Does Facebook Use Predict College Students’ Social Capital? A Replication of Ellison,Steinfield, and Lampe’s (2007) Study Using the Original and More Recent Measures of Facebook Use and Social Capital

In 2007 Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe published an article on the positive association between Facebook use and social capital that started a decade of research on the social outcomes of social network site use. Although cited almost 9,000 times, it received critique on the conceptualization and operationalization of Facebook use and social capital. In this study we replicate Ellison et al.’s study with original and alternative measures of social capital and Facebook use, thereby shedding light on the robustness, stability, and ecological validity of the original findings. We found that Facebook intensity positively predicts the original social capital measures, lending support to the validity of the original findings. Its relationship with structural measures, however, was weak for bridging and absent for bonding social capital.     

Flipping one-shot library instruction: using Canvas and Pecha Kucha for peer teaching

Objective

This study sought to determine whether a flipped classroom that facilitated peer learning would improve undergraduate health sciences students'' abilities to find, evaluate, and use appropriate evidence for research assignments.

Methods

Students completed online modules in a learning management system, with librarians facilitating subsequent student-directed, in-person sessions. Mixed methods assessment was used to evaluate program outcomes.

Results

Students learned information literacy concepts but did not consistently apply them in research assignments. Faculty interviews revealed strengthened partnerships between librarians and teaching faculty.

Conclusion

This pedagogy shows promise for implementing and evaluating a successful flipped information literacy program.Keywords (Medical Subject Headings) Information Literacy, Educational Technology, Education, Distance/Methods, Teaching/Methods, Evidence-Based Practice/Education, Learning, Group Processes, Program Development, Humans, Libraries, Medical/EducationIn the short term, health sciences students utilize the information resources that librarians highlight during instruction. In the years after graduation, students demonstrate low levels of information literacy skills [1–3]. These low levels of retention likely result from the limited amount of time dedicated to guided practice during library sessions, which has been shown to be critical to learning [4]. In addition, few undergraduate curricula feature scaffolded instruction on evidence-based practice, where guidance of student learning is deployed progressively to promote stronger understanding of concepts. This raises the concern that many students may be unprepared for the rigors and expectations of graduate-level research. Consequently, health sciences librarians and educators have tested numerous methods for improving the effectiveness of information literacy and evidence-based practice instruction [5–7].Higher education has also seen a rise in the use of instructional technologies, such as increased use of video tutorials, web-conferencing tools, and learning management systems (LMSs). Such tools can enhance the effectiveness of face-to-face teaching by delivering time-of-need instruction that is available for future reference during the entire semester [8–11]. LMSs, such as Canvas or Blackboard, provide a virtual space where students take ownership of the learning process and create meaningful learning experiences for themselves and their peer learners [12]. Educators increasingly use these technologies to enable a flipped classroom model of instruction, in which the lecture and homework are reversed [13–15]. In older teaching models, a lecture occurs in the classroom, followed by exercises and applications of the information by students as homework. In the flipped model, students get the lecture-type information at home, then do exercises and applications in the classroom. This model allows instructors to move away from the traditional one-time lecture-based instruction and to incorporate active learning, which leads to better student performance for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students [16–18]. The flipped classroom model also accommodates the needs of diverse populations of learners by integrating peer learning and assessment [19, 20]. In contrast, traditional lecture-based approaches to information literacy have been shown to have limited effectiveness for promoting skill development and retention, and often rely on shallow, quantitative assessments to measure student learning [21]. Integrating library instruction strategically into the curriculum and using the flipped classroom model creates opportunities to use a greater variety of assessment tools at various points throughout the semester in order to conduct more meaningful assessment of student learning.Flipped classroom models have not been widely studied for health sciences students. This study aimed to determine whether a flipped classroom approach for upper-level undergraduate students in the health sciences would improve their abilities to find, evaluate, and utilize appropriate evidence for research assignments.     

