L'experiència pilot desenvolupada a partir del projecte d'innovació "La gestió integrada de la qualitat, el medi ambient i la seguretat en la docència experimental dels estudis de grau de les Facultats de Belles Arts"

Es presenta un projecte d'innovació docent, la recerca desevolupada del qual va incorporar aspectes relacionats amb la seguretat i la sostenibilitat dels procediments realitzats als tallers i laboratoris de les Facultats de Belles Arts, aplicant criteris de gestió de qualitat. Els resultats d'aquestes investigacions tenen una extensió social en l'àmbit de les Belles Arts en general. El projecte d'innovació docent va aplicar criteris de gestió de qualitat. La recerca desenvolupada va incorporar aspectes relacionats amb la seguretat i la sostenibilitat dels procediments als tallers i laboratoris de les Facultats de Belles Arts. Els resultats d¿aquestes investigacions tenen una extensió social en l'àmbit de les Belles Arts en general. Amb aquest projecte es va redissenyar un model de procediment normalitzat de treball (PNT) que 11 tallers diferents de les Facultats de BBAA de Barcelona, Conca i València van utilitzar per a elaborar 14 PNT i 3 vídeos de suport. Aquests es van aplicar durant una experiència pilot (curs 2009-2010). El nombre de participants en l¿experiència va ser de 211 alumnes, 15 professors, 10 tècnics de taller, majoritàriament de BBAA de la Universitat de Barcelona. L'experiència pilot va demostrar satisfactòriament la viabilitat de l'aplicació del model de PNT adoptat i els beneficis, de la seva aplicació, orientats a la millora continuada de la qualitat docent i de la investigació. Per concloure el projecte es va elaborar el procediment general (PG) que determina les pautes per a redactar un PNT. Aquest PG va ser aprovat recentment per la CSSMA del Centre2 i es podrà aplicar en el futur en la Facultat de BBAA de Barcelona. Sobre l'experiència s'han realitzat les publicacions pertinents (un llibre i un DVD) i s'ha participat també en dos congressos.

Iowa Highway Research Board FY 2012 Annual Report

This report, entitled ―Iowa Highway Research Board Research and Development Activities FY2012‖ is submitted in compliance with Sections 310.36 and 312.3A, Code of Iowa, which direct the submission of a report of the Secondary Road Research Fund and the Street Research Fund, respectively. It is a report of the status of research and development projects in progress on June 30, 2012. It is also a report on projects completed during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2012. Detailed information on each of the research and development projects mentioned in this report is available from the Office of Research and Analytics, Performance and Technology Division, Iowa Department of Transportation. All approved reports are also online for viewing at: www.iowadot.gov/operationsresearch/reports.aspx.

Els Qüestionaris com a recurs docent en l'aprenentatge autònom. Resultats d'una prova pilot en un curs de Química bàsica.

En aquest article es presenten uns nous qüestionaris on line dissenyats per millorar la comprensió dels continguts de l"assignatura Química Bàsica II i, alhora, propiciar el treball autònom dels estudiants. En el grup pilot que ha disposat dels qüestionaris, els resultats acadèmics dels estudiants que els han realitzat diverses vegades han estat millors que els dels alumnes que no els han utilitzat amb regularitat. Els resultats acadèmics del grup pilot també ha estat millor que els de cursos anteriors.

Department of Commerce - Iowa Utilities Board, Performance Report, Performance Results Achieved for Fiscal Year 2012

This report highlights the services the IUB provided to Iowans, along with results achieved to ensure reliability, and to improve and expand utility service infrastructure in Iowa. This information is provided in accordance with the State of Iowa Accountable Government Act, Iowa Code chapter 8E. The two basic business functions of the IUB are utility regulation and compliance, and resource management. This report covers performance information for both of these areas.

Department of Commerce - Iowa Utilities Board, Performance Report, Performance Results Achieved for Fiscal Year 2011

This report highlights the services the IUB provided to Iowans, along with results achieved to ensure reliability, and to improve and expand utility service infrastructure in Iowa. This information is provided in accordance with the State of Iowa Accountable Government Act, Iowa Code chapter 8E. The two basic business functions of the IUB are utility regulation and compliance, and resource management. This report covers performance information for both of these areas.

Citizens' preferences for brand name drugs for treating acute and chronic conditions: a pilot study.

Background: Generic drugs have been advocated to decrease the proportion of healthcare costs devoted to drugs, but are still underused. Objective: To assess citizens' preferences for brand name drugs (BNDs) compared with generic drugs for treating acute and chronic conditions. Methods: A questionnaire with eight hypothetical scenarios describing four acute and four chronic conditions was developed, with willingness to pay (WTP) determined using a payment card system randomized to ascending (AO) or descending order (DO) of prices. The questionnaire was distributed with an explanation sheet, an informed consent form and a pre-stamped envelope over a period of 3 weeks in 19 community pharmacies in Lausanne, Switzerland. The questionnaire was distributed to every third customer who also had health insurance, understood French and was aged =16 years (up to a maximum of ten customers per day and 100 per pharmacy). The main outcome measure was preferences assessed by WTP for BNDs as compared with generics, and impact of participants' characteristics on WTP. Results: Of the 1800 questionnaires, 991 were distributed and 393 returned (pharmacy participation rate?=?55%, subject participation rate?=?40%, overall response rate?=?22%); 51.7% were AO and 48.3% DO. Participants were predominantly women (62.6%) and of median age 62 years (range 16-90). The majority (70%) declared no WTP for BNDs as compared with generics. WTP was higher in people with an acute disease than in those with a chronic disease, did not depend on the type of chronic disease, and was higher in people from countries other than Switzerland. Conclusions: Most citizens visiting pharmacies attribute no added value to BNDs as compared with generics, although some citizen characteristics affected WTP. These results could be of interest to several categories of decision makers within the healthcare system.

Special plates report

This report is submitted by the Iowa Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division in compliance with Administrative Rule 761-401.18(3) Discontinuance. This rule requires the department to report to the legislature if 250 paid applications for any of the special registration plates subject to this rule are not submitted within one year after the date the department makes the plate available for application in order to request authority to discontinue any of the special registration plates established under Iowa Code section 321.34, new subsections 20C, 25 and 26 as amended by 2011 Iowa Acts, House File 651, section 2.

The development and pilot-testing of a training curriculum in adolescent medicine and health.

PURPOSE: To select and propose a set of knowledge, attitudes, and skills essential for the care of adolescents; to encourage the development of adolescent health multidisciplinary networks; and to set up training programs in as many European countries as possible. METHODS: The curriculum was developed by 16 physicians from 11 European countries with various professional specializations. In line with modern guidelines in medical education, it is a modular, flexible instrument which covers the main teaching areas in the field, such as basic skills (i.e. setting, rights and confidentiality, gender and cultural issues) as well as specific themes (i.e. sexual and reproductive health, eating disorders, chronic conditions). It consists of 17 thematic modules, each containing detailed objectives, learning approaches, examples, and evaluation methods. RESULT: Two international one-week summer schools were used to assess the feasibility and appropriateness of the curriculum. The overall evaluation was good, with most of the items surpassing three on a four-point Likert scale. However, it pointed to several aspects (process and content) which will need to be refined in the future, such as an increase in interactive sessions (role playing), and a better mix of clinical and public health issues.