Technology Policy, R&D, and Innovation in China Traditional Approaches, and New Challenges

China’s long term development path has always been strongly infl uenced by its own ways of innovation and invention. Though around one thousand years ago China had been undoubtedly the most advanced country in the world, by the 17th century Europe had surpassed it. And when the PRC was founded in 1949, it was only a poor, severely underdeveloped country without adequate, modern technologies. In the last three decades, however, the country has achieved remarkable success in economic terms: China has become the second largest economy in the world, and its new economic, fi nancial and trading power has made it clear that the dominance of the USA and Europe has passed. At the same time China is still lagging behind technologically. Though there are huge efforts to narrow the gap, it is extremely diffi cult to build up a new technological and innovation system without deep, organic foundations. China, however, has rich experience of innovations from the past, and the question is whether it is possible to use them to formulate a new technology policy. In this paper I will try to examine China’s technology system, its functioning and its prospects, while comparing it with the traditional ways of innovations in China. I would like to show that current technology policy is, at least partly, based upon traditional values, and that high tech research, R&D, and state of the art innovations can be reconcilable with several thousand-year-old approaches.

A study of the relationship between educational placement and the achievement of urban low socioeconomic Hispanic middle school students with and without specific learning disabilities

Public schools traditionally have been held accountable for educating the majority of the nation’s school children, and through the years, these schools have been evaluated in a variety of ways. Currently, evaluation measures for accountability purposes consist solely of standardized test scores. In the past, only test scores of general education students were analyzed. Laws governing the education of students with disabilities, however, have extended accountability measures not only to include those students, but to report their scores in a disaggregated form (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001). The recent emphasis on accountability and compliance has resulted in the need for schools to carefully examine how programs, services, and policies impact student achievement (Bowers & Figgers, 2003). ^ Standard-based school reform and accountability systems have raised expectations about student learning outcomes for all students, including those with disabilities and minority students. Yet, overall, racial/ethnic minority students are performing well below their White non-Hispanic peers in most academic areas. Additionally, with respect to special education, there exists an enduring problem of disproportionate representation of racial/ethnic minority students (National Research Council, 2000). ^ This study examined classroom placement (inclusive versus non-inclusive) relative to academic performance of urban, low socioeconomic Hispanic students with and without disabilities in secondary content area classrooms. A mixed method research design was used to investigate this important issue using data from a local school district and results from field observations. The study compared performance levels of four middle school Hispanic student subgroups (students with disabilities in inclusive settings, students without disabilities in inclusive settings, students with disabilities in resource settings, and student without disabilities in general education settings) each in their respective placements for two consecutive years, exploring existing practices within authentic settings. ^ Significant differences were found in the relationship of educational placement and achievement between grade level and disability in the areas of math and reading. Additionally, clear and important differences were observed in student-teacher interactions. Recommendations for further researchers and stakeholders include soliciting responses from teams at the schools composed of general education and special education teachers, administrative personnel, and students as well as broadening the study across grade levels and exceptionalities. ^

Biotic and abiotic determinants of intermediate-consumer trophic diversity in the Florida everglades

Food-web structure can shape population dynamics and ecosystem functioning and stability. We investigated the structure of a food-web fragment consisting of dominant intermediate consumers (fishes and crayfishes) in the Florida Everglades, using stable isotope analysis to quantify trophic diversity along gradients of primary production (periphyton), disturbance (marsh drying) and intermediate-consumer density (a possible indicator of competition). We predicted that trophic diversity would increase with resource availability and decrease after disturbance, and that competition could result in greater trophic diversity by favouring resource partitioning. Total trophic diversity, measured by niche area, decreased with periphyton biomass and an ordination axis representing several bluegreen algae species. Consumers’ basal resource diversity, estimated by δ13C values, was similarly related to algal community structure. The range of trophic levels (δ15N range) increased with time since the most recent drying and reflooding event, but decreased with intermediate-consumer density, and was positively related to the ordination axis reflecting increases in green algae and decreases in filamentous bluegreen algae. Our findings suggest that algal quality, independent of quantity, influences food-web structure and demonstrate an indirect role of nutrient enrichment mediated by its effects on periphyton palatability and biomass. These results reveal potential mechanisms for anthropogenic effects on Everglades communities.

