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Blended learning refers to a method of teaching and learning in which some form of online learning is used in addition to the traditional on-campus/face-to-face learning experience in an integrated manner. Postgraduate Applied Statistics programs at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia adopted the blended learning paradigm almost a decade ago to accommodate an increasingly diverse student population. This paradigm allows for "flexibility in design approaches", and accommodates the range of blended learning capabilities and experience of teachers and learners. The blended learning design adopted in these programs has involved the "thoughtful integration of learning and teaching approaches" in both on-campus, face-to-face and online/virtual learning environments by utilising the benefits of each of these environments. These programs focus on designing learning interactions across formal teaching spaces, informal learning spaces and online learning and teaching spaces. This flexible approach has been well accepted among both online and on-campus students. This paper describes the medium impact blended learning model adopted in these courses and the feedback received from students during recent study periods. The authors make the case that implementation of a successful blended learning model can enhance students' learning experience for a mixed cohort of participants.

Background: Medication errors are common in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) due to several factors. Effective medication management is essential to prevent medication errors among older people particularly due to the complexity of co‐morbidities they can experience. Objectives: This study aimed to examine and quantify the contributing factors of medication errors from nurses' perspectives and the prevention strategies to reduce medication errors among older adults living in RACFs. Methods: A survey with 140 completed responses from registered nurses (RNs) and endorsed enrolled nurses (EENs) working in RACFs across Australia were included in the study. The survey had 24 items, related to contributing factors of medication errors, and the prevention strategies. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis were used in the data analysis process. Results: The study identified medication errors are caused by contributing factors such as use of agency staffing (70.4%) and delays in receipt of laboratory results (94.3%). However, it also identified suggestions to reduce medication errors in RACFs, for example use of electronic alerts (88.3%), and efficient laboratory communication (91.8%). Our results revealed three key factors for causes (workload, interprofessional involvement and interruptions) and suggestions (medication safety alerts, medication process improvement and effective reporting). Conclusion: Medication errors in RACFs are a global problem being one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. The knowledge and awareness of the factors associated with medication errors and the prevention strategies can guide potential quality improvement plans and contribute to minimisation of risk associated with medication safety in RACFs. Implications for practice: The study recommends strategies for best practices in medication management such as interprofessional collaboration, implementing standardised policies and electronic alerts to reduce medication errors in RACFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1960s, many electronic travel aids have been developed for people with low vision or blindness to improve their independent travel skills, but uptake of these specialist devices has been limited. This study investigated what technologies orientation and mobility (O&M) clients in Australia and Malaysia have, use, like, and want to support their travel, to inform technology research and development. This two-phase mixed-methods study surveyed O&M clients face-to-face in Malaysia (n = 9), and online in Australia (n = 50). Participants managed safe walking using a human guide, long cane, or guide dog when their vision was insufficient to see hazards, but a smartphone is now a standard travel aid in both Australia and Malaysia. Participants relied on smartphone accessibility features and identified 108 apps they used for travel: for planning (e.g., public transport timetables), sourcing information in transit (e.g., GPS location and directions, finding a taxi), sensory conversion (e.g., camera-to-voice, voice-to-text, video-to-live description), social connections (e.g., phone, email, Facebook), food (e.g., finding eateries, ordering online), and entertainment (e.g., music, games). They wanted to 'carry less junk', and sought better accessibility features, consistency across platforms, and fast, reliable, real-time information that supports confident, non-visual travel, especially into unfamiliar places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A succession of interconnected environmental factors is believed to contribute substantially to the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This exploratory study therefore aims to identify potential risk factors for ASD that are associated with pregnancy, birth and infant feeding. Demographic and health-related data on children aged 3–13 years (N = 4306) was collected through an online survey completed by biological mothers. A fitted logistic regression model identified advanced maternal age, prenatal bleeding, pre-eclampsia, perinatal pethidine usage, foetal distress before birth and male sex of child as associated with an increased risk of ASD, whereas longer gestational duration demonstrated a protective effect. These findings highlight potential risk factors and predictor interrelationships which may contribute to overall ASD risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) professionals teach people with low vision or blindness to use specialist assistive technologies to support confident travel, but many O&M clients now prefer a smartphone. This study aimed to investigate what technology O&M professionals in