The Covid-19 pandemic has created challenges and caused disruption across the Higher Education sector; university campuses closed, and face-to-face teaching and assessment shifted to an online ...format. Learning from our students’ experience during this period will help us shape future hybrid delivery so that it best fits Bioscience students. This pedagogical study explored Aston University’s Bioscience students’ experiences of studying from home, and the impact of the lockdown on mental wellbeing and quality of life. 151 students completed an online survey during August 2020, which included open and closed questions. Analysis of survey data revealed that a majority of students reported positive experiences of online open-book assessments and most would welcome this format in the future. The majority of students faced no technical issues, predominantly stating that they also had good internet connectivity. Shifting to remote learning and online classrooms uncovered conflicting preferences; despite wanting more interactive lectures, only half of the students were comfortable interacting using video cameras. Free text responses provided an insight into how some students reported an inadequate home working space/environment and lacked necessary items such as a desk, highlighting how remote working may intensify social and digital inequality - particularly for students from more deprived households. Wider detrimental experiences of lockdown included dissatisfaction with access to healthcare, decreased concentration, sleeping difficulties and a decline in mental wellbeing. Education strategies going forward will need to address the mental health needs of students who have suffered during the pandemic. Our university, amongst others, is embracing hybrid course delivery, which could offer a solution to ensuring Bioscience students receive hands-on laboratory experience and face-to-face contact to remain motivated and benefit from the on-campus facilities and support, whilst allowing students some of the flexibility afforded by remote study. In the current competitive higher education market where student retention is key, it is important to consider student demographics and digital equity to ensure an appropriate approach is applied to cater for all students.
Postpartum women's views of celebrity weight loss Bashir, Shahreen; Sparkes, Elizabeth; Anwar, Kubra ...
Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives,
June 2013, 2013-Jun, 2013-6-00, 20130601, Letnik:
26, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Childhood liver disease is a rare chronic illness which up until a few decades ago had no known survivors. However, thanks to advances in medicine young people diagnosed with liver disease are now ...surviving into adulthood. To date, there has been very little research done in the United Kingdom exploring the impact of liver disease on young people’s lives and this thesis aimed to explore the impact of liver disease across different life transitions. In chapter 1, I provide an introduction to childhood liver disease. In chapter 2, I introduce liver disease within a historical context as having a stigmatising reputation due to the negative connotations associated with alcoholism. I explain Goffman’s (1963) Stigma theory and Bury’s (1982) concept of biographical disruption as useful tools for understanding experiences of health and illness. In chapter 3, I address the methodology used; a social-constructionist perspective, semi-structured interviews with twenty 14-17 year olds, twenty-one 18 – 26 year olds and twenty-one parents about their lives living with liver disease and the use of thematic analysis to analyse the data. In light of the transition from paediatric to adult services, Chapter 4 contributes towards the literature on health communication and stigma by demonstrating how young people can make the transition into a stigmatised space. Chapter 5 demonstrates the complex ways in which alcohol can be stigmatising for young people living with liver disease due to ambivalent societal attitudes and how experiences of some South Asian participants can differ. Chapter 6 contributes to the childhood literature on biographical disruption by demonstrating how liver disease disrupts various transitions young people make and how parents can experience vicarious biographical disruption. In the final chapter I reflect on the contributions my thesis has made to the literature on childhood liver disease.
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