How to Choose the Best

This chapter deals with a crucial component of our position, the presumption that there are objective grounds for preferring one thing to another within the various cultural institutions we deal with, that there are better or worse symphonies, soufflés and theories of the atom. The task of showing this is more urgent for some institutions than others. While philosophers can doubt anything, most people are persuaded of the objectivity of our efforts to comprehend the physical world and to weigh, count and measure accurately in many areas of human activity. Again, when we are faced with a choice among functional objects or processes, most people will admit that we can ground a preference for a knife or an exercise routine on objectively established facts: sharpness, or measurable increase in strength. Here, certainly, various conflicting desiderata may enter and make actual decisions more difficult — the sharpest knife may also be the most expensive; we may need to worry about its safety features; it may be ugly; and so on. But many will doubt that our judgements of comparative worth for non-functional objects such as paintings or sonatas can claim a similarly objective basis. We shall, therefore, concentrate our efforts on the most doubted areas, but will begin with the less contentious, where we think it is useful to draw attention to the genuine problems some philosophers have stressed, to show in fact that what we believe to be popular unconcern deserves to be somewhat ruffled.     

The effects of solo status on women’s and men’s success: The moderating role of the performance context

A considerable body of research has shown that being the only representative of one’s gender group (solo status) when performing an activity affects women more than men. The aim of our two experiments was to show that the performance context can moderate the effects of numerical status (majority vs. solo) on performance and that men can also be disadvantaged by solo status. Our proposal is that a groupwork context which makes the “leader” stereotype more salient will be more beneficial to men while an intergender comparison context in a typically feminine thematic field will tend to favor women. To test this hypothesis, the numerical status of the women and men was manipulated while they were performing a task presented as a human and social sciences test in either a groupwork or intergender comparison context. As expected, the solo women were less successful in the groupwork context than in the intergender comparison context (Experiment 1) whereas the solo men were less successful in the intergender comparison context than in the groupwork context (Experiment 2). The role of the performance context and the gender stereotypes that it foregrounds seems to be a key factor in the effects of solo status on performance.     

Publication Names and Terms

As we analyze our country's social and economic development, the following sets of contradictions stand out in the picture of this development. These include: (1) the contradiction between the expansion of population and the growth of per capita income, (2) the contradiction between a high employment rate and a low rate of production efficiency, (3) the contradiction between a sense of common wealth and well-being and the expansion of the gaps between people's incomes, and (4) the contradiction between the policy of opening up to the outside world and the construction of spiritual culture. There are many ways to solve these contradictions, but, under the system of socialism, in addition to organizing production and the people's lives in a reasonable way, the fundamental way out of the potential impasses seems to be nothing more than strengthening the education system and developing the cause of education. When education is done well, and our people's quality is enhanced generally, then the expansion of the population would not just be an explosion in consumption; rather, it would mean an expansion in technique and skill, and an enhancement in the labor productivity and efficiency rate. Our common wealth and well-being will then also be based on ability and contribution. Then, too, we will be able, under the conditions of opening up to the outside, to absorb truly and correctly the essence of foreign cultures to help us in building up the spiritual culture of socialism in our country. Therefore, we believe that it is a mark of true foresight and acumen that the party center designated the development of education as a strategic focal point for our country's growth in the current period and for some time into the future. The "Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Reforming the Education System" pointed out that we must give the enterprise of education a tremendous boost in its development as the foundation of the nation's overall economic development. Furthermore, this resolution stipulated that the growth of the state's annual expenditure in the area of education must be kept at a higher level than the growth of the normal and regular fiscal income of the state. It also stipulated that there should be a year-to-year increase in the per-student annual average educational expenses. These very important decisions will propel with great force the development of our nation's enterprise of education and will allow it to have a greater and greater impact on our country's economic revival and recovery, its social growth, and its scientific and technological progress.     

A New Point of Departure for the Reform of the Higher Educational System

Like the spring wind causing ripples on the surface of a pool of water, in recent years the phenomenon of having various colleges and universities join together to promote and run educational enterprises, and the diverse types of experimentation in reform, such as having institutions of higher education being built in cooperation with one another, or the affairs of more than one institution being run and administered jointly by a common system—this latter phenomenon being one that has developed most rapidly in these last few years—has brought a new vitality and hope to the reform of the higher educational system. Therefore it has also captured the attention not only of educators but of all sectors of society. People anticipate that it will be from this very point that the establishment of a new higher educational system in our country will be launched.     

