2014-2015
MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
2014-2015 Edition About this Handbook This handbook is intended as a guide for postgraduate students registered for an MSc in Human & Applied Physiology in the Department of Physiology, King’s College London, during the academic session 2014-2015. The information in this booklet was compiled in June 2014. Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure that details are as accurate as possible, some changes are likely to occur before or during the 2014-2015 session. You are advised to check important information either with the Course Director (James Clark). If you notice any errors, please contact me (
[email protected]). The current version of this handbook will be maintained on OneDrive. If you have doubts or questions please consult the online version. We hope you find this handbook useful, and we wish you an enjoyable and successful year.
Content © 2014 Department of Physiology, KCL All content is correct at time of publication
www.kcl.ac.uk
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
Contents 1.1 1.2
2 3
Introduction by the Programme Director .................................................................... 6 Contact Details .......................................................................................................... 7 3.1 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4
4 5
General overview of the Programme .......................................................................... 11 Aims and Objectives of the Course .........................................................................................................11 Communication........................................................................................................................................ 13 Change of Address ................................................................................................................. 13 Expense Claims ....................................................................................................................... 13 Staff-Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) ............................................................................................... 13 Timetable ................................................................................................................................................. 13 E-Learning and the MSc OneDrive .......................................................................................................... 14 Attendance .............................................................................................................................................. 14 Extension of deadlines: ........................................................................................................... 15 Missed assessments: .............................................................................................................. 15
Taught Modules ......................................................................................................... 17 6.1 6.2 6.2.1 6.2.2 6.2.3 6.3 6.3.1 6.3.2 6.3.3 6.4 6.4.1 6.4.2 6.4.3
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Institution .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences ......................................................................... 7 Teaching venues........................................................................................................................7 The Academic Centre ...............................................................................................................7 Personal Tutor ..........................................................................................................................7 Academic & Support Staff ...................................................................................................... 8
The Academic Year ................................................................................................... 10 5.1 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6.1 5.6.2
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List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ............................................................................................................................................. 5
Adacemic Skills and Development .......................................................................................................... 17 Cardiovascular & Respiratory Physiology: From Rest to Exhaustive Exercise.................................... 17 Overall Aims ............................................................................................................................ 17 Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................ 18 Assessment............................................................................................................................. 18 Skeletal Muscle Function and Plasticity; From Movement to Molecules ............................................... 19 Aims ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................ 19 Assessment............................................................................................................................ 20 Human Physiology in Extreme Environments ......................................................................................... 21 Aims ........................................................................................................................................ 21 Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................ 21 Assessment............................................................................................................................ 22
Research-based Modules ..........................................................................................23 7.1 7.1.1 7.1.2 7.1.3 7.2 7.2.1 7.2.2 7.2.3 7.3 7.3.1 7.3.2 7.3.3
Key Topics in Human Performance in Health & Disease ...................................................................... 23 Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 23 Learning Objectives ............................................................................................................... 23 Assessment............................................................................................................................ 23 Library Project in Human & Applied Physiology.................................................................................... 24 Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 24 Learning Objectives ............................................................................................................... 24 Assessment............................................................................................................................ 24 Research Project in Human & Applied Physiology................................................................................ 25 Aims ........................................................................................................................................25 Learning Objectives ................................................................................................................25 Assessment.............................................................................................................................25
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Common Questions (& Answers) ..............................................................................26
9
Guidelines for Preparing Coursework ........................................................................ 27
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.7.1 9.7.2
Cover Sheets .......................................................................................................................................... 27 General instructions ............................................................................................................................... 27 Specific instructions ............................................................................................................................... 27 Submission of Coursework .................................................................................................................... 30 Keeping a lab Book ................................................................................................................................. 30 Preparing your Oral Presentation .......................................................................................................... 31 Useful Software ...................................................................................................................................... 32 Data analysis and plotting data on graphs ............................................................................ 32 Graphic design and preparation of figures ........................................................................... 33
10 Things to Remember .................................................................................................34 11
The Study Environment at King’s College London ........................................................ 35 11.1 11.2 11.3
12
Seeking Help and Information .................................................................................... 37 12.1 12.2 12.2.1 12.2.2
13
Examination Board Structure ................................................................................................................ 39 Appeals Procedure ................................................................................................................................ 39
Plagiarism & related forms of cheating ..................................................................... 40 15.1 15.2
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Module Feedback ................................................................................................................................... 38 Postgraduate taught Experience Survey............................................................................................... 38 National Student Survery ....................................................................................................................... 38
Programme Assessment and Regulations ..................................................................39 14.1 14.2
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Learned Societies................................................................................................................................... 37 Support for Students with Specific Needs ............................................................................................ 37 Specific Learning Difficulties e.g. Dyslexia .............................................................................37 Special Examination Arrangements........................................................................................37
Programme Evaluation & Feedback ...........................................................................38 13.1 13.2 13.3
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About King’s College London.................................................................................................................. 35 School of Biomedical Sciences .............................................................................................................. 36 King’s Health Partners............................................................................................................................ 36
College Policy.......................................................................................................................................... 40 TurnitinUK in KEATS................................................................................................................................. 41
Absence & Late Submission ......................................................................................43 16.1 16.1.1 16.2 16.2.1 16.2.2 16.2.3 16.3 16.3.1 16.3.2 16.4
Absence through illness ......................................................................................................................... 43 Regular recurrent absence ................................................................................................... 43 Important Documents ............................................................................................................................ 43 Notification of Examination Absence Form (NEA) ................................................................. 43 Extension Request Form (ERF).............................................................................................. 43 Disruption of Studies Form (DOS) ......................................................................................... 43 Procedures ............................................................................................................................................. 44 Where to submit .................................................................................................................... 44 Deadlines for submission ....................................................................................................... 44 Conduct in an examination ..................................................................................................................... 44
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Code of Conduct and Behaviour in Lectures & Field Trips .......................................... 45
18
Programme-specific regulations ................................................................................46 18.1 18.2 18.3 3.2
19
Completion and Award of Degree .............................................................................. 47 19.1 19.1.1 19.1.2 19.1.3
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Duration and Mode ................................................................................................................................. 46 Curriculum .............................................................................................................................................. 46 Assessment ............................................................................................................................................ 46 Other forms of assessment ................................................................................................................... 46 Key points to award of MSc in Human Physiology ................................................................................ 47 Modules ...................................................................................................................................47 Passing a module ....................................................................................................................47 Examination Resits ..................................................................................................................47
Taught postgraduate marking criteria .......................................................................48 4
MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
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How to Contact the Programme Director ..................................................................49
22 Appendix – Useful Contacts & Links ...........................................................................50
1.1
List of Figures
Figure 1 - Structure of Human & Applied Physiology MSc Assessed Modules ................................... 12 Figure 2 - Data Analysis, Presentation and other Useful Tips web page ............................................32 Figure 3 - Magix Xara drawing software ...........................................................................................33 Figure 4 - How to find Dr Clark .........................................................................................................49
1.2 List of Tables Table 1 - Important contact details for the College (correct at time of publication) ............................7 Table 2 - Important contacts within the Department of Physiology (correct at time of publication) ....9 Table 3 - Important Dates 2014-2015 ................................................................................................. 10 Table 4 - OneDrive Access Information............................................................................................. 14 Table 5 - Assessment method for 7BBLM004 ................................................................................... 18 Table 6 - Assessment method for 7BBLM005 ...................................................................................20 Table 7 - Assessment method for 7BBLM006 ...................................................................................22 Table 8 - Assessment method for 7BBLM007 ...................................................................................23 Table 9 - Assessment method for 7BBLM008 ...................................................................................24 Table 10 - Assessment method for 7BBLM009 .................................................................................. 25 Table 11 - School of Biomedical Sciences Postgraduate marking criteria ..........................................48 Table 12 - Quick Reference Contacts ................................................................................................ 50
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
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Introduction by the Programme Director Welcome to the MSc in Human and Applied Physiology, a course that has run at King’s College for almost 40 years and has many distinguished alumni. The current format for the programme was established in 2006 and now run by the Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences (CHAPS) and the Department of Physiology. Like many university courses, the MSc is worked on the credit framework basis and students need to accumulate all 180 credits to obtain their degree. As you know, this MSc is a one year-full time programme and is unique in the range of human physiology that it covers. The overall aim of the course is to provide instruction and training in a variety of aspects of Human Physiology and is comprised of 5 individual modules (see the scheme for full details). There is a strong emphasis on practical work and this is reflected in each of the three 30 credit modules in muscle, cardiovascular-respiratory and environmental physiology. Each of the modules is geared in large part to preparing you for undertaking your research project (60 credits) in the final 3-4 months of the programme. This handbook serves as a guide for students on the MSc in Human & Applied Physiology and accompanies the information found in the individual module handbooks. This should also be read in conjunction with the university’s Code of Practice for Taught Postgraduate Programmes, available from the College website. The course is very intensive and it is important that you try and keep on top of your laboratory and written work. The success of the programme relies in large part on the enthusiasm of you, the students. It is a busy 12 months, but above all it should be fun! Good luck!
