Barriers and Facilitators to Parental Help-Seeking for Young Children With Developmental Delays: A Qualitative Investigation

This study examined influences, factors, and processes associated with parental recognition and response to developmental concerns through interviews and focus groups with six Spanish- and 17 English-speaking parents of children aged 2 weeks to 4.5 years with developmental concerns. Results revealed that social support, perceptions of perceived threat (the child’s susceptibility to developmental problems and potential severity of the issue), evaluation of the benefits and barriers of seeking help, self-efficacy, and referral coordination influenced parents’ recognition and response to developmental concerns. Experiences and paths to services varied greatly, illustrating the lack of consistency within service systems. Understanding these influences in identification and intervention is the first step in addressing how to better support parents and their children.

A Scientific Approach to the Shakespeare Authorship Question

In the field of science, it is widely accepted that all hypotheses and theories can, and should, be tested. Here, we treat the authorship of the works attributed to William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon as a hypothesis (rather than received truth) and review the current methods available for testing this hypothesis. Justification for this investigation arises from the recent identification of several of Shakespeare’s coauthors. To illustrate potential approaches, we compare the widely accepted Stratfordian hypothesis with other competing hypotheses (authorship candidates), mainly referring to the case for Henry Neville (1562-1615). First, we identify important components of the scientific method as applied to the Shakespeare authorship issue: evaluation of evidence, formulation of a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis, and rejecting or revising the hypothesis. Referring to historical examples, we show how the scientific method has produced precise, dependable advances, even though the way in which it proceeds is often messy. Crucial for science’s progress is confirmation of experimental results, and discussion (with peer review) by the community of scientists before any hypothesis gains general acceptance. Second, using the example of Neville as a candidate, we provide specific examples of application of these principles to factors such as a candidate’s social networks, access to privileged knowledge, and textual analysis; we comment on the strengths and weakness of each approach, and how they might be applied in future studies. Throughout, we stress how doubt is an essential ingredient of progress not only in science but also in knowledge generally, including the Shakespeare authorship debate.

Quality of Supervised Research Report in Relation to Postgraduate Medical Qualifications of Bangladesh

In any academic field the question of quality is central issue. Evaluation of the quality in supervised research in medical education is very important in higher education and teaching. The purpose of the supervised research project is to provide the learner an experience in scientific writing, to familiarize the student with the steps of research, to promote critical and analytical thinking of the learner and to contribute something new to knowledge base. The objectives of this study were to determine the quality in postgraduate supervised research report writing, according to the standard recommended and implied by the post graduate medical institutes of Bangladesh and thus to assess the achievement of the intended purposes. For that an exploratory and descriptive study was performed on 64 theses and dissertations submitted during the period of 2008-2010 in two selected post graduate medical institutes of Dhaka city. The overall quality was found marginal in 93.8% (60) of the reports. There were indications that the prescribed standard was not followed properly. It was observed from the study that there are problems in learning and inadequacy in fulfillment of the purpose of supervised research program. It was perceived that probably the supervision was not enough. Theoretical knowledge gap was also apparent at various levels. To address these issues planning, designing, supervision and assessment systems of supervised research program in relation to the postgraduate medical qualifications of Bangladesh needs critical attention.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjme.v3i1.18588 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Education Vol.3(1) 2012: 1-7