Search

Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) are a class of varied compounds that mimic the effects of natural cannabinoids found in cannabis. Because they have a wide range of diverse structures, they vary widely in their potency. The abuse of new psychoactive substances (NPS) in prisons was reported in many European countries and in the USA. In the present study, we have described the identification of SCRAs in 56 infused paper sheet samples, seized mainly in Brazilian prisons between 2016 and 2020. The materials were seized by local or federal law enforcement and analyzed by Sao Paulo State Police or Brazilian Federal Police using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. Most of these samples (87.5%) were seized in 2019–2020; seven different SCRAs were identified in samples, and the most frequently identified substances were MDMB-4en-PINACA (23.6%) and 5F-MDMB-PICA (36.4%), the newest SCRAs emerging recently. As observed in Europe and the USA, Brazil also shows the prevalence of indazole-3-carboxamides and indole-3-carboxamides among SCRAs seizures in the prison system. This phenomenon is spreading all over the world at this moment. These data on the prevalence could help to alert judicial authorities to shutting down the introduction of NPS, including SCRAs, into prisons to ensure safety and security for avoiding health risks of prisoners and staff, leading to positive effects in this population. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of SCRAs smuggling into prisons in Latin America.

In this paper, we present a system for automatic evaluation of the quality of a question paper. Question paper plays a major role in educational assessment. The quality of a question paper is crucial to fulfilling the purpose of the assessment. In many education sectors, question papers are prepared manually. A prior analysis of a question paper might help in finding the errors in the question paper, and better achieving the goals of the assessment. In this experiment, we focus on higher education in the technical domain. First, we conducted a student survey to identify the key factors that affect the quality of a question paper. The top factors we identified are question relevance, question difficulty, and time requirement. We explored the strategies to handle these factors and implemented them. We employ various concepts and techniques for the implementation. The system finally assigns a numerical quality score against these factors. The system is evaluated using a set of question papers collected from various sources. The experimental results show that the proposed system is quite promising.

The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) Position Paper focus is on applying the 4 ethical principles for clinician's decision-making in the use of artificially administered nutrition and hydration (AANH) for adult and pediatric patients. These basic principles are (1) autonomy, respect the patient's healthcare preferences; (2) beneficence, provide healthcare in the best interest of the patient; (3) nonmaleficence, do no harm; and (4) justice, provide all individuals a fair and appropriate distribution of healthcare resources. Preventing and resolving ethical dilemmas is addressed, with an emphasis on a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach. Optimizing early communication and promoting advance care planning, involving completion of an advance directive, including designation of a surrogate decision-maker, are encouraged. Clinicians achieve respect for autonomy when they incorporate the patient, family, community, country, geographical, and presumed cultural values and religious belief considerations into ethical decision-making for adults and children with a shared decision-making process. These discussions should be guided by the 4 ethical principles. Hospital committees and teams, limited-time trials, clinician obligation with conflicts, and forgoing of AANH are addressed. Specific patient conditions are addressed because of the concern for potential ethical issues: coma, decreased consciousness, and dementia; advanced dementia; cancer; eating disorders; and end-stage disease/terminal illness. Incorporated in the Position Paper are ethical decisions during a pandemic and a legal summary involving ethical issues. International authors presented the similarities and differences within their own country or region and compared them with the US perspective.

Human trafficking is a pandemic human rights violation with an emerging paradigm shift that reframes an issue traditionally seen through a criminal justice lens to that of a public health crisis, particularly for children. Children and adolescents who are trafficked or are at risk for trafficking should receive evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care from trained health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this article was to engage and equip pediatric HCPs to respond effectively to human trafficking in the clinical setting, improving health outcomes for affected and at-risk children. Pediatric HCPs are ideally positioned to intervene and advocate for children with health disparities and vulnerability to trafficking in a broad spectrum of care settings and to optimize equitable health outcomes.

Following Swales’ (1990) influential study on research article (RA) introductions, some attention has increasingly been paid to other rhetorical units of both expert and learners’ writing, including titles. A key and effective discursive means through which titles are constructed and presented is the syntactic configuration. The present study, thus, investigates the syntactic structures employed by authors of conference paper titles (CPTs) in Applied Linguistics. A qualitative content analysis was employed to study a corpus of 592 CPTs from a popular conference for researchers, scholars, and practitioners of Applied Linguistics worldwide, supported by some descriptive statistics. The analysis of data study identified three main title styles: Single Unit Title, Compound Unit Title, and Complex Unit Title. The analysis showed that, out of these three title styles, Compound Unit Titles were preferred by researchers. Further, the colon was the dominantly used punctuation mark in separating the components of Compound Unit titles. The final point was that authors preferred prepositional phrases in the post modification of the noun phrase structure of CPTs. The findings of this study have implications for the scholarship on titlelogy, academic writing pedagogy as well as further research.

Throughout this study technology and especially mobile phones was utilized in EFL classrooms in order to see whether it can influence the process of vocabulary formative assessment and consequently improve vocabulary learning of Iranian pre-intermediate EFL learners or not. Two groups of pre-intermediate EFL learners participated in this study. Regarding the first group (FMA) the vocabulary learning of learners was assessed formatively during ten sessions using Socrative mobile application. The vocabulary learning of the second group (FPA) was also assessed formatively but paper and pen were the instruments used by instructor and students to take the tests. After applying quasi-experimental research design including pretest, treatment and posttest and after running independent sample t tests to posttest scores, the results showed that those pre-intermediate EFL learners attending in the group where vocabulary gain was assessed formatively using mobile application named Socrative performed significantly better in posttest than group assessed formatively based on paper and pen (Sig=0.03

Contains fulltext : 229587.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) In Europe, lung cancer ranks third among the most common cancers, remaining the biggest killer. Since the publication of the first European Society of Radiology and European Respiratory Society joint white paper on lung cancer screening (LCS) in 2015, many new findings have been published and discussions have increased considerably. Thus, this updated expert opinion represents a narrative, non-systematic review of the evidence from LCS trials and description of the current practice of LCS as well as aspects that have not received adequate attention until now. Reaching out to the potential participants (persons at high risk), optimal communication and shared decision-making will be key starting points. Furthermore, standards for infrastructure, pathways and quality assurance are pivotal, including promoting tobacco cessation, benefits and harms, overdiagnosis, quality, minimum radiation exposure, definition of management of positive screen results and incidental findings linked to respective actions as well as cost-effectiveness. This requires a multidisciplinary team with experts from pulmonology and radiology as well as thoracic oncologists, thoracic surgeons, pathologists, family doctors, patient representatives and others. The ESR and ERS agree that Europe's health systems need to adapt to allow citizens to benefit from organised pathways, rather than unsupervised initiatives, to allow early diagnosis of lung cancer and reduce the mortality rate. Now is the time to set up and conduct demonstration programmes focusing, among other points, on methodology, standardisation, tobacco cessation, education on healthy lifestyle, cost-effectiveness and a central registry.Key Points* Pulmonologists and radiologists both have key roles in the set up of multidisciplinary LCS teams with experts from many other fields.* Pulmonologists identify people eligible for LCS, reach out to family doctors, share the decision-making process and promote tobacco cessation.* Radiologists ensure appropriate image quality, minimum dose and a standardised reading/reporting algorithm, together with a clear definition of a "positive screen".* Strict algorithms define the exact management of screen-detected nodules and incidental findings.* For LCS to be (cost-)effective, it has to target a population defined by risk prediction models.

The clinical, educational, and research facets of lung transplantation have advanced significantly since the first lung transplant in 1963. The formation of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) and subsequent Registry has forged a precedent of collaborative teamwork that has significantly affected current lung transplantation outcomes. The Society for the Advancement of Anesthesia (SATA) is dedicated to developing educational platforms for all facets of transplant anesthesia. Additionally, we believe that the anesthetic training for lung transplantation has not kept pace with other advances in the field. As such, SATA presents for consideration these educational milestones and competencies for anesthetic fellowship training in the field of lung transplantation. The proposed milestones were designed on the framework of 6 core competencies created by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. The milestones were identified by combining the expert opinion of our Thoracic Transplant Committee, our experience as educators, and literature review. We offer this White Paper to the anesthesiology and transplant communities as a starting point for the discussion and evolution of perioperative anesthetic care in the field of lung transplantation.

Panic buying of toilet rolls in Australia began in early March 2020. This was related to the realisation that the novel coronavirus was spreading across the country. To the general population the impact of the virus was unknown. Gradually the federal government started closing the country’s borders. The panic buying of toilet rolls was not unique to Australia. It happened across all societies that used toilet paper rather than water to clean after defecation and urination. However, research suggests that the panic buying was most extreme in Australia. This article argues that the panic buying was closely linked to everyday notions of Western civilisation. Pedestal toilets and toilet paper are key aspects of civilisation and the fear of the loss of toilet paper is connected to anxiety about social breakdown, the loss of civilisation. This is the fear manifested in the perceived threat posed by the virus. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

The main purpose of the living technology curriculum is to cultivate students' interest in learning science and technology, and further to utilize their experience of learning instructions and develop their ability to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. In recent years, as countries have begun to emphasize the concept of interdisciplinary integration in the school education, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, STEM) focuses on cultivating interdisciplinary talents. With this, STEAM highlights the role of ART because other dimensions of STEM are expected to be effectively integrated through the cultivation of aesthetics; the purpose of this study is to design a STEAM curriculum for elementary school children and to explore the impact of STEAM education on the creativity. The content of this course is based on the PBL (Project-Based Learning) with the teaching activities combining with “Chinese Paper-cutting” and “BBC micro: bit”. The teaching process is used the strategy of creative thinking instruction. The research method adopts a one-group pretest–posttest design based on a purposive sampling of 21 students from one class in an elementary school. The research tools included the records of learning feedback and the creativity assessment. The empirical findings show that the project-based learning incorporating STEAM activity has a positive significant influence on students’ development of creative recognition. Since the empirical results are constricted by the short-term STEAM course, the STEAM course with the art-oriented still benefits the STEAM education and Learning effectiveness of elementary school students. The implication of interdisciplinary interactive Lamp of Paper Carving with Micro:Bit is expected to contribute to further development of STEAM course. Since the curriculum is only last for few weeks, it is too short to affect the emotional facet of creativity. Future researches are suggested to extend the teaching period and evaluate the long-term influence of PBL STEAM on students' learning attitude.

EMS personnel in the U.S. continue to be overwhelmingly Caucasian and male, with 75% being male and 85% identifying as nonminority. While the population of the United States becomes more diverse in ethnicity, religion, and race, the EMS workforce remains largely homogenous and does not reflect the diversity of the population it serves. Given the growing diversity across the country, EMS personnel will increasingly be responding to calls for service involving patients with different cultural backgrounds than their own. This growing gap between providers and the population they serve may exacerbate already existing disparities in care.

Objective To explore whether the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is associated with toilet paper hoarding and to assess which risk factors are associated with the risk of toilet paper hoarding. Design A systematic review and realist review were conducted. Data sources PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and PsycINFO were searched (systematic review). PubMed, pre-prints and grey literature were also searched (realist review). The databases were searched from inception until October 2020. Study selection There were no restrictions on the study design. Outcomes and measures For the systematic review, toilet paper hoarding was the main outcome, and pathological use of toilet paper was the secondary outcome. For the realist review, the context-mechanisms-outcome (CMO) scheme included the COVID-19 pandemic (context), four proposed mechanisms, and one outcome (toilet paper hoarding). The four potential mechanisms were (1) gastrointestinal mechanisms of COVID-19 (e.g. diarrhoea), (2) social cognitive biases, (3) stress-related factors (mental illnesses, personality traits) and (4) cultural aspects (e.g. differences between countries). Eligibility criteria for selecting studies All studies of human populations were considered (including general population studies and clinical studies of patients suffering from mental health problems). Results The systematic review identified 14 studies (eight studies for the main outcome, six studies for the secondary outcome). Three surveys identified the role of the COVID-19 threat in toilet paper hoarding in the general population. One study pointed to an association between a personality trait (conscientiousness) and toilet paper buying and stockpiling as well as an additional significant indirect effect of emotionality through the perceived threat of COVID-19 on toilet paper buying and stockpiling. Six case reports of pathological use of toilet paper were also identified, although none of them were associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The realist review suggested that of all the mechanisms, social cognitive biases and a bandwagon effect were potential contributors to toilet paper hoarding in the general population. The stressful situation (COVID-19 pandemic) and some personality traits (conscientiousness) were found to be associated with toilet paper hoarding. Cultural differences were also identified, with relatively substantial effects of toilet paper hoarding in several Asian regions (Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a worldwide increase in toilet paper hoarding. Social media and social cognitive biases are major contributors and might explain some differences in toilet paper hoarding between countries. Other mental health-related factors, such as the stressful situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, fear of contagion, or particular personality traits (conscientiousness), are likely to be involved. Registration PROSPERO CRD42020182308

Ageing is one of the greatest social and economic challenges of the 21st century for European societies. According to the latest population projections, by 2070, those aged 65 years and over will rise from 19% to 29%, while the share of those aged 80 and over will increase from 5% to 13% of the total population, which will be almost as large as the youngest population (aged 0–14) in that year.1 Because older people have different healthcare requirements, often developing disabilities or multimorbidity complications, health systems will need to adapt so they can provide adequate care for longer periods while remaining financially sustainable. The estimated change in the EU’s total public expenditure on the older population (the total public expenditure includes pensions, health care, long-term care, education and unemployment benefits) will increase from 25% of GDP in 2016 by 1.7 percentage points, reaching 26.7% in 2070. This will be caused mostly by spending on health care (+0.9 percentage points) and long-term care (+1.2 percentage points); the percentages refer to the baseline scenario.2 In view of such challenges, it is of the utmost importance that hospital pharmacists’ expertise in medicine use optimisation is fully utilised along the care pathway in order to mitigate problems prevalent in the older population, such as polypharmacy and drug adherence. Therefore, the following position paper of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) outlines key points for policymakers to be mindful of in shaping responses. EAHP calls on national governments and health system managers to acknowledge hospital pharmacists’ drug expertise by investing in medication reconciliation and optimisation roles in all healthcare facilities, including nursing homes, as a key part of the European level response to the increasing prevalence of polypharmacy. EAHP calls for strengthened inter-sector communication, coordination and multidisciplinary collaboration as critical approaches …

TARAMAWOS WOS:000683650400001 TARAMASCOPUS In light of the recent developments in mobile technologies and students’ increased uses of these platforms for educational purposes, research on mobileassisted learning is gaining increased attention. Within this line of inquiry, the current study explored vocabulary learning outcomes from paper and mobile application flashcards. The study used a repeated measures design, by exposing the participants (55 high-school students) to different learning conditions and testing their receptive knowledge of core vocabulary in English in three junctures of time over a year. The participants were asked to use digital or paper flashcards for vocabulary learning, and two standard measures of vocabulary knowledge in pre- and post-tests were used to compare vocabulary gains. The results revealed that both groups improved their vocabulary knowledge over time. Nevertheless, the participants in the experimental group who used mobile applications outperformed the control group (paper flashcards) in the post-tests, and the effect size of the observed differences was very large. The findings underscore the long-term impacts of mobile-assisted vocabulary learning, and the affordances provided by such platforms for learning a considerable number of words by EFL learners. The findings also promise implications for language learners/teachers and materials developers in English language teaching programmes.

This paper describes how an anatomy and physiology laboratory class transitioned from a paper-based lab to an online learning platform that updated the curriculum to rely more on face-to-face small group collaboration and peer teaching. Student perceptions of the new format were positive, but halfway through the transition a global pandemic challenged the new instruction method. The face-to-face curriculum had to be adjusted to a virtual format that lacked in-person interaction between the instructor and the students. This switch to virtual labs had an adverse effect on both student perception and student performance in the second half of the semester. Our observations underscore the importance of creating an interactive community when teaching virtually.

Older adults account for 25% of all emergency department (ED) patient encounters. One in five Americans will be 65 or older by 2030. In response to this need, geriatric emergency medicine (GEM) has developed into a robust area of academic and clinical interest, with extensive evidence-based research and guidelines, including clear undergraduate and postgraduate GEM competencies. Despite these developments, GEM content remains underrepresented in curricula and licensing examinations. The complex reasons for these deficits include a perception that care of older adults is not a core emergency medicine (EM) competency, a disjunction between traditional definitions of expertise and the GEM perspective, and lack of curricular capacity. This White Paper, prepared on behalf of the Academy of Geriatric Emergency Medicine, describes the state of GEM education, identifies the challenges it faces, and reviews innovations, including research presented at the 2018 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Annual Scientific Meeting. The authors propose a number of recommendations. These include recognizing GEM as a core educational priority in EM, enhancing academic support for GEM clinician-educators, using social learning and practical problem solving to teach GEM concepts, emphasizing a whole-person multisystem approach to care of older adults, and identifying ageist attitudes as a hurdle to safe and effective GEM care.

Governmental and educational organizations advocate for the adoption of inquiry-based, student-centered educational strategies in undergraduate STEM curricula. These strategies are known to benefit students by increasing performance, enhancing mastery of class content, and augmenting affect, particularly in underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students. Among these strategies, case study and project-based learning allow students to master course content while collectively tackling relevant, real-world societal problems. In particular, environmental pollution with paper-based products provide a current problem by which microbiology students learn about the role of microorganisms in paper waste management as well as the microbiological and biochemical processes involved in protein secretion, nutrient uptake, and energy metabolism. Delivered in a flipped, hybrid class in a Technology-Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) laboratory, this lesson taught students about exoenzyme secretion, biopolymer hydrolysis, intracellular transport of sugars, and sugar catabolic reactions. Students demonstrated increased comprehension of exoenzyme function and secretion, as well as how cells uptake the products of exoenzyme hydrolysis. However, students had challenges in placing the transported exoenzyme products within metabolic processes. Our results show increased perceived learning from the students as well as an understanding of the societal implications of these microbiological concepts. Our lesson deviated from knowledge silos in which students learn information in discrete topics. While departing from employing traditional, compartmentalized learning approaches, this student-centered guided lesson frames the systemic nature of the microbiological and biochemical processes underlying the decomposition of organic matter in a real-world context.

This study explored the relationship between syntactic complexity and rhetorical functions and the relationship between syntactic complexity and level of move/step realization in learner-generated research paper introductions. We created a corpus of 79 introductions written by undergraduate L2 students at intermediate to high-intermediate levels. We annotated the introductions for moves and steps, measured their syntactic complexity at the global, clausal, and phrasal levels, and rated their level of move/step realization across four levels (no, low, intermediate, and high). We conducted one-way MANOVA, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple linear regression analyses. We found sentences realizing Reviewing items of previous research function to be significantly longer than other steps in Move1 and to contain significantly more clausal and phrasal complexity features. Sentences performing Claiming centrality function also demonstrated significantly more phrasal complexity features as measured by complex nominals per clause. We also found a higher level of phrasal complexity in introductions with a higher level of move/step realization, which can be attributed to introductions including Step1 and Step3, rather than containing all steps. Our findings imply that there is value in developing explicit instructions on how to use complex structures in performing rhetorical steps in research paper introductions. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd

Aim:The aim of this position paper is to assist primary health care (PHC) providers, policymakers, and researchers by discussing the current context in which palliative health care functions within PHC in Europe. The position paper gives examples for improvements to palliative care models from studies and international discussions at European Forum for Primary Care (EFPC) workshops and conferences.Background:Palliative care is a holistic approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with terminal illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and diligent assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, whether physical, psychosocial, or spiritual. Unfortunately, some Europeans, unless they have cancer, still do not have access to generalist or specialist palliative care.Methods:A draft of this position paper was distributed electronically through the EFPC network in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Active collaboration with the representatives of the International Primary Palliative Care Network was established from the very beginning and more recently with the EAPC Primary Care Reference Group. Barriers, opportunities, and examples of good and bad practices were discussed at workshops focusing on palliative care at the international conferences of Southeastern European countries in Ljubljana (2015) and Budva (2017), at regular conferences in Amsterdam (2015) and Riga (2016), at the WONCA Europe conferences in Istanbul (2015), Copenhagen (2016), and Prague (2017), and at the EAPC conference in Madrid (2017).Findings:There is great diversity in the extent and type of palliative care provided in primary care by European countries. Primary care teams (PCTs) are well placed to encourage timely palliative care. We collected examples from different countries. We found numerous barriers influencing PCTs in preparing care plans with patients. We identified many facilitators to improve the organization of palliative care.

The investigation of both paper-based and virtual pedagogical environments allows us to reflect upon the diverse range of material available to the language learning community today. In this paper, the significance of the cultural component in language learning will be discussed firstly, highlighting its crucial role with regard to the promotion of tolerance and understanding between diverse cultures. Secondly, a number of FLE (Français Langue Erangère) manuals will be analysed in terms of the transmission of cultural data. The study will then conclude with an examination of examples of online environments which reflect an alternative medium for the acquisition of information on the target language and culture.

In any instructive field educational programs, the courses are characterized with learning goals. It is exceptionally challenging for the instructors to create Question Papers with changed questions. There's no standardizing strategy to guarantee quality of question paper. Consequently, there arises a have to be have a framework which can consequently produce it from we entered information inside few seconds. It’s basic to specify tests and exams, it plans understudies in their journey for information, so having a legitimate examination paper & organize is essential. Now the traditional strategy of producing address paper has been manual and it is exceptionally time and cost expending to diminish these things we developed this framework which is able make the programmed address paper and this it can be valuable to numerous instructive establishing.

Background: Critical appraisal of research paper is a fundamental skill in modern medical practice, which is skills-set and developed throughout the professional career. The professional experience facilitates this and through integration with clinical experience and patient preference, permits high quality evidence-based medicine practice in patient care. These skills to be mastered not only by academic medical professionals but also by the clinicians involved in clinical practice. Objective: To provide a simple and robust method for assessing the trustworthiness of a research paper and its value in clinical practice. Methodology: Through detailed literature search, All essential sections and subsection mandatory for a research paper were identified followed by the necessary steps or information required in each section or questions which may arise or needs to addressed were identified. The important questions or steps which are integral in assessing the reliability and validity of a research are gathered during critical review of a research paper. Results: Out of 128 full text articles, 49 full-text articles containing robust and pertinent information as per objective were short listed for review. Conclusion: Critical appraisal of a research paper or project is a fundamental skill in modern medical practice for assessing the worth of clinical research and in providing a guideline of its relevance to the profession.

New Ukrainian and world realities set new tasks for the higher educational establishments, which are related to the search for new, modern methods that allow to increase the effectiveness of training. Currently, topical are the issues of not only professional but also the personal development of the student forming the priority in the implementation of educational activities in universities, preparation for future professional activities, as well as for successful interaction in society. The concept of «individual social competence» is an important factor in creating a system of educational process which takes into account aspects of professional development, and at the same time the peculiarities of the formation of the student personality. The author analyses the concept of «competence», considers the key competences for lifelong learning, identified by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, including social competence, studies the scientific achievements of Ukrainian and foreign scientists, including G. Gedviliene, H. S. Han, K. M. Kemple, U.P. Kanning, M. Horenburg, G.W. Ladd, H. K. Ma, K. Monahan, M. Monnier, O.V. Varetska, N.I. Hlebova, D.V. Hubareva, O.I. Hura, M.O. Doktorovych, I.B. Zarubinska, O.O. Subina, V.M. Shakhrai. They explored different aspects of social competence of different age categories. The author concludes that, despite different interpretations, all scientists agree that social competence is an acquired skill, it can be formed and developed throughout life. It was also determined that the developed social competence determines the status of the individual in society, it affects the success in professional activities. The high level of social competence allows a person not only to be realized in professional activities, but also to influence the processes in society, which in turn determines its stability. The author’s definition of the concept of «individual social competence» is given in the paper; the author concludes that social competence is an integrated ability that contains other competencies: spiritual, civic, communicative, linguistic; the concept of social competence is closely related to professional competence, without the successful interaction of the individual with society it is impossible to acquire the skills and abilities inherent in a qualified specialist. Thus, an important task for modern higher education is the formation and development of social competence of students, which is the key to successful implementation of the future specialist in professional activities. The educational process should be aimed at forming a system of knowledge about interaction in society, understanding the system of social values, ability to cooperate in society, the ability to communicate constructively, because only a socially competent person can.

Background: There is increasing awareness of diversity and inclusion needs within health and education systems to help address access and equity issues for minority groups. Although these calls are well known, there is little guidance for those working within these systems to create meaningful change. The purpose of this study was to critically review case-based teaching material within the authors' programmes through the lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Methods: A document analysis of clinical workshop cases extracted from all integrated therapeutics courses administered in 2020 was conducted. Results: Sex, age, and employment status were most commonly presented in cases (84.0%, 97.1%, 49.0% respectively). The majority (90.0%) of cases did not have ethnicity defined. The overwhelming majority of cases did not have living situation (68.3%) or sexual orientation (78.0%) defined. Conclusion: Case-based teaching material within a pharmacy programme was largely undefined according to patient demographics and diversity markers. Findings support the notion that teaching material may have a contributory role towards systemic racism, prejudice, and implicit bias.

Background: Though women increasingly make up the majority of medical-school and other science graduates, they remain a minority in academic biomedical settings, where they are less likely to hold leadership positions or be awarded research funding. A major factor is the career breaks that women disproportionately take to see to familial duties. They experience a related, but overlooked, hurdle upon their return: they are often too old to be eligible for 'early-career researcher' grants and 'career-development' awards, which are stepping stones to leadership positions in many institutions and which determine the demographics of their hierarchies for decades to come. Though age limits are imposed to protect young applicants from more experienced seniors, they have an unintended side effect of excluding returning workers, still disproportionately women, from the running. Methods: In this joint effort by the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, the Infectious Disease Society of America, the International Society for Infectious Diseases and the Swiss Society for Infectious Diseases, we invited all European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases-affiliated medical societies and funding bodies to participate in a survey on current 'early-career' application restrictions and measures taken to provide protections for career breaks. Recommendations: The following simple consensus recommendations are geared to funding bodies, academic societies and other organizations for the fair handling of eligibility for early-career awards: 1. Apply a professional, not physiological, age limit to applicants. 2. State clearly in the award announcement that career breaks will be factored into applicants' evaluations such that: • Time absent is time extended: for every full-time equivalent of career break taken, the same full-time equivalent will be extended to the professional age limit. • Opportunity costs will also be taken into account: people who take career breaks risk additional opportunity costs, with work that they did before the career break often being forgotten or poorly documented, particularly in bibliometric accounting. Although there is no standardized metric to measure additional opportunity costs, organizations should (a) keep in mind their existence when judging applicants' submissions, and (b) note clearly in the award announcement that opportunity costs of career breaks are also taken into account. 3. State clearly that further considerations can be undertaken, using more individualized criteria that are specific to the applicant population and the award in question. The working group welcomes feedback so that these recommendations can be improved and updated as needed.

Source-based writing research has received much attention in recent years, which generally shows that both novice and expert EFL (English as a foreign language) writers have difficulties in writing from sources. As many Chinese institutes of higher education attach increasingly more importance to publications in international journals, citation and plagiarism become critical issues for both student and teacher researchers as well as the institutes. Nevertheless, not much research can be found on the issues with Chinese students, especially undergraduate students. The present study thus investigated Chinese undergraduate EFL learners’ perceptions of plagiarism and use of citations in their course papers. A total of 141 students from a highly prestigious university answered an open-ended questionnaire and 97 of them submitted course papers. Major findings were: (1) the students had a (fairly) good knowledge of plagiarism and identified various reasons for plagiarism in academic writing, (2) they used summary the most often when citing from sources, followed by paraphrase and quotation, and (3) they mainly used single-source citations to primarily support their own ideas, position an author’s opinions and/or findings, and acknowledge the author’s ideas. These findings reveal a general overview of students’ perceptions of plagiarism and use of citations in their course papers, thus providing implications for formal classroom instruction of writing from sources.

One of the important keys for businesses today to be able to compete is to strengthen their supply chain management system.The impact of a pandemic is felt by all types of businesses, the most important unit of business that also feels the impact of the pandemic is how businesses maintain and even improve the performance of their supply chain management and one of the businesses or industries that is sufficiently affected by the pandemic for its supply chain resilience ispulp and paperindustry. The purpose of this study is to improve the performance of the supply chain, especially in the pulp and paper industry in Indonesia during the pandemic. This study uses two independent variables, namely inventory policies and information sharing and one dependent variable, namely supply chain performance. Data collection in the form of a survey using questionnaire media was carried out on 85 practitioners who work in supply chain units such as production, marketing and logistics. Data collection was carried out from July to September 2020. The results of this study are the conclusion that there is a positive and significant effect of inventory policies and information sharing on supply chain performance. The estimated coefficient of inventory policy on supply chain performance is 0.61, while the estimated coefficient of information sharing on supply chain performance is 0.24. The simultaneously effect of the two independent variables on the dependent is 0.72.

Waste management and recycling of wastages play an important role in having a sustainable city or eco-city. Rapid increasing population in some cities of the world and especially in developing countries cause a different kind of pollution such as air, water, noise, visual, etc. Wastages are directly associated with city contamination. Useful policies for recycling waste can reduce pollution and boost the economy of a country. This study investigates the influence of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), Silica fume (SF), and paper sludge ash (PSA) on the workability, compressive strength, and acoustic emission behavior of concrete. 5 and 10% of cement were replaced by PSA and silica fume and 10 and 20% of coarse aggregate was replaced by the recycled aggregate. PSA and SF improved the Strength, and acoustic emission behaviors of concrete, moreover, the recycled aggregate also improved the properties of concrete.

To clarify the socioeconomic factors influencing global paper and paperboard demand, a panel data analysis was conducted covering the period 1961–2014. This study used paper and paperboard demand as the dependent variable, and a country’s economic level, Internet usage rate, plastic packaging demand, and time trend as the explanatory variables. An inverse U-shaped quadratic relationship, such as an environmental Kuznets curve, was found between economic level and paper and paperboard demand, which saturates and begins to decline as economic level increases. The economic level representing the turning point differs significantly with the use, ranging from around 37,000 US$/person for newsprint paper to around 66,000 US$/person for printing and writing paper. For both newsprint paper and printing and writing paper, demand declines owing to the spread of the Internet as the economic level rises, although this reductive effect is greater for printing and writing paper than for newsprint paper. A substitution relationship is not found between wrapping paper and corrugated cardboard on the one hand and plastic packaging on the other hand as the economic level becomes higher.

The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examination is a high-stakes matriculation system that determines the opportunity for higher education and social mobility for most local students. This means that content featured in the tests poses strong washback effects on classroom teaching and learning. Despite the fact that the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) recognizes the effects of washback and the necessity to use it in a positive way, certain aspects within the HKDSE English Language Reading Comprehension paper might have been overlooked. This paper looks at the genres, text sources and topics featured by the HKDSE examination since its inception in 2011. It finds that while there is an effort to diversify the topics featured and ensure their appropriacy to local candidates, the Authority falls short in utilizing a wide enough range of text genres in its examinations, possibly leading to narrowed English reading abilities in the population. Additionally, texts are also usually selected from sources that favor affluent, professional demographics, which has possible implications for the fairness of the test.

The purpose of the study was to examine the feasibility and effectiveness of a distant-professional development model that supported the implementation of genre-based strategy instruction for procedural writing on second grade teachers’ fidelity of implementation and students’ writing quality. Participants were 84 s graders and four teachers who were randomly assigned to condition. Teachers completed an online workshop module prior to instruction, a survey on their instruction and confidence to teach writing, received coaching feedback during implementation, and were interviewed at pretest and posttest. Students wrote in response to two procedural topics at pretest and posttest, at maintenance, completed transfer tasks in science and in persuasion, were interviewed at posttest, completed a confidence scale, and standardized measures. Results showed that treatment teachers positively evaluated the PD and its components, taught with high fidelity, and positively commented on the instructional approach. Treatment students wrote papers of better quality at posttest and maintenance tasks, while there were no statistically significant differences at the transfer tasks, on students’ confidence, and on standardized measures. Implications for professional development, practice, and research are further discussed.

The image of nursing is impoverished since the hundred years of professional identity of this age-old profession. Nursing image among the public is relying on the image of nursing in media. Nurses are vital members of the health care team and work tirelessly to provide quality care to the patient. A professional image is pivotal to motivate people to have nursing as a career choice. Nurses are central resources of any health institution and their role as a carer is crucial to push the quality of care and health outcomes of health services. Nurses are known to work with compassion and competence with the patient’s best interest in mind having good academic knowledge and understanding of their work with evidence-based practice. Nurses facing an identity crisis as professional and likely sources are neglecting behavior of media and public image of nursing as assistant of physicians. The nursing profession is facing new challenges part from biased policies of the government, on the public forum as an independent professional. Keywords: Nursing, Professionalism, Media, Society, Image, Physicians.

Misuse of statistics in medical and sports science research is common and may lead to detrimental consequences to healthcare. Many authors, editors and peer reviewers of medical papers will not have expert knowledge of statistics or may be unconvinced about the importance of applying correct statistics in medical research. Although there are guidelines on reporting statistics in medical papers, a checklist on the more general and commonly seen aspects of statistics to assess when peer-reviewing an article is needed. In this article, we propose a CHecklist for statistical Assessment of Medical Papers (CHAMP) comprising 30 items related to the design and conduct, data analysis, reporting and presentation, and interpretation of a research paper. While CHAMP is primarily aimed at editors and peer reviewers during the statistical assessment of a medical paper, we believe it will serve as a useful reference to improve authors’ and readers’ practice in their use of statistics in medical research. We strongly encourage editors and peer reviewers to consult CHAMP when assessing manuscripts for potential publication. Authors also may apply CHAMP to ensure the validity of their statistical approach and reporting of medical research, and readers may consider using CHAMP to enhance their statistical assessment of a paper.

This study investigated the importance of using the achievement file, in both electronic and paper forms, as an evaluation instrument to document the performance of both teachers and students. The researcher planned the question in the following question: What is the future vision of the college members' use of achievement (paper-electronically) files, at the Ajloun University College, as modern methods for evaluating their students? The researcher used the descriptive-differential analytical approach. The researcher noticed, through observation and interview, that many previous relevant studies were reviewed to clarify the mechanism of using the (paper-electronic) achievement files. The study presented some results related to the quality of students' learning, the quality of the educational process, and others related to the quality of the used evaluation method. This study provided a future vision of the college members' use of the achievement files to evaluate the expected learning in several disciplines: knowledge (cognitive skills), dealing with others, taking responsibility, communication skills, information technology (IT), numerical skills, and psychomotor skills. The researcher recommended educating the university community about the culture of developing students' evaluation systems and exams to improve the educational system and ensure its quality. This could be done by spreading the culture of evaluation and exam development. Besides, students should be taught from the beginning about their roles and what was required from them with every step of the process of using the achievement file in their evaluation. Students should be provided with instruments, guiding them to the resources that would help them accomplish the work included in the file.

The traditional Chinese folk paper-cutting art has a long history. It is a traditional folk art form created by working people to satisfy their spiritual and material pursuits. It originates from life and returns to life. With the pace of the times, folk paper-cutting has undergone an innovative transformation and development through the interweaving, penetration and integration of contemporary design concepts. Through the combination of network big data, it provides a large number of references for modern graphic design decoration and function combination, graphic context inheritance, color language, modeling language, etc.

Endoscopic image-enhancement technologies provide opportunities to visualize normal and abnormal tissues within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in a manner that complements conventional white light endoscopic imaging. The additional information that is obtained enables the endoscopist to better identify, delineate, and characterize lesions and can facilitate targeted biopsies or, in some cases, eliminate the need to send samples for histologic analysis. Some of these technologies have been available for more than a decade, but despite this fact, there is limited use of these technologies by endoscopists. Lack of formalized training in their use and a scarcity of guidelines on implementation of these technologies into clinical practice are contributing factors. In November 2014, the American Gastroenterological Association's Center for GI Innovation and Technology conducted a 2-day workshop to discuss endoscopic image-enhancement technologies. This article represents the third of 3 separate documents generated from the workshop and discusses the published literature pertaining to training and outlines a proposed framework for the implementation of endoscopic image-enhancement technologies in clinical practice. There was general agreement among participants in the workshop on several key considerations. Training and competency assessment for endoscopic image-enhancement technologies should incorporate competency-based education paradigms. To facilitate successful training, multiple different educational models that can cater to variations in learning styles need to be developed, including classroom-style and self-directed programs, in-person and web-based options, image and video atlases, and endoscopic simulator programs. To ensure safe and appropriate use of these technologies over time, refresher courses, skill maintenance programs, and options for competency reassessment should be established. Participants also generally agreed that although early adopters of novel endoscopic image-enhancement modalities can successfully implement these technologies by pursuing training and ensuring self-competency, widespread implementation is likely to require support from GI societies and buy-in from other key stakeholders including payors/purchasers and patients. Continued work by manufacturers and the GI societies in providing training programs and patient education, working with payors and purchasers, and creating environments and policies that motivate endoscopists to adopt new practices is essential in creating widespread implementation.

