Between 2005–2011, the New Zealand Tertiary Education Consortium (NZTEC) was contracted to the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) in the Sultanate of Oman. This long-term, long-distance off-shore education contract committed four New Zealand universities to providing degrees in four discipline areas (as well as English language support) within the Omani Colleges of Applied Science. As part of this process, AUT University’s Bachelor of Communication Studies was redeveloped for delivery in Oman. This case study will focus on the Journalism major and in particular the nature of the courses within this major, the difficulties encountered in re-developing them and the challenge of delivering them under these particular circumstances in this particular time frame. The wider picture of the type of journalism practised in Oman; what is expected of—or indeed possible for― journalists in that society; and journalism as a force for democracy in Arab countries will also be briefly discussed.
265words) 32 Background: 33 Limited treatment options contribute to high morbidity/mortality rates with carbapenem-resistant, 34 gram-negative bacterial infections. New approaches for carbapenemase-producing organism 35 (CPO) detection may help inform clinician decision-making on patient treatment and infection 36 control. BD Phoenix™ CPO detect ("CPO detect") detects and classifies carbapenemases in 37 Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa during susceptibility 38 testing. The clinical performance for CPO detect is reported here. 40Methods: 41 Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were 42 evaluated across three sites using CPO detect and a composite reference method (RM); the latter 43 comprised of the modified carbapenem inactivation method and minimal inhibitory 44 concentration (MIC) screen for ertapenem, imipenem, and meropenem. Multiplex PCR testing 45 was also utilized for Ambler class determination. Positive/negative percent agreements (PPA and 46 NPA) between CPO detect and RM were determined. 47 48 Results: 49 PPA and NPA for Enterobacterales were 98.5% [96.6, 99.4] and 97.2% [95.8, 98.2], 50 respectively. A. baumannii PPA and NPA, respectively, were 97.1% [90.2, 99.2] and 97.1% 51 [89.9, 99.2]. P. aeruginosa PPA and NPA, respectively, were 95.9% [88.6, 98.6] and 92.3% 52 [86.7, 95.6]. PPA for carbapenemase class designation for all organisms combined and 53 Enterobacterales alone, respectively, were 95.3% [90.2, 97.8] and 94.6% [88.8, 97.5] for Class 54 on July 4, 2020 by guest http://jcm.asm.org/ Downloaded from Clinical performance for CPO detection-Whitley et al., 2020-JCM 3 A, 94.0% [88.7, 96.6] and 96.4% [90.0, 98.8] for Class B, and 95.0% [90.1, 97.6] and 99.0% 55 [94.4, 99.8] for Class D. NPA values for all organisms, and Enterobacterales alone, ranged from 56 98.5% to 100%. 57 58 Conclusions: 59 CPO detect provided accurate detection and classification of CPOs for the majority of isolates of 60 Enterobacterales, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa tested. 61 62 KEY WORDS: Carbapenem resistance; Carbapenemase-producing organisms; Ambler class 63 carbapenemase; Carbapenemase-resistant Enterobacterales; Phoenix CPO detect 64 on July 4, 2020 by guest http://jcm.asm.org/ Downloaded from Clinical performance for CPO detection-Whitley et al., 2020-JCM 65 Approximately 2.8 million people are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year in the 66 USA; at least 35,000 die as a result of antibiotic resistance.(1) A large number of these 67 mortalities are caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR), gram-negative organisms,(2, 3) which 68 continue to represent a major health concern-especially in hospital settings,(4-6) where 69 mortality rates due to MDR range from 30-70%. (7, 8) Recent data suggest that anywhere from 5-70 60% of infections involve antibiotic resistant organisms.(9, 10) Carbapenems are among a 71 diminishing list of effective antibiotic classes for the treatment of MDR in...
Both the public and private higher education sectors in Oman are undergoing rapid change in the number and type of local and foreign degrees offered. The Sultanate is developing a comprehensive quality assurance system to ensure the educational appropriateness of all degrees awarded in Oman. This paper examines the collaboration between the Ministry of Higher Education in Oman and the New Zealand Tertiary Education Consortium, which has resulted in the delivery of four degrees based on New Zealand material but conferred by Oman. These degrees are thus neither fully local nor awarded by external institutions. Taking the communication degree as its focus, quality assurance matters relating to content, teaching and learning, accreditation processes, maintenance of standards across multi-campus delivery and benchmarking are explored against local and international standards.
The development and initial psychometric investigation of the Hocus Focus Analytics (HFA) Scale, an instrument to measure student growth and outcomes using an arts-integrated teaching approach, is reported. A 15-item instrument consisting of five subscales (cognitive, motor, communication, social skills and creativity) was developed to measure the outcomes of students (n = 31) with disabilities through the performance of four different magic tricks. The performance of each trick was assessed by the students' teachers (n = 4) at four different times for a total of 124 completed assessments using the HFA Scale. Results of the present study offer initial support for the psychometric properties of the HFA Scale. Internal consistency as measured by Cronbach's alpha was .91 for the total scale. The authors discuss the importance of using an instrument to measure student progress through a multidisciplinary, arts-integrated curriculum and future research implications. An arts-rich environment produces a setting conducive for learning, and, consequently, students of all abilities thrive (Brown & Vaughan, 2009; Eisner, 2004; Fiske, 1999). Considering what is known about multiple intelligences (Gardner, 1993) and alternate ways of learning, the arts serve as an ideal vehicle to impart knowledge to a wide variety of students, including those with diverse learning needs. According to Gerber and Horoschak (2012), "The arts have always provided a visual, auditory, or movement approach to learning and they use sensory modalities that reinforce concepts and teach to the students' strengths" (p. 125). The National Art Education Association (NAEA, 2010) has an equally compelling position on the value of early childhood art education, stating that it is essential to early learning. According to the NAEA (2010), the arts (1) support multiple ways of knowing and learning that are inherent in the unique nature of each child; (2) empower children to communicate, represent, and express their thoughts, feelings and perceptions; (3) offer opportunities to develop creativity, imagination, and flexible thinking; and (4) can enrich a young child's understanding of diverse cultures. The Multidimensional Value of an Arts Education Widely known for his contributions to art education, Elliot Eisner was an unrelenting advocate for arts programs in schools. In his book, The Arts and the Creation of the Mind (2002), he expounded on the importance of the arts and their ability to develop thinking skills in children. Intrinsic to the arts is the construct that diversity, ambiguity, and variability are not only accepted, but encouraged. Eisner wrote, The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. The arts celebrate diversity. The arts celebrate multiple conceptions of virtue. They teach that there are many ways to see and interpret the world and that people can look through more than one window. Furthermore, this lesson is seldom taught in schools (p 9). When students are encoura...
This paper is a case study that explains how process benchmarking was used by a group of seven Australian councils to improve the performance of their civil works delivery. The paper gives specific details about a process benchmarking exercise conducted across seven comparable councils to identify the best practices in preconstruction activities amongst them and present opportunities for process improvement. The methodology identified and ranked processes that can only be measured through qualitative indicators, such as the clarity of responsibility and feedback loops. It allowed each of the participant councils to better map and understand their respective pre-construction activities process. The relative importance of key performance indicators and the participant's performance against them were ranked; improvement opportunities were identified at minimum cost and inconvenience to the participants.
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