Moral attention: A comparative philosophical study

The notion of moral attention allows the recognition of fundamental aspects of ethical life ignored or neglected by mainstream ethical theories. It is central to the theories of several notable female ethicists and many of them identify the French philosopher Simone Weil as the source of the contemporary use of this concept which invites questioning of crucial categories in the domain of ethics and moral education, such as the importance of the will as well as the definition of the moral sphere itself. The meanings given to the notion of moral attention are examined in the work of three ethicists: Iris Murdoch, Nel Noddings and Joan Tronto with the object of bringing out points of agreement and disagreement between their respective conceptions of this subject. The way they have addressed the complex problem of educating for moral attention is analyzed and important implications for moral education are discussed.     

布拉格学派与交际理论派翻译思想之比较

布拉格学派的创始人之一——雅各布逊和美国交际理论派尤金·奈达都曾从语言学和符号学角度,对语言和翻译的问题做了非常精辟的论述,对翻译理论做出了很大贡献。前者为后者理论的发展做出了铺垫,后者的思维和方法更加灵活,并借助于前者的研究成果,使翻译理论有了新的突破。奈达在学术上的敏锐性和自我修正能力给中国的译界树立了楷模,这也是现代翻译研究值得借鉴和学习的。     

Group-based intervention on attention and executive functions in the school context

The objective of the study was to examine the effects of a group-based behavioural, cognitive and skills training intervention (Maltti) provided in schools for elementary school pupils with attention and executive function (EF) deficits. The treatment effects were identified by comparing an intervention group (n = 46) with a waitlist control group (n = 26). Specific effects of the intervention on behavioural deficits in attention and EF in a classroom setting as well as on academic skills were examined. Our analysis indicated that significant intervention effects could be found in the behavioural manifestation of attentional and executive skills in the classroom setting among children (n = 30) who were evaluated as having moderate symptoms in the pre-intervention assessment. Positive effects of the intervention were also observed in arithmetic and reading skills. The severity level of pre-intervention attention and EF deficits did not moderate the results observed in the academic skills tests. The results of this study suggest that a combination of behavioural, cognitive and skills training methods applied in a school context can be effective in reducing attention and EF problems and enhancing the academic performance of children with attention and EF deficits.     

Dyadic activities and attention in the infant: A developmental study

Infants’ abilities to focus attention on objects are known to be related to mothers’ mobilizing behaviors. As delayed effects of maternal behaviors at 5 months may be observed in 8-month-olds, mothers may be considered as scaffolding their infant’s attention. However, all dyadic activities are probably not equally propitious to attention mobilizing. In a sample of 30 dyads, studied at 5 and 8 months of age, whole observations were split in four broad categories: care, dyadic play with objects, dyadic play without objects and infant alone. The duration of maternal mobilizing and infant attention focussing were studied within categories. Inter-dyads variability is high, while dyads are stable across ages. Even within the dyadic play with objects, mothers differ widely in the duration and way they mobilize attention. Five-month-olds still need their mother’s support, as they explore less when they are alone, while 8-month-olds are more autonomous. The impact and importance of the various types of dyadic activities on cognitive development are discussed.     

School knowledge and didactic analysis: A research perspective in comparative didactics

The article presents some aspects of an approach to disciplinary teaching phenomena that adopts the new perspective of comparative didactics. This approach consists of implementing research projects that examine teaching problems in a comparative study of various specific didactics.In the first part of the article, examination of the origins of school knowledge leads to the proposal of a new tool for analyzing the phenomena of didactic transposition in a broader perspective. In the second part, a new tool is proposed for analyzing in-class teaching phenomena for different disciplines.     

School context and instructional capacity: A comparative study of professional learning communities in rural and urban schools in China

This study examines the teaching gap between rural and urban schools in China from the perspective of teacher professional learning communities (PLCs). Drawing on in-depth interviews with 36 primary school teachers, the study finds striking disparities between rural and urban schools in the working of Teaching and Research Groups (TRGs). These disparities in TRGs result in divergent patterns of instructional capacity building in rural and urban schools. The evidence shows that teaching and teachers are strongly shaped by the school organizational context. It suggests that strengthening school-wide PLCs is an important way of narrowing the rural-urban teaching and learning gaps.     

Theory of mind,attention, and executive function in kindergarten boys

The present study explored the relationship between theory of mind (ToM), attention, and executive function in 66 kindergarten boys drawn from four rural school districts. Three stories designed to test understanding of first and second order mental states were administered. Executive function and attention were assessed, respectively, by scores on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and the Behavior Assessment Scales for Children, Second Edition (BASC‐2). Analyses indicated that children identified by teachers as evidencing attention difficulties scored lower on false belief measures and were more likely to be identified as exhibiting behavioral difficulties associated with executive dysfunction than children identified as evidencing fewer attention difficulties. Attention and executive function were predictive of total ToM scores.     

