Individual Differences in Faculty Research Time Allocations Across 13 Countries

In research universities, research time is often too scarce to satiate the wishes of all faculty and must be allocated according to guidelines and principles. We examine self-reported research hours for full-time faculty at research universities in 13 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Norway, UK, USA, and Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous special administrative region of China). We examine the level of variation in individual faculty research time and the factors associated with individual differences, including differences in: (a) university policy regarding the allocation of working time for research between individual faculty members, (b) individual motivation towards research, and (c) family commitments. Our results suggest that the factors associated with additional research time vary across countries, but individual motivation towards research (relative to teaching) is a significant in all countries. University policies towards research and the research status of individual faculty, are relatively weak predictors of individual research time, though stronger effects are generally found in English-speaking countries. Research hours typically decrease with age, but plateau or increase in the oldest cohorts. Family and gender are weak predictors of research time amongst full-time faculty.     

论家庭文化资本对学生成长的影响

不同的家庭由于各自拥有的文化资本不同，学生的成长环境与社会化也就相应的不同，从而导致学生成长结果出现差异。运用布尔迪厄的文化资本理论，对不同家庭学生的成长差异进行解释，并指出增加家庭文化资本以促进学生成长的策略，以期对相关政策的制定与教育改革有所启示。     

英汉翻译与跨文化交际

不同文化背景的人进行交际是跨文化交际，荚汉翻译过程中必须了解英汉两种语言的民族文化差异。要做到忠实再现原文，必须了解两种语言的历史背景、地理环境、宗教信仰、风俗习惯、社会政治和文学艺术等方面的知识。     

身体语言:在不同文化中的同与异

作为一种非言语语言,并不是所有的身体语言在不同文化中都有着相同的含义。一方面,在不同文化中,身体语言存在共同性,这包括:1)人类共同享有的生物特性;2)不同文化中相同的社会特性;3)不同文化中,作用相同;4)文化区别缩小。另一方面,身体语言在不同文化中的不同点包括:1)不同身体语言,相同信息;2)相同身体语言,不同含义;3)一些身体语言仅存在特定国家;4)一些身体语言虽存在于特定国家,但不存在特定含义。所以我们有必要知道身体语言在不同文化中的同与异。     

Country,School and Students Factors Associated with Extreme Levels of Science Literacy Across 25 Countries

A huge gap in science literacy is between students who do not show the competencies that are necessary to participate effectively in life situations related to science and technology and students who have the skills which would give them the potential to create new technology. The objective of this paper is to identify, for 25 countries, distinct subgroups of students with characteristics that appear to be associated with this proficiency gap. Data were based on the answers of 46,131 PISA 2006 students with scores classified below level 2 or above level 4, as well as the answers of their principals to school questionnaire and the OECD indicators of the financial and human resources invested in education at the national level for secondary school. The dependent variable of the analysis was a dichotomous variable the values of which represent the two different groups of students. The independent variables were the OECD indicators, and the items and indices derived from the student and school questionnaires. The analysis was based on classification trees and the findings were replicated and extended by the means of a multilevel logistic regression model. The results show that very specific levels of teachers’ salaries, parental pressure on schools, school size, awareness of environmental issues, science self-efficacy and socio-economic status have a very important role in predicting whether 15 year olds in OECD countries will belong to the lower or the highest proficiency groups as regards their aptitude in the context of life situations involving problems of a scientific nature.     

Dialogue Across Cultural and Ethnic Differences

In a liberal, democratic, culturally plural society, it is to be expected that people will differ in their views of the good life and that they will proceed differently in cognitive, evaluative, moral and political matters. Such a society requires a sensibly managed social system where constructive interaction between culturally different groups of individuals can be accommodated. Dialogue as 'communicative relations' is suggested here as a means of containing inter-cultural conflict. Dialogue is seen as more than informal conversation, chat or amiable rambling. It involves two or more interlocutors, guided by the spirit of discovery, exploration and interrogation. It is developmental with a range of characteristics and outcomes. Its success requires 'communicative virtues' involving dispositions, emotion and cognition which should be fostered under particular conditions described here. Attention is given to factors influencing successes and failures, to the strengths and weaknesses, difficulties and challenges of dialogue across cultures. It is recognised that dialogue across cultural differences is never a smooth journey down the path toward agreement or understanding.     

