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Skills in working in teamwork are demanded from graduates, and these are ever more likely to be over the internet. Horizon (2011) calls for this experience to be reflected in students’ project work. The use of Wikis has been posited as a tool for collaborative online knowledge creation, increasing students levels of engagement, and social constructivism (Wheeler and Wheeler, 2009: Lai and Ng, 2011). The use of wikis in student groups is still relatively new, however, and the need for investigation of its role in supporting group collaboration has been identified in literature (Bruen, et al., in Donnelly, Harvey and O’ Rourke, 2010). This study offers a contribution to the practice of online collaboration, and should be of interest to instructors who use group work in their teaching, as well as those who wish to explore the application of web 2.0 tools, or wikis specifically, in enhancing learning. Wikis were adopted to support a collaborative group project in the final (fourth) year of a general Business degree for an optional Marketing Communications module in the Technological University Dublin. The wiki was chosen in response to some concerns about the assessment. Issues such as poor progress, last minute action, lack of meaningful collaboration, and inability of the instructor to track progress or identify problems, all arose in the past. For all of these reasons, along with the desire to integrate Web 2.0 tools into assessment, the wiki was adopted. The students were surveyed after completion of the project regarding: how the wiki was used (method and functionality), participation levels of the group (also measured through the wiki itself), whether they believed the wiki added value for the assessment, and finally challenges encountered and recommendations. Responses demonstrate the enhancement of the groups’ collaboration, improved communication and social construction of knowledge. The feedback was generally positive about the experience. Practical issues such as ‘one version of the project’, and being able to view each others’ progress, and avoid repetition, were perceived as adding value to the process. It was viewed by many groups as an efficient and effective mechanism of developing a group assessment that they would like to use again. The study indicates that many positive benefits (for both students and instructors) can be gained from embedding a wiki into a group activity.

Skills in working in teamwork are demanded from graduates, and these are ever more likely to be over the internet. Horizon (2011) calls for this need to be reflected in students’ project work. The use of Wikis has been posited as a tool for collaborative online knowledge creation, increasing engagement, and social constructivism (Wheeler and Wheeler, 2008). The use of wikis in student groups is still relatively new, however, and the need for deeper investigation of its role in supporting group collaboration has been identified in literature (Bruen et al, in Donnelly, Harvey and O’ Rourke, 2010). This study utilised an action research methodology, with the aim of improving professional practice (Mc Niff and Whitehead, 2010). The research was evaluated using a questionnaire, which was administered anonymously using an online survey tool (www.surveymonkey.com), using mostly open-ended questions. This was triangulated through wiki contribution measurement and instructor observation using field notes. From a theoretical point of view, the students’ responses demonstrate the enhancement of the groups’ collaboration, improved communication and social construction of knowledge. From the students’ point of view, feedback was generally positive about the experience. Managing the introduction of third level assessment expectations, working in groups, and the wiki technology posed challenges for the instructor. In conclusion, positive outcomes in supporting student collaboration, engagement and deepening learning emerged from the research, along with implications for further enhancement of the students learning experiences in future assessments. Further examination of the individual members’ contribution levels warrants further study, while the role of the instructor as moderator of the wiki also deserves exploration.

Summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, culture is becoming increasingly popular in the United States because of high market prices and consumer demand. In addition, flounder is a marine fish species that can tolerate a wide range of salinities, allowing for inland intensive fish culture. Oxytetracycline (OTC) is one of two available FDA-approved antibiotics for use in foodfish in the United States. Oxytetracycline was chosen for these studies because it is excreted primarily unchanged through the urine and the absorption, distribution and elimination of this drug may be influenced by environmental and physiological conditions. Four experiments were conducted to investigate: 1) pharmacokinetic parameters of oxytetracycline (50 mg/kg) following intravascular (IV), intraperitoneal (IP), intramuscular (IM) and per os (PO) administration in summer flounder maintained at 28 ppt salinity and 20°C; 2) pharmacokinetic parameters of OTC (50 mg/kg) following IM and PO administration in summer flounder maintained at three different salinity levels of 0 ppt, 15 ppt and 32 ppt and the physiological adjustments summer flounder make to acclimate to environmental salinity; 3) OTC retention times in muscle tissue from summer flounder maintained at three different salinity levels (0 ppt, 15 ppt, 32 ppt) and treated with a single 50 mg/kg OTC dose via IM and PO administration; and 4) pharmacokinetic parameters of OTC (50 mg/kg) following IM and PO administration in clinically healthy and clinically diseased summer flounder maintained at 28 ppt and 20°C. Oxytetracycline plasma concentrations were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and analyzed using a non-compartmental pharmacokinetic model for all routes of drug administration. Statistical comparisons were not made between the different routes of OTC exposure, but results from experiment one indicated that IV administration of OTC resulted in the largest area under the curve (AUC) value (8147.9 µg·h/ml) and the highest maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of 1173.2 µg/ml OTC at 5 min post-injection. Intramuscular injections of OTC resulted in prolonged total body elimination half-life (T ½) of 301.3 h and high fish-to-fish variability (0.6). Per os administration resulted in low Cmax (0.2 µg/ml OTC) and poor systemic bioavailability (0.2 %). Results from experiment two demonstrated that when OTC is administered IM AUC estimates are significantly (p