A new framework for the design and evaluation of a learning institution’s student engagement activities

In this article we explore the potential for attempts to encourage student engagement to be conceptualised as behaviour change activity, and specifically whether a new framework to guide such activity has potential value for the Higher Education (HE) sector. The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) (Michie, Susan, Maartje M van Stralen, and Robert West. 2011. “The Behaviour Change Wheel: A New Method for Characterising and Designing Behaviour Change Interventions.” Implementation Science : IS 6 (1): 42. doi:10.1186/1748-5908-6-42) is a framework for the systematic design and development of behaviour change interventions. It has yet to be applied to the domain of student engagement. This article explores its potential, by assessing whether the BCW comprehensively aligns with the state of student engagement as currently presented in the HE literature. This work achieves two things. It firstly allows a prima facie assessment of whether student engagement activity can be readily aligned with the BCW framework. It also highlights omissions and prevalence of activity types in the HE sector, compared with other sectors where behaviour change practice is being successfully applied

Growing Resilience through Interaction with Nature (GRIN)

Well-being is fundamental for health. However, health and well-being are under threat by increased prevalence of depression and physical inactivity. Interaction with the natural environment may prevent these critical health issues, as research has shown that walking outdoors contributes to better well-being than walking indoors. The aim of this thesis was to investigate outdoor group walks as a potential public health intervention to enhance positive mental and emotional well-being, reduce stress, and foster resilience. This thesis evaluated Walking for Health, a national group walking programme in England using a nonexperimental, longitudinal design. Individuals who did (Group Walkers) and did not (Non-Group Walkers) take part in outdoor group walks completed two online questionnaires about their mental and emotional well-being, and covariates. To gain a broader understanding of how outdoor group walks may contribute to positive well-being, integrations were proposed between the Attention Restoration Theory and the psycho-evolutionary model, and the theories of coping and resilience. Findings show that Group Walkers had greater mental well-being and positive affect, and less negative affect, depression and perceived stress than Non-Group Walkers. Group walking had no affect on social well-being, connectedness to nature or resiliency. Outdoor group walk participation affected positive well-being through a decrease in perceived stress, and an increase in physical activity. Group Walkers demonstrated resilience against adversity on negative affect. No evidence of resilience from outdoor group walks was found for mental well-being, positive affect or depression. Group walks in farmland and green corridor environments may further boost mental well-being, and reduce negative affect and perceived stress, when compared to group walks in the urban environment. This research suggests that outdoor group walks are effective at improving mental and emotional well-being, and could be a useful public health intervention to reduce stress and foster resilience. Implications for theory are discussed

Hayv Kahraman’s Bodyscreens: Skin, Depth, and Surface

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on August 11, 2015Thesis advisor: Cristina AlbuVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 64-66)Thesis (M.A.)--Department of Art and Art History. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2015Hayv Kahraman is most widely known for her large-scale paintings of pale women with skin like silk and soft clouds of dark black hair. She often draws on her experiences as an émigré from Iraq to represent the challenges that surface as a result of one’s identity. Having observed in such works how the body is undermined by volatile abstractions like nationality and gender, I will argue that in introducing the operation of a scanning device into her practice, Kahraman comes to reconfigure these terms through what Christine Ross has termed “precarious visuality.” Destabilizing optical perspective requires that the interface of the viewing experience be reshaped, and seeing the female body threatened by a loss of agency, Kahraman reconsiders its very surface, turning body into a screen. This thesis will therefore examine what I will call “bodyscreens” made by Kahraman. The first chapter will argue that in meditating on surface and body, the artist is revising minimalist practices, such as those of Robert Morris, which confront the viewer with objects that emphasize their exteriority. In asking why Kahraman chooses to represent the body as a minimalist object with Icosahedral Body and Quasi-Corporeal, I will rely on the philosophy of Elizabeth Grosz to demonstrate that by inscribing her internal body on an object’s skin, the artist is showing that as a screen, the body’s significance can permute, dismantle hierarchies, resist categories, and expand the possibilities of subjectivity. The second chapter will discuss how this melding of inner and outer is also an explicit engagement with architectural spaces. Kahraman links together memories of mashrabiya screens; the category of sexuality; and the viewer’s immersion in architecture to produce what Giuliana Bruno describes as what can be called filmic spaces. This intersection of traditional Islamic media with the ongoing redefinitions of the screen in museographic spaces establishes new forms of dwelling and journey that contrast with the colonizer’s desire to enclose and fix. I will conclude by discussing Kahraman’s performance art and ask what relationship between evasion of identification and intersubjectivity she proposes in projecting her story onto the bodies of her actresses.College of Arts and SciencesIntroduction -- Havy Kahrman's geometric bodied and minimal art -- The filmic body as a new site of dwelling -- Self-effacement and intersubjectivity across Kahraman's bodyscreens -- Illustrationsmonographi

