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The objectives of this research are to study: (i) the history and development of knowledge of Yiwulv Mountain Manchu paper-cutting art, and (ii) the process of designing and developing digital media for learning about cultural heritage. This research used qualitative research methods. By studying documents and collecting field data by surveys, interviews, observations, group discussions, and workshops. The data was elicited from a group of 40 participants. The analysis was based on the objectives and the results were presented in a descriptive analytical manner. The results are as follows: (i) The art of paper-cutting is related to history and culture. There is a unique cultural identity of the Manchus on Yiwulv Mountain. The way of conveying knowledge is told orally. Currently, there is a problem due to the age of paper-cutting artists and lack of inheritance. Therefore, it is necessary to find ways to protect them as well as transfer them to youth and those who are interested. (ii) The art of paper-cutting is applied with 3D animation technology to inherit and learn the art of Yiwulv Mountain Manchu paper-cutting. The teaching materials created can be explained in detail from the perspective and content. The design combines virtual tour technology to make it interesting. Learners study through digital media and computer systems, which makes it convenient to access information.

This article hypothesizes that one of the reasons for Chinese EFL learners' rigid use of nominalization and insufficient use of hedging in academic writing can be attributed to the unclear understanding of the relationship between these two expressions. The aim of the research is to first prove and then explain the possible co-occurrence of nominalization and hedging in scientific papers, with the intention of deepening Chinese EFL learners' understanding of the reasons for their possible co-occurrence. After a corpus-assisted statistical analysis of sixty abstracts selected from leading scientific journals written by native English speakers, it's been found that there is indeed a tendency for nominalization and hedge to co-occur both at the textual-level and clause-level. Besides, a tentative analysis is conducted to explain the pattern of their co-occurrence. It has been observed that the number of nominalized expressions in clauses is inversely correlated with the probability degree of hedging, and the position of nominalization in the clause (theme or rheme) influences the generalization level of hedging. The research results could shed light on the pedagogic approach in improving Chinese EFL learners' academic writing by making evident that the elusive Grammatical Metaphor competence could be enhanced by deepening the understanding of the inter-relationship between seemingly different in-congruent expressions like nominalization and hedges.

This paper aims to further understand the future development of literacy theory and language learning in contemporary Chinese universities through the research on the current situation of EFL students' literacy in Chinese universities and the teaching characteristics of contemporary Chinese teachers. In this study, literature analysis method, literature comparison analysis method, literature synthesis method and other analytical methods were used to obtain the results. Based on our results, the lack of literacy training is an extremely important reason for the defects of literacy skills of contemporary Chinese college EFL students in the process of language learning. The strengthening of literacy training is one of the key measures to improve the comprehensive level of literacy of contemporary Chinese college EFL students in the process of their language learning. Theoretically, the future development of literacy theories and language learning among contemporary Chinese college EFL students is bound to closely connect with the new theory of multiliteracies and critical literacy in literacy development and the multiliteracies teaching methodology in language learning. Practically, the new theory of multiliteracies puts forward a series of hypotheses for school literacy education to cope with the drastic changes facing the world today. At the same time, the critical literacy theory is rooted in critical education theory, focusing on the important role of literacy in the formation of individual human values. Besides, the multiliteracies teaching methodology in language learning explores how to change traditional teaching methods, effectively using multimedia resources, and cultivating language learners' skills of multiliteracies.

Purpose: This review demonstrates how to position Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) papers reasonably in order to promote the reform and development of the system for evaluating social sciences research (E-SSR) in China. Design/Approach/Methods: This review examines the contributions made by SSCI papers after such papers became a tool in the E-SSR system in Chinese universities, and the resultant issues. This review analyzes documents pertaining to the E-SSR systems of more than 50 world-class universities with consideration to the inherent characteristics and historical mission of social sciences research in China. The findings serve as the basis from which to examine the future trends in the reform of the E-SSR system in Chinese universities. Findings: The application of SSCI papers as an E-SSR tool is not common in world-class universities. To date, the reform of the E-SSR system in Chinese universities has involved: (i) establishing a pluralistic evaluation mechanism, with equal importance placed on SSCI papers and other research achievements; (ii) emphasizing the need for caution in using SSCI papers as an E-SSR tool and instituting distinct treatments for various disciplines; (iii) reducing the importance attached to journal language and ranking, while emphasizing innovation quality and practical contributions; and (iv) establishing China's E-SSR standards in order to achieve an equilibrium between internationalization and localization. Originality/Value: This review argues that although SSCI papers constitute an indicator of E-SSR system, their importance must not be overstated. The main purpose of the E-SSR system is to facilitate the development of social sciences with a style and characteristics unique to China.

