Mobile Self Efficacy in Canadian Nursing Education Programs

The purpose of this study was to assess the self-efficacy of nursing faculty and students related to their potential use of mobile technology and to ask what are the implications for their teaching and learning in practice education contexts. We used a cross-sectional survey design involving students and faculty in three separate nursing education programs in Western Canada. Fifty-six faculty members and students completed the survey in March, 2010. Results showed a high level of ownership and use of mobile devices among our respondents. Their overall average mobile self-efficacy score was 72.11 on a scale of 100, indicating that they are highly confident in their use of mobile technologies and prepared to engage in mobile learning

Mobile Self-Efficacy in a Canadian Nursing Education Program

The purpose of this study was to assess the self-efficacy of nursing faculty and students related to their potential use of mobile technology and to ask what are the implications for their teaching and learning in practice education contexts. We used a cross-sectional survey design involving students and faculty in two nursing education programs in a Western Canadian college. 121 faculty members and students completed the survey in January, 2011. Results showed a high level of ownership and use of mobile devices among our respondents. Their median mobile self-efficacy score was 75 on a scale of 100, indicating that they are highly confident in their use of mobile technologies and prepared to engage in mobile learning

Mobile Learning in Nursing Practice Education: Applying Koole's FRAME Model

We report here on an exploratory formative evaluation of a project to integrate mobile learning into a Western Canadian college nursing program. Third-year students used Hewlett Packard iPAQ mobile devices for five weeks in a practice education course in April—May, 2007. Koole's (2009) Framework for the Rational Analysis of Mobile Education (FRAME) model provided our definition of mobile learning and was used to organize our presentation of the results of the study. Participants reported positively on the usability of the mobile devices, finding them easy to learn, readily portable, and the screen size sufficient for mobile specific programs. However, they had difficulty with the wireless connectivity and, despite an initial orientation, did not have time to fully learn the devices in the context of a busy course. As a result, it is not clear if students can effectively use the social technology provided by such devices or if mobile learning can support interaction between instructors and learners in this context. The use of mobile devices in nursing practice education is feasible, but further investigation is needed on the use of m-learning for communication and interactive purposes

Using Self-Efficacy to Assess the Readiness of Nursing Educators and Students for Mobile Learning

The purpose of this study was to assess the self-efficacy of nursing faculty and students related to their potential use of mobile technology and to ask what implications this technology has for their teaching and learning in practice education contexts. We used a cross-sectional survey design involving students and faculty in two nursing education programs in a western Canadian college. In January, 2011, 121 faculty members and students completed the survey. Results showed a high level of ownership and use of mobile devices among our respondents. The median mobile self-efficacy score was 75 on a scale of 100, indicating that both faculty and students were highly confident in their use of mobile technologies and prepared to engage in mobile learning

Using Mobile Learning to Enhance the Quality of Nursing Practice Education

In this chapter, we first review the research literature pertaining to the use of mobile devices in nursing education and assess the potential of mobile learning (m-learning) for nursing practice education experiences in rural higher education settings. While there are a number of definitions of m-learning, we adopted Koole’s (2005) FRAME model, which describes it as a process resulting from the convergence of mobile technologies, human learning capacities, and social interaction, and use it as a framework to assess this literature. Second, we report on the results of one-on-one trials conducted during the first stage of a two stage, exploratory evaluation study of a project to integrate mobile learning into the Bachelor of Science Nursing curriculum in a Western Canadian college program. Fourth year Nursing students and instructors used Hewlett Packard iPAQ PDAs for a two week period around campus and the local community. The iPAQs provided both WiFi and GPRS wireless capability and were loaded with selected software, including MS Office Mobile, nursing decision-making and drug reference programs. Our participants reported on a variety of benefits and barriers to the use of these devices in nursing practice education

The feasibility of using mobile devices in nursing practice education

This paper focuses on an exploratory evaluation of the use of m-learning in nursing education. We report on Stage 2 of the formative evaluation of a project to integrate mobile learning into the Bachelor of Science Nursing curriculum in a Western Canadian college program. Third year nursing students and instructors used Hewlett Packard iPAQs for five weeks in a practice education course in April - May, 2007. The iPAQs provided WiFi and GPRS wireless capability and were loaded with programs such as Microsoft Office Mobile 6.0 and the 2007 Lippincott Nursing Drug Guide. Our participants found the mobile devices supplied to be easy to learn and comfortable to use. They felt that the devices were readily portable and the screen size sufficient for programs designed for this medium. However, they nonetheless had difficulty using the wireless connectivity afforded by the devices and found that, despite an initial orientation, they did not have time to fully learn the devices in the context of a busy course. We concluded that it was feasible to implement mobile devices in nursing practice education, but that further investigation is needed on the use of m-learning for communication and interactive purposes