The Effect of Bubble Bottle Humidifiers on Absolute Humidity When Using Low Flowrates in Neonates in Critical Care Settings: A Bench Study

Background: Humidification to the neonate is a critical part of quality care. However, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness of non-heated nasal cannula humidifiers at flowrates less than 2 LPM. This bench study evaluated the amount of absolute humidity potentially delivered to the neonate at five commonly-used low flowrates in the neonatal patient population. Methods: A Salter Labs 1601-7 infant cannula was connected to a Hudson RCI AquaPak 340 ml humidifier; an inline CEM DT-321 hygrometer assessed the humidity at the distal end of the cannula. The following flowrates were selected: 1, ½, ¼, ⅛, and 1/16 LPM. Each flowrate ran continuously for 24 hours with a humidifier inline. Before each test was run, the temperature and relative humidity were measured with the hygrometer and recorded, at the following locations: 1) ambient, 2) at the end of the cannula prior to humidifier being connected, and 3) at the end of the cannula after the humidifier was connected. After each test was completed, the ambient relative humidity and temperature were recorded at each location; the absolute humidity was calculated from the results. The humidifiers were each weighed before and after each test with an AND EJ-610 scale and results recorded in order to determine the total amount of water displaced from the bottle over 24-hours. Each trial was repeated twice, at each flow rate. Results: As the flowrate decreased the weight loss from the humidifier decreased. The absolute humidity prior to the connection of the humidifier and after the connection to the humidifier changed very little, regardless of the flow rate, averaging between -1 mg/L and 1 mg/L. Conclusion: Insensible water loss can vary widely in infants and neonates, but is estimated to average between 15 ml/kg/day and 170 ml/kg/day. Based on the results of this study, there is minimal increase in absolute humidity delivered to the neonate at the low flowrates relative to expected insensible water loss. The cost and infection risk associated with running a humidifier is likely unnecessary, due to the lack of absolute humidity delivered to the neonate

Staying over-optimistic about the future : uncovering attentional biases to climate change messages

There is considerable concern that the public are not getting the message about climate change. One possible explanation is ‘optimism bias’, where individuals overestimate the likelihood of positive events happening to them and underestimate the likelihood of negative events. Evidence from behavioural neuroscience suggest that this bias is underpinned by selective information processing, specifically through a reduced level of neural coding of undesirable information, and an unconscious tendency for optimists to avoid fixating negative information. Here we test how this bias in attention could relate to the processing of climate change messages. Using eye tracking, we found that level of dispositional optimism affected visual fixations on climate change messages. Optimists spent less time (overall dwell time) attending to any arguments about climate changes (either ‘for’ or ‘against’) with substantially shorter individual fixations on aspects of arguments for climate change, i.e. those that reflect the scientific consensus but are bad news. We also found that when asked to summarise what they had read, non-optimists were more likely to frame their recall in terms of the arguments ‘for’ climate change; optimists were significantly more likely to frame it in terms of a debate between two opposing positions. Those highest in dispositional optimism seemeed to have the strongest and most pronounced level of optimism bias when it came to estimating the probability of being personally affected by climate change. We discuss the importance of overcoming this cognitive bias to develop more effective strategies for communicating about climate change

Pengaruh Persepsi Risiko, Persepsi Kemudahan, Persepsi Keamanan Terhadap Minat Pembelian Online Pada Website Aliexpress.Com (Studi pada Mahasiswa Program S1 Universitas Brawijaya Malang)

Sistem jual beli mulai memasuki era baru dengan adanya teknologi ecommerce. Namun dalam perkembangannya, sering ditemukan permasalahan seperti risiko, kemudahan penggunaan dan keamanan yang mengakibatkan timbulnya persepsi masyarakat mengenai penggunaan teknologi e-commerce. Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui pengaruh persepsi risiko, persepsi kemudahan dan persepsi keamanan terhadap minat pembelian online melalui website AliExpress.com. Penelitian ini menggunakan 110 sampel yang diambil dari mahasiswa program S1 Universitas Brawijaya Malang. Metode yang digunakan adalah non-probability sampling dengan teknik purposive sampling. Metode analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis regresi linier berganda menggunakan program SPSS 21.0 for Windows. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, ditemukan adanya pengaruh dari persepsi risiko, persepsi kemudahan dan persepsi keamanan terhadap minat pembelian online melalui website AliExpress.com. Variabel persepsi risiko berpengaruh signifikan terhadap minat pembelian online dengan nilai signifikan yaitu 0,012. Variabel persepsi kemudahan juga memiliki pengaruh signifikan terhadap minat pembelian online dengan nilai signifikan 0,013. Serta variabel persepsi keamanan memiliki pengaruh signifikan pula terhadap minat pembelian online dengan nilai signifikan sebesar 0,039