Acquisition of The Spanish Preterite and Imperfect By Non-Native Students in A Traditional Classroom Vs. A Hybrid Setting

High school students learning Spanish often struggle with the acquisition of the past tense. Spanish requires differentiation between aspects (preterite and imperfect) of the past tense; a linguistic contrast that does not exist in English. While this has been researched for years in Second Language Acquisition (SLA), the increasing availability of technology offers a new angle from which to explore students’ ability to master this concept. In the 2020-2021 school year, the presence of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) forced schools to overhaul and adapt the learning environment during a pandemic in which a fully traditional in-person model was not a feasible option. The Hononegah High School district adopted a hybrid environment in which students split their class time with equal time learning in person and remotely from home. This change in environment offered the opportunity to compare data on the success of past tense aspect acquisition of students in a traditional learning environment with the hybrid environment.In this study, data from a recognition quiz, oral production narrative task, and an in-class writing narrative task were studied in order to compare overall accuracy between in-person and hybrid groups. Results from the tasks were used to attempt to determine how the difference in instructional delivery affects the acquisition and production of the Spanish past tense. More detailed analysis was conducted on the 2020-2021 students’ use of preterite and imperfect forms, as student responses were unavailable from the 2019-2020 group. Previous research has shown that students prefer the present and preterite tenses in production tasks, but this was not the case for the 2020-2021 students. Students in the hybrid classroom environment performed with a similar level of accuracy as students in the traditional setting on all tasks, except for the oral production task, on which the in-person students performed better

Bottleneck Detection and Reduction Using Simulation Modeling to Reduce Overcrowding of Hospital Emergency Department

Overcrowding is a common problem in hospital emergency departments (EDs) where the ED service cannot meet care demands within reasonable time frames. This paper introduces a quantitative approach using computer simulation modeling for hospital decision makers to explore trade-offs between efficiency, workload and capacity of EDs. A computer simulation model is built based on the ED of a local hospital to improvement efficiency of the ED patient flow. Bottlenecks of the emergency care process are detected using the built model. The ED performance is examined by applying alternative strategies to reduce patient waiting time and length of stay. The proposed method can be applied to improve the operation efficiency of healthcare systems in the current pandemic, COVID -19

Characteristics of evidence-based medicine training in Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada emergency medicine residencies - a national survey of program directors

Abstract Background Recent surveys suggest few emergency medicine (EM) training programs have formal evidence-based medicine (EBM) or journal club curricula. Our primary objective was to describe the methods of EBM training in Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) EM residencies. Secondary objectives were to explore attitudes regarding current educational practices including e-learning, investigate barriers to journal club and EBM education, and assess the desire for national collaboration. Methods A 16-question survey containing binary, open-ended, and 5-pt Likert scale questions was distributed to the 14 RCPSC-EM program directors. Proportions of respondents (%), median, and IQR are reported. Results The response rate was 93% (13/14). Most programs (85%) had established EBM curricula. Curricula content was delivered most frequently via journal club, with 62% of programs having 10 or more sessions annually. Less than half of journal clubs (46%) were led consistently by EBM experts. Four programs did not use a critical appraisal tool in their sessions (31%). Additional teaching formats included didactic and small group sessions, self-directed e-learning, EBM workshops, and library tutorials. 54% of programs operated educational websites with EBM resources. Program directors attributed highest importance to two core goals in EBM training curricula: critical appraisal of medical literature, and application of literature to patient care (85% rating 5 - “most importance”, respectively). Podcasts, blogs, and online journal clubs were valued for EBM teaching roles including creating exposure to literature (4, IQR 1.5) and linking literature to clinical practice experience (4, IQR 1.5) (1-no merit, 5-strong merit). Five of thirteen respondents rated lack of expert leadership and trained faculty educators as potential limitations to EBM education. The majority of respondents supported the creation of a national unified EBM educational resource (4, IQR 1) (1-no support, 5- strongly support). Conclusions RCPSC-EM programs have established EBM teaching curricula and deliver content most frequently via journal club. A lack of EBM expert educators may limit content delivery at certain sites. Program directors supported the nationalization of EBM educational resources. A growing usage of electronic resources may represent an avenue to link national EBM educational expertise, facilitating future collaborative educational efforts.Peer Reviewe

