Award Status Research Articles

Publication Rates of Poster and Podium Presentations at the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons Annual Meetings 2016 to 2019

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to provide the poster and podium publication rates from the 2016 to 2019 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) annual meetings and assess the quality of presentations ultimately published during this time. MethodsPosters and podiums from 2016 to 2019 were located through the AAHKS e-poster and meeting archives. Titles were queried on Google, Google Scholar, and PubMed. Presentation title, topic type, number of authors, degrees held by first author, and award status were collected. For each identified full-text publication, journal name, study type, dates of online and print publication, and journal impact factor (JIF) were also obtained. ResultsA total of 1,274 abstracts were presented at the 2016 to 2019 AAHKS annual meetings with an overall publication rate of 67.8% (864 of 1,274). Podiums (4.0 months, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.0 to 4.0) were more likely to be published earlier than posters (7.0 months, 95% CI: 6.0 to 7.0) (P < .001). The median JIF of published abstracts was 3.3 (95% CI: 3.3 to 3.7) with no significant difference in mean JIF of published posters or podiums (3.3 ± 1.0 versus 3.3 ± 1.0, P = .554). The likelihood of publication was significantly higher for podiums (odds ratio [OR]: 3.41, 95% CI: 2.29 to 5.07, P < .001), award-winning presentations (OR: 4.78, 95% CI: 1.69 to 13.55, P = .003), and with more authors (OR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02 to 1.16, P = .014). DiscussionThis analysis demonstrates abstracts presented at the AAHKS annual meetings from 2016 to 2019 had an overall publication rate of 67.8%, with podiums (86.4%) 3 times as likely to be published as posters (63.6%). If selected to present at the AAHKS annual meeting, individuals can be confident that their work has a high chance of eventual publication.

Do social media use and patient satisfaction scores correlate with online award recognition among hip and knee arthroplasty specialists?

IntroductionThe physician–patient interaction now begins before patients arrive in the office. Online ratings, social media profiles, and online award status are all components of physician online reputation which contributes to the patient's initial impressions. Therefore, it is important to understand the interplay of these factors and determine if there is a consistent trend indicating the value of this information. MethodsWe Identified all (N ​= ​160) registered American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) in New England using the https://findadoctor.aahks.net/tool for Massachusetts (MA), Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Vermont (VT), New Hampshire (NH), and Maine (ME) on 6/26/2023. We collected surgeon age, fellowship graduation year, and practice type (i.e. Academic or Private). The average 5-star rating and number of ratings were collected from four websites. Any professional-use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube Channel, Personal Websites, or Institutional Websites were identified and a modified SMI Score was calculated. Finally, Castle Connolly Top Doctor, Local Magazine (e.g. Boston Magazine) Top Doctor, or the presence of having any award was noted for each surgeon. ResultsWe identified several significant trends indicating that online awards were associated with higher online ratings. Social media presence, as determined by SMI Score, was also correlated with higher ratings overall and a higher likelihood of having an online award. ConclusionGiven the observed trends and reported importance patients place on ratings and awards, surgeons may consider increasing online engagement via social media and encouraging patients to share their experience via online ratings.

Industry-Specific Profile of COVID-19-Related Workers' Compensation Claims in New York State.

This study aimed to characterize the distribution and award status of COVID-19-related workers' compensation (WC) claims in New York State (NYS) for 2020 and 2021. Characteristics and filing rates of COVID-19 claims were described by industry, time of illness, and award status. Nursing care facilities' claims were compared with the recorded nursing home staff COVID-19 infections and deaths reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) during the same period. Of 29,814 COVID-19 claims, 21.9% were awarded benefits, although 86.8% of the claimants worked in essential industries. Of the 46,505 CMS-recorded COVID-19 infections, 1.4% resulted in a claim and 7.2% of the 111 CMS-recorded deaths received death benefits. The NYS WC program has provided very modest support to essential workers for the likely work-related burden of the pandemic in NYS.

