695 research outputs found
Are nurse academics technology ready? A mixed methods study of Australian nurse academics’ attitudes to technologies in teaching
Technology use in higher education teaching has become widespread and ubiquitous, affecting many areas of teaching and learning (Bond et al., 2020). Nurse education has been impacted by this shift with increasing use of technologies in the classroom (Koch, 2014). Although there has been a large research focus relating to students’ elearning, there has been less focus on the academic and their elearning role, in particular, how academic attitudes influence technology use in teaching (Drysdale et al., 2013; Martin, Polly, et al., 2020). The aim of this study was to explore nurse academics’ attitudes to technology and the influence attitude has on their use of technologies in teaching. There were three objectives: 1) To investigate nurse academics’ attitudes to technology through the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2). 2) To develop an understanding of how and why nurse academics engage with technology through individual interviews. 3) To integrate the quantitative (Objective 1) and qualitative (Objective 2) findings in order to gain a holistic understanding of academics’ use of technologies in teaching. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases was used to address the aim. The first phase was a survey based on a previously validated, 16 item questionnaire, the Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2), which was distributed to Australian nurse academics. The second phase included semi-structured individual interviews focussed on academics’ use and attitudes to technology, incorporating elements from the survey. The Technology Readiness Index 2.0 (TRI 2) was used in this study for the first time with nurse academics. The phase one findings indicate that nurse academics were technology ready, had higher overall TRI mean score than the general population (Parasuraman & Colby, 2015), but with similar outcomes to previous nurse academic research. Of note was that TRI was significantly associated with frequency of technology use, number of technologies used and self-rated confidence to use technology. The findings revealed three main Technology Readiness groups, representing three attitudes to technology in teaching: Explorers, Sceptics and Hesitators. Explorers were found to be innovative, positive and confident in their use of technology; Sceptics showed aversion to technology, were cautious when considering the impact on pedagogy and concerned about the impact on interpersonal skills; Hesitators showed preference for traditional teaching and distrust and were anxious about technology use. Overall, attitudes were found to be complex, based on experience and the potential impact technology may have on nursing students. The groups identified in this thesis explain behaviours and enable institutes to support academics in their engagement with technology. Recommendations include flexible training to meet the needs of academics, the use of simple and reliable technology across TR groups and adjusting workloads to account for the time-consuming nature of technology. There is also a need for academics to consider their attitudes to technology and the impact this may have on their teaching. This thesis demonstrates that technology engagement is not a binary choice but a complex process based on attitudes and other factors.Doctor of Philosoph
Adsorption and Diffusion of Pt and Au on the Stoichiometric and Reduced TiO2 Rutile (110) Surfaces
A comparative first principles pseudopotential study of the adsorption and
migration profiles of single Pt and Au atoms on the stoichiometric and reduced
TiO2 rutile (110) surfaces is presented. Pt and Au behave similarly with
respect to (i) most favorable adsorption sites, which are found to be the
hollow and substitutional sites on the stoichiometric and reduced surfaces,
respectively, (ii) the large increase in their binding energy (by ~1.7 eV) when
the surface is reduced, and (iii) their low migration barrier near 0.15 eV on
the stoichiometric surface. Pt, on the other hand, binds more strongly (by ~2
eV) to both surfaces. On the stoichiometric surface, Pt migration pattern is
expected to be one-dimensional, which is primarily influenced by interactions
with O atoms. Au migration is expected to be two-dimensional, with Au-Ti
interactions playing a more important role. On the reduced surface, the
migration barrier for Pt diffusion is significantly larger compared to Au.Comment: 3 figures, 1 table, submitted to PR
Two Wrongs Make a Right: Deficits in Reversal Learning after Orbitofrontal Damage Are Improved by Amygdala Ablation
Impaired cognitive flexibility after orbitofrontal damage has informed theories of orbitofrontal function and prefrontal cortex function generally. In this issue of Neuron, Stalnaker et al. demonstrate that reversal learning deficits after orbitofrontal damage in rats are eliminated by additional lesions of the basolateral amygdala. The involvement of orbitofrontal cortex in cognitive flexibility is via its interaction with the amygdala, and perhaps other brain areas, rather than an intrinsic property of this cortical region
