Assess Compassion in Higher Education? Why and How would we do that?

This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in LINK, following peer review. http://www.herts.ac.uk/link/volume-2,-issue-1/assess-compassion-in-higher-education-how-and-why-would-we-do-thatAbstract: This article reports the effects (on students' social and learning experiences) of supporting students in the use of explicitly compassionate interactional strategies during their weekly seminar interactions. Also reported is the impact of this practice on individual performances in critical thinking in seminars. Methods: Findings of a cross disciplinary search on compassion were used to design a compassion focussed pedagogy (a CfP) for the university seminar. This pedagogy was then trialled, through action research, in two departments in a UK HEI. N=97 Humanities under and post graduate students and n=60 Business undergraduates participated in subject seminars that were run using the CfP. Template analysis was used to identify themes in the qualitative data sets: field notes of observed behaviours in seminars run with and without the CfP, films of assessed CfP seminars (n=48 students), and interviews and focus groups (n=33 students). In a final participating business module of ethnically diverse students, statistical analysis explored the effects of the CfP on individual critical thinking performances (n=38). Findings: Overall, students were attitudinally inclined to increase efforts over time to enhance their own and others' social and learning experiences in seminars through compassionate behavioural interventions during discussions; they achieved, or failed to achieve this, in observable ways that were seen and agreed to be appropriate to assess as credit bearing towards their under and post graduate degrees by five out of five external examiners. Students found eye contact – inclusive, excluding or avoidant – was critical to mediating the spread of participation in their seminars. Findings also suggested, tentatively, the potential of the CfP to substantially change the national attainment gap in terms of critical thinking in seminars.Final Published versio

Using the Psychological Concept of Compassion to Inform Pedagogic Strategies for Higher Education Seminars

This study used the university discussion-based seminar with the aim of exploring and improving students’ experiences of face-to-face group work in Higher Education. The purpose was to devise a pedagogic strategy to address the communicative barriers that extant research and literature suggests often arise between ethnically and/or internationally different student groups in universities. A critical examination of literature relevant to co-operative behaviours in groups was undertaken across disciplines. The result was the assembly and development of a theoretical basis for designing a pedagogy that attends explicitly to compassion in HE teaching, learning and assessment. Compassion is relevant to co-operative behaviours. It is recognised across disciplines and it is valued across cultures. It is defined as the noticing of distress or disadvantaging of others, and then taking action to reduce this. The compassion-focussed pedagogy was then applied in discussion-based seminars across different subjects in a UK university. The study adopted an action research approach, which was divided into two cycles. Cycle 1 was conducted amongst mainly white, local students in a Humanities department where (n=105) students were observed in their seminars, some of whom (n=14) participated in one-to-one interviews or focus groups. Cycle 2 was conducted amongst more diverse cohorts of students in the same HEI's Business department where (n=135) students were observed, some of whom (n=20) participated in one-to-one interviews or focus groups. In total (n=9) seminar tutors were observed and interviewed. Five sampling methods and seven data collection tools were combined to support the use of Template Analysis for comparative, thematic data analysis. Overall, most students made use of the compassion-focused pedagogy, adapting and developing it in seminar discussions to benefit the learning and social experiences of themselves and others. Data from three students helped explore why the pedagogy might not be suitable for all students. There was evidence of a positive impact on seminar academic outcomes in terms of assessment for critical thinking skills, particularly for BME students, although this result is offered cautiously and requires further research. The main indications from the study are that explicit work with the concept of compassion, including overt formal assessment of its use, can be unintrusive on subject material (a tutor concern), ethically appropriate, and beneficial to enhancing social and learning interconnectivity between students. Traditional/ standard categorisations of students as local or international in origin are also found to be extremely problematic and profoundly unhelpful in understanding and unlocking communicative barriers between students

Student Choice: Blends of Technology beyond the University to support social interaction and social participation in learning.

M. Doolan and Gilbert, T., 'Student Choice: Blends of Technology beyond the University to support social interaction and social participation in learning' , Chapter in E-Learning, E-Education, and Online Training, Third International Conference, eLEOT 2016, Dublin, Ireland, August 31 – September 2, 2016, Revised Selected Papers Publisher: Springer International Publishing, the final publication is available at Springer via doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49625-2_12 Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49624-5 Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-49625-2 © ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering 2017This paper presents an overview of a blended collaborative learning design driven by assessment and feedback. To extend class based activities students were provided with a private group space on the university managed learning environment. They chose to supplement this using technologies beyond those provided by the University to support their social interactions and participate in their learning. Qualitative data analysis of student’s reflections provides insights into the students own blends of technology including Skype, What’s App, Facebook amongst others and accessed via their hand held mobile devices such as Smartphones and laptops. These were used by the students to connect and collaborate with their peer group to complete the set tasks throughout the module and the final group based assessment.Final Accepted Versio

