Palaeoclimate Change

Level 3 (BSc) module with lectures and practical

Do your patients trust you? A sociological understanding of the implications of patient mistrust in healthcare professionals

The trust that patients invest in healthcare professionals and their advice has been shown to facilitate positive clinical outcomes, although there is evidence that patient trust in expertise, including healthcare professionals, has been declining over the years. Questions about whether or not to trust healthcare professionals have been raised recently in international media by Australian pop icon Kylie Minogue, who spoke of her alleged initial misdiagnosis with breast cancer and went on to tell women that they should ‘follow their intuition’ rather than placing unquestioning trust in doctors or medical advice. Given the power of the media in shaping public opinion, there is a potential for such stories to further impact on the already potentially friable doctor-patient relationships, with questions of trust taking centre-stage. Therefore, an understanding of the nature of trust, in addition to the reasons for the decline in patient trust, is exceedingly important for health professionals. This paper presents an overview of social theories of trust that provide a lens through which we can analyse the development of mistrust in healthcare, and identifies ways in which healthcare professionals may aim to facilitate and sustain patient trust

Reworking the sociology of trust: making a semantic distinction between trust and dependence

Trust, as a sociological construct, has become increasingly important in recent times but an agreed definition is yet to be found. A potentially useful way of ‘defining’ trust is by distinguishing it from other semantically similar concepts. Niklas Luhmann has provided semantic distinctions between trust and familiarity, and trust and confidence. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of a further semantic distinction between trust and dependence. This distinction allows us to further define trust and also to investigate the difference between ‘trust’ and ‘dependence’

Urban Sixth Graders Reason about Combinatorics Problems

poster abstract15 sixth grade students at three different developmental levels solved combinatorics problems as a basis for reasoning about multi-digit multiplication. Each student was interviewed three times. The first interview was an un-recorded selection interview, which was used to identify the student’s developmental level. The second and third interviews were video recorded, and involved students in solving combinatorics problems. The results from the study include: (1) models of how students at different developmental levels solved the combinatorics problems; and (2) a framework for integrating research on mathematical cognition and urban education

Student satisfaction with online academic skills session during the pandemic

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the University of Northampton changed its usual mode of delivery from face-to-face to online. This may have involved less adjustment than in other institutions as, pre-pandemic, the university already made use of active blended learning using its virtual learning environment. To capture the student voice concerning satisfaction with this change of mode, professional service teams surveyed students attending embedded academic skills and information literacy workshops. The number of students completing the survey was 385 and overall, students were satisfied with online learning. Nearly two-thirds of respondents listed specific advantages and challenges of online learning. The most frequently mentioned advantage was convenience: being at home; the greater ease of combining study with work or home life; and reduced traveling saving both time and money. Other advantages were the improved quality and functionality of the online sessions, and positive motivational/affective factors. The most common challenge was issues with technology. Other challenges were negative motivational/affective factors, with students reporting lack of concentration and that the sessions were impersonal. A significant challenge was a perceived lack of communication between both students and lecturers, and students and their peers. Age was found to be a salient factor with students over the age of 30 markedly more positive about online learning than their younger peers. Concerns for practitioners in moving to online learning would be around ensuring students have access to the appropriate technology and finding ways to improve communication online. However, with appropriate planning, future provision may benefit from the advantages that online learning affords

Immunomodulatory roles of polysaccharide capsules in the intestine

The interplay between the immune system and the microbiota in the human intestine dictates states of health vs. disease. Polysaccharide capsules are critical elements of bacteria that protect bacteria against environmental and host factors, including the host immune system. This review summarizes the mechanisms by which polysaccharide capsules from commensal and pathogenic bacteria in the gut microbiota modulate the innate and adaptive immune systems in the intestine. A deeper understanding of the roles of polysaccharide capsules in microbiota-immune interactions will provide a basis to harness their therapeutic potential to advance human health

Dichterbij de dagelijkse praktijk? Evaluatieonderzoek naar het inzetten van mystery guest als instrument van toezicht in de ouderenzorg

Het afgelopen jaar is door de Inspectie voor de Gezondheidszorg (IGZ) ervaring opgedaan met het inzetten van mystery guests in de intramurale ouderenzorg. Om inzicht te krijgen in de ervaringen met het inzetten van mystery guests als methode van toezicht en in de kwaliteit en bruikbaarheid van de informatie die deze methode oplevert, is in het voorjaar en de zomer van 2012 een inventariserend onderzoek uitgevoerd door het instituut Beleid en Management Gezondheidszorg (iBMG) van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam. Tijdens het onderzoek is gebruik gemaakt van verschillende kwalitatieve onderzoeksmethoden, te weten literatuurstudie, documentenanalyse, webstudie en interviews. In dit rapport bespreken we eerst de context waarin het project zich afspeelt. Specifiek bespreken wij drie factoren die ertoe hebben geleid dat de mystery guests relatief snel zijn ingevoerd als methode van toezicht in de ouderenzorg: (1) de bestuurlijke en maatschappelijke discussie over toezicht op de ouderenzorg, (2) de oproep vanuit de politiek op de IGZ om strenger toezicht uit te voeren en (3) een flexibele definitie van mystery guests. Vervolgens geven we een overzicht van ervaringen met het inzetten van mystery guests (en verwante methoden) als instrument van toezicht in andere toezichtsectoren en elders in de gezondheidszorg. Een belangrijke vraag die hierbij naar voren komt is waar de grens ligt tussen effectief toezicht en “uitlokking”. Dit probleem heeft de IGZ in de praktijk grotendeels kunnen omzeilen door een onafhankelijk bureau in te huren en deze de ruimte te geven de mystery guest bezoeken zelf in te richten

Genomic signatures of host-associated divergence and adaptation in a coral-eating snail, Coralliophila violacea (Kiener, 1836).

The fluid nature of the ocean, combined with planktonic dispersal of marine larvae, lowers physical barriers to gene flow. However, divergence can still occur despite gene flow if strong selection acts on populations occupying different ecological niches. Here, we examined the population genomics of an ectoparasitic snail, Coralliophila violacea (Kiener 1836), that specializes on Porites corals in the Indo-Pacific. Previous genetic analyses revealed two sympatric lineages associated with different coral hosts. In this study, we examined the mechanisms promoting and maintaining the snails' adaptation to their coral hosts. Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from type II restriction site-associated DNA (2b-RAD) sequencing revealed two differentiated clusters of C. violacea that were largely concordant with coral host, consistent with previous genetic results. However, the presence of some admixed genotypes indicates gene flow from one lineage to the other. Combined, these results suggest that differentiation between host-associated lineages of C. violacea is occurring in the face of ongoing gene flow, requiring strong selection. Indeed, 2.7% of all SNP loci were outlier loci (73/2,718), indicative of divergence with gene flow, driven by adaptation of each C. violacea lineage to their specific coral hosts