A study of occupational therapy students' stress coping in the term of clinical practice

OpenAIRE

立石, 恵子; 立石, 修康; タテイシ, ケイコ; タテイシ, ノブヤス; Keiko, TATEISHI; Nobuyasu, TATEISHI

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate students' stress coping in the term of clinical practice. We ded questionnaire to 30 students after clinical practice. The result shows forty-six stress situations were observed. Most of the students felt the stress that the supervisor advied about general manners or behaviors. Such as communication with patients and clinical staffs, students personality, speaking volume. We categorized the stress coping strategies into two types. The result indicat...

Electrochemical disinfection of simulated ballast water on PbO2/graphite felt electrode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Shuiping; Hu, Weidong; Hong, Jianxun; Sandoe, Steve

2016-01-01

A novel PbO 2 /graphite felt electrode was constructed by electrochemical deposition of PbO 2 on graphite felt and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The prepared electrode is a viable technology for inactivation of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Artemia salina as indicator organisms in simulated ballast water treatment, which meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Regulation D-2. The effects of contact time and current density on inactivation were investigated. An increase in current density generally had a beneficial effect on the inactivation of the three species. E.faecalis and A.salina were more resistant to electrochemical disinfection than E. coli. The complete disinfection of E.coli was achieved in <8 min at an applied current density of 253 A/m 2 . Complete inactivation of E. faecalis and A.salina was achieved at the same current density after 60 and 40 min of contact time, respectively. A. salina inactivation follows first-order kinetics. - Highlights: •A novel PbO 2 /graphite felt anode was developed for the electrochemical treatment of the simulated ballast water. •The technology meets the IMO D‐2 regulation and provides a high degree of removal of the microorganisms of ballast water without any additional chemical substances. •E.faecalis, E.coli, and A.salina cells in simulated ballast water were completely inactivated after 60, 8 and 40 min of contact time at 253 A/m 2 of current density, respectively.

High-Performance Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries with Graphite Felt Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trevor J. Davies

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A key objective in the development of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs is the improvement of cell power density. At present, most commercially available VRFBs use graphite felt electrodes under relatively low compression. This results in a large cell ohmic resistance and limits the maximum power density. To date, the best performing VRFBs have used carbon paper electrodes, with high active area compression pressures, similar to that used in fuel cells. This article investigates the use of felt electrodes at similar compression pressures. Single cells are assembled using compression pressures of 0.2–7.5 bar and tested in a VRFB system. The highest cell compression pressure, combined with a thin Nafion membrane, achieved a peak power density of 669 mW cm−2 at a flow rate of 3.2 mL min−1 per cm2 of active area, more than double the previous best performance from a felt-VRFB. The results suggest that felt electrodes can compete with paper electrodes in terms of performance when under similar compression pressures, which should help guide electrode development and cell optimization in this important energy storage technology.

Genetic Causal Attribution of Epilepsy and its Implications for Felt Stigma

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Sabatello, Maya; Phelan, Jo C.; Hesdorffer, Dale C.; Shostak, Sara; Goldsmith, Jeff; Sorge, Shawn T.; Winawer, Melodie R.; Chung, Wendy K.; Ottman, Ruth

2015-01-01

Summary Objective Research in other disorders suggests that genetic causal attribution of epilepsy might be associated with increased stigma. We investigated this hypothesis in a unique sample of families containing multiple individuals with epilepsy. Methods 181 people with epilepsy and 178 biological relatives without epilepsy completed a self-administered survey. In people with epilepsy, felt stigma was assessed through the Epilepsy Stigma Scale (ESS), scored 1 to 7 with higher scores indicating more stigma and >4 indicating some felt stigma. Felt stigma related to having epilepsy in the family was assessed through the Family Epilepsy Stigma Scale (FESS), created by replacing “epilepsy” with “epilepsy in my family” in each ESS item. Genetic attribution was assessed through participants’ perceptions of the (1) role of genetics in causing epilepsy in the family, (2) chance they had an epilepsy-related mutation, and (3) (in people with epilepsy) influence of genetics in causing their epilepsy. Results Among people with epilepsy, 22% met criteria for felt stigma (ESS score >4). Scores were increased among individuals who were aged ≥60 years, were unemployed, reported epilepsy-related discrimination, or had seizures within the last year or >100 seizures in their lifetime. Adjusting for other variables, ESS scores in people with epilepsy were significantly higher among those who perceived genetics played a “medium” or “big” role in causing epilepsy in the family than in others (3.4 vs. 2.7, p=0.025). Only 4% of relatives without epilepsy had felt stigma. Scores in relatives were unrelated to genetic attribution. Significance In these unusual families, predictors of felt stigma in individuals with epilepsy are similar to those in other studies, and stigma levels are low in relatives without epilepsy. Felt stigma may be increased in people with epilepsy who believe epilepsy in the family has a genetic cause, emphasizing the need for sensitive

Heat-treated stainless steel felt as scalable anode material for bioelectrochemical systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Kun; Soeriyadi, Alexander H; Feng, Huajun; Prévoteau, Antonin; Patil, Sunil A; Gooding, J Justin; Rabaey, Korneel

2015-11-01

This work reports a simple and scalable method to convert stainless steel (SS) felt into an effective anode for bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) by means of heat treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry elucidated that the heat treatment generated an iron oxide rich layer on the SS felt surface. The iron oxide layer dramatically enhanced the electroactive biofilm formation on SS felt surface in BESs. Consequently, the sustained current densities achieved on the treated electrodes (1 cm(2)) were around 1.5±0.13 mA/cm(2), which was seven times higher than the untreated electrodes (0.22±0.04 mA/cm(2)). To test the scalability of this material, the heat-treated SS felt was scaled up to 150 cm(2) and similar current density (1.5 mA/cm(2)) was achieved on the larger electrode. The low cost, straightforwardness of the treatment, high conductivity and high bioelectrocatalytic performance make heat-treated SS felt a scalable anodic material for BESs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Trends among medical students towards general practice or specialization].

Science.gov (United States)

Breinbauer K, Hayo; Fromm R, Germán; Fleck L, Daniela; Araya C, Luis

2009-07-01

A 60/40 ratio has been estimated as a country's ideal proportion between general practitioners and specialists. In Chile this proportion was 36/ 64 in 2004, exactly the opposite of the ideal. Trends towards specialization or general practice among medical students have not been thoughtfully studied. To assess trends among medical students towards becoming general practitioners or specialists, exploring associated factors. Descriptive survey of 822 first to seventh year medical students at the University of Chile, School of Medicine. Desired activity to pursue (general practice or specialization) after graduation and general orientations within clinical practice were explored. Fifty three percent of students desired to enter a specialization program. Only 20% would work as a general practitioner (27% were still indecisive). Furthermore, a trend in early years of medical training towards an integral medicine is gradually reversed within later years. Seventh year students give significantly more importance to specialization than to integral medicine (p specialized medicine in the teaching environment. Most students prefer to enter a specialization program immediately after finishing medical school. Moreover, there is a social trend, at least within the teacher-attending environment, promoting not only the desire to specialize, but a pro-specialist culture.

Cultural competency and communication skills of dental students: clinical supervisors' perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mariño, R; Ghanim, A; Morgan, M; Barrow, S

2017-11-01

This study explored clinical supervisor's (CS) views and experiences of dental students' cultural competence (CC) at the Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Additionally, this study explored CS insights into how CC could be taught. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were organised with consenting CS. Interview topics included the following: the importance of CC, communication and rapport, the role of culture in oral health and the need for curriculum enhancement. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed to identify key areas using NVivo software. A total of 12 CS participated in this study. CS acknowledged the importance of CC and felt that it was important for good patient management. CS's definition of CC focused primarily on language and communication skills. CS felt that dental students were generally able to manage culturally diverse patients. However, CS indicated that additional training in this area would be beneficial. Concerns were raised about the students' ability to establish good rapport and communication, with CS highlighting areas such as misuse of interpreters and use of jargon. CS felt that clinical experience, confidence and a positive attitude are effective tools for overcoming cultural barriers. Furthermore, some CS also felt that cultural competency was a skill that is learnt through experience. For most CS, cultural competence was an important part of the clinician-patient exchange which would benefit from enhanced curriculum. They also highlighted areas where transcultural education could be improved. The majority of CS believed dental students managed culturally diverse patients well. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Electrochemical disinfection of simulated ballast water on PbO2/graphite felt electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shuiping; Hu, Weidong; Hong, Jianxun; Sandoe, Steve

2016-04-15

A novel PbO2/graphite felt electrode was constructed by electrochemical deposition of PbO2 on graphite felt and characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. The prepared electrode is a viable technology for inactivation of Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Artemia salina as indicator organisms in simulated ballast water treatment, which meets the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Regulation D-2. The effects of contact time and current density on inactivation were investigated. An increase in current density generally had a beneficial effect on the inactivation of the three species. E.faecalis and A.salina were more resistant to electrochemical disinfection than E. coli. The complete disinfection of E.coli was achieved in <8min at an applied current density of 253A/m(2). Complete inactivation of E. faecalis and A.salina was achieved at the same current density after 60 and 40min of contact time, respectively. A. salina inactivation follows first-order kinetics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Felt power explains the link between position power and experienced emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bombari, Dario; Schmid Mast, Marianne; Bachmann, Manuel

2017-02-01

The approach/inhibition theory by Keltner, Gruenfeld, and Anderson (2003) predicts that powerful people should feel more positive and less negative emotions. To date, results of studies investigating this prediction are inconsistent. We fill this gap with four studies in which we investigated the role of different conceptualizations of power: felt power and position power. In Study 1, participants were made to feel more or less powerful and we tested how their felt power was related to different emotional states. In Studies 2, 3, and 4, participants were assigned to either a high or a low power role and engaged in an interaction with a virtual human, after which participants reported on how powerful they felt and the emotions they experienced during the interaction. We meta-analytically combined the results of the four studies and found that felt power was positively related to positive emotions (happiness and serenity) and negatively to negative emotions (fear, anger, and sadness), whereas position power did not show any significant overall relation with any of the emotional states. Importantly, felt power mediated the relationship between position power and emotion. In summary, we show that how powerful a person feels in a given social interaction is the driving force linking the person's position power to his or her emotional states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Studies on Phantom Vibration and Ringing Syndrome among Postgraduate Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Atul Kumar Goyal

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Phantom vibrations and ringing of mobile phones are prevalent hallucinations in the general population. They might be considered as a normal brain mechanism. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of Phantom vibrations and ringing syndrome among students and to assess factors associated it. The survey of 300 postgraduate students belonging to different field of specialization was conducted at Kurukshetra University. 74% of students were found to have both Phantom vibrations and ringing syndrome. Whereas 17% of students felt Phantom vibration exclusively and 4% students face only Phantom ringing syndrome. Both the syndrome occurs more fervent in students who kept their mobile phone in shirt or jean pocket than to who kept mobile in handbag. 75% of students felt vibration or ringing even when the phone is switched off or phone was not in their pocket. Also the frequency of both the syndrome is directly proportional to the duration of mobile phone use and person emotional behavior. Although most of students agree that the Phantom syndrome did not bother them but some students deals with anxiety when they feel symptoms associated with Phantom syndrome. By using mobile phones in proper way, one can avoid these syndromes, or at least can ameliorate the symptoms.

FeltRadio – Experiencing Community-generated WiFi Activities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fritsch, Jonas; Gronvall, Erik

2016-01-01

FeltRadio is a portable technology for sensing WiFi through sensorial augmentation and Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS). The technology enables its wearer to sensorially engage with the radio waves and WiFi activities that have become an integrated part of our everyday lives. The sensorial...... engagement changes people’s experience of WiFi activities, and allows them to participate in wireless communication infrastructures in novel ways. This is both an immediately embodied activity as it is a new form of social awareness. In this paper, we briefly present the FeltRadio technology and show how...

Understanding the bullying dynamic among students in special and general education.

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Swearer, Susan M; Wang, Cixin; Maag, John W; Siebecker, Amanda B; Frerichs, Lynae J

2012-08-01

Students in general and special education experience bullying. However, few empirical investigations have examined involvement in bullying along the bully/victim continuum (i.e., as a bully, victim, or bully-victim) among students with disabilities. A total of 816 students, ages 9 to 16, participated in the present study. From this total sample 686 were not receiving special education services (categorized as "no disability"), and 130 were receiving special education services (categorized as "observable disability," "non-observable disability," and "behavioral disability"). Data on students' involvement in bullying, office referrals, and prosocial behavior were collected. Results indicated that students with behavioral disorders and those with observable disabilities reported bullying others more and being victimized more than their general education counterparts. Students with behavioral disorders also had significantly more office referrals than students in general education. Seventh graders in general education reported more bullying behavior than sixth graders and ninth grades in general education. Fifth graders in general education reported more victimization than students in all other grades in general education. However, the grade differences were not significant for students in special education. No gender differences on bullying and victimization were found. Students with disabilities reported less engagement in prosocial behaviors than their general education peers. Implications for bullying prevention and intervention across both general and special education are discussed. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Can painted glass felt or glass fibre cloth be used as vapour barrier?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

El-Khattam, Amira; Andersen, Mie Them; Hansen, Kurt Kielsgaard

2014-01-01

In most Nordic homes the interior surfaces of walls and ceilings have some kind of surface treatment for aesthetical reasons. The treatments can for example be glass felt or glass fibre cloth which are painted afterwards. To evaluate the hygrothermal performance of walls and ceilings...... treatments. The surface treatments were glass felt or glass fibre cloth with different types of paints or just paint. The paint types were acrylic paint and silicate paint. The results show that the paint type has high influence on the water vapour resistance while the underlay i.e. glass felt or glass fibre...... acrylic paint on glass felt or glass fibre cloth cannot be used instead of a vapour barrier....

Study on Ballistic Absorbing Energy Character of High Performance Polyethylene Needle Felt

Science.gov (United States)

Kailiang, Zhu; Jianqiao, Fu

2017-11-01

The ballistic performance of polyethylene needle felt is tested and the failure morphology after test is also observed. The results showed that when the non-dimensionally non-stressed fibers in polyethylene needles are subjected to high-speed projectile, secondary movement such as stretching and twisting occurs first. This secondary movement is very full, it is the main way of ballistic absorbing energy of the polyethylene needle felt which can avoid the polyethylene fiber short-term rapid heating-up and destroyed. Analysis results show that under normal temperature and humidity conditions, the V50 of 6-layer forded polyethylene needle felt sample is 250m/s. At (450 ± 50) m/s speed range of the target missile, the mean value of the penetrative specific energy absorption for 3-layer forded polyethylene needle felt anti-1.1g simulated projectiles (tapered column) reaches 24.1J·m2/kg.

Stretchable Conductive Composites from Cu-Ag Nanowire Felt.

Science.gov (United States)

Catenacci, Matthew J; Reyes, Christopher; Cruz, Mutya A; Wiley, Benjamin J

2018-04-24

Materials that retain a high conductivity under strain are essential for wearable electronics. This article describes a conductive, stretchable composite consisting of a Cu-Ag core-shell nanowire felt infiltrated with a silicone elastomer. This composite exhibits a retention of conductivity under strain that is superior to any composite with a conductivity greater than 1000 S cm -1 . This work also shows how the mechanical properties, conductivity, and deformation mechanism of the composite changes as a function of the stiffness of the silicone matrix. The retention of conductivity under strain was found to decrease as the Young's modulus of the matrix increased. This was attributed to void formation as a result of debonding between the nanowire felt and the elastomer. The nanowire composite was also patterned to create serpentine circuits with a stretchability of 300%.

Learning styles of medical students, general surgery residents, and general surgeons: implications for surgical education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Gara Chris

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Surgical education is evolving under the dual pressures of an enlarging body of knowledge required during residency and mounting work-hour restrictions. Changes in surgical residency training need to be based on available educational models and research to ensure successful training of surgeons. Experiential learning theory, developed by David Kolb, demonstrates the importance of individual learning styles in improving learning. This study helps elucidate the way in which medical students, surgical residents, and surgical faculty learn. Methods The Kolb Learning Style Inventory, which divides individual learning styles into Accommodating, Diverging, Converging, and Assimilating categories, was administered to the second year undergraduate medical students, general surgery resident body, and general surgery faculty at the University of Alberta. Results A total of 241 faculty, residents, and students were surveyed with an overall response rate of 73%. The predominant learning style of the medical students was assimilating and this was statistically significant (p Conclusions We conclude that medical students have a significantly different learning style from general surgical trainees and general surgeons. This has important implications in the education of general surgery residents.

Knowledge of and attitudes toward electroconvulsive therapy among medical students, psychology students, and the general public.

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Aki, Ozlem Erden; Ak, Sertac; Sonmez, Yunus Emre; Demir, Basaran

2013-03-01

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is safe and effective for the treatment of various psychiatric disorders. Despite being a well-known treatment method among health care professionals, lay people generally have a negative opinion of ECT. The present study aimed to examine knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT among medical students, psychology students, and the general public. Psychology students were included because they are among the important groups in mental health care in Turkey. A Likert-type questionnaire was administered to fifth-year medical students (n = 28), master of science and doctor of philosophy clinical psychology students (n = 35), and a sample of the general public (n = 26). The questionnaire included questions about the general principles of and indications for ECT, and sources of knowledge of and attitudes toward ECT. The medical students were the most knowledgeable about ECT, as expected. The medical students also had a more positive attitude toward ECT than the other 2 groups. More psychology students had negative attitudes on some aspects than general public sample, despite being more knowledgeable. Medical school theoretical and practical training in ECT played an important role in increasing the level of knowledge of and decreasing the prevalence of negative attitudes toward ECT among the medical students; similar training for psychology students is required to achieve similar results.

The value of a core clinical rotation in urology for medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Premal; Nayak, Jasmir G; McGregor, Thomas B

2015-01-01

In 2013, our institution underwent a change to the undergraduate medical curriculum whereby a clinical urology rotation became mandatory. In this paper, we evaluated the perceived utility and value of this change in the core curriculum. Third year medical students, required to complete a mandatory 1-week clinical urology rotation, were asked to complete a survey before and after their rotation. Fourth year medical students, not required to complete this rotation, were also asked to complete a questionnaire. Chi-squared and Fisher's exact test were used for data analysis. In total, 108 third year students rotated through urology during the study period. Of these, 66 (61%) completed the pre-rotation survey and 54 (50%) completed the post-rotation survey. In total, there were 110 fourth year students. Of these, 44 (40%) completed the questionnaire. After completing their mandatory rotations, students felt more comfortable managing and investigating common urological problems, such as hematuria and renal colic. Students felt they had a better understanding of how to insert a Foley catheter and felt comfortable independently inserting a Foley catheter. Importantly, students felt they knew when to consult urology and were also more likely to consider a career in urology. Compared to fourth year students, third year students felt urology was an important component to a family medicine practice and felt they had a better understanding of when to consult urology. The introduction of a mandatory urology rotation for undergraduate medical students leads to a perceived improvement in fundamental urological knowledge and skill set of rotating students. This mandatory rotation provides a valuable experience that validates its inclusion.

Learning styles of medical students, general surgery residents, and general surgeons: implications for surgical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Engels, Paul T; de Gara, Chris

2010-06-30

Surgical education is evolving under the dual pressures of an enlarging body of knowledge required during residency and mounting work-hour restrictions. Changes in surgical residency training need to be based on available educational models and research to ensure successful training of surgeons. Experiential learning theory, developed by David Kolb, demonstrates the importance of individual learning styles in improving learning. This study helps elucidate the way in which medical students, surgical residents, and surgical faculty learn. The Kolb Learning Style Inventory, which divides individual learning styles into Accommodating, Diverging, Converging, and Assimilating categories, was administered to the second year undergraduate medical students, general surgery resident body, and general surgery faculty at the University of Alberta. A total of 241 faculty, residents, and students were surveyed with an overall response rate of 73%. The predominant learning style of the medical students was assimilating and this was statistically significant (p learning style found in the residents and faculty. The predominant learning styles of the residents and faculty were convergent and accommodative, with no statistically significant differences between the residents and the faculty. We conclude that medical students have a significantly different learning style from general surgical trainees and general surgeons. This has important implications in the education of general surgery residents.

High efficiency of CO2-activated graphite felt as electrode for vanadium redox flow battery application

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yu-Chung; Chen, Jian-Yu; Kabtamu, Daniel Manaye; Lin, Guan-Yi; Hsu, Ning-Yih; Chou, Yi-Sin; Wei, Hwa-Jou; Wang, Chen-Hao

2017-10-01

A simple method for preparing CO2-activated graphite felt as an electrode in a vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) was employed by the direct treatment in a CO2 atmosphere at a high temperature for a short period. The CO2-activated graphite felt demonstrates excellent electrochemical activity and reversibility. The VRFB using the CO2-activated graphite felts in the electrodes has coulombic, voltage, and energy efficiencies of 94.52%, 88.97%, and 84.15%, respectively, which is much higher than VRFBs using the electrodes of untreated graphite felt and N2-activated graphite felt. The efficiency enhancement was attributed to the higher number of oxygen-containing functional groups on the graphite felt that are formed during the CO2-activation, leading to improving the electrochemical behaviour of the resultant VRFB.

"Castor Oil" - The Culprit of Acute Hair Felting.

Science.gov (United States)

Maduri, V Ramya; Vedachalam, Ahalya; Kiruthika, S

2017-01-01

Acute hair felting is a rare disorder of scalp hair. In this condition, the hair becomes twisted, entangled as a hard stony mass resembling a bird's nest. Sudden hair matting has been reported earlier in the literature after vigorous use of chemical and herbal shampoos. Plica polonica is a patchy area of hair matting occurring in due course of time in neglected hair or underlying psychiatric illness. This case is interesting as the whole scalp hair matted immediately after using coconut oil and castor oil following washing. Growing long hair and taking oil bath are cultural and religious customs in South India. The high viscosity of castor oil and long hair had contributed to sudden felting of hair. This disorder of hair is irreversible and the hair should be cut off. Acute nature of this disorder will result in a serious psychological impact on the patient and the family.

Student feedback about the integrated curriculum in a Caribbean medical school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Ravi Shankar

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Xavier University School of Medicine adopted an integrated, organ system-based curriculum in January 2013. The present study was aimed at determining students’ perceptions of the integrated curriculum and related assessment methods. Methods: The study was conducted on first- to fourth-semester undergraduate medical students during March 2014. The students were informed of the study and subsequently invited to participate. Focus group discussions were conducted. The curriculum’s level of integration, different courses offered, teaching-learning methods employed, and the advantages and concerns relating to the curriculum were noted. The respondents also provided feedback about the assessment methods used. Deductive content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Twenty-two of the 68 students (32.2% participated in the study. The respondents expressed generally positive opinions. They felt that the curriculum prepared them well for licensing examinations and future practice. Problem-based learning sessions encouraged active learning and group work among students, thus, improving their understanding of the course material. The respondents felt that certain subjects were allocated a larger proportion of time during the sessions, as well as more questions during the integrated assessment. They also expressed an appreciation for medical humanities, and felt that sessions on the appraisal of literature needed modification. Their opinions about assessment of behavior, attitudes, and professionalism varied. Conclusion: Student opinion was positive, overall. Our findings would be of interest to other medical schools that have recently adopted an integrated curriculum or are in the process of doing so.

The views of medical students on professionalism in South Africa ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The responses of the students could be divided into three groups with overlapping themes: 15,64% of the students felt that the charter was not at all applicable to our country because of its diverse cultures and languages and the variety of social classes and religions; 24,02% of the students felt that the charter was a ...

Performance Comparison of Student-Athletes and General College Students on the Functional Movement Screen and the Y Balance Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Engquist, Katherine D; Smith, Craig A; Chimera, Nicole J; Warren, Meghan

2015-08-01

Although various studies have assessed performance of athletes on the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) and the Y Balance Test (YBT), no study to date has directly evaluated a comparison of performance between athletes and members of the general population. Thus, to better understand the application of the FMS and the YBT to general college students, this study examined whether or not general college students performed similarly to student-athletes on the FMS (composite and movement pattern scores) and the YBT (composite and reach directions). This study evaluated 167 Division I student-athletes and 103 general college students from the same university on the FMS and the YBT. No difference was found in FMS composite scores between student-athletes and general college students. For FMS movement patterns, female student-athletes scored higher than general college students in the deep squat. No difference was found for men in any FMS movement pattern. Female student-athletes scored higher than female general college students in YBT composite scores; no difference was found for men in YBT composite scores. In analysis of YBT reach directions, female student-athletes scored higher than female general college students in all reach directions, whereas no difference was found in men. Existing research on the FMS composite score in athletic populations may apply to a general college population for the purposes of preparticipation screening, injury prediction, etc. Existing research on the YBT in male athletic populations is expected to apply equally to general college males for the purposes of preparticipation screening, injury prediction, etc.

The effects of surface modification on carbon felt electrodes for use in vanadium redox flow batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ki Jae; Kim, Young-Jun; Kim, Jae-Hun; Park, Min-Sik

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► We observed the physical and chemical changes on the surface of carbon felts after various surface modifications. ► The surface area and chemistry of functional groups formed on the surface of carbon felt are critical to determine the kinetics of the redox reactions of vanadium ions. ► By incorporation of the surface modifications into the electrode preparation, the electrochemical activity of carbon felts could be notably enhanced. - Abstract: The surface of carbon felt electrodes has been modified for improving energy efficiency of vanadium redox flow batteries. For comparative purposes, the effects of various surface modifications such as mild oxidation, plasma treatment, and gamma-ray irradiation on the electrochemical properties of carbon felt electrodes were investigated at optimized conditions. The cell energy efficiency was improved from 68 to 75% after the mild oxidation of the carbon felt at 500 °C for 5 h. This efficiency improvement could be attributed to the increased surface area of the carbon felt electrode and the formation of functional groups on its surface as a result of the modification. On the basis of various structural and electrochemical characterizations, a relationship between the surface nature and electrochemical activity of the carbon felt electrodes is discussed.

Hispanic/Latino College Student Involvement in Student Organization Leadership Roles

Science.gov (United States)

McKinney, Barry Slade

2009-01-01

The study examined attributes associated with Hispanic/Latino college student involvement in student organization leadership roles. The study helped identify attributes that active and involved Hispanic/Latino students felt were most important to them and their leadership roles. The roles that peer influence, role model influence, extraversion,…

Investigation of Ir-modified carbon felt as the positive electrode of an all-vanadium redox flow battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, W.H.; Wang, X.D.

2007-01-01

Porous graphite felts have been used as electrode materials for all-vanadium redox flow batteries due to their wide operating potential range, stability as both an anode and a cathode, and availability in high surface area. In this paper, the carbon felt was modified by pyrolysis of Ir reduced from H 2 IrCl 6 . ac impedance and steady-state polarization measurements showed that the Ir-modified materials have improved activity and lowered overpotential of the desired V(IV)/V(V) redox process. Ir-modification of carbon felt enhanced the electro-conductivity of electrode materials. The Ir-material, when coated on the graphite felt electrode surface, lowered the cell internal resistance. A test cell was assembled with the Ir-modified carbon felt as the activation layer of the positive electrode, the unmodified raw felt as the activation layer of the negative electrode. At an operating current density of 20 mA cm -2 , a voltage efficiency of 87.5% was achieved. The resistance of the cell using Ir-modified felt decreased 25% compared to the cell using non-modified felt

Factors associated with increased felt stigma among individuals with epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bautista, Ramon Edmundo D; Shapovalov, Denys; Shoraka, Ali Reza

2015-08-01

The aim of the study is to determine whether certain demographic, clinical, and psychosocial traits are associated with higher levels of felt stigma among persons with epilepsy (PWE) patients followed at a level 4 epilepsy center. We performed a direct survey of 182 consenting patients that included the Epilepsy Stigma Scale. On univariate analysis, higher levels of perceived stigma were associated with age, marital status, race, driving, work status, seizure etiology, Quality of Life in Epilepsy-10 (QOLIE-10) scores, and health literacy. Among coping reactions, the use of denial, behavioral disengagement and venting were also associated with higher degrees of felt stigma. Using multiple linear regression, being single, poorer QOLIE-10 scores, difficulties understanding written information, and the use of behavioral disengagement were independently associated with poorer scores on the Epilepsy Stigma Scale. Our study paints a compelling profile of a PWE who has greater perceived stigma. Programs that increase the level of social support, improve health literacy, and enhance quality of life may also help decrease the amount of felt stigma among PWE. Copyright © 2015 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

General and professional values of student nurses and nurse educators.

Science.gov (United States)

Riklikiene, Olga; Karosas, Laima; Kaseliene, Snieguole

2018-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore and compare the self-reported general and professional values in undergraduate student nurses and nurse educators in Lithuania. Contemporary nursing requires strong moral motivation and clear values as nurses confront many ethical dilemas in their practice. Students acquire essential values of the nursing profession through the appropriate role modelling of their educators. Nursing students seek to become capable in providing ethical and professional patient care while their educators attempt to model desired behaviours. A national cross-sectional comparative study was carried out in March 2011. Four-hundred eight respondents participated: 316 undergraduate nursing students and 92 nurse educators. A 57-item questionnaire was delivered to nursing programs at three universities and six colleges. Permission to conduct the study was granted by The Center on Bioethics. Student nurses and their educators rated the general value of altruism equally. Educators, in comparison with students, ranked honesty and intellectualism significantly higher and more often admired truth-telling in any circumstance. Students were more likely to avoid intellectual challenges in reading and placed lower importance on academic qualifications for career advancement. The professional nursing values of honesty, intellectualism and authority were ranked significantly higher by nurse educators than student nurses. The study revealed differences in self-reported general and professional values in undergraduate student nurses and nurse educators. The values of nurse educators were not always stronger than those of students. Positive relationships between particular general and professional values in both students and educators confirmed the link between professional and personal values. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nettfrekvente elektromagnetiske felt og helseeffekter

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Karl Gerhard Blaasaas

2009-10-01

Full Text Available I denne artikkelen oppsummeres epidemiologisk kunnskap om mulige helseeffekter etter eksponering for nettfrekvente (50/60 Hz elektromagnetiske felt. Vi har basert oss på et flertall av vitenskapelige arbeider publisert i perioden 2001-2004 og konklusjoner i rapporter og oversiktsartikler fra perioden før 2001. Det er ikke funnet noen etiologisk sammenheng mellom elektromagnetiske felt og kronisk sykdom. Man vet heller ikke sikkert hvilke egenskaper ved de elektromagnetiske feltene som eventuelt kan fremskaffe sykdom. Eventuell latenstid fra eksponering til sykdomsutvikling er også ukjent. Eksponering over 0,4 mT fra kraftlinjer ser ut til å kunne gi en dobling i risikoen for barneleukemi, og basert på metaanalyser kan ikke resultatene avvises som tilfeldige funn. Holdepunktene for en slik sammenheng er likevel begrenset. Ved vokseneksponering har man i enkeltstudier observert risikoøkninger for brystkreft, leukemi, hjernesvulst og amyotrofisk lateralsklerose. Det er også gjort isolerte funn av abort blant kvinner eksponert under graviditeten. For alle disse endepunktene er funnene allikevel ikke tilstrekkelige til å trekke sikre konklusjoner om sammenheng med eksponeringThis review is based on epidemiologic literature in the period 2001-2004 and conclusions in reports and review articles before 2001, regarding power frequency (50/60 Hz electromagnetic fields and health outcomes. Twotimes increased risks for childhood leukaemia have been observed among children exposed to magnetic fields above 0.4 mT from power lines, and based on meta-analyses these results can not be regarded as chance alone. The evidence for an association is however, still limited. Increased risks of breast cancer, leukaemia, braintumor and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have been observed in isolated studies. Increased risk of spontaneousabortion among women exposed during pregnancy has also been reported. None of the observations for any ofthese endpoints are

Characteristics of the General Physics student population.

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Hunt, Gary L.

2006-12-01

Are pre-medical students different than the other students in a General physics class? They often appear to be different, based on how often they seek help from the instructor or how nervous they are about 2 points on a lab report. But are these students different in a measurable characteristic? The purpose of this study is to better understand the characteristics of the students in the introductory physics classes. This is the first step toward improving the instruction. By better understanding the students the classroom, the organization and pedagogy can be adjusted to optimize student learning. The characteristics to be investigated during this study are: · student epistemological structure, · student attitudes, · science course preparation prior to this course, · study techniques used, · physics concepts gained during the class · performance in the class. The data will be analyzed to investigate differences between groups. The groups investigated will be major, gender, and traditional/nontraditional students.

78 FR 48660 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provisions...

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2013-08-09

...; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management AGENCY: Federal Student... of Collection: Student Assistance General Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management OMB Control Number... administration of 34 CFR 668 Subpart K Cash Management of the Student Assistance General Provisions. The...

LOGICAL REASONING ABILITY AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE IN GENERAL CHEMISTRY.

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Bird, Lillian

2010-03-01

Logical reasoning skills of students enrolled in General Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras were measured using the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) test. The results were used to determine the students' cognitive level (concrete, transitional, formal) as well as their level of performance by logical reasoning mode (mass/volume conservation, proportional reasoning, correlational reasoning, experimental variable control, probabilistic reasoning and combinatorial reasoning). This information was used to identify particular deficiencies and gender effects, and to determine which logical reasoning modes were the best predictors of student performance in the general chemistry course. Statistical tests to analyze the relation between (a) operational level and final grade in both semesters of the course; (b) GALT test results and performance in the ACS General Chemistry Examination; and (c) operational level and student approach (algorithmic or conceptual) towards a test question that may be answered correctly using either strategy, were also performed.

Supercapacitor Electrode Based on Activated Carbon Wool Felt

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Ana Claudia Pina

2018-04-01

Full Text Available An electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC is based on the physical adsorption/desorption of electrolyte ions onto the surface of electrodes. Due to its high surface area and other properties, such as electrochemical stability and high electrical conductivity, carbon materials are the most widely used materials for EDLC electrodes. In this work, we study an activated carbon felt obtained from sheep wool felt (ACF’f as a supercapacitor electrode. The ACF’f was characterized by elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, textural analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS. The electrochemical behaviour of the ACF’f was tested in a two-electrode Swagelok®-type, using acidic and basic aqueous electrolytes. At low current densities, the maximum specific capacitance determined from the charge-discharge curves were 163 F·g−1 and 152 F·g−1, in acidic and basic electrolytes, respectively. The capacitance retention at higher current densities was better in acidic electrolyte while, for both electrolytes, the voltammogram of the sample presents a typical capacitive behaviour, being in accordance with the electrochemical results.

Perceptions of problem-based learning (PBL) group effectiveness in a socially-culturally diverse medical student population.

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Singaram, V S; Dolmans, D H J M; Lachman, N; van der Vleuten, C P M

2008-07-01

A key aspect of the success of a PBL curriculum is the effective implementation of its small group tutorials. Diversity among students participating in tutorials may affect the effectiveness of the tutorials and may require different implementation strategies. To determine how students from diverse backgrounds perceive the effectiveness of the processes and content of the PBL tutorials. This study also aims to explore the relationship between students' perceptions of their PBL tutorials and their gender, age, language, prior educational training, and secondary schooling. Data were survey results from 244 first-year student-respondents at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to verify scale constructs in the questionnaire. Relationships between independent and dependent variables were investigated in an analysis of variance. The average scores for the items measured varied between 3.3 and 3.8 (scale value 1 indicated negative regard and 5 indicated positive regard). Among process measures, approximately two-thirds of students felt that learning in a group was neither frustrating nor stressful and that they enjoyed learning how to work with students from different social and cultural backgrounds. Among content measures, 80% of the students felt that they learned to work successfully with students from different social and cultural groups and 77% felt that they benefited from the input of other group members. Mean ratings on these measures did not vary with students' gender, age, first language, prior educational training, and the types of schools they had previously attended. Medical students of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, regardless of their backgrounds, generally have positive perceptions of small group learning. These findings support previous studies in highlighting the role that small group tutorials can play in overcoming cultural barriers and promoting unity and

Flexible but boring: medical students' perceptions of a career in general practice.

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Koehler, Nicole; McMenamin, Christine

2016-07-01

Australia will continue to face a general practitioner (GP) shortage unless a significant number of medical students make general practice their chosen career. Perceptions regarding general practice may influence career choices. Thus this study investigated what Australian medical students perceived to be the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a career in general practice via an anonymous online survey. Fifty-one students indicated general practice to be their first ranked career preference, 200 indicated a career other than general practice, and 106 were undecided. Two-hundred and two students reported having been on a GP placement, whereas 88 students had not. Flexibility, continuity of patient care and work-life balance were the three most common stated advantages to pursuing a career in general practice whereas general practice being boring, poorly paid, and of low prestige were the three most common disadvantages stated. Some disadvantages stated by those with a non-GP preference were not stated by those with a GP preference (e.g. lack of procedural skills, lack of career advancement opportunities). Students with more than 80 h of GP placement experience were more likely to list the advantages of work-life balance and a diversity of problems/illnesses/patients than those with no placement experience but were also more likely to list the disadvantage of low prestige. Negative stereotypes regarding general practice continue to exist which may influence students' career choices.

On the Matching of Seen and Felt Shape by Newly Sighted Subjects

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John Schwenkler

2012-04-01

Full Text Available How do we recognize identities between seen shapes and felt ones? Is this due to associative learning, or intrinsic connections these sensory modalities? We can address this question by testing the capacities of newly sighted subjects to match seen and felt shapes, but only if the subjects can see the objects well enough to form adequate visual representations of their shapes. In light of this, a recent study by R. Held and colleagues fails to demonstrate that their newly sighted subjects' inability to match seen and felt shape was due to a lack of intermodal connections rather than a purely visual deficit, as the subjects may not have been able visually to represent 3D shape in the perspective-invariant manner required for intermodal matching. However, the study could be modified in any of several ways to help avoid this problem.

HF/H2O2 treated graphite felt as the positive electrode for vanadium redox flow battery

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He, Zhangxing; Jiang, Yingqiao; Meng, Wei; Jiang, Fengyun; Zhou, Huizhu; Li, Yuehua; Zhu, Jing; Wang, Ling; Dai, Lei

2017-11-01

In order to improve the electrochemical performance of the positive graphite felt electrode in vanadium flow redox battery, a novel method is developed to effectively modify the graphite felt by combination of etching of HF and oxidation of H2O2. After the etching of HF for the graphite felt at ambient temperature, abundant oxygen-containing functional groups were further introduced on the surface of graphite felt by hydrothermal treatment using H2O2 as oxidant. Benefiting from the surface etching and introduction of functional groups, mass transfer and electrode process can be improved significantly on the surface of graphite felt. VO2+/VO2+ redox reaction on the graphite felt modified by HF and H2O2 jointly (denote: GF-HF/H2O2) exhibits superior electrochemical kinetics in comparison with the graphite felt modified by single HF or H2O2 treatment. The cell using GF-HF/H2O2 as the positive electrode was assembled and its electrochemical properties were evaluated. The increase of energy efficiency of 4.1% for GF-HF/H2O2 at a current density of 50 mA cm-2 was obtained compared with the pristine graphite felt. The cell using GF-HF/H2O2 also demonstrated higher discharge capacity. Our study revealed that HF/H2O2 treatment is an efficient method to enhance the electrochemical performance of graphite felt, further improving the comprehensive energy storage performance of the vanadium flow redox battery.

Assessing Student-Mentor Interaction During a Summer REU for Two Year College Students

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Doser, D. I.; Olivarez, A.; Rohrbaugh, R.; Villalobos, J. I.

2017-12-01

UTEP-ROCCS (Research Opportunities for Community College Students) is a summer REU program designed exclusively for two-year college students. The program differs from other summer REU's in several ways. First, the participants are only in El Paso during the month of June to begin their research projects, with subsequent research carried out at their home institutions with intensive virtual mentoring in July. Second, the mentoring team is a unique mix of 2-year and 4-year college faculty and undergraduate juniors and seniors. Our first cohort of 6 ROCCS students began their research in June 2017 supported by 2 UTEP undergraduate mentors and 5 faculty mentors. Preliminary results of a series of 4 weekly road checks indicate that 95% of the time the participants felt the faculty and student mentors were supportive, encouraging, and able to respond to their questions and concerns. All felt they received constructive, useful critiques of their field and research work, were motivated by the mentors to learn more and were challenged to extend their abilities and skills for the success of their research projects. Over 70% of the time they felt the mentors encouraged them by suggesting appropriate and available resources when they were struggling. And, most importantly, over 96% of the time they felt the experience stimulated their interest in geology as a future career. We hope to observe similar trends in the road checks of July 2017 as participants prepare their results for the AGU's fall virtual undergraduate poster session.

Students' Written Arguments in General Chemistry Laboratory Investigations

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Choi, Aeran; Hand, Brian; Greenbowe, Thomas

2013-01-01

This study aimed to examine the written arguments developed by college freshman students using the Science Writing Heuristic approach in inquiry-based general chemistry laboratory classrooms and its relationships with students' achievement in chemistry courses. Fourteen freshman students participated in the first year of the study while 19…

The effect of inclusion classrooms on the science achievement of general education students

Science.gov (United States)

Dodd, Matthew Robert

General education and Special Education students from three high schools in Rutherford County were sampled to determine the effect on their academic achievement on the Tennessee Biology I Gateway Exam in Inclusion classrooms. Each student's predicted and actual Gateway Exam scores from the academic year 2006--2007 were used to determine the effect the student's classroom had on his academic achievement. Independent variables used in the study were gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic level, grade point average, type of classroom (general or Inclusion), and type student (General Education or Special Education). The statistical tests used in this study were a t-test and a Mann--Whitney U Test. From this study, the effect of the Inclusion classroom on general education students was not significant statistically. Although the Inclusion classroom allows the special education student to succeed in the classroom, the effect on general education students is negligible. This study also provided statistical data that the Inclusion classroom did not improve the special education students' academic performances on the Gateway Exam. Students in a general education classroom with a GPA above 3.000 and those from a household without a low socioeconomic status performed at a statistically different level in this study.

Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use: Do students with mild-intellectual disability mimic students in the general population?

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Pacoricona Alfaro, Dibia Liz; Ehlinger, Virginie; Spilka, Stanislas; Ross, Jim; Sentenac, Mariane; Godeau, Emmanuelle

2017-04-01

Education policies encourage inclusion of students with mild-intellectual disability (mild-ID) in community/school life. However, such policies potentially increase exposure to substance use. This article examines tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use among French students enrolled in special units for students with disabilities (ULIS) at mainstream junior high schools compared to those of general population of the equivalent age; and explores factors associated with substance use among ULIS students, known to present mostly mild-ID. In 2014, a questionnaire adapted from the international HBSC/WHO study was administered to 700 ULIS students (mean-age 14.2). Comparative data were gathered from 7023 junior high-school students (mean-age 13.6) in the general population. Among students <14 years-old, tobacco and alcohol use rates were similar between ULIS and general population. For students ≥14, alcohol use remained comparable, while tobacco and cannabis use were higher in general population. Among ULIS students, low perceived health/life satisfaction, divorced/separated parents and high perceived academic demands were associated with tobacco use. Bullying, not liking school very much and attending schools outside a deprived area were associated with alcohol use. Having had sexual intercourse and not perceiving one's health as excellent were associated with cannabis use. Having dated was associated with using all three substances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Medical students, early general practice placements and positive supervisor experiences.

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Henderson, Margaret; Upham, Susan; King, David; Dick, Marie-Louise; van Driel, Mieke

2018-03-01

Introduction Community-based longitudinal clinical placements for medical students are becoming more common globally. The perspective of supervising clinicians about their experiences and processes involved in maximising these training experiences has received less attention than that of students. Aims This paper explores the general practitioner (GP) supervisor perspective of positive training experiences with medical students undertaking urban community-based, longitudinal clinical placements in the early years of medical training. Methods Year 2 medical students spent a half-day per week in general practice for either 13 or 26 weeks. Transcribed semi-structured interviews from a convenience sample of participating GPs were thematically analysed by two researchers, using a general inductive approach. Results Identified themes related to the attributes of participating persons and organisations: GPs, students, patients, practices and their supporting institution; GPs' perceptions of student development; and triggers enhancing the experience. A model was developed to reflect these themes. Conclusions Training experiences were enhanced for GPs supervising medical students in early longitudinal clinical placements by the synergy of motivated students and keen teachers with support from patients, practice staff and academic institutions. We developed an explanatory model to better understand the mechanism of positive experiences. Understanding the interaction of factors enhancing teaching satisfaction is important for clinical disciplines wishing to maintain sustainable, high quality teaching.

Perception about radiation by students and teachers. Necessity of bringing-up of ''radiation literacy''

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurokui, Seiji

2005-01-01

Perception about radiation and nuclear-related matters by students and teachers were studies, and it has proved that the degree of acquisition of the knowledge about radiation by teachers is in general very poor. It is keenly felt that some fundamental policy for improving the present situation should be established for the goal of elevations the ''radiation literacy'' of the teachers. (author)

Self-Assembled Student Interactions in Undergraduate General Chemistry Clicker Classrooms

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MacArthur, James R.; Jones, Loretta

2013-01-01

Student interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations were used in an exploratory study of the nature of student interactions in a large (300+ students) general chemistry course taught with clickers. These data suggest that students are self-assembling their learning environment: choosing ways in which to interact with one another during…

Sound absorption enhancement of nonwoven felt by using coupled membrane - sonic crystal inclusion

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Fitriani, M. C.; Yahya, I.; Harjana; Ubaidillah; Aditya, F.; Siregar, Y.; Moeliono, M.; Sulaksono, S.

2016-11-01

The experimental results from laboratory test on the sound absorption performance of nonwoven felt with an array thin tubes and sonic crystal inclusions reported in this paper. The nonwoven felt sample was produced by a local company with 15 mm in its thickness and 900 gsm. The 6.4 mm diameter plastic straw was used to construct the thin tubes array while the sonic crystal is arranged in a 4 × 4 lattice crystal formation. It made from a PVC cylinder with 17 mm and 50 mm in diameter and length respectively. All cylinders have two holes positioned on 10 mm and 25 mm from the base. The results show that both treatments, array of thin tube and sonic crystal inclusions are effectively increased the sound absorption coefficient of the nonwoven felt significantly especially in the low frequency range starting from 200Hz.

The knowledge and attitude about HIV/AIDS among Jordanian dental students: (Clinical versus pre clinical students at the University of Jordan

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Shayyab Mohammad H

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The present study aimed to address the suspected deficiency in the level of understanding of HIV/AIDS among clinical and pre clinical dental students at the University of Jordan. In this cross-sectional study, structured questionnaires were distributed to fifth year dental students (n = 121 and to third year dental students (n = 144 in the academic year 2008/2009. Findings Significantly higher percentage of fifth-year students compared to third-year students felt that the teaching they received on cross-infection precautions and barrier dentistry was adequate (P Significantly higher proportion of third-year students compared to fifth-year (39.2% vs. 26.3% thought that HIV patients should be referred to other centers or support groups for treatment (P = 0.04. Conclusions The level of knowledge of Jordanian dental students about HIV and AIDS was generally acceptable; there were inadequacies, however, in their understanding regarding some aspects of AIDS epidemic which demands that dental school curriculum needs some improvement.

