Discipline-Specific Compared to Generic Training of Teachers in Higher Education

A recurrent theme arising in the higher education sector is the suitability and effectiveness of generic versus discipline-specific training of university teachers, who are often recruited based on their disciplinary specialties to become teachers in higher education. We compared two groups of participants who had undergone training using a generic post-graduate certificate in higher education (PGCertGeneric) versus a discipline-specific course in veterinary education (PGCertVetEd). The study was conducted using a survey that allowed comparison of participants who completed PGCertGeneric (n=21) with PGCertVetEd (n=22). Results indicated that participants from both PGCertGeneric and PGCertVetEd considered teaching to be satisfying and important to their careers, valued the teaching observation component of the course, and identified similar training needs. However, the participants of the PGCertVetEd felt that the course made them better teachers, valued the relevance of the components taught, understood course design better, were encouraged to do further courses/reading in teaching and learning, changed their teaching as a result of the course, and were less stressed about teaching as compared to the PGCertGeneric participants (p<.05). It is likely that the PGCertVetEd, which was designed and developed by veterinarians with a wider understanding of the veterinary sector, helped the participants perceive the training course as suited to their needs

Limitations of student-driven formative assessment in a clinical clerkship. A randomised controlled trial

Background Teachers strive to motivate their students to be self-directed learners. One of the methods used is to provide online formative assessment material. The concept of formative assessment and use of these processes is heavily promoted, despite limited evidence as to their efficacy.Methods Fourth year medical students, in their first year of clinical work were divided into four groups. In addition to the usual clinical material, three of the groups were provided with some form of supplementary learning material. For two groups, this was provided as online formative assessment. The amount of time students spent on the supplementary material was measured, their opinion on learning methods was surveyed, and their performance in summative exams at the end of their surgical attachments was measured.Results The performance of students was independent of any educational intervention imposed by this study. Despite its ready availability and promotion, student use of the online formative tools was poor.Conclusion Formative learning is an ideal not necessarily embraced by students. If formative assessment is to work students need to be encouraged to participate, probably by implementing some form of summative assessment.Edward J Palmer and Peter G Devit

An Investigation into the Cognition Behind Spontaneous String Pulling in New Caledonian Crows

The ability of some bird species to pull up meat hung on a string is a famous example of spontaneous animal problem solving. The “insight” hypothesis claims that this complex behaviour is based on cognitive abilities such as mental scenario building and imagination. An operant conditioning account, in contrast, would claim that this spontaneity is due to each action in string pulling being reinforced by the meat moving closer and remaining closer to the bird on the perch. We presented experienced and naïve New Caledonian crows with a novel, visually restricted string-pulling problem that reduced the quality of visual feedback during string pulling. Experienced crows solved this problem with reduced efficiency and increased errors compared to their performance in standard string pulling. Naïve crows either failed or solved the problem by trial and error learning. However, when visual feedback was available via a mirror mounted next to the apparatus, two naïve crows were able to perform at the same level as the experienced group. Our results raise the possibility that spontaneous string pulling in New Caledonian crows may not be based on insight but on operant conditioning mediated by a perceptual-motor feedback cycle

Comparison of embedded and added motor imagery training in patients after stroke: Study protocol of a randomised controlled pilot trial using a mixed methods approach

Copyright @ 2009 Schuster et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Two different approaches have been adopted when applying motor imagery (MI) to stroke patients. MI can be conducted either added to conventional physiotherapy or integrated within therapy sessions. The proposed study aims to compare the efficacy of embedded MI to an added MI intervention. Evidence from pilot studies reported in the literature suggests that both approaches can improve performance of a complex motor skill involving whole body movements, however, it remains to be demonstrated, which is the more effective one.Methods/Design: A single blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) with a pre-post intervention design will be carried out. The study design includes two experimental groups and a control group (CG). Both experimental groups (EG1, EG2) will receive physical practice of a clinical relevant motor task ('Going down, laying on the floor, and getting up again') over a two week intervention period: EG1 with embedded MI training, EG2 with MI training added after physiotherapy. The CG will receive standard physiotherapy intervention and an additional control intervention not related to MI.The primary study outcome is the time difference to perform the task from pre to post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include level of help needed, stages of motor task completion, degree of motor impairment, balance ability, fear of falling measure, motivation score, and motor imagery ability score. Four data collection points are proposed: twice during baseline phase, once following the intervention period, and once after a two week follow up. A nested qualitative part should add an important insight into patients' experience and attitudes towards MI. Semi-structured interviews of six to ten patients, who participate in the RCT, will be conducted to investigate patients' previous experience with MI and their expectations towards the MI intervention in the study. Patients will be interviewed prior and after the intervention period.Discussion: Results will determine whether embedded MI is superior to added MI. Findings of the semi-structured interviews will help to integrate patient's expectations of MI interventions in the design of research studies to improve practical applicability using MI as an adjunct therapy technique

A functional polymorphism under positive evolutionary selection in ADRB2 is associated with human intelligence with opposite effects in the young and the elderly

