Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2004

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2004

Family Interaction Styles of Children with Depressive Disorders, Schizophrenia-Spectrum Disorders, and Normal Controls

Family interaction processes during a problem-solving task were examined in children with depressive disorders, children with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and a normal control group of community children screened for the absence of psychiatric disorder. Major findings were: a) children with depressive disorders were more likely than children with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders and children with no psychiatric disorder to direct guilt-inducing comments toward their parents; and b) parents of children with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders were more likely to direct harsh critical comments toward the child than were parents of depressed children or parents of normal controls. In addition, children\u27s and mothers\u27 use of benign criticism was linked, while children\u27s harsh criticism was associated with intrusion from the father, and children\u27s self-denigrating comments were related to specific paternal criticism. Implications of these results for understanding transactional processes associated with childhood-onset depressive and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders are discussed

Building new frontiers: An ecosystemic approach to development, culture, education, environment and quality of life

Quality of life, natural and man-made environments, physical, social and mental well-being are currently undermined by all sorts of hazards and injuries; political, economical, social and cultural disarray normalise atrocious behaviours and violence throughout the world. Considering the multiple problems of difficult settlement or solution in our times, current environmental, social, cultural, educational, political and economic policies and practices are examined in view of new paradigms of growth, power, wealth, work and freedom. A multidimensional ecosystemic approach and planning model for the diagnosis and prognosis of quality of life integrate into a dynamic configuration four dimensions of being-in-the- world (intimate, interactive, social and biophysical), as they induce the events (deficits and assets), cope with consequences (desired or undesired) and reorganise for change, enhancing connexions and sealing ruptures. Development and evaluation of teaching programmes, research projects and public policies benefit from a deep understanding of the events, providing a critical comprehensive four-dimensional framework and planning model for effective and responsible action.education; culture; public policies; environment; ecosystems

Structured computer-based training in the interpretation of neuroradiological images

Computer-based systems may be able to address a recognised need throughout the medical profession for a more structured approach to training. We describe a combined training system for neuroradiology, the MR Tutor that differs from previous approaches to computer-assisted training in radiology in that it provides case-based tuition whereby the system and user communicate in terms of a well-founded Image Description Language. The system implements a novel method of visualisation and interaction with a library of fully described cases utilising statistical models of similarity, typicality and disease categorisation of cases. We describe the rationale, knowledge representation and design of the system, and provide a formative evaluation of its usability and effectiveness