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PubMed2007

Exploring predictors of health sciences students' attitudes towards complementary-alternative medicine.

This study demonstrated that a less scientific worldview predicted health science (HS) students' positive attitude towards complementary-alternative medicine (CAM), independently of important background characteristics as gender, pre-college science immersion, age, and type of HS education of the students. A total of 473 students in their final 3rd year of education in the health sciences (nursing, physiotherapy, social educator, and radiography) participated in teh study, which was based on a questionnaire consisting of items mapping student background characteristics and their attitudes towards worldview reflecting statements in constructs. The results showed that large fractions of the HS students were positive towards the use of CAM treatments. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that 24 % of the total variance in HS students' positive attitude towards the use of CAM than the HS students' background characteristics alone, which accounted for only 2 % of the total variance. HS students' Paranormal beliefs, and their Willingness to include CAM in HS education were the most important predictors. The study results suggest stronger emphasis on teaching about epistemologies in HS educations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Enhancing quality of practice through theory of change-based evaluation: science or practice?

This paper describes the evaluation component of Partnerships for Success (PfS), a comprehensive community effort designed to address youth development issues. The evaluation component is referred to as "theory of change-based evaluation." The author considers the implications of applying community practice tools such as theory of change-based evaluation to the current conceptualization of community science. More specifically, the author argues that the current conceptualization of community science pays scant attention to community practice. This paper concludes by suggesting that the current conceptualization of community science be modified to recognize the importance of community practice as an equal aspiration for community psychologists.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Development and applications of microbial ecogenomic indicators for monitoring water quality: report of a workshop assessing the state of the science, research needs and future directions.

This article brings forth recommendations from a workshop sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) and Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (EMAP) Programs and by the Council of State Governments, held during May 2002 in Kansas City, Kansas. The workshop assembled microbial ecologists and environmental scientists to determine what research and science is needed to bring existing molecular biological approaches and newer technologies arising from microbial genomic research into environmental monitoring and water quality assessments. Development of genomics and proteomics technologies for environmental science is a very new area having potential to improve environmental water quality assessments. The workshop participants noted that microbial ecologists are already using molecular biological methods well suited for monitoring and water quality assessments and anticipate that genomics-enabled technologies could be made available for monitoring within a decade. Recommendations arising from the workshop include needs for (i) identification of informative microbial gene sequences, (ii) improved understandings of linkages between indicator taxa, gene expression and environmental condition, (iii) technological advancements towards field application, and (iv) development of the appropriate databases.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

A survey of prevention science training: implications for educating the next generation.

Several reviews of the emerging, transdisciplinary field of prevention science have identified the need for improved and expanded training of researchers as one of the central issues facing the field. A starting place for such an endeavor is an assessment of the current state of training. In that regard, we queried several groups of researchers about training in the prevention of mental disorders and closely related areas. Training experts from federally funded prevention intervention research and training centers were interviewed regarding the content of existing and ideal prevention science training programs. Based on these interviews and a literature search, we identified 13 content areas for prevention training. Through an internet-based survey, we interviewed trainees, early career researchers, and established researchers on their knowledge of and training in these areas. There was no content area in which the majority of early career researchers had a high level of training or knowledge. In contrast, the majority of established researchers were highly knowledgeable about each of six content areas that have represented the "traditional" areas of training in prevention science for the past several decades. Early career researchers had particularly low levels of knowledge and training in the history of prevention research and practice, how to obtain funding for prevention research, and how to conduct economic analyses. Implications of the findings for the education of the next cohort of prevention researchers are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Fitting in the management science specialist.

