The power of information: health information and UK agendas

The Department of Health published a new health information strategy in May 2012. The document provides a framework for health information in England over the next 10 years. Health information developments in England, however, do not mirror developments in other parts of the United Kingdom. This article is a personal reflection on the new health information strategy in England, including comparison with developments in the other UK nations.     

歌词创作中设问运用的语言艺术

对于歌词里经常运用的设问修辞格,根据问句与答句的接续形式的不同,分为单问单答、单问连答、连问单答、连问连答四种类型,可集中明显地认识设问在歌词创作中的普遍应用和广泛体现。设问在歌词创作上具有兴波助澜,引人思索的语言艺术功能,用得好,能引起人们的注意,诱人思考,使演唱的内容变得更加吸引人。     

社会转型期大学生感恩教育探析

感恩是中华民族的传统美德,是真善美的体现,是人文素质的重要内容。然而当代大学生中却出现了感恩意识缺失的现象,加大对大学生感恩意识的培养,对于改进社会风尚,构建和谐社会、和谐校园具有重要意义。     

完善我国民办高校会计核算制度的对策

当前,我国民办高校会计核算存在诸多问题,改革势在必行。民办高校会计制度构建应遵循教育规律并关注自身的特点,应严格营利性与非营利性分类管理与核算,采用权责发生制、真实反映资产、合理核算成本、正确处理"合理回报"、基建会计主体一体化、建立一套全新的财务报告体系。     

A Thematic Review of Studies into the Effectiveness of Context-Based Chemistry Curricula

Context-based chemistry education aims at making connections between real life and the scientific content of chemistry courses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate context-based chemistry studies. In looking for the context-based chemistry studies, the authors entered the keywords ??context-based??, ??contextual learning?? and ??chemistry education?? in well-known databases (i.e. Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, ERIC, Springer LINK Contemporary). Further, in case the computer search by key words may have missed a rather substantial part of the important literature in the area, the authors also conducted a hand search of the related journals. To present a detailed thematic review of context-based chemistry studies, a matrix was used to summarize the findings by focusing on insights derived from the related studies. The matrix incorporates the following themes: needs, aims, methodologies, general knowledge claims, and implications for teaching and learning, implications for curriculum development and suggestions for future research. The general knowledge claims investigated in this paper were: (a) positive effects of the context-based chemistry studies; (b) caveats, both are examined in terms of students?? attitudes and students?? understanding/cognition. Implications were investigated for practice in context-based chemistry studies, for future research in context-based chemistry studies, and for curriculum developers in context-based chemistry studies. Teachers of context-based courses claimed that the application of the context-based learning approach in chemistry education improved students?? motivation and interest in the subject. This seems to have generated an increase in the number of the students who wish to continue chemistry education at higher levels. However, despite the fact that the majority of the studies have reported advantages of context-based chemistry studies, some of them have also referred to pitfalls, i.e. dominant structure of out-of-school learning, tough nature of some chemistry topics, and teacher anxiety of lower-ability students.     

Middle School Students’ Science Self-Efficacy and Its Sources: Examination of Gender Difference

The main purpose of the present study is to investigate middle school students?? science self-efficacy as well as its sources and outcomes as a function of gender. Bandura??s hypothesized sources of self-efficacy (i.e., mastery experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal) in addition to being inviting with self and inviting with others were examined as sources of self-efficacy, while cognitive and metacognitive strategy use was examined as an outcome of self-efficacy. A total of 1,932 students participated in the study and were administered self-report instruments. Results showed that the relationship between science self-efficacy and its proposed sources does not change as a function of gender. All proposed sources, except for vicarious experience, were found to be significantly related to students?? scientific self-efficacy. Moreover, girls were found to experience significantly more emotional arousal and to send positive messages to others more than boys. On the other hand, no gender difference was found concerning science self-efficacy and strategy use. The findings also revealed a positive association between science self-efficacy and strategy use. Overall, findings supported Bandura??s conception of self-efficacy and suggested invitations as additional sources of self-efficacy.     

Embedding Nature of Science in Teaching About Astronomy and Space

Science teachers need an adequate understanding of nature of science (NOS) and the ability to embed NOS in their teaching. This collective case study aims to explore in-service science teachers’ conceptions of NOS and the embeddedness of NOS in their teaching about astronomy and space. Three science teachers participated in this study. All participants attended the NOS workshop based on an explicit-reflective approach. They were asked to respond to the Myths of Science Questionnaire on three different occasions, i.e., at the beginning and the end of the NOS workshop and a semester after the workshop. Classroom observation, interviews after teaching, and a collection of related documents were also employed to collect data. The data were analyzed using a constant comparative method. The results revealed two important assertions. First, science teachers’ conceptions of NOS are stable and resistant to change. However, an explicit-reflective approach employed in the NOS workshop, to some extent, promoted science teachers’ understanding and reasoning about NOS. Second, science teachers’ conceptions of NOS are not directly related to their classroom practices. With different degrees of NOS understanding, all participants taught NOS implicitly and missed most of the opportunities to address aspects of NOS embedded in the topics they taught. The implications of these findings are also discussed.     

Cypriot Pre-Service Kindergarten Teachers’ Beliefs and Intensions about the Importance of Teacher/Child Interactions

Although a host of research has explored the association between beliefs and practices, limited research has been conducted exploring the association between beliefs and intensions. The present study aimed to explore Cypriot pre-service kindergarten teachers’ self-reported beliefs and intensions about the importance of teacher/child interactions and the relationship between them. Interaction has been chosen to be the focus of the present study due to the fact that research results indicate that one of the most important indicators of the quality of early childhood education and care is sensitive and responsive caregiving. Research results indicated that participating pre-service kindergarten teachers favor sensitive and appropriate caregiving. Thus, beliefs have been found to predict the sample’s intensions.     

Intelligent classrooms and smart software: Teaching and learning in today’s university

The use of information and communication technologies in higher education is surrounded by contradictory, yet interrelated themes, that suggest that education is either experiencing a revolution or approaching its own demise. Undoubtedly, technologies are becoming embedded in academic life but patterns of adoption are more complex and nuanced than polarized themes suggest. The extreme polarity of a ‘promises and fears’ spectrum is unable to fully account for why this is the case; neither can it be explained by economics, demographics, or the technology. This article argues that one of the most significant variables in the deployment of and adaptation to information technologies in the university is academic culture. In other words, unless we consider academic culture we cannot fully capture the relationship of technologies to education.