Sample records for discussed offer background

  1. Learning Group Formation for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prabhakar, Sankalp; Zaiane, Osmar R.

    2017-01-01

    Massive open online courses (MOOCs) describe platforms where users with completely different backgrounds subscribe to various courses on offer. MOOC forums and discussion boards offer learners a medium to communicate with each other and maximize their learning outcomes. However, oftentimes learners are hesitant to approach each other for different…

  2. The Cultured Word: Cultural Background, Bilingualism, and the School Library.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Agosto, Denise E.

    2001-01-01

    Presents major research related to cultural background as a framework for textual meaning-making, bilingualism, and literacy development. Discusses bilingualism, literacy, and social context; considers why these issues are important to school librarians; and offers suggestions for making multicultural materials central aspects of school library…

  3. Public School Accountability. Background Paper 95-14.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sturm, H. Pepper

    This paper describes the background of various accountability systems, discusses policy issues related to the use of educational accountability information, and offers a history of the school-accountability law in Nevada. The paper concludes that because policymakers continue to express concerns about uniform measurements and comparability, it is…

  4. Postgraduate Education in the People's Republic of China.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shiqi, Huang

    The historical background and development of postgraduate education in the People's Republic of China (PRC) are discussed. Before the founding of PRC, there were only a few higher education institutions that offered postgraduate programs at the master's level. No doctoral programs were offered and no doctorates were awarded in old China. Before…

  5. LWIR detector requirements for low-background space applications

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Deluccia, Frank J.

    1990-01-01

    Detection of cold bodies (200 to 300 K) against space backgrounds has many important applications, both military and non-military. The detector performance and design characteristics required to support low-background applications are discussed, with particular emphasis on those characteristics required for space surveillance. The status of existing detector technologies under active development for these applications is also discussed. In order to play a role in future systems, new, potentially competing detector technologies such as multiple quantum well detectors must not only meet system-derived requirements, but also offer distinct performance or other advantages over these incumbent technologies.

  6. "Techne" and Technical Communication: Toward a Dialogue.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gordon, Jay

    2002-01-01

    Offers background on how the term "techne" was used up through the fourth century BCE. Discusses how modern discourse on technical communication both converges with and departs from Plato's and Aristotle's statements on the relationship between "techne" and rhetoric. Points out areas for further discussion as teachers of…

  7. The Curricular Integration of Ethics: Theory and Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lisman, C. David

    This book offers philosophical and pedagogical background to help faculty and academic administrators integrate ethics into curricula. The volume suggests the most appropriate way is through instructor-guided discussion of ethical issues relevant to course objectives. The book demonstrates how providing ethical discussions of relevant ethical…

  8. A Discussion of Art Therapy as a Science.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gantt, Linda M.

    1998-01-01

    Examines four factors that may cause art therapists to reject the scientific method. Gives an overview of historical developments in science to provide a background for a discussion of each factor. Includes material from anthropology, psychoanalysis, and alternative health care. Offers suggestions for training art therapists in scientific…

  9. Effects of Food Products on Behavior, Learning Abilities, and Social Relationships in Preschool and Elementary School Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crews, Cecilia N.

    A kindergarten teacher reviews research findings on aspects of children's diet that may influence behavior and the ability to learn. Introductory discussion presents vignettes relating kindergarten children's behavioral responses to dietary intake. A brief background section offering dietary tips is followed by relatively extended discussions of…

  10. A novel nano-photonics biosensor concept for rapid molecular diagnostics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klunder, Dion J. W.; van Herpen, Maarten M. J. W.; Kolesnychenko, Aleksey; Hornix, Eefje; Kahya, Nicoletta; de Boer, Ruth; Stapert, Henk

    2008-04-01

    We present a novel nano-photonics biosensor concept that offers an ultra-high surface specificity and excellent suppression of background signals due to the sample fluid on top of the biosensor. In our contribution, we will briefly discuss the operation principle and fabrication of the biosensor, followed by a more detailed discussion on the experimentally determined performance parameters. Recent results on detection of fluorescently labeled molecules in a highly fluorescent background will be shown, and we will give an outlook on real-time detection of bio-molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids.

  11. Bolometers for millimeter-wave Cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bock, James J.

    2002-05-01

    Bolometers offer high sensitivity for observations of the cosmic microwave background, Sunyaev-Zel'Dovich effect in clusters, and far-infrared galaxies. Near background-limited performance may be realized even under the low background conditions available from a space-borne platform. We discuss the achieved performance of silicon nitride micromesh (`spider web') bolometers readout by NTD Ge thermistors. We are developing arrays of such bolometers coupled to single-mode feedhorns. CMB polarization may be studies using a new absorber geometry allowing simultaneous detection of both linear polarizations in a single feedhorn with two individual detectors. Finally we discuss a new bolometer architecture consisting of an array of slot antennae coupled to filters and bolometers via superconducting microstrip. .

  12. Chicano.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Mark M.

    2002-01-01

    Presents information about the duo exhibit, "CHICANO," and provides background information about Chicano culture. Offers a discussion on artists in the exhibition, such as Carmen Lomas Garza, Leo Limon, Cesar Martinez, and Patssi Valdez. Includes reproductions of art works in the exhibit. (CMK)

  13. Recent Work with the Transuranium Elements

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Seaborg, Glenn T.

    1958-11-01

    In this discussion of the heaviest known elements, the author describes some recent research which appears to offer the most promise for future investigations. As a general background, the author reviews briefly the history and properties of the transuranium elements.

  14. Reference Revolutions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mason, Marilyn Gell

    1998-01-01

    Describes developments in Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) electronic reference services. Presents a background on networked cataloging and the initial implementation of reference services by OCLC. Discusses the introduction of OCLC FirstSearch service, which today offers access to over 65 databases, future developments in integrated…

  15. Music Teachers and Music Therapists: Helping Children Together.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patterson, Allyson

    2003-01-01

    Provides background information on music therapy. Discusses how music therapy works in the public school setting and offers advice to music teachers. Explores music therapy and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, addressing the benefits of having access to music therapists. (CMK)

  16. Integrating Creativity into Online University Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muirhead, Brent

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the author provides a concise discussion on creativity, defining the term, sharing theoretical background information and offering insights into promoting creativity in online university classes. Emphasis will be placed on relevant ways to integrate creativity into instructional activities across the academic disciplines. He…

  17. The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS): A Nanosecond Time Scale Stereoscopic Array Trigger System.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krennrich, Frank; Buckley, J.; Byrum, K.; Dawson, J.; Drake, G.; Horan, D.; Krawzcynski, H.; Schroedter, M.

    2008-04-01

    Imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays (VERITAS, HESS) have shown unprecedented background suppression capabilities for reducing cosmic-ray induced air showers, muons and night sky background fluctuations. Next-generation arrays with on the order of 100 telescopes offer larger collection areas, provide the possibility to see the air shower from more view points on the ground, have the potential to improve the sensitivity and give additional background suppression. Here we discuss the design of a fast array trigger system that has the potential to perform a real time image analysis allowing substantially improved background rate suppression at the trigger level.

  18. Encouraging Creativity in Online University Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muirhead, Brent

    2005-01-01

    Educational and business literature affirms the importance and value of creativity. Unfortunately, this knowledge is not always presented in a manner that is useful to online instructors who want to integrate more reflective lessons into their courses. The discussion will provide vital background information on creativity and offer relevant…

  19. HEALTH AND NUTRITION LESSON PLANS AND STUDENT WORKSHEETS, ADULT BASIC EDUCATION.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York State Education Dept., Albany.

    THIS MANUAL PROVIDES ADULT BASIC EDUCATION TEACHERS WITH LESSON PLANS IN HEALTH AND NUTRITION. EACH LESSON CONTAINS BACKGROUND MATERIAL OFFERING SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE SUBJECT OF EACH LESSON, AIMS, LESSON DEVELOPMENT, AND TWO STUDENT WORKSHEETS. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ARE SUGGESTED TO ENCOURAGE THE GREATEST POSSIBLE STUDENT INVOLVEMENT. THE TEN…

  20. Cross-National Online Discussions with U.S. and Hong Kong Education Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Commander, Nanette Evans; Ku, Kelly Y. L.; Ashong, Carol; Gallagher, Peggy; Deng, Lisa; Li, Sandy

    2016-01-01

    International activities in higher education are increasing as faculty prepare students to interact with others from different cultural backgrounds. Although exposure to different cultures is often accomplished through study abroad, there is a need to offer alternative and/or additional experiences that develop increased cultural awareness. This…

  1. Mentoring Doctoral Students through Scholastic Engagement: Adult Learning Principles in Action

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mullen, Carol A.; Fish, Valorie L.; Hutinger, Janice L.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this discussion is to explore a graduate intervention that was aimed at promoting the understanding, empowerment, and skills building of doctoral students in education. Addressed are mentoring and learning frameworks, background issues, the pedagogical context, study details, thematic results, and implications. The authors offer a…

  2. High Performance Computing and Networking for Science--Background Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Office of Technology Assessment.

    The Office of Technology Assessment is conducting an assessment of the effects of new information technologies--including high performance computing, data networking, and mass data archiving--on research and development. This paper offers a view of the issues and their implications for current discussions about Federal supercomputer initiatives…

  3. An Experimental Approach to Mathematical Modeling in Biology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ledder, Glenn

    2008-01-01

    The simplest age-structured population models update a population vector via multiplication by a matrix. These linear models offer an opportunity to introduce mathematical modeling to students of limited mathematical sophistication and background. We begin with a detailed discussion of mathematical modeling, particularly in a biological context.…

  4. Apples to Oranges: Benchmarking Vocational Education and Training Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bogetoft, Peter; Wittrup, Jesper

    2017-01-01

    This paper discusses methods for benchmarking vocational education and training colleges and presents results from a number of models. It is conceptually difficult to benchmark vocational colleges. The colleges typically offer a wide range of course programmes, and the students come from different socioeconomic backgrounds. We solve the…

  5. High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Web Lesson.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Constitutional Rights Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.

    This lesson presents an overview of the U. S. Constitution's provision of impeachment as the method for removing the president, vice president, federal judges, and other federal officials from office. The lesson outlines and discusses the impeachment process. It also offers historical background on the framing of the Constitution and on Presidents…

  6. Cell separation: Terminology and practical considerations

    PubMed Central

    Tomlinson, Sophie; Yang, Xuebin B; Kirkham, Jennifer

    2013-01-01

    Cell separation is a powerful tool in biological research. Increasing usage, particularly within the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine communities, means that researchers from a diverse range of backgrounds are utilising cell separation technologies. This review aims to offer potential solutions to cell sorting problems and to clarify common ambiguities in terminology and experimental design. The frequently used cell separation terms of ‘purity’, ‘recovery’ and ‘viability’ are discussed, and attempts are made to reach a consensus view of their sometimes ambiguous meanings. The importance of appropriate experimental design is considered, with aspects such as marker expression, tissue isolation and original cell population analysis discussed. Finally, specific technical issues such as cell clustering, dead cell removal and non-specific antibody binding are considered and potential solutions offered. The solutions offered may provide a starting point to improve the quality of cell separations achieved by both the novice and experienced researcher alike. PMID:23440031

  7. Using "Talking History" To Teach Oral History and the Post-World War II Era.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drake, Sarah E.

    2003-01-01

    Discusses an oral history project in which students interview a member of the Baby Boomer generation. Explains that the fourth episode of the "Talking History" series, "Greatest Generation," offers students background information before starting the project. Describes how the teacher can prepare and guide students through the interviews. (CMK)

  8. Not Just Another Single Issue: Teen Pregnancy Prevention's Link to Other Critical Social Issues.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Washington, DC.

    This report discusses critical social issues linked to teen pregnancy, explaining that teen pregnancy prevention should be viewed as working to improve these social issues. After providing general background on teen pregnancy, the report offers five fact sheets: (1) "Teen Pregnancy, Welfare Dependency, and Poverty" (continuing to reduce…

  9. The American Indian Social Studies Curriculum Activity Guide, Grades 9-12.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stutzman, Esther

    Designed to provide supplementary information on American Indians for the teaching of American history, the activity guide for grades 9-12 offers background knowledge and suggested discussion topics for students. Contents of the guide include: a historical timeline outlining major events from 15,000 B.C. to the present; Hollywood's influence on…

  10. Nho Lobo: Folk Tales of the Cape Verdean People. Teacher's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nyhan, Patricia; Almeida, Raymond A.

    The teacher's guide presents two Cape Verdean folktales, background information, discussion questions, and activity suggestions for grades 4-6. The objective is to teach students about Cape Verde and its culture through folklore. The guide contains five sections. Section I offers a description of Cape Verdean folklore, describes five ways folklore…

  11. Prenatal Care: A Content-Based ESL Curriculum.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hassel, Elissa Anne

    A content-based curriculum in English as a Second Language (ESL) focusing on prenatal self-care is presented. The course was designed as a solution to the problem of inadequate prenatal care for limited-English-proficient Mexican immigrant women. The first three sections offer background information on and discussion of (1) content-based ESL…

  12. A New Comprehensive Educational Group Program for Older Adults with Cognitive Complaints: Background, Content, and Process Evaluation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoogenhout, Esther M.; de Groot, Renate H. M.; Jolles, Jelle

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive group intervention for older adults with cognitive complaints. It offers psychoeducation about cognitive aging and contextual factors, focuses on skills and compensatory behavior, and incorporates group discussion. The intervention reduced negative emotional reactions towards cognitive functioning in a…

  13. A New Perspective on Teamwork in Teaching: A Report on German Lectures in the Biological Sciences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brancaforte, Charlotte; And Others

    1976-01-01

    A university German department cooperated with the Zoology Department to offer a series of 13 lectures in biology, delivered in German by university scientists on their fields of research. This report discusses the background and atmosphere of the project, evaluates its effects and suggests improvements. (CHK)

  14. The Bill of Rights in Action, 1996-1999.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayes, Bill, Ed.

    1999-01-01

    These newsletter volumes deal with topics in U.S. history, world history, and U.S. government relating to the Bill of Rights. The newsletters present background information for classroom reading, in some instances provide a list of topical issues, and offer activities for discussion and writing. Some of the topics considered in the newsletters…

  15. Take It Back: A Manual for Fighting Slurs on Campus.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    2003

    This manual provides information on fighting verbal harassment on the school campus. Chapter 1, "Background," discusses the history and power analysis of vebal abuse and offers statistics about slurs and harassment (the widespread use of slurs, the damaging effect of slurs on people who are targeted by them, and how infrequently efforts…

  16. Comparing the Emancipation Proclamation and the Russian Emancipation Manifesto.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keller, Clair W.

    1989-01-01

    Offers a lesson plan for comparing the ideas and context of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on September 22, 1862, and the Emancipation Manifesto issued on March 3, 1861, by Alexander II of Russia. Gives background information on the Emancipation Manifesto, discusses preparation and lesson procedures, and suggests…

  17. International medical students – a survey of perceived challenges and established support services at medical faculties

    PubMed Central

    Huhn, D.; Junne, F.; Zipfel, S.; Duelli, R.; Resch, F.; Herzog, W.; Nikendei, C.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Medical students with a non-German background face several challenges during their studies. Besides support given by foreign student offices further specific projects for international students have been developed and are offered by medical faculties. However, so far, neither a systematic survey of the faculties’ perceived problems nor of the offered support exists. Method: All study deaneries of medical faculties in Germany were contacted between April and October 2013 and asked for their participation in a telephone interview. Interview partners were asked about 1.) The percentage of non-German students at the medical faculty; 2.) The perceived difficulties and problems of foreign students; 3.) The offers for non-German students; and 4.) The specification of further possibilities of support. Given information was noted, frequencies counted and results interpreted via frequency analysis. Results: Only 39% of the medical faculties could give detailed information about the percentage of non-German students. They reported an average share of 3.9% of students with an EU migration background and 4.9% with a non-EU background. Most frequently cited offers are student conducted tutorials, language courses and tandem-programs. The most frequently reported problem by far is the perceived lack of language skills of foreign students at the beginning of their studies. Suggested solutions are mainly the development of tutorials and the improvement of German medical terminology. Discussion: Offers of support provided by medical faculties for foreign students vary greatly in type and extent. Support offered is seen to be insufficient in coping with the needs of the international students in many cases. Hence, a better coverage of international students as well as further research efforts to the specific needs and the effectiveness of applied interventions seem to be essential. PMID:25699112

  18. Managing Asbestos in Place: A Building Owner's Guide to Operations and Maintenance Programs for Asbestos-Containing Materials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

    Instructions for building owners on the selection and application of appropriate asbestos control and abatement actions are presented in this guidebook. Chapter 1 offers background information on the asbestos problem. Chapter 2 describes the purpose and scope of an operations and maintenance (O&M) program. The third chapter discusses planning…

  19. Responding to Individual Needs in Head Start: A Head Start Series on Needs Assessment. Part 1: Working with the Individual Child.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Child Development Services Bureau (DHEW/OCD), Washington, DC. Project Head Start.

    This manual, designed for Head Start staff, parents, and others working with handicapped and/or nonhandicapped children, gives general background information on physical, emotional, and cognitive disabilities and offers practical suggestions for handling classroom problems related to these disabilities. Staff planning is discussed in relation to…

  20. The Whole Shebang: How Science Produced the Big Bang Model.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferris, Timothy

    2002-01-01

    Offers an account of the accumulation of evidence that has led scientists to have confidence in the big bang theory of the creation of the universe. Discusses the early work of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, noting the rise of astrophysics, and highlighting the birth of the big bang model (the cosmic microwave background theory…

  1. Discussion. Think SMART, Not Hard--A Review of Teaching Decision Making in Sport from an Ecological Rationality Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raab, Markus

    2007-01-01

    Background: Recent developments of theories for teaching decision making in sport offer a large variety of applications for the context of physical education. Purpose: This review of current models of teaching tactical skills concludes that most models incorporate different cognitive learning mechanisms, such as implicit and explicit learning, and…

  2. Sound Off: The Myth of Differentiation in Mathematics--Providing Maximum Growth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Roark, Jason Lee

    2013-01-01

    After serving as a high school math teacher in Maryland for three years, the author moved to teaching sixth-grade math. His high school background led him to differentiate differently than his colleagues. The article discusses his observations and his conclusions and offers a plan to implement changes in the way mathematics is taught through…

  3. Enhancing the Study of Art and Community through Service-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Law, Sophia Suk-mun

    2012-01-01

    Background: In his discussion of higher education, Fred Newman (1985) explained that university graduates should "have a profound understanding of what it means to be a citizen", and be "capable of an interest larger than self-interest" (p. xiv). "Art and Well Being", an elective course offered by the Department of Visual Studies at Lingnan,…

  4. A Classroom Experiment in Marketing: Innovative Methods for the Teaching of Business French.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herman, Gerald

    Techniques and approaches used in a commercial French course offered at a state university are outlined. The course objective is to prepare American students for potential business experience or dealings in a French-speaking country. After background information about the course structure is given, the discussion focuses on the marketing segment,…

  5. Imagining the Possibilities: Qualitative Inquiry at the Intersections of Race, Gender, Disability, and Class

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Petersen, Amy J.

    2012-01-01

    This paper reflects upon the methodology and methods of a qualitative study that examined the lived educational experiences of four African-American women labeled with disabilities and from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This paper offers discussion as to the usefulness of alternate methods of representing data, specifically poetry and narrative,…

  6. Current Issues: Critical Issues Confronting the Nation and the World. 1997 Edition [and] Teacher's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Close Up Foundation, Arlington, VA.

    This student text and teacher's guide feature current events and policy issues that are in discussion today. The books offer background on 20 important domestic and foreign policy issues and present arguments from both sides of key issues. The books are divided into three sections. Section 1, "The Federal Government," contains: (1) "The Clinton…

  7. Lesson Plan Manual, a Series of Lesson Plans and Worksheets on Consumer Education and Student Worksheets for Consumer Education Lesson Plans, Adult Basic Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York State Education Dept., Albany.

    This manual provides teachers with lesson plans in consumer education. Each lesson contains background material offering the teacher specific information on the subject of the lesson, development of understandings, student worksheets, and discussion questions to encourage student involvement. The ten lesson plans are--Buying on time, Retail…

  8. Subject Knowledge Enhancement Courses for Creating New Chemistry and Physics Teachers: The Students' Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tynan, Richard; Jones, Robert Bryn; Mallaburn, Andrea; Clays, Ken

    2016-01-01

    Subject knowledge enhancement (SKE) courses are one option open in England to graduates with a science background whose first degree content is judged to be insufficient to train to become chemistry or physics teachers. Previous articles in "School Science Review" have discussed the structure of one type of extended SKE course offered at…

  9. Coretta Scott King Award Winner Javaka Steptoe Stands Tall "In Daddy's Arms."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peck, Jackie; Hendershot, Judy

    1999-01-01

    Offers an interview with artist and author Javaka Steptoe, winner of the Coretta Scott King award for his book "In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers." Discusses his background in the arts, the variety of media he uses, how he begins thinking about his illustrations, his work with children's art, and aspects of his work.…

  10. Gamma-rays and the case for baryon symmetric big-bang cosmology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stecker, F. W.

    1977-01-01

    The baryon symmetric big-bang cosmologies offer an explanation of the present photon-baryon ratio in the universe, the best present explanation of the diffuse gamma-ray background spectrum in the 1-200 MeV range, and a mechanism for galaxy formation. In regard to He production, evidence is discussed that nucleosynthesis of He may have taken place after the galaxies were formed.

  11. Leadership training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in Bulgaria

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bairaktarova, Diana; Cox, Monica F.; Evangelou, Demetra

    2011-12-01

    This synthesis paper explores current leadership training in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Bulgaria. The analysis begins with discussion of global factors influencing the implementation of leadership training in STEM education in general and then presents information about the current status of leadership training in Bulgaria with emphases on the country's economics, politics and geographical location as specific factors influencing leadership education. A short background of Bulgaria is presented with regard to population, gross domestic product, educational system, engineering force and possible need for leaders in industry in Bulgaria and the European Union. The paper provides an overall view about the current status of leadership training in all Bulgarian universities offering STEM education and concentrates specifically on two major universities by examining their currently offered programmes. As part of the discussion, similar training elements in other European countries and the USA are presented.

  12. Examining the Effects of Childhood Cancer on the Parental Subsystem: Implications for Parents and Health Care Professionals-Part 3.

    PubMed

    Moules, Nancy J; Estefan, Andrew; McCaffrey, Graham; Tapp, Dianne M; Strother, Douglas

    2016-11-01

    This article is the third part of a hermeneutic research study examining the impact of childhood cancer experiences on the parental relationship. In Part 1, we offered an exploration of the phenomenon with background literature; a description of the research question, method, and design; and finally a discussion of relationships that survived, thrived, or demised, with an emphasis on the notions of difference and trading. In Part 2, we furthered the interpretations to look at the complexities of issues such as teams, roles, focus, protection, intimacy, grieving, putting relationships on hold, and reclaiming them. In this article, we discuss the advice that the participants offered us and how that advice might have implications for other parents in similar situations and health care professionals working with families experiencing childhood cancer. © The Author(s) 2016.

  13. Gamma rays and the case for baryon symmetric big-bang cosmology

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stecker, F. W.

    1977-01-01

    The baryon symmetric big-bang cosmologies offer an explanation of the present photon-baryon ratio in the universe, the best present explanation of the diffuse gamma-ray background spectrum in the 1 to 200 MeV range, and a mechanism for galaxy formation. In the context of an open universe model, the value of omega which best fits the present gamma-ray data is omega equals approx. 0.1 which does not conflict with upper limits on Comptonization distortion of the 3K background radiation. In regard to He production, evidence is discussed that nucleosynthesis of He may have taken place after the galaxies were formed.

  14. Study for identification of beneficial uses of space, phase 1. Volume 2, book 1: Technical report, introduction, methodology, results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1973-01-01

    A study was conducted to determine the beneficial uses of space and to identify the products, processes, or services that will be best developed or produced in the unique environment offered by spacecraft. The subjects discussed are: (1) review of study background, (2) specific users and uses, (3) methodology, and (4) basic data generated and significant results.

  15. Portland Retail Druggists Association vs Abbott Laboratories et al, part 1.

    PubMed

    Greenberg, R B

    1976-06-01

    The findings of the U.S. Supreme Court, in its March 24, 1976, decision in the case of Portland Retail Druggists vs Abbott Laboratories et al, are presented. The case deals with price differentials offered to nonprofit hospitals by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Historical background leading to the case, and early rulings of a federal district court and a court of appeals, are discussed. The Supreme Court decision appears to reflect favorably on current hospital policies and procedures for drug purchasing and ambulatory care. Issues that require further clarification will be discussed in Part 2.

  16. Utilizing a MOOC as an education and outreach tool for geoscience: case study from Tokyo Tech's MOOC on "Deep Earth Science"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tagawa, S.; Okuda, Y.; Hideki, M.; Cross, S. J.; Tazawa, K.; Hirose, K.

    2016-12-01

    Massive open online courses (MOOC or MOOCs) have attracted world-wide attention as a new digital educational tool. However, utilizing MOOCs for teaching geoscience and for outreach activity are limited so far. Mainly due to the fact that few MOOCs are available on this topic. The following questions are usually asked before undertaking MOOC development. How many students will potentially enroll in a course and what kind of background knowledge do they have? What is the best way to market the course and let them learn concepts easily? How will the instructor or staff manage discussion boards and answer questions? And, more simply, is a MOOC an effective educational or outreach tool? Recently, Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) offered our first MOOC on "Deep Earth Science" on edX, which is one of the largest worldwide MOOC platforms. This brand new course was released in the Fall of 2015 and will re-open during the winter of 2016. This course contained materials such as structure of inside of the Earth, internal temperature of the earth and how it is estimated, chemical compositions and dynamics inside the earth. Although this course mainly dealt with pure scientific research content, over 5,000 students from 156 countries enrolled and 4 % of them earned a certificate of completion. In this presentation, we will share a case study based upon what we learned from offering "Deep Earth Science". At first, we will give brief introduction of our course. Then, we want to introduce tips to make a better MOOC by focusing on 1) students' motivation on studying, scientific literacy background, and completion rate, 2) offering engaging content and utilization of surveys, and 3) discussion board moderation. In the end, we will discuss advantages of utilizing a MOOC as an effective educational tool for geoscience. We welcome your ideas on MOOCs and suggestions on revising the course content.

  17. Alternative explanations of the cosmic microwave background: A historical and an epistemological perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ćirković, Milan M.; Perović, Slobodan

    2018-05-01

    We historically trace various non-conventional explanations for the origin of the cosmic microwave background and discuss their merit, while analyzing the dynamics of their rejection, as well as the relevant physical and methodological reasons for it. It turns out that there have been many such unorthodox interpretations; not only those developed in the context of theories rejecting the relativistic ("Big Bang") paradigm entirely (e.g., by Alfvén, Hoyle and Narlikar) but also those coming from the camp of original thinkers firmly entrenched in the relativistic milieu (e.g., by Rees, Ellis, Rowan-Robinson, Layzer and Hively). In fact, the orthodox interpretation has only incrementally won out against the alternatives over the course of the three decades of its multi-stage development. While on the whole, none of the alternatives to the hot Big Bang scenario is persuasive today, we discuss the epistemic ramifications of establishing orthodoxy and eliminating alternatives in science, an issue recently discussed by philosophers and historians of science for other areas of physics. Finally, we single out some plausible and possibly fruitful ideas offered by the alternatives.

  18. Discovery of the hot Big Bang: What happened in 1948

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peebles, Phillip James Edwin

    2014-04-01

    The idea that the universe is filled with the thermal radiation now termed the Cosmic Microwave Background was discussed in eleven publications in the year 1948. These papers offer a detailed example of the process of development of a new and now very productive line of research, and of the confusion that can attend new ideas. The confusion in this case left a common misunderstanding of the considerations that motivated the idea of the sea of radiation.

  19. Self-disclosure. Reconciling psychoanalytic psychotherapy and alcoholics anonymous philosophy.

    PubMed

    Mallow, A J

    1998-01-01

    Therapists working in the addictions field and practicing from a psychoanalytic psychodynamic framework are often confronted with the patient's need to know, the demand for therapist self-disclosure. Consistent with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) principles, many patients state that they cannot be helped unless the therapist is revealing of their personal background. This paper discusses the theoretical roots of therapist self-disclosure and the AA philosophy and offers suggestions for how the two might be reconciled.

  20. Technical writing practically unified through industry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Houston, L. S.

    1981-01-01

    General background details in the development of a university level technical writing program, based upon the writing tasks of the student's occupations, are summarized. Objectives and methods for unifying the courses of study with the needs of industry are discussed. Four academic course divisions, Industries Technologies, in which preparation and training are offered are: Animal, Horticulture, Agriculture, and Agricultural Business. Occupational competence is cited as the main goal for these programs in which technical writing is to be practically unified through industry. Course descriptions are also provided.

  1. Parental problems influencing the academic achievement of medical students: a prospective study.

    PubMed

    Biggs, J S; Najman, J M; Schulz, E B; Williams, G

    1991-09-01

    The 227 students offered places in the 1988 medical student intake at the University of Queensland were surveyed regarding their demographic characteristics. This was correlated with the students' subsequent performance and persistence during the first year of the medical course. Coming from a lower socioeconomic background and having family problems were both associated with either a decreased academic performance or an increased attrition rate. The results are discussed, relevant literature is reviewed and suggestions for further research are made.

  2. The Advanced Gamma-Ray Imaging System (AGIS)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Otte, Nepomuk

    The Advanced Gamma-ray Imaging System (AGIS) is a concept for the next generation of imag-ing atmospheric Cherenkov telescope arrays. It has the goal of providing an order of magnitude increase in sensitivity for Very High Energy Gamma-ray ( 100 GeV to 100 TeV) astronomy compared to currently operating arrays such as CANGAROO, HESS, MAGIC, and VERITAS. After an overview of the science such an array would enable, we discuss the development of the components of the telescope system that are required to achieve the sensitivity goal. AGIS stresses improvements in several areas of IACT technology including component reliability as well as exploring cost reduction possibilities in order to achieve its goal. We discuss alterna-tives for the telescopes and positioners: a novel Schwarzschild-Couder telescope offering a wide field of view with a relatively smaller plate scale, and possibilities for rapid slewing in order to address the search for and/or study of Gamma-ray Bursts in the VHE gamma-ray regime. We also discuss options for a high pixel count camera system providing the necessary finer solid angle per pixel and possibilities for a fast topological trigger that would offer improved realtime background rejection and lower energy thresholds.

  3. Near Sun Free-Space Optical Communications from Space

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Biswas, Abhijit; Khatri, F.; Boroson, D.

    2006-01-01

    Free-space optical communications offers expanded data return capacity, from probes distributed throughout the solar system and beyond. Space-borne and Earth-based optical transceivers used for communicating optically, will periodically encounter near Sun pointing. This will result in an increase in the scattered background light flux, often contributing to degraded link performance. The varying duration of near Sun pointing link operations relative to the location of space-probes, is discussed in this paper. The impact of near Sun pointing on link performance for a direct detection photon-counting communications system is analyzed for both ground- and space-based Earth receivers. Finally, impact of near Sun pointing on spaceborne optical transceivers is discussed.

  4. Crowdfunding: an innovative way to fund your project.

    PubMed

    Walker, Dawn-Marie

    2017-06-22

    Background Getting research funded is extremely difficult, with research councils rejecting more than 70% of grant applications ( Else 2014 ). It is even more difficult if you are a junior researcher who doesn't have a track record of being awarded grant money or leading a research project. Crowdfunding may offer a solution. It is a method of raising funds from members of the public online and can offer an alternative to the more formal methods of research funding. Aim To outline how this model works and provide tips on designing a campaign. Discussion The authors provide an overview of the literature regarding this model, as well as a set of resources for future reference when designing a campaign. Conclusion Crowdfunding can provide small amounts of money for your first project. Implications for practice It is expected that clinicians practice evidence based medicine, and research in health environments is commonplace. Crowdfunding can offer you support in becoming more engaged in research.

  5. Surface roughness: A review of its measurement at micro-/nano-scale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gong, Yuxuan; Xu, Jian; Buchanan, Relva C.

    2018-01-01

    The measurement of surface roughness at micro-/nano-scale is of great importance to metrological, manufacturing, engineering, and scientific applications given the critical roles of roughness in physical and chemical phenomena. The surface roughness of materials can significantly change the way of how they interact with light, phonons, molecules, and so forth, thus surface roughness ultimately determines the functionality and property of materials. In this short review, the techniques of measuring micro-/nano-scale surface roughness are discussed with special focus on the limitations and capabilities of each technique. In addition, the calculations of surface roughness and their theoretical background are discussed to offer readers a better understanding of the importance of post-measurement analysis. Recent progress on fractal analysis of surface roughness is discussed to shed light on the future efforts in surface roughness measurement.

  6. Services for domain specific developments in the Cloud

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schwichtenberg, Horst; Gemuend, André

    2015-04-01

    We will discuss and demonstrate the possibilities of new Cloud Services where the complete development of code is in the Cloud. We will discuss the possibilities of such services where the complete development cycle from programing to testing is in the cloud. This can be also combined with dedicated research domain specific services and hide the burden of accessing available infrastructures. As an example, we will show a service that is intended to complement the services of the VERCE projects infrastructure, a service that utilizes Cloud resources to offer simplified execution of data pre- and post-processing scripts. It offers users access to the ObsPy seismological toolbox for processing data with the Python programming language, executed on virtual Cloud resources in a secured sandbox. The solution encompasses a frontend with a modern graphical user interface, a messaging infrastructure as well as Python worker nodes for background processing. All components are deployable in the Cloud and have been tested on different environments based on OpenStack and OpenNebula. Deployments on commercial, public Clouds will be tested in the future.

  7. Covered stent graft for treatment of a pseudoaneurysm and carotid blowout syndrome

    PubMed Central

    Janjua, Nazli; Alkawi, Ammar; Georgiadis, Alexandros L.; Kirmani, Jawad F.; Qureshi, Adnan I.

    2008-01-01

    Background Carotid blowout syndrome with pseudoaneurysm, a rapidly progressive pathology, may present emergently with massive oral hemorrhage. Use of an endograft prosthesis offers a treatment strategy with salvation of the carotid artery. Case History: A 55 year old man with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck presented with recurrent transoral hemorrhage, requiring endovascular treatment. Technical Report: Coil embolization was initially performed with little impact on the hemorrhage. A 7 x 40 mm Fluency® Plus covered stent (Bard Peripheral Vascular, Tempe, Arizona, USA) was placed and was supplemented by a second 8 x 40 mm Fluency Plus stent, with resulting cessation of active contrast extravasation. Discussion: The risks and benefits of various treatment options of carotid pseudoaneurysm with blowout are discussed including the use or omission of antiplatelet and anticoagulant regimens, with reference to previously reported cases. Conclusion: Tandem, overlapping covered stent placement in the common carotid artery is feasible and offers a treatment option for carotid blowout syndrome. Risks of aggravation of hemorrhage versus long-term thromboembolic events without antiplatelet therapy must be considered in cases of active ongoing hemorrhage. PMID:22518207

  8. Vignettes: diverse library staff offering diverse bioinformatics services*

    PubMed Central

    Osterbur, David L.; Alpi, Kristine; Canevari, Catharine; Corley, Pamela M.; Devare, Medha; Gaedeke, Nicola; Jacobs, Donna K.; Kirlew, Peter; Ohles, Janet A.; Vaughan, K.T.L.; Wang, Lili; Wu, Yongchun; Geer, Renata C.

    2006-01-01

    Objectives: The paper gives examples of the bioinformatics services provided in a variety of different libraries by librarians with a broad range of educational background and training. Methods: Two investigators sent an email inquiry to attendees of the “National Center for Biotechnology Information's (NCBI) Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources” or “NCBI Advanced Workshop for Bioinformatics Information Specialists (NAWBIS)” courses. The thirty-five-item questionnaire addressed areas such as educational background, library setting, types and numbers of users served, and bioinformatics training and support services provided. Answers were compiled into program vignettes. Discussion: The bioinformatics support services addressed in the paper are based in libraries with academic and clinical settings. Services have been established through different means: in collaboration with biology faculty as part of formal courses, through teaching workshops in the library, through one-on-one consultations, and by other methods. Librarians with backgrounds from art history to doctoral degrees in genetics have worked to establish these programs. Conclusion: Successful bioinformatics support programs can be established in libraries in a variety of different settings and by staff with a variety of different backgrounds and approaches. PMID:16888664

  9. Innovation in Flight: Research of the NASA Langley Research Center on Revolutionary Advanced Concepts for Aeronautics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chambers, Joseph R.

    2005-01-01

    The goal of this publication is to provide an overview of the topic of revolutionary research in aeronautics at Langley, including many examples of research efforts that offer significant potential benefits, but have not yet been applied. The discussion also includes an overview of how innovation and creativity is stimulated within the Center, and a perspective on the future of innovation. The documentation of this topic, especially the scope and experiences of the example research activities covered, is intended to provide background information for future researchers.

  10. What happened in 1948?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peebles, P. J.

    2014-01-01

    The idea that the universe is filled with the sea of thermal radiation now termed the Cosmic Microwave Background was first discussed in eleven publications in the year 1948 by Alpher, Herman, and Gamow. Precision measurements of this radiation are a central part of the evidence establishing the relativistic hot Big Bang theory of the expanding universe. The eleven 1948 papers offer a fascinating illustration of the exploration of a new line of research, and the confusion that can attend it. That includes a common misunderstanding of the considerations that led to the idea of this thermal radiation.

  11. Immigration and Health: Law, Policy, and Ethics.

    PubMed

    Parmet, Wendy E; Sainsbury-Wong, Lorianne; Prabhu, Maya

    2017-03-01

    Immigration poses numerous challenges for health professionals and public health lawyers. This article reviews these challenges. We begin by offering some background on immigration and health and then explain some of the reasons why immigrants are less likely than natives to have health insurance. Next we turn to a discussion of some of the particular challenges relating to the health care of refugees. We conclude by analyzing and rejecting some of the arguments that are made for discriminating against immigrants with respect to the provision of public health benefits and services.

  12. Programa de fortalecimiento de capacidades: reflections on a case study of community-based teacher education set in rural northern Peru

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alsop, Steve; Ames, Patricia; Arroyo, Graciela Cordero; Dippo, Don

    2010-12-01

    This article explores distinctive features of a 5-year international education development project set in rural northern Peru (PROMEB, the Proyecto de Mejoramiento de la Educación Básica). Grounded within a partnership between teacher educators from Peru, Mexico and Canada, and rural Peruvian teachers, students and their communities, we offer reflections on a teacher education initiative which sought to support action-orientated inquiries as a mechanism for school/community development. Set against a background of poverty, hunger, isolation and an "educational crisis", we outline our pedagogy and describe two projects. We then reflect on the influences of our engagements and on associated tensions and ambiguities in our methods. We hope that such discussions might offer insights for others involved in international school/community development projects of this type.

  13. Are efforts to attract graduate applicants to UK medical schools effective in increasing the participation of under-represented socioeconomic groups? A national cohort study

    PubMed Central

    Cleland, Jennifer; Greatrix, Rachel; Prescott, Gordon

    2018-01-01

    Introduction Attracting graduates was recommended as a means of diversifying the UK medical student population. Graduates now make up nearly a quarter of the total medical student population. Research to date has focused on comparing the sociodemographic characteristics of applicants to and/or students on traditional and graduate entry programmes (GEMs), yet GEMs account for only 40% of the graduate medical student population. Thus, we aimed to compare the sociodemographic characteristic and outcomes of graduates and non-graduate applicants across a range of programmes. Methods This was an observational study of 117 214 applicants to medicine who took the UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT) from 2006 to 2014 and who applied to medical school through Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). We included applicant demographics, UKCAT total score and offers in our analysis. Applicants were assigned as graduates or non-graduates on the basis of their highest qualification. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict the odds of receiving an offer, after adjusting for confounders. Results Irrespective of graduate or non-graduate status, most applicants were from the highest socioeconomic groups and were from a white ethnic background. Receiving an offer was related to gender and ethnicity in both graduates and non-graduates. After adjusting for UKCAT score, the OR of an offer for graduates versus non-graduates was approximately 0.5 (OR=0.48, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.49). Discussion Our findings indicate that the aim of diversifying the medical student population on socioeconomic grounds by attracting graduates has been only marginally successful. Graduate applicants from widening access backgrounds are less likely than others to be offered a place at medical school. Different approaches must be considered if medicine is to attract and select more socially diverse applicants. PMID:29444782

  14. Challenges and Opportunities in Interdisciplinary Materials Research Experiences for Undergraduates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vohra, Yogesh; Nordlund, Thomas

    2009-03-01

    The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) offer a broad range of interdisciplinary materials research experiences to undergraduate students with diverse backgrounds in physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, and engineering. The research projects offered cover a broad range of topics including high pressure physics, microelectronic materials, nano-materials, laser materials, bioceramics and biopolymers, cell-biomaterials interactions, planetary materials, and computer simulation of materials. The students welcome the opportunity to work with an interdisciplinary team of basic science, engineering, and biomedical faculty but the challenge is in learning the key vocabulary for interdisciplinary collaborations, experimental tools, and working in an independent capacity. The career development workshops dealing with the graduate school application process and the entrepreneurial business activities were found to be most effective. The interdisciplinary university wide poster session helped student broaden their horizons in research careers. The synergy of the REU program with other concurrently running high school summer programs on UAB campus will also be discussed.

  15. Towards AI-powered personalization in MOOC learning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Han; Miao, Chunyan; Leung, Cyril; White, Timothy John

    2017-12-01

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) represent a form of large-scale learning that is changing the landscape of higher education. In this paper, we offer a perspective on how advances in artificial intelligence (AI) may enhance learning and research on MOOCs. We focus on emerging AI techniques including how knowledge representation tools can enable students to adjust the sequence of learning to fit their own needs; how optimization techniques can efficiently match community teaching assistants to MOOC mediation tasks to offer personal attention to learners; and how virtual learning companions with human traits such as curiosity and emotions can enhance learning experience on a large scale. These new capabilities will also bring opportunities for educational researchers to analyse students' learning skills and uncover points along learning paths where students with different backgrounds may require different help. Ethical considerations related to the application of AI in MOOC education research are also discussed.

  16. JPRS report: Science and technology. Central Eurasia: Space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    1994-12-01

    Translated articles cover the following topics: plasma instabilities and space vehicles, need discussed for protection against space catastrophes, Russians offer new energy concept for space stations, Russian space projects: Martian research, multi-impulse rendezvous trajectory for two spacecraft in circular orbit, placement of spacecraft into orbit around Mars with aerobraking, model of the shielding for the inhabited compartments of the base module of the Mir station, and measurement of the background electrostatic and variable electric fields on the outer surface of the Kvant module of the Mir orbital station. There are 25 translated articles in this 28 December 1994 edition.

  17. Using Cost-Effectiveness Tests to Design CHP Incentive Programs

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tidball, Rick

    This paper examines the structure of cost-effectiveness tests to illustrate how they can accurately reflect the costs and benefits of CHP systems. This paper begins with a general background discussion on cost-effectiveness analysis of DER and then describes how cost-effectiveness tests can be applied to CHP. Cost-effectiveness results are then calculated and analyzed for CHP projects in five states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, and North Carolina. Based on the results obtained for these five states, this paper offers four considerations to inform regulators in the application of cost-effectiveness tests in developing CHP programs.

  18. Hiring an associate dean of academic affairs.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole A

    2009-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships, assistant deanships, or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  19. Effecting change in striving to achieve capacity.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole

    2007-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships and assistant or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  20. Embracing new directions in curricula and teaching.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole

    2009-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships or assistant or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  1. Addressing the underperformance of faculty and staff.

    PubMed

    Kenner, Carole; Pressler, Jana L

    2006-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming work as deans, assistant deans, or interim deans have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, both deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  2. When does outsourcing become a right source for academic excellence?

    PubMed

    Kenner, Carole; Pressler, Jana L

    2006-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships, assistant deanships, or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  3. Capitalizing on joint ventures to economize in nursing.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole A

    2010-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships, assistant, or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  4. Starting small and early for research funding.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole A

    2009-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships or assistant or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  5. The ripple effect: advancing faculty research?

    PubMed

    Kenner, Carole; Pressler, Jana L

    2008-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships or assistant or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  6. Performance evaluations and literacy.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole A

    2009-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships or assistant or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department, 2 deans, offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  7. Return on investment: an essential economics measure in higher education.

    PubMed

    Pressler, Jana L; Kenner, Carole A

    2014-01-01

    Many new nursing leaders assuming deanships, assistant deanships, or interim deanships have limited education, experience, or background to prepare them for the job. To assist new deans and those aspiring to be deans, the authors of this department offer survival tips based on their personal experiences and insights. They address common issues, challenges, and opportunities that face academic executive teams, such as negotiating an executive contract, obtaining faculty lines, building effective work teams, managing difficult employees, and creating nimble organizational structure to respond to changing consumer, healthcare delivery, and community needs. The authors welcome counterpoint discussions with readers.

  8. Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest For Undergraduates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vasel, Justin; Faesi, Chris; Drout, Maria; Newton, Elisabeth

    2013-04-01

    Astrobites (http://astrobites.com) is a daily blog aimed primarily at undergraduates interested in astrophysical research and written by a team of graduate students located at institutions around the world. Nearly every day we present a journal article recently posted to astro-ph in a brief format that is accessible to anyone with a general background in the physical sciences. In addition to summarizing new work, Astrobites provides valuable context for readers not yet familiar with the some of the background concepts and jargon present in the astrophysical literature. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. applying for an NSF graduate fellowship) and describe personal experiences (e.g. attending an astronomy summer school). The readership of astrobites has grown dramatically since our founding in fall of 2010, with individuals now accessing the site from 104 countries worldwide. We will discuss the Astrobites format, recent readership statistics, and future planned initiatives.

  9. Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest For Undergraduates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drout, Maria; Vasel, J. A.; Dressing, C. D.; Gifford, D.; Morley, C.; Hall, S.; Newton, E. R.; Astrobites Team

    2013-01-01

    Astrobites (http://astrobites.com) is a daily blog aimed primarily at undergraduates interested in astrophysical research and written by a team of graduate students located at institutions around the world. Nearly every day we present a journal article recently posted to astro-ph in a brief format that is accessible to anyone with a general background in the physical sciences. In addition to summarizing new work, Astrobites provides valuable context for readers not yet familiar with the some of the background concepts and jargon present in the astrophysical literature. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. applying for an NSF graduate fellowship) and describe personal experiences (e.g. attending an astronomy summer school). The readership of astrobites has grown dramatically since our founding in fall of 2010, with individuals now accessing the site from 104 countries worldwide. We will discuss the Astrobites format, recent readership statistics, and future planned initiatives.

  10. Self-Awareness and Cultural Identity as an Effort to Reduce Bias in Medicine.

    PubMed

    White, Augustus A; Logghe, Heather J; Goodenough, Dan A; Barnes, Linda L; Hallward, Anne; Allen, Irving M; Green, David W; Krupat, Edward; Llerena-Quinn, Roxana

    2018-02-01

    In response to persistently documented health disparities based on race and other demographic factors, medical schools have implemented "cultural competency" coursework. While many of these courses have focused on strategies for treating patients of different cultural backgrounds, very few have addressed the impact of the physician's own cultural background and offered methods to overcome his or her own unconscious biases. In hopes of training physicians to contextualize the impact of their own cultural background on their ability to provide optimal patient care, the authors created a 14-session course on culture, self-reflection, and medicine. After completing the course, students reported an increased awareness of their blind spots and that providing equitable care and treatment would require lifelong reflection and attention to these biases. In this article, the authors describe the formation and implementation of a novel medical school course on self-awareness and cultural identity designed to reduce unconscious bias in medicine. Finally, we discuss our observations and lessons learned after more than 10 years of experience teaching the course.

  11. [The history of the public health reform in Brazil and of the Sistema Único de Saúde: changes, continuities, and the current agenda].

    PubMed

    Menicucci, Telma Maria Gonçalves

    2014-01-01

    The paper offers a historical retrospective of Brazil's Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS), including its background and its legacy on its current design. It begins describing some of the system's structural problems, especially the co-existence of a public system alongside a private one. It identifies problems that have hampered a firmer solidification of SUS, while it also highlights the immense import of establishing a unified, universal system in a country the size of Brazil. The discussion includes the effects of the system, which has represented a major change in the field of social rights, introducing new actors, and internalizing the notion of health as a right. Lastly, recent developments that have put SUS on the public agenda are discussed.

  12. MeV dark matter complementarity and the dark photon portal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dutra, Maíra; Lindner, Manfred; Profumo, Stefano; Queiroz, Farinaldo S.; Rodejohann, Werner; Siqueira, Clarissa

    2018-03-01

    We discuss the phenomenology of an MeV-scale Dirac fermion coupled to the Standard Model through a dark photon with kinetic mixing with the electromagnetic field. We compute the dark matter relic density and explore the interplay of direct detection and accelerator searches for dark photons. We show that precise measurements of the temperature and polarization power spectra of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation lead to stringent constraints, leaving a small window for the thermal production of this MeV dark matter candidate. The forthcoming MeV gamma-ray telescope e-ASTROGAM will offer important and complementary opportunities to discover dark matter particles with masses below ~ 10 MeV . Lastly, we discuss how a late-time inflation episode and freeze-in production could conspire to yield the correct relic density while being consistent with existing and future constraints.

  13. Division XII: Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy with the Public

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Christensen, Lars Lindberg; Russo, Pedro; Robson, Ian; Arcand, Kimberly Kowal; Fienberg, Richard Tresch; Ödman-Govender, Carolina; Sekiguchi, Kazuhiro; Wheeler, Pete; Zhu, Jin

    2015-08-01

    A good fraction of the Commission 55 (C55) Organizing Committee met in Beijing in August at the XXVIII IAU General Assembly, where C55 organized Special Session 14 (SpS14) entitled ``Communicating Astronomy with the Public for Scientists.'' During our C55 business meeting, and again during an impromptu gathering a few days later, we discussed changes in the IAU's organizational and programmatic structure and how these changes might affect C55. This report summarizes key points and offers some ideas about what we're calling ``C55 v2.0.'' For background and reference, see the C55 website at http://www.communicatingastronomy.org.

  14. Leaving the Lecture Behind: Putting PubMed Instruction into the Hands of the Students.

    PubMed

    Turner, Rose L; M Ketchum, Andrea; Ratajeski, Melissa A; Wessel, Charles B

    2017-01-01

    This column describes the development of a one-shot PubMed instruction class for medical students at a health sciences library. Background information on the objective is presented and discussed in the context of educational practice literature. The new course design centers on a guided group method of instruction in order to integrate more active learning. Surveyed students reported that the method was an effective way to learn how to search PubMed and that they preferred it to a traditional lecture. Pros and cons of the method are offered for other health sciences libraries interested in presenting PubMed instruction in a similar manner.

  15. The advantages, disadvantages, and policies for part-time radiologists: report of the ACR Commission on Human Resources.

