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Palliative and end-of-life care has been pushed to the forefront of medical care during the pandemic caused by the coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19). Palliative care organizations have responded to the growing demand for the rapid dissemination of research, clinical guidance, and instructions for care to clinicians, patients with COVID-19, and their caregivers by creating COVID-19 resource Web pages. Here, end users can access resources that can be updated in real time. These Web pages, however, can be variable in what resources they offer and for whom they are designed for (clinicians, patients, caregivers). Therefore, this project was conducted to consolidate these resources via summary tables of specific contents available through each Web page grouped by palliative care domains (eg, care discussion and planning, communication, symptom management, care access) and to identify the target audience. This environmental scan was conducted by compiling a comprehensive list of COVID-19 resource Web pages of palliative care organizations generated by reviewing previously published research studies and consulting with palliative care research experts. Snowballing techniques were used to identify resource Web pages not captured in the initial scan. Two reviewers independently evaluated eligible Web pages for content via a form developed for the study, and Cohen κ statistic was calculated to ensure interrater reliability. The final κ statistic was 0.76. Of the 24 websites screened, 15 websites met our eligibility criteria. Among the eligible resource Web pages, most (n = 12, 80%) had specific target audiences and care settings, whereas the rest presented information targeted to all audiences. Although 11 Web pages offered resources that addressed all 4 domains, only 1 Web page conveyed all 12 subdomains. We recommend the use of this guide to all frontline clinicians who require guidance in clinically managing patients with COVID-19 receiving palliative care and/or end-of-life care.

Disruptions from COVID-19 forced agricultural business owners to navigate the uncertainty of market disruptions with limited information. As an effect, the quality of information available for agricultural businesses to adapt to changes was a concern. The purpose of this study was to determine the availability and credibility of resources for agricultural businesses to make informed decisions about food markets during COVID-19. Source credibility was the guiding framework to achieve the research objectives of 1) Describe resources available related to impacts of COVID-19 on the food supply chain, 2) Determine the credibility of available resources. A quantitative content and textual analyses were employed. Results revealed 401 terms used to describe resources (n = 779). Eleven of the top 36 terms were used over 100 times. These were: farmer, resources, farm, market, business, local, health, safe, supply, agriculture, and chain. The majority of resources (66%, f = 514) were mid-level credible sources (industry/business organization, online/print news source, nonprofit), and 32.2% (f = 251) were of the highest credibility (university scientists, USDA scientist, Extension). Implications of this work show an opportunity for university and Extension systems to publish resources and serve as credible sources related to this particular crisis.

Background People with stroke and their caregivers experience numerous information needs; internet-based resources may offer cost-effective ways to improve access to information about this condition and its management, including the availability of resources and support. The quality of online health information is, therefore, an important consideration for both developers and consumers of these online resources. Objective This study aims to map and evaluate the content, readability, understandability, design, and quality characteristics of freely available online information resources (ie, websites) that empower people with stroke and their caregivers with information and self-help strategies poststroke. Methods This descriptive review will follow the five systematic and rigorous methodological steps that are recommended for scoping reviews, which include the following: (1) identifying the research question, (2) identifying relevant studies, (3) selecting the studies, (4) charting the data, and (5) collating, summarizing, and reporting the results. Data will then be synthesized and analyzed thematically. Results As of February 2021, the scoping review is in the data extraction stage. Data will be synthesized, and the first results are expected to be submitted for publication in an open-access peer-reviewed journal in August 2021. In addition, we will develop an accessible summary of the results for stakeholder meetings. Ethical approval is not required for this review, as it will only include publicly available information. Conclusions This study is novel and will evaluate the typology, content, and design-related criteria, including accessibility, aesthetics, navigability, interactivity, privacy, and data protection, of online information resources for stroke. The review will be limited to online resources published in English. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/23174

This study reports on how the use of online resources based on systemic functional linguistics (SFL) impacted college students’ emotional alignment with writing practices. Through qualitative analyses of in-class discussions, students’ interviews and reflections, as well as their written pieces gathered in a Chinese university, the case study shows that the students were able to overcome their fears with writing construction associated with their dearth of effective knowledge, albeit through a zigzag trajectory. More importantly, they could utilize the knowledge imparted through online resources, actively and confidently participating in unpacking written discourse and effectively constructing their own writing. The study concludes the importance of harnessing online resources that are effectively designed and linguistically grounded. It sheds light on the role of SFL as a linguistic technique to alleviate students’ anxieties while offering them knowledge needed for effective written communication.

In recent years, online media have offered to trans people helpful resources to create new political, cultural and personal representations of their biographies. However, the role of these media in the construction of their social and personal identities has seldom been addressed. Drawing on the theoretical standpoint of positioning theory and diatextual discourse analysis, this paper discusses the results of a research project about weblogs created by Italian trans women. In particular, the aim of this study was to describe the ways online resources are used to express different definitions and interpretation of transgenderism, transsexuality and gender transitioning. We identified four main positioning strategies: “Transgender”, “Transsexual before being a woman”, “A woman who was born male” and “Just a normal woman”. We conclude with the political implications of the pluralization of narratives about gender non-conformity. Specifically, we will highlight how aspects of neoliberal discourses have been appropriated and rearticulated in the construction of gendered subjectivities.

Copywriting is a relatively young text-making industry, which is becoming important with the development of the Global Network. Despite the great popularity and high economic efficiency, it has not acquired the systemic scientific coverage. Meanwhile, the scientific approach, the development of a proper conceptual apparatus, weighty methodological recommendations and generalizations are of necessity.Based on the existing scientific discourse, practical experience of copywriters, numerous texts presented in blogs of reputable content studios and advertising agencies, the authors come to a definite opinion and the concrete conclusions, stated in this paper.Modern media practice is inextricably linked with the content creation and SEO promotion. Journalists, PR-specialists, ordinary owners of online resources are daily faced with the problem of filling sites, their optimization for search engines and promotion. The Ukrainian and Russian segments of the Internet are filled with resources, the content of which duplicates each other, because it created using copy-paste technology. This situation contradicts the current legislation of Ukraine, violates ethical standards and reduces the effectiveness of online texts. The development of a comprehensive scientific and methodological framework will reduce the negative situation and will be useful for practicing copywriters. The activity should go beyond the limits of purely practical activities and acquire its scientific understanding.It uses the separation of the process of creating content for copywriting, rewriting, scanning, translation from other languages, copy-paste, synonymizing. According to the authors, such an approach is optimal for the current state of this activity. From the presented list, attention is focused on copywriting as the most promising technology for creating texts for websites. All types of copywriting available in UA and Runet (image, SEO, LSI-copywriting, SMM and writing texts that sell) are analyzed, and the main requirements for each of them are highlighted.

Introduction: Online resources are available to enhance emergency medicine training programmes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using online case-based resources created in the United States in a New Zealand emergency medicine training programme. Methods: Evaluation data were collected from junior doctors and educators after they participated in the programme. Data sources included research notes and questionnaire responses. The data were analysed qualitatively using a general inductive approach. Results: Evaluation feedback from 19 junior doctors and 14 educators was interpreted to suggest that the online resource, with minor adaptations, was feasible to use in a New Zealand emergency medicine training programme. Findings indicated that educators were able to modify the materials to modify to meet local requirements, however, the opportunity to include a cultural component was missed. Participants appreciated the case-based format and felt that they established a safe and encouraging learning environment with each other. Participants were able to develop a systematic approach to emergency situations and identify red flags related to deteriorating patients. Discussion and Conclusion: Evaluation findings indicate that adapting an online-sourced curriculum is feasible to educators and acceptable to junior doctors and educators participating in a single New Zealand based Emergency Medicine training program. Educators in other international training settings may find the lessons learned helpful when adapting online resources to address the learning needs of their junior doctors. Next steps are to evaluate the impact of this resource on the knowledge and skills learned by junior doctors and any changes in their care for patients in emergency medicine situations.

