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Questionnaires were administered to 234 patients with prostate cancer (142 attended support groups, 92 did not) to determine their sources of emotional, informational, and practical support and the relationship between their satisfaction with this support and their self-reports of coping and quality of life. Attenders were significantly more likely to cite other patients as sources of all three types of support. Furthermore, attenders cited fellow patients as their most helpful source of informational support, whereas nonattenders cited medical staff. Satisfaction with social support was significantly correlated with coping and quality of life. No significant differences were found between attenders and nonattenders regarding coping, quality of life, or satisfaction with the three types of support. The results are interpreted according to individual differences in how the patients satisfied their needs for support.

Due to the limited number of environmental matrix certified reference materials (CRMs) with assigned values for natural levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), an interlaboratory study was undertaken by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Environment Canada to establish reference concentration values for selected PCDD/Fs in two well-characterized NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRMs): SRM 1649a (Urban Dust) and SRM 1944 (New York/New Jersey Waterway Sediment). Results from 14 laboratories were used to provide reference values for the seventeen 2, 3, 7, 8-substituted PCDD/F congeners, the totals for individual tetra- through hepta-substituted PCDD/F homologues, and the total amount of tetra- through hepta-substituted PCDD/Fs. The mass fractions for the individual 2, 3, 7, 8-substituted congeners range from approximately 0.01 microg/kg to 7 microg/kg dry mass.

We examined fear induced by the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedure in 80 adult patients who were undergoing the procedure for the first time. Participants completed self-report measures of claustrophobia, anxiety sensitivity, thoughts about the scan, and pain. Participants were assessed pre- and postscan, and at 1-month follow-up. Twenty-five percent of the participants experienced moderate to severe anxiety during the MRI scan. Prescan scores on the Claustrophobia Questionnaire (CLQ: Rachman and Taylor, 1993) significantly predicted participants' distress during the scan: pain and anxeity sensitivity did not. Furthermore, CLQ scores discriminated between participants who reported panic during the scan and participants who did not report panic. A brief screening instrument consisting of six items from the 29-item CLQ is suggested. This brief screening instrument administered prior to the scan may help identify in advance those people who are most likely to experience claustrophobic fear and, in particular, those who panic during the MRI procedure.

Cognitive barriers to participation in actual HIV vaccine trials have not been previously comprehensively reviewed. In this review article, barriers in actual early phase, phase 2B, and phase 3 HIV vaccine trials are quantified and categorized, and compared between the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and the non-OECD countries. Participation rates were standardized to allow for comparisons. In both the OECD and the non- OECD countries, barriers included subjective norms and discrimination, vaccine safety concerns, and logistical concerns. More actual HIV vaccine trials can incorporate questions about and quantify barriers to participation, and this may aid future recruitment strategies.

The analysis of PCBs often involves lengthy and expensive cleanup procedures to remove interferences associated with environmental sample matrices. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) has proven to be a useful tool in removing many of these interferences from environmental samples, especially from difficult matrices such as oils, lipids and sediments. This paper describes the effect of temperature upon the GPC column in separating PCBs from transformer oil and its implication on GC-MS analysis.

A variety of mass spectrometric techniques including electron impact ionization, positive and negative chemical ionization, low and high mass resolution and MS/MS are applied to samples of environmental interest. Examples of real data are given to demonstrate some of the applications of this methodology to several different sample matrices and the high degree of sensitivity and specificity made possible with modern instrumentation.

INTRODUCTION To help address physician shortages in the underserved community of Prince George, Canada, the University of British Columbia (UBC) and various partners created the Northern Medical Program (NMP), a regional distributed site of UBC's medical doctor undergraduate program. Early research on the impacts of the NMP revealed a high degree of social connectedness. The objective of the present study was to explore the role of social capital in supporting the regional training site and the benefits accrued to a broad range of stakeholders and network partners. METHODS In this qualitative study, 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with community leaders in 2007. A descriptive content analysis based on analytic induction technique was employed. Carpiano's Bourdieu-based framework of 'neighbourhood' social capital was adapted to empirically describe how social capital was produced and mobilized within and among networks during the planning and implementation of the NMP. RESULTS Results from this study reveal that the operation of social capital and the related concept of social cohesion are multifaceted, and that benefits extend in many directions, resulting in somewhat unanticipated benefits for other key stakeholders and network partners of this medical education program. Participants described four aspects of social capital: (i) social cohesion; (ii) social capital resources; (iii) access to social capital; and (iv) outcomes of social capital. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study suggest that the partnerships and networks formed in the NMP planning and implementation phases were the foundation for social capital mobilization. The use of Carpiano's spatially-bounded model of social capital was useful in this context because it permitted the characterization of relations and networks of a tight-knit community body. The students, faculty and administrators of the NMP have benefitted greatly from access to the social capital mobilized to make the NMP operational. Taking account of the dynamic and multifaceted operation of social capital helps one move beyond a view of geographic communities as simply containers or sinks of capital investment, and to appreciate the degree to which they may act as a platform for productive network formation and expansion.

