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In this article, we describe a study in which a validated motivational survey was used to investigate the effect of working in mixed or same-gender groups on physics self-efficacy and self-reported peer influence on self-efficacy in a calculus-based introductory physics course in which women are severely underrepresented both in our sample and in the United States overall. Likely due to societal stereotypes and biases, we found that men tended to have higher physics self-efficacy and reported higher peer influence on self-efficacy than women both before and at the end of the physics course. Additionally, all students except those who worked in same-gender groups had a decrease in their average physics self-efficacy from the beginning to the end of the semester. Our findings suggest that instructors should implement classroom policies that encourage equitable and inclusive group work so that all students can thrive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives More frequent engagement in social activity is often associated with better physical health outcomes. Yet, less is known about whether engagement in a greater variety of social activities such as a mix of volunteering and attending club meetings (social activity variety) is important for health. The current study assessed whether social activity variety relates to mortality risk after adjusting for social activity frequency, nonsocial activity frequency and variety, and sociodemographic covariates, and how this relationship varies depending on age. Methods Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we included 5,017 adults aged 51 and older who completed questions about social activity participation in 2008 and whose mortality status was recorded up to 2019. We also examined whether age moderated the relationship between social activity variety and mortality risk. Results Cox proportional hazard model analyses revealed that those with higher activity variety in social activities were more likely to survive over the following 11 years than those with low social activity variety. Moreover, age moderation indicated that the association between social activity variety with mortality risk was stronger among the oldest adults. Discussion Findings suggest that a greater variety of social activities is linked to mortality risk even after adjusting for social activity frequency, nonsocial activities, and health status across adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate how students' disabilities impacted their learning at the university and to measure their perceptions of universal design for learning (UDL). An online survey was administered at a large public research university in the south-central United States; 160 students with disabilities completed the survey. These students with disabilities described how their disabilities influenced their learning in the following aspects: attention issues, slow processing, absence, accessibility issues, reading and writing challenges, mental health challenges, and social interaction challenges. The results also revealed that some UDL teaching practices were not being fully utilized by instructors based on the perceptions of students with disabilities. We discussed those UDL practices which were not being used by instructors and highlighted the impact of using the practices on students' learning. These practices include effective teaching methods such as helping students organize and summarize learning content, using technology to increase accessibility, providing flexibility in assessments and assignments, providing meaningful feedback, and recruiting students' attention and engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In March 2020, academic research laboratories across the world shut down in response to the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. As labs began to resume work in the weeks and months following the shutdown, the realities of daily life in the lab changed. This article offers an empirical investigation of how COVID-19 disrupted laboratory life and impacted laboratory workers in the United States, drawing on in-depth interviews with biomedical research trainees (postdoctoral researchers and advanced doctoral students) conducted between September 2020 and March 2021. This article demonstrates how laboratory life during the pandemic was marked by emergent stratifications and inequities in access to sufficient lab time, increased stress around productivity, and frustrations with the culture of academic science. I show how the loss of social interaction, and the ensuing lonely scientific struggles, made visible the importance of sociality in science for workers. Finally, I contend that pandemic disruptions not only amplified and exacerbated existing social inequities in lab settings but also resulted in workers' estrangement from science itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world continues to face uncertainty due to COVID-19, there is concern for adolescent wellbeing as they attempt to cope with changes to their education and social interactions. Considering the trade-offs between physical distancing and virtual education versus in-person instruction may be particularly pertinent to understanding adolescent loneliness and worries surrounding COVID-19 and their academics. Adolescents (N = 1,708; age M = 12.42, SD = 2.40; 53.3% girls and 46.7% boys) from the United States self-reported their perceptions of social support, COVID-19 attitudes, and indicators of wellbeing (i.e., loneliness, COVID-19 stress, academic worry) in an online cross-sectional survey between November 30, 2020 to December 21, 2020. Higher levels of social support and attitudes of lower COVID-19 concern were associated with lower levels of loneliness, COVID-19 stress, and academic worries. Adolescents receiving greater virtual instruction were more worried about their academics compared to those receiving greater in-person instruction. A moderation effect between loneliness and instruction type revealed that the effect of social support was stronger for those receiving greater virtual instruction. Despite the quick and dramatic change to one's education, adolescents were relatively unaffected by the type of instruction they had recently received. Instead, perceived social support and their attitudes toward COVID-19 were more strongly related to their wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Person-centered breastfeeding counseling is a key but often overlooked aspect of high-quality services. We explored women's experiences of the Breastfeeding Heritage and Pride™ program, an evidence-based breastfeeding peer counseling program serving women with low incomes in the United States. Methods: This study was conducted through an equitable community-clinical-academic partnership and guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) quality of care framework for maternal and newborn health, which highlights three domains of positive experiences of care: effective communication; respect and dignity; and emotional support. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of women participating in the Breastfeeding Heritage and Pride™ program. Women were asked to describe their experiences with the program including examples of when good quality counseling was or was not provided. Each interview was conducted in English or Spanish, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Once themes were generated, they were organized according to the three care experience domains in the WHO quality of care framework. Results: Twenty-eight in-depth interviews were conducted with a racially/ethnically and socio-economically diverse sample of women. Three themes described effective communication practices of peer counselors: tailoring communication to meet women's individual needs; offering comprehensive and honest information about infant feeding; and being timely, proactive, and responsive in all communications across the maternity care continuum. Two themes captured why women felt respected. First, peer counselors were respectful in their interactions with women; they were courteous, patient, and non-judgmental and respected women's infant feeding decisions. Second, peer counselors showed genuine interest in the well-being of women and their families, beyond breastfeeding. The key theme related to emotional support explored ways in which peer counselors offered encouragement to women, namely by affirming women's efforts to breastfeed and by providing reassurance that alleviated their worries about breastfeeding. These positive experiences of counseling were appreciated by women. Conclusions: Women described having and valuing positive experiences in their interactions with peer counselors. Efforts to expand access to high-quality, person-centered