A Student- and Staff-developed Anti-bullying Initiative

This paper on a successful anti-bullying initiative in a Cambridgeshire village college has the added interest that it is written by one of the pupils involved in its development. We learn not only about the scheme but how involvement in it felt from a pupil's point of view. The fact that the pupils directly involved saw the initiative as successful gives an added indication of its value.     

Impact of question-answering tasks on search processes and reading comprehension

This study examined the effect of (a) high- and low-level questions and (b) reading the text before the questions asked on performance, delayed text recall, and deep text comprehension, as well as on specific text-inspection patterns. Participants were 37 undergraduate students who answered either high- or low-level questions using the software Read&Answer to read and answer questions on the computer screen. Additionally, half of the sample read first a text and then answered the questions (reading-first condition), whereas the other half answered the questions without having read the text in advance (no-reading-first condition). All participants had the text available to search for the answer. Results indicated that high-level questions facilitated deep comprehension but not immediate performance or delayed recall of text, independently of the reading condition, and that high- and low-level questions differentially affected text-inspection patterns.     

Activating the curriculum: a socio-ecological action research frame for health and physical education

The health and physical education (HPE) profession needs to find alternatives to its individualistic and performative focus if it is to remain relevant and meaningful for all learners. This paper presents a way of framing HPE that helps to shift the focus from the individual as autonomous decision-maker, and goes beyond sport and fitness testing as the main contexts for learning. To do this we present the socio-ecological action research (SEAR) frame for unit development that was co-created and enacted over a six-month period involving dialogue between teachers, students, parents, researchers and community. This paper presents findings from semi-structured interviews, student artefacts and field notes collected as one component of a broader three-phase study which spanned three years. The data describe how generalist primary teachers (n=4) from a small Victorian community and their students (aged 8–10 years) tackled a unit of work that positioned centrally the everyday physical experiences of active school travel (AST). Teachers supported students in exploring barriers to their AST, and developing strategies that would counteract some of the negative perceptions that had limited their AST in the past. The findings suggest that the unit of work evolved from an exploration of AST into a much broader exploration of the whole community. This paper does not provide evidence for an alternative way to view HPE, rather it represents an embryonic exploration of how a SEAR frame might support teachers in applying inquiry-based pedagogies that extend beyond the individual as autonomous decision-maker, and promote opportunities for exploration and understanding of environmental, social and personal factors that influence our health and everyday physically active lives. Despite students being positioned as central actors within the SEAR frame, obtaining genuine student voice throughout the process proved challenging.     

The use of S-Monovette is effective to reduce the burden of hemolysis in a large urban emergency department

Background

Due to the high prevalence of hemolysis in specimens received from the emergency department (ED), several strategies have been proposed to improve sample quality, but none of these seem effective to overcome the problem. In a preliminary study we showed that the use of S-Monovette blood collection system was effective to lower the risk of hemolysis in venous blood samples collected from intravenous catheters. This study was hence aimed to verify whether the replacement of a conventional vacuum system with S-Monovette may be effective to reduce the burden of hemolysis in the daily practice of a large urban ED.

Materials and methods

The study was divided in two observational periods of 4 months each. In the former period, blood was collected from intravenous catheters using BD Vacutainer SST II Plus plastic serum tubes, whereas in the latter period the blood was drawn from intravenous catheters using S-Monovette blood tubes in aspiration mode. Sample hemolysis was automatically assessed in all serum samples by photometrical measurement.

Results

The total number of hemolysed serum specimens was 624/14155 (4.41%) in the first phase of the study, and 342/13319 (2.57%) in the second phase of the study (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

Results of our study confirm that the introduction of the Sarstedt S-Monovette blood tubes has reduced the hemolysis rate in the emergency department compared to the previously used BD Vacutainer® SST II Plus plastic serum tubes.Key words: preanalytical phase, hemolysis, blood specimen collection, catheter, emergency department     

