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Teaching first-year students during transition to higher education: An autoethnographical account
Get PDFTransition to the first-year of higher education represents a key period of change for students and is a powerful element of the university experience. Educators are key in facilitating successful first-year experiences and must understand the multidimensional aspects of transition in order to effectively support diverse student groups. This study adopts an autoethnographic methodology to explore the experiences of an educator teaching first-year students during transition to higher education. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted using data from a period of the educators' reflexive journaling, identifying three themes for discussion: managing variation, everchanging hats, and worthwhile efforts. Implications for practice are identified and the process of writing an autoethnographic piece is reflected upon. This autoethnography encourages educators to reflect and develop a deeper understanding of the self and others for the benefit of the learning and teaching environment
'Victims Won’t Get Much': Photographing Relief Stations during the 1937 Ohio-Mississippi Flood Disaster
No full textThis paper examines the representation of conditions in temporary shelters during and after the height of the 1937 Ohio-Mississippi floods. The publicity efforts of the US government’s Resettlement Administration led to encounters between photographers and evacuees in highly managed and racialised spaces. Russell Lee visited an improvised hospital in the Methodist church at Sikeston, Missouri. Edwin Locke and Walker Evans made their way to eastern Arkansas, where they photographed racially segregated tent cities in Forrest City and Marianna. In the context of a martial law order hastily declared by Arkansas Governor Carl E. Bailey, National Guard militiamen were called upon to support the Red Cross in running facilities; sites where boundaries between assistance and confinement became unclear. My main task is to analyse how official photographers addressed the difficult brief of reporting from these locations. The discussion will introduce and frame several of the ethical and practical problems that they encountered, reflecting on implications for ongoing journalistic coverage of climate instability. Broadly, refugees faced invasive observation from two opposing angles: from news workers and relief workers. Many of the images I will discuss trace brief, uneven, interactions within a crisis response that was characterised by militarism and mistrust. Within the paradigm of the flood, its aftermath, and persistent rural poverty in the South, I will discuss the limitations of these images as evidence and reflect on the differential time-perspectives of photographers and their subjects during such emergencies
Shared decision-making and deprescribing to support anti-thrombotic therapy (dis)continuance for persons living with cancer in their last phase of life: A realist synthesis
Get PDFIntroductionPatients with cancer are at increased risk of thrombotic complications from both the disease and its treatments, with antithrombotic therapy (ATT) usually continued in the last phase of life where the benefit is less clear and there is high risk of harms. Physiological changes toward the end of life increase the risk that ATT will cause serious bleeding events, but discussion between clinicians and patients of ATT risks and benefits is sub-optimal. This realist synthesis explores shared decision-making (SDM) to: (a) provide insights into why prescribing continues in end-of-life care; (b) build a conceptual platform for optimizing ATT prescribing for persons living with cancer towards end-of-life.Methods and findingsWe conducted a realist synthesis using context-mechanism-outcome configurations and ‘if…then’ statements. A total of 17,036 citations identified across 10 databases (Medline, EMBASE, APA PsycInfo, CINAHL Complete, CDSR, CENTRAL, EPISTEMONIKOS, Web of Science Core Collection, Assia, Google Scholar). Ninety-one papers included following reverse chronology quota record screening (from: database searches (n = 56), consortium experts (n = 35)). Included papers: quantitative (n = 40), qualitative (n = 17), mixed-methods (n = 2), evidence syntheses (n = 16), commentaries (n = 9), case reports (n = 7). Exclusion criteria: persons <18 years, non-English language, not focused on SDM or deprescribing in palliative care. An analytic appraisal journal was used with realist logic to synthesize insights from included papers (contents from 43/91 included in this paper). The concept of ‘prescribing inertia’ was used to formulate explanatory theories about clinician reluctance to deprescribe and the mechanisms underpinning SDM, including (a) the meaning medications have to end-of-life patients (e.g., ‘life preserving’ or ‘symptom management’) and public awareness of medications (e.g., high-profile chemotherapy versus low-profile ATT) are determinants of: (i) clinician motivation to engage patients around deprescribing, (ii) patient understanding, volition and participation in SDM; (b) SDM for ATT deprescribing requires sensitive engagement with patients and families without removing positivity around survival and continuing clinician interest in their welfare; (c) multi-disciplinary clinical decision-making about timing and suitability of deprescribing in end-of-life care requires specialized consensus-driven processes and evidence-based decision support tools; (d) if patients are healthy enough, empowerment interventions outside clinical encounters (e.g., health literacy apps) may increase patient and family readiness to engage in deprescribing conversations; (e) organizational investments can facilitate discussion of deprescribing (e.g., improved electronic medical record prompts, clinician communication skills training, data presentation to clinicians of actual ATT risks). Limitations: despite robust screening and selection, the sample of included papers does not reflect the entirety of eligible source material and did not include a systematic search for papers focusing on low- and middle-income country countries.ConclusionImplementation of ATT deprescribing is enabled or constrained by (a) the meaning of medications to patients; (b) clinician engagement and understanding; (c) multi-disciplinary clinical decision-making processes (including support tools); (d) patient empowerment; (e) organizational investment. Addressing these multi-level factors, including the development of SDM tools, can address the prescribing inertia that may cause devastating impacts on patients and their families as well as moral distress amongst healthcare staff. This study was performed as part of the Horizon-Europe funded SERENITY project
A watershed fragility index for assessing the vulnerability of river ecosystems