Children with special health care needs: Comparison of the effects of home care setting, prescribed pediatric extended care setting, and long-term care setting on child and family health outcomes and health care service use

Technological advances during the past 30 years have dramatically improved survival rates for children with life-threatening conditions (preterm births, congenital anomalies, disease, or injury) resulting in children with special health care needs (CSHCN), children who have or are at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral, or emotional condition and who require health and related services beyond that required by children generally. There are approximately 10.2 million of these children in the United States or one in five households with a child with special health care needs. Care for these children is limited to home care, medical day care (Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care; P-PEC) or a long term care (LTC) facility. There is very limited research examining health outcomes of CSHCN and their families. The purpose of this research was to compare the effects of home care settings, P-PEC settings, and LTC settings on child health and functioning, family health and function, and health care service use of families with CSHCN. Eighty four CSHCN ages 2 to 21 years having a medically fragile or complex medical condition that required continual monitoring were enrolled with their parents/guardians. Interviews were conducted monthly for five months using the PedsQL™ Generic Core Module for child health and functioning, PedsQL™ Family Impact Module for family health and functioning, and Access to Care from the NS-CSHCN survey for health care services. Descriptive statistics, chi square, and ANCOVA were conducted to determine differences across care settings. Children in the P-PEC settings had a highest health care quality of life (HRQL) overall including physical and psychosocial functioning. Parents/guardians with CSHCN in LTC had the highest HRQL including having time and energy for a social life and employment. Parents/guardians with CSHCN in home care settings had the poorest HRQL including physical and psychosocial functioning with cognitive difficulties, difficulties with worry, communication, and daily activities. They had the fewest hours of employment and the most hours providing direct care for their children. Overall health care service use was the same across the care settings.

Norm-based comparison of SF -12 physical and mental health scale scores for a sample of employees of Broward County

In the new health paradigm, the connotation of health has extended beyond the measures of morbidity and mortality to include wellness and quality of life. Comprehensive assessments of health go beyond traditional biological indicators to include measures of physical and mental health status, social role-functioning, and general health perceptions. To meet these challenges, tools for assessment and outcome evaluation are being designed to collect information about functioning and well-being from the individual's point of view.^ The purpose of this study was to profile the physical and mental health status of a sample of county government employees against U.S. population norms. A second purpose of the study was to determine if significant relationships existed between respondent characteristics and personal health practices, lifestyle and other health how the tools and methods used in this investigation can be used to guide program development and facilitate monitoring of health promotion initiatives.^ The SF-12 Health Survey (Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, 1995), a validated measure of health status, was administered to a convenience sample of 450 employees attending one of nine health fairs at an urban worksite. The instrument has been utilized nationally which enabled a comparative analysis of findings of this study with national results.^ Results from this study demonstrated that several respondent characteristics and personal health practices were associated with a greater percentage of physical and/or mental scale scores that were significantly "worse" or significantly "better" than the general population. Respondent characteristics that were significantly related to the SF-12 physical and/or mental health scale scores were gender, age, education, ethnicity, and income status. Personal health practices that were significantly related to SF-12 physical and/or mental scale scores were frequency of vigorous exercise, presence of chronic illness, being at one's prescribed height and weight, eating breakfast, smoking and drinking status. This study provides an illustration of the methods used to analyze and interpret SF-12 Health Survey data, using norm-based interpretation guidelines which are useful for purposes of program development and collecting information on health at the community level. ^

Children's perceptions of marital conflict, parent -child relations and anxiety in children: A proposed systemic model

This study tested a systemic model in which internalizing behaviors in a clinically-referred sample of children are predicted by children's perceptions of marital conflict in the context of three additional, well-researched, familial variables: parent-child relations, mother's emotional functioning, and children's perception of social support. After finding preliminary support for the model, its generalizability was tested in a combined sample of the clinically-referred group and a community-based group of elementary school children. ^ The clinical group consisted of 31 participants from a specialty clinic for children's anxiety disorders: 15 boys and 16 girls, aged 6 to 16, from both intact and divorced homes. Children's reports and mothers' reports of children's internalizing behaviors were submitted to separate analyses. Mothers' reports of children's internalizing behaviors were predicted only by mothers' emotional functioning. As hypothesized by the model, children's own reports of their internalizing behaviors were predicted significantly by children's perceptions of marital conflict. Parent-child relations, children's perception of social support, and one interaction term, children's perception of marital conflict x children's perception of parental rejection, contributed to the regression solution, while mother's emotional functioning failed to meet entry criterion. ^ The combined sample added 37 community-based children, 18 boys and 19 girls, aged 6 to 11, creating a total of 68 subjects. The model was replicated on the combined sample. ^ Findings of the study suggest child perceptions of marital conflict have a strong direct effect on child internalizing behaviors, accounting for 28% of the variance between marital conflict and child outcome in the clinical sample and 42% in the combined sample. In the past only about 10% of the variance in children's internalizing behaviors was explained by marital conflict. Importance implications are made for optimal assessment and specific treatment strategies for children and families experiencing marital conflict, especially for those at risk for anxiety disorders. ^

