澳大利亚土著文化与艺术

澳大利亚原居民是世界上最古老的民族之一。澳洲的独特地理环境孕育了澳洲土著独特的文化和艺术。＂梦幻＂是土著人宗教和文化生活的灵魂。澳洲土著人认为＂梦幻时代＂是祖先的创世纪年代,他们祖先的精灵一直沉睡在这块大地上。因此,土著人借助图腾、神话、绘画、歌曲、舞蹈等艺术形式与祖先交流,使他们与大地紧密联系在一起,使他们的过去和现在、超自然和现实联系在一起。     

Gender effects in children's beliefs about school performance: a cross-cultural study

Do young boys and girls understand what leads to academic success (e.g., talent, effort, good teaching, luck) in the same way? Do young girls and boys have equivalent perceptions of their academic competence? Are these beliefs engendered in the same way across sociocultural contexts? In a cross-cultural study of over 3,000 children in grades 2 to 6, ages 7.2 to 13.6, we discovered that boys and girls around the world have very similar ideas about what generally leads to academic success. Moreover, in the few contexts where boys' and girls' academic performances were equal, their beliefs were also equal. However, when girls outperformed boys, their beliefs in their own talent were no greater than boys' beliefs, even though they did have stronger beliefs than boys in other facets of their achievement potential (e.g., putting forth effort, being lucky, getting their teacher's help). Our findings support the generally close correspondence between children's achievement and their competence-related beliefs, with the exception that young girls appear to specifically discount their talent. The effects held regardless of the children's achievement, intelligence, or age (approximately 8 to 13 years). Girls were more biased in some contexts than in others, however, suggesting that competence-related biases are rooted in culture-specific aspects of school settings.     

Psychosocial resilience and vulnerability in Western Australian Aboriginal youth

Resilience is defined as a dynamic and contextually embedded process of positive development despite exposure to significant adversity. The Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population experience significant disadvantage and adversity relative to the non-Aboriginal population, with disproportionate and increasing rates of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care and substantiated child maltreatment seven times the rates for non-Aboriginal children. Despite decades of resilience research there remains a gap in our understanding of the extent to which specific mechanisms and processes support resilient outcomes. This discussion paper synthesizes findings from our four previously published studies which together illustrate the application of a person-based resilience framework of analysis in the context of Western Australian Aboriginal youth. We discuss the implications of this approach for better understanding processes differentially impacting psychosocial functioning of youth depending on level of family-risk exposure.Data for these studies were available for 1021 Aboriginal youth, 12–17 years, drawn from the 2000–2002 Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey (WAACHS), a population representative survey of 5289 Aboriginal children (0–17 years) living in 1999 families. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to model the differential influence of individual, family, cultural and community factors on psychosocial outcomes depending on family-risk context. Key findings revealed 56% of high-risk youth as psychosocially resilient; prosocial friendship and living in low SES neighborhoods uniquely protected psychosocial functioning; and exposure to racism was an additional risk factor for low-risk exposed youth.We conclude that a resilience perspective holds potential for exploring diversity within disadvantaged populations, identifying processes uniquely beneficial for those at greatest risk, and provides crucial insights for communities, practitioners and policy-makers.     

时间的空间隐喻的跨文化研究

时间是一个抽象的概念.研究证实,空间概念的形成先于时间概念,对大多数时间概念的定义和理解都是借助空间概念,通过隐喻的形式来实现的.从词汇、"时间在动"及"自我在动"隐喻系统方面研究时间的空间隐喻及其在中英文中存在的普遍性,可以更好地理解时间的概念.     

跨文化言语交际的认知解读

运用认知语言学进行跨文化交际的研究是一种行之有效的、科学的方法.提高跨文化交际能力的根本途径在于提高跨文化交际者的语言文化认知能力和认知水平.     

