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Background Studies: Captioning and repetition are widely used multimedia instructional devices for non‐native students. Generally, studies in this area have tended to focus on second language literacy skills rather than on learning new content knowledge. Additionally, posttests were administered immediately after the treatments, while the delayed influences of captioning and repetition have never been investigated. Objectives: This paper addressed these research gaps in two separate studies. More specifically, this study attempted to examine the influences of captioning and repetition on non‐native students' immediate and relayed retention. Methods: In Study One, three captioning conditions; word‐by‐word captions, closed captions, and no‐captions; were compared to examine their efficacies in immediate and delayed content knowledge retention on 82 Chinese university students. To address the limitations in Study One as the multimedia lesson was short and played only once, Study Two incorporated captioning and two repetition types in its design. One hundred and eleven Chinese university students watch a video lesson in one of four captioning and repetition conditions. Results: The statistical analyses of Study One indicated that there were no significant differences in both immediate and delayed retention test scores across the three captioning condition. Similarly, in Study Two, there were no significant differences in retention tests scores across the four captioning and repetition conditions. Findings: Neither the availability of captions nor the repetition types had any impact on the Chinese students' immediate or delayed content knowledge retention, which lent support to existing studies. Based on the research results, the limitations and future study possibilities are discussed. Lay Description: What Is Already Known About This TopicEmpirical studies on captioning have focused on immediate learning right after the treatment, so have studies on repetition.Empirical studies on multimedia lessons for non‐native students have focused on English language learning. What This Paper AddsThree types of captioning were compared to examine their efficacies in both immediate and delayed content retention of Chinese students.Two types of repetition were compared to examine their efficacies in both immediate and delayed content retention of Chinese students. Implications for Practice and/or Policy:Neither the availability of captions nor the repetition types had any impact on the Chinese students' immediate or delayed content knowledge retention.The availability of textual keywords adjacent to their corresponding graphics might have compromised the efficacy of captioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Limited research on the effectiveness of additional online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities for promoting active learning among Chinese EFL learners in higher education. Current understanding of self‐regulated and collaborative learning theories in educational contexts. Objectives: To establish the efficacy of interactive online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities for enhancing active learning among Chinese EFL learners. Methods: Employed mixed methods research to assess the impact of different types of practise opportunities on 116 EFL learners. Utilised methodological triangulation of QUAN + QUAL data and one‐way ANOVA for interpretation. Results and conclusions: The study demonstrated the effectiveness of integrating online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities to enhance active learning. Empirical evidence supports the pedagogical and theoretical benefits of these opportunities for promoting active learning among EFL learners. Lay Summary: What is currently known about this topic: Limited scholarly exploration of supplementary practise opportunities for active learning among Chinese EFL learnersExisting understanding of self‐regulated and collaborative learning theories in educational contexts What does this paper add: Establishes the effectiveness of interactive online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities for promoting active learningProvides empirical evidence supporting the integration of these opportunities to enhance active learning Implications for practise/or policy: Advocates for the combined use of online and face‐to‐face practise opportunities to enrich engagement, problem‐solving, feedback, and motivation among EFL learnersSuggests the development of instructional frameworks based on self‐regulated and collaborative learning theories for enhanced CALL courses [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the widespread use of touch screen devices, the effect of the users' fingers on information processing and learning is of growing interest. The present study drew on cognitive load theory and embodied cognition perspectives to investigate the effects of pointing and tracing gestures on the surface of a multimedia learning instruction. Learning performance, cognitive load and visual attention were examined in a one‐factorial experimental design with the between‐subject factor pointing and tracing gestures. The pointing and tracing group were instructed to use their fingers during the learning phase to make connections between corresponding text and picture information, whereas the control group was instructed not to use their hands for learning. The results showed a beneficial effect of pointing and tracing gestures on learning performance, a significant shift in visual attention and deeper processing of information by the pointing and tracing group, but no effect on subjective ratings of cognitive load. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter? Pointing and tracing gestures enhance learning with multimediaThe effect is true for paper based and digital learning instructionsLess is known about the cause of this effect with regard to complex learningDifferent theoretical explanations are currently discussed What our paper adds to this A detailed analysis of the effect using eye‐tracking and touch screen dataEvidence that the effect of pointing and tracing is mediated by eye‐movementsRelevant information concerning the discussion about theoretical explanations The implications of study findings for practitioners Pointing and tracing gestures can guide the learners' visual focus of attentionPointing and tracing gestures can increase the learners' visual attentionPointing and tracing gestures foster information processing when learning with multimediaLearners can or even should use pointing and tracing gestures to support learning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Though pedagogical artificial agents are expected to play a crucial role in the years to come, earlier studies provide inconsistent results regarding their effect on learning. This might be because their potential for exhibiting subtle nonverbal behaviours we know from human teachers has been untapped. What is more, there is little evidence of the processes underlying the effect of nonverbal behaviours of teachers (either human or artificial) on learning, so as to better guide their practical application. Objectives: The aims of the current research were threefold: firstly, to examine the effect of an artificial agent's vocal expressiveness on non‐verbal immediacy (teachers' ability to increase psychological closeness through nonverbal communication). Secondly, to test whether an artificial agent showing strong vocal expressiveness will enhance affective and cognitive learning (perceived and actual), as compared to an artificial agent that shows weak vocal expressiveness. Thirdly, to examine whether the underlying mechanisms of motivation and attention explain the effect of immediacy (and thereby also of vocal expressiveness) on the two learning outcomes. Methods: The study used a between‐participants design, with the participants being randomly assigned to one of the two experimental conditions: artificial modelling with strong expressiveness and artificial modelling with weak vocal expressiveness. Results and conclusions: Results showed that an artificial agent with strong vocal expressiveness increased affective and perceived cognitive learning. Partial support was found for actual cognitive learning. What is more, our findings revealed that vocal expressiveness is related to affective and perceived cognitive learning because it promotes nonverbal immediacy. Finally, results provided evidence of motivation as a mediator of the path from immediacy to affective learning. Major takeaways: The current findings verify the important role of nonverbal immediacy found in traditional educational settings. However, showing that these results also apply to artificial teachers is essential, given that the educational landscape is changing and reshaping by artificial intelligence. Thus, taking into consideration the role of vocal expressiveness in the development of artificial teachers or voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google assistant, as a way to enhance immediacy and affective experience of learners is of imperative value, since they will be found more and more in our societies. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter: There is a positive effect of nonverbal cues of human teachers on students' learningThe artificial agent's voice is important for learning. What their paper adds to this: Provides strong evidence of the positive effect of vocal expressiveness of artificial agents on learning outcomes.Reveals that vocal expressiveness is related to learning outcomes because it enhances immediacy.Examines the proposed mechanisms of motivation and attention as mediators of the path from immediacy to affective and cognitive learning. Implications of study findings for practitioners: Taking into consideration vocal expressiveness of artificial agents during the design process is essential for increased learning.The combination of the vocal parameters of pitch and speech rate is effective for constructing vocal expressiveness.By showing the underlying mechanisms of artificial agents' nonverbal cues (i.e., vocal cues) on learning, it helps designers to make a better decisions during construction.The study's findings are also pertinent for human teachers in improving students' learning in traditional educational settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although most people are aware of government guidelines for alcohol consumption, few have accurate knowledge of these and fewer still use these guidelines to monitor their drinking. Most people also lack accurate knowledge of the alcohol content of the drinks they consume. The aim of the study reported here was to examine whether or not personalized feedback on alcohol consumption based on performance in a drink-pouring task and self-reported alcohol intake would improve university students' knowledge of alcohol consumption guidelines and reduce their alcohol intake. Methods A quasi-randomized control trial with a 2-month follow-up was conducted with 200 students aged 18 to 37 in the south of England. Participants were allocated to a 'pour + feedback' group that completed a drink-pouring task and received personalized feedback, a 'pour only' group that completed the drink-pouring task but did not receive feedback, and a control group. Results At follow-up, participants in the 'pour + feedback' group had significantly better knowledge of government guidelines, and significantly lower weekly alcohol intake when compared to the 'control' and 'pour only' groups. Conclusions Further refinement of the drink-pouring intervention and feedback is reported in this paper, and assessment of their impact in various populations may lead to better understanding of which elements of personalized feedback have the greatest influence on young people's alcohol use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Alcohol-exposed pregnancies ( AEPs) are a preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities for which many women are at risk. The initial 5-session Project CHOICES intervention was found to prevent AEPs. In the ensuing decade, there have been several additional CHOICES-like studies. This study, Project Healthy CHOICES, had 2 objectives: (i) to compare outcomes for students versus nonstudents; and (ii) to test a self-administered mail-based version of the Project CHOICES intervention. Methods A randomized controlled trial ( RCT) compared 2 interventions for women of childbearing age (18 to 44) who were at risk of an AEP: (i) motivational feedback based on Project CHOICES and (ii) information only. Advertisements recruited 354 women (145 college students; 209 nonstudents) at risk of an AEP. Intervention and study materials were available in English and Spanish. Of the 354 women, 44% were minorities (25% identified as Hispanics). Results At the 6-month follow-up, the interventions did not differ and there was no Intervention