PublicationHarvester: An open-source software tool for science policy research

We present PublicationHarvester, an open-source software tool for gathering publication information on individual life scientists. The software interfaces with MEDLINE, and allows the end-user to specify up to four MEDLINE-formatted names for each researcher. Using these names along with a user-specified search query, PublicationHarvester generates yearly publication counts, optionally weighted by Journal Impact Factors. These counts are further broken-down by order on the authorship list (first, last, second, next-to-last, middle) and by publication type (clinical trials, regular journal articles, reviews, letters/editorials, etc.) The software also generates a keywords report at the scientist-year level, using the medical subject headings (MeSH) assigned by the National Library of Medicine to each publication indexed by MEDLINE. The software, source code, and user manual can be downloaded at http://www.stellman-greene.com/PublicationHarvester/.     

Using neuropsychological profiles to classify neglected children with or without physical abuse

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is twofold: First, to investigate whether cognitive functions can contribute to differentiating neglected children with or without physical abuse compared to comparison participants; second, to demonstrate the detrimental impact of children being victimized by a combination of different types of maltreatment. METHODOLOGY: Seventy-nine children aged 6-12 years and currently receiving Child Protection Services because of one of two types of maltreatment (neglect with physical abuse, n=56; neglect without physical abuse, n=28) were compared with a control group of 53 children matched for age, gender, and annual family income. The neuropsychological assessment focused on motor performance, attention, memory and learning, visual-motor integration, language, frontal/executive functions, and intelligence. RESULTS: Discriminant analysis identified auditory attention and response set, and visual-motor integration (Function 1), and problem solving, abstraction, and planning (Function 2) as the two sets of variables that most distinguished the groups. Discriminant analysis predicted group membership in 80% of the cases. Children who were neglected with physical abuse showed cognitive deficits in auditory attention and response set, and visual-motor integration (Function 1) and problem solving, abstraction, and planning (Function 2). Children who were neglected without physical abuse differed from the control group in that they obtained lower scores in auditory attention and response set, and visual-motor integration (Function 1). Surprisingly, these same children demonstrated a greater capacity for problem solving, abstraction, and planning (Function 2) than the physically abused neglected and control children. CONCLUSION: The present study underscores the relevance of neuropsychology to maltreatment research. The results support the heterogeneity of cognitive deficits in children based on different types of maltreatment and the fact that neglect with physical abuse is more harmful than neglect alone.     

Das AutoMoDe-Projekt Modellbasierte Entwicklung softwareintensiver Systeme im Automobil

Die Entwicklung eingebetteter Software für Automobile ist inh?rent komplex und vereint verschiedene Entwicklungsphasen, mehrere fachliche Disziplinen, sowie verschiedene Akteure in beteiligten Unternehmen. Der AutoMoDe-Ansatz zur Entwicklung automotiver Software beschreibt Systeme auf verschiedenen Abstraktionsebenen und definiert schrittweise überg?nge zwischen diesen Ebenen. Neben der Definition geeigneter Ebenen werden zur Modellierung von Echtzeitsystemen ein einheitliches Berechnungsmodell sowie dom?nenspezifische Beschreibungstechniken verwendet. Automatisierte Anbindungen für Analyse und Synthese komplexer Softwaresysteme mit dem Ziel eines konsistenzbetonten Entwicklungsprozesses wurden realisiert. Die beschriebenen Techniken wurden in den Werkzeugprototypen AutoFocus integriert und im Zusammenspiel mit einer Werkzeugkette demonstriert.     

Application of Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling to Evaluate the Academic Motivation Scale

In this research, the authors examined the construct validity of scores of the Academic Motivation Scale using exploratory structural equation modeling. Study 1 and Study 2 involved 1,416 college students and 4,498 high school students, respectively. First, results of both studies indicated that the factor structure tested with exploratory structural equation modeling provides better fit to the data than the one tested with confirmatory factor analysis. Second, the factor structure was gender invariant in the exploratory structural equation modeling framework. Third, the pattern of convergent and divergent correlations among Academic Motivation Scale factors was more in line with theoretical expectations when computed with exploratory structural equation modeling rather than confirmatory factor analysis. Fourth, the configuration of convergent and divergent correlations connecting each Academic Motivation Scale factors to a validity criterion was more in line with theoretical expectations with exploratory structural equation modeling than with confirmatory factor analysis.     