Score Comparability of a State Reading Assessment Across Selected Groups of Students With Disabilities

This study investigated the factorial invariance of scores from a 7th-grade state reading assessment across general education students and selected groups of students with disabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess the fit of a 2-factor model to each of the 4 groups. In addition to overall fit of this model, 5 levels of constraint, including equal factor loadings, intercepts, error variances, factor variances, and factor covariances, were investigated. Invariance across the factor loadings and intercepts was supported across the groups of students with disabilities and general education students. Invariance for these groups was not supported for the error variances. For the students with mental retardation, the lack of fit of the 2-factor model and the observed score results suggested a mismatch between the difficulty level of this test and the ability level of these students. Although the results generally supported the score comparability of the reading assessment across these groups, further research is needed into the nature of the larger error variances for the student with disabilities groups and into accommodations and modifications for the students with mental retardation.     

中西文化差异与大学生跨文化交际能力的培养

中西交流中,由于不同文化在价值取向、思维方式、社会规范、生活方式等方面存在着差异,从而造成交际障碍,给跨文化交际活动带来不利影响。增强交际者的跨文化意识,培养跨文化交际能力,可以消除由于中西文化差异而引起的误解,从而进行有效地交流。     

Smart Conformists: Children and Adolescents Associate Conformity With Intelligence Across Cultures

The current study used a novel methodology based on multivocal ethnography to assess the relations between conformity and evaluations of intelligence and good behavior among Western (U.S.) and non-Western (Ni-Vanuatu) children (6- to 11-year-olds) and adolescents (13- to 17-year-olds; N = 256). Previous research has shown that U.S. adults were less likely to endorse high-conformity children as intelligent than Ni-Vanuatu adults. The current data demonstrate that in contrast to prior studies documenting cultural differences between adults' evaluations of conformity, children and adolescents in the United States and Vanuatu have a conformity bias when evaluating peers' intelligence and behavior. Conformity bias for good behavior increases with age. The results have implications for understanding the interplay of conformity bias and trait psychology across cultures and development.     

Reading Across Mediums: Effects of Reading Digital and Print Texts on Comprehension and Calibration

This study explored differences that might exist in comprehension when students read digital and print texts. Ninety undergraduates read both digital and print versions of newspaper articles and book excerpts on topics of childhood ailments. Prior to reading texts in counterbalanced order, topic knowledge was assessed and students were asked to state medium preferences. After reading, students were asked to judge under which medium they comprehended best. Results demonstrated a clear preference for digital texts, and students typically predicted better comprehension when reading digitally. However, performance was not consistent with students' preferences and outcome predictions. While there were no differences across mediums when students identified the main idea of the text, students recalled key points linked to the main idea and other relevant information better when engaged with print. No differences in reading outcomes or calibration were found for newspaper or book excerpts.     

Essentialization of Social Categories Across Development in Two Cultures

Children display an “essentialist” bias in their everyday thinking about social categories. However, the degree and form of this bias varies with age and with the nature of the categories, as well as across cultures. This project investigated the development of the essentialist bias across five social categories (i.e., gender, nationality, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status (rich/poor), and sports-team supporter) in two countries. Children between 5 and 10 years of age in Turkey (Study 1, N = 74) and the United States (Study 2, N = 73), as well as adults in both countries (Study 3, N = 223), participated. Results indicate surprising cross-cultural parallels with respect to both the rank ordering of essentialist thinking across these five categories and increasing differentiation among them over development.     

