Dynamical Behavior of Core ^3He Nuclear Reaction-Diffusion Systems and Sun＇s Gravitational Field

The coupling of the sun‘s gravitational field with processes of diffusion and convection exerts a significant influence on the dynamical behavior of the core 3He nuclear reaction-diffusion system. Stability analyses of the system are made in this paper by using the theory of nonequilibrium dynamics. It is showed that, in the nuclear reaction regions extending from the center to about 0. 38 times of the radius of the sun, the gravitational field enables the core ^3He nuclear reaction-diffusion system to become unstable and, after the instability, new states to appear in the system have characteristic of time oscillation. This may change the production rates of both ^7Be and ^8B neutrinos.     

Existence and Uniqueness of Global Solution for Certain Degenerate Reaction-Diffusion Systems

In this paper we discuss the following nonlinear degenerate parabolic systems u_i=△a_i(u_i)+b_i(x,t,u_i)Du_i+f_i(x,t,u)for i = 1,2, …, m and u = (u_1,…, u_m) is a vector function, with Dirichlet boundary condition. Under some structure conditions on a_i,b_i and f_i and initial data u_i~o∈Li(Ω) for some pi>p_i~o = 1,2,…,m, the result on existence and uniquence of global solution is established.     

Development and validation of Children’s Responsible Environmental Behavior Scale

Though environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) has been a focus of many studies in the field of environmental education, very few scales have been developed to assess children’s ERB. In this regard, this article focuses on the development and validation of Children’s Responsible Environmental Behavior Scale (CREBS) and also reports the psychometric properties of this scale. The items in the CREBS were developed initially from the responses to four open-ended items by 229 fourth and fifth grade students. This initial form was pilot tested with 673 fourth and fifth graders and then subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Later, the revised version of the scale was administrated to 2412 fifth graders, and those results were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis. CREBS consists of 23 items measured using a seven-point Likert-type scale, which have been organized into four sub-scales: political action (six items, α?=?.92); eco-management (six items, α?=?.70); consumer and economic action (five items, α?=?.70); and Individual and Public Persuasion (six items, α?=?.80). Study results indicate that CREBS can be used for exploring the extent to which elementary school students in Turkey demonstrate four types of behavior to help prevent and resolve environmental problems and issues.     

A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Belgian and Vietnamese Children’s Social Competence and Behavior

Children’s social competence and behavioral adjustment are key issues for child development, education, and clinical research. Cross-cultural analyses are necessary to provide relevant methods of assessing them for cross-cultural research. The aim of the current study was to contribute to this important line of research by validating the 3-factor structure of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30; LaFrenière & Dumas, 1996) among Belgian and Vietnamese children and by comparing Belgian and Vietnamese children’s social competence and behavioral adjustment. Parent reports were collected relating to 607 children ages 5 to 7: 243 from Belgium and 364 from Vietnam. The results support the universality of the 3-factor structure of the SCBE-30 encompassing social competence, externalizing behavior, and internalizing behavior. They give strong support to the relevance of this theoretically and empirically based instrument for conducting cross-cultural studies. However, they also reveal significant cultural variations with regard to individualist and collectivist values in the 2 countries under consideration.     

The Study of Sun Yat-sen＇s Grand Idea on the Development and Construction of Guangxi

边疆地区的安全、稳定与发展,关系到国家的长治久安。只有实现边疆地区社会经济的发展,缩小与内地的差距,才能使国家和谐、健康、稳定地发展。孙中山先生非常重视中国边疆地区的发展,并为此提出各种具体的设想和规划,开发建设广西是其中的重要组成部分。文章通过梳理孙中山的相关阐述,为边疆地区社会经济的发展提供借鉴和参考。     

Using Virtual Field Trips to Connect Students with University Scientists: Core Elements and Evaluation of zipTrips?

Physical field trips to scientists?? work places have been shown to enhance student perceptions of science, scientists and science careers. Although virtual field trips (VFTs) have emerged as viable alternatives (or supplements) to traditional physical fieldtrips, little is known about the potential of virtual field trips to provide the same or similar science career exploration advantages as physical field trips. The overarching goal of this paper is to describe a VFT, zipTrips?, designed to provide middle school students, especially those in resource limited rural areas, with access to university scientists. Using zipTrips as a case example, the paper identifies and describes some of the core characteristics and elements of high quality authentic VFTs that foster student-scientist interactions. In addition, the paper uses program evaluation data to examine the impact of zipTrips on student perceptions of scientists.     

The Common Core’s promises and pitfalls from the perspectives of policy entrepreneurs and ground-level actors

The Common Core State Standards Initiative (Common Core) was spearheaded by policy entrepreneurs, unveiled nationally in 2010, and initially received strong support from leaders in state and federal government, philanthropic foundations, the business sector, and teacher unions. However, the reform came into the crosshairs of an ideologically wide set of politicians and interest groups. What is less well understood about the controversy are the responses the reform encountered within states, particularly from ground-level actors, such as parents, local educators, school boards, and community members, as well as their elected representatives. This study uses two data sets to examine how the promises and pitfalls that the reform’s policy entrepreneurs anticipated in 2011 were received by ground-level actors in 10 states between late-2013 and early-2014. The findings suggest ground-level responses to the anticipated promises and pitfalls both spurred and resonated with interest groups to disrupt the reform’s support among state-level leaders. The findings also suggest that political and implementation lessons may be gained from further study of the adoption and implementation of the Common Core in California. Whether the Common Core in California or other states may improve achievement or equity is considered in light of third-wave reforms.     

