The Effects of Simulation on Junior Level Baccalaureate Nursing Students\u27 Self-Efficacy and Intrinsic Motivation

Nursing education is experiencing a generational phenomenon with student enrollment spanning three generations. Classrooms cultures are changing today and include some Baby Boomers and large numbers of Generation X, Generation Y, and second-degree seeking students. These culturally diverse groups of students have unique sets of learning characteristics. Given the current challenges of growing student diversity, balancing budgets, and meeting faculty shortages, nursing schools are pressed to find alternative teaching methods that are not only cost and labor saving but also effective and equitable for the diverse student groups. This quantitative, experimental research design study explored the effects of the alternative teaching methods of human patient simulation (HPS) and virtual clinical excursion (VCE) on self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation of 126 culturally diverse junior level nursing students. The purpose of this study was to determine if these simulation activities were motivationally effective and equitable teaching methods for students of culturally diverse generation and degree. The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) group mean score of the HPS group revealed significantly higher IMI scores than the VCE group. While many HPS subscale scores were higher, VCE scores were still on the higher end of the Lickert scale. The results did not consistently confirm that any one particular cultural demographic group benefitted more or less from either HPS or VCE experience. None of the main effects were significant for any of the general self-efficacy change scores. Only one interaction was significant: simulation type/degree status for the GSE score with midlevel degree type HPS students experiencing a largely higher mean gain in GSE between the first two assessments than those in the VCE experience. Culturally competent educators may use the findings of this study to begin a dialogue regarding appropriate simulation activities for the changing culture of nursing students. Results of this study indicated that, while overall IMI scores were higher for HPS than for VCE, both types of simulation were motivationally appropriate and effective teaching methods for all types of students, regardless of cultural demographic factors. In addition, GSE scores remained relatively constant, indicating that both types of simulation were appropriate and effective for all groups in this study

Using data visualization in creativity workshops: a new tool in the designer's kit

Creativity workshops have proved effective in drawing out unexpected requirements and giving form to participants' novel ideas. Here, we introduce a new addition to the workshop designer's toolkit: interactive data visualization, used as stimuli to prompt insight and inspire creativity. We first describe a pilot study in which we compare the effectiveness of two different styles of data visualization. Here we found that a less ambiguous style was more effective in supporting idea generation. Following this, we report a case study in which we employ data visualization within a service design workshop, where participants gain insights that are later realized in design ideas

A meta-ethnographic study of health care staff perceptions of the WHO/UNICEF Baby Friendly Health Initiative

Background Implementation of the Baby Friendly Health Initiative (BFHI) is associated with increases in breastfeeding initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding and ‘any’ breastfeeding. However, implementation of the BFHI is challenging. Aim To identify and synthesise health care staff perceptions of the WHO/UNICEF BFHI and identify facilitators and barriers for implementation. Method Seven qualitative studies, published between 2003 and 2013 were analysed using meta-ethnographic synthesis. Findings Three overarching themes were identified. First the BFHI was viewed variously as a ‘desirable innovation or an unfriendly imposition’. Participants were passionate about supporting breastfeeding and improving consistency in the information provided. This view was juxtaposed against the belief that BFHI represents an imposition on women's choices, and is a costly exercise for little gain in breastfeeding rates. The second theme highlighted cultural and organisational constraints and obstacles to BFHI implementation including resource issues, entrenched staff practices and staff rationalisation of non-compliance. Theme three captured a level of optimism and enthusiasm amongst participants who could identify a dedicated and credible leader to lead the BFHI change process. Collaborative engagement with all key stakeholders was crucial. Conclusions Health care staff hold variant beliefs and attitudes towards BFHI, which can help or hinder the implementation process. The introduction of the BFHI at a local level requires detailed planning, extensive collaboration, and an enthusiastic and committed leader to drive the change process. This synthesis has highlighted the importance of thinking more creatively about the translation of this global policy into effective change at the local level

Treemap Cartography for showing Spatial and Temporal Traffic Patterns

Depicting spatial and temporal aspects of traffic flows of different types is challenging. We use a treemap based technique that is able to show multiple aspects of large quantities of spatial and temporal traffic data simultaneously. Treemaps present multivariate data as a hierarchy of rectangles that are nested within each other. Each level of the hierarchy is used to carry information about one variable, with rectangle size, arrangement and colour being potential information-carrying ‘channels’ for reflecting properties of the data. We show information about the vehicles operated by eCourier (UK) Ltd. by location, vehicle type, day of the week and hour of the day. Our two maps use colour to show the volumes and speeds of traffic at each of 82,320 combinations of location, vehicle type, day of week and hour of day, concurrently. Crucially, we use a regular grid to represent location, give all the treemap nodes a constant size and order them spatially. This cartographic representation allows multiple aspects of large traffic datasets to be viewed concurrently, such that spatial and temporal patterns can be identified

Time dependent unavailability analysis to standby safety systems

"Prepared for Brookhaven National Laboratory."Includes bibliographical references (p. 280-284)Contract no. BNL-54668

A Framework for Creative Visualization-Opportunities Workshops

Applied visualization researchers often work closely with domain collaborators to explore new and useful applications of visualization. The early stages of collaborations are typically time consuming for all stakeholders as researchers piece together an understanding of domain challenges from disparate discussions and meetings. A number of recent projects, however, report on the use of creative visualization-opportunities (CVO) workshops to accelerate the early stages of applied work, eliciting a wealth of requirements in a few days of focused work. Yet, there is no established guidance for how to use such workshops effectively. In this paper, we present the results of two-year collaboration in which we analyzed the use of 17 workshops in 10 visualization contexts. Its primary contribution is a framework for CVO workshops that 1) identifies a process model for using workshops; 2) describes a structure of what happens within effective workshops; 3) recommends 25 actionable guidelines for future workshops; and 4) presents an example workshop and workshop methods. The creation of this framework exemplifies the use of critical reflection to learn about visualization in practice from diverse studies and experience