An Evaluation of A Non-Traditional Program for High School Students

This mixed-methods program evaluation focused on the short-term outcomes of a non-traditional program for high school students. The program evaluated, the Non-Traditional Program, is designed to provide an option for students who are not successful in the traditional setting. The program provides two teacher faciliators, a part-time school counselor, and a part-time security position . Students attend the program for a half-day and take courses via online instruction with the goal being on track to graduate. Participants in this evaluation were the program staff who participated in a focus group interview and six students who were interviewed individually. Extant documents provided evidence of credits earned, Standards of Learning (SOL) tests passed, and evidence of meeting program goals. Overall, the findings showed that the program is meeting its short-term outcomes with success. The students earned credits toward graduation at a rate of 64%, passing SOLs at a rate of 65%, and met program goals at a rate of 67%. Students who attended the program for medical reasons showed higher results than students who attended for attendance or disciplinary reasons; however, when tested for a relationship between the variables, there was no statistical significance. Students in the program reported that the individualized online learning is beneficial as is the smaller environment in which they are able to work without distractions. Staff reported that students are successful to a degree but would benefit from an orientation in organizational skills to help them manage their time more efficiently online. Recommendations for future evaluation include tracking long-term outcomes of the program, tracking the success of students who transition out of the program, and further evaluating the different categories of students and their performance

Tangrams: a simple visual tool for communicating the complexities of professionalism.

Professionalism is vital for high quality healthcare and fundamental to health profession education. It is however complex, hard to define and can be challenging to teach, learn about and assess. We describe the development and use of an innovative visual tool, using a tangram analogy, to introduce and explore core professionalism concepts, which are often troublesome for both learners and educators. These include the hidden curriculum, capability, professional identity and the difference between unprofessionalism and high professional standards.  Understanding these concepts can help individuals to see professionalism differently, encourage faculty to design professionalism programmes which focus on professional excellence, support assessors to feel more confident in identifying and addressing underperformance and facilitate learners to appreciate the complexity and uncertainty inherent in professionalism and to become more alert to the hidden curriculum and its potential impact. We have used the tangram model to educate for professionalism in multiple contexts with learners and educators. Participants regularly report that it leads to a deeper understanding and important new insights around professionalism and helps them identify ways of changing their practice.  We believe this approach has relevance across the health professions and suggest ways it could be further developed to explore wider professionalism issues such as reflective practice, resilience and teamworking

Understanding students’ experiences of professionalism learning: a ‘threshold’ approach

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Using audio diaries to identify threshold concepts in 'softer' disciplines: a focus on medical education

Within Medical Education students more readily engage with the ‘hard’ sciences seeing sociology, psychology and ethics as ‘nice’ rather than ‘need’ to know. Yet within the published literature, there has been little research into students’ experiences of these subjects. In this paper we discuss a research method that allows the application of threshold concept theory to the exploration of the process of ‘non-biomedical science learning in medical education’. 16 students from a UK medical school were asked to record on their smart phones, their experiences of ‘doctor facilitated’ small group sessions. The students uploaded their recordings to a secure drop box facility and recordings were removed daily and transcribed. 68 transcripts were analysed for both substantive concepts and exemplars (within students’ language) of threshold concept criteria. Concepts were then cross-referenced against threshold criteria. Where concepts appeared to meet the criteria of transformation, liminality, integration and troublesomeness we speculated that these might be ‘threshold’. Audio diaries appear to be a promising methodology for applying threshold concept theory to understanding learning. The study provided an insight into students’ experiences. We learned that our students currently re-appropriate sociological ideas to the medical setting often finding new terminologies situated in their own ‘student speak’. We were able to spot gaps in their learning and notice how and where students get ‘stuck’. A resolvable limitation is we were unable to test for irreversibility. We also found little evidence of boundedness leading us to speculate about the nature of threshold concepts in the non-biomedical sciences

Genes, Economics, and Happiness

We explore the influence of genetic variation on subjective well-being by employing a twin design and genetic association study. In a nationally-representative twin sample, we first show that about 33% of the variation in life satisfaction is explained by genetic variation. Although previous studies have shown that baseline happiness is significantly heritable, little research has considered molecular genetic associations with subjective well-being. We study the relationship between a functional polymorphism on the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) and life satisfaction. We initially find that individuals with the longer, transcriptionally more efficient variant of this genotype report greater life satisfaction (n=2,545, p=0.012). However, our replication attempts on independent samples produce mixed results indicating that more work needs to be done to better understand the relationship between this genotype and subjective well-being. This work has implications for how economists think about the determinants of utility, and the extent to which exogenous shocks might affect individual well-being.life satisfaction, twin study, genetic association, serotonin transporter gene, 5-HTTLPR, rs2020933

