Summative assessment is used to qualify students and award accreditation. Employers, learned bodies and associations, contractors of services, patients and a myriad others, expect such qualifications and accreditation to be true and reliable evaluations of the capabilities of the person concerned. However, measuring capability is a complex and difficult undertaking normally involving a range of processes. The matter is complicated by a global increase in cheating driven by high stakes and ready availability of methods and opportunities to dishonestly defeat the assessment processes. There is also a drive for more efficient assessment with lower cost and quicker turnaround. Obtaining individual assessment is logistically more difficult in the face of large student cohorts, and less reliable because of indistinct boundaries between individual work and collaborative work particularly for projects and laboratories. In this paper, some experiences with summative assessment and examination processes including extracting individual measures from team projects, the application and structure of examinations, the use of different types of questions and the efficacy of partially automated grading, will be reviewed.

Learning involves a hierarchy of operations in the brain. Common clichés such as "its on the tip of my tongue" and "I've seen that somewhere before' are strong clues to a complex process of storage, cataloguing and retrieval. Reminders and triggers bring back forgotten memories. Intuition is a manifestation of a system where the conscious brain knows it knows something but cannot immediately recall the information. Flashes of perception often resulting in breakthroughs are evidence of a powerful unconscious or autonomic memory system that somehow is able to assemble or associate a range of previously encountered information to generate a new idea. The brain will often eventually make sense of something provided we keep trying by repeated attempts and study. Most of what we do is under unconscious control and without habit we could barely function. Building up the programming is an essential part of learning. Although all these complex processes are vitally involved in teaching and learning they are rarely considered. In this paper, a review will be made of common perceptions regarding thinking and learning and how the underlying processes might be considered to advantage in teaching and learning. In addition, intermingling of different neural network memories is proposed as an explanation for cross- triggering of recall referred to as associative memory.

1. 1. A rapid, simple assay for the estimation of the enzyme ornithine transcarbamylase in serum is presented. 2. 2. The serum activity of ornithine transcarbamylase is increased specifically as a result of hepatocellular damage.

Any entity receiving the billions of federal dollars designated for rebuilding southern Louisiana will wield tremendous power and dramatically influence the future of the region and the state. The entity's budget will dwarf that of the local governments, and its investment and development decisions could change the face of communities for generations to come. This is not a matter to be taken lightly.

Perhaps the highest priority for the Crescent City today is the creation of a unified vision and plan for redevelopment. The effort must begin with structure: the establishment of a rational, lucid, and clearly communicated planning structure that actively engages the citizenry. This will give residents needed reassurance, instill confidence in investors, and promote buy-in from the federal government. To lead the City's effort, Mayor Nagin has created the Bring New Orleans Back Commission. Its charge: "to finalize a master plan to advise, assist and plan the direct funding of the rebuilding of New Orleans culturally, socially, economically and uniquely for every citizen." The Commission consists of 17 community leaders and the Mayor. It has retained the Urban Land Institute to assist it. We are fortunate that the men and women of the Commission are willing to take a leading role in rebuilding New Orleans, even as they struggle with losses in their own businesses and personal lives. Many of them have made significant commitments to the effort, organizing task forces and assembling outside resources to address issues. The redevelopment effort will undoubtedly benefit greatly from their individual and collective efforts.

The Bureau of Governmental Research has sent a letter to the City's Office of Recovery Management (ORM) recommending a broad set of changes to the City's blighted property programs. BGR is sharing its observations with ORM and the public in anticipation of ORM's presentation to the City Council's Housing and Human Needs Committee, scheduled for December 17. The letter can be found on BGR's web site, www.bgr.org.