LARGE‐SCALE ASSESSMENT OUTCOMES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, 1876‐1999

For over 20 years, educators and administrators across North America have heatedly debated the value of large‐scale student assessment. Throughout the history of schooling in British Columbia, large‐scale student assessment outcomes have traditionally served to inform broader societal goals. Realistically, “assessment of” group learning (as opposed to classroom‐based “assessment for” individual learning) will continue as the government’s key focus. We also raise several unanswered questions such as the scope of assessment practices that include only numeracy and literacy or the achievement of elementary versus secondary students between 1976 and 1999, questions to move the decades‐old debate beyond its current stalemate. Key words: history, education, testing, achievement Depuis plus de 20 ans, pédagogues et administrateurs de tous les coins de l’Amérique du Nord débattent avec passion de la valeur des épreuves communes. Tout au long de l’histoire de l’éducation en Colombie‐Britannique, les résultats des épreuves communes ont servi à réaliser des objectifs sociaux plus vastes. En fait, l’évaluation des apprentissages d’un groupe (par opposition à l’évaluation de l’apprentissage de chacun au sein d’une classe) va demeurer une priorité pour le gouvernement. Les auteurs soulèvent en outre plusieurs questions laissées jusqu’ici sans réponse, tels l’éventail des pratiques d’évaluation portant seulement sur le calcul et la littératie ou le rendement scolaire des élèves du primaire comparé à celui des élèves du secondaire entre 1976 et 1999, autant de questions qui peuvent faire avancer le débat vieux de plusieurs décennies au‐delà de l’impasse actuelle. Mots clés : histoire, éducation, épreuves, réussite scolaire.

The relation of perceptual factors and speed of handwriting to spelling ability.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Human factors and patient safety in undergraduate healthcare education : A systematic review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Exploratory study into the relationship between the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and fibromyalgia (FM) using a quasiexperimental design

Objective To explore the relationship between symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)/myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and fibromyalgia (FM). The hypothesis predicated that there would be no significant differences between the group’s symptom experience.Design A quasiexperimental design. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and invariance testing.Participants Males (M) and females (F) >16 with a confirmed diagnosis of CFS/ME or FM by a general practitioner or specialist. CFS/ME (n=101, F: n=86, M: n=15, mean (M) age M=45.5 years). FM (n=107, F: n=95, M: n=12, M=47.2 years).Outcome measures Diagnostic criteria: the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for CFS/ME and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for FM. Additional symptom questionnaires measuring: pain, sleep quality, fatigue, quality of life, anxiety and depression, locus of control and self-esteem.Results Invariance was confirmed with the exception of the American CDC Symptom Inventory, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (

Potential Impact of Antiviral Drug Use during Influenza Pandemic

Impact of different antiviral treatment strategies on hospitalizations during an influenza pandemic is evaluated

Email consultations between patients and doctors in primary care: a content analysis

Background: Increasingly consultations in healthcare settings are carried out remotely, using a range of communications technologies. Email allows for a two-way text based communication, occurring asynchronously. Studies have explored the content and nature of email consultations as a way to understand the use, structure and function of email consultation. The majority of previous content analyses of email consultation in primary care settings have been conducted in North America and these have shown that concerns and assumptions about how email consultation might work have not been realised. There has not been a United Kingdom (UK) based content analysis of email consultations. Objectives: To explore and delineate content of consultations conducted via email in English general practice, by conducting a content analysis of email consultations between General Practitioners (GPs) and patients. Methods: We conducted a content analysis of anonymised email consultations between GPs and patients in two general practices in the United Kingdom. We examined the descriptive elements of the correspondence to ascertain when emails were sent, how many emails were in an email consultation and the nature of the content. We used a normative approach to analyse the content of email consultations to explore the use of and function of email consultation. Results: We obtained 100 email consultations from 85 patients, this totalled 262 individual emails. The majority of email users were aged over 40 and over half of users were male. Email consultations were mostly short and completed in a few days. Emails were mostly sent and received during the day. Emails were mostly clinical in content rather than administrative and covered a wide range of clinical presentations. There were three key themes to the use and function of the email consultations; the role of the GP and email consultation, the transactional nature of an email consultation and the operationalisation of email consultation. Conclusions: Where email is used to have a consultation with a patient in general practice in the majority of cases the consultation is short, clinical in nature and resolved quickly. GPs approach email consultation using similar key elements of the face-to-face consultation, however, using email consultation has the potential to alter the role of the GP, leading them to engage in more administrative tasks than usual. Email consultation was not a replacement for a face-to-face consultation

Up-Regulated Dicer Expression in Patients with Cutaneous Melanoma

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (18-24 nucleotides) that have recently been shown to regulate gene expression during cancer progression. Dicer, a central enzyme in the multi-component miRNA biogenesis pathway, is involved in cutting precursor miRNAs to functionally mature forms. Emerging evidence shows that Dicer expression is deregulated in some human malignancies and it correlates with tumor progression, yet this role has not yet been investigated in skin cancers. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using an anti-human monoclonal antibody against Dicer and immunohistochemistry, we compared the expression of Dicer protein among 404 clinically annotated controls and skin tumors consisting of melanocytic nevi (n = 71), a variety of melanomas (n = 223), carcinomas (n = 73) and sarcomas (n = 12). Results showed a cell-specific up-regulated Dicer in 81% of cutaneous, 80% of acrolentiginous and 96% of metastatic melanoma specimens compared to carcinoma or sarcoma specimens (P<0.0001). The expression of Dicer was significantly higher in melanomas compared to benign melanocytic nevi (P<0.0001). In patients with cutaneous melanomas, Dicer up-regulation was found to be significantly associated with an increased tumor mitotic index (P = 0.04), Breslow's depth of invasion (P = 0.03), nodal metastasis (P = 0.04) and a higher American Joint Committee on Caner (AJCC) clinical stage (P = 0.009). Using western blot analysis, we confirmed the cell-specific up-regulation of Dicer protein in vitro. A pooled-analysis on mRNA profiling in cutaneous tumors showed up-regulation of Dicer at the RNA level in cutaneous melanoma, also showing deregulation of other enzymes that participate in the biogenesis and maturation of canonical miRNAs. CONCLUSIONS: Increased Dicer expression may be a clinically useful biomarker for patients with cutaneous melanoma. Understanding deregulation of Dicer and its influence on miRNA maturation is needed to predict the susceptibility of melanoma patients to miRNA-based therapy in the future