Professional Databases Research Articles

A Selection of Core Resources for Readers’ Advisory Service

What would happen if you asked a group of readers' advisory (RA) librarians--ranging from some of the top experts in the field to sharp readers who recently graduated from library school--to handpick a collection of professional tools, including books, articles, websites, blogs, and databases? You would get an eclectic collection of hard-working titles and sites that serve the daily needs of on-the-desk staff, foundational texts that set the standards of the service, and idiosyncratic picks that seem to always provide inspiration. I found this out when I sent an e-mail to more than a dozen RA experts and asked them to work on this column. The only rules imposed to wrangle this process were that no one could pick their own work or work with which they are affiliated, and because of space limitations, once a title in a series was picked, that title would be the only book in the series included (but the selector could add a note to indicate the range of the entire series line). If I had endless space to devote to this topic, the column would consume the entire issue. RA librarians are a prolific and helpful lot and have produced a great deal of insightful writing. Library school professors teaching RA have written many seminal works we should all study. In short, there is far more excellent material available than can be covered in such limited space. In an effort to pack in as much as possible, however, choices in each section were limited, as were annotations. While every book is annotated, only the top five picks for articles, blogs, and websites are annotated in favor of including more choices. Terry Jacobsen selected the articles, winnowing down a huge list to a hard-selected fifteen. Lisa Fraser did the same tough work in selecting the websites, as did Sarah Statz Cords with blogs. Neil Hollands and Jacqueline Sasaki also pitched in with the blogs, both selecting and annotating several of the key selections. Joyce Saricks wrestled with the RA databases, providing a neat overview of the five main products. The books were selected by John Charles, Mary K. Chelton, Gwen Glazer, Cindy Orr, Joyce Saricks, Kaite Mediatore Stover, Barry Trott, Kimberly Wells, and David Wright.--Editor BOOKS Baker, Sharon L. and Karen L. Wallace. The Responsive Public Library: How to Develop and Market a Winning Collection. 2nd ed. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 2002 (ISBN: 978-0-313-00897-9). One of the most useful works on the public library, this book is almost unknown to readers' advisors. It promotes the use of strategic planning techniques to anticipate demand and deliver client-centered service based on an accessible collection. The book is packed with practical information such as what elements affect user selections, research on arrangements of fiction collections, information on promotion and displays, and providing gracious RA service. It includes an impressive bibliography. Hollands, Neil. Read On ... Fantasy Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2007 (ISBN: 978-1-59158-330-1). Hollands compiles and annotates more than eight hundred titles in this excellent resource for RA and collection development librarians and the readers they serve. Listed by major appeal, titles are grouped by story, character, mood, setting, and language into quirky sublists. Armageddon Out of Here: Fantasy's Furious Final Battles is one example of the many reading lists provided. Hollands not only leads readers to new books (or old forgotten favorites) but gives the stumped librarian a place to find everything from culturally diverse titles to action-packed stories that will appeal to garners. Series Note: Hollands's book is part of the Read On series, which collects hundreds of titles into fun reading lists arranged by five areas of appeal (story, character, setting, mood, and language). Each book focuses on a genre or reading interest--crime fiction, women's fiction, horror, memoir, etc. …

Global access to dermatopathology services: Physician survey of availability and needs in sub-Saharan Africa

