Relevance and rationalisation in the Wason selection task

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Playing the game: undergraduate student nurses' perceptions of reflective journals

Reflective journals are one of the most popular strategies for promoting reflective practice in nurse education. Whilst evaluations have been conducted, there remains a lack of substantive research about their value and appropriate usage. In this study the grounded theory approach was adopted in order to explore undergraduate student nurses' perceptions of reflective journals. A combination of data collection methods including participant observation, interviews and journal documents were used to locate the process and actions involved in documenting clinical practice. Using the analytic procedures of grounded theory, a core category named playing the game was identified. In order to manage conflicts experienced in clinical practice, students engage in two distinct stages ofjournal writing. These are using a personal diary as a means of selfexpression, expressing yourself and a further stage that involves producing the work for assessment, writing the right thing. The interplay between these two stages allows the students to develop valuable insight and engage in developing a broader perspective in order to make sense of their social world. The study suggests it is important to position the role and value ofjournal writing in nurse education with clarity of purpose and recognition of its limitations. The study supports the use of a staged approach to journal writing, which encourages students to keep two separate documents: a personal diary and a professional journal. The use of reflective journals provides a medium for dialogue of and with nursing practice that involves the description, interpretation and evaluation of role performance of self and where appropriate other practitioners in the care process. The implications of these findings both in terms of nurse education and continuing professional development are discussed

Robust functional principal components: A projection-pursuit approach

In many situations, data are recorded over a period of time and may be regarded as realizations of a stochastic process. In this paper, robust estimators for the principal components are considered by adapting the projection pursuit approach to the functional data setting. Our approach combines robust projection-pursuit with different smoothing methods. Consistency of the estimators are shown under mild assumptions. The performance of the classical and robust procedures are compared in a simulation study under different contamination schemes.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/11-AOS923 the Annals of Statistics (http://www.imstat.org/aos/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Conversations about food allergy risk with restaurant staff when eating out: A customer perspective

A significant proportion of food-induced allergic reactions occur whilst dining outside the home, often due to failures in communication. This study aimed to examine the nature of conversations about risk that customers with food allergies have with restaurant staff when eating out. A secondary analysis of qualitative data, generated through interviewing 39 consumers with severe food allergies across three primary studies, was conducted. Thematic analysis was used to process the data. Conversations with staff about risk were commonly initiated under circumstances of uncertainty, unfamiliarity and lack of knowledge and information. Re-establishing a ‘contract of care’ with familiar food venues and perceived shortcomings in early interactions with staff were further drivers of initiating risk conversations. Two major constraints to risk conversations were identified: being seen as ‘fussy’ or as a ‘nuisance’. To avoid them being perceived as ‘fussy’ by asking questions about food, consumers framed their conversations with staff in terms of risk, revealing their allergy and its possible impact on health to validate their enquiries. Paradoxically, declaring the allergy and seeking staff acknowledgment of the severity of the condition could make participants feel that they were perceived by staff as a nuisance. These dilemmas sometimes limited conversations and constrained customers' risk management. Experiencing trustworthy interactions with staff was not only contingent on evidence of their knowledge about the food contents and understanding of food allergies but was also based on manifestations of genuine customer care. When managing a food allergy outside the home, establishing risk and safety are products of, and are embedded within, relations and interactions with others. Risk conversations seek to establish trustworthy interactions as the basis on which safety can be maximised and risks – both health and social – minimised

