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The perceptions of how dyslexia impacts on nursing and midwifery students and the coping strategies they develop/use to manage difficulties associated with dyslexia in clinical practice; an embedded case study
Get PDFThe aims of this research were to explore the perceptions of the impact of dyslexia on nursing and midwifery students in practice, and of the coping strategies they develop and/or use to help them cope. To achieve the above aims, the following questions were set and addressed: 1. What is the perceived impact of dyslexia on the nursing and midwifery student in clinical practice? 2. How are any difficulties associated with dyslexia managed by the nursing or midwifery student? 3i. What strategies can help and support nursing and midwifery students with dyslexia? 3ii. What are students’ and mentors’ perceptions of the poster guidelines (developed following a previous study), which are designed to help and support nursing and midwifery students with dyslexia in clinical practice? A qualitative study underpinned by a constructivist, interpretive ontological perspective was undertaken, based on a grounded theory case study approach. After seeking and gaining research ethics approval and informed written consent from potential participants, a purposive sample of 12 nursing and midwifery students with dyslexia, and 22 mentors was recruited and used for the study. Varied methods including tape recorded semi-structured interviews and content analysis of students’ practice portfolios (n=8) and files (n=12) were used to collect data from the students. Evaluative comments from the mentors were also collected. The data were then analysed using Glasarian grounded theory method. Findings suggest that dyslexia impacts on the student negatively as well as positively. There was expression of strong support with reference to demonstration of empathy and acceptance of students with dyslexia in both academic and practice settings, however, disclosure remained an issue for some students. Apart from already available strategies, the students managed to develop and used simple and effective coping strategies in a non-stressful environment. In a busy environment however, they became stressed and frustrated with cascading effects. Many of the strategies used including the poster guidelines were identified as very useful and or helpful and suggestions made by both students and mentors led to the development of a tool kit to be use used interactively by the students and their mentors in practice
An analysis of potential controls on long-term 137Cs accumulation in the sediments of UK lakes
No full text137 Cs has been utilised extensively to investigate catchment sediment dynamics. Its activity can be indicative of sediment derived from surface sources, and its inventory in deposited sediments reflects local fallout, radioactive decay, sediment accumulation and sediment source. Lakes represent ideal depositional environments for the reconstruction of historical sediment dynamics. In the UK, depth profiles and inventories of 137 Cs in lake cores have been investigated in a large number of catchments, but no study has synthesised all of these data to identify national spatial trends. The aim of this study was therefore to determine what can be learnt from 137 Cs inventories and profiles from UK lakes. Analysis revealed that local reference fallout, the rate of linear sediment accumulation (cm year −1 ) and the lake area:catchment area ratio, are the most important factors that control lake 137 Cs inventories. Delivery of mobile 137 Cs to the lake shortly after fallout, dissolved in runoff, or associated with mobilised sediment in transit from the source to the lake, is also likely a major control on inventories, especially on down-core profiles and peak activities. It is possible that dissolved 137 Cs inputs remain important controls on activities in recently deposited sediments, as they are often higher than potential contributing catchment sediment sources. It is also likely that finer particle-size distributions in lake-bed sediments, compared with source materials, increase both activities and inventories. Uncertainties are associated with patterns of sediment deposition on the lake bed and the estimation of local reference fallout, and lakes with low catchment-derived 137 Cs inputs potentially have a comparable or lower inventory than calculated from the estimated reference fallout. Lakes with multiple inlet tributaries and poor mixing of inflows, or an irregular bed shape divided by ridges and depressions, are also likely to display considerable variability in sediment-associated 137 Cs deposition. Despite these uncertainties, 137 Cs depth profiles provide valuable information on sediment sources and dynamics when interpreted carefully in the context of other UK lakes, and in relation to the corresponding catchment and lake characteristics. Several distinctive down-core profiles and inventories reported here yielded valuable insights into catchment sediment dynamics
After disaster: conceptualising the extent and length of the psychological impact
No full textBackground: Psychosocial responses to disasters have been widely explored in psychological and psychiatric literature. However, some issues have not yet been clarified with regards to conceptualizing disasters and addressing the long-term effects of disasters through a perspective focused on developmental and positive psychology principles.
Objective: The aim of this study is to explore existing research regarding psychological dimensions of exposure to disaster.
Method: A literature review was conducted focusing on disaster conceptualisations and long-term adaptive functioning of those who have and have not been identified as individuals at risk for adverse outcomes. Focusing on conceptions of disaster and trauma, the extent of the impact in different populations was also considered, along with existing knowledge regarding reactions to disaster and possible factors involved.
