In recent years, concerns about misinformation in the media have skyrocketed. President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that various news outlets are disseminating ‘fake news’ for political ...purposes. But when the information contained in mainstream media news reports provides no clear clues about its truth value or any indication of a partisan slant, do people rely on the congeniality of the news outlet to judge whether the information is true or false? In a survey experiment, we presented partisans (Democrats and Republicans) and ideologues (liberals and conservatives) with a news article excerpt that varied by source shown (CNN, Fox News, or no source) and content (true or false information), and measured their perceived accuracy of the information contained in the article. Our results suggest that the participants do not blindly judge the content of articles based on the news source, regardless of their own partisanship and ideology. Contrary to prevailing views on the polarization and politicization of news outlets, as well as on voters' growing propensity to engage in ‘partisan motivated reasoning,’ source cues are not as important as the information itself for partisans on both sides of the aisle.
Children living in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) are at greater risk for experiencing adversities that can undermine their health and early development. Recently launched digital early ...childhood development (ECD) programs attempt to support families with young children in their home environments using digital technologies. However, relatively little is known regarding the effectiveness of these new technologies.
The goal of this study is to rigorously assess the reach, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of a newly developed digital ECD platform called Afini. The Afini platform was designed to support parents of young children in low-resource settings to improve ECD and interact with caregivers through messenger services and a chatbot.
This is a 3-arm cluster randomized controlled trial. In total, 2471 caregivers and their 3- to 9-month-old children were enrolled in the study across 164 study clusters in the San Marcos, Cajabamba, and Cajamarca provinces of Peru. Clusters of participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a control group (72 community clusters and 980 caregiver-child dyads), a home visit intervention group (20 community clusters and 316 caregiver-child dyads), and an Afini intervention group (72 community clusters and 1175 caregiver-child dyads). Families in the control group receive no focused ECD intervention. The home visit group is receiving biweekly home visits by a trained field staff following the national ECD program (Programa Nacional Cuna Más) curriculum and training guidelines. Caregivers in the Afini group are receiving ECD activities and advice through the digital platform. The primary study outcome is children's overall development at the age of 2.5 years, using the internationally validated long form of the Global Scales for Early Development. Secondary outcomes include caregiver engagement; caregiver mental health; screen time; as well as caregiver reports of children's motor, cognitive, language, and socioemotional development measured through locally piloted and validated tools.
Enrollment started in September 2021 and ended in March 2023. Endline assessments will take place between August 2023 and September 2024.
This study is, to our knowledge, the first to rigorously assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of digital ECD technologies in LMICs. Given the large number of children in LMICs currently receiving only limited external support, the evaluated platform has the potential to improve the short- and long-term well-being of millions of children and their parents globally.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05202106; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05202106.
DERR1-10.2196/50371.
IntroductionDigital parenting interventions could be potentially cost-effective means for providing early child development services in low-income settings. This 5-month mixed-methods pilot study ...evaluated the feasibility of using Afinidata, a comprehensive Facebook Messenger-based digital parenting intervention in a remote rural setting in Latin America and explored necessary adaptations to local context.MethodsThe study was conducted in three provinces in the Cajamarca region, Peru, from February to July 2021. 180 mothers with children aged between 2 and 24 months and regular access to a smartphone were enrolled. Mothers were interviewed three times in-person. Selected mothers also participated in focus groups or in-depth qualitative interviews.ResultsDespite the rural and remote study site, 88% of local families with children between 0 and 24 months had access to internet and smartphones. Two months after baseline, 84% of mothers reported using the platform at least once, and of those, 87% rated it as useful to very useful. After 5 months, 42% of mothers were still active on the platform, with little variation between urban and rural settings. Modifications to the intervention focused on assisting mothers in navigating the platform independently and included adding a laminated booklet with general information on child development, sample activities and detailed instructions on how to self-enrol in case of lost phones.ConclusionsWe found high access to smartphones and the intervention was well received and used in very remote areas of Peru, suggesting that digital parenting interventions could be a promising path forward for supporting low-income families in remote parts of Latin America.
