Search results for: pre/post disaster communication

Authors: Amin Masoumiganjgah, Luke Salmon, Julianne Burnton, Fahimeh Bagheri, Gavin Lenton, S. L. Ezekial Tan

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Introduction: The incidence of proximal biceps tenodesis and acute distal biceps repair is increasing, and rehabilitation protocols following both are variable. Golf is a popular sport within Australia, and the Gold Coast has become a Mecca for golfers, with more courses per capita than anywhere else in the world. Currently, there are no clear guidelines regarding return to golf play following biceps procedures. The aim of this study was to determine biceps brachii activation during the golf swing through electromyographic analysis, and subsequently, aid in rehabilitation guidelines and return to golf following tenodesis and repair. Methods: Subjects were amateur golfers with no previous upper limb surgery. Surface electromyography (EMG) and high-speed video recording were used to analyse activation of the left and right biceps brachii and the anterior deltoid during the golf swing. Each participant’s maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) was recorded, and they were then required to hit a golf ball aiming for specific distances of 2, 50, 100 and 150 metres at a driving range. Noraxon myoResearch and Matlab were used for data analysis. Mean % MVC was calculated for leading and trailing arms during the full swing and its’ 4 phases: back-swing, acceleration, early follow-through and late follow-through. Results: 12 golfers (2 female and 10 male), participated in the study. Median age was 27 (25 – 38), with all being right handed. Over all distances, the mean activation of the short and long head of biceps brachii was < 10% through the full swing. When breaking down the 50, 100 and 150m swing into phases, mean MVC activation was lowest in backswing (5.1%), followed by acceleration (9.7%), early follow-through (9.2%), and late follow-through (21.4%). There was more variation and slightly higher activation in the right biceps (trailing arm) in backswing, acceleration, and early follow-through; with higher activation in the leading arm in late follow-through (25.4% leading, 17.3% trailing). 2m putts resulted in low MVC values (3.1% ) with little variation across swing phases. There was considerable individual variation in results – one tense subject averaged 11.0% biceps MVC through the 2m putting stroke and others recorded peak mean MVC biceps activations of 68.9% at 50m, 101.3% at 100m, and 111.3% at 150m. Discussion: Previous studies have investigated the role of rotator cuff, spine, and hip muscles during the golf swing however, to our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the activation of biceps brachii. Many rehabilitation programs following a biceps tenodesis or repair allow active range against gravity and restrict strengthening exercises until 6 weeks, and this does not appear to be associated with any adverse outcome. Previous studies demonstrate a range of < 10% MVC is similar to the unloaded biceps brachii during walking(1), active elbow flexion with the hand positioned either in pronation or supination will produce MVC < 20% throughout range(2) and elbow flexion with a 4kg dumbbell can produce mean MVC’s of around 40%(3). Our study demonstrates that increasing activation is associated with the leading arm, increasing shot distance and the late follow-through phase. Although the cohort mean MVC of the biceps brachii is <10% through the full swing, variability is high and biceps activation reach peak mean MVC’s of over 100% in different swing phases for some individuals. Given these EMG values, caution is advised when advising patients post biceps procedures to return to long distance golf shots, particularly when the leading arm is involved. Even though it would appear that putting would be as safe as having an unloaded hand out of a sling following biceps procedures, the variability of activation patterns across different golfers would lead us to caution against accelerated golf rehabilitation in those who may be particularly tense golfers. The 50m short iron shot was too long to consider as a chip shot and more work can be done in this area to determine the safety of chipping.

Keywords: electromyographic analysis, biceps brachii rupture, golf swing, tendon surgery

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Authors: Quoc Hung Le Pham

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In the field of language study, classifier is an interesting research feature. In the world’s languages, some languages have classifier system, some do not. Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese languages are a rich classifier system, however, because of the language system, the cognitive, cultural differences, so that the syntactic structure of classifier of them also dissimilar. When using Mandarin Chinese classifiers must collocate with nouns or verbs, in the lexical category it is not like nouns or verbs, belong to the open class. But some scholars believe that Mandarin Chinese measure words are similar to English and other Indo European languages. The word hanging on the structure and word formation (suffix), is a closed class. Compared to other languages, such as Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian languages are still belonging to the classifier language’s second type, this type of language is classifier, it is in the majority of quantity must exist, and following deictic, anaphoric or quantity appearing together, not separation between its modified noun, also known as numeral classifier language. Main syntactic structure of Chinese classifiers are as follows: ‘quantity+measure+noun’, ‘pronoun+measure+noun’, ‘pronoun+quantity+measure+noun’, ‘prefix+quantity+measure +noun’, ‘quantity +adjective + measure +noun’, ‘ quantity (above 10 whole number), + duo (多)measure +noun’, ‘ quantity (around 10) + measure + duo (多) +noun’. Main syntactic structure of Vietnamese classifiers are: ‘quantity+measure+noun’, ‘ measure+noun+pronoun’, ‘quantity+measure+noun+pronoun’, ‘measure+noun+prefix+ quantity’, ‘quantity+measure+noun+adjective', ‘duo (多) +quanlity+measure+noun’, ‘quantity+measure+adjective+pronoun (quantity word could not be 1)’, ‘measure+adjective+pronoun’, ‘measure+pronoun’. In daily life, classifiers are commonly used, if Chinese learners failed to standardize this using catergory, because the negative impact might occur on their verbal communication. The richness of the Chinese classifier system contributes to the complexity in the study of the system by foreign learners, especially in the inter language of Vietnamese learners. As above mentioned, Vietnamese language also has a rich system of classifiers, however, the basic structure order of two languages are similar but both still have differences. These similarities and dissimilarities between Chinese and Vietnamese classifier systems contribute significantly to the common errors made by Vietnamese students while they acquire Chinese, which are distinct from the errors made by students from the other language background. This article from a comparative perspective of language, has an orientation towards Chinese and Vietnamese languages commonly used in classifiers semantics and structural form two aspects. This comparative study aims to identity Vietnamese students while learning Chinese classifiers may face some negative transference of mother language, beside that through the analysis of the classifiers questionnaire, find out the causes and patterns of the errors they made. As the preliminary analysis shows, Vietnamese students while learning Chinese classifiers made some errors such as: overuse classifier ‘ge’(个); misuse the other classifiers ‘*yi zhang ri ji’(yi pian ri ji), ‘*yi zuo fang zi’(yi jian fang zi), ‘*si zhang jin pai’(si mei jin pai); homonym words ‘dui, shuang, fu, tao’ (对、双、副、套), ‘ke, li’ (颗、粒).

Keywords: acquisition, classifiers, negative transfer, Vietnamse learners

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Authors: Sree Sanyal

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Research in ageing often highlights the age-related health dimension more than the psycho-social characteristics of the elderly, which also influences and challenges the health outcomes. Multimorbidity is defined as the person having more than one chronic non-communicable diseases and their prevalence increases with ageing. The study aims to evaluate the influence of social ties on self-reported prevalence of multimorbidity (selected chronic non-communicable diseases) among the selected states of elderly population in India. The data is accessed from Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India (BKPAI), collected in 2011 covering the self-reported chronic non-communicable diseases like arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, lung disease with asthma, hypertension, cataract, depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer. The data of the above diseases were taken together and categorized as: ‘no disease’, ‘one disease’ and ‘multimorbidity’. The predicted variables were demographic, socio-economic, residential types, and the variable of social ties includes social support, social engagement, perceived support, connectedness, and importance of the elderly. Predicted probability for multiple logistic regression was used to determine the background characteristics of the old in association with chronic morbidities showing multimorbidity. The finding suggests that 24.35% of the elderly are suffering from multimorbidity. Research shows that with reference to ‘no disease’, according to the socio-economic characteristics of the old, the female oldest old (80+) from others in caste and religion, widowed, never had any formal education, ever worked in their life, coming from the second wealth quintile standard, from rural Maharashtra are more prone with ‘one disease’. From the social ties background, the elderly who perceives they are important to the family, after getting older their decision-making status has been changed, prefer to stay with son and spouse only, satisfied with the communication from their children are more likely to have less single morbidity and the results are significant. Again, with respect to ‘no disease’, the female oldest old (80+), who are others in caste, Christian in religion, widowed, having less than 5 years of education completed, ever worked, from highest wealth quintile, residing in urban Kerala are more associated with multimorbidity. The elderly population who are more socially connected through family visits, public gatherings, gets support in decision making, who prefers to spend their later years with son and spouse only but stays alone shows lesser prevalence of multimorbidity. In conclusion, received and perceived social integration and support from associated neighborhood in the older days, knowing about their own needs in life facilitates better health and wellbeing of the elderly population in selected states of India.