    PubMed

    Harolds, Jay A; Coleman, Beverly G; Recht, Michael P; Bluth, Edward I

    2014-07-01

    The employment of part-time radiologists (PTRs) has both advantages and disadvantages in various practice settings. The authors examine the pros and cons of PTRs and review the literature regarding PTRs both within and outside the specialty of radiology. The complexity of this issue is manifested in our inability to reach consensus on many policy issues for PTRs. Nevertheless, this article should be helpful in offering an objective, nonbiased background to initiating a discussion on employing PTRs in various radiology practices. Copyright © 2014 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Waste in Place. A New Sequential Curriculum Covering the Behavioral Aspects of Waste Management for Grades K-6. [Teacher Background and Seven Units].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keep America Beautiful, Inc., New York, NY.

    "Waste in Place" is an interdisciplinary, sequential curriculum for kindergarten through sixth grade. The eight units in the curriculum (one offering background information for teachers and one for each grade level) offer students the opportunity to learn about proper management of solid waste and the role of the individual in determining the best…

  17. Excimer laser in arthroscopic surgery

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koort, Hans J.

    1991-05-01

    The development of efficient high-power lasersystems for use in surgery, especially in arthroscopic fields, leads to a new push for all endoscopic techniques. Both techniques, laser and endoscope, complete each other in an ideal way and allow applications which could not be reached with conventional techniques. One of the newer laser types is the excimer laser, which will be a good choice for surface treatment because of its very considerate interaction with tissue. One example is the ablation or smoothing of articular cartilage and meniscal shaving in orthopaedics. On the other hand, the power of this laser system is high enough to cut tissue, for instance in the lateral release, and offers therefore an alternative to the mechanical and electrical instruments. All lasers can only work fine with effective delivery systems. Sometimes there is only a single fiber, which becomes very stiff at diameters of more than 800 micrometers . This fiber often allows only the tangential treatment of tissue, most of the laser power is lost in the background. New fiber systems with many, sometimes hundreds of very thin single fibers, could offer a solution. Special handpieces and fibersystems offer distinct advantages in small joint arthroscopy, especially those for use with excimer lasers will be discussed.

  18. Pediatric obesity pharmacotherapy: current state of the field, review of the literature and clinical trial considerations.

    PubMed

    Kelly, A S; Fox, C K; Rudser, K D; Gross, A C; Ryder, J R

    2016-07-01

    Despite the increasing number of medications recently approved to treat obesity among adults, few agents have been formally evaluated in children or adolescents for this indication. Moreover, there is a paucity of guidance in the literature addressing best practices with regard to pediatric obesity pharmacotherapy clinical trial design, and only general recommendations have been offered by regulatory agencies on this topic. The purposes of this article are to (1) offer a background of the current state of the field of pediatric obesity medicine, (2) provide a brief review of the literature summarizing pediatric obesity pharmacotherapy clinical trials, and (3) highlight and discuss some of the unique aspects that should be considered when designing and conducting high-quality clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of obesity medications in children and adolescents. Suggestions are offered in the areas of target population and eligibility criteria, clinical trial end-point selection, trial duration, implementation of lifestyle modification therapy and recruitment and retention of participants. Efforts should be made to design and conduct trials appropriately to ensure that high-quality evidence is generated on the safety and efficacy of various medications used to treat pediatric obesity.

  19. Pediatric Obesity Pharmacotherapy: Current State of the Field, Review of the Literature, and Clinical Trial Considerations

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, Aaron S.; Fox, Claudia K.; Rudser, Kyle D.; Gross, Amy C.; Ryder, Justin R.

    2017-01-01

    Despite the increasing number of medications recently approved to treat obesity among adults, few agents have been formally evaluated in children or adolescents for this indication. Moreover, there is a paucity of guidance in the literature addressing best practices in regard to pediatric obesity pharmacotherapy clinical trial design, and only general recommendations have been offered by regulatory agencies on this topic. The purposes of this article are to: 1) offer a background of the current state of the field of pediatric obesity medicine; 2) provide a brief review of the literature summarizing pediatric obesity pharmacotherapy clinical trials; and 3) highlight and discuss some of the unique aspects that should be considered when designing and conducting high-quality clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of obesity medications in children and adolescents. Suggestions are offered in the areas of target population and eligibility criteria, clinical trial endpoint selection, trial duration, implementation of lifestyle modification therapy, and recruitment and retention of participants. Efforts should be made to design and conduct trials appropriately to ensure that high-quality evidence is generated on the safety and efficacy of various medications used to treat pediatric obesity. PMID:27113643

  20. Massive Open Online Courses on Health and Medicine: Review

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become immensely popular in a short span of time. However, there is very little research exploring MOOCs in the discipline of health and medicine. Objective We aim to provide a review of MOOCs related to health and medicine offered by various MOOC platforms in 2013, by analyzing and comparing the various offerings, their target audience, typical length of course, and credentials offered. We also discuss opportunities and challenges presented by MOOCs in health and medicine. Methods Health and medicine–related MOOCs were gathered using several methods to ensure the richness and completeness of data. Identified MOOC platform websites were used to gather the lists of offerings. In parallel, these MOOC platforms were contacted to access official data on their offerings. Two MOOC aggregator sites (Class Central and MOOC List) were also consulted to gather data on MOOC offerings. Eligibility criteria were defined to concentrate on the courses that were offered in 2013 and primarily on the subject of health and medicine. All language translations in this paper were done using Google Translate. Results The search identified 225 courses, of which 98 were eligible for the review. Over half (58%, 57/98) of the MOOCs considered were offered on the Coursera platform, and 94% (92/98) of all the MOOCs were offered in English. Universities offered 90 MOOCs, and the John Hopkins University offered the largest number of MOOCs (12/90). Only three MOOCs were offered by developing countries (China, West Indies, and Saudi Arabia). The duration of MOOCs varied from 3-20 weeks with an average length of 6.7 weeks. On average, MOOCs expected a participant to work on the material for 4.2 hours a week. Verified certificates were offered by 14 MOOCs, while three others offered other professional recognition. Conclusions The review presents evidence to suggest that MOOCs can be used as a way to provide continuous medical education. It also shows the potential of MOOCs as a means of increasing health literacy among the public. PMID:25123952

  1. Astronomy 101 in Washington State High Schools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lutz, Julie H.; Garner, S.; Stetter, T.; McKeever, J.; Santo Pietro, V.

    2011-01-01

    The University of Washington in the High School (UWHS) program enables high schools to offer the 5 quarter credits Astronomy 101 (Astr 101) course for college credits. The credits are transferable to most colleges and universities. The course provides an alternative to advance placement courses and programs such as Washington's Running Start whereby high school students take courses at community colleges. Astr 101 focuses on stars, galaxies and the universe, as well as background topics such as gravitation, electromagnetic radiation and telescopes. The course satisfies the UW "natural world” and "quantitative/symbolic reasoning” distribution requirements. Students must pay a fee to enroll, but the credits cost less than half what they would cost for the course if taken on one of the UW campuses. The course can be offered as either one semester or full-year at the high school. Teachers who offer Astr 101 must be approved in advance by the UW Astronomy Department, and their syllabi and course materials approved also. Teachers receive orientation, professional development opportunities, classroom visits and support (special web site, answering questions, making arrangements for campus visits, planetarium visits) from astronomy department course coordinator. The UWHS Astr 101 program has produced positive outcomes for the astronomy department, the participating teachers and the students who complete the course. In this poster we will discuss our 5 years of experience with offering Astr 101, including benefits to the students, teachers, high schools, university and department, student outcomes, course assessments and resources for offering the course.

  2. Ethical dilemmas in community mental health care.

    PubMed

    Liégeois, A; Van Audenhove, C

    2005-08-01

    Ethical dilemmas in community mental health care is the focus of this article. The dilemmas are derived from a discussion of the results of a qualitative research project that took place in five countries of the European Union. The different stakeholders are confronted with the following dilemmas: community care versus hospital care (clients); a life with care versus a life without care (informal carers); stimulation of the client toward greater responsibility versus protection against such responsibility (professionals); budgetary control versus financial incentives (policy makers), and respect for the client versus particular private needs (neighbourhood residents). These dilemmas are interpreted against the background of a value based ethical model. This model offers an integral approach to the dilemmas and can be used to determine policy. The dilemmas are discussed here as the result of conflicting values-namely autonomy and privacy, support and safety, justice and participation, and trust and solidarity.

  3. Development and testing of the EVS 2000 enhanced vision system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Way, Scott P.; Kerr, Richard; Imamura, Joe J.; Arnoldy, Dan; Zeylmaker, Richard; Zuro, Greg

    2003-09-01

    An effective enhanced vision system must operate over a broad spectral range in order to offer a pilot an optimized scene that includes runway background as well as airport lighting and aircraft operations. The large dynamic range of intensities of these images is best handled with separate imaging sensors. The EVS 2000 is a patented dual-band Infrared Enhanced Vision System (EVS) utilizing image fusion concepts to provide a single image from uncooled infrared imagers in both the LWIR and SWIR. The system is designed to provide commercial and corporate airline pilots with improved situational awareness at night and in degraded weather conditions. A prototype of this system was recently fabricated and flown on the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator 737-900 aircraft. This paper will discuss the current EVS 2000 concept, show results taken from the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator program, and discuss future plans for EVS systems.

  4. What I have changed my mind about and why: public health and technology perspectives in the field of trauma studies.

    PubMed

    Schnurr, Paula P; Bryant, Richard; Berliner, Lucy; Kilpatrick, Dean G; Rizzo, Albert; Ruzek, Josef I

    2017-01-01

    Background : This paper is based on a panel discussion at the 32nd annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies in Dallas, Texas, in November 2016. Objective : Paula Schnurr convened a panel of experts in the fields of public health and technology to address the topic: 'What I have changed my mind about and why.' Method : The panel included Richard Bryant, Lucy Berliner, Dean Kilpatrick, Albert ('Skip') Rizzo, and Josef Ruzek. Results : Panellists discussed innovative strategies for the dissemination of scientific knowledge and evidence-based treatment. Conclusions : Although there are effective treatments, there is a need to enhance the effectiveness of these treatments. There also is a need to develop simpler, low-cost strategies to disseminate effective treatments. However, technology approaches also offer pathways to increased dissemination. Researchers must communicate scientific findings more effectively to impact public opinion and public policy.

  5. Taking One for the Team: Examining the Effects of Childhood Cancer on the Parental Subsystem-Part 2.

    PubMed

    Moules, Nancy J; Estefan, Andrew; McCaffrey, Graham; Tapp, Dianne M; Strother, Douglas

    2016-11-01

    In this Part 2 of a three-part research paper, we further our interpretations from our hermeneutic study examining how having a child who has experienced cancer had an impact on the relationship between the parents. In Part 1, we identified the focus of the study and provided background to the topic. We also described the research question, method, and design before offering an interpretive analysis of couples whose relationships survived, thrived, or demised. In this article, we extend the interpretations under an overarching theme of "taking one for the team." Here, we discuss issues of changes in focus and roles, and the notions of tag teaming, protection, intimacy, and grieving. We examine the phenomenon of putting relationships on hold, then finding reclamation later. In Part 3, we offer implications of these findings for other parents in similar situations and for health care professionals working with these families. © The Author(s) 2016.

  6. Postdoctoral Opportunities and Career Options

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manka, R. H.

    2001-05-01

    Following the completion of a Ph.D. degree, in the sciences a postdoctoral appointment has traditionally been a key step in career development to expand the student's background and broaden their perspective. The postdoctoral appointment often is almost a requirement to obtain some positions in academia and government laboratories. In addition, postdoctoral positions in industry are becoming more common and offer an opportunity to explore a field without making a long-term commitment. We describe the nature of a postdoctoral appointment and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the recent Ph.D. taking a postdoctoral position. We comment on the role such positions play in university, government and the corporate research. Finally, we describe some of the national postdoctoral opportunities that exist including large programs offered by the National Research Council through Federal laboratories including those of NASA, NOAA, EPA, and the Department of Defense. Exciting new interdisciplinary opportunities such as fellowships at the NASA Astrobiology Institute are summarized, as are international opportunities such as the von Humboldt fellowships in Germany.

  7. Personal suffering and social criticism in T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land and A. Ginsberg's Howl: Implications for social psychiatry.

    PubMed

    Wigand, Moritz E; Wiegand, Hauke F; Rüsch, Nicolas; Becker, Thomas

    2016-09-19

    T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land and A. Ginsberg's Howl are two landmark poems of the 20th century which have a unique way of dealing with emotional suffering. (a) To explore the interplay between emotional suffering, conflicting relationships and societal perceptions; (b) to show the therapeutic effect of the writing process; (c) to analyse the portrayal of 'madness'; and (d) to discuss, in contemporary psychiatric terms, the 'solutions' offered by the poets. Qualitative research with a narrative, hermeneutic approach. Against the background of wartime/genocide and postwar disillusionment, close relationships are projected onto societal perceptions. Concepts of (self-)control, compassion, empowerment and self-efficacy are offered as solutions to overcome feelings of despair. In a time of perceived societal and environmental crises, both poems help us understand people's fears and how to counteract them. Besides biological approaches, the narrative approach to the suffering human being has not lost its significance. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. Quality in genetic counselling for presymptomatic testing--clinical guidelines for practice across the range of genetic conditions.

    PubMed

    Skirton, Heather; Goldsmith, Lesley; Jackson, Leigh; Tibben, Aad

    2013-03-01

    Presymptomatic testing (PST) is the performance of a genetic test on an asymptomatic individual at risk of a condition to determine whether the person has inherited the disease-causing mutation. Although relevant guidelines exist for specific diseases, there is no overarching protocol that can be adapted to any disorder or clinical setting in which such testing is offered. The objective of this European project was to develop a set of coherent guidelines for PST (for adult-onset monogenic conditions) for use by health professionals working in a range of disciplines, countries or contexts. To ensure the guidelines were appropriate and practice based, we organised a workshop attended by an expert group of practitioners with relevant health professional backgrounds from 11 countries. Models of service for offering PST were presented, the group then discussed different aspects of testing and the standard of care required to ensure that patients were prepared to make decisions and deal with results and consequences. After the workshop, several rounds of consultation were used with a wider group of professionals to refine the guidelines. The guidelines include general principles governing the offer of testing (eg, autonomous choice of the patient), objectives of genetic counselling in this context (eg, facilitation of decision making), logistical considerations (eg, use of trained staff) and topics to be included during counselling discussion with the patient (eg, consequences of both positive and negative outcomes). We recommend the adoption of these guidelines to provide an equitable structure for those seeking PST in any country.

  9. Fluid dynamic propagation of initial baryon number perturbations on a Bjorken flow background

    DOE PAGES

    Floerchinger, Stefan; Martinez, Mauricio

    2015-12-11

    Baryon number density perturbations offer a possible route to experimentally measure baryon number susceptibilities and heat conductivity of the quark gluon plasma. We study the fluid dynamical evolution of local and event-by-event fluctuations of baryon number density, flow velocity, and energy density on top of a (generalized) Bjorken expansion. To that end we use a background-fluctuation splitting and a Bessel-Fourier decomposition for the fluctuating part of the fluid dynamical fields with respect to the azimuthal angle, the radius in the transverse plane, and rapidity. Here, we examine how the time evolution of linear perturbations depends on the equation of statemore » as well as on shear viscosity, bulk viscosity, and heat conductivity for modes with different azimuthal, radial, and rapidity wave numbers. Finally we discuss how this information is accessible to experiments in terms of the transverse and rapidity dependence of correlation functions for baryonic particles in high energy nuclear collisions.« less

  10. The Future of Contextual Fear Learning for PTSD Research: A Methodological Review of Neuroimaging Studies.

    PubMed

    Glenn, Daniel E; Risbrough, Victoria B; Simmons, Alan N; Acheson, Dean T; Stout, Daniel M

    2017-10-21

    There has been a great deal of recent interest in human models of contextual fear learning, particularly due to the use of such paradigms for investigating neural mechanisms related to the etiology of posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the construct of "context" in fear conditioning research is broad, and the operational definitions and methods used to investigate contextual fear learning in humans are wide ranging and lack specificity, making it difficult to interpret findings about neural activity. Here we will review neuroimaging studies of contextual fear acquisition in humans. We will discuss the methodology associated with four broad categories of how contextual fear learning is manipulated in imaging studies (colored backgrounds, static picture backgrounds, virtual reality, and configural stimuli) and highlight findings for the primary neural circuitry involved in each paradigm. Additionally, we will offer methodological recommendations for human studies of contextual fear acquisition, including using stimuli that distinguish configural learning from discrete cue associations and clarifying how context is experimentally operationalized.

  11. A Lacanian view on Balint group meetings: a qualitative analysis of two case presentations

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background GPs’ subjectivity is an intrinsic instrument in their daily work. By offering GPs a platform to present and discuss difficult interactions with patients, Balint group work be might provide them an opportunity to explore and articulate aspects of their subjectivity. In order to get a more profound understanding of what participation in a Balint group can offer, we focused on the process of change that can be observed during Balint group meetings. To that end, this study scrutinized two Balint group case discussions on a micro-level. Method Two cases were selected from a larger data set of 68 audio-taped case discussions in four Balint groups. In order to shed light on the type of change that characterizes the presenter’s narrative, we used Lacan’s theoretical distinction between imaginary and symbolic modes of relating to the other. Results In both case discussions, the GPs presenting the case initially appeared to be stuck in a fixed image of a situation, referred to as ‘imaginary relating to the other.’ Through a range of interactions with the group, the presenters were encouraged to explore different subject positions, which allowed them to broaden their initial image of the situation and to discover other issues at stake. This was referred to as a more symbolic way of relating to the other. Conclusion This study throws light on the type of change Balint group participation allows for and on the way this might be achieved. We conclude that Balint group work is potentially beneficial to the participating GPs as well as to the relationship with their patients. PMID:24655833

  12. Coherence-domain imaging with harmonic holography

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pu, Ye; Psaltis, Demetri

    2017-08-01

    Observing the fast dynamics of specific molecules or targets in three-dimensional (3D) space and time inside a crowded and complex environment, such as living cells or tissues, remain one of the grand open challenges in modern science. Harmonic holography tackle this challenge by combining the 3D imaging capability of holography with the ultrafast, coherent optical contrast offered by second-harmonic radiating imaging probes (SHRIMPs). Similar to fluorescence, the second-harmonic signal emitted from SHRIMPs provides a color contrast against the uninterested background scattering, which can be efficiently suppressed by an optical filter. We review the latest developments in SHRIMPs and harmonic holography and discuss their further applications in fluidics and biofluidics.

  13. Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest For Undergraduates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna; Weiss, L. M.; Faesi, C. M.; Astrobites Team

    2012-05-01

    Astrobites (http://astrobites.com) is a daily blog aimed primarily at undergraduates interested in astrophysical research and written by a team of graduate students located at diverse institutes around the country and Europe. Every day we present a journal article recently posted to astro-ph in a brief format that is accessible to anyone with a general background in the physical sciences. In addition to summarizing new work, Astrobites provides valuable context for readers not yet familiar with the astrophysical literature. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. applying for an NSF graduate fellowship) and describe personal experiences (e.g. attending an astronomy summer school). We will discuss the Astrobites format and recent readership statistics.

  14. Managerial and Organizational Discourses of Workplace Bullying

    PubMed Central

    Johnson, Susan L.; Boutain, Doris M.; Tsai, Jenny H.-C.; de Castro, Arnold B.

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To explore how workplace bullying is addressed by hospital nursing unit managers and organizational policies. BACKGROUND Although workplace bullying is costly to organizations, nurses report that managers do not consistently address the issue. METHODS This study used discourse analysis to analyze interview data and policy documents. RESULTS There were differences in the manner in which managers and the policy documents labeled bullying-type behaviors and discussed the roles and responsibilities of staff and managers. Policies did not clearly delineate how managers should respond to workplace bullying. CONCLUSIONS These differences can allow management variation, not sanctioned by policy. Unclear policy language can also offer insufficient guidance to managers, resulting in differential enforcement of policies. PMID:26301552

  15. [Blood donation: mechanic solidarity versus organic solidarity].

    PubMed

    Pereima, Rosane Suely May Rodrigues; Reibnitz, Kenya Schmidt; Martini, Jussara Gue; Nitschke, Rosane Gonçalves

    2010-01-01

    The article offers a reflection of blood donation in an hemocenter of Santa Catarina, with a mechanic and organic solidarity approach. It discuss the way of life in contemporary globalization and the cult of speed in a context pervaded by uncertainties and adversities. People live in a fast world, making social interaction difficult, contributing to the weakening of values and attitudes that could improve the quality of life. Considering the difficulties of everyday contemporary society, concerning Brazilian hemotherapy history on blood donation, there is a perception that attitudes and values, such as solidarity, have been modifying in subtle ways with a background of current events. It searches for understanding of blood donation as mechanic and organic solidarity.

  16. Support for Offering Sexual Health Services through School-Based Health Clinics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Michele Johnson; Barr, Elissa; Wilson, Kristina; Griner, Stacey

    2016-01-01

    Background: Numerous studies document support for sexuality education in the schools. However, there is a dearth of research assessing support for sexual health services offered through school-based health clinics (SBHCs). The purpose of this study was to assess voter support for offering 3 sexual health services (STI/HIV testing, STI/HIV…

  17. Liver transplant center variability in accepting organ offers and its impact on patient survival

    PubMed Central

    Goldberg, David S.; French, Benjamin; Lewis, James D.; Scott, Frank I; Mamtani, Ronac; Gilroy, Richard; Halpern, Scott D.; Abt, Peter L

    2015-01-01

    Background & Aims Despite an allocation system designed to give deceased-donor livers to the sickest patients, many transplantable livers are declined by U.S. transplant centers. It is unknown whether centers vary in their propensities to decline organs for the highest-priority patients, and how these decisions directly impact patient outcomes. Methods We analyzed Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) data from 5/1/07-6/17/13, and included all adult liver-alone waitlist candidates offered an organ that was ultimately transplanted. We evaluated acceptance rates of liver offers for the highest-ranked patients and their subsequent waitlist mortality. Results Of the 23,740 unique organ offers, 8,882 (37.4%) were accepted for the first-ranked patient. Despite adjusting for organ quality and recipient severity of illness, transplant centers within and across geographic regions varied strikingly (p<0.001) in the percentage of organ offers they accepted for the highest-priority patients. Among all patients ranked first on waitlists, the adjusted center-specific organ acceptance rates ranged from 15.7% to 58.1%. In multivariable models, there was a 27% increased odds of waitlist mortality for every 5% absolute decrease in a center’s adjusted organ offer acceptance rate (adjusted OR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.20–1.32). However, the absolute difference in median 5-year adjusted graft survival was 4% between livers accepted for the first-ranked patient, compared to those declined and transplanted at a lower position. Discussion There is marked variability in center practices regarding accepting livers allocated to the highest-priority patients. Center-level decisions to decline organs substantially increased patients’ odds of dying on the waitlist without a transplant. PMID:26626495

  18. A comprehensive approach to women’s health: lessons from the Mexican health reform

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background This paper discusses the way in which women’s health concerns were addressed in Mexico as part of a health system reform. Discussion The first part sets the context by examining the growing complexity that characterizes the global health field, where women’s needs occupy center stage. Part two briefly describes a critical conceptual evolution, i.e. from maternal to reproductive to women’s health. In the third and last section, the novel “women and health” (W&H) approach and its translation into policies and programs in the context of a structural health reform in Mexico is discussed. W&H simultaneously focuses on women’s health needs and women’s critical roles as both formal and informal providers of health care, and the links between these two dimensions. Summary The most important message of this paper is that broad changes in health systems offer the opportunity to address women’s health needs through innovative approaches focused on promoting gender equality and empowering women as drivers of change. PMID:23228037

  19. Infection as a Background to Safety: Source Material for Teaching.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wyatt, H. V.

    1986-01-01

    Offers selections from papers which illustrate accidents, epidemics, and bad practices which could be used as background material for lessons on laboratory safety. Advocates the need for instruction on pathogenicity and infectivity. (ML)

  20. Psychosocial primary care – what patients expect from their General Practitioners A cross-sectional trial

    PubMed Central

    Fritzsche, Kurt; Armbruster, Ulrike; Hartmann, Armin; Wirsching, Michael

    2002-01-01

    Background Psychosocial Primary Care (PPC) is a model of service delivery for patients with mental disorders and psychosocial problems which was established in Germany in 1987. This study was performed as part of the evaluation of a PPC training program. We investigated patients' expectations of the psychosocial treatment offered by GPs trained in PPC. Methods Ten general practitioners trained in PPC were randomly selected. Two hundred and twenty patients were surveyed in the waiting room regarding their expectations concerning psychological treatment. Results Eighty-five per cent of patients could envisage making use of psychosocial treatments. Counselling by the GP was considered most important (65%). Fifty-four per cent of patients indicated that there was sufficient counselling, but further distinctions revealed dissatisfaction with both the extent and content of the counselling. Lack of time was the most frequent reason (53%) cited for insufficient counselling. A willingness to discuss the psychological aspects of illness was exhibited by between 55% (current illness) and 79% of patients. Two-thirds of patients believed that discussing psychological aspects and counselling by the doctor could exert a healing effect or contribute to symptomatic improvement in physical illnesses. Younger patients and patients with experience in psychotherapy expected referral to mental health services. Conclusions Primary care patients desire and accept psychological treatment from their GP. Training in psychosocial competence in primary care should be offered more frequently. PMID:12000687

  1. The Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences (GLOMAR) - Postgraduate education with an interdisciplinary focus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Klose, Christina

    2013-04-01

    The Bremen International Graduate School for Marine Sciences (GLOMAR) provides a dedicated research training programme for PhD students in all fields related the marine realm combined with an exceptional supervision and support programme in a stimulating research environment. The graduate school is part of MARUM - Center for Marine Environmental Sciences which is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) within the frame of the Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments to promote top-level research at German universities. GLOMAR hosts approx. 75 PhD students from different research institutions in Bremen and Bremerhaven. 50% of them are German, 50% have an international background. All students are a member of one of the four GLOMAR research areas: (A) Ocean & Climate, (B) Ocean & Seafloor, (C) Ocean & Life and (D) Ocean & Society. Their academic background ranges from the classical natural sciences to law, social and political sciences. The research areas are supervised by research associates who share their experience and offer advice for their younger colleagues. GLOMAR students work in an interdisciplinary and international context. They spend several months at a foreign research institution and are encouraged to actively participate in international conferences and publish their research results in international scientific journals. The services GLOMAR offers for its PhD students include team supervision by a thesis committee, a comprehensive course programme, research seminars and retreats, a family support programme, a mentoring programme for women in science, an ombudsperson and a funding system for conference trips, research residencies and publication costs. The graduate school offers different formats for interdisciplinary exchange within the PhD student community. Monthly research seminars, which are conducted by the GLOMAR research associates, provide an opportunity to discuss research results, practice oral and poster presentations and learn about methods in research fields other than their own. In the framework of two annual young scientist conferences, PhD students can learn how to organize a conference and practice their skills in presenting, discussing, chairing sessions and building their own network within the community of young scientists. Introductory and expert training courses cover a wide range of topics from different disciplines. More information about the graduate school and its programme can be found on the GLOMAR web page: http://www.marum.de/en/GLOMAR.html

  2. 75 FR 12296 - Prohibited Transaction Exemptions and Grant of Individual Exemptions Involving: 2010-04, JPMorgan...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-15

    .... App. 1 (1996), transferred the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue exemptions of the... Offer may be made by Goldman after Goldman has determined that such purchase is in the best interest of... purchase under the Offer; (2) The background of the Offer; (3) The methods and timing by which Plans may...

  3. Ethical Issues in mHealth Research Involving Persons Living with HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse

    PubMed Central

    Labrique, Alain B.; Kirk, Gregory D.; Westergaard, Ryan P.; Merritt, Maria W.

    2013-01-01

    We aim to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue among investigators and research ethics committees regarding ethical issues that arise specifically in the design and conduct of mHealth research involving persons living with HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. Following a brief background discussion of mHealth research in general, we offer a case example to illustrate the characteristics of mHealth research involving people living with HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. With reference to a well-established systematic general ethical framework for biomedical research with human participants, we identify a range of ethical issues that have particular salience for the protection of participants in mHealth research on HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. PMID:24171110

  4. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Drouhard, Margaret MEG G; Steed, Chad A; Hahn, Steven E

    In this paper, we propose strategies and objectives for immersive data visualization with applications in materials science using the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. We provide background on currently available analysis tools for neutron scattering data and other large-scale materials science projects. In the context of the current challenges facing scientists, we discuss immersive virtual reality visualization as a potentially powerful solution. We introduce a prototype immersive visual- ization system, developed in conjunction with materials scientists at the Spallation Neutron Source, which we have used to explore large crystal structures and neutron scattering data. Finally, we offer our perspective onmore » the greatest challenges that must be addressed to build effective and intuitive virtual reality analysis tools that will be useful for scientists in a wide range of fields.« less

  5. Distributing responsibility in the debate on sustainable biofuels.

    PubMed

    Landeweerd, Laurens; Osseweijer, Patricia; Kinderlerer, Julian

    2009-12-01

    In the perception of technology innovation two world views compete for domination: technological and social determinism. Technological determinism holds that societal change is caused by technological developments, social determinism holds the opposite. Although both were quite central to discussion in the philosophy, history and sociology of technology in the 1970s and 1980s, neither is seen as mainstream now. They do still play an important role as background philosophies in societal debates and offer two very different perspectives on where the responsibilities for an ethically sound development of novel technologies lie. In this paper we will elaborate on these to two opposing views on technology development taking the recent debate on the implementation of biofuels as a case example.

  6. Particle astronomy and particle physics from the moon - The particle observatory

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilson, Thomas L.

    1990-01-01

    Promising experiments from the moon using particle detectors are discussed, noting the advantage of the large flux collecting power Pc offered by the remote, stable environment of a lunar base. An observatory class of particle experiments is presented, based upon proposals at NASA's recent Stanford workshop. They vary from neutrino astronomy, particle astrophysics, and cosmic ray experiments to space physics and fundamental physics experiments such as proton decay and 'table-top' arrays. This research is background-limited on earth, and it is awkward and unrealistic in earth orbit, but is particularly suited for the moon where Pc can be quite large and the instrumentation is not subject to atmospheric erosion as it is (for large t) in low earth orbit.

  7. Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest For Undergraduates

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kohler, Susanna; Astrobites Team

    2013-04-01

    Astrobites (http://astrobites.com) is a daily blog aimed primarily at undergraduates interested in astrophysical research and written by a team of graduate students located at diverse institutions around the world. Nearly every day we present a journal article recently posted to astro-ph in a brief format that is accessible to anyone with a general background in the physical sciences. In addition to summarizing new work, Astrobites provides valuable context for readers not yet familiar with the astrophysical literature. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. applying for an NSF graduate fellowship) and describe personal experiences (e.g. attending an astronomy summer school). We will discuss the Astrobites format and recent readership statistics, as well as potential methods for incorporating Astrobites into the classroom.

  8. A conceptual framework for implementation fidelity

    PubMed Central

    Carroll, Christopher; Patterson, Malcolm; Wood, Stephen; Booth, Andrew; Rick, Jo; Balain, Shashi

    2007-01-01

    Background Implementation fidelity refers to the degree to which an intervention or programme is delivered as intended. Only by understanding and measuring whether an intervention has been implemented with fidelity can researchers and practitioners gain a better understanding of how and why an intervention works, and the extent to which outcomes can be improved. Discussion The authors undertook a critical review of existing conceptualisations of implementation fidelity and developed a new conceptual framework for understanding and measuring the process. The resulting theoretical framework requires testing by empirical research. Summary Implementation fidelity is an important source of variation affecting the credibility and utility of research. The conceptual framework presented here offers a means for measuring this variable and understanding its place in the process of intervention implementation. PMID:18053122

  9. Bioinformatics on the cloud computing platform Azure.

    PubMed

    Shanahan, Hugh P; Owen, Anne M; Harrison, Andrew P

    2014-01-01

    We discuss the applicability of the Microsoft cloud computing platform, Azure, for bioinformatics. We focus on the usability of the resource rather than its performance. We provide an example of how R can be used on Azure to analyse a large amount of microarray expression data deposited at the public database ArrayExpress. We provide a walk through to demonstrate explicitly how Azure can be used to perform these analyses in Appendix S1 and we offer a comparison with a local computation. We note that the use of the Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering of Azure can represent a steep learning curve for bioinformatics developers who will usually have a Linux and scripting language background. On the other hand, the presence of an additional set of libraries makes it easier to deploy software in a parallel (scalable) fashion and explicitly manage such a production run with only a few hundred lines of code, most of which can be incorporated from a template. We propose that this environment is best suited for running stable bioinformatics software by users not involved with its development.

  10. Bioinformatics on the Cloud Computing Platform Azure

    PubMed Central

    Shanahan, Hugh P.; Owen, Anne M.; Harrison, Andrew P.

    2014-01-01

    We discuss the applicability of the Microsoft cloud computing platform, Azure, for bioinformatics. We focus on the usability of the resource rather than its performance. We provide an example of how R can be used on Azure to analyse a large amount of microarray expression data deposited at the public database ArrayExpress. We provide a walk through to demonstrate explicitly how Azure can be used to perform these analyses in Appendix S1 and we offer a comparison with a local computation. We note that the use of the Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering of Azure can represent a steep learning curve for bioinformatics developers who will usually have a Linux and scripting language background. On the other hand, the presence of an additional set of libraries makes it easier to deploy software in a parallel (scalable) fashion and explicitly manage such a production run with only a few hundred lines of code, most of which can be incorporated from a template. We propose that this environment is best suited for running stable bioinformatics software by users not involved with its development. PMID:25050811

  11. Spatially offset Raman spectroscopy for explosives detection through difficult (opaque) containers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maskall, Guy T.; Bonthron, Stuart; Crawford, David

    2013-10-01

    With the continuing threat to aviation security from homemade explosive devices, the restrictions on taking a volume of liquid greater than 100 ml onto an aircraft remain in place. From January 2014, these restrictions will gradually be reduced via a phased implementation of technological screening of Liquids, Aerosols and Gels (LAGs). Raman spectroscopy offers a highly sensitive, and specific, technique for the detection and identification of chemicals. Spatially Offset Raman Spectroscopy (SORS), in particular, offers significant advantages over conventional Raman spectroscopy for detecting and recognizing contents within optically challenging (Raman active) containers. Containers vary enormously in their composition; glass type, plastic type, thickness, reflectance, and pigmentation are all variable and cause an infinite range of absorbances, fluorescence backgrounds, Rayleigh backscattered laser light, and container Raman bands. In this paper we show that the data processing chain for Cobalt Light Systems' INSIGHT100 bottlescanner is robust to such variability. We discuss issues of model selection for the detection stage and demonstrate an overall detection rate across a wide range of threats and containers of 97% with an associated false alarm rate of 0.1% or lower.

  12. Exploring team working and shared leadership in multi-disciplinary cancer care.

    PubMed

    Willcocks, Stephen George

    2018-02-05

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of shared leadership to multi-disciplinary cancer care. It examines the policy background and applies concepts from shared leadership to this context. It includes discussion of the implications and recommendations. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper examining policy documents and secondary literature on the topic. While it focuses on the UK National Health Services, it is also relevant to other countries given they follow a broadly similar path with regard to multi-disciplinary working. Findings The paper suggests that shared leadership is a possible way forward for multi-disciplinary cancer care, particularly as policy developments are supportive of this. It shows that a shared perspective is likely to be beneficial to the further development of multi-disciplinary working. Research limitations/implications Adopting shared leadership needs to be explored further using appropriate empirical research. Practical implications The paper offers comments on the implications of introducing shared leadership and makes recommendations including being aware of the barriers to its implementation. Originality/value The paper offers an alternative view on leadership in the health-care context.

  13. Cinema in the training of psychiatry residents: focus on helping relationships

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Medical schools are currently charged with a lack of education as far as empathic/relational skills and the meaning of being a health-care provider are concerned, thus leading to increased interest in medical humanities. Discussion Medical humanities can offer an insight into human illness and in a broader outlook into human condition, understanding of one self, responsibility. An empathic relation to patients might be fostered by a matching approach to humanities and sciences, which should be considered as subjects of equal relevance, complementary to one another. Recently, movies have been used in medical – especially psychiatric - trainees education, but mainly within the limits of teaching a variety of disorders. A different approach dealing with the use of cinema in the training of psychiatry residents is proposed, based on Jung and Hillman’s considerations about the relation between images and archetypes, archetypal experience and learning. Summary Selected full-length movies or clips can offer a priceless opportunity to face with the meaning of being involved in a care-providing, helping profession. PMID:23800186

  14. Syringe access for the prevention of blood borne infections among injection drug users

    PubMed Central

    Stancliff, Sharon; Agins, Bruce; Rich, Josiah D; Burris, Scott

    2003-01-01

    Background Approximately one-third of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome cases in the United States are associated with the practice of sharing of injection equipment and are preventable through the once-only use of syringes, needles and other injection equipment. Discussion Sterile syringes may be obtained legally by 4 methods depending on the state. They may be purchased over the counter, prescribed, obtained at syringe exchange programs or furnished by authorized agencies. Each of these avenues has advantages and disadvantages; therefore, legal access through all means is the most likely way to promote the use of sterile syringes. Summary By assisting illicit drug injectors to obtain sterile syringes the primary care provider is able to reduce the incidence of blood borne infections, and educate patients about safe syringe disposal. The provider is also able to initiate discussion about drug use in a nonjudgmental manner and to offer care to patients who are not yet ready to consider drug treatment. PMID:14633286

  15. Review of the Theoretical and Experimental Status of Dark Matter Identification with Cosmic-Ray Antideuterons

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aramaki, T.; Boggs, S.; Bufalino, S.; Dal, L.; von Doetinchem, P.; Donato, F.; Fornengo, N.; Fuke, H.; Grefe, M.; Hailey, C.; hide

    2016-01-01

    Recent years have seen increased theoretical and experimental effort towards the first-ever detection of cosmic-ray antideuterons, in particular as an indirect signature of dark matter annihilation or decay. In contrast to indirect dark matter searches using positrons, antiprotons, or gamma-rays, which suffer from relatively high and uncertain astrophysical backgrounds, searches with antideuterons benefit from very suppressed conventional backgrounds, offering a potential breakthrough in unexplored phase space for dark matter. This article is based on the first dedicated cosmic-ray antideuteron workshop, which was held at UCLA in June 2014. It reviews broad classes of dark matter candidates that result in detectable cosmic-ray antideuteron fluxes, as well as the status and prospects of current experimental searches. The coalescence model of antideuteron production and the influence of antideuteron measurements at particle colliders are discussed. This is followed by a review of the modeling of antideuteron propagation through the magnetic fields, plasma currents, and molecular material of our Galaxy, the solar system, the Earth's geomagnetic field, and the atmosphere. Finally, the three ongoing or planned experiments that are sensitive to cosmic-ray antideuterons, BESS, AMS-02, and GAPS, are detailed. As cosmic-ray antideuteron detection is a rare event search, multiple experiments with orthogonal techniques and backgrounds are essential. Therefore, the combination of AMS-02 and GAPS antideuteron searches is highly desirable. Many theoretical and experimental groups have contributed to these studies over the last decade, this review aims to provide the first coherent discussion of the relevant dark matter theories that antideuterons probe, the challenges to predictions and interpretations of antideuteron signals, and the experimental efforts toward cosmic antideuteron detection.

  16. Review of the theoretical and experimental status of dark matter identification with cosmic-ray antideuterons

    DOE PAGES

    Aramaki, T.; Boggs, S.; Bufalino, S.; ...

    2016-01-27

    Recent years have seen increased theoretical and experimental effort towards the first-ever detection of cosmic-ray antideuterons, in particular as an indirect signature of dark matter annihilation or decay. In contrast to indirect dark matter searches using positrons, antiprotons, or γ-rays, which suffer from relatively high and uncertain astrophysical backgrounds, searches with antideuterons benefit from very suppressed conventional backgrounds, offering a potential breakthrough in unexplored phase space for dark matter. This article is based on the first dedicated cosmic-ray antideuteron workshop, which was held at UCLA in June 2014. It reviews broad classes of dark matter candidates that result in detectablemore » cosmic-ray antideuteron fluxes, as well as the status and prospects of current experimental searches. The coalescence model of antideuteron production and the influence of antideuteron measurements at particle colliders are discussed. This is followed by a review of the modeling of antideuteron propagation through the magnetic fields, plasma currents, and molecular material of our Galaxy, the solar system, the Earth’s geomagnetic field, and the atmosphere. Lastly, the three ongoing or planned experiments that are sensitive to cosmic-ray antideuterons, BESS, AMS-02, and GAPS, are detailed. As cosmic-ray antideuteron detection is a rare event search, multiple experiments with orthogonal techniques and backgrounds are essential. Furthermore, the combination of AMS-02 and GAPS antideuteron searches is highly desirable. Many theoretical and experimental groups have contributed to these studies over the last decade, this review aims to provide the first coherent discussion of the relevant dark matter theories that antideuterons probe, the challenges to predictions and interpretations of antideuteron signals, and the experimental efforts toward cosmic antideuteron detection.« less

  17. The Missing Curriculum Link: Personal Financial Planning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neidermeyer, Adolph A.; Neidermeyer, Presha E.

    2010-01-01

    With increasing personal and business financial challenges facing today's professionals, we, as business school faculty, have a responsibility to offer the educational background that should enable rising professionals to successfully manage finances. Unfortunately, the results of a recent analysis of curriculum offerings in Personal Financial…

  18. Testing Cosmic Inflation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chuss, David

    2010-01-01

    The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) has provided a wealth of information about the history and physics of the early Universe. Much progress has been made on uncovering the emerging Standard Model of Cosmology by such experiments as COBE and WMAP, and ESA's Planck Surveyor will likely increase our knowledge even more. Despite the success of this model, mysteries remain. Currently understood physics does not offer a compelling explanation for the homogeneity, flatness, and the origin of structure in the Universe. Cosmic Inflation, a brief epoch of exponential expansion, has been posted to explain these observations. If inflation is a reality, it is expected to produce a background spectrum of gravitational waves that will leave a small polarized imprint on the CMB. Discovery of this signal would give the first direct evidence for inflation and provide a window into physics at scales beyond those accessible to terrestrial particle accelerators. I will briefly review aspects of the Standard Model of Cosmology and discuss our current efforts to design and deploy experiments to measure the polarization of the CMB with the precision required to test inflation.

  19. A relational perspective on autonomy for older adults residing in nursing homes.

    PubMed

    Sherwin, Susan; Winsby, Meghan

    2011-06-01

    To review critically the traditional concept of autonomy, propose an alternative relational interpretation of autonomy, and discuss how this would operate in identifying and addressing ethical issues that arise in the context of nursing home care for older adults. Respect for patient autonomy has been the cornerstone of clinical bioethics for several decades. Important though this principle is, there is debate on how to interpret the core concept of autonomy. We review the appeal of the traditional approach to autonomy in health care and then identify some of the difficulties with this conception. We use philosophical methods to explain and discuss the traditional and relational conceptions of autonomy and we illuminate our discussion with examples of various contextual applications. We support the relational conception of autonomy as offering a richer, more contextualized understanding of autonomy which attends to the social, political and economic conditions that serve as background to an agent's deliberations. To illuminate these ideas, we discuss the situation of frail older adults who frequently find their autonomy limited not only by their medical conditions but also by cultural prejudices against the aged and by the conditions commonly found within the nursing homes in which many reside. We propose ways of improving the relational autonomy of this population. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  20. A relational perspective on autonomy for older adults residing in nursing homes

    PubMed Central

    Sherwin, Susan; Winsby, Meghan

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Aim  To review critically the traditional concept of autonomy, propose an alternative relational interpretation of autonomy, and discuss how this would operate in identifying and addressing ethical issues that arise in the context of nursing home care for older adults. Background  Respect for patient autonomy has been the cornerstone of clinical bioethics for several decades. Important though this principle is, there is debate on how to interpret the core concept of autonomy. We review the appeal of the traditional approach to autonomy in health care and then identify some of the difficulties with this conception. Methods  We use philosophical methods to explain and discuss the traditional and relational conceptions of autonomy and we illuminate our discussion with examples of various contextual applications. Conclusion  We support the relational conception of autonomy as offering a richer, more contextualized understanding of autonomy which attends to the social, political and economic conditions that serve as background to an agent’s deliberations. To illuminate these ideas, we discuss the situation of frail older adults who frequently find their autonomy limited not only by their medical conditions but also by cultural prejudices against the aged and by the conditions commonly found within the nursing homes in which many reside. We propose ways of improving the relational autonomy of this population. PMID:21029285

  1. Using the Computer to Improve Basic Skills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bozeman, William; Hierstein, William J.

    These presentations offer information on the benefits of using computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for remedial education. First, William J. Hierstein offers a summary of the Computer Assisted Basic Skills Project conducted by Southeastern Community College at the Iowa State Penitentiary. Hierstein provides background on the funding for the…

  2. 78 FR 19329 - Request for Information (RFI): Reducing Investigator's Administrative Workload for Federally...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-03-29

    ... most to their administrative workload and to offer recommendations for reducing that workload. Members... offer recommendations to reduce unnecessary and redundant administrative requirements. Background Over... an awardee's available research time, a figure widely cited in numerous articles and reports. To help...

  3. CHARMM additive and polarizable force fields for biophysics and computer-aided drug design

    PubMed Central

    Vanommeslaeghe, K.

    2014-01-01

    Background Molecular Mechanics (MM) is the method of choice for computational studies of biomolecular systems owing to its modest computational cost, which makes it possible to routinely perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on chemical systems of biophysical and biomedical relevance. Scope of Review As one of the main factors limiting the accuracy of MD results is the empirical force field used, the present paper offers a review of recent developments in the CHARMM additive force field, one of the most popular bimolecular force fields. Additionally, we present a detailed discussion of the CHARMM Drude polarizable force field, anticipating a growth in the importance and utilization of polarizable force fields in the near future. Throughout the discussion emphasis is placed on the force fields’ parametrization philosophy and methodology. Major Conclusions Recent improvements in the CHARMM additive force field are mostly related to newly found weaknesses in the previous generation of additive force fields. Beyond the additive approximation is the newly available CHARMM Drude polarizable force field, which allows for MD simulations of up to 1 microsecond on proteins, DNA, lipids and carbohydrates. General Significance Addressing the limitations ensures the reliability of the new CHARMM36 additive force field for the types of calculations that are presently coming into routine computational reach while the availability of the Drude polarizable force fields offers a model that is an inherently more accurate model of the underlying physical forces driving macromolecular structures and dynamics. PMID:25149274

  4. Brain-Compatible Learning: Principles and Applications in Athletic Training

    PubMed Central

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To discuss the principles of brain-compatible learning research and provide insights into how this research may be applied in athletic training education to benefit the profession. Background: In the past decade, new brain-imaging techniques have allowed us to observe the brain while it is learning. The field of neuroscience has produced a body of empirical data that provides a new understanding of how we learn. This body of data has implications in education, although the direct study of these implications is in its infancy. Description: An overview of how the brain learns at a cellular level is provided, followed by a discussion of the principles of brain-compatible learning. Applications of these principles and implications for the field of athletic training education are also offered. Application: Many educational-reform fads have garnered attention in the past. Brain-compatible learning will not likely be one of those, as its origin is in neuroscience, not education. Brain-compatible learning is not an educational-reform movement. It does not prescribe how to run your classroom or offer specific techniques to use. Rather, it provides empirical data about how the brain learns and suggests guidelines to be considered while preparing lessons for your students. These guidelines may be incorporated into every educational setting, with every type of curriculum and every age group. The field of athletic training lends itself well to many of the basic principles of brain-compatible learning. PMID:16558681

  5. Educational Voucher Demonstration Archive: Project-Level Documentation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leinwand (C.M.) Associates, Inc., Newton, MA.

    This report describes the Educational Voucher Demonstration, serves as a guide for its documentation, and offers an extensive bibliography. Part 1 gives background information and summarizes the implementation of the Alum Rock Demonstration based on a transitional voucher model and involving six public schools, each offering at least two distinct…

  6. Label-free SERS detection of Salmonella Typhimurium on DNA aptamer modified AgNR substrates

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Salmonella Typhimurium is an important foodborne pathogen which causes gastroenteritis in both humans and animals. Currently available rapid methods have relied on antibodies to offer specific recognition of the pathogen from the background. As a substitute of antibodies, nucleic acid aptamers offer...

  7. Recent Additions to the General College Career Development Program Offerings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hixson, Bruce, Ed.

    1981-01-01

    Recent additions to the career development offerings at the University of Minnesota's General College are described. The aviation training program, which is described by Thomas Brothen, is designed to prepare students for licensure testing through the Federal Aviation Administration. Background information on aviation training at the University of…

  8. Innovative taught MSc in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy.

    PubMed

    Clunie, Lauren; Livingstone, Daniel; Rea, Paul M

    2015-06-01

    A relatively new, fully accredited MSc in Medical Visualisation and Human Anatomy, is now offered through a joint collaboration with the Laboratory of Human Anatomy, University of Glasgow and the Digital Design Studio, Glasgow School of Art. This degree combines training in digital technologies and intensive human anatomy training as a result of a long-standing successful partnership between these two esteemed institutes. The student also has to complete a research dissertation which encompasses both the digital perspective and a related medical, dental, surgical, veterinary (comparative anatomy) or life science specialty to enhance development in the digital field for a variety of specialties. This article discusses the background in development of this degree, the course structure and the career prospects and destinations for graduates of this unique degree programme.

  9. Law, Ethics, and Conversations between Physicians and Patients about Firearms in the Home.

    PubMed

    McCourt, Alexander D; Vernick, Jon S

    2018-01-01

    Firearms in the home pose a risk to household members, including homicide, suicide, and unintentional deaths. Medical societies urge clinicians to counsel patients about those risks as part of sound medical practice. Depending on the circumstances, clinicians might recommend safe firearm storage, temporary removal of the firearm from the home, or other measures. Certain state firearm laws, however, might present legal and ethical challenges for physicians who counsel patients about guns in the home. Specifically, we discuss state background check laws for gun transfers, safe gun storage laws, and laws forbidding physicians from engaging in certain firearm-related conversations with their patients. Medical professionals should be aware of these and other state gun laws but should offer anticipatory guidance when clinically appropriate. © 2018 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

  10. Forced migration, adolescence, and identity formation.

    PubMed

    Anagnostopoulos, Dimitris C; Vlassopoulos, Maria; Lazaratou, Helen

    2006-09-01

    Adolescence is a complex biopsychosocial phenomenon. All the inner-subjective changes in adolescents take place within the context of a specific social environment, which offers the necessary ideological setting that adolescents must confront in the course of their identity formation. Forced migration creates conditions under which the adolescent Ego may be traumatized more easily, resulting in the development of defensive mechanisms, which may interfere with the natural process of identity formation. The aim of this paper is to investigate how a traumatic situation such as forced migration may affect the mechanisms of identity formation in adolescence. For this purpose, clinical material, consisting of two cases of psychoanalytical psychotherapy of adolescents who were forced to immigrate to Greece, is presented and discussed in a psychoanalytical theoretical framework, along with the historical-sociological background.

  11. CHAD USER’S GUIDE: Extracting Human Activity Information from CHAD on the PC

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Consolidated Human Activity Database (CHAD) User Guide offers a short tutorial about CHAD Access; background on the CHAD Databases; background on individual studies in CHAD; and information about using CHAD data, caveats, known problems, notes, and database design and develop...