Disruption and Creation in Education Hinckley, Kristen; Cortez, Adriana; Kenyon, Charley
ReVista (Cambridge, Mass.),
04/2022, Letnik:
21, Številka:
3
Magazine Article
The event included round tables, panels, keynote speakers, videos from the field and a creative design workshop. Because of the profound impact of Covid-19 on the educational systems in the region at ...all levels, we felt the urgent need to respond to the needs of this crisis and highlight areas of opportunity. The prolonged closure of educational institutions, the adoption of new roles from members of the educational community, and the multiple initiatives that have emerged to reduce its impact on learning have influenced our effort to bring together multiple voices to talk about education in Latin America. ...the event had the following objectives: * Confront the stark reality of this crisis with an emerging sense of hope coming from students, educators, families, decision-makers, and social leaders, * Attract voices, stories, and innovations that need to be heard, * Share best practices that have started to reduce the risks that the pandemic has brought, and * Build collaboratively a multidisciplinary network to create solutions that contribute to redesigning the future of education in Latin America. While Covid-19 has presented serious global challenges, it has also provided us with new opportunities to connect and share experiences with people with whom we may not have been able to connect with before. ...LAEF 2021 brought new voices to the table to provide a platform for educational experts from around the region to share their experiences with our broad audience. The school teachers and director in the network collaborated with local authorities, parent associations, alumni, community leaders and the school feeding program in order to make sure that the educational materials reached the students living in isolated areas. Since many families with two or more children were receiving different learning guides, the core themes that Champalanca created served as a more helpful resource for learning at home.
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION
Does high gonadotropin dosage affect euploidy and pregnancy rates in PGS cycles with single embryo transfer?
SUMMARY ANSWER
High gonadotropin dosage does NOT affect euploidy ...and pregnancy rates in PGS cycles with single embryo transfer.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
PGS has been proven to be the most effective and reliable method for embryo selection in IVF cycles. Euploidy and blastulation rates decrease significantly with advancing maternal age. In order to recruit an adequate number of follicles, the average dosage of gonadotropins administered during controlled ovarian stimulation in IVF cycles often increases significantly with advancing maternal age.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, AND DURATION
A retrospective study of SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) PGS outcome data from blastocysts biopsied on day 5 or day 6 was conducted to identify differences in euploidy and clinical pregnancy rates. Seven hundred and ninety four cycles of IVF treatment with PGS between January 2013 and January 2017 followed by 651 frozen embryo transfers were included in the study (506 patients, maternal age (y.o.) – 37.2 ± 4.31).
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
A total of 4034 embryos were analyzed (5.1 ± 3.76 per case) for euploidy status. All embryos were vitrified after biopsy, and selected embryos were subsequently thawed for a hormone replacement frozen embryo transfer cycle. All cycles were analyzed by total gonadotropin dosage (<3000 IU, 3000–5000 IU and >5000 IU), by number of eggs retrieved (1–5, 5–10, 10–15 and >15 eggs) and patient's age (<35, 35–37, 38–40 and ≥41 y.o.). Clinical pregnancy rate was defined by the presence of a fetal heartbeat at 6–7 weeks of gestation.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Euploidy rates within the same age group were not statistically different regardless of the total dosage of gonadotropins used or the number of eggs retrieved. In the youngest group of patients (<35 y.o. – 187 IVF cycles) euploidy rates ranged from 62.3% (<3000 IU were used in the IVF cycle) to 67.5% (>5000 IU were used in the IVF cycle) (OR = 0.862, 95% CI 0.687–1.082, P = 0.2) and from 69.5% (1–5 eggs retrieved) to 60.0% (>15 eggs retrieved) (OR = 0.658, 95% CI 0.405–1.071, P = 0.09). Similar data were obtained in the oldest group of patients (≥41 y.o. – 189 IVF cycles): euploidy rates ranged from 30.7 to 26.4% (OR = 0.811, 95% CI 0.452–1.454, P = 0.481) when analyzed by total dosage of gonadotropins used in the IVF cycle and from 40.0 to 30.7% (OR = 0.531, 95% CI 0.204–1.384, P = 0.19), when assessed by the total number of eggs retrieved. Ongoing pregnancy rates were similar, not only within particular age groups, but also between different age groups regardless of the total dosage of gonadotropins used: ranging from to 63.6% (<3000 IU, < 35 y.o.) to 54.8% (>5000 IU, ≥41 y.o) (OR = 0.696, 95% CI 0.310–1.565, P = 0.38).
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
Retrospective study and heterogeneity of patients included.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
These data are reassuring for the common practice of increasing gonadotropin dosages in PGS cycles, particularly in older woman.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
No formal funding has been received for this study.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
N/A.
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