Form Of Debate Research Articles

Online Debates to Enhance Critical Thinking in Pharmacotherapy

To assess the impact of teaching strategies on the complexity and structure of students' arguments and type of informal reasoning used in arguments. Students were given an introduction to argumentation followed by 2 formal debates, with feedback provided in between. Four debate groups were randomly selected for evaluation. In debate 1, all groups posted 1 argument, and all 4 arguments were rationalistic and ranked as high-level arguments. In debate 2, members of the 4 groups posted a total of 33 arguments, which were evaluated and received an overall median ranking lower than that for debate 1. All debates were categorized as rationalistic. Students were able to formulate rationalistic arguments to therapeutic controversies; however, their level of argumentation decreased over the course of the study. Changes planned for the future include conducting the debates in the context of patient scenarios to increase practical applicability.

Anecdotes from ITMAT: Building Capacity for Translational Science

Penn’s Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT) is the world’s first academic structure devoted to translational science. With programmatic, infrastructural, and educational components, it has more than 2,000 members drawn from all the schools of Penn, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the Wistar and Monell Institutes, and the University of the Sciences. The conception, development, and features of ITMAT are discussed here along with lessons learned over the past nine years. What do we mean by translational science? It means so many different things to different people—and perhaps that partly explains why it has been controversial. I was initially asked to write an article in support of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Consortium and its relevance to bioinnovation; this was to be the “pro” article in a debate format. When the editors were unsuccessful in recruiting a CTSA principal investigator (PI) to adopt the “con” position (in a public forum), it was suggested that I take the opportunity to argue with myself. Although perverse, this proposition was tempting; Dubliners have never formed a movement without rapidly progressing to the split. However, given that ITMAT was the world’s first academic entity designed specifically to foster translational science, I thought it might be more helpful to reflect on the evolution of the concept, its reduction to practice, and lessons learned. We could then consider the challenges and the opportunities confronting the CTSA program in the future—among them how best to foster bioinnovation. A word of caution: reflections on this Joycean journey are from a strictly personal perspective.

A Study on Understanding and the Application of Debate Formats for Classroom Teaching

A Study on Understanding and the Application of Debate Formats for Classroom Teaching

La corruzione del ludico: un rischio di oggi e un’emergenza educativa. Riflessioni pedagogico-didattiche

Using debate as an effective educational tool means choosing a suitable debate format for accomplishing the pedagogical aims we have in mind. Thus, the aim of this paper is to understand how each debate format relates to the competencies it promotes. It is only through knowing how competencies are stimulated by specific rules of debate formats that we are able to make a reasoned and effective choice.

The Use of Online Debates in Teaching Pharmacotherapy

Given changes in the final year pharmacotherapy unit structure and calendar, along with a need to introduce assessments to encourage critical thinking, it was decided that online debates of therapeutic controversies would be beneficial. The primary objective was to assess the impact of teaching strategies on the development of argumentation skills and informal reasoning in pharmacy students. Students were provided with an introduction to argumentation followed by two formal debates, with feedback provided in between. Four debate groups were randomly selected for evaluation. In debate one, all groups posted one argument and all arguments were rationalistic and ranked as Level 3. For debate two, a total of 33 arguments were evaluated, with an overall median ranking of Level 2. Again, all debates were categorised as rationalistic. In general, students felt there was too much workload associated with the assignment. Changes in the future include providing the debates in patient scenarios to increase practical applicability.

Vascular changes have a primary role in migraine

In the ongoing debate about migraine pathogenesis it is crucial whether vascular factors are of primary importance or the blood vessels are just ‘bystanders’. In Edward Liveing’s the first monograph on migraine entitled ‘On Megrim, Sick-headache, and Some Allied Disorders: A Contribution to the Pathology of Nerve-Storms’ (1) he proposed the neural theory of migraine, ascribing the problem to ‘disturbances of the autonomic nervous system’, and that ‘vasomotor disturbance is secondary in origin’. The ‘neural’ theory has been revived in recent decades and some researchers have even proposed that migraine pain is caused by abnormal central interpretation of normal sensory input in the trigeminal sensory system. However, no scientific evidence supporting the theory of ‘abnormal central interpretation’ has yet emerged. Following a debate format I would like to present the scientific evidence supporting a primary role of vascular changes in migraine.