Critical Thinking Skills among Elementary School Students: Comparing Identified Gifted and General Education Student Performance

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Kettler, Todd

2014-01-01

Education reform efforts, including the current adoption of Common Core State Standards, have increased attention to teaching critical thinking skills to all students. This study investigated the critical thinking skills of fourth-grade students from a school district in Texas, including 45 identified gifted students and 163 general education…

Addressing the General Education Curriculum in General Education Settings with Students with Severe Disabilities

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Ballard, Sarah L.; Dymond, Stacy K.

2017-01-01

This systematic literature review examined research on stakeholders' beliefs about addressing the general education curriculum in general education classrooms with students with severe disabilities (SD). The investigation was limited to studies published in peer-reviewed journals between 1997 and 2015. Ten articles were identified and then…

Perspectives of General Education Teachers Who Work with Students with Autism

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Walters, Beth Jolene

2012-01-01

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how general education teachers perceive their experiences working with students in their classrooms who have been diagnosed with autism. The study addressed the following research question: How do secondary school general educators perceive their experiences working with students in…

Student Attitudes toward Flipping the General Chemistry Classroom

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Smith, J. Dominic

2013-01-01

The idea of ''flipping the classroom'' to make class time more engaging and student-centred has gained ground in recent years. The lecture portion of General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II courses were pushed outside the classroom using pre-recording technology and streaming delivery of content, in order to make in-class time more…

Are psychology university student gamblers representative of non-university students and general gamblers? A comparative analysis.

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Gainsbury, Sally M; Russell, Alex; Blaszczynski, Alex

2014-03-01

Students recruited from psychology undergraduate university populations are commonly used in psychology research, including gambling studies. However, the extent to which the use of this subpopulation produces findings that can be extrapolated to other groups is questionable. The present study was designed to compare results from university-recruited psychology student gamblers to those obtained from a sample of gamblers recruited from the general population that also included students. An online survey measuring gambling behavior and Internet gambling, attitudes and knowledge about gambling and problem gambling severity was posted on websites accessed by gamblers. Participants were recruited from two sources, a psychology undergraduate university population (n = 461) and online websites (n = 4,801). Results showed university-recruited students differed significantly from both adults and students recruited from the general population in respect to demographic variables and gambling behavior. Psychology undergraduate students were younger, more likely to be female, and had lower incomes. When relevant demographic variables were controlled, psychology undergraduate students were found to gamble less frequently, at different times, and to be at lower-risk for gambling-related problems, but had more irrational beliefs and more negative attitudes towards gambling than gamblers recruited from the general population. Results suggest that caution should be used in extrapolating findings from research using university-recruited psychology student gamblers to wide community populations due to differences related to gambling thoughts, attitudes and behaviors.

Electrochemical catalytic activity of tungsten trioxide- modified graphite felt toward VO2+/VO2+ redox reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Yang; Xu, Hongfeng; Xu, Pengcheng; Wu, Xiaoxin; Dong, Yiming; Lu, Lu

2014-01-01

A novel graphite felt electrode modified with tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) was developed to improve the electrochemical performance of graphite felt toward the VO 2 + /VO 2+ redox pair. WO 3 was prepared using a hydrothermal method, and the morphology of WO 3 structures was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrochemical property of WO 3 -modified graphite felt toward VO 2 + /VO 2+ was carefully characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The hydrogen-vanadium redox flow battery (H-VRFB) test indicates that single cells using 1.1 mg cm −2 WO 3 -modified graphite felt exhibited excellent performance at 70 mA cm −2 , and the corresponding coulombic, voltage, and energy efficiencies were 99.1%, 88.66% and 87.86%, respectively

Treatment of graphite felt by modified Hummers method for the positive electrode of vanadium redox flow battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Xiaoxin; Xu, Hongfeng; Shen, Yang; Xu, Pengcheng; Lu, Lu; Fu, Jie; Zhao, Hong

2014-01-01

A novel and highly effective treatment based on modified Hummers method was firstly used to improve the electrochemical activity of graphite felt as the positive electrode in all-vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). The graphite felt was treated by the modified Hummers method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The electrochemical performance of the prepared electrode was evaluated through cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Results show that graphite felt treated by modified Hummers method exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity and reaction rate to vanadium redox couples. In our research, the hydrogen electrode and H 2 replaced the graphite felt and V 2+ /V 3+ couple in the negative side in the VRFB performance test. The coulombic, voltage, and energy efficiencies of the VRFB with the as-prepared electrodes at 50 mA cm −2 are 95.0%, 81.3%, and 77.2%, respectively. These values are much higher than those of the cell-assembled graphite felt electrodes that were conventionally and thermally treated. The graphite felt treated by the modified Hummers method carries more hydrophilic groups, such as–OH, on its defects, which is advantageous in facilitating the redox reaction of vanadium ions, thereby improving the operation efficiency of the vanadium redox flow battery

The good midwife: commencing students' views.

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Carolan, Mary

2011-08-01

to explore commencing students' views of the good midwife. This study was set against a background of high course attrition and concerns that discordant students' views of midwifery practice may have been associated with course attrition. qualitative thematic analysis. Melbourne, Australia. all commencing midwifery students, in 2008, were invited to participate (n = 41). students spoke of a series of key attributes they felt were important to the role of the midwife. Most fell into the affective domain and four themes were identified: personal qualities and attitudes; a belief in women and natural birth; compatible work ethic; and the possession of additional attributes. commencing students showed a clear understanding of the affective attributes required of a good midwife but a lesser understanding of requirements of knowledge and competence. A small number of students felt that they were already equipped to advise pregnant women, despite their early stage in the course. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electric and Hydraulic Properties of Carbon Felt Immersed in Different Dielectric Liquids.

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Kossenko, Alexey; Lugovskoy, Svetlana; Averbukh, Moshe

2018-04-23

Electroconductive carbon felt (CF) material, having a permeable structure and significant electroconductive surface, is widely used for electrodes in numerous electrochemical applications such as redox flow batteries, fuel cells, electrochemical desalination apparatus, etc. The internal structure of CF is composed of different lengths of carbon filaments bonded together. This structure creates a large number of stochastically oriented and stochastically linked channels that have different lengths and cross sections. Therefore, the CF hydraulic permeability is similar to that of porous media and is determined by the internal empty volume and arrangement of carbon fibers. Its electroconductivity is ensured by the conductivity of the carbon filaments and by the electrical interconnections between fibers. Both of these properties (permeability and electrical conductivity) are extremely important for the efficient functioning of electrochemical devices. However, their influences counter each other during CF compressing. Increasing the stress on a felt element provides supplementary electrical contacts of carbon filaments, which lead to improved electrical conductivity. Thus, the active surface of the felt electrode is increased, which also boosts redox chemical reactions. On the other hand, compressed felt possesses reduced hydrodynamic permeability as a result of a diminished free volume of porous media and intrinsic channels. This causes increasing hydrodynamic expenditures of electrolyte pumping through electrodes and lessened cell (battery) efficiency. The designer of specific electrochemical systems has to take into account both of these properties when selecting the optimal construction for a cell. This article presents the results of measurements and novel approximating expressions of electrical and hydraulic characteristics of a CF during its compression. Since electrical conductivity plays a determining role in providing electrochemical reactions, it was

Electric and Hydraulic Properties of Carbon Felt Immersed in Different Dielectric Liquids

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexey Kossenko

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Electroconductive carbon felt (CF material, having a permeable structure and significant electroconductive surface, is widely used for electrodes in numerous electrochemical applications such as redox flow batteries, fuel cells, electrochemical desalination apparatus, etc. The internal structure of CF is composed of different lengths of carbon filaments bonded together. This structure creates a large number of stochastically oriented and stochastically linked channels that have different lengths and cross sections. Therefore, the CF hydraulic permeability is similar to that of porous media and is determined by the internal empty volume and arrangement of carbon fibers. Its electroconductivity is ensured by the conductivity of the carbon filaments and by the electrical interconnections between fibers. Both of these properties (permeability and electrical conductivity are extremely important for the efficient functioning of electrochemical devices. However, their influences counter each other during CF compressing. Increasing the stress on a felt element provides supplementary electrical contacts of carbon filaments, which lead to improved electrical conductivity. Thus, the active surface of the felt electrode is increased, which also boosts redox chemical reactions. On the other hand, compressed felt possesses reduced hydrodynamic permeability as a result of a diminished free volume of porous media and intrinsic channels. This causes increasing hydrodynamic expenditures of electrolyte pumping through electrodes and lessened cell (battery efficiency. The designer of specific electrochemical systems has to take into account both of these properties when selecting the optimal construction for a cell. This article presents the results of measurements and novel approximating expressions of electrical and hydraulic characteristics of a CF during its compression. Since electrical conductivity plays a determining role in providing electrochemical

Investigations into the Anti-Felting Properties of Sputtered Wool Using Plasma Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borghei, S. M.; Shahidi, S.; Ghoranneviss, M.; Abdolahi, Z.

2013-01-01

In this research the effects of mordant and plasma sputtering treatments on the crystallinity and morphological properties of wool fabrics were investigated. The felting behavior of the treated samples was also studied. We used madder as a natural dye and copper sulfate as a metal mordant. We also used copper as the electrode material in a DC magnetron plasma sputtering device. The anti-felting properties of the wool samples before and after dying was studied, and it was shown that the shrink resistance and anti-felting behavior of the wool had been significantly improved by the plasma sputtering treatment. In addition, the percentage of crystallinity and the size of the crystals were investigated using an X-ray diffractometer, and a scanning electron microscope was used for morphological analysis. The amount of copper particles on the surface of the mordanted and sputtered fabrics was studied using the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) method, and the hydrophobic properties of the samples were examined using the water drop test. The results show that with plasma sputtering treatment, the hydrophobic properties of the surface of wool become super hydrophobic.

Does Year 12 French Improve Proficiency? Student Views and Student Performance.

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Martin, Anne L.

1994-01-01

Discusses the attitudes of students concerning the benefit of Year 12 foreign language courses to the development of their oral and aural proficiency in the target language, i.e., French. While most students felt that their ability to speak and understand spoken French had improved as a result of the course, some expressed dissatisfaction with…

IEP Use by General and Special Education Teachers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathleen Rotter

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The role of general and special educators in implementing the Individualized Education Program (IEP is critical. This study investigated the perceptions of those teachers on when they read the IEP, how they measure attainment of IEP goals and objectives, and the IEPs usefulness in instructional planning. Four hundred twenty-six teachers from suburban school districts in central New Jersey were respondents. Results indicated that the majority of general and special education teachers are reading their students’ IEPs in a fairly timely manner and that they find them moderately useful in planning instruction. Results also suggested that teachers relied heavily on grades to document attainment of IEP goals and that teachers felt that the IEPs themselves could be improved if they were shorter with student-specific, critical information that was more relevant to classroom instruction.

Electrochemical reduction of dilute chromate solutions on carbon felt electrodes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frenzel, Ines; Frenzel, I.; Holdik, Hans; Barmashenko, Vladimir; Stamatialis, Dimitrios; Wessling, Matthias

2006-01-01

Carbon felt is a potential material for electrochemical reduction of chromates. Very dilute solutions may be efficiently treated due to its large specific surface area and high porosity. In this work, the up-scaling of this technology is investigated using a new type of separated cell and

Felt Stigma in Injection Drug Users and Sex Workers: Focus Group Research with HIV-Risk Populations in Puerto Rico.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez, Julio; Puig, Marieva; Sala, Ana Cecilia; Ramos, Juan Carlos; Castro, Eida; Morales, Marangelie; Santiago, Lydia; Zorrilla, Carmen

Though many studies have conclusively linked felt stigma and HIV, few have focused on the experiences of rejection felt by members of such socially marginalized groups as intravenous drug users (IDU) and sex workers (SW). Using focus groups, our study explored these experiences in 34 individuals (17 male UDUs and 17 female SWs) at risk of becoming infected with HIV, the objective being to discover why they engaged in maladaptive behaviors as a way of coping with felt stigma. We used deductive and inductive analysis to codify the resulting data. Concepts associated with the word stigma, emotional reactions to felt stigma, and the impact of felt stigma on self-schema helped elucidate how the internalization of felt stigma can lead to negative affective states and self-destructive behaviors (e.g., drug use and syringe exchange). Results underline the importance of developing intervention models that reduce stigma as a means of HIV prevention in vulnerable populations.

Emotion felt by the listener and expressed by the music: literature review and theoretical perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, Emery

2013-01-01

In his seminal paper, Gabrielsson (2002) distinguishes between emotion felt by the listener, here: “internal locus of emotion” (IL), and the emotion the music is expressing, here: “external locus of emotion” (EL). This paper tabulates 16 comparisons of felt versus expressed emotions in music published in the decade 2003–2012 consisting of 19 studies/experiments and provides some theoretical perspectives. The key findings were that (1) IL rating was frequently rated statistically the same or lower than the corresponding EL rating (e.g., lower felt happiness rating compared to the apparent happiness of the music), and that (2) self-select and preferred music had a smaller gap across the emotion loci than experimenter-selected and disliked music. These key findings were explained by an “inhibited” emotional contagion mechanism, where the otherwise matching felt emotion may have been attenuated by some other factor such as social context. Matching between EL and IL for loved and self-selected pieces was explained by the activation of “contagion” circuits. Physiological arousal, personality and age, as well as musical features (tempo, mode, putative emotions) also influenced perceived and felt emotion distinctions. A variety of data collection formats were identified, but mostly using rating items. In conclusion, a more systematic use of terminology appears desirable. Two broad categories, namely matched and unmatched, are proposed as being sufficient to capture the relationships between EL and IL, instead of four categories as suggested by Gabrielsson. PMID:24381565

Emotion felt by the listener and expressed by the music: literature review and theoretical perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Schubert, Emery

2013-12-17

In his seminal paper, Gabrielsson (2002) distinguishes between emotion felt by the listener, here: "internal locus of emotion" (IL), and the emotion the music is expressing, here: "external locus of emotion" (EL). This paper tabulates 16 comparisons of felt versus expressed emotions in music published in the decade 2003-2012 consisting of 19 studies/experiments and provides some theoretical perspectives. The key findings were that (1) IL rating was frequently rated statistically the same or lower than the corresponding EL rating (e.g., lower felt happiness rating compared to the apparent happiness of the music), and that (2) self-select and preferred music had a smaller gap across the emotion loci than experimenter-selected and disliked music. These key findings were explained by an "inhibited" emotional contagion mechanism, where the otherwise matching felt emotion may have been attenuated by some other factor such as social context. Matching between EL and IL for loved and self-selected pieces was explained by the activation of "contagion" circuits. Physiological arousal, personality and age, as well as musical features (tempo, mode, putative emotions) also influenced perceived and felt emotion distinctions. A variety of data collection formats were identified, but mostly using rating items. In conclusion, a more systematic use of terminology appears desirable. Two broad categories, namely matched and unmatched, are proposed as being sufficient to capture the relationships between EL and IL, instead of four categories as suggested by Gabrielsson.

AUTONOMOUS LEARNING STRATEGY OF THE SUCCESSFUL NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Zulaihah

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Most students of English Education Program in STKIP PGRI Ponorogo can be considered as nontraditional students with family, work, and other life responsibilities which have many influences on their educational goals. Autonomous learning is a customized way of learning applied by individual to find out his own learning needs and learning goals, decide the most appropriate way for his own learning, as well as to monitor and evaluate the learning progress. This research used qualitative descriptive method. The primary techniques in data collection were questionnaire, and interview. In general, the most influential motivation for the students was internal motivation. Advisor’s availability, text book, internet, supportive atmosphere, self discipline, cozy and quiet place, and early morning were among the students’ choices for their autonomous learning. They frequently used music, film, video, essay, and smart phone application in their study. In general, the nontraditional students with high achievement were often felt easy to understand the material especially when it was delivered in relatively “easy” language, expressed their opinion bravely, and patient in doing their tasks. They considered friends, best friends, and lecturer as people who were capable to help them in doing autonomous learning

Students' perceptions of the admissions process for a program for internationally-trained dentists

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King, Patricia Ann

This study is designed to analyze the students' perceptions of the application process for a foreign-trained dental program. The goal was to add to the knowledge base the views of students who have experienced the application process of this type of program. Using a quantitative approach, the method of data collection was through a link to an online Likert survey which was emailed to graduates, first-year and second-year current students of the International Dental Studies (IDS) program at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. Respondents were students who had experienced the IDS application process and had been accepted into the program. The study identified three topics: background, motivation and perception of fairness. The background information identified whether the participant was male/female and whether they were a current first-/second-year student or a graduate of the program. Motivation for applying was identified through questions about knowing someone who was in or had completed the program, and/or applied because of the program's reputation. Perception of fairness was determined by asking how the student felt about each required element of the process. By using structure based upon construct, which provides the researcher with a methodical review and configuration of the information, the study found that students had some views about application elements that, at times, conflicted with school's requirements. However, in general, the students felt the school was requiring the right elements for their application and were, therefore, basing their acceptance decisions on the correct requisites.

Do People Agree on What Makes One Feel Loved? A Cognitive Psychometric Approach to the Consensus on Felt Love.

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Oravecz, Zita; Muth, Chelsea; Vandekerckhove, Joachim

2016-01-01

This pragmatic study examines love as a mode of communication. Our focus is on the receiver side: what makes an individual feel loved and how felt love is defined through daily interactions. Our aim is to explore everyday life scenarios in which people might experience love, and to consider people's converging and diverging judgments about which scenarios indicate felt love. We apply a cognitive psychometric approach to quantify a receiver's ability to detect, understand, and know that they are loved. Through crowd-sourcing, we surveyed lay participants about whether various scenarios were indicators of felt love. We thus quantify these responses to make inference about consensus judgments of felt love, measure individual levels of agreement with consensus, and assess individual response styles. More specifically, we (1) derive consensus judgments on felt love; (2) describe its characteristics in qualitative and quantitative terms, (3) explore individual differences in both (a) participant agreement with consensus, and (b) participant judgment when uncertain about shared knowledge, and (4) test whether individual differences can be meaningfully linked to explanatory variables. Results indicate that people converge towards a shared cognitive model of felt love. Conversely, respondents showed heterogeneity in knowledge of consensus, and in dealing with uncertainty. We found that, when facing uncertainty, female respondents and people in relationships more frequently judge scenarios as indicators of felt love. Moreover, respondents from smaller households tend to know more about consensus judgments of felt love, while respondents from larger households are more willing to guess when unsure of consensus.

Measuring Student Performance in General Organic Chemistry

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Austin, Ara C.; Ben-Daat, Hagit; Zhu, Mary; Atkinson, Robert; Barrows, Nathan; Gould, Ian R.

2015-01-01

Student performance in general organic chemistry courses is determined by a wide range of factors including cognitive ability, motivation and cultural capital. Previous work on cognitive factors has tended to focus on specific areas rather than exploring performance across all problem types and cognitive skills. In this study, we have categorized…

Student and faculty member perspectives on lecture capture in pharmacy education.

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Marchand, Jon-Paul; Pearson, Marion L; Albon, Simon P

2014-05-15

To examine faculty members' and students' use and perceptions of lecture recordings in a previously implemented lecture-capture initiative. Patterns of using lecture recordings were determined from software analytics, and surveys were conducted to determine awareness and usage, effect on attendance and other behaviors, and learning impact. Most students and faculty members were aware of and appreciated the recordings. Students' patterns of use changed as the novelty wore off. Students felt that the recordings enhanced their learning, improved their in-class engagement, and had little effect on their attendance. Faculty members saw little difference in students' grades or in-class engagement but noted increased absenteeism. Students made appropriate use of recordings to support their learning, but faculty members generally did not make active educational use of the recordings. Further investigation is needed to understand the effects of lecture recordings on attendance. Professional development activities for both students and faculty members would help maximize the learning benefits of the recordings.

Student Conceptions about Energy Transformations: Progression from General Chemistry to Biochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfson, Adele J.; Rowland, Susan L.; Lawrie, Gwendolyn A.; Wright, Anthony H.

2014-01-01

Students commencing studies in biochemistry must transfer and build on concepts they learned in chemistry and biology classes. It is well established, however, that students have difficulties in transferring critical concepts from general chemistry courses; one key concept is "energy." Most previous work on students' conception of energy…

Students' General and Physics Epistemological Beliefs: A Twofold Phenomenon

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Ogan-Bekiroglu, Feral; Sengul-Turgut, Gulsen

2011-01-01

Background: Although research on epistemological beliefs has expanded over the past two decades, there are still some issues that need to be explored, such as whether epistemological beliefs are domain general or domain specific. Purpose: One of the purposes of this research was to determine if high school students' general epistemological beliefs…

Ubiquitous testing using tablets: its impact on medical student perceptions of and engagement in learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyong-Jee; Hwang, Jee-Young

2016-03-01

Ubiquitous testing has the potential to affect medical education by enhancing the authenticity of the assessment using multimedia items. This study explored medical students' experience with ubiquitous testing and its impact on student learning. A cohort (n=48) of third-year students at a medical school in South Korea participated in this study. The students were divided into two groups and were given different versions of 10 content-matched items: one in text version (the text group) and the other in multimedia version (the multimedia group). Multimedia items were delivered using tablets. Item response analyses were performed to compare item characteristics between the two versions. Additionally, focus group interviews were held to investigate the students' experiences of ubiquitous testing. The mean test score was significantly higher in the text group. Item difficulty and discrimination did not differ between text and multimedia items. The participants generally showed positive responses on ubiquitous testing. Still, they felt that the lectures that they had taken in preclinical years did not prepare them enough for this type of assessment and clinical encounters during clerkships were more helpful. To be better prepared, the participants felt that they needed to engage more actively in learning in clinical clerkships and have more access to multimedia learning resources. Ubiquitous testing can positively affect student learning by reinforcing the importance of being able to understand and apply knowledge in clinical contexts, which drives students to engage more actively in learning in clinical settings.

Doctors' attitudes and confidence towards providing nutrition care in practice: Comparison of New Zealand medical students, general practice registrars and general practitioners.

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Crowley, Jennifer; Ball, Lauren; Han, Dug Yeo; McGill, Anne-Thea; Arroll, Bruce; Leveritt, Michael; Wall, Clare

2015-09-01

Improvements in individuals' nutrition behaviour can improve risk factors and outcomes associated with lifestyle-related chronic diseases. This study describes and compares New Zealand medical students, general practice registrars and general practitioners' (GPs') attitudes towards incorporating nutrition care into practice, and self-perceived skills in providing nutrition care. A total of 183 New Zealand medical students, 51 general practice registrars and 57 GPs completed a 60-item questionnaire investigating attitudes towards incorporating nutrition care into practice and self-perceived skills in providing nutrition care. Items were scored using a 5-point Likert scale. Factor analysis was conducted to group questionnaire items and a generalised linear model compared differences between medical students, general practice registrars and GPs. All groups indicated that incorporating nutrition care into practice is important. GPs displayed more positive attitudes than students towards incorporating nutrition in routine care (ppractice registrars were more positive than students towards performing nutrition recommendations (p=0.004), specified practices (p=0.037), and eliciting behaviour change (p=0.024). All groups displayed moderate confidence towards providing nutrition care. GPs were more confident than students in areas relating to wellness and disease (pmedical students, general practice registrars and GPs have positive attitudes and moderate confidence towards incorporating nutrition care into practice. It is possible that GPs' experience providing nutrition care contributes to greater confidence. Strategies to facilitate medical students developing confidence in providing nutrition care are warranted.

Analysis of key factors influencing the evaporation performances of an oriented linear cutting copper fiber sintered felt

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Pan, Minqiang; Zhong, Yujian

2018-01-01

Porous structure can effectively enhance the heat transfer efficiency. A kind of micro vaporizer using the oriented linear cutting copper fiber sintered felt is proposed in this work. Multiple long cutting copper fibers are firstly fabricated with a multi-tooth tool and then sintered together in parallel to form uniform thickness metal fiber sintered felts that provided a characteristic of oriented microchannels. The temperature rise response and thermal conversion efficiency are experimentally investigated to evaluate the influences of porosity, surface structure, feed flow rate and input power on the evaporation characteristics. It is indicated that the temperature rise response of water is mainly affected by input power and feed flow rate. High input power and low feed flow rate present better temperature rise response of water. Porosity rather than surface structure plays an important role in the temperature rise response of water at a relatively high input power. The thermal conversion efficiency is dominated by the input power and surface structure. The oriented linear cutting copper fiber sintered felts for three kinds of porosities show better thermal conversion efficiency than that of the oriented linear copper wire sintered felt when the input power is less than 115 W. All the sintered felts have almost the same performance of thermal conversion at a high input power.

Sleep and Mental Health in Undergraduate Students with Generally Healthy Sleep Habits.

Science.gov (United States)

Milojevich, Helen M; Lukowski, Angela F

2016-01-01

Whereas previous research has indicated that sleep problems tend to co-occur with increased mental health issues in university students, relatively little is known about relations between sleep quality and mental health in university students with generally healthy sleep habits. Understanding relations between sleep and mental health in individuals with generally healthy sleep habits is important because (a) student sleep habits tend to worsen over time and (b) even time-limited experience of sleep problems may have significant implications for the onset of mental health problems. In the present research, 69 university students with generally healthy sleep habits completed questionnaires about sleep quality and mental health. Although participants did not report clinically concerning mental health issues as a group, global sleep quality was associated with mental health. Regression analyses revealed that nighttime sleep duration and the frequency of nighttime sleep disruptions were differentially related to total problems and clinically-relevant symptoms of psychological distress. These results indicate that understanding relations between sleep and mental health in university students with generally healthy sleep habits is important not only due to the large number of undergraduates who experience sleep problems and mental health issues over time but also due to the potential to intervene and improve mental health outcomes before they become clinically concerning.

Sources of Stress and Coping Strategies among Undergraduate Medical Students Enrolled in a Problem-Based Learning Curriculum

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Samira S. Bamuhair

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Medical education is rated as one of the most difficult trainings to endure. Throughout their undergraduate years, medical students face numerous stressors. Coping with these stressors requires access to a variety of resources, varying from personal strengths to social support. We aimed to explore the perceived stress, stressors, and coping strategies employed by medical students studying in a problem-based learning curriculum. Methodology. This is a cross-sectional study of randomly selected medical students that explored demographics, perceived stress scale, sources of stress, and coping strategies. Results. Of the 378 medical students that participated in the study, males were 59.3% and females 40.7%. Nearly 53% of the students often felt stressed, and a third felt that they could not cope with stress. Over 82% found studying stressful and 64.3% were not sleeping well. Half of the students reported low self-esteem. Perceived stress scores were statistically significantly high for specific stressors of studying in general, worrying about future, interpersonal conflict, and having low self-esteem. Coping strategies that were statistically significantly applied more often were blaming oneself and being self-critical, seeking advice and help from others, and finding comfort in religion. Female students were more stressed than males but they employ more coping strategies as well. Conclusions. Stress is very common among medical students. Most of the stressors are from coursework and interpersonal relationships. Low self-esteem coupled with self-blame and self-criticism is quite common.

The Factors and Features of Museum Fatigue in Science Centres Felt by Korean Students

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Kim, Minchul; Dillon, Justin; Song, Jinwoong

2018-03-01

One of the objectives of science education in science centres has been the enhancement of interest in science. However, museum fatigue has a negative impact on interest. Museum fatigue has been described as physical tiredness or a decrease in visitors' interest in a museum. The learning experience of students in science centres is also influenced by museum fatigue. The purpose of this study is to identify the phenomena of museum fatigue in science centres and to identity how it is manifested. First, we identified the factors causing museum fatigue in science centres using the data from an open-ended questionnaire which was given to 597 primary, middle and high school students in South Korea. From the responses to the questionnaire, 50 factors causing museum fatigue in science centres were identified. A second Likert-type questionnaire with the 50 factors of museum fatigue in science centres was administered to 610 primary, middle and high school students in South Korea. Using reliability and factor analyses, we developed a framework of the factors causing museum fatigue in science centres, which consists of three contexts, 12 categories and 50 factors. Secondly, through statistical analyses including T test and ANOVA analysis, the features of students' museum fatigue in science centres were analysed and compared regarding student gender, school level, interest in science, grade of school science, the number of visits, and type of visit. The results, which were found to be statistically significant, are reported and discussed. The findings of this study are intended to serve for a deeper understanding and practical improvement of science learning in science centres.

Atoms-First Curriculum: A Comparison of Student Success in General Chemistry

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Esterling, Kevin M.; Bartels, Ludwig

2013-01-01

We present an evaluation of the impact of an atoms-first curriculum on student success in introductory chemistry classes and find that initially a lower fraction of students obtain passing grades in the first and second quarters of the general chemistry series. This effect is more than reversed for first-quarter students after one year of…

Student Exposure to Actual Patients in the Classroom.

Science.gov (United States)

Chisholm, Marie A.; McCall, Charles Y.; Francisco, George E., Jr.; Poirier, Sylvie

1997-01-01

Two clinical courses for first-year dental students were designed to develop students' interaction skills through actual patient case presentations and discussions and an interdisciplinary teaching approach. Results indicate students preferred the case presentations, with or without lecture, to the lecture-only approach and felt they learned more…

Considering the Role of Tutoring in Student Engagement ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. The ubiquitous influence of the term 'student engagement' has been felt throughout the higher education landscape. This is especially ...

Cultural Communication Characteristics and Student Connectedness in an Online Environment: Perceptions and Preferences of Online Graduate Students

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Green, Tim; Hoffmann, Malia; Donovan, Loretta; Phuntsog, Nawang

2017-01-01

This multi-year exploratory research examined the perceptions of connectedness of students enrolled in an online cohort-based Master's program in educational technology. The research specifically examined the level of connectedness the graduate students from low-context and high-context cultures felt towards their peers, the professors, and the…

Exploring Predictors of Social Actions by General Education Students towards Peers with Disabilities

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Okpareke, Alicia Wyche; Salisbury, Christine L.

2018-01-01

This study deepens the field's understanding about factors that contribute to positive social engagement between students without disabilities and their peers with mild disabilities in general education classrooms. A sample of 68 seventh grade students with and without disabilities was drawn from general education classrooms in a suburban, Midwest…

General Health Status Among Students of Islamic Azad University: A Cross-Sectional Study from Iran

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Mohammad Taghi Savadpour

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background & Aims of the Study: Health is one of the basic needs of human. There is a close relationship between physical and mental health. Human psyche is directly affected by his physical condition, and mutually his body and actions of human systems are influenced by psychological and mental space. Students because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to mental health problems. The purpose of this study is to determine the general health status of students of Islamic Azad University. Materials & Methods: This descriptive analytical research was conducted on 478 students of Khalkhal Islamic Azad University. Simple random sampling method was used. General health questionnaire (GHQ-28 was used as research tool. Following data collection, data were analyzed using SPSS Software 13. Results: The results show that mean score of general health of the subjects is higher than cutoff. In this study, 21.3 percent of students were suspected of impaired health. Also, status of general health of female students was worse than male students and significant statistical relationship was observed between general health status and all its sub-scales except depression and gender (P < 0.5. Conclusions: G eneral health of students especially female students is impaired which may considerably affect their learning and performance and academic achievement.

SalanderMaps: A rapid overview about felt earthquakes through data mining of web-accesses

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Kradolfer, Urs

2013-04-01

While seismological observatories detect and locate earthquakes based on measurements of the ground motion, they neither know a priori whether an earthquake has been felt by the public nor is it known, where it has been felt. Such information is usually gathered by evaluating feedback reported by the public through on-line forms on the web. However, after a felt earthquake in Switzerland, many people visit the webpages of the Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at the ETH Zurich and each such visit leaves traces in the logfiles on our web-servers. Data mining techniques, applied to these logfiles and mining publicly available data bases on the internet open possibilities to obtain previously unknown information about our virtual visitors. In order to provide precise information to authorities and the media, it would be desirable to rapidly know from which locations these web-accesses origin. The method 'Salander' (Seismic Activitiy Linked to Area codes - Nimble Detection of Earthquake Rumbles) will be introduced and it will be explained, how the IP-addresses (each computer or router directly connected to the internet has a unique IP-address; an example would be 129.132.53.5) of a sufficient amount of our virtual visitors were linked to their geographical area. This allows us to unprecedentedly quickly know whether and where an earthquake was felt in Switzerland. It will also be explained, why the method Salander is superior to commercial so-called geolocation products. The corresponding products of the Salander method, animated SalanderMaps, which are routinely generated after each earthquake with a magnitude of M>2 in Switzerland (http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/prod/salandermaps/, available after March 2013), demonstrate how the wavefield of earthquakes propagates through Switzerland and where it was felt. Often, such information is available within less than 60 seconds after origin time, and we always get a clear picture within already five minutes after origin time

A Self-Instructional Course in Student Financial Aid Administration. Module 6: General Student Eligibility. Second Edition.

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Washington Consulting Group, Inc., Washington, DC.

Module 6 of a 17-module self-instructional course on student financial aid administration (for novice aid administrators and other personnel) presents a systematic introduction to the management of federal financial aid programs authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act with an emphasis on general student eligibility. Identifying the…

Improving the Student's Vocabulary Mastery by Using Constructivism Principle in the Second Year Students of Sman 1 Kauman

OpenAIRE

Budairi, Ahmad

2017-01-01

Vocabulary plays important roles in mastering English. Vocabulary refers to all words in the whole language used in a particular variety. In this case, the students have some problems. The problems about difficult in mastering vocabulary, that the students are lack of vocabularies, the students often get difficult in expressing their ideas, the students have low motivation. The students felt unsatisfactory in their results. It's caused the students are lack of practice and lack vocabulary to ...

Female international students and sexual health - a qualitative study into knowledge, beliefs and attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Burchard, Adrienne; Laurence, Caroline; Stocks, Nigel

2011-10-01

International students make up an increasing proportion of university students in Australia. Research suggests that they have poor sexual health knowledge compared with local students. Thematic analysis was undertaken on focus groups carried out at the University of Adelaide (South Australia), with 21 female international students from Malaysia and China. Four themes were identified: poor sexual health knowledge; complex attitudes about premarital sex; difficulty accessing sexual health information, and poor understanding the role of general practitioners in this area; and ideas about future education. Participants believed that international students have insufficient sexual health education when they arrive in Australia. They were concerned that some students may become more sexually active in Australia, and may not have adequate access to health services and information. All participants felt it was necessary for international students to receive better sexual health education. International students are important to Australian universities, and it should be mandatory to ensure that culturally appropriate sex education is made available to this group.

Provision of medical student teaching in UK general practices: a cross-sectional questionnaire study

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Harding, Alex; Rosenthal, Joe; Al-Seaidy, Marwa; Gray, Denis Pereira; McKinley, Robert K

2015-01-01

Background Health care is increasingly provided in general practice. To meet this demand, the English Department of Health recommends that 50% of all medical students should train for general practice after qualification. Currently 19% of medical students express general practice as their first career choice. Undergraduate exposure to general practice positively influences future career choice. Appropriate undergraduate exposure to general practice is therefore highly relevant to workforce planning Aim This study seeks to quantify current exposure of medical students to general practice and compare it with past provision and also with postgraduate provision. Design and setting A cross-sectional questionnaire in the UK. Method A questionnaire regarding provision of undergraduate teaching was sent to the general practice teaching leads in all UK medical schools. Information was gathered on the amount of undergraduate teaching, how this was supported financially, and whether there was an integrated department of general practice. The data were then compared with results from previous studies of teaching provision. The provision of postgraduate teaching in general practice was also examined. Results General practice teaching for medical students increased from teaching in 1968 to 13.0% by 2008; since then, the percentage has plateaued. The total amount of general practice teaching per student has fallen by 2 weeks since 2002. Medical schools providing financial data delivered 14.6% of the clinical curriculum and received 7.1% of clinical teaching funding. The number of departments of general practice has halved since 2002. Provision of postgraduate teaching has tripled since 2000. Conclusion Current levels of undergraduate teaching in general practice are too low to fulfil future workforce requirements and may be falling. Financial support for current teaching is disproportionately low and the mechanism counterproductive. Central intervention may be required to solve

Effect of NaX zeolite-modified graphite felts on hexavalent chromium removal in biocathode microbial fuel cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xiayuan; Tong, Fei; Yong, Xiaoyu; Zhou, Jun; Zhang, Lixiong; Jia, Honghua; Wei, Ping

2016-05-05

Two kinds of NaX zeolite-modified graphite felts were used as biocathode electrodes in hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI))-reducing microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The one was fabricated through direct modification, and the other one processed by HNO3 pretreatment of graphite felt before modification. The results showed that two NaX zeolite-modified graphite felts are excellent bio-electrode materials for MFCs, and that a large NaX loading mass, obtained by HNO3 pretreatment (the HNO3-NaX electrode), leads to a superior performance. The HNO3-NaX electrode significantly improved the electricity generation and Cr(VI) removal of the MFC. The maximum Cr(VI) removal rate increased to 10.39±0.28 mg/L h, which was 8.2 times higher than that of the unmodified control. The improvement was ascribed to the strong affinity that NaX zeolite particles, present in large number on the graphite felt, have for microorganisms and Cr(VI) ions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course.

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Shernof, David J; Ruzek, Erik A; Sannella, Alexander J; Schorr, Roberta Y; Sanchez-Wall, Lina; Bressler, Denise M

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students ( N = 407) in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor) models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor), specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back), taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which in turn had

Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David J. Shernof

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students (N = 407 in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor, specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back, taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which

Student Engagement as a General Factor of Classroom Experience: Associations with Student Practices and Educational Outcomes in a University Gateway Course

Science.gov (United States)

Shernof, David J.; Ruzek, Erik A.; Sannella, Alexander J.; Schorr, Roberta Y.; Sanchez-Wall, Lina; Bressler, Denise M.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a model for considering general and specific elements of student experience in a gateway course in undergraduate Financial Accounting in a large university on the East Coast, USA. Specifically, the study evaluated a bifactor analytic strategy including a general factor of student classroom experience, conceptualized as student engagement as rooted in flow theory, as well as factors representing specific dimensions of experience. The study further evaluated the association between these general and specific factors and both student classroom practices and educational outcomes. The sample of students (N = 407) in two cohorts of the undergraduate financial accounting course participated in the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) measuring students' classroom practices, perceptions, engagement, and perceived learning throughout the one-semester course. Course grade information was also collected. Results showed that a two-level bifactor model fit the data better than two traditional (i.e., non-bifactor) models and also avoided significant multicollinearity of the traditional models. In addition to student engagement (general factor), specific dimensions of classroom experience in the bifactor model at the within-student level included intrinsic motivation, academic intensity, salience, and classroom self-esteem. At the between-student level, specific aspects included work orientation, learning orientation, classroom self-esteem, and disengagement. Multilevel Structural Equation Modeling (MSEM) demonstrated that sitting in the front of the classroom (compared to the sitting in the back), taking notes, active listening, and working on problems during class had a positive effect on within-student variation in student engagement and attention. Engagement, in turn, predicted perceived learning. With respect to between-student effects, the tendency to sit in front seats had a significant effect on student engagement, which in turn had a

Educational Experiences and Needs of Higher Education Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Ru Ying; Richdale, Amanda L

2016-01-01

Little research directly examines the needs of post-secondary students with ASD. The experiences and support needs of 23 students with ASD enrolled in two universities and four colleges, and 15 family members were explored in 15 semi-structured focus groups. Thematic analysis identified five themes: core ASD features, co-morbid conditions, transition, disclosure, and services and support. Most students felt educationally but not socially supported; most families felt support was poor in both areas. Transition from secondary school was often unplanned, and disclosure of diagnosis usually occurred after enrolment, often following a significant problem. Many parents provided substantial student support. Thus disclosure of ASD diagnosis and meeting the individual needs of these students are important considerations as higher education enrolments increase.

Common misconceptions and future intention to smoke among secondary school students in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Caszo, Brinnell; Khair, Muhammad; Mustafa, Mohd Habbib; Zafran, Siti Nor; Syazmin, Nur; Safinaz, Raja Nor Intan; Gnanou, Justin

2015-01-01

The prevalence of smoking among secondary school children continues to remain unchanged over the last 3 decades even though awareness regarding the health effects of smoking is increasing. Common misconceptions about smoking and parental influence could be factors influencing future intentions to smoke among these students. Hence, we looked at the common misconceptions as well as student perceptions about their future intention to smoke among Form 4 students in Shah Alam, Malaysia. This study was conducted by distribution of a questionnaire developed as part of the Global Youth Tobacco Survey to Form 4 student in 3 schools at Shah Alam. Prevalence of smoking (current smokers) was 7.5%. Almost half of the children came from families where one or both parents smoked and a third of the parents had no discussion regarding consequences of smoking with them. A large number of students were classified as "triers" as they had tried smoking and were unsure of whether they would not be smoking in the future. Contrary to our expectations, students generally felt smoking did make one feel more uncomfortable and helped one to reduce body weight. Most students seemed to be aware of the ill-effects of smoking on health. They felt they had received adequate information from school regarding the effects on smoking on health. Our study showed that even though Form 4 students in Shah Alam were knowledgeable about ill-effects of smoking and were taught so as part of their school curriculum, the prevalence of smoking was still high. Students in the "trier group" represent a potential group of future smokers and strategies targeting tobacco control may be aimed at tackling these vulnerable individuals. Efforts are also needed to help educate secondary school children about common misconceptions and dispel myths associated with cigarette smoking.

Commercially Available Activated Carbon Fiber Felt Enables Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Haoran; He, Yurong; Hu, Yanwei; Wang, Xinzhi

2018-03-21

Sun-driven steam generation is now possible and has the potential to help meet future energy needs. Current technologies often use solar condensers to increase solar irradiance. More recently, a technology for solar steam generation that uses heated surface water and low optical concentration is reported. In this work, a commercially available activated carbon fiber felt is used to generate steam efficiently under one sun illumination. The evaporation rate and solar conversion efficiency reach 1.22 kg m -2 h -1 and 79.4%, respectively. The local temperature of the evaporator with a floating activated carbon fiber felt reaches 48 °C. Apart from the high absorptivity (about 94%) of the material, the evaporation performance is enhanced thanks to the well-developed pores for improved water supply and steam escape and the low thermal conductivity, which enables reduced bulk water temperature increase. This study helps to find a promising material for solar steam generation using a water evaporator that can be produced economically (∼6 $/m 2 ) with long-term stability.

Religious attitude associated with general health and smoking in Iranian students.

Science.gov (United States)

Divsalar, Kouros; Nejadnaderi, Samira; Nakhaee, Nowzar; Rouhani, Saed

2010-01-01

Given the university students' model role in the society and the importance of period of university education in selecting behavioral methods and lifestyles in the future have made it necessary to study the smoking pattern and its associated factors and complications among students. The aim of this study was to compare religious attitude and mental health between smoking and non-smoking students. In this research, religious attitude and mental health was studied in 1065 smoking and non-smoking students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences. In this study, three questionnaires were used (Demographic Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire and Religious Attitude Scale Questionnaire) which were completed by the students voluntarily. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistic methods, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), t-test, Pearson correlation, and regression coefficient. The mean age of smokers was 20 years and most of the smokers were male (78.9%), single (86.5%) and in BS or BA degree (52.5%). Most of them smoked a cigarette or more in the past month. The average age of start of smoking was 18 years. There was no significant difference between religious attitude and mental health in smoking students in terms of gender but in non-smoking students there was a significant difference in this regard. Smoking students had lower mental health status and religious attitude in comparison with non-smoking students. Between religious attitude and general health in smoking and non-smoking students was also a direct association. Due to psychological and physiological consequences of cigarette smoking, promoting smoking prevention by religious missionaries and university professors, and helping the students to quit smoking by counselors, psychologists and psychiatrics are necessary.

High School Students' Perceptions of Alcohol Prevention Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Ogenchuk, Marcella

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore Grade 11 students' perceptions of programs related to the prevention of alcohol use in high school settings through an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data elicited from student questionnaires (n=452) and focus groups. It was found that students felt a need for increased information on alcohol…

The effect of gender bias on medical students and career choices: a cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AKANKSHA GARG

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Dear Editor, Gender equality amongst healthcare professionals is no doubt paramount to allow both equal opportunity and provision of good quality healthcare. The General Medical Council encourages that all colleagues should be treated fairly, but studies have previously demonstrated gender bias against female medical students (1. Whether this might have any impact on the students’ decision-making process and career pathways has yet to be explored. We aimed to evaluate whether doctors gave students gender-specific advice and the extent to which this advice influenced the students. Furthermore, we explored whether students felt their gender affected their career choices. We carried out a cross-sectional national study of British clinical medical students. A standardised questionnaire was completed by 94 students (54.3% female. The response rate was 88.7%. Results showed that 43.6% (n=41 of students received career advice based purely on their gender, and 63.4% (n=26 of these said that this would influence their career choices. Importantly, 82.9% (n=34 of the students who received gender-specific advice were female. Additionally, 41.2% (n=21 of females felt their gender would restrict their career choices compared with only 11.6% (n=5 of males (p=0.00142. 37.3% (n=19 of females thought their gender would unfairly disadvantage their career progression compared to 4.65% (n=2 of males (p=0.00016. Our results highlighted that doctors gave more gender-specific advice to females compared to males, and that this advice significantly impacts students’ decision making process. Furthermore, females disproportionately felt their careers would be disadvantaged and restricted compared with males. This shows an enormous disparity between male and female attitudes towards medical careers. This can have both long and short-term effects on training, career choices and patient interaction. Further research investigating why females feel their gender will

Comparative Study of Bullying Victimization among Students in General and Special Education

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, Michael T.; Bauman, Sheri; Nixon, Charisse L.; Davis, Stan

2015-01-01

Research on bullying is an important avenue for understanding the social integration of students in special education. Focused on 3,305 students who self-reported victimization of two to three times per month or more, this study compared the pattern of verbal, relational, and physical bullying among students in general education and special…

Structural and psychological empowerment climates, performance, and the moderating role of shared felt accountability: a managerial perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, J Craig; Johnson, Paul D; Mathe, Kimberly; Paul, Jeff

2011-07-01

The authors proposed and tested a model in which data were collected from managers (n = 539) at 116 corporate-owned quick service restaurants to assess the structural and psychological empowerment process as moderated by shared-felt accountability on indices of performance from a managerial perspective. The authors found that empowering leadership climate positively relates to psychological empowerment climate. In turn, psychological empowerment climate relates to performance only under conditions of high-felt accountability; it does not relate to performance under conditions of low-felt accountability. Overall, the present results indicate that the quick-service restaurant managers, who feel more empowered, operate restaurants that perform better than managers who feel less empowered, but only when those empowered managers also feel a high sense of accountability.

