The use of virtual laboratories is growing as companies and educational institutions try to expand their reach, cut costs, increase student understanding, and provide more accessible hands on ...training for future scientists. Many new higher education initiatives outsource lab activities so students now perform them online in a virtual environment rather than in a classroom setting, thereby saving time and money while increasing accessibility. In this paper we explored whether the learning and motivational outcomes of interacting with a desktop virtual reality (VR) science lab simulation on the internet at home are equivalent to interacting with the same simulation in class with teacher supervision. A sample of 112 (76 female) university biology students participated in a between-subjects experimental design, in which participants learned at home or in class from the same virtual laboratory simulation on the topic of microbiology. The home and classroom groups did not differ significantly on post-test learning outcome scores, or on self-report measures of intrinsic motivation or self-efficacy. Furthermore, these conclusions remained after accounting for prior knowledge or goal orientation. In conclusion, the results indicate that virtual simulations are learning activities that students can engage in just as effectively outside of the classroom environment.
Career calling, a salient career goal that is personally meaningful and oriented toward helping others, is a developmental construct that is especially important for emerging adults when making ...career decisions and setting career goals. As no existing measure reflects the developmental aspect of career calling, the authors devised an age-appropriate measure suitable for use with this population. They reviewed the extant literature, conducted focus groups, and used expert reviews to generate 34 initial items. Item and exploratory factor analyses were employed to reduce these items to 15, representing three reliable subscales (Study 1; N = 345 emerging adults). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the initial factor structure (Study 2; N = 527). Expected correlations with adult measures of career calling (search and presence), general career indecision, and life satisfaction supported construct validity (Study 2; N = 435). The implications for research and practice are discussed. Author abstract
Poor vision affects physical health but the relationship with depressive symptoms among midlife adults (40-65 y), who often present with early stage vision impairment (VI), is not well understood. ...The goal of this study was to assess the impact of vision on depressive symptoms during midlife.
The Michigan site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation conducted assessments of distance visual acuity at six consecutive, near-annual follow-up visits. At each visit, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale) were assessed. VI was defined as mild (20/30-20/60) or moderate-severe (20/70 or worse). Multivariable logistic regression models using generalized estimating equations were used to assess the association of VI and reporting of depressive symptoms at the subsequent visit.
At analytic baseline, the mean age of participants (N = 226) was 50.0 years (standard deviation = 2.6). More than half (53.5%) of women had mild VI and 8.0% had moderate-severe VI. Adjusting for age, preexisting depressive symptoms, race, education, economic strain, body mass index, and smoking, participants with mild and moderate-severe VI had 68% (95% C (0.97-2.90)) and 2.55-fold (95% CI 1.13-5.75) higher odds of reporting depressive symptoms at their subsequent study visit as compared with women without VI. Further adjustment for diabetes, hypertension, and osteoarthritis attenuated the estimates and the associations were no longer statistically significant.
VI was associated with increased odds of future depressive symptoms among mid-life women. Timely detection and appropriate correction of VI may be important to consider in maintaining the mental health status of midlife women.
Based on the life history perspective, this study tested a serial mediation model in which family socioeconomic status (SES) related to person–job fit via resource scarcity, career exploration, and ...goal persistence. We expected that when seeking employment, higher SES students would perceive lower resource scarcity, and, in turn, adopt more adaptive career behaviors (i.e., career exploration and goal persistence) to maximize career success, which would then lead to better person–job fit upon graduation. Using a sample of 224 final-year students (mean age 21 years, 77% male), we found, as expected, that higher SES was related to more career exploration and goal persistence via lower perceived scarcity and that exploration and persistence were related to better person–job fit. In addition, higher SES was indirectly related to person–job fit via scarcity and the two career behaviors. The findings highlight the importance of family SES in young people’s career development.