Using Small Group Debates to Actively Engage Students in an Introductory Microbiology Course

Debates stimulate critical thinking and can be a highly effective way to actively engage students in the classroom. This paper describes a small group debate format in which groups of four to six students debated preassigned topics in microbiology in front of the rest of the class. Rapid advancements in science, especially in microbiology, provide the scaffolding for students to locate and share evidence-based information from a plethora of complex and often conflicting sources. Student-generated debate presentations can be a welcome respite from the lecture format. Debates were scheduled throughout the course to coincide with topics being covered. Questionnaires distributed immediately after each debate revealed that the debates were well received by students and were effective in changing student attitudes and misconceptions. Debate preparation provided students the opportunity to gain proficiency in accessing information from electronic databases, to use resources from professional organizations, and to synthesize and analyze information. In addition, the debate process gave students experience in developing oral communication skills.

PCOS: key issues and remaining questions

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women and yet remains enigmatic. Despite its high prevalence in the population, much controversy remains regarding its diagnosis, its etiology and the most appropriate treatment strategy. To this end, an international group of scientists meets on a biannual basis to explore this complex disorder, to attempt to derive consensus and to propose areas of importance for research. This year’s meeting was in the U.S. and focused on controversies in PCOS discussed in a debate format. In this edition of Fertility and Sterility, we present four of the discussed controversies. First article: Does PCOS have developmental origins? Drs. Stephen Franks and Sarah Berga discuss key areas of debate regarding the origin/etiology of PCOS. While clearly there is a genetic contribution to PCOS, the role of the intrauterine/post-natal environment and the role of plasticity during development and throughout life, present an interesting juxtaposition for our understanding of PCOS. This section also emphasizes the very nature of PCOS which while including the ovary in the title, represents a disorder involving many organ systems in the body including the brain. Second article: Is PCOS an inflammatory process? Drs. Antoni Duleba and Anuja Dokras present provocative information that not only attempts to explain the association between PCOS and metabolic/cardiovascular risk, but also suggests a etiological source for the hyperandrogenism which is frequently considered a hallmark of the disorder. The controversy continues, however, as the role of PCOS versus the independent role of obesity in the inflammatory process remains unclear. Third article: Do women with PCOS have a unique predisposition to obesity? Drs. Kathleen Hoeger and Sharon Oberfield, present a discussion many of us have had with our patients, all of whom believe this question to be answered affirmatively. But what is the evidence and how do we best counsel our patients with respect to weight loss and any unique predispositions they may have? The correlations between this article and the second article dealing with developmental origins and epigenetic changes supports the complex nature of this question. Fourth article: All women with PCOS should be treated for insulin resistance. While there is evidence of a high prevalence of insulin resistance in women with PCOS, whether this disorder itself requires treatment and, if so, by what mechanism remains controversial. Two experts in the field, Drs. John Marshall and Andrea Duanif discuss this key area in patient management. The negative attitudes about the potential for success with lifestyle interventions frequently support the adoption of medical intervention in the form of insulin sensitizing drugs. This becomes a bit of a philosophical discussion regarding the role of (and support for) lifestyle intervention versus the medicalization of care. This excellent series of articles provides insights into how the experts in the field evaluate PCOS and some key areas ripe for research by both seasoned and young investigators. The Rotterdam criteria remain controversial where an attempt to clarify and standardize the definition of PCOS has actually added to the complexity of this disorder in many ways. These criteria have increased the potential number of phenotypes for PCOS and it is clear that the different phenotypes (including some that have no hyperandrogenism) may have very different etiologies and long-term implications. Given this, it is critical that new literature well-characterize which phenotypes are being studied and how the population was selected. The controversies presented in this issue raise important considerations for future study as well helping to clarify what is currently known and how patients should be approached, evaluated, and treated.

A response to the commentaries by Craddock and Fotaki

These are excellent commentaries by Fotaki (2011) and Craddock (2011) on my article “Agency versus Structure: Genetics, Group Membership, and a New Twist on an Old Debate” (Angel, 2011). The commentaries are informed, constructive, and civil, and this debate format is a useful method of fostering a dialog related to an important, or rather several important issues. I and the commentators are basically in complete agreement. They have identified some injudiciousness in certain of my statements which require clarification. In addition, Fotaki takes the discussion into a new domain that I would have very much liked to have pursued had I had the space (Fotaki, 2011). She restates the issues I addressed in a succinct and articulate manner and draws upon important social theorists to develop an argument for a continued focus on structure and social factors in the explanation of racial and ethnically-based health vulnerabilities that speak directly to the intent of the original article. I, the commentators, and probably most everyone else, are in agreement that factors that we label biological or social are inevitably and inextricably intertwined. Although the language of “agency” and “structure” may have no place in polite dinnertime conversation, the rhetorical objective is to reiterate the point that the distinction is far from straightforward, either theoretically or empirically. As with “biological” or “social”, the terms are merely convenient ways of referring to different analytical foci. Clearly what we refer to as “social” is created and reproduced by biological entities acting in accordance with genetically evolved capacities. As

“Speaking a Mutual Language”: The Negro People's Theatre in Chicago

Putting black characters in their plays settled some formal debates for the Popular Front's new theatre, but it created entirely new questions about how the movement would involve actual African Americans. Fanny McConnell and Chicago's Negro People's Theatre (1938–1940) offered some answers.

