Erik W. Black

The Intersection of Online Social Networking with Medical Professionalism

AimTo measure the frequency and content of online social networking among medical students and residents.MethodsUsing the online network Facebook, we evaluated online profiles of all medical students (n = 501) and residents (n = 312) at the University of Florida, Gainesville. Objective measures included the existence of a profile, whether it was made private, and any personally identifiable information. Subjective outcomes included photographic content, affiliated social groups, and personal information not generally disclosed in a doctor–patient encounter.ResultsSocial networking with Facebook is common among medical trainees, with 44.5% having an account. Medical students used it frequently (64.3%) and residents less frequently (12.8%, p < .0001). The majority of accounts (83.3%) listed at least 1 form of personally identifiable information, only a third (37.5%) were made private, and some accounts displayed potentially unprofessional material. There was a significant decline in utilization of Facebook as trainees approached medical or residency graduation (first year as referent, years 3 and 4, p < .05).DiscussionWhile social networking in medical trainees is common in the current culture of emerging professionals, a majority of users allow anyone to view their profile. With a significant proportion having subjectively inappropriate content, ACGME competencies in professionalism must include instruction on the intersection of personal and professional identities.

Wikipedia and academic peer review: Wikipedia as a recognised medium for scholarly publication?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to engage in a thought experiment, exploring the use of Wikipedia or similar content‐malleable systems for the review and dissemination of academic knowledge.Design/methodology/approach – By looking at other sources, the paper considers the current state of the academic peer‐review process, discusses Wikipedia and reflects on dynamic content creation and management applications currently in use in academia.Findings – The traditional peer review process must be updated to match the rapid creation and diffusion of knowledge that characterises the 21st century. The Wikipedia concept is a potential model for more rapid and reliable dissemination of scholarly knowledge. The implications of such a concept would have a dramatic effect on the academic community.Originality/value – This paper promotes a radical idea for changing the methods by which academic knowledge is both constructed and disseminated.

An Overview of Evaluative Instrumentation for Virtual High Schools

Abstract With an increasing prevalence of virtual high school programs in the United States, a better understanding of evaluative tools available for distance educators and administrators is needed. These evaluative tools would provide opportunities for assessment and a determination of success within virtual schools. This article seeks to provide an analysis and classification of instrumentation currently available. It addresses issues regarding the limited arsenal of assessments and evaluation instrumentation for virtual schools.

Anonymous social media - Understanding the content and context of Yik Yak

Yik Yak, an anonymous social media application has garnered a pervasive following and secured millions in investment funding. The application has been a consistent topic of discussion on U.S. college campuses and in the media, often described in very negative terms. This study sought to gain an empirical understanding of the nature of communication on the application. Across three days, 4001 anonymous posts from 42 different US college campuses were collected and analyzed using emergent inductive content analysis. Overall, the content associated with each post varied widely, with a large percentage of posts (45.1%, n?=?1802) focused upon campus life and announcements or proclamations. Also frequent were posts that included profanity or vulgarities (13.5%, n?=?544), posts that asked apparently rhetorical questions (10.1%, n?=?405) and posts related to dating, sex and sexuality (9.2%, n?=?366). Many of the posts were arguably inflammatory, but few contained individualized personal information. A large proportion of posts reflected domains of perceived normative behaviors on college campuses, such as alcohol, drug use and sexuality. Importantly, posts analyzed were highly context specific, limiting the research teams ability to fully understand or appreciate the impact of a post. Finally, even in light of the highly contextual nature of the posts, based on our limited analysis, the authors of this manuscript conclude that Yik Yak, while a tool with the potential for abuse and misuse, does not represent a significant threat to young adults. Mixed methods were used to analyze 4001 Yik Yak posts from 42 college campuses.A large percentage of posts focused on context specific aspects of campus life.Profanity and vulgarity were frequent in posts, as well as sexual references.Many posts reflected domains of perceived normative behaviors on college campuses.The potential for abusive postings may be mediated by online community policies.

Contemporary Instructor-Librarian Collaboration: A Case Study of an Online Embedded Librarian Implementation

This paper reports the results of a case study evaluation of an embedded librarian project at a large, land-grant, research institution. The case is comprised of learners who are full-time academic health care professionals enrolled in an online graduate educational technology program. The mixed methods methodology focused on assessing the embedded librarians impact upon the information literacy competency of the participants. Results support the documented literature by indicating that embedded librarians are of value to online students. The course instructors experience with the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the embedded librarian project are emphasized in the presentation, providing unique faculty insight into collaborating with librarians. Recommendations for the assessment of embedded librarian projects include the need for future studies to investigate various contexts and the use of other methodologies to provide stronger empirical evidence.

Are gymnasium equipment surfaces a source of staphylococcal infections in the community

To determine the staphylococcal colonization of gymnasium surfaces, we obtained cultures of 5 gym surfaces, before and after routine cleaning in 3 local gyms, 3 separate times. Of 240 cultures, none was positive for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or methicillin-sensitive S aureus (MSSA). Gym surfaces do not appear to be reservoirs for staphylococci; therefore, surface-to-skin contact in gymnasiums does not likely play a significant role in community transmission of MRSA or MSSA.

Online social network use by health care providers in a high traffic patient care environment.

