Online communication is increasingly used in education, but it is not without problems. One significant difficulty is a lack of social presence. Social presence relates to the need for users of technology-based communication to perceive each other as real people. Low social presence can be a particular issue in text-based, asynchronous systems such as discussion forums, leading to feelings of impersonality and disengagement from online learning. Features of online communication systems have the potential to increase social presence. One possibility, advocated in the literature on online learning, is the use of personal profiles and photos to help participants to learn something about each other and feel more connected. This paper discusses the question: To what extent do personal profiles enhance social presence in online learning communities? It presents research findings from two studies which investigated learners’ use and perceptions of personal profiles in online forums. The findings suggest that personal profiles and photos help some online learners to feel in touch with each other. Other learners, however, do not feel the need for these facilities, have privacy concerns or prefer to focus on the forum postings.Keywords: personal profile; online community; learning community; social presence; distance learning(Published: 7 August 2014)Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2014, 22: 19710 -http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v22.19710

The CSI, complemented by information on functional impairment and stress is an appropriate measure of recent somatic symptoms and somatization risk in young people for use in the UK.

Jejunal diverticulosis (JD) is a rare clinical entity. The potential complications of this condition are discussed here through a series of cases presented to our centre. A retrospective analysis of four cases, which were diagnosed and treated, was performed. These included two cases of gastrointestinal haemorrhage, one case of perforation and one case of enterolith obstruction. All of these cases were secondary to jejunal diverticulosis and treated surgically. This was accompanied by a literature search to identify the different modalities for diagnosis and treatment of this condition. JD is rare and may lead to a diagnostic delay. Awareness of the wide spectrum of potential complications can prevent this delay.

To our knowledge, this is the largest series to date, describing 10 years' experience with laparoscopic hysteropexy. The surgical technique appears to be safe, with low complication rates, which supports the choice of appropriately selected women to opt for uterine preservation surgery as an alternative to hysterectomy for the management of uterine prolapse.

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