Responsibilities, challenges, opportunities and governance - rethinking the university for the 21st century

Peer Reviewe

Institutional and political challenges of accreditation at the international level

This contribution is a strong plea for approaches in quality assessment and accreditation, which honour diversity and promote innovation and creativity in higher education. For many reasons, accreditation has become an important issue for higher education, which has occurred during a period in which there has been a major shift in values. Higher education, always considered primarily a public good, is increasingly being transformed into a predominantly private good; a commodity that could be subject to trade rules. Basic questions should be answered before any action is taken in this field. Accreditation for what purpose and for which qualities? Who will be the gatekeepers of the system and what will be their criteria? The implications of the concepts of quality and of accreditation, and the methods adopted in this field, will produce consequences not only at economic and financial levels but also in terms of the cultural, social and political life of institutions and nations. In 1998, during the World Conference on Higher Education (WCHE, UNESCO, Paris), a consensus was reached and the idea of evaluation was accepted, based on the general acceptance that quality in higher education is multidimensional. The WCHE favoured a system in which quality and relevance should go hand in hand. Since then, accreditation, a method already used for a long time in some countries, in particular the United States, was added more prominently to the international agenda. The concept of quality is crucial here. Aproposal of the WCHE, requesting institutions of higher education to define or redefine their missions together with society, could serve to help create the necessary conditions for appropriate evaluations, by comparing what the institutions actually achieve with what the society as a whole expects from them. Standards could be defined through this mechanism instead of using models that do not relate to the cultural environment of institutions or the specific needs of society. These standards should guarantee appropriate quality, while at the same time enhancing diversity, innovation and creativity.Peer Reviewe

Retos institucionales y políticos de la acreditación en el ámbito internacional

Durante los últimos años, la acreditación se ha convertido en una cuestión de suma importancia para la educación superior por motivos bien conocidos: el desarrollo de nuevas tecnologías, los avances en la educación a distancia y virtual, la multiplicación de nuevos proveedores, los intentos por generalizar la transformación de la educación en una mercancía, la internacionalización de la educación superior (1) y, de resultas de todos estos factores, la necesidad de unos sistemas fiables que garanticen la calidad y la pertinencia de los organismos y los programas. Estas medidas son presentadas en el ámbito nacional, regional o internacional como si tuvieran por objetivo garantizar la calidad y proteger a países y estudiantes de los «malos productos educativos» y de los proveedores de servicios educativos fraudulentos. Los sistemas de acreditación también son considerados un instrumento que permite a la educación superior hacer frente a las transformaciones que tienen lugar en la economía, la sociedad y la civilización, las cuales, en muchos aspectos, pueden ser consideradas más importantes que los cambios que ocurrieron en el mundo durante la Revolución Industrial. La piedra angular de esta evolución es el conocimiento. La creación de conocimiento y la forma en que se maneja, así como el control de la información, son herramientas fundamentales de que se valen los países desarrollados para lograr y afianzar su poder en un mundo globalizado. Sin embargo, la creación de conocimiento, así como su difusión y aplicación, también son esenciales para salvaguardar el futuro de los países en vías de desarrollo.Peer Reviewe

Use and the Users of a Patient Portal: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Patient portals offer patients access to their medical information and tools to communicate with health care providers. It has been shown that patient portals have the potential to positively impact health outcomes and efficiency of health care. It is therefore important that health care organizations identify the patients who use or do not use the patient portal and explore the reasons in either case. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is a frequently used theory for explaining the use of information technology. It consists of the following constructs: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and behavioral intention to use. Objective: This study aimed to explore the prevalence of patient portal use and the characteristics of patients who use or do not use a patient portal. The main constructs of UTAUT, together with demographics and disease- and care-related characteristics, have been measured to explore the predictive factors of portal use. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient departments for adult patients of a university hospital in the Netherlands. Following outcomes were included: self-reported portal use, characteristics of users such as demographics, diseaseand care-related data, eHealth literacy (modified score), and scores of UTAUT constructs. Descriptive analyses and univariate and multivariate logistic regression were also conducted. Results: In the analysis, 439 adult patients were included. Furthermore, 32.1% (141/439) identified as being a user of the patient portal; 31.2% (137/439) indicated as nonusers, but being aware of the existence of the portal; and 36.6% (161/439) as being nonusers not aware of the existence of the portal. In the entire study population, the factors of being chronically ill (odds ratio, OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.04-2.52) and eHealth literacy (modified score; OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.07-1.18) best predicted portal use. In users and nonusers who were aware of the portal, UTAUT constructs were added to the multivariate logistic regression, with chronically ill and modified eHealth literacy sum score. Effort expectancy (OR 13.02, 95% CI 5.68-29.87) and performance expectancy (OR 2.84, 95% CI 1.65-4.90) are shown to significantly influence portal use in this group. Conclusions: Approximately one-third of the patients of a university hospital self-reported using the patient portal; most expressed satisfaction. At first sight, being chronically ill and higher scores on the modified eHealth literacy scale explained portal use. Adding UTAUT constructs to the model revealed that effort expectancy (ease of use and knowledge and skills related to portal use) and performance expectancy (perceived usefulness) influenced portal use. Interventions to improve awareness of the portal and eHealth literacy skills of patients and further integration of the patient portal in usual face-to-face care are needed to increase use and potential subsequent patient benefits