“Fair and Balanced?” Justice Issues on Political Talk Shows

Like their news program predecessors, many political talk shows focus a considerable amount of their coverage on justice issues. Although numerous past studies have examined justice issue presentation in news programs, infotainment, and crime drama, to date only one forthcoming study has examined crime and justice coverage on political talk shows. Political talk shows often present issues in a debate format, as well as emphasize the balanced nature of the content in advertising, with one program even using the slogan “fair and balanced.” Building upon the format of previous media studies, we analyzed a composite month of videotaped footage of three popular political talk shows appearing on cable networks: CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight, MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Mathews, and The O’Reilly Factor from the Fox News Channel. Using content analysis techniques, this study examines balance in the form and content of these programs in terms of presentation of justice issues, political party identification of hosts and guests and realistic presentations of race and gender in the context of crime and justice. Results indicate that these programs tend to adopt an advocacy tone rather than an objectivist one. Furthermore, we demonstrate that racial and gender portrayals of crime and justice on these shows are significantly distorted from reality, with a priority afforded to white female victims of violent crime and minority male offenders.

Stakeholder Meetings as a Means of Engaging Student Learning of Complex Social Problems

A traditional debate format, in which a small group of students is given the task of presenting arguments for or against a particular issue, can promote pro and con dualism that is both incomplete and counter to developing a sociological imagination. In this article, the authors describe their efforts to avoid this kind of dualism through the development and implementation of a set of stakeholder meetings. They first examine the rationale for developing this method and then describe a particular classroom application of this type of debate. Next, the authors describe their assessment of the exercise both independent of and relative to traditional debates. They conclude by identifying some potential difficulties and make suggestions about the transferability to other academic settings.

Randomized Phase II Trials: Inevitable or Inadvisable?

Phase II trials remain a critical step in drug development. They are conducted “to evaluate the effectiveness of a drug for a particular tumor type and to further determine the common short-term side effects.” Given the low eventual success rate of oncology drugs entering clinical trials, it is vital that these trials efficiently screen out inactive drugs. Maximizing their positive and negative predictive values allows for a more efficient drug development process as fewer inactive drugs will progress to phase III trials, the most expensive phase of development. It has been proposed that drug development could be made more efficient through greater use of randomized phase II (RP-II) trials. Although there are a number of designs for such trials, most (approximately 90%) are two-armed studies. The use of RP-II trials is already increasing, although definitive data do not yet exist to show that the increased expenditure and patient numbers required translate into greater efficiency. This article discusses the merits of single-arm phase II (SA-II) trials versus RP-II trials (specifically, comparator trials in which patients are randomly assigned between experimental and standard therapy arms) in a debate format. Initially, Grothey and Sargent will present the merits of using RP-II trials, while Siu, Moore, Pond, and Gan will present the merits of SA-II trials. Thereafter, each team will rebut the arguments of the other. Lastly, we will conclude with a consensus statement identifying points of agreement about the appropriate use of these trial designs.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: What is at Stake in the Cartesian Debates on the Eternal Truths?

Any study of the ‘Scientific Revolution’ and particularly Descartes’ role in the debates surrounding the conception of nature (atoms and the void v. plenum theory, the role of mathematics and experiment in natural knowledge, the status and derivation of the laws of nature, the eternality and necessity of eternal truths, etc.) should be placed in the philosophical, scientific, theological, and sociological context of its time. Seventeenthcentury debates concerning the nature of the eternal truths such as ‘2 + 2 = 4’ or the law of inertia turn on the question of whether these truths were created along with nature, or were uncreated and subsisting in God’s mind. One’s answer to that question has direct consequences for conceptions of the necessity ⁄ contingency of mathematical and natural knowledge, how knowledge of such truths is accomplished by humans, and what grounds these truths. In this paper, I review the positions of four successors to Descartes’ philosophy on the question of the eternal truths to illustrate how in specific ways that question with its theological, metaphysical, modal, and epistemological dimensions concerned the objectivity and certainty of the discoveries of the new science.