Keywords: morbidity, multi-morbidity, prevalence, social ties

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Authors: Helen Nelly Naiga, Jane Frances Zalwango, Saudah N. Kizito, Brian Agaba, Brenda N Simbwa, Maria Goretti Zalwango, Richard Migisha, Benon Kwesiga, Daniel Kadobera, Alex Ario Riolexus, Sarah Paige, Julie R. Harris

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Background: Traditional community beliefs and practices can facilitate the spread of Ebola virus during outbreaks. On September 20, 2022, Uganda declared a Sudan Virus Disease (SVD) outbreak after a case was confirmed in Mubende District. During September–November 2022, the outbreak spread to eight additional districts. We investigated the role of community beliefs and practices in the spread of SUDV in Uganda in 2022. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Mubende, Kassanda, and Kyegegwa districts in February 2023. We conducted nine focus group discussions (FGDs) and six key informant interviews (KIIs). FGDs included SVD survivors, household members of SVD patients, traditional healers, religious leaders, and community leaders. Key informants included community, political, and religious leaders, traditional healers, and health workers. We asked about community beliefs and practices to understand if and how they contributed to the spread of SUDV. Interviews were recorded, translated, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Results: Frequently-reported themes included beliefs that the community deaths, later found to be due to SVD, were the result of witchcraft or poisoning. Key informants reported that SVD patients frequently first consulted traditional healers or spiritual leaders before seeking formal healthcare, and noted that traditional healers treated patients with signs and symptoms of SVD without protective measures. Additional themes included religious leaders conducting laying-on-of-hands prayers for SVD patients and symptomatic contacts, SVD patients and their symptomatic contacts hiding in friends’ homes, and exhumation of SVD patients originally buried in safe and dignified burials, to enable traditional burials. Conclusion: Multiple community beliefs and practices likely promoted SVD outbreak spread during the 2022 outbreak in Uganda. Engaging traditional and spiritual healers early during similar outbreaks through risk communication and community engagement efforts could facilitate outbreak control. Targeted community messaging, including clear biological explanations for clusters of deaths and information on the dangers of exhuming bodies of SVD patients, could similarly facilitate improved control in future outbreaks in Uganda.

Keywords: Ebola, Sudan virus, outbreak, beliefs, traditional

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Junkal Gutierrez, Hernane S. Barud, Sidney J. L. Ribeiro, Agnieszka Tercjak

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Nowadays the interest on green nanocomposites and on the development of more environmental friendly products has been increased. Bacterial cellulose has been recently investigated as an attractive environmentally friendly material for the preparation of low-cost nanocomposites. The formation of cellulose by laboratory bacterial cultures is an interesting and attractive biomimetic access to obtain pure cellulose with excellent properties. Additionally, properties as molar mass, molar mass distribution, and the supramolecular structure could be control using different bacterial strain, culture mediums and conditions, including the incorporation of different additives. This kind of cellulose is a natural nanomaterial, and therefore, it has a high surface-to-volume ratio which is highly advantageous in composites production. Such property combined with good biocompatibility, high tensile strength, and high crystallinity makes bacterial cellulose a potential material for applications in different fields. The aim of this investigation work was the fabrication of novel hybrid inorganic-organic composites based on bacterial cellulose, cultivated in our laboratory, as a template. This kind of biohybrid nanocomposites gathers together excellent properties of bacterial cellulose with the ones displayed by typical inorganic nanoparticles like optical, magnetic and electrical properties, luminescence, ionic conductivity and selectivity, as well as chemical or biochemical activity. In addition, the functionalization of cellulose with inorganic materials opens new pathways for the fabrication of novel multifunctional hybrid materials with promising properties for a wide range of applications namely electronic paper, flexible displays, solar cells, sensors, among others. In this work, different pathways for fabrication of multifunctional biohybrid nanopapers with tunable properties based on BC modified with amphiphilic poly(ethylene oxide-b-propylene oxide-b-ethylene oxide) (EPE) block copolymer, sol-gel synthesized nanoparticles (titanium, vanadium and a mixture of both oxides) and functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles will be presented. In situ (biosynthesized) and ex situ (at post-production level) approaches were successfully used to modify BC membranes. Bacterial cellulose based biocomposites modified with different EPE block copolymer contents were developed by in situ technique. Thus, BC growth conditions were manipulated to fabricate EPE/BC nanocomposite during the biosynthesis. Additionally, hybrid inorganic/organic nanocomposites based on BC membranes and inorganic nanoparticles were designed via ex-situ method, by immersion of never-dried BC membranes into different nanoparticle solutions. On the one hand, sol-gel synthesized nanoparticles (titanium, vanadium and a mixture of both oxides) and on the other hand superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION), Fe2O3-PEO solution. The morphology of designed novel bionanocomposites hybrid materials was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In order to characterized obtained materials from the point of view of future applications different techniques were employed. On the one hand, optical properties were analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry and on the other hand electrical properties were studied at nano and macroscale using electric force microscopy (EFM), tunneling atomic force microscopy (TUNA) and Keithley semiconductor analyzer, respectively. Magnetic properties were measured by means of magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Additionally, mechanical properties were also analyzed.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose, block copolymer, advanced characterization techniques, nanoparticles

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Authors: R. Verwiebe, L. Seewann, M. Wolf

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This presentation addresses marginalization and discrimination as experienced by young academics with a migrant background in the Austrian labor market. Focusing on second generation academics of Central Eastern European and Turkish descent we explore two major issues. First, we ask whether their career-entry and everyday professional life entails origin-specific barriers. As educational residents, they show competences which, when lacking, tend to be drawn upon to explain discrimination: excellent linguistic skills, accredited high-level training, and networks. Second, we concentrate on how this group reacts to discrimination and overcomes experiences of marginalization. To answer these questions, we utilize recent sociological and social psychological theories that focus on the diversity of individual experiences. This distinguishes us from a long tradition of research that has dealt with the motives that inform discrimination, but has less often considered the effects on those concerned. Similarly, applied coping strategies have less often been investigated, though they may provide unique insights into current problematic issues. Building upon present literature, we follow recent discrimination research incorporating the concepts of ‘multiple discrimination’, ‘subtle discrimination’, and ‘visual social markers’. 21 problem-centered interviews are the empirical foundation underlying this study. The interviewees completed their entire educational career in Austria, graduated in different universities and disciplines and are working in their first post-graduate jobs (career entry phase). In our analysis, we combined thematic charting with a coding method. The results emanating from our empirical material indicated a variety of discrimination experiences ranging from barely perceptible disadvantages to directly articulated and overt marginalization. The spectrum of experiences covered stereotypical suppositions at job interviews, the disavowal of competencies, symbolic or social exclusion by new colleges, restricted professional participation (e.g. customer contact) and non-recruitment due to religious or ethnical markers (e.g. headscarves). In these experiences the role of the academics education level, networks, or competences seemed to be minimal, as negative prejudice on the basis of visible ‘social markers’ operated ‘ex-ante’. The coping strategies identified in overcoming such barriers are: an increased emphasis on effort, avoidance of potentially marginalizing situations, direct resistance (mostly in the form of verbal opposition) and dismissal of negative experiences by ignoring or ironizing the situation. In some cases, the academics drew into their specific competences, such as an intellectual approach of studying specialist literature, focus on their intercultural competences or planning to migrate back to their parent’s country of origin. Our analysis further suggests a distinction between reactive (i.e. to act on and respond to experienced discrimination) and preventative strategies (applied to obviate discrimination) of coping. In light of our results, we would like to stress that the tension between educational and professional success experienced by academics with a migrant background – and the barriers and marginalization they continue to face – are essential issues to be introduced to socio-political discourse. It seems imperative to publicly accentuate the growing social, political and economic significance of this group, their educational aspirations, as well as their experiences of achievement and difficulties.

Keywords: coping strategies, discrimination, labor market, second generation university graduates

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Authors: Juliette MacDonald, Jun Li, Wenji Xiang, Mingwei Zhao

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Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation (SCF) was created as a result of a collaborative partnership agreement between the University of Edinburgh and Donghua University. The College provides two programmes: Fashion Innovation and Fashion Interior Design and the overarching curriculum has the intention of developing innovation and creativity within an international learning, teaching, knowledge exchange and research context. The research problem presented here focuses on the multi-national/cultural faculty in the team, the challenges arising from difficulties in communication and the associated limitations of management frameworks. The teaching faculty at SCF are drawn from China, Finland, Korea, Singapore and the UK with input from Flying Faculty from Fashion and Interior Design, Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), for 5 weeks each semester. Rather than fully replicating the administrative and pedagogical style of one or other of the institutions within this joint partnership the aim from the outset was to create a third way which acknowledges the quality assurance requirements of both Donghua and Edinburgh, the academic and technical needs of the students and provides relevant development and support for all the SCF-based staff and Flying Academics. It has been well acknowledged by those who are involved in teaching across cultures that there is often a culture shock associated with transnational education but that the experience of being involved in the delivery of a curriculum at a Joint Institution can also be very rewarding for staff and students. It became clear at SCF that if a third way might be achieved which encourages innovative approaches to fashion education whilst balancing the expectations of Chinese and western concepts of education and the aims of two institutions, then it was going to be necessary to construct a framework which developed close working relationships for the entire teaching team, so not only between academics and students but also between technicians and administrators at ECA and SCF. The attempts at co-construction and integration are built on the sharing of cultural and educational experiences and knowledge as well as provision of opportunities for reflection on the pedagogical purpose of the curriculum and its delivery. Methods on evaluating the effectiveness of these aims include a series of surveys and interviews and analysis of data drawn from teaching projects delivered to the students along with graduate successes from the last five years, since SCF first opened its doors. This paper will provide examples of best practice developed by SCF which have helped guide the faculty and embed common core values and aims of co-construction regulations and management, whilst building a pro-active TNE (Trans-National Education) team which enhances the learning experience for staff and students alike.

