Patterns of ‘balancing between hope and despair’ in the diagnostic phase: a grounded theory study of patients on a gastroenterology ward

Aim: The aim of the study was to learn how patients going through the diagnostic phase experienced and handled their situation. Background: Many studies report about the stressful diagnostic phase; however, none has presented a conceptual theory where the concepts are sufficiently related to each other. The Theory of Preparative Waiting has previously been published as a descriptive grounded theory and describes the experience of a group of gastroenterology patients going through the diagnostic phase. Method: A classical grounded theory design was used, with data derived from 18 in-depth interviews with 15 patients in a gastroenterology ward at a Norwegian University Hospital. Interviews were conducted during 2002–2003. Findings: Participants’ main concern was found to be how they could prepare themselves for the concluding interview and life after diagnosis. The theoretical code of ‘balancing’ had four patterns; controlling pain, rational awaiting, denial, and accepting. These patterns of ‘balancing’ guided how participants used the categories of ‘Preparative Waiting Theory’ ‘seeking and giving information’, ‘interpreting clues’, ‘handling existential threats’ and ‘seeking respite’. Patterns were strategies, so one person could use more than one pattern. Conclusion: The diagnostic phase was a difficult time for the participants and the ‘Preparative Waiting Theory’ can assist nurses in assessing how patients prepare themselves differently for getting a diagnosis. All patients would find it helpful to be followed up by a designated contact person at the ward; however, patients using mostly the patterns of controlling pain and denial would benefit most from such support

Learning from multimedia and hypermedia

Computer-based multimedia and hypermedia resources (e.g., the world wide web) have become one of the primary sources of academic information for a majority of pupils and students. In line with this expansion in the field of education, the scientific study of learning from multimedia and hypermedia has become a very active field of research. In this chapter we provide a short overview with regard to research on learning with multimedia and hypermedia. In two review sections, we describe the educational benefits of multiple representations and of learner control, as these are the two defining characteristics of hypermedia. In a third review section we describe recent scientific trends in the field of multimedia/hypermedia learning. In all three review sections we will point to relevant European work on multimedia/hypermedia carried out within the last 5 years, and often carried out within the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence. According to the interdisciplinary nature of the field this work might come not only from psychology, but also from technology or pedagogy. Comparing the different research activities on multimedia and hypermedia that have dominated the international scientific discourse in the last decade reveals some important differences. Most important, a gap seems to exist between researchers mainly interested in a “serious” educational use of multimedia/ hypermedia and researchers mainly interested in “serious” experimental research on learning with multimedia/hypermedia. Recent discussions about the pros and cons of “design-based research” or “use-inspired basic research” can be seen as a direct consequence of an increasing awareness of the tensions within these two different cultures of research on education

Marine Aerosol Records of Arctic Sea-Ice and Polynya Variability From New Ellesmere and Devon Island Firn Cores, Nunavut, Canada

Sea ice plays a critical role in the Earth’s climate system, including influencing ocean heat uptake, reflecting solar radiation, and contributing to dense water formation. Instrumental records of polar sea ice extent are only available since 1979, however. The short length of such records also limits our knowledge of polynya variability, which can reflect large-scale atmospheric and climate changes. Ice core proxy records can extend these observations, but require further development and regional validation. We compare chloride and methanesulfonic acid concentrations from two new firn cores from the Canadian Arctic with satellite-derived observations of regional sea-ice concentration and polynya variability from 2002 to 2014. The sub-annual resolution of these cores allows for detailed investigation of how regional sea-ice concentration is recorded in the ice at Prince of Wales Icefield (POW), Ellesmere Island and Devon Ice Cap (DIC), Devon Island, Nunavut. Over the period 2002–2014 we find that the primary sources of marine aerosols to POW are polynyas within Arctic Canada and the Canada basin of the Arctic Ocean, whereas the primary sources of marine aerosols to DIC are a broader region of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Baffin Bay, and the Arctic Ocean. Marine aerosol sources to the two core sites are distinct, reflecting different moisture source regions and, likely, differing transport pathways. Air mass back trajectory results support the satellite-derived results. Glaciochemical records from this dynamic, warming region may provide a proxy for reconstructing North Water polynya and other regional polynya and shore-lead variability prior to the satellite era. © 2021. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.6 month embargo; first published: 21 August 2021This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]