As responsible educators, it is time we admitted that we do not know what 'online' education is. We also need to confront the discomforting realisation that no one else does, either.
The term ...'online' has reached the stage where it is now so inclusive as to be meaningless. In embracing too much, it describes nothing. What was once a useful term to describe using the internet as part of asynchronous distance education is now used universally, to describe almost anything. Lectured, synchronous classes are now 'online' (Johnson et al., 2022). Emergency remote teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic was 'online'. Including additional resources on an LMS for students to refer to after class is considered ‘online’. Across much of the educational spectrum, to be 'online' now is far from unusual.
In this commentary I make the case that the term 'online' needs a forced retirement, or, at the least, additional context when it is applied.
The term ‘data’ functions as a powerful frame for discourse about how knowledge is derived and privileges certain ways of knowing over others. Through its ambiguity, the term can foster a ...self–perpetuating sensibility that ‘data’ is incontrovertible, something to question the meaning or the veracity of, but not the existence of. This article critically examines the concept of ‘data’ within larger questions of research method and frameworks for scientific inquiry. The current dominance of the term ‘data’ and ‘big data’ in discussions of scientific inquiry as well as everyday advertising focuses our attention on only certain aspects of the research process. The author suggests deliberately decentering the term, to explore nuanced frames for describing the materials, processes, and goals of inquiry.
An operational definition of frailty is important for clinical care, research, and policy planning. The literature on the clinical definitions, screening tools, and severity measures of frailty were ...systematically reviewed as part of the Canadian Initiative on Frailty and Aging. Searches of MEDLINE from 1997 to 2009 were conducted, and reference lists of retrieved articles were pearled, to identify articles published in English and French on the identification of frailty in community‐dwelling people aged 65 and older. Two independent reviewers extracted descriptive information on study populations, frailty criteria, and outcomes from the selected papers, and quality rankings were assigned. Of 4,334 articles retrieved from the searches and 70 articles retrieved from the pearling, 22 met study inclusion criteria. In the 22 articles, physical function, gait speed, and cognition were the most commonly used identifying components of frailty, and death, disability, and institutionalization were common outcomes. The prevalence of frailty ranged from 5% to 58%. Despite significant work over the past decade, a clear consensus definition of frailty does not emerge from the literature. The definition and outcomes that best suit the unique needs of the researchers, clinicians, or policy‐makers conducting the screening determine the choice of a screening tool for frailty. Important areas for further research include whether disability should be considered a component or an outcome of frailty. In addition, the role of cognitive and mood elements in the frailty construct requires further clarification.
The concept of the 'stakeholder' has become central to business, yet there is no common consensus as to what the concept of a stakeholder means, with hundreds of different published definitions ...suggested. Whilst every concept is liable to be contested, for stakeholder research, this is problematic for both theoretical and empirical analysis. This article explores whether this lack of consensus is conceptual confusion, which would benefit from further debate to try to reach a higher degree of elucidation, or whether the stakeholder concept is essentially contested, rendering the quest to seek a singular definition unfeasible. The theory of essentially contested concepts was proposed by Gallie (Proc Aristot Soc 56: 167-198, 1956). The seven criteria Gallie prescribes for evaluating essentially contested concepts are applied to the stakeholder concept. The analysis suggests that this concept is an essentially contested concept and this explains the degree of definitional variation.
The Valve Academic Research Consortium (VARC), founded in 2010, was intended to (i) identify appropriate clinical endpoints and (ii) standardize definitions of these endpoints for transcatheter and ...surgical aortic valve clinical trials. Rapid evolution of the field, including the emergence of new complications, expanding clinical indications, and novel therapy strategies have mandated further refinement and expansion of these definitions to ensure clinical relevance. This document provides an update of the most appropriate clinical endpoint definitions to be used in the conduct of transcatheter and surgical aortic valve clinical research.
Several years after the publication of the VARC-2 manuscript, an in-person meeting was held involving over 50 independent clinical experts representing several professional societies, academic research organizations, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and industry representatives to (i) evaluate utilization of VARC endpoint definitions in clinical research, (ii) discuss the scope of this focused update, and (iii) review and revise specific clinical endpoint definitions. A writing committee of independent experts was convened and subsequently met to further address outstanding issues. There were ongoing discussions with FDA and many experts to develop a new classification schema for bioprosthetic valve dysfunction and failure. Overall, this multi-disciplinary process has resulted in important recommendations for data reporting, clinical research methods, and updated endpoint definitions. New definitions or modifications of existing definitions are being proposed for repeat hospitalizations, access site-related complications, bleeding events, conduction disturbances, cardiac structural complications, and bioprosthetic valve dysfunction and failure (including valve leaflet thickening and thrombosis). A more granular 5-class grading scheme for paravalvular regurgitation (PVR) is being proposed to help refine the assessment of PVR. Finally, more specific recommendations on quality-of-life assessments have been included, which have been targeted to specific clinical study designs.
Acknowledging the dynamic and evolving nature of less-invasive aortic valve therapies, further refinements of clinical research processes are required. The adoption of these updated and newly proposed VARC-3 endpoints and definitions will ensure homogenous event reporting, accurate adjudication, and appropriate comparisons of clinical research studies involving devices and new therapeutic strategies.
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This article reviews ‘event tourism’ as both professional practice and a field of academic study. The origins and evolution of research on event tourism are pinpointed through both chronological and ...thematic literature reviews. A conceptual model of the core phenomenon and key themes in event tourism studies is provided as a framework for spurring theoretical advancement, identifying research gaps, and assisting professional practice. Conclusions are in two parts: a discussion of implications for the practice of event management and tourism, and implications are drawn for advancing theory in event tourism.
