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Making the audience a key participant in the science communication process.

The public communication of science and technology has become increasingly important over the last several decades. However, understanding the audience that receives this information remains the weak link in the science communication process. This essay provides a brief review of some of the issues involved, discusses results from an audience-based study, and suggests some strategies that both scientists and journalists can use to modify media coverage in ways that can help audiences better understand major public issues that involve science and technology.

Communication↗

Health information multitype library reference referral networking: panacea for the '90s.

Librarians are exploring new approaches to information sharing to cope with a rapidly changing environment dominated by budget cuts, information explosion, and globalization of the economy, science, and culture. In 1990, the University of Illinois at Chicago Library of the Health Sciences (UIC LHS) initiated a pilot project aimed at establishing an effective balance between state-of-the-art information technology and traditional library methods and promoting cooperation among health information professionals by establishing the Health Information Referral Network (HIRN) in the state of Illinois. HIRN's background and development, Internet home page, and networking techniques reviewed in this paper are applicable to multitype libraries and information centers interested in improving information use and the referral process.

Computer Communication Networks↗

A WWW implementation of national recommendations for protecting electronic health information.

In March of 1997, the National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences issued the report, "For the Record: Protecting Electronic Health Information." Concluding that the current practices at the majority of health care facilities in the United States are insufficient, the Council delineated both technical and organizational approaches to protecting electronic health information. The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center recently implemented a proof-of-concept, Web-based, cross-institutional medical record, CareWeb, which incorporates the NRC security and confidentiality recommendations. We report on our WWW implementation of the NRC recommendations and an initial evaluation of the balance between ease of use and confidentiality.

Computer Communication Networks↗

The standardized fish bioassay procedure for detecting and culturing actively toxic Pfiesteria, used by two reference laboratories for atlantic and gulf coast states.

In the absence of purified standards of toxins from Pfiesteria species, appropriately conducted fish bioassays are the "gold standard" that must be used to detect toxic strains of Pfiesteria spp. from natural estuarine water or sediment samples and to culture actively toxic Pfiesteria. In this article, we describe the standardized steps of our fish bioassay as an abbreviated term for a procedure that includes two sets of trials with fish, following the Henle-Koch postulates modified for toxic rather than infectious agents. This procedure was developed in 1991, and has been refined over more than 12 years of experience in research with toxic Pfiesteria. The steps involve isolating toxic strains of Pfiesteria (or other potentially, as-yet-undetected, toxic Pfiesteria or Pfiesteria-like species) from fish-killing bioassays with natural samples; growing the clones with axenic algal prey; and retesting the isolates in a second set of fish bioassays. The specific environmental conditions used (e.g., temperature, salinity, light, other factors) must remain flexible, given the wide range of conditions from which natural estuarine samples are derived. We present a comparison of information provided for fish culture conditions, reported in international science journals in which such research is routinely published, and we provide information from more than 2,000 fish bioassays with toxic Pfiesteria, along with recommendations for suitable ranges and frequency of monitoring of environmental variables. We present data demonstrating that algal assays, unlike these standardized fish bioassays, should not be used to detect toxic strains of Pfiesteria spp. Finally, we recommend how quality control/assurance can be most rapidly advanced among laboratories engaged in studies that require research-quality isolates of toxic Pfiesteria spp.

Animals↗

Recent health sciences library building projects.

Librarians were asked to submit information for an annual architectural feature on projected, partially funded, architect selected, nearly designed, bid completed, under construction, almost finished, or recently completed library construction. Thirty-two health sciences libraries reported expansion, construction of new facilities, or construction planning. Seven building programs were identified as projected, or in predesign or design stages. Five projects were new, stand-alone structures in which the library occupies all or a major portion of the space. Nine projects were part of new construction for several separately administered units in which the library is a major tenant. Eleven projects involved additions to or renovations of existing space. Seven projects are presented as illustrative of current library construction.

Facility Design and Construction↗

Role and functions of Poisons Information Centre.

