CCInfo: Electronic news bulletin of The Cochrane Collaboration 6 September 2007 Contents: A. 15th Cochrane Colloquium – Accommodation B. Launch of the Bill Silverman Prize and Call for Nominations C. Cochrane Collaboration Complementary Medicine Field Bursary Scheme (2007) D. Cochrane workshop E. Next Issue of CCInfo XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX A. Sender: Claire Allen [CAllen@cochrane.org] Subject: 15th Cochrane Colloquium – Accommodation This is an important message about hotel accommodation, to all those going to this year's Colloquium. Please ensure that you have both reserved and paid for your hotel accommodation. If you have booked it online through Ecology, the Colloquium's tourist agency, please ensure you have received your hotel voucher and remember to present it at the hotel on arrival. Please do read the Colloquium webpage concerning hotel accommodation and booking (www.colloquiumbrasil.info/php/level.php?lang=en&component=45&item=1). If you are unsure of the status of your hotel booking, have not yet received a payment request, or have not received your voucher (having sent payment), please contact Claire Allen at CAllen@cochrane.org. She will also be pleased to help you with any other queries relating to your accommodation. Please note that she is unable to help if your hotel booking was not made through Ecology. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX B. Sender: Mike Clarke [mclarke@cochrane.co.uk] Subject: Launch of the Bill Silverman Prize and Call for Nominations William (Bill) Silverman (1924-2004) was one of the founders of American neonatal medicine. As he reiterated frequently, criticism is a form of trouble making that can help to drive progress. Furthermore, he was clear that criticism should not be limited to examining the work of others, but should also include self-criticism. With the approval of Bill’s family, the agreement of the Steering Group and a start-up donation from Iain and Jan Chalmers, the Bill Silverman Prize has been established in his honour and to continue this tradition. The Prize acknowledges explicitly the value of criticism of The Cochrane Collaboration, with a view to helping to improve its work and achieve its aim of helping people make well-informed decisions about health care. The selection Committee is co-chaired by Paul Garner and Rod Jackson. The Prize is a cash award of US$1000 and a certificate. It will be awarded annually to the authors of a relevant publication or presentation. The criteria for the inaugural prize in 2007 are: 1. The publication or presentation has evaluated any aspect of the preparation, maintenance or dissemination of Cochrane reviews or the work of The Cochrane Collaboration more generally. 2. It is of high quality. 3. It was accompanied by constructive suggestions on how the relevant aspects of the work of The Cochrane Collaboration could be improved, 4. It has had, or is likely to have, a positive impact on the scientific quality, relevance and use of Cochrane reviews. 5. It was published or presented before June 30 2007. Nominations can be made by anyone, including the authors of the publication or presentation being nominated. Nominations must be received by Mike Clarke (mclarke@cochrane.co.uk) by email before October 1 2007. The email should have “Bill Silverman Prize” in the subject heading, and contain the citation for the publication or presentation and a brief explanation of how it meets the criteria for the Prize. The Prize recipient(s) will be the author(s) of the chosen publication or presentation, and will be announced at the Cochrane Colloquium in Sao Paulo on October 24 2007. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX C. Sender: Eric Manheimer [emanheimer@compmed.umm.edu] Subject: Cochrane Collaboration Complementary Medicine Field Bursary Scheme (2007) The Cochrane Collaboration Complementary Medicine Field is pleased to announce our 2007 bursary scheme made possible through funds from the US National Institutes of Health, National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The purpose of this bursary scheme is to ensure that reviews relevant to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) are completed and published in The Cochrane Library. Funding offered: o 2 review proposals in the amount of $5,000 USD each will be funded Eligibility requirements: o Review must be registered with a Cochrane Collaborative Review Group, and a protocol of the review must already be published in The Cochrane Library o The topic of the review must relate to CAM (see scope in Call for Applications) o Bursaries will be targeted to reviews for which substantial progress has already been made and whose completion has been stalled due to a lack of funding Timeline: Completed application forms and letters of support should be e-mailed to Eric Manheimer (emanheimer@compmed.umm.edu) by 1 November 2007. Forms and letters sent by postal delivery or fax will not be accepted. Successful candidates will be notified by 1 December 2007. Funds will be distributed to successful applicants in a single installment, after the award notification. For more information (e.g. the assessment criteria), please see the full Call for Applications and Application Form (available at: http://www.compmed.umm.edu/cochrane_bursary.asp). Congratulations to the recipients of the 2006 CAM Field bursary scheme awards: • Jasvinder Singh, for the Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group Review ‘Chondroitin for osteoarthritis’ • Taixiang Wu, for the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group Review ‘Chinese medicinal herbs for the common cold’ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX D. Sender: Vinícius Pedrazzi [pedrazzi@forp.usp.br] Subject: Cochrane workshop: Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto Brazil & the Bahrain Branch UKCC & Iberoamerican Cochrane Center. Host: Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto, Ribeirão Preto Brazil Date: 18-20 October 2007 Location: Salão Nobre da Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas/Salão Nobre da Faculdade de Odontologia de Ribeirão Preto/USP Details: This 3-day course will provide participants with an introduction to The Cochrane Collaboration as well as taking them through the process of doing a systematic review, with a greater emphasis on practical rather than theoretical aspects. Topics to be covered will include; question formulation; study identification; appraisal of quality of randomized controlled trials and the application of evidence to clinical practice. Although the workshop is hosted by the Dental Faculty, the content will be multi-disciplinary and will be of interest to medical colleagues, nursing and para-professionals, and information specialists. Space is limited and early registration is advised Contact: For further details please contact Vinícius Pedrazzi [pedrazzi@forp.usp.br] XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX E. Sender: Tina Hutchinson [THutchinson@cheo.on.ca] Subject: Bias Method Group Workshop Workshop: 'Bias in Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis' Host: The Cochrane Bias Method Group Date: 3 December and 4 December, 2007 Location: Sutton Place Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Details: REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! The cost to participate in the day and a half workshop will be $125.00. Registration opened on Monday September 3rd and will be closed on Friday, September 28th. This will be a focused workshop open to 36 participants. There will be lectures and group work on the risk of bias in systematic reviews, and the topic of detecting, testing and adjusting for publication bias will also be explored. Dr. David Moher, Professor Douglas Altman and Dr. Jonathan Sterne will be leading the workshop. Participants should have experience in conducting systematic reviews. Contact: Please contact Tina Hutchinson at thutchinson@cheo.on.ca for your registration forms. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX F. Sender: Cheryl Arratoon [cochrane@uottawa.ca] Subject: Next Issue of CCInfo The next issue of CCInfo will be published 20 September 2007. Please submit your items to cochrane@uottawa.ca and please include "CCInfo" in the subject line. Unless you request otherwise, your submissions to the CCInfo may be duplicated in other regular Cochrane Collaboration news channels such as Cochrane News and the Cochrane Collaboration web site, at the discretion of the editors. regards, Cheryl Cheryl Arratoon Knowledge Broker Canadian Cochrane Network and Centre 1 Stewart St (227) Ottawa, ON, Canada K1N 6N5 Email: cochrane@uottawa.ca Web: www.ccnc.cochrane.org XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX To subscribe to or unsubscribe from the CCInfo list, please go to http://lists.cochrane.org/mailman/listinfo/ccinfo, or contact the Editor at cochrane@uottawa.ca