The Seven Great Philanthropists in the view of Ki.Va. Jagannathan

Mannan is distinguished in war and valour. The king may be a Vendan, a petty king or a Philanthropist. Such persons are distinguished by their gifts rather than by war and valor. In this way people like Velbari, Began, Kari, Ai, Nalli, Atiyan, Ori etc. are mentioned. Ki.Va. Jagannathan has written a book called 'Eluperu Vallals' about these philanthropists. Awards and prizes are given from time to time by organizations such as the government to encourage creators. Especially nowadays, awards such as Sahitya Academy Award, Jnan Peetha Award, Tamil Nadu Government Award etc. are given. In this way in order to analyze the book 'Eluperu Vallals' among their various nationalized books, this review is based on the news about Kadayelu Vallals found in the Sangam literature. This article examines the status of creations and awards, nationalized books, works of Ki.Va. Jagannathan, Vallams and Kodaim, Velbari, Bagan, Bhakti, Kari, Ori, Ai, Nalli and Vallams.

Abstract NS7: Steps To An Early And Successful Adoption Of Iv Tenecteplase By A Large Integrated Medical System

Background: In 2020, a large integrated healthcare system consisting of 21 stroke centers implemented IV tenecteplase as the first line pharmaceutical treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) prior to universal adoption in national clinical practice guidelines and FDA approval for stroke. Purpose: To describe the steps taken for successful implementation of IV tenecteplase as a first therapy for AIS in 21 stroke centers, part of an integrated system. Methods: Pre-implementation steps included gaining systemwide acceptance, especially from key stakeholders such as emergency department staff, patient care services, tele-stroke and neurology physicians, as well as risk management. We addressed potential impacts to related to reimbursement, stroke certification, and national award status. Inclusive changes were made to related policy and procedures, order sets, and other documentation. Standardized training and beta-testing were conducted and a sequential roll-out implemented along the real-time central monitoring. Results: Stakeholder groups were engaged prior to implementation with town halls and in-person and desktop simulation exercises. Beta-testing took place in August 2020 with three pilot sites with full system wide implementation by Nov. 2020. Since full implementation, tenecteplase is the only thrombolytic that has been ordered (n=423). Door in door out times have decreased (median 131 minutes pre- to 88 minutes post; p&lt;0.05). In addition, symptomatic ICH rates have decreased by greater than 50% (p&lt;0.05) and there are no reports of systemic bleeding or angioedema. Conclusion: Tenecteplase has been shown to be safe and feasible as a first line thrombolytic within our organization. Strong nurse and physician leads, as well as thoughtful and inclusive implementation steps were key in the successful adoption of this system-wide change.

Abstract 12791: Facility Characteristics Associated With High-Performing Outpatient Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Program Awardees

Background: The American Heart Association (AHA) developed an outpatient recognition program centered around the care of patients with type 2 diabetes as part of the Know Diabetes by Heart initiative. The program offers two levels of recognition, Participant and Gold. With over 500 outpatient organizations in the program, specific facility characteristics and component protocols were analyzed to determine what variables increased a site’s likelihood of being a Gold awardee. Methods: The AHA Quality and Analytics team examined multiple data sets from 470 (203 Gold, 267 Participant) award winning facilities. 2020 recognition level was based on aggregate patient data from the 2019 calendar year and self-identified facility characteristics. Univariate regression modeling was carried out to determine facility characteristics that contributed to a site achieving Gold or Participant Target: Type 2 Diabetes award which are displayed in table 1. Results: Higher percentage of Gold-level recipients implemented more treatment plans and protocols for their patients compared to Participant-level recipients. This trend also exists in activities that elevated standard of care for all patients such as assessing for comorbidities, lifestyle modification, and motivation and depression. Conclusion: Facilities characterized as having multiple components in treatment protocols in T2D patients, diabetes self-management and education (DSME), and defined protocols for use of pharmacologic therapy had higher likelihood of achieving Gold award status. In contrast, smaller, non-academic, and high minority population organization were less likely to achieve Gold status, highlighting the care disparities that still need to be addressed. Resources focused on assisting facilities to adopt these evidence-based protocols could help organizations further elevate their T2D management practices, achieve improved patient outcomes and award levels for all organization types.

