Attitudes and aspirations regarding engineering among Chinese secondary school students: comparisons between industrialising and post-industrial geo-engineering regions of Mainland China and Hong Kong

School-based pipelines/routes for university and technical engineering education are recognised as important for economic development and the high-school years are critical for shaping students’ career aspirations and attitudes. This study examined a range of attitudes/experiences on the aspirations of secondary students to pursue engineering education and vocation. Experiential/attitudinal aspects covered demographic characteristics, family/school support, practical learning experiences, curricular/extra-curricular experiences, attitudes, perceptions and engineering-efficacy that may affect aspirations. A validated questionnaire capturing these variables was administered to respective samples of secondary school students from four Chinese geo-engineering regions (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and ShanXi; 5965 students) that represent differing degrees of industrialisation. Comparative analyses across regions show ‘doing’ engineering is key to motivating students’ aspirations; while regional variations suggest that schooling and family factors are generally more significant in industrialising Mainland cities, and extracurricular opportunities and personal factors are more significant for students in post-industrial Hong Kong.     

Effect of Cognitive Style on Topographical Learning Across Life Span: Insights From Normal Development

Notwithstanding its well-established role on high-demanding spatial navigation tasks during adulthood, the effect of field dependence–independence during the acquisition of spatial navigation skills is almost unknown. This study assessed for the first time the effect of field dependence–independence on topographical learning (TL) across the life span: 195 individuals, including 54 healthy young-adults (age-range = 20–30), 46 teenagers (age-range = 11–14), and 95 children (age-range = 6–9) participated in this study. Field dependence–independence interacted with age in predicting TL. Also during childhood higher field independence was associated with better performances but not later in the life, that is, during adolescence and adulthood. This result suggests that field dependence–independence may have a role in fostering the acquisition of TL.     

Assessment of early handwriting skill in kindergarten children using a Chinese name writing test

Reading and Writing - This study developed and validated a Chinese name writing scale (CNWS) for evaluating early handwriting skills of kindergarten children. We then used the validated CNWS to...     

Google Scholar acceptance and use among graduate students: A quantitative study

Adding the external variables of satisfaction and loyalty to Fred Davis' technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examined the extent to which graduate students perceived Google Scholar to be a resource that is useful and easy to use. A survey of 1141 graduate students at the University of Minnesota asked questions exploring their perceptions of Google Scholar as part of their research process. Seventy-five percent of survey participants had used Google Scholar at least once before, and a statistical analysis of the responses found that perceived usefulness, loyalty, and, to a lesser extent, perceived ease of use, were positively and significantly related to the graduate students' intended use of the information resource. This research showed that TAM is an applicable model for predicting graduate student use of Google Scholar, which can help academic librarians seeking to understand graduate student acceptance of new information sources. Additionally, this study provides information about how librarians might best promote Google Scholar and other library resources to graduate students.     

Evaluation of Korean information infrastructure policy 2000–2010: Focusing on broadband ecosystem change

South Korea has been very active in broadband development for the last decade, which has made major strides in its development. This study evaluates the evolution of Korea's broadband development from the year 2000 to the present day. Historic and archival data related to Korean broadband projects are reviewed in this paper, drawing on broadband ecosystem as a framework for assessment. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into challenges and create a prospectus by offering a socio-technical analysis of broadband development. This will involve the in-depth investigation of the social dynamics, political discourse, and technological choices inherent in the design and development of the next generation of networks. Despite active investment and proactive drive, uncertainty still remains surrounding the evolution of broadband and what impact it may have on the new broadband milieu in Korea. This study will offer an effective adoption/diffusion strategy as well as a viable information policy model for more advanced infrastructure in other countries.     

e-Government adoption model based on theory of planned behavior: Empirical validation

The e-Government phenomenon has become more important with the ever increasing number of implementations worldwide. A model explaining the e-Government adoption and the related measurement instrument – a survey – had been developed and validated in this study. In a post Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) approach, theory of planned behavior (TPB) was extended to fit the requirements of e-Government context. The adoption of student loans service of the higher education student loans and accommodation association of Turkey (KYK) was investigated to obtain data for empirical validation. The instrument was administered to over four-hundred students and partial least squares path modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results indicate that the model was an improvement over TAM in terms of predictive power. The constructs trust, perceived behavioral control and attitudes successfully explained the intention to use an e-Government service. The findings presented in this study provide useful insights for researchers and policy makers when dealing with e-Government services.     

Is starting with the feet out of the water faster in backstroke swimming?

This study aimed to determine if starting with the feet above the water (FAW) in male backstroke swimming resulted in faster start times (15-m time) than when the feet were underwater (FUW). It was hypothesised that setting higher on the wall would generate increased horizontal force and velocity, resulting in quicker starts. Twelve high-level male backstrokers performed three trials of the FAW and FUW techniques. A biomechanical swimming testing system comprising one force plate (1,000 Hz), four lateral-view (100 Hz), and five overhead (50 Hz) video cameras captured the swimmers' performance. Data for each participant's fastest trial for each technique were collated, grouped, and statistically analysed. Analysis included Wilcoxon, Spearman Rho correlation, and regression analysis. Wilcoxon results revealed a significantly faster start time for the FAW technique (p < 0.01). Peak horizontal force was significantly smaller for FAW (p = 0.02), while take-off horizontal velocity was significantly greater (p = 0.01). Regression analysis indicated take-off horizontal velocity to be a good predictor of start time for both techniques, and the horizontal displacement of the centre of mass for the FAW start.     

Improving the Validity and Reliability of a Health Promotion Survey for Physical Therapists

Purpose

Physical therapists (PTs) have a unique opportunity to intervene in the area of health promotion. However, no instrument has been validated to measure PTs’ views on health promotion in physical therapy practice. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the content validity and test-retest reliability of a health promotion survey designed for PTs.

Methods

An expert panel of PTs assessed the content validity of “The Role of Health Promotion in Physical Therapy Survey” and provided suggestions for revision. Item content validity was assessed using the content validity ratio (CVR) as well as the modified kappa statistic. Therapists then participated in the test-retest reliability assessment of the revised health promotion survey, which was assessed using a weighted kappa statistic.

Results

Based on feedback from the expert panelists, significant revisions were made to the original survey. The expert panel reached at least a majority consensus agreement for all items in the revised survey and the survey-CVR improved from 0.44 to 0.66. Only one item on the revised survey had substantial test-retest agreement, with 55% of the items having moderate agreement and 43% poor agreement.

Conclusions

All items on the revised health promotion survey demonstrated at least fair validity, but few items had reasonable test-retest reliability. Further modifications should be made to strengthen the validity and improve the reliability of this survey.Key Words: health promotion, physical therapy, validity, reliability     

Climate change and costs: investigating students’ reasoning on nature and economic development

The tensions between environmental protection and economic growth are critical to future well-being, and it is therefore important to understand how young people conceptualize these tensions. The aim of the present study is to explore students’ solutions to the dilemma of economic development and mitigating climate change, with regard to societal responses to the challenge of climate change. The study was conducted in China’s Green Schools. Green School is an international long-term programme with the aim of increasing students’ knowledge of environmental issues, and transferring this knowledge into positive actions to affect the wider community. The data were obtained through semi-structured pre- and post-interviews with 15–16-year-old students in three groups (12 students) from Green Schools in the Beijing area. The results show that students’ discussions focused exclusively on economic growth and social welfare. Students seem to believe that environmental problems are inevitable, nature is a ‘box’ of resources, and economic development is necessary in order to sustain and even improve nature. Therefore, there is no dilemma between economic development and environmental protection. The paper ends with a discussion on research and implications for teaching climate change.