Gifted students with a reading disability : the impact of lived experience

Gifted students who have a reading disability have learning characteristics that set them apart from their peers. The ability to read impacts upon all areas of the formal curriculum in which print-based texts are common. Therefore, the full intellectual development of gifted students with a reading disability can be repressed because their access to learning opportunities is reduced. When the different learning needs caused by concomitant giftedness and reading disability are not met, it can have serious implications for both academic achievement and the social-emotional wellbeing of these students. In order to develop a deeper understanding of this vulnerable group of students, this study investigated the learning characteristics of gifted students with a reading disability. Furthermore, it investigated how the learning characteristics of these students impact upon their lived experiences. Since achievement and motivation have been shown to be closely linked to self-efficacy, self-efficacy theory underpinned the conceptual framework of the study. The study used a descriptive case study approach to document the lived experiences of gifted students with a reading disability. Nine participants aged between 11 and 18, who were formally identified as gifted with a reading disability, took part in the study. Data sources in the case study database included: cognitive assessments, such as WISC assessments, Stanford Binet 5, or the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices; the WIAT II reading assessment; the Reader Self-Perception Scale; document reviews; parent and teacher checklists designed to gain information about the students' learning characteristics; and semi-structured interviews with students. The study showed that gifted students with a reading disability display a complex profile of learning strengths and weaknesses. As a result, they face a daily struggle of trying to reconcile the confusion of being able to complete some tasks to a high level, while struggling to read. The study sheds light on the myriad of issues faced by the students at school. It revealed that when the particular learning characteristics and needs of gifted students with a reading disability are recognised and met, these students can experience academic success, and avoid the serious social-emotional complications cited in previous studies. Indeed, rather than suffering from depression, disengagement from learning, and demotivation, these students were described as resilient, independent, determined, goal oriented and motivated to learn and persevere. Notably, the students in the study had developed effective coping strategies for dealing with the daily challenges they faced. These strategies are outlined in the thesis together with the advice students offered for helping other gifted students with a reading disability to succeed. Their advice is significant for all teachers who wish to nurture the potential of those students who face the challenge of being gifted with a reading disability, and for the parents of these students. This research advances knowledge pertaining to the theory of self-efficacy, and self-efficacy in reading specifically, by showing that although gifted students with a reading disability have low self-efficacy, the level is not the same for all aspects of reading. Furthermore, despite low self-efficacy in reading these students remained motivated. The study also enhances existing knowledge in the areas of gifted education and special education because it documents the lived experience of gifted students with a specific learning disability in reading from the students' perspectives. Based on a synthesis of the literature and research findings, an Inclusive Pathway Model is proposed that describes a framework to support gifted students with a reading disability so that they might achieve, and remain socially and emotionally well-adjusted. The study highlights the importance of clear identification protocols (such as the use of a range of assessment sources, discussions with students and parents, and an awareness of the characteristics of gifted students with a reading disability) and support mechanisms for assisting students (for example, differentiated reading instruction and the use of assistive technology).

Experience, recursive awareness and understanding in autism spectrum disorders : insights of parents and teachers in Singapore

Provision of an individually responsive education requires a comprehensive understanding of the inner worlds of learners, such as their feelings and thoughts. However, this is difficult to achieve when learners, such as those with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and cognitive difficulties, have problems with communication. To address this issue, the current exploratory descriptive study sought the views of 133 Singaporean parents and teachers of school-age learners with ASD and cognitive difficulties regarding the inner experience of their children and students. The findings highlight the variety of abilities and difficulties found in how these learners experience their own mental states and understand those of others. These abilities and difficulties are characterized according to type of mental state and analysed in line with three qualia, those of experience, recursive awareness and understanding. The findings indicate that learners show a greater awareness of their own mental states compared to their ability to understand these same mental states in others. Educational implications are discussed.

Providing 'best practice' placements begins with mentoring skills : overview of the Program of Experience in the Palliative Approach (PEPA) quality improvement initiatives for mentors