How Useful is Bourdieu’s Notion of Cultural Capital for Describing Literary Markets?

AbstractBourdieu’s concepts of cultural capital and field, developed in the 1970s and 1980s, still provide systematic reference points for studies interested in literary cultures under market conditions. These concepts have found resonance in studies observing the changing organisation, structure, and social positions involved in the writing, reading, and circulation of literature. While both the conceptual clarity and the historical results Bourdieu achieved (in particular in his studyThe Rules of Art, originally published in 1992) have come under attack, both his key concepts and his multi-method approach function as a theoretical toolbox for present studies. The article discusses three studies (Childress 2017; English 2005; Guillory 1993) which make use of Bourdieu’s concept of capital in order to describe contemporary US publishing, the role of literary canons in higher education, and the status of literary awards. I argue that Bourdieu’s framework is productive in these cases when it is used in a heuristic way, when the idea of cultural and social capital is considered as processes and practices of valuation, and when it points to the political aspects of economies.

Why does Gojek fail to maintain the Top Brand Award?

This study aims to understand the factors that cause Gojek to fail to maintain the Top Brand Award status. To answer the research objectives, the study build a conceptual framework with brand images as a mediating variable of service quality, product, promotion, and price on purchasing decisions. The research sample was 100 respondents. Test of research instruments using factor analysis for validity, and Cronbach Alpha for reliability and use multiple linear regression for data analysis. The result of this study found that the failure of Gojek to maintain the status of the Top Brand Award was caused by the company's lack of strengthening the driving variables. The statement is based on the finding that only price having a significant positive effect on brand images, while service quality, product, and promotion are not significant. The result makes the total impact of exogenous variables less optimal in increasing purchasing decisions.

The Acceleration of the Development of International Business Mediation after the Singapore Convention

Litigation is generally a procedural mechanism to solve the disputes that people seek to avoid. It is expensive, time consuming, emotionally draining and unpredictable. Alternative dispute resolution, such as arbitration first, and mediation afterwards, became therefore very popular. In line with the general trend towards the development of a settled justice, the Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation (hereinafter referred to as the “Singapore Convention”) will enter into force on 12 September 2020 with the well-expressed intention to promote mediation as the most privileged tool for the resolution of international commercial dispute. The Convention establishes an international legal framework for the enforcement of settlements reached through mediation, and set forth a very limited number of requirements thereon. Consequently, the private contractual settlement agreement is granted a status comparable to the arbitral award status resulting from the application of the New York Convention. The Singapore Convention will alter the dispute resolution market by challenging its users and practitioners in their way to foresee the conflict itself and its resolution mechanisms.

Abstract TP294: Can Stroke Systems of Care Improve Measure Compliance and Outcomes Through Statewide Hospital Collaboration?

Background: The Stroke Encounter Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP) launched in 2009 as a statewide voluntary initiative and collaboration between the American Heart Association, the Kentucky Department for Public Health and 16 acute care hospitals interested in improving stroke care in their communities. The mission is to advance acute stroke care and reduce disparities in Kentucky by: establishing a network that encourages and supports collaboration; increases access to stroke care by targeting underserved areas; provides opportunities to share resources related to program development and proficiency across the continuum of care; and promotes quality outcomes and standardization of care through collegiality and use of evidence-based guidelines and research collaboration. Purpose: The goal of this unfunded initiative (now in its tenth year) has been to increase adherence to evidence-based guidelines for stroke patients by implementing a unified statewide effort. Methods: Get With The Guidelines-Stroke data were reviewed with the founding 16 SEQIP hospitals and adherence to evidence-based guidelines was measured and analyzed over a 10-year period. Results: SEQIP has grown to a network of 35 hospitals with 23 submitting data; patient records increased from 4358 (2008) to 10015 (2018); hospitals achieving Gold GWTG award status increased from 4 to 16; certified stroke centers grew from 4 to 32 decreasing geographic barriers to the nearest certified center; and, SEQIP hospitals achieved statistically significant improvement in all stroke measures. Conclusions: With deployment of strategically targeted action plans and expected accountability, competing hospitals can collaborate on a statewide level. Sharing of best practices across organizations can empower stroke teams to implement effective strategies within the confines of their resources to achieve collective goals.