breastfeeding counseling should, as part of quality assurance, include women's feedback on their experiences of these services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heritage language (HL) learning is often facilitated by consistent exposure to the HL in family language policy (FLP). However, when children develop a preference for the majority language, family members may negotiate their use of both languages to establish a stronger emotional bond with their children while providing rich HL input. This article presents a case study of a Czech–English‐speaking family in the Midwestern United States, focusing on the parents' sporadic use of their HL during mainly English interactions with their 5‐ and 8‐year‐old children. Drawing on Vygotsky's concept of perezhivanie as the theoretical framework and considering emotions as cultural and discursive constructs, this article uses discourse analytic methods to examine emotions in the participants' routine social interactions. The findings suggest that even though the parents' use of English combined with sporadic HL input may seem counterproductive for the children's HL learning, it may still contribute to their HL development when the HL is used in child‐centric and playful ways. This study has pedagogical implications for understanding the value of playful HL input in promoting HL learning. Additionally, it proposes theoretical advancements in the study of emotions in second language acquisition (SLA) by demonstrating how Vygotsky's notion of perezhivanie can be utilized to investigate the role of emotions in second language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to understand the experiences of international students engaged in partnership programs between their high school and a destination college. Specifically, this study focuses on the experiences and perceptions of a group of Brazilian international students who graduated from a dual diploma high school program prior to arriving at a four-year research university in the United States to complete their postsecondary education. The study is guided by a conceptual model based in the literature around challenges of international students, Tinto's (1975) academic and social integration theory, and the four primary types of social interactions (Rose-Redwood & Rose-Redwood, 2013). We utilize a case study method centered on six interviews which investigated students' college experiences during their social and academic integration processes. The findings provide insight into how participation in the dual diploma high school program benefited international students in their college integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the association between positive social support from children and loneliness for older adults and whether social media communication with children moderated this association. We additionally considered the role that partnership status plays in these associations. A structural equation modeling (SEM) framework was used to conduct path modeling and multi‐group modeling on a nationally representative sample of 5480 adult respondents aged 55 and over residing in the United States, using data from the Health and Retirement Study. We found a negative association between positive social support from children and loneliness; this association did not differ based on partnership status. The negative association between lower positive social support from children and loneliness was weakened by higher levels of communication with children through social media, but only for widows. This was stronger for widows who communicated with their children via social media at higher levels. The present study shows how social interactions may differ depending on partnership status. Additionally, this study underscores the role of relationship types (children) in social network structure, and how family roles may differ depending upon partnership status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how the strength of social ties is affected by the geographical location of other individuals and their social capital. We characterize the equilibrium in terms of both social interactions and social capital. We show that lower travel costs increase not only the interaction frequency but also the social capital for all agents. We also show that the equilibrium frequency of interactions is lower than the efficient one. Using a unique geocoded data set of friendship networks among adolescents in the United States, we structurally estimate the model and show that indeed agents socially interact less than that at the first best optimum. Our policy analysis suggests that, at the same cost, subsidizing social interactions yield a higher total welfare than subsidizing transportation costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic impeded social interaction, negatively affecting well‐being worldwide. To slow virus spread, practices were enacted to minimize face‐to‐face contact, leading to increased social disconnection. As people turned increasingly to online environments (e.g., social media) to fulfill needs for inclusion and belonging, misinformation regarding COVID‐19 simultaneously ran rampant. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether impeded social inclusion may have contributed to the spread of misinformation. We recruited a sample of adult social media users in the United States (N = 431) and randomly assigned them to be either included, ostracized (i.e., ignored), or rejected (i.e., to receive explicitly negative attention). Participants subsequently rated their willingness to share COVID‐19 claims via social media (in fact, all claims were false). Participants learned that sharing some claims would likely lead to high expected engagement from others on social media (e.g., "likes"), whereas some claims would likely lead to little expected engagement. While information sharing was low in our sample, participants were more willing to share claims that they believed would lead to higher levels of engagement—consistent with the idea that sharing information is motivated not only by the desire to educate others but also to elicit social connection. However, this behavioral intention was no more common among participants who had been momentarily ostracized or rejected online than among participants who had been included. Future research should continue to explore the link between social exclusion and the motivation to disseminate (mis)information beyond a pandemic‐related context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports research into the everydayness of instructional design (meaning designers' daily routines, run-of-the-mill interactions with colleagues, and other, prosaic forms of social contact), and how everydayness relates to their pursuit of quality in online course design. These issues were investigated through an ethnographic case study, centered on a team of instructional designers at a university in the United States, and using the dimensions of everydayness articulated by Troubé (2021) as an interpretive framework. Designers were observed spending significant amounts of time engaged in repetitive practices of course refinement, meaning mundane, workaday tasks like revising, updating, fine-tuning, or fixing the courses to which they were assigned. Refining practices were interrelated with, but also experienced as distinct from, the specialized processes of instructional design or innovation that the designers also applied, largely because of their adjustable nature and the background of neutrality they provided (or the way they faded out of designers' explicit awareness and attention). Refinement also contributed towards the normative structures of meaning designers shared around their work (both positive and negative). Refining played a meaningful role in designers' pursuit of course quality, both to help them achieve quality, as well as to understand what the ideal of quality meant in specific instances. The article concludes by exploring what implications these findings have for the study and practice of pursuing quality in the context of online course development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of science beliefs such as self-efficacy, interest, identity, sense of belonging, perceived recognition and effectiveness of peer interaction in science education has been increasingly recognized in recent years. Self-efficacy, interest, and identity can be considered students' internal beliefs, and sense of belonging, perceived recognition and effectiveness of peer interaction relate to students' perception of the inclusiveness of the instructional environment. Prior studies in physics education regarding these beliefs have focused primarily on introductory physics courses. Here, we use five years of data from a validated survey administered to non-majors (in courses