Browsing by Author "Wasserman, Elizabeth"

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    Implementation evaluation as a dimension of the quality assurance of a new programme for medical education and training
    (Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2004-12) Wasserman, Elizabeth; Botha, Jan; Mouton, J.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Sociology and Social Anthropology. Centre for Research on Science and Technology (CREST).
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis, an ‘alignment approach’ to the quality assurance of medical curricula is developed and practically illustrated in the evaluation of a section of a new curriculum in undergraduate medical education and training instituted at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch in 1999. The background of curriculum innovation at this institution during the 1990s is described, and the literature on the concepts of quality assurance is explored in higher education in general and in medical education and training in particular. The current focus on socially responsive curriculum renewal and accountability illustrates the need for this study. The empirical part of the study was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of a ‘clarification evaluation’. The planning of the new curriculum introduced in 1999 was analysed retrospectively through a study of the planning documents and interviews with leaders of the planning process. The results of this clarification evaluation are presented in the form of a ‘Logic Model’. The implicit theory of the curriculum, as represented by the Logic Model, was then evaluated regarding its consistency with trends in medical education. These trends were determined through a study of the literature on the subject published during the time of the planning of the curriculum. It was found that the planning of the curriculum was in line with most of the identified trends, but that it lacked detailed information on how the basic sciences and clinical skills training were to be addressed. This compromised the evaluability of phase I of the curriculum and of the clinical rotations1 by the method use in this study. Because of this, and also considering the time frame of this evaluation, phase I of the curriculum and the late clinical rotations were excluded from the second phase of the study. The aims identified for the curriculum during the process of clarification evaluation were also aligned with the document, The Profile of the Stellenbosch Doctor 2 . This indicates that the planning process of the curriculum was in line with its intended outcome.The second phase of the study consisted of an ‘implementation evaluation’ of phases II and III of the theoretical components and of the early and middle clinical rotations of the curriculum. Data for this implementation evaluation were collected from April 2002 to June 2003. Module chairpersons3, lecturers and students were used as sources of data for the evaluation of the theoretical phases. The perceptions of these groups regarding the implementation of phases II and III of the theoretical part of the curriculum were collected by means of questionnaires designed specifically for this study. For the evaluation of the clinical rotations, the results of the standard student feedback obtained by the Faculty of Health Sciences were used as a source of data for a secondary analysis. The study guides provided for each of the theoretical modules and the clinical rotations were also used as a secondary source for the analysis of data. The data obtained were then analysed by using the framework provided by the Logic Model. Following this, a judgment of the quality of the implementation of the curriculum was made. The planned curriculum was aligned with the practised curriculum by drawing up a ‘curriculum scoreboard’. It was found that alignment was adequately achieved for six of the identified aims, while the implementation of four of the aims was not aligned to the planning according to the criteria used in this study. The study illustrates that the methods of programme evaluation can be validly applied in the evaluation of a curriculum in medical education and training. The Logic Model enables an alignment between the planned and the practised curriculum, which can be used as a measure of the quality of a curriculum in terms of ‘fitness of purpose’. 1 See Addendum A for a diagrammatic overview of the curriculum. The curriculum was structured into three theoretical phases (phases I, II and III) and three clinical rotations (early, middle and late). 2 This document was drawn up during the initial phases of the planning process of the curriculum and regarded by the Faculty as a blueprint for the intended outcomes of the curriculum. 3 A module chairperson in the context of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Stellenbosch is a senior faculty member responsible for the organisation and management of the modules presented as part of the curriculum in medical education and training.
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    SDS interferes with SaeS signalling of Staphylococcus aureus independently of SaePQ
    (Public Library of Science, 2013-08-20) Makgotlho, Phuti E.; Marincola, Gabriella; Schafer, Daniel; Liu, Qian; Bae, Taeok; Geiger, Tobias; Wasserman, Elizabeth; Wolz, Christiane; Ziebuhr, Wilma; Sinha, Bhanu
    The Staphylococcus aureus regulatory saePQRS system controls the expression of numerous virulence factors, including extracellular adherence protein (Eap), which amongst others facilitates invasion of host cells. The saePQRS operon codes for 4 proteins: the histidine kinase SaeS, the response regulator SaeR, the lipoprotein SaeP and the transmembrane protein SaeQ. S. aureus strain Newman has a single amino acid substitution in the transmembrane domain of SaeS (L18P) which results in constitutive kinase activity. SDS was shown to be one of the signals interfering with SaeS activity leading to inhibition of the sae target gene eap in strains with SaeSL but causing activation in strains containing SaeSP. Here, we analyzed the possible involvement of the SaeP protein and saePQ region in SDS-mediated sae/eap expression. We found that SaePQ is not needed for SDS-mediated SaeS signaling. Furthermore, we could show that SaeS activity is closely linked to the expression of Eap and the capacity to invade host cells in a number of clinical isolates. This suggests that SaeS activity might be directly modulated by structurally non-complex environmental signals, as SDS, which possibly altering its kinase/phosphatase activity.