Rabbit neutering in primary-care education: insights from a surgical clinic

Involvement in canine and feline surgical neutering clinics is generally considered to be a key element of primary-care veterinary education, yet opportunities for veterinary students to develop their surgical skills with rabbit patients are uncommon. This is despite the fact that rabbits are currently estimated to be the third-most popular companion animal species and the fact that the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) recommends that all non-breeding rabbits be neutered soon after they attain sexual maturity. We describe a pilot rabbit-neutering clinic designed to provide high-quality care for rabbit patients while offering opportunities for undergraduate surgical and case-management skills development. We report on the clinical outcomes for patients. Rates of morbidity (n=18) and mortality (n=1) were low. Of complications reported, the majority (n=16) were considered minor. Challenges included ensuring that staff and students were trained in the specific features of rabbit anesthesia and recovery behavior. We conclude that rabbit surgical clinics offer excellent learning opportunities for undergraduate veterinary students. With prior training in handling and close individual supervision, it is possible to achieve good clinical outcomes and to have a positive impact on the welfare of companion animal populations

Directly Observed Procedural Skills – What do the Assessors Think?

Directly observed procedural skills (DOPS) assessments are widely used in clinical education for the assessment of competency in real-life situations. There is a growing body of evidence supporting their use in medical education and some evidence to suggest that DOPS can have a positive educational impact and provide valuable opportunities for feedback within veterinary education settings (Cobb et al 2013). DOPS assessments have been used in the Veterinary Programme for the past 5 years. The aim of this evaluation study was to establish whether the DOPS assessment is achieving the outcomes we had anticipated when it was implemented (i.e. valid and reliable assessment of clinical competency, feasibility in the clinical environment, improve feedback provided to students). Each assessor (participant) was reviewed by a peer (or by self-reflection) once during the study period (3 months). Participants completed a short written survey commenting on assessors’ performance as well as a section to rate and comment on the perceived validity of the DOPS as a form of assessment. 40 DOPS assessors participated in the study. Over 90% of participants agreed that they would recommend DOPS for use in another Veterinary School, however, several concerns were raised about the educational impact of DOPS and their ability to identify poorly performing students. The process of the DOPS audit itself has started an important discussion among assessors about what constitutes a 'competent' performance. Take home message: We recommend building a peer review process into DOPS assessment and new assessor training to improve the validity of assessment

How and why do student teachers use ICT?

This paper examines how and why student teachers made use of information and communication technology (ICT) during a 1-year initial teacher education programme from 2008 to 2009. This is a mixed methods study involving a survey (N = 340) of the entire cohort and a series of semi-structured interviews with a sample of student teachers within the cohort (N = 21). The study explored several themes, including the nature of student teachers' use of ICT; variation in the use of ICT; support for, and constraints on, using ICT; attitudes to ICT and to teaching and learning more generally. It was found that nearly all teachers were receptive to using ICT – more so than their in-service counterparts – and made frequent use of it during their placement (internship) experience. The Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) was central to nearly all student teachers' use of ICT, in good part, because it was already used by their mentors and was widely accessible. Student teachers' use of ICT was categorized in three levels. Routine users focused mostly on the use of the IWB for whole class teaching; extended users gave greater opportunities for pupils to use ICT for themselves; innovative student teachers used ICT in a greater range of contexts and made more effort to overcome barriers such as access. ICT use was seen as emerging from a mix of factors: chiefly student teachers' access to ICT; their feeling of ‘self-efficacy’ when using ICT; and their belief that ICT had a positive impact on learning – in particular, the impact on pupils' behavioural and affective engagement. Factors which influenced ICT use included mentoring, training and support. Limitations on student teachers' use of ICT are explored and it is suggested that new teachers need to be supported in developing a more discerning use as they begin their teaching careers

A student's guide to United States patent applications

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 39).This thesis presents a comprehensive guide to patent applications in the United States derived from the information provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This guide gives indepth instructions for completing and suggestions for filing a provisional, utility, design, or plant patent with the USPTO. Several statistical analyses were done on patent applications and grants in the United States over the last two decades. In addition, a case study is completed on an invention patented in the United States and the company that resulted from it. The case study provides an example of how the patent system creates the opportunity for continued economic progress. As new technologies are discovered, inventors will continue to patent their ideas and increase the scope for commerce.by Jennifer N. Hammond.S.B

Adjoints of composition operators with rational symbol

Building on techniques developed by Cowen and Gallardo-Guti\'{e}rrez, we find a concrete formula for the adjoint of a composition operator with rational symbol acting on the Hardy space $H^{2}$. We consider some specific examples, comparing our formula with several results that were previously known.Comment: 14 page

Predictors of persistence in distance education.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify which factors predict persistence among a sample of distance education students. Age, gender, GPA, computer experience, computer self-efficacy, and gender role were examined in relation to persistence (i.e., successful completion of a course). A Web-based survey was administered to a convenience sample of undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in distance education courses at four colleges in the state of Kentucky ( N = 293), during the Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 semesters. The survey instrument consisted of background/demographic questions, the Computer User Self-efficacy (CUSE) Scale, and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Correlations, one-way ANOVAs, multiple regressions, logistic regression, and hierarchical logistic regression were performed on the data. Additionally, factor analyses were used to examine the factor structure of the CUSE Scale. Major findings include: (a) a moderate relationship between age and GPA ( r 2 = .12); (b) a relationship between the CUSE score and the masculine subscale score on the PAQ ( r = .180, p \u3c .01); (c) GPA was the only statistically significant predictor of persistence (â = .891, p = .018) of all the variables included in the logistic regression model; (d) a three-factor solution on the CUSE Scale was obtained. Additional results, conclusions, theoretical extensions, recommendations for future research and practice are presented