Binary droplet collisions exhibit a wide range of outcomes, including coalescence and stretching separation, with a transition between these two outcomes arising for high Weber numbers and impact parameters. Our experimental study elucidates the effect of viscosity on this transition, which we show exhibits inertial (viscosity-independent) behaviour over an order-of-magnitude-wide range of Ohnesorge numbers. That is, the transition is not always shifted towards higher impact parameters by increasing droplet viscosity, as it might be thought from the existing literature. Moreover, we provide compelling experimental evidence that stretching separation only arises if the length of the coalesced droplet exceeds a critical multiple of the original droplet diameters (3.35). Using this as a criterion, we provide a simple but robust model (without any arbitrarily chosen free parameters) to predict the coalescence/stretching-separation transition.

Emergency medicine (EM) training programs incorporate simulation for teaching as well as formative and summative assessment. The development of a simulation curriculum for Canadian postgraduate EM programs is underway and would be facilitated by a standardized, user-friendly, nationally endorsed simulation template. We convened a nationally representative group of simulation educators to participate in a three-phase process to develop and refine a simulation case template for Canadian EM educators. Participants provided feedback by means of free text comments and focus groups which were analyzed to inform modification of the template. We anticipate that this template will facilitate the sharing of cases across sites and the development of standardized cases for simulation-based assessment.

Innovation Concept: EM Sim Cases is an innovative, open-access website that was created in 2015 to publish medical simulation resources including standardized, peer-reviewed simulation cases. Herein we describe our interim analysis. Methods: We performed a massive online needs assessment using a methodology previously described by Chan et. al. to determine how we can shape EM Sim Cases to meet the needs of learners and educators who use it. We engaged with simulation experts from the Emergency Medicine Simulation Education Research Collaborative to design a Google Forms survey using best practices in survey design. We distributed the survey to our target community of practice via Twitter, email, and a blog post published on emsimcases.com. Curriculum, Tool, or Material: We received 81 responses from simulation educators representing 8 medical specialties and 13 countries. Most survey respondents identified themselves as staff physicians (n = 44) and specialized in emergency medicine (n = 39). They had 0-21+ years of experience. 37% of respondents (n = 30) stated that material from EM Sim Cases makes up 25% or more of their simulation curriculum. Several respondents noted that using this content made them feel more confident and more current. Respondents praised EM Sim Cases for a well-organized case format, the proper level of detail, consistency between case designs, and the wide variety of cases. Suggested improvements included an opportunity to directly comment on cases and more cases in pediatric, rural, and advanced airway management situations. Suggestions were made to improve the navigability of the website. Respondents wanted to see additional blog content on debriefing strategies and self-made task/skill trainers. Conclusion: EM Sim Cases is a novel, free open-access simulation resource. Using a massive online needs assessment we were able to determine future directions including case topics, website reorganization, and educational material. We were also able to capture how impactful a resource like this can be to clinical and educational practice outside of the simulation setting.

Innovation Concept: A major barrier to the development of a national simulation case repository and multi-site simulation research is the lack of a standardized national case template. This issue was recently identified as a priority research topic for Canadian simulation based education (SBE) research in emergency medicine (EM). We partnered with the EM Simulation Education Researchers Collaborative (EM-SERC) to develop a national simulation template. Methods: The EM Sim Cases template was chosen as a starting point for the consensus process. We generated feedback on the template using a three-phase modified nominal group technique. Members of the EM-SERC mailing list were consulted, which included 20 EM simulation educators from every Canadian medical school except Northern Ontario School of Medicine and Memorial University. When comments conflicted, the sentiment with more comments in favour was incorporated. Curriculum, Tool or Material: In phase one we sought free-text feedback on the EM Sim Cases template via email. We received 65 comments from 11 respondents. An inductive thematic analysis identified four major themes (formatting, objectives, debriefing, and assessment tools). In phase two we sought free-text feedback on the revised template via email. A second thematic analysis on 40 comments from 12 respondents identified three broad themes (formatting, objectives, and debriefing). In phase three we sought feedback on the penultimate template via focus groups with simulation educators and technologists at multiple Canadian universities. This phase generated 98 specific comments which were grouped according to the section of the template being discussed and used to develop the final template (posted on emsimcases.com). Conclusion: We describe a national consensus-building process which resulted in a simulation case template endorsed by simulation educators from across Canada. This template has the potential to: 1. Reduce the replication of effort across sites by facilitating the sharing of simulation cases. 2. Enable national collaboration on the development of both simulation cases and curricula. 3. Facilitate multi centre simulation-based research by removing confounders related to the local adoption of an unfamiliar case template. This could improve the rigour and validity of these studies by reducing inter-site variability. 4. Increase the validity of any simulation scenarios developed for use in national high-stakes assessment.

Open conflict between presidents and prime ministers has become a familiar phenomenon throughout East Central Europe since the fall of communism. While individual personalities and the particular constellations of issues in each country have helped shape individual conflicts, this article seeks to account for them in more fundamental structural terms and to place them in the context of current debates over the relative virtues of presidentialism and parliamentarism. There is a discrepancy between the prestige and popularity of presidents and their modest formal powers; prime ministers, by contrast, enjoy considerable formal power but only limited legitimacy. Since the distribution of authority in newly constituted democracies is ambiguous and fluid, with no established conventions and understandings defining precisely the boundaries among key institutions, presidents seek to utilize the ambiguity to convert their assets of prestige into “real” power over policy, while prime ministers resist what they see as incursions into their areas of responsibility. The article explores the strengths and weaknesses of each side, the terrain of struggle, the tactics employed, the political outcomes to date, and the implications for political consolidation and the future distribution of executive authority in the region's states.

The GDR's fundamental economic strategy since 1971, as reflected in but also modified by its response to the “price shocks” of the 1970s and the ensuing credit squeeze of the early 1980s, has been shaped in important measure by the pressures imposed and the opportunities offered by its complex relationship with the German Federal Republic. The direct and indirect constraints resulting from the GDR's status as junior partner in its alliance with the Soviet Union, the terms of the still tenuous accommodation the regime has worked out with its own citizens, and changes and conflicts within the political elite have also influenced the GDR's choices. The shortterm and long-term measures taken in response to the shocks appear to have been surprisingly successful, even though there is evidence that two of the latter–the return to a policy of economic reform “in small steps” and the utilization of the GDR's “West German connection” to restore its creditworthiness and strengthen its access to Western technology–proceeded only in the face of internal and external controversy. The GDR's apparent success in comparison to its East European neighbors must be attributed to a number of factors, only one of which is its special relationship with the Federal Republic.