Crop Updates 2000 - Cereals part 1

This session covers eleven papers from different authors: PLENARY PAPERS 1. New Wheat for a Secure, Sustainable Future, Timothy G. Reeves, Sanjaya Rajaram, Maarten van Ginkel, Richard Trethowan, Hans-Joachim Braun, and Kelly Cassaday, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) 2. Managing Cereal Rusts - a National Perspective, R.A. McIntosh, University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute, New South Wales 3. Managing Cereal Rusts in 2000 - a regional imperative, R. Loughman, Agriculture Western Australia 4. Is nutrition the answer to wheat after canola problems?Ross Brennan1, Bill Bowden1, Mike Bolland1, Zed Rengel2 and David Isbister2 1 Agriculture Western Australia 2University of Western Australia 5. Improved Sandplain Cropping Systems by Controlled Traffic, Dr Paul Blackwell, Agriculture Western Australia 6. Raised bed farming for improved cropping of waterlogged soils, Derk Bakker, Greg Hamilton, David Houlbrooke, Cliff Spann and Doug Rowe, Agriculture Western Australia 7. Banded Urea increased wheat yields, Patrick Gethin, Stephen Loss, Frank Boetel, and Tim O’Dea, CSBP futurefarm 8. Flexi N is as effective as Urea on wheat and canola, Frank Boetel, Stephen Loss, Patrick Gethin, and Tim O’Dea CSBP futurefarm 9. Why potassium may reduce cereal leaf disease, Noeleen Edwards, Agriculture Western Australia 10, Trace elements, Wayne Pluske CSBP futurefarm, and Ross BrennanAgriculture Western Australia 11. Historical Nutrient Balance at Paddock and Whole Farm scales for typical wheatbelt farms in the Dowerin - Wongan Hills area, M.T.F. Wong, K. Wittwer and H. Zhang Precision Agriculture Research Group, CSIRO Land and Wate

Age-related differences of oncological outcomes in primary extremity soft tissue sarcoma: a multistate model including 6260 patients

Abstract Purpose: No studies extensively compared the young adults (YA, 18e39 years), middle-aged (40e69 year

Le Limbourg méridional, évolution récente d'une ancienne région minière

Bis um 1960 hat Süd-Limburg dank der Kohle eine industrielle Entwicklung erfahren. Die Kohle förderung hat 1974 aufgehört. In den Sechzigern Jahren waren die Umandlungsanfänge ziemlich ausreichend, aber seit 1975 ist die Situation schlechtere als anderswo in den Niederlanden geworden.Up to 1960, the southern Limbourg experienced an industrial rise due to coal mining. The coal mining activity stopped in 1974. The starting of industrial reconversion during the sixties was satisfactory, but since 1975 the situation is becoming worse than elsewhere in the country.Le Limbourg méridional a connu un essor industriel grâce au charbon jusque vers 1960. L'extraction charbonnière a cessée en 1974. Dans les années 1960, les débuts de la reconversion furent assez satisfaisants, mais depuis 1975, la situation est devenue plus mauvaise que dans le reste du pays.Van ginkel Hans. Le Limbourg méridional, évolution récente d'une ancienne région minière. In: Hommes et Terres du Nord, 1985/2. Spécialisation spatiale et dynamisme régional. pp. 118-120