Attempts to improve teaching and learning in higher education are evolving and are becoming more evidence-based. The present chapter looks at some of this evidence as it may inform teaching and learning improvement efforts, strategies for organizational change, and evaluation of programs in educational development. In so doing, we focus on examples of scholarship that educational developers might call “foundational.” The scholarly foundations of attempts to improve teaching and learning are placed in one of three categories: the apocryphal, the theoretically plausible, and the research-based. It is suggested that organizational culture research be used to help develop strategies for organizational change, a key task in educational development. Similarly, foundational literature is reviewed assessing the impact of training on university teachers skills, their approach to teaching and their students’ approaches to their learning.

How well do we know our students? We might justifiably pride ourselves in being student-oriented, and we may be skilled at building rapport with our students, but this isn’t necessarily tantamount to really knowing them. What is it like to truly grapple with the work we ask them to do? It all might seem quite reasonable to us, but the students’ experiences could be quite different. These questions and considerations have been brought front and center for us as we read the papers that constitute this issue of Teaching & Learning Inquiry. Many of these papers, each in its own way, attempts to better understand the lived experiences of our students. Nathan Webb and Laura Obrycki Barrett take a detailed look at just how we get to know students who are learning English as a sec ond language. The key processes they identify—in clud ing such behaviors as being uncommonly attentive, establishing common grounding, and forming connections—can be applied to all teaching. Mary Goldschmidt explores students’ lived experiences as disciplinary learners of both content and process, which includes learning to write the genres and conventions of their chosen fields. She foregrounds the rich descriptions of a few seniors who’ve developed “their own ‘place within the disciplinary enterprise’” (p. 27). Jonathan Cisco has created a more effective way of teaching students how to write literature reviews based on his direct observations of the struggles they were going through with such assignments. Interviews indicated that students were at a loss regarding the best approach to writing a literature review—much less, what a good review accomplished. Yet such reviews are among the most common assignments we require. Shane Dawson and Harry Hubball use computer-based analytics to chart the actual paths students take as they navigate their way through academic programs. This analy sis yields very useful insights regarding students’ perceptions of relationships among courses, as well as challenges students face simply piecing together that which we require of them. Michael Drinkwater, Deanne Gannaway, Karen Sheppard, Matthew Davis, Margaret Wegener, Warwick Bowen, and Joel Corney take us inside the physics classroom to better understand that lived experience. We are moving well beyond the student-as-passivevessel model in large classes, challenging students to engage with problems and issues in these settings. This team from the University of Queensland has shown that the value of the time spent in such active classrooms is affected considerably by the degree of preparation students bring into them. They present a strategy that is manageable and yet ensures that students arrive prepared. Moreover, the approach gives the instructor impor

Considering Canada's Tri-Council statement on the ethical conduct for research involving human subjects, we discuss some of the ethical challenges of doing research on teaching and learning in which one's own students and teaching act as the context of such scholarly activity. We advocate establishing basic principles based in the complex relationships in teaching and learning, making reference to the such issues as the potential social consequences for students of choosing not to participate in SoTL research. We propose some principles for those new to teaching and learning research to consider as part of their own ethical considerations.En ce qui concerne l'Énoncé de politique des trois Conseils : Éthique de la recherche avec des êtres humains, nous présentons les difficultés déontologiques de la recherche sur l’enseignement et l’apprentissage au cours de laquelle nos propres étudiants et notre enseignement constituent le contexte de cette activité savante. Nous prônons l’établissement de principes fondamentaux basés sur les relations complexes entre l’enseignement et l’apprentissage et faisons référence à des enjeux comme les conséquences sociales potentielles du choix des étudiants de ne pas participer à la recherche sur l’ACEA. Nous proposons des principes que les chercheurs novices pourraient intégrer à leurs propres considérations déontologiques.

Community service-learning (CSL) has been proposed as one way to enrich medical and dental students' sense of social responsibility toward people who are marginalized in society.We developed and implemented a new CSL option in the integrated medical/dental curriculum and assessed its educational impact.Focus groups, individual open-ended interviews, and a survey were used to assess dental students', faculty tutors' and community partners' experiences with CSL.CSL enabled a deeper appreciation for the vulnerabilities that people who are marginalized experience; students gained a greater insight into the social determinants of health and the related importance of community engagement; and they developed useful skills in health promotion project planning, implementation and evaluation. Community partners and faculty tutors indicated that equal partnership, greater collaboration, and a participatory approach to course development are essential to sustainability in CSL.CSL can play an important role in nurturing a purposeful sense of social responsibility among future practitioners. Our study enabled the implementation of an innovative longitudinal course (professionalism and community service) in all 4 years of the dental curriculum.

HIV vaccine development remains an urgent priority. Vaccine preparedness studies to assess feasibility are an important precursor to HIV vaccine trials. Studies such as these have taken place in many non-Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (non-OECD) countries using diverse cohorts. This article is a systematic review of retention rates and willingness to participate (WTP) in HIV vaccine trials. Studies took place in Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, India, Russia, Thailand, and several sub-Saharan African countries. Studies generally reported recruitment of high-risk individuals. Of 33 studies we identified, retention was assessed in 16 studies, and the 12-month retention ranged from 77 to 85%. Willingness to participate was assessed in 21 studies. Willingness to participate ranged from 23 to 100%, and increased knowledge was associated with an increased WTP. Vaccine preparedness studies have taken place using diverse cohorts in the non-OECD countries. In general, retention rates and WTP have been adequate to conduct HIV vaccine trials. Educational programs to improve knowledge about HIV vaccines may contribute to better follow-up and an increased WTP in these countries.

