The Influence of Participation in an International Clinical Placement on the Cultural Competence and Career Planning of Newly Graduated Nursing Students

This longitudinal mixed methods study revealed undergraduate nursing students who participated in an international clinical placement intended to pursue international nursing roles, including in health policy, to reduce global health disparities and improve health equity for vulnerable groups. International clinical placements can be effective in building and maintaining cultural competence over the longer term, but targeted planning of placements is necessary to ensure diverse cultural encounters to do not lead to increases in cultural barriers

Drogenhandel im heutigen Russland

Russland hatte in den letzten fünf Jahren eines der am schnellsten wachsenden Drogenprobleme der Welt. Heute werden in allen Regionen Russlands Drogen gehandelt - mit negativen Auswirkungen auf die junge Bevölkerung. In erster Linie ist Russland ein Transitland, doch auch der Drogenkonsum in Russland selbst steigt an. Früher wurden in Russland in erster Linie im eigenen Land produzierte Drogen konsumiert, heute ist das Land vollständig in die internationalen Drogenmärkte eingebunden. Präventionsprogramme gibt es in Russland kaum und die Strafverfolgung hat sich bei der Bekämpfung des Drogenproblems als ineffektives Werkzeug erwiesen

Teacher-Implemented Response Interruption and Redirection: Training, Evaluation, and Descriptive Analysis of Treatment Integrity

Response interruption and redirection (RIRD) is an effective intervention for decreasing stereotypy. During RIRD, contingent on occurrences of stereotypy, therapists interrupt the behavior and prompt the participant to complete an alternative response. Although RIRD has been implemented by teachers in classrooms, it requires continuous monitoring of participants to be implemented with fidelity and may be difficult for teachers to manage. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of RIRD when implemented in classrooms. In addition, we evaluated if novice teaching assistants could be trained to implement RIRD. Finally, a descriptive analysis of treatment integrity errors during RIRD was conducted. Three children and teaching assistants participated. Following a written instructions baseline, the teaching assistants were trained to implement RIRD using modeling, rehearsal, and feedback. The training increased the accuracy of RIRD implementation for all participants. Incorrectly initiating and terminating RIRD were the most common treatment integrity errors observed. </jats:p

Quantitative bioluminescence tomography: hardware and software development for a multi-modal imaging system

Bioluminescence imaging (BLI) is widely used in pre-clinical research to monitor the location and migration of different cell types, and the growth of cancerous tumours and response to treatments within murine models. However, the quantitative accuracy of the technique is limited. The position of the animal is known to affect the measured bioluminescence, with a change in position causing a change in measurement. Work presented here will address this problem, validating a free space model in a murine model to produce surface bioluminescence measurements which are independent of the position of the animal. The position of the source within the animal and the underlying tissue attenuation also affect the quantitative accuracy of bioluminescence measurements. An extension to bioluminescence imaging, bioluminescence tomography (BLT), aims to overcome these problems by recovering the three-dimensional bioluminescent source distribution within the animal. However, there are limitations to the quantitative accuracy of BLT. Current reconstruction algorithms ignore the bandwidth of band-pass filters used for multi-spectral data collection for BLT. This work develops a model which accounts for filter bandwidth in the BLT reconstruction, improving the quantitative accuracy of the technique. An additional limitation to the quantitative accuracy of BLT is that accurate knowledge of the optical properties of the animal are required but are difficult to acquire. Work to improve the quantitative accuracy by obtaining subject-specific optical properties via a spectral derivative reconstruction method for diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is presented. The initial results are promising for the application of the method in vivo

‘You certainly don’t get promoted for just teaching’:experiences of education-focused academics in research-intensive universities

