104 research outputs found

    CASPA: Coursework and Assessment Scheduler for Programme Administration

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    Technology in education can be used in a variety of different ways. The most obvious is its direct application to help facilitate learning. However, technology can also be used in more subtle ways to benefit student learning and to ease the burden on academics and staff so that they in turn are able to spend more time interacting with students. The Engineering Schools at Loughborough University approached the Centre For Engineering and Design Education (CEDE), looking to the Centre, with its blend of pedagogy and technology skills to unpick and resolve the issues that the Schools were facing with regard to assessing students. With myriad modules on multiple programmes, live oversight of the assessment demands on students was difficult to achieve with the Schools’ existing practices; the potential for over burdening students due to assessment bunching was a real issue. There were also practical issues of managing coursework hand in and return for large numbers of students. Working in close collaboration with the Engineering Schools CEDE has developed, piloted and rolled out CASPA, a Coursework and Assessment Scheduler for Programme Administration. This paper describes CASPA and shares the key findings of a study, undertaken by CEDE into CASPA’ s reception and impact on students and administrators and how they would like to see CASPA enhanced. Research was undertaken with administrative staff in the form of focused discussions and an online questionnaire survey. Student views have been provided using a paper based questionnaire survey of 88 students. The key findings of the research are presented in this paper, including the findings that students value the reassurance that CASPA gives by keeping a record of assessment submissions and work returned whilst providing a centralised place for their assessment deadlines to help them keep track of their schedules and organise their work. The introduction of CASPA has had a huge impact on the demands of administrators time, greatly reducing the time needed to receive and return coursework. With this freed up time it has been possible for Schools to make greater use of their administrators for the benefit of the students. One school in particular has introduced feedback quality monitoring into the coursework return process. Having trained the administrators in the level and quality of feedback to students, administrators are now able to monitor and flag any issues in feedback quality

    Credit bearing work-based learning: learning from other's practice

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    Work-based learning (WBL) in Higher Education (HE) encompasses a range of activities associated with employability and the workplace. This paper focuses on work-based learning in the context of learning for work, with campus-based learners gaining experience in the workplace, linked to formally accredited Higher Education programmes. In Engineering work-based learning typically involves industrial sandwich placements which may result in an additional award, such as a ‘diploma of industrial studies’, but rarely result in credit. In other disciplines such as Health and Medicine, however, there is a long tradition of awarding credit for work-based learning. This paper outlines the context and drivers for awarding credit for work based learning in Engineering and draws on literature, cross-discipline case studies and stakeholder perceptions to describe models of work-based learning and assessment practices appropriate to Engineering. It concludes by reflecting on the practical implications for academic institutions, staff, students and industrial supervisors involved

    An observational study of the effectiveness of practice guideline implementation strategies examined according to physicians' cognitive styles

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    Abstract Background Reviews of guideline implementation recommend matching strategies to the specific setting, but provide little specific guidance about how to do so. We hypothesized that the highest level of guideline-concordant care would be achieved where implementation strategies fit well with physicians' cognitive styles. Methods We conducted an observational study of the implementation of guidelines for hypertension management among patients with diabetes at 43 Veterans' Health Administration medical center primary care clinics. Clinic leaders provided information about all implementation strategies employed at their sites. Guidelines implementation strategies were classified as education, motivation/incentive, or barrier reduction using a pre-specified system. Physician's cognitive styles were measured on three scales: evidence vs. experience as the basis of knowledge, sensitivity to pragmatic concerns, and conformity to local practices. Doctors' decisions were designated guideline-concordant if the patient's blood pressure was within goal range, or if the blood pressure was out of range and a dose change or medication change was initiated, or if the patient was already using medications from three classes. Results The final sample included 163 physicians and 1,174 patients. All of the participating sites used one or more educational approaches to implement the guidelines. Over 90% of the sites also provided group or individual feedback on physician performance on the guidelines, and over 75% implemented some type of reminder system. A minority of sites used monetary incentives, penalties, or barrier reduction. The only type of intervention that was associated with increased guideline-concordant care in a logistic model was barrier reduction (p < 0.02). The interaction between physicians' conformity scale scores and the effect of barrier reduction was significant (p < 0.05); physicians ranking lower on the conformity scale responded more to barrier reduction. Conclusion Guidelines implementation strategies that were designed to reduce physician time pressure and task complexity were the only ones that improved performance. Education may have been necessary but was clearly not sufficient, and more was not better. Incentives had no discernible effect. Measurable physician characteristics strongly affected response to implementation strategies.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112690/1/13012_2006_Article_70.pd

    Experience with and Perception of Research Among First Year Osteopathic Medical Students at Marian University

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    There are limited data regarding research experience and/or interest among osteopathic medical students despite a rapidly increasing enrollment and expansion of the number of osteopathic medical schools. A 2016 study of first-year osteopathic medical students at WesternU/COMP and WesternU/COMP-NW indicated that 81% of respondents had prior research experience and 75% were either currently doing research or were interested in doing research during medical school. Here, we extended that survey to Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine to determine the research experience and interest among first-year osteopathic medical students. Based on a response rate of 32%, a majority of respondents reported prior research experience (79.7%), with 13% of those students having garnered peer-reviewed publication(s). This is consistent with a strong perception of research being valuable, with 96.43% indicating some level of importance and 41.07% indicating very or extremely important. Interestingly, fewer respondents (56.6%) are either currently participating in research or affirmed interest in performing research during medical school, with the highest level of interest in clinical research (32%) followed by basic science (22.67%). Regarding incentives that might encourage participation in research, respondents prefer monetary compensation (37.38%) and/or extra credit in courses (36.45%). Reported barriers to performing research include possible negative impact on coursework (59.04%) and preference for other extracurricular activities (18.07%). Most students (78.57%) reported awareness that research opportunities are available, but fewer (46.43%) were aware of whether opportunities exist in their specific field of interest. Our findings indicate a strong positive perception of research among MU-COM students and highlight opportunities for improved communication and enhancement of the research environment through incentivization and/or removal of perceived barriers

