Learning to read with a critical eye: cultivating discerning readers of media reports with a science component.

It is important for young people to be able to read science-related media reports with discernment. ‘Getting Newswise’ was a research project designed to enable science and English teachers, working collaboratively, to equip pupils through the curriculum with critical reading skills appropriate for science news. Phase one of the study found that science and English teachers respond differently to science news articles and eight categories of critical response were identified. These findings informed phase two, in which classroom activities were devised whereby pupils examined, evaluated and responded to science-related news reports. Science-English collaboration had positive outcomes for pupil understanding

Learning to manage complexity through simulation: students' challenges and possible strategies

Many have called for medical students to learn how to manage complexity in healthcare. This study examines the nuances of students' challenges in coping with a complex simulation learning activity, using concepts from complexity theory, and suggests strategies to help them better understand and manage complexity.Wearing video glasses, participants took part in a simulation ward-based exercise that incorporated characteristics of complexity. Video footage was used to elicit interviews, which were transcribed. Using complexity theory as a theoretical lens, an iterative approach was taken to identify the challenges that participants faced and possible coping strategies using both interview transcripts and video footage.Students' challenges in coping with clinical complexity included being: a) unprepared for 'diving in', b) caught in an escalating system, c) captured by the patient, and d) unable to assert boundaries of acceptable practice.Many characteristics of complexity can be recreated in a ward-based simulation learning activity, affording learners an embodied and immersive experience of these complexity challenges. Possible strategies for managing complexity themes include: a) taking time to size up the system, b) attuning to what emerges, c) reducing complexity, d) boundary practices, and e) working with uncertainty. This study signals pedagogical opportunities for recognizing and dealing with complexity.

Semi-formal Models to Support Program Development: Autonomic Management within Component Based Parallel and Distributed Programming

Functional and non-functional concerns require different programming effort, different techniques and different methodologies when attempting to program efficient parallel/distributed applications. In this work we present a "programmer oriented" methodology based on formal tools that permits reasoning about parallel/distributed program development and refinement. The proposed methodology is semi-formal in that it does not require the exploitation of highly formal tools and techniques, while providing a palatable and effective support to programmers developing parallel/distributed applications, in particular when handling non-functional concerns.

The effect of obstacle position on reach-to-grasp movements

Numerous everyday tasks require the nervous system to program a prehensile movement towards a target object positioned in a cluttered environment. Adult humans are extremely proficient in avoiding contact with any non-target objects (obstacles) whilst carrying out such movements. A number of recent studies have highlighted the importance of considering the control of reach-to-grasp (prehension) movements in the presence of such obstacles. The current study was constructed with the aim of beginning the task of studying the relative impact on prehension as the position of obstacles is varied within the workspace. The experimental design ensured that the obstacles were positioned within the workspace in locations where they did not interfere physically with the path taken by the hand when no obstacle was present. In all positions, the presence of an obstacle caused the hand to slow down and the maximum grip aperture to decrease. Nonetheless, the effect of the obstacle varied according to its position within the workspace. In the situation where an obstacle was located a small distance to the right of a target object, the obstacle showed a large effect on maximum grip aperture but a relatively small effect on movement time. In contrast, an object positioned in front and to the right of a target object had a large effect on movement speed but a relatively small effect on maximum grip aperture. It was found that the presence of two obstacles caused the system to decrease further the movement speed and maximum grip aperture. The position of the two obstacles dictated the extent to which their presence affected the movement parameters. These results show that the antic ipated likelihood of a collision with potential obstacles affects the planning of movement duration and maximum grip aperture in prehension.

Dual-processes in learning and judgment:Evidence from the multiple cue probability learning paradigm

Multiple cue probability learning (MCPL) involves learning to predict a criterion based on a set of novel cues when feedback is provided in response to each judgment made. But to what extent does MCPL require controlled attention and explicit hypothesis testing? The results of two experiments show that this depends on cue polarity. Learning about cues that predict positively is aided by automatic cognitive processes, whereas learning about cues that predict negatively is especially demanding on controlled attention and hypothesis testing processes. In the studies reported here, negative, but not positive cue learning related to individual differences in working memory capacity both on measures of overall judgment performance and modelling of the implicit learning process. However, the introduction of a novel method to monitor participants' explicit beliefs about a set of cues on a trial-by-trial basis revealed that participants were engaged in explicit hypothesis testing about positive and negative cues, and explicit beliefs about both types of cues were linked to working memory capacity. Taken together, our results indicate that while people are engaged in explicit hypothesis testing during cue learning, explicit beliefs are applied to judgment only when cues are negative. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

The role of working memory capacity in multiple-cue probability learning

Multiple-cue probability learning (MCPL) involves learning to predict a criterion when outcome feedback is provided for multiple cues. A great deal of research suggests that working memory capacity (WMC) is involved in a wide range of tasks that draw on higher level cognitive processes. In three experiments, we examined the role of WMC in MCPL by introducing measures of working memory capacity, as well as other task manipulations. While individual differences in WMC positively predicted performance in some kinds of multiple-cue tasks, performance on other tasks was entirely unrelated to these differences. Performance on tasks that contained negative cues was correlated with working memory capacity, as well as measures of explicit knowledge obtained in the learning process. When the relevant cues predicted positively, however, WMC became irrelevant. The results are discussed in terms of controlled and automatic processes in learning and judgement. © 2011 The Experimental Psychology Society.

