Study behaviours in an increasingly digital world: Learning habits, top tips and 'study hacks' questionnaire survey

In response to recent changes in the higher education market, student performance and competitor activity, The Open University has developed strategic objectives around a shift to developing ‘digital by design’ modules and the development of new digital tools to improve student success rates. In order to design effective tools, this initial piece of research was designed to understand more about students’ current study behaviours. The survey was built on a framework with student success at the centre, and generated a great deal of rich, qualitative data about how current distance learning students approach their study. The data was analysed using a thematic analysis, and produced a number of interesting themes. These included a variety of digital personas; priorities when organising study sessions; note-taking methods and reasons for making notes; and boundaries. The practical applications of these findings are some embryonic concepts for new tools and digital spaces for students that encourage the development of successful study behaviours. These concepts are being developed in conjunction with a rigorous research plan

A Survey of the Learning Behaviour of Open University students

This survey forms a crucial part of research completed by the Learning Innovation team to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying study habits and learning behaviour of Open University (OU) students to inform the future development of systems, tools and platforms. This research validates the themes that emerged from the previous report, ‘Study behaviours in an increasingly digital world: Learning habits, top tips and 'study hacks' questionnaire survey’ (Ellis, Gallagher and Peasgood, 2017). Analysis carried out on the data from that survey revealed eight possible learning behaviours that underpinned the student responses. In order to validate those original findings a new survey was designed. This report explains the findings of that survey. The survey consisted of 55 behavioural and attitudinal statements aligned to the learning behaviours, some of which were based upon survey instruments from the literature. Survey statements were written to explore each of these on a five-point scale (‘Very true for me’ to ‘Not at all true for me’) in order to identify the concepts that describe the behaviours and preferences of OU students through a process of Principle Component Analysis (PCA). In addition, the survey included questions to inform the analysis and explore potential confounding factors: accessing OU content, access to the web, and technological self-efficacy. The technological self-efficacy statements were selected from the OU’s Digital Competency Framework for Level 1 students. The survey was peer reviewed and piloted, before being sent to a generalised student population. The overall response rate was 12.7% with 524 valid responses received. Seven clear learning behaviours were identified through PCA, and a cluster analysis of the data was carried out. These learning behaviours are: • Goal-setting • Time • Focus • Note-making • Digital-preferred • Help-seeking • Elaboratio

Frequency of reovirus detection in biosolids: Comparison of the EPA CFR 503 technique to Integrated Cell Culture - Quantitative PCR

The public health threat from pathogens creates controversy for the land application of biosolids, a sewage treatment byproduct. Previous work has demonstrated that some enteric viruses are not detected with a plaque assay, the current method for virus detection in biosolids. The Integrated Cell Culture - Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (ICC-qPCR) assay, which combined quantitative PCR with seven days incubation in cell culture, allows for detection of more viruses. To compare method sensitivities, a biosolid sample was seeded with mammalian orthoreovirus. 3x105 plaque forming units (PFU) per ml were detected by the plaque assay and 108 PFU equivalents per ml were detected by ICC-qPCR. To determine the ability of ICC-qPCR to detect mammalian orthoreovirus, twenty-four environmental samples were tested. No viruses were detected by the plaque assay based on the EPA method; however ICC-qPCR detected infectious mammalian orthoreovirus in thirteen samples. ICC-qPCR was more sensitive than the plaque assay

Improving Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Knowledge in Convenient Care Clinics: A Toolkit and Competency Training for Caregivers