Dr James Clark Programme Director MSc Human & Applied Physiology
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
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Contact Details
3.1 Institution Below you can find a list of important contact with King’s College London. Table 1 - Important contact details for the College (correct at time of publication)
Role
Staff Member
Email Address
Head of Institution
Professor Rick Trainor
[email protected]
Vice-principal Health Schools
Professor Robert Lechler
[email protected]
Head of School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Simon Howell
[email protected]
Director, Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences
Professor Steve Harridge
[email protected]
Head of Academic Department of Physiology
Professor Jeremy Ward
[email protected]
Programme Director MSc in Human & Applied Physiology
Dr James Clark
[email protected]
3.2 Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences The Centre is situated on floors 3 and 4 of Sheperd’s House on the Guy’s Campus of King’s College London. This holds the main administrative and research offices and laboratories. 3.2.1 Teaching venues The course will be primarily taught in the Seminar rooms around the Guy’s Campus (depending on the module). Some lectures may, however be given at the St Thomas’ campus. A free shuttle bus is available between St Thomas’ and Guy’s hospitals. 3.2.2 The Academic Centre The Academic Centre is your first point of contact for any enquiries regarding course work submission, deadlines and course administration. It is located on the 1st floor of the Henriette Raphael House, Guy’s Campus. The office is open 9 – 5 Monday to Friday. The Physiology MSc programme coodrinator is Jason Keane (
[email protected]) 3.2.3 Personal Tutor Professor Shanta Persaud (
[email protected]) has kindly offered to act as Personal Tutor for all students on the MSc Programme. In the context of this MSc course, the Personal
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
Tutor provides guidance, support and encouragement in matters relating to your studies, that cannot be answered by the module leaders or Programme Director. For example, the Personal Tutor should be approached in case of problems with project supervision or personal problems that cannot be discussed with the Module leaders od Programme Director. Professor Shanta Persaud Division of Diabetes & Nutritional Sciences School of Medicine King's College London 2.9N Hodgkin Building Guy's campus London SE1 1UL Tel: +44 20-7848 6275
3.2.4 Academic & Support Staff The Course Director is primarily responsible for the content and structure of the programme. Please contact the Course Director for queries regarding the general content and structure of the programme. If you are stuck over a particular problem in a module, the best person to go to for help is likely to be the module Lead or lecturer. Teaching staff have heavy work commitments in areas additional to teaching, and may not be able to deal with student queries immediately, so please be patient. We utilize a wide net of collaborators and partners in academia and industry to teach this Programme. If you have specific questions for a visiting lecturer please direct it to them at the time of the teaching session or request advice from the Module leader. Email addresses for all the module leaders and other key staff can be found in the table below and in the respective module handbooks. Technical questions relating to modules should be addressed initially to the module lead. If the outcome is not entirely satisfactory, you should consult the Personal Tutor. Problems that cannot be resolved by the Personal Tutor should be discussed with the Programme Director. Below you can find a list of contacts within the Department involved in the running of the MSc course.
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MSC HUMAN & APPLIED PHYSIOLOGY HANDBOOK
Table 2 - Important contacts within the Department of Physiology (correct at time of publication) Role
Staff
Room
Telephone
Email
MSc Programme Director
Dr. James Clark
STH
020 71880966
[email protected]
Head of Physiology & Chair of Exam Board
Prof. Jeremy Ward
HR1.42
x6695
[email protected]
Module Lead Library projects
Dr David Green
SH4.4
x8176
david.a,
[email protected]
Module Lead Muscle
Prof. Steve Harridge
SH4.14
x6164
[email protected]
Module Lead Cardiorespiratory
Dr. Ged Rafferty
KCH
020 32992082
[email protected]
Module Lead Environmental
Dr. James Clark
STH
020 71880966
[email protected]
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Anthea Rowlerson
SH4.2
x6292
[email protected]
Senior Lecturer
Prof. Thais Russomano
N/A
N/A
[email protected]
Director of Aviation Medicine
Prof. David Gradwell
SH4.26
x6306
[email protected]
Professor of Physiotherapy
Prof. Di Newham
SH3.1
x6320
[email protected]
Lecturer
Dr Julien Ochala
SH3.3
x8102
[email protected]
Senior Lecturer
Dr Geena Ellison
SH4.16
x6074
[email protected]
Key Lecturing Staff
Administrative & Technical Support Course Administrator
Jason Keane
HR1.33
x6708
[email protected]
Senior Technician
Tony Christopher
SH4.9
x6342
[email protected]
Teaching Manager
Helen Cammish
SH4.9
x6324
[email protected]
Research technician
Lindsay Marjoram
SH4.9
x6344
[email protected]
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The Academic Year The course fits into the standard academic calendar set out by King’s College London. It is unlikely that any part of the course will overlap with the College holiday periods, however it is possible that a field trip, practical or seminar may occur on the last day of term.
Table 3 - Important Dates 2014-2015
Semester A Programme Induction
19th September 2014
Teaching Starts
23rd September 2014
Term Ends
13th December 2014
Semester B Term starts
6th January 2015
Examination Period 1
January 2015 (first 2weeks of term)
Term Ends
28th March 2015
Semester C Term starts
28th April 2015
There is no formal teaching this term but there will be revision sessions for taught modules Examination Period 2
May (Dates TBC).
Research projects
Mid May 2015 to end August 2015
Research project presentation days and end of course
Early September 2015 (TBC)
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General overview of the Programme The aim of this MSc is to provide a theoretical and practical basis for explaining the functioning of the neuromuscular, respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Specifically, this is in regard to the effects of exercise and extreme environmental conditions. The programme topics will be examined from both systemic and cellular/molecular perspectives in order that students can evaluate the breadth of investigative approaches employed in human physiology research. A further aim is to assess the heterogeneity of human performance in health and disease from the elite athlete to the frail elderly individual. The programme will comprise lectures, tutorials and seminars with a significant practical component. The programme in Human & Applied Physiology will provide a range of multidisciplinary skills and would help those wishing to pursue a career in human physiology in its broadest sense, either in academic research, medicine, in industry, in Ministry of Defence research laboratories or the exercise and health professions.
5.1 Aims and Objectives of the Course After successful completion of this programme, graduates should have:
a detailed working knowledge of human physiology with particular emphasis on the muscular, respiratory and circulatory systems at rest and during exercise.
the ability to evaluate the normal physiological responses and adaptations to different exercise and environmental challenges.
developed the ability to assess the basic principles of experimental design and the ability to interpret and analyse data appropriately.
a hypothesis driven approach to experimental science.
the key scientific skills required for independent evaluation of data, critical evaluation of the scientific literature and for writing of scientific reports.
participated in a variety of experiments in human physiology, gaining first-hand experience of different experimental conditions and methodologies.
a detailed knowledge and understanding of the principles of operation, calibration and use of basic physiological measurement equipment
an ability to communicate their ideas effectively and confidently.
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Semester A 7BBLM005 Skeletal Muscle Function and Plasticity: From Movement to Molecules Monday & Tuesday
30 CREDITS
7BBLM004 Cardiovascular & Respiratory Physiology: From Rest to Exhaustive Exercise Thursday & Friday
30 CREDITS
Semester B Written Examinations 7BBLM008 - Library Project
7BBLM006 Human Physiology in Extreme Environments
Private Study
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CREDITS
Monday - Friday
30 CREDITS
7BBLM007 - Key Topics in Health and Disease Private Study & Seminars (Wed/Thurs
15
CREDITS
Semester C Written Examinations
7BBLM009 Research Project 12 weeks full-time
60 CREDITS
Figure 1 - Structure of Human & Applied Physiology MSc Assessed Modules
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5.2 Communication Email is the University’s formal means of communication. Information about your degree programme, other relevant activities, workshops, and other postgraduate matters is circulated by email to your University email account. It is vital that you check your email regularly. If you use another email account you should arrange for an auto-forward to be set up from your University email account or make sure that both the programme leads and Academic Centre know this alternative email. 5.2.1 Change of Address It is important that you inform the Postgraduate Officer in the Academic Centre (1st Floor, Henriette Raphael Building, ext. 6363 of any change in your home or term-time address. You will also be able to change this yourself on the mykcl web site (https://mykcl.kcl.ac.uk/). 5.2.2 Expense Claims On occasion you may need to claim back travel expenses from the college. This can be done through the Technicians Office (4th Floor Shepherd’s House). However for the money to be directed to the correct account, please ensure that the bank account information listed within your MyKCL page (https://mykcl.kcl.ac.uk/) is up to date.
