“Can we not do group stuff?”: Student insights on implementing co-creation in online intensive programs

The demand for intensive educational experiences is increasing, necessitating a focus on ensuring quality and providing adequate student support. Increasing opportunities for student collaboration, including teacher/student co-creation of learning materials, has strong potential to increase engagement and support. Given increased interest in co-creation within education and research more broadly, we explored student perspectives on this novel approach within online intensive modes of teaching with a focus on feasibility and implementation. Two focus groups were conducted with students (N = 16), including discussion of their preferences and barriers for implementing co-creation initiatives in an intensive program. Thematic analysis was then conducted, generating five themes. Students see co-creation as beneficial for self-development and connections (Theme 1), but also identify barriers such as its perception as another group assignment (Theme 2). Students believe successful co-creation requires a “type” of student who is intrinsically motivated and career-driven (Theme 3). Concerns exist about co-creation being an additional workload, emphasising the need for clear roles (Theme 4). Students’ views on co-creation vary, with differing opinions on its practicality (Theme 5). The findings suggest that successful implementation of co-creation initiatives requires careful consideration of barriers while addressing student concerns and leveraging their intrinsic motivation. For educators in intensive programs, it is crucial to provide incentives, collaborate on feasible time slots, establish clear objectives and timelines, offer guidance and support, and celebrate student achievements to effectively incorporate co-creation activities. By understanding students’ perceptions and preferences, educators can better support student collaboration, which is crucial for students’ development in intensive programs

Exploring the use of constructive journalism to combat misinformation in the mainstream media

Misinformation in the news presents a challenge to democracy’s need for a well-informed citizenry and can carry severe personal and societal consequences. In addition to the ease of information sharing on social media, belief in misinformation is facilitated by various social, structural, and psychological factors, many of which are both mitigated and exacerbated by news media. I investigate the role of news media in the context of misinformation and its spread from a psychological perspective, with a particular focus on constructive journalism, an approach that draws on positive and cognitive psychology to reduce the mental health burden and increase the accuracy of reporting, as a potential response to assuage the negative consequences of news media in the context of misinformation and COVID-19. The thesis consists of four studies where I use several methodologies to explore the boundaries of constructive journalism and the problem of misinformation in the news. An initial survey study investigated the relationship of information consumption to protective behaviours throughout COVID-19 using Bayesian structural equation modelling, through the mediators of anxiety, risk perception, and belief in misinformation among Australian (N = 201) and United States (N = 306) participants. Information consumption was associated with increased protective behaviours, a relationship partially mediated by increases in anxiety and risk perception, while belief in misinformation was associated with decreased protective behaviours in the United States sample. I also conducted semi-structured interviews with an international sample of journalism professionals to investigate the potential benefits and use of constructive journalism in the context of COVID-19 (N = 11), and misinformation (N = 16). Using thematic analysis, I generated two themes and six subthemes concerning the capacity of constructive journalism to assist in reporting on COVID-19, including educating the public without inspiring undue fear and encouraging constructive responses to the pandemic. I generated three themes and six subthemes regarding constructive journalism’s potential benefit concerning misinformation, including audience engagement, democratic conversation and ideas of truth, and news media’s effects on trust and beliefs. The final study consisted of a randomised-controlled repeated-measures experiment (N = 238), investigating the effect of constructive techniques on mood, comprehension, and trust using five articles adapted from existing constructive journalism pieces. Consistent with previous studies, participants in the Constructive Condition reported higher positive mood and lower negative mood relative to the Control group. However, participants in the Constructive Condition also performed worse on the comprehension measure and reported no differences in trust until accounting for mood and interest, at which point they reported a decrease in trust. I investigate constructive journalism techniques – including inclusiveness and diversity, future orientation, and context – as potential mitigators of the belief and spread of misinformation by probing their effects on trust and comprehension. To foreshadow my conclusions, I find constructive journalism a promising way creators of news media (i.e., journalists) can influence individual and social cognition, beliefs in misinformation, and misinformation sharing. I also make several suggestions for further empirical and theoretical development.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 202

The effects of constructive journalism techniques on mood, comprehension, and trust

