Validity Issues Research Articles

Recent advances in the technology of anesthesia.

The practice of anesthesiology is inextricably dependent upon technology. Anesthetics were first made possible, then increasingly safe, and now more scalable and efficient in part due to advances in monitoring and delivery technology. Herein, we discuss salient advances of the last three years in the technology of anesthesiology. Consumer technology and telemedicine have exploded onto the scene of outpatient medicine, and perioperative management is no exception. Preoperative evaluations have been done via teleconference, and copious consumer-generated health data is available. Regulators have acknowledged the vast potential found in the transfer of consumer technology to medical practice, but issues of privacy, data ownership/security, and validity remain. Inside the operating suite, monitoring has become less invasive, and clinical decision support systems are common. These technologies are susceptible to the “garbage in, garbage out” conundrum plaguing artificial intelligence, but they will improve as network latency decreases. Automation looms large in the future of anesthesiology as closed-loop anesthesia delivery systems are being tested in combination (moving toward a comprehensive system). Moving forward, consumer health companies will search for applications of their technology, and loosely regulated health markets will see earlier adoption of next-generation technology. Innovations coming to anesthesia will need to account for human factors as the anesthesia provider is increasingly considered a component of the patient care apparatus.

Using a Western-Based Survey to Assess Cultural Perspectives of Dene Mothers in Northern Manitoba

With increasing numbers of immigrants entering Canada over the past several decades, educators have become more sensitive to the various genres of communication competence and discourse patterns within a given culture. This is especially true for the Aboriginal students struggling to acclimate into Western curricula. The purpose of this study was to explore Aboriginal mothers’ perspectives on language acquisition for their children. Thirty Dene speaking mothers from a northern first nation community were administered a survey in a face to face format. The survey was replicated in part from previous studies on language acquisition of cultural groups in Canada. This paper will describe the challenges in trying to adapt such a survey, including issues of administration, translation, and survey validity and reliability. Challenges in adhering to Western research standards while displaying cultural sensitivity to its participants by way of acknowledging the community’s indigenous knowledge and English as an alternative language (EAL) issues are discussed.

Social Theory, Photography and the Visual Aesthetic of Cultural Modernity

Social theory and photographic aesthetics both engage with issues of representation, realism and validity, having crossed paths in theoretical and methodological controversies. This discussion begins with reflections on the realism debate in photography, arguing that beyond the polar positions of realism and constructivism the photographic image is essentially ambivalent, reflecting the ways in which it is situated within cultural modernity. The discussion draws critically on Simmel’s sociology of the visual to elucidate these issues and compares his concept of social forms and their development with the emergence of the photograph. Several dimensions of ambivalence are elaborated with reference to the politics and aesthetics socially engaged photography in the first half of the 20th century. It presents a case for the autonomy of the photographic as a social form that nonetheless has the potential to point beyond reality to immanent possibilities. The discussion exemplifies the processes of aesthetic formation with reference to the ‘New Vision’ artwork of László Moholy-Nagy and the social realism of Edith Tudor Hart.

Customer requirement-driven design method and computer-aided design system for supporting service innovation conceptualization handling

How to create value to meet customers’ requirements by effectively using advanced digital technology (DT) for digital transformation is an implementation challenge for new and future scenarios of current contexts. Valid digital transformation issues need to be considered to deliver novel values with sustainability concerns. Attempting to effectively achieve a successful service system design in an industrial context, a holistic customer requirement-driven service design method with abductive logic was proposed to drive self-service productivity enhancement. Laddering theory, ontology-based design knowledge hierarchy (DKH), theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) and quality function deployment (QFD) technique are adopted in terms of effective design knowledge handling in innovation conceptualization with a traceable path and abductive logic linking from customer concerns, business context and technology digitization. Then, a comprehensive case study of an empirical smart meal-ordering service system for the digital transformation of canteen processes was illustrated to verify this approach.

