Most students expect the quality of their studies to improve by implementation of e-learning. Students appreciating regularly updated learning materials particularly emphasise the importance of its visualisation. Online tests might be an option for student's self-performance rating.

BackgroundE-Learning programs and their corresponding devices are increasingly employed to educate dental students during their clinical training.ObjectiveRecent progress made in the development of e-learning software as well as in hardware (computers, tablet PCs, smartphones) caused us to more closely investigate into the habits of dental students in dealing with these learning techniques.MethodsDental students during their clinical training attended a survey compiled in cooperation with biostatisticians. The questionnaire probands were asked to complete based on previous surveys of similar subjects, allowing single as well as multiple answers. The data, which were obtained with respect to the learning devices students commonly employ, were compared with their internet learning activities.ResultsThe e-learning devices utilized are of heterogeneous brands. Each student has access to at least one hardware type suitable for e-learning. All students held mobile devices, about 90 percent employed laptops, and about 60 percent possess smartphones. Unexceptional all participants of the survey acknowledged an unlimited internet access. In contrast, only 16 percent of students utilized tablet PCs. A detailed analysis of the survey outcome reveals that an increasing use of mobile devices (tablet PC, smartphone) facilitates internet learning activities while at the same time utilization of computers (desktop, laptop) declines.ConclusionsDental students overwhelmingly accept e-learning during their clinical training. Students report outstanding preconditions to conduct e-learning as both their access to hardware and to the internet is excellent. Less satisfying is the outcome of our survey regarding the utilization of e-learning programs. Depending of the hardware employed only one-third to barely one-half of students comprise learning programs.

Covariance matrix forecasts of financial asset returns are an important component of current practice in financial risk management. A wide variety of models, ranging from matrices of simple summary measures to covariance matrices implied from option prices, are available for generating such forecasts. In this paper, we evaluate the relative accuracy of different covariance matrix forecasts using standard statistical loss functions and a value-at-risk (VaR) framework. This framework consists of hypothesis tests examining various properties of VaR models based on these forecasts as well as an evaluation using a regulatory loss function.Using a foreign exchange portfolio, we find that implied covariance matrix forecasts appear to perform best under standard statistical loss functions. However, within the economic context of a VaR framework, the performance of VaR models depends more on their distributional assumptions than on their covariance matrix specification. Of the forecasts examined, simple specifications, such as exponentially-weighted moving averages of past observations, perform best with regard to the magnitude of VaR exceptions and regulatory capital requirements. These results provide empirical support for the commonly-used VaR models based on simple covariance matrix forecasts and distributional assumptions. Acknowledgments:The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Credit Suisse Group, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco or the Federal Reserve System. We thank Jeremy Berkowitz for comments as well as Emily Grimm for research assistance.

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Introduction Online learning media are increasingly being incorporated into medical and dental education. However, the coordination between obligatory and facultative teaching domains still remains unsatisfying. The Catalogue of Interactive Learning Objectives of the University Clinic of Mainz (ILKUM), aims to offer knowledge transfer for students while being mindful of their individual qualifications. Its hierarchical structure is designed according to the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) levels of competence. Materials and methods The ILKUM was designed to establish a stronger interconnection between already existing and prospective learning strategies. All contents are linked to the current lectures as well as to e-learning modules, e.g., clinical case studies and OR videos. Students can conduct self-examinations regarding specific learning objectives. Since 2007, ILKUM has been developed and analyzed regarding its acceptance among dental students. Results These improved e-learning techniques foster time and location-independent access to study materials and allow an estimation of the knowledge achieved by students. Surveys of our students clearly show a large demand for upgrading ILKUM content (89%; n = 172) with integrated self-testing (89%; n = 174). In parallel to the advancement of our e-learning offering, a portion of internet-based learning is constantly rising among students. Conclusion The broad acceptance and demand for the development of ILKUM show its potential. Moreover, ILKUM grants fast, topic-oriented querying of learning content without time and locale limitations as well as direct determination of the individually needed knowledge conditions. Clinical significance The long-term goal of the ILKUM project is to be a sustainable, important additional modality of teaching and training for dental and medical students. How to cite this article Mahmoodi B, Sagheb K, Sagheb K, Schulz P, Willershausen B, Al-Nawas B, Walter C. Catalogue of Interactive Learning Objectives to improve an Integrated Medical and Dental Curriculum. J Contemp Dent Pract 2016;17(12):965-968.