Editorial: Medical Education in Difficult Circumstances

Explaining successful language learning in difficult circumstances

This paper considers the special challenges facing learners of English in developing country contexts, and asks why a few individuals succeed in achieving competence in English where the majority more understandably fail. While research theory has shed light on individual learner differences such as aptitude, motivation and learning strategies, there has been very little empirical investigation...

The h-index in medical education: an analysis of medical education journal editorial boards

BACKGROUND Disciplines differ in their authorship and citation practices, thus discipline-specific h-index norms are desirable. Thus the goal of this study was to examine the relationship between the h-index and academic rank in the field of medical education, and the differences in the h-index between MD's and PhD's in this field. METHODS Due to the absence of a formalized registry of medica...

Difficult Circumstances: Some Reflections on “Street Children” in Africa

In Addis Ababa, a 12-year-old boy draws a self-portrait with red and green felt-tip pens as part of a pilot research project. It is a lively picture, using bold lines. He depicts himself with a box of objects in front of him, one hand at his mouth, and wearing a hat. At first glance it looks as if he has drawn himself selling goods on the street, the hat apparently incidental. But his explanati...

Children in especially difficult circumstances: the global and Philippine situation.

Children in especially difficult circumstances (CEDC) is a worldwide problem with a ' labyrinth of compartments. It is sad to note that the problem is manmade, and that the most serious threat to our children is humankind itself. The causes of the escalation of this problem are multifactorial, but of great significance are the observations concerning a degradation of values and failing moral, s...

Editorial - how bad is medical education research anyway?