Reconsidering the Role of Youth : Generational Differences in Political and Social Attitudes in the Arab World

Publisher PD

MENA in 2014 : Do People Think Their Nation is Secure?

Acknowledgements The Arab Transformations Project is coordinated by the University of Aberdeen (UK) and includes a further 11 partners: Dublin City University (DCU), Dublin, Ireland; Análisis Sociológicos Económicos y Políticos (ASEP), Madrid, Spain; Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), Milan, Italy; Universität Graz (UNI GRAZ), Graz, Austria; Societatea Pentru Methodologia Sondajelor Concluzia- Prim (Concluzia), Chisinau, Moldova; Centre de Recherche en Économie Appliquée pour le Développement (CREAD), Algiers, Algeria; Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research (BASEERA); Cairo, Egypt; Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies (IIACSS), Amman, Jordan; University of Jordan (JU), Amman, Jordan; MEDA Solutions (MEDAS), Casablanca, Morocco; Association Forum Des Sciences Sociales Appliquées (ASSF); Tunis, Tunisia. The author would also like to acknowledge the World Values Survey, Arab Barometer and AfroBarometer, on whose survey data they draw. We are also grateful to Viola Sanelli and Ilia Xypolia, at the University of Aberdeen, for material they supplied on the history and politics of the regionPublisher PD

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Percepções dos estudantes universitários sobre a avaliação das aprendizagens: um estudo exploratório Perceptions and experiences on assessment: a study with higher education students

Neste artigo apresentamos dados de um estudo mais vasto no âmbito de uma dissertação de Mestrado em Ciências da Educação - área de especialização em Avaliação, cujo objetivo consistiu em conhecer as perceções dos estudantes universitários sobre a avaliação, em particular sobre os métodos de avaliação mais utilizados e a relação entre avaliação e aprendizagem. Os dados foram recolhidos através de um inquérito por questionário, aplicado ao 3º ano de diferentes cursos (Educação, Engenharia, Medicina, Educação Básica e Psicologia) da Universidade do Minho. No total, participaram 254 estudantes. Os dados revelam que os aspetos que os estudantes mais associam à avaliação são a aprendizagem, os testes/exames, a verificação de conhecimentos e as notas/classificações, sendo o conflito, o receio/medo e a imposição os menos ligados ao processo avaliativo. Globalmente, e em relação aos métodos de avaliação, as apresentações orais em grupo, os testes e os relatórios de grupo são os mais utilizados na perspetiva dos alunos, sendo menos frequentes o ensaio individual, o ensaio em grupo e os testes orais, destacando-se, portanto, os que apelam mais ao trabalho de grupo em detrimento do individual. Neste artigo, discutem-se ainda os métodos tradicionais versus métodos alternativos de avaliação quanto à sua eficácia na perspetiva dos alunos e respetivas implicações.<br>This article presents data from a Master's thesis in Education - Specialization in Evaluation. It aimed at investigating students' perceptions on assessment in the context of higher education. The main goal is to get to know higher education students' views of assessment, particularly in regard to methods of assessment most used in higher education and the relationship between assessment and learning taking the perspective of students. Data were collected through a questionnaire to 3rd year undergraduate students in different programmes (Education, Engineering, Medicine, Basic Education and Psychology) at the University of Minho. In total, 254 students participated in the study. Findings suggest that the key aspects that students associate with assessment are learning, exams, verification of knowledge and marks. Data also reveal that conflict, fear and imposition are the aspects that students associate less with assessment. In regard to assessment methods, oral presentations in group, tests and group reports are the most used ones according to students. Faculty used less frequently methods such as individual essay, group essay and oral tests, which points to the use of rather collective methods in detriment to individual ones. This paper also discusses traditional versus alternative methods in terms of efficacy according to students' perspective and their implications