Immersive simulated reality scenarios for enhancing students' experience of people with learning disabilities across all fields of nurse education

Poor preparation of nurses, regarding learning disabilities can have devastating consequences. Highprofile reports and the Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements led this University to introduce Shareville into the undergraduate and postgraduate nursing curriculum. Shareville is a virtual environment developed at Birmingham City University, in which student nurses learn from realistic, problem-based scenarios featuring people with learning disabilities. Following the implementation of the resource an evaluation of both staff and student experience was undertaken. Students reported that problem-based scenarios were sufficiently real and immersive. Scenarios presented previously unanticipated considerations, offering new insights, and giving students the opportunity to practise decision-making in challenging scenarios before encountering them in practice. The interface and the quality of the graphics were criticised, but, this did not interfere with learning. Nine lecturers were interviewed, they generally felt positively towards the resource and identified strengths in terms of blended learning and collaborative teaching. The evaluation contributes to understandings of learning via simulated reality, and identifies process issues that will inform the development of further resources and their roll-out locally, and may guide other education providers in developing and implementing resources of this nature. There was signifi- cant parity between lecturers' expectations of students' experience of Shareville

CitySCaPE: Moving beyond indifference in education for pre-registration nurses about learning disability

People with learning disabilities and Autism continue to suffer from the delivery of ineffective and inadequate care from health services CitySCaPE (City Simulated Community and Practice Environment) is a multi media resource delivering a simulation of situations student nurses may encounter in relation to service users with learning disabilities. The resource is applicable to adult, mental health and children's nursing. It is delivered in a blended approach to students in the first part of their programme as part of their simulated practice. Following the implementation of the resource an evaluation of student experience was undertaken using a mixed methods approach. 146 responses were obtained to a questionnaire containing quantitative and qualitative data. The findings indicate that this is a pedagogy that suits a variety of learning styles, is deemed to be realistic and improves the understanding of nursing students about the care of people with learning disabilities in generic practice areas. It is anticipated that CitySCaPE can be used as a model for delivery of practice based learning in areas that are often challenging to teach and demonstrate using a service user and person centred approach

Social support as protective factor of the effects of part- time work on psychological health: a moderated mediation model

Purpose:The purpose of this study is to examine the protective effect of social support on psychological health and how it differs by gender in the context of part-time employment. Design/methodology/approach: The sample consisted of 22,786 employees from four service sector organisations. Structural equation modelling was used to test a moderated mediation model assessing the relationship between employment status (part-time vs full-time) and psychological health mediated by social support (from management and colleagues) and moderated by gender. Findings: Social support from management and colleagues was associated with fewer symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. Notably, management support had a stronger association than that of colleagues’ support on each of the three health-related variables. Social support was also found to be a mediator of part-time working on health such that lower social support led to increased health symptoms. Moreover, we found moderating gender effects between social support and psychological health such that colleague support had a stronger effect on reduced depression and stress among men than women whilst management support had a stronger effect on reduced anxiety for women. Finally, significant moderated mediating paths were found, but further research is needed to identify other potential moderators of the mediating effects. Originality/value: The findings suggest complex relationships between part-time employment, social support, psychological health and gender not examined in previous studies. It highlights the value of diverse sources of support and the necessity of addressing specific gender’s needs for enhancing psychological health of part-time employees

Performance of AAOmega: the AAT multi-purpose fibre-fed spectrograph

AAOmega is the new spectrograph for the 2dF fibre-positioning system on the Anglo-Australian Telescope. It is a bench-mounted, double-beamed design, using volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings and articulating cameras. It is fed by 392 fibres from either of the two 2dF field plates, or by the 512 fibre SPIRAL integral field unit (IFU) at Cassegrain focus. Wavelength coverage is 370 to 950nm and spectral resolution 1,000-8,000 in multi-Object mode, or 1,500-10,000 in IFU mode. Multi-object mode was commissioned in January 2006 and the IFU system will be commissioned in June 2006. The spectrograph is located off the telescope in a thermally isolated room and the 2dF fibres have been replaced by new 38m broadband fibres. Despite the increased fibre length, we have achieved a large increase in throughput by use of VPH gratings, more efficient coatings and new detectors - amounting to a factor of at least 2 in the red. The number of spectral resolution elements and the maximum resolution are both more than doubled, and the stability is an order of magnitude better. The spectrograph comprises: an f/3.15 Schmidt collimator, incorporating a dichroic beam-splitter; interchangeable VPH gratings; and articulating red and blue f/1.3 Schmidt cameras. Pupil size is 190mm, determined by the competing demands of cost, obstruction losses, and maximum resolution. A full suite of VPH gratings has been provided to cover resolutions 1,000 to 7,500, and up to 10,000 at particular wavelengths.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; presented at SPIE, Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 24 - 31 May 2006, Orlando, Florida US

The kidney failure risk equation predicts kidney failure: Validation in an Australian cohort

