Developing students' information and research skills via Blackboard

This paper summarizes work undertaken at De Montfort University (Leicester, UK) to develop students’ information and research skills using the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment. It outlines how a traditionally delivered and assessed program was reviewed and revised in order to produce a blended learning experience for students. The librarians involved undertook this project with students from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences during March/April 2005, teaching two groups in parallel--one group using Blackboard and another using the traditional teaching method. Both groups were given a diagnostic evaluation to gauge their confidence levels with both information skills and using Blackboard, and to obtain their perceptions of their experiences. Both groups underwent a formal summative assessment with one group using Blackboard and the control group having a paper-based assignment. The Blackboard sessions were very popular with students and this method of teaching has subsequently been extended to other modules within the university. Students appeared to be more motivated and appreciated the constant availability of the learning materials. This project was the first example within the university of students undertaking a formal online assessment using Blackboard, and the librarians received a Curriculum Development and Innovation Award. The work was subsequently disseminated within the university, where it was well receive

Best practices in reading instruction

This paper is a review of literature pertaining to the best practices in reading instruction. There are many methods and approaches to the teaching of reading not only in the curriculum, but in the instructional procedures as well. This paper studies the changes that have occurred in reading curricula, as well as in the methods of instruction. Thirdly, this paper provides the reader with statistics that provide a factual basis for the support of the many instructional approaches. Finally, this paper will give the reader a conclusion that provides recommendations as to how to teach reading using the best practices in reading instruction

Marketing to Youth in the Digital Age: The Promotion of Unhealthy Products and Health Promoting Behaviours on Social Media

The near-ubiquitous use of social media among adolescents and young adults creates opportunities for both corporate brands and health promotion agencies to target and engage with young audiences in unprecedented ways. Traditional media is known to have both a positive and negative influence on youth health behaviours, but the impact of social media is less well understood. This paper first summarises current evidence around adolescents’ exposure to the pro-motion and marketing of unhealthy products such as energy dense and nutrient poor food and beverages, alcohol, and tobacco on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. We explore emerging evidence about the extent of exposure to marketing of these harmful products through social media platforms and potential impacts of exposure on adolescent health. Secondly, we present examples of health-promoting social media campaigns aimed at youth, with the purpose of describing innovative campaigns and highlighting lessons learned for creating effective social media interventions. Finally, we suggest implications for policy and practice, and identify knowledge gaps and opportunities for future research

Soirée consacrée à la santé mentale : Une initiative menée par les pairs

Implication Statement: We describe a peer-led mental health (MH) workshop that was held at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine (Niagara Regional Campus) in collaboration with Student Affairs. Workshop aims included facilitating discussions among peers and engaging in case-based learning about MH experiences in medical school. Post-workshop, attendees reported increased comfort in talking to classmates about personal MH, recognizing MH crises, and asking for help from peers. We believe that engaging medical learners in MH discussions early on in medical education is critical, and that peer-led workshops may aid in decreasing future MH difficulties and burnout. Due to the low-cost of holding peer-led workshops, this event could be easily replicated at other training sites.Énoncé des implications de la recherche: Nous décrivons un atelier sur la santé mentale dirigé par des pairs qui s’est tenu à l’école de médecine Michael G. DeGroote (Campus régional de Niagara) en collaboration avec le service des affaires étudiantes. Les objectifs de l’atelier étaient de faciliter les discussions entre pairs et de d’encourager l’engagement dans une expérience d’apprentissage par discussion de cas utilisant l’apprentissage expérientiel en santé mentale durant le cours de médecine. À l’issue de l’atelier, les participants ont déclaré se sentir plus à l’aise pour parler de leur santé mentale avec leurs pairs, reconnaître les crises de santé mentale et demander l’aide de leurs pairs. On croit qu’il est essentiel que les étudiants en médecine prennent part aux discussions sur la santé mentale dès le début du programme d’études en médecine et que les ateliers dirigés par des pairs peuvent contribuer à réduire leurs potentiels problèmes de santé mentale et d’épuisement. En raison du faible coût des ateliers dirigés par des pairs, cet événement pourrait facilement être reproduit dans d’autres sites de formation

