Comparison of older and younger adults' attitudes towards and abilities with computers: Implications for training and learning

Computers and associated technology have become central to modern life. In a society where the population is rapidly ageing, the acceptance and utilisation of developing technologies by an older population is becoming increasingly important. This review highlights similarities and differences between the attitudes and acceptance of technology by older and younger people, leading to the conclusion that similar factors influence both age groups—hence, older people could well be taught to use technology in a similar manner to younger people. While all learners, irrespective of age, should receive sufficient time for training in a positive and supportive environment, this review suggests that due consideration ought to be given to the amount of time allowed for older users to learn new skills and the manner in which learners are treated in a positive and valued manner.     

Private Speech Moderates the Effects of Effortful Control on Emotionality

Research Findings: In addition to being a regulatory strategy, children’s private speech may enhance or interfere with their effortful control used to regulate emotion. The goal of the current study was to investigate whether children’s private speech during a selective attention task moderated the relations of their effortful control to their anger and sadness. The private speech of 156 preschoolers (age in months: M = 52.10, SD = 9.24, min = 36.20, max = 69.50) was transcribed and coded during a selective attention task. Effortful control was observed and reported by parents. Anger and sadness were reported by parents and observed in a frustration task. Children who used more inaudible muttering had higher levels of sadness. Effortful control interacted with private speech to explain anger. The negative relation of effortful control to anger was significant for children who used low and moderate but not high levels of task-irrelevant private speech. Practice or Policy: The presence of private speech, although it may support regulatory abilities within a task, may be an additional form of evaluation that might help teachers and caregivers decide how best to support children’s learning. These findings suggest that private speech can be used as an indicator of how well children use other regulatory abilities, such as effortful control.     

Shifting Lenses to Deepen Reflection and Connection in Human Sexuality Education

Photovoice, a participatory action research method, supports deep, personal reflection through the use of photography, personal narrative development, and group discussion. This lesson plan describes the use of Photovoice as a pedagogical tool in an undergraduate human sexuality course. The goal of this activity is to encourage students to 1) think beyond the texts presented in class, 2) make critical connections to their own lived experience and community context, and 3) deepen reflection through sharing and discussing with others. The lesson plan describes the process of bringing Photovoice into the classroom as well as student insights on the activity.     

An Investigative,Cooperative Learning Approach to the General Microbiology Laboratory

Investigative- and cooperative-based learning strategies have been used effectively in a variety of classrooms to enhance student learning and engagement. In the General Microbiology laboratory for juniors and seniors at James Madison University, these strategies were combined to make a semester-long, investigative, cooperative learning experience involving culture and identification of microbial isolates that the students obtained from various environments. To assess whether this strategy was successful, students were asked to complete a survey at the beginning and at the end of the semester regarding their comfort level with a variety of topics. For most of the topics queried, the students reported that their comfort had increased significantly during the semester. Furthermore, this group of students thought that the quality of this investigative lab experience was much better than that of any of their previous lab experiences.     

Influence of vitamin D mushroom powder supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage in vitamin D insufficient high school athletes

Abstract

Incidence of vitamin D deficiency is increasing worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine if supplementation with vitamin D₂ from Portobello mushroom powder would enhance skeletal muscle function and attenuate exercise-induced muscle damage in low vitamin D status high school athletes. Participants were randomised to Portobello mushroom powder (600 IU/d vitamin D₂) or placebo for 6 weeks. Participants then completed a 1.5-h exercise session designed to induce skeletal muscle damage. Blood samples and measures of skeletal muscle function were taken pre-supplementation, post-supplementation/pre-exercise and post-exercise. Six weeks supplementation with vitamin D₂ increased serum 25(OH)D₂ by 9.9-fold and decreased serum 25(OH)D₃ by 28%. Changes in skeletal muscle function and circulating markers of skeletal muscle damage did not differ between groups. In conclusion, 600 IU/d vitamin D₂ increased 25(OH)D₂ with a concomitant decrease in 25(OD)D₃, with no effect on muscular function or exercise-induced muscle damage in high school athletes.     

