Differences in the Intensity and the Nature of Foreign Language Anxiety in In-Person and Online EFL Classes during the Pandemic: A Mixed-Methods Study

This paper explores differences in 437 learners' "foreign language classroom anxiety" (FLCA) in in-person and online English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes before the outbreak of the pandemic and during the first lockdown in spring 2020. Statistical analyses of data gathered with a web survey revealed a slight, yet significant drop in learners' overall FLCA in "emergency remote teaching." In order to obtain a more granular view, item-level analyses revealed that learners in online classes were significantly less worried about being outperformed by peers, suffered less from physical symptoms of anxiety when called on in class, and were less anxious when they were in fact well-prepared. Feeling embarrassed to volunteer answers was significantly higher in online classes. Interviews with 21 participants revealed that the interviewees mentioned anxiety-provoking aspects of the class considerably more frequently online than in in-person classes. However, the sources of anxiety in online classes differed from the ones in classes taught on-site. Thus, it seems that the newness of the setting foregrounded anxiety-provoking aspects specific to emergency remote teaching, making others fade into the background at the beginning of the pandemic.

Towards a peer-to-peer decision support system during epidemics. COVID-19 as an example

During an epidemic/pandemic caused by an unknown virus such as SRAS-CoV-2, the aetiological agent of COVID-19, health practitioners cannot predict the behavior of the virus and therefore the course of the disease. They also cannot predict how patients will react to different treatments. In this paper, authors propose a distributed system's architecture for predicting the course of the disease and patient reactions for treatments, using real-time data of patients with the same disease from all over the world. The system uses geographic and the "Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome/s" (PICO) questions classification of patients. It shares information with inspiration from peer-to-peer download model and uses a semantic model to save and compare clinical questions. The system also proposes to generate personalized self-tests that can be made available to the population to reduce the panic caused by the epidemic. The operation of the system is illustrated by an example of a patient with COVID-19.

Infodemia in Peru after the first wave of COVID-19: characteristics and associated factors

One of the main causes of deterioration in mental health in the pandemic was the mishandling of information. The objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of fear or perception of misinformation transmitted by the media and its influence on the mental health of the Peruvian population after the first wave. Analytical cross-sectional study. Which measured in almost 10,000 Peruvian inhabitants the perception of fear or exaggeration of the news with a previously validated instrument (global Cronbach's Alpha: 0.92), but this was post-first wave. The main perceptions were shown and it was associated with sex, age and educational level. Television broadcast more fear (12% strongly agree and 27% agree) and exaggeration (13% strongly agree and 26% agree);followed by social media. Men had a higher fear score in general (Coefficient: 1.83;95% CI: 1.01-3.31;p value = 0.047);Furthermore, according to the level of education, compared to those who had up to primary school, those who had secondary school had a higher overall score (Coefficient: 4.53;95% CI: 1.93-10.64;p value = 0.001), of exaggeration (Coefficient: 1.73;95% CI: 1.31-2.28;p value < 0.001), of fear (Coefficient: 1.73;95% CI: 1.31-2.28;p value < 0.001) and communication by friends / health personnel (Coefficient: 1.72;95% CI: 1.29-2.30;p value < 0.001);adjusted for age and department of residence. In general, it was observed that those with only secondary education were more afraid and were influenced by relatives and acquaintances.

Module to support independent learning of elementary school students in the pandemic period

Lost learning during a pandemic causes students' learning outcomes to drop. An alternative solution to the child's learning problem is learning with modules. Learning modules suitable for elementary school students need to be developed. Therefore, the study aimed to: (1) Discover the condition of elementary school students learning during the pandemic period;(2) Investigate the importance of independent learning;(3) Examine the use of modules as a supporting tool;(4) Delivering module illustration that can be developed for students. Furthermore, this study used a qualitative method with a phenomenology approach, and elementary school students, parents, and teachers serve as informants. The data were collected by interview and document, using the citation technique known as snowball citation, while the data was analyzed using data triangulation. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) Students felt uncomfortable learning during the pandemic;(2) Independent learning was important for elementary school students;(3) All parents agreed that the module could facilitate independent learning during the pandemic period;(4) The module illustration developed for elementary school students was completed by examples or real-life application. In cooperation with relevant individuals, the learner can make the decisions necessary to meet their learning needs and comprises internal and external components. Reflective skills are a combination of the learner's cognitive, metacognitive, and affective abilities, which we will refer to as their "internal components." The learner's "external environment" refers to the learning facility, time available, and peer and facilitator interaction. It contained learning material, objectives, question model, and evaluation and was understandable, attractive, and pleasing to learn. Also, this was completed by video link, adapted to the learning needs, and contained character development.

EXPLORING THE CAUSES OF SELECTED CONDUCT DISORDERS AMONG SCHOOL-GOING ADOLESCENTS IN UGANDA AND SOUTH AFRICA

The study's main issue was the causes of selected conduct disorders among adolescents in school. Adolescent conduct disorders emanate from a variety of factors that include social, economic, school, genetic status and parental factors. The purpose of the study was to explore the causes of selected conduct disorders among adolescents in school. The study was qualitative, explorative and phenomenological in nature. The study participants were parents and teachers. Data were collected using online (WhatsApp) focus group discussions due to restrictions brought about by COVID-19 that made physical interaction risky. Data were analysed in an integrative manner using findings from the two countries from parents and teachers, and thematically using themes generated from the outcomes of the online discussions. Findings indicate that conduct disorders among secondary school adolescents are a result of developmental, parental, school, social and academic factors. The study concludes that conduct disorders are recognised among the secondary school adolescents in Uganda and South Africa and pose a challenge to education and affect the proper functioning of schools. From the findings and conclusions, the researchers recommend hands-on parenting, adolescent psycho-social services, guidance and counseling services in schools, career guidance based on students' needs, academic strengths and aspirations, positive peer groups and moderation of punishment at home and at school. This has implications on the need for dynamics in parenting, teacher-student relationships and psycho-social services that are detrimental in building healthy developmental milestones that have a direct impact on behavior and conduct among adolescents.