Glucose oxidase-modified carbon-felt-reactor coupled with peroxidase-modified carbon-felt-detector for amperometric flow determination of glucose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yue; Hasebe, Yasushi

2012-01-01

Glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were covalently immobilized on a porous carbon-felt (CF) by using cyanuric chloride (CC) as a linking reagent. The resulting GOx-modified-CF (GOx-ccCF) was used as column-type enzyme reactor and placed on upstream of the HRP-ccCF-based H 2 O 2 flow-detector to fabricate amperometric flow-biosensor for glucose. Sensor setting conditions and the operational conditions were optimized, and the analytical performance characteristics of the resulting flow-biosensor were evaluated. The chemical modification of the GOx via CC was found to be effective to obtain larger catalytic activity as compared with the physical adsorption. Under the optimized conditions (i.e., volume ratio of the GOx-ccCF-reactor to the HRP-ccCF-detector is 1.0; applied potential is − 0.12 V vs. Ag/AgCl; carrier pH is 6.5; and carrier flow rate is 4.3 ml/min), highly selective and quite reproducible peak current responses toward glucose were obtained: the RSD for 30 consecutive injections of 3 mM glucose was 1.04%, and no serious interferences were observed for fructose, ethanol, uric acid, urea and tartaric acid for the amperometric measurements of glucose. The magnitude of the cathodic peak currents for glucose was linear up to 5 mM (sensitivity, 6.38 ± 0.32 μA/μM) with the limit detection of 9.4 μM (S/N = 3, noise level, 20 nA). The present GOx-ccCF-reactor and HRP-ccCF-detector-coupled flow-glucose biosensor was utilized for the determination of glucose in beverages and liquors, and the analytical results by the sensor were in fairly good agreement with those by the conventional spectrophotometry. - Highlights: ► Glucose oxidase (GOx) and peroxidase (HRP) were modified on carbon-felt. ► GOx-CF reactor and HRP-CF detector-coupled flow glucose biosensor was developed. ► This flow biosensor enabled the determination of glucose in beverages and liquors.

Glucose oxidase-modified carbon-felt-reactor coupled with peroxidase-modified carbon-felt-detector for amperometric flow determination of glucose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Yue [School of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology LiaoNing, 185 Qianshan Middle Road, High-tech Zone, Anshan, LiaoNing, 114501 (China); Hasebe, Yasushi, E-mail: hasebe@sit.ac.jp [Department of Life Science and Green Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Saitama Institute of Technology, 1690, Fusaiji, Fukaya, Saitama 369-0293 (Japan)

2012-04-01

Glucose oxidase (GOx) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were covalently immobilized on a porous carbon-felt (CF) by using cyanuric chloride (CC) as a linking reagent. The resulting GOx-modified-CF (GOx-ccCF) was used as column-type enzyme reactor and placed on upstream of the HRP-ccCF-based H{sub 2}O{sub 2} flow-detector to fabricate amperometric flow-biosensor for glucose. Sensor setting conditions and the operational conditions were optimized, and the analytical performance characteristics of the resulting flow-biosensor were evaluated. The chemical modification of the GOx via CC was found to be effective to obtain larger catalytic activity as compared with the physical adsorption. Under the optimized conditions (i.e., volume ratio of the GOx-ccCF-reactor to the HRP-ccCF-detector is 1.0; applied potential is - 0.12 V vs. Ag/AgCl; carrier pH is 6.5; and carrier flow rate is 4.3 ml/min), highly selective and quite reproducible peak current responses toward glucose were obtained: the RSD for 30 consecutive injections of 3 mM glucose was 1.04%, and no serious interferences were observed for fructose, ethanol, uric acid, urea and tartaric acid for the amperometric measurements of glucose. The magnitude of the cathodic peak currents for glucose was linear up to 5 mM (sensitivity, 6.38 {+-} 0.32 {mu}A/{mu}M) with the limit detection of 9.4 {mu}M (S/N = 3, noise level, 20 nA). The present GOx-ccCF-reactor and HRP-ccCF-detector-coupled flow-glucose biosensor was utilized for the determination of glucose in beverages and liquors, and the analytical results by the sensor were in fairly good agreement with those by the conventional spectrophotometry. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Glucose oxidase (GOx) and peroxidase (HRP) were modified on carbon-felt. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer GOx-CF reactor and HRP-CF detector-coupled flow glucose biosensor was developed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer This flow biosensor enabled the determination of glucose in beverages and

Moral Reasoning in College Students: Effects of Two General Education Curricula.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustapha, Sherry L.; Seybert, Jeffrey A.

1991-01-01

Two different approaches to the undergraduate general education and liberal arts curricula were studied in terms of moral reasoning for 188 college students. Results reveal more advanced levels of moral reasoning for students in the integrated curriculum organized around decision making than for those in the traditional curriculum. (SLD)

Turkish High School Students' Ideas about Invertebrates: General Characteristics and Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Cinici, Ayhan

2013-01-01

Identifying alternative conceptions is a vital part of teaching and learning in science because it provides information about students' ideas to both themselves and their teachers. In this context, the purpose of the current study is twofold. The first aim is to examine high school students' alternative conceptions about general characteristics…

Identification of Material Parameters for the Simulation of Acoustic Absorption of Fouled Sintered Fiber Felts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas Lippitz

2016-08-01

Full Text Available As a reaction to the increasing noise pollution, caused by the expansion of airports close to residential areas, porous trailing edges are investigated to reduce the aeroacoustic noise produced by flow around the airframe. Besides mechanical and acoustical investigations of porous materials, the fouling behavior of promising materials is an important aspect to estimate the performance in long-term use. For this study, two sintered fiber felts were selected for a long-term fouling experiment where the development of the flow resistivity and accumulation of dirt was observed. Based on 3D structural characterizations obtained from X-ray tomography of the initial materials, acoustic models (Biot and Johnson–Champoux–Allard in the frame of the transfer matrix method were applied to the sintered fiber felts. Flow resistivity measurements and the measurements of the absorption coefficient in an impedance tube are the basis for a fouling model for sintered fiber felts. The contribution will conclude with recommendations concerning the modeling of pollution processes of porous materials.

Becoming a general practitioner--which factors have most impact on career choice of medical students?

Science.gov (United States)

Kiolbassa, Kathrin; Miksch, Antje; Hermann, Katja; Loh, Andreas; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Joos, Stefanie; Goetz, Katja

2011-05-09

In Germany, there is a shortage of young physicians in several specialties, the situation of general practitioners (GP) being especially precarious. The factors influencing the career choice of German medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors influencing medical students' specialty choice laying a special focus on general practice. The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In 2010, students at the five medical schools in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) filled out an online-questionnaire. On 27 items with 5-point Likert scales, the students rated the importance of specified individual and occupational aspects. Furthermore, students were asked to assign their intended medical specialty. 1,299 students participated in the survey. Thereof, 1,114 students stated a current choice for a specialty, with 708 students choosing a career in one of the following 6 specialties: internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthetics and general practice. Overall, individual aspects ('Personal ambition', 'Future perspective', 'Work-life balance') were rated as more important than occupational aspects (i.e. 'Variety in job', 'Job-related ambition') for career choice. For students favouring a career as a GP individual aspects and the factor 'Patient orientation' among the occupational aspects were significantly more important and 'Job-related ambition' less important compared to students with other specialty choices. This study confirms that future GPs differ from students intending to choose other specialties particularly in terms of patient-orientation and individual aspects such as personal ambition, future perspective and work-life balance. Improving job-conditions in terms of family compatibility and work-life balance could help to increase the attractiveness of general practice. Due to the shortage of GPs those factors should be made explicit at an early stage at medical school to increase

Becoming a general practitioner - Which factors have most impact on career choice of medical students?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loh Andreas

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Germany, there is a shortage of young physicians in several specialties, the situation of general practitioners (GP being especially precarious. The factors influencing the career choice of German medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors influencing medical students' specialty choice laying a special focus on general practice. Methods The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In 2010, students at the five medical schools in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany filled out an online-questionnaire. On 27 items with 5-point Likert scales, the students rated the importance of specified individual and occupational aspects. Furthermore, students were asked to assign their intended medical specialty. Results 1,299 students participated in the survey. Thereof, 1,114 students stated a current choice for a specialty, with 708 students choosing a career in one of the following 6 specialties: internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthetics and general practice. Overall, individual aspects ('Personal ambition', 'Future perspective', 'Work-life balance' were rated as more important than occupational aspects (i.e. 'Variety in job', 'Job-related ambition' for career choice. For students favouring a career as a GP individual aspects and the factor 'Patient orientation' among the occupational aspects were significantly more important and 'Job-related ambition' less important compared to students with other specialty choices. Conclusions This study confirms that future GPs differ from students intending to choose other specialties particularly in terms of patient-orientation and individual aspects such as personal ambition, future perspective and work-life balance. Improving job-conditions in terms of family compatibility and work-life balance could help to increase the attractiveness of general practice. Due to the shortage of GPs those factors should

College Student Performance and Credit Card Usage.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinto, Mary Beth; Parente, Diane H.; Palmer, Todd Starr

2001-01-01

Examines the relationship between credit card usage, employment, and academic performance among a group of college students with credit cards. Results reveal that the students differed significantly in the level of anxiety felt from carrying debt, perceived need to work, and perceived impact of employment on academic performance. (Contains 57…

Measuring and Examining General Self-Efficacy among Community College Students: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yu; Starobin, Soko S.

2018-01-01

This study examined a psychosocial mechanism of how general self-efficacy interacts with other key factors and influences degree aspiration for students enrolled in an urban diverse community college. Using general self-efficacy scales, the authors hypothesized the General Self-efficacy model for Community College students (the GSE-CC model). A…

ShakeMapple : tapping laptop motion sensors to map the felt extents of an earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Bossu, Remy; McGilvary, Gary; Kamb, Linus

2010-05-01

There is a significant pool of untapped sensor resources available in portable computer embedded motion sensors. Included primarily to detect sudden strong motion in order to park the disk heads to prevent damage to the disks in the event of a fall or other severe motion, these sensors may also be tapped for other uses as well. We have developed a system that takes advantage of the Apple Macintosh laptops' embedded Sudden Motion Sensors to record earthquake strong motion data to rapidly build maps of where and to what extent an earthquake has been felt. After an earthquake, it is vital to understand the damage caused especially in urban environments as this is often the scene for large amounts of damage caused by earthquakes. Gathering as much information from these impacts to determine where the areas that are likely to be most effected, can aid in distributing emergency services effectively. The ShakeMapple system operates in the background, continuously saving the most recent data from the motion sensors. After an earthquake has occurred, the ShakeMapple system calculates the peak acceleration within a time window around the expected arrival and sends that to servers at the EMSC. A map plotting the felt responses is then generated and presented on the web. Because large-scale testing of such an application is inherently difficult, we propose to organize a broadly distributed "simulated event" test. The software will be available for download in April, after which we plan to organize a large-scale test by the summer. At a specified time, participating testers will be asked to create their own strong motion to be registered and submitted by the ShakeMapple client. From these responses, a felt map will be produced representing the broadly-felt effects of the simulated event.

Tweets from the forest: using Twitter to increase student engagement in an undergraduate field biology course

Science.gov (United States)

Soluk, Lauren; Buddle, Christopher M.

2015-01-01

Twitter is a cold medium that allows users to deliver content-rich but small packets of information to other users, and provides an opportunity for active and collaborative communication. In an education setting, this social media tool has potential to increase active learning opportunities, and increase student engagement with course content. The effects of Twitter on learning dynamics was tested in a field biology course offered by a large Canadian University: 29 students agreed to take part in the Twitter project and quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including survey data from 18 students. Students published 200% more public Tweets than what was required, and interacted frequently with the instructor and teaching assistant, their peers, and users external to the course. Almost 80% of students stated that Twitter increased opportunities for among-group communication, and 94% of students felt this kind of collaborative communication was beneficial to their learning. Although students did not think they would use Twitter after the course was over, 77% of the students still felt it was a good learning tool, and 67% of students felt Twitter had a positive impact on how they engaged with course content. These results suggest social media tools such as Twitter can help achieve active and collaborative learning in higher education. PMID:26594328

Tweets from the forest: using Twitter to increase student engagement in an undergraduate field biology course.

Science.gov (United States)

Soluk, Lauren; Buddle, Christopher M

2015-01-01

Twitter is a cold medium that allows users to deliver content-rich but small packets of information to other users, and provides an opportunity for active and collaborative communication. In an education setting, this social media tool has potential to increase active learning opportunities, and increase student engagement with course content. The effects of Twitter on learning dynamics was tested in a field biology course offered by a large Canadian University: 29 students agreed to take part in the Twitter project and quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including survey data from 18 students. Students published 200% more public Tweets than what was required, and interacted frequently with the instructor and teaching assistant, their peers, and users external to the course. Almost 80% of students stated that Twitter increased opportunities for among-group communication, and 94% of students felt this kind of collaborative communication was beneficial to their learning. Although students did not think they would use Twitter after the course was over, 77% of the students still felt it was a good learning tool, and 67% of students felt Twitter had a positive impact on how they engaged with course content. These results suggest social media tools such as Twitter can help achieve active and collaborative learning in higher education.

Effects of Students' Pre- and Post-Laboratory Concept Maps on Students' Attitudes toward Chemistry Laboratory in University General Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Kilic, Ziya; Kaya, Osman Nafiz; Dogan, Alev

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of scientific discussions based on student-constructed pre- and post-laboratory concept maps on students' attitudes toward chemistry laboratory in the university general chemistry. As part of instruction, during the first four laboratory sessions, students were taught how to construct and…

A survey of interventional radiology awareness among final-year medical students in a European country.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Leong, Sum

2009-07-01

Interventional radiology (IR) is a rapidly expanding specialty that is facing the challenges of turf wars and personnel shortages. Appropriate exposure of medical students to this field can be vital to recruitment of potential future trainees or referring physicians. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and views of final-year medical students in a single EU country regarding various aspects of IR. An electronic survey was sent via e-mail to all final-year medical students in a European country. The students were given a month to respond to the questionnaire. A total of 234 students of 675 (34.5%) replied to the survey. Of the respondents, 35% had previously completed an attachment to the radiology department. The majority of students (63%) thought their knowledge in radiology in general was poor. The percentage of students who correctly identified procedures performed by interventional radiologists was 69% for Hickman line insertion, 79% for fibroid embolization, and 67.5% for lower limb angioplasty. Sixty percent, 30%, and 47% thought that interventional radiologists perform cardiac angioplasties, perform arterial bypasses, and create AV fistulas, respectively. Forty-nine percent felt that interventional radiologists are surgically trained. Eighty-three percent of students were first made aware of angioplasty by a cardiologist. Thirty-one percent thought that interventional radiologists do ward rounds, 24% thought that interventional radiologists have admitting rights, and 26% felt that interventional radiologists run an outpatient practice. A significant number of students (76%) thought that the job prospects in IR are good or excellent but only 40.5% were willing to consider a career in IR. In conclusion, this study indicates that IR remains a nascent but attractive specialty to the majority of medical students. Further development of the existing informal undergraduate curriculum to address shortcomings will ensure that IR continues to attract

A Survey of Interventional Radiology Awareness Among Final-Year Medical Students in a European Country

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leong, Sum; Keeling, Aoife N.; Lee, Michael J.

2009-01-01

Interventional radiology (IR) is a rapidly expanding specialty that is facing the challenges of turf wars and personnel shortages. Appropriate exposure of medical students to this field can be vital to recruitment of potential future trainees or referring physicians. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and views of final-year medical students in a single EU country regarding various aspects of IR. An electronic survey was sent via e-mail to all final-year medical students in a European country. The students were given a month to respond to the questionnaire. A total of 234 students of 675 (34.5%) replied to the survey. Of the respondents, 35% had previously completed an attachment to the radiology department. The majority of students (63%) thought their knowledge in radiology in general was poor. The percentage of students who correctly identified procedures performed by interventional radiologists was 69% for Hickman line insertion, 79% for fibroid embolization, and 67.5% for lower limb angioplasty. Sixty percent, 30%, and 47% thought that interventional radiologists perform cardiac angioplasties, perform arterial bypasses, and create AV fistulas, respectively. Forty-nine percent felt that interventional radiologists are surgically trained. Eighty-three percent of students were first made aware of angioplasty by a cardiologist. Thirty-one percent thought that interventional radiologists do ward rounds, 24% thought that interventional radiologists have admitting rights, and 26% felt that interventional radiologists run an outpatient practice. A significant number of students (76%) thought that the job prospects in IR are good or excellent but only 40.5% were willing to consider a career in IR. In conclusion, this study indicates that IR remains a nascent but attractive specialty to the majority of medical students. Further development of the existing informal undergraduate curriculum to address shortcomings will ensure that IR continues to attract

Which Type of Inquiry Project Do High School Biology Students Prefer: Open or Guided?

Science.gov (United States)

Sadeh, Irit; Zion, Michal

2012-10-01

In teaching inquiry to high school students, educators differ on which method of teaching inquiry is more effective: Guided or open inquiry? This paper examines the influence of these two different inquiry learning approaches on the attitudes of Israeli high school biology students toward their inquiry project. The results showed significant differences between the two groups: Open inquiry students were more satisfied and felt they gained benefits from implementing the project to a greater extent than guided inquiry students. On the other hand, regarding documentation throughout the project, guided inquiry students believed that they conducted more documentation, as compared to their open inquiry peers. No significant differences were found regarding `the investment of time', but significant differences were found in the time invested and difficulties which arose concerning the different stages of the inquiry process: Open inquiry students believed they spent more time in the first stages of the project, while guided inquiry students believed they spent more time in writing the final paper. In addition, other differences were found: Open inquiry students felt more involved in their project, and felt a greater sense of cooperation with others, in comparison to guided inquiry students. These findings may help teachers who hesitate to teach open inquiry to implement this method of inquiry; or at least provide their students with the opportunity to be more involved in inquiry projects, and ultimately provide their students with more autonomy, high-order thinking, and a deeper understanding in performing science.

Medical student resilience and stressful clinical events during clinical training.

Science.gov (United States)

Houpy, Jennifer C; Lee, Wei Wei; Woodruff, James N; Pincavage, Amber T

2017-01-01

Medical students face numerous stressors during their clinical years, including difficult clinical events. Fostering resilience is a promising way to mitigate negative effects of stressors, prevent burnout, and help students thrive after difficult experiences. However, little is known about medical student resilience. To characterize medical student resilience and responses to difficult clinical events during clinical training. Sixty-two third-year (MS3) and 55 fourth-year (MS4) University of Chicago medical students completed surveys in 2016 assessing resilience (Connor Davidson Resilience Scale, CD-RISC 10), symptoms of burnout, need for resilience training, and responses to difficult clinical events. Medical student mean resilience was lower than in a general population sample. Resilience was higher in males, MS4s, those without burnout symptoms, and students who felt able to cope with difficult clinical events. When students experienced difficult events in the clinical setting, the majority identified poor team dynamics among the most stressful, and agreed their wellbeing was affected by difficult clinical events. A majority also would prefer to discuss these events with their team later that day. Students discussed events with peers more than with attendings or residents. Students comfortable discussing stress and burnout with peers had higher resilience. Most students believed resilience training would be helpful and most beneficial during MS3 year. Clinical medical student resilience was lower than in the general population but higher in MS4s and students reporting no burnout. Students had some insight into their resilience and most thought resilience training would be helpful. Students discussed difficult clinical events most often with peers. More curricula promoting medical student resilience are needed.

Damage Behavior of Sintered Fiber Felts

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Nicolas Lippitz

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The reduction of aircraft noise is important due to a rising number of flights and the growth of urban centers close to airports. During landing, a significant part of the noise is generated by flow around the airframe. To reduce that noise porous trailing edges are investigated. Ideally, the porous materials should to be structural materials as well. Therefore, the mechanical properties and damage behavior are of major interest. The aim of this study is to show the change of structure and the damage behavior of sintered fiber felts, which are promising materials for porous trailing edges, under tensile loading using a combination of tensile tests and three dimensional computed tomography scans. By stopping the tensile test after a defined stress or strain and scanning the sample, it is possible to correlate structural changes and the development of damage to certain features in the stress-strain curve and follow the damage process with a high spatial resolution. Finally, the correlation between material structure and mechanical behavior is demonstrated.

Trust in Supervisor and Job Engagement: Mediating Effects of Psychological Safety and Felt Obligation.

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Basit, Ameer A

2017-11-17

In the social context of job engagement, the role of trust in supervisor in predicting engagement of employees has received attention in research. Very limited research, however, has investigated the mechanisms mediating this dynamic relationship. To address this important gap in knowledge, the aim of this study was to examine psychological safety and felt obligation as two psychological mechanisms mediating the effect of trust in supervisor on job engagement. Drawing from job engagement and social exchange theories, the mediating roles of psychological safety and felt obligation in the trust-engagement relationship were empirically investigated in the Malaysian context. Using self-report questionnaires, data were collected from 337 nurses employed in a public hospital located near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Results fully supported the proposed serial multiple mediator model. Trust in supervisor was indirectly related to job engagement via psychological safety followed by felt obligation. This study provides empirical evidence that trust in supervisor makes employees feel psychologically safe to employ and express their selves in their job roles. This satisfaction of the psychological safety need is interpreted by employees as an important socioemotional benefit that, in turn, makes them feel obligated to pay back to their organization through their enhanced level of job engagement. Implications for theory and practice were discussed.

A high-performance carbon nanoparticle-decorated graphite felt electrode for vanadium redox flow batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei, L.; Zhao, T.S.; Zhao, G.; An, L.; Zeng, L.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Propose a carbon nanoparticle-decorated graphite felt electrode for VRFBs. • The energy efficiency is up to 84.8% at 100 mA cm"−"2. • The new electrode allows the peak power density to reach 508 mW cm"−"2. - Abstract: Increasing the performance of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), especially the energy efficiency and power density, is critically important to reduce the system cost to a level for widespread commercialization. Unlike conventional VRFBs with flow-through structure, in this work we create a VRFB featuring a flow-field structure with a carbon nanoparticle-decorated graphite felt electrode for the battery. This novel structure, exhibiting a significantly reduced ohmic loss through reducing electrode thickness, an increased surface area and improved electrocatalytic activity by coating carbon nanoparticles, allows the energy efficiency up to 84.8% at a current density of as high as 100 mA cm"−"2 and the peak power density to reach a value of 508 mW cm"−"2. In addition, it is demonstrated that the battery with this proposed structure exhibits a substantially improved rate capability and capacity retention as opposed to conventional flow-through structured battery with thick graphite felt electrodes.

Teacher's and Students' Beliefs on English for General Academic Purposes: The Case of Iranian University Students

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Kojour, Masoud Kermani; Heirati, Javad Kia

2015-01-01

This study was framed in the sociocultural theory to look into the evolution of L2 learners' beliefs about the general English course during a term. One hundred ninety-eight male and female university students and their general English course teacher were randomly selected as the participants of the study. Data were gathered through the…

Enhancing General Physical Educators' Teacher Efficacy when Working with All Students

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Umhoefer, Donna; Beyer, Robbi; Vargas, Tiffanye M.

2012-01-01

Since the Public Law 94-142 was enacted in 1975, there has been a push for inclusive classes where students with disabilities are educated along with their peers without disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The general physical education (GPE) teacher is obligated to ensure that all students are successful in their classes.…

Student-generated case reports.

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Good, Christopher J

2009-01-01

When students create teaching materials, learning can be enhanced. Therefore, a project was designed based on the traditional clinical case report and the chiropractic technique and principles curriculum at the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic. The objectives were to increase mastery in a clinical topic, increase awareness of different patient presentations and management options, and enhance information technology skills. Following lectures about the components of a case report and neurological reflexes related to visceral comorbidities and subluxation and joint dysfunction, students created a case report based on a template provided by the instructor. A survey gathered student perspectives on the exercise. More than 70% of the surveyed students felt the project was at least moderately helpful in improving understanding of a case report, the condition investigated, their clinical reasoning, and the ability to integrate information. Most felt that they improved their understanding of neurological reflexes, use of the literature, and the practice of evidence-based care. The majority believed that they identified weakness in knowledge, improved self-learning skills, and increased confidence in managing patients. Most enjoyed it at least somewhat and 70% agreed that the project should be continued. Many believed that they were better prepared for national boards and had improved their writing skills.

Teaching Methods Associated with Student Progress in General Education Courses. IDEA Research Report #9

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Benton, Stephen L.; Li, Dan

2015-01-01

This study examined which teaching methods are most highly correlated with student progress on relevant course objectives in first- and second-year (lower-level) general education courses. We specifically sought to identify teaching methods that distinguish progress made by students taking a general education course from that made by students…

A comparison between scores on Kirton's inventory for nursing students and a general student population.

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Pettigrew, A C; King, M O

1993-08-01

This study compared scores on the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory of 60 first-year nursing students with scores of 73 nonnursing majors of approximately the same age to test the hypothesis that, in general, individuals selecting nursing as a major tend to show a more adaptive style of creativity in problem solving than their nonnursing peers. Analysis indicated the nursing students were significantly more "adaptive" in problem solving and less "innovative" than the nonnursing control group.

Should Undergraduate Lectures be Compulsory? The Views of Dental and Medical Students from a UK University

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Alaa Daud

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Formal lectures have been a traditional part of medical and dental education, but there is debate as to their compulsory status. This study was designed to explore dental and medical students’ views on compulsory lectures and the use of Video-Recorded Lectures (VRL. A cross-sectional study of University of Bristol students in Years 2 to 4 was conducted using an online questionnaire. The majority of both dental (76% and medical (66% students felt lectures should be non-compulsory. The most common learning resources used by both dental and medical students were live lectures, lecture handouts and VRL. The majority of both dental (84% and medical (88% students used VRL. Most students attended lectures all of the time both before and after the introduction of VRL, even though most dental and medical students believe lectures should be non-compulsory. VRL is a popular learning resource. These findings tie-in with General Dental Council and General Medical Council recommendations that encourage self-directed learning. Dental and Medical schools should offer a range of learning resources and make use of current technology, including the use of VRL.

General Practitioner Education Reform in China: Most Undergraduate Medical Students do not Choose General Practitioner as a Career Under the 5+3 Model

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Shuang Wang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: In order to train more high-level general practitioners (GPs to work in primary care institutions, China launched the 5+3 model in 2015 as a way to educate GPs nationwide. In this study, we investigated the awareness of the 5+3 model, career choices after graduation, and influences on GP career choice of undergraduate medical students from Zhengzhou University. Methods: The study population consisted of 288 undergraduate medical students from Zhengzhou University. We explored the students׳ awareness of the 5+3 model, career choices after graduation, influences on general practitioner career choice and mental status by using a self-report questionnaire and the Chinese version of the 21-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Results: We found 34.2% of students did not understand the new policy. Only 23.2% of students would choose to work as a GP after graduation, and those tended to be female, to have a monthly family income less than 4000 ¥, or to be from rural areas. Only 10% of undergraduate medical students expressed a preference to work at primary care institutions. The participants showed higher anxiety and stress scores than did a previously published group of Chinese college students, and those who chose to pursue higher education had more anxiety and stress than those who decided to become general practitioners. Discussion: More efforts should be made to popularize the 5+3 model and mental intervention among medical students. More efforts should be tried to increase the income/welfare benefits and strengthen the infrastructure of primary care institutions to attract more medical students. Keywords: 5+3 model, General practitioner, Health care reform, Hierarchical medical system

Engaging Students in Constructive Youth-Adult Relationships: A Case Study of Urban School-Based Agriculture Students and Positive Adult Mentors

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Bird, William A.; Martin, Michael J.; Tummons, John D.; Ball, Anna L.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this bounded single case study was to explore the day-to-day functioning of a successful urban school-based agriculture veterinary program. Findings indicated student success was a product of multiple youth-adult relationships created through communal environments. Adults served as mentors with whom students felt constant, caring…

Computing facilities available to final-year students at 3 UK dental schools in 1997/8: their use, and students' attitudes to information technology.

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Grigg, P; Macfarlane, T V; Shearer, A C; Jepson, N J; Stephens, C D

2001-08-01

To identify computer facilities available in 3 dental schools where 3 different approaches to the use of technology-based learning material have been adopted and assess dental students' perception of their own computer skills and their attitudes towards information technology. Multicentre cross sectional by questionnaire. All 181 dental students in their final year of study (1997-8). The overall participation rate was 80%. There were no differences between schools in the students' self assessment of their IT skills but only 1/3 regarded themselves as competent in basic skills and nearly 50% of students in all 3 schools felt that insufficient IT training had been provided to enable them to follow their course without difficulty. There were significant differences between schools in most of the other areas examined which reflect the different ways in which IT can be used to support the dental course. 1. Students value IT as an educational tool. 2. Their awareness of the relevance of a knowledge of information technology for their future careers remains generally low. 3. There is a need to provide effective instruction in IT skills for those dental students who do not acquire these during secondary education.

Examination of Turkish Junior High-School Students' Perceptions of the General Problem-Solving Process

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Ekici, Didem Inel

2016-01-01

This study aimed to determine Turkish junior high-school students' perceptions of the general problem-solving process. The Turkish junior high-school students' perceptions of the general problem-solving process were examined in relation to their gender, grade level, age and their grade point with regards to the science course identified in the…

Understanding the Impact of a General Chemistry Course on Students' Transition to Organic Chemistry

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Collins-Webb, Alexandra; Jeffery, Kathleen A.; Sweeder, Ryan D.

2016-01-01

The move from general chemistry to organic chemistry can be a challenge for students as it often involves a transition from quantitatively-oriented to mechanistically-oriented thinking. This study found that the design of the general chemistry course can change the student experience of this transition as assessed by a reflective survey. The…

78 FR 63974 - Student Assistance General Provisions-Subpart K-Cash Management; Extension of Public Comment...

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2013-10-25

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Student Assistance General Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management... an information collection entitled, ``Student Assistance General Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management''. ED is extending the comment period to November 18, 2013 due to the public's inability to access...

Emotion felt by the listener and expressed by the music: a literature review and theoretical investigation

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Emery eSchubert

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In his seminal paper, Gabrielsson (2002 distinguishes between emotion felt by the listener, here: ‘internal locus of emotion’ (IL, and the emotion the music is expressing, here: 'external locus emotion' (EL. This paper tabulates 16 such publications published in the decade 2003-2012 consisting of 19 studies/experiments and provides some theoretical perspectives. The key findings were that (1 IL ratings was frequently rated statistically the same or lower than the corresponding EL rating (e.g. lower felt happiness rating compared to the apparent happiness of the music, and that (2 self-select and preferred music had a smaller gap across the emotion loci than experimenter selected and disliked music. These key findings were explained by an ‘inhibited’ emotional contagion mechanism, where the otherwise matching felt emotion may have been attenuated by some other factor such as social context. Matching between EL and IL for loved and self-selected pieces was explained by the activation of ‘contagion’ circuits. Physiological arousal, personality and age, as well as musical features (tempo, mode, putative emotions were observed to influence perceived and felt emotion distinctions. A variety of data collection formats were identified, but mostly using continuous rating scales. In conclusion, a more systematic use of terminology appears desirable with respect to theory-building. Whether two broad categories, namely matched and unmatched, are sufficient to capture the relationships between EL and IL, instead of four categories as suggested by Gabrielsson, is subject to future research.

ANALYZING THE EFFICACY OF THE TESTING EFFECT USING KAHOOTTM ON STUDENT PERFORMANCE

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Darren H. IWAMOTO

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Lower than expected high-stakes examination scores were being observed in a first-year general psychology class. This research sought an alternate approach that would assist students in preparing for high-stakes examinations. The purpose of this study was to measure the effectiveness of an alternate teaching approach based on the testing effect to address low high-stakes examination scores. This was accomplished through the introduction of an online quizzing application that utilized a game show-like user interface called Kahoot™. The results showed a significant difference in high-stakes examination scores for students who utilized Kahoot™ versus students who did not. It can be suggested that pedagogical tools like Kahoot™ have the potential to enhance and improve high-stakes examination scores at the college and university level. Students that used Kahoot™ felt positive about their experience. The results of this study also suggest that creating a fun and engaging environment also supports improved academic performance.

Student Perceptions of Campus Safety within the Virginia Community College System

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Patton, Robert Chad

2010-01-01

This research examined Virginia community college students' perceptions of campus safety. A survey of 11,161 students revealed the crimes students most feared being a victim of while on the community college campus and the areas in which they felt the most and least safe. The research also demonstrated the effect certain variables had on students'…

Evaluation of Small Student-Led Discussion Groups as an Adjunct to a Course in Abnormal Psychology

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White, Geoffry D.

1978-01-01

Presents data related to student involvement in biweekly student-led discussion groups in an undergraduate abnormal psychology course. Evaluates the degree to which students felt they benefited from discussion groups composed of similar and dissimilar students. (Author/AV)

Subclinical depression in Urban Indian adolescents: Prevalence, felt needs, and correlates

OpenAIRE

Singhal, Meghna; Manjula, M.; Vijay Sagar, K. John

2016-01-01

Background: Subclinical depression in adolescents constitutes a risk factor for future clinical depression and hence warrants examination. However, there is a paucity of research that documents subclinical depression among adolescents in India. Objectives: (a) To investigate the prevalence of subclinical depression in urban school-going adolescents; (b) to investigate the problems and felt needs of these adolescents; (c) to examine depression-related variables; and (d) to examine the relation...

Becoming a general practitioner - Which factors have most impact on career choice of medical students?

OpenAIRE

Loh Andreas; Hermann Katja; Miksch Antje; Kiolbassa Kathrin; Szecsenyi Joachim; Joos Stefanie; Goetz Katja

2011-01-01

Abstract Background In Germany, there is a shortage of young physicians in several specialties, the situation of general practitioners (GP) being especially precarious. The factors influencing the career choice of German medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors influencing medical students' specialty choice laying a special focus on general practice. Methods The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In 2010, students at the five medical schools in ...

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patient Care: Medical Students' Preparedness and Comfort.

Science.gov (United States)

White, William; Brenman, Stephanie; Paradis, Elise; Goldsmith, Elizabeth S; Lunn, Mitchell R; Obedin-Maliver, Juno; Stewart, Leslie; Tran, Eric; Wells, Maggie; Chamberlain, Lisa J; Fetterman, David M; Garcia, Gabriel

2015-01-01

Phenomenon: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals face significant barriers in accessing appropriate and comprehensive medical care. Medical students' level of preparedness and comfort caring for LGBT patients is unknown. An online questionnaire (2009-2010) was distributed to students (n = 9,522) at 176 allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in Canada and the United States, followed by focus groups (2010) with students (n = 35) at five medical schools. The objective of this study was to characterize LGBT-related medical curricula, to determine medical students' assessments of their institutions' LGBT-related curricular content, and to evaluate their comfort and preparedness in caring for LGBT patients. Of 9,522 survey respondents, 4,262 from 170 schools were included in the final analysis. Most medical students (2,866/4,262; 67.3%) evaluated their LGBT-related curriculum as "fair" or worse. Students most often felt prepared addressing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; 3,254/4,147; 78.5%) and non-HIV sexually transmitted infections (2,851/4,136; 68.9%). They felt least prepared discussing sex reassignment surgery (1,061/4,070; 26.1%) and gender transitioning (1,141/4,068; 28.0%). Medical education helped 62.6% (2,669/4,262) of students feel "more prepared" and 46.3% (1,972/4,262) of students feel "more comfortable" to care for LGBT patients. Four focus group sessions with 29 students were transcribed and analyzed. Qualitative analysis suggested students have significant concerns in addressing certain aspects of LGBT health, specifically with transgender patients. Insights: Medical students thought LGBT-specific curricula could be improved, consistent with the findings from a survey of deans of medical education. They felt comfortable, but not fully prepared, to care for LGBT patients. Increasing curricular coverage of LGBT-related topics is indicated with emphasis on exposing students to LGBT patients in clinical settings.

Medical students' perception of dyad practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tolsgaard, Martin G; Rasmussen, Maria Birkvad; Bjørck, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Training in pairs (dyad practice) has been shown to improve efficiency of clinical skills training compared with single practice but little is known about students' perception of dyad practice. The aim of this study was to explore the reactions and attitudes of medical students who were instructed....... The students felt dyad practice improved their self-efficacy through social interaction with peers, provided useful insight through observation, and contributed with shared memory of what to do, when they forgot essential steps of the physical examination of the patient. However, some students were concerned...

A General Chemistry Laboratory Course Designed for Student Discussion

Science.gov (United States)

Obenland, Carrie A.; Kincaid, Kristi; Hutchinson, John S.

2014-01-01

We report a study of the general chemistry laboratory course at one university over four years. We found that when taught as a traditional laboratory course, lab experiences do not encourage students to deepen their understanding of chemical concepts. Although the lab instructor emphasized that the lab experiences were designed to enhance…

Medical students' perceptions of general practice as a career; a phenomenological study using socialisation theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Katherine; Alberti, Hugh

2018-04-23

The ageing population and push to community care has significantly increased the workload of General Practitioners (GPs) in the UK and internationally. In an attempt to tackle this, NHS England has promised 5000 more GPs by 2020/21; however, recruitment is in crisis with GP training posts remaining unfilled. Little research has been carried out to assess the fundamental questions of what medical students' perceptions of General Practice are and what shapes their perceptions at medical school. We aimed to explore medical students' conceptualisations of being a GP and specifically the role of the medical school in shaping their perceptions. Two focus groups of year one and year four medical students were undertaken using an interpretive phenomenological approach. Our study has revealed that medical students perceive General Practice to lack prestige and challenge. These perceptions come, at least in part, from a process of socialisation within medical school, whereby medical students internalise and adopt their role models' perceptions and values, and the values portrayed by the hidden curriculum in their medical school culture. Perceived external pressures to pursue a career in General Practice can have a negative influence and medical schools should be made aware of this.

78 FR 52519 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provisions...

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2013-08-23

...; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management AGENCY: Federal Student... Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management. OMB Control Number: 1845-0049. Type of Review: Revision of an... Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management...

The quality of life of medical students studying in New Zealand: a comparison with nonmedical students and a general population reference group.

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Henning, Marcus A; Krägeloh, Christian U; Hawken, Susan J; Zhao, Yipin; Doherty, Iain

2012-01-01

Quality of life is an essential component of learning and has strong links with the practice and study of medicine. There is burgeoning evidence in the research literature to suggest that medical students are experiencing health-related problems such as anxiety, depression, and burnout. The aim of the study was to investigate medical students' perceptions concerning their quality of life. Two hundred seventy-four medical students studying in their early clinical years (response rate = 80%) participated in the present study. Medical students were asked to fill in the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire to elicit information about their quality of life perceptions in relation to their physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Subsequently, their responses were compared with two nonmedical students groups studying at a different university in the same city and an Australian general population norm. The findings were compared using independent group's t tests, confidence intervals, and Cohen's d. The main finding of the study indicated that medical students had similar quality of life perceptions to nonmedical students except in relation to the environment domain. Furthermore, the medical student group scored lower than the general population reference group on the physical health, psychological health, and environment quality of life domains. The results suggest that all university students are expressing concerns related to quality of life, and thus their health might be at risk. The findings in this study provided no evidence to support the notion that medical students experience lower levels of quality of life compared to other university students. When compared to the general population, all student groups examined in this study appeared to be experiencing lower levels of quality of life. This has implications for pastoral support, educationalists, student support personnel, and the

Female medical students are estimated to have a higher risk for developing eating disorders than male medical students.

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Dissing, Agnete Skovlund; Bak, Nanna Hasle; Pedersen, Laura Erna Toftegaard; Petersson, Birgit H

2011-01-01

Studies show that university students are at risk for eating disorders. However, risk behaviour has not been studied among Danish medical students, nor have the gender differences in risk behaviour been described in a Danish context. All first-year medical students (n = 979) received a questionnaire related to body perception, exercise habits, eating habits, height and weight in the fall of 2006 and 2007. The response rate was 57% (n = 561). The gender distribution of the study population was 71.8% females and 28.2% males and the average age was 21.5 years. More males (89.8%) than females (73.1%) were satisfied with their body and more females (34.8%) than males (10.9%) felt too fat. More females (42.7%) than males (19.9%) felt guilty when eating unhealthy food. 2.3% (all females) claimed to feel anxiety when they were about to eat. More males (48.4%) than females (28.6%) stated that they could not keep themselves from exercising. 13.5% of the underweight females (body mass index eating disorders than male students. Future research in this area should address the causes of such behaviour.

Exploring International Student Orientation and Attitude towards Learning English in Malaysia

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Badib, Ayesha Abdullah Najieb; Guru, Subhatra

2011-01-01

The Malaysian government is rigorously drawing up strategies to increase the already existing 60,000 foreign students currently studying in the country (The Star, 2009). With the influx of more foreign students and with English as the medium of instruction in local higher education, it is felt that a study to investigate international students'…

Audit and feedback by medical students to improve the preventive care practices of general practice supervisors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilkes, Lucy A; Liira, Helena; Emery, Jon

Medical students benefit from their contact with clinicians and patients in the clinical setting. However, little is known about whether patients and clinicians also benefit from medical students. We developed an audit and feedback intervention activity to be delivered by medical students to their general practice supervisors. We tested whether the repeated cycle of audit had an effect on the preventive care practices of general practitioners (GPs). The students performed an audit on topics of preventive medicine and gave feedback to their supervisors. Each supervisor in the study had more than one student performing the audit over the academic year. After repetitive cycles of audit and feedback, the recording of social history items by GPs improved. For example, recording alcohol history increased from 24% to 36%. This study shows that medical students can be effective auditors, and their repeated audits may improve their general practice supervisors' recording of some aspects of social history.

General Chemistry Students' Understanding of Climate Change and the Chemistry Related to Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Versprille, Ashley N.; Towns, Marcy H.

2015-01-01

While much is known about secondary students' perspectives of climate change, rather less is known about undergraduate students' perspectives. The purpose of this study is to investigate general chemistry students' understanding of the chemistry underlying climate change. Findings that emerged from the analysis of the 24 interviews indicate that…

Influence of Fenton's reagent treatment on electrochemical properties of graphite felt for all vanadium redox flow battery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao, Chao; Wang, NanFang; Peng, Sui; Liu, SuQin; Lei, Ying; Liang, XinXing; Zeng, ShanShan; Zi, HuiFang

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Highly hydroxyl-functionalized graphite felt has been obtained through Fenton's reagent treatment. ► Fenton's reagent treatment involves only one step, works under ambient conditions and will never produce any toxic gas. ► The treated graphite felt exhibits superior electrochemical performance in comparison to the untreated one. -- Abstract: An environmental, economic and highly effective method for carbon fiber hydroxylated-functionalization based on Fenton's reagent treatment is used to improve the electrochemical activity of graphite felt (GF) as the positive electrode in all vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). The effect of H 2 O 2 content in Fenton's reagent on the structure and electrochemical properties of GF is investigated. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicates that the surface of the treated GF is etched increasingly with the content of H 2 O 2 . The Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy shows that the peak intensity of hydroxyl groups on the treated felt is increased with the H 2 O 2 concentration, which is further verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that the treated sample exhibits a higher electrochemical activity. A VRFB with the treated GF as electrodes exhibits higher coulombic, voltage and energy efficiency (98.8%, 75.1% and 74.2%) than that with the untreated GF (93.9%, 72.1% and 67.7%) at 60 mA cm −2 , and this method is even superior when compared with the reported methods

A global probe into dental student perceptions about philanthropy, global dentistry and international student exchanges.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanoff, Chris S; Yaneva, Krassimira; Luan, Diana; Andonov, Bogomil; Kumar, Reena R; Agnihotry, Anirudha; Ivanoff, Athena E; Emmanouil, Dimitrios; Volpato, Luiz Evaristo Ricci; Koneski, Filip; Muratovska, Ilijana; Al-Shehri, Huda A; Al-Taweel, Sara M; Daly, Michele

2017-04-01

Training culturally competent graduates who can practice effectively in a multicultural environment is a goal of contemporary dental education. The Global Oral Health Initiative is a network of dental schools seeking to promote global dentistry as a component of cultural competency training. Before initiating international student exchanges, a survey was conducted to assess students' awareness of global dentistry and interest in cross-national clerkships. A 22-question, YES/NO survey was distributed to 3,487 dental students at eight schools in seven countries. The questions probed students about their school's commitment to enhance their education by promoting global dentistry, volunteerism and philanthropy. The data were analysed using Vassarstats statistical software. In total, 2,371 students (67.9%) completed the survey. Cultural diversity was seen as an important component of dental education by 72.8% of the students, with two-thirds (66.9%) acknowledging that their training provided preparation for understanding the oral health care needs of disparate peoples. A high proportion (87.9%) agreed that volunteerism and philanthropy are important qualities of a well-rounded dentist, but only about one-third felt that their school supported these behaviours (36.2%) or demonstrated a commitment to promote global dentistry (35.5%). In addition, 87.4% felt that dental schools are morally bound to improve oral health care in marginalised global communities and should provide students with international exchange missions (91%), which would enhance their cultural competency (88.9%) and encourage their participation in charitable missions after graduation (67.6%). The study suggests that dental students would value international exchanges, which may enhance students' knowledge and self-awareness related to cultural competence. © 2016 FDI World Dental Federation.

The characteristics of general practice and the attractiveness of working as a GP: medical students' views.

Science.gov (United States)

Landstrom, Bjorn; Mattsson, Bengt; Nordin, Per; Rudebeck, Carl E

2014-03-15

The aim of the study was to investigate medical students' views on general practice based on their experiences in training, and to find out whether there were certain views associated with the intention to become a GP. A questionnaire, based on our earlier studies about GP working behaviour, was handed out to medical students in terms 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 11 of undergraduate studies in Gothenburg, Sweden. The analysis comprised statistical descriptions and comparisons. The students regarded general practice positively. They found the work environment good, the GP's awareness of patients' living conditions necessary, and that GP work requires medical breadth. The status of the GP in the medical profession was not considered high. One-fourth of the students strongly agreed with the possibility of a future as a GP. This attitude was statistically associated with support to the statements that general practice offers a good work environment and should be a major component in undergraduate training. Students with a negative attitude to working as GPs were also negative to having a major component of general practice in undergraduate training. Medical students with a positive stated attitude towards becoming GPs support changes in undergraduate training to include more general practice. The risk of increasing a negative attitude should be considered when changes are discussed.

What determines medical students' career preference for general practice residency training?: a multicenter survey in Japan.

