Can insertion length for a double-lumen endobronchial tube be predicted?

Publisher's copy made available with the permission of the publisherIt has been suggested that the appropriate length of insertion for double-lumen tubes can be estimated by external measurement. This study examined the accuracy of external measurement in estimating the actual length of insertion required in 130 patients. It also examined the relationship between the length inserted and the patient’s height in 126 patients and their weight in 125 patients. Although there was a fair correlation between the measured external length and the final inserted length (r=0.61), the 95% confidence intervals of slope and intercept allowed a large variation and the prediction was too wide to be clinically useful. Height was reasonably well correlated with the final length (r=0.51) but an equally wide 95% confidence interval rendered it of little clinical value. There was no correlation between weight and final tube length. It is concluded that external measurement alone is not adequate to predict a clinically acceptable position of the double-lumen tube.R.A. Dyer, S.A.M. Heijke, W.J. Russell, M.B. Bloch, M.F.M. Jameshttp://www.aaic.net.au/Article.asp?D=200004

Zinc Violet, case studies in the use of advanced teaching tools in widely different settings

The development of advanced teaching tools using simulation is costly and often of limited value to the institution developing it. The investment can only be regained if the teaching tool can be used in other places and/or a wide range of applications. Thus the objective is to assess the usefulness of an advanced teaching tool in a range of settings and cultures. Zinc Violet is a simulation of a problem using real data and data analysis software, characters, reports, literature, role-play and financial or time limitations. The students are placed in a problem that they have to solve where their choices have consequences and the simulations aims to engage them. The programme has a long history of development in two countries and is based on real investigations. All uses of the teaching tool have been formally evaluated in the context of use. Zinc Violet has been used to teach applied epidemiology in three different Masters degrees at three different universities in two different countries. It has also been used in a professional development course in another country. Applications used are applied epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, risk assessment and risk communication. Participants have come from Australia, China, France, India, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Taiwan, UK and other countries. Professional backgrounds have included physicians, nurses, environmental scientists, toxicologists and dieticians. The evaluations have been that the simulations facilitated very good engagement. All research applications were highly successful succeeding in engaging people from all disciplines and cultures. The risk communication application showed only the first half of the simulation to be useful but for that part they were engaged. Continuous technical updating is essential as bugs were found to be irritating. Substantial investments in highly developed teaching tools can pay off in a wide variety of settings. The tool does need to be very rich and engaging and the lecturer needs to ensure different applications are used with clear direction to ensure students do not get drawn into parts that are less relevant. A mix of media such as computer and role-play with close to live characters encourages engagement

Do Business Administration Studies Offer Better Preparation for Supervisory Positions than Traditional Economics Studies?

Abstract The central theme of the paper is the question of whether graduates of business administration (BA) are better prepared for supervisory positions than non‐BA economics graduates and consequently have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory positions and, when they have such positions, earn more. In order to answer this question, we use a data‐set that relates to the labour market position of graduates from Dutch universities at the early stages of their careers. We find that BA graduates, despite their multidisciplinary education and the fact that they perceive fewer deficiencies in their education with respect to the ability for teamwork than non‐BA graduates, do not have a greater chance of acquiring supervisory positions than graduates from non‐BA economics courses. We also find that earnings in supervisory positions do not differ significantly between BA graduates and non‐BA graduates. The finding that most of the skills required for supervisory positions are acquired through work and not in education suggests that a combination of working and learning may be more effective for developing supervisory skills than a purely educational setting.Business administration, graduates, supervisory positions, required competences, job chances, earnings,

The production and use of human capital: Introduction

With the growing importance of knowledge, new research questions arise that require more explicit analyses of the way human capital is produced and how it is used in the labour market. In this introduction to this special issue we provide examples of such questions and argue that economics can play an important role in areas traditionally studied by educationalist solely. From this perspective we summarize the six contributions in this special issue.Human capital, skills, learning, economics of education,

The Labour-market Position of University Education and Higher Vocational Education in Economics and Business Administration: a comparsion

In this paper, we will compare the labour-market position of graduates from two types of higher education in the Netherland; higher vocational education in Economics and Business Administration, on the one hand, and Business Administration, on the other. We will do this in the ligth of different labour-market theories. According to the offical views, the differences between university education and higher vocational education are certainly not primarly caused by differences in level, but rather by differences in educational objectives. The results of the study carried out with respest to the labour-market position of graduates from these two types of economic studies, however, show that the university study generates more human capital than the higher-vocational study. With regard to the theoretical setting chosen, these results arer the most in line with the human-capital theory and the job-matching thoery.