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Are nutrition and physical activity chatbots feasible and acceptable to adolescents? A systematic scoping review
No full textTitle: Are nutrition and physical activity chatbots feasible and acceptable to adolescents? A systematic scoping review
Background: Improving nutrition and physical activity behaviours depends on access to age-appropriate support. Chatbots – software programs designed to simulate conversations with human users – have the potential to deliver support to adolescents to improve health behaviours, but feasibility and acceptability of chatbots in adolescents is unknown.
Aims: To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of chatbots in nutrition and physical activity interventions among adolescents. Secondly, to consult adolescents to identify features of chatbots that are acceptable and feasible.
Methods: Inclusion criteria were (i) participants 10-19 years; (ii) without chronic disease except obesity/type 2 diabetes; (iii) assessed chatbots in nutrition and/or physical activity interventions. Data were presented in a narrative summary. Results were presented to a diverse group of adolescents to identify feasible and acceptable features and gain insights beyond what is published in the literature.
Results: Six electronic databases were searched with five studies included, evaluating five unique chatbots, focusing on nutrition (n=2), physical activity (n=2) and both (n=1). All were supported by mobile applications using a combination of design features (personalised feedback, conversational agents, gamification, monitoring behaviour change). Usage rates were >50% in 3/5 studies. Three studies reported health-related outcomes with one showing promising effects. Adolescent consultation identified novel concerns around chatbot use including ethical concerns and false or misleading information being used.
Conclusions: Limited research is available on chatbots in adolescent nutrition and physical activity interventions, showing low usage rates and insignificant effects. Chatbot design must be reviewed to ensure higher levels of acceptability and feasibility in an adolescent population
Positive Choices: Evaluation of a national initiative to disseminate evidence-based alcohol and other drug education and wellbeing resources.
No full textTitle: Positive Choices: Evaluation of a national initiative to disseminate evidence-based alcohol and other drug education and wellbeing resources.
Background: Alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among Australian adolescents continues to be a public health concern, and early use puts young people at higher risk of subsequent negative outcomes. Research shows that both school-based prevention strategies and parenting strategies are effective at reducing AOD use and their related harms. However, such strategies are often not implemented. Positive Choices is a website developed to address this evidence-practice gap by providing school staff, parents, and students with access to evidence-based drug education resources. Aims: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Positive Choices website.
Methods: Online questionnaires were administered to school staff and parents/caregivers. The evaluation was guided by the GoodWeb framework which assesses attributes relevant to e-health websites, including appearance, content, ease of use, interactivity, and technical adequacy.
Results: 43 school staff and 53 parents/caregivers completed the online questionnaire. Overall, Positive Choices performed well. Of the website attributes evaluated, appearance was rated highest by participants, followed by ease of use and content, while interactivity was rated lowest. 93% of school staff and 94% of parents were satisfied with Positive Choices and would recommend the portal to a friend or colleague.
Conclusions: Findings from the evaluation of Positive Choices demonstrate that it is effective at disseminating evidence based AOD education resources to school staff and parents. The findings further highlight the important role of online health initiatives for AOD harm reduction
Broadening the concept of ‘engagement’ in mHealth interventions for equity of access
No full textBackground: Part of the appeal of digital health solutions and mHealth interventions (mobile/wireless technologies to support health) is their potential to overcome traditional barriers to health information including socio-economic status, region and gender.
Aims: Whilst the ‘digital divide’ has been recognised as a barrier to equity in mHealth interventions, this presentation explores how those without direct access to digital technology can engage with and benefit from mHealth interventions.
Methods: As part of an evaluation of a parenting app to promote socioemotional and cognitive development in early childhood in Indonesia, we conducted qualitative interviews and workshops with a variety of users and stakeholders [parents and caregivers (n=47), local experts on early childhood development (n=6) and funders (n=4)].
Results: ‘Engagement’ with the mHealth intervention did not necessarily involve interaction with the app itself. Many users were informally disseminating app content through non-digital networks in the community. We found engagement and enthusiasm for simple messages derived from the app content (e.g. advice on handwashing) was sometimes more pronounced and impactful through these non-digital dissemination channels. This was particularly evident in rural areas, where mobile phone usage and literacy were low.
Conclusions: Understanding non-digital modes of engagement in relation to mHealth interventions has implications for measuring reach, uptake and impact, particularly in disadvantaged communities and areas with limited access to digital technology. We argue that broadening the concept of ‘engagement’ in mHealth is crucial for realising goals of universal access
The SAGE yoga trial: Online delivery during COVID19
No full textBackground: Challenging balance can prevent falls. Yoga practice can be a source for it, although the effect of yoga on falls has not been evaluated.
