The Experiences of Healthcare Professional Students about the Educational Impacts of Mobile Learning

The role of mobile devices in learning processes is growing rapidly and it is imperative to assess the effect of this technology. This paper explores the experience of healthcare professional students with regard to the educational impacts of mobile learning. We conducted a qualitative study using a conventional qualitative content analysis based on Graneheim and Lundman (2004) method to collect and analyze the experiences of 23 healthcare professional students. Two themes, each with subthemes, emerged from the findings: (1) perceived benefit in learning process, and (2) reflective self-assessment. The results revealed that mobile learning has a positive impact on both the process and the outcome of learning in healthcare professional students. Therefore, creating a supportive condition to promote mobile learning is recommended

La Paradoja de la Aceptación y el Rechazo: La Percepción de los Estudiantes Profesionales de la Salud sobre la Aceptación del Aprendizaje Móvil en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Irán

Objective: A qualitative study was conducted to explore the perception of healthcare professional students about mobile learning acceptance. Method: The study was performed using a conventional content analysis method. The subjects were the students of medical sciences in Iran University of Medical Science. Sampling was based on a purposeful sampling method. Twenty-three students took part in semi-structured interviews until data saturation was reached. Results: The main theme was “the paradox of acceptance and rejection” with three categories; (1) perceived attraction (sub-categories: learning with the excitement of entertainment, the attraction of multimedia learning environment and enthusiasm for electronic learning); (2) perceived ease (sub-categories: easy access to information anytime and anywhere and easy and effortless use); and (3) perceived conflict (sub-categories: teachers’ contradictory behavioral patterns, contradiction about value of online information, friends’ contradictory behavioral patterns, and digital gap between generations in family). Conclusion: The three categories found in the study placed the students in a dilemma of using or not using mobile learning. They had doubts about accepting mobile technology as a legitimate educational tool. Taking these factors into account and managing them can pave the way for mobile learning in the students.Se realizó un estudio cualitativo para explorar la percepción de los estudiantes profesionales de la salud sobre la aceptación del aprendizaje móvil. El estudio se realizó utilizando un método de análisis de contenido convencional. Los sujetos fueron estudiantes de medicina en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Irán. El muestreo se basó en un método de muestreo útil. Veintitrés estudiantes participaron en entrevistas semiestructuradas hasta que se alcanzó la saturación de datos. El tema principal fue "la paradoja de la aceptación y el rechazo" con tres categorías: (1) atracción percibida (subcategorías: aprendizaje con la emoción del entretenimiento, la atracción del entorno de aprendizaje multimedia y el entusiasmo por el aprendizaje electrónico); (2) facilidad percibida (subcategorías: acceso fácil a la información en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar y uso fácil y sin esfuerzo); y (3) conflicto percibido (subcategorías: patrones de comportamiento contradictorios de los docentes, contradicción sobre el valor de la información en línea, patrones de comportamiento contradictorios de los amigos y brecha digital entre generaciones en la familia). Las tres categorías encontradas en el estudio colocaron a los estudiantes en un dilema de usar o no el aprendizaje móvil. Tenían dudas sobre la aceptación de la tecnología móvil como una herramienta educativa legítima. Tener en cuenta estos factores y gestionarlos puede allanar el camino para el aprendizaje móvil en los estudiantes

The educational effects of mobile learning on students of medical sciences: A systematic review in experimental studies

Introduction: The demand for mobile learning in the medical sciences educational program is increasing. The present review study gathers evidence highlighted by the experimental studies on the educational effects of mobile learning for medical sciences students. Methods: The study was carried out as a systematic literature search published from 2007 to July 2017 in the databases PubMed/ Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Web of Knowledge (Thomson Reuters), Educational Resources and Information Center (ERIC), EMBASE (Elsevier), Cochrane library, PsycINFO and Google Scholar. To examine quality of the articles, a tool validated by the BEME Review was employed. Results: Totally, 21 papers entered the study. Three main themes emerged from the content of papers: (1) improvement in student clinical competency and confidence, (2) acquisition and enhancing of students’ theoretical knowledge, and (3) students’ positive attitudes to and perception of mobile learning. Level 2B of Kirkpatrick hierarchy had been examined by all the papers and seven of them had reported two or more outcome levels, but level 4 was not reported in the papers. Conclusion: Our review showed that the students of medical sciences had positive response and attitudes to mobile learning. Moreover, implementation of mobile learning in medical sciences program might lead to valuable educational benefits and improve clinical competence and confidence along with theoretical knowledge, attitudes, and perception of mobile learning. The results indicated that mobile learning strategy in medical education can positively affect learning in all three domains of Bloom’s Taxonomy

