  We present recent shell-model calculations of the gamma-decay in sd-pf and
pf-shell nuclei. We focus on the M1 part of the dipole strength which was shown
to exhibit interesting low-energy effects, in particular a low-energy
enhancement which can have a considerable impact on the radiative neutron
capture. We discuss the persistence of the shell effects in the nuclear
quasi-continuum and the relation between the shape of the strength function at
low energy and nuclear deformation.