Fuller and Atherton discuss the relationship between management science specialists and managers. Management science specialists have developed expertise in the complex quantitative techniques available to aid in decision-making. Managers on the other hand, are expected to have a good understanding of the total organizational picture. The conflict arises when managers become overwhelmed by the technical expertise of the staff specialists. A limited understanding of quantitative tools encourages managers to evaluate situations on technical factors (i.e., model sophistication, computer time, quality of output) instead of on the broader perspective of the needs of the organization as a whole. Also, some specialists have developed expertise in a small set of techniques, increasing their tendency to generalize a familiar tool to apply to all situations. The authors suggest that managers become more familiar with management science techniques so as to be able to recognize the appropriate tools for each situation and to be able to analyze the results of their use. Similarly, staff specialists can be asked to participate in strategic planning sessions or can be assigned temporary line jobs in order to develop a better understanding of the total organizational picture. In addition, outside experts can perform audit-like functions to determine if appropriate technological/quantitative alternatives were investigated in the process of reaching a particular decision or planning approach.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMed1993

Bachelor of nursing students' experiences of learning biological sciences alongside medical students.

One of the features of the Bachelor of Nursing (BN) course at Nottingham University is that the students study some biological sciences alongside their medical counterparts. Formative evaluation of the processes of teaching and learning, with a view to monitoring and improving the process of education taking place, is an integral part of the BN curriculum. The findings obtained to date suggest that, whilst the students value some aspects of learning biological sciences with medical students, they are anxious about the effectiveness of the teaching methods being employed; the difficulty of what they are learning and the depth and level of knowledge required in order to deliver safe competent nursing care. They are also concerned about the medical bias of the content that they are being taught and its relevance for them as nurses. This paper will set the biological sciences component of the course in context within both the BN and the medical curriculum. The methods being used to evaluate the teaching and learning processes and the results of these evaluations will be discussed and the implications of the students' experiences will be explored.

Attitude↗
PubMed2006

Case-based reasoning in the health sciences: What's next?

OBJECTIVES: This paper presents current work in case-based reasoning (CBR) in the health sciences, describes current trends and issues, and projects future directions for work in this field. METHODS AND MATERIAL: It represents the contributions of researchers at two workshops on case-based reasoning in the health sciences. These workshops were held at the Fifth International Conference on Case-Based Reasoning (ICCBR-03) and the Seventh European Conference on Case-Based Reasoning (ECCBR-04). RESULTS: Current research in CBR in the health sciences is marked by its richness. Highlighted trends include work in bioinformatics, support to the elderly and people with disabilities, formalization of CBR in biomedicine, and feature and case mining. CONCLUSION: CBR systems are being better designed to account for the complexity of biomedicine, to integrate into clinical settings and to communicate and interact with diverse systems and methods.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed2004

The concept of 'developing the brain': a new natural science for learning and education.

From the viewpoint of biology, learning and education can be defined as the processes of forming neuronal connections in response to external environmental stimuli, and of controlling or adding appropriate stimuli, respectively. Learning and education can thus be studied as a new field of natural sciences with the entire human life span as its subject, thus including various problems such as fetal environment, childcare, language acquisition, general/special education, and rehabilitation. Non-invasive imaging of higher-order brain functions in humans will clarify the brain's developmental processes, and will provide various evidence for learning sciences. This new approach is called 'developing the brain' or 'brain science and education'. The origin of the concept and its present state are described and its future prospects are briefly analyzed.

Brain↗
PubMed2006

Science and craftsmanship: the art of experiment and instrument making.

In his two-volume monograph Untersuchungen über thierische Elektricität, the Berlin physiologist Emil du Bois-Reymond described the relation between nervous electricity and muscle mechanics by way of a long series of experiments. This work is a key text in the history of the experimental life sciences. But it not only contains new findings about the functioning of muscles and its nerves. Du Bois-Reymond practiced an art of experimentation in which aesthetics of mechanical craftsmanship allied itself with the science of physiology. Experimentation, as du Bois-Reymond understood it, was simultaneously an epistemic and an aesthetic practice. The goal of his science was thus producing both knowledge and aesthetic success.

Berlin↗
PubMed2004

Fighting the 'microbe of sporting mania': Australian science and Antarctic exploration in the early 20th century.

