Latest news with #guidelines
Associated Press
5 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
Lawmakers offered mixed reviews on proposed parole guidelines
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles is proposing new parole guidelines after state lawmakers voted to withhold funding unless the document was updated as required by law. The advisory guidelines use factors like the severity of offense and the inmate's behavior in prison to create a score to aid in parole decisions. The parole board has come under fire for both low parole rates and how often its decisions deviate from what the guidelines recommend. State lawmakers — frustrated that the board had not fulfilled a requirement of a 2019 law to update the guidelines every three years — put language in the budget requiring the guidelines to be revamped for the board to receive funding. The board this month proposed new guidelines. Members of the Joint Prison Oversight Committee on Wednesday offered mixed reviews of the proposed changes. Republican Sen. Clyde Chambliss, who chairs the oversight committee and was the lawmaker who proposed the budget language, said he was glad to see the board beginning the work. But he said he needed to study the proposed changes before giving an assessment. Republican Rep. Matt Simpson said he liked some of the proposed changes. 'I think it's an important step to make sure that the guidelines are worth the paper they're printed on,' Simpson said. However, others were skeptical. Rep. Chris England, a Democrat, said the board 'magically produced these guidelines that were three years overdue.' 'I think the way that these happened is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever witnessed,' England said. He said there is data from prior releases that could be used to update the guidelines. 'Instead of using that data, it seems like this kind of came out of nowhere because they were threatened with losing funding,' England said. Alabama's parole rate has plummeted over recent years. The percentage of inmates being granted parole fell from 53% in 2018 to a historic low of 8% in 2023. The rate rose back to about 20% in 2024. The board's parole decision matched the guideline recommendation in about 25% of cases in the 2024 fiscal year, according to numbers from the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Jerome Dees, policy director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said he is concerned that the proposed changes are based on increasing the conformance rate — how often parole decisions match the guideline recommendation — instead of on a deeper policy analysis. 'It is the equivalent of taking a pop quiz, failing, and instead of digging deeper and seeing what changes you need to make, you just rewrite the questions on the quiz so that it aligns with wrong answers,' Dees said.
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Alberta creating guidelines around school library books
Edmonton Watch The province is creating guidelines for school libraries after it says books with graphic sexual content were found in schools. CTV News Edmonton's Nicole Weisberg reports.
CTV News
7 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Alberta to create guideline for ‘age-appropriate' books allowed in K-12 schools
Alberta creating new guidelines to ensure 'age appropriate' books in K-12 schools. Alberta is launching a survey that will impact the books found in K-12 school libraries across the province, saying 'multiple books' have been found in 'some' school libraries across the province that show 'extremely graphic and age-inappropriate content.' Demetrios Nicolaides, minister of education and childcare, made the announcement in Calgary on Monday. The province says Alberta doesn't currently have a consistent province-wide standard for school boards to follow when selecting 'age-appropriate school library materials.' Instead, school boards have been given the freedom to select books for their own school libraries. In a news release accompanying Nicolaides' announcement, the UCP said there are 'concerns about whether strong enough safeguards are in place.' As such, the province is seeking public feedback on the creation of 'consistent standards to ensure the age-appropriateness of materials available to students in school libraries.' 'While this is a very contentious issue, we are pleased that the government is consulting with Albertans prior to deciding any course of action,' said Dennis MacNeil, president, Public School Boards' Association of Alberta, in a news release. The changes won't have any impact on public libraries, including 55 public libraries located within schools. School boards would be required to implement the new standards along with publicly available policies by the start of the 2025-26 school year. The new standards will apply to public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools. The survey, open to all Albertans, is available online. 'Extremely graphic' A Monday news release from the province listed examples of books found in Alberta K-12 schools they decided were inappropriate, including: Gender Queer , graphic novel by Maia Kobabe, found in K-9 schools and high schools in Calgary Board of Education as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board; , graphic novel by Maia Kobabe, found in K-9 schools and high schools in Calgary Board of Education as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board; Fun Home , a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, found in schools with students within the K-9 range as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board; , a graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, found in schools with students within the K-9 range as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board; Blankets , a graphic novel by Craig Thompson, Found in Schools with students within the K-9 range in Edmonton Public School Board, as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board and Calgary Board of Education, and , a graphic novel by Craig Thompson, Found in Schools with students within the K-9 range in Edmonton Public School Board, as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board and Calgary Board of Education, and Flamer, graphic novel by Mike Curato, found in schools with students within the K-9 range in Calgary Board of Education & Edmonton Public School Board schools, as well as high schools in Edmonton Public School Board and Calgary Board of Education. To read excerpts of the novels, you can visit the province's website which also includes a link showing pictures of the content in question.
Coin Geek
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Coin Geek
China rolls out new AI guidelines for classroom use
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... China's Ministry of Education has unveiled guidelines for using artificial intelligence (AI) tools in classrooms by teachers and students. According to a local news outlet report, the new guidelines seek to ensure the safe and responsible use of AI by Chinese primary and high school students. Primary school students are prohibited from having unfettered access to AI chatbots in classrooms or for assignments. On the other hand, middle schoolers can access AI, but their deployment will be limited to exploring the logical structure of AI-based content. Per the guidelines, high schoolers will be encouraged to leverage AI for inquiry-based learning and understanding the technicalities behind AI-based chatbots. An official from the Ministry of Education disclosed that the intent of the 2025 guidelines is the creation of a tiered approach. Despite the differences across the levels, there are several common denominators for AI use in classrooms across the board. Firstly, students are prohibited from submitting AI-generated material as their original work. Furthermore, the rules frown on excessive reliance on AI chatbots for creative tasks while urging students to prioritize critical thinking skills. Across the board, teachers are barred from leaning on AI to grade students or insert private information about students into AI chatbots. The rules maintain that teachers are supposed to use AI chatbots to supplement teaching in the classroom. All provincial educational authorities are expected to establish their data protection rules while setting up a list of accredited AI chatbots in schools. 'AI is a strategic technology driving a new wave of technological and industrial transformation,' said an official from the Ministry of Education. 'It has already reshaped everyday life and set education on a new course of reform and development.' Regulators are urged to wade into prevent AI misuse Since generative AI debuted in late 2022, authorities have hesitated to deploy chatbots in classrooms. Japan picked up the gauntlet to allow limited use in schools, but an avalanche of tech firms unveiling new offerings has sparked concerns. The UN has made frantic calls for tighter AI restrictions in schools, noting that unfettered use will impact the emotional well-being of younger students. Several critics are making a case for imposing age limits in classroom use, while others are calling for a forward-thinking approach for AI and other emerging technologies to improve current learning methods. Egypt to prioritize AI lessons in classrooms across the country for digitization Elsewhere, Egypt is increasing its appetite for emerging technologies, with the latest move being a full embrace of AI in the educational sector. President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi is pushing to introduce AI in schools across the country. The Egyptian president wants to make AI lessons compulsory for students to improve digitization metrics for the North African nation. The plan has gathered significant steam with President Sisi issuing a clear directive to Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and the Health and Population Ministry. In a meeting with the Prime Minister and other administrators, the President is eyeing a sweeping change to the country's educational qualifications. The proposed changes will allow primary and high school students to receive up to four hours of AI classes each week. Under the incoming rules, students will lean on AI to aid learning, but authorities are keen on rolling out guidelines for safe and responsible usage. The Ministry will vet the AI courses, while approved chatbots will be whitelisted before mainstream application. President Sisi says the compulsory AI classes will position Egypt as the undisputed regional leader for digital literacy and emerging technology adoption. Already, Cairo University and Ain Shams University have begun offering AI courses for students, with President Sisi targeting a deepening talent pool to power the country's digitization drive. Outside of the classroom, Egypt has its sights on AI deployment in healthcare. Egyptian hospitals are set to begin experimentation with AI-based solutions for diagnostics, after-patient care, and administrative tasks. There are plans to extend AI solutions to agriculture, transport management, security, and the financial sectors. Egypt has previously unveiled an ambitious plan to harness emerging technologies to digitize its local economy. A regional AI race is emerging Egypt has to contend with other regional first-movers in the quest to become the leading AI hub in MENA. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have launched national AI educational initiatives while injecting capital to trigger adoption rates. However, the mad dash toward AI integration in educational institutions has drawbacks. The UN urges authorities to exercise caution and roll out guardrails to prevent misuse. Educational administrators favor a tiered approach toward AI integration, limiting AI use in primary schools and increasing the pace of adoption in secondary schools. In order for artificial intelligence (AI) to work right within the law and thrive in the face of growing challenges, it needs to integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—allowing it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data. Check out CoinGeek's coverage on this emerging tech to learn more why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI . Watch: How AI transforms social networks with Dmitriy Fabrikant title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Medscape
15-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Seeking a Perfect Risk-Benefit Balance in Treating VTE
At the dawn of the 21st century, venous thromboembolism (VTE) treatment remained in the dark ages. Backed by an MD and a legacy of paternalistic practice, we convinced patients to do what now seems unthinkable. Unfractionated heparin may come from pigs and cattle, but we infused it like snake oil. Patients spent 5 (or more) days in the hospital chasing partial thromboplastin times and enduring stops and starts with repeated blood draws. Finally, we discharged them on the only drug awful enough to require an eponymous nursing position and clinic. Our approach to balancing risk-benefit was equally primitive. Patients diagnosed with their first VTE were given the proverbial 'trial of life.' They generally received 3-6 months of anticoagulation before being advised to stop, with guidance as blithe as it was vague: 'If you feel short of breath, go to the emergency room.' It mattered not whether their initial clot was a pulmonary embolism or a deep vein thrombosis. Or whether there was comorbid cardiopulmonary disease. If they had a second VTE, assuming they survived it, the initial treatment regimen (including the hospitalization) was repeated. By 2008, our guidelines had incorporated data showing that for unprovoked events, fixed courses of anticoagulation provided less mitigation than delay. This pushed risk-benefit analysis to the forefront of all things VTE. Physicians, and patients, were forced to balance VTE recurrence with bleeding risk and decide whether to stop treatment after 3 months or continue it indefinitely. Shortly thereafter, the novel blood thinners hit the market, making indefinite anticoagulation slightly more palatable. Meanwhile, the field continued to refine risk calculations. D-dimer testing had its moment in the sun before being knocked down a notch by the 2016 CHEST VTE guidelines. Lower-extremity ultrasound also helped, but it wasn't quite clear where and how it fit into overall risk after accounting for other factors. Both have given way to more complicated models that perform well in particular situations. There are even online risk calculators to help battle the viscous time scarcity epidemic afflicting all 21st century medicine clinics. The latest breakthrough reduces bleeding more than VTE recurrence risk. In 2013, the AMPLIFY-EXT trial showed that after 6 months of full-dose treatment, a half dose of apixaban reduced bleeding without increasing recurrence risk. Not to be outdone, these findings were replicated using rivaroxaban in the EINSTEIN CHOICE study. Taken together, AMPLIFY-EXT and EINSTEIN CHOICE provide strong evidence that for those with a first episode of VTE with clinical equipoise (defined as uncertainty as to whether risk-benefit favored continued treatment) after 6 months of full-dose anticoagulation, reduced doses of apixaban or rivaroxaban are excellent options. The most recent iteration of the CHEST VTE Treatment Guidelines endorses this practice. Because AMPLIFY-EXT and EINSTEIN CHOICE had the "clinical equipoise" proviso in their inclusion criteria, cancer patients were largely excluded. There's generally not equipoise for them; VTE recurrence risk is expected to remain indefinitely high, requiring indefinite protection. So, the practice of reduced dosing could not be generalized to cancer-related VTE — until now. The API-CAT investigators very recently published reduced-dose data for cancer patients. Turns out, it works! As the accompanying editorial points out, advances in cancer treatment have led to increased survival times. Longer survival with active cancer translates to more cancer-related VTE. The API-CAT data are a critical addition to the literature. The sooner they're incorporated, the better.
