Opportunities and threats: A security assessment of state e-government websites

This study assessed the security of the U.S. state e-government sites to identify opportunities for and threats to the sites and their users. The study used a combination of three methods – web content analysis, information security auditing, and computer network security mapping – for data collection and analysis. The findings indicate that most state e-government sites posted privacy and security policy statements; however, only less than half stated clearly what security measures were in action. Second, the information security audit revealed that 98% of the sites secured users' accounts with SSL encryption for data transmission, and the sites' search tools enable public users to search for public information only. Third, although the sites had most of their internet ports filtered or behind firewalls, all of them had their main IP addresses detected and their port 80/tcp open. The study discussed the threats and opportunities and suggested possible solutions for improving e-government security.     

A biomechanical comparison in the lower limb and lumbar spine between a hit and drag flick in field hockey

Research has revealed that field hockey drag flickers have greater odds of hip and lumbar injuries compared to non-drag flickers (DF). This study aimed to compare the biomechanics of a field hockey hit and a specialised field hockey drag flick. Eighteen male and seven female specialised hockey DF performed a hit and a drag flick in a motion analysis laboratory with an 18-camera three-dimensional motion analysis system and a calibrated multichannel force platform to examine differences in lower limb and lumbar kinematics and kinetics. Results revealed that drag flicks were performed with more of a forward lunge on the left lower limb resulting in significantly greater left ankle dorsiflexion, knee, hip and lumbar flexion (Ps<0.001) compared to a hit. Drag flicks were also performed with significantly greater lateral flexion (P < 0.002) and rotation of the lumbar spine (P < 0.006) compared to a hit. Differences in kinematics lead to greater shear, compression and tensile forces in multiple left lower limb and lumbar joints in the drag flick compared to the hit (P < 0.05). The biomechanical differences in drag flicks compared to a hit may have ramifications with respect to injury in field hockey drag flickers.     

Community benefits of major sport facilities: The Darebin International Sports Centre

Community benefit is a term used frequently in an Australian government context to justify the construction of sport facilities that require initial and ongoing financial support from the community. The purpose of this research is to investigate the community benefit derived from the development of a new sport facility, in this case the Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC), Melbourne, Australia and examine community (user) perceptions to verify claims that the venue delivers a range of community benefits. Interviews were undertaken with both facility users and key stakeholders at the venue, and the data was qualitatively analysed to identify specific incidents and coded into concepts to identify predominate themes or patterns: social/psychic impacts; community visibility and image impacts; developmental impacts and political impacts. The findings of this study indicate that, from a user perspective, DISC provides an extensive range of noneconomic benefits such as increased accessibility, exposure, participation and success. The majority of facility users stated that the development of DISC has had a positive effect on their sport, sporting community and sporting experience.     

Recruiting and retaining girls in table tennis: Participant and club perspectives

Government and sport stakeholders, in the Australian context, are focused on increasing girls’ participation in sport. Sport organisations, particularly those who receive limited government funding and commercial revenue, experience challenges in recruiting and retaining adolescent girls. In this paper, a case study of table tennis delivery in one Australian state, is presented, with a focus on the issue of girls’ participation. Framed using Green’s (2005) normative theory of sport development, and drawing on physical activity participation literature, micro- and meso-level factors are examined. The focus is placed on girls’ experiences participating in the sport of table tennis and how delivery stakeholders find the process of recruiting and retaining girls in the sport. Interviews and focus groups reveal that a male-dominated culture, resource constraints, and a host of social influences, including peer and parental influences, and the absence of a social norm around girls’ participation, are hampering this sport’s capacity to recruit and retain adolescent females. Organisational commitment at state and national levels are necessary if table tennis is to target the issue of gender balance within its junior participation market.     

Census confidentiality: Then and now

The Census Bureau protects the confidentiality of census records with fervent adherence to the law and with sensitivity to public opinion. Within this framework, the Bureau uses advanced technology to store, transmit, and tabulate data. Because of the responsible manner in which the Bureau applies the new technology, no history of computer abuses exists in connection with the decennial censuses. Our intent in planning the upcoming census is to keep that record intact. This article describes how the agency assures the confidentiality of census information and what it knows about the public's perception of census confidentiality.     

Belief, Knowledge, and Science Education

Epistemological questions about the nature of knowledge and belief underlie many of the controversial issues fundamental to research and practice in science teaching and learning. In an effort to bring some clarity to questions of knowledge and belief embedded within science education research and teaching, we first describe the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief in both philosophy and educational psychology, each of which have shaped the various definitions employed within science education. This discussion is followed by an examination of the distinctions drawn between knowledge and belief employed by three groups of science educators: the traditional distinctions of the foundationalists that are co-opted by researchers focusing on teacher thinking/cognition, the nonfoundational epistemology of the fallibilists and the evolution educators working from this framework, and the radical constructivists who react to and attempt to move past the limitations of these other positions. In this analysis, we explicate the different ways in which knowledge and belief are understood and operationalized in a broad spectrum of research, we describe the theoretical and philosophical assumptions underlying these approaches, and we explore the important areas of contention (both theoretical and empirical) surrounding each of these distinctions.     

Understanding the Link Between Noncognitive Attributes and College Retention

The attention to students’ noncognitive attributes has recently flourished within academic research and public discourse. This paper adds to the literature by examining the interrelationships among several key noncognitive attributes as well as exploring direct and indirect relationships between noncognitive attributes and second-year retention. Within a multi-institutional sample of 10,622 students, academic self-efficacy, academic grit, self-discipline, and time management all load onto a single noncognitive factor with strong inter-item correlations and internal reliability. Moreover, structural equation modeling analyses indicate a sizable and positive indirect effect of noncognitive attributes on college retention, which is mediated by social adjustment, institutional commitment, and college grade point average.

     

A context-specific detrimental effect of UCS preexposure on place conditioning with morphine

The effect of morphine preexposure on place conditioning with morphine was investigated. In the first experiment, five injections of 10 mg/kg morphine were administered to rats prior to place conditioning or taste-aversion training with morphine. Although this number of preexposures retarded taste-aversion learning, there was no effect on place conditioning. In subsequent experiments we investigated the role of context blocking in UCS preexposure in place conditioning. In one experiment, preexposure to five morphine injections prior to place conditioning resulted in a reduced place preference, compared with preexposure and place conditioning in different contexts. However, the overall detrimental effect of morphine preexposure was questionable, because the rats that were preexposed were only marginally different from those that were not preexposed. In a final experiment we examined the effect of a context change from preexposure to place conditioning with 15 preexposures and demonstrated a detrimental effect of preexposure on place conditioning that was context specific. These results support a role of classical conditioning in place-preference conditioning with morphine.