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Ie, Kenya; Murata, Akiko; Tahara, Masao; Komiyama, Manabu; Ichikawa, Shuhei; Takemura, Yousuke C; Onishi, Hirotaka

2018-01-01

Few studies have systematically explored factors affecting medical students' general practice career choice. We conducted a nationwide multicenter survey (Japan MEdical Career of Students: JMECS) to examine factors associated with students' general practice career aspirations in Japan, where it has been decided that general practice will be officially acknowledged as a new discipline. From April to December 2015, we distributed a 21-item questionnaire to final year medical students in 17 medical schools. The survey asked students about their top three career preferences from 19 specialty fields, their demographics and their career priorities. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the effect of each item. A total of 1264 responses were included in the analyses. The top three specialty choice were internal medicine: 833 (65.9%), general practice: 408 (32.3%), and pediatrics: 372 (29.4%). Among demographic factors, "plan to inherit other's practice" positively associated with choosing general practice, whereas "having physician parent" had negative correlation. After controlling for potential confounders, students who ranked the following items as highly important were more likely to choose general practice: "clinical diagnostic reasoning (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 1.65, 95% CI 1.40-1.94)", "community-oriented practice (aOR: 1.33, 95% CI 1.13-1.57)", and" involvement in preventive medicine (aOR: 1.18, 95% CI 1.01-1.38)". On the contrary, "acute care rather than chronic care", "mastering advanced procedures", and "depth rather than breadth of practice" were less likely to be associated with general practice aspiration. Our nationwide multicenter survey found several features associated with general practice career aspirations: clinical diagnostic reasoning; community-oriented practice; and preventive medicine. These results can be fundamental to future research and the development of recruitment strategies.

A student's manual for A first course in general relativity

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Scott, Robert B

2016-01-01

This comprehensive student manual has been designed to accompany the leading textbook by Bernard Schutz, A First Course in General Relativity, and uses detailed solutions, cross-referenced to several introductory and more advanced textbooks, to enable self-learners, undergraduates and postgraduates to master general relativity through problem solving. The perfect accompaniment to Schutz's textbook, this manual guides the reader step-by-step through over 200 exercises, with clear easy-to-follow derivations. It provides detailed solutions to almost half of Schutz's exercises, and includes 125 brand new supplementary problems that address the subtle points of each chapter. It includes a comprehensive index and collects useful mathematical results, such as transformation matrices and Christoffel symbols for commonly studied spacetimes, in an appendix. Supported by an online table categorising exercises, a Maple worksheet and an instructors' manual, this text provides an invaluable resource for all students and in...

EVALUATION OF THE USE OF IPAD IN TEACHING GENERAL CHEMISTRY LAB TO FRESHMEN STUDENTS

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N. EID

2015-02-01

Full Text Available It is generally accepted that the use of iPad enhances students’ engagement in the classroom. However, assessing the benefits of using iPad in teaching laboratory sessions have seen less attention, due to the hands-on nature of these courses. To do this assessment, iPad was applied in teaching two pilot sessions of the General Chemistry Lab, and students’ evaluation was compared to that of other students in sections taught by conventional teaching techniques. The evaluation was based on the students’ assessment of their achievements in meeting the main course outcomes, which indicated that the students in the classes taught using iPad showed more satisfaction with the course, and believed that they have better achieved the outcomes of the course compared to the conventional classes. Furthermore, the comparison process included the overall students’ quantitative performance, which showed insignificant difference between the two classes, with slightly better performance of students in normal classes in quizzes, whereas final exam marks were almost the same for both the iPad piloted students and conventional class students. The differences in quizzes results were attributed to the normal variation in the students’ academic merits. In addition, the piloted students were asked about their experience of using iPad in class and their satisfaction by using different iPad Apps. The feedback was collected and analysed, and the results showed that the students generally enjoyed using iPad in the class and appreciated all Apps.

Teaching undergraduate students in rural general practice: an evaluation of a new rural campus in England.

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Bartlett, Maggie; Pritchard, Katie; Lewis, Leo; Hays, Richard B; Mckinley, Robert K

2016-01-01

One approach to facilitating student interactions with patient pathways at Keele University School of Medicine, England, is the placement of medical students for 25% of their clinical placement time in general practices. The largest component is a 15-week 'student attachment' in primary care during the final year, which required the development of a new network of teaching practices in a rural district of England about 90 km (60 mi) from the main campus in North Staffordshire. The new accommodation and education hub was established in 2011-2012 to enable students to become immersed in those communities and learn about medical practice within a rural and remote context. Objectives were to evaluate the rural teaching from the perspectives of four groups: patients, general practice tutors, community hospital staff and students. Learning outcomes (as measured by objective structured clinical examinations) of students learning in rural practices in the final year were compared with those in other practices. Data were gathered from a variety of sources. Students' scores in cohort-wide clinical assessment were compared with those in other locations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with general practice tutors and community hospital staff. Serial focus groups explored the perceptions of the students, and questionnaires were used to gather the views of patients. Patients reported positive experiences of students in their consultations, with 97% expressing willingness to see students. The majority of patients considered that teaching in general practice was a good thing. They also expressed altruistic ideas about facilitating learning. The tutors were enthusiastic and perceived that teaching had positive impacts on their practices despite negative effects on their workload. The community hospital staff welcomed students and expressed altruistic ideas about helping them learn. There was no significant difference between the rurally placed students' objective

Student-Centred Teaching Strategies by Gender, Grade Level, and Teacher’s Self-Concept in Mexico

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PEDRO SÁNCHEZ-ESCOBEDO

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This study examined the student-centred teaching strategies of Mexican teachers by gender, grade level, and self-concept as an instructor. A conventional sample of 573 teachers from diverse school settings in the state of Yucatan in Mexico responded to a paper and pencil questionnaire. Results indicated, in general, that teachers prioritized classroom management and independent learning activities, in contrast with teaching strategies emphasized by policies and teacher´s training programs in the country, such as cooperative learning, differentiation, or promoting critical thinking. There were some gender and grade level differences. In general, female teachers promoted more independent activities than males. As expected, primary school teachers were more concerned with using differentiation teaching strategies than secondary education teachers, considering the greatest variance in younger students. Teachers self-concept had differential effects. Whilst self-efficacy feelings had no influence in the use of specific student-centred teaching strategies, high self-esteem teachers used more student-centred teaching strategies. The importance of asking teachers what they did, and how they felt as teachers was argued in light of results. Future research avenues regarding self-concept and teaching strategies are posited.

The Effect of Student Working Group Establishment on Teaching General Embryology Course to Medical Students

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Mozafar Khazaei

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Quantitative and qualitative enhancement of educational activities is an essential issue. Learners’ cooperation in the teaching process in order to increase teaching effectiveness and promotion is considered significant. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of establishment of student working group on the teaching general embryology course to medical students.Methods: Ten students (1% of medical embryology course were selected to analyze the topics to be taught before each session according to lesson plan, and observe the whole teaching process during lesson presentation. Then, having asked the other students’ viewpoints and discussing with one another, they provided the teacher with a written report on the strengths and weaknesses of the teaching and its problems. The teacher analyzed the problems proposed by the working group to improve teaching process in the next session. At the end of the semester, a questionnaire was administered to all the participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: The mean of students’ scores was 74.26%. The most important findings obtained in this study included positive role of film projection in teaching the materials (95.34%, significance of presentation of various pictures from different books (88.4%, changing students’ attitude toward application of embryology in different diseases (86%, and repetition of previous session’s pictures (83.75%. The weak points mentioned, however, were physical problems of the classroom and deficiency of audio visual equipment.Conclusion: Student working group has a positive impact on the teaching medical general embryology.

How do Perceptions of Autonomy Differ in General Surgery Training Between Faculty, Senior Residents, Hospital Administrators, and the General Public? A Multi-Institutional Study.

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Kempenich, Jason W; Willis, Ross E; Rakosi, Robert; Wiersch, John; Schenarts, Paul Joseph

2015-01-01

Identify barriers to resident autonomy in today's educational environment as perceived through 4 selected groups: senior surgical residents, teaching faculty, hospital administration, and the general public. Anonymous surveys were created and distributed to senior residents, faculty, and hospital administrators working within 3 residency programs. The opinions of a convenience sample of the general public were also assessed using a similar survey. Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, MS; the University of Texas Health Science of San Antonio, TX; and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE. A total of 169 responses were collected: 32 residents, 50 faculty, 20 administrators, and 67 general public. Faculty and residents agree that when attending staff grant more autonomy, residents' self-confidence and sense of ownership improve. Faculty felt that residents should have less autonomy than residents did (p autonomy at their institution, 47% of residents felt that they had too little autonomy and 38% of faculty agreed. No resident or faculty felt that residents had too much autonomy at their institution. The general public were more welcoming of resident participation than faculty (p = 0.002) and administrators (p = 0.02) predicted they would be. When the general public were asked regarding their opinions about resident participation with complex procedures, they were less welcoming than faculty, administrators, and residents thought (p autonomy as important for resident development. The general public are more receptive to resident participation than anticipated. However, with increasing procedural complexity and resident independence, they were less inclined to have residents involved. The general public also had more concerns regarding quality of care provided by residents than the other groups had. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Cultural awareness in veterinary practice: student perceptions.

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Mills, Jennifer N; Volet, Simone; Fozdar, Farida

2011-01-01

Australian veterinary classrooms are increasingly diverse and their growing internal diversity is a result of migration and large numbers of international students. Graduates interact with other students and increasingly with clients whose attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors differ from their own. An understanding and respect for these differences has an impact on client communication and health care outcomes. The present study explored how students understand and are likely to deal with issues of cultural diversity in veterinary professional practice as well as the educational needs that students feel should be met in regard to preparation to engage productively with diversity in professional practice. The present study also explored the extent to which the rich diversity of the undergraduate student population constitutes an educational resource. A class of final-year veterinary students was invited to participate in a workshop exploring intercultural confidence in veterinary consultation. Twelve groups of six to eight students discussed a fictitious scenario involving a challenging clinical encounter with a client from a different culture. Students were reticent to see the scenario in terms of cultural difference, although they generally recognized that awareness of cultural issues in veterinary practice was important. They also tended to not see their own ethnicity as relevant to their practice. While some felt that veterinary practice should be culture blind, most recognized a need to orient to cultural difference and to respond sensitively. Their suggestions for curricular improvements to address these issues are also included.

Thermal conductivity of carbon felts, insulating materials with a high anisotropy; Conductivite thermique des feutres de carbone, isolants a forte anisotropie

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Danes, F.E.; Bardon, J.P. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 44 - Nantes (France). Lab. de Thermocinetique

1996-12-31

Because of their high temperature resistance, carbon felts are used as thermal insulating materials for high temperature applications. The aim of this paper is to present a model that allows to calculate the thermal conductivity of felt fibers taking into account their high anisotropy and the contact resistance of fibers generated by the 3-D constriction phenomena which develop in fibers around each contact point. The study is divided in two parts: the first part concerns the bibliographic study of the different anisotropies of fibers and felts, while the second part presents the proposed conductivity model. (J.S.) 12 refs.

Human papillomavirus vaccine motivators and barriers among community college students: Considerations for development of a successful vaccination program.

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Hirth, Jacqueline M; Batuuka, Denise N; Gross, Tyra T; Cofie, Leslie; Berenson, Abbey B

2018-02-14

Previous interventions in colleges to improve human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination have not been highly successful. Although barriers have been assessed in traditional colleges, less is known about vaccination barriers in community colleges. We approached students aged 18-26 years old enrolled at a community college for an in-person semi-structured qualitative interview on HPV vaccination and health, with questions guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior. Data collection took place between April 2015 and December 2015. Thematic analysis techniques were used to analyze the data. During interviews with 19 students, 4 themes emerged, including: general vaccine attitudes, barriers to HPV vaccination, motivators to HPV vaccination, and social influences. Participants felt that vaccines were beneficial, but were concerned about side effects. They felt that getting the HPV vaccine would be inconvenient, and they did not know enough about it to decide. Most would not trust their friends' opinions, but would want to know about side effects that their vaccinated friends experienced. Successful interventions at community colleges should include several components to increase convenience as well as utilize interactive methods to promote HPV vaccine awareness. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

78 FR 45617 - Student Assistance General Provisions, Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education...

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2013-07-29

..., et al. Student Assistance General Provisions, Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education... General Provisions, Federal Perkins Loan Program, Federal Family Education Loan Program, and William D... General Provisions, Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL...

University student social media use and its influence on offline engagement in higher educational communities

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Karen Sutherland

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Previous research has emphasised social media adoption by students and the implementation of social media by educators, yet few studies have explored whether students are using it to facilitate engagement in offline environments with peers within university communities. Studies suggest engagement in educational communities and extra-curricular activities can reduce student attrition. This study surveyed 106 undergraduate students to investigate whether students using social media to interact online with their university felt: (i connected to the broader university community, and (ii social media helped them engage offline by meeting up with peers and attending university events. The results indicated that the majority (82% never or rarely used the technology to facilitate offline engagement within their academic communities. Fourth year students were most likely to use social media to engage offline (66.7%. However, more than half of students (52.8% felt that university social media profiles helped them to feel part of their academic community.

'It teaches you what to expect in future . . . ': interprofessional learning on a training ward for medical, nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students.

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Reeves, Scott; Freeth, Della; McCrorie, Peter; Perry, David

2002-04-01

This paper presents findings from a multimethod evaluation of an interprofessional training ward placement for medical, nursing, occupational therapy and physiotherapy students. Unique in the UK, and following the pioneering work at Linköping, the training ward allowed senior pre-qualification students, under the supervision of practitioners, to plan and deliver interprofessional care for a group of orthopaedic and rheumatology patients. This responsibility enabled students to develop profession-specific skills and competencies in dealing with patients. It also allowed them to enhance their teamworking skills in an interprofessional environment. Student teams were supported by facilitators who ensured medical care was optimal, led reflective sessions and facilitated students' problem solving. Data were collected from all groups of participants involved in the ward: students, facilitators and patients. Methods included questionnaires, interviews and observations. Findings are presented from each participating group, with a particular emphasis placed on the perspective of medicine. The study found that students valued highly the experiential learning they received on the ward and felt the ward prepared them more effectively for future practice. However, many encountered difficulties adopting an autonomous learning style during their placement. Despite enjoying their work on the ward, facilitators were concerned that the demands of their role could result in 'burn-out'. Patients enjoyed their ward experience and scored higher on a range of satisfaction indicators than a comparative group of patients. Participants were generally positive about the training ward. All considered that it was a worthwhile experience and felt the ward should recommence in the near future.

Information Seeking Behaviour of Senior High School Student on General Election in Indonesia

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Margareta Aulia Rahman

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The development of information technology affects students in searching and finding information, particularly information regarding the General Election. Theexplosion of information on mass media about the elections resulted impact (both positive and negative to the potential voters. Nowadays, media plays role as a tool for political parties to lead public opinion to support their parties. Based on the data provided by General Election Commission (KPU in 2014, 20% of voters were identified as students (teens. This is a qualitative research with case study methodwhich aims to gain insight about interpretation, understanding, perceptions and feelings of teenage voters’ behavior in searching and finding information about general election in Indonesia year 2014. The data were collected by conducting interview and observation. Informants (six persons in this study were students, aged 17-18 years, who studying in government senior high school in Depok. The results of this study indicates that informants using social media to keep update about general election. Besides, they also gain information from their parents and close friends. Unfortunatelly, they were not able to identify which information which are correct or not, so they rely on people around them to make sure whether they did right decision. Therefore, this study also suggest that KPU needs to develop promotion strategy that suitable for teens about general election.

Improving the Success of First Term General Chemistry Students at a Liberal Arts Institution

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Stone, Kari L.; Shaner, Sarah E.; Fendrick, Carol M.

2018-01-01

General Chemistry is a high impact course at Benedictine University where a large enrollment of ~250 students each year, coupled with low pass rates of a particularly vulnerable student population from a retention point of view (i.e., first-year college students), make it a strategic course on which to focus innovative pedagogical development.…

Research and Teaching: Computational Methods in General Chemistry--Perceptions of Programming, Prior Experience, and Student Outcomes

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Wheeler, Lindsay B.; Chiu, Jennie L.; Grisham, Charles M.

2016-01-01

This article explores how integrating computational tools into a general chemistry laboratory course can influence student perceptions of programming and investigates relationships among student perceptions, prior experience, and student outcomes.

University students' understanding of social anxiety disorder.

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Miyake, Yoshie; Okamoto, Yuri; Jinnin, Ran; Yashiki, Hisako; Uchino, Teiji; Isobe, Noriko; Takata, Jun; Kojima, Nanae; Nihonmatsu, Misato; Yokosaki, Yasuyuki; Hiyama, Toru; Yoshihara, Masaharu

2014-01-01

Social anxiety disorder is an important cause of psychosocial morbidity in adolescents and young adults. Problems in adolescents and young adults with social anxiety disorder would be a topic in recent years in campus mental health. We examined the opinion of social anxiety disorder on university students. We found that many students felt anxiety in various social scenes, and some students were worried about their anxiety. Most of the students understood the importance of mental treatment for...

Depression among Collage Students; The Role of General Self-Efficacy and Perceived Social Support

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F. Jalilian

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder reported among college students. Evidence suggests that depression rate is especially high among medical students. The goal of this study was to examine the relationship of general self-efficacy and social support with depression levels of university students.Materials & Methods: This was a descriptive analytic study carried out among 235 students in Hamadan University of medical sciences. Samples were classified with the appropriate assignment done and gathering information from standard questionnaires (Beck Depression Inventory test & General Self Efficacy Scale & Perceived Social Support Scale. The data were analyzed by SPSS-13.Results: 37 percent of students showed different degrees of depression. A significant negative correlation was found among depression, self efficacy (P.value= 0.000, r= -0.581, and social support (P.value= 0.000, r= -0.617. Also the results showed that there was significant relationship between depression and student's dwelling (P<0.05.Conclusion: These findings also indicated the potential roles of social support in mediating depression. According to the results self efficacy strategies could improve the students' mental health.(Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2012;18(4:60-66

Electrochemical removal of fluoride from water by PAOA-modified carbon felt electrodes in a continuous flow reactor.

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Cui, Hao; Qian, Yan; An, Hao; Sun, Chencheng; Zhai, Jianping; Li, Qin

2012-08-01

A novel poly(aniline-co-o-aminophenol) (PAOA) modified carbon felt electrode reactor was designed and investigated for fluoride removal from aqueous solutions. This reactor design is innovative because it operates under a wider pH range because of coating with a copolymer PAOA ion exchange film. In addition, contaminant mass transfer from bulk solution to the electrode surface is enhanced by the porous carbon felt as an electron-conducting carrier material compared to other reactors. The electrically controlled anion exchange mechanism was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The applicability of the reactor in the field was tested through a series of continuous flow experiments. When the flow rate and initial fluoride concentration were increased, the breakthrough curve became sharper, which lead to a decrease in the breakthrough time and the defluoridation capacity of the reactor. The terminal potential values largely influenced fluoride removal by the reactor and the optimal defluoridation efficiency was observed at around 1.2V. The breakthrough capacities were all >10mg/g over a wide pH range (pH 5-9) with an initial fluoride concentration of 10mg/L. Consecutive treatment-regeneration studies over a week (once each day) revealed that the PAOA-modified carbon felt electrode could be effectively regenerated for reuse. The PAOA-modified carbon felt electrode reactor is a promising system that could be made commercially available for fluoride removal from aqueous solutions in field applications. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 45517 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provisions...

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2013-07-29

...; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provisions--Subpart K--Cash Management AGENCY: Federal Student...--Subpart K--Cash Management. OMB Control Number: 1845-0106. Type of Review: An extension of an existing... Records Management Services, Office of Management. [FR Doc. 2013-18034 Filed 7-26-13; 8:45 am] BILLING...

Relationships of Approaches to Studying, Metacognition, and Intellectual Development of General Chemistry Students

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Egenti, Henrietta N.

2012-01-01

This study investigated approaches to studying, intellectual developments, and metacognitive skills of general chemistry students enrolled for the spring 2011 semester at a single campus of a multi-campus community college. The three instruments used were the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST), the Learning Environment…

Identifying At-Risk Students in General Chemistry via Cluster Analysis of Affective Characteristics

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Chan, Julia Y. K.; Bauer, Christopher F.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify academically at-risk students in first-semester general chemistry using affective characteristics via cluster analysis. Through the clustering of six preselected affective variables, three distinct affective groups were identified: low (at-risk), medium, and high. Students in the low affective group…

Felt stigma and self-esteem among psychiatric hospital outdoor and community camp attending patients

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Shantna Kumari

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Self-stigma of people with mental illness is a major obstacle to recovery, limiting opportunities and undermining self-esteem. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare felt stigma and self-esteem in psychiatric patients receiving treatment from hospital outdoor clinic or from Community Outreach Program (COP. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on psychiatric patients who were on outpatient treatment for at least 6 months, but had never been hospitalized. The study sample included 130 patients receiving outdoor treatment from a Psychiatric Hospital and a matched group of 140 patients receiving treatment from COP of the same hospital. Demographic and clinical details of the patients were recorded on a specially designed proforma. Modified felt stigma scale and Rosenberg self-esteem scale were used to assess stigma and self-esteem, respectively. Results: On the modified felt stigma scale, the mean (±standard deviation [SD] score of psychiatric hospital outpatients (31.89 ± 6.51 was significantly higher than the scores of patients attending COP (29.20 ± 6.80. On Rosenberg self-esteem scale, mean (±SD scores of patients with psychosis (17.98 ± 1.69 was significantly lower compared to scores of patients with epilepsy (21.83 ± 1.60. There was no significant correlation between stigma and self-esteem. Conclusion: As psychiatric hospital outpatients have significantly more self-stigma when compared to patients attending community outreach camps, the availability of more community outreach camps along with educating people about psychiatric illnesses may help in lowering stigma of psychiatric disorders.

Student Perceptions of an Online Medical Dosimetry Program

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Lenards, Nishele

2011-01-01

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse offers the first online medical dosimetry program in the nation. There is no data to research a program of this type. This research consisted of the evaluation of other distance education programs including health profession programs in addition to face-to-face medical dosimetry programs. There was a need to collect and analyze student perceptions of online learning in medical dosimetry. This research provided a guide for future implementation by other programs as well as validated the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse program. Methodology used consisted of an electronic survey sent to all previous and currently enrolled students in the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse medical dosimetry program. The survey was both quantitative and qualitative in demonstrating attitudinal perceptions of students in the program. Quantitative data was collected and analyzed using a 5-point Likert scale. Qualitative data was gathered based on the open-ended responses and the identifying themes from the responses. The results demonstrated an overall satisfaction with this program, the instructor, and the online courses. Students felt a sense of belonging to the courses and the program. Considering that a majority of the students had never taken an online course previously, the students felt there were no technology issues. Future research should include an evaluation of board exam statistics for students enrolled in the online and face-to-face medical dosimetry programs.

Student performance of the general physical examination in internal medicine: an observational study

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2014-01-01

Background Many practicing physicians lack skills in physical examination. It is not known whether physical examination skills already show deficiencies after an early phase of clinical training. At the end of the internal medicine clerkship students are expected to be able to perform a general physical examination in every new patient encounter. In a previous study, the basic physical examination items that should standardly be performed were set by consensus. The aim of the current observational study was to assess whether medical students were able to correctly perform a general physical examination regarding completeness as well as technique at the end of the clerkship internal medicine. Methods One hundred students who had just finished their clerkship internal medicine were asked to perform a general physical examination on a standardized patient as they had learned during the clerkship. They were recorded on camera. Frequency of performance of each component of the physical examination was counted. Adequacy of performance was determined as either correct or incorrect or not assessable using a checklist of short descriptions of each physical examination component. A reliability analysis was performed by calculation of the intra class correlation coefficient for total scores of five physical examinations rated by three trained physicians and for their agreement on performance of all items. Results Approximately 40% of the agreed standard physical examination items were not performed by the students. Students put the most emphasis on examination of general parameters, heart, lungs and abdomen. Many components of the physical examination were not performed as was taught during precourses. Intra-class correlation was high for total scores of the physical examinations 0.91 (p internal medicine clerkship. Possible causes and suggestions for improvement are discussed. PMID:24712683

Student and staff experiences of attendance monitoring in undergraduate obstetrics and gynecology: a cross-sectional survey.

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Deane, Richard P; Murphy, Deirdre J

2016-01-01

Despite the widespread introduction of active learning strategies to engage students across modern medical curricula, student attendance and attendance monitoring remain a challenging issue for medical educators. In addition, there is little published evidence available to medical educators regarding the use of attendance monitoring systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the opinions of students and staff about the use of a paper-based student logbook to record student attendance across all clinical and classroom-based learning activities within an undergraduate clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN). Each student undertaking the clinical rotation in OBGYN was required to complete a paper-based logbook in a booklet format that listed every clinical and classroom-based activity that the student was expected to attend. A cross-sectional survey evaluating the acceptability, practicality, and effect on access to learning opportunities of using the logbook was undertaken. The survey was conducted among all medical students who completed their OBGYN rotation over a full academic year and staff who taught on the program. The response rate was 87% (n=128/147) among students and 80% (n=8/10) among staff. Monitoring attendance was widely acceptable to students (n=107/128, 84%) and staff (n=8/8, 100%). Most students (n=95/128, 74%) and staff (n=7/8, 88%) recommended that attendance should be mandatory during rotations. Almost all staff felt that attendance should contribute toward academic credit (n=7/8, 88%), but students were divided (n=73/128, 57%). Students (n=94/128, 73%) and staff (n=6/8, 75%) reported that the use of the logbook to record attendance with tutor signatures was a satisfactory system, although students questioned the need for recording attendance at every classroom-based activity. Most students felt that the logbook facilitated access to learning experiences during the rotation (n=90/128, 71%). Staff felt that the process of signing

Multi-institutional study of self-reported attitudes and behaviors of general surgery residents about ethical academic practices in test taking.

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Grignol, Valerie P; Grannan, Kevin; Sabra, John; Cromer, Robert M; Jarman, Benjamin; Dent, Daniel; Sticca, Robert P; Nelson, Timothy M; Kukora, John S; Daley, Brian J; Treat, Robert W; Termuhlen, Paula M

2013-01-01

Correlation exists between people who engage in academic dishonesty as students and unethical behavior once in practice. Previously, we assessed the attitudes of general surgery residents and ethical practices in test taking at a single institution. Most residents had not participated in activities they felt were unethical, yet what constituted unethical behavior was unclear. We sought to verify these results in a multi-institutional study. A scenario-based survey describing potentially unethical activities related to the American Board of Surgery In-training Examination (ABSITE) was administered. Participants were asked about their knowledge of or participation in the activities and whether the activity was unethical. Program directors were surveyed about the use of ABSITE results for resident evaluation and promotion. Ten programs participated in the study. The resident response rate was 67% (186/277). Of the respondents, 43% felt that memorizing questions to study for future examinations was unethical and 50% felt that using questions another resident memorized was unethical. Most felt that buying (86%) or selling (79%) questions was unethical. Significantly more senior than junior residents have memorized (30% vs 16%; p = 0.04) or used questions others memorized (33% vs 12%; p = 0.002) to study for future ABSITE examinations and know of other residents who have done so (42% vs 20%; p = 0.004). Most programs used results of the ABSITE in promotion (80%) and set minimum score expectations and consequences (70%). Similar to our single-institution study, residents had not participated in activities they felt to be unethical; however the definition of what constitutes cheating remains unclear. Differences were identified between senior and junior residents with regard to memorizing questions for study. Cheating and unethical behavior is not always clear to the learner and represents an area for further education. © 2013 Association of Program Directors in Surgery

W18O49 nanowires assembled on carbon felt for application to supercapacitors

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Jung, Jinjoo; Kim, Do Hyung

2018-03-01

For supercapacitor applications, W18O49 nanowires have been extensively grown on graphitic carbon felt using a facile solvothermal method. The diameter and length of the nanowires are about 7 and 300 nm, respectively. The nanowires consist of monoclinic W18O49 grown along the [010] direction, as shown by TEM and XRD analyses. The W18O49 nanowires, assembled on carbon felt, exhibit a high capacity of 588.33 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g together with an excellent cycle performance, and a low internal resistance during the electrochemical tests. This outstanding performance may originate from the three-dimensional porous nanostructure of these W18O49 nanowires, which leads to a reduction in the resistance and fast reaction kinetics due to the high specific surface area and electrolyte accessibility. Furthermore, sufficient oxygen deficiencies of the substoichiometric tungsten oxide can also contribute to the electrochemical activity, which can be confirmed by comparison of CV and EIS data with WO3 nanowires.

Numerical study of the effects of carbon felt electrode compression in all-vanadium redox flow batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Kyeongmin; Won, Seongyeon; Ju, Hyunchul

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The effects of electrode compression on VRFB are examined. • The electronic conductivity is improved when the compression is increased. • The kinetic losses are similar regardless of the electrode compression level. • The vanadium distribution is more uniform within highly compressed electrode. - Abstract: The porous carbon felt electrode is one of the major components of all-vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). These electrodes are necessarily compressed during stack assembly to prevent liquid electrolyte leakage and diminish the interfacial contact resistance among VRFB stack components. The porous structure and properties of carbon felt electrodes have a considerable influence on the electrochemical reactions, transport features, and cell performance. Thus, a numerical study was performed herein to investigate the effects of electrode compression on the charge and discharge behavior of VRFBs. A three-dimensional, transient VRFB model developed in a previous study was employed to simulate VRFBs under two degrees of electrode compression (10% vs. 20%). The effects of electrode compression were precisely evaluated by analysis of the solid/electrolyte potential profiles, transfer current density, and vanadium concentration distributions, as well as the overall charge and discharge performance. The model predictions highlight the beneficial impact of electrode compression; the electronic conductivity of the carbon felt electrode is the main parameter improved by electrode compression, leading to reduction in ohmic loss through the electrodes. In contrast, the kinetics of the redox reactions and transport of vanadium species are not significantly altered by the degree of electrode compression (10% to 20%). This study enhances the understanding of electrode compression effects and demonstrates that the present VRFB model is a valuable tool for determining the optimal design and compression of carbon felt electrodes in VRFBs.

Longitudinal Associations between Gender and Ethnic-Racial Identity Felt Pressure from Family and Peers and Self-Esteem among African American and Latino/a Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Aoyagi, Keiko; Santos, Carlos E; Updegraff, Kimberly A

2018-01-01

Gender identity felt pressure is negatively associated with adjustment indices, including self-esteem, among children and early adolescents, and both gender and ethnic-racial identity felt pressure are negatively associated with self-esteem among young adults. This study explored the longitudinal associations between gender identity and ethnic-racial identity felt pressure from family and peers to behave in either gender or race/ethnic-accordant ways, and self-esteem among a sample of 750 (49.2% female) African American (n = 194) and Latino/a youth (n = 556) (M = 12.10 years, SD = .97 years). For African Americans, the results revealed significant negative longitudinal associations between (a) ethnic-racial identity felt pressure from family at Time 1 and self-esteem at Time 2 and (b) ethnic-racial identity felt pressure from peers at Time 1 and self-esteem at Time 2, controlling for self-esteem at Time 1. These associations were not found among Latinos/as, nor were associations found between gender identity felt pressure from peers or family and self-esteem. The findings are discussed by drawing on the gender identity and ethnic-racial identity literatures.

Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Comparison of Current Knowledge, Attitudes and Interest among German Medical Students and Doctors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karsten Münstedt

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Although it has been agreed that complementary and alternative medicine (CAM should be included in the German medical curriculum, there is no consensus on which methods and how it should be taught. This study aimed to assess needs for CAM education by evaluating current knowledge, attitudes and interests of medical students, general physicians and gynecologists. Two instruments based on established and validated questionnaires were developed. One was given to seventh semester medical students and the other to office-based doctors. Data were analyzed by bivariate correlation and cross-tabulation. Altogether 550 questionnaires were distributed—280 to doctors and 270 to medical students. Completed questionnaires were returned by 80.4% of students and 78.2% of doctors. Although 73.8% (160/219 of doctors and 40% (87/217 of students had already informed themselves about CAM, neither group felt that they knew much about CAM. Doctors believed that CAM was most useful in general medicine, supportive oncology, pediatrics, dermatology and gynecology, while students believed that dermatology, general medicine, psychiatry and rheumatology offered opportunities; both recommended that CAM should be taught in these areas. Both groups believed that CAM should be included in medical education; however, they believed that CAM needed more investigation and should be taught “critically". German doctors and students would like to be better informed about CAM. An approach which teaches fundamental competences to students, chooses specific content based on evidence, demographics and medical conditions and provides students with the skills they need for future learning should be adopted.

Decolonising medical curricula through diversity education: lessons from students.

Science.gov (United States)

Nazar, Mahdi; Kendall, Kathleen; Day, Lawrence; Nazar, Hamde

2015-04-01

The General Medical Council (GMC) expects that medical students graduate with an awareness of how the diversity of the patient population may affect health outcomes and behaviours. However, little guidance has been provided on how to incorporate diversity teaching into medical school curricula. Research highlights the existence of two different models within medical education: cultural competency and cultural humility. The Southampton medical curriculum includes both models in its diversity teaching, but little was known about which model was dominant or about the students' experience. Fifteen semi-structured, in-depth interviews were carried out with medical students at the University of Southampton. Data were analysed thematically using elements of grounded theory and constant comparison. Students identified early examples of diversity teaching consistent with a cultural humility approach. In later years, the limited diversity teaching recognised by students generally adopted a cultural competency approach. Students tended to perceive diversity as something that creates problems for healthcare professionals due to patients' perceived differences. They also reported witnessing a number of questionable practices related to diversity issues that they felt unable to challenge. The dissonance created by differences in the largely lecture based and the clinical environments left students confused and doubting the value of cultural humility in a clinical context. Staff training on diversity issues is required to encourage institutional buy-in and establish consistent educational and clinical environments. By tackling cultural diversity within the context of patient-centred care, cultural humility, the approach students valued most, would become the default model. Reflective practice and the development of a critical consciousness are crucial in the improvement of cultural diversity training and thus should be facilitated and encouraged. Educators can adopt a

Can students learn clinical method in general practice? A randomised crossover trial based on objective structured clinical examinations.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, E.; Jolly, B.; Modell, M.

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether students acquired clinical skills as well in general practice as in hospital and whether there was any difference in the acquisition of specific skills in the two environments. DESIGN: Randomised crossover trial. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Annual intake of first year clinical students at one medical school. INTERVENTION: A 10 week block of general internal medicine, one half taught in general practice, the other in hospital. Students started at random in one location and crossed over after five weeks. OUTCOME MEASURES: Students' performance in two equivalent nine station objective structured clinical examinations administered at the mid and end points of the block: a direct comparison of the two groups' performance at five weeks; analysis of covariance, using their first examination scores as a covariate, to determine students' relative improvement over the second five weeks of their attachment. RESULTS: 225 students rotated through the block; all took at least one examination and 208 (92%) took both. For the first half of the year there was no significant difference in the students' acquisition of clinical skills in the two environments; later, however, students taught in general practice improved slightly more than those taught in hospital (P = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Students can learn clinical skills as well in general practice as in hospital; more work is needed to clarify where specific skills, knowledge, and attitudes are best learnt to allow rational planning of the undergraduate curriculum. PMID:9361543

Modification of a School Programme in the Deutsches Museum to Enhance Students' Attitudes and Understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Stavrova, Olga; Urhahne, Detlef

2010-11-01

The study examines the nature, conditions, and outcomes of student learning from an organised guided tour in the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The instructional methods that best support students' cognitive and affective learning as well as how students' motivational and emotional states influence their achievement were investigated. A sample of 96 secondary school students took part in two different versions of a guided tour on an energy topic. The tours varied in the degree of support of students' active involvement, group work, and the variety of general activities offered during the tour. The data collected indicate that both tour versions led to an increase in student understanding of the visit topic to nearly the same extent. However, the version stimulating students' active participation, group work, and including a larger variety of activities aroused more positive attitudes. Students of the modified school programme showed higher interest and intrinsic motivation, felt more competent, and were less bored after the guided tour. In addition, the results suggest that students' visit-related emotional states predict the degree of their post-visit topic understanding, even when demographics and prior knowledge are taken into consideration.

Acquisition, Maintenance and Generalization of Vending Machine Purchasing Skills by Moderately Handicapped Students.

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Nietupski, John; And Others

1984-01-01

Four elementary age moderately disabled students were taught to use a picture-prompt prosthetic to make vending machine purchases. All students reached criterion on the vending machine use task, demonstrated partial generalization to untrained machines, and three Ss exhibited maintenance as much as six weeks beyond the termination of instruction.…

The achievement impact of the inclusion model on the standardized test scores of general education students

Science.gov (United States)

Garrett-Rainey, Syrena

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of general education students within regular education classes to the achievement of general education students in inclusion/co-teach classes to determine whether there was a significant difference in the achievement between the two groups. The school district's inclusion/co-teach model included ongoing professional development support for teachers and administrators. General education teachers, special education teachers, and teacher assistants collaborated to develop instructional strategies to provide additional remediation to help students to acquire the skills needed to master course content. This quantitative study reviewed the end-of course test (EoCT) scores of Grade 10 physical science and math students within an urban school district. It is not known whether general education students in an inclusive/co-teach science or math course will demonstrate a higher achievement on the EoCT in math or science than students not in an inclusive/co-teach classroom setting. In addition, this study sought to determine if students classified as low socioeconomic status benefited from participating in co-teaching classrooms as evidenced by standardized tests. Inferential statistics were used to determine whether there was a significant difference between the achievements of the treatment group (inclusion/co-teach) and the control group (non-inclusion/co-teach). The findings can be used to provide school districts with optional instructional strategies to implement in the diverse classroom setting in the modern classroom to increase academic performance on state standardized tests.

General Practice as a career choice among undergraduate medical students in Greece

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefanadis Christodoulos

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although General Practice (GP was recognized as a medical specialty in Greece in 1986, the number of GPs is insufficient to cover needs and only few medical graduates choose GP as a career option. In the present study we investigated the profile of medical students in terms of their decisions regarding specialization and the possible association of career choices different from GP with the status of undergraduate training regarding GP. Methods The sample consisted of final year students in the Medical School of the University of Athens, Greece. Students filled in a self-reported questionnaire focusing on medical specialization, and GP in particular. Results Response rate was 82.5% with 1021 questionnaires collected, out of 1237 eligible medical students. Only 44 out of the 1021 (4.3% respondents stated that GP is -or could be- among their choices for specialty. The most popular medical specialty was General Surgery (10.9%, followed by Cardiology (9.6%, Endocrinology (8.7% and Obstetrics-Gynaecology (8.3%. The most common criterion for choosing GP was the guaranteed employment on completion of the residency (54.6% while a 56.6% of total respondents were positive to the introduction of GP/FM as a curriculum course during University studies. Conclusion Despite the great needs, GP specialty is currently not a career option among undergraduate students of the greater Medical University in Greece and is still held in low esteem. A university department responsible for undergraduate teaching, promotion and research in GP (where not available is essential; the status of undergraduate training in general practice/family medicine seems to be one of the most important factors that influence physician career choices regarding primary care specialties.

Effects of atmospheric air plasma treatment of graphite and carbon felt electrodes on the anodic current from Shewanella attached cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Epifanio, Monica; Inguva, Saikumar; Kitching, Michael; Mosnier, Jean-Paul; Marsili, Enrico

2015-12-01

The attachment of electrochemically active microorganisms (EAM) on an electrode is determined by both the chemistry and topography of the electrode surface. Pre-treatment of the electrode surface by atmospheric air plasma introduces hydrophilic functional groups, thereby increasing cell attachment and electroactivity in short-term experiments. In this study, we use graphite and carbon felt electrodes to grow the model EAM Shewanella loihica PV-4 at oxidative potential (0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl). Cell attachment and electroactivity are measured through electrodynamic methods. Atmospheric air plasma pre-treatment increases cell attachment and current output at graphite electrodes by 25%, while it improves the electroactivity of the carbon felt electrodes by 450%. Air plasma pre-treatment decreased the coulombic efficiency on both carbon felt and graphite electrodes by 60% and 80%, respectively. Microbially produced flavins adsorb preferentially at the graphite electrode, and air plasma pre-treatment results in lower flavin adsorption at both graphite and carbon felt electrodes. Results show that air plasma pre-treatment is a feasible option to increase current output in bioelectrochemical systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Theoretical and practical assessment of Lille general practice and pharmacy students' knowledge about use of inhaler devices for asthma control].

Science.gov (United States)

Veylon, P; Rochoy, M; Gautier, S; Wallaert, B; Berkhout, C

2018-04-01

Asthma is a potentially serious chronic respiratory disease impacting patients quality of life. Satisfactory control requires proper use of inhaled devices. This study assesses general medical residents and pharmacy students knowledge about proper use of inhaled asthma devices. We evaluated knowledge of 43 general practice students and 43 pharmacy students in Lille for three inhaler devices (metered-dose inhaler, Turbuhaler ® and Diskus ® ) during individual interviews. Students were assessed on 8 proper use criterias for each device. General practice and pharmacy students are unfamiliar with proper use of inhaler devices. However, pharmacy students get better average scores than general practice students for all devices included in this study: 6.3/8 respected criterias against 5/8 for metered-dose inhaler; 5.3/8 against 3.2/8 for Turbuhaler ® ; and 6/8 against 4.3/8 for Diskus ® . Pharmacy students more frequently perform a demonstration of proper use to patients when a device is first prescribed or when a prescription is renewed; general practice students more frequently ask patients themselves to perform a demonstration of proper use. Introducing trainings workshops for inhaler devices to pharmacy and general practice students appears appropriate in order to promote therapeutic patient education, to increase asthma control and better patients life quality. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Considering the Role of Tutoring in Student Engagement: Reflections from a South African University

Science.gov (United States)

Faroa, Brendon Duran

2017-01-01

Student engagement has been defined as the extent to which students are engaged in activities that higher education research has shown to be linked with high-quality learning outcomes. The ubiquitous influence of the term "student engagement" has been felt throughout the higher education landscape. This is especially true for South…

Higher clinical performance during a surgical clerkship is independently associated with matriculation of medical students into general surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Daly, Shaun C; Deal, Rebecca A; Rinewalt, Daniel E; Francescatti, Amanda B; Luu, Minh B; Millikan, Keith W; Anderson, Mary C; Myers, Jonathan A

2014-04-01

The purpose of our study was to determine the predictive impact of individual academic measures for the matriculation of senior medical students into a general surgery residency. Academic records were evaluated for third-year medical students (n = 781) at a single institution between 2004 and 2011. Cohorts were defined by student matriculation into either a general surgery residency program (n = 58) or a non-general surgery residency program (n = 723). Multivariate logistic regression was performed to evaluate independently significant academic measures. Clinical evaluation raw scores were predictive of general surgery matriculation (P = .014). In addition, multivariate modeling showed lower United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 scores to be independently associated with matriculation into general surgery (P = .007). Superior clinical aptitude is independently associated with general surgical matriculation. This is in contrast to the negative correlation United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 scores have on general surgery matriculation. Recognizing this, surgical clerkship directors can offer opportunities for continued surgical education to students showing high clinical aptitude, increasing their likelihood of surgical matriculation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 443.40 - Applicability; description of the linoleum and printed asphalt felt subcategory.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 29 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Applicability; description of the linoleum and printed asphalt felt subcategory. 443.40 Section 443.40 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) EFFLUENT GUIDELINES AND STANDARDS EFFLUENT LIMITATIONS GUIDELINES FOR EXISTING SOURCES AND STANDARDS OF PERFORMANC...

Adsorption of Remazol Black B dye on Activated Carbon Felt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donnaperna Lucio

2008-11-01

Full Text Available The adsorption of Remazol Black B (anionic dye on a microporous activated carbon felt is investigated from its aqueous solution. The surface chemistry of activated carbon is studied using X-ray microanalysis, "Boehm" titrations and pH of PZC measurements which indicates that the surface oxygenated groups are mainly acidic in nature. The kinetics of Remazol Black B adsorption is observed to be pH dependent and governed by the diffusion of the dye molecules. The experimental data can be explained by "intra-particle diffusion model". For Remazol Black B, the Khan model is best suited to simulate the adsorption isotherms.

Development of Gender Typicality and Felt Pressure in European French and North African French Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Adam J; Dumas, Florence; Loose, Florence; Smeding, Annique; Kurtz-Costes, Beth; Régner, Isabelle

2017-11-14

Trajectories of gender identity were examined from Grade 6 (M age  = 11.9 years) to Grade 9 in European French (n = 570) and North African French (n = 534) adolescents, and gender and ethnic group differences were assessed in these trajectories. In Grade 6, boys of both ethnic groups reported higher levels of gender typicality and felt pressure for gender conformity than girls. European French girls and boys and North African French girls reported decreasing gender typicality from Grade 6 to Grade 9, whereas North African French boys did not change. Felt pressure decreased among girls, did not change in European French boys, and increased in North African French boys. Ethnic and gender differences in gender identity development are discussed. © 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanotube/Graphite Felts as Advanced Electrode Materials for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuangyin; Zhao, Xinsheng; Cochell, Thomas; Manthiram, Arumugam

2012-08-16

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes have been grown, for the first time, on graphite felt (N-CNT/GF) by a chemical vapor deposition approach and examined as an advanced electrode for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The unique porous structure and nitrogen doping of N-CNT/GF with increased surface area enhances the battery performance significantly. The enriched porous structure of N-CNTs on graphite felt could potentially facilitate the diffusion of electrolyte, while the N-doping could significantly contribute to the enhanced electrode performance. Specifically, the N-doping (i) modifies the electronic properties of CNT and thereby alters the chemisorption characteristics of the vanadium ions, (ii) generates defect sites that are electrochemically more active, (iii) increases the oxygen species on CNT surface, which is a key factor influencing the VRFB performance, and (iv) makes the N-CNT electrochemically more accessible than the CNT.

Self-reported attitudes and behaviors of general surgery residents about ethical academic practices in test taking.