Physical activity in the lives of Hong Kong Chinese children

To understand the physical activity culture in the lives of Hong Kong Chinese children and their parents, 48 young people between the ages 9 and 16 and their parents, with different socio-economic backgrounds and geographical locations, were interviewed for this study. By applying Confucianism and postcolonialism, this study aimed to investigate the meaning of physical activity in the lives of Hong Kong children and their parents. The results showed that parents value physical activity as a factor which contributes to their children's well-being and provides balance to their life. There were differences though, in this attitude, for different age groups. Junior students (aged 9–12) expressed their interest in physical activities. However, older students (12 or above) in secondary school, think or are told that academic study is the most important aspect of their life and that physical activities are not a priority. When examining parents' and children's involvement in physical activity, the barriers to the parents' involvement in their children's physical activities included lack of time and a habitual sedentary lifestyle at home.     

Examining Child and Word Characteristics in Vocabulary Learning of Struggling Readers

Although instruction has been shown to be effective at increasing vocabulary knowledge and comprehension, factors most important for promoting the acquisition of novel vocabulary are less known. In addition, few vocabulary studies have utilized models that simultaneously take into account child-level, word-level, and instructional factors to better understand the acquisition of novel vocabulary from informational text. Sixty-eight children with reading difficulties in Grades 3–5 were randomly assigned to either vocabulary strategy instruction or traditional comprehension instruction with both groups reading the same set of expository texts. Crossed random-effects models were used to predict item-level variance in vocabulary acquisition. Results indicated main effects for condition favoring vocabulary instruction, child-level predictors (vocabulary and knowledge of the content), and word-level factors (frequency and imageability). One interaction was significant, indicating that students with higher vocabulary scores were more likely to do better when provided vocabulary instruction than students with lower prior vocabulary.     

Reducing Heterosexism in African American Christian Students: Effects of Multicultural Education Courses

Sexual-minority college students continue to experience heterosexism in the form of heterosexist and biased language from peers. Religion has been identified as a predictor of sexual prejudice among college students. Yet there is limited research on the intersection of race, religion, and heterosexism, and on interventions designed to address this prejudice. This study examined the effectiveness of multicultural education courses at a large public university on reducing heterosexism in Christian students. Analysis of pre- and post- data using repeated measures ANCOVA indicated African American Christian students had significantly higher heterosexism scores than White Christian students, and African American Christian students had a significant decrease in heterosexism as compared to White Christian students after taking a service learning course. These results have implications for future research and education on prejudice reduction.     

Assessment of health-care professionals’ knowledge and attitudes on sexuality and aging: an integrative review

ABSTRACT

This study aims to establish an understanding of (a) health-care professionals’ knowledge and attitudes; and (b) tools used to assess sexuality in older people living with/(out) dementia and those identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or intersex (LGBTI) individuals. An integrative review of the literature, as registered on the PROSPERO international Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (CRD42019129589), was conducted. A comprehensive and systematic literature search was performed for the period between 2009 to 2019 across eight electronic databases: CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, Web of Science, Cochrane library, Embase, PsycINFO, and Scopus, together with a manual search of reference lists. Screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts of eligible studies plus quality appraisal (using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool) were independently conducted by two reviewers with disagreements resolved via discussion with a third reviewer. Nineteen articles were reviewed with three themes identified from the synthesis: 1) varying knowledge and attitudes amongst health-care professionals; 2) needs for professional development opportunities and support from workplace and 3) lack of recent validated tools to assess knowledge and attitudes. Health-care professionals’ knowledge and attitudes toward sexuality in older people living with/(out) dementia and those identified as LGBTI individuals are varying. Sexuality education and professional development training are needed to enhance their knowledge and attitudes and build skills in order to manage sexuality concerns. Current assessment tools are inadequate, highlighting the need for an appropriate assessment tool to be developed.