The description of neural dynamics, in terms of precise characterizations of action potential timings and shape and voltage related measures, is fundamental for a deeper understanding of the neural code and its information content. Not only such measures serve the scientific questions posed by experimentalists but are increasingly being used by computational neuroscientists for the construction of biophysically detailed data-driven models. Nonetheless, online resources enabling users to perform such feature extraction operation are lacking. To address this problem, in the framework of the Human Brain Project and the EBRAINS research infrastructure, we have developed and made available to the scientific community the NeuroFeatureExtract, an open-access online resource for the extraction of electrophysiological features from neural activity data. This tool allows to select electrophysiological traces of interest, fetched from public repositories or from users' own data, and provides ad hoc functionalities to extract relevant features. The output files are properly formatted for further analysis, including data-driven neural model optimization. © Copyright © 2021 Bologna, Smiriglia, Curreri and Migliore

Background: Concussion is a global public health problem. In Canada, concussion is among the top five reasons for workplace time-loss. Concussion results in physical, cognitive, and/or emotional symptoms that temporarily worsen with physical and mental exertion, such as viewing electronic screens. The Internet is the primary source of consumer health information. Studies on the end-user needs of adults with brain injuries in regards to digital health technologies largely focus on informational content. There is little to no research on the accessibility of screen-based informational websites and smartphone applications among this population.Objective: The aim of this research was to involve stakeholders in the design of a comprehensive educational resource to guide concussion recognition, recovery, and return-to-work, called the Concussion Awareness Training Tool for Workers and Workplaces (CATT WW). In order to ensure both relevant content and appropriate delivery of the information to the target groups, participants were asked whether adaptations could increase the accessibility of online health information for the general adult population experiencing concussion symptoms.Methods: Data have been generated through semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups with participants from across British Columbia (BC): workers from various industries who were in the concussion recovery process or had returned to work (n = 31); and healthcare or workplace professionals who support concussion diagnosis, recovery, and return-to-work (n = 16). Data were analyzed using NVivo 12. Before commencing data collection, ethical permission was granted by the University of British Columbia Research Ethics Board (H18-00604), and approval was received from WorkSafeBC Research Services.Results: Participants (n = 47) recommended twenty adaptations or supplements to electronic screen-based digital health technologies.Conclusion: Given the high prevalence of concussion among the working adult population, the symptom exacerbation commonly caused by prolonged use of electronic screens, and the demand for online educational resources, these findings can guide clinicians, researchers, technology developers, employers, and occupational health and safety committees to further support adults in concussion recovery and return-to-work.

Demand for building competencies in implementation research (IR) outstrips supply of training programs, calling for a paradigm shift. We used a bootstrap approach to leverage external resources and create IR capacity through a novel 2-day training for faculty scientists across the four Texas Clinical & Translational Science Awards (CTSAs). The Workshop combined internal and external expertise, targeted nationally established IR competencies, incorporated new National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute OpenAccess online resources, employed well-known adult education principles, and measured impact. CTSA leader buy-in was reflected in financial support. Evaluation showed increased self-reported IR competency; statewide initiatives expanded. The project demonstrated that, even with limited onsite expertise, it was possible to bootstrap resources and build IR capacity de novo in the CTSA community.

Background and objectives: With the digitalization of modern healthcare delivery, digital media adoption in clinical practice is increasing. Also, healthcare professionals are more and more confronted with patients using smartphone-based health applications (apps). This exploratory study aimed at surveying perceptions on such apps in the context of lung health among a cross section of Austrian practitioners involved in pulmonary care. Materials and Methods: The online questionnaire in German assessed socio-demographic characteristics, telehealth readiness as well as opinions on smoke-free and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) apps. We used descriptive statistics to report the finding. Results: We received valid responses from 55 participants (mean age 52.3 years, 69.1% males). Telehealth readiness was medium, indicating existence of certain barriers adversely impacting telehealth use. As for apps targeting smoking cessation and COPD, respondents indicated high relevance for visualization aspects for patients and control/overview features for the treating doctors. Only 40% of participants indicated that they would recommend a COPD app to an older patient. Conclusions: In smoking cessation therapy, doctors commonly adhere to the &ldquo, 5 A&rsquo, s&rdquo, Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange. We suggest adding &ldquo, App&rdquo, as sixth A, assuming that in patient follow-up most of the other A&rsquo, s could also be supported or even replaced by app features in the challenging task to tackle smoking-associated non-communicable diseases.

Background Given an increased global prevalence of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use, healthcare providers commonly seek CAM-related health information online. Numerous online resources containing CAM-specific information exist, many of which are readily available/accessible, containing information shareable with their patients. To the authors’ knowledge, no study has summarized nor assessed the quality of content contained within these online resources for at least a decade, specifically pertaining to information about adverse effects or interactions. Methods This study provides summaries of web-based online resources that provide safety information on potential interactions or adverse effects of CAM. Specifically, clinicians are the intended users of these online resources containing patient information which they can then disseminate to their patients. All online resources were assessed for content quality using the validated rating tool, DISCERN. Results Of 21 articles identified in our previously published scoping review, 23 online resources were eligible. DISCERN assessments suggests that online resources containing CAM-specific information vary in quality. Summed DISCERN scores had a mean of 56.13 (SD = 10.25) out of 75. Online resources with the highest total DISCERN scores across all questions included Micromedex (68.50), Merck Manual (67.50) and Drugs.com (66.50). Online resources with the lowest total scores included Drug Information (33.00), Caremark Drug Interactions (42.50) and HIV Drug Interactions (43.00). The DISCERN questions that received the highest mean score across all online resources referred to whether the risks were described for each treatment (4.66), whether the aims were clear (4.58), whether the source achieved those aims (4.58), and whether the website referred to areas of uncertainty (4.58). The DISCERN questions that received the lowest mean score across all online resources assessed whether there was discussion about no treatment being used (1.29) and how treatment choices would affect quality of life (2.00). Conclusion This study provides a comprehensive list of online resources containing CAM-specific information. Informed by the appraisal of these resources, this study provides a summarized list of high quality, evidence-based, online resources about CAM and CAM-related adverse effects. This list of recommended resources can thereby serve as a useful reference for clinicians, researchers, and patients.

Background While diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) are a common complication of diabetes, little is known about the content and readability of online patient education materials (PEM) for DFU. The recommended reading grade level for these materials is grades 6-8. Objective The aim of this paper was to evaluate the quality and readability of online PEM on DFU. Methods A Google search was performed using 4 different search terms related to DFU. Two readability formulas were used to assess the readability of the included PEM. These included the Flesch-Kincaid grade level and the Flesch-Reading ease score. The DISCERN tool was used to determine quality and reliability. Results A total of 41 online PEM were included. The average Flesch-Reading ease score for all PEM was 63.43 (SD 14.21), indicating a standard difficulty level of reading. The average reading grade level was 7.85 (SD 2.38), which is higher than the recommended reading level for PEM. The mean DISCERN score was 45.66 (SD 3.34), and 27% (11/41) of the articles had DISCERN scores of less than 39, corresponding to poor or very poor quality. Conclusions The majority of online PEM on DFU are written above the recommended reading levels and have significant deficiencies in quality and reliability. Clinicians and patients should be aware of the shortcomings of these resources and consider the impact they may have on patients’ self-management.

Introduction. During the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, the selection of simple and authentic online material among plethora of web content is difficult for both students and teachers. This forces students and teachers to explore various avenues of learning. The objective of this research was to evaluate free open-access anatomy e-learning resources in accordance with required standard learning outcomes for medical students. Methods. During February 2021, an extensive search for online modules for learning anatomy across six Massive Open Online Courses, including edX, Coursera, Udemy, Khan Academy, Canvas and FutureLearn, along with Google and YouTube was conducted. Courses or modules on e-learning platforms, YouTube channels, standalone videos, anatomy atlases, 3D models were considered as learning resources and evaluated. Online materials were classified as structured learning resources if they had a defined syllabus, time duration and instructional design. Resources lacking these characteristics were considered as unstructured ones. Results. Twenty structured learning courses were identified on the Udemy (6 courses), Coursera (3 courses), edX (2 courses), FutureLearn and Khan academy platforms. Learning resources available through Swayam Prabha were aligned with the defined syllabus and video lectures. The content hosted within Clinical Anatomy, Medvizz and Kenhub was eye-catching. Thirty-two YouTube channels offering standalone learning material were identified. Seven resource materials, other than YouTube channels, offered anatomy learning material in the form of charts and tables. Four websites noted to have 3D interactive learning content regarding gross anatomy. Conclusions. During the pandemic-induced lockdown, the list presented in the study may act as guide in selection of the simplest and best materials for those teaching and learning anatomy in medical undergraduate courses. However, in most cases, there is no alignment with standard learning outcomes as defined by medical education regulatory authorities.

Background Learners often utilize online resources to supplement formalized curricula, and to appropriately support learning, these resources should be of high quality. Thus, the objectives of this study are to develop and provide validity evidence supporting an assessment tool designed to assess the quality of educational websites in Otolaryngology- Head & Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS), and identify those that could support effective web-based learning. Methods After a literature review, the Modified Education in Otolaryngology Website (MEOW) assessment tool was designed by a panel of experts based on a previously validated website assessment tool. A search strategy using a Google-based search engine was used subsequently to identify websites. Those that were free of charge and in English were included. Websites were coded for whether their content targeted medical students or residents. Using the MEOW assessment tool, two independent raters scored the websites. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were evaluated, and scores were compared to recommendations from a content expert. Results The MEOW assessment tool included a total of 20 items divided in 8 categories related to authorship, frequency of revision, content accuracy, interactivity, visual presentation, navigability, speed and recommended hyperlinks. A total of 43 out of 334 websites identified by the search met inclusion criteria. The scores generated by our tool appeared to differentiate higher quality websites from lower quality ones: websites that the expert “would recommend” scored 38.4 (out of 56; CI [34.4–42.4]) and “would not recommend” 27.0 (CI [23.2–30.9]). Inter-rater and intra-rater intraclass correlation coefficient were greater than 0.7. Conclusions Using the MEOW assessment tool, high quality ORL-HNS educational websites were identified.

We live in an unprecedented time, the covid19 outbreak has paralyzed the world including medical students. They remain in quarantine in the hope that the pandemic will end. The Latin America countries are particularly affected by their lack of resources and the time when medical students return to the universities is lengthening. Meanwhile the use of online platforms to resume the classes and the variety of online courses to complement the learning seems promising and should be more widely disseminated.

Communication is fundamental in science. Among scientists, communication skills are required to write a comprehensible scientific manuscript or to prepare an attractive oral presentation. In addition, the ability to communicate successfully with the nonscientific community has been increasingly appreciated, as it represents the most effective way to promote popular scientific literacy. Nevertheless, students majoring in sciencerelated courses are not trained specifically for these purposes, and improving communication skills usually depends on tips and advice given by peers. To this end, we have launched DivulgaMicro , an initiative that aims to enhance science communication among early-career scientists in Brazil. DivulgaMicro relies on two major cornerstones: providing online resources via a dedicated website ( www.divulgamicro.com.br/index.html ) and promoting onsite workshops in universities located in different macro regions of the country. On the website, people can access a collection of fun activities designed to teach scientific concepts to a general audience, along with tips and news regarding public outreach events in Brazil. In the month following its launch, our website had 1,026 visitors from 10 different countries besides Brazil. Regarding the workshops, six were offered during 2018, with nearly 600 attendees. In the course, scientists are presented best practices for scientific writing and oral presentations, as well as techniques to improve communication with lay audiences, such as the use of storytelling structure and analogies. There is a high demand for science communication resources in Brazil, attesting to the importance of initiatives such as DivulgaMicro in our country.

Background: Internet is the world's largest network of information and communication services. The internet is widely used in medicine and had a significant impact on research, training, and patient care. Objectives: (1) To assess internet use to obtain health information for patient care among physicians of a medical college hospital. (2) To investigate the utilization of the internet during their daily practice and to know the reasons for its use and nonuse. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted for a period of 2 months of May and June 2015 in a Medical College Hospital of Eastern India. A convenient sample of 200 physicians was included in the study. Data regarding access of internet in workplace, time spent on the internet for medical and nonmedical purposes, opinions regarding use of the internet to update medical knowledge, obstacles that affect its use, etc., were collected. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: It was seen that 47% doctors use laptop for accessing internet, followed by mobiles (34%). E-mail was the main purpose (41%) of internet use, followed by research (32.5%). Majority told that e-mail was the main purpose of last internet use (46.5%), followed by browsing medical resources (23%), research (15.5%), and patient care (12.5%). 97.5% agreed that they had ever browsed internet for patient care and 85.5% doctors agreed that they had obtained relevant information. 26.5% told that they need training for accessing free full-text electronic journals and 25% need training to access the sources for best clinical evidence for patient care. Other training needs were literature search (18%), downloading textbooks and other resources (15.5%), and searching internet sites for medical information (10%). Conclusion: Providing training for improvement of searching skills for obtaining up-to-date medical information, and evidence-based medicine from internet will improve their practice of medicine.

Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) is a comprehensive project that aims to build a detailed infrastructure for integrating Asian plant distribution data a global-scale array of knowledge for plant biodiversity conservation. Here, we provide a brief historical review of botanical research in Southwest Asia – an understudied botanical region with high conservation priority. Nineteen countries were included in this study (from west to east): Turkey, Cyprus, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Georgia, Yemen, Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. We reviewed 132 resources comprising 125 Floras and Checklists, of which we describe in some detail at least one of the most important Floras or Checklists for each country. Complete and published national Floras exist for 13 countries; three countries (Jordan, Israel and Bahrain) do not have a Flora but have annotated Checklists, and national Floras are at different stages of completion for Iran, Iraq and Georgia. Where present, online resources are also given for references. We found major gaps in species concepts and taxonomic classification systems, and that many up-to-date Flora revisions remained unresolved, i.e. taxon ranks and species concepts varied among different countries, different systems were adopted or followed in the taxonomic treatments in the Floras and Checklists, and some of the current Floras are out of date. Floras are the first necessary step for many fields, including evolutionary biology, ecology, biogeography, and systematics, as well as environmental research and conservation of biodiversity at national and international levels. Here, we provide the progress updates on the main published floristic works of Southwest Asia, which continue to serve as references for the Flora of Southwest Asia, and will be the foundation of the MAP project.

The research question for this study was: ‘Can the provision of online resources help to engage and motivate students to become self-directed learners?’ This study presents the results of an action research project to answer this question for a postgraduate module at a research-intensive university in the United Kingdom. The analysis of results from the study was conducted dividing the students according to their programme degree – Masters or PhD – and according to their language skills. The study indicated that the online resources embedded in the module were consistently used, and that the measures put in place to support self-directed learning (SDL) were both perceived and valued by the students, irrespective of their programme or native language. Nevertheless, a difference was observed in how students viewed SDL: doctoral students seemed to prefer the approach and were more receptive to it than students pursuing their Masters degree. Some students reported that the SDL activity helped them to achieve more independence than did traditional approaches to teaching. Students who engaged with the online resources were rewarded with higher marks and claimed that they were all the more motivated within the module. Despite the different learning experiences of the diverse cohort, the study found that the blended nature of the course and its resources in support of SDL created a learning environment which positively affected student learning. Keywords: self-directed learning; online resources; postgraduate teaching; higher education; prior knowledge (Published: 17 March 2016 Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2016, 24 : 29366 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v24.29366 Supplementary files : To access the supplementary material to this article, please see Supplementary files under ‘Article Tools‘.

In today&rsquo, s digitalized world, most parents are Internet-savvy and use online sources for child health information, mainly due to the 24/7 availability of advice. However, parents are often not specifically trained to identify reliable, evidence-based sources of information. In this cross-sectional online survey among a purposive, non-probabilistic sample of Austrian parents (n = 90, 81.1% females), we assessed aspects of health app use and family policy benefits-related and scenario-based Internet seeking behavior. We found that the surveyed parents showed a high health app use. The participants indicated that they prefer online information seeking to any other option in a scenario describing that their child would be sick at after-work hours, with social media channels being the least preferred source of online information. Mothers and younger parents were more likely to retrieve online information on family policy benefits. With the smartphone in everybody&rsquo, s pocket, parents seemed to rely on mobile and online content when searching for child health information. Pediatricians are best suited to decide what treatment fits the child or their current medical condition, but nowadays they face increasing numbers of pre-informed parents seeking health information online. Provision of targeted parental education and guidance through the online information jungle could effectively empower parents and smooth personal and digital contacts in the delicate doctor&ndash, parent&ndash, child triangle.

Our society is nowadays evolving towards a digital era, due to the extensive use of computer technologies and their interconnection mechanisms, i.e., social networks, Internet resources, IoT services, etc. This way, new threats and vulnerabilities appear. Therefore, there is an urgent necessity of training students in the topic of cybersecurity, in which practical skills have to be acquired. In distance education, the inclusion of on-line resources for hands-on activities in its curricula is a key step in meeting that need. This work presents several contributions. First, the fundamentals of a virtual remote laboratory hosted in the cloud are detailed. This laboratory is a step forward since the laboratory combines both virtualization and cloud paradigms to dynamically create emulated environments. Second, this laboratory has also been integrated into the practical curricula of a cybersecurity subject, as an additional on-line resource. Third, the students&rsquo, traceability, in terms of their interactions with the laboratory, is also analyzed. Psychological TAM/UTAUT factors (perceived usefulness, estimated effort, social influence, attitude, ease of access) that may affect the intention of using the laboratory are analyzed. Fourth, the degree of satisfaction is analyzed with a great impact, since the mean values of these factors are most of them higher than 4 points out of 5. In addition to this, the students&rsquo, acceptance of the presented technology is exhaustively studied. Two structural equation models have been hypothesized and validated. Finally, the acceptance of the technology can be concluded as very good in order to be used in @? other Engineering contexts. In this sense, the calculated statistical values for the improved proposed model are within the expected ranges of reliability (X2 = 0.6, X2/DF = 0.3, GFI = 0.985, CIF = 0.985, RMSEA = 0) by considering the literature.

Introduction Our aim was to examine the internet health seeking behaviour of parents attending a general paediatric outpatient clinic. For this purpose, the proportion of parents going online to obtain child health information, the most commonly used online resources, and factors having an influence on internet usage were identified. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at a general paediatric outpatient clinic in Vienna, Austria. Data collection was done by means of an anonymous questionnaire containing 14 items. A total number of 500 questionnaires were collected. Results Among parents visiting the outpatient clinic, 94.4% use the internet to obtain child health information in general and 21% to be informed about the reason for consultation. Most commonly used online resources are Google (91.4%), websites run by doctors (84.8%), Wikipedia (84.7%), health portals (76.4%), the outpatient clinic's homepage (76.4%), as well as health forums and communities (61.9%). Younger parents ( p = 0.022) and parents of younger children ( p Discussion Important reasons for high internet use might be the inexperience of young parents regarding child health as well as the frequent infections, vaccinations, and preventive check-ups which are associated with young age of children. In contrast to former findings relating to health seekers in general, internet usage of parents is independent of their sex and educational level.

Background The internet is becoming an increasingly popular resource to support patient decision-making outside of the clinical encounter. The quality of online health information is variable and largely unregulated. The aim of this study was to assess the quality of online resources to support patient decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery. Methods This systematic review was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42017058319). Searches were performed on Google and specialist decision aid repositories using a pre-defined search strategy. Sources were analysed according to three measures: (1) their readability using the Flesch–Kincaid Reading Ease score, (2) DISCERN score and (3) International Patient Decision Aids Standards (IPDAS) minimum standards criteria score (IPDASi, v4.0). Results Overall, 95 sources were from Google and the specialist decision aid repositories. There were 53 duplicates removed, and 18 sources did not meet the pre-defined eligibility criteria, leaving 24 sources included in the full-text analysis. The mean Flesch–Kincaid Reading Ease score was higher than recommended for patient education materials (48.8 ± 15.6, range 25.2–85.3). Overall quality of sources supporting patient decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery was poor (median DISCERN score 1/5 ± 1.18, range 1–5). No sources met minimum decision-making standards (median IPDASi score 5/12 ± 2.01, range 1–8). Conclusions Currently, easily accessible online health information to support patient decision-making for rectal surgery is of poor quality, difficult to read and does not support shared decision-making. It is recommended that professional bodies and medical professionals seek to develop decision aids to support decision-making for full-thickness rectal prolapse surgery.

Background Patients are accessing online health information frequently and using it to guide treatment decisions. Few studies have been done assessing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) information, and no studies have examined surgical resources for these patients. Methods This was a cross-sectional analysis. “Sleep surgery” and “sleep apnea surgery” were entered into Google, MSN Bing, and Yahoo! search engines. The first 25 results of each individual search were evaluated. Each unique site was assessed for content quality, accessibility, usability, reliability, and readability using validated instruments. The date of last update for each site was also documented. Results “Sleep surgery” was searched for an average of 1,703,991 (SD = 166,585) times per month from June 2015 to June 2016. 33 unique websites were identified. Sites were most often academically/government affiliated (10/33, 30.3%), health information sites (8/33, 24.2%), or non-profit/hospital related (8/33, 24.2%). The mean overall DISCERN score for quality was “good,” at 56.6 (range, 22–79). The mean overall LIDA score for accessibility, usability, and reliability was “moderate,” at 123.9 (range, 97–152). The mean Flesch Reading Ease score for readability was 49.77 (range 22.7-74.3); 7/33 (21.2%) scored above 60, the recommended range for average visitors. 60.6% (20/33) of the sites had been updated since January 1, 2014. There was no significant correlation between a websites’ position on a browser’s search and its DISCERN, LIDA, FRE, or total score. Conclusions With patients’ increasing reliance on Internet information, efforts to understand and improve websites’ quality and usefulness present unique opportunities in OSA surgery and beyond.

Aim: To critically appraise the content, quality, and readability of websites that provide online information about oral and oropharyngeal cancer and are accessible by people diagnosed with that condition.Material and methods: Three popular search engines were used to find websites providing information about oral and oropharyngeal cancer and all linksthat presented on the first page of the search were analysed. Included sites were assessed for content (intended audience, and evidence of quality assurance). The validated DISCERN tool was used to assess the quality of sites. A readability score was calculated. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed.Results: One-hundred-and-sixty-two web sites were examined. The majority (87%) were written for a clinical audience. Most (89%) did not display evidence of quality assurance. The median overall quality (DISCERN) score was 2.0, indicating potentially serious shortcomings. There was a correlation between the DISCERN scores and evidence of quality assurance certification, but this was not seen for readability. Conclusion: The quality of online information that may be accessed by people with oral and oropharyngeal cancer when seeking information online remains poor.

In the current information landscape, there are numerous channels for consumers to find information on issues pertaining to food safety. The rise in popularity of social media makes communicators question the extent to which resources should be allocated to these channels in order to reach new segments or audiences which are hard to reach through more traditional dissemination channels. A segmentation approach was used to identify groups of consumers based on their inclination to use different channels to seek information about food-related risks, including traditional media, online media and social media. In the wake of the 2011 Escherichia coli contamination crisis, the study focused on a bacterial contamination of fresh vegetables. Results were obtained through an online survey among 1264 participants from eight European countries in September 2012. Four segments were identified: 'a high cross-channel inclination' (24%), 'an established channel inclination' (31%), 'a moderate cross-channel inclination' (26%) and 'a low cross-channel inclination' (19%). Results show that social media can act as a complementary information channel for a particular segment, but that it is not a substitute for traditional or online media. Individuals who showed an inclination to use social media in conjunction with other channels considered it more important to be well informed, were more motivated to find additional information, were more sensitive to risks in general and perceived the likelihood of a food incident in the future to be larger. The 'high cross-channel inclination' segment contained relatively younger and more Southern European participants.

Background Technology can play an important role in supporting mental health. Many studies have explored the effectiveness, acceptability, or context of use of different types of mental health technologies. However, existing research has tended to investigate single types of technology at a time rather than exploring a wider ecosystem that people may use. This narrow focus can limit our understanding of how we could best design mental health technologies. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate which technologies (smartphone apps, discussion forums and social media, and websites and Web-based programs) people use to support their mental health and why, whether they combine and use more than one technology, what purpose each technology serves, and which features people find the most valuable. Methods We conducted an online survey to gather responses from members of the public who use technology to support their mental health and well-being. The survey was advertised on social media and via posters at a university. It explored usage patterns, frequently used features, and engagement with technology. To gain deeper insights into users’ preferences, we also thematically analyzed open-ended comments about each technology type and suggestions for improvements provided by the respondents. Results In total, 81 eligible participants completed the survey. Smartphone apps were the most commonly used technology, with 78% of the participants (63/81) using them, either alone (40%) or in combination with other technologies (38%). Each type of technology was used for specific purposes: apps provided guided activities, relaxation, and enabled tracking; social media and discussion forums allowed participants to learn from the experiences of others and use that knowledge to understand their own situation; and Web-based programs and websites helped to find out how to deal on a day-to-day basis with stress and anxiety. The analysis of open-ended responses showed that although many people valued technology and felt it could support targeted activities, it was not seen as a substitute for traditional face-to-face therapy. Participants wanted technology to be more sophisticated and nuanced, supporting personalized and actionable recommendations. There was evidence that participants mistrusted technology, irrespective of the type, and had broader concerns regarding the impact of overuse of technology. Conclusions People use different types of technology to support their mental health. Each can serve a specific purpose. Although apps are the most widely used technology, mixing and matching different types of technology is also common. Technology should not be seen as a replacement for traditional psychotherapy, rather it offers new opportunities to support mental health as part of an overall ecosystem. People want technology to be more nuanced and personalized to help them plan informed actions. Future interventions should explore the use of multiple technologies and their combined effects on mental health support.

Particular use of new information technologies in teaching of future teachers of foreign languages; didactic possibilities of information technologies in teaching English language are described in the article.

The medical professionals are facing major challenges to keep abreast of current and updated information with the rapidly growing scientific and clinical knowledge. The benefits of medicine have been increasingly evident providing ever wide access to a universe of online medical resources. The authors have made an attempt to compile a directory of digital resources on Neurology and Neurosurgery and allied areas which are available over web.

Background Before seeing a pediatrician, parents often look online to obtain child health information. We aimed to determine the influence of IUC (internet use regarding the reason for consultation) on their subjective information level, their assessment of acute diseases and the change in this assessment. Secondary objectives were to identify the most commonly used online resources and factors with an influence on IUC. Methods This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at a general pediatric outpatient clinic located in Vienna, Austria. An anonymous, voluntary and 14-items-containing questionnaire served to gather all data. A total number of 500 questionnaires were collected. Results Of the parents attending the outpatient clinic, 21 % use the internet before the appointment (= IUC). Most common online resources utilized for this purpose are websites run by doctors (61.3 %), the outpatient clinic’s homepage (56.3 %), Google (40 %), Wikipedia (32.5 %), health advisory services provided by doctors (28.7 %), health portals (21.3 %) and health forums and communities (18.8 %). The information level in terms of the reason for consultation is rated as good by 50.6 %, as average by 46.7 % and as insufficient by 2.7 % (internet users: 42.7 %, 55.3 %, 1.9 %). Acute diseases of the children are estimated to be mild by 58.4 %, to be moderate by 41.1 % and to be severe by 0.5 % (internet users: 54.9 %, 45.1 %, 0 %). After having used any source of information, this assessment is unchanged in 82.8 %, acute diseases are rated as more severe in 13.8 % and as less severe in 3.4 % (internet users: 79.2 %, 16.7 %, 4.2 %). Internet users and non-users do not differ with respect to their information level (p = 0.178), the assessment of acute diseases (p = 0.691) and the change in this assessment (p = 0.999). A higher education level of parents (mothers: p = 0.025, fathers: p = 0.037), a young age of their children (p = 0.012) and acute diseases of their children (p = 0.046) predispose to IUC. Conclusions Against the common perception that online health information might fuel panic-mongering, we could not determine a link between IUC and the assessment of acute diseases. The information level of internet users and non-users does not differ either. Further research is needed to clarify causes for high and low IUC.