To the Editor: The availability of dermatopathology services varies across the world. Developing countries have limited to no access to dermatologists, pathologists, or histology and laboratory services. To address healthcare needs in underserved areas, medical specialists are increasingly providing patient care in remote areas, either through establishing local clinics or through telemedicine.1Rao B. Lombardi 2nd, A. Telemedicine: current status in developed and developing countries.J Drugs Dermatol. 2009; 8: 371-375PubMed Google Scholar, 2Schmid-Grendelmeier P. Masenga E.J. Haeffner A. Burg G. Teledermatology as a new tool in sub-Saharan Africa: an experience from Tanzania.J Am Acad Dermatol. 2000; 42: 833-835Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (38) Google Scholar Expanding clinical services creates a need for histologic assessment of diseases requiring clinicopathologic correlations for diagnosis. Proposed strategies include shipment of wet tissue for processing, or “virtual dermatopathology” through the electronic transfer of photomicrographs, scanned slides, or live interactive telepathology.3Kayser K. Kayser G. Radziszowski D. Oehmann A. New developments in digital pathology: from telepathology to virtual pathology laboratory.Stud Health Technol Inform. 2004; 105: 61-69PubMed Google Scholar, 4Leong A.S. Leong F.J. Strategies for laboratory cost containment and for pathologist shortage: centralised pathology laboratories with microwave-stimulated histoprocessing and telepathology.Pathology. 2005; 37: 5-9Crossref PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar, 5Piccolo D. Soyer H.P. Burgdorf W. Talamini R. Peris K. Bugatti L. et al.Concordance between telepathologic diagnosis and conventional histopathologic diagnosis: a multiobserver store-and-forward study on 20 skin specimens.Arch Dermatol. 2002; 138: 53-58Crossref PubMed Google Scholar We seek to characterize the presence of histology and dermatopathology services in sub-Saharan Africa, where many patients are evaluated clinically but laboratory services are scarce. Forty-one countries south of the Sahara desert were included. We searched international professional databases, queried local physicians and the Ministries of Health to identify individuals and organizations with insight into the availability of dermatology and pathology services. Internet and PubMed searches performed between June 15 and August 14, 2008 used the following key words: dermatology, pathology, dermatopathology, hospital, university, Ministry of Health, department, medicine, and each country name. Each individual received an e-mail in English explaining the study aims and questions to answer voluntarily (Fig 1). Residents of French-speaking countries received an additional e-mail in French. One of the authors (M.W.T.) collected all responses by country. For discordant aggregate responses, the majority response of those surveyed represented the country's response. For cases with no clear majority, the longest time interval represented a country's response time. For dichotomous values, any “yes” response represented a final “yes” for that country. The survey had a 51% response rate. Because the search parameters failed to identify individuals in 34% of countries, surrogates in other parts of Africa, Europe, and the United States were solicited in these cases. Contacts in seven countries had undeliverable e-mail addresses. Countries in which data could not be collected remain white in Fig 2. Histology processing services and a pathologist are available in 86% of countries (Fig 2, A). In almost one-third of countries, it takes longer than 1 month for both sample processing and a pathologist's read. A trained dermatopathologist or specialized trained dermatologist is available in only 14% of countries (Fig 2, B). Interest in consult services was nearly unanimous (95%). The single “no” response arguably codes “yes” because his interest was contingent upon dermatopathology training for physicians in his nation (Senegal). All responding nations expressed interest in telemedicine as an adjunct to current clinical practice (Table I).Table IAggregate responses to availability of a dermatopathologist, histology services, and interest in teledermatopathology consultation servicesAggregate country informationNo.%No. of countries surveyed41—No. of countries responding21—Dermatopathologist available314%Histology service available1886% Same day211% <1 week317% <1 month844% >1 month528%Histology services unavailable314%Pathologist read available1886% Same day211% <1 week317% <1 month739% >1 month633%Pathologist read unavailable314%Countries sending specimens out524%Teledermatology would be useful2095%Interest in teledermatology21100% Open table in a new tab South Africa deserves special mention for the only respondents not interested in teledermatopathology. While these private practice physicians had processing and dematopathologist reports available within 24 hours, an understaffed general hospital reported waiting times similar to the remainder of sub-Saharan Africa. The availability of dermatopathology services in sub-Saharan Africa is limited. While physicians have access to histology in the majority of countries surveyed, long wait times impede reliance on this diagnostic tool. Those surveyed showed overwhelming interest in teledermatology and teledermatopathology services, but recognized fundamental challenges—lack of infrastructure, political bureaucracy, and cost—that must be addressed before expanding access to dermatology and dermatopathology through telemedicine. Digital imaging and mobile telecommunications offer one possible immediate and cost-effective method to shorten times to diagnosis. Specifically, digitalized images of processed slides may be electronically sent to dermatopathologists anywhere in the world for interpretation, and results could be retuned via telephone or e-mail. This system would use existing histology services, bypass delays caused by lack of ground transportation and local infrastructure, and bring remote expertise to underserved regions of Africa.