Keywords: cultural co-construction, educational team management, multi-cultural challenges, TNE integration for teaching teams

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Ivonete Teresinha Schulter Buss Heidemann, Michelle Kuntz Durand, Aline Megumi Arakawa-Belaunde, Sandra Mara Corrêa, Leandro Martins Costa Do Araujo, Kamila Soares Maciel

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Primary Health Care is defined as the level of a system of services that enables the achievement of answers to health needs. This level of care produces services and actions of attention to the person in the life cycle and in their health conditions or diseases. Primary Health Care refers to a conception of care model and organization of the health system that in Brazil seeks to reorganize the principles of the Unified Health System. This system is based on the principle of health as a citizen's right and duty of the State. Primary health care has family health as a priority strategy for its organization according to the precepts of the Unified Health System, structured in the logic of new sectoral practices, associating clinical work and health promotion. Thus, this study seeks to know the possibilities and limits of the care developed by professionals working in Primary Health Care. It was conducted by a qualitative approach of the participant action type, based on Paulo Freire's Research Itinerary, which corresponds to three moments: Thematic Investigation; Encoding and Decoding; and, Critical Unveiling. The themes were investigated in a health unit with the development of a culture circle with 20 professionals, from a municipality in southern Brazil, in the first half of 2021. The participants revealed as possibilities the involvement, bonding and strengthening of the interpersonal relationships of the professionals who work in the context of primary care. Promoting welcoming in primary care has favoured care and teamwork, as well as improved access. They also highlighted that care planning, the use of technologies in the process of communication and the orientation of the population enhances the levels of problem-solving capacity and the organization of services. As limits, the lack of professional recognition and the scarce material and human resources were revealed, conditions that generate tensions for health care. The reduction in the number of professionals and the low salary are pointed out as elements that boost the motivation of the health team for the development of the work. The participants revealed that due to COVID-19, the flow of care had as a priority the pandemic situation, which affected health care in primary care, and prevention and health promotion actions were canceled. The study demonstrated that empowerment and professional involvement are fundamental to promoting comprehensive and problem-solving care. However, limits of the teams are observed when exercising their activities, these are related to the lack of human and material resources, and the expansion of public health policies is urgent.

Keywords: health promotion, primary health care, health professionals, welcoming.

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Authors: Emily A. Gilbert, Jephte Sompud, Andy R. Mojiol, Cynthia B. Sompud, Alim Biun

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Gaya Island of Sabah is known for its wildlife and marine biodiversity. It has marks itself as one of the hot destinations of tourists from all around the world. Gaya Island tourism activities have contributed to Sabah’s economy revenue with the high number of tourists visiting the island. However, it has led to the increased anthropogenic noise derived from tourism activities. This may greatly interfere with the animals such as understory birds that rely on acoustic signals as a tool for communication. Many studies in other parts of the regions reveal that anthropogenic noise does decrease species richness of avian community. However, in Malaysia, published research regarding the impact of anthropogenic noise on the understory birds is still very lacking. This study was conducted in order to fill up this gap. This study aims to investigate the anthropogenic noise’s impact towards understory bird population. There were three sites within the Primary forest of Gaya Island that were chosen to sample the level of anthropogenic noise in relation to the understory bird population. Noise mapping method was used to measure the anthropogenic noise level and identify the zone with high anthropogenic noise level (> 60dB) and zone with low anthropogenic noise level (< 60dB) based on the standard threshold of noise level. The methods that were used for this study was solely mist netting and ring banding. This method was chosen as it can determine the diversity of the understory bird population in Gaya Island. The preliminary study was conducted from 15th to 26th April and 5th to 10th May 2015 whereby there were 2 mist nets that were set up at each of the zones within the selected site. The data was analyzed by using the descriptive analysis, presence and absence analysis, diversity indices and diversity t-test. Meanwhile, PAST software was used to analyze the obtain data. The results from this study present a total of 60 individuals that consisted of 12 species from 7 families of understory birds were recorded in three of the sites in Gaya Island. The Shannon-Wiener index shows that diversity of species in high anthropogenic noise zone and low anthropogenic noise zone were 1.573 and 2.009, respectively. However, the statistical analysis shows that there was no significant difference between these zones. Nevertheless, based on the presence and absence analysis, it shows that the species at the low anthropogenic noise zone was higher as compared to the high anthropogenic noise zone. Thus, this result indicates that there is an impact of anthropogenic noise on the population diversity of understory birds. There is still an urgent need to conduct an in-depth study by increasing the sample size in the selected sites in order to fully understand the impact of anthropogenic noise towards the understory birds population so that it can then be in cooperated into the wildlife management for a sustainable environment in Gaya Island.

Keywords: anthropogenic noise, biodiversity, Gaya Island, understory bird

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Authors: Neha Batra Bali, Monika Tomar, Vinay Gupta

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A reagentless biosensor for detection of urea based on ZnO-CuO composite thin film is presented in following work. Biosensors have immense potential for varied applications ranging from environmental to clinical testing, health care, and cell analysis. Immense growth in the field of biosensors is due to the huge requirement in today’s world to develop techniques which are both cost effective and accurate for prevention of disease manifestation. The human body comprises of numerous biomolecules which in their optimum levels are essential for functioning. However mismanaged levels of these biomolecules result in major health issues. Urea is one of the key biomolecules of interest. Its estimation is of paramount significance not only for healthcare sector but also from environmental perspectives. If level of urea in human blood/serum is abnormal, i.e., above or below physiological range (15-40mg/dl)), it may lead to diseases like renal failure, hepatic failure, nephritic syndrome, cachexia, urinary tract obstruction, dehydration, shock, burns and gastrointestinal, etc. Various metal nanoparticles, conducting polymer, metal oxide thin films, etc. have been exploited to act as matrix to immobilize urease to fabricate urea biosensor. Amongst them, Zinc Oxide (ZnO), a semiconductor metal oxide with a wide band gap is of immense interest as an efficient matrix in biosensors by virtue of its natural abundance, biocompatibility, good electron communication feature and high isoelectric point (9.5). In spite of being such an attractive candidate, ZnO does not possess a redox couple of its own which necessitates the use of electroactive mediators for electron transfer between the enzyme and the electrode, thereby causing hindrance in realization of integrated and implantable biosensor. In the present work, an effort has been made to fabricate a matrix based on ZnO-CuO composite prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique in order to incorporate redox properties in ZnO matrix and to utilize the same for reagentless biosensing applications. The prepared bioelectrode Urs/(ZnO-CuO)/ITO/glass exhibits high sensitivity (70µAmM⁻¹cm⁻²) for detection of urea (5-200 mg/dl) with high stability (shelf life ˃ 10 weeks) and good selectivity (interference ˂ 4%). The enhanced sensing response obtained for composite matrix is attributed to the efficient electron exchange between ZnO-CuO matrix and immobilized enzymes, and subsequently fast transfer of generated electrons to the electrode via matrix. The response is encouraging for fabricating reagentless urea biosensor based on ZnO-CuO matrix.

Keywords: biosensor, reagentless, urea, ZnO-CuO composite

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Authors: Lorena Blasco-Arcas, Francesca Pucciarelli

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Business contexts have become globalised and digitalised, which requires that managers develop a strong sense of cross-cultural intelligence while working in geographically distant teams by means of digital technologies. How to better equip future managers on these kinds of skills has been put forward as a critical issue in Business Schools. In pursuing these goals, higher education is shifting from a passive lecture approach, to more active and experiential learning approaches that are more suitable to learn skills. For example, through the use of case studies, proposing plausible business problem to be solved by students (or teams of students), these institutions have focused for long in fostering learning by doing. Though, case studies are no longer enough as a tool to promote active teamwork and experiential learning. Moreover, digital advancements applied to educational settings have enabled augmented classrooms, expanding the learning experience beyond the class, which increase students’ engagement and experiential learning. Different authors have highlighted the benefits of digital engagement in order to achieve a deeper and longer-lasting learning and comprehension of core marketing concepts. Clickers, computer-based simulations and business games have become fairly popular between instructors, but still are limited by the fact that are fictional experiences. Further exploration of real digital platforms to implement real, live projects in the classroom seem relevant for marketing and business education. Building on this, this paper describes the development of an experiential learning activity in class, in which students developed a communication campaign in teams using the BuzzFeed platform, and subsequently implementing the campaign by using other social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…). The article details the procedure of using the project for a marketing module in a Bachelor program with students located in France, Italy and Spain campuses working on multi-campus groups. Further, this paper describes the project outcomes in terms of students’ engagement and analytics (i.e. visits achieved). the project included a survey in order to analyze and identify main aspects related to how the learning experience is influenced by the cultural competence developed through working in geographically distant and culturally diverse teamwork. Finally, some recommendations to use project-based social media tools while working with virtual teamwork in the classroom are provided.