5.3 Staff-Student Liaison Committee (SSLC) The Staff-Student Liaison Committee includes one voluntary student representative from the programme. The Committee is a forum for discussion between the Academic staff and students and it meets, usually, once a term and once at the end of the Programme. Typically, the discussion concerns facilities, the conduct of modules and similar issues. The Committee can be a very useful channel for you to call attention to any issues arising from your programme or facilities. If you want to have an issue discussed at the SSLC meeting, you should contact your student representatives and ask them to raise the issue at the next meeting of the Committee. The Chair of the Staff-Student Liaison Committee is the Course Director, Dr James Clark.
5.4 Timetable Due to the nature of the work undertaken on this course a finalised timetable will not be available until early September 2014. For up-to-date timetabling for this course, please refer to the Human and Applied Physiology MSc Google Calendar which is available online and is updated regularly. Since this system uses the popular Google Calendar system, apps can be downloaded (some apps may be subject to a charge by the publisher) for most internetenabled smart-phones in order to access the calendar easily. Upon commencement of the course you will be asked to subscribe to the Physiology MSc Google Calendar which will contain all the dates and times for lectures, seminars, practicals and field trips. If changes are made to the components of this course emails will be sent to all participants and the online calendar will be updated. If you are unable to connect to the Google Calendar for any reason please email the module organiser in the first instance. 13
5.5 E-Learning and the MSc OneDrive Most of the lecture notes and course information including electronic copies of course materials, this course book and practical data sets will be available on Physiology MSc OneDrive account which can be accessed using the web addresses shown below. Google Chrome is the recommended browser to use OneDrive but the system does work with Internet Explorer and other popular browsers. Table 4 - OneDrive Access Information
Resource
Access Permission
URL
Learning Materials, important documents, forms and course-specific information
Read only
http://sdrv.ms/ZfN6Rf
Read & Write Access
The Username and password for this account will be issued on the first day of term
Student access OneDrive Account
There are other e-Learning software and data analysis support section 9.7.1.
5.6 Attendance You have chosen to undertake an MSc programme which has a strong emphasis on preparing students for research work, including developing practical, analytical and presentational skills. It is dependent on students working closely with each other and teaching staff in small groups, and learning from a variety of speakers, both internal and external, who are specialists in their field. To do this, you have to be here, attending all sessions. Even if a lecture title is on a topic you think you already know about, that doesn’t mean you will learn nothing from it, and your expertise in the field will contribute to the quality of the general discussion afterwards. As groups are small, absences are obvious, and expert speakers from abroad (some of whom represent organisations which might provide employment opportunities for you later), will not be impressed if students are missing. We therefore expect all students to attend all timetabled sessions for this module, and also any related lectures or seminars on campus if directed to do so by the module organiser. If there is some problem that means you have to miss an occasional session, e.g. because of illness, then it is courteous to just email the module organiser to briefly explain you will be absent. Required attendance also applies to timetabled assessments, both in-course (e.g. seminar presentations you will give) and formal examinations (normally, January and May). Deadlines for submitting written in-course assessments must also be respected.
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For missed or delayed assessments, you will be required to complete either an ERF or NEA form, as appropriate to the situation. They are shown on the next few pages. 5.6.1 Extension of deadlines: If you realise that you cannot complete an assignment in time, and wish to request more time to complete it, the ERF is used to ask for an extension. Valid reasons are required for this to be granted – simple disorganisation and poor time management are not acceptable. If an acceptable reason is not provided, then no extension is allowed, and if the item is not submitted by the original time, then it is awarded a 0% mark. If the reasons are valid, then the Chair of the Physiology PG exam board will ask the module organiser to agree a new deadline with you. 5.6.2 Missed assessments: If you fail to attend a timetabled assessment (in-course or main exam) at the time specified, then you should complete an NEA form, explaining the reasons for your absence. Again valid reasons are required. If not provided, then the assessment will be awarded a 0% mark, after which the only option to repeat it will be as a capped resit, normally ‘at the first available opportunity’ (not determined by you). Both forms should be submitted to the Academic Centre, which will forward them to the Postgraduate office, the module organiser and the Chair of the Physiology PG exam board. After viewing the form and any supporting documentation, and consulting the module organiser, the Chair of the Exam Board will make a decision as to whether the reasons are valid or not. The PG office will then let you know the outcome by email. Note that submission of these forms should be done PROMPTLY: for ERFs, before the submission deadline, as soon as you are aware that you will be unable to meet the original published deadline NEA form for missed assessments can be submitted at any time before an examination but no later than 7 calendar days after the date of a missed examination. If you are unsure of what to do with regard to being missed or delayed assessments, contact at least one of the following as soon as possible: Module organiser – member of staff responsible for the module or component Programme organiser – James Clark (
[email protected]) Senior tutor in Physiology - Shanta Persuad (
[email protected]) Very occasionally, students may encounter serious difficulties which interfere with their attendance and/or ability to study effectively. If this happens to you, you should get in touch with one of the three people listed above to let them know what is happening, and do this as soon as possible. With their help, it may be possible to find a way to help you through the difficulty. Simply not turning up and/or not submitting coursework will not avoid the problem, it will make matters worse by progressively reducing the options available to you (as a result of lost assessment marks). Persistent failure to pay tuition fees (for whatever reason) will result in students being suspended, which has many consequences, including: 15
they are not allowed to attend any classes, use College library & computing facilities, or take scheduled assessments of any kind results of any previous exams taken and already marked will not be released recently-submitted assessments will not be marked they will not be allowed to submit new coursework graduation and re-enrolment (for any other modules) will not be allowed
Although the suspension will be lifted as soon as the fees are paid, if in the meantime you have missed teaching sessions, they cannot be repeated and you will find it very difficult to catch up, and this is likely to cost you marks in subsequent assessments. In this case, therefore, if you find yourself unable to pay fees on time, please contact either the programme organiser or Professor Persaud (email addresses above) as soon as possible – the earlier your problem is known, the more options are available. Waiting until you are suspended will make recovery much more difficult.
.
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6
Taught Modules All of the Modules within the MSc are considered core to the course and, therefore, are a compulsory element of the MSc. The programme is structured such that 60 credits are taken in each term of three terms.
6.1 Adacemic Skills and Development An important part of your MSc is the process of learning new skills related to a career in science and biomedical research. In the first term, to supplement the content of the two credit-bearing modules, you will have a series of timetabled seminars and workshops covering topics including the ethics of using human subjects in research, data aquisition and statistical analysis, preparing an abstract or lay sumary and writing and maintaining your CV. These seminars will be run by members of the faculty and are open to al the MSc programmes. Usually these take place on Wednesday mornings.
6.2 Cardiovascular & Respiratory Physiology: From Rest to Exhaustive Exercise1 Module Code:
7BBLM004
Module Leader:
Dr Ged Rafferty
6.2.1 Overall Aims This course unit “Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology from Rest to Exhaustive Exercise” is designed exclusively for Postgraduate Human & Applied Physiology students. The unit shall run mainly on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the first semester. The purpose of the unit is to develop a complete knowledge of cardiovascular and respiratory physiology and how these systems adapt to challenges such as exercise. The unit is comprised of theoretical and practical components. The purpose of the theoretical (lectures and seminars) components is to create a through and complete knowledge of the issues relating to cardiovascular and respiratory physiology. Attention will be paid to classic historical papers and cutting edge science. The purpose of the practical component is to reinforce the theoretical knowledge and understanding and obtain an insight into how such knowledge was acquired. Strong experimental skills with a range of equipment and methods shall be gleaned including the writing up of a laboratory report in a manner consistent with an academic paper. Furthermore, experience of the issues and techniques associated with Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology shall provide a basis for the Extreme Environment unit in the second semester. In particular the aims of this module are:
1
Provide detailed and in depth knowledge of function of the human cardiovascular and respiratory systems. To give an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the
The Examination for this module will be held in in the January Examination Period (Examination Period 1)
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regulation of ventilation, cardiac output and blood pressure at rest and during exercise, and how these systems interact with the metabolic requirements of working muscles.
Provide practical experience in experimentation in human respiratory and cardiovascular physiology. Provide knowledge of instrumentation, calibration, data acquisition and the analysis of results applying the appropriate statistical methods.
To equip students with the skills to interpret and challenge current basic & clinical research
6.2.2 Learning Objectives At the end of this course students should be able to:
Explain in detail the mechanisms that regulate ventilation, cardiac output, and blood pressure at rest and during exercise.
Compare and contrast different methods of recording respiratory and cardiovascular variables at rest and during exercise.
Assess the reproducibility of laboratory measurements and distinguish inter and intra individual variability, operator error, and equipment sensitivity limits.
Explain the principles behind the metabolic interaction of muscular, cardiovascular and respiratory systems during exercise.
Analyse experimental data obtained in laboratory practicals and evaluate statistical significance of measurements.
Analyse experimental data and evaluate statistical significance of measurements.
Prepare laboratory reports independently.
To equip students with the skills to interpret and challenge current basic & clinical research
6.2.3 Assessment Table 5 - Assessment method for 7BBLM004
Assessment
#
Duration/ length
Pass Mark
% of Module
Unseen written examinations
1
3 hours
50%
60%
Oral Presentation
1
15 mins (10+5)
50%
20%
Written Lab Report
1
1,500 words
50%
20%
Other: Attendance at all practicals is compulsory. Satisfactory completion of laboratory note book is a requirement of the MSc.
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6.3 Skeletal Muscle Function and Plasticity; From Movement to Molecules2 Module Code:
7BBLM005
Module Leader:
Professor Steve Harridge
6.3.1 Aims The course is focused on the physiology of skeletal muscle and will cover aspects ranging from gene expression regulating adaptive processes to in vivo function and movement. Like all aspects of physiology – muscle cannot be considered solely in isolation, but will also be considered in the context of its integration and cooperation with other tissues and physiological systems in the body. The specific aims of this module are:
Provide a detailed knowledge of the functioning of the human muscular system from the molecular to the whole muscle level. To give an understanding of the mechanisms underlying the contractile characteristics of muscle and the means by which it adapts to change in usage, and how it fatigues.
Provide practical experience in experimentation in human muscle physiology (from whole muscle contractile properties to molecular / cellular approaches to muscle sample analysis), calibrating and using equipment, carrying out data acquisition and analysis as well as interpreting results applying the appropriate statistical methods..
6.3.2 Learning Objectives At the end of this course students should be able to:
Evaluate the basic mechanisms underlying muscle contraction
Compare and contrast whole the measurement of muscle function using whole muscle and single fibre approaches.
Assess the different types of skeletal muscle fibres in terms of molecular composition and contractile properties.
Evaluate the mechanisms which might cause a muscle to fatigue
Evaluate the mechanisms by which a muscle adapts to mechanical overload and to endurance training
Evaluate the effects of disease, aging and inactivity on muscle structure and function
Assess objectively muscle function in vivo, understanding the concepts of inter and intra-individual variability, operator error, and equipment sensitivity limits.
Evaluate the principles behind different techniques used to analyse human muscle samples, such as histochemistry, electrophoresis, PCR, cell culture and immunocytochemistry.
Analyse experimental data obtained in laboratory practicals and evaluate data with appropriate statistical procedures.
2
The Examination for this module will be held in in the January Examination Period (Examination Period 1)
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Prepare laboratory reports independently and be able to give a structured 10 minute oral presentation of a practical.
6.3.3 Assessment Table 6 - Assessment method for 7BBLM005
Assessment
#
Duration/ length
Pass Mark
% of Module
Unseen written examinations
1
3 hours
50%
60%
Oral Presentation
1
15 mins (10+5)
50%
20%
Written Lab Report
1
1,500 words
50%
20%
Other: Attendance at all practicals is compulsory. Satisfactory completion of laboratory note book is a requirement of the MSc.
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6.4 Human Physiology in Extreme Environments3 Module Code:
7BBLM006
Module Leader:
Dr James Clark
6.4.1 Aims This module will involve participation in components of the Diploma of Aviation Medicine (KCL), as well as practical work at the RAF Centre for Aviation Medicine (RAF CAM), university of Portsmouth and the defence evaluation company QinetiQ). Due to the nature of the work undertaken in this module a finalised timetable will not be available until December 2014. The specific aims of this module are:
To understand human physiological function and performance under extreme conditions of altitude, temperature and micro-gravity.
To experience and measure physiological parameters under a variety of conditions.
To undertake 1 week small-group research projects
Analyse experimental data obtained in the laboratory and evaluate data with appropriate statistical procedures.
Prepare written reports and present experimental data
6.4.2 Learning Objectives At the end of the course you should be able to:
Assess the impact of high altitude on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
Explain how the body copes with the effects of acceleration.
Evaluate the way in which the body responds and adapts to changes in temperature.
Evaluate the impact of short and long-term stays in micro-gravity environment.
Compare the conduct of human experiments in a variety of different environmental conditions.
Analyse experimental data obtained in laboratory practical sessions and evaluate data with appropriate statistical procedures
Carry out 3 week-long research projects in environmental physiology
3
The Examination for this module will be held in in the May Examination Period (Examination Period 2)
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6.4.3 Assessment Table 7 - Assessment method for 7BBLM006
Assessment
#
Duration/ length
Pass Mark
% of Module
Unseen written examinations
1
3 hours
50%
60%
Oral Presentation
1
15 mins (10+5)
50%
20%
Written Lab Report
1
1,500 words
50%
20%
Other: Attendance at all practicals is compulsory. Satisfactory completion of laboratory note book is a requirement of the MSc.
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7
Research-based Modules
7.1
Key Topics in Human Performance in Health & Disease Module Code:
7BBLM007
Module Leader:
Dr Julien Ochala
7.1.1 Aims This is a seminar based module whose aim is to introduce through invited lectures and Divisional Seminars “key topics” of interest in relation to human physiology. 7.1.2 Learning Objectives At the end of this course students should be able to
Synthesise information from a seminar environment
Be able to critically approach and deliver a research based essay on specified topic.
Synthesis the critical information in the essay in the form of an oral presentation
7.1.3 Assessment Table 8 - Assessment method for 7BBLM007
Assessment
#
Duration/ length
Pass Mark
% of Module
Essay
1
2000 words
50
70
Oral Presentation
1
15 (10+5)
50
30
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7.2 Library Project in Human & Applied Physiology Module Code:
7BBLM008
Module Leader:
Dr David Green
7.2.1 Aims
Develop an in depth knowledge of the literature concerning an area of topical interest in Human Applied Physiology.
Develop analytical, critical, organizational and presentational skills
7.2.2 Learning Objectives At the end of this course, students will
Have reviewed, in depth, a topic in human physiology which is different from that in which they will undertake their research project.
Have evaluated the relevant literature and be able to critically evaluate academic research papers.
Be able to perform key word searches on electronic and non-electronic indexing systems to find relevant publications.
Be able to assemble and maintain a referencing system whether manual or software
Be able to write in a fluent scientific literary style
Be able to synthesize publications to critical findings
Illustrate key aspects of text in a report in figures and write figure legends
Understand how primary research data impacts on the broader descriptive conclusions given in textbooks.
Learn how to synthesis and this information in the form of a poster presentation
7.2.3 Assessment Table 9 - Assessment method for 7BBLM008
Assessment
#
Duration/ length
Pass (%)
% of Module
Written Literature Review
1
3000 words
50
70
Poster Presentation
1
N/A
50
30
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7.3 Research Project in Human & Applied Physiology Module Code:
7BBLM009
Module Leader:
Dr Julien Ochala
7.3.1 Aims Provide students with an opportunity to undertake a research project either independently or in an active laboratory. The student will, in conjunction with their chosen research supervisor, plan and carry out experiments to test a hypothesis and to learn and develop laboratory and research skills. 7.3.2 Learning Objectives At end of the project, students will be able to:
Perform research activity independently
Formulate hypotheses
Define good experimental design and plan experiments
Generate and analyse experimental data
Perform literature searches, analysis and interpretation
Prepare new data for oral and written presentation.
Apply principles and practice of statistical analysis
Write detailed scientific reports
Propose further experiments as a logical extension to the project.
7.3.3 Assessment Table 10 - Assessment method for 7BBLM009
Assessment
#
Duration/ length
Pass Mark (%)
% of Module
Written Dissertation
1
15,000 words
50
80
Oral Presentation
1
15 (10+5)
50
20
25
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Common Questions (& Answers) Q. How and when will it be decided which practical write up and which present orally? A. You will be randomly allocated a practical towards the end each module. It is this imperative that you keep an up – to – date recode of each practical in your lab book. The modules in the first Semester usually have allocations of presentation/write-up mid-term and towards the end of term.
Q. What are the submission and presentation dates? A. This will be given to you by each module and should be found in the module handbook given to you are the start of each semester.
Q. How is my work graded? A. See Appendix 5 for the School marking scheme. All course-work is marked by two members of academic staff.
Q. What feedback will I receive? A. Throughout your time at King’s you will be given feedback on your work. Your mark will be returned with comments and a grade. This feedback should enable you to better understand the subjects you encounter and help you to study more effectively. An important feature of a university education is that it should develop your ability to work independently and rely on your own judgement, so that you will find that the nature of feedback changes from year to year. It is our aim to return written work to you within 4 weeks of receipt. Oral presentations will be assessed and you should receive feedback and a mark within a week of the presentation.
Q. What about extensions? A. Extensions for extenuating circumstances can only be given by the module leader. Absence from Examination forms are available on line or from the Academic centre
Q. What happens if I have a genuine problem missing a deadline or examination? A. The college has two processes of notifying us of problems. A Notification of Examination Absence (NEA) should be completed by students when applying to withdraw from an examination or coursework and a Disruption of Studies (DOS) form should be completed by students when a life-changing event has occurred within the duration of study. See the section (Section 16.2) later in this booklet for more details.
Q. What will my workload be like? A. Most 30 credit modules involve 60 teaching hours; the majority of the time is used for lectures and the remainder is spent on auxiliary teaching through tutorials, practical classes & revision periods.
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9
Guidelines for Preparing Coursework To gain any benefit from the practical sessions you will need to write them up and get them marked. Each of the practical sessions must be written up and handed in when indicated. If you miss deadlines without good reason you get zero marks. Please e-mail the course organiser if problems arise. Do not under-estimate how long writing a lab report this will take you! You have a number of weeks after the practical sessions have concluded before the deadline for handing in the report. Get yourself organised early and do not leave everything to just before the deadline. You have been warned! Note: Plagiarism is a serious offence and the Turnitin™ anti-plagiarism software will be used to compare your course work with a large range of published sources on the internet. Do not be tempted to copy verbatim – you will be found out! See college guidelines on plagiarism.
9.1 Cover Sheets You can access cover sheets for all submitted coursework from the appropriate section of you myKCL account. If you have any problems with coversheets please contact the Administrator in the Academic Centre.
9.2 General instructions You are expected to produce a comprehensive write-up in the style of a scientific paper (~1,500 words). Typically, your Extended Lab Report will be at least 6-8 pages long and will reference 15-20 papers. Your Extended Lab Report should be in the style and format of the Journal of Physiology. Part of this exercise is to teach you the mechanics and procedures in publishing a scientific paper. Hence, the following instructions are amended from the Instructions to Authors for the Journal of Physiology. While marks are not awarded simply for style, they are awarded for clarity. You would therefore be well advised to look at the layout and style of a Journal of Physiology paper before commencing your write-up. Look at published papers to see how the different sections of a paper are worded. Model your write up on the scientific style you see in published papers. Note: As with all scientific writing, your report should be written in the past tense (i.e. “CO2 was measured in expired air….”) and in the passive ‘voice’ (ie “Measurements were made after 5, 10 and 20 min….. Rather than “We made measurements after 5, 10 and 20 mins….”).
9.3 Specific instructions Title page: The title of the practical should be as informative as possible, but must not exceed 120 characters and spaces. You must include on your title page your name, e-mail address, student number and the requisite statement saying that you have read and understood KCL’s policy regarding plagiarism (see 15 below). Abstract: This should be in one single paragraph that accurately reflects the contents of the write-up and makes clear the physiological significance of the work, the problem addressed the nature of the results, and the principal conclusions. Results should be presented quantitatively where appropriate, together with the statistical significance, and the 27
conclusions indicated. References may not be cited. A limit of 250 words is recommended. Introduction: Typically, the Introduction should make the background and the objective of a research paper clear and indicate the justification for the work. This should be 1-2 printed pages long. In this case, your practical sessions are designed to demonstrate established physiological principles rather than testing novel hypotheses. Your Introduction should therefore review the physiological systems and specific responses being investigated. The following is by no means a comprehensive list, and is presented here in no particular order, but your Introduction could include: (i) the physiological context of the responses (ie why are these responses important?), (ii) what is currently known about the integrated, cellular and molecular basis of these responses? (ie what is our state of the art of our understanding of the physiology?). Although you may want to save this for the Discussion – see below*, (iii) what is the historical perspective? (ie how were these discovered, investigated etc?), (iv) what are the available methods for studying these responses? *In the case of a practical write up, there is a balance between how much physiological mechanistic details should be covered in the Introduction and how much of it should be included in the Discussion. Our recommendation is that you cover the general ‘contextual’ physiology and the historical perspective in the Introduction and save the mechanistic detail, and its interpretation, for the Discussion. Finally, your Introduction should include a final paragraph where the aims of your experiment are clearly defined. Methods: This is the section that seems to cause most problems for undergraduates! The general rule for Methods sections is that they should contain sufficient detail to allow a reasonably skilled physiologist to reproduce your experiment exactly. This often involves referring the reader to other papers where the work is described in detail. In these practical sessions, the protocol (what you actually did) needs to be described clearly – but not in nittygritty recipe-book style regurgitation of the practical schedule! DO NOT SIMPLY REGURGITATE THE PRACTICAL SCHEDULE! Where appropriate, lists of solutions, chemicals and equipment, and an explanation of data handling procedures may be given as separate headed paragraphs. The maker’s name should be given for all non-standard chemicals, apparatus and equipment. The ‘problem’ that most students have in this section is distinguishing between trivial detail (which any ‘reasonably skilled physiologist’ would not need to be told) and the important details that they most definitely would need to know if they are to reproduce your experiment. For example, if you record an ECG from a subject (as you will), the ‘skilled physiologist’ does not need to be told “The skin was cleaned with an alcohol swab and the red wire attached to the left leg using a stick-on electrode and a crocodile clip. The subject was then asked to keep still, stop talking and not to chew gum and care was taken to ensure ECG cables did not overlie mains cables” – this is ALL trivial and unnecessary detail! This is the sort of stuff that you need to tell a student doing a practical – as it provides a step-by-step recipe-book style guide to the practicalities of the experiment. However, you do not need to tell a ‘skilled physiologist’ this – they will know how to record a noise-free ECG! You can simply say “ECGs were recorded via standard limb lead II” (a skilled physiologist will know what this means) You may need to add a bit more detail that is ‘non-standard’ for example, “ECG recordings were made using appropriate amplifiers connected to an A-D recorder.” (AD Instruments, Australia) [This is useful as they then know the signal has been digitised and how this is 28
achieved] (Many papers will not even bother to tell you this!). “Signals were unfiltered and sampled at 1kHz” [this is useful as it tells them your temporal resolution].” So, the simple message here is try to avoid stating the completely obvious and putting in too much trivial detail! Try to put yourself in the mind of a ‘reasonably skilled physiologist’ and ask, what would I need to know to reproduce this experiment? Look at the style of Methods sections in published journals such as the Journal of Physiology. Results: Here you present your results. Quantitative observations are often better presented graphically than in tables - however, do not include both. Often, it is useful to include a single example of a raw data trace which has been appropriately labelled and calibrated. This demonstrates to the reader the fidelity and quality of your recordings. Any subsequent data is then often presented as analysed data displayed graphically or in tables. Any repeated measurements, where means are calculated, should include standard deviations or standard errors and appropriate statistical test should be used when comparing between data sets. Your graphic or tabulated data should be described in words. The skill here is to describe the basic observations and effects of your interventions without embellishing or interpreting your data. The Results section should be confined to reporting your observations – the place for interpretation is in the Discussion. More detail of how to present and analyse your data will be given in the in-course tutorial. The Module Web Site (Virtual Campus) contains links to information to help you with ADInstruments LabChart (Reader) analysis and data processing. Discussion: The purpose of the Discussion is to place your observations in the context of what was known before you undertook your experiment. The Discussion should not merely recapitulate the results. However, one useful way to start the Discussion is to try to encapsulate the major findings of your experiments in one or two clear sentences. Having done this, it is then useful to compare your observations with those in the published literature. Do the measurements you have made compare with those published by others? If not, why not? You then need to review your observations and discuss what this tells us about underlying physiological mechanisms. If your observations do NOT agree with conventional wisdom, are there methodological reasons why your data should contrast with others? What are the limitations of your method? What are the strengths of your method? How could you method be improved? Conclusions: Here you can summarise succinctly what your fundamental observations are and place them in the context of physiology as a whole as detailed in the Discussion. This can usually be achieved with two or three sentences at the most. References: Your write-up should conclude with a list of the papers and books cited in the text. Typically, you should cite 10-20 papers in your write up. Fewer than 10 citations is probably indicative of you not doing enough reading. More than 20 citations is acceptable but do not cite papers you have not read - the maximum number of cited papers must not exceed 40. You must ensure that all references cited in the text are included in the reference list, and vice versa. Use the Journal of Physiology style for formatting your manuscript and the reference list (see any copy of the Journal and the Instructions to Authors on their web site if you are in any doubt). Briefly, in the text, references should be cited in parentheses (in chronological order) and et al should be used for papers with more than two authors ie (Evans et al, 2001; Smith and Jones, 2005). The reference list at the end of your write-up should be given in alphabetical order. Journal titles should be given in full. Students are strongly advised to use bibliographic software (such as Reference Manager or 29
EndNote) in preparing project reports. Such software and relevant training courses are available, via the KCL web pages. Note, however, that there may be waiting lists for popular courses. The format for references to papers and books, and to chapters in books, is as follows: Waters WW, Ziegler MG and Meck JV (2002). Post spaceflight orthostatic hypotension occurs mostly in women and is predicted by low vascular resistance. J Appl Physiol 92: 586-594, Adrian ED (1932). The Mechanism of Nervous Action. Humphrey Milford, London. Hobbs SF (1982). Central command during exercise: parallel activation of the cardiovascular and motor systems by descending command signals. In: Circulation, Neurobiology and Behaviour. Eds. Smith, Galosy and Weiss. pp.217-231 Elsevier Biomedical, London Tables and Figures: Each table and figure should be given a title and be accompanied by a legend that makes it comprehensible - i.e. the reader should understand the Figure or Table without reference to the text. All symbols and abbreviations used should be explained in the legend. Tables and Figures should be referred to in the text by Arabic numerals (e.g. Table 3, Figure 4 etc). One of the areas where many undergraduates lose marks is their failure to provide comprehensive figure legends in practical write-ups, in essays and in exam answers (see Appendix I). Note: a decent legend is typically about the length of this paragraph (not a single line!). Note: Plagiarism is a serious offence and the Turnitin anti-plagiarism software will be used to compare your course work with a large range of published sources on the internet. Do not be tempted to copy verbatim – you will be found out!