Global-scale wreath-building dynamos in stellar convection zones
When stars like our Sun are young they rotate rapidly and are very
magnetically active. We explore dynamo action in rapidly rotating suns with the
3-D MHD anelastic spherical harmonic (ASH) code. The magnetic fields built in
these dynamos are organized on global-scales into wreath-like structures that
span the convection zone. Wreath-building dynamos can undergo quasi-cyclic
reversals of polarity and such behavior is common in the parameter space we
have been able to explore. These dynamos do not appear to require tachoclines
to achieve their spatial or temporal organization. Wreath-building dynamos are
present to some degree at all rotation rates, but are most evident in the more
rapidly rotating simulations.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. To appear in IAU 271: "Astrophysical Dynamics:
from Stars to Galaxies
Dynamo Action in the Solar Convection Zone and Tachocline: Pumping and Organization of Toroidal Fields
We present the first results from three-dimensional spherical shell
simulations of magnetic dynamo action realized by turbulent convection
penetrating downward into a tachocline of rotational shear. This permits us to
assess several dynamical elements believed to be crucial to the operation of
the solar global dynamo, variously involving differential rotation resulting
from convection, magnetic pumping, and amplification of fields by stretching
within the tachocline. The simulations reveal that strong axisymmetric toroidal
magnetic fields (about 3000 G in strength) are realized within the lower stable
layer, unlike in the convection zone where fluctuating fields are predominant.
The toroidal fields in the stable layer possess a striking persistent
antisymmetric parity, with fields in the northern hemisphere largely of
opposite polarity to those in the southern hemisphere. The associated mean
poloidal magnetic fields there have a clear dipolar geometry, but we have not
yet observed any distinctive reversals or latitudinal propagation. The presence
of these deep magnetic fields appears to stabilize the sense of mean fields
produced by vigorous dynamo action in the bulk of the convection zone.Comment: 4 pages, 3 color figures (compressed), in press at ApJ
Ariel - Volume 5 Number 3
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Global magnetic cycles in rapidly rotating younger suns
Observations of sun-like stars rotating faster than our current sun tend to
exhibit increased magnetic activity as well as magnetic cycles spanning
multiple years. Using global simulations in spherical shells to study the
coupling of large-scale convection, rotation, and magnetism in a younger sun,
we have probed effects of rotation on stellar dynamos and the nature of
magnetic cycles. Major 3-D MHD simulations carried out at three times the
current solar rotation rate reveal hydromagnetic dynamo action that yields
wreaths of strong toroidal magnetic field at low latitudes, often with opposite
polarity in the two hemispheres. Our recent simulations have explored behavior
in systems with considerably lower diffusivities, achieved with sub-grid scale
models including a dynamic Smagorinsky treatment of unresolved turbulence. The
lower diffusion promotes the generation of magnetic wreaths that undergo
prominent temporal variations in field strength, exhibiting global magnetic
cycles that involve polarity reversals. In our least diffusive simulation, we
find that magnetic buoyancy coupled with advection by convective giant cells
can lead to the rise of coherent loops of magnetic field toward the top of the
simulated domain.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, from IAU 273: The Physics of Sun and Star Spot
Lack of Evidence for Impact of the European White Birch, Betula pendula, on the Hydrology of Wainfleet Bog, Ontario
Over time peat harvesting and human encroachment have devastated the hydrology of Wainfleet Bog. Disturbances caused by human activities have rendered the bog ecosystem vulnerable to an influx of invasive species. The European White Birch (Betula pendula) has contributed to the degradation of the Wainfleet Bog. The disrupted hydrology has allowed for the development of dry conditions that have enabled B. pendula to take over habitats that were once dominated by native flora. To determine whether B. pendula was depressing the water table through evapotranspiration, we examined water table levels (March 1998 to July 1999) and vegetative data from 15 well stations. Analysis of results using a Repeated Measures Statistic Design failed to demonstrate a significant relationship between the presence of B. pendula and water table levels at Wainfleet Bog
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