Is Naturalness Natural?

The perfectly natural properties and relations are special – they are all and only those that “carve nature at its joints”. They act as reference magnets; form a minimal supervenience base; figure in fundamental physics and in the laws of nature; and never divide duplicates within or between worlds. If the perfectly natural properties are the (metaphysically) important ones, we should expect being a perfectly natural property to itself be one of the (perfectly) natural properties. This paper argues that being a perfectly natural property is not a very natural property, and examines the consequences

A QCD analysis of HERA and fixed target structure function data

The parton momentum densities in the proton are obtained from a NLO QCD analysis of structure functions measured by HERA and fixed target experiments. The uncertainties in these parton densities, the structure functions and related cross sections are estimated from the experimental errors, taking into account all correlations. Standard Model predictions for the charged current Born cross sections at large x and Q2 are calculated and compared with recent data from ZEUS.Comment: 4 pages LaTeX, 5 eps figures, uses npb.sty. Presented at DIS99, Zeuthen, Germany, April 19-23, 199

On the dbar/ubar Asymmetry and Parton Distributions

We discuss the impact of different measurements of the dbar/ubar asymmetry in the extraction of parameterizations of parton distribution functions.Comment: Contributed paper to LP01, 13 pages, 4 figure

High-energy exclusive leptoproduction of vector mesons

The physics of diffractive vector meson production in virtual photon nucleon scattering at NMC energies is reviewed. A particular attention is paid to the physical aspects of the reaction and how they influence the observables. The reaction is a good probe to investigate both soft exchange mechanisms and hadronic wave functions. Extension to either HERA or ELFE kinematics is sketched out.Comment: Contribution to the workshop "ELFE at DESY" (St-Malo, Sep. 96), 15 pages, LaTeX file, 8 figures, uses eps

Measurement of the proton and deuteron structure functions, F2p and F2d, and of the ratio sigma(L)/sigma(T)

The muon-proton and muon-deuteron inclusive deep inelastic scattering cross sections were measured in the kinematic range 0.002 < x < 0.60 and 0.5 < Q2 < 75 GeV2 at incident muon energies of 90, 120, 200 and 280 GeV. These results are based on the full data set collected by the New Muon Collaboration, including the data taken with a small angle trigger. The extracted values of the structure functions F2p and F2d are in good agreement with those from other experiments. The data cover a sufficient range of y to allow the determination of the ratio of the longitudinally to transversely polarised virtual photon absorption cross sections, R= sigma(L)/sigma(T), for 0.002 < x < 0.12 . The values of R are compatible with a perturbative QCD prediction; they agree with earlier measurements and extend to smaller x.Comment: In this replacement the erroneously quoted R values in tables 3-6 for x>0.12, and R1990 values in tables 5-6 for all x, have been corrected, and the cross sections in tables 3-4 have been adapted. Everything else, including the structure functions F2, remained unchanged. 22 pages, LateX, including figures, with two .sty files, and three separate f2tab.tex files for the F2-tables. Accepted for publication in Nucl.Phys.B 199

An exploration of the assessment experiences of new academics as they engage with a community of practice in higher education

This paper considers a phenomenological research study that attempted to explore how new academics were introduced to the assessment process within a Higher Education context. Two key educational perspectives have shaped the interpretation of the studies findings. These are Nonaka and Takeuchi’s [Nonaka, I., Takeuchi, H., 1995. The Knowledge Creating Company: How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation. Oxford University Press, New York] model of knowledge conversion and Lave and Wenger’s work on communities of practice (1991, 2002). Three key findings emerged from this work. Firstly, the study highlights a number of issues relating to the types of support and guidance that new academics receive. These were divided into formal and informal types that either promoted conformity or facilitated challenge. Secondly, the study suggests that the ways in which experienced academic staff communicate their assessment knowledge and interact with new academics may require further consideration. Finally, the study raises questions about the type of academic that the organisation would wish to develop

