What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy

Women and human development: the capabilities approach

Book review: Value-added processes in information systems

Children and young people constitute a core target group for health literacy research and practice: during childhood and youth, fundamental cognitive, physical and emotional development processes take place and health-related behaviours and skills develop. However, there is limited knowledge and academic consensus regarding the abilities and knowledge a child or young person should possess for making sound health decisions. The research presented in this review addresses this gap by providing an overview and synthesis of current understandings of health literacy in childhood and youth. Furthermore, the authors aim to understand to what extent available models capture the unique needs and characteristics of children and young people. Six databases were systematically searched with relevant search terms in English and German. Of the n = 1492 publications identified, N = 1021 entered the abstract screening and N = 340 full-texts were screened for eligibility. A total of 30 articles, which defined or conceptualized generic health literacy for a target population of 18 years or younger, were selected for a four-step inductive content analysis. The systematic review of the literature identified 12 definitions and 21 models that have been specifically developed for children and young people. In the literature, health literacy in children and young people is described as comprising variable sets of key dimensions, each appearing as a cluster of related abilities, skills, commitments, and knowledge that enable a person to approach health information competently and effectively and to derive at health-promoting decisions and actions. Identified definitions and models are very heterogeneous, depicting health literacy as multidimensional, complex construct. Moreover, health literacy is conceptualized as an action competence, with a strong focus on personal attributes, while also recognising its interrelatedness with social and contextual determinants. Life phase specificities are mainly considered from a cognitive and developmental perspective, leaving children’s and young people’s specific needs, vulnerabilities, and social structures poorly incorporated within most models. While a critical number of definitions and models were identified for youth or secondary school students, similar findings are lacking for children under the age of ten or within a primary school context.

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Health literacy in childhood and youth: a systematic review of definitions and models

An analysis of faculty perceptions: Attitudes toward knowledge sharing and collaboration in an academic institution

Census of Institutional Repositories in the U.S.: A Comparison Across Institutions at Different Stages of IR Development

This exploratory study investigates the perceptions and experiences of a group of institutional repository (IR) stakeholders seldom heard from: end-users. We interviewed twenty IR end-users recruited through five IRs to discover how they characterize the IR, how/why they use the IR, their credibility judgments in relation to the IR, and their willingness to return to and/or recommend the IR. Despite our small sample size, we were able to ascertain that IR end-users, although not yet loyal IR devotees, recognize their value and unique nature. Our findings also revealed several areas for improvement, such as lack of visibility and transparency

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Unheard Voices: Institutional Repository End-Users.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on disadvantaged tweens’ (ages 11 through 13) strategies for making predictive and evaluative judgments of the credibility of health information online. More specifically, this paper identifies the features of Google search results pages and web sites that signal credibility (or lack thereof) to this population and the reasons behind their perceptions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed an ethnographic approach (using various types of data collection methods) targeted to generate in-depth descriptions of tweens making predictive and evaluative judgments of credibility, focussing on the ways in which these tweens naturally assess the credibility of online information. Findings – The research has yielded novel findings concerning the types of factors that influence disadvantaged tweens’ credibility assessment strategies, such as limited English-language vocabularies, lack of familiarity with perhaps otherwise well-known sources, and forced reli...

As simple as that?: tween credibility assessment in a complex online world

Background: Although a low health literacy level has been found to be among the most powerful predictors of poor health outcomes, there is very little research focused on assessing and improving the health literacy skills of adolescents, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. The vast majority of existing research focuses solely on reading comprehension, despite the fact that health literacy is actually a multifaceted concept, which entails many different types of skills. Objective: The aim of this paper is to first mine existing literature to identify the many different skills that have been posited to constitute health literacy, and then, using this collection of skills as an overarching structure, to highlight the challenges that disadvantaged youth participating in our HackHealth after-school program encounter as they identify and articulate their health-related information needs, search for health-related information online, assess the relevance and credibility of this information, and manage and make use of it. Methods: We utilized the design-based research method to design, implement, and revise our HackHealth program. To collect data regarding HackHealth participants’ health literacy skills and associated challenges, we used a variety of methods, including participant observation, surveys, interviews, focus groups, and logging of Web browser activities. We also collected data through specialized instructional activities and data collection forms that we developed for this purpose. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyze this data, as well as all of the artifacts that each student produced, including their final projects. Results: We identified the various challenges that the 30 HackHealth participants faced in completing various health-related information activities during the course of the program. Based on these findings, we describe important implications for working with youth from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, how to assess and improve their health literacy skills, and offer specific recommendations for health literacy instruction aimed at this population. Conclusions: With an increased societal focus on health and a shift from viewing patients as passive recipients of medical care to viewing them as active arbiters of their own health, today’s youth need to possess an array of health literacy skills to ensure that they can live long and healthy lives. Working with adolescents to help them develop and practice these skills will also help to break the cycle between poor health literacy and poor health outcomes, thereby reducing health disparities and improving the long-term outlook for the health of our nation. [JMIR Res Protoc 2015;4(2):e62]

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Beth St. Jean

Papers

Census of Institutional Repositories in the U.S.: A Comparison Across Institutions at Different Stages of IR Development

Unheard Voices: Institutional Repository End-Users.

As simple as that?: tween credibility assessment in a complex online world

Bit by Bit: Using Design-Based Research to Improve the Health Literacy of Adolescents

Census of Institutional Repositories in the United States: MIRACLE Project Research Findings. CLIR Publication No. 140.