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Tag: Taylor & Francis

  • Deprived teens, poor learners more likely to fall for email scams

    Deprived teens, poor learners more likely to fall for email scams

    Newswise — Disadvantaged teenagers are at greater risk of email scams and need better protection, according to an international study published in the peer-reviewed British Journal of Educational Studies. 

     

    Findings based on more than 170,000 students aged 15 show that one in five from low-income families or deprived areas could fall victim to phishing. This is much higher than the probability for the age group overall. Email scams leave people vulnerable to identity theft, putting young people at risk of financial fraud and having their savings stripped.  

     

    The most vulnerable are those who also have poor learning skills according to the data from 38 countries including the UK, US and Japan.  

     

    Furthermore, the study highlights that students who are taught about the dangers of digital fraud are just as likely to respond inappropriately to these emails as pupils who have received no specific education on the topic. 

     

    Author Professor John Jerrim says this highlights a gap in education provision. He is now urging schools to provide more – and better quality – teaching on how to recognize online harms including phishing emails.  

     

    “Socio-economically disadvantaged groups are – at least in some countries – at greater risk from phishing attacks than their more advantaged peers,” says Professor Jerrim from University College London in England. 

     

    “This is largely driven by socio-economic differences in cognitive abilities. Unfortunately, current attempts by schools to address this issue do not seem to be particularly effective. 

     

    “Teenagers taught in the classroom about the risks appear to be just as likely to take inappropriate action. More needs to be done to help young people navigate what is becoming an increasingly complex and dangerous online world.  

     

    “This is particularly true for some of the most vulnerable groups who are most at risk of falling for attempts at digital fraud.” 

     

    More than 3 billion spam emails are sent every day and phishing is one of the most common attempts at cyber fraud. 

     

    Current research into who is most susceptible to this crime tends to focus on older people, not school-age children. Little is known about the efficacy of schools’ attempts to teach young people how to recognize and react appropriately.  

     

    Data for this study was based on 176,186 children who took part in the 2018 Programme for International Assessment (PISA), a triennial survey run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  

     

    PISA examines what students in OECD countries know in reading, science, and mathematics. Pupils must complete a two-hour ability test then a questionnaire.  

     

    The 2018 PISA asked pupils how they would respond to a made-up scenario where a mobile-phone company told them via email they had won a smartphone. The sender asked them to click a link and fill out their data to claim the phone. 

     

    Possible responses included answering the email to request more details, checking the sender’s email address, clicking on the link, and filling out the form as soon as possible.  

     

    Professor Jerrim’s study focused on answers to the third response and asked pupils if they had been taught how to detect phishing or spam emails. 

     

    Results showed that Japanese teens were least likely to respond (4%) to the email than anywhere else in the world.  

     

    The proportion in Denmark, Sweden and Finland who responded was significantly lower (6-7%) than in other developed countries.  

     

    Teenagers in Mexico (30%) and Chile (27%) were most at risk – almost a quarter were likely to respond. The figure for the UK was 9%.  

     

    No gender difference was found – boys were just as likely to respond as girls. However, teenagers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds were markedly more likely to click the link. 

     

    The biggest gap was based on cognitive skill with a quarter of low achieving students saying they believed clicking was the appropriate response. This compared with only 5% of those in the top reading scores.  

     

    The study also investigated whether students who receive instruction from their school about the dangers of phishing emails are at less risk of being fooled. 

     

    In addition, results showed ‘no clear evidence’ that students who received instruction from their school on phishing email dangers were at less risk. 

     

    Limitations of the study included the fact it is based on responses to survey questions. Professor Jerrim said this meant the research did not necessarily capture how teenagers would respond in real life. 

    Taylor & Francis

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  • Board games enhance math skills in kids

    Board games enhance math skills in kids

    Newswise — Board games based on numbers, like Monopoly, Othello and Chutes and Ladders, make young children better at math, according to a comprehensive review of research published on the topic over the last 23 years.

    Board games are already known to enhance learning and development including reading and literacy.

    Now this new study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Early Years, finds, for three to nine-year-olds, the format of number-based board games helps to improve counting, addition, and the ability to recognize if a number is higher or lower than another.

    The researchers say children benefit from programs – or interventions – where they play board games a few times a week supervised by a teacher or another trained adult.

    “Board games enhance mathematical abilities for young children,” says lead author Dr. Jaime Balladares, from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, in Santiago, Chile.

    “Using board games can be considered a strategy with potential effects on basic and complex math skills.

    “Board games can easily be adapted to include learning objectives related to mathematical skills or other domains.”

    Games where players take turns to move pieces around a board differ from those involving specific skills or gambling.

    Board game rules are fixed which limits a player’s activities, and the moves on the board usually determine the overall playing situation.

    However, preschools rarely use board games. This study aimed to compile the available evidence of their effects on children.

    The researchers set out to investigate the scale of the effects of physical board games in promoting learning in young children.