The 'Heroic Age' of Antarctic exploration, which occurred during the first 15 years of the 20th century, captured headlines around the world. Australia was no exception, especially as Australian scientists played important roles in several expeditions. Through participation in the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909, two Australian scientists - T.W. Edgeworth David (1858-1934) and Douglas Mawson (1882-1958) - became genuine national heroes, mainly through being members of the first party to reach the South Magnetic Pole area. At a superficial level, the vehicle of Antarctic exploration placed science at the forefront of public awareness, fulfilling David's ambition for greater recognition of science and scientists, especially considering the high level of public interest in sport. However, although David and Mawson gave Antarctic exploration a scientific veneer, simply through their status as scientists, the public viewed them as heroes because they had endured great hardships and conquered a point on the map in the name of science and the Empire.

Antarctic Regions↗
PubMed2005

The Lysenko effect: undermining the autonomy of science.

The "Lysenko affair", which lasted roughly from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, was the big scandal of 20th-century science: a classic example of how politics can corrupt and undermine its rational basis. Under Stalin's leadership the Soviet Government suppressed genuine genetics and other sound biology, with devastating consequences for agriculture and health. The worst example of this occurred in August 1948 when the Politburo outlawed the teaching of and research into classical Mendelian genetics. There is broad agreement that this case offers a stark warning against politicians interfering with science. But what, precisely, is this interference that we are being warned about? Whereas the fate of genetics in Soviet Russia was a clear-cut example of direct suppression, there were also other less obvious ways in which politics subverted the scientific process. This indirect interference with science is a persistent feature of modern politics that we need to be on the lookout for.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2004

A call for mtDNA data quality control in forensic science.

There is increasing evidence that many of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) databases published in the fields of forensic science and molecular anthropology are flawed. An a posteriori phylogenetic analysis of the sequences could help to eliminate most of the errors and thus greatly improve data quality. However, previously published caveats and recommendations along these lines were not yet picked up by all researchers. Here we call for stringent quality control of mtDNA data by haplogroup-directed database comparisons. We take some problematic databases of East Asian mtDNAs, published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences and Forensic Science International, as examples to demonstrate the process of pinpointing obvious errors. Our results show that data sets are not only notoriously plagued by base shifts and artificial recombination but also by lab-specific phantom mutations, especially in the second hypervariable region (HVR-II).

DNA Fingerprinting↗
PubMed2004

9649 forensic web watch--DNA in forensic science.

In 1923, within the Manual of Police technique, Edmond Locard published what is commonly known as the Doctrine of Exchange; a series of rules related to the exchange of trace evidence between the victim and offender. Although at the time of publication these rules principally applied to trace evidence related to print (for exchange finger print or shoeprint), fibre and blood, today one can add the very substance that defines each human being -- DNA. Since th first use of DNA evidence to help identify an offender in the Pitchfork Murders of 1986, the use of DNA within forensic science has developed from its humble days within a single experimental laboratory at the University of Leicester to a multi-million pound industry. It thus seams fitting that this forensic web watch should originate from the very University where the use of DNA in forensic science was conceived, drawing the readers attention to a number of sites which can be used as an introduction to the concept of the use of DNA in forensic science today.

DNA Fingerprinting↗
PubMed2004

Information sources in biomedical science and medical journalism: methodological approaches and assessment.

