The complexities and challenges of introducing electronic Ongoing Achievement Records in the pre-registration nursing course using PebblePad and hand-held tablets

This paper reports on a small pilot study aimed at eliciting the lecturer and student experience of using PebblePad to record the students' Ongoing Achievement Record (OAR) using hand-held tablets, at one university in England. Android tablets were purchased and attempts were made to transfer the OAR into the PebblePad system in an attempt to enhance the student experience of feedback from their via PebblePad, embed PebblePad learning technology in the practice component of the curriculum, enable the student to more readily engage in reflection and feedback with their personal tutor, practice education link and mentor, develop skills in the use of PebblePad and pilot the use of PebblePad in developing the Ongoing Achievement Record. Focus groups were carried out with students nurses (n=6) and lecturers (n=5) where participants were asked to discuss the successes and challenges of using PebblePad for the Ongoing Achievement Record, and suggest ways in which this strategy may be implemented more widely. Through a thematic analysis of the focus groups three broad themes of 'timing', 'technology literacy' and 'the technology' were identified. The findings from the study indicated that whilst this was not a positive experience on the whole for a number of reasons, there are lessons that can be learnt when attempting to introduce new ways of engaging with technology to enhance the student experience. Recommendations for implementing such an approach in the future are also presente

Challenges and Solutions Towards Accessible MOOC Content: The ACT MOOC

Designing a MOOC on accessibility poses many challenges. It is also a great platform to test what the MOOC preaches: media accessibility. This article presents the challenges and solutions taken when an accessible MOOC for Coursera was designed and launched

Developing the skills to support nursing and midwifery students with specific learning differences in practice: An evaluation of a learning resource

The literature highlights the difficulties that those supporting students with a specific learning difference (SpLD) in practice may have and calls for more education of practice mentors. As a result of concerns locally, nursing and midwifery students who have a SpLD were interviewed to recount their practice experiences. Short films were made from these stories which formed the basis for developing a learning resource to educate novice mentors and develop their skills to support and assess students with SpLDs appropriately. The learning resource was piloted and evaluated, to investigate the effect the learning resource had on novice mentors’ knowledge about SpLDs and their attitudes, feelings and skills. The learning resource was delivered to 72 novice mentors on a mentorship preparation course. Sixty-one completed pre and post session questionnaires and participated in a world café exercise to evaluate the resource. The evaluation results indicated that the resource had a positive effect on novice mentors’ knowledge, skills and attitudes towards students with a SpLD

The role of the practice educator in supporting nursing and midwifery students’ clinical practice learning: An appreciative inquiry

High quality, supportive practice learning experiences are crucial for ensuring that student nurses and midwives develop into competent practitioners who are fit for practice. The practice educator role is one model of practice learning support but the role is relatively new and has been little investigated. This paper reports on an appreciative inquiry that explored the current practice educator role at one university in England, with the aim of reaching a consensus for how the role could be enhanced. The first phase involved in-depth interviews with 18 participants: practice educators (n = 10); student nurse representatives (n= 5) and practice based education leads (n = 3). The interviews were analysed thematically. Three themes related to social processes involved in the role: being a bridge, being there, and social identity. The other themes described contributions to the practice learning environment: safeguarding, support, critical thinking. The second phase used a modified Delphi technique. Participants ranked trigger statements, related to the themes, in order of importance. Two consensus workshops were held where the statements were reviewed by practice educators, students and learning environment leads, following which principles and practices of the practice educator role were agreed. In conclusion, the strength of the practice educator role is that it bridges the worlds of university and practice. This bridging resulted from social processes that required a sustained presence in practice to engage in the reality of everyday practice and gain the shared social identity of a practitioner

A systematic scoping review of the use of cancer risk assessment tools for early detection of cancer risk in primary care

Introduction Cancer risk assessment tools are designed to predict cancer risk using risk factors and symptoms of individuals. These tools could prompt investigations and referral for specialist attention, leading to early diagnosis and treatment and a potential reduction in the high mortality of cancer in the UK. While cancer risk assessment tools are thought to accurately predict the risk of specific cancers, this is based on statistical testing of data from databases rather than using the tools on actual patients. More needs to be known about the use and implementation in practice of cancer risk assessment tools to aid primary care detection of cancer. We aimed to scope the evidence relating to the use of cancer risk assessment tools for early detection of cancer in primary care. Methods Using the framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley, we conducted a systematic scoping review of the literature published in the English language from 2004 to 2015 to ensure relevance to current practice. Our search strategy included specific search terms which were used to search six electronic databases: Medline; CINAHL; Scopus; Cochrane; Science Direct and Psych INFO. A narrative synthesis was used to analyse the papers identified. Results We retrieved 481 papers from the initial database search. After sifting titles and abstracts, 72 full text papers remained, of which 48 studies were excluded because these did not meet the inclusion criteria. The remaining 24 studies were included in the review. These included: randomised controlled trials (2); cohorts (11), survey (2); case control (3); qualitative (3), critical reviews (1) and other unspecific designs (2). This review found limited evidence on: novel cancer risk assessment tools being used; perceptions of users and outcomes of using the tools. While there was also some evidence pointing to the usefulness of cancer risk assessment tools, there was limited evidence on how best to communicate cancer risk to patients when using a cancer risk assessment tool. Conclusion The evidence available on the use of cancer risk assessment tools in primary care was limited. Further research is needed to explore how best cancer risk can be communicated to patients when using a cancer risk assessment tool in primary care consultations

From translators to accessibility managers: How did we get there and how do we train them?

