Simulation training has become increasingly relevant in the educational curriculum of surgical trainees. The types of simulation models used, goals of simulation training, and an objective assessment of its utility and effectiveness are highly variable. The role and effectiveness of cadaveric simulation in cardiothoracic surgical training has not…

Social workers have an important role in the field of mental health, and social work programs have a responsibility to prepare students for practice in the field. This scoping review mapped and synthesized the literature on mental health, addictions, and suicide in social work education and training. We found 51 articles that examined social work…

The literature proposes numerous so-called pseudo-R[superscript 2] measures for evaluating "goodness of fit" in regression models with categorical dependent variables. Unlike ordinary least square-R[superscript 2], log-likelihood-based pseudo-R[superscript 2]s do not represent the proportion of explained variance but rather the…

Background: The use of chatbots as learning assistants is receiving increasing attention in language learning due to their ability to converse with students using natural language. Previous reviews mainly focused on only one or two narrow aspects of chatbot use in language learning. This review goes beyond merely reporting the specific types of…

In studies with time-to-event data, outcomes may be reported as hazard ratios (HR) or binomial counts/proportions at a specific time point. If the intent is to synthesise evidence by performing a meta-analysis or network meta-analysis (NMA) using the HR as the measure of treatment effect, studies that only report binomial data cannot be included…

Random-effects meta-analysis methods include an estimate of between-study heterogeneity variance. We present a systematic review of simulation studies comparing the performance of different estimation methods for this parameter. We summarise the performance of methods in relation to estimation of heterogeneity and of the overall effect estimate,…

Our study revisits and challenges two core conventional meta-regression estimators: the prevalent use of 'mixed-effects' or random-effects meta-regression analysis and the correction of standard errors that defines fixed-effects meta-regression analysis (FE-MRA). We show how and explain why an unrestricted weighted least squares MRA (WLS-MRA)…

Temporal changes in magnitude of effect sizes reported in many areas of research are a threat to the credibility of the results and conclusions of meta-analysis. Numerous sequential methods for meta-analysis have been proposed to detect changes and monitor trends in effect sizes so that meta-analysis can be updated when necessary and interpreted…

Meta-analyses are typically used to estimate the overall/mean of an outcome of interest. However, inference about between-study variability, which is typically modelled using a between-study variance parameter, is usually an additional aim. The DerSimonian and Laird method, currently widely used by default to estimate the between-study variance,…

The use of individual patient data (IPD) in network meta-analysis (NMA) is becoming increasingly popular. However, as most studies do not report IPD, most NMAs are performed using aggregate data for at least some, if not all, of the studies. We investigate the benefits of including varying proportions of IPD studies in an NMA. Several models have…

Difficulty performing age-appropriate motor skills affects up to 83% of children with autism spectrum disorder. This systematic review examined the effect of motor and physical activity intervention on motor outcomes of children with autism spectrum disorder and the effect of motor learning strategies on motor skill acquisition, retention, and…

In December, 2005, the Air Force Auditing Agency conducted an interview of 282 nurses and physicians stationed in Iraq. The majority of the nurses from the interview reported they were not prepared to care for critically injured soldiers. This study investigated whether a new training technology, using scenario-based simulations, could improve…

This study used peer-reviewed published research reports to teach a seminar on learning and memory to first-semester college students. Complete reports (not summaries, reviews, or news reports) were re-written by this author to be more "student friendly" to college freshmen. These adapted published research reports (APRRs) retained…

The author presents an active-learning exercise for the introductory macroeconomics class in which students participate in a mock Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Preparation involves data gathering and writing both a research report and a policy recommendation. An FOMC meeting is simulated in which students give their policy…