The Accessibility and Usability of College Websites: Is your Website Presenting Barriers to Potential Students?

Thirty community college websites were evaluated for compliance with federal web accessibility standards found in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d). Two typical sites were tested for usability by individuals with visual impairments, individuals with reading-related learning disabilities (LD), and a control group of individuals without disabilities. Ten additional sites were selected for Simulated Target Group usability testing. Testing revealed that less than 1% of pages evaluated met Section 508 web accessibility standards. Over half of the users found the online admissions application process frustrating, and less than a third of all users could complete the online application without assistance. The Simulated Target Group usability testing encountered similar usability issues across the additional 10 community college websites examined. All four evaluation techniques found that community college websites fared poorly in both accessibility and usability. However, many of the issues could be addressed without significant effort.     

Radiation background due to radioactivity in palaces and museums: influence on TL/OSL dating

The environmental radiation level is unknown for objects that have been in collections for decades or centuries. We have performed dose rate measurements in museums representative of ancient castles and palaces. Annual dose rates between 0.3 and 1.3 mGy/year have been measured. There is a correlation between annual rates and the materials close to the dosimeters. The dating of objects by luminescence (TL and OSL) requires accurate knowledge of the dose rate in the minerals under investigation. An estimation of the errors on ages can be deduced from our measurements for typical situations of works of art and museum objects.     

Motor unit activation strategy during a sustained isometric contraction of finger flexor muscles in elite climbers

The aim of the study was to evaluate, by an electromyographic (EMG) and mechanomyographic (MMG) combined approach, whether years of specific climbing activity induced neuromuscular changes towards performances related to a functional prevalence of fast resistant or fast fatigable motor units. For this purpose, after the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) assessment, 11 elite climbers and 10 controls performed an exhaustive handgrip isometric effort at 80% MVC. Force, EMG and MMG signals were recorded from the finger flexor muscles during contraction. Time and frequency domain analysis of EMG and MMG signals was performed. In climbers: (i) MVC was higher (762 ± 34 vs 512 ± 57 N; effect size: 1.64; confidence interval: 0.65–2.63; P < 0.05); (ii) endurance time at 80% MVC was 43% longer (34.2 ± 3.7 vs 22.3 ± 1.5 s; effect size: 1.21; confidence interval: 0.28–2.14; P < 0.05); (iii) force accuracy and stability were greater during contraction (P < 0.05); (iv) EMG and MMG parameters were higher throughout the entire isometric effort (P < 0.05). Collectively, force, EMG and MMG combined analysis revealed that several years of specific climbing activity addressed the motor control system to adopt muscle activation strategies based on the functional prevalence of fast resistant motor units.     

略论社会无形资产

本文对“无形资产”概念进行了分析和界定 ,阐述了其与“知识产权”概念的关系 ;通过对无形资产和知识产权的特性研究 ,提出了“社会无形资产”概念 ,界定其范畴并论证其理论意义     

The usefulness of qualitative case studies in research on special needs education

Research on special needs education is often very complex and puts specific demands on the methodology used. Data‐triangulation, at the very least, is required. In most of our recent research projects on the development of special needs education in Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium), we have made use of qualitative case studies to describe and understand the complex reality of the innovations taking place in our schools. In this article we discuss some methodological aspects of qualitative case study designs, illustrated with a study on the implementation of inclusive education in Flemish primary schools.     

Highlighting the role of the episodic situation model in the solving of arithmetical problems

The objective of this research was to compare two types of models used in problem solving: those which give priority to intermediate qualitative representations, such as the episodic situation model, and those which are centred on the activity of the participant and are of a procedural nature. Two-step distributive problems were chosen that could be solved using two different strategies: factorisation or development. These problems were given to French primary school pupils in year groups 3rd grade (8–9 years old) and 5th grade (10–11 years old). Each problem was formulated in four different ways by crossing two variables which modify the text: on the one hand, the presence of an element structuring the objects enumerated in the problem and on the other hand, the order of the numerical data. We have noted the percentage of ‘factorisation’ strategies used by the pupils. The results show that (1) factorisation was most often used by the older pupils; (2) the presence of a structuring element increased the number of factorisations whereas the order of the numerical data had no effect. This suggests that the problem-solving models which involve the episodic situation model are more suited to result interpretation than procedural models.