Clinical Trial Quality Assessment in Adult Spinal Surgery: What Do Publication Status, Funding Source, and Result Reporting Tell Us?

Study Design Narrative Review Objectives The objective of this study was to compare publication status of clinical trials in adult spine surgery registered on ClinicalTrials.gov by funding source as well as to identify other trends in clinical trials in adult spine surgery. Methods All prospective, comparative, therapeutic (intervention-based) trials of adult spinal disease that were registered on ClinicalTrials.gov with a start date of January 1, 2000 and completion date before December 17, 2018 were included. Primary outcome was publication status of published or unpublished. A bivariate analysis was used to compare publication status to funding source of industry vs non-industry. Results Our search identified 107 clinical trials. The most common source of funding was industry (62 trials, 57.9% of total), followed by University funding (26 trials, 24.3%). The results of 76 trials (71.0%) were published, with industry-funded trials less likely to be published compared to non–industry-funded trials (62.9% compared to 82.2%, P = .03). Of the 31 unpublished studies, 13 did not report any results on ClinicalTrials.gov , and of those with reported results, none was a positive trial. Conclusions Clinician researchers in adult spine surgery should be aware that industry-funded trials are less likely to go on to publication compared to non–industry-funded trials, and that negative trials are frequently not published. Future opportunities include improvement in result reporting and in publishing negative studies.

Teaching remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic: perceptions from and psychological impact on health science professors in Brazil

With the social distancing required by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the creation of a new pedagogical model became a sudden challenge for educational institutions. This study sought to assess health science professors’ experiences and perceptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. An epidemiological, descriptive, cross-sectional, observational, and quantitative approach was applied and included the application of a structured and self-administered virtual questionnaire containing objective and multiple-choice questions on demographic data, online teaching activities, continuing education, learning environments, and difficulties faced. Seven questions from the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screening Tool (GAD-7) were added to assess anxiety. One hundred and thirty-eight university professors in Brazil completed the questionnaire. Of these, 87 were employed by public institutions and 51 worked at private institutions. Geopolitical region in the country and university funding type were associated with universities’ ability or decision to offer courses online. Among the professors, being of female gender and a decrease in household income were the factors most closely associated with increased anxiety. Professors also reported difficulties in interacting with students online, the need to assume more childcare, and difficulty in concentrating at home to be the main barriers to successful online teaching.

Financial sustainability of a Ukrainian university due to the COVID-19 pandemic: A calculative approach

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university funding in Ukraine suffered significant losses due to unprecedented quarantine measures. The challenge for universities is to diversify funding sources, develop effective approaches to minimize existing and prevent future threats to ensure their financial stabilization (sustainability) in the post-pandemic period. The paper aims to consider financial sustainability of a university (the case of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) due to COVID-19 using the objective calculative approach on the statistical sample of data for 2011–2020. The tasks for achieving the aim are seen in determining, using regression methods, the number of lost receipts from general and special funds in the short and medium term, which will maintain a constant value of receipts at constant assets. The main idea of the paper is that financial sustainability is considered as a condition, and stabilization is considered as a process towards stability/sustainability. The modeling approach reveals a fragile list of factors for the future preventing measures of the University to sustain. It is estimated that the University’s top management should consider financial strategy in dollar terms only. The challenge is that funding in hryvnia seems to be quite increasing and linear, but indeed, funding of the University is non-linear and has a quite intensive downward trend. Thus, for the financial sustainability strategy, this fact should be crucial.The results indicate the need for a significant increase in university funding to mitigate the impact of macroeconomic instability due to various crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic. AcknowledgmentThe study is carried out under the grant funded from the National Research Fund of Ukraine within the competition Science for Human Security and Society, topic 2020.01/0265.

Does State Allocation of University Funding Moderate Effectively Maintained Inequality?

According to the theory of Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI), economically advantaged individuals not only enter each level of education at higher rates than do their less advantaged peers, but also enjoy qualitative advantages at each level that position them more favorably to continue to the next level. Governments may play a role in facilitating or limiting EMI because they allocate appropriations to public universities; the more between-university variability in these funds, the more horizontal differences high-income students may exploit. I ask whether Wisconsin’s unequal pattern of appropriations across its institutions of higher education exacerbates income-based disparities in college persistence. I test two hypotheses: (1) Economically advantaged students sort into the universities with greatest appropriations; (2) Appropriations promote first-to-second-year persistence. Evidence in favor of both hypotheses would support the claim that an unequal pattern of appropriations exacerbates college persistence disparities and, accordingly, suggest that unequal allocation facilitates EMI. Results support hypothesis (1) but not hypothesis (2). The results do not present evidence that the Wisconsin state government facilitated or limited EMI based on its allocation of funds across universities.

Book Reviews

Paul N. Courant of Edward M. Gramlich Distinguished University Professor and Provost Emeritus, University of Michigan reviews “Like Nobody’s Business: An Insider’s Guide to How US University Finances Really Work” by Andrew C. Comrie. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Discusses the essentials of university funding, reviewing the business and finances of higher education in terms of its six functional elements—state and trustee governance, university administration, teaching, research, public service, and students and the broader community.”