Objectives PEPA is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing and aims to further improve the skill and confidence of the generalist workforce to work with people with palliative care needs. Recent quality improvement initiatives to promote transfer of learning into practice include appointment of a clinical educator, implementation of an online module for mentors and delivery of a mentoring workshop (collaborating with NSAP and PCC4U). This paper presents an overview of outcomes from these quality improvement initiatives. Methods PEPA host sites are selected based on their specialist palliative care level. Host site managers are surveyed six-monthly and participants are surveyed pre and three months post-placement to collect open and fixed response data on their experience of the program. Participants in the mentoring workshop (n=39) were asked to respond to a survey regarding the workshop outcomes. Results The percentage of placement participants who strongly agreed they ‘have the ability to implement the interventions required for people who have a life-limiting illness’ increased from 35% in 2011 (n=34) to 51% in 2012 (n=91) post-placement. Responses from mentor workshop participants indicated that 76% of respondents (n=25) agreed that they were able to identify principles for mentoring in the context of palliative care. In 2012, 61% of host site managers (n=54) strongly agreed that PEPA supports clinician working with people with a life-limiting illness. Conclusion Strategies to build the capabilities of palliative care professionals to mentor and support the learning experience of PEPA participants are critical to ongoing improvements of the program.

Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among 2508 college students in 6 provinces of China [中国6省市2508名大学生儿童期性虐待经历回顾性调查]

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in college students and to explore the association of CSA with youth mental health problem. METHODS A retrospective survey was conducted among 2508 students (females 1360, males 1148) in Nov. 2003 to Mar. 2004. The students were from 6 colleges/universities in Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Anhui provinces of China. RESULTS Of the 2508 students, 24.8% of females and 17.6% of males reported one or more types of nonphysical contact CSA (females 20.0% vs. males 14.6%) or/and physical contact CSA (females 14.1% vs. males 7.8%) before the age of 16 years. Risk of any CSA was not associated with the existence of siblings (one-child vs. two-or more child families), rural/non-rural residence during childhood, or parental education. Compared with their peers who had no CSA, the students with CSA showed significantly higher mean scores of psychological symptoms of somatization, obsessiveness, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism. CONCLUSION The problem of CSA was not uncommon and there was a significant correlation between CSA experience and students mental health problems. More attention should be paid on CSA prevention and provision of health services for the victims.

Becoming a pharmacist : the role of curriculum in professional identity formation

Objective To understand how the formal curriculum experience of an Australian undergraduate pharmacy program supports students’ professional identity formation. Methods A qualitative ethnographic study was conducted over four weeks using participant observation and examined the ‘typical’ student experience from the perspective of a pharmacist. A one-week period of observation was undertaken with each of the four year groups (that is, for years one to four) comprising the undergraduate curriculum. Data were collected through observation of the formal curriculum experience using field notes, a reflective journal and informal interviews with 38 pharmacy students. Data were analyzed thematically using an a priori analytical framework. Results Our findings showed that the observed curriculum was a conventional curricular experience which focused on the provision of technical knowledge and provided some opportunities for practical engagement. There were some opportunities for students to imagine themselves as pharmacists, for example, when the lecture content related to practice or teaching staff described their approach to practice problems. However, there were limited opportunities for students to observe pharmacist role models, experiment with being a pharmacist or evaluate their professional identities. While curricular learning activities were available for students to develop as pharmacists e.g. patient counseling, there was no contact with patients and pharmacist academic staff tended to role model as educators with little evidence of their pharmacist selves. Conclusion These findings suggest that the current conventional approach to the curriculum design may not be fully enabling learning experiences which support students in successfully negotiating their professional identities. Instead it appeared to reinforce their identities as students with a naïve understanding of professional practice, making their future transition to professional practice challenging.

Happiness online : supporting the emotions of emergent teachers in a virtual community

Extending Lash and Urry's (1994) notion of new "imagined communities" through information and communication structures, I ask the question: Are emergent teachers happy when they interact in online learning environments? This question is timely in the context of the ubiquity of online media and its pervasiveness in teachers' everyday work and lives. The research is important nationally and internationally, because the current research is contradictory. On the one hand, feelings of isolation and frustration have been cited as common emotions experienced in many online environments (Su, Bonk, Magjuka, Liu, & Lee, 2005). Yet others report that online communities encourage a sense of belonging and support (Mills, 2011). Emotions are inherently social, are central to learning and online interaction (Shen, Wang, & Shen, 2009). The presentations reports the use of e-motion blogs to explore emotional states of emergent primary teachers in an online learning context as they transition into their first field experience in schools. The original research was conducted with a graduate class of 64 secondary science pre-service teachers in Science Education Curriculum Studies in a large Australian university, including males and females from a variety of cultural backgrounds, aged 17-55 years. Online activities involved the participants watching a series of streamed live lectures within a course of 8 weeks duration, providing a varied set of learning experiences, such as viewing live teaching demonstrations. Each week, participants provided feedback on learning by writing and posting an e-motion diary or web log about their emotional response. The blogs answered the question: What emotions you experience during this learning experience? The descriptive data set included 284 online posts, with students contributing multiple entries. The Language of Appraisal framework, following Martin and White (2005), was used to cluster the discrete emotions within six affect groups. The findings demonstrated that the pre-service teachers' emotional responses tended towards happiness and satisfaction within the typology of affect groups - un/happiness, in/security, and dis/satisfaction. Fewer participants reported that online learning mode triggered negative feelings of frustration, and when this occurred, it often pertained expectations of themselves in the forthcoming field experience in schools or as future teachers. The findings primarily contribute new understanding about emotional states in online communities, and recommendations are provided for supporting the happiness and satisfaction of emergent teachers as they interact in online communities. It demonstrates that online environments can play an important role in fulfilling teachers' need for social interaction and inclusion.