Facilitating Access to English and French Patient Education Materials Through the Creation of a Database and Search Interface for Patients and Health Professionals

The Infothèque Health Education Collection is an Internet database with a bilingual search interface that addresses the search and language abilities of health professionals and patients alike and that facilitates access to the patient education materials used by the six hospital sites of the McGill University Health Centre. To best serve the targeted users, the project librarian debated metadata and controlled vocabulary options, and researched interface designs. The librarian also conducted a usability study and used the results to refine the interface. The project drew on the expertise of a diverse group of librarians, doctors, and nurses and was successful in improving access to materials.

Legislative: Searching for Health Policy Information on the Internet: An Essential Advocacy Skill

Nurses and Health Policy 2009-2010 healthcare reform agenda of President Obama and the 111th Congress clearly illustrates the importance of nurses' efforts to influence health policy. Individual nurses and professional organizations across the country who took part in town hall meetings, wrote letters to the editor, and voiced their opinions to elected officials helped generate momentum leading to the passage of H.R.3962, The Affordable Health Care for America Act (American Nurses Association, 2009). congressional debates that followed and resulted in passage of the historic health care reform bill, H. R. 3590, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also demonstrate that sustained effort is essential to achieve health policy change (American Nurses Association. 2010). Health policy advocacy requires participation in political arenas; many nurses may not feel prepared to navigate these arenas effectively (Abood, 2007). Taking political action on behalf of the public, as well as advocating for the nursing profession, begins with staying informed and networking to shape reform efforts. Therefore, the goal of this column is to help nurses search for and evaluate health policy information on the Internet. Useful health policy websites are provided. Searching for Health Policy Information Information is a critical resource for political involvement. Although the Internet provides nurses access to excellent resources to keep abreast of leading health policy issues, busy professionals need help dealing with today's Internet information overload. Sorting through millions of electronic documents to find relevant information can be daunting and time consuming. Furthermore, nurses need quick and easy access to high quality information, such as systematic reviews of health policy research, to guide the development of solutions for health -related problems (Fox, 2005; Lavis, Posada, Haines, & Osei, 2004). Useful guidelines for searching peerreviewed, and professional literature databases, such as PubMed and CINAHL (The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), have been published by Klem and Northcutt f2008) and also Morrisey and DeBourgh (2001). practical strategies and tips we offer in this column for searching Internet sites for health policy information complement the scholarly literature. A successful health policy Internet search begins with thorough planning. first and most important step for obtaining highly relevant search results is formulating a clear and concise health policy issue statement that succinctly describes and quantifies the problem to be addressed (Bardach, 2000). next step is to identify the target authence for the advocacy efforts. This step will help to determine how complex and detailed the information that you gather will need to be fAndrews. Burr. & Ja netos. 2004). Consider, for example, whether the goal is to inform the public about healthcare reform proposals generally orto work with congressional experts to obtain Medicare reimbursement for transitional care. final step is to identify key words and phrases to look for information using a search engine. Brainstorming the concepts that are most relevant to the policy topic is an effective way to generate key words. Search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Search, are the most common tools to find information on the Internet. Search engines are actually large databases of web documents created by automated search programs fBarker, 2003). Working at the interface between the searcher and the Internet, the search engine locates information by matching key words entered into the search box to websites and documents in the databases. Then, the engine weighs and ranks the web pages according to relevance. Search engines differ in size, speed, coverage of the Internet, search options, and the schemes used for ranking, so each will return slightly different search results CHanes-Ramos. …

Partnering with Your Library to Strengthen Nursing Research

Nurses must know how to locate and evaluate health information to optimize their professional practice. However, much of the information available online and in print lacks credibility, and navigating professional research databases can prove complex. As more nursing students and nurse educators move from centralized, brick-and-mortar campuses to satellite locations and online courses, the need for adaptable library services becomes pronounced. This article describes a program that serves decentralized nursing students and nurse educators. Relationship building, one-to-one contact, and flexibility are program hallmarks. Services provided by the program and evaluation methods are discussed, and ways of building collaboration are recommended.

International migration of doctors, and its impact on availability of psychiatrists in low and middle income countries.

