The Structure of Work,Patterns of Communication,and Organizational Learning: A Three‐Nation Comparison

National differences in patterns of new product development reflect differences in patterns of communication and delegation within the organization. In mature U.S. corporations, projects are generally controlled by superiors and implemented by subordinates who compete with each other. People making critical decisions may lack critical information while the people responsible for implementation may not have a stake in overall project success. The result is frequent failure. In U.S. startups, smaller Italian companies and in Japanese management groups, work is carried out by cooperative groups. Members have a shared stake in overall project success. Decisions are made to promote overall project success. Differences among small group performance in U.S., Italian, and Japanese companies reflect differences in the scope of group activity. U.S. startups can innovate technologies, business processes, and products. Innovations by small Italian companies are generally restricted to changes that compliment the activities of other firms in their network. Japanese business groups operate within a highly structured corporate environment. Innovations tend to be limited to elaborations in core technologies, processes, and products.     

Students’ reasoning about electricity: combining performance assessments with argumentation analysis

Our study monitored the cognitive and motivational effects within different educational instruction schemes: On the one hand, teacher‐centred versus hands‐on instruction; on the other hand, hands‐on instruction with and without a knowledge consolidation phase (concept mapping). All the instructions dealt with the same content. For all participants, the hands‐on approach as well as the concept mapping adaptation were totally new. Our hands‐on approach followed instruction based on “learning at work stations”. A total of 397 high‐achieving fifth graders participated in our study. We used a pre‐test, post‐test, retention test design both to detect students' short‐term learning success and long‐term learning success, and to document their decrease rates of newly acquired knowledge. Additionally, we monitored intrinsic motivation. Although the teacher‐centred approach provided higher short‐term learning success, hands‐on instruction resulted in relatively lower decrease rates. However, after six weeks, all students reached similar levels of newly acquired knowledge. Nevertheless, concept mapping as a knowledge consolidation phase positively affected short‐term increase in knowledge. Regularly placed in instruction, it might increase long‐term retention rates. Scores of interest, perceived competence and perceived choice were very high in all the instructional schemes.     

从新设学科“理数”看日本高中课程改革的新特点

2018年3月,日本颁布了新的《高中学习指导要领》,根据时代和社会的变化,针对日本学校教育以及探究性学习实施的现状,设置了一门新学科“理数”,包括“理数探究基础”和“理数探究”。其目的是使学生具有综合地把握事物现象,灵活地运用数学和理科的视角和思维方式进行探究、解决课题的能力。日本将不同学科进行融合,培养学生创造力;采取各种措施,提高探究性学习课程的实施效果;挖掘探究过程中的多种养分,提升学生的科学素养。这些课改特点给我们提供了重要启示。     

Relationships between Learning Styles and Online Learning

This paper examines research on learning styles as related to online learning for adult learners. There is much disagreement regarding the definition of learning style. This paper defines it as an individual's preferred way of learning. The focus is on the extent to which learning styles are able to predict student success (e.g., grades, attitudes). The paper discusses nine different instruments that were used in various studies. Curry's model, which uses the metaphor of the layers of an onion, is used to categorize the instruments by theme for the sake of comparison. Criticisms of learning style research include: the vagueness of the construct “learning style”; the fact that the instruments are self‐assessments; mixed results from research that searched for a relationship with online learning; and the difficulty of comparing different studies when online learning can include many different methods and technologies. Finally, I reach a conclusion regarding the suitability of studying the relationship of learning styles and success in online courses.     

Possibilities for MOOCs in Corporate Training and Development

The term MOOC, an acronym for massive open online course, has been nearly ubiquitous in recent discussions about online education and distance learning. Some articles have questioned the MOOC's tentative role as “the future of education,” while others have framed it as a disrupter of traditional higher education. Research in earlier years trended toward the ways in which MOOCs may be changing the landscape of higher education. However, in the past two years, greater consideration has been focused on how MOOCs may play a role in the corporate world. The year 2012 may have been deemed “The Year of the MOOC,” but many saw 2014 as “The Year of the Corporate MOOC.” Despite MOOCs reaching their prominence as disrupters of traditional higher education, MOOC providers are now aggressively pursuing opportunities in the corporate sector. This presents a great opportunity for corporations to drive this relatively new learning platform and to tailor it to meet their organizational needs. The potential uses for MOOCs in the corporate world are vast. MOOCs can expand corporate training options, offer new recruiting techniques, and provide innovative marketing and branding channels. This article identifies the features of MOOCs, briefly reviews the history of the MOOC movement from academic MOOCs to corporate MOOCs, and discusses the possibilities for extending the MOOC format to a corporate training and employee development environment.     

