Self-efficacy In Academic Reading And Writing, Authorial Identity And Learning Strategies In First-Year Students

Increasingly evidence indicates that students' engagement with academic writing and their wider approaches to study are influenced by their beliefs about themselves as writers. To provide effective support for academic writing, an understanding of these beliefs, particularly in the first year, is essential. This study sought to examine beliefs about writing held by first year students in a department of Nursing, midwifery & Health Studies, the relationships between these beliefs and their associations with learning strategies. First- year students were surveyed at 3 points over the first-year. They completed measures of academic reading and writing self-efficacy, authorial identity, learning strategies and the extent to which they saw themselves as novice writers. Findings revealed that, typically, our students had fairly positive beliefs about their writing, although there was considerable variability. Beliefs were associated with student characteristics: mature students and Nursing & Midwifery students reported higher levels of writing self-efficacy,. First-generation students were also significantly more likely to see themselves as novice writers. There were strong positive correlations between all the measures of writing beliefs and in particular between reading and writing self-efficacies. Beliefs about writing were positively associated with deep learning, and, to a lesser extent strategic learning. Only a minority of students could be compared at different points in the year. Where this was possible the beliefs were stable with the exception that positioning as a novice writer showed a significant increase. The implications are discussed

Promoting student engagement with academic literacy feedback: an institute wide initiative

The transition to higher education, while often exciting, is demanding for many students. Successful transition necessitates learning the conventions of scholarly conversation, including how to read and create work in an academic context. Knowledge of academic literacy practices is an important part of this process but these discourses and practices are often unfamiliar to students and this has implications for the development of academic identities. In this article, we report on an institution-wide initiative between librarians, lecturers and learning developers, designed to raise awareness of the role of feedback in developing academic literacies. While the rate of participation was low this initiative offered a space outside the formal curriculum and assessment processes to engage with students about feedback. The associated publicity raised the profile of feedback internally and offered valuable opportunities to open conversations about feedback with students and staff. The evolution of the initiative is discussed

Finding your Academic Voice: A Students Guide to the Art of Academic Writing

The ability to write in an academic style that is appropriate to the discipline is one of the most important skills that a student develops over the course of his or her studies. Academic writing can be a challenging endeavour and it is important to remember that it is a process that takes time, effort and feedback to master

Decision support tools in adult long-term care facilities : a scoping review

BACKGROUND: Digital innovations are yet to make real impacts in the care home sector despite the considerable potential of digital health approaches to help with continued staff shortages and to improve quality of care. To understand the current landscape of digital innovation in long-term care facilities such as nursing and care homes, it is important to find out which clinical decision support tools are currently used in long-term care facilities, what their purpose is, how they were developed, and what types of data they use. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review was to analyze studies that evaluated clinical decision support tools in long-term care facilities based on the purpose and intended users of the tools, the evidence base used to develop the tools, how the tools are used and their effectiveness, and the types of data the tools use to contribute to the existing scientific evidence to inform a roadmap for digital innovation, specifically for clinical decision support tools, in long-term care facilities. METHODS: A review of the literature published between January 1, 2010, and July 21, 2021, was conducted, using key search terms in 3 scientific journal databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and the British Nursing Index. Only studies evaluating clinical decision support tools in long-term care facilities were included in the review. RESULTS: In total, 17 papers were included in the final review. The clinical decision support tools described in these papers were evaluated for medication management, pressure ulcer prevention, dementia management, falls prevention, hospitalization, malnutrition prevention, urinary tract infection, and COVID-19 infection. In general, the included studies show that decision support tools can show improvements in delivery of care and in health outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Although the studies demonstrate the potential of positive impact of clinical decision support tools, there is variability in results, in part because of the diversity of types of decision support tools, users, and contexts as well as limited validation of the tools in use and in part because of the lack of clarity in defining the whole intervention

'I think that it's a pain in the ass that I have to stand outside in the cold and have a cigarette': representations of smoking and experiences of disapproval in UK and Greek smokers

Smokers in Greece and the UK are habitually exposed to different levels of social disapproval. This qualitative study explored the accounts of smoking and disapproval offered by 32 UK and Greek smokers. Accounts were framed with reference to a highly moralized construction of smoking. Participants were sensitive to social disapproval of their smoking. While disapproval from those close to them was accepted, disapproval from the general public was not. Two discursive repertories 'smoking works for me now' and 'the struggle to quit' were identified as resources that participants drew upon to enable continued smoking while acknowledging the health issues. While there were many similarities in the accounts provided, there were important differences that seem to reflect the different 'smoking worlds' inhabited. Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution

'I think that it's a pain in the ass that I have to stand outside in the cold and have a cigarette': representations of smoking and experiences of disapproval in UK and Greek smokers

Smokers in Greece and the UK are habitually exposed to different levels of social disapproval. This qualitative study explored the accounts of smoking and disapproval offered by 32 UK and Greek smokers. Accounts were framed with reference to a highly moralized construction of smoking. Participants were sensitive to social disapproval of their smoking. While disapproval from those close to them was accepted, disapproval from the general public was not. Two discursive repertories 'smoking works for me now' and 'the struggle to quit' were identified as resources that participants drew upon to enable continued smoking while acknowledging the health issues. While there were many similarities in the accounts provided, there were important differences that seem to reflect the different 'smoking worlds' inhabited. Copyright 2006 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution