Do regression-based computer algorithms for determining the ventilatory threshold agree?

The determination of the ventilatory threshold has been a persistent problem in research and clinical practice. Several computerized methods have been developed to overcome the subjectivity of visual methods but it remains unclear whether different computerized methods yield similar results. The purpose of this study was to compare nine regression-based computerized methods for the determination of the ventilatory threshold. Two samples of young and healthy volunteers (n = 30 each) participated in incremental treadmill protocols to volitional fatigue. The ventilatory data were averaged in 20-s segments and analysed with a computer program. Significant variance among methods was found in both samples (Sample 1: F = 11.50; Sample 2: F = 11.70, P < 0.001 for both). The estimates of the ventilatory threshold ranged from 2.47 litres.min(-1) (71% VO2max) to 3.13 litres.min(-1) (90% VO2max) in Sample 1 and from 2.37 litres.min(-1) (67% VO2max) to 3.03 litres.min(-1) (83% VO2max) in Sample 2. The substantial differences between methods challenge the practice of relying on any single computerized method. A standardized protocol, likely based on a combination of methods, might be necessary to increase the methodological consistency in both research and clinical practice.     

Doctoral and nondoctoral practicing school psychologists: Are there differences?

The purpose of this study was to examine and describe differences between doctoral and nondoctoral practicing school psychologists. Participants selected for the study were school psychologists who were full-time practitioners in a school setting. The sample was randomly selected from the 1992 National Association of School Psychologists Membership Database. Four hundred forty persons were selected to serve as a sample of the NASP membership, and 359 responded to the survey. Of those that responded, 232 were full-time practitioners employed in the schools and formed the sample used in the data analysis. Overall, doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists were very much alike in terms of age, gender, and years of experience. Doctoral level school psychologists were more likely to be employed in urban areas. Both groups spend a similar amount of time participating in seven different job activities. Doctoral and nondoctoral level practitioners working in schools maintain high levels of job satisfaction and the majority intend to remain in their current position and the profession for the next five years. Higher salaries and an increased likelihood of having a private practice outside of school are the major differences between doctoral and nondoctoral school psychologists practicing in the schools. Future evolution of the role of school psychologists may allow for the increased use of the advanced skills obtained by doctoral level school psychologists. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Inclusion of children with special needs in school-age child care programs

From an ecological perspective, the inclusion of children in school-age child care (SACC) requires collaboration among policy makers, educators, parents, and child care providers. Both typically and atypically developing children benefit from inclusive programs, yet they pose challenges for care-givers primarily due to lack of training, resources, and identification of successful inclusive program components. The process of successful SACC inclusion should be at the forefront of human service and research agendas.     

Memory modality differences in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder with and without learning disabilities

This study assesses information processing and memory functioning in 50 children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) with and without learning disabilities (LD). Mode of presentation (visual vs. auditory), type of memory processing (immediate, short-term, and long-term), and order of recall (ordered vs. unordered) were assessed using the Learning Efficiency Test-II (LET-II). Both groups demonstrated difficulty with auditory ordered recall and lost substantial information from immediate memory to short-term and long-term memory stores. The ADHD/LD group also demonstrated more difficulty with ordered recall than the ADHD only group. While there were no differences between the two groups in regard to immediate recall, the ADHD/LD group demonstrated more problems transferring information into short-term and long-term memory stores than the ADHD only group. Verbal interference effects significantly decreased retention for both visual and auditory processing. Results indicate that ADHD alone presents significant problems in information processing, but the comorbid effects of a learning disability further intensify the negative impact of ADHD. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The private value of software patents

We investigate the value creation or destruction associated with the introduction of software patents in the United States in two ways. The first looks at the cumulative abnormal returns to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firms around the time of important court decisions that impacted software patents, and the second analyzes the relationship between firms’ stock market value, the sector in which they operate, and their holdings of software patents. We conclude that the market evaluated software patents as a negative development ex ante. Ex post, a greater number of firms in all ICT sectors invested in these patents, and these firms had slightly higher market values than those with no software patents. However, while we obtain clear evidence that the technological importance or quality of patented innovation mattered for the market value of hardware firms both before and after the legal changes, it is less clear that the marginal patent right per se was associated with increases in market value, and there are no significant valuation effects associated with patents for pure software firms after the change.     

Finding the right term: Retrieving and exploring semantic concepts in astronomical vocabularies

Astronomy, like many domains, already has several sets of terminology in general use, referred to as controlled vocabularies. For example, the keywords for tagging journal articles, or the taxonomy of terms used to label image files. These existing vocabularies can be encoded into skos, a W3C proposed recommendation for representing vocabularies on the Semantic Web, so that computer systems can help users to search for and discover resources tagged with vocabulary concepts. However, this requires a search mechanism to go from a user-supplied string to a vocabulary concept.     

School Enrolment Patterns in Rural Ghana: A comparative study of the impact of location,gender, age and health on children's access to basic schooling

The aim of this article is to discuss the results from three censuses conducted on school age children in rural Ghana which reveal contemporary patterns in enrolment. The data provide a profile of the school age population in basic education and contribute novel quantitative data on children out of school. The article examines the age at first enrolment, the gender disparities between classes, the classes where children drop out, and the proportion of children who never enrol in school. The stark contrast in enrolment between the disadvantaged north and the south of the country is also confirmed. Qualitative data from focus group discussions with parents, teachers and children highlight the major obstacles confronting education-these include a diversity of factors such as child labour, health, location and gender. Suggestions of policy options needed to increase access and attainment to schooling include reducing the over-age entry, increasing female access and participation, adapting culturally sensitive strategies, collecting better statistical data, improving the health of school age children and lessening the gap between the north and south of the country.     

Institutional change in a transitional economy: the reform of economics higher education in Mongolia

This paper discusses the problems of implementing a European Union Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States (of the former Soviet Union) (EU/TACIS) project to reform Mongolian Economics Higher Education with the ultimate objective of improving the process of economic policy making. It emphasises the importance of historical, economic and administrative context for the design and implementation of project activities. Project activities are reviewed and the problems of implementation discussed in terms of the aid relationship and the particular circumstances of transition economies. The paper concludes that, while the project's immediate objectives in terms of curriculum reform have been achieved, the sustainable change necessary to deliver the central, long-term objective remains elusive.