The academic backbone: longitudinal continuities in educational achievement from secondary school and medical school to MRCP(UK) and the specialist register in UK medical students and doctors

Background: Selection of medical students in the UK is still largely based on prior academic achievement, although doubts have been expressed as to whether performance in earlier life is predictive of outcomes later in medical school or post-graduate education. This study analyses data from five longitudinal studies of UK medical students and doctors from the early 1970s until the early 2000s. Two of the studies used the AH5, a group test of general intelligence (that is, intellectual aptitude). Sex and ethnic differences were also analyzed in light of the changing demographics of medical students over the past decades. Methods: Data from five cohort studies were available: the Westminster Study (began clinical studies from 1975 to 1982), the 1980, 1985, and 1990 cohort studies (entered medical school in 1981, 1986, and 1991), and the University College London Medical School (UCLMS) Cohort Study (entered clinical studies in 2005 and 2006). Different studies had different outcome measures, but most had performance on basic medical sciences and clinical examinations at medical school, performance in Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP(UK)) examinations, and being on the General Medical Council Specialist Register. Results: Correlation matrices and path analyses are presented. There were robust correlations across different years at medical school, and medical school performance also predicted MRCP(UK) performance and being on the GMC Specialist Register. A-levels correlated somewhat less with undergraduate and post-graduate performance, but there was restriction of range in entrants. General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)/O-level results also predicted undergraduate and post-graduate outcomes, but less so than did A-level results, but there may be incremental validity for clinical and post-graduate performance. The AH5 had some significant correlations with outcome, but they were inconsistent. Sex and ethnicity also had predictive effects on measures of educational attainment, undergraduate, and post-graduate performance. Women performed better in assessments but were less likely to be on the Specialist Register. Non-white participants generally underperformed in undergraduate and post-graduate assessments, but were equally likely to be on the Specialist Register. There was a suggestion of smaller ethnicity effects in earlier studies. Conclusions: The existence of the Academic Backbone concept is strongly supported, with attainment at secondary school predicting performance in undergraduate and post-graduate medical assessments, and the effects spanning many years. The Academic Backbone is conceptualized in terms of the development of more sophisticated underlying structures of knowledge ('cognitive capital’ and 'medical capital’). The Academic Backbone provides strong support for using measures of educational attainment, particularly A-levels, in student selection

Assessing Canopy Cover Requirements of Storm\u27s Stork (Ciconia stormi) at Multiple Scales

Much conservation work focuses on individual species, partly because of the perception that wildlife species are effective symbols for raising funds and drawing awareness to environmental causes. However, for species-based studies to aid conservation efforts, the biological and ecological needs of species need to be addressed in a way that informs decisions and provides concrete recommendations for land managers. This thesis addresses the forest cover needs of Ciconia stormi, a rare and understudied bird species that inhabits the islands of Borneo and Sumatra and parts of peninsular Malaysia. Levels of forest canopy cover associated with areas inhabited by Ciconia stormi are identified at multiple spatial resolutions using a 500m MODIS soft classification product, 30m Landsat data, and hemispherical photographs. Important threshold values of 75 percent tree cover was identified at the regional scale, and 85 percent at foraging sites. There has been severe forest disturbance in regions inhabited by Ciconia stormi between 1993 and 2004, indicating the species may be somewhat tolerant to disturbance. Areas having been logged at least 20 years before present average over 85 percent canopy cover and have few large gaps, indicating that these forests may be suitable habitat for the species