Workplace Discrimination Climate and Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Collective Value Congruence, Team Cohesion, and Collective Affective Commitment

This study explored the relationship between workplace discrimination climate on team effectiveness through three serial mediators: collective value congruence, team cohesion, and collective affective commitment. As more individuals of marginalized groups diversify the workforce and as more organizations move toward team-based work (Cannon-Bowers & Bowers, 2010), it is imperative to understand how employees perceive their organization’s discriminatory climate as well as its effect on teams. An archival dataset consisting of 6,824 respondents was used, resulting in 332 work teams with five or more members in each. The data were collected as part of an employee climate survey administered in 2011 throughout the United States’ Department of Defense. The results revealed that the indirect effect through M1 (collective value congruence) and M2 (team cohesion) best accounted for the relationship between workplace discrimination climate (X) and team effectiveness (Y). Meaning, on average, teams that reported a greater climate for workplace discrimination also reported less collective value congruence with their organization (a1 = -1.07, p < .001). With less shared perceptions of value congruence, there is less team cohesion (d21 = .45, p < .001), and with less team cohesion there is less team effectiveness (b2 = .57, p < .001). In addition, because of theoretical overlap, this study makes the case for studying workplace discrimination under the broader construct of workplace aggression within the I/O psychology literature. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis found that workplace discrimination based on five types of marginalized groups: race/ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and disability was best explained by a three-factor model, including: career obstruction based on age and disability bias (CO), verbal aggression based on multiple types of bias (VA), and differential treatment based on racial/ethnic bias (DT). There was initial support to claim that workplace discrimination items covary not only based on type, but also based on form (i.e., nonviolent aggressive behaviors). Therefore, the form of workplace discrimination is just as important as the type when studying climate perceptions and team-level effects. Theoretical and organizational implications are also discussed.

Analysis and comparison of network performance with different network parameters

The purpose of this study was to analyze the network performance by observing the effect of varying network size and data link rate on one of the most commonly found network configurations. Computer networks have been growing explosively. Networking is used in every aspect of business, including advertising, production, shipping, planning, billing, and accounting. Communication takes place through networks that form the basis of transfer of information. The number and type of components may vary from network to network depending on several factors such as requirement and actual physical placement of the networks. There is no fixed size of the networks and they can be very small consisting of say five to six nodes or very large consisting of over two thousand nodes. The varying network sizes make it very important to study the network performance so as to be able to predict the functioning and the suitability of the network. The findings demonstrated that the network performance parameters such as global delay, load, router processor utilization, router processor delay, etc. are affected. The findings demonstrated that the network performance parameters such as global delay, load, router processor utilization, router processor delay, etc. are affected significantly due to the increase in the size of the network and that there exists a correlation between the various parameters and the size of the network. These variations are not only dependent on the magnitude of the change in the actual physical area of the network but also on the data link rate used to connect the various components of the network.

Clinical characteristics and benefit of cataract intervention amongst UK domiciliary eye care recipients