BackgroundMigration of health professionals from low and middle income countries to rich countries is a large scale and long-standing phenomenon, which is detrimental to the health systems in the donor countries. We sought to explore the extent of psychiatric migration.MethodsIn our study, we use the respective professional databases in each country to establish the numbers of psychiatrists currently registered in the UK, US, New Zealand, and Australia who originate from other countries. We also estimate the impact of this migration on the psychiatrist population ratios in the donor countries.FindingsWe document large numbers of psychiatrists currently registered in the UK, US, New Zealand and Australia originating from India (4687 psychiatrists), Pakistan (1158), Bangladesh (149) , Nigeria (384) , Egypt (484), Sri Lanka (142), Philippines (1593). For some countries of origin, the numbers of psychiatrists currently registered within high-income countries' professional databases are very small (e.g., 5 psychiatrists of Tanzanian origin registered in the 4 high-income countries we studied), but this number is very significant compared to the 15 psychiatrists currently registered in Tanzania). Without such emigration, many countries would have more than double the number of psychiatrists per 100, 000 population (e.g. Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon); and some countries would have had five to eight times more psychiatrists per 100,000 (e.g. Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Nigeria and Zambia).ConclusionsLarge numbers of psychiatrists originating from key low and middle income countries are currently registered in the UK, US, New Zealand and Australia, with concomitant impact on the psychiatrist/population ratio n the originating countries. We suggest that creative international policy approaches are needed to ensure the individual migration rights of health professionals do not compromise societal population rights to health, and that there are public and fair agreements between countries within an internationally agreed framework.

Beyond Google: Finding and Evaluating Web-Based Information for Community-Based Nursing Practice

Nurses are challenged to find and use reliable, credible information to support clinical decision-making and to meet expectations for evidence-based nursing practice. This project targeted practicing public health and school nurses, teaching them how to access and critically evaluate web-based information resources for frontline practice. Health sciences librarians partnered with nursing faculty to develop two participatory workshops to teach skills in searching for and evaluating web-based consumer and professional practice resources. The first workshop reviewed reliable, credible consumer web-resources appropriate to use with clients, using published criteria to evaluate website credibility. In the second workshop, nurses were taught how to retrieve and evaluate health-related research from professional databases to support evidence-based nursing practice. Evaluation data indicated nurses most valued knowing about the array of reliable, credible web-based health information resources, learning how to evaluate website credibility, and understanding how to find and apply professional research literature to their own practice.

Look-Ahead Benchmark Bias in Portfolio Performance Evaluation

Performance of investment managers is predominantly evaluated against targeted benchmarks, such as stock, bond, or commodity indices. But most professional databases do not retain time series for companies that drop from the database and do not necessarily track changes in the benchmarks over time. Consequently, standard tests of portfolio performance suffer from <i>look-ahead benchmark bias</i>, meaning that a given strategy is naively backtested against the assets constituting the benchmark of reference at the end of the testing period (i.e., now), rather than at the beginning of the period. In this article, the authors report that look-ahead benchmark bias can be surprisingly large in portfolios of common stocks—up to 8% per annum when the S&amp;P 500 Index is the benchmark. Using CRSP data for the running top 500 U.S. capitalizations over the period 1927–2006, the authors demonstrate that look-ahead benchmark bias can account for a gross overestimation in performance metrics, such as the Sharpe ratio, as well as an underestimation of risk measured, for example, by peak-to-valley drawdowns. A general methodology to test investment strategy properties is advanced by the authors in the context of several random strategies having similar investment constraints. <b>TOPICS:</b>Manager selection, analysis of individual factors/risk premia, VAR and use of alternative risk measures of trading risk

Image quality assessment using contourlet transform

We present a novel objective full-reference image quality assessment metric based on multiscale geometric analysis. The multichannel behavior of the human vision system is emulated by contourlet transform, a perceptual subband decomposition. Not only the contrast-masking effect but also the entropy-masking effect is considered to deal with the visual masking issue. In the error pooling stage, the frequency sensitivity of the HVS is investigated. Nonlinear and linear fusion schemes of subband distortion are compared. Extensive validation experiments are performed on two professional image databases, the LIVE database supplied by the University of Texas and the A57 database supplied by Cornell University. Compared with several state-of-the-art image quality metrics, the proposed metric demonstrates improvement on prediction accuracy and robustness.

