Homeless Educational Policy: Exploring a Racialized Discourse Through a Critical Race Theory Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aviles de Bradley, Ann

2015-01-01

A qualitative research study conducted in two public high schools in an urban area of the Midwest sought to explore the issue of race as it pertains to educational policy implementation for unaccompanied homeless youth of color. Critical Race Theory (CRT) served as the guiding frame and method, uncovering the underlying theme of race in school…

Changing Perspectives: Exploring a Pedagogy to Examine Other Perspectives about Stem Cell Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

France, Bev; Mora, Helen A.; Bay, Jacquie L.

2012-01-01

This study explores how teachers developed and critically evaluated a range of teaching strategies that could support the discussion of a socio-scientific issue (SSI) that had the potential to be controversial. The issue was stem cell research and six New Zealand teachers of senior biology students (grades 12/13) took part in an action research…

Longitudinal Study of a Cooperation-Driven, Socio-Scientific Issue Intervention on Promoting Students' Critical Thinking and Self-Regulation in Learning Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Hsin-Hui; Chen, Hsiang-Ting; Lin, Huann-shyang; Huang, Yu-Ning; Hong, Zuway-R

2017-01-01

This longitudinal study explored the effects of a Cooperation-driven Socioscientific Issue (CDSSI) intervention on junior high school students' perceptions of critical thinking (CT) and self-regulation (SR) in Taiwan. Forty-nine grade 7 students were randomly selected as an experimental group (EG) to attend a 3-semester 72-hour intervention; while…

Digital Media & Learning in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 58

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2013

2013-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the final issue brief in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and digital learning. At the core of…

Arts Enrichment in Afterschool. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 56

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2012

2012-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and arts enrichment. The arts have the remarkable…

Advancing Democratic Leadership through Critical Theory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lees, Kimberly A.

1995-01-01

Examines how the concepts advanced by critical theorists exemplify democratic leadership. The concept of democratic leadership is explored as a moral imperative of human issues, and the implications of leadership behavior that emulate the principles of democracy are discussed. (SLD)

Feminist Film Theory and Criticism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayne, Judith

1985-01-01

Discusses Laura Mulvey's 1975 essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," and the ideas about feminist film theory and psychoanalysis as a critical tool which it raises. Suggests contradiction is the central issue in feminist film theory. Explores definitions of women's cinema. (SA)

Caring for one and all - Exploring ethical challenges in an ICU.

PubMed

Jones, Jennifer; Mitchell, Marion; Milligan, Eleanor

2016-08-01

This discussion paper explores some of the complex ethical and moral issues confronting contemporary critical care nurses. In contemporary healthcare discussions, there is an increased appreciation of the complexity of ethical challenges, the multiplicity of stakeholders and that a broad range of possible and practical outcomes exist. Furthermore, many scholars also acknowledge the limitations of principle based ethical frameworks. In seeking to build critical care nurses' capacity to negotiate the complex - and often conflicting - ethical challenges, the authors have adopted a person-centred, values-based approach in this case study. Furthermore, by exploring these complex issues, this paper supports and builds upon critical care nurses' decision making capacities in the clinical area. This case study has been purposefully left open-ended with the aim of inviting the reader to consider the questions posed in a collegial, collaborative manner within the particular context in which she/he is embedded. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keeping Kids Safe and Supported in the Hours After School. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 65

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2014

2014-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third issue brief in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards,…

Critical Thinking: Attitudes, Skills, and Ambiguity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaughnessy, Michael F.

This paper provides an overview of the realm of critical thinking. The document explores the development of a critical thinking attitude and specific skills relative to logic, rationality, and reasoning that must be fostered to facilitate and enhance future learning. The issue of ambiguity also is addressed as a central construct of the critical…

Teaching and Understanding the Concept of Critical Thinking Skills within Michigan Accredited Associate Degree Dental Hygiene Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beistle, Kimberly S.

2012-01-01

This study explores dental hygiene faculty's perceptions regarding the issues surrounding the concept of critical thinking skills integration within Michigan accredited associate degree dental hygiene programs. The primary research goals are to determine faculty understanding of the concept of critical thinking, identify personal and departmental…

Afterschool and the Common Core State Standards. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 63

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2014

2014-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students…

Afterschool Supporting Students with Disabilities and Other Special Needs. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 64

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2014

2014-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the second in their latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This series explores afterschool and: the Common Core State Standards, students…

Afterschool: An Ally in Promoting Middle School Improvement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 55

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2012

2012-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the first in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and school improvement. In communities across the…

Afterschool: A Key to Successful Parent Engagement. MetLife Foundation Afterschool Alert. Issue Brief No. 57

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afterschool Alliance, 2012

2012-01-01

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with MetLife Foundation, is proud to present the third in its latest series of four issue briefs examining critical issues facing middle school youth and the vital role afterschool programs play in addressing these issues. This brief explores afterschool and parent engagement. There is little dispute…

Freedom from Want: Towards More Equality. Proceedings of the Conference on Income Maintenance and Full Employment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thode, Kathleen B., Ed.

The document reports on a 1976 conference discussing critical issues related to income maintenance and full employment. The objective is to explore the persistence of inequality and want in America and the issue of achieving more equality through income maintenance programs and full employment. Major topics include values issues; income…

The Public-Private Divide in Ethiopian Higher Education: Issues and Policy Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nega, Mulu

2017-01-01

This article explores the current issues on the public-private divide in the Ethiopian higher education landscape and their policy implications. It critically examines issues related to legal and regulatory frameworks in order to understand the public-private divide in the Ethiopian higher education context. The article is based on two premises.…

Alcoholism and Lesbians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gedro, Julie

2014-01-01

This chapter explores the issues involved in the relationship between lesbianism and alcoholism. It examines the constellation of health and related problems created by alcoholism, and it critically interrogates the societal factors that contribute to the disproportionately high rates of alcoholism among lesbians by exploring the antecedents and…

Retirement Preparation Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddron, Edith, Ed.

This guide consists of ten articles, each introducing a separate issue important to retirement planning. The series discusses a wide range of information about critical retirement issues and explores the uncertainties, expectations, and decisions that confront the future retiree. The articles also contain suggestions and planning aids, worksheets,…

Critical Issues in Teacher and Student Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purohit, Anal A.; And Others

1977-01-01

Background information is provided to clarify some of the issues surrounding teacher and student evaluation in pharmacy education. Major questions explored dealt with what should be evaluated, how the data should be collected and used, and the adaptability of the experiential domain for students. (Author/LBH)

Critical Frames in Educational Research: Feminist and Post-structural Perspectives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lather, Patti

1992-01-01

Explores how qualitative and feminist inquiry are reconfiguring educational research, focusing on methodological issues involved in moving it into the postpositivist era. The article examines contributions of the transdisciplinary movements of feminism and poststructuralism in the development of critical frames in educational research. (SM)

Critical Issues of Web-Enabled Technologies in Modern Organizations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Khosrow-Pour, Mehdi; Herman, Nancy

2001-01-01

Discusses results of a Delphi study that explored issues related to the utilization and management of Web-enabled technologies by modern organizations. Topics include bandwidth restrictions; security; data integrity; inadequate search facilities; system incompatibilities; failure to adhere to standards; email; use of metadata; privacy and…

Native Speakers in Linguistic Imperialism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillipson, Robert

2016-01-01

An investigation of Native English Speaking Teachers' performance in schemes in six Asian contexts, commissioned by the British Council, and undertaken by three British academics, is subjected to critical evaluation. Key issues for exploration are the issue of a monolingual approach to English learning and teaching, and the inappropriate…

The Dawning of the Ethics of Environmental Robots.

PubMed

van Wynsberghe, Aimee; Donhauser, Justin

2017-10-23

Environmental scientists and engineers have been exploring research and monitoring applications of robotics, as well as exploring ways of integrating robotics into ecosystems to aid in responses to accelerating environmental, climatic, and biodiversity changes. These emerging applications of robots and other autonomous technologies present novel ethical and practical challenges. Yet, the critical applications of robots for environmental research, engineering, protection and remediation have received next to no attention in the ethics of robotics literature to date. This paper seeks to fill that void, and promote the study of environmental robotics. It provides key resources for further critical examination of the issues environmental robots present by explaining and differentiating the sorts of environmental robotics that exist to date and identifying unique conceptual, ethical, and practical issues they present.

Teaching Nuclear Issues. Occasional Paper No. 10.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hicks, David W.

The nuclear debate is one of critical importance and should be explored as part of the school curriculum. The psychology of denying the issue of nuclear arms and the psychological effects of the arms race on children is examined in this paper. A number of topics that might be included in discussion of nuclear issues are the arms race, politics,…

Challenging the One-Way Paradigm for More Effective Science Communication: A Critical Review of Two Public Campaigns Addressing Contentious Environmental Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McEntee, Marie; Mortimer, Claire

2013-01-01

This article examines two large-scale public communication campaigns to explore the appropriateness and effectiveness of using one-way communication in contentious environmental issues. The findings show while one-way communication can be successfully employed in contentious issues, it is not appropriate for all contexts and may contribute to…

The Ecology Controversy: Opposing Viewpoints. Critical Issues Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCuen, Gary E., Ed.; Bender, David L., Ed.

Ecological problems are explored in this book of sixteen student readings and exercises aimed at developing and applying critical thinking skills. The readings, mostly extracts from books and periodicals, are introduced by the editor and accompanied by questions. Chapter I, The Population Controversy, includes selections from Paul Ehrlich's The…

The Critical Spirituality of Paulo Freire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyd, Darrell

2012-01-01

Starting from the premise that Paulo Freire's capacity for hope in the face of personal struggle and exile issued from his spirituality, this paper examines Freire's spirituality through the lens of Michael Dantley's concept of critical spirituality. The concept of spirituality as discussed in the literature is explored, followed by an explication…

The Exposure Dimension of Environmental Epidemiology: A Critical but Under-ExploredStudy Quality Issue in Environmental Health

EPA Science Inventory

Epidemiological research plays a critical role in assessing the effects of various chemical, physical, oiological, and social exposures on human health both in the general population and the workplace. However, even epidemiological studies that are specifically designed to test c...

Science Fiction in Social Education: Exploring Consequences of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mason, Lance E.

2013-01-01

An NCSS Technology Position Statement and Guidelines, published in 2006 (an updated version is published in this issue of "Social Education"), affirms that social studies students should critically examine relations between technology and society. This article describes how teachers can use science fiction to introduce critical questions…

Academic Quality Control in Nigerian Universities: Exploring Lecturers' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obiekezie, E. O.; Ejemot-Nwadiaro, R. I.; Essien, M. I.; Timothy, A. Essien

2014-01-01

The level of job performance, international comparability and competitiveness of Nigerian university graduates are burning issues. Consequently, the academic quality of Nigerian universities has come under severe criticism. Since university lecturers are key players in quality control in universities, this study explored their perceptions of…

Academic Quality Assurance Variables in Nigerian Universities: Exploring Lecturers' Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Obiekezie, Eucharia O.; Ejemot-Nwadiaro, Regina I.; Timothy, Alexander E.; Essien, Margaret I.

2016-01-01

The level of job performance, international comparability and competitiveness of Nigerian university graduates are burning issues. Consequently, the academic quality of Nigerian universities has come under severe criticism. Since university lecturers are key players in quality assurance in universities, this study explored their perceptions of…

Food & Environment. Teaching Global Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gage, Susan

1989-01-01

Through articles and activities designed for the senior secondary level, students examine the food production system in British Columbia and the world and explore creative, sustainable alternatives for food production. A description of raising food in the first world with the critical issues of energy use and environmental degradation precedes a…

Engaging Families, Educators, and Communities as Educational Advocates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winton, Sue; Johnson, Lauri

2016-01-01

This special issue of "Leadership and Policy in Schools" expands knowledge about family-school-community engagement by exploring who is involved in education, in what ways, and for what purposes. This issue critically examines school-community partnerships that work to improve democratic decision-making, support public education,…

Exploring the Discourses of Our Own Practice: A Case Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanguinetti, Jill

1994-01-01

Reflects on ideas of feminism and critical literacy and their significance in relation to the current policy environment. Topics explored include the dilemmas of personal development; issues of culture, power, and coercion; shifting the focus to teaching; personal and pedagogical influences; pedagogical praxis; and developing a collective…

Mathematical Explorations: Freshwater Scarcity: A Proportional Representation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Alessandra

2014-01-01

Middle school students' mathematical understanding benefits from connecting mathematics to other content areas in the curriculum. This month's activity explores the issue of the scarcity of freshwater, a natural resource (activity sheets are included). This activity concentrates on the critical areas mentioned in the Common Core State…

Asking and Arguing with Fact and Fiction: Using Inquiry and Critical Literacy to Make Sense of Literature in the World

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sawch, Deb

2011-01-01

When approaches to critical inquiry and critical literacy are used by students to interrogate the dynamic between both fiction and nonfiction texts simultaneously, they shape a classroom culture of questioning that empowers students to take an informed and more activist stance about larger issues in the world. This article explores how nonfiction…

Critical Issues in the Understanding of Young Elementary School Students at Risk for Problems in Written Expression: Introduction to the Special Series.

PubMed

Coker, David L; Kim, Young-Suk Grace

In this introduction to the special series "Critical Issues in the Understanding of Young Elementary School Students at Risk for Problems in Written Expression," we consider some of the contextual factors that have changed since a similar special issue was published in the Journal of Learning Disabilities in 2002. We also explore how the five articles included in this special series address the following important themes: early writing development, identification of students with writing difficulties, and effective interventions for struggling writers. In conclusion, we envision future directions to advance the field.

Preparing Student Teachers to Address Complex Learning and Controversy with Middle Grades Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Ann Marie; Lennon, Sean

2011-01-01

This qualitative study explores pre-service teachers' perceptions of teaching critical literacy through discussions of controversial issues. Personality questionnaires were given to six classes of pre-student teachers over three semesters in order to gauge interest in teaching methods that incorporate inquiry learning and critical literacy. The…

Planning Science Instruction for Critical Thinking: Two Urban Elementary Teachers' Responses to a State Science Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mangiante, Elaine Silva

2013-01-01

Science education reform standards have shifted focus from exploration and experimentation to evidence-based explanation and argumentation to prepare students with knowledge for a changing workforce and critical thinking skills to evaluate issues requiring increasing scientific literacy. However, in urban schools serving poor, diverse populations,…

Educational Research: Educational Purposes, the Nature of Knowledge and Ethical Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

López-Alvarado, Julio

2017-01-01

Educational research should aim at improving educational practice by analysing the world of Education to understand it and make it better. It should be a critical, reflective and professionally oriented activity. Educational research should have three objectives: to explore issues and find answers to questions (for academics), to share policy…

Interracial America. Opposing Viewpoints Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Szumski, Bonnie, Ed.

Books in the Opposing Viewpoints Series present debates about current issues that can be used to teach critical reading and thinking skills. The varied opinions in each book examine different aspects of a single issue. The topics covered in this volume explore the racial and ethnic tensions that concern many Americans today. The racial divide…

Benchmarking and Threshold Standards in Higher Education. Staff and Educational Development Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Helen, Ed.; Armstrong, Michael, Ed.; Brown, Sally, Ed.

This book explores the issues involved in developing standards in higher education, examining the practical issues involved in benchmarking and offering a critical analysis of the problems associated with this developmental tool. The book focuses primarily on experience in the United Kingdom (UK), but looks also at international activity in this…

Issues and Challenges in Higher Education Leadership: Engaging for Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drew, Glenys

2010-01-01

It is proposed from this study that engaging productively with others to achieve change has never been more critical in educational environments, such as universities. Via semi-structured interviews with a cohort of senior leaders from one Australian university, this paper explores their perceptions of the key issues and challenges facing them in…

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…

Deconstructing Games as Play: Progress, Power, Fantasy, and Self

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Milne, Catherine

2012-01-01

In this issue, I draw together two sets of papers, with apparently different agendas. Most of the original papers in this issue use various learning perspectives and research approaches to explore the challenges and affordances of digital games for learning science. Associated forum papers challenge the authors and us to critically examine our own…

Issues in and Challenges to Professionalism in Africa's Cultural Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nsamenang, A. Bame

2010-01-01

This article explores critical issues linked to early child development (ECD) professionalism in African childhood contexts in the light of rights-based consideration. Against the backdrop of acculturation being a reality in Africa, it accepts professionalism as a "good thing" for ECD programmes in Africa. The article sketches a portrait…

The ecology of forest insect invasions and advances in their management

Treesearch

Eckehard G. Brockerhoff; Andrew M. Liebhold; Herv& #233; Jactel

2006-01-01

Invasions by nonindigenous forest insects can have spectacular effects on the biodiversity, ecology, and economy of affected areas. This introduction explores several critical issues that are generally relevant to invasions by forest insects to provide an extended background for this special issue of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research and...

Watch IT: The Risks and Promises of Information Technologies for Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burbules, Nicholas C.; Callister, Thomas A., Jr.

This book is an examination of several critical issues and controversies concerning the potential of new information technology (IT) for education. In a series of interrelated essays, the book explores such issues as access, credibility, new approaches to reading and writing, the glut of information, privacy, censorship, commercialization, and…

Life sciences - On the critical path for missions of exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sulzman, Frank M.; Connors, Mary M.; Gaiser, Karen

1988-01-01

Life sciences are important and critical to the safety and success of manned and long-duration space missions. The life science issues covered include gravitational physiology, space radiation, medical care delivery, environmental maintenance, bioregenerative systems, crew and human factors within and outside the spacecraft. The history of the role of life sciences in the space program is traced from the Apollo era, through the Skylab era to the Space Shuttle era. The life science issues of the space station program and manned missions to the moon and Mars are covered.

Exploring a Resource Dependency Perspective as an Organizational Strategy for Building Resource Capacity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Powell, Kimberly K.; Rey, Melanie Powell

2015-01-01

Declining state revenue, increased expenditures and rising costs at public universities are critical issues that are further heightened by the current economic environment. In an effort to address the challenges associated with reduced revenue and rising costs, this theoretical paper will explore how public institutions can leverage the resource…

Dialogue on safety

Treesearch

Anne Black; James Saveland; Dave Thomas

2011-01-01

There are many reasons to hold a conversation, among them: information download, information exchange, selection of a course of action, consensus-building, and exploration. Dialogue is a particular type of conversation that seeks to explore a subject in order to generate new ideas and insights. It is based on the recognitions that (1) the critical issues of today are...

Exploring Normative Whiteness: Ensuring Inclusive Pedagogic Practice in Undergraduate Fieldwork Teaching and Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Annie

2016-01-01

Higher education commentators have become concerned about how learning and teaching praxis across the sector may unwittingly advantage White British (WB) compared to Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students. Adopting critical race theory, this article explores these issues in relation to field teaching in geography and related subjects. It reports…

Critical Democracy through Digital Media Production in a Third-Grade Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montgomery, Sarah E.

2014-01-01

This article explores the ways that alternative digital media production by elementary students can support education for critical democracy. The article centers on a collaborative, qualitative study in which students in a 3rd-grade class at a Title One school created and disseminated podcasts about issues of historical injustice rooted in the key…

Critical Reflection on the Massification of Higher Education in Korea: Consequences for Graduate Employment and Policy Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeom, Min-ho

2016-01-01

The paper critically reviews the results of Korean massification in higher education (HE) and focuses on the consequences related to graduate employment. By analysing statistical data and reviewing related articles, this study explores the process of the massification of HE, investigates major factors influencing the expansion, and analyses and…

Raising Critical Issues in the Analysis of Gender and Science in Children's Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Sonya N.; Siry, Christina A.

2009-01-01

Trevor Owens' paper provides a critique of the role of gender and authority in selected children's books that presented biographies of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. In the context of discussing Trevor's (2009) article about children's literature, this forum explores issues related to the (a) representation and construction of gender, science,…

Thinking Ethically about Professional Practice in Adapted Physical Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Donna L.; Rossow-Kimball, Brenda

2012-01-01

There has been little critical exploration of the ethical issues that arise in professional practice common to adapted physical activity. We cannot avoid moral issues as we inevitably will act in ways that will negatively affect the well-being of others. We will make choices, which in our efforts to support others, may hurt by violating dignity or…

Searching for Peace: Exploring Issues of War with Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burns, Terry J.

2009-01-01

Using a framework grounded in critical literacy, the author describes her 1st-grade students' responses to works of literature that portray the impact of war. When given opportunities to read works of literature that address social justice issues, such as the consequences of war, her primary-age students' written, drawn, and spoken responses were…

Design and Development Issues for Educational Robotics Training Camps

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ucgul, Memet; Cagiltay, Kursat

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to explore critical design issues for educational robotics training camps and to describe how these factors should be implemented in the development of such camps. For this purpose, two robotics training camps were organized for elementary school students. The first camp had 30 children attendees, and the second had 22. As…

Exploring and Understanding Gender in Education: A Qualitative Research Manual for Education Practitioners and Gender Focal Points

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernard, Anne; Armstrong, Greg; Attig, George

2005-01-01

A methodology is described for conducting qualitative research on gender issues in education. Qualitative research, a critical step for achieving the global Education For All (EFA) goals, will assist identifying the issues, analyzing the contents, and formulating viable policy. "Gender" refers to the social roles and responsibilities that belong…

Developing Diverse Teams to Improve Performance in the Organizational Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeager, Katherine L.; Nafukho, Fredrick M.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The use of teams in organizations given the current trend toward globalization, population changes, and an aging workforce, especially in high-income countries, makes the issue of diverse team building critical. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issue of team diversity and team performance through the examination of theory and…

Challenges of Creating an Online Doctoral Program: Panel Discussion of the Trials and Success of the Ohio State Nontraditional Doctor of Pharmacy Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mungall, Dennis; Green, Cable; Skunza, Barbara

This paper contains summaries of three presentations that explore critical issues that must be addressed before launching a non-traditional online degree program. "Student Orientation" (Cable Green) provides a comprehensive student orientation, including an introduction to technological infrastructure, pedagogical issues, communication…

Technical issues in the conduct of large space platform experiments in plasma physics and geoplasma sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szuszczewicz, Edward P.

1986-01-01

Large, permanently-manned space platforms can provide exciting opportunities for discoveries in basic plasma and geoplasma sciences. The potential for these discoveries will depend very critically on the properties of the platform, its subsystems, and their abilities to fulfill a spectrum of scientific requirements. With this in mind, the planning of space station research initiatives and the development of attendant platform engineering should allow for the identification of critical science and technology issues that must be clarified far in advance of space station program implementation. An attempt is made to contribute to that process, with a perspective that looks to the development of the space station as a permanently-manned Spaceborne Ionospheric Weather Station. The development of this concept requires a synergism of science and technology which leads to several critical design issues. To explore the identification of these issues, the development of the concept of an Ionospheric Weather Station will necessarily touch upon a number of diverse areas. These areas are discussed.

"I Thought We Were over This Problem": Explorations of Race in/through Literature Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price-Dennis, Detra; Holmes, Kathlene; Smith, Emily E.

2016-01-01

This article examines classroom practices that draw upon students' understandings of race and equity as they engage in critical literature inquiry to explore issues of power in our society. Our research team, comprising a fifth-grade classroom teacher, a doctoral candidate, and a university professor, analyzed students' written and digital…

Long-Term Care for People with Development Disabilities: A Critical Analysis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palley, Howard A.; Van Hollen, Valerie

2000-01-01

Explores how the trends toward long-term community care affecting people with developmental disabilities developed. Appropriateness of care and quality of life issues are discussed. Reviews the development of long-term care for frail and disabled elderly people and explores the arguments for a continuum of care that have developed in this area.…

Advocacy through Social Media: Exploring Student Engagement in Addressing Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Glenn A.; Gordon, Nickesia S.; Chojnacki, Margaret K.

2017-01-01

Social media have become ubiquitous and are seen as beneficial to society. Although the use of social media for educational purposes has been the subject of recent research, not much is known about their role in higher education civic engagement. Employing critical discourse analysis, this study explored the function of social media as a tool to…

High School Students' Perceptions of School Science and Science Careers: A Critical Look at a Critical Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quinn, Frances; Lyons, Terry

2011-01-01

Disproportionate representation of males and females in science courses and careers continues to be of concern. This article explores gender differences in Australian high school students' perceptions of school science and their intentions to study university science courses. Nearly 3800 15-year-old students responded to a range of 5-point Likert…

The Elementary Bubble Project: Exploring Critical Media Literacy in a Fourth-Grade Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gainer, Jesse S.; Valdez-Gainer, Nancy; Kinard, Timothy

2009-01-01

This article addresses issues surrounding critical media literacy using popular culture texts. The authors focus on the example of their work with a fourth-grade class involved in a project to unpack the messages of popular media and advertising texts. This project, which they call the Elementary Bubble Project, was inspired by guerilla artist Ji…

Raising critical issues in the analysis of gender and science in children's literature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Sonya N.; Siry, Christina A.

2009-12-01

Trevor Owens' paper provides a critique of the role of gender and authority in selected children's books that presented biographies of Albert Einstein and Marie Curie. In the context of discussing Trevor's (2009) article about children's literature, this forum explores issues related to the (a) representation and construction of gender, science, and childhood in literature for children; (b) the need to consider socio/historical/cultural contexts in analytical and theoretical frameworks; and (c) the importance of fostering critical literacy perspectives in pre- and in-service science teachers and the children whom they teach.

The MPD thruster program at JPL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnett, John; Goodfellow, Keith; Polk, James; Pivirotto, Thomas

1991-01-01

The main topics covered include: (1) the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) context; (2) critical issues of MPD Thruster design; and (3) the Magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) Thruster Program at JPL. Under the section on the SEI context the nuclear electric propulsion system and some electric thruster options are addressed. The critical issues of MPD Thruster development deal with the requirements, status, and approach taken. The following areas are covered with respect to the MPD Thruster Program at JPL: (1) the radiation-cooled MPD thruster; (2) the High-Current Cathode Test Facility; (3) thruster component thermal modeling; and (4) alkali metal propellant studies.

Exploring the Issue of Employment for Adults with an Intellectual Disability in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGlinchey, Eimear; McCallion, Philip; Burke, Eilish; Carroll, Rachel; McCarron, Mary

2013-01-01

Background: The benefits of being in employment are well documented; however, underemployment is a critical issue for people with intellectual disability (ID). Some individuals perceive themselves as being in employment when in fact they are attending a non-work site such as a day service. The impact that this perception of employment has on other…

Human Health and Performance Considerations for Exploration of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinberg, Susan L.; Kundrot, Craig; Charles, John B.

2011-01-01

This poster paper reviews the Astronaut health and performance issues for a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) mission. Risks and other considerations are grouped into four categories and they are characterized for criticality.

Seeking Asylum: Adolescents Explore the Crossroads of Human Rights Education and Cosmopolitan Critical Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dunkerly-Bean, Judith; Bean, Thomas; Alnajjar, Khaled

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore middle school (grade 6-8) students' understanding and interpretation of human rights issues with local and global implications as they engaged in the process of creating a film after reading print and multimedia texts and participating in human rights education activities. As the students explored…

The politics of non-communicable diseases in the global South.

PubMed

Reubi, David; Herrick, Clare; Brown, Tim

2016-05-01

In this paper, we explore the emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as an object of political concern in and for countries of the global South. While epidemiologists and public health practitioners and scholars have long expressed concern with the changing global distribution of the burden of NCDs, it is only in more recent years that the aetiology, politics and consequences of these shifts have become an object of critical social scientific enquiry. These shifts mark the starting point for this special issue on 'The Politics of NCDs in the Global South' and act as the basis for new, critical interventions in how we understand NCDs. In this paper, we aim not only to introduce and contextualise the six contributions that form this special issue, but also to identify and explore three themes - problematisation, care and culture - that index the main areas of analytical and empirical concern that have motivated analyses of NCDs in the global South and are central to critical engagement with their political contours. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Napping during night shift: practices, preferences, and perceptions of critical care and emergency department nurses.

PubMed

Fallis, Wendy M; McMillan, Diana E; Edwards, Marie P

2011-04-01

Nurses working night shifts are at risk for sleep deprivation, which threatens patient and nurse safety. Little nursing research has addressed napping, an effective strategy to improve performance, reduce fatigue, and increase vigilance. To explore nurses' perceptions, experiences, barriers, and safety issues related to napping/not napping during night shift. A convenience sample of critical care nurses working night shift were interviewed to explore demographics, work schedule and environment, and napping/ not napping experiences, perceptions, and barriers. Transcripts were constantly compared, and categories and themes were identified. Participants were 13 critical care nurses with an average of 17 years' experience. Ten nurses napped regularly; 2 avoided napping because of sleep inertia. The need for and benefits of napping or not during night shift break were linked to patient and nurse safety. Ability to nap was affected by the demands of patient care and safety, staffing needs, and organizational and environmental factors. Nurses identified personal health, safety, and patient care issues supporting the need for a restorative nap during night shift. Barriers to napping exist within the organization/work environment.

"I Think About It All The Time": A 12-Year-Old Girl's Internal Crisis With Racism and the Effects on her Mental Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masko, Amy L.

2005-01-01

I conducted an ethnographic study, situated within the conceptual framework of Critical Race Theory, which illustrates one child's experiences with racism. The study was conducted in an urban after-school program, and explores issues of racism in both the school and community settings. Utilizing the storytelling aspect of Critical Race Theory, I…

Race and Culture in the Secondary School Health and Physical Education Curriculum in Ontario, Canada: A Critical Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petherick, LeAnne

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore issues of race and culture in health education in the secondary school health and physical education (HPE) curriculum in Ontario, Canada. Design/methodology/approach: Using Ontario's secondary school curriculum as a point of analysis, this paper draws from critical race theory and a whiteness lens…

Choreographing the Frame: A Critical Investigation into How Dance for the Camera Extends the Conceptual and Artistic Boundaries of Dance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preston, Hilary

2006-01-01

This essay investigates the collaboration between dance and choreographic practice and film/video medium in a contemporary context. By looking specifically at dance made for the camera and the proliferation of dance-film/video, critical issues will be explored that have surfaced in response to this burgeoning form. Presenting a view of avant-garde…

Why Do Chinese Postgraduates Struggle with Critical Thinking? Some Clues from the Higher Education Curriculum in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Tao

2017-01-01

There has been a good deal of research into the problems Chinese postgraduate students studying in English-speaking universities face with regard to critical thinking. This project is an attempt to tackle this issue from a new perspective. It aims to explore how a unique aspect of the university curriculum in China--the so-called "four…

"Everybody Treated Him Like He Was from Another World": Bilingual Fourth Graders Develop Social Awareness through Interactive Read-Alouds Focused on Critical Literacies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Katie E.; Chamberlain, Katharine

2015-01-01

This study explores read-aloud discussions of students in a fourth grade, bilingual classroom located in a rural district in the Southwestern United States. This article argues that teachers can develop students' critical literacy skills through the use of interactive read-alouds with specific texts that problematize specific social issues for…

Cultivating Engineering Ethics and Critical Thinking: A Systematic and Cross-Cultural Education Approach Using Problem-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Pei-Fen; Wang, Dau-Chung

2011-01-01

In May 2008, the worst earthquake in more than three decades struck southwest China, killing more than 80,000 people. The complexity of this earthquake makes it an ideal case study to clarify the intertwined issues of ethics in engineering and to help cultivate critical thinking skills. This paper first explores the need to encourage engineering…

Part-Time Learners in Open and Distance Learning: Revisiting the Critical Importance of Choice, Flexibility and Employability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Butcher, John; Rose-Adams, John

2015-01-01

In this article, we argue that, if open learning seeks to (re)assert a social justice mission, issues of openness and flexibility are more critical than ever. Drawing on qualitative data from a National Union of Students Wales/Open University study, which explored, in the voices of Welsh students, the identity, motivation and barriers faced by…

"Teacher, Will You Marry Me?" Integrating Teachers' Stories and Self-Reflective Texts for Exploring Sexuality Discourses in School Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerouki, Margarita

2011-01-01

This work is based on data collected for a research project aiming to critically investigate issues of primary school sex and relationships education. Teachers are important stakeholders of any educational process, especially when the focus is on sensitive and controversial issues such as the provision of sex education. The aim here is to present…

Making Invisible Latino Adolescents Visible: A Critical Approach to Latino Diversity. Michigan State University Series on Children, Youth, and Families, Volume 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montero-Sieburth, Martha, Ed.; Villarruel, Francisco A., Ed.

The papers in this collection explore a variety of economic and social issues facing Latino adolescents, including those of Latino diversity or unity, sexuality, and family values. The authors discuss ways to respond to these issues, suggesting approaches that can contribute to the healthy development of Latino adolescents. The chapters are: (1)…

Methodological Issues in the Study of Teachers' Careers: Critical Features of a Truly Longitudinal Study. Working Paper Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singer, Judith D.; Willett, John B.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is exploring the possibility of conducting a large-scale multi-year study of teachers' careers. The proposed new study is intended to follow a national probability sample of teachers over an extended period of time. A number of methodological issues need to be addressed before the study can be…

Pull of Gravity: A Media Review Focusing on the Social and Environmental Effects of Recidivism.

PubMed

Mejia, Lidyvez

2016-01-01

Recidivism is defined as reincarceration, reconviction and/or being reimprisoned. This article focuses on the issues of recidivism while incorporating Pull of Gravity, a documentary, which highlights the challenges ex-offenders encounter during postrelease. This article explores 3 sociological issues closely related to recidivism: (1) types of populations that are recidivating, (2) communities' ex-offenders are returning home to, and (3) challenges they face in their transition. This article integrates research on issues of reentry and utilizes real-life experiences reflected through this film to give readers a tangible perception on the challenges that are currently faced. It explores possible resolutions while prompting critical thinking for everyone; individuals who are familiar with this topic and those who are foreign.

Building on the Cornerstone: Destinations for Nearside Sample Return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawrence, S. J.; Jolliff, B. L.; Draper, D.; Stopar, J. D.; Petro, N. E.; Cohen, B. A.; Speyerer, E. J.; Gruener, J. E.

2016-01-01

Discoveries from LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) have transformed our knowledge of the Moon, but LRO's instruments were originally designed to collect the measurements required to enable future lunar surface exploration. Compelling science questions and critical resources make the Moon a key destination for future human and robotic exploration. Lunar surface exploration, including rovers and other landed missions, must be part of a balanced planetary science and exploration portfolio. Among the highest planetary exploration priorities is the collection of new samples and their return to Earth for more comprehensive analysis than can be done in-situ. The Moon is the closest and most accessible location to address key science questions through targeted sample return. The Moon is the only other planet from which we have contextualized samples, yet critical issues need to be addressed: we lack important details of the Moon's early and recent geologic history, the full compositional and age ranges of its crust, and its bulk composition.

Critical Pedagogy and APA: A Resonant (and Timely) Interdisciplinary Blend.

PubMed

Connolly, Maureen; Harvey, William J

2018-04-12

Critical pedagogy owes much of its emergence, development, and ongoing relevance to the work of Paulo Freire whose legacy remains relevant for a next generation of scholars who seek to explore issues of inclusion, oppression, social justice, and authentic expression. An interdisciplinary dialogue between critical pedagogy and adapted physical activity is timely, appropriate, and should focus on complex profiles of neurodiversity, mental illness, and mental health, with emphasis on pedagogic practices of practitioners in service delivery and teacher educators who prepare them for professional practice. A case-based scenario approach is used to present practitioner and teacher educator practices. Concrete examples are provided for analyzing and understanding deeper issues and challenges related to neurodiversity in a variety of embodied dimensions in educational and activity contexts. We work with Szostak's approach to interdisciplinary research and model an analysis strategy that integrates and applies the methodological features of interdisciplinarity, adapted physical activity, and critical pedagogy.

Beyond Evidence: A Critical Appraisal of Global Warming as a Socio-Scientific Issue and a Reflection on the Changing Nature of Scientific Literacy in School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colucci-Gray, L.

2014-01-01

Tom G. K. Bryce and Stephen P. Day's (2013) original article on scepticism and doubt in science education explores the context of citizens' attitudes towards the complexities and uncertainties of global issues, namely global warming. This response aims to stimulate reflection on some of the implicit assumptions underpinning the…

Cyber resilience: a review of critical national infrastructure and cyber security protection measures applied in the UK and USA.

PubMed

Harrop, Wayne; Matteson, Ashley

This paper presents cyber resilience as key strand of national security. It establishes the importance of critical national infrastructure protection and the growing vicarious nature of remote, well-planned, and well executed cyber attacks on critical infrastructures. Examples of well-known historical cyber attacks are presented, and the emergence of 'internet of things' as a cyber vulnerability issue yet to be tackled is explored. The paper identifies key steps being undertaken by those responsible for detecting, deterring, and disrupting cyber attacks on critical national infrastructure in the United Kingdom and the USA.

The Impact of Socioscientific Issues Based Curriculum Involving Environmental Outdoor Education for Fourth Grade Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burek, Karey J.

There is a divide between what students are being taught within the science classroom and what they experience out in the real world. This study sought to explore possible relationships between a socioscientific issues embedded curriculum and outcome variables addressing environmental attitude and knowledge, oral and written argumentation and critical thinking skills. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to examine both within and between class differences as well as individual differences between the beginning and end of a semester of elementary school. Results indicated that socioscientific issues assist students in developing their critical thinking skills while also providing students the opportunity to be exposed to and participate in local and global environmental issues influencing the community at large. Statistical significance was found between groups in regards to attitude toward the environment, the qualitative interviews did indicate that some students provided more advanced argumentation skills by articulating alternate viewpoints on controversial environmental topics. Theoretical implications regarding the use of socioscientific issues in the classroom are presented.

HIV Disease in the Psychology Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bristow, Ann R.

2000-01-01

Provides ideas for relating HIV topics to psychology content. Suggests three methods of curriculum integration: (1) using traditional course content (research methods, abnormal psychology, health psychology, gender and ethnic studies, drugs and behavior); (2) exploring diversity issues; and (3) challenging students' critical thinking skills. (CMK)

Science and the city: A visual journey towards a critical place based science education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibrahim, Sheliza

The inclusion of societal and environmental considerations during the teaching and learning of science and technology has been a central focus among science educators for many decades. Major initiatives in science and technology curriculum advocate for science, technology, society and environment (STSE). Yet, it is surprising that despite these longstanding discussions, it is only recently that a handful of researchers have turned to students' 'places' (and the literature of place based education) to serve as a source of teaching and learning in science education. In my study, I explore three issues evident in place based science education. First, it seems that past scholarship focused on place-based projects which explore issues usually proposed by government initiatives, university affiliation, or community organizations. Second, some of the studies fail to pay extended attention to the collaborative and intergenerational agency that occurs between researcher, teacher, student, and community member dynamics, nor does it share the participatory action research process in order to understand how teacher practice, student learning, and researcher/local collaborations might help pedagogy emerge. The third issue is that past place-based projects, rarely if ever, return to the projects to remember the collaborative efforts and question what aspects sustained after they were complete. To address these issues, I propose a critical place based science education (CPBSE) model. I describe a participatory action research project that develops and explores the CPBSE model. The data were gathered collaboratively among teachers, researchers, and students over 3 years (2006-2008), via digital video ethnography, photographs, and written reflections. The data were analysed using a case study approach and the constant comparative method. I discuss the implications for its practice in the field of STSE and place based education. I conclude that an effective pedagogical model of CPBSE comprises of three stages: critical visualizing, investigating, remembering, by sharing Science and the City (a case study that connects science to place using visual imagery).

Workplace wellness programs in Canada: an exploration of key issues.

PubMed

Morrison, Erin; MacKinnon, Neil J

2008-01-01

Faced with the reality of rising health costs, Canadian employers are thinking beyond traditional notions of responsibility for employee health and have begun to embrace Workplace Wellness Programs (WWPs). This article investigates the critical issues of WWPs in the Canadian context from the perspective of key stakeholders. Using a combination of literature and key informant interviews, seven key themes are presented along with recommendations for wider implementation of WWPs in Canada.

Conflict in Context: Understanding Local to Global Security.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mertz, Gayle; Lieber, Carol Miller

This multidisciplinary guide provides middle and high school teachers and students with inquiry-based tools to support their exploration of emerging local, national, international, and transboundary security issues. Students are introduced to critical thinking, problem solving, and peacemaking strategies that will help them better understand…

Collaborating With Youth in School Health Promotion Initiatives With Photovoice.

PubMed

Lofton, Saria; Bergren, Martha Dewey

2018-06-01

Photovoice, a community-based approach that is being embraced in school settings, can help to nurture collaborations with youth, particularly adolescents, and engage them in the development of social policy and health promotion projects. Photovoice is an approach that positions school nurses to inspire youth to take ownership of health promotion issues that directly affect them in the school and in their communities. Engaging youth in Photovoice not only allows advocates to directly work with youth but also promotes critical thinking and the exploration of topics that may not otherwise be considered. Photovoice raises awareness about issues through critical dialogue and is well suited to engage youth and provide a channel for youth to assert their voices.

Helmholtz's Kant revisited (Once more). The all-pervasive nature of Helmholtz's struggle with Kant's Anschauung.

PubMed

De Kock, Liesbet

2016-04-01

In this analysis, the classical problem of Hermann von Helmholtz's (1821-1894) Kantianism is explored from a particular vantage point, that to my knowledge, has not received the attention it deserves notwithstanding its possible key role in disentangling Helmholtz's relation to Kant's critical project. More particularly, we will focus on Helmholtz's critical engagement with Kant's concept of intuition [Anschauung] and (the related issue of) his dissatisfaction with Kant's doctrinal dualism. In doing so, it soon becomes clear that both (i) crucially mediated Helmholtz's idiosyncratic appropriation and criticism of (certain aspects of) Kant's critical project, and (ii) can be considered as a common denominator in a variety of issues that are usually addressed separately under the general header of (the problem of) Helmholtz's Kantianism. The perspective offered in this analysis can not only shed interesting new light on some interpretive issues that have become commonplace in discussions on Helmholtz's Kantianism, but also offers a particular way of connecting seemingly unrelated dimensions of Helmholtz's engagement with Kant's critical project (e.g. Helmholtz's views on causality and space). Furthermore, it amounts to the rather surprising conclusion that Helmholtz's most drastic revision of Kant's project pertains to his assumption of free will as a formal condition of experience and knowledge. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using Critical Literacy to Explore Genetics and its Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues with In-Service Secondary Teachers

PubMed Central

Melançon, Megan E.; Kleine, Karynne L. M.

