Children's agency beliefs, cognitive performance, and conceptions of effort and ability: individual and developmental differences

In order to understand how children's beliefs and cognitive performance vary according to development in their conceptions of effort and ability, 120 fourth and sixth graders were given the following assessments: (a) a measure of agency beliefs, defined as the extent to which persons believe they have access to certain classes of potential means, including effort, ability, powerful others, and luck; (b) a battery of intelligence test scales, including figural patterns, letter series, arithmetic, and spelling; (c) an interview designed to assess developmental levels in conceptions of effort and ability. Correlations between intelligence scores and agency beliefs for effort decreased with increasing levels of reasoning about effort and ability, but correlations between intelligence scores and agency beliefs for ability increased with increasing levels of reasoning. No such trends were found in correlations between performance and agency beliefs for luck or for unknown causes. The results are discussed in terms of the interaction between individual differences and developmental change.     

江浙发展高等教育的经验及其对江西的启示

江苏、浙江两省超常的经济发展夯实了高等教育超常发展的基础,大众化高等教育的初步实现又为实现经济发展注入了强大的实力。江浙两省加快发展高等教育具有很多好的做法和经验,两省全新的教育观念和针对省情的得力措施,是两省高等教育飞速发展必不可少的条件。江浙两省的经验对江西省高等教育的发展有很好的启示作用。     

EFL teachers’ perceptions of English language policy at the elementary level in Taiwan

Due in large part to the trends towards economic globalization, English has become the most widely disseminated and ubiquitous international language. The purpose of the study was to investigate what Taiwan’s EFL teachers at the elementary level believe about the policy of English as a compulsory subject and how they perceive the benefits and obstacles of the policy’s implementation. Ten elementary English teachers in Tainan City and its suburban areas participated in this study. Data were collected through teachers’ interviews, classroom observation and document analysis. Results found that all ten teachers agreed with the policy for English as a compulsory subject at the elementary level. They observed both positive and negative sides of this top‐down policy. Classroom observation and interview data revealed that EFL teachers had to plan their English classes with the constraints on a large class of students with mixed levels of proficiency, limited teaching hours and resources. Parents’ expectations of and attitudes towards English learning also became an obstacle.     

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS） for bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax

Objective:To review our experience of the treatment of bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Materials and methods: Retrospective chart review was followed by an on-clinic or telephone interview. Patients were cared for by one thoracic surgeon in four medical centers or community hospitals in Northern and Central Taiwan. Thirteen patients with bilateral PSP underwent bilateral VATS simultaneously or sequentially from July 1994 to December 2005. Results: Twelve males and one female, with age ranging from 15 to 36 years (mean 23.1 years), were treated with VATS for bilateral PSP, under the indications of bilateral pneumothoracis simultaneously (n=4) or sequentially (n=9). The interval between the first and second contra-lateral VATS procedure for non-simultaneous PSP patients ranged from 7 d to 6 years. Eleven of 13 patients (84.6%) had prominent pulmonary bullae/blebs, and underwent bullae resection with mechanical or chemical pleurodesis. The mean operative time was (45.6±18.3) min (range 25-96 min) and (120.6±28.7) min (range 84-166 min) respectively for the non-simultaneous (second VATS for the recurrence of contralateral side after first VATS) and simultaneous (bilateral VATS in one operation) procedures. There was no postoperative mortality. However, prolonged air leakage (>7 d) occurred in one patient (7.7%) who recovered after conservative treatment. The mean duration of chest tube drainage was 3.1 d and the median follow up period was 3.4 years. Conclusions: VATS is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of bilateral PSP. Bilateral VATS is only recommended for patients with simultaneously bilateral PSP, because the incidence of recurrence, even with visible bullae, was not so high in my group and in some previous literature. Bilateral VATS in a supine position should only be used in selective cases, because of possible pleural adhesion or hidden bullae on the posterior side.     

面向就业的美国职业群课程模式探析

美国职业群课程模式以经济发展和就业需求为本，旨在培养学生的就业弹性和职业适应能力。实现其终身职业生涯发展。它以职业群分类和职业途径为依据，构建有序的课程体系。在实施过程中注重为学生制定系统的学习计划、加强职业指导服务和广泛建立合作伙伴，并逐渐开展了基于职业技能标准的课程评估。当前，职业群课程模式在联邦和州政府的管理和支持下得到了普及和推广，但也存在一些亟待克服的困难和问题。     

关于VFP教学过程若干问题的探讨

对VFP教学内容的组织、VFP教学的重点和难点、VFP教学过程的实践性环节等问题进行了探讨。     

杂交水稻苗期生长与~(32)P~(14)C在分蘖的分布

用放射性同位素示踪技术,测定早、晚季10多个杂交水稻及其亲本中~(32)P、~(14)C在分蘖的分布(％),并统计其分蘖数量与~(32)P、~(14)C的相关性。结果表明,多数杂交水稻的分蘖数量与~(32)P在分蘖的分布(％)呈显著或极显著正相关,而与~(14)C也呈正的相关性;杂交水稻的生长势(苗高、苗重、根长、根重),普遍比亲本和“双桂36”好;光合强度和根的呼吸强度,除L301A×R29以外,其余均较高。还讨论了杂交水稻分蘖力,分蘖数量与谷粒产量的关系,以及~(32)P、~(14)C在分蘖分布(％)作为预测杂种优势的可能性。     

Winning the battle and losing the war: Examining the relation between grade retention and dropping out of high school

The aim of this investigation is to provide a comprehensive review of dropout research that examines grade retention within both associative and predictive models. A systematic review of seventeen studies examining dropping out of high school prior to graduation demonstrates that grade retention is one of the most powerful predictors of dropout status. The discussion addresses the discrepancies among the perspectives of many educational professionals regarding the effectiveness of grade retention and deleterious long‐term correlates. The transactional model of development is presented, which emphasizes developmental trajectories over time, in order to facilitate the interpretation of the association between grade retention and school withdrawal. Educational professionals, teachers, researchers, parents, and policymakers considering the efficacy of grade retention are encouraged to consider the implications of these findings. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

热闹之后的冷观察——纽曼大学思想核心概念之意义重置

20世纪90年代中期兴起的纽曼研究注重其大学思想对现实的批评价值,这在客观上削弱了对纽曼意义的深入理解。在纽曼研究的热度消退后,采用文本分析的方法,根据纽曼《大学的理想》一书对其思想进行结构性分析,梳理出贯穿其中的真理、道德、理性、普遍知识、自由知识、自由教育等六个核心概念,并据此对纽曼大学思想的意义进行重置。除了已得到普遍认识的自由教育的意义之外,纽曼思想还应该包括更为根本性的理性与道德关系、个人自我与外部世界关系这两层被忽视的意义。后两者对现时大学及其困境作哲学层面上的思考,勾连个人、社会、知识与大学的联系具有重要的基础性价值。