Compassion on University Degree Programmes at a UK University: The Neuroscience of Effective Group work

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/ licences/by/4.0/legalcodePurpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the neuroscience that underpins the psychology of compassion as a competency. We explain why this cognitive competency is now taught and assessed on modules of different degree subjects in a UK university. Design/methodology/approach The paper is divided into first, an exploration of recent psychology and neuroscience literature that illuminates the differences, and relationship, between empathy and compassion for safeness building in teams. Within that, the role of oxytocin in achieving social and intellectual rewards though the exercise of cognitive flexibility, working memory and impulsive inhibitory control (Zelazo, et al, 2016) is also identified. The literature findings are compared against relevant qualitative data from the above university’s, so far, nine years of mixed methods action research on compassion-focused pedagogy (CfP). Findings These are that the concept and practice of embedding compassion as a cognitive competency into assessed university group work is illuminated and rationalised by research findings in neuroscience. Research limitations/implications The limitations of the study are that, so far, fMRI research methods have not been used to investigate student subjects involved in the compassion-focused pedagogy now in use. Practical implications The paper has implications for theory, policy and practice in relation to managing the increasing amount of group work that accompanies widening participation in Higher Education. Originality/value A review of this kind specifically for student assessed group and its implications for student academic achievement and mental health has not, apparently, been publishedPeer reviewe

How UK HE STEM Students Were Motivated to Switch Their Cameras on: A Study of the Development of Compassionate Communications in Task-focused Online Group Meetings

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)HE’s pandemic-driven shift to online platforms has increased social and learning disconnection amongst students. In online group work/teamwork, many are reluctant to switch on their cameras to be more present to others. Compassion in group work/teamwork is defined as noticing, not normalizing, one’s own and/or others’ distress or disadvantaging and taking wise action to prevent or reduce this. This notion of compassion is being assessed in the HE sector using filmed task-focused in-class group work meetings to identify levels of both inclusivity and criticality around the team. This study investigates the use and outcomes of using the compassionate communications strategies (that were developed in and for the offline classroom) in online team meetings. In this mixed-methods study, two groups of four international STEM students, each from a sample of five UK universities, were video-recorded in task-focused group work meetings (TGMs) before and after an online interactive 90-min training session (‘the intervention’) on the Cognitive Skills of Compassionate Communications (CSCC) in teams. A comparison of the (pre and post CSCC intervention) quantitative and qualitative data results indicated, post-intervention, a significant increase in students’ screen gaze attentiveness to each other, and reasons why students’ motivation to switch on their cameras had changed.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Findings of Fahr’s Syndrome in A Patient Suspected With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: An Evidence-Based Case Report

ABSTRACT Fahr’s syndrome is an entity where there is symmetrical bilateral calcification of basal ganglia with parkinsonian and psychiatric symptoms. However, due to its rarity, clinicians tend not to include Fahr’s syndrome in their differential diagnosis. This article aims to raise awareness about the diagnosis of Fahr’s Syndrome through its unique presentation in this patient. Data was obtained primarily and secondarily. In this case, a 32 years old male was referred to our clinic with chief complaints of headache since a week prior and a seizure 5 days ago. A head CT and a CT angiography (CTA) of the circulus willisi were done and a bilateral and symmetrical calcification of the corona radiata, basal ganglia, thalamus, and nucleus dentatus were found. There is also hypocalcemia and low Parathyroid Hormone (PTH). Fahr’s Syndrome may manifest unusually and hence clinicians have to be aware of diagnosing this entity. Keywords: Fahr’s Disease, Fahr’s Syndrome   ABSTRAK Sindroma Fahr’s merupakan sebuah penyakit yang ditandai dengan kalsifikasi bilateral sietris dari basal ganglia dengan gejala psikatri dan parkinsonisme. Namun, akibat jarangnya ditemukan penyakit ini, klinisi cenderung tidak memikirkan sindroma Fahr’s sebagai salah satu diagnosis banding. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan kewaspadaan terhadap diagnosis Sindroma Fahr’s melalui presentasi unik pada pasien ini. Data diambil secara primer dan sekunder. Pada kasus ini, seorang laki-laki berusia 32 tahun dirujuk dengan keluhan utama sakit kepala sejak satu minggu dan kejang 5 hari sebelum masuk rumah sakit. Computed Tomography (CT) scan kepala dan Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) dari sirkulus willisi dilakukan dan ditemukan adanya kalsifikasi bilateral simetris pada korona radiata, basal ganglia, talamus dan nukleus dentatus. Pada pemeriksaan laboratorium ditemukan adanya hipokalsemia dan hormon paratiroid (PTH) yang rendah. Sindroma Fahr’s dapat datang dengan presentasi yang tidak khas sehingga para klinisi harus lebih tajam dalam mendiagnosis kasus ini. Kata kunci: Penyakit Fahr’s, Sindroma Fahr’

Serological evidence for non-lethal exposures of Mongolian wild birds to highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus.

Surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIV) in wild birds is logistically demanding due to the very low rates of virus detection. Serological approaches may be more cost effective as they require smaller sample sizes to identify exposed populations. We hypothesized that antigenic differences between classical Eurasian H5 subtype viruses (which have low pathogenicity in chickens) and H5N1 viruses of the Goose/Guangdong/96 H5 lineage (which are HPAIV) may be used to differentiate populations where HPAIVs have been circulating, from those where they have not. To test this we performed hemagglutination inhibition assays to compare the reactivity of serum samples from wild birds in Mongolia (where HPAIV has been circulating, n = 1,832) and Europe (where HPAIV has been rare or absent, n = 497) to a panel of reference viruses including classical Eurasian H5 (of low pathogenicity), and five HPAIV H5N1 antigens of the Asian lineage A/Goose/Guangdong/1/96. Antibody titres were detected against at least one of the test antigens for 182 Mongolian serum samples (total seroprevalence of 0.10, n = 1,832, 95% adjusted Wald confidence limits of 0.09-0.11) and 25 of the European sera tested (total seroprevalence of 0.05, n = 497, 95% adjusted Wald confidence limits of 0.03-0.07). A bias in antibody titres to HPAIV antigens was found in the Mongolian sample set (22/182) that was absent in the European sera (0/25). Although the interpretation of serological data from wild birds is complicated by the possibility of exposure to multiple strains, and variability in the timing of exposure, these findings suggest that a proportion of the Mongolian population had survived exposure to HPAIV, and that serological assays may enhance the targeting of traditional HPAIV surveillance toward populations where isolation of HPAIV is more likely.Funding for this work was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Health and Human Services under contracts HHSN266200700007C and HHSN266200700010C. Further support was provided through a doctoral training grant to MG by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/F016786/1).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLOS via http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1371/journal.pone.011356

Anthropogenic drivers for exceptionally large meander formation during the Late Holocene

Large-amplitude meanders may form in low-energy rivers despite generally limited mobility in theses systems. Exceptionally large meanders which even extend beyond the valley sides have developed in the Overijsselse Vecht river (the Netherlands) between ca. 1400 CE (Common Era) and the early 1900s, when channelization occurred. Previous studies have attributed the enhanced lateral dynamics of this river to changes in river regime due to increased discharges, reflecting climate and/or land-use alterations in the catchment. This paper focuses on local aspects that may explain why exceptionally large meanders developed at specific sites. Through an integrated analysis based on archaeological, historical, and geomorphological data along with optically stimulated luminescence dating, we investigated the relative impact of three direct and indirect anthropogenic causes for the local morphological change and enhanced lateral migration rates: (1) lack of strategies to manage fluvial erosion; (2) a strong increase in the number of farmsteads and related intensified local land use from the High Middle Ages onwards; and (3) (human-induced) drift-sand activity directly adjacent to the river bends, causing a change in bank stability. Combined, these factors led locally to meander amplitudes well beyond the valley sides. Lessons learned at this site are relevant for management and restoration of meandering rivers in similar settings elsewhere, particularly in meeting the need to estimate spatial demands of (restored) low-energy fluvial systems and manage bank erosion.</p

Intranasal Oxytocin Modulates Decision-Making Depending on Outcome Predictability-A Randomized Within-Subject Controlled Trial in Healthy Males.

Oxytocin (OT) has been extensively studied with regard to its socio-cognitive and -behavioral effects. Its potential as a therapeutic agent is being discussed for a range of neuropsychiatric conditions. However, there is limited evidence of its effects on non-social cognition in general and decision-making in particular, despite the importance of these functions in neuropsychiatry. Using a crossover/within-subject, blinded, randomized design, we investigated for the first time if intranasal OT (24 IU) affects decision-making differently depending on outcome predictability/ambiguity in healthy males. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Cambridge Risk Task (CRT) were used to assess decision-making under low outcome predictability/high ambiguity and under high outcome probability/low ambiguity, respectively. After administration of OT, subjects performed worse and exhibited riskier performance in the IGT (low outcome predictability/high ambiguity), whereas they made borderline-significant less risky decisions in the CRT (high outcome probability/low ambiguity) as compared to the control condition. Decision-making in healthy males may therefore be influenced by OT and adjusted as a function of contextual information, with implications for clinical trials investigating OT in neuropsychiatric conditions

Divergent effects of oxytocin on "mind-reading" in healthy males

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.3758/s13415-021-00936-3