The Purpose and Direction of Contemporary Reform Religious Schools in the United States and Canada: A Study of Concept and Their Implementation

My goal is to determine the purpose and direction of contemporary Reform religious schools in the United States and Canada. It is important, therefore, that as a first step towards reaching that goal, there be an understanding of the principles of Reform Judaism. It is my aim, therefore, to examine the main elements of the philosophical, theological and educational literature dealing with Reform Judaism, which was published during the years 1937 through 1970. I should like, also, to ascertain the attitudes and practices of the rabbis, principals, and teachers in the Reform religious schools in the United States and Canada, in order to determine their working philosophy which, in effect, is the 11working philosophy 11 of the schools in the Reform Movement. In addition, I should like to know the attitudes of a sample leadership group within the Reform Movement regarding desirable goals in Reform Jewish education. These will be compared with the views expressed by the rabbis, principals and teachers as well as those voiced by Reform Jewish spokesmen in the examined literature. Finally, my purpose is to compare the working philosophy of Reform religious schools with the principles of Reform Judaism as expounded by spokesmen of the movement, past and present

An Event-Driven Framework for the Simulation of Complex Surgical Procedures

Abstract. Existing surgical simulators provide a physical simulation that can help a trainee develop the hand-eye coordination and motor skills necessary for specific tasks, such as cutting or suturing. However, it is equally important for a surgeon to gain experience in the cognitive processes involved in performing an entire procedure. The surgeon must be able to perform the correct tasks in the correct sequence, and must be able to quickly and appropriately respond to any unexpected events or mistakes. It would be beneficial for a surgical procedure simulation to expose the training surgeon to difficult situations only rarely encountered in actual patients. We present here a framework for a fullprocedure surgical simulator that incorporates an ability to detect discrete events, and that uses these events to track the logical flow of the procedure as performed by the trainee. In addition, we are developing a scripting language that allows an experienced surgeon to precisely specify the logical flow of a procedure without the need for programming. The utility of the framework is illustrated through its application to a mastoidectomy.