In an ever changing and rapidly developing teaching situation, it is often difficult to keep oneself updated with all types of available technologies. The “wants” are often centre of attention and the how’s and why’s become neglected and are subject to hindsight. In a 2008 report (Economist 2008) the question: “what does it mean to be an educated person in the 21st century”, was raised and concluded with the importance of keeping up with technology – as these changes in the use of technology, at a higher education level, will have a ripple effect on the future society as a whole. In the last 10 to 15 years, higher education (HE) institutions in Norway have invested heavily in information and communication technologies (ICT), which has had a major impact on our own organization, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway; as in to say that it has brought with it some changes to our methods of teaching, and hopefully, it will keep thrusting us towards a better understanding of how to convey best practices and use of ICT in our teaching environments. The role of technology therefore is in shaping the future of higher education. It will, no doubt, have a profound impact on the way we work towards helping our staff to become comfortable with and interested in using technology in and throughout their teachings. However, taking the leap and diving into new and sometimes advanced technologies can raise feelings of uncertainty in one’s own technical abilities, especially for those with limited technical competencies. Combined with the need to find a good balance between hands-on skills and didactical competence, and finding the time necessary, outside an organized framing of a physical course, can be a real challenge to many.

Introduction The number of online resources available for teaching and learning in higher education has been growing enormously during the last decade. Recent developments are the emergence of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and the OER (Open Educational Resources) movement. As a result a huge amount of enhanced learning opportunities exist. Examples are primary sources, instructive TED-talks, discussions between experts, recorded lectures, how-to-do videos, discussion forums, and so on. But to what extent are online resources actually used in courses? Studies indicate that despite the promise for use in education, online resources are underutilized. Harley, Henke, Lawrence, and Perciali (2007) found in an extensive study of humanities and social sciences faculty that use of digital materials created by other institutions was rather low. Lindquist and Long (2011) report that online primary resources are underutilized in humanities. In a study about open educational practices in higher education, Murphy (2013) concludes that the adoption of OERs and open educational practices is still in its infancy. Several reasons for not using online resources are mentioned by Harley et al. (2007), Eynon (2008) and Murphy (2013); among them are the following: * too many resources exist and it takes faculty simply too much time to assess their quality and usefulness for actual courses * problems with managing resources and organizing them for use in teaching * problems of fitting resources within the instructors' existing teaching approach * technical problems in having access to resources * problems with copy rights and availability of resources. Against this background we had the objective to find out the possibilities of substantially enriching an existing course with videos from external resources. The course is an introduction in Human-Computer Interaction and is mandatory in the bachelor programs Computer Science and Information Science of our university, the Open University of the Netherlands. The context is distance education. Our students are adults and overwhelmingly study part-time, combining study and work. The course offers no face-to-face classes. We offered the course with the videos to a pilot group of eight students and asked them to give feedback. We wanted to know: * to what extent the students actually watched the videos: were they ignored, used once in a while, used intensively? * how were the videos received? Which aspects did students like or not like about them, and why? * did students meet any problems in playing the videos? * what is the best context to offer links to videos: by way of an e-book, or by a pdf? In the remainder of this paper we first describe the course design and the pedagogical approach. Then we focus upon the role of the online resources, especially the videos, in the course. Next we present the feedback given by the students. Finally we discuss the results and reflect on what we learned. The Course: Content and Pedagogical Approach The course introduces the students to the basic concepts of human-computer interaction. The emphasis is on interaction design, with a user-centered approach. The students have to come to understand the users and their activities, to design an interactive system, and to evaluate prototypes with users throughout the design process. The design process consists of three stages. During the first stage the students analyze the users and the tasks they perform in the existing environment. They make a user profile (in the form of personas) and develop a task model (if appropriate). In the second stage the students design conceptual models of the system under development. To do so they develop several scenarios and a number of designs. They produce lo-fi prototypes, which they subsequently use for a first, informal evaluation with the intended users. …

This article describes a multi-method research project examining the use of various freely available online collections and projects, such as Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and Creative Commons-licensed ebooks, by public libraries. This research begins with the questions: what are libraries doing with freely available materials? Are there barriers to incorporating them into the collection? What role are librarians playing in expanding access and awareness of these resources?

Educational technology implementation often owes more to the technical proficiency of the teaching staff and/or the capacity of the institution than to a student outcome-centred design process. Creation of online resources takes considerable time and involves significant cost to both the institution, for devices and platforms, and to students for devices and Internet connectivity charges. Here, we present a cross-discipline investigation of student engagement with a range of simple resources. Our aim was to determining if the provision of such resources had an impact on student academic performance regardless of the students’ level of academic proficiency. This research focused on students studying first-year introductory subjects at a distance (off campus) from two different faculties, Arts and Science. Analysis of the web access data from the learning management system (Sakai) demonstrated that students who accessed the most resources in terms of diversity and percentage of available resources achieved higher grades. We postulate that the resources prompted students to spend more ‘‘time-on-task’’ and facilitate more active styles of learning. We suggest, however, that students need to be made aware of the value of the resources and how they are best used to enhance academic performance. Keywords: distance education; online resources; academic performance; virtual learning environments; e-learning (Published: 3 February 2012) Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2012, 20 : 14430 - DOI: 10.3402/rlt.v20i0/14430

Item does not contain fulltext OBJECTIVES: To obtain the views of vascular surgeons about online resources in their specialty as a guide to future e-learning development. DESIGN: A focused questionnaire regarding e-learning resources in vascular surgery was circulated online. A combination of structured and open-ended questions addressed users' ranking of various resource types, examples of presently used websites, suggestions for future growth, and the opportunity to become actively involved in e-learning development. The responses were collected over a 4-week period and remained anonymous. SETTING: The study was conducted online at http://www.vasculareducation.com as part of an ongoing project on e-learning for vascular surgeons by the Department of Educational Development and Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands. PARTICIPANTS: The survey population consisted of vascular surgeons and surgical trainees in Europe. The participants were contacted via their membership of the European Society for Vascular Surgery and national academic or administrative vascular surgical organizations. Demographic information was collected about clinical seniority and country of work. RESULTS: In all, 252 responses were obtained. Respondents favored the development of a variety of online resources in vascular surgery. The strongest demand was for illustrations and videos of surgical techniques, followed by an interactive calendar and peer-reviewed multiple-choice questions. Overall, 46% of respondents wished to contribute actively toward e-learning development, with consultants being more willing than trainees to do so. CONCLUSIONS: Members of the vascular surgical community value online resources in their specialty, especially for procedural techniques. Vascular surgeons would like to be actively involved in subsequent development of e-learning resources. 01 juli 2012

Joint BioEnergy Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720 (H.J.J., J.L.H.); Department of Biology, Eidgenossisch Technische Hochschule Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland (M. H.-H., K. B., W. G.); Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany (S. B.); Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, 14476 Potsdam-Golm, Germany (R. S., W. X. S.); Department of Plant Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (Q. S., K.J.v.W.); Molecular Systems Biology, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria (V. E., S. W., W. W.); Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, Laboratoire d'Etude de la Dynamique des Proteomes, U880, F-38000 Grenoble, France (C. B.); Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives, Direction des Sciences du Vivant, Institut de Recherches en Technologies et Sciences pour le Vivant, F-38000 Grenoble, France (C.B., N.R.); Universite Joseph Fourier, F-38000 Grenoble, France (C. B., N.R.); CNRS, Laboratoire de Physiologie Cellulaire Vegetale, UMR5168, F-38000 Grenoble, France (N.R.); INRA, UMR1200, F-38000 Grenoble, France (N.R.); RIKEN Plant Science Center and RIKEN Bioinformatics and Systems Engineering Division, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan (T.T., H.N.); The Sainsbury Laboratory, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom (A.M.J.); Division of Biology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (S.P.B.); and Centre of Excellence for Computational Systems Biology (I.C.) and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology and Centre for Comparative Analysis of Biomolecular Networks (I.C., S.K.T., A.H.M.), University of Western Australia, Crawley 6009, Western Australia, Australia

