Iterative approach to implicit student-generated mobile learning to promote visual literacy and peer mediated learning

This paper aims to report early findings of the second iteration of an implicit student-generated mobile learning project that promotes visual literacy and peer mediated learning. The first iteration was conducted with first year health science students at the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2013. We found that while the video assessment task may have aided learning for each student around their specific chosen topic, overall course learning outcomes did not improve. This was perhaps due to a failure of the peer mediated learning aspect of the learning activity. Furthermore, the labour intensive nature of the task may have attenuated overall performance in the course. Acting on these findings, we adjusted the visually based, peer-to-peer mobile learning activity accordingly. The revised assessment task was reintroduced in 2nd semester 2014, and early findings on the efficacy of the revised task on learning will be presented at the ascilite 2014 conference

Auditory Integration Interventions for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities: An Evidence-Based Practice Project

After extensive review of select auditory integration interventions including Auditory Integration Therapy (AIT), The Listening Program (TLP), and Therapeutic Listening (TL), we can conclude that many of these interventions have not been examined for use with children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although some the research we found showed slight improvements in our investigated outcomes, many of them did not analyze the primary long-term outcomes of interest for occupational therapy including performance, participation, and engagement. Specialized training is required for therapists to facilitate AIT, TLP, and TL with their clients. Courses are costly ranging from $365-$2400, which further detracts the practicality of these interventions. All three of our auditory interventions were either not reviewed by the expert review groups or were investigated but not recommended. Additionally, some insurance companies and the United States Federal Drug Administration do not approve of some of the interventions and equipment required due to safety concerns and lack of evidence (UnitedHealthcare, 2016). Our preliminary recommendations are that these interventions are a Level 5. A Level 5 means that the treatment is designated as an untested/experimental treatment and/or is potentially harmful (WI Department of Health Services, 2014). Additionally, the results may not be a direct outcome of AIT, TLP, and TL due to a variety of limitations and gaps in research. Because of these gaps and limitations we can conclude that the existing research is of poor quality. Given the chosen study design in a majority of these articles, we cannot make definite conclusions that these interventions caused the differences in the outcomes. Also, due to case study designs and small sample sizes, the results cannot be generalized to the larger population. Conflicting recommendations exist for further on these auditory integration interventions. Therefore, individuals interested in conducting research should be aware of these cautions

The Effects Of Subject Presentation Types In Problem Based Learning (PBL) Problems On Student Motivation: A Pbl Implementation In Speech Language Pathology

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an evidence-based instructional approach designed to maximize one’s ability to use static knowledge as evidence for solving authentic problems (Barrows, 1986). Students have been observed as underprepared or skipping steps during the PBL process due to fatigue or low motivation (Czabanowska, Moust, Meijer, Schr��-B夫, & Robertson, 2012). This study considered the impact of the presentation of the PBL subject (i.e., the key character involved in the problem) on student motivation within the context of Speech and Voice Science curricula. The results of this mixed-methods study showed the frequency of engagement behaviors declined overall. Although engagement levels declined and fatigue appeared to play a role, most students identified the final problems designed with a combination of higher social presence (i.e., audio-visual, face-to-face interaction) and challenging content as the most motivating. Students were able to develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for their problem-solving efforts, fostered by the direct interaction with the problem subject. This study also provides an example of a PBL implementation at the undergraduate level in Speech Language Pathology

Innovative instruction: learning in blended human anatomy education

Despite the robust literature surrounding the benefits of blended learning including improved student learning and positive student perceptions of learning (Bishop & Verleger, 2013; O\u27Flaherty & Phillips, 2015), simply rearranging the structure of activities or incorporating technology does not ensure a more meaningful learning experience (Duffy & McDonald, 2008; Gopal et al., 2006). There exists a danger of educators attempting the translation of blended learning without thoroughly understanding how it works (Ash, 2012). Considering the definition of blended learning as the organic integration of thoughtfully selected and complementary F2F and online approaches and technologies Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p. 148), achieving meaningful learning the blended classroom requires intentional design, mindful collaboration, and complete integration between the F2F experience and asynchronous online technology. Therefore, this study aimed to understand how anatomy faculty create meaningful learning spaces within their blended anatomy course. By conducting formal research that is focused on understanding the experiences of anatomy faculty in their blended learning course through the theoretical framework of community of inquiry, collaborative learning, and discovery learning, this study informs current and future undergraduate anatomy education by providing insight into how learning happens within this space

