The aim of this study was to analyse ninth graders self reported screen based activities, sedentary time and musculoskeletal symptoms and pain intensity. The other aim was to examine changes regarding musculoskeletal pain and inactivity between ninth graders from a cross sectional study in year 2004. To meet this aim, following questions were designed: How is the relationship between screen based activities, inactivity, musculoskeletal symptoms, pain intensity and differences between girls and boys? How have musculoskeletal symptoms and screen time changed since year 2004? Method: The method used for this study was a quantitative method. The research was carried out using a questionnaire that was answered by pupils from 11 schools from all over Sweden. The response rate was 85 % (n=465). The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: Mobile phones were used three times more by girls and TV Games were used seven times more by the boys.  Tablet computers were used more randomly by 80% of the youths. Headache occurred 58% and neck pain occurred 68 % with those who used mobile phone >3 and >5 hours per day. Backache occurred with 19% of those watching TV > 3 hrs. Headache ongoing for more than a month occurred twice as much among the girls and was perceived as having a severe effect on everyday life. Boys reported neck ache and shoulder ache longer than a month somewhat to a greater extent. Nearly twice as many of the boys considered themselves being more physical active and resemble the most active person. Total sedentary time was not significant but a third of the youths reported that sitting time for 7-9 hrs during weekdays and 4-6 hrs during weekends. Differences between 2004 and 2013 showed that occurrence of ache and continuous back pain decreased whilst headache and continuous back pain increased with the boys. Conclusions: Headaches, neck pain and backaches are common among 9th graders and it seems to be a relationship with time exposure to different screen activities. Further research investigating gender differences and pain is important, in particular among girls who seem to be more vulnerable. / Studiens syfte var att analysera niondeklassares självrapporterade skärmbaserade aktiviteter, fysisk inaktivitet samt muskuloskeletala symptom, smärtintensitet och påverkan i vardagen. Vidare var syftet att göra jämförelser med resultat från en tvärsnittsstudie år 2004 i samma skolor för att se eventuella skillnader. Frågeställningarna var: Hur ser sambandet ut med skärmbaserade aktiviteter, fysisk inaktivitet samt muskuloskeletala symtom, smärtintensitet och påverkan i vardagen? Finns några könsskillnader? Hur har muskuloskeletala besvär, inaktivitet och skärmbaserad tid förändrats i jämförelse med niondeklassare år 2004? Metod: En kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie med enkäter som besvarades av 465 elever (85 %) på 11 skolor. Populationen hämtades från SIH projektet år 2004 som bestod av ett slumpmässigt urval från skolor i hela Sverige. Resultat: Mobiltelefonen användes av tre gånger så många flickor, TV spel av sju gånger så många pojkar. Surfplatta användes aldrig eller sällan av 80 %. Nackvärk och huvudvärk förekom ofta bland 68 % respektive 58 % av de som använde mobilen >3 timmar eller mer. Ryggvärk förekom bland 19 % som tittade TV > 3 timmar. Huvudvärk mer än en månad förekom dubbelt så ofta hos flickor och upplevdes ha en svår påverkan i vardagen. Dubbelt så många pojkar ansåg sig mest fysiskt aktiva i vardagen och ansåg sig likna den person som är mest fysiskt aktiv. Stillasittande tid var inte signifikant men en tredjedel av ungdomarna uppgav att de sitter stilla 7-9 h på vardag och 4-6 h på helgdag. Mellan år 2004 och år 2013 ökade förekomsten av huvudvärk och pågående ryggsmärta bland pojkar. Slutsats: Smärta i huvud, nacke och rygg är ofta förekommande bland niondeklassare och samband tycks finnas med långvarig exponering av olika skärmbaserade aktiviteter Självrapporterad smärta har i jämförelse med en tvärsnittsstudie år 2004 minskat förutom huvudvärk och ryggsmärta som ökat bland pojkar. Vidare forskning kring könsskillnader och smärta är angeläget i synnerhet bland flickor som är mer drabbade.

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of computer consumption among boys in ninth grade, and to see if there were any differences with regards to physical activity, sleeping habits, breakfast habits and BMI. The study has cross sectional design with a comparative and a quantitative structure and is based on a former study called “Food & Health 2007”.  The respondents were represented by 181 boys in ninth grade, recruited from ten different schools in the county of Uppsala, who were answering questions about media consumption, breakfast habits, physical activity and sleeping habits. Daily computer consumption was reported up to one hour for 12 % of the respondents, one to three hours for 65 % and over three hours for 42 %. The boys who had a high physical activity level were less frequent in computer consumption while those who had a low physical activity level spent more time by the computer. The boys who were high computer consumers showed either a high or low level of physical activity, while the boys who were low computer consumers were presented mainly by boys with a high activity level. BMI increased in relation to increasing computer consumption and in relation to less prevalence of physical activity. The boys with high computer consumption had a higher BMI than the low consumers and involve a risk of decreased general health. Further studies are required to confirm the results and to find out the causes for the differences, and to give a foundation for further work against overweight, obesity and decreasing level of physical activity among children and adolescents.

