates beyond feasibility, attributes and scope-related issues. The article claims that the field of education testing has identified a number of issues and challenges stemming from diversity, and has developed methods and procedures to address many of them. From this viewpoint, testing is just like any other domain of scientific enquiry. However, international assessments of learning outcomes are not necessarily, or primarily, scientific endeavours; they are political devices and therefore should be scrutinised considering scientific attributes as well as some political features that, even if intertwined with technicalities, go well beyond them. Thus, critiques of international assessments would be better framed if their political attributes are taken as organising principles of the criticism, alongside those elements that pertain to their technical attributes, since these are not incidental but deeply interlinked.     

Young children’s classification,stereotyping and play behaviour for gender neutral and ambiguous toys

Developmental intergroup theory would predict that children develop fewer or weaker stereotypes about toys that have less distinguishable gender attributes than those that are clearly associated with a gender. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of neutral and ambiguous toys in 31 three‐ to five‐year‐old children’s play behaviour and understanding about gender. Overall, children did not categorise more perceptually salient (ambiguous) toys than less distinguishable (neutral) toys to their own gender. Colour was the most frequently used reason for the toys’ gender assignment. The findings also showed that with age, girls’ play complexity increased linearly, whereas boys’ scores did not. A play substitution scale measuring play creativity or maturity showed no gender differences. The discussion highlights the role of perceptual salience in sex‐dimorphic toy preferences and behaviour and their application to educational issues.     

Design implications from a usability study of GramStain-TutorTM

To examine interface issues in an educational software program, we recruited twenty-two users in health sciences departments for a usability study. Using the GramStain-Tutor™ (GST) CD-ROM, these users performed tasks in navigating the program and using various interactive features. Their actions and comments were recorded with a digital video recorder and an audio recorder. The main results of our study are: (a) the majority of the users did not use the multiple navigational options available in the program; (b) navigational patterns differed based on the training background and content knowledge of the users; (c) several visual cues critical to program use were not discovered by the majority of the users; and (d) icons representing specific functions were not intuitive from users' perspectives. We demonstrated how a usability study of a relatively small number of users can identify specific problems in interface design. We recommend these interface problems be addressed before conducting educational studies that examine how educational software programs affect student learning.     

I actually started to scream: emotional and mathematical trauma from doing school mathematics homework

Mathematics homework is an activity done by large numbers of students across the world. However, it is not without controversy, with concerns being raised about its academic value and whether parents have the appropriate resources to actively support or teach their children. In this article, we use the narratives of two 10-year-old girls to consider how emotional and mathematical trauma can arise from doing mathematics homework with family help. This is often the undiscussed outcome of homework interactions, but one that can have profound implications for relationships between children, their parents, the school and mathematics as a discipline. The way that the children described their and other participants’ actions in the narratives provided information about the children’s agency whilst doing school mathematics in the home. We discuss the opportunities and constraints on children doing homework as a consequence of the social and institutional relations that they operate within. The constraining influence of schooling over the opportunities provided within the home situations was the main determiner of the emotional and mathematical trauma experienced by the children.     

Do actions speak louder than words? An effect of the functional use of language on dominant sex role behavior in boys and girls

Although a number of studies document the fact that adult males interrupt females more often than females interrupt males, less is known about whether this behavior is also true of younger boys and girls. This study examined some aspects of dominant-submissive sex role behavior in preschool children and their teachers during conversation at the snack table. It asked whether there was any difference in the number of times girls and boys interrupted their teacher, and whether there was any difference in the number of times the teacher interrupted boys or girls. In succeeding observations, researchers investigated whether girls or boys were assigned the privilege of passing snack more frequently.In Investigation 1 nine boys and nine girls, 4 years of age, were observed talking with a variety of student teachers in a naturalistic snack setting, and checklists were kept of the number of teacher-child, child-teacher interruptions during conversation. In Investigation 2, tallies were kept of the number of times boys and girls assumed the dominant roles of distributing snacks and snack materials.Results indicted that during conversation, boys interrupted their teachers more frequently than the girls did (p > .03). Teachers interrupted girls more frequently than they interrupted boys (p > .02). No significant differences were found in the frequency of participation by boys or girls in passing snack. Results are discussed in relation to the teacher's role in teaching dominant-submissive sex role behaviors to children.     

Why some early college high school students do not transition to a 4‐year college: An exploration of perceived barriers and schooling experiences on students’ transition plans

This study examined why some seniors attending Early College High Schools did not plan to continue their education at a 4‐year college immediately after graduation despite attending schools designed to provide coordinated academic and social supports with the expectation that all students would continue their education. Most students in our study (75%) did plan to continue their education at a 4‐year college immediately after graduation. For the remaining students, we used cluster analysis to identify four distinct groups of noncollege bound students. These groups were evaluated based on background characteristics, perceived opportunities and barriers, and schooling experiences. Results indicate that noncollege bound students are diverse in their reasons for not continuing their education at a 4‐year program and that any reform efforts designed to personalize opportunities and supports for these students must take into account how combinations of perceived opportunities and barriers shape their postsecondary decisions.