The development of a clinical learning environment scale

Within nursing, there is a strong demand for high-quality, cost-effective clinical education experiences that facilitate student learning in the clinical setting The clinical learning environment (CLE) is the interactive network of forces within the clinical setting that influence the students'clinical learning outcomes The identification of factors that characterize CLE could lead to strategies that foster the factors most predictive of desirable student learning outcomes and ameliorate those which may have a negative impact on student outcomes The CLE scale is a 23-item instrument with five subscales staff–student relationships, nurse manager commitment, patient relationships, interpersonal relationships, and student satisfaction These factors have strong substantive face validity and construct validity, as determined by confirmatory factor analysis Reliability coefficients range from high (0 85) to marginal (0 63) The CLE scale provides the educator with a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate affectively relevant factors in the CLE, direct resources to areas where improvement may be required, and nurture those areas functioning well It will assist in the application of resources in a cost-effective, efficient, productive manner, and will ensure that the clinical learning experience offers the nursing student the best possible learning outcomes

A visualisation framework for collaborative virtual environment usage information

Due to the popularity of modern Collaborative Virtual Environments, there has been a related increase in their size and complexity. Developers therefore need visualisations that expose usage patterns from logged data, to understand the structures and dynamics of these complex environments. This chapter presents a new framework for the process of visualising virtual environment usage data. Major components, such as an event model, designer task model and data acquisition infrastructure are described. Interface and implementation factors are also developed, along with example visualisation techniques that make use of the new task and event model. A case study is performed to illustrate a typical scenario for the framework, and its benefits to the environment development team.

The role of HPC facilies in development of a novel road safety barrier

Water-filled portable road safety barriers are a common fixture in road works, however their use of water can be problematic, both in terms of the quantity of water used and the transportation of the water to the installation site. This project aims to develop a new design of portable road safety barrier, which will make novel use of composite and foam materials in order to reduce the barrier’s reliance on water in order to control errant vehicles. The project makes use of finite element (FE) techniques in order to simulate and evaluate design concepts. FE methods and models that have previously been tested and validated will be used in combination in order to provide the most accurate numerical simulations available to drive the project forward. LS-DYNA code is as highly dynamic, non-linear numerical solver which is commonly used in the automotive and road safety industries. Several complex materials and physical interactions are to be simulated throughout the course of the project including aluminium foams, composite laminates and water within the barrier during standardised impact tests. Techniques to be used include FE, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and weighted multi-parameter optimisation techniques. A detailed optimisation of several design parameters with specific design goals will be performed with LS-DYNA and LS-OPT, which will require a large number of high accuracy simulations and advanced visualisation techniques. Supercomputing will play a central role in the project, enabling the numerous medium element count simulations necessary in order to determine the optimal design parameters of the barrier to be performed. Supercomputing will also allow the development of useful methods of visualisation results and the production of highly detailed simulations for end-product validation purposes. Efforts thus far have been towards integrating various numerical methods (including FEM, SPH and advanced materials models) together in an efficient and accurate manner. Various designs of joining mechanisms have been developed and are currently being developed into FE models and simulations.

The interactions of consumption characteristics on social norms

Purpose: An extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) model tests how customer loyalty intentions may relate to subjective and descriptive norms. The study further determines whether consumption characteristics – product enjoyment and importance – moderate norms-loyalty relationships.----- Methodology: Using a two-study approach focusing on youth, an Australian study (n = 244) first augmented TPB with descriptive norm. A Singapore study (n = 415) followed up with how consumption characteristics might moderate norms-loyalty relationships. With both studies, linear regressions tested the relationships among the variables.----- Findings: Extending TPB with descriptive norm improved TPB’s predictive ability across studies. Further, product enjoyment and importance moderated the norms-loyalty relationships differently. Subjective norm related to loyalty intentions significantly with high enjoyment, whereas descriptive norm was significant with low enjoyment. Only subjective norm was significant with low importance.----- Research limitations: Single-item variables, self-reported questionnaires on intended rather than actual behavior, and not controlling for cultural differences between the two samples limit generalizablity.----- Practical implications: The significance of both norms suggests that mobile firms should reach youth through their peers. With youth, social pressure may be influential particularly with hedonic products. However, the different moderations of product enjoyment and importance imply that a blanket marketing strategy targeting youth may not work.----- Originality/Value: This study extends academic knowledge on the relationships between norms and customer loyalty, particularly with consumption characteristics as moderators. The findings highlight the importance of considering different norms with consumer behavior. The study should help mobile firms understand how social influences impact customer loyalty.