Science.gov (United States)

Grignol, Valerie P; Gans, Alyssa; Booth, Branyan A; Markert, Ronald; Termuhlen, Paula M

2010-08-01

A correlation exists between people who engage in academic dishonesty as students and unethical behaviors later as professionals. Academic dishonesty has been assessed among medical students, but not among general surgery residents. We sought to describe the attitudes of general surgery residents with regard to ethical practices in test taking. A survey with 4 scenarios describing activities related to examination taking that may or may not be considered unethical was administered. Participants were asked about participation in the activities-either personally or any knowledge of others-and whether the activities were unethical. Fifty-seven of 62 residents (92%) participated. For each scenario, >70% indicated that neither they nor anyone else they knew had participated in the activities. Behaviors deemed unethical included memorizing or using memorized questions to prepare for future tests (52%), selling questions for financial gain (90%), and purchasing previously used questions (57%). No difference in attitudes was seen among incoming interns, junior-level (postgraduate year [PGY]1-3), or senior-level (PGY4-6) residents. Overall, general surgery residents indicated that they had not participated in activities they felt to be unethical. Defining what is unethical was less clear. This represents an area for further education. Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Students' Satisfaction and Perceived Learning with a Web-based Course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Holton

2003-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes a study, which explored students' responses and reactions to a Web-based tertiary statistics course supporting problem-based learning. The study was undertaken among postgraduate students in a Malaysian university. The findings revealed that the majority of the students were satisfied with their learning experience and achieved comparable learning outcomes to students in the face-to-face version of the course. Students appreciated the flexibility of anytime, anywhere learning. The majority of the students was motivated to learn and had adequate technical support to complete the course. Improvement in computer skills was an incidental learning outcome from the course. The student-student and student-teacher communication was satisfactory but a few students felt isolated learning in the Web environment. These students expressed a need for some face-to-face lectures. While the majority of the students saw value in learning in a problem-based setting, around a third of the students expressed no opinion on, or were dissatisfied with, the problem-based environment. They were satisfied with the group facilitators and learning materials but were unhappy with the group dynamics. Some of the students felt unable to contribute to or learn from the asynchronous Web-based conferences using problem-based approach. Some of the students were not punctual and were not prepared to take part in the Web-based conferences. The findings have suggested a need to explicitly design an organising strategy in the asynchronous Web-based conferences using problem-based approach to aid students in completing the problem-based learning process.

Creating a Student-centered Learning Environment: Implementation of Problem-based Learning to Teach Microbiology to Undergraduate Medical Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandi, Venkataramana; Basireddy, Parimala Reddy

2018-01-05

Introduction Medical education involves training necessary to become a physician or a surgeon. This includes various levels of training like undergraduate, internship, and postgraduate training. Medical education can be quite complex, since it involves training in pre-clinical subjects (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry), the para-clinical subjects (microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and forensic medicine), and a discrete group of clinical subjects that include general medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, ear, nose and throat specialization, paediatrics, cardiology, pulmonology, dermatology, ophthalmology, and orthopaedics, and many other clinical specializations and super specialities (cardio-thoracic surgery, neurosurgery, etc.). Training medical students involves both classroom teaching and practical applications. Classroom teaching is usually confined to didactic lectures, where the teacher unilaterally disseminates the information. This kind of teaching was recently noted to be not very effective in producing better quality medical graduates. The present study aims to introduce problem-based learning (PBL) to teach microbiology to undergraduate medical students and evaluate their perception towards such type of learning. Methods A total of 159 students were included in the study. An informed and oral consent was obtained from each participant, and the study was approved by the institutional ethical committee. All the students included in the study were grouped into 14 groups of 11-13 students. Students were carefully grouped ensuring that each group had a good mix that included different levels of achievers. Students were given a detailed introduction to the exercise before they started it. A questionnaire that consisted of 11 points was given to the students and they were asked to give feedback (strongly disagree, disagree, agree to some extent, agree, strongly agree) both on the functioning of PBL and the tutor performance during PBL

Does Feedback Influence Student Postings to Online Discussions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrina A. Meyer, Ph.D.

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Feedback theory proposes that feedback influences the behavior of a system and its parts and that is governed by rules. This exploratory study attempts to test this theory in a graduate-level class on leadership theory. Twelve students were asked to participate in five online discussions, each lasting one week. The questions for each discussion were selected to be provocative and rich, without having any correct answer. At the end of the discussion, students were asked to indicate which posting and poster they felt was “best” or most valuable and why they felt the posting was “best.” There is mixed evidence that the voting influenced subsequent postings; some individuals did improve while others were consistently good or poor posters. Students selected postings that were (in declining frequency of occurrence: thoughtful or thought-provoking, well written or justified, uplifting, presented new information, same as their own opinions, changed me, or complex. These reasons are similar to those of the instructor, although the students’ difficulty in choosing and rationalizing a choice and the frequency at which students chose posts that captured their own thoughts and opinions are of some concern. This study provides some evidence that these graduate students could evaluate their own discussions without the instructor intruding or dictating an evaluation scheme, although this may not be true for other groups of online students.

Attitudes and intellectual development of further education science students

Science.gov (United States)

El-Farargy, Nancy Ibrahim

studying a specialist science at university, thus illustrating the importance of how studies in science is generated at an early age. In looking at learning in terms of the Perry Scheme, students in general had neutral to developed views towards themselves, the lecturer, assessment and towards the nature of scientific knowledge. The study highlighted that, in certain cases, assessment was perceived to have a more dualistic role and in general, was not age related. In looking at the relevancy of the college science lessons, chemistry was sometimes viewed as being irrelevant and difficult for some students in terms of their goals for the Abstract future. In light of this, it was decided to carry out an applications-led style chemistry curriculum intervention that was able to highlight the importance of chemistry in the context of their lives and needs. This was done by relating the material, wherever possible to prior knowledge held by the students from their school experiences, real life working practices or from their life experiences in general. The order, presentation and sequencing of materials were changed in order to reduce the perceived load on the working memory. In this manner, the learner can focus on important essential material without absorbing irrelevant material. It was found that the lecturer and participating students gave universal support to the new materials and teaching style. Students felt that the new materials were relevant and meaningful to their studies and life and felt it was a big difference from learning chemistry at school. In general, the majority of students were looking forward to more studies at university level. In conclusion, students perceive learning science in a further education college in a positive light. There may however, be a need to rethink the role of assessment and the curriculum style being offered. The study concluded by suggesting some of the main issues needing further consideration: issues related to working memory

Telescopic Topics: The Impact of Student-Created Podcasts in a Large, General Education Course

Science.gov (United States)

Kraal, E. R.

2014-12-01

Large, general education courses are important to the geoscience community. These courses serve as valuable recruiting tools for future geoscience majors because over 55% of geoscience students select their major in the first two years of college (Wilson, 2013). These courses can have many challenges such as large class sizes, limited (or no) laboratory time and facilities, little financial resource support, non-permanent faculty, and a variety of student abilities and needs. High impact practices, such as writing courses, student research, and community service can be difficult to integrate into large, non-major courses. Student-produced audio (e. g. podcasts) provide one approach to providing high impact practices within these courses. Other researchers have found student produced audio to be effective at transmitting content, integrating place based experiences, and building community connections within the students. Here I present the implementation of student-created audio within a large (100+), general education course (AST 30 - Mission to the Planets) over the last 4 years called 'Telescopic Topics.' Activities scaffold the students through the semester where they select a topic on planetary science, work with the science reference librarian, visit the writing center, and record their podcast at campus student radio station. The top podcasts are then aired on the campus radio station during the news broadcasts through a rotating series. Surveys of student experiences find that student find the activity valuable and engaging. Students reported feeling less intimidated by the science content and more connected to the subject matter. In addition, it provides many of them with their first introduction to and use of the university library and associated campus resources.

General Chemistry Students' Conceptual Understanding and Language Fluency: Acid-Base Neutralization and Conductometry

Science.gov (United States)

Nyachwaya, James M.

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine college general chemistry students' conceptual understanding and language fluency in the context of the topic of acids and bases. 115 students worked in groups of 2-4 to complete an activity on conductometry, where they were given a scenario in which a titration of sodium hydroxide solution and dilute…

GeoNet's `Felt Rapid': Collecting What Is Needed, When You Need It, No More, No Less. Rapid, Volumous Data For Response Versus Detailed, Precise Data For Research

Science.gov (United States)

Little, C. L.; McBride, S.; Balfour, N.

2016-12-01

New Zealand's geohazard monitoring agency, GeoNet, recently implemented `Felt Rapid': earthquake felt reporting that is quick and simple. GeoNet locates 20,000 earthquakes each year with hundreds of those reported as being felt. Starting in the late 1800s, the New Zealand public has become adept at completing felt reports but feedback since the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence suggested that traditional felt reporting was not meeting researchers' or the public's needs. GeoNet required something rapid, adaptable and robust. The solution was Felt Rapid, a mobile app and website where respondents simply pick from 6 cartoon images - representing Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 3-8 - that best aligned to what they felt. For the last decade, felt reporting has been conducted via the GeoNet website, with additional targeted surveys after damaging earthquakes. The vast majority of the submitted felt reports were for earthquakes too small to cause damage, as these are by far the most frequent. Reports from small events are of little interest to researchers who are only concerned with damaging, MMI6 and above. However, we found that when damaging earthquakes did occur, such as Christchurch's M6.3, they were only sparsely reported (3,776 reports). Understandably, sitting at a computer and completing a lengthy online form wasn't a priority for people after a devastating earthquake. With Felt Rapid, reporting has to be completed within an hour of an earthquake, the use of GeoNet's automatically compiled felt reporting maps had evolved; their main purpose is immediate assessment of an earthquake's impact on populations, and is used by Civil Defence agencies. Reports are immediately displayed on an interactive map via the website and mobile app. With over 250,000 users this provides rapid and robust information regarding the experienced shaking. When a damaging earthquake occurs and researchers want to collect important and rare damaging felt reports, a separate in-depth survey

Empowering Students in Transition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann-Catherine Sullivan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to (a identify potential benefits for students with disabilities taking part in a physical activity program with same-age typical peers on a Midwest university campus, and (b to determine if the program impacted the students with disabilities empowerment. Empowerment theory was used to determine how transition students’ attitudes change over the course of the semester while participating in a workout buddy program with same-age college peers. The program was structured to provide a sense of empowerment to students to make their own decisions and learn for themselves so they don’t feel a lack of power in their lives. This study implemented elements of a quantitative design but a majority utilized a qualitative design based on the assumptions of the Interpretivist paradigm. The quantitative design elements focused on the analysis of two questionnaires: Sports Questionnaire; and The Perceived Control Scale Questionnaire. The analysis of the focus group data revealed the following themes as positive effects of the intervention; positive effect on empowerment, how happy the program made the students, what benefits the students gained from the program, the student’s familiarity with university students, and the environment and lastly the students ability to ask for assistance when need. Findings from the study determined that the empowerment of the students with disabilities was impacted while participating in the program. In general, the findings of gaining empowerment were similar to previous studies in that students with disabilities are able to gain empowerment from participation in fitness and recreation programs. The researcher noted during focus groups that some of the BOBW students were not confident in starting conversations with their university. Although the BOBW students felt a sense of losing empowerment with this specific instance, there was an overall positive impact on the BOBW students�

Content Analysis of Student Essays after Attending a Problem-Based Learning Course: Facilitating the Development of Critical Thinking and Communication Skills in Japanese Nursing Students.

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Itatani, Tomoya; Nagata, Kyoko; Yanagihara, Kiyoko; Tabuchi, Noriko

2017-08-22

The importance of active learning has continued to increase in Japan. The authors conducted classes for first-year students who entered the nursing program using the problem-based learning method which is a kind of active learning. Students discussed social topics in classes. The purposes of this study were to analyze the post-class essay, describe logical and critical thinking after attended a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) course. The authors used Mayring's methodology for qualitative content analysis and text mining. In the description about the skills required to resolve social issues, seven categories were extracted: (recognition of diverse social issues), (attitudes about resolving social issues), (discerning the root cause), (multi-lateral information processing skills), (making a path to resolve issues), (processivity in dealing with issues), and (reflecting). In the description about communication, five categories were extracted: (simple statement), (robust theories), (respecting the opponent), (communication skills), and (attractive presentations). As the result of text mining, the words extracted more than 100 times included "issue," "society," "resolve," "myself," "ability," "opinion," and "information." Education using PBL could be an effective means of improving skills that students described, and communication in general. Some students felt difficulty of communication resulting from characteristics of Japanese.

What to Do about Being Overwhelmed: Graduate Students, Stress and University Services

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Oswalt, Sara B.; Riddock, Christina C.

2007-01-01

Few studies have examined graduate students and stress. At a large, Southeastern university, 223 graduate students completed a survey about factors contributing their stress, current coping strategies and related university services. A majority felt stressed (48.9%) or very stressed (24.7%). There were significant differences in coping strategies…

Comparative Difficulties with Non-Scientific General Vocabulary and Scientific/Medical Terminology in English as a Second Language (ESL) Medical Students.

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Heming, Thomas A; Nandagopal, Shobha

2012-11-01

Medical education requires student comprehension of both technical (scientific/medical) and non-technical (general) vocabulary. Our experience with "English as a second language" (ESL) Arab students suggested they often have problems comprehending scientific statements because of weaknesses in their understanding of non-scientific vocabulary. This study aimed to determine whether ESL students have difficulties with general vocabulary that could hinder their understanding of scientific/medical texts. A survey containing English text was given to ESL students in the premedical years of an English-medium medical school in an Arabic country. The survey consisted of sample questions from the Medical College Admission Test (USA). Students were instructed to identify all unknown words in the text. ESL students commenced premedical studies with substantial deficiencies in English vocabulary. Students from English-medium secondary schools had a selective deficiency in scientific/medical terminology which disappeared with time. Students from Arabic-medium secondary schools had equal difficulty with general and scientific/medical vocabulary. Deficiencies in both areas diminished with time but remained even after three years of English-medium higher education. Typically, when teaching technical subjects to ESL students, attention is focused on subject-unique vocabulary and associated modifiers. This study highlights that ESL students also face difficulties with the general vocabulary used to construct statements employing technical words. Such students would benefit from increases in general vocabulary knowledge.

Evaluation of Clinical and Communication Skills of Pharmacy Students and Pharmacists with an Objective Structured Clinical Examination.

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Urteaga, Elizabeth M; Attridge, Rebecca L; Tovar, John M; Witte, Amy P

2015-10-25

Objective. To evaluate how effectively pharmacy students and practicing pharmacists communicate and apply knowledge to simulations of commonly encountered patient scenarios using an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Design. Second-, third-, and fourth-year pharmacy students completed an OSCE as part of their required courses in 2012 and 2013. All students in both years completed identical OSCE cases. Licensed pharmacists were recruited to complete the OSCE and serve as controls in 2012. A survey assessed student perception and acceptance of the OSCE as well as student confidence in performance. Assessment. Licensed pharmacists had significantly higher clinical and communication skills scores than did pharmacy students. Student progression in communication and clinical skills improved significantly over time. Survey results indicated that students felt the OSCE was well-structured and assessed clinical skills taught in pharmacy school; 86% of students felt confident they could provide these skills. Conclusion. Objective structured clinical examinations can evaluate clinical competence and communication skills among professional students. Implementation of OSCEs may be an effective tool for assessment of the Center for the Advancement of Pharmacy Education domains.

Probing Students' Understanding of Some Conceptual Themes in General Relativity

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Bandyopadhyay, Atanu; Kumar, Arvind

2010-01-01

This work is an attempt to see how physics undergraduates view the basic ideas of general relativity when they are exposed to the topic in a standard introductory course. Since the subject is conceptually and technically difficult, we adopted a "case studies" approach, focusing in depth on about six students who had just finished a one semester…

Student and staff experiences of attendance monitoring in undergraduate obstetrics and gynecology: a cross-sectional survey

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Deane RP

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Richard P Deane, Deirdre J Murphy Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital, Dublin, Republic of Ireland  Background: Despite the widespread introduction of active learning strategies to engage students across modern medical curricula, student attendance and attendance monitoring remain a challenging issue for medical educators. In addition, there is little published evidence available to medical educators regarding the use of attendance monitoring systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the opinions of students and staff about the use of a paper-based student logbook to record student attendance across all clinical and classroom-based learning activities within an undergraduate clinical rotation in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN. Methods: Each student undertaking the clinical rotation in OBGYN was required to complete a paper-based logbook in a booklet format that listed every clinical and classroom-based activity that the student was expected to attend. A cross-sectional survey evaluating the acceptability, practicality, and effect on access to learning opportunities of using the logbook was undertaken. The survey was conducted among all medical students who completed their OBGYN rotation over a full academic year and staff who taught on the program. Results: The response rate was 87% (n=128/147 among students and 80% (n=8/10 among staff. Monitoring attendance was widely acceptable to students (n=107/128, 84% and staff (n=8/8, 100%. Most students (n=95/128, 74% and staff (n=7/8, 88% recommended that attendance should be mandatory during rotations. Almost all staff felt that attendance should contribute toward academic credit (n=7/8, 88%, but students were divided (n=73/128, 57%. Students (n=94/128, 73% and staff (n=6/8, 75% reported that the use of the logbook to record attendance with tutor signatures was a satisfactory system, although

A Transition Program for Underprepared Students in General Chemistry: Diagnosis, Implementation, and Evaluation

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Shields, Shawn P.; Hogrebe, Mark C.; Spees, William M.; Handlin, Larry B.; Noelken, Greg P.; Riley, Julie M.; Frey, Regina F.

2012-01-01

We developed an online exam to diagnose students who are underprepared for college-level general chemistry and implemented a program to support them during the general chemistry sequence. This transition program consists of extended-length recitations, peer-led team-learning (PLTL) study groups, and peer-mentoring groups. We evaluated this…

Choice of Study Resources in General Chemistry by Students Who Have Little Time to Study

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Bunce, Diane M.; Komperda, Regis; Dillner, Debra K.; Lin, Shirley; Schroeder, Maria J.; Hartman, JudithAnn R.

2017-01-01

Students with an insufficient amount of time to study are becoming more prevalent in the general college population as many who enroll in college have competing responsibilities (full-time jobs, childcare, etc.). Such students are likely to choose study resources that they consider to be both effective and efficient. Students at the U.S. Naval…

Examination of cyberbullying experiences among Turkish students from different school types.

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Topçu, Cigdem; Erdur-Baker, Ozgür; Capa-Aydin, Yeşim

2008-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of cyberbullying experiences among public and private school students in Turkey. One hundred eighty-three participants between the ages of 14 and 15 were recruited for the study. Participants were asked to respond to questionnaires measuring demographic information, usage frequency of Internet-mediated communication tools (IMCT), and cyberbullying experience (as a victim and as a bully). Participants who reported cyberbullying victimization were also asked how they felt and whether they sought help after such experiences. Results indicated that public school students were more likely than private school students to report being cyberbullies and cybervictims despite that private school students were more likely than public school students to report more frequent usage of IMCT. The findings of the logistic regression analyses indicated that usage frequency of IMCT was a significant predictor of cyberbullying/victimization for public school students but not for private school students. While victims from private school revealed that they did not mind the cyberbullying experience because they thought it was a joke, victims from public school reported that they felt angry when they experienced cyberbullying. Both public and private schools indicated that friends were their first choice for help.

Introducing Scientific Literature to Honors General Chemistry Students: Teaching Information Literacy and the Nature of Research to First-Year Chemistry Students

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Ferrer-Vinent, Ignacio J.; Bruehl, Margaret; Pan, Denise; Jones, Galin L.

2015-01-01

This paper describes the methodology and implementation of a case study introducing the scientific literature and creative experiment design to honors general chemistry laboratory students. The purpose of this study is to determine whether first-year chemistry students can develop information literacy skills while they engage with the primary…

Caring for adolescent students: a grounded theory study of teachers' perspectives on their relationships with students in secondary schools.

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Cullingworth, Erin

2014-01-01

This grounded theory study explored secondary teachers’ perspectives on their relationships with their adolescent students: the kinds of relationships they want to create, why they believe such relationships are important, and what obstacles they perceive to their construction. Teachers who felt they were able to create positive, effective relationships with their students tended to work in mini-school programs, to practice a kind of “authoritative” teaching similar to Baumrind’s (1978; 1991...

The Effects of Clickers and Online Homework on Students' Achievement in General Chemistry

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Gebru, Misganaw T.

2012-01-01

Retention of an introductory general chemistry course material is vital for student success in future chemistry and chemistry-related courses. This study investigated the effects of clickers versus online homework on students' long-term content retention, examined the effectiveness of online homework versus no graded homework on…

Communication Skills in Dental Students: New Data Regarding Retention and Generalization of Training Effects.

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Broder, Hillary L; Janal, Malvin; Mitnick, Danielle M; Rodriguez, Jasmine Y; Sischo, Lacey

2015-08-01

Previous studies have shown that a communications program using patient instructors (PIs) facilitates data-gathering and interpersonal skills of third-year dental students. The aim of this study was to address the question of whether those skills are retained into the students' fourth year and generalized from the classroom to the clinic. In the formative training phase, three cohorts of D3 students (N=1,038) at one dental school received instruction regarding effective patient-doctor communication; interviewed three PIs and received PI feedback; and participated in a reflective seminar with a behavioral science instructor. In the follow-up competency phase, fourth-year students performed two new patient interviews in the clinic that were observed and evaluated by clinical dental faculty members trained in communications. Mean scores on a standardized communications rating scale and data-gathering assessment were compared over training and follow-up sessions and between cohorts with a linear mixed model. The analysis showed that the third-year students' mean communication and data-gathering scores increased with each additional encounter with a PI (pcommunication scores were not only maintained but increased during the fourth-year follow-up competency evaluations (pcommunications curriculum, prior instruction facilitated the students' clinical communication performance at baseline (pCommunications program improved students' data-gathering and interpersonal skills. Those skills were maintained and generalized through completion of the D4 students' summative competency performance in a clinical setting.

Formative assessment: a student perspective.

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Hill, D A; Guinea, A I; McCarthy, W H

1994-09-01

An educator's view would be that formative assessment has an important role in the learning process. This study was carried out to obtain a student perspective of the place of formative assessment in the curriculum. Final-year medical students at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital took part in four teaching sessions, each structured to integrate teaching with assessment. Three assessment methods were used; the group objective structured clinical examination (G-OSCE), structured short answer (SSA) questions and a pre/post-test multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ). Teaching sessions were conducted on the subject areas of traumatology, the 'acute abdomen', arterial disorders and cancer. Fifty-five students, representing 83% of those who took part in the programme, responded to a questionnaire where they were asked to rate (on a 5-point Likert scale) their response to general questions about formative assessment and 13 specific questions concerning the comparative value of the three assessment modalities. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents felt that formative assessment should be incorporated into the teaching process. The SSA assessment was regarded as the preferred modality to reinforce previous teaching and test problem-solving skills. The MCQ was the least favoured assessment method. The effect size variable between the total scores for the SSA and MCQ was 0.64. The variable between G-OSCE and SSA/MCQ was 0.26 and 0.33 respectively. Formative assessment is a potentially powerful method to direct learning behaviour. Students should have input into the methods used.

A Comparative Study of Campus Experiences of College Students with Mental Illnesses versus a General College Sample

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Salzer, Mark S.

2012-01-01

Objective: Examine campus experiences and relationships of college students with mental illnesses compared to general student norms using the College Student Experiences Questionnaire to understand potential sources of distress and retention issues. Participants: Responses were obtained from 449 former and current students with mental illnesses…

Power generation using an activated carbon fiber felt cathode in an upflow microbial fuel cell

KAUST Repository

Deng, Qian; Li, Xinyang; Zuo, Jiane.; Ling, Alison; Logan, Bruce E.

2010-01-01

An activated carbon fiber felt (ACFF) cathode lacking metal catalysts is used in an upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC). The maximum power density with the ACFF cathode is 315 mW m-2, compared to lower values with cathodes made of plain carbon paper

Diabetes knowledge and perceptions among nursing students, and curriculum differences in Japan and Australia: A cross-sectional study.

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Ramjan, Lucie M; Watanabe, Hiroko; Salamonson, Yenna

2017-06-01

To investigate the associations between knowledge and perceptions of diabetes mellitus (DM) among nursing students from Japan and Australia; and to compare curriculum differences. Cross-sectional study. Convenience sample of students from Japan (N=78) and Australia (N=85) in their final year were surveyed. Students reported demographic details, and perceptions towards caring for patients with DM. The 23-item Michigan Diabetes Knowledge Test (MDKT) was used to assess general knowledge, and seven additional questions were used to assess DM-related clinical knowledge (CDKT). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the associations between knowledge and perceptions. The curricula of the two universities were compared through a review of teaching hours on DM, teaching methods, class sizes and self-reported number of DM patients cared for during clinical placement. Australian students were more likely to be aware of DM and identified caring for more patients on clinical placement during the course. They also performed better on the CDKT in comparison to the Japanese students (71.43% versus 65.02%). When teaching models were compared, the Japanese curriculum dedicated more hours to didactic classroom teaching on DM and had a smaller teacher to student ratio. While both groups felt they received enough classroom education on DM, the Japanese students self-reported lower perceived competency, self-confidence, and felt less prepared to care for DM patients. However Japanese students performed slightly better on the MDKT than Australian students (74.25% versus 70.03%). Being from Japan was a predictor for high MDKT score (>73.91%), while perceived preparedness was a predictor for high CDKT score (>71.43%). Statistically significant differences in DM knowledge (CDKT score) between students were found. There remains room for improvement, particularly a need for increased teaching hours at University and greater clinical practice time caring for patients

School Indicators of Violence Experienced and Feeling Unsafe of Dutch LGB Versus Non-LGB Secondary Students and Staff, 2006-2010.

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Mooij, Ton

2016-12-01

Gender and sexual orientation are expressed in heterosexual, lesbian (L), gay (G), bisexual (B), transgender (T), or queer (Q) interests and behavior. Compared with heterosexual persons, LGBTQ persons seem to experience more antisocial behavior, including negative discrimination and violence. To assess differences in LGBTQ-related discrimination in schools, the question for this research is "Do the degrees of violence experienced and feeling unsafe of LGBTQ students and staff in a school differ from those of non-LGBTQ students and staff in the same school?" Secondary analysis was carried out on data from a Dutch national digital monitor survey on safety in secondary schools. In 2006, 2008, and 2010, participation amounted to 570 schools, 18,300 teaching and support staff, and 216,000 students. Four indicators were constructed at the school level: two Mokken Scale means assessing severity of violence experienced and two Alpha Scale means assessing feeling unsafe. Analysis of mean differences showed that LGB students experienced more violence and felt less safe than non-LGB students; LGB staff felt less safe in school than non-LGB staff. When LGB students experienced more violence at school than non-LGB students, LGB students also felt less safe than non-LGB students for all 3 years. No such relationships existed for LGB staff, or between LGB staff and LGB students. No significant relationships were found between the four LGB school indicators and contextual school variables. The outcomes and uniqueness of the study are discussed. Recommendations are made to improve assessment and promote prosocial behavior of students and staff in schools. © The Author(s) 2015.

Introducing Students to Psychological Research: General Psychology as a Laboratory Course

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Thieman, Thomas J.; Clary, E. Gil; Olson, Andrea M.; Dauner, Rachel C.; Ring, Erin E.

2009-01-01

For 6 years, we have offered an integrated weekly laboratory focusing on research methods as part of our general psychology course. Through self-report measures and controlled comparisons, we found that laboratory projects significantly increase students' knowledge and comfort level with scientific approaches and concepts, sustain interest in…

Achieving Access to the General Curriculum for Students with Mental Retardation.

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Wehmeyer, Michael L.; Lattin, Dana; Agran, Martin

2001-01-01

This article reviews requirements in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for providing access to the general education curriculum, examines the intent of the language, and proposes a decision-making model to enable Individualized Education Program teams to reach curriculum decisions that provide such access for students with mental…

Investigation of Abdominal and General Obesity and Its Related Factors in students of Qom City, 2015, Iran

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Parisa Sarraf

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Abdominal and general obesities are greatly affected by diet and physical activities. Prevalence of this complication in communities has an increasing trend, so that even adolescents are no exception in this regard. The current study aimed to investigate abdominal and general obesity and its related factors in’ students of Qom city. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 301 (17 girls and 114 boys students in medical and Azad universities in Qom city. These individuals were selected by proportional to size sampling method and studied by anthropometric measures, international short physical activity questionnaire, and 11-item nutritional habits questionnaire. Data were analyzed by independent t-, chi-square, and correlation coefficient tests. The significance level was considered to be α=0.05. Results: The mean BMI and WHR in students was 22.6±3.2kg/m2 and 0.8±0.0, respectively. A significant direct correlation was observed between anthropometric measures and abdominal obesity. Only 23.3% of the students had regular sport activity, so that the mean light physical activity in obese students was lower than normal students (38.9±43.1 vs. 60.8±67.5min. No heavy physical activity was seen in this group, and fast-food consumption was higher in this group of students compared to the normal students (93.2% vs. 67.8%. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, there is a significant relationship between nutritional status and level of physical activity and abdominal and general obesity. Therefore, overweight, abdominal, and general obesity were lower in male students, and subjects involved in regular physical activity and lower fast-food consumption.

Organisational aspects of dental practices: do dental students think like patients or like general dental practitioners?

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Sonneveld, R E; Brands, W G; Bronkhorst, E M; Welie, J V M; Truin, G J

2013-02-01

In view of transparency in health care, the widespread desire for more patient-centred care, and in an attempt to facilitate educational programmes that effectively respond to these changes, two research questions are formulated: (i) How do dental students rate the importance of various organisational aspects of dental practices compared with dental patients and general dental practitioners (GDPs), and what prescripts, defined as specific operational responsibilities of GDPs in these matters, do dental students propose? and (ii) In doing so, do students resemble patients or GDPs? In two survey studies, dental students (n = 198), patients (n = 3127) and GDPs (n = 303) were asked to rate by questionnaire the importance of 41 organisational aspects of a general dental practice and proposed specific operational responsibilities ('prescripts'). Seven of 41 aspects were rated as important by the majority of the students. Although in a different rank order, three aspects were predominantly selected by all three groups: continuing education, accessibility by telephone and Dutch-speaking GDP. For most aspects, significant differences were found between the prescripts proposed by students and those proposed by patients, and few differences were found between students and GDPs. The findings do not permit the general conclusion that the views of dental students resemble those of patients or GPDs. Looking at the overall rank order, the three respondent groups showed a great resemblance although significant differences were found for specific aspects. With regard to the proposed prescripts, students showed realistic views and the majority wants to participate in continuing education and work with protocols and guidelines. In this, they tend to resemble GDPs more than they resemble patients. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Students as teachers in an anatomy dissection course.

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Salomäki, Tiina; Laakkonen, Juha; Ruohoniemi, Mirja

2014-01-01

One way to improve students' learning outcomes and well-being is to change teaching practices to allow students to become more active participants. We used an anatomy dissection course to test a cooperative group work method in which first-year veterinary students took turns leading their peer group and were each responsible for teaching the anatomy of a particular topographic region. The important blood vessels, lymphatic system, and nerves of each region of the body were covered. Students felt that exploration of the entire topographic region helped them to acquire a comprehensive understanding of the respiratory apparatus and the cardiovascular and nervous systems. Assigning individual tasks to each group member resulted in sharing the workload equally. Open-ended comments revealed that support from other group members was important for the students' learning experience, but the results also offered insight into a lack of constructive criticism. While teaching was considered challenging, and even a stress factor that hindered learning for some students, group work was generally held to be supportive of learning. The results suggest that more thorough instruction of students in their group work and in their individual tasks is required. Some students experienced difficulty in expressing their concerns openly and in seeking guidance from teachers, demonstrating the need for further investigation regarding students' self-regulation skills. Comments from the open-ended responses suggest that use of a cooperative learning method in anatomy dissection courses not only deepens student understanding of a subject but also offers first-year students an opportunity to practice the generic skills that will be needed in their future profession.

Attitudes towards psychiatry of undergraduate medical students at Bayero University, Nigeria

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N C Aghukwa

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Background. This study determined and compared responses of 5th- and 6th (final-year medical students on their attitudes to psychiatry as a profession. Also elicited were their choices of area of future medical specialisation. Method. A prospective and cross-sectional study using an adapted 27-item self-administered questionnaire to obtain responses from 91 5th- and 6th-year medical students at Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria. Results. More than 60% of the students’ first choices for future specialisation were surgery, obstetrics/gynaecology or internal medicine. Psychiatry was the first preference for less than 2%. More than 75% of the students’ views on the overall merits and efficacy of psychiatry were positive, although they felt that psychiatry had low prestige and status as a profession. In addition, the same proportion considered that psychiatry was scientific, making advances in the treatment of major mental disorders, and helpful in liaison practice. More than 50% stated that psychiatry would not be their choice of last resort for residency education and the same proportion felt that friends and fellow students rather than family members would discourage them from specialising in psychiatry. More than 50% would feel uncomfortable with mentally ill patients, felt that psychiatry would not be financially rewarding, and did not think that psychiatrists abuse their legal power to hospitalise patients. Attitudes of the two groups of students to psychiatry as a profession were not significantly different (p>0.05. Conclusion. A clinical clerkship in psychiatry did not influence the students’ choice of future specialisation.

Suggestions for Modifications in the Teaching of General Chemistry to Accommodate Learning Disabled Students: Alternative Techniques for Teaching General Chemistry to Learning Disabled Students in the University.

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Habib, H. S.

A professor involved with the HELDS project (Higher Education for Learning Disabled Students) describes modifications in a general chemistry course. A syllabus lists program objectives for eight text chapters, evaluation components, and course rules. Two units are described in detail, with information presented on modifications made for LD…

An Analysis of Undergraduate General Chemistry Students' Misconceptions of the Submicroscopic Level of Precipitation Reactions

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Kelly, Resa M.; Barrera, Juliet H.; Mohamed, Saheed C.

2010-01-01

This study examined how 21 college-level general chemistry students, who had received instruction that emphasized the symbolic level of ionic equations, explained their submicroscopic-level understanding of precipitation reactions. Students' explanations expressed through drawings and semistructured interviews revealed the nature of the…

An Investigation of the Lived Experiences of Registered Nurses Facilitating Supernumerary Nursing Students.

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O'Callaghan, Nora; Slevin, Eamonn

2003-01-01

Interviews with 10 Irish nurses supervising student nurses in clinical placements revealed different interpretations of students' status in clinical settings. They viewed their role as facilitative. Although the experience was rewarding, they felt ill prepared for it. They approved the move to higher education for nurses, although most had not…

The effects of single instance, multiple instance, and general case training on generalized vending machine use by moderately and severely handicapped students.

OpenAIRE

Sprague, J R; Horner, R H

1984-01-01

This report provides an experimental analysis of generalized vending machine use by six moderately or severely retarded high school students. Dependent variables were training trials to criterion and performance on 10 nontrained "generalization" vending machines. A multiple-baseline design across subjects was used to compare three strategies for teaching generalized vending machine use. Training occurred with (a) a single vending machine, (b) three similar machines, or (c) three machines that...

Undergraduate student nurses' lived experiences of anxiety during their first clinical practicum: A phenomenological study.

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Sun, Fan-Ko; Long, Ann; Tseng, Yun Shan; Huang, Hui-Man; You, Jia-Hui; Chiang, Chun-Ying

2016-02-01

The Fundamental Nursing clinical practicum is an essential module for nursing students. Some feel stress or anxiety about attending this first placement; however, evidence demonstrates that it is rare to explore the feelings of anxiety felt by the nursing students concerning their first clinical practicum. This study was designed to explore student nurses' experiences of anxiety felt regarding their initial clinical practicum while studying for their University degree. A phenomenological approach was used. A university in Southern Taiwan. A purposive sampling of fifteen student nurses with anxiety reactions who had completed their first clinical practicum. Data were collected using a semi-structured guide and deep interview. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's seven-step phenomenological method. Three themes surfaced in the findings. The first theme was anxiety around their first clinical practicum, which stirred up anxiety about: self-doubt, worry and fear; difficulty coping with the learning process; worry hampered establishing therapeutic relationships with patients; the progress of the patients' illness could not be predicted; and anxiety felt about lecturer-student interactions. The second theme was three phases of anxiety reactions, which included increasing anxiety before clinical practicum; exacerbated anxiety during clinical practicum, and relief of anxiety after clinical practicum. The third theme was coping behaviors. This comprised: self-reflection in preparation for clinical practicum; finding ways to release emotions; distractions from the anxiety; and, also facing their difficulties head-on. The findings could help raise the awareness of lecturers and students by understanding student nurses' anxiety experiences and facilitating a healthy preparation for their initial clinical practicum, consequently proactively helping reduce potential anxiety experiences. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bachelor of Midwifery students' experiences of achieving competencies: the role of the midwife preceptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Licqurish, Sharon; Seibold, Camel

2008-12-01

to explore and describe Bachelor of Midwifery students' learning experiences, specifically the role of the midwifery preceptor in learning and development of competency, from the students' perspective. The findings reported are taken from a wider investigation into Bachelor of Midwifery student's achievement of competency. grounded theory methodology using in-depth interviews for data collection. school of nursing and midwifery of one university, and associated clinical teaching hospitals in Victoria, Australia. eight Bachelor of Midwifery students completing their final clinical placement. data analysis in the broader study identified the categories of: hands-on practice; reflecting on practice; building confidence; gaining knowledge; working with midwives; and constructing a sense of self as a midwife. This paper focuses on one category 'working with midwives', which encompasses the therapeutic, interpersonal and clinical characteristics of the preceptor and their impact on student learning. Generally speaking, students identified midwife preceptors as helpful and unhelpful, and students indicated that they prefer to work with a caring midwife preceptor, who enjoys teaching, answers questions fairly and is philosophically similar. Students also felt that they benefited from opportunities for responsibility for care under supportive supervision, hands-on learning and debriefing. Midwife preceptors described as unhelpful were poor role models, did not allow the space for 'hands-on' practice or 'took over', were generally unsupportive and operated in a hierarchical system within the clinical agencies. a positive midwife preceptor-student relationship is an integral part of successful student midwife learning, and preceptors with helpful qualities enhance learning. Hands-on learning was emphasised as the most beneficial learning experience and students sought opportunities to work with midwives who imbued the philosophy they admired rather than becoming desensitised

Tweets from the forest: using Twitter to increase student engagement in an undergraduate field biology course [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/56w

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lauren Soluk

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Twitter is a cold medium that allows users to deliver content-rich but small packets of information to other users, and provides an opportunity for active and collaborative communication. In an education setting, this social media tool has potential to increase active learning opportunities, and increase student engagement with course content. The effects of Twitter on learning dynamics was tested in a field biology course offered by a large Canadian University: 29 students agreed to take part in the Twitter project and quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including survey data from 18 students. Students published 200% more public Tweets than what was required, and interacted frequently with the instructor and teaching assistant, their peers, and users external to the course. Almost 80% of students stated that Twitter increased opportunities for among-group communication, and 94% of students felt this kind of collaborative communication was beneficial to their learning. Although students did not think they would use Twitter after the course was over, 77% of the students still felt it was a good learning tool, and 67% of students felt Twitter had a positive impact on how they engaged with course content. These results suggest social media tools such as Twitter can help achieve active and collaborative learning in higher education.

Medical Students Raising Concerns.

Science.gov (United States)

Druce, Maralyn R; Hickey, Andrea; Warrens, Anthony N; Westwood, Olwyn M R

2016-09-16

After a number of high-profile incidents and national reports, it has become clear that all health professionals and all medical students must be able to raise concerns about a colleague's behavior if this behavior puts patients, colleagues, or themselves at risk.Detailed evidence from medical students about their confidence to raise concerns is limited, together with examples of barriers, which impair their ability to do so. We describe a questionnaire survey of medical students in a single-center, examining self-reported confidence about raising concerns in a number of possible scenarios. Thematic analysis was applied to comments about barriers identified.Although 80% of respondents felt confident to report a patient safety issue, students were less confident around issues of probity, attitude, and conduct. This needs to be addressed to create clear mechanisms to raise concerns, as well as support for students during the process.

Eating and body attitudes related to noncompetitive bodybuilding in military and general Hungarian male student populations.

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Lukács, Liza; Murányi, István; Túry, Ferenc

2007-02-01

Pathological eating attitudes and extreme weight control practices occur most commonly in certain female populations. In some young male occupation groups, such as in the armed forces, the appearance of physical strength and muscularity has particular importance. We studied body and eating attitudes and the prevalence of bodybuilding and steroid abuse in 480 military college and 752 general college male students. The Eating Disorder Inventory was used for all subjects. General college students had higher body mass index values than did military students. The prevalence of bodybuilding and steroid abuse was significantly greater in the military population. Comparisons between the study groups and within groups showed significantly different scores on certain Eating Disorder Inventory subscales. The study revealed that male military college students have some protective factors against the psychopathological features of eating disorders.

Predictors of a positive attitude of medical students towards general practice - a survey of three Bavarian medical faculties.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Antonius; Karsch-Völk, Marlies; Rupp, Alica; Fischer, Martin R; Drexler, Hans; Schelling, Jörg; Berberat, Pascal

2013-01-01

Germany is witnessing an increasing shortage of general practitioners (GPs). The aim was to determine predictors of the job-related motivation of medical students of three medical faculties with different institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline. Medical students were surveyed with a standardised questionnaire about their attitudes towards general practice and their motivation to work as a GP in different working conditions. Predictors for positive attitudes and motivation were calculated using logistic regression models. 940 (15.2%) out of 6182 medical students from three Bavarian medical faculties participated in an online survey. 585 (62.7%) were female, and the average age was 25.0 (standard deviation 3.7). The average grade of a university-entrance diploma was 1.6 (standard deviation 0.5). 718 (76.4%) could imagine working as a GP. However, they favoured being employed within another organisation and not having their own private practice (65.5% vs. 35.1%). "Presence of a professorship of general practice" was associated with a positive attitude towards general practice (OR 1.57; 95%CI 1.13-2.417). Motivation for working as a GP was associated with "being female" (OR 2.56; 95%CI 1.80-3.56) and "presence of a professorship of general practice" (OR 1.68; 95%CI 1.14-2.46). Having a lower grade for one's university-entrance diploma was associated with a higher preference to work in one's own practice (OR 1.39; 95%CI 1.02-1.90). A high amount of medical students were open-minded towards general practice. However, they favoured employment within an organization over working in their own practice. Institutionalisation of general practice as an academic discipline might be of importance to gain positive attitudes towards general practice and motivate medical students to work as a GP.

General practitioners believe that hypnotherapy could be a useful treatment for irritable bowel syndrome in primary care

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de Lusignan Simon

2004-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Irritable bowel syndrome is a common condition in general practice. It occurs in 10 to 20% of the population, but less than half seek medical assistance with the complaint. Methods A questionnaire was sent to the 406 GPs listed on the West Sussex Health Authority Medical List to investigate their views of this condition and whether they felt hypnotherapy had a place in its management Results 38% of general practitioners responded. The achieved sample shared the characteristics of target sample. Nearly half thought that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS was a "nervous complaint" and used a combination of "the placebo effect of personal care," therapeutic, and dietary advice. There is considerable divergence in the perceived effectiveness of current approaches. Over 70% thought that hypnotherapy may have a role in the management of patients with IBS; though the majority (68% felt that this should not be offered by general practitioners. 84% felt that this should be offered by qualified hypnotherapist, with 40% feeling that this should be offered outside the health service. Conclusions General practitioners vary in their perceptions of what constitutes effective therapy in IBS. They are willing to consider referral to a qualified hypnotherapist.

Carbon felt interlayer derived from rice paper and its synergistic encapsulation of polysulfides for lithium-sulfur batteries

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Yang, Kai; Zhong, Lei; Guan, Ruiteng; Xiao, Min; Han, Dongmei; Wang, Shuanjin; Meng, Yuezhong

2018-05-01

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have remarkably high theoretical specific capacity as promising candidates for next-generation energy storage. However, the "polysulfides shuttle" effect hampers its commercial application. Here, we use a kind of rice paper as a raw material to get inorganic oxides doping carbon felt by the facile carbonization method, and then modified by a simple coating process using poly (fluorenyl ether ketone) and Super P slurry. The special structure of the carbon felt derived from rice paper and its modified layer endow the final electronic conductive interlayer with inherent polysulfides absorbents and ion Coulombic repulsion functions, respectively, which show synergistic effect for trapping polysulfides. As an interlayer of Li-S batteries, the obtained carbon felt/poly (fluorenyl ether ketone)& Super P (CFSS) interlayer shows excellent electrochemical performance in improving specific capacity and decreasing polarization. The batteries with CFSS interlayer exhibit a high capacity of 837 mA h g-1 at 2.0 C and a high initial capacity of 1073.4 mA h g-1 and good capacity retention of 824.5 mA h g-1 after 500 cycles at 0.5 C. CFSS interlayer also shows excellent anti-self-discharge performance. Therefore, the simple and economical CFSS interlayer can be considered as a promising component for high performance Li-S batteries.

Making Connections to Students' Lives and Careers Throughout a General Education Science Course

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LaDue, D. S.

2014-12-01

The University of Oklahoma's general education lecture course Severe & Unusual Weather, taught in two sections each fall and spring, covers about nine topics. The sections are taught by different instructors, each of whom has flexibility to employ a variety of instructional strategies and choose specific topics to cover while meeting the requirement that general education courses in the natural sciences help students understand the importance of the science for appreciating the world around them. Students enrolled have been approximately 6-10% returning adult students, some of whom were veterans or active duty military, and about 10% members of racial or ethnic groups. Their majors are mostly in the humanities (theater, photography) and social sciences (education, English, journalism, sociology), with some natural science majors (psychology, aviation). For the past two years, Section 001 has been designed with adult and active learning concepts in mind, using deliberate connections between course content and students' lives and careers to motivate meaningful learning. Students were grouped in teams according to similar majors and assigned group presentations connecting course content to topics that should interest them, such as economic impacts of weather, societal and personal impacts of severe weather, risks to aviation, media coverage of weather, and psychological and sociological responses to weather risks. Students learn about the peer review process for scientific papers while also exploring a connection of course content to their future career or life interests through papers that are run through a mock peer review process. Public policy is discussed in several sections of the course, such as hurricane building codes, wind-resistant construction in tornado alley, and the disproportionate impacts of weather and climate on certain socioeconomic groups. Most students deeply appreciate the opportunity to explore how course content intersects with their lives

Inclusion of Students with an Intellectual Disability in the General Education Classroom with the Use of Response Cards

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Laura S.; Haydon, Todd; Bauer, Anne; Epperly, Anna C.

2016-01-01

The passage of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act has highlighted the importance of all students having access to the general education curriculum. Because students with disabilities are being included in the general education classroom in greater numbers, teachers need to implement…

Entry knowledge and situational feedback of MBBS students.

