Do training and CPD foster truly reflective GPs?

No abstract available

Connectivism: a knowledge learning theory for the digital age?

<b>Background</b> The emergence of the internet, particularly Web 2.0 has provided access to the views and opinions of a wide range of individuals opening up opportunities for new forms of communication and knowledge formation. Previous ways of navigating and filtering available information are likely to prove ineffective in these new contexts. Connectivism is one of the most prominent of the network learning theories which have been developed for e-learning environments. It is beginning to be recognised by medical educators. This paper aims to examine connectivism and its potential application.<p></p> <b>Content</b> The conceptual framework and application of connectivism are presented along with an outline of the main criticisms. Its’ potential application in medical education is then considered.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> While connectivism provides a useful lens through which teaching and learning using digital technologies can be better understood and managed, further development and testing is required. There is unlikely to be a single theory that will explain learning in technological enabled networks. Educators have an important role to play in online network learning

What makes a good clinical student and teacher? An exploratory study

<b>Background</b> What makes a good clinical student is an area that has received little coverage in the literature and much of the available literature is based on essays and surveys. It is particularly relevant as recent curricular innovations have resulted in greater student autonomy. We also wished to look in depth at what makes a good clinical teacher. <p></p> <b>Methods</b> A qualitative approach using individual interviews with educational supervisors and focus groups with senior clinical students was used. Data was analysed using a “framework” technique. <p></p> <b>Results</b> Good clinical students were viewed as enthusiastic and motivated. They were considered to be proactive and were noted to be visible in the wards. They are confident, knowledgeable, able to prioritise information, flexible and competent in basic clinical skills by the time of graduation. They are fluent in medical terminology while retaining the ability to communicate effectively and are genuine when interacting with patients. They do not let exam pressure interfere with their performance during their attachments. <p></p> Good clinical teachers are effective role models. The importance of teachers’ non-cognitive characteristics such as inter-personal skills and relationship building was particularly emphasised. To be effective, teachers need to take into account individual differences among students, and the communicative nature of the learning process through which students learn and develop. Good teachers were noted to promote student participation in ward communities of practice. Other members of clinical communities of practice can be effective teachers, mentors and role models. <p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Good clinical students are proactive in their learning; an important quality where students are expected to be active in managing their own learning. Good clinical students share similar characteristics with good clinical teachers. A teacher’s enthusiasm and non-cognitive abilities are as important as their cognitive abilities. Student learning in clinical settings is a collective responsibility. Our findings could be used in tutor training and for formative assessment of both clinical students and teachers. This may promote early recognition and intervention when problems arise

Production and Characterisation of Porous Carbon Nanomaterials

Three dimensional porous structures of graphene and carbon nanomaterials have many exciting uses in energy storage, as catalyst supports and for water treatment to name a few; thanks to their high surface area, record conductivity, stability and potentially abundant feedstocks. However, recent publications have highlighted the need for a greater understanding of these materials’ formation and characterisation methods if they are to be optimised for these applications. Many graphene production methods result in a polydisperse mixture of flake sizes, thickness and chemical environment and understanding this complex distribution is important for many applications. Raman spectroscopy is a versatile method of graphene analysis but single point spectra cannot resolve this distribution and, in many cases, may misrepresent a material. By recording multiple spectra a statistical dataset is produced but the size required remains an important consideration. Herein a protocol was developed, utilising the convergence of data sets and a Monte Carlo based statistical method, to investigate the size of data set required for accurate characterisation. This was successfully applied to a range of carbon nanomaterials revealing different materials require bespoke analyses for complete characterisation, and even routine analysis can require hundreds of points. This characterisation was then applied to graphitic carbon produced from metal catalysed graphitization; whilst many studies have probed the effect of different process conditions, carbon sources and metals, here we investigate the role of different salts of the same metal, previously considered irrelevant to graphitization. By analysing the distribution of material produced from three different cobalt salts: $Co(OAc)_2$, $Co(NO_3)_2$ and $CoCl_2$; it was found the thermal stability of the metal source used is key to controlling the size of metal particle formed and thereby the pore structure and carbon produced. Such control can potentially be used to tailor the properties of carbon foams produced from low cost feedstocks

A focused evaluation of ethics education in Glasgow University's new medical curriculum, 1996-2001