Minor differences in sand physicochemistry lead to major differences in bacterial community structure and function after exposure to synthetic acid mine drainage

The formation of environmentally toxic acidic waste from mining activities is a world-wide problem. Neutralization of this waste can be accomplished by physicochemical and/or biological means. In this short-term study, synthetic acid mine drainage was added to sandfilled mesocosms containing silica-dominated (quartz) sand. Glucose was added as a carbon source for microbial iron and/or sulphate reduction. Replicates contained two separate batches of sand obtained from the same quarry site. The investigations used to assess and compare the chemical and biological functioning of the replicates included system hydraulic conductivity measurements, sand chemistry, effluent chemistry and bacterial community fingerprinting. Minor differences in composition of the sand, including the levels of available nutrients and micronutrients, resulted in major differences in measured parameters. Significant differences in effluent chemistry were found in systems containing different batches of sand. It was demonstrated that the characteristics of the sand and the presence of acid mine drainage impacted the bacterial community structure and function. The importance of the physical substrate on the selection of functional microbial communities in systems remediating AMD should not be under-estimated. The physical substrate should be carefully selected and it may be prudent to include small-scale comparative studies in each particular setting prior to full-scale implementation.Water Research Commission, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africahttp://link.springer.com/journal/12257hb201

Protocol for a family-centered behavioral intervention to reduce early childhood caries: the MySmileBuddy program efficacy trial

Background Although largely preventable through diet management and topical fluoride use, early childhood caries (ECC) often progresses to severity that necessitates surgical repair. Yet repair often fails to mitigate caries progression. Needed is an effective behavioral intervention to address underlying behavioral causes. Methods This randomized controlled trial will evaluate the efficacy of a behaviorally focused, family-centered intervention, the MySmileBuddy Program (MSB Program), to reduce ECC progression in high-risk preschoolers in New York City. Recruitment will target 858 children ages 24–71 months with ECC and their parents from primary care medical and dental clinics. The study aims to assess the MSB Program’s efficacy to: (1) decrease ECC progression measured 12-months post-randomization; and (2) enhance adoption of a low cariogenic diet and twice-daily fluoridated toothpaste use compared to control group. Potential causal pathways (mediators and moderators) will be explored. The MSB Program equips community health workers (CHWs) with an app that facilitates multilevel risk assessment and provides motivational interviewing-based counseling to inform parents about the caries process, develop personalized goals, and create family-level action plans to achieve targeted behaviors. Social support from CHWs (4 interactions during the 6-month intervention, supplemented by up to 4 in-person/remote contacts throughout the 12-month study period, based on need) is bolstered by automated text messages. Participants will be randomized to a Control Group (paper-based educational handout plus toothbrushes and fluoridated toothpaste for the child) or Intervention Group (MSB Program, two tooth-brushing observations with feedback and instruction, and toothbrushes and toothpaste for the entire family). All children will receive visual ICDAS dental examinations and parents will complete study measures at baseline and 12-months. An incentive up to $150 plus round-trip transit cards ($5.50 value) will be provided. Discussion This study hypothesizes that the MSB Program can reduce ECC progression in a high-risk population. Sufficient incentives and a focus on establishing rapport between participants and CHWs are anticipated to mitigate recruitment and retention challenges. If successful, this study will advance the long-term goal of reducing pediatric oral health disparities by demonstrating the efficacy of an acceptable and feasible intervention that shifts attention from dental repair to behavioral risk mitigation. Trial registration: Trial registration was completed on 4/13/2021 through the U.S. National Library of Medicine ClinicalTrials.gov website (Identifier: NCT04845594)

Evaluation Research and Institutional Pressures: Challenges in Public-Nonprofit Contracting

This article examines the connection between program evaluation research and decision-making by public managers. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, a framework is presented for diagnosing the pressures and conditions that lead alternatively toward or away the rational use of evaluation research. Three cases of public-nonprofit contracting for the delivery of major programs are presented to clarify the way coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures interfere with a sound connection being made between research and implementation. The article concludes by considering how public managers can respond to the isomorphic pressures in their environment that make it hard to act on data relating to program performance.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 23. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers