The role of stroke knowledge in reading and spelling in Chinese

The present study examined the types of orthographic knowledge that are important in learning to read and spell Chinese words in a 2‐year longitudinal study following 289 Hong Kong Chinese children from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Multiple regression results showed that radical knowledge significantly predicted children's word reading and spelling performance across the years. Stroke knowledge contributed both concurrently (Grade 1) and longitudinally (Grade 2) to children's spelling performance after controlling for rapid naming, phonological awareness, morphological awareness and radical knowledge. These findings support the significance of radical knowledge in Chinese reading and spelling and the specific role of stroke order knowledge in Chinese spelling. The findings have implications for the design of an effective curriculum for teaching children to spell Chinese characters.     

从战略高度考虑教师问题

全面振兴中国教育 ,需要一支高素质的教师队伍和高效能的教师工作 ,然而目前我国中小学却存在着专业化程度不高 ,角色转换艰难、功能偏异、隐性失业、待遇偏低、职业自卑等问题。创新教育要求与教师水平之间也有一定差距 ,因而 ,必须研讨整体性解决这些问题的办法     

The Political Consequences of Ambivalence: The Case of Democratic Reform in Hong Kong

Recent research has shown that attitudinal ambivalence has importantimplications on political attitudes and behavior. The conceptholds one of the keys to understanding complicated and seeminglycontradictory opinions of the public. This article examinesambivalence in public opinion regarding democratic reform inHong Kong. Analysis of a representative survey (N = 600) showsthat common citizens indeed have a significant degree of ambivalencetoward the government's political reform bill proposed in 2005.Regarding consequences, objective ambivalence is shown to havegreater predictive power than subjective ambivalence. The formerrelates negatively to attitude extremity and weakens the attitude–behaviorlinkage. However, contrary to the usual finding in the literature,objective ambivalence also relates positively to protest participationintention. The theoretical and social implications of the findingsare discussed. Received for publication June 29, 2007. Accepted for publication October 8, 2008.     

基于STP的大学出版物市场创新性研究

基于市场营销学中的理论STP[1]分析,认为大学出版社应当运用"市场再细分、目标市场再选择、市场再定位"的新方法挖掘市场机会.在市场再细分中,提出多方位市场分析模型;在目标市场再选择中,提出3个可供开发的新市场;在市场再定位中,创新性地提出大学出版社的"蓝海型长尾战略'.     

Education,gender and Islam in China: The place of religious education in challenging and sustaining ‘undisputed traditions’ among Chinese Muslim women

The essay investigates the place of religious and secular education in the lives of Chinese Muslim women. Education is treated as a site where state and society are reproduced and/or challenged, where tensions arise over control of minds and bodies, and over interpretations and uses of religion and culture. Specifically, the essay compares contrastive situations of female religious education within a matrix of inter-dependent issues such as the diversity of Muslim contexts in China, state treatment of minorities’ rights to religious practice and to education, organisation and implementation of religious education, and relations between secular education and Islamic education.     

Problem-based learning and the development of metacognition

This study samples first year undergraduates from two programmes at a Hong Kong University (N = 66). One programme uses an entirely problem-based approach to learning and teaching, whilst the other uses more traditional methods. Using the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) as a measure of student perceptions of their thinking, or metacognition it explores differences in metacognitive development between each group of students between the beginning and end of their first year in each programme. The paper argues that, in addition to the formal learning context, everyday challenges emerging from the additional new social contexts provided by problem-based curricula provide fertile environments for the development of metacognition because whilst the highest ‘meta-level’ of cognition is usually not implicated when we receive an outside task and when the task solution is known, the meta-level does tend to be consulted when things go wrong or when the situation is new. In other words, when we are faced with finding solutions to a problem whether posed by the teacher as part of a problem-based curriculum or a new social environment, we are more likely to develop generic, as well as subject specific skills.     

Comparison of older and younger adults' attitudes towards and abilities with computers: Implications for training and learning

Computers and associated technology have become central to modern life. In a society where the population is rapidly ageing, the acceptance and utilisation of developing technologies by an older population is becoming increasingly important. This review highlights similarities and differences between the attitudes and acceptance of technology by older and younger people, leading to the conclusion that similar factors influence both age groups—hence, older people could well be taught to use technology in a similar manner to younger people. While all learners, irrespective of age, should receive sufficient time for training in a positive and supportive environment, this review suggests that due consideration ought to be given to the amount of time allowed for older users to learn new skills and the manner in which learners are treated in a positive and valued manner.     

论我国服务型政府建设逐步推进的原因

我国服务型政府建设的进程只能是渐进式的.究其原因主要有:市场发育程度不高;政府部门利益具有刚性;服务文化的建设滞后.认为在我国构建服务型政府可以毕其功于一役的观点是不切实际的.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of heat transfer with moving phase-change interface in freezing and thawing of porous potting soil

Soil in a cold region is subject to frequent freezing and thawing cycles. Soil frozen for a prolonged period may cause adverse freeze damage to the plants due to cell dehydration or root cell rupture. It is important to understand the detailed heat transfer behaviors of the freezing and thawing processes to prevent freeze damage, and to devise proper mitigation measures for effective pot planting in cold regions. A theoretical model was developed to analyze the transient moving phase-change interface heat transfer in the freezing and thawing of porous potting soil. The theoretical derivation is based on the assumption that the soil freezes completely at a single temperature. Microscopic poromechanic effects on heat transfer behavior were ignored. The spatial domain of the problem was simplified to a 1 D spherical coordinate system with variation in the radial direction. Green＇s function was applied to solve for the time-dependent body temperature. Experiments were conducted for validation of the theoretical model Reasonable agreement between the theoretical predictions and experimental measurements was obtained. The theoretical model developed can be easily used to determine the sensitivity of various parameters in the freezing/thawing processes, e.g., thermal properties of soil, ambient temperature, and planting pot size.     

Belonging to a workplace: first-year apprentices’ perspectives on factors determining engagement and continuation through apprenticeship

The transition to work through apprenticeship is one taken by many young people. A sense of belonging to a workplace is posited to be an important precursor for initial and on-going engagement with practice communities. This article details a study of beginning apprentices in ten trades. The project sought to identify factors influencing apprentices’ decisions to enter and commit to apprenticeship. Through comparisons of the experiences of continuing and disengaged first-year apprentices, processes of belonging to a workplace were found to be important contributors to apprenticeship continuation. Factors contributing to apprentices’ perceptions of belongingness are identified, examined and discussed.