会计人员如何应对WTO的挑战

会计作为一种管理活动,其发展的根本动力来自社会、经济环境的变化。我国加入WTO后,财务管理环境变得更加复杂,与国际会计惯例接轨也愈加迫切,这一方面给我国的会计人员带来了机遇,另一方面也带来了挑战。     

News and views

This is a new section of the journal which will appear once a year, or more often if there is a clear demand for it. The intention is to provide a place for short (no more than 1000‐word) contributions from readers who would like to inform others of particular developments or issues, or who would like to present brief position statements on specific curricular themes.

We hope, particularly, that the local groups of the Curriculum Association, our overseas corresponding editors and members of our advisory board will use the opportunity this provides to draw colleagues’ attention to trends, developments and issues of which we ought to be aware at this time of rapid change. The need to stay in touch has never been greater.     

Editorial

As the incoming editorial team we would like to introduce ourselves to our readers. We are looking forward to doing all we can to further the high standard of the journal and its relevance as an international forum for sharing research and scholarship on teaching, learning and curriculum, and the conditions and policy environment of higher education that impinge on academic work. In an effort to ensure that our processes are efficient and transparent, we have revised the Notes to Contributors, which you will find on the back page. Next year the journal goes to four issues which will together form a somewhat larger volume, but will mean that each issue is smaller. The intent is to publish more frequently so that relevance and currency is enhanced. For this reason we will need to put more stress on observing the general rule that papers are to be 5000–7000 words in length. We are also committed to a more rapid turnaround time for submitted papers and have been working to streamline our management systems with the help of our able administrator, Karen Sanecki.     

借鉴和超越:鲁迅与果戈里的讽刺艺术

鲁迅取法果戈里,不独体现在“为人生”的艺术观念上,还体现在以讽刺为主的诸多艺术技巧上。甚至说,鲁迅对果戈里讽刺艺术的借鉴似乎显得更为重要,它是鲁迅取法果戈里的精髓所在。这种讽刺精神不仅照亮了他的小说,还散射到了他的杂文、散文和诗歌的创作中。     

Reading Into the Future: Competence for the 21st Century

In this theoretical contribution, our purpose is to examine the nature of reading competence as it unfolds at the present and to project that nature into the future. More specifically, we ask what it will mean to be a competent reader for the 21st century and what combination of knowledge, beliefs, abilities, and processes that competence will require. To address this question, we begin by presenting our view of reading as essentially multidimensional, developmental, and goal directed, and of the development of reading competence as framed by research on expertise development and on the role of epistemic beliefs. With that view in mind, we then identify salient features of the current context and how they might present challenges that will make the development of competent readers even more vital as we move into the future. Finally, we forward three suggestions for supporting readers in their growth toward competence for this century.     

如何恰当的进行英语交流

英语在我们的日常生活中起着非常重要的作用，越来越多的人努力地想把英语学好。我国的英语教学水平已经有了很大的提高，学生在考试中的英语分数也非常地高，然而人们普遍地感觉到很难用英语进行口头的交流。为什么会出现这样的问题?该如何解决这一问题?本文力图从语用学的角度来分析和解决这一问题。并着重于分析如何在交际中注意H．P．格赖斯的合作原则、礼貌原则以及中西方文化的差异，以提高英语交际的能力。     

Parental or policy maker misunderstandings? Contextual dilemmas of pre-schooling for poverty reduction in Malawi

With the move towards achieving universal primary education, focus is increasingly shifting towards early childhood development. Within this, debates are apparent between those who view education at this stage holistically, with concern that it should not be directly linked with primary schooling, and those who view it more explicitly as contributing towards achieving universal primary completion by ensuring that children will be appropriately prepared for studying at this level. Moreover, it is apparent that views of different stakeholders vary. Evidence from Malawi indicates that national policies are closely linked with the international agenda, with a focus on holistic approaches. However, parents view pre-schooling in a narrower way, as an important step towards preparing their children for studying successfully at the primary level. Rather than considering this as parental ‘misunderstanding’, we argue that this perspective shows a greater awareness of local realities and is, therefore, more likely to support an escape from poverty.     

Complementary Kinesiology: Why It Is Not Wise to Choose Sides or Work Alone

In this essay I argue in favor of a holistic vision for our field under the heading of complementary kinesiology. I argue that battles over reified dichotomies and even compromise solutions have impeded our progress as a profession. I describe the theory of complementation as an alternative. I say it is a strange and paradoxical way of conceptualizing our values and our direction, one that is difficult to grasp intellectually. But I also suggest that it helps us see how and why there really are no “sides” in our profession and why “working alone” is not a viable option. I argue that complementation will allow us to be a more flexible, effective, and otherwise smarter field. Thus, I conclude that any difficulties inherent in understanding complementation are well worth the effort.     

