Comparison of heart rate monitoring with indirect calorimetry for energy expenditure evaluation

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to compare established methods with newly-developed methods for estimating the total energy expenditure (TEE).MethodsThe study subjects comprised 46 individuals, including 16 middle-aged men (mean age 51.4 years), 14 middle-aged women (mean age 49.9 years) and 16 young women (mean age 19.1 years). The TEE was estimated from 24-h heart rate (HR) data using newly-developed software (MoveSense HRAnalyzer 2011a, RC1, Suunto Oy, Vantaa, Finland), and was compared against the TEE determined using doubly labeled water (DLW). Agreement between the two methods was analyzed using Bland and Altman plots.ResultsThe HR method yielded similar TEE values as the DLW method at the group level, with an average of 8.6 kcal/day in the difference in the mean, but with large individual variations. Forty-four (96%) out of 46 subjects fell within ±2SD of the mean difference in TEE comparisons, and there was no tendency towards under- or over-estimation.ConclusionOur results indicate that the current software using HR analysis for the estimation of daily TEE needs further development for use with free-living individuals.     

Child protection and justice systems processing of serious child abuse and neglect cases

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the trajectory of cases through four systems: child protection, law enforcement, the dependency courts, and the criminal courts. METHOD: This study focused on a county selected from a 41-county telephone survey conducted for the National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-3). For this analysis prospective samples were drawn from law enforcement (n=225) and the county child protection (CPS) agency (n=225) and followed through in-depth case tracking across all agencies and through both the dependency and criminal court systems. RESULTS: The percentage of CPS cases opened in dependency court was similar to prior studies (29%), but the acceptance and prosecution rates were much higher--92% of the cases referred from CPS, including many cases of physical abuse. Compared to referrals from CPS to law enforcement (93%), few cases were referred from law enforcement to CPS (17%). Anecdotally, case referral patterns appeared to be influenced by communication patterns and mutual positive regard, regardless of the collaborative protocols in place. One of the most instructive findings was the degree of difficulty in tracking cases across organizations and the types of obstacles that impeded success. Disorganization was not an issue, rather internal structures set up to facilitate intra-organizational processing were the same structures that actually impeded cross-organizational case finding. CONCLUSIONS: It is not sufficient to rely on the existence of multi-disciplinary teams or Child Advocacy Centers to ensure collaboration. More attention to daily tasks and activities as well as the nature and quality of communication is warranted. On the technical side, use of common case identifiers on cases that are cross-referred is strongly recommended. Future studies should broaden the scope of inquiry to include the consequences of all case trajectories, rather than solely focusing on the justice system.     

Reflections on the First International iPED Conference,Coventry TechnoCentre,UK, 10–11 September 2006

Through reflection on the First International iPED Conference 2006, and its overarching theme of ‘Pedagogical Research and Academic Identities’, this paper considers the achievement of the wider aims of the conference, which were to facilitate dialogue between researchers in order to explore the conference themes collaboratively, and to provide networking opportunities which would enable participants to build alliances. The abstracts for all papers mentioned are available via the conference website www.coventry.ac.uk/iped2006.     

Factors influencing student perceptions of high-school science laboratory environments

Science laboratory learning has been lauded for decades for its role in fostering positive student attitudes about science and developing students’ interest in science and ability to use equipment. An expanding body of research has demonstrated the significant influence of laboratory environment on student learning. Further research has demonstrated differences in student perceptions based on giftedness. To explore the relationship between giftedness and students’ perceptions of their learning environment, we examined students’ perceptions of their laboratory learning environment in biology courses, including courses designated for high-achieving versus regular-achieving students. In addition, to explore the relationship between students’ perceptions and the extent of their experience with laboratory learning in a particular discipline, we examined students’ perceptions of their laboratory learning environment in first-year biology courses versus elective biology courses that require first-year biology as a prerequisite. We found that students in high-achieving courses had a more favourable perception of all aspects of their learning environment when compared with students in regular courses. In addition, student perceptions of their laboratory appeared to be influenced by the extent of their experience in learning science. Perceptions were consistent amongst regular- and high-achieving students regardless of grade level. In addition, perceptions of students in first year and beyond were consistent regardless of grade level. These findings have critical applications in curriculum development as well as in the classroom. Teachers can use student perceptions of their learning environment to emphasize critical pedagogical approaches and modify other areas that enable enhancement of the science laboratory learning environment.     

Modeling Ability Differentiation in the Second-Order Factor Model

In this article we present factor models to test for ability differentiation. Ability differentiation predicts that the size of IQ subtest correlations decreases as a function of the general intelligence factor. In the Schmid–Leiman decomposition of the second-order factor model, we model differentiation by introducing heteroscedastic residuals, nonlinear factor loadings, and a skew-normal second-order factor distribution. Using marginal maximum likelihood, we fit this model to Spanish standardization data of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.) to test the differentiation hypothesis.     

Framework for Sustaining Innovation at Baker Library,Harvard Business School

ABSTRACT

Baker Library at Harvard Business School is increasingly asked by the school's faculty to create custom digital information products to enhance course assignments and to find novel ways of electronically disseminating faculty research. In order to prioritize these requests, as well as facilitate, manage, and track the resulting projects, the library staff developed the Research Innovation Framework. Informed by design thinking techniques and recent research on building innovation strategies and innovative cultures, the Research Innovation Framework has been particularly impactful to Baker's intra-organizational communication, allowing for more robust collaboration across the entire library. Tools and resources contained within the Framework have allowed Baker to adapt to the diverse and evolving needs of its customers.     

Young adult outcomes of the Abecedarian and CARE early childhood educational interventions

Adult benefits for participants in Project CARE were compared with those of the Abecedarian Project, a closely related randomized study of early childhood educational intervention for children from low-income families who were at risk of developmental delays and school failure. CARE replicated Abecedarian's young adult treatment-related educational and vocational attainment gains. CARE data also supported the Abecedarian reduction in marijuana use. Treated individuals in both studies reported adopting a more active life style. The average age at birth of a first child, the number of children, and the proportion of teen parents were positively affected in the Abecedarian sample but not in CARE. Finding significant educational and vocational gains lasting into young adulthood in the CARE study reinforces Abecedarian young adult findings and strengthens the case for early childhood intervention for children from low-income families.     

Use of grade-based norms versus age-based norms in psychoeducational assessment for a college population

Considerable discussion has occurred about the most appropriate methods for diagnosing learning disabilities (LD) in postsecondary students. Two of the many areas of controversy that have emerged include the appropriate diagnostic criteria to use and the appropriate referent group. A review of previous court cases demonstrates that the issue of whether to compare an individual to the general population or to a smaller referent population has not been adequately clarified. Furthermore, few empirical studies have examined the impact of choosing different referent groups on the likelihood that one will be diagnosed with LD. Therefore, this correlational study described the levels of agreement between three diagnostic models of LD, using both age- and grade-based norms to represent two referent groups for each of the three models. The sample included 155 postsecondary students referred for testing due to academic difficulties. The findings indicated that in two of the three models tested, comparing individuals to their grade-matched peers (i.e., using grade-based norms) resulted in more LD diagnoses than comparing individuals to their age-matched peers (i.e., age-based norms).