"We surveyed 245 first-year university students using measures of career concerns, career adaptability (career planning, career exploration, self-exploration, decision-making, self-regulation), ...goal-orientation (learning, performance-prove, performance-avoid) and social support (family, friends, significant others), and tested: (a) whether the career adaptability variables could be represented by a second-order factor of career adaptability; (b) whether career adaptability, goal-orientation and social support were associated with fewer career concerns; and (c) whether career adaptability mediated the relationship between goal-orientation and social support and career concerns. The study demonstrated that the career adaptability variables were inter-related and could be represented by a higher-order factor. Decision-making and self-exploration were negatively associated with career concerns, and decision-making mediated the relationship between goal-orientation and career concerns. Having more of a learning orientation was associated with more decision-making and fewer career concerns, whereas holding a performance-prove orientation was associated with poorer decision-making and more career concerns." Die Untersuchung enthält quantitative Daten. Forschungsmethode: empirisch-quantitativ; empirisch. (author's abstract, IAB-Doku).
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widespread chemicals that may affect sex hormones and accelerate reproductive aging in midlife women.
To examine associations between serum PFAS ...concentrations at baseline (1999-2000) and longitudinal serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol, testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) at baseline and through 2015-2016.
Prospective cohort.
General community.
1371 midlife women 45 to 56 years of age at baseline in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).
FSH, estradiol, testosterone, SHBG.
In linear mixed models fitted with log-transformed hormones and log-transformed PFAS adjusting for age, site, race/ethnicity, smoking status, menopausal status, parity, and body mass index, FSH was positively associated with linear perfluorooctanoate n-PFOA; 3.12% (95% CI 0.37%, 5.95%) increase for a doubling in serum concentration), linear perfluorooctane sulfonate PFOS; 2.88% (0.21%, 5.63%), branched perfluorooctane sulfonate 2.25% (0.02%, 4.54%), total PFOS (3.03% (0.37%, 5.76%)), and 2-(N-ethyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetate EtFOSAA; 1.70% (0.01%, 3.42%). Estradiol was inversely associated with perfluorononanoate PFNA; -2.47% (-4.82%, -0.05%)) and n-PFOA (-2.43% (-4.97%, 0.18%). Significant linear trends were observed in the associations between PFOS and EtFOSAA with SHBG across parity (Ps trend ≤ 0.01), with generally inverse associations among nulliparous women but positive associations among women with 3+ births. No significant associations were observed between PFAS and testosterone.
This study observed positive associations of PFOA and PFOS with FSH and inverse associations of PFNA and PFOA with estradiol in midlife women during the menopausal transition, consistent with findings that PFAS affect reproductive aging.
Abstract
Background
In older adults, vision impairment (VI) is associated with worse cognitive function. However, the relationship between midlife vision and future cognitive function remains ...unknown.
Methods
The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, Michigan site, is a longitudinal cohort of midlife women aged 42–52 years at baseline. Presenting Titmus visual acuity (VA) in the better-seeing eye was assessed at baseline and categorized as no or mild VI (VA ≥20/60), or moderate or worse VI (VA <20/60). Cognitive function was measured 8 times over 15 years using the East Boston Memory Test immediate (EBMTi) and delayed (EBMTd) recall and the Digit Span Backwards (DSB) test. Linear mixed models with a random intercept and slope for age were constructed to detect associations between VI at baseline and future repeated measures of cognitive function, adjusting for age, race, education, financial strain, alcohol use, and tobacco use.
Results
About 394 women aged 42–52 at baseline with a maximum follow-up of 20 years were included in this analysis. After covariate adjustment, moderate or worse VI was associated with lower EMBTi (β = −0.56, p = .012), EBMTd (β = −0.60, p = .009), and DSB (β = −0.84, p = .04). While we detected significant associations between VI and levels of cognitive function scores, rates of cognitive decline as individuals aged did not vary by VI status.
Conclusion
Moderate or worse VI, assessed during midlife, was associated with lower scores on measures of cognitive function over a 15-year period during which women transitioned from midlife to older adulthood.
