TELFest: an approach to encouraging the adoption of educational technologies

Barriers to technology adoption in teaching and learning are well documented, with a corresponding body of research focused on how these can be addressed. As a way to combine a variety of these adoption strategies, the University of Sheffield developed a Technology Enhanced Learning Festival, TELFest. This annual, week-long event, emphasises the role technology can play through an engaging learning experience which combines expert-led practical workshops, sharing of practice, discussions and presentations by practitioners. As the popularity of the event has grown and the range of topics expanded, a community of practice has organically coalesced among attendees, supporting the mainstream adoption of several technologies and helping to broaden educational innovation beyond isolated pockets. This paper situates TELFest within the technology adoption literature by providing details about TELFest, outlining the results of an investigation into the impact that it has had on attendees' teaching practice and summarising some of the limitations of the method along with reflections on how to address these limitations in the future

Investigating perceptions and potential of open badges in formal higher education

Open Badges are a method, proposed by the Mozilla Foundation, to recognise skill acquisition and ‘informal’ learning, particularly as part of Lifelong Learning. However, there is also significant potential in the formal education sector. This paper outlines a project at City University London to identify whether Open Badges should be supported across the institution, and includes some possible uses for badges. The project involved interviewing staff and conducting focus groups with students to understand their needs and level of interest. The paper includes some anticipated and actual findings from the research and summarises the subsequent work being undertaken as a result of the project. The findings of this project could be used by other institutions considering the use of Open Badges in their own context

Open Badges: a visual, learner-centric approach to recognising achievement

Open Badges are online indicators of skills learned inside or outside the classroom. In order to understand how badges might be used to support learning and development in higher education, Ian Glover and Farzana Latif have been looking into the uptake of these badges. There is a desire for broader mechanisms like badges to help students promote their own unique set of skills, knowledge and experience

Comparison of Oral Versus Vaginal Misoprostol for Induction of Labour at Term

Background: To compare the efficacy and safety of oral versus vaginal administration of Misoprostol for induction of labour at term. Methods: In this interventional study primigravida were assigned in two groups; A and B, using non-probability convenient sampling technique. Group-A (n=50) had Misoprostol orally, while group-B (n=50) received the drug by vaginal route. Dosage was 100 μg four hours apart in group-A and six hours apart in group-B. Maximum of four doses were given. Main outcome measures of study were labour-induction interval, labour-delivery interval, mode of delivery, neonatal outcome and feto-maternal complications. Results: The mean dosage requirement for induction of labour in groups A and B was 2.1±1.1 and 2.4±1.8 (p-0.23) respectively. Mean labour-induction interval in group A and B were 7.5±4.2 and 7.3±4.1 (p-0.87) hours respectively, which is not significant statistically. Mean labour delivery interval was shorter in vaginal group (4.9±2.7 hours) versus oral group(6.0±2.2) hours (p-0.04). Need for Oxytocin augmentation was less in vaginal group (21%) versus oral group (68%) (p-0.009). There was no statistical difference between the groups with respect to mode of delivery and neonatal outcome. The incidence of hyper-stimulation was similar in both groups. Conclusion:Misoprostol is a cost effective alternate for induction of labour. Misoprostol through vaginal route results in successful cervical ripening, less need for oxytocin and shorter time to delivery with acceptable safety profile

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Evaluating the legitimacy of national security practices and anti-terrorism legislation