Somatic, Affective and Behavioral Distress Reactions Across Cultures

The purpose of the present study was to compare the expression and frequency of somatic, affective and cognitive symptoms of distress across Turkish and U.S. university students. An open-ended free-list question was used to elicit distress responses from 827 Turkish and U.S. participants. The coding was done using classical content analysis. It was found that Turkish students reported equal amounts of affective, cognitive, behavioral, somatic, interpersonal and coping responses, whereas the U.S. students reported more affective and somatic symptoms than other response categories. U.S. students reported more affective and somatic symptoms than the Turkish students and the Turkish students listed more behavioral, interpersonal, and coping responses than the U.S. students. Turkish students’ tendency to report more behavioral, coping, and interpersonal responses is consistent with the collectivist nature of Turkish society. U.S. students’ tendency to report higher levels of somatic symptoms contradicts the findings from the WHO primary care study (Gureje et al. American Journal of Psychiatry 154:989–995, 1997). Limitations of the study and research and counseling implications of the findings are discussed.     

Other Ways to Wisdom: Learning Through the Senses Across Cultures

Most of us in the Western world are accustomed to learning about the world primarily through our senses of sight and hearing. Despite a few interesting experiments in the education of the "lower" senses, smell, taste and touch have not been accorded a place in mainstream Western education. These senses tend to be associated either with "savagery" or sensualism. When we look across cultures, however, a different sensory picture emerges, in which each of the senses has a vital role to play in the acquisition of knowledge of the world. The example is taken of the Desana people of the Colombian rainforest. For the Desana the sound of every bird call, the colour and scent of every flower, the taste of every fruit is imbued with a message about the social and cosmic order. The Desana remind us in the modern West that knowledge does not just come from books and computers, it comes from the full-bodied experience and interpretation of our environment.     

Differences in Privacy Between Chinese and Western Cultures

Privacy means different in both cultures.In modern information society,it deverses more attention from us.Privacy in oriental culture is quite distinctive from that in western culture.And the reasons are also not the same.     

论中西方自我的差异

中西方人所讲的自我在六个方面存在明显差异：第一，“自我”含义的大小有差异；第二，对自我核心内涵的认识有差异;第三，对自我结构的认识有差异；第四，研究自我的角度有差异；第五，无我与重我的差异；第六，对自我最高境界追求态度上的差异。     

Other Ways to Wisdom: Learning Through the Senses Across Cultures

Most of us in the Western world are accustomed to learning about the world primarily through our senses of sight and hearing. Despite a few interesting experiments in the education of the "lower" senses, smell, taste and touch have not been accorded a place in mainstream Western education. These senses tend to be associated either with "savagery" or sensualism. When we look across cultures, however, a different sensory picture emerges, in which each of the senses has a vital role to play in the acquisition of knowledge of the world. The example is taken of the Desana people of the Colombian rainforest. For the Desana the sound of every bird call, the colour and scent of every flower, the taste of every fruit is imbued with a message about the social and cosmic order. The Desana remind us in the modern West that knowledge does not just come from books and computers, it comes from the full-bodied experience and interpretation of our environment.     

Gender Differences,Family and Psychological Factors Affecting School Performance in Greek Secondary School Students

High rates of school failure have been reported for secondary school students, with boys presenting more schooling difficulties. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between school performance and family and psychological factors. A sample of 1315 male and female secondary school students was recruited from 54 classes randomly selected out of a total of 534 classes in the Greek region of East Macedonia and Thrace. School performance was measured dichotomously according to the final school results (pass or fail). Family and sociodemographic data were collected and psychological problems were measured using the Youth Self Report (YSR). Male gender, low socioeconomic status, low parental education and parental separation were all positively associated with school failure. Those who failed scored higher on the YSR problem scales than those who passed, and boys were more affected by adverse circumstances than girls. The results indicate that students, especially boys, with psychological problems and those coming from families of low socioeconomic and educational status are at high risk of school failure.     

中美文化中恭维语语用差异与语用失误

恭维语是语言中重要的部分,中关文化中人们在使用恭维语时表现出很大差异,这体现出不同民族文化内涵。不了解这些差异及其背后的民族文化,就会导致跨文化交际失误。英语教学中培养学生得体的恭维语使用能力．可以帮助他们减少语用失误。