AAP-BISG book industry data

Book publishing is a relatively small and extremely volatile industry. For this reason, it is difficult to collect data and formulate statistics. This article describes the statistics program of the Association of American Publishers and the Trends Program of the Book Industry Study Group, including information on how data are collected, organized, and published. Measures taken to ensure confidentiality are also described.     

Reliability of power output measurements during repeated treadmill sprinting in rugby players

The non-motorized treadmill system initially reported by Lakomy in 1984 has been used extensively to assess sprinting performance. However, there has been limited research into the reliability of power output measurement using such systems. The aim of this study was to design a system and protocol capable of measuring treadmill sprinting performance in rugby players and to assess the reliability of this system for measuring power output. Twenty-seven rugby players, all of whom were familiar with treadmill sprinting, performed three maximal 6 s sprints with 2 min recovery between sprints, on two occasions 1 week apart. Both tests were performed on a non-motorized Woodway tramp treadmill, interfaced to a data acquisition system. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) between power output for repeated trials on the same day (between trials) or for repeated trials on different days (between days). Limits of agreement for maximum average power (the average of 100 readings per second) were 4+/-98 and 30+/-157 W for between trials and between days, respectively. When reported as ratio limits of agreement, these were 1.07 (*/divided 1.12) and 1.03 (*/divided 1.16), respectively. The limits of agreement for maximum instantaneous power (the highest of 100 readings per second) were 51+/-464 and 105+/-588 W for between trials and between days, respectively. When reported as ratio limits of agreement, these were 1.02 (*/divided 1.20) and 1.04 (*/divided 1.21) for between trials and between days, respectively. The coefficients of variation for all measures of power output were less than 9.3%. Hence, the treadmill system and protocol developed in this study provide a reliable measure of power output for rugby players.     

Cooperative development of locally oriented achievement tests in chemistry

The authors describe a cooperative effort to produce reliable tests with high content validity for the schools involved.     

Informationssysteme in der Medizin

Zusammenfassung  Die Medizin ist gepr?gt sowohl durch ihren besonderen unmittelbaren und existenziellen Bezug zu Menschen als auch durch ihre zunehmende ?konomische Bedeutung. Ein Medizinisches Informationssystem ist das umfassende System aller Informationsverarbeitung einer medizinischen Einrichtung oder Region. W?hrend die Architekturprinzipien des rechnerbasierten Teils solcher Informationssysteme wenige Besonderheiten aufweist, bündelt das Management dieser Informationssysteme viele Herausforderungen und Probleme, die wegen der besonderen Bedeutung der Medizin besondere Priorit?t bei der L?sung haben müssen. CR subject classification  C.2.4 ; J.3 ; J.1 ; K.4.3 ; K.6     

Children's insecure representations of the interparental relationship and their school adjustment: the mediating role of attention difficulties

This study examined the role of attention difficulties as a mediator of associations between children's insecure representations of the interparental relationship and their school adjustment in a sample of two hundred and sixteen 6-year-old children. Consistent with hypotheses, findings from structural equation models indicated that observer ratings of children's insecure representations of interparental relationships in a story completion task predicted computerized task assessments and parent reports of children's attention difficulties 1 year later. Children's attention difficulties, in turn, were associated with concurrent levels of school problems and increases in school problems over a 1-year period as indexed by teacher reports. Attention difficulties accounted for an average of 34% of the association between insecure internal representations and school problems.     

英国剑桥大学的管理及运行机制

剑桥大学作为世界著名大学,其管理和运行机制有独到之处。对其办学体制、招生情况、财政状况、管理体制等方面进行系统的分析,总结其成功经验,对中国高校的经营和管理有一定借鉴意义。     

Possible Solution to Publication Bias Through Bayesian Statistics,Including Proper Null Hypothesis Testing

The present paper argues that an important cause of publication bias resides in traditional frequentist statistics forcing binary decisions. An alternative approach through Bayesian statistics provides various degrees of support for any hypothesis allowing balanced decisions and proper null hypothesis testing, which may prevent publication bias. Testing a null hypothesis becomes increasingly relevant in mediated communication and virtual environments. To illustrate our arguments, we re-analyzed three data sets of previously published data --media violence effects, mediated communication, and visuospatial abilities across genders. Results are discussed in view of possible Bayesian interpretations, which are more open to a content-related argumentation of varying levels of support. Finally, we discuss potential pitfalls of a Bayesian approach such as BF-hacking (cf., “God would love a Bayes Factor of 3.01 nearly as much as a BF of 2.99”). Especially when BF values are small, replication studies and Bayesian updating are still necessary to draw conclusions.