The art of face-saving and culture-changing: sculpting Chinese football’s past,present and future

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the football statues of China, whose football team has dramatically underperformed relative to its population size and economic power. Although China lacks a participative grassroots football culture and has struggled to establish a credible domestic league, recent government intervention and investment has seen football’s profile rise dramatically. China’s many football statues are largely atypical in comparison to the rest of the world, including their depiction of anonymous figures rather than national or local heroes, the incorporation of tackling scenes in their designs, and their location at training camps. Through four specific examples and reference to a global database, we illustrate how these statues reflect the tensions and difficulties inherent in China’s desire to integrate itself into global football, and achieve its stated goal of hosting and winning the FIFA World Cup, whilst simultaneously upholding national, cultural and political values such as the primacy of hard work and learning, and saving face in defeat.     

Achievement Motivation and Academic Dishonesty: A Meta-Analytic Investigation

Educational Psychology Review - Academic dishonesty is a rampant and troubling phenomenon in the educational sector. Although demographic factors have been linked with students’ academic...     

Student Success in Developmental Mathematics Courses

Mathematics is a particular stumbling block for community college students in developmental course work. The present study empirically investigated student-level and teacher-level factors that influence the success of community college students enrolled in developmental mathematics courses. Specifically, numerous variables in one statistical model were examined, which included student self-efficacy (SE) beliefs in various aspects of academic engagement, previous course difficulties, full-time teaching status, and class attendance policies. Multiple regression results show that attendance was the largest predictor for higher course grades, followed by repeating a mathematics course and students’ sense of SE. In the hierarchical line modeling (HLM) model, teachers’ full-time status was a significant predictor in the model, but when teaching status was controlled for, the remaining student belief variables in the model were not statistically significant except SE in Cognitive Strategies, Self-Regulated Learning, and Motivational Strategies. The results provide empirical support for increased communication between full- and part-time faculty members, implementation of attendance policies, academic interventions prior to students’ failures, and the need to address students’ sense of SE.     

Framing controversy over language policy in Malaysia: the coverage of PPSMI reversal (teaching of mathematics and science in English) by Malaysian newspapers

In 2003, the Malaysian Government announced the policy of Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English [ETeMS or better known by its Malay acronym, Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI)]. The policy has, however, caused a furore, with both Malay nationalists and Chinese educationists treating the decision as an attack on their identity. Later in July 2009, the Malaysian Government announced to reverse the PPSMI policy starting from 2012. Researchers have long understood news as an artefact of a socially constructed reality. In making news, journalists shape a reality that reflects the political economic and ideological boundaries within which they work. By employing framing as the theoretical framework and content analysis as the research method, this study examined what pictures newspapers have created for citizens' understanding of the reversal of PPSMI policy. It was found that the mainstream newspapers framed the issue in similar ways, which was to explain and justify the reversal. Meanwhile, the alternative newspaper reflected what was mostly left outwhile the alternative newspaper reflected what was mostly left out and provided a counter-hegemonic discourse.     

Balancing breadth and depth of expertise for innovation: A 3M story

This study examines how inventors’ breadth and depth of expertise influence innovation in 3M, a company renowned for sustained innovation for over a century. While prior research tends to examine a single indicator – the technical success achieved by the inventor – our study differentiates between three indicators of a successful inventor: (1) the number of inventions generated; (2) the extent to which the inventor has a significant impact in his or her technical domain; and (3) the inventor's career success, in terms of the commercial value they have brought by converting their inventions into products that generate sales for commercial organizations. We found that breadth of inventor expertise relates to the generation of many inventions, but not necessarily to those that are technically influential. Depth of inventor expertise enables individuals to generate technically influential inventions, as measured by patents granted. However, both breadth and depth of expertise are required for innovators to be deemed highly valuable, based on their records of effectively converting inventions into commercially successful products. Our study extends prior research on innovation in two ways. We provide a comprehensive view of how inventors’ expertise influences innovation and also show how inventors with different expertise profiles can contribute in unique ways to their organization.     

Information Processing Taxonomy (IPT): An Alternative Technique for Assessing Mathematical Problem-Solving

This paper describes the development of the Information Processing Taxonomy (IPT) Model which models children's thinking at different hierarchical levels. The main features of the Model consist of retrieving information from external memory and primary and secondary productions of Type A and B information. These features constitute the components of different levels of thinking which could be used to confirm and describe the children's cognitive processes. Examples are shown to illustrate how the Model could be used to construct test items at different levels on the basis of these features. The Guttman procedure was applied to test the consistency of the hierarchical nature of the Model. Results show that the items constructed using the Model were scalable.     

Parental account of support for specific learning difficulties in Hong Kong

Parents play a significant role in the education of children with special needs. Recent national policies have aimed to improve support for students with specific learning difficulties and their families in Hong Kong. Literature on the experiences of children with specific learning difficulties in Hong Kong is scarce. This study, by Kim Fong Poon‐McBrayer of the Hong Kong Institute of Education and Philip Allen McBrayer of the University of Guam, attempts to capture a glimpse of the support for students with specific learning difficulties through their parents' account of experiences with school practices. Findings indicated parents' frustration over the use of grade retention as a remedial method, the use of expulsion as a disciplinary strategy, limited instructional support, and a lack of school‐initiated communication to inform, engage or support parents in the special education process which in turn resulted in a poor home–school relationship. Recommendations centred on policy enforcement, reducing class size and teacher workload, and improving home–school relationships.     

Reforms and challenges in the era of inclusive education: the case of China

This article, written by Meng Deng of Beijing Normal University and Kim Fong Poon‐McBrayer of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, reviews and analyses the reform of special education in China, the challenges confronting Chinese special education provisions, and how the Chinese inclusive education model, namely ‘Learning in Regular Classrooms’, has been shaped by the pragmatic needs aligning with the nation's economic and social developments. In an effort to provide wider school access, the current inclusive education model has become the form of educational placement that serves the majority of students with disabilities in China. The authors conclude that reforms in the last two decades have resulted in dramatic changes and progress in many facets of special education service delivery, school structure, administrative monitoring mechanism, and instructional practices. However, the current Chinese special education service structure is still shaky, with inadequate resources, personnel preparation and support at the local level. Fundamental changes to the examination‐oriented mainstream education system are still needed, to enhance the quality of education for students with special needs.     

Relationships Among Academic,Social and Psychological Adjustments to University Life: Comparisons across gender

Tertiary Education and Management - University support to students’ transition to university life can be divided into three dimensions, namely: academic adjustment, social adjustment and...     

The responses of fatty acid-binding protein and creatine kinase to acute and chronic exercise in junior rowers

The responses of fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) and creatine kinase (CK) were compared in a group of junior rowers during 5 weeks of training. Acute exercise induced a larger increase in FABP (70-362%) than in CK (24-156%). When the chronic effect of exercise was studied, the baseline FABP levels were independent of previous training. However, the baseline CK level was dependent on the training that took place during 1 day before (F = 4.362, p < .01) and on the combined training on the previous 2 days (F = 4.606, p < .005). The present results suggest that FABP and CK could be used to monitor acute exercise and chronic exercise, respectively.