FROM COOPERATION TO COMPETITION: HOW MICROBES AND INVERTEBRATES INTERACT IN A TROPICAL FOREST

Microbes and invertebrates are “the little things that run the world” (Wilson 1987, Moreau 2017), but the intricacies of how these organisms impact our environment remains underexplored. Here I investigate how microbes and invertebrates interact and how these interactions scale-up to impact communities and ecosystem-level processes. This work focuses on tropical brown food webs because they are dominated by a diversity of microbe-invertebrate relationships that span from obligate symbioses to fierce competition. Initially, I examine the symbiotic relationship between a dominant canopy ant, Azteca trigona, and their microbiota. Here I describe the diversity of microbial communities associated with these ants and demonstrate the role of invertebrate activity in microbial dispersal (Ch. 1). Furthermore, the microbial community within these canopy ants provides the basis for a facultative relationship between ants and their host plants, as the ant endosymbionts increase plant growth and facilitate nutrient exchange (Ch. 2). I then transition to explore how competition between microbes and invertebrates can shape the local community in the ephemeral environment of tropical leaf litter (Ch. 3). I demonstrate that antibiotic production by microbes—long considered a potent mechanism of competition between microbes—can also be effective against invertebrates. This cross-domain competition likely contributes to the diversity of detrital food webs (Ch. 4). Combined, the results of these studies demonstrate how invertebrate-microbe interactions drive ecosystem structure and function

The Adoption of Ultrasound Technology for Pregnancy Determination by New Mexico Cow-Calf Producers

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the diffusion process and the rate of adoption of bovine ultrasound pregnancy determination by New Mexico cattle producers. The researcher from Texas A&M University and Caren Cowan from the New Mexico Cattle Producers Association collaborated on this work. Conclusions were drawn to provide suggestions on increasing the diffusion of ultrasound technology in New Mexico. Data were collected from a sample of 99 producers in the state. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages of nominal data and means and standard deviations of intervally-scaled variables were employed to describe the sample of producers and their levels of familiarity and use of ultrasound technology. The following were among the findings. Of the producers surveyed, most are using rectal palpation as their primary means of pregnancy determination. A small percentage of producers have adopted ultrasound and are using ultrasound alone, while another small percentage are using ultrasound in combination with other technologies to determine pregnancy in their herd. The diffusion process for ultrasound has begun and for some, it has been adopted. A plurality of producers are aware of the technology and know that it exists, with only a small percentage stating that they did not have any knowledge of the technology’s existence. Most producers were not aware of other producers who use ultrasound but would consider using ultrasound themselves. Producers learned about ultrasound from a veterinarian or their friends with only a very small percentage learning about the technology from an extension agent/extension specialist. Producers stated that they are not in contact with an extension agent/extension specialist about their cattle operation. The producers identified that their primary barrier to the adoption of ultrasound is the cost of the veterinarian/technician to perform the procedure. Recommendations were made based on these findings for use by the New Mexico Cooperative Extension Service and the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association seeking to effect change by the diffusion of new innovations

Pathways to antibiotics in Bangladesh: a qualitative study investigating how and when households access medicine including antibiotics for humans or animals when they are ill

Background To understand how to reduce antibiotic use, greater knowledge is needed about the complexities of access in countries with loose regulation or enforcement. This study aimed to explore how households in Bangladesh were accessing antimicrobials for themselves and their domestic animals. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 48 households in one urban and one rural area. Households were purposively sampled from two lower income strata, prioritising those with under 5-year olds, older adults, household animals and minority groups. Households where someone was currently ill with a suspected infection (13 households) were invited for a follow-up interview. Framework analysis was used to explore access to healthcare and medicines. Findings People accessed medicines for themselves through five pathways: drugs shops, private clinics, government/charitable hospitals, community/family planning clinics, and specialised/private hospitals. Drug shops provided direct access to medicines for common, less serious and acute illnesses. For persistent or serious illnesses, the healthcare pathway may include contacts with several of these settings, but often relied on medicines provided by drug shops. In the 13 households with an unwell family member, most received at least one course of antibiotics for this illness. Multiple and incomplete dosing were common even when prescribed by a qualified doctor. Antibiotics were identified by their high cost compared to other medicines. Cost was a reported barrier to purchasing full courses of antibiotics. Few households in the urban area kept household animals. In this rural area, government animal health workers provided most care for large household animals (cows), but drug shops were also important. Conclusions In Bangladesh, unregulated drug shops provide an essential route to medicines including those prescribed in the formal sector. Wherever licensed suppliers are scarce and expensive, regulations which prohibit this supply risk removing access entirely for many people