Making sense of the individual experience of those who undertake new role development in the workplace

Design/ Method/Approach  The study, based on the lived experience of developing from a healthcare assistant to an assistant practitioner, was based on the philosophical assumption of understanding an experience at a particular time.  Constructivism (Denzin and Lincoln, 2008) provided the conceptual framework and phenomenology the theoretical perspective.   Experiential learning, action, reflection and professional knowledge framed the literature review to inform understanding at the commencement of the study. Eight participants were selected, through purposive sampling, from one acute NHS Trust in South East England. Their matron and mentor were interviewed for contextualisation.   Interviews occurred at three stages, four months after commencing the Foundation Degree (FD) sixteen months after commencing the FD and six months after completing the FD.   Each transcript was considered before moving to the next transcript, this allowed super-ordinate themes to be considered within groups before ascertaining similarities and differences across groups. The emergent and super-ordinate themes were synthesised to inform three over-arching super-ordinate themes. Purpose  The purpose of the study was to generate an understanding of becoming an Assistant Practitioner through a work-based learning programme so that work-based learning programmes are designed and delivered to enable practitioners to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to undertake new roles from within. Findings  The following over-arching super-ordinate themes emerged from analysis of the participants transcripts from the three phases of the study: Recognising the transition; the transition was not linear but was complex and influenced by the individuals’ behaviour, their ability to reflect and take action, and to demonstrate professional knowledge. Supporting the journey; the workplace culture needed to support experiential learning and provide time and space to facilitate reflection. Being an AP; a change in professional knowledge and behaviour resulted in enhanced confidence and self-belief and ability to be an AP. Originality/value  This study, based on the lived experience of developing from a healthcare assistant to assistant practitioner, where participants remained in their place of work rather than undertake placements which is a requirement of regulated programmes, demonstrated that individuals need to recognise the consequences of the behaviours, engage in experiential learning, take action and demonstrate a change in professional knowledge

Determination of azimuth angle, incidence angle, and contact-potential difference for low-energy electron-diffraction fine-structure measurements

Low-energy electron-diffraction fine-structure data can often have relatively large inconsistencies associated with the electron-beam incidence conditions. This is in part due to the difficulties associated with working with electrons in the range 0–40 eV and in part due to the crystal being oriented azimuthally before being put in the vacuum system. The angle of incidence is often measured optically, but the optical and electron paths need not coincide if residual magnetic fields are present. We describe a technique for determining the angles of incidence and azimuth from the data themselves. This relies upon two factors: the ability to vary the azimuth angle continuously and the ability to see two sets of fine-structure features on one I-V scan. This technique is applied to fine-structure data obtained from clean Cu(001) and O/Cu(001) surfaces. We hope that the technique described will help give confidence to those collecting such data that these angles can be uniquely determined and that the data can be usefully analyzed. The uncertainty of not having a technique for this purpose has prevented groups from publishing such data in the past

The Ecology of the Endangered Dusky Gopher Frog (Rana Sevosa) and a Common Congener, the Southern Leopard Frog (Rana Sphenocephala)

Many amphibian populations are rapidly disappearing throughout the world. An important issue for ecologists is why some amphibian species are more susceptible to decline than others. Here I present five experiments that compare the performance of an endangered (Rana sevosa) and a common (Rana sphenocephala) frog in changing habitats, to determine why these two species differ in their persistence. I include additional studies investigating the habitat requirements and behavior of R. sevosa. I found that habitat change in the form of canopy closure over breeding ponds negatively affects both species, making them smaller as tadpoles and at metamorphosis. The magnitude of size differences was greater for R. sevosa and this species was less likely to survive in closed canopy ponds. Larval survival was not affected in R. sphenocephala and this is likely a key reason for the persistence of this species in habitats where R. sevosa has been extirpated. The introduction of fish to breeding ponds would also differentially affect the two species. R. sevosa did not display behavioral defenses to the threat of fish predation while R. sphenocephala did. R. sevosa displayed a preference for certain characteristics in its habitat including open canopy ponds, grassy terrestrial habitats and an abundance of burrows. An association with the chemical cues of burrow making organisms suggests that these organisms may be important for R. sevosa. Therefore, specialized habitat requirements and behaviors which may be contributing to its decline. I found some evidence of asymmetric competition in the larval stage with R. sevosa negatively affecting R. sphenocephala. It does not appear that larval competition with R. sphenocephala has contributed to the decline of R. sevosa. The primary difference between the two species was in responses to habitat change. R. sevosa appears to be rigid in its habitat requirements and behavior and its inability to respond and adapt to change is a key component of its rarity. By contrast R. sphenocephala showed an ability to cope with habitat changes. Conservation of R. sevosa will require suitable management of the aquatic and terrestrial habitats, primarily through the instigation of an appropriate fire regime

