Academic dishonesty is a growing problem in higher education. This study examines students’ attitudes toward cheating. The sample consisted of 318 students enrolled in health science courses at a Swedish university. A survey-based quantitative approach was employed, integrating qualitative responses from open-ended questions. We investigated students’ overall attitudes, circumstances leading to cheating, the relationship between exam type and cheating tendencies, and level of awareness regarding university policies. The results show that 14.9% cheated, particularly on take-home assignments. Younger students and students at all ages further along in their education were more likely to cheat on these assignments. The qualitative responses revealed a pattern between the formal measures provided by the university and the students’ personal values and integrity related to academic honesty. The respondents believed that proctoring measures were the most effective in preventing cheating, while they had less confidence in measures based on trusting the conscience and sense of honor of students. It was also found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, students taking exams at home were more likely to cheat than those taking on-campus exams. The findings highlight the need for a balanced approach combining technological systems of monitoring and control with proactive strategies aimed at promoting academic integrity. 

The increasing prevalence of online courses has highlighted the importance of digital literacy for students. This study investigates the relationship between digital literacy and academic achievement among students who participate in an online course on anatomy and physiology. The study also evaluates how different aspects of digital literacy, such as age and previous education in natural science, affect students’ grades. Using logistic regression analysis, data from five areas of digital literacy that were assessed among participants with different educational backgrounds are analyzed. The results show that some aspects of digital literacy are more crucial for academic success in the online course. Students with a natural science background exhibited higher levels of digital literacy, emphasizing the importance of considering previous education in supporting students’ digital skills in online courses. The study also reveals that students were proficient in self-assessing their own digital literacy, enabling easy evaluation of the collective digital literacy within the course and facilitating targeted interventions for all students, regardless of their initial digital literacy levels. This study underscores the importance of digital literacy in online education. It highlights the specific areas of digital literacy that strongly contribute to academic achievement and emphasizes the positive impact of previous education in natural science on students’ digital skills. These findings suggest that instructors should consider these factors when designing and delivering online courses to ensure equal opportunities for students to enhance their digital literacy.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate differences in academic achievement between two groups of students who were taught the same course online within the nursing program but through two different teaching strategies and to examine the students' attitudes towards flipped classroom.

METHODS: Online lectures using Zoom was given to teach a course regarding the immune system and another course was taught the same subject in flipped classroom approach using video lectures followed by seminars. Academic achievement were compared between the groups, and perspectives on flipped classroom were investigated using a questionnaire.

RESULTS: The main findings were that participation in flipped classroom seminars had a positive effect on academic achievement (OR 2.3 (CI [1.001-5.1]), and that students preferred the flipped classroom approach over traditional lectures.

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that a student centered teaching strategy like flipped classroom is an effective way to increase the students' engagement and academic achievements.

Kursen Anatomi och fysiologi 15 hp är en fristående kurs som ges på halvfart och helt på distans vid ämnet Medicinsk vetenskap. Ursprungligen gavs kursen inom Biovetenskapligt program på campus och på distans genom filmade campusföreläsningar. Satsningar på distansutbildning görs för att tillgodose kompetensförsörjningen i hela landet så omformningen av kursen i Anatomi och fysiologi från campus till distans ligger helt i linje med detta. Speciellt då detta hela tiden efterfrågats från studenthåll.

Kursen ges helt och hållet på distans genom filmade föreläsningar där varje kursavsnitt följs av uppföljande seminarier via Zoom för diskussioner kring materialet utefter studenternas frågeställningar. Detta ger studenterna möjlighet till interaktivitet med varandra och med lärarna. Till varje föreläsning finns tillhörande övningsquiz och detaljerade inlärningsmål som ofta används som grund till seminarierna. Övningsquizen fungerar som hjälpmedel för att studenterna ska kunna bedöma och ta ett större ansvar för sitt eget lärande och dessutom förbättra sina akademiska prestationer. Studenterna examineras kontinuerligt under kursen genom två canvasquiz, ett zoomseminarium kring medicinsk etik och två salstentor.

En återkommande kommentar från studenterna är att kursen har en mycket tydlig struktur och upplägg i Canvas. Kursstrukturen i Canvas är tätt kopplad till schemat och därmed blir det tydligt och enkelt för studenterna att följa. Övningsquizen och zoomseminarierna är uppskattade moment som i viss mån kompenserar för den nu uteblivna interaktionen mellan lärare-student och student-student som annars uppstår vid campusföreläsningar. Införandet av övningsquiz har dessutom förbättrat resultatet hos de som genomför examinationerna.

Single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) are small monovalent recombinant antibody fragments that retain the specificity of their parent immunoglobulins. ScFvs are excellent building blocks for new and improved immunodiagnostic and therapeutic proteins. However, the monovalency and the rapid renal elimination of scFvs result in poor tumor accumulation and retention. Engineering divalent antibody fragments is an excellent way to address these shortcomings. In this study, covalent divalent single-chain variable fragments (sc(Fv)₂s), were constructed from the monovalent anti-keratin 8 scFvs, TS1-218 and its mutant, HE1-Q. The scFvs and sc(Fv)₂s were expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, utilizing the alpha-factor secretion signal (α-factor) for extracellular secretion. The immunoreactivity and specificity of the antibody fragments were analyzed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the uptake and retention of the ¹²⁵I labeled antibody fragments were evaluated using HeLa HEp-2 multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs). Analysis of the antibody fragments demonstrated that parts of the α-factor remained at the N-terminal of the antibody fragments. Despite incomplete processing of the α-factor, the antibody fragments were functional where the sc(Fv)₂s gave a three-fold stronger signal in ELISA compared to their scFv counterparts and the mutant antibodies demonstrated a stronger signal than their initial wild types. In addition, the sc(Fv)₂s DiTS1-218 and DiHE1-Q displayed an approximately two-fold higher uptake and were retained to a larger extent in the MCTS, demonstrating a 3.9 and 9.4-fold increase in half-life respectively compared to their corresponding scFvs. In conclusion, expression in P. pastoris improved the yield 20-fold and facilitated the purification of the antibody fragments. Furthermore, the sc(Fv)₂s presented a higher functional affinity to K 8 both in ELISA and MCTS compared to the scFvs with DiHE1-Q being the best candidate for further studies.