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Sharma, S C; Maharjan, S

2005-01-01

A need has been felt to acquire knowledge of students at Kathmandu Medical College (KMC) who have decided to take up a medical career and have enrolled at KMC after completing two years of basic sciences. The intent was to (i) find out the entering status with regard to general knowledge, (ii) get feedback from the students about the facilities provided by the management both at basic sciences complex at Duwakot and clinical sciences at Sinamangal and (iii) get feedback regarding the teaching learning activities provided by various departments in KMC. This attempt at getting their point of view was for trying to improve upon the facilities by taking up their suggestions and doing away with the weaknesses. Preference was given to hostel students as they would be able to comment on living conditions. A total of 150 students from three consecutive batches from basic and clinical sciences were included in the study. Survey questionnaires were distributed and all the forms were returned. The obtained data was analyzed using SPSS 11.5 version for Windows. It was found that the entry knowledge on general issue was better in 6th batch of students (87.08+/-17.41) than 5th batch (82.19+/-17.43) and 7th batch (78.93+/-20.60), but not significant (p=0.164>0.05). The students in different batches differed in their rating of various facilities provided by KMCTH. The most liked departments in terms of teaching learning activities were departments of Anatomy and Pathology. Entry knowledge of the students of three batches was found to differ but not significant, correlating with the amount of teaching and learning received at KMC. The facilities provided by KMC were perceived as more satisfactory by the students who enrolled at KMC in later years. The earlier students had to cope with more difficulties as KMC was trying to improve on various facilities it provided to its students. Level of entry knowledge got better as the students attained more and more years of teaching and

Information Seeking Behaviour of Senior High School Student on General Election: Case Study In Indonesia

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Margareta Aulia Rachman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The development of information technology affects students in searching and finding information, particularly information regarding the General Election. The explosion of information on mass media about the elections resulted impact (both positive and negative to the potential voters. Nowadays, media plays role as a tool for political parties to lead public opinion to support their parties. Based on the data provided by General Election Commission (KPU in 2014, 20% of voters were identified as students (teens. This is a qualitative research with case study method which aims to gain insight about interpretation, understanding, perceptions and feelings of teenage voters’ behavior in searching and finding information about general election in Indonesia year 2014. The data were collected by conducting interview and observation. Informants in this study were students, aged 17-18 years, who studying in government senior high school in Depok. The results of this study indicates that informants using social media to keep update about general election. Besides, they also gain information from their parents and close friends. Unfortunatelly, they were not able to identify which information which are correct or not, so they rely on people around them to make sure whether they did right decision. Therefore, this study also suggest that KPU needs to develop promotion strategy that suitable for teens about general election.

Are female students in general and nursing students more ready for teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in healthcare?

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Timpka Toomas

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Interprofessional Education (IPE is now spreading worldwide and many universities are now including IPE in their curricula. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not such student characteristics as gender, previous working experience in healthcare, educational progress and features of the learning environment, such as educational programmes and curriculum design, have an impact on their open-mindedness about co-operation with other professions. Methods Medical and nursing students at two Swedish universities were invited to fill in the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS. Totally, 955 students were invited and 70.2% (n = 670 participated in the study. A factor analysis of the RIPLS revealed four item groupings (factors for our empirical data, but only one had sufficient internal consistency. This factor was labelled "Team Player". Results Regardless of the educational programme, female students were more positive to teamwork than male students. Nursing students in general displayed more positive beliefs about teamwork and collaboration than medical students. Exposure to different interprofessional curricula and previous exposure to interprofessional education were only to a minor extent associated with a positive attitude towards teamwork. Educational progress did not seem to influence these beliefs. Conclusions The establishment of interprofessional teamwork is a major challenge for modern healthcare. This study indicates some directions for more successful interprofessional education. Efforts should be directed at informing particularly male medical students about the need for teamwork in modern healthcare systems. The results also imply that study of other factors, such as the student's personality, is needed for fully understanding readiness for teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in healthcare. We also believe that the RIPL Scale still can be further adjusted.

Are female students in general and nursing students more ready for teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in healthcare?

Science.gov (United States)

Wilhelmsson, Margaretha; Ponzer, Sari; Dahlgren, Lars-Ove; Timpka, Toomas; Faresjö, Tomas

2011-04-21

Interprofessional Education (IPE) is now spreading worldwide and many universities are now including IPE in their curricula. The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not such student characteristics as gender, previous working experience in healthcare, educational progress and features of the learning environment, such as educational programmes and curriculum design, have an impact on their open-mindedness about co-operation with other professions. Medical and nursing students at two Swedish universities were invited to fill in the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS). Totally, 955 students were invited and 70.2% (n=670) participated in the study. A factor analysis of the RIPLS revealed four item groupings (factors) for our empirical data, but only one had sufficient internal consistency. This factor was labelled "Team Player". Regardless of the educational programme, female students were more positive to teamwork than male students. Nursing students in general displayed more positive beliefs about teamwork and collaboration than medical students. Exposure to different interprofessional curricula and previous exposure to interprofessional education were only to a minor extent associated with a positive attitude towards teamwork. Educational progress did not seem to influence these beliefs. The establishment of interprofessional teamwork is a major challenge for modern healthcare. This study indicates some directions for more successful interprofessional education. Efforts should be directed at informing particularly male medical students about the need for teamwork in modern healthcare systems. The results also imply that study of other factors, such as the student's personality, is needed for fully understanding readiness for teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in healthcare. We also believe that the RIPL Scale still can be further adjusted.

General Education Oral Communication Assessment and Student Preferences for Learning: E-Textbook versus Paper Textbook

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Dwyer, Karen Kangas; Davidson, Marlina M.

2013-01-01

As part of a yearly university mandated assessment of a large basic communication course that fulfills the oral communication general education requirement, this study examined student preferences for textbooks, reading, and learning. Specifically, basic course students ("N"=321) at a large state university in the Midwest were asked to…

Self-Management of Social Initiations by Kindergarten Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom

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Reynolds, Brooke M.; Gast, David L.; Luscre, Deanna

2014-01-01

The effectiveness of a self-management intervention on social interaction behaviors was evaluated for students with disabilities and social deficits. Four students enrolled in a general education kindergarten classroom were taught to self-monitor social initiations during nonstructured social time via a digital wrist counter. The number of social…

Effective NiMn Nanoparticles-Functionalized Carbon Felt as an Effective Anode for Direct Urea Fuel Cells

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Nasser A. M. Barakat

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The internal resistances of fuel cells strongly affect the generated power. Basically, in the fuel cell, the anode can be prepared by deposition of a film from the functional electrocatalyst on a proper gas diffusion layer. Accordingly, an interfacial resistance for the electron transport is created between the two layers. Electrocatalyst-functionalized gas diffusion layer (GDL can distinctly reduce the interfacial resistance between the catalyst layer and the GDL. In this study, NiMn nanoparticles-decorated carbon felt is introduced as functionalized GDL to be exploited as a ready-made anode in a direct urea fuel cell. The proposed treated GDL was prepared by calcination of nickel acetate/manganese acetate-loaded carbon felt under an argon atmosphere at 850 °C. The physiochemical characterizations confirmed complete reduction for the utilized precursors and deposition of pristine NiMn nanoparticles on the carbon felt fiber. In passive direct urea fuel cells, investigation the performance of the functionalized GDLs indicated that the composition of the metal nanoparticles has to be optimized as the GDL obtained from 40 wt % manganese acetate reveals the maximum generated power density; 36 mW/m2 at room temperature and 0.5 M urea solution. Moreover, the electrochemical measurements proved that low urea solution concentration is preferred as utilizing 0.5 M solution resulted into generating higher power compared to 1.0 and 2.0 M solution. Overall, this study opens a new avenue toward functionalization of the GDL as a novel strategy to overcome the interfacial resistance between the electrocatalyst and the GDL.

Correlation between General Health with Emotional Intelligence and Creativity in Medical College Students at Islamic Azad University, Sari Branch, Sari, Iran

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MK Fakhri

2012-07-01

Full Text Available

Background and Objectives: Medical students are a particular class of students that Because of their specific problems, investigation of their general health has always been considered. This study is concerned with investigation of relationship between general health and emotional intelligence and creativity in medical college students at Islamic Azad University, Sari branch.

Methods: 150 medical college students at Islamic Azad University, Sari branch (45 males and 105 females, were randomly selected and Goldberg general health, Shring emotional intelligence and Abedi creativity questionnaire were completed. For data analysis, Pearson correlation and independent t-test were used.

Results: Results showed that: there is positive relationship between general health and emotional intelligence (r=0.53 and p<0.05, there is a positive relationship between general health and creativity (r=0.60 and p<0.01, and female college students are healthier than males (p<0.05.

Conclusion: results of this research indicated that there is a positive relationship between general health and emotional intelligence and creativity, and since these variables are effective in professional prospect of Medical students, employing cognitive and behavioral methods in promotion of general health in these students seem necessary.

Power generation using an activated carbon fiber felt cathode in an upflow microbial fuel cell

KAUST Repository

Deng, Qian

2010-02-01

An activated carbon fiber felt (ACFF) cathode lacking metal catalysts is used in an upflow microbial fuel cell (UMFC). The maximum power density with the ACFF cathode is 315 mW m-2, compared to lower values with cathodes made of plain carbon paper (67 mW m-2), carbon felt (77 mW m-2), or platinum-coated carbon paper (124 mW m-2, 0.2 mg-Pt cm-2). The addition of platinum to the ACFF cathode (0.2 mg-Pt cm-2) increases the maximum power density to 391 mW m-2. Power production is further increased to 784 mW m-2 by increasing the cathode surface area and shaping it into a tubular form. With ACFF cutting into granules, the maximum power is 481 mW m-2 (0.5 cm granules), and 667 mW m-2 (1.0 cm granules). These results show that ACFF cathodes lacking metal catalysts can be used to substantially increase power production in UMFC compared to traditional materials lacking a precious metal catalyst. © 2009 Elsevier B.V.

Outstanding electrochemical performance of a graphene-modified graphite felt for vanadium redox flow battery application

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González, Zoraida; Flox, Cristina; Blanco, Clara; Granda, Marcos; Morante, Juan R.; Menéndez, Rosa; Santamaría, Ricardo

2017-01-01

The development of more efficient electrode materials is essential to obtain vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) with enhanced energy densities and to make these electrochemical energy storage devices more competitive. A graphene-modified graphite felt synthesized from a raw graphite felt and a graphene oxide water suspension by means of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is investigated as a suitable electrode material in the positive side of a VRFB cell by means of cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy and charge/discharge experiments. The remarkably enhanced performance of the resultant hybrid material, in terms of electrochemical activity and kinetic reversibility towards the VO2+/VO2+, and mainly the markedly high energy efficiency of the VRFB cell (c.a. 95.8% at 25 mA cm-2) can be ascribed to the exceptional morphological and chemical characteristics of this tailored material. The 3D-architecture consisting of fibers interconnected by graphene-like sheets positively contributes to the proper development of the vanadium redox reactions and so represents a significant advance in the design of effective electrode materials.

Intersectionality: An Arts-Based Approach to Student Awareness

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Edmonds, Leonard

2017-01-01

This study was designed to introduce specific activities/lessons to students in an online university gender and communication course. It was also designed to determine how participants made meaning of and felt about learning about intersectionality of gender and cultural identities, using arts-based data collection. Previous research on the…

Teachers' Views of Issues Involving Students' Mental Health.

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Roeser, Robert W.; Midgley, Carol

1997-01-01

Examined elementary teachers' views regarding students' mental health needs. Found that almost all believed that addressing these needs was part of their role but also felt somewhat burdened by this responsibility. Sense of efficacy and reported use of task-focused instruction were negatively associated with feelings of burden. Teachers were good…

Lecture on Female Masturbation Harassed Him, Male Student Says.

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Wilson, Robin

1995-01-01

A male student in a California State University-Sacramento psychology lecture on female masturbation has filed a sexual harassment complaint, claiming the lecture violated institutional policy by creating an intimidating, hostile, and offensive learning environment. He felt the lecture was inappropriately graphic and political in intent. (MSE)

Information technologies in physical education of student young people

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Ivchatova T.V.

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The uses of modern information technologies given about features are systematized in practice of physical education of students. Perspective directions of the use of computer technologies are considered in physical education of student young people. In a student environment the insufficient level of knowledges is felt on the indicated theme. There is a requirement in the receipt of the proper information on forming valued orientations which determine the healthy way of life of young people. The computer informative systems are the attractive source of popularization and propaganda of healthy way of life.

How Are Questions That Students Ask in High Level Mathematics Classes Linked to General Giftedness?

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Leikin, Roza; Koichu, Boris; Berman, Avi; Dinur, Sariga

2017-01-01

This paper presents a part of a larger study, in which we asked "How are learning and teaching of mathematics at high level linked to students' general giftedness?" We consider asking questions, especially student-generated questions, as indicators of quality of instructional interactions. In the part of the study presented in this…

The Impact of the University Students' Level of Alienation on Their Perception of General Satistaction

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Kaçire, Ilhan

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of university students' level of alienation on their general satisfaction. The study was carried out using rational screening model. The total participants of this study were 551 Dicle University students, studying at Medical, Technology, and Ziya Gökalp Education Faculty departments. The…

Prevalence and Factors Affecting Dysmenorrhea in Female University Students: Effect on General Comfort Level.

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Aktaş, Demet

2015-08-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and the affecting factors of dysmenorrhea and its effects on overall comfort among female university students. This was a cross-sectional study. The research was carried out between October and November 2013 at a university in Ankara. This study was conducted with 200 female students. The data were analyzed using frequencies, means, SD, χ(2) tests, independent t tests and analysis of variance. Data were collected using an interview questionnaire, the visual analog scale (VAS) and the General Comfort Questionnaire. The mean age of students in this study group was 20.85 ± 2.15 years. The prevalence of dysmenorrhea in the students was 84%. The mean severity of pain was 5.78 ± 2.45 on the VAS. The present study found that 45.8% of female students experienced moderate menstrual pain and the most common co-occurring symptoms were irritability (34.6%) and fatigue (21.5%). One-fourth of the students with dysmenorrhea consulted the advice of a physician and the most commonly used methods for pain were analgesics (69%), heat application (56.5%), and rest (71.4%). Family history of dysmenorrhea, education about menstruation, and frequency of menstrual cycle were identified as important factors in the development of dysmenorrhea (p dysmenorrhea (2.57 ± 0.25) was lower than that of students without the condition (2.65 ± 0.23). Also, use of the methods for management of dysmenorrhea was found to increase students' general comfort levels. Therefore, it is important for nurses to educate and advise adolescents and young women about dysmenorrhea. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improvement of the Performance of Graphite Felt Electrodes for Vanadium-Redox-Flow-Batteries by Plasma Treatment

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Eva-Maria Hammer

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In the frame of the present contribution oxidizing plasma pretreatment is used for the improvement of the electrocatalytic activity of graphite felt electrodes for Vanadium-Redox-Flow-Batteries (VRB. The influence of the working gas media on the catalytic activity and the surface morphology is demonstrated. The electrocatalytical properties of the graphite felt electrodes were examined by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The obtained results show that a significant improvement of the redox reaction kinetics can be achieved for all plasma modified samples using different working gasses (Ar, N2 and compressed air in an oxidizing environment. Nitrogen plasma treatment leads to the highest catalytical activities at the same operational conditions. Through a variation of the nitrogen plasma treatment duration a maximum performance at about 14 min cm-2 was observed, which is also represented by a minimum of 90 Ω in the charge transfer resistance obtained by EIS measurements. The morphology changes of the graphitized surface were followed using SEM.

Learning beyond the Classroom: Using Text Messages to Measure General Chemistry Students' Study Habits

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Ye, Li; Oueini, Razanne; Dickerson, Austin P.; Lewis, Scott E.

2015-01-01

This study used a series of text message inquiries sent to General Chemistry students asking: "Have you studied for General Chemistry I in the past 48 hours? If so, how did you study?" This method for collecting data is novel to chemistry education research so the first research goals were to investigate the feasibility of the technique…

Are K-12 school environments harming students with obesity? A qualitative study of classroom teachers.

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Kenney, Erica L; Redman, Morgan T; Criss, Shaniece; Sonneville, Kendrin R; Austin, S Bryn

2017-03-01

Weight bias can negatively impact health, and schools may be risky environments for students with obesity. We aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of the school experiences and academic challenges of students with obesity. We conducted interviews with 22 teachers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest in July-August 2014. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for important themes by two researchers using the immersion/crystallization approach. Most teachers felt that students with obesity were more likely to have academic difficulties. Two main perceptions of the reasons for these difficulties emerged: (1) obesity led to lower self-esteem that caused students to participate less, and (2) poorer nutrition, increased screen time, and reduced physical activity were simultaneously causing obesity and poorer academic performance. A few teachers described colleagues who felt students with obesity were not as motivated to work hard in school as their peers. Many teachers described school health promotion efforts focused on weight reduction that could exacerbate weight stigma and risk of disordered eating. Students with obesity, particularly girls, may be at risk for negative social and academic experiences in K-12 schools and may be perceived as struggling academically by their teachers.

Consequences of insecurity in emergency telephone consultations: an experimental study in medical students.

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Barth, J; Ahrens, R; Schaufelberger, M

2014-01-01

Handling emergency telephone consultations (ETCs) is a challenging and very important task for doctors. The aims of the study were to document insecurity in medical students during ETCs and to identify the reasons for that insecurity. We hypothesised that insecurity is associated with advising more urgent action (e.g. advice to call for an ambulance) in ETCs. We used ETCs with simulated patients (SPs), with each student randomly allocated two of four possible cases. After the training, 137 students reported on any insecurity that they had in the various ETC phases. We analysed the reasons for insecurity using descriptive statistics. The association between the students' advice that urgent action was needed and their insecurity was analysed with Spearman rank correlation. Overall, 95% of the students felt insecure in at least one phase of their ETC. History taking was the phase in which students felt most insecure (63.1%), followed by the phase of analysing the information given by the patient (44.9%). Perceived insecurity was associated with more urgent advice in one case scenario (abdominal pain; correlation r = 0.46; p ETC decision-making. ETC training in medical schools, with a focus on structured history taking and formulating discriminating questions, might help decrease insecurity in ETCs. Medical education should also teach management of insecurity.

What do patients think of medical students during their hospitalization? One institution's experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Mora-Pinzon, Maria; Lal, Ankita; Edquist, Sarah; Francescatti, Amanda; Hughes, Tasha; Hayden, Dana; Brand, Marc; Saclarides, Theodore

2013-12-01

Multiple studies have shown patients have a positive attitude toward medical students in outpatient facilities, but it is unknown whether these results can be extrapolated to inpatients. The purpose of this study is to describe the patients' attitude toward medical students in the inpatient facility and factors that may affect it. A 43-item questionnaire was provided to patients of the general surgery department; it gathered demographics, clinical condition, and patients' opinions regarding the medical students' involvement in their care. Eighty-four patients completed the questionnaire. Forty-three per cent were males and the average age was 56 years old (range, 26 to 86 years). Sixty-one patients (72.6%) felt that having medical students enhanced the care provided. Patients' attitudes toward students were as follows: seven patients (8.3%) refused medical students, 40 (47.6%) accepted a limited involvement, and 37 (44%) offered no objections. Patients who refused medical students or preferred a limited involvement were more likely to 1) consider their health as good or excellent; 2) feel that the rounds were too early; and 3) feel that the residents did not spend enough time with them. More patients prefer that medical students have a limited involvement, especially when referring to minor procedures (e.g., nasogastric tube, intravenous line). Better more thorough communication with patients positively affects their attitudes toward students. More studies are required to confirm these results and to analyze other factors that may improve the patients' attitudes toward medical students.

Supporting Elementary Age Students with Significant Disabilities in General Education Classrooms: Personal Perspectives on Inclusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Coots, Jennifer J.; Bishop, Kathryn D.; Grenot-Scheyer, Marquita

1998-01-01

Findings of a study in which four elementary general-education teachers commented on the inclusion of students with significant disabilities within general-education classrooms indicated that children with disabilities were described and observed as full classroom members. Difficulties were related to designing and implementing appropriate and…

A faculty-led mock residency interview exercise for fourth-year doctor of pharmacy students.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenigsfeld, Carrie F; Wall, Geoffrey C; Miesner, Andrew R; Schmidt, Ginelle; Haack, Sally L; Eastman, Darla K; Grady, Sarah; Fornoff, Anisa

2012-02-01

To determine whether a faculty-led mock-interview activity enhanced pharmacy student preparation for the residency interview process and increased match rates. Twenty-eight doctor of pharmacy students volunteered for a 40-minute mock-interview session with 2-person faculty teams. A standard roster of 12 interview questions was derived from published literature and the faculty members' experience. Feedback on the student's interview performance was provided verbally during the session. Following the interview, students were given a 2-part survey instrument. The first part of the survey was administered immediately following the mock-interview session and the second part was administered after the standard date for residency program results (known as "Match Day"). Participant match rates were compared to American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) national rates. 82.5% (23 of 27) of students in the mock-interview group matched a postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) program. Compared to national rates (61.9%), more students in our surveyed mock-interview group matched a PGY1 residency (P = .015; odds ratio [OR] 3.546, 95% CI 1.161-12.116). Higher match rates were seen in the students completing the mock residency interview compared to ASHP national rates. In general, students completing the mock interview found the process helpful and felt better prepared for their residency interviews.

Enhancing Student Performance in First-Semester General Chemistry Using Active Feedback through the World Wide Web

Science.gov (United States)

Chambers, Kent A.; Blake, Bob

2007-01-01

The World Wide Web recently launched a new interactive feedback system for the instructors, so that can better understanding about their students and their problems. The feedback, in combination with tailored lectures is expected to enhance student performance in the first semester of general chemistry.

Using appreciative inquiry to help students identify strategies to overcome handicaps of their learning styles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Latha Rajendra; Chacko, Thomas Vengail

2012-01-01

In India, as in some other neighboring Asian countries, students and teachers are generally unaware of the differences in the learning styles among learners, which can handicap students with learning styles alien to the common teaching/learning modality within the institution. This study aims to find out whether making students aware of their learning styles and then using the Appreciative Inquiry approach to help them discover learning strategies that worked for them and others with similar learning styles within the institution made them perceive that this experience improved their learning and performance in exams. The visual, auditory, read-write, and kinesthetic (VARK) inventory of learning styles questionnaire was administered to all 100 first-year medical students of the Father Muller's Medical College in Mangalore India to make them aware of their individual learning styles. An Appreciate Inquiry intervention was administered to 62 student volunteers who were counseled about the different learning styles and their adaptive strategies. Pre and post intervention change in student's perception about usefulness of knowing learning styles on their learning, learning behavior, and performance in examinations was collected from the students using a prevalidated questionnaire. Post intervention mean scores showed a significant change (P learning style and discovering strategies that worked within the institutional environment. There was agreement among students that the intervention helped them become more confident in learning (84%), facilitating learning in general (100%), and in understanding concepts (100%). However, only 29% of the students agreed that the intervention has brought about their capability improvement in application of learning and 31% felt it improved their performance in exams. Appreciate Inquiry was perceived as useful in helping students discover learning strategies that work for different individual learning styles and sharing them within

Final-year teacher training students' perceptions of THRASS

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Erna Kinsey

if THRASS would enhance their teaching of phonics, reading and spelling skills. Four questions .... During their four years of study, all students are sent to a variety of English- speaking ..... could not use it and felt THRASS was a waste of time and resources. I think it can .... Literacy and disadvantage: learners achievements.

Integrated method development of general and special students stamina involved in the fight

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N.A. Alekseev

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose : testing the effectiveness of methods of development of general and special endurance cadets wrestlers. Material : the experiment was attended by 20 students aged 18-20 years (10-12 years experience of employment, qualifications - candidates for the master of sports and master of sports. Classes are held 10 times a week, lasting for 120 minutes. Results : the developed methodology based on the application of a special set of exercises. Technique promotes rapid increase endurance level students. The directions of increasing endurance and performance of students. As an exercise for the development of general endurance recommended: motocross race, gymnastics, sports (rugby, soccer. As an exercise for the development of special endurance recommended: Attempted partner with high intensity (8-9 shots in 10 seconds Perform five series, consisting of 5 spurts (the maximum number of shots in 10 seconds And run shots at a moderate pace (4 -5 throws for 10 seconds ; training and educational training bout, fight quadruples (fight lasts until the transition to the fight lying down or throw up. Conclusions : the increase in special endurance cadets should be in parallel with the improvement of overall fitness.

Can blended learning and the flipped classroom improve student learning and satisfaction in Saudi Arabia?

Science.gov (United States)

Sajid, Muhammad R; Laheji, Abrar F; Abothenain, Fayha; Salam, Yezan; AlJayar, Dina; Obeidat, Akef

2016-09-04

To evaluate student academic performance and perception towards blended learning and flipped classrooms in comparison to traditional teaching. This study was conducted during the hematology block on year three students. Five lectures were delivered online only. Asynchronous discussion boards were created where students could interact with colleagues and instructors. A flipped classroom was introduced with application exercises. Summative assessment results were compared with previous year results as a historical control for statistical significance. Student feedback regarding their blended learning experience was collected. A total of 127 responses were obtained. Approximately 22.8% students felt all lectures should be delivered through didactic lecturing, while almost 35% felt that 20% of total lectures should be given online. Students expressed satisfaction with blended learning as a new and effective learning approach. The majority of students reported blended learning was helpful for exam preparation and concept clarification. However, a comparison of grades did not show a statistically significant increase in the academic performance of students taught via the blended learning method. Learning experiences can be enriched by adopting a blended method of instruction at various stages of undergraduate and postgraduate education. Our results suggest that blended learning, a relatively new concept in Saudi Arabia, shows promising results with higher student satisfaction. Flipped classrooms replace passive lecturing with active student-centered learning that enhances critical thinking and application, including information retention.

A Study of General Education Astronomy Students' Understandings of Cosmology. Part IV. Common Difficulties Students Experience with Cosmology

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Wallace, Colin S.; Prather, Edward E.; Duncan, Douglas K.

2012-01-01

This is our fourth paper in our five paper series describing our national study of general education astronomy students' conceptual and reasoning difficulties with cosmology. While previous papers in this series focused on the processes by which we collected and quantitatively analyzed our data, this paper presents the most common pre-instruction…

Information Seeking Behaviour of Senior High School Student on General Election in Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Margareta Aulia Rahman

2015-01-01

The development of information technology affects students in searching and finding information, particularly information regarding the General Election. Theexplosion of information on mass media about the elections resulted impact (both positive and negative) to the potential voters. Nowadays, media plays role as a tool for political parties to lead public opinion to support their parties. Based on the data provided by General Election Commission (KPU) in 2014, 20% of voters were identified ...

Awareness, Analysis, and Action: Curricular Alignment for Student Success in General Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Jewitt, Sarah; Sutphin, Kathy; Gierasch, Tiffany; Hamilton, Pauline; Lilly, Kathleen; Miller, Kristine; Newlin, Donald; Pires, Richard; Sherer, Maureen; LaCourse, William R.

2018-01-01

This article examines the ways that a shared faculty experience across five partner institutions led to a deep awareness of the curriculum and pedagogy of general chemistry coursework, and ultimately, to a collaborative action plan for student success. The team identified key differences and similarities in course content and instructional…

Assessing Expressive Movement: Measuring Student Learning Outcomes in the General Music Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Butke, Marla A.

2014-01-01

Expressive movement, created by students to demonstrate musical elements and artistry, provides a valid assessment opportunity for general music teachers. This purposeful movement, "plastique animée", was developed by Swiss composer, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, in the early 20th century. "Plastique animée" can serve as a useful…

High School General Education English Teachers' Perception of IEP Accommodations for Students with Asperger Syndrome

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Krones, Mary Patricia

2016-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative design study was to better understand the experiences of high school general education English teachers who have students with Asperger Syndrome in their classes. More specifically, this researcher wanted to better understand the teacher's perception of the IEP-denoted accommodations the general education teachers…

Students′ views on student-teacher relationship: A questionnaire-based study

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Khalid A Bin Abdulrahman

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study is to assess students′ views on student-teacher relationship and its effect on academic grades. Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, in 2005. The questionnaires were distributed to 420 students during the examination period in order to obtain a full response. It consisted of items on different aspects of student-teacher relationship for which the responses were measured on a 4-point scale. The response rate was about 83%. Results: The current relationship between the student and the teacher was evaluated as very good and good by 61% of the study sample. The responses were associated with their grades as (X [2] =6.25, p=0.012. Eighty-four point one percent of students with higher and above average grades felt that expulsion from class was an appropriate means of controlling the class. Also (78.2% students felt that the teachers treated them with respect, and their responses were significantly associated with their grades (X [2] =11.8, p=0.003. Eight-four percent of the students with higher and above average grades strongly agreed that teacher′s performance was affected by students′ attendance or absence and the responses were significantly associated with their grades (X [2] =4.35, p=0.037. The responses to most of the items by the students were independent of their grades. Conclusion: This study concludes that student-teacher relationship was good in a medical school and the views of students on this relationship were independent with their academic grades. Further study which includes from 1 st year to 5th year undergraduate students is required to give a broader view of student-teacher relationship in a medical school.

Student nurse perceptions of risk in relation to international placements: a phenomenological research study.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Debra A

2012-11-01

International nursing electives have been identified as a positive learning experience for students. However, whilst there are risks associated with international student placements in general, there is a scarcity of research specifically relating to student nurse's experiences of risk. This study aimed to investigate UK undergraduate student nurse experiences of risk during an international placement. A phenomenological methodology was applied and semi-structured interviews were conducted with student nurses who had recently returned from an international clinical placement abroad. Ten, second year student nurses, studying on a pre-registration diploma/BSc (Hons) Nursing Studies/Registered Nurse programme from one UK University participated in the study. Findings from the study highlighted that students felt that three types of risk existed; physical risk, clinical-professional risk and socio-cultural risk. Perceptions of risk were influenced by sociological theory relating to the concept of 'the other' and students attempted to reduce risk by employing strategies to reduce 'Otherness'. They also applied psychological theory relating to heuristics such as 'safety in numbers.' It also emerged from the study that exposure to perceived risk enhanced learning as students reported that it encouraged personal and professional development in particular and so assisted students in their move toward self-actualisation. It is suggested, and intended, that findings from this study can be applied to the preparation of students to further enhance their safety and learning experience during international placements abroad. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Teaching Graduate Students How To Do Informal Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ackerman, S. A.; Crone, W.; Dunwoody, S. L.; Zenner, G.

2011-12-01

One of the most important skills a student needs to develop during their graduate days is the skill of communicating their scientific work with a wide array of audiences. That facility will serve them across audiences, from scientific peers to students to neighbors and the general public. Increasingly, graduate students express a need for training in skills needed to manage diverse communicative environments. In response to that need we have created a course for graduate students in STEM-related fields which provides a structured framework and experiential learning about informal science education. This course seeks to familiarize students with concepts and processes important to communicating science successfully to a variety of audiences. A semester-long course, "Informal Science Education for Scientists: A Practicum," has been co-taught by a scientist/engineer and a social scientist/humanist over several years through the Delta Program in Research, Teaching, & Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The course is project based and understanding audience is stressed throughout the class. Through development and exhibition of the group project, students experience front end, formative and summative evaluation methods. The disciplines of the participating students is broad, but includes students in the geosciences each year. After a brief description of the course and its evolution, we will present assessment and evaluation results from seven different iterations of the course showing significant gains in how informed students felt about evaluation as a tool to determine the effectiveness of their science outreach activities. Significant gains were found in the graduate students' perceptions that they were better qualified to explain a research topic to a lay audience, and in the students' confidence in using and understanding evaluation techniques to determine the effectiveness of communication strategies. There were also increases in the students

Knowledge, attitude, and practice of stroke among high school students in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Thapa, Lekhjung; Sharma, Nooma; Poudel, Ramesh Sharma; Bhandari, Tirtha Raj; Bhagat, Riwaz; Shrestha, Ashis; Shrestha, Shakti; Khatiwada, Dipendra; Caplan, Louis R

2016-01-01

Baseline stroke knowledge in a targeted population is indispensable to promote the effective stroke education. We report the baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of high school students with respect to stroke from Nepal. A self-structured questionnaire survey regarding KAP about stroke was conducted in high school students of 33 schools of Bharatpur, Nepal. Descriptive statistics including Chi-square test was used, and the significant variables were subjected to binary logistic regression. Among 1360 participants, 71.1% had heard or read about stroke; 30.2% knew someone with stroke. 39.3% identified brain as the organ affected. Sudden onset limb/s weakness/numbness (72%) and hypertension (74%) were common warning symptom and risk factor identified. 88.9% would take stroke patients to a hospital. Almost half participants (55.5%) felt ayurvedic treatment be effective. 44.8% felt stroke as a hindrance to a happy life and 86.3% believed that family care was helpful for early recovery. Students who identified at least one risk factor were 3.924 times ( P school Nepalese students regarding stroke was satisfactory, and the students having knowledge about the risk factors and warning symptoms were more likely to take stroke patients to a hospital. However, a few misconceptions persisted.

Peer Victimization and Social-Emotional Functioning: A Longitudinal Comparison of Students in General and Special Education

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O'Brennan, Lindsey M.; Waasdorp, Tracy E.; Pas, Elise T.; Bradshaw, Catherine P.

2015-01-01

The present longitudinal study used a social-ecological framework to explore the extent to which peer victimization and aggression were associated with changes in concentration problems and emotion regulation among elementary students in general versus special education, while accounting for student demographics and school contextual factors. Data…

Teachers' Attitudes toward Assessment of Student Learning and Teacher Assessment Practices in General Educational Institutions: The Case of Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Kitiashvili, Anastasia

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to study teachers' attitudes toward assessment of students' learning and their assessment practices in Georgia's general educational institutions. Georgia is a country in the South Caucasus with a population of 4.5 million people, with 2300 general educational institutions and about 559,400 students. The research…

Awareness, Analysis, and Action: Curricular Alignment for Student Success in General Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

This article examines the ways that a shared faculty experience across five partner institutions led to a deep awareness of the curriculum and pedagogy of general chemistry coursework, and ultimately, to a collaborative action plan for student success. The team identified key differences and similarities in course content and instructional experiences. The comparative analysis yielded many more similarities than differences, and therefore, the team shifted its focus from “gap analysis” to an exploration of common curricular challenges. To address these challenges, the team developed content for targeted instructional resources that promoted the success of all STEM students across institutions. This article contextualizes the interinstitutional collaboration and closely examines the interactive components (awareness, analysis, and action), critical tools, and productive attitudes that undergirded the curricular alignment process of the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative (t-STEM). PMID:29657334

Motivating Students for Project-based Learning for Application of Research Methodology Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiwari, Ranjana; Arya, Raj Kumar; Bansal, Manoj

2017-12-01

Project-based learning (PBL) is motivational for students to learn research methodology skills. It is a way to engage and give them ownership over their own learning. The aim of this study is to use PBL for application of research methodology skills for better learning by encouraging an all-inclusive approach in teaching and learning rather than an individualized tailored approach. The present study was carried out for MBBS 6 th - and 7 th -semester students of community medicine. Students and faculties were sensitized about PBL and components of research methodology skills. They worked in small groups. The students were asked to fill the student feedback Questionnaire and the faculty was also asked to fill the faculty feedback Questionnaire. Both the Questionnaires were assessed on a 5 point Likert scale. After submitted projects, document analysis was done. A total of 99 students of the 6 th and 7 th semester were participated in PBL. About 90.91% students agreed that there should be continuation of PBL in subsequent batches. 73.74% felt satisfied and motivated with PBL, whereas 76.77% felt that they would be able to use research methodology in the near future. PBL requires considerable knowledge, effort, persistence, and self-regulation on the part of the students. They need to devise plans, gather information evaluate both the findings, and their approach. Facilitator plays a critical role in helping students in the process by shaping opportunity for learning, guiding students, thinking, and helping them construct new understanding.

Inclusion and Student Learning: A Quantitative Comparison of Special and General Education Student Performance Using Team and Solo-Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Jamison, Joseph A.

2013-01-01

This quantitative study sought to determine whether there were significant statistical differences between the performance scores of special education and general education students' scores when in team or solo-teaching environments as may occur in inclusively taught classrooms. The investigated problem occurs because despite education's stated…

A comparative study on lecture based versus case based education on teaching general surgery to medical students

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M. Moazeni Bistegani

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction : various methods of teaching have different learning outcomes. Using a combination of teaching and training methods of training may boost education. This study compared lecture based and case based teaching as a combined approach in learning general surgery by medical students. Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental performed on two consecutive groups of 33 and 36 students who were studying general surgery course. The two styles of teaching were lecture-based and real case teaching methods. The final exam included twenty multiple choice questions. The mean scores of each group of students were collected and analyzed accordingly with descriptive tests, Fisher’s test and T-test. Results: The mean final mark of students' who received real case based education was 16.8/20 ± 1.8 and for the lecture group was 12.7± 1.7. There was a significant difference between the two groups (P <0.0001. In both groups, there were significant differences in the mean scores of questions with taxonomy two and three, but not in the questions with taxonomy one. Students' evaluation score of the teacher of the real case group increased by 1.7/20 (8.7% in the case based group compared to the lecture group. Conclusions: Case based teaching of general surgery led to a better outcome and students were more satisfied. It is recommended that case based education of surgery be encouraged.

Students' Perceptions and Emotions Toward Learning in a Flipped General Science Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Jeong, Jin Su; González-Gómez, David; Cañada-Cañada, Florentina

2016-10-01

Recently, the inverted instruction methodologies are gaining attentions in higher educations by claiming that flipping the classroom engages more effectively students with the learning process. Besides, students' perceptions and emotions involved in their learning process must be assessed in order to gauge the usability of this relatively new instruction methodology, since it is vital in the educational formation. For this reason, this study intends to evaluate the students' perceptions and emotions when a flipped classroom setting is used as instruction methodology. This research was conducted in a general science course, sophomore of the Primary Education bachelor degree in the Training Teaching School of the University of Extremadura (Spain). The results show that the students have the overall positive perceptions to a flipped classroom setting. Particularly, over 80 % of them considered that the course was a valuable learning experience. They also found this course more interactive and were willing to have more courses following a flipped model. According to the students' emotions toward a flipped classroom course, the highest scores were given to the positive emotions, being fun and enthusiasm along with keyword frequency test. Then, the lowest scores were corresponded to negative emotions, being boredom and fear. Therefore, the students attending to a flipped course demonstrated to have more positive and less negative emotions. The results obtained in this study allow drawing a promising tendency about the students' perceptions and emotions toward the flipped classroom methodology and will contribute to fully frame this relatively new instruction methodology.

Comparing levels of school performance to science teachers' reports on knowledge/skills, instructional use and student use of computers

Science.gov (United States)

Kerr, Rebecca

The purpose of this descriptive quantitative and basic qualitative study was to examine fifth and eighth grade science teachers' responses, perceptions of the role of technology in the classroom, and how they felt that computer applications, tools, and the Internet influence student understanding. The purposeful sample included survey and interview responses from fifth grade and eighth grade general and physical science teachers. Even though they may not be generalizable to other teachers or classrooms due to a low response rate, findings from this study indicated teachers with fewer years of teaching science had a higher level of computer use but less computer access, especially for students, in the classroom. Furthermore, teachers' choice of professional development moderated the relationship between the level of school performance and teachers' knowledge/skills, with the most positive relationship being with workshops that occurred outside of the school. Eighteen interviews revealed that teachers perceived the role of technology in classroom instruction mainly as teacher-centered and supplemental, rather than student-centered activities.

Student participation in World Wide Web-based curriculum development of general chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, William John Forbes

1998-12-01

This thesis describes an action research investigation of improvements to instruction in General Chemistry at Purdue University. Specifically, the study was conducted to guide continuous reform of curriculum materials delivered via the World Wide Web by involving students, instructors, and curriculum designers. The theoretical framework for this study was based upon constructivist learning theory and knowledge claims were developed using an inductive analysis procedure. This results of this study are assertions made in three domains: learning chemistry content via the World Wide Web, learning about learning via the World Wide Web, and learning about participation in an action research project. In the chemistry content domain, students were able to learn chemical concepts that utilized 3-dimensional visualizations, but not textual and graphical information delivered via the Web. In the learning via the Web domain, the use of feedback, the placement of supplementary aids, navigation, and the perception of conceptual novelty were all important to students' use of the Web. In the participation in action research domain, students learned about the complexity of curriculum. development, and valued their empowerment as part of the process.

Learning the Students' Names: Does it Matter?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Anker Helms

2014-01-01

on the effect of learning the students' names are sparse. Against this background, this paper reports on a method for learning all the students' names and two studies of the effect, based on my use of the method in my teaching. The two survey studies were carried in 2011 and in 2014. A survey was in the first...... sent to 50 students and I received 18 answers (38%). The second survey was sent to 86 students and I received 48 answers (56%). These figures provides a good indication.The answers showed a marked positive effect: the students felt welcome, accepted and respected; the learning environment was more......A key factor in successful teaching and learning is the relationship between the students and the teacher. A simple approach nurturing this relationship is learning the students' names. This is often suggested in the literature, but seems rarely practised. Substantial reports in the literature...

Medical student sexuality: how sexual experience and sexuality training impact U.S. and Canadian medical students' comfort in dealing with patients' sexuality in clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Shindel, Alan W; Ando, Kathryn A; Nelson, Christian J; Breyer, Benjamin N; Lue, Tom F; Smith, James F

2010-08-01

To determine factors associated with students' comfort in addressing patients' sexuality in the clinical context. The authors invited students enrolled in MD-degree-granting and osteopathic medical schools in the United States and Canada to participate in an anonymous Internet survey between February and July 2008. The survey assessed ethnodemographic factors and sexual history. Respondents also completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Male respondents completed the International Index of Erectile Function and the Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool. Female respondents completed the Female Sexual Function Index and the Index of Sex Life. The authors used descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and multivariable logistic regression to analyze responses. The authors' analyses included 2,261 completed survey responses: 910 from men, 1,343 from women, and 8 from individuals who self-identified as "other" gendered. Over 53% of respondents (n = 1,206) stated that they felt they had not received sufficient training in medical school to address sexual concerns clinically. Despite this, 81% of students (n = 1,827) reported feeling comfortable dealing with their patients' sexuality issues. Students with limited sexual experience, students at risk for sexual problems, and students who felt that they had not been trained adequately were less likely to report being comfortable talking to patients about sexual health issues. Perception of inadequate sexuality training in medical school and personal issues pertaining to sex may be associated with students' difficulty in addressing patients' sexuality. Adequate training is preeminently associated with feeling comfortable addressing patients' sexuality and should be a priority for medical education.

Performance evaluation of thermally treated graphite felt electrodes for vanadium redox flow battery and their four-point single cell characterization

Science.gov (United States)

Mazúr, P.; Mrlík, J.; Beneš, J.; Pocedič, J.; Vrána, J.; Dundálek, J.; Kosek, J.

2018-03-01

In our contribution we study the electrocatalytic effect of oxygen functionalization of thermally treated graphite felt on kinetics of electrode reactions of vanadium redox flow battery. Chemical and morphological changes of the felts are analysed by standard physico-chemical characterization techniques. A complex method four-point method is developed and employed for characterization of the felts in a laboratory single-cell. The method is based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and load curves measurements of positive and negative half-cells using platinum wire pseudo-reference electrodes. The distribution of ohmic and faradaic losses within a single-cell is evaluated for both symmetric and asymmetric electrode set-up with respect to the treatment conditions. Positive effect of oxygen functionalization is observed only for negative electrode, whereas kinetics of positive electrode reaction is almost unaffected by the treatment. This is in a contradiction to the results of typically employed cyclovoltammetric characterization which indicate that both electrodes are enhanced by the treatment to a similar extent. The developed four-point characterization method can be further used e.g., for the component screening and in-situ durability studies on single-cell scale redox flow batteries of various chemistries.

Electrocatalytic properties of N-doped graphite felt in electro-Fenton process and degradation mechanism of levofloxacin.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaocheng; Yang, Danxing; Zhou, Yaoyu; Zhang, Jiachao; Luo, Lin; Meng, Sijun; Chen, Song; Tan, Mengjiao; Li, Zhicheng; Tang, Lin

2017-09-01

The degradation of antibiotic levofloxacin was investigated by dimensionally stable anode as well as modified cathode using low-cost chemical reagents of hydrazine hydrate and ethanol for electro-Fenton in an undivided cell at pH 3.0 under room temperature. Comparison of unmodified and modified cathode was performed. The apparent rate constant of levofloxacin decay was found to be 0.2883 min -1 for graphite felt-10 with the best performance at 200 mA, which is lower than graphite felt at 400 mA. The optimum modified cathode showed a significant improvement of complete mineralization of levofloxacin, reaching a 92% TOC removal at 200 mA for 480 min higher than unmodified one at twice the current. Surface physicochemical properties and morphology were investigated by scanning electron microscope, contact angle and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical characterization of hydrogen evolution reaction was adopted to clarify a possible pathway for the higher mineralization of levofloxacin, indicating a potential pilot-scale study to the pollution with the similar structure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Students Experience "Social Intelligence," Laughter, and Other Emotions Online?

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Katrina A.; Jones, Stephanie J.

2012-01-01

Are online activities devoid of emotion and social intelligence? Graduate students in online and blended programs at Texas Tech University and the University of Memphis were surveyed about how often they laughed, felt other emotions, and expressed social intelligence. Laughter, chuckling, and smiling occurred "sometimes" as did other…

General Education Teachers' Ratings of the Academic Engagement Level of Students Who Read Braille: A Comparison with Sighted Peers

Science.gov (United States)

Bardin, Julie A.; Lewis, Sandra

2011-01-01

English and language arts teachers of braille-reading students in general education classes rated these students' academic engagement and the academic achievement of low- and average-achieving sighted students in the same classrooms. The braille readers were found to be statistically similar to the low-achieving students with regard to effort,…

Determining Stressors among Dentistry Students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Educational Environments and its Relationship with their General Health Condition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tannaz Pourlak

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: It is believed that medical students are more faced with stressors during their academic studies. The highest rate of stress and anxiety in clinical education settings may negatively affect the learning and success of these students. The aim of the current study is investigating the stressors dentistry students face within educational settings and its relationship with their general health condition. Materials and Methods: The current statistical-analytic study performed upon 180 dentistry students of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in 2014. A 54-item Student Stressors Questionnaire was used to assess the students stress and a 28-item Goldberg Questionnaire was used to evaluate the general health of the students. Likert 4-item scale (0 to 3 was used for scoring both questionnaires. Results: Mean age of the participants was 24.37±2.84. 6.65% of students were female and the mean stress level was 1.2±0.6. 36.7%, 48.3% and 15% of students had low, average and high stress level, respectively. There was no significant relationship between students’ stress and sex or their marital status. 50%, 23.3%, 20.6% and 6.1% of students had high, average, poor and very poor general health, respectively. There was no significant relationship between students’ gender and their general health. There was also no significant relationship between students’ stress and their general health. Conclusion: Almost half of dentistry students had average stress and 15% had high stress in which levels its pressure may get sever with increased academic period and difficulty level of the academic units. Correct educational programs, periodic counseling meetings and use of skilled counselors at universities can play influential roles to reduce stress level of dentistry students.

Dyscalculia: awareness and student support.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirk, Kirsty; Payne, Bob

Dyscalculia is a learning need that requires assessment and provision of reasonable adjustments. Although there have been numerous discussions about how to identify, assess and support dyscalculic children, there is less information available covering further and higher education, and even less concerned with the education of health professionals. This article aims to address this deficit, to discuss the disparity often felt by educators, and to raise awareness of the impact of dyscalculia on student nurses.

Guiding Math Students to Campus Services: An Impact Evaluation of the Beacon Program at South Texas College

Science.gov (United States)

Visher, Mary; Butcher, Kristin F.; Cerna, Oscar S.

