Assessing the Needs of Students Identified with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder at Minnesota State University, Mankato

A considerable number of students with a diagnosis of ADHD are represented within the Minnesota State University, Mankato student population. Research indicates that college students with an ADHD diagnosis face unique and challenging experiences in the collegiate environment. In addition to these unique stressors, research indicates that college students with ADHD may benefit from supportive services that can be offered in a University Counseling Center. A survey of the perceived needs for counseling services and utilization of counseling services among students identified with ADHD at MSU, Mankato is useful in determining current trends and informs future Counseling Center service planning

Creating Open Online Courses with Learner Representative Partners to Widen Participation in Higher Education

Open online courses could provide stepping stones for audiences that are under-represented in higher education (HE). However, there are concerns that these instead proliferate forms of exclusion and do not address known difficulties for widening participation. We explore how organisations that represent the perspectives of particular underserved audiences for HE can act as ‘Learner Representative Partners’ to support the creation of appropriate courses and to highlight practices that exclude. Six course development processes where a university worked with different partners are analysed using interviews, documentation of resource use, and data on learner behaviour. The analysis utilises previously identified challenges to widening participation and collaborative course creation. Getting partners to directly engage in authoring the course was particularly beneficial but all partners prompted critical thought and greater understanding of the intended audiences. We suggest principles to support such partnerships effectively. These include adapting to a variable capacity of partners to contribute, to encourage reuse or creation of resources by partners, and to facilitate partners to feel confident in expressing their views

Enhancing parents' ways of supporting their children's early learning through participation in an early-intervention project in the UK: the early learning partnership project

"In diesem Beitrag werden die Auswirkungen eines aufwändigen Frühinterventionsprogramms namens 'Early Learning Partnership Project' (ELPP), das während einer Reformperiode der Regierung bei neun Institutionen der Freiwilligen- und Gemeinwesenarbeit im Vereinigten Königreiches eingeführt wurde, beschrieben. Im Mittelpunkt des Programmes standen die Eltern von Kindern im Alter von ein bis drei Jahren, die dem Risiko von Lernverzögerungen ausgesetzt waren. Es zielte darauf ab, die elterliche Beteiligung am Lernen ihrer Kinder zu erhöhen, um so einer Verringerung späterer Benachteiligungseffekte den Weg zu bereiten. Der Einfluss des ELPP wurde mithilfe einer Mixed-Methods-Evaluation untersucht. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird über eine Elternstichprobe an 20 'exemplarischen' Standorten berichtet. Dabei nahmen die Eltern zu zwei Messzeitpunkten an einer Auswahl strukturierter Beobachtungen (HOME und Booksharing Observation) und strukturierten Fragebogeninterviews (Home Learning Environment, Parental Feelings Questionnaire und Father Involvement Questionnaire) teil. Es zeigte sich, dass kurze Interventionen gegenüber den Eltern deren Erziehungsverhalten, persönlichen Überzeugungen und die affektive Beziehung zu Kindern beeinflussen konnten. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass es mit dem britischen Interventionsprogramm ELPP möglich ist, innerhalb von mindestens drei Monaten das Niveau der elterlichen Beteiligung zu erhöhen und die Qualität des häuslichen Lernumfeldes auf eine breitere Grundlage zu stellen." (Autorenreferat)"This paper describes the impact of a complex intervention program entitled the 'Early Learning Partnership Project' (ELPP) which was rolled out across nine voluntary and community sector (VCS) agencies within the United Kingdom during a period of Government reform. It focused on parents of children aged between 1-3 who were at risk of learning delay, and aimed to increase parental involvement within children's learning as a precursor to reducing the later effects of disadvantage. A mixed methods evaluation examined the influence of ELPP. This paper reports specifically on a sample of parents from twenty 'exemplar' sites participating in the program. Parents took part in a selection of structured observations (HOME and Book-sharing Observation) and structured questionnaires (Home Learning Environment, Parental Feelings Questionnaire and Father Involvement Questionnaire) across two time points. This paper shows that a short intervention with parents can influence parenting practices, personal beliefs and affective relationships with children. The findings suggest that through ELPP, a UK-based intervention, it is possible to improve levels of parental involvement and broaden the quality of the home learning environment via an early intervention project in a minimum of three months." (author's abstract

Preparing Globally and Socially-conscious Engineers: International and Humancentred Design Projects and Activities in the First Year

In recent years, a number of innovative activities involving early design/hands on experiences have been introduced into first and second semester freshman courses at Virginia Tech. The objective is to excite freshmen about the engineering profession and to provide early exposure to topics essential to their preparation as globally and socially conscious engineers. A number of initiatives including a sustainable development design project, study abroad presentations, and a world population activity have been implemented in the first course. In the second course, a design project with a focus on assistive technologies for third world countries has been implemented

Impact of National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Centers on Ovarian Cancer Treatment and Survival

