BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION April 1974 Vol. 2 No. 2 35

Static Displays - - Posters, Wallcharts, Exhibits in Medical Education

Prepared by the Department of Audio Visual Communications, British Medical Association and British Life Assurance Trust for Health Education. Pp 32, paperback, £1.00, $3.00, 1973. Obtained from the Department of Audio Visual Communication, B.M.A. House, Tavistock Square, London, WCIH 9JP.

One of the outstanding successes at the Stockholm Congress of Biochemistry was the use of Poster Sessions. Here a space of approximately 1 m x 2 m was provided in which was displayed the presentation which otherwise would have been read in 10 minutes. The organisers provided all kinds of sticky tape, etc., and had written out the title on top. While there was no doubt that the posters provided a useful meeting ground for discussions and were accepted as a good method of communication between scientists, the standard of presentation varied greatly. Very few people had really thought about the method of presentation and most had produced far too much dull written material. In other cases it looked as if the experiments had only been done yesterday ("Preliminary" can sometimes mean last week while "very preliminary" means s1~ll in progress). Surely, since these poster sessions are likely to be a permanent feature of Congresses, it is not too early for us to start thinking carefully about the ground rules for display. The present booklet under review might be useful in this respect.

The Preface points out that recent emphasis on technology in education has tended to concentrate on relatively complex and expensive means for group instruction (such as films and TV) although less costly materials can also be used effectively. The purpose of this little bookletAs to assist in the selection, design and preparation of particular types of visual display in relation to specific educational objectives. Topics summarised include the types, purposes, design and planning of displays, importance of viewing distance, the use of illustrations, colour, typography and methods of lettering, wall charts and wallsheets, and the construction, protection, transport and duplication of displays. Many of these points would be relevant to the preparation o! posters for communications at Conferences as well as for exhibition displays.

Some interesting points about the psychology of viewers are made. It has been observed that people tend to walk some distance into an exhibition room before deciding what to look at, so detail near the entrance may be lost. There is evidence that the average conference participant spends only one to three minutes at any one exhibit so there is little point in an encyclopaedic display of information. It is suggested that the highest attention-catohing quality is provided by sound or by moving pictures and the least by text and black-and-white prints. Graphs are considered dull and cartoons are likely to rouse strong feelings, perhaps enjoyment in the young at heart but distaste in the academically-minded. Three dimensional objects are considered preferable to any two- dimensional representation.

Since a great deal of time and effort may go into the design and preparation of an exhibit, it is recommended that the exhibitor should attempt some form of subjective assessment in order to evaluate the potential educational value of his exhibit. To assist him to do this, the notes and score cards used by the Judges at the BMA Annual Science Exhibition are reproduced. Would that more people asked themselves question No. 8: "Is all the written information necessary?"

Although at first impression, this booklet seems rather expensive for its small size, nevertheless there is a lot of informstlon concisely presented and it is warmly recommended to those intending to use static displays. The reviewer feels that it should rapidly pay for itseff in errors avoided, money saved and clarity achieved. Each section is followed by a useful bibliography.

Audio-visual materials for Higher Education

Published by the British Universities Film Council Ltd., Royalty House, 72 Dean Street, London, WIV 5HB. Paperback. Pp. 222, from whom it may be purchased (£2.75 including postage). 1973.

This supersedes the second edition of the British Universities Film Council's catalogue pubfished in 1968 under the title 'Trims for Universities.,' The new title reflects the growth in different typSs of material which have become available in recent years and suitable for degree teaching. It includes films, video-tapes, tape- slide programmes and sound tape but excludes slides (since these are usually made locally quite easily) and language laboratory and programmed learning material (since other orgahisations have dealt with these).