Within the European Lifelong learning Project PRECIOUS (www.precious.at) a Master curriculum towards the training of professionals in Early Childhood was developed. Precious is based on increased empirical data, that a) ECI requires an academic professional training and b) that specific professional trainings are correlated with better effects. This 2-year training (120 ECTS) within the 1st year deepens the scientific aspect of ECI (Scientific Research in ECI: 15 ECTS; Recognition and Detection: 10 ECTS; Working together with Families: 10 ECTS; Working in Teams: 10 ETCS; Individual Intervention: 10 ECTS, Personal Competences: 5 ECTS). Within the 2nd year 3 possible "specialised strands" are available, focussing on diverse needs of professionals: Specialisation A: "Management, Research and Quality Control in ECI" (60 ECTS, Specialisation B: "Resilient Families" focusing on the needs of socially disadvantaged families, and Specialisation C: "Inclusive support" focusing on specific syndromes (autism, complex learning difficulties, low birth weight babies). The Master Courses will be implemented in Germany (Gera, Nordhausen, Hamburg) and in future will enable international European courses, supported by specifically developed e-learning-tools and online-resources., Avrupa Yaşam Boyu Öğrenme Projesi olan PRECIOUS (www.precious.at) ile Erken Çocuklukta uzman yetiştirmek amacıyla yüksek lisans programı geliştirilmiştir. Precious, a) erken çocukluk müdahalesinin akademik uzmanlık eğitimi gerektirmesi ve b) belirgin uzmanlık eğitimlerinin daha fazla etkilikle ilişkili olması konularındaki artan deneysel verilere dayanmaktadır. 2 yıllık bu eğitimin (120 ECTS) birinci yılında erken çocukluk müdahalesinin bilimsel yönünde derinleşilir (Erken Çocukluk Müdahalesinde Bilimsel Araştırma:15 ECTS; Fark Etme ve Tespit: 10 ECTS; Ailelerle Birlikte Çalışma: 10 ECTS; Ekipler Halinde Çalışma:10 ECTS; Bireysel Müdahale: 10 ECTS; Bireysel Yeterlikler: 5 ECTS). İkinci senede uzmanların çeşitli ihtiyaçlarına odaklanan 3 olası "uzmanlaşma alanı" mevcuttur; Uzmanlaşma A: "Erken Çocuk Müdahalesinde Yönetim, Araştırma ve Kalite Kontrolü" (60 ECTS), Uzmanlaşma B: "Dirençli Aileler" sosyal olarak dezavantajlı ailelerin ihtiyaçlarına odaklamakta ve Uzmanlaşma C: "Kaynaştırma Desteği" özel sendromlara (otizm, karmaşık öğrenme güçlükleri, düşük doğum ağırlığına sahip bebekler) odaklanmaktadır. Yüksek lisans dersleri Almanya'da (Gera, Nordhausen, Hamburg) uygulanacak ve gelecekte, özel geliştirilecek e-öğrenme araçları ve online kaynaklarla desteklenecek uluslar arası Avrupa dersleri olarak sağlanacaktır.

When physicist Tim Berners-Lee and a team of fellow scientists at the European Center for High Energy Physics (CERN) launched the first-ever Web site in 1989, their goal was to make it easier for scientists to access research documents and scientific data (CERN, 2008). In 1998, Virginia Sea Grant educators at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) had a similar goal: to make ocean science educational resources and current research data more accessible to classroom teachers. The Virginia Sea Grant education team took the first step toward accomplishing this goal by launching a Web site of its own, called "Bridge." The name was inspired by the idea of a ship's bridge with a teacher at the helm, navigating "an ocean of marine education data." It also represents a bridge spanning the divide between the education and the ocean research communities, which is the essence of the Bridge project's mission.

Background Participation in continuing professional development (CPD) is a professional and regulatory expectation of general practitioners (GPs). Traditionally, CPD activity was undertaken face-to-face in educational settings, but internet based formats have found increasing favour. The need for doctors to use the internet for service and educational purposes is growing, particularly in support of specialty training and appraisal. We aimed to determine how GPs in Scotland utilise online resources in support of their CPD. This involved identifying which resources are used and how frequently, along with their preferences as to how and why they access these resources. Methods A cross sectional study was undertaken using an online questionnaire to survey general practitioners across Scotland. Data were subjected to descriptive analysis and differences in attitudinal responses between groups and Fischer's exact tests were calculated. Results Three hundred and eighty-three GP responses were received, with the majority being female (n = 232, 60.6 %) and GP partners (n = 236, 61.6 %). The majority used the internet on three or more working days per week or more frequently (n = 361, 94.3 %) with the three most common reasons being to obtain information for a patient (n = 358, 93.5 %), answering a clinical question (n = 357, 93.2 %) and CPD purposes (n = 308, 80.4 %). Of 37 online resources used by respondents, the top five were SIGN Guidelines (n = 303, 79.3 %), BMJ Learning (n = 279, 73.0 %), NICE Guidelines (n = 255, 66.8 %), GP Notebook (n = 243, 63.6 %) and Google (n = 234, 61.3 %). Low use of social media such as Facebook (n = 11, 2.9 %) and Twitter (n = 11, 2.9 %) was reported for CPD. A majority agreed that 'reading information online' (95.0 %) and 'completing online learning modules' (87.4 %) were the most valued online activities. Slow internet connections (n = 240, 62.7 %), website access restrictions (n = 177, 46.2 %) and difficulties logging into online CPD resources (n = 163, 42.6 %) were reported barriers. Significant response differences (P

This paper advocates for a greater integration between Higher education and Professional and Scientific Associations (PSAs). With the development and adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), the costs associated with the collection, storage, processing and transmission of information have been reduced. Eventually, the supply of information has boomed. However, more does not necessarily imply better. Free online resources can enhance the learning process, but the lack of quality controls is still a major concern. Additionally, learning demands some degree of organisation and structure. We argue that Higher education can potentially benefit from a closer relationship with PSAs. In doing so, we introduce the Spanish Economic History Association efforts to organise and prepare high-quality teaching resources. Our brief discussion could provide a route-map for other PSAs. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/HEAd15.2015.407