A Holistic Model Validation Framework for Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) Model Development and Implementation

The Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) revised accounting standard for credit loss provisioning is the most important change to United States (US) accounting standards in recent history. In this study, we survey and assess practices in the validation of models that support CECL, across dimensions of both model development and model implementation. On the development side, this entails the usual SR 11-7 aspects of model validation; however, highlighted in the CECL context is the impact of several key modeling assumptions upon loan loss provisions. We also consider the validation of CECL model implementation or execution elements, which assumes heightened focus in CECL given the financial reporting implications. As an example of CECL model development validation, we investigate a modeling framework that we believe to be very close to that being contemplated by institutions, which projects loan losses using time-series econometric models, for an aggregated “average” bank using Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Call Report data. In this example, we assess the accuracy of 14 alternative CECL modeling approaches, and we further quantify the level of model risk using the principle of relative entropy. Apart from the illustration of several model validation issues and practices that are of particular relevance to CECL, the empirical analysis has some potentially profound policy and model risk management implications. Specifically, implementation of the CECL standard may lead to under-prediction of credit losses; furthermore, coupled with the assumption that we are at an end to the favorable phase of the credit cycle, this may be interpreted as evidence that the goal of mitigating the procyclicality in the provisioning process that motivated CECL may fail to materialize.

Technology Enhanced Assessment (TEA) in COVID 19 Pandemic.

Online teaching and learning is not a new phenomenon. For the last many years, it has been mainly used as a part of face to face teaching. Assessment is an essential part of teaching and learning, as it establishes the achievement of course learning outcomes by the students. Computer-based assessment is in place for a long time now, however, online assessments have been less practiced. This is because of the issues of validity, reliability and dishonesty. During the COVID 19 pandemic, the educational environment has taken a paradigm shift in many medical schools, both nationally and internationally. This situation demands a method of assessment that is safe, valid, reliable, acceptable, feasible and fair. This paper describes the different formats of online assessment and their application in formative and summative assessments during and after the COVID 19 pandemic.

Management of issue and public trust using information technology

In the era of public information disclosure, the need for public relations performance that is fast and transparent is needed in all sectors of the company, including the scope of the Provincial Government of Nusa Tenggara. The role and function of human resources and public relations institutions of the NTB provincial government have become strategic in the context of fulfilling educational information. The purpose of this study is to manage issues and public trust using information technology in West Nusa Tenggara. Management of the issue is carried out using a management mechanism called Media Control and Cooperation (MCC) and 2 (three) applications based on artificial intelligence, namely: Data & Public Information Services (DPIS) and Government Social Media Handling (GSMH). Based on studies that have been done, it can be informed that overall PRCC NTB Public Relations succeeded in gathering valid issues 22 to 24 or 91 percent.

The ‘Psychology’ of Polygraph’: Engendering Differential Salience - Concerns and Caveats

The ‘success’ of a polygraph examination is predicated on the establishment of differential or emotional salience (a ‘psychological set’) with an examinee. This, according to polygraph proponents, guarantees that an examinee will respond appropriately during the administration of the in-test (questioning) phase of the polygraph examination. However, polygraph procedure, as prescribed by its governing body, the American Polygraph Association (APA), is a static clinical Westernised process that does not make any provision for human multiplicity (culture/ethnicity, idiosyncrasies, level of education, language proficiency, ideologies, and so forth). Identical (one size fits all) test procedures are applied across the board – a highly controversial methodology. This article, instead of rigidly focusing on validity and reliability issues per se, explores the degree to which certain intentional and unintentional human behaviour modification strategies have the potential to counterbalance claimed polygraph rectitude from a metaphysical and discursive standpoint. The article exposes concerns (potential flaws) relating to polygraph theory in the context of the ‘psychological set’ and is intended to serve as a caveat regarding the unmitigated use thereof.

How European Experience and Blockchain Can Improve Electronic Signatures and Digital Identities in Australia (and Not Only)?

Europe has been running a legislative framework for electronic signatures and digital identities since 1999. In 2014 the EU parliament introduced a significant upgrade by presenting eIDAS regulation. In light of recent initiatives in Australia to improve the legislation for doing business remotely, this experience is valuable because the European community was among the first in the world to introduce electronic signatures and developed a unique legal and technological framework that many other countries borrowed. Though the experience is full of pitfalls and drawbacks, which is also valuable to consider, moreover, it has a significant gap in the use of blockchains and addressing the issue of legal validity of blockchain transactions, including smart contracts.

The race discipline gap: A cautionary note on archival measures of behavioral misconduct

Research on employee misconduct has increasingly adopted behavioral measures in field settings, such as archival organizational records, to circumvent potential issues of external validity and social desirability associated with laboratory experiments and self-reported surveys. However, similar to the issues facing the criminal justice and education systems, where racial disparities in punishment are well-documented, organizations face a difficult challenge in detecting and enforcing misconduct. Even when organizations adopt seemingly objective policies for addressing misconduct, it is still possible for certain groups to be disproportionately accused of misconduct and/or disciplined. Drawing from social psychological theories of social identity and aversive racism, we examined the extent to which Black employees (in contrast to White employees) are more likely to have formal incidences of misconduct documented in their employment records, even when there are no racial differences in the number of allegations of misconduct. Across three datasets collected from the police departments of three major metropolitan areas (Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia), we identified the presence of a race discipline gap in archival organizational records of behavioral misconduct. We discuss the implications of these findings and highlight the need for caution when researchers and practitioners use archival measures of behavioral misconduct.