  12. Update on Law-Related Education, 1997.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Update on Law-Related, 1997

    1997-01-01

    This document consists of 3 volumes of a serial devoted to law-related education (LRE) offering background information on a wide range of legal issues and teaching strategies for LRE. The title themes for the three volumes include "International Law,""Crime and Freedom," and "Civil Law". Background articles are…

  13. Automated Knowledge Generation with Persistent Surveillance Video

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2008-03-26

    5 2.1 Artificial Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2.1.1 Formal Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2.1.2...background of Artificial Intelligence and the reasoning engines that will be applied to generate knowledge from data. Section 2.2 discusses background on...generation from persistent video. 4 II. Background In this chapter, we will discuss the background of Artificial Intelligence, Semantic Web, image

  14. Peer Education: From Enduring Problematics to Pedagogical Potential

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Southgate, Erica; Aggleton, Peter

    2017-01-01

    Background: Peer education is a much-used approach to health education with young people and marginalised groups. Rarely, however, has the concept been interrogated for its meaning and usefulness, despite pleas for the importance of doing so going back several decades. Objectives: Against this background, this paper offers a specifically…

  15. Challenges in Offering Inner-City After-School Physical Activity Clubs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maljak, Kimberly; Garn, Alex; McCaughtry, Nate; Kulik, Noel; Martin, Jeffrey; Shen, Bo; Whalen, Laurel; Fahlman, Mariane

    2014-01-01

    Background: Offering physical activity clubs (PACs) for students in urban high schools can provide avenues for increased physical activity (PA); however, little is known about why some clubs are not successful. Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine leaders' and students' perspectives on the challenges faced when…

  16. Man-Made Moons: Satellite Communications for Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grayson, Lawrence P.; And Others

    In an effort to prepare teachers for the coming changes in education caused by the rapidly developing communication satellite technology, this monograph offers a non-technical background to this new development. It begins by explaining the importance of such satellites and offers a layman's guide to the technology of satellite systems. It reviews…

  17. Children's Eating Behavior: The Importance of Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bevans, Katherine B.; Sanchez, Betty; Teneralli, Rachel; Forrest, Christopher B.

    2011-01-01

    Background: To enhance the impact of school nutrition programs on children's health, more information is needed on the associations between healthy and unhealthy food offerings during school lunch periods and children's eating behavior. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the contributions of food offerings and participation in school lunch…

  18. The Unified Core: A "Major" Learning Community Model in Action

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Powell, Gwynn M.; Johnson, Corey W.; James, J. Joy; Dunlap, Rudy

    2011-01-01

    The Unified Core is an innovative approach to higher education that blends content through linked courses within a major to create a community of learners. This article offers the theoretical background for the approach, describes the implementation, and offers suggestions to educators who would like to design their own version of this innovative…

  19. Genetics at School Level: Addressing the Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chu, Yu-Chien; Reid, Norman

    2012-01-01

    Background: A wide range of studies has offered suggestions why genetics is difficult and some of their key findings are summarised. Underpinning all of this is the way the brain works when handling information. The limitations of working memory capacity offer an interpretation of these difficulties. Purpose: The aim is to confirm that working…

  20. Implementing a School-Located Vaccination Program in Denver Public Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shlay, Judith C.; Rodgers, Sarah; Lyons, Jean; Romero, Scott; Vogt, Tara M.; McCormick, Emily V.

    2015-01-01

    Background: School-located vaccination (SLV) offers an opportunity to deliver vaccines to students, particularly those without a primary care provider. Methods: This SLV program offered 2 clinics at each of 20 elementary schools (influenza vaccine) and 3 clinics at each of 7 middle/preschool-eighth-grade schools (adolescent platform plus catch-up…

  1. Early Lessons Learned from Extramural School Programs That Offer HPV Vaccine

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayes, Kim A.; Entzel, Pamela; Berger, Wendy; Caskey, Rachel N.; Shlay, Judith C.; Stubbs, Brenda W.; Smith, Jennifer S.; Brewer, Noel T.

    2013-01-01

    Background: There has been little evaluation of school-located vaccination programs that offer human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in US schools without health centers (ie, extramural programs). This article summarizes lessons learned from such programs. Methods: In July to August 2010, 5 programs were identi?ed. Semistructured, in-depth telephone…

  2. Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Effects of observer peculiar motion

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Burigana, C.; Carvalho, C. S.; Trombetti, T.; Notari, A.; Quartin, M.; Gasperis, G. D.; Buzzelli, A.; Vittorio, N.; De Zotti, G.; de Bernardis, P.; Chluba, J.; Bilicki, M.; Danese, L.; Delabrouille, J.; Toffolatti, L.; Lapi, A.; Negrello, M.; Mazzotta, P.; Scott, D.; Contreras, D.; Achúcarro, A.; Ade, P.; Allison, R.; Ashdown, M.; Ballardini, M.; Banday, A. J.; Banerji, R.; Bartlett, J.; Bartolo, N.; Basak, S.; Bersanelli, M.; Bonaldi, A.; Bonato, M.; Borrill, J.; Bouchet, F.; Boulanger, F.; Brinckmann, T.; Bucher, M.; Cabella, P.; Cai, Z.-Y.; Calvo, M.; Castellano, M. G.; Challinor, A.; Clesse, S.; Colantoni, I.; Coppolecchia, A.; Crook, M.; D'Alessandro, G.; Diego, J.-M.; Di Marco, A.; Di Valentino, E.; Errard, J.; Feeney, S.; Fernández-Cobos, R.; Ferraro, S.; Finelli, F.; Forastieri, F.; Galli, S.; Génova-Santos, R.; Gerbino, M.; González-Nuevo, J.; Grandis, S.; Greenslade, J.; Hagstotz, S.; Hanany, S.; Handley, W.; Hernández-Monteagudo, C.; Hervias-Caimapo, C.; Hills, M.; Hivon, E.; Kiiveri, K.; Kisner, T.; Kitching, T.; Kunz, M.; Kurki-Suonio, H.; Lamagna, L.; Lasenby, A.; Lattanzi, M.; Lesgourgues, J.; Liguori, M.; Lindholm, V.; Lopez-Caniego, M.; Luzzi, G.; Maffei, B.; Mandolesi, N.; Martinez-Gonzalez, E.; Martins, C. J. A. P.; Masi, S.; Matarrese, S.; McCarthy, D.; Melchiorri, A.; Melin, J.-B.; Molinari, D.; Monfardini, A.; Natoli, P.; Paiella, A.; Paoletti, D.; Patanchon, G.; Piat, M.; Pisano, G.; Polastri, L.; Polenta, G.; Pollo, A.; Poulin, V.; Remazeilles, M.; Roman, M.; Rubiño-Martín, J.-A.; Salvati, L.; Tartari, A.; Tomasi, M.; Tramonte, D.; Trappe, N.; Tucker, C.; Väliviita, J.; Van de Weijgaert, R.; van Tent, B.; Vennin, V.; Vielva, P.; Young, K.; Zannoni, M.

    2018-04-01

    We discuss the effects on the cosmic microwave background (CMB), cosmic infrared background (CIB), and thermal Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect due to the peculiar motion of an observer with respect to the CMB rest frame, which induces boosting effects. After a brief review of the current observational and theoretical status, we investigate the scientific perspectives opened by future CMB space missions, focussing on the Cosmic Origins Explorer (CORE) proposal. The improvements in sensitivity offered by a mission like CORE, together with its high resolution over a wide frequency range, will provide a more accurate estimate of the CMB dipole. The extension of boosting effects to polarization and cross-correlations will enable a more robust determination of purely velocity-driven effects that are not degenerate with the intrinsic CMB dipole, allowing us to achieve an overall signal-to-noise ratio of 13; this improves on the Planck detection and essentially equals that of an ideal cosmic-variance-limited experiment up to a multipole lsimeq2000. Precise inter-frequency calibration will offer the opportunity to constrain or even detect CMB spectral distortions, particularly from the cosmological reionization epoch, because of the frequency dependence of the dipole spectrum, without resorting to precise absolute calibration. The expected improvement with respect to COBE-FIRAS in the recovery of distortion parameters (which could in principle be a factor of several hundred for an ideal experiment with the CORE configuration) ranges from a factor of several up to about 50, depending on the quality of foreground removal and relative calibration. Even in the case of simeq1 % accuracy in both foreground removal and relative calibration at an angular scale of 1o, we find that dipole analyses for a mission like CORE will be able to improve the recovery of the CIB spectrum amplitude by a factor simeq 17 in comparison with current results based on COBE-FIRAS. In addition to the scientific potential of a mission like CORE for these analyses, synergies with other planned and ongoing projects are also discussed.

  3. Reference librarians' perceptions of the issues they face as academic health information professionals

    PubMed Central

    Scherrer, Carol S.

    2004-01-01

    Background: Leaders in the profession encourage academic health sciences librarians to assume new roles as part of the growth process for remaining vital professionals. Have librarians embraced these new roles? Objectives: This research sought to examine from the reference librarians' viewpoints how their roles have changed over the past ten years and what the challenges these changes present as viewed by both the librarians and library directors. Method: A series of eight focus groups was conducted with reference librarians from private and public academic health sciences libraries. Directors of these libraries were interviewed separately. Results: Reference librarians' activities have largely confirmed the role changes anticipated by their leaders. They are teaching more, engaging in outreach through liaison initiatives, and designing Web pages, in addition to providing traditional reference duties. Librarians offer insights into unanticipated issues encountered in each of these areas and offer some creative solutions. Directors discuss the issues from their unique perspective. Conclusion: Librarians have identified areas for focusing efforts in lifelong learning. Adult learning theory, specialized databases and resources needed by researchers, ever-evolving technology, and promotion and evaluation of the library are areas needing attention. Implications for library education and continuing professional development are presented. PMID:15098052

  4. Probing Galaxy Formation and Evolution with Space Born Sub-Millimeter Telescopes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dwek, Eli; Arendt, Richard G.; Moseley, Harvey; Benford, Dominic; Shafer, Richard; Mather, John; Oegerle, William (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    A major unresolved question in cosmology is how the complex system of galaxies we see in the present universe evolved from an almost perfectly smooth beginning. Multiwavelength observations of galaxies have revealed that a significant fraction of their UV-visible starlight is absorbed and reradiated by dust at infrared JR) and submillimeter wavelengths. The cumulative IR-submm. emission from galaxies since the epoch of recombination, the cosmic IR background, has recently been recorded by the COBE satellite. The COBE observations in combination with recent submm surveys conducted with the SCUBA on the 15 m JCMT have shown that most of the radiation from star formation that has taken place in the early stages of galaxy evolution is reradiated by dust at submm wavelengths. Therefore, submm telescopes offer a unique probe of the early stages of galaxy formation and evolution. This talk will: (1) consider the impact of telescope diameter on the depth of the survey (what redshift can be probed) at different wavelengths; (2) discuss the relative scientific merits of high-resolution narrow-field surveys versus lower resolution deep surveys; and (3) show how both strategies offer complementary information crucial to our understanding of the structure and evolution of galaxies in the universe.

  5. Exposure to, and searching for, information about suicide and self-harm on the Internet: Prevalence and predictors in a population based cohort of young adults

    PubMed Central

    Mars, Becky; Heron, Jon; Biddle, Lucy; Donovan, Jenny L.; Holley, Rachel; Piper, Martyn; Potokar, John; Wyllie, Clare; Gunnell, David

    2015-01-01

    Background There is concern over the potential impact of the Internet on self-harm and suicidal behaviour, particularly in young people. However, little is known about the prevalence and patterns of suicide/self-harm related Internet use in the general population. Methods Cross sectional study of 3946 of the 8525 participants in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) who were sent a self-report questionnaire including questions on suicide/self-harm related Internet use and self-harm history at age 21 years. Results Suicide/self-harm related Internet use was reported by 22.5% (886/3946) of participants; 11.9% (470/3946) had come across sites/chatrooms discussing self-harm or suicide, 8.2% (323/3946) had searched for information about self-harm, 7.5% (296/3946) had searched for information about suicide and 9.1% (357/3946) had used the Internet to discuss self-harm or suicidal feelings. Suicide/self-harm related Internet use was particularly prevalent amongst those who had harmed with suicidal intent (70%, 174/248), and was strongly associated with the presence of suicidal thoughts, suicidal plans, and history of self-harm. Sites offering help, advice, or support were accessed by a larger proportion of the sample (8.2%, 323/3946) than sites offering information on how to hurt or kill yourself (3.1%, 123/3946). Most individuals (81%) who had accessed these potentially harmful sites had also accessed help sites. Limitations (i) There were differences between questionnaire responders and non-responders which could lead to selection bias and (ii) the data were cross-sectional, and we cannot conclude that associations are causal. Conclusions Suicide/self-harm related Internet use is common amongst young adults, particularly amongst those with suicidal thoughts and behaviour. Both harmful and helpful sites were accessed, highlighting that the Internet presents potential risks but also offers opportunities for suicide prevention. PMID:26150198

  6. Geoscience on television: a review of science communication literature in the context of geosciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hut, Rolf; Land-Zandstra, Anne M.; Smeets, Ionica; Stoof, Cathelijne R.

    2016-06-01

    Geoscience communication is becoming increasingly important as climate change increases the occurrence of natural hazards around the world. Few geoscientists are trained in effective science communication, and awareness of the formal science communication literature is also low. This can be challenging when interacting with journalists on a powerful medium like TV. To provide geoscience communicators with background knowledge on effective science communication on television, we reviewed relevant theory in the context of geosciences and discuss six major themes: scientist motivation, target audience, narratives and storytelling, jargon and information transfer, relationship between scientists and journalists, and stereotypes of scientists on TV. We illustrate each theme with a case study of geosciences on TV and discuss relevant science communication literature. We then highlight how this literature applies to the geosciences and identify knowledge gaps related to science communication in the geosciences. As TV offers a unique opportunity to reach many viewers, we hope this review can not only positively contribute to effective geoscience communication but also to the wider geoscience debate in society.

  7. Measuring the tail of the dog that doesn't bark in the night: the case of the national evaluation of Choose Life (the national strategy and action plan to prevent suicide in Scotland)

    PubMed Central

    Mackenzie, Mhairi; Blamey, Avril; Halliday, Emma; Maxwell, Margaret; McCollam, Allyson; McDaid, David; MacLean, Joanne; Woodhouse, Amy; Platt, Stephen

    2007-01-01

    Background Learning about the impact of public health policy presents significant challenges for evaluators. These include the nebulous and organic nature of interventions ensuing from policy directives, the tension between long-term goals and short-term interventions, the appropriateness of establishing control groups, and the problems of providing an economic perspective. An example of contemporary policy that has recently been subject to evaluation is the first phase of the innovative Scottish strategy for suicide prevention (Choose Life). Discussion and summary This paper discusses how challenges, such as those above, were made manifest within this programme. After a brief summary of the overarching approach taken to evaluating the first phase of Choose Life, this paper then offers a set of recommendations for policymakers and evaluators on how learning from a second phase might be augmented. These recommendations are likely to have general resonance across a range of policy evaluations as they move from early planning and implementation to more mature phases. PMID:17617891

  8. Design and testing of a dual-band enhanced vision system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Way, Scott P.; Kerr, Richard; Imamura, Joseph J.; Arnoldy, Dan; Zeylmaker, Dick; Zuro, Greg

    2003-09-01

    An effective enhanced vision system must operate over a broad spectral range in order to offer a pilot an optimized scene that includes runway background as well as airport lighting and aircraft operations. The large dynamic range of intensities of these images is best handled with separate imaging sensors. The EVS 2000 is a patented dual-band Infrared Enhanced Vision System (EVS) utilizing image fusion concepts. It has the ability to provide a single image from uncooled infrared imagers combined with SWIR, NIR or LLLTV sensors. The system is designed to provide commercial and corporate airline pilots with improved situational awareness at night and in degraded weather conditions but can also be used in a variety of applications where the fusion of dual band or multiband imagery is required. A prototype of this system was recently fabricated and flown on the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator 737-900 aircraft. This paper will discuss the current EVS 2000 concept, show results taken from the Boeing Advanced Technology Demonstrator program, and discuss future plans for the fusion system.

  9. Adding Apples and Oranges: Telecourses Are Both Different and Important.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffman, Leon C.

    1982-01-01

    Discusses advantages of offering telecourses at the college level and offers suggestions to make the courses first-rate educational offerings and first-rate learning experiences for students. (Author/JN)

  10. Teaching Students with Special Needs in the 21st-Century Classroom. A Scarecrow Education Book.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mayberry, Sally Cox; Lazarus, Brenda Belson

    This book offers educators both background information and practical guidance for implementing the inclusion of students with special needs in their classrooms. Part 1 provides background information with chapters on what inclusion is, an historical perspective and the laws, the rationale for inclusion, definitions of specific disabilities, and…

  11. Noise in the Classroom: Understanding the Problem.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lilly, Jerry G.

    2000-01-01

    Presents guidelines for designing classroom HVAC systems that will be able to achieve lower background noise levels that conform to the NC-30 background noise rating level. Guidelines for both central and dedicated systems are offered revealing that the use of conventional HVAC system components can be used to achieve sound levels comparable to…

  12. Systemic Therapy in Men With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: American Society of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Care Ontario Clinical Practice Guideline

    PubMed Central

    Basch, Ethan; Loblaw, D. Andrew; Oliver, Thomas K.; Carducci, Michael; Chen, Ronald C.; Frame, James N.; Garrels, Kristina; Hotte, Sebastien; Kattan, Michael W.; Raghavan, Derek; Saad, Fred; Taplin, Mary-Ellen; Walker-Dilks, Cindy; Williams, James; Winquist, Eric; Bennett, Charles L.; Wootton, Ted; Rumble, R. Bryan; Dusetzina, Stacie B.; Virgo, Katherine S.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose To provide treatment recommendations for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Methods The American Society of Clinical Oncology and Cancer Care Ontario convened an expert panel to develop evidence-based recommendations informed by a systematic review of the literature. Results When added to androgen deprivation, therapies demonstrating improved survival, improved quality of life (QOL), and favorable benefit-harm balance include abiraterone acetate/prednisone, enzalutamide, and radium-223 (223Ra; for men with predominantly bone metastases). Improved survival and QOL with moderate toxicity risk are associated with docetaxel/prednisone. For asymptomatic/minimally symptomatic men, improved survival with unclear QOL impact and low toxicity are associated with sipuleucel-T. For men who previously received docetaxel, improved survival, unclear QOL impact, and moderate to high toxicity risk are associated with cabazitaxel/prednisone. Modest QOL benefit (without survival benefit) and high toxicity risk are associated with mitoxantrone/prednisone after docetaxel. No benefit and excess toxicity are observed with bevacizumab, estramustine, and sunitinib. Recommendations Continue androgen deprivation (pharmaceutical or surgical) indefinitely. Abiraterone acetate/prednisone, enzalutamide, or 223Ra should be offered; docetaxel/prednisone should also be offered, accompanied by discussion of toxicity risk. Sipuleucel-T may be offered to asymptomatic/minimally symptomatic men. For men who have experienced progression with docetaxel, cabazitaxel may be offered, accompanied by discussion of toxicity risk. Mitoxantrone may be offered, accompanied by discussion of limited clinical benefit and toxicity risk. Ketoconazole or antiandrogens (eg, bicalutamide, flutamide, nilutamide) may be offered, accompanied by discussion of limited known clinical benefit. Bevacizumab, estramustine, and sunitinib should not be offered. There is insufficient evidence to evaluate optimal sequences or combinations of therapies. Palliative care should be offered to all patients. PMID:25199761

  13. Adult Education in Liberia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Robert M.

    Adult education in Liberia is discussed as to the types of programs offered and the purposes and goals of each type. The programs are classified as Literacy Education, Continuing Education, Vocational Education, In-Service Education, and Fundamental Education. The needs of the adult Liberian in relation to the courses offered are discussed.…

  14. Alienation and Engagement: Development of an Alternative Theoretical Framework for Understanding Student Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Case, Jennifer M.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper it is suggested that the themes of alienation and engagement offer a productive alternative perspective for characterising the student experience of learning in higher education, compared to current dominant perspectives such as that offered by approaches to learning and related concepts. A conceptual and historical background of the…

  15. Stories for the Campfire: A Collection of Memorable Tales for Camp.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hanson, Bob, Ed.; Roemmich, Bill, Ed.

    This book offers 46 children's camp stories, including stories about ghosts, adventure, other lands, humor, Indian fables, and stories with a moral. An introduction offers some background of the publication and a few tips on successful story-telling. The stories include: A Full Meal; A Fuzzy Tale; An Ameri-Indian's Ecological Lament and Prophecy;…

  16. Learning by Doing: Twenty Successful Active Learning Exercises for Information Systems Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Alanah; Petter, Stacie; Harris, Albert L.

    2017-01-01

    Aim/Purpose: This paper provides a review of previously published work related to active learning in information systems (IS) courses. Background: There are a rising number of strategies in higher education that offer promise in regards to getting students' attention and helping them learn, such as flipped classrooms and offering courses online.…

  17. ARO in Review 2012

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-01-01

    promotes original research and experimentation in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics at the high school level and publicly recognizes students ...in programs that offered enrichment classes in engineering at universities through the UNITE program. 1,614 middle and high school students ...Research and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (REAP) REAP is designed to offer high school students the opportunity to expand their background and

  18. LSD: Still with Us after All These Years.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henderson, Leigh A., Ed.; Glass, William J., Ed.

    This volume offers insight for parents, counselors, and educators as to why young people in the 1990s are using LSD--its appeal, the experience, and where kids are getting it. Current studies and anecdotes are woven with recent statistics to create a clear picture of contemporary LSD use. The introduction offers some history and background on the…

  19. Teaching Archaeology in the Twenty-First Century.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bender, Susan J., Ed.; Smith, George S., Ed.

    This book was written to offer ideas on how to open archeological education to more students, not just those seeking a Ph.D. Individuals in archaeology provide background and offer suggestions for a movement to provide greater access to the field. The book ponders 21st century archaeology, its possible directions and strategies, and call on those…

  20. Urologists' attitudes to sexual complications of LUTS/BPH treatments.

    PubMed

    Giona, Simone; Ganguly, Indranil; Muir, Gordon

    2018-04-21

    Many LUTS/BPH treatments currently available may affect sexual function (SD). We wished to assess urologists' attitude and practice in this area. Attendees of an international meeting were randomly selected, interviewed and stratified by professional status and LUTS/BPH cases seen per month. There were four questions: treatment options offered, frequency of discussing erectile dysfunction (ED) with each treatment, frequency of discussing ejaculatory dysfunction (EjD) with each treatment, and offering alternative treatment based on the risks of sexual dysfunction. 199 of the 245 interviewed (81%) were urologists. The most common treatments offered were α-blockers (99.5%), 5-ARI (95.0%) and TURP (92.5%). About 70% of the specialists discuss ED before α-blockers (not known to cause ED). Regarding EjD, 70% discuss this prior to prescribing α-blockers, 60% before 5-ARI therapy, while 80% before TURP. A significant minority fails to discuss this complication in all areas. Many respondents do not routinely discuss alternative therapies on the risk of SD. The higher the caseload, the less likely was a urologist to offer alternative therapies, with 37% of urologists seeing over 30 LUTS/BPH patients per month stating they would "Not at all often" offer alternative therapies for this reason. There is a significant discrepancy in attitudes to counselling patients on SD related to LUTS/BPH treatments. This may, in some cases, affect the validity of consent to the treatment. Most urologists do not discuss alternative treatments with patients based on the risks of different outcomes and complications, and this seems more marked in those with the busier practices. This may sit ill with the concept of personalised healthcare.

  1. The Classroom Animal.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Science and Children, 1986

    1986-01-01

    Provides background information on the earthworm. Reviews basic anatomical, behavioral, and reproductive facts. Offers suggestions for procuring, maintaining, and breeding colonies for classroom use. (ML)

  2. Identification of individuals at risk for Lynch syndrome using targeted evaluations and genetic testing: National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer joint practice guideline.

    PubMed

    Weissman, Scott M; Burt, Randall; Church, James; Erdman, Steve; Hampel, Heather; Holter, Spring; Jasperson, Kory; Kalady, Matt F; Haidle, Joy Larsen; Lynch, Henry T; Palaniappan, Selvi; Wise, Paul E; Senter, Leigha

    2012-08-01

    Identifying individuals who have Lynch syndrome (LS) involves a complex diagnostic work up that includes taking a detailed family history and a combination of various genetic and immunohistochemical tests. The National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) and the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer (CGA-ICC) have come together to publish this clinical practice testing guideline for the evaluation of LS. The purpose of this practice guideline is to provide guidance and a testing algorithm for LS as well as recommendations on when to offer testing. This guideline does not replace a consultation with a genetics professional. This guideline includes explanations in support of this and a summary of background data. While this guideline is not intended to serve as a review of LS, it includes a discussion of background information on LS, and cites a number of key publications which should be reviewed for a more in-depth understanding of LS. These guidelines are intended for genetic counselors, geneticists, gastroenterologists, surgeons, medical oncologists, obstetricians and gynecologists, nurses and other healthcare providers who evaluate patients for LS.

  3. Parents’ and Professionals’ Perceptions on Causes and Treatment Options for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a Multicultural Context on the Kenyan Coast

    PubMed Central

    Gona, Joseph K.; Rimba, Kenneth; Mapenzi, Rachel; Kihara, Michael

    2015-01-01

    Objective To explore parents’ and professionals’ perceived causes and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) on the Kenyan Coast. Methods In-depth interviews and focus group discussions using guiding questions were utilized in data collection. One hundred and three participants, who included parents of children with ASD, special needs teachers, clinicians, and social workers from diverse cultural background, participated in this study. The interviews and focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim and then translated to English. Themes were generated using content analysis. Results Preternatural causes were mentioned and included evil spirits, witchcraft, and curses. Biomedical causes comprised infections, drug abuse, birth complications, malnutrition, and genetic related problems. Treatment varied from traditional and spiritual healing to modern treatment in health facilities, and included consultations with traditional healers, offering prayers to God, and visits to hospitals. Conclusions The results suggest that regardless of cultural backgrounds, people on the Kenyan Coast have similar views on perceived causes and treatment of ASD. These findings provide valuable conceptual understanding for professionals when planning and implementing community based rehabilitation interventions targeting children with ASD within a local context. PMID:26267668

  4. Autologous fat grafting: use of closed syringe microcannula system for enhanced autologous structural grafting

    PubMed Central

    Alexander, Robert W; Harrell, David B

    2013-01-01

    Objectives Provide background for use of acquiring autologous adipose tissue as a tissue graft and source of adult progenitor cells for use in cosmetic plastic surgery. Discuss the background and mechanisms of action of closed syringe vacuum lipoaspiration, with emphasis on accessing adipose-derived mesenchymal/stromal cells and the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) for use in aesthetic, structural reconstruction and regenerative applications. Explain a proven protocol for acquiring high-quality autologous fat grafts (AFG) with use of disposable, microcannula systems. Design Explain the components and advantage of use of the patented super luer-lock and microcannulas system for use with the closed-syringe system. A sequential explanation of equipment selection for minimally traumatic lipoaspiration in small volumes is presented, including use of blunt injection cannulas to reduce risk of embolism. Results Thousands of AFG have proven safe and efficacious for lipoaspiration techniques for large and small structural fat grafting procedures. The importance and advantages of gentle harvesting of the adipose tissue complex has become very clear in the past 5 years. The closed-syringe system offers a minimally invasive, gentle system with which to mobilize subdermal fat tissues in a suspension form. Resulting total nuclear counting of undifferentiated cells of the adipose-derived -SVF suggests that the yield achieved is better than use of always-on, constant mechanical pump applied vacuum systems. Conclusion Use of a closed-syringe lipoaspiration system featuring disposable microcannulas offers a safe and effective means of harvesting small volumes of nonmanipulated adipose tissues and its accompanying progenitor cells within the SVF. Closed syringes and microcannulas are available as safe, sterile, disposable, compact systems for acquiring high-quality AFG. Presented is a detailed, step-by-step, proven protocol for performing quality autologous structural adipose transplantation. PMID:23630430

  5. Relationship between participants' level of education and engagement in their completion of the Understanding Dementia Massive Open Online Course.

    PubMed

    Goldberg, Lynette R; Bell, Erica; King, Carolyn; O'Mara, Ciaran; McInerney, Fran; Robinson, Andrew; Vickers, James

    2015-03-26

    The completion rates for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) generally are low (5-10%) and have been reported to favour participants with higher (typically tertiary-level) education. Despite these factors, the flexible learning offered by a MOOC has the potential to provide an accessible educational environment for a broad spectrum of participants. In this regard, the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre has developed a MOOC on dementia that is evidence-based and intended to address this emerging major global public health issue by providing educational resources to a broad range of caregivers, people with dementia, and health care professionals. The Understanding Dementia MOOC was designed specifically to appeal to, and support, adult learners with a limited educational background. The nine-week course was presented in three units. Participants passed a quiz at the end of each unit to continue through the course. A series of discussion boards facilitated peer-to-peer interactions. A separate "Ask an Expert" discussion board also was established for each unit where participants posted questions and faculty with expertise in the area responded. Almost 10,000 people from 65 countries registered; 4,409 registrants engaged in the discussion boards, and 3,624 (38%) completed the course. Participants' level of education ranged from postgraduate study to a primary (elementary) school education. Participants without a university education (vocational certificate and below) were as likely as those with a university education to complete the course (χ(2) = 2.35, df = 6, p = 0.88) and to engage in the online discussions (F[6, 3799] = 0.85, p = 0.54). Further, participants who completed the MOOC engaged in significantly more discussion board posts than participants who did not complete the course (t = 39.60, df = 4407, p <0.001). The high completion rate and level of engagement of participants across a broad spectrum of levels of education suggest that MOOCs can be successfully developed and delivered to students from diverse educational backgrounds. The high participation rate also highlights the combination of MOOC design as well as the scale of unmet need for quality dementia education.

  6. Information-Technology Based Physics Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, J. S.; Lee, K. H.

    2001-04-01

    Developing countries emphasize expansion of the educated population but demand for quality improvement follows later. Current science education reform is driven in part by post cold war restructuring of the global economy and associated focus on the education of a more scientifically literate society, due to the industrial change from labor-intensive to high-technology type, and the societal change inherent in the present information era. Industry needs employees of broad and flexible background with inter disciplinary training, engineers with better physics training, and well trained physicists. Education researches have proved that active-learning based methods are superior to the traditional methods and the information technology (IT) has lot to offer in this. Use of IT for improving physics education is briefly discussed with prospects for collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region via Asian Physics Education Network (ASPEN), UNESCO University Foundation Course in Physics (UUFCP), etc.

  7. Updates from Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Montet, Benjamin; Chisari, N.; Donaldson, J.; Dressing, C. D.; Drout, M.; Faesi, C.; Fuchs, J. T.; Kohler, S.; Lovegrove, E.; Mills, E. A.; Nesvold, E.; Newton, E. R.; Olmstead, A.; Vasel, J. A.; Weiss, L. M.; Astrobites Team

    2014-01-01

    Astrobites (http://astrobites.com) is a daily blog aimed at undergraduates interested in astrophysical research and written by a team of graduate students located at diverse institutions across the United States. Primarily, we present journal articles recently posted to astro-ph in a brief format that is accessible to anyone with a general background in the physical sciences, including readers who are not yet familiar with the astrophysical literature. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. applying for an NSF graduate fellowship) and describe personal experiences (e.g. attending an astronomy summer school). We present recent readership statistics and potential methods for incorporating Astrobites into the classroom. We also discuss the Astrobites format across multiple social media platforms, including the newly launched Astroplots, and highlight our recent work organizing the annual "Communicating Science" workshop for graduate students.

  8. Technologies Assessing Limb Bradykinesia in Parkinson’s Disease

    PubMed Central

    Hasan, Hasan; Athauda, Dilan S.; Foltynie, Thomas; Noyce, Alastair J.

    2017-01-01

    Background: The MDS-UPDRS (Movement Disorders Society – Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale) is the most widely used scale for rating impairment in PD. Subscores measuring bradykinesia have low reliability that can be subject to rater variability. Novel technological tools can be used to overcome such issues. Objective: To systematically explore and describe the available technologies for measuring limb bradykinesia in PD that were published between 2006 and 2016. Methods: A systematic literature search using PubMed (MEDLINE), IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, Scopus and Engineering Village (Compendex and Inspec) databases was performed to identify relevant technologies published until 18 October 2016. Results: 47 technologies assessing bradykinesia in PD were identified, 17 of which offered home and clinic-based assessment whilst 30 provided clinic-based assessment only. Of the eligible studies, 7 were validated in a PD patient population only, whilst 40 were tested in both PD and healthy control groups. 19 of the 47 technologies assessed bradykinesia only, whereas 28 assessed other parkinsonian features as well. 33 technologies have been described in additional PD-related studies, whereas 14 are not known to have been tested beyond the pilot phase. Conclusion: Technology based tools offer advantages including objective motor assessment and home monitoring of symptoms, and can be used to assess response to intervention in clinical trials or routine care. This review provides an up-to-date repository and synthesis of the current literature regarding technology used for assessing limb bradykinesia in PD. The review also discusses the current trends with regards to technology and discusses future directions in development. PMID:28222539

  9. Older smokers could be the strongest supporters for U.S. government regulation of tobacco: a focus group study

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Targeting of marginalized groups with aggressive tobacco marketing has been identified as exacerbating health disparities. However, interpretation of such targeting by groups varies, from surprise and outrage to regarding such marketing as evidence of social legitimacy. We sought to learn how an often-overlooked marginalized group, older adults, would respond to industry documents offering evidence of tobacco company target marketing. Methods We conducted 10 focus groups in California cities with older (≥50 years) smokers and former smokers. A set of previously-undisclosed tobacco industry documents related to target marketing was shown to the group in sequence. Audiotaped discussions were transcribed and data analyzed using qualitative approaches. Results Responses to evidence of tobacco industry targeting varied, with some regarding it as exploitive and others as normal business practice. However, in most groups, discussions turned to government’s failure to protect the public—even though government action /inaction was not prompted nor addressed in the discussion documents. Conclusion Given the Food and Drug Administration’s new authority to regulate tobacco products, these findings suggest that some of the tobacco industry’s “best customers” (older, established smokers and ex-smokers) may be strong supporters of government regulation of tobacco. PMID:23958397

  10. Increasing Educational Efficiency Through Technology (Commission Discussion and Background Materials).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Indiana State Commission for Higher Education, Indianapolis.

    A program schedule and background information for Indiana Commission for Higher Education-sponsored discussion of the use of educational technology to increase educational effeciency are presented. The four major topics of discussion to illustrate the uses and advantages/disadvantages of audio, video, and computing technologies are as follows:…

  11. Patient and prescriber perspectives on long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics and analysis of in-office discussion regarding LAI treatment for schizophrenia

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The research goal is to better understand prescriber, patient, and caregiver perspectives about long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic therapy and how these perspectives affect LAI use. Addressing these perspectives in the clinic may lead to greater success in achieving therapeutic goals for the patient with schizophrenia. Methods Ethnographic information was collected from a non-random sample of 69 prescriber-patient conversations (60 with community mental health center [CMHC] psychiatrists; 9 with nurse-practitioners) recorded during treatment visits from August 2011 to February 2012, transcribed and analyzed. Discussions were categorized according to 11 predetermined CMHC topics. In-person observations were also conducted at 4 CMHCs, including home visits by researchers (n = 15 patients) prior to the CMHC visit and observations of patients receiving injections and interacting with staff. Telephone in-depth interviews with psychiatrists, patients, and caregivers to gather additional information on LAI discussion, prescription, or use were conducted. Results Antipsychotic treatment decisions were made without patient or caregiver input in 40 of 60 (67%) of psychiatrist-patient conversations. Involvement of patients or caregivers in treatment decisions was greater when discussing LAI (15 of 60 [25%]) vs oral antipsychotic treatment (5 of 60 [8%]). LAIs were not discussed by psychiatrists in 11 of 22 (50%) patients taking oral antipsychotics. When offered, more LAI-naïve patients expressed neutral (9 of 19 [47%]) rather than favorable (3 of 19 [16%]) or unfavorable (7 of 19 [37%]) responses. Prescribers were most concerned about potentially damaging the therapeutic relationship and side-effects when discussing LAIs while patient resistance was often related to negative feelings about injections. Psychiatrists had some success in overcoming patient objections to LAIs by addressing and decomposing initial resistance. More than half (11 of 19 [58%]) of LAI-naïve patients agreed to start LAI treatment following office visits. Patient-described benefits of LAIs vs orals included perceived rapid symptom improvement and greater overall efficacy. Conclusions In this study, many psychiatrists did not offer LAIs and most patients and caregivers were not involved in antipsychotic treatment decision making. Opportunities to increase active patient engagement, address resistances, guide patient drug-formulation selection, and provide better LAI-relevant information for more individualized approaches to treating the patient with schizophrenia were present. PMID:24131801

  12. The Impact of Nutrition Standards on Competitive Food Offerings and Purchasing Behaviors of High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snelling, Anastasia M.; Kennard, Teha

    2009-01-01

    Background: With adolescent obesity rates on the rise, the school food environment is receiving closer scrutiny. This study looks at the effects of nutrient standards as part of a wellness policy that was implemented in 3 public high schools in 1 county, by analyzing the nutritional value of competitive food offerings and purchases before and…

  13. The National School Lunch and Competitive Food Offerings and Purchasing Behaviors of High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Snelling, Anastasia M.; Korba, Casey; Burkey, Alyvia

    2007-01-01

    Background: Across the nation, schools have become actively involved in developing obesity prevention strategies both in classrooms and in cafeterias. We sought to determine the type of foods being offered during lunch in the cafeteria of 3 public high schools in 1 county and if this reflects the purchasing patterns of students. By labeling foods…

  14. Are School Vending Machines Loaded with Calories and Fat: An Assessment of 106 Middle and High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pasch, Keryn E.; Lytle, Leslie A.; Samuelson, Anne C.; Farbakhsh, Kian; Kubik, Martha Y.; Patnode, Carrie D.

    2011-01-01

    Background: The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which vending offerings in 106 schools in the St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area, met criteria for types of beverages, fat, and calories based on selected criteria offered by the Institute of Medicine. Methods: Schools where youth participants were attending for the…

  15. "...they should be offering it": a qualitative study to investigate young peoples' attitudes towards chlamydia screening in GP surgeries

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background Despite the known health and healthcare costs of untreated chlamydia infection and the efforts of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) to control chlamydia through early detection and treatment of asymptomatic infection, the rates of screening are well below the 2010-2011 target rate of 35%. General Practitioner (GP) surgeries are a key venue within the NCSP however; previous studies indicate that GP surgery staff are concerned that they may offend their patients by offering a screen. This study aimed to identify the attitudes to, and preferences for, chlamydia screening in 15-24 year old men and women attending GP surgeries (the target group). Methods We undertook 36 interviews in six surgeries of differing screening rates. Our participants were 15-24 year olds attending a consultation with a staff member. Data were analysed thematically. Results GP surgeries are acceptable to young people as a venue for opportunistic chlamydia screening and furthermore they think it is the duty of GP surgery staff to offer it. They felt strongly that it is important for surgery staff to have a non-judgemental attitude and they did not want to be singled out as 'needing' a chlamydia screen. Furthermore, our sample reported a strong preference for being offered a screen by staff and providing the sample immediately at the surgery rather than taking home a testing kit. The positive attitude and subjective norms demonstrated by interviewees suggest that young peoples' behaviour would be to accept a screen if it was offered to them. Conclusion Young people attending GP surgeries have a positive attitude towards chlamydia screening and given the right environment are likely to take up the offer in this setting. The right environment involves normalising screening by offering a chlamydia screen to all 15-24 year olds at every interaction with staff, offering screening with a non-judgemental attitude and minimising barriers to screening such as embarrassment. The GP surgery is the ideal place to screen young people for chlamydia as it is not a threatening place for them and our study has shown that they think it is the normal place to go to discuss health matters. PMID:20955570

  16. Mitigation of hard x-ray background in backlit pinhole imagers

    DOE PAGES

    Fein, J. R.; Keiter, P. A.; Holloway, J. P.; ...

    2016-09-16

    Experiments were performed to mitigate the hard x-ray background commonly observed in backlit pinhole imagers. The material of the scaffold holding the primary backlighter foil was varied to reduce the laser-plasma instabilities responsible for hot electrons and resulting hard x-ray background. Radiographic measurements with image plates showed a factor of >25 decrease in x-rays between 30 and 67 keV when going from a plastic to Al or V scaffold. Here, a potential design using V scaffold offers a signal-to-background ratio of 6:1, a factor of 2 greater than using the bare plastic scaffold.

  17. Technology Development for Cosmic Microwave Background Cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munson, Charles D.

    The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) offers a unique window into the early universe by probing thermal radiation remaining from the big bang. Due to its low temperature and bright foregrounds, its thorough characterization requires technological advancement beyond the current state-of-the-art. In this thesis, I present the development and fabrication of novel metamaterial silicon optics to improve the sensitivity of current and future CMB telescopes. By machining subwavelength features into the silicon surfaces, traditional antireflection coatings can be replaced by all-silicon metamaterials that significantly reduce reflections over previous approaches. I discuss the design of these structured surfaces and the design and construction of a sophisticated fabrication facility necessary to implement this technology on large diameter (30+ cm) lenses for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarization project (ACTPol). I then apply this metamaterial technology to the development of improved free-space filters for millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength imaging (focusing specifically on blocking infrared radiation, necessary for current cryogenic detector systems). This produces a highly effective infrared-blocking filter, blocking over 99% of the incident power from a 300 K blackbody while maintaining transmission of better than 99% in a target CMB observing band (between 70 and 170 GHz). I conclude with a discussion of the development of a real-space simulation framework to assist in better understanding current CMB results and forecasting for future experiments. By taking a CMB realization and adding to it accurate real-space modeling of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and weak lensing distortions (introduced by galaxy clusters), a better understanding of the impacts of large scale structure on the CMB can be obtained.

  18. Technology Development for Cosmic Microwave Background Cosmology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munson, Charles D.

    2017-05-01

    The Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) offers a unique window into the early universe by probing thermal radiation remaining from the big bang. Due to its low temperature and bright foregrounds, its thorough characterization requires technological advancement beyond the current state-of-the-art. In this thesis, I present the development and fabrication of novel metamaterial silicon optics to improve the sensitivity of current and future CMB telescopes. By machining subwavelength features into the silicon surfaces, traditional antireflection coatings can be replaced by all-silicon metamaterials that significantly reduce reflections over previous approaches. I discuss the design of these structured surfaces and the design and construction of a sophisticated fabrication facility necessary to implement this technology on large diameter (30+ cm) lenses for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope Polarization project (ACTPol). I then apply this metamaterial technology to the development of improved free-space filters for millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelength imaging (focusing specifically on blocking infrared radiation, necessary for current cryogenic detector systems). This produces a highly effective infrared-blocking filter, blocking over 99% of the incident power from a 300 K blackbody while maintaining transmission of better than 99% in a target CMB observing band (between 70 and 170 GHz). I conclude with a discussion of the development of a real-space simulation framework to assist in better understanding current CMB results and forecasting for future experiments. By taking a CMB realization and adding to it accurate real-space modeling of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and weak lensing distortions (introduced by galaxy clusters), a better understanding of the impacts of large scale structure on the CMB can be obtained.

  19. Academic Fidelity and Integrity as Attributes of University Online Degree Program Offerings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gambescia, Stephen F.; Paolucci, Rocco

    2009-01-01

    As stakeholders continue to discuss, debate, and advocate their positions related to the value of online learning at colleges and universities, one element that will continue to be discussed, regardless of the specific issue at hand, is "academic integrity and fidelity". Academic fidelity of online degree program offerings is defined in this study…

  20. Promoting chlamydia screening with posters and leaflets in general practice - a qualitative study

    PubMed Central

    Freeman, Elaine; Howell-Jones, Rebecca; Oliver, Isabel; Randall, Sarah; Ford-Young, William; Beckwith, Philippa; McNulty, Cliodna

    2009-01-01

    Background General practice staff are reluctant to discuss sexual health opportunistically in all consultations. Health promotion materials may help alleviate this barrier. Chlamydia screening promotion posters and leaflets, produced by the English National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), have been available to general practices, through local chlamydia screening offices, since its launch. In this study we explored the attitudes of general practice staff to these screening promotional materials, how they used them, and explored other promotional strategies to encourage chlamydia screening. Methods Twenty-five general practices with a range of screening rates, were purposively selected from six NCSP areas in England. In focus groups doctors, nurses, administrative staff and receptionists were encouraged to discuss candidly their experiences about their use and opinions of posters, leaflets and advertising to promote chlamydia screening. Researchers observed whether posters and leaflets were on display in reception and/or waiting areas. Data were collected and analysed concurrently using a stepwise framework analytical approach. Results Although two-thirds of screening practices reported that they displayed posters and leaflets, they were not prominently displayed in most practices. Only a minority of practices reported actively using screening promotional materials on an ongoing basis. Most staff in all practices were not following up the advertising in posters and leaflets by routinely offering opportunistic screening to their target population. Some staff in many practices thought posters and leaflets would cause offence or embarrassment to their patients. Distribution of chlamydia leaflets by receptionists was thought to be inappropriate by some practices, as they thought patients would be offended when being offered a leaflet in a public area. Practice staff suggested the development of pocket-sized leaflets. Conclusion The NCSP should consider developing a range of more discrete but eye catching posters and small leaflets specifically to promote chlamydia screening in different scenarios within general practice; coordinators should audit their use. Practice staff need to discuss, with their screening co-ordinator, how different practice staff can promote chlamydia screening most effectively using the NCSP promotional materials, and change them regularly so that they do not loose their impact. Education to change all practice staff's attitudes towards sexual health is needed to reduce their worries about displaying the chlamydia materials, and how they may follow up the advertising up with a verbal offer of screening opportunistically to 15-24 year olds whenever they visit the practice. PMID:19821964

  1. A Bayesian network approach to the database search problem in criminal proceedings

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background The ‘database search problem’, that is, the strengthening of a case - in terms of probative value - against an individual who is found as a result of a database search, has been approached during the last two decades with substantial mathematical analyses, accompanied by lively debate and centrally opposing conclusions. This represents a challenging obstacle in teaching but also hinders a balanced and coherent discussion of the topic within the wider scientific and legal community. This paper revisits and tracks the associated mathematical analyses in terms of Bayesian networks. Their derivation and discussion for capturing probabilistic arguments that explain the database search problem are outlined in detail. The resulting Bayesian networks offer a distinct view on the main debated issues, along with further clarity. Methods As a general framework for representing and analyzing formal arguments in probabilistic reasoning about uncertain target propositions (that is, whether or not a given individual is the source of a crime stain), this paper relies on graphical probability models, in particular, Bayesian networks. This graphical probability modeling approach is used to capture, within a single model, a series of key variables, such as the number of individuals in a database, the size of the population of potential crime stain sources, and the rarity of the corresponding analytical characteristics in a relevant population. Results This paper demonstrates the feasibility of deriving Bayesian network structures for analyzing, representing, and tracking the database search problem. The output of the proposed models can be shown to agree with existing but exclusively formulaic approaches. Conclusions The proposed Bayesian networks allow one to capture and analyze the currently most well-supported but reputedly counter-intuitive and difficult solution to the database search problem in a way that goes beyond the traditional, purely formulaic expressions. The method’s graphical environment, along with its computational and probabilistic architectures, represents a rich package that offers analysts and discussants with additional modes of interaction, concise representation, and coherent communication. PMID:22849390

  2. What Young People Want From a Sexual Health Website: Design and Development of Sexunzipped

    PubMed Central

    Carswell, Kenneth; Murray, Elizabeth; Free, Caroline; Stevenson, Fiona; Bailey, Julia V

    2012-01-01

    Background Sexual health education in the United Kingdom is of variable quality, typically focusing on the biological aspects of sex rather than on communication, relationships, and sexual pleasure. The Internet offers a unique opportunity to provide sexual health education to young people, since they can be difficult to engage but frequently use the Internet as a health information resource. Objectives To explore through qualitative research young people’s views on what elements of a sexual health website would be appealing and engaging, and their views on the content, design, and interactive features of the Sexunzipped intervention website. Methods We recruited 67 young people aged 16–22 years in London, UK. We held 21 focus groups and 6 one-to-one interviews to establish sexual health priorities, views on website look and feel, and what features of a sexual heath website would attract and engage them. Two researchers facilitated the focus groups, using a semistructured topic guide to lead the discussions and asking open questions to elicit a range of views. The discussions and interviews were audio recorded and detailed notes were made on key topics from the audio recording. Young people’s views influenced design templates for the content and interactive features of Sexunzipped. Results Young people particularly wanted straightforward information on sexual pleasure, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy, how to communicate with partners, how to develop skills in giving pleasure, and emotions involved in sex and relationships. Focus group participants wanted social interaction with other young people online and wanted to see themselves reflected in some way such as through images or videos. Conclusions While it is challenging to meet all of young people’s technological and design requirements, consultation with the target audience is valuable and necessary in developing an online sexual health intervention. Young people are willing to talk about sensitive issues, enjoy the discussions, and can offer key insights that influence intervention development. PMID:23060424

  3. Progress in the Inductive Strategy-Use of Children from Different Ethnic Backgrounds: A Study Employing Dynamic Testing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Resing, Wilma C. M.; Touw, Kirsten W. J.; Veerbeek, Jochanan; Elliott, Julian G.

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated potential differences in inductive behavioural and verbal strategy-use between children (aged 6-8 years) from indigenous and non-indigenous backgrounds. This was effected by the use of an electronic device that could present a series of tasks, offer scaffolded assistance and record children's responses. Children from…

  4. Secondary Statistical Modeling with the National Assessment of Adult Literacy: Implications for the Design of the Background Questionnaire. Working Paper Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaplan, David

    This paper offers recommendations to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on the development of the background questionnaire for the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). The recommendations are from the viewpoint of a researcher interested in applying sophisticated statistical models to address important issues in adult…

  5. Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Collides with Jupiter. Background Material for Science Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jet Propulsion Lab., Pasadena, CA.

    In July of 1994, fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with Jupiter. This document has been provided to better inform students of the work that will be done by scientists and others involved in the study of this event. This document offers some background material on Jupiter, comets, what has and possibly will happen, and how scientists…

  6. A Survey of Practicing Sleep Coaches.

    PubMed

    Ingram, David G; Mindell, Jodi A; Puzino, Kristina; Walters, Russel M

    2018-01-01

    Sleep coaches are individuals of various backgrounds who offer services to families struggling with behavioral childhood sleep problems. We conducted a survey of coaches to further elucidate scope of practice, practice patterns, geographic distribution, education, training, and beliefs regarding qualification requirements. A Web-based survey was completed by 142 individuals who identified as a sleep coach. Coaches were distributed across 17 countries and 5 continents. Overall, 65% of coaches served clients in countries beyond their home country. Within the United States, coaches were generally located in more affluent and well-educated zip codes near large metropolitan centers, 91% served clients beyond their home state, and 56% served clients internationally. Educational background varied across coaches (12% high school degree, 51% bachelor's degree, 32% master's degree, 2% doctoral degree, 1.5% JD degree). Few coaches (20%) were or had been licensed health care providers or carried malpractice insurance (38%). Coaches usually provided services for children < 4 months of age to about 6 years of age, and were much less likely to provide services for children with comorbid neurodevelopmental (32%) or significant medical disorders (19%). Coaches reported an average of 3 new and 6 total clients per week and working 20 hr per week on average. Most coaches (76%) felt that a formal sleep coach training program was the most important qualification for practice. These results highlight a diversity of background, training, and geographical distribution of sleep coaches, and may help inform discussions regarding guidelines for training and credentialing of sleep coaches.

