Experiences and perceptions of educators implementing AAC in inclusive settings : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Speech Language Therapy at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Research shows that augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can support the inclusion of students with complex communication needs (CCN) in inclusive school settings. AAC support for students in New Zealand is provided by a multidisciplinary team comprised of educators, specialists and family members. Successful AAC implementation can be challenging, and there are a number of factors which can potentially act as facilitators or barriers to successful AAC outcomes. To date, most research focusing on AAC in inclusive settings has been conducted outside of the New Zealand context. Seven individual interviews were conducted with teachers and teacher aides working in inclusive settings, to explore their experiences of supporting students who used AAC. Seven key findings were identified from this study: (1) Educators identified short-term and long-term positive outcomes of AAC use, (2) Educators identified a range of factors which could act as barriers and facilitators to AAC use depending on their presence or absence, (3) AAC use had many positive impacts, including supporting students’ speech and language development and reducing communication-related frustration (4) Educators advocated for the student’s voice, perspective and rights to be considered with regards to AAC implementation and planning; (5) Collaboration between team members was viewed as important for successful AAC use, (6) Specialist AAC support was useful to educators, though some perceived that there was a lack of expertise amongst professionals and (7) Educators reported similar strategies to support the use of AAC within school settings. This study provides education professionals with an insight into the experiences of a group of educators who support students that use AAC

Dataset for "User testing to improve retrieval and comprehension of information in guidelines to improve medicines safety"

This dataset describes a series of user tests designed to improve the retrieval and comprehension of information by nurses from the NHS Injectable Medicines Guide. It includes the research protocol, data collection tools, interview transcriptions and thematic analysis, participant demographics and numerical outcome data.Nvivo version 11 used for thematic analysis

Pastoralist knowledge of sheep and goat disease and implications for peste des petits ruminants virus control in the Afar Region of Ethiopia

Pastoralist areas of Ethiopia are vulnerable to drought, causing livelihood loss and famine. One approach to increasing pastoralist resilience is the control of livestock disease, but there is limited information from pastoralist areas to inform control strategies. This study aimed to explore pastoralist concepts of small ruminant disease and implications for infectious disease surveillance and control in the pastoralist Afar Region. During 2013–14, qualitative and quantitative methods were applied in two villages of one district in the mid-west of the region. Semi-structured group interviews, incorporating participatory tools, explored pastoralist knowledge of small ruminant diseases and their impact. These were followed by multiple visits in different seasons to 70 households for semi-structured and informal interviews, observation of management practices, clinical examinations, and weekly questionnaires of mortality and morbidity. Thematic analysis was applied to interview transcripts and field notes, and descriptive statistical analysis to quantitative data. Afar concepts of disease causation, terminology and treatment were predominantly naturalistic, related to observable signs and physical causes, rather than personalistic factors (misfortune due to magical or spiritual agents). Disease occurrence was associated with malnutrition and adverse weather, and disease spread with contact between animals during grazing, watering and migration. Disease occurrence varied by season with most syndromes increasing in frequency during the dry season. Names for disease syndromes were related to the main clinical sign or body part affected; 70 terms were recorded for respiratory syndromes, diarrhoea, sheep and goat pox, lameness, skin diseases, ectoparasites, urinary and neurological syndromes and abortion. Some syndromes with pathognomonic signs could be linked to biomedical diagnoses but most were non-specific with several possible diagnoses. The syndromes causing greatest impact were diarrhoea and respiratory disease, due to mortality, reduced milk production, weight loss, abortion, weak offspring and reduced market value. Afar applied a range of traditional methods and modern medicines to prevent or treat disease, based on livestock keeper knowledge, advice of local specialists and occasionally advice from district veterinarians or animal health workers. In relation to surveillance for peste des petits ruminants (PPR), several terms were used for PPR-like syndromes, depending on the predominance of respiratory or diarrhoea signs. Therefore, whenever these terms are encountered during surveillance, the associated disease events should be fully investigated and samples collected for laboratory confirmation. The Afar naturalistic concepts of disease parallel biomedical concepts and provide a good foundation for communication between veterinarians and pastoralists in relation to PPR surveillance and control measures

Guidelines for human gene nomenclature.

Standardized gene naming is crucial for effective communication about genes, and as genomics becomes increasingly important in healthcare, the need for a consistent language for human genes becomes ever more vital. Here we present the current HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) guidelines for naming not only protein-coding but also RNA genes and pseudogenes, and outline the changes in approach and ethos that have resulted from the discoveries of the last few decades.National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) grant U24HG003345 (1.5.2018-30.4.-2023) Wellcome Trust grant 208349/Z/17/Z (1.9.2017-31.8.2022

Improving the content, wording, structure and formatting of the NHS Injectable Medicines Guide (“Medusa”) with user testing

The NHS Injectable Medicines Guide (IMG) is used by nurses in >100 hospitals to guide the preparation & administration of IV medicines. Surveys suggest users find it too detailed & confusing. This may make it difficult to find relevant, unambiguous information & could lead to serious medication errors. We aimed to identify & resolve problems in two typical IMG guides via user testing