Australia and Malaysia have, use, like, and want to support their client work, to inform the development of O&M technologies and build capacity in the international O&M profession. A technology survey was completed by professionals (n = 36) attending O&M workshops in Malaysia. A revised survey was completed online by O&M specialists (n = 31) primarily in Australia. Qualitative data about technology use came from conferences, workshops and interviews with O&M professionals. Descriptive statistics were analysed together with free-text data. Limited awareness of apps used by clients, unaffordability of devices, and inadequate technology training discouraged many O&M professionals from employing existing technologies in client programmes or for broader professional purposes. Professionals needed to learn smartphone accessibility features and travel-related apps, and ways to use technology during O&M client programmes, initial professional training, ongoing professional development and research. Smartphones are now integral to travel with low vision or blindness and early-adopter O&M clients are the travel tech-experts. O&M professionals need better initial training and then regular upskilling in mainstream O&M technologies to expand clients' travel choices. COVID-19 has created an imperative for technology laggards to upskill for O&M tele-practice. O&M technology could support comprehensive O&M specialist training and practice in Malaysia, to better serve O&M clients with complex needs. Most orientation and mobility (O&M) clients are travelling with a smartphone, so O&M specialists need to be abreast of mainstream technologies, accessibility features and apps used by clients for orientation, mobility, visual efficiency and social engagement. O&M specialists who are technology laggards need human-guided support to develop confidence in using travel technologies, and O&M clients are the experts. COVID-19 has created an imperative to learn skills for O&M tele-practice. Affordability is a significant barrier to O&M professionals and clients accessing specialist travel technologies in Malaysia, and to O&M professionals upgrading technology in Australia. Comprehensive training for O&M specialists is needed in Malaysia to meet the travel needs of clients with low vision or blindness who also have physical, cognitive, sensory or mental health complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is support for the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) technology in dementia education. However, it is not yet known if VR is a useful tool for improving empathy and understanding of dementia care environments among dementia care workers.Objective: This study compared learning outcomes of VR versus non-VR (control) workshops for dementia care workers of different ages and English-speaking backgrounds.Methods: Dementia care workers enrolled in workshops on dementia care principles. Once participants were enrolled, workshops were assigned at random to deliver non-VR or VR-based education. Participants (N = 114, 91.8%female, mean age = 46.4; SD = 13.2; n = 60VR condition, 54control condition) completed self-report measures of empathy towards people living with dementia, understanding of dementia care environments, dementia knowledge, and attitudes towards dementia at pre- and post-workshop.Results: Significant pre-post main effects were observed for empathy, understanding of dementia care environments, and attitudes. Interaction effects were not found; improvements in outcomes were similar between conditions. However, interaction effects were observed for subgroups. Empathy improved significantly more in the VR condition for older participants. Understanding of dementia care environments improved more in the VR condition for younger and non-English-speaking background participants.Conclusion: Using VR may not augment teaching outcomes for all learners. VR may differentially assist leaners of different ages and English-speaking backgrounds. More research is needed to understand for which variables and for whom VR is a useful teaching tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This Australian study piloted a new measure of Orientation and Mobility to better understand the functional mobility of guide dog handlers with low vision or blindness. It is expected that this measure can be used to better match guide dogs to their handlers. Materials and methods: The new Orientation and Mobility Outcomes tool scores a client in Stable/Familiar and Dynamic/Unfamiliar conditions, also considering Travel-Related Wellbeing. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 guide dog handlers, during which travel skills were co-rated with an interviewer. Results: A cluster analysis of the Orientation and Mobility Outcomes data identified four mobility styles: intrepid explorers, social navigators, independent roamers and homebodies. The differences between these clusters had more to do with mental mapping skills than level of vision, and different guide dog characteristics were needed to support the travel styles identified for each cluster. Conclusions: The results confirm the importance of the Orientation and Mobility Outcomes tool as a sensitive, person-centred measure of the impact of Orientation and Mobility and guide dog training. In particular, the four mobility clusters provide a new perspective on matching guide dogs with clients, also suggesting the need for a more personalised look at the guide dog training process. Orientation and Mobility Outcomes data seem precise enough to support and inform the process of matching guide dogs to handlers. Uniform results cannot be expected from guide dog mobility in handlers – age, stage of life, health and spatial cognition impact the competence and travel style of guide dog handlers, whereas vision is less important. Sharing the work of visual interpretation and decision making with a guide dog makes independent travel more possible. Valuable dog characteristics that are specific to handler requirements might be bred or trained from puppy raising onwards, creating a more diverse pool of dogs to draw upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to examine the impact of digital stories about aged care residents on staff knowledge and understanding regarding those residents., Background: More than a quarter of a million older Australians live in residential aged care facilities. This living arrangement can inhibit the expression of a person's sense of identity. Without objects and cues that reflect the person's selfhood, it can be difficult for a person to express their uniqueness. Staff may not sufficiently appreciate the resident's individuality and therefore may not be able to customise care for the resident., Design: This study used a single-arm trial design., Methods: The study was conducted in four residential aged care facilities. Short digital life stories (3-4 min) of eight residents were constructed by student volunteers over 6 months. Participants (n = 53 care staff) completed a self-report measure of their knowledge and understanding of a resident before and after watching the resident's story. The study adhered to guidelines for Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) (see Appendix S1)., Results: Pre- and post-test scores of the measure were compared using paired samples t-tests. These scores changed significantly, showing an improvement of knowledge and understanding regarding residents., Conclusions: Watching digital life stories were associated with improvements in knowledge and understanding by staff, and hence have the potential to foster a greater level of understanding of residents by such staff, and more person-centred care practices within residential aged care facilities., Relevance to Clinical Practice: Digital stories about aged care residents are quick and efficient methods for improving aged care staff members' knowledge and understanding of the residents under their care. With such understanding, staff may be able to better customise care for residents, thereby validating residents' sense of identity and elevating residents' quality of life., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists assess the functional vision and O&M skills of people with mobility problems, usually relating to low vision or blindness. There are numerous O&M assessment checklists but no measures that reduce qualitative assessment data to a single comparable score suitable for assessing any O&M client, of any age or ability, in any location. Functional measures are needed internationally to align O&M assessment practices, guide referrals, profile O&M clients, plan appropriate services and evaluate outcomes from O&M programmes (eg, long cane training), assistive technology (eg, hazard sensors) and medical interventions (eg, retinal implants). This study aims to validate two new measures of functional performance vision-related outcomes in orientation and mobility (VROOM) and orientation and mobility outcomes (OMO) in the context of ordinary O&M assessments in Australia, with cultural comparisons in Malaysia, also developing phone apps and online training to streamline professional assessment practices., Methods and Analysis: This multiphase observational study will employ embedded mixed methods with a qualitative/quantitative priority: corating functional vision and O&M during social inquiry. Australian O&M agencies (n=15) provide the sampling frame. O&M specialists will use quota sampling to generate cross-sectional assessment data (n=400) before investigating selected cohorts in outcome studies. Cultural relevance of the VROOM and OMO tools will be investigated in Malaysia, where the tools will inform the design of assistive devices and evaluate prototypes. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Rasch modelling, cluster analysis and analysis of variance will be undertaken along with descriptive analysis of measurement data. Qualitative findings will be used to interpret VROOM and OMO scores, filter statistically significant results, warrant their generalisability and identify additional relevant constructs that could also be measured., Ethics and Dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the Human Research Ethics Committee at Swinburne University (SHR Project 2016/316). Dissemination of results will be via agency reports, journal articles and conference presentations., Competing Interests: Competing interests: LD reports personal fees from Bionic Vision Australia (2014) and Guide Dogs Victoria outside the submitted work and is an executive member of the Orientation and Mobility Association of Australasia., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

A fundamental challenge to the timely diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the reliance on the observation of a set of aberrant behavior. Consequently, the diagnostic process requires that the child reach an age where the behaviors would typically be exhibited. The identification of a reliable biological marker (biomarker) could be of considerable benefit to the diagnostic process. As a diagnostic biomarker, porphyrins present an attractive prospect as previous studies have reported consistent findings of children with ASD showing significant elevations in porphyrin levels in contrast to controls. Furthermore, there is some evidence that ASD severity may be associated with porphyrins, which would be a valuable characteristic of any ASD biomarker. Importantly, for practical use, porphyrins can be tested non-invasively via a sample of urine. The present study sought to investigate whether porphyrin profiles can reliably be used to (a) differentiate ASD cases from healthy controls; and (b) predict ASD severity. The study compared the porphyrin levels of three groups of children aged 2-6 years: Group 1-children diagnosed with ASD (n = 70); Group 2-healthy, normally developing siblings of children diagnosed with ASD (n = 36); and Group 3-healthy, normally developing children with no known blood relative diagnosed with ASD (n = 54). The results of logistic regression analyses failed to find support for the hypotheses that porphyrin levels could be used as a valid tool to detect ASD cases or predict severity., (© 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)