Despite the immature state of stem cell medicine, patients are seeking and accessing putative stem cell therapies in an "early market" in which direct-to-consumer advertising via the internet likely plays an important role. We analyzed stem cell clinic websites and appraised the relevant published clinical evidence of stem cell therapies to address three questions about the direct-to-consumer portrayal of stem cell medicine in this early market: What sorts of therapies are being offered? How are they portrayed? Is there clinical evidence to support the use of these therapies? We found that the portrayal of stem cell medicine on provider websites is optimistic and unsubstantiated by peer-reviewed literature.
Australia is the driest continent and is largely reliant on irrigation for efficient agricultural production. Irrigation uses significant volumes of water, and in recent decades many initiatives have been undertaken to improve efficiencies of irrigation systems and management practices. This paper analyses the perceptions and barriers to adoption of irrigation technologies and management practices in agriculture based on a field study undertaken in the Bundaberg region in Queensland, Australia. Overall, most farmers surveyed rated the efficiency of their irrigation systems very highly; nonetheless, more than half the farmers surveyed recognized that their systems and practices had the potential for further improvement through automation. Financial constraints and uncertainty around the economic viability of investing in certain agricultural technologies emerged as major barriers to adoption of available and emerging technologies that could improve irrigation efficiency. This is occasioned by insufficient evidence of the benefits of adopting these innovations. Issues suggested by the respondents for further extension, development and research align closely to known barriers to adoption of agricultural innovations. A key finding and recommendation of this study is that farm‐specific cost–benefit analyses of new irrigation technologies and practices are required to facilitate the decision‐making process for the improvement of irrigation efficiency.
Learning professional skills through exposure to real-world contexts demands sophisticated assessment practices. However, complex and often novel genres can be daunting for undergraduate students. This study examined student perspectives as they engaged in Portfolio assessment for the first time within a core undergraduate engineering unit. 42 students were surveyed (27%) with 11 participating in a follow-up telephone interview. Students rated content derived from their contributions to team projects as the most valuable component of their portfolio in terms of demonstrating the unit learning outcomes and developing the skills and dispositions needed in professional practice. The team structure of many learning opportunities encouraged students to collaborate and to draw on each other as instructional resources. The data indicated it is highly worthwhile for instructors to develop static resources that reduce students' need to contact instructors with trivial questions, though lecturer contact was deemed essential and effective for comprehending more complex tasks.
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