Not Your Parents' Presidential Debates: Examining the Effects of the CNN/YouTube Debates on Young Citizens' Civic Engagement

During the 2007–2008 U.S. presidential primaries, CNN partnered with YouTube to create the first nationally televised presidential debates where citizens interrogated the candidates via video questions posted to the Internet. The creators of these debates claimed their novel use of Internet technology “would change the face of presidential candidate debates.” The CNN/YouTube debates were designed expressly to engage citizens in the campaign dialogue, and specifically to engage young citizens who are frequent users of YouTube yet not always among the viewing audience for a televised presidential debate. The current study examines the effects of viewing the CNN/YouTube debates, and particularly the debates' influence on young citizens' “normative” democratic attitudes. Building on previous research designed to test differences in debate formats, this study compares young citizens' reactions to the CNN/YouTube debates and also to a more traditional presidential debate with candidate questioning controlled by a journalist. Results suggest that while exposure to candidate debates in general yields positive effects on young citizens' normative democratic attitudes, there was very little difference found in the effects of exposure to the CNN/YouTube debates when compared to a traditional journalist-controlled presidential debate.

Minimally invasive surgery and cancer: controversies part 1.

Perhaps there is no more important issue in the care of surgical patients than the appropriate use of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for patients with cancer. Important advances in surgical technique have an impact on early perioperative morbidity, length of hospital stay, pain management, and quality of life issues, as clearly proved with MIS. However, for oncology patients, historically, the most important clinical questions have been answered in the context of prospective randomized trials. Important considerations for MIS and cancer have been addressed, such as what are the important immunologic consequences of MIS versus open surgery and what is the role of laparoscopy in the staging of gastrointestinal cancers? This review article discusses many of the key controversies in the minimally invasive treatment of cancer using the pro–con debate format.

A stimulus to define informatics and health information technology.

BackgroundDespite the growing interest by leaders, policy makers, and others, the terminology of health information technology as well as biomedical and health informatics is poorly understood and not even agreed upon by academics and professionals in the field.DiscussionThe paper, presented as a Debate to encourage further discussion and disagreement, provides definitions of the major terminology used in biomedical and health informatics and health information technology. For informatics, it focuses on the words that modify the term as well as individuals who practice the discipline. Other categories of related terms are covered as well, from the associated disciplines of computer science, information technolog and health information management to the major application categories of applications used. The discussion closes with a classification of individuals who work in the largest segment of the field, namely clinical informatics.SummaryThe goal of presenting in Debate format is to provide a starting point for discussion to reach a documented consensus on the definition and use of these terms.

When Robert Rules

This paper discuses how software development is often more about people - collaboration, communication, and coordination - than technology, developing soft skills such as meeting-management techniques is becoming more important. The author recommends to many people to learn more about Robert's Rules of Order, to take a class or a workshop, to read a book about it, and to go beyond the surface and the funny jargon to transpose what they learn about formal debates to the more informal meetings that now make up a large chunk of a software practitioner's life. Besides, your hockey club, Parent-Teacher Association, or your local IEEE Computer Society chapter will love you for your useful facilitator skills. The author suggests that all software practitioners learn more about Robert's rules.

Organizing a Congressional Candidate Debate as Experiential Learning

This article describes a political debate among congressional candidates that the authors organized in 2006. The debate was structured to maximize student involvement both in the planning stages and during the event itself. After discussing relevant literature on experiential learning, the article describes the debate format and details the issues encountered in planning and organization. Given the large number of stakeholders, a number of challenges emerged in dealing with the candidates, media, students, and university bureaucracy. Our description of these issues is designed to assist others wishing to organize similar debates. The article also examines student learning outcomes from the perspectives of those involved in debate planning and those who attended as part of an American Government class. We find that participation enhanced political knowledge and engagement for both groups. Finally, the paper considers how assessment of the debate's impact could be addressed more effectively and systematically in the future.

Utilizing Debates as an Instructional Tool for Dental Students

Debates have been used as an instructional tool since 1999 in the Program in Dental Hygiene and are currently used by the School of Dental Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. The debate format is designed to present a thought-provoking and uncomplicated teaching tool that uses key elements of adult education, such as emphasis on self-learning and its process. The objective of this article is to demonstrate the use of debates as an instructional tool for dental hygiene and dental students. A debate format is presented in detail. Post-debate small discussion groups and a questionnaire were used to explore dental student experiences with using debates as an instructional tool. Dental students indicated that their experiences with the debate format had positive pedagogical benefits. Students reported that their interest in the given topic was heightened and knowledge was improved or reinforced. The debates also appeared to help students organize their thoughts on the presented topics. The debates were reported to be engaging and were received with enthusiasm by the students. Students reported that the debates enhanced their ability to organize and reinforce their thoughts on issues they may confront as dental professionals.