The Chinese character: handwriting between utility and identity in twentieth-century China

ABSTRACT

In China, unlike in many of the other cases treated in this special issue, it would seem that the standard style of writing by hand did not undergo any significant changes over the course of the twentieth century. Accordingly, the development of everyday Chinese handwriting has not been studied much. This article, however, shows that subtle yet significant changes occurred in both handwriting and the teaching of handwriting. Those changes were part and parcel of China’s twentieth-century quest for identity in a changing world. By analysing curricula and handwriting manuals from the 1900s to the 1980s, I demonstrate how, within a standard framework of “good” handwriting inherited from Imperial China, economic, societal, and nationalist considerations of the Republican, Maoist, and reform-era regimes caused the emphasis to shift back and forth between speed, down-to-earth pragmatism, and aesthetics – or, in other words, between utility and identity. Even within one given standard style of handwriting, therefore, seemingly minor shifts can tell us a lot about larger political and economic developments. To provide some background, I also briefly refer to the debates and measures regarding the abandonment or simplification of Chinese characters during the first half of the twentieth century.     

The emotions aroused by a vocational transition in adolescents: why,when and how are they socially shared with significant others?

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Adolescents (N = 359) completed a self-report questionnaire assessing the emotional impact of an...     

Teamwork in Establishing a Professional Learning Community in a New Icelandic School

The focus of the action research reported here is on how leaders and teachers used teamwork in developing a professional learning community in a new compulsory school in Iceland. Collaboration is a critical issue in schools as it can improve practice that supports student achievement. Results from the TALIS 2008 study show that Icelandic teachers are below international averages regarding joint teaching and supporting each other. Findings from this action research study showed signs of an emerging collaborative structure among some teams but also a lack of feedback among peers. Teachers expressed difficulty in putting into practice their growing sense of professionalism. The research findings suggest that peer coaching should be supported to encourage staff to engage in critical reflection and transforming practice.     

The Home Environment Shapes Emotional Eating

Emotional overeating (EOE) is the tendency to eat more in response to negative emotions; its etiology in early life is unknown. We established the relative genetic and environmental influences on EOE in toddlerhood and early childhood. Data were from Gemini, a population‐based cohort of 2,402 British twins born in 2007. EOE was measured using the “emotional overeating” scale of the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) at 16 months and 5 years. A longitudinal quantitative genetic model established that genetic influences on EOE were minimal; on the other hand, shared environmental influences explained most of the variance. EOE was moderately stable from 16 months to 5 years and continuing environmental factors shared by twin pairs at both ages explained the longitudinal association.     

Still Academic and National – Internationalisation in Norwegian Research and Higher Education

The paper discusses strategies for internationalisation in Norwegian research and higher educational institutions in terms of understanding them in relation to the organisations’ relation to environments and/or in relation to the organisations basic values and identities. The empirical material consists of six case studies (3 universities, 2 university colleges and 1 research institute). Points of departure are observed through increasing competition, normative transformations in terms of increasing economic justifications of internationalisation and impetus to coherent strategic actions. To what extent does the Norwegian landscape of responses to internationalisation fit such interpretations? Based on this case study we may safely conclude that increased competition as a major driver of internationalisation policies and practices in these organisations is still to come. An economic justification of policies and practices is not the major reason to internationalise, given the perceptions of these organisations. They are currently deeply embedded in academic rationales for internationalisation.     

Rethinking knowledge hierarchies – bridging the gulf between theory and practice: the case of Frankfurt airport’s billing department

This paper examines the value of concrete empirical data in enhancing our understanding of knowledge hierarchies (KHs). Theoretical debate has generated different insights and perspectives, but the term (KH) remains a misconstrued principle. In today’s age of austerity, managing complex administrative processes in an airport billing environment, while striving for effectiveness and efficiency is challenging. These billing processes are influenced by the existing organisational KH. This study sheds light on the hybrid forms of KH: first, the theoretical impact: through data, information and knowledge as KH; second, the stakeholders’ understanding of their role within business processes. The method adopted for this study is influenced by the nature of the problem to be addressed. It uses a qualitative approach, analysing the billing processes and conducting interviews to gauge the stakeholders’ perceptions in order to demonstrate that there are significant variations in understanding organisational key roles.     

überlegungen zur Trainingswissenschaft

The deliberations on training science as a scientific discipline, training science itself, and economic aspects within the framework of training science-related intervention research in theory and practice are explicitly meant to be a contribution to the discussion on the further exploration of training science processes. Furthermore, the application of economic considerations is supposed to expand the training science foundation based on a framework model for training adaptations. Currently, the link between economic and training science observations is still in the initial phase of scientific processing. From the author??s point of view, further research efforts are required to be able to estimate the consequences of these deliberations. This means that scientific experts are called upon to further explore athletic training as a scientific object of research and the ensuing implications.     

A critique of mutualism’s combination of the Aristotelian and Kantian traditions

In this article, I will identify two key normative principles at the core of Robert L. Simon’s mutualist theory of sport, namely, the respect-for-the-opponent principle and the idea that sport is a practice aimed at pursuing excellence. The former is a Kantian principle grounded in human beings’ rationality, and the latter is an Aristotelian principle related to the development of excellences as a means to human flourishing. After having presented and analyzed both principles, I will critically evaluate Simon’s attempt to combine them within his mutualist approach. To conclude, I will highlight the challenges that mutualism should face to complete such a combination more successfully.

Abbreviation: Categorical imperative (CI)