On Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer's cubic surfaces

In a 1975 paper of Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer, a number of explicit norm form cubic surfaces are shown to fail the Hasse Principle. They make a correspondence between this failure and the Brauer--Manin obstruction, recently discovered by Manin. We generalize their work, making use of modern computer algebra software to show that a larger set of cubic surfaces have a Brauer--Manin obstruction to the Hasse principle, thus verifying the Colliot-Th\'el\`ene--Sansuc conjecture for infinitely many cubic surfaces

An Anatomy Massive Open Online Course as a Continuing Professional Development Tool for Healthcare Professionals

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) remain a novel and under-evaluated learning tool within anatomical and medical education. This study aimed to provide valuable information by using an anatomy MOOC to investigate the demographic profile, patterns of engagement and self-perceived benefits to healthcare professionals. A 21-item survey aimed at healthcare professionals was embedded into the Exploring Anatomy: The Human Abdomen MOOC, in April 2016. The course attracted 2711 individual learners with 94 of these completing the survey, and 79 of those confirming they worked full- or part-time as healthcare professionals. Variations in use across healthcare profession (allied healthcare professional, nurse or doctor) were explored using a Fisher’s exact test to calculate significance across demographic, motivation and engagement items; one-way ANOVA was used to compare self-perceived benefits. Survey data revealed that 53.2% were allied healthcare professionals, 35.4% nurses and 11.4% doctors. Across all professions, the main motivation for enrolling was to learn new things in relation to their clinical practice, with a majority following the prescribed course pathway and utilising core, and clinically relevant, material. The main benefits were in relation to improving anatomy knowledge, which enabled better support for patients. This exploratory study assessing engagement and self-perceived benefits of an anatomy MOOC has shown a high level of ordered involvement, with some indicators suggesting possible benefits to patients by enhancing the subject knowledge of those enrolled. It is suggested that this type of learning tool should be further explored as an approach to continuing professional, and interprofessional, education

Student engagement and perceptions of blended-learning of a clinical module in a veterinary degree program.

Blended learning has received much interest in higher education as a way to increase learning efficiency and effectiveness. By combining face-to-face teaching with technology-enhanced learning through online resources, students can manage their own learning. Blended methods are of particular interest in professional degree programs such as veterinary medicine in which students need the flexibility to undertake intra- and extramural activities to develop the range of competencies required to achieve professional qualification. Yet how veterinary students engage with blended learning activities and whether they perceive the approach as beneficial is unclear. We evaluated blended learning through review of student feedback on a 4-week clinical module in a veterinary degree program. The module combined face-to-face sessions with online resources. Feedback was collected by means of a structured online questionnaire at the end of the module and log data collected as part of a routine teaching audit. The features of blended learning that support and detract from students’ learning experience were explored using quantitative and qualitative methods. Students perceived a benefit from aspects of face-to-face teaching and technology-enhanced learning resources. Face-to-face teaching was appreciated for practical activities, whereas online resources were considered effective for facilitating module organization and allowing flexible access to learning materials. The blended approach was particularly appreciated for clinical skills in which students valued a combination of visual resources and practical activities. Although we identified several limitations with online resources that need to be addressed when constructing blended courses, blended learning shows potential to enhance student-led learning in clinical courses

Short-Lived Trace Gases in the Surface Ocean and the Atmosphere

The two-way exchange of trace gases between the ocean and the atmosphere is important for both the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere and the biogeochemistry of the oceans, including the global cycling of elements. Here we review these exchanges and their importance for a range of gases whose lifetimes are generally short compared to the main greenhouse gases and which are, in most cases, more reactive than them. Gases considered include sulphur and related compounds, organohalogens, non-methane hydrocarbons, ozone, ammonia and related compounds, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Finally, we stress the interactivity of the system, the importance of process understanding for modeling, the need for more extensive field measurements and their better seasonal coverage, the importance of inter-calibration exercises and finally the need to show the importance of air-sea exchanges for global cycling and how the field fits into the broader context of Earth System Science

Exploring the Dimensions of Medical Student Engagement with Technology‐Enhanced Learning Resources and Assessing the Impact on Assessment Outcomes

Anatomy curricula are becoming increasingly populated with blended learning resources, which utilize the increasing availability of educational technology. The educational literature postulates that the use of technology can support students in achieving greater learning outcomes by increasing engagement. This study attempts to investigate the dimensions of student engagement with technology‐enhanced learning (TEL) resources as part of a medical program's anatomy curriculum using exploratory factor analysis. A 25‐item five‐point Likert‐based survey was administered to 192 first‐year medical students, with three emergent factors discerned: satisfaction, goal setting and planning, and physical interaction. The three factors closely aligned with the existing literature and therefore additional nonparametric analysis was conducted that explored the levels of engagement across three custom‐made anatomy TEL resources, including: (1) anatomy drawing screencasts; (2) an eBook; and (3) a massive open online course (MOOC). Usage data indicated that the most popular resource to be accessed across the cohort was the anatomy drawing screencasts via YouTube, with the MOOC being used least. Moreover, some evidence suggests that those students who utilized the MOOC were more engaged. Generally, however, no correlations were observed between the levels of engagement and TEL resource usage or assessment outcomes. The results from this study provide a clear insight into how students engage with TEL resources, but do not reveal any relationship between levels of engagement, usage, and assessment outcomes

The school nature study union 1903-94

The article reviews the origins of the SNSU and its work over the 91 years of its existence. It explores the factors shaping the form and content of nature study and estimates its influence on school science education

Can demographic information predict MOOC learner outcomes?

There has been much written about the disruptive nature of Massive Open Online Courses on Higher Education, and online learning over the last two years. During that time, universities have been delivering online courses to many thousands of participants from around the world. Studies are beginning to use the data gathered from participants before, during and after courses to understand and evaluate these online learning courses. Generally, to date studies have focussed on the drop-out rate of learners from courses. This study uses pre-course survey data and online learner behaviour data gathered from five MOOCs delivered by the University of Leeds in 2014 to understand which learner characteristics might impact on completion. The results show that four characteristics are significantly associated with degree of completion. However, further examination of the data reveals anomalies and suggests that the MOOC population is much more complex than the headline data implies

Negotiating the new normal: How senior decision makers in higher education perceive marketisation in the sector.

This paper explores how decision makers in higher education perceive marketisation in the sector in relation to teaching and learning provision. The study is interested in the nature of relationships between public universities and other actors, particularly private companies, in relation to the creation, delivery and support of educational provision as well as public universities’ perspectives on these relationships. The study draws on 33 interviews with senior decision-makers and managers in higher education at six research-intensive and six teaching-oriented universities in South Africa and England. Questions we raise in this paper are: How do senior decision makers perceive the entry of private players in public HE? What are their experiences of working with private companies in partnership? What values do they associate with marketisation? What effect do they think the relationship is having on the status of the public university? How do they talk about the market actors? We argue that in both study sites there is a hybrid economy but that it is varied in its manifestation, with relationships more or less emergent or established. We discuss this in terms of alignment of practices and values which are guided by sometimes different roles and purposes; emerging and contested business models for income generation; pedagogical imperatives that guide public-private partnerships; and polarized notions of partnerships that raise the question of quality and control. The paper concludes with reflection on policy implications

Ramanujan’s unpublished manuscript on the partition and tau functions with proofs and commentary

When Ramanujan died in 1920, he left behind an incomplete, unpublished manuscript in two parts on the partition function p(n) and, in contemporary terminology, Ramanujan’s tau-function τ(n). The first part, beginning with the Roman numeral I, is written on 43 pages, with the last nine comprising material for insertion in th