Writing argumentative text: A developmental study of the acquisition of supporting structures

The development of argumentative writing is studied here by examining the structural organization of argumentative texts. It is assumed that the ability to construct supporting relationships, that is, a conclusion statement supported by argument statements, is acquired gradually with age. The following stages of acquisition are postulated: (1) a preargumentation stage, where at first no explicit position is stated, and then an explicit position is stated but is not supported by an argument; (2) a minimal argumentation stage, where a position is explicitly taken and supported by one argument; and (3) an elaborated argumentation stage, where at least two unrelated supporting arguments are used, and then two related arguments are used. Two corpora were gathered under similar conditions: collective debate in the classroom, followed by individual essays written on the chosen topic. The first corpus was produced by 147 children aged 7 to 14, and a group of 34 college students. The second corpus included the protocols of 92 children aged 11 to 16 the essays were graded for the presence or absence of each structural level, and then classified at the highest structural level exhibited. The resulting classification largely confirmed the hypothesized order for the stages of argumentative development. The minimal argumentative structure (standpoint + one supporting argument) was mastered by nearly 90% of the 7 and 8 year-olds. The most elaborate structural level in our model (two related arguments) was attained later: less than one out of four 7–8 year olds versus three out of four beyond age 14. Techniques involving more complex argumentative relations such as refutations and counterarguments, or restriction of one argument by another, are mastered even later and seem to be strongly linked to the nature of the issues under debate. Three main conclusions can be drawn from these results: precocious argumentative skills exist in children before age 11 or 12, argumentative discourse complexity continues to increase up to age 14 and beyond, and the characteristics of the referential domain of argumentation have an impact on this structural elaboration process.     

Changes in University Governance in France and in Italy

Tertiary Education and Management - The transformation of higher education systems under the pressure of new needs required by the “society of knowledge” in France and Italy has had a...     

Upper limb and trunk muscle activity patterns during seated and standing cycling

The objective of this study is to clarify the functional roles of upper limb muscles during standing and seated cycling when power output increases. We investigated the activity of seven upper limb and trunk muscles using surface electromyography (EMG). Power outputs ranged from ~100–700 W with a pedalling frequency of 90 revolution per minute. Three-dimensional handle and pedal forces were simultaneously recorded. Using non-negative matrix factorisation, we extracted muscle synergies and we analysed the integrated EMG and EMG temporal patterns. Most of the muscles showed tonic activity that became more phasic as power output increased. Three muscle synergies were identified, associated with (i) torso stabilisation, (ii) compensation/generation of trunk accelerations and (iii) upper body weight support. Synergies were similar for seated and standing positions (Pearson’s r > 0.7), but synergy #2 (biceps brachii, deltoidus and brachioradialis) was shifted forward during the cycle (~7% of cycle). The activity levels of synergy #1 (latissimus dorsi and erector spinae) and synergy #2 increased markedly above ~500 W (i.e., ~+40–70% and +130–190%) and during periods corresponding to ipsi- and contralateral downstrokes, respectively. Our study results suggest that the upper limb and trunk muscles may play important roles in cycling when high power outputs are required.     

The discriminant validity of the stroop color and word test: Toward a cost-effective strategy to distinguish subgroups of disruptive preadolescents

The purpose of this study was to verify the discriminant validity of the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) in screening between subgroups of disruptive children. Sixteen disruptive boys with symptoms of attention deficit (AD) were compared to a group of 16 disruptive boys without attention deficit (DIS) and to 16 controls (CO). A stepwise discriminant function analysis indicated that the AD group was significantly distinct (had a lower score) in comparison to the DIS and CO on the color-word score. The AD group also showed more hesitations on the color-word card than did controls. Implications for assessment of disruptive children with the SCWT in elementary schools are discussed.