The use of animation to promote student learning about the importance of mental well-being for tertiary study success

It is now widely acknowledged that student mental well-being is a critical factor in the tertiary student learning experience and is important to student learning success. The issue of student mental well-being also has implications for effective student transition out of university and into the world of work. It is therefore vital that intentional strategies are adopted by universities both within the formal curriculum, and outside it, to promote student well-being and to work proactively and preventatively to avoid a decline in student psychological well-being. This paper describes how the Queensland University of Technology Law School is using animation to teach students about the importance for their learning success of the protection of their mental well-being. Mayer and Moreno (2002) define an animation as an external representation with three main characteristics: (1) it is a pictorial representation, (2) it depicts apparent movement, and (3) it consists of objects that are artificially created through drawing or some other modelling technique. Research into the effectiveness of animation as a tool for tertiary student learning engagement is relatively new and growing field of enquiry. Nash argues, for example, that animations provide a “rich, immersive environment [that] encourages action and interactivity, which overcome an often dehumanizing learning management system approach” (Nash, 2009, 25). Nicholas states that contemporary millennial students in universities today, have been immersed in animated multimedia since their birth and in fact need multimedia to learn and communicate effectively (2008). However, it has also been established, for example through the work of Lowe (2003, 2004, 2008) that animations can place additional perceptual, attentional, and cognitive demands on students that they are not always equipped to cope with. There are many different genres of animation. The dominant style of animation used in the university learning environment is expository animation. This approach is a useful tool for visualising dynamic processes and is used to support student understanding of subjects and themes that might otherwise be perceived as theoretically difficult and disengaging. It is also a form of animation that can be constructed to avoid any potential negative impact on cognitive load that the animated genre might have. However, the nature of expository animation has limitations for engaging students, and can present as clinical and static. For this reason, the project applied Kombartzky, Ploetzner, Schlag, and Metz’s (2010) cognitive strategy for effective student learning from expository animation, and developed a hybrid form of animation that takes advantage of the best elements of expository animation techniques along with more engaging short narrative techniques. First, the paper examines the existing literature on the use of animation in tertiary educational contexts. Second, the paper describes how animation was used at QUT Law School to teach students about the issue of mental well-being and its importance to their learning success. Finally, the paper analyses the potential of the use of animation, and of the cognitive strategy and animation approach trialled in the project, as a teaching tool for the promotion of student learning about the importance of mental well-being.

Liver transplantation in children: Experience with the development of an Australian pilot programme. The Queensland Liver Transplantation Programme

Children with end-stage liver disease now form a major sub-group of patients considered suitable for liver transplantation (ltp), and enjoy better survival statistics after transplantation than do adults. Since June 1984, a paediatric ltp programme has been developed in Brisbane with an initial working relationship and ongoing close links with two USA centres (Pittsburgh, and the UCLA Medical Center). Fourteen children with end-stage liver disease have been referred to the Queensland Liver Transplantation Programme for formal assessment. Following frank, informed discussion with their parents, 10 of these children were offered the option of ltp. During the transition stage, two infants with biliary atresia were referred to UCLA at their parents' request and, subsequently, eight children aged from 9 months to 6 years have been placed on a transplant candidacy list in Brisbane. A donor procurement team with access to a Queensland Government jet has been available to cover all mainland States except Western Australia. Six of the children have now had orthotopic ltp (two children at the UCLA Medical Center; four children at the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane). One UCLA patient died with a non-functioning graft, and one Brisbane patient died 5 weeks post-transplant with rejection, hepatic artery thrombosis and sepsis. The other four children are alive and well, three with normal liver function and one with unexplained intrahepatic cholestasis, during the 1-20 month follow-up to date. Three further children have died of their liver disease without a donor of an appropriate blood group and size being found, and one patient still awaits a suitable donor. The experience of these authors suggests that ltp is a major advance in the treatment of paediatric liver disease, and that the procedure can be carried out successfully in Australia with initial results comparable with leading overseas centres. The procedure requires the full array of services of a major paediatric tertiary care facility, an intensive team effort with awareness of the special needs of children, and a widespread procurement capability. A major problem for Australia is the procurement of sufficient numbers of optimal paediatric donor livers.

