Educational brokering: New services for adult learners

This paper describes a fast-growing variety of programs that directly enable adult learners to pursue educational and career plans within their communities. Educational brokering serves an intermediary role between individual clients and the vast array of educational resources in a region. This paper considers the missions of brokering—advisement, assessment, and advocacy—its organizational arrangements, and the sources of its support and development. Specific successes and impacts of brokering are presented, as is the importance of the brokering idea to several larger public policy issues. Efforts currently underway to expand brokering activities on a national level are also discussed.Dr. Heffernan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Higher/Postsecondary Education at Syracuse University and is Coordinator of Research and Editor of theBulletin of the National Center for Educational Brokering. He has been assisted in the preparation of this article by Francis U. Macy and Donn F. Vickers, Director and Associate Director, respectively, of the National Center for Educational Brokering, 405 Oak Street, Syracuse, New York 13203.     

Current findings from research on structured abstracts.

BACKGROUND: Structured abstracts were introduced into medical research journals in the mid 1980s. Since then they have been widely used in this and other contexts. AIM: The aim of this paper is to summarize the main findings from research on structured abstracts and to discuss the limitations of some aspects of this research. METHOD: A narrative literature review of all of the relevant papers known to the author was conducted. RESULTS: Structured abstracts are typically longer than traditional ones, but they are also judged to be more informative and accessible. Authors and readers also judge them to be more useful than traditional abstracts. However, not all studies use "real-life" published examples from different authors in their work, and more work needs to be done in some cases. CONCLUSIONS: The findings generally support the notion that structured abstracts can be profitably introduced into research journals. Some arguments for this, however, have more research support than others.     

Gender differences among sagittal plane knee kinematic and ground reaction force characteristics during a rapid sprint and cut maneuver

Women are more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury during cutting sports than men. The purpose of this study was to examine knee kinematic and ground reaction forces (GRF) differences between genders during cutting. Male and female athletes performed cutting trials while force platform and video data were recorded (180 Hz). Differences (p < . 05) were observed between groups for knee flexion at contact and GRF at maximum knee flexion. Women averaged 5.8 degrees less flexion at contact and 1.0 N. (kg x m x s(-1))(-1) greater GRF at maximum flexion. Knee range of motion and peak GRF variables were not significantly different, but women had greater values. Women exhibited technique characteristics believed to increase ACL injury risk, but men exhibiting similar characteristics were also observed and could also be at risk.     

Prediction of maximum oxygen consumption from walking, jogging, or running

The purpose of this study was to develop a submaximal, 1.5-mile endurance test for college-aged students using walking, jogging, or running exercise. College students (N = 101: 52 men, 47 women), ages 18-26years, successfully completed the 1.5-mile test twice, and a maximal graded exercise test. Participants were instructed to achieve a "somewhat hard" exercise intensity (rating of perceived exertion = 13) and maintain a steady pace throughout each 1.5-mile test. Multiple linear regression generated the following prediction equation: VO2 max = 65.404 + 7.707 x gender (1 = male; 0 =female) - 0.159 x body mass (kg) - 0.843 x elapsed exercise time (min; walking, jogging orrunning). This equation shows acceptable validity (R = .86, SEE = 3.37 ml x kg(-1) min(-1)) similar to the accuracy of comparable field tests, and reliability (ICC = .93) is also comparable to similar models. The statistical shrinkage is minimal (R(press) = 0.85, SEE(press) = 3.51 ml x kg(-) x min(-1)); hence, it should provide comparable results when applied to other similar samples. A regression model (R =.90, and SEE = 2.87 ml x kg(-1) min(-1)) including exercise heart rate was also developed: VO2 max = 100.162 +/- 7.301 x gender(1 = male; 0 =female) - 0.164 x body mass (kg) - 1.273 x elapsed exercise time -0.156 x exercise heart rate, for those who have access to electronic heart rate monitors. This submaximal 1.5-mile test accurately predicts maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) without measuring heart rate and is similar to the 1.5-mile run in that it allowsfor mass testing and requires only a flat, measured distance and a stopwatch. Further, it can accommodate a wide range of fitness levels (from walkers to runners).