Resources allocation in Chinese universities: hierarchy,academic excellence,or both?

Scholars are aware that the higher education sector in China is highly affected by its administrative system, but the questions of how and to what extent the Chinese administrative system impacts academic resources allocation have yet to be answered. By examining the empirical data from 2003 to 2010 of China’s National Excellent Doctoral Dissertations Award, this article finds that the hierarchical position of doctoral advisors who hold a university or college post will have an important influence on academic resources allocation, although these advisors are professors with high academic ability. This article also finds an interaction effect between advisors’ hierarchical position and students’ academic abilities in influencing the decisions on the award. Overall, the Chinese case digs rather deep into the increasing hierarchisation of academic life and science.     

Comparison of Self-Reported and Objectively Measured Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity in Undergraduate Students

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to investigate differences between estimates of sedentary behavior and physical activity (PA) from the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and accelerometry in undergraduate students. 91 students participated in the study. Sedentary behavior and PA were objectively measured by an accelerometer for 7 days and then self-reported with the IPAQ. Partial correlations were used to assess associations among PA variables and participant characteristics between the methods. Agreement was assessed via the Bland–Altman method. Correlation coefficients between self-reported and objectively measured PA ranged from 0.21 to 0.38 (p≤ 0.05 for all). A higher proportion of students were classified as meeting PA guidelines via self-report compared to objective measurements. Bland–Altman plots revealed acceptable agreement between methods, however, bias was evident for all PA intensities. Sex and lean body mass impacted these differences. Researchers should exercise caution when interpreting PA assessed via the IPAQ in undergraduate students.     

Teaching Integration: How Certain Instructional Moves May Undermine the Potential Conceptual Value of the Riemann Sum and the Riemann Integral

Past research in calculus education has shown that Riemann sum-based conceptions of the definite integral, such as the multiplicatively based summation (MBS) conception, can have important value in interpreting and making sense of certain types of definite integral expressions. However, additional research has shown that students tend to not draw on the MBS conception, even in situations where it would be advantageous to do so. In this study we examine how introductory instruction on integration, in which explicit attention is given to the Riemann sum and Riemann integral, may be related to students’ tendency to not use the MBS conception. In particular, it appears that some calculus instructors may make instructional moves in their classrooms that directly undermine the time the instructors had spent developing the Riemann sum and Riemann integral concepts. In doing so, students may perceive these concepts only as calculational procedures, rather than as a potential source of conceptual meaning.     

Characteristics of Children Who Struggle with Reading: Teachers and Speech-Language Pathologists Collaborate to Support Young Learners

Speech language pathologists (SLPs) have developed specialized knowledge about oral language and its relationship to early literacy development that can be particularly useful to early childhood educators. The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which an SLP can support early childhood teachers in a Response to Intervention role by assessing and facilitating young students’ early literacy acquisition. In this article, we observe students who are struggling to attain one of the Common Core State Standards, discuss factors that may inhibit their typical development of early literacy, and illustrate several evidenced-based instructional practices to assist young students who struggle with reading to achieve success.     

Testosterone during pregnancy and gender role behavior of preschool children: a longitudinal,population study

Levels of testosterone (T) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) were measured in blood samples from pregnant women and related to gender role behavior in 342 male and 337 female offspring at the age of 3.5 years. Gender role behavior was assessed using the Pre-School Activities Inventory, a standardized measure on which a parent indicates the child's involvement with sex-typical toys, games, and activities. Levels of T, but not SHBG, related linearly to gender role behavior in preschool girls. Neither hormone related to gender role behavior in boys. Other factors, including the presence of older brothers or sisters in the home, parental adherence to traditional sex roles, the presence of a male partner in the home, and maternal education, did not relate to gender role behavior in this sample and did not account for the relation observed between T and behavior. Although other, unmeasured factors may explain the relation, the results suggest that normal variability in T levels prenatally may contribute to the development of individual differences in the gender role behavior of preschool girls.     

Comparisons of adopted and nonadopted adolescents in a large, nationally representative sample

There are conflicting findings about whether adopted children have more psychological and behavioral problems than nonadoptees. Research results are discrepant partly because many previous studies were based on small clinical samples or on samples biased by self-selection. A nationally representative school survey (Add Health) was used to compare adopted (n = 1,587) and nonadopted adolescents (total N = 87,165) across a wide variety of measures. Standardized mean differences show that adopted adolescents are at higher risk in all of the domains examined, including school achievement and problems, substance use, psychological well-being, physical health, fighting, and lying to parents. Demographic and background variable breakdowns show that the effect sizes for differences between adopted and nonadopted adolescents were larger for males, younger or older adolescents, Hispanics or Asians, and adolescents living in group homes or with parents of low education. Distributional analyses revealed approximately a 1:1 ratio of adopted to nonadopted adolescents in the middle ranges of the outcome variables but a ratio of 3:1 or greater near the tails of the distributions. These data clearly show that more adopted adolescents have problems of various kinds than their nonadopted peers; effect sizes were small to moderate based on mean differences, but comparisons of distributions suggest much larger proportions of adopted than nonadopted adolescents at the extremes of salient outcome variables.     

The internal restlessness scale: performance of college students with and without ADHD

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was previously believed to be a disorder of childhood, with symptoms attenuating at the onset of puberty. Follow-up studies, however, suggest that the majority of children with ADHD continue to manifest symptoms into adulthood. Although the inattention components associated with ADHD persist into adulthood, the nature of the hyperactivity component is less well understood. For example, according to criteria established by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, hyperactivity in adolescents and adults may be limited to subjective feelings of restlessness. Recent studies with adults with ADHD have also reported that mental restlessness is commonly reported by individuals with the disorder. To better understand this characteristic of ADHD, the Internal Restlessness Scale (IRS) was developed. The results of the IRS suggest that (a) college students with ADHD report significantly higher ratings of internal restlessness than college students without ADHD, and (b) the IRS appears to have adequate test-retest reliability and a four-factor structure. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Quality criteria for conceptual technology integration models in education: bridging research and practice

Educational technology research and development - In order to effectively use technology in education, appropriate conceptual understandings are needed to guide the integration process. Today,...