Roles and competences for educators of undergraduate dental students: a discussion paper

Introduction Dental educators are important people who contribute to the development of every aspect of dental education. In part due to the lack of understanding of their roles and competences, dental educator development has so far received little consideration. With the aim of enhancing the dental profession's contribution to the development of undergraduate dental education, this article explores common roles of educators of undergraduate dental students and the competences needed to be effective educators. Methods This is a discussion paper based on a wide reading of the literature on the education of health professionals with a specific focus on roles and competences of educators. Results and discussion Roles of educators of undergraduate dental students typically encompass four areas: teaching, research, administration and providing healthcare. Educators may not be involved in every role; they normally perform the roles relevant to their work contexts. Competences for dental educators based on the four main roles comprise 12 domains: educational theories and principles; modes of education; learner issues; educational materials and instructional design; assessment and feedback; curriculum matters; evaluation; educational research; educational management; quality assurance; patient care and healthcare system and professionalism. Not all competences are required by all educators although educators need to be competent in the areas related to their roles and duties. Conclusion Understanding the roles and competences for educators of undergraduate dental students can help individual educators to improve their personal effectiveness and institutions to tailor staff development programmes appropriate to the needs of their staff. Faculty development contributes to sustained enhancement of undergraduate dental education

Information and interaction requirements for software tools supporting analogical design

AbstractOne mode of creative design is for designers to draw analogies that connect the design domain (e.g., a mechanical device) to some other domain from which inspiration is drawn (e.g., a biological system). The identification and application of analogies can be supported by software tools that store, structure, present, or propose source domain stimuli from which such analogies might be constructed. For these tools to be effective and not impact the design process in negative ways, they must fit well with the information and interaction needs of their users. However, the user requirements for these tools are seldom explicitly discussed. Furthermore, the literature that supports the identification of such requirements is distributed across a number of different domains, including those that address analogical design (especially biomimetics), creativity support tools, and human–computer interaction. The requirements that these literatures propose can be divided into those that relate to the information content that the tools provide (e.g., level of abstraction or mode of representation) and those that relate to the interaction qualities that the tools support (e.g., accessibility or shareability). Examining the relationships between these requirements suggests that tool developers should focus on satisfying the key requirements of open-endedness and accessibility while managing the conflicts between the other requirements. Attention to these requirements and the relationships between them promises to yield analogical design support tools that better permit designers to identify and apply source information in their creative work.Dr Gülşen Töre Yargın' s work was supported by the International Post Doctoral Research Fellowship Programme [BİDEB-2219] from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK). Dr Nathan Crilly' s work was supported by an Early Career Fellowship [EP/K008196/1] from the UK s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).This is the accepted manuscript. It will be embargoed until 27/10/2015. The final version is available from CUP at http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9673077&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S089006041500007

Sensing the difference: the influence of anisotropic cues on cell behavior

From tissue morphogenesis to homeostasis, cells continuously experience and respond to physical, chemical and biological cues commonly presented in gradients. In this article we focus our discussion on the importance of nano/micro topographic cues on cell activity, and the role of anisotropic milieus play on cell behavior, mostly adhesion and migration. We present the need to study physiological gradients in vitro. To do this, we review different cell migration mechanisms and how adherent cells react to the presence of complex tissue-like environments and cell-surface stimulation in 2D and 3D (e.g. ventral/dorsal anisotropy)

Expert system verification and validation study: ES V/V Workshop

The primary purpose of this document is to build a foundation for applying principles of verification and validation (V&V) of expert systems. To achieve this, some V&V as applied to conventionally implemented software is required. Part one will discuss the background of V&V from the perspective of (1) what is V&V of software and (2) V&V's role in developing software. Part one will also overview some common analysis techniques that are applied when performing V&V of software. All of these materials will be presented based on the assumption that the reader has little or no background in V&V or in developing procedural software. The primary purpose of part two is to explain the major techniques that have been developed for V&V of expert systems

Inward internationalization as a motivation to go international

This thesis examines the impact of inward aspects of internationalization in two Portuguese companies from distinct industries: automation engineering (services) and metallomechanics (industry). The goal is to gain a perspective about how buying abroad (products or services) can represent a major role that acts as a trigger to both companies to go international. To achieve this goal, this case-study focuses on the relationship both companies have had with international markets (prior to going international) through their suppliers, wich represented clear motivations to going international. This is a case-study research of ARUM (software industry) and SONAFI (methalomechanics industry). Inward activities should contribute to outward involvement, especially in the early stages of internationalization (Welch and Luostarinen, 1993), and both companies support this statement. In fact, inward activities (such as procurement) were the main push to both companies going international. Only two companies here were objects of study, and many more should be also examined. More in-depth studies should occur, from multiple and distinct activity sectors, in a way that enables a wider range of representation and replication in the future. These findings allow firms to understand that the paths to international markets can also come from within the company itself, its suppliers, its relationship networks, etc. This study attemps to act as a wake up call in regards to inward internationalization as a real trigger in pushing companies abroad and understanding the importance of the knowledge that surrounds a seller-buyer relationship for the company when it comes to start thinking operating abroad