What is that place? Observations of the impact of environment colour through photographic analysis

Isolating the impact of a colour, or a combination of colours, is extremely difficult to achieve because it is difficult to remove other environmental elements such as sound, odours, light, and occasion from the experience of being in a place. In order to ascertain the impact of colour on how we interpret the world in day to day situations, the current study records participant responses to achromatic scenes of the built environment prior to viewing the same scene in colour. A number of environments were photographed in colour or copied from design books; and copies of the images saved as both colour and black/grey/white. An overview of the study will be introduced by firstly providing examples of studies which have linked colour to meaning and emotions. For example, yellow is said to be connected to happiness1 ; or red evokes feelings of anger2 or passion. A link between colour and the way we understand and/or feel is established however, there is a further need for knowledge of colour in context. In response to this need, the current achromatic/chromatic environmental study will be described and discussed in light of the findings. Finally, suggestions for future research are posed. Based on previous research the authors hypothesised that a shift in environmental perception by participants would occur. It was found that the impact of colour includes a shift in perception of aspects such as its atmosphere and youthfulness. Through studio-class discussions it was also noted that the predicted age of the place, the function, and in association, the potential users when colour was added (or deleted) were often challenged. It is posited that the ability of a designer (for example, interior designer, architect, or landscape architect) to design for a particular target group—user and/or clients will be enhanced through more targeted studies relating colour in situ. The importance of noting the perceptual shift for the participants in our study, who were young designers, is the realisation that colour potentially holds the power to impact on the identity of an architectural form, an interior space, and/or particular elements such as doorways, furniture settings, and the like.

Changing assessment practices : the case for online moderation

Online moderation meetings have the potential to support the collaborative professional development of teachers, and the formation of a common understanding of what denotes quality in student work in a standards based assessment system. In doing so systemic calls for consistency across education systems are also being met. In this paper a case for employing online moderation meetings is developed through recourse to the demands of learning in the twenty-first century and the place of assessment within those discourses. It is argued that empirical data is needed on the efficacy of online moderation meetings to guide future practice as the use of information and communication technologies increases in education systems. Online moderation is one way of gathering teachers across vast distances to share their understandings and develop common meanings of assessment. While it is suggested that online moderation is one possible procedure to meet systemic requirements and support teachers’ professional collaboration, the implementation of such a system also introduces new challenges for schools and teachers. Meeting online to discuss professional understandings is a new way of operating for teachers and involves technology that has not yet been fully utilised within education departments. Issues such as the types of interactions that are afforded within such an environment, as well as technical operating problems that occur when using technology impact on the employment of online meetings. Online moderation meetings while potentially solving the issue of developing common understandings across an entire department also pose new issues to be resolved. There is a need for research into the efficacy of online moderation meetings so that future policy decisions may be based on sound empirical data. It is imperative that as new ways of knowing and acting are incorporated into school curriculum and pedagogy, assessment practices are also aligned. Online moderation meetings can support such practices by enabling teachers to communicate with a wider and more diverse group of teachers to establish common understandings.

