Ethical dilemmas are really important to potential adopters of autonomous vehicles

Ethics and Information Technology - The ethical dilemma (ED) of whether autonomous vehicles (AVs) should protect the passengers or pedestrians when harm is unavoidable has been widely researched...     

Consistency and accuracy of indexing systematic review articles and meta‐analyses in medline

Background: Systematic review articles support the advance of science and translation of research evidence into healthcare practice. Inaccurate retrieval from medline could limit access to reviews. Objective: To determine the quality of indexing systematic reviews and meta‐analyses in medline . Methods: The Clinical Hedges Database, containing the results of a hand search of 161 journals, was used to test medline indexing terms for their ability to retrieve systematic reviews that met predefined methodologic criteria (labelled as ‘pass’ review articles) and reviews that reported a meta‐analysis. Results: The Clinical Hedges Database contained 49 028 articles; 753 were ‘pass’ review articles (552 with a meta‐analysis). In total 758 review articles (independent of whether they passed) reported a meta‐analysis. The search strategy that retrieved the highest number of ‘pass’ systematic reviews achieved a sensitivity of 97.1%. The publication type ‘meta analysis’ had a false positive rate of 5.6% (95% CI 3.9 to 7.6), and false negative rate of 0.31% (95% CI 0.26 to 0.36) for retrieving systematic reviews that reported a meta‐analysis. Conclusions: Inaccuracies in indexing systematic reviews and meta‐analyses in medline can be partly overcome by a 5‐term search strategy. Introducing a publication type for systematic reviews of the literature could improve retrieval performance.     

The homecoming: an investigation into the effect that studying overseas had on Chinese postgraduates' life and work on their return to China

For over a decade, 50,000 Chinese students have come to study each year in the UK, and the majority of them have since returned and settled back in China. An understanding of their return journey and how relevant their overseas learning is to their home life and work environment is a key to the re‐visioning of the internationalisation of higher education in the UK. Using in‐depth qualitative and narrative interviews carried out in China with eight Chinese postgraduates, this research explores these individuals' overall experience of homecoming, including what motivated them to return, their readjustments to life in China, and their perceptions of the impact of learning from studying overseas on their current life and work in China. This article looks particularly at the change in the graduates' sense of identity. The idea of intercultural identity is developed to explain the phenomenon of these returnees' emerging sense of self, one that is expansive and embraces sources of influence beyond the conventional cultural roots of the individual.     

Schools in the shadow of terrorism: Psychosocial adjustment and interest in interventions following terror attacks

Following terrorist events, teachers and nonteaching school personnel are important in helping children recover, yet little is known about their willingness to assist with this. We surveyed 399 employees from a Washington, D.C.‐area school district following terror attacks (September 11, 2001, attacks; sniper shootings) about their exposure, adjustment, interest, and involvement in psychosocial interventions. Between 10% and 27% experienced one or more symptoms of posttraumatic stress (depending on category of symptom) in the month prior to the survey. Regression analyses revealed that peritraumatic distress, behavior change, and posttraumatic growth predicted interest in information on psychosocial interventions. Feeling prepared, adaptively managing work responsibilities, and perceiving an increase in student problems were related to intervening with students. Implications for school preparedness are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effects of a short-term pre-season training programme on the body composition and anaerobic performance of professional rugby union players

Abstract

Pre-season rugby training develops the physical requisites for competition and consists of a high volume of resistance training and anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. However, the effects of a rugby union pre-season in professional athletes are currently unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of a 4-week pre-season on 33 professional rugby union players. Bench press and box squat increased moderately (13.6 kg, 90% confidence limits ±2.9 kg and 17.6 ± 8.0 kg, respectively) over the training phase. Small decreases in bench throw (70.6 ± 53.5 W), jump squat (280.1 ± 232.4 W), and fat mass (1.4 ± 0.4 kg) were observed. In addition, small increases were seen in fat-free mass (2.0 ± 0.6 kg) and flexed upper-arm girth (0.6 ± 0.2 cm), while moderate increases were observed in mid-thigh girth (1.9 ± 0.5 cm) and perception of fatigue (0.6 ± 0.4 units). Increases in strength and body composition were observed in elite rugby union players after 4 weeks of intensive pre-season training, but this may have been the result of a return to fitness levels prior to the off-season. Decreases in power may reflect high training volumes and increases in perceived of fatigue.     

State Anxiety as a Function of Skill Level and Proximity to Competition

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between the oversized racquet and the standard-sized racquet in (1) a tennis shot accuracy test on four basic strokes (ground strokes, volley, return of serve, and serve), and (2) a measure of players' subjective evaluation of playability (control, accuracy, power, and feel). Research participants (n = 57) were undergraduate students separated into two skill levels, intermediate (n = 29) and beginners (n = 28). Data were analyzed using a two-factor ANOVA with repeated measures on one factor. Result from the skills tests indicated that both beginning and intermediate groups scores significantly higher when using the oversized racquet. The scores received when using the oversized racquet tended to reflect a general increase in all four components of the skill test, particularly the return of serve. Data indicated that the subjective evaluation of the playing characteristic of each racquet was influenced by the player's skill level. Beginning players favored the oversized racquet, yet intermediate players rated the two racquet types about equal. The investigation suggests that beginning and intermediate tennis players, educators, and tennis teaching professionals should consider using and encouraging the use of oversized racquets.