Students' Reactions to the Introduction of Videoconferencing for Classroom Instruction

This study examined how students who had no prior experience with videoconferencing would react to the use of videoconferencing as an instructional medium. Students enrolled in seven different courses completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the semester and again at the end of the semester. Students at the origination and remote sites did not differ in their reactions toward videoconferencing but there was a significant difference for gender. Women reacted less favorably to videoconferencing. Compared to the beginning of the semester, students reported significantly less positive attitudes toward taking a course through videoconferencing at the end of the semester. There were no significant differences in students' attitudes toward videoconferencing across courses at the beginning of the semester but there were significant differences across the courses at the end of the semester. The results suggest the need for better preparation for both students and instructors.     

Cooler temperatures inductive to locust outbreaks

Ajoint study by Prof. ZHANG Zhibin from the CAS Institute of Zoology and his co-workers from Norway, US and Swiss have indicated that historical outbreaks of migratory locusts in China were associated with cold spells, suggesting that China＇s projected climate warming could decrease the pest＇s numbers. The study was published in Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences on 17 September, 2007.     

Exploring Multiplexity: Social Network Structures in a Computer-Supported Distance Learning Class

A computer-mediated group is a complex entity whose members exchange many types of information via multiple means of communication in pursuit of goals specific to their environment. Over time, they coordinate technical features of media with locally enacted use to achieve a viable working arrangement. To explore this complex interaction, a case study is presented of the social networks of interactions and media use among members of a class of computer-supported distance learners. Results show how group structures associated with project teams dominated who communicated with whom, about what, and via which media over the term, and how media came to occupy their own communication niches: Webboard for diffuse class-wide communication; Internet Relay Chat more to named others but still for general communication across the class; and e-mail primarily for intrateam communication. Face-to-face interaction, occurring only during a short on-campus session, appears to have had a catalytic effect on social and emotional exchanges. Results suggest the need to structure exchanges to balance class-wide sharing of ideas with subgroup interactions that facilitate project completion, and to provide media that support these two modes of interaction.     

To serve and promote science development via innovation

CAS should stick to the principle of rendering service to, and giving impetus for, the development of China＇s science enterprise by making S＆T innovations, said CAS President LU Yongxiang. The CAS president made the remarks in a recent talk to communicate the gist of the winter session of the Party＇s Leading-member Group at CAS, which was held from 7 to 11 January in Beijing.     

Tracing the origin and early radiation of birds——Paleornithologist ZHOU Zhonghe

With great care, Dr. ZHOU Zhonghe takes out a package wrapped by cotton tissue from a drawer and says: "This is the gem of our collections: the fossil of a bird that lived 125 million years ago!" Then, pointing at a tiny mound, he explains: "Look, this is the claw and that is the head. It was in the egg shell and ready to hatch ... The species fell into a family of waterside inhabitants."     

The Role of Intermediating Institutions in the Diffusion of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI): How Industry Associations Intervened in Denmark, Finland, and Hong Kong

Electronic data interchange (EDI) provides means for interorganizational communication, creates network externalities, requires an advanced information technology (IT) infrastructure, and relies on standards. In the diffusion of such innovations, institutional involvement is imperative. Such institutions contain governmental agencies, national and global standardization organizations, local government, and nonprofit private organizations like industry associations. The last type of organizations we call intermediating institutions. They intermediate or coordinate ("inscribe") the activities of a group of would-be adopters. Unfortunately, little is known of how these organizations shape the EDI diffusion trajectory. In this article we examine one specific type of intermediating organizations?industry associations?and how they advanced the EDI diffusion process in the grocery sectors of Hong Kong, Denmark and Finland. We identify six institutional measures, placed into a matrix formed by the mode of involvement (influence vs. regulation) and the type of diffusion force (supply push vs. demand pull), that can be mobilized to further the EDI diffusion. Industry associations were found to be active users of all these measures to varying degrees. Their role was critical especially in knowledge building, knowledge deployment, and standard setting. Furthermore, institutional involvement varied due to policy and cultural contingencies and power dependencies.     

How Electronic Publishers are Protecting Against Piracy: Doubts About Technical Systems of Protection

The increasing prospects of digital piracy has prompted the perceived need by electronic publishers to adopt technical systems of protection, and governments to reform their copyright laws. This article is a preliminary study of the management of intellectual property by electronic publishers, defined as those involved in the production of online databases, and CD-ROMs. It focuses on three main issues: (1) how electronic publishers view the increasing threat of piracy; (2) the methods of protection employed to protect intellectual property in digital format; and (3) the importance of technological protection of intellectual property in electronic publications. The analysis is based on a sample of 23 UK electronic publishers. The interviews revealed an interesting assortment of protection methods and did not show that technological protection was a preferred way. Instead, the means of protection, in addition to copyright law, comprised niche markets, pricing, trust, bad publicity, and nontechnical and technical means.     

Rough Justice: A Statistical Assessment of ICANN's Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy

Long-standing conflict between domain name registrants and trademark holders prompted the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to create a global, mandatory arbitration procedure known as the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The UDRP has been used in 2166 cases involving 3938 domain names as of 1 November 2000. The policy gives the initiator of a complaint, generally a trademark holder, the right to choose which ICANN-accredited dispute resolution service provider (RSP) will handle the case. During the preparation of the UDRP,some feared that complainant selection would lead to "forum shopping" that might bias the results. This article performs a statistical assessment of the forum-shopping thesis and finds support for it. There are statistically significant differences in the various RSPs' propensity to take away names from defendants; there are also major differences in the number of cases brought to each RSP. RSPs who take away names have the larger share of cases. The study examines other variables that might explain differences in market share, such as price, the plaintiff's nationality, or the time taken to decide a case. It finds that nationality and time also are correlated with market share. The study concludes that shopping for a favorable outcome is an important factor in the UDRP.     

