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.     

Do We Fear Ageing? A Multidimensional Approach to Ageing Anxiety

Ageing anxiety is the expression of peoples' fear of ageing (Lynch, 2000 Lynch, S. M. (2000). Measurement and prediction of aging anxiety. Research on Aging, 22(5), 533.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Despite greater longevity in the population, there is a lack of research into this aspect of life (Lasher &; Faulkender, 1993 Lasher, K. P., &; Faulkender, P. J. (1993). Measurement of aging anxiety: Development of the Anxiety about Aging Scale. The International Journal of Aging &; Human Development, 37(4), 247–259.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This research explored fears of ageing across four dimensions: Fear of Old People, Physical Appearance, Psychological Concerns, and Fear of Losses. Three hundred and forty eight participants aged 18–88 participated in an online survey. Findings were: (a) men and women have different fears of ageing; (b) greater quality contact is related to less ageing anxiety; (c) poor health is related to greater ageing anxiety, (d) ageism, defined by Nelson (2005 Nelson, T. D. (2005). Ageism: Prejudice against our feared future self. Journal of Social Issues, 61(2), 207–221.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) as prejudice toward ageing is positively correlated with ageing anxiety. The implications of these findings are that better quality contact and more positive attitudes toward ageing are associated with less ageing anxiety. As such, possible key target areas in developing appropriate interventions are provided, with hope to prepare adults of all ages for the inevitable—life is a terminal illness, so enjoy while you can.     

Support for Students with Hidden Disabilities in Universities: A Case Study

More students with disabilities are accessing the tertiary sector with many disabilities not easily observed (or hidden), because there are no physical indicators. These “hidden” disabilities affect a variety of cognitive processes and may be developmental or acquired. To ensure students with hidden disabilities can enrol, engage in and benefit from tertiary education, universities generally provide a range of supports. Typically these supports and any reasonable adjustments are negotiated with students taking into account a number of factors including, where available, any supporting documentation that they might be able to provide. This case study reports efforts within one large Australian university to support higher education students with hidden disabilities on campus. Perceptions on the use of and barriers to support available were collected from seven undergraduate students who self-identified as having hidden disabilities and from eight support staff. Results indicated that students found their informal networks to be their most effective supports, closely followed by clear, caring and flexible lecturers and tutors. There were mixed positive and negative perceptions reported on the universal and disability-specific supports available. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

‘I'm always up against a brick wall with them’: parents' experiences of accessing support for their child with a newly recognised developmental disorder

Three of the most prevalent developmental disorders (DDs) are autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). As part of a study screening for DDs in Greater Manchester, UK, a unique opportunity was taken to explore parents' experiences of receiving reports about their child's previously unrecognised DD. Six parents out of a possible 16 took part in interviews, which were analysed thematically. Findings drawn from parental responses revealed a number of barriers to accessing support for their child's additional needs, including perceived resistance from schools, particularly for quiet, well-behaved girls, and difficulty in accessing assessment or referrals. There needs to be greater awareness of additional needs in children without externalising behaviours, the presence of gender-specific differences in the presentation of DDs, and FASD as a commonly occurring DD. Ultimately, better support for children with DDs would reduce the burden of unmet needs for the children and their families, and for wider services.     

参考文献体例的两种组织形式

参考文献表的编排有多种体例形式，并且不同体例中参考文献各著录项的表达也不尽相同。由于期刊大都倾向于采用自己所特定的参考文献著录格式，因而目前已有的参考文献软件并不能给予作者很多帮助，即作者如果将其稿件由某期刊改投到另一种期刊，通常需要改动其中的参考文献表格式和正文中的相关部分。在众多的参考文献表格式中，有两种最为主要。其一是在人文科学中较为常用的哈佛体系(即著者一出版年体系)，该体系规定正文中给出引文的作者和出版年，文献书目中的引文按著者姓名的字母顺序和出版年的先后排列。另外一种主要的参考文献表是数字体系(顺序编码制)，即正文中给出引文的序号，参考文献表中的各篇文献按其在正文中出现的先后顺序排列。科技论文和医学论文多采用该种体例。本文列举了上述两种体例的格式，并对比了二者的优缺点，认为著者．出版年体系可以使学术论文的读者很方便地了解作者所引用的工作是由谁完成的，而数字体系(顺序编码制)因为简洁，从而可以使读者更为通畅地阅读论文。