“Laptops are better”:Medical students' perceptions of laptops versus tablets and smartphones to support their learning

In recent years there has been a shift from the expectation that students will be supporting their learning with desktop and laptop computers to the increasing use of tablet computers (Payne, Wharrad, & Watts, 2012). This move has been reflected by initiatives from universities in the US and UK that have provided medical students with tablets to support their studies (Mathis, 2011; The University of Manchester, 2013). Noting this trend and considering how tablets might better support medical students, lecturers within the medical school at Lancaster University sought to find out whether their students – who had been provided with a laptop when they began their studies – perceived that they would be better served in their medical degrees by issuing them with either a laptop or a tablet. In March-April 2013, 137 students completed an online questionnaire which included open questions in which they were also encouraged to qualify their reasons. The quantitative results showed clearly that the students wanted to retain the provision of laptops rather than receiving tablets and this view was reinforced by responses to the open questions. For example, the responses showed that the medical students had a clear preference for writing up reports on a laptop rather than on a tablet. Even so, responses to the questions suggested some limitations in how far the students understood and used the capabilities of tablet computers even amongst those who already owned a tablet and/or a smart phone. Results were surprising in light of the noted trend towards tablet provision and uptake amongst medical students and therefore warrant further consideration. Emerging findings suggest that many of the medical students do not perceive tablets as suitable devices for writing, which brings forward issues relating to the concept of affordances (Parchoma, in press) and possibly medical students’ levels of digital literacy. These and other ideas will be much further developed by the point of the conference. The paper is currently work in progress. A literature review is underway; quantitative results have been analysed and coding has just begun for the analysis of the qualitative results. The results of the study will be presented at the conference for feedback

Entering the Sensory Landscape

Sue Curtis describes some work with a client in a dance movement psychotherapy group in school, where the child’s complex and enduring needs occasioned a different, more sensory approach to understanding and relatin

Working Self Concepts: the Impact of Work Based Learning On Self Identity Amongst Senior HRM/HRD Practitioners

This paper explores the experiences of senior HRM/D managers and strategic line managers who have engaged with a Work Based Learning (WBL) programme, and builds on earlier work by Nichol and Williams (2012) who explored the professional identity of HR/HRD practitioners. The paper seeks to understand the personal impact of this combination of work place yet externally derived learning process on self-identity since this will have lessons for the learners, for the organisation, and for providers of such programmes. The basis of this qualitative, interpretive, paper is a series of one-to-one semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners from across the public, private and not-for-profit spectrum. Analysis and interpretation are guided equally by themes arising from the data and by a priori knowledge of existing theoretical frameworks. The concepts of self-identity operate at multiple levels, which Lord and Brown (2004) refer to as the Individual, Interpersonal and Collective levels of our ‘Working Self Concept (WSC)’. Their model demonstrated how successful leadership processes occur indirectly through follower self-identities, and this current research adapts that model to argue that the WBL process similarly needs to align with participants’ self-identity in order to ensure success. There is evidence of positive impacts on self-views at all levels with affective and behavioural changes that enhanced performance as a result of engagement in WBL. Increased confidence in their own value to their respective organisations, and improved belief in the legitimacy of their accumulated knowledge skills and experience enabled them to further contribute to organisational goals

Research Notes : United States : Genetics of reaction to soybean mosaic virus (SMV) in the cultivars \u27Kawnggyo\u27, \u27Marshall\u27, and PI 96983

Several genes conditioning resistance to SMV have been found and some have been assigned gene symbols. In addition, a series of SMV strain groups has been differentiated by their interactions with a selected group of culti-vars (Cho and Goodman, 1979; Lim, 1985). We have undertaken a study of the genes conditioning the reactions of certain differential cultivars to SMV in an attempt to establish their relationships with symbolized genes

Working Self Concepts: the Impact of Work Based Learning On Self Identity Amongst Senior HRM/HRD Practitioners

This paper explores the experiences of senior HRM/D managers and strategic line managers who have engaged with a Work Based Learning (WBL) programme, and builds on earlier work by Nichol and Williams (2012) who explored the professional identity of HR/HRD practitioners. The paper seeks to understand the personal impact of this combination of work place yet externally derived learning process on self-identity since this will have lessons for the learners, for the organisation, and for providers of such programmes. The basis of this qualitative, interpretive, paper is a series of one-to-one semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners from across the public, private and not-for-profit spectrum. Analysis and interpretation are guided equally by themes arising from the data and by a priori knowledge of existing theoretical frameworks. The concepts of self-identity operate at multiple levels, which Lord and Brown (2004) refer to as the Individual, Interpersonal and Collective levels of our ‘Working Self Concept (WSC)’. Their model demonstrated how successful leadership processes occur indirectly through follower self-identities, and this current research adapts that model to argue that the WBL process similarly needs to align with participants’ self-identity in order to ensure success. There is evidence of positive impacts on self-views at all levels with affective and behavioural changes that enhanced performance as a result of engagement in WBL. Increased confidence in their own value to their respective organisations, and improved belief in the legitimacy of their accumulated knowledge skills and experience enabled them to further contribute to organisational goals

Research Notes : United States : Genetics of reaction to soybean mosaic virus (SMV) in cultivars exhibiting differential reaction to SMV strains.

