UpToDate versus DynaMed: a cross-sectional study comparing the speed and accuracy of two point-of-care information tools

Objective:To compare the accuracy, time to answer, user confidence, and user satisfaction between UpToDate and DynaMed (formerly DynaMed Plus), which are two popular point-of-care information tools.Methods:A crossover study was conducted with medical residents in obstetrics and gynecology and family medicine at the University of Toronto in order to compare the speed and accuracy with which they retrieved answers to clinical questions using UpToDate and DynaMed. Experiments took place between February 2017 and December 2019. Following a short tutorial on how to use each tool and completion of a background survey, participants attempted to find answers to two clinical questions in each tool. Time to answer each question, the chosen answer, confidence score, and satisfaction score were recorded for each clinical question.Results:A total of 57 residents took part in the experiment, including 32 from family medicine and 25 from obstetrics and gynecology. Accuracy in clinical answers was equal between UpToDate (average 1.35 out of 2) and DynaMed (average 1.36 out of 2). However, time to answer was 2.5 minutes faster in UpToDate compared to DynaMed. Participants were also more confident and satisfied with their answers in UpToDate compared to DynaMed.Conclusions:Despite a preference for UpToDate and a higher confidence in responses, the accuracy of clinical answers in UpToDate was equal to those in DynaMed. Previous exposure to UpToDate likely played a major role in participants'' preferences. More research in this area is recommended.     

Stylistic Variation at the "Single-Word" Stage: Relations between Maternal Speech Characteristics and Children's Vocabulary Composition and Usage

In this study we test a number of different claims about the nature of stylistic variation at the "single-word" stage by examining the relation between variation in early vocabulary composition, variation in early language use, and variation in the structural and functional propreties of mothers' child-directed speech. Maternal-report and observational data were collected for 26 children at 10, 50, and 100 words, These were then correlated with a variety of different measures of maternal speech at 10 words, The results show substantial variation in the percentage of common nouns and unanalyzed phrases in children's vocabularies, and singficant relations between this variation and the way in which language is used by the child. They also reveal singficant relations between the way in whch mothers use language at 10 words and the way in chich their children use language at 50 words and between certain formal properties of mothers speech at 10 words and the percentage of common nouns and unanalyzed phrases in children's early vocabularies, However, most of these relations desappear when an attempt is made to control for ossible effects of the child on the mother at Time 1. The exception is a singficant negative correlation between mothers tendency to produce speech that illustrates word boundaries and the percentage of unanalyzed phrases at 50 and 100 words. This suggests that mothers whose sprech provides the child with information about where new words begin and end tend to have children with few unanalyzed. phrases in their early vocabularies.     

Assessing effectiveness and efficiency of academic interventions in school psychology journals: 1995–2005

This article reviews research in the four major school psychology journals: Journal of School Psychology, Psychology in the Schools, School Psychology Quarterly, and School Psychology Review. The function of the review was to provide school psychologists with a summary of academic interventions published through years 1995–2005, synthesize the commonalities of empirically based interventions, and report on the extent to which each article provides the reader the opportunity to understand the effects of the intervention with regard to the amount of instructional time required to implement it. Results of the review suggest that reading is most heavily investigated followed by math and, to a much lesser degree, written expression. Moreover, studies use a variety of designs including single subject and group designs. Finally, it is clear that a limited number of studies evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention with regard to the amount of instructional time needed to implement the intervention. In light of these findings and in addition to the two major functions of the review, recommendations for practice and future research are presented. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using the theory of successful intelligence as a framework for developing assessments in AP physics

A new test of Advanced Placement Physics, explicitly designed to balance both content and cognitive-processing skills, was developed using Sternberg’s theory of successful intelligence. The test was administered to 281 AP Physics students from 10 schools during the 2006–2007 school year. Six empirically distinguishable profiles of strengths and weaknesses emerged from an exploratory Q-type factor analysis across the four cognitive-skill areas assessed (i.e., memory, analytical, creative, and practical skills). These profiles replicated those found in previous research in the domains of AP Psychology and AP Statistics. Furthermore, achievement differences between ethnic groups on various cognitive subscales were reduced as compared with traditional estimates. The results provide evidence of the importance of integrating modern theories of cognitive processing into large-scale assessments.     

The Importance of Principals Supporting Dual Language Education: A Social Justice Leadership Framework

Recent calls for social justice to be a key aspect of principal preparation have been made, but content related to the efficacy of dual language education has been a neglected area of educational leadership research, coursework, and principal preparation standards. We draw on scholarship focused on dual language education, social justice leadership, and the new Professional Standards for Educational Leadership to describe how principals can create dual language programs and lead for social justice and conclude with implications for preparation programs.     

The impact of Nordic adult education ideas on the development of a democratic society in Lithuania

This article analyses the role of the cooperation with and the influence of the Nordic countries on the development of a democratic society in Lithuania through adult education since the reinstatement of its independence from Soviet regime in March 1990 to the present. The authors focus on three main areas: (1) the training of Lithuanian adult educators; (2) the establishment and development of NGOs; and (3) the implications for a Lithuanian policy of adult education. Within the framework of Nordic-Baltic cooperation established among five Nordic and three Baltic countries (NB8) in 1992, Lithuanian adult educators seized the opportunity to visit Scandinavian institutions and projects. Experiencing Nordic adult education ideas has resulted in a marked shift in Lithuanian adult educators’ values, methodology and careers; and in the establishment of a series of very influential umbrella associations as well as hundreds of NGOs in Lithuania which work with adults and support functioning democratic values in society. This shift is related to the civic responsibility and active participation growing out of the bottom-up approaches of group work, cooperation, discussions and learning circles which are so inherent in the Nordic tradition of adult education. The internalisation of new democratic values was more complicated than expected for many Lithuanian politicians, adult educators and NGO leaders in terms of how political decisions were perceived and implemented. Furthermore, the influence of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation in adult education may also be traced in adult education policy implications in Lithuania. Some changes in the policies of contemporary Lithuania have not been successful and even failed to promote a democratic society.     

Discrimination of Biomechanically Possible and Impossible Hand Movements at Birth

The development of human body perception has long been investigated, but little is known about its early origins. This study focused on how a body part highly relevant to the human species, namely the hand, is perceived a few days after birth. Using a preferential‐looking paradigm, 24‐ to 48‐hr‐old newborns watched biomechanically possible and impossible dynamic hand gestures (Experiment 1, N = 15) and static hand postures (Experiment 2, N = 15). In Experiment 1, newborns looked longer at the impossible, compared to the possible, hand movement, whereas in Experiment 2 no visual preference emerged. These findings suggest that early in life the representation of the human body may be shaped by sensory‐motor experience.     

Equity and social exclusion measures in EU lifelong learning policies

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to examine how EU lifelong learning policies are trying to reach the vulnerable by looking at what measures against social exclusion they offer and how equitable these measures are. It is a qualitative study that focuses on policy documents that form the European Union’s legal and political frameworks of reference in the lifelong learning area since 1992. The document analysis has been complemented by semi-structured interviews with EU lifelong learning experts. The findings show that early school leavers and migrants are the main target groups in the policies, leaving many other groups at risk of being excluded from learning opportunities. There is not enough attention to measures addressing wider social phenomena. There is also an overemphasis on basic skills which are understood in a very narrow way as literacy and numeracy when referring to the vulnerable. We argue that a greater variety of measures as well as better targeted measures are needed to address the multiple and complex needs of the vulnerable. Such measures would allow a broader understanding of lifelong learning where those that are hardest to reach are offered learning opportunities independent of their personal and social circumstances