Quality of Australian childcare and children's social skills

This study investigated the relationships and interactions between childcare quality (Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale – Revised edition [ECERS‐R]/Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale – Extension [ECERS‐E]) and children's social skills (SSRS) in different sociodemographic areas within one Australian city. Multiple regression analysis revealed that some subscales of ECERS‐R and ECERS‐E (language–reasoning, programme structure, space and furnishings, parents and staff, literacy, mathematics, science and environment) predicted the level of children's social skills and the frequency of problem behaviour, with positive and negative effects. Interestingly, although total scores for ECERS‐R and ECERS‐E were not significant predictors of social skills scores, interaction between total ECERS‐R and ECERS‐E scores was a significant predictor. With some qualifications the study provides evidence that both the childcare centre's neighbourhood and the quality of childcare provision are related to children's social skills. The interaction between social/emotional and academic aspects of quality suggests that we need to consider synergistic dimensions in quality in order to optimally enhance social skills in children.     

澳大利亚土著人的语言演变及其特征

虽然澳大利亚土著人是世界上最古老的民族之一,但是由于外界对他们知之甚少,或者因翻译之故,其独特的语言现象也鲜有研究.本文基于土著人特殊的居住环境,发现他们的语言经历了四个发展过程,其语言特征也有别于其他语言.笔者认为,土著英语的出现是澳洲土著人自己民族归属感的一个重要标志.     

Supporting Australian Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal nursing students using mentoring circles: an action research study

Attempts to recruit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students into nursing degrees have made minimal impact on the number of registered nurses working in Australia's healthcare sector. Yet increasing the number of Indigenous nurses remains one of the most important objectives in strategies to close the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Poor retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree offered in far north Queensland, Australia, indicates the need for a different approach to support and retain Indigenous students. This action research study used a decolonizing methodology and was conducted at a satellite university campus in a remote Torres Strait Island community. Researchers trialled the use of a mentoring circle to support and retain nursing students and interviewed mentors and mentees about their experiences. Grounded theory methods were used to analyse the data. Findings indicated a growth in participant students’ emotional intelligence as a result of participating in a mentoring circle. Students developed confidence, formed a group identity, better-negotiated the university environment, became more effective communicators and supported one another through difficulties. The mentoring circle model improved students' university experience and its use should be considered by tertiary educators working with Indigenous students.     

A study of international students' perspectives on cross-cultural adaptation

The aim of this study was to discover and describe how international students experience and adapt to their new academic, social, cultural and linguistic environment. Questionnaires were given to 12 post-graduate students and interviews conducted on the basis of the responses. It might be expected, given the range of culture shock literature which often presumes the stressful and even pathological nature of cross-cultural transitions, that international students from cultures very different to that found in New Zealand would report high levels of frustration, stress and even depression. While most reported on obstacles to integration as being loneliness, mismatch of culture, frustration with the lack of deep integration with New Zealanders as well as irritation with aspects of their host culture, there was not a high level of stress reported. The greatest block to adaptation was lack of intercultural communicative competence.     

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。     

Celebrating young Indigenous Australian children's speech and language competence

World-wide it is important to recognize Indigenous children's speech and language competence and their language learning environments. Indigenous Australian children participated in the child cohort of Footprints in Time: Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children, a national study supported by Indigenous Australians and the Australian Government collected annually (in waves). There were 692 3–5-year-old children in wave 1, and two years later, 570 5–7-year-old children were in wave 3 (77.0% of children in wave 1 were also in wave 3). Data were obtained via parent interviews and direct assessment. The children spoke between one and eight languages including: English (wave 1: 91.2%, wave 3: 99.6%), Indigenous languages (wave 1: 24.4%, wave 3: 26.8%), creoles (wave 1: 11.5%, wave 3: 13.7%), foreign languages (non-Indigenous languages other than English) (wave 1: 2.0%, wave 3: 5.1%), and sign languages (wave 1: 0.6%, wave 3: 0.4%). Children who spoke an Indigenous language were more likely to live in moderate to extreme isolation than their English-speaking counterparts. Parental concern about speech and language skills was similar to data for non-Indigenous children with approximately one quarter of parents expressing concern (wave 1: yes = 13.9%, a little = 10.4%). Children's language environments were rich, with many family members and friends telling oral stories, reading books, and listening to the children read. Almost a third of families wanted to pass on their cultural language, and many indicated that they would like their child to learn an Indigenous language at school. Overall, Indigenous Australian children have rich cultural and linguistic traditions and their speech and language competence is promoted through family, community, and educational experiences.     

