Development, implementation and evaluation of an interprofessional graduate program for nursing-paramedicine double-degree graduates

Over the past decade, several Australian universities have offered a double degree in nursing and paramedicine. Mainstream employment models that facilitate integrated graduate practice in both nursing and paramedicine are currently lacking. The aim of the present study was to detail the development of the Interprofessional Graduate Program (IPG), the industrial and professional issues that required solutions, outcomes from the first pilot IPG group and future directions. The IPG was an 18-month program during which participants rotated between graduate nursing experience in emergency nursing at Northern Health, Melbourne, Australia and graduate paramedic experience with Ambulance Victoria. The first IPG with 10 participants ran from January 2011 to August 2012. A survey completed by nine of the 10 participants in March 2014 showed that all nine participants nominated Ambulance Victoria as their main employer and five participants were working casual shifts in nursing. Alternative graduate programs that span two health disciplines are feasible but hampered by rigid industrial relations structures and professional ideologies. Despite a 'purpose built' graduate program that spanned two disciplines, traditional organisational structures still hamper double-degree graduates using all of skills to full capacity, and force the selection of one dominant profession.

The development and validation of a golf swing and putt skill assessment for children

The aim was to describe development of a process-oriented instrument designed to assess the golf swing and putt stroke, and to assess the instrument’s discriminative validity in terms of age and reliability (intra-rater and re-test). A Delphi consultation (with golf industry professionals and researchers in movement skill assessment) was used to develop an assessment for each skill based on existing skill assessment protocols. Each skill had six components to be marked as present/absent. Individual scores were based on the number of performance components successfully demonstrated over two trials for each skill (poten-tial score range 0 to 24). Children (n = 43) aged 6-10 years (M = 7.8 years, SD = 1.3) were assessed in both skills live in the field by one rater at Time 1(T1). A subset of children (n = 28) had consent for assessments to be videoed. Six weeks later 19 chil-dren were reassessed, five days apart (T2, T3). An ANOVA assessed discriminative validity i.e. whether skill competence at T1 differed by age (6 years, 7/8 years and 9/10 years). Intraclass correlations (ICC) assessed intra-rater reliability between the live and video assessment at T1 and test-retest reliability (be-tween T2 and T3). Paired t-tests assessed any systematic differ-ences between live and video assessments (T1) and between T2 and T3. Older children were more skilled (F (2, 40) = 11.18, p < 0.001). The live assessment reflected the video assessment (ICC = 0.79, 95% CI 0.59, 0.90) and scores did not differ between live and video assessments. Test retest reliability was acceptable (ICC = 0.60, 95% CI 0.23, 0.82), although the mean score was slightly higher at retest. This instrument could be used reliably by golf coaches and physical education teachers as part of sys-tematic early player assessment and feedback.

Paths of professional development in music therapy: training, professional identity and practice

Music therapy is listed as a profession in the EU Regulated Professions Database. This has assisted the next steps towards recognition in relevant countries and regions. The author’s experience as an academic leader in music therapy training over more than two decades is used to reflect on the profession of music therapy within Europe through interrogation of concepts underpinning professional identity, training, and professional practice. Potential tensions between recognition and regulation of healthcare professions are presented and discussed. As all practice takes place in context, balancing training needs between techniques and skills, systemic national and regional policy, and institutional knowledge is crucial. Achieving this balance is not easy but is key to successful growth of practitioner knowledge, seeding student’s curiosity about context and systems from the dawn of training.

Promoting gross motor skills and physical activity in childcare: a translational randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES: Educator-led programs for physical activity and motor skill development show potential but few have been implemented and evaluated using a randomized controlled design. Furthermore, few educator-led programs have evaluated both gross motor skills and physical activity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate a gross motor skill and physical activity program for preschool children which was facilitated solely by childcare educators. DESIGN: A six-month 2-arm randomized controlled trial was implemented between April and September 2012 in four early childhood centers in Tasmania, Australia. METHODS: Educators participated in ongoing professional development sessions and children participated in structured physical activity lessons and unstructured physical activity sessions. RESULTS: In total, 150 children were recruited from four centers which were randomized to intervention or wait-list control group. Six early childhood educators from the intervention centers were trained to deliver the intervention. Gross motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development (2nd edition) and physical activity was measured objectively using GT3X+ Actigraph accelerometers. No statistically significant differences were identified. However, small to medium effect sizes, in favor of the intervention group, were evident for four of the five gross motor skills and the total gross motor skill score and small to medium effect sizes were reported for all physical activity outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the potential of educator-led physical activity interventions and supports the need for further translational trials within the early childhood sector.