Subject to various restrictive requirements on project application and completion, funded projects are often affected by funding policies for the selection of research objects. This study explored the impact of scientific research funding policies on the funding and research by comparing the topic distribution of awards and papers. A total of 1,870 awards and 16,491 papers of the National Social Science Foundation of China (NSSFC) in library and information science (LIS) were collected from a Chinese research project database. According to the results, the growth rate of awards on most topics is higher than that of papers, while the growth rate of papers on the relevant topics to users, technology, and metrology is higher than that of awards. It was found out in the study that the topics funded by NSSFC were imbalanced. NSSFC provides much more funding to traditional topics rather than emerging topics. As indicated by the funding provided to the projects on traditional topics for research on a large number of papers on emerging topics, however, the innovation and diversity of academic research have yet to be restricted. This study demonstrated that the effect of funding policies on the research topics in LIS is significant. Topic suggestions and funding structure of NSSFC have more impacts on award topics than on paper topics. The influence of NSSFC-recommended topics on paper topics is declining year by year. Additionally, awards with high funding intensity are more susceptible to topic suggestions.

The issues of whether mobile-assisted English as a foreign language (EFL) reading is effective have become increasingly important for EFL teachers and policy-makers. However, empirical studies investigating EFL students' reading comprehension performance on mobile phones and students' perceptions of these reading formats are lacking. The present research employed questionnaire surveys and semistructured interviews to investigate whether differences exist between mobile-assisted and paper-based EFL reading in terms of participants' reading comprehension accuracy, reading speed, and reading strategy used (i.e. general, problem-solving or support strategies) and explore EFL learners' perceptions of mobile-assisted EFL reading. A sample of 81 first-year college students participated in a quasiexperiment, 6 participants participated in a semistructured interview, and a sample of an additional 10 students participated in a pilot study. The analyses, including qualitative descriptions, mixed-design analysis of variance (ANOVA), paired-sample t-tests, and independent-sample t-tests, indicated that participants achieved superior reading comprehension accuracy when reading from printed paper compared to reading from mobile phones. Superior reading speed from paper was observed only when participants were instructed to read and complete the comprehension test the first time, while no difference in speed between the two reading media was observed the second time. Additionally, participants' use of reading strategies during mobile-assisted EFL reading was not as effective as that during paper reading. Regarding participants' preferences, most participants (79%) preferred reading from paper over mobile phones because hard copies provided a better reading experience and promoted active reading engagement. However, participants held positive attitudes toward mobile-assisted EFL learning and wanted to continue to read from mobile phones to assist their foreign language learning due to their convenient built-in functions and portability. The implications for the use of mobile devices to assist language pedagogical practice are discussed.

Source-based writing research has received much attention in recent years, which generally shows that both novice and expert EFL (English as a foreign language) writers have difficulties in writing from sources. As many Chinese institutes of higher education attach increasingly more importance to publications in international journals, citation and plagiarism become critical issues for both student and teacher researchers as well as the institutes. Nevertheless, not much research can be found on the issues with Chinese students, especially undergraduate students. The present study thus investigated Chinese undergraduate EFL learners' perceptions of plagiarism and use of citations in their course papers. A total of 141 students from a highly prestigious university answered an open-ended questionnaire and 97 of them submitted course papers. Major findings were: (1) the students had a (fairly) good knowledge of plagiarism and identified various reasons for plagiarism in academic writing, (2) they used summary the most often when citing from sources, followed by paraphrase and quotation, and (3) they mainly used single-source citations to primarily support their own ideas, position an author's opinions and/or findings, and acknowledge the author's ideas. These findings reveal a general overview of students' perceptions of plagiarism and use of citations in their course papers, thus providing implications for formal classroom instruction of writing from sources.