Modern biology is marked by the availability of enormous quantities of raw data. Advances in computer capacity and internet bandwidth mean that much of this information is now stored online, and most such data repositories are also open access. Together, these factors have opened up a goldmine of data to anyone with an internet connection. One of the greatest strengths of the available resources is their diversity; freely-accessible repositories exist, for example, for gene sequence, mRNA expression, protein binding, imaging, and text mining results. Standardized annotation schemes have also improved compatibility across different fields. The ability to obtain a wealth of information for any gene and its molecular interactions now enables a whole new realm of analysis beyond that originally envisaged by the individual contributors. In fact, so much untapped data exists that primary research can now conceivably be carried out purely in silico. Because this approach to science utilizes data already available in the public domain and requires only a laptop connected to the internet, analyses are not subject to the constraints of a traditional “bricks-and-mortar” laboratory. Collaborating scientists may be located anywhere in the world, they have no need to invest in further data generation, and may be largely independent of their local funding environment. These factors thus open up access to the science to a wider research community than ever before. Despite the wealth of public data, often accessible through user-friendly portals, there is still a “missing link” between data and discovery. Few researchers are aware of the resources or how to use them effectively. Thus, the bottleneck has shifted from the generation of raw data to the development of effective ways to explore, mine, and integrate existing information. In September 2013, a 1-week workshop was held to introduce researchers and students to the use of such online resources (visit https://sites.google.com/site/neuroinformaticsjamboree/ for details and a list of resource links). Participants were shown how key resources can be exploited as either supporting data for existing projects or for hypothesis generation to kick-start new directions in their research (see the associated Workshop Report, Heimel et al., 2014). As an extension of this workshop, an experiment in collaborative science was undertaken, in which researchers were invited to investigate workflows with which online resources could be mined to yield new hypotheses. The manuscripts resulting from this experiment, and presented in this Research Topic, show that online data resources in the hands of energetic investigators can yield interesting and relevant results in very short order. Drafts of these papers were all produced from scratch in 1 week and following significant work over the following year, all groups successfully converted their drafts into peer-reviewed publications. The six resulting manuscripts present a varied range of insights into the genetics of brain function and disease. Vied and colleagues have undertaken a novel in silico investigation of neocortical development utilizing the Allen Institute's Developing Mouse Brain Atlas and the BrainSpan Atlas of the Developing Human Brain. Based on correlating in situ expression profiles, they propose a number of candidate genes with expected roles in embryonic development of the neocortex (Vied et al., 2014). Lotan and colleagues have integrated catalogs of genes associated with psychiatric disorders to search for common processes. They show that many genes associated with multiple disorders are localized to the postsynaptic density (Lotan et al., 2014). Pietrzykowski and Spijker investigated another aspect of neuropsychiatric disorders, impulsivity, by searching the GeneNetwork database for behavior and expression correlates to identify several microRNAs with putative roles in the regulation of impulse control (Pietrzykowski and Spijker, 2014). Capurro and colleagues used a novel approach to investigate genes involved in movement disorders. They employed computational deconvolution of gene expression data from the brains of Huntington and Parkinson patients to identify genes and pathways with altered expression in these disorders (Capurro et al., 2014). To explore gene regulation in autism, van de Lagemaat and colleagues studied transcriptional changes in synaptic transmission pathways. Using gene lists curated from the literature and published databases, they discovered an age-dependent imbalance in expression of genes associated with excitatory and inhibitory synapses (van de Lagemaat et al., 2014). Ashbrook and colleagues searched for novel genes associated with adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Defining a list of genes correlating with nestin, an established precursor cell marker, and highly expressed in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, they identified potential novel genes associated with the proliferating precursor cell population (Ashbrook et al., 2014). The wide sample of web-based data sets and tools used in these studies is certainly not an exhaustive list, and many more resources exist—most of which are freely accessible. While the body of public data is dominated by large-scale initiatives, even more data are potentially available as part of smaller projects—although accessibility is still dependent on improving data-sharing standards (Ferguson et al., 2014; Sejnowski et al., 2014). We feel it is important that the studies presented in this Research Topic relied solely on existing public data. This fact demonstrates that the utility of such data sets does not need to end with initial publication—as has traditionally been the case in the past. With six solid contributions to the literature, we feel that the experiment has been a success. We hope that this project will inspire other researchers to take advantage of the online resources available to them to inspire and complement their experimental work.

Promoting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into teaching and learning is a growing area that has attracted many educators’ efforts in recent years. Based on the scope of content covered, ICT integration can happen in three different areas: curriculum, topic, and lesson. The evolution of the ICT has changed the way student or individual learns and communicates. It has created a global social network, where everyone is connected, either directly or indirectly, to each other, especially in exchanging, sharing and learning autonomously. This study attemptted to delineate how the students of International Class Program (ICP) at the Faculty of Islamic Education, handle the use of online sources. The students of ICP were selected as the informant. For eliciting information; observation and interview are used in this study. Data are collected by mean of interview guide and field notes. There are 18 students in ICP class. However for the purpose of the study, the researcher selected only three students to participate in the study. The results indicated that three respondents felt positive about using internet to perform task learning experience compared to their experiences in the regular class.

The paper argues for the importance of the constructivist learning theory to software development education. Constructivism frames learning less as the product of passive transmission than a process of active construction whereby learners construct their own knowledge based upon prior knowledge and experience. Now that a number of software development courses offer project-based teaching, it seems that the importance of a constructivist perspective has been implicitly well-taken in the current practice. What these approaches explicitly lack is a concrete methodology of how to carry out the constructivist perspective and its consequences for learning. This paper reports on a constructivist approach to object-oriented software development at the undergraduate level. It explores methodological aspects of the approach and discusses the results from its evaluation.

AIM To evaluate the quality and accuracy of websites written to the public on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) and assess their readability level. METHODS Google™, Bing™, and Yahoo™ search engines were searched independently by three researchers in December 2014. Only English-language websites were selected on the basis of predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Researchers independently evaluated the quality of each website by using the DISCERN and the HONcode instruments. The readability levels were calculated using two formulas; the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index, and the Coleman-Liau Readability Index. The agreement between the evaluators was calculated using Cohen kappa coefficient. RESULTS Eighty-four websites were finally identified. Scores varied from a minimum DISCERN score of 18 to a maximum of 68 [mean ± SD, 42.2 ± 10.7; median = 41.5, interquartile range, interquartile range (IQR) = 15.8] and a minimum score of HONcode of 0.14 and a maximum of 0.95 (mean ± SD, 0.16 ± 0.19; median = 0.45, IQR = 0.29). Most of these websites were reviewed in 2014 and 2015 (n = 51). The creators of these websites were: universities and research centers (n = 25, 30%), foundations and associations (n = 15, 18%), commercial and pharmaceutical companies (n = 25, 30%), charities and volunteer work (n = 9, 10%), and non-university educational bodies (n = 10, 12%). The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level readability score (mean ± SD) was 11.9 ± 2.4 and the Coleman-Liau Readability Index score was 12.6 ± 1.5. Significant correlation was found between the two readability scores (R2 = 0.509, P = 0.001). The overall agreement between evaluators measured by Cohen kappa coefficient was in the range of 0.804-0.876; rated as "Good". CONCLUSION The DISCERN and the HONcode scores of websites varied and the readability levels of most websites were above the public readability level. The study highlights the areas that need further improvement and development in patient education online materials about IBD.

When introducing and implementing a new technology for science teachers within a school district, we must consider not only the end users but also the roles and influence district personnel have on the eventual appropriation of that technology. School districts are, by their nature, complex systems with multiple individuals at different levels in the organization who are involved in supporting and providing instruction. Varying levels of support for new technologies between district coordinators and teachers can sometimes lead to counterintuitive outcomes. In this article, we examine the role of the district science coordinator in five school districts that participated in the implementation of an online resource discovery and sharing tool for Earth science teachers. Using a qualitative approach, we conducted and coded interviews with district coordinators and teachers to examine the varied responsibilities associated with the district coordinator and to infer the relationships that were developed and perceived by teachers. We then examine and discuss two cases that illustrate how those relationships could have influenced how the tool was adopted and used to differing degrees in the two districts. Specifically, the district that had high support for online resource use from its coordinator appeared to have the lowest level of tool use, and the district with much less visible support from its coordinator had the highest level of tool use. We explain this difference in terms of how the coordinator’s promotion of teacher autonomy took distinctly different forms at those two districts.