Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE)

Assessing the credibility of research claims is a central, continuous, and laborious part of the scientific process. Credibility assessment strategies range from expert judgment to aggregating existing evidence to systematic replication efforts. Such assessments can require substantial time and effort. Research progress could be accelerated if there were rapid, scalable, accurate credibility indicators to guide attention and resource allocation for further assessment. The SCORE program is creating and validating algorithms to provide confidence scores for research claims at scale. To investigate the viability of scalable tools, teams are creating: a database of claims from papers in the social and behavioral sciences; expert and machine generated estimates of credibility; and, evidence of reproducibility, robustness, and replicability to validate the estimates. Beyond the primary research objective, the data and artifacts generated from this program will be openly shared and provide an unprecedented opportunity to examine research credibility and evidence

Relationship Between Age and Pathology With Treatment of Pediatric and Adolescent Discoid Lateral Meniscus: A Report From the SCORE Multicenter Database

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment options of discoid lateral meniscus in pediatric patients consist of saucerization with or without meniscal repair, meniscocapular stabilization, and, less often, subtotal meniscectomy. PURPOSE: To describe a large, prospectively collected multicenter cohort of discoid menisci undergoing surgical intervention, and further investigate corresponding treatment of discoid menisci. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: A multicenter quality improvement registry (16 institutions, 26 surgeons), Sports Cohort Outcomes Registry, was queried. Patient characteristics, discoid type, presence and type of intrasubstance meniscal tear, peripheral rim instability, repair technique, and partial meniscectomy/debridement beyond saucerization were reviewed. Discoid meniscus characteristics were compared between age groups (14 years old), based on receiver operating characteristic curve, and discoid morphology (complete and incomplete). RESULTS: In total, 274 patients were identified (mean age, 12.4 years; range, 3-18 years), of whom 55.6% had complete discoid. Meniscal repairs were performed in 55.1% of patients. Overall, 48.5% of patients had rim instability and 36.8% had \u3e1 location of peripheral rim instability. Of the patients, 21.5% underwent meniscal debridement beyond saucerization, with 8.4% undergoing a subtotal meniscectomy. Patients( CONCLUSION: To preserve physiological normal meniscus, a repair may be indicated in \u3e50% of patients14 years. Additional resection beyond the physiological rim may be needed in 15% of younger patients and 30% of those aged \u3e14 years

Use of Public Talk Tools in Integrated Farm System Planning

This article explains how public talk tools can be applied by Extension professionals to assist farm families and communities in critical thinking related to integrated farm system management. The National Issues Forum process developed by Kettering generates farm management decisions that are more sustainable because it encourages choice based on a wide array of variables rather than choices based primarily on single economic variables

Use of Hard Talk to Evaluate Grant Proposals

This article discusses application of Kettering\u27s Hard Talk process to selection of grant proposals within CES. Comparison is made between organized and disorganized selection processes. In addition to streamlining site visits, use of a tool such as Hard Talk also improved working relationships between local applicants and the project management team overseeing distribution of resources. The author calls for further research comparing Hard Talk to traditional approaches to resource distribution in Extension programming

Social Impact Assessment in Extension Educational Programming

This article opens a dialogue on whether or not Extension programming can be enhanced by inclusion of social impact assessments before initiatives are pursued at the county level. It is written to provoke reflection about previous and existing trends in program planning. References are made to journal articles and texts cited in the attached bibliography. The article concludes with a challenge to USDA to fund pilot projects that would help determine whether advantages of integrating SIA into program planning would outweigh disadvantages

Citizen Diplomacy Efforts Should Precede Policy Formation on Sustainable Agriculture

This commentary considers the absence of international and cross-cultural dialogue on development of sustainable agricultural policies and practices. The author calls for establishment of citizen diplomacy initiatives through the land- grant universities. Recent reports from conferences and studies on sustainable development are cited. Grass-roots deliberation of issues will prove useful in development of trade agreements. This dialogue also has potential for increasing community agency in international farm systems