Задача статьи – концептуализация доверия как личного блага. Актуальность задачи обусловлена тем, что сегодня социальный капитал одновременно изучают в разных парадигмах – личного и общественного ...блага, – вследствие чего невозможно дать ему четкое определение. Одна из причин этой двойственности в том, что в разных парадигмах изучают ключевой элемент социального капитала – доверие. Правопорядок и личная репутация создают доверие к человеку, но первый обычно считают достоянием общества, а вторую – конкретной личности. В этом свете актуализируется возможность концептуализации доверия исключительно в одной из парадигм. Сначала автор описывает свою концепцию социального капитала, дает определение доверия и описывает его роль в контексте социального капитала. Затем источники доверия делятся на три типа: свойства субъекта, свойства объекта и свойства контекста. На этой основе выделяются три чистых типа доверия (базовое, личное, коллективное) и одно составное (категориальное). Далее они последовательно привязываются к конкретной социальной единице при помощи вспомогательной концепции коллектива, демонстрируя принципиальную возможность концептуализации доверия как личного блага. Отдельное внимание уделяется роли институтов в создании доверия, которые автор предлагает считать свойствами коллектива. В заключении описывается логика преобразования видов доверия друг в друга.
The notion of definition is a central building block of mathematics. In addition to specific definitions, it is desirable that students learn about meta-mathematical aspects of definitions such as ...their role of classification, and about characteristics of definitions such as arbitrariness. We investigated how such meta-mathematical aspects emerge when students are led to construct a definition such as point of inflection or tangent line, and how the constructing process interacts with meta-mathematical aspects. We used Abstraction in Context as theoretical framework because of its suitability to analyze processes of knowledge construction. We found that meta-mathematical aspects of definitions influence and are influenced by students’ processes of constructing definitions. We argue that awareness of meta-mathematical aspects improves students’ conception of mathematical definitions.
Background Significant variation in length of inpatient stay (LOS) exists across hospitals in the UK.1 It is not clear whether demographic, clinical and/or process factors, in particular ...socio-economic position (SEP) can explain this. Studies examining the association between LOS and SEP have been inconclusive, possibly due to differences in the definition of prolonged LOS.2–7 Study design A retrospective audit of 2889 children aged less than 16 years admitted to two District General Hospitals in London from 1st April 2009 to 30th March 2010, each with different models of paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) service delivery. Hospital A A&E was paediatric and Hospital B A&E led. Exposure measures Demographic, clinical characteristics and process factors were examined (Tables 1 & 2). SEP was measured by quartile of Income deprivation affecting children index (IDACI). Abstract G478(P) Table 1 LOS: Length of stay; IDACI: Income deprivation affecting children index; A&E: Accident and emergency *Data was complete for all variables except for distance lived from hospital (n=2812) due to missing postcode # Quartile of IDACI was calculated in absolute terms for the total dataset not by hospital ± Univariate analysis of continuous variables using t-test (parametric) or Mann-Whitney (non-parametric) and of categorical variables using chi2 Abstract G478(P) Table 2 LOS: Length of stay; IDACI: Income deprivation affecting children index; A&E: Accident and Emergency *Data was complete for all variables except for distance lived from hospital (n=2812) due to missing postcode # Quartile of IDACI was calculated in absolute terms for the total dataset not by hospital ± Univariate analysis of continuous variables using t-test (parametric) or Mann-Whitney (non-parametric) and of categorical variables using chi2 Methods Prolonged LOS was defined as greater than or equal to the mean length of stay (1.8 days). Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were performed. Sensitivity analysis was carried out using two other definitions of length of stay. Results A fifth of children stayed less than 24 hours and almost two fifths more than the mean of 1.8 days. Adjusted for age, sex and admission hospital, being in the 3rd most deprived IDACI quartile was associated with increased odds of prolonged LOS (Model 1: Odds Ratio (OR) 1.26, 95% Confidence interval (CI) 1.01, 1.56) (Table 3). This association was attenuated by additional adjustment for clinical and process factors (Table 3, Models 3 & 4). In contrast, adjusting for demographic, clinical and process factors strengthened the association between admission to Hospital B and prolonged LOS (Model 4: OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.16, 1.71). These associations were not consistent using different definitions of prolonged LOS. Abstract G478(P) Table 3 OR: Odds ratio; CI: confidence interval; A&E: Accident and emergency; ref: reference category; IDACI: Income deprivation affecting children index; LOS: Length of stay; β co-e: β co-efficient Conclusion The association between SEP and prolonged LOS is weak and inconsistent and depends on the definition used and the consideration of other potential confounding factors. These findings suggest that service configuration may account for some of the variation in LOS between hospitals in the UK; alternatively they could be due to residual confounding. Model 1: Adjusted for age (groups), gender admission hospital and quartile of IDACI; as defined in Tables 1 and 2 Model 2: additionally adjusted for ethnicity (group) – as defined in Tables 1 and 2. Model 3: Additionally adjusted for final diagnosis, medical or surgical specialty and number of hospital admissions during the study period Model 4: Additionally adjusted for source of admission, weekend or week day admission, season of admission and time of admission – as defined in Tables 1 and 2
Introduction. Dr. Nicolaisen has claimed a refutation of the definition of relevance as provided by the present author. This present paper responds to Nicolaisen's paper. Method. Hjørland's original ...definition of relevance is exemplified and each of Nicolaisen's arguments are examined. Results. All Nicolaisen' arguments failed to consider the differences between defining the concept of relevance and the measurement instances of it. His arguments are, therefore, misdirected and irrelevant. Furthermore, his 'refutation' resembles the well-known mythical 'proof' that bumblebees cannot fly. Conclusion. It is concluded that the relevance definition under discussion is still valid and it is the most fruitful one that has been suggested so far.
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