Study to assess the compensation and skills of medical library professionals relative to information technology professionals

PURPOSE: The study seeks to determine how medical library professionals performing information-technology (IT) roles are compensated and how their positions are designed compared to information technology staff in their institutions. METHODS: 550 medical library directors in hospital and academic medical libraries were surveyed. The data was then compared to survey data from other compensation studies of the IT industry. RESULTS: There is a gap in compensation between medical library professionals and IT professionals performing similar functions using information technology. Technology-intense library jobs are compensated at higher levels than more traditional jobs. CONCLUSIONS: To compete with IT salaries, managers of medical library professionals will need to be ever more cognizant of the employment practices of IT professionals in nonmedical library disciplines. It is typically in the medical library's best interest to ensure that IT-related jobs, accountabilities, and capabilities of the medical library are known and understood by others, especially in the human resources and information technology staff departments.     

Muscle fatigue induced by exercise simulating the work rate of competitive soccer

Fatigue represents a reduction in the capability of muscle to generate force. The aim of the present study was to establish the effects of exercise that simulates the work rate of competitive soccer players on the strength of the knee extensors and knee flexors. Thirteen amateur soccer players (age 23.3+/-3.9 years, height 1.78+/-0.05 m, body mass 74.8+/-3.6 kg; mean+/-s) were tested during the 2000-2001 soccer season. Muscle strength of the quadriceps and hamstrings was measured on an isokinetic dynamometer. A 90 min soccer-specific intermittent exercise protocol, incorporating a 15 min half-time intermission, was developed to provide fatiguing exercise corresponding in work rate to a game of soccer. The exercise protocol, performed on a programmable motorized treadmill, consisted of the different intensities observed during soccer match-play (e.g. walking, jogging, running, sprinting). Muscle strength was assessed before exercise, at half-time and immediately after exercise. A repeated-measures analysis of variance showed significant reductions (P < 0.001) in peak torque for both the quadriceps and hamstrings at all angular velocities (concentric: 1.05, 2.09, 5.23 rad x s(-1); eccentric: 2.09 rad x s(-1)). The peak torque of the knee extensors (KE) and knee flexors (KF) was greater before exercise [KE: 232+/-37, 182+/-34, 129+/-27, 219+/-41 N x m at 1.05, 2.09 and 5.23 rad x s(-1) (concentric) and 2.09 rad x s(-1) (eccentric), respectively; KF: 126+/-20, 112+/-19, 101+/-16, 137+/-23 N x m] than at half-time (KE: 209+/-45, 177+/-35, 125+/-36, 214+/-43 N x m; KF: 114+/-31, 102+/-20, 92+/-15, 125+/-25 N x m) and greater at half-time than after exercise (KE: 196+/-43, 167+/-35, 118+/-24, 204+/-43 N x m; KF: 104+/-25, 95+/-21, 87+/-13, 114+/-27 N x m). For the hamstrings:quadriceps ratio, significant changes were found (P < 0.05) for both legs, the ratio being greater before than after exercise. For fast:slow speed and left:right ratios, no significant changes were found. We conclude that there is a progressive reduction in muscle strength that applies across a range of functional characteristics during exercise that mimics the work rate in soccer.     

Severity and cost of injuries in amateur rugby league: a case study

The aim of this study was to determine the severity and cost of injuries in amateur rugby league. Seventy-two amateur rugby league players aged 28 +/- 6 years (mean +/- s) were surveyed at the end of a competitive season. An injury was defined as any pain, disability or injury that occurred as a result of a competition game which caused the player to miss subsequent games. Injuries were classified as minor (one game missed), moderate (two to four games missed) and major (five or more games missed). Of the 72 questionnaires distributed, 34 (47.2%) were returned. Twenty respondents (58.8%) sustained an injury that resulted in one or more missed games. Eight injured players (40.0%) missed five or more training sessions, six of whom (30%) missed five or more games as a result of the injury. The median time lost from employment or study for all injured players was 2 days per playing injury. The respective median direct (e.g. medical expenses) and indirect (e.g. wages lost) costs associated with the injury were 28.29 pounds and 77.04 pound per playing injury. A considerable proportion of injuries sustained in the present sample of amateur rugby league players were major, resulting in a loss of training, playing and employment or study time, and these injuries were associated with significant direct and indirect economic costs. Further studies, using a larger sample, would complement the present findings in establishing the severity and cost of amateur rugby league injuries. These results suggest that prevention strategies are required to reduce the severity and cost of amateur rugby league injuries.     

