Engaging Teens: Using an Engagement Event as a Research Tool for Teenagers

This paper describes the use of an engagement event as a research tool to be utilized when working with teenagers in participatory design process

Perceptions of selected Tennessee county leaders regarding the level of severity and program priority of 14 water quality issues

The major purpose of this study was to Identify selected county leaders\u27 perceptions of the level of severity of 14 water quality issues and the importance of these issues as program priorities for the Agricultural Extension Service. Through this study, statewide as well as specific needs are identified. Analysis included the ranking of these issues as to their level of severity and program priority for Extension. The study further analyzed the relationship between the selected county leaders\u27 perceptions of the 14 water quality issues and their geographic region, audience classification, and place of residence. A total of 3,257 community leaders in 95 counties responded to the survey. The questionnaires were mailed by Extension agents to community leaders representing 12 different audience groups. The chi square test (X2) was used to determine the strengths of relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The .05 level of probability was accepted as being statistically significant. Data were analyzed using the University of Tennessee Computing Center. The major findings include: 1. The water quality issues rated by county leaders statewide as the top five in level of severity and as a program priority were: understanding the effects of current practices on future supplies of water; lack of citizens awareness of the nature and importance of water resources; lack of knowledge and use of water conservation methods; improper disposal of leftover chemicals, empty containers, used motor oil, etc; and soil erosion on farms. 2. The county leaders\u27 geographic regions of the state were significantly related to their perceptions of 11 of the 14 water quality issues. West Tennessee county leaders tended to perceive soil erosion on farms; soil erosion from road banks, parks, and public property; and misuse of agriculture chemicals as more severe problems than did county leaders from Middle and East Tennessee. 3. Middle Tennessee county leaders tended to perceive improper disposal of leftover chemicals, empty containers, and used motor oil; and misuse of household chemicals as more severe problems than did county leaders in West or East Tennessee. 4. East Tennessee county leaders tended to perceive soil erosion from construction sites; farm livestock wastes contaminating water; inadequate supplies of safe water; lack of information about water testing; and understanding effects of current practices on future water supplies as more severe problems than did county leaders in West and Middle Tennessee. 5. The county leaders\u27 audience classification (Extension-related/ non-Extension-related) was significantly related to their perceptions of the severity of 12 of the 14 water quality issues and 5 of the 14 program priority issues. County leaders from Extension-related audiences tended to perceive the water quality issues as more severe and higher program priorities than did county leaders from non-Extension-related audiences. 6. County leaders\u27 place of residence (rural/urban) was significantly related to their perceptions of 6 of the 14 water quality issues in level of severity and 7 of the 14 water quality issues in program priority. County leaders from urban counties tended to perceive many of the issues as more severe and higher program priorities than did rural county leaders. Implications and recommendations for future studies are also presented

The Effects of Depletion and Brain Stimulation on Motivation

Mental fatigue decreases motivation. I tested whether applying electricity to a self-control region of the brain would replenish some of the motivation normally lost during mental fatigue. 224 people participated in this study. Each person received real or placebo brain stimulation while undergoing activities that increased mental fatigue. The dependent variable was a task where participants had to perform work by clicking a computer mouse repeatedly. Before performing this task, participants indicated how hard they were planning to work on this motivation task. Participants who received real brain stimulation were able to perform more work, but only if they also indicated they planned to work hard on the task

WHEN BRAIN STIMULATION BACKFIRES

tDCS brain stimulation does not always work in the intended direction. It has been found to sometimes worsen behavior rather than improve it. A preliminary study shows that people high on sensation-seeking and lack of premeditation were prone to reverse effects of tDCS on performance on a Stop Signal Task. Both of these constructs are related to dopamine levels. Study 2 seeks to intentionally cause a reverse effect of tDCS by increasing participants’ dopamine levels via caffeine. There was not a significant interaction between tDCS and caffeine on errors on the Stop Signal Task in this study. However, other factors interacted with tDCS and caffeine including lack of premeditation. This two study package suggests the effects of tDCS are variable across individuals, with personality and neurochemistry both affecting behavioral outcomes of tDCS

Understanding adolescent girls’ vulnerability to the impact of the mass media on body image and restrained eating behaviour: the role of media type, body perfect internalisation and materialism