Racial, Ethnic, and Sex Diversity Trends in Health Professions Programs From Applicants to Graduates

Importance Diversity is an essential element of an effective health care system. A key to developing a diverse workforce is establishing a diverse student population in health professions programs. Objective To examine the diversity of students in Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), and Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs with emphasis on the trends of underrepresented minoritized groups (American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) and sex relative to the overall age-adjusted US population. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study used deidentified, self-reported data from 2003 to 2019 from the Association of American Medical Colleges, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, American Dental Education Association, American Dental Association, and American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Data analysis was performed from 2003 to 2004 and from 2018 to 2019. Exposures Data on the race, ethnicity, and sex of applicants, matriculants, and degrees conferred by health professions programs were collected and compared with the age-adjusted population in the US Census (aged 20-34 years) over time. Main Outcomes and Measures The main outcomes were trends in the proportions of underrepresented minoritized groups and sex diversity among applicants, matriculants, and degrees conferred relative to the overall age-adjusted US population. Trends were measured using the representation quotient, which is defined as the ratio of the proportion of each subgroup to the total population of applicants, matriculants, or graduates relative to the proportion for that subgroup within the US Census population of similar age. Regression analysis was used to evaluate the trend over time. Results A total of 594 352 applicants were analyzed across the examined programs. From 2003 to 2019, the proportions of individuals from underrepresented groups increased for DDS and DMD (applicants, from 1003 of 8176 to 1962 of 11 298 [5.1%]; matriculants, from 510 of 4528 to 966 of 6163 [4.2%]; degrees awarded, from 484 of 4350 to 878 of 6340 [2.7%]), PharmD (applicants, from 9045 of 71 966 to 11 653 of 50 482 [9.0%]; matriculants, from 5979 of 42 627 to 10 129 to 62 504 [6.3%]; degrees awarded, from 922 of 7770 to 2190 of 14 800 [3.0%]), and DO (applicants, from 740 of 6814 to 3478 of 21 090 [5.4%]; degrees awarded, 199 of 2713 to 582 of 6703 [1.4%]) programs, but decreased for MD programs (applicants, from 6066 of 34 791 to 7889 of 52 777 [−2.3%]; matriculants, 2506 of 16 541 to 2952 of 21 622 [−2.4%]; degrees awarded, from 2167 of 15 829 to 2349 of 19 937 [−0.1%]). Compared with age-adjusted US Census data, all programs had more Asian students and fewer male, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students (representation quotient \u3c1). Conclusions and Relevance In this cross-sectional study, most of the health professions in the study saw increases in underrepresented minority applicants, matriculants, and degrees conferred from 2003 to 2019; however, all programs were below the age-adjusted US Census data. The increased racial, ethnic, and sex diversity in the programs illustrates progress, but additional strategies are needed to achieve a more representative health care workforce

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Mitigating amphibian chytridiomycoses in nature

Amphibians across the planet face the threat of population decline and extirpation caused by the disease chytridiomycosis. Despite consensus that the fungal pathogens responsible for the disease are conservation issues, strategies to mitigate their impacts in the natural world are, at best, nascent. Reducing risk associated with the movement of amphibians, non-amphibian vectors and other sources of infection remains the first line of defence and a primary objective when mitigating the threat of disease in wildlife. Amphibian-associated chytridiomycete fungi and chytridiomycosis are already widespread, though, and we therefore focus on discussing options for mitigating the threats once disease emergence has occurred in wild amphibian populations. All strategies have shortcomings that need to be overcome before implementation, including stronger efforts towards understanding and addressing ethical and legal considerations. Even if these issues can be dealt with, all currently available approaches, or those under discussion, are unlikely to yield the desired conservation outcome of disease mitigation. The decision process for establishing mitigation strategies requires integrated thinking that assesses disease mitigation options critically and embeds them within more comprehensive strategies for the conservation of amphibian populations, communities and ecosystems.Peer Reviewe

RIVER Role Models: Branding PBIS in Your School and Community

This workshop will share how Riverside Intermediate has used branding to support the creation of a community of River Role Models. Practical suggestions for crafting and integrating your own PBIS brand with community involvement, parent and student communication, and fundraising to promote a positive environment for speakers of all languages will be shared