Willingness toward organ and body donation among anatomy professors and students in Mexico

Most anatomists agree that cadaver dissection serves as a superior teaching tool in human anatomy education. However, attitudes toward body donation vary widely between different individuals. A questionnaire was developed to determine the attitudes toward body and organ donation among those who learn the most from cadavers: medical students, medical student teaching assistants, medical students involved in research, and anatomy professors. A cross‐sectional, prospective study was designed in which the questionnaire was distributed among first‐year human anatomy students before undertaking cadaver dissection at the beginning of the semester, and then again after a commemoration service at the end of the course. The questionnaire items included demographic data, as well as questions designed to characterize participants' attitudes regarding body/organ donation from strangers, family members, and whether participants would consider such practices with their own bodies. Out of a total of 517 students enrolled in the Human Anatomy course in the Medical School at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico during January to June 2016, 95% responded to the first (491) and second (490) surveys. Participants' opinions on their own organ donation was similar before and after exposure to cadaver dissection, with between 87% and 81% in favor of such practices, and only 3% against it, in both surveys. Participants' willingness to donate their own bodies, as well as those of family members, increased, while reluctance regarding such practices decreased by half (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.05). Professors had the highest rates of positive opinions regarding their own body donation (74.9%), with 18.8% undecided. Low opposition toward organ and body donation remains prevalent among both anatomists and physicians in training in Mexico. Anat Sci Educ 10: 589–597. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Gender influence on the adaptation of atrial performance to training

Background: High-intensity training has been associated with atrial remodelling and arrhythmias in men. Our purpose was to analyse atrial performance in female endurance athletes, compared to male athletes and controls. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. We included four groups: female athletes, females controls, male athletes and male controls. Left (LA) and right atrial (RA) volumes and function were assessed using 2D and speckle-tracking echocardiography to determine peak atrial strain-rate at atrial (SRa) and ventricular contraction (SRs), as surrogates of atrial contractile and reservoir function, respectively. ANOVA and Bonferroni’s statistical tests were used to compare variables among groups. Results: We included 82 subjects, 39 women (19 endurance athletes, 20 controls) and 43 men (22 endurance athletes, 21 controls). Mean age was similar between groups (36.6?±?5.6 years). Athletes had larger bi-atrial volumes, compared to controls (women, LA 27.1 vs. 15.8?ml/m², p?<?0.001; RA 22.31 vs. 14.2?ml/m², p?=?0.009; men, LA: 25.0 vs. 18.5?ml/m², p?=?0.003; RA 30.8 vs. 21.9?ml/m², p?<?0.001) and lower strain-rate (women, LASRa ?1.60 vs. ?2.18?s^?1, p?<?0.001; RASRa ?1.89 vs. ?2.38?s^?1, p?=?0.009; men, LASRa ?1.21 vs. ?1.44?s^?1, p?=?1; RASRa ?1.44 vs. ?1.60?s^?1, p?=?1). However, RA indexed size was lower and bi-atrial deformation greater in female athletes, compared to male athletes. Conclusions: The atria of both male and female athletes shows specific remodelling, compared to sedentary subjects, with larger size and less deformation at rest, particularly for the RA. Despite a similar extent of remodelling, the pattern in women had greater bi-atrial myocardial deformation and smaller RA size.     

Being our best: Understanding the relationship between empowerment and employee engagement among midlevel student affairs professionals

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of student service personnel, yet demand has outstripped this growth leading to turnover and low employee satisfaction. Scholars and practitioners alike have called for increased levels of empowerment of these workers, but the outcomes of this approach need further analysis. We utilize data from a survey of international centre directors in the United States and employ a partial least squares-based structural equation modelling to investigate the relationship between empowerment and employ perceptions including work satisfaction, organizational commitment, perspective of leadership and personal engagement. Specifically, trust meaning and personal consequence are strong components of empowerment in this sample. Our results indicate a positive relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction, organizational commitment and perspectives on leadership. In addition, we find that organizational commitment mediates the relationship between empowerment and personal engagement.     

Preparing mathematics and science teachers through a residency program: perceptions and reflections

The critical challenge of recruiting, preparing, and retaining high-quality mathematics and science teachers for high-need urban schools is complex. Therefore, identifying factors that support and impede a teaching residency program’s implementation may have the potential to build an effective initiative that will benefit all stakeholders. The purpose of our study was to examine preservice teachers’ perceptions about their experiences in the Teaching Residency Program for Critical Shortage Areas program, a federally funded program designed to address teacher shortages in mathematics and science in high-need schools. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) the residency framework, (b) a relevant curriculum, and (c) immersion in an authentic school context. Our findings have the potential to inform policy-makers, school administrators, university directors of school partnerships, and other individuals who have direct influence on teacher recruitment and retention.     

Building Strong Community Partnerships: Equal Voice and Mutual Benefits

This article explores an urban partnership and service-learning project deliberately created to improve literacy and strengthen learning communities in an urban, Latino neighborhood of Chicago. The project aligns activities and objectives with resources and needs of university participants, a Latino community organization, and local public schools. The needs addressed include (a) improving literacy achievement in Latino students, (b) improving literacy instruction, (c) expanding students’ awareness and engagement with social injustices, and (d) exploring barriers to literacy access in students’ homes and community. This project serves as a model for developing partnerships and outreach between higher education institutions and the community.     

Online Career and Technical Education in the Community College

ABSTRACT

Very little empirical research has been conducted about online career and technical education (CTE). Despite the continuing enrollment growth in online education (Lokken, 2016) and the national emphasis on CTE as a means of boosting the economy (D’Amico, Morgan, Katsinas, & Friedel, 2014), relatively little is understood about the scope and impact of online CTE at the community college. In this article, I briefly summarize existing empirical literature about online CTE.     

Affective and associative qualities in the learning styles of Chicanos and Anglos

The role of affective and associative meaningfulness in the learning styles of Chicanos and Anglos was examined in the present study. Sixty-four Chicano and Anglo undergraduates were compared on their learning of affectively and associatively assessed consonant-vowel-consonant trigrams. Chicanos did not differ from Anglos in their reliance on the affective relative to the associative dimension of meaningfulness in their learning style. However, Chicanos differed significantly from Anglos in affective learning style, manifesting a greater propensity to learn their liked materials more readily than their disliked materials. It was further found that while the performance of the two ethnic groups was comparable in the disliked condition, the Chicano subjects performed significantly better than the Anglo subjects in the liked condition. It is suggested that the intensified Chicano sensitivity to affective meaningfulness is consistent with their cultural concerns.