  7. Women as whole blood donors: offers, donations and deferrals in the province of Huelva, south-western Spain

    PubMed Central

    Madrona, Dalmiro Prados; Herrera, María Dolores Fernández; Jiménez, Dalmiro Prados; Giraldo, Sonsoles Gómez; Campos, Rita Robles

    2014-01-01

    Background Women seem more willing to donate blood than men despite the limitations that affect their donation rate. The aim of our study was to determine the role of women in altruistic donation of blood in Huelva, a province in south-western Spain. Materials and methods We registered 87,601 offers to donate whole blood between January 1st, 2005 and December 31st, 2009. We statistically analysed variables such as sex, age, offers, deferrals and donations, problems in venous access, vasovagal reactions, weight and blood pressure to establish their significance according to donor gender. Results With regards to gender, 52.3% of donors were women and 47.7% men. Of the 87,601 offers to donate blood, 46.5% were from females and 53.5% from males. More females than males made their first donation during the study period. However, 43.9 % of donations were from women, whereas 56.1% were from men. Overall 8.7% of offers were deferred, 62.7% of which due to a low haemoglobin concentration, which was the most frequent cause of deferral in women. Difficulties in venous access and vasovagal reactions were also more frequent in female donors than in male donors. By the end of the study period, donor fidelity was 58.6% for men and 48.6% for women. Discussion In the province of Huelva, women are more altruistically inclined than men to give blood, with the percentages of donors and first-time donors being higher among females. However, there are restrictions to women giving blood, especially low haemoglobin concentration, which reduce the number of female blood donations. Women also have more difficulty when blood is withdrawn and are more susceptible to vasovagal reactions, which negatively affect their experience as donors. Measures should be taken to reduce these barriers to encourage women to continue to offer to donate blood, thereby ensuring that they become regular donors, which is a key factor in guaranteeing an adequate supply of blood within the region of Andalusia. PMID:23245721

  8. Physico-chemical characterization of Mediterranean background aerosol at the Capogranitola observatory (Sicily)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rinaldi, Matteo; Gilardoni, Stefania; Paglione, Marco; Sandrini, Silvia; Decesari, Stefano; Zanca, Nicola; Marinoni, Angela; Cristofanelli, Paolo; Bonasoni, Paolo; Ielpo, Piera; Fossum, Kirsten; Gobbi, Gian Paolo; Facchini, Maria Cristina

    2017-04-01

    The Mediterranean basin is characterized by elevated aerosol amounts and co-existence of different aerosol types, both natural and anthropogenic, while it is one of the most climatically sensitive areas. Therefore, it offers ideal conditions for studying aerosol processes and aerosol-climate interactions. An intensive aerosol physico-chemical characterization campaign was held at the Environmental-Climatic Observatory at Capo Granitola (Sicily; 37.5753° N, 12.6595° E) during April 2016, under the framework of the project Air-Sea Lab. The Observatory is located at the coast-line, facing the Strait of Sicily, and is part of the national I-AMICA network (http://www.i-amica.it/i-amica/?lang=en). Sub-micrometer aerosol chemical composition was measured by high resolution time of flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), for the first time at Capogranitola. Sea-salt concentration was estimated from AMS measurements following Ovadnevaite et al. (2012). For a complete mass closure of the submicron aerosol, black carbon (BC) concentration was derived from multiangle absorption photometer (MAAP) measurements. Positive matrix factorization was deployed to investigate organic aerosol (OA) sources at the site. Aerosol chemical composition confirms that Capogranitola is a representative background site, with generally low contribution of BC and nitrate and highly oxidized OA. In particular, aerosol sampled in the marine sector (130-310°) is less affected by local sources and it is likely representative of the central Mediterranean background. Aerosol in background conditions is dominated by sulfate and OA (37% and 31%), followed by ammonium (12%), sea-salt (10%), BC (6%) and nitrate (3%). The average reconstructed sub-micrometer aerosol mass in background conditions is 3.7±2.3 μg m-3. OA source apportionment shows a minor contribution from primary sources, with hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), from fossil fuel combustion, contributing for 3% and biomass burning OA (BBOA) for 2%. Oxidized OA (OOA) dominates the rest of OA mass. In particular, OOA1 and OOA2 (70% in total, OM:OC ˜ 2.5) represent the result of prolonged atmospheric processing of OA, while OOA3 (25%, OM:OC ˜ 2.0) clearly represents fresher inputs of OOA from land. Investigation of HOA and BC time trends suggests that HOA in background conditions may be strongly contributed by ship traffic more than by land sources. The representativity of the background aerosol collected at Capogranitola will be discussed by comparing with measurements performed in parallel at the other I-AMICA southern Italy coastal stations and with those acquired in a subsequent cruise (May-June 2016) around the Italian Peninsula. Aerosol climate relevant properties, in relation with chemical composition, will be also presented and discussed. Ovadnevaite J. et al. (2012), J. Geophys. Res., 117, D16201.

  9. Dialogic and Direct Instruction: Two Distinct Models of Mathematics Instruction and the Debate(s) Surrounding Them

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Munter, Charles; Stein, Mary Kay; Smith, Margaret Austin

    2015-01-01

    Background/Context: Which ideas should be included in the K-12 curriculum, how they are learned, and how they should be taught have been debated for decades in multiple subjects. In this article, we offer mathematics as a case in point of how new standards-related policies may offer an opportunity for reassessment and clarification of such…

  10. A virtual size-variable pinhole for single photon confocal microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gao, Guangjun; Khoobehi, Bahram

    2013-03-01

    Pinhole is a critical device in single photon confocal microscopy (SPCM) owning to its ability to block the background noise scattered from back and forth of the focal plane. Without pinhole, the sectioning ability of SPCM will be degraded and many background noise signals will occurred together with useful signals, and sometimes these bad noises can submerge the details that we are interested in. However a pinhole with too small diameter will block both background noises and part of signals and decrease the intensity of the image. Therefore in many cases pinhole size should be selected carefully. Unfortunately because of constrains in mechanics, a pinhole that can change its size continuously, for example from 10 μm to 100 μm, is unavailable. For most commercial confocal microscopies, only several discrete pinhole sizes are provided, such as 10 μm, 30 μm, 60 μm etc. Things will be even harder for some imaging systems which use the input interface of a single mode fiber as the pinhole of SPCM, and then the pinhole size of these systems will be fixed, which far limit the optimization of systems' performance. In this paper, we design a size-variable pinhole setup that can offer a virtual pinhole with its diameter adjustable, which includes a physical pinhole (or single mode fiber) and a fine designed zoom relay (ZR) optical system. The magnification ratio of this ZR can vary smoothly while keeping the conjugation distance unchanged. The aberrations of the ZR are well balanced and diffraction-limited image performance are obtained so that the virtual pinhole can block background scattering noise and pass the in-focus signal effectively and accurately. Simulation results are also provided and discussed.

  11. Can a lifestyle intervention be offered through NHS breast cancer screening? Challenges and opportunities identified in a qualitative study of women attending screening.

    PubMed

    Conway, Ellie; Wyke, Sally; Sugden, Jacqui; Mutrie, Nanette; Anderson, Annie S

    2016-08-11

    Around one third of breast cancers in post-menopausal women could be prevented by decreasing body fatness and alcohol intake and increasing physical activity. This study aimed to explore views and attitudes on lifestyle intervention approaches in order to inform the proposed content of a lifestyle intervention programme amongst women attending breast cancer screening. Women attending breast cancer screening clinics in Dundee and Glasgow, were invited to participate in focus group discussions (FGD) by clinic staff. The groups were convened out with the clinic setting and moderated by an experienced researcher who attained brief details on socio-demographic background and audio-recorded the discussions. Data analysis was guided by the framework approach. The main topics of enquiry were: Understanding of risk of breast cancer and its prevention, views on engaging with a lifestyle intervention programme offered through breast cancer screening and programme design and content. Thirty one women attended 5 focus groups. Participant ages ranged from 51 to 78 years and 38 % lived in the two most deprived quintiles of residential areas. Women were generally positive about being offered a programme at breast cancer screening but sceptical about lifestyle associated risk, citing genetics, bad luck and knowing women with breast cancer who led healthy lifestyles as reasons to query the importance of lifestyle. Engagement via clinic staff and delivery of the programme by lifestyle coaches out with the screening setting was viewed favourably. The importance of body weight, physical activity and alcohol consumption with disease was widely known although most were surprised at the association with breast cancer. They were particularly surprised about the role of alcohol and resistant to thinking about themselves having a problem. They expressed frustration that lifestyle guidance was often conflicting and divergent over time. The concept of focussing on small lifestyle changes, which were personalised, supported socially and appropriate to age and ability were welcomed. Offering access to a lifestyle programme through breast screening appears acceptable. Explaining the relevance of the target behaviours for breast cancer health, endorsing and utilising consistent messages and identifying personalised, mutually agreed, behaviour change goals provides a framework for programme development.

  12. The case for moderate gun control.

    PubMed

    DeGrazia, David

    2014-03-01

    In addressing the shape of appropriate gun policy, this essay assumes for the sake of discussion that there is a legal and moral right to private gun ownership. My thesis is that, against the background of this right, the most defensible policy approach in the United States would feature moderate gun control. The first section summarizes the American gun control status quo and characterizes what I call "moderate gun control." The next section states and rebuts six leading arguments against this general approach to gun policy. The section that follows presents a positive case for moderate gun control that emphasizes safety in the home and society as well as rights whose enforcement entails some limits or qualifications on the right to bear arms. A final section shows how the recommended gun regulations address legitimate purposes, rather than imposing arbitrary restrictions on gun rights, and offers concluding reflections.

  13. Additive Biotech-Chances, challenges, and recent applications of additive manufacturing technologies in biotechnology.

    PubMed

    Krujatz, Felix; Lode, Anja; Seidel, Julia; Bley, Thomas; Gelinsky, Michael; Steingroewer, Juliane

    2017-10-25

    The diversity and complexity of biotechnological applications are constantly increasing, with ever expanding ranges of production hosts, cultivation conditions and measurement tasks. Consequently, many analytical and cultivation systems for biotechnology and bioprocess engineering, such as microfluidic devices or bioreactors, are tailor-made to precisely satisfy the requirements of specific measurements or cultivation tasks. Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies offer the possibility of fabricating tailor-made 3D laboratory equipment directly from CAD designs with previously inaccessible levels of freedom in terms of structural complexity. This review discusses the historical background of these technologies, their most promising current implementations and the associated workflows, fabrication processes and material specifications, together with some of the major challenges associated with using AM in biotechnology/bioprocess engineering. To illustrate the great potential of AM, selected examples in microfluidic devices, 3D-bioprinting/biofabrication and bioprocess engineering are highlighted. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Development of Knowledge Profiles for International eHealth eLearning Courses.

    PubMed

    Herzog, Juliane; Sauermann, Stefan; Mense, Alexander; Forjan, Mathias; Urbauer, Philipp

    2015-01-01

    Professionals working in the multidisciplinary field of eHealth vary in their educational background. However, knowledge in the areas of medicine, engineering and management is required to fulfil the tasks associated with eHealth sufficiently. Based on the results of an analysis of national and international educational offers a survey gathering user requirements for the development of knowledge profiles in eHealth was conducted (n=75) by professionals and students. During a workshop the first results were presented and discussed together with the network partners and the attendees. The resulting knowledge profiles contain knowledge areas of all three thematic content categories including fundamentals of medical terminology, standards and interoperability and usability as well as basics of all three content categories. The knowledge profiles are currently applied in a master's degree programme at the UAS Technikum Wien and will be developed further.

  15. Tips for using mobile audience response systems in medical education

    PubMed Central

    Gousseau, Michael; Sommerfeld, Connor; Gooi, Adrian

    2016-01-01

    Background With growing evidence on the benefits of active learning, audience response systems (ARSs) have been increasingly used in conferences, business, and education. With the introduction of mobile ARS as an alternative to physical clickers, there are increasing opportunities to use this tool to improve interactivity in medical education. Aim The aim of this study is to provide strategies on using mobile ARS in medical education by discussing steps for implementation and pitfalls to avoid. Method The tips presented reflect our commentary of the literature and our experiences using mobile ARS in medical education. Results This article offers specific strategies for the preparation, implementation, and assessment of medical education teaching sessions using mobile ARS. Conclusion We hope these tips will help instructors use mobile ARS as a tool to improve student interaction, teaching effectiveness, and participant enjoyment in medical education. PMID:27942242

  16. Verification and quality control of routine hematology analyzers.

    PubMed

    Vis, J Y; Huisman, A

    2016-05-01

    Verification of hematology analyzers (automated blood cell counters) is mandatory before new hematology analyzers may be used in routine clinical care. The verification process consists of several items which comprise among others: precision, accuracy, comparability, carryover, background and linearity throughout the expected range of results. Yet, which standard should be met or which verification limit be used is at the discretion of the laboratory specialist. This paper offers practical guidance on verification and quality control of automated hematology analyzers and provides an expert opinion on the performance standard that should be met by the contemporary generation of hematology analyzers. Therefore (i) the state-of-the-art performance of hematology analyzers for complete blood count parameters is summarized, (ii) considerations, challenges, and pitfalls concerning the development of a verification plan are discussed, (iii) guidance is given regarding the establishment of reference intervals, and (iv) different methods on quality control of hematology analyzers are reviewed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Studies in the X-Ray Emission of Clusters of Galaxies and Other Topics

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Vrtilek, Jan; Thronson, Harley (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The paper discusses the following: (1) X-ray study of groups of galaxies with Chandra and XMM. (2) X-ray properties of point sources in Chandra deep fields. (3) Study of cluster substructure using wavelet techniques. (4) Combined study of galaxy clusters with X-ray and the S-Z effect. Groups of galaxies are the fundamental building blocks of large scale structure in the Universe. X-ray study of the intragroup medium offers a powerful approach to addressing some of the major questions that still remain about almost all aspects of groups: their ages, origins, importance of composition of various galaxy types, relations to clusters, and origin and enrichment of the intragroup gas. Long exposures with Chandra have opened new opportunities for the study of X-ray background. The presence of substructure within clusters of galaxies has substantial implications for our understanding of cluster evolution as well as fundamental questions in cosmology.

  18. The Lived Experience of Providing Care and Support Services for Holocaust Survivors in Australia.

    PubMed

    Teshuva, Karen; Borowski, Allan; Wells, Yvonne

    2017-06-01

    Lack of awareness among paid carers of the possible late-life consequences of early-life periods of extreme and prolonged traumatization may have negative impacts on the experiences of trauma survivors in receiving care. An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to investigate the lived experience of paid carers in providing care for Jewish Holocaust survivors. In total, 70 carers participated in 10 focus group discussions. Credibility of the findings was ensured by methodological triangulation and peer debriefing. Three major themes emerged: (a) knowing about survivors' past helps me make sense of who they are, (b) the trauma adds an extra dimension to caregiving, and (c) caring for survivors has an emotional impact. Specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills for building positive care relationships with Holocaust survivors were identified. The findings offer a starting point for advancing knowledge about the care of older survivors from other refugee backgrounds.

  19. Participation and argument in legislative debate on statewide smoking restrictions

    PubMed Central

    Apollonio, Dorie E; Lopipero, Peggy; Bero, Lisa A

    2007-01-01

    Background In this paper we review the relationship between participation in legislative hearings, the use of ideological arguments, and the strength of public health legislation using a theoretical construct proposed by E. E. Schattschneider in 1960. Schattschneider argued that the breadth and types of participation in a political discussion could change political outcomes. Methods We test Schattschneider's argument empirically by reviewing the efforts of six states to pass Clean Indoor Air Acts by coding testimony given before legislators, comparing these findings to the different characteristics of each state's political process and the ultimate strength of each state's legislation. Results We find that although greater participation is associated with stronger legislation, there is no clear relationship between the use and type of ideological arguments and eventual outcomes. Conclusion These findings offer validation of a long-standing theory about the importance of political participation, and suggest strategies for public health advocates seeking to establish new legislation. PMID:17953767

  20. Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda

    PubMed Central

    Bratman, Gregory N.; Breslow, Sara Jo; Cochran, Bobby; Kahn Jr, Peter H.; Lawler, Joshua J.; Levin, Phillip S.; Tandon, Pooja S.; Varanasi, Usha; Wolf, Kathleen L.; Wood, Spencer A.

    2017-01-01

    Background: At a time of increasing disconnectedness from nature, scientific interest in the potential health benefits of nature contact has grown. Research in recent decades has yielded substantial evidence, but large gaps remain in our understanding. Objectives: We propose a research agenda on nature contact and health, identifying principal domains of research and key questions that, if answered, would provide the basis for evidence-based public health interventions. Discussion: We identify research questions in seven domains: a) mechanistic biomedical studies; b) exposure science; c) epidemiology of health benefits; d) diversity and equity considerations; e) technological nature; f) economic and policy studies; and g) implementation science. Conclusions: Nature contact may offer a range of human health benefits. Although much evidence is already available, much remains unknown. A robust research effort, guided by a focus on key unanswered questions, has the potential to yield high-impact, consequential public health insights. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1663 PMID:28796634

  1. Quantum electromagnetic stress tensor in an inhomogeneous medium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parashar, Prachi; Milton, Kimball A.; Li, Yang; Day, Hannah; Guo, Xin; Fulling, Stephen A.; Cavero-Peláez, Inés

    2018-06-01

    Continuing a program of examining the behavior of the vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor in a background which varies only in a single direction, we here study the electromagnetic stress tensor in a medium with permittivity depending on a single spatial coordinate, specifically, a planar dielectric half-space facing a vacuum region. There are divergences occurring that are regulated by temporal and spatial point splitting, which have a universal character for both transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes. The nature of the divergences depends on the model of dispersion adopted. And there are singularities occurring at the edge between the dielectric and vacuum regions, which also have a universal character, depending on the structure of the discontinuities in the material properties there. Remarks are offered concerning renormalization of such models, and the significance of the stress tensor. The ambiguity in separating "bulk" and "scattering" parts of the stress tensor is discussed.

  2. Getting Personal: Head and Neck Cancer Management in the Era of Genomic Medicine

    PubMed Central

    Birkeland, Andrew C.; Uhlmann, Wendy R.; Brenner, J. Chad; Shuman, Andrew G.

    2015-01-01

    Background Genetic testing is rapidly becoming an important tool in the management of patients with head and neck cancer. As we enter the era of genomics and personalized medicine, providers should be aware of testing options, counseling resources, and the benefits, limitations and future of personalized therapy. Methods This manuscript offers a primer to assist clinicians treating patients in anticipating and managing the inherent practical and ethical challenges of cancer care in the genomic era. Results Clinical applications of genomics for head and neck cancer are emerging. We discuss the indications for genetic testing, types of testing available, implications for care, privacy/disclosure concerns and ethical considerations. Hereditary genetic syndromes associated with head and neck neoplasms are reviewed, and online genetics resources are provided. Conclusions This article summarizes and contextualizes the evolving diagnostic and therapeutic options that impact the care of patients with head and neck cancer in the genomic era. PMID:25995036

  3. A Thematic Analysis of Theoretical Models for Translational Science in Nursing: Mapping the Field

    PubMed Central

    Mitchell, Sandra A.; Fisher, Cheryl A.; Hastings, Clare E.; Silverman, Leanne B.; Wallen, Gwenyth R.

    2010-01-01

    Background The quantity and diversity of conceptual models in translational science may complicate rather than advance the use of theory. Purpose This paper offers a comparative thematic analysis of the models available to inform knowledge development, transfer, and utilization. Method Literature searches identified 47 models for knowledge translation. Four thematic areas emerged: (1) evidence-based practice and knowledge transformation processes; (2) strategic change to promote adoption of new knowledge; (3) knowledge exchange and synthesis for application and inquiry; (4) designing and interpreting dissemination research. Discussion This analysis distinguishes the contributions made by leaders and researchers at each phase in the process of discovery, development, and service delivery. It also informs the selection of models to guide activities in knowledge translation. Conclusions A flexible theoretical stance is essential to simultaneously develop new knowledge and accelerate the translation of that knowledge into practice behaviors and programs of care that support optimal patient outcomes. PMID:21074646

  4. Giving students the run of sprinting models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Heck, André; Ellermeijer, Ton

    2009-11-01

    A biomechanical study of sprinting is an interesting task for students who have a background in mechanics and calculus. These students can work with real data and do practical investigations similar to the way sports scientists do research. Student research activities are viable when the students are familiar with tools to collect and work with data from sensors and video recordings and with modeling tools for comparing simulation and experimental results. This article describes a multipurpose system, named COACH, that offers a versatile integrated set of tools for learning, doing, and teaching mathematics and science in a computer-based inquiry approach. Automated tracking of reference points and correction of perspective distortion in videos, state-of-the-art algorithms for data smoothing and numerical differentiation, and graphical system dynamics based modeling are some of the built-in techniques that are suitable for motion analysis. Their implementation and their application in student activities involving models of running are discussed.

  5. Social media use in nursing education.

    PubMed

    Schmitt, Terri L; Sims-Giddens, Susan S; Booth, Richard G

    2012-09-30

    As technological advances continue to expand connectivity and communication, the number of patients and nurses engaging in social media increases. Nurses play a significant role in identification, interpretation, and transmission of knowledge and information within healthcare. Social media is a platform that can assist nursing faculty in helping students to gain greater understanding of and/or skills in professional communication; health policy; patient privacy and ethics; and writing competencies. Although there are barriers to integration of social media within nursing education, there are quality resources available to assist faculty to integrate social media as a viable pedagogical method. This article discusses the background and significance of social media tools as pedagogy, and provides a brief review of literature. To assist nurse educators who may be using or considering social media tools, the article offers selected examples of sound and pedagogically functional use in course and program applications; consideration of privacy concerns and advantages and disadvantages; and tips for success.

  6. Rural-origin health professional students’ perceptions of a support programme offered by Umthombo Youth Development Foundation

    PubMed Central

    Gumede, Dumisani M.; Campbell, Laura M.; MacGregor, Richard G.

    2017-01-01

    Background Staffing of rural healthcare facilities is a challenge, with literature supporting the selection and training of rural-origin students. The Umthombo Youth Development Foundation (UYDF) scholarship scheme supports rural students to train as healthcare professionals and offers a unique support programme. This programme has not been evaluated, and this study sought UYDF-supported students’ perceptions of the programme. Aim The aim of the study was to assess students’ perceptions of the UYDF support programme. Methods This was an observational descriptive study. Participants were students supported by UYDF and data were collected by a questionnaire with a Likert scale to assess perceptions of various aspects of the support programme. Results Students’ perceptions about the UYDF support programme were generally positive, with initial orientation and information sharing perceived as useful. Some respondents did not perceive value in holding discussions around English proficiency. The support required appeared to diminish with increasing years of study. Conclusion A comprehensive, proactive compulsory support system that provides both academic and social support was perceived as useful by the UYDF students. Further research is required around aspects such as encouraging English proficiency. In future, the support programme could prioritise students in the early years of their study. PMID:28828873

  7. Design and Fabrication of a Composite Morphing Radiator Panel Using High Conductivity Fibers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wescott, Matthew T.; McQuien, J. Scott; Bertagne, Christopher L.; Whitcomb, John D.; Hart, Darren J.; Erickson, Lisa R.

    2017-01-01

    Upcoming crewed space missions will involve large internal and external heat loads and require advanced thermal control systems to maintain a desired internal environment temperature. Radiators with at least 12:1 turndown ratios (the ratio between the maximum and minimum heat rejection rates) will be needed. However, current technologies are only able to achieve turndown ratios of approximately 3:1. A morphing radiator capable of altering shape could significantly increase turndown capabilities. Shape memory alloys offer qualities that may be well suited for this endeavor; their temperature-dependent phase changes could offer radiators the ability to passively control heat rejection. In 2015, a morphing radiator prototype was constructed and tested in a thermal vacuum environment, where it successfully demonstrated the morphing behavior and variable heat rejection. Newer composite prototypes have since been designed and manufactured using two distinct types of SMA materials. These models underwent temperature cycling tests in a thermal vacuum chamber and a series of fatigue tests to characterize the lifespan of these designs. The focus of this paper is to present the design approach and testing of the morphing composite facesheet. The discussion includes: an overall description of the project background, definition of performance requirements, composite materials selection, use of analytic and numerical design tools, facesheet fabrication, and finally fatigue testing with accompanying results.

  8. Emergency department triage: an ethical analysis

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Emergency departments across the globe follow a triage system in order to cope with overcrowding. The intention behind triage is to improve the emergency care and to prioritize cases in terms of clinical urgency. Discussion In emergency department triage, medical care might lead to adverse consequences like delay in providing care, compromise in privacy and confidentiality, poor physician-patient communication, failing to provide the necessary care altogether, or even having to decide whose life to save when not everyone can be saved. These consequences challenge the ethical quality of emergency care. This article provides an ethical analysis of "routine" emergency department triage. The four principles of biomedical ethics - viz. respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice provide the starting point and help us to identify the ethical challenges of emergency department triage. However, they do not offer a comprehensive ethical view. To address the ethical issues of emergency department triage from a more comprehensive ethical view, the care ethics perspective offers additional insights. Summary We integrate the results from the analysis using four principles of biomedical ethics into care ethics perspective on triage and propose an integrated clinically and ethically based framework of emergency department triage planning, as seen from a comprehensive ethics perspective that incorporates both the principles-based and care-oriented approach. PMID:21982119

  9. Health technology assessment, value-based decision making, and innovation.

    PubMed

    Henshall, Chris; Schuller, Tara

    2013-10-01

    Identifying treatments that offer value and value for money is becoming increasingly important, with interest in how health technology assessment (HTA) and decision makers can take appropriate account of what is of value to patients and to society, and in the relationship between innovation and assessments of value. This study summarizes points from an Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Policy Forum discussion, drawing on presentations, discussions among attendees, and background papers. Various perspectives on value were considered; most place patient health at the core of value. Wider elements of value comprise other benefits for: patients; caregivers; the health and social care systems; and society. Most decision-making systems seek to take account of similar elements of value, although they are assessed and combined in different ways. Judgment in decisions remains important and cannot be replaced by mathematical approaches. There was discussion of the value of innovation and of the effects of value assessments on innovation. Discussion also included moving toward "progressive health system decision making," an ongoing process whereby evidence-based decisions on use would be made at various stages in the technology lifecycle. Five actions are identified: (i) development of a general framework for the definition and assessment of value; development by HTA/coverage bodies and regulators of (ii) disease-specific guidance and (iii) further joint scientific advice for industry on demonstrating value; (iv) development of a framework for progressive licensing, usage, and reimbursement; and (v) promoting work to better adapt HTA, coverage, and procurement approaches to medical devices.

  10. 14 CFR 1203.200 - Background and discussion.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 1203.200 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM NASA Information Security Program § 1203.200 Background and discussion. (a) In establishing a... public inspection of that information that is classified to protect the national security. (b) In...

  11. 14 CFR 1203.200 - Background and discussion.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 1203.200 Aeronautics and Space NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM NASA Information Security Program § 1203.200 Background and discussion. (a) In establishing a... public inspection of that information that is classified to protect the national security. (b) In...

  12. Striving for Social Sensitivity: The Impact of a Social Justice Project on Student Teachers' Understanding of Pupils from Socially Disadvantaged Backgrounds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Andrew W.

    2017-01-01

    This paper considers the concerning issue of social disadvantage in N. Ireland schools and suggests that the majority of those entering the teaching profession are ill-equipped to empathise with pupils in disadvantaged areas and thus less enabled to offer effective pastoral care. It argues that this lack of preparedness stems from backgrounds very…

  13. Novel developments in mobile sensing based on the integration of microfluidic devices and smartphones.

    PubMed

    Yang, Ke; Peretz-Soroka, Hagit; Liu, Yong; Lin, Francis

    2016-03-21

    Portable electronic devices and wireless communication systems enable a broad range of applications such as environmental and food safety monitoring, personalized medicine and healthcare management. Particularly, hybrid smartphone and microfluidic devices provide an integrated solution for the new generation of mobile sensing applications. Such mobile sensing based on microfluidic devices (broadly defined) and smartphones (MS(2)) offers a mobile laboratory for performing a wide range of bio-chemical detection and analysis functions such as water and food quality analysis, routine health tests and disease diagnosis. MS(2) offers significant advantages over traditional platforms in terms of test speed and control, low cost, mobility, ease-of-operation and data management. These improvements put MS(2) in a promising position in the fields of interdisciplinary basic and applied research. In particular, MS(2) enables applications to remote in-field testing, homecare, and healthcare in low-resource areas. The marriage of smartphones and microfluidic devices offers a powerful on-chip operating platform to enable various bio-chemical tests, remote sensing, data analysis and management in a mobile fashion. The implications of such integration are beyond telecommunication and microfluidic-related research and technology development. In this review, we will first provide the general background of microfluidic-based sensing, smartphone-based sensing, and their integration. Then, we will focus on several key application areas of MS(2) by systematically reviewing the important literature in each area. We will conclude by discussing our perspectives on the opportunities, issues and future directions of this emerging novel field.

  14. The Women in Emergency Medicine Mentoring Program: An Innovative Approach to Mentoring

    PubMed Central

    Welch, Julie L.; Jimenez, Heather L.; Walthall, Jennifer; Allen, Sheryl E.

    2012-01-01

    Background Women in medicine report many gender-specific barriers to their career success and satisfaction, including a lack of mentors and role models. The literature calls for innovative strategies to enhance mentorship for women in medicine. Objective To describe the content, perceived value, and ongoing achievements of a mentoring program for women in emergency medicine. Methods The program offered mentoring for female faculty and residents in an academic emergency medicine department. Volunteers participated in group mentoring sessions using a mosaic of vertical and peer mentoring. Sessions focused on topics specific to women in medicine. An anonymous, electronic survey was sent to women who participated during 2004–2010 to assess the perceived value of the program and to collect qualitative feedback. Preliminary achievements fulfilling the program's goals were tracked. Results A total of 46 women (64%) completed the survey. The results showed a positive perceived value of the program (average, 4.65 on a 5-point Likert scale) in providing mentors and role models (4.41), in offering a supportive environment (4.39), in providing discussions pertinent to both personal (4.22) and professional development (4.22), while expanding networking opportunities (4.07). Notable achievements included work on the creation of a family leave policy, establishing lactation space, collaboration on projects, awards, and academic advancement. Conclusion This innovative model for mentoring women is perceived as a valuable asset to the academic department and residency. It offers the unique combination of expanding a female mentor pool by recruiting alumni and using a mosaic of vertical and peer mentoring. PMID:23997883

  15. Novel Developments of Mobile Sensing Based on the Integration of Microfluidic Devices and Smartphone

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Ke; Peretz-Soroka, Hagit; Liu, Yong; Lin, Francis

    2016-01-01

    Portable electronic devices and wireless communication systems enable a broad range of applications such as environmental and food safety monitoring, personalized medicine and healthcare management. Particularly, hybrid smartphone and microfluidic devices provide an integrated solution for the new generation of mobile sensing applications. Such mobile sensing based on microfluidic devices (broadly defined) and smartphones (MS2) offers a mobile laboratory for performing a wide range of bio-chemical detection and analysis functions such as water and food quality analysis, routine health tests and disease diagnosis. MS2 offers significant advantages over traditional platforms in terms of test speed and control, low cost, mobility, ease-of-operation and data management. These improvements put MS2 in a promising position in the fields of interdisciplinary basic and applied research. In particular, MS2 enables applications to remote infield testing, homecare, and healthcare in low-resource areas. The marriage of smartphones and microfluidic devices offers a powerful on-chip operating platform to enable various bio-chemical tests, remote sensing, data analysis and management in a mobile fashion. The implications of such integration are beyond telecommunication and microfluidic-related research and technology development. In this review, we will first provide the general background of microfluidic-based sensing, smartphone-based sensing, and their integration. Then, we will focus on several key application areas of MS2 by systematically reviewing the important literature in each area. We will conclude by discussing our perspectives on the opportunities, issues and future directions of this emerging novel field. PMID:26899264

  16. Adlai E. Stevenson Speeches from the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University in Milner Library, Illinois State University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maher, Michael

    The document introduces and lists tape recordings of Adlai E. Stevenson's speeches from 1952 until his death in 1965. The objective is to supplement the tapes and to aid in their usage by offering background information. The guide is presented in two sections. Section I offers an overview of the political atmosphere in 1952 and 1956 and…

  17. A Cognitive Perspective on Singaporean Primary School Pupils' Use of Reading Strategies in Learning to Read in English

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Lawrence Jun; Gu, Peter Yongqi; Hu, Guangwei

    2008-01-01

    Background: This study is conducted in Singapore, where learning to read in English is regarded as essential because it is offered as a First Language (L1) subject in the curriculum and is stipulated as the medium of instruction in the education system, and the mother tongues are offered as Second Language (L2) subjects, although the majority…

  18. Dispelling Myths, Restoring Hope. News Media Strategies for Reporting about African American Youth and Their Experiences with Alcohol and Other Drugs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (DHHS/PHS), Rockville, MD. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.

    This booklet has been prepared as a resource guide for professionals in the news business. The tools in this booklet offer new ideas for news stories about African American youth and substance abuse. The facts section offers background on the research that shapes current thinking about alcohol and other drug use. The media strategies section…

  19. Modelling Symmetry Classes 233 and 432.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dutch, Steven I.

    1986-01-01

    Offers instructions and geometrical data for constructing solids of the enantiomorphous symmetry classes 233 and 432. Provides background information for each class and highlights symmetrical relationships and construction patterns. (ML)

  20. Research Review: Two Pathways toward impulsive action: an integrative risk model for bulimic behavior in youth

    PubMed Central

    Pearson, Carolyn M.; Riley, Elizabeth N.; Davis, Heather A.; Smith, Gregory T.

    2014-01-01

    Background This paper provides an integrative review of existing risk factors and models for bulimia nervosa (BN) in young girls. We offer a new model for BN that describes two pathways of risk that may lead to the initial impulsive act of binge eating and purging in children and adolescents. Scope We conducted a selective literature review, focusing on existing and new risk processes for BN in this select population. Findings We identify two ways in which girls increase their risk to begin engaging in the impulsive behavior of binge eating and purging. The first is state based: the experience of negative mood, in girls attempting to restrain eating, leads to the depletion of self-control and thus increased risk for loss of control eating. The second is personality-based: elevations on the trait of negative urgency, or the tendency to act rashly when distressed, increase risk, particularly in conjunction with high-risk psychosocial learning. We then briefly discuss how these behaviors are reinforced, putting girls at further risk for developing BN. Conclusions We highlight several areas in which further inquiry is necessary, and we discuss the clinical implications of the new risk model we described. PMID:24673546

  1. Discover Dentistry: encouraging wider participation in dentistry using a massive open online course (MOOC).

    PubMed

    Stokes, C W; Towers, A C; Jinks, P V; Symington, A

    2015-07-24

    This paper describes how a relatively new style of online learning, a massive open online course (MOOC), may be used to raise aspirations and widen participation in dental professions. A MOOC was designed and run with the aim of engaging prospective students of dental professions in learning and discussion. Over 4,200 learners signed up, and 450 students fully completed this first run of the course. The course attracted a significantly younger demographic than is typical for MOOCs, and nearly a third who responded to the pre-course survey reported they were doing the course specifically as preparation for a dental degree. The approach also provided a platform for public engagement on the subject of dentistry with participants, both dental professionals and members of the public, contributing to discussion around the learning materials from around the world, providing a unique, internationalised perspective of oral healthcare for learners. This study shows that there is genuine potential for MOOCs to involve people from disadvantaged backgrounds in higher education by offering free, accessible, enjoyable and engaging educational experiences. The data gives us cautious optimism that these courses can play a significant role within a platform of other WP interventions.

  2. What should we want to know about our future? A Kantian view on predictive genetic testing.

    PubMed

    Heinrichs, Bert

    2005-01-01

    Recent advances in genomic research have led to the development of new diagnostic tools, including tests which make it possible to predict the future occurrence of monogenetic diseases (e.g. Chorea Huntington) or to determine increased susceptibilities to the future development of more complex diseases (e.g. breast cancer). The use of such tests raises a number of ethical, legal and social issues which are usually discussed in terms of rights. However, in the context of predictive genetic tests a key question arises which lies beyond the concept of rights, namely, What should we want to know about our future? In the following I shall discuss this question against the background of Kant's Doctrine of Virtue. It will be demonstrated that the system of duties of virtue that Kant elaborates in the second part of his Metaphysics of Morals offers a theoretical framework for addressing the question of a proper scope of future knowledge as provided by genetic tests. This approach can serve as a source of moral guidance complementary to a justice perspective. It does, however, not rest on the-rather problematic--claim to be able to define what the "good life" is.

  3. Geoscience on television: a review of science communication literature in the context of geosciences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hut, Rolf; Land-Zandstra, Anne; Smeets, Ionica; Stoof, Cathelijne

    2016-04-01

    Geoscience communication is becoming increasingly important as climate change increases the occurrence of natural hazards around the world. Few geoscientists are trained in effective science communication, and awareness of the formal science communication literature is also low. This can be challenging when interacting with journalists on a powerful medium like TV. To provide geoscience communicators with background knowledge on effective science communication on television, we reviewed relevant theory in the context of geosciences and discuss six major themes: scientist motivation, target audience, narratives and storytelling, jargon and information transfer, relationship between scientists and journalists, and stereotypes of scientists on TV. We illustrate each theme with a case study of geosciences on TV and discuss relevant science communication literature. We then highlight how this literature applies to the geosciences and identify knowledge gaps related to science communication in the geosciences. As TV offers a unique opportunity to reach many viewers, we hope this review can not only positively contribute to effective geoscience communication but also to the wider geoscience debate in society. This work is currently under review for publication in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS)

  4. Applying heuristic inquiry to nurse migration from the UK to Australia.

    PubMed

    Vafeas, Caroline; Hendricks, Joyce

    2017-01-23

    Background Heuristic inquiry is a research approach that improves understanding of the essence of an experience. This qualitative method relies on researchers' ability to discover and interpret their own experience while exploring those of others. Aim To present a discussion of heuristic inquiry's methodology and its application to the experience of nurse migration. Discussion The researcher's commitment to the research is central to heuristic inquiry. It is immersive, reflective, reiterative and a personally-affecting method of gathering knowledge. Researchers are acknowledged as the only people who can validate the findings of the research by exploring their own experiences while also examining those of others with the same experiences to truly understand the phenomena being researched. This paper presents the ways in which the heuristic process guides this discovery in relation to traditional research steps. Conclusion Heuristic inquiry is an appropriate method for exploring nurses' experiences of migration because nurse researchers can tell their own stories and it brings understanding of themselves and the phenomenon as experienced by others. Implications for practice Although not a popular method in nursing research, heuristic inquiry offers a depth of exploration and understanding that may not be revealed by other methods.

  5. Ultraviolet properties of the Higgs sector in the Lee-Wick standard model

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Espinosa, Jose R.; Grinstein, Benjamin

    2011-04-01

    The Lee-Wick (LW) standard model (SM) offers a new solution to the hierarchy problem. We discuss, using effective potential techniques, its peculiar UV behavior. We show how quadratic divergences in the Higgs mass M{sub h} cancel as a result of the unusual dependence of LW fields on the Higgs background (in a manner reminiscent of little Higgses). We then extract from the effective potential the renormalization group evolution of the Higgs quartic coupling {lambda} above the LW scale. After clarifying an apparent discrepancy with previous results for the LW Abelian Higgs model, we focus on the LWSM. In contrast withmore » the SM case, for any M{sub h}, {lambda} grows monotonically and hits a Landau pole at a fixed trans-Planckian scale (never turning negative in the UV). Then, the perturbativity and stability bounds on M{sub h} disappear. We identify a cutoff {approx}10{sup 16} GeV for the LWSM due to the hypercharge gauge coupling hitting a Landau pole. Finally, we also discuss briefly the possible impact of the UV properties of the LW models on their behavior at finite temperature, in particular, regarding symmetry nonrestoration.« less

  6. Dignity under threat? A study of the experiences of older people in the United Kingdom.

    PubMed

    Calnan, Michael; Badcott, David; Woolhead, Gillian

    2006-01-01

    Theoretical accounts have offered a general understanding of the social significance and importance of dignity and suggest that older age may threaten dignity by structuring and limiting the opportunities for participation and/or social recognition. Micro-sociological research has shown how older people negotiate their identity, in the face of its erosion by the aging body and disability and the domination of health and social care workers. These theoretical approaches inform the study presented here, which explores the meaning and experience of dignity for older people in their daily lives. Older people's accounts were elicited through a series of focus groups with participants living in England and Wales. Participants were selected according to predefined criteria to represent a range of different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, levels of fitness, and home circumstances. Personal identity and autonomy were the aspects of dignity most meaningful to the participants, and discussions tended to focus mainly on when personal identity and autonomy were threatened or violated in the context of the provision of health and social care. The authors discuss the extent to which older people's discourse on dignity resonates with the theoretical discourse.

  7. Conducting a meta-ethnography of qualitative literature: Lessons learnt

    PubMed Central

    Atkins, Salla; Lewin, Simon; Smith, Helen; Engel, Mark; Fretheim, Atle; Volmink, Jimmy

    2008-01-01

    Background Qualitative synthesis has become more commonplace in recent years. Meta-ethnography is one of several methods for synthesising qualitative research and is being used increasingly within health care research. However, many aspects of the steps in the process remain ill-defined. Discussion We utilized the seven stages of the synthesis process to synthesise qualitative research on adherence to tuberculosis treatment. In this paper we discuss the methodological and practical challenges faced; of particular note are the methods used in our synthesis, the additional steps that we found useful in clarifying the process, and the key methodological challenges encountered in implementing the meta-ethnographic approach. The challenges included shaping an appropriate question for the synthesis; identifying relevant studies; assessing the quality of the studies; and synthesising findings across a very large number of primary studies from different contexts and research traditions. We offer suggestions that may assist in undertaking meta-ethnographies in the future. Summary Meta-ethnography is a useful method for synthesising qualitative research and for developing models that interpret findings across multiple studies. Despite its growing use in health research, further research is needed to address the wide range of methodological and epistemological questions raised by the approach. PMID:18416812

  8. Simplifying healthful choices: a qualitative study of a physical activity based nutrition label format

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background This study used focus groups to pilot and evaluate a new nutrition label format and refine the label design. Physical activity equivalent labels present calorie information in terms of the amount of physical activity that would be required to expend the calories in a specified food item. Methods Three focus groups with a total of twenty participants discussed food choices and nutrition labeling. They provided information on comprehension, usability and acceptability of the label. A systematic coding process was used to apply descriptive codes to the data and to identify emerging themes and attitudes. Results Participants in all three groups were able to comprehend the label format. Discussion about label format focused on issues including gender of the depicted figure, physical fitness of the figure, preference for walking or running labels, and preference for information in miles or minutes. Feedback from earlier focus groups was used to refine the labels in an iterative process. Conclusions In contrast to calorie labels, participants shown physical activity labels asked and answered, “How does this label apply to me?” This shift toward personalized understanding may indicate that physical activity labels offer an advantage over currently available nutrition labels. PMID:23742678

  9. Reconciling research and implementation in micro health insurance experiments in India: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Microinsurance or Community-Based Health Insurance is a promising healthcare financing mechanism, which is increasingly applied to aid rural poor persons in low-income countries. Robust empirical evidence on the causal relations between Community-Based Health Insurance and healthcare utilisation, financial protection and other areas is scarce and necessary. This paper contains a discussion of the research design of three Cluster Randomised Controlled Trials in India to measure the impact of Community-Based Health Insurance on several outcomes. Methods/Design Each trial sets up a Community-Based Health Insurance scheme among a group of micro-finance affiliate families. Villages are grouped into clusters which are congruous with pre-existing social groupings. These clusters are randomly assigned to one of three waves of implementation, ensuring the entire population is offered Community-Based Health Insurance by the end of the experiment. Each wave of treatment is preceded by a round of mixed methods evaluation, with quantitative, qualitative and spatial evidence on impact collected. Improving upon practices in published Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial literature, we detail how research design decisions have ensured that both the households offered insurance and the implementers of the Community-Based Health Insurance scheme operate in an environment replicating a non-experimental implementation. Discussion When a Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial involves randomizing within a community, generating adequate and valid conclusions requires that the research design must be made congruous with social structures within the target population, to ensure that such trials are conducted in an implementing environment which is a suitable analogue to that of a non-experimental implementing environment. PMID:21988774

  10. Cornell Astronomy REU: Casting a Wide Net to Increase Access to Research Opportunities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fernandez de Castro, Patricia; Haynes, Martha P.

    2018-01-01

    We describe a Research Experience for Undergraduates program in astrophysics and planetary science hosted in a major university setting that is geared especially but not exclusively to students who matriculate at smaller colleges and universities without major astronomy research programs, have not previously had off-campus research experiences and/or have non-traditional academic backgrounds.Individual research projects which students undertake with faculty mentors and their research groups are the keystone of the program. Built around this central activity are a set of other components that aim to expose students to the broad areas of astrophysical and planetary science research and to foster their appreciation of the research enterprise and their possible place within it. We describe the professional development activities that are offered to students, including lectures and workshops on a broad range of topics in astrophysics and planetary science, research group meetings, tutorials on research and scientific presentation skills, participation in outreach, education on the graduate school experience and application process, and discussions of the scientific enterprise, career paths and options in astronomy and related fields as well as the role REU group meetings with the program director (which complement meetings students attend within the context of their research group) play in developing students’ scientific competencies and pre-professional development. Also described are program elements that aim to make the program accessible to all students, including older students, those in relationships or with children as well as cohort building. Finally, we discuss lessons learned on how recruiting on merit and suitability to the research projects on offer, with a strong emphasis on smaller colleges and universities without major astronomy research programs can work towards a broader and more inclusive recruitment.This work was supported by NSF award AST-1156780.

  11. Use of complementary and alternative medicine at Norwegian and Danish hospitals

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Several studies have found that a high proportion of the population in western countries use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). However, little is known about whether CAM is offered in hospitals. The aim of this study was to describe to what extent CAM is offered in Norwegian and Danish hospitals and investigate possible changes in Norway since 2001. Methods A one-page questionnaire was sent to all included hospitals in both countries. The questionnaire was sent to the person responsible for the clinical activity, typically the medical director. 99 hospitals in the authority (85%) in Norway and 126 in Denmark (97%) responded. Given contact persons were interviewed. Results CAM is presently offered in about 50% of Norwegian hospitals and one-third of Danish hospitals. In Norway CAM was offered in 50 hospitals, 40 of which involved acupuncture. 19 hospitals gave other alternative therapies like biofeedback, hypnosis, cupping, ear-acupuncture, herbal medicine, art therapy, homeopathy, reflexology, thought field therapy, gestalt therapy, aromatherapy, tai chi, acupressure, yoga, pilates and other. 9 hospitals offered more than one therapy form. In Denmark 38 hospitals offered acupuncture and one Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Light Therapy. The most commonly reported reason for offering CAM was scientific evidence in Denmark. In Norway it was the interest of a hospital employee, except for acupuncture where the introduction is more often initiated by the leadership and is more based on scientific evidence of effect. All persons (except one) responsible for the alternative treatment had a medical or allied health professional background and their education/training in CAM treatment varied substantially. Conclusions The extent of CAM being offered has increased substantially in Norway during the first decade of the 21st century. This might indicate a shift in attitude regarding CAM within the conventional health care system. PMID:21244655

  12. Biomedical engineering education at Politecnico di Milano: development and recent changes.

    PubMed

    Baselli, G

    2009-05-01

    The biomedical engineering (BME) programme at the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) is characterized by a strong interdisciplinary background in a broad range of engineering subjects applied to biology and medicine. Accordingly, the undergraduate level (3 years) provides a general education, which includes mechanics, chemistry and materials, electronics, and information technology both in the context of general engineering and within BME foundations. In contrast, the postgraduate programme (2 years) offers a broad choice of specializations in BME fields in close connection with the BME research activities and laboratories of the campus and with active interchange with the other engineering disciplines. The history of BME development at POLIMI is briefly recalled, together with the characteristics of educational and research work, which is strongly biased by a large polytechnic university with no medical school within the same campus; points of strength and weakness due to this background are discussed. The introduction of a double cycle (undergraduate and postgraduate) according to the Bologna process (2000) and the effects on the programme structure is considered. An early phase in which professional education was emphasized at undergraduate level is recalled, which was followed by the actual revision fostering basic engineering and BME education at the first level while leaving in-depth specialization to postgraduate studies or to on-the-job training.

  13. Cultural Challenges to Engaging Patients in Shared Decision Making

    PubMed Central

    Hawley, Sarah T.; Morris, Arden M.

    2016-01-01

    Objective Engaging patients in their health care through shared decision-making is a priority embraced by several national and international groups. Missing from these initiatives is an understanding of the challenges involved in engaging patients from diverse backgrounds in shared decision-making. In this commentary, we summarize some of the challenges and pose points for consideration regarding how to move toward more culturally appropriate shared decision-making. Discussion The past decade has seen repeated calls for health policies, research projects and interventions that more actively include patients in decision making. Yet research has shown that patients from different racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds appraise their decision making process less positively than do white, U.S.-born patients who are the current demographic majority. Conclusion While preliminary conceptual frameworks have been proposed for considering the role of race/ethnicity and culture in healthcare utilization, we maintain that more foundational and empirical work is necessary. We offer recommendations for how to best involve patients early in treatment and how to maximize decision making in the way most meaningful to patients. Innovative and sustained efforts are needed to educate and train providers to communicate effectively in engaging patients in informed, shared decision-making and to provide culturally competent health care. PMID:27461943

  14. Childhood obesity prevention in rural settings: background, rationale, and study design of ‘4-Health,’ a parent-only intervention

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Childhood obesity in rural communities is a serious but understudied problem. The current experiment aims to assess a wide range of obesity risk factors among rural youth and to offer an 8-month intervention program for parents to reduce obesity risk in their preteen child. Methods/Design A two-group, repeated measures design is used to assess the effectiveness of the 4-Health intervention program. Assessments include anthropometric measures, child self-evaluations, parent self-evaluations, and parent evaluations of child. County Extension agents from 21 rural Montana counties recruit approximately 150 parent–child dyads and counties are semi-randomly assigned to the active intervention group (4-Health Educational Program) or a “best-practices” (Healthy Living Information) control group. Discussion This study will shed light on the effectiveness of this parent-only intervention strategy in reducing obesity risk factors among rural preteens. The 4-Health program is designed to provide information and skills development for busy rural parents that will increase healthy lifestyles of their preteen children and improve the parents’ ability to intervene effectively in the lives of their families during this critical developmental period. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01510587 PMID:22471650

  15. Ayurveda: Between Religion, Spirituality, and Medicine

    PubMed Central

    Kessler, C.; Wischnewsky, M.; Michalsen, A.; Eisenmann, C.; Melzer, J.