The role of news media in the perpetuation of misinformation has faced increasing scrutiny. Concerns have been raised about news media’s negative influence on mental health, increasing news avoidance, and decreasing trust in news. Constructive journalism is proposed to increase engagement with and trust in news media, reduce the mental health impact of news consumption, and provide a more accurate view of the world. However, constructive journalism studies primarily investigate the inclusion of solutions and positive emotions in news stories, to the exclusion of other techniques. Additionally, few studies have investigated constructive journalism’s effects on trust and comprehension. We used a randomised-controlled repeated-measures experimental design to investigate the effects of a comprehensive set of constructive journalism techniques on mood, comprehension, and trust among 238 Australian participants. Participants who read constructive articles reported higher positive emotion, and lower negative emotion, compared to participants who read the same articles without constructive features. However, participants in the constructive condition demonstrated worse comprehension than participants in the control, an effect partially mediated by negative emotion but not effort. No significant differences in trust in journalism as an institution or in article content were present between groups. However, when accounting for interest, constructive journalism demonstrated a significant negative effect on trust in the information, though positive where it increased mood. Further research is needed to calibrate techniques which balance the positive effects of constructive journalism with its ability to convey information

Telehealth in the context of COVID-19

Introduction: The rise in telehealth adoption due to the emergence of COVID-19 may have had implications for men who experience barriers to accessing traditional forms of healthcare. This study sought to explore how a sample of older men interacted with telehealth during the pandemic. Method: Data sourced from a cross-sectional, population-based questionnaire (completed from October 2020 to March 2021) were used to analyze the characteristics of older men’s (a) use of telehealth services, and (b) perceptions of telehealth in comparison to in-person healthcare using Andersen’s Behavioral Model of Health Services Use. Results: Of the 731 participants (mean age = 69 years; SD = 9.6), 241 (32.9%) had used telehealth services during pandemic restrictions. Most of them who had used telehealth (63.1%; 152/241) thought it was “just as good” as in-person, 4.1% (10/241) believed it was “better,” and 25.7% (62/241) thought it was “worse.” Men with more chronic conditions were more likely to (a) have used telehealth (odds ratio [OR], 1.44 [95% CI, 1.21–1.71]) and (b) perceived telehealth as “better” or “just as good” as in-person healthcare (OR, 1.63 [95% CI, 1.17–2.29]). Men with clinically significant depressive symptoms were more likely to view telehealth as worse than in-person care (OR, 0.32 [95% CI, 0.12–0.88]). Conclusion: While telehealth is acceptable to the majority of middle-aged and older men who have used it during the pandemic, attitudes may vary according to their current health issues. Men with more chronic conditions are more likely to feel positive about telehealth, while those with clinically significant depression symptoms are more likely to view it negatively. Healthcare providers should consider men’s needs and preferences when offering telehealth services

Compliance with Standard Precautions among Midwives during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: While the COVID-19 pandemic has spread across nations in significant terms, midwives who play a crucial role in offering maternal and child care amid the pandemic stand a high risk of being infected. Examining their level of compliance with the standard precautions amid the pandemic is important. Purpose: To assess the level of compliance of midwives in Indonesia with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) usage and hand washing. Methods: In June 2020, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted on 1520 midwives in Indonesia during the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 26. Association between demographic variables and compliance with standard precautions was measured using Chi-square test.  Results: Approximately 74% of midwives used PPE and masks when outside while more than 40% of them did not always wash their hands after they touch an object outside home. A significant association was found between level of education (p =.001), region (p =.000) and mask usage. However, association between ethnicity and mask usage; region and handwashing were not significant.    Conclusion: Majority of the midwives in Indonesia complied with PPE usage, but majority did not adhere to hand washing. This highlights the need for appropriate interventions to improve compliance to standard precautions in a bid to curtail further spread of the pandemic

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

COVID 19 and Infodemic Exposure

Data, R scripts, notebooks, and supplementary files for an investigation into infodemic exposure and COVID-19 protective behaviors

Trust and News Use

Re-analysis of existing datasets to contribute data on the relationship between trust in news media and use of news media. Hypotheses proposed on the basis of Strömbäck et al. (2020)