Bilingual language proficiency: A comparative study

International Review of Education -     

大陆建国后土地改革和台湾土地改革之比较

两次土改都是在农村阶段矛盾十分尖锐的情况下进行的。大陆采取和经历了清匪反霸，减租退押等方式，措施和阶段，台湾分三步走；推行“三五七减租”，实行公地放领；实施“耕有其田”。大陆的土改是在总结以往土改历史经验和由党和人民政府领导，执行正确的路线，方针而取得的。国民党由于其在台湾建立了稳固的军事，政治统治，得到农民特别是蒋介石对土改的全力支持是其成功的主要原因。土改在大陆连根铲除了延续二千多年的封建统治的经验基础；在台湾它使封建地主经济解体，使台湾农业和工业迅速恢复，当然它只是对封建土地制度的一次改良，很不彻底。     

A developmental study of filtering in visual attention

Children aged 4, 5, and 7 years and adults aged 20 years performed a speeded classification task designed to isolate several sources of interference in visual selective attention. On each trial, observers responded to 1 of 4 targets which were mapped to 2 responses. On some trials the targets were also flanked by distractor stimuli, which observers were asked to ignore. The interference measures examined the effects of attentional set, increases in feature number, increases in feature type, response competition, and stimulus generalization. All but 1 of the measures (stimulus generalization) produced reliable interference in the adult observers. However, only 2 of the measures (attentional set, increases in feature number) produced reliable interference in children. The implications of these findings for theories of attentional development are discussed.     

“心物感应论”与“摹仿说”之比较

同是研究心与物之关系的“心物感应论”和“摹仿说”，由于东西方化区域、化传统的不同，因而其差异性仍然是明显的：中国古代美学中的“心物感应论”更强调审美的主体和心物交感的对应性，而西方古典美学中的“摹仿说”，则侧重于审美的客体和心物的对立性、冲突性。     

Grade inflation in higher education: A comparative study

Recent research in higher education has exposed and documented a phenomenon that some have labeled “grade inflation.” Because of the significant implications of grade inflation for the credibility of academia's standards of excellence and accountability, efforts should be directed toward explaining why this phenomenon is occurring, and remedies sought. The present study represents a comparison of 10 departments displaying high grade inflation rates during a 7-year period with 10 departments within the same university displaying low(er) grade inflation rates. The study found an average inflation of grades of +.298 during this time period, with higher grade inflation rates related to perceived and/or actual increases in the demands or pressures placed upon the academician's role, to greater flexibility in grading options and, in particular, to the use of more subjective student-based methods of evaluation. While the study's findings also support the “peaking effect” theory that grade inflation rates will slow down, the central question remains: How high will grade point averages rise and, in the absence of positive corrective action, what will be the effect of the grade inflation phenomenon on the credibility of institutions of higher education and their graduates?     

中晚明的讲会运动与阳明学的庶民化——从东亚比较的视角出发

明代讲会,除了学术性较强的讲学聚会,还有颇显庶民性、宗族性特征的所谓“乡会”。当时乡会的社会管理功能已超过了讲学教化,其学术性、精英性也已逐渐让位于庶民性、宗族性。如果说随举之“会”的特征在于它的群众性．那么书院之“讲”的特征便在于它的精英性,其目的都是为了崇德教化、净化社会。阳明学在中晚明的突出面向是从精英到草根的转向与变异。这一转化过程主要发生在远离政治中心的江右地区和其它边缘地区。尽管在阳明学的草根化的转化过程中,还同时存在着政治精英化的倾向,但就中国思想史的主体而言,阳明学的草根化要明显强于它的知识精英化,而且较之其政治精英化,其草根化的趋势或许更具颠覆性的意义。     

对不同文化背景下英汉习语含义之比较

在英汉不同文化背景下形成了大量的习语。环境、风俗习惯、宗教、信仰、人生观、自然认知等方面的不同使英汉习语产生诸多差异。     

Views of school psychological services: A comparative study

Perceptions of elementary principals were compared to findings of supervisors of psychological services on a 13-item questionnaire. Both groups rated generalist skills and individual diagnostic testing and consultation as important, and remedial instruction as unimportant. Differences were found between the groups on conducting research, inservice programs, preventative activities, counseling with parents, screening for special classes, and liaison activities. Implications for university trainers and field psychologists were noted.     

Peer interaction in Andalusia and Holland: A comparative study

Abstract

The relative scarcity of studies of cultural variations in peer interaction served as impetus for the present study. In this investigation, differences in peer interaction (child age: about 5 years) in Andalusia and Holland were examined both in an urban and a rural settings. Observational data were analysed with special interest on the collectivism-individualism dimension. Results showed that Andalusian children displayed a stronger tendency than Dutch children to function as part of a social group. However, this tendency was more clearly present in the Andalusian rural than in the urban setting. No cultural differences were found with respect to sociometric ratings. Results were discussed in terms of ecological factors in cross-cultural research.