Problem-based learning case writing by students based on early years clinical attachments: a focus group evaluation.

To evaluate the perception of medical students of the new approach to problem-based learning which involves students writing their own problem-based learning cases based on their recent clinical attachment, and team assessment.Focus group interviews with students using purposive sampling. Transcripts of the audio recordings were analysed using thematic analysis.Imperial College School of Medicine, London.Medical students in the second year of the MBBS course, who attended the problem-based learning case writing session.To elicit the students views about problem-based learning case writing and team assessment.The following broad themes emerged: effect of group dynamics on the process; importance of defining the tutors role; role of summative assessment; feedback as a learning tool and the skills developed during the process.Overall the students found the new approach, writing problem-based learning cases based on patients seen during their clinical attachments, useful in helping them to gain a better understanding about the problem-based learning process, promoting creativity and reinforcing the importance of team work and peer assessment which are vital professional skills. Further tutor development and guidance for students about the new approach was found to be important in ensuring it is a good learning experience. We hope this evaluation will be of use to other institutions considering introducing students case writing to problem-based learning

Early History Of ISNA

The International Symposia on Nonlinear Acoustics, now referred to as ISNA, have convened regularly since 1968, bringing together scientists and engineers to report and discuss the latest developments in this branch of nonlinear physics. The fact that this series of symposia is still going strong after more than four decades is testimony that nonlinear acoustics has established itself as a distinct, important, and vibrant field of research. In this paper we take a look back at the early years of ISNA to recall how it all began and trace the evolution of the symposia into their current form.Applied Research Laboratorie

Sellafield-derived anthropogenic C-14 in the marine intertidal environment of the NE Irish Sea

The intertidal biota from Parton beach, close to the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant, were all found to be enriched in radiocarbon relative to ambient background. The degree of enrichment appears to reflect the positions of the biota in the food chain once the dilution in seaweed from atmospheric uptake is taken into account. Close to the low-water mark, the order was mussels gt limpets gt anemones congruent to winkles gt seaweed. The same order was observed close to the high-water mark, except that anemones were absent from this area. The activities in the biogeochemical fractions of the water column reflect the fact that discharges are primarily in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), which is subsequently transferred to the particulate organic carbon (POC) and, to a lesser extent, the dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and finally, the particulate inorganic carbon (PIC). Analysis of intertidal sediment suggests that there is likely to be a gradual increase in the specific activity of C-14 in the inorganic component of this material as Sellafield contaminated organisms die and their shells are ground down by natural processes

Oscar Kokoschka’s Black Portraits: Emotions and Personality in Paint

The first oil paintings Oskar Kokoschka created after departing the Wiener Werkstätte in 1909 were his scandalizing black portraits, met with near universal hatred by the public, the critics, and the sitter of these portraits. This paper will explore the radical elements of these black portraits in Kokoschka’s depiction of movement, his use of hands as signifiers, his method of painting, and his desire to depict the genuine character of his sitters

Letter from D[avid] G. Muir to [John Muir], 1908 Mar 7.

Pacific Grove, Cal.,Mch. 7, \u2708.Dear brother John:Yours of late date gladly rec\u27d. Very sorry the Grippe has got you again. Glad to know by late reports from the Valley that you are much better. Thanks for Frank Abbott\u27s letter. I\u27ve written to him, I have also rec\u27d letter from Brad Brown saying he would be here in March. I anticipate a grand visit with him.We are all thankful that Helen is doing so nicely, and sincerely hope she may entirely recover. We are all well here. Sarah is herself again, as smart as ever. She was very sick with bowel trouble --would not take medicine nor have a doctor, and ate nothing. We were very much alarmed, but after weeks she began to mend.The coast has been very stormy all winter. We\u27ve had a good deal of nice weather, and lots of damp and chilly days, I\u27m getting so well that I want to do something and can\u27t find a thing to do -- not much business here, I sincerely hope that this will find you well. Lang may your lum reek. Yours as ever,D. G. Muir0408

Broken Windows: Stories

Broken Windows is a collection of sixteen short stories, diverse in structure and tone. Point of view in the stories varies as well, though these stories tend to employ restrained or skewed interiority. None of the stories strives towards particular themes, but what often emerges are characters who have difficulty communicating with people who should be their intimates. The restrained interiority resonates with this theme, inviting readers to enter the stories and see more, perhaps, than the characters themselves. Most of the stories are set in Saskatchewan, in places that are urban, rural, or in between. The fictional town of Mackadoo will be familiar to readers acquainted with any of Saskatchewan’s many small communities. These are “prairie stories” and, although there are no dust storms or blizzards, physical risk remains as part of the landscape. The crises are internal, however, and more accurately they can be termed “stories of prairie people.