Teaching Sport Psychology to the XBox Generation: Further evidence for game-based learning

Objective: To extend recent research examining the impact of game-based activities on the learning experience of undergraduate psychology students. Design: A counterbalanced repeated measures design was employed to evaluate students’ learning experiences following their involvement in active game-based learning activities. Method: Students on a Level 5 sport psychology module (N=134) were asked to participate in four practical classes demonstrating the impact of psychological factors (e.g. anxiety) on sports performance. Two sessions were designed for each practical: one included the use of active video games (e.g. Kinect Sports); the other included a traditional active game-based activity (e.g. Reaction Time Game). Students were randomly assigned to one of two groups in order to facilitate counterbalancing and to ensure that all students completed two active video game (AVG) and two non-AVG tasks. Following each practical, students provided ratings of perceived usefulness, interest/engagement, and enjoyment using a seven-point Likert scale. These data will be analysed via one way repeated measures analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), with students’ experience of AVGs being the covariate. The impact of sessions on students’ academic motivation and performance were also assessed and analysed via one-way ANOVAs. Results: Data is currently being collected alongside a semester one module. Results will be reported during the presentation. Conclusions: It is anticipated that the findings will provide further evidence to support the use of AVGs in the teaching of undergraduate psychology, and that the increased sophistication of AVG technology may be harnessed to provide multiple benefits for students in higher education

Model-independent resonance parameter extraction using the trace of K and T matrices

A model-independent method for the determination of Breit-Wigner resonance parameters is presented. The method is based on eliminating the dependence on the choice of channel basis by analyzing the trace of the K and T matrices in the coupled-channel formalism, rather than individual matrix elements of the multichannel scattering matrix.Comment: 6 pages, 16 figure

Keys and Notes on the Buprestidae (Coleoptera) of Michigan

The distribution and dates of adult activity for Michigan buprestids are discussed. Keys to the genera and species, as well as host information are presented for 116 species and one subspecies. Information on collecting techniques, illustrations of genitalia of 14 species, and scanning electron micrographs of certain structures useful in species identification are presented and discussed. In addition, Pachyschelus confusus, a new species, is described from bush clover

Developing standards for an integrated approach to workplace facilitation for interprofessional teams in health and social care contexts: a Delphi study

Integration of health and social care forms part of health and social care policy in many countries worldwide in response to changing health and social care needs. The World Health Organization’s appeal for systems to manage the global epidemiologic transition advocates for provision of care that crosses boundaries between primary, community, hospital, and social care. However, the focus on structural and process changes has not yielded the full benefit of expected advances in care delivery. Facilitating practice in the workplace is a widely recognised cornerstone for developments in the delivery of health and social care as collaborative and inclusive relationships enable frontline staff to develop effective workplace cultures that influence whether transformational change is achieved and maintained. Workplace facilitation embraces a number of different purposes which may not independently lead to better quality of care or improved patient outcomes. Holistic workplace facilitation of learning, development, and improvement supports the integration remit across health and social care systems and avoids duplication of effort and waste of valuable resources. To date, no standards to guide the quality and effectiveness of integrated facilitation have been published. This study aimed to identify key elements constitute standards for an integrated approach to facilitating work-based learning, development, improvement, inquiry, knowledge translation, and innovation in health and social care contexts using a three rounds Delphi survey of facilitation experts from 10 countries. Consensus about priority elements was determined in the final round, following an iteration process that involved modifications to validate content. The findings helped to identify key qualities and skills facilitators need to support interprofessional teams to flourish and optimise performance. Further research could evaluate the impact of skilled integrated facilitation on health and social care outcomes and the well-being of frontline interprofessional teams

Gordon Valentine Manley and his contribution to the study of climate change: a review of his life and work

British climatologist and geographer, Gordon Manley (1902–1980), is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on climate variability in the UK, for establishing the Central England Temperature series and, for his pivotal role in demonstrating the powerful relationship between climate, weather, and culture in post-World War II Britain. Yet Manley made many contributions, both professional and popular, to climate change debates in the twentieth century, where climate change is broadly understood to be changes over a range of temporal and spatial scales rather than anthropogenic warming per se. This review first establishes how Manley's work, including that on snow and ice, was influenced by key figures in debates over climatic amelioration around the North Atlantic between 1920s and 1950s. His research exploring historical climate variability in the UK using documentary sources is then discussed. His perspectives on the relationship between climate changes and cultural history are reviewed, paying particular attention to his interpretation of this relationship as it played out in the UK. Throughout, the review aims to show Manley to be a fieldworker and an empiricist and reveals how he remained committed to rigorous scientific investigation despite changing trends within his academic discipline