    2013-01-01

    Ayurveda is playing a growing part in Europe. Questions regarding the role of religion and spirituality within Ayurveda are discussed widely. Yet, there is little data on the influence of religious and spiritual aspects on its European diffusion. Methods. A survey was conducted with a new questionnaire. It was analysed by calculating frequency variables and testing differences in distributions with the χ 2-Test. Principal Component Analyses with Varimax Rotation were performed. Results. 140 questionnaires were analysed. Researchers found that individual religious and spiritual backgrounds influence attitudes and expectations towards Ayurveda. Statistical relationships were found between religious/spiritual backgrounds and decisions to offer/access Ayurveda. Accessing Ayurveda did not exclude the simultaneous use of modern medicine and CAM. From the majority's perspective Ayurveda is simultaneously a science, medicine, and a spiritual approach. Conclusion. Ayurveda seems to be able to satisfy the individual needs of therapists and patients, despite worldview differences. Ayurvedic concepts are based on anthropologic assumptions including different levels of existence in healing approaches. Thereby, Ayurveda can be seen in accordance with the prerequisites for a Whole Medical System. As a result of this, intimate and individual therapist-patient relationships can emerge. Larger surveys involving bigger participant numbers with fully validated questionnaires are warranted to support these results. PMID:24368928

  16. Science Education & Cultural Environments in the Americas. Report of the Inter-American Seminar on Science Education (Panama City, Panama, December 10-14, 1984).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gallagher, James J., Ed.; Dawson, George, Ed.

    The impact of cultural background on science learning is explored in this compilation of papers and reports from an inter-American Seminar on science education. For the purposes of enriching science program planning, teacher education, research, and practice in the schools, varying ideas are offered on the effects of cultural background on science…

  17. Political Influence and the Commander in Chief: Congress, the President, and War Powers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2006-01-01

    consultation with congressional leaders. Framed against the background of the 2006 midterm elections, this study suggests that scholars and other observers...potential v presidential consultation with congressional leaders. Framed against the background of the 2006 midterm elections, this study suggests that...wonder, for war powers politics offers a compelling arena for studying a variety of political phenomena, running the conceptual gamut from American

  18. Development and implementation of a workshop to enhance the effectiveness of mentors working with diverse mentees in HIV research.

    PubMed

    Gandhi, Monica; Fernandez, Alicia; Stoff, David M; Narahari, Swathi; Blank, Michael; Fuchs, Jonathan; Evans, Clyde H; Kahn, James S; Johnson, Mallory O

    2014-08-01

    Abstract A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of competent mentoring in academic research in the field of HIV, particularly for early stage investigators from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds. We describe the development and implementation of a 2-day intensive workshop to train mid-level and senior-level investigators conducting HIV-related clinical and translational research across multiple academic institutions on more effective mentoring, with an emphasis on techniques to foster mentees of diversity. The workshop was focused on training mentors in techniques designed to improve the effectiveness of the mentor-mentee relationship, and included didactic presentations, interactive discussions, and small-group problem-based learning activities. Mid-level or senior-level faculty involved or planning to be involved in significant mentorship activities related to HIV research were eligible. Surveys and formal actions plans allowed for workshop evaluation and laid the groundwork for subsequent workshops. Twenty-six faculty from 16 U.S.-based institutions participated, with good representation across discipline, gender, and race/ethnicity. The sessions were highly rated and discussions and evaluations revealed important barriers and facilitators to mentoring, challenges and solutions related to mentoring mentees from diverse backgrounds, and specific tools to enhance mentoring effectiveness. The Mentoring the Mentors training program for HIV researchers focusing on early career investigators of diversity was the first of its kind and was well attended, was rated highly, and provided guidance for improving the program in the future. This training program fills an important gap in the HIV researcher community and offers guidance for training mentors interested in diversity issues in settings outside of HIV.

  19. Development and Implementation of a Workshop to Enhance the Effectiveness of Mentors Working with Diverse Mentees in HIV Research

    PubMed Central

    Fernandez, Alicia; Stoff, David M.; Narahari, Swathi; Blank, Michael; Fuchs, Jonathan; Evans, Clyde H.; Kahn, James S.; Johnson, Mallory O.

    2014-01-01

    Abstract A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of competent mentoring in academic research in the field of HIV, particularly for early stage investigators from diverse, underrepresented backgrounds. We describe the development and implementation of a 2-day intensive workshop to train mid-level and senior-level investigators conducting HIV-related clinical and translational research across multiple academic institutions on more effective mentoring, with an emphasis on techniques to foster mentees of diversity. The workshop was focused on training mentors in techniques designed to improve the effectiveness of the mentor–mentee relationship, and included didactic presentations, interactive discussions, and small-group problem-based learning activities. Mid-level or senior-level faculty involved or planning to be involved in significant mentorship activities related to HIV research were eligible. Surveys and formal actions plans allowed for workshop evaluation and laid the groundwork for subsequent workshops. Twenty-six faculty from 16 U.S.-based institutions participated, with good representation across discipline, gender, and race/ethnicity. The sessions were highly rated and discussions and evaluations revealed important barriers and facilitators to mentoring, challenges and solutions related to mentoring mentees from diverse backgrounds, and specific tools to enhance mentoring effectiveness. The Mentoring the Mentors training program for HIV researchers focusing on early career investigators of diversity was the first of its kind and was well attended, was rated highly, and provided guidance for improving the program in the future. This training program fills an important gap in the HIV researcher community and offers guidance for training mentors interested in diversity issues in settings outside of HIV. PMID:24735004

  20. Expanding the scope of anatomical sciences: the case of "Human evolution: The fossil evidence" course at the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University.

    PubMed

    Notzer, Netta; Abramovitz, Ruth

    2012-01-01

    The Anatomy Department at Tel-Aviv University Medical School offers its students an elective course of 26 didactic hours on human evolution. The course is open to students from all faculties, who must fulfill all academic requirements, without a prerequisite of a background in anatomy. Approximately 120 students attend annually, a third of them are nonmedical students who major in philosophy, archeology, and sociology. This article discusses the course's contributions to students' understanding of a scientific concept that a scientific theory can be contradicted by new evidence, because facts govern science. Also, research methods of applying scientific principles establish the understanding of the human body, which evidently contributes to health and medicine. In the classes, the students are divided into mini-groups of 2-3 students, while the lecturer moves among students to examine fossils. In addition, analogies, open-discussions, and explanations accompany the tangible experiences. The lecturer of the course is an experienced anthropologist-anatomist researcher. He is a role-model and a mentor, sharing with the students his belief that a scientist should be persistent in his research to overcome difficult circumstances. Students, regardless of their backgrounds, express high appreciation of the course in their feedback questionnaires. The message conveyed by this course is that not only knowledge counts but also its integration with scientific principles. This course teaches us that science can bring students from different areas to study together and share ideas. In conclusion, this is a unique course in the eyes of the faculty and students alike. Copyright © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.

  1. Information visualization courses for students with a computer science background.

    PubMed

    Kerren, Andreas

    2013-01-01

    Linnaeus University offers two master's courses in information visualization for computer science students with programming experience. This article briefly describes the syllabi, exercises, and practices developed for these courses.

  2. Young Men’s Views Toward the Barriers and Facilitators of Internet-Based Chlamydia Trachomatis Screening: Qualitative Study

    PubMed Central

    McDaid, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    Background There is a growing number of Internet-based approaches that offer young people screening for sexually transmitted infections. Objective This paper explores young men’s views towards the barriers and facilitators of implementing an Internet-based screening approach. The study sought to consider ways in which the proposed intervention would reach and engage men across ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods This qualitative study included 15 focus groups with 60 heterosexual young men (aged 16-24 years) across central Scotland, drawn across age and socioeconomic backgrounds. Focus groups began by obtaining postcode data to allocate participants to a high/low deprivation category. Focus group discussions involved exploration of men’s knowledge of chlamydia, use of technology, and views toward Internet-based screening. Men were shown sample screening invitation letters, test kits, and existing screening websites to facilitate discussions. Transcripts from audio recordings were analyzed with "Framework Analysis". Results Men’s Internet and technology use was heterogeneous in terms of individual practices, with greater use among older men (aged 20-24 years) than teenagers and some deprivation-related differences in use. We detail three themes related to barriers to successful implementation: acceptability, confidentiality and privacy concerns, and language, style, and content. These themes identify ways Internet-based screening approaches may fail to engage some men, such as by raising anxiety and failing to convey confidentiality. Men wanted screening websites to frame screening as a serious issue, rather than using humorous images and text. Participants were encouraged to reach a consensus within their groups on their broad design and style preferences for a screening website; this led to a set of common preferences that they believed were likely to engage men across age and deprivation groups and lead to greater screening uptake. Conclusions The Internet provides opportunities for re-evaluating how we deliver sexual health promotion and engage young men in screening. Interventions using such technology should focus on uptake by age and socioeconomic background. Young people should be engaged as coproducers of intervention materials and websites to ensure messages and content are framed appropriately within a fast-changing environment. Doing so may go some way to addressing the overall lower levels of testing and screening among men compared with women. PMID:24300158

  3. Socratic Circles in World History: Reflections on a Year in Dialogue

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Corey; Goering, Christian Z.

    2018-01-01

    This article examines and offers insights to a year of Socratic circles in the context of a world history classroom. Grounding this practice in relevant research before offering examples from the classroom and providing advice to practitioners, this discussion strategy offers an antidote to the often divisive and destructive examples of…

  4. U.S. intermodal freight transportation : opportunities and obstacles

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-08-01

    This study offers background information on, definition and system architecture of, and stakeholders and impediments of intermodal freight transportation. The research also provides brief information on the current and future freight movement, domest...

  5. What Should American-Born Chinese Children Learn?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Shirley

    This paper discusses the teaching of Chinese to both students with Chinese background and students with non-Chinese background. It is suggested that students with a Chinese background be separated from those without a Chinese background in order not to discourage the latter group from studying Chinese. Chinese background students should be taught…

  6. The Use of Radio in an In-service Teacher-Training Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahrens, Patricia; Ghodiwala, Adam

    1987-01-01

    Describes the background and structure of an inservice project which offered primary school teachers in India support in the teaching of English as a foreign language through radio broadcasts. (Author/CB)

  7. Clip and Save.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hubbard, Guy

    2003-01-01

    Focuses on the facial expression in the "Mona Lisa" by Leonardo da Vinci. Offers background information on da Vinci as well as learning activities for students. Includes a reproduction of the "Mona Lisa" and information about the painting. (CMK)

  8. Environmental Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, and Human Well-being

    EPA Science Inventory

    This article examines environmental sustainability from several perspectives. First we offer definitions and some historical background. Then through case studies of marine fisheries, agricultural systems, and urban environments, we illustrate contrasts between unsustainable and ...

  9. Teaching Children How to Discuss What They Read.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perez, Samuel A.; Strickland, Eric V.

    1986-01-01

    Explains that teachers must understand that discussion is not a simple collection of listening and speaking skills but a dynamic event that requires children to orchestrate a number of language skills. Offers suggestions for improving discussions. (FL)

  10. Alcohol use disorder

    MedlinePlus

    ... help you stop drinking completely. These programs usually offer: Education about alcohol use and its effects Counseling and therapy to discuss how to control your thoughts and behaviors Physical ... programs offer housing options for people with alcohol problems. Depending ...

  11. Informed consent for innovative surgery: A survey of patients and surgeons

    PubMed Central

    Lee Char, Susan J.; Hills, Nancy K.; Lo, Bernard; Kirkwood, Kimberly S.

    2012-01-01

    Background Unlike new drugs and medical devices, most surgical procedures are developed outside clinical trials, without regulatory oversight. Surgical professional organizations have discussed how new procedures should be introduced into practice, without agreement on what topics informed consent discussions must include. To provide surgeons with more specific guidance, we wanted to determine what information patients and surgeons consider essential to disclose before an innovative surgical procedure. Methods 85 attending surgeons and 383 adult postoperative patients completed surveys. Using a 6-point Likert scale, participants rated the importance of discussing 16 types of information preoperatively for 3 techniques (standard open, laparoscopic, robotic) offered for a hypothetical partial hepatectomy. Results Compared with surgeons, patients placed more importance on nearly all types of information, particularly volumes and outcomes. For all 3 techniques, around 80% of patients indicated that they could not decide on surgery without being told whether it would be the surgeon’s first time doing the procedure. When considering an innovative robotic surgery, a clear majority of both patients and surgeons agreed that it was essential to disclose the procedure’s novel nature, potentially unknown risks and benefits, and whether it would be the surgeon’s first time performing the procedure. Conclusions To promote informed decision making and autonomy among patients considering innovative surgery, surgeons should disclose the procedure’s novel nature, potentially unknown risks and benefits, and whether the surgeon would be performing the procedure for the first time. When accurate volumes and outcomes data are available, surgeons should also discuss these with patients. PMID:23218878

  12. Zinc and You.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrne, Michael

    This unit is one of a group of units written to fit the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) chemistry course, but it could also be used in most Sixth Form courses. It includes: (1) background notes for teachers including answers and a discussion guide; (2) a student copy of objectives and discussion suggestions; (3) background information for…

  13. 28.1 VARIETIES OF SELF DISORDER: A BIO-PHENO-SOCIAL MODEL OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

    PubMed Central

    Nelson, Barnaby; Sass, Louis

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background The self-disorder model offers a unifying way of conceptualizing schizophrenia’s highly diverse symptoms (positive, negative, disorganized), of capturing their distinctive bizarreness, and of conceiving their longitudinal development. These symptoms are viewed as differing manifestations of an underlying disorder of ‘core-self’: hyperreflexivity/diminished-self presence with accompanying disturbances of “grip” or “hold” on reality. Methods We have recently revised and tested this phenomenological model, in particular distinguishing primary versus-secondary factors, in offering a bio-pheno-social model of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Results The revised model is consistent with recent empirical findings and offers several advantages: 1) It helps account for the temporal variations of the symptoms or syndrome, including longitudinal progression, but also the shorter-term, situationally-reactive, sometimes defensive, and possibly quasi-agentive variability of symptom-expression that can occur in schizophrenia (consistent with understanding some aspects of self-disturbance as dynamic and mutable, involving shifting attitudes or experiential orientations). 2) It accommodates the overlapping of some key schizophrenic symptoms with certain non-schizophrenia spectrum conditions involving dissociation (depersonalization and derealization), including Depersonalization Disorder and Panic Disorder, thereby acknowledging both shared and distinguishing symptoms. 3) It integrates recent neurocognitive, neurobiological, and psychosocial (e.g., influence of trauma and culture) findings into a coherent but multi-factorial neuropsychological account. Discussion An adequate model of schizophrenia will postulate shared disturbances of core-self experiences that nevertheless can follow several distinct pathways and occur in various forms. Such a model is preferable to uni-dimensional alternatives—whether of schizophrenia or core self disturbance—given its ability to account for distinctive yet varying experiential and neurocognitive abnormalities found in research on schizophrenia, and to integrate these with recent psychosocial as well as neurobiological findings.

  14. Challenges in conducting qualitative research in health: A conceptual paper

    PubMed Central

    Khankeh, Hamidreza; Ranjbar, Maryam; Khorasani-Zavareh, Davoud; Zargham-Boroujeni, Ali; Johansson, Eva

    2015-01-01

    Background: Qualitative research focuses on social world and provides the tools to study health phenomena from the perspective of those experiencing them. Identifying the problem, forming the question, and selecting an appropriate methodology and design are some of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the early stages of any research project. These problems are particularly common for novices. Materials and Methods: This article describes the practical challenges of using qualitative inquiry in the field of health and the challenges of performing an interpretive research based on professional experience as a qualitative researcher and on available literature. Results: One of the main topics discussed is the nature of qualitative research, its inherent challenges, and how to overcome them. Some of those highlighted here include: identification of the research problem, formation of the research question/aim, and selecting an appropriate methodology and research design, which are the main concerns of qualitative researchers and need to be handled properly. Insights from real-life experiences in conducting qualitative research in health reveal these issues. Conclusions: The paper provides personal comments on the experiences of a researcher in conducting pure qualitative research in the field of health. It offers insights into the practical difficulties encountered when performing qualitative studies and offers solutions and alternatives applied by these authors, which may be of use to others. PMID:26793245

  15. Preventing HIV transmission among Iranian prisoners: Initial support for providing education on the benefits of harm reduction practices

    PubMed Central

    Eshrati, Babak; Asl, Rahim Taghizadeh; Dell, Colleen Anne; Afshar, Parviz; Millson, Peggy Margaret E; Kamali, Mohammad; Weekes, John

    2008-01-01

    Background Harm reduction is a health-centred approach that seeks to reduce the health and social harms associated with high-risk behaviors, such as illicit drug use. The objective of this study is to determine the association between the beliefs of a group of adult, male prisoners in Iran about the transmission of HIV and their high-risk practices while in prison. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2004. The study population was a random selection of 100 men incarcerated at Rajaei-Shahr prison. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Focus group discussions were held at the prison to guide the design of the questionnaire. The relationship between components of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and prisoners' risky HIV-related behaviors was examined. Results Calculating Pearson's correlation coefficient, a significant, positive association was found between the benefit component of the HBM and prisoners not engaging in HIV high-risk behaviors. Conclusion Educational harm reduction initiatives that promote the effectiveness of strategies designed to reduce the risk of HIV transmission may decrease prisoners' high-risk behaviors. This finding provides initial support for the Iran prison system's current offering of HIV/AIDS harm reduction programming and suggests the need to offer increased education about the effectiveness of HIV prevention practices. PMID:18541032

  16. U.S. EPA's Ultraviolet Disinfection Technologies Demonstration Study

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation will give a background on USEPA's Disinfection Technologies Demonstration Study. This will include regulatory background, science background, goals of the project, and ultimate expected outcome of the project. This presentation will preceed a panel discussion ...

  17. Development of HiLo Microscope and its use in In-Vivo Applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patel, Shreyas J.

    The functionality of achieving optical sectioning in biomedical research is invaluable as it allows for visualization of a biological sample at different depths while being free of background scattering. Most current microscopy techniques that offer optical sectioning, unfortunately, require complex instrumentation and thus are generally costly. HiLo microscopy, on the other hand, offers the same functionality and advantage at a relatively low cost. Hence, the work described in this thesis involves the design, build, and application of a HiLo microscope. More specifically, a standalone HiLo microscope was built in addition to implementing HiLo microscopy on a standard fluorescence microscope. In HiLo microscopy, optical sectioning is achieved by acquiring two different types of images per focal plane. One image is acquired under uniform illumination and the other is acquired under speckle illumination. These images are processed using an algorithm that extracts in-focus information and removes features and glare that occur as a result of background fluorescence. To show the benefits of the HiLo microscopy, several imaging experiments on various samples were performed under a HiLo microscope and compared against a traditional fluorescence microscope and a confocal microscope, which is considered the gold standard in optical imaging. In-vitro and ex-vivo imaging was performed on a set of pollen grains, and optically cleared mouse brain and heart slices. Each of these experiments showed great reduction in background scattering at different depths under HiLo microscopy. More importantly, HiLo imaging of optically cleared heart slice demonstrated emergence of different vasculature at different depths. Reduction of out-of-focus light increased the spatial resolution and allowed better visualization of capillary vessels. Furthermore, HiLo imaging was tested in an in-vivo model of a rodent dorsal window chamber model. When imaging the same sample under confocal microscope, the results were comparable between the two modalities. Additionally, a method of achieving blood flow maps at different depth using a combination of HiLo and LSI imaging is also discussed. The significance of this combined technique could help categorize blood flow to particular depths; this can help improve outcomes of medical treatments such pulse dye laser and photodynamic therapy treatments.

  18. Screen for Carbon Dioxide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foster, John; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Presents a set of laboratory experiments that can assist students in the detection of carbon dioxide. Offers a variation of the supported drop method of carbon dioxide detection that provides readily visible positive results. Includes background information on carbon dioxide. (ML)

  19. Look Out! It's Poison Ivy!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Darlington, Elizabeth, Day

    1986-01-01

    Provides background information on poison ivy and offers suggestions for instructional activities. Includes illustrations of the varieties of poison ivy leaf forms and poison ivy look-alikes. Highlights interesting facts and cases associated with poison ivy and its relatives. (ML)

  20. Discussion Technique: The Twice-Around

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andersen, Kent

    2013-01-01

    In this article, the author offers a discussion technique: the twice-around. A variant on the circular response discussion, the twice-around engages students by beginning with students' questions, ensuring equal time for all participants and inviting discussants to build on previous contributions. In the twice-around, participants sit in a circle,…

  1. Getting to Know Us: or, the Rewards and Problems of Outreach and Affiliation Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jankowski, Theodora A.

    Outreach and affiliation efforts undertaken by Utica College, an independently administered branch of Syracuse University, are discussed. The following general guidelines are offered: (1) contract for a specific price for any given offering so that fixed and variable costs will be covered; (2) offer courses that lead to a specific goal such as a…

  2. Catalog of Resources for Education in Ada (Trade Name) and Software Engineering (CREASE). Version 4.0.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1986-05-01

    offering the course is a company. Name and Address of offeror: Tachyon Corporation 2725 Congress Street Suite 2H San Diego, CA 92110 Offeror’s...Background: Tachyon Corporation specializes in Ada software quality assurance, computer hosted instruction and information retrieval systems, authoring tools...easy to use (on-line help) and can look up or search for terms. Tachyon Corporation 20 CDURSE OFFERINGS 2.2. Lecture/Seminar Courses 2.2.1. Company

  3. Development of permissible exposure limits: the California experience.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Richard; Steinmaus, Craig; Quinlan, Patricia; Ku, Robert; Cooper, Michael; Roberts, Tim

    2006-01-01

    The California OSHA Airborne Contaminant Advisory Committee reviewed several hundred substances and recommended occupational exposure limits with the intent of worker and employer protection. The model used offers important benefits. First, by allowing open meetings, the process was transparent, and input could be offered by concerned stakeholders. Second, the process was data-driven and, therefore, less susceptible to bias and error. Third, by incorporating members with backgrounds in toxicology, epidemiology, risk assessment, occupational medicine, and industrial hygiene, the process fostered a thorough and diverse assessment of substances.

  4. Baryon symmetric big-bang cosmology. [matter-antimatter symmetry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stecker, F. W.

    1978-01-01

    The framework of baryon-symmetric big-bang cosmology offers the greatest potential for deducing the evolution of the universe as a consequence of physical laws and processes with the minimum number of arbitrary assumptions as to initial conditions in the big-bang. In addition, it offers the possibility of explaining the photon-baryon ratio in the universe and how galaxies and galaxy clusters are formed, and also provides the only acceptable explanation at present for the origin of the cosmic gamma ray background radiation.

  5. Genetic testing in asymptomatic minors Background considerations towards ESHG Recommendations

    PubMed Central

    Borry, Pascal; Evers-Kiebooms, Gerry; Cornel, Martina C; Clarke, Angus; Dierickx, Kris

    2009-01-01

    Although various guidelines and position papers have discussed, in the past, the ethical aspects of genetic testing in asymptomatic minors, the European Society of Human Genetics had not earlier endorsed any set of guidelines exclusively focused on this issue. This paper has served as a background document in preparation of the development of the policy recommendations of the Public and Professional Committee of the European Society of Human Genetics. This background paper first discusses some general considerations with regard to the provision of genetic tests to minors. It discusses the concept of best interests, participation of minors in health-care decisions, parents' responsibilities to share genetic information, the role of clinical genetics and the health-care system in communication within the family. Second, it discusses, respectively, the presymptomatic and predictive genetic testing for adult-onset disorders, childhood-onset disorders and carrier testing. PMID:19277061

  6. Helping Students Avoid Plagiarism.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilhoit, Stephen

    1994-01-01

    Discusses how and why college students commit plagiarism, suggesting techniques that instructors can use to help student avoid plagiarism. Instructors should define and discuss plagiarism thoroughly; discuss hypothetical cases; review the conventions of quoting and documenting material; require multiple drafts of essays; and offer responses…

  7. Background-Limited Infrared-Submillimeter Spectroscopy (BLISS)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bradford, Charles Matt

    2004-01-01

    The bulk of the cosmic far-infrared background light will soon be resolved into its individual sources with Spitzer, Astro-F, Herschel, and submm/mm ground-based cameras. The sources will be dusty galaxies at z approximately equal to 1-4. Their physical conditions and processes in these galaxies are directly probed with moderate-resolution spectroscopy from 20 micrometers to 1 mm. Currently large cold telescopes are being combined with sensitive direct detectors, offering the potential for mid-far-IR spectroscopy at the background limit (BLISS). The capability will allow routine observations of even modest high-redshift galaxies in a variety of lines. The BLISS instrument's capabilities are described in this presentation.

  8. Examining the Evolution of Paid Parental Leave.

    PubMed

    Sladek, Carol

    While the United States continues to be the only developed nation without mandated paid maternity leave, U.S. employers are blazing their own trail for new parents. This article defines parental leave, explains what's driving the increased interest in paid parental leave among employers offering it and discusses how paid parental leave can benefit employers and employees alike. Finally, the author discusses why not all employers are offering these benefits as well as considerations for employers contemplating whether paid parental leave is right for them.

  9. Making a successful transition to cash balance. Using employee choice and financial education.

    PubMed

    Scahill, P; Wiley, P

    2000-01-01

    As employee work patterns change, the need for flexible plan design has increased. Hybrid plans such as cash balance plans offer a plan design variation that incorporates elements of the traditional defined benefit plan as well as those of defined contribution plans. This article examines plan design trends and discusses both negative and positive reactions to those trends. Finally, the solution of offering choice to plan participants is suggested, and the issues that must be considered are discussed.

  10. The interactional consequences of 'empowering discourse' in intercultural patient education.

    PubMed

    Crawford, Tonia; Roger, Peter; Candlin, Sally

    2017-03-01

    Patient education is an important part of nurses' roles; however the inconsistent quality of communication skills, including those of registered nurses (RNs) from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds, risk patient safety. Empowerment in patient education has been found to influence patients' self-efficacy and participation in decision-making. Discourse analysis of a whole interaction is used in this paper to trace the consequences of patient education where empowering discourse is displayed by an RN from a CALD background. Ethnographic techniques of participant observation and audio recordings of naturally occurring interactions between nurses from CALD backgrounds and their patients were conducted and analysed using interactional sociolinguistic (IS) and theme oriented discourse analytic approaches. The interactional consequences of the nurse's empowering approach are readily observable in the data. The RN addresses the patient's education needs through a respectful encounter that illustrates the patient's active involvement. Examining the interactional consequences of empowering discourse demonstrates its effectiveness, and illustrates how empowering behaviour can be integrated into patient education, thus offering an alternative to traditional approaches. Greater awareness of how to use empowering discourse will offer an alternative and consistent approach that enables nurses to facilitate patient-centred education. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Smallpox and smallpox vaccine: ocular and systemic risks and ethical uncertainties.

    PubMed

    Chous, A Paul; Hom, Gregory G

    2003-09-01

    The threat of bioterrorism and use of biological weapons has drawn renewed attention to smallpox, and smallpox vaccinations have been resumed in the United States. Both smallpox and smallpox vaccine carry risk of potentially debilitating or fatal adverse effects. The optometrist must be familiar with the signs and symptoms of smallpox disease and complications of smallpox vaccine for proper management and preservation of vision. The literature on the ocular and systemic effects of smallpox and smallpox vaccination is reviewed to provide the practicing optometrist with an overview of the issues involved in case management. Recent guidelines have placed additional ocular-related contraindications to receiving the smallpox vaccine. Risk factors for complications arising from smallpox vaccination are discussed. A discussion of the ethical implications is also presented. Knowledge of the signs and symptoms of smallpox infection, and of adverse effects caused by smallpox vaccination, can provide the necessary background to help eye care providers make appropriate diagnoses and referrals. Understanding ethical and legal/Constitutional questions surrounding the risk of outbreak and various vaccination containment strategies will help optometrists make informed decisions as health care professionals, patient advocates, and concerned citizens, as well as weigh the risks and benefits of vaccination, if it is offered to them.

  12. Examining the potential impacts of climate change on international security: EU-Africa partnership on climate change.

    PubMed

    Dodo, Mahamat K

    2014-01-01

    Climate Change like many global problems nowadays is recognized as a threat to the international security and cooperation. In theoretical terms, it is being securitized and included in the traditional security studies. Climate change and its accompanying environmental degradation are perceived to be a threat that can have incalculable consequences on the international community. The consequences are said to have more effects in small island developing nations and Africa where many States are fragile and overwhelmed with mounting challenges. In recent years, the security implications of the climate change are being addressed from national, regional and multilateral level. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to contribute to the debate on climate change and international security and present a broader perspective on the discussion. The paper will draw from the EU-Africa partnership on climate change and is structured as follows: the first part introduces the background of the international climate change policy and its securitization, the second part covers the EU-Africa relations and EU-Africa partnership on climate change, and the third part discusses the Congo Basin Forest Partnership as a concrete example of EU-Africa Partnership on Climate Change. Lastly, the paper concludes by drawing some conclusions and offers some policy perspectives and recommendations. Q54; 055; 052; 01;

  13. Low Temperature Regenerators for Zero Boil-Off Liquid Hydrogen Pulse Tube Cryocoolers

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Salerno, Louis J.; Kashani, Ali; Helvensteijn, Ben; Kittel, Peter; Arnoldm James O. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    Recently, a great deal of attention has been focused on zero boil-off (ZBO) propellant storage as a means of minimizing the launch mass required for long-term exploration missions. A key component of ZBO systems is the cooler. Pulse tube coolers offer the advantage of zero moving mass at the cold head, and recent advances in lightweight, high efficiency cooler technology have paved the way for reliable liquid oxygen (LOx) temperature coolers to be developed which are suitable for flight ZBO systems. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) systems, however, are another matter. For ZBO liquid hydrogen systems, cooling powers of 1-5 watts are required at 20 K. The final development from tier for these coolers is to achieve high efficiency and reliability at lower operating temperatures. Most of the life-limiting issues of flight Stirling and pulse tube coolers are associated with contamination, drive mechanisms, and drive electronics. These problems are well in hand in the present generation coolers. The remaining efficiency and reliability issues reside with the low temperature regenerators. This paper will discuss advances to be made in regenerators for pulse tube LH2 ZBO coolers, present some historical background, and discuss recent progress in regenerator technology development using alloys of erbium.

  14. The role of disease characteristics in the ethical debate on personal genome testing

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Companies are currently marketing personal genome tests directly-to-consumer that provide genetic susceptibility testing for a range of multifactorial diseases simultaneously. As these tests comprise multiple risk analyses for multiple diseases, they may be difficult to evaluate. Insight into morally relevant differences between diseases will assist researchers, healthcare professionals, policy-makers and other stakeholders in the ethical evaluation of personal genome tests. Discussion In this paper, we identify and discuss four disease characteristics - severity, actionability, age of onset, and the somatic/psychiatric nature of disease - and show how these lead to specific ethical issues. By way of illustration, we apply this framework to genetic susceptibility testing for three diseases: type 2 diabetes, age-related macular degeneration and clinical depression. For these three diseases, we point out the ethical issues that are relevant to the question whether it is morally justifiable to offer genetic susceptibility testing to adults or to children or minors, and on what conditions. Summary We conclude that the ethical evaluation of personal genome tests is challenging, for the ethical issues differ with the diseases tested for. An understanding of the ethical significance of disease characteristics will improve the ethical, legal and societal debate on personal genome testing. PMID:22260407

  15. Building and Activating Students' Background Knowledge: It's What They Already Know That Counts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, Douglas; Frey, Nancy; Lapp, Diane

    2012-01-01

    Students enter the middle grades with varying amounts of background knowledge. Teachers must assess student background knowledge for gaps or misconceptions and then provide instruction to build on that base. This article discusses effective strategies for assessing and developing students' background knowledge so they can become independent…

  16. Systematic text condensation: a strategy for qualitative analysis.

    PubMed

    Malterud, Kirsti

    2012-12-01

    To present background, principles, and procedures for a strategy for qualitative analysis called systematic text condensation and discuss this approach compared with related strategies. Giorgi's psychological phenomenological analysis is the point of departure and inspiration for systematic text condensation. The basic elements of Giorgi's method and the elaboration of these in systematic text condensation are presented, followed by a detailed description of procedures for analysis according to systematic text condensation. Finally, similarities and differences compared with other frequently applied methods for qualitative analysis are identified, as the foundation of a discussion of strengths and limitations of systematic text condensation. Systematic text condensation is a descriptive and explorative method for thematic cross-case analysis of different types of qualitative data, such as interview studies, observational studies, and analysis of written texts. The method represents a pragmatic approach, although inspired by phenomenological ideas, and various theoretical frameworks can be applied. The procedure consists of the following steps: 1) total impression - from chaos to themes; 2) identifying and sorting meaning units - from themes to codes; 3) condensation - from code to meaning; 4) synthesizing - from condensation to descriptions and concepts. Similarities and differences comparing systematic text condensation with other frequently applied qualitative methods regarding thematic analysis, theoretical methodological framework, analysis procedures, and taxonomy are discussed. Systematic text condensation is a strategy for analysis developed from traditions shared by most of the methods for analysis of qualitative data. The method offers the novice researcher a process of intersubjectivity, reflexivity, and feasibility, while maintaining a responsible level of methodological rigour.

  17. Conceptualizing Surrogate Decision-Making at End of Life in the Intensive Care Unit using Cognitive Task Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Dionne-Odom, J. Nicholas; Willis, Danny G.; Bakitas, Marie; Crandall, Beth; Grace, Pamela J.

    2014-01-01

    Background Surrogate decision-makers (SDMs) face difficult decisions at end of life (EOL) for decisionally incapacitated intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Purpose Identify and describe the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision-making for adults at EOL in the ICU. Method Qualitative case study design using a cognitive task analysis (CTA) interviewing approach. Participants were recruited from October 2012 to June 2013 from an academic tertiary medical center’s ICU located in the rural Northeastern United States. Nineteen SDMs for patients who had died in the ICU completed in-depth semi-structured CTA interviews. Discussion The conceptual framework formulated from data analysis reveals that three underlying, iterative, psychological dimensions: gist impressions, distressing emotions, and moral intuitions impact a SDM’s judgment about the acceptability of either the patient’s medical treatments or his or her condition. Conclusion The framework offers initial insights about the underlying psychological processes of surrogate decision-making and may facilitate enhanced decision support for SDMs. PMID:25982772

  18. Current information technology needs of small to medium sized apparel manufacturers and contractors

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wimple, C., LLNL

    1998-04-01

    This report documents recent efforts of the American Textile Partnership (AMTEX{sup TM}) Demand Activated Manufacturing Architecture (DAMA) Project to identify opportunities for cost effective enhanced information technology use by small to medium sized apparel manufacturers and contractors. Background on the AMTEX/DAMA project and objectives for the specific DAMA Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) effort are discussed in this section. The approach used to gather information about current opportunities or needs is outlined in Section 2 Approach, and relevant findings are identified and a brief analysis of the information gathered is presented in Section 3 Findings. Recommendations based on the analysis,more » are offered in Section 4 Recommendations, and plans are suggested for DAMA follow-on in Section 5 Future Plans. Trip reports for each of the companies visited are contained in Appendix E - Company Trip Reports. These individual reports contain the data upon which the analysis presented in Section 3 Findings is based.« less

  19. Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) "AirStation": Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Carrier Concept

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hochstetler, Ronald D.; Bosma, John; Chachad, Girish H.; Blanken, Matthew L.

    2016-01-01

    The advantages of utilizing an airship as an airborne carrier for support and deployment of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are examined. Whether as a stand-alone platform or in concert with conventional aircraft, the airship UAS carrier provides a number of compelling benefits for both military and civilian missions. As a mobile base it can remain operational despite political fallout that may render ground or ocean based UAS sites unavailable. It offers the psychological impact of a power projection tool that has few geographical limits, and holds promise as a new method for cost-saving intelligence gathering. It is also adaptable for civilian variants for supporting: emergency response, security/surveillance, delivery of medical/food supplies, as well as commercial package delivery to metropolitan and remote communities. This paper presents the background on airship-aircraft operations, and explores the general airship carrier concept. Additionally, a catalog of contemporary technologies available to support the airship carrier concept are discussed, and essential elements for an Air-Station Development program proposed.

  20. Imagining and Imaging Borders: Understanding Borderlands for Global Sustainability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Konrad, V.

    2013-11-01

    Borders are increasingly complex human responses and social constructions in a world where globalizing forces confront basic human concerns for security and certainty. In an effort to provide a background to assess research directions for imaging borders, this paper explores what we know about borders, and what we do not know well about borders. Borders in globalization are the meeting points of globalizing forces of security, trade and migration flows with emerging technologies, self determination and regionalization around the world. We need to know more about how: self determination fuels secessions and new borders; borders result from complex rather than simple policy and governance issues; borders depend on the political clout of borderland communities; market and migration flows impact borders; and borders are always in motion. The paper shows how these organizing principles underlie the basic themes of border governance, flows, culture, history, security and sustainability. Finally, the paper offers two brief illustrations of border imaging to link this presentation to the following discussion of the workshop.

  1. Use of genome editing tools in human stem cell-based disease modeling and precision medicine.

    PubMed

    Wei, Yu-da; Li, Shuang; Liu, Gai-gai; Zhang, Yong-xian; Ding, Qiu-rong

    2015-10-01

    Precision medicine emerges as a new approach that takes into account individual variability. The successful conduct of precision medicine requires the use of precise disease models. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), as well as adult stem cells, can be differentiated into a variety of human somatic cell types that can be used for research and drug screening. The development of genome editing technology over the past few years, especially the CRISPR/Cas system, has made it feasible to precisely and efficiently edit the genetic background. Therefore, disease modeling by using a combination of human stem cells and genome editing technology has offered a new platform to generate " personalized " disease models, which allow the study of the contribution of individual genetic variabilities to disease progression and the development of precise treatments. In this review, recent advances in the use of genome editing in human stem cells and the generation of stem cell models for rare diseases and cancers are discussed.

  2. A delicate subject: The impact of cultural factors on neonatal and perinatal decision making.

    PubMed

    Van McCrary, S; Green, H C; Combs, A; Mintzer, J P; Quirk, J G

    2014-01-01

    The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is a high-stress environment for both families and health care providers that can sometimes make appropriate medical decisions challenging. We present a review article of non-medical barriers to effective decision making in the NICU, including: miscommunication, mixed messages, denial, comparative social and cultural influences, and the possible influence of perceived legal issues and family reliance on information from the Internet. As examples of these barriers, we describe and discuss two cases that occurred simultaneously in the same NICU where decisions were influenced by social and cultural differences that were misunderstood by both medical staff and patients' families. The resulting stress and emotional discomfort created an environment with sub-optimal relationships between patients' families and health care providers. We provide background on the sources of conflict in these particular cases. We also offer suggestions for possible amelioration of similar conflicts with the twin goals of facilitating compassionate decision making in NICU settings and promoting enhanced well-being of both families and providers.

  3. NIDA’s Clinical Trials Network: An Opportunity for HIV Research in Community Substance Abuse Treatment Programs

    PubMed Central

    Tross, Susan; Campbell, Aimee N. C.; Calsyn, Donald A.; Metsch, Lisa R.; Sorensen, James L.; Shoptaw, Steven; Haynes, Louise; Woody, George E.; Malow, Robert M.; Brown, Lawrence S.; Feaster, Daniel J.; Booth, Robert E.; Mandler, Raul N.; Masson, Carmen; Holmes, Beverly W.; Colfax, Grant; Brooks, Audrey J.; Hien, Denise A.; Schackman, Bruce R.; Korthuis, P. Todd; Miele, Gloria M.

    2012-01-01

    Background/Objectives HIV continues to be a significant problem among substance users and their sexual partners in the United States. The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) offers a national platform for effectiveness trials of HIV interventions in community substance abuse treatment programs. This article presents the HIV activities of the CTN during its first 10 years. Results While emphasizing CTN HIV protocols, this article reviews the (1) HIV context for this work; (2) the collaborative process among providers, researchers, and National Institute on Drug Abuse CTN staff, on which CTN HIV work was based; (3) results of CTN HIV protocols and HIV secondary analyses in CTN non-HIV protocols; and (4) implications for future HIV intervention effectiveness research in community substance abuse treatment programs. Conclusion/Significance While the feasibility of engaging frontline providers in this research is highlighted, the limitations of small to medium effect sizes and weak adoption and sustainability in everyday practice are also discussed. PMID:21854270

  4. What I've Learned and Unlearned as a Physical Scientist in the Life Science Industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morgenstern, David

    2008-04-01

    I joined Monsanto in 1996 with a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and a background in photochemistry and supercritical fluids, just as the company was exiting the chemical business. Since then, I experienced a merger into a pharmaceutical company (Pharmacia) and a spinoff into a purely agricultural company, focused on Biotech and Crop Protection. Change of this kind is typical in industrial research. I have found it to be a continuing challenge to decide when to adapt and when to focus on marketing the expertise that I brought into the company. Viewed as a problem in career tactics in a constantly changing technical, business, and organizational landscape, it might seem overwhelmingly difficult. But, as I will discuss, life in industrial research is constantly offering opportunities to provide new answers to the question, ``what should I do with my life?'' Thus, particularly for those who believe that research should serve society, the satisfactions of an industrial research career are deep and varied.

  5. Subcutaneous implants for long-acting drug therapy in laboratory animals may generate unintended drug reservoirs

    PubMed Central

    Guarnieri, Michael; Tyler, Betty M.; DeTolla, Louis; Zhao, Ming; Kobrin, Barry

    2014-01-01

    Background: Long-acting therapy in laboratory animals offers advantages over the current practice of 2-3 daily drug injections. Yet little is known about the disintegration of biodegradable drug implants in rodents. Objective: Compare bioavailability of buprenorphine with the biodegradation of lipid-encapsulated subcutaneous drug pellets. Methods: Pharmacokinetic and histopathology studies were conducted in BALB/c female mice implanted with cholesterol-buprenorphine drug pellets. Results: Drug levels are below the level of detection (0.5 ng/mL plasma) within 4-5 days of implant. However, necroscopy revealed that interstitial tissues begin to seal implants within a week. Visual inspection of the implant site revealed no evidence of inflammation or edema associated with the cholesterol-drug residue. Chemical analyses demonstrated that the residues contained 10-13% of the initial opiate dose for at least two weeks post implant. Discussion: The results demonstrate that biodegradable scaffolds can become sequestered in the subcutaneous space. Conclusion: Drug implants can retain significant and unintended reservoirs of drugs. PMID:24459402

  6. Toward the Responsible Development and Commercialization of Sensor Nanotechnologies.

    PubMed

    Fadel, Tarek R; Farrell, Dorothy F; Friedersdorf, Lisa E; Griep, Mark H; Hoover, Mark D; Meador, Michael A; Meyyappan, M

    2016-01-01

    Nanotechnology-enabled sensors (or nanosensors) will play an important role in enabling the progression toward ubiquitous information systems as the Internet of Things (IoT) emerges. Nanosensors offer new, miniaturized solutions in physiochemical and biological sensing that enable increased sensitivity, specificity, and multiplexing capability, all with the compelling economic drivers of low cost and high-energy efficiency. In the United States, Federal agencies participating in the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) "Nanotechnology for Sensors and Sensors for Nanotechnology: Improving and Protecting Health, Safety, and the Environment" Nanotechnology Signature Initiative (the Sensors NSI), address both the opportunity of using nanotechnology to advance sensor development and the challenges of developing sensors to keep pace with the increasingly widespread use of engineered nanomaterials. This perspective article will introduce and provide background on the NNI signature initiative on sensors. Recent efforts by the Sensors NSI aimed at promoting the successful development and commercialization of nanosensors will be reviewed and examples of sensor nanotechnologies will be highlighted. Future directions and critical challenges for sensor development will also be discussed.

  7. No more ‘business as usual’ with audit and feedback interventions: towards an agenda for a reinvigorated intervention

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Audit and feedback interventions in healthcare have been found to be effective, but there has been little progress with respect to understanding their mechanisms of action or identifying their key ‘active ingredients.’ Discussion Given the increasing use of audit and feedback to improve quality of care, it is imperative to focus further research on understanding how and when it works best. In this paper, we argue that continuing the ‘business as usual’ approach to evaluating two-arm trials of audit and feedback interventions against usual care for common problems and settings is unlikely to contribute new generalizable findings. Future audit and feedback trials should incorporate evidence- and theory-based best practices, and address known gaps in the literature. Summary We offer an agenda for high-priority research topics for implementation researchers that focuses on reviewing best practices for designing audit and feedback interventions to optimize effectiveness. PMID:24438584

  8. The endless spiral

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nielsen, Henry

    1993-06-01

    A Danish textbook on the history of technology, Skruen uden ende — Den vestlige teknologis historie (The Endless Spiral: A History of Western Technology), was published in 1990. In the present article, one of the authors presents some of the background to this event and puts the work into historical perspective by describing a number of different traditions for writing textbooks on the history of technology. Next follows a discussion of why history of technology ought to be an important ingredient in upper secondary education and why only the “contextualist” tradition — inspired by the rapidly developing school of research centered around the journal Technology & Culture — offers any real hope for providing meaningful teaching materials on history of technology. The paper ends with a brief outline of the textbook's contents, with special emphasis on one of its several case studies describing the development of certain mainstream technologies in the context of the scientific, economic, social and cultural developments existing when the particular technology came into being.

  9. A Case of Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Presenting as Conversion Disorder.

    PubMed

    Yegya-Raman, Nikhil; Aziz, Rehan; Schneider, Daniel; Tobia, Anthony; Leitch, Megan; Nwobi, Onyi

    2017-01-01

    Background . Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is a rare disorder of the central nervous system. Its initial diagnosis may be obscured by its variable presentation. This case report illustrates the complexity of diagnosing this disease early in the clinical course, especially when the initial symptoms may be psychiatric. It offers a brief review of the literature and reinforces a role for consultation psychiatry services. Methods . PUBMED/MEDLINE was searched using the terms "Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease", "psychiatric symptoms", "conversion disorder", "somatic symptom disorder", "functional movement disorder", and "functional neurologic disorder". Case . The patient was a 64-year-old woman with no prior psychiatric history who was initially diagnosed with conversion disorder and unspecified anxiety disorder but soon thereafter was discovered to have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Discussion . This case highlights the central role of psychiatric symptoms in early presentations of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Still, few other cases in the literature report functional neurological symptoms as an initial sign. The consultation psychiatrist must remain alert to changing clinical symptoms, especially with uncharacteristic disease presentations.

  10. Storytelling in Community Intervention Research: Lessons Learned From the Walk Your Heart to Health Intervention

    PubMed Central

    LeBron, Alana M. W.; Schulz, Amy J.; Bernal, Cristina; Gamboa, Cindy; Wright, Conja; Sand, Sharon; Valerio, Melissa; Caver, Deanna

    2015-01-01

    Background Contextually and culturally congruent interventions are urgently needed to reduce racial, ethnic, and socio economic inequities in physical activity and cardiovascular disease. Objectives To examine a community-based participatory research (CBPR) process that incorporated storytelling into a physical activity intervention, and consider implications for reducing health inequities. Methods We used a CBPR process to incorporate storytelling in an existing walking group intervention. Stories conveyed social support and problem-solving intervention themes designed to maintain increases in physical activity over time, and were adapted to the walking group context, group dynamics, challenges, and traditions. Lessons Learned After describing of the CBPR process used to adapt stories to walking group sites, we discuss challenges and lessons learned regarding the adaptation and implementation of stories to convey key intervention themes. Conclusions A CBPR approach to incorporating storytelling to convey intervention themes offers an innovative and flexible strategy to promote health toward the elimination of health inequities. PMID:25727980

  11. The application of wiki technology in medical education.

    PubMed

    Rasmussen, Andrew; Lewis, Melanie; White, Jonathan

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND, AIMS AND METHODS: Recent years have seen the introduction of web-based technologies such as the 'wiki', which is a webpage whose content can be edited in real time using a web browser. This article reviews the current state of knowledge about the use of wikis in education, and considers whether wiki technology has features that might prove useful in medical education. Advantages and challenges of the technology are discussed, and recommendations for use are provided. We believe that wiki technology offers a number of potential benefits for administrators, students and instructors, including the ability to share information online, to construct knowledge together, to facilitate collaboration and to enable social learning and peer feedback. We believe that with proper planning and instructional design, wiki technology can be usefully employed in medical education. We intend to continue to study the impact of wiki technology in our own programme, and we encourage others to evaluate the application of wiki technology in other areas of medical education.

  12. Multiphoton-Excited Fluorescence of Silicon-Vacancy Color Centers in Diamond

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Higbie, J. M.; Perreault, J. D.; Acosta, V. M.; Belthangady, C.; Lebel, P.; Kim, M. H.; Nguyen, K.; Demas, V.; Bajaj, V.; Santori, C.

    2017-05-01

    Silicon-vacancy color centers in nanodiamonds are promising as fluorescent labels for biological applications, with a narrow, nonbleaching emission line at 738 nm. Two-photon excitation of this fluorescence offers the possibility of low-background detection at significant tissue depth with high three-dimensional spatial resolution. We measure the two-photon fluorescence cross section of a negatively charged silicon vacancy (Si -V- ) in ion-implanted bulk diamond to be 0.74 (19 )×10-50 cm4 s /photon at an excitation wavelength of 1040 nm. Compared to the diamond nitrogen-vacancy center, the expected detection threshold of a two-photon excited Si -V center is more than an order of magnitude lower, largely due to its much narrower linewidth. We also present measurements of two- and three-photon excitation spectra, finding an increase in the two-photon cross section with decreasing wavelength, and we discuss the physical interpretation of the spectra in the context of existing models of the Si -V energy-level structure.

  13. Ultrafast state detection and 2D ion crystals in a Paul trap

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ip, Michael; Ransford, Anthony; Campbell, Wesley

    2016-05-01

    Projective readout of quantum information stored in atomic qubits typically uses state-dependent CW laser-induced fluorescence. This method requires an often sophisticated imaging system to spatially filter out the background CW laser light. We present an alternative approach that instead uses simple pulse sequences from a mode-locked laser to affect the same state-dependent excitations in less than 1 ns. The resulting atomic fluorescence occurs in the dark, allowing the placement of non-imaging detectors right next to the atom to improve the qubit state detection efficiency and speed. We also study 2D Coulomb crystals of atomic ions in an oblate Paul trap. We find that crystals with hundreds of ions can be held in the trap, potentially offering an alternative to the use of Penning traps for the quantum simulation of 2D lattice spin models. We discuss the classical physics of these crystals and the metastable states that are supported in 2D. This work is supported by the US Army Research Office.

