Journal clustering using a bibliographic coupling method

The classification of journal titles into fields or specialties is a problem of practical importance in library and information science. An algorithm is described which accomplishes such a classification using the single-link clustering technique and a novel application of the method of bibliographic coupling. The novelty consists in the use of two-step bibliographic coupling linkages, rather than the usual one-step linkages. This modification of the similarity measure leads to a marked improvement in the performance of single-link clustering in the formation of field or specialty clusters of journals. Results of an experiment using this algorithm are reported which grouped 890 journals into 168 clusters. This scope is an improvement of nearly an order of magnitude over previous journal clustering experiments. The results are evaluated by comparison with an independently derived manual classification of the same journal set. The generally good agreement indicates that this method of journal clustering will have significant practical utility for journal classification.     

Intellectual property protection mechanisms in research partnerships

A set of US-based companies is investigated regarding the effectiveness of intellectual property protection mechanisms (IPPMs) in the formation of research partnerships. Patents are the most frequently used IPPM to protect both background and foreground knowledge in partnerships. Other IPPMs are used to protect know-how, especially in the early, forming stages of a partnership. Existing IP titles are quite useful when negotiating new partnerships. IPR negotiations are reported to be more complex in horizontal partnerships and when universities are involved.     

高等教育中国家与市场的关系

欧洲大学现在失去了昔日的光彩,公共和私人教育支出水平较低是造成其衰败的部分原因;而高度集中的国家管理体制抑制了大学之间的有效竞争,从而使得大学在教育和研究两方面都缺乏进步的动力。对这一体制加以改革都会面临三个问题:政府对大学的掌控程度、政府对大学的资助程度和大学之间的竞争程度。这三个问题既是相互关联的,在一定程度上又是彼此独立的;既可能存在有公共资助但没有公共产权的情况,也可能存在有公共资助和公共产权同时还保持了高度竞争的情况。高等教育不同于其他产品和服务,具有“连带性”特征,这使得大学竞争与效率和公平问题之间存在着紧密而复杂的关系。     

The battered-child syndrome

The battered-child syndrome, a clinical condition in young children who have received serious physical abuse, is a frequent cause of permanent injury or death. The syndrome should be considered in any child exhibiting evidence of fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, failure to thrive, soft tissue swellings or skin bruising, in any child who dies suddenly, or where the degree and type of injury is at variance with the history given regarding the occurrence of the trauma. Psychiatric factors are probably of prime importance in the pathogenesis of the disorder, but knowledge of these factors is limited. Physicians have a duty and responsibility to the child to require a full evaluation of the problem and to guarantee that no expected repetition of trauma will be permitted to occur.     

Learning objectives for science practicals at traditional and distance universities

This study is designed to determine whether, and to what extent, the perceived importance of objectives of undergraduate practicals in the Natural Sciences is dependent upon the type of institute at which practicals are given. The two dimensions used in this research to discriminate between types of institutes are type of education offered (face‐to‐face versus correspondence) and type of programme offered (monodisciplinary versus interdisciplinary). For this reason, distance universities throughout the world (DUs) and more traditional, residential universities (RUs) in The Netherlands were compared. Special attention has been paid to the Open university of The Netherlands (OuN). The results show that RUs and DUs approach practicals in a very similar manner with both of them differing in a number of respects with the OuN. Implications of this research for the use of practicals in a curriculum in the Natural Sciences are presented.     

Attitudes toward the level of men's involvement in abortion decisions

College students completed a questionnaire that assessed their attitudes toward the level of male responsibility in abortion decisions. Overall, both men and women thought that men should have some degree of involvement in the abortion decision. However, as expected by the first hypothesis, men indicated a desire for more responsibility in the abortion decision than women thought the men should have. A second hypothesis predicted women would feel more strongly than men that abortion was strictly a woman's issue. Contrary to the hypothesis, women tended to disagree that abortion was strictly a women's issue. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

A theory of instruction for introductory programming skills

ABSTRACT

Background and Context: Current introductory instruction fails to identify, structure, and sequence the many skills involved in programming.

Objective: We proposed a theory which identifies four distinct skills that novices learn incrementally. These skills are tracing, writing syntax, comprehending templates (reusable abstractions of programming knowledge), and writing code with templates. We theorized that explicit instruction of these skills decreases cognitive demand.

Method: We conducted an exploratory mixed-methods study and compared students’ exercise completion rates, error rates, ability to explain code, and engagement when learning to program. We compared material that reflects this theory to more traditional material that does not distinguish between skills.

Findings: Teaching skills incrementally resulted in improved completion rate on practice exercises, and decreased error rate and improved understanding of the post-test.

Implications: By structuring programming skills such that they can be taught explicitly and incrementally, we can inform instructional design and improve future research on understanding how novice programmers develop understanding.