Aims: Predicting progression to kidney failure for patients with chronic kidney disease is essential for patient and clinicians' management decisions, patient prognosis, and service planning. The Tangri et al Kidney Failure Risk Equation (KFRE) was developed to predict the outcome of kidney failure. The KFRE has not been independently validated in an Australian Cohort. Methods: Using data linkage of the Tasmanian Chronic Kidney Disease study (CKD. TASlink) and the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry (ANZDATA), we externally validated the KFRE. We validated the 4, 6, and 8-variable KFRE at both 2 and 5 years. We assessed model fit (goodness of fit), discrimination (Harell's C statistic), and calibration (observed vs predicted survival). Results: There were 18 170 in the cohort with 12 861 participants with 2 years and 8182 with 5 years outcomes. Of these 2607 people died and 285 progressed to kidney replacement therapy. The KFRE has excellent discrimination with C statistics of 0.96–0.98 at 2 years and 0.95–0.96 at 5 years. The calibration was adequate with well-performing Brier scores (0.004–0.01 at 2 years, 0.01–0.03 at 5 years) however the calibration curves, whilst adequate, indicate that predicted outcomes are systematically worse than observed. Conclusion: This external validation study demonstrates the KFRE performs well in an Australian population and can be used by clinicians and service planners for individualised risk prediction.Georgina L. Irish, Laura Cuthbertson, Alex Kitsos, Tim Saunder, Philip A. Clayton, Matthew D. Jos

‘Bordering’ Life: denying the right to live before being born

This study pushes the boundaries of the border thinking discourse to examine grassroots perceptions of foeticide together with how women are valued in a society that is underpinned by preference for a male child. Using a bordering conceptual framework, the paper re-visits the female positionality within epistemic locations of culture and societal values in both colonial and the modern Indian context. Grounded in primary research in the state of Haryana that exhibits lowest female to male ratio at birth in the country, the analyses indicate rigid or at best sluggish movements in social norms as the key driver for India’s declining sex ratio. The border thinking discourse further enables to situate the different aspects of female positionality and gender perceptions in the society into the specific domains of the bordering conceptual framework. This offers a novel approach to engage with social norms that border life and opportunities for females in the society

Solution-processed, Self-organized Organic Single Crystal Arrays with Controlled Crystal Orientation

A facile solution process for the fabrication of organic single crystal semiconductor devices which meets the demand for low-cost and large-area fabrication of high performance electronic devices is demonstrated. In this paper, we develop a bottom-up method which enables direct formation of organic semiconductor single crystals at selected locations with desired orientations. Here oriented growth of one-dimensional organic crystals is achieved by using self-assembly of organic molecules as the driving force to align these crystals in patterned regions. Based upon the self-organized organic single crystals, we fabricate organic field effect transistor arrays which exhibit an average field-effect mobility of 1.1 cm2V−1s−1. This method can be carried out under ambient atmosphere at room temperature, thus particularly promising for production of future plastic electronics

Need for recovery amongst emergency physicians in the UK and Ireland: A cross-sectional survey

OBJECTIVES: To determine the need for recovery (NFR) among emergency physicians and to identify demographic and occupational characteristics associated with higher NFR scores. DESIGN: Cross-sectional electronic survey. SETTING: Emergency departments (EDs) (n=112) in the UK and Ireland. PARTICIPANTS: Emergency physicians, defined as any registered physician working principally within the ED, responding between June and July 2019. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: NFR Scale, an 11-item self-administered questionnaire that assesses how work demands affect intershift recovery. RESULTS: The median NFR Score for all 4247 eligible, consented participants with a valid NFR Score was 70.0 (95% CI: 65.5 to 74.5), with an IQR of 45.5-90.0. A linear regression model indicated statistically significant associations between gender, health conditions, type of ED, clinical grade, access to annual and study leave, and time spent working out-of-hours. Groups including male physicians, consultants, general practitioners (GPs) within the ED, those working in paediatric EDs and those with no long-term health condition or disability had a lower NFR Score. After adjusting for these characteristics, the NFR Score increased by 3.7 (95% CI: 0.3 to 7.1) and 6.43 (95% CI: 2.0 to 10.8) for those with difficulty accessing annual and study leave, respectively. Increased percentage of out-of-hours work increased NFR Score almost linearly: 26%-50% out-of-hours work=5.7 (95% CI: 3.1 to 8.4); 51%-75% out-of-hours work=10.3 (95% CI: 7.6 to 13.0); 76%-100% out-of-hours work=14.5 (95% CI: 11.0 to 17.9). CONCLUSION: Higher NFR scores were observed among emergency physicians than reported in any other profession or population to date. While out-of-hours working is unavoidable, the linear relationship observed suggests that any reduction may result in NFR improvement. Evidence-based strategies to improve well-being such as proportional out-of-hours working and improved access to annual and study leave should be carefully considered and implemented where feasible

The 2018 European heatwave led to stem dehydration but not to consistent growth reductions in forests

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Heatwaves exert disproportionately strong and sometimes irreversible impacts on forest ecosystems. These impacts remain poorly understood at the tree and species level and across large spatial scales. Here, we investigate the effects of the record-breaking 2018 European heatwave on tree growth and tree water status using a collection of high-temporal resolution dendrometer data from 21 species across 53 sites. Relative to the two preceding years, annual stem growth was not consistently reduced by the 2018 heatwave but stems experienced twice the temporary shrinkage due to depletion of water reserves. Conifer species were less capable of rehydrating overnight than broadleaves across gradients of soil and atmospheric drought, suggesting less resilience toward transient stress. In particular, Norway spruce and Scots pine experienced extensive stem dehydration. Our high-resolution dendrometer network was suitable to disentangle the effects of a severe heatwave on tree growth and desiccation at large-spatial scales in situ, and provided insights on which species may be more vulnerable to climate extremes.Peer reviewe