Designing and using historical vignettes in science teaching : a personal account

Historical vignettes are interesting short stories which encapsulate a brief period of scientific history. They can be useful tools for teaching the nature of science, demonstrating the practices of science and making science fun. Historical vignettes illustrate the role of people and social processes in science. In this paper I describe my experience with writing and presenting an historical vignette during a Biology unit. Included is a copy of the vignette and I have identified some possible improvements that might lead to better outcomes. This may be helpful for other teachers who wish to try this strategy for themselves.

Domains of rural social work practice

Even though there is substantial agreement about the nature of rural contexts, practice principles, and factors influencing practice we still do not have a framework for organising this knowledge in a way that can directly inform the practitioner in their day-to-day work. In this paper, we introduce the concepts 'practice domains', 'domain location', and 'domain alignment' that, taken together, provide such a framework. We suggest that each practitioner works within a number of practice domains. A domain is a discourse about practice comprising narratives about how a social worker should practise and which factors they should take most account of in their practice decision making. Each practitioner, and each practice process, can be located somewhere within each domain (domain location) and also situated amongst domains according to their relative alignment with each of them (domain alignment). In this paper, we present this framework and show how it is useful for practitioners in understanding practice, identifying factors influencing it, and making practice decisions in immediate, concrete situations.

Refining animal models in fracture research: Seeking consensus in optimising both animal welfare and scientific validity for appropriate biomedical use

Background In an attempt to establish some consensus on the proper use and design of experimental animal models in musculoskeletal research, AOVET (the veterinary specialty group of the AO Foundation) in concert with the AO Research Institute (ARI), and the European Academy for the Study of Scientific and Technological Advance, convened a group of musculoskeletal researchers, veterinarians, legal experts, and ethicists to discuss, in a frank and open forum, the use of animals in musculoskeletal research. Methods The group narrowed the field to fracture research. The consensus opinion resulting from this workshop can be summarized as follows: Results & Conclusion Anaesthesia and pain management protocols for research animals should follow standard protocols applied in clinical work for the species involved. This will improve morbidity and mortality outcomes. A database should be established to facilitate selection of anaesthesia and pain management protocols for specific experimental surgical procedures and adopted as an International Standard (IS) according to animal species selected. A list of 10 golden rules and requirements for conduction of animal experiments in musculoskeletal research was drawn up comprising 1) Intelligent study designs to receive appropriate answers; 2) Minimal complication rates (5 to max. 10%); 3) Defined end-points for both welfare and scientific outputs analogous to quality assessment (QA) audit of protocols in GLP studies; 4) Sufficient details for materials and methods applied; 5) Potentially confounding variables (genetic background, seasonal, hormonal, size, histological, and biomechanical differences); 6) Post-operative management with emphasis on analgesia and follow-up examinations; 7) Study protocols to satisfy criteria established for a "justified animal study"; 8) Surgical expertise to conduct surgery on animals; 9) Pilot studies as a critical part of model validation and powering of the definitive study design; 10) Criteria for funding agencies to include requirements related to animal experiments as part of the overall scientific proposal review protocols. Such agencies are also encouraged to seriously consider and adopt the recommendations described here when awarding funds for specific projects. Specific new requirements and mandates related both to improving the welfare and scientific rigour of animal-based research models are urgently needed as part of international harmonization of standards.