Implementing a graduate nursing program at a distance through an urban-rural partnership.

The purposes of this poster presentation are to 1) describe the implementation of a master’s of science in nursing (MSN) program by providing access to rigorous distance education to students living in rural Pennsylvania; 2) discuss building a critical mass of master’s prepared advanced practice nurse experts in rural communities; and 3) share formative and summative evaluation information. Through funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing, the Jefferson School of Nursing (JSN) expanded its MSN program currently offered at the urban Philadelphia campus to the rural campus in Danville. Using the methodologies of live web-casting and live video over the Internet, distance students are afforded the opportunity to participate in a live classroom setting rather than experience the static distance methodology of reading through lectures themselves. For example, during the clinical courses, the faculty teaches onsite in Philadelphia webcasting to students in their rural homes so that they can view and hear the lecture. These newer technologies make possible real-time faculty-student dialogue, student-to-student dialogue, and enhance socialization. Furthermore, the use of advanced technologies allows distance students to discuss with peers and faculty alike, in real time, the problems, successes, and questions which arise during class and clinical practica, thereby enhancing critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills. This urban-rural partnership addresses increasing demands for educating greater numbers of master’s prepared advanced practice nurses to work in north and central rural Pennsylvania thus promoting access to health care in rural underserved communities

Implementing a Practice Doctorate Program at a Distance through an Urban-Rural Partnership

The purposes of this poster presentation are to 1) describe the implementation of a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program by providing access to rigorous distance education to students living in rural Pennsylvania; 2) discuss building a critical mass of doctorally prepared advanced practice nurse experts in both urban and rural communities; and 3) share formative and summative evaluation information. Through funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Nursing, the Jefferson School of Nursing (JSN) expanded its DNP program currently offered at the urban Philadelphia campus to the rural campus in Danville. Using the methodologies of live web-casting and live video over the Internet, distance students are afforded the opportunity to participate in a live classroom setting rather than experience the static distance methodology of reading through lectures themselves. For example, during the applied biostatistics course, the faculty teaches onsite in Philadelphia projecting the SPSS and the database on screen so that students on both campuses can simultaneously view, hear, and interact with the discussion. There is a doctorally prepared faculty member onsite in Danville as a resource for the students. These newer technologies make possible real-time faculty-student dialogue, student-to-student dialogue, and enhance socialization. Furthermore, the use of advanced technologies allows distance students to discuss with peers and faculty alike, in real time, the problems, successes, and questions which arise during class and clinical practica, thereby enhancing critical thinking and diagnostic reasoning skills. This unique urban-rural partnership, made possible through advanced technologies, addresses increasing demands for educating greater numbers of doctorally prepared advanced practice nurses to work in north and central rural Pennsylvania, thus promoting access to health care in rural underserved communities. Other than in academia, there are no doctorally prepared advanced practice nurses employed in practice in the area

Developing a Raspberry Pi magnetometer for schools in the UK

We describe our efforts to build a magnetic field sensor to be deployed in schools across the United Kingdom, adding to the existing variometer network from AuroraWatch set up by the University of Lancaster (Figure 1). The aim is to encourage students from 14-18 years old to look at how sensors can be used to collect geophysical data and integrate it together to give a wider understanding of physical phenomena. A second aim is to provide useful data on the spatial variation of the magnetic field for analysis of geomagnetic storms, alongside data from the BGS observatory and SAMNET variometer network. The system uses a Raspberry Pi computer as a logging and data transfer device, connected to a set of miniature fluxgate magnetometers. The system has a nominal sensitivity of around 1 nT RMS (~1 part in 50,000) in each component and is relatively low-cost at about £250 per unit. We intend to build 10 systems initially. In this poster we show results from the build and testing of the sensor and examples of recorded horizontal field

Intrinsic Optical Transition Energies in Carbon Nanotubes

Intrinsic optical transition energies for isolated and individual single wall carbon nanotubes grown over trenches are measured using tunable resonant Raman scattering. Previously measured E22_S optical transitions from nanotubes in surfactants are blue shifted 70-90 meV with respect to our measurements of nanotubes in air. This large shift in the exciton energy is attributed to a larger change of the exciton binding energy than the band-gap renormalization as the surrounding dielectric constant increases.Comment: Due to a mistake, a different paper was submitted as "revised v2". This is a re-submission of the origional version in order to correct the mistak

