4,076 research outputs found
When and why placebo-prescribing is acceptable and unacceptable: a focus group study of patients' views
No full textBackgroundSurveys of doctors suggest that they use placebos and placebo effects clinically to help patients. However, patients' views are not well-understood. We aimed to identify when and why placebo-prescribing in primary care might be acceptable and unacceptable to patients.MethodsA purposive diverse sample of 58 English-speaking adults (18 men; aged 19–80 years) participated in 11 focus groups. Vignettes describing doctors prescribing placebos in primary care were used to initiate discussions. Data were analyzed inductively.ResultsParticipants discussed diverse harms and benefits of placebo-prescribing for individual patients, carers, healthcare providers, and society. Two perspectives on placebo-prescribing were identified. First, the “consequentialist” perspective focused on the potential for beneficial outcomes of placebo-prescribing. Here, some participants thought placebos are beneficial and should be used clinically; they often invoked the power of the mind or mind-body interactions. Others saw placebos as ineffective and therefore a waste of time and money. Second, the “respecting autonomy” perspective emphasized the harms caused by the deceptive processes thought necessary for placebo-prescribing. Here, participants judged placebo-prescribing unacceptable because placebo-prescribers deceive patients, thus a doctor who prescribes placebos cannot be trusted and patients' autonomy is compromised. They also saw placebo-responders as gullible, which deterred them from trying placebos themselves. Overall, the word “placebo” was often thought to imply “ineffective”; some participants suggested alternative carefully chosen language that could enable doctors to prescribe placebos without directly lying to patients.ConclusionsNegative views of placebos derive from beliefs that placebos do not work and/or that they require deception by the doctor. Positive views are pragmatic in that if placebos work then any associated processes (e.g. mechanisms, deception) are deemed unimportant. Public education about placebos and their effects is warranted and research to identify optimal ways of harnessing placebo effects in clinical practice is needed
Redesigning a large-enrollment introductory biology course
No full textUsing an action research model, biology faculty examined, implemented, and evaluated learner-centered instructional strategies to reach the goal of increasing the level of student achievement in the introductory biology course BIO 181: Unity of Life I, which was characterized by both high enrollments and a high DFW rate. Outcomes included the creation and implementation of an assessment tool for biology content knowledge and attitudes, development and implementation of a common syllabus, modification of the course to include learner-centered instructional strategies, and the collection and analysis of data to evaluate the success of the modifications. The redesigned course resulted in greater student success, as measured by grades (reduced %DFW and increased %AB) as well as by achievement in the course assessment tool. In addition, the redesigned course led to increased student satisfaction and greater consistency among different sections. These findings have important implications for both students and institutions, as the significantly lower DFW rate means that fewer students have to retake the course
The effects of early rheumatoid arthritis on dominant and non-dominant hand impairment and function
No full text Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is defined as a symmetrical disease yet there is evidence that hand joint damage sustained in RA is related to use, and hand dominance could affect the degree of structural impairment evident in the wrist and hand. This exploratory research aimed to examine the relationship of dominant and non-dominant wrist and hand joint impairment and function in an early rheumatoid population. A multi-centre cohort study was conducted, recruiting consenting patients with early rheumatoid arthritis from eight outpatient occupational therapy departments. Wrist and hand joint impairment and function were assessed by measuring joint pain and swelling, range of motion and joint deviation, handgrip and hand dexterity. The results demonstrated that the non-dominant hand showed less pathological structural and functional involvement than the dominant hand in all but one outcome measure. These differences reached statistical significance between dominant and non-dominant hands on active range of motion in the wrist and some digits. Dominant hand structural impairment and dysfunction in this early RA sample was consistently greater than the non-dominant hand and bilateral handgrip ratio did not reflect healthy values for norms. Individuals with early RA showed a greater level of impairment in their dominant hands. </jats:p
Carbon Stocks on Forest Stewardship Program and Adjacent Lands
No full textNonindustrial private forestlands in Florida provide many environmental benefits, or ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are benefits from nature that are directly enjoyed, consumed, or used by humans, such as water quality improvement or protection, recreation, biodiversity, and even timber. Another benefit from forests that is gaining interest is their ability to store carbon through the photosynthetic capture of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in tree, plant, and soil biomass. The carbon dioxide that is stored over the life of a forest, called carbon stocks, is not only important for mitigating greenhouse gas contributions to climate change, but it can also be valued in several markets and incorporated into environmental policy instruments. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Nilesh Timilsina, Francisco J. Escobedo, Alison E. Adams, and Damian C. Adams and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation April 2017.
