A comparison of active learning and direct instruction on college students enrolled in two classes of introductory photography

The purpose of this study was to learn about teaching methods and their effects on achievement and skill. The problem was to investigate the effects of both active learning and direct instruction (lecture/demonstration) on students\u27 ability to produce a continuous tone, ten step gray scale, black and white photographic print. The researcher arranged for a college instructor of photography to teach two intact classes of General Photography using the two instructional methods. The objectives for both classes were the same. Each student in both groups completed eight photographic assignments. After twelve (12) weeks of instruction and studio/lab work, each student in both groups was then asked to produce one criterion print. Those prints were rated by two photography experts using a five point Likert scale. Each photograph was evaluated by both judges and each print was assigned a score from one to five for range of tone. The data were organized into a one dimensional design for differences. A t-test for independent samples was used to determine the mean difference between experimental and control groups. There was no statistically significant difference found for type of instruction

Personality Profiles of Iditasport Ultra-marathon Participants

Each February, competitors convene in Big Lake, Alaska, to participate in the “Iditasport Human Powered Ultra-Marathon”. Who would attempt this challenging race? Personality might be one factor predicting participation. Iditasport represents a unique athletic event with a distinctive social and psychological climate that might be reflected in the personalities of the participants in many ways. This study was designed to identify the personality profile of Iditasport athletes when compared to normative populations and to explore differences between athletes competing in different race divisions

Transition to SCPHN:The effects of returning to student status

Qualified nurses returning to student status is not well researched within nursing. The aim of the study is to ascertain the effect that returning to student status has on autonomous practitioners embarking on the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing programme. Enabling participants to voice their opinions and be heard aims to provide a greater understanding of the effect that such transition has on individuals. With such insight, those engaged in the preparation of such practitioners, namely lecturers and practice teachers will have a greater appreciation of the impact that returning to student status has—equipping them with heightened awareness for future transition.A total of 16 participants consisting of school nurses and health visitors took part in this study. The study was designed in two phases, consisting of a demographic questionnaire and a non-directive interview.Six key themes emerged: initial feelings, effects from academia, effects from clinical, support provision, personal effects and exit feelings. The student title created such a strong feeling of loss highlighting a clear need to retain identity, status and credibility. Coupled with the effects of relinquishing autonomy, one questions and would encourage change in practice when introducing forthcoming students while utilising previous knowledge and skills as a platform for learning

Extinction map of the Small Magellanic Cloud based on SIRIUS and 6X 2MASS point source catalogs

In this paper, we present the first extinction map of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) constructed using the color excess at near-infrared wavelengths. Using a new technique named "X percentile method", which we developed recently to measure the color excess of dark clouds embedded within a star distribution, we have derived an E(J – H) map based on the SIRIUS and 6X Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) star catalogs. Several dark clouds are detected in the map derived from the SIRIUS star catalog, which is deeper than the 6X 2MASS catalog. We have compared the E(J – H) map with a model calculation in order to infer the locations of the clouds along the line of sight, and found that many of them are likely to be located in or elongated toward the far side of the SMC. Most of the dark clouds found in the E(J – H) map have counterparts in the CO clouds detected by Mizuno et al. with the NANTEN telescope. A comparison of the E(J – H) map with the virial mass derived from the CO data indicates that the dust-to-gas ratio in the SMC varies in the range A_V /N_H = 1-2 × 10^(–22) mag H^-1 cm^2 with a mean value of ~1.5 × 10^(–22) mag H^-1 cm^2. If the virial mass underestimates the true cloud mass by a factor of ~2, as recently suggested by Bot et al., the mean value would decrease to ~8×10^(–23) mag H^-1 cm^2, in good agreement with the value reported by Gordon et al., 7.59 × 10^(–23) mag H^-1 cm^2

Exploring Turnover Among Nurse Managers, Directors, and Executives in Acute Care Hospitals

Background: The strength and quality of the nursing leader workforce is associated with staff nurse retention and patient outcomes. While leadership turnover is not always negative, there is still uncertainty, loss of program continuity, power shifts within an organization, and significant expense for the organization in recruiting and integrating a new leader. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore intent to leave and turnover experiences of acute care nurse managers, directors, and executives. Methods: For this nationwide survey, recruitment was done via snowball sampling through state hospital associations and professional organizations across the US with a resulting sample of 2131 participants. Data was collected in an online survey. Results: Over half of respondents intend to leave their current positions within 5 years, and intention is not different across the three groups. Intent to leave and reasons for leaving differ by type of nurse leader with directors and executives citing retirement as one of the top three reasons for intent to leave (35.3% and 48.4%, respectively) which will result in a permanent loss of nurse leaders from the workforce. Burnout is listed as a reason for managers and directors, but not executives. Career progression is also cited as a top reason in all groups implying a desire to remain in administrative nursing.Differences in education exist with higher-ranking leaders being more likely to hold graduate degrees. Factors analysis for the Nurse Leader Environmental Support Survey revealed three factors associated with intent to leave: congruence with organizational culture, professional vulnerability, and workplace relationships. Nurse managers report the most vulnerability and least congruence with organizational culture both of which are correlated to job satisfaction. Nurse executives are more likely to have experienced involuntary job loss (18.2%) than managers (6.0%) and directors (12.0%). Reasons include termination, coerced resignation, facility closure, or elimination during a restructuring or merger. Conclusion: These nurse leaders experience turnover and intent to leave differently. Impending retirement and desire for promotion highlight a need for career development and active succession planning. This study has implications for management development and graduate education programs in program development and student recruitment

