Choice of Holland's Social Type College Majors for U.S. Racial/Ethnic Groups

We used national data to study the longitudinal effects of several variables on choice of Holland (1997) social type college majors versus other majors. We examined these effects for four of the five major U.S. racial/ethnic groups, Asian/Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites. Effects of mathematics scores and gender on choice of social majors were fairly consistent across racial/ethnic groups, whereas effects of reading scores and SES differed across racial/ethnic groups. Results for Whites were most consistent with Holland's theoretical formulations regarding the effects of variables on choice of social-type educational/occupational environments.     

Home-School Relations in Hong Kong: Separation or Partnership

This article contains an analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data about the perception of both parents and school personnel on parents' participation at different levels of school activities. Findings indicated that most of the school personnel demonstrated unwelcome attitudes towards parent involvement and parents themselves did not like to become school managers either. Both of them expressed the intention of separate responsibilities in school management. It is recommended that schools should develop a school-based strategy to promote home-school cooperation. Besides, there is a need to establish parent schools to educate parents in their rights and responsibilities in participating in school education.     

Students’ Perception of Interdisciplinary,Problem‐Based Learning in a Food Biotechnology Course

Abstract: Students’ perception of 8 criteria (rationale of the problem; interdisciplinary learning; facilitator asked essential questions; learner's skills; assessments; facilitation procedures; team's use of resources [team collaboration], and facilitator within a problem‐based learning context) were assessed for a food biotechnology course that was part of a 3rd year biotechnology program. The mean score for “perceived learner's skills” was the lowest whereas those for “facilitation” and “facilitator” were the highest. Selected qualitative comments from students were also analyzed. This study demonstrated interdisciplinary learning as the students could make meaningful connections across different science disciplines. Further investigation is needed to develop possible strategies to accommodate the challenges in making meaningful connections across science disciplines as well as to develop a defined hybrid method for analysis of students’ responses.     

Microfluidic on-chip fluorescence-activated interface control system

A microfluidic dynamic fluorescence-activated interface control system was developed for lab-on-a-chip applications. The system consists of a straight rectangular microchannel, a fluorescence excitation source, a detection sensor, a signal conversion circuit, and a high-voltage feedback system. Aqueous NaCl as conducting fluid and aqueous glycerol as nonconducting fluid were introduced to flow side by side into the straight rectangular microchannel. Fluorescent dye was added to the aqueous NaCl to work as a signal representing the interface position. Automatic control of the liquid interface was achieved by controlling the electroosmotic effect that exists only in the conducting fluid using a high-voltage feedback system. A LABVIEW program was developed to control the output of high-voltage power supply according the actual interface position, and then the interface position is modified as the output of high-voltage power supply. At last, the interface can be moved to the desired position automatically using this feedback system. The results show that the system presented in this paper can control an arbitrary interface location in real time. The effects of viscosity ratio, flow rates, and polarity of electric field were discussed. This technique can be extended to switch the sample flow and droplets automatically.     

Middle leadership in international schools: evidence from Malaysia

This paper examines middle leadership of the heads of English, maths and science departments in four international secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on their roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement within the theoretical framework of instructional, distributed and teacher leadership. The study is a qualitative multi-method case study, involving observation, documentary analysis, and semi-structured interviews with 12 heads of department, 36 teachers, and four principals. With respect to the middle leaders’ roles and responsibilities, the findings illustrate cross-school and in-school differential developments, with contextual factors contributing to uneasy role relationships. The results also show that, while broad-based leadership opportunities are limited for the middle leaders and teachers, the most powerful and common feature of all these international schools is the centrality of teaching and learning.     

BEYOND BIBLE STORIES: THE ROLE OF CULTURE-SPECIFIC MYTHS/STORIES IN THE IDENTITY FORMATION OF NONDOMINANT IMMIGRANT CHILDREN

The full identity of Asian heritage children growing up in Canada and the U.S. includes the Judaeo-Christian biblical tradition, the Euro-Anglo tradition of the dominant culture, and the traditions of their heritage culture. This article makes a case for including culture-specific stories from learners' own heritage for more holistic identity formation for younger members of immigrant Christian faith communities. The author examines obstacles that stand in the way, and discusses strategies to carry out this religious education endeavor. While examples are drawn mainly from East Asian culture (particularly Chinese), the discussion is intended to apply to most non-Euro-Anglo Christian faith communities of the North America diaspora.     

International Counseling Trainees’ Experiences and Perceptions of Their Multicultural Counseling Training in the United States: A Mixed Method Inquiry

This study examined international counseling students’ (ICTs) experiences and perceptions of their multicultural counseling training (MCT) in the United States. The focus was on (a) relevance of the training, (b) effectiveness of the training methods, and (c) development of cross-cultural competence as trainees. Major findings indicated that ICTs found their MCT to be more useful in the areas of knowledge and awareness rather than in skill development. Dissatisfaction was expressed with training received; limited applicability to country of origin was noted. MCT in the US appears to reflect primarily a Westernized approach to teaching and learning related competencies. Implications and recommendations for counselors and educators are discussed.     

用矩阵近似分解方法求解第二类积分方程

基于区域分解和多项式插值，对积分算子进行离散，得到高精确度的近似离散矩阵．这一方法适应于核函数为光滑、振动较小、只有有限弱奇点的情形．如果采用ｎ个离散点，近似矩阵可以经过Ｏ（ｎ）次计算得到，存储也只要Ｏ（ｎ）．矩阵－向量相乘的计算量为Ｏ（ｎｌｏｇｎ）．所以，此方法特别适合共轭梯度类型算法