The Poisons Information Centre (PIC) is a specialized unit providing information on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of poisoning and hazard management. Most of the developed and many developing countries have well established poison control centres with poisons information service, patient management facility and analytical laboratory. In India, the National Poisons Information Centre (NPIC) was established in February, 1995 in the Department of Pharmacology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. The centre provides toxicological information and advice on the management of poisoned patients adopted to the level of the enquirer. The basis of this service are the databases on poisoning, drug reactions and also the continuous and systematic collection of data from the library. This information service is available round the clock. The PIC has the training responsibility extending to medical and other health professionals and community. The NPIC organized two successive training courses for medical professionals and para professionals at all health levels. Further, NPIC is a participant of INTOX project of IPCS/WHO, receiving regular yearly training on the use of INTOX database. Laboratory service is an essential component of a poisons control programme, providing analytical services on emergency basis to help in diagnosis and management. The NPIC is developing facilities for quick diagnosis of poisoning cases. Toxicovigilance and prevention of poisoning is another major function of PIC. The Centre has prepared manuals and leaflets on prevention and management cards on treatment of various poisonings. Thus the Centre provides a service with considerable health benefits, reducing morbidity and mortality from poisoning and gives significant financial savings to the community.

Child↗

Slouching toward policy: lazy bioethics and the perils of science fiction.

Too much contemporary bioethical discourse is weak on science, lazily citing and adopting science fiction scenarios rather than science facts in the framing of analyses and policies. We challenge bioethicists to take more seriously the role of providing informed insight into and oversight over contemporary science and its implications and applications. Bioethicists must work harder to understand the fast-changing truths and limits of basic science, and they must incorporate only appropriate and authentic science into their discourse, just as they did in the past when addressing the quandaries of clinical medicine. The field of bioethics is not so old and entrenched that its future is assured. Bioethicists must make themselves useful to society in order to deserve and retain the public's trust. They can best do this by ensuring that decision making and public policy are grounded in facts, not fictions and fantasies.

Advisory Committees↗

An exploration of medical professionals' perceptions of managed care and policy concepts: a magnitude estimation approach.

The authors begin by establishing the information content of measurement as the critical element in seeking research findings. They go on to indicate that traditional social science scaling has not provided all the information necessary to accomplish the task of measurement. They review some of the relevant literature in the field where the most common measure, Likert type scaling, has been used. They contrast that literature with research based on magnitude estimation procedures. They then apply magnitude estimation procedures to study beliefs among physicians and health care providers regarding managed care. This procedure is a novel application of magnitude estimation having never been applied in managed care research. The magnitude estimation based data are determined to yield ratio scales with true zero points, thereby, representing the highest level of measurement information. The differences between the pairs of managed care concepts using these ratio scales show that the health care concepts have greater variation in distances between them than might have heretofore been recognized because of the limitations of the scales previously applied. Consequently, the data reported have the potential to yield greater information concerning the current state of physicians' and providers' beliefs regarding managed care. Policy implications are discussed.

Adult↗

Genomic platforms for cancer research: potential diagnostic and prognostic applications in clinical oncology.

The completion of the Human Genome Project and the achievement of similar goals in other organisms have generated a huge amount of free available information with high potential in biomedical sciences. However, the identification of the DNA sequence was only a starting point for genomic research. This research has been facilitated by the development of new powerful genomic tools that allow the use of the wide amount of genomic information generated to address new biological and biomedical questions. One of these widely accepted and accessible technologies is DNA microarrays. Although the most popular use of DNA microarrays is gene expression profiling, due to the continuous advances in microarray technologies, scientists have also successfully used them for multiple applications, including genotyping, re-sequencing, DNA copy number analysis and DNA methylation. In short, DNA microarrays are changing the way cancer research scientists are addressing different biological questions and will allow the translation of genome research to clinical practice.

Biomedical Research↗

Barriers to employment-related healthy public policy in Canada.