2011-01-01

This research rigorously evaluates whether a low-cost intervention can improve students' performance in developmental math. The "Beacon Mentoring Program" was developed at South Texas College by professors, administrators, and staff at the college. Surveys of students revealed that many did not have someone on campus whom they felt they…

The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) scores and the lifestyles of nursing students.

Science.gov (United States)

Urasaki, Midori; Oshima, Nozomi; Okabayashi, Ayako; Sadatsune, Mai; Shibuya, Aki; Nishiura, Akina; Takao, Toshihiro

2009-08-01

The objective of this investigation was to examine depression in, and the lifestyles of, 260 college students of a nursing school in nonclinical settings. The principal measure of depressive symptoms was the 9-item depression module from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Additional questions were focused on current stress levels and sleeping, eating, and exercising habits. One hundred and fifty-two college students finally participated. Overall, the average PHQ-9 score was 7.7 +/- 5.1 (SD). The students with PHQ-9 scores of 15 or higher were 9.2%. The average PHQ-9 scores in the 1st school year were significantly higher than those of the 4th school year. The students feeling stressed had significantly higher PHQ-9 scores than those that felt no stress. PHQ-9 scores in the students who had unsatisfactory sleeping habits were significantly higher than those in the students who felt they had satisfactory sleep. The students who slept less than 5 hours and more than 8 hours had significantly higher PHQ-9 scores than those who slept 6-7 hours. PHQ-9 scores in the students who never ate breakfast were higher than those who ate breakfast everyday. Moreover, the students who never ate 3 meals daily had higher PHQ-9 scores than those who did. The results suggest that there is a strong relationship between the severity of depressive symptoms and the lifestyles of college students. This underscores the need to provide effective mental health outreach and treatment, including lifestyle modification, at an early stage in college life.

A Study of General Education Astronomy Students' Understandings of Cosmology. Part I. Development and Validation of Four Conceptual Cosmology Surveys

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Wallace, Colin S.; Prather, Edward E.; Duncan, Douglas K.

2011-01-01

This is the first in a series of five articles describing a national study of general education astronomy students' conceptual and reasoning difficulties with cosmology. In this paper, we describe the process by which we designed four new surveys to assess general education astronomy students' conceptual cosmology knowledge. These surveys focused…

Teaching General Education Students How to Write Scientific Arguments Using Real Earth Data

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Kelly, G. J.; Prothero, W. A.

2003-12-01

Writing activities can improve student understanding of scientific content and processes. We have studied student writing to identify the challenges that students face in composing scientific arguments and to clarify features that constitute quality in scientific writing. We have applied argumentation analysis for the assessment of students' use of evidence in a general education oceanography course. Argumentation analysis refers to the systematic examination of ways that conclusions are supported with evidence. The student writers were supported by an interactive CD-ROM, "Our Dynamic Planet," which provided students with "point and click" access to real earth data and allowed them to solve many problems associated with plate tectonics. Plate boundary types (using quakes, volcanoes, elevation profiles, and heat flow) and plate motion can be determined (seafloor age, island ages/hot spots) with this technology. First, we discuss the structure of scientific argument and how this structure can be made accessible to undergraduate students. Second, we present examples of argumentation analysis applied to student writing. These examples demonstrate how use of large scale geological data sets can be used to support student writing. Third, we present results from a series of studies to show ways that students adhere to the genre conventions of geological writing through use of theoretical claims, multiple lines of evidence, and cohesive terms. These results, combined with our evidence-based orientation to instruction, formed the basis for modifications in the course instruction. These instructional modifications include providing detailed examples of data based observations and interpretations, heuristics for assessing other students' arguments, and quick write exercises with similar but simplified writing tasks. More information about the CD-ROM may be found at http://oceanography.geol.ucsb.edu/.

Medical Students' Perceptions of the Body Donor as a "First Patient" or "Teacher": A Pilot Study

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Bohl, Michael; Bosch, Peter; Hildebrandt, Sabine

2011-01-01

University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) students attending a seminar on the history and ethics of anatomical dissection were fascinated by a report on the dissection room experience in Thailand that relates the body donor's status as a teacher. The students felt that they had naturally adopted the "body as teacher" approach in their…

Teaching medical students to recognise their strengths and limitations in leadership, teamwork and communication by military led tutorials.

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Clark, James; Hall, T Falconer; O'Mahony, K

2013-12-01

The General Medical Council has stipulated that greater importance must be placed on undergraduate students developing their ability to lead and work effectively as part of a team. Wales Universities' Officer Training Corps have attempted to meet this requirement through a third year interactive tutorial which aims to encourage students to recognise their strengths and limitations in the six outcomes of leadership, teamwork, accountability, management, feedback and communication. 16 tutorial groups of 10-15 students were each led by one officer who divided the tutorial group into three teams. The teams worked on complex planning exercises with an intrateam constructive feedback discussion to raise students' awareness of their strengths and limitations as individuals during the task, as perceived by others. The student perception was that all six learning outcomes were achieved by the session. 163 students returned feedback questionnaires and learning outcomes 1-4 were felt to have been addressed effectively or very effectively by 90%, 91%, 90% and 86% respondents, respectively. The fifth and sixth outcomes were less well achieved with only 66% and 64% respondents agreeing that the outcomes were achieved effectively or very effectively. Students commended the instructor's demonstration of leadership and the novel teaching method but improvements could be made in reinforcing why these skills are important.

Music therapy career aptitude and generalized self-efficacy in music therapy students.

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Lim, Hayoung A; Befi, Cathy M

2014-01-01

While the Music Therapy Career Aptitude Test (MTCAT) provides a measure of student aptitude, measures of perceived self-efficacy may provide additional information about a students' suitability for a music therapy career. As a first step in determining whether future studies examining combined scores from the MTCAT and the Generalized Self-Efficacy (GSE) scale would be useful to help predict academic success in music therapy, we explored the internal reliability of these two measures in a sample of undergraduate students, and the relationship (concurrent validity) of the measures to one another. Eighty undergraduate music therapy students (14 male; 66 female) completed the MTCAT and GSE. To determine internal reliability we conducted tests of normality and calculated Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha for each measure. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to ascertain the strength of the relationship between the MTCAT and GSE. MTCAT scores were normally distributed and had high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.706). GSE scores were not normally distributed, but had high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.748). The correlation coefficient analysis revealed that MTCAT and GSE scores were moderately correlated ((r = 0.426, p music therapy students; however, a more complete picture of student suitability for music therapy may be determined by administering the GSE alongside the MTCAT. Future studies are needed to determine whether combined MTCAT and GSE scores can be used to predict student success in an undergraduate music therapy program. © the American Music Therapy Association 2014. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Teaching Statistics to Doctoral Students with Lonergan's Insight-Based Critical Realism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tackney, Charles T.; Gwozdz, Wencke

2014-01-01

offers guided study in the statistical use of SPSS using a common EU data set. Course evaluations indicate students who had previously felt disinterested or unaware of the significance and role of quantitative studies emerged from the three day intensive with a better understanding and sense...

Can blended learning and the flipped classroom improve student learning and satisfaction in Saudi Arabia?

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Sajid, Muhammad R.; Abothenain, Fayha; Salam, Yezan; AlJayar, Dina; Obeidat, Akef

2016-01-01

Objectives To evaluate student academic performance and perception towards blended learning and flipped classrooms in comparison to traditional teaching. Methods This study was conducted during the hematology block on year three students. Five lectures were delivered online only. Asynchronous discussion boards were created where students could interact with colleagues and instructors. A flipped classroom was introduced with application exercises. Summative assessment results were compared with previous year results as a historical control for statistical significance. Student feedback regarding their blended learning experience was collected. Results A total of 127 responses were obtained. Approximately 22.8% students felt all lectures should be delivered through didactic lecturing, while almost 35% felt that 20% of total lectures should be given online. Students expressed satisfaction with blended learning as a new and effective learning approach. The majority of students reported blended learning was helpful for exam preparation and concept clarification. However, a comparison of grades did not show a statistically significant increase in the academic performance of students taught via the blended learning method. Conclusions Learning experiences can be enriched by adopting a blended method of instruction at various stages of undergraduate and postgraduate education. Our results suggest that blended learning, a relatively new concept in Saudi Arabia, shows promising results with higher student satisfaction. Flipped classrooms replace passive lecturing with active student-centered learning that enhances critical thinking and application, including information retention.  PMID:27591930

Beyond the "science of sophomores": does the rational choice explanation of crime generalize from university students to an actual offender sample?

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Bouffard, Jeff; Bry, Jeff; Smith, Shamayne; Bry, Rhonda

2008-12-01

Much of the criminological literature testing rational choice theory has utilized hypothetical scenarios presented to university students. Although this research generally supports rational choice theory, a common criticism is that conclusions from these studies may not generalize to samples of actual offenders. This study proceeds to examine this issue in two steps. First, a traditional sample of university students is examined to determine how various costs and benefits relate to their hypothetical likelihood of offending. Then the same data collection procedures are employed with a somewhat different sample of younger, adjudicated, and institutionalized offenders to determine whether the conclusions drawn from the student sample generalize to this offender sample. Results generally suggest that the content and process of hypothetical criminal decision making differ in the sample of known offenders relative to the university students. Limitations of the current study, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Exploring college students' use of general and alcohol-related social media and their associations with alcohol-related behaviors.

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Hoffman, Eric W; Pinkleton, Bruce E; Weintraub Austin, Erica; Reyes-Velázquez, Wanda

2014-01-01

Alcohol marketers have increasingly moved their advertising efforts into digital and social media venues. As a result, the purpose of this study is to investigate associations between students' use of social media, their exposure to alcohol marketing messages through social media, and their alcohol-related beliefs and behaviors. Public and private university students (N = 637) participated November and December 2011 and April 2012. College students completed online surveys to measure their exposure to social and online media generally, as well as their alcohol-related digital media use and alcohol use. Use of social media related to alcohol marketing predicted alcohol consumption and engaging in risky behaviors, whereas the use of social media more generally did not. Students' use of alcohol-related social media-marketing content associates with their problem drinking. Results have implications for alcohol abuse reduction efforts targeted at college students and suggest the importance of considering social, cultural, and cognitive factors in campaign planning and design.

Myths and Misconceptions in Popular Psychology: Comparing Psychology Students and the General Public

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Furnham, Adrian; Hughes, David J.

2014-01-01

This study examined the prevalence of psychological myths and misconceptions among psychology students and within the general population. In total, 829 participants completed a 249-item questionnaire designed to measure a broad range of psychological myths. Results revealed that psychological myths and misconceptions are numerous and widely held.…

What is it like to grow up to be bilingual?-A survey report on bilingual high school students-

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satoshi Tamiya

2014-10-01

Full Text Available In this era of globalization, Japanese teachers as well as teachers in other areas of the world have increasing chances of encountering bilingual students such as returnees and immigrants. It is important to understand the development of these students. The authors conducted a survey about bilingualism on 60 bilingual high school students at an international school in Japan. The survey questions asked about the students’ background and their experiences as a bilingual. Twenty-nine students responded to the survey. The responses were classified according to whether the reported advantages/disadvantages were linguistic, socio-cultural or identity-related. Linguistic disadvantages as well as advantages were experienced by most students. Bilingual influences on identity were mostly favorable, but some difficulties were common. Despite these disadvantages, socio-cultural advantages were prominent. It was reassuring to see that many bilingual high school students felt they were socio-culturally advantaged and mostly felt secure about their identity as a bilingual. However, we should not dismiss linguistic difficulties experienced by many of them and some cases of insecure identity, as these are crucially related to the mental health and creation of self-identity that is typical of adolescence.

Structural and Psychological Empowerment Climates, Performance, and the Moderating Role of Shared Felt Accountability: A Managerial Perspective

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Wallace, J. Craig; Johnson, Paul D.; Mathe, Kimberly; Paul, Jeff

2011-01-01

The authors proposed and tested a model in which data were collected from managers (n = 539) at 116 corporate-owned quick service restaurants to assess the structural and psychological empowerment process as moderated by shared-felt accountability on indices of performance from a managerial perspective. The authors found that empowering leadership…

Pharmacy Students' Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Medical Marijuana.

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Moeller, Karen E; Woods, Barbara

2015-08-25

To determine pharmacy students' knowledge of and attitudes toward medical marijuana and to determine if pharmacy students need additional education on the topic. Pharmacy students were asked to complete a survey on medical marijuana that assessed their knowledge of, medical uses of, adverse effects with, and attitudes toward medical marijuana through 23 Likert-scale questions. Three hundred eleven students completed the survey. Fifty-eight percent of the students felt that medical marijuana should be legalized in all states. However, the majority of students did not feel comfortable answering consumers' questions regarding efficacy, safety, or drug interactions related to the substance. Accurate responses for diseases or conditions for permitted medical marijuana use was low, with only cancer (91%) and glaucoma (57%) identified by more than half the students. With an increasing number of states adopting medical marijuana use, pharmacy schools need to evaluate the adequacy of medical marijuana education in their curriculum.

Perceptions of leadership among final-year undergraduate nursing students.

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Francis-Shama, Jayne

2016-11-01

Aim The promotion of a distributed leadership model in health care means there is an expectation that undergraduate training should contribute to the development of nursing students' leadership capabilities. However, there is concern that the nursing degree programme is not sufficiently preparing students. This study explored nursing students' perceptions of leadership before qualifying, and how prepared they felt to take on leadership roles. Method Data were collected from 20 undergraduate nursing students, using a Straussian grounded theory approach, through three focus groups and six semi-structured interviews. Findings These suggest students are disengaged from the learning of leadership, and preparation for leadership in clinical areas is problematic, as students are exposed to flawed role modelling. Conclusion Discrepancies between nurse education and the realities of clinical practice mean that successfully preparing nursing students for leadership roles will be challenging within current provision.

Assessment of Antioxidant Capacities in Foods: A Research Experience for General Chemistry Students

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Hoch, Matthew A.; Russell, Cianan B.; Steffen, Debora M.; Weaver, Gabriela C.; Burgess, John R.

2009-01-01

With the booming interest in health food and nutrition, investigations of the antioxidant capacities of various foods have come to the forefront of food science. This general chemistry laboratory curriculum provides students with an opportunity to design and implement their own experiments relating to antioxidants in food. The curriculum is six…

Effect of oxygen plasma treatment on the electrochemical performance of the rayon and polyacrylonitrile based carbon felt for the vanadium redox flow battery application

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Dixon, D.; Babu, D. J.; Langner, J.; Bruns, M.; Pfaffmann, L.; Bhaskar, A.; Schneider, J. J.; Scheiba, F.; Ehrenberg, H.

2016-11-01

Oxygen plasma treatment was applied on commercially available graphite felt electrodes based on rayon (GFA) and polyacrylonitrile (GFD). The formation of functional groups on the surface of the felt was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The BET studies of the plasma treated electrodes showed no significant increase in surface area for both the rayon as well as the PAN based felts. Both plasma treated electrodes showed significantly enhanced V3+/V2+ redox activity compared to the pristine electrodes. Since an increase of the surface area has been ruled out for plasma treated electrode the enhanced activity could be attributed to surface functional groups. Interestingly, plasma treated GFD felts showed less electrochemical activity towards V5+/V4+ compared to the pristine electrode. Nevertheless, an overall increase of the single cell performance was still observed as the negative electrode is known to be the performance limiting electrode. Thus, to a great extent the present work helps to preferentially understand the importance of functional groups on the electrochemical activity of negative and positive redox reaction. The study emphasizes the need of highly active electrodes especially at the negative electrode side as inactive electrodes can still facilitate hydrogen evolution and degrade the electrolyte in VRFBs.

Faculty and second-year medical student perceptions of active learning in an integrated curriculum.

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Tsang, Alexander; Harris, David M

2016-12-01

Patients expect physicians to be lifelong learners who are able to interpret and evaluate diagnostic tests, and most medical schools list the development of lifelong learning in their program objectives. However, lecture is the most often utilized form of teaching in the first two years and is considered passive learning. The current generation of medical students has many characteristics that should support active learning pedagogies. The purpose of this study was to analyze student and faculty perceptions of active learning in an integrated medical curriculum at the second-year mark, where students have been exposed to multiple educational pedagogies. The first hypothesis of the study was that faculty would favor active learning methods. The second hypothesis was that Millennial medical students would favor active learning due to their characteristics. Primary faculty for years 1 and 2 and second-year medical students were recruited for an e-mail survey consisting of 12 questions about active learning and lecture. Students perceived that lecture and passive pedagogies were more effective for learning, whereas faculty felt active and collaborative learning was more effective. Students believed that more content should be covered by lecture than faculty. There were also significant differences in perceptions of what makes a good teacher. Students and faculty both felt that lack of time in the curriculum and preparation time were barriers for faculty. The data suggest that students are not familiar with the process of learning and that more time may be needed to help students develop lifelong learning skills. Copyright © 2016 The American Physiological Society.

Analysis of General Personality Characteristics of High School Students Who Take and Do not Take Vocational Music Training according to Personality Inventory

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Nihan Yağışan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available The authorities claim that music training helps children and young people gain insight and actualize themselves and it contributes to their self-expression, self-confidence and socialization process. As known, music education that children and adolescences get varies for several reasons, and particularly the aims, the ways, and the intensity of courses differ according to the school types. From this context, the students of the high schools of fine arts getting vocational musical training and the students of general high schools not getting the vocational training were investigated by means of a general personality inventory, and a research was conducted to examine whether or not music education supports the personality development of the high school students. In the study, 140 students attending the last grade of high schools of fine arts, 140 students attending last grade of general high schools with total amount of 280 were randomly selected. The students were administered a 168 item personality inventory to determine their characteristics of ‘social, personal and general adaptation’ levels. Following findings were obtained as a result of the survey: When the total scales “general adaptation”, “social adaptation” and “personal adaptation” levels, including the sub-scales of ‘family affairs, social affairs, social norms, anti-social tendencies’, ‘self-actualization, emotional decisiveness, neurotic tendencies and psychotic symptoms’, were examined, the scores of students who get vocational music training were found significantly higher than the students who do not get it. The results of the study show that music training supports the personality development of adolescences positively.

The effect of restructuring student writing in the general chemistry laboratory on student understanding of chemistry and on students' approach to the laboratory course

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Rudd, James Andrew, II

Many students encounter difficulties engaging with laboratory-based instruction, and reviews of research have indicated that the value of such instruction is not clearly evident. Traditional forms of writing associated with laboratory activities are commonly in a style used by professional scientists to communicate developed explanations. Students probably lack the interpretative skills of a professional, and writing in this style may not support students in learning how to develop scientific explanations. The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) is an inquiry-based approach to laboratory instruction designed in part to promote student ability in developing such explanations. However, there is not a convincing body of evidence for the superiority of inquiry-based laboratory instruction in chemistry. In a series of studies, the performance of students using the SWH student template in place of the standard laboratory report format was compared to the performance of students using the standard format. The standard reports had Title, Purpose, Procedure, Data & Observations, Calculations & Graphs, and Discussion sections. The SWH reports had Beginning Questions & Ideas, Tests & Procedures, Observations, Claims, Evidence, and Reflection sections. The pilot study produced evidence that using the SWH improved the quality of laboratory reports, improved student performance on a laboratory exam, and improved student approach to laboratory work. A main study found that SWH students statistically exhibited a better understanding of physical equilibrium when written explanations and equations were analyzed on a lecture exam and performed descriptively better on a physical equilibrium practical exam task. In another main study, the activities covering the general equilibrium concept were restructured as an additional change, and it was found that SWH students exhibited a better understanding of chemical equilibrium as shown by statistically greater success in overcoming the common

Can They Succeed? Exploring At-Risk Students' Study Habits in College General Chemistry

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Ye, Li; Shuniak, Constantine; Oueini, Razanne; Robert, Jenay; Lewis, Scott

2016-01-01

A well-established literature base identifies a portion of students enrolled in post-secondary General Chemistry as at-risk of failing the course based on incoming metrics. Learning about the experiences and factors that lead to this higher failure rate is essential toward improving retention in this course. This study examines the relationship…

General Mechanical Repair. Minor Automotive Maintenance, Small Engine [Repair, and] Welding: Student Manual.

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Hamlin, Larry

This document is a student manual for a general mechanical repair course. Following a list of common essential elements of trade and industrial education, the manual is divided into three sections. The first section, on minor automotive maintenance, contains 13 units: automotive shop safety; engine principles; fuel system operation and repair;…

An analysis of user engagement in student Facebook groups

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Murray Lane

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Analysing the engagement of students in university-based Facebook groups can shed light on the nature of their learning experience and highlight leverage points to build on student success. While post-semester surveys and demographic participation data can highlight who was involved and how they subsequently felt about the experience, these techniques do not necessarily reflect real-time engagement. One way to gain insight into in-situ student experiences is by categorising the original posts and comments into predetermined frameworks of learning. This paper offers a systematic method of coding Facebook contributions within various engagement categories: motivation, discourse, cognition and emotive responses. 

Curso: Auxiliar de Farmacia. Guia. Farmacia Teorica: Manual del Estudiante. Matematica General: Manual del Estudiante. Documento de Trabajo (Pharmacy Assistant Course Guide. Theoretical Pharmacy Student Manual. General Mathematics Student Manual. Working Document).

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Puerto Rico State Dept. of Education, Hato Rey. Area for Vocational and Technical Education.

The three parts of this document are intended for a 3-semester course for pharmacy assistants. The course guide contains the following sections: occupational description; educational philosophy; general objectives; tasks/competencies for each unit; course organization; brief description of the topics; student standards; and evaluation methods.…

Surface chemical changes of atmospheric pressure plasma treated rabbit fibres important for felting process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Štěpánová, Vlasta, E-mail: vstepanova@mail.muni.cz [Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno (Czech Republic); Slavíček, Pavel; Stupavská, Monika; Jurmanová, Jana [Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno (Czech Republic); Černák, Mirko [Department of Physical Electronics, Faculty of Science Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno (Czech Republic); Department of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina F2, 842 48 Bratislava (Slovakia)

2015-11-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Rabbit fibres plasma treatment is an effective method for fibres modification. • Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment is able to affect fibres properties. • Surface changes on fibres after plasma treatment were analysed via SEM, ATR-FTIR, XPS. • Significant increase of fibres wettability after plasma treatment was observed. • Plasma treatment at atmospheric pressure can replace the chemical treatment of fibres. - Abstract: We introduce the atmospheric pressure plasma treatment as a suitable procedure for in-line industrial application of rabbit fibres pre-treatment. Changes of rabbit fibre properties due to the plasma treatment were studied in order to develop new technology of plasma-based treatment before felting. Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) in ambient air at atmospheric pressure was used for plasma treatment. Scanning electron microscopy was used for determination of the fibres morphology before and after plasma treatment. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used for evaluation of reactive groups. The concentration of carbon decreased and conversely the concentration of nitrogen and oxygen increased after plasma treatment. Aging effect of plasma treated fibres was also investigated. Using Washburn method the significant increase of fibres wettability was observed after plasma treatment. New approach of pre-treatment of fibres before felting using plasma was developed. Plasma treatment of fibres at atmospheric pressure can replace the chemical method which consists of application of strong acids on fibres.

Student narratives of faculty incivility.

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Lasiter, Sue; Marchiondo, Lisa; Marchiondo, Kathleen

2012-01-01

Academic incivility remains a problem on college campuses. Nursing research has refocused from student impropriety to aberrant faculty behaviors. Our original study using the Nursing Education Environment Survey showed that 133 of 152 student participants experienced uncivil treatment. Latent, inductive content analysis was undertaken to analyze narratives about their "worst experience" of negative faculty behavior. Four categories were identified: "In front of someone," "Talked to others about me," "Made me feel stupid," and "I felt belittled." Incivility had a profound effect on students and is problematic because it increases already significant academic pressure; it interferes with learning and safe clinical performance; it is contrary to caring, a central nursing concept; and it decreases program satisfaction and retention. Few nursing schools have civility policies for faculty behavior. Formal procedures that promote professional interaction should be crafted and implemented. Equally important is creating ways for nursing students to document incivility without fear of retaliation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Essences of Culinary Arts Students' Lived Experience of General Education Online Learning: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis

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Keovilay, Sisavath

2015-01-01

This phenomenological research study explored the lived experiences of culinary arts students learning general education online while enrolled in a face-to-face (f2f) culinary arts class. This research used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to analyze how culinary arts students, in a not-for-profit Florida University, made sense of…

Student perception about working in rural Nepal after graduation: a study among first- and second-year medical students

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Shankar P

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a developing country in South Asia with a population of 29.8 million. In September 2011, there were 18 medical schools with 14 being in the private sector. KIST Medical College is a private school in Lalitpur district. The present study was conducted to obtain information on student perceptions about working in rural Nepal after graduation. Methods The study was conducted among first- and second-year undergraduate medical students using a semi-structured questionnaire developed by the authors using inputs from the literature and their experiences of teaching medical students. Year of study, gender, method of financing of medical education, place of family residence and occupation of parents were noted. Participant responses were analysed, grouped together and the number of respondents stating a particular response was noted. Results Of the 200 students, 185 (92.5% participated with 95 being from the first year and 90 from the second. Most students were self-financing and from urban areas. Regarding the question of working in rural Nepal after graduation, 134 (72.4% said they will work after their undergraduate course. Students preferred to work in the government or nongovernmental sector. Student felt doctors are reluctant to serve in rural Nepal due to inadequate facilities, low salary, less security, problems with their professional development, less equipment in health centres, decreased contact with family and difficulties in communicating with an illiterate, rural population. About 43% of respondents felt medical education does not adequately prepare them for rural service. Repeated rural exposure, postings in rural hospitals and health centres, and training students to diagnose and treat illness with less technology were suggested. The median monthly salary expected was 60 000 Nepalese rupees (US$ 820 and was significantly higher among first-year students. Conclusions The

It felt fluent, and I liked it: subjective feeling of fluency rather than objective fluency determines liking.

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Forster, Michael; Leder, Helmut; Ansorge, Ulrich

2013-04-01

According to the processing-fluency explanation of aesthetics, more fluently processed stimuli are preferred (R. Reber, N. Schwarz, & P. Winkielman, 2004, Processing fluency and aesthetic pleasure: Is beauty in the perceiver's processing experience? Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 8, pp. 364-382.). In this view, the subjective feeling of ease of processing is considered important, but this has not been directly tested in perceptual processing. In two experiments, we therefore objectively manipulated fluency (ease of processing) with subliminal perceptual priming (Study 1) and variations in presentation durations (Study 2). We assessed the impact of objective fluency on feelings of fluency and liking, as well as their interdependence. In line with the processing-fluency account, we found that objectively more fluent images were indeed judged as more fluent and were also liked more. Moreover, differences in liking were even stronger when data were analyzed according to felt fluency. These findings demonstrate that perceptual fluency is not only explicitly felt, it can also be reported and is an important determinant of liking. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Connecting the Dots: Threat Assessment, Depression and the Troubled Student

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Harwood, Valerie

2011-01-01

One of the numerous responses to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in April 2007 has been the call for higher education institutions in the United States to take an increased role in identifying troubled students. This has had widely felt effects, with educational institutions across the United States developing mechanisms such as Threat…

"It's Not that Easy"--Medical Students' Fears and Barriers in End-of-Life Communication.

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Romotzky, V; Galushko, M; Düsterdiek, A; Obliers, R; Albus, C; Ostgathe, C; Voltz, R

2015-06-01

This study aims to assess and improve communication education for medical students in palliative care (PC) with the use of simulated patients (SP) in Germany. More specifically, to explore how students evaluate the use of SP for end-of-life communication training and which fears and barriers arise. A pilot course was implemented. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse transcribed recordings of the course. Pre- and post-course questionnaires containing open-ended questions ascertained students' motivation for participating, their preparation within their degree programme and whether they felt they had learned something important within the course. Seventeen medical students in their third to fourth year of education (age 22-31) participated in the five-session course and answered the questionnaires (pre n = 17, post n = 12). Students felt insufficiently prepared and insecure. Discussing end-of-life issues was experienced as challenging and emotionally moving. Within the conversations, although students sometimes showed blocking behaviour in reaction to emotional impact, they valued the consideration of emotional aspects as very important. The course was overall highly appreciated and valued as being helpful. The communication situation with the SP was perceived as authentic. Ten out of 12 students confirmed to have learned something important (post course). Our results indicate an urgent need for better communication training for medical students. Due to the fact that bedside teaching in PC is not feasible for all students, training with standardized SP can be a way to generate an authentic learning situation. Techniques to address fears and blocking behaviour should, however, also be considered.

"He's Obviously Important": Student Perceptions of a Military General as a University Namesake

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Code, Mary; Landry, Autumn; Reader, Brandi; Taber, Nancy

2016-01-01

This article details the authors' research focusing on the perceptions of Brock University students in relation to the namesake of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. They discuss militarism in education and detail the use of everyday life theory and semiotic analysis, the latter as theory and methodology. They explore their findings which focus on the…

KOH etched graphite felt with improved wettability and activity for vanadium flow batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zhengyang; Xi, Jingyu; Zhou, Haipeng; Qiu, Xinping

2016-01-01

Highlights: • GF electrode is activated by KOH etching method for VFB application. • The wettability and activity of eGF electrode towards VO 2+ /VO 2 + and V 2+ /V 3+ couples are improved. • VFB with eGF electrode can run stable at current densities range from 50 to 250 mA cm −2 . • Cycling test at current density of 150 mA cm −2 confirms the superior durability of eGF electrode. - Abstract: In this work, a simple and effective method to activate graphite felt (GF) electrode by using KOH as etching agent is studied for vanadium flow battery (VFB) application. The surface of GF is etched by KOH at 800 °C to generate micropores and attain oxygen-containing functional groups, resulting in greatly improved electrolyte accessibility. Surface morphology, oxygen distribution and microstructure of the KOH etched graphite felts (eGFs) are characterized by SEM, EDX, XPS, XRD and Raman techniques. Due to the abundant exposed edge carbon sites and oxygen-containing functional groups introduced by KOH activation, electrochemical activity of eGFs towards both VO 2+ /VO 2 + and V 2+ /V 3+ redox couples are remarkably improved comparing with GF. In particular, eGF-2 (mass ratio of KOH/GF = 1.25) exhibits the best electrochemical activity and VFB performance among all eGFs. Moreover, the VFB with eGF-2 electrode can run at current density up to 250 mA cm −2 with the energy efficiency of 64%. Long-term cycle life test at higher current density of 150 mA cm −2 confirms the outstanding stability of eGF-2 electrode.

Highly catalytic and stabilized titanium nitride nanowire array-decorated graphite felt electrodes for all vanadium redox flow batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, L.; Zhao, T. S.; Zeng, L.; Zeng, Y. K.; Jiang, H. R.

2017-02-01

In this work, we prepare a highly catalytic and stabilized titanium nitride (TiN) nanowire array-decorated graphite felt electrode for all vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). Free-standing TiN nanowires are synthesized by a two-step process, in which TiO2 nanowires are first grown onto the surface of graphite felt via a seed-assisted hydrothermal method and then converted to TiN through nitridation reaction. When applied to VRFBs, the prepared electrode enables the electrolyte utilization and energy efficiency to be 73.9% and 77.4% at a high current density of 300 mA cm-2, which are correspondingly 43.3% and 15.4% higher than that of battery assembled with a pristine electrode. More impressively, the present battery exhibits good stability and high capacity retention during the cycle test. The superior performance is ascribed to the significant improvement in the electrochemical kinetics and enlarged active sites toward V3+/V2+ redox reaction.

The importance of leisure reading to health sciences students: results of a survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Erin M

2016-03-01

To determine what value health sciences students place on leisure reading, whether they prefer to read online or in print, what the principal barriers are to their reading and whether they wish to have a leisure reading collection at their health sciences library. In October 2010, a link to a survey was sent to all 1800 students in health sciences professional programmes at the author's institution. Two hundred and thirteen students (11.8%) responded. Most felt that leisure reading had helped in their development as health professionals and increased their empathy. They listed many benefits of reading, such as improved understanding of minority groups, reduced stress, and improved thinking and communication skills. The majority preferred to read books and magazines in print, while the largest number preferred reading newspapers in print as well. Lack of time, fatigue and the expense of purchasing reading materials were the greatest barriers to reading. A majority of students were in favour of having a leisure reading collection set up at their library. Leisure reading was valued by the respondents, who felt it provided personal and professional benefits. However, many indicated that circumstances made it difficult to participate in leisure reading. © 2015 Health Libraries Group.

Variation of Student Numerical and Figural Reasoning Approaches by Pattern Generalization Type, Strategy Use and Grade Level

Science.gov (United States)

El Mouhayar, Rabih; Jurdak, Murad

2016-01-01

This paper explored variation of student numerical and figural reasoning approaches across different pattern generalization types and across grade level. An instrument was designed for this purpose. The instrument was given to a sample of 1232 students from grades 4 to 11 from five schools in Lebanon. Analysis of data showed that the numerical…

Investigation of Entrepreneurship Trends and General Competency Levels of University Students Studying at Faculty of Sports Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Karabulut, Ebru Olcay; Dogan, Pinar Karacan

2018-01-01

The aim of this study is to determine the general competency beliefs and entrepreneurial levels of undergraduate students studying at faculty of sports sciences by different demographic variables. The sample group consists of total 1230 students, 541 women and 689 men, who have been educated in the sport sciences of five different universities and…

Eating habits reported by secondary school students in a city of west Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Erenoglu, Nazan; Ayranci, Unal; Son, Osman

2006-11-01

The prevalence of obesity and underweight has increased in recent years due to the fact that eating and drinking habits have changed all over the world. This survey was conducted to estimate the prevalence of both obesity and underweight, as well as to understand the eating and drinking habits of a group of Turkish students. 1044 students completed the survey. Responses were analyzed, using Chi-square (chi2) test and percent (%) ratios, according to gender. Differences were considered significant for p<0.05. About 10% of the students (123/1044, 11.8%) were underweight, most of them were male. Most students (868/1044, 83.1%) were of the correct weight. A small percentage of the students (52/1044, 4.9%) were overweight, with just one obese student, boy. Compared to boys, girls significantly obtained higher scores when questioned on preference of bran bread (62.0% vs. 38.0%, respectively), taking pains to not gain excess weight in order not to get fat (55.6% vs. 44.4%, respectively), doing physical exercise if they felt they were gaining too much weight (54.85% vs. 45.2%, respectively), and reducing food consumption when they felt that they were gaining weight (55.0% vs. 45.0%, respectively). For most people the importance of diet was obvious. This was especially reflected in the females' reports, since they reported a continual increase in their dieting and exercise behavior in an attempt to attain the contemporary ideal of being thin and physically fit.

Predictors of students' self-reported adoption of a smartphone application for medical education in general practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandholzer, Maximilian; Deutsch, Tobias; Frese, Thomas; Winter, Alfred

2015-05-21

Smartphones and related applications are increasingly gaining relevance in the healthcare domain. We previously assessed the demands and preferences of medical students towards an application accompanying them during a course on general practice. The current study aims to elucidate the factors associated with adoption of such a technology. Therefore we provided students with a prototype of an application specifically related to their studies in general practice. A total estimation among students participating in a general practice examination at the Leipzig Medical School was conducted in May 2014. Students were asked to answer a structured self-designed questionnaire. Univariable comparisons were made to identify significant differences between those students who reported to have used the application frequently and those who did not. Multivariable binary logistic regression was used to reveal independent predictors of frequent application usage. The response rate was 99.3 % (n = 305/307). The majority (59 %, n = 180/305) were female students. The mean age was 24.5 years and 79.9 % (n = 243/304) owned a smartphone or tablet computer. Regarding the usage of the provided application, 2.3 % (n = 7/303) did not use the app while 68.0 % (n = 206/303) replied to have used it more than five times. Frequent users significantly differed from non-frequent users with regard to being female rather than male, higher mobile device ownership, more frequent exchange about obtaining the course certificate, higher personal interest in new technologies, larger enjoyment of the technology, lower intention to not use smartphone applications in the future, better opinion towards smartphone applications for the profession of a doctor, higher perceived importance of medical applications on the job, higher compatibility of smartphone applications with personal work style, higher perceived relevance of university support and personal benefit of use. Multivariable

Workplace immersion in the final year of an undergraduate medicine course: the views of final year students and recent graduates.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen Gupta, Tarun; Hays, Richard; Woolley, Torres; Kelly, Gill; Jacobs, Harry

2014-06-01

Most medical schools require formal competence assessment of students immediately prior to graduation, but variation exists in the approach to endpoint assessments. This article reports perceptions of senior students and graduates from a school with a six-year program which has introduced final year workplace immersion placements following a barrier examination at the end of the penultimate Year 5. Final year students (22) and recent graduates (4) attended focus groups and in-depth interviews exploring their perceptions of the value of the curriculum experience during the final two years, the structure and timing of assessment, and their preparation for internship. Participants felt that the penultimate year was more pressured, and focused on passing "artificial" examinations. In contrast, the final year was more relaxed, building skills for postgraduate work and later career development. As a result, students felt well prepared for internship with some indication that the self-directed nature of the final year promoted a lifelong learning approach. The final year workplace immersion model was regarded positively by senior students of this medical school. This model may be a better way of preparing students to be junior doctors than a traditional final year heavy on theoretical learning and assessment.

Highly active, bi-functional and metal-free B4C-nanoparticle-modified graphite felt electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, H. R.; Shyy, W.; Wu, M. C.; Wei, L.; Zhao, T. S.

2017-10-01

The potential of B4C as a metal-free catalyst for vanadium redox reactions is investigated by first-principles calculations. Results show that the central carbon atom of B4C can act as a highly active reaction site for redox reactions, due primarily to the abundant unpaired electrons around it. The catalytic effect is then verified experimentally by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests, both of which demonstrate that B4C nanoparticles can enhance the kinetics for both V2+/V3+ and VO2+/VO2+ redox reactions, indicating a bi-functional effect. The B4C-nanoparticle-modified graphite felt electrodes are finally prepared and tested in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). It is shown that the batteries with the prepared electrodes exhibit energy efficiencies of 88.9% and 80.0% at the current densities of 80 and 160 mA cm-2, which are 16.6% and 18.8% higher than those with the original graphite felt electrodes. With a further increase in current densities to 240 and 320 mA cm-2, the batteries can still maintain energy efficiencies of 72.0% and 63.8%, respectively. All these results show that the B4C-nanoparticle-modified graphite felt electrode outperforms existing metal-free catalyst modified electrodes, and thus can be promising electrodes for VRFBs.

Learning methods and strategies of anatomy among medical students in two different Institutions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Mohrej, Omar A; Al-Ayedh, Noura K; Masuadi, Emad M; Al-Kenani, Nader S

2017-04-01

Anatomy instructors adopt individual teaching methods and strategies to convey anatomical information to medical students for learning. Students also exhibit their own individual learning preferences. Instructional methods preferences vary between both instructors and students across different institutions. In attempt to bridge the gap between teaching methods and the students' learning preferences, this study aimed to identify students' learning methods and different strategies of studying anatomy in two different Saudi medical schools in Riyadh. A cross-sectional study, conducted in Saudi Arabia in April 2015, utilized a three-section questionnaire, which was distributed to a consecutive sample of 883 medical students to explore their methods and strategies in learning and teaching anatomy in two separate institutions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Medical students' learning styles and preferences were found to be predominantly affected by different cultural backgrounds, gender, and level of study. Many students found it easier to understand and remember anatomy components using study aids. In addition, almost half of the students felt confident to ask their teachers questions after class. The study also showed that more than half of the students found it easier to study by concentrating on a particular part of the body rather than systems. Students' methods of learning were distributed equally between memorizing facts and learning by hands-on dissection. In addition, the study showed that two thirds of the students felt satisfied with their learning method and believed it was well suited for anatomy. There is no single teaching method which proves beneficial; instructors should be flexible in their teaching in order to optimize students' academic achievements.

Students' feedback on teaching and assessment at Nishtar Medical College, Multan.

Science.gov (United States)

Rafique, Shoaib; Rafique, Hasaan

2013-09-01

To obtain feedback on teaching and assessment methods in professional undergraduate medical examinations. The study was conducted at Nishtar Medical College, Multan, Pakistan, from May 21 to May 26, 2012. A written questionnaire covering topics on various teaching and assessment methods was used to get feedback from students of 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th year M.B.B.S. SPSS version 17 was used for statistical analysis. Of the 534 questionnaires distributed, 538 (99%) were returned duly filled. Overall, 382 (71%) students were satisfied with all aspects of the lectures delivered and 393 (73%) students agreed that teaching staff was punctual in delivering lectures. Although 312 (58%) students were satisfied with the teaching conducted in the wards, students felt dissatisfaction with the teaching carried out in outpatient departments and operating theatres. Multimedia was favoured by 306 (56%) students as a supporting teaching tool. Although the students agreed that questions asked in examinations were relevant and the pattern of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) / Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) was satisfactory, they felt that the time allowed was insufficient. 399 (74%) students agreed that multiple modes of assessment improved their knowledge and skill. There was no consensus among the students on the best form of assessment. Number of students favouring short essay questions (SEQ's), multiple choice questions including true/false type, single best choice questions (BCQ'S) and descriptive questions were 209(38.8%), 176(32.7%), 70 (13%) and 28 (5%) respectively. There was disparity in students' satisfaction in internal assessment and university examination. Although 226 (42%) students were satisfied with internal assessment, 199 (37%) were satisfied with university assessment. Overall, the students were satisfied with the lectures and clinical teaching conducted in the wards. Preferred methods of assessment included short essay questions

An interview with the Director-General

CERN Multimedia

James Gillies

2012-01-01

At its March meeting, the Council took the step of extending Rolf Heuer’s mandate until the end of 2015. What can we expect from the extra two years?   Extensions to Director-General’s mandates are few and far between, with the last being for Herwig Schopper, who served an eight-year term in the 1980s. For Rolf Heuer, the proposal was raised by the Belgian delegation, so we asked delegate Walter Van Doninck why the Council felt that circumstances warranted an extension now. “We felt that the LHC's first long shutdown needed management continuity, given the important nature of the work to be carried out,” he explained. “That’s why we proposed extending the mandate of the current Director-General.” James Gillies spoke to Professor Heuer to find out what he plans to achieve with the extra time. James Gillies: First of all, how do you feel about your time in office so far? Rolf Heuer: I feel I’m about midwa...

A study of issues in administering library services to nursing studies students at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, John

2002-06-01

Glasgow Caledonian University has had a Scottish Office pre-registration nursing and midwifery contract since 1996. Nursing studies students seemed dissatisfied with the library service and there were frequent complaints. A major study was undertaken during 2000 consisting of: an initial lis-link enquiry, separate analysis of returns from nursing studies students of the Library's annual general satisfaction survey (conducted every February), separate analysis of returns from nursing studies students of the Library's opening hours planning survey, and four focus groups held in October 2000. These studies showed the concerns of nursing studies students to be similar to other students but more strongly felt. The four main issues were textbook availability, journal availability, opening hours and staff helpfulness. Working conditions, placement requirements, study requirements and domestic circumstances were all found to be important factors. IT skill levels tended to be low but there is a growing appreciation of the need for training in this area. Concluded that: Library's services to nursing studies students have become enmeshed with the problems of delivery and assessment of education for nurses. Greatly extended opening hours are essential including evening opening during vacations. The problem of access to textbooks is so severe that conventional solutions are not going to work. Programmes of core text digitization and the promotion of e-books are needed. Reciprocal access programmes with local hospital libraries is essential.

The role of general practice in postgraduate basic training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaer, Niels Kristian; Kodal, Troels; Qvesel, Dorte

2010-01-01

BACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been growing interest in the role of primary care in postgraduate training. Relatively little has been published about benefits of early and sustained postgraduate basic training in general practice, especially for doctors with other ambitions than family...... scale and qualitative questions. We used a phenomenological approach. RESULTS: Almost all of the young Danish doctors responding felt that training in general practice is a necessary part of a postgraduate basic training programme. Early training in primary care not only gives doctors a broad...

Predictors of general self-efficacy and self-esteem in occupational therapy students: A cross-sectional study

OpenAIRE

Bonsaksen, Tore

2015-01-01

A national survey reported college students showed higher risk of mental health problems than the general population. Using selfefficacy and self-esteem as indicators of mental health, this study explores sociodemographic, relational, educational, and work factors associated with these outcomes. A sample of 148 occupational therapy students in Norway participated, and data were analyzed with multiple linear regression. Factors associated with positive self-efficacy and self-esteem were higher...

Introducing problem-based learning into research methods teaching: student and facilitator evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlisle, Caroline; Ibbotson, Tracy

2005-10-01

The evidence base for the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) has never been substantively established, although PBL is a generally accepted approach to learning in health care curricula. PBL is believed to encourage transferable skills, including problem-solving and team-working. PBL was used to deliver a postgraduate research methods module and a small evaluation study to explore its efficacy was conducted amongst the students (n = 51) and facilitators (n = 6). The study comprised of an evaluation questionnaire, distributed after each themed group of PBL sessions, and a group discussion conducted 4 weeks after the conclusion of the module, which was attended by student representatives and the facilitators. Questionnaire data was analysed using SPSS, and a transcript of the interview was subjected to content analysis. The results indicated that students felt that a PBL approach helped to make the subject matter more interesting to them and they believed that they would retain knowledge for a longer period than if their learning had used a more traditional lecture format. Students also perceived that PBL was effective in its ability to enhance students' understanding of the group process. All those involved in the PBL process reinforced the pivotal role of the facilitator. This study indicates that there is potential for PBL to be used beyond the more usual clinical scenarios constructed for health care professional education and further exploration of its use in areas such as building research capability should be undertaken.

Stigmatising attitude of medical students towards a psychiatry label

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ogunsemi Olawale O

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of a psychiatric label attached to an apparently normal person on the attitude of final year medical students at a Nigerian university. Methods A questionnaire with sections on demographic information, a single-paragraph case description illustrating a normal person, a social distance scale and questions on expected burden was used to elicit responses from 144 final year medical students who have had previous exposure to psychiatric posting. The students consisted of two randomly assigned groups; group A received a case description with a psychiatric label attached while group B received the same case description but without a psychiatric label. Results A total of 68 (47.2% of the students responded to the questionnaire with the attached psychiatric label, while 76 (52.8% responded to the questionnaire without the attached label. There was no statistical difference in age (p = 0.187 and sex (p = 0.933 between the two groups of students. The students who responded to the questionnaire with the attached psychiatric label would not rent out their houses (p = 0.003, were unwilling to have as their next-door neighbour (p = 0.004, or allow their sister to get married (p = 0.000 to the man depicted in the case description compared with those that responded to the questionnaire without label. This group also felt that the man would exhaust them both physically (p = 0.005 and emotionally (p = 0.021 in any relationship with him. Conclusion These results strengthen the view that stigma attached to mental illness is not limited to the general public; medical students are also part of the stigmatising world. There is, therefore, a need to incorporate issues concerning stigma and its reduction as a core component of the mental health curriculum of medical schools.