2010-01-01

The described interdisciplinary course helped a mixed population of in-service secondary English and biology teacher-participants increase their genetics content knowledge and awareness of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) that arose from discoveries and practices associated with the Human Genome Project. This was accomplished by applying a critical literacy approach that allows people develop cognitive skills such that they are able to “read the world” (Wink, 2004). The approach is one that permits readers to go beyond the literal text to examine what is present as well as what is missing as it relates to issues of equity and fairness. Becoming critically literate enabled these teacher-participants to challenge the subtle attitudes, values, and beliefs conveyed by a range of written and oral texts. The teacher-participants in this course improved their critical literacy skills by actively reading, critically writing about, and using evidence to support their conclusions about issues arising from advances in human genetics. A biologist, a linguist, and an educator collaboratively designed and taught the course. The personalized focus on the integration of thoughtful reading and writing in this class enhanced the teacher-participants' (n = 16) professional and intellectual development and will potentially improve learning in their biology and English classrooms in the future. PMID:21123688

Using critical literacy to explore genetics and its ethical, legal, and social issues with in-service secondary teachers.

PubMed

Gleason, Michael L; Melançon, Megan E; Kleine, Karynne L M

2010-01-01

The described interdisciplinary course helped a mixed population of in-service secondary English and biology teacher-participants increase their genetics content knowledge and awareness of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) that arose from discoveries and practices associated with the Human Genome Project. This was accomplished by applying a critical literacy approach that allows people develop cognitive skills such that they are able to "read the world" (Wink, 2004). The approach is one that permits readers to go beyond the literal text to examine what is present as well as what is missing as it relates to issues of equity and fairness. Becoming critically literate enabled these teacher-participants to challenge the subtle attitudes, values, and beliefs conveyed by a range of written and oral texts. The teacher-participants in this course improved their critical literacy skills by actively reading, critically writing about, and using evidence to support their conclusions about issues arising from advances in human genetics. A biologist, a linguist, and an educator collaboratively designed and taught the course. The personalized focus on the integration of thoughtful reading and writing in this class enhanced the teacher-participants' (n = 16) professional and intellectual development and will potentially improve learning in their biology and English classrooms in the future.

An Overview of Power Capability Requirements for Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jose M.; Cataldo, Robert L.; Soeder, James F.; Manzo, Michelle A.; Hakimzadeh, Roshanak

2005-01-01

Advanced power is one of the key capabilities that will be needed to achieve NASA's missions of exploration and scientific advancement. Significant gaps exist in advanced power capabilities that are on the critical path to enabling human exploration beyond Earth orbit and advanced robotic exploration of the solar system. Focused studies and investment are needed to answer key development issues for all candidate technologies before down-selection. The viability of candidate power technology alternatives will be a major factor in determining what exploration mission architectures are possible. Achieving the capabilities needed to enable the CEV, Moon, and Mars missions is dependent on adequate funding. Focused investment in advanced power technologies for human and robotic exploration missions is imperative now to reduce risk and to make informed decisions on potential exploration mission decisions beginning in 2008. This investment would begin the long lead-time needed to develop capabilities for human exploration missions in the 2015 to 2030 timeframe. This paper identifies some of the key technologies that will be needed to fill these power capability gaps. Recommendations are offered to address capability gaps in advanced power for Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) power, surface nuclear power systems, surface mobile power systems, high efficiency power systems, and space transportation power systems. These capabilities fill gaps that are on the critical path to enabling robotic and human exploration missions. The recommendations address the following critical technology areas: Energy Conversion, Energy Storage, and Power Management and Distribution.

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Intensive Care Unit: A Dialogue on Core Ethical Issues

PubMed Central

Goligher, Ewan C.; Ely, E. Wesley; Sulmasy, Daniel P.; Bakker, Jan; Raphael, John; Volandes, Angelo E.; Patel, Bhavesh M.; Payne, Kate; Hosie, Annmarie; Churchill, Larry; White, Douglas B.; Downar, James

2016-01-01

Objective Many patients are admitted to the intensive care unit at or near the end of their lives. Consequently, the increasingly common debate regarding physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia (PAS/E) holds implications for the practice of critical care medicine. The objective of this manuscript is to explore core ethical issues related to PAS/E from the perspective of healthcare professionals and ethicists on both sides of the debate. Synthesis We identified four issues highlighting the key areas of ethical tension central to evaluating PAS/E in medical practice: (1) the benefit or harm of death itself, (2) the relationship between PAS/E and withholding or withdrawing life support, (3) the morality of a physician deliberately causing death, and (4) the management of conscientious objection related to PAS/E in the critical care setting. We present areas of common ground as well as important unresolved differences. Conclusions We reached differing positions on the first three core ethical questions and achieved significant agreement on how critical care clinicians should manage conscientious objections related to PAS/E. The alternative positions presented in this paper may serve to promote open and informed dialogue within the critical care community. PMID:28098622

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the ICU: A Dialogue on Core Ethical Issues.

PubMed

Goligher, Ewan C; Ely, E Wesley; Sulmasy, Daniel P; Bakker, Jan; Raphael, John; Volandes, Angelo E; Patel, Bhavesh M; Payne, Kate; Hosie, Annmarie; Churchill, Larry; White, Douglas B; Downar, James

2017-02-01

Many patients are admitted to the ICU at or near the end of their lives. Consequently, the increasingly common debate regarding physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia holds implications for the practice of critical care medicine. The objective of this article is to explore core ethical issues related to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia from the perspective of healthcare professionals and ethicists on both sides of the debate. We identified four issues highlighting the key areas of ethical tension central to evaluating physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in medical practice: 1) the benefit or harm of death itself, 2) the relationship between physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia and withholding or withdrawing life support, 3) the morality of a physician deliberately causing death, and 4) the management of conscientious objection related to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in the critical care setting. We present areas of common ground and important unresolved differences. We reached differing positions on the first three core ethical questions and achieved unanimity on how critical care clinicians should manage conscientious objections related to physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. The alternative positions presented in this article may serve to promote open and informed dialogue within the critical care community.

Uses of Literature.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Philip M., Ed.

1984-01-01

The seven articles in this issue are concerned with the various uses of literature and literature study in the English curriculum, specifically to enhance thinking, teach composition, educate the emotions, develop reading comprehension and critical reading skills, explore and develop morals, and evoke a common culture. The titles of the articles…

STARS Quarterly Review. Summer 2012: Innovations in Campus Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Urbanski, Monika

2012-01-01

The Summer 2012 SQR: "Innovations in Campus Sustainability," explores the critical linkages between education, innovation, and sustainability. This issue highlights new and ground-breaking practices within the Innovation (IN) category of STARS, focusing on the unique solutions within higher education that positively impact current and…

Black Cinderella: Multicultural Literature and School Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yenika-Agbaw, Vivian

2014-01-01

This article discusses diversity issues evident in fairy tales and explores the pedagogical implications for adding counter-narratives in the school curriculum. Critical Race Theory is employed. In order to uncover contradictory discourses of race within Black cultures, four Africana (African, African American, and Caribbean) Cinderella tale types…

The need to include animal protection in public health policies.

PubMed

Akhtar, Aysha

2013-11-01

Many critical public health issues require non-traditional approaches. Although many novel strategies are used, one approach not widely applied involves improving the treatment of animals. Emerging infectious diseases are pressing public health challenges that could benefit from improving the treatment of animals. Other human health issues, that overlap with animal treatment issues, and that warrant further exploration, are medical research and domestic violence. The diverse nature of these health issues and their connection with animal treatment suggest that there may be other similar intersections. Public health would benefit by including the treatment of animals as a topic of study and policy development.

Keeping the Dialectic Open for Music Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, Vincent C., Ed.

2017-01-01

This article explores four reasons for devoting a review issue of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education to Randall Allsup's Remixing the Classroom: Toward an Open Philosophy of Music Education. First, Allsup seems to recognize the social, cultural, and somatic situatedness of his own thinking, a materialist and constructionist stance…

Adolescents' Experience with Workplace Aggression: School Health Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Carolyn R.; Fisher, Bonnie S.; Gillespie, Gordon L.; Beery, Theresa A.; Gates, Donna M.

2013-01-01

Aggression exposure is a critical health issue facing adolescents in the United States. Exposure occurs in various settings including home, school, and the community. An emerging context for aggression exposure is in the workplace. Thirty adolescent employees age 16-18 participated in a qualitative study exploring proposed responses to future…

Gifted & Green: Sustainability/Environmental Science Investigations That Promote Gifted Children's Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroth, Stephen T.; Helfer, Jason A.

2017-01-01

Environmental studies provide an ideal opportunity for gifted children of any age to build critical and creative-thinking skills while also building skills in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. Exploring issues related to sustainability and environmental concerns permits gifted learners to identify problems, develop…

Exploring the Role of Accreditation in Supporting Transfer and Student Mobility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Felder, Pamela Petrease; Arleth, Megan T.

2016-01-01

Student mobility and transfer between two-year and four-year institutions are critical issues when considering student success and degree completion. College and university administrators continually work to identify opportunities that align policy and practice with accreditation standards in an effort to facilitate self-study initiatives and meet…

Shades of Freire: Exorcising the Spectre Haunting Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkins, Andrew

2013-01-01

In the second part of this special issue on neoliberalism, pedagogy and curriculum, I explore the contributions of each author to confronting neo-liberal reforms of education, notably the spectre of neo-liberalism haunting aspects of pedagogy, teaching and curriculum. Exemplary of the scholarly work produced by many critical educators, the…

Staffing the Global Organization: "Cultural Nomads"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McPhail, Ruth; Fisher, Ron; Harvey, Michael; Moeller, Miriam

2012-01-01

This article explores the evolution of international staffing in an increasingly globalized and hypercompetitive marketplace. As the issue of staff retention becomes critical in global organizations, it is important to understand the types of managers that may be on or assigned to overseas assignments. The purpose of this article is to present a…

Understanding the Researcher Identity Development of Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamar, Margaret R.; Helm, Heather M.

2017-01-01

Counselor education and supervision (CES) doctoral students play an important role in contributing to knowledge in the counseling profession. CES doctoral students were interviewed to explore their researcher identity, a unique self-concept that possibly includes research self-efficacy and interest. Issues critical to facilitating researcher…

Teacher Development with Mobiles: Comparative Critical Factors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Royle, Karl; Stager, Sarah; Traxler, John

2014-01-01

This paper addresses ways that mobile technologies can be used in teacher development, and focuses on mobile technologies. In particular, it addresses issues of context. It outlines and explores accepted practice and illustrates how mobility invites change and reappraisal of the teacher education process. It places this against a backdrop of…

Drama Education in the Age of AIDS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Singh, Lorraine

2012-01-01

This article arose out of my involvement in an undergraduate drama module at the School of Education, University of KwaZulu-Natal, where I made use of workshop theatre methodologies to explore how second-year drama students construct knowledge and develop sociocultural understandings of critical issues in society. The workshop theatre project…

Feminist Popular Education in Transnational Debates: Building Pedagogies of Possibility. Comparative Feminist Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Manicom, Linzi, Ed.; Walters, Shirley, Ed.

2012-01-01

This book is a collection of grounded accounts by feminist popular educators reflecting critically on processes of collective learning and self- and social transformation in various geopolitical settings. Engaging contemporary feminist political issues and theory, contributors explore emerging pedagogical practices. This book contains the…

"No Boundaries"? Girls' Interactive, Online Learning about Femininities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kelly, Deirdre M.; Pomerantz, Shauna; Currie, Dawn H.

2006-01-01

This article explores girls' learning about issues of femininity that takes place in the presence of others online, connected through chat rooms, instant messaging, and role-playing games. Informed by critical and poststructuralist feminist theorizing of gendered subjectivity, agency, and power, the article draws from qualitative interviews with…

Leading on Inclusion: Dilemmas, Debates and New Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cornwall, John, Ed.; Graham-Matheson, Lynne, Ed.

2011-01-01

"Leading on Inclusion: Dilemmas, debates and new perspectives" critically examines the current theory and legislative context of special educational needs and disability, and explores the enduring issues and opportunities that will affect future practice in all schools. The central theme throughout the book asks the inevitable question "What…

Epistemic Virtues and Cosmopolitan Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rizvi, Fazal

2008-01-01

Cosmopolitanism is a worthy educational goal, perhaps more important now than ever before. Its possibilities, however, cannot be adequately realised unless people develop a different way of thinking about issues of global interconnectivity and develop in students a set of epistemic virtues with which they can critically explore the ways in which…

Sexuality and the Curriculum: The Politics and Practices of Sexuality Education. Critical Issues in the Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sears, James T., Ed.

This book of essays explores the explicit and hidden curriculum of sexuality from kindergarten through college. The 15 interrelated essays challenge conventional assumptions regarding sexuality and the curriculum by applying non-traditional perspectives to traditionally unresolved problems while proposing specific curricular strategies and…

When Lightning Strikes: Reexamining Creativity in Psychotherapy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, David K.; Becker, Kent W.

2004-01-01

Creativity is paramount to the therapeutic process. This article explored the role of creativity in counseling and psychotherapy through a critical analysis of several key articles in a special issue of The Journal of Clinical Activities, Assignments, & Handouts in Psychotherapy Practice (L. L. Hecker, 2002). Implications for counselors/therapists…

Qualitative inquiry and the debate between hermeneutics and critical theory.

PubMed

Shaw, James A; DeForge, Ryan T

2014-11-01

Two issues have been central to ongoing disputes about judgments of quality in qualitative inquiry: (a) the ways in which paradigmatic orientations are understood to guide procedural decisions and (b) the meaning and intelligibility of paradigmatic incommensurability. In this article, we address these two key issues through an exploration of the debates between hermeneutics and critical social theory, including the exchanges between Hans-Georg Gadamer and Jurgen Habermas, and between Richard Rorty and Thomas McCarthy. We suggest that the key epistemological issue addressed in these debates is the nature of interpretation, separating the two philosophical camps based on beliefs about whether foundational knowledge is possible to achieve. We conclude the article by discussing the implications of these different positions for beliefs about quality in qualitative inquiry, and comment on the role of judgment in assessments of the value and quality of different approaches to qualitative research. © The Author(s) 2014.

Clinical thinking in psychiatry.

PubMed

Wells, Lloyd A

2015-06-01

I discuss the lack of precision in the term 'clinical reasoning' and its relationship to evidence-based medicine and critical thinking. I examine critical thinking skills, their underemphasis in medical education and successful attempts to remediate them. Evidence-based medicine (and evidence-based psychiatry) offer much but are hampered by the ubiquity and flaws of meta-analysis. I explore views of evidence-based medicine among psychiatry residents, as well as capacity for critical thinking in residents before and after a course in philosophy. I discuss decision making by experienced doctors and suggest possible futures of this issue. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Socio-Scientific Issues in Health Contexts: Treading a rugged terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung Lee, Yeung

2012-02-01

The science-technology-society agenda has evolved over time to meet emerging educational aims in the light of changes in society and the environment. There is increasing emphasis on students' decision-making on socio-scientific issues (SSIs) not only to highlight the intricate relationships between science, technology, society, and the environment, but also to allow students to incorporate multiple viewpoints into the development of critical reasoning and responsible citizenship. Most research emphases have been on the rationality of reasoning rather than on the internal psychological context that underpins reasoning. This paper explores how these various aspects of reasoning interact in decision-making on SSIs in health contexts through case studies of recent issues in this field. The case studies reveal the negotiation of multiple influences in addressing SSIs in health contexts and the potential interactions between the psychological processes of individuals, science, and sociocultural perspectives. A tentative model to address these interactions emerges from this explorative study and has implications for the use of health-related issues in promoting SSI education.

Desperately seeking donors: the 'saviour sibling' decision in Quintavalle v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (UK).

PubMed

Hocking, Barbara Ann; Guy, Scott

2005-08-01

The recent House of Lords decision in Quintavalle v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has raised difficult and complex issues regarding the extent to which embryo selection and reproductive technology can be used as a means of rectifying genetic disorders and treating critically ill children. This comment outlines the facts of Quintavalle and explores how the House of Lords approached the legal, ethical and policy issues that arose out of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's (UK) decision to allow reproductive and embryo technology to be used to produce a 'saviour sibling' whose tissue could be used to save the life of a critically ill child. Particular attention will be given to the implications of the decision in Quintavalle for Australian family and medical law and policy. As part of this focus, the comment explores the current Australian legislative and policy framework regarding the use of genetic and reproductive technology as a mechanism through which to assist critically ill siblings. It is argued that the present Australian framework would appear to impose significant limits on the medical uses of genetic technology and, in this context, would seem to reflect many of the principles that were articulated by the House of Lords in Quintavalle.

Understanding the essential elements of work-based learning and its relevance to everyday clinical practice.

PubMed

Williams, Caroline

2010-09-01

To critically review the work-based learning literature and explore the implications of the findings for the development of work-based learning programmes. With NHS budgets under increasing pressure, and challenges to the impact of classroom-based learning on patient outcomes, work-based learning is likely to come under increased scrutiny as a potential solution. Evidence from higher education institutions suggests that work-based learning can improve practice, but in many cases it is perceived as little more than on-the-job training to perform tasks. The CINAHL database was searched using the keywords work-based learning, work-place learning and practice-based learning. Those articles that had a focus on post-registration nursing were selected and critically reviewed. Using the review of the literature, three key issues were explored. Work-based learning has the potential to change practice. Learning how to learn and critical reflection are key features. For effective work-based learning nurses need to take control of their own learning, receive support to critically reflect on their practice and be empowered to make changes to that practice. A critical review of the literature has identified essential considerations for the implementation of work-based learning. A change in culture from classroom to work-based learning requires careful planning and consideration of learning cultures. To enable effective work-based learning, nurse managers need to develop a learning culture in their workplace. They should ensure that skilled facilitation is provided to support staff with critical reflection and effecting changes in practice. CONTRIBUTION TO NEW KNOWLEDGE: This paper has identified three key issues that need to be considered in the development of work-based learning programmes. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Climate Change, Public Health, and Policy: A California Case Study.

PubMed

Ganesh, Chandrakala; Smith, Jason A

2018-04-01

Anthropogenic activity will bring immediate changes and disruptions to the global climate with accompanying health implications. Although policymakers and public health advocates are beginning to acknowledge the health implications of climate change, current policy approaches are lagging behind. We proposed that 4 key policy principles are critical to successful policymaking in this arena: mainstreaming, linking mitigation and adaptation policy, applying population perspectives, and coordination. We explored California's progress in addressing the public health challenges of climate change in the San Joaquin Valley as an example. We discussed issues of mental health and climate change, and used the San Joaquin Valley of California as an example to explore policy approaches to health issues and climate change. The California experience is instructive for other jurisdictions.

Gender, religion, and sociopolitical issues in cross-cultural online education.

PubMed

Zaidi, Zareen; Verstegen, Daniëlle; Naqvi, Rahat; Morahan, Page; Dornan, Tim

2016-05-01

Cross-cultural education is thought to develop critical consciousness of how unequal distributions of power and privilege affect people's health. Learners in different sociopolitical settings can join together in developing critical consciousness-awareness of power and privilege dynamics in society-by means of communication technology. The aim of this research was to define strengths and limitations of existing cross-cultural discussions in generating critical consciousness. The setting was the FAIMER international fellowship program for mid-career interdisciplinary health faculty, whose goal is to foster global advancement of health professions education. Fellows take part in participant-led, online, written, task-focused discussions on topics like professionalism, community health, and leadership. We reflexively identified text that brought sociopolitical topics into the online environment during the years 2011 and 2012 and used a discourse analysis toolset to make our content analysis relevant to critical consciousness. While references to participants' cultures and backgrounds were infrequent, narratives of political-, gender-, religion-, and other culture-related topics did emerge. When participants gave accounts of their experiences and exchanged cross-cultural stories, they were more likely to develop ad hoc networks to support one another in facing those issues than explore issues relating to the development of critical consciousness. We suggest that cross-cultural discussions need to be facilitated actively to transform learners' frames of reference, create critical consciousness, and develop cultural competence. Further research is needed into how to provide a safe environment for such learning and provide faculty development for the skills needed to facilitate these exchanges.

Space Exploration: Oh, the Materials You'll Need!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Sylvia M.

2016-01-01

Space exploration has many challenges and materials are critical for many of the systems required to enable robotic or human space exploration. This talk will highlight challenges for materials with an emphasis on thermal protection materials and systems. Solving the materials issues will require thinking about materials in the systems and environments where are they to be used. In many cases the materials must be designed for the application, and the system needs to be designed with the materials in mind. The talk will conclude with some thoughts on the skills needed for materials scientists and engineers working on materials for space.

Understanding Curriculum as Lived: Teaching for Social Justice and Equity Goals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tilley, Susan; Taylor, Leanne

2013-01-01

This article explores the experiences of two university instructors who taught, on separate occasions, the same graduate course in education that was designed to encourage graduate students (the majority of whom were White teachers) to critically engage issues of difference, race, Whiteness, color-blindness and privilege in their classrooms.…

Diagnostic, Explanatory, and Detection Models of Munchausen by Proxy: Extrapolations from Malingering and Deception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Richard

2004-01-01

Objective: The overriding objective is a critical examination of Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP) and its closely-related alternative, factitious disorder by proxy (FDBP). Beyond issues of diagnostic validity, assessment methods and potential detection strategies are explored. Methods: A painstaking analysis was conducted of the MSBP and FDBP…

Secondary Preservice Teachers' Perspectives on Teacher Self-Disclosure as Citizenship Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Shaoan

2010-01-01

This article explores secondary preservice teachers' attitudes toward the use of teacher self-disclosure as a tool for citizenship education. Based on the notion that teacher self-disclosure may function as citizenship curriculum, this study addressed critical issues of teachers' sharing their knowledge about religions (including their own) and…

Cognitive Perspectives on Educational Leadership. Critical Issues in Educational Leadership Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallinger, Philip, Ed.; And Others

This book summarizes and applies the last 2 decades of research on cognitive psychology to the preparation of educational administrators. Following a foreword by Larry Cuban and an introduction by Philip Hallinger, Kenneth Leithwood, and Joseph Murphy, part 1 explores how cognitive perspectives illuminate the conceptualization of problems faced by…

Encouraging Civic Knowledge and Engagement: Exploring Current Events through a Psychological Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Camp, Debbie; Baugh, Stacey-Ann

2016-01-01

Engagement with political, social, and civil issues is a fundamental component of an educated population, but civic knowledge and engagement are decreasing among adolescents and young adults. A Psychology in Current Events class sought to increase this engagement and key skills such as critical thinking. A one-group pretest-posttest…

Teaching Globalization Issues to Education Students: What's the Point?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hytten, Kathy; Bettez, Silvia Cristina

2008-01-01

We argue that teaching the dynamics of globalization to education students is an important aspect of teaching for social justice and for the development of critical awareness, thinking, and sensitivity. We begin this position paper by briefly characterizing globalization and exploring a range of approaches to teaching this topic. We then describe…

Differences in Student Engagement of Entering Texas Community College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Trevena B.

2013-01-01

Improving the academic achievement of students for success in college in ways that lead to college degree attainment is a growing concern for our nation. Educators are exploring the topic of student engagement to better understand critical issues surrounding college degree attainment. Through analysis of data collected from the Survey of Entering…

Sexuality and HIV Education in Charter Schools: An Exploratory Study with Principals in San Diego County, California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh-Buhi, Eric R.; Dao, Brandon; Salgin, Linda; Marshall, James; Miller, Rachel; Fisher, Doug; Walsh-Buhi, Margaret

2017-01-01

Background: Schools can address critical sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues among youth. However, little is known about SRH education being implemented in charter schools. Thus, our purpose was to explore implementation of SRH education in charter schools. Methods: Using purposive sampling, semistructured telephone interviews were…

Fostering Transformative Practitioners for Critical EAP: Possibilities and Challenges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Brian

2009-01-01

In this article, I explore the often difficult transfer of theory to practice in respect to promoting the conceptual role of transformative intellectual/practitioner through a pre-service "social issues project" for future EAP and ESL teachers. Following an examination of more established role options in EAP (e.g. technician, reflective…

A Place for Ecopedagogy in Community Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Rhonda

2013-01-01

Educators focused on community literacy and public engagement have access to a unique critical platform from which larger social issues that impact us both as a whole and on very personal levels are open to exploration. Being particularly situated to have significant impact on community, literacy work in this area may require uncommon pedagogical…

Bridging the Research-Practice Gap: Research Translation and/or Research Transformation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hirschkorn, Mark; Geelan, David

2008-01-01

The issue of the "research-practice gap"--the problematic relationship between research in education and educational practice--has been widely reported in the literature. This critical literature review explores some of the causes and features of the gap and suggests some possible approaches for addressing it. These solutions involve changes in…

Conceptualizing Gender, Contextualizing Curriculum: A Case Study of Teacher Education Coursework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kean, M. Eli

2017-01-01

This study explores and theorizes around issues of transgender curriculum in teacher education courses. Using a conceptual framework informed by both transgender theory and curriculum theory, I propose a Critical Trans Framework to analyze what trans-related curricular materials are currently used in teacher education courses and what factors…

Debates in English Teaching. The Debates in Subject Teaching Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davison, Jon, Ed.; Daly, Caroline, Ed.; Moss, John, Ed.

2012-01-01

"Debates in English Teaching" explores the major issues all English teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It engages with established and contemporary debates, promotes and supports critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to reach informed judgements and argue their point of view with deeper…

The Good Citizen: Problematising Citizenship in the Social Sciences Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burnett, Judith; Cudworth, Erika

2008-01-01

This article explores the critical pedagogical issues that emerge when attempting to develop active citizenship among undergraduates as an integral part of the student experience. It presents part of the findings from a C-SAP-funded project (Gifford et al. 2006) that we undertook with a partner higher education institution. This article explores…

Debates in Religious Education. The Debates in Subject Teaching Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnes, L. Philip, Ed.

2011-01-01

What are the key debates in Religious Education teaching today? "Debates in Religious Education" explores the major issues all RE teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It encourages critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to think more deeply about their practice, and link research…

Baby Boomers and Community College: A Study of Motivations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, DiAnne H.

2009-01-01

Scope and method of study. This descriptive case study was designed to describe the critical issues surrounding Baby Boomers and their motivations to attend community college, in addition to their perceptions of learning and curriculum needs. Additionally the study explored what these Baby Boomers plan to do after completing their courses and…

Media Misrepresentations of a Mascot Controversy: Contested Constructions of Race and Gender

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstl-Pepin, Cynthia; Liang, Guodong

2010-01-01

This article examines media coverage of a high school Native American mascot controversy. Discourse analysis of media documents and artifacts was utilized to explore how the issue was socially constructed for public consumption. Critical race feminism was used as a framework to examine how media discourses can oversimplify the complex interaction…

Character Education: Controversy and Consensus. Controversial Issues in Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockwood, Anne Turnbaugh

This book draws on conversations with six individuals, each of whom offers a distinct approach to character education and speaks to the problems and the practical side of designing, implementing, and evaluating character education. The text opens with an overview of character education, exploring what it is, moral dilemmas, goals, and criticisms.…

Exploring Middle School Students' Understanding of Three Conceptual Models in Genetics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freidenreich, Hava Bresler; Duncan, Ravit Golan; Shea, Nicole

2011-01-01

Genetics is the cornerstone of modern biology and a critical aspect of scientific literacy. Research has shown, however, that many high school graduates lack fundamental understandings in genetics necessary to make informed decisions about issues and emerging technologies in this domain, such as genetic screening, genetically modified foods, etc.…

Exploring Factors that Influence Students' Behaviors in Information Security

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yoon, Cheolho; Hwang, Jae-Won; Kim, Rosemary

2012-01-01

Due to the ever-increasing use of the Internet, information security has become a critical issue in society. This is especially the case for young adults who have different attitudes towards information security practices. In this research, we examine factors that motivate college students' information security behaviors. Based on the concept of…

Techno Savvy: A Web 2.0 Curriculum Encouraging Critical Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Herro, Danielle

2014-01-01

This paper reports results from a case study focused on understanding student practices regarding production-oriented problem-solving with digital media. Thirty-seven students participated in an elective curriculum called, "Techno Savvy," a nine-week course focused on student exploration of global issues, and designed around Web 2.0…

New England's Vital Resource: The Labor Force.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoy, John C., Ed.; Bernstein, Melvin H., Ed.

A collection of analyses and projections is presented that explores the challenges posed by a rapidly evolving economy and the critical issue of manpower policy facing New England and the nation. New England was able to move from traditional industry to high technology because its colleges and universities supplied basic research and trained…

Children's Film as an Instrument of Moral Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wonderly, Monique

2009-01-01

This paper explores two philosophical treasures that we often neglect: the moral faculties of children and the pedagogic virtues of film. My thesis consists of three primary claims: (1) when properly educated, children are capable of thinking critically about ethical issues; (2) moral edification ought to have the dual aims of developing this…

"Beautiful You": Creating Contexts for Students to Become Agents of Social Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisette, Jennifer L.; Walton, Theresa A.

2015-01-01

The authors argue for creating a context within education where teachers can utilize critical pedagogical practices to explicate the hidden curriculum, explore students' sense of self and embodied identities, and engage students to empower themselves to speak up and take action about issues of embodiment and their understanding of social…

Reframing Learning to Teach Diversity: Multicultural Curriculum within a Cosmopolitan Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moon, Seungho

2017-01-01

This qualitative study explores the possibilities of reframing multicultural teacher education in the context of critical cosmopolitanism. I examine the ways in which 34 pre-service and in-service teachers learn to teach diversity and multicultural issues in their curriculum. I use three sets of coursework materials, including course discussions,…

Film in Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Information Center on Instructional Technology Report, 1976

1976-01-01

The positive and negative aspects of using film as a medium for inducing change in developing nations are explored in this issue. Critics of the use of film for development cite (1) the culture specific nature of film content of foreign produced films; (2) the technical, economic, and logistical problems of in-country production; and (3) lack of…

Prioritising Healthcare Workers for Ebola Treatment: Treating Those at Greatest Risk to Confer Greatest Benefit.

PubMed

Satalkar, Priya; Elger, Bernice E; Shaw, David M

2015-08-01

The Ebola epidemic in Western Africa has highlighted issues related to weak health systems, the politics of drug and vaccine development and the need for transparent and ethical criteria for use of scarce local and global resources during public health emergency. In this paper we explore two key themes. First, we argue that independent of any use of experimental drugs or vaccine interventions, simultaneous implementation of proven public health principles, community engagement and culturally sensitive communication are critical as these measures represent the most cost-effective and fair utilization of available resources. Second, we attempt to clarify the ethical issues related to use of scarce experimental drugs or vaccines and explore in detail the most critical ethical question related to Ebola drug or vaccine distribution in the current outbreak: who among those infected or at risk should be prioritized to receive any new experimental drugs or vaccines? We conclude that healthcare workers should be prioritised for these experimental interventions, for a variety of reasons. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cinemeducation: A pilot student project using movies to help students learn medical professionalism.

PubMed

Lumlertgul, Nuttha; Kijpaisalratana, Naruchorn; Pityaratstian, Nuttorn; Wangsaturaka, Danai

2009-07-01

Using movies has been accepted worldwide as a tool to help students learn medical professionalism. In the second year, a group of medical students conducted the "Cinemeducation" project to promote professionalism in the "Medical Ethics and Critical Thinking" course. Five movies with professionalism issues were screened with 20-30 students attending each session. After the show, participants then were asked to reflect on what they had learned in terms of professionalism. Two students led group discussion emphasizing questioning and argumentation for 60 min. Additional learning issues emerging from each session were also explored in more depth and arranged into a report. In the Cinemeducation Project, medical students have learned five main ethical issues in each film, which were the doctor-patient relationship, informed consent and clinical trials in patients, management of genetic disorders, patient management, and brain death and organ transplantation. In addition to issues of professionalism, they also developed critical thinking and moral reasoning skills. Using a case-based scenario in movies has proven to be an effective and entertaining method of facilitating students with learning on professionalism.

Argumentation, critical thinking, nature of science and socioscientific issues: a dialogue between two researchers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yacoubian, Hagop A.; Khishfe, Rola

2018-05-01

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast between two theoretical frameworks for addressing nature of science (NOS) and socioscientific issues (SSI) in school science. These frameworks are critical thinking (CT) and argumentation (AR). For the past years, the first and second authors of this paper have pursued research in this area using CT and AR as theoretical frameworks, respectively. Yacoubian argues that future citizens need to develop a critical mindset as they are guided to (1) practice making judgments on what views of NOS to acquire and (2) practice making decisions on SSI through applying their NOS understandings. Khishfe asserts that AR is an important component of decision making when dealing with SSI and the practice in AR in relation to controversial issues is needed for informed decision making. She argues that AR as a framework may assist in the development of more informed understandings of NOS. In this paper, the authors delve into a dialogue for (1) elucidating strengths and potential of each framework, (2) highlighting challenges that they face in their research using the frameworks in question, (3) exploring the extent to which the frameworks can overlap, and (4) proposing directions for future research.

Intercultural Education through a Bilingual Children's Rights Project: Reflections on Its Possibilities and Challenges with Young Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Sunny Man Chu

2015-01-01

Despite the growing importance of intercultural education, literature is still lacking in related research with young learners. This study reports on a yearlong university-school collaborative research project that aimed to promote students' intercultural competence and critical bi-literacy skills through their exploration of the issue of…

Using Digital Resources to Explore the Role of Children in the Framing of Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berson, Ilene R.

2008-01-01

The first campaign commercials were aired on television in 1952, and from their inception, children have played a critical role in the framing of political ads. Understanding these frames provides important insight into a powerful communication element that is used to influence opinions by connecting with deeply held beliefs about American…

Rethinking Sport Teaching in Physical Education: A Case Study of Research Based Innovation in Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pill, Shane; Penney, Dawn; Swabey, Karen

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on the significance of physical education teacher education (PETE) in the diffusion of "new" thinking about sport teaching in physical education. It explores issues arising from a case study investigation that sought to respond to the critical commentary about the form and substance of sport teaching in physical…

Washback to the Learner: Learner and Teacher Perspectives on IELTS Preparation Course Expectations and Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Anthony

2006-01-01

The washback effect of tests on teaching has attracted considerable attention over recent years, but the critical question of how this translates into washback on learning remains under-explored. To address this issue, questionnaires relating to academic writing instruction were distributed to 108 learners from mainland China preparing for…

A Figurational Analysis of How Indigenous Students Encounter Racialization in Physical Education and School Sport

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, John

2018-01-01

The recently launched Australian Curriculum Health and Physical Education has five propositions, one of which is for students to adopt a critical inquiry approach within this subject area. In particular, students are encouraged to explore issues that relate to social power and taken-for-granted assumptions. This paper problematizes the concept of…

Schooling and Social Justice through the Lenses of Nancy Fraser

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keddie, Amanda

2012-01-01

This review essay draws on Nancy Fraser's work as featured in "Adding insult to injury: Nancy Fraser debates her critics" to explore issues of schooling and social justice. The review focuses on the applicability and usefulness of Fraser's three-dimensional model for understanding matters of justice in education. It begins with an overview of the…

Editing Women's Texts: Issues of Cultural Expectations in Editing and Evaluating Women's Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Linda H.

By examining two autobiographies by Victorian women, the role of editors in the composing and publishing of autobiographical texts can be explored, and questions can be raised about the way personal writing is assigned, edited, and evaluated in classrooms today. The autobiography of Margaret Oliphant, a prolific Victorian novelist and critic, was…

Debates in History Teaching. The Debates in Subject Teaching Series

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Ian, Ed.

2010-01-01

"Debates in History Teaching" explores the major issues all history teachers encounter in their daily professional lives. It encourages critical reflection and aims to stimulate both novice and experienced teachers to think more deeply about their practice, and link research and evidence to what they have observed in schools. Written by a range of…

Critical Perspectives on Cultural Diversity in Early Childhood: Building an Inclusive Curriculum and Provision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ang, Lynn

2010-01-01

This paper presents a discussion of the complexities that arise from addressing issues of cultural diversity in the early years context. It explores the challenges of developing an effective early years provision and pedagogy that values cultural difference within the framework of a mandated curriculum, "The Early Years Foundation Stage…

Exploring Criticality in Management Education through Action Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breen, Judith

2014-01-01

The field of management education has been the focus of much debate in recent times. Issues relating to the real world and a lack of relevancy in business schools have caused much of this debate. In particular, questions have been raised regarding why business schools should endeavour to bridge this relevancy gap? However, it is important to…

Visualizing Intercultural Literacy: Engaging Critically with Diversity and Migration in the Classroom through an Image-Based Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arizpe, Evelyn; Bagelman, Caroline; Devlin, Alison M.; Farrell, Maureen; McAdam, Julie E.

2014-01-01

Accessible forms of language, learning and literacy, as well as strategies that support intercultural communication are needed for the diverse population of refugee, asylum seeker and migrant children within schools. The research project "Journeys from Images to Words" explored the potential of visual texts to address these issues.…

Writing Educational Biography: Explorations in Qualitative Research. Critical Education Practice; Volume 13. Garland Reference Library of Social Science, Volume 1098.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kridel, Craig, Ed.

This collection examines many influences of biographical inquiry in education and discusses methodological issues from the perspectives of veteran and novice biographers. The section on qualitative research and educational biography contains the following chapters: "Musings on Life Writing: Biography and Case Studies in Teacher Education" (Robert…

Participatory Video: Toward a Method, Advocacy and Voice (MAV) Framework

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sitter, Kathleen C.

2012-01-01

Using the new conceptual framework of participatory visual media as method, advocacy and voice (MAV), the author explores an action research study using an exemplar in which advocates from the disability community created and distributed a series of videos about love and sexuality as a critical human rights issue in the disability community. The…

To Listen and To Learn: Exploring Opportunities To Encourage Family Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bankston, Karen, Ed.; Franklin, Diane, Ed.

This first publication in the "Who's Raising the Family" series covers the critical issue of family communications and how parents and adolescents can talk and listen to each other about alcohol and other drugs (AOD). Communication between parents and children is crucial in preventing alcohol and other drug use. While peer relationships take on…

"Change is Hard": What Science Teachers Are Telling Us about Reform and Teacher Learning of Innovative Practices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Kathleen S.

2003-01-01

Provides a critical analysis of the implementation of an innovative science curriculum at a middle school site. Explores the issues that surround teacher learning of new practices including the structures, policies, and practices that were in place within the reform context that supported or impeded teacher learning. Identifies parallels between…

"It's an Acceptable Identity": Constructing "Girl" at the Intersections of Health, Media, and Meaning-Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, J. Nicole; Hoskins, Marie L.

2004-01-01

This article explores the authors' critical reflections that arose while engaging in research with girls recovering from an eating disorder. The authors address issues related to media, consumerism, and identity construction. They emphasize that while there are no clear solutions to dilemmas facing girls in North American culture, researchers and…

School-University Partnerships: A Means for the Inclusion of Policy Studies in Music Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Lisa R.

2011-01-01

The need for music educators to become more actively involved in policy issues, including analysis, design, implementation, and research, is critical to the future of music education. Bridging the gap between policy and practice requires a collaborative effort among music professionals. This article explores the inclusive use of policy studies in…

Seeking Clarity in New Jersey for Leadership Preparation Program Design: Confusion, Fragility, and Unintended Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doolittle, Gini

2013-01-01

In 2004, the New Jersey Department of Education issued a mandate to the 17 leadership preparation program providers to revise their leadership preparation programs after completing a critical friends review. This case study explores the challenges, programmatic, and political experiences of one preparation program as state support dwindled.…

Using Critical Literacy to Explore Genetics and Its Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues with In-Service Secondary Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gleason, Michael L.; Melancon, Megan E.; Kleine, Karynne L. M.

2010-01-01

The described interdisciplinary course helped a mixed population of in-service secondary English and biology teacher-participants increase their genetics content knowledge and awareness of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) that arose from discoveries and practices associated with the Human Genome Project. This was accomplished by…

Community Education: An Essential Dimension in the Prevention of Violence against Women

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fairbairn-Dunlop, Peggy

2011-01-01

This paper explores how global aid agendas impact NGO responsibility for Violence Against Women (VAW) community education programmes. VAW is a critical issue in the Pacific region. A reconfiguration of the NGO sector is taking place whereby larger NGOs receive more resources than smaller, more diverse NGOs. This paper examines a regional-national…

Exploring the Relationship between Authentic Leadership and Project Outcomes and Job Satisfaction with Information Technology Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fischer, Mark A.

2014-01-01

One of the most important issues for organizations and information technology (IT) professionals is measuring the success or failure of information technology projects. How we understand the value and usefulness of IT projects is critical to how information technology executives evaluate and decide on technology investments. In a 2009 CHAOS…

Cognitive and Social Perspectives for Literacy Research and Instruction. Thirty-Eighth Yearbook of the National Reading Conference.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCormick, Sandra, Ed.; Zutell, Jerry, Ed.