with physics majors) during their first year, physics majors throughout their undergraduate education, and first-year physics Ph.D. students at a large research university in the United States. We find that physics majors in the first year responded to the survey prompts more positively than their non-physics major peers who were in the same introductory courses, with the largest differences in perceived recognition, interest, and physics identity and somewhat smaller differences in self-efficacy, perception of peer interaction, and sense of belonging. Further, the average survey responses of physics majors for each belief remain largely constant over time from their first year of the undergraduate curriculum through the last year and comparable to the Ph.D. students. This suggests that students are adjusting their interpretation of the survey items to match the current level of expertise expected of them in the course in which the survey was administered. One exception occurs in the second year, when peer interaction and sense of belonging reach a minimum. This may be the case because the second year is a particularly difficult time for students as they adjust to classes consisting primarily of physics majors. Moreover, physics identity dips to the lowest value in the fourth year when many students are contemplating continuing in physics beyond their undergraduate years or switching fields. We also find that, consistent with prior studies with introductory students, perceived recognition is the best predictor of physics identity for physics majors throughout their entire physics education, pointing to the importance of instructors making a concerted effort to recognize and affirm their students throughout their education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use, using both substances within a short time interval so that their effects overlap, has a greater risk of potential negative consequences than single-substance use and is more common in younger age. Relationships between recreational cannabis laws (RCLs) and changes in simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use prevalence remain untested. Objective: To examine trends in simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use from 2008 to 2019, and investigate associations between implementation of RCLs (i.e., presence of active legal dispensaries or legal home cultivation) and simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use in the United States (U.S.). Design: Repeated cross-sectional samples from the 2008–2019 U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Participants: Respondents (51% female) aged 12 and older. Interventions: Changes in simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use before and after RCL implementation (controlling for medical cannabis law implementation) were compared in different age groups (12–20, 21–30, 31–40, 41–50, 51+), using adjusted multi-level logistic regression with state random intercepts and an RCL/age group interaction. Measurements: Self-reported simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use. Results: From 2008 to 2019, the overall prevalence of simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use declined among those aged 12–20 but increased in adults aged 21+. Model-based simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use prevalence increased after RCL implementation among respondents aged 21–30 years (+1.2%; aOR= 1.15 [95%CI = 1.04–1.27]), 31–40 years (+1.0; 1.15 [1.04–1.27]), and 41–50 years (+1.75; 1.63 [1.34–1.98]), but not in individuals aged <21 or 51+ years. Conclusions: Implementation of recreational cannabis policies resulted in increased simultaneous use of cannabis and alcohol, supporting the complementarity hypothesis, but only among adults aged 21+. Efforts to minimize harms related to simultaneous cannabis/alcohol use are critical, especially in states with RCLs. Future studies should investigate cultural norms, perceived harm, and motives related to simultaneous use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large and fast-growing number of studies across the social sciences use experiments to better understand the role of race in human interactions, particularly in the American context. Researchers often use names to signal the race of individuals portrayed in these experiments. However, those names might also signal other attributes, such as socioeconomic status (e.g., education and income) and citizenship. If they do, researchers would benefit greatly from pre-tested names with data on perceptions of these attributes; such data would permit researchers to draw correct inferences about the causal effect of race in their experiments. In this paper, we provide the largest dataset of validated name perceptions to date based on three different surveys conducted in the United States. In total, our data include over 44,170 name evaluations from 4,026 respondents for 600 names. In addition to respondent perceptions of race, income, education, and citizenship from names, our data also include respondent characteristics. Our data will be broadly helpful for researchers conducting experiments on the manifold ways in which race shapes American life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the society lockdowns and a large number of deaths in many countries. Potential transmission cluster discovery is to find all suspected users with infections, which is greatly needed to fast discover virus transmission chains so as to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 as early as possible. In this article, we study the problem of potential transmission cluster discovery based on the spatio-temporal logs. Given a query of patient user q and a timestamp of confirmed infection tq, the problem is to find all potential infected users who have close social contacts to user q before time tq. We motivate and formulate the potential transmission cluster model, equipped with a detailed analysis of transmission cluster property and particular model usability. To identify potential clusters, one straightforward method is to compute all close contacts on-the-fly, which is simple but inefficient caused by scanning spatio-temporal logs many times. To accelerate the efficiency, we propose two indexing algorithms by constructing a multigraph index and an advanced BCG-index. Leveraging two well-designed techniques of spatio-temporal compression and graph partition on bipartite contact graphs, our BCG-index approach achieves a good balance of index construction and online query processing to fast discover potential transmission cluster. We theoretically analyze and compare the algorithm complexity of three proposed approaches. Extensive experiments on real-world checkin datasets and COVID-19 confirmed cases in the United States validate the effectiveness and efficiency of our potential transmission cluster model and algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Truth and Reconciliation Commissions have played a valuable role internationally in providing an outlet for meaningful dialogue concerning systemic factors contributing to regional instability. At the same time, technology has become an important vehicle for dialogue. This Article therefore introduces considerations about how technology can be used to expand dialogue and strengthen the objectives of American truth commissions in addressing racial inequities. As a larger segment of the population shows increasing preference for technology-based systems, this Article emphasizes that technology can and should complement, rather than supplant, in-person engagements to respond to differing stakeholder preferences for online and in-person interactions. In discussing how some social media platforms have played a negative role in issues of national concern, this Article also emphasizes that there are alternate frameworks for developing online spaces that are inclusive and capable of fostering mutual understanding between different groups. The Article acknowledges the benefits and risks of communication platforms. Just as technology has introduced benefits for transportation, commerce, and entertainment, technology can also transform how reconciliation occurs without geographic limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the ubiquity of "social capital" in sociological research, this measure has broadly been conceptualized as both an individual and collective level measure. We explore the link between these two levels within the United States using recently constructed scales of state- and county-level social capital linked to the geocoded 2000–2018 General Social Survey. Collective social capital is associated with greater individual-level trust and voting. However, heterogeneity analysis reveals substantial differences by race/ethnicity, education, sex, and marital status. Moreover, there