The CMS State Innovation Models Initiative and Improved Health Information Technology and Care Management Capabilities of Physician Practices.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) State Innovation Models (SIMs) initiative funded 17 states to implement health care payment and delivery system reforms to improve health system performance. Whether SIM improved health information technology (HIT) and care management capabilities of physician practices, however, remains unclear. National surveys of physician practices (N = 2,722) from 2012 to 2013 and 2017 to 2018 were linked. Multivariable regression estimated differential adoption of 10 HIT functions and chronic care management processes (CMPs) based on SIM award status (SIM Round 1, SIM Round 2, or non-SIM). HIT and CMP capabilities improved equally for practices in SIM Round 1 (5.3 vs. 6.8 capabilities, p < .001), SIM Round 2 (4.7 vs. 7.0 capabilities, p < .001), and non-SIM (4.2 vs. 6.3 capabilities, p < .001) states. The CMS SIM Initiative did not accelerate the adoption of ten foundational physician practice capabilities beyond national trends.

A new institutional orientation of the development of science, knowledge and human capital in Poland versus integrated development

The author of the paper demonstrates that in order to overcome contemporary developmental threats, it is necessary to shift towards a new model of the knowledge-based economy. The features of this model are compared with both the American model of the innovation-driven economy and the European model of the knowledge-based economy. Against this specific background, the drawbacks are presented of reforms carried out in the knowledge sector in Poland since 1990. The focus is placed on an analysis of the reforms in science and higher education implemented in Poland since late 2018. Despite the fact that it was based on recommendations of the new public management system, the author considers not only the strengths but also the weaknesses of the approach, and the fact that the latter may prove to be an obstacle in the modernisation of human capital, which is to effectively harmonise development goals in all spheres of human existence and activity. The author calls for the following solutions to limit the drawbacks referred to above: inviting an observer to the University Council in an advisory capacity, launching a path of individual-oriented interdisciplinary research grants, introducing a reliable process for the university and its organisational units to account for the actual implementation of previously declared programmes of scientific development, student teaching and transference of own achievements, mandating and standardisation of student appraisals in teaching programmes, development of a criterion matrix as a reference for promotions related to teaching achievements, enhancing the status of awards for teaching excellence, with obligatory and permanent monitoring of management procedures at universities in order to reduce bureaucracy.

Perception of Indian physiotherapists about awards: a survey

Background: World has become more awards centric probably because of the desire to recognize achievement is an integral part of being human. Awards and trophies are big business in 21st century and they are given to people of all ages by all kind of organizations. Physiotherapy profession has a long history of awards all over the globe but the current status of physiotherapy awards in India is hardly studied, documented or published in recent times and hence to get an insight of the same this survey research was done by inviting physiotherapy professionals with varying work experience, professional qualifications and achievements across the country.Methods: A qualitative research approach was used to conduct an online survey of physiotherapists in India. A brief questionnaire with basic information and strategic questions about awards and perception of physiotherapists were used for this purpose.Results: Informants reported that there hardly any award given by government to recognize the contribution of physiotherapists to the society. Most of they believed that it’s because of lack of political will and absence of central regulatory authority or council for physiotherapy profession in India. Most of them were happy about the award given by nongovernmental organizations but were not satisfied with its credibility, transparency in the process and selection of winners and felt mostly it’s a biased practice.Conclusions: There is need for some sort of awards and recognition of physiotherapists’ contribution to health care and the society by government and the process of selection for some nongovernmental awards need to be more transparent and unbiased.

