scholarly journals Distance mathematics teaching in Flanders, Germany, and the Netherlands during COVID-19 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Drijvers ◽  
Daniel Thurm ◽  
Ellen Vandervieren ◽  
Marcel Klinger ◽  
Filip Moons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Teacher Beliefs ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
Secondary Mathematics Education ◽  
Alternative Teaching

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has confronted mathematics teachers with the challenge of developing alternative teaching practices—in many cases at a distance through digital technology—because schools were closed. To investigate what distance practices in secondary mathematics education have emerged and how teachers experienced them, we set out online questionnaires in Flanders—the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium—, Germany, and the Netherlands. The questionnaire focused on teaching practices, teacher beliefs, didactics, and assessment. Data consisted of completed questionnaires by 1719 mathematics teachers. Results show that the use of video conferencing tools increased massively, while the use of mathematics-specific tools that teachers used before the lockdown reduced substantially. Further findings are that teachers' confidence in using digital technologies increased remarkably during the lockdown and that their experiences and beliefs only marginally impacted their distance learning practices. Also, we observed some differences between the three countries that might be explained by differences in educational policies and in technological facilities and support. For future research, it would be relevant to investigate long-term changes in teachers’ practices, as well as students’ views and experiences related to the teacher’s practices.

scholarly journals DNI’s DNA: Where Is Google’s Money in European Media?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 11457
Author(s):  
Clara González-Tosat ◽  
Charo Sádaba-Chalezquer
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
News Industry ◽  
Funded Project ◽  
The Media ◽  
Sustainability Practice

This paper aims to investigate Google’s role in European media sustainability. In order to understand the implication of this digital intermediary in the news industry, we have analysed all of the projects funded through Google’s DNI Fund from 2016 to 2020. After revising each report, we have classified the data available, including the full amount of money awarded, chronologically marking every new country added to the fund and all the media outlets involved in each project. We argue that Google’s role is truly beneficial for the medium and long-term sustainability of European media because it offers both financial support and a successful path for media companies to truly embrace its digital technology potential. However, it also has some added weight in terms of transparency (a key element in sustainability practice and standards) and press independence. Besides the existing correlations between the awarded countries and the changes that have affected media legislation in Europe, our findings show an alarming scarcity of information regarding both the continuity and the conditions of each funded project. Our proposed agenda for future research consists of an in-depth investigation of each beneficiary, which will entail several interviews as well as different case studies of all the participants in Europe.

Rheumatologists’ beliefs about medication barely differ from patients’ medication beliefs

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bart Van den Bemt ◽  
Hanneke Zwikker ◽  
Nienke Lesuis ◽  
Alfons DenBroeder ◽  
Cornelia Van den Ende ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medication Adherence ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Rheumatology Clinic ◽  
Medication Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Medicines

Rationale, aims and objectivesStudies suggest that both healthcare providers’ and patients’ beliefs about medication influence medication adherence. This study aims to describe and compare rheumatologists’ and patients’ beliefs about medication. MethodData were collected in a specialized rheumatology clinic in the Netherlands. An adapted version of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) was used to measure beliefs about medication in rheumatologists. (Dichotomized) scores on the BMQ of rheumatologists were compared to RA patients’ scores on the BMQ, using t-tests and two-group tests of proportions with 95% confidence intervals.  ResultsTwenty-seven (96% of the eligible) rheumatologists (mean age 42 years, 63% female) and 580 (71% of the eligible) RA patients (mean age 63 years, 68% female) were included. Generally, beliefs about medication did not differ between rheumatologists and patients. Both groups strongly perceived the need to take prescribed medication, but also had significant concerns about the long-term effects of the medication (63% of rheumatologists and 68% of patients expressed concerns). Some differences in beliefs were also present: Fewer rheumatologists worried about the fact that patients have to take medicines (15% versus 44%, respectively) and about the possibility that patients become too dependent on the medicines (15% versus 30%, respectively). ConclusionsThis study indicates that, generally, rheumatologists’ beliefs about medication barely differ from those of patients. However, in some respects, patients do have stronger concerns about medication than rheumatologists. Future research should focus on the interplay between rheumatologists’ and patients’ beliefs about medication and its impact on medication adherence. 

Physical and Psychological Benefits of Written Emotional Expression

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Kállay
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Expressive Writing ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychological Benefits ◽  
Cost Effective Treatment ◽  
Meta Analyses

Abstract. The last several decades have witnessed a substantial increase in the number of individuals suffering from both diagnosable and subsyndromal mental health problems. Consequently, the development of cost-effective treatment methods, accessible to large populations suffering from different forms of mental health problems, became imperative. A very promising intervention is the method of expressive writing (EW), which may be used in both clinically diagnosable cases and subthreshold symptomatology. This method, in which people express their feelings and thoughts related to stressful situations in writing, has been found to improve participants’ long-term psychological, physiological, behavioral, and social functioning. Based on a thorough analysis and synthesis of the published literature (also including most recent meta-analyses), the present paper presents the expressive writing method, its short- and long-term, intra-and interpersonal effects, different situations and conditions in which it has been proven to be effective, the most important mechanisms implied in the process of recovery, advantages, disadvantages, and possible pitfalls of the method, as well as variants of the original technique and future research directions.