9.4 Submission of Coursework Two copies of your Reports should be handed in by the deadlines detailed in the module booklet for each course. Cover Sheets for each piece of coursework is available from the MyKCL portal and information on how to submit coursework to the Turnitin™ plagiarism system will be emailed to you individually a week or so before the due date. All students in the School have access to a practice Turnitin area via the ‘Plagiarism advice, citing references and using TurnitinUK’ module on KEATS http://keats.kcl.ac.uk/ Students should log in with their King’s username and password to access this.
9.5 Keeping a lab Book Each 30 credit module requires the keeping of an accurate and informative lab book. Your lab book should contain important information such as callibration information, notes on subjects, deviations from tyhe written protocol, variable measurements such as temperature, barometric pressure and humidity as well as being a sureful place to store raw data from data loggers, stand-alone analysers (such as lactate measurements). You should be able to sue your lab book to aid in completing your practical write-ups and oral presentaions.
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9.6 Preparing your Oral Presentation A good understanding of Microsoft PowerPoint software is assumed to prepare for their practical presentation. This should be a power point presentation which sets out the aims of your experiments, the methods used and the results obtained and any conclusions that can be drawn. The presentation is 10 minutes with a further 5 minutes (the standard scientific conference time). This should be rehearsed so that it keeps to time. Your slides should not be overcrowded, use a font size that is clearly legible and avoid certain colour schemes that “look nice” on computer screen, but are lost on protection (e.g. dark red on a dark blue background). Wherever possible use graphs as opposed to tables to present your data make sure "..I have made this letter longer than your axes are clearly labelled. usual, because I lack the time to make it short…"
Ideally, each Practical Presentation should 10-12 slides Pascal 'Letters Provinciales' (1657) long. A good rule of thumb is to prepare 1 slide for every minute for which you intend to speak. The instruction for this presentation is that you should talk for 10 minutes allowing 5 minutes for discussion and questions at the end. Do not make the mistake of thinking that because this piece of work is short, and contains only a small amount of information, this is easy to do! The fact that you have so few slides to play with means that you have to choose the information you show very carefully and think long and hard about what is ABSOLUTELY essential (and has to be included) and what can be safely left out without compromising the understanding. On the first slide you need an appropriate title for the practical report and your name. The rest of the presentation needs to be divided among the following topics, much the same as a Extended Lab Report. Introduction: In this section you need to describe the background and justification for doing the practical. See the guidelines for the Long Practical Reports to give you an idea of the types of things that can be included here. Your challenge is to decide: which are the most appropriate things to include in this section given that you only have 3 or 4 slides to play with? Methods: Here is the real challenge! You have just 2 or 3 slides to describe what you actually did! Here you need to convey the essential elements of what was measured and how. You need to use sufficient detail to allow the listener to understand what you have measured and, in general terms, how this was measured. Remember that “...a picture paints a thousand words..”. You do NOT have the space to describe any of this in detail. You have no room for trivial information here – you need to make every word count! Results: In this section, you need to describe your data using figures and as few words as possible. You should have already decided exactly which data you are going to present. You should also have decided HOW you will present these data. BEFORE you prepare this section, you MUST prepare the figures or tables that you will include on these slides. Having prepared the figures or tables, your task show these data in a logical order so that the listener can clearly follow your train of thought. You should include any final numerical data that is key to 31
understanding the conclusions of this practical but you do NOT need to include all your raw data, your calculations or your detailed measurements. Look at any scientific paper and see the usual style of figure presentation, clear, bold and simple. Remember you only have 10 minutes to present your whole practical, don’t use complicated figures that take too long to describe. Conclusions: Finally, you need to state concisely the significance of your observations, in one or two slides. You need to briefly indicate whether your observations are in accord with those in the literature or whether you are making novel and/or contradictory conclusions from previous studies.
9.7 Useful Software Of course, we all have our personal preference for which software to use to do day-to-day tasks on our personal computers. While on this MSc course you have many opportunities to acquire and analyse data so it is only fair to recommend some software solutions that may help with preparation of reports, presentations and, most importantly, your Research Project.
Figure 2 - Data Analysis, Presentation and other Useful Tips web page
I have produced a web site (http://ehealth.kcl.ac.uk/sites/physiology/) entitled “Data Analysis, Presentation and other Useful Tips” with numerous screencasts and videos showing hints. Tips and tricks of data analysis and data presentation using the software applications listed below. This web site uses YouTube to host the videos as works in most popular Internet browsers on Windows, Mac and tablet platforms. 9.7.1 Data analysis and plotting data on graphs There is lots of handy software out there to help create graphs, carry out statistical analysis and organise large data sets
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I, personally, recommend GraphPad Prism (www.graphpad.com). This is a commercial application for the preparation of graphs and carrying out statistical analysis of grouped, continuous, mean or individual data. Ther is a demo version of Prism (currently version 6) available to download from the company directly which is fully functional for 30 days from the first day of use. GraphPad are sympathetic to the needs of students and offer a ONE YEAR student subscription to use their software which, at the time of writing, is $100 per annum. For the duration of your MSc you can have access a superb graph plotting and data analysis tool for this price. The software tutorials web site (see above) uses GraphPad Prism in the data analysis and graph plotting examples. GraphPad Prism is available for Mac and PC platforms. 9.7.2 Graphic design and preparation of figures Microsoft PowerPoint offers some drawing, layout editing and page composition tools but falls very short of a specialised drawing application. While it can be used (and is by many) to produce very good presentations (in fact, we recommend that all students’ use Microsoft PowerPoint to prepare their presentations on this course for full compatibility) it is not the easiest of programmes to use to create graphics, illustrations, flow diagrams and custom designed images which are often needed to enhance written reports or presentations. To this end I would recommend looking for free software for graphic design (of which there are a number of programmes) such as Inskscape (www.inkscape.org) which is an open source drawing programme for Windows, Mac & Linux platforms. I would also recommend Magix Xara (www.xara.com) , a commercial drawing programme which has a wide range of image manipulation, drawing and design tools to help create professional illustrations for presentations. This is not open course and, at the time of writing, costs £135 to purchase a student/academic licence. It is a very capable programme and many features that are also demonstrated on the software tutorial web site (see above).
Figure 3 - Magix Xara drawing software
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10 Things to Remember
Attendance at lectures and practical sessions is vital.
Read over lecture notes very soon after the lecture and if there are areas that are unclear ask the lecturer.
Coping with deadlines – don’t leave it to the last-minute.
Study groups – form them if you find them useful.
Try to strike a balance between social and academic life.
Studying in your own time is vital – devote a sufficient number of hours to it. 40 hours a week (contact time plus independent study) is the goal. This won’t always be achieved but striving for it will at least mean you spend an adequate amount of time studying. A study diary will be useful where you note the number of hours done each day – this acts as a reminder and incentive to study.
Check your KCL email regularly.
Approach staff with questions – by arrangement or in office hours.
Make use of all feedback mechanisms, your feedback is vital to improve the course.
Approach SSC representatives with problems & with positive feedback.
