Children show an enormous capacity to learn during development, but with large individual differences in the time course and trajectory of learning and the achieved skill level. Recent progress in developmental sciences has shown the contribution of a multitude of factors including genetic variation, brain plasticity, socio-cultural context and learning experiences to individual development. These factors interact in a complex manner, producing children's idiosyncratic and heterogeneous learning paths. Despite an increasing recognition of these intricate dynamics, current research on the development of culturally acquired skills such as reading still has a typical focus on snapshots of children's performance at discrete points in time. Here we argue that this 'static' approach is often insufficient and limits advancements in the prediction and mechanistic understanding of individual differences in learning capacity. We present a dynamic framework which highlights the importance of capturing short-term trajectories during learning across multiple stages and processes as a proxy for long-term development on the example of reading. This framework will help explain relevant variability in children's learning paths and outcomes and fosters new perspectives and approaches to study how children develop and learn. 

Unraveling individual differences in learning potential: A dynamic framework for the case of reading development

Abstract The inescapable fact that human life is perpetually embedded in a tangible biogeophysical environment – and the consequences that this has for individuals and societies – have long fascinated scholars of all backgrounds. Technological progress and the advent of big data have spurred ever-more precise attempts to quantify our biogeophysical environments. However, many such datasets lack spatial granularity, global coverage, content depth, or accessibility. Here, we introduce ecolo-zip , a novel geospatial dataset that provides a granular-yet-global, parsimonious-yet-rich ecological characterization of over 1.5 million postal codes across 94 countries and regions. Combining two large-scale satellite image resources (ASTER; SRTM, ICC = 0.999) and a customized geospatial sampling model, we provide high-resolution indicators of physical topography (elevation, mountainousness, distance to sea), vegetation (normalized difference vegetation index), and climate (surface temperature). With this resource – featuring methodological details, visualizations, and application suggestions – we hope to contribute towards understanding the multi-faceted interactions between humans and their environments. 

ecolo-zip: A global, rich and granular characterization of biogeophysical ecology for 1.5 million postal codes

ABSTRACT Aims To identify new and accelerated modes of practice used by school nurses during the COVID pandemic. To create a quick reference infographic bringing together experiential evidence on the range and considerations regarding different modes of practice for use by the school nursing community of practice. Design A descriptive qualitative secondary data analysis of open‐ended questions in a survey, and focus groups with school nurses. The pragmatic aim was to focus on changes in school nurse modes of practice to ensure continued engagement with children and young people, and school nurses' experience of the benefits and challenges of these modes of practice. Methods Data were collected from 98 school nurse participants across a United Kingdom‐wide survey (n78) in April to May 2022, and focus groups (n20) in June to July 2022, within the School Nursing in the Time of COVID project. Data from the seven open‐ended questions in the survey and four questions from the focus group were analysed using the framework approach. Results Modes of practice fell into two categories: individual assessment and support (video‐calling platforms, telephone contact, virtual messaging, walk‐and‐talks and home visits) and group support (wellbeing approaches, social media). Considerations for these modes rooted in school nurses' experience are described. Interpretations were used to create the summarising evidence‐based infographic as a quick reference resource for school nurses. Conclusion There was no ‘one size fits all’ approach. The modes used by school nurses were adopted or developed out of necessity or resource availability and in response to the specific needs of individuals or groups. The developed infographic provides a quick reference guide to deliver the expressed need for knowledge exchange within the school nursing community by participants in the original studies and can be used to inform current school nurse practice. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care The developed evidence‐based infographic has stand‐alone value. It has the potential to raise awareness of the range of different strategies that can be used to facilitate and/or enhance engagement with children and young people, equip school nurses with knowledge to foster innovative and responsive practice and aid critical reflection in a complex post‐pandemic landscape. The infographic is a unique resource and is a first step in knowledge exchange based on experiential learning. The resource will be used as the foundation for future work to develop a co‐created training resource for school nurse students (undertaking the Specialist Community Public Health Nurses course) and/or continuing professional development resource for established school nurses. Reporting Method This study has been conducted and reported in accordance with COREQ guidelines for qualitative research. Patient or Public Contribution A consultation group was closely involved with the planning, conduct and analysis of the original studies. This group consisted of representatives from professional organisations SAPHNA (School and Public Health Nurses Association) and the CPHVA (Community Practitioners' and Health Visitors' Association), a school nurse and a member of the public. SAPHNA have continued in their consultative role for this study and has provided content and usability feedback regarding the infographic. Early findings have been presented to the SN community of practice, and feedback invited, through presentation separately at the CPHVA and SAPHNA annual conference. 

