During and after the "Great Recession" that began in December 2007, the U.S. federal government enacted several rounds of activist fiscal policy. In this paper, we review the recent evolution of thinking and evidence regarding the effectiveness of activist fiscal policy. Although fiscal interventions aimed at stimulating and stabilizing the economy have returned to common use, their efficacy remains controversial. We review the debate about the traditional types of fiscal policy interventions, such as broad-based tax cuts and spending increases, as well as more targeted policies. While there have been improvements in estimates of the effects of broad-based policies, much of what has been learned recently concerns how such multipliers might vary with respect to economic conditions, such as the credit market disruptions and very low interest rates that were central features of the Great Recession. The eclectic and innovative interventions by the Federal Reserve and other central banks during this period highlight the imprecise divisions between monetary and fiscal policy and the many channels through which fiscal policies can be implemented.

Purpose of the studyThere are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions.Study designWe introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality.ResultsOver two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman’s rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 ’most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2).ConclusionsItem analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool.

Our 5-stage approach can generate a large volume of high-quality MCQs, addressing the demand from students for formative MCQ questions, with minimal teaching staff input. The project's benefits go beyond the creation of the resource, as involving students in the writing, review, and presentation of questions itself is useful pedagogically.

It is currently unknown how Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS) may affect those infected with SARS-CoV-2. This longitudinal study reports on healthcare staff who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 between March-April 2020 and follows their antibody titres and symptomatology. Over half (n=21/38) had PCS at 7-8 months. There was no statistically significant difference between initial RT-PCR viral titres or serial antibody levels between those who did and did not develop PCS. This study highlights the relative commonality of PCS in healthcare workers and this should be considered in vaccination scheduling and workforce planning to allow adequate frontline staffing numbers.