  14. Fluorescent proteins for FRET microscopy: monitoring protein interactions in living cells.

    PubMed

    Day, Richard N; Davidson, Michael W

    2012-05-01

    The discovery and engineering of novel fluorescent proteins (FPs) from diverse organisms is yielding fluorophores with exceptional characteristics for live-cell imaging. In particular, the development of FPs for fluorescence (or Förster) resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy is providing important tools for monitoring dynamic protein interactions inside living cells. The increased interest in FRET microscopy has driven the development of many different methods to measure FRET. However, the interpretation of FRET measurements is complicated by several factors including the high fluorescence background, the potential for photoconversion artifacts and the relatively low dynamic range afforded by this technique. Here, we describe the advantages and disadvantages of four methods commonly used in FRET microscopy. We then discuss the selection of FPs for the different FRET methods, identifying the most useful FP candidates for FRET microscopy. The recent success in expanding the FP color palette offers the opportunity to explore new FRET pairs. Copyright © 2012 WILEY Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Cosmological solutions and finite time singularities in Finslerian geometry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Paul, Nupur; de, S. S.; Rahaman, Farook

    2018-03-01

    We consider a very general scenario of our universe where its geometry is characterized by the Finslerian structure on the underlying spacetime manifold, a generalization of the Riemannian geometry. Now considering a general energy-momentum tensor for matter sector, we derive the gravitational field equations in such spacetime. Further, to depict the cosmological dynamics in such spacetime proposing an interesting equation of state identified by a sole parameter γ which for isotropic limit is simply the barotropic equation of state p = (γ ‑ 1)ρ (γ ∈ ℝ being the barotropic index), we solve the background dynamics. The dynamics offers several possibilities depending on this sole parameter as follows: (i) only an exponential expansion, or (ii) a finite time past singularity (big bang) with late accelerating phase, or (iii) a nonsingular universe exhibiting an accelerating scenario at late time which finally predicts a big rip type singularity. We also discuss several energy conditions and the possibility of cosmic bounce. Finally, we establish the first law of thermodynamics in such spacetime.

  16. Atomic Gravitational Wave Interferometric Sensors (AGIS) in Space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sugarbaker, Alex; Hogan, Jason; Johnson, David; Dickerson, Susannah; Kovachy, Tim; Chiow, Sheng-Wey; Kasevich, Mark

    2012-06-01

    Atom interferometers have the potential to make sensitive gravitational wave detectors, which would reinforce our fundamental understanding of gravity and provide a new means of observing the universe. We focus here on the AGIS-LEO proposal [1]. Gravitational waves can be observed by comparing a pair of atom interferometers separated over an extended baseline. The mission would offer a strain sensitivity that would provide access to a rich scientific region with substantial discovery potential. This band is not currently addressed with the LIGO or LISA instruments. We analyze systematic backgrounds that are relevant to the mission and discuss how they can be mitigated at the required levels. Some of these effects do not appear to have been considered previously in the context of atom interferometry, and we therefore expect that our analysis will be broadly relevant to atom interferometric precision measurements. Many of the techniques relevant to an AGIS mission can be investigated in the Stanford 10-m drop tower.[4pt] [1] J.M. Hogan, et al., Gen. Rel. Grav. 43, 1953-2009 (2011).

  17. Sexual Harassment: A Concern for the Athletic Trainer

    PubMed Central

    Velasquez, Benito J.

    1998-01-01

    Objective: Sexual harassment is a vital social issue that affects the business community, educational institutions, and personnel in the U.S. military. Addressing sexual harassment in the athletic training clinical setting is an important issue for the athletic training professional. Athletic trainers need to understand the complex definitions of sexual harassment and how to identify and handle claims of sexual harassment in order to prevent sexual harassment from occurring and to prevent civil lawsuits of alleged sexual harassment. Background: Professional journals, legal textbooks, policy handbooks, unpublished findings from the NATA Women in Athletic Training Committee report, and current news media sources were used to gain a greater understanding of this social problem. Description: To make the athletic trainer aware of this important social issue and to offer suggestions for the athletic training staff to aid in preventing problems of sexual harassment. Clinical Advantages: This article provides definitions and examples of sexual harassment, discussion of policy development, and suggestions for ways to eliminate sexual harassment in the athletic training environment. PMID:16558507

  18. Optomechanics in a Levitated Droplet of Superfluid Helium

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Charles; Harris, Glen; Harris, Jack

    2017-04-01

    A critical issue common to all optomechanical systems is dissipative coupling to the environment, which limits the system's quantum coherence. Superfluid helium's extremely low optical and mechanical dissipation, as well as its high thermal conductivity and its ability cool itself via evaporation, makes the mostly uncharted territory of superfluid optomechanics an exciting avenue for exploring quantum effects in macroscopic objects. I will describe ongoing work that aims to exploit the unique properties of superfluid helium by constructing an optomechanical system consisting of a magnetically levitated droplet of superfluid helium., The optical whispering gallery modes (WGMs) of the droplet, as well as the mechanical oscillations of its surface, should offer exceptionally low dissipation, and should couple to each other via the usual optomechanical interactions. I will present recent progress towards this goal, and also discuss the background for this work, which includes prior demonstrations of magnetic levitation of superfluid helium, high finesse WGMs in liquid drops, and the self-cooling of helium drops in vacuum.

  19. Microcalorimeter X-ray Detectors for Solar Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deiker, S.; Boerner, P.; Martinez-Galarce, D.; Metcalf, T.; Rausch, A.; Shing, L.; Stern, R.; Irwin, K.; William, D.; Reintsema, C.; Ullom, J.; Cabrera, B.; Lehman, S.; Brink, P.

    2005-05-01

    Cryogenic X-ray microcalorimeters provide high spectral resolution over a large bandwidth. They have achieved < 3 eV resolution at 5.9 keV, and can produce this performance simultaneously from 0.25 to 10 keV. Although they operate at low (< 0.1 K) temperatures, such temperature are now easily produced. Microcalorimeters cooled by adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators have already flown on sounding rocket flights to study the soft X-ray background of the interstellar medium, and will soon be launched on the ASTRO-E II satellite. Microcalorimeters based on superconducting transition edge sensors are multiplexable and may be fabricated using standard photolithographic techniques. This makes large arrays of microcalorimeters feasible. Each pixel of such an array detects the arrival time of each photon to within < 0.01 ms. Such an instrument would offer simultaneous spatial, temporal and energy resolution, bringing a wealth of new information about solar processes. Current design and performance of microcalorimeters will be presented. Future improvements required to optimize microcalorimeters for solar physics applications will also be discussed.

  20. Development and evaluation of an electronic health record configuration and customization laboratory course for clinical informatics students.

    PubMed

    Mohan, Vishnu; Hersh, William R

    2013-01-01

    There is a need for informatics educational programs to develop laboratory courses that facilitate hands-on access to an EHR, and allow students to learn and evaluate functionality and configuration options. This is particularly relevant given the diversity of backgrounds of informatics students. We implemented an EHR laboratory course that allowed students to explore an EHR in both inpatient and outpatient clinical environments. The course focused on specific elements of the EHR including order set development, customization, clinical decision support, ancillary services, and billing and coding functionality. Students were surveyed at the end of the course for their satisfaction with the learning experience. We detailed challenges as well as lessons learned after analyzing student evaluations of this course. Features that promote the successful offering of an online EHR course, include (1) using more than one EHR to allow students to compare functionalities, (2) ensuring appropriate course calibration, (3) countering issues specific to EHR usability, and (4) fostering a fertile environment for rich online conversations are discussed.

  1. [Friend or Foe in the Pocket? - The Role of the Individual, Peergroup and Parents for (dys)functional Mobile Phone Use].

    PubMed

    Knop, Karin; Hefner, Dorothée

    2018-02-01

    Friend or Foe in the Pocket? - The Role of the Individual, Peergroup and Parents for (dys)functional Mobile Phone Use In order to provide consultative support to parents as well as to children and young people, background knowledge regarding the motives of mobile phone use, functions of usage, comprehension of the attraction of this all-round medium also as knowledge about potential hazards are essential. This study offers empirical results about potentials and risks. The peergroup plays an important role for riskful and problematic mobile phone involvement. Parents function as a role model and the explicit parental mediation practices and their impact on the child are in focus. Data was acquired from a quota-sample survey with 500 children between the age of 8 and 14 years and one of their parents, qualitative interviews (20 children and their parents) and eight peergroup-discussions (52 participants). The present paper illuminates the above mentioned aspects and derives implications for guidance practice.

  2. Off the beaten track: Freud, sound and music. Statement of a problem and some historico-critical notes.

    PubMed

    Baralea, Francesco; Minazzi, Vera

    2008-10-01

    The authors note that the element of sound and music has no place in the model of mental functioning bequeathed to us by Freud, which is dominated by the visual and the representational. They consider the reasons for this exclusion and its consequences, and ask whether the simple biographical explanation offered by Freud himself is acceptable. This contribution reconstructs the historical and cultural background to that exclusion, cites some relevant emblematic passages, and discusses Freud's position on music and on the aesthetic experience in general. Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between Freud and Lipps, which is important both for the originality of Lipps's thinking in the turn-of-the-century debate and for his ideas on the musical aspects of the foundations of psychic life, at which Freud 'stopped', as he himself wrote. Moreover, the shade of Lipps accompanied Freud throughout his scientific career from 1898 to 1938. Like all foundations, that of psychoanalysis was shaped by a system of inclusions and exclusions. The exclusion of the element of sound and music is understandable in view of the cultural background to the development of the concepts of the representational unconscious and infantile sexuality. While the consequences have been far reaching, the knowledge accumulated since that exclusion enables us to resume, albeit on a different basis, the composition of the 'unfinished symphony' of the relationship between psychoanalysis and music.

  3. Body Talk for Parents of Girls.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stubbs, Margaret L.

    This pamphlet, targeted to girls' parents, discusses issues surrounding puberty. The introduction discusses cultural images of menstruation and girls' attitudes towards it. Suggestions are offered for discussing menstruation with one's daughter. Suggestions focus on timing of introducing the topic; which parent takes responsibility for menstrual…

  4. Internationalizing the University Mathematics Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Appelbaum, Peter; Friedler, Louis M.; Ortiz, Carlos E.; Wolff, Edward F.

    2009-01-01

    This article offers suggestions for achieving the internationalization of university mathematics-related curricular offerings. It presents learning objectives and related student outcomes, raises general issues related to internationalization, and then discusses how to incorporate the objectives and address these issues within the university…

  5. Distance Teaching of Environmental Engineering Courses at the Open University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Porteous, Andrew; Nesaratnam, Suresh T.; Anderson, Judith

    1997-01-01

    Describes two integrated distance learning environmental engineering degree courses offered by the environmental engineering group of the Open University in Great Britain. Discusses admission requirements for courses, advantages offered by distance learning, professional accreditation, site visits, and tutors. (AIM)

  6. The Critique of Deliberative Discussion. A Response to "Education for Deliberative Democracy: A Typology of Classroom Discussions"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Backer, David I.

    2017-01-01

    My response to Samuelsson's (2016) recent essay offers a different paradigm with which to think about education, deliberative discussion and democracy. I call this paradigm the critique of deliberative discussion. Following Ruitenberg's application of Mouffe's critiques of deliberative democracy to education, the critique of deliberative…

  7. Progress of a Cross-correlation Based Optical Strain Measurement Technique for Detecting Radial Growth on a Rotating Disk

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Clem, Michelle M.; Woike, Mark; Abdul-Aziz, Ali

    2013-01-01

    The Aeronautical Sciences Project under NASAs Fundamental Aeronautics Program is extremely interested in the development of fault detection technologies, such as optical surface measurements in the internal parts of a flow path, for in situ health monitoring of gas turbine engines. In situ health monitoring has the potential to detect flaws, i.e. cracks in key components, such as engine turbine disks, before the flaws lead to catastrophic failure. In the present study, a cross-correlation imaging technique is investigated in a proof-of-concept study as a possible optical technique to measure the radial growth and strain field on an already cracked sub-scale turbine engine disk under loaded conditions in the NASA Glenn Research Centers High Precision Rotordynamics Laboratory. The optical strain measurement technique under investigation offers potential fault detection using an applied background consisting of a high-contrast random speckle pattern and imaging the background under unloaded and loaded conditions with a CCD camera. Spinning the cracked disk at high speeds induces an external load, resulting in a radial growth of the disk of approximately 50.8-m in the flawed region and hence, a localized strain field. When imaging the cracked disk under static conditions, the disk will appear shifted. The resulting background displacements between the two images will then be measured using the two-dimensional cross-correlation algorithms implemented in standard Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) software to track the disk growth, which facilitates calculation of the localized strain field. In order to develop and validate this optical strain measurement technique an initial proof-of-concept experiment is carried out in a controlled environment. Using PIV optimization principles and guidelines, three potential backgrounds, for future use on the rotating disk, are developed and investigated in the controlled experiment. A range of known shifts are induced on the backgrounds; reference and data images are acquired before and after the induced shift, respectively, and the images are processed using the cross- correlation algorithms in order to determine the background displacements. The effectiveness of each background at resolving the known shift is evaluated and discussed in order to choose to the most suitable background to be implemented onto a rotating disk in the Rotordynamics Lab. Although testing on the rotating disk has not yet been performed, the driving principles behind the development of the present optical technique are based upon critical aspects of the future experiment, such as the amount of expected radial growth, disk analysis, and experimental design and are therefore addressed in the paper.

  8. Primordial features and Planck polarization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hazra, Dhiraj Kumar; Shafieloo, Arman; Smoot, George F.; Starobinsky, Alexei A.

    2016-09-01

    With the Planck 2015 Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization data, we search for possible features in the primordial power spectrum (PPS). We revisit the Wiggly Whipped Inflation (WWI) framework and demonstrate how generation of some particular primordial features can improve the fit to Planck data. WWI potential allows the scalar field to transit from a steeper potential to a nearly flat potential through a discontinuity either in potential or in its derivatives. WWI offers the inflaton potential parametrizations that generate a wide variety of features in the primordial power spectra incorporating most of the localized and non-local inflationary features that are obtained upon reconstruction from temperature and polarization angular power spectrum. At the same time, in a single framework it allows us to have a background parameter estimation with a nearly free-form primordial spectrum. Using Planck 2015 data, we constrain the primordial features in the context of Wiggly Whipped Inflation and present the features that are supported both by temperature and polarization. WWI model provides more than 13 improvement in χ2 fit to the data with respect to the best fit power law model considering combined temperature and polarization data from Planck and B-mode polarization data from BICEP and Planck dust map. We use 2-4 extra parameters in the WWI model compared to the featureless strict slow roll inflaton potential. We find that the differences between the temperature and polarization data in constraining background cosmological parameters such as baryon density, cold dark matter density are reduced to a good extent if we use primordial power spectra from WWI. We also discuss the extent of bispectra obtained from the best potentials in arbitrary triangular configurations using the BI-spectra and Non-Gaussianity Operator (BINGO).

  9. Primordial features and Planck polarization

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Hazra, Dhiraj Kumar; Smoot, George F.; Shafieloo, Arman

    2016-09-01

    With the Planck 2015 Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) temperature and polarization data, we search for possible features in the primordial power spectrum (PPS). We revisit the Wiggly Whipped Inflation (WWI) framework and demonstrate how generation of some particular primordial features can improve the fit to Planck data. WWI potential allows the scalar field to transit from a steeper potential to a nearly flat potential through a discontinuity either in potential or in its derivatives. WWI offers the inflaton potential parametrizations that generate a wide variety of features in the primordial power spectra incorporating most of the localized and non-local inflationarymore » features that are obtained upon reconstruction from temperature and polarization angular power spectrum. At the same time, in a single framework it allows us to have a background parameter estimation with a nearly free-form primordial spectrum. Using Planck 2015 data, we constrain the primordial features in the context of Wiggly Whipped Inflation and present the features that are supported both by temperature and polarization. WWI model provides more than 13 improvement in χ{sup 2} fit to the data with respect to the best fit power law model considering combined temperature and polarization data from Planck and B-mode polarization data from BICEP and Planck dust map. We use 2-4 extra parameters in the WWI model compared to the featureless strict slow roll inflaton potential. We find that the differences between the temperature and polarization data in constraining background cosmological parameters such as baryon density, cold dark matter density are reduced to a good extent if we use primordial power spectra from WWI. We also discuss the extent of bispectra obtained from the best potentials in arbitrary triangular configurations using the BI-spectra and Non-Gaussianity Operator (BINGO).« less

  10. Body Talk for Parents of Boys.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stubbs, Margaret L.

    This pamphlet, targeted to boys' parents, discusses issues surrounding puberty. The introduction discusses education about menstruation and girls' and boys' attitudes towards it. Suggestions are offered for discussing menstruation with one's son. Suggestions focus on timing of introducing the topic; which parent takes responsibility for menstrual…

  11. Physician assistant program education on spirituality and religion in patient encounters.

    PubMed

    Berg, Gina M; Whitney, Melissa P; Wentling, Callie J; Hervey, Ashley M; Nyberg, Sue

    2013-01-01

    To describe educational practices of physician assistant (PA) programs regarding spirituality and religion discussions during patient encounters. Patients want their health care provider to be aware of their spiritual and religious beliefs. This topic is addressed in physician and nursing education but may not be included in PA programs. Data regarding curriculum were collected via electronic survey emailed to 143 PA programs across the United States. Thirty-eight programs responded for a response rate of 27%. Most (68.4%) program respondents reported students' desire to be trained to discuss spirituality and religion, yet 36.8% do not offer this training. Just over half (69.2%) would consider adding curriculum to teach students to discuss spirituality, but the majority (92.3%) would not add curriculum to discuss religion during patient encounters. PA programs offer training to discuss spirituality in patient encounters but not to discuss religiosity. Programs may want to consider adding some curriculum to increase PAs awareness of spirituality and religion needs of patients.

  12. The Influence of Social and Family Backgrounds on College Transition Experiences of Foster Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Franco, Joaquin; Durdella, Nathan

    2018-01-01

    Familial and social experiences shape college transitions of first-year, first-generation college students who are foster youth. This chapter describes these experiences and offers recommendations to enhance support for foster youth in college.

  13. Modularization and Flexibilization.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Meel, R. M.

    Publications in the fields of educational science, organization theory, and project management were analyzed to identify the possibilities that modularization offers to institutions of higher professional education and to obtain background information for use in developing a method for modularization in higher professional education. It was…

  14. Developing Rural Business Incubators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weinberg, Mark L.; Burnier, DeLysa

    1991-01-01

    Offers background on rural entrepreneurship and incubation in the United States, with particular focus on rural incubators at community colleges and regional incubation systems. Explains how incubators, which provide shared services and business/management assistance for tenant companies, differ from other entrepreneurial development strategies.…

  15. 12 CFR 346.3 - CRA communications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... offering circular to financial institutions offering to sell or purchase a portfolio of loans. An insured... insured depository institution, any affiliated insured depository institution, or any CRA affiliate. (2) Any written comment submitted to the insured depository institution that discusses the adequacy of the...

  16. 12 CFR 207.3 - CRA communications.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... offering circular to financial institutions offering to sell or purchase a portfolio of loans. An insured... insured depository institution, any affiliated insured depository institution, or any CRA affiliate. (2) Any written comment submitted to the insured depository institution that discusses the adequacy of the...

  17. The Fungus among Us.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weidner, Robert H.

    2003-01-01

    Offers tips for fighting mold in schools, asserting that it can contribute significantly to poor indoor air quality and sick building syndrome. Offers an overview on mold and discusses the steps of: humidity control, building inspections, condensation control or removal, and floor and carpet cleaning. (EV)

  18. Take a Strategic Direction with Debt.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Augustine, John H.

    2002-01-01

    Offers advice to higher education institutions about financing decisions on their debt portfolios. Addresses developing a debt management framework, factors affecting strategy, interest rate management, establishing a debt management benchmark, and adopting a prospective approach. Sidebars discuss the trade-offs of credit offerings, and…

  19. Introduction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodman, Allen E.

    1985-01-01

    Political science departments were surveyed to determine the extent of course offerings on any aspect of the Vietnam War or its legacy. Survey results are discussed. Provided is a chart indicating the name of the university, course title, professor(s) teaching course, level and enrollment, and when offered. (RM)

  20. Intercultural Business Communication, International Students, and Experiential Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cheney, Rebecca S.

    2001-01-01

    Outlines the relevance of experiential learning to the teaching of intercultural business communication. Offers several examples of activities offering structured interactions between United States and international students, which help students apply principles of intercultural business communication to a given situation. Discusses several…

  1. Listening to Strangers: Classroom Discussion in Democratic Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parker, Walter C.

    2010-01-01

    Background/Context: The literature on classroom discussion often undercuts itself by treating discussion only as an instructional method, confining its role to the instrumental. Although discussion does serve as an effective means to other curricular ends (teaching with discussion), the capable practice of discussion can also be considered a…

  2. Intellectual Assessment of Children from Culturally Diverse Backgrounds.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Armour-Thomas, Eleanor

    1992-01-01

    Examines assumptions and premises of standardized tests of mental ability and reviews extant theories and research on intellectual functioning of children from culturally different backgrounds. Discusses implications of these issues and perspectives for new directions for intellectual assessment for children from culturally different backgrounds.…

  3. A Kinder and Gentler Transformation?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katz, Richard N.; Goldstein, Larry; Dobbin, Gregory

    2001-01-01

    Discusses the shifting focus regarding information technology in higher education from technology itself toward the people and business processes connected with it. Describes the University of California's efforts toward a new business architecture, and an Educause-sponsored forum on e-business discussing the same themes. Offers discussion of the…

  4. A Catalog of Galaxy Clusters Observed by XMM-Newton

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Snowden, S. L.; Mushotzky, R. M.; Kuntz, K. D.; Davis, David S.

    2007-01-01

    Images and the radial profiles of the temperature, abundance, and brightness for 70 clusters of galaxies observed by XMM-Newton are presented along with a detailed discussion of the data reduction and analysis methods, including background modeling, which were used in the processing. Proper consideration of the various background components is vital to extend the reliable determination of cluster parameters to the largest possible cluster radii. The various components of the background including the quiescent particle background, cosmic diffuse emission, soft proton contamination, and solar wind charge exchange emission are discussed along with suggested means of their identification, filtering, and/or their modeling and subtraction. Every component is spectrally variable, sometimes significantly so, and all components except the cosmic background are temporally variable as well. The distributions of the events over the FOV vary between the components, and some distributions vary with energy. The scientific results from observations of low surface brightness objects and the diffuse background itself can be strongly affected by these background components and therefore great care should be taken in their consideration.

  5. Recommendations for Culturally Sensitive Research Methods

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Awad, Germine H.; Patall, Erika A.; Rackley, Kadie R.; Reilly, Erin D.

    2016-01-01

    As the US continues to diversify, methods for accurately assessing human behavior must evolve. This paper offers multicultural research considerations at several stages of the research process for psychological research and consultation. Implications regarding the comparative research framework are discussed and suggestions are offered on how to…

  6. Robotics Literacy Captivates Elementary Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Friedman, Madeleine

    1986-01-01

    Describes a robotics literacy course offered for elementary age children at Broward Community College (Florida) and discusses the motivation for offering such a course, the course philosophy and objectives, and participant reactions. A sampling of robots and robotics devices and some of their teaching applications are included. (MBR)

  7. Climate Change Education in Earth System Science

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hänsel, Stephanie; Matschullat, Jörg

    2013-04-01

    The course "Atmospheric Research - Climate Change" is offered to master Earth System Science students within the specialisation "Climate and Environment" at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg. This module takes a comprehensive approach to climate sciences, reaching from the natural sciences background of climate change via the social components of the issue to the statistical analysis of changes in climate parameters. The course aims at qualifying the students to structure the physical and chemical basics of the climate system including relevant feedbacks. The students can evaluate relevant drivers of climate variability and change on various temporal and spatial scales and can transform knowledge from climate history to the present and the future. Special focus is given to the assessment of uncertainties related to climate observations and projections as well as the specific challenges of extreme weather and climate events. At the end of the course the students are able to critically reflect and evaluate climate change related results of scientific studies and related issues in media. The course is divided into two parts - "Climate Change" and "Climate Data Analysis" and encompasses two lectures, one seminar and one exercise. The weekly "Climate change" lecture transmits the physical and chemical background for climate variation and change. (Pre)historical, observed and projected climate changes and their effects on various sectors are being introduced and discussed regarding their implications for society, economics, ecology and politics. The related seminar presents and discusses the multiple reasons for controversy in climate change issues, based on various texts. Students train the presentation of scientific content and the discussion of climate change aspects. The biweekly lecture on "Climate data analysis" introduces the most relevant statistical tools and methods in climate science. Starting with checking data quality via tools of exploratory data analysis the approaches on climate time series, trend analysis and extreme events analysis are explained. Tools to describe relations within the data sets and significance tests further corroborate this. Within the weekly exercises that have to be prepared at home, the students work with self-selected climate data sets and apply the learned methods. The presentation and discussion of intermediate results by the students is as much part of the exercises as the illustration of possible methodological procedures by the teacher using exemplary data sets. The total time expenditure of the course is 270 hours with 90 attendance hours. The remainder consists of individual studies, e.g., preparation of discussions and presentations, statistical data analysis, and scientific writing. Different forms of examination are applied including written or oral examination, scientific report, presentation and portfolio work.

  8. Radiation curing: Science and technology

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pappas, S.P.

    1992-01-01

    The science and technology of radiation curing have progressed substantially within the last 20 years. Nevertheless, radiation-curable compositions typically command relatively small shares in many of their competitive markets. This situation signifies that potential advantages of radiation curing are not generally perceived to overcome their limitations. An important objective of this book is to address this issue, within the scope of the subjects offered, by providing the present state of knowledge and by identifying the directions and challenges for future studies. The first chapter introduces radiation curing. Chapter 2 offers the first systematic presentation of inorganic and organometallic photoinitiators. Chaptersmore » 3 and 4 present the analytical techniques of photocalorimetry and real-time infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Recent advances in resin technology are offered in Chapters 5 and 6, which constitute the first comprehensive accounts of (meth)acrylated silicones and vinyl ethers, respectively. Radiation-curable coatings, printing inks, and adhesives are discussed in Chapters 7-9, respectively. Chapter 10 offers a discussion on photopolymer imaging systems.« less

  9. Teaching about Our World Community: Guidelines and Resources.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoge, John Douglas; Allen, Rodney F.

    1991-01-01

    Offers guidelines for teaching about foreign countries in elementary school social studies lessons. Explains ways to determine content and goals, build background information, and locate instructional materials/community resources. Suggests activities for beginning, sustaining, and concluding units. Stresses importance of maintaining student…

  10. Women Doing Historical Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Korzenik, Diana

    1990-01-01

    Questions gender-related assumptions affecting the theory and practice of art education histories. Challenges the great man theory of art education history. Advocates research approaches that analyze individual backgrounds and achievements. Offers the author's research experiences as a case study, examining areas of concern, personal motivations,…

  11. Reading, Dyslexia and the Brain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goswami, Usha

    2008-01-01

    Background: Neuroimaging offers unique opportunities for understanding the acquisition of reading by children and for unravelling the mystery of developmental dyslexia. Here, I provide a selective overview of recent neuroimaging studies, drawing out implications for education and the teaching of reading. Purpose: The different neuroimaging…

  12. JALT96 Introduction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    1997

    The introductory section of the conference proceedings contains two essays. "Crossing Borders: Some Values To Declare" (Julian Edge) is a personal statement about cultural diversity, offering personal perspectives as a teacher of English as a Second Language and the perspectives of several colleagues of different cultural backgrounds and…

  13. Alexandria Is...

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexandria City Schools, VA.

    This student workbook offers a third grade social studies program about the geography, history, and contemporary life of Alexandria, Virginia. It is divided into eight chapters, which present background information and learning activities. Chapter I places Alexandria in the county, state, United States, western hemisphere, and world through…

  14. Postmodern Test Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mislevy, Robert J.

    2014-01-01

    Background/Context: This article explains the idea of a neopragmatic postmodernist test theory and offers some thoughts about what changing notions concerning the nature of and meanings assigned to knowledge imply for educational assessment, present and future. Purpose: Advances in the learning sciences--particularly situative and sociocognitive…

  15. Exploring Noise: Sound Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rillo, Thomas J.

    1979-01-01

    Part one of a three-part series about noise pollution and its effects on humans. This section presents the background information for teachers who are preparing a unit on sound. The next issues will offer learning activities for measuring the effects of sound and some references. (SA)

  16. Evidence of discrimination against BME nurses revealed.

    PubMed

    Longhurst, Chris

    2017-04-27

    University of Greenwich researchers responded to an advert from the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) offering funding for an investigation into its fitness-to-practise (FtP) processes amid concerns about the treatment of NHS staff from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds.

  17. Beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds observed in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton running period

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; Abdinov, O.; Abeloos, B.; Aben, R.; Abolins, M.; AbouZeid, O. S.; Abraham, N. L.; Abramowicz, H.; Abreu, H.; Abreu, R.; Abulaiti, Y.; Acharya, B. S.; Adamczyk, L.; Adams, D. L.; Adelman, J.; Adomeit, S.; Adye, T.; Affolder, A. A.; Agatonovic-Jovin, T.; Agricola, J.; Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A.; Ahlen, S. P.; Ahmadov, F.; Aielli, G.; Akerstedt, H.; Åkesson, T. P. A.; Akimov, A. V.; Alberghi, G. L.; Albert, J.; Albrand, S.; Alconada Verzini, M. J.; Aleksa, M.; Aleksandrov, I. N.; Alexa, C.; Alexander, G.; Alexopoulos, T.; Alhroob, M.; Aliev, M.; Alimonti, G.; Alison, J.; Alkire, S. P.; Allbrooke, B. M. M.; Allen, B. W.; Allport, P. P.; Aloisio, A.; Alonso, A.; Alonso, F.; Alpigiani, C.; Alvarez Gonzalez, B.; Álvarez Piqueras, D.; Alviggi, M. G.; Amadio, B. T.; Amako, K.; Amaral Coutinho, Y.; Amelung, C.; Amidei, D.; Amor Dos Santos, S. P.; Amorim, A.; Amoroso, S.; Amram, N.; Amundsen, G.; Anastopoulos, C.; Ancu, L. S.; Andari, N.; Andeen, T.; Anders, C. F.; Anders, G.; Anders, J. K.; Anderson, K. J.; Andreazza, A.; Andrei, V.; Angelidakis, S.; Angelozzi, I.; Anger, P.; Angerami, A.; Anghinolfi, F.; Anisenkov, A. V.; Anjos, N.; Annovi, A.; Antonelli, M.; Antonov, A.; Antos, J.; Anulli, F.; Aoki, M.; Aperio Bella, L.; Arabidze, G.; Arai, Y.; Araque, J. P.; Arce, A. T. H.; Arduh, F. A.; Arduini, G.; Arguin, J.-F.; Argyropoulos, S.; Arik, M.; Armbruster, A. J.; Armitage, L. J.; Arnaez, O.; Arnold, H.; Arratia, M.; Arslan, O.; Artamonov, A.; Artoni, G.; Artz, S.; Asai, S.; Asbah, N.; Ashkenazi, A.; Åsman, B.; Asquith, L.; Assamagan, K.; Astalos, R.; Atkinson, M.; Atlay, N. B.; Augsten, K.; Avolio, G.; Axen, B.; Ayoub, M. K.; Azuelos, G.; Baak, M. A.; Baas, A. E.; Baca, M. J.; Bachacou, H.; Bachas, K.; Backes, M.; Backhaus, M.; Bagiacchi, P.; Bagnaia, P.; Bai, Y.; Baines, J. T.; Baker, O. K.; Baldin, E. M.; Balek, P.; Balestri, T.; Balli, F.; Balunas, W. K.; Banas, E.; Banerjee, Sw.; Bannoura, A. A. 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A.; Benjamin, D. P.; Bensinger, J. R.; Bentvelsen, S.; Beresford, L.; Beretta, M.; Berge, D.; Bergeaas Kuutmann, E.; Berger, N.; Berghaus, F.; Beringer, J.; Berlendis, S.; Bernard, N. R.; Bernius, C.; Bernlochner, F. U.; Berry, T.; Berta, P.; Bertella, C.; Bertoli, G.; Bertolucci, F.; Bertram, I. A.; Bertsche, C.; Bertsche, D.; Besjes, G. J.; Bessidskaia Bylund, O.; Bessner, M.; Besson, N.; Betancourt, C.; Bethke, S.; Bevan, A. J.; Bhimji, W.; Bianchi, R. M.; Bianchini, L.; Bianco, M.; Biebel, O.; Biedermann, D.; Bielski, R.; Biesuz, N. V.; Biglietti, M.; Bilbao De Mendizabal, J.; Bilokon, H.; Bindi, M.; Binet, S.; Bingul, A.; Bini, C.; Biondi, S.; Bjergaard, D. M.; Black, C. W.; Black, J. E.; Black, K. M.; Blackburn, D.; Blair, R. E.; Blanchard, J.-B.; Blanco, J. E.; Blazek, T.; Bloch, I.; Blocker, C.; Blum, W.; Blumenschein, U.; Blunier, S.; Bobbink, G. J.; Bobrovnikov, V. S.; Bocchetta, S. S.; Bocci, A.; Bock, C.; Boehler, M.; Boerner, D.; Bogaerts, J. A.; Bogavac, D.; Bogdanchikov, A. G.; Bohm, C.; Boisvert, V.; Bold, T.; Boldea, V.; Boldyrev, A. S.; Bomben, M.; Bona, M.; Boonekamp, M.; Borisov, A.; Borissov, G.; Bortfeldt, J.; Bortoletto, D.; Bortolotto, V.; Bos, K.; Boscherini, D.; Bosman, M.; Bossio Sola, J. D.; Boudreau, J.; Bouffard, J.; Bouhova-Thacker, E. V.; Boumediene, D.; Bourdarios, C.; Boutle, S. K.; Boveia, A.; Boyd, J.; Boyko, I. R.; Bracinik, J.; Brandt, A.; Brandt, G.; Brandt, O.; Bratzler, U.; Brau, B.; Brau, J. E.; Braun, H. M.; Breaden Madden, W. D.; Brendlinger, K.; Brennan, A. J.; Brenner, L.; Brenner, R.; Bressler, S.; Bristow, T. M.; Britton, D.; Britzger, D.; Brochu, F. M.; Brock, I.; Brock, R.; Brooijmans, G.; Brooks, T.; Brooks, W. K.; Brosamer, J.; Brost, E.; Broughton, J. H.; Bruce, R.; Bruckman de Renstrom, P. A.; Bruncko, D.; Bruneliere, R.; Bruni, A.; Bruni, G.; Brunt, BH; Bruschi, M.; Bruscino, N.; Bryant, P.; Bryngemark, L.; Buanes, T.; Buat, Q.; Buchholz, P.; Buckley, A. G.; Budagov, I. 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P.; Casolino, M.; Casper, D. W.; Castaneda-Miranda, E.; Castelli, A.; Castillo Gimenez, V.; Castro, N. F.; Catinaccio, A.; Catmore, J. R.; Cattai, A.; Caudron, J.; Cavaliere, V.; Cavallaro, E.; Cavalli, D.; Cavalli-Sforza, M.; Cavasinni, V.; Ceradini, F.; Cerda Alberich, L.; Cerio, B. C.; Cerqueira, A. S.; Cerri, A.; Cerrito, L.; Cerutti, F.; Cerv, M.; Cervelli, A.; Cetin, S. A.; Chafaq, A.; Chakraborty, D.; Chalupkova, I.; Chan, S. K.; Chan, Y. L.; Chang, P.; Chapman, J. D.; Charlton, D. G.; Chatterjee, A.; Chau, C. C.; Chavez Barajas, C. A.; Che, S.; Cheatham, S.; Chegwidden, A.; Chekanov, S.; Chekulaev, S. V.; Chelkov, G. A.; Chelstowska, M. A.; Chen, C.; Chen, H.; Chen, K.; Chen, S.; Chen, S.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, H. C.; Cheng, H. J.; Cheng, Y.; Cheplakov, A.; Cheremushkina, E.; Cherkaoui El Moursli, R.; Chernyatin, V.; Cheu, E.; Chevalier, L.; Chiarella, V.; Chiarelli, G.; Chiodini, G.; Chisholm, A. S.; Chitan, A.; Chizhov, M. V.; Choi, K.; Chomont, A. R.; Chouridou, S.; Chow, B. K. B.; Christodoulou, V.; Chromek-Burckhart, D.; Chudoba, J.; Chuinard, A. J.; Chwastowski, J. J.; Chytka, L.; Ciapetti, G.; Ciftci, A. K.; Cinca, D.; Cindro, V.; Cioara, I. A.; Ciocio, A.; Cirotto, F.; Citron, Z. H.; Ciubancan, M.; Clark, A.; Clark, B. L.; Clark, M. R.; Clark, P. J.; Clarke, R. N.; Clement, C.; Coadou, Y.; Cobal, M.; Coccaro, A.; Cochran, J.; Coffey, L.; Colasurdo, L.; Cole, B.; Cole, S.; Colijn, A. P.; Collot, J.; Colombo, T.; Compostella, G.; Conde Muiño, P.; Coniavitis, E.; Connell, S. H.; Connelly, I. A.; Consorti, V.; Constantinescu, S.; Conta, C.; Conti, G.; Conventi, F.; Cooke, M.; Cooper, B. D.; Cooper-Sarkar, A. M.; Cornelissen, T.; Corradi, M.; Corriveau, F.; Corso-Radu, A.; Cortes-Gonzalez, A.; Cortiana, G.; Costa, G.; Costa, M. J.; Costanzo, D.; Cottin, G.; Cowan, G.; Cox, B. E.; Cranmer, K.; Crawley, S. J.; Cree, G.; Crépé-Renaudin, S.; Crescioli, F.; Cribbs, W. A.; Crispin Ortuzar, M.; Cristinziani, M.; Croft, V.; Crosetti, G.; Cuhadar Donszelmann, T.; Cummings, J.; Curatolo, M.; Cúth, J.; Cuthbert, C.; Czirr, H.; Czodrowski, P.; D'Auria, S.; D'Onofrio, M.; Da Cunha Sargedas De Sousa, M. J.; Da Via, C.; Dabrowski, W.; Dai, T.; Dale, O.; Dallaire, F.; Dallapiccola, C.; Dam, M.; Dandoy, J. R.; Dang, N. P.; Daniells, A. C.; Dann, N. S.; Danninger, M.; Dano Hoffmann, M.; Dao, V.; Darbo, G.; Darmora, S.; Dassoulas, J.; Dattagupta, A.; Davey, W.; David, C.; Davidek, T.; Davies, M.; Davison, P.; Davygora, Y.; Dawe, E.; Dawson, I.; Daya-Ishmukhametova, R. K.; De, K.; de Asmundis, R.; De Benedetti, A.; De Castro, S.; De Cecco, S.; De Groot, N.; de Jong, P.; De la Torre, H.; De Lorenzi, F.; De Pedis, D.; De Salvo, A.; De Sanctis, U.; De Santo, A.; De Vivie De Regie, J. B.; Dearnaley, W. J.; Debbe, R.; Debenedetti, C.; Dedovich, D. V.; Deigaard, I.; Del Peso, J.; Del Prete, T.; Delgove, D.; Deliot, F.; Delitzsch, C. M.; Deliyergiyev, M.; Dell'Acqua, A.; Dell'Asta, L.; Dell'Orso, M.; Della Pietra, M.; della Volpe, D.; Delmastro, M.; Delsart, P. A.; Deluca, C.; DeMarco, D. A.; Demers, S.; Demichev, M.; Demilly, A.; Denisov, S. P.; Denysiuk, D.; Derendarz, D.; Derkaoui, J. E.; Derue, F.; Dervan, P.; Desch, K.; Deterre, C.; Dette, K.; Deviveiros, P. O.; Dewhurst, A.; Dhaliwal, S.; Di Ciaccio, A.; Di Ciaccio, L.; Di Clemente, W. K.; Di Donato, C.; Di Girolamo, A.; Di Girolamo, B.; Di Micco, B.; Di Nardo, R.; Di Simone, A.; Di Sipio, R.; Di Valentino, D.; Diaconu, C.; Diamond, M.; Dias, F. A.; Diaz, M. A.; Diehl, E. B.; Dietrich, J.; Diglio, S.; Dimitrievska, A.; Dingfelder, J.; Dita, P.; Dita, S.; Dittus, F.; Djama, F.; Djobava, T.; Djuvsland, J. I.; do Vale, M. A. B.; Dobos, D.; Dobre, M.; Doglioni, C.; Dohmae, T.; Dolejsi, J.; Dolezal, Z.; Dolgoshein, B. A.; Donadelli, M.; Donati, S.; Dondero, P.; Donini, J.; Dopke, J.; Doria, A.; Dova, M. T.; Doyle, A. T.; Drechsler, E.; Dris, M.; Du, Y.; Duarte-Campderros, J.; Duchovni, E.; Duckeck, G.; Ducu, O. A.; Duda, D.; Dudarev, A.; Duflot, L.; Duguid, L.; Dührssen, M.; Dunford, M.; Duran Yildiz, H.; Düren, M.; Durglishvili, A.; Duschinger, D.; Dutta, B.; Dyndal, M.; Eckardt, C.; Ecker, K. M.; Edgar, R. C.; Edson, W.; Edwards, N. C.; Eifert, T.; Eigen, G.; Einsweiler, K.; Ekelof, T.; El Kacimi, M.; Ellajosyula, V.; Ellert, M.; Elles, S.; Ellinghaus, F.; Elliot, A. A.; Ellis, N.; Elmsheuser, J.; Elsing, M.; Emeliyanov, D.; Enari, Y.; Endner, O. C.; Endo, M.; Ennis, J. S.; Erdmann, J.; Ereditato, A.; Ernis, G.; Ernst, J.; Ernst, M.; Errede, S.; Ertel, E.; Escalier, M.; Esch, H.; Escobar, C.; Esposito, B.; Etienvre, A. I.; Etzion, E.; Evans, H.; Ezhilov, A.; Fabbri, F.; Fabbri, L.; Facini, G.; Fakhrutdinov, R. M.; Falciano, S.; Falla, R. J.; Faltova, J.; Fang, Y.; Fanti, M.; Farbin, A.; Farilla, A.; Farina, C.; Farooque, T.; Farrell, S.; Farrington, S. M.; Farthouat, P.; Fassi, F.; Fassnacht, P.; Fassouliotis, D.; Faucci Giannelli, M.; Favareto, A.; Fawcett, W. J.; Fayard, L.; Fedin, O. L.; Fedorko, W.; Feigl, S.; Feligioni, L.; Feng, C.; Feng, E. J.; Feng, H.; Fenyuk, A. B.; Feremenga, L.; Fernandez Martinez, P.; Fernandez Perez, S.; Ferrando, J.; Ferrari, A.; Ferrari, P.; Ferrari, R.; Ferreira de Lima, D. E.; Ferrer, A.; Ferrere, D.; Ferretti, C.; Ferretto Parodi, A.; Fiedler, F.; Filipčič, A.; Filipuzzi, M.; Filthaut, F.; Fincke-Keeler, M.; Finelli, K. D.; Fiolhais, M. C. N.; Fiorini, L.; Firan, A.; Fischer, A.; Fischer, C.; Fischer, J.; Fisher, W. C.; Flaschel, N.; Fleck, I.; Fleischmann, P.; Fletcher, G. T.; Fletcher, G.; Fletcher, R. R. M.; Flick, T.; Floderus, A.; Flores Castillo, L. R.; Flowerdew, M. J.; Forcolin, G. T.; Formica, A.; Forti, A.; Foster, A. G.; Fournier, D.; Fox, H.; Fracchia, S.; Francavilla, P.; Franchini, M.; Francis, D.; Franconi, L.; Franklin, M.; Frate, M.; Fraternali, M.; Freeborn, D.; Fressard-Batraneanu, S. M.; Friedrich, F.; Froidevaux, D.; Frost, J. A.; Fukunaga, C.; Fullana Torregrosa, E.; Fusayasu, T.; Fuster, J.; Gabaldon, C.; Gabizon, O.; Gabrielli, A.; Gabrielli, A.; Gach, G. P.; Gadatsch, S.; Gadomski, S.; Gagliardi, G.; Gagnon, L. G.; Gagnon, P.; Galea, C.; Galhardo, B.; Gallas, E. J.; Gallop, B. J.; Gallus, P.; Galster, G.; Gan, K. K.; Gao, J.; Gao, Y.; Gao, Y. S.; Garay Walls, F. M.; García, C.; García Navarro, J. E.; Garcia-Sciveres, M.; Gardner, R. W.; Garelli, N.; Garonne, V.; Gascon Bravo, A.; Gatti, C.; Gaudiello, A.; Gaudio, G.; Gaur, B.; Gauthier, L.; Gavrilenko, I. L.; Gay, C.; Gaycken, G.; Gazis, E. N.; Gecse, Z.; Gee, C. N. P.; Geich-Gimbel, Ch.; Geisler, M. P.; Gemme, C.; Genest, M. H.; Geng, C.; Gentile, S.; George, S.; Gerbaudo, D.; Gershon, A.; Ghasemi, S.; Ghazlane, H.; Ghneimat, M.; Giacobbe, B.; Giagu, S.; Giannetti, P.; Gibbard, B.; Gibson, S. M.; Gignac, M.; Gilchriese, M.; Gillam, T. P. S.; Gillberg, D.; Gilles, G.; Gingrich, D. M.; Giokaris, N.; Giordani, M. P.; Giorgi, F. M.; Giorgi, F. M.; Giraud, P. F.; Giromini, P.; Giugni, D.; Giuli, F.; Giuliani, C.; Giulini, M.; Gjelsten, B. K.; Gkaitatzis, S.; Gkialas, I.; Gkougkousis, E. L.; Gladilin, L. K.; Glasman, C.; Glatzer, J.; Glaysher, P. C. F.; Glazov, A.; Goblirsch-Kolb, M.; Godlewski, J.; Goldfarb, S.; Golling, T.; Golubkov, D.; Gomes, A.; Gonçalo, R.; Goncalves Pinto Firmino Da Costa, J.; Gonella, L.; Gongadze, A.; González de la Hoz, S.; Gonzalez Parra, G.; Gonzalez-Sevilla, S.; Goossens, L.; Gorbounov, P. A.; Gordon, H. A.; Gorelov, I.; Gorini, B.; Gorini, E.; Gorišek, A.; Gornicki, E.; Goshaw, A. T.; Gössling, C.; Gostkin, M. I.; Goudet, C. R.; Goujdami, D.; Goussiou, A. G.; Govender, N.; Gozani, E.; Graber, L.; Grabowska-Bold, I.; Gradin, P. O. J.; Grafström, P.; Gramling, J.; Gramstad, E.; Grancagnolo, S.; Gratchev, V.; Gray, H. M.; Graziani, E.; Greenwood, Z. D.; Grefe, C.; Gregersen, K.; Gregor, I. M.; Grenier, P.; Grevtsov, K.; Griffiths, J.; Grillo, A. A.; Grimm, K.; Grinstein, S.; Gris, Ph.; Grivaz, J.-F.; Groh, S.; Grohs, J. P.; Gross, E.; Grosse-Knetter, J.; Grossi, G. C.; Grout, Z. J.; Guan, L.; Guan, W.; Guenther, J.; Guescini, F.; Guest, D.; Gueta, O.; Guido, E.; Guillemin, T.; Guindon, S.; Gul, U.; Gumpert, C.; Guo, J.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, S.; Gustavino, G.; Gutierrez, P.; Gutierrez Ortiz, N. G.; Gutschow, C.; Guyot, C.; Gwenlan, C.; Gwilliam, C. B.; Haas, A.; Haber, C.; Hadavand, H. K.; Haddad, N.; Hadef, A.; Haefner, P.; Hageböck, S.; Hajduk, Z.; Hakobyan, H.; Haleem, M.; Haley, J.; Hall, D.; Halladjian, G.; Hallewell, G. D.; Hamacher, K.; Hamal, P.; Hamano, K.; Hamilton, A.; Hamity, G. N.; Hamnett, P. G.; Han, L.; Hanagaki, K.; Hanawa, K.; Hance, M.; Haney, B.; Hanke, P.; Hanna, R.; Hansen, J. B.; Hansen, J. D.; Hansen, M. C.; Hansen, P. H.; Hara, K.; Hard, A. S.; Harenberg, T.; Hariri, F.; Harkusha, S.; Harrington, R. D.; Harrison, P. F.; Hartjes, F.; Hasegawa, M.; Hasegawa, Y.; Hasib, A.; Hassani, S.; Haug, S.; Hauser, R.; Hauswald, L.; Havranek, M.; Hawkes, C. M.; Hawkings, R. J.; Hawkins, A. D.; Hayden, D.; Hays, C. P.; Hays, J. M.; Hayward, H. S.; Haywood, S. J.; Head, S. J.; Heck, T.; Hedberg, V.; Heelan, L.; Heim, S.; Heim, T.; Heinemann, B.; Heinrich, J. J.; Heinrich, L.; Heinz, C.; Hejbal, J.; Helary, L.; Hellman, S.; Helsens, C.; Henderson, J.; Henderson, R. C. W.; Heng, Y.; Henkelmann, S.; Henriques Correia, A. M.; Henrot-Versille, S.; Herbert, G. H.; Hernández Jiménez, Y.; Herten, G.; Hertenberger, R.; Hervas, L.; Hesketh, G. G.; Hessey, N. P.; Hetherly, J. W.; Hickling, R.; Higón-Rodriguez, E.; Hill, E.; Hill, J. C.; Hiller, K. H.; Hillier, S. J.; Hinchliffe, I.; Hines, E.; Hinman, R. R.; Hirose, M.; Hirschbuehl, D.; Hobbs, J.; Hod, N.; Hodgkinson, M. C.; Hodgson, P.; Hoecker, A.; Hoeferkamp, M. R.; Hoenig, F.; Hohlfeld, M.; Hohn, D.; Holmes, T. R.; Homann, M.; Hong, T. M.; Hooberman, B. H.; Hopkins, W. H.; Horii, Y.; Horton, A. J.; Hostachy, J.-Y.; Hou, S.; Hoummada, A.; Howard, J.; Howarth, J.; Hrabovsky, M.; Hristova, I.; Hrivnac, J.; Hryn'ova, T.; Hrynevich, A.; Hsu, C.; Hsu, P. J.; Hsu, S.-C.; Hu, D.; Hu, Q.; Huang, Y.; Hubacek, Z.; Hubaut, F.; Huegging, F.; Huffman, T. B.; Hughes, E. W.; Hughes, G.; Huhtinen, M.; Hülsing, T. A.; Huseynov, N.; Huston, J.; Huth, J.; Iacobucci, G.; Iakovidis, G.; Ibragimov, I.; Iconomidou-Fayard, L.; Ideal, E.; Idrissi, Z.; Iengo, P.; Igonkina, O.; Iizawa, T.; Ikegami, Y.; Ikeno, M.; Ilchenko, Y.; Iliadis, D.; Ilic, N.; Ince, T.; Introzzi, G.; Ioannou, P.; Iodice, M.; Iordanidou, K.; Ippolito, V.; Irles Quiles, A.; Isaksson, C.; Ishino, M.; Ishitsuka, M.; Ishmukhametov, R.; Issever, C.; Istin, S.; Ito, F.; Ponce, J. M. Iturbe; Iuppa, R.; Ivarsson, J.; Iwanski, W.; Iwasaki, H.; Izen, J. M.; Izzo, V.; Jabbar, S.; Jackson, B.; Jackson, M.; Jackson, P.; Jain, V.; Jakobi, K. B.; Jakobs, K.; Jakobsen, S.; Jakoubek, T.; Jamin, D. O.; Jana, D. K.; Jansen, E.; Jansky, R.; Janssen, J.; Janus, M.; Jarlskog, G.; Javadov, N.; Javůrek, T.; Jeanneau, F.; Jeanty, L.; Jejelava, J.; Jeng, G.-Y.; Jennens, D.; Jenni, P.; Jentzsch, J.; Jeske, C.; Jézéquel, S.; Ji, H.; Jia, J.; Jiang, H.; Jiang, Y.; Jiggins, S.; Jimenez Pena, J.; Jin, S.; Jinaru, A.; Jinnouchi, O.; Johansson, P.; Johns, K. A.; Johnson, W. J.; Jon-And, K.; Jones, G.; Jones, R. W. L.; Jones, S.; Jones, T. J.; Jongmanns, J.; Jorge, P. M.; Jovicevic, J.; Ju, X.; Juste Rozas, A.; Köhler, M. K.; Kaczmarska, A.; Kado, M.; Kagan, H.; Kagan, M.; Kahn, S. J.; Kajomovitz, E.; Kalderon, C. W.; Kaluza, A.; Kama, S.; Kamenshchikov, A.; Kanaya, N.; Kaneti, S.; Kantserov, V. A.; Kanzaki, J.; Kaplan, B.; Kaplan, L. S.; Kapliy, A.; Kar, D.; Karakostas, K.; Karamaoun, A.; Karastathis, N.; Kareem, M. J.; Karentzos, E.; Karnevskiy, M.; Karpov, S. N.; Karpova, Z. M.; Karthik, K.; Kartvelishvili, V.; Karyukhin, A. N.; Kasahara, K.; Kashif, L.; Kass, R. D.; Kastanas, A.; Kataoka, Y.; Kato, C.; Katre, A.; Katzy, J.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Kawamura, G.; Kazama, S.; Kazanin, V. F.; Keeler, R.; Kehoe, R.; Keller, J. S.; Kempster, J. J.; Kentaro, K.; Keoshkerian, H.; Kepka, O.; Kerševan, B. P.; Kersten, S.; Keyes, R. A.; Khalil-zada, F.; Khandanyan, H.; Khanov, A.; Kharlamov, A. G.; Khoo, T. 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B.; Shaw, K.; Shaw, S. M.; Shcherbakova, A.; Shehu, C. Y.; Sherwood, P.; Shi, L.; Shimizu, S.; Shimmin, C. O.; Shimojima, M.; Shiyakova, M.; Shmeleva, A.; Shoaleh Saadi, D.; Shochet, M. J.; Shojaii, S.; Shrestha, S.; Shulga, E.; Shupe, M. A.; Sicho, P.; Sidebo, P. E.; Sidiropoulou, O.; Sidorov, D.; Sidoti, A.; Siegert, F.; Sijacki, Dj.; Silva, J.; Silverstein, S. B.; Simak, V.; Simard, O.; Simic, Lj.; Simion, S.; Simioni, E.; Simmons, B.; Simon, D.; Simon, M.; Sinervo, P.; Sinev, N. B.; Sioli, M.; Siragusa, G.; Sivoklokov, S. Yu.; Sjölin, J.; Sjursen, T. B.; Skinner, M. B.; Skottowe, H. P.; Skubic, P.; Slater, M.; Slavicek, T.; Slawinska, M.; Sliwa, K.; Slovak, R.; Smakhtin, V.; Smart, B. H.; Smestad, L.; Smirnov, S. Yu.; Smirnov, Y.; Smirnova, L. N.; Smirnova, O.; Smith, M. N. K.; Smith, R. W.; Smizanska, M.; Smolek, K.; Snesarev, A. A.; Snidero, G.; Snyder, S.; Sobie, R.; Socher, F.; Soffer, A.; Soh, D. A.; Sokhrannyi, G.; Solans Sanchez, C. A.; Solar, M.; Soldatov, E. Yu.; Soldevila, U.; Solodkov, A. A.; Soloshenko, A.; Solovyanov, O. V.; Solovyev, V.; Sommer, P.; Son, H.; Song, H. Y.; Sood, A.; Sopczak, A.; Sopko, V.; Sorin, V.; Sosa, D.; Sotiropoulou, C. L.; Soualah, R.; Soukharev, A. M.; South, D.; Sowden, B. C.; Spagnolo, S.; Spalla, M.; Spangenberg, M.; Spanò, F.; Sperlich, D.; Spettel, F.; Spighi, R.; Spigo, G.; Spiller, L. A.; Spousta, M.; St. Denis, R. D.; Stabile, A.; Stahlman, J.; Stamen, R.; Stamm, S.; Stanecka, E.; Stanek, R. W.; Stanescu, C.; Stanescu-Bellu, M.; Stanitzki, M. M.; Stapnes, S.; Starchenko, E. A.; Stark, G. H.; Stark, J.; Staroba, P.; Starovoitov, P.; Stärz, S.; Staszewski, R.; Steinberg, P.; Stelzer, B.; Stelzer, H. J.; Stelzer-Chilton, O.; Stenzel, H.; Stewart, G. A.; Stillings, J. A.; Stockton, M. C.; Stoebe, M.; Stoicea, G.; Stolte, P.; Stonjek, S.; Stradling, A. R.; Straessner, A.; Stramaglia, M. E.; Strandberg, J.; Strandberg, S.; Strandlie, A.; Strauss, M.; Strizenec, P.; Ströhmer, R.; Strom, D. M.; Stroynowski, R.; Strubig, A.; Stucci, S. A.; Stugu, B.; Styles, N. A.; Su, D.; Su, J.; Subramaniam, R.; Suchek, S.; Sugaya, Y.; Suk, M.; Sulin, V. V.; Sultansoy, S.; Sumida, T.; Sun, S.; Sun, X.; Sundermann, J. E.; Suruliz, K.; Susinno, G.; Sutton, M. R.; Suzuki, S.; Svatos, M.; Swiatlowski, M.; Sykora, I.; Sykora, T.; Ta, D.; Taccini, C.; Tackmann, K.; Taenzer, J.; Taffard, A.; Tafirout, R.; Taiblum, N.; Takai, H.; Takashima, R.; Takeda, H.; Takeshita, T.; Takubo, Y.; Talby, M.; Talyshev, A. A.; Tam, J. Y. C.; Tan, K. G.; Tanaka, J.; Tanaka, R.; Tanaka, S.; Tannenwald, B. B.; Tapia Araya, S.; Tapprogge, S.; Tarem, S.; Tartarelli, G. F.; Tas, P.; Tasevsky, M.; Tashiro, T.; Tassi, E.; Tavares Delgado, A.; Tayalati, Y.; Taylor, A. C.; Taylor, G. N.; Taylor, P. T. E.; Taylor, W.; Teischinger, F. A.; Teixeira-Dias, P.; Temming, K. K.; Temple, D.; Ten Kate, H.; Teng, P. K.; Teoh, J. J.; Tepel, F.; Terada, S.; Terashi, K.; Terron, J.; Terzo, S.; Testa, M.; Teuscher, R. J.; Theveneaux-Pelzer, T.; Thomas, J. P.; Thomas-Wilsker, J.; Thompson, E. N.; Thompson, P. D.; Thompson, R. J.; Thompson, A. S.; Thomsen, L. A.; Thomson, E.; Thomson, M.; Tibbetts, M. J.; Ticse Torres, R. E.; Tikhomirov, V. O.; Tikhonov, Yu. A.; Timoshenko, S.; Tipton, P.; Tisserant, S.; Todome, K.; Todorov, T.; Todorova-Nova, S.; Tojo, J.; Tokár, S.; Tokushuku, K.; Tolley, E.; Tomlinson, L.; Tomoto, M.; Tompkins, L.; Toms, K.; Tong, B.; Torrence, E.; Torres, H.; Torró Pastor, E.; Toth, J.; Touchard, F.; Tovey, D. R.; Trefzger, T.; Tricoli, A.; Trigger, I. M.; Trincaz-Duvoid, S.; Tripiana, M. F.; Trischuk, W.; Trocmé, B.; Trofymov, A.; Troncon, C.; Trottier-McDonald, M.; Trovatelli, M.; Truong, L.; Trzebinski, M.; Trzupek, A.; Tseng, J. C.-L.; Tsiareshka, P. V.; Tsipolitis, G.; Tsirintanis, N.; Tsiskaridze, S.; Tsiskaridze, V.; Tskhadadze, E. G.; Tsui, K. M.; Tsukerman, I. I.; Tsulaia, V.; Tsuno, S.; Tsybychev, D.; Tudorache, A.; Tudorache, V.; Tuna, A. N.; Tupputi, S. A.; Turchikhin, S.; Turecek, D.; Turgeman, D.; Turra, R.; Turvey, A. J.; Tuts, P. M.; Tyndel, M.; Ucchielli, G.; Ueda, I.; Ueno, R.; Ughetto, M.; Ukegawa, F.; Unal, G.; Undrus, A.; Unel, G.; Ungaro, F. C.; Unno, Y.; Unverdorben, C.; Urban, J.; Urquijo, P.; Urrejola, P.; Usai, G.; Usanova, A.; Vacavant, L.; Vacek, V.; Vachon, B.; Valderanis, C.; Valdes Santurio, E.; Valencic, N.; Valentinetti, S.; Valero, A.; Valery, L.; Valkar, S.; Vallecorsa, S.; Valls Ferrer, J. A.; Van Den Wollenberg, W.; Van Der Deijl, P. C.; van der Geer, R.; van der Graaf, H.; van Eldik, N.; van Gemmeren, P.; Van Nieuwkoop, J.; van Vulpen, I.; van Woerden, M. C.; Vanadia, M.; Vandelli, W.; Vanguri, R.; Vaniachine, A.; Vankov, P.; Vardanyan, G.; Vari, R.; Varnes, E. W.; Varol, T.; Varouchas, D.; Vartapetian, A.; Varvell, K. E.; Vasquez, J. G.; Vazeille, F.; Vazquez Schroeder, T.; Veatch, J.; Veloce, L. M.; Veloso, F.; Veneziano, S.; Ventura, A.; Venturi, M.; Venturi, N.; Venturini, A.; Vercesi, V.; Verducci, M.; Verkerke, W.; Vermeulen, J. C.; Vest, A.; Vetterli, M. C.; Viazlo, O.; Vichou, I.; Vickey, T.; Boeriu, O. E. Vickey; Viehhauser, G. H. A.; Viel, S.; Vigani, L.; Vigne, R.; Villa, M.; Villaplana Perez, M.; Vilucchi, E.; Vincter, M. G.; Vinogradov, V. B.; Vittori, C.; Vivarelli, I.; Vlachos, S.; Vlasak, M.; Vogel, M.; Vokac, P.; Volpi, G.; Volpi, M.; von der Schmitt, H.; von Toerne, E.; Vorobel, V.; Vorobev, K.; Vos, M.; Voss, R.; Vossebeld, J. H.; Vranjes, N.; Vranjes Milosavljevic, M.; Vrba, V.; Vreeswijk, M.; Vuillermet, R.; Vukotic, I.; Vykydal, Z.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, W.; Wahlberg, H.; Wahrmund, S.; Wakabayashi, J.; Walder, J.; Walker, R.; Walkowiak, W.; Wallangen, V.; Wang, C.; Wang, C.; Wang, F.; Wang, H.; Wang, H.; Wang, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, K.; Wang, R.; Wang, S. M.; Wang, T.; Wang, T.; Wang, X.; Wanotayaroj, C.; Warburton, A.; Ward, C. P.; Wardrope, D. R.; Washbrook, A.; Watkins, P. M.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, I. J.; Watson, M. F.; Watts, G.; Watts, S.; Waugh, B. M.; Webb, S.; Weber, M. S.; Weber, S. W.; Webster, J. S.; Weidberg, A. R.; Weinert, B.; Weingarten, J.; Weiser, C.; Weits, H.; Wells, P. S.; Wenaus, T.; Wengler, T.; Wenig, S.; Wermes, N.; Werner, M.; Werner, P.; Wessels, M.; Wetter, J.; Whalen, K.; Whallon, N. L.; Wharton, A. M.; White, A.; White, M. J.; White, R.; White, S.; Whiteson, D.; Wickens, F. J.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wielers, M.; Wienemann, P.; Wiglesworth, C.; Wiik-Fuchs, L. A. M.; Wildauer, A.; Wilk, F.; Wilkens, H. G.; Williams, H. H.; Williams, S.; Willis, C.; Willocq, S.; Wilson, J. A.; Wingerter-Seez, I.; Winklmeier, F.; Winston, O. J.; Winter, B. T.; Wittgen, M.; Wittkowski, J.; Wollstadt, S. J.; Wolter, M. W.; Wolters, H.; Wosiek, B. K.; Wotschack, J.; Woudstra, M. J.; Wozniak, K. W.; Wu, M.; Wu, M.; Wu, S. L.; Wu, X.; Wu, Y.; Wyatt, T. R.; Wynne, B. M.; Xella, S.; Xu, D.; Xu, L.; Yabsley, B.; Yacoob, S.; Yakabe, R.; Yamaguchi, D.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yamamoto, A.; Yamamoto, S.; Yamanaka, T.; Yamauchi, K.; Yamazaki, Y.; Yan, Z.; Yang, H.; Yang, H.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Z.; Yao, W.-M.; Yap, Y. C.; Yasu, Y.; Yatsenko, E.; Yau Wong, K. H.; Ye, J.; Ye, S.; Yeletskikh, I.; Yen, A. L.; Yildirim, E.; Yorita, K.; Yoshida, R.; Yoshihara, K.; Young, C.; Young, C. J. S.; Youssef, S.; Yu, D. R.; Yu, J.; Yu, J. M.; Yu, J.; Yuan, L.; Yuen, S. P. Y.; Yusuff, I.; Zabinski, B.; Zaidan, R.; Zaitsev, A. M.; Zakharchuk, N.; Zalieckas, J.; Zaman, A.; Zambito, S.; Zanello, L.; Zanzi, D.; Zeitnitz, C.; Zeman, M.; Zemla, A.; Zeng, J. C.; Zeng, Q.; Zengel, K.; Zenin, O.; Ženiš, T.; Zerwas, D.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, G.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, R.; Zhang, R.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, X.; Zhao, Y.; Zhao, Z.; Zhemchugov, A.; Zhong, J.; Zhou, B.; Zhou, C.; Zhou, L.; Zhou, L.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, N.; Zhu, C. G.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zhuang, X.; Zhukov, K.; Zibell, A.; Zieminska, D.; Zimine, N. I.; Zimmermann, C.; Zimmermann, S.; Zinonos, Z.; Zinser, M.; Ziolkowski, M.; Živković, L.; Zobernig, G.; Zoccoli, A.; zur Nedden, M.; Zurzolo, G.; Zwalinski, L.