is heterogeneity for individual-level confidence in institutions and social interaction frequency, despite no overall relationship between those outcomes and collective social capital. Only some of our results align with existing dimensions of stratification, showing the importance of being clear about the operationalization and level of social capital being studied and highlighting how the "advantages" of collective social capital may not extend broadly to all the members of the collective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to identify and characterize the state of social construction of learning in virtual communities within online learning environments and to identify the advances and research challenges of social learning. The method was a systematic mapping to analyze the evidence published on the topic in 2015-2020. We automatically searched the Scopus and Web of Science databases, applying inclusion and exclusion criteria to obtain the maximum relevant information. The pre-designed search strategy resulted in 187 articles. The main research topic addressed in most of these is learning as a social construction in training contexts, primarily virtual communities. In higher education, the United States is the country with the most active researchers on this topic. In addition, the most significant findings show that in a virtual learning community, social and cognitive interactions with teaching presence are crucial for students to build knowledge and achieve a higher level of learning. This study describes challenges related to the various methodologies, geographical scope, and types of social construction learning in virtual learning communities. This research is intended to be of value to teachers, decision-makers, designers of research and researchers interested in the social construction of learning in online learning environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than ever before, institutions of higher education are seeking to increase the racial and social class diversity of their student bodies. Given these efforts, the present research asks two broad questions. First, how frequently do intergroup interactions occur across the lines of race and social class, and to what extent do these interactions reflect the diversity of a setting? Second, when cross-race and cross-class interactions occur, how do individuals experience them and what consequences do they have for their outcomes in these settings? Leveraging a longitudinal design and daily diary methods, we conducted the first large study (Ninteractions = 11,460) which tracks the frequency, experience, and consequences of meaningful cross-race and cross-class interactions. We found that students reported far fewer cross-race and cross-class interactions than would occur at chance given the racial and social class diversity of their student bodies. Furthermore, students experienced less satisfaction and perspective-taking in cross-race and cross-class interactions compared to same-race and same-class interactions, respectively. Nevertheless, these cross-group interactions predicted better academic performance for underrepresented racial minority students and students from working and lower class backgrounds. They did so, in part, by increasing students' feelings of inclusion (i.e., increased belonging and reduced social identity threat). Together, these findings suggest that the mere presence of diversity is not enough to foster meaningful intergroup interactions. Furthermore, fostering intergroup interactions may be one important pathway toward reducing racial and social class disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lifestyle behaviors such as exercise, sleep, smoking, diet, and social interaction are associated with depression. This study aimed to model the complex relationships between lifestyle behaviors and depression and among the lifestyle behaviors. Data from three waves of the Midlife in the United States study were used, involving 6898 adults. Network models revealed associations between the lifestyle behaviors and depression, with smoker status being strongly associated with depression. Depression, smoker status, age, time, and exercise were some of the most central components of the networks. Future lifestyle intervention research might prioritize specific behaviors based on these associations and centrality indices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we aim to chart a path for a new generation of early care and education (ECE) quality assessments that accurately and equitably capture key inputs to the social–emotional well‐being of the diverse population of young children in ECE classrooms in the United States. We zero in on four promising, socially supportive features of center‐based ECE settings that are actionable for research, policy, and practice: teachers' classroom behavior‐management strategies, their scaffolding of peer interactions, aspects of their own well‐being that shape their capacities to support children's social–emotional development, and indicators of bias‐free and culturally responsive ECE environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The Individualized Positive Psychosocial Interaction (IPPI) program is an adaptable, evidence-based intervention. IPPI trains nursing home care partners to engage residents living with moderate to severe dementia in preference-based, one-to-one interactions using emotion-focused communication. We sought to understand provider-driven adaptations made to the IPPI program and whether the adaptations made were fidelity-consistent., Research Design and Methods: Data were collected from n = 78 interviews with n = 23 nursing home provider champions who led a quality improvement project to implement the IPPI program with 3-5 residents per care community. Using content analysis, we report quantitative data on the adaptation characteristics according to the Framework for Reporting Adaptations and Modifications-Expanded core modules and participant quotes to illustrate adaptations., Results: Champions reported 34 adaptations, with an average of 2.6 adaptations per nursing home. The majority of IPPI adaptations pertained to implementation (65%; n = 22), whereas 17% (n = 6) were content and 17% (n = 6) were context. Some adaptations were motivated by the organization (e.g., time constraints), while others were motivated by the recipient (e.g., cognitive capacity). Most adaptations made to the IPPI protocol by care partners were fidelity-consistent (92%; n = 33)., Discussion and Implications: Care partners' adaptations to the IPPI made the intervention more resident-centric. Future healthcare intervention providers must consider the user perspective and encourage adaptations that further tailor to the user, as long as the adaptations are fidelity-consistent., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: Communication failings may compromise the diagnostic process and pose a risk to quality of care and patient safety. With a focus on emergency care settings, this project aims to examine the critical role and impact of communication in the diagnostic process, including in diagnosis-related health and research policy, and diagnostic patient-clinician interactions in emergency departments (EDs)., Methods and Analysis: This project uses a qualitatively driven multimethod design integrating findings from two research studies to gain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of context and communication on diagnostic excellence from diverse perspectives. Study 1 will map the diagnostic policy and practice landscape in Australia, New Zealand and the USA through qualitative expert interviews and policy analysis. Study 2 will investigate the communication of uncertainty in diagnostic interactions through a qualitative ethnography of two metropolitan Australian ED sites incorporating observations, field notes, video-recorded interactions, semistructured interviews and written medical documentation, including linguistic analysis of recorded diagnostic interactions and written documentation. This study will also feature a description of clinician, patient and carer perspectives on, and involvement in, interpersonal diagnostic interactions and will provide crucial new insights into the impact of communicating diagnostic uncertainty for these groups. Project-spanning patient and stakeholder involvement strategies will build research capacity among healthcare consumers via educational workshops, engage with community stakeholders in analysis and build consensus among stakeholders., Ethics and Dissemination: The project has received ethical approvals from the Human Research Ethics Committee at ACT Health, Northern Sydney Local Health District and the Australian National University. Findings will be disseminated to academic peers, clinicians and healthcare consumers, health policy-makers and the general public, using local and international academic and consumer channels (journals, evidence briefs and conferences) and outreach activities (workshops and seminars)., Competing Interests: Competing interests: JM is a member of the Council of Education of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

