The effectiveness of digital technologies in Higher Education lectures

[Extract] There is increased pressure on University Lecturers to incorporate audio/visual digital technologies (e.g. podcasts) into their teaching. The existing small, but growing body of published research in is predominantly focused on: -Studies of perceived value -Usage of the technology -Podcasts as supplementary teaching materia

Transforming the practitioners: an exploration of the application of Threshold Concepts to a multidisciplinary professional development Masters course in Christian Leadership

[Extract] This case study details the impact of the application of a Threshold Concept approach (Cousins, 2010; Myers & Land, 2006) on the experience and performance of Practitioner-Students on a professional development Masters Program (The Masters in Christian Leadership in Education (MACLE)) offered by Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick in 2010-2011). The students were professional educators and mostly Principals in second level education in Ireland

The effectiveness of MediaSite in higher education social psychology lectures

There is increased pressure on University Lecturers to incorporate audio/visual digital technologies (e.g. podcasts) into their teaching. The existing small, but growing body of published research in Higher Education is predominantly focussed on studies of perceived value, usage of the technology, and podcasts as supplementary teaching material (McGarr (2009); Baker (2008); Lazarus (2008)). The motivation for the current research was to evaluate the academic effectiveness of digitised lecture delivery in both Real Time (Live Streaming) and Delayed Time (Podcasts). Academic Effectiveness was operationally defined as the performance on tests designed to explore the degree of academic comprehension/retention of lecture material. The participants were first year Social Psychology students (n=157), randomly assigned to one of three conditions of lecture delivery. The three methods of delivery were live lecture (n=65), screened lecture in lecture theatre (n=69), and lecture delivered to individual work stations (n=23). The lecture was of 30 minutes duration, the topic chosen was unlikely to be familiar to the students and deemed to be conceptually difficult. Academic performance was tested using an MCQ test with both factual (3) and conceptual questions (2) administered following the lecture delivery. Student experience of the lecture was extracted from a Learning Experience Feedback Questionnaire (LEFQ). A Kruskal Wallis test indicated significant differences in academic performance across the three delivery methods (x2(2, N=157) =22.14, p<.001). Examination of the descriptive statistics suggested that those students at the screened lecture had poorer results on the MCQ test than those in the other lecture delivery conditions. The results of the study indicate that type of delivery can impact greatly on academic effectiveness. Factors to be controlled and/or manipulated in future studies include one/two way interaction with students, duration of digitised instruction, and repeat exposure

Cancer Cachexia: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications

Cachexia is a multifactorial process of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue atrophy resulting in progressive weight loss. It is associated with poor quality of life, poor physical function, and poor prognosis in cancer patients. It involves multiple pathways: procachectic and proinflammatory signals from tumour cells, systemic inflammation in the host, and widespread metabolic changes (increased resting energy expenditure and alterations in metabolism of protein, fat, and carbohydrate). Whether it is primarily driven by the tumour or as a result of the host response to the tumour has yet to be fully elucidated. Cachexia is compounded by anorexia and the relationship between these two entities has not been clarified fully. Inconsistencies in the definition of cachexia have limited the epidemiological characterisation of the condition and there has been slow progress in identifying therapeutic agents and trialling them in the clinical setting. Understanding the complex interplay of tumour and host factors will uncover new therapeutic targets

Impact of musculoskeletal degradation on cancer outcomes and strategies for management in clinical practice

The prevalence of malnutrition in patients with cancer is one of the highest of all patient groups. Weight loss (WL) is a frequent manifestation of malnutrition in cancer and several large-scale studies have reported that involuntary WL affects 50–80% of patients with cancer, with the degree of WL dependent on tumour site, type and stage of disease. The study of body composition in oncology using computed tomography has unearthed the importance of both low muscle mass (sarcopenia) and low muscle attenuation as important prognostic indications of unfavourable outcomes including poorer tolerance to chemotherapy; significant deterioration in performance status and quality of life (QoL), poorer post-operative outcomes and shortened survival. While often hidden by excess fat and high BMI, muscle abnormalities are highly prevalent in patients with cancer (ranging from 10 to 90%). Early screening to identify individuals with sarcopenia and decreased muscle quality would allow for earlier multimodal interventions to attenuate adverse body compositional changes. Multimodal therapies (combining nutritional counselling, exercise and anti-inflammatory drugs) are currently the focus of randomised trials to examine if this approach can provide a sufficient stimulus to prevent or slow the cascade of tissue wasting and if this then impacts on outcomes in a positive manner. This review will focus on the aetiology of musculoskeletal degradation in cancer; the impact of sarcopenia on chemotherapy tolerance, post-operative complications, QoL and survival; and outline current strategies for attenuation of muscle loss in clinical practice

Expressive and receptive language skills in preschool children from a socially disadvantaged area

Purpose: Evidence suggests that children present with receptive language skills that are equivalent to or more advanced than expressive language skills. This profile holds true for typical and delayed language development. This study aimed to determine if such a profile existed for preschool children from an area of social deprivation and to investigate if particular language skills influence any differences found between expressive and receptive skills. Method: Data from 187 CELF P2 UK assessments conducted on preschool children from two socially disadvantaged areas in a city in southern Ireland. Result: A significant difference was found between Receptive Language Index (RLI) and Expressive Language Index (ELI) scores with Receptive scores found to be lower than Expressive scores. The majority (78.6%) of participants had a lower Receptive Language than Expressive score (RLI ELI), with very few (3.2%) having the same Receptive and Expressive scores (RLI = ELI). Scores for the Concepts and Following Directions (receptive) sub-test were significantly lower than for the other receptive sub tests, while scores for the Expressive Vocabulary sub-test were significantly higher than for the other expressive sub tests. Conclusion: The finding of more advanced expressive than receptive language skills in socially deprived preschool children is previously unreported and clinically relevant for speech-language pathologists in identifying the needs of this population