Aims: The NHMRC-funded Successful AGEing (SAGE) yoga trial aims to establish the effect of two distinct yoga exercise programs on falls rate of community-dwelling people aged 60 years+. This presentation outlines the key learnings from transitioning to online classes once the COVID19 pandemic interrupted face-to-face interactions.
Methods: Participants were randomised to either: (1) the SAGE yoga exercise program, 40 weeks of twice-weekly supervised classes focussed on standing balance-challenging; or (2) a seated yoga relaxation program, 2 supervised classes followed by unsupervised practice. Primary outcome is the rate of falls in the 12 months post randomisation via self-reported surveys and follow-up phone calls.
Results: 700 participants were recruited from September/2019 to October/2021. Since April/2020 face-to-face classes were delivered online via Zoom. The new classes started after were completely delivered online. The change to online classes expanded recruitment locations and offered people in regional and remote settings the possibility to participate. The public response to this was outstanding, showing that access to supervised online physical activity is indeed valued. Providing technology support, an initial one-on-one online introduction to the yoga instructor and access to class-specific Whatsapp groups to promote social connection, have contributed to the success of the online delivery format.
Conclusions: Considering the impact of COVID19 on our ways of living, further exploration of online fall prevention exercise programs is crucial and can be an inclusive practice to be scaled up
Posing as Labour: Resisting The Anxious Condition of Post-Fordism in European Film Narratives by Dardenne, Loach, Petzold and Seidl
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In an interview, filmmaker Christian Petzold highlights that post-Fordism not only changed economic activity but also the affective balance. Hope and optimism linked to future prospects appear as outdated sentimental attributes that do not match the transition in affect (Brian Massumi) people go through living on the threshold between inclusion and exclusion. Film makers such as Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne (La Promesse, 1996), Ken Loach (It’s a Free World..., 2007), Christian Petzold (Jerichow, 2007), and Ulrich Seidl (Import Export, 2008) do not take the characters’ struggle for social recognition and economic persistence through labour as a given. In their films, the fight for survival is no longer tied to a redeemable promise of happiness; instead, it is triggered by an immediate affective impulse within a perpetual state of anxiety. Only elusive, globally preformatted consumer events prove to be stable. Posing (Petzold) becomes the actual skill exercised here. Participating in this diminished realm of everyday life has a significant impact on interpersonal and, consequently, on employment dynamics. This paper will show, through plot analysis, how European cinema aesthetically captures this instable affective condition. The films depict the emergence of both violence and ethics from this situation, emphasising the protagonists’ resilience against all odds within an adverse environment dominated by anxiety. 
Shifting policy perspectives and practices: From access to basic education to prioritizing revenue collection
Full text linkSchool leaders in Solomon Islands have shifted away from the basic education policy that promotes equitable access to quality basic education to practices that target high enrolment to generate revenue. This research highlights the implications of this shift and its impact on quality education. It aims at finding the balance between the school’s financial viability and the imperative to provide equitable and quality education for all children. The following questions are examined: 1) What are the different types of fees charged for educating a child in Solomon Islands; 2) Are schools enrolling students in numbers that match the infrastructure and human resources available locally? 3) Are the grants provided by the government adequate to administer schools? The significance of the study lies in its potential to inform education policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders about the consequences of this changing agenda. Parent experiences on fees charged, school children and teacher’s experiences on the impacts of high enrolments are explored. School Leaders rationale for charging different types of fees were sought. A total of 12 participants were involved in this research. Data collected via tok stori were recorded and subsequently transcribed, qualitatively analyzed and thematically organized. Data showed that schools in the capital, Honiara, experienced high school enrolment, putting pressure on the limited infrastructures available and overloading teachers. Apart from normal fees, schools charged various fees for registration, school development, church program, parent contributions and student transfer. The study provides important insights into the challenges posed by the shifting perspective and practices towards prioritizing revenue collection over access through increased student enrollment
Collaboration between researchers and educators enables an authentic and engaging learning experience
Full text linkThe use of authentic learning experiences and real-world problem solving is an effective means to increase student engagement with course content. Providing broader context of the application of chemistry can aid students in relating abstract chemical concepts to their own experiences of the world, and improve students’ willingness to learn and understand deeper concepts (King, 2012). In addition, there is increasing evidence that engaging in citizen science projects, wherein students work with peers and researchers towards a common goal, is a powerful motivator for students (Vitone et al., 2016).
