Contemporary trends in East Asian higher education: dispositions of international students in a Taiwan university

This article details a mixed methods study conducted during the 2007–2008 academic year at the National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taipei Taiwan. It contributes to discourse examining the opportunities and challenges of international student enrollments in institutions of higher learning around the globe. In scope it details an empirical study exploring the dispositions of NCCU international students in terms of their academic and social spheres. Trends in Taiwan reflect traditional East Asian patterns; substantial numbers of university students from Taiwan studied in the United States and Britain while very few incoming international students chose the island nation as a host destination. In recent years the influx of international students to Taiwan has increased significantly, rising from 6,380 in 2001 to 21,005 in 2007 (Ko, , 2008). The use of both quantitative and qualitative methods provided clarity and extended critical interpretations of the issues and dilemmas surrounding the international student experience in Taiwan. Results indicate that the capability of the NCCU as a host institution to sustain and attract increasing numbers of incoming international students is linked to factors such as the unique opportunity to study traditional as opposed to simplified Chinese characters, the availability and accessibility of Taiwan government sponsored scholarships, and the high standard of the NCCU Mandarin Studies program. Implications suggest that universities committed to internationalization are called to address the realities—both positive and negative—of operating as globally competitive institutions. As such, attracting the right kind of international students at the NCCU and determining standards for their contribution to campus life are more important goals than the total number of international students.     

Kindergarten skills and fifth-grade achievement: Evidence from the ECLS-K

Children enter kindergarten with disparate rudimentary reading and mathematics skills; capabilities for paying attention, sitting still and making friends; mental health; and inclinations for aggressive behavior. The role of these characteristics in producing fifth-grade school achievement is the subject of this paper. We find considerable impacts for school-entry academic skills but, with the exception of a kindergartener's capacity to pay attention, virtually no impacts for the collection of socioemotional skills. This finding holds both for the overall sample and for subgroups defined by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. The most powerful pre-school avenue for boosting fifth-grade achievement appears to be improving the basic academic skills of low-achieving children prior to kindergarten entry.     

A pragmatic critical appraisal instrument for search filters: introducing the CADTH CAI

Objective: To identify or develop a critical appraisal instrument (CAI) to aid in the selection of search filters for use in systematic review searching. The CAI is to be used by experienced searchers without specialized training in statistics or search filter design. Methods: Through extensive searching and consultation, one candidate instrument was identified. Through expert consultation and several rounds of testing, the instrument was extensively revised to become the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) CAI. Results: The CADTH CAI consists of ten questions and can be applied by experienced searchers with a moderate knowledge of search filter methodology. Conclusion: The CADTH CAI provides experienced searchers with a means of selecting the search filter that is most methodologically sound.     

Diurnal variation in cycling performance: influence of warm-up

We examined the effects of time of day on a cycling time trial with and without a prolonged warm-up, among cyclists who tended towards being high in "morningness". Eight male cyclists (mean +/- s: age = 24.9 +/- 3.5 years, peak power output = 319 +/- 34 W, chronotype = 39 +/- 6 units) completed a 16.1-km time trial without a substantial warm-up at both 07:30 and 17:30 h. The time trial was also completed at both times of day after a 25-min warm-up at 60% of peak power. Power output, heart rate, intra-aural temperature and category ratings of perceived exertion (CR-10) were measured throughout the time trial. Post-test blood lactate concentration was also recorded. Warm-up generally improved time trial performance at both times of day (95% CI for improvement = 0 to 30 s), but mean cycling time was still significantly slower at 07:30 h than at 17:30 h after the warm-up (95% CI for difference = 33 to 66 s). Intra-aural temperature increased as the time trial progressed (P < 0.0005) and was significantly higher throughout the time trials at 17:30 h (P = 0.001), irrespective of whether the cyclists performed a warm-up or not. Blood lactate concentration after the time trial was lowest at 07:30 h without a warm-up (P = 0.02). No effects of time of day or warm-up were found for CR-10 or heart rate responses during the time trial. These results suggest that 16.1-km cycling performance is worse in the morning than in the afternoon, even with athletes who tend towards 'morningness', and who perform a vigorous 25-min warm-up. Diurnal variation in cycling performance is, therefore, relatively robust to some external and behavioural factors.     

Points of convergence: seamless long-term access to digital publications and archival records at library and archives Canada

In 2004, Canada’s national library and national archives merged to form Library and Archives Canada (LAC). LAC has become more than the sum of its parts, creating synergies between library and archives collections and services, realizing efficiencies and satisfying user demands for seamless access to all holdings. LAC has already created and launched Fed Search, an online search tool that provides clients with single-search access to library, archives and online collections. LAC is in the process of building a Trusted Digital Repository that will combine ingest, preservation, management and dissemination services for archives and library collections.     

From Opposition to Engagement: Lessons from High Achieving African American Students

Influential research on African American students has examined their school failure in terms of students’ opposition to school achievement. Only a few studies have explored school engagement and success among these students, and even fewer have examined the experiences of high achieving black students. This study illustrates the school context and school processes that high achieving African American students identify as contributing to their academic success. The findings reveal three main school effects impacting the students’ performance: 1) teacher practices, engaging pedagogy versus disengaging pedagogy; 2) participation in extracurricular activities and; 3) the state scholarship as performance incentive. According to the students, teacher practices were the most instrumental school effect benefiting their outcomes. Recognizing the processes that promote high achievement among African American students can help to improve our understanding of student performance, while promoting success among these students. The author wishes to thank Ron DePeter and Tekla Johnson for their comments on a previous draft of this article