Purpose: Given the ageing UK population and the high prevalence of activity-limiting illness and disability in the over 65s, the demand for domiciliary eye care services is set to grow significantly. Over 400,000 NHS domiciliary eye examinations are conducted each year, yet minimal research attention has been directed to this mode of practice or patient needs amongst this group. The study aimed to compare clinical characteristics and benefits of cataract surgery between conventional in-practice patients and domiciliary service users. Methods: Clinical characteristics were compared between patients in North-West England receiving NHS domiciliary eye care services (n = 197; median age 76.5 years), and an age-matched group of conventional in-practice patients (n = 107; median age 74.6 years). Data including reason for visit; logMAR uncorrected and best corrected distance (UDVA and CDVA) and near acuities (UNVA and CNVA); presence of ocular pathology and examination outcome were documented retrospectively. To compare the benefit of cataract surgery in terms of functional capacity between the patient groups, individuals undergoing routine referral for first-eye surgery completed the VF-14 questionnaire pre-operatively, and at 6 weeks post-operatively. Results: UDVA was similar between the two groups (median 0.48 and 0.50 logMAR in the domiciliary and practice groups, P = 0.916); CDVA was significantly worse in the domiciliary group (median 0.18 vs 0.08 logMAR, P<0.001), who were more likely to have clinically-significant cataract. Both groups showed similar improvements in VF-14 scores following cataract surgery (mean gains 24.4 ± 11.7, and 31.5 ± 14.7 points in the in-practice and domiciliary groups, respectively. P = 0.312). Conclusions: Patients receiving domiciliary eye care services are more likely to have poorer corrected vision than in-practice patients of a similar age, partly due to a higher prevalence of significant cataract. Despite limitations in their activities due to illness and disability, domiciliary patients experience similar gains in self-reported functional capacity following cataract surgery

Team reflexivity and innovation:the moderating role of team context

We developed and tested a team level contingency model of innovation, integrating theories regarding work demands, team reflexivity - the extent to which teams collectively reflect upon their working methods and functioning -, and team innovation. We argued that highly reflexive teams will be more innovative than teams low in reflexivity when facing a demanding work environment. The relationships between team reflexivity, a demanding work environment (i.e. quality of the physical work environment and work load) and team innovation was examined among 98 primary health care teams (PHCTs) in the UK, comprised of 1137 individuals. Results showed that team reflexivity is positively related to team innovation, and that there is an interaction between team reflexivity, team level workload, and team innovation, such that when team level workload is high, combined with a high level of team reflexivity, team innovation is also higher. The complementary interaction between team reflexivity, quality of physical work environment, and team innovation, showed that when the quality of the work environment is low, combined with a high level of team reflexivity, team innovation was also higher. These results are discussed in the context of the need for team reflexivity and team innovation among teams at work facing high work demands.

Remédiation cognitive portant sur les aspects fluide et cristallisé de l’intelligence auprès d'adolescents présentant un fonctionnement intellectuel limite : approche par le jeu.

L’objectif principal de cette thèse était de créer, d’implanter et d’évaluer l’efficacité d’un programme de remédiation cognitive, intervenant de façon comparable sur les aspects fluide (Gf) et cristallisé (Gc) de l’intelligence, au sein d’une population d’intérêt clinique, les adolescents présentant un fonctionnement intellectuel limite (FIL). Compte tenu de la forte prévalence de ce trouble, le programme de remédiation GAME (Gains et Apprentissages Multiples pour Enfant) s’est développé autour de jeux disponibles dans le commerce afin de faciliter l’accès et l’implantation de ce programme dans divers milieux. Le premier article de cette thèse, réalisé sous forme de revue systématique de la littérature, avait pour objectif de faire le point sur les études publiées utilisant le jeu comme outil de remédiation cognitive dans la population pédiatrique. L’efficacité, ainsi que la qualité du paradigme utilisé ont été évaluées, et des recommandations sur les aspects méthodologiques à respecter lors de ce type d’étude ont été proposées. Cet article a permis une meilleure compréhension des écueils à éviter et des points forts méthodologiques à intégrer lors de la création du programme de remédiation GAME. Certaines mises en garde méthodologiques relevées dans cet article ont permis d’améliorer la qualité du programme de remédiation cognitive développé dans ce projet de thèse. Compte tenu du peu d’études présentes dans la littérature scientifique concernant la population présentant un FIL (70

Macro-epibenthic communities, bathymetry and enviromental information at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula

The Southern Ocean ecosystem at the Antarctic Peninsula has steep natural environmental gradients, e.g. in terms of water masses and ice cover, and experiences regional above global average climate change. An ecological macroepibenthic survey was conducted in three ecoregions in the north-western Weddell Sea, on the continental shelf of the Antarctic Peninsula in the Bransfield Strait and on the shelf of the South Shetland Islands in the Drake Passage, defined by their environmental envelop. The aim was to improve the so far poor knowledge of the structure of this component of the Southern Ocean ecosystem and its ecological driving forces. It can also provide a baseline to assess the impact of ongoing climate change to the benthic diversity, functioning and ecosystem services. Different intermediate-scaled topographic features such as canyon systems including the corresponding topographically defined habitats 'bank', 'upper slope', 'slope' and 'canyon/deep' were sampled. In addition, the physical and biological environmental factors such as sea-ice cover, chlorophyll-a concentration, small-scale bottom topography and water masses were analysed. Catches by Agassiz trawl showed high among-station variability in biomass of 96 higher systematic groups including ecological key taxa. Large-scale patterns separating the three ecoregions from each other could be correlated with the two environmental factors, sea-ice and depth. Attribution to habitats only poorly explained benthic composition, and small-scale bottom topography did not explain such patterns at all. The large-scale factors, sea-ice and depth, might have caused large-scale differences in pelagic benthic coupling, whilst small-scale variability, also affecting larger scales, seemed to be predominantly driven by unknown physical drivers or biological interactions.

Size, blood organochlorine pesticide concentrations and biochemical indicators measured in hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) nesting at Punta Xen (Campeche, Mexico) in August 2010

The impact of environmental pollution on the homeostasis of sea turtles remains scarce, particularly in the southern Gulf of Mexico. As many municipalities do not rely on a waste treatment plant along the coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula, the vulnerability of these specimens could results enhanced. We searched for relationships between presence of organochlorine pesticides (OCP) and the level of several oxidative and pollutant stress indicators of the hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) during the egg-laying period 2010 at Punta Xen (Campeche, Mexico). Endosulfans, aldrin related (aldrin, endrin, dieldrin, endrin ketone, endrin aldehyde) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDT) families were detected in 17, 21 and 26 of the 30 sampled sea turtles, respectively. Significant correlation existed between the size of sea turtles with the concentration of methoxychlor, cholinesterase activity in plasma and heptachlors family, and catalase activity and hexachlorohexane family. Cholinesterase activity in washed erythrocytes and lipid peroxidation were positively correlated with glutathione reductase activity. Antioxidant enzyme actions seem adequate as no lipids damages were correlated with any OCPs. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the effect of OCPs on males of the area because of the significant detection of methoxychlor that target endocrine functioning and increase its concentration with size of the sea turtles.

Sleep Quality as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Attachment Anxiety and Health Outcomes During Romantic Conflict

Attachment anxiety, or a fear of abandonment by those close to you, is an important predictor of many individual and interpersonal outcomes. Individuals high in attachment anxiety are more likely to experience physical illness due to disrupted immune functioning and deregulated stress responses. I was interested in examining potential mechanisms accounting for why individuals high in attachment anxiety are more likely to become ill. One variable that has been demonstrated to mediate the relationship between stress and health is sleep quality. As attachment anxiety is characterized by the experience of stress and worry over abandonment by romantic partners, I predicted sleep quality would mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and health. Further, I predicted attachment anxiety would interact with romantic threat, in that individuals high in attachment anxiety who perceive threat to their relationships would have poor sleep quality (compared with individuals low in attachment anxiety and individuals high in anxiety who do not perceive threat) which would mediate the most unhealthy outcomes. I tested these hypotheses using three online diary studies. In the first two studies, participants completed a seven-night diary describing their sleep quality, health, and interaction with their partner. In Study 3, I surveyed participants once a week for eight weeks to examine longer-term health outcomes. Sleep quality did indeed mediate the relationship between attachment anxiety and various health outcomes over one week (Study 2), and showed a trend towards mediating effects over two months (Study 3). Interestingly, however, attachment anxiety did not interact with perceived romantic threat to predict health in the mediation analyses. Implications for sleep as a mediating variable are discussed, as well as the lack of attachment anxiety by romantic threat interaction.

The technical and artistic branches and ways of organizing production in Argentine soap operas

Production processes and work organization in the cultural industries have been little discussed. For this reason, the study focuses on the production phases and the division of labor in technical and artistic branches in Argentine soap operas. There are six branches: production, direction, photography, art, sound and edition. We explain the branches, the workers involved and their function and activities. This research is based on a communicational perspective, the Political Economy of Communication and recovers contributions of the Sociology of Labour. From this combination, we attempt to provide elements of analysis to understand the functioning and organisation of daily television series. In the same way, we examine the creative work, the types of work redundant or random, the division of labour and the economies of time. The methodological approach is qualitative. In this way, the examination is based on the production of interviews with key actors of the sector and the documentary and bibliographical survey so as to systematize the data for the research.