Using the Change4Life Disney Branded 10-minute Shake Ups During the COVID-19 ‘Lockdown’

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Budzynski-Seymour ◽  
James Steele ◽  
Michelle Jones
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Exertion ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Online Resources ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Perceived Effort ◽  
Qualitative Feedback ◽  
Bidirectional Relationship ◽  
The Uk

Physical activity (PA) is considered essential to overall health yet it is consistently reported that children are failing to meet the recommended levels. Due to the bidirectional relationship between affective states and PA, affective responses are a potential predictor to long term engagement. Since late March 2020 the UK government enforced ‘lockdown’ measures to help control the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19); however, this has impacted children’s PA. Using online resources at home to support PA is now common. The primary aim of this research was to investigate the use of the Change4Life 10-minute Shake Ups to support PA by examining the effects of Disney branding upon children’s (n=32) post activity affective responses and perceived exertion. The secondary was to investigate the effect of the lockdown on PA habits. Children had similar positive affective responses and perceived effort to activities; however, branding was considered to be a key contributing factor based upon qualitative feedback from parents. Children’s PA levels dropped slightly since ‘lockdown’ was imposed; though online resources have been utilised to support PA. The use of immersive elements such as characters and narrative in PA sessions, as well as utilising online resources during ‘lockdown’ appear potentially promising for future research.

Chinese Medicine Protein and Peptide in Gene and Cell Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinlu Feng ◽  
Zifei Yin ◽  
Daniel Zhang ◽  
Arun Srivastava ◽  
Chen Ling
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Cell Therapy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Past ◽  
Promising Strategy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Gene And Cell Therapy ◽  
Proteins And Peptides

The success of gene and cell therapy in clinic during the past two decades as well as our expanding ability to manipulate these biomaterials are leading to new therapeutic options for a wide range of inherited and acquired diseases. Combining conventional therapies with this emerging field is a promising strategy to treat those previously-thought untreatable diseases. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved for thousands of years in China and still plays an important role in human health. As part of the active ingredients of TCM, proteins and peptides have attracted long-term enthusiasm of researchers. More recently, they have been utilized in gene and cell therapy, resulting in promising novel strategies to treat both cancer and non-cancer diseases. This manuscript presents a critical review on this field, accompanied with perspectives on the challenges and new directions for future research in this emerging frontier.

Ketamine Treatment in Depression: A Systematic Review of Clinical Characteristics Predicting Symptom Improvement

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (15) ◽  
pp. 1398-1414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darby J.E. Lowe ◽  
Daniel J. Müller ◽  
Tony P. George
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Features ◽  
Clinical Characteristics ◽  
Bipolar Depression ◽  
Antidepressant Effect ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Symptom Improvement ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Future Direction

Ketamine has been shown to be efficacious for the treatment of depression, specifically among individuals who do not respond to first-line treatments. There is still, however, a lack of clarity surrounding the clinical features and response periods across samples that respond to ketamine. This paper systematically reviews published randomized controlled trials that investigate ketamine as an antidepressant intervention in both unipolar and bipolar depression to determine the specific clinical features of the samples across different efficacy periods. Moreover, similarities and differences in clinical characteristics associated with acute versus longer-term drug response are discussed. Similarities across all samples suggest that the population that responds to ketamine’s antidepressant effect has experienced chronic, long-term depression, approaching ketamine treatment as a “last resort”. Moreover, differences between these groups suggest future research to investigate the potential of stronger efficacy towards depression in the context of bipolar disorder compared to major depression, and in participants who undergo antidepressant washout before ketamine administration. From these findings, suggestions for the future direction of ketamine research for depression are formed.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 698-719
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Rice ◽  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Jordana Blejmar
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology And Society ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Research Areas

We conclude the Handbook of Digital Technology and Society by identifying topics that appear in multiple chapters, are more unique to some chapters, and that represent general themes across the material. Each of these is considered separately for the ESRC theme chapters and the non-ESRC chapters. In the ESRC theme chapters, cross-cutting research topics include digital divides and inequalities; data and digital literacy; governance, regulation, and legislation; and the roles and impacts of major platforms. Cross-cutting challenges include methods; theory development, testing, and evaluation; ethics; big data; and multi-platform/holistic studies. Gaps include policy implications, and digital culture. In the non-ESRC chapters, more cross-cutting themes include future research and methods; technology venues; relationships; content and creation; culture and everyday life; theory; and societal effects. More unique, these were digitization of self; managing digital experience; names for the digital/social era; ethics; user groups; civic issues; health, and positive effects. The chapter also shows how the non-ESRC chapters may be clustered together based on their shared themes and subthemes, identifying two general themes of more micro and more macro topics. The identification of both more and less common topics and themes can provide the basis for understanding the landscape of prior research, what areas need to be included in ongoing research, and what research areas might benefit from more attention. The chapter ends with some recommendations for such ongoing and future research in the rich, important, and challenging area of digital technology and society.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document