Understanding professional practice: investigations before and after an educational programme

During preparation for professional practice, the professional skill being developed is typically measured in the form of specific knowledge and skills. This study proposes an alternative to such measures, drawing upon research which demonstrates that our understanding of professional practice is central to how we both perform and develop that practice. The study investigates understanding of medical practice prior to and following a pre-medical programme. On commencing the programme, students showed substantial variation in their understanding of medical practice. At the end of the programme much of this variation remained, indicating the students had developed varying forms of professional skill. The study calls into question the adequacy of a focus on detailed knowledge and skills as a base for professional practice. In line with previous research, an important implication of the study is that developing skilful practice requires focusing on understanding of that practice in and through its performance.

Making the link between engineering management and undergraduate research

This paper describes and analyses an innovative engineering management course that applies a project management framework in the context of a feasibility study for a prospective research project. The aim is to have students learn aspects of management that will be relevant from the outset of their professional career while simultaneously having immediate value in helping them to manage a research project and capstone design project in their senior year. An integral part of this innovation was the development of a web-based project management tool. While the main objectives of the new course design were achieved, a number of important lessons were learned that would guide the further development and continuous improvement of this course. The most critical of these is the need to achieve the optimum balance in the mind of the students between doing the project and critically analyzing the processes used to accomplish the work.

Knowledge management and tourism

The study and practice of knowledge management has grown rapidly since the 90s, driven by social, economic, and technological trends. Tourism has been slow in adopting this app oach due to not only a lack of gearing between researchers and tourism, but also to a 'hostile' knowledge adoption environment. Its acquisition would close the gap and also provide both insights and potential applications for tourism. Research in Australia supports the assertion that this field is a late adopter of knowledge management. In response, this paper provides a model for tourism. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Periocular and Orbital Amyloidosis. Clinical Characteristics, Management, and Outcome

Objective: To present the clinical features and management outcome in a large series of patients with periocular and orbital amyloidosis. Design: Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series. Patients: All patients diagnosed with periocular and orbital amyloidosis in 6 oculoplastic and orbital units. Methods: Clinical records of all patients were reviewed. Main Outcome Measures: Clinical presentation, radiological and histological findings, treatment modalities, and outcome. Results. The study included 24 patients (15 female, 9 male) with a mean age of 57 17 years. Nineteen cases were unilateral, and 5 were bilateral. Clinical signs and symptoms included a visible or palpable periocular mass or tissue infiltration (95.8%), ptosis (54.2%), periocular discomfort or pain (25%), proptosis or globe displacement (21%), limitations in ocular motility (16.7%), recurrent periocular subcutaneous hemorrhages (12.5%), and diplopia (8.3%). Seven cases had orbital involvement, and 17 were periocular. Immunohistochemistry in 7 patients showed B cells or plasma cells producing monoclonal immunoglobulin chains that were deposited as amyloid light chains. Only 1 patient was diagnosed with systemic amyloid light chain amyloidosis. Treatment modalities were mainly observation and surgical debulking. During a mean follow-up period of 39 months, 21% showed significant progression after treatment, whereas 79% were stable or showed no recurrence after treatment. Conclusion: Periocular and orbital amyloidosis may present with a wide spectrum of clinical findings and result in significant ocular morbidity. Complete surgical excision is not feasible in many cases, and the goal of treatment is to preserve function and to prevent sight-threatening complications.