Episodic and individual effects of elementary students' optimal experience: An HLM study

The authors defined optimal experience as a functional state of a relatively high level of concentration, time distortion, satisfaction, and enjoyment (Csikszentmihalyi, 1992 Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1992). The flow experience and its significance for human psychology. In M. C. I. S. Csikszentmihalyi (Ed.), Optimal experience: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. London, England: Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar]) and collected data through the Day Reconstruction Method. In three random days, 147 fifth-grade students answered questionnaires for each school event in the previous day resulting repeated data from 2,288 episodes. Several hierarchical linear models were conducted. The authors found that elementary students perceived better quality of optimal experience during break time versus classes taught by activity, seatwork or lecture methods. Unexpectedly, more optimal experience was reported in the events when students perceived themselves as having high skill but low challenge, contradictory to the original expectation of skill–challenge balance. Four additional flow conditions were more effective than primary flow condition and instructional methods in predicting optimal experience. Finally, optimal experience varied much more across event-episodes than among individuals meaning that teachers have rooms to improve students' optimal experience in elementary school days.     

Study of Cellular Experiment of Electric Pulse Imposed on Cancer Cell

The objective of the study is the cytocidal and inhibitory effect of energy-controllable pulse on ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3.Ovarian cancer cell suspension were treated by electric pulse with different parameters,.The inhibitory rate(IR) was assayed by modified colorimetric MTT methods,the growth curves of two test groups and one control group were also measured.and the ultrasturctureal changes were observed under electron microscopy(EM) and scan electron microscopy (SEM),It was found that the treated SKOV3 cell proliferated more slowly.IR was increased with the enhancement of pulse paramters,The ultrastructural study showed that morphological changes occured obviously.Swollen mitochondria,fracutured ridges,cytoplasmic vacuoles and membrane holes appeard in most of the processed cells,and a part of bilayer membrane was ruptured.It is indicated that irreversible electric breakdown occurred in some of the treated cells,and the electric pulse could kill cancer cell and inhibit its recovery and growth.     

Chinese students at an English-Language university: Prediction of academic performance

There is a paucity of systematic research on prediction of success at the tertiary education level for Asian students, despite the important role that universities play in Asian communities, and despite the increasing numbers of such students who are coming to the West to study. This study reviews evidence collected over the past ten to fifteen years, which relates to the issue of prediction of academic performance of Chinese students at an English-Language and Western-oriented university - the University of Hong Kong. This review is complemented by an analysis of data collected longitudinally over a five year period, using multiple regression, multiple correlation, path analysis and canonical correlation analyses. The results provide evidence of factors which are important in determining the ability of a student to adapt to the foreign cultural and language barriers that exist at this university. In particular, ability in English language and mathematics provides good and reasonably independent predictors of success. The data show the importance of considering the cultural background of students when assessing their aptitude for study, and offer information for Western universities regarding their admissions procedures for Chinese students.     

Improving adult learning and professional development in a post-conflict area: The case of Cambodia

All over the world, international development organizations try to increase professional capacity of local staff. These attempts are thought to fail because of financial constraints, but this is just part of the story. Professional development and adult learning theories approach learning from a western perspective, while many developing societies are organized according to non-western models. This article describes research conducted in the Cambodian Ministry of Education, focusing on how adult learning theory could be applied in order to improve learning and support transfer. When local experience and the cultural influence on learning are acknowledged, learning outcomes are found to improve.     

Effective formative e-assessment of student learning: a study on a statistics course

The process of formative assessment in universities has the potential to engage students in reflection and to take greater ownership of their learning. We report on a study involving 104 students taking a statistics course in a degree programme in rehabilitation science in Hong Kong. The assessment strategy was redesigned to include a weekly online formative assessment activity for 10 weeks. In this case, it was observed that there was a high participation rate across weeks. An end-of-course online survey was conducted to explore the learning experiences during formative assessment of the cohort, and students reported high satisfaction with the process, particularly how this contributed to a change in their learning approach. Students not only showed regular commitment of time on tasks but also took active steps to find answers for themselves and with their peers.     

Predicting Suicide Risks Among Outpatient Adolescents Using the Family Environment Scale: Implications for Practice and Research

This study was designed to identify characteristics of family functioning that relate to suicide potential in an outpatient adolescent population. Participants included 51 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 who were involved in outpatient counselling. The Family Environment Scale and the Suicide Probability Scale were used to assess adolescents’ perception of family social climate and degree of suicide risk respectively. Results revealed significant correlations between suicide risk and family systems characterized by heightened conflict and lower levels of cohesion, independence, and organization. A stepwise multiple regression analysis suggested that organization (related to clarity and structure in family activities and responsibilities) was the strongest predictor of suicide risk. Implications for research and practice are considered.     

A preliminary investigation on diffusion through a layered system

We introduce layered systems such as the citations–citing authors–citing institutes–citing countries one. Diffusion of scientific ideas flows through such layered systems. Our contribution contains three main topics: a fractional counting system for the number of different units in a layer; the fractional number of items of the same type, i.e. in the same layer, over which ideas have been diffused; and the evenness of diffusion over different layers. In this way we construct a coherent system to measure the extent to which scientific ideas are diffused.     

Hierarchical Mentoring: A Transformative Strategy for Improving Diversity and Retention in Undergraduate STEM Disciplines

In the United States, less than half of the students who enter into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate curricula as freshmen will actually graduate with a STEM degree. There is even greater disparity in the national STEM graduation rates of students from underrepresented groups with approximately three-fourths of minority students leaving STEM disciplines at the undergraduate level. A host of programs have been designed and implemented to model best practices in retaining students in STEM disciplines. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professors Program at Louisiana State University, under leadership of HHMI Professor Isiah M. Warner, represents one of these programs and reports on a mentoring model that addresses the key factors that impact STEM student attrition at the undergraduate level. By integrating mentoring and strategic academic interventions into a structured research program, an innovative model has been developed to guide STEM undergraduate majors in adopting the metacognitive strategies that allow them to excel in their programs of study, as they learn to appreciate and understand science more completely. Comparisons of the persistence of participants and nonparticipants in STEM curricular, at the host university and with other national universities and colleges, show the impact of the model’s salient features on improving STEM retention through graduation for all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.