    THE FEASIBILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION IN AN ADOLESCENT CLINICAL SETTING

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    Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, estimates of adolescent depression prevalence have significantly increased. Although 80% of youth with mental health problems do not access mental health (MH) services, most interact regularly with pediatricians, suggesting primary care is a promising setting for youth MH service delivery. Behavioral activation (BA) is a straightforward intervention focusing on increasing engagement in meaningful activities and has been shown to be effective in adolescent populations. This study examines the feasibility and acceptability of implementing BA delivered by nurses to adolescents with mild to moderate depressive symptoms in an ambulatory setting. Methods: We examined the feasibility and acceptability of BA to a sociodemographic-diverse adolescent population. To examine feasibility, we retrospectively analyzed the percentage of patients presenting with mild to moderate depressive symptoms on the patient health questionnaire-9 during a random four week period. We then conducted qualitative interviews with four parent-adolescent dyads, and two additional adolescents. A semi-structured interview guide was iteratively developed to assess perceived acceptability of BA and barriers and facilitators to engaging in the intervention. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded by authors JDT and JF. A thematic analysis was completed to identify whether the program as designed was acceptable to the targeted population. Results: A records review found that out of 122 unique patients presenting for any clinic visit during the four week period, 44 (35%) met criteria for mild to moderate depressive symptoms. Of those who met criteria, youth were 17.45 years old (range = 12-22) with 61% identified as female. Results of the qualitative interviews suggest that participants perceived BA to be appropriate; themes emerged suggesting that both parents and youth noted nurse-delivered BA was similar to other types of therapies they had engaged with in other settings and that participants experienced nurses’ as able to protect confidentiality and someone they could be “vulnerable” with. Participants were mixed in how feasible they felt regular visits to the pediatrician’s office was, with some noting that transportation and time were major barriers for engaging in treatment. All participants noted that telehealth options (including meeting with a nurse provider over the phone or through web conferencing) were appropriate and would facilitate treatment access. Participants also noted that time, transportation and cost were significant barriers to engaging in valued activities (a central mechanism of BA), and several parents and youth noted that these barriers were exacerbated during the pandemic. Conclusion: Our data highlights the implementation potential for delivering BA by nurses in an adolescent ambulatory setting. Qualitative themes suggest this approach (especially delivered via telehealth) is feasible and acceptable for youth with mild to moderate depressive symptoms

    Experience with and Perception of Research Among First Year Osteopathic Medical Students

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    There are limited data regarding the level of research experience and/or interest among osteopathic medical students despite a rapidly increasing enrollment and expansion of the number of osteopathic medical schools. A 2016 study of first year osteopathic medical students at WesternU/COMP and WesternU/COMP-NW indicated that 81% of respondents had prior research experience and 75% were either currently doing research or were interested in doing research during medical school. In the present study, we extended that survey to Marian University in order to determine the level of research experience and interest among first-year osteopathic medical students. Based on a response rate of 41%, an overwhelming majority of respondents reported prior research experience (\u3e80%), with 13% of those students having garnered peer-reviewed publication(s). This is consistent with a strong perception of research being valuable, with 96.92% indicating some level of importance and 27.69% indicating very or extremely important. Interestingly, fewer respondents (53.34%) are either currently participating in research or affirmed interest in performing research during medical school, with the highest level of interest in clinical research (32.37%) followed by basic science (20.23%). Regarding incentives that might encourage participation in research, respondents prefer monetary compensation (40.19%) and/or extra credit in courses (39.25%). Reported barriers to performing research include possible negative impact on coursework (65.93%) and preference for other extracurricular activities (23.08%). Although a majority of the students (81.54%) reported awareness that research opportunities are available at MU-COM, fewer (50.79%) were aware of whether opportunities exist in their specific field of interest. Our findings indicate a strong positive perception of research among MU-COM students and highlight opportunities for improved communication of availability and enhancement of the research environment through incentivization and/or removal of perceived barriers

    DNA damage repair deficiency in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: preclinical models and clinical perspectives

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    Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide, and survival rates have barely improved in decades. In the era of precision medicine, treatment strategies tailored to disease mutations have revolutionized cancer therapy. Next generation sequencing has found that up to a third of all PDAC tumors contain deleterious mutations in DNA damage repair (DDR) genes, highlighting the importance of these genes in PDAC. The mechanisms by which DDR gene mutations promote tumorigenesis, therapeutic response, and subsequent resistance are still not fully understood. Therefore, an opportunity exists to elucidate these processes and to uncover relevant therapeutic drug combinations and strategies to target DDR deficiency in PDAC. However, a constraint to preclinical research is due to limitations in appropriate laboratory experimental models. Models that effectively recapitulate their original cancer tend to provide high levels of predictivity and effective translation of preclinical findings to the clinic. In this review, we outline the occurrence and role of DDR deficiency in PDAC and provide an overview of clinical trials that target these pathways and the preclinical models such as 2D cell lines, 3D organoids and mouse models [genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM), and patient-derived xenograft (PDX)] used in PDAC DDR deficiency research

    The Big Yes and the Little No

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    Program for the sixth annual RISD Cabaret held in the cellar at the top of the Waterman Building. Design and layout by Nonie Close.https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/liberalarts_cabaret_programs/1005/thumbnail.jp
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