Management of atraumatic shoulder instability in physiotherapy (MASIP): a survey of physiotherapy practice

© The Author(s). 2021 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Background: The impact of atraumatic shoulder instability (ASI) on patients can be extensive, its management complex, with a biopsychosocial approach recommended. Currently how physiotherapists manage ASI is unknown or the extent to which current clinical practice aligns with existing evidence. At the time of this study no national guidelines or consensus to direct practice existed.  Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed between July-September 2018, targeting UK-based physiotherapists managing shoulder pathology. Respondents were invited to describe their management of ASI, and rate their awareness and utilisation of various treatment techniques on a Likert-scale; median and interquartile ranges were calculated. Free text survey items were analysed using quantitative content analysis (QCA) to identify codes and categories. Means and percentages were calculated to summarise QCA and descriptive data.  Results: Valid survey responses were analysed (n = 135). Respondents had between 2 and 39 years of physiotherapy experience (mean = 13.9 years); the majority (71.1 %) reported that ASI made up 90 % citing the Stanmore Classification. Physiotherapists adapted their management according to clinical presentation, responding to differing biopsychosocial needs of the patient scenario. Most respondents (> 80 %) did not use a protocol to guide their management. Exercise was the most utilised management approach for ASI, followed by education; novel treatment strategies, including cortical rehabilitation, were also reported.  Conclusion: Findings indicate physiotherapists utilise a wide range of treatment strategies and respond to biopsychosocial cues when managing patients with ASI. The majority reported not being very confident in managing this condition, however only a minority use rehabilitation protocols to support their management. Some interventions that respondents reported using lacked evidence to support their use in ASI management and further research regarding effectiveness is required. Guidelines have been published since this survey; the impact of these will need evaluating to determine their effectiveness in the future.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Liothyronine for hypothyroidism: A candidate for disinvestment or in need of further research?:A value of information analysis

OBJECTIVE: Medicines with limited evidence of effectiveness are prime candidates for disinvestment. However, investment in further research may be preferable to deimplementation, given that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, and research can inform formulary decisions. A case in point is liothyronine, which is sometimes prescribed to levothyroxine-treated patients who continue to experience hypothyroid symptoms. It is a putative low value medicine, associated with uncertainties in both clinical and cost-effectiveness. The aim was to assess the cost-effectiveness of liothyronine in this context, and estimate the value of conducting further research. DESIGN: Cost utility and value of information analyses. SETTING: Primary care within the National Health Service in the UK. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-four levothyroxine-treated patients with persistent symptoms of hypothyroidism. INTERVENTIONS: Liothyronine plus levothyroxine versus levothyroxine alone. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained, and the expected monetary value of sample information. RESULTS: 20/54 (37%) of patients who responded to the survey reported severe problems in carrying out usual activities of everyday living and 12/54 (22%) reported severe anxiety or depression symptoms. Mean (SD) utility was 0.53 (0.23). The differences in expected total, 10-year costs and QALYs between a treatment strategy of liothyronine/levothyroxine combination therapy, and levothyroxine alone, was £12 053 and 1.014, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of £11 881 per QALY gained was sensitive to the price of liothyronine. The probability of liothyronine/levothyroxine combination therapy being cost effective at a threshold of £20 000 per QALY was 0.56. The value of reducing uncertainty in the efficacy of treatment was £3.64 m per year in the UK. CONCLUSIONS: A definitive clinical trial to confirm clinical effectiveness may be preferable to immediate disinvestment, and would be justified given the value of the information gained far exceeds the cost

Adaptive Non-Inferiority Margins under Observable Non-Constancy

A central assumption in the design and conduct of non-inferiority trials is that the active-control therapy will have the same degree of effectiveness in the planned non-inferiority trial as it had in the prior placebo-controlled trials used to define the non-inferiority margin. This is referred to as the `constancy\u27 assumption. If the constancy assumption fails, the chosen non-inferiority margin is not valid and the study runs the risk of approving an inferior product or failing to approve a beneficial product. The constancy assumption cannot be validated in a trial without a placebo arm, and it is unlikely ever to be met completely. However, it is often the case that there exist strong, measurable predictors of constancy, such as dosing and adherence, and such predictors can be used to identify situations where the constancy assumption will likely fail. Here we propose a method for using measurable predictors of active-control effectiveness to specify non-inferiority margins targeted to the planned study population, and further use these predictors to adapt the non-inferiority margin at the end of the study. Population-specific margins can help avoid violations of the constancy assumption, and adaptive margins can help adjust for violations that will inevitably occur in real clinical trials, while at the same time maintain pre-specified levels of type I error and power