89 research outputs found
Rapid on-site evaluation of fine needle aspiration specimens by cytology scientists : a review of 3032 specimens
No full textObjectives\ud
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To determine: (1) the accuracy of cytology scientists at assessing specimen adequacy by rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) at fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology collections; and (2) whether thyroid FNA with ROSE has lower inadequacy rates than non-attended FNAs. \ud
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Methods\ud
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The ROSE of adequacy for 3032 specimens from 17 anatomical sites collected over a 20-month period was compared with the final report assessment of adequacy. ROSE was performed by 19 cytology scientists. The report profile for 1545 thyroid nodules with ROSE was compared with that for 1536 consecutive non-ROSE thyroid FNAs reported by the same cytopathologists during the study period. \ud
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Results\ud
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ROSE was adequate in 75% (2276/3032), inadequate in 12% (366/3032) and in 13% (390/3032) no opinion was rendered. Of the 2276 cases assessed as adequate by ROSE, 2268 (99.6%) were finally reported as adequate for assessment; eight specimens had adequacy downgraded on the final report. Fifty eight per cent of cases with a ROSE assessment of inadequate were reported as adequate (212/366), whereas 93% (363/390) with no opinion rendered were reported as adequate. The overall final report adequacy rate for the 3032 specimens was 94% (2843/3032). Confirmation of a ROSE of adequacy at reporting was uniformly high amongst the 19 scientists, ranging from 98% to 100%. The inadequacy rate for thyroid FNAs with ROSE (6%) was significantly (P < 0.0001) lower than for non-ROSE thyroid FNAs (17%). A significantly (P = 0.02) higher proportion of adequate ROSE thyroid specimens was reported with abnormalities, compared with non-ROSE thyroid collections. \ud
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Conclusions\ud
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Cytology scientists are highly accurate at determining specimen adequacy at ROSE for a wide range of body sites. ROSE of thyroid FNAs can significantly reduce inadequate reports
A Student-Driven Guide for Project-based Learning
No full textThis action research study proposes the need for and examines the usefulness of a Student-Driven Guide for Project-Based Learning. The Guide was designed to give students guidance and structure in carrying out and documenting a project as a part of a class, or when students are working independently from a teacher. The Guide was informed by the educational theories of Constructionism, Student-Driven Learning, and Cross-Disciplinary Learning. It was tested with a group of high school students who used the Guide to create a series of multimedia photography projects. Completed Guides and student surveys about the experience were then collected and analyzed to determine if the Guide was useful to students and how it might be improved to better support student performance in the future. The findings of the study include data on positive and negative student engagement with the PBL Guide, areas of the Guide that need to be reviewed, student struggles with conceptual writing, and overconfidence in final student outcomes. The study concludes that the PBL Guide is helpful to students in an organizational capacity but needs further iterative changes to improve its effectiveness. These changes are addressed using action research methods in the form of a revised mockup for a digital PBL Guide that other researchers have the opportunity to build on in the future
Arts Education in an Urban School District: Principals' Perspectives and Practices in a Standards-Based Environment Coupled with an Economic Downturn
No full textThis case study explored perspectives of urban principals towards the values of arts education within the context of accountability coupled with economic strain, which has worked to undervalue arts education, and has impacted urban students' access to quality arts education (Chapman, 2004 & 2005). Since differences in access to arts education has been drawn along differences in ethnic, racial and socioeconomic status, this was understood as a social justice issue (Theoharis, 2007). Specifically, this research addressed the roles of principals and investigated the research question: How do urban principals and school leaders perceive the value of the arts within a climate of accountability and financial strain? Informed by critical theory, this question was supplemented by the following attendant questions: 1a.) How do urban school leaders make decisions about offering arts education at their schools? 1b.) What do urban school leaders consider when they make these decisions? 2a.) How are urban school leaders maintaining access to arts education within a climate of accountability and financial strain? 2b.) To what extent are urban school leaders who are maintaining this access aware of the relationships between arts education and social justice? Qualitative sources of data were collected including transcripts, observation notes and analytical memos. Participants included six urban, high school principals and additional staff members from three of the high schools. Findings revealed that principals believed that students who participated in arts education were engaged, were able to enjoy and escape from the rest of the school day, and finally, were able to express themselves. Principals who valued arts education were able to maintain access to arts education on limited levels. Their decisions were largely guided by evaluation requirements, available resources and tradition. Principals supported the accountability movement and felt their schools were improving; however, principals also revealed that providing quality arts education remained a major challenge and indicated a need for more to be done. Although principals expressed a concern with social justice issues, most did not indicate an awareness of arts education curricula as a means to engage students in critical thinking or social activism that could challenge the status quo
Looking for complication: The case of management education
No full textThis paper argues that in face of the changes occurring in the organizational world, management education should consider the need to rethink some of its premises and adapt to the new times. The need to complicate management learning due to increased complication in competitive landscapes, is analyzed. Four possibilities of addressing organizational topics in a complicated way are contrasted: the vertical, horizontal, hypertextual, and dialectical approaches. The promises of the dialectical approach are particularly stressed as a more demanding and potentially enriching path for the creation of knowledge about organizations. The test of the four approaches in a group of undergraduate students provides some preliminary data for analyzing the strenghts and weaknesses of our proposal.
Peripatetic electronic teachers in higher education
No full textThis paper explores the idea of information and communications technology providing a medium enabling higher education teachers to act as freelance agents. The notion of a ‘Peripatetic Electronic Teacher’ (PET) is introduced to encapsulate this idea. PETs would exist as multiple telepresences (pedagogical, professional, managerial and commercial) in PET‐worlds; global networked environments which support advanced multimedia features. The central defining rationale of a pedagogical presence is described in detail and some implications for the adoption of the PET‐world paradigm are discussed. The ideas described in this paper were developed by the author during a recently completed Short‐Term British Telecom Research Fellowship, based at the BT Adastral Park
46643, 1887-06-01, COSIER (Robert Arnold), Thamesfield, Berkshire † ; LEECH (William) † ; WADDELL (C. J.), Manchester ; et a.
No full textInvestigation of high-pressure planetary ices by cryo-recovery. I. An apparatus for X-ray powder diffraction from 40 to 315 K, allowing 'cold loading' of samples
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