Objective To examine the patterns of cognitive functioning and academic achievement in children and adolescents with chronic pain attending a tertiary-care interdisciplinary pain service. Methods The standardized psychoeducational testing results of 57 children and adolescents with chronic pain aged 8-18 were retrospectively reviewed. Results On average, participants scored higher in general intelligence, verbal ability, nonverbal reasoning, word reading, and math reasoning than the general population. The level of academic achievement for most participants was consistent with their intellectual ability. Conclusions In this clinical sample with complex, disabling pain, the group mean data do not indicate overall cognitive impairment, or a single atypical achievement pattern. Future research will need to look beyond cognitive and achievement scores to explore the links between school functioning and chronic pain in children.

Background: Pharmacy schools across North America have been charged to ensure their students are adequately skilled in the principles and practices of pharmaceutical care. Despite this mandate, a large percentage of students experience insufficient opportunities to practice the activities, tasks and processes essential to pharmaceutical care. The objective of this retrospective study of pharmacy students was to: (1) as "proof of concept", test the overall educational impact of an enhanced advanced pharmacy practice experiential (APPE) model on student competencies; (2) develop an instrument to measure students' and preceptors' experiences; and (3) assess the psychometric properties of the instrument. Methods: A comparative-experimental design, using student and preceptor surveys, was used to evaluate the impact of the enhanced community-based APPE over the traditional APPE model. The study was grounded in a 5-stage learning model: (1) an enhanced learning climate leads to (2) better utilization of learning opportunities, including (3) more frequent student/patient consultation, then to (4) improved skills acquisition, thence to (5) more favorable attitudes toward pharmaceutical care practice. The intervention included a one-day preceptor workshop, a comprehensive on-site student orientation and extending the experience from two four-week experiences in different pharmacies to one eight-week in one pharmacy. Results: The 35 student and 38 preceptor survey results favored the enhanced model; with students conducting many more patient consultations and reporting greater skills improvement. In addition, the student self-assessment suggested changes in attitudes favoring pharmaceutical care principles. Psychometric testing showed the instrument to be sensitive, valid and reliable in ascertaining differences between the enhanced and traditional arms. Conclusion: The enhanced experiential model positively affects learning opportunities and competency acquisition, as measured by a new instrument showing sound psychometric properties.

The authors’ aim in this study was to describe the chronic illness experience and its relationship to the concept to finding meaning. They conducted interviews using a narrative approach with 15 adults experiencing various chronic illnesses and analyzed narrative data using a combination of holistic-content and categorical-content approaches. The three major categories were the context of the chronic illness experience, personal reactions, and coping efforts. These categories were best interpreted in terms of a transactional model. The authors categorized finding meaning under cognitive coping strategies and described it as a strategy that was part of a larger coping repertoire.

Le developpement industriel du Saguenay a ete encourage par la presence de ressources hydriques abondantes. Ce developpement a toutefois eu un impact sur l'environnement et a amene les gouvernements a mesurer differents polluants. Alors que les niveaux eleves d'hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques (HAP) etaient connus depuis longtemps, les valeurs elevees de dioxines et de furanes surprenaient. Un projet utilisant des aiguilles de pin (Pinus sylvestris) et des echantillons d'air a donc ete mis sur pied pour evaluer la distribution des dioxines et furanes dans la region et tenter d'identifier leurs sources. A la fin aout, il y avait generalement moins de dioxines et furanes dans les aiguilles de pin recueillies dans la region de Jonquiere qu'aux stations temoins situees a Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola et a Montreal. En decembre, les niveaux avaient augmente dans toutes les stations, sauf a Montreal. De plus, ils etaient un peu plus eleves dans la partie sud de la region de Jonquiere. Pour ce qui est de l'air ambiant, les niveaux de dioxines et furanes ont baisse de moitie depuis 1995 et il n’y avait pas de differences significatives entre les valeurs mesurees a Jonquiere, Chicoutimi et Montreal lors du projet. Le chauffage au bois, le brulage a ciel ouvert, le transport routier et certaines sources industrielles dont les recycleurs de metaux sont des sources de dioxines et furanes a Jonquiere et Chicoutimi. A la station de Montreal, ils proviennent du transport automobile alors que les industries siderurgiques expliquent en bonne partie les niveaux retrouves a Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola.

Regular night waking of young children is one of the most common problems encountered by parents. This study compared a standardized night waking programme that involved organized bedtime routines, procedures for settling the child and for the handling of crying, calling out and getting out of bed, with a group which received written information only and a waiting list control group. The children receiving the standard programme and those receiving written information only showed significant improvement over children in the waiting list group. This result supports the use of written parent instructions with or without therapist support.