The long-running REU-program is tacitly intended to increase retention and provide "an important educational experience" for undergraduates, particularly women, minorities and underrepresented groups. This longitudinal, two-stage study was designed to explore the ways in which REUs acted as educational experiences for 51 women in the field of astronomy, in an attempt to develop a theory of experience related to the REU. Stage-1 consisted of an ex post facto analysis of data collected over 8 years, including multiple interviews with each participant during their REU, annual open-ended alumni surveys, faculty interviews, and extensive field notes. All data were analyzed using a theoretical framework of continuity and interaction, in a search for transformative experiences. Four findings emerged, related to developing understandings of the nature of professional scientific work, the scientific process, the culture of academia, and an understanding of the "self." Analysis provided an initial theory that was used to design the Stage-2 interview protocol. In Stage-2, over 10 hours of interviews were conducted with 8 participants selected for their potential to disconfirm the initial theory. Results indicate that the REU provided a limited impact in terms of participants' knowledge of professional astronomy as a largely computer-based endeavor. The REU did not provide a substantive educational experience related to the nature of scientific work, the scientific process, the culture of academia, participants' conceptions about themselves as situated in science, or other aspects of the "self." Instead, the data suggests that these women began the REU with pre-existing and remarkably strong conceptions in these areas, and that the REU did not functional to alter those states. These conceptions were frequently associated with other mentors/scientist interactions, from middle school into the undergraduate years. Instructors and family members also served as crucial forces in shaping highly developed, stable science identities. Sustained relationships with mentors were particularly transformational. These findings motivate an ongoing research agenda of long-term mentoring relationships for women in the sciences, at a variety of stages and across multiple disciplines.

Jacob and Schreyer (1980) define mode of experience (e.g. the degree to which participants experience an environment as focused or unfocused) as one of four major factors underlying outdoor recreation conflict. To discover the degree to which mountain bikers and hikers focus in the environment and to identify the key environmental elements and cognitive processes relevant to creating the mode of experience and underlying conflict, Visitor Employed Photography, VEP, and follow-up interviews were combined to explore mountain bikers' and hikers' perceptual experiences. Twelve mountain bikers (7 males, 5 females) rode about four and one half miles of the Lake Bryan East Loop Trail and 12 hikers (6 males, 6 females) hiked about 1.5 miles. Each participant was given a digital camera and tape recorder and was instructed to stop and take a picture of whatever they were looking at right when they heard music play. Findings indicate that mountain bikers tended to concentrate on Trail Corridor elements while forming or creating their Path/Line to travel while hikers tended to look around, scan, or take in full views of Wildlife, Vegetation, and Noises. Combined analyses suggested that mountain bikers photographed On-Trail Tread-Specific and Path/Line perceptions while hikers photographed Off/Off Distant-Views of Vegetation and Noises. Consensus existed among both for photographing On Distant at Trail Corridor elements down the Path/Line; On Distant at Trail Corridor elements Panoramic Forward; and at the Edge of Specific Vegetation elements. Interview findings indicated that participants rely on complex cognitive processes that involve focusing on many areas of the trail at one time. The participant's cue formation processes, foreground/background formation, goals, sequencing, and dynamic movement influenced their mode of experience. Using the findings, this paper presents a graphic representation of mode of experience accounting for the changes participants experience; discusses lingering appraisals' affects on participants' future perceptions during linear trail experiences; discusses conflict mitigation using trail design techniques; provides design suggestions for diminishing hiker and mountain biker conflicts; suggests an adapted ROS, Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, to manage trails for setting based outcomes from a mode of experience perspective; and discusses integrating user participation in management decisions.

Background: In studies about Romani people’s health, it becomes clear that the Romani inseveral countries have a poor health and avoid seeking health care.Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore Romani men's experiences of treatmentin the Swedish health care.Method: A qualitative interview study was conducted with respondents about theirexperiences in individual interviews. Seven male Romanis were elected with a purposefulsample. A content analysis by systematic text condensation on the data obtained was made asdescribed by Granheim & Lundman (2004).Results: The summed up impressions of the responses was perceived to be good, however,many men believe that the information is inadequate. Staff at the emergency department inUppsala should listen more to patients. Less than half of men have felt discriminated againstwhen they sought treatment. More than half of respondents had experienced difficulties inhospitals when there may be a large number of visitors. Lack of understanding of the Romaniculture by health care professionals was experienced by almost all informants. A wish foropen-minded and respectful treatment was among the participants in the study.Conclusions: Culture and traditions have been shown to have a significant impact on theRomani men. It is essential that health professionals hold knowledge about the Romaniculture in order to satisfy the best response from this population.

