How to evaluate rankings of academic entities using test data

In the field of scientometrics, impact indicators and ranking algorithms are frequently evaluated using unlabelled test data comprising relevant entities (e.g., papers, authors, or institutions) that are considered important. The rationale is that the higher some algorithm ranks these entities, the better its performance. To compute a performance score for an algorithm, an evaluation measure is required to translate the rank distribution of the relevant entities into a single-value performance score. Until recently, it was simply assumed that taking the average rank (of the relevant entities) is an appropriate evaluation measure when comparing ranking algorithms or fine-tuning algorithm parameters.With this paper we propose a framework for evaluating the evaluation measures themselves. Using this framework the following questions can now be answered: (1) which evaluation measure should be chosen for an experiment, and (2) given an evaluation measure and corresponding performance scores for the algorithms under investigation, how significant are the observed performance differences?Using two publication databases and four test data sets we demonstrate the functionality of the framework and analyse the stability and discriminative power of the most common information retrieval evaluation measures. We find that there is no clear winner and that the performance of the evaluation measures is highly dependent on the underlying data. Our results show that the average rank is indeed an adequate and stable measure. However, we also show that relatively large performance differences are required to confidently determine if one ranking algorithm is significantly superior to another. Lastly, we list alternative measures that also yield stable results and highlight measures that should not be used in this context.     

Teaching Assistants managing behaviour – who knows how they do it? A review of literature

This article reflects on the specific challenges facing teaching assistants (TAs) when managing behaviour. It considers the variety of existing research into this area, and why the paucity of specific research is problematic. It discusses how difficulties in access to training, its availability, the levels of preparation for lessons, the lack of guidance on teacher and TA working relationships, all impact on the way TAs manage behaviour. The article also highlights some of the conflicts inherent within broader issues which impact, either positively or negatively, on TAs ability to manage behaviour, including TA role definition, deployment and the wider pedagogical aspects of their evolving role.     

Secure chaotic communication based on extreme multistability

Extreme multistability is the coexistence of a large number of attractors which can be reached by varying initial conditions. In this paper we show how this fascinating phenomenon can be used for secure communication. The main advantage of the communication system based on extreme multistability over a conventional chaos-based communication system is its exceptionally high security. The proposed system consists of two identical six-order oscillators; one in the transmitter and another one in the receiver, each exhibiting the coexistence of a large number of chaotic attractors. The oscillators are synchronized using a private channel through one of the system variables, while the information is transmitted via a public channel through another variable. The information is encrypted by varying the initial condition of one of the state variables in the transmitter using a chaotic map, adhering message packages in a staggered form to the coexisting attractors within the same time series of another state variable, which leads to switching among the coexisting chaotic attractors. To ensure communication security, the duration of the packages is shorter than synchronization time, so that synchronization attacks are ineffective.     

Primary exclusions: are they rising?

Reducing the number of pupils excluded from school has formed part of the Government's strategy for school improvement in recent years. The study reported here was conducted within an inner-city LEA. In their article, Sue Pavey, research in special education, and John Visser, senior fellow lecturer in special education, both of whom work in the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, question the veracity of collected data on exclusions relating to the primary sector. Furthermore, they suggest that findings from their study indicate that exclusions are considered ineffective for the pupils concerned and are seen as a last resort by primary headteachers. More effective strategies for meeting the pupils' needs, argue Sue Pavey and John Visser, lie within enhanced, in-school support services and multi-agency approaches. The authors conclude that statistics on exclusion do not give a representative picture of real levels of exclusion in the LEA. This situation adversely affects strategic planning and the distribution of resources. In concluding their article, Sue Pavey and John Visser propose that resources should be spent on developing alternative strategies to exclusion and methods of identifying children at risk of disaffection.     

Protection styles of prostitutes' clients: intentions,behavior, and considerations in relation to AIDS

The perceived costs and benefits of condom use within the context of commercial sex were examined in interviews with 87 clients of female Dutch prostitutes. 8 types of condom users were identified: convinced (46% of the study group), guilty conscience (11%), anti-ridden (13%), defaulting (6%), maximum selective (8%), minimum selective (3%), indifferent (8%), and recalcitrant (5%). Clients who consistently used condoms take responsibility for both the pleasure and safety of their sexual encounter; their attitude toward prostitution is positive and straightforward. Guilty conscience users are motivated to use condoms by feelings of guilt toward their wife and are ambivalent about their participation in commercial sex. Angst-ridden users are motivated to seek out prostitutes more by loneliness than the pursuit of sexual pleasure; they view their personal risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) as higher than that reported by consistent users and thus are motivated by fear to use condoms. Defaulting users perceive themselves as the victims of temptation and express a lack of control over the sexual encounter that places them at risk of unprotected sex. Maximum selective users are consistent in using condoms in sex with prostitutes, except when it involves a prostitute whom they see regularly and frequently. Minimum selective users seek frequent contact with prostitutes and base condom use on a subjective assessment of whether the woman is healthy or not. Indifferent users, often disabled and lonely men with no other source of sexual contact, base their condom use or nonuse solely on the wishes of the prostitute. Finally, recalcitrant users are characterized by a desire for power and protest condom use. In general, consistent condom use was related to a positive evaluation of prostitutes, positive attitudes toward the advantages of condom use, an internal locus of control with regard to health, and a higher level of education.     

‘Luring the academic soul’: promoting academic engagement in South African universities

There is widespread pressure that universities should become more responsive and accountable to multiple demands in their local, national and global contexts. Academics grapple to identify appropriate organisational responses to the pressures of state steering and incentive programmes. The empirical focus of the paper is a survey of academics' community engagement activities, mapping their interaction with external partners at five South African universities. The paper addresses a basic question: Who are the academics that engage, and what are their main academic influences? We argue that engagement is more likely to ‘lure the academic soul’ when it is driven by substantive growth in a disciplinary field and enhances reputations. The analysis seeks to identify how disciplinary, institutional and positional attributes are correlated with engaged activities. ‘Luring the academic soul’ through an understanding of the influences on academics' propensity to engage can facilitate more effectively targeted incentives and policies.     

医学院校课程整合的经验教训:学生、课程负责人与改革领导者的观点

美国医学院校的课程整合改革方兴未艾.加州大学旧金山分校医学院从2001级新生开始对课程体系进行大幅调整,本研究调查了该校参与改革的不同群体,包括教育改革的领导者、受到直接影响的学生、新建课程的负责人等对课程改革的态度,了解其对课程整合实施一年内的成绩和挑战的看法.结果表明,他们对跨学科教学、跨学科系室协作、课程关联的建立、课程内容的排序及框架构建等四个主题有相同的看法,也有不小的分歧.