Decision-aids for non-expert decision makers

PurposeThis study extends prior accounting research on decision aids (DAs) relating to face validity. Specifically, this study aims to examine the effects of face validity through the presence of two levels of bias in DA output. The presence of bias in a DA will not affect how statistically informative an aid is but will decrease the face validity. The findings suggest that non-expert DA users recognize the bias in the DA’s suggestions as evidenced by users’ low agreement with the aid; however, they do not adjust for the bias in their performance, suggesting that non-expert users do not learn from the DA.Design/methodology/approachThis repeated-measures experimental design allows us to examine performance effects over time in response to different levels of bias in the DA output. The participants in the study are provided with outcome feedback to examine learning effects.FindingsThe findings suggest that non-expert DA users recognize the bias in the DA’s suggestions as evidenced by users’ low agreement with the aid; however, they do not adjust for the bias in their performance, suggesting that non-expert users do not learn from the DA. Although users of an unbiased DA strongly agree with the DA’s output, individual performance deteriorates over time. Initially, the users of an unbiased DA perform better than those who use a biased DA; however, over time, the performance of users of an unbiased aid deteriorates and the performance of users of the biased aid does not improve.Practical implicationsCompanies developing DAs may need to consider the effects of using a DA under circumstances different from those under which the aid was developed and that may lead to the biased DA output. This study has implications for firms that design, develop and use DAs.Originality/valueThis study considers a yet unexamined face validity issue – observable bias in DA output. This study examines deterministic DAs designed to assist the decision-maker through their ability to combine multiple cues in a systematic and consistent manner. This study has implications for firms that design, develop and use DAs. Firms need to consider the effects of using a DA under circumstances different from those under which the aid is developed, thereby, potentially leading to biased DA output. Each additional variable added to the DA will be associated with an incremental cost in a DA’s development, use and modification. The results of this study provide insights contributing to the information available for cost–benefit analyses conducted when developing a DA or when considering the modification of existing aid. Failure to change a DA because of face validity issues alone may result in a decline in user performance. Thus, the cost of modifying a DA must be weighed against the benefits resulting from improved performance. This study contributes insights into how users’ responses to DA bias could affect the assessments of the benefits of including an omitted variable in a DA.

Non-contact monitoring of agitation and use of a sheltering device in patients with dementia in emergency departments: a feasibility study

BackgroundAgitation is common in geriatric patients with cognitive impairment, e.g. in persons with dementia (PWD), who are admitted to an emergency department (ED). It might be a first sign of upcoming delirium and is associated with a higher risk of an unfavorable clinical course. Hence, monitoring of vital signs and enhanced movement as indicators of upcoming agitation is essential in these patients during their stay in the ED. Since PWD rarely tolerate fixed monitoring devices, a novel developed non-contact monitoring system (NCMSys) might represent an appropriate alternative.Aim of this feasibility study was to test the validity of a NCMSys and of the tent-like “Charité Dome” (ChD), aimed to shelter PWD from the busy ED environment. Furthermore, effects of the ChD on wellbeing and agitation of PWD were investigated.MethodsBoth devices were attached to patient’s bed. Tests on technical validity and safety issues of NCMSys and ChD were performed at the iDoc institute with six healthy volunteers. A feasibility study evaluating the reliability of the NCMSys with and without the ChD was performed in the real-life setting of an ED and on a geriatric-gerontopsychiatric ward. 19 patients were included, ten males and nine females; mean age: 77.4 (55–93) years of which 14 were PWD. PWD inclusion criteria were age ≥ 55 years, a dementia diagnosis and a written consent (by patients or by a custodian). Exclusion criteria were acute life-threatening situations and a missing consent.ResultsMeasurements of heart rate, changes in movement and sound emissions by the NCMSys were valid, whereas patient movements affected respiratory rate measurements. The ChD did not impact patients’ vital signs or movements in our study setting. However, 53% of the PWD (7/13) and most of the patients without dementia (4/5) benefited from its use regarding their agitation and overall wellbeing.ConclusionsThe results of this feasibility study encourage a future controlled clinical trial in geriatric ED patients, including PWD, to further evaluate if our concept of non-contact measurement of vital signs and movement combined with the “Charité Dome” helps to prevent upcoming agitation in this vulnerable patient group in the ED.Trial registrationICTRP: “Charité-Dome-Study - DRKS00014737” (retrospectively registered).