Impact forces and neck muscle activity in heading by collegiate female soccer players

Three soccer header types (shooting, clearing and passing) and two heading approaches (standing and jumping) were manipulated to quantify impact forces and neck muscle activity in elite female soccer players. The 15 participants were Division I intercollegiate soccer players. Impact forces were measured by a 15-sensor pressure array secured on the forehead. The electromyographic (EMG) activity of the left and right sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles was recorded using surface electrodes. Maximum impact forces and impulses as well as the EMG data were analysed with separate repeated-measures analyses of variance. Impact forces and impulses did not differ among the header types or approaches. Higher values were found for jumping versus standing headers in the mean normalized EMG for the right sternocleidomastoid. In addition, the integrated EMG was greater for the right sternocleidomastoid and right and left trapezius (P < 0.05). The sternocleidomastoid became active earlier than the trapezius and showed greater activity before ball contact. The trapezius became active just before ball contact and showed greater activity after ball contact. The increased muscle activity observed in the neck during the jumping approach appears to stabilize the connection between the head and body, thereby increasing the stability of the head-neck complex.     

Simultaneous measurement of back and front foot ground reaction forces during the same delivery stride of the fast-medium bowler

Six male cricket bowlers (mean +/- s(mean): age 23.5 +/- 1.3 years; height 1.83 +/- 0.04 m; body weight 826 +/- 20 N) performed their typical bowling action at a set of stumps positioned at standard pitch length (20.1 m). A specially designed force platform rig allowed the correct positioning of two force platforms to be achieved beneath an outdoor polyflex runway (0.017 m depth) for each player's delivery stride pattern. For the back foot, the peak vertical ground reaction force was 1.95 +/- 0.08 kN (2.37 +/- 0.14 BW) and the braking force was 0.77 +/- 0.12 kN (0.94 +/- 0.16 BW). For the front foot, the peak vertical force was 4.80 +/- 0.92 kN (5.75 +/- 0.98 BW) and the braking force was 2.93 +/- 0.56 kN (3.54 +/- 0.67 BW). The mean peak vertical loading rate for front foot contact was 205 +/- 52.8 kN x s(-1) (249 +/- 64 BW x s(-1)) with mean values ranging from 81 to 446 kN x s(-1) (98 to 540 BW x s(-1)). The range for back foot contact was much smaller, 25-70 kN x s(-1) (30-85 BW x s(-1)), with a mean of 41.7 +/- 7.10 kN x s(-1) (50.6 +/- 8.6 BW x s(-1)). Mean peak impact occurred 24 ms after touchdown for the back foot and 16 ms after touchdown for the front foot. At impact, mean peak loading rates were greater for the front foot at 246 kN x s(-1) (298 BW x s(-1)), with a range of 80-483 kN x s(-1) (98-534 BW x s(-1)), than for the back foot at 65 kN x s(-1) (79 BW x s(-1)), with a range of 40-84 kN x s(-1) (49-110 BW x s(-1)).     

Student activity levels, lesson context, and teacher behavior during middle school physical education

There is little research on students' engagement in physical activity in middle school physical education (PE). We observed student activity, lesson context, and teacher behavior in 430 PE lessons taught by 126 teachers in 24 schools. Variables were analyzed by mixed-model nested analyses of covariance. Boys were more active than girls overall and during skill drills, game play, and free play. Student activity varied by lesson context, with fitness activities producing the most activity. Class size was negatively associated with student activity. Daily PE contributed a weekly total of 25 min of vigorous activity and 83 min of moderate-to-vigorous activity--much less than national objectives. Results suggest that numerous opportunities exist for increasing student physical activity during middle school PE.     

Entwicklung gro?er Systeme mit generischen Methoden – Eine übersicht über den Sonderforschungsbereich 501

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