A new design equation for prediction of ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundation on granular soils

A major concern in design of structures is to provide precise estimations of ultimate bearing capacity of soil beneath their foundations. Direct determination of the bearing capacity of foundations requires performing expensive and time consuming laboratory tests. To cope with this issue, several numerical models have been presented by researchers. This paper presents the development of a new design equation for the prediction of the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations on granular soils using linear genetic programming (LGP) methodology. The ultimate bearing capacity is formulated in terms of width of footing, footing geometry, depth of footing, unit weight of sand, and angle of shearing resistance. The LGP-based design equation is established using the results of several load tests on real sized foundations presented in the literature. Validity of the model is verified using a part of laboratory data that are not involved in the calibration process. The statistical measures of coefficient of determination, root mean squared error and mean absolute error are used to evaluate the performance of the model. Sensitivity and parametric analyses are conducted and discussed. The proposed model accurately characterizes the ultimate bearing capacity resulting in a very good prediction performance. The LGP model reaches a better prediction performance than the well-known prediction equations for the bearing capacity of shallow foundations

La Paradoja de la Aceptación y el Rechazo: La Percepción de los Estudiantes Profesionales de la Salud sobre la Aceptación del Aprendizaje Móvil en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Irán

Objective: A qualitative study was conducted to explore the perception of healthcare professional students about mobile learning acceptance. Method: The study was performed using a conventional content analysis method. The subjects were the students of medical sciences in Iran University of Medical Science. Sampling was based on a purposeful sampling method. Twenty-three students took part in semi-structured interviews until data saturation was reached. Results: The main theme was “the paradox of acceptance and rejection” with three categories; (1) perceived attraction (sub-categories: learning with the excitement of entertainment, the attraction of multimedia learning environment and enthusiasm for electronic learning); (2) perceived ease (sub-categories: easy access to information anytime and anywhere and easy and effortless use); and (3) perceived conflict (sub-categories: teachers’ contradictory behavioral patterns, contradiction about value of online information, friends’ contradictory behavioral patterns, and digital gap between generations in family). Conclusion: The three categories found in the study placed the students in a dilemma of using or not using mobile learning. They had doubts about accepting mobile technology as a legitimate educational tool. Taking these factors into account and managing them can pave the way for mobile learning in the students.Se realizó un estudio cualitativo para explorar la percepción de los estudiantes profesionales de la salud sobre la aceptación del aprendizaje móvil. El estudio se realizó utilizando un método de análisis de contenido convencional. Los sujetos fueron estudiantes de medicina en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Irán. El muestreo se basó en un método de muestreo útil. Veintitrés estudiantes participaron en entrevistas semiestructuradas hasta que se alcanzó la saturación de datos. El tema principal fue "la paradoja de la aceptación y el rechazo" con tres categorías: (1) atracción percibida (subcategorías: aprendizaje con la emoción del entretenimiento, la atracción del entorno de aprendizaje multimedia y el entusiasmo por el aprendizaje electrónico); (2) facilidad percibida (subcategorías: acceso fácil a la información en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar y uso fácil y sin esfuerzo); y (3) conflicto percibido (subcategorías: patrones de comportamiento contradictorios de los docentes, contradicción sobre el valor de la información en línea, patrones de comportamiento contradictorios de los amigos y brecha digital entre generaciones en la familia). Las tres categorías encontradas en el estudio colocaron a los estudiantes en un dilema de usar o no el aprendizaje móvil. Tenían dudas sobre la aceptación de la tecnología móvil como una herramienta educativa legítima. Tener en cuenta estos factores y gestionarlos puede allanar el camino para el aprendizaje móvil en los estudiantes

The paradox of acceptance and rejection: The perception of healthcare professional students about mobile learning acceptance in Iran University of Medical Sciences