Cognitive Skills in Internet‐Supported Learning Environments in Higher Education: Research Issues

How did Internet‐supported learning environments (ISLE) impact students’ critical thinking (CT) and problem solving (PS) skills in higher education? What specific indicators have been used to measure CT? What types of problems and learning approaches were chosen to assess PS skills? This paper qualitatively reviewed studies published in academic journals, books, professional databases, and reliable web sites between 1995 and 2006. The review indicated that students demonstrated CT and PS skills in different contexts. Most of the core cognitive and sub‐cognitive CT skills identified by the Delphi study of the American Philosophical Association were found. All the studies delimited CT to a cognitive domain whereas half of them considered it as a PS process. To assess students’ PS skills, problem‐based learning with ill‐structured problems was chosen. Quazi experimental and experimental studies dominated research. The theoretical and methodological issues in and for research on ISLE are discussed.

The history of horizontal glottectomy

The history of horizontal glottectomy (HG) for the treatment of bilateral vocal cord lesions is not entirely clear. The present investigation analyzes the history of HG on the basis of cross-referenced database searches in general and professional medical literature databases. Books, original historical articles and medical history reviews were evaluated. The initial work was done by Moser in years from 1959 to 1965, and in 1961 he published the first paper on HG. Follow-up publications were reported in 1977 by Gramowski and in 1984 by Wilke. In 1970, Romanian laryngologists headed by Calaraşu described a HG via excision of a rhomboid-shaped portion of the thyroid cartilage, but the authors had neither sufficient numbers of patients nor a sufficiently long follow-up for the procedure to gain widespread acceptance. In 1978, Calearo and Teatini described HG similar to Calaraşu's method, but slightly more extended by the eventual inclusion of an arytenoid cartilage in the operative specimen. Theses authors have often been credited as the originators of the procedure, but actually were the first to publish in an English language journal. The procedure, while quite effective for treatment of bilateral and anterior commissure lesions, has never gained general acceptance in the United States, and in current practice, has been supplanted by endoscopic and non-surgical treatments.

Athletic Trainers' and Physical Therapists' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Psychological Skills Within Sport Injury Rehabilitation Programs

Psychological skills are alleged to augment sport-injury rehabilitation; however, implementation of mental imagery within rehabilitation programs is limited. To examine attitudes of athletic trainers (ATs) and physical therapists (PTs) on the effectiveness of mental imagery, goal setting, and positive self-talk to improve rehabilitation adherence and recovery speed of injured athletes. The ATs and PTs were contacted via electronic or physical mailings to complete a single administration survey that measured their beliefs about the effectiveness of psychological skills for increasing adherence and recovery speed of injured athletes undergoing rehabilitation. Professional member databases of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and the American Physical Therapy Association. Of the 1000 ATs and 1000 PTs who were selected randomly, 309 ATs (age = 34.18 +/- 8.32 years, years in profession = 10.67 +/- 7.34) and 356 PTs (age = 38.58 +/- 7.51 years, years in profession = 13.18 +/- 6.17) responded. The Attitudes About Imagery (AAI) survey measures attitudes about psychological skills for enhancing adherence and recovery speed of injured athletes. The AAI includes demographic questions and 15 items on a 7-point Likert scale measuring attitudes about the effectiveness of mental imagery, self-talk, goal setting, and pain control on rehabilitation adherence and recovery speed of injured athletes. Test-retest reliability ranged from .60 to .84 and Cronbach alphas ranged from .65 to .90. We calculated 1-way analyses of variance to determine whether differences existed in attitudes as a result of the professionals' education, training experience, and interest. Mean differences were found on attitudes about effectiveness of psychological skills for those who reported formal training and those who reported interest in receiving formal training (P < .05). In addition, ATs held more positive attitudes than PTs on 9 of 15 AAI items (P < .05). Overall, ATs and PTs held positive attitudes on the effectiveness of psychological skills to augment the rehabilitation process. Clinical implications regarding the use of mental skills are discussed.