Design,Assessment, and Evaluation of a Problem‐based Learning Environment in Undergraduate Engineering

This article describes the design, evaluation, and results of an innovative undergraduate engineering course at the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA). The course, ENGR 110 — Introduction to Engineering, is a problem‐based learning environment in which freshmen students work in teams to solve problems integral to a “mission to Mars”, that is, getting to Mars, constructing a research site on Mars, and developing a renewable power source there. In addition to traditional knowledge and skill objectives, the course focuses on “higher order” outcomes such as: framing and resolving ill‐defined problems; communicating via multiple media; exhibiting intellectual curiosity; and developing a rich conceptualisation of engineering. The course is described in terms of a set of pedagogical dimensions for problem‐based learning environments. Several cognitive assessment methods were used to assess student achievement and evaluate the effectiveness of the course. Results included statistically and educationally significant differences in “problem‐solving” between two classes of ENGR 110 students and two control classes of sophomore engineering students.     

The Whole PIE: A roadmap to comprehensive excellence

Responding to the alarming numbers of dissatisfied members of the U.S. workforce, this article introduces a workable plan of action titled “The Whole PIE,” which is useful for members of the workforce at all levels, to enhance their internal locus of control and enhance the quality of life at work for themselves and others. Starting with actions geared toward personal (“P”) performance enhancement, and subsequently graduating to actions at the interactive (“I”) and external (“E”) level, the text leads the reader toward a comprehensive perspective (The Whole “PIE”) in which short‐term and long‐term actors and factors are considered in one's workplace performance.     

Social Metaphorical Mapping of the Concept of Force “CHI‐KA‐RA” in Japanese

This research focused on the concept of “force” (“CHI‐KA‐RA” in Japanese) in Newtonian mechanics. The primary objective was to develop a tool, based on metaphor, to interpret student thinking in learning scientific topics. The study provides an example of using the tool to trace the process of mutual changes in thinking during a dialog among students who have different perspectives on the same topic. “Social metaphorical mapping” was used to interpret a dialog between two groups of junior high school students with different epistemological paradigms with regard to the concept of force (CHI‐KA‐RA) in the learning environment of a computer simulation. Both source domains were recontextualized through social metaphorical mapping and the process of mutual changes in concepts was traced. Participants noticed that the Buridanian ¹ 1. Buridan was a French scientist in the fourteenth century who proposed a theory of impetus. concept of“force” differs from the Newtonian concept of “force,” differentiated between the concepts of “force” that use the same Japanese term “CHI‐KA‐RA,” and noticed that the Buridanian concept of “force” resembles the Newtonian concept of “momentum.”     

论太平洋战争后日汪对上海保险市场的监控

太平洋战争后，日军占领整个上海，接管了英美等国保险公司，追随而来的日本保险公司则妄图攫夺、控制上海的保险市场。汪伪政府也相机而动，对1992年开始出现的上海保险市场的混乱状态进行了监控，也取得了一定成效。但随着抗日战争的胜利，日汪控制上海保险市场的图谋最终归于失败。     

Global Leadership,Capacity for Judgment Integrity,and Acculturized Organizational Knowledge

To overcome the dysfunctional overemphasis on control and pronounced homogeneity of U.S. global leadership teams, the authors advocate a model of individual and collective development of the capacity for judgment integrity in leadership, ethics, and organizational change decisions to better address global behavioral, moral, and change complexity. They next advocate action learning processes that incorporate experience, methods, tools, and cases into organizational training programs so that the asset of acculturized organizational knowledge will capture both explicit, migratory Western knowledge and tacit, embedded non‐Western knowledge. Finally, the authors recommend three action steps global leaders can take to enhance organizational capacities that will lead to sustainable global competitive advantage.     

The MOOC and the Multitude

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) take university lectures and other educational materials and make them available for free as online “courses.” Liberal and neoliberal MOOC supporters laud these courses for opening up education to the world while incorporating market dynamics to improve quality and drive down costs. Skeptics claim MOOCs are a bald attempt to privatize higher learning, thus creating an apartheid educational system with traditional universities serving the wealthy while everyone else is left with cut‐rate online learning. This essay draws on the political theory of autonomist Marxism, arguing that MOOCs are capital's defensive reaction to the threats of resistant universities on one side, and unmanageable Internet‐based learning on the other. It then looks at which MOOC designs would support education for the “multitude,” which is the term used by autonomist Marxism to describe an autonomous, diverse, networked political body.     

