Decolonizing the Curriculum? Unsettling possibilities for performance training

TThis essay problematizes the term ‘decolonization’ as applied to university dance and performance curricula. It does so via Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang’s (2012) argument that colonization is rooted in a worldview that positions beings as exploitable things. Addressing efforts to foster diversity within studio training, choreography, and scholarship, the casualization of labor within university departments is also examined. The essay considers the structure of the university as both a colonial and corporate entity, signaling its relationship to the precarity of neoliberalism. The paper concludes by suggesting that arts and humanities scholarship and teaching create opportunities for alternate ways of living and interacting beyond neoliberal, neocolonial paradigms.

Decolonizar o Currículo? Possibilidades para desestabilizar a formação em performance

Cet article problématise le terme ‘décolonisation’ appliqué aux programmes de danse et de performance universitaires. Il le fait via l’argument d’Eve Tuck et K. Wayne Yang (2012) selon lequel la colonisation est enracinée dans une vision du monde qui positionne les êtres comme des choses exploitables. En s’attachant aux efforts visant à favoriser la diversité dans la formation, la chorégraphie et l’érudition en studio, la précarisation du travail au sein des départements universitaires est également examinée. L’essai considère la structure de l’université comme une entité à la fois coloniale et corporative, signalant sa relation avec la précarité du néolibéralisme. L’article conclut en suggérant que l’érudition et l’enseignement des arts et des sciences humaines créent des occasions de vivre et d’interagir au-delà des paradigmes néolibéraux et néocoloniaux.Este ensaio problematiza o termo decolonização aplicado aos currículos de dança e performance no ensino superior. Para tanto, utiliza o argumento de Eve Tuck e K. Wayne Yang (2012) de que a colonização está enraizada em uma visão de mundo que considera os seres como coisas passíveis de exploração. Também examina os esforços para promover a diversidade na formação, coreografia e conhecimento em estúdio e a precarização do trabalho nos departamentos universitários. O ensaio reflete sobre a estrutura da universidade como ente colonial e empresarial, apontando sua relação com a precariedade do neoliberalismo. O artigo é concluído ao sugerir que o conhecimento e o ensino das artes e das humanidades criam oportunidades para maneiras alternativas de viver e interagir para além de paradigmas neoliberais e neocoloniais

Variability of residents’ ratings of faculty’s teaching performance measured by five- and seven-point response scales

Abstract Background Medical faculty’s teaching performance is often measured using residents’ feedback, collected by questionnaires. Researchers extensively studied the psychometric qualities of resulting ratings. However, these studies rarely consider the number of response categories and its consequences for residents’ ratings of faculty’s teaching performance. We compared the variability of residents’ ratings measured by five- and seven-point response scales. Methods This retrospective study used teaching performance data from Dutch anaesthesiology residency training programs. Questionnaires with five- and seven-point response scales from the extensively studied System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities (SETQ) collected the ratings. We inspected ratings’ variability by comparing standard deviations, interquartile ranges, and frequency (percentage) distributions. Relevant statistical tests were used to test differences in frequency distributions and teaching performance scores. Results We examined 3379 residents’ ratings and 480 aggregated faculty scores. Residents used the additional response categories provided by the seven-point scale – especially those differentiating between positive performances. Residents’ ratings and aggregated faculty scores showed a more even distribution on the seven-point scale compared to the five-point scale. Also, the seven-point scale showed a smaller ceiling effect. After rescaling, the mean scores and (most) standard deviations of ratings from both scales were comparable. Conclusions Ratings from the seven-point scale were more evenly distributed and could potentially yield more nuanced, specific and user-friendly feedback. Still, both scales measured (almost) similar teaching performance outcomes. In teaching performance practice, residents and faculty members should discuss whether response scales fit their preferences and goals

1976-2009年青藏高原内陆湖泊变化的时空格局与过程/Spatiotemporal Pattern and Process of Inland Lake Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during the Period of 1976-2009[J]

为了揭示近几十年来气候变化条件下青藏高原内陆现代湖泊的时空变化规律,在1976年、1990年、2000年和2009年4个时段青藏高原内陆湖泊变化制图结果的基础上,重点分析流域内湖泊变化的时间过程和流域间湖泊变化的空间模式,并从气候要素变化、流域水源补给等方面探讨影响内陆湖泊变化的主要因素.结果表明:流域内湖泊总面积1970-1990年萎缩、1990-2009年扩张,1976-2009年呈现扩张的变化趋势,年均降水量和年均气温的变化趋势较好地解释了湖泊由萎缩到扩张的变化状况.从湖泊变化的空间格局来看,不同地域、不同流域的湖泊面积变化模式及其剧烈程度与流域内的水源补给方式有关,以雪冰融水补给的流域内湖泊总面积变化的剧烈程度远不及以冻融水补给为主的流域.因此,区域气候的变化是近几十年来高原内陆湖泊整体显著萎缩或扩张的主要原因,而流域水源补给的方式诠释了湖泊变化的区域差异

Analytic reproducibility in articles receiving open data badges at the journal Psychological Science: An observational study