Specialisation versus special interest: The Australian podiatry experience

Background Ensuring efficient and effective delivery of health care to an ageing population has been a major driver for a review of the health workforce in Australia. As part of this process a National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) has evolved with one goal being to improve workforce flexibility within a nationally consistent model of governance. In addition to increased flexibility, there have been discussions about maintaining standards and the role of specialisation. This study aims to explore the association between practitioners’ self-perceptions about their special interest in musculoskeletal, diabetes related and podopaediatric foot care and the actual podiatry services they deliver in Australia. Methods A cross sectional on-line survey was administered on behalf of the Australasian Podiatry Council and its’ state based member associations. Self-reported data were collected over a 3-week interval and captured information about the practitioners by gender, years of clinical experience, area of work by state, work setting, and location. For those participants that identified with an area of special interest or specialty, further questions were asked regarding support for the area of special interest through education, and activities performed in treating patients in the week prior to survey completion. Queensland University of Technology Human Research Ethics approval was sought and confirmed exemption from review. Results 218 podiatrists participated in the survey. Participants were predominately female and worked in private practices. The largest area of personal interest by the podiatrists was related to the field of musculoskeletal podiatry (n = 65), followed closely by diabetes foot care (n = 61), and a third area identified was in the management of podopaediatric conditions (n = 26). Conclusions Health workforce reform in Australia is in part being managed by the federal government with a goal to meet the health care needs of Australians into the future. The recognition of a specialty registration of podiatric surgery and endorsement for scheduled medicines was established with this workforce reform in mind. Addition of new subspecialties may be indicated based on professional development, to maintain high standards and meet community expectations.

Introducing a new limit states design concept to railway concrete sleepers: An Australian experience

Over 50 years, a large number of research and development projects with respect to the use of cementitious and concrete materials for manufacturing railway sleepers have been significantly progressed in Australia, Europe, and Japan (Wang, 1996; Murray and Cai, 1998; Wakui and Okuda, 1999; Esveld, 2001; Freudenstein and Haban, 2006; Remennikov and Kaewunruen, 2008). Traditional sleeper materials are timber, steel, and concrete. Cost-efficiency, superior durability, and improved track stability are the main factors toward significant adoption of concrete materials for railway sleepers. The sleepers in a track system, as shown in Figure 1, are subjected to harsh and aggressive external forces and natural environments across a distance. Many systemic problems and technical issues associated with concrete sleepers have been tackled over decades. These include pre-mature failures of sleepers, concrete cancer or ettringite, abrasion of railseats and soffits, impact damages by rail machinery, bond-slip damage, longitudinal and lateral instability of track system, dimensional instability of sleepers, nuisance noise and vibration, and so on (Pfeil, 1997; Gustavson, 2002; Kaewunruen and Remennikov, 2008a,b, 2013). These issues are, however, becoming an emerging risk for many countries (in North and South Americas, Asia, and the Middle East) that have recently installed large volumes of concrete sleepers in their railway networks (Federal Railroad Administration, 2013). As a result, it is vital to researchers and practitioners to critically review and learn from previous experience and lessons around the world.

Current CAPE-15: A measure of recent psychotic-like experiences and associated distress

Aim Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are common in young people and are associated with both distress and adverse outcomes. The Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences-Positive Scale (CAPE-P) provides a 20-item measure of lifetime PLEs. A 15-item revision of this scale was recently published (CAPE-P15). Although the CAPE-P has been used to assess PLEs in the last 12 months, there is no version of the CAPE for assessing more recent PLEs (e.g. 3 months). This study aimed to determine the reliability and validity of the current CAPE-P15 and assess its relationship with current distress. Method A cross-sectional online survey of 489 university students (17–25 years) assessed lifetime and current substance use, current distress, and lifetime and 3-month PLEs on the CAPE-P15. Results Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the current CAPE-P15 retained the same three-factor structure as the lifetime version consisting of persecutory ideation, bizarre experiences and perceptual abnormalities. The total score of the current version was lower than the lifetime version, but the two were strongly correlated (r = .64). The current version was highly predictive of generalized distress (r = .52) and indices that combined symptom frequency with associated distress did not confer greater predictive power than frequency alone. Conclusion This study provided preliminary data that the current CAPE-P15 provides a valid and reliable measure of current PLEs. The current CAPE-P15 is likely to have substantial practical utility if it is later shown to be sensitive to change, especially in prevention and early intervention for mental disorders in young people.