Objectively measured sedentary behaviour and health and development in children and adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis

Sedentary behaviour has emerged as a unique determinant of health in adults. Studies in children and adolescents have been less consistent. We reviewed the evidence to determine if the total volume and patterns (i.e. breaks and bouts) of objectively measured sedentary behaviour were associated with adverse health outcomes in young people, independent of moderate-intensity to vigorous-intensity physical activity. Four electronic databases (EMBASE MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, PubMed and Scopus) were searched (up to 12 November 2015) to retrieve studies among 2- to 18-year-olds, which used cross-sectional, longitudinal or experimental designs, and examined associations with health outcomes (adiposity, cardio-metabolic, fitness, respiratory, bone/musculoskeletal, psychosocial, cognition/academic achievement, gross motor development and other outcomes). Based on 88 eligible observational studies, level of evidence grading and quantitative meta-analyses indicated that there is limited available evidence that the total volume or patterns of sedentary behaviour are associated with health in children and adolescents when accounting for moderate-intensity to vigorous-intensity physical activity or focusing on studies with low risk of bias. Quality evidence from studies with robust designs and methods, objective measures of sitting, examining associations for various health outcomes, is needed to better understand if the overall volume or patterns of sedentary behaviour are independent determinants of health in children and adolescents.

Transforming roles to support student development of academic literacies: a reflection on one team’s experience

Abstract: Social work is a discipline that attracts students from diverse academic backgrounds. Many are first in family to attend university, and come to university through alternative pathways such as vocational education. As a result, there are higher levels of attrition compared to other disciplines, especially in the first year. To address this, and in keeping with a commitment to provide accessible education, one school of social work undertook a project to embed academic literacies into the curriculum. This paper used Gibb’s reflective process to explore how this was experienced by team members. Data were collected via staff focus groups at two different points in time across the project and compared. The reflection unpacked a number of tensions experienced by team members, including concerns about potential loss of resources as a result of academics adopting new roles, and concerns about implementing what was seen as Westernised academic skills which may not fit with students’ ways of thinking and creating knowledge. Overfull curricula and constant change also appeared to be of concern. The reflection highlighted that to achieve effective and sustainable change, action was required at multiple levels.

The fine art of conversation: the pragmatic skills of school-aged children with hearing loss

This chapter synthesizes the findings of a number of recent studies conducted by the authors. The focus will be on spoken interactions between school-aged students who are deaf and hard of hearing, and their hearing peers. Many of the participants in these studies have worn hearing aids and/or cochlear implants since infancy and have been educated in inclusive settings. The context of these studies includes face-to-face interactions during a question/answer game, in free conversation, and during an expository task. This chapter will examine the verbal and nonverbal conversational skills 'of these students within these different contexts. Using a range of quantitative and qualitative analyses, the development of pragmatic skills in students with hearing loss will be documented, and possible implications for language support and the development of social skills will be discussed.

Comparison of performance on process- and product-oriented assessments of fundamental motor skills across childhood

Process-oriented motor competence (MC) assessments evaluate how a movement is performed. Product-oriented assessments evaluate the outcome of a movement. Determining the concurrent validity of process and product assessments is important to address the predictive utility of motor competence for health. The current study aimed to: (1) compare process and product assessments of the standing long jump, hop and throw across age groups and (2) determine the capacity of process assessments to classify levels of MC. Participants included 170 children classified into three age groups: 4–5, 7–8 and 10–11 years old. Participants’ skills were examined concurrently using three process assessments ((Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition [TGMD-2]), Get Skilled; Get Active, and developmental sequences) and one product measure (throw speed, jump and hop distance). Results indicate moderate to strong correlations between (1) process assessments across skills and age groups (r range = .37–70) and (2) process and product assessments across skills and age groups (r range = .26–.88). In general, sensitivity to detect advanced skill level is lowest for TGMD-2 and highest for developmental sequences for all three skills. The use of process and product assessments is suggested to comprehensively capture levels of MC in human movement.

New Zealand primary teachers’ ICT professional development and classroom practices

This research presented fifteen New Zealand primary school teachers’ stories about the impact professional development in using information and communication technologies (ICT) had on their classroom practice. These teachers made changes to their classroom practice in accordance to appreciating the need for change, changes in their pedagogical thinking, their beliefs about teaching and learning, overcoming barriers to, and their skills and confidence in using ICT in the classroom.

The development of cultural intelligence through the Indonesia immersion program

This paper identifies which immersion program activities are most important in developing cross-cultural skills, and identifies the cultural intelligence (CQ) factors that Master of Business Administration (MBA) students gain by their participation in a cultural immersion program. Twenty students were surveyed, and it was found that the most important immersion program activities to develop cross-cultural skills were “visits to Indonesian companies” and “cultural activities”, as opposed to lectures by academics/industry guest speakers or working in cross-cultural teams. Motivational CQ was found to be the highest scoring CQ factor, followed by behavioural, then metacognitive and finally cognitive CQ. Students may have developed less cognitive CQ competencies because they had less opportunity to learn about knowledge aspects of CQ and had more opportunity to put into practice their motivational and behavioural CQ through immersion program activities.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF THE ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT INJURY-RISK-ESTIMATION QUIZ (ACL-IQ)