Living walls - a way to green the built environment

Actions Towards Sustainable Outcomes Environmental Issues/Principal Impacts The increasing urbanisation of cities brings with it several detrimental consequences, such as: • Significant energy use for heating and cooling many more buildings has led to urban heat islands and increased greenhouse gas emissions. • Increased amount of hard surfaces, which not only contributes to higher temperatures in cities, but also to increased stormwater runoff. • Degraded air quality and noise. • Health and general well-being of people is frequently compromised, by inadequate indoor air quality. • Reduced urban biodiversity. Basic Strategies In many design situations, boundaries and constraints limit the application of cutting EDGe actions. In these circumstances, designers should at least consider the following: • Living walls are an emerging technology, and many Australian examples function more as internal feature walls. However,as understanding of the benefits and construction of living walls develops this technology could be part of an exterior facade that enhances a building’s thermal performance. • Living walls should be designed to function with an irrigation system using non-potable water. Cutting EDGe Strategies • Living walls can be part of a design strategy that effectively improves the thermal performance of a building, thereby contributing to lower energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. • Including living walls in the initial stages of design would provide greater flexibility to the design, especially of the facade, structural supports, mechanical ventilation and watering systems, thus lowering costs. • Designing a building with an early understanding of living walls can greatly reduce maintenance costs. • Including plant species and planting media that would be able to remove air impurities could contribute to improved indoor air quality, workplace productivity and well-being. Synergies and References • Living walls are a key research topic at the Centre for Subtropical Design, Queensland University of Technology: http://www.subtropicaldesign.bee.qut.edu.au • BEDP Environment Design Guide: DES 53: Roof and Facade Gardens • BEDP Environment Design Guide: GEN 4: Positive Development – Designing for Net Positive Impacts (see green scaffolding and green space frame walls). • Green Roofs Australia: www.greenroofs.wordpress.com • Green Roofs for Healthy Cities USA: www.greenroofs.org

Students’ perceptions of a blended web-based learning environment

The enhanced accessibility, affordability and capability of the Internet has created enormous possibilities in terms of designing, developing and implementing innovative teaching methods in the classroom. As existing pedagogies are revamped and new ones are added, there is a need to assess the effectiveness of these approaches from the students’ perspective. For more than three decades, proven qualitative and quantitative research methods associated with learning environments research have yielded productive results for educators. This article presents the findings of a study in which Getsmart, a teacher-designed website, was blended into science and physics lessons at an Australian high school. Students’ perceptions of this environment were investigated, together with differences in the perceptions of students in junior and senior years of schooling. The article also explores the impact of teachers in such an environment. The investigation undertaken in this study also gave an indication of how effective Getsmart was as a teaching model in such environments.

Redundancy in interface design and its impact on intuitive use of a product in older users

Many older adults have difficulty using modern consumer products due to their complexity both in terms of functionality and interface design. It has been observed that older people also have more problems learning new systems. It was hypothesised that designing technological products that are more intuitive for older people to use can solve this problem. An intuitive interface allows a user’s to employ prior knowledge, thus minimizing the learning needed for effective interaction. This paper discusses an experiment investigating the effectiveness of redundancy in interface design. The primary objective of this experiment was to find out if using more than one modality for a product’s interface improves the speed and intuitiveness of interactions for older adults. Preliminary analysis showed strong correlation between technology familiarity and time on tasks, but redundancy in interface design improved speed and accuracy of use only for participants with moderate to high technology familiarity.

Measuring the effect of patient comfort rounds on practice environment and patient satisfaction : A pilot study

Hourly rounding in the acute hospital setting has been proposed as an intervention to increase patient satisfaction and safety, and improve the nursing practice environment, but the innovation has not been adequately tested. A quasiexperimental pretest post-test non-randomized parallel group trial design was used to test the effect of hourly patient comfort rounds on patient satisfaction and nursing perceptions of the practice environment, and to evaluate research processes and instruments for a proposed larger study. A Patient Satisfaction Survey instrument was developed and used in conjunction with the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Results on patient satisfaction showed no significant changes. Significant changes were found for three of the five practice environment subscales. Consistent with the aim of a pilot study, this research has provided important information related to design, instruments and process that will inform a larger sufficiently powered study.

The effectiveness of product placement within the immersive environment

This research investigates the impact of participants’ involvement on evaluation of virtual product placement within immersive environments. An exploratory student was conducted and face-to-face, semi structured interviews were used in this research. That sample consisted of active and current Second Life users in the age group of 20-50 years old and from a range of different occupations. Results of the qualitative study indicate that high involvement with the product and deep immersion within Second Life both lead to higher perceptions of product placement effectiveness and enhanced virtual experience. A model developed from the qualitative study is presented and future research is discussed.

