Liking one object more than another does not guarantee caring about it more, and vice-versa.Here we show that with age, children increasingly distinguish between these two ways of valuing objects. We conducted three experiments on 589 children and 415 adults. In Experiment 1, 3-7year-olds and adults chose between their own plain sticker and another more attractive one. Among 6-7-year-olds and adults, choices of the plain sticker were relatively more common for caring than liking. In Experiment 2, 3-6-year-olds and adults inferred what others care about and like. Among 4-6-year-olds and adults, choices of a plain object owned by another person were relatively more common in inferences about caring than liking. However, children chose the owned objects at low rates, raising the possibility that children had predominantly based judgments on the relative attractiveness of the objects. Experiment 3 addressed this concern by examining judgments about identical-looking objects.

We investigated 4- and 5-year-olds’ (N = 194) appreciation of the link between knowledge and ownership. Namely, we asked whether preschoolers appreciate the ways in which owners are typically knowledgeable about artifacts. Experiment 1 revealed that 4- and 5-year-olds view owners as better sources of knowledge about artifacts than those who simply like artifacts. Experiment 2 built on these findings by showing that 5-year-olds appreciate that owners typically have deep knowledge about artifacts and that they can use this appreciation to guide inferences about who owns what. These experiments are some of the first to investigate how children’s inferences about knowledge and ownership are intertwined. As such, they have implications for our understanding of early childhood cognition. First, they provide insights into how object–person relations influence judgments of expertise. Second, they extend current understandings of ownership by demonstrating that ownership influences preschoolers’ reasoning in other domains (i.e., knowledge) and by showing that preschoolers’ theories of ownership extend beyond normative considerations (i.e., ownership rights). Together, these findings lay the groundwork for a new area of work on how ownership influences children’s reasoning about knowledge.

Wood transmission structures, such as H frames, have been extensively used to support electrical transmission lines throughout Canada. The transmission infrastructure is in general aging, and fungal decay of wood crossarms poses a significant risk of failure under adverse weather conditions. A crossarm failure in the transmission system can result in forced outages and customer disruptions that lead to significant economic losses. This paper presents a condition assessment model to prioritize the replacement of transmission crossarms that are near the end of their service life. The proposed standard involves a visual condition rating system, which is validated by results of full-scale testing of a sample of in-service crossarms. Aerial inspection of transmission lines using the proposed visual rating system is a simple, economical, fast, and effective method of assessment. The proposed approach would ensure a more consistent compliance with the condition-based replacement standard specified in the Canadian (Canadian Standards Association Standard CSA 22.3 No. 1-01) and North American (US National Electric Safety Code 2002 edition) standards.Key words: transmission structure, wood crossarms, decay, condition assessment, full-scale testing, visual rating system, statistical data analysis, bending strength.

No abstract

Background Social integration and mental health are vital aspects of healthy aging. However, close to half of Canadians older than 80 years report feeling socially isolated. Research has shown that social isolation leads to increased mortality and morbidity, and various interventions have been studied to alleviate loneliness among older adults. This proposal presents an evaluation of an intervention that provides one-on-one coaching, is intergenerational, provides both educational and socialization experiences, and increases technology literacy of older adults to overcome loneliness. Objective This paper describes the protocol of a randomized, mixed-methods study that will take place in Ontario, Canada. The purpose of this study is to evaluate if an intergenerational technology literacy program can reduce social isolation and depression in older adults via quantitative and qualitative outcome measures. Methods This study is a randomized, mixed-methods, feasibility trial with 2 conditions. Older adults in the intervention condition will receive 1 hour of weekly technological assistance to send an email to a family member, for 8 weeks, with the assistance of a volunteer. Participants in the control condition will not receive any intervention. The primary outcomes are loneliness, measured using the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale, and depression, measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale, both of which are measured weekly. Secondary outcomes are quality of life, as assessed using the Older People’s Quality of Life-Brief version, and technological literacy, evaluated using the Computer Proficiency Questionnaire-12, both of which will be administered before and after the intervention. Semistructured interviews will be completed before and after the intervention to assess participants’ social connectedness, familiarity with technology, and their experience with the intervention. The study will be completed in a long-term care facility in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Significance was set at P<.05. Results This study was funded in April 2019 and ethical approval was obtained in August 2019. Recruitment for the study started in November 2019. The intervention began in February 2020 but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trial will be restarted when safe. As of March 2020, 8 participants were recruited. Conclusions Information and communication technology interventions have shown varying results in reducing loneliness and improving mental health among older adults. Few studies have examined the role of one-on-one coaching for older adults in addition to technology education in such interventions. Data from this study may have the potential to provide evidence for other groups to disseminate similar interventions in their respective communities. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/23767

BACKGROUND Social integration and mental health are vital aspects of healthy aging. However, close to half of Canadians over the age of 80 report feeling socially isolated. Research has shown that social isolation leads to increased mortality and morbidity, and various interventions have been studied to alleviate loneliness among older adults. The current study combines a number of different components that have been examined in previous research, but have not been tested jointly for their efficacy in reducing social isolation and depression in older adults. Specifically, we will be testing an intervention that provides one-on-one coaching, is intergenerational (pairs an older adult with a university students), provides both educational and socialization experiences, and increases technology literacy. OBJECTIVE This paper describes the protocol of a randomized, mixed methods study that will take place in Ontario, Canada evaluating the effectiveness and experiences of intergenerational programming supported by the enTECH Computer Club (a student-run volunteer organization) via one-on-one programming which teaches older adults how to use technology to support staying connected with others, and reduce depression. METHODS This study is a randomized, mixed methods, feasibility trial with two conditions. Older adults assigned to the intervention condition will receive one hour of weekly technological assistance. In this hour, with the assistance of an enTECH volunteer, they will send an email to a designated family member. This programming will be carried out by experienced enTECH volunteers who have been trained in teaching older adults how to use technology. Participants in the control condition will not receive any programming. There will be two categories of assessment: the first category of assessments will consist of measures that are administered to both group at the start of the study and at the end of the study (pre-post). The second category of assessments will be administered weekly to both groups. The primary outcomes are social isolation, measured by the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and depression, measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, all of which are measured weekly. Secondary outcomes include quality-of-life, as assessed by the Older People’s Quality of Life - Brief, and technological literacy, evaluated by the Computer Proficiency Questionnaire-12, all of which will be administered before and after the intervention. Finally, semi-structured interviews will be completed before and after the intervention to assess participants’ social connectedness, familiarity with technology, and their experience with the enTECH programming. The study will be completed in a long-term care facility in Southern Ontario, Canada. RESULTS Recruitment for the study started in November 2019, and ended in February 2020. The intervention began February 2020, but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The trial will be restarted when safe as per provincial and national guidelines. CONCLUSIONS Information and communications technology interventions have shown varying results in reducing social isolation and improving mental health amongst older adults. Few studies have examined the role of one-on-one student programming in addition to technology education. Data from this intervention may have the potential to provide evidence for other groups to roll out similar interventions in their respective communities.