The Breaking Good project is an ongoing citizen science program in which high school and undergraduate students work cooperatively with researchers to synthesise novel drug candidates that are screened against various neglected tropical diseases. We will discuss our experiences implementing this synthetic workshop program in both schools and universities and explore how different educational settings require and enable different levels of immersion and styles of learning. In particular, we examine the balance between providing authentic and immersive experiences while maintaining close alignment with learning outcomes. We suggest that co-creation between educators and researchers facilitates a more cohesive and enriching experience for students.
REFERENCES
King, D. (2012) New perspectives on context-based chemistry education: using a dialectical sociocultural approach to view teaching and learning. Studies in Science Education, 48(1), 51-87
Vitone, T., Stofer, K., Steininger, M. S., Hulcr, J., Dunn, R. and Lucky, A. (2016). School of Ants goes to college: integrating citizen science into the general education classroom increases engagement with science. Journal of Science Communication, 15(01), A0
Engaging students in scenario-based assessment for final exams
Full text linkWe present our approaches to enhancing the authenticity of final exams across large first-year first semester biology units of cohort sizes between 300-1200 students. Historically exams were primarily used as an instrument that mainly assessed knowledge retention with limited provision of feedback to students. The necessity to shift to online learning during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic provided us with a challenging, yet opportune moment to transform our final examinations into an authentic learning experience for undergraduate biology students. We placed a large focus on integrating scenario-based questions in the final exam thereby assessing students’ ability to apply knowledge to real-world contexts. To enhance engagement with the assessment, we also provided personalised feedback for each student. With additional challenges around access to artificial intelligence and academic integrity, we share our experiences returning to in-person final examinations and evaluate the relevancy and benefits of scenario-based questions for student assessment and learning. We also share our approaches to feedforwarding initiatives to prepare students for examinations that is different to what most students would have experienced in their secondary schooling
Changing primary science education by identifying, representing, and analysing variation in data-based observations from integrated STEM activities
Full text linkMaking observations to describe natural phenomena is an emphasis of primary science education. In the early years of schooling, those observations are often qualitative and seldom used to make decisions. There is, however, the potential to add value to the established curriculum by providing young students the opportunity to record data-based observations as part of a science inquiry. Such an approach set within integrated STEM contexts supports students to gather empirical evidence from observation and experimentation.
This presentation will provide examples from a research project entitled, Modelling with Data: Advancing STEM in the Primary Curriculum, that illustrate the potential for learning about science topics explored through data-based inquiries to foster outcomes in the relevant STEM disciplines across the primary years of schooling. Science topics include the manufacture of machine-made versus hand-made products, the transfer of heat, the application of force, the dispersal of seeds, the viscosity of liquids, and the growth of plants (Fitzallen & Watson, 2020).
Common to all activities was the implementation of the Practice of Statistics (Watson et al., 2018) as the mathematics component of STEM, which involved a statistical inquiry cycle of:
Formulate question/s,
Collect data,
Analyse data, and
Interpret results (Franklin et al., 2007).
Embedded within the inquiry process was the gathering of variable data related to the questions posed, representation of data in ways that account for trends within the variability seen, and interpretation of the data that accounted for the variability seen. Also, central to many of the activities was student use of the exploratory data analysis software, TinkerPlotsTM (Watson & Fitzallen, 2016), which served to scaffold student learning outcomes.
REFERENCES
Fitzallen, N., & Watson, J. (2020). Using the practice of statistics to design students’ experiences in STEM education. In B. Shelley, K. te Riele, N. Brown, & T. Crellin (Eds.), Harnessing the transformative power of education (pp. 74–99). Koninklijke Brill.
Franklin, C., Kader, G., Mewborn, D., Moreno, J., Peck, R., Perry, M., & Scheaffer, R. (2007). Guidelines for assessment and instruction in statistics education (GAISE) report: A pre-K–12 curriculum framework. American Statistical Association. https://www.amstat.org/docs/default-source/amstat-documents/gaiseprek-12_full.pdf
Watson, J., & Fitzallen, N. (2016). Statistical software and mathematics education: Affordances for learning. In L. English & D. Kirshner (Eds.), Handbook of international research in mathematics education (3rd ed., pp. 563–594). Taylor and Francis.
Watson, J., Fitzallen, N., Fielding-Wells, J., & Madden, S. (2018). The practice of statistics. In D. Ben-Zvi, K. Makar, & J. Garfield (Eds.), International handbook of research in statistics education (pp. 105–137). Springer