A series of seven differential strain groups of SMV, labelled Gl to G7, were reported by Cho and Goodman (1979). Buzzell and Tu (1984) added another strain, G7A, and Lim (1985) added an additional strain, Cl4. We have been studying the genetic relationships among the cultivars that define the strain groups. Our intial studies involved the cultivars \u27Marshall\u27, \u27Kwanggyo\u27, \u27York\u27, \u27Ogden\u27, and PI 96.983, which differentiate the seven strain groups of Cho and Goodman

Trial of a Novel Intervention to Improve Multiple Food Hygiene Behaviors in Nepal.

AbstractIn this study, we report on the results of a trial of an intervention to improve five food hygiene behaviors among mothers of young children in rural Nepal. This novel intervention targeted five behaviors; cleanliness of serving utensils, handwashing with soap before feeding, proper storage of cooked food, and thorough reheating and water treatment. Based on formative research and a creative process using the Behavior-Centered Design approach, an innovative intervention package was designed and delivered over a period of 3 months. The intervention activities included local rallies, games, rewards, storytelling, drama, competitions linking with emotional drivers of behavior, and "kitchen makeovers" to disrupt behavior settings. The effect of the package on behavior was evaluated via a cluster-randomized before-after study in four villages with four villages serving as controls. The primary outcome was the difference in the mean cluster level proportions of mothers directly observed practicing all five food hygiene behaviors. The five targeted food hygiene behaviors were rare at baseline (composite performance of all five behaviors in intervention 1% [standard deviation (SD) = 2%] and in control groups 2% [SD = 2%]). Six weeks after the intervention, the target behaviors were more common in the intervention than in the control group (43% [SD = 14%] versus 2% [SD = 2%], P = 0.02) during follow-up. The intervention appeared to be equally effective in improving all five behaviors in all intervention clusters. This study shows that a theory-driven, systematic approach employing emotional motivators and modifying behavior settings was capable of substantially improving multiple food hygiene behaviors in Nepal

Bridge Building in Higher Education: Multi-Modal Mentoring Programs to Support Retention & Career Preparedness

Despite the limitations on time for career preparedness and shrinking professional development budgets, mentoring remains as important as ever due to the interconnectedness in a global society and the changing demographics of postsecondary education students. The traditional-age population in college that lives on campus and does not work has been declining for over three decades. The majorities of current students that are now non-traditional, and work at least part-time are first-generation, and are pursuing degrees via distance or online learning. The importance of providing a diverse mentoring strategy for this new population is borne out in research in order to improve retention, persistence, and completion rates, as well as future professional success. As such, this study sheds light on the need to develop a multi-modal mentoring program to support different student populations through a flexible combination of faculty-student, student-student, alumni-student, and supervisor-student mentoring programs applied in different contexts and modalities. While results indicate that overall faculty-initiated mentoring is preferred by both populations and the most impactful method for mentoring is face-to-face with a faculty member with non-academic experience in the field of their discipline, other approaches are more effective for populations, such as first-generation, minority, and online and graduate students

Delegation and supervision of health care assistants’ work in the daily management of uncertainty and the unexpected in clinical practice: invisible learning among newly qualified nurses

The invisibility of nursing work has been discussed in the international literature but not in relation to learning clinical skills. Evans and Guile’s (2012) theory of recontextualisation is used to explore the ways in which invisible or unplanned and unrecognised learning takes place as newly qualified nurses learn to delegate to and supervise the work of the health care assistant. In the British context, delegation and supervision are thought of as skills which are learnt ‘on the job’. We suggest that learning ‘on-the-job’ is the invisible construction of knowledge in clinical practice and that delegation is a particularly telling area of nursing practice which illustrates invisible learning. Using an ethnographic case study approach in three hospital sites in England from 2011-2014, we undertook participant observation, interviews with newly qualified nurses, ward managers and health care assistants. We discuss the invisible ways newly qualified nurses learn in the practice environment and present the invisible steps to learning which encompass the embodied, affective and social, as much as the cognitive components to learning. We argue that there is a need for greater understanding of the ‘invisible learning’ which occurs as newly qualified nurses learn to delegate and supervise