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11 The Study Environment at King’s College London 11.1 About King’s College London King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (QS 2010), the fourth oldest in England and one of the two founding Colleges of the University of London. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has nearly 21,000 students from more than 140 countries. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cuttingedge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual income of approximately £400 million. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate. King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in natural sciences and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA which came out of research in the Physics Department. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe, while no university has more Medical Research Council Centres. Universities have a dual role of education at an advanced level and also the advancement knowledge through research. In Biomedical Science, this means furthering our understanding of the human body, and developing advances in science and technology to underpin the medicine of tomorrow. An important aspect of coming to a research-led university, such as King’s College London, is that you are taught and mentored by those at the cutting-edge of science today. All the academic staff teaching you are also involved with scientific research at the highest level. King’s College has 19,000 students and 5,000 staff and is based on four campuses, the Strand, Waterloo, London Bridge and Denmark Hill. The College offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in nine schools. These are:
Biomedical Sciences
Dental Institute
Humanities
Law
Medicine
Nursing & Midwifery
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Institute of Psychiatry
Social Science and Public Policy
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11.2 School of Biomedical Sciences The School of Biomedical Sciences comprises Research Divisions and Academic Departments that are responsible for the delivery of teaching programmes. These are:
Anatomy & Human Sciences
Biochemistry
Forensic Science and Drug Monitoring
Nutrition & Dietetics
Pharmacology & Therapeutics
Pharmacy
Physiology
11.3 King’s Health Partners King’s College along with its partner NHS trusts, Guy’s & St Thomas, King’s College Hospital, South London and Maudsley etc. Form one of only 5 Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) in the UK, for the purposes of translational bench to bedside research
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12 Seeking Help and Information You will also have been given the School of Biomedical Sciences Graduate taught handbook, in which you will find further information about student facilities, campus maps and directions, health and safety information and a guide to Information Services and Systems.
12.1 Learned Societies While studying at King’s College London, we would advise you to become involved with KCL societies such as the Wilderness Medicine Society as well as Internation and National academic societies (so called Learned Societies) such as:
Society of Biology,
Physiological Society,
Royal Aeronautical Society
For more details about any of these, and the meetings they support please see their respective web sites.
12.2 Support for Students with Specific Needs 12.2.1 Specific Learning Difficulties e.g. Dyslexia If you have, or think you may have dyslexia please discuss this issue with your personal tutor or contact the Equality and Diversity Department for information. You can find out more from a factsheet produced by the Equality and Diversity Dept. at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/content/1/c4/12/22/DyslexiaFactsheet20045.doc In addition, students with specific learning difficulties can apply for Special examination arrangements (see below) and a “note to examiners” (for which a chartered psychologist report is required for full approval). This note can then be attached to written examinations and coursework to give assessors guidance on marking written work from students with dyslexia: see Appendix 3. 12.2.2 Special Examination Arrangements All students requiring special arrangements for written examinations as a result of disability or other medical conditions (and/or consideration for written coursework in the case of students with specific learning difficulties) can find out more information regarding the application procedure at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/aboutkings/structure/admin/academicregistry/examinations/students/ sea/special.html
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13 Programme Evaluation & Feedback Your views on the organisation, delivery and content of the MSc in Human & Applied Physiology, and all aspects pertaining to this, are very important to us and are essential for the successful development of the programme for yourself and future students.
13.1 Module Feedback Please take time to complete the anonymous evaluation forms that will be given to you for each module. Honest and constructive comments are very much appreciated and we thank you in anticipation for your co-operation.
13.2 Postgraduate taught Experience Survey PTES is a unique service provided by the Higher Education Academy to all higher education providers. The survey collects feedback from postgraduate taught students in a systematic and user-friendly way. Results are anonymous, allowing comparison against the sector and within benchmarking clubs, while ensuring that they are used for internal enhancement. The College actively supports this survey and we encourage all students on the MSc programmes to complete the survey when it opens in the spring if each year.
13.3 National Student Survery The National Student Survey (NSS) is a national survey, which has been conducted by Ipsos MORI annually since 2005. It gathers opinions from mostly final year undergraduates on the quality of their courses. Aimed at current students, the survey asks undergraduates to provide honest feedback on what it has been like to study their course at their institution. The survey runs across all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Additionally, Further Education Colleges (FECs) in England and Further Education Institutions (FEIs) in Wales with directly funded Higher Education students are eligible to participate. We encourage all student on our MSc programmes to participate in this survey and your responses help drive the future of Higher Education.
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14 Programme Assessment and Regulations The assessment and regulation of this Programme is governed by the School of Biomedical Sciences Post Graduate Examination Board, which is devolved down, to the school from College level. The School of Biomedical Sciences’ Postgraduate Board of Examiners Marking and Assessment Policy is available in the School Postgraduate Taught Student Handbook. You should be given a copy of this on induction day. This refers in general to criteria for assessment (at Masters Level), penalties for exceeding word limits, reassessment policy; provision for concerning mitigating circumstances for unauthorised late submission of coursework; attendance after withdrawal from an examination and precedents. An example of the assessors marking guidelines are included in this handbook: see Section 20 below. Further details regarding assessment can be found in the School of Biomedical Sciences Graduate Taught handbook.
14.1 Examination Board Structure The MSc in Human & Applied Physiology reports to the Physiology Postgraduate Exam Board chaired by Professor Jeremy Ward. The results from this Board are considered at the Postgraduate School of Biomedical Sciences Board of Examiners.
14.2 Appeals Procedure The University has an established and comprehensive appeals procedure; please refer to the School handbook or Policy Zone of the College’s website.
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15 Plagiarism & related forms of cheating 15.1 College Policy You should already be aware of King's regulations on plagiarism and collusion and the penalties that may be imposed should you fall foul of them. If you need reminding please see
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/learningteaching/kep/plagiarism/index.aspx The College regards the following types of behaviour as serious disciplinary offences. It is important that you understand that the following types of behaviour are unacceptable; furthermore, they will not help your learning in the long term. Note also that credit can only be given once for a particular piece of assessed work. Submitting the same piece of work (or a significant part thereof) twice for assessment will be regarded as cheating, even when the work was submitted as part of a different programme or at a different institution. Cheating Includes:
Communicating with any other student in an examination.
Copying from any other student in an examination.
Bringing any unauthorised material into the examination room with the intention of using it during the examination.
Copying coursework.
Collusion includes:
Collaborating with other students in preparing a piece of work and submitting it in an identical or similar form and claiming it to be your own.
Obtaining unauthorised co-operation of any other person when preparing work that you present as your own.
Allowing someone to copy your work, which they will then present as being their own.
Fabrication refers to research or experimental work, when unjustifiable claims, are made to have obtained certain results. Plagiarism includes
Creating the impression that someone else’s work is your own.
Quoting someone word for word or summarising what they say without acknowledging them in a reference.
You are reminded that all work submitted as part of the requirements for any examination or assessment of the University of London (of which King’s College London is a part), must be expressed in your own words and incorporate your own ideas and judgements. Plagiarism, that is, the presentation of another person’s thoughts or words as though they were your own, must be avoided, with particular care of such in coursework, essays and reports written in your own time. Direct quotations from published or unpublished works of others (including 40
lecture hand-outs), must always be clearly identified as such by being placed inside quotation marks and a full reference to their source must be provided in the proper form (your Personal Tutor or the lecturer can advise on this). A series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a general source. Paraphrasing – expressing another person’s ideas of judgements in other words – can be plagiarism if the origin of the text is not acknowledged or the work paraphrased is not included in the bibliography. Examples of other kinds of offence considered to be plagiarism include having someone else doing your assessed coursework, and even presenting or utilising your own assessed coursework elsewhere. Plagiarism is a serious examination offence. An allegation of plagiarism can result in action being taken under the Regulations Governing Examination and Assessment Offences. A substantiated charge of plagiarism will result in a penalty being ordered ranging from a mark of zero for the assessed work to expulsion from the College, depending on the severity of the case. Even in a minor or technical case, a note may be placed in a student’s file for future reference. Further information is available online at www.kcl.ac.uk/college/policyzone/ (type ‘plagiarism’ in the Search box). Certain lecturers provide comprehensive hand-outs of lecture notes. The direct repeating of these, either whole or in part, in examinations or assessments is severely frowned upon. It is acceptable, however, to express such ideas and concepts in your own words. Note: You are advised that the essays may be submitted through the “TurnitinUK” plagiarism software.
15.2 TurnitinUK in KEATS In order to help you learn about plagiarism and how to avoid it, King’s provides you with a learning resource on KEATS (the King’s E-learning and Teaching Service) that gives advice on writing in the correct style and citing references. The resource also allows you to check your work using Turnitin (on line plagiarism detection software) before you submit it for assessment. Work submitted to Turnitin via the KEATS resource is not seen by tutors, and it is not stored in the Turnitin database, so using this facility will not trigger a match with the work you finally submit for assessment. You can submit work for checking via this facility as many times as you like, but you will only receive one originality report every 24 hours i.e. if you submit your work, revise it and then resubmit it one hour later, you will have to wait 24 hours to receive the report on your second submission. When using the KEATS resource, please note the following: 1.