There is a strong body of psychological research implicating the mass media in the aetiology of adolescent girls’ negative body image and eating behaviours. The present thesis aims to extend this research by examining potential factors – namely, media type, body perfect internalisation and materialism – that make girls more vulnerable to the negative impact of the mass media. An initial meta-analysis (Chapter 3) collated the findings of existing research examining the impact of ‘body perfect’ media on adolescents’ body image; examining gender, age and media type as moderators of this effect. Chapter 4 examined the relative roles of both media type and media model identification (a key dimension of body perfect internalisation), within the mass media and body image relationship. Using both survey and experimental methods (N = 199), it was found that adolescent girls’ habitual tendency to identify with media models, was a more potent vulnerability factor within the mass media and body image relationship, than media type. Due to the limitations associated with existing measures of body perfect internalisation, a new measure of body perfect internalisation was developed in Chapter 5 (N =373), which was subsequently utilised in the final experiments of the thesis. Chapter 6 demonstrated that acute music video exposure had a more potent negative impact on girls’ body image than still media images (N = 142); an effect that was fully mediated by wishful character identification and also moderated by body perfect internalisation. Chapter 7 consists of two studies that demonstrate the important role which materialism plays within the mass media, body image and eating behaviour relationship. In Study 1, structural equation modelling identified a direct pathway between materialism and restrained eating that was independent of body image (N = 199). This finding was further replicated in an exposure experiment, which demonstrated that brief exposure to materialistic media causes acute diet-like behaviours in adolescent girls (N = 180)

Issue 45

Zachary Newell named Dean of Library Services; The Flu: Then and Now exhibithttps://thekeep.eiu.edu/notebooth/1001/thumbnail.jp

"Working with Teenagers within HCI Research: Understanding Teen-Computer Interaction"

There has been limited consideration of teenagers (defined as 12-19 year olds in this work) as participants and end-users in Child-Computer Interaction and mainstream HCI communities. Teenagers reside in a fascinating and dynamic space between childhood and adulthood, and working more closely with teenagers within HCI may bring great insights and benefits. This paper provides an overview of teenage development from a psychological perspective, and then reviews existing work considering teenagers within HCI. Teenagers have long been identified as unique and studied within the field of developmental psychology, and the overview we provide in this paper highlights key understandings that should be carefully considered when working with teen participants. The paper concludes by presenting a set of key research questions that need to be explored in order to effectively work with teenagers within the field of HCI and provide a roadmap for future research within the Teen-Computer Interaction area

Does Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to the Prefrontal Cortex Affect Social Behavior? A Meta-Analysis

This meta-analysis (k = 48, N = 2196) examined the effect of transcranial direct current brain stimulation (tDCS) applied to the prefrontal cortex on a variety of social behaviors, including aggression, overeating, impulsivity, bias, honesty, and risk-taking. tDCS showed an overall significant effect on reducing undesirable behaviors, with an average effect size of d = −0.20. tDCS was most effective at reducing risk-taking behavior, bias, and overeating. tDCS did not affect aggression, impulsivity, or dishonesty. We examined moderators such as brain region of interest, online vs offline stimulation, within- vs between-subjects designs, dose, and duration, but none showed significant interactions. We also tested for potential publication bias using two different tools, which indicated signs of publication bias in the literature. After correcting for potential publication bias, the effect of tDCS was still significant, but the size was reduced (d = −0.10). These findings suggest the presence of tDCS studies with null findings outside of the published literature. Taken together, these results suggest that although tDCS can reduce undesirable behaviors, researchers should consider the types of behaviors they measure and use strategies to ensure sufficient power to detect a possible effect of tDCS on social behavior

A Guide to Standards-Based Learning

This learning module educates parents/guardians and teachers new to the practice to understand what standards-based learning is, why a school system would use it, how to know when students are learning the standards, and the difference from traditional learning. View professional learning module.https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/improve/1032/thumbnail.jp

Trolley Trail: An Assessment of Opportunities and Constraints

In January 2002, Metro Regional Parks and Greenspaces (Metro) and North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District (NCPRD) contacted Portland State University\u27s Planning Workshop class for assistance with a regional trail planning project. Metro is the regional government for the Portland metropolitan area. Within Metro, the Regional Parks and Greenspaces staff administers the parks, open space, natural area, trails and greenways acquisition program for the citizens of the region. NCPRD is a special service district of Clackamas County that provides park and recreation services to communities in the northern portion of the county. When the project was presented to the workshop class, Metro and NCPRD were beginning to plan for the conversion of a former streetcar right ..of-way into a multi-use trail in North Clackamas County. Both agencies were interested in having a student group assist with the early phases of trail planning. In response to this interest, the workshop team completed a work plan detailing tasks and timelines for the workshop project. A part of the work plan was a problem statement that would guide the team\u27s work: What are the opportunities and constraints that should guide the design and development of the Trolley Trail? This report presents the workshop team\u27s findings of opportunities and constraints. This report will assist Metro and NCPRD in future trail planning phases. Itwillalso assist hired professional consultants who will lead future planning and design efforts. The report is divided into three sections for easy reference