This article continues the description of microcomputer systems and applications in chemical education begun earlier (1J. We conclude with a comparison of a number of microcomputer systems. Though not all-inclusive by any means, this comparison will be valuable to anyone considering purchase of a microcomputer system. In addition to material presented in this and the previous article, several reviews of popular microcomputers have appeared recently (2-6).A Disk-Based TRS-80 System by R. Daniel Bishop Our school recently purchased two Radio Shack TRS-80 microcomputers to be used as teaching aids in our undergraduate chemistry program. One of these is the standard 16K-RAM microcomputer with cassette storage ($890 currently); the other has 32K RAM with a single floppy diskette drive for disk storage, an expansion interface unit (required for disk operations), and electronic dot matrix quick-printer ($2400). A very short "monitor" program on the disk system allows the student to see the titles of all the programs on the disk and to select the desired program merely by tapping a single numeral key. At the conclusion of each program, the program title and the student's name, computer usage time, and scores are recorded on the disk. The computer then reverts to the monitor program and waits for the next student.The programs that are included on our first complete diskette, GENCHEM/ONE, are listed in Table 1. Each program is also individually available on cassette for use with the 16K non-disk microcomputer. These programs were developed entirely "in-house" by the author. Our tutorial/drill

Suggestions for how to combat the fact that many students have "given up" by the final exam.

This chapter seeks to find out information on the functionalities of the laboratory information systems available in medical laboratories in Jamaica and their ease of use and the overall performance and satisfaction of medical technologists using them. A cross-sectional descriptive survey involving the use of a 48-item questionnaire was conducted among medical laboratories with a LIS. There were a total of 14 completed questionnaires out of 15, giving a response rate of 93.3%. The findings reveal that the majority of the laboratories have a LIS that provides multi-level security, allows password protection at different levels, maintains a patient database, and generates records. The majority of the medical technologists agree or strongly agree that it is easy to use the LIS and experience improved overall performance on the job. The medical technologists clearly understand the existing features and functionality of the LIS. Additional functional features of the LIS should be customized, and adequate funding is needed, especially for hospital-based laboratories.

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