    They based their findings on a review of 19 studies published from 2000 onwards involving children aged from three to nine years. All except one study focused on the relationship between board games and mathematical skills.

    All children participating in the studies received special board game sessions which took place on average twice a week for 20 minutes over one-and-a-half months. Teachers, therapists, or parents were among the adults who led these sessions.

    In some of the 19 studies, children were grouped into either the number board game or to a board game that did not focus on numeracy skills. In others, all children participated in number board games but were allocated different types e.g. Dominoes.

    All children were assessed on their math performance before and after the intervention sessions which were designed to encourage skills such as counting out loud.

    The authors rated success according to four categories including basic numeric competency such as the ability to name numbers, and basic number comprehension e.g. ‘nine is greater than three’.

    The other categories were deepened number comprehension – where a child can accurately add and subtract – and interest in mathematics.

    In some cases, parents attended a training session to learn arithmetic that they could then use in the games.

    Results showed that math skills improved significantly after the sessions among children for more than half (52%) of the tasks analyzed.

    In nearly a third (32%) of cases, children in the intervention groups gained better results than those who did not take part in the board game intervention.

    The results also show that from analyzed studies to date, board games on the language or literacy areas, while implemented, did not include scientific evaluation (i.e. comparing control with intervention groups, or pre and post-intervention) to evaluate their impact on children.

    Designing and implementing board games along with scientific procedures to evaluate their efficacy, therefore, are “urgent tasks to develop in the next few years,” Dr. Balladares, who was previously at UCL, argues.

    And this, now, is the next project they are investigating.

    Dr. Balladares concludes: “Future studies should be designed to explore the effects that these games could have on other cognitive and developmental skills.

    “An interesting space for the development of intervention and assessment of board games should open up in the next few years, given the complexity of games and the need to design more and better games for educational purposes.”

    Taylor & Francis

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  • UK’s poorest kids less financially literate

    UK’s poorest kids less financially literate

    Newswise — According to a recent research conducted on 3,745 families spanning the United Kingdom, there exists a significant disparity in financial literacy among children, with variations observed across different socio-economic groups.

    The study emphasizes notable disparities in the financial competencies of young individuals, underscoring the findings that indicate a lack of essential financial skills among disadvantaged children.

    The expert team from UCL, whose findings were published in the esteemed British Journal of Educational Studies, advocates for an increased focus on cultivating financial skills in children, beginning at the primary school level. This emphasis is particularly crucial for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. The team highlights the necessity of carefully considering the delivery of financial education specifically tailored to this group.

    In the United Kingdom, there is growing apprehension regarding the limited social mobility and the persistent transmission of educational and social disadvantages from one generation to the next. This concern encompasses the cyclic nature of financial difficulties, poverty, and debt that can be associated with socio-economic disparities in the financial skills of young individuals.

    Professor John Jerrim, from the Social Research Institute at UCL, emphasizes the importance of public scrutiny and debate regarding the increasing disparities in socioeconomic status, particularly in financial capabilities.

    In our study, we discovered that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are less inclined to discuss financial matters during their school lessons. Furthermore, we observed a significant gap in the provision of financial education, especially towards the later years of primary school, highlighting the impact of socioeconomic status.

    Socioeconomic gaps become apparent at an early stage of life and often endure into adolescence. While some of these disparities can be attributed to variations in children’s cognitive and socio-emotional abilities, it appears that discrepancies in financial capabilities based on socioeconomic status are not solely a result of inequalities in these other domains.

    Based on our findings, it appears beneficial for young individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to receive early engagement and education regarding money matters.

    The study utilized a nationally representative data sample extracted from the 2019 Children and Young People’s Financial Capability Survey. This survey assessed the financial capabilities and behaviors of British individuals aged 7 to 17 years. To gather additional information, the authors conducted both online and face-to-face parental questionnaires.

    The findings of the study indicate that children from wealthier backgrounds possess significantly higher financial knowledge compared to their counterparts from less privileged backgrounds. Specifically, young individuals from affluent households tend to have greater exposure to financial education prior to entering secondary school.

    According to the experts, a contributing factor to this issue is the level of interaction children have with their parents. Children from more disadvantaged backgrounds have fewer conversations about money with their parents and are less likely to receive guidance on understanding how money functions from their caregivers.

    “However,” states Dr. Jake Anders, Deputy Director of the UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities and co-author of the study, “although we observe that these parental interactions can explain a portion of the socioeconomic disparity in terms of money confidence, money management, financial connections, and financial behaviors, these interactions have less significance in enhancing financial abilities.”

    The authors suggest that in the future, the government and financial providers could potentially assume a more significant role in addressing this issue.

    Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially at a young age, are significantly less likely to possess a bank account, which can hinder their development of a strong connection with the financial realm. To enhance their financial connection, including their mindset and skills, it would be beneficial to promote the utilization of financial services among socioeconomically disadvantaged families and their children.

    One possible approach could involve the establishment of a young person’s account that is linked to the government’s Help to Save account, which is accessible to individuals with low incomes. Such an initiative could offer higher interest rates and rewards for fostering positive saving behaviors.