Look-Ahead Benchmark Bias in Portfolio Performance Evaluation

Performance of investment managers are evaluated in comparison with benchmarks, such as financial indices. Due to the operational constraint that most professional databases do not track the change of constitution of benchmark portfolios, standard tests of performance suffer from the look-ahead benchmark bias, when they use the assets constituting the benchmarks of reference at the end of the testing period, rather than at the beginning of the period. Here, we report that the look-ahead benchmark bias can exhibit a surprisingly large amplitude for portfolios of common stocks (up to 8% annum for the S&P500 taken as the benchmark) - while most studies have emphasized related survival biases in performance of mutual and hedge funds for which the biases can be expected to be even larger. We use the CRSP database from 1926 to 2006 and analyze the running top 500 US capitalizations to demonstrate that this bias can account for a gross overestimation of performance metrics such as the Sharpe ratio as well as an underestimation of risk, as measured for instance by peak-to-valley drawdowns. We demonstrate the presence of a significant bias in the estimation of the survival and look-ahead biases studied in the literature. A general methodology to test the properties of investment strategies is advanced in terms of random strategies with similar investment constraints.

Systematic review of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for cerebral palsy: the state of the evidence

A systematic review of the evidence was conducted on the benefits and adverse effects of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) for cerebral palsy (CP). Studies of any HBOT regimen in patients with CP were included except for case reports and case series. Electronic databases (e.g. MEDLINE, EMBASE), professional society databases, and reference lists were searched to identify studies. Study quality was assessed using predefined criteria relevant to the study design. Two randomized controlled trials and four observational studies were identified. Best evidence came from a randomized controlled trial which found that HBOT at 1.75 atmospheres (atm) and 1.3 atm of room air resulted in similar improvements in motor function (5-6%). Other outcomes also indicated no difference between the HBOT and room air. Observational studies reported improvements in motor function to a similar degree. Other evidence was insufficient to clarify the benefits and/or adverse effects of HBOT for CP. Both HBOT and pressurized room air resulted in improvements in motor function compared with baseline. Similar improvements were seen in the observational studies. Children undergoing HBOT were reported to experience adverse events, including seizures and the need for ear pressure equalization tube placement, but the incidence was unclear. Future research is needed to determine the efficacy of pressurized room air or non-pressurized oxygen in equivalent amounts by mask, compared with standard treatments.

Status of Health Information Classification for Consumer Information Retrieval

With a growing movement toward patient-centric health care and patient empowerment, consumers are encouraged to take an active role in their health care. In fact, nearly 80% of Americans are taking to the Internet to search for health information (Fox, 2006). In addition to the Internet, consumers have access to a growing number of health search engines and professional biomedical databases via health science libraries. However, the consumer’s ability to efficiently retrieve information that is understandable and pertinent to their query is hindered (Volk, 2007) for reasons that include inexperience with “technical terminology,” (Zeng & Tse, 2006) and poor database usability (Smith, 2007).

The Thorn Course: rhetoric and reality

The Thorn Course that provides psychosocial interventions and family work training for UK mental health professionals was founded in 1992. Since this time policy, service provision and needs have changed. The aim of this study was to examine the Thorn Course through relevant literature, in order to establish whether research and policy have been integrated into practice within training and services. A search of professional journal databases was conducted. Keywords used were 'Thorn Course' and 'psychosocial intervention training'. The resulting body of literature was reviewed. Five main themes emerged which were examined: needs identified, delivering the Thorn Course, training outcomes, implementing interventions and user and carer involvement. There is a distinct lack of research studies evaluating any aspect of the Thorn Course. There is little evidence that user and carer involvement has moved beyond rhetoric and community mental health nurses continue to lack opportunities and support to implement psychosocial skills acquired in training.

Student experiences of problem-based learning in pharmacy: conceptions of learning, approaches to learning and the integration of face-to-face and on-line activities

This study investigates fourth-year pharmacy students' experiences of problem-based learning (PBL). It adopts a phenomenographic approach to the evaluation of problem-based learning, to shed light on the ways in which different groups of students conceive of, and approach, PBL. The study focuses on the way students approach solving problem scenarios in class, and using professional pharmacy databases on-line. Qualitative variations in student approaches to solving problem scenarios in both learning situations are identified. These turn out to be associated with qualitatively different conceptions of PBL and also with levels of achievement. Conceptions and approaches that emphasis learning for understanding correlate with attaining higher course marks. The outcomes of the study reinforce arguments that we need to know more about how students interpret the requirements of study in a PBL context if we are to unravel the complex web of influences upon study activities, academic achievement and longer-term professional competence. Such knowledge is crucial to any theoretical model of PBL and has direct practical implications for the design of learning tasks and the induction of students into a PBL environment.