    2016-05-01

    This paper discusses various observations on beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton run. Building on published results based on 2011 data, the correlations between background and residual pressure of the beam vacuum are revisited. Ghost charge evolution over 2012 and its role for backgrounds are evaluated. New methods to monitor ghost charge with beam-gas rates are presented and observations of LHC abort gap population by ghost charge are discussed in detail. Fake jets from colliding bunches and from ghost charge are analysed with improved methods, showing that ghost charge in individual radio-frequency buckets of the LHC can be resolved. Some results of two short periods of dedicated cosmic-ray background data-taking are shown; in particular cosmic-ray muon induced fake jet rates are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and to the fake jet rates from beam background. A thorough analysis of a particular LHC fill, where abnormally high background was observed, is presented. Correlations between backgrounds and beam intensity losses in special fills with very high β* are studied.

  18. Beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds observed in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton running period

    DOE PAGES

    Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdallah, J.; ...

    2016-05-20

    This paper discusses various observations on beam-induced and cosmic-ray backgrounds in the ATLAS detector during the LHC 2012 proton-proton run. Building on published results based on 2011 data, the correlations between background and residual pressure of the beam vacuum are revisited. Ghost charge evolution over 2012 and its role for backgrounds are evaluated. New methods to monitor ghost charge with beam-gas rates are presented and observations of LHC abort gap population by ghost charge are discussed in detail. Fake jets from colliding bunches and from ghost charge are analysed with improved methods, showing that ghost charge in individual radio-frequency bucketsmore » of the LHC can be resolved. Some results of two short periods of dedicated cosmic-ray background data-taking are shown; in particular cosmic-ray muon induced fake jet rates are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and to the fake jet rates from beam background. A thorough analysis of a particular LHC fill, where abnormally high background was observed, is presented. Correlations between backgrounds and beam intensity losses in special fills with very high β* are studied.« less

  19. Study protocol for reducing childbirth fear: a midwife-led psycho-education intervention

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Childbirth fear has received considerable attention in Scandinavian countries, and the United Kingdom, but not in Australia. For first-time mothers, fear is often linked to a perceived lack of control and disbelief in the body’s ability to give birth safely, whereas multiparous women may be fearful as a result of previous negative and/or traumatic birth experiences. There have been few well-designed intervention studies that test interventions to address women’s childbirth fear, support normal birth, and diminish the possibility of a negative birth experience. Methods/design Pregnant women in their second trimester of pregnancy will be recruited and screened from antenatal clinics in Queensland, Australia. Women reporting high childbirth fear will be randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. The psycho-educational intervention is offered by midwives over the telephone at 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy. The intervention aims to review birth expectations, work through distressing elements of childbirth, discuss strategies to develop support networks, affirm that negative childbirth events can be managed and develop a birth plan. Women in the control group will receive standard care offered by the public funded maternity services in Australia. All women will receive an information booklet on childbirth choices. Data will be collected at recruitment during the second trimester, 36 weeks of pregnancy, and 4–6 weeks after birth. Discussion This study aims to test the efficacy of a brief, midwife-led psycho-education counselling (known as BELIEF: Birth Emotions - Looking to Improve Expectant Fear) to reduce women’s childbirth fear. 1) Relative to controls, women receiving BELIEF will report lower levels of childbirth fear at term; 2) less decisional conflict; 3) less depressive symptoms; 4) better childbirth self-efficacy; and 5) improved health and obstetric outcomes. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Controlled Trials Registry ACTRN12612000526875. PMID:24139191

  20. Characterization and development of an event-driven hybrid CMOS x-ray detector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Griffith, Christopher

    2015-06-01

    Hybrid CMOS detectors (HCD) have provided great benefit to the infrared and optical fields of astronomy, and they are poised to do the same for X-ray astronomy. Infrared HCDs have already flown on the Hubble Space Telescope and the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission and are slated to fly on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Hybrid CMOS X-ray detectors offer low susceptibility to radiation damage, low power consumption, and fast readout time to avoid pile-up. The fast readout time is necessary for future high throughput X-ray missions. The Speedster-EXD X-ray HCD presented in this dissertation offers new in-pixel features and reduces known noise sources seen on previous generation HCDs. The Speedster-EXD detector makes a great step forward in the development of these detectors for future space missions. This dissertation begins with an overview of future X-ray space mission concepts and their detector requirements. The background on the physics of semiconductor devices and an explanation of the detection of X-rays with these devices will be discussed followed by a discussion on CCDs and CMOS detectors. Next, hybrid CMOS X-ray detectors will be explained including their advantages and disadvantages. The Speedster-EXD detector and its new features will be outlined including its ability to only read out pixels which contain X-ray events. Test stand design and construction for the Speedster-EXD detector is outlined and the characterization of each parameter on two Speedster-EXD detectors is detailed including read noise, dark current, interpixel capacitance crosstalk (IPC), and energy resolution. Gain variation is also characterized, and a Monte Carlo simulation of its impact on energy resolution is described. This analysis shows that its effect can be successfully nullified with proper calibration, which would be important for a flight mission. Appendix B contains a study of the extreme tidal disruption event, Swift J1644+57, to search for periodicities in its X-ray light curve. iii.

  1. Understanding by Older Patients of Dialysis and Conservative Management for Chronic Kidney Failure

    PubMed Central

    Tonkin-Crine, Sarah; Okamoto, Ikumi; Leydon, Geraldine M.; Murtagh, Fliss E.M.; Farrington, Ken; Caskey, Fergus; Rayner, Hugh; Roderick, Paul

    2015-01-01

    Background Older adults with chronic kidney disease stage 5 may be offered a choice between dialysis and conservative management. Few studies have explored patients’ reasons for choosing conservative management and none have compared the views of those who have chosen different treatments across renal units. Study Design Qualitative study with semistructured interviews. Settings & Participants Patients 75 years or older recruited from 9 renal units. Units were chosen to reflect variation in the scale of delivery of conservative management. Methodology Semistructured interviews audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Analytical Approach Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results 42 interviews were completed, 4 to 6 per renal unit. Patients were sampled from those receiving dialysis, those preparing for dialysis, and those choosing conservative management. 14 patients in each group were interviewed. Patients who had chosen different treatments held varying beliefs about what dialysis could offer. The information that patients reported receiving from clinical staff differed between units. Patients from units with a more established conservative management pathway were more aware of conservative management, less often believed that dialysis would guarantee longevity, and more often had discussed the future with staff. Some patients receiving conservative management reported that they would have dialysis if they became unwell in the future, indicating the conditional nature of their decision. Limitations Recruitment of older adults with frailty and comorbid conditions was difficult and therefore transferability of findings to this population is limited. Conclusions Older adults with chronic kidney disease stage 5 who have chosen different treatment options have contrasting beliefs about the likely outcomes of dialysis for those who are influenced by information provided by renal units. Supporting renal staff in discussing conservative management as a valid alternative to dialysis for a subset of patients will aid informed decision making. There is a need for better evidence about conservative management to support shared decision making for older people with chronic kidney failure. PMID:25304984

  2. Compact CdZnTe-based gamma camera for prostate cancer imaging

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cui, Yonggang; Lall, Terry; Tsui, Benjamin; Yu, Jianhua; Mahler, George; Bolotnikov, Aleksey; Vaska, Paul; De Geronimo, Gianluigi; O'Connor, Paul; Meinken, George; Joyal, John; Barrett, John; Camarda, Giuseppe; Hossain, Anwar; Kim, Ki Hyun; Yang, Ge; Pomper, Marty; Cho, Steve; Weisman, Ken; Seo, Youngho; Babich, John; LaFrance, Norman; James, Ralph B.

    2011-06-01

    In this paper, we discuss the design of a compact gamma camera for high-resolution prostate cancer imaging using Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe or CZT) radiation detectors. Prostate cancer is a common disease in men. Nowadays, a blood test measuring the level of prostate specific antigen (PSA) is widely used for screening for the disease in males over 50, followed by (ultrasound) imaging-guided biopsy. However, PSA tests have a high falsepositive rate and ultrasound-guided biopsy has a high likelihood of missing small cancerous tissues. Commercial methods of nuclear medical imaging, e.g. PET and SPECT, can functionally image the organs, and potentially find cancer tissues at early stages, but their applications in diagnosing prostate cancer has been limited by the smallness of the prostate gland and the long working distance between the organ and the detectors comprising these imaging systems. CZT is a semiconductor material with wide band-gap and relatively high electron mobility, and thus can operate at room temperature without additional cooling. CZT detectors are photon-electron direct-conversion devices, thus offering high energy-resolution in detecting gamma rays, enabling energy-resolved imaging, and reducing the background of Compton-scattering events. In addition, CZT material has high stopping power for gamma rays; for medical imaging, a few-mm-thick CZT material provides adequate detection efficiency for many SPECT radiotracers. Because of these advantages, CZT detectors are becoming popular for several SPECT medical-imaging applications. Most recently, we designed a compact gamma camera using CZT detectors coupled to an application-specific-integratedcircuit (ASIC). This camera functions as a trans-rectal probe to image the prostate gland from a distance of only 1-5 cm, thus offering higher detection efficiency and higher spatial resolution. Hence, it potentially can detect prostate cancers at their early stages. The performance tests of this camera have been completed. The results show better than 6-mm resolution at a distance of 1 cm. Details of the test results are discussed in this paper.

  3. Comments on "Big Ideas for Little Kids"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, James S.

    2012-01-01

    Thomas Wartenberg offers his book as a guide that will provide elementary school teachers what they need to facilitate philosophical discussions with children. My concerns are centered on the nature and role of philosophical discussion, the level of philosophical acumen needed for facilitating such discussion, and the role of character development…

  4. Classroom Discussions: Possibilities and Limitations for Democratic Classroom Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aasebø, Turid Skarre

    2017-01-01

    Are students offered possibilities to experience democratic practice in classrooms? Using an analysis of empirical data from classroom discussions in lower secondary school, this article identifies and explores two different types of classroom discussions which give students different positions: a conversation in which students are positioned as…

  5. Leading Discussion in a Lecture Course: Some Maxims and an Exhortation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gullette, Margaret Morganroth

    1992-01-01

    The importance of incorporating discussion into college lecture classes is discussed, problems in starting and expanding exchange of ideas are examined, and techniques for "raising the intellectual temperature" of a class are offered. Anecdotal examples are drawn from observations of teachers in a variety of discipline contexts. (MSE)

  6. Talking to Learn across Classrooms and Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salas, Spencer; Fitchett, Paul G.; Mercado, Leonardo

    2013-01-01

    The authors of this article propose structured and focused classroom discussion to engage students in thoughtful dialogue. They present a model for principled discussion and suggest ways to engage students in focused discussions drawing from their experiences, offering guidance for helping students make the most of the dialogue sessions. The…

  7. Non-perturbative background field calculations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stephens, C. R.

    1988-01-01

    New methods are developed for calculating one loop functional determinants in quantum field theory. Instead of relying on a calculation of all the eigenvalues of the small fluctuation equation, these techniques exploit the ability of the proper time formalism to reformulate an infinite dimensional field theoretic problem into a finite dimensional covariant quantum mechanical analog, thereby allowing powerful tools such as the method of Jacobi fields to be used advantageously in a field theory setting. More generally the methods developed herein should be extremely valuable when calculating quantum processes in non-constant background fields, offering a utilitarian alternative to the two standard methods of calculation—perturbation theory in the background field or taking the background field into account exactly. The formalism developed also allows for the approximate calculation of covariances of partial differential equations from a knowledge of the solutions of a homogeneous ordinary differential equation.

  8. Eight worst advertising mistakes.

    PubMed

    Maley, Catherine

    2010-11-01

    This article presents strategies for advertising the medical practice. The emphasis is on breaking out of the old rules of how one should advertise and delves into asking questions that lead to a true strategy unique to one's medical practice and offerings. The article discusses the myriad ways to think about and create a patient-centered approach, turning from "here is what we offer" to instead "what you want we offer." Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. In-Home Respite Care Program Development. Background. Coordinator's Manual. Training Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parham, J. D.; And Others

    This volume consists of a background discussion, coordinator's manual, and training manual dealing with developing programs for the in-home respite care (IHRC) of the developmentally disabled. Addressed in the background information unit are the nature of developmental disabilities; program variables, planning, and funding; and practical…

  10. The scope and variety of combined baccalaureate-MD programs in the United States.

    PubMed

    Eaglen, Robert H; Arnold, Louise; Girotti, Jorge A; Cosgrove, Ellen M; Green, Marianne M; Kollisch, Donald O; McBeth, Dani L; Penn, Mark A; Tracy, Sarah W

    2012-11-01

    The landscape of combined baccalaureate-MD programs has changed substantially in the last two decades but has not been documented in detail. The authors review the current state of these programs and discuss opportunities for future study of their evolving role and potential impact.In 2011, using a definition of baccalaureate-MD program built on prior research, the authors reviewed Association of American Medical Colleges sources and medical school Web sites to identify and characterize 81 active programs. In addition, they surveyed the 57 medical schools offering those programs; 31 schools with 39 programs responded. The resulting database inventories the number and distribution of programs; institutional affiliations; missions or goals; length; size; admissions criteria; curricula; and retention requirements.Since the inception of combined programs in 1961, their number and curricular length have increased. Pressures that spurred earlier programs remain evident in the goals of today's programs: attract talented high school or early college students, especially from diverse backgrounds; prepare physicians to meet societal needs; and offer an enriched premedical environment. Baccalaureate educational activities achieve program goals through special courses, medical experiences, community service, and learning communities tailored to students' needs. Admission and retention criteria are comparable to those of traditional medical schools.Combined baccalaureate-MD programs have evolved along several paths during the last half century and have enriched the baccalaureate experiences of medical students. Shifting expectations for the selection and education of future physicians warrant focused research on these programs to document their effectiveness in addressing those expectations.

  11. Grid-enabled mammographic auditing and training system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yap, M. H.; Gale, A. G.

    2008-03-01

    Effective use of new technologies to support healthcare initiatives is important and current research is moving towards implementing secure grid-enabled healthcare provision. In the UK, a large-scale collaborative research project (GIMI: Generic Infrastructures for Medical Informatics), which is concerned with the development of a secure IT infrastructure to support very widespread medical research across the country, is underway. In the UK, there are some 109 breast screening centers and a growing number of individuals (circa 650) nationally performing approximately 1.5 million screening examinations per year. At the same, there is a serious, and ongoing, national workforce issue in screening which has seen a loss of consultant mammographers and a growth in specially trained technologists and other non-radiologists. Thus there is a need to offer effective and efficient mammographic training so as to maintain high levels of screening skills. Consequently, a grid based system has been proposed which has the benefit of offering very large volumes of training cases that the mammographers can access anytime and anywhere. A database, spread geographically across three university systems, of screening cases is used as a test set of known cases. The GIMI mammography training system first audits these cases to ensure that they are appropriately described and annotated. Subsequently, the cases are utilized for training in a grid-based system which has been developed. This paper briefly reviews the background to the project and then details the ongoing research. In conclusion, we discuss the contributions, limitations, and future plans of such a grid based approach.

  12. A Survey of Current Trends in Master's Programs in Microelectronics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bozanic, Mladen; Sinha, Saurabh

    2018-01-01

    Contribution: This paper brings forward a paradigm shift in microelectronic and nanoelectronic engineering education. Background: An increasing number of universities are offering graduate-level electrical engineering degree programs with multi-disciplinary Master's-level specialization in microelectronics or nanoelectronics. The paradigm shift…

  13. An Analysis of School Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grace, Ronald A.

    2009-01-01

    This study offers an exploratory account of school climate, culture, and Black identity as posited by Milliones' (1980) Four Stages of Black Consciousness model. According to the literature schools having high populations of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are considered problematic. Culture and climate significantly impact school…

  14. Identification and prioritization of relationships between environmental stressor and adverse human health impacts

    EPA Science Inventory

    AbstractBackground: There are over 80,000 chemicals in commerce with little data available describing their impacts on human health. Biomonitoring surveys, such as the NHANES, offer one route to identifying possible relationships between environmental chemicals and health impacts...

  15. Native Americans in Physical Therapy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westberg, Jane

    2003-01-01

    Three Native American physical therapists share stories of their careers, including educational background; motivation to enter the field; and experiences as a volunteer in Vietnam and working with the Indian Health Service and various rehabilitation programs. Advice on appropriate preparation in the sciences is offered to Native students…

  16. Ownership, Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security Data.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Staman, E. Michael

    1986-01-01

    One of the areas most often neglected by those responsible for information systems in colleges and universities relates to ownership, privacy, confidentiality, and security of data. Background information and definitions are provided, and a suggested environment is described. Model recommendations for institutional policy are offered. (MLW)

  17. Dyscalculia in Harrow

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Messenger, Chris; Emerson, Jane; Bird, Ronit

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the authors offer three definitions of dyscalculia, then describe the background and initial progress of the Harrow Dyscalculia Project. Their project in Harrow is associated with ongoing research into numeracy and brain development led by Brian Butterworth, Professor of Cognitive Neuropsychology at UCL. Pupils from Harrow schools…

  18. Indian Ledger Art.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chilcoat, George W.

    1990-01-01

    Offers an innovative way to teach mid-nineteenth century North American Indian history by having students create their own Indian Ledger art. Purposes of the project are: to understand the role played by American Indians, to reveal American Indian stereotypes, and to identify relationships between cultures and environments. Background and…

  19. Using Local History To Understand National Themes: The Yellow Fever Epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westbury, Susan

    2003-01-01

    Provides background information for a local history project about the 1793 Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) yellow fever outbreak. Offers potential project topics to help students learn about local history and understand life in the eighteenth century United States. (CMK)

  20. Redeveloping Early Childhood Education: A Response to Kessler.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bredekamp, Sue

    1991-01-01

    Provides background information on the development of NAEYC's position statements on developmentally appropriate practice and clarifies assumptions made by Kessler and others about NAEYC's positions. Offers justification for the developmentalist perspective and suggests an alternative argument for appropriate practice that draws on the strengths…

  1. Risk Assessment Training Experience (RATE) – University of Iowa Superfund Research Center.

    EPA Science Inventory

    These modules will offer hands-on training in the primary areas of risk assessment (i.e., legal background, hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization) at the University of Iowa Superfund Research Program on October 2, 2017. An...

  2. Pashto Reader.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tegey, Habibullah; Robson, Barbara

    This reader is the basic text for a set of instructional materials in Pashto. It consists of 45 authentic passages in Pashto script, each accompanied by background information, a vocabulary list, hints for scanning, comprehension exercises, and notes for detailed rereading. An introductory section offers study suggestions for the student. The…

  3. Beating Darwin-Bragg losses in lab-based ultrafast x-ray experiments

    PubMed Central

    Fullagar, Wilfred K.; Uhlig, Jens; Mandal, Ujjwal; Kurunthu, Dharmalingam; El Nahhas, Amal; Tatsuno, Hideyuki; Honarfar, Alireza; Parnefjord Gustafsson, Fredrik; Sundström, Villy; Palosaari, Mikko R. J.; Kinnunen, Kimmo M.; Maasilta, Ilari J.; Miaja-Avila, Luis; O'Neil, Galen C.; Joe, Young Il; Swetz, Daniel S.; Ullom, Joel N.

    2017-01-01

    The use of low temperature thermal detectors for avoiding Darwin-Bragg losses in lab-based ultrafast experiments has begun. An outline of the background of this new development is offered, showing the relevant history and initiative taken by this work. PMID:28396880

  4. Impact of raised without antibiotics practices on occurrences of antimicrobial resistance

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Background: The increasing occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant human infections has been attributed to the use of antimicrobials in a variety of applications including food-animal production. "Raised without antibiotics" (RWA) meat production has been offered as a practice to reduce antimicrobial-...

  5. Computers and Media Centers--A Winning Combination.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graf, Nancy

    1984-01-01

    Profile of the computer program offered by the library/media center at Chief Joseph Junior High School in Richland, Washington, highlights program background, operator's licensing procedure, the trainer license, assistance from high school students, need for more computers, handling of software, and helpful hints. (EJS)

  6. The Korean War: An ERIC/ChESS Sample.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinhey, Laura A.

    2000-01-01

    Provides a list of teaching materials and general background documents about the Korean War from the ERIC database. Offers directions for obtaining the full text of materials about the division of South and North Korea, the geography of Korea, and South Korea's economic development. (CMK)

  7. Semiconductors: A 21st Century Social Studies Topic.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sunal, Cynthia

    2000-01-01

    Addresses the reasons for exploring semiconductor technology and organic semiconductors in schools for either middle school or secondary students in an interdisciplinary social studies and science environment. Provides background information on transistors and semiconductors. Offers three social studies lessons and related science lessons if an…

  8. Nontraditional Degree Options for Nurses: A Model Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walston, Sydney C.

    1978-01-01

    The Institute for Personal and Career Development of Central Michigan University offers external degree programs for adult learners using nontraditional study. The competency-based programs described include credit given for the educational background and relevant career-life experiences of registered nurses in Michigan. (Author/LBH)

  9. Prevention of Child Accidents at Home.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    International Children's Centre, Paris (France).

    In three languages, Spanish, French and English, these materials provide facts, background information and guides for preventing accidental harm to children. The materials, organized in three identical packets consisting of four pamphlets, offer information for mass media specialists, guidelines for administrators and decision makers, a technical…

  10. Adventures with Maps.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hofferber, Michael

    1989-01-01

    Orienteering--the game of following a map to find predetermined locations--can spark interest and develop skills in map making and map reading. This article gives background on orienteering; describes indoor and outdoor orienteering activities; offers suggestions for incorporating orienteering into science, math, and language arts; and provides a…

  11. A study of nuclear recoil backgrounds in dark matter detectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Westerdale, Shawn S.

    Despite the great success of the Standard Model of particle physics, a preponderance of astrophysical evidence suggests that it cannot explain most of the matter in the universe. This so-called dark matter has eluded direct detection, though many theoretical extensions to the Standard Model predict the existence of particles with a mass on the 1-1000 GeV scale that interact only via the weak nuclear force. Particles in this class are referred to as Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), and their high masses and low scattering cross sections make them viable dark matter candidates. The rarity of WIMP-nucleus interactions makes them challenging to detect: any background can mask the signal they produce. Background rejection is therefore a major problem in dark matter detection. Many experiments greatly reduce their backgrounds by employing techniques to reject electron recoils. However, nuclear recoil backgrounds, which produce signals similar to what we expect from WIMPs, remain problematic. There are two primary sources of such backgrounds: surface backgrounds and neutron recoils. Surface backgrounds result from radioactivity on the inner surfaces of the detector sending recoiling nuclei into the detector. These backgrounds can be removed with fiducial cuts, at some cost to the experiment's exposure. In this dissertation we briefly discuss a novel technique for rejecting these events based on signals they make in the wavelength shifter coating on the inner surfaces of some detectors. Neutron recoils result from neutrons scattering off of nuclei in the detector. These backgrounds may produce a signal identical to what we expect from WIMPs and are extensively discussed here. We additionally present a new tool for calculating (alpha, n) yields in various materials. We introduce the concept of a neutron veto system designed to shield against, measure, and provide an anti-coincidence veto signal for background neutrons. We discuss the research and development that informed the design of the DarkSide-50 boron-loaded liquid scintillator neutron veto. We describe the specific implementation of this veto system in DarkSide-50, including a description of its performance, and show that it can reject neutrons with a high enough efficiency to allow DarkSide-50 to run background-free for three years.

  12. Generalization of the normal-exponential model: exploration of a more accurate parametrisation for the signal distribution on Illumina BeadArrays.

    PubMed

    Plancade, Sandra; Rozenholc, Yves; Lund, Eiliv

    2012-12-11

    Illumina BeadArray technology includes non specific negative control features that allow a precise estimation of the background noise. As an alternative to the background subtraction proposed in BeadStudio which leads to an important loss of information by generating negative values, a background correction method modeling the observed intensities as the sum of the exponentially distributed signal and normally distributed noise has been developed. Nevertheless, Wang and Ye (2012) display a kernel-based estimator of the signal distribution on Illumina BeadArrays and suggest that a gamma distribution would represent a better modeling of the signal density. Hence, the normal-exponential modeling may not be appropriate for Illumina data and background corrections derived from this model may lead to wrong estimation. We propose a more flexible modeling based on a gamma distributed signal and a normal distributed background noise and develop the associated background correction, implemented in the R-package NormalGamma. Our model proves to be markedly more accurate to model Illumina BeadArrays: on the one hand, it is shown on two types of Illumina BeadChips that this model offers a more correct fit of the observed intensities. On the other hand, the comparison of the operating characteristics of several background correction procedures on spike-in and on normal-gamma simulated data shows high similarities, reinforcing the validation of the normal-gamma modeling. The performance of the background corrections based on the normal-gamma and normal-exponential models are compared on two dilution data sets, through testing procedures which represent various experimental designs. Surprisingly, we observe that the implementation of a more accurate parametrisation in the model-based background correction does not increase the sensitivity. These results may be explained by the operating characteristics of the estimators: the normal-gamma background correction offers an improvement in terms of bias, but at the cost of a loss in precision. This paper addresses the lack of fit of the usual normal-exponential model by proposing a more flexible parametrisation of the signal distribution as well as the associated background correction. This new model proves to be considerably more accurate for Illumina microarrays, but the improvement in terms of modeling does not lead to a higher sensitivity in differential analysis. Nevertheless, this realistic modeling makes way for future investigations, in particular to examine the characteristics of pre-processing strategies.

  13. Twice Blessed, Doubly Oppressed: Women of Color in Academe.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Brenda J.

    Focusing on academia as an organizational entity, this paper discusses feminist standpoint epistemology (FSE)--defined as the idea that the world looks different depending on the individual's vantage point--and offers tools to transform teaching and research endeavors in organizational communication. It also offers extended excerpts about the…

  14. Extracurricular Business Planning Competitions: Challenging the Assumptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watson, Kayleigh; McGowan, Pauric; Smith, Paul

    2014-01-01

    Business planning competitions [BPCs] are a commonly offered yet under-examined extracurricular activity. Given the extent of sceptical comment about business planning, this paper offers what the authors believe is a much-needed critical discussion of the assumptions that underpin the provision of such competitions. In doing so it is suggested…

  15. Communicating with Congress

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ochs, Mike

    2005-01-01

    At a seminar, two Congressional staff members offered good tips on how it is best to communicate with legislators. Although offered in the context of communicating with Congress, these insights are also valuable when working with state and local legislators. This article discusses the key points that were provided in the seminar. In addition to…

  16. Chemical Librarianship: Challenges and Opportunities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Somerville, Arleen N., Ed.

    1997-01-01

    This volume is a collection of 12 papers of particular interest to librarians specializing in chemistry. The articles discuss the educational role of librarians in several types of institutions, offer new ways of providing information, and describe ways of coping with increasing prices and formats of journals. The first paper offers an overview of…

  17. Writing an Entertainment Review.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greenman, Robert; Aimone, Logan

    2000-01-01

    Discusses what a review should do, journalistic standards, and presenting a strong and consistent critique. Suggests other things to review besides movies, gives an example of success, and offers an exercise on writing a sidebar to accompany a movie review. Offers four reviews written by students, and a short essay about the occasional danger of…

  18. Drawing and Painting with Under-Threes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kolbe, Ursula; Smyth, Jane

    2000-01-01

    Noting that drawing and painting offer very young children powerful ways to explore and communicate thoughts and feelings, this booklet for caregivers and teachers offers suggestions related to painting and drawing for children under 3 years. The booklet discusses what young children can do with drawing and painting materials, including exploring…

  19. Using Metacognition to Promote Learning. IDEA Paper #63

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Millis, Barbara J.

    2016-01-01

    Metacognition has increasingly been recognized as essential for learning. This paper defines metacognition, discusses its importance, and specifies how faculty can nurture it in students to promote positive learning outcomes. The paper then offers extensive examples based on two formats: (1) activities offered before, during, and after lessons or…

  20. Young Children as Curators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hope, Alice

    2018-01-01

    Literature that addresses young children's learning in galleries and museums typically concentrates on what is already offered and discusses what has proven to be effective, or not, in accommodating their needs. This article offers insight into how objects can be explored with early years children at school, to create greater understanding of…

  1. When Young Children Are Afraid.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crosser, Sandra

    1994-01-01

    Notes that fear has the potential to interfere with the young child's quality of life, and offers some understanding of the nature and normal developmental course of early childhood fears. Discusses reasons for fearful behavior and different temperament types. Offers suggestions on how adults can help children cope with fear and how teachers can…

  2. Working with Bilingual Learners: An Introduction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willenberg, Ingrid

    2015-01-01

    This article seeks to provide a theoretical overview of bilingualism and discuss the key concepts and theories that inform classroom pedagogy with bilingual learners. Although some specific classroom strategies are introduced, the primary purpose is not to offer strategies, but rather to offer guiding principles based on theory and research to…

  3. Americans with Disabilities: Are They Losing Ground?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Essex, Nathan L.

    2002-01-01

    Offers as brief overview of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), intended to protect disabled individuals against discriminatory practices in employment. Discusses implications for educators of three Supreme Court decisions dealing with the ADA, and offers 10 guidelines to ensure that the intent of the ADA statute is followed by school…

  4. Lessons from "The Little Prince": Therapeutic Relationships with Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cowles, Janelle

    1997-01-01

    Explores the power of metaphor in therapy and offers as a relationship metaphor an example drawn from Saint-Exupery's classic children's tale. Discusses rituals and the necessity of counselors developing and nourishing relationships with their child clients. Claims that "The Little Prince" offers a way of being with children. (RJM)

  5. The Purebred and the Platypus: Disciplinarity and Site in Mass Communication Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kavoori, Anandam P.; Gurevitch, Michael

    1993-01-01

    Offers thoughts about some of the problems facing mass communication as a cultural practice by mapping briefly its historical constitutiveness (and the problems therein). Discusses the dimensions of communication research as site. Offers a diagnosis of how to view the avowed "fragmentation" of the field. (SR)

  6. Engaging Education Policies through Governmentality Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brass, Jory

    2015-01-01

    This article offers a brief introduction to governmentality studies and the conceptual tools that it provides to help English educators recognise the ideas and practices that education policies mobilise to steer our professions towards particular values, norms and outcomes. After a short overview of governmentality, it offers a short discussion of…

  7. Opportunities in Biological Sciences Careers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winter, Charles A.

    This book offers a panoramic view of the diversity of careers which the future may offer to those trained in the biological sciences. It discusses the scope and organization of the biological sciences, focusing on the various specialties such as microbiology, genetics, entomology, ecology, wildlife biology, and the biomedical sciences such as…

  8. Learning Styles in Engineering Education: The Quest to Improve Didactic Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holvikivi, Jaana

    2007-01-01

    This article discusses a dilemma that engineering educators encounter when attempting to develop pedagogical methods: that of finding efficient and scientifically valid didactic practices. The multitude of methods offered by educational consultants is perplexing. Moreover, the popularity of commercially offered solutions such as learning styles…

  9. TADS: Technical Assistance Development System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Epting, Rosemary, Ed.

    Described is the Technical Assistance Development System (TADS), a component of the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which offers support services to preschool demonstration centers for handicapped children in the First Chance Network. Discussed are the four types of services offered:…

  10. Employee Selection Process: Integrating Employee Needs and Employer Motivators.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carroll, Brian J.

    1989-01-01

    Offers suggestions for managers relative to the employee selection process, focusing on the identification of a potential employee's needs and the employer's motivators that affect employee productivity. Discusses the use of a preemployment survey and offers a questionnaire that allows matching of the employee's needs with employment…

  11. Twitter discussions about the predicaments of robots in geriatric nursing: forecast of nursing robotics in aged care.

    PubMed

    Eriksson, Henrik; Salzmann-Erikson, Martin

    2018-02-01

    People use social media to express perceptions, attitudes and a wide range of concerns regarding human life. This study aims at analysing the ongoing discussions on the internet microblog Twitter and offers some coming predicaments regarding developments in geriatric nursing regarding nursing robots. Data were retrospectively collected from Twitter. 1322 mentions were included in the final analyses, where principles of interpreting data by using netnography were utilized. Many ideas are presented expressing functional, psychological and social aspects of robots in nursing care. Most postings come from metropolitan cities around the globe. The discussion focuses on market-driven, science fiction solutions for aged care. Twitter users overall seem to be positive using various nursing robots in aged care. These discussions offer a window into the attitudes and ideas of this group of users. We suggest that monitoring Twitter discussions on social media can provide valuable insights into current attitudes as well as forecast coming trends.

  12. The Concept of a Single-sex Optional Discussion Session in Introductory Astronomy at a Publicly Funded University

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shawl, S.

    1996-12-01

    The concept of single-sex education for science and mathematics has recently received renewed discussion in both the popular and professional literature. So important is the topic within higher education that the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy sponsored a symposium called "Gender & The Higher Education Classroom: Maximizing the Learning Environment" in February 1996 (http://www.duke.edu/ jrd4/djgcnf96.htm). The concept is especially controversial in publicly supported educational institutions. The idea of offering an optional discussion session limited to a single sex in a university-level introductory astronomy course at a State-supported school was considered through discussions with a number of faculty and administrators, and through a questionnaire aimed at determining student attitudes toward the concept. The results of the student questionnaire will be presented. (While the questionnaire results will be seen to be in favor of such an optional discussion session, such sessions have not been offered.)

  13. Evaluation of the cosmic-ray induced background in coded aperture high energy gamma-ray telescopes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Owens, Alan; Barbier, Loius M.; Frye, Glenn M.; Jenkins, Thomas L.

    1991-01-01

    While the application of coded-aperture techniques to high-energy gamma-ray astronomy offers potential arc-second angular resolution, concerns were raised about the level of secondary radiation produced in a thick high-z mask. A series of Monte-Carlo calculations are conducted to evaluate and quantify the cosmic-ray induced neutral particle background produced in a coded-aperture mask. It is shown that this component may be neglected, being at least a factor of 50 lower in intensity than the cosmic diffuse gamma-rays.

  14. Interrogating discourse: the application of Foucault's methodological discussion to specific inquiry.

    PubMed

    Fadyl, Joanna K; Nicholls, David A; McPherson, Kathryn M

    2013-09-01

    Discourse analysis following the work of Michel Foucault has become a valuable methodology in the critical analysis of a broad range of topics relating to health. However, it can be a daunting task, in that there seems to be both a huge number of possible approaches to carrying out this type of project, and an abundance of different, often conflicting, opinions about what counts as 'Foucauldian'. This article takes the position that methodological design should be informed by ongoing discussion and applied as appropriate to a particular area of inquiry. The discussion given offers an interpretation and application of Foucault's methodological principles, integrating a reading of Foucault with applications of his work by other authors, showing how this is then applied to interrogate the practice of vocational rehabilitation. It is intended as a contribution to methodological discussion in this area, offering an interpretation of various methodological elements described by Foucault, alongside specific application of these aspects.

  15. The Chandra Source Catalog: Background Determination and Source Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCollough, Michael; Rots, Arnold; Primini, Francis A.; Evans, Ian N.; Glotfelty, Kenny J.; Hain, Roger; Anderson, Craig S.; Bonaventura, Nina R.; Chen, Judy C.; Davis, John E.; Doe, Stephen M.; Evans, Janet D.; Fabbiano, Giuseppina; Galle, Elizabeth C.; Danny G. Gibbs, II; Grier, John D.; Hall, Diane M.; Harbo, Peter N.; He, Xiang Qun (Helen); Houck, John C.; Karovska, Margarita; Kashyap, Vinay L.; Lauer, Jennifer; McCollough, Michael L.; McDowell, Jonathan C.; Miller, Joseph B.; Mitschang, Arik W.; Morgan, Douglas L.; Mossman, Amy E.; Nichols, Joy S.; Nowak, Michael A.; Plummer, David A.; Refsdal, Brian L.; Siemiginowska, Aneta L.; Sundheim, Beth A.; Tibbetts, Michael S.; van Stone, David W.; Winkelman, Sherry L.; Zografou, Panagoula

    2009-09-01

    The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a major project in which all of the pointed imaging observations taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory are used to generate one of the most extensive X-ray source catalog produced to date. Early in the development of the CSC it was recognized that the ability to estimate local background levels in an automated fashion would be critical for essential CSC tasks such as source detection, photometry, sensitivity estimates, and source characterization. We present a discussion of how such background maps are created directly from the Chandra data and how they are used in source detection. The general background for Chandra observations is rather smoothly varying, containing only low spatial frequency components. However, in the case of ACIS data, a high spatial frequency component is added that is due to the readout streaks of the CCD chips. We discuss how these components can be estimated reliably using the Chandra data and what limitations and caveats should be considered in their use. We will discuss the source detection algorithm used for the CSC and the effects of the background images on the detection results. We will also touch on some the Catalog Inclusion and Quality Assurance criteria applied to the source detection results. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

  16. Chandra Source Catalog: Background Determination and Source Detection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCollough, Michael L.; Rots, A. H.; Primini, F. A.; Evans, I. N.; Glotfelty, K. J.; Hain, R.; Anderson, C. S.; Bonaventura, N. R.; Chen, J. C.; Davis, J. E.; Doe, S. M.; Evans, J. D.; Fabbiano, G.; Galle, E.; Gibbs, D. G.; Grier, J. D.; Hall, D. M.; Harbo, P. N.; He, X.; Houck, J. C.; Karovska, M.; Lauer, J.; McDowell, J. C.; Miller, J. B.; Mitschang, A. W.; Morgan, D. L.; Nichols, J. S.; Nowak, M. A.; Plummer, D. A.; Refsdal, B. L.; Siemiginowska, A. L.; Sundheim, B. A.; Tibbetts, M. S.; Van Stone, D. W.; Winkelman, S. L.; Zografou, P.