This yearbook contains 59 selected articles from the National Reading Conference for 1988 which represent a diversity of topics explored through a variety of research paradigms designed to increase understanding of the critical issues of language and literacy. Included in the collection are "Political and Economic Dimensions of Literacy:…

On the Nature of Applied Linguistics: Theory and Practice Relationships from a Critical Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sánchez, William

2007-01-01

This article explores the relationships between Applied Linguistics and other related disciplines concerning language use and language teaching issues. It seeks to trace the changes in the view of the relationship between theory and practice in Applied Linguistics, to explain the reason for those changes, and to discuss the implications for…

Supporting Disadvantaged Students in an English Primary School: Matters of Entrepreneurial and Traditional Professionalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keddie, Amanda

2018-01-01

This paper explores issues of teacher professionalism. The focus is on the competition, control and standardisation that tend to be associated with 'entrepreneurial' professionalism on the one hand, and the autonomy, care and criticality that tend to be associated with 'traditional' professionalism, on the other. The paper presents a series of…

Weight Control Behavior as an Indicator of Adolescent Psychological Well-Being

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yeatts, Paul E.; Martin, Scott B.; Petrie, Trent A.; Greenleaf, Christy

2016-01-01

Background: Adolescence is a critical time for the development of psychological well-being. Weight gain and the emergence of body image concerns during this period can lead to the development of negative psychological states. To explore this issue, we examined the relationship between weight control behavior (WCB; i.e., trying to lose, gain, stay…

Re-Placing Outdoor Education: Diversity, Inclusion, and the Microadventures of the Everyday

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Jay W.

2018-01-01

With the increased emphasis on sustainability and place-based education, along with a heightened sense of awareness of diversity and inclusion issues in outdoor education, the time has come to critically examine the long-held trip and expedition construct within the outdoor education field. This paper will explore the theoretical influences of…

Have Lifelong Learning and Emancipation Still Something to Say to Each Other?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biesta, Gert

2012-01-01

In this paper I explore the relationships between lifelong learning and emancipation. On the one hand I raise critical questions about the idea of lifelong learning, particularly highlighting the tendency to turn social and political problems into learning problems and thus into issues that need to be resolved by individuals and their learning,…

An Exploratory Study of Student Perceptions of Which Classroom Policies Are Fairest

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duplaga, Edward A.; Astani, Marzie

2010-01-01

Fairness is a critical issue in the educational setting, and the research is unified in the view that professors need to be fair in setting course policies and procedures. However, many unanswered questions still remain as to which specific classroom policies and procedures students find fair or unfair. This study explores student perceptions of…

Discerning the Difference between "Feel Good" and "Real Good": Teaching the Complexity of Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hogan, Theodore J.; Kelter, Paul

2015-01-01

Environmental issues can serve as a marvelous framework for high-level student analysis of critical scientific and social concerns. We describe a series of activities and discussions that motivate students to explore environmentalism, sustainable development, carbon offsets, and related ideas with an engaged learning format that helps students to…

Using Preservice Teacher Emotion to Encourage Critical Engagement with Diversity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Kimberly R.

2009-01-01

The demographics of classroom teachers and teacher educators do not mirror the diversity found in today's schools. As we prepare preservice teachers to be quality educators for all students, we must work to ensure that they are examining issues of equity and diversity that will affect those they teach. This article explores this challenge from my…

Globalization, Public Policy, and "Knowledge Gap": Ethiopian Youth and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fetene, Getnet Tizazu; Dimitriadis, Greg

2010-01-01

Set against trans- or supra-national policy initiatives which have framed the HIV/AIDS pandemic as in part a pedagogical issue, this paper critically explores local understandings of sexual practices (generally) as well as of HIV/AIDS (more specifically) among young people in the sub-Saharan African country of Ethiopia. Ethiopia has the third…

Access and Equity in Financing Higher Education: The Case of Morocco

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bougroum, Mohammed; Ibourk, Aomar

2011-01-01

This paper explores the higher education financing policy in Morocco in light of the central issue of equity. First, it surveys the current situation, using a critical approach to the present financing policy, and looking at the three dimensions of adequacy, efficiency, and equity. Second, it describes the principal policy challenges in financing…

Exploring Early Adolescents' Evaluation of Academic and Commercial Online Resources Related to Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kiili, Carita; Leu, Donald J.; Marttunen, Miika; Hautala, Jarkko; Leppänen, Paavo H. T.

2018-01-01

This study assessed the ability of 426 students (ages 12-13) to critically evaluate two types of online locations on health issues: an academic resource and a commercial resource. The results indicated limited evaluation abilities, especially for the commercial resource, and only a small, partial association with prior stance and offline reading…

Why Should I Care? Exploring the Use of Environmental Concern as a Frame of Communication in Zoos

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yocco, Victor S.; Bruskotter, Jeremy; Wilson, Robyn; Heimlich, Joseph E.

2015-01-01

Effectively communicating environmental issues to motivate visitors' behavior is critical for zoos to accomplish their missions. We examined the relationship between zoo visitors' environmental concern and agreement with messages framed by environmental concern. Findings from two zoos (N = 298; N = 400), using two message formats, provided nearly…

Between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous: Urban/Nature/Child Pedagogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Somerville, Margaret; Hickey, Sandra

2017-01-01

This co-authored paper offers Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal perspectives on the emergence of urban/nature/child pedagogies in a project to reclaim remnant woodlands. Set in the context of indigenous issues explored in a special edition of the journal on land based education, the paper engages critically with a claim by a group of ecologists, that…

Investigating Debates around Racism in Sport to Facilitate Perspective Transformation in the Secondary English Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merga, Margaret K.; Booth, Sarah

2017-01-01

The English classroom is a space in which issues of social justice can be explored through texts, using a critical literacy approach. Indigenous Australians have been subject to racist policies throughout postcolonial Australian history, and racist attitudes toward Australia's original inhabitants prevail. This article suggests that racism in the…

2016 Summer Series - Jin-Woo Han: Vacuum Electronics in a Nanometer Era

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-06-07

Modern space vehicles rely on transistors. Radiation tolerance of space electronics is critical for space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. NASA Ames Research Center is investigating ways to overcome this issue using vacuums. Dr. Jin-Woo Han's lecture will present advancements in the use of vacuums to improve radiation immunity in space circuitry.

Engagement of Older Adults in Higher Education: International Perspectives from New Zealand and Scotland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Findsen, Brian

2012-01-01

This article explores the issue of older adults' access to and participation in higher education in two countries, Aotearoa New Zealand and Scotland. It discusses older adults' engagement with regard to patterns of participation and provision, using a critical educational gerontology approach. The two case studies, one in more theoretical terms,…

"Impeached or Questioned": The Uses of Speech in a Privileged Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Gill R.

2001-01-01

Examines the legal protections of academic freedom of speech in Britain along with the issues which surround Parliamentary privilege (a university campus is considered a privileged environment under the Education No. 2 Act). Explores implications for freedom to publish and for the freedom of others to comment upon and criticize what the academic…

Curriculum Integration: The Experience of Three Founding Faculty at a New Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saint-Louis, Nicole; Seth, Naveen; Fuller, Karla Smith

2015-01-01

This article explores the design and implementation of the curriculum for City Seminar, an integrated course in the first-year experience at a new community college. This interdisciplinary course focuses on a critical issue that provides content and context for quantitative reasoning (QR), reading, and writing (RW) to strengthen students'…

Some Wisconsin Pupils Could Face HIV Testing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sack, Joetta L.

2004-01-01

This article explores the issue on student HIV testing in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has enacted what appears to be the nation's first law requiring students to be tested for HIV, if teachers or other school employees can prove they were significantly exposed to the students' blood while on the job. The law, which critics view as an unwarranted…

Evaluation as a critical factor of success in local public health accreditation programs.

PubMed

Tremain, Beverly; Davis, Mary; Joly, Brenda; Edgar, Mark; Kushion, Mary L; Schmidt, Rita

2007-01-01

This article presents the variety of approaches used to conduct evaluations of performance improvement or accreditation systems, while illustrating the complexity of conducting evaluations to inform local public health practice. We, in addition, hope to inform the Exploring Accreditation Program about relevant experiences involving accreditation and performance assessment processes, specifically evaluation, as it debates and discusses a national voluntary model. A background of each state is given. To further explore these issues, interviews were conducted with each state's evaluator to gain more in-depth information on the many different evaluation strategies and approaches used. On the basis of the interviews, the authors provide several overall themes, which suggest that evaluation is a critical tool and success factor for performance assessment or accreditation programs.

Starting on haemodialysis: a qualitative study to explore the experience and needs of incident patients.

PubMed

Lai, Alden Yuanhong; Loh, Angela Ping Ping; Mooppil, Nandakumar; Krishnan, Deby Sarojiuy Pala; Griva, Konstadina

2012-01-01

Dialysis can be very stressful with the initial months onto treatment being highly critical in terms of both adaptation and mortality. This qualitative study aimed to explore the lived experiences of incident haemodialysis patients in Singapore. Topics related to the end-stage renal disease diagnosis and haemodialysis treatment were raised with 13 incident haemodialysis patients in the form of semi-structured interviews, and interpretative phenomenological analysis was undertaken as the framework for data analysis. Emotional distress, treatment-related concerns and social support emerged as main issues following a critical review of themes. Our study revealed that incident haemodialysis patients have emotional and informational needs, highlighting the importance of intervention programmes in particular to this patient group to promote better psychosocial adjustment to the disease and its treatment.

Curriculum translation and environmental education: considering issues of discursive intentionality, interpretation, and validity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Alandeom W.; Colak, Huseyin; Akerson, Valarie L.

2009-03-01

We would like to thank our commentators Reis, Ercikan and Alper for their insightful comments on our research study and respond in brief to a few of their criticisms. More specifically, we would like to address what we consider to be the three main issues they raise with regard to the practices of curriculum translation and implementation across languages, namely viewing speakers' intentions as a mode of signification in discourse analysis, exploring curriculum translation through an interpretive research approach, and establishing the validity of research on curriculum translation.

Adventures in Space Medicine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Billica, Roger D.

1999-01-01

Human space flight experience has demonstrated a variety of hazards and risks to health and performance. In developing ways to help respond to these issues, the field of space medicine has developed a comprehensive program of space flight health risk management that has resulted in positive contributions to medicine and society in general. Examples include accelerated focus on critical health issues such as aging and osteoporosis, and development of new technologies such as non-invasive diagnostic testing for diabetics. The role of health care professionals in human space exploration represents a fulfillment of new adventures and expanding frontiers.

Using a critical reflection process to create an effective learning community in the workplace.

PubMed

Walker, Rachel; Cooke, Marie; Henderson, Amanda; Creedy, Debra K

2013-05-01

Learning circles are an enabling process to critically examine and reflect on practices with the purpose of promoting individual and organizational growth and change. The authors adapted and developed a learning circle strategy to facilitate open discourse between registered nurses, clinical leaders, clinical facilitators and students, to critically reflect on practice experiences to promote a positive learning environment. This paper reports on an analysis of field notes taken during a critical reflection process used to create an effective learning community in the workplace. A total of 19 learning circles were conducted during in-service periods (that is, the time allocated for professional education between morning and afternoon shifts) over a 3 month period with 56 nurses, 33 students and 1 university-employed clinical supervisor. Participation rates ranged from 3 to 12 individuals per discussion. Ten themes emerged from content analysis of the clinical learning issues identified through the four-step model of critical reflection used in learning circle discussions. The four-step model of critical reflection allowed participants to reflect on clinical learning issues, and raise them in a safe environment that enabled topics to be challenged and explored in a shared and cooperative manner. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-Resolution Digital Two-Color PIV for Turbomachinery Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Copenhaver, W.; Gogineni, S.; Goss, L.

1996-11-01

Turbomachinery flows are inherently unsteady. However, steady design methods are currently used to develop turbomachinery, with the lack of basic understanding of unsteady effects being compensated by use of extensive empirical correlations. Conventional laser anemometry provides quantitative evidence of unsteady effects in turbomachinery but is limited in fully exploring this phenomenon. The PIV technique holds great promise for elucidating unsteady flow mechanisms in turbomachinery if obstacles to its application in a transonic turbomachine can be overcome. Implementation involves critical issues such as tracer seeding and optical access for transmitter and receiver. Initially, an 18-in.-dia. axial fan is used to explore these issues. One optical configuration considered is the fiber-optic fanning light sheet in conjunction with high-power pulsed lasers. Instantaneous velocity measurements are made between blades at different spanwise locations.

Climate Change, Public Health, and Policy: A California Case Study

PubMed Central

Smith, Jason A.

2018-01-01

Anthropogenic activity will bring immediate changes and disruptions to the global climate with accompanying health implications. Although policymakers and public health advocates are beginning to acknowledge the health implications of climate change, current policy approaches are lagging behind. We proposed that 4 key policy principles are critical to successful policymaking in this arena: mainstreaming, linking mitigation and adaptation policy, applying population perspectives, and coordination. We explored California’s progress in addressing the public health challenges of climate change in the San Joaquin Valley as an example. We discussed issues of mental health and climate change, and used the San Joaquin Valley of California as an example to explore policy approaches to health issues and climate change. The California experience is instructive for other jurisdictions. PMID:29072936

Ethical issues in microbicide clinical trials for HIV prevention.

PubMed

Gangestad, Angelina K; Salata, Robert A

2012-01-01

Women account for half of new infections with HIV annually. Heterosexual transmission is the most common route of infection in resource limited settings (RLS). An effective microbicide would help decrease transmission of HIV and potentially enable women to have more control in sexual relationships. Research into microbicides is done predominantly in RLS. In addition, there will be different issues and challenges to consider with respect to rectal microbicide use in men. There exist several ethical issues around microbicide development and clinical research which we explore in this review. Respect for persons, including autonomy and protection of vulnerable populations, beneficence, and justice are explored as they relate to microbicide research. Improving standards of care in RLS, trial design, and informed consent are discussed in more detail. Special populations including pregnant women, adolescents, and men who have sex with men are considered in more detail. A multipronged approach to HIV prevention will be necessary to have an impact on HIV prevention. A continued discussion around ethical issues in regard to study design, interpretation of results and implementation of compounds brought to market will remain critically important.

Space Nutrition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Scott M.

2009-01-01

Optimal nutrition will be critical for crew members who embark on space exploration missions. Nutritional assessment provides an opportunity to ensure that crewmembers begin their missions in optimal nutritional status, to document changes during a mission and, if necessary, to provide intervention to maintain that status throughout the mission, and to assesses changes after landing in order to facilitate the return to their normal status as soon as possible after landing. We report here the findings from our nutritional assessment of astronauts who participated in the International Space Station (ISS) missions, along with flight and ground-based research findings. We also present ongoing and planned nutrition research activities. These studies provide evidence that bone loss, compromised vitamin status, and oxidative damage are the critical nutritional concerns for space travelers. Other nutrient issues exist, including concerns about the stability of nutrients in the food system, which are exposed to longterm storage and radiation during flight. Defining nutrient requirements, and being able to provide and maintain those nutrients on exploration missions, will be critical for maintaining crew member health.

The experience of schizophrenia: what's gender got to do with it? A critical review of the current status of research on schizophrenia.

PubMed

Nasser, Elizabeth H; Walders, Natalie; Jenkins, Janis H

2002-01-01

The role of gender in schizophrenia is explored, and literature on gender and schizophrenia is critically reviewed. The importance of investigating gender differences in schizophrenia is underscored by the lack of sufficient research in this area to date and the comparative neglect of sociocultural issues during the "decade of the brain." The importance of incorporating gender factors into research analysis is demonstrated via an interdisciplinary discussion that involves psychiatric, anthropological, and sociological theory. Methodological and measurement issues in gender-based research are considered. Selected directions for future research initiatives that expand beyond a dichotomous comparison of "male" and "female" sex differences to examine the role of gender along a continuum as a sociocultural influence on schizophrenia onset, illness presentation, and treatment are presented.

Habitability and Human Factors: Lessons Learned in Long Duration Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baggerman, Susan D.; Rando, Cynthia M.; Duvall, Laura E.

2006-01-01

This study documents the investigation of qualitative habitability and human factors feedback provided by scientists, engineers, and crewmembers on lessons learned from the ISS Program. A thorough review and understanding of this data is critical in charting NASA's future path in space exploration. NASA has been involved in ensuring that the needs of crewmembers to live and work safely and effectively in space have been met throughout the ISS Program. Human factors and habitability data has been collected from every U.S. crewmember that has resided on the ISS. The knowledge gained from both the developers and inhabitants of the ISS have provided a significant resource of information for NASA and will be used in future space exploration. The recurring issues have been tracked and documented; the top 5 most critical issues have been identified from this data. The top 5 identified problems were: excessive onsrbit stowage; environment; communication; procedures; and inadequate design of systems and equipment. Lessons learned from these issues will be used to aid in future improvements and developments to the space program. Full analysis of the habitability and human factors data has led to the following recommendations. It is critical for human factors to be involved early in the design of space vehicles and hardware. Human factors requirements need to be readdressed and redefined given the knowledge gained during previous ISS and long-duration space flight programs. These requirements must be integrated into vehicle and hardware technical documentation and consistently enforced. Lastly, space vehicles and hardware must be designed with primary focus on the user/operator to successfully complete missions and maintain a safe working environment. Implementation of these lessons learned will significantly improve NASA's likelihood of success in future space endeavors.

Evaluation of an expert system for fault detection, isolation, and recovery in the manned maneuvering unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rushby, John; Crow, Judith

1990-01-01

The authors explore issues in the specification, verification, and validation of artificial intelligence (AI) based software, using a prototype fault detection, isolation and recovery (FDIR) system for the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). They use this system as a vehicle for exploring issues in the semantics of C-Language Integrated Production System (CLIPS)-style rule-based languages, the verification of properties relating to safety and reliability, and the static and dynamic analysis of knowledge based systems. This analysis reveals errors and shortcomings in the MMU FDIR system and raises a number of issues concerning software engineering in CLIPs. The authors came to realize that the MMU FDIR system does not conform to conventional definitions of AI software, despite the fact that it was intended and indeed presented as an AI system. The authors discuss this apparent disparity and related questions such as the role of AI techniques in space and aircraft operations and the suitability of CLIPS for critical applications.

Telecommunications, navigation and information management concept overview for the Space Exploration Initiative program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, Jerome A.; Stephens, Elaine; Barton, Gregg

1991-01-01

An overview is provided of the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) concepts for telecommunications, information systems, and navigation (TISN), and engineering and architecture issues are discussed. The SEI program data system is reviewed to identify mission TISN interfaces, and reference TISN concepts are described for nominal, degraded, and mission-critical data services. The infrastructures reviewed include telecommunications for robotics support, autonomous navigation without earth-based support, and information networks for tracking and data acquisition. Four options for TISN support architectures are examined which relate to unique SEI exploration strategies. Detailed support estimates are given for: (1) a manned stay on Mars; (2) permanent lunar and Martian settlements; short-duration missions; and (4) systematic exploration of the moon and Mars.

Hearing Voices, Creating Spaces: The Craft of the "Artisan Teacher" in a Mass Higher Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hockings, Christine

2011-01-01

In this paper I explore the concepts of voice and space as critical to the issues of widening participation, inclusive learning and teaching and academic engagement. Drawing on research conducted between 2006 and 2008 within two universities in England, and developmental work carried out with some of the teacher participants subsequently, I…

Exploring Learner Acceptance of the Use of Virtual Reality in Medical Education: A Case Study of Desktop and Projection-Based Display Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Hsiu-Mei; Liaw, Shu-Sheng; Lai, Chung-Min

2016-01-01

Advanced technologies have been widely applied in medical education, including human-patient simulators, immersive virtual reality Cave Automatic Virtual Environment systems, and video conferencing. Evaluating learner acceptance of such virtual reality (VR) learning environments is a critical issue for ensuring that such technologies are used to…

An Exploration of Search Patterns and Credibility Issues among Older Adults Seeking Online Health Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robertson-Lang, Laura; Major, Sonya; Hemming, Heather

2011-01-01

The Internet is an important resource for health information, among younger and older people alike. Unfortunately, there are limitations associated with online health information. Research is needed on the quality of information found online and on whether users are being critical consumers of the information they find. Also, there is a need for…

Food Chains, Frenemies, and Revenge Fantasies: Relating Fiction to Life in a Girls' Book Club

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taber, Nancy; Woloshyn, Vera; Lane, Laura

2012-01-01

In this article, we explore the experiences of four girls with reading difficulties who participated in a book club designed to promote critical discussion of sociocultural gendered issues. Using the book "Dork diaries: Tales from a NOT-SO- fabulous life", they connected content in the book to their lives as relates to school "food…

The Sociology of Youth: A Reflection on Its Contribution to the Field and Future Directions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyn, Johanna

2011-01-01

This article expands on a piece in the inaugural "Sociology of Youth Newsletter," edited by Steven Threadgold (Wyn 2010). The present article provides an opportunity to engage in a more critical exploration of the issues that youth sociology in Australia contributes to the wider field of sociology and to reflect on challenges that it…

Reforming for "All" or for "Some": Misalignment in the Discourses of Education Reformers and Implementers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lenhoff, Sarah Winchell; Ulmer, Jasmine B.

2016-01-01

The ways in which the language of reformers intersects with and informs reform implementation is important to our understanding of how education policy impacts practice. To explore this issue, we employed critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyze the language used by a 21st century skills-focused reform organization to promote its program…

State Implementation of NCLB Policies and Interpretation of the NAEP Performance of English Language Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duran, Richard P.

2006-01-01

This report outlines several critical issues that should be addressed in order to allow states to explore and understand relationships between the performance of ELL students on NAEP and on state assessments in this policy context. The results of this study can be useful to a variety of education stakeholders who are interested in improving the…

Mathematics for What? High School Students Reflect on Mathematics as a Tool for Social Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brelias, Anastasia

2015-01-01

This study examines high school students' views of mathematics as a tool for social inquiry in light of their classroom experiences using mathematics to explore social issues. A critical theoretical perspective on mathematics literacy is used to ascertain the ways in which their views challenge or affirm the dominant image of mathematics in…

A View from the Principal's Office: A Grounded-Theory Exploration of Principals' Perceptions of Non-Academic Barriers to Learning--Implications for School Social Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prather, JoNataye Arnitra

2010-01-01

The importance of the principal has been found to be a critical factor in student and school success. School principal responsibilities traditionally encompass operations and management. However, many principals are unable to fulfill these expectations because of students' social and behavioral issues. Consequently, this qualitative study explored…

Affordability, Accessibility and Accountability in Higher Education: Proceedings of the Community College Virtual Summit, June 28, 2007

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

US Department of Education, 2008

2008-01-01

The main intention of the Community College Virtual Summit, as stated by Troy Justesen, assistant secretary for vocational and adult education, was to explore four critical issues facing community colleges: (1) Two- to four-year transitions; (2) Adult and nontraditional students; (3) Accountability; and (4) Leadership. These were selected as the…

Young People's Preferences for Social Interaction in Terms of Homophily and Social Inclusion: A Critical Discussion about Respect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koutsouris, George

2014-01-01

This paper reports findings from a study about young people's preferences for social interaction with similar and different others, in terms of a tension between social inclusion and homophily--the concept that similarity breeds connection. The issue was explored empirically using moral dilemmas scenarios to conduct in-depth semi-structured…

Lift Every Voice and Sing: Faculty of Color Face the Challenges of the Tenure Track

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garrison-Wade, Dorothy F.; Diggs, Gregory A.; Estrada, Diane; Galindo, Rene

2012-01-01

This article highlights some of the obstacles facing tenure-track faculty of color in academia. Through the perspective of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and by using a counterstories method, four faculty of color share their experiences as they explore diversity issues through engaging in a 1-year self-study. Findings of this qualitative study…

Mentorship of Black Student-Athletes at a Predominately White American University: Critical Race Theory Perspective on Student-Athlete Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bimper, Albert Y., Jr.

2017-01-01

Mentoring programs are evolving as common practice in athletic departments across national collegiate athletic association member institutions in the USA as means to address sociocultural issues faced by their student-athletes and to enhance their holistic development. There is a dearth of research exploring mentoring in the contexts of…

Women Administrators' Views on Sex Equity: Exploring Issues of Information, Identity, and Integration.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmuck, Patricia A.; Schubert, Jane

Today there are more female administrators than a mere 15 years ago, yet these women who have risen up through the ranks to a position traditionally dominated by men tend not to advocate equity in their schools. Nineteen female principals from Arizona, California, and Oregon were interviewed using the critical incident technique. Results show that…

Engaging the Bible in GCSE and A Level Religious Studies: Environmental Stewardship as a Test Case

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Horrell, David G.; Davis, Anna

2014-01-01

This article explores the potential for critical and informed engagement with biblical texts to form a key element of the study of Christian perspectives on ethical issues at GCSE and A level. Given the current dominance of philosophical and ethical topics, and weaknesses in the engagement with biblical texts within existing curriculum materials,…

Hopes, Fears, & Reality: A Balanced Look at American Charter Schools in 2009. 5th Edition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lake, Robin J., Ed.

2010-01-01

There are a number of critical tests ahead for the charter school sector. This volume of "Hopes, Fears, & Reality" explores these issues. In chapter 1, Jon Christensen, Jacqueline Meijer-Irons, and Robin J. Lake lay out the basic data on charter school growth in the last several years. They examine the growth and character of the…

No Deposit, No Return: Enriching Literacy Teaching and Learning through Critical Inquiry Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aaron, Jennifer; Bouchereau Bauer, Eurydice; Commeyras, Michelle; Dowling Cox, Sharon; Daniell, Bren; Elrick, Ellen; Fecho, Bob; Hermann-Wilmarth, Jill; Hogan, Elizabeth; Pintaone-Hernandez, Andrea; Roulston, Kathy; Siegel, Amanda; Vaughn, Hope

2006-01-01

Foster a classroom community where teachers and students make their own meanings of the world and consider their relation to larger social, political, cultural, and historical issues. The reader will find a rich range of perspectives in these stories of K-12 teachers and university educators who participated in a three-year study to explore issues…

Fostering Critical Reflection: Moving From a Service to a Social Justice Paradigm.

PubMed

Owen, Julie E

2016-06-01

This chapter explores how community engagement creates opportunities to facilitate meaningful discussions about issues including: the nature and sources of power; who benefits and who is silenced by service and leadership efforts; which community actions result in change rather than charity; and how to developmentally sequence reflective practice. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

Using a Metacognitive Approach with Case-Based Instruction to Enhance Teacher Reflection and Promote Effective Educational Practices for Diverse Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whittaker, Catharine; van Garderen, Delinda

2009-01-01

Many teacher educators have enthusiastically embraced case-based instruction in teacher education programs. However, the research base is equivocal on whether preservice and in-service teacher educators' case-based reflections on educational issues are comprehensive and critical. This study explores the use of a metacognitive strategy--the case…

One Health: From theory to practice

PubMed Central

Little, Adam

2012-01-01

One Health approaches to human and veterinary medicine are critical to professionals addressing global issues of food security and disease prevention. However, we have yet to develop a sufficient strategy to translate our theoretical understanding to practical application. This paper will explore the current shortcomings of One Health, within both the medical and veterinary communities, and highlight solutions to overcome these challenges. PMID:23024395

Challenges and Issues of Radiation Damage Tools for Space Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathi, Ram; Wilson, John

2006-04-01

NASA has a new vision for space exploration in the 21st Century encompassing a broad range of human and robotic missions including missions to Moon, Mars and beyond. Exposure from the hazards of severe space radiation in deep space long duration missions is `the show stopper.' Thus, protection from the hazards of severe space radiation is of paramount importance for the new vision. Accurate risk assessments critically depend on the accuracy of the input information about the interaction of ions with materials, electronics and tissues. A huge amount of essential experimental information for all the ions in space, across the periodic table, for a wide range of energies of several (up to a Trillion) orders of magnitude are needed for the radiation protection engineering for space missions that is simply not available (due to the high costs) and probably never will be. In addition, the accuracy of the input information and database is very critical and of paramount importance for space exposure assessments particularly in view the agency's vision for deep space exploration. The vital role and importance of nuclear physics, related challenges and issues, for space missions will be discussed, and a few examples will be presented for space missions.

Exploration of critical thinking in dental hygiene education.

PubMed

Beistle, Kimberly S; Palmer, Louann Bierlein

2014-12-01

This qualitative study explores the perceptions of dental hygiene faculty regarding issues surrounding critical thinking skills integration within their associate degree dental hygiene programs. Twenty faculty participated in the study, as drawn from 11 accredited associate degree dental hygiene programs in one Midwest state. Multiple sources of data were collected, including email questionnaires, individual follow-up phone interviews and artifacts. Interpretive analysis was conducted. Data analysis revealed that faculty generally understood critical thinking, but interpretations varied. Most do not use varied teaching strategies to promote critical thinking skills, and focus on one particular strategy--that of case studies. The participants identified the need for allied health-focused faculty development opportunities, and noted that calibration of instruction was needed. Despite challenges, faculty felt responsible for teaching critical thinking skills, and identified the need for time to build critical thinking skills into the curriculum. This study was conducted in response to the American Dental Education Association Commission on Change and Innovation's challenge for dental hygiene educators to comprehend their own knowledge on the concept of critical thinking related to research-based pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning. Findings revealed a strong desire among the dental hygiene faculty in this study to incorporate critical thinking into their work. They want to do what they believe is the right thing, but their actual knowledge of the definitional and application theories about critical thinking is still in the early stages of development. Regular and targeted faculty development opportunities are needed. Copyright © 2014 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Critical Science Education in a Suburban High School Chemistry Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashby, Patrick

To improve students' scientific literacy and their general perceptions of chemistry, I enacted critical chemistry education (CCE) in two "regular level" chemistry classes with a group of 25 students in a suburban, private high school as part of this study. CCE combined the efforts of critical science educators (Fusco & Calabrese Barton, 2001; Gilbert 2013) with the performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (NGSS Lead States, 2013a) to critically transform the traditional chemistry curriculum at this setting. Essentially, CCE engages students in the critical exploration of socially situated chemistry content knowledge and requires them to demonstrate this knowledge through the practices of science. The purpose of this study was to gauge these students development of chemistry content knowledge, chemistry interest, and critical scientific literacy (CSL) as they engaged in CCE. CSL was a construct developed for this study that necessarily combined the National Research Center's (2012) definition of scientific literacy with a critical component. As such, CSL entailed demonstrating content knowledge through the practices of science as well as the ability to critically analyze the intersections between science content and socially relevant issues. A mixed methods, critical ethnographic approach framed the collection of data from open-ended questionnaires, focus group interviews, Likert surveys, pre- and post unit tests, and student artifacts. These data revealed three main findings: (1) students began to develop CSL in specific, significant ways working through the activities of CCE, (2) student participants of CCE developed a comparable level of chemistry content understanding to students who participated in a traditional chemistry curriculum, and (3) CCE developed a group of students' perceptions of interest in chemistry. In addition to being able to teach students discipline specific content knowledge, the implications of this study are that CCE has the ability to affect students' critical science thinking in positive ways. However, to develop longer lasting, deeper critical insights that students use to participate in science-related issues outside of class, critical science education must be enacted longitudinally and across disciplines. Furthermore, it must be enacted in ways that either prompt or help students to transfer classroom learning outside of the classroom as they engage in critical issues in the classroom.

International Space Education Outreach: Taking Exploration to the Global Classroom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dreschel, T. W.; Lichtenberger, L. A.; Chetirkin, P. V.; Garner, L. C.; Barfus, J. R.; Nazarenko, V. I.

2005-01-01

With the development of the International Space Station and the need for international collaboration for returning to the moon and developing a mission to Mars, NASA has embarked on developing international educational programs related to space exploration. In addition, with the explosion of educational technology, linking students on a global basis is more easily accomplished. This technology is bringing national and international issues into the classroom, including global environmental issues, the global marketplace, and global collaboration in space. We present the successes and lessons learned concerning international educational and public outreach programs that we have been involved in for NASA as well as the importance of sustaining these international peer collaborative programs for the future generations. These programs will undoubtedly be critical in enhancing the classroom environment and will affect the achievements in and attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Controversies in the Hydrosphere: an iBook exploring current global water issues for middle school classrooms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dufoe, A.; Guertin, L. A.

2012-12-01

This project looks to help teachers utilize iPad technology in their classrooms as an instructional tool for Earth system science and connections to the Big Ideas in Earth Science. The project is part of Penn State University's National Science Foundation (NSF) Targeted Math Science Partnership grant, with one goal of the grant to help current middle school teachers across Pennsylvania engage students with significant and complex questions of Earth science. The free Apple software iBooks Author was used to create an electronic book for the iPad, focusing on a variety of controversial issues impacting the hydrosphere. The iBook includes image slideshows, embedded videos, interactive images and quizzes, and critical thinking questions along Bloom's Taxonomic Scale of Learning Objectives. Outlined in the introductory iBook chapters are the Big Ideas of Earth System Science and an overview of Earth's spheres. Since the book targets the hydrosphere, each subsequent chapter focuses on specific water issues, including glacial melts, aquifer depletion, coastal oil pollution, marine debris, and fresh-water chemical contamination. Each chapter is presented in a case study format that highlights the history of the issue, the development and current status of the issue, and some solutions that have been generated. The next section includes critical thinking questions in an open-ended discussion format that focus on the Big Ideas, proposing solutions for rectifying the situation, and/or assignments specifically targeting an idea presented in the case study chapter. Short, comprehensive multiple-choice quizzes are also in each chapter. Throughout the iBook, students are free to watch videos, explore the content and form their own opinions. As a result, this iBook fulfills the grant objective by engaging teachers and students with an innovative technological presentation that incorporates Earth system science with current case studies regarding global water issues.

Preschool ADHD: exploring uncertainties in diagnostic validity and utility, and treatment efficacy and safety.

PubMed

Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J S; Daley, David; Thompson, Margaret; Swanson, Jim

2003-07-01

The current scientific and clinical status of preschool attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its management is reviewed. Recent clinical and neuropsychological research supporting the utility of the construct will be presented along with a critical analysis of diagnostic issues. The published literature on treatment efficacy (both pharmacological and nonpharmacological) will be reviewed with a special focus on the issue of the safety and side effects of psycho-stimulants. The need for early identification and preventative intervention is indicated but caution should be employed in the use of psychostimulants with this age group.

Practical Issues of Conducting a Q Methodology Study: Lessons Learned From a Cross-cultural Study.

PubMed

Stone, Teresa Elizabeth; Maguire, Jane; Kang, Sook Jung; Cha, Chiyoung

This article advances nursing research by presenting the methodological challenges experienced in conducting a multination Q-methodology study. This article critically analyzes the relevance of the methodology for cross-cultural and nursing research and the challenges that led to specific responses by the investigators. The use of focus groups with key stakeholders supplemented the Q-analysis results. The authors discuss practical issues and shared innovative approaches and provide best-practice suggestions on the use of this flexible methodology. Q methodology has the versatility to explore complexities of contemporary nursing practice and cross-cultural health research.

Reply to article "Receiving a forensic medical exam without participating in the criminal justice process: what will it mean?".

PubMed

Lonsway, Kimberly A; Archambault, Joanne

2011-06-01

The Implications of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) pertaining to medical forensic exams are thoroughly explored in this analysis. The authors were motivated to write this article as a follow-up to a paper by Price (2010) previously published in the Journal of Forensic Nursing. Given the critical importance of this topic to forensic nursing, further examination of this issue is warranted, as a means of clarifying key issues, as well as addressing implications for the criminal justice and community response systems alike. © 2011 International Association of Forensic Nurses.

Power and empowerment in nursing: a fourth theoretical approach.

PubMed

Bradbury-Jones, Caroline; Sambrook, Sally; Irvine, Fiona

2008-04-01

This paper is a discussion of the use of poststructuralism as a means of exploring power and empowerment in nursing. Power and empowerment are well-researched areas of nursing practice, but the issue of how to empower nurses and patients continues to cause debate. Power and empowerment are complex issues and other researchers have provided some clarity by proposing three theoretical approaches: critical social theory, organizational theory and social psychological theory. We support their work and propose an additional poststructural approach as a means of analyzing power and empowerment in nursing. The concept of power in nursing may be critiqued by drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and paying particular attention to two areas: disciplinary power and knowledge/power relationships. Foucault's contention was that behaviour is standardized through disciplinary power and that power and knowledge are intertwined. Nurses who seek an understanding of empowerment must first grasp such workings as hierarchical observation, normalizing judgement, the examination, and power/knowledge relationships, and that cognizance of such issues can promote nursing practice that is empowering. They need to adopt a more critical stance to understanding power and empowerment in nursing, and one way of fostering such criticism is to view nursing practice through a poststructural lens. A poststructural approach merits a place alongside other approaches to understanding power and empowerment in nursing.

The impact of social contexts in testing for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: the roles of physicians and others.

PubMed

Klitzman, Robert

2009-04-01

To elucidate psychosocial and ethical issues faced by adults at risk for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) that have received little attention. Eleven individuals with AATD were interviewed in detail for 2 hours each. Several specific aspects of AATD created critical, socially dynamic issues that shaped the patients' responses. The disease being relatively newly discovered, physicians do not know much about it and thus often do not consider or recommend testing for it. Hence, patients who may benefit from diagnosis and treatment are not always diagnosed. General practitioners, when they do diagnose patients, often refer them to specialists and thus remain inexperienced in treating the disorder. As a result, many individuals, too, remain unaware of this disease in their families and thus do not consider mentioning its possibility to doctors or family members. Thus, intrafamilial disclosures by patients become critical. Patients may be shocked and upset at diagnosis, as they might possibly already have transmitted the mutation to offspring, which further impedes disclosure to family members. These issues highlight how patients' interactions with doctors and others concerning genetics are critical, and need to be further explored and addressed. Several aspects of physician education and practice (e.g., regarding disclosures to at-risk family members) need to be improved.

A reflective lens: applying critical systems thinking and visual methods to ecohealth research.

PubMed

Cleland, Deborah; Wyborn, Carina

2010-12-01

Critical systems methodology has been advocated as an effective and ethical way to engage with the uncertainty and conflicting values common to ecohealth problems. We use two contrasting case studies, coral reef management in the Philippines and national park management in Australia, to illustrate the value of critical systems approaches in exploring how people respond to environmental threats to their physical and spiritual well-being. In both cases, we used visual methods--participatory modeling and rich picturing, respectively. The critical systems methodology, with its emphasis on reflection, guided an appraisal of the research process. A discussion of these two case studies suggests that visual methods can be usefully applied within a critical systems framework to offer new insights into ecohealth issues across a diverse range of socio-political contexts. With this article, we hope to open up a conversation with other practitioners to expand the use of visual methods in integrated research.

Critical thinking: a two-phase framework.

PubMed

Edwards, Sharon L

2007-09-01

This article provides a comprehensive review of how a two-phase framework can promote and engage nurses in the concepts of critical thinking. Nurse education is required to integrate critical thinking in their teaching strategies, as it is widely recognised as an important part of student nurses becoming analytical qualified practitioners. The two-phase framework can be incorporated in the classroom using enquiry-based scenarios or used to investigate situations that arise from practice, for reflection, analysis, theorising or to explore issues. This paper proposes a two-phase framework for incorporation in the classroom and practice to promote critical thinking. Phase 1 attempts to make it easier for nurses to organise and expound often complex and abstract ideas that arise when using critical thinking, identify more than one solution to the problem by using a variety of cues to facilitate action. Phase 2 encourages nurses to be accountable and responsible, to justify a decision, be creative and innovative in implementing change.

Cultivating engineering ethics and critical thinking: a systematic and cross-cultural education approach using problem-based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Pei-Fen; Wang, Dau-Chung

2011-08-01

In May 2008, the worst earthquake in more than three decades struck southwest China, killing more than 80,000 people. The complexity of this earthquake makes it an ideal case study to clarify the intertwined issues of ethics in engineering and to help cultivate critical thinking skills. This paper first explores the need to encourage engineering ethics within a cross-cultural context. Next, it presents a systematic model for designing an engineering ethics curriculum based on moral development theory and ethic dilemma analysis. Quantitative and qualitative data from students' oral and written work were collected and analysed to determine directions for improvement. The paper also presents results of an assessment of this interdisciplinary engineering ethics course. This investigation of a disaster is limited strictly to engineering ethics education; it is not intended to assign blame, but rather to spark debate about ethical issues.

Methodological Issues in the Collection, Analysis, and Reporting of Granular Data in Asian American Populations: Historical Challenges and Potential Solutions

PubMed Central

Islam, Nadia Shilpi; Khan, Suhaila; Kwon, Simona; Jang, Deeana; Ro, Marguerite; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau

2011-01-01

There are close to 15 million Asian Americans living in the United States, and they represent the fastest growing populations in the country. By the year 2050, there will be an estimated 33.4 million Asian Americans living in the country. However, their health needs remain poorly understood and there is a critical lack of data disaggregated by Asian American ethnic subgroups, primary language, and geography. This paper examines methodological issues, challenges, and potential solutions to addressing the collection, analysis, and reporting of disaggregated (or, granular) data on Asian Americans. The article explores emerging efforts to increase granular data through the use of innovative study design and analysis techniques. Concerted efforts to implement these techniques will be critical to the future development of sound research, health programs, and policy efforts targeting this and other minority populations. PMID:21099084

High School Students' Exposure to Diversity in an Urban Teaching Academy and Their Conceptions of Its Place in Future Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fletcher, Edward C., Jr.

2014-01-01

This study explored the meaning high school Urban Teaching Academy participants ascribed to the critical term of "diversity" and how that translated into shaping their philosophies on how to address the issue in their future classrooms. Findings indicated that perceptions of diversity and its place in the curriculum were most likely…

A Comparative Study on Need-Based Aid Policy in Higher Education between U.S. State of Indiana and the Nation of Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Ching-Hui; Hossler, Don

2014-01-01

The question of how the government can best support access to postsecondary education has become a critical issue for education policymakers around the globe, as the practice of cost sharing for funding postsecondary education has been more widely adopted. In this context, this study explores the approaches to implementing current need-based…

Advanced Placement Environmental Science and the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science (CCERS) Project in the New York City High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Birney, Lauren; McNamara, Denise

2018-01-01

This paper explores the issue of social justice through the lens of equitable access to Advanced Placement courses in the City of New York High Schools, with focus on Advanced Placement Environmental Science. A critical component of the Advanced Placement Environmental Science course is the incorporation of environmental fieldwork. The National…

Critical Issues in Social Studies Research for the 21st Century. Research in Social Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanley, William B., Ed.

