Expérience des utilisateurs de l'outil de qualité des questions d'examen écrit pour la rédaction de nouvelles questions d'examen écrit

Background: Creating new written-exam questions is a burdensome task for faculty members. While several guidelines exist, there had not been a previous attempt to streamline them in a user-friendly tool. We created the Written Exam Question Quality tool (WEQQ) and explored potential users’ perception of this tool when writing their exam questions. Methods: We conducted a descriptive study to explore how four Canadian faculty members used the WEQQ. We conducted structured interviews that were analyzed within and across participants to understand the latter’s perceived usefulness and acceptability of the WEQQ. Quantitative data from a short questionnaire on creating exam questions and their psychometric properties were also collected. Results and conclusion: Participants’ perception of the WEQQ was positive, and they were favorable to its use. The WEQQ seemed to represent a user-friendly, easy way to help faculty members in creating multiple-choice or short-answer questions. Time on task remained the same when using the WEQQ. We were able to identify two user profiles, passive and active, which indicated how faculty members use the WEQQ to create exam questions. Future steps would be to further investigate if the WEQQ can increase the quality of written-exam questions and to understand how to promote an active use of the WEQQ when implementing this tool.Contexte : La création de nouvelles questions d'examen écrit est une tâche lourde pour les membres du corps enseignant. Bien qu'il existe plusieurs lignes directrices, aucune tentative antérieure n'a été faite pour les rationaliser dans un outil convivial. Nous avons créé l'outil de qualité des questions d'examen écrit (WEQQ - Written Exam Question Quality tool) et exploré la perception de cet outil par les utilisateurs potentiels lors de la rédaction de leurs questions d'examen. Méthodes : Nous avons mené une étude descriptive pour explorer comment quatre membres de facultés canadiennes ont utilisé le WEQQ. Nous avons réalisé des entretiens structurés qui ont été analysés au sein des participants et entre eux afin de comprendre l'utilité et l'acceptabilité perçues du WEQQ. Des données quantitatives provenant d'un court questionnaire sur la création de questions d'examen et leurs propriétés psychométriques ont également été recueillies. Résultats et conclusions : Les participants ont eu une perception positive du WEQQ et étaient favorables à son utilisation. Le WEQQ semble représenter un moyen convivial et simple d'aider les enseignants à créer des questions à choix multiples ou à réponses courtes. Le temps consacré à la tâche est resté inchangé lors de l'utilisation du WEQQ. Nous avons pu identifier deux profils d'utilisateurs, passif et actif, qui indiquent comment les enseignants utilisent le WEQQ pour rédiger leurs questions d'examen. Les prochaines étapes consisteront à étudier davantage si le WEQQ peut améliorer la qualité des questions d'examen écrit et à comprendre comment promouvoir une utilisation active du WEQQ lors de sa mise en œuvre

The use of guidelines for writing exam questions in medicine and the effect on the psychometric properties of the exams

Introduction : L’évaluation des apprentissages a une importance indéniable en pédagogie des sciences de la santé et l’utilisation d’examens écrits est omniprésente, notamment en médecine. Toutefois, l’élaboration d’évaluations de haute qualité est souvent un défi pour les rédacteurs et les programmes. Il est donc important d’identifier des stratégies qui pourraient faciliter le travail des rédacteurs tout en ayant un impact positif sur la qualité des questions écrites, notamment l’utilisation de consignes lors de la rédaction. Méthodologie : Nous avons élaboré une liste de consignes de rédaction de questions d’examens par un processus itératif et rigoureux. 14 consignes discriminantes ont été retenues. À l’aide d’une étude de cas multiples, nous avons exploré l’utilisation de ces consignes de rédaction de questions auprès de quatre rédacteurs pour des examens d’un programme préclinique de médecine. Un questionnaire et une entrevue individuelle semi-dirigée ont été effectués pré et post utilisation des consignes. Les unités d’analyses et de comparaison étaient : la qualité et les propriétés psychométriques des questions pré et post utilisation des consignes, l’acceptabilité et l’utilisation de celles-ci. Résultats : Pour tous les participants, les questions rédigées respectaient majoritairement les consignes de rédaction. Quoique non statistiquement significative, nous avons observé une légère augmentation du coefficient de discrimination chez les rédacteurs (2 sur 4) qui utilisaient les consignes de manière active. Nos résultats suggèrent que l’appropriation que font les rédacteurs des consignes semble influencer leur perception de l’utilité et de l’acceptabilité des consignes. Conclusion : Les résultats obtenus semblent suggérer que l’utilisation d’une liste circonscrite de consignes de rédaction offre une bonne stratégie à adopter pour améliorer la qualité des questions. Les rédacteurs de questions qui sont mieux outillés et qui semblent adopter pleinement l'utilisation des consignes de rédaction y voient les impacts positifs sur la qualité de leurs questions.Abstract : Introduction : The assessment of learners has an undeniable importance in health professions education and the use of written exams is omnipresent, notably in medicine. However, developing high-quality assessment is often a challenge for administrators and exam developers. It is therefore important to identify strategies that could facilitate their work while having a positive impact on the quality of the written exam questions, including the use of guidelines when developing exams. Methodology : We created a list of item-writing guidelines through a rigorous and systematic process. We identified 14 discriminant guidelines. Using a multiple case study, we explored the use of those questions writing guidelines with four exam developers at the preclinical phase of an undergraduate medicine program. A questionnaire was completed and a semi-directed individual interview was carried out before and after the use of guidelines. The units of analysis and comparison were: the quality and psychometric properties of questions pre- and post-use of the guidelines, the acceptability and the use of these guidelines. Results : For all the participants, the written questions respected mostly the instructions of drafting. Although not statistically significant, we observed a slight increase in the coefficient of discrimination among editors who actively used the instructions. Our results suggest that participants’ appropriation of the item-writing guidelines seemed to influence their perception of the usefulness and acceptability of instructions. Conclusion : The results seem to suggest that the use of a narrow list of writting guidelines provides a good strategy for improving the quality of the questions. Exam developers that are better equipped and seem to fully adopt the use of drafting guidelines see the positive impacts on the quality of their questions