    2009-01-01

    The Chandra Source Catalog (CSC) is a major project in which all of the pointed imaging observations taken by the Chandra X-Ray Observatory will used to generate the most extensive X-ray source catalog produced to date. Early in the development of the CSC it was recognized that the ability to estimate local background levels in an automated fashion would be critical for essential CSC tasks such as source detection, photometry, sensitivity estimates, and source characterization. We present a discussion of how such background maps are created directly from the Chandra data and how they are used in source detection. The general background for Chandra observations is rather smoothly varying, containing only low spatial frequency components. However, in the case of ACIS data, a high spatial frequency component is added that is due to the readout streaks of the CCD chips. We discuss how these components can be estimated reliably using the Chandra data and what limitations and caveats should be considered in their use. We will discuss the source detection algorithm used for the CSC and the effects of the background images on the detection results. We will also touch on some the Catalog Inclusion and Quality Assurance criteria applied to the source detection results. This work is supported by NASA contract NAS8-03060 (CXC).

  17. Education for Judgment: The Artistry of Discussion Leadership.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christensen, C. Roland, Ed.; And Others

    This book offers a collection of essays on teaching, written by teachers who, though they represent high school to professional school levels and diverse fields of interest, favor teaching by discussion. Part I introduces key principles in "Barriers and Gateways to Learning" (David A. Garvin) and "Premises and Practices of Discussion Teaching" (C.…

  18. Infant Family Day Care Training: Discussion and Workshop Sheets.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lauritzen, Phyllis; McClain, Doris G.

    Training materials for family day care providers are offered in this document in the form of pages providing topics for discussion and suggested workshop activities. Discussion materials consist of prototype forms for gathering data and keeping records, as well as guidelines for caregiving functions such as feeding, first aid, arranging the home…

  19. Safari: instrument design of the far-infrared imaging spectrometer for spica

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jellema, W.; Pastor, C.; Naylor, D.; Jackson, B.; Sibthorpe, B.; Roelfsema, P.

    2017-11-01

    The next great leap forward in space-based far-infrared astronomy will be made by the Japanese-led SPICA mission, which is anticipated to be launched late 2020's as the next large astrophysics mission of JAXA, in partnership with ESA and with key European contributions. Filling in the gap between JWST and ALMA, the SPICA mission will study the evolution of galaxies, stars and planetary systems. SPICA will utilize a deeply cooled 3m-class telescope, provided by European industry, to realize zodiacal background limited performance, high spatial resolution and large collecting area. Making full advantage of the deeply cooled telescope (<6K), the SAFARI instrument on SPICA is a highly sensitive wide-field imaging photometer and spectrometer operating in the 34-210 μm wavelength range. Utilizing Nyquist-sampled focal-plane arrays of very sensitive Transition Edge Sensors (TES), SAFARI will offer a photometric imaging (R ≍ 2), and a low (R = 100) and medium resolution (R = 2000 at 100 μm) imaging spectroscopy mode in three photometric bands within a 2'x2' instantaneous FoV by means of a cryogenic Mach-Zehnder Fourier Transform Spectrometer. In this paper we will provide an overview of the SAFARI instrument design and system architecture. We will describe the reference design of the SAFARI focal- plane unit, the implementation of the various optical instrument functions designed around the central large-stroke FTS system, the photometric band definition and out-of-band filtering by quasioptical elements, the control of straylight, diffraction and thermal emission in the long-wavelength limit, and how we interface to the large-format FPA arrays at one end and the SPICA telescope assembly at the other end. We will briefly discuss the key performance drivers with special emphasis on the optical techniques adopted to overcome issues related to very low background operation of SAFARI. A summary and discussion of the expected instrument performance and an overview of the astronomical capabilities finally conclude the paper.

  20. Partnership with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes: Establishing an Advisory Committee for Pharmacogenetic Research

    PubMed Central

    Morales, Chelsea T.; Muzquiz, LeeAnna I.; Howlett, Kevin; Azure, Bernie; Bodnar, Brenda; Finley, Vernon; Incashola, Tony; Mathias, Cheryl; Laukes, Cindi; Beatty, Patrick; Burke, Wylie; Pershouse, Mark A.; Putnam, Elizabeth A.; Trinidad, Susan Brown; James, Rosalina; Woodahl, Erica L.

    2016-01-01

    Background Inclusion of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations in pharmacogenetic research is key if the benefits of pharmacogenetic testing are to reach these communities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) offers a model to engage these communities in pharmacogenetics. Objectives An academic-community partnership between the University of Montana and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) was established to engage the community as partners and advisors in pharmacogenetic research. Methods A community advisory committee, the Community Pharmacogenetics Advisory Council (CPAC), was established to ensure community involvement in the research process. To promote bidirectional learning, researchers gave workshops and presentations about pharmacogenetic research to increase research capacity and CPAC members trained researchers in cultural competencies. As part of our commitment to a sustainable relationship, we conducted a self-assessment of the partnership, which included surveys and interviews with CPAC members and researchers. Results Academic and community participants agree that the partnership has promoted a bidirectional exchange of knowledge. Interviews showed positive feedback from the perspectives of both the CPAC and researchers. CPAC members discussed their trust in and support of the partnership as well as having learned more about research processes and pharmacogenetics. Researchers discussed their appreciation of CPAC involvement in the project and guidance the group provided in understanding the CSKT community and culture. Discussion We have created an academic-community partnership to ensure CSKT community input and to share decision-making about pharmacogenetic research. Our CBPR approach may be a model for engaging AI/AN people, and other underserved populations, in genetic research. PMID:27346763

  1. HOW CAN HEALTH SYSTEMS PREPARE FOR NEW AND EMERGING HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES? THE ROLE OF HORIZON SCANNING REVISITED.

    PubMed

    Oortwijn, Wija; Sampietro-Colom, Laura; Habens, Fay; Trowman, Rebecca

    2018-06-11

    For many years, several health technology assessment (HTA) agencies scanned the horizon to identify health technologies that were safe, effective and offer value for money. However, there is limited evidence regarding its impact. The role of horizon scanning in preparing health systems for the uptake of new and emerging health technologies was discussed during the 2018 HTA International (HTAi) Global Policy Forum Meeting. Reflection of the discussion between seventy-two senior representatives from for-profit, not-for-profit organizations, and HTAi leadership. It was informed by a background paper, and presentations from four invited experts and seventeen Policy Forum members. Current horizon scanning systems (HSS) mainly identify health technologies in the late stage of development, aiming to inform topic selection for HTA. Areas for improvement included the need for a clearer definition of the end user(s), purpose, scope, and focus of HSS, the long-term full health system effects, including all relevant stakeholders as early as possible, and considering smart data systems and international collaboration to improve HSS's efficiency. The way in which HSS could be further optimized and better shaped to prepare health systems was also discussed and good practice examples were presented. HSS have not yet reached their full potential in preparing health systems. To improve the current situation, the HTA community could act as convenors, bringing together all relevant stakeholders and providing the information that decision makers need. This would require a new, more integrative approach to define and use HSS and HTA, and requires new skills.

  2. Non-Abelian Gauge Theory in the Lorentz Violating Background

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ganai, Prince A.; Shah, Mushtaq B.; Syed, Masood; Ahmad, Owais

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, we will discuss a simple non-Abelian gauge theory in the broken Lorentz spacetime background. We will study the partial breaking of Lorentz symmetry down to its sub-group. We will use the formalism of very special relativity for analysing this non-Abelian gauge theory. Moreover, we will discuss the quantisation of this theory using the BRST symmetry. Also, we will analyse this theory in the maximal Abelian gauge.

  3. A disparity of words: racial differences in oncologist-patient communication about clinical trials.

    PubMed

    Eggly, Susan; Barton, Ellen; Winckles, Andrew; Penner, Louis A; Albrecht, Terrance L

    2015-10-01

    African Americans are consistently underrepresented in cancer clinical trials. Minority under-enrolment may be, in part, due to differences in the way clinical trials are discussed in oncology visits with African American vs. White patients. To investigate differences in oncologist-patient communication during offers to participate in clinical trials in oncology visits with African American and White patients. From an archive of video-recorded oncology visits, we selected all visits with African American patients that included a trial offer (n = 11) and a matched sample of visits with demographically/medically comparable White patients (n = 11). Using mixed qualitative-quantitative methods, we assessed differences by patient race in (i) word count of entire visits and (ii) frequency of mentions and word count of discussions of clinical trials and key elements of consent. Visits with African American patients, compared to visits with White patients, were shorter overall and included fewer mentions of and less discussion of clinical trials. Also, visits with African Americans included less discussion of the purpose and risks of trials offered, but more discussion of voluntary participation. African American patients may make decisions about clinical trial participation based on less discussion with oncologists than do White patients. Possible explanations include a less active communication style of African Americans in medical visits, oncologists' concerns about patient mistrust, and/or oncologist racial bias. Findings suggest oncologists should pay more conscious attention to developing the topic of clinical trials with African American patients, particularly purpose and risks. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Self-illuminating quantum dots for non-invasive bioluminescence imaging of mammalian

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Background: The fertility performance of animals is still a mystery and the full comprehension of mammalian gametes maturation and early embryonic development remains to be elucidated. The recent development in nanotechnology offers a new opportunity for real-time study of reproductive cells in thei...

  5. Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kugler, Eileen Gale, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    Diverse schools offer enriched academic and social environments, as students and families of different backgrounds and experiences provide a vibrant mosaic of insights, perspectives, and skills. To take advantage of the unique opportunities that diversity brings, schools must value and effectively connect with students and families of all…

  6. "Failure" Irrelevant: Virtual Schools and Accountability-Immunity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nespor, Jan; Voithofer, Rick

    2016-01-01

    Background: Virtual schools--free, state-funded, credit-awarding elementary and secondary schools offering curricula and programs exclusively online--are a rapidly expanding sector of U.S. education. Some of the largest of these schools have low graduation rates and receive "failing" rankings on state accountability metrics. They…

  7. An Academic Library's Experience with Fee-Based Services.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hornbeck, Julia W.

    1983-01-01

    Profile of fee-based information services offered by the Information Exchange Center of Georgia Institute of Technology notes history and background, document delivery to commercial clients and on-campus faculty, online and manual literature searching, staff, cost analysis, fee schedule, operating methods, client relations, marketing, and current…

  8. Agriculture & the Environment. Teacher's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McMurry, Linda Maston

    This teacher's guide offers background information that teachers can use to incorporate topics related to agriculture and the environment into the curriculum. Classroom activities to bring these topics alive for students in grades 6-9 are suggested. Chapters include: (1) Pesticides and Integrated Pest Management; (2) Food Safety; (3) Water…

  9. Language as Cultural Practice: Mexicanos en el Norte.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schecter, Sandra R.; Bayley, Robert

    This book offers an ethnographic account of language socialization practices within Mexican-background families residing in California and Texas. It illustrates cases where language is used by speakers to choose between alternative self-definitions and where language interacts differentially with other defining categories (ethnicity, gender, and…

  10. Furfural Induces Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation and Cellular Damage in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Background: Biofuels offer a viable alternative to petroleum-based fuel. However, current methods are not sufficient and technology to use lignocellulosic biomass as a fermentation substrate faces several challenges. One challenge is the need of a robust fermentative microorganism that can tolera...

  11. Tutor Reference Manual. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, John T., Ed.; Williams, Ron, Jr., Ed.

    This manual, intended for use by tutors working with adults learning to read, offers a consolidated resource of specific instructional techniques and provides additional suggestions not covered in basic tutoring workshops. The manual summarizes a variety of approaches commonly used to instruct adults and provides background for three modes of…

  12. Solar Greenhouses and Sunspaces: Lessons Learned.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Stephen G.; And Others

    Solar technology systems are being studied, managed, built and offered as an effective alternative energy option. This publication presents background material for the building and operation of better sunspaces and greenhouses. Recent developments in solar technology are explained and information on solar greenhouse and sunspace is provided (in…

  13. Educating African American Males

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bell, Edward E.

    2010-01-01

    Background: Schools across America spend money, invest in programs, and sponsor workshops, offer teacher incentives, raise accountability standards, and even evoke the name of Obama in efforts to raise the academic achievement of African American males. Incarceration and college retention rates point to a dismal plight for many African American…

  14. Learning Center: Introducing "Sherman" the Sow Bug.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Armstrong, Beverly; Moore, Charlotte

    1982-01-01

    Offers suggestions for using sow bugs in the classroom, including maintenance, source (found virtually everywhere in damp soil), background information, bibliography, and bulletin board idea. Includes instructions and materials (clue cards) for a fact-finding and hypothesis-testing game in which students determine what kind of an animal…

  15. Instructional Television Facilities: A Planning Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Witherspoon, John P.; Kessler, William J.

    When planning an instructional television (ITV) system, it is suggested that educational objectives should outweigh technological considerations and that expert advice be secured before the planning process is far advanced. In line with the latter suggestion, the book offers a background of technical knowledge aimed at educational administrators…

  16. Media Anthropologist Newsletter. Volume 1, Number 2.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, C. A., Ed.

    The aim of media anthropologists is to provide the general public with entertaining, relevant anthropological background information through the public media. This quarterly newsletter disseminates information, promotes awareness of present physical and social issues, and offers a means of intercommunication on the topic of Media Anthropology.…

  17. Randomized Clinical Trial of Mindfulness Skills Augmentation in Parent Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gershy, Naama; Meehan, Kevin B.; Omer, Haim; Papouchis, Nicholas; Schorr Sapir, Irit

    2017-01-01

    Background: The development of mindfulness parenting programs in recent years offers a promising direction for targeting parental emotional dysregulation in families of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Nevertheless, research on the effectiveness of mindfulness parenting programs is limited, and little is known about…

  18. The Industrial Revolution: An ERIC/ChESS Sample.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pinhey, Laura A.

    2000-01-01

    Provides a list, from the ERIC database, of teaching materials and background information on the Industrial Revolution. Specific topics include life in Lowell (Massachusetts), the global impact of the Industrial Revolution, and England's Industrial Revolution. Offers directions for obtaining the full text of these materials. (CMK)

  19. Britain's South Asian Languages.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mobbs, Michael

    This book focuses on the languages spoken by people of South Asian origin living in Britain and is intended to assist individuals in Britain whose work involves them with speakers of these languages. The approach taken is descriptive and practical, offering linguistic, geographic, and historical background information leading to appreciation of…

  20. Physician Attitudes Regarding School-Located Vaccination Clinics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fiala, Steven C.; Cieslak, Paul R.; DeBess, Emilio E.; Young, Collette M.; Winthrop, Kevin L.; Stevenson, Ellen B.

    2013-01-01

    Background: School-located vaccination clinics offer an opportunity to target children for vaccination programs during communicable disease outbreaks. However, children in the United States are primarily vaccinated in the pediatrician's or family physician's office, and the concept of school-located vaccinations may be unfamiliar to some parents…

  1. Will April Showers Kill the Flowers?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ohanian, Susan

    1984-01-01

    Acid rain has become a dangerous problem that threatens wildlife, architecture, and human health. This article offers background information on causes and possible remedies of acid rain. Classroom activities and resources for both student and teacher are provided to help in the development of a teaching unit. (DF)

  2. Triage for Struggling Adolescent Readers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diamond, Linda J.

    2006-01-01

    To improve achievement for struggling readers in particular, secondary schools must design programs and curricula to address students' lack of background knowledge, delayed English language development, and limited success in reading. In this article, the author presents a systems approach that offers intensive care for the most at-risk students…

  3. Education in Times of Fast Learning: The Future of the School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Masschelein, Jan; Simons, Maarten

    2015-01-01

    Against the background of the many attacks on the school as being outdated, alienating, ineffective and reproducing inequalities we offer a morphological understanding of the school as distinguished from functionalist understandings (sociological or economical perspectives in terms of functions and roles) and idealistic understandings…

  4. Community and Social Support for College Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giddan, Norman S.

    This overview of peer counseling and self-help groups in contemporary higher education examines current practices and offers recommendations for program development. Section I looks at the historical background and current context of campus peer counseling and social support programs; types and functions of self-help groups; student…

  5. Social Background Composition and Educational Growth. Discussion Papers No. 471-77.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mare, Robert D.

    This paper examines the impact of intercohort changes in social background composition on changes in grade progression rates at selected schooling levels. It is argued that the relative and absolute effects of background composition on grade progression rates should decline over levels of schooling. Empirical support for these arguments is…

  6. Good things come to those who wait: late first offers facilitate creative agreements in negotiation.

    PubMed

    Sinaceur, Marwan; Maddux, William W; Vasiljevic, Dimitri; Perez Nückel, Ricardo; Galinsky, Adam D

    2013-06-01

    Although previous research has shown that making the first offer leads to a distributive advantage in negotiations, the current research explored how the timing of first offers affects the creativity of negotiation agreements. We hypothesized that making the first offer later rather than earlier in the negotiation would facilitate the discovery of creative agreements that better meet the parties' underlying interests. Experiment 1 demonstrated that compared with early first offers, late first offers facilitated creative agreements that better met the parties' underlying interests. Experiments 2a and 2b controlled for the duration of the negotiation and conceptually replicated this effect. The last two studies also demonstrated that the beneficial effect of late first offers was mediated by greater information exchange. Thus, negotiators need to consider the timing of first offers to fully capitalize on the first offer advantage. Implications for our understanding of creativity, motivated information exchange, and timing in negotiations are discussed.

  7. Drug Offers as a Context for Violence Perpetration and Victimization

    PubMed Central

    Helm, Susana; Okamoto, Scott; Kaliades, Alexis; Giroux, Danielle

    2014-01-01

    Objective Drug use has been linked empirically with aggression and violence among youth in national and State of Hawai`i samples. However, the nature of this link and its implications for prevention are unclear. Therefore, this paper explores the intersection of drugs with aggression and violence by using the drug offer context as the unit of analysis. Method Native Hawaiian youth are sampled because substance use rates tend to be higher and onset tends to be earlier than their non-Hawaiian peers. Fourteen sex-specific focus group discussions were held with rural Native Hawaiian middle school students (N=64). Students discussed what they thought they would do in terms of drug refusal strategies in a variety of drug offer contexts. Results While aggression and violence were perceived to be socially inappropriate, students nonetheless felt drug use would be less socially competent. Narrative analyses indicated aggression and violence were perceived to function as potential drug refusal strategies. As proximal drug resistance, aggression and violence perpetration served as an immediate deterrent to the drug offerer, and thus drug use. As distal drug resistance, victimization served as a rationale for avoiding drug using contexts. Conclusions Implications are discussed in terms of prevention policy and practice, specifically in terms of a school-based prevention curriculum. Future research in Hawaiian epistemology and gendered approaches are warranted. PMID:24564559

  8. Preconceptional genetic carrier testing and the commercial offer directly-to-consumers

    PubMed Central

    Borry, Pascal; Henneman, Lidewij; Lakeman, Phillis; ten Kate, Leo P.; Cornel, Martina C.; Howard, Heidi C.

    2011-01-01

    Recently, a number of commercial companies are offering preconceptional carrier tests directly-to-consumers. This offer raises a number of concerns and issues above and beyond those encountered with preconceptional tests offered within the traditional health care setting. In order to bring some of these issues to light and to initiate dialogue on this topic, this article discusses the following issues: the current offer of preconceptional carrier tests (until the end of 2010) through online commercial companies; the implications for the informed consent procedure and the need for good information; the need for medical supervision and follow-up; and the appropriate use of existing resources. The article concludes with some reflections about the potential sustainability of the offer of preconceptional carrier tests directly-to-consumers. PMID:21362685

  9. Book discussion course: timely topics for medical students.

    PubMed

    Timm, Donna F; Woodson, Deidra; Jones, Dee

    2014-01-01

    Several library faculty members at the Louisiana State University Health Shreveport Health Sciences Library offered a book discussion course as an elective for first-year medical students. This article provides details on how the librarians developed, taught, and evaluated this elective. The librarians took a team-teaching approach, required the students to read two books, and outlined the criteria for participation. At the end of the course, the students completed an evaluation, commenting on positive and negative aspects of the course. The elective proved to be successful, and the librarians look forward to offering the course again in the spring of 2014.

  10. The Process of Becoming an Embedded Curriculum Librarian in Multiple Health Sciences Programs.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Gwen

    2015-01-01

    Higher education is moving to offer more fully online programs, and the health science fields are no different. These programs are either hybrid or completely online. It is up to the health sciences librarian to adapt services offered by the academic library to these types of courses. This column discusses the multiple ways a librarian can be an embedded librarian in a course using a learning management system (LMS). The process of creating a customized embedded librarian program, results, and lessons learned from the different embedded librarian roles are also discussed.

  11. On the Use of Sibiling Data to Estimate the Effects of Family Background, Cognitive Skills, and Schooling: Results from the Kalamazoo Brothers Study. Discussion Papers 374-76.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olneck, Michael R.

    Sibling data drawn from the Kalamazoo Brothers sample are used in this report to assess the adequacy of conventional sociological variables for measuring family background, to estimate the overall effects of family background on test scores, education, occupational status, and earning, and to control family background when estimating the effects…

  12. Critically Thinking about Harry Potter: A Framework for Discussing Controversial Works in the English Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marshall, Joanne M.

    2003-01-01

    Notes that at the school level and in the classroom, English educators can lead the way in open discussion, particularly discussion about books such as the Harry Potter series. Offers a seven-step framework as a way to begin an open discussion. Concludes that the framework acknowledges those concerns and provides a voice for them while also…

  13. Massive open online courses in health sciences from Latin American institutions: A need for improvement?

    PubMed

    Culquichicón, Carlos; Helguero-Santin, Luis M; Labán-Seminario, L Max; Cardona-Ospina, Jaime A; Aboshady, Omar A; Correa, Ricardo

    2017-01-01

    Background: Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have undergone exponential growth over the past few years, offering free and worldwide access to high-quality education. We identified the characteristics of MOOCs in the health sciences offered by Latin American institutions (LAIs). Methods: We screened the eight leading MOOCs platforms to gather their list of offerings. The MOOCs were classified by region and subject. Then, we obtained the following information: Scopus H-index for each institution and course instructor, QS World University Ranking® 2015/16 of LAI, and official language of the course. Results: Our search identified 4170 MOOCs worldwide. From them, 205 MOOCs were offered by LAIs, and six MOOCs were health sciences related. Most of these courses (n = 115) were offered through Coursera. One health science MOOC was taught by three instructors, of which only one was registered in Scopus (H-index = 0). The remaining five health science MOOCs had solely one instructor (H-index = 4 [0-17]). The Latin American country with the highest participation was Brazil (n = 11). Conclusion: The contribution of LAI to MOOCs in the health sciences is low.

  14. Personal Computer Price and Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crawford, Walt

    1993-01-01

    Discusses personal computer price trends since 1986; describes offerings and prices for four direct-market suppliers, i.e., Dell CompuAdd, PC Brand, and Gateway 2000; and discusses overall value and price/performance ratios. Tables and graphs chart value over time. (EA)

  15. Telecom Programs in the University: What's Available?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ebrschloe, Michael

    1997-01-01

    Discussion of the growth in the telecommunications industry reviews 13 academic programs currently offering education in telecommunications. The need for new programs is discussed and various methods of accomplishing that goal are suggested, including cooperation between businesses and universities. (LRW)

  16. The optical design concept of SPICA-SAFARI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jellema, Willem; Kruizinga, Bob; Visser, Huib; van den Dool, Teun; Pastor Santos, Carmen; Torres Redondo, Josefina; Eggens, Martin; Ferlet, Marc; Swinyard, Bruce; Dohlen, Kjetil; Griffin, Doug; Gonzalez Fernandez, Luis Miguel; Belenguer, Tomas; Matsuhara, Hideo; Kawada, Mitsunobu; Doi, Yasuo

    2012-09-01

    The Safari instrument on the Japanese SPICA mission is a zodiacal background limited imaging spectrometer offering a photometric imaging (R ≍ 2), and a low (R = 100) and medium spectral resolution (R = 2000 at 100 μm) spectroscopy mode in three photometric bands covering the 34-210 μm wavelength range. The instrument utilizes Nyquist sampled filled arrays of very sensitive TES detectors providing a 2’x2’ instantaneous field of view. The all-reflective optical system of Safari is highly modular and consists of an input optics module containing the entrance shutter, a calibration source and a pair of filter wheels, followed by an interferometer and finally the camera bay optics accommodating the focal-plane arrays. The optical design is largely driven and constrained by volume inviting for a compact three-dimensional arrangement of the interferometer and camera bay optics without compromising the optical performance requirements associated with a diffraction- and background-limited spectroscopic imaging instrument. Central to the optics we present a flexible and compact non-polarizing Mach-Zehnder interferometer layout, with dual input and output ports, employing a novel FTS scan mechanism based on magnetic bearings and a linear motor. In this paper we discuss the conceptual design of the focal-plane optics and describe how we implement the optical instrument functions, define the photometric bands, deal with straylight control, diffraction and thermal emission in the long-wavelength limit and interface to the large-format FPA arrays at one end and the SPICA telescope assembly at the other end.

  17. Paediatric patient navigation models of care in Canada: An environmental scan.

    PubMed

    Luke, Alison; Doucet, Shelley; Azar, Rima

    2018-05-01

    (1) To provide other organizations with useful information when implementing paediatric navigation programs and (2) to inform the implementation of a navigation care centre in New Brunswick for children with complex health conditions. This environmental scan consisted of a literature review of published and grey literature for paediatric patient navigation programs across Canada. Additional programs were found following discussions with program coordinators and navigators. Interviews were conducted with key staff from each program and included questions related to patient condition; target population and location; method delivery; navigator background; and navigator roles. Data analysis included analysis of interviews and identification of common themes across the different programs. We interviewed staff from 19 paediatric navigation programs across Canada. Programs varied across a number of different themes, including: condition and disease type, program location (e.g., hospital or clinic), navigator background (e.g., registered nurse or peer/lay navigator) and method of delivery (e.g., phone or face-to-face). Overall, navigator roles are similar across all programs, including advocacy, education, support and assistance in accessing resources from both within and outside the health care system. This scan offers a road map of Canadian paediatric navigation programs. Knowledge learned from this scan will inform stakeholders who are either involved in the delivery of paediatric patient navigation programs or planning to implement such a program. Specifically, our scan informed the development of a navigation centre for children with complex health conditions in New Brunswick.

  18. Communication rehabilitation in sub-Saharan Africa: A workforce profile of speech and language therapists

    PubMed Central

    McAllister, Lindy; Davidson, Bronwyn; Marshall, Julie

    2016-01-01

    Background There is an urgent global need to strengthen rehabilitation services for people with disabilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, rehabilitation services for people with communication disabilities continue to be underdeveloped. A first step in strengthening services for people with a communication disabilities is to understand the composition and conditions of the current workforce. Objectives This research describes a sample of the speech and language therapists (SLTs) working in SSA (excluding South Africa). This study explores the characteristics of this workforce, including their demographics, education, experience and geographical stability. Method A mixed-methods survey was used to collect data from SLTs within Anglophone countries of SSA. Completed surveys were received from 33 respondents working in 44 jobs across nine countries. Analysis included descriptive and non-parametric inferential statistics. This study reports on a subset of descriptive and quantitative data from the wider survey. Results A background profile of SLTs across the region is presented. Results indicated that the workforce of SLTs comprised a mix of local and international SLTs, with university-level education. Local SLTs were educated both within and outside of Africa, with more recent graduates trained in Africa. These data reflected the local emergence of speech and language therapy training in SSA. Conclusion This sample comprised a mix of African and international SLTs, with indications of growing localisation of the workforce. Workforce localisation offers potential advantages of linguistic diversity and stability. Challenges including workforce support and developing culturally and contextually relevant SLT practices are discussed. PMID:28730052

  19. Implications of the licensure of a partially efficacious malaria vaccine on evaluating second-generation vaccines

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, with approximately 225 million clinical episodes and >1.2 million deaths annually attributed to malaria. Development of a highly efficacious malaria vaccine will offer unparalleled possibilities for disease prevention and remains a key priority for long-term malaria control and elimination. Discussion The Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap’s goal is to 'develop and license a first-generation malaria vaccine that has protective efficacy of more than 50%’. To date, malaria vaccine candidates have only been shown to be partially efficacious (approximately 30% to 60%). However, licensure of a partially effective vaccine will create a number of challenges for the development and progression of new, potentially more efficacious, malaria vaccines in the future. In this opinion piece we discuss the methodological, logistical and ethical issues that may impact on the feasibility and implementation of superiority, non-inferiority and equivalence trials to assess second generation malaria vaccines in the advent of the licensure of a partially efficacious malaria vaccine. Conclusions Selecting which new malaria vaccines go forward, and defining appropriate methodology for assessment in logistically challenging clinical trials, is crucial. It is imperative that the scientific community considers all the issues and starts planning how second-generation malaria vaccines will advance in the advent of licensure of a partially effective vaccine. PMID:24228861

  20. New Rodent Population Models May Inform Human Health Risk Assessment and Identification of Genetic Susceptibility to Environmental Exposures

    PubMed Central

    Harrill, Alison H.

    2017-01-01

    Background: This paper provides an introduction for environmental health scientists to emerging population-based rodent resources. Mouse reference populations provide an opportunity to model environmental exposures and gene–environment interactions in human disease and to inform human health risk assessment. Objectives: This review will describe several mouse populations for toxicity assessment, including older models such as the Mouse Diversity Panel (MDP), and newer models that include the Collaborative Cross (CC) and Diversity Outbred (DO) models. Methods: This review will outline the features of the MDP, CC, and DO mouse models and will discuss published case studies investigating the use of these mouse population resources in each step of the risk assessment paradigm. Discussion: These unique resources have the potential to be powerful tools for generating hypotheses related to gene–environment interplay in human disease, performing controlled exposure studies to understand the differential responses in humans for susceptibility or resistance to environmental exposures, and identifying gene variants that influence sensitivity to toxicity and disease states. Conclusions: These new resources offer substantial advances to classical toxicity testing paradigms by including genetically sensitive individuals that may inform toxicity risks for sensitive subpopulations. Both in vivo and complementary in vitro resources provide platforms with which to reduce uncertainty by providing population-level data around biological variability. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1274 PMID:28886592

  1. The ICF-CY and Goal Attainment Scaling: benefits of their combined use for pediatric practice.

    PubMed

    McDougall, Janette; Wright, Virginia

    2009-01-01

    There is much heterogeneity and disconnect in the approaches used by service providers to conduct needs assessments, set goals and evaluate outcomes for clients receiving pediatric rehabilitation services. The purpose of this article is to describe how the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Child and Youth (ICF-CY) can be used in combination with Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), an individualised measure of change, to connect the various phases of the therapeutic process to provide consistent clinical care that is family-centred, collaborative, well directed and accountable. A brief description of both the ICF-CY and GAS as they pertain to pediatric rehabilitation is provided as background. An explanation is given of how the ICF-CY offers a framework through which clients, families and service providers can together identify the areas of clients' needs. In addition, the article discusses how the use of GAS facilitates translation of clients' identified needs into distinct, measurable goals set collaboratively by clients, their families and service providers. Examples of integrated GAS goals set for the various components of the ICF-CY are provided. The utility of GAS as a measure of clinical outcomes for individual clients is also discussed. Used in combination, the ICF-CY and GAS can serve to coordinate, simplify and standardise assessment and outcome evaluation practices for individual clients receiving pediatric rehabilitation services.

  2. The use of economic evaluation in CAM: an introductory framework

    PubMed Central

    2010-01-01

    Background For CAM to feature prominently in health care decision-making there is a need to expand the evidence-base and to further incorporate economic evaluation into research priorities. In a world of scarce health care resources and an emphasis on efficiency and clinical efficacy, CAM, as indeed do all other treatments, requires rigorous evaluation to be considered in budget decision-making. Methods Economic evaluation provides the tools to measure the costs and health consequences of CAM interventions and thereby inform decision making. This article offers CAM researchers an introductory framework for understanding, undertaking and disseminating economic evaluation. The types of economic evaluation available for the study of CAM are discussed, and decision modelling is introduced as a method for economic evaluation with much potential for use in CAM. Two types of decision models are introduced, decision trees and Markov models, along with a worked example of how each method is used to examine costs and health consequences. This is followed by a discussion of how this information is used by decision makers. Conclusions Undoubtedly, economic evaluation methods form an important part of health care decision making. Without formal training it can seem a daunting task to consider economic evaluation, however, multidisciplinary teams provide an opportunity for health economists, CAM practitioners and other interested researchers, to work together to further develop the economic evaluation of CAM. PMID:21067622

  3. IBD Selection for the 288kg Prototype SoLid Module

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saunders, D.; SoLid Collaboration

    2017-09-01

    The SoLid experiment aims to make a measurement of very short baseline neutrino oscillations using reactor antineutrinos. Key to its sensitivity are the experiment’s high spatial and energy resolution, combined with a very suitable reactor source and excellent background rejection. Placed on the surface at just 5 m from the reactor core, the cosmic flux and reactor output lead to a challenging environment. The fine segmentation of the detector, 5 cm cubes, allows the topology of events to be studied to previously unseen precision. This offers new and unexplored handles for tackling these backgrounds - a key requirement for SoLid physics aims. Using the most recent SoLid prototype (288 kg, 20% scale), we present the first selection to focus on IBD signals. This includes descriptions of SoLid signals and backgrounds, and demonstration that the segmentation can lead to gains in orders of magnitude in background rejection.

  4. Pixel detectors in double beta decay experiments, a new approach for background reduction

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jose, J. M.; Čermák, P.; Štekl, I.

    Double beta decay (ββ) experiments are challenging frontiers in contemporary physics. These experiments have the potential to investigate more about neutrinos (eg. nature and mass). The main challenge for these experiments is the reduction of background. The group at IEAP, CTU in Prague is investigating a new approach using pixel detectors Timepix. Pixel detector offer background reduction capabilities with its ability to identify the particle interaction (from the 2D signature it generates). However, use of pixel detectors has some challenges such as the presence of readout electronics near the sensing medium and heat dissipation. Different aspects of pixel setup (identificationmore » of radio-impurities, selection of radio-pure materials) and proposed experimental setup are presented. Also, results of preliminary background measurements (performed on the surface and in the underground laboratories) using the prototype setups are presented.« less

  5. The impact of stroke aphasia on health and well-being and appropriate nursing interventions: an exploration using the Theory of Human Scale Development.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Juliana; McKeever, Margo

    2014-02-01

    This paper considers the impact of aphasia on health and well-being and provides suggestions for appropriate nursing interventions. Background.  Effective communication is essential to holistic care and positive outcomes for individuals affected by aphasia. When verbal communication is absent, nurses fail to adequately use alternative strategies so that the standard of nurse/patient communication is frequently poor. This is a discursive paper which reviews relevant literature and uses the Theory of Human Scale Development as a framework for discussion. The Theory of Human Scale Development is introduced. This theory emphasises that quality of life depends as much upon self-actualisation and relation building as on physical health. The theory is used within the discussion to highlight the significance of communication to quality of life and how its loss has profound psychological and social consequences. Aphasia results in 'loss of self'. The situation is exacerbated by inadequate healthcare communication strategies. Suggestions are offered regarding more appropriate strategies. Efficacy of family input is considered; nursing competence regarding language practice therapies is discussed, and the 'quest approach' is explored. Aphasia has a negative impact on relationships by denying access to support networks, which results in isolation. The individual's predicament is worsened by negative nursing responses. Positive nursing strategies, which alleviate effects of aphasia on individuals' social health, are investigated. Concept analysis and self-awareness exercises as methods of enhancing compassion skills are explored. The social model of disability is discussed to highlight the benefits to individuals of environmental adaptations. The social benefits of aphasia-group affiliation are discussed. The paper concludes by emphasising that fundamental human needs involve social and psychological as well as physical aspects. Nursing interventions must address all needs to provide holistic care in its fullest sense. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  6. Virtual reality and neuropsychology: upgrading the current tools.

    PubMed

    Schultheis, Maria T; Himelstein, Jessica; Rizzo, Albert A

    2002-10-01

    Virtual reality (VR) is an evolving technology that has been applied in various aspects of medicine, including the treatment of phobia disorders, pain distraction interventions, surgical training, and medical education. These applications have served to demonstrate the various assets offered through the use of VR. To provide a background and rationale for the application of VR to neuropsychological assessment. A brief introduction to VR technology and a review of current ongoing neuropsychological research that integrates the use of this technology. VR offers numerous assets that may enhance current neuropsychological assessment protocols and address many of the limitations faced by our traditional methods.

  7. Young men's views toward the barriers and facilitators of Internet-based Chlamydia trachomatis screening: qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Lorimer, Karen; McDaid, Lisa

    2013-12-03

    There is a growing number of Internet-based approaches that offer young people screening for sexually transmitted infections. This paper explores young men's views towards the barriers and facilitators of implementing an Internet-based screening approach. The study sought to consider ways in which the proposed intervention would reach and engage men across ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. This qualitative study included 15 focus groups with 60 heterosexual young men (aged 16-24 years) across central Scotland, drawn across age and socioeconomic backgrounds. Focus groups began by obtaining postcode data to allocate participants to a high/low deprivation category. Focus group discussions involved exploration of men's knowledge of chlamydia, use of technology, and views toward Internet-based screening. Men were shown sample screening invitation letters, test kits, and existing screening websites to facilitate discussions. Transcripts from audio recordings were analyzed with "Framework Analysis". Men's Internet and technology use was heterogeneous in terms of individual practices, with greater use among older men (aged 20-24 years) than teenagers and some deprivation-related differences in use. We detail three themes related to barriers to successful implementation: acceptability, confidentiality and privacy concerns, and language, style, and content. These themes identify ways Internet-based screening approaches may fail to engage some men, such as by raising anxiety and failing to convey confidentiality. Men wanted screening websites to frame screening as a serious issue, rather than using humorous images and text. Participants were encouraged to reach a consensus within their groups on their broad design and style preferences for a screening website; this led to a set of common preferences that they believed were likely to engage men across age and deprivation groups and lead to greater screening uptake. The Internet provides opportunities for re-evaluating how we deliver sexual health promotion and engage young men in screening. Interventions using such technology should focus on uptake by age and socioeconomic background. Young people should be engaged as coproducers of intervention materials and websites to ensure messages and content are framed appropriately within a fast-changing environment. Doing so may go some way to addressing the overall lower levels of testing and screening among men compared with women.

  8. Re-Framing Race in Teaching Writing across the Curriculum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poe, Mya

    2013-01-01

    Although faculty across the curriculum are often faced with issues of racial identity in the teaching of writing, WAC has offered little support for addressing race in assignment design, classroom interactions, and assessment. Through examples from teaching workshops, I offer specific ways that we can engage discussions about teaching writing and…

  9. Designing Coherent Education Policy: Improving the System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fuhrman, Susan H., Ed.

    This book examines issues in designing coherent education policy for public elementary and secondary schools. It seeks to expand the policy discussion by refining the definition of coherence and considering a number of complex questions raised by the notion of coherent policy. The book offers an in-depth look at systemic school reform and offers a…

  10. Perezhivanie and Classroom Discourse: A Cultural-Historical Perspective on "Discourse of Design Based Science Classroom Activities"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Megan; March, Sue

    2015-01-01

    Flavio Azevedo, Peggy Martalock and Tugba Keser challenge the "argumentation focus of science lessons" and propose that through a 'design-based approach' emergent conversations with the teacher offer possibilities for different types of discussions to enhance pedagogical discourse in science classrooms. This important paper offers a…

  11. Fitness in the Elementary Schools. Second Edition. A Teacher's Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pangrazi, Robert P.; Hastad, Douglas N.

    The first chapter of this manual discusses the impact physical activity has on the growth and development of youngsters. It offers a rationale for including physical education in the school curriculum. Guidelines for exercising children safely are offered, including a section on weight training for children. Chapter 2 includes the Physical Best…

  12. Special Needs Adolescents and Sexuality Education: A Health Challenge for the Nineties.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olasov, Linda

    This paper offers a rationale for offering sexuality education for youth with mental handicaps, and outlines several myths about human sexuality and the mentally handicapped. Sexual rights of the mentally handicapped are listed. Items that should be included in sexual counseling are noted. The paper also discusses critical content areas in…

  13. Lessons learned from the Apple stores.

    PubMed

    Pinkney, Henry; Baum, Neil

    2012-01-01

    Medical practices have an opportunity to improve the services that they offer their patients. Practices can look at other businesses and industries for examples of outstanding customer service. This article will discuss the services provided by Apple, Inc., and how medical practices can learn from this industry giant and improve the services that they offer patients.

  14. Intramural Programming for Elementary, Junior Secondary, and Senior Secondary Schools. A Practical Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watts, Gayle E.; Korchinsky, Nestor N.

    A justification for the offering of intramural sports is offered, and an introduction to methods for establishing such programs at the elementary, junior secondary, and senior secondary school levels is presented. General information on intramural programing at each level includes discussion of questions on commitment, financing, liability,…

  15. The Role of Student Affairs in Distance Education: Cyber-Services or Virtual Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kretovics, Mark

    2003-01-01

    As distance education technology enables institutions of higher education to offer courses to students throughout the country, it is important for student affairs to offer opportunities for these students to connect with the institution. This article reviews the relevant literature on distance education and discusses differences between providing…

  16. Nakem Pedagogy: Social Biography in Liberatory Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Acido, Jeffrey Tangonan

    2016-01-01

    In this article, the author offers the genealogy of his articulation of an emerging pedagogical praxis. He offers, through his discussion of "Nakem" Pedagogy, the profound realization that comes from one's story--a story in itself, not simply a story as a tool or medium, but a story as empirical evidence of one's ontological becoming--an…

  17. Florida Folk Festival: Asian and Pacific Island Traditions in Florida. Resource Materials for Teachers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith. KC, Ed.

    This information and activity booklet discusses the Florida Folk Festival, a celebration that offers students and teachers an opportunity to hear music, taste foods, see folk art demonstrations, observe dance, and listen to stories that celebrate Florida's cultural and ethnic legacies. The booklet offers resources for learning about Florida…

  18. Outsourcing, Globalizing Economics, and Shifting Language Policies: Issues in Managing Indian Call Centres

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Brian; Ramanathan, Vaidehi

    2009-01-01

    This paper offers a dialogic discussion about several issues concerning call centers, including globalizing surges, modernity tropes and educational practices. Based on a critical discourse analysis of a document offering to train west-based entrepreneurs to assume managerial positions in call centers in India, the paper explores ways in which…

  19. Teacher's Study Guide on the Biology of Human Populations: Asia.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France).

    Factual and conceptual information dealing with the biology of human populations is offered in this guide for secondary science teachers. Instructional approaches are reviewed and suggestions are offered for use of the problem method approach, the discussion technique, and the project option. Information is organized into an introduction and five…

  20. Homeland Security Education: Managerial versus Nonmanagerial Market Perspectives of an Academic Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doss, Daniel; Henley, Russ; McElreath, David; Lackey, Hilliard; Jones, Don; Gokaraju, Balakrishna; Sumrall, William

    2016-01-01

    The authors discuss the findings of a market study that preceded the offering of an academic program in homeland security. The university disseminated a mail survey to gain data for analysis of variance testing of several hypotheses regarding market perceptions of the intended homeland security program offering. Stratification involved segregating…

  1. Gender Issues in Youth Development Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicholson, Heather Johnston; And Others

    This document discusses the question of gender in youth development programs, those structured activities and opportunities sponsored by organizations other than schools and offered outside of school hours. Many of these organizations offer programs for people of all ages but the clear focus of this paper is early adolescence, about ages 10 to 15.…

  2. Financing Your Small Business: A Workbook for Financing Small Business.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Compton, Clark W.

    Designed to assist established businesspeople with the development of a loan proposal, this workbook offers information on sources of financing and step-by-step guidance on applying for a loan. After chapter I discusses borrowers' and lenders' attitudes towards money, chapter II offers suggestions for determining financial needs. Chapter III lists…

  3. Adult Learners: Implications for Faculty.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Diana

    Drawing from a review of the literature, this paper explores the role of university and community college faculty in teaching the growing number of adult students and potential adult students. First, section I offers background on the growth in adult enrollments at Fullerton College (California). Next, section II profiles the adult college…

  4. Specific Language Impairment in Language-Minority Children from Low-Income Families

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engel de Abreu, Pascale M. J.; Cruz-Santos, Anabela; Puglisi, Marina L.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Recent evidence suggests that specific language impairment (SLI) might be secondary to general cognitive processing limitations in the domain of executive functioning. Previous research has focused almost exclusively on monolingual children with SLI and offers little evidence-based guidance on executive functioning in bilingual…

  5. Media Arts: Arts Education for a Digital Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peppler, Kylie A.

    2010-01-01

    Background/Context: New technologies have been largely absent in arts education curriculum even though they offer opportunities to address arts integration, equity, and the technological prerequisites of an increasingly digital age. This paper draws upon the emerging professional field of "media arts" and the ways in which youth use new…

  6. Spiritual Experiences of Gay Men and Lesbians.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barret, Robert; Barzan, Robert

    1996-01-01

    Provides an introductory background to the religious and spiritual experiences of gay men and lesbians. Offers an explication of the challenges facing gay persons, outlines a model to be used in counseling sessions, and gives a list of resources for further information. Argues that counselors frequently misunderstand the religious life of this…

  7. Review of Interactive Video--Romanian Project Proposal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Onita, Mihai; Petan, Sorin; Vasiu, Radu

    2016-01-01

    In the recent years, the globalization and massification of video education offer involved more and more eLearning scenarios within universities. This article refers to interactive video and proposes an overview of it. We analyze the background information, regarding the eLearning campus used in virtual universities around the world, the MOOC…

  8. Ethnic vs. Evangelical Religions: Beyond Teaching the World Religion Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tishken, Joel E.

    2000-01-01

    Offers background information on the formation of comparative religion. Demonstrates that the world religion approach is inadequate by examining case studies of Mithraism, Santeria, Mormonism, and Baha'i to illustrate the shortcomings of this approach. Advocates the use of an ethnic versus evangelical religion approach to teaching global…

  9. Management Information for the Smaller Bookstore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gehm, Rudy

    1977-01-01

    Guidelines are offered for bookstore managers with a minimal background in accounting or finance. Two journals need to be maintained--a "Sales Journal" and a modified "Cash Disbursements Journal"--to record daily sales and summaries of the number and value of invoices and credits passed for payment or deduction by department. (LBH)

  10. Computerized Landscapes by Way of the Hudson. Pixel Palette.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patterson, Berniece

    2000-01-01

    Presents an art lesson that integrates the study of the Hudson River School with computer art by having students create landscapes using "Fractal Design Painter 4." Offers historical background on the Hudson River School, a group of painters who lived near the Hudson River (New York). (CMK)

  11. Why and How Schools Make Nutrition Education Programs "Work"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Porter, Kathleen J.; Koch, Pamela A.; Contento, Isobel R.

    2018-01-01

    Background: There are many potential health benefits to having nutrition education programs offered by expert outside sources in schools. However, little is known about why and how schools initiate, implement, and institutionalize them. Gaining this understanding may allow the impact and reach of nutrition and other health education programs in…

  12. Governance in Higher Education: The University in a State of Flux.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirsch, Werner Z., Ed.; Weber, Luc E., Ed.

    This book explores the dimensions of university governance in research-intensive universities, seeks to develop cogent governance principles, and offers initiatives and recommendations. Papers were prepared as background for a conference to be held in January 2000 in Del Mar, California. Part 1, Missions and Responsibilities of Research…

  13. Belonging in a Videogame Space: Bridging Affinity Spaces and Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abrams, Sandra Schamroth; Lammers, Jayne C.

    2017-01-01

    Background: Focusing on ways a common endeavor brings people together, Gee offered the concept of affinity spaces, which suggests that open participation without exclusion or membership is possible. This theory contrasts with Lave and Wenger's communities of practice, which called attention to situated, hierarchical participatory practices.…

  14. Marbles, Anyone? Traditional Games in the Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Casbergue, Renee M.; Kieff, Judith

    1998-01-01

    Children now play more solitary games, perhaps missing benefits of traditional games such as jacks, marbles, and dominoes. Such games offer children of all backgrounds the opportunity to consolidate knowledge and skills, develop a more orderly way of thinking, and establish themselves with peers. By making these games available in classrooms,…

  15. Close Encounters: Lessons from an Indigenous MBA Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stewart, Daniel; Pepper, Molly B.

    2011-01-01

    Entrepreneurship is perceived to be a key to revitalizing the economies of American Indian communities. Gonzaga University offers an MBA specifically designed to prepare tribal college instructors to teach entrepreneurship. Beginning with the relevant background on the need for and benefit of indigenous management education, this article describes…

  16. Integrating the Curriculum: Sailing on the Mayflower.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eddy, Donna

    1998-01-01

    Offers an interdisciplinary lesson for fifth-grade students where they study the history of the Puritans and the Mayflower while creating a picture of the Mayflower. Uses the "wet on wet" water color wash technique for the background and describes the process for creating a collage of the Mayflower. (CMK)

  17. After the Blackbird Whistles: Listening to Silence in Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schultz, Katherine

    2010-01-01

    Background/Context: Students spend a large part of their time in schools in silence. However, teachers tend to spend most of their time attending to student talk. Anthropological and linguistic research has contributed to an understanding of silence in particular communities, offering explanations for students' silence in school. This research…

  18. Teaching Ecological Concepts with Mud Dauber Nests.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, Robert W.; Matthews, Janice R.

    1999-01-01

    Contends that mud dauber nests--which are widely available, safe, inexpensive, and easy to use--offer a novel and highly motivating way to teach ecological concepts to life science students at many grade levels. Presents background information for teachers, details classroom-tested methods for nest dissection, provides keys to nest contents, and…

  19. Education in Bosnia: Religion, Language and Control.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCreight, Richard Douglas

    This book investigates the forces shaping the development of education systems in Bosnia and the impact those historical forces may, or may not, have on the condition of secondary education in Bosnia today. Initial chapters offer historical background about educational development in the Balkans and in Bosnia. The volume outlines the accumulative…

  20. Arms Control and National Security: An Introduction. Advance Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arms Control Association, Washington, DC.

    Suitable for use with high school students, this booklet on arms control and national security provides background information, describes basic concepts, reviews recent history, and offers suggestions for further reading. The first section, on American attitudes toward national security and arms control, defines five types of limits on weapons…

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