Objective: A qualitative study was conducted to explore the perception of healthcare professional students about mobile learning acceptance. Method: The study was performed using a conventional content analysis method. The subjects were the students of medical sciences in Iran University of Medical Science. Sampling was based on a purposeful sampling method. Twenty-three students took part in semi-structured interviews until data saturation was reached. Results: The main theme was “the paradox of acceptance and rejection” with three categories; (1)perceived attraction (sub-categories: learning with the excitement of entertainment, the attraction of multimedia learning environment and enthusiasm for electronic learning); (2)perceived ease (sub-categories: easy access to information anytime and anywhere and easy and effortless use); and (3)perceived conflict (sub-categories: teachers’ contradictory behavioral patterns, contradiction about value of online information, friends’ contradictory behavioral patterns, and digital gap between generations in family). Conclusion: The three categories found in the study placed the students in a dilemma of using or not using mobile learning. They had doubts about accepting mobile technology as a legitimate educational tool. Taking these factors into account and managing them can pave the way for mobile learning in the students.Se realizó un estudio cualitativo para explorar la percepción de los estudiantes profesionales de la salud sobre la aceptación del aprendizaje móvil. El estudio se realizó utilizando un método de análisis de contenido convencional. Los sujetos fueronestudiantes de medicina en la Universidad de Ciencias Médicas de Irán. El muestreo se basó en un método de muestreo útil. Veintitrés estudiantes participaron en entrevistas semiestructuradas hasta que se alcanzó la saturación de datos. El tema principal fue "la paradoja de la aceptación y el rechazo" con tres categorías:(1) atracción percibida (subcategorías: aprendizaje con la emoción del entretenimiento, la atracción del entorno de aprendizaje multimedia y el entusiasmo por el aprendizaje electrónico); (2) facilidad percibida (subcategorías: acceso fácil a la información en cualquier momento y en cualquier lugar y uso fácil y sin esfuerzo); y (3) conflicto percibido (subcategorías: patrones de comportamiento contradictorios de los docentes, contradicciónsobre el valor de la información en línea, patrones de comportamiento contradictorios de los amigos y brecha digital entre generaciones en la familia). Las tres categorías encontradas en el estudio colocaron a los estudiantes en un dilema de usar o no el aprendizaje móvil. Tenían dudas sobre la aceptación de la tecnología móvil como una herramienta educativa legítima. Tener en cuenta estos factores y gestionarlos puede allanar el camino para el aprendizaje móvil en los estudiantes

Seismic Behavior of Earth Dams With Different Reservoir Water Levels Under Near-Field and Far-Field Earthquakes

The height of reservoir water is one of the important factors affecting the seismic behaviour of earth dams. A large number of earth dams have been constructed in different countries that are sometimes located in a high-risk geographical zone. The studies on the seismic behaviour of earth dams have been conducted for several decades. However, this study, considering the importance of the subject, it investigates the seismic behaviour of Sumbar rock-fill embankment dam under near- and far-field earthquakes with variation in the water level behind the dam. The ratio of water height of the dam to dam height is considered as an important indicator to investigate the seismic performance of these structures. The analyses were performed using the ABAQUS finite element platform, under 7 near-field and 7 far-field earthquake records. In this research, the changes in dam stresses, displacements, and failure of the dam have been discussed. The results indicated that the effect of near-field earthquakes on the seismic behaviour of earth dams is more significant than far-field earthquakes

Seismic Behavior of Earth Dams with Different Reservoir Water Levels Under Near-Field and Far-Field Earthquakes

The height of reservoir water is one of the important factors affecting the seismic behaviour of earth dams. A large number of earth dams have been constructed in different countries that are sometimes located in a high-risk geographical zone. The studies on the seismic behaviour of earth dams have been conducted for several decades. However, this study, considering the importance of the subject, it investigates the seismic behaviour of Sumbar rock-fill embankment dam under near- and far-field earthquakes with variation in the water level behind the dam. The ratio of water height of the dam to dam height is considered as an important indicator to investigate the seismic performance of these structures. The analyses were performed using the ABAQUS finite element platform, under 7 near-field and 7 far-field earthquake records. In this research, the changes in dam stresses, displacements, and failure of the dam have been discussed. The results indicated that the effect of near-field earthquakes on the seismic behaviour of earth dams is more significant than far-field earthquakes