The material is arranged according to subject following the Universal decimal classification and the following information is supplied:Title; country of origin; distributor; terms of availability; year of production; production company; sponsor; technical specification; language versions (if more than one is available); credits; medium; synopsis of contents; uses to which material has been put or which have been recommended; whether appraised. A sample entry will illustrate this:

577 - - Living systems. Molecular structure. Research c.1920-1970

MOLECULES AND LIFE - - dist.: Educational Foundation for Visual Aids. Hire: 1969: p.c.: Anvil Films for Educational Foundation for Visual Aids. - - F. 20 mins.: sd.; col. 16ram. - - (Nobel Laureates series) Credits: p. R. Warren. d. P. de Normanville. ph. A. leakins. ed. R. Ashworth. Outlines achivements in molecular biology which, over the last fifty years, have revolutiunised our understanding of the chemical and physical basis of life. Shows Dorothy Hodgkin, Frederick Sanger, Max Perutz and John Kendrew. (Teaching notes available) - USES: Introductory courses. Final courses. Postgraduates*.

It is a little disappointing to find only seven items listed under section 577.1 Biochemistry and Biophysics, namely, films on the Genetic code (1968), DNA-Blueprint of life (1968), The Double Helix (1962), Nitrogen fixation in Lucerne (1970), Biochemistry and Molecular structure (1962) and Hormone action in Higher Plants (1941) and videotapes on the operational technique for the Analytical Ultracentrifuge (1970).

However, since biochemistry overlaps many disciplines, other items of possible interest may be found listed elsewhere in the catalogae, e.g. Gel Chromatography (1971) and Polyacrylamide Electrophoresis (1972) under Analytical Chemistry; Structure of Proteins (1959) under Organic Chemistry; The Warburg Manometer (1955) and the Gilson Respirometer (1972) under Physiology. Nevertheless, the general impression is received that the biologist and the clinician have a far greater wealth of audio-visual material upon which to draw than has the pure biochemist. For instance, there is probably no biochemical process more important and fundamental to life than photosynthesis, but not a single item on this is listed. Just as biochemistry textbooks get out of dat,~ rather quickly due to the relentless advance of the subject, so much audio-visual in this field will also rapidly become obsole~ent. Material made within the last few years is of special especial interest and frequent updating of the catalogue will be of particular importance as far as biochemical material is concerned. This will be helped by the decision which was taken to produce the catalogue by computer processing methods which will enable revised editions and supplements to be produced more easily. The use of the computer has made possible a very detailed index which runs to almost one hundred three-column pages.

In 1970, FEBS produced a list of films of biochemical interest suitable for teaching purposes but this is now getting a bit out of date and it included quite a lot of films designed for a lay audience or for schools. Many of these are less suitable for higher education and are not listed in Audio- Visual Materials for Higher Education.

36 BIOCHEMICAL EDUCATION April 1974 Vol. 2 No. 2

The types of film or video-tape most valuable in biochemical education are probably those which explain experimental techniques very clearly or are concerned with important discoveries, preferably including the people who were intimately concerned. The splendid film "The DNA Story" released by Wiley in 1973 (too late to be included in the catalogue but which was reviewed in Biochemical Education, 1973, 1, 47) is a good example of a film of great contemporary interest and which will acquire a historical value without becoming obsolescent. We hope that more films of this type will be made so that future editions and supplements will be able to list more items of major interest to the biochemist.

The Film Council is to be congratulated on the production of this catalogue which includes material across the whole range of human knowledge. It includes a vast amount of information and should be available in institutions of higher education where audio-visual material is used.

B.A. Kilby

Suggestions for Speakers and Standards for Slides Prepared by P.C. Williams at the request of the Biological Council. Pp 6. Institute of Biology Journal, May 1965. Reprinted as a pamphlet available from the Institute of Biology, 41 Queen's Gate, London, S.W,7. £1.00 for 50 £1.50 for 100.

At some time or other, we probably all have been annoyed by a speaker showing slides which were unintelligible - - perhaps a slide showing a full-page table taken from a recent paper in which the values of, say, fifteen parameters are compared for thirty organisms. Even if we had brought opera glasses and could read the micro-letterpress, who could hope to assess the significance of 450 facts in the few seconds the slide was projected? Equally useless may be a slide showing profiles of several hundred fractions eluted from a column, all superimposed on each other like criss-crossing craggy mountain peaks and intended to represent concentrations, radioactivity, enzyme activity, pH changes and so on.

One of the first lessons a lecturer should learn is not to insult his audience with low quality slides. If this is how he treats his colleagues, what hope for his students in a less public place? It seems worth while to draw attention to a useful article by Dr. P.C. Williams, although nine years old, since it contains some valuable and forthright advice. Never, he says, never take a slide from a printed paper - - the print is too small and there will be too much unnecessary detail. Label lines on your graphs instead of using a symbol code.