‘Preparing Social Workers for Practice: Re-evaluating Student Learning Needs’

Among the key developmental priorities that have been identified in the current process of reform taking place in social work in the UK is the need to improve social work students' preparedness to meet the challenges they will encounter in practice. This paper contributes to the current debate about this issue by reporting a research study that focused on final year undergraduates' experience of academic and practice learning and considered the impact of demographic factors, including age, gender, disability, previous experience and qualifications, on their perceptions of preparedness. The results indicate that students were satisfied with most aspects of preparatory teaching and learning. However, the findings also highlight areas in which students' preparation could be further enhanced, including their skills in dealing with conflict and managing risk. The results suggest that social work programmes should not overly depend on practice learning to prepare students to address the challenges presented by increasingly complex working environments and that educators need to work closely in collaboration with employing partners to ensure that the curriculum keeps up to date with the changing learning needs of practitioners.

Evaluation of sampling methods for learning from imbalanced data

The problem of learning from imbalanced data is of critical importance in a large number of application domains and can be a bottleneck in the performance of various conventional learning methods that assume the data distribution to be balanced. The class imbalance problem corresponds to dealing with the situation where one class massively outnumbers the other. The imbalance between majority and minority would lead machine learning to be biased and produce unreliable outcomes if the imbalanced data is used directly. There has been increasing interest in this research area and a number of algorithms have been developed. However, independent evaluation of the algorithms is limited. This paper aims at evaluating the performance of five representative data sampling methods namely SMOTE, ADASYN, BorderlineSMOTE, SMOTETomek and RUSBoost that deal with class imbalance problems. A comparative study is conducted and the performance of each method is critically analysed in terms of assessment metrics. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.

Integrating elements of undergraduate curriculum learning

Integrating elements of undergraduate curriculum learning Rapidly advancing practice and recognition of nursing, midwifery and medicine as a vital interrelated workforce, implies a need for a variety of curricula opportunities. This project addresses the challenge for healthcare educators to widen student engagement and participation through inter-professional education by creating learning environments whereby student interactions foster the desire to develop situational awareness, independent learning and contribution to patient advocacy. Overall aim of this ‘Feeding and Nutrition in Infants and Children’ project is to provide opportunities for integrated learning to enable students to advance their knowledge and understanding of current best practice. This Inter-professional (IPE) student-lead workshop was initially implemented in 2006-07 in collaboration with the Centre for Excellence in IPE, within the curricula of medical and nursing programmes¹. Supported by the development of a student resource pack, this project is now being offered to Learning Disability nursing and Midwifery students since September 2014. Methods: Fourth year medical students, undertaking a ‘Child Healthcare module’, alongside nursing and /or midwifery students are divided into groups with three or four students from each profession. Each group focuses on a specific feeding problem that is scenario-based on a common real-life issue prior to the workshop and then present their findings / possible solutions to feeding problem. They are observed by both facilitators and peers, who provide constructive feedback on aspects of performance including patient safety, cultural awareness, communication, decision making skills, teamwork and an appreciation of the role of various professionals in managing feeding problems in infants and children. Results: Participants complete a Likert-scale questionnaire to ascertain their reactions to this integrated learning experience. Ongoing findings suggest that students evaluate this learning activity very positively and have stated that they value the opportunity to exercise their clinical judgement and decision making skills. Most recent comments: ‘appreciate working alongside other student’s / multidisciplinary team approach’ As a group students engage in this team problem-solving exercise, drawing upon their strengths and abilities to learn from each other. This project provides a crucial opportunity for learning and knowledge exchange for all those medical, midwifery and nursing students involved. Reference: 1. Purdy, J. & Stewart, M (2009) ‘Feeding and Nutrition in Infants and Children: An Interprofessional Approach’. The Clinical Teacher, vol 6, no.3. Authors: Dr. Angela Bell, Centre for Medical Education, Queen’s University Belfast. Doris Corkin, Senior Lecturer (education), Children’s Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast. Carolyn Moorhead, Midwifery Lecturer, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast. Ann Devlin, Lecturer (education), Learning Disability Nursing, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Queen’s University Belfast.

Intra and Interorganizational Learning Networks and the Implementation of Quality Improvement Initiatives: The Case of a Portuguese Teaching Hospital

Learning has an important position in the development of employees and their expertise. This article focuses on the role and utilization of intra and interorganizational formal and informal learning within different types of learning networks. Specifically, we investigate different types of networks (inter- or intraorganizational) and different types of learning (formal or informal) that can occur within such networks. Our qualitative case study is based on 46 expert interviews involving 49 interviewees, through which we explore how formal and informal learning was used in the development and implementation of quality improvement initiatives at a large public teaching hospital in Portugal. Our analysis suggests that formal and informal learning can take place within different types of learning networks that draw on internal resources as well as on the collaboration with external entities. The article argues that it is important for HRD managers, seeking to support organizational learning, to understand how different types of learning take place, and which features of learning networks support these processes.

