Clinical and educational experience is one of the most commonly studied variables in clinical judgment research. Contrary to clinicians' perceptions, clinical judgment researchers have generally concluded that accuracy does not improve with increased education, training, or clinical experience. In this meta-analysis, the authors synthesized…

Purpose: To learn about African American older adults' knowledge and perceptions of brain donation, factors that relate to participating or not participating in a brain donation research program, and methods to increase African American brain donation commitment rates in the context of an Alzheimer's disease (AD) research program. Design and…

The connection that critics make between medical genetics and eugenics is historically fallacious. Activists on the political right are as mistaken as activists on the political left: Genetic screening was not eugenics in the past, is not eugenics in the present, and, unless its technological systems become radically transformed, will not be…

This article examines the privacy of personal medical information in the health research context. Arguing that biomedical research in Canada has been caught up in the government's broader neoliberal policy agenda that has positioned biotechnology as a strategic driver of economic growth, the author discusses the tension between informational…

The low level of literacy and lack of language proficiency possessed by some immigrants from low socioeconomic status backgrounds create communication barriers in the healthcare setting, thus interfering with their ability to access appropriate medical care and their subsequent participation in medical research. Adding pictorial descriptions to…

This article describes an alternative approach to setting standards for performance assessments. The procedure was designed for use in low-budget, relatively low-stakes contexts where it is not possible to bring expert judges together. The procedure that allowed participant judges to work individually throughout the process was an effort to…

This paper takes a look at how one academic health sciences librarian brought mediated literature searching to the distance RN to BSN nursing students. It takes a look at why Adobe Connect was the webinar software that was selected to deliver online instruction to the students. The article explains how students participated in a pre-class survey…

The technology surrounding stem cells generates great excitement amongst scientists, media and the community. For science teachers, this means not only embracing and keeping track of the rapid growth and ongoing development in this field but also tackling the ethical and legislative issues surrounding the topic. So what are stem cells, what is all…

The role of sensory feedback in the early ontogeny of motor coordination remains a topic of speculation and debate. On E20 of gestation (the 20th day after conception, 2 days before birth), rat fetuses can alter interlimb coordination after a period of training with an interlimb yoke, which constrains limb movement and promotes synchronized,…

In the past few months, animal-rights groups have stepped up their demonstrations against academic researchers who use animals, spawning a new wave of concern among scientists. In February, extremists caused a fire at the home of a researcher from the University of California at Los Angeles, and protesters struck the husband of a scientist from…

Of all animal-rights issues, medical research is perhaps the thorniest. The human use of animals--for companionship, entertainment, food, clothing--always assumes a hierarchy, one that puts humans at the top or the center of either the evolutionary order, God's creation, or the food chain. Although most people can come to terms with the use of…

Historically, individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have been excluded from pain research and assumed to be insensitive or indifferent to pain. The weight of the evidence suggests that individuals with ID have been subject to practices and procedures with little regard for their ability to experience or express pain. A number of issues…

Obtaining more federal funds is the expressed research goal in "Closing the Gaps by 2015." It states: By 2015, increase the level of federal science and engineering research and development obligations to Texas institutions to 6.5 percent of obligations to higher education institutions across the nation. In 2006, Texas institutions of…

Every article sent by an author to a reputed scientific journal undergoes a rigorous editorial evaluation. The editor has the final responsibility of accepting or rejecting manuscripts and thus can confer authority and validity on the author's research and help to disseminate new knowledge. In this task, editors make use of a panel of expert peer…

The topic of diagnostic error is a relatively new one in the academic arena and lacks an organized research agenda. Participants at "Diagnostic Error in Medicine-2008" formally considered this issue and provided initial suggestions. Recommendations were made to standardize taxonomies and definitions, especially in regard to what constitutes a…