Changes in drivers of academic roles within higher education institutions globally have resulted in increased proportions of academics in education focused (EF) posts. International and UK research suggests that EF academics can experience dissatisfaction with career progression and the perceived value of their work, including those in research-intensive universities. Previous UK research was conducted prior to the introduction of the TEF which has altered the landscape. Therefore, it was timely to examine the current experience of EF academics in research-intensive universities through a theoretical lens to understand barriers and facilitators to career progression. This interview-based study used two theoretical frameworks, Feldman and Ng’s Framework for Career Mobility, Embeddedness, and Success and Kanter’s theory of Power within organisations to explore the experiences of 43 EF academics across 12 research-intensive UK universities. Four contract types were identified, some of which allowed promotion. Three broad themes were derived from the data, including (1) Lack of agreement on the definition of education-focused academic roles, (2) Level of value and appreciation of educational expertise and the impact on education-focused academics, (3) Career development opportunities for education-focused academics. Recommendations to further enhance the experience and career progression for EF academics in research-intensive universities further include; ensuring transparency in recruitment into EF posts as to whether career development is possible within that post, the need to continue the sector-wide discussion on the definition of EF roles that recognises the complexity and diversity of activity and continued work to value and recognise appropriately educational expertise.</p

Development of a method to determine optimum sitting height for female white water kayakers using makers of stroke efficiency

White water kayaking has been underrepresented in the scientific literature, largely due to its recreational nature. White water kayaks are manufactured on male body specifications, due to the male dominated history of the sport. Female kayakers have to therefore adapt the kayaks to meet the demands of the environment and task, and their own anthropometry, commonly achieving this through changes to sitting height. The aim of this thesis was to quantify the differences in anthropometry between male and female white water kayakers and, using anthropometry and an observational model of boat kinematics, to develop a method to identify the optimum sitting height for female white water kayakers. An anthropometry study measured 53 kayakers (31 male; 22 female) and identified that the difference in sitting height between males and females was that females were on average 6.93cm shorter than males. This difference is bigger than seen in either slalom paddlers or the normal population. Overall 72.7% of the measures taken were significantly different between male and female white water kayakers. An observational model of boat kinematics was developed, extending our existing understanding into technique analysis of flat water racing kayakers. This doctoral thesis furthered knowledge around what the body does during the stroke cycle in flat water racing, building upon this to identify the patterns of movement caused by the paddle stroke that the white water kayak undergoes. Normalised measurements of patterns of boat movement and paddle forces were established from up to 1154 individual paddle strokes using three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics. This newly created methodology was then employed to develop a technique efficiency method to predict the optimum seat raise for female white water kayakers using a sample of experienced female white water kayakers (n=7). The optimum seat raises identified for the participants were considerably lower (mean 1.86cm (SD 1.46), range 0-4cm, mode 1) than the 6.93cm mean sitting height difference found between male and female white water kayakers in the anthropometric study. The method, based on percentiles, identified seven measures that can be used together to identify optimum sitting height for female white water kayakers. These include 2D kinematic measurement of pitch, velocity change, left arm reach, and stroke length left to right, alongside a timed slalom course and kinetic measurement of both left and right paddle strokes

Older adults have difficulty in decoding sarcasm

This research was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, United Kingdom (F/00152/W). We acknowledge the assistance of Francis Quinn in collecting the data.Peer reviewedPostprin

Do schools and alcohol mix? Australian parents\u27 perspectives

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: Alcohol use by adults at school events and alcohol promotion through school fundraising activities is common, but little is known about secondary school parents\u27 attitudes towards these practices. Parental attitudes may influence principals\u27 decision-making on this topic, particularly in jurisdictions where education department guidance is limited. This study explored parents\u27 attitudes towards the consumption or promotion of alcohol in schools or at school events. Design/methodology/approach: Parents (n = 298) from five non-government secondary schools in Western Australia completed an online survey and provided responses relating to the promotion and availability of alcohol through their child\u27s school. Findings: This sample of parents were evenly divided in support of alcohol consumption or support of schools as alcohol-free zones. Parents reporting higher alcohol consumption were more supportive of alcohol promotion and use through schools, and those with higher education supported use of alcohol for school fundraising. Almost 20% of parents were neutral on several measures indicating they could be swayed by social pressure. Engaging parents is an ongoing challenge for school principals and alcohol may play a part in engagement activities. The results from this small, exploratory study suggest even engaged parents may have very differing views on alcohol use in schools. Practical implications: Education departments are encouraged to explore these issues carefully and introduce changes incrementally to assist decision-making and minimise potential parent disengagement. Originality/value: This paper addresses a knowledge gap about parents\u27 attitudes towards alcohol in secondary schools. These findings can support those involved in the development of school alcohol policies