Nonshared environmental influences on individual differences in early behavioral development: a monozygotic twin differences study

The monozygotic (MZ) twin differences method was used to investigate nonshared environmental (NSE) influences independent of genetics. Four-year-old MZ twin pairs (N = 2,353) were assessed by their parents on 2 parenting measures (harsh parental discipline and negative parental feelings) and 4 behavioral measures (anxiety, prosocial behavior, hyperactivity, and conduct problems). Within-pair differences in parenting correlated significantly with MZ differences in behavior, with an average effect size of 3%. For the extreme 10% of the parenting-discordant and behavior-discordant distributions, the average NSE effect size was substantially greater (11%), suggesting a stronger NSE relationship for more discordant twins. NSE relationships were also stronger in higher risk environments, that is, families with lower socioeconomic status, greater family chaos, or greater maternal depression.     

个体差异中的动机因素对二语习得的影响

个体差异是客观存在的个体因素,个体差异因素中包括认知风格、个体智商、学习动机、学习风格和学习策略等等个体差异因素,其中最主要的还是学习动机。而这一因素在很大程度上影响着第二语学得,对英语的教学也起着至关重要的作用。该文主要论述的是国内外对动机类型,动机对第二外语习得影响的研究以及激励学习动机的策略。     

The impact of individual differences on e‐learning system satisfaction: A contingency approach

This study investigated the impact of contingent variables on the relationship between four predictors and students' satisfaction with e‐learning. Five hundred and twenty‐two university students from 10 intact classes engaging in online instruction were asked to answer questionnaires about their learning styles, perceptions of the quality of the proposed predictors and satisfaction with e‐learning systems. The results of analysis of variance and structural equation modelling analyses showed that two contingent variables, gender and job status, significantly influenced the perceptions of predictors and students' satisfaction with the e‐learning system. This study also found a statistically significant moderating effect of two contingent variables, student job status and learning styles, on the relationship between predictors and e‐learning system satisfaction. The results suggest that a serious consideration of contingent variables is crucial for improving e‐learning system satisfaction. The implications of these results for the management of e‐learning systems are discussed.     

The Watch-and-Wait Task: On the reliability and validity of a new method of assessing self-control in preschool children

A preschooler's ability to delay gratification in the waiting task is predictive of several developmental outcomes, despite this task's relatively low reliability level. Success in this task depends on the use of distraction strategies. The new Watch-and-Wait Task (WWT) has been developed to enhance reliability and to investigate whether the waiting situation is equally predictive if distraction from the reward is inhibited. To prevent distraction in the WWT, children were instructed to watch an hourglass run out during the waiting period. In a reliability analysis (n = 31) the WWT showed acceptable retest reliability. In a second study (n = 61), the time preschoolers spent waiting in the WWT was associated with later academic achievement and behavioral problems diagnosed at the end of grade 1, even after controlling for intelligence, gender and age. Overall, the WWT proved to be a reliable instrument predictive of children's behavioral and academic development.     

我的学术之路(三):中学教师的知识和学术积累

1973年至1978年五年间,作者在前旅大38中任美术教师,同时担任学校图书管理员并承担多门文科课程的教学工作。这些工作经历和之前的知识积累为作者后来从事目录学和版本学研究提供了重要的铺垫和良性准备,对后来的学术思维和论文写作也产生了重要影响。     

武当文化研究论文索引（2001—2010）

武当文化研究历时十余年,产生了一大批学术成果,既有总体概况,又有专题切点。收集归类武当文化研究论文并汇集成索引,可以展现已有学术成就,进而为深入研究提供参考。     

Effort strategies in a mastery instructional system: The quantification of effort and the impact of effort on achievement

The mastery method of instruction stresses the importance of student effort to a much greater degree than a traditional approach. Mastery advocates believe that a student can compensate for lower ability through greater persistence. This research attempted to develop variables which quantify a student's willingness to engage in appropriate effort and to relate these variables to student achievement. It was possible to demonstrate that the effort variables accounted for differences in student achievement beyond the impact of differences in student aptitude. Use of this method of assessing effort is urged in more diverse educational settings.     

The Paradox of Low Academic Achievement but High Self-Esteem in African American Students: An Attributional Account

Despite evidencing on average lower academic achievement than White students, African American students are usually found to have higher self-esteem. An attributional account is provided to explain this paradox. This account focuses on the expectancies, attributions, and self-esteem of African American college students. The existing literature with regard to attributions, expectancies, and self-esteem is reviewed, and the findings from two recent studies are introduced. Finally, some implications for education are discussed. It is concluded that concerns over threats to self-esteem in African American students may be misplaced. Instead, the data show that African American college students experience increasing doubts that their efforts will be rewarded in ways equivalent to those of White students, and they make increasingly external attributions. The results suggest the need to address the issue of ethnicity and opportunity more directly in our educational institutions.     

Effects of tactile training on visual speechreading: performance changes related to individual differences in cognitive skills

We report on a follow-up study of the R?nnberg, Andersson, Lyxell, & Spens (1998) speech tracking training study. The purpose was to examine, initially and after training, the effects of different tactile aids on tasks of visual speechreading. We also examined cognitive prerequisites for initial baseline speechreading and posttraining speechreading performance. Compared with speechreading alone, tactile aids impaired sentence-based speechreading at first, although performance improved with training. No effects of vibrotactile aids or training were obtained for visual word-decoding. Initial baseline speechreading performance and posttraining performance correlated with cognitive skills, but the size of the correlations changed. The size of the correlations also varied with the different tactually mediated speechreading conditions.     