BACKGROUND: The regional impact of care at a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCI-CCC) on adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) ovarian cancer treatment guidelines and survival is unclear. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a retrospective population-based study of consecutive patients diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 2006 in southern California. Patients were stratified according to care at an NCI-CCC (n = 5), non-NCI high-volume hospital (≥10 cases/year, HVH, n = 29), or low-volume hospital (<10 cases/year, LVH, n = 158). Multivariable logistic regression and Cox-proportional hazards models were used to examine the effect of NCI-CCC status on treatment guideline adherence and ovarian cancer-specific survival. RESULTS: A total of 9,933 patients were identified (stage I, 22.8%; stage II, 7.9%; stage III, 45.1%; stage IV, 24.2%), and 8.1% of patients were treated at NCI-CCCs. Overall, 35.7% of patients received NCCN guideline adherent care, and NCI-CCC status (odds ratio [OR] 1.00) was an independent predictor of adherence to treatment guidelines compared with HVHs (OR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.99) and LVHs (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.47 to 0.67). The median ovarian cancer-specific survivals according to hospital type were: NCI-CCC 77.9 (95% CI 61.4 to 92.9) months, HVH 51.9 (95% CI 49.2 to 55.7) months, and LVH 43.4 (95% CI 39.9 to 47.2) months (p < 0.0001). National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center status (hazard ratio [HR] 1.00) was a statistically significant and independent predictor of improved survival compared with HVH (HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.33) and LVH (HR 1.30, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.47). CONCLUSIONS: National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center status is an independent predictor of adherence to ovarian cancer treatment guidelines and improved ovarian cancer-specific survival. These data validate NCI-CCC status as a structural health care characteristic correlated with superior ovarian cancer quality measure performance. Increased access to NCI-CCCs through regional concentration of care may be a mechanism to improve clinical outcomes

Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve the health and social care and wellbeing of minoritised ethnic groups with chronic conditions or impairments: protocol for the mixed methods intersectional asset-based study CICADA

The pandemic has inequitably impacted the experiences of people living with ill health/impairments or from minoritised ethnic groups across all areas of life. Given possible parallels in inequities for disabled people and people from minoritised ethnic backgrounds, their existence before the pandemic and increase since, and the discriminations that each group faces, our interest is in understanding the interplay between being disabled AND being from a minoritised ethnic group. OBJECTIVE: The overarching aim of the CICADA project, building on this understanding, is to improve pandemic and longer-term support networks and access to and experiences of care, services and resources for these under-served groups, both during the pandemic and longer term, reducing inequities and enhancing social, health and wellbeing outcomes. METHODS: This mixed methods study involves three 'sweeps' of a new UK survey, secondary analyses of existing cohort and panel surveys, a rapid scoping review, a more granular review, and qualitative insights from over 200 semi-structured interviews including social network/map/photo elicitation methods, and two subsequent sets of remote participatory research workshops. Separate stakeholder co-creation meetings, running through the study, will develop analyses and outputs. Our longitudinal study design enables us to explore significant relationships between variables in the survey data we collect, and also changes in variables with time, including consideration of varying pandemic contexts. The qualitative data will provide more granular detail. We will take a strengths and assets-based approach, underpinned by the social model of disability and by intersectional considerations, to challenge discrimination. Our exploration of the social determinants of health and wellbeing is framed by the social ecological model. RESULTS: The CICADA project was funded by the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Programme of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in March 2021 and began in May 2021. Further work within the project (84 interviews) was commissioned in March 2022, focussing on mental health specifically in North-East England, Greater Manchester and the North-West Coast. Data collection began in August 2021, with the last participants due to be recruited in September 2022. As of January 2022, 5,792 survey respondents and 227 interviewees had provided data. From April 2022, the time of article submission, we will recruit participants for the sub-study and wave 2 of the surveys and qualitative work. We expect results to be published by winter 2022. CONCLUSIONS: In studying the experiences of disabled people with impairments and those living with chronic conditions who come from certain minoritised ethnic groups, we are aiming for transformative research to improve their health and wellbeing

Internet-based interventions for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease

Background The Internet could provide a means of delivering secondary prevention programmes to people with coronary heart disease (CHD). Objectives To determine the effectiveness of Internet-based interventions targeting lifestyle changes and medicines management for the secondary prevention of CHD. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, EMBASE, in December 2014. We also searched six other databases in October 2014, and three trials registers in January 2015 together with reference checking and handsearching to identify additional studies. Selection criteria Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating Internet-delivered secondary prevention interventions aimed at people with CHD. Data collection and analysis Two review authors independently assessed risk of bias and extracted data according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. We assessed evidence quality using the GRADE approach and presented this in a 'Summary of findings' table

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Sequential approach to joint flow-seismic inversion for improved characterization of fractured media

Seismic interpretation of subsurface structures is traditionally performed without any account of flow behavior. Here we present a methodology for characterizing fractured geologic reservoirs by integrating flow and seismic data. The key element of the proposed approach is the identification—within the inversion—of the intimate relation between fracture compliance and fracture transmissivity, which determine the acoustic and flow responses of a fractured reservoir, respectively. Owing to the strong (but highly uncertain) dependence of fracture transmissivity on fracture compliance, the modeled flow response in a fractured reservoir is highly sensitive to the geophysical interpretation. By means of synthetic models, we show that by incorporating flow data (well pressures and tracer breakthrough curves) into the inversion workflow, we can simultaneously reduce the error in the seismic interpretation and improve predictions of the reservoir flow dynamics. While the inversion results are robust with respect to noise in the data for this synthetic example, the applicability of the methodology remains to be tested for more complex synthetic models and field cases.Eni-MIT Energy Initiative Founding Member ProgramKorea (South). Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs (15AWMP-B066761-03