MEDLARS: Its Utilization in Research, Education and Practice

1973 ◽  
Vol 12 (03) ◽  
pp. 170-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Tagliacozzo

A study of the utilization of the MEDLARS bibliographic service at one of the regional MEDLARS Centers is described. Data were obtained by sending a questionnaire to a sample of users who had requested bibliographic searches in previous months. The characteristics of the users, their awareness of the service availability, the purposes of their search requests, and their satisfaction with the results of the search were analyzed. The relation between outcome of the search and user’s satisfaction was examined.There was a ratio of 2:1 between high and low satisfaction. A favorable appraisal of the MEDLARS search was found to be prevalent among users who had received large bibliographies. The group of requesters with teaching status also showed a higher proportion of satisfied users than the group of students or trainees.

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut Larsson ◽  
Josef Frischer

The education of researchers in Sweden is regulated by a nationwide reform implemented in 1969, which intended to limit doctoral programs to 4 years without diminishing quality. In an audit performed by the government in 1996, however, it was concluded that the reform had failed. Some 80% of the doctoral students admitted had dropped out, and only 1% finished their PhD degree within the stipulated 4 years. In an attempt to determine the causes of this situation, we singled out a social-science department at a major Swedish university and interviewed those doctoral students who had dropped out of the program. This department was found to be representative of the nationwide figures found in the audit. The students interviewed had all completed at least 50% of their PhD studies and had declared themselves as dropouts from this department. We conclude that the entire research education was characterized by a laissez-faire attitude where supervisors were nominated but abdicated. To correct this situation, we suggest that a learning alliance should be established between the supervisor and the student. At the core of the learning alliance is the notion of mutually forming a platform form which work can emerge in common collaboration. The learning alliance implies a contract for work, stating its goals, the tasks to reach these goals, and the interpersonal bonding needed to give force and endurance to the endeavor. Constant scrutiny of this contract and a mutual concern for the learning alliance alone can contribute to its strength.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 737-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Gess ◽  
Christoph Geiger ◽  
Matthias Ziegler

Abstract. Although the development of research competency is an important goal of higher education in social sciences, instruments to measure this outcome often depend on the students’ self-ratings. To provide empirical evidence for the utility of a newly developed instrument for the objective measurement of social-scientific research competency, two validation studies across two independent samples were conducted. Study 1 ( n = 675) provided evidence for unidimensionality, expected differences in test scores between differently advanced groups of students as well as incremental validities over and above self-perceived research self-efficacy. In Study 2 ( n = 82) it was demonstrated that the competency measured indeed is social-scientific and relations to facets of fluid and crystallized intelligence were analyzed. Overall, the results indicate that the test scores reflected a trainable, social-scientific, knowledge-related construct relevant to research performance. These are promising results for the application of the instrument in the evaluation of research education courses in higher education.


Author(s):  
Robert Brochin ◽  
Jashvant Poeran ◽  
Khushdeep S. Vig ◽  
Aakash Keswani ◽  
Nicole Zubizarreta ◽  
...  