Keywords: cultural competences, experiential learning, social media, teamwork, virtual group work

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Authors: Lexi Li

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This study aims to contribute to the field of how computer technology can be exploited to enhance EFL textbook design. Specifically, the study demonstrates how computerized native and learner corpora can be used to enhance modal verb treatment in EFL textbooks. The linguistic focus is will, would, can, could, may, might, shall, should, must. The native corpus is the spoken component of BNC2014 (hereafter BNCS2014). The spoken part is chosen because the pedagogical purpose of the textbooks is communication-oriented. Using the standard query option of CQPweb, 5% of each of the nine modals was sampled from BNCS2014. The learner corpus is the POS-tagged Ten-thousand English Compositions of Chinese Learners (TECCL). All the essays under the “secondary school” section were selected. A series of five secondary coursebooks comprise the textbook corpus. All the data in both the learner and the textbook corpora are retrieved through the concordance functions of WordSmith Tools (version, 5.0). Data analysis was divided into two parts. The first part compared the patterns of modal verbs in the textbook corpus and BNC2014 with respect to distributional features, semantic functions, and co-occurring constructions to examine whether the textbooks reflect the authentic use of English. Secondly, the learner corpus was compared with the textbook corpus in terms of the use (distributional features, semantic functions, and co-occurring constructions) in order to examine the degree of influence of the textbook on learners’ use of modal verbs. Moreover, the learner corpus was analyzed for the misuse (syntactic errors, e.g., she can sings*.) of the nine modal verbs to uncover potential difficulties that confront learners. The results indicate discrepancies between the textbook presentation of modal verbs and authentic modal use in natural discourse in terms of distributions of frequencies, semantic functions, and co-occurring structures. Furthermore, there are consistent patterns of use between the learner corpus and the textbook corpus with respect to the three above-mentioned aspects, except could, will and must, partially confirming the correlation between the frequency effects and L2 grammar acquisition. Further analysis reveals that the exceptions are caused by both positive and negative L1 transfer, indicating that the frequency effects can be intercepted by L1 interference. Besides, error analysis revealed that could, would, should and must are the most difficult for Chinese learners due to both inter-linguistic and intra-linguistic interference. The discrepancies between the textbook corpus and the native corpus point to a need to adjust the presentation of modal verbs in the textbooks in terms of frequencies, different meanings, and verb-phrase structures. Along with the adjustment of modal verb treatment based on authentic use, it is important for textbook writers to take into consideration the L1 interference as well as learners’ difficulties in their use of modal verbs. The present study is a methodological showcase of the combination both native and learner corpora in the enhancement of EFL textbook language authenticity and appropriateness for learners.

Keywords: EFL textbooks, learner corpus, modal verbs, native corpus

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Authors: Maged El-Sayed Mohamed

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Eucalyptus camaldulensis is one on the most well-known species of the genus Eucalyptus in the Middle east, its importance relay on the high production of its unique volatile constituents which exhibits many medicinal and pharmacological activities. The gall-forming wasp (Leptocybe invasa) has recently come into sight as the main pest attacking E. camaldulensis and causing severe injury. The wasp lays its eggs in the petiole and midrib of leaves and stems of young shoots of E. camaldulensis, which leads to gall formation. Gall formation by L. invasa damages growing shoot and leaves of Eucalyptus, resulting in abscission of leaves and drying. AIM: This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of the gall wasp (Leptocybe invasa) attack on the volatile constitutes of E. camaldulensis. This could help in the control of this wasp through stimulating plant defenses or production of a new allelochemicals or insecticide. The study of volatile constitutes of Eucalyptus before and after attack by the wasp can help the re-use and recycle of the infected Eucalyptus trees for new pharmacological and medicinal activities. Methodology: The fresh gall wasp-attacked and healthy leaves (100 g each) were cut and immediately subjected to hydrodistillation using Clevenger-type apparatus for 3 hours. The volatile fractions isolated were analyzed using Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Kovat’s retention indices (RI) were calculated with respect to a set of co-injected standard hydrocarbons (C10-C28). Compounds were identified by comparing their spectral data and retention indices with Wiley Registry of Mass Spectral Data 10th edition (April 2013), NIST 11 Mass Spectral Library (NIST11/2011/EPA/NIH) and literature data. Results: Fifty-nine components representing 89.13 and 88.60% of the total volatile fraction content respectively were quantitatively analyzed. Twenty-six major compounds at an average concentration greater than 0.1 ± 0.02% have been used for the statistical comparison. From those major components, twenty-one were found in both the attacked and healthy Eucalyptus leaves’ fractions in different concentration and five components, mono terpene p-Mentha-2-4(8) diene and the sesquiterpenes δ-elemene, β-elemene, E-caryophyllene and Bicyclogermacrene, were unique and only produced in the attacked-leaves’ fraction. CONCLUSION: Newly produced components or those commonly found in the volatile fraction and changed in concentration could represent a part of the plant defense mechanisms or might be an element of the plant allelopathic and communication mechanisms. Identification of the components of the gall wasp-damaged leaves can help in their recycling for different physiological, pharmacological and medicinal uses.

Keywords: Eucalyptus camaldulensis, eucalyptus recycling, gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa, plant defense mechanisms, Terpene fraction

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Authors: Katherine O'Grady-Bray

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For some deaf children, reading books can be a challenge. Frank Barnes School (FBS) provides guided reading time with Teachers of the Deaf, in which they read books with deaf children using a bilingual approach. The vocabulary and context of the story is explained to deaf children in BSL so they develop skills bridging English and BSL languages. However, the success of this practice is only achieved if the person is fluent in both languages. FBS piloted a scheme to convert an Oxford Reading Tree (ORT) book into an e-book that can be read using tablets. Deaf readers at FBS have access to both languages (BSL and English) during lessons and outside the classroom. The pupils receive guided reading sessions with a Teacher of the Deaf every morning, these one to one sessions give pupils the opportunity to learn how to bridge both languages e.g. how to translate English to BSL and vice versa. Generally, due to our pupils’ lack of access to incidental learning, gaining new information about the world around them is limited. This highlights the importance of quality time to scaffold their language development. In some cases, there is a shortfall of parental support at home due to poor communication skills or an unawareness of how to interact with deaf children. Some families have a limited knowledge of sign language or simply don’t have the required learning environment and strategies needed for language development with deaf children. As the majority of our pupils’ preferred language is BSL we use that to teach reading and writing English. If this is not mirrored at home, there is limited opportunity for joint reading sessions. Development of the e-Book required planning and technical development. The overall production took time as video footage needed to be shot and then edited individually for each page. There were various technical considerations such as having an appropriate background colour so not to draw attention away from the signer. Appointing a signer with the required high level of BSL was essential. The language and pace of the sign language was an important consideration as it was required to match the age and reading level of the book. When translating English text to BSL, careful consideration was given to the nonlinear nature of BSL and the differences in language structure and syntax. The e-book was produced using Apple’s ‘iBook Author’ software which allowed video footage of the signer to be embedded on pages opposite the text and illustration. This enabled BSL translation of the content of the text and inferences of the story. An interpreter was used to directly ‘voice over’ the signer rather than the actual text. The aim behind the structure and layout of the e-book is to allow parents to ‘read’ with their deaf child which helps to develop both languages. From observations, the use of e-books has given pupils confidence and motivation with their reading, developing skills bridging both BSL and English languages and more effective reading time with parents.

Keywords: bilingual book, e-book, BSL and English, bilingual e-book

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Authors: Mary Isobelle Mullaney

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The maxim "an unexamined life is not worth living," attributed to Socrates, prompts a contemplative reflection spanning over 32 years as a teacher educator in the Republic of Ireland. Taking time to contemplate the changes that have occurred and the current landscape provides valuable insights into the dynamic terrain of teacher preparation. The reflective journey traverses the impacts of global and societal shifts, responding to challenges, embracing advancements, and navigating the delicate balance between responsiveness to the world and the active shaping of it. The transformative events of the COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the indispensable role of teachers in Ireland, reinforcing the critical nature of education for the well-being of pupils. Research solidifies the understanding that teachers matter and so it is worth exploring the pivotal role of the teacher educator. This reflective piece examines the changes in teacher education and explores the juxtapositions that have emerged in response to three decades of profound change. The attractiveness of teaching as a career is juxtaposed against the reality of the demands of the job, with conditions for public servants in Ireland undergoing a shift. High-level strategic discussions about increasing teacher numbers now contrast with a previous oversupply. The delicate balance between the imperative to increase enrolment (getting "bums on seats") and the gatekeeper role of teacher educators is explored, raising questions about maintaining high standards amid changing student profiles. Another poignant dichotomy involves the high demand for teachers versus the hurdles candidates face in becoming teachers. The rising cost and duration of teacher education courses raise concerns about attracting quality candidates. The perceived attractiveness of teaching as a career contends with the reality of increased demands on educators. One notable juxtaposition centres around the rapid evolution of Irish initial teacher education versus the potential risk of change overload. The Teaching Council of Ireland has spearheaded considerable changes, raising questions about the timing and evaluation of these changes. This reflection contemplates the vision of a professional teaching council versus its evolving reality and the challenges posed by the value placed on school placement in teacher preparation. The juxtapositions extend to the classroom, where theory may not seamlessly align with the lived experience. Inconsistencies between college expectations and the classroom reality prompt reflection on the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs. Addressing the changing demographic landscape of society and schools, there is a persistent incongruity between the diversity of Irish society and the profile of second-level teachers. As education undergoes a digital revolution, the enduring philosophies of education confront technological advances. This reflection highlights the tension between established practices and contemporary demands, acknowledging the irreplaceable value of face-to-face interaction while integrating technology into teacher training programs. In conclusion, this reflective journey encapsulates the intricate web of juxtapositions in Irish Initial Teacher Education. It emphasises the enduring commitment to fostering education, recognising the profound influence educators wield, and acknowledging the challenges and gratifications inherent in shaping the minds and futures of generations to come.