Prevalence of soft neurological signs in Chinese people

Prof. Raymond C.K. Chen, a neuropsychologist with the CAS Institute of Psychology, has made novel progress in his studies of schizophrenia. His work has been reported by a recent issue of Behavioural Neurology.     

Monoculture Rubber Plantations Have Negative Ef ects on Controlling Splash Erosion

<正>In Xishuangbanna,one of China’s most biodiverse regions,landscape has changed dramatically during the past three decades due to the conversion of tropical rainforest to rubber plantations.In steep areas,terraces are often constructed before planting rubber trees,which causes two important changes in the soil:the destabilization of soil in the bench terraces and the increased vulnerability of unvegetated riser faces to erosion.Few studies have documented the nature and intensity of erosion on bench terraces.Prof.LIU Wenjie and his colleagues from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden(XTBG)conducted a study in Menglun County(21°5′39″N,101°15′55″E),Xishuangbanna to evaluate the influence     

Chinese Scientists Use Earth Observation Technologies to Study and Protect Wild Camels

<正>Chinese scientists plan to apply Earth Observation technologies to protect the critically endangered wild camels(Camelus ferus).With the help of remote sensing,satellite positioning,geographical information system and wireless sensors networks,they will be able to access the distribution and population of the wild camels and protect their habitats.The project will be carried out by the International Research Center for Wild Camel Conservation,which was jointly established earlier this year by the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth(RADI)of the Chinese     

More than Skin Deep – Understand Skin Biology by Means of Dermatogenomics

<正>The Paul Gerson Unna Research Group on Dermatogenomics was founded in October 2012 at the Partner Institute for Computational Biology.The ultimate goal of the group is to understand the biology of skin and skin appendages.     

Volvo Environment Prize Goes to Chinese Climate Scientist

<正>Dr.QIN Dahe,a world renowned scientist in glaciology and climate change research,was awarded the 2013 Volvo Environment Prize for his outstanding contributions to the"scientific understanding of the climate,both in his own country of China and at the global level".     

CAS Structural Biologists Detail How Lipopolysaccharides Transport and Insert in Gram-Negative Bacterial Outer Membrane

<正>On July 3,2014,the world leading scientifi c journal Nature published a breakthrough in lipopolysacharride biogenesis entitled"Structural basis for lipopolysaccharide insertion in the bacterial outer membrane".In this paper,a research team from the CAS Institute of Biophysics,led by structural biologist HUANG Yihua,announced their high-resolution     

Danish Queen Breaks Ground for Sino-Danish Center's New Building

<正>On April 26,2014,Queen Margrethe II of Denmark attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the main building of the Sino-Danish Research Center for Education and Research(SDC)in suburban Beijing.It was a highlight of her five-day visit to China and an important milestone for the unique Sino-Danish initiative within education and research.Since SDC opened up for enrollment in 2012,approximately 250 students from China and Denmark have pursued their education at the center.With over 10,000 square meters of floor space,the building will comprise classrooms,reading rooms,a large lecture hall,a library and space for dining,socializing and     

Global Science Needs Teamwork

Four decades ago, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Max Planck Society established their scientific cooperation. Since then, these collaborative ties have been continuously strengthened. The Presidents of both research organisations, Professor Bai Chunli and Professor Peter Gruss, look back on the development of earlier decades, highlight past success and future challenges – and underline the importance of cooperation in the new times of globalisation of science.     

Scientists Establish China's Longest Tree-ring Chronology

<正>The sequence of tree-ring chronologies from Sabina przewalskii Kom,recording climate change information over the past 4,600 years in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,has been recently revealed by scientists from China and the United Kingdom.Prof.YANG Bao from the Cold and Arid Regions     

Energy Finance in the Age of Big Data

<正>Since the beginning of the 21st century,energy has become a new financial investment vehicle,indicating the arrival of a new era of energy finance.In the process of energy financialization,the electronic information carrier and network platform plays an important role.The arrival of the age of big data highlights the important position of information competition and network advantage.     

Crystallize in CAS-MPG Chemistry

<正>Supported by the CAS-MPG Doctoral Promotion Programme, FENG Xianjuan and FAN Jing, both Ph.D. students from the CAS Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, studied for some years at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids(MPI-CPfS) in Dresden. FENG, now a postdoctoral researcher at the MPI-CPfS, defended her thesis last September and received her Ph.D. Degree in last Jan; FAN just defended her thesis in April and will be granted with the Degree in the upcoming June. Let's hear in this interview(given in Feb 2014) what they would say about their study and life in Germany and envision how this experience will impact their future.     

Promising New Catalyst for Activation and Conversion of Methane Developed at DICP

<正>With the large reserves of natural gas around the world,such as shale gas,methane hydrate,and biogas,research on how to utilize these alternative fuels has grown considerably.Current industrialscale processes for the conversion of natural gases to useful chemical feedstocks,which involves the conversion to syngas intermediates,are complex,inefficient and costly,and they generate large quantities of CO2 and coke byproducts.The efficient conversion of these natural gas fuels will require a process wherein the C-H bond of methane is activated,and the methane is selectively converted to useful chemical products while minimizing depth dehydrogenation and overoxidation.Many methods have been developed for the activation and conversion of methane with varying degrees of success,but thus far,none has been viable as