Research Resources (research + resource)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Using the Web as a Research Source: Implications for L2 Academic Writing

MODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 2 2005
PAUL STAPLETON
As scholars increasingly view the World Wide Web (the Web) as a legitimate research resource in academic writing, questions remain regarding how Web sources, as new media, influence the writing of second and foreign language (L2) learners. Via a 17-item questionnaire and an analysis of the references to 243 Web sources in the essays of 43 Japanese undergraduate English as a foreign language writers, this study examined whether (a) Web-based research influenced the writers' topic choice; (b) their choice of Web sources was appropriate for an academic essay; and (c) using an online, electronic environment would lead writers to use new language-related strategies. The findings suggested a possible shift towards more internationally oriented topics as a result of the predominance of English language sites on the Web. In addition, a considerable portion of the participants' references came from Web genres of questionable suitability for an academic paper. In a similar vein, working in an electronic environment was an enticement for some L2 writers to take ethically dubious shortcuts in their writing. [source]


Registration and classification of adolescent and young adult cancer cases

PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue S5 2008
Brad H. Pollock MPH
Abstract Cancer registries are an important research resource that facilitate the study of etiology, tumor biology, patterns of delayed diagnosis and health planning needs. When outcome data are included, registries can track secular changes in survival related to improvements in early detection or treatment. The surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) registry has been used to identify major gaps in survival for older adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients compared with younger children and older adults. In order to determine the reasons for this gap, the complete registration and accurate classification of AYA malignancies is necessary. There are inconsistencies in defining the age limits for AYAs although the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Progress Review Group proposed a definition of ages 15 through 39 years. The central registration and classification issues for AYAs are case-finding, defining common data elements (CDE) collected across different registries and the diagnostic classification of these malignancies. Goals to achieve by 2010 include extending and validating current diagnostic classification schemes and expanding the CDE to support AYA oncology research, including the collection of tracking information to assess long-term outcomes. These efforts will advance preventive, etiologic, therapeutic, and health services-related research for this understudied age group. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2008:50:1090,1093. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The development of a research agenda for substance use disorders diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-V)

ADDICTION, Issue 2006
John B. Saunders
ABSTRACT Aims This paper describes the background to the establishment of the Substance Use Disorders Workgroup, which was charged with developing the research agenda for the development of the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). It summarizes 18 articles that were commissioned to inform that process. Methods A preliminary list of research topics, developed at the DSM-V Launch Conference in 2004, led to the identification of subjects that were subject to formal presentations and detailed discussion at the Substance Use Disorders Conference in February 2005. Results The 18 articles presented in this supplement examine: (1) categorical versus dimensional diagnoses; (2) the neurobiological basis of substance use disorders; (3) social and cultural perspectives; (4) the crosswalk between DSM-IV and the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10); (5) comorbidity of substance use disorders and mental health disorders; (6) subtypes of disorders; (7) issues in adolescence; (8) substance-specific criteria; (9) the place of non-substance addictive disorders; and (10) the available research resources. Conclusions In the final paper a broadly based research agenda for the development of diagnostic concepts and criteria for substance use disorders is presented. [source]


Secure fast WLAN handoff using time-bound delegated authentication

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, Issue 5 2009
Hung-Yu Chien
Abstract To support multimedia applications with good quality of services for roaming wireless local area network users, it is imperative to reduce the long re-authentication latency that users experience during handoff among access points (APs). Athough a great deal of research resources have been put into the reduction of the re-authentication latency, these schemes developed so far seem to either suffer from heavy overhead problems or have weak security. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to reducing the re-authentication latency. With the authentication server (AS) periodically delegating its authentication authority to the authenticated APs, the APs can authenticate the roaming users on behalf of the AS. As our performance analysis and simulation results demonstrate, our new approach is capable of greatly reducing the latency and overhead while achieving a high security level. Furthermore, it does not increase the complexity on the AP side because only the already existing four-way handshake with new keying mechanism is required. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The Changing Focus of Child Maltreatment Research and Practice Within Psychology

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 4 2006
Mark Chaffin
Professions functionally define a field by the types of behaviors or circumstances to which they direct their attention and efforts. For psychology and mental health professionals concerned with child maltreatment, child sexual abuse has been the dominant interest over the past two decades and has been virtually synonymous with child maltreatment within psychology. This is discrepant from the broader scope of child maltreatment, as seen both in child welfare populations and in the general population. In child welfare, sexual abuse is an important but nonetheless relatively less frequent issue. Child neglect and physical abuse dominate child welfare caseloads, and historically always have. The disconnect between the interests of mental health professionals and child welfare appears to be waning, both in terms of dialogue within psychology and apportioning of research resources. This article examines what this emerging change may mean for practice and research in terms of the changing nature of populations involved, different types and locations of services, different roles and new multidisciplinary alliances. [source]


Debunking the ,only 50%' myth: prevalence of established risk factors in New Zealanders with self-reported ischaemic heart disease

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2005
Martin Tobias
Objective: To estimate the prevalence of established risk factors for ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in New Zealand adults and compare the prevalence in adults with and without this disease. Design: Data were obtained from the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey. Risk factor prevalence was determined by: selfreported doctor diagnosis of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes; self-report of smoking and physical inactivity; and measurement of obesity. Presence of IHD was based on self-report of heart disease (doctor diagnosed at age 25 years or over) together with current medical or past surgical treatment for this disease. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine prevalence rate ratios (PRRs) for males and females separately, adjusting for age, ethnicity and deprivation. Results: The overall prevalence of IHD was 8%. Overall risk factor prevalences were in the range of 20,25% for each of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, and approximately 5% for diabetes. Overall, 94,97% of adults with IHD had at least one risk factor (depending on how smoking was defined). The PRRs of IHD were highest for cholesterol (about 4.5), followed by blood pressure (about 2.3), with all other risk factors around 1.5. PAF estimates indicate that 80,85% of IHD was attributable to the presence of at least one risk factor for all age, gender and ethnic groups. Conclusions: Established risk factors account for 80,85% of the non-fatal burden of IHD in New Zealand. Limited research resources would be better used to evaluate which interventions are effective and efficient at reducing exposure of all population groups to known risk factors, rather than on identification of additional risk factors. [source]