Status Quo of Enforcing Commercial Arbitral Awards in the People’s Republic of China: An Empirical Study of the Enforcement Practices in China’s Two Economically Less-Developed Regions

This article gives some insights into the practices for enforcing commercial arbitral awards in China’s two anonymized economically less-developed regions. By virtue of the empirical and qualitative data contributed by empirical research, this article depicts this theme from three aspects, namely, the general sociocultural environment for enforcement; practitioners’ perceptions; and the enforcement status of arbitral awards, highlighting the gaps between legislative perceptions and real-life practices. This article concludes that China’s current sociocultural environment is suitable for accommodating the rapid growth of commercial arbitration, which indicates that the collision between modern arbitration practice and the sociocultural environment is unlikely to constitute a cause of difficulty in the China-seated enforcement of arbitral awards. This article also notes an innate scepticism towards the country’s arbitration practice among Chinese practitioners, which could affect their perceptions towards the development prospect of commercial arbitration and the enforceability of arbitral awards, despite the pro-arbitration attitude shared by Chinese judicial organs. Meanwhile, the article observes preliminary evidence showing the impact of Chinese culture on the country’s enforcement practices. Finally, the article statistically portrays the enforcement status of arbitral awards in the concerned regions, showing the regionally differentiated enforcement rates, competence of Chinese courts and other issues involved.

USMLE Step 2 CK: Best Predictor of Multimodal Performance in an Internal Medicine Residency.

Internal medicine (IM) residency programs receive information about applicants via academic transcripts, but studies demonstrate wide variability in satisfaction with and usefulness of this information. In addition, many studies compare application materials to only 1 or 2 assessment metrics, usually standardized test scores and work-based observational faculty assessments. We sought to determine which application materials best predict performance across a broad array of residency assessment outcomes generated by standardized testing and a yearlong IM residency ambulatory long block. In 2019, we analyzed available Electronic Residency Application Service data for 167 categorical IM residents, including advanced degree status, research experience, failures during medical school, undergraduate medical education award status, and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores. We compared these with post-match residency multimodal performance, including standardized test scores and faculty member, peer, allied health professional, and patient-level assessment measures. In multivariate analyses, USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) scores were most predictive of performance across all residency performance domains measured. Having an advanced degree was associated with higher patient-level assessments (eg, physician listens, physician explains, etc). USMLE Step 1 scores were associated with in-training examination scores only. None of the other measured application materials predicted performance. USMLE Step 2 CK scores were the highest predictors of residency performance across a broad array of performance measurements generated by standardized testing and an IM residency ambulatory long block.

Examination of Quality and Branding on Olive Oil in Turkey

Bu araştırmada, dünyada önemli zeytin ve zeytinyağı üreticisi ülkeler arasında yer alan Türkiye’nin kaliteli ve markalı zeytinyağı üretimindeki durumu incelenmiştir. Dünyada olduğu gibi Türkiye’de de kaliteli zeytinyağı üretiminde; zeytinin çeşidi, yetiştiği yöredeki iklim ve toprak, üretimde uygulanan kültürel işlemler, emek-yoğun hasat ve zeytini yağa işleme ve sonrasındaki işletme şartlarının en önemli kriterler olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Bu kriterlerin sağlanması koşuluyla üretilen zeytinyağında, kalite ve markalaşmanın tescillenmesinde ise ulusal ve uluslararası yarışmaların önemi büyüktür. Nitekim bu araştırmada, Türkiye’nin kaliteli ve markalı üretimine önem veren, özel ve özenli üretim yapan, kendilerini butik üretici olarak ifade eden ulusal ve uluslararası zeytinyağı kalite yarışmalarına katılıp ödül alan, kalite ve markalarını tescillendiren 21 adet firma sahibi ile görüşülmüştür. Bu 21 adet firmanın 5 adedi uluslararası, 8 adedi ulusal ve 8 adedi hem ulusal hem de uluslararası yarışmalardan ödül almıştır. Araştırmada nicel ve nitel yöntem kullanılmış, yarı yapılandırılmış derinlemesine mülakat sonucu elde edilen veriler, nitel yöntem gereği kodlanarak sınıflandırılmıştır. Ayrıca söz konusu zeytinyağı firmalarının sosyo- demografik özellikleri, işletme kapasiteleri, marka tanınırlıkları ve yarışmalardan aldıkları ödül durumlarını içeren veriler, nicel yöntem gereği gruplar arasında farklılıkları, Kruskal Wallis Testi ile incelenmiştir. Diğer yandan ulusal ve uluslararası yarışmaların kalite ve markalaşma sürecini olumlu etkilenmekte olduğu, firmaların ulusal ve uluslararası rekabet güçlerini test edildiğini ve uluslararası platformda tanınırlıklarının sağlandığı anlaşılmıştır.

