Herbal Products and Conventional Drugs – an Uneasy Alliance

Patents and research--an uneasy alliance.

Critics of the patent system have argued that rather than promoting the progress of science and the useful arts, the patent system as it exists in the United States and perhaps elsewhere may actually inhibit such progress. Much of the criticism has been focused on patenting of research tools. The author attempts to evaluate the extent of this effect, and to suggest some possible modifications t...

Nursing and feminism: an uneasy alliance.

Microbiota-immune system interaction: an uneasy alliance.

An estimated 100 trillion microbes colonize human beings, with the majority of organisms residing in the intestines. This microbiota impacts host nutrition, protection, and gut development. Alterations in microbiota composition are associated with susceptibility to various infectious and inflammatory gut diseases. The mucosal surface is not a static barrier that simply prevents microbial invasi...

Myths of Leisure Research: An Uneasy Alliance

The uneasy alliance of assessment and feedback

Assessment and feedback can make strange bedfellows. Their goals sometimes lie at cross purposes. Summative assessment, for example, is judgmental, telling us whether or not learners have reached a necessary standard; as Konopasek observes, “when practicing summative assessment, we are acting far more as regulators than educators” [1]. Feedback, on the other hand, is developmental, facilitating...