Translation continues to reinvent itself. Different human actors and non-human actants drive this change, generating new forms of translation and diverse professional profiles. Audiovisual Translation (AVT) and Audiovisual Translation Studies (AVTS) have always been at the centre of these developments: AVT has been technology and industry-driven from the start and AVTS has incorporated technological and societal change as well as the forces that propel it from its inception. Meanwhile, AVT has incorporated media accessibility and has moved beyond the domain of audiovisual media in the strict sense into the provision of access to live cultural events. The present article offers some conceptual tools for understanding these developments as well as the actant-driven processes that underlie them. It traces recent developments in AVT and explains how they have given rise to the aforementioned new professional practices and profiles. It ends on an extensive case study, centring on the ACT European Erasmus+ project, which has identified and defined the emerging profile of the accessibility manager, and developed a tailor-made MOOC training course for it

Informing use of QCancer in the primary care consultation - perspectives of service users and practitioners

Introduction: Earlier detection of cancer may help reduce the current high level of cancer mortality in the UK. Cancer risk assessment tools such as QCancer, which predict the absolute risk of cancer in symptomatic individuals, may help identify those at high risk needing investigation for possible cancer. Little is known about the views of service users and primary care practitioners on the use of QCancer in primary care consultations. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of service users and primary care practitioners on use of QCancer and how communication with patients might be enhanced when using QCancer in primary care consultations. Methods: The study was conducted in Lincolnshire, a large rural county in the East Midlands, using a qualitative research design. This involved individual interviews with service users recruited from the general public, and both individual and focus group interviews with primary care practitioners including general practitioners and practice nurses. Data were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using the framework approach. Ethics approval was granted by the University of Lincoln School of Health and Social Care Ethics Committee. Results: We interviewed 36 participants (19 service users and 17 practitioners) until data saturation was achieved. Four main themes emerged: the implications of quantifying cancer risk; usefulness of QCancer; communicating cancer risk and barriers to implementation in primary care consultations. Participants expressed a range of views about the implications of quantifying cancer risk using QCancer. These included: potential conflict with current cancer risk guidelines and the need to refer patients with symptoms suggestive of cancer whatever their quantified risk. Participants agreed that QCancer would help to: quantify cancer risk; support clinical decision making; inform efforts to modify health behaviours; improve processes and speed of assessments, diagnosis and treatment; and, enable practitioners to personalise patient care. To enhance patient-practitioner communication of cancer risk, both service users and primary care practitioners suggested the following: tailoring a visual representation of risk; being honest and open with patients; involving patients in the use of QCancer; and allowing time for listening, explaining, informing and reassuring patients. Potential challenges to the uptake of QCancer were also identified including: the additional time required for its use and communication; unnecessary worry caused by investigation of false positives; potential for over-referral; and practitioner scepticism with the need to establish the effectiveness of QCancer against current practice before introducing it more widely. Conclusion: Participants perceived the potential usefulness of QCancer but felt that communication needs of users and potential barriers should be considered when planning to implement QCancer. Before rolling out the tool, further research is needed to pilot and evaluate the impact of QCancer on outcomes such as rates of investigations, referrals, diagnoses as well as patient and practitioner experiences of using the tool

Seismic Reflection Studies in Long Valley Caldera, Califomia

This is the published version, also available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/90JB02401.Seismic reflection studies in Long Valley caldera, California, indicate that seismic methods may be successfully employed to image certain types of features in young silicic caldera environments. However, near-surface geological conditions within these environments severely test the seismic reflection method. Data quality are degraded by static, reverberation, and band-limiting problems due to these near-surface conditions. In Long Valley, seismic reflection and refraction methods were used to image both the shallow and deep geothermal aquifers within the area. The deep geothermal aquifer, the welded Bishop Tuff, was imaged as a fairly continuous reflector across the western moat of the caldera. Near-surface refraction information indicates that there may be a buried paleochannel system or horst and graben system that could control the shallow geothermal flow pattern. High-amplitude events observed in a wide-angle survey were originally interpreted as reflections from a contemporary magma body. However, a migration of the events utilizing the new generalized cellular migration algorithm indicates that these events are probably reflections from the faults of the caldera ring fracture system. The reflections may be caused by the high acoustic impedance contrast associated with the juxtaposition of relatively low-velocity, low-density, caldera fill against the granite plutons and metasediments of the Sierran basement along this fault system