Career goal discrepancy, which is at the heart of goal-oriented, career models of motivation and agency, is the perceived gap between an individual's career goal (i.e., future self or situation) and ...the progress being made toward achieving that goal (i.e., current self or situation). There are no existing scales that assess this construct. To progress research in this area, the authors devised a brief, 12-item measure suitable for use with young adults. Devising a scale for this population is appropriate, as young adulthood is the age when occupational goals and occupational goal progress are important foci. The authors generated initial items for four underlying domains of goal discrepancy (achievement, effort, ability, and standard discrepancy), had the items rated by experts, and then administered them to a large, diverse sample of young adults (N = 615, mean age 20.9 years). The authors reduced the number of items and tested the factor structure of the scale using exploratory factor analysis, confirmed the structure on a holdout sample using confirmatory factor analysis, and assessed construct validity by testing hypothesised relationships with existing measures (career goal commitment and career distress). Being able to assess discrepancy in the career domain will stimulate research into the career development of young adults and will allow practitioners to explore issues around career goal setting and adaptive responses to career setbacks. Author abstract, ed
Simulation based learning environments are designed to improve the quality of medical education by allowing students to interact with patients, diagnostic laboratory procedures, and patient data in a ...virtual environment. However, few studies have evaluated whether simulation based learning environments increase students' knowledge, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy, and help them generalize from laboratory analyses to clinical practice and health decision-making.
An entire class of 300 University of Copenhagen first-year undergraduate students, most with a major in medicine, received a 2-h training session in a simulation based learning environment. The main outcomes were pre- to post- changes in knowledge, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy, together with post-intervention evaluation of the effect of the simulation on student understanding of everyday clinical practice were demonstrated.
Knowledge (Cohen's d = 0.73), intrinsic motivation (d = 0.24), and self-efficacy (d = 0.46) significantly increased from the pre- to post-test. Low knowledge students showed the greatest increases in knowledge (d = 3.35) and self-efficacy (d = 0.61), but a non-significant increase in intrinsic motivation (d = 0.22). The medium and high knowledge students showed significant increases in knowledge (d = 1.45 and 0.36, respectively), motivation (d = 0.22 and 0.31), and self-efficacy (d = 0.36 and 0.52, respectively). Additionally, 90 % of students reported a greater understanding of medical genetics, 82 % thought that medical genetics was more interesting, 93 % indicated that they were more interested and motivated, and had gained confidence by having experienced working on a case story that resembled the real working situation of a doctor, and 78 % indicated that they would feel more confident counseling a patient after the simulation.
The simulation based learning environment increased students' learning, intrinsic motivation, and self-efficacy (although the strength of these effects differed depending on their pre-test knowledge), and increased the perceived relevance of medical educational activities. The results suggest that simulations can help future generations of doctors transfer new understanding of disease mechanisms gained in virtual laboratory settings into everyday clinical practice.
Abstract
Study Objectives
To determine whether actigraphy-assessed indices of sleep are associated with cognitive performance in women, and explore whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity.
...Methods
Participants were 1,126 postmenopausal community-dwelling females (mean age 65 years) from the observational Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN); 25% were black, 46% white, 13% Chinese, 11% Japanese, and 5% Hispanic. Actigraphy-assessed sleep measures included total sleep time, wake after sleep onset (WASO), and fragmentation. Cognitive measures included immediate and delayed verbal memory, working memory, and information processing speed. All measures were assessed in conjunction with SWAN annual visit 15.
Results
Across the sample, after covariate adjustment, greater WASO and fragmentation were concurrently associated with slower information processing speed. Black participants had significantly worse sleep relative to other race/ethnic groups. Significant race/sleep interactions were observed; in black, but not white, participants, greater fragmentation was concurrently associated with worse verbal memory and slower information processing speed, and greater WASO was concurrently associated with slower information processing speed. Sleep-cognitive performance associations were not different in Chinese and Japanese participants relative to white participants.
Conclusions
Greater wakefulness and fragmentation during sleep are concurrently associated with slower information processing. Sleep continuity impacted concurrent cognitive performance in black, but not white, women. This effect may not have been detected in white women because their sleep was largely within the normal range. Future longitudinal studies in diverse samples are critical to further understand whether race/ethnicity moderates the influence of sleep on cognitive performance.
PDF