Keywords: Irish post primary teaching, juxtapositions, reflection, teacher education

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Authors: Marcela Parra-Vargas, Ana Sandoval-Rodriguez, Roberto Rodriguez-Echevarria, Jose Dominguez-Rosales, Juan Armendariz-Borunda

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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by an excess of hepatic lipids, and it is to author’s best knowledge, the most prevalent chronic liver disorder. Anthocyanin-rich food consumption is linked to health benefits in metabolic disorders associated with obesity and NAFLD, although the precise functional role of anthocyanidin delphinidin (Dp) has yet to be established. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the Dp in NAFLD metabolic alterations by evaluating prevention or amelioration of hepatic lipid accumulation, as well as molecular mechanisms in two experimental obesity-related models of NALFD. In vitro: HepG2 cells were incubated with sodium palmitate (PA, 1 mM) to induce lipotoxic damage, and concomitantly treated with Dp (180 uM) for 24 h. Subsequently, total lipid accumulation was measured by colorimetric staining with Oil Red O, and total intrahepatic triglycerides were determined by an enzymatic assay. To assess molecular mechanisms, cells were pre-treated with PA for 24 h and then exposed to Dp for 1 h. In vivo: four-week-old male C57BL/6Nhsd mice were allocated in two main groups. Mice were fed with standard diet (control) or high-fat and high-carbohydrate diet (45% fat, HFD) for 16 wk to induce NAFLD. Then HFD was divided into subgroups: one treated orally with Dp (15 mg/kg bw, HFD-Dp) every day for 4 wk, while HFD group treated with vehicle (DMSO). Weight and fasting glucose were recorded weekly, while dietary ingestion was measured daily. Insulin tolerance test was performed at the end of treatment. Liver histology was evaluated with H&E and Masson’s trichrome stain. RT-PCR was used to evaluate gene expression and Western Blot to determine levels of protein in both experimental models. Parametric data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test for non-parametric data, and P < 0.5 were considered significant. Dp prevented hepatic lipid accumulation by PA in HepG2 hepatocytes. Furthermore, Dp down-regulated gene expression of SREBP1c, FAS, and CPT1a without modifying AMPK phosphorylation levels. In vivo, Dp oral administration did not ameliorate lipid metabolic alterations raised by HFD. Adiposity, dietary ingestion, fasting glucose, and insulin sensitivity after Dp treatment remained similar to HFD group. Histological analysis showed hepatic damage in HFD groups and no differences between HFD and HFD-Dp groups were found. Hepatic gene expression of ACC and FAS were not altered by HFD. SREBP1c was similar in both HFD and HFD-Dp groups. No significant changes were observed in SREBP1c, ACC, and FAS adipose tissue gene expression by HFD or Dp treatment. Additionally, immunoblotting analysis revealed no changes in pathway SIRT1-LKB-AMPK and PPAR alpha by both HFD groups compared to control. In conclusion, the antioxidant Dp may provoke beneficial effects in the prevention of hepatic lipid accumulation. Nevertheless, the oral dose administrated in mice that simulated the total intake of anthocyanins consumed daily by humans has no effect as a treatment on hepatic lipid metabolic alterations and histological abnormalities associated with exposure to chronic HFD. A healthy lifestyle with regular intake of antioxidants such as anthocyanins may prevent metabolic alterations in NAFLD.

Keywords: anthocyanins, antioxidants, delphinidin, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, obesity

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Authors: Esther Paul, Ibrahim A. M. Alzaydani, Al Hakami, Caryl Beynon

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Research Objectives and Goal: The main aim of the current study was to explore the perspectives of healthcare workers on Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and infection control measures in a tertiary care Hospital in Abha, Saudi Arabia. As per our knowledge, this is perhaps the first qualitative study on HAI to be done in Saudi Arabia. The goal of the study was to understand the perspectives of the healthcare workers on the current protocol and guidelines for HAI and infections control measures in the hospital, the effectiveness of the current protocol for HAI and infection control measures and ways of reducing the incidence of HAI and improve infection control measures. Methods used: A qualitative research design was used to collect the data from 25 healthcare workers consisting of doctors and nurses, recruited by Snowball strategy via semi-structured interviews which were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim immediately. An interview guide consisting of open-ended questions about the existing HAI and infection control practices in the healthcare facility, the awareness of the healthcare workers about HAI and the need for safe infection control measures were used to collect the data. The transcribed data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. Results: Using thematic analysis four themes were identified.1.Knowledge of HAI and infection control 2. Infection control measures in practice 3. The gap in infection control measures and HAI 4. Required Implementations. The first theme covered the participants' knowledge on HAI, its definition, the types of HAI and the infection control measures.Most of the participants were aware of HAI and had some idea of the definition of HAI, its significance and the dangers posed by HAI, but few residents had no idea of the types of HAI. The second theme was focussed on the infection control measures in practice. Most of the participants were aware of the importance of infection control measures like hand hygiene, catheter care, and waste disposal. The nurses were responsible for most of the disinfection and sterilization measures and practiced it effectively. However, some doctors and residents had no inkling about these measures. The third theme emphasized that although most of the participants were aware of HAI and infection control measures and were in practice. There were some lacunae regarding their knowledge of the different types of HAI, Personal Protective Equipment practices, communication among the healthcare personnel and the hospital administrations and the means of waste disposal. The fourth and the final theme identified that most of the participants felt the need for implementations of changes regarding existing protocols, workshops/seminars, methods of waste disposal and sterilization and disinfection practices. Conclusion: The current qualitative study concluded that there is a need for better educational programs and hands-on training for all the healthcare personnel including the paramedical staff as well. The residents should have adequate knowledge of infection control practices to guide the nurses and should share the responsibility with the nurses in the practice of effective infection control measures

Keywords: healthcare-associated infections, infection control measures, perspectives, qualitative

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Authors: E. Tan, O. McKay, T. Clarnette T., D. Croagh

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Background: Historically with pancreatic trauma, complete disruption of the main pancreatic duct (MPD), classified as Grade IV-V by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST), necessitated a damage-control laparotomy. This was to avoid mortality, shorten diet upgrade timeframe, and hence shorter length of stay. However, acute pancreatic resection entailed complications of pancreatic fistulas and leaks. With the advance of imaging-guided interventions, non-operative management such as percutaneous and transpapillary drainage of traumatic peripancreatic collections have been trialled favourably. The aim of this case series is to evaluate the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided (EUS) transmural drainage in managing traumatic peripancreatic collections as a less invasive alternative to traditional approaches. This study also highlights the importance of anatomical knowledge regarding peripancreatic collection’s common location in the lesser sac, the pancreas relationship to adjacent organs, and the formation of the main pancreatic duct in regards to the feasibility of therapeutic internal drainage. Methodology: A retrospective case series was conducted at a single tertiary endoscopy unit, analysing patient data over a 5-year period. Inclusion criteria outlined patients age 5 to 80-years-old, traumatic pancreatic injury of at least Grade IV and haemodynamic stability. Exclusion criteria involved previous episodes of pancreatitis or abdominal trauma. Patient demographics and clinicopathological characteristics were retrospectively collected. Results: The study identified 7 patients with traumatic pancreatic injuries that were managed from 2018-2022; age ranging from 5 to 34 years old, with majority being female (n=5). Majority of the mechanisms of trauma were a handlebar injury (n=4). Diagnosis was confirmed with an elevated lipase and computerized tomotography (CT) confirmation of proximal pancreatic transection with MPD disruption. All patients sustained an isolated single organ grade IV pancreatic injury, except case 4 and 5 with other intra-abdominal visceral Grade 1 injuries. 6 patients underwent early ERCP-guided transpapillary drainage with 1 being unsuccessful for pancreatic duct stent insertion (case 1) and 1 complication of stent migration (case 2). Surveillance imaging post ERCP showed the stents were unable to bridge the disrupted duct and development of symptomatic collections with an average size of 9.9cm. Hence, all patients proceeded to EUS-guided transmural drainage, with 2/7 patients requiring repeat drainages (case 6 and 7). Majority (n=6) had a cystogastrostomy, whilst 1 (case 6) had a cystoenterostomy due to feasibility of the peripancreatic collection being adjacent to duodenum rather than stomach. However, case 6 subsequently required repeat EUS-guided drainage with cystogastrostomy for ongoing collections. Hence all patients avoided initial laparotomy with an average index length of stay of 11.7 days. Successful transmural drainage was demonstrated, with no long-term complications of pancreatic insufficiency; except for 1 patient requiring a distal pancreatectomy at 2 year follow-up due to chronic pain. Conclusion: The early results of this series support EUS-guided transmural drainage as a viable management option for traumatic peripancreatic collections, showcasing successful outcomes, minimal complications, and long-term efficacy in avoiding surgical interventions. More studies are required before the adoption of this procedure as a less invasive and complication-prone management approach for traumatic peripancreatic collections.

