MiRTLE (Mixed-Reality Teaching and Learning Environment): from prototype to production and implementation

This position paper focuses on our efforts to implement and evaluate a Mixed Reality Teaching and Learning Environment (MiRTLE) in higher education institutions and other organisations, our current technical research to streamline and improve the utility of the system, and potential pedagogical developments for MiRTLE in the future

Compassion in Practice – evaluating the awareness, involvement and perceived impact of a national nursing and midwifery strategy amongst health care professionals in NHS Trusts in England

Aim: To report the findings from an evaluation of the impact of the Compassion in Practice Vision & Strategy (CiPVS) (National Health Service England (NHSE), 2012) on nursing, midwifery and care staff. Background: The CiPVS was a programme of work to highlight the importance of compassionate care following the Francis Report in 2013 into the deficits in care in an NHS hospital trust. It was launched by NHS England in 2012 at a time when fiscal cuts were introduced by the Department of Health in England. Design and setting: Mixed methods. Results: Inferential statistics were used to test whether there were significant differences between staff at different levels of seniority with regard to awareness and involvement in CiPVS and their attitudes to it. Awareness and involvement of staff in CiPVS was high amongst middle and senior management but limited at ward level. Staff were not involved in CiPVS due to a lack of awareness. Ward level staff who were aware and involved perceived a lack of support and communication from senior leadership to deliver CiPVS. Discussion: Results reveal professional anger, distress and resistance to CiPVS and a view of the programme as a top down initiative which did not sufficiently recognise structural constraints on nurses’ ability to deliver compassionate care. We discuss the implications of our findings for global nursing. Conclusion: Participants emphasised that compassion for patients is only sustainable where there is compassion for staff and many participants felt that they were not being treated with compassion. Relevance for practice: NHSE should strongly affirm that nurses and midwives in general provide compassionate care. Trust leadership should provide support for ward level staff who deliver compassionate care in difficult circumstances

The extent, variability, and attitudes towards volunteering among undergraduate nursing students: implications for pedagogy in nurse education

In the aftermath of the Francis Report nurses are being called to account for an apparent lack of care and compassion, leading to debate around pedagogy in nurse education. Absent from this debate is a consideration of student volunteering within undergraduate nursing programmes and its potential to promote student nurses self-esteem and to enhance the development of critical thinking skills. The aim of this study was therefore to understand the extent of and attitudes towards volunteering among nursing students. A mixed methods approach using a specifically developed questionnaire, followed by in-depth interviews to ascertain extent, variability, and attitudes towards volunteering revealed low levels of volunteering among nursing students. Limited time, limited access, and lack of academic support were cited as reasons. Nevertheless, students displayed positive attitudes towards volunteering. While volunteering has been shown to impact upon students abilities to think critically, to develop personal values and respond to the needs of others, volunteering within the UK undergraduate nursing programme considered is neither structured nor formalized. Nurse educators should pay attention to the positive benefits of volunteering for nursing students and consider ways in which volunteering might be incorporated into the curriculum

The implementation of problem based learning styles to teach the Coach-Athlete relationship to undergraduate Sport and Exercise Science students

This study explored problem based learning (PBL) styles and it’s suitability to improve the learning experience of level 6 (third year) Sport and Exercise Science undergraduate university students compared to a traditional style of lecturing when teaching the Coach-Athlete relationship. Sixty-four (Mage years=23.47, SD=3.44) students attended a lecture on the topic of the Coach-Athlete relationship. A PBL task was implemented using images of a coach showing a hostile approach and another image of a coach using a friendly approach. These images were used to initiate discussions about the potential problems the scenarios could elicit. At the end of the session student’s completed a questionnaire regarding their thoughts about the session’s ability to aid learning and whether they felt it was preferred over a traditional style of lecturing as well as their enjoyment of the session. Eighty one percent (n=52) of participants found the task helpful to aid learning, 66% (n=42) of participants indicated that using this style of lecture could aid learning more than a traditional approach and 73% (n=47) of participants enjoyed the task. It may be useful to use PBL styles in lecture sessions to engage students within the topic area of the Coach-Athlete relationship. PBL could also be used to help develop transferable skills for those students who want to pursue a career in coaching

Exploring factors having an impact on attitudes and motivations towards volunteering in the undergraduate nursing student population − a comparative study of the UK and Ghana

Volunteering in the undergraduate nursing student population is impacted by the curriculum. • Structured volunteering can positively impact uptake of student volunteering. • Nursing students in Ghana and the UK report barriers to volunteering. • Economic conditions in a country impact uptake of volunteering

Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial on Weight Loss Maintenance

Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 643309. The material presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the author(s) only. The European Commission takes no responsibility for any use made of the information set out.Background: The use of digital interventions can be accurately monitored via log files. However, monitoring engagement with intervention goals or enactment of the actual behaviors targeted by the intervention is more difficult and is usually evaluated based on pre-post measurements in a controlled trial. Objective: The objective of this paper is to evaluate if engaging with 2 digital intervention modules focusing on (1) physical activity goals and action plans and (2) coping with barriers has immediate effects on the actual physical activity behavior. Methods: The NoHoW Toolkit (TK), a digital intervention developed to support long-term weight loss maintenance, was evaluated in a 2 x 2 factorial randomized controlled trial. The TK contained various modules based on behavioral self-regulation and motivation theories, as well as contextual emotion regulation approaches, and involved continuous tracking of weight and physical activity through connected commercial devices (Fitbit Aria and Charge 2). Of the 4 trial arms, 2 had access to 2 modules directly targeting physical activity: a module for goal setting and action planning (Goal) and a module for identifying barriers and coping planning (Barriers). Module visits and completion were determined based on TK log files and time spent in the module web page. Seven physical activity metrics (steps; activity; energy expenditure; fairly active, very active and total active minutes; and distance) were compared before and after visiting and completing the modules to examine whether the modules had immediate or sustained effects on physical activity. Immediate effect was determined based on 7-day windows before and after the visit, and sustained effects were evaluated for 1 to 8 weeks after module completion. Results: Out of the 811 participants, 498 (61.4%) visited the Goal module and 406 (50.1%) visited the Barriers module. The Barriers module had an immediate effect on very active and total active minutes (very active minutes: before median 24.2, IQR 10.4-43.0 vs after median 24.9, IQR 10.0-46.3; P=.047; total active minutes: before median 45.1, IQR 22.9-74.9 vs after median 46.9, IQR 22.4-78.4; P=.03). The differences were larger when only completed Barriers modules were considered. The Barriers module completion was also associated with sustained effects in fairly active and total active minutes for most of the 8 weeks following module completion and for 3 weeks in very active minutes. Conclusions: The Barriers module had small, significant, immediate, and sustained effects on active minutes measured by a wrist-worn activity tracker. Future interventions should pay attention to assessing barriers and planning coping mechanisms to overcome them. Trial Registration: ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN88405328; https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN88405328publishersversionpublishe

The data-driven pilot and the risk of personal sensitivity to a negative outcome

The past decade has seen a gradual mistrust of the human-centric decision-making approaches with both researchers and practitioners advocating an increased use of data-driven decision making to lower decision-making risk. This is seen as vital in the aviation field with one of the greatest risks to passenger safety being errors in pilot decision making. Although the introduction of information systems has attempted to lower the risk of fatal crashes, human decision-making is still required. This article seeks to understand if a pilot will oscillate between human-centric decision-making approaches and information system based decision-making approaches. A case study approach was iteratively built to investigate this phenomenon. From this case study, the emergent theme of an individual?s personal sensitivity to a negative outcome is presented and discussed. The implications of these themes for information systems and the associated risks in the aviation field are then presented