Lattanzio Group (Italy)

Background and Purpose. Technological advances in communication and ease of travel have contributed to an increasing connectedness of world societies, and a new era of globalization. Health professions are recognizing the potential benefits of globalization and are pursuing global partnerships that allow for international collaboration to advance their professions, and the health of diverse communities at home and abroad. Physical therapist education programs are responding to the need to educate physical therapist students in light of this changing global environment and have begun to implement coursework, experiences, and exchanges that broaden and equip the current generation of Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students. This paper describes existing curricular strategies for equipping physical therapist students to effectively advance the profession and the health of diverse clients and communities in a global society. Position and Rationale. The curriculum strategies include: (1) an emphasis on reflective practice; (2) public/global health content and courses; (3) experiential learning including service-learning domestically and internationally, and international clinical education; and (4) international educational partnerships/exchanges including Web-based video conferencing. Discussion and Conclusion. The physical therapist profession must determine how to best position the profession and physical therapist practice to effectively participate in the global arena. The current generation of physical therapist students is poised to embrace the challenge. A curriculum replete with content and experiences to broaden DPT student perspectives and increase their interactions with international counterparts will best equip them for the task.

\n Aims.Candidates with suspect distances from the Catalog of Nearby Stars were\n included in the Torino Observatory Parallax Program with\n the goal to clarify their membership in that catalog. \n Methods.Observations of the objects were made over the period 1996–2001 on the\n 1.05 m Torino telescope. The trigonometric parallaxes and proper motions were determined\n using standard techniques. \n Results.Of the 22 objects examined, 11 are within the 25 pc horizon of the Catalog of\n Nearby Stars. The remaining objects are either misclassified,\n sub-dwarfs rather than main sequence dwarfs with consequently overestimated\n photometric distances, or objects with published trigonometric\n parallaxes that are incorrect.\n