Mainstreaming sustainability into pre-service teacher edcuation in Australia

There is a growing interest in and support for education for sustainability in Australian schools. Australian Government schemes such as the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), along with strategies such as Educating for a Sustainable Future: A National Environmental Education Statement for Australian Schools(NEES(Australian Government and Curriculum Corporation (2005) and Living Sustainably: The Australian Government’s National Action Plan for Education for Sustainability (Australian Government 2009), recognise the need and offer support for education for sustainability in Australian schools. The number of schools that have engaged with AuSSI indicates that this interest also exists within Australian schools. Despite this, recent research indicates that pre-service teacher education institutions and programs are not doing all they can to prepare teachers for teaching education for sustainability or for working within sustainable schools. The education of school teachers plays a vital role in achieving changes in teaching and learning in schools. Indeed, the professional development of teachers in education for sustainability has been identified as ‘the priority of priorities’. Much has been written about the need to ‘reorient teacher education towards sustainability’. Teacher education is seen as a key strategy that is yet to be effectively utilised to embed education for sustainability in schools. Mainstreaming sustainability in Australian schools will not be achieved without the preparation of teachers for this task. The Mainstreaming Sustainability model piloted in this study seeks to engage a range of stakeholder organisations and key agents of change within a system to all work simultaneously to bring about a change, such as the mainstreaming of sustainability. The model is premised on the understanding that sustainability will be mainstreamed within teacher education if there is engagement with key agents of change across the wider teacher education system and if the key agents of change are ‘deeply’ involved in making the change. The model thus seeks to marry broad engagement across a system with the active participation of stakeholders within that system. Such a systemic approach is a way of bringing together diverse viewpoints to make sense of an issue and harness that shared interpretation to define boundaries, roles and relationships leading to a better defined problem that can be acted upon more effectively. Like action research, the systemic approach is also concerned with modelling change and seeking plausible solutions through collaboration between stakeholders. This is important in ensuring that outcomes are useful to the researchers/stakeholders and the system being researched as it creates partnerships and commitments to the outcomes by stakeholder participants. The study reported on here examines whether the ‘Mainstreaming Sustainability’ model might be effective as a means to mainstream sustainability in pre-service teacher education. This model, developed in an earlier study, was piloted in the Queensland teacher education system in order to examine its effectiveness in creating organisational and systemic change. The pilot project in Queensland achieved a number of outcomes. The project: • provided useful insights into the effectiveness of the Mainstreaming Sustainability model in bringing about change while also building research capacity within the system • developed capacities within the teacher education community: o developing competencies in education for sustainability o establishing more effective interactions between decision-makers and other stakeholders o establishing a community of inquiry • changed teaching and learning approaches used in participating teacher education institutions through: o curriculum and resource development o the adoption of education for sustainability teaching and learning processes o the development of institutional policies • improved networks within the teacher education system through: o identifying key agents of change within the system o developing new, and building on existing, partnerships between schools, teacher education institutions and government agencies • engaged relevant stakeholders such as government agencies and non-government organisations to understand and support the change Our findings indicate that the Mainstreaming Sustainability model is able to facilitate organisational and systemic change – over time – if: • the individuals involved have the conceptual and personal capacities needed to facilitate change, that is, to be a key agent of change • stakeholders are engaged as participants in the process of change, not simply as ‘interested parties’ • there is a good understanding of systemic change and the opportunities for leveraging change within systems. In particular, in seeking to mainstream sustainability in pre-service teacher education in Queensland it has become clear that one needs to build capacity for change within participants such as knowledge of education for sustainability, conceptual skills in systemic thinking, action research and organisational change, and leadership skills. It is also of vital importance that key agents of change – those individuals who are ‘hubs’ within a system and can leverage for change across a wide range of the system – are identified and engaged with as early as possible. Key agents of change can only be correctly identified, however, if the project leaders and known participants have clearly identified the boundary to their system as this enables the system, sub-system and environment of the system to be understood. Through mapping the system a range of key organisations and stakeholders will be identified, including government and nongovernment organisations, teacher education students, teacher education academics, and so on. On this basis, key agents of change within the system and sub-system can be identified and invited to assist in working for change. A final insight is that it is important to have time – and if necessary the funding to ‘buy time’ – in seeking to bring about system-wide change. Seeking to bring about system-wide change is an ambitious project, one that requires a great deal of effort and time. These insights provide some considerations for those seeking to utilise the Mainstreaming Sustainability model to bring about change within and across a pre-service teacher education system.

