Collecting Data from Children Ages 9-13

Provides a summary of literature on common methods used to collect data, such as diaries, interviews, observational methods, and surveys. Analyzes age group-specific considerations, advantages, and drawbacks, with tips for improving data quality

Differential parent and teacher reports of school readiness in a disadvantaged community

Differential ratings by multiple informants are an important issue in survey design. Although much research has focused on differential reports of child behaviour, discrepancies between parent and teacher reports of children’s school readiness are less explored.

Inner wellbeing: concept and validation of a new approach to subjective perceptions of wellbeing-India

© The Author(s) 2013. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.This paper describes the conceptual development of a multi-domain, psychosocial model of 'Inner Wellbeing' (IWB) and assesses the construct validity of the scale designed to measure it. IWB expresses what people think and feel they are able to be and do. Drawing together scholarship in wellbeing and international development it is grounded in field research in marginalised, rural communities in the global South. Results from research in India at two points in time (2011 and 2013) are reported. At Time 1 (n = 287), we were unable to confirm an eight-factor, correlated model as distinct yet interrelated domains. However, at Time 2 (n = 335), we were able to confirm a revised, seven-factor correlated model with economic confidence, agency and participation, social connections, close relationships, physical and mental health, competence and self-worth, and values and meaning (five items per domain) as distinct yet interrelated domains. In particular, at Time 2, a seven-factor, correlated model provided a significantly better fit to the data than did a one-factor model.This work is supported by the Economic and Social Research Council/Department for International Development Joint Scheme for Research on International Development (Poverty Alleviation) grant number RES-167-25-0507 ES/H033769/1. Special thanks are due to Chaupal and Gangaram Paikra, Pritam Das, Usha Kujur, Kanti Minjh, Susanna Siddiqui, and Dinesh Tirkey

Overcoming Cognitive and Motivational Barriers to Media Literacy: A Dual-Process Approach

In today\u27s fast-paced, hyper-mediated society, the ability to balance accuracy and efficiency is essential. Media literacy educational programs have arisen to meet this need and proliferated in recent years. Although the practice of media literacy is thriving, its underlying mechanisms are poorly understood and evidence of effectiveness is mixed (e.g., Bergsma & Carney, 2008). A social psychological perspective has the potential to illuminate previously overlooked variables and inform research and practice in this growing field. In particular, whereas media literacy efforts typically emphasize thorough processing of media messages, dual-process theories of persuasion (e.g., Eagly & Chaiken, 1993; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986) suggest this is not always realistic. When motivation or ability is compromised, individuals default to a low-effort processing mode, relying on peripheral cues or heuristics rather than carefully evaluating message arguments. In this mode, media messages can persuade unconsciously. Using a dual-process approach, the present research investigated how specific barriers to motivation (perceptions of personal invulnerability) and processing ability (emotion-based advertising, environmental distractions) influence the processes of media literacy. Participants (N = 882) were randomly assigned to 16 conditions in a 2 [vulnerability: demonstrated, control] x 2 [distractions: present, absent] x 2(2) [ad type: informational, emotional; two replicates of each type] between-subjects nested design. The vulnerability manipulation increased distrust in the target ads and reduced their persuasiveness, not through the hypothesized mechanism of heightened perceptions of vulnerability, but mediated by increased counterarguing. Relative to informational ads, emotional ads were judged more persuasive, attractive, similar to personal experience, and elicited greater identification. However, they were also rated less trustworthy than informational ads, suggesting emotional advertising largely bypasses logical decision-making processes. Distraction reduced counterarguing only among those who found the ad relatively unpersuasive. The results of this research highlight the central role of trust in media literacy processes. Although individuals recognize and distrust emotional forms of advertising, they are nonetheless persuaded by such appeals. Given the sophistication of contemporary advertising techniques and the ubiquity of distractions, the present research suggests new approaches to media literacy are needed, specifically tailored to decision-making under these more realistic media-use conditions

Benefici percepiti della lettura ad alta voce in età prescolare: analisi di uno strumento di monitoraggio per la fascia d’età 0-6

In an extremely complex framework such as the Italian education system, which moves between innovative impulses and a tendency towards conservation, emerges the need to promote teaching practices that make it possible to increase literacy levels from early childhood. This study fits into this panorama, within the broader context of ‘Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza’, an educational policy promoted by the Tuscany Region in collaboration with the University of Perugia. The purpose of this study is to investigate what emerged from the subjective perceptions of educators and teachers who joined the action-research project, systematically and intensively reading aloud to chil-dren aged 0-6 in various educational services, through the analysis of a monitoring tool: an ongoing semi-structured diary. This study also aims to understand whether the subjective perceptions of educators provide support to the evidence in the literature on the positive effects of reading aloud in the development of pre-school children. The diaries compiled by educators provided important insights with respect to the improvement of different dimensions perceived as related to the practice of reading aloud: cognitive, emotive-relational, linguistic and interest. Finally, limitations, implications and and future prospects of the present study will be discussed.In an extremely complex framework such as the Italian education system, which moves between innovative impulses and a tendency towards conservation, emerges the need to promote teaching practices that make it possible to increase literacy levels from early childhood. This study fits into this panorama, within the broader context of ‘Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza’, an educational policy promoted by the Tuscany Region in collaboration with the University of Perugia. The purpose of this study is to investigate what emerged from the subjective perceptions of educators and teachers who joined the action-research project, systematically and intensively reading aloud to chil-dren aged 0-6 in various educational services, through the analysis of a monitoring tool: an ongoing semi-structured diary. This study also aims to understand whether the subjective perceptions of educators provide support to the evidence in the literature on the positive effects of reading aloud in the development of pre-school children. The diaries compiled by educators provided important insights with respect to the improvement of different dimensions perceived as related to the practice of reading aloud: cognitive, emotive-relational, linguistic and interest. Finally, limitations, implications and and future prospects of the present study will be discussed