Original publication date October 2013; revised March
2017. Archived 9/18/2020
Carbon Stocks on Forest Stewardship Program and Adjacent Lands
No full textNonindustrial private forestlands in Florida provide many environmental benefits, or ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are benefits from nature that are directly enjoyed, consumed, or used by humans, such as water quality improvement or protection, recreation, biodiversity, and even timber. Another benefit from forests that is gaining interest is their ability to store carbon through the photosynthetic capture of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in tree, plant, and soil biomass. The carbon dioxide that is stored over the life of a forest, called carbon stocks, is not only important for mitigating greenhouse gas contributions to climate change, but it can also be valued in several markets and incorporated into environmental policy instruments. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Nilesh Timilsina, Francisco J. Escobedo, Alison E. Adams, and Damian C. Adams and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation April 2017.
Original publication date October 2013; revised March
2017. Archived 9/18/2020
Public Land Management Agencies’ and Nonindustrial Private Forest Landowners’ Perceptions towards Ecosystem Services
No full textThe state of Florida has more than 16 million acres of forestland. From clean air to pulp for paper to aesthetic landscapes, humans benefit from private and public forests in many different ways. However, small private landowners and public land management agencies manage the majority of this land, and it is up to these people to decide how society will benefit from those forests. This paper uses the concept of ecosystem services to explore the reasons why public land management agencies and private landowners manage their forests. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Taylor Stein, Namyun Kil, Alexis Frank, Alison E. Adams, Damian C. Adams, and Francisco J. Escobedo, and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation, July 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr38
Timber Production in a Working Forest Context
No full textWorking forests are private forests managed not just for timber production but also for a host of valuable ecosystem services like providing for recreation, maintaining habitat for wildlife, and maintaining a healthy watershed. Timber production is an essential ecosystem good or service that supports a number of important industries and provides jobs in Florida. This 6-page fact sheet summarizes the results of several studies to help forest landowners and other stakeholders understand how multiple-use management affects both timber production and other ecosystem services. Written by Sonia Delphin, Francisco J. Escobedo, Chris Demers, Alison E. Adams, and Damian C. Adams, and published by the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation, February 2017
Timber Production in a Working Forest Context
No full textWorking forests are private forests managed not just for timber production but also for a host of valuable ecosystem services like providing for recreation, maintaining habitat for wildlife, and maintaining a healthy watershed. Timber production is an essential ecosystem good or service that supports a number of important industries and provides jobs in Florida. This 6-page fact sheet summarizes the results of several studies to help forest landowners and other stakeholders understand how multiple-use management affects both timber production and other ecosystem services. Written by Sonia Delphin, Francisco J. Escobedo, Chris Demers, Alison E. Adams, and Damian C. Adams, and published by the UF School of Forest Resources and Conservation, February 2017
Carbon Stocks on Forest Stewardship Program and Adjacent Lands
No full textNonindustrial private forestlands in Florida provide many environmental benefits, or ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are benefits from nature that are directly enjoyed, consumed, or used by humans, such as water quality improvement or protection, recreation, biodiversity, and even timber. Another benefit from forests that is gaining interest is their ability to store carbon through the photosynthetic capture of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in tree, plant, and soil biomass. The carbon dioxide that is stored over the life of a forest, called carbon stocks, is not only important for mitigating greenhouse gas contributions to climate change, but it can also be valued in several markets and incorporated into environmental policy instruments. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Nilesh Timilsina, Francisco J. Escobedo, Alison E. Adams, and Damian C. Adams and published by the UF Department of School of Forest Resources and Conservation April 2017.
Original publication date October 2013; revised March
2017. Archived 9/18/2020
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