A place to learn: cultivating engaging learning environments for young rural Aboriginal Australians

Rural Aboriginal Australians experience disadvantage across a number of significant social and economic outcomes, including educational engagement and achievement. Current debate postulates that educational environments and systems perpetuate this disadvantage. This qualitative study aimed to contribute to the debate by taking a broader ecological view to consider the aspects of the learning environment that may promote engagement with learning. This paper reports on research conducted in a community-based programme designed to support the engagement of young rural Aboriginal students. A total of 32 participants (including children, parents/carers, tutors, managers, and local teachers) were interviewed to explicate their perspectives on the key aspects of the learning environment that fostered student engagement. An analysis of the interview data identified core characteristics that could be employed to foster engagement and thus contribute to developing equity and self-determination for young rural Aboriginal Australians. Core characteristics that were valued included: a focus on learning and individualised pace; a flexible and relaxed atmosphere; individualised assistance; having an adult who showed interest in the child and their learning; providing a culturally secure learning environment; provision of food; supplying transportation; and staff being part of the same community. This paper contends that these characteristics are valued by the community and thus should inform the practices within the community-based programme as well as mainstream education to facilitate future engagement in learning.     

A cross-cultural study of parents' perceptions of early childhood programs

Cross-cultural studies in early childhood education assist in expanding perspectives and gaining increased understanding and appreciation of programs in other countries. Because both Sweden and the United States are interested in parent involvement in early childhood programs, a survey was conducted to assess parent's perceptions of these programs. Following a review of family life and early childhood education in Sweden and the United States are the specific components of the cross-cultural study. A stratified random sample of parents whose children were involved in early childhood programs was done in St. Louis County, MN, United States, and Kronobergs Lan, Småland, Sweden. In the first section of the five-part survey, parents indicated the degree to which they agreed or disagreed with statements about such areas as governmental support of children and families. Parents in Sweden felt more support of the government, whereas parents in the United States used early childhood programs as a support mechanism to increase their confidence. In the other four sections of the survey, parents rated the importance of various types of parental involvement and the importance of various materials, activities, and caregiver actions in their children's programs. In general, parents in Sweden valued informal contact and inner-directed creative materials and activities. Parents in the United States valued more confining activities such as rote counting, community-based experiences, and compliance with adult expectations. The influence of the macro-society on parents' perceptions as well as microsystem interactions and environments is evident in this study. As early childhood educators learn about and adapt new ideas to their own programs, the potential of cross-cultural studies becomes realized in improved opportunities for young children and their families.     

Health shocks and children's school attainments in rural China

Using a long panel dataset of Chinese farm households covering the period of 1987–2002, this paper studies how major health shocks happening to household adults affect children's school attainments. We find that primary school-age children are the most vulnerable to health shocks, with their chances to enter middle school dropping by 9.9 percentage points when a prime-age adult in their families has a major illness. Our robustness regressions that try to take care of the composition bias in illness reports find larger effects with the upper bound being 16.1 percentage points. We also find that the effects of health shocks vary by gender and birth order. However, middle school-age children are not affected by family health shocks.     

高校学生普及夜间定向训练研究

通过文献资料调研、问卷调查、专家访谈、案例分析、逻辑归纳等方法,简要综述国内外夜间定向、国内普通高校夜间定向训练现状,研究分析我国普通高校开展的夜间定向训练优势及制约因素,最后结合教学实践提出若干建议.