4,559 research outputs found

    An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Virtual Patients

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    Virtual patients (VPs) are used for developing clinical reasoning which is an area of deficit in medical trainees. There are a number of studies showing that virtual patients have a positive effect on clinical reasoning skills but it remains uncertain how to best design or utilize VPs. Reasons for this include broad definitions of VPs, prior studies with poor descriptions of their design, and few studies looking at which design features are most efficacious. In this study on effective VP design, I outline the direct evidence from prior studies on VPs and indirect evidence from studies of other e-learning methods and educational theory. From this outline, A set of guidelines are proposed for developing VPs and create a blueprint for a design based on these principles

    Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers: Reauthorization Proposals in the 114th Congress, In Brief

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    This report is designed to provide assistance in considering Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers reauthorization efforts in the 114th Congress. It begins with background information on TAA and a summary of recent legislation. It then presents a table that compares a recent reauthorization proposal with provisions in current and prior law

    A Unified Theory for the Effects of Stellar Perturbations and Galactic Tides on Oort Cloud Comets

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    We examine the effects of passing field stars on the angular momentum of a nearly radial orbit of an Oort cloud comet bound to the Sun. We derive the probability density function (PDF) of the change in angular momentum from one stellar encounter, assuming a uniform and isotropic field of perturbers. We show that the total angular momentum follows a Levy flight, and determine its distribution function. If there is an asymmetry in the directional distribution of perturber velocities, the marginal probability distribution of each component of the angular momentum vector can be different. The constant torque attributed to Galactic tides arises from a non-cancellation of perturbations with an impact parameter of order the semimajor axis of the comet. When the close encounters are rare, the angular momentum is best modeled by the stochastic growth of stellar encounters. If trajectories passing between the comet and sun occur frequently, the angular momentum exhibits the coherent growth attributed to the Galactic tides.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures; accepted to A
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