Genes, Economics and Happiness

A major finding from research into the sources of subjective well-being is that individuals exhibit a "baseline" level of happiness. We explore the influence of genetic variation by employing a twin design and genetic association study. We first show that about 33% of the variation in happiness is explained by genes. Next, using two independent data sources, we present evidence that individuals with a transcriptionally more efficient version of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) report significantly higher levels of life satisfaction. These results are the first to identify a specific gene that is associated with happiness and suggest that behavioral models benefit from integrating genetic variation.wellbeing, socio-demographics, happiness, genetics, life satisfaction

Learning to become a primary care professional: insights from threshold concept theory.

Threshold Concepts are fundamental ideas within a discipline which are transformative, integrative, irreversible and usually troublesome. This article describes the threshold concept framework and discusses how it can offer new insights into how we focus teaching and facilitate learning around these concepts, such as uncertainty. Relevant research from a range of health disciplines are explored to consider which concepts may be critical to thinking and practising effectively in primary care. In addition, it is proposed that threshold concepts may have relevance to the GP recruitment crisis

The Role of Overexpressed HER2 in Transformation

The HER family of receptors has an important role in the network of cell signals controlling cell growth and differentiation. Although the activity of the HER receptor is strictly controlled in normal cells, HER2 receptor overexpression plays a pivotal role in transformation and tumorigenesis. HER2 gene amplification and/or overexpression of the receptor has been detected in subsets of a wide range of human cancers including breast cancer, and is an indicator of poor prognosis. It is proposed that overexpressed HER2 in combination with HER3 causes high activity of cell-signaling networks, thereby resulting in tumor cell proliferation. Thus, the HER2 receptor is an attractive target for new anti-cancer treatments. Mono-clonal antibodies directed against the receptor are the most promising of these, and the humanized anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody trastuzumab (Herceptin) has shown significant clinical efficacy in clinical trials. The anti-tumor mechanisms of anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies are not completely understood. However, some tumor types are not sensitive to trastuzumab, suggesting that the response of a tumor to trastuzumab may not only be dependent on overexpressed HER2, but may also be influenced by other members of the HER receptor family expressed in the tumor cel

Intracellular activation of rat hepatic lipase requires transport to the Golgi compartment and is associated with a decrease in sedimentation velocity

Hepatic lipase (HL) is an N-glycoprotein that acquires triglyceridase activity somewhere during maturation and secretion. To determine where and how HL becomes activated, the effect of drugs that interfere with maturation and intracellular transport of HL protein was studied using freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. Carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP), castanospermine, monensin, and colchicin all inhibited secretion of HL without affecting its specific enzyme activity. The specific enzyme activity of intracellular HL was decreased by 25-50% upon incubation with CCCP or castanospermine, and increased 2-fold with monensin and colchicin. Glucose trimming of HL protein was not affected by CCCP, as indicated by diges

Development of a PIGE-Detection System for in-situ Inspection and Quality Assurance in the Evolution of Fast Rotating Parts in High Temperature Environment Manufactured from TiAl

Intermetallic γ-titanium aluminides are a promising material in high temperature technologies. Their high specific strength at temperatures above 700°C offers the possibility for their use as components of aerospace and automotive industries. With a specific weight of 50% of that of the widely used Ni-based superalloys TiAl is very suitable as material for fast rotating parts like turbine blades in aircraft engines and land based power stations or turbocharger rotors. Thus lower mechanical stresses and a reduced fuel consumption and CO2-emission are expected. To overcome the insufficient oxidation protection the halogen effect offers an innovative way. After surface doping using F-implantation or liquid phase-treatment with an F-containing solution and subsequent oxidation at high temperatures the formation of a protective alumina scale can be achieved. By using non-destructive ion beam analyses (PIGE, RBS) F was found at the metal/oxide interface. For analysis of large scale components a new vacuum chamber at the IKF was installed and became operative. With this prototype of in-situ quality assurance system for the F-doping of manufactured parts from TiAl some performance test measurements were done and presented in this paper.Received: 01 March 2013; Revised: 24 April 2013; Accepted: 25 April 201