Health Literacy and Preventive Behaviors of Undergraduate University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The situation of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is full of unpredictability, uncertainty about the severity of the disease, and incorrect information. Therefore, health literacy preparation is the key to preventing COVID-19 and having the correct health behaviors. The objectives of this study were 1) to study health literacy on COVID-19 and prevention behaviors of COVID-19 among undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University, and 2) to compare health literacy on COVID-19 and prevention behaviors of COVID-19 among undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University, classified by genders, academic years, grade point averages (GPAs), and faculty groups. The participants were 417 undergraduate students at Mahasarakham University chosen by stratified random sampling and simple random sampling. The research instruments were as follows: the questionnaire on health literacy on COVID-19 and the questionnaire on COVID-19 prevention’s behavior. The data were analyzed using percentage (%), mean (M), standard deviation (S.D.), independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA. The findings revealed that 1) undergraduate students were well versed in health literacy for the COVID-19 infection and their prevention behaviors of COVID-19 infection were at a good level (M = 90.06, S.D. = 9.54; M = 86.87, S.D. = 11.50) and 2) female undergraduate students had statistically higher mean scores on COVID-19 health literacy scores and COVID-19 prevention’s behaviors than males. Students from the health sciences faculty group had statistically significantly higher average health literacy scores on COVID-19 infection than those from the technology sciences faculty group.

Sleep Quality, Insomnia Symptoms, and Depressive Symptomatology among Italian University Students before and during the Covid-19 Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic led world authorities to adopt extraordinary measures to counteract the spread of the virus. The Italian government established a national lockdown from 9 March to 3 May 2020, forcing people in their homes and imposing social distancing. During the pandemic emergency, university students emerged as a vulnerable category. Indeed, higher rates of sleep problems and mental disorders were reported in this population. However, these outcomes were derived from cross-sectional investigations adopting retrospective assessments. Retrospective evaluations suffer from different biases, putatively leading to erroneous outcomes. To overcome this limitation, we adopted a between-subject approach comparing a sample of 240 Italian undergraduate university students assessed in 2016 (mean age ± standard deviation, 20.39 ± 1.42, range 18–25; 80.42% females), with an age/gender-matched sample of university students assessed during the third week of lockdown in Spring 2020. We evaluated sleep quality, insomnia symptoms, and depressive symptomatology using validated questionnaires. We found worse sleep quality, a delayed bedtime, and more severe insomnia and depression symptoms in the students sampled under COVID-19 restrictive measures. We suggest paying special attention to this at-risk population during the current pandemic emergency and applying preventive and supportive interventions to limit the exacerbation of sleep and psychological problems.

Academic Engagement and Dropout Intention in Undergraduate University Students

The relationship between engagement and the intention to drop out was the focus of this research. Following an empirical–analytical approach, a sample of 1,122 university students responded to a questionnaire designed to measure the engagement and the intention to drop out of school. The results confirmed that undergraduates who considered dropping out had lower scores on the engagement scale. These data are relevant for the adoption of preventive measures against academic dropouts.

The Benefits of Involving Undergraduate University Students in Creative Practice-led Research Projects

This paper examines the involvement of sixteen undergraduate students across four disciplines in a practice-led research project to create the “Once Upon a Time in Palestine” XR documentary by exploring how they performed when given complex challenges, to create this novel and complex practice-led research project. The students were trained and mentored but also were trusted to work under minimal supervision. This created a high level of engagement with the expectation of high-quality output and presented the students with opportunities not afforded to them within the rigid structure of their academic programs. This paper examines the engagement of the students, and their willingness to learn new technologies and apply this learning to produce high quality output under tight deadlines with minimal supervision and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration across multiple fields of study. The paper concludes that while there was a steep learning curve, the students were able to achieve high-level engagement and produce professional results within the specified deadlines, using the latest technological advances in the field, while learning new skills outside their academic program and also enhancing the outcome of the successful project.

Social Utility of Mobile Phone Technology by Undergraduate University Students in Nairobi, Kenya

This study investigated social utility as a gratification factor influencing mobile phone technology use by public university undergraduate students in Nairobi, Kenya. The objective of the study was to examine the influence of social utility on undergraduate university students’ use of mobile phone technology. The study employed media technological determinism theory. Target population was 246,871 undergraduate university students in public universities in Nairobi, Kenya. The study employed quantitative design. Self-administered questionnaires were used as data collection tools. The study utilized purposive sampling to arrive at a sample size of 573 undergraduate students. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and then processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Findings revealed that mobile phone technology has become essential in social utility activities among undergraduate university students. The research concluded that the more the need for social utility, the more the need for mobile phone technology use among undergraduate university students. The research recommended that software developers should develop a specific mobile phone software for university students to use for social utility and that another research could be carried among postgraduate students and among private universities to find out other gratification factors that may be influencing mobile phone technology use.

Are Teachers Approachable or Unapproachable: Insights From Undergraduate University Students

This research examines the student perceived characteristics informing a student’s choice in deciding to approach or not to approach a teacher in a university setting. Semi-structured interviews gathered perceptions from 10 final semester undergraduate students at a Pakistani university. 12 teachers were discussed in the data clearly demarcating 7 approachable and 5 unapproachable teachers. Thematic analysis identified substantial number of previously unreported characteristics of approachability in addition to those already existing in the literature and a comparatively large number of new unapproachable characteristics. The results of this research will inform discussion of approachability by teachers at universities within Pakistan and beyond.

Examining Essential Flow Antecedents to promote students’ Self-Regulated Learning and Acceptance of Use in a Game-Based Learning classroom

Game-Based Learning (GBL) has been recognized as an essential tool for motivating students to engage in active and constructive learning. While there is a link between GBL and learning outcomes, current research evidence tends to undermine the interrelationships of concepts and oversimplify flow experience in the context of GBL. This study used a comprehensive Flow perspective to examine the roles of specific gaming characteristics affecting students’ self-regulated learning and acceptances of use in a higher education GBL context, with a path model based on data collected from 275 undergraduate university students. The model demonstrated an excellent fit of the data with interrelations among constructs about Flow Antecedents, Acceptance of Use, Motivation and Metacognition. The findings revealed that learners place a higher value on GBL with flow elements like Concentration and Challenge, which is linked to their learning motivation and metacognitive outcomes. Aid by GBL on knowledge gain and immersive experience are considered as the underpinnings of Performance Expectancy before students consider adopting GBL for their learning. In contrast to what is typical of serious games, learners primarily use GBL to improve their academic performance rather than for its immersive experience.