Online learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: Mixed methods analysis of student views by demographic group

Various aspects of online learning have been addressed in studies both pre- and during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, most pre-pandemic studies may have suffered from sampling selection issues, as students enrolled in online courses were often not comparable to those taking classes on campus. Similarly, most studies conducted during the initial stages of the pandemic might be confounded by the stress and anxiety associated with worldwide lockdowns and the abrupt switch to online education in most universities. Furthermore, existing studies have not comprehensively explored students' perspectives on online learning across different demographic groups, including gender, race-ethnicity, and domestic versus international student status. To address this research gap, our mixed-methods study examines these aspects using data from an anonymous survey conducted among a large and diverse sample of students at a mid-size university in the Northeastern United States. Our findings reveal important insights: (1) Females are nearly twice as likely as males to prefer online asynchronous classes and feel self-conscious about keeping their cameras on during online synchronous (e.g., Zoom) classes. However, gendered views and preferences align in other aspects of online learning. (2) Black students show a stronger preference for Zoom classes compared to online asynchronous classes and emphasize the importance of recording Zoom meetings. Hispanic students are twice as likely to prefer asynchronous online classes, which offer greater flexibility to manage multiple responsibilities. (3) International students value the ability to learn at their own pace provided by online learning but express dissatisfaction with the lack of peer interaction. On the other hand, domestic students are more concerned about reduced interaction with teachers in online education. Domestic students also exhibit a higher tendency to turn their cameras off during Zoom classes, citing reasons such as self-consciousness or privacy. These findings carry significant implications for future research and educational practice, highlighting the need for tailored approaches that consider diverse student perspectives.

Increased Prescribing of Psychotropic Drugs or School-Based Services for Children with Disabilities? Associations of These Self-control-Boosting Strategies with Juvenile Violence at the State Level

The increasing rates at which psychotropic drugs have been prescribed to children and adolescents in the USA in the last three decades (since the early 1990s) have prompted questions about whether this trend is associated with the "great American crime decline." Medicalization can be considered one of the strategies to remedy children's neuropsychological deficits and improve their self-control. Another possible remedy is school-based services for children with learning disabilities, mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004. Using state-level panel data analyses for years 1990-2014 (with the main focus on 2000-2014 outcomes), the current study estimates associations between these two developmental self-control remedies-medicalization and school-based services-and minor, moderate, and severe types of juvenile violence, while controlling for relevant covariates (both time-varying and time-invariant). The results of mixed-effects linear regression analyses accounting for powerful time trends show a strong association between increases in school-based services for children with learning disabilities and declines in all types of juvenile violence. Another strong and consistent finding that emerges in the analyses is the link between reductions in child poverty at the state level and decreases in juvenile violence, both contemporaneously and over time. Psychotropic drug prescribing to children (measured using Supplemental Security Income rolls of children with mental health conditions) exhibits inconsistent or insignificant effects. The findings of this study have substantial theoretical and policy implications and indicate the importance of strengthening school-based services for children with disabilities and reducing child poverty as essential violence prevention tools.

Dietary interventions, the gut microbiome, and aggressive behavior: Review of research evidence and potential next steps

Research in biosocial criminology and other related disciplines has established links between nutrition and aggressive behavior. In addition to observational studies, randomized trials of nutritional supplements like vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and folic acid provide evidence of the dietary impact on aggression. However, the exact mechanism of the diet-aggression link is not well understood. The current article proposes that the gut microbiome plays an important role in the process, with the microbiota-gut-brain axis serving as such a mediating mechanism between diet and behavior. Based on animal and human studies, this review synthesizes a wide array of research across several academic fields: from the effects of dietary interventions on aggression, to the results of microbiota transplantation on socioemotional and behavioral outcomes, to the connections between early adversity, stress, microbiome, and aggression. Possibilities for integrating the microbiotic perspective with the more traditional, sociologically oriented theories in criminology are discussed, using social disorganization and self-control theories as examples. To extend the existing lines of research further, the article considers harnessing the experimental potential of noninvasive and low-cost dietary interventions to help establish the causal impact of the gut microbiome on aggressive behavior, while adhering to the high ethical standards and modern research requirements. Implications of this research for criminal justice policy and practice are essential: not only can it help determine whether the improved gut microbiome functioning moderates aggressive and violent behavior but also provide ways to prevent and reduce such behavior, alone or in combination with other crime prevention programs.