Keywords: endoscopic ultrasound, cystogastrostomy, pancreatic trauma, traumatic peripancreatic collection, transmural drainage

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Authors: Arjun Goutham, Chaitanya Sridhar, Sunita Maheshwari, Robin Uthappa, Prasanna Gopinath

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In alignment with the growth in the sporting industry, a number of people playing and competing in sports are growing exponentially across the globe. However, the number of sports psychology experts are not growing at a similar rate, especially in the Asian and more so, Indian context. Hence, the access to actionable mental training solutions specific to individual athletes is limited. Also, the time constraint an athlete faces due to their intense training schedule makes one-on-one sessions difficult. One of the means to bridge that gap is through technology. Technology makes individualization possible. It allows for easy access to specific-qualitative content/information and provides a medium to place individualized assessments, analysis, solutions directly into an athlete's hands. This enables mental training awareness, education, and real-time actionable solutions possible for athletes in-spite of the limitation of available sports psychology experts in their region. Furthermore, many athletes are hesitant to seek support due to the stigma of appearing weak. Such individuals would prefer a more discreet way. Athletes who have strong mental performance tend to produce better results. The mobile application helps to equip athletes with assessing and developing their mental strategies directed towards improving performance on an ongoing basis. When an athlete understands their strengths and limitations in their mental application, they can focus specifically on applying the strategies that work and improve on zones of limitation. With reports, coaches get to understand the unique inner workings of an athlete and can utilize the data & analysis to coach them with better precision and use coaching styles & communication that suits better. Systematically capturing data and supporting athletes(with individual-specific solutions) or teams with assessment, planning, instructional content, actionable tools & strategies, reviewing mental performance and the achievement of objectives & goals facilitate for a consistent mental skills development at all levels of sporting stages of an athlete's career. The mobile application will help athletes recognize and align with their stable attributes such as their personalities, learning & execution modalities, challenges & requirements of their sport, etc and help develop dynamic attributes like states, beliefs, motivation levels, focus etc. with practice and training. It will provide measurable analysis on a regular basis and help them stay aligned to their objectives & goals. The solutions are based on researched areas of influence on sporting performance individually or in teams.

Keywords: athletes, mental training, mobile application, performance, sports

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Areti Okalidou, Paul D. Hatzigiannakoglou, Aikaterini Vatou, George Kyriafinis

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Young children are nowadays adept at using technology. Hence, computer-based auditory training programs (CBATPs) have become increasingly popular in aural rehabilitation for children with hearing loss and/or with cochlear implants (CI). Yet, their clinical utility for prognostic, diagnostic, and monitoring purposes has not been explored. The purposes of the study were: a) to develop an updated version of the auditory rehabilitation tool for Greek-speaking children with cochlear implants, b) to develop a database for behavioral responses, and c) to compare accuracy rates and reaction times in children differing in hearing status and other medical and demographic characteristics, in order to assess the tool’s clinical utility in prognosis, diagnosis, and progress monitoring. The updated version of the auditory rehabilitation tool was developed on a tablet, retaining the User-Centered Design approach and the elements of the Virtual Reality (VR) serious game. The visual stimuli were farm animals acting in simple game scenarios designed to trigger children’s responses to animal sounds, names, and relevant sentences. Based on an extended version of Erber’s auditory development model, the VR game consisted of six stages, i.e., sound detection, sound discrimination, word discrimination, identification, comprehension of words in a carrier phrase, and comprehension of sentences. A familiarization stage (learning) was set prior to the game. Children’s tactile responses were recorded as correct, false, or impulsive, following a child-dependent set up of a valid delay time after stimulus offset for valid responses. Reaction times were also recorded, and the database was in Εxcel format. The tablet version of the auditory rehabilitation tool was piloted in 22 preschool children with Νormal Ηearing (ΝΗ), which led to improvements. The study took place in clinical settings or at children’s homes. Fifteen children with CI, aged 5;7-12;3 years with post-implantation 0;11-5;1 years used the auditory rehabilitation tool. Eight children with CI were monolingual, two were bilingual and five had additional disabilities. The control groups consisted of 13 children with ΝΗ, aged 2;6-9;11 years. A comparison of both accuracy rates, as percent correct, and reaction times (in sec) was made at each stage, across hearing status, age, and also, within the CI group, based on presence of additional disability and bilingualism. Both monolingual Greek-speaking children with CI with no additional disabilities and hearing peers showed high accuracy rates at all stages, with performances falling above the 3rd quartile. However, children with normal hearing scored higher than the children with CI, especially in the detection and word discrimination tasks. The reaction time differences between the two groups decreased in language-based tasks. Results for children with CI with additional disability or bilingualism varied. Finally, older children scored higher than younger ones in both groups (CI, NH), but larger differences occurred in children with CI. The interactions between familiarization of the software, age, hearing status and demographic characteristics are discussed. Overall, the VR game is a promising tool for tracking the development of auditory skills, as it provides multi-level longitudinal empirical data. Acknowledgment: This work is part of a project that has received funding from the Research Committee of the University of Macedonia under the Basic Research 2020-21 funding programme.

Keywords: VR serious games, auditory rehabilitation, auditory training, children with cochlear implants

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Claire Williams

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Randomised controlled Trials (RCTs) of efficacy are still perceived as the gold standard for the generation of evidence, and whilst advances in data collection methods are well developed, this progress has not been matched for the reporting of adverse events (AEs). Assessment and reporting of AEs in clinical trials are fraught with human error and inefficiency and are extremely time and resource intensive. Recent research conducted into the quality of reporting of AEs during clinical trials concluded it is substandard and reporting is inconsistent. Investigators commonly send reports to sponsors who are incorrectly categorised and lacking in critical information, which can complicate the detection of valid safety signals. In our presentation, we will describe an electronic data capture system, which has been designed to support clinical trial processes by reducing the resource burden on investigators, improving overall trial efficiencies, and making trials safer for patients. This proprietary technology was developed using expertise proven in the delivery of the world’s first prospective, phase 3b real-world trial, ‘The Salford Lung Study, ’ which enabled robust safety monitoring and reporting processes to be accomplished by the remote monitoring of patients’ EHRs. This technology enables safety alerts that are pre-defined by the protocol to be detected from the data extracted directly from the patients EHR. Based on study-specific criteria, which are created from the standard definition of a serious adverse event (SAE) and the safety profile of the medicinal product, the system alerts the investigator or study team to the safety alert. Each safety alert will require a clinical review by the investigator or delegate; examples of the types of alerts include hospital admission, death, hepatotoxicity, neutropenia, and acute renal failure. This is achieved in near real-time; safety alerts can be reviewed along with any additional information available to determine whether they meet the protocol-defined criteria for reporting or withdrawal. This active surveillance technology helps reduce the resource burden of the more traditional methods of AE detection for the investigators and study teams and can help eliminate reporting bias. Integration of multiple healthcare data sources enables much more complete and accurate safety data to be collected as part of a trial and can also provide an opportunity to evaluate a drug’s safety profile long-term, in post-trial follow-up. By utilising this robust and proven method for safety monitoring and reporting, a much higher risk of patient cohorts can be enrolled into trials, thus promoting inclusivity and diversity. Broadening eligibility criteria and adopting more inclusive recruitment practices in the later stages of drug development will increase the ability to understand the medicinal products risk-benefit profile across the patient population that is likely to use the product in clinical practice. Furthermore, this ground-breaking approach to AE detection not only provides sponsors with better-quality safety data for their products, but it reduces the resource burden on the investigator and study teams. With the data taken directly from the source, trial costs are reduced, with minimal data validation required and near real-time reporting enables safety concerns and signals to be detected more quickly than in a traditional RCT.

Keywords: more comprehensive and accurate safety data, near real-time safety alerts, reduced resource burden, safer trials

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Authors: Jim Weese

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The Kinesiology, Exercise and Sport Science environment remain excellent venues for leadership research. Prescribed leadership (coaching), emergent leadership (players and organizations), and executive leadership are all popular themes in the research literature. Leadership remains a popular area of inquiry in the sport management domain as well as an interesting area for practitioners who wish to heighten their leadership practices and effectiveness. The need for effective leadership in these areas given competing demands for attention and resources may be at an all-time high. The presenter has extensive research and practical experience in the area and has developed his concept based on the latest leadership literature. He refers to this as the Five ’C’s of Leadership. These components, noted below, have been empirically validated and have served as the foundation for extensive consulting with academic, sport, and business leaders. Credibility (C1) is considered the foundation of leadership. There are two components to this area, namely: (a) leaders being respected for having the relevant knowledge, insights, and experience to be seen as credible sources of information, and (b) followers perceiving the leader as being a person of character, someone who is honest, reliable, consistent, and trustworthy. Compelling Vision (C2) refers to the leader’s ability to focus the attention of followers on a desired end goal. Effective leaders understand trends and developments in their industry. They also listen attentively to the needs and desires of their stakeholders and use their own instincts and experience to shape these ideas into an inspiring vision that is effectively and continuously communicated. Charismatic Communicator (C3) refers to the leader’s ability to formally and informally communicate with members. Leaders must deploy mechanisms and communication techniques to keep their members informed and engaged. Effective leaders sprinkle in ‘proof points’ that reinforce the vision’s relevance and/or the unit’s progress towards its attainment. Contagious Enthusiasm (C4) draws on the emotional intelligence literature as it relates to exciting and inspiring followers. Effective leaders demonstrate a level of care, commitment, and passion for their people and feelings of engagement permeate the group. These leaders genuinely care about the task at hand, and for the people working to make it a reality. Culture Builder (C5) is the capstone component of the model and is critical to long-term success and survival. Organizational culture refers to the dominant beliefs, values and attitudes of members of a group or organization. Some have suggested that developing and/or imbedding a desired culture for an organization is the most important responsibility for a leader. The author outlines his Five ‘C’s’ of Leadership concept and provide direct application to executive leadership in Kinesiology, Exercise and Sport Science.

