The romance and reality of policy‐making and implementation: a case study of the target‐oriented curriculum in Hong Kong

One of the major innovations in the recent wave of education reform in Hong Kong is the target‐oriented curriculum. An interesting feature of this new curriculum initiative was its amoebic characteristics – changing shape and focus in its course of development. It was reshaped from an assessment system for accountability purposes to a centrally developed curriculum initiative for improving teaching and learning, and finally to a school‐based curriculum development. In this paper, this course of development and the reasons behind it will be described and analysed. The study suggests that the two‐tier educational policy and implementation system in Hong Kong is a major cause leading to such a phenomenon. If this system were not improved, the possibility of achieving real changes at the school and classroom level would be low.     

Binding dilemma: Changing horses mid stream—Or why we stopped binding periodicals at HKBU

A review of print and print + online English serials conducted at Hong Kong Baptist University Library in 2006 revealed low usage of many print journals calling into question the age old practice of binding serials. With binding costs escalating, serials budgets being reduced, and libraries increasingly purchasing electronic titles, it was time to review current binding practices. On conclusion of the review, it was recommended that binding of more than 85% of serials cease and be replaced by the use of boxes and that usage statistics be reviewed annually with a view to effecting further reductions.     

ARIMA模型在我国体育用品出口预测中的应用

为了客观把握目前我国体育用品出口的发展现状，准确预测未来我国体育用品出口的发展趋势。收集了2004年1月至2006年8月我国体育用品出口的月度数据，进行了时间序列分析，建立了体育用品月出口额的自回归求和移动平均模型（即ARIMA模型）。结果显示：模型ARIMA（0，1，2）（0，1，1）能较为准确地预测我国体育用品出口额的月度数据，模型的预测值与实际观测值非常接近，说明时间序列模型在我国体育用品出口状况预测中具有较好的应用价值。     

贵州世界遗产景区门票定价研究

在总结世界遗产和传统旅游景区门票制定的影响因素的基础上,运用定性研究的方法,整理影响世界遗产景区门票价格的因素。对遗产地景区门票价格和相关影响因素进行统计、整理,利用SPSS软件进行相关性分析从高到低依次为：经济环境、游览时间、道路交通、竞争环境、旅游营销、游客满意度。运用层次分析法,确定研究世界遗产景区门票定价的数学模型。并以贵州两处世界遗产：赤水丹霞和荔波喀斯特进行实证对比研究,提出了世界遗产景区门票价格制定中的问题和建议。     

Electroosmotic flow hysteresis for dissimilar ionic solutions

Electroosmotic flow (EOF) with two or more fluids is commonly encountered in various microfluidics applications. However, no investigation has hitherto been conducted to investigate the hysteretic or flow direction-dependent behavior during the displacement flow of solutions with dissimilar ionic species. In this investigation, electroosmotic displacement flow involving dissimilar ionic solutions was studied experimentally through a current monitoring method and numerically through finite element simulations. The flow hysteresis can be characterized by the turning and displacement times; turning time refers to the abrupt gradient change of current-time curve while displacement time is the time for one solution to completely displace the other solution. Both experimental and simulation results illustrate that the turning and displacement times for a particular solution pair can be directional-dependent, indicating that the flow conditions in the microchannel are not the same in the two different flow directions. The mechanics of EOF hysteresis was elucidated through the theoretical model which includes the ionic mobility of each species, a major governing parameter. Two distinct mechanics have been identified as the causes for the EOF hysteresis involving dissimilar ionic solutions: the widening/sharpening effect of interfacial region between the two solutions and the difference in ion concentration distributions (and thus average zeta potentials) in different flow directions. The outcome of this investigation contributes to the fundamental understanding of flow behavior in microfluidic systems involving solution pair with dissimilar ionic species.     

Student Participation in Scholarly Communication and Library Digital Collections: A Case Study from the University of Washington Bothell Library

The University of Washington Bothell & Cascadia College Library recently partnered with a faculty member to develop a digital collection showcasing student-produced digital oral histories. This case study describes the role of the library as faculty partner, student resource, and repository/publisher. Archiving and publishing requirements—such as file formats, agreement forms, and metadata—were integrated into the assignment and included as part of each project's overall evaluation and grade. Librarians provided instruction to teach students about topics related to knowledge production and scholarly communication. Assessment included student feedback surveys and faculty feedback to librarians.     

Block Talk: Spatial Language During Block Play

Spatial skills are a central component of intellect and show marked individual differences. There is evidence that variations in the spatial language young children hear, which directs their attention to important aspects of the spatial environment, may be one of the mechanisms that contributes to these differences. To investigate how play affects variations in language, parents and children were assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: free play with blocks, guided play, or play with preassembled structures (Study 1). Parents in the guided play condition produced significantly higher proportions of spatial talk than parents in the other two conditions, and children in the guided play condition produced significantly more spatial talk than those in the free play condition. Study 2 established baselines of spatial language during activities not involving spatial materials. Proportions of spatial words were lower than those in any of the conditions of Experiment 1. In sum, interaction with blocks naturally elicits elevated levels of spatial language, especially in the context of guided play, suggesting simple‐to‐execute educational interventions.     

保存与传承:陈云与改革开放以来评弹艺术改革

"文革"结束以后,陈云以极大的热情推动评弹艺术的改革,为保存和发展这门艺术做出了重要的贡献。对评弹艺术的研究与指导体现了陈云对社会主义文艺事业高度负责的精神,其充满辩证的文艺改革思想要求既要继承评弹的传统又要不断创新。这符合评弹的发展规律,也符合所有艺术的发展规律。陈云的文艺思想是马克思主义文艺思想的重要组成部分,对评弹乃至整个社会主义文艺工作都将产生深远影响。     

Technology-Enhanced Physics Programme for Community-Based Science Learning: Innovative Design and Programme Evaluation in a Theme Park

Journal of Science Education and Technology - In this study, a new physics education programme is specifically developed for a famous theme park in Hong Kong to provide community-based science...     

Pity and Justice in Rousseau's Emile: Developing a Concern for the Common Good

Scholarly accounts of the training of pity in Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile focus on how Emile's tutor activates the psychological mechanisms necessary for the feeling of pity in book 4 of the text. This account is inadequate, for it fails to show how Emile acquires the evaluative ability to make the judgment about who deserves pity as well as the willingness to adjudicate his own and others' interests. In this article, Wing Sze Leung argues that books 1 through 3 lay the foundation by developing in Emile the attitudes and dispositions that guide him in his judgment-making about which kind of life he should pursue. Books 4 and 5 then develop Emile's ability to make interpersonal judgments of pity through habituated practice. By gradually cultivating Emile's sensitivity to the potential conflict between his self-interests and others' well-being, as well as the resolution to refrain from infringing on others' interests and to pursue the common good, Rousseau's long-term educational project molds Emile's disposition to act as justice demands. The article concludes with a brief response to some criticisms about Rousseau's educational project.