Up and down the number line: modelling collaboration in contrasting school and home environments

This paper is concerned with user modelling issues such as adaptive educational environments, adaptive information retrieval, and support for collaboration. The HomeWork project is examining the use of learner modelling strategies within both school and home environments for young children aged 5 – 7 years. The learning experience within the home context can vary considerably from school especially for very young learners, and this project focuses on the use of modelling which can take into account the informality and potentially contrasting learning styles experienced within the home and school

Four Butterflies: End of Life Stories of Transition and Transformation

In this article, the author discusses her experiences as an Artist In Residence in the Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. Emphasis is placed on the ways in which end of life images and narratives often unfold in the fragile yet powerful space where conceptions of aesthetics and spirituality intersect with critical issues in the medical humanities. Drawing on four vivid case studies, the author examines the ways in which end of life narratives shed valuable light on conceptions of the subtlety of human embodiment; issues of violation, sorrow, and forgiveness; the mystical dimensions of traditional cultural beliefs; and the capacity for perceiving the natural world as a living symbol of grace. In so doing, she explores how the themes of transition and transformation become invested with meaningful existential and symbolic dimensions in artworks that give voice and presence to some of the most vulnerable, and often invisible, members of our societyﾗpeople at the end of life

Learning physical examination skills outside timetabled training sessions: what happens and why?

Lack of published studies on students’ practice behaviour of physical examination skills outside timetabled training sessions inspired this study into what activities medical students undertake to improve their skills and factors influencing this. Six focus groups of a total of 52 students from Years 1–3 using a pre-established interview guide. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative methods. The interview guide was based on questionnaire results; overall response rate for Years 1–3 was 90% (n = 875). Students report a variety of activities to improve their physical examination skills. On average, students devote 20% of self-study time to skill training with Year 1 students practising significantly more than Year 3 students. Practice patterns shift from just-in-time learning to a longitudinal selfdirected approach. Factors influencing this change are assessment methods and simulated/real patients. Learning resources used include textbooks, examination guidelines, scientific articles, the Internet, videos/DVDs and scoring forms from previous OSCEs. Practising skills on fellow students happens at university rooms or at home. Also family and friends were mentioned to help. Simulated/real patients stimulated students to practise of physical examination skills, initially causing confusion and anxiety about skill performance but leading to increased feelings of competence. Difficult or enjoyable skills stimulate students to practise. The strategies students adopt to master physical examination skills outside timetabled training sessions are self-directed. OSCE assessment does have influence, but learning takes place also when there is no upcoming assessment. Simulated and real patients provide strong incentives to work on skills. Early patient contacts make students feel more prepared for clinical practice

Exceptional skull of huayqueriana (mammalia, litopterna, macraucheniidae) from the late miocene of Argentina: Anatomy, systematics, and peleobiological implications

The Huayquerías Formation (Late Miocene, Huayquerian SALMA) is broadly exposed in westcentral Argentina (Mendoza). The target of several major paleontological expeditions in the first half of the 20th century, the Mendozan Huayquerías (badlands) have recently yielded a significant number of new fossil finds. In this contribution we describe a complete skull (IANIGLA-PV 29) and place it systematically as Huayqueriana cf. H. cristata (Rovereto, 1914) (Litopterna, Macraucheniidae). The specimen shares some nonexclusive features with H. cristata (similar size, rostral border of the orbit almost level with distal border of M3, convergence of maxillary bones at the level of the P3/P4 embrasure, flat snout, very protruding orbits, round outline of premaxillary area in palatal view, and small diastemata between I3/C and C/P1). Other differences (e.g., lack of sagittal crest) may or may not represent intraspecific variation. In addition to other features described here, endocast reconstruction utilizing computer tomography (CT) revealed the presence of a derived position of the orbitotemporal canal running below the rhinal fissure along the lateroventral aspect of the piriform lobe. CT scanning also established that the maxillary nerve (CN V2) leaves the skull through the sphenoorbital fissure, as in all other litopterns, a point previously contested for macraucheniids. The angle between the lateral semicircular canal and the plane of the base of the skull is about 26°, indicating that in life the head was oriented much as in modern horses. Depending on the variables used, estimates of the body mass of IANIGLA-PV 29 produced somewhat conflicting results. Our preferred body mass estimate is 250 kg, based on the centroid size of 36 3D cranial landmarks and accompanying low prediction error. The advanced degree of tooth wear in IANIGLA-PV 29 implies that the individual died well into old age. However, a count of cementum lines on the sectioned left M2 is consistent with an age at death of 10 or 11 years, younger than expected given its body mass. This suggests that the animal had a very abrasive diet. Phylogenetic analysis failed to resolve the position of IANIGLA-PV 29 satisfactorily, a result possibly influenced by intraspecific variation. There is no decisive evidence for the proposition that Huayqueriana, or any other litoptern, were foregut fermenters.Fil: Forasiepi, Analia Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: MacPhee, Ross D. E.. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados UnidosFil: Hernández del Pino, Santiago Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Schmidt, Gabriela Ines. Provincia de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción; ArgentinaFil: Amson, Eli. Universitat Zurich; SuizaFil: Grohé, Camille. American Museum Of Natural History; Estados Unido