Get PDFAccelerating impacts of climate change have heightened the vulnerability of ecosystems, posing critical challenges to biodiversity conservation. While current climate change vulnerability assessment frameworks provide valuable insights, they often fall short of fully integrating local stressors. This paper introduces the Watershed Fragility Index (WFI), an innovative tool designed to address these gaps by offering a more comprehensive evaluation of multiple stressors. The WFI leverages Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for spatial analysis, Fuzzy logic for handling ecological complexity and variation, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for prioritizing stressors. For a better comprehension of various exposures, 12 factors are assessed − flooding susceptibility, temperature change, wildfire potential, soil type, geology, distance from waterbodies, slope, altitude, land use and cover, distance from roads, watercourse barriers, and forest change. They are organized into different sub-indexes related to natural disturbances, environmental fragility, and anthropogenic stressors. The tool is demonstrated on the Humber River watershed in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, in eastern Canada. The results indicate that certain stressors create vulnerable areas near important lakes. Overall, the watershed is classified predominantly as low fragility. However, the most vulnerable regions, characterized by moderate fragility, are mainly found in the Lower Humber area, which also contains a larger area with roads, watercourse barriers, and steeper slopes. The outputs offer crucial insights to aid environmental planning within the Humber River watershed and can serve as an evaluation tool for other regions. The WFI is a novel tool for policy development, enabling environmental managers and conservationists to create targeted and adaptive strategies that enhance habitat and species resilience through comprehensive and integrated assessment
Can we trust published evidence on point-of-care tests for cholesterol? A rapid review
Get PDFObjectives There is a need to better inform clinicians and decision-makers in primary or community care settings on selecting the appropriate point-of-care tests (POCTs) for screening purposes (as a part of the NHS Health Check Programme). Here we provide an overview of the published analytic validity and diagnostic accuracy studies on POCTs for measuring blood lipids that are available on the UK market to determine whether they meet the accuracy specifications based on the 1995 US National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) recommendations. Design Rapid review of analytical validity and diagnostic accuracy studies. Data sources On 12 May 2023, Medline and Embase were searched. Google Scholar was manually scrutinised to identify additional studies. Key article reference lists were also hand-searched. Eligibility criteria We included analytical validity and diagnostic accuracy studies that compared POCT to laboratory testing (or another POCT) performance for measuring at least total cholesterol (TC) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Data extraction and synthesis Identified studies were independently reviewed by two researchers using standardised methods of screening. Where necessary, conflicts were resolved by a third reviewer. Title and abstract as well as full texts were screened using prespecified inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality of identified studies was assessed using QUADAS-2 for diagnostic accuracy studies and a modified quality appraisal tool for studies of diagnostic reliability (QAREL) for analytical validity studies. We assessed the quality of analytical and diagnostic accuracy studies and compared the accuracy of the POCTs for TC, triglyceride (TG), HDL-C and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) against NCEP standards for mean per cent bias, coefficient of variation or total error. We narratively synthesised analytical and clinical validity evidence from retrieved studies. Results This study examined analytical and diagnostic accuracy evidence for the selected POCTs. Through the review of 22 studies, 6 POCTs were identified. All retrieved studies were analytical validity assessments, while five of them also reported diagnostic accuracy information. The majority of evidence focused on Cholestech LDX, CardioChek PA and Accutrend Plus. Evidence of between and within-study heterogeneity was found. Precision measures often showed systematic differences between the POCT and reference standards. Most devices, except for Elemark, met at least one NCEP standard for either TC, TG, HDL-C, or LDL-C. Conclusions We found that evidence for two of the devices mostly met the requirements of the NCEP standard of evidence for bias and precision and could be recommended to general practitioners to use in the NHS Health Check programme. These were the Cholestech LDX and the Cobas b101 system
Understanding Researcher Positionality and Reflexivity in Qualitative Research
No full textThis instructional video presents an academic paper that explores the concepts of researcher positionality and reflexivity within qualitative research methodologies. Designed for students and scholars, it offers a clear and structured explanation from basic definitions to complex methodological implications. The video highlights ethical considerations and the insider-outsider debate, supported by academic references and visual aids. Enhance your understanding of how positionality influences qualitative research outcomes through this detailed presentation
The shape of things to come-psychedelic assisted therapy and the role of the mental health nurse
No full textSubstances like psilocybin and MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) are leading current research, showing strong potential for therapeutic benefit. As the UK moves closer to the possible integration of psychedelic treatments into mainstream mental health services, there is an urgent need to explore how these therapies can be delivered fairly and sustainably. A key consideration is the role of the mental health nurse
Podcast about the C-BAss Competence-Based curriculum development framework
No full textIn this we discuss curriculum development, Assessment, C-BAss
Archival Provenance and Hidden Histories: The Case of the Peru and Green Vale Papers
Get PDFThis chapter examines the concept of ‘archival silences’ and how archive catalogues can help or hinder researchers in locating relevant material. It goes on to examine the principle of provenance and how its application to the archives of landed families and estates may obscure the lives and voices of many of the people represented within these collections. It proposes that the concept of provenance can be enlarged to include multiple creatorships by taking into account not just the people who created (or caused to be created) the records, but also the people whose actions and existence were necessary for their creation. A case study of the Peru and Green Vale estate papers held at Hull University Archives, which relate to the ownership of two plantations in Jamaica at the turn of the nineteenth century, then demonstrates the possibilities opened up by rethinking provenance. Redefining ideas of provenance to take into account not just the plantation owners but the people whose labour was required for these records to exist - namely, enslaved people - helps to envisage new ways of presenting the collection
Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Monitoring Manual
Get PDFPurposeThe University of Hull (UoH) has developed a manual to serve as a blueprint for the monitoring of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS). The initiative was driven by the need for a standardised, practical framework to guide organisations, researchers, and practitioners in the effective evaluation of SuDS performance