This research examines the reading and information needs of undergraduate distance education students at Curtin University of Technology and the academic library's role in meeting those needs. Twelve undergraduate units offered at Curtin in second semester were selected as the prime units of this research. The research was conducted in three phases in 1996. First, the documents supplied to the distance education students were examined to determine what reading was specified and/or suggested to the students. Next, the unit co-ordinators responsible for the units were interviewed to find out what reading and information literacy expectations they held for their distance education students. Finally, the non-metropolitan area students enrolled in the units were interviewed to find out if they felt they could complete the units using only supplied readings and prescribed texts. They were also asked about obtaining resources through Curtin University Library and Information Service or other sources. Their use of telecommunications and computers was also examined.This research found there were as many models of the practice of distance education as there were units surveyed. There was a high degree of agreement between the unit co-ordinators and students on the possibility of completing their associated units using only the supplied reading plus the textbooks. The students could not complete their units using only the supplied reading but many could successfully complete units using the supplied reading and set texts.Although all students were using computers there was a significant difference in the number of students that had access to a computer linked to telecommunications and the number of students that were using this access. Only a small proportion of the students used this facility to access the Curtin Off Campus Library Services.There was a lack of knowledge by ++ / students of the services and resources that were available to them. Responses from students indicated they were not effectively informed about the services and resources available to them. This lack of knowledge of existing services pointed to a need for improved marketing of the services to this group of students. An improved level of co-operation between the library, the unit co-ordinators and the University Distance Education Service is recommended to address some of the issues raised in this research. This co-operation should include working with academic staff in unit and course design and a review of the promotion of all services to distance education students

abstract: Unschooling is a child-centered educational philosophy that eschews teachers, schools, curricula, grades and tests. Unschool practitioners have complete freedom to choose what they want to learn, when, to what level, and for how long. Unschooling families use the World Wide Web to provide a bespoke academic experience at home. This study compares qualitative data collected from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews conducted with 10 unschooling families with quantitative data collected from 5 children within these families using a tracking and monitoring software. The software captured the duration of use, keystrokes, mouseclicks, and screenshots for all programs and websites for 14 days. Children stated they used technology less than 6 hours a day, and parents stated children used them less than 8 hours a day. Quantitative data shows the children use technology at least 10 hours a day, suggesting usage self-reports may not be reliable. The study revealed hardware form factor was the number one determinate of application use. Almost exclusively social media was used on smartphones, internet browsing on tablets, and creative endeavors such as modding, hacking, fan fiction writing, and video game level building all took place exclusively on laptops and desktops. Concurrent use of differing hardware form factors was the norm observed. Participants stated YouTube, Wikipedia and Khan Academy were the websites most used for knowledge gathering. The tracking software verified YouTube and Wikipedia were the most used websites, however when accessed on the PC, those sites were used almost exclusively for video game related purposes. Over 90% of the total PC use was spent on video games. More traditional educational activities were done primarily on tablets and on parent smartphones with parental engagement. Khan Academy was not used by the participants in the 14 day monitoring period. 90 day web browser logs indicated Khan Academy was used by individuals no more than 3 times in a 90 day period, demonstrating the inherent risks in relying upon internet usage self-reports without quantitative software for verification. Unschooling children spent between 30 and 60 hours a week using technology. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 2014

