The Art of Nursing in a Postmodern Context

Notions of the "postmodern" pervade various fields of study, but have rarely been applied to the practice and theory of nursing. This paper uses some conceptions of the "postmodern" to remedy this. Though there are many contested usages of the term, here "postmodern" will be used broadly in a periodical sense to trace changes in society and culture from the "modernism" of the 18th and 19th centuries to current concerns about "postmodernism". How these changes have been reflected in nursing practice and nursing theory will be explored. The changing use of the term "modern" to describe up-to-date practice will be addressed in the course of this. It is suggested that contextualizing nursing as a social/cultural activity in this way offers perspectives which will help us untangle the conflicting agendas and issues which form the fabric of the social world in which current nursing takes place, enabling us to act more effectively in promoting our own professional agendas.

'It's Almost Like Talking to a Person': Student Discolsure to Pedagogical Agents in Sensitive Setting

Online chatbots (also known as pedagogical agents or virtual assistants) are becoming embedded into the fabric of technology, both in educational and commercial settings. Yet understanding of these technologies is inchoate and often untheorised, influenced by individuals’ willingness to trust technologies, aesthetic appearance of the chatbot and technical literacy, among other factors. This paper draws upon data from two research studies that evaluated students’ experiences of using pedagogical agents in education using responsive evaluation. The findings suggest that emotional connections with pedagogical agents were intrinsic to the user’s sense of trust and therefore likely to affect levels of truthfulness and engagement. They also indicate that the topic of the pedagogical agent-student interaction is key to the student’s experience. The implications of these studies are that truthfulness, personalisation and emotional engagement are all vital components in using pedagogical agents to enhance online learning.

Beyond Robotic Wastelands of Time: Abandoned Pedagogical Agents and New Pedalled Pedagogies

Chatbots, known as pedagogical agents in educational settings, have a long history of use, beginning with Alan Turing’s work. Since then online chatbots have become embedded into the fabric of technology. Yet understandings of these technologies are inchoate and often untheorised. Integration of chatbots into educational settings over the past five years suggests an increase in interest in the ways in which chatbots might be adopted and adapted for teaching and learning. This article draws on historical literature and theories that to date have largely been ignored in order to (re)contextualise two studies that used responsive evaluation to examine the use of pedagogical agents in education. Findings suggest that emotional interactions with pedagogical agents are intrinsic to a user’s sense of trust, and that truthfulness, personalisation and emotional engagement are vital when using pedagogical agents to enhance online learning. Such findings need to be considered in the light of ways in which notions of learning are being redefined in the academy and the extent to which new literacies and new technologies are being pedalled as pedagogies in ways that undermine what higher education is, is for, and what learning means.