Biographical learning: a process for promoting person-centredness in nursing

Background: This paper explores biographical approaches to nurses’ learning. It builds on previous PhD research to consider the effects of such approaches, drawing on the experiences of learners who have recently completed biographical study, in their own words. Aims and objectives: The aim of the paper is to make sense of different forms of learning. The objectives are to identify how autobiographical approaches that involve people learning from their life stories can engage people to exert agency, or ownership, in their own lives by taking control of their learning plans. Design: This longitudinal study started with the first group of learners undertaking a biographical preparation module on an Applied BSc Health and Social Care programme. Methods: Research relating to nurses’ learning is considered, including a Swiss perspective, as well as the validity of the biographical approach to developing knowledge. The learners share stories of their learning in order to develop understanding and new insights into their own lives and those of others. Results: Different dimensions of learning including learning about self, learning to make a difference and processes of repair are revealed through the learners’ narrations. Conclusions: Engaging biographically, to make sense of different forms of learning, appears to be beneficial to more person-centred working. Implications for practice: •Introducing biographical elements into courses of study can benefit learners by helping them to make sense of who they are as learners and practitioners •Co-creating compelling spaces of learning can facilitate learners to exert agency within their own lives as well as help others to learn. By exerting agency we mean taking ownership of the learning revealed through the biographical work and taking it forward in positive ways to enhance person-centred care

A vegetation and soil survey method for surveillance monitoring of rangeland environments

Published: 16 June 2020Ecosystem surveillance monitoring is critical to managing natural resources and especially so under changing environments. Despite this importance, the design and implementation of monitoring programs across large temporal and spatial scales has been hampered by the lack of appropriately standardized methods and data streams. To address this gap, we outline a surveillance monitoring method based on permanent plots and voucher samples suited to rangeland environments around the world that is repeatable, cost-effective, appropriate for large-scale comparisons, and adaptable to other global biomes. The method provides comprehensive data on vegetation composition and structure along with soil attributes relevant to plant growth, delivered as a combination of modules that can be targeted for different purposes or available resources. Plots are located in a stratified design across vegetation units, landforms, and climates to enhance continental and global comparisons. Changes are investigated through revisits. Vegetation is measured to inform on composition, cover, and structure. Samples of vegetation and soils are collected and tracked by barcode labels and stored long-term for subsequent analysis. Technology is used to enhance the accuracy of field methods, including differential GPS plot locations, instrument-based Leaf Area Index (LAI) measures, and three dimensional photo-panoramas for advanced analysis. A key feature of the method is the use of electronic field data collection to enhance data delivery into a publicly accessible database. Our method is pragmatic, whilst still providing consistent data, information, and samples on key vegetation and soil attributes. The method is operational and has been applied at more than 704 field locations across the Australian rangelands as part of the Ecosystem Surveillance program of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). The methodology enables continental analyses and has been tested in communities broadly representative of rangelands globally, with components being applicable to other biomes. Here we also recommend the consultative process and guiding principles that drove the development of this method as an approach for development of the method into other biomes. The consistent, standardized and objective method enables continental, and potentially global analyses than were not previously possible with disparate programs and datasets.Ben D. Sparrow, Jeff N. Foulkes, Glenda M. Wardle, Emrys J. Leitch, Stefan Caddy-Retalic, Stephen J. van Leeuwen ... et al

Very-low-energy electron-diffraction analysis of oxygen on Cu(001)

We have developed a method for adding the effect of the surface barrier to the Van Hove–Tong suite of low-energy electron-diffraction programs enabling us to analyze very-low-energy electron-diffraction (LEED) spectra from complex reconstructed systems. The method models the effect of the surface-potential barrier on the intensities and accurately replicates the fine-structure features found at low energies on many surfaces. It is free from many of the simplifying assumptions made by others attempting to model similar systems. We find that the fine-structure peak positions depend on the inelastic scattering in the barrier region as well as the shape of the real part of the potential barrier. This limits the accuracy of measurement of the shape of the barrier, but useful shape information can be derived from these analyses. We have studied the effect of oxygen overlayers on Cu(001) as well as the clean Cu(001) surface. These surfaces are well described by the model for a range of incident-beam directions. On the oxygen-exposed surface, it is necessary to assume that a c(2×2) structure exists as a precursor to the (√2 ×2 √2 )R45° in order to explain all the data. Further, it is found that the surface-potential barrier moves away from the surface with establishment of the precursor c(2×2) structure, but then moves back towards the surface as the final (√2 ×2 √2 )R45° forms with additional exposure to oxygen. This accounts for the changes in work function with exposure to oxygen found on this surface