AbstractGiven increasing demand for primary knee arthroplasties, revision surgery is also expected to increase, with periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) a main driver of costs. Recent data on national trends is lacking. We aimed to assess trends in PJI in total knee arthroplasty revisions and hospitalization costs. From the National Inpatient Sample (2003–2016), we extracted data on total knee arthroplasty revisions (n = 782,449). We assessed trends in PJI prevalence and (inflation-adjusted) hospitalization costs (total as well as per-day costs) for all revisions and stratified by hospital teaching status (rural/urban by teaching status), hospital bed size (≤299, 300–499, and ≥500 beds), and hospital region (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West). The Cochran–Armitage trend test (PJI prevalence) and linear regression determined significance of trends. PJI prevalence overall was 25.5% (n = 199,818) with a minor increasing trend: 25.3% (n = 7,828) in 2003 to 28.9% (n = 19,275) in 2016; p < 0.0001. Median total hospitalization costs for PJI decreased slightly ($23,247 in 2003–$20,273 in 2016; p < 0.0001) while median per-day costs slightly increased ($3,452 in 2003–$3,727 in 2016; p < 0.0001), likely as a function of decreasing length of stay. With small differences between hospitals, the lowest and highest PJI prevalences were seen in small (≤299 beds; 22.9%) and urban teaching hospitals (27.3%), respectively. In stratification analyses, an increasing trend in PJI prevalence was particularly seen in larger (≥500 beds) hospitals (24.4% in 2003–30.7% in 2016; p < 0.0001), while a decreasing trend was seen in small-sized hospitals. Overall, PJI in knee arthroplasty revisions appears to be slightly increasing. Moreover, increasing trends in large hospitals and decreasing trends in small-sized hospitals suggest a shift in patients from small to large volume hospitals. Decreasing trends in total costs, alongside increasing trends in per-day costs, suggest a strong impact of length of stay trends and a more efficient approach to PJI over the years (in terms of shorter length of stay).


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Russell R. Lonser ◽  
Luke G. F. Smith ◽  
Michael Tennekoon ◽  
Kavon P. Rezai-Zadeh ◽  
Jeffrey G. Ojemann ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVETo increase the number of independent National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded neurosurgeons and to enhance neurosurgery research, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) developed two national comprehensive programs (R25 [established 2009] for residents/fellows and K12 [2013] for early-career neurosurgical faculty) in consultation with neurosurgical leaders and academic departments to support in-training and early-career neurosurgeons. The authors assessed the effectiveness of these NINDS-initiated programs to increase the number of independent NIH-funded neurosurgeon-scientists and grow NIH neurosurgery research funding.METHODSNIH funding data for faculty and clinical department funding were derived from the NIH, academic departments, and Blue Ridge Institute of Medical Research databases from 2006 to 2019.RESULTSBetween 2009 and 2019, the NINDS R25 funded 87 neurosurgical residents. Fifty-three (61%) have completed the award and training, and 39 (74%) are in academic practice. Compared to neurosurgeons who did not receive R25 funding, R25 awardees were twice as successful (64% vs 31%) in obtaining K-series awards and received the K-series award in a significantly shorter period of time after training (25.2 ± 10.1 months vs 53.9 ± 23.0 months; p < 0.004). Between 2013 and 2019, the NINDS K12 has supported 19 neurosurgeons. Thirteen (68%) have finished their K12 support and all (100%) have applied for federal funding. Eleven (85%) have obtained major individual NIH grant support. Since the establishment of these two programs, the number of unique neurosurgeons supported by either individual (R01 or DP-series) or collaborative (U- or P-series) NIH grants increased from 36 to 82 (a 2.3-fold increase). Overall, NIH funding to clinical neurological surgery departments between 2006 and 2019 increased from $66.9 million to $157.3 million (a 2.2-fold increase).CONCLUSIONSTargeted research education and career development programs initiated by the NINDS led to a rapid and dramatic increase in the number of NIH-funded neurosurgeon-scientists and total NIH neurosurgery department funding.


Author(s):  
Svetlana Punanova ◽  
Mikhail Rodkin

The mode of development of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia and the impact of the epidemic on the areas of scientific research, education and functioning of the fuel and energy complex are discussed. The official statistics revealed evidence both of effectivity of the taken anti-epidemic measures in Moscow and of possible cases of incorrectness of statistical data. The social situation and the mode of development of the epidemic in Moscow and in the regions of Russia are essentially different, that reduces the effectiveness of anti-epidemic measures introduced uniformly throughout the whole country. The conditions of the pandemic and quarantine are difficult for everyone, but organizations and persons with a more modern informational character of production adapt to them more easily. In general, it can be suggested that the epidemic besides the very essential losses gives an important impulse for social-economic and political modernization of the society.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document