Many researchers have failed to find a relationship between experience and judgment accuracy. In this study the purpose was to understand the relationship between experience and expertise in clinical judgment. Common sense suggests that experienced subjects make better quality judgments, compared to novices. Clinical judgments, however, are ill-structured and characterized by uncertainty; they take place in a dynamic context, with delayed or nonexistent feedback and are difficult to learn. Cognitive operations that translate "cues" (such as risk factors, signs, and symptoms) into judgments are not fully understood. Cognitive constructs (conceptual structure, sensitivity to patterns in data, and judgment process) and individual differences in age, education, and experience were explored to identify their relationship to judgment expertise. Indicators of judgment quality were: accuracy, consistency, latency, confidence, calibration, and knowledge accessibility. In phase 1 of this study, cues were identified that best predicted healing time for 258 surgical patients with abdominal incisions. In Phase 2, the subjects were 36 nurses with a range of experience caring for surgical patients. Generating both quantitative and qualitative data, subjects made judgments about incisional healing on the basis of information from actual patients. Multidimensional scaling was used to reveal conceptual structure, and lens modeling was applied to assess sensitivity to broad patterns. An information board task with think-aloud protocols demonstrated judgment process. The selection of tasks was based on their analysis- or intuition-inducing features, using K. R. Hammond's (1990) cognitive continuum theory. Experience accounted for a only a small proportion of variance in performance, whereas confidence in judgment was more strongly related to experience. Taken together, these findings replicated previous research. Protocol data showed that metacognition, knowledge accessibility, and reflectivity increased with experience. Conceptual structure predicted judgment accuracy under intuitive conditions. Support was found for Dreyfus and Dreyfus' (1986) hypothesized transition in cognition, from deliberate processing of discrete cues, to intuitive processing of patterns of cues encoded in memories for specific cases. This study has theoretical significance by adding to knowledge about clinical judgment, and by increasing understanding of cognitive changes associated with expertise. This study has practical significance in providing direction for the development of teaching methods aimed to increase learning from experience in probabilistic contexts.

Background: Studies showed differences in attitudes towards patients with mental illness in nurses who worked in somatic care compared to nurses who worked in psychiatric care. The nurses in somatic care stated more negative attitudes to mental illness in relation to the nurses in psychiatric care. Studies also showed that work experience affected attitudes towards mental illness. Nurses who often came in contact with people with mental illness had less negative attitudes and prejudices against mental illness. Aim: The aim was to examine the experiences from nurses in somatic care, caring for patients who also have a psychiatric diagnosis. Method: The study was conducted as a semi-structured interview. The study was conducted through interviews with six nurses from the departments with a focus on somatic care. Qualitative content analysis was used for the analysis, which resulted in 48 pieces of sub-categories and six categories. Results: The analysis resulted in six categories: “often psychiatric patients in the somatic care”, “difficult patients”, “sees the whole patient as a person, not a diagnose”, “if it is not written, it does not exist”, “I know how to do, but” and “psychiatric disorder, not for real”. Conclusion: Nurses experienced that caring for patients with psychiatric comorbidity was caring for patients who required a lot of time and attention. The nurses felt they lacked some knowledge how they should respond to, and how to provide the best care, for these patients. Nurse’s experience was that they did not get the support from the psychiatric clinic that they wanted.

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Video-conferencing (VC) is a well established educational tool. Using a grounded theory approach, this study explored the experience of medical students studying remotely by VC. A convenience sample of 11 students participated in semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative analysis identified three emerging themes which were refined and verified by a focus group. The key themes were: the effect of VC on the students’ classroom experience, the development of a strong social cohesion between the students, and the impact on student learning. The participants adapted well to VC lectures but expressed reluctance to ask or answer questions in class. Participants felt they became more self-directed and better collaborative learners. Moore’s theory of transactional distance provides a possible explanation for these observations. High transactional distance was evident with less instructor-student interaction, more student-student interaction, and greater student autonomy. Understanding the transactional dynamics in the VC classroom will inform future research and faculty development. / 2011 May

The use of prescription opioids for chronic non-cancer pain is complex. Opioids have the potential to alleviate discomfort and increase ones overall ability to function but, long term use also has potential physical and psychological impacts. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of adults who use prescription opioids to manage chronic non-cancer pain. Nine participants were recruited and interviewed. Participants were asked to describe how using prescription opioids had affected their lives. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Eight themes emerged from the data: the process of decision making, physical effects of using opioids, social consequences of using opioids, Guilt, fears, ambivalence, self-protection, and acceptance. Using opioids made pain more manageable and improved function for most of the participants. Nevertheless, using opioids was also associated with stigma, guilt, fears and ambivalence about their future as persons with chronic pain.

The Camino Francés, a 780km pilgrimage in Northern Spain, has been traveled by millions of pilgrims over the last 800 years. In recent decades the route has been increasingly threatened by insensitive development and infrastructure. Surprisingly little research has been conducted on the nature and ecology of pilgrims’ experiences and the landscape necessary to support the roughly 170,000 people that walk the Camino each year. Adapting methods from recreation and leisure science, this autoethnographic research explored the influence of the environment on my pilgrimage experience as I walked for five weeks in the Fall of 2011. Analysis used a variety of qualitative techniques in creating my own narrative. My research suggests that the landscape is essential to a positive and meaningful pilgrimage experience. Future planning and design efforts for this UNESCO route should incorporate the influence of the landscape on the experience of pilgrimage.

Children’s understanding of space is a fusion of reality and fantasy, in which the physical environment, play, and imagination assume important roles. The boundary between the imaginative realm of the child and the physical realm of the world is blurred and penetrable, allowing for uninhibited associations and assimilations with the environment. A design for a children’s library is used to develop a method for designing potent environments for children to experience, play, and imagine. Using a palette of experiential qualities and memorable episodes to inform a set of parts, a series of spaces and activities or events are then dynamically assembled. The library, located within a forest site in Vancouver, is the testing ground for this assembly, playing with spatial and material configurations to blur perceptions of reality and fantasy, between the surrounding natural environment and the constructed one, as well as between the activities of learning and playing, in order to create a dynamic environment for childen.