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion calls for building healthy public policy, that is for '[putting] health on the agenda of policy makers in all sectors and at all levels, directing them to be aware of the health consequences of their decisions and to accept their responsibilities for health'. The objective of this study was to assess the past and potential future influence of information about the health consequences of unemployment and job insecurity on policy making and to identify the barriers to the use of such information in policy making. We conducted telephone interviews with 38 policy makers in the health and employment sectors of all three levels of Canadian government, as well as the executive directors of 10 Canadian non-governmental organizations that are active on employment issues. The interviews included both numerical ratings of the influence of this information and semi-structured questions about how this information could be used in policy making. Using an interpretive approach grounded in the political science literature, we identified barriers to using this information in their responses to these questions. Respondents rated the potential future influence of this information (mean 4.2 and median 5 on a seven-point Likert scale) higher than its past influence (mean 3.5 and median 3 on a seven-point Likert scale). Barriers related to the information itself or more commonly to the values of those who could respond to the information (i.e. idea-related barriers) were cited more frequently than either barriers related to how decisions are made (i.e. institution-related barriers) or barriers related to who would win and who would lose if the information were acted upon (i.e. interest-related barriers). We concluded that to build employment-related healthy public policy, these barriers would have to be overcome. Policy makers in health departments could, for example, frame information about health consequences in language that fits more easily with the values of other departments and advocate for institutional innovations that establish cross-departmental or cross-governmental accountability for health.

Administrative Personnel↗

Consumer concerns about modern technology in agriculture: considerations for undergraduate and graduate teaching.

A number of events over the last several decades have sensitized society to the possible negative impacts of technology. The majority of our population is one or more generations removed from direct experience on farms and ranches. Thus, few individuals are aware of the dramatic changes that have occurred in agriculture. Since the establishment of the land-grant university system, agriculture in the United States has changed from a system employing 10 million farmers and farm workers each feeding five people to a system in which 2.1 million farmers feed more than 100 people each and support exports of more than $35 billion annually. There are perceptions, as well as survey data, indicating society is concerned about the use and impacts of technology in the food and agriculture system. Survey data indicate 87% of people disagreed that "economic growth is more important than environmental protection." In addition, the survey data indicate society is concerned about how technology is used and who decides which applications are to be pursued. More than 8 out of 10 people (85%) surveyed believed "citizens deserve a greater role in decisions about science and technology." There seems to be concern regarding the use of technology and resultant impacts on the environment, food safety, animal well-being, and the size and numbers of farms in the United States. Education, both formal and informal, is the key to helping the public make informed decisions regarding the role of science and technology in the food and agriculture system. The colleges of agriculture need to carefully evaluate their research, teaching, and extension portfolios to "rediscover" their mission.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Agriculture↗

Microanatomy courses in U.S. and Canadian medical schools, 1991-92.

BACKGROUND: Many medical schools are reevaluating their approaches to teaching the basic and clinical sciences, yet there is little systematic information available about how specific courses are being taught. METHOD: A detailed questionnaire was sent to 139 U.S. and Canadian medical schools to obtain information about microanatomy courses in 1991-92. RESULTS: Overall, 114 (82%) of the schools responded. The responses showed that microanatomy courses were including more cell biology and related material in their curricula, and that many were coordinating subject presentation with other basic science courses. The courses relied primarily on lecture-based teaching for non-laboratory material and structured laboratory exercises for laboratory material. New approaches, such as small-group, problem-solving sessions, were being introduced slowly; most of the courses used faculty-provided learning objectives. Computer-aided instruction had been introduced at a small number of schools, usually in the form of self-instructional packages or reviews. Multiple-choice written examinations and short-answer practical examinations were usually used to assess student knowledge; computer-based testing was rare. CONCLUSION: The microanatomy curricula tended to be relatively conventional. The primary barrier to the introduction of computer-aided instruction may be the wide-spread use of other self-instructional tools that are effective and less expensive to develop and maintain. Because of the trend toward fewer student contact hours, the adoption of problem-based learning at the course level could have a significant negative impact on the amount of microanatomy material that could be covered.

Anatomy↗

Computer retrieval of articles on the therapy of poisonings.

This paper describes the joint efforts of the Cleveland Poison Information Center and the Cleveland Health Sciences Library to develop a workable system for scanning the current journal literature for relevant articles on the therapy of poisonings and to develop a suitable system for reorganizing the present reprint files for the city's two units of the Poison Information Center. The use of the MEDLINE computer retrieval system for retrieving relevant current articles is discussed in detail as is the proposed reorganization of the Center's reprint file.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