• Buddy Up requires minimal additional teacher training and no special materials • Teachers can "buddy" children up with other-gender peers during regular activities • Pairing preschoolers in Buddy Up promoted prosociality and reduced aggression • Buddy Up promoted preschoolers' other-gender friendships • Having other-gender friends benefited children's prosocial behavior The gendered nature of children's peer relationships has received little attention as a mechanism of change for students' social-emotional competencies. To address this gap, we tested the effects of an easy-to-implement universal intervention (Buddy Up) that paired preschoolers with other-gender peers for enjoyable, cooperative, and structured classroom activities. We considered whether the Buddy Up intervention, relative to a control condition, predicted changes in children's aggression and prosocial behavior. Participants were 140 preschoolers (53.6% boys; M age = 56.49 months; 78% Mexican/Mexican-American) from the Southwestern United States. Following a 2-week pretest period in January (T1), teachers in intervention classrooms implemented the Buddy Up program, which continued until the end of the school year. Post-test data were collected in May (T2). As hypothesized, Buddy Up was associated with increased prosocial behavior and reduced aggression. Testing other-gender friendship participation as a moderator indicated that Buddy Up's effectiveness on prosociality and aggression was not significantly moderated by children's other-gender friendship. We also tested other-gender friendship participation as a mediator and found that Buddy Up increased children's likelihood of having other-gender friends which led to greater prosocial behavior. These findings demonstrated the utility of Buddy Up and the potential for positive outcomes associated with the facilitation of other-gender relationships in early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morally charged rhetoric is commonplace in political discourse on immigration but scholars have not examined how it affects divisions over the issue among the public. To address this gap, we employ preregistered survey experiments in two countries where anti-immigration rhetoric has been prominent: the United States and Denmark. We demonstrate that exposure to moralized messages leads respondents to place greater moral weight on their existing immigration opinions and become more averse to political leaders and, in the United States, social interaction partners who espouse opposite beliefs. This suggests that political moralization contributes to moral conflict and affective polarization. We find no evidence, however, that moral framing produces attitudinal polarization—that is, more extreme immigration opinions. Our study helps make sense of the heightened intensity of anti-immigrant politics even when attitudes are stable. It also suggests a promising avenue for comparative research on affective polarization by shifting the focus from partisanship to the moralization of existing issue disagreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted patterns and limited opportunities for social interaction, which increased already high loneliness rates among college students. Meaningful social interactions can mitigate negative mental health outcomes such as loneliness and bolster social support, which is in turn linked to better self-care practices. Social connection can aid in self-care through social support as well as be considered a self-care practice itself to counter the negative effects of loneliness. This study examined the social interaction patterns of 132 college students from a mid-sized United States university during the pandemic to understand which characteristics support meaningful interactions. Students completed an online survey from October through December 2020 to report details of their 2020 and 2019 social interactions, as well as their most recent interactions, including time spent, the mode (in-person versus virtual), their relationship to others in the interaction, the type of activity and privacy of the setting. Results found that students spent significantly less time interacting with non-roommates in-person in 2020, and more time in voice and video calls. No differences were found for texting and in-person roommate interactions. Meaningfulness was significantly higher for interactions with family or friends. Students reported the highest meaning for interactions that were planned and in-person, with lowest meaning for planned virtual interactions. No differences were observed for meaningfulness based on the type of interaction activity or privacy of the setting. Understanding the characteristics of the most meaningful interactions can help college students prioritize social interactions that may best promote self-care, mitigate loneliness, and bolster social support. High meaningfulness scores for planned in-person interactions suggests that these types of interactions may be most valuable for maintaining existing self-care patterns, engaging in self-care activities, and receiving support. Self-care activities for college students, including social interactions, were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have further exacerbated loneliness. College students should be encouraged to consciously engage in person with family and friends to practice self-care and maintain or improve mental health. Strategically selecting interactions that will optimize meaningfulness may therefore be critical to helping students to maintain positive mental health during and beyond the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the differential effects of two interlocutors, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) avatar and a native speaker (NS) of English, in interaction on ESL learners' speaking ability and affective aspects. The participants were 61 ESL learners from a college in the United States. They were assigned to the AI-to-learner interaction group (n=31) and the native speaker-to-learner interaction group (n=30). The major findings are as follows. First, interacting with both AI and NS interlocutors had positive effects on improving participants' speaking ability, but talking with AI avatars brought more significant effects on improving oral performance with respect to accuracy, fluency, coherence, and interaction. Second, the low-level participants showed more speaking improvements when engaging in interaction with AI avatars, whereas the high-level participants benefited more from interactions with NSs. Lastly, all participants' attitudes towards English learning were positively changed overall, but the interactive activities with NSs did not have a positive effect on increasing high-level participants' motivation and could not reduce low-level participants' stress and anxiety levels. Based on the findings, pedagogical suggestions are provided to help learners improve their speaking ability and lower their affective filters in ESL contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the heterogeneous impacts of COVID‐19 on restaurants in the postlockdown United States, from lens of social interactions. We use the data structure of chain restaurants to disentangle restaurant attributes such as food and service types (which vary across chains) and local market conditions such as infection risks (which vary with each establishment's geographical location). We find that visits to chains with higher social indices experienced larger drops as local new cases increased in 2020, but also faster recovery later when vaccination programs expanded. Moreover, demand for restaurants in city centers recovered faster than demand for those in suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demographic landscape in the United States is changing rapidly, and early childhood programs are experiencing an increase in the enrollment of Dual Language Learners (DLLs). The current study employed a mixed-methods case study design to explore the impact of creative drama on Head Start DLLs' social and emotional development. Six DLLs enrolled in a Head Start center participated in the 9-week creative drama intervention. Quantitative data showed that participants' social and emotional skills improved significantly after the intervention. Qualitative data further revealed that participants demonstrated improvements in social interactions, including increased confidence, enhanced cooperation skills, and better emotion management. Overall, the findings from