Social and physical environments in senior communities: The Finnish experience

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss residents’ views of social and physical environments in a co-housing and in a senior housing setting in Finland. Also, the study aims to point out important connections between well-being and built environment. Design/methodology/approach – The data include interviews and survey responses gathered in the cases. The results and analysis are presented at different case study levels, with the discussion and conclusions following this. Findings – The findings show that the physical environment and common areas have an important role to activate residents. When well-designed common areas exist, a higher level of engagement can be achieved by getting residents involved in the planning and running of activities. Research limitations/implications – This paper discusses residents’ experiences in two Finnish housing settings and it focuses on the housing market in Finland. Practical implications – The findings encourage investors and housing operators to design and invest common areas which could activate residents and create social contacts. Also, investors have to pay attention to the way these developments are managed. Originality/value – This study is the first to investigate the Finnish co-housing setting and compare social and physical environments in a co-housing and a senior house.

Playing alone, playing with others: Differences in player experience and indicators of wellbeing

Video game play is becoming an increasingly social experience, yet we have little understanding of how social and solitary modes of play differ in terms of the player experience or interact with player wellbeing. An online survey (n = 446) collected data on players' current mode of play, their game play experience, social capital gained from game play and wellbeing. The results indicate that social and solitary players differ in terms of degree of autonomy, presence and relatedness experienced, while the different types of social play are associated with differences in relatedness and social capital experienced. Different predictors of wellbeing were also present across solitary and social player samples. People who play games on their own experience greater wellbeing when experiencing in-game autonomy. Social players experience greater wellbeing when playing with strangers, and when experiencing in-game bridging social capital. All players experienced increased wellbeing with age and decreased wellbeing with greater amounts of play.

Now that I have had this experience I am looking at studying…

The Community Aspirations Program in Education (CAP-ED) was started by CQUniversity’s Office of Indigenous Engagement in 2013. CAP-ED’s aim was to focus on building aspirations through small manageable learning projects, and to increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ participation in higher education. Initially the scope of the project was to develop and deliver an accredited certificate-level program to help Indigenous students transition into tertiary education by a) improving pathways and b) addressing their current knowledge gaps. However, the initial investigatory process and community consultation found that a more localised, targeted and intimate approach would work more effectively. In addition, a free or affordable certificate course that would meet community needs was beyond the financial scope of the project. From here, the Office of Indigenous Engagement began to explore other possibilities.

Implementing music therapy on an adolescent inpatient unit: A mixed-methods evaluation of acceptability, experience of participation and perceived impact

Objective: We aimed to assess the feasibility of delivering a music therapy program on adolescent psychiatric wards. Method: We undertook a mixed-methods evaluation of a pilot program. Various active and receptive techniques were employed in group music therapy sessions delivered as part of a structured clinical program. Data collected in interviews with participants and staff and feedback questionnaires were thematically and descriptively analysed and triangulated. Results: Data from 62 questionnaires returned by 43 patients who took part in 16 music therapy sessions, and seven staff, evidenced strong support for music therapy. Patients typically reported experiencing sessions as relaxing, comforting, uplifting, and empowering; >90% would participate by choice and use music therapeutically in the future. Staff endorsed music therapy as valuable therapeutically, reporting that patients engaged enthusiastically and identified sessions as improving their own moods and ward milieu. Conclusions: Integration of music therapy in inpatient treatment of adolescents is feasible and acceptable, and is valued by staff and patients as a complement to ‘talking therapies’. Participation is enjoyed and associated with outcomes including improvement in mood, expression of feelings and social engagement consistent with recovery.

Engaging in videogame play: An activity-centric analysis of the player experience

This paper focuses on examining play activities in people's favourite videogame experience. Through interviews with 30 videogame players we discovered which types of play activities are most appealing. Our research identifies the level of appeal of a wide range of game play activities. We have established that high levels of engagement for many participants is grounded in play as power and play as strategy, with play as fantasy adding to the experience. Through our study we established that conflict-based activities hold strong appeal. We subsequently investigated the context in which players talked about their experience of conflict within game. By using activities as a categorisation of gameplay we have been able to capture the play experience across a range of games and a range of gaming contexts. By examining players' individual experience we begin to understand why conflict in videogames appears to be a popular choice of activities.