The Rise and Fall of the World's Largest Wine Exporter—And Its Institutional Legacy

It is hard to imagine in the 21st global wine economy, but until 50 years ago Algeria was the largest exporter of wine in the world – and by a wide margin. Between 1880 and 1930 Algerian wine production grew dramatically. Equally spectacular is the decline of Algerian wine production: today, Algeria produces and exports little wine. This paper analyzes the causes of the rise and the fall of the Algerian wine industry. There was an important bi-directional impact between developments of the Algerian wine sector and French regulations. French regulations had a major impact on the Algerian wine industry. Vice versa, the growth of the Algerian wine industry triggered the introduction of important wine regulations in France at the beginning of the 20th century and during the 1930s. Important elements of these regulations are still present in the European Wine Policy today.status: publishe

‘The most difficult financial matter that has ever presented itself’: paper money and the financing of warfare under Louis XIV

Based on an extensive survey of French primary sources and a discussion of the recent literature on fiscal policy in France and Europe during Louis XIV’s wars, this article revisits the rationale behind the first experiment with paper money undertaken by finance minister Michel Chamillart, comparing it to other belligerents’ strategies, in particular England’s, to adjust their monetary regime to the challenges of funding long wars of attrition. The article shows how concerns about economic activity, coinage, and the need to finance the war deficit led to a series of debasements of the French currency, the establishment of a bank in the form of a Caisse des emprunts and the introduction of mint bills, which became legal tender and caused the first experience of fiat money inflation in history. Whereas Chamillart’s personal shortcomings have been recently suggested as the cause of Louis XIV’s humbling in the War of the Spanish Succession, we argue on the contrary that the introduction of paper money in 1704 was key to the capacity of France to sustain its military effort, but that a succession of military defeats against a more powerful coalition led to inflation. We also argue that the introduction of paper money saved the Caisse des emprunts and its bonds which helped sustain the war effort up until the peace. By situating the use of paper money within the broader question of the exercise of power in the absolute monarchy, this article examines the formation of fiscal policy, paying attention to the ways in which government sought advice from experts. It concludes by calling for further studies on policy- and decision-making under Louis XIV

Evaluation studies of a sensing technique for electrostatic charge polarity of pharmaceutical particulates

Electrostatic charge due to inter-particle and particle-wall contacts may generate significant hazards during the processing of particulates within the pharmaceutical industry. Although charge behaviour of particulates is erratic and not easy to predict, it would be desirable to characterise the tendency of tribocharging prior to manufacturing. The work reported in this paper concentrates on a new and novel techniques for the detection of the active ingredient and excipient in a bipolar material. Three different case studies are presented for demonstration of the applicability of the method in different practical situations. Work confirmed through an experimental rig set-up indicates that materials that accumulate opposite charge via contact and rubbing can be detected from their charge sign as well as their relative magnitude. The results reported clearly demonstrated that the developed method for charge characterisation is a useful tool to understand how the charges are distributed in a population of particles showing a number of advantages over conventional methods

The Adaptive Thermal Comfort Review from the 1920s, the Present, and the Future

The typical method for comfort analysis is the Predicted Mean Vote and Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PMV-PPD). However, they present limitations in accommodating the comfort of a disabled and elder group of people, which are the most vulnerable to climate change and energy poverty. The adaptive method can give flexibility and personalisation needed to overcome the problem due to the variability of the people's metabolism, historical and behavioural preferences. Investments to upgrade the indoor environmental quality and building design can then be effectively used and, for the first time, it will be possible to tailor the solutions for these particular groups of people. The adaptive approach uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), where it can introduce the imperfect learning process. Overcoming this, instead of going further for the Explainable AI, the PMV–PPD approach can be used for the learning validation and verification needed for the adaptive setting point and standards

The Political Economy of European Wine Regulations

The EU wine market is heavily regulated. Despite the many distortions in the wine market as a consequence, refirming the regulations has proven difficult. This paper analyses the political economy mechanism that created the existing set of wine regulations. We document the historical origins of the regulations and relate these to political pressures that resulted from international integration, technological innovations and economic developments

Ghislain Brunel, Jean-Marc Moriceau (dir.), L'histoire rurale en France, Actes du colloque de Rennes (6-8 octobre 1994), Histoire et sociétés rurales

Lachiver Marcel. Ghislain Brunel, Jean-Marc Moriceau (dir.), L'histoire rurale en France, Actes du colloque de Rennes (6-8 octobre 1994), Histoire et sociétés rurales. In: Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales. 51ᵉ année, N. 6, 1996. pp. 1372-1374