the current study suggest that creative drama is a promising strategy for Head Start DLLs to increase their social and emotional competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Online feedback mitigates the power dynamics between students and professors. • Lack of collaborative activities disrupts academic discourse socialization. • Peer-to-peer interactions are crucial for collaborative learning in online contexts. • Online academic discourse socialization requires informal areas of participation. Addressing potential research paucity on L2 international graduate students' academic discourse socialization in online contexts, this study investigated students in graduate programs in the United States. The study focused on how graduate students perceive the impacts of online learning on their academic discourse socialization experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Adopting a qualitative approach, four participants' perceptions were investigated through semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that while digital tools, including Zoom, created some spaces for academic discourse socialization for L2 international graduate students during the pandemic, the tools also disrupted their learning in some areas. Importantly, the lack of informal social interactions in online contexts affected graduate students' learning and participation in their communities of practice. This study suggests that in addition to in-class Zoom interactions, informal interactions are important for L2 international graduate students' academic discourse socialization in online contexts. Pedagogical implications on incorporating Zoom and other digital tools to facilitate academic discourse socialization in online contexts are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had significant effects on people worldwide, yet the psychological impact of collective traumas may differ at the individual and societal level. Parents may be exposed to greater pandemic-related stressors, yet also are more likely than non-parents to have social interactions during social distancing mandates. Furthermore, varying degrees of pandemic severity in countries may alter the adverse outcomes of pandemic stressors on psychopathology across nations. The purpose of this investigation was to cross-nationally explore how COVID-19 stress exposure relates to psychological distress and whether the association differed by parental status and nationality. Individuals from the United States (n = 2449) and Italy (n = 579) completed assessments measuring traumatic stress, depressive symptoms, and COVID-19-related stressors. COVID-19-related stressors were positively associated with traumatic stress and depressive symptoms. The association between COVID-19-related stressors and psychological distress did not differ by parental status or nationality. We also found that being a young adult, having a lower educational status, not being a parent, and being Italian were related to exposure to COVID-19-related stressors. We discuss these findings and their implications for our understanding of unique contexts that may pose as risk or resiliency factors during a global collective trauma, particularly on parental psychological distress as a way of promoting whole-family wellness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we use the communication theory of identity (CTI) to analyze the disparate experiences of International Graduate Students (IGS) and their accompanying partners. In CTI, four layers constitute the concept of identity: (a) The way individuals see themselves (personal), (b) their communicative interaction through social roles (relational), (c) their construction of messages (enactment), and (d) their role within a group or social network (communal). Thus, CTI views identity as a communicative and relational phenomenon. We analyze the layers of identity of IGS and their spouses living in the United States and find that although there are some coincidences, individuals within the student-dependent dyad mostly do not follow a common path of re-construction of their identity frames. Each narrative reflects individual and dyads' struggles as they work to define their new identities. For this phenomenological study, we conduct individual in-depth interviews with 16 couples from 12 different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic has called for and generated massive novel government regulations to increase social distancing for the purpose of reducing disease transmission. A number of studies have attempted to guide and measure the effectiveness of these policies, but there has been less focus on the overall efficiency of these policies. Efficient social distancing requires implementing stricter restrictions during periods of high viral prevalence and rationing social contact to disproportionately preserve gatherings that produce a good ratio of benefits to transmission risk. To evaluate whether U.S. social distancing policy actually produced an efficient social distancing regime, we tracked consumer preferences for, visits to, and crowding in public locations of 26 different types. We show that the United States' rationing of public spaces, postspring 2020, has failed to achieve efficiency along either dimension. In April 2020, the United States did achieve notable decreases in visits to public spaces and focused these reductions at locations that offer poor benefit‐to‐risk tradeoffs. However, this achievement was marred by an increase, from March to April, in crowding at remaining locations due to fewer locations remaining open. In December 2020, at the height of the pandemic so far, crowding in and total visits to locations were higher than in February, before the U.S. pandemic, and these increases were concentrated in locations with the worst value‐to‐risk tradeoff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the pathways linking daily nature enjoyment to affect by testing whether the associations would be fully explained by exercise and social interaction. Participants (N=782; 55.6% female; age 25–74, Mage=47.9) from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) refresher study completed surveys across 8days. Multilevel models indicated that enjoying nature with others tended to predict affect at the within-person level, while enjoying nature alone did not. However, enjoying nature alone did predict affect at the between-person level. Lastly, many of these associations remained, even while controlling for exercise and social interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The San Francisco Bay Area was the first region in the United States to enact school closures to mitigate SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The effects of closures on contact patterns for schoolchildren and their household members remain poorly understood.Methods: We conducted serial cross-sectional surveys (May 2020, September 2020, February 2021) of Bay Area households with children to estimate age-structured daily contact rates for children and their adult household members. We examined changes in contact rates over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, including after vaccination of household members, and compared contact patterns by household demographics using generalized estimating equations clustered by household.Results: We captured contact histories for 1,967 households on behalf of 2,674 children, comprising 15,087 non-household contacts over the three waves of data collection. Shortly after the start of shelter-in-place orders in May 2020, daily contact rates were higher among children from Hispanic families (1.52 more contacts per child per day; [95% CI: 1.14-2.04]), households whose parents were unable to work from home (1.82; [1.40-2.40]), and households with income < $150,000 (1.75; [1.33-2.33]), after adjusting for other demographic characteristics and household clustering. Between May and August 2020, non-household contacts of children increased by 145% (ages 5-12) and 172% (ages 13-17), despite few children returning to in-person instruction. Non-household contact rates among children were higher-by 1.75 [1.28-2.40] and 1.42 [0.89-2.24] contacts per child per day in 5-12 and 13-17 age groups, respectively, in households where at least one adult was vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to children's contact rates in unvaccinated households.Conclusions: Child contact rates rebounded despite schools remaining closed, as parents obtained childcare, children engaged in contact in non-school settings, and family members were vaccinated. The waning reductions observed in non-household contact rates of schoolchildren and their family members during a prolonged school closure suggests the strategy may be ineffective for long-term SARS-CoV-2 transmission mitigation. Reductions in age-assortative