Movement Interventions for Children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities: An Evidence-Based Practice Project

This review explored the following question: Are the comprehensive treatment models Makoto Therapy, Brain Gym, and Interactive Metronome effective interventions for improving occupational performance including improving executive function, academic performance, and physical coordination in children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)? Because current research on Interactive Metronome, Brain Gym®, and Makoto Therapy fails to address children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, presents multiple flaws in research design, and does not measure occupational outcomes such as occupational performance, we recommend that these interventions should not be used as comprehensive treatment models in occupational therapy. We recommend that more occupational-based, methodologically-sound research involving youth with ASD be conducted before implementing these interventions in occupational therapy practice

The urothelium and lamina propria as an alternative target for clinical antimuscarinics

Introduction: Overactive bladder is the most common type of bladder dysfunction and involves spontaneous contractions of the urinary bladder during the filling phase. The first-line pharmaceutical therapies for managing this disorder are antimuscarinics (Moro et al., 2011), which have a primary action of blocking the action of acetylcholine in the urothelium and lamina propria (Nardulli et al., 2012). However, more than 70% of patients who are administered these drugs cease their treatment regimen due to lower than expected treatment benefits or adverse side effects (Vouri et al., 2019). The reason for this is unclear, although this does suggest a varied effectiveness or selectivity of antimuscarinics on urinary bladder tissue. Aim: This study aims to find the differences in the abilities to inhibit contractions of the U&LP for commonly prescribed clinical antimuscarinics. Methods: Strips of porcine U&LP were mounted in carbogen-gassed Krebs-bicarbonate solution at 37°C. The tissues were paired with carbachol concentration-response curves performed in the absence or presence of clinically used antimuscarinics. The concentration for each antagonist was chosen at which the inhibited contractions reached a significant, but sub-maximal, extent. pEC50 values for each curve were analysed and estimated affinities calculated. Ethical approval was not required for this study as tissues were sourced from the local abattoir after slaughter for the routine commercial provision of food. Results: The clinical antimuscarinics producing right parallel shifts from the control in the U&LP (concentration; n value; estimated affinity or pkD; paired Student’s two-tailed t-test) included oxybutynin (1µM; 18; 7.08; p<0.001), solifenacin (1µM; 11; 6.88; p<0.001), darifenacin (100nM; 10; 6.48; p<0.001), tolterodine (1µM; 10; 8.00; p<0.001), trospium (100nM; 10; 7.63; p<0.001) and fesoterodine (100nM; 11; 7.40; p<0.001). Propiverine (concentration; n value; paired Student’s two-tailed t-test) did not produce a shift (1µM; 11; p=0.50). Conclusion: The data highlights a variance in the effectiveness of each clinically used antimuscarinic to antagonise the response to muscarinic receptor activation of the U&LP