Levels and Growth of Specific and General Norms for Nonviolence among Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Dymnicki, Allison B.; Antonio, Tiago; Henry, David B.

2011-01-01

This study examined the levels and growth of specific and general normative beliefs about nonviolence (called norms for nonviolence). The sample consisted of 1254 middle school students from four metropolitan areas who participated in the control condition of the Multisite Violence Prevention Project. We predicted that the association and…

Implementation of a Self-Management System for Students with Disabilities in General Education Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Schulze, Margaret A.

2016-01-01

Despite the fact that self-management procedures have a robust literature base attesting to their efficacy with students with disabilities, the use of these strategies in general education settings remains limited. This mixed methods study examined the implementation of self-management procedures using both quantitative and qualitative methods.…

Direct methanol fuel cell with extended reaction zone anode: PtRu and PtRuMo supported on graphite felt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauer, Alex; Gyenge, Elod L.; Oloman, Colin W. [Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, 2360 East Mall, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2007-05-15

Pressed graphite felt (thickness {proportional_to}350 {mu}m) with electrodeposited PtRu (43 g m{sup -2}, 1.4:1 atomic ratio) or PtRuMo (52 g m{sup -2}, 1:1:0.3 atomic ratio) nanoparticle catalysts was investigated as an anode for direct methanol fuel cells. At temperatures above 333 K the fuel cell performance of the PtRuMo catalyst was superior compared to PtRu. The power density was 2200 W m{sup -2} with PtRuMo at 5500 A m{sup -2} and 353 K while under the same conditions PtRu yielded 1925 W m{sup -2}. However, the degradation rate of the Mo containing catalyst formulation was higher. Compared to conventional gas diffusion electrodes with comparable PtRu catalyst composition and load, the graphite felt anodes gave higher power densities mainly due to the extended reaction zone for methanol oxidation. (author)

Direct methanol fuel cell with extended reaction zone anode: PtRu and PtRuMo supported on graphite felt

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Alex; Gyenge, Előd L.; Oloman, Colin W.

Pressed graphite felt (thickness ∼350 μm) with electrodeposited PtRu (43 g m -2, 1.4:1 atomic ratio) or PtRuMo (52 g m -2, 1:1:0.3 atomic ratio) nanoparticle catalysts was investigated as an anode for direct methanol fuel cells. At temperatures above 333 K the fuel cell performance of the PtRuMo catalyst was superior compared to PtRu. The power density was 2200 W m -2 with PtRuMo at 5500 A m -2 and 353 K while under the same conditions PtRu yielded 1925 W m -2. However, the degradation rate of the Mo containing catalyst formulation was higher. Compared to conventional gas diffusion electrodes with comparable PtRu catalyst composition and load, the graphite felt anodes gave higher power densities mainly due to the extended reaction zone for methanol oxidation.

Perceptions of sport science students on the potential applications and limitations of blended learning in their education: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Keogh, Justin W L; Gowthorp, Lisa; McLean, Michelle

2017-09-01

This study sought to gain insight into blended learning-naive sports science students' understanding and perceptions of the potential benefits and limitations of blended (hybrid) learning, which has been defined as the thoughtful integration of face-to-face and online instructional approaches. Five focus groups, each comprising 3-4 students from either the undergraduate or postgraduate sports science programmes were conducted. The focus groups were facilitated by a researcher who was not involved in sports science. Audio recordings of the focus groups were transcribed verbatim. NVivo software was used to code the transcripts to identify the themes and subthemes. Students generally had little initial understanding of blended learning. When provided with a definition, they believed that blended learning could improve educational outcomes and assist those who were legitimately unable to attend a session. Their reservations about blended learning mainly related to some students not being sufficiently autonomous to undertake independent study, timetabling considerations and access to reliable Internet services. For blended learning to be effective, students felt the online material had to be interactive, engaging and complement the face-to-face sessions. Better understanding the perceptions of the students in the current study may assist educators who are considering implementing blended learning in their teaching.

Information Seeking Behaviour of Senior High School Student on General Election: Case Study In Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Rachman, Margareta Aulia; Rachman, Yeni Budi

2018-01-01

The development of information technology affects students in searching and finding information, particularly information regarding the General Election. The explosion of information on mass media about the elections resulted impact (both positive and negative) to the potential voters. Nowadays, media plays role as a tool for political parties to lead public opinion to support their parties. Based on the data provided by General Election Commission (KPU) in 2014, 20% of voters were identified...

Oral Cancer: An Evaluation of Knowledge and Awareness in Undergraduate Dental Students and the General Public.

Science.gov (United States)

Bakr, Mahmoud M; Skerman, Emma; Khan, Usman; George, Roy

To evaluate the knowledge of signs, symptoms and risk factors associated with oral cancer amongst undergraduate dental students and members of the general public. This study was open for a period of six months (Jan-June, 2013) to all undergraduate dental students in the 4th and 5th year of the dental science programme and dental patients attending the School of Dentistry, Griffith University, Australia. The survey evaluated the knowledge and awareness of clinical signs and symptoms and risk factors of oral cancers. A total of 100 undergraduate students and 150 patients provided informed consent and participated in this survey study. Both patients and dental students were aware of the importance of early detection of oral cancer. With the exception of smoking and persistent ulceration, this study indicated that the knowledge about oral cancer, its signs, symptoms and risk factors was limited amongst participants. This study highlights the need to raise awareness and knowledge pertaining to oral cancer, not only in the general community but also amongst those in the dental field. Specific points of concern were the common intraoral sites for oral cancer, erythroplakia as a risk factor, the synergistic action of smoking and alcohol, and HPV (human papilloma virus) as risk factors for oral cancer.

Undergraduate Confidence When Undertaking Root Canal Treatment and Their Perception of the Quality of Their Endodontic Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Puryer

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The General Dental Council expects graduating dentists to be competent at treating pulpal disease. Previous studies have found dental undergraduates to have low levels of confidence with respect to endodontic treatments. The aim of this study was to investigate the confidence of undergraduate dental students at the University of Bristol when performing root canal treatment, and to investigate their perception of the quality of their endodontic education. An anonymous questionnaire, based upon one used in a 2015 study at Cardiff University, was distributed to all (n = 204 undergraduate students in Years 3–5 at the University of Bristol. The results were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS. There was a 59% (n = 120 response rate and a significant (p < 0.01 difference in confidence levels for root canal treatments (RCTs completed between these students. All (100% Year-5 students felt confident in completing anterior RCTs, and 91% felt confident in completing posterior RCTs. The majority (93% of Year-4 students felt confident in completing anterior RCTs, and 77% felt confident in completing posterior RCTs. Over one-half (56% of Year-3 students felt confident in anterior RCTs and 17% in posterior RCTs. With respect to the individual stages of RCT (access cavity, cleaning and shaping of root canal system, and obturation/filling, results showed that there was a significant difference (p < 0.01 in confidence levels between year groups. Many students thought the amount of time spent on endodontic teaching and the quality of teaching to be satisfactory. Improvements suggested for future endodontic teaching included higher numbers of staff supervision and additional endodontic practice on extracted teeth before seeing patients. There was a strong association between students’ clinical experience and their levels of confidence when completing RCT. Increasing the amount of clinical experience of RCTs could

The role of self-regulated learning in explaining examination performance of college students in first-semester general chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Beckley, Scott

Many college students struggle with first-semester general chemistry. Prior studies have shown that a student's prior knowledge of chemistry, a cognitive factor, does not account for the total variance when measured by examination scores. This study explored the role of self-regulated learning (SRL) to identify the degree of success or failure of students with two outcome variables (i.e., American Chemical Society Comprehensive First-Term General Chemistry Examination (Form 2009) and hour-examination averages). The SRL construct consists of three interrelated components (i.e., cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational). SRL theory focuses on the idea of reciprocal determinism, in which the impact of one component of self-regulation affects the other two components. In the quantitative portion of this mixed methods study, eight measures of SRL were used to determine the `level' of self-regulation for each student. SRL variables were used in regression analysis and provided additional and unique variances. Cluster analysis techniques identified two distinct groups of students (i.e., adaptive and maladaptive). Generally, adaptive learners were associated with higher levels of SRL and success in the course; maladaptive learners had lower levels of SRL and struggled with the course demands. For the qualitative portion of the study, student volunteers (n = 8) were interviewed to gauge their views on the role of instruction in influencing their examination performances. The findings indicated that perceptions of teaching methods, demands of the course, course structure, feedback, and assessments were associated with the students' levels of self-regulation. Interviews revealed four SRL styles. Rote memorizers tended to fragment instruction and then memorize each fragment, while algorithmic memorizers tended to imitate the step-by-step problem-solving strategies of the instructor or the textbook. Globalizers were intrinsically motivated to learn the material but tended to

Sleep Duration and Academic Performance Among Student Pharmacists.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeek, Megan L; Savoie, Matthew J; Song, Matthew; Kennemur, Leanna M; Qian, Jingjing; Jungnickel, Paul W; Westrick, Salisa C

2015-06-25

To identify sleep patterns and frequency of daytime sleepiness and to assess the association between sleep duration and academic performance among student pharmacists. A cross-sectional design was used. An anonymous self-administered paper questionnaire was administered to first-year through third-year students at a pharmacy school. Questionnaires were completed by 364 student pharmacists (79.4% response rate and 93.8% cooperation rate). More than half of student pharmacists obtained less than 7 hours of sleep at night during a typical school week (54.7%) and a large majority on the night prior to an examination (81.7%). Almost half (47.8%) felt daytime sleepiness almost every day. Longer sleep duration the night prior to an examination was associated with higher course grades and semester grade point averages (GPAs). A majority of student pharmacists had suboptimal durations of sleep, defined as fewer than 7 hours. Adequate sleep the night prior to an examination was positively associated with student course grades and semester GPAs.

Changing hearts and minds: examining student nurses' experiences and perceptions of a general practice placement through a 'community of practice' lens.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Robin; Kelly, Shona

2018-04-05

The recent UK Government paper 'Five year forward view' describes the need to move much patient management from secondary to primary care, and this will require a significant increase in the numbers of General Practice Nurses (GPNs). Until recently, there has been no clear recruitment strategy to address this. There have however been a number of proposed solutions to address the impending GPN recruitment crisis and to increase the numbers of new GPNs in post. General Practitioners (GPs) working in the Advanced Training Practice Scheme (ATPS) have been commissioned by Health Education England to provide placements for student nurses. This paper reports upon the findings of a study evaluating the South Yorkshire ATPS network in relation to nursing students' perceptions of general practice as a placement and a potential career option post-graduation. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 18 nursing students. Qualitative data analysis used a framework approach and themes were cross-checked within the team. The research had ethical approval and anonymity and confidentiality were maintained throughout. Using the Communities of Practice (CoP) framework as a theoretical lens, two main themes emerged from the data: 'Myths and misunderstandings' outlined some of the misconceptions that abounded in the absence of an established CoP in general practice. These included perceptions of what constitutes a 'good' placement, an apparent lack of relevant content in the curriculum, and the widespread use of social media by students as a means of information gathering. 'Changing hearts and minds' referred to the need to positively influence the culture within general practice by addressing some of the longstanding myths. Through the fledgling CoP, the students' perceptions of the GPN role in particular were positively revised, as was the prospect of a career in general practice upon graduation. The CoP that is emerging through the ATPS placements appear to be

The Evaluation of Students' Written Reflection on the Learning of General Chemistry Lab Experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Ng Sook; Li, Ho Ket; Sin, Lee Choy; Sin, Keng Pei

2014-01-01

Reflective writing is often used to increase understanding and analytical ability. The lack of empirical evidence on the effect of reflective writing interventions on the learning of general chemistry lab experiment supports the examination of this concept. The central goal of this exploratory study was to evaluate the students' written…

Evaluation of major risk factors related to depression among medical students of NRS medical college.

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Mukhopadhyay Prianka, Sain Sonali, Mandal Nirmal Kumar, Saha Tushar Kanti , Dey Indira, Chattopadhyay Amitava

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: Medical students experience depression, burnout, and mental illness at a higher rate than general population. A better understanding of related risk factors can help target appropriate support services for them. The aim of the study was to assess the occurrence of depression and identify its risk factors among undergraduate students in a medical College in Kolkata, India. Methodology: A descriptive, cross-sectional study using a two stage, stratified cluster sampling technique was used to select a sample of 289 students. Data were collected using a self-administered, anonymous questionnaire based on Becks Depression Inventory II. Results: The mean score of students on depression scale was 10.47±10.39. 22.5 % of students tested positive for some form of depression while 6.2% had severe to extreme depression. The risk factors of depressive symptoms identified were older age, lower family income, students who did not choose admission in MBBS course on their own, had addictions, felt negatively about results, faced difficulty with study course and had relationship issues. Students with relationship issues in their personal lives were 3.7 times more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms than without them. Students who faced difficulty coping with study course were 2.18 times more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms than without them. Conclusion: Academic performance alone doesn’t influence the mental health of students, rather factors like older age, socioeconomic status, role in choice of medical career, negative perception of academic performance, difficulty with study course and relationship issues are also important.

Delayed post-surgical sepsis from Teflon felt: The diagnostic value of CT scanning, and a reminder for theatre staff

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D Emby

2011-05-01

Full Text Available We report on 2 patients with surgical site infections following the inadvertent use of Teflon felt for haemostasis in elective and emergency surgery. CT scanning was superior to plain radiography in demonstrating the foreign bodies to enable planning of further surgical treatment.

Motivation of medical students: selection by motivation or motivation by selection.

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Wouters, Anouk; Croiset, Gerda; Galindo-Garre, Francisca; Kusurkar, Rashmi A

2016-01-29

Medical schools try to implement selection procedures that will allow them to select the most motivated students for their programs. Though there is a general feeling that selection stimulates student motivation, conclusive evidence for this is lacking. The current study aims to use the perspective of Self-determination Theory (SDT) of motivation as a lens to examine how medical students' motivation differs in relation to different selection procedures. The hypotheses were that 1) selected students report higher strength and autonomous motivation than non-selected students, and 2) recently selected students report higher strength and autonomous motivation than non-selected students and students who were selected longer ago. First- (Y1) and fourth-year (Y4) medical students in the six-year regular programme and first-year students in the four-year graduate entry programme (GE) completed questionnaires measuring motivation strength and type (autonomous-AM, controlled-CM). Scores were compared between students admitted based on selection, lottery or top pre-university GPA (top GPA) using ANCOVAs. Selected students' answers on open-ended questions were analysed using inductive thematic analysis to identify reasons for changes in motivation. The response rate was 61.4 % (n = 357). Selected students (Y1, Y4 and GE) reported a significantly higher strength of motivation than non-selected students (Y1 and Y4 lottery and top GPA) (p motivation as they felt autonomous, competent and that they belonged to a special group. These reported reasons are in alignment with the basic psychological needs described by Self-Determination Theory as important in enhancing autonomous motivation. A comprehensive selection procedure, compared to less demanding admission procedures, does not seem to yield a student population which stands out in terms of autonomous motivation. The current findings indicate that selection might temporarily enhance students' motivation. The mechanism

Implementing the Mental Health Act 2007 in British general practice: Lessons from Ireland.

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Jabbar, Faraz; Doherty, Anne M; Aziz, Muniba; Kelly, Brendan D

2011-01-01

Changes in mental health legislation (e.g. Mental Health Act 2007 in England and Wales, Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland) have generally improved adherence to international human rights standards, but also present challenges to primary care providers. When mental health legislation was substantially reformed in Ireland, 62.9% of general practitioners (GPs) felt the new legislation was not user-friendly. Majorities of GPs who felt the legislation affected their practice reported increased workloads (85%) and various other difficulties (53%). GPs who had received training about the legislation were more likely to find it user-friendly (43% versus 30.9%), and informal training (e.g. from colleagues) was just as likely as formal training to be associated with a GP finding it user-friendly. With similar changes to mental health legislation being introduced in England and Wales, it is significant that informal training is just as good as formal training in helping GPs work with new mental health legislation. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

General Practitioners and Involuntary Admission

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jepsen, Britta; Lomborg, Kirsten; Engberg, Marianne

2010-01-01

Background: In many countries, medical authorities are responsible for involuntary admissions of mentally ill patients. Nonetheless, very little is known about GPs' experiences with involuntary admission. Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore GP's experiences from participating....... They felt that sectioning patients was unpleasant, and felt nervous, but experienced relief and professional satisfaction if things went well. The GPs experienced the doctor-patient relationship to be at risk, but also reported that it could be improved. GPs felt that they were not taken seriously...

Eating disorders in ballet dancing students: problems and risk factors.

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Toro, Josep; Guerrero, Marta; Sentis, Joan; Castro, Josefina; Puértolas, Carles

2009-01-01

To study the prevalence of symptoms of eating disorders and risk eating behaviours and the relationship between life at a dance school and the risk of developing an eating disorder (ED) in an adolescent population of Spanish dance students. Questionnaires were used to assess attitudes to eating, cultural influences on the body shape model, eating disorders (DSM-IV) and risk factors for eating disorders in 76 adolescent dance students (age 12-17 years) at the Barcelona Theatre Institute. Subjects were compared with a community sample of 453 female adolescents. To study the relationship between ED and characteristics of this particular school, an original questionnaire was administered to 105 students at the school aged from 12 to 21 years. The prevalence of eating disorders and several risk attitudes and behaviours were similar in the dance students and the female adolescents from the general population. Students at risk of eating disorders perceived greater pressure from coaches concerning eating, appearance, weight and artistic performance; they felt less satisfied with their weight and weighed themselves more often; they avoided performing so as not to exhibit their body in public, disliked comparing their body with their peers and believed that audiences paid a great deal of attention to their bodies. In contrast, Body Mass Index (BMI) had hardly any influence on these experiences. Depressive symptoms were associated almost exclusively with experience of stressors and aversive situations. Dance school students do not necessarily present a greater risk of ED than other girls of the same age. The risk of ED may be associated with greater pressure from coaches, with attitudes related to the ED itself, or with depressive symptoms, rather than with the BMI.

Microwave-assisted preparation of carbon nanofiber-functionalized graphite felts as electrodes for polymer-based redox-flow batteries

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Schwenke, A. M.; Janoschka, T.; Stolze, C.; Martin, N.; Hoeppener, S.; Schubert, U. S.

2016-12-01

A simple and fast microwave-assisted protocol to functionalize commercially available graphite felts (GFs) with carbon nanofibers (CNFs) for the application as electrode materials in redox-flow batteries (RFB) is demonstrated. As catalyst for the CNF synthesis nickel acetate is applied and ethanol serves as the carbon source. By the in-situ growth of CNFs, the active surface of the electrodes is increased by a factor of 50, which is determined by the electrochemical double layer capacities of the obtained materials. Furthermore, the morphology of the CNF-coating is investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the functionalized electrodes are applied in a polymer-based redox-flow battery (pRFB) using a TEMPO- and a viologen polymer as active materials. Due to the increased surface area as compared to an untreated graphite felt electrode, the current rating is improved by about 45% at 80 mA cm-2 and, furthermore, a decrease in overpotentials is observed. Thus, using this microwave-assisted synthesis approach, CNF-functionalized composite electrodes are prepared with a very simple protocol suitable for real life applications and an improvement of the overall performance of the polymer-based redox-flow battery is demonstrated.

"Why Do I Have to Take This Course?": How Academic Advisers Can Help Students Find Personal Meaning and Purpose in General Education

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Kirk-Kuwaye, Michael; Sano-Franchini, Dominic

2015-01-01

For a variety of reasons, student engagement in general education continues to be a challenge. Perhaps one way to increase engagement is to connect general education with a deep student need: finding meaning and purpose in their lives or exploring what some have called "big questions." Recent scholarship has defined these clusters of…

Nutrition in Medicine: Medical Students׳ Satisfaction, Perceived Relevance and Preparedness for Practice

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Victor Mogre

2018-03-01

Discussion: Students were dissatisfied with their current education in nutrition, felt inadequately prepared to provide nutrition care and considered nutrition education to be highly relevant to their future practice. The findings of this study provide additional evidence that suggests changes in the current format and content of nutrition education in medical education.

Medical students' perception of objective structured clinical examination: a feedback for process improvement.

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Nasir, Abdulrasheed A; Yusuf, Ayodeji S; Abdur-Rahman, Lukman O; Babalola, Olasunkanmi M; Adeyeye, Ademola A; Popoola, Ademola A; Adeniran, James O

2014-01-01

Medical educators have always been desirous of the best methods for formative and summative evaluation of trainees. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an approach for student assessment in which aspects of clinical competence are evaluated in a comprehensive, consistent, and structured manner with close attention to the objectivity of the process. Though popular in most medical schools globally, its use in Nigeria medical schools appears limited. This study was conceived to explore students' perception about the acceptability of OSCE process and to provide feedback to be used to improve the assessment technique. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on final-year medical students, who participated in the final MBBS surgery examination in June 2011. A 19-item self-administered structured questionnaire was employed to obtain relevant data on demographics of respondents and questions evaluating the OSCE stations in terms of the quality of instructions and organization, learning opportunities, authenticity and transparency of the process, and usefulness of the OSCE as an assessment instrument compared with other formats. Students' responses were based on a 5-point Likert scales ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 15 (SPSS, Inc, Chicago, IL). The study took place at the University of Ilorin, College of Health Science. A total of 187 final-year medical students were enrolled in to the survey. Of 187 eligible students, 151 completed the self-administered questionnaire representing 80.7% response rate. A total of 61 (40.4%) students felt that it was easy to understand written instructions at the OSCE stations. In total, 106 (70.2%) students felt that the time allocated to each station was adequate. A total of 89 (58.9%) students agreed that the OSCE accurately measured their knowledge and skill, and 85 (56.3%) reported that OSCE enhanced their communication skill. Of the respondents, 80 (53

The Social Profile of Students in Basic General Education in Ecuador: A Data Analysis

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Buri, Olga Elizabeth Minchala; Stefos, Efstathios

2017-01-01

The objective of this study is to examine the social profile of students who are enrolled in Basic General Education in Ecuador. Both a descriptive and multidimensional statistical analysis was carried out based on the data provided by the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment in 2015. The descriptive analysis shows the…

An electrical-heating and self-sensing shape memory polymer composite incorporated with carbon fiber felt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Xiaobo; Leng, Jinsong; Liu, Liwu; Liu, Yanju

2016-01-01

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have the ability to adjust their stiffness, lock a temporary shape, and recover the permanent shape upon imposing an appropriate stimulus. They have found their way into the field of morphing structures. The electrically Joule resistive heating of the conductive composite can be a desirable stimulus to activate the shape memory effect of SMPs without external heating equipment. Electro-induced SMP composites incorporated with carbon fiber felt (CFF) were explored in this work. The CFF is an excellent conductive filler which can easily spread throughout the composite. It has a huge advantage in terms of low cost, simple manufacturing process, and uniform and tunable temperature distribution while heating. A continuous and compact conductive network made of carbon fibers and the overlap joints among them was observed from the microscopy images, and this network contributes to the high conductive properties of the CFF/SMP composites. The CFF/SMP composites can be electrical-heated rapidly and uniformly, and its’ shape recovery effect can be actuated by the electrical resistance Joule heating of the CFF without an external heater. The CFF/SMP composite get higher modulus and higher strength than the pure SMP without losing any strain recovery property. The high dependence of temperature and strain on the electrical resistance also make the composite a good self-sensing material. In general, the CFF/SMP composite shows great prospects as a potential material for the future morphing structures. (paper)

Immersive simulated reality scenarios for enhancing students' experience of people with learning disabilities across all fields of nurse education.

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Saunder, Lorna; Berridge, Emma-Jane

2015-11-01

Poor preparation of nurses, regarding learning disabilities can have devastating consequences. High-profile reports and the Nursing and Midwifery Council requirements led this University to introduce Shareville into the undergraduate and postgraduate nursing curriculum. Shareville is a virtual environment developed at Birmingham City University, in which student nurses learn from realistic, problem-based scenarios featuring people with learning disabilities. Following the implementation of the resource an evaluation of both staff and student experience was undertaken. Students reported that problem-based scenarios were sufficiently real and immersive. Scenarios presented previously unanticipated considerations, offering new insights, and giving students the opportunity to practise decision-making in challenging scenarios before encountering them in practice. The interface and the quality of the graphics were criticised, but, this did not interfere with learning. Nine lecturers were interviewed, they generally felt positively towards the resource and identified strengths in terms of blended learning and collaborative teaching. The evaluation contributes to understandings of learning via simulated reality, and identifies process issues that will inform the development of further resources and their roll-out locally, and may guide other education providers in developing and implementing resources of this nature. There was significant parity between lecturers' expectations of students' experience of Shareville. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrocatalytic activity of cobalt phosphide-modified graphite felt toward VO2+/VO2+ redox reaction

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Ge, Zhijun; Wang, Ling; He, Zhangxing; Li, Yuehua; Jiang, Yingqiao; Meng, Wei; Dai, Lei

2018-04-01

A novel strategy for improving the electro-catalytic properties of graphite felt (GF) electrode in vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) is designed by depositing cobalt phosphide (CoP) onto GF surface. The CoP powder is synthesized by direct carbonization of Co-based zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) followed by phosphidation. Cyclic voltammetry results confirm that the CoP-modified graphite felt (GF-CoP) electrode has excellent reversibility and electro-catalytic activity to the VO2+/VO2+ cathodic reaction compared with the pristine GF electrode. The cell using GF-CoP electrode shows apparently higher discharge capacity over that based on GF electrode. The cell using GF-CoP electrode has the capacity of 67.2 mA h at 100 mA cm-2, 32.7 mA h larger than that using GF electrode. Compared with cell using GF electrode, the voltage efficiency of the cell based on GF-CoP electrode increases by 5.9% and energy efficiency by 5.4% at a current density of 100 mA cm-2. The cell using GF-CoP electrode can reach 94.31% capacity retention after 50 cycles at a current density of 30 mA cm-2. The results show that the CoP can effectively promote the VO2+/VO2+ redox reaction, implying that metal phosphides are a new kind of potential catalytic materials for VRFB.

Use of information and communication technology amongst New Zealand dental students.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, S; Pollock, D; Rountree, J; Murray, C M

2016-08-01

Although international studies have shown an increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) amongst dental students, there are no published studies specific to New Zealand (NZ). The aim of this research was to identify device ownership and academic utilisation patterns amongst New Zealand dental students, including preferences and perceptions, and barriers to use. All currently enrolled dental students (322) were invited to complete a 15-item questionnaire. Data were statistically analysed in SPSS version 20.0. Qualitative data were analysed using a general inductive technique. The participation rate was 78.6% (N = 253 of 322). The majority of respondents personally owned laptop computers (98%) and smartphones (80.2%). A total of 10.8% of participants used a desktop computer everyday for academic purposes, whilst 78.7% used a laptop computer daily, and 54.7% a smartphone. New Zealand dental students demonstrated a high usage of ICT for their coursework with varied use of different online resources. The most frequently used online resources were search engines, social networking sites and lecture slides provided on Blackboard(®) . A high perceived value was placed on both audio podcasts and video podcasts despite the high value also placed on the traditional lectures. Although most participants (84.5%) felt that their ICT knowledge was adequate to meet academic requirements, a small number (1.6%) did not agree. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Opinions of students from a Brazilian medical school regarding online professionalism.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Paulo Novis; de Castro, Naara Alethéa Azael

2014-05-01

Unprofessional online behavior by medical students or physicians may damage individual careers, and the reputation of institutions and the medical profession. What is considered unprofessional online behavior, however, is not clearly defined and may vary in different cultures. To determine the frequency with which students from a Brazilian Medical School come across ten given examples of unprofessional online behavior by medical students or physicians, and gather the opinions of participants regarding the appropriateness of these behaviors. A cross-sectional survey of 350 students from the Medical School of Bahia, Brazil. Only those who had a profile in social media were included in the final analyses. 336/350 (96.0%) medical students kept a profile in social media. Only 13.5% reported having discussions about online professionalism during ethics classes. They reported witnessing the investigated examples of unprofessional online behavior with varying frequencies, ranging from 13.7% for "violation of patient's privacy" to 85.4% for "photos depicting consumption of alcoholic beverages". Most participants felt neutral about posting "pictures in bathing suits", whereas the vast majority rated "violation of patient's privacy" as totally inappropriate. When presented with a case vignette illustrating violation of patients' privacy (publication of pictures of hospitalized children or neonates in social media), however, most participants felt neutral about it. Participants considered all investigated examples of unprofessional online behavior more inappropriate if carried out by doctors rather than by students. Medical students are witnessing a high frequency of unprofessional online behavior by their peers and physicians. Most investigated behaviors were considered inappropriate, especially if carried out by physicians. Participants were not able to recognize the publication of pictures of hospitalized children or neonates in social media as cases of violation of

appeals among male university students in Western Australia

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Shahriar Khandaker

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Background. Smoking causes ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and lung cancer killing 15,000 Australians every year. Despite extensive publicity of the harmful health effects of smoking, one in six Australian aged 15 years and over smoked daily representing 2.7 million active smokers. Objectives. The research aimed to comprehend how active university student smokers respond to different appeals employed in public service antismoking campaigns in Western Australia. Material and methods. The study examined the Quit Victoria 2006–2008 antismoking campaign using qualitative research method involving four in-depth focus group discussions with a total of twenty-four (N = 24 active male university student smokers in Western Australia between the age group of 18 to 24 years. Results . Male university students became active smokers because of the perceived image of ‘coolness,’ ‘macho,’ media influence and experimentation. Impact on sports performances predominantly encouraged respondents in attempting to quit smoking. Sixteen students (67% felt that graphic warning messages on cigarette packs had no effect on them due to desensitizing effects of repeated messages. Twenty-one participants (87.5% felt that health shock appeal was ineffective in making them quit. Emotional appeals like humor, fear, and health shock were most persuasive in advertising messages which would assist in smoking cessation. Therefore, antismoking campaigns with shock health appeals were ineffective in helping smokers to abdicate smoking. Results suggested employing emotional or combination of rational and emotional appeals in maximizing the effectiveness of antismoking advertisements. Conclusions . The study broadens the scope of devising effective antismoking campaigns and provide insightful implications for public health promoters as well as individualized care providers.

Are general surgery residents adequately prepared for hepatopancreatobiliary fellowships? A questionnaire-based study

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Osman, Houssam; Parikh, Janak; Patel, Shirali; Jeyarajah, D Rohan

2015-01-01

Background The present study was conducted to assess the preparedness of hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) fellows upon entering fellowship, identify challenges encountered by HPB fellows during the initial part of their HPB training, and identify potential solutions to these challenges that can be applied during residency training. Methods A questionnaire was distributed to all HPB fellows in accredited HPB fellowship programmes in two consecutive academic years (n = 42). Reponses were then analysed. Results A total of 19 (45%) fellows responded. Prior to their fellowship, 10 (53%) were in surgical residency and the rest were in other surgical fellowships or surgical practice. Thirteen (68%) were graduates of university-based residency programmes. All fellows felt comfortable in performing basic laparoscopic procedures independently at the completion of residency and less comfortable in performing advanced laparoscopy. Eight (42%) fellows cited a combination of inadequate case volume and lack of autonomy during residency as the reasons for this lack of comfort. Thirteen (68%) identified inadequate preoperative workup and management as their biggest fear upon entering practice after general surgery training. A total of 17 (89%) fellows felt they were adequately prepared to enter HPB fellowship. Extra rotations in transplant, vascular or minimally invasive surgery were believed to be most helpful in preparing general surgery residents pursing HPB fellowships. Conclusions Overall, HPB fellows felt themselves to be adequately prepared for fellowship. Advanced laparoscopic procedures and the perioperative management of complex patients are two of the challenges facing HPB fellows. General surgery residents who plan to pursue an HPB fellowship may benefit from spending extra rotations on certain subspecialties. Focus on perioperative workup and management should be an integral part of residency and fellowship training. PMID:25387852

Stress among general practitioners of Kwa-Dukuza, Kwa-Zulu Natal

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Indiran Govender

2009-08-01

Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive study using a self-administered, standardised questionnaire (12-item General Health Questionnaire [GHC] was performed on the 30 general practitioners in Kwa-Dukuza. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained. Results: 26 of the 30 GPs (87% responded to the survey. 10 GPs (38% were stressed as per the GHQ, six of whom were severely stressed. 22 reported that they felt stressed at work (subjectively. Conclusion: The results indicated that stress among Kwa-Dukuza GPs is slightly higher (38% than found in other studies that indicate a prevalence of 28% among doctors.

Puzzling through General Chemistry: A Light-Hearted Approach to Engaging Students with Chemistry Content

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Boyd, Susan L.

2007-01-01

Several puzzles are designed to be used by chemistry students as learning tools and teach them basic chemical concepts. The topics of the puzzles are based on the chapters from Chemistry, The Central Science used in general chemistry course and the puzzles are in various forms like crosswords, word searches, number searches, puzzles based on…

Podcast Effectiveness as Scaffolding Support for Students Enrolled in First-Semester General Chemistry Laboratories

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Mary Cynthia Barton

2010-01-01

Podcasts covering essential first-semester general chemistry laboratory techniques and central concepts that aid in experimental design or data processing were prepared and made available for students to access on an as-needed basis on iPhones [arrow right] or iPod touches [arrow right]. Research focused in three areas: the extent of podcast…

Advanced medical students' experiences and views on professionalism at Kuwait University.

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Al-Abdulrazzaq, Dalia; Al-Fadhli, Amani; Arshad, Andleeb

2014-07-23

Professionalism is a core competency in the medical profession worldwide. Numerous studies investigate how this competency is taught and learned. However, there are few reports on the students' views and experiences with professionalism especially in the Arab world. Our aim was to explore the experiences and views of Kuwait final-year medical students on professionalism. This was a questionnaire study of final-year medical students at Kuwait University (n = 95). Open- and close-ended questions were used to determine the students' experiences and views on: definition, teaching, learning, and assessment of professionalism. Eighty-five of the students completed the questionnaire (89.5%). A total of 252 attributes defining professionalism were listed by our respondents. The majority (98.0%) of these attributes were categorized under the CanMEDS theme describing professionalism as commitment to patients, profession, and society through ethical practice. The most helpful methods in learning about professionalism for the students were contact with positive role models, patients and families, and with their own families, relatives and peers. The students' rating of the quality and quantity of teaching professionalism in the institution was quite variable. Despite this, 68.2% of the students felt very or somewhat comfortable explaining the meaning of medical professionalism to junior medical students. Almost half of the students felt that their education had always or sometimes helped them deal with professionally-challenging situations. Majority (77.6%) of the students thought that their academic assessments should include assessment of professionalism and should be used as a selection criterion in their future academic careers (62.3%). Most of the students discussed and sought advice regarding professionally-challenging situations from their fellow medical students and colleagues. Seventy-five (88.2%) students did not know which organizational body in the institution

Student Response to Remote-Online Case-Based Learning: A Qualitative Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicklen, Peter; Keating, Jennifer L; Maloney, Stephen

2016-03-22

Case-based learning (CBL) typically involves face-to-face interaction in small collaborative groups with a focus on self-directed study. To our knowledge, no published studies report an evaluation of Web conferencing in CBL. The primary aim of this study was to explore student perceptions and attitudes in response to a remote-online case-based learning (RO-CBL) experience. This study took place over a 2-week period in 2013 at Monash University, Victoria, Australia. A third year cohort (n=73) of physiotherapy students was invited to participate. Students were required to participate in 2 training sessions, followed by RO-CBL across 2 sessions. The primary outcome of interest was the student feedback on the quality of the learning experience during RO-CBL participation. This was explored with a focus group and a survey. Most students (68/73) completed the postintervention survey (nonparticipation rate 8%). RO-CBL was generally well received by participants, with 59% (40/68) of participates stating that they'd like RO-CBL to be used in the future and 78% (53/68) of participants believing they could meet the CBL's learning objectives via RO-CBL. The 4 key themes relevant to student response to RO-CBL that emerged from the focus groups and open-ended questions on the postintervention survey were how RO-CBL compared to expectations, key benefits of RO-CBL including flexibility and time and cost savings, communication challenges in the online environment compared to face-to-face, and implications of moving to an online platform. Web conferencing may be a suitable medium for students to participate in CBL. Participants were satisfied with the learning activity and felt they could meet the CBL's learning objectives. Further study should evaluate Web conferencing CBL across an entire semester in regard to student satisfaction, perceived depth of learning, and learning outcomes.

[Investigation on sleep status of college and high school students].

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Shen, Yue-di; Chen, Rong; Ding, Guo-xian

2005-01-01

To investigate the sleep status of college and high schools students. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and self-manufactured questionnaires about siesta habits were used as tools. Three groups of students from medical college (MC), senior high school (SS) and junior high school (JS) were surveyed. In the group MC, SS and JS, the occurrence rates of sleep disorders were 27%, 62% and 54%, respectively, and in which the appearance rates of insomnia were 17%, 19% and 19%, longing for sleep were 10%, 43% and 35% respectively. And there were no significant difference between schoolboy and schoolgirl. The occurrence rates of slack breathing were different (5/155, 1/154) significantly between group SS and JS. The distinct differences also were found in group JS and MC, in which students felt hot (10/155, 1/122) and in all the three groups, in which students felt sleepy (55/155, 62/154, 13/122) whereas the difference of sleepy between group SS and JS was comparatively distinct (55/155, 62/154). Significant differences were also found between group JS and SS, MC in average sleep time of (7.65 +/- 0.87) hours, (7.16 +/- 0.83) hours, and (7.10 +/- 0.57) hours. The time of falling asleep (median 15 min, 10 min, 20 min) and siesta habit (8/155, 19/154, 75/122) among group MC and SS, JS were different respectively and markedly, whereas siesta habit differences between group SS and JS were comparatively distinct (8/155, 19/154). Students in high school showed higher rate of longing for sleep, and this implicated they fall short of sleep time greatly and siesta could improve their sleepy signs.

The Role of University Students' General Self-Efficacy, Depression and Psychological Well-Being in Predicting Their Exercise Behavior

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Ersöz, Gözde

2017-01-01

The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between exercise and general self-efficacy, depression, and psychological well-being of college students. Five hundred and twenty-two university students (n[subscript male] = 273; X[subscript age] = 23.33 ± 4.36 and n[subscript female] = 279; X[subscript age] = 25.91 ± 7.11) have participated…

Evaluating best educational practices, student satisfaction, and self-confidence in simulation: A descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zapko, Karen A; Ferranto, Mary Lou Gemma; Blasiman, Rachael; Shelestak, Debra

2018-01-01

The National League for Nursing (NLN) has endorsed simulation as a necessary teaching approach to prepare students for the demanding role of professional nursing. Questions arise about the suitability of simulation experiences to educate students. Empirical support for the effect of simulation on patient outcomes is sparse. Most studies on simulation report only anecdotal results rather than data obtained using evaluative tools. The aim of this study was to examine student perception of best educational practices in simulation and to evaluate their satisfaction and self-confidence in simulation. This study was a descriptive study designed to explore students' perceptions of the simulation experience over a two-year period. Using the Jeffries framework, a Simulation Day was designed consisting of serial patient simulations using high and medium fidelity simulators and live patient actors. The setting for the study was a regional campus of a large Midwestern Research 2 university. The convenience sample consisted of 199 participants and included sophomore, junior, and senior nursing students enrolled in the baccalaureate nursing program. The Simulation Days consisted of serial patient simulations using high and medium fidelity simulators and live patient actors. Participants rotated through four scenarios that corresponded to their level in the nursing program. Data was collected in two consecutive years. Participants completed both the Educational Practices Questionnaire (Student Version) and the Student Satisfaction and Self-Confidence in Learning Scale. Results provide strong support for using serial simulation as a learning tool. Students were satisfied with the experience, felt confident in their performance, and felt the simulations were based on sound educational practices and were important for learning. Serial simulations and having students experience simulations more than once in consecutive years is a valuable method of clinical instruction. When

Determining the Relation between General Health and Educational Progress among Paramedical Faculty’s Students of Tehran Medical University

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Hossein Dargahi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Considering the fact that students studying various fields of Study will have the responsibility to create, maintain and improve society’s level of health, they should be cared for with precision so they can perform and play their role as an educated and expert work force. this is due to the fact that getting accepted in university is a very sensitive period in lives of efficient workforce and active youth in each country, therefore, present study determines the relation between general health and educational progress among paramedical faculty’s Students of Tehran Medical University. Method: present research has a descriptive-analytic nature and was executed in a time period during winter of 2016. the target society included all students of paramedical faculty and required data was gathered by an adults’ health function literacy questionnaire and general health was also gathered by means of general health questionnaire. in order to present descriptive results of percentage and median and to study and analyses quantitative data, parametric statistical tests was used for normal data and in case there were not normal, unparametric tests were applied. Findings: Results of present study showed that there is a positive significant relation between general health and educational progress (r=01 / 0 p <،28 / 0. Still, no significant relation was observed between general health and health literacy (r= 0.038, p=0.569. Conclusion: In studying general health aspects with health literacy and educational health motivation, all aspects of general health (physical aspect, anxiety aspect, social function aspect, depression aspect showed a direct and significant relation with educational progress but presented no significant relation with health literacy. Still, we could observe a positive effect on educational progress and health literacy by trying to improve any of general health factors. In other words, we could use organizational capitals to improve

[Knowledge, attitude and practice on drinking water of primary and secondary students in Shenzhen].

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Liu, Jiaxin; Hu, Xiaoqi; Zhang, Qian; Du, Songming; Pan, Hui; Dai, Xingbi; Ma, Guansheng

2014-05-01

To investigate the status on drinking water related knowledge, attitude and practice of primary and secondary students in Shenzhen. All 832 primary and secondary students from three schools in Shenzhen were selected by using multi-stage random sampling method. The information of drinking water related knowledge, time of drinking water and the type of drink chose in different situations were collected by questionnaires. 87.3% of students considered plain water being the healthiest drink in daily life, and the percent in girls (90.6%) was significantly higher than that in boys (84.4% ) (chi2 = 7.13, P = 0.0089). The awareness percent of the harm of dehydration was 84.5%. The percent in high school students (96.4%) was significantly higher than that in primary (73.9%) and middle school students (94.2%) (chi2 = 73.77, P water was in the morning with an empty stomach, and 46.3% chose when they felt thirsty. However, 63.7% drank water when they felt thirsty, and 50.6% drank water in the morning with an empty stomach. The percent of drinking plain water at school was the highest (83.4%), followed by at home (64.1%) and in public (26.2%). There were 45.2% and 53.3% of students, respectively, choosing sugary drinks as their favorite drink and most frequently drinking in public places. Primary and secondary students in Shenzhen have a good awareness of drinking water, which is inconsistent with their practice. Meanwhile, a considerable proportion of students towards choosing drinks have many misconceptions. The education of healthy drinking water should be strengthened.

Laboratory Safety Awareness Among General Physics Undergraduate Students

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C. O. Ponferrada

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Safety awareness in the laboratory is essential to reduce occupational risks. This study was conducted to determine the students’ safety awareness in a Physics laboratory. This study determined the student perception towards safety awareness by factors of gender and college from which students are enrolled. A sum of 324 students enrolled in Physics10 (Mechanics and Heat and Physics11 (Electricity and Magnetism in the Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST were randomly selected as survey respondents. A modified survey questionnaire was used as research instrument. The results show that the students had positive level of safety awareness and perceived positively on the preventive measures to reduce laboratory risk. Further, regardless of gender students enrolled in Physics 10 were more positively aware towards safety awareness than students enrolled in Physics 11. Similarly, a variation among the students perception towards safety awareness from the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA and College of Industrial and Information Technology (CIIT occurred. Overall, present findings indicate a need to introduce laboratory safety awareness in Physics classes.

The Predominance Of Integrative Tests Over Discrete Point Tests In Evaluating The Medical Students' General English Knowledge

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maryam Heydarpour Meymeh

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Background and purpose: Multiple choice tests are the most common type of tests used in evaluating the general English knowledge of the students in most medical universities, however the efficacy of these tests are not examined precisely. Wecompare and examine the integrative tests and discrete point tests as measures of the English language knowledge of medical students.Methods: Three tests were given to 60 undergraduate physiotherapy and Audiology students in their second year of study (after passing their general English course. They were divided into 2 groups.The first test for both groups was an integrative test, writing. The second test was a multiple - choice test 0.(prepositions for group one and a multiple - choice test of tensesfor group two. The same items which were mostfi-equently used wrongly in thefirst test were used in the items of the second test. A third test, a TOEFL, was given to the subjects in order to estimate the correlation between this test and tests one and two.Results: The students performed better in the second test, discrete point test rather than the first which was an integrative test. The same grammatical mistakes in the composition were used correctly in the multiple choice tests by the students.Conclusion:Our findings show that student perform better in non-productive rather than productive test. Since being competent English language user is an expected outcome of university language courses it seems warranted to switch to integrative tests as a measure of English language competency.Keywords: INTEGRATIVE TESTS, ENGLISH LANGUAGE FOR MEDICINE, ACADEMIC ENGLISH

Differentiating Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities: Best Teaching Practices for General and Special Educators.

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Bender, William N.

This book provides classroom-proven strategies designed to empower the teacher to target instructional modifications to the content, process, and products for students with learning disabilities in the general and special education classrooms. Chapter 1 presents the concept of differentiated instruction and how that concept translates into…

The effect of graphic organizers on students' attitudes and academic performance in undergraduate general biology

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Cleveland, Lacy

High attrition among undergraduate Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors has led national and business leaders in the United States to call for both research and educational reform within the collegiate STEM classrooms. Included among suggestions for reform are ideas to improve retention of first-year students and to improve critical thinking and depth of knowledge, instead of covering large quantities of materials. Past research on graphic organizers suggest these tools assist students in learning information and facilitate conceptual and critical thinking. Despite their widespread use in high school science departments, collegiate humanities departments, and even medical schools, their use is considerably less prevalent in the undergraduate biology classroom. In addition to their lack of use, little research has been conducted on their academic benefits in the collegiate classroom. Based on national calls for improving retention among undergraduate STEM majors and research suggesting that academic success during an individual first major's related course highly determine if that individual will continue on in their intended major, the researcher of this dissertation chose to conduct research on an introductory general biology class. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research in this dissertation examines the effectiveness of graphic organizers in promoting academic success and also examines their influence on student attitudes. This research is grounded in the theories of constructivism and cognitive load theory. Constructivism suggests that individuals must build their knowledge from their personal experiences, while the cognitive load theory recognizes the limited nature of one's working memory and suggests that instructional practices minimize cognitive overload. The results of this dissertation suggest that the use of graphic organizers in an undergraduate general biology classroom can increase students' academic