The Highs and lows of students' experiences with ubiquitous connectivity: investigating connections between use of new technologies and well being.

Higher Education has seen a dramatic increase in the use of information and communication technologies in recent years. Universities around the world have built complex infrastructures implementing local networks, wireless networks, cloud services and virtual learning environments. The term “ubiquitous connectivity” identifies the increased time- and space-independent accessibility to people, information and services allowed by the development of technological infrastructures and devices. Evidence shows that Higher Education institutions tend to focus on the benefits of ubiquitous connectivity, while underestimating the actual impact that new technologies have on learners’ experiences and well-being. The main aim of this qualitative research was to address the gap in the literature by investigating highs and lows of students’ experiences with new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity concerning university-related activities; the study was thus able to identify how these technological advances affect students’ day-to-day social and psychological life and consequent well-being. The methodology adopted was constructivist grounded theory which enabled a theory to be built through the data collected. Eighty-eight students from a British University were involved in the research (72 on-campus and 16 online students), using a variety of methods including: a qualitative survey, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Also, data were collected from 16 on-campus and online academic and professional support staff members from the same university using semi-structured interviews. The data analysis suggests that new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity can help students to experience a sense of ease, freedom, engagement, and security in their daily activities. These four elements were identified as positively connected to students’ well-being and linked to the satisfaction of their psychological needs. However, students’ well-being seems negatively affected by their struggles in coping with the ubiquitous availability of resources. Three main categories were identified in relation to students’ difficulties: managing information availability, managing communication and managing expectations regarding reliability of technology, quality of materials and quality of support. The results of the grounded theory process are discussed in the light of the literature in this field, and are compared to existing well-being and need theories. The original contribution to knowledge of this research is twofold. A methodological contribution was provided by using constructivist grounded theory as an inductive approach to investigate students’ well-being in technology-mediated learning environments. A theoretical contribution was offered by using the results to generate a model of students’ well-being in relation to the use of new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity

The Highs and Lows of Ubiquitous Connectivity: Investigating University Students' Experiences and Connections with Well-being

Higher Education has seen a dramatic increase in the use of information and communication technologies in recent years. Universities around the world have built complex Information System infrastructures implementing local networks, wireless networks, cloud services and Virtual Learning Environments (VLE). These technological changes have stretched and expanded the boundaries of traditional campus universities in space and time allowing easy and ubiquitous access to people, information and services. The term “ubiquitous connectivity” identifies this enhanced accessibility to resources due to the development of infrastructures and devices. This qualitative research adopted a holistic approach to investigate how new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity affect university students’ experiences and consequent well-being. Data were collected from on-campus students and staff members (lecturers, learning technologists, tech support, programme administrators) using a qualitative survey, semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The data were analysed using constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz 2006) and situational analysis (Clarke 2005). The data analysis shows that new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity appear to play a positive role in enhancing students’ well-being by providing them: 1. A sense of ease and freedom in managing their daily learning duties 2. A sense of connectedness with other students and lecturers 3. A sense of reassurance by knowing that peer and lecturer support is always at hand 4. A sense of improved workflow by using mobile devices to retrieve information and to take notes anytime and anywhere during the day 5. Flexibility in managing everyday life and in balancing study, work and leisure. However, in some cases new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity seem to have a negative impact on learners’ well-being. The data analysis shows that students can experience: 1. High levels of stress when technology failures occur or when online information is not accessible due to the lack of alternatives in performing their learning duties 2. Difficulties in managing information overload and the constant flux of information arriving to their devices 3. Stress and irritation when dealing with complicate website layouts and disorganised online materials 4. Lack of motivation in attending lectures due to the ease with which materials and information can be retrieved from the VLE and from peers using social apps and networks. 5. Difficulties in developing relationships with lecturers and peers due to the lack of face-to-face communication. These findings can be utilised to provide pedagogical suggestions to university stakeholders to avoid a negative impact of new technologies and ubiquitous connectivity on learners’ well-being and to improve the quality of students’ experiences

Ubiquitous Connectivity and Students’ Well-being: a Situational Analysis in a UK University