Mechanisms of flavor perception : how odor and taste interact when we eat

Every time we eat, our brains are bombarded with sensory information from the olfactory and gustatory modalities. Through a binding process that is not fully understood, the odor and taste are then merged into flavor, a unitary sensation that appears to arise from inside the mouth. Flavors are used to guide our behavioral responses to potential sources of nutrition: flavorsome foods can easily be consumed in excess, while distasteful foods are generally rejected. Recent studies have shown that familiar flavors with congruent odor and taste components are perceived and evaluated differently than less familiar flavors with incongruent components. In this context, congruency denotes the extent to which an odor and a taste are associated with the same food object. A citrus odor mixed with a sweet/sour taste is an example of a congruent combination, because both sensations are associated with lemons. By contrast, chicken odor and sweet/sour taste would by most people be perceived as an incongruent combination. That congruency affects flavor perception suggests that associative learning within the olfactory-gustatory network regulates the binding process that gives rise to flavor. Investigating how odors and tastes that are frequently encountered together become mentally linked to one another has the potential to advance our understanding of how food preferences are formed and evolve over time. In this dissertation, I will present three lab experiments that in different ways have explored the role of associative learning in flavor perception. Study I (n=30) and Study II (n=23) investigated perceptual and hedonic effects of learning that has already taken place. In these studies, participants rated several flavors with varying degrees of congruency. Congruency was manipulated in a linear fashion: some flavors were highly congruent (e.g. citrus odor+sweet/sour taste), some were highly incongruent (e.g. chicken odor + sweet/sour taste), and others were moderately congruent (e.g. chicken/lemon odor mixture + sweet/sour taste). Study I first showed that congruency has a positive, linearlike effect on flavor pleasantness. The more congruent the particular odor-taste mixture, the more pleasant the flavor sensation. This study also provided weak evidence that congruency increases the probability that a flavor’s odor will be referred (or mislocalized) to the mouth, a perceptual illusion that has been suggested to reflect that the unisensory components have been bound together as a unified and meaningful whole. Previous research has shown that hunger makes food more appetizing. By adhering to a preregistered analysis plan, the primary aim of Study II was to test whether the amplifying effect of congruency on pleasantness interacts with the hunger state of the perceiver. To promote consumption of familiar (and safe) foods, we expected the amplifying effect of hunger to be stronger on congruent than on incongruent flavors. Participants attended two experimental sessions spaced approximately one week apart. One session was completed during hunger and the other session was completed during satiety. This study first replicated the positive effect of congruency on pleasantness from Study I. However, contrary to expectations, the congruency by hunger state interaction was not significant. Although Study II provided no evidence that the effect of hunger on flavor pleasantness is stronger for congruent than for incongruent flavors, this fining should be considered preliminary due to the small sample size. Taken together, Study I and Study II provide strong evidence that congruent flavors are more appetizing than incongruent flavors (at least for some odor-taste combinations). This suggests that frequently encountered foods that have been determined through experience to be safe are preferred to novel foods that are associated with greater risks of negative metabolic consequences. An exploratory analysis of the combined datasets from Study I and Study II showed that the amplifying effect of congruency was linear. This suggests that while congruent flavors indeed are most pleasant, minor differences between what is perceived (a specific odor-taste mixture) and what is expected (a perfect prototype of the encountered food item) will likely be tolerable. Such graded response pattern may underlie our ability to accommodate fluctuations in the chemical composition of different foods. Study III (n=60) was designed to create new odor-taste associations. In this pre-registered study, two relatively unfamiliar odors were repeatedly presented during a five-day exposure phase. One odor was presented with a sweet taste and the other odor was presented alone. Four outcomes that are thought to be affected by associative learning were rated before and after the exposure phase: odor sweetness, odor pleasantness, odor intensity enhancement by taste, and odor referral to the mouth. Contrary to expectations, repeatedly presenting odor and taste together had no effect on any of the outcomes. Moreover, exploratory equivalence tests suggested that the effects were either absent, or substantially smaller than in previous studies. High-powered, transparently conducted, direct replications of studies with significant results are needed to confirm that associative learning effects can reliably be observed in experimental settings. If this turns out to be the case, follow-up studies should focus on identifying contextual factors that modulate these effects. In this dissertation, Study I, II, and III will be discussed in light of the so-called replication crisis (or credibility revolution) in experimental psychology. Methodological advancements that can be adopted to increase the trustworthiness of flavor research are highlighted, together with some recommendations on how the field should proceed to determine what associative learning actually contributes to the eating experience