Throughout the world the public is showing increasing interest in medical and scientific subjects and journalists largely spread this information, with an important impact on knowledge and health. Clearly, therefore, the relationship between the journalist and his sources is delicate: freedom and independence of information depend on the independence and truthfulness of the sources. The new "precision journalism" holds that scientific methods should be applied to journalism, so authoritative sources are a common need for journalists and scientists. We therefore compared the individual classifications and methods of assessing of sources in biomedical science and medical journalism to try to extrapolate scientific methods of evaluation to journalism. In journalism and science terms used to classify sources of information show some similarities, but their meanings are different. In science primary and secondary classes of information, for instance, refer to the levels of processing, but in journalism to the official nature of the source itself. Scientists and journalists must both always consult as many sources as possible and check their authoritativeness, reliability, completeness, up-to-dateness and balance. In journalism, however, there are some important differences and limits: too many sources can sometimes diminish the quality of the information. The sources serve a first filter between the event and the journalist, who is not providing the reader with the fact, but with its projection. Journalists have time constraints and lack the objective criteria for searching, the specific background knowledge, and the expertise to fully assess sources. To assist in understanding the wealth of sources of information in journalism, we have prepared a checklist of items and questions. There are at least four fundamental points that a good journalist, like any scientist, should know: how to find the latest information (the sources), how to assess it (the quality and authoritativeness), how to analyse and filter it (selection), how to deal with too many sources of information, sometimes case biased by conflicting interests (balance). The journalist must, in addition, know how to translate it to render it accessible and useful to the general public (dissemination), and how to use it best.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed2006

Rational versus anti-rational interpretations of science: an ape-language case-study.

Robert Nola (2003) has argued that anti-rationalist interpretations of science fail to adequately explain the process of science, since objective reasons can be causal factors in belief formation. While I agree with Nola that objective reasons can be a cause of belief, in this paper I present a version of the strong programme in the sociology of knowledge, the Interests Thesis, and argue that the Interests Thesis provides a plausible explanation of an episode in the history of ape-language research. Specifically, I examine Terrace, Petitto, Sandess, & Bever (1979, 1980) illegitimate comparison of the signing of their chimpanzee, Nim, with data from human early childhood language development, and argue that Terrace et al.'s interests played a causal role in determining their sceptical beliefs concerning ape linguistic abilities. However, I go on to argue that Terrace et al.'s interests are not the only causal factors in determining their beliefs: objective reasons, associated with the institution of new methodologies, were also causally determinative of Terrace et al.'s sceptical beliefs. Consequently, I argue that belief formation in science is a multi-factorial affair wherein both interests and objective reasons have causal roles. I finish the paper with two conjectures concerning the proper locus of scientific rationality.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2006

From bench to bedside? Biomedical scientists' expectations of stem cell science as a future therapy for diabetes.

The movement of scientific research from the bench to the bedside is becoming an increasingly important aspect of modern 'biomedical societies'. There is, however, currently a dearth of social science research on the interaction between the laboratory and the clinic. The recent upsurge in global funding for stem cell research is largely premised on the promise of translating scientific understanding of stem cells into regenerative medicine. In this paper, we report on the views of biomedical scientists based in the United Kingdom who are involved in human embryonic stem cell research in the field of diabetes. We explore their views on the prospects and problems of translational research in the field of stem cell science. We discuss two main themes: institutional influences on interactions between scientists and clinicians, and stem cell science itself as the major barrier to therapies. We frame our discussion within the emerging literature of the sociology of expectations.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

A user's guide to animal welfare science.

Here, I provide a guide for those new to the burgeoning field of animal welfare science as to what this comprehensive, relatively young discipline is all about. Drawing on all branches of biology, including behavioural ecology and neuroscience, the science of animal welfare asks three big questions: Are animals conscious? How can we assess good and bad welfare in animals? How can we use science to improve animal welfare in practice? I also provide guidelines for an evidence-based approach to welfare issues for policy makers and other users of animal welfare research.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2000

Emergency contraception: a review of the programmatic and social science literature.

Many biomedical aspects of emergency contraception have been investigated and documented for >30 years now. A large number of social science questions, however, remain to be answered. In this article, we review the rapidly growing but geographically lopsided literature on this topic. Using computer database searches supplemented by reference reviews and professional correspondence with those active in the field, we gathered literature on the social science and service delivery aspects of emergency contraception published in English up through December 1998, as well as a few unpublished papers from the same time and slightly later, representing regions where published material is practically nonexistent. Methodologically acceptable papers are summarized in our tables and text, and form the basis for suggested improvements in existing emergency contraceptive services. The review also offers ideas for designing new emergency contraception services where they do not yet exist. We conclude by proposing an agenda for further social science research in this area.

Adolescent↗