Keywords: effectiveness, leadership, management, sport

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Authors: Mary Jane Suarez

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A massive educational overhaul has taken place at the onset of the 21st century addressing the mismatches of employability skills with that of scholastic skills taught in schools. For a community to thrive in an ever-developing economy, the teaching of the necessary skills for job competencies should be realized by every educational institution. However, in harnessing 21st-century skills amongst learners, teachers, who often lack familiarity and thorough insights into the emerging 21st-century skills, are chained with the restraint of the need to comprehend the physiognomies of 21st-century skills learning and the requisite to implement the tenets of 21st-century skills teaching. With the endeavor to espouse 21st-century skills learning and teaching, a United States-based national coalition called Partnership 21st Century Skills (P21) has identified the four most important skills in 21st-century learning: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation with an established framework for 21st-century skills standards. Assessment of skills is the lifeblood of every teaching and learning encounter. It is correspondingly crucial to look at the 21st century standards and the assessment guides recognized by P21 to ensure that learners are 21st century ready. This mixed-method study sought to discover and describe what classroom assessments were used by English teachers in a public secondary school in the Philippines with course offerings on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The research evaluated the assessment tools implemented by English teachers and how these assessment tools were congruent to the 21st assessment standards of P21. A convergent parallel design was used to analyze assessment tools and practices in four phases. In the data-gathering phase, survey questionnaires, document reviews, interviews, and classroom observations were used to gather quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously, and how assessment tools and practices were consistent with the P21 framework with the four Cs as its foci. In the analysis phase, the data were treated using mean, frequency, and percentage. In the merging and interpretation phases, a side-by-side comparison was used to identify convergent and divergent aspects of the results. In conclusion, the results yielded assessments tools and practices that were inconsistent, if not at all, used by teachers. Findings showed that there were inconsistencies in implementing authentic assessments, there was a scarcity of using a rubric to critically assess 21st skills in both language and literature subjects, there were incongruencies in using portfolio and self-reflective assessments, there was an exclusion of intercultural aspects in assessing the four Cs and the lack of integrating collaboration in formative and summative assessments. As a recommendation, a harmonized assessment scheme of P21 skills was fashioned for teachers to plan, implement, and monitor classroom assessments of 21st-century skills, ensuring the alignment of such assessments to P21 standards for the furtherance of the institution’s thrust to effectively integrate 21st-century skills assessment standards to its curricula.

Keywords: 21st-century skills, 21st-century skills assessments, assessment standards, congruency, four Cs

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Authors: Richard Vuijk, Arnoud Arntz

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Rationale: To our knowledge treatment of personality disorder comorbidity in adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is understudied and is still in its infancy: We do not know if treatment of personality disorders may be applicable to adults with ASD. In particular, it is unknown whether patients with ASD benefit from experiential techniques that are part of schema therapy developed for the treatment of personality disorders. Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the efficacy of a schema mode focused treatment with adult clients with ASD and comorbid personality pathology (i.e. at least one personality disorder). Specifically, we investigate if they can benefit from both cognitive-behavioral, and experiential interventions. Study design: A multiple baseline case series study. Study population: Adult individuals (age > 21 years) with ASD and at least one personality disorder. Participants will be recruited from Sarr expertise center for autism in Rotterdam. The study requires 12 participants. Intervention: The treatment protocol consists of 35 weekly offered sessions, followed by 10 monthly booster sessions. A multiple baseline design will be used with baseline varying from 5 to 10 weeks, with weekly supportive sessions. After baseline, a 5-week exploration phase follows with weekly sessions during which current and past functioning, psychological symptoms, schema modes are explored, and information about the treatment will be given. Then 15 weekly sessions with cognitive-behavioral interventions and 15 weekly sessions with experiential interventions will be given. Finally, there will be a 10-month follow-up phase with monthly booster sessions. Participants are randomly assigned to baseline length, and respond weekly during treatment and monthly at follow-up on Belief Strength of negative core beliefs (by VAS), and fill out SMI, SCL-90 and SRS-A 7 times during screening procedure (i.e. before baseline), after baseline, after exploration, after cognitive and behavioral interventions, after experiential interventions, and after 5- and 10- month follow-up. The SCID-II will be administered during screening procedure (i.e. before baseline), at 5- and at 10-month follow-up. Main study parameters: The primary study parameter is negative core beliefs. Secondary study parameters include schema modes, personality disorder manifestations, psychological symptoms, and social interaction and communication. Discussion: To the best of author’s knowledge so far no study has been published on the application of schema mode focused interventions in adult patients with ASD and comorbid PD(s). This study offers the first systematic test of application of schema therapy for adults with ASD. The results of this study will provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of schema therapy in treating adults with both ASD and PD(s). The study intends to provide valuable information for future development and implementation of therapeutic interventions for adults with both ASD and PD(s).

Keywords: adults, autism spectrum disorder, personality disorder, schema therapy

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Authors: Susanna Asatryan

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The author will introduce a single module related to English teaching methodology for master course students getting specialization “A Foreign Language Teacher of High Schools And Professional Educational Institutions” of Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences. The overall aim of the presentation is to introduce learning and teaching strategies within EXE Computer program for Mastery student-teachers of the University. The author will display the advantages of the use of this program. The learners interact with the teacher in the classroom as well as they are provided an opportunity for virtual domain to carry out their learning procedures in association with assessment and self-assessment. So they get integrated into blended learning. As this strategy is in its piloting stage, the author has elaborated a single module, embracing 3 main sections: -Teaching English vocabulary at high school, -Teaching English grammar at high school, and -Teaching English pronunciation at high school. The author will present the above mentioned topics with corresponding sections and subsections. The strong point is that preparing this module we have planned to display it on the blended learning landscape. So for this account working with EXE program is highly effective. As it allows the users to operate several tools for self-learning and self-testing/assessment. The author elaborated 3 single EXE files for each topic. Each file starts with the section’s subject-specific description: - Objectives and Pre-knowledge, followed by the theoretical part. The author associated and flavored her observations with appropriate samples of charts, drawings, diagrams, recordings, video-clips, photos, pictures, etc. to make learning process more effective and enjoyable. Before or after the article the author has downloaded a video clip, related to the current topic. EXE offers a wide range of tools to work out or prepare different activities and exercises for the learners: 'Interactive/non-interactive' and 'Textual/non-textual'. So with the use of these tools Multi-Select, Multi-Choice, Cloze, Drop-Down, Case Study, Gap-Filling, Matching and different other types of activities have been elaborated and submitted to the appropriate sections. The learners task is to prepare themselves for the coming module or seminar, related to teaching methodology of English vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The point is that the teacher has an opportunity for face to face communication, as well as to connect with the learners through the Moodle, or as a single EXE file offer it to the learners for their self-study and self-assessment. As for the students’ feedback –EXE environment also makes it available.

Keywords: blended learning, EXE program, learning/teaching strategies, self-study/assessment, virtual domain,

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Authors: Ting-I Lin

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Purpose: This article explores the care experience of a 34-year-old female breast cancer patient who was admitted to the intensive care unit after undergoing a modified radical mastectomy. The patient discovered a lump in her right breast during a self-examination and, after mammography and ultrasound-guided biopsy, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in the right breast. The tumor measured 1.5 x 1.4 x 2 cm, and the patient underwent a modified radical mastectomy. Postoperatively, she exhibited feelings of inferiority due to changes in her appearance. Method: During the care period, we engaged in conversations, observations, and active listening, using Gordon's Eleven Functional Health Patterns for a comprehensive assessment. In collaboration with the critical care team, a psychologist, and an oncology case manager, we conducted an interdisciplinary discussion and reached a consensus on key nursing issues. These included pain related to postoperative tumor excision and disturbed body image due to changes in appearance after surgery. Result: During the care period, a private space was provided to encourage the patient to express her feelings about her altered body image. Communication was conducted through active listening and a non-judgmental approach. The patient's anxiety level, as measured by the depression and anxiety scale, decreased from moderate to mild, and she was able to sleep for 6-8 hours at night. The oncology case manager was invited to provide education on breast reconstruction using breast models and videos to both the patient and her husband. This helped rebuild the patient's confidence. With the patient's consent, a support group was arranged where a peer with a similar experience shared her journey, offering emotional support and encouragement. This helped alleviate the psychological stress and shock caused by the cancer diagnosis. Additionally, pain management was achieved through adjusting the dosage of analgesics, administering Ultracet 37.5 mg/325 mg 1# Q6H PO, along with distraction techniques and acupressure therapy. These interventions helped the patient relax and alleviate discomfort, maintaining her pain score at a manageable level of 3, indicating mild pain. Conclusion: Disturbance in body image can cause significant psychological stress for patients. Through support group discussions, encouraging patients to express their feelings, and providing appropriate education on breast reconstruction and dressing techniques, the patient's self-concept was positively reinforced, and her emotions were stabilized. This led to renewed self-worth and confidence.