abstract: A core principle in multiple national quality improvement strategies is the engagement of chronically ill patients in the creation and execution of their treatment plans. Numerous initiatives are underway to use health information technology (HIT) to support patient engagement however the use of HIT and other factors such as health literacy may be significant barriers to engagement for older adults. This qualitative descriptive study sought to explore the ways that older adults with multi-morbidities engaged with their plan of care. Forty participants were recruited through multiple case sampling from two ambulatory cardiology practices. Participants were English-speaking, without a dementia-related diagnosis, and between the ages of 65 and 86. The older adults in this study performed many behaviors to engage in the plan of care, including acting in ways to support health, managing health-related information, attending routine visits with their doctors, and participating in treatment planning. A subset of patients engaged in active decision-making because of the point they were at in their chronic disease. At that cross roads, they expressed uncertainly over which road to travel. Two factors influenced the engagement of older adults: a relationship with the provider that met the patient's needs, and the distribution of a Meaningful Use clinical summary at the conclusion of the provider visit. Participants described the ways in which the clinical summary helped and hindered their understanding of the care plan. Insights gained as a result of this study include an understanding of the discrepancies between what the healthcare system expects of patients and their actual behavior when it comes to the creation of a care plan and the ways in which they take care of their health. Further research should examine the ability of various factors to enhance patient engagement. For example, it may be useful to focus on ways to improve the clinical summary to enhance engagement with the care plan and meet standards for a health literate document. Recommendations for the improvement of the clinical summary are provided. Finally, this study explored potential reasons for the infrequent use of online health information by older adults including the trusting relationship they enjoyed with their cardiologist. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Nursing and Healthcare Innovation 2015

La mise en place de la gratuité de l'école primaire, il y a 8 ans a offert à la majorité des enfants kenyans, notamment les plus défavorisés (les filles dans certaines régions, les enfants issus de familles pauvres ou rurales) qui n'y avaient pas accès jusqu'alors, l'opportunité de s ‘inscrire à l'école. L'objectif du gouvernement kenyan est d'améliorer la qualité de l'enseignement reçu dans l'éducation publique. De nouvelles approches d'enseignement et d'apprentissage sont nécessaires pour assurer le progrès pédagogique et à travers lui améliorer la qualité de l'enseignement. Dans une économie où 40 % de la main-d'œuvre qualifiée est au chômage, l'accent doit être mis sur une formation de la population afin de répondre au mieux aux demandes du marché du travail. L'une des stratégies pour améliorer la qualité de l'éducation est l'intégration des TIC, comme moyen de généraliser l'éducation et de garantir un accès équivalent aux élèves de toutes les régions du Kenya. Ayant entériné l'introduction des ordinateurs dans les classes depuis plus de dix ans, le gouvernement est en quête de méthodes d'enseignement qui accorderaient une place plus importante à l'informatique dans toutes les matières enseignées et ne se limiteraient pas simplement à un projet d'alphabétisation informatique. Cette thèse essaie d'identifier et d'analyser diverses utilisations de logiciels éducatifs présents à des élèves kenyans du secondaire. Nous nous sommes inspirés des approches proposées par Papert et Cuban, dont les perspectives sont de rendre l'apprentissage ludique tout en étant efficace, grâce à l'utilisation de logiciels éducatifs lors des séances d'enseignement. / The expansion of access to primary éducation eight years ago has led to majority of children in Kenya notably the less priviledged like girls and those from poor or rural households to be enrolled in school for the first time. Despite the govenment's aim to increase resources for public éducation, primary and secondary schools are over stretched in terms of capacity. New approches to teaching and learning are necessary in order to ensure quality and progress in the pedagogical aréna. In an economy where 40% of its qualified manpower is unemployed, focus must be turned to effective training of its population to meet the job market's demands. One of the stratégies of improving quality of education is the integration of technologies such as ICT, as a way of globalizing the éducation process and ensuring equity in access. Having accepted the introduction of computers into the classroom more than ten years ago, the government is on a quest to find a more integrated approach of computers in specific subject areas rather than simply computer literacy. This thesis tries to identify and analyse different uses of educational software in the kenyan classroom at secondary school level. Leaning on approaches suggested by Papert and Cuban, on the prospects of making learning fun and effective through the use of software in the school environment.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between anxiety reducing teaching methods and computer anxiety levels and learning gain of students in a college level introductory computer course. Areas examined were the computer anxiety levels of students categorized by selected demographic variables, the learning gain of students categorized by selected demographic variables, and anxiety levels and learning gain of students after completion of the course. Data for the investigation were collected via the Standardized Test of Computer Literacy (STCL) and the Computer Opinion Survey (CAIN), developed by Michael Simonson et al. at Iowa State University. The nonequivalent pretest/posttest control group design was used. The statistical procedure was the t test for independent groups, with the level of significance set at the .05 level. The data analysis was accomplished using the StatPac Gold statistical analysis package for the microcomputer. Based upon the analysis of the data, both hypotheses of the study were rejected. Research hypothesis number one was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing teaching methods would show a greater reduction in computer anxiety levels than students in a traditional class. Hypothesis number two was that students in a class using computer anxiety reducing methods would show a greater learning gain than students in a traditional class. This research revealed that there was no statistically significant difference in the computer anxiety levels or the learning gain of students between the control group and the experimental group.

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