中国学位与研究生教育大事记

1月2日 国务院学位委员会下发《关于批准广州医学院等单位为新增博士学位授予单位的通知》.国务院学位委员会第十八次会议批准新增博士学位授予单位及其授权学科、专业有:广州医学院的内科学(呼吸系病);贵州大学的计算机软件与理论、农药学;解放军装备指挥技术学院的通信与信息系统、作战指挥学;海军大连舰艇学院的交通信息工程及控制、兵种战术学;南京政治学院的马克思主义理论与思想政治教育、军队政治工作学;南京陆军指挥学院的合同战术学、作战指挥学;海军航空工程学院的通信与信息系统、航空宇航推进理论与工程等.     

冷战与美国大学的学术研究（1945—1970年）

通过考察战后四分之一世纪里美国联邦政府为实现冷战目标对大学的学术研究所产生的影响,和美国大学的学术研究在为美国冷战目标服务中的新进展,以揭示美国大学的学术研究与国家利益之间的关系:大学的学术研究与国家利益密切相关,不受外界影响的学术自由成为了神话。大学的学术研究必须着眼于国家利益,为国家利益服务。国家利益是决定政府在学术自由与学术为国家服务之间作出选择和价值判断的主要依据。     

The Same Term but Different Connotations: Cultural and Historical Perspectives on Studying the Academic Profession in China and Other Asian Countries

Through experiencing and reviewing multiple-country endeavors in academic profession study and participating in a new project regarding the academic profession in Asia, the author pinpoints and anticipates the shortcomings of study alone or dominantly questionnaire-based and ignoring the broader social context. The author proposes a new perspective or methodology to mitigate these shortcomings. The traditional approach focuses on commonalities rather than differences of the academic profession in a variety of countries. By comparing identical questionnaires, it is easy to conclude that, according to some indicators, the academic profession in developing countries, a category in which most Asian countries belong, is inferior to that in developed countries by a certain magnitude. This research strategy will devalue the research efforts on the academic profession in Asia. The academic profession is a complicated phenomenon, and it requires a sophisticated research methodology. The characteristics of the academic profession in Asia can be induced by empirically studying its relationship with the institutional environments in which the academic profession is embedded. In addition, all developing countries in Asia are undergoing a process of modernization. This dynamic feature is valuable and deserves exploration. The institutional environments in Asia can be demonstrated and illustrated via cultural and historical lenses. The purpose of this paper is to review international projects and literature regarding the academic profession. This review tries to be both critical and constructive, and shed light on newly initiated projects in the Asian academic profession. Two major research questions are raised by the author: What is the scholarly value of the new project? What strategy can researchers employ for this endeavor? Past research is dominated by the structure-function paradigm and cross-sectional questionnaire method. This approach has both strengths and weaknesses. Historical and cultural perspectives are proposed to overcome the existing limitations and explore the potential value of the new academic effort.     

中国学位与研究生教育大事记(2002年)

1月9日国务院学位委员会、教育部下发《关于加强和改进专业学位教育工作的若干意见》。强调要充分认识发展专业学位教育的重要性;统筹规划专业学位教育,积极、主动适应经济社会发展需要;深化专业学位教育制度改革,提高培养质量;建立和完善专业学     

Academic staff perspectives on technology for assessment (TfA) in higher education: A systematic literature review

This paper presents a systematic literature review of academic staff experiences and perceptions of adopting Technology for Assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning in Higher Education. This paper is a qualitative synthesis of 65 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2012 and 2017 reporting on the use of technology for assessment (TfA). The results suggest that there are some efficiencies for staff in implementing TfA but this can come with a cost at the set-up and maintenance phases. Furthermore, results indicated that assessment design is not of foremost concern to academic staff when introducing TfA, but that a wide variety of pressures and both educational and operational drivers are present. There were inconclusive findings in relation to understandings of appropriate institutional environments and supports for TfA to flourish in higher education. There is a need for empirical research, particularly longitudinal investigations, of academic experiences of implementations of TfA to investigate sustainability of adoption. The imperative of exploring the academic staff perspective as the instigator and manager of both the technology and the student learning experience requires deep consideration as TfA adoption progresses.     

Personal capacity building for the human services: The roles of curriculum and individual differences in predicting self-concept in college/university students

While much research has outlined the importance of intra-psychic factors in predicting workplace success, it is rare that attention is given to the development of these factors in training for human service professions (e.g. psychology, clergy, nursing). Accordingly, the present study explores differences in self-concept, a key intra-psychic factor, between two institutions that train human service professionals. One institution provides a self-concept program as part of its curriculum while the other provides no such program. Structural equation modeling showed that students from the former institution evinced higher scores on 10 of the 13 measured self-concept factors. However, when personality dimensions were included in modeling, only four of the original 10 self-concept differences remained. Taken together, this study demonstrates: (a) some support for the role of curriculum in self-concept development, (b) the predictive utility of personality on self-concept, and (c) the importance of controlling for such individual differences when evaluating institutional effects.