Approximately 30% of school-aged individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are nonverbal (that is, they have little or no spontaneous spoken language). Most reading tests require verbalisation, which may under-estimate reading ability in this group. To determine decoding abilities of nonverbal children with ASD (with an age range of 72 to 229 months), a novel digital form of reading assessment, comparable to the widely used New Salford Reading Test, was created. Three groups were tested: verbal ASD (n = 33); nonverbal ASD (n = 24); and verbal non-ASD with a Statement of special educational needs (n = 24). Reading ages were compared for all three groups using the paper-based version of the test, and a digital format that was not reliant on participants' ability to verbalise. The reading scores of nonverbal students with ASD were much lower than the scores of verbal students with ASD when tested with the paper version of the scale, but this difference was eradicated when the digitised version was employed. These results suggest that the use of the nonverbal digital test may offer a good assessment of the reading abilities of nonverbal children with ASD.

International audience; The increasing number of frail elderly people in our aging society is becoming problematic: about 11% of community-dwelling older persons are frail and another 42% are pre-frail. Consequently, a major challenge in the coming years will be to test people over the age of 60 years to detect pre-frailty at the earliest stage and to return them to robustness using the targeted interventions that are becoming increasingly available. This challenge requires individual longitudinal monitoring (ILM) or follow-up of community-dwelling older persons using quantitative approaches. This paper briefly describes an effort to tackle this challenge. Extending the detection of the pre-frail stages to other population groups is also suggested. Appropriate algorithms have been used to begin the tracing of faint physiological signals in order to detect transitions from robustness to pre-frailty states and from pre-frailty to frailty states. It is hoped that these studies will allow older adults to receive preventive treatment at the correct institutions and by the appropriate professionals as early as possible, which will prevent loss of autonomy. Altogether, ILM is conceived as an emerging property of databases ("digital twins") and not the reverse. Furthermore, ILM should facilitate a coordinated set of actions by the caregivers, which is a complex challenge in itself. This approach should be gradually extended to all ages, because frailty has no age, as is testified by overwork, burnout, and post-traumatic syndrome.

Writing academic texts is one of the first tasks students face when entering university. Starting studies in Higher Education brings the need to learn the forms of oral and written interaction of this new discourse community and, consequently, an academic literacy acquisition process begins. Writing will also be the tool with which the students will show the knowledge learned and the means by which they will be evaluated. This work presents a didactic tool that has the purpose of helping students to carry out, with the help of teachers or autonomously, a first approach to the writing of academic texts in Basque, regardless of the area in which they are receiving their training. It is a didactic proposal that seeks to improve the formation in Higher Education and to respond to the educational demands through a genre-based approach. In this case, the selected genre is the scientific article. The application of this proposal contributes to identify the characteristics of the academic texts and to become familiar with the communicative demands of this type of productions. In parallel, it promotes autonomous learning and the development of useful discursive skills to function in the university community., Producir textos académicos escritos es una de las primeras tareas a las que se enfrenta el alumnado una vez ingresa en la universidad. Iniciar los estudios superiores trae consigo la necesidad de aprender las formas de interacción oral y escrita de esa nueva comunidad discursiva y, como consecuencia, entrar en un proceso de alfabetización académica. Escribir será, además, la herramienta con la que los estudiantes mostrarán los conocimientos aprendidos y el medio por el que serán evaluados. Este trabajo presenta una herramienta didáctica para que el alumnado se acerque, con la ayuda del profesorado o de manera autónoma, a la escritura de textos académicos en euskera, independientemente del área en el que estén recibiendo su formación. Se trata de una propuesta didáctica que busca mejorar la formación en Educación Superior y responder a las demandas educativas mediante el enfoque basado en los géneros discursivos. En este caso, el género seleccionado es el artículo científico. La aplicación de esta propuesta contribuye a identificar las características de estos textos académicos y a familiarizarse con las demandas comunicativas de estas producciones. De manera paralela, propicia el aprendizaje autónomo y el desarrollo de habilidades discursivas para desenvolverse en la comunidad universitaria. &nbsp, Produzir textos académicos escritos é uma das primeiras tarefas que os estudantes enfrentam quando entram na universidade. O início dos estudos no Ensino Superior traz consigo a necessidade de aprender as formas de interação oral e escrita dessa nova comunidade discursiva e, consequentemente, de iniciar um processo de alfabetização académica. A escrita também será a ferramenta com a qual os alunos mostrarão o conhecimento aprendido e o meio pelo qual serão avaliados. Este trabalho apresenta uma ferramenta didática que visa apoiar os alunos na apropriação, com a ajuda do profesor ou autonomamente, dos fundamentos da escrita académica em basco, independentemente do curso superior que frequentam. Trata-se de uma proposta de material didático que procura aprimorar a formação no Ensino Superior e responder às demandas educacionais por meio de uma abordagem baseada em géneros discursivos. Neste caso, o género selecionado é o artigo científico. A aplicação desta proposta ajuda a identificar as características desses textos académicos e a familiarizar-se com as demandas comunicativas desse tipo de produção. Paralelamente, promove a aprendizagem autónoma e o desenvolvimento de habilidades discursivas úteis para funcionar na comunidade universitária.

Tablet computers have emerged as increasingly useful tools in medical education, particularly for assessment. However, it is not fully established whether tablet computers influence the quality and/or quantity of feedback provided in high stakes assessments. It is also unclear how electronically-recorded feedback relates to student performance. Our primary aim was to determine whether differences existed in feedback depending on the tool used to record it. Methods We compared quantitative and qualitative feedback between paper-scoring sheets versus iPads™ across two consecutive years of a final year MBChB (UK medical degree) Objective Structured Clinical Examination. Quality of comments (using a validated five-point rating scale), number of examiner comments and number of words were compared across both methods of recording assessment performance using chi-squared analysis and independent t-test. We also explored relationships between student performance (checklist and global scoring) and feedback. Results Data from 190 students (2850 paper scored interactions) in 2015 and 193 (2895 iPad™ scored interactions) in 2016 were analysed. Overall, a greater number of comments were given with iPad™ compared to written (42% versus 20%; p < 0.001) but the quality of feedback did not differ significantly. For both written and electronic feedback, students with low global scores were more likely to receive comments (p < 0.001). Conclusion The use of iPads™ in high stakes assessment increases the quantity of feedback compared to traditional paper scoring sheets. The quantity and quality of feedback for poorer performing candidates (by global score) were also better with iPad™ feedback.