Thermally multiplexed polymerase chain reaction

Amplification of multiple unique genetic targets using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is commonly required in molecular biology laboratories. Such reactions are typically performed either serially or by multiplex PCR. Serial reactions are time consuming, and multiplex PCR, while powerful and widely used, can be prone to amplification bias, PCR drift, and primer-primer interactions. We present a new thermocycling method, termed thermal multiplexing, in which a single heat source is uniformly distributed and selectively modulated for independent temperature control of an array of PCR reactions. Thermal multiplexing allows amplification of multiple targets simultaneously—each reaction segregated and performed at optimal conditions. We demonstrate the method using a microfluidic system consisting of an infrared laser thermocycler, a polymer microchip featuring 1 μl, oil-encapsulated reactions, and closed-loop pulse-width modulation control. Heat transfer modeling is used to characterize thermal performance limitations of the system. We validate the model and perform two reactions simultaneously with widely varying annealing temperatures (48 °C and 68 °C), demonstrating excellent amplification. In addition, to demonstrate microfluidic infrared PCR using clinical specimens, we successfully amplified and detected both influenza A and B from human nasopharyngeal swabs. Thermal multiplexing is scalable and applicable to challenges such as pathogen detection where patients presenting non-specific symptoms need to be efficiently screened across a viral or bacterial panel.     

Cognitive authorities in health education classrooms: A nexus analysis on group-based learning tasks

Socio-technical changes have transformed information practices and challenged conceptions of cognitive authorities, referring to information sources that are deemed credible and legitimate and influence people's thinking. Cognitive authorities in group-based knowledge-construction projects in health education lessons were explored in this study. Nexus analysis was used to analyze participant interviews and video-observed social actions in three secondary school health-education classrooms (Grades 8–9) in Finland. The findings show how group-based projects employing multiple information sources offer opportunities for the distribution and co-construction of cognitive authorities. However, explicit negotiations on the authority of sources were rare. Cognitive authorities appeared as contextual and situational but also guided by broader discourses circulating in the scene of action. By embedding information literacy instruction throughout the curriculum, information professionals and teachers can support young learners to recognize relevant authorities in different spheres of knowledge and to become competent users of health information.     

Enhancing large-class teaching: a systematic comparison of rich-media materials

Large cohorts (>200 students) are an ever-increasing presence in the UK higher education (HE) sector. Providing excellent teaching and learning to these large classes is an ongoing challenge for teaching faculty, a challenge intensified when the cohort comprises 85% non-native English speakers. This paper presents the findings of a project to supplement face-to-face lectures on a large campus-based taught MSc programme with a set of rich-media materials. These resources consisted of audio podcasts, audio-narrated slides, short video segments and full-video lecture capture. The aim of the study was to examine student usage of, and preference for, these different rich-media materials. Key findings are that students valued most highly the full-video lecture capture followed by the audio-narrated slides, using the materials primarily to consolidate their understanding and as revision aids. Students also emphasised the central importance of the face-to-face lecture – viewing the rich-media materials as complementary to, rather than as a replacement for the traditional lecture. Nor did the majority of students see the provision of videoed lectures as a reason for non-attendance at lectures. The findings of this study provide confirmatory evidence of the ongoing importance of the traditional lecture in large cohort HE teaching together with an acknowledgement of the benefits that rich-media materials can bring to the student learning experience.     

They do not buy it: exploring the extent to which entering first-year students view themselves as customers

While a number of scholars have discussed the pervasiveness of the conceptualization of students as customers, to date there has been limited reliable research examining the extent to which students actually view themselves as customers. Using a survey that was administered to a census of entering first-year students at a large public research university (59.8% response rate), this study shows that students do not agree with many of the educational beliefs and planned behaviors associated with a customer orientation. Results of exploratory factor analysis suggested only 28.9% of respondents expressed a customer orientation. These results show that contrary to what has become common sense in postsecondary education, most students at this public university do not express a customer orientation towards their education. Such findings should make scholars and practitioners rethink some of their embedded assumptions with regards to the goals, motivations, and general educational orientations of today's college students.     

TRANSITION TO SCHOOL: THE EXPERIENCES OF CANADIAN AND IMMIGRANT FAMILIES OF CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Transition to school for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) places demands on children, parents, and school settings. The unique experiences of parents from diverse backgrounds have not been studied extensively. This qualitative study explored the experiences of 5 Canadian and 5 immigrant families during the transition to school for their children with ASDs. Parent perceptions of support systems during this transition and their experiences with preschool and elementary school staff were analyzed to understand their experiences. Thematic analyses of parent interviews revealed that parents perceived the quality of care during preschool as more supportive than the care received in elementary school. A variety of resources, such as familial, educational, and community support, seemed to help some Canadian and immigrant families in different ways. The transition to school experiences of parents of children with ASDs has important implications for school psychologists who facilitate and mediate parent–school partnerships and interagency collaboration.