A Graphical Catalog of Threats to Validity: Linking Social Science with Epidemiology.

Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), a prominent tool for expressing assumptions in epidemiologic research, are most useful when the hypothetical data generating structure is correctly encoded. Understanding a study's data generating structure and translating that data structure into a DAG can be challenging, but these skills are often glossed over in training. Campbell and Stanley's framework for causal inference has been extraordinarily influential in social science training programs but has received less attention in epidemiology. Their work, along with subsequent revisions and enhancements based on practical experience conducting empirical studies, presents a catalog of 37 threats to validity describing reasons empirical studies may fail to deliver causal effects. We interpret most of these threats to study validity as suggestions for common causal structures. Threats are organized into issues of statistical conclusion validity, internal validity, construct validity, or external validity. To assist epidemiologists in drawing the correct DAG for their application, we map the correspondence between threats to validity and epidemiologic concepts that can be represented with DAGs. Representing these threats as DAGs makes them amenable to formal analysis with d-separation rules and breaks down cross-disciplinary language barriers in communicating methodologic issues.

V14-01 A READY TO USE WEB-APPLICATION PROVIDING A PERSONALIZED BIOPSY SCHEDULE FOR MEN WITH LOW-RISK PCA UNDER ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE

You have accessJournal of UrologyProstate Cancer (V14)1 Apr 2020V14-01 A READY TO USE WEB-APPLICATION PROVIDING A PERSONALIZED BIOPSY SCHEDULE FOR MEN WITH LOW-RISK PCA UNDER ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE Anirudh Tomer, Daan Nieboer, Monique Roobol*, Anders Bjartell, Ewout Steyerberg, Dimitris Rizopoulos, and Movember Foundations Global Action Plan Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance (GAP3) consortium Anirudh TomerAnirudh Tomer More articles by this author , Daan NieboerDaan Nieboer More articles by this author , Monique Roobol*Monique Roobol* More articles by this author , Anders BjartellAnders Bjartell More articles by this author , Ewout SteyerbergEwout Steyerberg More articles by this author , Dimitris RizopoulosDimitris Rizopoulos More articles by this author , and Movember Foundations Global Action Plan Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance (GAP3) consortium More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000000982.01AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Prostate cancer patients enrolled in active surveillance (AS) undergo repeat biopsies. Treatment is usually advised when biopsy Gleason grade increases above grade 1 (Gleason 3+3), called upgrading. Periodical nature of biopsies could lead to time delay in detection of upgrading. Therefore, fixed biopsy schedules are commonly used for detecting upgrading timely. Consequently, slow/non-progressing patients undergo many unnecessary biopsies. Our aim is to assist patients/doctors in making better decisions on the timing of biopsies. Using data from the PRIAS AS study, we previously developed a joint model that predicts the risk of upgrading and allows for more personalized biopsy schedules1. METHODS: We validated our model in five of the largest AS cohorts within the Movember Foundation’s Global Action Plan Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance (GAP3) database (>20,000 men, 27 centers worldwide). The model includes all PSA and biopsy results, a patients baseline characteristics and schedules can be updated with each subsequent follow-up visit. We estimated the time delay in detection of upgrading for both personalized and fixed schedules, in a patient-specific manner. Issues in validation were resolved by recalibrating our model. Last, we employed our models (recalibrated and original) and personalized schedules in a web-application (http://tiny.cc/biopsy). RESULTS: Rate of upgrading at year 5 of AS in PRIAS and external GAP3 cohorts was maximum 50%. Thus, no biopsies are required in first five years for over half of the patients. PSA velocity was a stronger predictor of upgrading (Adjusted hazard ratio: 2.47, 95%CI: 1.93 - 2.99) than current PSA value (Hazard Ratio: 0.99, 95%CI: 0.89 - 1.11). Moderate Area under ROC curve (0.55 to 0.75) was observed for PRIAS and external GAP3 cohorts. Large mean absolute prediction error (0.3 to 0.45) was seen in cohorts with risk of upgrading different from PRIAS, and moderate (0.1 to 0.3) otherwise. Model required recalibration in all external GAP3 cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: We developed and validated a prediction model that can assist in developing personalized biopsy schedules for patients on AS in the 5 largest cohorts of the movember GAP3 database, at external validation we observed poor calibration showing the need for center-specific adjustments when applying the prediction model in different populations from the PRIAS population. We developed a web-application to enable shared decision making in developing personalized schedules taking into account the expected number of biopsies and time delay in detection of risk upgrading. Source of Funding: Supported by the Movember Foundation. The funder did not play any role in the study design, collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or in the drafting of this paper. © 2020 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 203Issue Supplement 4April 2020Page: e1306-e1306 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2020 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Anirudh Tomer More articles by this author Daan Nieboer More articles by this author Monique Roobol* More articles by this author Anders Bjartell More articles by this author Ewout Steyerberg More articles by this author Dimitris Rizopoulos More articles by this author Movember Foundations Global Action Plan Prostate Cancer Active Surveillance (GAP3) consortium More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...

