Triple objective team mentoring: achieving learning objectives with chemical engineering students

A sophisticated style of mentoring has been found to be essential to support engineering student teams undertaking technically demanding, real-world problems as part of a Project-Centred Curriculum (PCC) at The University of Queensland. The term ‘triple-objective’ mentoring was coined to define mentoring that addresses not only the student’s technical goal achievement but also their time and team management. This is achieved through a number of formal mentor meetings that are informed by a confidential instrument which requires students to individually reflect on team processes prior to the meeting, and a checklist of technical requirements against which the interim student team progress and achievements are assessed. Triple-objective mentoring requires significant time input and coordination by the academic but has been shown to ensure effective student team work and learning undiminished by team dysfunction. Student feedback shows they value the process and agree that the tools developed to support the process are effective in developing and assessing team work and skills with average scores mostly above 3 on a four point scale

The impact of curriculum content in fostering inclusive engineering: data from a national evaluation of the use of EWB projects in first year engineering

The year of Humanitarian Engineering draws our attention to the need to develop engineers who are not just technically competent but who can effectively address the needs of communities, maintain their ethical responsibilities, and take sustainability into consideration. This is what we understand by inclusive engineering. One approach to introducing such considerations into the curriculum has been the widespread use of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) projects in development settings as first year learning opportunities. We are evaluating different uses of these projects in 13 universities around Australia and New Zealand using a program logic data gathering methodology and a critical realist analytic approach to answer the research question 'what works for whom under what circumstances?' In this paper we will concentrate mainly on one of these sites The University of Queensland. Data reveals that the EWB projects have great potential for raising issues of community involvement, ethics and sustainability but that the content of projects alone cannot guarantee that such objectives are addressed. Contextual factors, including: the focus of the course (e.g. professional development versus design), the attitudes of staff, and the pedagogy used all contribute to the successful pursuit of non-technical objectives. Projects with little obvious humanitarian or inclusive content such as one for long-wall supports in mining were found to foster context-sensitive approaches. In addition to project content, educators who are seeking to develop humanitarian and inclusive engineers need to pay attention to consistently expressed goals and values amongst the teaching team and the alignment of assessment (in style and weighting) with clearly stated learning goals

An analytic solution for capillary thinning and breakup of FENE-P fluids

The FENE-P model of a fluid is particularly suitable for describing the rheology of dilute polymer solutions (Newtonian solvents containing small amounts of dissolved polymer) as a result of its ability to capture nonlinear effects arising from the finite extensibility of the polymer chains. In extensional flows, these polymer solutions exhibit dramatically different behavior from the corresponding Newtonian solvents alone, notably through the creation of persistent filaments when stretched. By using the technique of capillary thinning to study the dynamics of the thinning process of these filaments, the transient extensional rheology of the fluid can be characterized. We show that under conditions of uniaxial elongational flow, a composite analytic solution can be developed to predict the time evolution of the radius of the filament. Furthermore we derive an analytic expression for the finite time to breakup of the fluid filaments. This breakup time agrees very well with results obtained from full numerical simulations, and both numerics and theory predict an increase in the time to breakup as the finite extensibility parameter b , related to the molecular weight of the polymer, is increased. As b→∞, the results converge to an asymptotic result for the breakup time which shows that the breakup time grows as t[subscript break]∼ln(M[subscriptW]), where M[subscriptW] is the molecular weight of the dilute polymer solution

Patient Experience Rounds (PER): Real-time feedback to improve the patient experience and quality of care

While patient feedback is critical to improving the patient experience and clinical care, we are currently limited in our ability to collect feedback in real-time from hospitalized patients. This paper describes our experience and outcomes implementing Patient Experience Rounds (PER). Our model uses trained former patients or family members as volunteers to collect feedback in real-time. Through this feedback, we were able to identify areas for improvement, make adjustments in the moment, and provide targeted feedback to providers. A total of 321 patient encounters were recorded by eight PER advisors. Nursing staff received the highest percentage of positive comments. 49% of patients offered a special mention to recognize a staff member. 33% of patients offered a comment in response to the question, “What is one thing that would improve your experience.” In 16% of encounters, the advisor identified an issue or concern that required near-term follow up. This work has the potential to improve the patient experience and may be beneficial to hospitals seeking novel methods for rapidly improving the patient experience. Experience Framework This article is associated with the Patient, Family & Community Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework) Access other PXJ articles related to this lens. Access other resources related to this lens

Software Sustainability: The Modern Tower of Babel

<p>The aim of this paper is to explore the emerging definitions of software sustainability from the field of software engineering in order to contribute to the question, what is software sustainability?</p

Perceptions of stalking: a comparison of the prior-relationship misconception and perceptions of threat for transgender and cisgender perpetrators