The context, influences and challenges for undergraduate nurse clinical education: Continuing the dialogue

Introduction – Approaches to clinical education are highly diverse and becoming increasingly complex to sustain in complex milieu Objective – To identify the influences and challenges of providing nurse clinical education in the undergraduate setting and to illustrate emerging solutions. Method: A discursive exploration into the broad and varied body of evidence including peer reviewed and grey literature. Discussion - Internationally, enabling undergraduate clinical learning opportunities faces a range of challenges. These can be illustrated under two broad themes: (1) Legacies from the past and the inherent features of nurse education and (2) Challenges of the present, including, population changes, workforce changes, and the disconnection between the health and education sectors. Responses to these challenges are triggering the emergence of novel approaches, such as collaborative models. Conclusion(s) – Ongoing challenges in providing accessible, effective and quality clinical learning experiences are apparent

On-line case discussion assessment in Ultrasound: The effect on student centred and inter-professional learning

In 2009 an asynchronous on-line case discussion assessment was introduced, to replace an existing traditional case-study assessment, within the Medical Ultrasound Programmes at City University London, to help extend collaborative, interprofessional student-led learning skills. Two clinical modules were used to develop the on-line learning method with associated assessments. Students selected and led a clinical case from their department, uploaded anonymised images and case details with questions, to encourage interaction from other colleagues. Thirty students participated in the on-line case discussions. The assessment was evaluated via informal feedback, end of module feedback and an on-line questionnaire. Some students completed two modules, using the on-line discussion, others were involved in only one module, of which 21 out of 26 students completed end of module feedback for the 1st module and 18 out of 20 students completed feedback from the 2nd module. Twelve students out of 30 completed the on-line questionnaire. Feedback suggested that the on-line case discussions were a good learning tool, providing a wide range of cases for students to participate in or read and learn from each other. All students found the cases interesting, engaging and useful, but time consuming. Despite the small numbers involved, useful feedback was provided to assist further development of the assessment, particularly in relation to the number of cases being assessed and length of availability. On-line case discussions are an innovative, engaging method to encourage self directed, collaborative learning which could be utilised in the health care setting to share interesting cases, promote inter-professional and self-directed learning

‘Gaps, mishaps and overlaps’: nursing documentation: how does it affect care?

Introduction: Complete, accurate and relevant nursing documentation is essential for the multidisciplinary comprehensive geriatric assessment process which can improve older patient’s outcomes following a hospital admission. Aims: to understand older person nurses experiences of and attitudes to documentation. Methodology: Semi-structured, in depth interviews of eight qualified nurses at an acute hospital trust. Interviews were analysed using the framework approach to identify key themes. Results: three overarching themes were identified: gaps, mishaps and overlaps. Gaps refer to information which was missing, inaccurate or inconsistent; mishaps refer to the consequences of these inaccuracies and inconsistencies and overlaps refer to the problem of duplications in recording of information. Discussion: Older person nurses report many inconsistencies, omissions and duplications in their documentation. This has implications for how nursing contributes to the comprehensive geriatric assessment and the quality of care of older patients. Recommendations for practice: New ways must be found to minimise and streamline existing documentation to ensure that records are complete, timely and person-centred. Nurses should be mindful that emerging digital technology systems do not create further problems. Ward nurses need to take greater control of development of documentation

On the Q^2 Dependence of Measured Polarized Structure Funtions

We analyse the available data on the polarized asymmetries $A_1$ for proton, neutron and deuteron targets. We use a homogeneous and updated set of unpolarized structure functions to derive $g_1$ from $A_1$, and we accurately correct for the scaling violations in order to obtain $g_1(x,Q^2)$ with the same $Q^2$ for all $x$ values. The contribution to the $Q^2$ evolution of a possible large gluon polarized density is also considered. The implications for the Ellis-Jaffe and for the Bjorken sum rules are discussed.Comment: 11 pages (LaTex) + 4 figures (topdrawer, included at the end) CERN-TH 7023/9