The social mission of Australian medical schools in a time of expansion

The social mission, or accepted social responsibility of Australian medical schools, was assessed at a time of rapid expansion and resulting pressure on staff and facilities. Nine new schools have been established in 200510 and there has been particular concern about adequacy of clinical training places. Discussions with most of the deans revealed their strong social commitments. We consider two of these in depth raising the status and thus the involvement of students in general and especially rural practice; and increasing the numbers of Indigenous students and the knowledge of Indigenous health and culture among all students. We examine a system by which medical schools in the USA have been ranked for social mission achievements and suggest this approach might be used in Australia to measure the response of medical schools to Government initiatives and policies. What is known about this topic? The rapid expansion of medical schools and student numbers has given rise to much concern. Encouragement of training for general practice is well described. Many medical schools have worked to increase intake of Indigenous students. Data on medical graduates are being gathered. What does this paper add? The social mission and responsibility of medical schools is new to Australia; information was obtained by interview of medical deans and review of the international literature. Matters of special note are rural healthcare, developments in general practice and expansion of support for Indigenous students. Recent studies of graduate output in the USA are considered. What are the implications for practitioners? Expansion of medical student numbers has brought increased demand for general practitioner involvement in training of students and graduates, which affects practice resources. The need for workforce planning to match training paths and places with future national needs means medical schools have new responsibilities for career guidance of students

A pH-based pedotransfer function for scaling saturated hydraulic conductivity reduction: improved estimation of hydraulic dynamics in HYDRUS

Hydraulic conductivity is a key soil property governing agricultural production and is thus an important parameter in hydrologic modeling. The pH scaling factor for saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) reduction in the HYDRUS model was reviewed and evaluated for its ability to simulate Ks reduction. A limitation of the model is the generalization of Ks reduction at various levels of electrolyte concentration for different soil types, i.e., it is not soil specific. In this study, a new generalized linear regression model was developed to estimate Ks reduction for a larger set of Australian soils compared with three American soils. A nonlinear pedotransfer function was also produced, using the Levenberg–Marquardt optimization algorithm, by considering the pH and electrolyte concentration of the applied solution as well as the soil clay content. This approach improved the estimation of the pH scaling factor relating to Ks reduction for individual soils. The functions were based on Ks reduction in nine contrasting Australian soils using two sets of treatment solutions with Na adsorption ratios of 20 and 40; total electrolyte concentrations of 8, 15, 25, 50, 100, 250, and 500 mmolc L−1; and pH values of 6, 7, 8, and 9. A comparison of the experimental data and model outputs indicates that the models performed objectively well and successfully described the Ks reduction due to the pH. Further, a nonlinear function provided greater accuracy than the generalized function for the individual soils of Australia and California. This indicates that the nonlinear model provides an improved estimation of the pH scaling factor for Ks reduction in specific soils in the HYDRUS model and should therefore be considered in future HYDRUS developments and applications

dRail: a novel physical layout methodology for power gated circuits

In this paper we present a physical layout methodology, called dRail, to allow power gated and non-power gated cells to be placed next to each other. This is unlike traditional voltage area layout which separates cells to prevent shorting of power supplies leading to impact on area, routing and power. To implement dRail, a modified standard cell architecture and physical layout is proposed. The methodology is validated by implementing power gating on the data engine in an ARM Cortex-A5 processor using a 65nm library, and shows up to 38% reduction in area cost when compared to traditional voltage area layou

Learning and teaching in Hong Kong: what is and what might be

Includes bibliographical references.published_or_final_versionCh.2 Inside the classroom: the students' view Tang, Tommy Tang, Tommy 35What isOverviewPreface Daw, J.B.B. Daw, J.B.B. iAcknowledgements Daw, J.B.B. Daw, J.B.B.Language mattersWhat might beReview and conclusionsCh.1 The nature of student learning: a conceptual framework Biggs, John Biggs, John Watkins, David Watkins, David 3Ch.3 Do teachers' beliefs influence students' learning? Tang, Thomas, K.W. Tang, Thomas, K.W. 53Ch.4 How examinations affect students' approaches to writing Fan, Flora H.K. Fan, Flora H.K. 67Ch.5 Coping with workload and time constraints Lee, Amelia Lee, Amelia 77Ch.6 The effects of English medium in the primary school years on later achievement Chan, How-kei Chan, How-kei 89Ch.7 Teaching history in the mother tongue Cheng, Belinda C.Y.S. Cheng, Belinda C.Y.S. 101Ch.8 What makes a good reader? Wong, Hebe Wong, Hebe 113Ch.9 The place of knowledge of genre in the teaching of writing Morgan, Moira Morgan, Moira 133List of contributorsCh.10 Classroom environment and approaches to learning Chan, Grace Chan, Grace 153Ch.11 The place of mastery learning in teaching biology Lai, Patrick, L.K. Lai, Patrick, L.K. 164Ch.12 Cooperative learning in a geography class Lai, Edith Lai, Edith 177Ch.13 Restructuring misconceptions in physics Tang, David K.T. Tang, David K.T. 189Ch.14 What might these studies mean for the theory and practice of education in Hong Kong? Biggs, John Biggs, John Watkins, David Watkins, David 20

Wag(er)ing Histories, Staking Territories: Exhibiting Sovereignty in Native America

Based on research carried out in 2009–2010, this article suggests that gaming revenues created new possibilities for Native peoples to take control of their own public histories as expressions of cultural and political sovereignty. It recognizes museums and cultural centers as parallel spaces for cultural self-representation. Casino-generated funds allow many tribal nations to create or expand existing exhibitionary spaces for repatriated objects—including museums, casinos, resorts, and public attractions—that publicly articulate stories about history, identity, and the practice(s) of sovereignty. Seemingly disparate spaces—casinos thematic and generic, museums old and new, garden and memorial sites, village greens and hotel lobbies—can best be understood as an array of responses to the challenges of articulating Native identities to mostly non-Native publics. Such sites exemplify particular strategies of Native curation in a variety of spaces actively shaped for public attention