The Design, Implementation, and Assessment of a New Capstone Course Aimed at Science Education Majors

This paper rationalizes the selection of the concept of energy as the central theme of a new capstone course aimed at science education majors. It describes the goals of the course and the activities that preceded the course design and led to the selection of the topics, of the educational materials, and of the teaching methodologies. It presents a sequential description of the manner in which the conceptual knowledge of energy was to be developed. The specific experiments, interactive demonstrations and other educational materials utilized for the conceptual development of the concept of energy in context are described and referenced. The course objectives are described, as well as the instruments utilized to assess student learning. It also presents the activities utilized to assess the course, in addition to the modifications made to the course syllabus based on this assessment

Cuba's Economic 'Reforms': Waiting for Fidel on the Eve of the Twenty-First Century.

In this paper we provide a brief summary and evaluation of the main economic changes or 'reforms' undertaken by the Cuban government during the 1990's. The thrust of our argument is that the regime does not seem to be interested in reforms that lead to a transition to a market economy or even in the more limited goal of introducing widespread market mechanisms subservient to the needs of the communist party as in China. Instead, their policies seem directed at generating mechanisms for the appropriation of foreign exchange by members of the nomenclature while keeping most citizens deprived of independent access to wealth creation activities. We develop our argument by looking separately at 'reforms' in two type of markets: those in which transactions are self-enforcing and those which depend on the contract enforcement mechanisms or services usually associated with market augmenting government to enforce transactions.Cuba, Reforms, Transition, Markets, Self-enforcing Transactions, Market Augmenting Government

Improving Quality and Achieving Equity: A Guide for Hospital Leaders

Outlines the need to address racial/ethnic disparities in health care, highlights model practices, and makes step-by-step recommendations on creating a committee, collecting data, setting quality measures, evaluating, and implementing new strategies

Resident Physicians' Preparedness to Provide Cross-Cultural Care: Implications for Clinical Care and Medical Education Policy

Recommends integrating cross-cultural training into medical school curricula, training faculty to ensure useful instruction and mentoring, and mandatory and formal evaluation of residents' cross-cultural communication skills

Effects of Reserve Requirements in an Inflation Targeting Regime: The Case of Colombia

The Colombian economy and financial system have coped reasonably well with the effects of the global financial crisis. Hence, "unconventional" policy measures have not been at the center of the policy decisions and discussions. Nominal short term interest rates have remained the main monetary policy tool and "Quantitative easing" measures have not been central in the policy response. The one "unconventional" monetary instrument used by the Central Bank in Colombia has been changes in reserve requirements (RR) on financial system deposits. Interestingly, they were adopted before the global financial crisis, as a reaction to domestic credit conditions. The effects of RR on interest rate and interest rate pass-through in an inflation targeting regime are not as straightforward as those under a monetary targeting regime. Conceptually, those effects depend on the degree of substitution between deposits and central bank credit as sources of funds for banks and on the extent to which RR changes affect the risks facing banks. The empirical results for Colombia suggest that RR are important long run determinants of business loan interest rates and have been effective in strengthening the pass-through from policy to deposit and lending interest rates.Reserve Requirements, Inflation Targeting, Interest rate pass-through. Classification JEL: E51, E52, E58, G21.

Influencia de los procesos ambientales predominantes en la cuenca y el embalse Hanabanilla sobre la composición de su sedimento

The Hanabanilla reservoir was built in 1960 in the center-south of Cuba and is used for human supply and power generation. This research was aimed at identifying the important processes affecting sediment composition, through the analysis of particle size, and organic carbon (OC), nutrients, and major trace elements concentrations in sediment samples taken at the outlet point of the reservoir. The documentary review allowed us to identify how the nature and management of the basin and the operation of the reservoir affected sediment quality. The application of principal components analysis (PCA), and the determination of ionic relationships and correlations between the sediment quality variables, allowed for the identification of influential processes on sediment quality. Anthropic activities in the period 1960-2012 produced residues rich in OC, total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) that were stored in reservoir sediments. During the first years of the reservoir (1964-1976) the highest concentrations of sediment TP were recorded and the sediments functioned as a sink. The OC and TN mean concentrations were higher in the last stage of the study (2006-2012). The main influential processes on sediment composition were the operation of the reservoir, the geochemical cycle of P, the mineralization of the substances in the water column, and the weathering of silicates and the contribution of organic matter from the basin. Sediment quality data indicate that OC and TN were of allochthonous origin and TP was of autochthonous origin. Levels of sediment OC and TN also corresponded with an increase in anthropic activities in the basin.El embalse Hanabanilla fue construido en 1960 en el centro-sur de Cuba y sus usos principales son el abastecimiento humano y la generación de energía eléctrica. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar los procesos fundamentales que afectan la composición del sedimento, mediante el análisis del tamaño de las partículas, y el contenido de carbono orgánico (OC), nutrientes y elementos traza mayoritarios en muestras de sedimento tomadas en la obra de toma del embalse. La revisión documental permitió identificar cómo afectan la naturaleza y el manejo de la cuenca, y la operación del embalse a la calidad del sedimento. El análisis de componentes principales (PCA), las relaciones iónicas, y las correlaciones entre las variables de calidad del sedimento, permitieron identificar los procesos influyentes en la calidad del sedimento. Las actividades antrópicas en el período 1960-2012 produjeron residuos ricos en OC, fósforo total (TP) y nitrógeno total (TN) que se almacenaron en los sedimentos del embalse. Durante los primeros años del embalse (1964-1976), se registraron las más altas concentraciones de TP en el sedimento que actuó como sumidero. Las concentraciones medias de OC y TN fueron más altas en la última etapa del estudio (2006-2012). Los principales procesos que influyeron en la composición del sedimento fueron: la operación del embalse, el ciclo geoquímico del P, la mineralización de las sustancias en la columna de agua, y el lavado de los silicatos, unido a la contribución de la materia orgánica de la cuenca. Los datos indicaron un origen alóctono para el OC y el TN, y autóctono para el TP. Los niveles de OC y TN en el sedimento también se correspondieron con un incremento en la actividad antrópica en la cuenca.Fil: Labaut Betancourt, Yeny. Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos; Cuba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Betancourt, Carmen R.. Universidad de Cienfuegos Carlos Rafael Rodriguez; CubaFil: Díaz Asencio, Misael. Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos; CubaFil: Beutel, Marc W.. University of California; Estados Unido

Creating a Safe, High-Quality Healthcare System for All: Meeting the Needs of Limited English Proficient Populations; Comment on “Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality: The Case for Language Access”

The article by Cheri Wilson, “Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality: The Case for Language Access”, highlights the challenges of providing Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) to patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). As the US pursues high-value, high-performance healthcare, our ability to meet the needs of our most vulnerable will determine whether we succeed or fail in the long run. With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this is more important than ever before, as it is estimated that the newly insured are more likely to be minority and less likely to speak English than their currently insured counterparts. As such, we must create a safe, high-quality healthcare system for all, especially in this time of incredible healthcare transformation and unprecedented diversity. Improving Patient Safety Systems for Patients With Limited English Proficiency: A Guide for Hospitals provides a blueprint for achieving this goal, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is taking action