Over 2 million Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries occur annually worldwide resulting in considerable economic and health burdens (e.g., suffering, surgery, loss of function, risk for re-injury, and osteoarthritis). Current screening methods are effective but they generally rely on expensive and time-consuming biomechanical movement analysis, and thus are impractical solutions. In this dissertation, I report on a series of studies that begins to investigate one potentially efficient alternative to biomechanical screening, namely skilled observational risk assessment (e.g., having experts estimate risk based on observations of athletes movements). Specifically, in Study 1 I discovered that ACL injury risk can be accurately and reliably estimated with nearly instantaneous visual inspection when observed by skilled and knowledgeable professionals. Modern psychometric optimization techniques were then used to develop a robust and efficient 5-item test of ACL injury risk prediction skill—i.e., the ACL Injury-Risk-Estimation Quiz or ACL-IQ. Study 2 cross-validated the results from Study 1 in a larger representative sample of both skilled (Exercise Science/Sports Medicine) and un-skilled (General Population) groups. In accord with research on human expertise, quantitative structural and process modeling of risk estimation indicated that superior performance was largely mediated by specific strategies and skills (e.g., ignoring irrelevant information), independent of domain general cognitive abilities (e.g., metal rotation, general decision skill). These cognitive models suggest that ACL-IQ is a trainable skill, providing a foundation for future research and applications in training, decision support, and ultimately clinical screening investigations. Overall, I present the first evidence that observational ACL injury risk prediction is possible including a robust technology for fast, accurate and reliable measurement—i.e., the ACL-IQ. Discussion focuses on applications and outreach including a web platform that was developed to house the test, provide a repository for further data collection, and increase public and professional awareness and outreach (www.ACL-IQ.org). Future directions and general applications of the skilled movement analysis approach are also discussed.

Skeletal maturation, fundamental motor skills and motor coordination in children 7–10 years

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Routines in a European aquaculture company and the development of a Flavobacterium psychrophilum dose response pre-model in adult Rainbow Trout

An internship in a European company dealing with aquaculture and biotechnology - AquaBioTech Group, Malta - was undertaken to complete the Master Degree of Science in Aquaculture of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria. Biotechnology and aquaculture are two areas that have been synergistically used to contribute for the progress and improvement of fish production. The AquaBioTech Group is an example of a company able to integrate these areas to maximizing their services. Located in Mosta (Malta) the company operates in a sustainable way using Recirculation Aquaculture Systems (RAS) to maintain aquaculture species. In collaboration with several companies and institutions, the AquaBioTech Group is involved and supports the development of important international research projects. The present report focuses on two important parts of the internship performed during 6 months. Initially, it will cover the operation and constitution of the company, describing the routines and techniques acquired. Then, it will describe a pathology trial that forms the practical and scientific component of this report. Despite the limitation to describe some confidential assays, this trial consisted in the infection of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with the bacterium Flavobacterium psychrophilum in order to evaluate the mortality rates over time. The internship served to solidify theoretical knowledge acquired during the academic training, develop professional skills and provide an understanding of jobs available on the market.

An Integrative Case Study of Positive Youth Development in a Recreational Community Sport Program

Thesis (Ph.D, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2016-07-21 14:22:50.954

Youth-Physical Activity Towards Health: evidence and background to the development of the Y-PATH physical activity intervention for adolescents

Background: Despite known benefits of regular physical activity for health and well-being, many studies suggest that levels of physical activity in young people are low, and decline dramatically during adolescence. The purpose of the current research was to gather data on adolescent youth in order to inform the development of a targeted physical activity intervention. Methods: Cross-sectional data on physical activity levels (using self report and accelerometry), psychological correlates of physical activity, anthropometic characteristics, and the fundamental movement skill proficiency of 256 youth (53% male, 12.40 ± 0.51 years) were collected. A subsample (n = 59) participated in focus group interviews to explore their perceptions of health and identify barriers and motivators to participation in physical activity. Results: Findings indicate that the majority of youth (67%) were not accumulating the minimum 60 minutes of physical activity recommended daily for health, and that 99.5% did not achieve the fundamental movement skill proficiency expected for their age. Body mass index data showed that 25% of youth were classified as overweight or obese. Self-efficacy and physical activity attitude scores were significantly different (p < 0.05) between low, moderate and high active participants. Active and inactive youth reported differences in their perceived understanding of health and their barriers to physical activity participation, with active youth relating nutrition, exercise, energy and sports with the definition of ‘being healthy’, and inactive youth attributing primarily nutritional concepts to ‘being healthy’. Conclusions: Data show a need for targeting low levels of physical activity in youth through addressing poor health related activity knowledge and low fundamental movement skill proficiency. The Y-PATH intervention was developed in accordance with the present study findings; details of the intervention format are presented.