Social studies is a field struggling to reconcile multiple and, at times, conflicting rationales. The beginning of a century is an appropriate time to reflect on the condition of social studies and to question where the world has been and where it is going. The essays in this collection explore possible answers to these questions as they apply to…

"Moving the Needle": Exploring Key Levers to Boost College Readiness among Black and Latino Males in New York City. Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Villavicencio, Adriana; Bhattacharya, Dyuti; Guidry, Brandon

2013-01-01

College readiness is becoming an increasingly important standard by which to measure school success and student achievement. While high school graduation and dropout prevention remain critical issues for educators, there is a substantial gap in outcomes between students who only earn a high school diploma and those who go on to obtain a college…

What does it means to be a critical scholar? A metalogue between science education doctoral students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cian, Heidi; Dsouza, Nikeetha; Lyons, Renee; Alston, Daniel

2017-06-01

This manuscript is written in response to Lydia Burke and Jesse Bazzul's article Locating a space of criticality as new scholars in science education. As doctoral students finding our place in the culture of science education, we respond by discussing our journeys towards the development of a scholarly identity, with particular focus on whether or how we see ourselves as critical scholars. Since each of us authoring this paper has a different perspective, a metalogue format is utilized to ensure all of our voices and journeys are represented. We use the Burke and Bazzul article as a platform for conversations about challenges faced for emerging scholars in the field of science education and explore how we see our role in responding to these challenges. Specifically, we discuss the barriers to publication, dissemination of research to practitioners, and how to approach these problems from a grounding in critical theory. As a result of our conversations, we conclude that there is a need to reshape the field of science education to invite more unorthodox research perspectives, methodologies, and publication formats. To do so, the issues we explore require a continued conversation between emerging scholars, practicing researchers, and practicing educators.

Feminist-informed participatory action research: a methodology of choice for examining critical nursing issues.

PubMed

Corbett, Andrea M; Francis, Karen; Chapman, Ysanne

2007-04-01

Identifying a methodology to guide a study that aims to enhance service delivery can be challenging. Participatory action research offers a solution to this challenge as it both informs and is informed by critical social theory. In addition, using a feminist lens helps acquiesce this approach as a suitable methodology for changing practice. This methodology embraces empowerment self-determination and the facilitation of agreed change as central tenets that guide the research process. Encouraged by the work of Foucault, Friere, Habermas, and Maguire, this paper explicates the philosophical assumptions underpinning critical social theory and outlines how feminist influences are complimentary in exploring the processes and applications of nursing research that seeks to embrace change.

Using online pedagogy to explore student experiences of Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE) issues in a secondary science classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ayyavoo, Gabriel Roman

With the proliferation of 21st century educational technologies, science teaching and learning with digitally acclimatized learners in secondary science education can be realized through an online Science-Technology-Society-Environment (STSE)-based issues approach. STSE-based programs can be interpreted as the exploration of socially-embedded initiatives in science (e.g., use of genetically modified foods) to promote the development of critical cognitive processes and to empower learners with responsible decision-making skills. This dissertation presents a case study examining the online environment of a grade 11 physics class in an all-girls' school, and the outcomes from those online discursive opportunities with STSE materials. The limited in-class discussion opportunities are often perceived as low-quality discussions in traditional classrooms because they originate from an inadequate introduction and facilitation of socially relevant issues in science programs. Hence, this research suggests that the science curriculum should be inclusive of STSE-based issue discussions. This study also examines the nature of students' online discourse and, their perceived benefits and challenges of learning about STSE-based issues through an online environment. Analysis of interviews, offline classroom events and online threaded discussion transcripts draws from the theoretical foundations of critical reflective thinking delineated in the Practical Inquiry (P.I.) Model. The PI model of Cognitive Presence is situated within the Community of Inquiry framework, encompassing two other core elements, Teacher Presence and Social Presence. In studying Cognitive Presence, the online STSE-based discourses were examined according to the four phases of the P.I. Model. The online discussions were measured at macro-levels to reveal patterns in student STSE-based discussions and content analysis of threaded discussions. These analyses indicated that 87% of the students participated in higher quality STSE-based discussions via an online forum as compared to in-class. The micro-level analysis revealed students to attain higher cognitive interactions with STSE issues. Sixteen percent of the students' threaded postings were identified in the Resolution Phase 4 when the teacher intervened with a focused teaching strategy. This research provides a significant theoretical and pedagogical contribution to blended approach to STSE-based secondary science education. It presents a framework for teachers to facilitate students' online discussions and to support learners in exploring STSE-based topics.

Long-term care for people with developmental disabilities: a critical analysis.

PubMed

Palley, H A; Van Hollen, V

2000-08-01

This article explores how the trends toward long-term community care affecting people with developmental disabilities developed. Appropriateness of care and quality of life issues are discussed. The article also reviews the development of long-term care for frail and disabled elderly people and explores the arguments for a continuum of care that have developed in this area. The authors conclude that future policies with respect to meeting long-term care needs for people with developmental disabilities must be addressed flexibly on an individual basis, related to individual needs, and must provide a continuum of care services.

Nutrition Issues for Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Scott; Zwart, Sara R.

2006-01-01

Optimal nutrition will be critical for crew members who embark on space exploration missions. Nutritional assessment provides an opportunity to ensure that crew members begin their missions in optimal nutritional status, to document changes in status during a mission, and to assess changes after landing to facilitate return of the crew to their normal status as soon as possible after landing. Nutritional assessment provides the basis for intervention, if it is necessary, to maintain optimal status throughout the mission. We report here our nutritional assessment of the US astronauts who participated in the first twelve International Space Station missions.

From Research to Flight: Surviving the TRL Valley of Death for Robotic and Human Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Les

2009-01-01

Fundamental research is critical to taking the next giant leap in the scientific exploration of space. NASA should be pushing the envelope and asking "what if?" .. Technology push enables new capabilities. When NASA began, everything was enabling. .. Technology pull is often required to meet current mission requirements. Technology management requires more than issuing NRAs and overseeing contracts. Continuous assessment, peer review, and system systems studies are vital to credible TRL advancement. A strategy for taking technology R&D to new heights will lead to discoveries at far-reaching destinations..

From Research to Flight: Surviving the TRL Valley of Death for Robotic and Human Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Les

2009-01-01

There must be a plan or opportunities for flight validation: a) To reduce the bottleneck of new technologies at the TRL Valley of Death; b) To allow frequent infusion of new technologies into flight missions. Risk must be tolerated for new technology flight experiments. Risk must also be accepted on early-adopting missions to enable new capabilities. Fundamental research is critical to taking the next giant leap in the scientific exploration of space. Technology push is often required to meet current mission requirements. Technology management requires more than issuing NRAs and overseeing contracts.

An interagency space nuclear propulsion safety policy for SEI - Issues and discussion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, A. C.; Sawyer, J. C., Jr.

1991-01-01

An interagency Nuclear Safety Policy Working Group (NSPWG) was chartered to recommend nuclear safety policy, requirements, and guidelines for the Space Exploration Initiative nuclear propulsion program to facilitate the implementation of mission planning and conceptual design studies. The NSPWG developed a top level policy to provide the guiding principles for the development and implementation of the nuclear propulsion safety program and the development of Safety Functional Requirements. In addition, the NSPWG reviewed safety issues for nuclear propulsion and recommended top level safety requirements and guidelines to address these issues. Safety topics include reactor start-up, inadvertent criticality, radiological release and exposure, disposal, entry, safeguards, risk/reliability, operational safety, ground testing, and other considerations. In this paper the emphasis is placed on the safety policy and the issues and considerations that are addressed by the NSPWG recommendations.

Making transboundary risks governable: reducing complexity, constructing spatial identity, and ascribing capabilities.

PubMed

Lidskog, Rolf; Uggla, Ylva; Soneryd, Linda

2011-03-01

Environmental problems that cross national borders are attracting increasing public and political attention; regulating them involves coordinating the goals and activities of various governments, which often presupposes simplifying and standardizing complex knowledge, and finding ways to manage uncertainty. This article explores how transboundary environmental problems are dealt with to render complex issues governable. By discussing oil pollution in the Baltic Sea and the gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, we elucidate how boundaries are negotiated to make issues governable. Three processes are found to be particularly relevant to how involved actors render complex issues governable: complexity reduction, construction of a spatial identity for an issue, and ascription of capabilities to new or old actor constellations. We conclude that such regulation is always provisional, implying that existing regulation is always open for negotiation and criticism.

Nutritional Concerns of Spaceflight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Scott M.; Rice, Barbara L.

2002-01-01

Nutrition has played a critical role throughout the history of exploration, and space exploration is no exception. While a one- to two-week flight aboard the Space Shuttle might be analogous to a camping trip, adequate nutrition is absolutely critical while spending several months on the International Space Station (Figure 1) or several years on a mission to another planet. To ensure adequate nutrition, space nutrition specialists must know how much of the individual nutrients astronauts need, and these nutrients must be available in the spaceflight food system. To complicate matters, these spaceflight nutritional requirements are influenced by many of the physiological changes that occur during spaceflight. In this chapter, we describe some of these changes, their impact on crew health, and ways NASA is investigating how to minimize these changes. We also review the space food systems, issues involved in setting up a cafeteria in a weightless environment, and information about dietary intake of nutrients during space missions

Nuclear safety policy working group recommendations on nuclear propulsion safety for the space exploration initiative

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Albert C.; Lee, James H.; Mcculloch, William H.; Sawyer, J. Charles, Jr.; Bari, Robert A.; Cullingford, Hatice S.; Hardy, Alva C.; Niederauer, George F.; Remp, Kerry; Rice, John W.

1993-01-01

An interagency Nuclear Safety Working Group (NSPWG) was chartered to recommend nuclear safety policy, requirements, and guidelines for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) nuclear propulsion program. These recommendations, which are contained in this report, should facilitate the implementation of mission planning and conceptual design studies. The NSPWG has recommended a top-level policy to provide the guiding principles for the development and implementation of the SEI nuclear propulsion safety program. In addition, the NSPWG has reviewed safety issues for nuclear propulsion and recommended top-level safety requirements and guidelines to address these issues. These recommendations should be useful for the development of the program's top-level requirements for safety functions (referred to as Safety Functional Requirements). The safety requirements and guidelines address the following topics: reactor start-up, inadvertent criticality, radiological release and exposure, disposal, entry, safeguards, risk/reliability, operational safety, ground testing, and other considerations.

Troubled Waters: where Multiple Streams of Inequality Converge in the Math and Science Experiences of Nonprivileged Girls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parrott, Laurel; Spatig, Linda; Kusimo, Patricia S.; Carter, Carolyn C.; Keyes, Marian

Water is often hardest to navigate at the confluence of individual streams. As they experience math and science, nonprivileged girls maneuver through roiling waters where the streams of gender, ethnicity, poverty, place, and teaching practices converge. Just as waters of separate streams blend, these issues - too often considered separate factors - become blended and difficult to isolate, and the resulting turbulence produces a bumpy ride. We draw on 3 years of qualitative data collected as part of an intervention program to explore the math and science experiences and perceptions of a group of ethnically diverse, low socioeconomic status rural and urban adolescent Appalachian girls. After describing program and community contexts, we explore "opportunity to leant" issues - specifically, expectations, access to content, and support networks - and examine their schooling experiences against visions of science and math reform and pressures for accountability. Data are discussed within a framework of critical educational theory.

Teachers' understandings and enactments of social and environmental justice issues in the classroom: What's "critical" in the manufacturing of road-smart squirrels?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sammel, Alison J.

How do five new teachers understand and enact counter-hegemonic pedagogies in their own classes? This study developed from this question. The question arose as I taught critical environmental education, a counter-hegemonic pedagogy, to preservice science teachers. I encouraged the exploration of social and environmental injustices and how they function to reproduce dominant economic agendas. To understand how five teachers, in the second year of their practice and my former students, made sense of the critical environmental education I taught them, I used Gadamer's hermeneutic phenomenology as my research frame. Gadamer argues that meaning develops through dialogue, so data collection occurred mainly through lively research conversations over leisurely dinners. As practicing teachers, the six of us jointly explored taken-for-granted meanings and actions in our everyday pedagogical experiences. In these conversations we made meaning (the hermeneutic aspect) of the lived experiences (phenomenological aspect) of incorporating critical environmental education into our practices. This led me to a deeper understanding and increased awareness of how science education reform agendas have influenced and shaped our individual science pedagogies. The analytic lens of critical education showed that these teachers were strongly influenced by the dominant science reform agenda. Regardless of the science curriculum, or the strong social and environmental beliefs some of these teachers held, they did not perceive the teaching of the social and environmental justice issues to be 'critical' or 'their job.' They demonstrated a belief that it was 'critical' to teach well-defined, "hard science" facts. Student success, hence teacher success, involved playing the academic game well and gaining long-term financial security. Re/viewing the data stories through the additional analytic lens of feminist poststructuralism, I saw how dominant discourse constructs the identity of teachers, their desires, and enforces self-discipline. Dominant educational discourse constricted and regulated their understandings of what it means to be a 'good' teacher. They were not able to see that being a 'good' teacher could include enacting counter-hegemonic pedagogies.

Smart Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel - Integrated Structural Health Monitoring System to Meet Space Exploration and International Space Station Mission Assurance Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saulsberry, Regor; Nichols, Charles; Waller, Jess

2012-01-01

Currently there are no integrated NDE methods for baselining and monitoring defect levels in fleet for Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessels (COPVs) or related fracture critical composites, or for performing life-cycle maintenance inspections either in a traditional remove-and-inspect mode or in a more modern in situ inspection structural health monitoring (SHM) mode. Implicit in SHM and autonomous inspection is the existence of quantitative accept-reject criteria. To be effective, these criteria must correlate with levels of damage known to cause composite failure. Furthermore, implicit in SHM is the existence of effective remote sensing hardware and automated techniques and algorithms for interpretation of SHM data. SHM of facture critical composite structures, especially high pressure COPVs, is critical to the success of nearly every future NASA space exploration program as well as life extension of the International Space Station. It has been clearly stated that future NASA missions may not be successful without SHM [1]. Otherwise, crews will be busy addressing subsystem health issues and not focusing on the real NASA mission

"Why We Don't Go to School on Fridays": On Youth Participation through Photo Voice in Rural KwaZulu-Natal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Claudia; Stuart, Jean; Moletsane, Relebohile; Nkwanyana, Callistus Bheka

2006-01-01

In this article, we draw on the example of the Friday Absenteeism Project, a photo voice project with sixth grade learners in a rural KwaZulu-Natal school, to interrogate the nature of participatory process and cultural production. In so doing, we explore a number of critical issues related to youth participation, including ethics, citizenship and…

Political mobilization, venue change, and the coal bed methane conflict in Montana and Wyoming

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

Duffy, R.J.

2005-03-31

The emerging conflict over coal bed methane (CBM) exploration and development in the mountain west offers a classic example of what Baumgartner and Jones call a 'wave of criticism.' The cozy subgovernments that have dominated energy exploration and development in the mountain states are now under attack and are struggling to maintain their autonomy. Energy exploration, which was once perceived to have only positive consequences, is now the focus of an intense debate that has managed to unite previously warring factions. This article utilizes a comparative assessment of CBM politics in Montana and Wyoming to explain the connection between changingmore » popular and elite perceptions of the issue, institutional change, and policy change.« less

Medical Education to Enhance Critical Consciousness: Facilitators' Experiences.

PubMed

Zaidi, Zareen; Vyas, Rashmi; Verstegen, Danielle; Morahan, Page; Dornan, Tim

2017-11-01

To analyze educators' experiences of facilitating cultural discussions in two global health professions education programs and what these experiences had taught them about critical consciousness. A multicultural research team conducted in-depth interviews with 16 faculty who had extensive experience facilitating cultural discussions. They analyzed transcripts of the interviews thematically, drawing sensitizing insights from Gramsci's theory of cultural hegemony. Collaboration and conversation helped the team self-consciously examine their positions toward the data set and be critically reflexive. Participant faculty used their prior experience facilitating cultural discussions to create a "safe space" in which learners could develop critical consciousness. During multicultural interactions they recognized and explicitly addressed issues related to power differentials, racism, implicit bias, and gender bias. They noted the need to be "facile in attending to pain" as learners brought up traumatic experiences and other sensitive issues including racism and the impact of power dynamics. They built relationships with learners by juxtaposing and exploring the sometimes-conflicting norms of different cultures. Participants were reflective about their own understanding and tendency to be biased. They aimed to break free of such biases while role modeling how to have the courage to speak up. Experience had given facilitators in multicultural programs an understanding of their responsibility to promote critical consciousness and social justice. How faculty without prior experience or expertise could develop those values and skills is a topic for future research.

On learning from mistakes.

PubMed

Fletcher, J C

1995-01-01

This article is a response to criticism of a previous paper by the same author. In the previous paper, an ethical justification was given for assuring the death of anomalous fetuses scheduled for second trimester abortion by the intracardiac administration of potassium chloride (KCl). The ethical justification responded to three anticipated criticisms of use of the technique: all abortions are unjust, newborns and second-trimester fetuses with similar anomalies should be managed similarly, and the mother is entitled to termination of pregnancy but not to fetal death. The critic agreed with the ethical conclusion that the use of the procedure is justifiable but took issue with the arguments presented in response to the anticipated criticisms. The author of the present article accepts the criticisms with only slight reservations but takes issue with additional subjects presented in the critique. The author of the critique maintained that a woman's autonomy includes assurance of stillbirth by KCl injection even in healthy, viable, but unwanted fetuses. Her justification for holding this position is that children should be born only if they are wanted by someone "ready, willing, and able to assume responsibility for that child's flourishing." This position is easily expanded to state that our society is so evil that, until we reform, it is better to consider killing newborns than to bring them into this hostile environment. This argument, in fact, represents a surrender to moral and social failure as a justification for euthanasia and has eugenic overtones. Other avenues must be explored to effect the necessary social changes to address the issue of unwanted children, just as other, more preferable, means should be sought to avoid the problem of assuring stillborns in late abortions.

Model-Based Battery Management Systems: From Theory to Practice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pathak, Manan

Lithium-ion batteries are now extensively being used as the primary storage source. Capacity and power fade, and slow recharging times are key issues that restrict its use in many applications. Battery management systems are critical to address these issues, along with ensuring its safety. This dissertation focuses on exploring various control strategies using detailed physics-based electrochemical models developed previously for lithium-ion batteries, which could be used in advanced battery management systems. Optimal charging profiles for minimizing capacity fade based on SEI-layer formation are derived and the benefits of using such control strategies are shown by experimentally testing them on a 16 Ah NMC-based pouch cell. This dissertation also explores different time-discretization strategies for non-linear models, which gives an improved order of convergence for optimal control problems. Lastly, this dissertation also explores a physics-based model for predicting the linear impedance of a battery, and develops a freeware that is extremely robust and computationally fast. Such a code could be used for estimating transport, kinetic and material properties of the battery based on the linear impedance spectra.

Working Group Reports and Presentations: Mars Science and Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaty, David

2006-01-01

In Mars, the spirit of exploring an exciting and rewarding new frontier is alive. Mars not only offers a unique destination for exploration, but it is also a critical destination for the advancement of human society and preservation of humanity. The exploration of Mars will provide significant social and technological benefits to enhance life on Earth as well. International cooperation will not only be essential to the success of a human presence on Mars, but development of such interactions will jumpstart collaboration on global issues. The eventual commercialization of space holds tremendous opportunities for economic growth. Finally, there is an undeniable basic human need to explore and define our place in the universe. The overarching theme that ties together all of these reasons for exploration is to inspire and unite the global community to pursue a common cause that is much larger than disagreements over ethnic differences or national borders. Continuous inspiration of the public, the scientific community, and the community of Earth are required in order to explore Mars.

Discontinuing treatment in children with chronic, critical illnesses.

PubMed

Mahon, M M; Deatrick, J A; McKnight, H J; Mohr, W K

2000-03-01

Decisions about optimal treatment for critically ill children are qualitatively different from those related to adults. Technological advances over the past several decades have resulted in myriad treatment options that leave many children chronically, critically ill. These children are often technology dependent. With new technologies and new patient populations comes the responsibility to understand how, when, and why these technologies are applied and when technology should not be used or should be withdrawn. Much has been written about ethical decision making in the care of chronically, critically ill adults and newborns. In this article, relevant factors about the care of children older than neonates are described: standards, decision makers, age of the child, and pain management. A case study is used as a mechanism to explore these issues. Dimensions of futility, discontinuing aggressive treatment, and a consideration of benefits and burdens are integrated throughout the discussion to inform nurse practitioner practice.

Medicalization of global health 1: has the global health agenda become too medicalized?

PubMed Central

Clark, Jocalyn

2014-01-01

Medicalization analyses have roots in sociology and have critical usefulness for understanding contemporary health issues including the ‘post-2015 global health agenda’. Medicalization is more complex than just ‘disease mongering’ – it is a process and not only an outcome; has both positive and negative elements; can be partial rather than complete; and is often sought or challenged by patients or others in the health field. It is understood to be expanding rather than contracting, plays out at the level of interaction or of definitions and agenda-setting, and is said to be largely harmful and costly to individuals and societies. Medicalization of global health issues would overemphasise the role of health care to health; define and frame issues in relation to disease, treatment strategies, and individual behaviour; promote the role of medical professionals and models of care; find support in industry or other advocates of technologies and pharmaceuticals; and discount social contexts, causes, and solutions. In subsequent articles, three case studies are explored, which critically examine predominant issues on the global health agenda: global mental health, non-communicable disease, and universal health coverage. A medicalization lens helps uncover areas where the global health agenda and its framing of problems are shifted toward medical and technical solutions, neglecting necessary social, community, or political action. PMID:24848659

Medicalization of global health 1: has the global health agenda become too medicalized?

PubMed

Clark, Jocalyn

2014-01-01

Medicalization analyses have roots in sociology and have critical usefulness for understanding contemporary health issues including the 'post-2015 global health agenda'. Medicalization is more complex than just 'disease mongering'--it is a process and not only an outcome; has both positive and negative elements; can be partial rather than complete; and is often sought or challenged by patients or others in the health field. It is understood to be expanding rather than contracting, plays out at the level of interaction or of definitions and agenda-setting, and is said to be largely harmful and costly to individuals and societies. Medicalization of global health issues would overemphasise the role of health care to health; define and frame issues in relation to disease, treatment strategies, and individual behaviour; promote the role of medical professionals and models of care; find support in industry or other advocates of technologies and pharmaceuticals; and discount social contexts, causes, and solutions. In subsequent articles, three case studies are explored, which critically examine predominant issues on the global health agenda: global mental health, non-communicable disease, and universal health coverage. A medicalization lens helps uncover areas where the global health agenda and its framing of problems are shifted toward medical and technical solutions, neglecting necessary social, community, or political action.

Cultural hegemony? Educators' perspectives on facilitating cross-cultural dialogue.

PubMed

Zaidi, Zareen; Verstegen, Daniëlle; Vyas, Rashmi; Hamed, Omayma; Dornan, Tim; Morahan, Page

2016-01-01

We live in an age when education is being internationalized. This can confront students with 'cultural hegemony' that can result from the unequal distribution of power and privilege in global society. The name that is given to awareness of social inequality is 'critical consciousness'. Cross-cultural dialogue provides an opportunity for learners to develop critical consciousness to counter cultural hegemony. The purpose of this research was to understand how learners engage with cross-cultural dialogue, so we can help them do so more effectively in the future. The setting for this research was an online discussion in an international health professions educator fellowship program. We introduced scenarios with cultural references to study the reaction of participants to cultural conversation cues. We used an inductive thematic analysis to explore power and hegemony issues. Participants reflected that personally they were more likely to take part in cross-cultural discussions if they recognized the context discussed or had prior exposure to educational settings with cultural diversity. They identified barriers as lack of skills in facilitating cross-cultural discussions and fear of offending others. They suggested deliberately introducing cultural issues throughout the curriculum. Our results indicate that developing critical consciousness and cross-cultural competency will require instructional design to identify longitudinal opportunities to bring up cross-cultural issues, and training facilitators to foster cross-cultural discussions by asking clarifying questions and navigating crucial/sensitive conversations.

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

Ethan W. Brown

2001-09-01

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials. Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities. Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex. Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure plan and contractor integration analysis. Interstate waste and materials shipments. Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the period from April 1, 2001 through June 30, 2001, under the NGA grant.« less

The Impact of Social Contexts in Testing for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency: The Roles of Physicians and Others

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Aims: To elucidate psychosocial and ethical issues faced by adults at risk for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) that have received little attention. Methods: Eleven individuals with AATD were interviewed in detail for 2 hours each. Results: Several specific aspects of AATD created critical, socially dynamic issues that shaped the patients' responses. The disease being relatively newly discovered, physicians do not know much about it and thus often do not consider or recommend testing for it. Hence, patients who may benefit from diagnosis and treatment are not always diagnosed. General practitioners, when they do diagnose patients, often refer them to specialists and thus remain inexperienced in treating the disorder. As a result, many individuals, too, remain unaware of this disease in their families and thus do not consider mentioning its possibility to doctors or family members. Thus, intrafamilial disclosures by patients become critical. Patients may be shocked and upset at diagnosis, as they might possibly already have transmitted the mutation to offspring, which further impedes disclosure to family members. Conclusions: These issues highlight how patients' interactions with doctors and others concerning genetics are critical, and need to be further explored and addressed. Several aspects of physician education and practice (e.g., regarding disclosures to at-risk family members) need to be improved. PMID:19371228

Web-Based Self-Service Systems for Managed IT Support: Service Provider Perspectives of Stakeholder-Based Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cooper, Vanessa A.; Lichtenstein, Sharman; Smith, Ross

This chapter explores the provision of after-sales information technology (IT) support services using Web-based self-service systems (WSSs) in a business-to-business (B2B) context. A recent study conducted at six large multi-national IT support organisations revealed a number of critical success factors (CSFs) and stakeholder-based issues. To better identify and understand these important enablers and barriers, we explain how WSSs should be considered within a complex network of service providers, business partners and customer firms. The CSFs and stakeholder-based issues are discussed. The chapter highlights that for more successful service provision using WSSs, IT service providers should collaborate more effectively with enterprise customers and business partners and should better integrate their WSSs.

Ethical issues in the reuse of qualitative data: perspectives from literature, practice, and participants.

PubMed

Yardley, Sarah J; Watts, Kate M; Pearson, Jennifer; Richardson, Jane C

2014-01-01

In this article, we explore ethical issues in qualitative secondary analysis through a comparison of the literature with practitioner and participant perspectives. To achieve this, we integrated critical narrative review findings with data from two discussion groups: qualitative researchers and research users/consumers. In the literature, we found that theoretical debate ran parallel to practical action rather than being integrated with it. We identified an important and novel theme of relationships that was emerging from the perspectives of researchers and users. Relationships were significant with respect to trust, sharing data, transparency and clarity, anonymity, permissions, and responsibility. We provide an example of practice development that we hope will prompt researchers to re-examine the issues in their own setting. Informing the research community of research practitioner and user perspectives on ethical issues in the reuse of qualitative data is the first step toward developing mechanisms to better integrate theoretical and empirical work.

Teaching the psychology of women: an interdisciplinary approach.

PubMed

Anderson, Anita L

2007-01-01

This paper explores the development of a college freshman level course entitled, "Psychology of Women" at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Interdisciplinary focus groups were held that included female professors from various disciplines, i.e., business, education, English literature, biology, nursing, and religious studies. The critical question posed to the group was: In this era of globalization and diversity, what issues and topics should be covered in a class that explores the psychology of women across the lifespan? The importance of studying womanhood within the context of nationality, religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and physical ability was highlighted.

Critical ethnography: An under-used research methodology in neuroscience nursing.

PubMed

Ross, Cheryl; Rogers, Cath; Duff, Diane

2016-01-01

Critical ethnography is a qualitative research method that endeavours to explore and understand dominant discourses that are seen as being the 'right' way to think, see, talk about or enact a particular 'action' or situation in society and recommend ways to re-dress social power inequities. In health care, vulnerable populations, including many individuals who have experienced neurological illnesses or injuries that leave them susceptible to the influence of others, would be suitable groups for study using critical ethnography methodology. Critical ethnography has also been used to study workplace culture. While ethnography has been effectively used to underpin other phenomena of interest to neuroscience nurses, only one example of the use of critical ethnography exists in the published literature related to neuroscience nursing. In our "Research Corner" in this issue of the Canadian Journal of Neuroscience Nursing (CJNN) our guest editors, Dr. Cheryl Ross and Dr. Cath Rogers will briefly highlight the origins of qualitative research, ethnography, and critical ethnography and describe how they are used and, as the third author, I will discuss the relevance of critical ethnography findings for neuroscience nurses.

Exploring Issues of Support and Leadership in the Experiences of Prospective Teachers of Color: Retaining Minority Students and Producing Change Agents for Urban Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill-Brisbane, Djanna; Easley-Mosby, Kenya

2006-01-01

One of the greatest challenges for the Unites States as a nation, and for Paterson, NJ in particular, is how to attract and retain academically and pedagogically talented teachers for urban schools--teachers who are committed to remain in those schools to do the difficult, long-term work of reform and renewal. This work is critical if urban…

Dysphagia in Parkinson's disease is responsive to levodopa.

PubMed

Sutton, James P

2013-03-01

The role of levodopa in the treatment of dysphagia in Parkinson's disease (PD) has recently been questioned. There are good reasons, however, to "question the question." In this essay, evidence from published literature and clinical experience is presented, as well as a critical review of the first meta-analysis to explore this issue. The evidence presented supports the traditional view that PD dysphagia is responsive to levodopa. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The development of peer reflective supervision amongst nurse educator colleagues: An action research project.

PubMed

Bulman, C; Forde-Johnson, C; Griffiths, A; Hallworth, S; Kerry, A; Khan, S; Mills, K; Sharp, P

2016-10-01

This action research study developed the use of peer reflective supervision (PRS) amongst eight nurse educators contributing to an undergraduate Adult Nursing programme at a UK University. During the academic year (2013-14), nurse educator co-researchers met for an introductory workshop and then met regularly in pairs to facilitate each other's reflection. This provided an opportunity for nurse educators to reflect on identified issues linked to their role with a facilitative peer. Educators met three additional times in a Reflexive Learning Group (RLG), to gather data on their use of PRS. Audio-recordings from the RLGs were transcribed and analysed using Norton's (2009) thematic analysis framework. Co-researchers iteratively validated the data and an external validation group critically viewed the evidence. Overall, seven themes were generated from the three research cycles. These were: PRS as a Valuable Affirming Experience; Time Issues; Facilitation- Support, Trust and Challenge; Developing a Flexible 'Toolbox'; To Write or Not to Write; Drawing on Literature; and Requirement for Action. Findings add new evidence regarding use of a flexible toolbox of resources to develop reflection and offer practical guidance on the development of PRS. Nurse educators often experienced similar concerns, and a facilitative supervision structure allowed co-researchers to positively explore these. Recognition of work pressures and requirement for time and space for reflection was highlighted, particularly regarding writing, and exploring the literature, to develop critical analysis of experiences. The importance of action as part of the reflective process was emphasised. Co-researchers reported positive personal change as well as the opportunity to highlight issues through their reflection for further action within the organisation. The study adds constructive evidence for the use of reflection to explore professional work, make sense of experiences and develop positive action. It has transferability to a wider international audience interested in the development of reflection amongst colleagues and the use of insider research techniques to challenge and develop practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical Social Theory: Core Tenets, Inherent Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Melissa; Vasconcelos, Erika Franca S.

2010-01-01

This chapter outlines the core tenets of critical social theory and describes inherent issues facing evaluators conducting critical theory evaluation. Using critical pedagogy as an example, the authors describe the issues facing evaluators by developing four of the subtheories that comprise a critical social theory: (a) a theory of false…

Water Recovery System Design to Accommodate Dormant Periods for Manned Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tabb, David; Carter, Layne

2015-01-01

Future manned missions beyond lower Earth orbit may include intermittent periods of extended dormancy. Under the NASA Advanced Exploration System (AES) project, NASA personnel evaluated the viability of the ISS Water Recovery System (WRS) to support such a mission. The mission requirement includes the capability for life support systems to support crew activity, followed by a dormant period of up to one year, and subsequently for the life support systems to come back online for additional crewed missions. Dormancy could be a critical issue due to concerns with microbial growth or chemical degradation that might prevent water systems from operating properly when the crewed mission began. As such, it is critical that the water systems be designed to accommodate this dormant period. This paper details the results of this evaluation, which include identification of dormancy issues, results of testing performed to assess microbial stability of pretreated urine during dormancy periods, and concepts for updating to the WRS architecture and operational concepts that will enable the ISS WRS to support the dormancy requirement.

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

PubMed

Carriger, John F; Dyson, Brian E; Benson, William H

2018-01-15

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the U.S. Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Research Ethics and Intellectual Disability: Broadening the Debates

PubMed Central

Carlson, Licia

2013-01-01

This article examines the ethical issues surrounding the inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities as research subjects. It explores subject selection, competence, risk and benefits, and authority through three tensions that emerge when considering these concepts in the context of the Disability Rights Movement and critical disability scholarship. These tensions are defined as the double dangers of inclusion and exclusion; the challenges of defining competence and risk in terms of individuals vs. groups; and the conflicts that arise when pursuing the dual goals of amelioration and elimination of disabilities. Though these tensions are not resolved, they underscore the importance of researchers engaging with critical disability perspectives in order to navigate these complex ethical questions. PMID:24058305

Critical thinking competence and disposition of clinical nurses in a medical center.

PubMed

Feng, Rung-Chuang; Chen, Mei-Jung; Chen, Mei-Chuan; Pai, Yu-Chu

2010-06-01

Critical thinking is essential in nursing practice. Promoting critical thinking competence in clinical nurses is an important way to improve problem solving and decision-making competence to further improve the quality of patient care. However, using an adequate tool to test nurses' critical thinking competence and disposition may provide the reference criteria for clinical nurse characterization, training planning, and resource allocation for human resource management. The purpose of this study was to measure the critical thinking competence and critical thinking disposition of clinical nurses as well as to explore the related factors of critical thinking competence. Clinical nurses from four different clinical ladders selected from one medical center were stratified randomly. All qualified subjects who submitted valid questionnaires were included in the study. A Taiwan version of the modified Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory was developed to measure the critical thinking competence and critical thinking disposition of clinical nurses. Validity was evaluated using the professional content test (content validity index = .93). Reliability was assessed with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .85. Data were analyzed using the SPSS for Windows (Version 12.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Results showed that competence of interpretation was the highest critical thinking competence factor. Inference was the lowest, and reflective thinking as a critical thinking disposition was more positive. In addition, age, years of nursing experience, and experiences in other hospitals significantly influenced critical thinking competence (p < .05). Factors of age, years of experience, and nurses clinical ladder were shown to affect critical thinking disposition scores. Clinical ladder N4 nurses had the highest scores in both competence and disposition. A significant relationship was found between critical thinking competence and disposition scores, with 29.3% of the variance in critical thinking competence potentially explained by total years of nurse hospital experience. Clinical ladder and age were predictive factors for critical thinking disposition. Commonality was 27.9%. Nursing experience and clinical ladders positively affect critical thinking competence and disposition. Issues of critical thinking competence increasingly need to be measured. Therefore, appropriate tools for nursing professions should be further developed and explored for specific areas of practice.

Mission Operations Report (MOR) for the Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetosphere Particle Explorer (SAMPEX)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

MISSION OPERATIONS REPORTS are published for use by NASA senior management, as required by NASA Headquarters Management Instruction HQMI 8610. lC, effective November 26, 1991. The purpose of these reports is to provide a documentation system that represents an internal discipline to establish critical discriminators selected in advance to measure mission accomplishment, provide a formal written assessment of mission accomplishment, and provide an accountability of technical achievement. Prelaunch reports are prepared and issued for each flight project just prior to launch. Following launch, updating (Post Launch) reports are issued to provide mission status and progress in meeting mission objectives. Primary distribution of these reports is intended for personnel having program/project management responsibilities.

Determinants of individual and group performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Helmreich, Robert L.

1986-01-01

A broad exploration of individual and group/organizational factors that influence performance in demanding environments such as space and air transport was undertaken. Primary efforts were directed toward defining critical issues, developing new methodologies for the assessment of performance in such environments, and developing new measures of personality and attitudes as predictors of performance. Substantial clarification of relevant issues for research and validation was achieved. A reliable instrument to assess crewmembers' attitudes regarding crew coordination and flightdeck management was validated. Major efforts in data collection to validate concepts were initiated. The results suggest that substantial improvements can be made in the prediction of performance and in the selection of crewmembers for aviation and space.

Nursing issues in renal replacement therapy: organization, manpower assessment, competency evaluation and quality improvement processes.

PubMed

Graham, Patricia; Lischer, Eileen

2011-01-01

For the patient with acute kidney injury, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is a treatment option that has application for the hemodynamically unstable critically ill patient. The decision to initiate a continuous renal replacement modality depends not only on the physician, either the nephrologist or intensivist, but also on the availability of specially trained nursing resources. This article will explore the nursing collaborative model of care at a large university-based research and teaching Medical Center in Southern California. The focus will be on nursing issues in CRRT including organization of educational programs, manpower assessment, competency evaluation, and quality improvement processes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

ESAS Deliverable PS 1.1.2.3: Customer Survey on Code Generations in Safety-Critical Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schumann, Johann; Denney, Ewen

2006-01-01

Automated code generators (ACG) are tools that convert a (higher-level) model of a software (sub-)system into executable code without the necessity for a developer to actually implement the code. Although both commercially supported and in-house tools have been used in many industrial applications, little data exists on how these tools are used in safety-critical domains (e.g., spacecraft, aircraft, automotive, nuclear). The aims of the survey, therefore, were threefold: 1) to determine if code generation is primarily used as a tool for prototyping, including design exploration and simulation, or for fiight/production code; 2) to determine the verification issues with code generators relating, in particular, to qualification and certification in safety-critical domains; and 3) to determine perceived gaps in functionality of existing tools.

Year in review 2005: Critical Care – nephrology

PubMed Central

Ricci, Zaccaria; Ronco, Claudio

2006-01-01

We summarize original research in the field of critical care nephrology accepted or published in 2005 in Critical Care and, when considered relevant or directly linked to this research, in other journals. The articles have been grouped into four categories to facilitate a rapid overview. First, physiopathology, epidemiology and prognosis of acute renal failure (ARF): an extensive review and some observational studies have been performed with the aim of describing aspects of ARF physiopathology, precise epidemiology and long-term outcomes. Second, several authors have performed clinical trials utilizing a potential nephro-protective drug, fenoldopam, with different results. Third, the issue of continuous renal replacement therapies dose has been addressed in a small prospective study and a large observational trial. And fourth, alternative indications to extracorporeal treatment of ARF and systemic inflammatory response syndrome have been explored by three original clinical studies. PMID:16919174

Multiphase Flow Technology Impacts on Thermal Control Systems for Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McQuillen, John; Sankovic, John; Lekan, Jack

2006-01-01

The Two-Phase Flow Facility (TPHIFFy) Project focused on bridging the critical knowledge gap by developing and demonstrating critical multiphase fluid products for advanced life support, thermal management and power conversion systems that are required to enable the Vision for Space Exploration. Safety and reliability of future systems will be enhanced by addressing critical microgravity fluid physics issues associated with flow boiling, condensation, phase separation, and system stability. The project included concept development, normal gravity testing, and reduced gravity aircraft flight campaigns, in preparation for the development of a space flight experiment implementation. Data will be utilized to develop predictive models that could be used for system design and operation. A single fluid, two-phase closed thermodynamic loop test bed was designed, assembled and tested. The major components in this test bed include: a boiler, a condenser, a phase separator and a circulating pump. The test loop was instrumented with flow meters, thermocouples, pressure transducers and both high speed and normal speed video cameras. A low boiling point surrogate fluid, FC-72, was selected based on scaling analyses using preliminary designs for operational systems. Preliminary results are presented which include flow regime transitions and some observations regarding system stability.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Advancing the State-of-the-Science in Reading Research through Modeling.

PubMed

Zevin, Jason D; Miller, Brett

Reading research is increasingly a multi-disciplinary endeavor involving more complex, team-based science approaches. These approaches offer the potential of capturing the complexity of reading development, the emergence of individual differences in reading performance over time, how these differences relate to the development of reading difficulties and disability, and more fully understanding the nature of skilled reading in adults. This special issue focuses on the potential opportunities and insights that early and richly integrated advanced statistical and computational modeling approaches can provide to our foundational (and translational) understanding of reading. The issue explores how computational and statistical modeling, using both observed and simulated data, can serve as a contact point among research domains and topics, complement other data sources and critically provide analytic advantages over current approaches.

End of life issues in a palliative care framework for a critically ill adult African American with cystic fibrosis: a case study.

PubMed

McNeal, Gloria J

2002-01-01

The purpose of this investigation, using case study methodology, was to explore the end of life issues and to give meaning to the biopsychosocial experiences of the study participant, an adult African American female patient diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Two theoretical frameworks were used to guide the investigation of the study: Kubler-Ross Model of the Stages of Dying and the Conceptual Framework for Palliative Care Practice. Data analysis included review of medical records and patient journals, interviews, observations and clinical assessment. The findings indicated that end of life issues can be articulated within the context of a palliative care framework and that the biopsychosocial experiences of the dying person acquire meaning when situated within life history, ethical values and metaphysical belief systems.

Listening to Chinese Immigrant Restaurant Workers in the Midwest: Application of the Culture-Centered Approach (CCA) to Explore Perceptions of Health and Health Care.

