Using Needs Assessment to Create an Integrated Academic Advising Assessment Plan

This study used a multi-methods needs assessment with directed content analysis to learn how academic advising assessment could be used to understand the effectiveness of the advising system at a private research institution and to design an assessment plan that met the needs and allowed the institution to evaluate the academic advising system. Data were collected through an artifact analysis of advising professional organizations, qualitative interviews with assessment coordinators at six external institutions, an artifact analysis of the institution’s internal advising documents, a survey of the institution’s advisors, and a group interview with institutional administrators. The data were used to build a pilot assessment plan for implementation at the institution. Key findings from the study indicate that while not formalized into a campus-wide plan, assessment work may already be happening at the institution, and this work could be united into an intentional assessment plan that provides useful and actionable feedback for continual improvement. Regularly reviewed advising assessment plans grounded in literature and informed by the institutional needs of advisors and administrators can help institutions understand advising effectiveness and implement evidence-based changes to support student success. Practical and theoretical implications resulting from the study are that a taskforce with a designated chair to spearhead the advising assessment work was the best fit model for the institution’s context; the institution should focus on advisor workload when implementing an assessment plan; the institution should use advising assessment work to help support the institution’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion by using the data collected to understand how the advising system impacts students based on identities and group memberships; and that the institution should increase the presence of advising and assessment on the university’s website. This study fills gaps in the literature by adding to the understanding of advising assessment by highlighting the challenges institutions face when developing assessment plans and providing a framework for using best practices recommendations to build an assessment plan within a specific institutional context

Valuing the American Archivist: An Interpretation of SAA's First Readership Survey

The American Archivist Editorial Board administered a Web-based survey to 6,000 Society of American Archivists members and affiliates. The survey was open for response for 45 days during April and May 2010. Respondents expressed overall satisfaction with the American Archivist. Print remains the publishing vehicle of choice. Reading the American Archivist varies in priority. Three major issues emerge from the data analysis. First is the apparent contradiction between generally high overall satisfaction with the American Archivist and significant variation in the perception of the value of its individual components. Second is whether the journal should focus primarily on matters of practice or on scholarly or theoretical explorations of archival principles. The third issue is the relationship of the print and online versions of the journal.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89872/1/Fear Conway Valuing American Archivist 2011.pd

An exploration of sensitive issues in history teaching at secondary school level in England and Northern Ireland, 1991-2001

My thesis explores the teaching of sensitive issues in history at secondary school level in\ud Mid-Ulster in Northern Ireland and Oxford in England between 1991 and 2001. The\ud research is intended to compare the responses of teachers and students, over time and\ud place, to emotionally-charged topics. Questions are asked about the nature of sensitivity\ud and the impact of factors external to the classroom on inter-personal relations during\ud history lessons. Consideration is given to the possible connections between political\ud change and increased sensitivity in the classroom. The teachers' and students'\ud preconceptions, their opinion of the role of history and the stated teaching strategies are\ud compared. There is a literature review of the theory and purpose of history teaching as\ud well as on curriculum development and related disciplines. Although the conceptual\ud framework is primarily anchored in the study of history, it draws on insights from a range\ud of other subject areas. The dominant stance taken is that of a reflective history teacher:\ud questions asked and interpretations of evidence are overtly guided by personal\ud experience. Data is also drawn from a wide range of documents, surveys and semistructured\ud interviews. This combination of teacher self—reflection, archival material and\ud empirical fieldwork, while essentially qualitative, is also underpinned by quantitative\ud analysis of questionnaires distributed to students in both Northern Ireland and Oxford in\ud the years 1991, 1996 and 2001. The findings indicate the following: the importance of\ud formal history lessons; a growing awareness of sensitive issues in the classroom; an\ud apparent discrepancy between some of the teachers' and students' views; and the way\ud regional variations are becoming less marked over time

Definitive Hematopoiesis in the Yolk Sac Emerges from Wnt-Responsive Hemogenic Endothelium Independently of Circulation and Arterial Identity

Adult-repopulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge in low numbers in the midgestation mouse embryo from a subset of arterial endothelium, through an endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. HSC-producing arterial hemogenic endothelium relies on the establishment of embryonic blood flow and arterial identity, and requires β-catenin signaling. Specified prior to and during the formation of these initial HSCs are thousands of yolk sac-derived erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMPs). EMPs ensure embryonic survival prior to the establishment of a permanent hematopoietic system, and provide subsets of long-lived tissue macrophages. While an endothelial origin for these HSC-independent definitive progenitors is also accepted, the spatial location and temporal output of yolk sac hemogenic endothelium over developmental time remain undefined. We performed a spatiotemporal analysis of EMP emergence, and document the morphological steps of the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. Emergence of rounded EMPs from polygonal clusters of Kit(+) cells initiates prior to the establishment of arborized arterial and venous vasculature in the yolk sac. Interestingly, Kit(+) polygonal clusters are detected in both arterial and venous vessels after remodeling. To determine whether there are similar mechanisms regulating the specification of EMPs with other angiogenic signals regulating adult-repopulating HSCs, we investigated the role of embryonic blood flow and Wnt/β-catenin signaling during EMP emergence. In embryos lacking a functional circulation, rounded Kit(+) EMPs still fully emerge from unremodeled yolk sac vasculature. In contrast, canonical Wnt signaling appears to be a common mechanism regulating hematopoietic emergence from hemogenic endothelium. These data illustrate the heterogeneity in hematopoietic output and spatiotemporal regulation of primary embryonic hemogenic endothelium