The relationship between human rights and terrorism is an interesting topic with sufficient social relevance to justify this research based Masters. Since 2001, this topic has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. While there was already a considerable amount of literature on the topic before the devastating attacks on New York and Washington DC, the events of September 11 and their aftermath brought about an explosion of popular and scholarly contributions considering the interplay between human rights and terrorism from all imaginable perspectives.' The wave of terrorism the world has witnessed since that inlamous day served to enhance the international awareness of the inipact terrorism can have on fundamental democratic values. This work does not aim to contribute to the current debate by providing any new grand theory on the subject. Its purpose is a more modest one. It takes as a starting point the widely accepted view that since September 1 Ith 2001, many countries including the UK and Pakistan, have assisted the US in 'fighting against terrorism' globally, and each State has modified its national security and anti-terrorism legislation accordingly. This thesis attempts to critically explore and examine the legality and constitutional legitimacy of the means that the UK and Pakistan have used to deal with terrorism after 9/I1, giving equal normative weight to national security and civil liberty imperatives. Amongst the internal constitutional norms on the human rights side are standards of 'proportionality' between means and ends, 'necessity in a democratic society', conformity to rights to a fair trial, and restrictions on detention without trial. On the national security side, there are norms concerning the protection of the 'right to life' from terrorist attacks and the defence of democratic institutions from internal subversion. There is inevitable tension between suspects' right to life and the duty of the government to protect life of all citizens including terrorists and the need to exercise the effective counter terrorism measures. The government's positive obligation is to protect the right to life by taking positive steps. For example, if there is a suicide bomber on the London tube with a detonator in his hand waiting to go under a tunnel before detonating the bomb causing injures and deaths, police have a positive obligation to protect the lives of the people. The correct assumption that the police can make is that the suicide bomber is more likely to detonate the bomb. This whole area of positive obligation and the duty to protect the right to life merits a thesis in its own right and therefore would not be addressed in detail in the present work. To be widely perceived as constitutionally legitimate, anti-terrorism laws and the practices of the security and intelligence services must strike a difficult balance between providing effective tools to investigate and prevent terrorism; while - at the same time - ensuring that detainees human rights are not violated. The main focus is on the UK but a subsidiary aim is to draw any lessons from comparison with Pakistan on related issues. Before commencing this inquiry, it is necessary to expand briefly on some of the assumptions concerning the link between terrorism and human rights underpinning the analysis presented in this work. The relationship between terrorism and human rights is that terrorism poses a threat to the enjoyment of some of the most essential human rights, and jeopardises collective goods such as national security and public order. The fight against terrorism, for its part, is liable to erode a significant number of individual rights and &eedonis. Kalliopi Koufa, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion Protection of Human Rights, describes this phenomenon as the 'direct' and 'indirect' link between terrorism and human rights; the link is seen as direct when terrorists kill or injure innocent civilians, deprive them of their freedom, or damage their property; the link is seen as indirect when a State's response to terrorism leads to the adoption of policies and practices that impinge on fundamental rights (see chapter 4 for a discussion of s23 ATCSA 2001 which infringed Article 5 and Article 14 ECHR). It is clear that States are confronted with a dual responsibility. On the one hand, they are tinder obligation to combat terrorism effectively; on the other hand, they must ensure that anti-terrorism measures unfold in compliance with the existing human rights framework

Effects Of High Fiber Multigrain Supplementation On Clinical Disease Measures, Inflammatory Biomarkers, Nutritional Status And Quality Of Life Among Moderate To Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory, autoimmune rheumatic disease, resulting in progressive joint inflammation and destruction attributed by a combination of genetic and environmental factor. The current RA drugs may help slow the disease's progression, but they may cause side effects. Due to the potential side effects, many RA patients swifted to other alternative remedies. Dietary nutritional components have been demonstrated to influence inflammation, oxidative stress, and disease progression. With the aforementioned, this study is aimed to evaluate the effect of high fiber multigrain supplementation on (1) clinical disease symptoms, (2) inflammation status, (3) antioxidant and oxidative stress level (4) nutritional status, quality of life and functionality in RA patients. Fifty-one RA patients were recruited from Rheumatology Unit, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, and randomly assigned into either high fiber multigrain supplement (n=25; standard rheumatic medication + 80g/d multigrain) or control (n=26; standard rheumatic medication) groups for 12 weeks. Clinical assessments were improved significantly in the supplement group; as evident by reductions in disease activity score (DAS 28) (p<0.05), morning stiffness rating scale (p<0.01), joint scale (p<0.05) and pain scale (p<0.01)

Overcoming barriers to the creation of eLearning materials for GeoVUE' NeoGeographic outputs

GeoVUE is a research Node of the ESRC funded National Centre for eSocial Science, (NCeSS). It is working to explore new forms of Geographic research and practices. As this Geographic research embraces web2.0 approaches and technologies, so must the materials which are used to teach the next generation of geography students, especially in line with research which shows these students' technological expectations. This paper will look at how the barriers to the creation of these learning materials can be overcome