Implementation and first experiences with a multimodal mentorship curriculum for medicine-paediatrics residents.

INTRODUCTION: Mentorship increases trainee productivity, promotes career satisfaction and reduces burnout. Beginning in 2016, our Medicine-Paediatrics residency program developed and implemented a longitudinal mentorship curriculum among trainees. We report initial experiences with that program and discuss potential future directions. CURRICULUM STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF IMPLEMENTATION: We implemented and adapted a peer mentorship model and expanded it to include guest lectures and workshops centred around 13 core topics. Our expanded model included five longitudinal components: (1) peer mentorship; (2) virtual check-ins with residency leadership; (3) focussed didactics and workshops; (4) small-group dinners highlighting different career paths; and (5) dedicated faculty who pair residents with mentors based on common interests. We compared annual survey results on resident satisfaction with program mentorship, using chi-square and fisher's exact tests to assess statistically significant differences pre- (2012-2016) and post-intervention (2016-2020). RESULTS: We analysed 112 responses with annual response rate varying between 41.2% and 100%. Overall satisfaction with mentorship improved from 57.6% to 73.4% (p = .53), satisfaction with emotional support improved from 63.1% to 71.6% (p = .21), and satisfaction with career-specific mentorship improved from 48.5% to 59.5% (p = .70). Residents reported consistently high satisfaction with peer mentorship (77.8%-100%). The percent of residents reporting they had identified a career mentor increased from 60.0% in 2017 to 88.9% in 2019, which was sustained at 90.0% in 2020. CONCLUSION: We report our experience in implementing and adapting a mentorship curriculum for resident physicians in a single training program, including transitioning to a primarily online-based platform at the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Our results showed a trend towards improvement in resident satisfaction with overall and career-specific mentorship, as well as improved emotional support. Future work is needed using more objective outcome markers among a larger and more diverse group of residents. KEY MESSAGESAmong resident physicians in a single training program, a mix of mentor-mentee dyads, group-based peer mentoring and a structured curriculum has shown promise in improving resident-reported satisfaction with programmatic mentorshipWhile we attempted to adapt the mentorship curriculum to an online platform with the development of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, reported satisfaction in overall mentorship and emotional support decreased in comparison to the prior year, an important focus for future work.

A study of physical activity behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 restrictions curtailed various physical activities whose effects are unfortunate because daily exercise may help combat the disease by boosting our immune systems and counteracting some of the co-morbidities that make us more susceptible to severe COVID-19 illness. Objectives: To study the physical activity behaviour, levels and its relationship with personal variables during COVID-19 lockdown, and to explore the differences between the inactive and active group respondents in terms of physical activity preferences, motivating and restricting factors. Materials and Methods: Cross sectional descriptive online survey (Google forms) design was used and snowball sampling method was used to reach the respondents. Questionnaire consisted of four parts;(1) Demographics, (2) Occupation, Screen and Sleep behaviour, (3) Physical Activity behaviour, (4) Preferred physical activities, restricting and motivating factors to do any physical activity. To study the TPA OPA, MV-LTPA and HHPA were considered. Results and Discussion: A total of 400 respondents (male 56.2, female 43.2%) were eligible for the analysis, majority (93.6%) of them were young adults (18-38) involved in sedentary to light occupation (95.3%). Sedentary behavior in occupation was doubled (80%) as compared to pre-COVID situation (42.5%). Majority of the respondents reported an increase in screen and sleep time. On calculating TPA ~33% of the respondents were found in each group;inactive, active and very active. Majority of them were performing pa for <150m/w in each domain i.e. OPA, MV-LTPA and HHPA. Significant difference was found between male and female, of all the three domains, in their physical activity group whereas no significant difference was found in their TPA group. Significant association was found between physical activity groups in terms of considering physical activity benefits, change in post COVID physical activity, and their self reported type of physical activity. Significant association was found between male and female respondents in terms of their BMI and perceived Body weight whereas no association was found between physical activity groups in terms of their BMI and body weight perception. Family/friends and health benefits were the most motivating factors for the majority of respondents whereas social distancing norms and lack of motivation were reported as restricting factors in doing physical activity.

Using Social Media for Peer-to-Peer Cancer Support: Interviews With Young Adults With Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Web-based social support can address social isolation and unmet support needs among young adults with cancer (aged 18-39 years). Given that 94% of young adults own and use smartphones, social media can offer personalized, accessible social support among peers with cancer. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the specific benefits, downsides, and topics of social support via social media among young adults with cancer. METHODS: We conducted semistructured interviews with young adults with cancer, aged between 18 and 39 years, who were receiving treatment or had completed treatment for cancer. RESULTS: Most participants (N=45) used general audience platforms (eg, Facebook groups), and some cancer-specific social media (eg, Caring Bridge), to discuss relevant lived experiences for medical information (managing side effects and treatment uncertainty) and navigating life with cancer (parenting and financial issues). Participants valued socializing with other young adults with cancer, making connections outside their personal networks, and being able to validate their emotional and mental health experiences without time and physical constraints. However, using social media for peer support can be an emotional burden, especially when others post disheartening or harassing content, and can heighten privacy concerns, especially when navigating cancer-related stigma. CONCLUSIONS: Social media allows young adults to connect with peers to share and feel validated about their treatment and life concerns. However, barriers exist for receiving support from social media; these could be reduced through content moderation and developing more customizable, potentially cancer-specific social media apps and platforms to enhance one's ability to find peers and manage groups.