1,721,055 research outputs found
Systematic Review of countermeasures to minimise physiological changes and risk of injury to the lumbopelvic area following long-term microgravity
Get PDFBackgroundNo studies have been published on an astronaut population to assess the effectiveness of countermeasures for limiting physiological changes in the lumbopelvic region caused by microgravity exposure during spaceflight. However, several studies in this area have been done using spaceflight simulation via bed-rest. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of countermeasures designed to limit physiological changes to the lumbopelvic region caused by spaceflight simulation by means of bed-rest.MethodsElectronic databases were searched from the start of their records to November 2014. Studies were assessed with PEDro, Cochrane Risk of Bias and a bed-rest study quality tool. Magnitude based inferences were used to assess countermeasure effectiveness.ResultsSeven studies were included. There was a lack of consistency across studies in reporting of outcome measures. Some countermeasures were found to be successful in preventing some lumbopelvic musculoskeletal changes, but not others. For example, resistive vibration exercise prevented muscle changes, but showed the potential to worsen loss of lumbar lordosis and intervertebral disc height.ConclusionFuture studies investigating countermeasures should report consistent outcomes, and also use an actual microgravity environment. Additional research with patient reported quality of life and functional outcome measures is advocated
Like anchovy on pizza : government funding for private schools
No full textShould governments fund nongovernment schools? It is a bit like asking whether you should put anchovy on pizza. The Commonwealth government has vowed to maintain financial support for diversity in the delivery of Australian education. Those in favour of the policy say it is good for choice; those against say it is high treason against public education. There is little in between. Much like opinions about anchovy on pizza, the policy is either loved or loathed by teachers. Those against government funding for non-government schools argue that citizens should not be forced to contribute taxation for schools to which there is no equality of access. On the surface, at least, this is a credible position and it is understandably well supported. The author argues, however, for the maintenance of the current system of funding. His main argument is that the vast majority of nongovernment schools have a religious basis, generally Christian, and that since around 80 percent percent of Australians declare themselves to be Christians, there is a place for the burgeoning low-fee independent school, particularly those offering a belief-based education. The author also argues that by far the largest proportion of students in Australia attending nongovernment schools go to modest institutions that, more often than not, have reasonable numbers of students on some kind of financial relief. The author concludes that it is time for all educators, including those in government schools, to accept that it makes sense for governments to support diversity in education by funding government and nongovernment schools, not least because the large majority of Australians say they hold a religious belief, but also because government funding for nongovernment schools makes financial sense. [Author abstract, ed
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Get PDFWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
The scale and extent of forced labour in the UK : can the existing legislation and administrative arrangements address the problem?
Get PDFThis study describes the current manifestation of forced labour in the UK and assesses the adequacy of official arrangements for tackling it. It examines factors facilitating its growth and focuses on the challenges of finding and identifying it, both fundamental considerations for creating strategies to address the crime.The subject was researched using a qualitative approach. Data was obtained through semi-structured interviews with selected individuals regarded as familiar with and knowledgeable about workplaces, such as government officials and representatives of non-government agencies. Most interviewees had little knowledge of forced labour, but all had encountered exploitative, abnormal work situations, about which they had taken no remedial action.This study confirms people are still exploited throughout the UK, predominantly in low skill, labour intense environments. It is difficult to identify forced labour in practice. Only GLAA officials are tasked with scrutinising workplaces for evidence of its presence. Workplace encounters by other officials are unlikely to reveal it, mainly because many accepted forced labour indicators cannot be easily observed. Evolutionary changes in the form and execution of the crime in response to enforcement efforts and a blurred boundary between decent work and exploitation in the current UK work environment also make it harder to identify forced labour.My findings indicate that successive UK governments’ policies and ‘light-touch’ approach to labour regulation encouraged the emergence and persistence of forced labour. Public sector austerity measures created an adverse synergy by constraining the remits of enforcement agencies, reducing their operational capacity and restricting inspection activities. The same factors make it harder for exploited workers to contact officials for assistance or redress.The study recommends a range of policy initiatives by which the UK government could improve the way that forced labour is challenged and tackled. It also suggests future research in this field
Measuring public trust in charities in the UK : an empirical study based on scale development
Get PDFThis study describes the development and initial utilizations of a scale measuring public trust in charities in the UK. It improves on past empirical studies of public trust in charities by regarding the concept as a multidimensional construct.The scale is developed first from a conceptual model consisting of five dimensions. Using data from 490 respondents, item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and internal consistency analysis are undertaken, of which results yield a three-factor principal components model of public trust in charities. Confirmatory factor analysis, construct validity analysis, and criterion-related validity analysis, based on another sample of 253 respondents, confirm the validity of the model with a slight modification.The initial five-factor model of trust in charities derived from literature, which include perceived competence, perceived benevolence, perceived integrity, value similarity, and willingness to be vulnerable, is rejected in favor of a three-factor principal components model. Of the three separate domains of public trust in charities, “perceived integrity” reflects the importance of morality in charity work; “perceived competence” reflects the necessity of charities’ capability to uphold and further public interests; and “value similarity” emphasizes the alignment of values between charities and individuals.Scale utilization demonstrates that this multidimensional tool will allow the U.K. charitable sector to better understand public trust and perceptions, to discern the manifestations of public trust, as well as to be responsive to trends in trust and perceptions. It can be used to predict pro-charity behaviors, which is helpful to strategically plan and target fundraising techniques. The measure will also remedy drawbacks of current measurement of charity performance.Overall, the multidimensional scale is accurate, more straightforward, more in-depth, and is able to provide more useful information than current crude measurements of public trust in charities. The study has important implications for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers as it provides a new, robust measure of a feature that is essential to the charitable sector’s welfare
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