A lost decade? Service delivery and reforms in Papua New Guinea 2002 – 2012

Papua New Guinea has experienced an unprecedented resource boom over the last decade that has led to a rapid rise in revenue and subsequent increases in public expenditure. The PNG Government and its donors have also implemented major reforms aimed at improving access to basic services across the country. However, the question remains as to whether our nation’s booming mineral wealth has translated into services for ordinary people. In an effort to provide some answers to these important questions, the joint NRI-ANU Promoting Effective Public Expenditure (PEPE) Project completed extensive expenditure tracking and facility surveys across eight provinces at the end of 2012. Survey teams visited 216 primary schools and 142 health clinics from the nation’s capital to some of PNG’s most remote and isolated communities. Altogether 1,276 interviews were completed, making it one of the largest and most comprehensive service delivery surveys completed in PNG. The PEPE survey was subject to difficulties and logistical problems associated with the large scale of the survey and the need for survey teams to operate in very remote parts of the country. The success of the survey was dependent not only on extensive planning but on the dedication, commitment and effort of the surveyors. Many of the same schools and health clinics were visited in a similar survey conducted in 2002 that was also undertaken by NRI. By combining findings from both surveys, this report can compare changes in schools and health clinics between 2002 and 2012. The aim is to provide the basic information, which not only the Government of Papua New Guinea but also the people need to assess progress and suggest changes for better spending in the future. This report and the unique data set on which it is based will be an invaluable resource for PNG’s policy makers and people.PEPE is supported by the Australian aid program, through the Economic and Public Sector Program (EPSP). EPSP is managed by Coffey on behalf of the Australian Government

New BGS IMOs increasing the global coverage of high standard magnetic observatories

The BGS operates seven geomagnetic observatories, four of which are located outside of the UK at remote locations. In 2014, the observatories at King Edward Point (KEP) on South Georgia and at Sable Island (SBL) offshore Nova Scotia were awarded INTERMAGNET (IMO) status, bringing the total number of BGS IMOs to seven. This increased the spatial distribution of high standard geomagnetic observatories in oceanic areas, improving the quality of global models of the Earth’s magnetic field. We describe some of the operational challenges encountered in operating KEP and SBL and present the data processing and results that have led to IMO status. KEP magnetic observatory was installed in February 2011 at a position near to the original South Georgia observatory (SGE2) operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to 1982. With BAS support the new KEP has operated successfully since then and despite its challenging and remote location, has achieved IMO status within 3.5 years. KEP results are especially important for the global modelling research community as it is located in a favourable position to monitor the dynamics of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA). The observatory results are presented in relation to secular variation in the area over a number of decades. SBL was installed in May 1999, originally in partnership with a directional drilling company. In 2011, the ownership was transferred to BGS and operations have been maintained with the support of Environment Canada. A development programme has continued, leading to improved data quality and there are now >14 years of near-continuous observatory data sets and products which are available for scientific research

Navigating distance learning technologies using team teaching

In 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) adopted the position to move the current level of preparation necessary for advanced practice nurse (APN) roles from the master\u27s degree to the doctoral level. AACN also called for educating APNs and other nurses seeking top leadership and clinical roles in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Programs. In September 2007, the Jefferson School of Nursing welcomed its first cohort of 18 DNP students. Students represented a wide variety of practice specialties including acute care, primary care, healthcare administration, population health, education and industry. Twenty students comprise the second cohort entering in September 2008. Nationwide, Jefferson is one of 79 schools of nursing offering a DNP degree

Novel polymorphisms influencing transcription of the human CHRM2 gene in airway smooth muscle

Muscarinic receptors are a functionally important family of G-protein-coupled receptors. Using a combination of rapid amplification of 5′ cDNA ends and reporter gene assays, we characterized the 5′ untranslated region of the CHRM2 gene as expressed in human airway smooth muscle (HASM) cells. A splice site is present 46 bp upstream from the ATG start codon. Five exons with alternative splicing patterns are present upstream of this splice site, separated by introns ranging from 87 bp to > 145 kb. There is evidence for the gene being under the control of a TATA-less promoter with Sp1, GATA, and activator protein-2 binding sites. Multiple transcription start sites (TSSs) were identified. We identified a novel 0.5-kb hypervariable region located 648 bp upstream of the most 5′ TSS, a multiallelic (CA) tandem repeat 96 bp downstream of the most 5′ TSS, and a common C→A SNP located 136 bp upstream of the most 5′ TSS. Functional studies in primary HASM cells and the BEAS-2B cell line demonstrated highest promoter activity to be upstream of the most 3′ TSS, with potential repressor elements operating in a cell type-dependent manner, located upstream of the most 5′ TSS. We present functional data to show that the CA repeat may influence the transcription of the gene in HASM and BEAS-2B cells.peer-reviewe

A Teaching-Learning Initiative with Tablet Computing

Mobile computing and electronic books are the top emerging technologies to impact higher education.1 The rapid expansion of technology in the health care setting has created a growing recognition that there is a need for adoption of a sound set of innovative teaching-learning strategies related to information management and technology applications in undergraduate nursing curriculum. Success in these technology-related strategies will rest on the degree to which schools comprehensively integrate technology with teaching-learning strategies in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. Tablet computing has the potential to enhance educational experiences by providing a delivery option for teaching and learning practices that enable learners to interact with content, and each other, in immediate and seamless ways.2 The literature that exists on integrating tablet computers in the health professions focuses on the use of tablet computing for teaching medical students and enhancing resident clinical rotations.3-6 This paper describes the stages of a tablet computing integration initiative in a school of nursing including: 1) creating the infrastructure; 2) planning technology requirements; 3) designing faculty development sessions focused on curricular integration; and 4) building ongoing communication and support for students