Environmental Education: Arguing the case for multiple approaches

This paper develops existing arguments about the need to rethink ways in which environmental education is conceptualised, interpreted and enacted by schools, teachers and students working within their communities. In doing this, it critiques what it sees as the narrowing and constraining influence that socially critical theory has exerted over the field, and calls for multiple approaches, carefully and communally deliberated on, in order to deliver the (environmental) educational goals deemed appropriate and necessary by schools and communities. Such an approach, it is argued, will likely be cross-disciplinary and multi-faceted in that it will be informed by a combination of traditions and ideological persuasions which together will offer more than any one of them could alone.     

我国社会底层人群向上流动困难问题研究——纳克斯“贫困的恶性循环理论”的启示

长期以来存在的城乡二元经济结构使我国城乡差距、贫富差距逐步拉大,在这种背景下,我国社会底层人群向上流动越来越困难,流动的空间也越来越狭小,这将会成为一个恶性循环,并将对我国社会的稳定造成不利影响。纳克斯"贫困的恶性循环理论"对我国社会底层人群向上流动困难问题研究有很重要的启示作用,对该问题进行原因分析,并努力提出解决该问题的对策和建议,有利于我国社会人群合理流动和和谐社会的构建。     

Heading for the Ha-Ha

Some educationalists predict that it will not be long before modern technology—especially the microchip—revolutionizes education, automating traditional teachers, tutors and industrial instructors into oblivion. In this paper I argue that such fears—or what some call hopes—are groundless. Few of the more important ways in which human teachers interact with students can be electronically simulated. For as far ahead as it is possible to see, educators will be people rather than computers, and the dominant educational medium will continue to be the printed and spoken word rather than the image on a screen. There will be no great boom in computer-assisted instruction (CAI); computers, video (including videodisc) and the other products of modern technology will advance their status as useful educational tools, but they will not revolutionize education.     

论我国民办高等教育持续发展面临的几个问题--兼谈对北京市七所民办高校考察的体会

我国民办高等教育从恢复到现在已经20多年,成绩斐然。在民办高等教育蓬勃发展的同时,还存在一些制约民办高等教育进一步发展的障碍,如能否投资办学、如何实现公平竞争、怎样合理定位等等。这些问题如果不能得到很好的解决,将严重影响到我国民办高等教育的持续、健康发展。     

Internet Infidelity: Double Standards and the Differing Views of Women and Men

This exploratory study analyzed which types of acts involving the Internet are considered most severe, sex differences in the perceptions of infidelity, and the evaluation of infidelity when one commits it versus one's partner. Two-hundred and eight participants rated the severity of 44 specific acts (e.g., disclosing love to a person met in an Internet chat room) on either the self-infidelity or partner-infidelity questionnaire. The results indicated that involving/goal-directed acts were rated as more severe than superficial/informal acts, women viewed involving/goal-directed acts of Internet infidelity as more severe than did men, and partner-infidelity was perceived as more severe than self-infidelity. The severity of 44 specific acts are also provided, and this information advances our ability to describe infidelity on the Internet and predict if, and to what degree, others will consider particular actions as infidelity. The implications of these results, as well as future directions, are discussed.     

Friends,peers and higher education

Theorists of friendship in contemporary society have suggested that our relationships with peers are characterised by their emphasis on openness, disclosure and emotional communication. Moreover, Beck and Beck‐Gernsheim argue that friendship, as a deliberately sought, trusting partnership between two people, can play an important role in countering some of the negative consequences of a market‐driven society, ‘acting as a shared lifeline to take the weight of each other’s confusions and weaknesses’. However, drawing on a series of in‐depth interviews with students from nine different higher education institutions, this paper will argue that such theorists overlook significant complexity in the ways in which young adults choose to ‘order’ their friendships. Indeed, it will suggest that highly individualised and ruthlessly competitive approaches to academic study can be maintained alongside more socially cooperative relationships with friends and peers, played out in non‐academic arenas. The paper will discuss the implications of this for both sociological theorising about friendship, and policy and practice within the higher education sector.     

对学困生的几点思考

在长期的教学实践中 ,经常会发现的确有一些学习困难的学生 ,如何正确看待这些学生 ,关系着我们教育的成功与否 ,关系到我们的素质教育能否真正实现。因此 ,我们有必要对学习困难学生形成的原因进行探讨 ,从而找的解决的办法