Recent research underlined as ubiquitous connectivity has changed the nature of traditional campus universities by creating technology-mediated environments where physical and virtual domains integrate and overlap. The aim of this research is to investigate how ubiquitous connectivity is impacting on university students’ daily lives and consequent wellbeing. On-campus undergraduate and postgraduate university students and staff members from the same department were involved using a qualitative survey, semi-structured interviews and a variation of the Experience Sampling Method. The data analysis followed two different steps: firstly, a socio-constructivist framework was adopted to highlight how students’ experiences with ubiquitous connectivity are socially and discursively constructed. Secondly, the results were discussed in the light of the two main well-being approaches existing in literature: hedonic and eudaimonic. The results show that the hedonic perspective seems to be prominent among students. Ubiquitous connectivity is mainly appreciated for its capability to make university day-to-day experiences easier to manage. Moreover, stress avoidance or relief seems to be one of the main goals that learners seek to obtain through ubiquitous connectivity. However, technologies also play an active role in disrupting learners’ well-being by increasing their level of stress due to difficulties in accessing resources, info overload or unorganised online materials

Synergistic activity of new diclofenac and essential oils combinations against different candida spp

According to recent studies, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have shown a good antimicrobial and antifungal activity. Their association with essential oils (EOs) could be useful for the treatment of infections caused by Candida spp. The aim of this studyis to evaluate the synergistic antifungal activity of new combinations between Diclofenac Sodium Salt (DSS), a widely used NSAID, with EOs of Mentha × piperita, Pelargonium graveolens and Melaleuca alternifolia. The in-vitro antifungal activity was determined on different Candida strains. The determination of the chemical composition of EOs was carried out by gaschromatography-massspectrometry (GC-MS). Susceptibility testing of planktonic cells was performed by using the broth microdilution assay and checkerboard methods. Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of DSS was in a range from 1.02 to 2.05 µg/mL reaching a MIC value of 0.05 µg/mL when combined with Pelargonium graveolens (FICI = 0.23–0.35) or Menthapiperita (FICI = 0.22–0.30) EOs. These preliminary results show thatthe combination of the EOs with DSS improves the antifungal activity on all the tested Candida strains

Plasma bile acid profile in patients with and without Type 2 Diabetes

A paucity of information currently exists on plasma bile acid (BA) profiles in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We assayed 14 plasma BA species in 224 patients with T2DM and in 102 nondiabetic individuals with metabolic syndrome. Plasma BA levels were measured with ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) technique. Multivariable linear regression analyses were undertaken to assess associations between measured plasma BA species and T2DM status after adjustment for confounding factors. The presence of T2DM was significantly associated with higher plasma concentrations of both primary BAs (adjusted-standardized beta coefficient: 0.279, p = 0.005) and secondary BAs (standardized beta coefficient: 0.508, p < 0.001) after adjustment for age, sex, adiposity measures, serum alanine aminotransferase and use of statins or metformin. More specifically, the presence of T2DM was significantly associated with higher levels of plasma taurochenodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, glycochenodeoxycholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, glycolithocholic acid, deoxycholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholic acid, taurodeoxycholic acid, glycochenodeoxycholic acid and glycodeoxycholic acid (adjusted-standardized beta coefficients ranging from 0.315 to 0.600; p < 0.01 or less), as well as with lower plasma levels of cholic acid (adjusted-standardized beta coefficient: -0.250, p = 0.013) and taurocholic acid (adjusted-standardized beta coefficient: -0.309, p = 0.001). This study shows that there are marked differences in plasma BA profiles between patients with and without T2DM. Further research will be needed to better understand how these differences in plasma BA profiles may interplay with the pathophysiology of T2DM

Ubiquitous connectivity and students' well-being : a situational analysis in a UK universities

Recent research underlined as ubiquitous connectivity has changed the nature of traditional campus universities creating technology-mediated environments where physical and virtual domains integrate and overlap. The aim of the research is to investigate how ubiquitous connectivity is impacting on university students’ daily lives and consequent wellbeing. On-campus undergraduate and postgraduate university students and staff members from the same department were involved using a qualitative survey, semi-structured interviews and a variation of the Experience Sampling Method. The data analysis followed two different steps: firstly, a socio-constructivist framework was adopted to highlight how students’ experiences with ubiquitous connectivity are socially and discursively constructed. Secondly, the results were discussed in the light of the two main well-being approaches existing in literature: hedonic and eudaimonic. The results show as the hedonic perspective seems to be prominent among students. Ubiquitous connectivity is mainly appreciated for its capability to make university day-to-day experiences easier to manage. Moreover, stress avoidance or relief seem to be one of the main goals that learners seek to obtain through ubiquitous connectivity. However, technologies also play an active role in disrupting learners’ well-being by increasing their level of stress due to difficulties in accessing resources, info overload or unorganised online materials

Prevalence of Subclinical Hypothyroidism in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

Background and objectives: Subclinical primary hypothyroidism is highly prevalent in the general population, especially in the elderly. However, the prevalence of subclinical primary hypothyroidism in persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) not requiring chronic dialysis is not well defined