Environments for Lifelong Learning in Senior Centers

ABSTRACT

Senior-center learning opportunities must adapt, as new retirees are better educated than their predecessors. We examined 3 multipurpose senior centers using 120 hours of observations and 30 participant interviews. Variation existed in the ability to maximize synomorphic relationships, where the physical environment supported educational activities. The center with the greatest success had the most active participation. Low participation was noted when multipurpose rooms were utilized, as learning was compromised by distractions. Computer learning thrived in a computer lab, but machines were neglected when located in an employee break room. Successful learning programs fit the environment, in addition to providing volunteerism and empowerment.     

Ethical considerations for research conducted with human participants in languages other than English

Considerations for conducting ethical research with human participants in languages other than English are addressed to some extent in regulatory and guiding statements for researchers, but in ways that are minimal or vague. In this article, I examine guiding documents for research ethics from four countries: the UK, Canada, Australia and the USA, with a view to analysing how the issue of research in other languages is addressed. Specific attention is paid to four key aspects of research as it relates to language. The first is informed consent. This includes a discussion of how written forms may not be the most appropriate method to ensure consent is informed. The second aspect of language is that of translation and interpretation, including budgetary implications for research. Third, the use of intermediaries such as (but not limited to) translators and local contacts is considered. Finally, considerations for knowledge mobilisation and dissemination of findings are explored. The article concludes with recommendations for researchers, graduate supervisors and research ethics boards.     

Mapping the core journals of the physical therapy literature

Objectives:

The purpose of this study was to identify (1) core journals in the literature of physical therapy, (2) currency of references cited in that literature, and (3) online databases providing the highest coverage rate of core journals.

Method:

Data for each cited reference in each article of four source journals for three years were recorded, including type of literature, year of publication, and journal title. The journal titles were ranked in descending order according to the frequency of citations and divided into three zones using Bradford''s Law of Scattering. Four databases were analyzed for coverage rates of articles published in the Zone 1 and Zone 2 journals in 2007.

Results:

Journal articles were the most frequently cited type of literature, with sixteen journals supplying one-third of the cited journal references. Physical Therapy was the most commonly cited title. There were more cited articles published from 2000 to 2007 than in any previous full decade. Of the databases analyzed, CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for Zone 1 2007 publications.

Conclusions:

Results were similar to a previous study, except for changes in the order of Zone 1 journals. Results can help physical therapists and librarians determine important journals in this discipline.

Highlights

• More cited references were published in the last eight years studied than in any previous full decade.
• Physical Therapy, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (APMR), and Spine were the most frequently cited titles. Previous studies found APMR to be the most cited journal.
• CINAHL provided the highest coverage rate for the most commonly cited titles, with MEDLINE and EMBASE providing the best coverage for the next group of titles.

Implications

• Health sciences librarians and clinicians can use these results to identify important journals for developing collections and determining the need for access to back issues of journals.
• Multiple databases are needed for comprehensive coverage of the physical therapy discipline

Implications

• Health sciences librarians and clinicians can use these results to identify important journals for developing collections and determining the need for access to back issues of journals.
• Multiple databases are needed for comprehensive coverage of the physical therapy discipline

     

Photography and Film History

Gordon Hendricks' Eadweard Muybridge: The Father of the Motion Picture (New York: Grossman Publishers/Viking Press, 1975—$25.00)

Eaton S. Lothrop Jr.'s A Century of Cameras from the Collection of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Morgan and Morgan, 1973—$12.00)

John Stewart's Filmarama Volume I: The Formidable Years 1893-1919 (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1975— $15.00)

Kenneth W. Leish's Cinema (New York: Newsweek Books ”World of Culture“ series, 1974— cost not known, but available in regular and deluxe editions)

Donald F. Glut's The Dracula Book (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1975—$12.50)

Richard Schickel's The Men Who Made The Movies (New York: Atheneum, 1975—$12.95)     

Social Science Boot Camp: Development and Assessment of a Foundational Course on Academic Literacy in the Social Sciences

We developed a course, as part of our institution's core program, which provides students with a foundation in academic literacy in the social sciences: how to find, read, critically assess, and communicate about social science research. It is not a research methods course; rather, it is intended to introduce students to the social sciences and be better consumers of social science research. In this article, we describe the key learning objectives of this course, the basic content areas, and some of the innovative teaching and learning strategies used in the course. We also provide empirical evidence of the effectiveness of the course in meeting its learning objectives and of student responses to the course. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges in developing interdisciplinary core courses and offer suggestions for best practices for teaching social science literacy as part of the core curriculum.     

A blended learning curriculum for training peer researchers to conduct community-based participatory research

Peer researchers (PRs) are research team members who share traits (e.g. gender, age, sexual orientation, diagnosis, income, housing situation, etc.) with study participants. Participatory methods and some fields (e.g. HIV/AIDS) expect PRs to be equitably involved in a project. Moreover, in Canada, there is a current impetus to include ‘the patient’ in health research. PRs often join a project without any formal research training, yet they are frequently tasked with suggesting appropriate language, recruiting participants, conducting interviews, administering surveys, analyzing data, and presenting findings. While there is literature on PR hiring, ethical considerations of PR engagement, and PR experiences, the methods of training PRs remain underreported. A blended learning curriculum (i.e. combination of webinars, didactic in-person presentation, filmed simulation, etc.), informed by the principles of action learning and the concept of reciprocity, has shown preliminary effectiveness in training PRs across two studies. This paper will present the curriculum, alongside exploratory evaluation results (n?=?7), with details on how the curriculum changed from one study to the next and how reciprocity between academic and peer researchers led to stronger collaborations.     

Are sex differences in child motor activity level a function of sex differences in maturational status?

By virtue of being farther along a developmental path for motor activity level, girls may appear to be the less active sex when compared to less physically mature but same-aged boys. If so, observed sex differences in activity level may be an epiphenomenon of sex differences in maturity related declines in AL. To test this hypothesis and the associated premise that females would be more mature and less active than males, the customary activity levels and relative physical maturities of 83 5-8-year-olds were assessed. Relative maturity (percentage of estimated adult height attained) was negatively related to activity level, and girls were both less motorically active and more mature than boys. Though reduced in magnitude, the sex effect remained significant after maturity was added as a predictor of AL. Thus, sex differences are not due only to maturity differences but may be partially mediated by them.