It is well documented that transgender individuals experience higher rates of discrimination than non-transgender, also known as cis-gender, individuals (Scandurra, Amodeo, Valerio, Bochicchio, & Frost, 2017). This discrimination extends into the healthcare system, a place where all individuals should be treated with dignity and respect (Bauer, Scheim, Deutsch, & Massarella, 2014). Over the last few decades, cultural humility has been promoted in health care professional training (Fisher-Borne, Cain, & Martin, 2015; Tervalon & Murray-Garcia, 1998). However, transgender care is rarely included. This lack of training can lead to a decreased confidence in providing care to transgender individuals and poor experiences for transgender patients when accessing health care. The purpose of this project is to design and implement a toolkit to be used by a system of convenient care clinics in order improve caregiver knowledge and confidence in providing care to transgender individuals. Through organizational, research, and community input, a toolkit was developed and disseminated to the caregivers through an in-person training. A pretest, posttest and follow up survey were developed to measure increase in knowledge, caregiver confidence, and practice change of providers during interactions with transgender individuals. These were analyzed and demonstrated statistically significant change in knowledge. Participants also noted increased confidence and practice changes

A Content Analysis of Information and Support Needs in Women with Breast Cancer Who Use the Internet

Each year, over 226,870 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 39,510 will die. The five year survival rate for localized cancer is 99%, however this decreases to 84% for regional sites such as the lungs or the abdomen, and 23% for distant sites such as the brain1. The most common treatments include chemotherapy, radiation, lumpectomy and/or mastectomy. Starting with diagnosis, and continuing through treatment and into survivorship, women have information and support needs related to all aspects of the management of their disease. The Breast Cancer Internet and Support Study (BCIIS, N = 429) was a needs assessment of the characteristics of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer and used the Internet. During this time, the women were asked to provide narrative comments related to any aspect of their diagnosis that they would like to discuss. A free form text box of 1000 characters was provided on the BCIIS survey. The contents of the comments were analyzed and a total of nine themes were identified: support, connection and community, trust, interaction with providers, difficult experiences, empowerment, informational competence, attitude and quality of life. The results of this study will enable better understanding of the experiences of women with breast cancer, and help to develop online programming that is based on womens’ needs and preferences. 1. Siegel, R., Naishadham, D. & Jemal, A. (2012). Cancer statistics, 2012. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 62, 10-29

Opportunities for Linking Women, Peace and Security to the US Department of Energy

In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). To date, more than half (107) of all United Nations member states have adopted National Action Plans to address the experiences of women and girls in conflict and their security needs as required by the resolution. The United States is among them, with the US Department of Defense, US Department of State, US Agency for International Development, and US Department of Homeland Security each issuing their own implementation plans for WPS. Importantly, the US Department of Energy (DOE), and most especially, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), despite having much to offer on the implementation of WPS, has been noticeably absent in this policy space. In this article, we lay out the opportunities that exist for DOE and NNSA to implement WPS. First, we present an analysis of what states around the world have included in their National Action Plans with regard to energy, nuclear, and environmental policies as these are most closely related to the work of DOE. Then, we consider opportunities for DOE to build upon these links by adopting practices toward gender balancing (i.e., increasing the inclusion of women) and gender mainstreaming (i.e., assessing the influence of gender on policy outcomes). By adopting gender balancing and gender mainstreaming practices, DOE can affect the inclusion of women within its institutions and the lived experiences of women outside of them

CHA Residents and the Plan for Transformation

This series of policy briefs presents findings from more than a decade of research on the people who lived in Chicago Housing Authority properties when the agencylaunched its Plan for Transformation in October 1999. The ongoing, multiyear effort sought to improve resident well-being by renovating or demolishing decaying public housing properties and replacing them with new, mixed-income development

Racial Disparities in Drug Court Graduation Rates: The Role of Recovery Support Groups and Environments

There are more than 3,000 drug courts in the United States, and research has demonstrated that, in some drug courts, African American participants are less likely to graduate than their White counterparts. Quantitative studies have documented the problem, but qualitative studies are needed to develop an in-depth understanding of this phenomenon through participants’ experiences. This qualitative study asked African American participants (n = 31) about their lived experiences in drug court to develop insight into the factors that might contribute to racial disparities in drug court outcomes. African Americans had favorable views toward both mandated and natural recovery support groups, and they felt that participating in these support groups increased their likelihood of graduating drug court. Conversely, African Americans felt that a barrier to graduating drug court was their environments, mainly risk factors posed by family, neighborhoods, and peers. Implications for drug court practice are discussed