BackgroundThere is little research on large-scale complex health care simulations designed to facilitate student learning of non-technical skills in a team-working environment. We evaluated the acceptability and effectiveness of a novel natural disaster simulation that enabled medical students to demonstrate their achievement of the non-technical skills of collaboration, negotiation and communication.MethodsIn a mixed methods approach, survey data were available from 117 students and a thematic analysis undertaken of both student qualitative comments and tutor observer participation data.ResultsNinety three per cent of students found the activity engaging for their learning. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data: the impact of fidelity on student learning, reflexivity on the importance of non-technical skills in clinical care, and opportunities for collaborative teamwork. Physical fidelity was sufficient for good levels of student engagement, as was sociological fidelity. We demonstrated the effectiveness of the simulation in allowing students to reflect upon and evidence their acquisition of skills in collaboration, negotiation and communication, as well as situational awareness and attending to their emotions. Students readily identified emerging learning opportunities though critical reflection. The scenarios challenged students to work together collaboratively to solve clinical problems, using a range of resources including interacting with clinical experts.ConclusionsA large class teaching activity, framed as a simulation of a natural disaster is an acceptable and effective activity for medical students to develop the non-technical skills of collaboration, negotiation and communication, which are essential to team working. The design could be of value in medical schools in disaster prone areas, including within low resource countries, and as a feasible intervention for learning the non-technical skills that are needed for patient safety.

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The optics of eccentric photo refraction are analysed. The variation of photo refractive lunula area with refractive error, pupil size, flash eccentricity and camera aperture were calculated using a model eye. Measurements from photographs of paraxial (eccentric) photo refraction of model eyes show that a good agreement exists between theory and experiment over a range of refractive errors from — 10 D to +10 D. Calculations were also made for a standard reduced eye. The optimal set‐up for measuring refractive error accurately over a wide range of refractive states is discussed, as are the problems which arise from non‐central fixation.

Abstract. Colouring Australia is a digital platform for collecting and visualising building level information across several Australian cities. It provides a valuable resource for bringing together data on building age, material, sustainability ratings, walkability and other key metrics as we plan for net zero cities. Colouring Australia comprises part of the international Colouring Cities Research Programme, which supports the development of open-source platforms that provide open data on national building stocks. In this paper we outline the technical architecture of the platform, and the development and visualisation of a building level walkability metric based on pedestrian access to destinations. This platform provides a useful digital tool for planners to understand which parts of the city are walkable and in turn this can support future active transport programs and policies. Future research will be to validate this novel walkability index through a series of stakeholder and public workshops using the Colouring Australia platform in an interactive tabletop environment where usability testing can be undertaken.

Cities often show residential income segregation, and the price of housing is generally related to employment accessibility, but how do these factors intersect? We analyse Greater Sydney, Australia, a metropolitan area of 5 million people. Sydney is found to have reasonably even employment accessibility by car, reflecting the increasingly polycentric nature of the modern city; however, it also shows considerable income segregation and variance in property prices between different parts of the city. Entropy is used to examine diversity and mixing of different income groups. Finally, hedonic price models using ordinary-least squares and geographically-weighted regression techniques show the differing effects of employment accessibility on house prices in different parts of the city. The results show that accessibility has small to negative effects on prices in the most valuable areas, suggesting that other effects such as recreational access and employment type/quality may be more important determinants of house prices in these areas.