PubMed

Gao, Haijuan; Dutta, Mohan; Okoror, Titilayo

2016-01-01

This study engages with the culture-centered approach (CCA) to explore Chinese immigrant restaurant workers' perception of the U.S. health care system and their interactions with the health care system in interpreting meanings of health. Chinese restaurant workers are marginalized because of their struggles on the job, their immigrant identity, and their negotiations with the structural contexts of occupation, migration status, and culture. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 Chinese immigrant restaurant workers that lasted an average of 1.5 hours each, and were audiotaped. Interviews with participants highlighted critical issues in access to health care and the struggles experienced by restaurant workers in securing access to health, understood in the context of work. Critical to the workers' discourse is the acknowledgment of structural constraints such as lack of insurance coverage, immigration status, and lack of understanding of how the U.S. health care system works.

Being a valuable contributor on the frontline: The self-perception of staff in group homes for people with intellectual disability.

PubMed

Quilliam, Claire; Bigby, Christine; Douglas, Jacinta

2018-05-01

Group home frontline staff have a critical role in implementing service policies, yet research typically examines implementation issues from an organisational perspective. The aim of this study was to explore the self-perception of frontline staff about their role in group homes for people with intellectual disability. Constructivist grounded theory methodology guided the study. Data were collected with frontline staff through semistructured interviews and participant observations. Coding and sorting methods were used to analyse participants' self-perception. Frontline staff felt they were valuable contributors who knew the service setting and residents well. Despite this staff felt powerless in their roles, excluded from organisational dialogue, stressed and exhausted. Frontline staff have critical insight into service implementation although disability service organisations may limit their capacity to contribute to this. Further action could explore new ways to better nurture frontline staff engagement in organisational dialogue. © 2017 The Authors Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Integrating Discovery-Based Research Experiences into the Undergraduate STEM Curriculum: A Convocation Report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guertin, L. A.; Ambos, E. L.; Brenner, K.; Asher, P. M.; Ryan, J. G.

2015-12-01

New possibilities and challenges to providing and scaling up opportunities for large numbers of undergraduates to engage in discovery-based research and related activities reflect both the evidence base and the current systemic infrastructure of higher education. The National Research Council hosted a Convocation in May 2015 on this very topic, inspired by the 2012 PCAST report "Engage to Excel," which urged the STEM education community and funding agencies to "advocate and provide support for replacing standard laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses." The Convocation report "Integrating Discovery-Based Research into the Undergraduate STEM Curriculum" on which this session is based explores a number of critical issues: Is our current knowledge base robust enough to recommend best practices? Is offering such experiences actually beneficial for all undergraduates? What institutional changes will be required to make such opportunities available to large numbers of students? Can such programs drive institutional change? How can we manage the cost/benefit parameters of such programs? Exploring these important and connected issues is critical for allowing undergraduates to participate in meaningful and relevant research through their coursework, for faculty and administrators to examine and document the evidence for their impact, and institutions to identify variations in what works at different types of colleges and universities.

Factors influencing the development and implementation of advanced radiographer practice in Australia – a qualitative study using an interpretative phenomenological approach

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

Page, Barbara A, E-mail: barbpage09@gmail.com; Bernoth, Maree; Davidson, Rob

2014-09-15

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors influencing the implementation or the lack of implementation of advanced practitioner role in Australia. This study uses an interpretative phenomenological approach to explore the in-depth real life issues, which surround the advanced practitioner as a solution to radiologist workforce shortages in Australia. Research participants are radiographers, radiation therapists and health managers registered with the Australian Institute of Radiography (AIR) and holding senior professional and AIR Board positions with knowledge of current advanced practice. In total, seven interviews were conducted revealing education, governance, technical, people issues, change management, government, costs andmore » timing as critical factors influencing advanced practice in Australia. Seven participants in this study perceived an advanced practice role might have major benefits and a positive impact on the immediate and long-term management of patients. Another finding is the greater respect and appreciation of each other's roles and expertise within the multidisciplinary healthcare team. Engagement is required of the critical stakeholders that have been identified as ‘blockers’ (radiologists, health departments) as well as identified allies (e.g. emergency clinicians, supportive radiologists, patient advocacy groups). The research supports that the AIR has a role to play for the professional identity of radiographers and shaping the advanced practice role in Australia.« less

Understanding the earth systems of Malawi: Ecological sustainability, culture, and place-based education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glasson, George E.; Frykholm, Jeffrey A.; Mhango, Ndalapa A.; Phiri, Absalom D.

2006-07-01

The purpose of this 2-year study was to investigate Malawian teacher educators' perspectives and dispositions toward teaching about ecological sustainability issues in Malawi, a developing country in sub-Sahara Africa. This study was embedded in a larger theoretical framework of investigating earth systems science through the understanding of nature-knowledge-culture systems from local, place-based perspectives. Specifically, we were interested in learning more about eco-justice issues that are related to environmental degradation in Malawi and the potential role of inquiry-oriented pedagogies in addressing these issues. In a science methods course, the African educators' views on deforestation and teaching about ecological sustainability were explored within the context of the local environment and culture. Teachers participated in inquiry pedagogies designed to promote the sharing of perspectives related to the connections between culture and ecological degradation. Strategies encouraging dialogue and reflection included role-playing, class discussions, curriculum development activities, teaching experiences with children, and field trips to a nature preserve. Data were analyzed from postcolonial and critical pedagogy of place theoretical perspectives to better understand the hybridization of viewpoints influenced by both Western and indigenous science and the political hegemonies that impact sustainable living in Malawi. Findings suggested that the colonial legacy of Malawi continues to impact the ecological sustainability issue of deforestation. Inquiry-oriented pedagogies and connections to indigenous science were embraced by the Malawian educators as a means to involve children in investigation, decision making, and ownership of critical environmental issues.

Critical analysis of procurement techniques in construction management sectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Suman Tiwari Suresh; Chan, Shiau Wei; Faraz Mubarak, Muhammad

2018-04-01

Over the last three decades, numerous procurement techniques have been one of the highlights of the Construction Management (CM) for ventures, administration contracting, venture management as well as design and construct. Due to the development and utilization of those techniques, various researchers have explored the criteria for their choice and their execution in terms of time, cost and quality. Nevertheless, there is a lack of giving an account on the relationship between the procurement techniques and the progressed related issues, for example, supply chain, sustainability, innovation and technology development, lean construction, constructability, value management, Building Information Modelling (BIM) as well as e-procurement. Through chosen papers from the reputable CM-related academic journals, the specified scopes of these issues are methodically assessed with the objective to explore the status and trend in procurement related research. The result of this paper contributes theoretically as well as practically to the researchers and industrialist in order to be aware and appreciate the development of procurement techniques.

Managing crisis: the role of primary care for people with serious mental illness.

PubMed

Lester, Helen; Tritter, Jonathan Q; Sorohan, Helen

2004-01-01

More than 30% of patients with serious mental illness in the United Kingdom now receive all their health care solely from primary care. This study explored the process of managing acute mental health crises from the dual perspective of patients and primary care health professionals. Eighteen focus groups involving 45 patients, 39 general practitioners, and eight practice nurses were held between May and November 2002 in six Primary Care Trusts across the British West Midlands. The topic guide explored perceptions of gold standard care, current issues and critical incidents in receiving/providing care, and ideas on improving services. Themes relevant to the management of acute crisis included issues of process, such as access, advocacy, communication, continuity, and coordination of care; the development of more structured care that might reduce the need for crisis responses; and issues raised by the development of a more structured approach to care. Access to services is a complicated yet crucial feature of managing care in a crisis, with patients identifying barriers at the level of primary care and health professionals at the interface with secondary care. The development of more structured systems as a solution may generate its own ethical and pragmatic challenges.

Ethical and research dilemmas arising from a questionnaire study of psychological morbidity among general practice managers.

PubMed

Sheikh, A; Hurwitz, B; Parker, M

2001-01-01

A questionnaire-based research project enquiring into the psychological health of general practice managers found that 5% of managers admitted to suicidal ideas. This paper explores the moral issues raised when research conducted at a distance uncovers information about participants which indicates that they may be at increased risk of harm. It examines whether the authors of such studies have responsibilities towards their research participants beyond those of analysing and properly interpreting the data supplied to them. The paper is an exercise in self-reflection and self-criticism; not all the questions posed and explored by it can be answered definitively. Implications for planning studies of this kind are discussed.

Cultural hegemony? Educators’ perspectives on facilitating cross-cultural dialogue

PubMed Central

Zaidi, Zareen; Verstegen, Daniëlle; Vyas, Rashmi; Hamed, Omayma; Dornan, Tim; Morahan, Page

2016-01-01

Background We live in an age when education is being internationalized. This can confront students with ‘cultural hegemony’ that can result from the unequal distribution of power and privilege in global society. The name that is given to awareness of social inequality is ‘critical consciousness’. Cross-cultural dialogue provides an opportunity for learners to develop critical consciousness to counter cultural hegemony. The purpose of this research was to understand how learners engage with cross-cultural dialogue, so we can help them do so more effectively in the future. Method The setting for this research was an online discussion in an international health professions educator fellowship program. We introduced scenarios with cultural references to study the reaction of participants to cultural conversation cues. We used an inductive thematic analysis to explore power and hegemony issues. Results Participants reflected that personally they were more likely to take part in cross-cultural discussions if they recognized the context discussed or had prior exposure to educational settings with cultural diversity. They identified barriers as lack of skills in facilitating cross-cultural discussions and fear of offending others. They suggested deliberately introducing cultural issues throughout the curriculum. Conclusion Our results indicate that developing critical consciousness and cross-cultural competency will require instructional design to identify longitudinal opportunities to bring up cross-cultural issues, and training facilitators to foster cross-cultural discussions by asking clarifying questions and navigating crucial/sensitive conversations. PMID:27890048

The factors influencing burnout and job satisfaction among critical care nurses: a study of Saudi critical care nurses.

PubMed

Alharbi, Jalal; Wilson, Rhonda; Woods, Cindy; Usher, Kim

2016-09-01

The aim of the study was to explore the prevalence of burnout and job satisfaction among Saudi national critical care nurses. Burnout is caused by a number of factors, including personal, organisational and professional issues. Previous literature reports a strong relationship between burnout and job satisfaction among critical care nurses. Little is known about this phenomenon among Saudi national critical care nurses. A convenience sample of 150 Saudi national critical care nurses from three hospitals in Hail, Saudi Arabia were included in a cross-sectional survey. Saudi national critical care registered nurses reported moderate to high levels of burnout in the areas of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Participants also reported a feeling of ambivalence and dissatisfaction with their jobs but were satisfied with the nature of their work. Saudi national critical care nurses experience moderate to high levels of burnout and low levels of job satisfaction. Burnout is a predictor of job satisfaction for Saudi national critical care nurses. These results provide clear evidence of the need for nurse managers and policy makers to devise strategies to help nurses better cope with a stressful work environment, thereby also improving job satisfaction among Saudi national critical care nurses. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Study design and statistical analysis of data in human population studies with the micronucleus assay.

PubMed

Ceppi, Marcello; Gallo, Fabio; Bonassi, Stefano

2011-01-01

The most common study design performed in population studies based on the micronucleus (MN) assay, is the cross-sectional study, which is largely performed to evaluate the DNA damaging effects of exposure to genotoxic agents in the workplace, in the environment, as well as from diet or lifestyle factors. Sample size is still a critical issue in the design of MN studies since most recent studies considering gene-environment interaction, often require a sample size of several hundred subjects, which is in many cases difficult to achieve. The control of confounding is another major threat to the validity of causal inference. The most popular confounders considered in population studies using MN are age, gender and smoking habit. Extensive attention is given to the assessment of effect modification, given the increasing inclusion of biomarkers of genetic susceptibility in the study design. Selected issues concerning the statistical treatment of data have been addressed in this mini-review, starting from data description, which is a critical step of statistical analysis, since it allows to detect possible errors in the dataset to be analysed and to check the validity of assumptions required for more complex analyses. Basic issues dealing with statistical analysis of biomarkers are extensively evaluated, including methods to explore the dose-response relationship among two continuous variables and inferential analysis. A critical approach to the use of parametric and non-parametric methods is presented, before addressing the issue of most suitable multivariate models to fit MN data. In the last decade, the quality of statistical analysis of MN data has certainly evolved, although even nowadays only a small number of studies apply the Poisson model, which is the most suitable method for the analysis of MN data.

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

NONE

1998-01-01

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials. Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities. Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex. Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the EM 2006 cleanup plans and contractor integration analysis. Interstate waste and materials shipments. Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from October 1, 1997 through December 31, 1997, under the NGA project. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; and maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, DOE activities in the area of the Hazardous Waste Identification Rule, and DOE's proposed National Dialogue.« less

Education Studies: Issues & Critical Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kassem, Derek; Mufti, Emmanuel; Robinson, John

2006-01-01

This major text for Education Studies students provides a critical account of key issues in education today. The text features: (1) A critical analysis of key issues in Education Studies to encourage students' thinking about education in the broadest terms; (2) Themed sections with introductions to link the issues discussed in each chapter; (3)…

Good match exploration for infrared face recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Changcai; Zhou, Huabing; Sun, Sheng; Liu, Renfeng; Zhao, Ji; Ma, Jiayi

2014-11-01

Establishing good feature correspondence is a critical prerequisite and a challenging task for infrared (IR) face recognition. Recent studies revealed that the scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) descriptor outperforms other local descriptors for feature matching. However, it only uses local appearance information for matching, and hence inevitably leads to a number of false matches. To address this issue, this paper explores global structure information (GSI) among SIFT correspondences, and proposes a new method SIFT-GSI for good match exploration. This is achieved by fitting a smooth mapping function for the underlying correct matches, which involves softassign and deterministic annealing. Quantitative comparisons with state-of-the-art methods on a publicly available IR human face database demonstrate that SIFT-GSI significantly outperforms other methods for feature matching, and hence it is able to improve the reliability of IR face recognition systems.

NASA/DOE/DOD nuclear propulsion technology planning: Summary of FY 1991 interagency panel results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, John S.; Wickenheiser, Timothy J.; Doherty, Michael P.; Marshall, Albert; Bhattacharryya, Samit K.; Warren, John

1992-01-01

Interagency (NASA/DOE/DOD) technical panels worked in 1991 to evaluate critical nuclear propulsion issues, compare nuclear propulsion concepts for a manned Mars mission on a consistent basis, and to continue planning a technology development project for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). Panels were formed to address mission analysis, nuclear facilities, safety policy, nuclear fuels and materials, nuclear electric propulsion technology, and nuclear thermal propulsion technology. A summary of the results and recommendations of the panels is presented.

Towards the Teraflop CFD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schreiber, Robert; Simon, Horst D.

1992-01-01

We are surveying current projects in the area of parallel supercomputers. The machines considered here will become commercially available in the 1990 - 1992 time frame. All are suitable for exploring the critical issues in applying parallel processors to large scale scientific computations, in particular CFD calculations. This chapter presents an overview of the surveyed machines, and a detailed analysis of the various architectural and technology approaches taken. Particular emphasis is placed on the feasibility of a Teraflops capability following the paths proposed by various developers.

Specialty pharmaceuticals: developing a management plan.

PubMed

Willcutts, Dave

2002-01-01

This is the first in a series of articles that address the complex issues associated with specialty pharmaceuticals in the development of a successful specialty pharmaceutical program, a critical component of managing this high-cost and highly fragmented sector. This article focuses on how to define specialty pharmaceuticals. Other articles in this series will explore such topics as the mechanics of developing and managing a specialty pharmaceutical program, how and when to establish clinical protocols and authorizations, the importance of data management, and the benefits from automated processes.

Discovering the nature of advanced nursing practice in high dependency care: a critical care nurse consultant's experience.

PubMed

Fairley, Debra

2005-06-01

This paper describes how a critical care nurse consultant's clinical role has evolved within a surgical high dependency unit (SHDU) in a large teaching hospitals trust. In order to provide some background to role development, an overview of the research exploring the nature of advanced nursing practice in the context of critical care will be presented. From the outset, advanced nursing practice was not perceived as the acquisition and application of technical procedures usually undertaken by doctors, but possibly an integration of medicine and nursing where holistic nursing assessment is combined with symptom-focused physical examination. A reflective account of practical problems encountered relating to role integration, professional autonomy, legal and consent issues, non-medical prescribing, and role evaluation will be presented. A model of working that can be applied to high dependency units, integrating the role of the advanced nurse practitioner within the clinical team, will be described.

Empowering Youth to Think and Act Critically About Complex Climate Issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harden, L.; Michelson, M.; Schufreider, M.; Babcock, E.; Klotz-Chamberlin, R.; Bagley, E.; Cassidy, E. S.; Levedahl, K.; Perez, N.; Vanderbilt, C.; Hammond, K.; Brutus, D.; Arrowsmith, T.

2016-12-01

The world is facing complex environmental challenges and a changing climate is one of the most pressing. These challenges require innovative solutions, which can only be achieved by first developing a more science and environmentally literate public through high-quality education. We know a lot about how to frame climate change messages to be most effective for adults (1). However, we know much less about how youth respond to these same messages. It is important to engage adolescents in these conversations, as this is the age when kids begin to think more critically and abstractly about complex problems, but also when peer and social influences increase in importance (2). Thus, middle school is a critical point in young students' lives when they might either lose interest in science or gain a strong science identity. To keep them interested and invested in science and environmental issues, we need relevant and transformative climate change materials for use in the classroom—materials that are video-based, compelling, and presented by other youth. The California Academy of Sciences has developed a video-based series with lessons supporting the NGSS called Flipside Science that challenges youth to think critically about complex environmental issues. Exploring Energy: Designing a Brighter Future is a unit within this series that engages youth in thinking about how we can make changes to our current energy uses and behaviors to combat climate change. The videos in the unit are hosted by diverse teens who bring an optimistic and relevant voice to these issues, and the associated lessons engage students in honing their design thinking and problem-solving skills. Although intended for use inside the classroom, these resources inspire action among youth outside of the classroom and in their communities. Initial evaluations of two other Flipside Science units on water and food issues indicate that the youth-powered nature of the videos and the real-world challenges posed in the lessons are meaningful to students and useful for teachers. They also point the way to reimagining how environmental issues are taught by presenting them in a youth voice and injecting youth perspective on these pressing problems.1 ecoAmerica et al. (2015). Let's Talk Climate: Messages to Motivate Americans. 2 Keating, D P (1990). Adolescent thinking.

Health Activism Targeting Corporations: A Critical Health Communication Perspective.

PubMed

Zoller, Heather M

2017-02-01

Health activists and health social movements have transformed medical treatment, promoted public health policies, and extended civil rights for people with illness and disability. This essay explores health activism that targets corporate-generated illness and risk in order to understand the unique communicative challenges involved in this area of contention. Arguing for greater critical engagement with policy, the article integrates policy research with social movements, subpolitics, and issue management literature. Drawing from activist discourse and multidisciplinary research, the article describes how a wide array of groups groups build visibility for corporate health effects, create the potential for networking and collaboration, and politicize health by attributing illness to corporate behaviors. The discussion articulates the implications of this activism for health communication theory, research, and practice.

What are the priorities for future success in critical care research in the UK? Report from a national stakeholder meeting.

PubMed

Walsh, Tim; Brett, Stephen J

2015-11-01

Critical care in the United Kingdom is now well-established in terms of professional status, standards of clinical practice and training, and national audit through professional bodies and government representation. Research is fundamental to the further development and maturation of the specialty, to develop new therapies and technologies, more efficient and effective service organisation, and to improve patient and family experience and outcomes. Critical care research has expanded rapidly in the UK, and now has established organisations and infrastructure to share and develop ideas, through the UK Critical Care Research Forum and similar meetings. In September 2014, the Intensive Care Foundation and Critical Care Leadership Forum hosted a research colloquium to reflect, in part, on achievements, but more importantly plan for the future. With an invited list of participants the meeting explored firstly - the practical delivery of clinical research and secondly - the future financing landscape, from both academic funders' and commercial developers' perspectives. The following article summarises the important 'take home' messages from this meeting and suggests key issues for future strategy.

Media in Higher Education; The Critical Issues: Ideas, Analysis, Confrontation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

1976

Nine issues papers were presented at the February 1976 Critical Issues Conference, the goal of which was to expose and define issues critical to the media field in higher education. Topics included definition and management of media programs, the role of media in the future of higher education, library media programs and instructional technology,…

Beyond evidence: a critical appraisal of global warming as a socio-scientific issue and a reflection on the changing nature of scientific literacy in school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colucci-Gray, L.

2014-09-01

Tom G. K. Bryce and Stephen P. Day's (2013) original article on scepticism and doubt in science education explores the context of citizens' attitudes towards the complexities and uncertainties of global issues, namely global warming. This response aims to stimulate reflection on some of the implicit assumptions underpinning the relationships between science, technology and the public. I argue that an underestimation of the political and ethical dimensions of science and technology limits the possibilities for education to set the agenda for citizens' participation in science and technological matters. Drawing on Sheila Jasanoff's model of co-production, this paper proposes a radical re-affirmation of the aims and purposes of science education to embrace a multiplicity of disciplines, narratives and ways of knowing in science, technology and society issues.

Entanglements of instruments and media in investigating organic life.

PubMed

Steigerwald, Joan

2016-06-01

The question what constitutes organic life might be answered variously. This special issue explores how the rendering of life throughout the history of biology has been shaped by various instruments and media. While acknowledging the significance of the theoretical and social scenes of inquiry in which specific tools and techniques develop, and which delimit epistemic possibilities for making sense of life, the issue draws attention to material practices and instrumental mediations in experimental studies of life. Although it might seem self-evident that biology takes as its object of inquiry living organisms, it is productive to regard its subject matter as organic media rather than discrete organisms. The papers gathered in this issue show the rich potential for the critical study of how organic life has been constituted through the tools used to mediate its study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scientific literacy for citizenship: Tools for dealing with the science dimension of controversial socioscientific issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolst, Stein D.

2001-05-01

This article offers a general framework for examining the science dimension of controversial socioscientific issues. Eight specific content-transcending topics to be emphasized in science education are proposed. The topics are grouped under the headings science as a social process, limitations of science, values in science, and critical attitude. Each topic is explored, and it is argued that knowledge of the topics can serve as tools for students' examination of science-related claims in controversial socioscientific issues. The underlying perspective here is empowerment and the needs of students as lay people. The need of society as a whole for decisions to be made on a broad and firm basis is nevertheless also included. The main reason for suggesting the eight content-transcending topics is to provide focal points for the future development of teaching models aimed at science education for citizenship.

The ethics of withholding/withdrawing nutrition in the newborn.

PubMed

Carter, Brian S; Leuthner, Steven R

2003-12-01

The provision of nutrition and hydration to newborn infants is considered fundamental care. For premature and critically ill newborns, similar considerations generally hold true. Nutrition may be provided for these infants using assisted measures such as parenteral nutrition or tube feedings. However, for some newborn infants the provision of medically assisted nutrition may be a more complicated issue. In particular, the goals of nutrition need to be clearly elaborated for newborns with lethal conditions or for whom appropriately administered intensive care is unsuccessful in sustaining life. These infants may benefit from palliative measures of care and a limitation or withdrawal of burdensome or nonbeneficial interventions. This article explores issues pertinent to deciding and communicating the appropriate withdrawal of medically assisted nutrition and implementing palliative comfort measures.

Partnering To Build a Quality Workforce: Critical Issues in Environmental Technology Education at Two-Year Colleges. A Report of the National Forum on Critical Issues in Environmental Technology Education at Two-Year Colleges (Washington, D.C., March 2-4, 1995).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kabat, Ellen J.; Friedel, Janice Nahra; Senew, Mike

The National Forum on Critical Issues in Environmental Technology Education at Two-Year Colleges addressed critical issues relevant to environmental technology education in the United States. Forty-three participants from across the country who attended the 1995 Forum represented business and industry, two-year colleges, four-year colleges and…

Toward Kuleana (Responsibility): A Case Study of a Contextually Grounded Intervention for Native Hawaiian Youth and Young Adults1

PubMed Central

Trinidad, Alma M.O.

2009-01-01

As a minority ethnic group, Native Hawaiian youth and young adults face an array of issues associated with colonization, such as persistent structural discrimination and the loss of land and indigenous ways of knowing. They are also at risk for a wide range of negative behaviors, including interpersonal violence, suicide, substance use, and juvenile delinquency. This article explores how community youth development, critical pedagogies, and Hawaiian epistemology can help Native Hawaiian young adults cope with such issues. It begins with a brief discussion of critiques on conventional youth violence prevention programs. To address these critiques, three bodies of literature are introduced: 1) community youth development, 2) critical pedagogy, and 3) community epistemology. Data were derived from a single case study of a community-based youth program. The program, located in an impoverished, rural community in Hawai‘i, entailed running an organic farm. Seventeen participants were involved in the study. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. Utilizing critical indigenous qualitative research, a content analysis of the interviews was conducted to build a working conceptual model. Preliminary findings suggest that a program with key processes of community youth development, critical pedagogies, and Hawaiian epistemology may serve as a vehicle for health and wellness, thus preventing a host of negative behaviors, such as violence. Based on the findings, a critical contextually based approach to violence prevention that focuses on providing opportunities for Native Hawaiian young adults to take an active participatory role in promoting health is proposed. PMID:20161447

Mass storage: The key to success in high performance computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Richard R.

1993-01-01

There are numerous High Performance Computing & Communications Initiatives in the world today. All are determined to help solve some 'Grand Challenges' type of problem, but each appears to be dominated by the pursuit of higher and higher levels of CPU performance and interconnection bandwidth as the approach to success, without any regard to the impact of Mass Storage. My colleagues and I at Data Storage Technologies believe that all will have their performance against their goals ultimately measured by their ability to efficiently store and retrieve the 'deluge of data' created by end-users who will be using these systems to solve Scientific Grand Challenges problems, and that the issue of Mass Storage will become then the determinant of success or failure in achieving each projects goals. In today's world of High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC), the critical path to success in solving problems can only be traveled by designing and implementing Mass Storage Systems capable of storing and manipulating the truly 'massive' amounts of data associated with solving these challenges. Within my presentation I will explore this critical issue and hypothesize solutions to this problem.

Promoting critical perspectives in mental health nursing education.

PubMed

McKie, A; Naysmith, S

2014-03-01

This paper explores themes relevant to mental health nursing using the example of one educational module of a nursing degree. The authors argue that the educational preparation of mental health nursing students in higher education must address certain contested philosophical, conceptual, social and ethical dimensions of contemporary mental health care practice. These themes are discussed within the context of a third-year mental health nursing module within a Scottish nursing degree programme. By interlinking epistemology and ontology, the notion of student as 'critical practitioner', involving the encouragement of 'critical thinking', is developed. This is shown via engagement with parallel perspectives of the sciences and the humanities in mental health. Narratives of student nurse engagement with selected literary texts demonstrate the extent to which issues of knowledge, self-awareness and personal development are central to a student's professional journey as they progress through an academic course. The paper concludes by suggesting that these 'critical perspectives' have important wider implications for curriculum design in nursing education. Insights from critical theory can equip nurse educators to challenge consumerist tendencies within contemporary higher education by encouraging them to remain knowledgeable, critical and ethically sensitive towards the needs of their students. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Transplant Ethics: Let's Begin the Conversation Anew : A Critical Look at One Institute's Experience with Transplant Related Ethical Issues.

PubMed

Shafran, David; Smith, Martin L; Daly, Barbara J; Goldfarb, David

2016-06-01

Standardizing consultation processes is increasingly important as clinical ethics consultation (CEC) becomes more utilized in and vital to medical practice. Solid organ transplant represents a relatively nascent field replete with complex ethical issues that, while explored, have not been systematically classified. In this paper, we offer a proposed taxonomy that divides issues of resource allocation from viable solutions to the issue of organ shortage in transplant and then further distinguishes between policy and bedside level issues. We then identify all transplant related ethics consults performed at the Cleveland Clinic (CC) between 2008 and 2013 in order to identify how consultants conceptually framed their consultations by the domains they ascribe to the case. We code the CC domains to those in the Core Competencies for Healthcare Consultation Ethics in order to initiate a broader conversation regarding best practices in these highly complex cases. A discussion of the ethical issues underlying living donor and recipient related consults ensues. Finally, we suggest that the ethical domains prescribed in the Core Competencies provide a strong starting ground for a common intra-disciplinary language in the realm of formal CEC.

A perspective study on green cleaning for Malaysian public hospital

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramli, N. A.; Zawawi, E. M.; Arif, N. R. M.; Mahbob, N. S.; Sulaiman, Z.; Zainol, N. N.

2018-02-01

Cleaning being a major contributor to the operations and maintenance expenditure and also Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) issues. Improper and ineffective cleaning can harm the environment and poses greatest risk to health. The use of traditional cleaning products presents a variety of human health and ecological concerns; and may contribute to poor IEQ. As an effort to reduce the issue of operations and maintenance costs and IEQ issues in a building, it is important to establish a green cleaning programme to ensure that the buildings are cleaned in a green way. Numbers of scholars has pointed out the factors which had prevented the green cleaning implementation in hospital buildings. Nonetheless, the significance of these factors has yet to be practically explored in the Malaysian context. Hence, the aim of the paper is to identify the most critical factor that prevents the implementation of green cleaning in Malaysian hospital building. A questionnaire survey and personal communication (i.e. interview) was conducted which involved two groups of respondents. They are the hospital maintenance staff (Cleansing Service Department) and cleaning contractors. Frequency and criticality index calculations have been used to rank these factors according to the level of importance. The result showed that an “unclear components and requirements of green cleaning” indicated as the most critical factor that prevent the implementation of green cleaning in Malaysian hospital building. In the concern for a successful implementation of green cleaning, it is hope that the findings of these studies can be enlightenment to the cleaning contractors as well as the hospital maintenance management team in Malaysia.

The Rhetoric of Issue Advertising: A Rationale, a Case Study, a Critical Perspective--And More.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heath, Robert L.

1988-01-01

Supports the use of issue advertising. Argues that speech communication scholars can facilitate the responsible and effective use of issue ads. Reviews critics and proponents of issue advertising. Develops a rationale to guide the practice of issue advertising. Examines issue advertising in the current pro-nuclear campaign. (MS)

The impact of everyday racism on the occupations of African Canadian women.

PubMed

Beagan, Brenda L; Etowa, Josephine

2009-10-01

Occupational therapy has increasingly explored the impact of cultural differences on occupations but has not yet begun to explore the impact of racism on human occupation. This study with 50 African Canadian women used mixed methods to explore the effects of racism on their occupational experiences. Women aged 40-65 were interviewed in-depth about everyday experiences with racism and overall well-being. Three standardized instruments assessed frequency and stressfulness of race-related experiences. Everyday racism had subtle, almost intangible, impacts, shaping women's engagement with and the meaning of leisure, productive, and caring occupations. As occupational therapy increasingly attends to issues of cultural difference, it is critical to also attend to racism. This means learning to ask thoughtful questions about how racism may shape clients' occupations. Attention to this aspect of the social environment will enhance practice with African-heritage clients and clients from other racial minority groups.

Using the mass media to inform and educate the public about planetary protection and exploration risks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Race, M.

For the foreseeable future, the public will continue to learn piecemeal about the latest advances in Astrobiology through headlines and mass media coverage of missions, discoveries or controversies. Journalists and reporters are themselves unschooled in this emerging interdisciplinary field, yet play a critical role in explaining details to the public. While it is important to develop curricular materials for future use in formal educational settings, it is equally important to find novel ways for educating and updating journalists in this fast paced field. Risk communication plans for Mars exploration and other solar system missions should include special efforts aimed at assisting mass media professionals in both their informational and educational roles. If journalists and reporters have a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the science and societal issues associated with missions, the result may well be more accurate explanations, improved public understanding, and continued support for exploration.

"My love-hate relationship": Ethical issues associated with nurses' interactions with industry.

PubMed

Grundy, Quinn

2014-08-01

Ethical issues associated with nurses' interactions with industry have implications for the safety, quality, and cost of healthcare. To date, little work has explored nurse-industry interactions and their associated ethical issues empirically. A phenomenological study was conducted to explore registered nurses' interactions with industry in clinical practice. Five registered nurses working in direct patient care were recruited and individual, in-depth interviews were conducted. The University's Committee on Human Research approved the study. Nurses frequently interacted with industry in their practice and felt ambivalent about these interactions. Nurses described systemic cuts to multiple "goods" central to nursing practice, including patient support, but paradoxically relied on industry resources to deliver these "goods." They relied on a particular conception of trust to navigate these interactions but were left to do so individually on the basis of their experience. Conflicts of interest arose as a result of multiple competing interests, and were frequently mediated through nurses' superiors. Nursing as a profession requires a guiding narrative to aid nurses in interpreting and navigating interactions with industry. A conception of trust that incorporates both the work of caring and attention to social justice could form the basis of these interactions, but would require that nursing take a much more critical stance toward marketing interactions. © The Author(s) 2013.

Exploration Rover Concepts and Development Challenges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zakrajsek, James J.; McKissock, David B.; Woytach, Jeffrey M.; Zakrajsek, June F.; Oswald, Fred B.; McEntire, Kelly J.; Hill, Gerald M.; Abel, Phillip; Eichenberg, Dennis J.; Goodnight, Thomas W.

2005-01-01

This paper presents an overview of exploration rover concepts and the various development challenges associated with each as they are applied to exploration objectives and requirements for missions on the Moon and Mars. A variety of concepts for surface exploration vehicles have been proposed since the initial development of the Apollo-era lunar rover. This paper provides a brief description of the rover concepts, along with a comparison of their relative benefits and limitations. In addition, this paper outlines, and investigates a number of critical development challenges that surface exploration vehicles must address in order to successfully meet the exploration mission vision. These include: mission and environmental challenges, design challenges, and production and delivery challenges. Mission and environmental challenges include effects of terrain, extreme temperature differentials, dust issues, and radiation protection. Design methods are discussed that focus on optimum methods for developing highly reliable, long-life and efficient systems. In addition, challenges associated with delivering a surface exploration system is explored and discussed. Based on all the information presented, modularity will be the single most important factor in the development of a truly viable surface mobility vehicle. To meet mission, reliability, and affordability requirements, surface exploration vehicles, especially pressurized rovers, will need to be modularly designed and deployed across all projected Moon and Mars exploration missions.

From Situated Privilege to Dis/abilities: Developing Critical Literacies across Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Sara Lewis-Bernstein

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate how curriculum grounded in critical literacy strategies supports critical language awareness and activism across social issues and identities. The research is grounded in theories of critical literacies, discursive practices, and situated privilege. Critical practitioner research was used to collect…

The state of the science of emotional intelligence related to nursing leadership: an integrative review.

PubMed

Akerjordet, Kristin; Severinsson, Elisabeth

2010-05-01

To explore the state of the science of emotional intelligence (EI) related to nursing leadership and its critiques. The phenomenon of EI has emerged as a potential new construct of importance for nursing leadership that enhances educational, organizational, staff and patient outcomes. Nevertheless, important questions and critical reflections related to exaggerated claims, conceptualizations and measurements exist. A literature search was conducted using international databases covering the period January 1999 to December 2009. A manual search of relevant journals and significant references increased the data. Critical reflection seems to be associated with the unsubstantiated predictive validity of EI in the area of nursing leadership. In addition, important moral issues are called into question. It is important to possess in-depth knowledge of EI and its scientific critique when integrating the concept into nursing research, education and practical settings. More attention to the nature of emotion in EI is necessary. Implications for nursing leadership The dynamics of EI should be explored in the context of both the surrounding environment and individual differences, as the latter can be adaptive in some settings but harmful in others.

Screen Shots: When Patients and Families Publish Negative Health Care Narratives Online.

PubMed

Eijkholt, Marleen; Jankowski, Jane; Fisher, Marilyn

2017-01-01

Social media sites and their relationship to health care is a subject of intense debate. Common discussions regarding social media address patient privacy, or e-professionalism. This case study explores the tensions that arise for health care providers when negative patient statements surface in social media and blog forums. Recognizing that patients and families often find relief in sharing personal illness narratives, we contemplate if, and how, individual health care professionals and institutions should address complaints aired in public, unmoderated media. Our discussion begins by presenting a case of a family blogging on the Internet to share grievances (to deidentify the case, we have changed some details). Next, we offer an exploration of the impact on health care delivery when professionals become aware of specific criticisms published online. Strategies for managing electronic criticisms are then proposed. We conclude by proposing a novel E-THICS approach to address negative patient expressions via electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Our examination of this evolving issue focuses on maintaining satisfactory relationships between health care providers and patients/families when dealing with health care narratives published in open online media.

Sociostructural factors influencing health behaviors of urban African-American men.

PubMed

Plowden, Keith O; Young, Anthony E

2003-06-01

African-American men are suffering disproportionately from most illnesses. Seemingly, action is needed if health disparities that disproportionately affect African-American men as compared to their White and female counterparts are to be reduced or eliminated. An important step in decreasing common health disparities evidenced among African-American men is to understand social factors that act as motivators and barriers to seeking care for most of this vulnerable population. Following a constructionist epistemology, this study used ethnography to explore social structure factors that motivate urban African-American men to seek care. Leininger's Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory guided this study. Qualitative interviews were conducted with urban African-American men and other individuals in the community to explore understanding, attitudes, and beliefs about health. Critical issues examined included social factors associated with health seeking behaviors. Themes that emerged from these data indicated that critical social factors include: 1) Kinship/significant others; 2) accessibility of resources; 3) ethnohealth belief; and 4) accepting caring environment. The data also indicated a relationship between these social factors and health seeking behaviors of urban African-American men.

Critical thinking: assessing the risks to the future security of supply of critical metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunn, Gus

2015-04-01

Increasing world population, the spread of prosperity across the globe and the demands of new technologies have led to a revival of concerns about the availability of raw materials needed by society. Despite scare stories about resource depletion, physical exhaustion of minerals is considered to be unlikely. However, we do need to know which materials might be of concern so that we can develop strategies to secure adequate supplies and to mitigate the effects of supply disruption. This requirement has led to renewed interest in criticality, a term that is generally used to refer to metals and minerals of high economic importance that have a relatively high likelihood of supply disruption. The European Union (EU) developed a quantitative methodology for the assessment of criticality which led to the definition of 14 raw materials as critical to the EU economy (EC, 2010). This has succeeded in raising awareness of potential supply issues and in helping to prioritise requirements for new policies and supporting research. The EU has recently assessed a larger number of candidate materials of which 20 are now identified as critical to the EU (EC, 2014). These include metals such as indium, mostly used in flat-screen displays, antimony for flame retardants and cobalt for rechargeable batteries, alloys and a host of other products. Although there is no consensus on the methodology for criticality assessments and broad analyses at this scale are inevitably imperfect, they can, nevertheless, provide early warning of supply problems. However, in order to develop more rigorous and dynamic assessments of future availability detailed analysis of the whole life-cycle of individual metals to identify specific problems and develop appropriate solutions is required. New policies, such as the Raw Materials Initiative (2008) and the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials (2013), have been developed by the European Commission (EC) and are aimed at securing sustainable supplies of raw materials. These have led to major new programmes of research throughout the minerals value chain, in order to improve the raw materials knowledge base, to develop best practices and promote international collaboration. Although recycling will make an increasingly important contribution to supply, it can never meet the total requirement when demand is increasing. Therefore, new resources of primary materials, identified through geological research, will continue to be required. The availability of regional baseline datasets, comprising geological, geophysical and geochemical data, is fundamental to the identification of exploration targets. However, in order to focus exploration we also require robust mineral deposit models for the critical metals which hitherto these have been largely neglected because of their limited economic importance. For commodities such as the platinum-group metals (PGM), cobalt, niobium, indium, rare earth elements (REE) and cobalt we have some knowledge of the processes controlling their mobilisation and concentration under certain conditions although we have little understanding of the mechanisms of deposit formation elsewhere. We also need effective techniques to explore for these metals. This may involve the development of new geophysical techniques to explore on the sea-floor or beneath thick cover, or new analytical methods for the determination of these elements in exploration samples. Improved metallurgical techniques are also required for effective and energy-efficient recovery of critical metals from ores and concentrates. References European Commission (2010). Critical raw materials for the EU. Report of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Defining Critical Raw Materials. European Commission (2014). Report on Critical raw materials for the EU. Report of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Defining Critical Raw Materials.

Cancer in Europe: Death sentence or life sentence?

PubMed

Liu, Lifang; O'Donnell, Peter; Sullivan, Richard; Katalinic, Alexander; Moser, Lotte; de Boer, Angela; Meunier, Francoise

2016-09-01

With so many adults and children receiving successful treatment for their cancer, survivorship is now a 'new' and critical issue. It is increasingly recognised that the growing numbers of survivors face new challenges in their bid to return to 'normal' life. What is not yet so widely recognised is the need for a broad response to help them cope-with stigmatisation, misunderstanding, lifelong issues of confidence and social adaptation, and even access to employment and to financial services. As a further stage in its programme of attention to this aspect of cancer, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) brought survivors, researchers, carers, authorities and policymakers together at a meeting in Brussels in March/April 2016, to learn at first hand about the posttreatment experience of cancer survivors. The meeting demonstrated that while research is well advanced in many of the medical consequences of survivorship, understanding is still lacking of many non-clinical, personal and administrative issues. The meeting raised the discussion of survivorship research beyond the individual to a population-based approach, exploring the related socioeconomic issues. Its exploration of initiatives across Europe countries provoked new thinking on the need for effective collaboration, with a new focus on non-clinical issues, including effective dialogue with financial service providers and employers, improvements in collecting, exchanging and accessing data, and above all, ways of translating research outcomes into action. This will require wider recognition that, as Françoise Meunier, Director Special Projects, EORTC, said, 'It is time for a new mind set'. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical Issues in the Lives of Children and Youth Who Are Deafblind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Catherine; Bruce, Susan M.

2016-01-01

The coeditors of an "American Annals of the Deaf" special issue on deafblindness introduce readers to critical issues surrounding children and youth who are deafblind. These issues--early identification, communication, social-emotional needs, family and multicultural issues, universal design and assistive technology, transition planning,…

A parallel expert system for the control of a robotic air vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shakley, Donald; Lamont, Gary B.