High accuracy android malware detection using ensemble learning

With over 50 billion downloads and more than 1.3 million apps in Google’s official market, Android has continued to gain popularity amongst smartphone users worldwide. At the same time there has been a rise in malware targeting the platform, with more recent strains employing highly sophisticated detection avoidance techniques. As traditional signature based methods become less potent in detecting unknown malware, alternatives are needed for timely zero-day discovery. Thus this paper proposes an approach that utilizes ensemble learning for Android malware detection. It combines advantages of static analysis with the efficiency and performance of ensemble machine learning to improve Android malware detection accuracy. The machine learning models are built using a large repository of malware samples and benign apps from a leading antivirus vendor. Experimental results and analysis presented shows that the proposed method which uses a large feature space to leverage the power of ensemble learning is capable of 97.3 % to 99% detection accuracy with very low false positive rates.

Preparing to prescribe: How do clerkship students learn in the midst of complexity?

Prescribing tasks, which involve pharmacological knowledge, clinical decision-making and practical skill, take place within unpredictable social environments and involve interactions within and between endlessly changing health care teams. Despite this, curriculum designers commonly assume them to be simple to learn and perform. This research used mixed methods to explore how undergraduate medical students learn to prescribe in the 'real world'. It was informed by cognitive psychology, sociocultural theory, and systems thinking. We found that learning to prescribe occurs as a dynamic series of socially negotiated interactions within and between individuals, communities and environments. As well as a thematic analysis, we developed a framework of three conceptual spaces in which learning opportunities for prescribing occur. This illustrates a complex systems view of prescribing education and defines three major system components: the "social space", where the environmental conditions influence or bring about a learning experience; the "process space", describing what happens during the learning experience; and the intra-personal "cognitive space", where the learner may develop aspects of prescribing expertise. This conceptualisation broadens the scope of inquiry of prescribing education research by highlighting the complex interplay between individual and social dimensions of learning. This perspective is also likely to be relevant to students' learning of other clinical competencies.

Characteristics of Corticospinal Projections to the Intrinsic Hand Muscles in Skilled Harpists.

The process of learning to play a musical instrument necessarily alters the functional organisation of the cortical motor areas that are involved in generating the required movements. In the case of the harp, the demands placed on the motor system are quite specific. During performance, all digits with the sole exception of the little finger are used to pluck the strings. With a view to elucidating the impact of having acquired this highly specialized musical skill on the characteristics of corticospinal projections to the intrinsic hand muscles, focal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to elicit motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in three muscles (of the left hand): abductor pollicis brevis (APB); first dorsal interosseous (FDI); and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) in seven harpists. Seven non-musicians served as controls. With respect to the FDI muscle–which moves the index finger, the harpists exhibited reliably larger MEP amplitudes than those in the control group. In contrast, MEPs evoked in the ADM muscle–which activates the little finger, were smaller in the harpists than in the non-musicians. The locations on the scalp over which magnetic stimulation elicited discriminable responses in ADM also differed between the harpists and the non-musicians. This specific pattern of variation in the excitability of corticospinal projections to these intrinsic hand muscles exhibited by harpists is in accordance with the idiosyncratic functional demands that are imposed in playing this instrument.

How to promote professional competence and identity in social work students

Background: Field placement experiences are frequently cited in the literature as having most impact on a student social worker’s learning as they emerge into the profession. Placements are integral to the development of practice competence and in acquiring a sense of social work identity. However research on the effectiveness of educational strategies used to deliver learning and assess competence during placement are scarce. Internationally, pressures to meet increasing numbers of student enrolments have raised concerns about the potential impact on the quality of placements and practice teaching provided. These pressures may also impact on the appropriate transfer and application of learning to the student’s practice.
Aim: To identify learning activities rated most useful for developing professional practice competence and professional identity of social work students.
Method: Data were collected from 396 students who successfully completed their first or final placement during 2013-2014 and were registered at one of two Universities in Northern Ireland. Students completed a self-administered questionnaire which covered: placement setting and service user group; type of supervision model; frequency of undertaking specific learning activities; who provided the learning; which activities contributed to their developing professional competence and identity and their overall satisfaction.
Our findings confirmed the centrality of the supervisory relationship as the vehicle to enable quality student learning. Shadowing others, receiving regular supervision and receiving constructive feedback were the tasks that students reported as ‘most useful’ to developing professional identity, competence and readiness to practice. Disturbingly over 50% of students reported that linking practice to the professional codes, practice foci and key roles were not valued as ‘useful’ in terms of readiness to practice, feeling competent and developing professional social work identity. These results offer strong insights into how both the University and the practice placement environment needs to better prepare, assess and support students during practice placements in the field.