Assessing an Assessment: A Case Study of the NSSE ’Experiences with Information Literacy’ Module

This case study explores anomalous results from an administration of the \u27Experiences with Information Literacy\u27 (IL) add-on Topical Module to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) at Grand Valley State University (Allendale, Michigan) in 2016, and finds that wording of NSSE survey questions can significantly influence results in certain contexts. Overall, summary responses for participating students compared positively to the aggregate means for all participating Large Public institutions in the 2016 NSSE cohort, on both the core NSSE survey and the IL module. However, analysis of local responses to the IL module questions broken out by individual colleges within the university revealed an anomaly. Students in GVSU\u27s College of Engineering and Computing appeared to report very low engagement on nearly all of the items in the IL module; further disaggregated into separate programs comprising the college, data appeared to perhaps indicate that Engineering students’ educational experience with respect to information literacy learning at GVSU is qualitatively different from that of their peers in other academic and professional disciplines, even within their own college, which also includes Computer Science and Occupational Safety and Health. In 2018 Senior GVSU Engineering majors received a modified NSSE-IL survey (with permission obtained from NSSE), to explore whether Senior GVSU Engineering majors may be graduating with lesser information literacy learning preparation than other GVSU graduates. Results suggest that revising NSSE-IL framing questions does result in some significant changes in rates of certain responses, some tending in a positive direction toward the institutional mean, others tending negatively away from it. We conclude that NSSE-IL in 2016 has in fact allowed us to observe an anomaly, that Seniors in one specific program do not share a perception of information literacy experiences in common with their peers in other programs at the same institution; this, in spite of wording in the survey instrument that includes built-in assumptions that, taken at face value, could have led to an inaccurate or misleading profile of GVSU Engineering graduates\u27 experience

Becoming a liaison librarian: Embedded in academia

The narrative of higher education frequently declares the library to be the “academic heart of the institution.” It’s not entirely clear in the lore whether the library purportedly at the heart of things academic refers only to a building and the portion of human knowledge contained within, or if it is generally recognized that there is a distinct heartbeat emanating from the activities of the professionals who curate, organize, and promote resources, and teach the ways of information-finding. I contend that to be an effective academic librarian is to be embedded in the life of one’s institution...

Reading, writing and responsibility :young carers and education

The aims of this research were to: Identify the major issues and concerns of young carers in the education system, including the barriers to them achieving satisfactory outcomes in education and receiving appropriate supports and services (including external referrals); Identify the information needs of teachers and other school staff in appropriately supporting young carers within the school environment; Identify strategies to meet the information needs of teachers and the support needs of young carers within educational settings

Conference Rubric Development for STEM Librarians’ Publications

Librarians within the Engineering Libraries Division (ELD) annually publish conference papers for the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). The existing ASEE rubric was not sufficient for our members, so we developed a new rubric as a charged committee for this task. We briefly discuss the sparse literature in this area, focusing on the use of rubrics and the rationale behind them. Due to this lack of literature, our committee primarily utilized additional sources such as rubrics found from other professional organizations in STEM and library fields. Our rubric is designed to encourage substantive feedback and growth of authors during the process, while clarifying the expectations for submissions. This rubric consists of overall guidance and specific needs, with flexibility for the different research methods and applications expected (i.e. work-in-progress/completed research, quantitative/qualitative, etc.). We implemented this rubric successfully for the 2021 conference cycle, but will further refine it as needed, based on feedback following future conferences. With scarce literature on conference peer review, we hope by sharing our work, others may also consider and improve their organizations’ processes

Acute viral bronchiolitis in South Africa: Diagnostic flow

Bronchiolitis may be diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms. In a young child, the diagnosis can be made on the clinicalpattern of wheezing and hyperinflation.Clinical symptoms and signs typically start with an upper respiratory prodrome, including rhinorrhoea, low-grade fever, cough and poorfeeding, followed 1 - 2 days later by tachypnoea, hyperinflation and wheeze as a consequence of airway inflammation and air trapping.The illness is generally self limiting, but may become more severe and include signs such as grunting, nasal flaring, subcostal chest wallretractions and hypoxaemia. The most reliable clinical feature of bronchiolitis is hyperinflation of the chest, evident by loss of cardiacdullness on percussion, an upper border of the liver pushed down to below the 6th intercostal space, and the presence of a Hoover sign(subcostal recession, which occurs when a flattened diaphragm pulls laterally against the lower chest wall).Measurement of peripheral arterial oxygen saturation is useful to indicate the need for supplemental oxygen. A saturation of <92% atsea level and 90% inland indicates that the child has to be admitted to hospital for supplemental oxygen. Chest radiographs are generallyunhelpful and not required in children with a clear clinical diagnosis of bronchiolitis.Blood tests are not needed routinely. Complete blood count tests have not been shown to be useful in diagnosing bronchiolitis or guidingits therapy. Routine measurement of C-reactive protein does not aid in management and nasopharyngeal aspirates are not usually done.Viral testing adds little to routine management.Risk factors in patients with severe bronchiolitis that require hospitalisation and may even cause death, include prematurity, congenitalheart disease and congenital lung malformations

Acute viral bronchiolitis in South Africa: Strategies for management and prevention

Management of acute viral bronchiolitis is largely supportive. There is currently no proven effective therapy other than oxygen for hypoxicchildren. The evidence indicates that there is no routine benefit from inhaled, rapid short-acting bronchodilators, adrenaline or ipratropiumbromide for children with acute viral bronchiolitis. Likewise, there is no demonstrated benefit from routine use of inhaled or oral corticosteroids,inhaled hypertonic saline nebulisation, montelukast or antibiotics. The last should be reserved for children with severe disease, when bacterialco-infection is suspected.Prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease remains a challenge. A specific RSV monoclonal antibody, palivizumab,administered as an intramuscular injection, is available for children at risk of severe bronchiolitis, including premature infants, youngchildren with chronic lung disease, immunodeficiency, or haemodynamically significant congenital heart disease. Prophylaxis should becommenced at the start of the RSV season and given monthly during the season. The development of an RSV vaccine may offer a moreeffective alternative to prevent disease, for which the results of clinical trials are awaited.Education of parents or caregivers and healthcare workers about diagnostic and management strategies should include the following:bronchiolitisis caused by a virus; it is seasonal; it may start as an upper respiratory tract infection with low-grade fever; symptoms arecough and wheeze, often with fast breathing; antibiotics are generally not needed; and the condition is usually self limiting, althoughsymptoms may occur for up to four weeks in some children

Growth as an Alternative Approach to the Construction of Extra-Terrestrial Habitats

One critical element to space exploration is the ability to construct habitats while minimizing payload mass launched from Earth. To respond to this challenge, we propose the use of fungal bio-composites for ‘growing’ extra-terrestrial structures, directly at the destination, significantly lowering the mass of structural materials transported from Earth and minimizing the need for heavy-duty robotic operations and infrastructure preparations. The construction of human habitation has always involved the use of biologically-produced materials from limestone to wood. Currently, the idea of growth itself, as an alternative construction method, is increasing in interest in architecture and space applications. In parallel with research on insitu resource utilization methods, here we present a new, biological approach for constructing regenerative and adaptive habitats, resilient to extra-terrestrial hazards. Based on the idea of engineered living materials (ELMs), we present the use of mycelium-based composites - which are fire-resistant, insulating, do not outgas, and can be used independently or in conjunction with regolith, enhancing composite ductility - employing the living biological growth in a controlled environment, for the process of material fabrication, assembly and maintenance. Our concept is that, similarly to a seed of a tree, the deployable growing habitation system will contain all the essential information needed to grow the desired structure. The paper will outline the potential and challenges of using bio-composites for space applications and will present how these might be addressed, in order to make this biological approach feasible, providing new, growing materials for design habitats on long-duration missions

The application of antimicrobial stewardship knowledge to nursing practice : A national survey of United Kingdom pre-registration nursing students

© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/AIM: To assess student nurses understanding and skills in the application of antimicrobial stewardship knowledge to practice. DESIGN: Quantitative. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey. RESULTS: Five hundred and twenty three student nurses responded across 23 UK universities. Although students felt prepared in competencies in infection prevention and control, patient-centred care and interprofessional collaborative practice, they felt less prepared in competencies in which microbiological knowledge, prescribing and its effect on antimicrobial stewardship is required. Problem-based learning, activities in the clinical setting and face-to-face teaching were identified as the preferred modes of education delivery. Those who had shared antimicrobial stewardship teaching with students from other professions reported the benefits to include a broader understanding of antimicrobial stewardship, an understanding of the roles of others in antimicrobial stewardship and improved interprofessional working. CONCLUSION: There are gaps in student nurses' knowledge of the basic sciences associated with the antimicrobial stewardship activities in which nurses are involved, and a need to strengthen knowledge in pre-registration nurse education programmes pertaining to antimicrobial management, specifically microbiology and antimicrobial regimes and effects on antimicrobial stewardship. Infection prevention and control, patient-centred care and interprofessional collaborative practice are areas of antimicrobial stewardship in which student nurses feel prepared. Interprofessional education would help nurses and other members of the antimicrobial stewardship team clarify the role nurses can play in antimicrobial stewardship and therefore maximize their contribution to antimicrobial stewardship and antimicrobial management. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION: There is a need to strengthen knowledge from the basic sciences, specifically pertaining to antimicrobial management, in pre-registration nurse education programmes. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution. IMPACT: What Problem Did the Study Address? Nurses must protect health through understanding and applying antimicrobial stewardship knowledge and skills (Nursing and Midwifery Council 2018); however, there is no research available that has investigated nurses understanding and skills of the basic sciences associated with the antimicrobial stewardship activities in which they are involved. What Were the Main Findings? There are gaps in student nurses' knowledge of the basic sciences (specifically microbiology and prescribing) associated with the antimicrobial stewardship activities in which nurses are involved. Problem-based learning, and activities in the clinical setting, were reported as useful teaching methods, whereas online learning, was seen as less useful. Where and on Whom Will the Research Have an Impact? Pre-registration nurse education programmes. REPORTING METHOD: The relevant reporting method has been adhered to, that is, STROBE.Peer reviewe

Large-Scale Gene-Centric Meta-Analysis across 39 Studies Identifies Type 2 Diabetes Loci

To identify genetic factors contributing to type 2 diabetes (T2D), we performed large-scale meta-analyses by using a custom similar to 50,000 SNP genotyping array (the ITMAT-Broad-CARe array) with similar to 2000 candidate genes in 39 multiethnic population-based studies, case-control studies, and clinical trials totaling 17,418 cases and 70,298 controls. First, meta-analysis of 25 studies comprising 14,073 cases and 57,489 controls of European descent confirmed eight established T2D loci at genome-wide significance. In silico follow-up analysis of putative association signals found in independent genome-wide association studies (including 8,130 cases and 38,987 controls) performed by the DIAGRAM consortium identified a T2D locus at genome-wide significance (GATAD2A/CILP2/PBX4; p = 5.7 x 10(-9)) and two loci exceeding study-wide significance (SREBF1, and TH/INS; p <2.4 x 10(-6)). Second, meta-analyses of 1,986 cases and 7,695 controls from eight African-American studies identified study-wide-significant (p = 2.4 x 10(-7)) variants in HMGA2 and replicated variants in TCF7L2 (p = 5.1 x 10(-15)). Third, conditional analysis revealed multiple known and novel independent signals within five T2D-associated genes in samples of European ancestry and within HMGA2 in African-American samples. Fourth, a multiethnic meta-analysis of all 39 studies identified T2D-associated variants in BCL2 (p = 2.1 x 10(-8)). Finally, a composite genetic score of SNPs from new and established T2D signals was significantly associated with increased risk of diabetes in African-American, Hispanic, and Asian populations. In summary, large-scale meta-analysis involving a dense gene-centric approach has uncovered additional loci and variants that contribute to T2D risk and suggests substantial overlap of T2D association signals across multiple ethnic groups