Synchronous fluorescence and UV–vis spectroscopic studies of interactions between the tetracycline antibiotic, aluminium ions and DNA with the aid of the Methylene Blue dye probe

Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS) was applied for the investigation of interactions of the antibiotic, tetracycline (TC), with DNA in the presence of aluminium ions (Al3+). The study was facilitated by the use of the Methylene Blue (MB) dye probe, and the interpretation of the spectral data with the aid of the chemometrics method, parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Three-way synchronous fluorescence analysis extracted the important optimum constant wavelength differences, Δλ, and showed that for the TC–Al3+–DNA, TC–Al3+ and MB dye systems, the associated Δλ values were different (Δλ = 80, 75 and 30 nm, respectively). Subsequent PARAFAC analysis demonstrated the extraction of the equilibrium concentration profiles for the TC–Al3+, TC–Al3+–DNA and MB probe systems. This information is unobtainable by conventional means of data interpretation. The results indicated that the MB dye interacted with the TC–Al3+–DNA surface complex, presumably via a reaction intermediate, TC–Al3+–DNA–MB, leading to the displacement of the TC–Al3+ by the incoming MB dye probe.

Small molecule–biopolymer interactions : Ultraviolet–visible and fluorescence spectroscopy and chemometrics

Interactions between small molecules with biopolymers e.g. the bovine serum albumin (BSA protein), are important, and significant information is recorded in the UV–vis and fluorescence spectra of their reaction mixtures. The extraction of this information is difficult conventionally and principally because there is significant overlapping of the spectra of the three analytes in the mixture. The interaction of berberine chloride (BC) and the BSA protein provides an interesting example of such complex systems. UV–vis and fluorescence spectra of BC and BSA mixtures were investigated in pH 7.4 Tris–HCl buffer at 37 °C. Two sample series were measured by each technique: (1) [BSA] was kept constant and the [BC] was varied and (2) [BC] was kept constant and the [BSA] was varied. This produced four spectral data matrices, which were combined into one expanded spectral matrix. This was processed by the multivariate curve resolution–alternating least squares method (MCR–ALS). The results produced: (1) the extracted pure BC, BSA and the BC–BSA complex spectra from the measured heavily overlapping composite responses, (2) the concentration profiles of BC, BSA and the BC–BSA complex, which are difficult to obtain by conventional means, and (3) estimates of the number of binding sites of BC.

Fluorescence spectrometric study on the interactions of isoprocarb and sodium 2-isopropylphenate with bovine serum albumin

The binding interaction of the pesticide Isoprocarb and its degradation product, sodium 2-isopropylphenate, with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was studied by spectrofluorimetry under simulated physiological conditions. Both Isoprocarb and sodium 2-isopropylphenate quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA. This quenching proceeded via a static mechanism. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG°) obtained from the fluorescence data measured at two different temperatures showed that the binding of Isoprocarb to BSA involved hydrogen bonds and that of sodium 2-isopropylphenate to BSA involved hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy of the interaction of BSA with either Isoprocarb or sodium 2-isopropylphenate showed that the molecular structure of the BSA was changed significantly, which is consistent with the known toxicity of the pesticide, i.e., the protein is denatured. The sodium 2-isopropylphenate, was estimated to be about 4–5 times more toxic than its parent, Isoprocarb. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy and the resolution of the three-way excitation–emission fluorescence spectra by the PARAFAC method extracted the relative concentration profiles of BSA, Isoprocab and sodium 2-isopropylphenate as a function of the added sodium 2-isopropylphenate. These profiles showed that the degradation product, sodium 2-isopropylphenate, displaced the pesticide in a competitive reaction with the BSA protein.