Evaluation of the willingness for cadaveric donation in Greece: A population‐based study

Despite the importance of body donation for medical education and the advancement of medical science, cadaveric donation remains suboptimal worldwide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the willingness of body donation in Greece and determine the characteristics of donors. This cross‐sectional questionnaire survey was conducted from January to June 2011. A specially designed questionnaire was distributed to 1,700 individuals who were randomly selected from five major Greek cities. It was found that higher educational levels (P = 0.002), annual family income below 30,000 Euros (P = 0.001), guaranteed employment status (P = 0.02), and the presence of comorbid conditions (P = 0.004) seemed to affect potential donors' willingness for cadaveric donation. Those with strong religious beliefs were found to be unwilling to donate their bodies to medical science. Interestingly, the majority of participants who believed that hospitalized patients are deceived or are used for harmful experiments were willing to become whole body donors (P = 0.043). In Greece, the rate of body donation to medical science remains low, and most Greek citizens are not willing to become body donors. Efforts to encourage discussions about whole body donation should be implemented in order to improve current low levels of donation. Anat Sci Educ. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Consistent and Inconsistent Pupils' Reasoning about Intensive Quantities: The Case of Density and Pressure

In this research we investigate whether the categorisation of physical quantities into intensive and extensive, according to scientific knowledge, is perceivable and understood by pupils aged 12–15 years. For this purpose we administered written questionnaires to 300 pupils, comprising four tasks for each intensive quantity: density and pressure. The tasks investigate whether pupils realise that intensive quantities do not depend on the amount of the system they refer to and the factors affecting pupils' reasoning and their consistency when studying phenomena involving fluids at rest or in transition. The analysis of responses led us to identify three models of consistent pupils' reasoning. It was also observed that a significant percentage of the pupils provide inconsistent answers, that is, they change their reasoning across tasks and use alternatives to scientific reasoning, influenced by phenomenological features of the tasks. According to our results we propose a number of recommendations, such as the introduction of intermediate teaching/learning steps to be followed as well as suitable experiments to be used towards the acquisition of the scientific model for density and pressure.     

The Use of Drama in Science Education: The Case of “Blegdamsvej Faust”

This is a study of the structure of ‘The Blegdamsvej Faust’ and its relation to Goethe's classical play Faust. The ‘Blegdamsvej Faust’, a play written and performed by Bohr's students in 1932, is inspired by the very rapid development of Physics in those turbulent years. A struggle is made to promote the odd idea of a weightless particle. Moreover, this study lays emphasis on the fact that new ideas of Physical Sciences become more accessible, comprehensible and familiar through dramatization. For scenario-vehicles one may use as a basis plays from the classical repertoire or write something new. Several hints are given in this article.     

A Historical Approach to the Teaching of the Linear Propagation of Light, Shadows and Pinhole Cameras

In this paper are presented the views of Al Haytham and his predecessors on the shadows, the rectilinear propagation of rays and the images produced by pinholes. Al Haytham had given erroneous views on the distribution of light in the shadows. Educational applications of these are presented. These applications concern: (a) Simple experiments (b) Software. These applications give an opportunity for a first presentation of some notions of photometry even to the primary level of education. Another important use of the history of science is the explanation by Al Haytham of the ‘camera obscura’. This application is done both ways: through an experimental setup and through the use of special software.     

A proactive balanced scorecard

This paper describes a methodology for the development of a proactive balanced scorecard (PBSCM). The balanced scorecard is one of the most popular approaches developed in the field of performance measurement. However, in spite of its reputation, there are issues that require further research. The present research addresses the problems of the balanced scorecard by utilizing the soft computing characteristics of fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs). By using FCMs, the proposed methodology generates a dynamic network of interconnected key performance indicators (KPIs), simulates each KPI with imprecise relationships and quantifies the impact of each KPI to other KPIs in order to adjust targets of performance.     

Organised Military Sports of the Hellenic Armed Forces for the Period 1948–1968

The year 1948, as a starting point both of this study and of the organised military sport for Greece, was particularly hectic, since the newly liberated country was embroiled in the Civil War while, simultaneously, it was trying to reconstitute itself. The next two decades were marked by the foundation and the activities of the Higher Coordinating Committee for Sport in the Armed Forces (Anotera Syntonistiki Epitropi Athlitismou Enoplon Dynameon – A.S.E.A.E.D.). This Committee organised and materialised the first steps of the newly established organised sports activities of the Hellenic Armed Forces and evolved as a result, into the Supreme Council for Sport in the Armed Forces (Anotato Symvoulio Athlitismou Enoplon Dynameon) in year 1968. Due to the lack of specific and thorough research on the topic during this era, the purpose of this study was to identify references and the original sources (archives both of the A.S.E.A.E.D. and of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff) and to highlight and reveal the activities of organised Greek military sport, in the organisational field, and the Hellenic Armed Forces' participation in international sports tournaments.     

The Use of History and Philosophy of Science as a Core for a Socioconstructivist Teaching Approach of the Concept of Energy in Primary Education

The present study should be thought as a socioconstructivist teaching approach (a teaching model) for the concept of energy in primary education. It contains important and crucial aspects of the History and Philosophy of Natural Sciences, introduces the concept of energy using the macroscopic framework of thermodynamics, takes into consideration learners’ alternative ideas or frameworks relating to energy, takes advantage of the causal and the unifying characters of energy, which have been founded on the historiographical analysis of this concept, uses energy chains as visual representations for the deep understanding of it, uses visual grammar of Kress and van Leeuwen to design energy chains and introduces a teaching methodology for this concept.