Stalking literature has identified prior-relationship and gender misconceptions that see stranger and male perpetrators perceived as more threatening than ex-partner or female perpetrators. These perceptions do not reflect the reality. The present study seeks to build on stalking misconception literature by comparing perceptions of transgender and cisgender perpetrators. This study utilised an experimental, mixed-level two-factor design, comprised of ‘Perpetrator Gender’ (Cisgender Male x Transgender Female x Transgender Male) and ‘Prior Relationship’ (Ex-partner x Stranger). 501 participants were presented with one of six vignettes, and responded to scale items concerning threat, risk of violence and the need for police intervention. Main effect analyses revealed significant differences in perceptions of threat between stranger and ex-partner perpetrators, and between cisgender and transgender perpetrators. No significant differences were found in perceptions of threat for transgender female and transgender male perpetrators. Interaction effects revealed that the prior-relationship misconception was not influenced by perpetrator gender identification. Forensic implications include specialised training of police, and the inclusion of stalking victims in domestic violence support services. Broader societal implications focus on the representations of stalking in the media. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed

STUDI KUANTITATIF: KESIAPSIAGAAN PERAWAT TERHADAP KEJADIAN KEBAKARAN PADA RUMAH SAKIT SWASTA X SEMARANG

Kesiapsiagaan adalah sebuah langkah yang bertujuan untuk mengurangi atau menghindari dampak dari suatu bencana terhadap adanya kerugian berupa harta benda hingga korban jiwa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara pengetahuan, sikap, dan sarana proteksi kebakaran dengan kesiapsiagaan perawat dalam menghadapi bencana kebakaran di Rumah Sakit Swasta X Semarang. Jenis penelitian ini adalah kuantitatif dengan studi cross sectional. Sampel penelitian ini berjumlah 60 perawat yang ditentukan dengan rumus cross sectional menggunakan metode simple random sampling. Metode analisis data yang digunakan adalah uji chi square. Hasil uji analisis penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa pengetahuan (p value=0,011), dan sikap (p value=0,025 ) memiliki hubungan dengan kesiapsiagaan perawat. Dari hasil penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa terdapat hubungan antara pengetahuan dan sikap dengan kesiapsiagaan perawat dalam menghadapi bencana kebakaran di Rumah Sakit Swasta X Semarang. Peneliti menyarankan kepada pihak rumah sakit supaya melengkapi sarana proteksi kebakaran pada seluruh gedung rumah sakit. Kata Kunci: Kesiapsiagaan, Perawat, Kebakara

Improving teaching with research: the role for theory-driven evaluation

For the last five years universities in Australia and New Zealand have experimented with the use of the Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Challenge in their first-year engineering courses. In evaluating the initiative we asked 'What works for whom under what circumstances?' Here we report specifically on the third phase of the project which examined three attempts to embed the findings of the evaluation in the next year's teaching: one concerned adjustments to assessment to improve alignment; another concerned the use of the EWB Challenge projects in a multidisciplinary subject outside of engineering; and the third set of changes revolved around attempts to make sure a large teaching team was implementing the projects in a consistent way. In all of these cases it emerged that maintaining communication and collaboration amongst stakeholders was critically important and practically difficult. We conclude that embedding the results of research may require as much time and attention as actually doing the research and reflect on how practical strategies may be developed

Hyperpolarized 13 C magnetic resonance spectroscopy detects toxin-induced neuroinflammation in mice.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a commonly used agent for induction of neuroinflammation in preclinical studies. Upon injection, LPS causes activation of microglia and astrocytes, whose metabolism alters to favor glycolysis. Assessing in vivo neuroinflammation and its modulation following therapy remains challenging, and new noninvasive methods allowing for longitudinal monitoring would be highly valuable. Hyperpolarized (HP) 13 C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a promising technique for assessing in vivo metabolism. In addition to applications in oncology, the most commonly used probe of [1-13 C] pyruvate has shown potential in assessing neuroinflammation-linked metabolism in mouse models of multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. Here, we aimed to investigate LPS-induced neuroinflammatory changes using HP [1-13 C] pyruvate and HP 13 C urea. 2D chemical shift imaging following simultaneous intravenous injection of HP [1-13 C] pyruvate and HP 13 C urea was performed at baseline (day 0) and at&nbsp;days 3 and 7 post-intracranial injection of LPS (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;6) or saline (n&nbsp;=&nbsp;5). Immunofluorescence (IF) analyses were performed for Iba1 (resting and activated microglia/macrophages), GFAP (resting and reactive astrocytes) and CD68 (activated microglia/macrophages). A significant increase in HP [1-13 C] lactate production was observed at days 3 and 7 following injection, in the injected (ipsilateral) side of the LPS-treated mouse brain, but not in either the contralateral side or saline-injected animals. HP 13 C lactate/pyruvate ratio, without and with normalization to urea, was also significantly increased in the ipsilateral LPS-injected brain at 7&nbsp;days compared with baseline. IF analyses showed a significant increase in CD68 and GFAP staining&nbsp;at 3&nbsp;days, followed by increased numbers of Iba1 and GFAP positive cells at 7&nbsp;days post-LPS injection. In conclusion, we can detect LPS-induced changes in the mouse brain using HP 13 C MRS, in alignment with increased numbers of microglia/macrophages and astrocytes. This study demonstrates that HP 13 C spectroscopy has substantial potential for providing noninvasive information on neuroinflammation