Comparative genomics offers a novel approach to unravel the genetic basis of complex traits. We performed a two stage analysis where genes ascertained for enhanced protein evolution in primates are subsequently searched for the presence of non-synonymous coding SNPs in the current human population at amino acid sites that differ between humans and chimpanzee. Positively selected genes among primates are generally presumed to determine phenotypic differences between humans and chimpanzee, such as the enhanced cognitive ability of our species. Amino acid substitutions segregating in humans at positively selected amino acid sites are expected to affect phenotypic differences among humans. Therefore we conducted an association study in two family based cohorts and one population based cohort between cognitive ability and the most likely candidate gene among the five that harbored more than one such polymorphism. The derived, human-specific allele of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor Arg16Gly polymorphism was found to be the increaser allele for performance IQ in the young, family based cohort but the decreaser allele for two different measures of cognition in the large Scottish cohort of unrelated individuals. The polymorphism is known to affect signaling activity and modulation of beta-2 adrenergic signaling has been shown to adjust memory consolidation, a trait related to cognition. The opposite effect of the polymorphism on cognition in the two age classes observed in the different cohorts resembles the effect of ADRB2 on hypertension, which also has been reported to be age dependent. This result illustrates the relevance of comparative genomics to detect genes that are involved in human behavior. © 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Climate Driven Egg and Hatchling Mortality Threatens Survival of Eastern Pacific Leatherback Turtles

Egg-burying reptiles need relatively stable temperature and humidity in the substrate surrounding their eggs for successful development and hatchling emergence. Here we show that egg and hatchling mortality of leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in northwest Costa Rica were affected by climatic variability (precipitation and air temperature) driven by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Drier and warmer conditions associated with El Niño increased egg and hatchling mortality. The fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects a warming and drying in Central America and other regions of the World, under the SRES A2 development scenario. Using projections from an ensemble of global climate models contributed to the IPCC report, we project that egg and hatchling survival will rapidly decline in the region over the next 100 years by ∼50–60%, due to warming and drying in northwestern Costa Rica, threatening the survival of leatherback turtles. Warming and drying trends may also threaten the survival of sea turtles in other areas affected by similar climate changes

Acute Cellular Alterations in the Hippocampus After Status Epilepticus

The critical, fundamental mechanisms that determine the emergence of status epilepticus from a single seizure and the prolonged duration of status epilepticus are uncertain. However, several general concepts of the pathophysiology of status epilepticus have emerged: (a) the hippocampus is consistently activated during status epilepticus; (b) loss of GABA-mediated inhibitory synaptic transmission in the hippocampus is critical for emergence of status epilepticus; and, finally (c) glutamatergic excitatory synaptic transmission is important in sustaining status epilepticus. This review focuses on the alteration of GABAergic inhibition in the hippocampus that occurs during the prolonged seizures of status epilepticus. If reduction in GABAergic inhibition leads to development of status epilepticus, enhancement of GABAergic inhibition would be expected to interrupt status epilepticus. Benzodiazepines and barbiturates are both used in the treatment of status epilepticus and both drugs enhance GABA A receptor-mediated inhibition. However, patients often become refractory to benzodiazepines when seizures are prolonged, and barbiturates are often then used for these refractory cases of status epilepticus. Recent evidence suggests the presence of multiple GABA A receptor isoforms in the hippocampus with different sensitivity to benzodiazepines but similar sensitivity to barbiturates, thus explaining why the two drug classes might have different clinical effects. In addition, rapid functional plasticity of GABA A receptors has been demonstrated to occur during status epilepticus in rats. During status epilepticus, there was a substantial reduction of diazepam potency for termination of the seizures. The loss of sensitivity of the animals to diazepam during status epilepticus was accompanied by an alteration in the functional properties of hippocampal dentate granule cell GABA A receptors. Dentate granule cell GABA A receptor currents from rats undergoing status epilepticus had reduced sensitivity to diazepam and zinc but normal sensitivity to GABA and pentobarbital. Therefore, the prolonged seizures of status epilepticus rapidly altered the functional properties of hippocampal dentate granule cell GABA A receptors, possibly explaining why benzodiazepines and barbiturates may not be equally effective during treatment of the prolonged seizures of status epilepticus. A comprehensive understanding of the cellular and molecular events leading to the development, maintenance, and cytotoxicity of status epilepticus should permit development of more effective treatment strategies and reduction in the mortality and morbidity of status epilepticus.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65664/1/j.1528-1157.1999.tb00873.x.pd

Surviving crack: a qualitative study of the strategies and tactics developed by Brazilian users to deal with the risks associated with the drug

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Due to marginalization, trafficking violence, conflicts with the police and organic and social psychological problems associated with the drug, crack is one of the most devastating drugs currently in use. However, there is evidence that some users manage to stay alive and active while using crack cocaine for many years, despite the numerous adversities and risks involved with this behavior. In this context, the aim of the present study was to identify the strategies and tactics developed by crack users to deal with the risks associated with the culture of use by examining the survival strategies employed by long-term users.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>A qualitative research method was used involving semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Twenty-eight crack users fulfilling a pre-defined enrollment criterion were interviewed. This criterion was defined as the long-term use of crack (i.e., at least four years). The sample was selected using information provided by key informants and distributed across eight different supply chains. The interviews were literally transcribed and analyzed via content analysis techniques using NVivo-8 software.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was diversity in the sample with regard to economic and education levels. The average duration of crack use was 11.5 years. Respondents believed that the greatest risks of crack dependence were related to the drug's psychological effects (e.g., cravings and transient paranoid symptoms) and those arising from its illegality (e.g., clashes with the police and trafficking). Protection strategies focused on the control of the psychological effects, primarily through the consumption of alcohol and marijuana. To address the illegality of the drug, strategies were developed to deal with dealers and the police; these strategies were considered crucial for survival.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The strategies developed by the respondents focused on trying to protect themselves. They proved generally effective, though they involved risks of triggering additional problems (e.g., other dependencies) in the long term.</p