The impact of media multitasking on learning

While multitasking is not a new concept, it has received increasing attention in recent years with the development of new media and technologies. Recent trends appear to suggest that multitasking is on the rise among the younger generation. The purpose of the study is to determine if students obtain more or less information in multitasking conditions. We examined the relationships of multitasking to attention, cognitive load and media with 130 college student participants. In this study, participants were given a timed (16 minutes) reading comprehension test in three conditions: Silence (only reading), Background multitasking (reading with a non-tested video shown simultaneously), and Test multitasking (reading with a tested video shown simultaneously) conditions. Our findings indicated that: (1) participants in the Background condition performed as well as those in the Silence condition, and (2) when participants were tested on their video comprehension, the group in the Test condition performed significantly better than the group in the Background condition. The results of this study suggest that cognitive load plays an important role in determining how much information is retained when students perform more than one task at a time.     

Self-concept of students in higher education: are there differences by faculty and gender?

Many studies examine student self-concept during compulsory schooling but few have explored the self-concept of students in higher educational settings. The current study examined self-concept by faculty and gender among higher education students in New Zealand. Participants were 929 undergraduate students from a large New Zealand university. The results showed some differences in verbal and maths self-concept by faculty. Generally, students in faculties teaching subjects more reliant on maths skills had higher maths self-concept than those in faculties where facility in verbal skills was important. The opposite results were found for verbal self-concept. No overall gender differences were found for general, academic, verbal and maths self-concept although a statistically significant difference was found for problem-solving self-concept. This finding suggests students’ choice of faculty may be based on perceptions of their skills and capabilities in the various fields, irrespective of gender.     

Physical Activity Related to Depression and Predicted Mortality Risk: Results from the Americans’ Changing Lives Study

This study examined the association between three types of physical activities (PA) and depression, and the relationship between PA and later mortality. Previous studies rarely assessed these associations in one single study in randomly selected population samples. Few studies have assessed these relations by adjusting the covariate of friend-relative care. Participants consisted of 624 noninstitutionalized elders (mean age = 77.35) from the Americans’ Changing Lives Longitudinal Study. Depression was measured using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Logistic regression estimated the risk of depression as a function of the three individual PA (gardening, walking, and sport). A separate set of analyses predicted the risk of mortality (six years later) as a function of PA.

Each 1-standard-unit increase on the physical inactivity scale significantly predicted adjusted 29%, 30%, and 33% increased risk of depression for gardening, walking, and sport, respectively; and each unit also predicted 48% and 72% increased risk of mortality, for gardening and walking, respectively. Active exercise was not able to predict mortality (p = .42). The study concluded that elders with less PA had a higher chance of getting depression. Unlike gardening and walking, rigorous exercise did not significantly predict mortality. This indicated that extra care is needed for elders when they engage in intense exercise. The relationships of social support from friends and relatives with depression and mortality were also discussed.