A concern that has been raised with the transition from pen and paper examinations to electronic examinations is whether this will make cheating easier. This article investigates how teachers and students perceive the differences in ease of cheating during three types of written examination: paper exams, bring your own device e-exams and e-exams using university-owned devices. It also investigates perceptions about the effectiveness of some typical countermeasures towards cheating across these examination types. A mixed-method approach was used, combining questionnaires and interviews with students and teachers in the authors’ own university. A total of 212 students and 162 teachers participated in the questionnaire survey, and then, a more limited number were interviewed to get a deeper understanding of the results. Six-different cheating practices were considered – impersonation, forbidden aids, peeking, peer collaboration, outside assistance and student–staff collusion and seven different countermeasures were considered – proctors, biometry, mingling, shuffling, random drawing, sequencing and broadcasting. Both students and teachers perceived cheating as easier with e-exams, and especially with bring your own device. They also thought some countermeasures would be easier to implement with e-exams.

Introduction. In this article we presented conclusions on the detection of counterfeit paper money in the territory of Ukraine, which was part of Russian Empire. Almost all of the most common paper money were forged by counterfeiters. The purpose of the research . The peculiarities of counterfeiting of paper banknotes, localization of places of splashes of mass detection of the counterfeits, establishment of peculiarities of manufacturing and detection and neutralization by the population during the investigated time of money counterfeiting, as well as determination of the scale of threat to the population of the problem of counterfeit coins – determination of proportion of counterfeits in the amount of money were determined. The methodology of the paper is a complex of the general scientific empirical-theoretical methods, the citation of the materials of contemporary sources is made by transcription. The scientific novelty . The need of studying the aspect of counterfeiting has long time gone beyond the views of the numismatists. The study of this topic was also not included in the prospects for the development of national numismatics. At present, historiography has no comprehensive work on the problems of studying the processes of counterfeiting money in Ukraine in the imperial era. The practical significance of the achieved results lies in the possibility of the use of the obtained conclusions in the following areas: the criminal history, the history of the monetary circulation, educational and methodical literature. The main results of the research. Thus, we have found that almost all the most common banknotes have been counterfeited by counterfeiters. In the 1880’s, the police in the Podillya recorded an outburst of detection of large-scale counterfeit credit bills – the 100 rubles, as well as counterfeit credit bills denominations of 25 and 3 rubles, made by the method of bonding banknotes from the different parts. Often, the counterfeit money were reflected in the amount of the collected taxes. One of the methods of neutralization of the counterfeit paper money was the putting on stamps and perforations.

E-textbooks have become more popular with college students, but there are concerns that reading is not as effective from screens as paper. In addition, students may not take advantage of tools affo...

The strongest and best-documented risk factor for drug hypersensitivity (DH) is the history of a previous reaction. Accidental exposures to drugs may lead to severe or even fatal reactions in sensitized patients. Preventable prescription errors are common. They are often due to inadequate medical history or poor risk assessment of recurrence of drug reaction. Proper documentation is essential information for the doctor to make sound therapeutic decision. The European Network on Drug Allergy and Drug Allergy Interest Group of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology have formed a task force and developed a drug allergy passport as well as general guidelines of drug allergy documentation. A drug allergy passport, a drug allergy alert card, a certificate, and a discharge letter after medical evaluation are adequate means to document DH in a patient. They are to be handed to the patient who is advised to carry the documentation at all times especially when away from home. A drug allergy passport should at least contain information on the culprit drug(s) including international nonproprietary name, clinical manifestations including severity, diagnostic measures, potential cross-reactivity, alternative drugs to prescribe, and where more detailed information can be obtained from the issuer. It should be given to patients only after full allergy workup. In the future, electronic prescription systems with alert functions will become more common and should include the same information as in paper-based documentation.

The study consists of two parts. The first is to describe the moves, the language function, the most dominant language function, and verbs of process function in the abstracts. The second is to explain how the linguistic elements (grammatical categories), three modalities (certain, probable, and possible), and the non-linguistic elements support the rhetorical and logical moves and the language functions operating in the abstracts. As it is a genre analysis of international conference paper abstracts, the data were taken from the specific discourse community of international conference paper abstracts of SEAAIR conference. Theoretically, this study contributes to a fuller understanding of research on genre of international conference paper abstracts, particularly written by the discourse community of SEAAIR.

Background: In respect of the principle of autonomy and the right of self-determination, obtaining an informed consent of potential participants before their inclusion in a study is a fundamental ethical obligation. The variations in national laws, regulations, and cultures contribute to complex informed consent documents for patients participating in clinical trials. Currently, only few ethics committees seem willing to address the complexity and the length of these documents and to request investigators and sponsors to revise them in a way to make them understandable for potential participants. The purpose of this work is to focus on the written information in the informed consent documentation for drug development clinical trials and suggests (i) to distinguish between necessary and not essential information, (ii) to define the optimal format allowing the best legibility of those documents., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

The skill of reading undergoes dramatic changes due to the change of reading interface readers are exposed to. Readers who want to be active participants of knowledge society need to perceive it as more than just a receptive skill. The study aims to assess the condition of homo legens, diagnose what kind of reading interface preferences characterize 21st-century readers, how they respond to texts considering reading both digitally and in print, accepting or viewing critically the underlying ideology of the text. The analysis of the collected data attempts to determine if the reported preferences are conducive to the development of critical thinking skills for 21st-century literacy, which include understanding complex ideas, evaluating evidence, weighing alternative perspectives and constructing justifiable arguments.

Research papers are a common end-of-semester assessment for senior-level seminars. The mid-semester switch to remote learning due to COVID-19 provided an opportunity to rethink this model and offer an alternative final assessment using a multi-part online portfolio that addresses the learning goals of the course and the objectives of research paper–based final assessments. The smaller weekly tasks coupled with ongoing peer feedback reduced student stress and allowed for creativity and community building. Students responded positively to the novel assignment.

Effectively reading and interpreting scientific literature are fundamental skills for students pursuing degrees in STEM fields. In-person classes allow for real-time discussion and dissection of scientific literature; however, with increasing focus on virtual learning environments, alternative approaches are needed to promote student development of these skills. This manuscript presents suggestions for conducting paper discussions in asynchronous environments via learning management system (LMS) message boards. Modifications of this paper discussion activity for different class sizes, educational levels, and assignment goals are included.