    This research, funded by St James’s Place Wealth Management, has certain limitations. One such limitation is that only one parent participated in the survey, potentially limiting the perspectives provided. Additionally, the quality of certain measures, such as the information gathered regarding children’s educational attainment and socio-emotional skills, was somewhat constrained.

    Taylor & Francis

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  • Conservatives Reveal Why They’re So Triggered By Pride Merchandise

    Conservatives Reveal Why They’re So Triggered By Pride Merchandise

    “God, I don’t even know. I’m so angry, and I’m so tired of being angry. Maybe it’s that my father hit me, and never showed any compassion. Maybe it’s because I was taught to hate people different from me as if it were their fault that I deal with the things I deal with. Regardless, I’m blind with rage at these pride-branded Uno cards, and I’m not going to stop.

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  • Perfectionists are more likely to burn out, extensive study suggests

    Perfectionists are more likely to burn out, extensive study suggests

    Newswise — Christmas is coming. We have all endured a global pandemic. There are coughs and colds everywhere. Bills are mounting. It is safe to say we are all exhausted – but when does tiredness tip into burnout?

    An expert in mental health and mood disorders has been studying the phenomenon of burnout closely for several years. The extensive research has now been released in the first complete self-help guide to burnout.

    The study highlights some of the warning signs of burnout and suggests that people who tend to be perfectionists are more likely to veer into burnout due to their own ‘unrelenting standards’.

    What is burnout?

    With the worries accompanying pandemic lockdowns, the pressures of inflation and other life stressors, many people are feeling at the end of their tether.

    For some people, the cumulative effect of these prolonged periods of stress can result in burnout.

    Unlike normal tiredness, the experts suggest burnout symptoms include constant exhaustion, emotional numbness and confusion at home or in the workplace.

    Some conventional tools used to diagnose burnout focus on work-related stress, however mental health expert and lead author Professor Gordon Parker suggests that the impact is much more extensive.

    Professor Parker said: “Most people consider burnout to be extreme tiredness, but in our studies we have found that the symptoms are much more wide-ranging.

    “People struggling with burnout also suffer from cognitive dysfunction, sometimes known as ‘brain fog’ and disconnection from their friends and family, as well as the more typically-recognised reduced performance in work and tasks around the home.”

    Who is most likely to burn out?

    Burnout is widespread among high achievers in the workplace – but is becoming increasingly more prevalent in personal lives.

    Professor Parker said: “Most people think that burnout is a work problem. Actually, we found that stress experienced at work or at home can set the wheels of burnout in motion.

    “Our analyses indicated that burnout may also develop as a result of predisposing personality traits, especially perfectionism.

    “People with perfectionistic traits are usually excellent workers, as they’re extremely reliable and conscientious. However, they’re also prone to burnout as they set unrealistic and unrelenting standards for their own performance, which are ultimately impossible to live up to.”

    What can be done about it?

    Professor Parker is the founder of the Black Dog Institute, which conducts research into mood disorders and works to remove the social stigmas around mental illness.

    During his extensive research on burnout, and with decades of clinical work under his belt, he has determined how to best identify and manage it.

    This research is outlined in a recently published book – Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recovery.

    Critically, the book offers a guide for navigating out of burnout, including identifying sources and coping strategies to minimise the impact of stress.

    It contains new evidence-based tools for readers to work out for themselves whether they have burnout and generate a plan for recovery based on their personal situation.

    Chapters help readers recognise their own burnout patterns and provide approaches to help them regain their passions and build their resilience.

     

    FURTHER INFORMATION

    Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recovery

    By Gordon Parker, Gabriela Tavella, Kerrie Eyers

    Published December 30, 2022  

    252 Pages

    Paperback: 9781032358963 | $24.95 | £18.99 

    Hardback: 9781032367729 | $160.00 | £120.00 

    eBook: 9781003333722| $24.95 | £18.99 

     

    About The Author 

    Professor Gordon Parker, AO, is a clinical psychiatrist and Scientia Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. He previously headed university and hospital departments and was founder of the Black Dog Institute. He was the recipient of the Australian Mental Health Prize in 2020.

    Gabriela Tavella is a research officer at University of New South Wales and is completing a PhD on burnout.

    Kerrie Eyers, AM, is a psychologist and writer.

     

    About Taylor & Francis Group 
    Taylor & Francis Group partners with researchers, scholarly societies, universities and libraries worldwide to bring knowledge to life.  As one of the world’s leading publishers of scholarly journals, books, ebooks and reference works our content spans all areas of Humanities, Social Sciences, Behavioural Sciences, Science, Technology and Medicine. 

    From our network of offices in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, Boca Raton, Boston, Melbourne, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Stockholm, New Delhi and Cape Town, Taylor & Francis staff provide local expertise and support to our editors, societies and authors and tailored, efficient customer service to our library colleagues.  

     

    ***** ENDS ***** 

    Taylor & Francis

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