IMPLEMENTATION OF FACE SIMILARITY USING TINY FACE DETECTOR

The development of cloud technology and Software As A Services (SaaS) applications is happening very expeditiously. Many applications are currently used by users using cloud technology, including the Human Resources (HR) application. The problem arising from cloud-based HR applications is regarding the issue of validity, especially when doing attendance so that it cannot be entrusted or represented by others. In this paper, it is explained how to maintain the validity of attendance in cloud-based HR applications by looking at the level of face similarity using tiny face detector.

Critical Evaluation of the 'Matura' Test: CEFR Alignment Project for the Austrian National Examination in English (B2 Level)

This study attempted to evaluate the usefulness a CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) alignment project ‘Matura’ listening test with respects of the item analysis, validity (i.e., content validity) and reliability (i.e., internal consistency reliability, scoring reliably). 93 students randomly selected from six secondary-school of different school-levels across three different regions in Austria completed the listening test. SPSS was employed for the statistical analysis. Facility value, discrimination index together with other descriptive statistics were reported for the item analysis. Content validity by a panel of expert judgments as well as the reliability of the listening test was further examined. Findings showed that: 1) the test paper was of average to high difficulty with its peak score locating around the mid-point, which allow higher education institutions to set an appropriate cut-score for decision making. Relatively widespread test scores further indicated its potential to efficiently discriminate learners of varied listening proficiency; 2) the majority of items in the listening test performed well and were qualitatively reasonably good. However, we did identify several problematic items with possible causes related to construct-irrelevance, too many possible answers, mismatch sign-posted words, fast audio speed, testing simply the background knowledge, and the heavy cognitive load required for “Not Given” option; 3) regarding validity and validity issues, construct-under representation and the less authentic listening materials were then spotted by careful content analysis. Though the statistical output reported relatively high reliability, results should be interpreted with caution. Based on findings, general evaluation of the test as well as implications for further improvement were revealed. Keywords: test evaluation, usefulness, content validity, reliability, Common European Framework of Reference, listening comprehension, item analysis DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-11-01 Publication date: April 30 th 2020

Emerging role of deep learning-based artificial intelligence in tumor pathology.

The development of digital pathology and progression of state‐of‐the‐art algorithms for computer vision have led to increasing interest in the use of artificial intelligence (AI), especially deep learning (DL)‐based AI, in tumor pathology. The DL‐based algorithms have been developed to conduct all kinds of work involved in tumor pathology, including tumor diagnosis, subtyping, grading, staging, and prognostic prediction, as well as the identification of pathological features, biomarkers and genetic changes. The applications of AI in pathology not only contribute to improve diagnostic accuracy and objectivity but also reduce the workload of pathologists and subsequently enable them to spend additional time on high‐level decision‐making tasks. In addition, AI is useful for pathologists to meet the requirements of precision oncology. However, there are still some challenges relating to the implementation of AI, including the issues of algorithm validation and interpretability, computing systems, the unbelieving attitude of pathologists, clinicians and patients, as well as regulators and reimbursements. Herein, we present an overview on how AI‐based approaches could be integrated into the workflow of pathologists and discuss the challenges and perspectives of the implementation of AI in tumor pathology.

Measuring freedom: Rethinking ranking methodologies

This article is a critical analysis of the methodology of press freedom indices of two independent international watchdog organizations, Freedom House (https://freedomhouse.org/) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF- https://rsf.org/en). The author argues that press freedom indices tend to offer us a homogenous view of mass media, which facilitates comparisons between countries by masking significant differences and discusses the challenges of dealing with the difference in the conceptualization of media freedom. As a social scientist, she also brings validity and reliability issues, which are crucial in quantitative research methods, into the discussion.