Openness to experience as a predictor and outcome of upward job changes into managerial and professional positions

In industrial and organizational psychology, there is a long tradition of studying personality as an antecedent of work outcomes. Recently, however, scholars have suggested that personality characteristics may not only predict, but also change due to certain work experiences, a notion that is depicted in the dynamic developmental model (DDM) of personality and work. Upward job changes are an important part of employees’ careers and career success in particular, and we argue that these career transitions can shape personality over time. In this study, we investigate the Big Five personality characteristics as both predictors and outcomes of upward job changes into managerial and professional positions. We tested our hypotheses by applying event history analyses and propensity score matching to a longitudinal dataset collected over five years from employees in Australia. Results indicated that participants’ openness to experience not only predicted, but that changes in openness to experience also followed from upward job changes into managerial and professional positions. Our findings thus provide support for a dynamic perspective on personality characteristics in the context of work and careers.

The lived experience of diagnosis delivery in motor neurone disease: A sociological-phenomenological study

Relatively few previous studies of individuals receiving a diagnosis of Motor Neurone Disease within the UK health care system have employed qualitative approaches to examine the diagnostic journey from a patient perspective. A qualitative sociological study was undertaken, involving interviews with 42 participants diagnosed with MND, to provide insight into their experiences of undergoing testing and receiving a diagnosis. Adopting a sociological-phenomenological perspective, this article examines key themes that emerged from participant accounts surrounding the lived experience of the diagnostic journey. The key themes that emerged were: The diagnostic quest; living with uncertainty; hearing bad news; communication difficulties; and a reified body of medical interest. In general, doctor-patient communication both at pre and post diagnosis was experienced as highly stressful, distressing and profoundly upsetting. Participants reported such distress as being due to the mode of delivery and communication strategies used by health professionals. We therefore suggest that professional training needs to emphasize the importance to health professionals of fostering greater levels of tact, sensitivity and empathy towards patients diagnosed with devastating, life-limiting illnesses such as MND.

Dining experience in elsewhere

Globalisation leads people getting a chance to move to a different place, to dine in a different context and to experience a different lifestyle. This paper evaluates the designs which offer dining experience in elsewhere, a changed context. A logical narrative review of literature has been conducted to clarify the patterns that restaurant practitioners, designers and social science researchers used for developing dining experience in elsewhere. The paper defines two hourglass balance pattern via food between diner and dining experience providers, as well as a set of interactive strategies in dining experience design. The former can be regarded as an example of the latter pattern. The findings indicate an empathetic setting design framework is needed in future research. This is the first paper that examines the dining experience in light of the atmosphere caused by people’s physical and psychological mobility flow in modern society. The findings provide an access to establish dining experience design framework in future research, that is, achieve various levels of diners’ needs in dining setting design by distributing the multisensory effects to activate diners’ involvement in the dining experience.

The experience of Indigenous students in a Bachelor of Nursing Program in Australia: cultural safety and decolonising nurse education

Background In Australia significant health inequalities, such as an 11year life expectancy gap, impact on the continent’s traditional owners, the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Evidence suggests links between improved Indigenous health and a greater proportion of Indigenous people employed in all sectors. Achieving a greater proportion of Indigenous people in health services and in the health education workforce, requires improved higher education completion rates. Currently Indigenous people are under-represented in higher education and attrition rates amongst those who do participate are high. We argue these circumstances make health and education matters of social justice, largely related to unexamined relations of power within universities where the pedagogical and social environment revolve around the norms and common-sense of the dominant culture. Project Research at Queensland University of Technology in 2010-2012, aimed to gain insights into attrition/retention in the Bachelor of Nursing. A literature review on Indigenous participation in higher education in nursing contextualised a mixed methods study. The project examined enrolment, attrition and success by an analysis of enrolment data from 1984-2012. Using Indigenous Research Assistants we then conducted 20 in-depth interviews with Indigenous students followed by a thematic analysis seeking to gain insights into the impact of students’ university experience on retention. Our findings indicate that cultural safety, mentorship, acceptance and support are crucial in student academic success. They also indicate that inflexible systems based on ethnocentric assumptions exacerbate the structural issues that impact on the students’ everyday life and are also part of the story of attrition. The findings reinforced the assumption that educational environments and processes are inherently cultural and political. This perspective calls into question the role of the students’ cultural experience at university in attrition rates. A partnership between the School of Nursing and the Indigenous Education Unit is working to better support Indigenous students.