Measuring Pharmacy Student Attitudes Toward Prayer: The Student Prayer Attitude Scale (SPAS)

The objective of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to assess the attitude of student pharmacists toward prayer in general and in particular as it relates to their academic performance. To fulfill the study objective, faculty from seven colleges of pharmacy located at Christian universities collaboratively developed the Student Prayer Attitude Scale (SPAS). The items were used to assess the attitudes of student pharmacists toward prayer as well as the effects of prayer on personal lives and academic performance. Faculty investigators asked 1,563 students to complete the survey and received 677 valid responses. A principal components analysis with promax rotation was conducted and revealed a two-factor structure: (a) general attitude toward prayer and (b) specific attitude regarding the impact of prayer on academic performance. Analysis of variance was used to compare student responses by religious identity. Students identifying as atheist or agnostic were significantly different in their responses than students from theistic religions; however, the responses of students from various theistic religions were not significantly different from one another. Faculty concluded that SPAS is a reliable tool for measuring student attitudes toward prayer. The use of such a tool could help faculty tailor educational opportunities to allow pharmacy students to explore prayer more fully and be aware of its impact on the patients they serve.     

SARS流行与非流行期间东门市场从业人员SARS冠状病毒血清流行病学研究

目的对SARS流行与非流行期间深圳东门市场从业人员SARS冠状病毒血清流行病学研究.方法于2003年5月和2005年1月对东门市场从业人员,用ELISA法或免疫荧光法检测SARS冠状病毒IgG和IgM抗体.结果2003年东门市场从业人员SARS冠状病毒IgG阳性率为6.16%(88/1429),2005年IgG阳性率为1.5%(7/466),SARS流行期抗体的阳性率显著高于非流行期;2003年和2005年野生动物档、三乌档和屠宰档三类人员的SARS-CoV IgG抗体水平显著高于其他五类人员,但2003年这三类高危人群SARS-CoV IgG抗体的阳性率显著高于2005年;且SARS-CoV IgG抗体可以维持1年零8个月的时间;2003年东门市场从业人员中SARS冠状病毒IgM抗体阳性率为0.69%,其中一例SARS确诊病例SARS冠状病毒IgM和IgG抗体均为阳性,2005年SARS-CoVIgM抗体均为阴性,结论2005年东门市场从业人员未出现新近SARS病毒感染者.2003年SARS流行期间,东门市场存在SARS病毒感染者和隐性感染者,且与野生动物密切接触人员为SARS冠状病毒感染的高危人群,支持SARS病毒来源于动物的推测.     

Developing simulations in multi‐user virtual environments to enhance healthcare education

Computer‐based clinical simulations are a powerful teaching and learning tool because of their ability to expand healthcare students' clinical experience by providing practice‐based learning. Despite the benefits of traditional computer‐based clinical simulations, there are significant issues that arise when incorporating them into a flexible, co‐operative and collaborative learning environment. Unlike traditional technologies; immersive multi‐user virtual environments such as Second Life can incorporate comprehensive learning materials with effective learning strategies, allowing healthcare students to obtain a simulated clinical experience in an immersive social environment. The purpose of this research was to investigate how a simulation could be optimised in Second Life to encourage teamwork and collaborative problem solving based on the habits, experiences and perceptions of nursing students towards Second Life as a simulation platform. The research was conducted by placing groups of nursing students in separate locations and exposing them to a series of clinical simulation developed in Second Life. The simulation involved a series of problem‐based scenarios, which incorporated concepts of technical skills, patient interaction, teamwork and situational awareness. Using qualitative feedback from a series of evaluative case studies, the study determined good practices and issues involved with a virtual computer‐based clinical simulation. A common theme which emerged from this research, which is discussed in this paper, was the student's ability to work in an artificial social structure where they could actively co‐construct mental models of technical and interpersonal skills through experiencing human interaction in a computer‐based simulated environment.     

Selected roles of information goods and services in the U.S. national economy

The study examines selected roles of the information sector in the national economy. Among the findings are the following: (1) the information sector conducts relatively little international trade, in comparison to its domestic activity. Roughly 12% of U.S. exports are attributable to the information sector; over 97% of the sector's output is sold within the U.S.; and the sector's exports account for only a small fraction of 1% of GNP. (2) The historical pattern of employment shows that the portion of information workers has risen from 8% of the U.S. work force in 1870 to 41% in 1970. Relatively little of this growth is the result of new technological innovations such as telephones, radio, television and, more recently, computers. Rather, the growth of public and private bureaucracies, which now total 26% of our total work force, largely explains the growth of the sector. (3) Unemployment within the information sector has consistently been lower than in either the manufacturing or agricultural sectors of the national economy. (4) Since 1967, the high technology elements of the information sector, such as electronic components, computers and telecommunications equipment have experienced appreciably less price rise than has the economy as a whole. However, over the same time period, the service elements of the sector, including finance and insurance, education and medical care, have experienced greater rates of inflation than has the economy as a whole.