Therapeutic practice with refugee clients: a qualitative study of therapist experience

Background There is limited research on the subjective experience of therapists and their understanding of therapeutic process when working with people from refugee backgrounds. Objective The present study provides a qualitative account of therapists’ conceptions of therapeutic practice and experiences of working therapeutically with refugee clients. Method Participants were 12 mental health workers who had worked therapeutically with people from refugee backgrounds, with an average of 7.6 years (range 1.5-16 years) experience in this field. Participants completed a semi-structured interview and completed a brief quantitative survey. Findings Thematic analysis revealed a number of super-ordinate themes. Four key themes are explored in the current study: principles of therapeutic practice; therapy as a relational experience; the role of context in informing therapeutic work with refugee clients; and the impact of therapeutic work on the therapist. Discussion The results revealed the complexity and demands of working with people from refugee backgrounds. Further, the lack of research evidence for the methods of therapeutic practice described in the current study highlights the distinction between naturalistic therapeutic practice and the current state of the evidence regarding therapeutic interventions for refugee clients. The findings have important implications for training and supporting therapists to work with people who have fled their countries of origin and who have often been exposed to highly traumatic events.

The edge of glory: the relationship between metacritic scores and player experience

This study sought to examine how measures of player experience used in videogame research relate to Metacritic Professional and User scores. In total, 573 participants completed an online survey, where they responded the Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) and the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) in relation to their current favourite videogame. Correlations among the data indicate an overlap between the player experience constructs and the factors informing Metacritic scores. Additionally, differences emerged in the ways professionals and users appear to allocate game ratings. However, the data also provide clear evidence that Metacritic scores do not reflect the full complexity of player experience and may be misleading in some cases.

The disaster flood experience: Older people’s poetic voices of resilience

This paper explores the experiences of older community-dwelling Australians evacuated from their homes during the 2011 and 2013 Queensland floods, applying the novel creative methodology of poetic inquiry as an analysis and interpretative tool. As well as exploring how older adults managed during a natural disaster, the paper documents the process and potential of poetic inquiry in gerontological research. The first and second poems highlight the different social resources older people have to draw on in their lives, especially during a crisis. Poem 1 (“Nobody came to help me”) illustrates how one older resident felt all alone during the flood, whereas Poem 2 (“They came from everywhere”), Poem 3 ("The Girls") and Poem 5 (“Man in Blue Shirt”) shows how supported – from both family and the wider community - other older residents felt. Poem 4 (“I can’t swim”) highlights one participant’s fear as the water rises. To date, few studies have explicitly explored older adult’s disaster experience, with this paper the first to utilise a poetic lens. We argue that poetic presentation enhances understanding of older residents’ unique experiences during a disaster, and may better engage a wider audience of policy-makers, practitioners, the general community and older people themselves in discussion about, and reflection on, the impact and experience of disasters.