He notes that the simplest way of producing tables and of lettering graphs is by typewriter and an electric one is perfect. One with an acetate ribbon is good; if a silk/nylon ribbon is all that is available, then type each letter three times with new ribbon and back the paper with reversed carbon paper.

For the usual 2" x 2" (50 m m x 50 ram) slide which when mounted gives a picture area of 1.1/2" x 1" (40 m m x 25 ram) the typing in capitals should be compared to an area of 5" x 3.5" (130 mm x 90 ram). When such a slide is projected the writing should be readable even at the back of a large hall.

As a check, it should be possible to read the writing directly on the slide if this is held 14" (360 ram) from the eyes. It is suggested that white on a black background is easier to look at but black on white is preferable ff the audience wants to take notes.

If slides are shown to students during a lecture, there is much to be said for giving them a hand-out containing the data on the slides which they can incorporate into their lecture notes. Xerox copies of the originals from which the slides were made may be feasible financially for small classes. No mention is made in the article of the use of colour in slides which is odd since this often greatly adds to clarity and attracts attention. Superimposed and crossing graphs are much more acceptable in colour than in black and white.

There is also good advice to speakers, including the recommendation always to rehearse an oral communication, preferably before a critical audience of colleagues sitting at the back of a hall with a stopwatch. Heads of Departments could do well to give a copy of the pamphlet to their post-graduate students before they give their first paper. (Williams comments that people talk of "reading a paper" to a Society - - and God help the audience - - do just that. The written word is different from the spoken word). Organisers of conferences might consider sending the pamphlet to participants giving papers and might thereby avoid the criticism "Too many papers take the form of an inaudible soliloquy in front of invisible tables".

FILM, REVIEW I

The Secretion of Insulin

A 16ram colour film (with sound) running for 22 minutes. Available on free loan from Ely Lilly & Company, Audio-Visual Film Library, P.O. Box 814, Indianapolis, Indiana 46206, U.S.A. For loan in Great Britain, contact the Films Officer, Ely Lilly & Co. Ltd., Kingsclere Road, Basingstoke, Hants. RG21 2XA.

The film "The Secretion of Insulin" was produced by the Ely Lilly Company for the Fiftieth Anniversary Insulin Symposium held at Indianapolis in October 1971. In this film, Dr. Paul E. Lacy (Washington School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri) presents and illustrates a model scheme he has proposed of the events in the pancreatic beta cell leading to the synthesis, storage and release of insulin.

Briefly Dr. Lacy has proposed that the initiation of proinsulin synthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum of the beta cell is triggered by intracellular glucose metabolism. The proinsulin so formed is transported to the Golgi body where it is converted to insulin, which is in turn incorporated into beta granules. On release from the Golgi body, the beta granules either remain in the cytoplasm or become attached to the microtubular system of the cell Intracellular glucose metabolism also stimulates calcium uptake by the beta cell and this entry of calcium brings about a conformational change in the mierotubules resulting in the displacement of the beta granules towards the plasma membrane and the release of insulin into the circulation by membrane fusion.

This scheme of insulin secretion is clearly presented and is illustrated by sequences describing some of the experimental techniques employed in its verification, by many electron micrographs superimposed by annotations, and by animated drawings. It is emphasized that this model incorporates work that is firmly established together with some unresolved steps. The contributions of Orci (Geneva), Howell (Sussex) and Malalsse (Brussels) to our understanding of insulin secretion are presented. The major aspects of the mechanism of secretion which remain unresolved include the biochemical events in the initiation of proinsulin synthesis, and the role of the microtubular system in the displacement of the beta granules. From such studies it may be possible to determine the causes of diabetes mellitus and, with such information, to effect a cure.

This is an excellent teaching film with a complex subject matter being presented in a clear, concise manner without any tendency towards either oversimplication or overcomplication.

It is suitable for audiences of undergraduate and postgraduate students of medicine and biochemistry.

I. Hywel Thomas

Department of Biochemistry, St. Thomas's Hospital Medical School, London SE1 7EH