Mother–Child Relationships and Children’s Psychosocial Functioning: The Specific Roles of Attachment Security and Maternal Behavior

Objective. This paper aimed to examine the contributions of a second assessment time point of attachment security, along with assessments of maternal behavior (sensitivity and autonomy support), to the prediction of children’s behavior problems. Design. Maternal behavior and mother–child attachment were assessed in 73 mother–child dyads when children were between 15 months and 26 months old. Children’s internalizing and externalizing problems were reported by their teachers in kindergarten and first grade. Results. Each assessment time point of attachment security, as well as maternal behavior, explained comparable portions of the variance in children’s anxious/depressed behavior, jointly predicting more than three times the variance explained by either measure of attachment alone. Conclusion. Researchers should consider a multidimensional approach to the assessment of the quality of mother–child relationships, at least when attempting to explain the development of child internalizing problems.     

‘He’s from Ghana!’ Exploring the Social and Cultural Complexities of the English Classroom

This essay focuses on my experience studying Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English with Year 9 and the complexities of that particular classroom. It seeks to look beyond the labels that are often imposed on students and to show the importance of examining the particular individuals, both as learners and as people with their own lives outside school. It considers text choice and illustrates how pupils’ cultural and historical backgrounds can play a key role in the social nature of the classroom. It also shows how significant class discussions can be in the development of ideas about literature. The essay then goes on to look at ability judgements and how these can affect learning, considering the value of setting versus mixed-ability grouping.     

Depth of knowledge and context characteristics of the West African Examination Council’s Core Mathematics assessment – the case of Ghana from 1993–2013

This study examined the Core Mathematics assessment of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Ghana for Depth of Knowledge and Context Characteristics over a 20-year period. In all, 1245 assessment items were analysed. The results indicated that nearly 80% of the items assessed students’ ability to either recall basic facts or perform straightforward routine procedures. In terms of the context characteristics, the results showed that about 70% of the items was framed within abstract context, with about 15% each framed within semi-reality and real-life reference contexts, respectively. Overall, the results indicated that the nature of the WASSCE Core Mathematics has not changed much over the 20-year period in terms of depth of knowledge and context characteristics. Implications of the results for teaching and learning of school mathematics, as well as recommendations for the Ministry of Education and WAEC, are provided.     

Pragmatism, Activism, and the Icy Slopes of Logic in George Reisch’s Portrait of the Philosophy of Science as a Young Field

This paper considers several models of politically engaged philosophy with the aim of provoking discussion of George Reisch’s How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science. At issue is the Unity of Science movement’s conception of the philosophy of science in particular and what politically engaged philosophy of science might look like in general. The paper discusses the role that the pragmatist Sidney Hook plays in the book and considers some of the questions raised by the role that he plays: What does it mean to be a politically engaged philosopher of science? Do we want philosophy of science to be politically engaged?     

Situation of China’s solar water heater industry, related national standards, testing and the Golden Sun certification program

China is the largest solar water heater producer and market in the world. Despite the fast growth and an installed capacity that accounts for the majority of the global gross, China＇s per capita solar hot water capacity is still very low, implying a huge margin of market potential; and the recognition of the industry in the global market is handicapped by the scattered scale of production and inconsistent product quality. To ensure continued growth of China＇s solar water heating （SWH） industry, Chinese Government has established a series of national SWH standards, three national testing centers, and a certification program to lay the foundation for the development of the Golden Sun product labeling system. China General Certification Center （CGC） developed the Golden Sun product certification and labeling system on a pass/fail basis evaluating with established criteria. The system was designed to help manufacturers acclimate to explicit consistent requirements and to identify and fix the deficiencies in the design and execution of the program itself. Timely revision and integration of the national standards are recommended to accommodate the test procedures and requirements to new technologies and the evolving SWH ,market. Strict implementation of the Golden Sun certification and labeling system are suggested to avail improving the quality control and forging internationally reputable brands of Chinese solar water heating products.     

CHIANG Kai-shek and Warlords in the Field of ＂Communist Suppression＂： A Case Study of Dispatching SUN Lien-chung＇ s Troops to Jiangxi in 1931

＂剿共＂为了解南京国民政府时期蒋介石对地方实力派的策略提供了一个很好的场域与视角。以蒋档、蒋日记等新资料,还原1931年初蒋调原西北军孙连仲部赴赣＂剿共＂过程,有助于深化＂剿共＂场域中蒋对地方实力派策略的认识。     

Children’s oral narrative and reading skills in the first 3?years of reading instruction

This research investigated the link between oral narrative and reading skills in the first 3 years of reading instruction. Study 1 consisted of 61 children (M = 6:1 years) who had experienced 1 year of reading instruction on average. Children’s story retelling was scored for memory and narrative quality. The quality of children’s narratives correlated positively with their reading skill at this age, but narrative quality did not uniquely predict their reading skill 1 year later. Study 2 consisted of 39 children (M = 7:0 years) who had experienced 2 years of reading instruction on average. At this age, the quality of children’s narratives uniquely predicted their reading skill concurrently and 1 year later, even after controlling for their receptive vocabulary and early decoding. These findings have implications for theories of the oral language foundations of reading and for assessment in the early years of reading instruction.