by Student Study interaction. However, over the entire 6-month follow-up, significantly more students (68%) than nonstudents (46%) were not at risk of an AEP (2.1 odds ratio; confidence interval = 1.47 to 2.95). For all groups, risk reduction occurred primarily through effective contraception. Conclusions There was no significant difference between the 2 interventions. However, over the entire 6-month follow-up interval, college students were significantly more likely than nonstudents to not be at risk of an AEP and to use effective contraception. While the student groups had significantly higher reduced risk of AEP outcomes, there was also substantial risk reduction for women in the information only condition. These results suggest that the most effective AEP prevention efforts would be to inform women at risk that they could become pregnant. Because about half of all pregnancies are unplanned, identifying women at risk and preventing the risk of AEPs should be a public health priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates whether, following a wrongdoing, the restoration of justice promotes forgiveness. Three studies - one correlational recall study and two experimental scenario studies - provide evidence that while a restored sense of justice is overall positively related to forgiveness, forgiveness is highly dependent on the means of justice restoration being retributive (punitive) versus restorative (consensus-seeking) in nature. The findings showed that, overall, restorative but not retributive responses led to greater forgiveness. Although both retributive and restorative responses appeared to increase forgiveness indirectly through increased feelings of justice, for retributive responses these effects were counteracted by direct effects on forgiveness. Moreover, the experimental evidence showed that, while feelings of justice derived from restorative responses were positively related to forgiveness, feelings of justice derived from retributive responses were not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals are often confronted with intergroup threats, yet many of these threats emanate from distant groups that most individuals are unlikely to encounter in their local environment. An important yet unanswered question is whether reactions to those threats, such as intolerance towards the threatening group, carry over to other groups that individuals actually do encounter in their local environment (e.g., immigrants). The main goal of our studies was to experimentally identify this carry-over effect of intergroup threat. Specifically, we hypothesized that (by definition relatively abstract) symbolic threats (e.g., threats to the ingroup's worldview) have an especially strong carry-over potential because those threats can be easily attributed to other outgroups. We tested these predictions in one correlational and two experimental studies. The results of all three studies confirmed our hypothesis that particularly distant symbolic threats were predictive of intolerance towards local outgroups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Today's generation of young adults are gaining weight faster than their parents; however, there remains insufficient evidence to inform interventions to prevent this weight gain. Mobile phones are a popular means of communication that may provide a convenient, inexpensive means to deliver health intervention programmes. This pilot study aimed to measure the effect of a 12-week mobile health ( mHealth) intervention on body weight, body mass index and specific lifestyle behaviours addressed by the programme. Methods University students and staff aged 18-35 years ( n = 51) were randomised (ratio 1 : 1, intervention : control). Both groups received a printed diet booklet with instructions prepared by a dietitian. The intervention group also received Short Message Service ( SMS) text messages (four per week), e-mails (four per week), and had access to smartphone applications and Internet forums. Results Pre- to post-intervention, participants in the intervention group decreased their body weight [mean (SD)] [−1.6 (2.6) kg], increased their light intensity activity [34 (35) min day−1] and reported an increased vegetable (1.0 median serving day−1) and decreased sugar-sweetened beverage intake [−355 (836) mL week−1]. Despite this, post-intervention changes in outcomes were not significantly different from controls. Conclusions The piloted mHealth programme provided some short-term positive changes in weight, nutrition and physical activity using a low cost, convenient delivery method for this population. However, changes were no different from those observed among controls. This might partly be explained by intervention participants' low engagement with the programme, which is likely to require further modification to provide more regular, personalised, monitored support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of meditation as a tool to recover from stress has already been widely established. However, less is known about the potential psychological mediating and moderating mechanisms affecting its effectiveness. The present study aimed to advance insight in this respect by examining the mediating role of the recovery experiences 'relaxation', 'mastery', and 'detachment', and by studying the moderating role of intrinsic motivation. To this purpose, after completion of a stress-inducing speech preparation task, 100 participants were randomly assigned to either a 15-minute guided imagery meditation exercise or to a 15-minute radio interview on meditation. Subjectively experienced stress and serenity were included as measures of (recovery from) stress. These measures were completed after the speech preparation task and after the meditation exercise/radio interview. Results showed that participants who meditated reported a larger increase in serenity and decrease in subjectively experienced stress than those who listened to the radio fragment. Furthermore, it turned out that this superior effect of meditation could be partly explained by the mediating effects of 'relaxation' and 'mastery' (but not 'detachment'). The recovery effects of meditation were also stronger for participants who were highly intrinsically motivated for this activity. Altogether, results of this study provide insight into the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms that explain the effectiveness of meditation as a recovery activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]