Association Between Hospital Recognition for Resuscitation Guideline Adherence and Rates of Survival for In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Background Hospitals participating in the national Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry receive an award for high rates of adherence to quality metrics for in-hospital cardiac arrest. We sought to evaluate whether awards based on these quality metrics can be considered a proxy for performance on cardiac arrest survival. Methods and Results Among 195 hospitals with continuous participation in Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation between 2012 and 2015, we identified 78 that received an award (Gold or Silver) for ≥85% compliance for all 4 metrics for in-hospital cardiac arrest-time to chest compressions, ≤1 minute; time to defibrillation, ≤2 minutes; device confirmation of endotracheal tube placement; and a monitored/witnessed arrest-for at least 12 consecutive months during 2014 to 2015. Award hospitals had higher cardiac arrest volumes than nonaward hospitals but otherwise had similar site characteristics. During 2014 to 2015, award hospitals had higher rates of return of spontaneous circulation for in-hospital cardiac arrest than nonaward hospitals (median [interquartile range], 71% [64%-77%] versus 66% [59%-74%]; Spearman ρ, 0.19; P=0.009). However, rates of risk-standardized survival to discharge at award hospitals (median, 25% [interquartile range, 22%-30%]) were similar to nonaward hospitals (median, 24% [interquartile range, 12%-27%]; Spearman ρ, 0.13; P=0.06). Among hospitals in the best tertile for survival to discharge in 2014 to 2015, 55.4% (36/65) did not receive an award, with poor discrimination of high-performing hospitals by award status (C statistic, 0.53). Similarly, there was only a weak association between hospitals' award status in 2014 to 2015 and their rates of survival to discharge in the preceding 2-year period (Spearman ρ, 0.16; P=0.03). Conclusions The current recognition mechanism within a national registry for in-hospital cardiac arrest captures hospital performance on return of spontaneous circulation but is not well correlated with survival to discharge. This suggests that current awards for resuscitation quality may not adequately capture hospital performance on overall survival-the outcome of greatest interest to patients.

Characteristics of younger women Veterans with service connected disabilities

ObjectivesThere has been an increase in the number of women Veterans with service connected disabilities, which are illnesses or injuries incurred or aggravated during military service. We compared military service and disability characteristics in women and men ≤50 years of age. MethodsThis study included 4,029,672 living Veterans who had at least 1 service connected condition and an active award status as of October 1, 2016. The date of last award as well as demographic, military service, and disability characteristics were obtained from the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) VETSNET file. ResultsAmong 388,947 women Veterans with service connected conditions, almost 60% (n = 231,364) were ≤50 years of age. Roughly 55% of both women and men ≤50 years had a ≥50% combined rating, although there were differences with respect to individual service connected conditions. Women less often had service connected post traumatic stress disorder (23% vs 32%), but more often had major depression (15% vs 7%). While traumatic brain disease was more common in men, migraine headache was much more common in women (32% vs 18%). Less than half had a VA outpatient visit in the previous year. ConclusionsThe findings of significant numbers of younger women with service connected PTSD, depression, or migraine headache should be considered within the context of post deployment health. These findings raise questions regarding outreach to women Veterans who have these conditions, but do not use VA health care.

