A comparison of the anthropometric, strength, endurance and flexibility characteristics of female elite and recreational climbers and non-climbers.

There is limited information on the anthropometry, strength, endurance and flexibility of female rock climbers. The aim of this study was to compare these characteristics in three groups of females: Group 1 comprised 10 elite climbers aged 31.3 +/- 5.0 years (mean +/- s) who had led to a standard of 'hard very severe'; Group 2 consisted of 10 recreational climbers aged 24.1 +/- 4.0 years who had led to a standard of 'severe'; and Group 3 comprised 10 physically active individuals aged 28.5 +/- 5.0 years who had not previously rock-climbed. The tests included finger strength (grip strength, finger strength measured on climbing-specific apparatus), flexibility, bent arm hang and pull-ups. Regression procedures (analysis of covariance) were used to examine the influence of body mass, leg length, height and age. For finger strength, the elite climbers recorded significantly higher values (P < 0.05) than the recreational climbers and non-climbers (four fingers, right hand: elite 321 +/- 18 N, recreational 251 +/- 14 N, non-climbers 256 +/- 15 N; four fingers, left hand: elite 307 +/- 14 N, recreational 248 +/- 12 N, non-climbers 243 +/- 11 N). For grip strength of the right hand, the elite climbers recorded significantly higher values than the recreational climbers only (elite 338 +/- 12 N, recreational 289 +/- 10 N, non-climbers 307 +/- 11 N). The results suggest that elite climbers have greater finger strength than recreational climbers and non-climbers.     

E-mail in government: Not post-bureaucratic but late-bureaucratic organizations

Empirical research provides evidence that electronic communication does not change government agencies into post-bureaucratic organizations. Structuration Theory is used to explore the interaction between e-mail use, communication patterns of civil servants, and two bureaucratic characteristics: formalization and hierarchy. Previous research suggested that the use of e-mail leads to less formalization and less hierarchy, but empirical research in three bureaucratic organizations in the Netherlands leads to different conclusions. First, the use of e-mail leads to informal formalization: the style of communication is more informal but the content focuses less on personal issues and emphasizes efficient recordings of agreements. Second, the use of e-mail leads to hierarchical horizontalization: horizontal contacts take a more central position in bureaucratic organizations but these horizontal contacts are tightly linked to vertical structures. The result of the interaction between e-mail and government bureaucracy is horizontal communication directly linked to vertical structures. Electronic communication turns government agencies into late-bureaucratic organizations.     

UnCover on the Web: search hints and applications in library environments

Among the huge maze of resources available on the Internet, UnCoverWeb stands out as a valuable tool for medical libraries. This up-to-date, free-access, multidisciplinary database of periodical references is searched through an easy-to-learn graphical user interface that is a welcome improvement over the telnet version. This article reviews the basic and advanced search techniques for UnCoverWeb, as well as providing information on the document delivery functions and table of contents alerting service called Reveal. UnCover's currency is evaluated and compared with other current awareness resources. System deficiencies are discussed, with the conclusion that although UnCoverWeb lacks the sophisticated features of many commercial database search services, it is nonetheless a useful addition to the repertoire of information sources available in a library.     

Forschungs- und Entwicklungsprojekte

Zusammenfassung. Information ist der wichtigste Grundbegriff der Informatik. Ein semantischer Ansatz erklärt Information als Bedeutung einer Nachricht für ihren Empfänger. Als Folge davon hängt der Informationsgehalt einer Datei, einer Datenbank, eines Buches oder eines Filmes von der Interpretation ab, die ein Nutzer vornehmen kann oder gerade vornimmt. Informationsmaße werden sowohl von der Lesbarkeit einer Nachricht als auch von der Qualität des Interpreten bestimmt. Information kann neu entstehen, verloren gehen oder verändert werden.CR Subject Classification: E.4, H.1