Nevada Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Study 2022

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) metrics enable organizations to set concrete goals and self-monitor their performance. In 2021, Nevada’s legislature passed Senate Bill No. 267 (SB267), authorizing the University Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to study DEI benchmarks in the State. The study is designed to produce actionable results capable of informing policy and employer best practices in Nevada. This study was piloted in 2021, with study participation taking place between January 3-April 30, 2022. The questions in the study were crafted based on DEI public policy considerations as well as metrics for gauging the scope of offerings available to women in Nevada’s workforce. As Nevada’s economy continues to diversify, it is important that Nevada companies have the ability to attract and retain diverse talent. As women continue to become disproportionately impacted by the economic consequences of the pandemic,i it is critical that in addition to equal pay for equal work, employers offer benefits that improve quality of life outside of work and set women up for success. Competent, educated, and qualified women exist in the current workforce. Despite having the necessary experience, many of these women are not identified for hiring, and are systematically overlooked for promotion. The Nevada Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Study (Workforce Study) aims to measure how women experience the Nevada workforce environment, identify employer best practices, celebrate what employers are getting right, and use the study data to make recommendations. In order to provide context for how women transition through their careers, the study considered the different hierarchical levels within a business or organization. It is particularly useful to see the vertical progression into managerial and executive roles. Our study data support other studies’ findings that suggest there is a “broken rung” for advancement into managerial positions.ii Unsurprisingly, there are bottlenecks and barriers specific to women’s career trajectories that become apparent. Now that the initial study is complete, there are benchmark data from which to measure changes, a framework upon which we can build sound public policy initiatives and mechanisms for identifying employer best practices. We also now possess the tools for educating companies and reinforcing the value of diversity contributions in the workplace. With this snapshot of female progress through the corporate pipeline, predictive and initiative-taking measures become possible. One way these data translate into tangible results is through identifying desirable skill sets that can expand their career opportunities. That knowledge empowers companies to collaborate with talent and emerging leaders to create pathways for determining attractive skills sets, measure skills gain, and recognize the benefits of obtaining career enhancing certifications. The purpose for collecting this data was twofold: 1) To commend employers for their achievements in DEI and thereby inspire others to do the same, and 2) To establish means for determining and developing workforce best practices

Filtering germs: Groupoids associated to inverse semigroups

We investigate various groupoids associated to an arbitrary inverse semigroup with zero. We show that the groupoid of filters with respect to the natural partial order is isomorphic to the groupoid of germs arising from the standard action of the inverse semigroup on the space of idempotent filters. We also investigate the restriction of this isomorphism to the groupoid of tight filters and to the groupoid of ultrafilters.Comment: 9 pages. This version matches the version in Expositiones Mathematica

Lessons from Two States with Extension Programs for Managing Stress

Recognizing the need for education that addresses social emotional and mental health issues faced by adults, Extension developed two different types of programs. Michigan State University (MSU) Extension developed the RELAX: Alternatives to Anger program (RELAX) to address anger management, and West Virginia University (WVU) Extension created Stress Less with Mindfulness (SLM) to build stress management skills among adults. At a national conference, the two states independently shared their programs’ objectives and delivery implementation and then later cross-trained each other’s Extension team. The research reported here shares the designs of both stress-reduction health programs and the results of a combined two-state SLM evaluation with 1,304 participants. The benefits of SLM included skill learning and practice. Recommendations for practice include state Extension services sharing curricula resources, training teams from each other’s states, and jointly implementing evaluation protocols. Extension professionals looking for established programs that help people gain skills to promote emotional health and stress-reduction may consider implementing one of these community-based programs in their states

Weaving a clinical academic career: illuminating the method and pattern to follow

The benefits of developing occupational therapists as clinical academics are well recognised. They include improved healthcare outcomes and experiences for service users, efficiencies for organisations and increased prominence of occupational therapy within healthcare. Yet occupational therapists describe uncertainty about how best to navigate clinical academic career pathways. We suggest that occupational therapists can increase their research aspirations, confidence and capacity by following a four-step method, weaving together clinical, academic and personal development. We outline our view of clinical academic development as a process with flexibility to incorporate occupational therapists’ diversity of interests and circumstances. By demystifying and illuminating the process of clinical academic development, we believe that occupational therapists may be able to weave more clinical academic development opportunities into their careers and increase the profession’s research capacity