Keywords: breast cancer, modified radical mastectomy, acupressure therapy, Gordon's 11 functional health patterns

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Authors: Carly Cummings, Maria Soledad Peresin

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Alabama has a long history of racial injustice and unsatisfactory educational performance. In the 1870s Jim Crow laws segregated public schools and disproportionally allocated funding and resources to white institutions across the South. Despite the Supreme Court ruling to integrate schools following Brown vs. the Board of Education in 1954, Alabama’s school system continued to exhibit signs of segregation, compounded by “white flight” and the establishment of exclusive private schools, which still exist today. This discriminatory history has had a lasting impact of the state’s education system, reflected in modern school demographics and achievement data. It is well known that Alabama struggles with education performance, especially in science education. On average, minority groups scored the lowest in science proficiency. In Alabama, minority populations are concentrated in a region known as the Black Belt, which was once home to countless slave plantations and was the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. Today the Black Belt is characterized by a high density of woodlands and plays a significant role in Alabama’s leading economic industry-forest products. Given the economic importance of forestry and agriculture to the state, environmental science proficiency is essential to its stability; however, it is neglected in areas where it is needed most. To better understand the inequity of science education within Alabama, our study first investigates how geographic location, demographics and school funding relate to science achievement scores using ArcGIS and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Additionally, our study explores the implementation of a relevant, problem-based, active learning lesson in schools. Relevant learning engages students by connecting material to their personal experiences. Problem-based active learning involves real-world problem-solving through hands-on experiences. Given Alabama’s significant woodland coverage, educational materials on forest products were developed with consideration of its relevance to students, especially those located in the Black Belt. Furthermore, to incorporate problem solving and active learning, the lesson centered around students using forest products to solve environmental challenges, such as water pollution- an increasing challenge within the state due to climate change. Pre and post assessment surveys were provided to teachers to measure the effectiveness of the lesson. In addition to pedagogical practices, community and mentorship programs are known to positively impact educational achievements. To this end, our work examines the results of surveys measuring educational professionals’ attitudes toward a local mentorship group within the Black Belt and its potential to address environmental and science literacy. Additionally, our study presents survey results from participants who attended an educational community event, gauging its effectiveness in increasing environmental and science proficiency. Our results demonstrate positive improvements in environmental awareness and science literacy with relevant pedagogy, mentorship, and community involvement. Implementing these practices can help provide equitable and inclusive learning environments and can better equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to bridge this historic educational gap within Alabama.

Keywords: equitable education, environmental science, environmental education, science education, racial injustice, sustainability, rural education

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Authors: Abdulwakeel B. Raji

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This paper introduces a concept of an intelligent virtual learning environment that involves communication between learners and an artificially intelligent teaching agent in an attempt to replicate classroom learning interactions. The benefits of this technology over current e-learning practices is that it creates a virtual classroom where real time adaptive learning interactions are made possible. This is a move away from the static learning practices currently being adopted by e-learning systems. Over the years, artificial intelligence has been applied to various fields, including and not limited to medicine, military applications, psychology, marketing etc. The purpose of e-learning applications is to ensure users are able to learn outside of the classroom, but a major limitation has been the inability to fully replicate classroom interactions between teacher and students. This study used comparative surveys to gain information and understanding of the current learning practices in Nigerian universities and how they compare to these practices compare to the use of a developed e-learning system. The study was conducted by attending several lectures and noting the interactions between lecturers and tutors and as an aftermath, a software has been developed that deploys the use of an artificial intelligent teaching-agent alongside an e-learning system to enhance user learning experience and attempt to create the similar learning interactions to those found in classroom and lecture hall settings. Dialogflow has been used to implement a teaching-agent, which has been developed using JSON, which serves as a virtual teacher. Course content has been created using HTML, CSS, PHP and JAVASCRIPT as a web-based application. This technology can run on handheld devices and Google based home technologies to give learners an access to the teaching agent at any time. This technology also implements the use of definite clause grammars and natural language processing to match user inputs and requests with defined rules to replicate learning interactions. This technology developed covers familiar classroom scenarios such as answering users’ questions, asking ‘do you understand’ at regular intervals and answering subsequent requests, taking advanced user queries to give feedbacks at other periods. This software technology uses deep learning techniques to learn user interactions and patterns to subsequently enhance user learning experience. A system testing has been undergone by undergraduate students in the UK and Nigeria on the course ‘Introduction to Database Development’. Test results and feedback from users shows that this study and developed software is a significant improvement on existing e-learning systems. Further experiments are to be run using the software with different students and more course contents.

Keywords: virtual learning, natural language processing, definite clause grammars, deep learning, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Wellemans Isabelle, Remmelink Myriam, Foucart Annick, Rusu Stefan, Compère Christophe

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Primary pulmonary meningioma (PPM) is a very rare tumor, and its occurrence has been reported only sporadically. Multiple PPMs are even more exceptional, and herein, we report, to the best of our knowledge, the fourth case, focusing on the clinicopathological features of the tumor. Moreover, the possible relationship between the use of progesterone–only contraceptives and the development of these neoplasms will be discussed. Case Report: We report a case of a 51-year-old female presenting three solid pulmonary nodules, with the following localizations: right upper lobe, middle lobe, and left lower lobe, described as incidental findings on computed tomography (CT) during a pre-bariatric surgery check-up. The patient revealed no drinking or smoking history. The physical exam was unremarkable except for the obesity. The lesions ranged in size between 6 and 24 mm and presented as solid nodules with lobulated contours. The largest lesion situated in the middle lobe had mild fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on F-18 FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/CT, highly suggestive of primary lung neoplasm. For pathological assessment, video-assisted thoracoscopic middle lobectomy and wedge resection of the right upper nodule was performed. Histological examination revealed relatively well-circumscribed solid proliferation of bland meningothelial cells growing in whorls and lobular nests, presenting intranuclear pseudo-inclusions and psammoma bodies. No signs of anaplasia were observed. The meningothelial cells expressed diffusely Vimentin, focally Progesterone receptors and were negative for epithelial (cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3, CK7, CK20, Epithelial Membrane Antigen (EMA)), neuroendocrine markers (Synaptophysin, Chromogranin, CD56) and Estrogenic receptors. The proliferation labelling index Ki-67 was low (<5%). Metastatic meningioma was ruled out by brain and spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The third lesion localized in the left lower lobe was followed-up and resected three years later because of its slow but significant growth (14 mm to 16 mm), alongside two new infra centimetric lesions. Those three lesions showed a morphological and immunohistochemical profile similar to previously resected lesions. The patient was disease-free one year post-last surgery. Discussion: Although PPMs are mostly benign and slow-growing tumors with an excellent prognosis, they do not present specific radiological characteristics, and it is difficult to differentiate it from other lung tumors, histopathologic examination being essential. Aggressive behavior is associated with atypical or anaplastic features (WHO grades II–III) The etiology is still uncertain and different mechanisms have been proposed. A causal connection between sexual hormones and meningothelial proliferation has long been suspected and few studies examining progesterone only contraception and meningioma risk have all suggested an association. In line with this, our patient was treated with Levonorgestrel, a progesterone agonist, intra-uterine device (IUD). Conclusions: PPM, defined by the typical histological and immunohistochemical features of meningioma in the lungs and the absence of central nervous system lesions, is an extremely rare neoplasm, mainly solitary and associating, and indolent growth. Because of the unspecific radiologic findings, it should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of lung neoplasms. Regarding multiple PPM, only three cases are reported in the literature, and this is the first described in a woman treated by a progesterone-only IUD to the best of our knowledge.

Keywords: pulmonary meningioma, multiple meningioma, meningioma, pulmonary nodules

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Authors: Jacqueline P. Davies

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Introduction: Student nurses must develop skills in observation, communication and reflection as well as public health knowledge from their first year of training. This paper will explain a method developed for students to collect their own findings about public health in urban areas. These areas are both rich in the history of old public health that informs the content of many traditional public health walks, but are also locations where new public health concerns about chronic disease are concentrated. The learning method explained in this paper enables students to collect their own data and write original work as first year students. Examples of their findings will be given. Methodology: In small groups, health care students are instructed to walk in neighbourhoods near to the hospitals they will soon attend as apprentice nurses. On their walks, they wander slowly, engage in conversations, and enter places open to the public. As they drift, they observe with all five senses in the real three dimensional world to collect data for their reflective accounts of old and new public health. They are encouraged to stop for refreshments and taste, as well as look, hear, smell, and touch while on their walk. They reflect as a group and later develop an individual reflective account in which they write up their deep reflections about what they observed on their walk. In preparation for their walk, they are encouraged to look at studies of quality of Life and other neighbourhood statistics as well as undertaking a risk assessment for their walk. Findings: Reflecting on their walks, students apply theoretical concepts around social determinants of health and health inequalities to develop their understanding of communities in the neighbourhoods visited. They write about the treasured historical architecture made of stone, bronze and marble which have outlived those who built them; but also how the streets are used now. The students develop their observations into thematic analyses such as: what we drink as illustrated by the empty coke can tossed into a now disused drinking fountain; the shift in home-life balance illustrated by streets where families once lived over the shop which are now walked by commuters weaving around each other as they talk on their mobile phones; and security on the street, with CCTV cameras placed at regular intervals, signs warning trespasses and barbed wire; but little evidence of local people watching the street. Conclusion: In evaluations of their first year, students have reported the health walk as one of their best experiences. The innovative approach was commended by the UK governing body of nurse education and it received a quality award from the nurse education funding body. This approach to education allows students to develop skills in the real world and write original work.

Keywords: education, innovation, nursing, urban

Procedia PDF Downloads 284