Out of Asia: Understanding the nexus between technology usage and research productivity in Japan,Singapore, and Taiwan

Journal and conference publications are well-known measures of scientific and academic research productivity. Prior research on scientific productivity that studies dimensions such as research culture, technological support, and researcher collaboration focuses on Western world contexts. Asian countries, such as Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan have received attention recently for the quality of their educational institutions, which have increasingly emphasized research productivity. With a large number of established and funded public universities, these countries show a strong potential for future scientific research. Consequently, it is crucial to understand the factors that influence the research productivity of scholars in these countries. In this paper the focus is specifically on the research productivity of students and faculty members in three countries: Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan. We investigate an important factor that influences research productivity: technology usage, which we conceptualize as the summation of mobile phone and computer usage. In addition, we analyze the relationship between technology usage and international collaboration.     

Modification and Revision of the Scale of Market Demand for Taekwondo Schools

Twenty-six male and female collegiate and semiprofessional/professional soccer players (age = 20.4 ± 2.0 years; height = 172.1 ± 8.2 cm; weight = 70.7 ± 10.8 kg) participated in this study to determine the reliability and validity of a field anaerobic shuttle test (FAST) and the Cunningham and Faulkner (1969) treadmill anaerobic speed test (AST). The relationship between the AST and FAST was also investigated. Intraclass reliability coefficients were acceptable for the FAST (.96) and AST (.97) with no significant difference between the means at T1 and T2 (FAST = 56.0 vs. 55.8 sec; AST = 41.9 vs. 41.4 sec). Poor reliability for the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAT), .83 (W), .70 (W · kg-1), necessitated correcting the validity coefficients for attenuation, FAST vs. WAT = -.89 (W) and -.71 (W · kg-1); AST vs. WAT = .82 (W) and .74 (W · kg-1). These coefficients provide preliminary evidence that the construct being measured is anaerobic work capacity. The results (FAST vs. AST = -.85) indicate that FAST and AST appear to be measuring the same construct. Further research is needed to substantiate the validity of AST and FAST scores as measures of anaerobic work capacity of collegiate and professional soccer players.     

Age-Related Changes of Serum Soluble Interleukin 9 Receptor (sIL-9Rα) in Healthy Subjects

Most cytokine receptors including interleukin (IL)-9 have soluble counterparts in body fluids. We planned to investigate the pathophysiological significance of the serum soluble IL-9 receptor (sIL-9R) level. We determined the serum sIL-9Rα chain (sIL-9Rα) levels in 96 healthy Japanese individuals to establish a control value by means of specific human sIL-9Rα ELISA, followed by a preliminary application in a patient with diarrhea positive hemolytic uremic syndrome. Age was negatively correlated with the sIL-9Rα level (Spearman r = −0.241, n = 96, p = 0.0180). The serum sIL-9Rα level showed a progressive decline to the normal adult level by the age of 30. The serum sIL-9Rα level of the patient with HUS was markedly higher than those of the age-matched control from the onset of the disease. Because of the remarkable age-dependent variability of sIL-9Rα in healthy subjects, disease-related changes, as well as therapy-dependent alterations, should be considered with caution. Thus, it is recommended that when the serum sIL-9Rα levels of patients are evaluated, the values should be compared with those of age-matched controls. The established control value will be used to discriminate between normal and the pathological conditions in our future studies.