古代日本歌垣的原型样式——通过参考贵州省苗族的“坐花场”习俗

古代日本歌垣的原型样式问题一直未得以解决。通过借助中日两国的歌垣(对歌)文献,和贵州省苗族的“坐花场”习俗的调查资料等,对思考古代日本歌垣的形式问题带来很多新启发。古汉语中以“墙”表示人多的用法,对“歌垣”一词的创造有重要影响;而通过参考苗族“坐花场”事例可以推测出,古代日本歌垣的“垣”有可能表示实际的语义,“垣”是“歌”的“场”所,于“垣”中而“歌”,故名“歌垣”。而这也应该是古代日本歌垣的原型样式之一。     

长尾理论给网络出版带来的启示

作为对我们所熟知的“80／20法则”的悖反或补充,“长尾理论”被《商业周刊》评为2005年度最有商业价值的概念之一。该理论认为,运用信息技术可消除传统商业世界的很多约束,以至于需求不旺或销售不佳的产品共同占据的市场份额,可以和那些数量不多的热卖品占据的市场份额相匹敌甚至更大。长尾理论作为网络商业的一个新的理论基础,为网络出版的发展带来启示。     

林风眠与栋方志功创作思想及作品风格比较

林风眠是中国现代美术教育的奠基者之一,他的绘画创作完成了一种将西方现代美术观念与中国传统美学相结合的典范.长期以来,他的作品并未引起应有的重视,只是最近十年,检讨中国新兴美术的发展,他的先驱作用及作品价值才得到极大的提升,被誉为中国现代绘画的一代宗师.与中国比邻的日本,亦有一位“民族英雄“,他就是著名的美术家栋方志功,它的作品既保留了日本民族的神韵,又吸纳了西方现代派的表现手法,风格特立.将这两位东方最具特色的艺术大师进行比较分析,寻找他们的异同,对我们当今的美术创作正途定会有借鉴的意义.     

Can Boards of Directors Think Strategically? Some Issues in Developing Direction‐givers' Thinking to a Mega Level

ABSTRACT The author argues that current corporate government legislation and practice is weighted too much in the direction of “board compliance.” It is, therefore, in danger of reducing the risks taken by boards of directors. In the long term this could slow significantly the growth of capitalism. He proposes a rebalancing of the fundamental board dilemma—how to strike a dynamic balance between driving the enterprise forward and keeping it under prudent control—in favor of “board performance” and raising the competence of “Mega‐thinking” on the board. This requires integrated board developmental activities so that their directorial accountabilities and liabilities are differentiated from the executive's, and that the requirement for rigorous strategic thinking has total commitment. Often fear and irritation by newly‐promoted executives has to be overcome here. The author introduces the “Learning Board” model and its associated annual rhythm for a board's year. Three approaches to developing strategic thinking are discussed including the Thinking Intentions Profile, and an updated version of the PPESTT analysis.     

The Boundlessness of Performativity in Elite Australian Schools

This paper examines how prominent private schools in Australia are performing in a market context according to the tenets of performativity. From a discourse analysis of promotional materials that include prospectuses, advertisements, and school publications, it considers the “value‐addedness” that these schools purport to offer. In this regard, ideas such as building self‐esteem and emotional intelligence are not only being used for market advantage but are also being nicely conflated with religious principles to produce the “whole” child with market edge. This paper draws on a recent research study of 30 elite Australian schools. As new practices of identity formation and self‐presentation are investigated, questions are raised about issues of fabrication in performativity‐inspired practices of marketisation.     

Learning styles fray: Brilliant or batty?

Many school educators, instructional designers, and corporate training specialists believe that learning styles are important and that much of training success relies on the craft of incorporating learning styles into learning materials. But how do common views and popular wisdom on learning styles align with what the psychological sciences tell us today? Does matching instructional design to learning styles really result in learning enhancement? This article seeks to examine such questions based on current research in psychological sciences.     

Talking Shape: Parental Language With Electronic Versus Traditional Shape Sorters

As the traditional toys of the past are quickly being replaced with electronically “enhanced” toys, it is important to understand how these changes impact parent–child interactions, especially in light of the evidence that the richness and variety of these interactions have long‐term effects on diverse areas of cognition (Hart & Risley, 1995). Here, we compared the quantity and quality of the language children hear during play with either a traditional (nonelectronic) or an electronic shape sorter designed to teach children about geometric shapes. Spatial toys and spatial language, in particular, were explored since recent work has established that parents' use of spatial language links to children's short‐ and long‐term performance on spatial tasks (Pruden, Levine, & Huttenlocher, 2011), and that spatial skills are relevant to success in learning mathematics and science (Newcombe, 2010). Traditional toys prompted more parental spatial language and more varied overall language than did electronic toys.     

日本式股权制衡体系研究综述

通过西方股权制衡体系与传统日本式股权制衡体系的对比,证明“交叉持股”所形成的股权制衡会导致企业内部缺乏对经营者的有效监督,从而增加企业代理成本的事实。分析指出,当前经济环境下,以传统日本式股权制衡为基础,结合欧美式股权制衡的新股权制衡体系正在日本企业中逐步形成。     

论林纾的文学修为

林纾是闽籍作家,不识英文,却引介“西学”, 而且用的是文言,成为译界奇观。“白话”登台亮相,林纾却对“文言”情有独钟,故有“文白之辩”,因此被文学史疏远。所幸“文言”与“西学”在林纾笔下情投意合,称道者众,为“小说”扶正立下汗马功劳,又与新文学启蒙不期而遇,其文学修为举世瞩目。