A Comparative Study of Clinical Utility of Spot Urine Samples with 24-h Urine Albumin Excretion for Screening of Microalbuminuria in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Twenty-four hour urinary albumin excretion (UAE) is considered as gold standard method for albuminuria measurement, but collection of 24-h urine is inconvenient. The aim of present study was to evaluate whether albumin: creatinine ratio (ACR) and urinary albumin concentration (UAC) in different spot urine samples correlate or not with 24-h UAE for screening of microalbuminuria in type 2 diabetic patients. We collected first morning void (FMV), random urine sample (RUS) and 24-h urine, separately on consecutive days from 104 type 2 diabetic patients. ACR and UAC in each spot urine sample compared with 24-h UAE with regard to Pearson correlation coefficient. Pearson’s correlation of albumin: creatinine ratio (ACR) with 24-h UAE was (r = 0.802 and 0.623) in first morning void (FMV) and random urine sample (RUS), respectively. Pearson’s correlation coefficient of urinary albumin concentration (UAC) compared with 24-h UAE was (r = 0.943 and 0.920), in FMV and RUS, respectively, P < 0.01. Results revealed that values in first morning void (FMV) were better correlated with 24-h urinary albumin excretion (UAE), than the values in random urine sample (RUS). We conclude that the first morning void (FMV) may be able to replace 24-h urine collection, preferably urinary albumin concentration (UAC) in the initial screening of microalbuminuria in diabetic patients.     

The Emerging Market for On-line Learning: insights from the Corporate Sector

Over the past few years, many universities worldwide have begun delivering some of their courses on-line and new ones have emerged that offer only Internet-based courses. Many policy makers and managers question whether on-line learning is cost effective and wonder whether it is a direction they should pursue. This article is based on interviews with a number of for-profit on-line learning providers and market analysts and provides a summary of strategies that are being used by such companies to increase their likelihood of profitability.     

Creating cooperation and empowerment in a child care center

Staff turnover in child development centers is epidemic, reaching as high as 41% (Whitebook, Howes, & Phillips, 1989a). Studies have shown that high rates of turnover are related to poor-quality child care, having detrimental effects on children in child care facilities (Clarke-Stewart, 1987; Galinsky, 1990; Whitebook et al., 1982). Variables associated with high staff turnover are low wages, poor working conditions, and minimal benefits.Michael Havercamp and Joanne Everts are with the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Nevada Reno.     

Trends and Tensions in IT Policy in Universities

This paper charts developments in information technology policy in British universities from the creation of the Computer Board for Universities and Research Councils to the present day. Focusing on institutional issues, the various organizational tensions are examined in the context of quasi-collegial policy formulation and management. The impact of operational tensions, arising from a variety of external and internal influences on the implementation of policy, is similarly assessed. The paper concludes with an outline of likely future trends.     

Assessing Enhancement of Learning, Personal Learning Environment, and Student Efficacy: Alternatives to Traditional Faculty Evaluation in Higher Education

This study was informed by three bodies of important literature: (1) research on faculty teaching performance and course evaluation in higher education, (2) research on students' personal (constructivist-based) views of characteristics of teaching and learning environments, and (3) human efficacy. The article describes the development and validation of a new measure designed to assess students' perceptions of the extent to which higher education learning environment characteristics enhance students' personal learning. Results of factor analyses of the Student Assessment of Teaching and Learning (SATL) and criterion-related validity analyses are reported for 2,190 students in 145 separate classes. Criteria used for analysis are (1) measures of students' perceptions of constructivist-based, personal learning environments and students' self-efficacy beliefs, (2) course emphasis on higher-order thinking skills and personal and applied knowledge, and (3) two summative judgments of overall course quality. Implications of the findings are discussed in light of using student rating information for formative evaluation purposes and using students' reflections on personal learning as an element of assessing the quality of teaching and learning in higher education settings. This latter view is contrasted to procedures that are more traditionally used to evaluate faculty, teaching, and course characteristics.     

Behavioral/emotional indicators of sexual abuse in child psychiatric inpatients: A controlled comparison with physical abuse

Several behavioral and emotional indicators of child sexual abuse were compared for both sexually (n = 29) and physically abused (n = 52) children from a sample of 103 hospitalized psychiatric patients. The measures included (1) scores from a factor-analyzed sexual abuse symptom checklist covering home/community behavior that was rated by parents during a clinical interview and (2) frequency counts of psychological symptoms exhibited by the children during a 3-week period of hospitalization. Results of a 2 (sexual abuse status) X 2 (physical abuse status) X 2 (gender) Multivariate Analysis of Variance indicated that sexually abused children exhibited greater sexual behavior, fear/mistrust/anxiety, and withdrawal at home, and greater sexual behavior, fear/anxiety, and sadness in the hospital than nonabused children. In contrast, there were no significant differences between physically abused and nonabused children, and no significant interactions. Few significant correlations were found between symptoms exhibited at home and in the hospital.     

Expressing community through freedom market and visual connections

ABSTRACT

Building on a long-term university/community research partnership, this article examines how different ways of conceptualizing, interpreting, and producing murals impacted how an urban community saw itself. Using a participatory action research design, university researchers worked alongside community researchers to ethnographically document the transformation. Findings indicate that the mural project constructed pathways for building relationships and community in ways that made neighborhood transformation possible. The mural project embodied this transformative goal by providing a space where people gathered with shared attention to talk and to envision how their lives and their community could be different.