1988-01-01

Expert systems can be used to govern the intelligent control of vehicles, for example the Robotic Air Vehicle (RAV). Due to the nature of the RAV system the associated expert system needs to perform in a demanding real-time environment. The use of a parallel processing capability to support the associated expert system's computational requirement is critical in this application. Thus, algorithms for parallel real-time expert systems must be designed, analyzed, and synthesized. The design process incorporates a consideration of the rule-set/face-set size along with representation issues. These issues are looked at in reference to information movement and various inference mechanisms. Also examined is the process involved with transporting the RAV expert system functions from the TI Explorer, where they are implemented in the Automated Reasoning Tool (ART), to the iPSC Hypercube, where the system is synthesized using Concurrent Common LISP (CCLISP). The transformation process for the ART to CCLISP conversion is described. The performance characteristics of the parallel implementation of these expert systems on the iPSC Hypercube are compared to the TI Explorer implementation.

Collegiate Aviation Research and Education Solutions to Critical Safety Issues. UNO Aviation Monograph Series. UNOAI Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bowen, Brent, Ed.

This document contains four papers concerning collegiate aviation research and education solutions to critical safety issues. "Panel Proposal Titled Collegiate Aviation Research and Education Solutions to Critical Safety Issues for the Tim Forte Collegiate Aviation Safety Symposium" (Brent Bowen) presents proposals for panels on the…

Poisoning of Heat Pipes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gillies, Donald; Lehoczky, Sandor; Palosz, Witold; Carpenter, Paul; Salvail, Pat

2007-01-01

Thermal management is critical to space exploration efforts. In particular, efficient transfer and control of heat flow is essential when operating high energy sources such as nuclear reactors. Thermal energy must be transferred to various energy conversion devices, and to radiators for safe and efficient rejection of excess thermal energy. Applications for space power demand exceptionally long periods of time with equipment that is accessible for limited maintenance only. Equally critical is the hostile and alien environment which includes high radiation from the reactor and from space (galactic) radiation. In space or lunar applications high vacuum is an issue, while in Martian operations the systems will encounter a CO2 atmosphere. The effect of contact at high temperature with local soil (regolith) in surface operations on the moon or other terrestrial bodies (Mars, asteroids) must be considered.

Non-verbal communication between nurses and people with an intellectual disability: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Martin, Anne-Marie; O'Connor-Fenelon, Maureen; Lyons, Rosemary

2010-12-01

This article critically synthesizes current literature regarding communication between nurses and people with an intellectual disability who communicate non-verbally. The unique context of communication between the intellectual disability nurse and people with intellectual disability and the review aims and strategies are outlined. Communication as a concept is explored in depth. Communication between the intellectual disability nurse and the person with an intellectual disability is then comprehensively examined in light of existing literature. Issues including knowledge of the person with intellectual disability, mismatch of communication ability, and knowledge of communication arose as predominant themes. A critical review of the importance of communication in nursing practice follows. The paucity of literature relating to intellectual disability nursing and non-verbal communication clearly indicates a need for research.

Strategic marketing: an introduction for medical specialists.

PubMed

Lexa, Frank James; Berlin, Jonathan

2006-03-01

Marketing and branding are 2 of the most important factors for business success in the United States. They are particularly critical in service industries such as diagnostic imaging. However, in spite of their strategic importance in radiology success, a search of the peer-reviewed radiology literature reveals a paucity of published work that addresses marketing for imaging practices. In particular, there is a dearth of literature addressing the role (both direct and indirect) of radiologists in marketing efforts. In this article, the authors attempt to identify and correct some common misconceptions that physicians and other scientific and technical professionals have about marketing. Basic terms and preliminary concepts are introduced to provide a foundational understanding of the topic, allowing the interested reader to move forward and explore these critical issues in greater depth.

Beyond the racist/hooligan couplet: race, social theory and football culture.

PubMed

Back, L; Crabbe, T; Solomos, J

1999-09-01

This paper draws on recent research to explore the changing cultures of racism in English football. Starting from a critical analysis of key themes in the literature on football it seeks to show that existing analytical frameworks need to be reworked if they are going to adequately account for the complex forms through which racism is expressed in contemporary football cultures. In the course of this analysis we question some of the ways in which the issue of racism in football is collapsed into broader accounts of 'hooliganism' and other forms of violence among football fans. From this starting point the paper draws on some elements of our empirical research in order to outline an alternative way of framing the issues of racism and multicultrralism in football.

Collaborative Procurement within Enterprise Networks: A Literature Review, a Reference Framework and a Case Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cagnazzo, Luca; Taticchi, Paolo; Bidini, Gianni; Sameh, Mohamed

Collaboration among companies is nowadays a success leverage from those involved, especially for SMEs. The networking advantages are several and among them, reducing costs is a critical one. Costs reduction due to the possibility of Collaborative Procurement (CP) among partners is one of the most important achievements in a network. While the literature available offers good bases for managing single contractor procurement issues, little research addresses the case of CP within Enterprise Networks (ENs). This paper explore the mentioned issue and proposes a general framework for managing CP in ENs, those with the Virtual Development Office (VDO) structure. The findings from the application of the framework proposed in an Italian network are highlighted so as to provide preliminary results and drive future research.

War, Critical Thinking, and Self-Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noddings, Nel

2004-01-01

Can students learn to think critically if they are not asked to engage with critical issues? Fostering critical thinking is frequently stated as a fundamental aim of education, and yet many teachers report that they have been forbidden to discuss such critical issues as current wars, religion, and cultural differences in styles of parenting. The…

A Review of Tribomaterial Technology for Space Nuclear Power Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stanford, Malcolm K.

2007-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has recently proposed a nuclear closed-cycle electric power conversion system for generation of 100-kW of electrical power for space exploration missions. A critical issue is the tribological performance of sliding components within the power conversion unit that will be exposed to neutron radiation. This paper presents a review of the main considerations that have been made in the selection of solid lubricants for similar applications in the past as well as a recommendations for continuing development of the technology.

What do consumer surveys and experiments reveal and conceal about consumer preferences for genetically modified foods?

PubMed

Colson, Gregory; Rousu, Matthew C

2013-01-01

Assessing consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for genetically modified (GM) foods has been one of the most active areas of empirical research in agricultural economics. Researchers over the past 15 years have delivered well over 100 estimates of consumers' willingness to pay for GM foods using surveys and experimental methods. In this review, we explore a number of unresolved issues related to three questions that are critical when considering the sum of the individual contributions that constitute the evidence on consumer preferences for GM foods.

Structural basis of substrate specificity in the serine proteases.

PubMed Central

Perona, J. J.; Craik, C. S.

1995-01-01

Structure-based mutational analysis of serine protease specificity has produced a large database of information useful in addressing biological function and in establishing a basis for targeted design efforts. Critical issues examined include the function of water molecules in providing strength and specificity of binding, the extent to which binding subsites are interdependent, and the roles of polypeptide chain flexibility and distal structural elements in contributing to specificity profiles. The studies also provide a foundation for exploring why specificity modification can be either straightforward or complex, depending on the particular system. PMID:7795518

Analysis of students critical thinking skills in socio-scientific issues of biodiversity subject

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santika, A. R.; Purwianingsih, W.; Nuraeni, E.

2018-05-01

Critical thinking is a skills the which students should have in order to face 21st century demands. Critical thinking skills can help people in facing their daily problems, especially problems roommates relate to science. This research is aimed to analyze students critical thinking skills in socio-scientific issues of biodiversity subject. The method used in this research was descriptive method. The research subject is first-grade students’ in senior high school. The data collected by interview and open-ended question the which classified based on framework : (1) question at issue, (2) information (3) purpose (4) concepts (5) assumptions, (6) point of view, (7) interpretation and inference, and (8) implication and consequences, then it will be assessed by using rubrics. The result of the data showed students critical thinking skills in socio-scientific issues of biodiversity subject is in low and medium category. Therefore we need a learning activity that is able to develop student’s critical thinking skills, especially regarding issues of social science.

Policing ‘Vancouver’s Mental Health Crisis’: A Critical Discourse Analysis

PubMed Central

Boyd, Jade; Kerr, Thomas

2016-01-01

In Canada and other western nations there has been an unprecedented expansion of criminal justice systems and a well documented increase of contact between people with mental illness and the police. Canadian police, especially in Vancouver, British Columbia, have been increasingly at the forefront of discourse and regulation specific to mental health. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, this paper explores this claim through a case study of four Vancouver Police Department (VPD) policy reports on “Vancouver’s mental health crisis” from 2008–2013, which include recommendations for action. Analyzed is the VPD’s role in framing issues of mental health in one urban space. This study is the first analysis to critically examine the VPD reports on mental health in Vancouver, B.C. The reports reproduce negative discourses about deinstitutionalization, mental illness and dangerousness that may contribute to further stigma and discrimination of persons with mental illness. Policing reports are widely drawn upon, thus critical analyses are particularly significant for policy makers and public health professionals in and outside of Canada. PMID:28496294

Searching for scientific literacy and critical pedagogy in socioscientific curricula: A critical discourse analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cummings, Kristina M.

The omnipresence of science and technology in our society require the development of a critical and scientifically literate citizenry. However, the inclusion of socioscientific issues, which are open-ended controversial issues informed by both science and societal factors such as politics, economics, and ethics, do not guarantee the development of these skills. The purpose of this critical discourse analysis is to identify and analyze the discursive strategies used in intermediate science texts and curricula that address socioscientific topics and the extent to which the discourses are designed to promote or suppress the development of scientific literacy and a critical pedagogy. Three curricula that address the issue of energy and climate change were analyzed using Gee's (2011) building tasks and inquiry tools. The curricula were written by an education organization entitled PreSEES, a corporate-sponsored group called NEED, and a non-profit organization named Oxfam. The analysis found that the PreSEES and Oxfam curricula elevated the significance of climate change and the NEED curriculum deemphasized the issue. The PreSEES and Oxfam curricula promoted the development of scientific literacy while the NEED curricula suppressed its development. The PreSEES and Oxfam curricula both promoted the development of the critical pedagogy; however, only the Oxfam curricula provided authentic opportunities to enact sociopolitical change. The NEED curricula suppressed the development of critical pedagogy. From these findings, the following conclusions were drawn. When socioscientific issues are presented with the development of scientific literacy and critical pedagogy, the curricula allow students to develop fact-based opinions about the issue. However, curricula that address socioscientific issues without the inclusion of these skills minimize the significance of the issue and normalize the hegemonic worldview promoted by the curricula's authors. Based on these findings, additional research is necessary to confirm the connection between the way curricula address a socioscientific issue and develop or suppress scientific literacy. Additionally, further analysis is necessary to confirm the connection between corporate-sponsored curricula and the suppression of socioscientific issues, scientific literacy, and critical pedagogy. Finally, this study addressed only the intended results of the curricula. Further research is necessary to measure the actual impacts of these curricula on students.

Factors Influencing Critical Care Nurses' Perception of Their Overall Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Study.

PubMed

Moneke, Ngozi; Umeh, Ogwo J

2015-10-01

The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing critical care nurses’ perception of their overall job satisfaction. Nurses’ job satisfaction is a key issue to consider in the retention of critical care nurses. Shortages of nurses result in unsafe patient care, increased expense, and increased stress levels among other nurses. The Leadership Practices Inventory was used among a sample of critical care nurses to measure perceived leadership practices, the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire measured nurses commitment, and the Job in General scale was used to measure nurses’ overall job satisfaction. Four different hypotheses were tested using bivariate and multivariate statistical analytical techniques. Statistically significant relationships were found among the following hypotheses: (a) perceived leadership and job satisfaction; (b) organizational commitment and job satisfaction; and (c) perceived leadership practices, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. No significant relationships were found among critical care nurses’ demographic variables and job satisfaction. Organizational commitment was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction. Encourage the heart (B = 0.116, P = .035) and organizational commitment (B = 0.353, P = .000) were found to be significantly associated with job satisfaction. These findings have implications for nurse educators, preceptors, administrators, recruiters, and managers in promoting satisfaction.

Factors influencing critical care nurses' perception of their overall job satisfaction: an empirical study.

PubMed

Moneke, Ngozi; Umeh, Ogwo J

2013-04-01

The aim of this study was to explore the factors influencing critical care nurses' perception of their overall job satisfaction. Nurses' job satisfaction is a key issue to consider in the retention of critical care nurses. Shortages of nurses result in unsafe patient care, increased expense, and increased stress levels among other nurses. The Leadership Practices Inventory was used among a sample of critical care nurses to measure perceived leadership practices, the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire measured nurses commitment, and the Job in General scale was used to measure nurses' overall job satisfaction. Four different hypotheses were tested using bivariate and multivariate statistical analytical techniques. Statistically significant relationships were found among the following hypotheses: (a) perceived leadership and job satisfaction; (b) organizational commitment and job satisfaction; and (c) perceived leadership practices, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. No significant relationships were found among critical care nurses' demographic variables and job satisfaction. Organizational commitment was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction. Encourage the heart (B = 0.116, P = .035) and organizational commitment (B = 0.353, P = .000) were found to be significantly associated with job satisfaction. These findings have implications for nurse educators, preceptors, administrators, recruiters, and managers in promoting satisfaction.

Tissue Penetration of Antifungal Agents

PubMed Central

Felton, Timothy; Troke, Peter F.

2014-01-01

SUMMARY Understanding the tissue penetration of systemically administered antifungal agents is critical for a proper appreciation of their antifungal efficacy in animals and humans. Both the time course of an antifungal drug and its absolute concentrations within tissues may differ significantly from those observed in the bloodstream. In addition, tissue concentrations must also be interpreted within the context of the pathogenesis of the various invasive fungal infections, which differ significantly. There are major technical obstacles to the estimation of concentrations of antifungal agents in various tissue subcompartments, yet these agents, even those within the same class, may exhibit markedly different tissue distributions. This review explores these issues and provides a summary of tissue concentrations of 11 currently licensed systemic antifungal agents. It also explores the therapeutic implications of their distribution at various sites of infection. PMID:24396137

Planetary protection policy (U.S.A.)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rummel, John D.

1992-01-01

Through existing treaty obligations of the United States, NASA is committed to exploring space while avoiding biological contamination of the planets, and to the protection of the earth against harm from materials returned from space. Because of the similarities between Mars and earth, plans for the exploration of Mars evoke discussions of these Planetary Protection issues. U.S. Planetary Protection Policy will be focused on the preservation of these goals in an arena that will change with the growth of scientific knowledge about the Martian environment. Early opportunities to gain the appropriate data will be used to guide later policy implementation. Because human presence on Mars will result in the end of earth's separation from the Martian environment, it is expected that precursor robotic missions will address critical planetary protection concerns before humans arrive.

Environmental education in an Egyptian university: The role of teacher educators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goueli, Solafa

Drawing on a holistic critical paradigm of ecological sustainability, this study examined the role of teacher educators in environmental education in the Faculty of Education of one Egyptian university. The study sought to critically and collaboratively explore with a sample of six teacher educators their answers, perceptions and perspectives in relation to their knowledge and understanding of environmental problems in local/global contexts and their meanings of curriculum and pedagogical practices for fostering environmental education in their teacher education programs. The participants generally demonstrated a considerable amount of knowledge of the environmental realities and problems facing Egypt encompassing air, water and solid waste sectors. Their views concurred with national and official studies identifying these issues as the most pressing environmental problems in the country. The exploration of the institutional, social and cultural causes and developmental and/or global causes of environmental problems in Egypt led us to articulate different themes relating environmental crisis in Egypt to different issues. These issues included poverty, education, religion and development. One of the major findings of the study was the participants' view that development was the major contributor to the environmental crisis in Egypt. They all stressed that, in its pursuit of economic growth, the government did not pay due attention to the environmental costs. Sharing perspectives from a critical paradigm of ecological sustainability, the participants felt that the government needed to clearly address the economic and ecological dimensions of development. In addition, a few participants affirmed that development is the thread that ties all the different factors together bringing into the conversations other dimensions of development like the social, values, and political dimensions. Addressing the future dimension of development, all of them expressed the need for a development model that takes into consideration ecological as well as human well-being concerns. The study also presented an overview of the participants' own definitions for environmental education based on their beliefs and emerging from their practices. It also explored the content and pedagogy of environmental education within the Faculty as well as the participants' own practices and reports on the action research phase of the study. The participants agreed that the environment needs to be viewed holistically that includes human beings in relation to each other as well as to other beings and their surroundings. While they all praised the role of educators, they also acknowledged the force of substantive challenges for promoting a critical paradigm of environmental education within the faculty as well as in the whole education system and Egyptian society in general. A major finding of the study was that the situation of environmental education in Egyptian universities need closer and immediate attention, and much work remains to transform education and adopt a framework that would integrate environmental education into the core of the educational programs of the faculty. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Design, fiction and the medical humanities.

PubMed

Strachan, Christopher Gordon

2016-12-01

This paper sets out to explore the similarities between the developing discipline of speculative and critical design (SCD) and science fiction, and their relevance to the medical humanities. SCD looks beyond 'commercial design' to consider what sort of things we should, or should not, be designing in order to create preferable futures. It does so by extrapolating from current social, economic, political and scientific knowledge, designing artefacts, experiences and scenarios which communicate futures and alternative realities in tangible ways. By first outlying the relevance of SCD to the medical humanities, through its ability to imagine and visualise preferable healthcare futures, the paper will then discuss several recent design projects which focus on current and future ethical issues raised by emerging biotechnology. Through these projects, the paper will look at SCD's ability to provoke, engage and critique science and society, while also critically reflecting on the limitations of the evolving design discipline. Through the paper it is hoped that there can be an increased understanding of SCD and its ambitions, as well as its limitations, in order for SCD to better approach issues relating to health and wellbeing, along with other difficult and challenging issues which will affect all us today and into the (sci-fi) future. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

NONE

1998-04-01

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials. Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities. Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex. Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in DOE's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure strategy and contractor integration analysis. Interstate waste and materials shipments. Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from December 31, 1997 through April 30, 1998 under the NGA project. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; and provided ongoing support to state-DOE interactions in preparation for the March 30-31, 1998 NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force Meeting with DOE. maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, DOE's Environmental Management Budget, and DOE's proposed Intersite Discussions.« less

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

Ann M. Beauchesne

1999-04-30

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials; Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities; Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex; Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure plan and contractor integration analysis; Interstate waste and materials shipments; and Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from February 1, 1999, through April 30, 1999, under the NGA grant. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, external regulation of DOE; and EM Integration activities; and continued to serve as a liaison between the NGA FFCA Task Force states and the Department.« less

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

NONE

1998-07-01

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials. Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities. Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex. Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in DOE's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure strategy and contractor integration analysis. Interstate waste and materials shipments. Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from April 30, 1998 through June 30, 1998 under the NGA project. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; and provided ongoing support to state-DOE interactions. maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, DOE's Environmental Management Budget, and DOE's proposed Intersite Discussions.« less

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

Ann B. Beauchesne

1998-09-30

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: (1) Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials; (2) Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities; (3) Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect onmore » individual sites in the complex; (4) Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure plan and contractor integration analysis; (5) Interstate waste and materials shipments; and (6) Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from June 1, 1998 through September 30, 1998, under the NGA grant. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: (1) maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; (2) maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, external regulation of DOE; and EM Integration activities; and (3) continued to serve as a liaison between the NGA FFCA Task Force states and the Department.« less

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

Ann M. Beauchesne

1999-07-30

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials; Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities; Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex; Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure plan and contractor integration analysis; Interstate waste and materials shipments; and Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from May 1, 1999, through July 30, 1999, under the NGA grant. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, external regulation of DOE; and continued to facilitate interactions between the states and DOE to develop a foundation for an ongoing substantive relationship between the Governors of key states and Secretary Richardson.« less

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

Ann M. Beauchesne

1999-01-31

Through the National Governors' Association (NGA) project ''Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: (1) Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials; (2) Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities; (3) Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect onmore » individual sites in the complex; (4) Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure plan and contractor integration analysis; (5) Interstate waste and materials shipments; and (6) Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the quarter from October 1, 1998 through January 31, 1999, under the NGA grant. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past four months can be categorized as follows: (1) maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; (2) maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, external regulation of DOE; and EM Integration activities; and (3) continued to serve as a liaison between the NGA FFCA Task Force states and the Department.« less

Chiral Tricritical Point: A New Universality Class in Dirac Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Shuai; Jian, Shao-Kai; Yao, Hong

2018-05-01

Tricriticality, as a sister of criticality, is a fundamental and absorbing issue in condensed-matter physics. It has been verified that the bosonic Wilson-Fisher universality class can be changed by gapless fermionic modes at criticality. However, the counterpart phenomena at tricriticality have rarely been explored. In this Letter, we study a model in which a tricritical Ising model is coupled to massless Dirac fermions. We find that the massless Dirac fermions result in the emergence of a new tricritical point, which we refer to as the chiral tricritical point (CTP), at the phase boundary between the Dirac semimetal and the charge-density wave insulator. From functional renormalization group analysis of the effective action, we obtain the critical behaviors of the CTP, which are qualitatively distinct from both the tricritical Ising universality and the chiral Ising universality. We further extend the calculations of the chiral tricritical behaviors of Ising spins to the case of Heisenberg spins. The experimental relevance of the CTP in two-dimensional Dirac semimetals is also discussed.

Culpability and pain management/control in peripheral vascular disease using the ethics of principles and care.

PubMed

Omery, A

1991-09-01

The purposes of this article were to provide insight into the process of ethics and ethical inquiry and to explore the ethical issues of culpability and pain management/control. Critical care nurses who currently care for vascular patients identified these issues as occurring frequently in their practice. Authors in critical care nursing generally have limited the process of ethical inquiry to a theoretical framework built around an ethic of principles. The message many critical care nurses heard was that this one type of theoretical ethical framework was the totality of ethics. The application of these principles was ethical inquiry. For some nurses, the ethic of principles is sufficient. For others, an ethic of principles is either incomplete or foreign. This second group of nurses may believe that they have no moral voice if the language of ethics is only the language of principles. The language of principles, however, is not the only theoretical framework available. There is also the ethic of care, and ethical inquiry can include the application of that framework. Indeed, the language of the ethic of care may give a voice to nurses who previously felt morally mute. In fact, these two theoretical frameworks are not the only frameworks available to nurses. There is also virtue ethics, a framework not discussed in this article. A multiplicity of ethical frameworks is available for nurses to use in analyzing their professional and personal dilemmas. Recognizing that multiplicity, nurses can analyze their ethical dilemmas more comprehensively and effectively. Applying differing ethical frameworks can result in the same conclusions. This was the case for the issue of culpability.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Plasma wall interaction, a key issue on the way to a steady state burning fusion device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Philipps, V.

2006-04-01

The International Tokamak Experimental Reactor (ITER), the first burning fusion plasma experiment based on the tokamak principle, is ready for construction. It is based on many years of fusion research resulting in a robust design in most of the areas. Present day fusion research concentrates on the remaining critical issues which are, to a large extent, connected with processes of plasma wall interaction. This is mainly due to extended duty cycle and the increase of the plasma stored energy in comparison with present-day machines. Critical topics are the lifetime of the plasma facing components (PFC) and the long-term tritium retention. These processes are controlled mainly by material erosion, both during steady state operation and transient power losses (disruptions and edge localized modes (ELMs)) and short- and long-range material migration and re-deposition. The extrapolation from present-day 'full carbon wall' devices suggests that the long-term tritium retention in a burning fusion device would be unacceptably high under these conditions allowing for only an unacceptable limited number of pulses in a D T mixture. As a consequence of this, research activities have been strengthened to understand in more detail the underlying processes of material erosion and re-deposition, to develop methods to remove retained tritium from the PFCs and remote areas of a fusion device and to explore these processes and the plasma performance in more detail with metallic PFC, such as beryllium (Be) and tungsten (W), which are foreseen for the ITER experiment. This paper outlines the main physical mechanisms leading to material erosion, migration and re-deposition and the associated fuel retention. It addresses the experimental database in these areas and describes the further research strategies that will be needed to tackle critical issues.

Reassessment of True Core Collapse Differential Pressure Values for Filter Elements in Safety Critical Environments - 13076

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

Swain, Adam

2013-07-01

As the areas of application for diverse filter types increases, the mechanics and material sciences associated with the hardware and its relationship with more and more arduous process environments becomes critical to the successful and reliable operation of the filtration equipment. Where the filter is the last safe barrier between the process and the life environment, structural integrity and reliability is paramount in both the validation and the ethical acceptability of the designed equipment. Core collapse is a key factor influencing filter element selection, and is an extremely complex issue with a number of variables and failure mechanisms. It ismore » becoming clear that the theory behind core collapse calculations is not always supported with real tested data. In exploring this issue we have found that the calculation method is not always reflective of the true as tested collapse value, with the calculated values being typically in excess or even an order of magnitude higher than the tested values. The above claim is supported by a case study performed by the author, which disproves most of what was previously understood to be true. This paper also aims to explore the various failure mechanisms of different configurations of filter core, comparing calculated collapse values against real tested values, with a view to understanding a method of calculating their true collapse value. As the technology is advancing, and filter elements are being used in higher temperature, higher pressure, more radioactive and more chemically aggressive environments, confidence in core collapse values and data is crucial. (authors)« less

Representing causal knowledge in environmental policy interventions: Advantages and opportunities for qualitative influence diagram applications.

PubMed

Carriger, John F; Dyson, Brian E; Benson, William H

2018-05-01

This article develops and explores a methodology for using qualitative influence diagrams in environmental policy and management to support decision-making efforts that minimize risk and increase resiliency. Influence diagrams are representations of the conditional aspects of a problem domain. Their graphical properties are useful for structuring causal knowledge relevant to policy interventions and can be used to enhance inference and inclusivity of multiple viewpoints. Qualitative components of influence diagrams are beneficial tools for identifying and examining the interactions among the critical variables in complex policy development and implementation. Policy interventions on social-environmental systems can be intuitively diagrammed for representing knowledge of critical relationships among economic, environmental, and social attributes. Examples relevant to coastal resiliency issues in the US Gulf Coast region are developed to illustrate model structures for developing qualitative influence diagrams useful for clarifying important policy intervention issues and enhancing transparency in decision making. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2018;14:381-394. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Published 2018. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Improvement Science Meets Improvement Scholarship: Reframing Research for Better Healthcare.

PubMed

Cribb, Alan

2018-06-01

In this editorial essay I explore the possibilities of 'improvement scholarship' in order to set the scene for the theme of, and the other papers in, this issue. I contrast a narrow conception of quality improvement (QI) research with a much broader and more inclusive conception, arguing that we should greatly extend the existing dialogue between 'problem-solving' and 'critical' currents in improvement research. I have in mind the potential for building a much larger conversation between those people in 'improvement science' who are expressly concerned with tackling the problems facing healthcare and the wider group of colleagues who are engaged in health-related scholarship but who do not see themselves as particularly interested in quality improvement, indeed who may be critical of the language or concerns of QI. As one contribution to that conversation I suggest that that the increasing emphasis on theory and rigour in improvement research should include more focus on normative theory and rigour. The remaining papers in the issue are introduced including the various ways in which they handle the 'implicit normativity' of QI research and practice, and the linked theme of combining relatively 'tidy' and potentially 'unruly' forms of knowledge.

Introduction to Energy - 2nd Edition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cassedy, Edward S.; Grossman, Peter Z.

1998-12-01

Energy issues such as pollution, resource depletion, global warming, nuclear power and waste are problems that demand timely solutions. This book provides a critical examination of the resources, market forces, and social impacts of modern energy production. The book addresses the dilemmas that have arisen due to society's crucial dependence on energy, particularly fossil fuels, and explores the available alternative energy producing technologies. The second edition has increased emphasis on those issues at the forefront of the current energy debate: energy sustainability, climate change, and the radical restructuring of the power industry due to de-regulation. Assuming no prior technical expertise and avoiding complex mathematical formulation, it is directed at a broad readership. The second edition will follow the first in proving especially useful as a textbook for undergraduate programs in Science, Technology and Society (STS), and as a supplementary text in a variety of courses which touch upon energy studies, including environmental and technology policy, environmental, mineral and business law, energy and resource economics. Fully updated second edition of successful first edition that was adopted on Science, Technology and Society courses Provides a critical examination of all aspects of modern energy production for non-technical readers For a broad readership from a variety of backgrounds

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…

Strange old worlds: socio-critical reports about old-age experiences in West German print media (1970s-1990s).

PubMed

Streubel, Christiane

2011-01-01

This article examines West German images of old age and the elderly in a period when this increasingly became a topical issue. Between the 1970s and the 1990s, the elderly were the subject of socio-critical reports in leading political magazines like Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and Stern. In these specific journalistic formats, the media entered unfamiliar places like old people's homes, the elderly's private apartments or tea dances for senior citizens. By analysing the language used in such media reports, this article shows continuity and change in attitudes towards the elderly, explores the impact of the new old-age model 'the young at heart', and the relevance of gender and generational ascriptions. In doing so, this article uncovers the recent historical context of current social debates about old age.

Carbon nanomaterials in biosensors: should you use nanotubes or graphene?

PubMed

Yang, Wenrong; Ratinac, Kyle R; Ringer, Simon P; Thordarson, Pall; Gooding, J Justin; Braet, Filip

2010-03-15

From diagnosis of life-threatening diseases to detection of biological agents in warfare or terrorist attacks, biosensors are becoming a critical part of modern life. Many recent biosensors have incorporated carbon nanotubes as sensing elements, while a growing body of work has begun to do the same with the emergent nanomaterial graphene, which is effectively an unrolled nanotube. With this widespread use of carbon nanomaterials in biosensors, it is timely to assess how this trend is contributing to the science and applications of biosensors. This Review explores these issues by presenting the latest advances in electrochemical, electrical, and optical biosensors that use carbon nanotubes and graphene, and critically compares the performance of the two carbon allotropes in this application. Ultimately, carbon nanomaterials, although still to meet key challenges in fabrication and handling, have a bright future as biosensors.

An assessment of non-stationarity in physiological cognitive state assessment using artificial neural networks.

PubMed

Estepp, Justin R; Klosterman, Samantha L; Christensen, James C

2011-01-01

With increased attention toward physiological cognitive state assessment as a component in the larger field of applied neuroscience, the need to develop methods for robust, stable assessment of cognitive state has been expressed as critical to designing effective augmented human-machine systems. The technique of cognitive state assessment, as well as its benefits, has been demonstrated by many research groups. In an effort to move closer toward a realized system, efforts must now be focused on critical issues that remain unsolved, namely instability of pattern classifiers over the course of hours and days. This work, as part of the Cognitive State Assessment Competition 2011, seeks to explore methods for 'learning' non-stationarity as a mitigation for more generalized patterns that are stable over time courses that are not widely discussed in the literature.

Bioethics and Moral Agency: On Autonomy and Moral Responsibility.

PubMed

Skalko, John; Cherry, Mark J

2016-10-01

Two clusters of essays in this issue of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy provide a critical gaze through which to explore central moral, phenomenological, ontological, and political concerns regarding human moral agency and personal responsibility. The first cluster challenges common assumptions in bioethics regarding the voluntariness of human actions. The second set turns the debate towards morally responsible choice within the requirements of distributive justice. The force of their collective analysis leaves us with a well-founded basis critically to approach any account of bioethics or health policy that is insufficiently attentive to the central challenges of human freedom and responsible free choice. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press, on behalf of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy Inc. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Role of morality in the experience of guilt and shame within the armed forces.

PubMed

Nazarov, A; Jetly, R; McNeely, H; Kiang, M; Lanius, R; McKinnon, M C

2015-07-01

Despite advances in our understanding of mental health issues among military forces, a large proportion of military personnel continue to exhibit deployment-related psychological issues. Recent work has identified symptoms of guilt and shame related to moral injury as contributing significantly to combat-related mental health issues. This systematic scoping review explores the association between morality and symptoms of guilt and shame within military forces. A search of the literature pertaining to guilt, shame and morality within military samples was conducted. Nineteen articles were selected for review. There is strong evidence linking exposure to and the perceived perpetration of moral transgressions with experiences of guilt and shame. Critically, symptoms of guilt and shame were related to adverse mental health outcomes, particularly the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). No studies have explored moral judgment in conjunction with assessments of guilt or moral injury. These findings have important implications for the prevention and treatment of PTSD-related symptoms in military samples. By measuring moral judgment prior to deployment, it may be possible to predict the likelihood of incurring moral injuries and the development of associated symptoms. Early intervention programmes aimed at ameliorating guilt and shame are required to prevent the long-term development of deployment-related psychological distress. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

NSPWG-recommended safety requirements and guidelines for SEI nuclear propulsion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marshall, Albert C.; Sawyer, J. C., Jr.; Bari, Robert A.; Brown, Neil W.; Cullingford, Hatice S.; Hardy, Alva C.; Lee, James H.; Mcculloch, William H.; Niederauer, George F.; Remp, Kerry

1992-01-01

An interagency Nuclear Safety Policy Working Group (NSPWG) was chartered to recommend nuclear safety policy, requirements, and guidelines for the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) nuclear propulsion program to facilitate the implementation of mission planning and conceptual design studies. The NSPWG developed a top-level policy to provide the guiding principles for the development and implementation of the nuclear propulsion safety program and the development of safety functional requirements. In addition, the NSPWG reviewed safety issues for nuclear propulsion and recommended top-level safety requirements and guidelines to address these issues. Safety requirements were developed for reactor start-up, inadvertent criticality, radiological release and exposure, disposal, entry, and safeguards. Guidelines were recommended for risk/reliability, operational safety, flight trajectory and mission abort, space debris and meteoroids, and ground test safety. In this paper the specific requirements and guidelines will be discussed.

Straight talk. New approaches in healthcare.

PubMed

Lanier, Jack; Loudermilk, Kerry; Skogsbergh, Jim; Clark, Reatha; Friz, Robert; Lopez, Fawn

2005-11-07

Not-for-profit health systems are under the public microscope. Sen. Charles Grassley, (D-Iowa) chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has been critical of the charity care and billing practices of not-for-profit health systems, and vows to introduce legislation to correct abuses throughout the tax-exempt sector. The House has studied the issue as well. Not-for-profit health systems also have been accused in hundreds of lawsuits of overcharging uninsured patients and aggressively pursuing debt collection. In this installment of Straight Talk, we explore the issues surrounding tax-exempt status and how health systems should publicize their charitable work. Modern Healthcare and PricewaterhouseCoopers present Straight Talk. The session on charity care and tax-exempt status was held on October 4, 2005 at Modern Healthcare's Chicago headquarters. Fawn Lopez, publisher of Modern Healthcare, was the moderator.

Perception of GMOs by scientists and practitioners--the critical role of information flow about transgenic organisms.

PubMed

Małyska, Aleksandra; Maciąg, Kamil; Twardowski, Tomasz

2014-03-25

The issue of GMOs arouses constantly strong emotions in public discourse. At the same time opinions of people particularly interested in this issues such as researchers, or potential users of this technology (e.g. farmers) are rarely subjected to analysis. Moreover, lack of knowledge about the flow of information "from the laboratory to the consumer" hinders implementation of any changes in this field. By using triangulation (combining quantitative and qualitative research and the use of various research tools) we explored the attitudes of Polish scientists, agricultural advisers and farmers (large scale agricultural producers) to the use of GMOs in the economy. On the basis of the performed research we diagnosed the effectiveness of information flow among these groups about transgenic organisms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Critical education in resource and environmental management: Learning and empowerment for a sustainable future

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

Diduck, A.

1999-10-01

Changing rom current patterns of resource use to a sustainable and equitable economy is a complex and intractable problem. This paper suggests that critical education may form part of the solution. Critical environmental assessment (EA) education, the model explored in this paper, offers a tool for resource and environmental managers to use in managing public involvement processes. This model challenges current patterns of resource use and addresses criticisms of public involvement processes. Critical EA education, involving both cognitive development and personal empowerment, focuses on critical intelligence, problem solving and social action. The concept is offered as a means to facilitatemore » and improve public involvement and, thereby, empower local communities to take greater control of resource use decisions affecting their lives. Positive implications of critical EA education for change, complexity, uncertainty and conflict, which are four enduring themes in resource and environmental management, are discussed in the paper. The implications include: cognitive development and personal empowerment at the level of local resource communities; simplification of the often complex discourse encountered in resource management; reduction in feelings of powerlessness often experienced by members of the public in environmental assessment scenarios; a reduction of ignorance and indeterminacy regarding resource management issues; conflict resolution at the cognitive level; and, clarification of the opposing values, interests or actions at the heart of a conflict.« less

Commentary: Forks in the road: disruption and transformation in professional development.

PubMed

Kumagai, Arno K

2010-12-01

The dynamic influences underlying the development of the professional identity of physicians are not completely understood; however, one can easily imagine that the transition from the supervised work of the resident to the relative autonomy and increased authority of the attending physician is a watershed moment in this developmental process. In this issue of Academic Medicine, Westerman and colleagues present a qualitative, interview-based study exploring the experiences of newly appointed attending physicians during this transition, and from the participants' responses, they construct a conceptual model in which the new attending physicians' attempts to understand and cope with novel disruptive elements (i.e., new and unfamiliar tasks, roles, and settings) eventually give rise to a sense of mastery and personal and professional development. Although the authors use the literature of transition psychology and organizational social theory to support their model, valuable lessons may be learned from looking at the processes from an educational perspective as well. The disruptions which the authors describe find resonance in Piaget's state of "cognitive disequilibrium" or Dewey's "forked road situation," both of which link the experience of challenging or ambiguous situations with the act of reflection. Disruptive influences may stimulate explorations of self, others, and the world during this critical transition, and educational efforts in mentorship and in the creation of thoughtful discourse about these critical explorations may ultimately contribute to the development of a reflective professional self.

Collaboration, integration and change in children's services: critical issues and key ingredients.

PubMed

Horwath, Jan; Morrison, Tony

2007-01-01

Government and state policy, irrespective of jurisdiction, increasingly require and indeed specify the nature of collaboration with regard to the delivery of child welfare services for maltreated children. The rationale for collaboration appears obvious in as much as it is aimed at promoting multidisciplinary practice in order to meet the needs of the vulnerable child. However, collaboration, whilst a useful and motivating concept, is in reality far from straightforward and contains complexities and ambiguities. The aim of this paper is to explore these complexities and ambiguities to provide an overview of key developmental frameworks relevant to the creation and maintenance of strategic high-level multiagency partnerships. The authors begin by exploring the characteristic features of different levels of multiagency collaboration that is communication, co-operation, co-ordination, coalition, and integration. As the emphasis in a variety of jurisdictions in the Western world is on the highest levels of collaboration namely coalition and service integration this is the focus of the paper. The authors synthesize the main literature in the field to consider the critical elements for effective collaborative endeavors at this level including predisposing factors, mandate, leadership, machinery, process, and outcomes. The paper concludes by recognizing that the drive towards integrated services is occurring in a climate of continuing change. The need to identify the impact of such an environment when managing multiagency partnerships is explored using five steps to change.

Educating about Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries: A Critical Annotated Bibliography. Research in Curriculum and Instruction. Volume 1

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Totten, Samuel, Ed.; Pedersen, Jon, Ed.

2012-01-01

Educating About Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries: A Critical Annotated Bibliography, is comprised of critical essays accompanied by annotated bibliographies on a host of programs, models, strategies and concerns vis-a-vis teaching and learning about social issues facing society. The primary goal of the book is to provide undergraduate…

Plasma Liner Research for MTF at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thio, Y. C. F.; Eskridge, R.; Lee, M.; Martin, A.; Smith, J.; Cassibry, J. T.; Wu, S. T.; Kirkpatrick, R. C.; Knapp, C. E.; Turchi, P. J.;

critcial human health issues in connection with future human missions to mMars: the HUMEX study of ESA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horneck, G.; Humex Team

ESA has recently initiated a study of the human responses, limits and needs with regard to the stress environments of interplanetary and planetary missions. Emphasis was laid on human health and performance care as well as Advanced Life Support Developments including Bioregenerative Life Support Systems and environmental monitoring. The overall study goals were as follows: (i) to define reference scenarios for a European participation in human exploration and to estimate their influence on the Life Sciences and Life Support requirements; (ii) for selected mission scenarios, to critically assess the limiting factors for human health, wellbeing, and performance and to recommend relevant countermeasures; (iii) for selected mission scenarios, to critically assess the potential of Advanced Life Support Developments and to pro-pose a European strategy including terrestrial applications; (iv) to critically assess the feasibility of existing facilities and technologies on ground and in space as test-beds in preparation for human exploratory missions and to develop a test plan for ground and ISS campaigns; (v) to develop a roadmap for a future European strategy towards human exploratory missions, including preparatory activities and terrestrial applications and benefits. Two scenarios for a Mars mission were selected: (i) with a 30 days stay on Mars, and (ii) with about 500 days stay on Mars. The impact on human health, perform-ance and well being has been investigated from the view point of (i) the effects of microgravity (during space travel), reduced gravity (on Mars) and abrupt gravity changes (during launch and landing), (ii) the effects of cosmic radiation including solar particle events, (iii) psychological issues as well as general health care. Coun-termeasures as well as necessary research using ground-based testbeds and/or the ISS have been defined. The need for highly intelligent autonomous diagnostic and therapy systems was emphasized. Advanced life support systems with a high degree of autonomy and regenerative capacity and synergy effects were considered where bioregenerative life support systems and biodiagnostic systems become essential especially for the long-term Mars scenario. The considerations have been incorpo-rated into a roadmap for a future European strategy in human health issues for a potential European participation in a cooperative international exploration of our solar system by humans. Ref. Horneck et al, 2003, HUMEX, study on the Survivability and Adaptation of Humans to Long-Duration Exploratory Missions, ESA SP 1264

How Critical Is Critical Thinking? FACTC Focus, 2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doerr, Mark, Ed.

