Perinatal Nurses Respond to Shared Decision-Making Education: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Women describe a loss of autonomy during childbirth as a contributing factor to labor dissatisfaction. Shared decision-making with choice, option, and decision talk may improve satisfaction. Nurses (n = 29) received education on supporting women''s autonomy with a standardized communication tool (SUPPORT) to facilitate shared decision-making and create an evolving birth plan. This quasi-experimental pre-/post-test design evaluated participant responses to the education module. Participants supported the use of the SUPPORT tool for shared decision-making and developing evolving birth plans. Most recommended initiation between 13- and 26-weeks'' gestation. Nurses'' willingness to advocate for women''s autonomy increased significantly after education (p = .022). Shared decision-making with standardized perinatal communication may support a woman''s perinatal education and her satisfaction with labor.     

Making Science Relevant: The Experiences of Prospective Elementary School Teachers in an Innovative Science Content Course

Journal of Science Teacher Education -     

Cost-Benefit Analysis Versus Cost-Consequences Analysis

Cost-consequences analysts Kaufman and Watkins (1996) have proposed cost-consequences analysis (CCA) as a means for leaders and decision-makers to estimate whether the value of results obtained is worth the investment. They argue that CCA offers a “coarse-grain” estimate of return-on-investment when there is not the necessity nor time and/or resources available for a complete determination of all of the variables that actually go into a return-on-investment analysis. They further contend that CCA differs from other evaluation tools in that it emphasizes outcomes, whereas the other tools utilize incomplete measures of both costs and returns. This paper contends, after assessing the theoretical underpinnings of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), together with its use in practice, that there is no substantive difference between CCA and CBA. In other words, CCA does not add anything new to the evaluation tools available to program evaluators. In arguing this, the paper also addresses some issues of what is required for good program evaluation, no matter which tool is used.     

Adolescent racial prejudice development: The role of friendship quality and interracial contact

There is a limited theoretical and empirical literature on the role of friendship quality and interracial contact on adolescent racial prejudice development. To address this gap, the present study examined the relationship between these factors amongst an Australian sample of 89 school-aged adolescent friendship dyads and 80 university-aged adolescent friendship dyads. All participants were administered questionnaires measuring prejudice towards Asian and Arab Australians, friendship quality and interracial contact. Overall, the results revealed that all adolescents reported significantly higher levels of subtle prejudice than blatant prejudice. As predicted, university-aged adolescents reported significantly lower levels of both subtle and blatant prejudice towards Asian and Arab Australians than school-aged adolescents. Importantly, adolescents who had contact with Asian (outgroup) friends reported significantly lower levels of subtle and blatant prejudice towards Asian Australians than adolescents with no Asian friends. Interestingly, friendship quality was not found to moderate the similarity of prejudice levels within friendship dyads. Together, these findings indicate that in developing subtle prejudice-reduction programs research should focus on increasing interracial cooperative contact, particularly amongst school-aged adolescents.     

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on physical activity in U.S. children

BackgroundDaily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is vital to the physical, mental, and social well-being of children. Early restrictions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic included the closure of schools and physical activity (PA) amenities across the US. This study aimed to examine the impact of the pandemic on the PA and play behavior of U.S. children and to provide evidence-based recommendations to improve their PA.MethodsA cross-sectional, online, parent-reported survey was conducted of children aged 3–18 years between April and June 2020 to assess light PA and MVPA using a modified Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire. Additional items included family/child socioeconomic demographics, child adaptability to the pandemic, and community access. The survey was shared through social media and snowball sampling distribution.ResultsAnalysis of 1310 surveys indicated child PA scores declined significantly during the pandemic (from 56.6 to 44.6, max 119, p < 0.001). Specifically, MVPA score decreased (from 46.7 to 34.7, max 98, p < 0.001) while light PA remained the same. Age-based changes were seen in the quantity, variety, and intensity of PA, with the lowest pandemic-related impact seen in preschoolers and the highest in high schoolers (–4.7 vs. –17.2, p < 0.001). Community-based peer PA decreased across all age groups.ConclusionThis study shows decreased PA levels in U.S. children, according to parent reporting, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recommendations for community leaders, educators, and parents to improve PA in children are provided. With continued spread of COVID-19, these results and recommendations may be imperative to the physical well-being of U.S. children.     

Felder and Silverman's Index of Learning Styles and Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire: How do they compare and do they predict academic performance?

Samples of engineering and business students at undergraduate, postgraduate and post-experience levels at two UK universities completed the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) (N = 284) or the (Learning Styles Questionnaire LSQ) (N = 182) and a biographical data questionnaire. Broad psychological aspects of the two learning style instruments are examined and compared. Psychometric properties of the instruments, including factor structure, internal reliability and inter-scale correlation are analysed. Potential limitations are commented on, in particular those related to the construct validity and relatively low internal reliability of the ILS scales (alpha = 0.41 to 0.65). These compare with alphas of 0.59 to 0.74 for the LSQ. Relationships between the scales are discussed and a circumplex arrangement of the LSQ is proposed. Proposals for augmenting the circumplex are made. Academic performance results and scores on each of the two instruments are compared. The general lack of significant correlations between learning style scores and performance in these samples is discussed. Conclusions are drawn about the disappointing psychometric robustness of the measures, the activity-centred nature of learning styles and the advantages of viewing styles as a circumplex.     

在家工作的现实

在家工作既可以避免上下班的劳累,又可以较自由地安排自己的时间。但在家工作仍存在一些难题,比如:怎样避免受到他人的干扰?怎样防止自由散漫、浪费时间?本文将向有机会在家工作的人介绍一些合理安排生活的方法。