Improving Scientific Rigor and Reproducibility: Check Research Resources Information When Planning Experiments Using dkNET

Transparency of information on the effectiveness of research resources such as cell lines and antibodies is critical for enhancing scientific rigor and reproducibility. Horbach et al. showed that 32,755 published articles have used misidentified cell lines, and the problem keeps growing as more than half a million studies cite these papers [1]. Tracking research resources has been a challenge because there was no standard way of citing resources and the information provided in methods sections was not always enough to unambiguously identify the resources. Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs), unique identifiers for research resources, were introduced to help solve this issue. Using these RRIDs and text mining techniques, we developed dkNET (NIDDK Information Network, https://dknet.org) Resource Reports to help researchers find key resource information, locate and track resources and compare their performance. These reports provide rating and validation information and issues that may be known about a particular resource. When searching for RRIDs or for resources, authors are provided this information. Babic et al. have shown that authors looking for and citing RRIDs in publications is associated with lower reported use of problematic cell lines [2]. While the information from a Resource Report may be seen at the time of publication, it would be beneficial for researchers to get this information before they perform their experiments. To assist researchers in this task, dkNET also provides Authentication Reports (built on the foundation provided by Resource Reports) to assist researchers in getting information on their resources while also providing information to help in complying with NIH's mandates on Rigor and Reproducibility. Here we present a dkNET Resource Report use case to understand problematic cell lines used in biomedical research. We performed searches for "problematic" cell lines [3] and refined the results by using Disease and Mentions facets. As of November 12, 2019, we found 1253 problematic cell lines. The top 3 disease models were Human papillomavirus‐related endocervical adenocarcinoma, bladder carcinoma, and colon adenocarcinoma. Out of the 203 problematic cell lines that were used in research and retrieved via our RRID mention pipeline, the top 3 are Hep‐G2 (Hepatoblastoma, RRID:CVCL_0027), SH‐SY5Y (Neuroblastoma, RRID:CVCL_0019), and U‐87MG ATCC (Glioblastoma, RRID:CVCL_0022). dkNET provides useful tools that can assist researchers in the early stages of research development in selecting the most appropriate resources. dkNET continuously updates this aggregated information, providing researchers up‐to‐date resource information. dkNET uses this information to help researchers identify key biological resources, track their usage, and find potential collaborators. Researchers should check their key resources via dkNET Resource Reports before planning experiments to enhance scientific rigor and reproducibility.Support or Funding InformationNIH NIDDK U24DK097771Resource Report for Hep‐G2 (RRID:CVCL_0027) Cell Line.Figure 1Resource Report usage information for Hep‐G2 (RRID:CVCL_0027) Cell Line.Figure 2

TEACHING AND LEARNING OF PICTURE-BASED COMPOSITION WRITING IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CURRICULUM IN SINGAPORE

The primary school Malay Language syllabus emphasises on the teaching and learning (T&L) of writing skills since Primary 1 (P1). The picture-based composition writing (PbCW) was introduced at P3. Based on teachers’ feedback, the the resources for T&L of PbCW found in the CEKAP and MEKAR packages, published by the Ministry of Education, are not sufficient to develop composition writing skills among pupils even though PbCW was tested in end-of-year-examinations in schools. Teachers also faced problems to source for the appropriate picture-series that are aligned with the topics available in both packages. In addition, teachers also need more time to produce picture-series that are related to the topics. These problems raised the issue of validity of the school-based examinations when teachers re-use the picture-series resources purchased from external vendors. Teachers also face challenges in implementing T&L effectively, especially for P3 pupils because there is a huge gap between the skills taught in P2 and P3 classes. Based on these needs, the Malay Language Centre of Singapore (MLCS) took initiatives to produce the PbCW Package to support T&L that are aligned with curriculum requirements. To date, 126 teachers have been trained to use the resources and trialled them in their respective schools. Based on the trialling exercise conducted by 97 respondents, all of them reported strongly agree that the resources provided are aligned with topic of units available in CEKAP and MEKAR packages. All respondents stated that they were able to implement the suggested T&L more effectively based on the recommended strategies. Hence, the PbCW resources that are aligned with curriculum content and well supported by effective strategies are important to ensure pupils’ learning are enriched and enhanced.