Introduction: The Performance of Pan-Africanism

Introduction:The Performance of Pan-Africanism Tsitsi Jaji, Martin Munro, and David Murphy In recent years, animated debates about African literature have continued to unfold. The heated questions engaged include who may or may not be an African writer; what geography, lineage, and citizenship have to do with this question; and whom such writers write for. The field of African literary studies, then, increasingly incorporates a plethora of structures well beyond the world of text. Authors are not only in close collaboration with their editors and publishing houses, but also with a panoply of promotional structures whose best function is to connect writing with reading and, most importantly, writers with their readers. To publish a book with Cassava Republic in Nigeria, Kwani in Kenya, Modjaji in South Africa, Becky Ayebia Clarke in the UK, or the African Poetry Book Fund/Nebraska in the US may signal success, but publishing with traditional presses alone no longer secures the visibility that prizes, festivals, conferences, and other sites of literary sociality do. And at the same time, the renewed vitality of such structures on the African continent has drawn out new controversies over the status of well-established awards in the Global North. It is certainly the case that, nearly twenty years after its introduction, the Caine Prize for African Fiction remains deeply influential even as some of its very own laureates call into question its relevance. Rather than a choice between legitimacy and cooption, however, the most hopeful result of such debates is the rise of other awards like the Kwani Book Award and the Etisalat (now 9mobile) Book Award. Alongside these we have seen a vast expansion of book events, extending the history of the fifty-year-old Cairo International Book Fair into new territory with events like the Aké Arts and Book Festival in Abeokuta, Babishai Niwe Poetry Festival in Kampala, Storymoja, Writivism, Time of the Writer, and more. At the same time, African writers, particularly women, are finding unprecedented welcome and headline-making advances from major publishing houses of the US and Europe, with presses like Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; Norton; Knopf; Random House; and others. When we find Chimamanda Adichie on the cover of Ms. Magazine, or Warsan Shire not only sampled, but in fact providing many of the lyrics for Beyoncé's most successful album, Lemonade, we know that African literature has entered a new era. Or has it? The articles in this dossier emerged from a conference convened on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the First World Festival of Black Art and Culture (Le Premier Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres) in Dakar, Senegal, in 1966.1 When co-organizers David Murphy, Martin Munro, and Tsitsi Jaji issued [End Page vii] the call for papers for Performance of Pan-Africanism: From Colonial Exhibitions to Black and African Cultural Festivals, we invited participants to think about the long history of such arts festivals, to reflect on the sometimes unsettling continuities between colonial exhibitions, world's fairs, and other large-scale spectacles of culture and later cultural festivals, but also to consider the ways that local histories and practices of gathering for durbars, masquerades, and other community rites reverberated in the state-sponsored arts festival of 1966. Because that festival was organized by the founding editor of Présence Africaine, Alioune Diop, and sponsored by Senegal's poet-president Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar '66 has proven an especially rich vantage point from which to consider earlier efforts at collocating African writers and locating them within broader frameworks, particularly in relation to others in the African diaspora. The festival also serves as a frame through which to think about the performances that authors and artists engage in today in the many spaces where their presence translates to an excess beyond their oeuvre, producing forms of distinction, celebrity, and marketability that challenge our more text-based methodologies. From a literary standpoint, Dakar '66's most obvious predecessors include the 1956 Congress of Black Writers and Artists also convened by Alioune Diop, in Paris, and its second iteration in 1959 in Rome. For Anglophone writers and scholars, the Makerere conference for writers of English-language expression in...

A Professional Profile of an Award Winning Instructional Team

A collaborative effort between members of an instructional design team is the focus of this co-authored professional profile. The purpose of the collaboration was to design a unique and pedagogically sound online general psychology course, with the focus of promoting student engagement and retention. The instructional team prepared for the collaboration by attending professional development and coordinating schedules. Weekly brainstorming sessions were used to develop a course to meet the needs of diverse learners. The course was submitted to Blackboard Inc.'s Exemplary Course Program (ECP), and in March of 2018, the team received news of their exemplary award status. This profile highlights the preparation required and the methods used to collaborate to design an award-winning course.