Changes in conceptions of learning for indigenous Australian university students

Background. Conceptions of learning have been investigated for students in higher. education in different countries. Some studies found that students' conceptions change and develop over time while others have found no changes. Investigating conceptions of learning for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students is a relatively new area of research. Aims. This study set out to investigate conceptions of learning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander university students during the first two years of their undergraduate degree courses in three Australian universities. Conceptions for each year were compared. Knowing, more about learning as conceived by this cultural group may facilitate more productive higher educational experiences. Sample. The sample comprised 17 students studying various degrees; Il were male and 6 were female. Ages ranged from 18 to 48 years; mean age was 26 years. Method. This was a phenomenographic, longitudinal study. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted each year to ascertain students' conceptions of learning. Conceptions for second year were derived independently of those From first year. A comparative analysis then took place to determine ally changes. Results. These students held conceptions of learning that were similar to those of other university students; however there were some intrinsic differences. On a group level, conceptions changed somewhat over the two years as did core conceptions reported by some individual students. Some students also exhibited a greater awareness of learning during their second year that resulted in three dimensions of changed awareness. Conclusions. We believe the changed conceptions and awareness resulted from learning at university where there is some need to understand and explain phenomena in relation to theory. This brought about new understandings which allowed students to see their own learning in a relational sense.

Thoughts about research from an Indigenous prespective

The experience in research activities of a person is presented from Indigenous perspective as an individual, a tertiary student, a health professional and an academic. He describes the importance of structural issues and the critical role of protocol, appropriate process, and establishing enduring linkages in advancing health research

Research on using the decision tree method in order to select the best alternative for the pharmacies supply

Introduction / Aims: Adopting the important decisions represents a specific task of the manager. An efficient manager takes these decisions during a sistematic process with well-defined elements, each with a precise order. In the pharmaceutical practice and business, in the supply process of the pharmacies, there are situations when the medicine distributors offer a certain discount, but require payment in a shorter period of time. In these cases, the analysis of the offer can be made with the help of the decision tree method, which permits identifying the decision offering the best possible result in a given situation. The aims of the research have been the analysis of the product offers of many different suppliers and the establishing of the most advantageous ways of pharmacy supplying. Material / Methods: There have been studied the general product offers of the following medical stores: A&G Med, Farmanord, Farmexim, Mediplus, Montero and Relad. In the case of medicine offers including a discount, the decision tree method has been applied in order to select the most advantageous offers. The Decision Tree is a management method used in taking the right decisions and it is generally used when one needs to evaluate the decisions that involve a series of stages. The tree diagram is used in order to look for the most efficient means to attain a specific goal. The decision trees are the most probabilistic methods, useful when adopting risk taking decisions. Results: The results of the analysis on the tree diagrams have indicated the fact that purchasing medicines with discount (1%, 10%, 15%) and payment in a shorter time interval (120 days) is more profitable than purchasing without a discount and payment in a longer time interval (160 days). Discussion / Conclusion: Depending on the results of the tree diagram analysis, the pharmacies would purchase from the selected suppliers. The research has shown that the decision tree method represents a valuable work instrument in choosing the best ways for supplying pharmacies and it is very useful to the specialists from the pharmaceutical field, pharmaceutical management, to medicine suppliers, pharmacy practitioners from the community pharmacies and especially to pharmacy managers, chief – pharmacists.

A Mixed-method Social Networks Study Design for Research on Transnational Families

This paper advocates the adoption of a mixed-methods research design to describe and analyze ego-centered social networks in transnational family research. Drawing on the experience of the Social Networks Influences on Family Formation project (2004-2005), I show how the combined use of network generators and semistructured interviews (N = 116) produces unique data on family configurations and their impact on life course choices. A mixed-methods network approach presents specific advantages for research on children in transnational families. On the one hand, quantitative analyses are crucial for reconstructing and measuring the potential and actual relational support available to children in a context where kin interactions may be hindered by temporary and prolonged periods of separation. On the other hand, qualitative analyses can address strategies and practices employed by families to maintain relationships across international borders and geographic distance, as well as the implications of those strategies for children's well-being.

Setting priorities in clinical and health services research: Properties of an adapted and updated method

Objectives: The objectives of this study is to review the set of criteria of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for priority-setting in research with addition of new criteria if necessary, and to develop and evaluate the reliability and validity of the final priority score. Methods: Based on the evaluation of 199 research topics, forty-five experts identified additional criteria for priority-setting, rated their relevance, and ranked and weighted them in a three-round modified Delphi technique. A final priority score was developed and evaluated. Internal consistency, test–retest and inter-rater reliability were assessed. Correlation with experts’ overall qualitative topic ratings were assessed as an approximation to validity. Results: All seven original IOM criteria were considered relevant and two new criteria were added (“potential for translation into practice”, and “need for knowledge”). Final ranks and relative weights differed from those of the original IOM criteria: “research impact on health outcomes” was considered the most important criterion (4.23), as opposed to “burden of disease” (3.92). Cronbach’s alpha (0.75) and test–retest stability (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.66) for the final set of criteria were acceptable. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for overall assessment of priority was 0.66. Conclusions: A reliable instrument for prioritizing topics in clinical and health services research has been developed. Further evaluation of its validity and impact on selecting research topics is required

McFarland nephelometer as a simple method to estimate the sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction using Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a research tool

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been widely investigated for the diagnosis of tuberculosis. However, before this technique is applied on clinical samples, it needs to be well standardized. We describe the use of McFarland nephelometer, a very simple approach to determine microorganism concentration in solution, for PCR standardization and DNA quantitation, using Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a model. Tuberculosis is an extremely important disease for the public health system in developing countries and, with the advent of AIDS, it has also become an important public health problem in developed countries. Using Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a research model, we were able to detect 3 M. tuberculosis genomes using the McFarland nephelometer to assess micobacterial concentration. We have shown here that McFarland nephelometer is an easy and reliable procedure to determine PCR sensitivity at lower costs.

Study of the comprehension of the scientific method by members of a university health research laboratory

In Brazil, scientific research is carried out mainly at universities, where professors coordinate research projects with the active participation of undergraduate and graduate students. However, there is no formal program for the teaching/learning of the scientific method. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the comprehension of the scientific method by students of health sciences who participate in scientific projects in an academic research laboratory. An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using Edgar Morin complexity as theoretical reference. In a semi-structured interview, students were asked to solve an abstract logical puzzle - TanGram. The collected data were analyzed using the hermeneutic-dialectic analysis method proposed by Minayo and discussed in terms of the theoretical reference of complexity. The students’ concept of the scientific method is limited to participation in projects, stressing the execution of practical procedures as opposed to scientific thinking. The solving of the TanGram puzzle revealed that the students had difficulties in understanding questions and activities focused on subjects and their processes. Objective answers, even when dealing with personal issues, were also reflected on the students’ opinions about the characteristics of a successful researcher. Students’ difficulties concerning these issues may affect their scientific performance and result in poorly designed experiments. This is a preliminary study that should be extended to other centers of scientific research.