2010-01-01

"FACTC Focus" is a publication of Faculty Association of Community and Technical Colleges (FACTC) with the purpose of presenting diverse views on faculty issues. Included in this issue are: (1) LOL: The Easy ROUTE TO Critical Thinking (Barbara B. Parsons); (2) Critical Thinking: We Know It When We (Don't) See It (Jared Anthony); (3) Critical…

Hemolysis and free hemoglobin revisited: exploring hemoglobin and hemin scavengers as a novel class of therapeutic proteins.

PubMed

Schaer, Dominik J; Buehler, Paul W; Alayash, Abdu I; Belcher, John D; Vercellotti, Gregory M

2013-02-21

Hemolysis occurs in many hematologic and nonhematologic diseases. Extracellular hemoglobin (Hb) has been found to trigger specific pathophysiologies that are associated with adverse clinical outcomes in patients with hemolysis, such as acute and chronic vascular disease, inflammation, thrombosis, and renal impairment. Among the molecular characteristics of extracellular Hb, translocation of the molecule into the extravascular space, oxidative and nitric oxide reactions, hemin release, and molecular signaling effects of hemin appear to be the most critical. Limited clinical experience with a plasma-derived haptoglobin (Hp) product in Japan and more recent preclinical animal studies suggest that the natural Hb and the hemin-scavenger proteins Hp and hemopexin have a strong potential to neutralize the adverse physiologic effects of Hb and hemin. This includes conditions that are as diverse as RBC transfusion, sickle cell disease, sepsis, and extracorporeal circulation. This perspective reviews the principal mechanisms of Hb and hemin toxicity in different disease states, updates how the natural scavengers efficiently control these toxic moieties, and explores critical issues in the development of human plasma-derived Hp and hemopexin as therapeutics for patients with excessive intravascular hemolysis.

Dialectical Features of Students' Argumentation: A Critical Review of Argumentation Studies in Science Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, Jan Alexis

2013-02-01

This paper explores the challenges of using the Toulmin model to analyze students' dialogical argumentation. The paper presents a theoretical exposition of what is involved in an empirical study of real dialogic argumentation. Dialogic argumentation embodies dialectical features — i.e. the features that are operative when students collaboratively manage disagreement by providing arguments and engaging critically with the arguments provided by others. The paper argues that while dialectical features cannot readily be understood from a Toulminian perspective, it appears that an investigation of them is a prerequisite for conducting Toulminian analysis. This claim is substantiated by a detailed review of five of the ten most significant papers on students' argumentation in science education. This leads to the surprising notion that empirical studies in the argumentation strand — even those studies that have employed non-dialectical frameworks such as the Toulmin model — have implicitly struggled to come to terms with the dialectical features of students' discourse. The paper finally explores how some scholars have worked to attend directly to these dialectical features; and it presents five key issues that need to be addressed in a continued scholarly discussion.

Gender, Narratives and Intersectionality: can Personal Experience Approaches to Research Contribute to "Undoing Gender"?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cole, Barbara Ann

2009-11-01

This paper examines narrative methodologies as one approach to exploring issues of gender, education and social justice and, particularly, insights into "undoing gender". It furthermore examines the possibilities of exploring gender and its multiple intersections in a range of global and policy contexts through the use of personal experience approaches. The "storying" of lived experience is examined as a means of challenging dominant discourses which can construct and other individuals and groups in relation to many aspects of gender and education. Drawing on intersectionality, as a complex and developing feminist theory, the paper considers ways in which narrative can illuminate often hidden complexities while seeking to avoid generalisations and essentialisms. The difficulties of using narrative in relation to these aims are explored in the light of the warnings of feminist writers such as Michele Fine and bell hooks. The paper briefly considers narrative as both methodology and phenomenon, and finally, drawing on critical discourse analysis, discusses the potential of intersectionality and narrative in relation to undoing gender.

On-orbit assembly considerations of manned Mars transfer vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

D'Amara, Mark

1990-01-01

Ever since the United States space program started some forty years ago, there have been many ideas on how the U.S. should proceed to explore space. Throughout the years, many innovative designs have surfaced for transfer vehicles, space stations, and surface bases. Usually the difference in designs are due to differences in mission objectives and requirements. The problem for Mars is how to choose an architecture for human travel to Mars and what kind of base construction to design for Mars that will be reliable and cost effective. Eventually, if the Space Exploration Initiative is to become a reality, NASA will have to select and fund a single mission architecture involving manned and unmanned Mars fly-by precursors, a Mars landing vehicle, and, ultimately, the plan for constructing a Mars base. The decision to commit to a single architecture is a vital one and, therefore, the design issues, the decision making process, and the analysis tools must be available to explore all of the options that are available. A large part of any space mission architecture is the Earth-to-Mars transfer vehicle. The decision on the type of transfer vehicle to design is a crucial one. The many options must take into account the constraints encountered when assembling the vehicle in earth orbit such as effective joining methods, test and evaluation methods, preventative maintenance measures, etc. Therefore, the process of trading off various designs must include every facet of that design. The on-orbit assembly/construction constraints will drive designs and architectures. This viewgraph presentation highlights the above critical issues so that designs may be evaluated from these viewpoints. Evaluating designs from the issues contained in this paper will help decision makers detect inadequate designs. Stressing these issues in the evaluation procedure will have a great impact on the decisions of future space mission transfer vehicles and consequent architectures.

Qualitative Analysis of Attitudes Toward Adult-Child Sexual Activity Among Minor-Attracted Persons.

PubMed

Spriggs, Sharron A; Cohen, Lisa J; Valencia, Ashley; S Zimri, Yaseen; Galynker, Igor I

2018-05-09

This study uses qualitative methodology to explore narrative responses to a question regarding the harmful versus beneficial effects of adult-child sex on children. Data were gathered from a survey of self-identified minor-attracted persons (MAPs). Two hundred and sixty-seven survey participants provided narrative responses. Results indicated a significant amount of variability in perceptions of harm and of mitigating or aggravating factors. Understanding the subjective perspectives of MAPs, the range of their attitudes, and the issues that they identify as pertinent is critically important for clinical efficacy in the treatment of pedophilia.

Patient truthfulness: a test of models of the physician-patient relationship.

PubMed

Vanderpool, H Y; Weiss, G B

1984-11-01

Little attention has been given in medical ethics literature to issues relating to the truthfulness of patients. Beginning with an actual medical case, this paper first explores truth-telling by doctors and patients as related to two prominent models of the physician-patient relationship. Utilizing this discussion and the literature on the truthfulness and accuracy of the information patients convey to doctors, these models are then critically assessed. It is argued that the patient agency (patient autonomy or contractual) model is inherently and seriously flawed in numerous circumstances, even those involving informed and competent adult patients.

Examining the Uppermost Surface of the Moon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noble, Sarah K.

2010-01-01

Understanding the properties of the uppermost lunar surface is critical as it is the optical surface that is probed by remote-sensing data, like that which is and will be generated by instruments on orbiting missions (e.g. M3, LRO). The uppermost material is also the surface with which future lunar astronauts and their equipment will be in direct contact, and thus understanding its properties will be important for dust mitigation and toxicology issues. Furthermore, exploring the properties of this uppermost surface may provide insight into conditions at this crucial interface, such as grain charging and levitation

Moral communities.

PubMed

Chambers, David W

2006-11-01

This article explores the twin issues of whether organizations can act as ethical agents and what it means to exert moral influence over others. A discursive perspective is advanced that characterizes ethics as the action of communities based on promises. The received view of ethics as either the universal principles or individual responsibility is criticized as inadequate. Moral influence within community is considered under the various headings of democracy, office, brotherhood, agency, witness, and promise making. Moral influence among communities can include the damaging methods of "the superior position," coercion and misrepresentation, and appeal to third parties and the sound methods of rhetoric and promise making.

Programming parallel architectures: The BLAZE family of languages

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mehrotra, Piyush

1988-01-01

Programming multiprocessor architectures is a critical research issue. An overview is given of the various approaches to programming these architectures that are currently being explored. It is argued that two of these approaches, interactive programming environments and functional parallel languages, are particularly attractive since they remove much of the burden of exploiting parallel architectures from the user. Also described is recent work by the author in the design of parallel languages. Research on languages for both shared and nonshared memory multiprocessors is described, as well as the relations of this work to other current language research projects.

Strong fields and neutral particle magnetic moment dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Formanek, Martin; Evans, Stefan; Rafelski, Johann; Steinmetz, Andrew; Yang, Cheng-Tao

2018-07-01

Interaction of magnetic moment of point particles with external electromagnetic fields experiences unresolved theoretical and experimental discrepancies. In this work we point out several issues within relativistic quantum mechanics and QED and we describe effects related to a new covariant classical model of magnetic moment dynamics. Using this framework we explore the invariant acceleration experienced by neutral particles coupled to an external plane wave field through the magnetic moment: we study the case of ultrarelativistic Dirac neutrinos with magnetic moment in the range of 10‑11 to 10‑20 μ B; and we address the case of slowly moving neutrons. We explore how critical accelerations for neutrinos can be experimentally achieved in laser pulse interactions. The radiation of accelerated neutrinos can serve as an important test distinguishing between Majorana and Dirac nature of neutrinos.

Illness and Internet empowerment: writing and reading breast cancer in cyberspace.

PubMed

Pitts, Victoria

2004-01-01

The Internet is now a site where women with breast cancer both read and write about the illness, and in doing so negotiate identity and definitions of situation in disembodied space. Cyberspace has been imagined as a liberatory realm where women can transgress gender roles, invent selves and create new forms of knowledge. This study explores the personal web pages of women with breast cancer with an interest in exploring the issue of 'cyber-agency' or empowerment in cyberspace. I suggest here that women's web pages might offer potentially critical opportunities for women's knowledge-making in relation to what are often highly political aspects of the body, gender and illness. However, the Internet is not an inherently empowering technology, and it can be a medium for affirming norms of femininity, consumerism, individualism and other powerful social messages.

Pre-experience perceptions about telemedicine among African Americans and Latinos in South Central Los Angeles.

PubMed

George, Sheba M; Hamilton, Alison; Baker, Richard

2009-01-01

This study explores perceptions about telemedicine among urban underserved African American and Latino populations. Telemedicine has been advanced as a vehicle to increase access to specialty care among the urban underserved, yet little is known about its acceptability among these populations. We conducted 10 focus groups with African American and Latino participants (n = 87) in urban Los Angeles in order to explore perceptions about this novel type of care. We found that concerns about telemedicine varied between the two racial/ethnic groups. These findings have implications for important issues such as adoption of telemedicine, patient satisfaction, and doctor-patient interaction. It will be critical to consider perceptions of this healthcare innovation in the development of strategies to market and implement telemedicine among urban, underserved African American and Latino populations.

[An Introduction to Methods for Evaluating Health Care Technology].

PubMed

Lee, Ting-Ting

2015-06-01

The rapid and continual advance of healthcare technology makes ensuring that this technology is used effectively to achieve its original goals a critical issue. This paper presents three methods that may be applied by healthcare professionals in the evaluation of healthcare technology. These methods include: the perception/experiences of users, user work-pattern changes, and chart review or data mining. The first method includes two categories: using interviews to explore the user experience and using theory-based questionnaire surveys. The second method applies work sampling to observe the work pattern changes of users. The last method conducts chart reviews or data mining to analyze the designated variables. In conclusion, while evaluative feedback may be used to improve the design and development of healthcare technology applications, the informatics competency and informatics literacy of users may be further explored in future research.

Scaling a waterfall: a meta-ethnography of adolescent progression through the stages of HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa.

PubMed

Williams, Shannon; Renju, Jenny; Ghilardi, Ludovica; Wringe, Alison

2017-09-15

Observational studies have shown considerable attrition among adolescents living with HIV across the "cascade" of HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa, leading to higher mortality rates compared to HIV-infected adults or children. We synthesized evidence from qualitative studies on factors that promote or undermine engagement with HIV services among adolescents living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. We systematically searched five databases for studies published between 2005 and 2016 that met pre-defined inclusion criteria. We used a meta-ethnographic approach to identify first, second and third order constructs from eligible studies, and applied a socio-ecological framework to situate our results across different levels of influence, and in relation to each stage of the HIV cascade. We identified 3089 citations, of which 24 articles were eligible for inclusion. Of these, 17 were from Southern Africa while 11 were from Eastern Africa. 6 explored issues related to HIV testing, 11 explored treatment adherence, and 7 covered multiple stages of the cascade. Twelve third-order constructs emerged to explain adolescents' engagement in HIV care. Stigma was the most salient factor impeding adolescents' interactions with HIV care over the past decade. Self-efficacy to adapt to life with HIV and support from family or social networks were critical enablers supporting uptake and retention in HIV care and treatment programmes. Provision of adolescent-friendly services and health systems issues, such as the availability of efficient, confidential and comfortable services, were also reported to drive sustained care engagement. Individual-level factors, including past illness experiences, identifying mechanisms to manage pill-taking in social situations, financial (in)stability and the presence/absence of future aspirations also shaped adolescents HIV care engagement. Adolescents' initial and ongoing use of HIV care was frequently undermined by individual-level issues; although family, community and health systems factors played important roles. Interventions should prioritise addressing psychosocial issues among adolescents to promote individual-level engagement with HIV care, and ultimately reduce mortality. Further research should explore issues relating to care linkage and ART initiation in different settings, particularly as "test and treat" policies are scaled up.

Issues in Perspective. Critical Issues Papers 1-17.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duttweiler, Patricia Cloud

The papers in this collection are based on the document "Perspectives on Performance-Based Incentive Plans" and offer brief overviews of the following critical issues in education: (1) performance-based incentive plans; (2) needed organizational changes; (3) successful and unsuccessful teacher incentive plans; (4) compensation strategies and…

Job satisfaction and work related variables in Chinese cardiac critical care nurses.

PubMed

Liu, Yun-E; While, Alison; Li, Shu-Jun; Ye, Wen-Qin

2015-05-01

To explore critical care nurses' views of their job satisfaction and the relationship with job burnout, practice environment, coping style, social support, intention to stay in current employment and other work-related variables. Nurse shortage is a global issue, especially in critical care. Job satisfaction is the most frequently cited factor linked to nurses' turnover. A convenience sample of cardiac critical care nurses (n = 215; 97.7% response rate) from 12 large general hospitals in Shanghai was surveyed from December 2010 to March 2011. Over half of the sample reported satisfaction with their jobs. Nurses with 10-20 years of professional experience and those who had taken all their holiday entitlement reported higher levels of job satisfaction. The independent variables of practice environment, intention to stay, emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment and positive coping style explained about 55% of the variance in job satisfaction. Chinese cardiac critical care nurses' job satisfaction was related to work related variables, which are amenable to managerial action. Our findings highlight the imperative of improving intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, together with the flexibility of work schedules to promote job satisfaction and staff retention. A clinical ladder system is needed to provide promotion opportunities for Chinese nurses. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Search for Signatures of Life in the Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Race, M.; Schwehm, G.; Arnould, J.; Dawson, S.; Devore, E.; Evans, D.; Ferrazzani, M.; Shostak, S.

The search for evidence of extraterrestrial life is an important scientific theme that fascinates the public and encourages interest in space exploration, both within the solar system and beyond. The rapid pace of mass media communication allows the public to share mission results and new discoveries almost simultaneously with the scientific community. The public can read about proposed sample return missions to Mars, listen as scientists debate about in situ exploration of the oceans on Europa, learn about the growing number of extrasolar planets, or use their personal computers to participate in searches for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). As the science community continues its multi-pronged efforts to detect evidence of extraterrestrial life, it must be mindful of more than just science and technology. It is important to understand public perceptions, misperceptions, beliefs, concerns and potential complications associated with the search for life beyond our home planet. This panel is designed to provide brief overviews of some important non-scientific areas with the potential to impact future astrobiological exploration. The presentations will be followed by open discussion and audience participation. Invited panelists and their topical areas include: SCIENCE FICTION AND MISPERCEPTIONS: Seth Shostak, Dylan EvansBattling Pseudo-Science, Hollywood and Alien Abductions LEGAL ISSUES: Marcus FerrazzaniLooming Complications for Future Missions and Exploration RISK COMMUNICATION: Sandra DawsonEngaging the Public, Explaining the Risks, and Encouraging Long-Term Interestin Mission Science EDUCATION: Edna DeVoreUsing the Search for Life as a Motivating Theme in Teaching Basic Science andCritical Thinking. ETHICAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS: Jacques ArnouldWhat Will it Mean if We Find "ET"? PANEL MODERATORS: Margaret Race, Gerhard Schwehm

Applying Critical Race Theory to Group Model Building Methods to Address Community Violence.

PubMed

Frerichs, Leah; Lich, Kristen Hassmiller; Funchess, Melanie; Burrell, Marcus; Cerulli, Catherine; Bedell, Precious; White, Ann Marie

2016-01-01

Group model building (GMB) is an approach to building qualitative and quantitative models with stakeholders to learn about the interrelationships among multilevel factors causing complex public health problems over time. Scant literature exists on adapting this method to address public health issues that involve racial dynamics. This study's objectives are to (1) introduce GMB methods, (2) present a framework for adapting GMB to enhance cultural responsiveness, and (3) describe outcomes of adapting GMB to incorporate differences in racial socialization during a community project seeking to understand key determinants of community violence transmission. An academic-community partnership planned a 1-day session with diverse stakeholders to explore the issue of violence using GMB. We documented key questions inspired by critical race theory (CRT) and adaptations to established GMB "scripts" (i.e., published facilitation instructions). The theory's emphasis on experiential knowledge led to a narrative-based facilitation guide from which participants created causal loop diagrams. These early diagrams depict how violence is transmitted and how communities respond, based on participants' lived experiences and mental models of causation that grew to include factors associated with race. Participants found these methods useful for advancing difficult discussion. The resulting diagrams can be tested and expanded in future research, and will form the foundation for collaborative identification of solutions to build community resilience. GMB is a promising strategy that community partnerships should consider when addressing complex health issues; our experience adapting methods based on CRT is promising in its acceptability and early system insights.

Artificial Gravity as a Multi-System Countermeasure for Exploration Class Space Flight Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paloski, William H.; Dawson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

NASA's vision for space exploration includes missions of unprecedented distance and duration. However, during 30 years of human space flight experience, including numerous long-duration missions, research has not produced any single countermeasure or combination of countermeasures that is completely effective. Current countermeasures do not fully protect crews in low-Earth orbit, and certainly will not be appropriate for crews journeying to Mars and back over a three-year period. The urgency for exploration-class countermeasures is compounded by continued technical and scientific successes that make exploration class missions increasingly attractive. The critical and possibly fatal problems of bone loss, cardiovascular deconditioning, muscle weakening, neurovestibular disturbance, space anemia, and immune compromise may be alleviated by the appropriate application of artificial gravity (AG). However, despite a manifest need for new countermeasure approaches, concepts for applying AG as a countermeasure have not developed apace. To explore the utility of AG as a multi-system countermeasure during long-duration, exploration-class space flight, eighty-three members of the international space life science and space flight community met earlier this year. They concluded unanimously that the potential of AG as a multi-system countermeasure is indeed worth pursuing, and that the requisite AG research needs to be supported more systematically by NASA. This presentation will review the issues discussed and recommendations made.

Convergent ethical issues in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria vaccine trials in Africa: Report from the WHO/UNAIDS African AIDS Vaccine Programme's Ethics, Law and Human Rights Collaborating Centre consultation, 10-11 February 2009, Durban, South Africa.

PubMed

Mamotte, Nicole; Wassenaar, Douglas; Koen, Jennifer; Essack, Zaynab

2010-03-09

Africa continues to bear a disproportionate share of the global HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria burden. The development and distribution of safe, effective and affordable vaccines is critical to reduce these epidemics. However, conducting HIV/AIDS, TB, and/or malaria vaccine trials simultaneously in developing countries, or in populations affected by all three diseases, is likely to result in numerous ethical challenges. In order to explore convergent ethical issues in HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria vaccine trials in Africa, the Ethics, Law and Human Rights Collaborating Centre of the WHO/UNAIDS African AIDS Vaccine Programme hosted a consultation on the Convergent Ethical Issues in HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Vaccine Trials in Africa in Durban, South Africa on the 10-11 February 2009. Key cross cutting ethical issues were prioritized during the consultation as community engagement; ancillary care obligations; care and treatment; informed consent; and resource sharing. The consultation revealed that while there have been few attempts to find convergence on ethical issues between HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria vaccine trial fields to date, there is much common ground and scope for convergence work between stakeholders in the three fields.

Security issues in healthcare applications using wireless medical sensor networks: a survey.

PubMed

Kumar, Pardeep; Lee, Hoon-Jae

2012-01-01

Healthcare applications are considered as promising fields for wireless sensor networks, where patients can be monitored using wireless medical sensor networks (WMSNs). Current WMSN healthcare research trends focus on patient reliable communication, patient mobility, and energy-efficient routing, as a few examples. However, deploying new technologies in healthcare applications without considering security makes patient privacy vulnerable. Moreover, the physiological data of an individual are highly sensitive. Therefore, security is a paramount requirement of healthcare applications, especially in the case of patient privacy, if the patient has an embarrassing disease. This paper discusses the security and privacy issues in healthcare application using WMSNs. We highlight some popular healthcare projects using wireless medical sensor networks, and discuss their security. Our aim is to instigate discussion on these critical issues since the success of healthcare application depends directly on patient security and privacy, for ethic as well as legal reasons. In addition, we discuss the issues with existing security mechanisms, and sketch out the important security requirements for such applications. In addition, the paper reviews existing schemes that have been recently proposed to provide security solutions in wireless healthcare scenarios. Finally, the paper ends up with a summary of open security research issues that need to be explored for future healthcare applications using WMSNs.

Security Issues in Healthcare Applications Using Wireless Medical Sensor Networks: A Survey

PubMed Central

Kumar, Pardeep; Lee, Hoon-Jae

2012-01-01

Healthcare applications are considered as promising fields for wireless sensor networks, where patients can be monitored using wireless medical sensor networks (WMSNs). Current WMSN healthcare research trends focus on patient reliable communication, patient mobility, and energy-efficient routing, as a few examples. However, deploying new technologies in healthcare applications without considering security makes patient privacy vulnerable. Moreover, the physiological data of an individual are highly sensitive. Therefore, security is a paramount requirement of healthcare applications, especially in the case of patient privacy, if the patient has an embarrassing disease. This paper discusses the security and privacy issues in healthcare application using WMSNs. We highlight some popular healthcare projects using wireless medical sensor networks, and discuss their security. Our aim is to instigate discussion on these critical issues since the success of healthcare application depends directly on patient security and privacy, for ethic as well as legal reasons. In addition, we discuss the issues with existing security mechanisms, and sketch out the important security requirements for such applications. In addition, the paper reviews existing schemes that have been recently proposed to provide security solutions in wireless healthcare scenarios. Finally, the paper ends up with a summary of open security research issues that need to be explored for future healthcare applications using WMSNs. PMID:22368458

A strategic value management approach for energy and maintenance management in a building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Dahlan, Nofri Yenita; Nadarajan, Santhirasegaran

2015-05-01

Fragmentation process is always been highlighted by the stakeholders in the construction industry as one of the `critical' issue that diminishing the opportunity for stakeholders that involved during the operation and maintenance stage to influence design decisions. Failure of design professionals to consider how a maintenance contractor or facility manager will construct the design thus results in higher operating cost, wastage, defects during the maintenance and operation process. Moving towards team integration is considered a significant strategy for overcoming the issue. Value Management is a style of management dedicated to guiding people and promoting innovation with the aim to improve overall building performance through structured, team-oriented exercises which make explicit, and appraise subsequent decisions, by reference to the value requirements of the clients. Accordingly, this paper discusses the fragmentation issue in more detail including the definition, causes and effects to the maintenance and operation of building and at the same time will highlighted the potential of VM integrated team approach as a strategic management approach for overcoming that issue. It also explores that the team integration strategy alleviates scheduling problems, delays and disputes during the construction process, and, hence, prevent harming the overall building performance.

Mission and Safety Critical (MASC): An EVACS simulation with nested transactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Auty, David; Atkinson, Colin; Randall, Charlie

1992-01-01

The Extra-Vehicular Activity Control System (EVACS) Simulation with Nested Transactions, a recent effort of the MISSION Kernel Team, is documented. The EVACS simulation is a simulation of some aspects of the Extra-Vehicular Activity Control System, in particular, just the selection of communication frequencies. The simulation is a tool to explore mission and safety critical (MASC) applications. For the purpose of this effort, its current definition is quite narrow serving only as a starting point for prototyping purposes. (Note that EVACS itself has been supplanted in a larger scenario of a lunar outpost with astronauts and a lunar rover). The frequency selection scenario was modified to embed its processing in nested transactions. Again as a first step, only two aspects of transaction support were implemented in this prototype: architecture and state recovery. Issues of concurrency and distribution are yet to be addressed.

Safeguards Knowledge Management & Retention at U.S. National Laboratories.

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

Haddal, Risa; Jones, Rebecca; Bersell, Bridget

In 2017, four U.S. National Laboratories collaborated on behalf of DOE/NNSA to explore the safeguards knowledge retention problem, identify possible approaches, and develop a strategy to address it. The one-year effort consisted of four primary tasks. First, the project sought to identify critical safeguards information at risk of loss. Second, a survey and workshop were conducted to assess nine U.S. National Laboratories' efforts to determine current safeguards knowledge retention practices and challenges, and identify best practices. Third, specific tools were developed to identify and predict critical safeguards knowledge gaps and how best to recruit in order to fill those gaps.more » Finally, based on findings from the first three tasks and research on other organizational approaches to address similar issues, a strategy was developed on potential knowledge retention methods, customized HR policies, and best practices that could be implemented across the National Laboratory Complex.« less

Choosing between possible lives: legal and ethical issues in preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

PubMed

Scott, Rosamund

2006-01-01

This article critically appraises the current legal scope of the principal applications of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). This relatively new technique, which is available to some parents undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, aims to ensure that a child is not born with a seemingly undesirable genetic condition. The question addressed here is whether there should be serious reasons to test for genetic conditions in embryos in order to be able to select between them. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and the Human Genetics Commission have decided that there should be such reasons by broadly aligning the criteria for PGD with those for selective abortion. This stance is critically explored, as are its implications for the possible use of PGD to select either against or for marginal features or for significant traits. The government is currently reviewing the legal scope and regulation of PGD.

Science and policy: valuing framing, language and listening.

PubMed

Forbes, Stephen

2011-01-01

This paper considers the context for science contributing to policy development and explores some critical issues that should inform science advocacy and influence with policy makers. The paper argues that the key challenges are at least as much in educating conservation scientists and science communicators about society and policy making as they are in educating society and policy makers about science. The importance of developing processes to ensure that scientists and science communicators invest in the development of relationships based on respect and understanding of their audience in both communities and amongst policy makers provides a critical first step. The objectives of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation acknowledge the importance of developing the capacities and public engagement necessary to implement the Strategy, including knowledge transfer and community capacity building. However, the development of targets to equip institutions and plant conservation professionals to explicitly address the barriers to influencing policy development through knowledge transfer and integration require further consideration.

Organizational Responsibility for Age-Friendly Social Participation: Views of Australian Rural Community Stakeholders.

PubMed

Winterton, Rachel

2016-01-01

This qualitative study critically explores the barriers experienced by diverse rural community stakeholders in facilitating environments that enable age-friendly social participation. Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were conducted across two rural Australian communities with stakeholders from local government, health, social care, and community organizations. Findings identify that rural community stakeholders face significant difficulties in securing resources for groups and activities catering to older adults, which subsequently impacts their capacity to undertake outreach to older adults. However, in discussing these issues, questions were raised in relation to whose responsibility it is to provide resources for community groups and organizations providing social initiatives and whose responsibility it is to engage isolated seniors. These findings provide a much-needed critical perspective on current age-friendly research by acknowledging the responsibilities of various macro-level social structures-different community-level organizations, local government, and policy in fostering environments to enable participation of diverse rural older adults.

Critical Issues in Evaluating National-Level Health Data Warehouses in LMICs: Kenya Case Study.

PubMed

Gesicho, Milka B; Babic, Ankica; Were, Martin C

2017-01-01

Low-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs) are beginning to adopt national health data warehousing (NHDWs) for making strategic decisions and for improving health outcomes. Given the numerous challenges likely to be faced in establishment of NHDWs by LMICs, it is prudent that evaluations are done in relation to the data warehouses (DWs), in order to identify and mitigate critical issues that arise. When critic issues are not identified, DWs are prone to suboptimal implementation with compromised outcomes. Despite the fact that several publications exist on evaluating DWs, evaluations specific to health data warehouses are scanty, with almost none evaluating NHDWs more so in LMICs. This paper uses a systematic approach guided by an evaluation framework to identify critical issues to be considered in evaluating Kenya's NHDW.

Political ideologies and health-oriented beliefs and behaviors: an empirical examination of strategic issues.

PubMed

Murrow, J J; Coulter, R L; Coulter, M K

2000-01-01

The area of health care has been called the most important political issue of the 1990s. Attitudes toward health care reform, increasing health costs, and defensive medical practices have been examined in the public press and by academicians. In addition, a substantial amount of research has been directed toward the improvement of individual personal health due to changes in personal health-related habits and behaviors. To date, there are relatively few studies which have attempted to examine the political tendencies of a nationwide sample of respondents as they relate to personal health-related beliefs and behaviors. This article explores the consumer's views on critical questions relating to health orientations and political tendencies. The results indicate a divergence between the political orientations of respondents and their beliefs and behaviors associated with health and wellness. Implications for policy-makers are discussed.

End-of-life ethics and disability: differing perspectives on case-based teaching.

PubMed

Kaufert, Joseph; Wiebe, Rhonda; Schwartz, Karen; Labine, Lisa; Lutfiyya, Zana Marie; Pearse, Catherine

2010-05-01

The way in which medical professionals engage in bioethical issues ultimately reflects the type of care such patients are likely to receive. It is therefore critical for doctors and other health care professionals to have a broad understanding of disability. Our purpose in this paper is to explore ways of teaching bioethical issues to first year medical students by integrating alternative approaches. Such approaches include (a) the use of the narrative format, (b) the inclusion of a disability perspective, and (c) the presentation and facilitation of classes by people with disabilities. We consider how these new kinds of presentations are evaluated by students, faculty, people with disabilities and professional ethicists. We hope new knowledge may provide health care professionals with a greater understanding of the perspectives of patients with disabilities, who are confronted by conflicting ethical values and frameworks for decision-making in their interaction with such professionals.

Social and economic attitudes shaping American health policy.

PubMed

Fein, R

1980-01-01

The Health Clark Lectures (University of London) explore the development of American health care policy in a social and economic context; the probability of transatlantic relevance is substantial. I. American Health Care: Selected Policy Issues. The U.S. economy is beset with difficulties, and social policy bends to these realities and to perceptions of them. In the climate of growing neoconservatism, efforts to develop a coherent and cohesive national health policy are discontinuous and even inconsistent. II. Efficiency and Equity in Medicine: The Role of the Economist. The critical issue for economic policy is the amount spent for health care in society; for social policy it is the way that amount is shared. Certainly, there is an interplay between the two, but we must be wary of finding common ground in economic-investment and benefit-cost approaches. Striving for equity offers the best strategy to attain efficiency.

Culture and meaning: expanding the metaphorical repertoire of family therapy.

PubMed

Paré, D A

1996-03-01

This essay proposes that a family therapy founded on a contemporary, postmodern perspective demands an expanded range of metaphors for the family and the work of therapy. It describes a perspective that emphasizes a view of the family as a culture, as opposed to a system. A cultural perspective naturally addresses issues of meaning and language, narrative, politics, and practices of power-critical contemporary concerns not adequately encompassed by traditional systemic formulations. The essay explores the relationship between theory and metaphor, and contrasts the views of persons and of the family offered by the metaphors of culture and system. Case illustrations demonstrate how a cultural view effectively fashions an expanded therapeutic discourse, shifting the focus of family therapy from normative prescriptions for family "functionality" to issues of intercultural harmony. This shift in emphasis also extends to individual work, where the therapeutic task is construed as a peace-making between conflicting stories that intersect in the client's life.

Exploring Socio-Technical Insights for Safe Nursing Handover.

PubMed

Wong, Ming Chao; Yee, Kwang Chien; Turner, Paul

2017-01-01

Current efforts to improve nursing handover frequently use prescriptive approaches based on research evidence of handover issues within a single nursing ward or nursing specialty. Despite reported handover improvement, few studies adequately consider the transferability of results to other nursing handover environments or acknowledge the unique attributes that supported sustained improvement. With the increasing diffusion of electronic tools it has become even more critical to ensure that socio-technical issues that may impact on the quality and safety of nursing handovers are identified. This paper describes a qualitative research project that examined nursing handover in three different wards - General Medicine, General Surgery and Department of Emergency Medicine in a tertiary teaching hospital. Through conduct of a detailed analysis of nursing handover processes, this paper highlights the similarities and differences in the handover among the three different wards and presents five key socio-technical insights to support safe nursing handover.

A human reliability based usability evaluation method for safety-critical software

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

Boring, R. L.; Tran, T. Q.; Gertman, D. I.

2006-07-01

Boring and Gertman (2005) introduced a novel method that augments heuristic usability evaluation methods with that of the human reliability analysis method of SPAR-H. By assigning probabilistic modifiers to individual heuristics, it is possible to arrive at the usability error probability (UEP). Although this UEP is not a literal probability of error, it nonetheless provides a quantitative basis to heuristic evaluation. This method allows one to seamlessly prioritize and identify usability issues (i.e., a higher UEP requires more immediate fixes). However, the original version of this method required the usability evaluator to assign priority weights to the final UEP, thusmore » allowing the priority of a usability issue to differ among usability evaluators. The purpose of this paper is to explore an alternative approach to standardize the priority weighting of the UEP in an effort to improve the method's reliability. (authors)« less

Psychological Issues in Online Adaptive Task Allocation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, N. M.; Rouse, W. B.; Ward, S. L.; Frey, P. R.

1984-01-01

Adaptive aiding is an idea that offers potential for improvement over many current approaches to aiding in human-computer systems. The expected return of tailoring the system to fit the user could be in the form of improved system performance and/or increased user satisfaction. Issues such as the manner in which information is shared between human and computer, the appropriate division of labor between them, and the level of autonomy of the aid are explored. A simulated visual search task was developed. Subjects are required to identify targets in a moving display while performing a compensatory sub-critical tracking task. By manipulating characteristics of the situation such as imposed task-related workload and effort required to communicate with the computer, it is possible to create conditions in which interaction with the computer would be more or less desirable. The results of preliminary research using this experimental scenario are presented, and future directions for this research effort are discussed.

Introduction to Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cassedy, Edward S.; Grossman, Peter Z.

1999-01-01

Energy issues such as pollution, resource depletion, global warming, nuclear power and waste are problems demanding timely solutions. This book provides a critical examination of the resources, market forces, and social impacts of modern energy production. The book addresses the dilemmas that have arisen due to society's crucial dependence on energy, particularly fossil fuels, and explores the available alternative energy producing technologies. The second edition has increased emphasis on those issues at the forefront of the current energy debate: energy sustainability, climate change, and the radical restructuring of the power industry due to deregulation. Assuming no prior technical expertise and avoiding complex mathematical formulation. The second edition, like the first, will be especially useful as a textbook for undergraduate programs in Science, Technology and Society (STS), and as a supplementary text in a variety of courses that touch on energy studies, including environmental and technology policy, environmental, mineral and business law, energy and resource economics.

Integrating Low-Cost Rapid Usability Testing into Agile System Development of Healthcare IT: A Methodological Perspective.

PubMed

Kushniruk, Andre W; Borycki, Elizabeth M

2015-01-01

The development of more usable and effective healthcare information systems has become a critical issue. In the software industry methodologies such as agile and iterative development processes have emerged to lead to more effective and usable systems. These approaches highlight focusing on user needs and promoting iterative and flexible development practices. Evaluation and testing of iterative agile development cycles is considered an important part of the agile methodology and iterative processes for system design and re-design. However, the issue of how to effectively integrate usability testing methods into rapid and flexible agile design cycles has remained to be fully explored. In this paper we describe our application of an approach known as low-cost rapid usability testing as it has been applied within agile system development in healthcare. The advantages of the integrative approach are described, along with current methodological considerations.

Ethics in Community-University-Artist Partnered Research: Tensions, Contradictions and Gaps Identified in an 'Arts for Social Change' Project.

PubMed

Yassi, Annalee; Spiegel, Jennifer Beth; Lockhart, Karen; Fels, Lynn; Boydell, Katherine; Marcuse, Judith

Academics from diverse disciplines are recognizing not only the procedural ethical issues involved in research, but also the complexity of everyday "micro" ethical issues that arise. While ethical guidelines are being developed for research in aboriginal populations and low-and-middle-income countries, multi-partnered research initiatives examining arts-based interventions to promote social change pose a unique set of ethical dilemmas not yet fully explored. Our research team, comprising health, education, and social scientists, critical theorists, artists and community-activists launched a five-year research partnership on arts-for-social change. Funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council in Canada and based in six universities, including over 40 community-based collaborators, and informed by five main field projects (circus with street youth, theatre by people with disabilities, dance for people with Parkinson's disease, participatory theatre with refugees and artsinfused dialogue), we set out to synthesize existing knowledge and lessons we learned. We summarized these learnings into 12 key points for reflection, grouped into three categories: community-university partnership concerns ( n  = 3), dilemmas related to the arts ( n  = 5), and team issues ( n  = 4). In addition to addressing previous concerns outlined in the literature (e.g., related to consent, anonymity, dangerous emotional terrain, etc.), we identified power dynamics (visible and hidden) hindering meaningful participation of community partners and university-based teams that need to be addressed within a reflective critical framework of ethical practice. We present how our team has been addressing these issues, as examples of how such concerns could be approached in community-university partnerships in arts for social change.

Can One Learn to Think Critically? – A Philosophical Exploration

PubMed Central

Raymond-Seniuk, Christy; Profetto-McGrath, Joanne

2011-01-01

Within nursing, critical thinking is a required skill that educators strive to foster in their students’ development for use in complex healthcare settings. Hence the numerous studies published measuring critical thinking as a terminal outcome of education. However, an important comparison between different philosophical underpinnings such as person, truth and the nature of nursing, and how one defines and utilizes critical thinking in practice, has been absent from discussions about critical thinking and learning. When one views critical thinking with varying philosophical lenses, important questions are raised and discussion is expanded. These questions illuminate different perspectives of critical thinking and attempt to explore whether critical thinking can be learned in nursing. The implications of taking a single philosophical viewpoint and a pluralistic approach to understanding critical thinking and learning are explored. PMID:21760871

2011 Annual Criticality Safety Program Performance Summary

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

Andrea Hoffman

The 2011 review of the INL Criticality Safety Program has determined that the program is robust and effective. The review was prepared for, and fulfills Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) item H.20, 'Annual Criticality Safety Program performance summary that includes the status of assessments, issues, corrective actions, infractions, requirements management, training, and programmatic support.' This performance summary addresses the status of these important elements of the INL Criticality Safety Program. Assessments - Assessments in 2011 were planned and scheduled. The scheduled assessments included a Criticality Safety Program Effectiveness Review, Criticality Control Area Inspections, a Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information Inspection,more » an Assessment of Criticality Safety SQA, and this management assessment of the Criticality Safety Program. All of the assessments were completed with the exception of the 'Effectiveness Review' for SSPSF, which was delayed due to emerging work. Although minor issues were identified in the assessments, no issues or combination of issues indicated that the INL Criticality Safety Program was ineffective. The identification of issues demonstrates the importance of an assessment program to the overall health and effectiveness of the INL Criticality Safety Program. Issues and Corrective Actions - There are relatively few criticality safety related issues in the Laboratory ICAMS system. Most were identified by Criticality Safety Program assessments. No issues indicate ineffectiveness in the INL Criticality Safety Program. All of the issues are being worked and there are no imminent criticality concerns. Infractions - There was one criticality safety related violation in 2011. On January 18, 2011, it was discovered that a fuel plate bundle in the Nuclear Materials Inspection and Storage (NMIS) facility exceeded the fissionable mass limit, resulting in a technical safety requirement (TSR) violation. The TSR limits fuel plate bundles to 1085 grams U-235, which is the maximum loading of an ATR fuel element. The overloaded fuel plate bundle contained 1097 grams U-235 and was assembled under an 1100 gram U-235 limit in 1982. In 2003, the limit was reduced to 1085 grams citing a new criticality safety evaluation for ATR fuel elements. The fuel plate bundle inventories were not checked for compliance prior to implementing the reduced limit. A subsequent review of the NMIS inventory did not identify further violations. Requirements Management - The INL Criticality Safety program is organized and well documented. The source requirements for the INL Criticality Safety Program are from 10 CFR 830.204, DOE Order 420.1B, Chapter III, 'Nuclear Criticality Safety,' ANSI/ANS 8-series Industry Standards, and DOE Standards. These source requirements are documented in LRD-18001, 'INL Criticality Safety Program Requirements Manual.' The majority of the criticality safety source requirements are contained in DOE Order 420.1B because it invokes all of the ANSI/ANS 8-Series Standards. DOE Order 420.1B also invokes several DOE Standards, including DOE-STD-3007, 'Guidelines for Preparing Criticality Safety Evaluations at Department of Energy Non-Reactor Nuclear Facilities.' DOE Order 420.1B contains requirements for DOE 'Heads of Field Elements' to approve the criticality safety program and specific elements of the program, namely, the qualification of criticality staff and the method for preparing criticality safety evaluations. This was accomplished by the approval of SAR-400, 'INL Standardized Nuclear Safety Basis Manual,' Chapter 6, 'Prevention of Inadvertent Criticality.' Chapter 6 of SAR-400 contains sufficient detail and/or reference to the specific DOE and contractor documents that adequately describe the INL Criticality Safety Program per the elements specified in DOE Order 420.1B. The Safety Evaluation Report for SAR-400 specifically recognizes that the approval of SAR-400 approves the INL Criticality Safety Program. No new source requirements were released in 2011. A revision to LRD-18001 is planned for 2012 to clarify design requirements for criticality alarms. Training - Criticality Safety Engineering has developed training and provides training for many employee positions, including fissionable material handlers, facility managers, criticality safety officers, firefighters, and criticality safety engineers. Criticality safety training at the INL is a program strength. A revision to the training module developed in 2010 to supplement MFC certified fissionable material handlers (operators) training was prepared and presented in August of 2011. This training, 'Applied Science of Criticality Safety,' builds upon existing training and gives operators a better understanding of how their criticality controls are derived. Improvements to 00INL189, 'INL Criticality Safety Principles' are planned for 2012 to strengthen fissionable material handler training.« less

Exploring Diversity in Supervision and Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heffron, Mary Claire; Grunstein, Sara; Tilmon, Shawniese

2007-01-01

Issues of diversity, such as culture, class, race, and ethnicity, affect all relationships. It can be difficult to explore these issues in supervision, but doing so is imperative to understanding and working effectively with each other and with families. This article explores the challenges associated with discussing issues of diversity, and…

The Management, Storage, Utilization of Astronomical Data in the 21st Century Version 1.00

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanisch, Bob; Quinn, Peter; Lawrence, Andy; Hanisch, Bob

2004-03-01

The costs and resources associated with the development of forefront astronomical research capabilities often greatly exceed the funding capacities of individual universities, research organizations, and nations (e.g., Atacama Large Millimeter Array [ALMA], The Square Kilometre Array [SKA], and Extremely Large (optical) Telescopes in the 30m-100m class [ELTs]). Collaborative alliances of organizations and nations are therefore being formed to build new, facility-class astronomical observatories across the globe. This expansion and globalization of the astronomical research effort raises a number of major issues that need to be confronted and solved by astronomers, research funding bodies, and governments. Some of these issues are being met by other sciences and some are unique to the research diversity inherent in exploring the Universe through multiple, complementary wavelength windows. In all cases, the challenges of managing, maximally utilizing, and collaboratively sharing the huge volume of digital information flowing from these new observatories is focusing and leading the discussion of critical issues for success. This discussion paper seeks to identify a number of these major issues, to highlight a new vision for a common research infrastructure that will enable some of these issues to be addressed, and further, to identify some of the practical and policy issues associated with long term solutions and the maximal return on a global research investments.