The introduction of the new Glasgow medical curriculum provided an opportunity for evaluation of ethics education in the context of a modern curriculum.  The constraints imposed prevented a comprehensive evaluation of ethics teaching in the new curriculum.  Its focus had to be narrowed. This thesis builds on a dissertation submitted for a MMEd Degree at Dundee University, which covered the evaluation of ethics education in the first year of the new curriculum and produced the first three papers in the series being presented. It was decided to perform both process and outcome evaluation in year 1, where the largest proportion of formal curricular ethics sessions takes place.  Outcome evaluation continued throughout the curriculum.  The aims of the first year process evaluation were: 1) To judge the value of the curricular experiences provided for students in terms of: a) Acceptability to both students and tutors.  b) Feasibility.  c) Relevance of material to aims of teaching. 2) To judge the effectiveness of clinical tutors as facilitators of learning. The aim of the outcome evaluation was to test the following hypotheses: 1.  Small group ethics teaching, in the first year of an integrated medical curriculum, will have a positive impact on students’ potential behaviour when facing ethical dilemmas. 2.  The effect will be greater than that produced by a discrete lecture and large group teaching based course early in a traditional curriculum. 3.  Students’ performance will be adversely affected as they progress through the medical curriculum. 4.  The effect will be less pronounced in students undertaking the modern curriculum compared to those undertaking the traditional curriculum

Evolutionary dynamics of tumor progression with random fitness values

Most human tumors result from the accumulation of multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations in a single cell. Mutations that confer a fitness advantage to the cell are known as driver mutations and are causally related to tumorigenesis. Other mutations, however, do not change the phenotype of the cell or even decrease cellular fitness. While much experimental effort is being devoted to the identification of the different functional effects of individual mutations, mathematical modeling of tumor progression generally considers constant fitness increments as mutations are accumulated. In this paper we study a mathematical model of tumor progression with random fitness increments. We analyze a multi-type branching process in which cells accumulate mutations whose fitness effects are chosen from a distribution. We determine the effect of the fitness distribution on the growth kinetics of the tumor. This work contributes to a quantitative understanding of the accumulation of mutations leading to cancer phenotypes.Comment: 33 pages, 2 Figure

Panel Discussion: Expropriation, Threats of Expropriation and Developmental Policy

This panel discussion is a conversation about the place of expropriation in international law

Clinical Benefits, Costs, and Cost-Effectiveness of Neonatal Intensive Care in Mexico

Joshua Salomon and colleagues performed a cost-effectiveness analysis using health and economic outcomes following preterm birth in Mexico and showed that neonatal intensive care provided high value for the money in this setting

Panel Discussion: Prognostications

Discussion is part of the symposium: Canada and the United States: A Changing Relationship in a Changing World. The panel discusses effects of the Foreign Investment Review Act will have on the future of United States investment flows into Canada, while acknowledging the unique relationship these two trading patterns have and the symbiosis that each provides to the other for the betterment of both North American trading partners

Dallas Bower: a producer for television's early years, 1936-39

Having worked in the film industry as a sound technician and then director, Dallas Bower (1907-99) was appointed in 1936 as one of two senior producers at the start of the BBC Television service. Over the next three years Bower produced as well as directed many ground-breaking live programmes, including the opening-day broadcast on 2 November 1936; the BBC Television Demonstration Film (1937, his only surviving pre-war production); a modern-dress Julius Caesar (1938), in uniforms suggestive of a Fascist disctatorship; Act II of Tristan and Isolde (1938); Patrick Hamilton’s play Rope (1939), utilising extended single camera-shots camera-shots; numerous ballets, among them Checkmate (1938); and ambitious outside broadcasts from the film studios at Denham and Pinewood. Developing the working practices of producing for the theatre, film industry and radio, Bower was a key figure in defining the role of the creative television producer at the start of the medium. Among his innovations, according to his unpublished autobiographical fragment ‘Playback’ (written 1995), was the introduction of a drawn studio plan for the four cameras employed in all live broadcasts from Alexandra Palace. Using Bower’s writings (among them his 1936 book Plan for Cinema), his BECTU History Project interview, the BBC Written Archives and contemporary industry coverage, this article reconstructs the early development of the role of staff television producer in order to consider the questions of autonomy, agency and institutional constraints at the BBC in the pre-war years