再论乔治·奥威尔和他的《动物农场》与《1984年》

奥威尔一生企盼被压迫人民尤其是无产阶级获得解放。他的《动物农场》和《1984年》,揭露了斯大林及其领导下的苏联社会的阴暗一面,抨击了现实世界中的极权主义的罪恶行径,并对未来社会的极权主义危险提出了警告。但是,由于作家忽视了极权主义统治下的健康力量,其小说的警世意义受到了削弱。     

‘What drives students’ affective commitment towards their university?’

How can universities build ongoing, committed relationships with students, able to withstand the financial and emotional challenges of studying in higher education? The research proposes that students’ ongoing attachment to their university, based on positive feelings towards the university, is an important aspect of the student experience. This ongoing attachment is conceptualised here as students’ affective commitment towards their institution. Using an online survey-method and a research sample comprising undergraduate students studying in the UK, this research identifies three factors which drive students’ affective commitment towards their institution. These factors include students’ affective commitment towards academics and students’ calculative commitment towards the institution; factors which draw from the relational literature. A third factor, commitment balance, was developed within this research. Commitment balance occurs when a student’s commitment to their university is perceived to be reciprocated by the university’s commitment to the student. The study found that commitment balance was the most important driver of students’ ongoing attachment to their institution. The paper proposes that commitment balance is a key idea to consider within relational studies generally, but has a particular relevance in the higher education context for understanding the student experience. Commitment balance reflects the pulse of reciprocity which energises relational exchanges between students and institution. The findings of this research reinforce how critically important it is for universities and academics to build relationships with students. The desired outcome is to enhance the student experience, create positive attachment between students and university and ultimately improve student retention.     

The role of letter knowledge and phonological awareness in young Braille readers

Research into sighted children’s reading shows that letter recognition skill predicts phonological awareness skill. Congenitally–blind children do not receive exposure to environmental print and do not generally learn to recognise written letters of the alphabet prior to schooling in Braille. A cross–sectional analysis revealed that blind children with no knowledge of written letters or written words showed no ability at measures of phonological awareness. Blind children with knowledge of written letters and no written words showed much increased phonological awareness scores and blind children with knowledge of written letters and written words scored higher still on phonological awareness measures. It was concluded that letter learning is a major contributor to the development of phonological awareness in blind children. It suggests key similarities in the underlying processes of reading development across two different populations using different modalities to learn to read.     

What's in a name? A comparison of methods for classifying predominant type of maltreatment

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the study was to identify a classification scheme, for determining the predominant type of maltreatment in a child's history that best predicts differences in developmental outcomes. METHOD: Three different predominant type classification schemes were examined in a sample of 519 children with a history of alleged maltreatment. Cases were classified into predominant maltreatment types according to three different schemes: Hierarchical regression analyses examined whether the HT, SFT, and EHT type classifications contributed to prediction of child behavior problems, trauma symptoms and adaptive functioning. RESULTS: After controlling for demographic factors, the HT definitions predicted four outcomes, while the SFT definitions predicted three, and the EHT classifications contributed to the prediction of five child outcomes. The co-occurrence of multiple types of maltreatment was robustly related to outcomes. However, the HT and SFT classifications predicted outcomes even after accounting for the co-occurrence of multiple maltreatment subtypes. CONCLUSION: A classification scheme that differentiates between type combinations and single maltreatment types may have the greatest predictive validity. Over and above knowing about co-occurrence of maltreatment sub-types, it is important to understand what type, or constellation of types, of maltreatment have been alleged in a child's history.     

Practitioners and Parents Have Their Say About Best Practice: Early intervention in Queensland

This paper reports initial findings of a research project in Queensland, Australia that did not adopt recommended practices from listings established in other countries for early childhood intervention services. Instead, a contextual and participatory process served to determine a relevant listing of program quality indicators for a large, early intervention service conducted by the state Department of Education (Stage 1). Thirty-one indicators of program quality were identified for this particular service. To validate these indicators and to gather additional information about their implementation, a statewide survey was conducted (Stage 2). For each of the 31 indicators, parents and staff from within this service were asked to (a) indicate their level of acceptance, (b) report on current use, and (c) comment on barriers to implementation. Results provide strong support for the indicator listing and reveal high level of indicator acceptance accompanied by a lower level of indicator implementation. Lack of time and lack of staff were identified as the primary barriers to implementation across all indicators. The validated indicator listing for Early Special Education (Qld) services is provided.     

Relations between teachers' approaches to teaching and students' approaches to learning

This paper reports on an empirical study which shows that qualitatively different approaches to teaching are associated with qualitatively different approaches to learning. More specifically, the results indicate that in the classes where teachers describe their approach to teaching as having a focus on what they do and on transmitting knowledge, students are more likely to report that they adopt a surface approach to the learning of that subject. Conversely, but less strongly, in the classes where students report adopting significantly deeper approaches to learning, teaching staff report adopting approaches to teaching that are more oriented towards students and to changing the students conceptions. The study made use of a teaching approach inventory derived from interviews with academic staff, and a modified approach to learning questionnaire. These conclusions are derived from a factor and cluster analysis of 48 classes (involving 46 science teachers and 3956 science students) in Australian universities. The results complete a chain of relations from teacher thinking to the outcomes of student learning. Previous studies have shown relations between teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning and their approaches to teaching. Numerous studies have shown correlations between students' deeper approaches to learning and higher quality learning outcomes. The results reported here link these two sets of studies. They also highlight the importance, in attempts to improve the quality of student learning, of discouraging teacher-focused transmission teaching and encouraging higher quality, conceptual change/student-focused approaches to teaching.     

高跟鞋

高跟鞋,这个名词就是为女人而创造的。穿上它,女性的那种特别的妩媚魅力就显现无疑,并且被放大无数倍,彰显个性。根据一些大牌的时尚鞋类网站的统计．像周仰杰（Jimmy Choo）和古琦（Gucci）,它们认为6厘米高鞋跟的高跟鞋只能成为“低跟”鞋,8．5厘米被称为“中等”,再朝上才能称为“高跟”鞋!