Results: There have been significant efforts in designing immediate and short-term relief and assistance in disasters, addressing the most common effects of exposure to trauma. Developmental considerations have outlined differential psychological outcomes through the lifespan. An important body of research has focused on resilience in relation to trauma, nevertheless, studies regarding long-term consequences and adaptive functioning are still scarce. Efforts seem to focus more on preventing relatively immediate severe symptoms of psychopathology rather than on promoting long-term psychological adjustment.
Conclusions: Research aimed at understanding the long-term psychological effects of exposure to disasters, looking at individuals who showed and did not show psychopathology following that incident seems a sensible topic to be developed. Aiming to understand how individuals in different life stages deal with adversity and to design interventions able to support individuals in dealing with the less visible long-term effects of trauma is equally important. In addition to focusing on the absence of psychopathology, researchers should have in mind the promotion of positive development throughout the life-span.
Researchers should develop measures that assess exposure to disaster/trauma, taking into consideration not only the types of events, dates, durations but also the type of exposure and involved stressors, attempting to capture disaster exposure in its complexity. At the same time, research should acknowledge the importance of the meaning that individuals attribute to an event and its consequences, more than the event itself, and consider perceived individual, family and community resources in relation to it
A study of reconfigurable accelerators for cloud computing
No full textDue to the exponential increase in network traffic in the data centers, thousands of servers interconnected with high bandwidth switches are required. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) with Cloud ecosystem offer high performance in efficiency and energy, making them active resources, easy to program and reconfigure. This paper looks at FPGAs as reconfigurable accelerators for the cloud computing presents the main hardware accelerators that have been presented in various widely used cloud computing applications such as: MapReduce, Spark, Memcached, Databases
Striving for gender equality: one step forward, two steps back?
No full textGender equality is a fundamental human right. Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women defines discrimination against women as: “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” It is essential that women are provided with equal access to essential public services, including education, housing and healthcare. Yet, too often women and girls are restricted or denied access from such services. There is still much work to be done to overcome discrimination and gender disparities in these areas.
Research suggests that women remain hugely disadvantaged, with the austerity agenda disproportionately affecting women. In addition to this, women are continually underrepresented in senior positions within both the public and the private sector and the gender pay gap also remains stubbornly high. Sexual violence, harassment and overt sex discrimination are still apparent and, arguably, have increased due to the seeming legitimisation of misogynist behaviour by those with power in public spheres, such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Milo Yiannopoulos. The #MeToo campaign took off on social media in 2017 and increased awareness as to the scale of sexual violence and harassment.
However, these issues are not new and yet, with the #MeToo and #Everydaysexism campaigns, have only recently become part of the public discourse.
The aims of this stream are to discuss gender disparities, sexual violence and discrimination both within public services and the private sector. This includes defining and challenging existing conceptions of empowerment and dominant discourses relating to gender equality. Too often research and discourses around gender equality view women as primary changemakers and problem solvers and require women to take action to address the disadvantages and discrimination they endure. This approach ignores the responsibility of men in addressing gender inequalities and violence as well as trivialising the role of historical, engrained disadvantage and institutional discrimination. The stream aims to discuss the extent and nature of progress in relation to gender equality. There has been more publicity and media attention recently, but this is reactive and is unlikely to provide solutions. Once the media furore dies down, how far will we have actually come in moving gender equality forward?
We would welcome papers which showcase research and activism around gender inequalities, particularly if they have implications for transforming organisational policies, procedures and structures and attempt to address institutional discrimination and gender based violence
Building communities and sharing knowledge: a study into teachers working together across national boundaries
No full textThis dissertation explores the types of professional communities that are built when teachers work in initiatives that, in various forms, link them to teachers from other countries. In doing so it explores the types of knowledge that may be exchanged by the building of these communities and the value that teachers put upon these different forms of knowledge. Therefore, this study is situated in the broad theoretical context of discussions related to the building of professional communities but explores this within a specifically international context. The most significant findings that this dissertation identifies are: that the teachers involved built the professional communities that are most important to them in more exploratory ways and with more agency than is suggested by other related research, and in connection to this that those professional communities that the participants attached most significance to were consistently alternative to the immediate workplace. It was also found that whilst the teachers involved in this study problematised the possibility of directly transferring specific classroom strategies, stories about teaching were seen by all to be useful vehicles for exchanging other forms of knowledge, for enabling affirmation and for co-constructing moral purpose. These findings have potential implications for policy and practice as they indicate that structures that focus exclusively on developing communities within schools may need to be enriched by those that provide teachers with the flexibility to discover and build communities in alternative ways too. The primary data collection method used when conducting this research was interview. The participants who were interviewed came from two countries, namely England and Macedonia. This entirely qualitative approach is positioned within an interpretivist paradigm. However, it is argued that contributions to theoretical debates regarding the nature of professional communities can still be made
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