Chinese academic journals: quality,issues and solutions

Twelve Chinese academic journals, indexed by SCI and financed by the National Natural Science Foundation (NNSF), were analysed using the 2000–2003 Total Citations and Impact Factor data from JCR. It is concluded that the quality of Chinese journals is generally low and has remained so despite recent government measures aimed at improvement. Several factors are influential – particularly the Chinese government's policy of encouraging submission to foreign journals. Finance, management, and the academic degree policy are also obstacles. It is suggested that the Chinese government should reconsider its current policies so as to encourage higher quality in domestic periodicals and thus a greater recognition of Chinese journals by the international academic community.     

Continuous walking and time- and intensity-matched interval walking: Cardiometabolic demand and post-exercise enjoyment in insufficiently active,healthy adults

ABSTRACT

We compared cardiometabolic demand and post-exercise enjoyment between continuous walking (CW) and time- and intensity-matched interval walking (IW) in insufficiently active adults. Sixteen individuals (13 females and three males, age 25.3 ± 11.1 years) completed one CW and one IW session lasting 30 min in a randomised-counterbalanced design. For CW, participants walked at a mean intensity of 65–70% predicted maximum heart rate (HR_max). For IW, participants alternated between 3 min at 80% HR_max and 2 min at 50% HR_max. Expired gas was measured throughout each protocol. Participants rated post-exercise enjoyment following each protocol. Mean HR and V˙O₂ showed small positive differences in IW vs. CW (2, 95%CL 0, 4 beat.min^?1; d = 0.23, 95%CL 0.06, 0.41 and 1.4, 95%CL 1.2 ml.kg^?1.min^?1, d = 0.36, 95%CL 0.05, 0.65, respectively). There was a medium positive difference in overall kcal expenditure in IW vs. CW (25, 95%CL 7 kcal, d = 0.58, 95%CL 0.33, 0.82). Post-exercise enjoyment was moderately greater following IW vs. CW (9.1, 95%CL 1.4, 16.8 AU, d = 0.62, 95%CL 0.06, 0.90), with 75% of participants reporting IW as more enjoyable. Interval walking elicits meaningfully greater energy expenditure and is more enjoyable than CW in insufficiently active, healthy adults.     

Role of recognition of prior learning for emerging economies: learning from a four sector pilot project in India

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) has increasingly been recognised as a useful way to certify experience and competencies gained in the workplace informally. Particularly pertinent is RPL in the context of international migration or in economies, where system reforms seek to overcome challenges related to access to formal training and qualifications. India has the goal to skill 300 million of its growing workforce and provide them access at various levels to certification and further learning opportunities. As a part of the overall system reforms, the Government of India, jointly with the ILO, pilot tested RPL in four sectors in collaboration with the industry and built the foundation for wider replication for another 26 growth sectors by undertaking a tracer study and evaluation. This paper can empirically establish that RPL has had a positive effect on income opportunities, occupational safety, social status and openness to further learning. The paper further discusses the challenges encountered during the implementation of the RPL projects before concluding with recommendations, highlighting the aspects required for quality RPL in an emerging economy. It closes by emphasising the importance of conducting tracer studies to determine impact and the need to provide complementary training during the RPL process.     

Arousing News Characteristics in Dutch Television News 1990–2004: An Exploration of Competitive Strategies

This study investigates the processes by which competition in the television news market might promote the presence of arousing characteristics in television news. A total of 3,024 news stories from six Dutch television news programs over the period 1990 to 2004 were investigated through content analysis. The findings of the study show overall increases in all 6 arousing characteristics. The findings also show that commercial newcomers included more arousing characteristics in their news stories than the public service broadcasters, that commercial newcomers developed a news format that featured more arousing characteristics, and that existing programs reacted to newcomers by increasing the amount of arousing characteristics in their news stories.     

Measuring patients' communication apprehension about interacting with physicians: Instrument development

The purpose of these studies was to develop an instrument to measure patients' perceived communication apprehension in patient/physician interactions. In the first stydy, a five item Patients' Report of Communication Apprehension with Physicians (PRCAP) was developed. The scale appears to be a reliable, unidimensional scale which shows a moderate positive correlation with the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA), a moderate negative correlation with willingness to communicate (WTC), and a moderate negative correlation with self‐perceived communication competence (SPCC). In the second study, designed to assess the predictive validity of the PRCAP, those who scored one standard deviation above the mean on the PRCAP reported being less satisfied with their interactions with physicians than those who scored one standard deviation below the mean on the PRCAP. It appears the PRCAP is a reliable and valid instrument that can be employed to pursue issues involving the role of CA in patient/physician interactions.     

Product architecture,organizational capabilities and IT integration for competitive advantage

Increasingly, firms recognize the strategic implications of front-end product design for improving total cost effectiveness. Computer-aided design (CAD) is becoming firms’ competitive weapon beyond its traditional function as a product design tool. Yet, it is unclear how the full potential of IT system, particularly the usage patterns of 3D CAD system, may be realized through organizational capabilities. This paper presents a model of IT system configurations and CAD usage patterns. Next, a typology of IT system configurations is presented based on (1) the degree of CAD integration between assembly makers and suppliers and (2) the structure of product design information (i.e., product architecture). The product architecture of four electronic firms illustrates that information integration through organizational capabilities is more important than IT investment itself. The findings suggest that a Korean firm accomplishes a greater level of IT integration compared to the other two Japanese firms and thus attain better market performance. This study offers valuable insight on effective IT integration strategy for competitive advantage in the global market.     

PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL, PARTISANSHIP AND THE ECONOMY: EVIDENCE FROM THE 1984 CONTINUOUS MONITORING SURVEY IN THE US

This paper examines several key debates in the literature onthe effects of economic performance on political support, usingthe Continuous Monitoring Survey of the 1984 CPS American nationalelection study. Box-Jenkins time-series analyses show that theelectorate operates in terms of a reward-punishment model whichis asymmetrical and sociotropic in its effects. In the modelsdeveloped party identification and economic evaluations Granger–causepresidential approval, the effects of the former being strongerthan those of the latter. Partisanship and economic evaluationsform two independent streams of influence on presidential approval,casting doubt on some revisionist interpretations in the votingliterature, i.e., that party identification is simply a runningtally of voters' judgments about party performance on economicand other issues. In addition, the results suggest that popularityfunctions which omit party identification are theoreticallymisspecified.     

Competition in UKHigher Education: Competitive Advantage in the Research Assessment Exercise and Porter's Diamond Model

The UK public sector has been exposed to competition as a means of enhancing its performance. HE institutions now compete for resources on the basis of research. In this competitive environment the crucial question is not why one HE institution is more successful than another at research but why some institutions are home to a large number of departments that are successful. The answer lies in exploring what gives competitive advantage at the level of the department, discipline and nation. Porter' three layer ‘diamond’ model of competitive advantage is proposed as a framework for this exploration. This identified four major components: factor conditions (research orientation and accumulated wealth of institution); demand conditions (demand by academy for departmental research as measured by ability to secure external income/research students); related and supporting departments (research strength of institution and presence of a relevant cluster of research‐strong departments) and departmental strategy, structure and rivalry (ability to focus departmental attention on the successful training of research students and publication in refereed journals). In a linked paper this model provided a framework to evaluate research performance in the discipline of geography (Curran, 2001).