When screens replace backyards: strategies to connect digital-media-oriented young people to nature

Abstract

Children’s connection to nature (CTN) is declining with each generation, a concerning trend given that CTN is positively linked to wellbeing and environmentalism. A primary cause of this decline is that twenty-first-century youth engage with screens for several hours each day, which to a large extent replaces nature-based play. Researchers have proposed that this change represents a transition in human orientation, particularly in Westernized societies, from nature (biophilia) to digital media (videophilia). Interventions promoting nature-based play must acknowledge digital-media use as a competing leisure pursuit, but the literature presents little guidance for designing programs that will attract young people who are more oriented toward digital media than nature. Drawing on a wide breadth of research, we address this gap through (1) exploring the implications of videophilia for nature-based programming and (2) summarizing recommendations from a narrative literature review for designing interventions that appeal to digital-media-oriented youth.     

The Relationship Between Physical,Sexual, and Emotional Abuse and Unhealthy Weight Loss Behaviors

The authors investigated the relationship between abuse in adult relationships and the tendency to engage in unhealthy weight loss behaviors. Undergraduate women responded to questions regarding weight loss behaviors, whether or not they had recently been in an abusive relationship, and perceived body image. Results indicated that women who had recently been in abusive relationships were more likely to endorse unhealthy weight loss. Implications for college counselors are discussed.     

Factors affecting the speed of free writing

Factors affecting the free writing speed of 11‐year‐old students were investigated using the Group and Individual Assessment of Handwriting Speed. Intelligence, gender, legibility and whether the student has special educational needs or speaks English as an additional language were all found to impact on writing speed to a significant extent. In one of the two schools studied, the students wrote significantly faster than the students in the other school. This ‘teacher effect’ was found to be independent of the other significant factors examined in the study and was attributed largely to instructional differences between schools and teachers. The average writing speed was 36% lower than published norms for this test, implying that 70.2% of the students would be eligible for extra time in examinations and raising doubts regarding the validity of these norms. It was concluded that vulnerability to teacher effects and other factors makes free writing an unreliable method of measuring writing speed, especially when group administered, and calls into question its use to justify the provision of examination access arrangements or accommodations.     

Using Performance to Learn How to Balance Reporting with Compassion

In this study we examine performance as an approach to train journalists in order to alleviate negative public perceptions of media victimization and to identify behaviors more conducive to effective, but compassionate reporting. After an overview of literature related to public perceptions of media victimization and the potential of applied performance, we describe a collaborative partnership between an advanced journalism seminar exploring media victimization and an introductory performance studies course. We conclude by sharing implications and suggestions for using performance to train journalists covering tragic events.     

BUILDING A LEARNING EXPERIENCE: THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A CLERKSHIP IN GERIATRIC MEDICINE

Recent curriculum changes at McGill University include a mandatory 4-week clerkship for third-year medical students. The basis of this clerkship is the assessment and management of frail elderly who have a combination of complex acute and chronic medical problems and functional disabilities. It includes the understanding of the need for continuity of care across settings and the transition from hospital to the community. Our main purpose is to offer students a learning experience based upon self-reflection, access to technology, interactive learning and permanent feedback. To accomplish the technological goals, didactic sessions were mostly electronic-based with two main components: web-based interactive modules that include the contents in seven web-based interactive lectures complemented with pre- and post-tests, and an electronic portfolio to assess students' acquisition of skills and attitudes. We expect that implementation of this model of clinical clerkship will prepare future physicians, not only for the practice of geriatric medicine, but also for different medical and surgical specialties, and will enhance the attitudes, knowledge, and skills practitioners need to care for older people.     

Quantification of the specific membrane capacitance of single cells using a microfluidic device and impedance spectroscopy measurement

The specific membrane capacitance (SMC) is an electrical parameter that correlates with both the electrical activity and morphology of the plasma membrane, which are physiological markers for cellular phenotype and health. We have developed a microfluidic device that enables impedance spectroscopy measurements of the SMC of single biological cells. Impedance spectra induced by single cells aspirated into the device are captured over a moderate frequency range (5 kHz–1 MHz). Maximum impedance sensitivity is achieved using a tapered microfluidic channel, which effectively routes electric fields across the cell membranes. The SMC is extracted by curve-fitting impedance spectra to an equivalent circuit model. From our measurement, acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells are found to exhibit larger SMC values in hypertonic solutions as compared with those in isotonic solutions. In addition, AML cell phenotypes (AML2 and NB4) exhibiting varying metastatic potential yield distinct SMC values (AML2: 16.9 ± 1.9 mF/m² (n = 23); NB4: 22.5 ± 4.7 mF/m² (n = 23)). Three-dimensional finite element simulations of the microfluidic device confirm the feasibility of this approach.     

Electronic detection of dielectrophoretic forces exerted on particles flowing over interdigitated electrodes

Dielectric particles flowing through a microfluidic channel over a set of coplanar electrodes can be simultaneously capacitively detected and dielectrophoretically (DEP) actuated when the high (1.45 GHz) and low (100 kHz–20 MHz) frequency electromagnetic fields are concurrently applied through the same set of electrodes. Assuming a simple model in which the only forces acting upon the particles are apparent gravity, hydrodynamic lift, DEP force, and fluid drag, actuated particle trajectories can be obtained as numerical solutions of the equations of motion. Numerically calculated changes of particle elevations resulting from the actuation simulated in this way agree with the corresponding elevation changes estimated from the electronic signatures generated by the experimentally actuated particles. This verifies the model and confirms the correlation between the DEP force and the electronic signature profile. It follows that the electronic signatures can be used to quantify the actuation that the dielectric particle experiences as it traverses the electrode region. Using this principle, particles with different dielectric properties can be effectively identified based exclusively on their signature profile. This approach was used to differentiate viable from non-viable yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).     

Microfluidic electromanipulation with capacitive detection for the mechanical analysis of cells

The mechanical behavior of cells offers insight into many aspects of their properties. We propose an approach to the mechanical analysis of cells that uses a combination of electromanipulation for stimulus and capacitance for sensing. To demonstrate this approach, polystyrene spheres and yeast cells flowing in a 25 μm×100 μm microfluidic channel were detected by a perpendicular pair of gold thin film electrodes in the channel, spaced 25 μm apart. The presence of cells was detected by capacitance changes between the gold electrodes. The capacitance sensor was a resonant coaxial radio frequency cavity (2.3 GHz) coupled to the electrodes. The presence of yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and polystyrene spheres resulted in capacitance changes of approximately 10 and 100 attoFarad (aF), respectively, with an achieved capacitance resolution of less than 2 aF in a 30 Hz bandwidth. The resolution is better than previously reported in the literature, and the capacitance changes are in agreement with values estimated by finite element simulations. Yeast cells were trapped using dielectrophoretic forces by applying a 3 V signal at 1 MHz between the electrodes. After trapping, the cells were displaced using amplitude and frequency modulated voltages to produce modulated dielectrophoretic forces. Repetitive displacement and relaxation of these cells was observed using both capacitance and video microscopy.