Indigenous wellbeing in Australia: evidence from HILDA

This study explores the subjective wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. Abstract Report focusses on mean levels of self-reported life satisfaction, inequality in life satisfaction within the Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian populations, and the prevalence and severity of dissatisfaction with one’s life. Evidence on differences in the determinants of life satisfaction between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is provided. Results indicate that Indigenous life satisfaction peaked in 2003 and has since declined. We also find that inequality in life satisfaction is greater for Indigenous than non-Indigenous Australians. Despite a downward trend in the level of dissatisfaction for non-Indigenous Australians, dissatisfaction among Indigenous Australians has remained relatively unchanged

Financial Literacy and Consumer Well-Being: Examining the Role of Gender Role Ideology

Financial literacy, or the ability to process economic information and make informed decisions about financial planning, wealth accumulation, debt, and pensions, has been linked to beneficial financial behaviors that support financial well-being. Despite these benefits, consumers tend to underperform in financial literacy tests with women generally faring worse than men. This dissertation draws from gender roles literature and Expectancy-Value Theory to examine how, why, and when traditional attitudes regarding societal gender roles (i.e., gender role ideology) hinder women’s financial literacy and willingness to acquire financial knowledge. Moreover, it examines how financial literacy and willingness to acquire financial knowledge influence expectations of future financial security. I conduct two studies among adult women in the U.S. Study 1 consists of an online survey administered to 154 participants and employs covariance-based structural equation modelling to analyze the data. Results show that traditional gender role ideology is negatively related to financial literacy. This relationship is stronger among women who are more likely to identify with typically masculine psychological traits, such as being assertive or possessing leadership abilities. Additionally, willingness to acquire knowledge is positively related to expectations of future financial security. Study 2 consists of a between-subjects scenario-based experiment that primes traditional and egalitarian gender role ideology to further understand its influence on willingness to acquire financial knowledge, financial literacy, subjective value attached to financial matters, and financial self-efficacy. The scenarios were randomly shown to 137 participants. I use analyses of variance and independent sample t-tests to examine the mean differences between conditions. Results reveal that participants in the traditional condition report higher financial self-efficacy compared to participants in the egalitarian condition. This dissertation contributes to theory and consumer research in the financial literacy gender gap stream by identifying traditional gender role ideology as an antecedent to women’s low financial literacy scores, and masculine gender identity as a boundary condition for this relationship. Additionally, it contributes to practice by providing public and private actors with psychographic segmentation characteristics relevant for targeting efforts. Stakeholders interested in increasing financial literacy may need to narrow on consumer clusters that hold traditional gender role attitudes

Users' trust in information resources in the Web environment: a status report

This study has three aims; to provide an overview of the ways in which trust is either assessed or asserted in relation to the use and provision of resources in the Web environment for research and learning; to assess what solutions might be worth further investigation and whether establishing ways to assert trust in academic information resources could assist the development of information literacy; to help increase understanding of how perceptions of trust influence the behaviour of information users

Identifying the Negative Stigma Associated with Having a Learning Disability

Those with learning disabilities (LDs) can be characterized as a minority group, and like most groups of minorities they face a distinct stigma by the larger population. While there iscurrently a lack of research in understanding LD stigma, it has become increasingly important given the push for inclusive classrooms settings. In this study it was hypothesized that regardlessof a participants’ gender, when participants were given a hypothetical description of a person that included information indicating that the individual has a LD, the participants would rate that individual less favorably. Results were consistent with the hypothesis. Participants perceived the hypothetical LD individual as being less attractive, less successful, less emotionally stable,and more open to new experiences when compared to those participants who were given the non-LD description. These results show a level of negative bias in our population towards those with LDs. It is hoped that this research will help address the goal of inclusion and equality for those with LDs and aid in finding ways to identify, address, and attenuate these stigmatizations within all aspects of our society

Validation of a recommender system for prompting omitted foods in online dietary assessment surveys

Recall assistance methods are among the key aspects that improve the accuracy of online dietary assessment surveys. These methods still mainly rely on experience of trained interviewers with nutritional background, but data driven approaches could improve cost-efficiency and scalability of automated dietary assessment. We evaluated the effectiveness of a recommender algorithm developed for an online dietary assessment system called Intake24, that automates the multiple-pass 24-hour recall method. The recommender builds a model of eating behavior from recalls collected in past surveys. Based on foods they have already selected, the model is used to remind respondents of associated foods that they may have omitted to report. The performance of prompts generated by the model was compared to that of prompts hand-coded by nutritionists in two dietary studies. The results of our studies demonstrate that the recommender system is able to capture a higher number of foods omitted by respondents of online dietary surveys than prompts hand-coded by nutritionists. However, the considerably lower precision of generated prompts indicates an opportunity for further improvement of the system