contacts were not as apparent amongst children from lower income households or households where adults could not work from home. Heterogeneous reductions in contact patterns raise concerning racial, ethnic and income-based inequities associated with long-term school closures as a COVID-19 mitigation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic and its restrictions have led to a shift in how people connect with others. This study investigated (a) profiles of social contact change across social ties and modes of contact, (b) predictors of these profiles, and (c) the association between these profiles and mental health during the pandemic. Participants (N = 2,098; Age mean = 50.94, range = 18–98; 48.3% female) were surveyed online twice, once prior to the pandemic (January 31–February 10, 2020) and again early in the outbreak (March 18–29, 2020). A latent profile analysis identified profiles of social contact change across social ties and communication methods. Additional analyses identified predictors of group membership and their association with mental health. Three latent groups were identified: (1) the "majority group" (77%) slightly restricted in‐person contact and had a small increase in phone and text use, (2) the "high technology use group" (13%) restricted in‐person contact and increased the use of all technology‐based methods, and (3) the "isolated group" (10%) decreased in both in‐person and technology‐based contact. Compared to the majority group, the high technology use group reported higher depression and anxiety, whereas the isolated group reported higher loneliness. There were three distinct profiles of how adults in the United States changed their communication patterns with others early in the pandemic that were linked to distinct patterns of mental health. The results have implications for the development and the delivery of mental health treatment in times of social (physical) distancing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In a preregistered study, we examined whether worries about COVID-19 are simultaneously linked with enhanced well-being through social interaction and with reduced well-being through depression symptoms., Method: In August 2020, census-matched participants from high- and low-prevalence regions in the United States and Italy (N = 857) completed assessments of COVID-19 worry, social interaction, depression symptoms, and well-being., Results: Worries about COVID-19 predicted both more social interaction and more depression (ps < 0.001). In multiple mediational analyses, an adaptive pathway of COVID-19 worry through social interaction was associated with higher well-being, whereas a maladaptive pathway through depression symptoms was associated with lower well-being. Further, a comparison of high and low COVID-19 prevalence regions replicated the mediational findings for social interaction, providing evidence against reverse causation and common method variance., Conclusion: Findings suggest that normative worries about acute stressors may both benefit and undermine well-being, depending on their impact on social behavior or depression symptoms., (© 2024 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Despite the rapid growth of the Chinese immigrant population in the United States, little is known about the social behaviors of Chinese-heritage, preschool-aged children. Among existing studies, most use White (often middle-income) parents as the normative group without considering how individuals of Chinese heritage (or individuals from other ethnic groups) might manifest culture-specific beliefs in their support of children's social behaviors. To address the lack of culturally-relevant measures designed for the Chinese population, this study examined the construct validity of parental assessment of children's peer play at home using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scales-Parent Version (PIPPS-P). Construct validity was examined via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, as well as through the use of a Chinese immigrant parent panel. Primary caregivers (N = 423) of preschool-aged children from predominantly low-income backgrounds were recruited from two northeastern cities. Results supported the existence of three distinct peer play dimensions. Results also provided culturally-nuanced information regarding items of the PIPPS-P for this Chinese immigrant combined sample. Correlational analyses further supported the construct validity of the PIPPS-P, with children's play behaviors showing relations with emotion regulation and psychological adjustment variables. Both quantitative and panel findings suggested the need for future research to examine Chinese-heritage caregivers' perspectives towards children's play, particularly children's disconnected play, and underscored the importance of having culturally and linguistically appropriate measures of children's social behavior, adding to the call for engaging emic perspectives to inform research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social isolation and the impact on mental health is a major concern during COVID-19. Trait equanimity is expected to protect individuals from psychological distress associated with social isolation. The aim of this study is to examine the link between social isolation and psychological distress via the mediator equanimity. It was hypothesised that objective (few social contacts) and perceived social isolation (loneliness) would predict psychological distress and that equanimity would mediate these relationships.Methods: Five hundred and seventy-eight adult United States participants were recruited and completed measures of objective social isolation and perceived social isolation (De Jong Gierveld Social Isolation scale), trait equanimity (Phenomenological Experience of Meditative Equanimity Scale), and psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, Short Form, DASS-21).Results: Objective social isolation negatively predicted psychological distress, but equanimity did not mediate this relationship. Perceived social isolation positively predicted psychological distress and equanimity mediated this relationship.Limitations: This study is limited by its cross-sectional and self-report design and by a United States sample, which may affect the generalisability of findings.Conclusions: Rather than a lack of social contact it is the "perceived" nature of isolation that is related to psychological distress and this relationship indirectly operates through trait equanimity. Individuals high in trait equanimity may be better protected from the impact of perceived social isolation. Clinical interventions can be adapted to include equanimity skills to mitigate perceived social isolation for individuals and reduce adverse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies showing that early language skills are important predictors of later academic success and social outcomes have prompted efforts to promote early language development among children at risk. Good social skills, a competence identified in many children who are English Language Learners (ELLs), have been posited in the general literature as facilitators of language development. Yet to date, a comprehensive review on the nature and impact of social interaction on language development among children who are ELLs has not been conducted. Using PRISMA procedures, a systematic review was conducted and 10 eligible studies published between 2008 and 2019 were identified. Findings revealed that despite their limited language capabilities, children who are ELLs can engage in complex speech during peer interaction. However, the nature and frequency of interactions, as well as the unique skill sets of communication partners may affect their development of relevant language skills. These findings have implications for policy and intervention development for preschool settings in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine the impact of job-related knowledge sharing on information availability and job satisfaction for information-receiving employees in the public sector. Following self-determination theory, the study suggests that job satisfaction is only partly affected by knowledge sharing itself, but particularly through the availability of job-related information enabling the information receiver to work effectively. Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses are tested with data from the US Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey from 2018. Additionally, results are replicated with earlier waves of the survey. Findings: Results show the positive impact of job-related knowledge sharing on job satisfaction, whereby the availability of job-relevant information mediates this relationship partially. Practical implications: This study confirms that managers should provide room for social interactions when introducing knowledge management practices. Originality/value: The results emphasize that knowledge sharing is a highly social process in which support and relatedness play a significant role in success in addition to the diffusion of information itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One in five individuals in the United States provides care and support to ill, disabled, and aging family members in the home, leading to feelings of burden, stress, and poor health and well-being. Social support represents an important buffer for family caregivers that allows them to feel less isolated and more positive about their caregiving role. This sequential mixed-methods study aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on family caregivers' social connections. Eighty-two caregivers completed a web-based survey which comprised of fixed-choice and open-ended questions. Survey data showed that the majority of caregivers (83%) reported an increase in stress and feeling lonely (77%) during the pandemic. Qualitative interviews with a subsample of caregivers (n =27) further explored social connections during the pandemic. Three themes echoed the quantitative findings and centered around defining boundaries, intentionality in social interactions, and loss of social resources. Although caregivers were often strained by new or increased caregiving demands, many experienced positive changes such as feeling a deeper connection with the care-recipient. Findings from this study highlight the need for further consideration of the impact of social isolation on the well-being of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The number of older adults who are cancer survivors is rapidly growing. Evidence is needed to inform interventions to support successful aging among older adults (including older adult cancer survivors). Active engagement with life, that is, spending time with family and/or close friends, may be related to health outcomes, but this concept remains understudied., Methods: We used survey data to assess active engagement among older adults (ages 50 + years) from seven mid-Atlantic US states (n = 2,914), and geocoded their residence to collect collected measures of community availability of social interaction. Outcomes were physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL), assessed with the SF-12. We used multivariable, multilevel linear regression to evaluate relationships between social interactions (i.e., "active engagement with life," or visiting with family and/or friends at least once per week and having at least three close friends, and community-level availability, measured with census tract-level park land and walkability and with county-level availability of social associations) and HRQoL. Finally, we explored differences in these relationships by recent cancer survivorship., Results: Overall, 1,518 (52.3%) participants were actively engaged. Active engagement was associated with higher physical HRQoL (estimate = 0.94, standard error [SE] = 0.46, p = .04) and mental HRQoL (estimate = 2.10, SE = 0.46, p < .001). The relationship between active engagement and physical HRQoL was stronger for recent cancer survivors (estimate = 4.95, SE = 1.84, p < .01) than for the general population (estimate = 1.10, SE = 0.43, p = .01). Community-level availability of social interaction was not associated with HRQoL., Conclusion: Our analysis demonstrated promising associations between active engagement with life and HRQoL among older adults, with large benefits for older cancer survivors. Additional research is needed on how active engagement is associated with better HRQoL, which can inform future policies and programs to optimize the aging process in the US., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Virtual Villages-online communities that deliver supports to promote aging in place-are proposed to mitigate isolation and support the health of aging populations. Using a community-engaged approach, we developed and pilot-tested a Virtual Village intervention tailored for people living with HIV (PLWH) aged 50+ . The intervention employed a Discord server featuring social interaction, regional and national resources, expert presentations, and mindful meditation exercises. In 2022, a sample of PLWH aged 50+ from three U.S. study sites participated in a four-week pilot. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed participants' demographic characteristics; degree of loneliness, social connectedness, HIV-related stigma, and technology acceptance; mental wellbeing and physical health outcomes; and user experience. Participants (N = 20) were socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse, aged 51-88 years, and predominantly identified as gay or bisexual men (75%). Paired t- tests revealed a significant increase in participants' mean social engagement scores and a significant decrease in participants' mean negative affect scores, following the intervention. User experience scores were acceptable and participants reported a positive sense of connectedness to the Virtual Village community. Results suggest that a virtual community can be accessible to older PLWH and may enhance social engagement and improve aspects of mental wellbeing.

In this investigation, we tested the hypothesis that increased income inequality between individuals will reduce social affiliation within dyadic interactions. In three experiments, we examined the effects of income inequality on key indices of affiliation using semi-structured interactions. In the first two experiments, a participant and confederate were randomly assigned to a low- or high-power role and compensated mildly or extremely unequally. In Experiment 3, inequality and inequity were orthogonally manipulated to determine whether inequality's social consequences are moderated by the fairness of the income distribution. We demonstrated that greater inequality produced more negative emotional responses, reduced desire for closeness, and harsher evaluations of one's partner, regardless of one's power role and the equitability of the income distribution. We also obtained evidence that greater inequality reduces behavioral warmth, although this effect was less consistent. Our results begin to unpack the psychological processes through which income inequality worsens societal well-being., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: from the Russell Sage Foundation (Award #83-15-18) for some of the research reported in this article.

A growing body of research examines teens' use of digital technologies to meet their academic and personal information needs, but few studies have considered how public and school libraries fit into modern teens' information practices. This study uses data from surveys of and interviews with 25 teens enrolled in a highly technological urban US high school to consider how the prevalence of technology in their daily lives has influenced their perceptions and use of libraries. The results indicated that this group of students tended to think of libraries as largely outdated institutions with little connection to their technology-focused daily information practices. Thus, libraries might better serve teens with high levels of technology access by reframing their services in terms of promoting social interaction and community building as well as focusing less on providing materials and technology access and more on teaching how to search and evaluate information housed outside of libraries' physical and virtual boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Student activism is a highly underresearched topic in psychology despite the field's commitment to studying person–environment interactions and advancing social justice aims. Furthermore, less is known about the ways in which student activists navigate the neoliberal or "corporatized" university in the United States. This research study utilizes a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative method in order to attempt to describe the experience of being a student activist within a "corporatized" or neoliberal university. The results demonstrate that the apolitical rhetoric and the consumerization of student life, characteristic of neoliberalism in higher education, influence the process through which students become activists and become explicit targets of discipline as well. Students understand their activism in terms of repoliticizing the university and reconfiguring their approach toward education away from consumer metaphors. The results also have significant implications for understanding how the experience of student activism interacts with the other social and economic stressors, simultaneously increasing demands on students while creating possibilities for connectedness and purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]