R U with Some1? Using Text Message Experience Sampling to Examine Television Coviewing as a Moderator of Emotional Contagion Effects on Enjoyment

Viewers regularly watch television with others, but the role of coviewing is often overlooked in entertainment effects models. Further, the models are rarely investigated in natural settings, limiting their ecological validity. The current study used experience sampling via text message to examine college students’ daily coviewing behaviors. Momentary assessments were taken 3 times a day for 1 week. Respondents reported their happiness during viewing and the enjoyableness of their experiences. Consistent with emotional contagion theory, data suggest that increases in emotional intensity mediated the effect of emotional contagion on program enjoyment, but only among respondents who reported coviewing with someone else. These results provide preliminary evidence that social context is partially responsible for contagious transfer of affect during entertainment experiences.     

Comparison of Activity Type Classification Accuracy from Accelerometers Worn on the Hip,Wrists, and Thigh in Young,Apparently Healthy Adults

The purpose of this article is to compare accuracy of activity type prediction models for accelerometers worn on the hip, wrists, and thigh. Forty-four adults performed sedentary, ambulatory, lifestyle, and exercise activities (14 total, 10 categories) for 3–10 minutes each in a 90-minute semi-structured laboratory protocol. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were developed for four accelerometers (right hip, both wrists, and right thigh,) to predict individual activities and activity categories, with direct observation (DO) as criterion. The wrist-mounted accelerometers achieved the highest accuracy for individual activities (80.9%–81.1%) and activity categories (86.6%–86.7%); accuracy was not different between wrists. The hip-mounted accelerometer had the lowest accuracy (66.2% individual activities, 72.5% activity categories); thigh-mounted accelerometer accuracy (71.4% individual activities, 84.0% activity categories) fell between the wrist- and hip-mounted accelerometers. ANNs developed for accelerometers worn on the wrists and thigh provided high accuracy for activity type prediction and represent a potential approach to physical activity (PA) assessment.     

Constitutive Laws of the Underground Opening Collapse due to Dynamic Load

The constitutive laws of the collapse of underground openings in a rock massif were in-vestigated based on the results of laboratory and field experiments, and computations using ana-lytical and numerical models. It is shown that the principal mechanism of failure of underground openings over important for practice peak particle velocity amplitude range of 1 to 10 m/s is the roof and wall breakage due to the fall of key blocks. Over this load range the material crushing is of considerably less importance. The geometry of discontinuities influences mainly the stability of key blocks. Further caving depends weakly on block structure of near-tunnel zone. The mean volume of fall material is a rather stable quantity for rock massifs of different structures. Lower tunnel sta-bility in the zones of high fracturing is caused by a higher probability of the presence of the unsta-ble key blocks and the decrease of strength characteristics of fractured bounding blocks. The de-crease of average block size is a less important accompanying factor.     

Yes…But: Footnotes To Sage Advice

In this commentary, I assume the role of a footnoter to the contributions in this special issue devoted to the development of educational psychologists. In those footnotes, insights and recommendations forwarded by the contributors are extended, clarified, or occasionally countered. Topics of dialogue include advice on defining a research program, supporting the professional development of women and underrepresented populations, achieving balance in one’s life, discussing reasons why academics publish, building collaborative relationships, and considering the mentor–mentee relationship.     

A Comparison of Linking Methods for Estimating National Trends in International Comparative Large‐Scale Assessments in the Presence of Cross‐National DIF

Trend estimation in international comparative large‐scale assessments relies on measurement invariance between countries. However, cross‐national differential item functioning (DIF) has been repeatedly documented. We ran a simulation study using national item parameters, which required trends to be computed separately for each country, to compare trend estimation performances to two linking methods employing international item parameters across several conditions. The trend estimates based on the national item parameters were more accurate than the trend estimates based on the international item parameters when cross‐national DIF was present. Moreover, the use of fixed common item parameter calibrations led to biased trend estimates. The detection and elimination of DIF can reduce this bias but is also likely to increase the total error.