Electronic journals and their unbundled functions in scholarly communication: Views and utilization by scientific,technological and medical researchers in Japan

In recent years, electronic journals are in common use in scholarly communication and we can interpret this situation in various ways. On the one hand, we can say that scholarly communication is now much dependent on electronic resources. On the other hand, it would be too simplistic to say that scholarly communication is now greatly dependent on electronic resources because researchers seldom use other electronic resources. The purpose of this article is to show the position of electronic journals in scholarly communication based on Japanese researchers’ information behavior and estimation. The main focus is on distinguishing the function of scholarly journal and the electronic form. A questionnaire was sent to 1427 physicists, 1026 chemists and 1276 pathologists in universities and other research institutes all over Japan, of whom 775 (54.3%), 494 (48.1%) and 541 (42.4%), respectively, supplied answers. The main results are as follows. Japanese researchers in STM fields use electronic journals as a matter of course, and other electronic resources to some extent, for accessing information; but this shift to electronic resources seemed to be not a transformation but a modification of traditional patterns of use. Researchers still rely on traditional scholarly journals for accessing information and publication, although their recognition has begun to change.     

Biomechanics of increased spin velocity of flying discs during forehand throws by skilled and unskilled throwers

We aimed to assess the relationship between throwing distance and kinematic release parameters of the flying disc in unskilled throwers, and to assess the relationship between kinetic variables acting on flying discs and the change in spin velocity during long forehand throws by skilled and unskilled throwers. Ten skilled and eleven unskilled throwers performed throws at maximum effort. Reflective marker positions on the disc and body were recorded with a 3D motion capture system during the throws to derive kinematic variables of a disc and kinetic variables acting on the disc. The analysis interval was from maximum external shoulder rotation to disc release. Significant correlations were observed between the throwing distance and spin velocity in skilled (r = 0.722, P < 0.05) and unskilled throwers (r = 0.794, P < 0.01), between the change in spin velocity and the angular impulse of moments of force, in unskilled throwers (r = 0.703, P < 0.05), and between the change in spin velocity and the angular impulse of torque among skilled throwers (r = 0.680, P < 0.01). Therefore, a strategy for increasing spin velocity in unskilled throwers could be used to generate a larger torque, similar to that observed in skilled throwers.