Virtual Reality for Pediatric Sedation: A Randomized Controlled Trial Using Simulation.

INTRODUCTION: Team training for procedural sedation for pediatric residents has traditionally consisted of didactic presentations and simulated scenarios using high-fidelity mannequins. We assessed the effectiveness of a virtual reality module in teaching preparation for and management of sedation for procedures. METHODS: After developing a virtual reality environment in Second Life® (Linden Lab, San Francisco, CA) where providers perform and recover patients from procedural sedation, we conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of the virtual reality module versus a traditional web-based educational module. A 20 question pre- and post-test was administered to assess knowledge change. All subjects participated in a simulated pediatric procedural sedation scenario that was video recorded for review and assessed using a 32-point checklist. A brief survey elicited feedback on the virtual reality module and the simulation scenario. RESULTS: The median score on the assessment checklist was 75% for the intervention group and 70% for the control group (P = 0.32). For the knowledge tests, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (P = 0.14). Users had excellent reviews of the virtual reality module and reported that the module added to their education. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric residents performed similarly in simulation and on a knowledge test after a virtual reality module compared with a traditional web-based module on procedural sedation. Although users enjoyed the virtual reality experience, these results question the value virtual reality adds in improving the performance of trainees. Further inquiry is needed into how virtual reality provides true value in simulation-based education

The Interrelationships of Placental Mammals and the Limits of Phylogenetic Inference

Placental mammals comprise three principal clades: Afrotheria (e.g., elephants and tenrecs), Xenarthra (e.g., armadillos and sloths), and Boreoeutheria (all other placental mammals), the relationships among which are the subject of controversy and a touchstone for debate on the limits of phylogenetic inference. Previous analyses have found support for all three hypotheses, leading some to conclude that this phylogenetic problem might be impossible to resolve due to the compounded effects of incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and a rapid radiation. Here we show, using a genome scale nucleotide data set, microRNAs, and the reanalysis of the three largest previously published amino acid data sets, that the root of Placentalia lies between Atlantogenata and Boreoeutheria. Although we found evidence for ILS in early placental evolution, we are able to reject previous conclusions that the placental root is a hard polytomy that cannot be resolved. Reanalyses of previous data sets recover Atlantogenata + Boreoeutheria and show that contradictory results are a consequence of poorly fitting evolutionary models; instead, when the evolutionary process is better-modeled, all data sets converge on Atlantogenata. Our Bayesian molecular clock analysis estimates that marsupials diverged from placentals 157-170 Ma, crown Placentalia diverged 86-100 Ma, and crown Atlantogenata diverged 84-97 Ma. Our results are compatible with placental diversification being driven by dispersal rather than vicariance mechanisms, postdating early phases in the protracted opening of the Atlantic Ocean

Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors

Book Chapter Mary Ellen O\u27Connell, Self-Defence, Pernicious Doctrines, Peremptory Norms, in Self-Defence against Non-State Actors 174(Mary Ellen O\u27Connell, Christian J. Tams & Dire Tladi eds., 2019) In this book, self-defence against non-state actors is examined by three scholars whose geographical, professional, theoretical, and methodological backgrounds and outlooks differ greatly. Their trialogue is framed by an introduction and a conclusion by the series editors. The novel scholarly format accommodates the pluralism and value changes of the current era, a shifting world order and the rise in nationalism and populism. It brings to light the cultural, professional and political pluralism which characterises international legal scholarship and exploits this pluralism as a heuristic device. This multiperspectivism exposes how political factors and intellectual styles influence the scholarly approaches and legal answers and the trialogical structure encourages its participants to decentre their perspectives. By explicitly focussing on the authors\u27 divergence and disagreement, a richer understanding of self-defence against non-state actors is achieved, and the legal challenges and possible ways ahead identified.https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_books/1312/thumbnail.jp

Carrots without Sticks: The Impacts of Job Search Assistance in a Regime with Minimal Monitoring and Sanctions

This paper uses a high quality longitudinal dataset to assess the impact of an active labour market intervention consisting of referral for interview plus Job Search Assistance (JSA) with the public employment service in Ireland during a period when both job search monitoring and sanctions were virtually non-existent. The results indicate that, relative to a control group with no intervention, unemployed individuals that were exposed to the interview letter and participated in JSA were 16 per cent less likely to have exited to employment prior to 12 months. The negative effects of the intervention approximately doubled when those that received a referral letter but did not attend a JSA interview were removed from the data. The results held when tested against the underlying assumptions of the model, and the influences of both sample selection and unobserved heterogeneity bias. The negative treatment impact is attributed to individuals lowering their job search intensity on learning, through the JSA activation interview, of the lax nature of the activation process. The research, which is unusual in the international literature in allowing the assessment of the impact of job search assistance in the virtual absence of monitoring and sanctions, highlights the need for effective monitoring and sanctions as integral components of labour market activation programmes

Self-Defence Against Non-State Actors

Book Chapter Mary Ellen O\u27Connell, Self-Defence, Pernicious Doctrines, Peremptory Norms, in Self-Defence against Non-State Actors 174(Mary Ellen O\u27Connell, Christian J. Tams & Dire Tladi eds., 2019) In this book, self-defence against non-state actors is examined by three scholars whose geographical, professional, theoretical, and methodological backgrounds and outlooks differ greatly. Their trialogue is framed by an introduction and a conclusion by the series editors. The novel scholarly format accommodates the pluralism and value changes of the current era, a shifting world order and the rise in nationalism and populism. It brings to light the cultural, professional and political pluralism which characterises international legal scholarship and exploits this pluralism as a heuristic device. This multiperspectivism exposes how political factors and intellectual styles influence the scholarly approaches and legal answers and the trialogical structure encourages its participants to decentre their perspectives. By explicitly focussing on the authors\u27 divergence and disagreement, a richer understanding of self-defence against non-state actors is achieved, and the legal challenges and possible ways ahead identified.https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_books/1312/thumbnail.jp

International Dispute Resolution

Lawyers increasingly represent clients with global interests that require working across nations and cultures. They may engage in negotiating international contracts, participate in treaty negotiations, or act as mediators in international child custody disputes. It is most common to handle international matters that come before national courts. This fully revised third edition of International Dispute Resolution prepares law students to practice with confidence in handling international disputes. The book introduces students to the range of methods available in contemporary international practice. It is a comprehensive treatment of dispute resolution processes, including negotiation, mediation, inquiry, conciliation, arbitration, and adjudication. The third edition brings two new co-authors to the book. Anna Spain Bradley (UCLA) and Amy Cohen (New South Wales/The Ohio State) have joined Mary Ellen O\u27Connell (Notre Dame) in collecting cases and materials that offer theoretically-informed approaches to practical issues and invoke materials inclusive of diverse perspectives. New decisions from national courts and the International Court of Justice on international dispute resolution are included. New material on investor-state arbitration and arbitrator ethics are featured, as well as a new treaty on international mediation. The problems that accompany each method are also new. International Dispute Resolution remains the only comprehensive book on this vital and growing area of law practice. The law book market has many titles on arbitration and transnational litigation. This is the only casebook that introduces students to the full array of international dispute resolution methods. Knowledge of and expertise in these areas are an essential part of the modern lawyer\u27s toolkit to prepare them for legal practice in today\u27s world.https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_books/1402/thumbnail.jp