University Lecturers and Students Preparedness for Online Teaching and Learning in Zimbabwe

The outbreak of COVID 19, which disrupted the normal lecture delivery system in universities, profoundly impacted Zimbabwe as a nation. This study investigated on university lecturers and students’ preparedness to online teaching and learning at the outbreak of COVID 19 in the country. The study also looked at how these two groups adjusted and what still need to be done to effect e-learning. The researcher carried out massive interviews to both lecturers and students. The study employed the thematic data processing approach. Findings showed that university lecturers and students were caught unaware and unprepared for alternative learning modes though they did their best to rise above the challenges. Lecturers from very few well-to-do universities got either or both data bundles and gadgets. Universities experienced the following challenges: limited accessibility to internet, limited mobile networks, unreliable electricity supply, lack of appropriate technological gadgets, lack of technical know-how, high levels of stress and low performance level for both lecturers and students. The study concluded that the e-learning that was introduced as a mitigating measure, left a lot to be desired and this needs to be ‘fixed’ in preparation for future similar calamities and general technological advancement. The study recommended national and university funding of necessary electronic gadgets, e-learning infrastructure and data bundles for smooth running of e-learning programs.

Does State Allocation of University Funding Moderate Effectively Maintained Inequality?

According to the theory of Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI), economically advantaged individuals not only enter each level of education at higher rates than do their less advantaged peers, but also enjoy qualitative advantages at each level that position them more favorably to continue to the next level. Governments may play a role in facilitating or limiting EMI because they allocate appropriations to public universities; the more between-university variability in these funds, the more horizontal differences high-income students may exploit. I ask whether Wisconsin’s unequal pattern of appropriations across its institutions of higher education exacerbates income-based disparities in college persistence. I test two hypotheses: (1) Economically advantaged students sort into the universities with greatest appropriations; (2) Appropriations promote first-to-second-year persistence. Evidence in favor of both hypotheses would support the claim that an unequal pattern of appropriations exacerbates college persistence disparities and, accordingly, suggest that unequal allocation facilitates EMI. Results support hypothesis (1) but not hypothesis (2). The results do not present evidence that the Wisconsin state government facilitated or limited EMI based on its allocation of funds across universities.

Virtual learning of the tribal students in Bangladesh: Constrictions and propositions

This paper depicts the current panorama of virtual learning of the tribal students in Bangladesh with the constrictions and possible solutions. The study aimed to deal with the major issues about tribal students’ online education by bringing out the key restraints of their distance learning and the possible solutions. The researchers followed a mixed method using a 5-point Likert Scale to point out the learner sensitivities, an online Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to know specific information from all the tribes who participated in the study. Additionally, four different questions were also set for multiple response analyses. The results suggested that the tribal students have not agreeably received adequate facilities such as technological support, university funding, departmental encouragements, or monetary benefits from the quota system in the current pandemic (COVID-19) time to attend virtual learning sessions though they expect arrangements and future steps for academic learning. All institutions also could not provide them adequate opportunities to attend online classes. In conclusion, the study proposed some imperative measures for example, inclusion of flipped classroom, introducing blended learning henceforth, revising quota facilities, adequate electricity support and internet connection, to help the tribal students as they should not get deprived.

Visual Analysis of Research on Precise Funding Fine Chemical in Universities Based on Knowledge Mapping

The article utilizes Citespace software to analyze the existing research literature, uses the method of word frequency analysis to conduct content mining and data processing on the journal literature in the field of precision funding fine chemical industryresearch in colleges and universities, and analyzes the history and research of the precision funding of colleges and universities for students with financial difficulties in recent years. The current situation is expected to provide reference and reference for follow-up researchers, and to provide ideas and suggestions for practically improving the level of university funding.

Analyzing the Impact of Spanish University Funding Policies on the Evolution of Their Performance: A Multi-Criteria Approach

The relationship between university performance and performance-based funding models has been a topic of debate for decades. Promoting performance-based funding models can create incentives for improving the educational and research effectiveness of universities, and consequently providing them with a competitive advantage over its competitors. Therefore, this paper studies how to measure the performance of a university through a mathematical multicriteria analysis and tries to link these results with certain university funding policies existing in the Spanish case. To this end, a reference point-based technique is used, which allows the consideration and aggregation of all the aspects regarded as relevant to assess university performance. The simple and easy way in which the information is provided by this technique makes it valuable for decision makers because of considering two aggregation scenarios: the fully compensatory scenario provides an idea of the overall performance, while the non-compensatory one detects possible improvement areas. This study is carried out in two stages. First, the main results of applying the proposed methodology to the performance analysis evolution of the largest three Spanish public university, over a period of five academic years, are described. Second, a discussion is carried out about some interesting features of the analysis proposed at regional level, and some policy messages are provided. The “intra” regions university performance analysis reveals some institutions with noteworthy behaviors, some with sustained trends throughout the analyzed period and other institutions with more erratic behaviors, within the same regional public university system despite having the identical funding model. However, the findings “inter” regions also reveal that only Catalonia has developed a true performance-based model, in theory and in practice, which has contributed to achieving excellent results at regional level in both teaching and research.