New Modes of Practice: A Framework Analysis of School Nurses' Accounts of Working With Children and Young People During COVID‐19

DMH, or Digital Mental Health, involves providing mental health support through messages, videos, programs, applications, games, and other means. As the global demand for mental health services rises and traditional institutions face increasing pressure, Digital Mental Health Interventions (DMHIs) offer a potential solution by addressing issues such as stigma, confidentiality, and lack of motivation. This paper aims to explore the challenges that may hinder the optimal use of DMHIs, along with any shortcomings they might have. It also addresses concerns that have emerged in the digital world, including issues with human interactions, particularly face-to-face interactions and lack of physical contact, confidentiality, and the consideration of individual differences such as age, gender, and race. Furthermore, discussing the inadequacy in addressing pivotal topics such as Severe Mental Illnesses (SMIs) and suicidality within the current model of Digital Mental Health (DMH). It also seeks to identify suitable approaches to overcome these challenges. As a conclusion, there is an ongoing need for evidence-based applications in DMH, aiming to provide guidance for the development of further research and trials that include a larger audience and lower bias.

Analyzing the Challenges Facing Digital Mental Health (DMH) Between Aspiration and Reality

Effective communication is crucial for mental as well as emotional well-being, playing a key role in determining the way people express themselves, build connections and relate to others. This research focuses on understanding the impacts of interpersonal communication in life of an individual and how does it affects the mental health. Through conducting a survey of 100 individuals of age ranging between 18 to 25 years, we came to the finding that many of the participants struggle in talking or conveying their emotions, which leads to feelings of suffocation and difficulty in daily life. A substantial portion of the respondents mentioned that communication challenges often affect their relationships, while some of them told about experiencing worsened bonds due to communication difficulties. Our findings emphasize the importance of encouraging a better open communication to enhance mental well-being and improve overall quality of life. 

Interpersonal Communication and Mental Health: An Impact Study of Interpersonal Communication Skills on Mental Health of Youth

Abstract During the lockdowns associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, many people tried to compensate for limited face-to-face interaction by increasing digital communication. Results of a four-week experience sampling study in the German-speaking countries ( N = 411 participants; k = 9791 daily questionnaires) suggest, however, that digital communication was far less relevant for lockdown mental health than face-to-face communication. Digital text-based communication (e.g., e-mail, WhatsApp, SMS) nevertheless was meaningfully associated with mental health, and both face-to-face and digital text communication were more predictive of mental health than either physical or outdoor activity. Our results underscore the importance of face-to-face communication for mental health. Our results also suggest that videoconferencing was only negligibly associated with mental health, despite providing more visual and audible cues than digital text communication. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-34957-4.pdf

Face-to-face more important than digital communication for mental health during the pandemic

Laughter is a universal, nonverbal vocal expression of broad significance for humans. Interestingly, rather little is known about how often we laugh and how laughter is associated with our personality. In a large, event-based, experience sampling method study (N = 52; k = 9,261 assessments) using wrist-worn wearables and a physical analogue scale, we analyzed belly laughs and fit of laughter events in participants’ everyday life for 4 weeks. Additionally, we assessed associations with laughter frequency such as personality, happiness, life satisfaction, gelotophobia (i.e., fear of being laughed at), and cheerfulness. Validating our new measurement approach (i.e., wearables, physical analogue scale), laughter events elicited higher happiness ratings compared to reference assessments, as expected. On average, participants reported 2.5 belly laughs per day and on every fourth day a fit of laughter. As expected, participants who were happier and more satisfied with their life laughed more frequently than unhappier, unsatisfied participants. Women and younger participants laughed significantly more than men and older participants. Regarding personality, laughter frequency was positively associated with openness and conscientiousness. No significant association was found for gelotophobia, and results for cheerfulness and related concepts were mixed. By using state-of-the-art statistical methods (i.e., recurrent event regression) for the event-based, multi-level data on laughter, we could replicate past results on laughing.

Laughter in everyday life: an event-based experience sampling method study using wrist-worn wearables

Efficient learning of letters-speech sound associations leads to specialization of visual and audiovisual brain regions and is necessary to develop adequate reading skills. We still do not understand the brain dynamics of this learning process, and the involvement of learning and performance monitoring networks is still underexplored. Here we examined a feedback learning task with two mutually dependent parts in which novel symbol-speech sound associations were learned by 39 healthy adults. We used functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) and a reinforcement learning drift diffusion model that described learning across trials. The model-based analysis showed that posterior-occipital activations during stimulus processing were positively modulated by the trial-by-trial learning, described by the increase in association strength of each audiovisual pair. Prediction errors, describing the update mechanism to learn with feedback across trials, modulated activations in several mid-frontal, striatal and cingulate regions. The two task parts yielded a similar pattern of results although they varied in their relative difficulty. This study demonstrates which processes during audiovisual learning contribute to the rapid visual specialization within an experimental session and delineates a set of coactivated regions engaged in learning from feedback. Our paradigm provides a framework to advance our understanding of the neurobiology of learning and reading development.

Neural representation of association strength and prediction error during novel symbol-speech sounds learning

Bluetooth-sensed social presence is associated with immediate vigor and delayed fatigue: A multi-method time series analysis

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