For any scientific report, repeating the original analyses upon the original data should yield the original outcomes. We evaluated analytic reproducibility in 25 Psychological Science articles awarded open data badges between 2014 and 2015. Initially, 16 (64%, 95% confidence interval [43,81]) articles contained at least one ‘major numerical discrepancy' (>10% difference) prompting us to request input from original authors. Ultimately, target values were reproducible without author involvement for 9 (36% [20,59]) articles; reproducible with author involvement for 6 (24% [8,47]) articles; not fully reproducible with no substantive author response for 3 (12% [0,35]) articles; and not fully reproducible despite author involvement for 7 (28% [12,51]) articles. Overall, 37 major numerical discrepancies remained out of 789 checked values (5% [3,6]), but original conclusions did not appear affected. Non-reproducibility was primarily caused by unclear reporting of analytic procedures. These results highlight that open data alone is not sufficient to ensure analytic reproducibility. Funding T.E.H.'s contribution was enabled by a general support grant awarded to the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and a grant from the Einstein Foundation and Stiftung Charité awarded to the Meta-Research Innovation Center Berlin (METRIC-B)

Analytic reproducibility in articles receiving open data badges at the journal Psychological Science: An observational study

For any scientific report, repeating the original analyses upon the original data should yield the original outcomes. We evaluated analytic reproducibility in 25 Psychological Science articles awarded open data badges between 2014 and 2015. Initially, 16 (64%, 95% confidence interval [43,81]) articles contained at least one ‘major numerical discrepancy' (>10% difference) prompting us to request input from original authors. Ultimately, target values were reproducible without author involvement for 9 (36% [20,59]) articles; reproducible with author involvement for 6 (24% [8,47]) articles; not fully reproducible with no substantive author response for 3 (12% [0,35]) articles; and not fully reproducible despite author involvement for 7 (28% [12,51]) articles. Overall, 37 major numerical discrepancies remained out of 789 checked values (5% [3,6]), but original conclusions did not appear affected. Non-reproducibility was primarily caused by unclear reporting of analytic procedures. These results highlight that open data alone is not sufficient to ensure analytic reproducibility. Funding T.E.H.'s contribution was enabled by a general support grant awarded to the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) from the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and a grant from the Einstein Foundation and Stiftung Charité awarded to the Meta-Research Innovation Center Berlin (METRIC-B)

Cost-effectiveness of collaborative care including PST and an antidepressant treatment algorithm for the treatment of major depressive disorder in primary care; a randomised clinical trial

Abstract Background Depressive disorder is currently one of the most burdensome disorders worldwide. Evidence-based treatments for depressive disorder are already available, but these are used insufficiently, and with less positive results than possible. Earlier research in the USA has shown good results in the treatment of depressive disorder based on a collaborative care approach with Problem Solving Treatment and an antidepressant treatment algorithm, and research in the UK has also shown good results with Problem Solving Treatment. These treatment strategies may also work very well in the Netherlands too, even though health care systems differ between countries. Methods/design This study is a two-armed randomised clinical trial, with randomization on patient-level. The aim of the trial is to evaluate the treatment of depressive disorder in primary care in the Netherlands by means of an adapted collaborative care framework, including contracting and adherence-improving strategies, combined with Problem Solving Treatment and antidepressant medication according to a treatment algorithm. Forty general practices will be randomised to either the intervention group or the control group. Included will be patients who are diagnosed with moderate to severe depression, based on DSM-IV criteria, and stratified according to comorbid chronic physical illness. Patients in the intervention group will receive treatment based on the collaborative care approach, and patients in the control group will receive care as usual. Baseline measurements and follow up measures (3, 6, 9 and 12 months) are assessed using questionnaires and an interview. The primary outcome measure is severity of depressive symptoms, according to the PHQ9. Secondary outcome measures are remission as measured with the PHQ9 and the IDS-SR, and cost-effectiveness measured with the TiC-P, the EQ-5D and the SF-36. Discussion In this study, an American model to enhance care for patients with a depressive disorder, the collaborative care model, will be evaluated for effectiveness in the primary care setting. If effective across the Atlantic and across different health care systems, it is also likely to be an effective strategy to implement in the treatment of major depressive disorder in the Netherlands

Co-Localized or Randomly Distributed? Pair Cross Correlation of In Vivo Grown Subgingival Biofilm Bacteria Quantified by Digital Image Analysis

The polymicrobial nature of periodontal diseases is reflected by the diversity of phylotypes detected in subgingival plaque and the finding that consortia of suspected pathogens rather than single species are associated with disease development. A number of these microorganisms have been demonstrated in vitro to interact and enhance biofilm integration, survival or even pathogenic features. To examine the in vivo relevance of these proposed interactions, we extended the spatial arrangement analysis tool of the software daime (digital image analysis in microbial ecology). This modification enabled the quantitative analysis of microbial co-localization in images of subgingival biofilm species, where the biomass was confined to fractions of the whole-image area, a situation common for medical samples. Selected representatives of the disease-associated red and orange complexes that were previously suggested to interact with each other in vitro (Tannerella forsythia with Fusobacterium nucleatum and Porphyromonas gingivalis with Prevotella intermedia) were chosen for analysis and labeled with specific fluorescent probes via fluorescence in situ hybridization. Pair cross-correlation analysis of in vivo grown biofilms revealed tight clustering of F. nucleatum/periodonticum and T. forsythia at short distances (up to 6 µm) with a pronounced peak at 1.5 µm. While these results confirmed previous in vitro observations for F. nucleatum and T. forsythia, random spatial distribution was detected between P. gingivalis and P. intermedia in the in vivo samples. In conclusion, we successfully employed spatial arrangement analysis on the single cell level in clinically relevant medical samples and demonstrated the utility of this approach for the in vivo validation of in vitro observations by analyzing statistically relevant numbers of different patients. More importantly, the culture-independent nature of this approach enables similar quantitative analyses for “as-yet-uncultured” phylotypes which cannot be characterized in vitro.© 2012 Schillinger et a