Differences Between Attached and Detached Cadaveric Prosections on Students' Identification Ability During Practical Examinations

Cadaveric prosections are effective learning tools in anatomy education. They range from a fully dissected, sometimes plastinated, complete cadaver (in situ prosections), to a single, carefully dissected structure detached from a cadaver (ex situ prosections). While most research has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of dissection versus prosection, limited information is available on the instructional efficacy of different prosection types. This contribution explored potential differences between in situ and ex situ prosections regarding the ability of undergraduate students to identify anatomical structures. To determine if students were able to recognize the same anatomical structure on both in situ and ex situ prosections, or on either one individually, six structures were tagged on both prosection types as part of three course summative examinations. The majority of students (61%–68%) fell into one of the two categories: those that recognized or failed to recognize the same structure on both in situ and ex situ prosections. The percentage of students who recognized a selected structure on only one type of prosection was small (1.6%–31.6%), but skewed in favor of ex situ prosections (P ≤ 0.01). These results suggest that overall students' identification ability was due to knowledge differences, not the spatial or contextual challenges posed by each type of prosection. They also suggest that the relative difficulty of either prosection type depends on the nature of the anatomical structure. Thus, one type of prosection might be more appropriate for teaching some structures, and therefore the use of both types is recommended.     

Start-up of online ventures from a corporate base and from point zero

Kevin Howat was named Senior Vice President, Business Development at WiseBear.com, Inc. in November 1999. Immediately prior to this appointment, he served as Vice President, Business Development & Brand Management at Time Inc. New Media. Mr. Howat was a co-founder of and served as Vice President and Publisher for Simon & Schuster's Macmillan Digital unit, an early publisher of new media titles for consumer reference market. He has also held editorial and marketing management positions with book publishers Thomson and Addison & Wesley. This article is based on a presentation made during the E-Commerce: Developing New Online Businesses for Publishers, a seminar sponsored by the Center for Publishing, New York University, Villa La Pietra, Florence, Italy, February 2–5, 2000.     

Predicting academic achievement of Greek secondary school Students from family background and California Psychological Inventory scores

Family background data and California Psychological Inventory (CPI) protocols were obtained from 1643 Greek students (825 males, 818 females), from 19 schools in upper, above average, below average, and lower socioeconomic districts of the City of Athens. Students were enrolled in Grades 8 and 9 (gymnasio) or 10 through 12 (likio). Background variables, individual CPI scales, and a combination of six CPI scales developed earlier to forecast high school academic achievement in the United States were related to the scholastic performance of the Greek students. For all 1643 students, the optimum linear combination of three family background variables correlated .29 with grades, whereas the previously defined CPI equation had a correlation of .38. Similar results were observed in subsamples defined by sex and school level. It was concluded that the CPI measures showed sufficient validity in this cross-cultural application to warrant further research at higher educational levels, and in special subgroups such as the intellectually gifted or mathematically precocious.     

Family and school environments,adolescents’ aspirations and young adults’ status attainment: Ability-attitude group differences

The study, which is a follow-up analysis of an earlier investigation in theJournal, examined relationships between adolescents’ perceptions of family and school environments, their aspirations and measures of social-status attainment, for young adults with different levels of ability and varying attitudes to school. Data were collected from 330 Australians who were 11-, 16-, and 21-years-old, respectively, during three surveys. The young adults were classified into four groups, defined conjointly by ability and cognitive attitudes to school. Within each group, regression surfaces were constructed from models that included terms to account for possible linear, interaction, and curvilinear relationships. The findings indicated that within various ability-attitude contexts, adolescents’ perceptions of environments and their aspirations operated differentially to be related to measures of young adults’ social-status attainment. Thus, the two longitudinal studies, when considered together, suggest that our understanding of variations in students’ school-related outcomes may be enhanced by exploring in greater detail contexts that are defined by ability and attitude dimensions.     

Professional Development at Distance as an Information‐technology Enterprise

This paper considers the issues involved in the delivery of professional development to teachers across Australia using information technology. A DEET‐funded pilot project to provide professional development in statistics education using satellite television is the basis for the discussion. Aspects of the project include the procedures followed in setting up and implementing the programme, the difficulties encountered, the evaluation of the various participants and products, the future plans arising from the project, and the possible transfer of lessons learned to other subject areas.     

Issues of relevance in Kenyan mathematics and science curriculaProblemes afferents aux programmes de l'enseignement des mathematiques et des sciences au KenyaPuntos de importancia en los programas de Matemáticas y Ciencias en Kenia

Are ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Science’ such universal notions that one curriculum can serve equally well in all societies, subject only to exemplification from local circumstances? Or do different human cultures construct and use ‘Mathematics’ and ‘Science’ so differently that each culture needs to construct its own curriculum to teach its own children? At issue is whether curricula developed in industrialised states can be readily transferred or adapted to developing countries.Taking as its starting point the fates of the Scools Mathematics and the Schools Science Projects in Kenya, — both adaptations of British models, — this paper reviews the research addressed to these questions. Its conclusion is that definitive answers are not yet possible. Nevertheless, what evidence there is seems to question the possibilities of transferability or even of simple adaptation.