Sources of scholarly and professional literature in psychology and management.

This article presents a review of the major academic and professional databases (online files) for searching topics in the field of business and management. I argue that professionals are well served in using a multidatabase strategy when comprehensive reviews of the literature are needed (Piotrowski & Perdue, 1986, 1988, 2003). To this end, several key databases across major disciplines are noted. Moreover, a list of online databases in the field of business and management are presented. I illustrate, with search examples, the benefit of implementing a multidatabase search strategy on select topics in psychology and management.

A Case Review: Designing a New Patient Education System

With shorter lengths of hospital stay, an increase in the number of persons with chronic disabilities, coupled with the increase in health information on the Internet, there is a need for creating and/or redesigning patient education systems. Through a case review of a quality improvement study, the goal of this paper is to describe the development of the New Patient Education System (NPES) and demonstrate the collaborative system-wide efforts to improve patient education delivery. Objectives are to review the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles for developing: a) criteria and process for selecting resources; b) the resource collection and website; c) a professional and patient education database for medication and condition information; and d) the method for organizing and customizing patient and family education. Findings show that designing a new patient education system requires an improvement model that promotes change based on incremental and associated steps, creates collaborative structures, such as committees, whose membership changes depending on the goals, seizes the opportunity to respond, uses environmental turbulence as an opportunity to change, and believes that knowledge is a powerful tool. LIST OF COMMON ABBREVIATIONS RF Rehabilitation Facility HRC Health Resource Center PDSA Plan-Study-Do-Act EPM Education Program Manager NPES New Patient Education System CEPM -Clinical Education Program Manager PEAC Patient Education Advisory Committee

Preparing for the next natural disaster - need for a WHO coordinating centre

This month is the first anniversary of the 7.6 Richter earthquake which struck Pakistan on 8 October 2005. The medical community's response to this tragedy was overwhelming. In the hardest hit areas--Bagh, Balakot, Mansehra and Muzaffarabad--there were no hospitals, clinics or trauma centers within 80 km. Initial estimates suggested a death toll of 70 000 with over 150 000 injured. In the first 48 hours, 22 medical aid camps were established by local relief organizations in collaboration with the Pakistani Armed Forces in Balakot. Within 72 hours, physicians, surgeons, and nurses began pouring into other affected areas. Medical personnel of Pakistani origin working in Europe, the Middle East and the United States were among the first to arrive, followed by hundreds of doctors from Canada, across Europe, Malaysia, Turkey and the United States. In the first month, more than 1700 doctors from 23 countries came to the affected areas, either as self-motivated individuals or as part of an organized relief mission. We had no shortage of doctors or medical supplies in the affected areas; lack of coordination was our main problem. People did not know where to go and what to do. A year later, medical relief efforts remain uncoordinated. Many people brought medications and surgical supplies that were never used. There were 165 doctors available at the PIMA field hospital, Bagh, in the last week of October 2005. They all came by themselves without any coordination. In August 2006, we visited medical facilities in Balakot, Bagh, Mansehra and Muzaffarabad. There are nine active medical facilities in these areas with a combined outpatient turnover of about 3200 patients per day. These facilities still are run by volunteer doctors on two-week rotations. We saw large warehouses full of medications, injections and supplies--worth millions of dollars--that are probably never going to be used. It is gratifying to be reminded that the world is full of doctors who are driven to help people in need. Many doctors made great efforts to travel quickly to the quake-affected areas; only to be hampered by improper coordination and logistics. Most medical camps in Pakistan were equipped for trauma management and worked efficiently for the first week. After that, respiratory tract infections, diarrhoea and tetanus were the predominant complaints, for which personnel were not prepared. Cultural constraints were also problematic. Large numbers of sick women refused to be seen or examined by a male physician; proper assignment of female physicians could have made a substantial difference. Over two dozen articles have provided a well rounded situation analysis of the earthquake in Pakistan, (1-5) but it is crucial to ask how can we do better next time. We suggest that WHO should establish a coordinating centre for natural disasters, and maintain a global database of volunteer health professionals. …