Component skills of text comprehension in less competent Chinese comprehenders

The present study examined the role of verbal working memory (memory span and tongue-twister), two-character Chinese pseudoword reading (two tasks), rapid automatized naming (RAN) (letters and numbers), and phonological segmentation (deletion of rimes and onsets) in inferential text comprehension in Chinese in 31 less competent comprehenders compared with 37 reading comprehension control students and 23 chronological age controls. It was hypothesized that the target students would perform poorly on these cognitive and linguistic tasks as compared with their controls. Furthermore, verbal working memory and pseudoword reading would explain a considerable amount of individual variation in Chinese text comprehension. RAN would have a nonsignificant role in text comprehension. Structural equation analyses and hierarchical multiple regression analyses generally upheld these hypotheses. Our findings support current literature of the role of verbal working memory in reading comprehension found in English. The results, however, suggest differential role of the constructs and the tasks in reading comprehension and provide some answers for comprehension impairment in Chinese students.     

非暴力的力量

16岁时,我与父母生活在南非,住在德班城外我爷爷建立的“凤凰村”里,这个村落距离城市18英里（1英里约合1．6公里）。     

Education for inpatients: working with nurses through the clinical information system

Librarians at the UMDNJ Cooper Library have been filling orders for patient education materials through Cooper University Hospital's Clinical Information System (CIS) since December 2000. This service was instituted in response to a JCAHO survey, which revealed that although patient education was being provided, it was not being routinely documented. Patient education orders fall into two categories: customized disease/procedure information and smoking cessation information. Nurses note the condition(s) and/or procedure(s) regarding which information is needed and indicate the education level of the material desired (basic, intermediate or advanced). Requests are received via a dedicated printer in the reference office. Librarians rely heavily upon a wide variety of Web-based consumer health resources, including proprietary resources such as MD Consult and Micromedex CareNotes. Patient Transport staff delivers two copies of all materials to nursing stations on patient care floors. One copy is for the patient to keep, while the other is attached to the patient's chart. To complete and document that patient education was provided, librarians record the order as filled in the CIS system.     

The Region 4 collaborative virtual reference project

In May 2002, the Denison Memorial Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and the J. Otto Lottes Health Sciences Library at the University of Missouri-Columbia, with funding from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-Midcontinental Region, embarked on a collaborative, real-time reference project using the 24/7 Reference, Inc., software package. This paper describes how the project was conceived, and includes details on the service hours, staffing, training, marketing, lessons learned, and future plans for the service.     

Through the years: a longitudinal study of physical education teachers from a research-based preparation program

This study investigated factors that enhanced and constrained the career development of six teachers, who had graduated from the same university teacher education program, in their induction years (Woods & Earls, 1995) and again later in their career cycles. Three participants were physical education teachers (PETs), and three were former physical education teachers (FPETs). Fessler's (1985) Teacher Career Stage Model provided the theoretical framework. Data sources were: interviews with teachers and their teacher educators and direct observations of lessons. Results indicated that the PETs continued to have skill development as their primary teaching objective. The teachers maintained many of their teaching skills, and shifted between the career cycles of "competency building" and "enthusiastic and growing." All three FPETs left their physical education positions during the career frustration stage and at the time of publication were in the career exit stage.     

Preparation of glucosamine by hydrolysis of chitosan with commercial α-amylase and glucoamylase

Objective  

In order to overcome the defects of chemical hydrolysis approach to prepare glucosamine, an enzymatic hydrolysis method was developed.     

Optimizing kick rate and amplitude for Paralympic swimmers via net force measures

Kicking is a key component of freestyle swimming yet the optimum combination of kick rate and kick amplitude remains unknown. For Paralympic swimmers, with upper and lower limb disabilities, the influence of the kick plays an important role in net force production. To determine optimum kick characteristics, 12 Paralympic swimmers aged 19.8 ± 2.9 years (mean ± s) were towed at their individual peak freestyle speed. The experimental conditions were (i) a prone streamline glide for passive trials and (ii) maximal freestyle kicking in a prone streamline for active trials at different speeds and kick amplitudes. Kick rate was quantified using inertial sensor technology. Towing speed was assessed using a novel and validated dynamometer, and net force was assessed using a Kistler force-platform system. When peak speed was increased by 5%, the active force increased 24.2 ± 5.3% (90% confidence limits), while kick rate remained at approximately 150 kicks per minute. Larger amplitude kicking increased the net active force by 25.1 ± 10.6%, although kick rate decreased substantially by 13.6 ± 5.1%. Based on the current kick rate and amplitude profile adopted by Paralympic swimmers, these characteristics are appropriate for optimizing net force.