Rational Manual and Automated Scoring Thresholds for the Immunohistochemical Detection of TP53 Missense Mutations in Human Breast Carcinomas

Missense mutations in TP53 are common in human breast cancer, have been associated with worse prognosis, and may predict therapy effect. TP53 missense mutations are associated with aberrant accumulation of p53 protein in tumor cell nuclei. Previous studies have used relatively arbitrary cutoffs to characterize breast tumors as positive for p53 staining by immunohistochemical assays. This study aimed to objectively determine optimal thresholds for p53 positivity by manual and automated scoring methods utilizing whole tissue sections from the Carolina Breast Cancer Study. P53 immunostained slides were available for 564 breast tumors previously assayed for TP53 mutations. Average nuclear p53 staining intensity was manually scored as negative, borderline, weak, moderate, or strong and percentage of positive tumor cells was estimated. Automated p53 signal intensity was measured using the Aperio nuclear v9 algorithm combined with the Genie® histology pattern recognition tool and tuned to achieve optimal nuclear segmentation. ROC curve analysis was performed to determine optimal cutoffs for average staining intensity and percent cells positive to distinguish between tumors with and without a missense mutation. ROC curve analysis demonstrated a threshold of moderate average nuclear staining intensity as a good surrogate for TP53 missense mutations in both manual (AUC=0.87) and automated (AUC=0.84) scoring systems. Both manual and automated immunohistochemical scoring methods predicted missense mutations in breast carcinomas with high accuracy. Validation of the automated intensity scoring threshold suggests a role for such algorithms in detecting TP53 missense mutations in high throughput studies

Active smoking and risk of Luminal and Basal-like breast cancer subtypes in the Carolina Breast Cancer Study

Growing evidence suggests an association between active cigarette smoking and increased breast cancer risk. However, the weak magnitude of association and conflicting results have yielded uncertainty and it is unknown whether associations differ by breast cancer subtype

Tandem BRAF Mutations in Primary Invasive Melanomas

The RAS/RAF/MAPK pathway likely mediates critical cell proliferation and survival signals in melanoma. BRAF mutations have been found in a high percentage of melanoma cell lines and metastases; however, only a few studies with a limited number of specimens have focused on primary melanomas. We examined BRAF exon 15 mutational status in 37 primary invasive melanomas of varying thicknesses, which had undergone a standardized pathology review. BRAF mutational status was determined using direct manual sequencing of PCR products, followed by resequencing separately amplified DNA aliquots to confirm each mutation. BRAF exon 15 mutations were found in 17 of 37 (46%) primary melanomas. Tumor-specific tandem mutations, encoding either V599K, V599R, or V599E, were found in 5 of 17 (29%) melanomas with BRAF exon 15 mutations. Cloning of BRAF double base-pair substitutions confirmed that both base changes were on the same allele and can result in a positive charge at codon 599. BRAF mutations, including tandem mutations, were frequently found in both thin and thick primary melanomas, implying that these mutations can occur early in the progression of melanoma. The finding of tandem mutations in thin melanomas makes it more likely that they arise as a simultaneous rather than sequential event

Clinical Nurses\u27 Perspectives on Discharge Practice Changes from Participating in a Translational Research Study

Aim To describe clinical nurses\u27 experiences with practice change associated with participation in a multi‐site nursing translational research study implementing new protocols for hospital discharge readiness assessment. Background Nurses\u27 participation in translational research studies provides an opportunity to evaluate how implementation of new nursing interventions affects care processes within a local context. These insights can provide information that leads to successful adoption and sustainability of the intervention. Methods Semi‐structured focus groups from 30 of 33 participating study hospitals lead by team nurse researchers. Results Nurses reported improved and earlier awareness of patients\u27 discharge needs, changes in discharge practices, greater patient/family involvement in discharge, synergy and enhanced discharge processes, and implementation challenges. Participating nurses related the benefits of participation in nursing research. Conclusion Participation in a unit‐level translational research project was a successful strategy for engaging nurses in practice change to improve hospital discharge. Implications for Nursing Management Leading unit‐based implementation of a structured discharge readiness assessment including nurse assessment and patient self‐assessment encourages earlier awareness of patients\u27 discharge needs, improved patient assessment and greater patient/family involvement in discharge preparation. Integrating discharge readiness assessments into existing discharge care promotes communication between health team members that facilitates a timely, coordinated discharge