2. 3.
Examiners never rely solely on Turnitin to determine whether an assignment is plagiarised. They will always use academic judgement. All that Turnitin does is flag up possible issues with a student’s approach to written work, and you should use it appropriately in order to develop your writing skills and your own academic judgement. Following the advice below should help you. Make use of the teaching element of the KEATS resource (preferably before you start your assignment) as well as the Turnitin facility. When using Turnitin, do not over-focus on a numerical originality score. Look at the full 41
4.
5.
report. A piece of work that gives a low score may contain plagiarised sections if blocks of text (even small ones) are exact matches to external sources, while work that gives a higher score may not be plagiarised if it contains a high proportion of technical terms that cannot be rephrased. An essay or dissertation that too closely follows the structure of one or two review articles is not an original piece of work, even if the wording has been paraphrased so as to give a low Turnitin score. Even though it may not be detected via Turnitin, this form of plagiarism can be spotted by experienced examiners. If you are in doubt about your Turnitin report or have any other questions about plagiarism and collusion SEEK ADVICE. People you can speak to are: module organisers and tutors, your personal tutor or the Senior Tutor or Examination Programme Board Chair for your programme. The names of Senior Tutors and Programme Board Chairs can be found in the School Undergraduate Handbook, which is available on the Virtual Campus.
Other useful advice is available at
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/library/help/plagiarism/plagiarism/plagiarism.aspx Given that obtaining a Turnitin report, interpreting it, and obtaining advice and revising your work if necessary all take time, it makes sense to check your work early,NOT just before the submission deadline. Finally, please note that submission of your work to Turnitin via the KEATS plagiarism resource does NOT constitute submission for assessment. Please make sure that you follow ALL the instructions you are given for final submission of your assignment and respect all deadlines.
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16 Absence & Late Submission 16.1 Absence through illness Please telephone or write at once to the Postgraduate Office in the Academic Centre (1st Floor, Henrietta Raphael Building, ext. 6363). A medical certificate is required for an absence of a week or more, and this should be given to your personal tutor or the programme coordinator. On your return, you should see your tutor who may advise about work you have missed. 16.1.1 Regular recurrent absence Please notify your module tutor, lecturer or the Academic Centre if you are attending hospital for treatment, for example. Discuss work you will miss with your tutor beforehand.
16.2 Important Documents 16.2.1 Notification of Examination Absence Form (NEA) You should use this form if you have missed or you are going to miss an examination. “Examination” here means any element of assessment for which the student has to show up at a fixed time and place, so that includes in course tests, timed essays, presentations and practical or other classes where assessment takes place within the class, where marks are attached to attendance, or where attendance is mandatory to pass a module. Link to form: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/college/policyzone/index.php?id=8 16.2.2 Extension Request Form (ERF) This form should be used when you have missed or are going to miss a deadline: i.e. for coursework that is done in the student’s own time and handed in at the Academic Centre or submitted on line. Link to form: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/college/policyzone/index.php?id=276 16.2.3 Disruption of Studies Form (DOS) This is a School-specific form to be used if you wish to notify the Exam Board of significant disruption to your studies that has not prevented you from taking an assessment or handing in work. Link to form: http://virtualcampus.kcl.ac.uk/vc/bms/DisruptionofStudiesBARCODE.pdf
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16.3 Procedures 16.3.1 Where to submit
Make the programme director and programme administrator aware if you are intending to submit any of the above forms.
You will need to submit these forms to the Academic Centre either at Guy’s or at Waterloo.
NEAs relating to in course assessments and ERFs: student will also be advised to e-mail module organiser and (for ERFs) include requested new hand in date.
16.3.2 Deadlines for submission (1) NEA: must be submitted no later than 7 calendar days after the missed exam. Note that students are advised not to delay submission of the form because they are waiting for documentation. If they cannot supply evidence at the same time as submitting the form they should supply it within 14 calendar days of submission. (2) ERF: submission expected as soon as the student is aware they are unable to meet the deadline. No formal cut-off date but requests can be rejected if they are submitted after the deadline without a valid reason. (3) DOS: as soon as possible after the disruption occurs, and at the latest 7 days after the student’s last examination
16.4 Conduct in an examination You should be aware that the College operates a strict “fit to sit” policy; therefore, if you present yourself for an examination then you are declaring yourself as fit to be assessed and cannot subsequently withdraw from the examination. The only exceptions to this are:
where you are taken ill during an examination and so are unable to complete it. In this instance you should report your illness to an invigilator in the examination hall so that an ‘Examination Irregularity Form’ can be completed. You should make an appointment with a doctor to obtain a medical certificate as soon as is reasonably possible and submit the medical certificate and irregularity form along with a completed Notification of Examination Absence form.
where you have evidence that illness or other circumstances rendered you unable to make a rational decision as to your fitness. In this instance you should submit the Notification of Examination form along with supporting documentation that explains why you were unfit and why you were unable to make a rational decision as to your fitness.
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17 Code of Conduct and Behaviour in Lectures & Field Trips You are required to attend lectures and you can expect these to be well-prepared, logical, audible, and correctly-paced. Most lecturers are happy to answer questions during a lecture. Surprising as it may seem, questions from students can sometimes help the lecturer just as much as the student. They can help the lecturer gauge how well the class is following the lecture material, and when a topic needs further explanation. We aim to make the Division a friendly place where staff and students are able to communicate with each other in a free and helpful way. Even if the atmosphere seems informal, it is essential that you remain quiet during lectures unless you are asking questions or taking part in an organised discussion. It is not acceptable for you to talk among yourselves while the lecture is in progress as this can make it difficult for other students to concentrate on the lecture, and also can be very distracting for the lecturer. Mobile phones must be switched off during lectures. Also, try to avoid entering or leaving the room during the lecture. If the lecturer does allow you to enter the room after the lecture has started, you should make sure you do it as quietly as possible. In addition, you should not eat or drink during the lectures. In summary, you should:
Arrive in good time - late arrivals disrupt the rest of the class.
Turn off your mobile phone before the lecture starts. Never make or answer calls during a lecture.
Sign any attendance register.
Concentrate on the material that is being presented.
Not talk when the lecturer is talking; only conversations and discussions expressly permitted by the lecturer are allowed.
Ask questions by attracting the lecturer’s attention by raising your hand.
Not eat or drink.
Lecturers who are disturbed by disruptive or interfering behaviour have the right to ask offending students to leave the lecture theatre and to record their name. Students who commit misconduct on College premises are liable to the College’s Disciplinary Procedures. It is in the interest of the whole class and the lecturer that these guidelines are followed. Please encourage others to follow them.
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18 Programme-specific regulations The regulations which follow should be read in conjunction with the College Regulations including Academic Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Students, the Scheme of Award of a Master’s Degree and the School of Biomedical and Health Sciences Postgraduate Board of Examiners Marking and Assessment Policy
18.1 Duration and Mode Full time - One calendar year
18.2 Curriculum All students must take a prescribed list of modules over the prescribed time period.
18.3 Assessment A) Passed assessments, those in which an awarded mark of 50% or more has been given (both written and practical) may not be retaken. B) Examinations
Examinations in each year are held in January (Modules: 7BBLM004, 7BBLM005) and May/June (Modules: 7BBLM006) of each year.
Normally a second attempt for any failure of written examinations can only take place in the following academic year.
Retake and/or replacement assessments are at the discretion of the Physiology Programme Board
1.2 Other forms of assessment A) Students are expected to meet the deadlines for each piece of work. B) The word limit for coursework is a maximum and words beyond the limit may not be marked or only marked and graded up to the word limit. C) Where work is submitted late, penalties will normally apply unless an extension of the deadline has been agreed with the course tutor for medical or other sound reason. Where an extension is agreed, it will be advised to the student by e-mail.
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19 Completion and Award of Degree The regulations which follow should be read in conjunction with the College Regulations including Academic Regulations for Taught Postgraduate Students, the Scheme of Award of a Master’s Degree and the School of Biomedical Sciences Postgraduate Board of Examiners Marking and Assessment Policy
19.1 Key points to award of MSc in Human Physiology 19.1.1 Modules The contribution of each module mark to the overall degree classification is directly related to the proportion the module contributes to the 180 credits available. i.e. Research Project = 60/180*100 = 33% of the degree. 19.1.2 Passing a module Level 7 (Masters level) required modules to be passed at 50% . It is possible to get below 50% in more than one aspect of the module and pass the module providing that the total %marks for that module are >50%4 Pass with Distinction
Overall marks >70% and research project is >70%
Pass with merit
Overall marks equate to >60%
Pass
>50% in all modules but >60% overall
Fail