Effectiveness of on-line resources to enhance student learning and engagement

BACKGROUND For engineering graduates to be work-ready with marketable skills they must not only be well-versed with engineering science and its applications, but also able to adapt to using commercial software that is widely used in engineering practice. Hydrological/hydraulic modelling is one aspect of engineering practice which demands the ability to apply fundamentals into design and construction using software. The user manuals for such software are usually tailored for the experienced engineer but not for undergraduates who typically are novices to concepts of modelling and software tools. As the focus of a course such as Advanced Water Engineering is on the wider aspects of engineering application of hydrological and hydraulic concepts, it is ineffective for the lecturers to direct the students to user manuals as students have neither the time nor the desire to sift through numerous pages in a manual. An alternative and efficient way to demonstrate the use of the software is enabling students to develop a model to simulate real-world scenario using the tools of the software and directing them to make informed decisions based on outcomes. PURPOSE Past experience of the lecturer showed that the resources available for the students left a knowledge gap leading to numerous student queries outside contact hours. The purpose of this study is to assess how effective purpose-built video resources can be in supplementing the traditional learning resources to enhance student learning. APPROACH Short-length animated video clips comprising guided step-by-step instructions were prepared using screen capture software to capture screen activity and later edited to focus on specific features using pop-up annotations; Vocal narration was purposely excluded to avoid disturbances due to noise and allow different learning paces of individual students. The video clips were made available to the students alongside the traditional resources/approaches such as in-class demonstrations, guideline notes, and tips for efficient and error-free procedural descriptions. The number of queries the lecturer received from the student cohort outside the lecture times was recorded. An anonymous survey to assess the usefulness and adequacy of the courseware was conducted. OUTCOMES While a significant decline in the number of student queries was noted, an overwhelming majority of the survey respondents confirmed the usefulness of the purpose-developed courseware. CONCLUSIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS/SUMMARY The survey and lecturer’s experience indicated that animated demonstration video clips illustrating the various steps involved in developing hydrologic and hydraulic models and simulating design scenarios is an effective supplement for traditional learning resources. Among the many advantages of the custom-made video clips as a learning resource are that they (1) highlight the aspects that are important to undergraduate learning but not available in the software manuals as the latter are designed for more mature users/learners; (2) provide short, to-the point communication in a step-by-step manner; (3) allow students flexibility to self-learn at their own pace; (4) enhance student learning; and (5) enable time savings for the lecturer in the long term by avoiding queries of a repetitive nature. It is expected that these newly developed resources will be improved to incorporate students’ suggestions before being offered to future cohorts of students. The concept can also be expanded to other relevant courses where animated demonstrations of key modelling steps are beneficial to student learning.

“I understand. I am a participant”: Navigating the ‘fuzzy’ boundaries of visual methods in qualitative longitudinal research

In this chapter we discuss how utilising the participatory visual methodology, photovoice, in an aged care context with its unique communal setting raised several ‘fuzzy boundary’ ethical dilemmas. To illustrate these challenges, we draw on immersive field notes from an ongoing qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) exploring the lived experience of aged care from the perspective of older residents, and focus on interactions with one participant, 81 year old Cassie. We explore how the camera, which is integral to the photovoice method, altered the researcher/participant ethical dynamics by becoming a continual ‘connector’ to the researcher. The camera took on a distinct agency, acting as a non-threatening ‘portal’ that lengthened contact, provided informal opportunities to alter the relationship dynamics and enabled unplanned participant revelation.

A qualitative study of the spouse's experience following coronary artery bypass surgery: Implications for Nursing Practice

Findings from numerous quantitative studies suggest that spouses of patients undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass (CAB) surgery experience both physical and emotional stress before and after their partner's surgery. Such studies have contributed to our understanding of the spouses' experiences, however they have largely failed to capture the qualitative experience of what it is like to be a spouse of a partner who has undergone CAB surgery. The objective of this study was to describe the experience of spouses of patients who had recently undergone CAB surgery. This study was guided by Husserl's phenomenological approach to qualitative research. In accordance with the nature of phenomenological research the number of participants necessarily needs to be small because phenomenology values the unique experience of individuals. Therefore this study gathered data from four participants utilising open ended indepth interviews. The method of analysis was adapted from Amedeo Giorgi's five step empirical phenomenological process which brackets preconceived notions, reducing participants' accounts to the essential essence or meanings. Numerous themes common to each of the spouses emerged. These included: seeking information; the necessity for rapid decision making; playing guardian; a desire to debrief with their partner and lastly, uncertainty of their future role. This study has attempted to understand the phenomena of the spouse's experience and in doing so, believe that we now have a better understanding and insight into the needs of spouses of CAB surgery patients. This has added another dimension to our existing body of knowledge and further facilitates holistic patient care.

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.

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.

In response: UV–vis light transmittance through tinted contact lenses and the effect of color on values

In the study, we used the Agilent 8453 spectrophotometer (which is equipped with a limiting aperture that restricts the light beam to the central 5 mm of the contact lens), to measure the transmittance of various coloured contact lenses including the one Day Acuvue define manufactured by Johnson and Johnson which the authors represent. We measured the instrument baseline before the transmittance spectra of lenses were tested. The values of lens transmittances were thus the difference between baseline and lens measurement at each time. The transmittance measurements were obtained at 0.5 nm intervals, from 200 to 700 nm after a soak in saline to remove the influence of any surface active agents within the packaging products. The technique used in our study was not very different from how other research studies [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6] have measured the spectra transmittances of contact lenses...