Physician Reimbursement for Critical Care Services Integrating Palliative Care for Patients Who Are Critically Ill

PubMed Central

Nelson, Judith E.; Weissman, David E.; Hays, Ross M.; Mosenthal, Anne C.; Mulkerin, Colleen; Puntillo, Kathleen A.; Ray, Daniel E.; Bassett, Rick; Boss, Renee D.; Brasel, Karen J.; Campbell, Margaret L.; Cortez, Therese B.; Curtis, J. Randall

2012-01-01

Patients with advanced illness often spend time in an ICU, while nearly one-third of patients with advanced cancer who receive Medicare die in hospitals, often with failed ICU care. For most, death occurs following the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatments. The integration of palliative care is essential for high-quality critical care. Although palliative care specialists are becoming increasingly available, intensivists and other physicians are also expected to provide basic palliative care, including symptom treatment and communication about goals of care. Patients who are critically ill are often unable to make decisions about their care. In these situations, physicians must meet with family members or other surrogates to determine appropriate medical treatments. These meetings require clinical expertise to ensure that patient values are explored for medical decision making about therapeutic options, including palliative care. Meetings with families take time. Issues related to the disease process, prognosis, and treatment plan are complex, and decisions about the use or limitation of intensive care therapies have life-or-death implications. Inadequate reimbursement for physician services may be a barrier to the optimal delivery of high-quality palliative care, including effective communication. Appropriate documentation of time spent integrating palliative and critical care for patients who are critically ill can be consistent with the Current Procedural Terminology codes (99291 and 99292) for critical care services. The purpose of this article is to help intensivists and other providers understand the circumstances in which integration of palliative and critical care meets the definition of critical care services for billing purposes. PMID:22396564

Proposed strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to critical urban issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truong, Nguyen Hoang Long; Huan Giang, Ngoc; Binh Duong, Trong

2018-03-01

This paper aims at finding practical strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to varied municipal issues. Two steps are made. Step-1 identifies the critical issues of Ho Chi Minh City which are associated with high-rise apartment building projects. Step-2 finds potential and applicable strategies which are solutions for the critical issues in Step-1 with reference of seven selected assessment methods. The study finds the set of 58 strategies applicable to designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City.

Green Pedagogy--Guidance and Doubt in Teaching Outdoor and Environmental Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preston, Lou

2011-01-01

This article grapples with my endeavour to guide teacher education students to think critically about environmental issues and action. While students repeatedly claim my efforts helped them to think critically, my interviews with them about environmental issues and practices cause me to doubt their claims of burgeoning critical engagement. This…

Turning the Instruction over: How to Invite Engagement through Community Connection and Civic Action

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pate, Joseph A.; Tobias, Toby; Johnson, Corey W.; Powell, Gwynn

2012-01-01

The Critical Issues Investigation combines experiential education philosophy with service-learning methods to situate a section of a course in both personal and professional development utilizing active and engaged citizenship for college age students. Through the use of the National Issues Forum materials, critical issues facing a variety of…

Critical Pedagogy and Empowering in Teacher Education in Venezuela.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chacon, Carmen T.; Alvarez, Luisa Cristina

This paper addresses the issue of the relationship between critical pedagogy and English as a foreign language (EFL) in Venezuela. Teacher-researchers have come to see the issues confronting nonnative educators in ELT as a more important issue than in previous years. They are particularly concerned about the current situation in Venezuela,…

Recreating America's Community Colleges: Critical Policy Issues Facing America's Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honeyman, David S.; Sullivan, Michael D.

2006-01-01

During the conduct of the 2004 Community Colleges Futures Assembly, sponsored by the University of Florida, delegates to the meeting identified three critical policy issues facing America's community colleges and challenged the delegates attending the 2005 Assembly to debate these issues and make recommendations. A total of 252 higher-education…

CRitical Issues Bibliography (CRIB) Sheet: Native American College Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, Washington, DC.

This CRitical Issues Bibliography describes resources that provide an overview of the issues involved for Native American college students, a minority group that is among the least likely to attend college and one that has a low graduation rate. The bibliography concentrates on cultural influences that affect the participation and success of…

Early Elementary Students' Understanding of Complex Ecosystems: A Learning Progression Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hokayem, Hayat; Gotwals, Amelia Wenk

2016-01-01

Engaging in systemic reasoning about ecological issues is critical for early elementary students to develop future understanding of critical environmental issues such as global warming and loss of biodiversity. However, ecological issues are rarely taught in ways to highlight systemic reasoning in elementary schools. In this study, we conducted…

Critical Issues Children Face in the 2000s

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crockett, Deborah

2003-01-01

Children will face many critical issues in the 21st century. Unfortunately, most of these issues are not new and have remained the same from previous years. Millions of children lack safe, affordable, quality child care and early childhood education while their parents work. Seven and one-half million children are at home alone without…

Related Critical Psychometric Issues and Their Resolutions during Development of PE Metrics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Connie; Zhu, Weimo; Park, Youngsik; Fisette, Jennifer L.; Graber, Kim C.; Dyson, Ben; Avery, Marybell; Franck, Marian; Placek, Judith H.; Rink, Judy; Raynes, De

2011-01-01

In addition to validity and reliability evidence, other psychometric qualities of the PE Metrics assessments needed to be examined. This article describes how those critical psychometric issues were addressed during the PE Metrics assessment bank construction. Specifically, issues included (a) number of items or assessments needed, (b) training…

The experiences of families of critically ill patients in Greece: a social constructionist grounded theory study.

PubMed

Plakas, Sotirios; Cant, Bob; Taket, Ann

2009-02-01

The experiences of patients' families in intensive care units (ICUs) are of international concern. In Greece however, adequate attention has not been paid to this issue. To explore the experiences of critical care patients' families in Greece. The intensive care units of 3 general district hospitals in the area of Athens, Greece. The social constructionist version of grounded theory was used. In-depth interviews with 25 relatives of critically ill patients were carried out, and participant and non-participant observation was used to cross-validate the data obtained. Seven major categories were identified, with 32 components across all categories. The experiences of families revolved around the two core categories of "Intense Emotions" and "Vigilant Attendance". The study conceptualised two new categories in this field, "Religiosity" and "Loss of Intimacy" and enhanced the category "Vigilant Attendance". Three further categories were identified, namely "Caring", "Dignity" and "Information". The various interrelationships between the categories were also examined. The study has examined the experience of Greek patients' families from a qualitative perspective and suggests that major changes need to be made in terms of management and support.

Nutrition in Space: Benefits on Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Scott M.

2006-01-01

History has often proven the criticality for adequate nutrition to ensure expedition success. Space exploration will be no different, with the exception of the certainty that food will not be found along the journey. Ensuring the health and safety of astronauts is critical and nutrition will serve several functions to that end. Nutritional assessment of International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers not only serves to evaluate the nutritional health of individuals, but also allows a better understanding of how space flight affects nutritional requirements, and how nutrition can serve in mitigating the negative effects of weightlessness on the human. Available data suggest that the nutritional status of astronauts is compromised during and after flight. Inadequate dietary intake and subsequent weight loss are often considered hallmarks of space flight, although exceptions to this do exist, and provide hope. However, beyond energy intake, specific nutrient issues also exist. Several vitamins, including D and folate, are affected in space travelers. Hematological and antioxidant defense systems are impacted, with increased iron storage, and increased markers of oxidative damage. Bone loss during space flight remains a critical challenge. Ground-based studies have proven that nutrition is a potent modulator of the bone response to simulated weightlessness. Protein and sodium are two nutrients which tend to exacerbate bone resorption and loss, likely mediated through acid base balance. Defining nutrient requirements, and being able to provide and maintain those nutrients on exploration missions, will be critical for maintaining crew member health. Both flight and ground-based research provide a unique situation, one where healthy individuals are put in a unique and challenging environment. A full understanding of the role of nutrition during space flight will not only enhance crew health and safety during flight, but will also expand our understanding of the role of nutrition in health of those remaining on Earth.

Teaching, learning, and planetary exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Robert A.

1992-01-01

The progress accomplished in the first five months of the three-year grant period of Teaching, Learning, and Planetary Exploration is presented. The objectives of this project are to discover new education products and services based on space science, particularly planetary exploration. An Exploration in Education is the umbrella name for the education projects as they are seen by teachers and the interested public. As described in the proposal, our approach consists of: (1) increasing practical understanding of the potential role and capabilities of the research community to contribute to basic education using new discoveries; (2) developing an intellectual framework for these contributions by supplying criteria and templates for the teacher's stories; (3) attracting astronomers, engineers, and technical staff to the project and helping them form productive education partnerships for the future, (4) exploring relevant technologies and networks for authoring and communicating the teacher's stories; (5) enlisting the participation of potential user's of the teacher's stories in defining the products; (6) actually producing and delivering many educationally useful teacher's stories; and (7) reporting the pilot study results with critical evaluation. Technical progress was made by assembling our electronic publishing stations, designing electronic publications based on space science, and developing distribution approaches for electronic products. Progress was made addressing critical issues by developing policies and procedures for securing intellectual property rights and assembling a focus group of teachers to test our ideas and assure the quality of our products. The following useful materials are being produced: the TOPS report; three electronic 'PictureBooks'; one 'ElectronicArticle'; three 'ElectronicReports'; ten 'PrinterPosters'; and the 'FaxForum' with an initial complement of printed materials. We have coordinated with planetary scientists and astronomers both at the technical and policy level to assure the efficiency and ultimate utility of these efforts to derive educational benefits from the space science and exploration program as a whole.

Madness in the movies: An evaluation of the use of cinema to explore mental health issues in nurse education.

PubMed

McCann, Edward; Huntley-Moore, Sylvia

2016-11-01

The research literature on the use of cinema in nurse education is relatively small. This study evaluates student nurses' learning experiences of a new undergraduate elective module called Madness in the Movies. Ethical approval was granted to conduct the study. Data were collected through an online survey and a social media discussion forum. The anonymous online survey responses were collated via Survey Monkey. Content analysis was conducted on the data from the Facebook discussion threads to understand, interpret and conceptualise the meanings from the data. All study participants agreed that their understanding of mental health issues was enriched, their attitudes and beliefs enhanced and their confidence to talk about mental health concerns increased significantly. This module provides a fruitful approach to encourage critical reflection on mental health issues in a safe environment that closely mirrors authentic practice experiences. The module facilitates the development of students' knowledge, values and attitudes in relation to person-centred mental healthcare. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual impact of wind farms on cultural heritage: A Norwegian case study

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

Jerpasen, Gro B., E-mail: gro.jerpasen@niku.no; Larsen, Kari C., E-mail: kari.larsen@niku.n

2011-04-15

This paper discusses different approaches of how visual impact on cultural heritage can be methodologically improved within Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). During the recent decade, visual impact on cultural heritage and heritage sites has become a more frequent but contentious issue in public and academic discussions. Yet, within EIA issues relating to heritage sites and visual impact are rarely debated or critically reflected upon. Today most methods and theories on visual impact and cultural heritage within EIA are transferred from disciplines such as landscape architecture, architecture and geography. The article suggests how working with the concepts and definitions of sitemore » and setting can be a methodological tool for delimiting and clarifying visual impact on cultural heritage sites. The article also presents ways of how public participation can be a tool to start exploring the field of what the visual impact on cultural heritage implies and how it effects upon our understanding and appreciation of heritage sites. Examples from a Norwegian case are taken as illustrations to highlight these issues.« less

Social Dialectology in America: A Critical Rejoinder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Preston, Dennis R.

1972-01-01

Critical rejoinder to Lawrence M. Davis' Social Dialectology in America,'' Journal of English Linguistics, March 1970, p46-56. Special issue on Black Dialect: Historical and Descriptive Issues'' edited by William A. Stewart. (RS)

A Qualitative Study of the Development of Health Literacy Capacities of Participants Attending a Community-Based Cardiovascular Health Programme.

PubMed

McKenna, Verna B; Sixsmith, Jane; Barry, Margaret M

2018-06-02

Health literacy is a critical determinant of health, which can empower individuals and lead to engagement in collective health promotion action and is also a crucial component in the self-management of illness. The current study moves beyond a focus on functional health literacy and presents findings from a longitudinal qualitative (LQ) study consisting of three phases. This paper presents findings from the second phase of the study, which assessed the development of health literacy capacities of individuals attending a structured cardiovascular risk reduction programme in Ireland. The study objectives were to: explore perceptions of changes in interactions and information exchange within health consultations; identify the facilitators associated with changes in health literacy capacities; assess developments in engagement with broader contexts for health literacy capacities. A LQ study design was undertaken, which employed repeat interview methodology with 19 participants (aged 36⁻76 years) 12 weeks after beginning a structured cardiovascular risk reduction programme. Health literacy levels were assessed using the HLS-EU 47 item instrument in phase 1 (68% limited health literacy (HL), 32% adequate health literacy). A semi-structured interview guide, (informed by Sørensen's conceptual model of health literacy), was used to explore the development of health literacy and to identify changes in knowledge, attitudes and experiences over time. Thematic analysis was used, informed by aspects of Saldaña's framework for longitudinal qualitative data analysis. All participants reported having acquired increased understanding of issues relevant to their health and self-care. Participants described health literacy capacities that incorporate aspects of all levels of health literacy (functional, interactive and critical). Core themes were identified corresponding to changes in these levels: re-engagement with health information and increased understanding of risk and protective factors (changes in functional health literacy); changes in interactions with healthcare providers (HCP) (changes in interactive health literacy); enhanced psychological insights and understanding the broader determinants of health (changes in critical health literacy). Findings support the development of health literacy capacities across the functional, interactive and critical health literacy domains. Participants are capable of locating responsibility for health beyond the individual level and are making sense of knowledge within their own social contexts. Individuals, regardless of their initial health literacy levels, are capable of engaging with broader issues that can impact on their health and can be supported to develop these critical health literacy capacities.

Linking remote sensing, land cover and disease.

PubMed

Curran, P J; Atkinson, P M; Foody, G M; Milton, E J

2000-01-01

Land cover is a critical variable in epidemiology and can be characterized remotely. A framework is used to describe both the links between land cover and radiation recorded in a remotely sensed image, and the links between land cover and the disease carried by vectors. The framework is then used to explore the issues involved when moving from remotely sensed imagery to land cover and then to vector density/disease risk. This exploration highlights the role of land cover; the need to develop a sound knowledge of each link in the predictive sequence; the problematic mismatch between the spatial units of the remotely sensed and epidemiological data and the challenges and opportunities posed by adding a temporal mismatch between the remotely sensed and epidemiological data. The paper concludes with a call for both greater understanding of the physical components of the proposed framework and the utilization of optimized statistical tools as prerequisites to progress in this field.

An assessment of waste processing/resource recovery technologies for lunar/Mars life applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Verostko, Charles E.; Packham, Nigel J. C.; Henninger, Donald H.

1992-01-01

NASA's future manned missions to explore the solar system are by nature of long duration, mandating extensive regeneration of life support consumables from wastes generated in space-based habitats. Long-duration exploration missions would otherwise be prohibitive due to the number and frequency of energy-intensive resupply missions from Earth. Resource recovery is therefore a critical component of the controlled ecological life support system (CELSS). In order to assess resource recovery technologies for CELSS applications, the Crew and Thermal Systems Division at NASA-Johnson Space Center convened a three-day workshop to assess potential resource recovery technologies for application in a space-based CELSS. This paper describes the methodology of assessing and ranking of these technologies. Recommendations and issues are identified. Evaluations focused on the processes for handling and treatment of inedible plant biomass, human waste, and human generated trash. Technologies were assessed on the basis of safety, reliability, technology readiness, and performance characteristics.

Evolution of Requirements and Assumptions for Future Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, Molly; Sargusingh, Miriam; Perry, Jay

2017-01-01

NASA programs are maturing technologies, systems, and architectures to enabling future exploration missions. To increase fidelity as technologies mature, developers must make assumptions that represent the requirements of a future program. Multiple efforts have begun to define these requirements, including team internal assumptions, planning system integration for early demonstrations, and discussions between international partners planning future collaborations. For many detailed life support system requirements, existing NASA documents set limits of acceptable values, but a future vehicle may be constrained in other ways, and select a limited range of conditions. Other requirements are effectively set by interfaces or operations, and may be different for the same technology depending on whether the hard-ware is a demonstration system on the International Space Station, or a critical component of a future vehicle. This paper highlights key assumptions representing potential life support requirements and explanations of the driving scenarios, constraints, or other issues that drive them.

Delineation of geochemical anomalies based on stream sediment data utilizing fractal modeling and staged factor analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afzal, Peyman; Mirzaei, Misagh; Yousefi, Mahyar; Adib, Ahmad; Khalajmasoumi, Masoumeh; Zarifi, Afshar Zia; Foster, Patrick; Yasrebi, Amir Bijan

2016-07-01

Recognition of significant geochemical signatures and separation of geochemical anomalies from background are critical issues in interpretation of stream sediment data to define exploration targets. In this paper, we used staged factor analysis in conjunction with the concentration-number (C-N) fractal model to generate exploration targets for prospecting Cr and Fe mineralization in Balvard area, SE Iran. The results show coexistence of derived multi-element geochemical signatures of the deposit-type sought and ultramafic-mafic rocks in the NE and northern parts of the study area indicating significant chromite and iron ore prospects. In this regard, application of staged factor analysis and fractal modeling resulted in recognition of significant multi-element signatures that have a high spatial association with host lithological units of the deposit-type sought, and therefore, the generated targets are reliable for further prospecting of the deposit in the study area.

Sensitivity analysis of bi-layered ceramic dental restorations.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhongpu; Zhou, Shiwei; Li, Qing; Li, Wei; Swain, Michael V

2012-02-01

The reliability and longevity of ceramic prostheses have become a major concern. The existing studies have focused on some critical issues from clinical perspectives, but more researches are needed to address fundamental sciences and fabrication issues to ensure the longevity and durability of ceramic prostheses. The aim of this paper was to explore how "sensitive" the thermal and mechanical responses, in terms of changes in temperature and thermal residual stress of the bi-layered ceramic systems and crown models will be with respect to the perturbation of the design variables chosen (e.g. layer thickness and heat transfer coefficient) in a quantitative way. In this study, three bi-layered ceramic models with different geometries are considered: (i) a simple bi-layered plate, (ii) a simple bi-layer triangle, and (iii) an axisymmetric bi-layered crown. The layer thickness and convective heat transfer coefficient (or cooling rate) seem to be more sensitive for the porcelain fused on zirconia substrate models. The resultant sensitivities indicate a critical importance of the heat transfer coefficient and thickness ratio of core to veneer on the temperature distributions and residual stresses in each model. The findings provide a quantitative basis for assessing the effects of fabrication uncertainties and optimizing the design of ceramic prostheses. Copyright © 2011 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Insights into the unique functionality of inorganic micro/nanoparticles for versatile ultrasound theranostics.

PubMed

Qian, Xiaoqin; Han, Xiaoxia; Chen, Yu

2017-10-01

The clinical ultrasound (US)-based theranostic biomedicine suffers from the critical issue that traditional microbubbles (MBs) have lots of drawbacks such as low stability, large particle size, difficult structural control, etc. The unique composition, structure and functionality of inorganic micro/nanoplatforms have shown their great prospect for solving these critical issues and drawbacks of traditional organic MBs. This review summarizes and discusses the state-of-art development on exploring inorganic micro/nanoparticles for versatile US-based biomedical applications, ranging from US imaging, photoacoustic imaging, sonodynamic therapy, high intensity-focused US ablation and US-triggered chemotherapy. These inorganic micro/nanoplatforms include silica-based particles, Au, carbon nanotubes, TiO 2 , manganese oxide, iron oxide, Prussian blue, inorganic gas-generating nanoparticles and their versatile composite micro/nanosystems. Especially, their unique structure/composition-functionality relationships and biocompatibility/biosafety in US-based theranostics have been discussed and revealed in detail. Their facing challenges and future developments are finally discussed to promote their further clinical translations. It is highly expected that these inorganic micro/nanoplatforms will enter the clinical stage to benefit the personalized theranostics biomedicine based on their unique functionalities and high performance as necessarily required in US-based theranostics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community Healthcare and Technology to Enhance Communication in Pediatric Obesity Care: Expert Exchange Workgroup's Views.

PubMed

Siegel, Robert M; Haemer, Matthew; Kharofa, Roohi Y; Christison, Amy L; Hampl, Sarah E; Tinajero-Deck, Lydia; Lockhart, Mary Kate; Reich, Sarah; Pont, Stephen J; Stratbucker, William; Robinson, Thomas N; Shaffer, Laura A; Woolford, Susan J

2018-06-07

Childhood obesity continues to be a critical healthcare issue and a paradigm of a pervasive chronic disease affecting even our youngest children. When considered within the context of the socioecological model, the factors that influence weight status, including the social determinants of health, limit the impact of multidisciplinary care that occurs solely within the medical setting. Coordinated care that incorporates communication between the healthcare and community sectors is necessary to more effectively prevent and treat obesity. In this article, the Expert Exchange authors, with input from providers convened at an international pediatric meeting, provide recommendations to address this critical issue. These recommendations draw upon examples from the management of other chronic conditions that might be applied to the treatment of obesity, such as the use of care plans and health assessment forms to allow weight management specialists and community personnel (e.g., school counselors) to communicate about treatment recommendations and responses. To facilitate communication across the healthcare and community sectors, practical considerations regarding the development and/or evaluation of communication tools are presented. In addition, the use of technology to enhance healthcare-community communication is explored as a means to decrease the barriers to collaboration and to create a web of connection between the community and healthcare providers that promote wellness and a healthy weight status.

Longitudinal study of a cooperation-driven, socio-scientific issue intervention on promoting students' critical thinking and self-regulation in learning science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Hsin-Hui; Chen, Hsiang-Ting; Lin, Huann-shyang; Huang, Yu-Ning; Hong, Zuway-R.

2017-10-01

This longitudinal study explored the effects of a Cooperation-driven Socioscientific Issue (CDSSI) intervention on junior high school students' perceptions of critical thinking (CT) and self-regulation (SR) in Taiwan. Forty-nine grade 7 students were randomly selected as an experimental group (EG) to attend a 3-semester 72-hour intervention; while another 49 grade 7 students from the same school were randomly selected as the comparison group (CG). All participants completed a 4-wave student questionnaire to assess their perceptions of CT and SR. In addition, 8 target students from the EG with the lowest scores on either CT or SR were purposefully recruited for weekly observation. These target students and their teachers were interviewed one month after the intervention in each semester. Analyses of covariance and paired-wise t-tests revealed that the EG students' perceptions of CT and SR in learning science were improved during the study and were significantly better than their counterparts' at the end of the study. Systematic interview and classroom observation results were consistent with the quantitative findings. This study adds empirical evidence and provides insights into how CDSSI can be integrated into planning and implementing effective pedagogical strategies aimed at increasing students' perceptions of CT and SR in learning science.

Implementation Challenges for Ceramic Matrix Composites in High Temperature Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Mrityunjay

2004-01-01

Ceramic matrix composites are leading candidate materials for a number of applications in aeronautics, space, energy, electronics, nuclear, and transportation industries. In the aeronautics and space exploration systems, these materials are being considered for applications in hot sections of jet engines such as the combustor liner, nozzle components, nose cones, leading edges of reentry vehicles and space propulsion components. Applications in the energy and environmental industries include radiant heater tubes, heat exchangers, heat recuperators, gas and diesel particulate filters (DPFs), and components for land based turbines for power generation. These materials are also being considered for use in the first wall and blanket components of fusion reactors. There are a number of critical issues and challenges related to successful implementation of composite materials. Fabrication of net and complex shape components with high density and tailorable matrix properties is quite expensive, and even then various desirable properties are not achievable. In this presentation, microstructure and thermomechanical properties of composites fabricated by two techniques (chemical vapor infiltration and melt infiltration), will be presented. In addition, critical need for robust joining and assembly technologies in successful implementation of these systems will be discussed. Other implementation issues will be discussed along with advantages and benefits of using these materials for various components in high temperature applications.

The needs of families accompanying injured patients into the emergency department in a tertiary hospital in Gauteng.

PubMed

Botes, Meghan L; Langley, Gayle

2016-06-24

Families are not prepared for traumatic injuries of loved ones. Emergency nurses have the important role of caring for patients and families in this time of crisis. Family needs in the critical care setting have been explored using the Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI), however little is known about family needs in the emergency department. This study sought to determine the needs of family members accompanying injured patients into the emergency department, and if these needs were met. A quantitative, descriptive, study was conducted in a level 1 trauma facility in Johannesburg, South Africa. The population included families of patients admitted to the emergency department, sampling 100 participants. The instrument, based on the CCFNI, was validated in a pilot study in Melbourne, Australia and re-evaluated using the Cronbach Alpha validity test to ensure internal consistency.Five themes were explored: 'meaning', 'proximity', 'communication', 'comfort' and 'support' and data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Responses to open-ended questions were analysed using content analysis. Permission from the Human Research Ethics Committee was granted and participants were ensured confidentiality and the option for counselling if required. Themes ranked highly important were 'meaning' and 'communication'. Satisfaction was highest for 'meaning'. Low satisfaction levels for 'communication' were found. Issues regarding prolonged time spent in the emergency department and discrimination were raised. These findings have a negative impact on the family's satisfaction with care and it is recommended that the nurse's role in family care be further explored and emphasised.

Biomedical technology prosperity game{trademark}

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

Berman, M.; Boyack, K.W.; Wesenberg, D.L.

1996-07-01

Prosperity Games{trademark} are an outgrowth and adaptation of move/countermove and seminar War Games. Prosperity Games{trademark} are simulations that explore complex issues in a variety of areas including economics, politics, sociology, environment, education and research. These issues can be examined from a variety of perspectives ranging from a global, macroeconomic and geopolitical viewpoint down to the details of customer/supplier/market interactions in specific industries. All Prosperity Games{trademark} are unique in that both the game format and the player contributions vary from game to game. This report documents the Biomedical Technology Prosperity Game{trademark} conducted under the sponsorship of Sandia National Laboratories, the Defensemore » Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Koop Foundation, Inc. Players were drawn from all stakeholders involved in biomedical technologies including patients, hospitals, doctors, insurance companies, legislators, suppliers/manufacturers, regulators, funding organizations, universities/laboratories, and the legal profession. The primary objectives of this game were to: (1) Identify advanced/critical technology issues that affect the cost and quality of health care. (2) Explore the development, patenting, manufacturing and licensing of needed technologies that would decrease costs while maintaining or improving quality. (3) Identify policy and regulatory changes that would reduce costs and improve quality and timeliness of health care delivery. (4) Identify and apply existing resources and facilities to develop and implement improved technologies and policies. (5) Begin to develop Biomedical Technology Roadmaps for industry and government cooperation. The deliberations and recommendations of these players provided valuable insights as to the views of this diverse group of decision makers concerning biomedical issues. Significant progress was made in the roadmapping of key areas in the biomedical technology field.« less

Culture and end of life care: a scoping exercise in seven European countries.

PubMed

Gysels, Marjolein; Evans, Natalie; Meñaca, Arantza; Andrew, Erin; Toscani, Franco; Finetti, Sylvia; Pasman, H Roeline; Higginson, Irene; Harding, Richard; Pool, Robert

2012-01-01

Culture is becoming increasingly important in relation to end of life (EoL) care in a context of globalization, migration and European integration. We explore and compare socio-cultural issues that shape EoL care in seven European countries and critically appraise the existing research evidence on cultural issues in EoL care generated in the different countries. We scoped the literature for Germany, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Portugal, carrying out electronic searches in 16 international and country-specific databases and handsearches in 17 journals, bibliographies of relevant papers and webpages. We analysed the literature which was unearthed, in its entirety and by type (reviews, original studies, opinion pieces) and conducted quantitative analyses for each country and across countries. Qualitative techniques generated themes and sub-themes. A total of 868 papers were reviewed. The following themes facilitated cross-country comparison: setting, caregivers, communication, medical EoL decisions, minority ethnic groups, and knowledge, attitudes and values of death and care. The frequencies of themes varied considerably between countries. Sub-themes reflected issues characteristic for specific countries (e.g. culture-specific disclosure in the southern European countries). The work from the seven European countries concentrates on cultural traditions and identities, and there was almost no evidence on ethnic minorities. This scoping review is the first comparative exploration of the cultural differences in the understanding of EoL care in these countries. The diverse body of evidence that was identified on socio-cultural issues in EoL care, reflects clearly distinguishable national cultures of EoL care, with differences in meaning, priorities, and expertise in each country. The diverse ways that EoL care is understood and practised forms a necessary part of what constitutes best evidence for the improvement of EoL care in the future.

THE NGA-DOE GRANT TO EXAMINE CRITICAL ISSUES RELATED TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND MATERIALS DISPOSITION INVOLVING DOE FACILITIES

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

Ann M. Beauchesne

2000-01-01

Through the National Governors Association (NGA) project ``Critical Issues Related to Radioactive Waste and Materials Disposition Involving DOE Facilities'' NGA brings together Governors' policy advisors, state regulators, and DOE officials to examine critical issues related to the cleanup and operation of DOE nuclear weapons and research facilities. Topics explored through this project include: Decisions involving disposal of mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and disposition of nuclear materials; Decisions involving DOE budget requests and their effect on environmental cleanup and compliance at DOE facilities; Strategies to treat mixed, low-level, and transuranic (TRU) waste and their effect on individual sites inmore » the complex; Changes to the FFCA site treatment plans as a result of proposals in the Department's Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure plan and contractor integration analysis; Interstate waste and materials shipments; and Reforms to existing RCRA and CERCLA regulations/guidance to address regulatory overlap and risks posed by DOE wastes. The overarching theme of this project is to help the Department improve coordination of its major program decisions with Governors' offices and state regulators and to ensure such decisions reflect input from these key state officials and stakeholders. This report summarizes activities conducted during the period from October 1, 1999 through January 31, 2000, under the NGA grant. The work accomplished by the NGA project team during the past three months can be categorized as follows: maintained open communication with DOE on a variety of activities and issues within the DOE environmental management complex; convened and facilitated the October 6--8 NGA FFCA Task Force Meeting in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; maintained communication with NGA Federal Facilities Compliance Task Force members regarding DOE efforts to formulate a configuration for mixed low-level waste and low-level treatment and disposal, external regulation of DOE; and continued to facilitate interactions between the states and DOE to develop a foundation for an ongoing substantive relationship between the Governors of key states and the Department.« less

Searching for Scientific Literacy and Critical Pedagogy in Socioscientific Curricula: A Critical Discourse Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cummings, Kristina M.

2017-01-01

The omnipresence of science and technology in our society require the development of a critical and scientifically literate citizenry. However, the inclusion of socioscientific issues, which are open-ended controversial issues informed by both science and societal factors such as politics, economics, and ethics, do not guarantee the development of…

Critical Issues in Research Design in Action Research in an SME Development Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McGrath, Helen; O'Toole, Thomas

2012-01-01

Purpose: The main aim of this paper is to develop guidelines on the critical issues to consider in research design in an action research (AR) environment for SME network capability development. Design/methodology/approach: The issues in research design for AR studies are developed from the authors' experience in running learning sets but, in…

A Critical Commentary on Combined Methods Approach to Researching Educational and Social Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nudzor, Hope Pius

2009-01-01

One major issue social science research is faced with concerns the methodological schism and internecine "warfare" that divides the field. This paper examines critically what is referred to as combined methods research, and the claim that this is the best methodology for addressing complex social issues. The paper discredits this claim on the…

Frames of Reference for the Assessment of Learning Disabilities: New Views on Measurement Issues.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, G. Reid, Ed.

This book offers 27 papers addressing critical issues in the assessment of students with all kinds of learning disabilities. Papers have the following titles and authors: "Critical Issues in the Measurement of Learning Disabilities" (G. Reid Lyon); "A Matrix of Decision Points in the Measurement of Learning Disabilities" (Barbara K. Keogh);…

Critical Issues for Teacher Educators and Literacy Specialists: A View from Higher Education in New York

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goatley, Virginia

2008-01-01

This article outlines five critical issues for teacher educators and literacy specialists in New York State. Intended to raise issues and share recent policy decisions, the article provides background and conversations about current policy. Readers are encouraged to make decisions about how to participate in the current conversations across the…

Critical Issues in BOE and Their Impact on Connecticut Business Education Programs--Curriculum Update. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

RESCUE, Litchfield, CT.

The Connecticut Business and Office Education (BOE) curriculum was revised in light of critical issues in BOE. The issues were studied prior to revision, and the following recommendations were made: (1) requiring a minimum of one semester of electronic keyboarding and word processing; (2) placing equal emphasis on management, logical thinking…

Ethical Considerations for Clinical Trials in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

PubMed Central

Becker, Samuel; Siegler, Mark

2014-01-01

Although advancements in the field of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) include effective therapies for many patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, there remains a large unmet need, and there is a large number of investigational agents in the pipeline. Drug development through clinical trials is critical to understanding the safety and efficacy of new therapies in the affected human population, and the need for ethical trial design is of the utmost importance. This paper explores the ethical issues of clinical trials in IBD, focusing on placebo-controlled trials, vulnerable patients, exposure to monoclonal antibodies, globalization of trials, and surgical advances. PMID:24799837

Nuclear rocket propulsion. NASA plans and progress, FY 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, John S.; Miller, Thomas J.

1991-01-01

NASA has initiated planning for a technology development project for nuclear rocket propulsion systems for space explorer initiative (SEI) human and robotic missions to the moon and Mars. An interagency project is underway that includes the Department of Energy National Laboratories for nuclear technology development. The activities of the project planning team in FY 1990 and 1991 are summarized. The progress to date is discussed, and the project plan is reviewed. Critical technology issues were identified and include: (1) nuclear fuel temperature, life, and reliability; (2) nuclear system ground test; (3) safety; (4) autonomous system operation and health monitoring; and (5) minimum mass and high specific impulse.

Addressing homelessness among people with mental illnesses: a model of long-term philanthropic effectiveness.

PubMed

Brousseau, Ruth Tebbets

2009-01-01

Foundations are often criticized for their short attention spans and inability to continue funding the toughest social problems. Homelessness among people with mental illnesses is considered among the most intractable of social issues. This paper explores the role of permanent supportive housing in reducing homelessness among the mentally ill; the role of the Corporation for Supportive Housing in developing, authenticating, and disseminating its model; and its long-term funding relationship with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which has facilitated this trajectory. The paper tells the story of how long-term funding, strategically used, is making inroads into this serious mental health problem.

Global pharmaceutical development and access: critical issues of ethics and equity.

PubMed

Lage, Agustín

2011-07-01

The article presents global data on access to pharmaceuticals and discusses underlying barriers. Two are highly visible: pricing policies and intellectual property rights; two are less recognized: the regulatory environment and scientific and technological capacities. Two ongoing transitions influence and even distort the problem of universal access to medications: the epidemiologic transition to an increasing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases; and the growing role of biotechnology products (especially immunobiologicals) in the pharmacopeia. Examples from Cuba and Brazil are used to explore what can and should be done to address commercial, regulatory, and technological aspects of assuring universal access to medications.

Personal Access Satellite System (PASS) study. Fiscal year 1989 results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sue, Miles K. (Editor)

1990-01-01

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is exploring the potential and feasibility of a personal access satellite system (PASS) that will offer the user greater freedom and mobility than existing or currently planned communications systems. Studies performed in prior years resulted in a strawman design and the identification of technologies that are critical to the successful implementation of PASS. The study efforts in FY-89 were directed towards alternative design options with the objective of either improving the system performance or alleviating the constraints on the user terminal. The various design options and system issues studied this year and the results of the study are presented.

Ambulatory surgery centers--current business and legal issues.

PubMed

Becker, S; Biala, M

2000-01-01

This article explores a handful of critical trends that have broad implications for ambulatory surgery centers and health care entities as a whole. As of the year 2000, the health care delivery system is experiencing broad changes and reconstruction in a variety of manners. One of the largest changes revolves around the accelerating movement of patient care from inpatient models to outpatient models, and the commensurate investment and development in outpatient systems and outpatient bricks and mortar. This metamorphosis is particularly evident as it relates to freestanding ambulatory surgery centers. This change in health care delivery will prove to have severe economic impacts on many of the nation's hospital systems.

Activism as a feature of mental health and wellbeing for racialized immigrant women in a Canadian context.

PubMed

MacDonnell, Judith A; Dastjerdi, Mahdieh; Khanlou, Nazilla; Bokore, Nimo; Tharao, Wangari

2017-02-01

Although immigrant women bear a disproportionate burden of chronic disease and mental health issues, limited research addresses how to promote their mental wellbeing. The authors first describe grounded theory findings from community-based focus group research with 57 racialized immigrant women in Toronto, Canada that used a critical gender and intersectional lens to explore the links among settlement, wellbeing, and activism. Secondly, a community mobilization strategy is described whereby racialized immigrant women discuss activism as a feature of wellbeing in various language communities while creating meaningful health promotion resources. Implications for creating activism-based initiatives to promote women's wellbeing are discussed.

Considering Student Voices: Examining the Experiences of Underrepresented Students in Intervention Programs

PubMed Central

Gibau, Gina Sanchez

2015-01-01

Qualitative studies that examine the experiences of underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields are comparatively few. This study explores the self-reported experiences of underrepresented graduate students in the biomedical sciences of a large, midwestern, urban university. Document analysis of interview transcripts from program evaluations capture firsthand accounts of student experiences and reveal the need for a critical examination of current intervention programs designed to reverse the trend of underrepresentation in the biomedical sciences. Findings point to themes aligned around the benefits and challenges of program components, issues of social adjustment, the utility of supportive relationships, and environmental impacts. PMID:26163562

Nuclear rocket propulsion: NASA plans and progress - FY 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, John S.; Miller, Thomas J.

1991-01-01

NASA has initiated planning for a technology development project for nuclear rocket propulsion systems for space exploration initiative (SEI) human and robotic missions to the Moon and to Mars. An interagency project is underway that includes the Department of Energy National Laboratories for nuclear technology development. The activities of the project planning team in FY 1990 and 1991 are summarized. The progress to date is discussed, and the project plan is reviewed. Critical technology issues were identified and include: (1) nuclear fuel temperature, life, and reliability; (2) nuclear system ground test; (3) safety; (4) autonomous system operation and health monitoring; and (5) minimum mass and high specific impulse.

In-situ resource utilization for the human exploration of Mars : a Bayesian approach to valuation of precursor missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Jeffrey H.

2006-01-01

The need for sufficient quantities of oxygen, water, and fuel resources to support a crew on the surface of Mars presents a critical logistical issue of whether to transport such resources from Earth or manufacture them on Mars. An approach based on the classical Wildcat Drilling Problem of Bayesian decision theory was applied to the problem of finding water in order to compute the expected value of precursor mission sample information. An implicit (required) probability of finding water on Mars was derived from the value of sample information using the expected mass savings of alternative precursor missions.

""I Wonder How This Little Seed Can Have so Much Potential"": Critical Exploration Supports Preservice Teachers' Development as Science Researchers and Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes-McDonnell, Fiona

2009-01-01

A teacher educator and student of Duckworth's critical exploration approach to teaching shares three episodes taken from science methods courses she teaches for preservice teachers in graduate and undergraduate programs in elementary education. The episodes reveal the pedagogy of critical exploration to be particularly well suited to the…