Daily Evening Electronic Media Use and Sleep in Later Life

Sleep complaints and disorders are one of the most common disturbances to health and well-being in later life. Evening electronic media use has been shown to influence the subsequent quantity and quality of sleep, but most research focused on younger age groups who are more likely to use new media (e.g., social media) to replace or complement traditional mass media such as television. To investigate how different types of evening media use is related to sleep in later life, we used ecological momentary assessment data from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study (N = 231; Mage = 73.61) to examine how evening computer use and television viewing affect subsequent sleep hours and perceived sleep quality. Across all evening assessments, 43% of the evenings were spent using computers, and 80% of the evenings were spent watching television. Findings from a series of within-between random effects models indicated that evening computer use and television viewing had independent associations with sleep quantity and quality. That is, older adults reported fewer hours of sleep, more difficulty falling asleep, and worse overall sleep quality on nights following the evening computer use. In contrast, evening television viewing was associated with feeling less tired the next day morning. The results highlight the continued presence of television viewing in older adults’ daily lives and their distinction from general computer use. The social context in which older adults watch television in the evening may potentially explain how different electronic media use influences sleep in later life.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Computer Self-Efficacy and the Use of Computers

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pre-service teachers’ computer self-efficacy on their use of computers. The research used a quantitative design whose data were collected by using a structured five-point Likert scale questionnaire with responses ranging from 1(strongly agree) to 5(strongly disagree). Simple random sampling was used to select a representative sample of 400 participants from a population of 4000 pre-service teachers, of which 332 of them were successfully returned, yielding a response rate of 83%. The study employed the Technology-Acceptance Model with eight constructs, namely; demographic influence (DI), social influence (SI), basic computer skills (CS), access to computers (AC), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU), computer self-efficacy (CSE), and actual computer use (AU). Factor analysis was used to analyse the data generated from the survey, with the help of PLS-SEM, using the SmartPLS software version 3.0. The findings of the study indicated that each of the identified factors in the model had a significant effect on CSE. In essence, the identified explanatory variables explained 73.7% of the variance in CSsE. The four independent variables explained 45.4% of the variance in PU of computers and 66.5% of the variance in PEOU of computer use. The CSE model also explained 60.6% of the variance in computer use. In order to develop a strong CSE for pre-service teachers, it is recommended that higher education institutions ensure that all students have access to the necessary computers, proper connectivity, and skilled technicians.

Univariable and Multivariable Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Investigating the Effects of Leisure Sedentary Behaviors on the Risk of Lung Cancer

Background:Leisure sedentary behaviors (LSB) are widespread, and observational studies have provided emerging evidence that LSB play a role in the development of lung cancer (LC). However, the causal inference between LSB and LC remains unknown.Methods: We utilized univariable (UVMR) and multivariable two-sample Mendelian randomization (MVMR) analysis to disentangle the effects of LSB on the risk of LC. MR analysis was conducted with genetic variants from genome-wide association studies of LSB (408,815 persons from UK Biobank), containing 152 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for television (TV) watching, 37 SNPs for computer use, and four SNPs for driving, and LC from the International Lung Cancer Consortium (11,348 cases and 15,861 controls). Multiple sensitivity analyses were further performed to verify the causality.Results: UVMR demonstrated that genetically predisposed 1.5-h increase in LSB spent on watching TV increased the odds of LC by 90% [odds ratio (OR), 1.90; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44–2.50; p < 0.001]. Similar trends were observed for squamous cell lung cancer (OR, 1.97; 95%CI, 1.31–2.94; p = 0.0010) and lung adenocarcinoma (OR, 1.64; 95%CI 1.12–2.39; p = 0.0110). The causal effects remained significant after adjusting for education (OR, 1.97; 95%CI, 1.44–2.68; p < 0.001) and body mass index (OR, 1.86; 95%CI, 1.36–2.54; p < 0.001) through MVMR approach. No association was found between prolonged LSB spent on computer use and driving and LC risk. Genetically predisposed prolonged LSB was additionally correlated with smoking (OR, 1.557; 95%CI, 1.287–1.884; p < 0.001) and alcohol consumption (OR, 1.010; 95%CI, 1.004–1.016; p = 0.0016). Consistency of results across complementary sensitivity MR methods further strengthened the causality.Conclusion: Robust evidence was demonstrated for an independent, causal effect of LSB spent on watching TV in increasing the risk of LC. Further work is necessary to investigate the potential mechanisms.

Leisure Sedentary Behavior and Risk of Lung Cancer: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study and Mediation Analysis

Leisure sedentary behavior, especially television watching, has been previously reported as associated with the risk of lung cancer in observational studies. This study aims to evaluate the causal association with two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis. Single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with leisure television watching, computer use, and driving were extracted from genome-wide association studies. Summary-level results of lung cancer overall and histological types were obtained from International Lung Cancer Consortium (ILCCO). In univariable MR using inverse-variance-weighted method, we observed causal effects of television watching on lung cancer [OR, 1.89, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.41, 2.54; p = 2.33 × 10−5], and squamous cell lung cancer (OR, 2.37, 95% CI, 1.58, 3.55; p = 3.02 × 10−5), but not on lung adenocarcinoma (OR, 1.40, 95% CI, 0.94, 2.09; p = 0.100). No causal effects of computer use and driving on lung cancer were observed. Television watching significantly increased the exposure to several common risk factors of lung cancer. The associations of television watching with lung cancer and squamous cell lung cancer were compromised after adjusting for smoking quantity with multivariable MR. Our mediation analyses estimated indirect effects of television watching on lung cancer (beta, 0.31, 95% CI, 0.13, 0.52; p = 6.64 × 10−4) and squamous cell lung cancer (beta, 0.33, 95% CI, 0.14, 0.53, p = 4.76 × 10−4) mediated by smoking quantity. Our findings indicate that television watching is positively correlated with the risk of lung cancer, potentially mediated through affecting smoking quantity.

Status of Digital Literacy Programme in Public Primary Schools in Homa Bay County, Kenya

The study assessed the readiness levels of public primary schools in Homa Bay County for the integration of digital teaching and learning. A population of 556 teachers in public primary schools that had already received Digital Literacy Programme (DLP) devices for teaching and learning were used whereby a sample size of 56 teachers was reached at. 12 teachers were also interviewed. A reliability coefficient of 0.962 was obtained. Interview questions that were unclear were either modified or removed. Content validity confirmed the appropriateness of the content and the research tools used during the study. Findings from observation checklists were analysed quantitatively by use of descriptive statistics. Data from interviews were transcribed, coded and grouped into major themes and then reported. The study found that majority of the sample schools (55.4%) had not started teaching using DLP. The study also showed that teachers who were practicing using the DLP devices were more proficient in computer use compared to those who either kept or feared using such devices for educational activities. The study concluded that the government’s initiative of digitalizing schools was a noble idea that needed to be embraced by all sectors of the economy.