Globalization and the cultural impact on distance education.

With the delivery of distance (or flexible) learning in today's society, the changing roles of both the teacher and the learner need to be seriously considered. This is particularly relevant with the use of new technologies to deliver courses in locations with entirely different cultural and academic traditions. International education of this kind currently faces difficulties in facilitating cross-cultural learning. While problems of limited communications technologies, lack of teacher training, inadequate competence of university administration and general cultural differences may be known, global changes call for the development of new pedagogies with new communication technologies in ways, which are sensitive to issues of cultural diversity.

Activity-based cost analysis: a method of analyzing the financial and operating performance of academic radiology departments.

PURPOSE: To develop a methodology for an activity-based cost (ABC) analysis in an academic radiology department, to test the hypothesis that the business of academic radiology can be separated into three distinct businesses-clinical activity, teaching, and research-and to determine the effect of the current teaching paradigm on clinical productivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven key departmental activities were defined and distributed among the teaching, research, and clinical businesses. Individual radiologists determined the time spent in each of these activities by completing a detailed log of every activity performed during 2 weeks. All departmental revenue and costs were assigned to each activity in each of the three businesses. RESULTS: The methodology provided a successful understanding of the relative costs of each of the businesses of teaching, research, and clinical activity. It also provided the departmental costs of performing the separate activities typical of each business. Key findings included the following: Faculty spends 72% of time in clinical activities, research is the most expensive service per direct activity hour, and clinical reads (23%) are the single largest departmental cost element. CONCLUSION: ABC analysis can separate academic radiology into three businesses-teaching, research, and clinical-and provide a detailed understanding of the cost structure of each. This analysis identifies opportunities for improved quality of service, productivity, and cost within each business.

Designing interfaces for medical information management systems.

Poor interface design has adversely affected the integration of technology into medical environments. This paper discusses the importance of good interface design in medical information management systems. We will illustrate the advantages of approaching interface design in a user-centered manner, by describing the interface design process of the Curriculum Database for the Faculty of Medicine, Monash University. We believe that a consultative design process can make the difference between software success and failure.

The evaluation of computer knowledge and skills of medical students: a three-year comparison.

In 1991, four hundred and forty three (443) first-fourth-and final-year students from the Monash University, Faculty of Medicine were surveyed to seek details of previous computer use [1], knowledge of computer concepts, individual computer skills, perceived usefulness of computers in medicine, and the level of interest in further education on medical computing. his poster will demonstrate the comparison of statistics obtained in the first questionnaire (1991) with the results of the same questionnaire that is currently being distributed and analyzed (1994 -1995). As a response to the first study, Medical Informatics as an optional subject was introduced in 1992 to first, second, and third year medical students. Medical Informatics is currently being developed for inclusion as a compulsory subject for first year students in 1995, taking into account the results of both the first and second survey.

What do medical students know about computers?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the computer knowledge and skills of medical students in the first, fourth and final years of the Monash University medical course. DESIGN: Questionnaire. SETTING: Undergraduate medical education. PARTICIPANTS: All first, fourth and final year medical students in the Monash University medical course in 1991. RESULTS: The students in first year were found to have greater computer skills than those in sixth year. There were also significant differences between the sexes, particularly in sixth year, with male students having significantly greater computer skills than female students. CONCLUSIONS: The perceived importance of computing in medicine was high among all students and there was enthusiasm for the development and inclusion of a course on medical computing in the undergraduate curriculum.