Background The majority of workers, regardless of age or occupational status, report engaging in personal Internet use in the workplace. There is little understanding of the impact that personal Internet use may have on patient care in acute clinical settings. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the volume of one form of personal Internet use—online social networking (Facebook)—generated by workstations in the emergency department (ED) in contrast to measures of clinical volume and severity. Methods The research team analyzed anonymous network utilization records for 68 workstations located in the emergency medicine department within one academic medical center for 15 consecutive days (12/29/2009 to 1/12/2010). This data was compared to ED work index (EDWIN) data derived by the hospital information systems. Results Health care workers spent an accumulated 4349 minutes (72.5 hours) browsing Facebook, staff cumulatively visited Facebook 9369 times and spent, on average, 12.0 minutes per hour browsing Facebook. There was a statistically significant difference in the time spent on Facebook according to time of day (19.8 minutes per hour versus 4.3 minutes per hour, P<.001). There was a significant, positive correlation between EDWIN scores and time spent on Facebook (r=.266, P<.001). Conclusions Facebook use constituted a substantive percentage of staff time during the 15-day observation period. Facebook use increased with increased patient volume and severity within the ED.

Online Schools and Children With Special Health and Educational Needs: Comparison With Performance in Traditional Schools

Background In the United States, primary and secondary online schools are institutions that deliver online curricula for children enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12). These institutions commonly provide opportunities for online instruction in conjunction with local schools for students who may need remediation, have advanced needs, encounter unqualified local instructors, or experience scheduling conflicts. Internet-based online schooling may potentially help children from populations known to have educational and health disadvantages, such as those from certain racial or ethnic backgrounds, those of low socioeconomic status, and children with special health care needs (CSHCN). Objective To describe the basic and applied demographics of US online-school users and to compare student achievement in traditional versus online schooling environments. Methods We performed a brief parental survey in three states examining basic demographics and educational history of the child and parents, the child’s health status as measured by the CSHCN Screener, and their experiences and educational achievement with online schools and class(es). Results were compared with state public-school demographics and statistical analyses controlled for state-specific independence. Results We analyzed responses from 1971 parents with a response rate of 14.7% (1971/13,384). Parents of online-school participants were more likely to report having a bachelor’s degree or higher than were parents of students statewide in traditional schools, and more of their children were white and female. Most notably, the prevalence of CSHCN was high (476/1971, 24.6%) in online schooling. Children who were male, black, or had special health care needs reported significantly lower grades in both traditional and online schools. However, when we controlled for age, gender, race, and parental education, parents of CSHCN or black children reported significantly lower grades in online than in traditional schooling (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29–1.62 for CSHCN, P < .001; aOR 2.73, 95% CI 2.11–3.53 for black children, P < .001.) In contrast, parents with a bachelor’s degree or higher reported significantly higher online-school grades than traditional-school grades for their children (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.15–1.82, P < .001). Conclusions The demographics of children attending online schools do not mirror those of the state-specific school populations. CSHCN seem to opt into online schools at a higher rate. While parents report equivalent educational achievement in online and traditional classrooms, controlling for known achievement risks suggests that CSHCN and black children have lower performance in online than in traditional schools. Given the millions of students now in online schools, future studies must test whether direct assistance in online schools, such as taking individualized education plans into consideration, will narrow known disparities in educational success. Only then can online schools emerge as a true educational alternative for at-risk populations.

Pediatric Residents' Learning Styles and Temperaments and Their Relationships to Standardized Test Scores

BACKGROUND Board certification is an important professional qualification and a prerequisite for credentialing, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) assesses board certification rates as a component of residency program effectiveness. To date, research has shown that preresidency measures, including National Board of Medical Examiners scores, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society membership, or medical school grades poorly predict postresidency board examination scores. However, learning styles and temperament have been identified as factors that 5 affect test-taking performance. The purpose of this study is to characterize the learning styles and temperaments of pediatric residents and to evaluate their relationships to yearly in-service and postresidency board examination scores. METHODS This cross-sectional study analyzed the learning styles and temperaments of current and past pediatric residents by administration of 3 validated tools: the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, and the Felder-Silverman Learning Style test. These results were compared with known, normative, general and medical population data and evaluated for correlation to in-service examination and postresidency board examination scores. RESULTS The predominant learning style for pediatric residents was converging 44% (33 of 75 residents) and the predominant temperament was guardian 61% (34 of 56 residents). The learning style and temperament distribution of the residents was significantly different from published population data (P  =  .002 and .04, respectively). Learning styles, with one exception, were found to be unrelated to standardized test scores. CONCLUSIONS The predominant learning style and temperament of pediatric residents is significantly different than that of the populations of general and medical trainees. However, learning styles and temperament do not predict outcomes on standardized in-service and board examinations in pediatric residents.

Visual Analyses of the Creation of Avatars

Video games are becoming more popular; there has been a particular rise in interest and use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These games utilize avatar creation; avatars can be seen as the technological instantiation of the real person in the virtual world. Little research has been conducted on avatar creation. Although it is has been anecdotally postulated that you can be anything you want online, there is a dearth of research on what happens when participants are told to create avatars, particularly avatars within given contexts. In this study, we used the Second Life avatar creation tool to examine what would happen when participants were told to create avatars as heroes, villains, their ideal self, and their actual self. Data analyses reveal that characters often refuse to change permanent aspects of their features, instead modifying only temporal aspects. This research has provided support for the quantitative review of avatar characteristics as predictors of vignette groupings.