Integrating science learning with game experience and physical manipulatives not only overcomes the rigidity of traditional teaching, but also makes the learning experience pleasant for students and improves their science inquiry ability. Today, with the popularization of mobile devices and technology, both the value and feasibility of gamified science learning have increased significantly. However, several studies showed that students might get lost or feel bored during science inquiry. To let students enjoy the science inquiry process and improve their science process skills, the researchers combined mobile technology, game design elements, and science inquiry and designed the gamified science inquiry activity "we are aircraft designers". Here, students designed and manipulated a smartphone-controlled paper airplane by mobile devices connected via Bluetooth. To investigate the effects of the gamified science inquiry activity, the flow state and science process skills of 71 students of a junior high school in China were explored. The proposed gamified science inquiry activity enhanced flow and science process skills of students with high and middle level flow. No differences were found on flow and science process skills between males and females. Based on these results, the guidelines for the design of a gamified science inquiry activity are discussed.

Due to the lack of life experience and situational experience, it is difficult to arouse pupils' inner motivation and interest in writing. Therefore, the early stage of Chinese writing may be a challenge for Chinese pupils. In order to solve this problem, a spherical video-based virtual reality (SVVR) experience learning system was developed to help pupils improve their writing performance and interest. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was carried out in a primary school in Zhejiang province, China. First, a writing pretest was administered in two grade 4 classes. The researchers then randomly selected 40 pupils of about 10 years old with similar writing abilities, and assigned them to an experimental group, which used the SVVR learning method, and a control group, which used the traditional learning method. The researchers observed and recorded the pupils' writing process and then, interviewed them. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the comprehensive writing performance of the two groups (F = 6.272; p = 0.017 < 0.05). The mean of the experimental group (Mean = 73.85) was higher than that of the control group (Mean = 70.00). Moreover, there were significant differences between the two groups in terms of the thematic coherence, structural integrity and linguistic expressiveness of their writing performance. However, there was no significant difference in the achievement of creative thinking. In the experimental group, different levels of learning behavior engagement could affect the structural integrity and language expression of writing achievements, and the degree of writing learning behavior engagement was highly correlated with reading time. Through the interviews, it was found that the pupils in the experimental group were more satisfied with the SVVR learning method than the control group pupils were with the traditional learning method.

Computer-based testing (CBT), which refers to delivering assessments with computers, has been widely used in large English proficiency tests worldwide. Despite an increasing CBT in China, limited research is available concerning whether CBT can be used for the Test for English Majors-Band 4 (TEM 4). The current study investigated whether testing mode impacted TEM 4 score and factors (i.e., computer familiarity level and attitude towards CBT) that might correlate with performance on CBT of TEM 4. Overall 92 Chinese undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of the groups, i.e., CBT or paper-based testing (PBT), and took the test. A mixed method was employed, including (1) quantitative and qualitative analysis of test performance in two modes, as well as CBT group participants' computer familiarity and attitudes towards the mode; and (2) thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that (1) test scores in CBT and PBT were comparable; (2) two items in the computer familiarity questionnaire, i.e., comfort level of reading articles on the computer and forgetting time when using computers, positively correlated with CBT scores; and (3) participants' attitude towards CBT did not impact test performance.

It is essential to establish a multi-dimensional postgraduate quality evaluation system for student assessment and training. This study aimed to explore the construction of the multiindex and hierarchical comprehensive evaluation system for postgraduate training in science and engineering based on the Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) model using Analytic Hierarchy Process. It involved 756 postgraduates in physics and engineering who were randomly selected via the Internet. Data were collected from the questionnaire about postgraduates' basic information. After collection, Factor Analysis was used to verify the rationality of the design of second-level and third-level indicators, and adjust the corresponding weights. On this basis, Cluster Analysis was used to classify the training quality of the postgraduates based on their scores on academic ability, basic quality, and social ability indicators. The results revealed that the index system includes 4 first-level indicators,12 second-level indicators and 36 third-level indicators, and different weights being assigned to the indicators according to their influence on the training quality of postgraduates in science and engineering. This study also provides some reference for the quality of science and engineering postgraduate training in Chinese universities by proposing relevant measures, which could be interesting also for international audience.

With the rapidly increasing entrance examinations for the School of Continuing education of CUGB, there is an urgent need of the examination papers that have the parallel testing ability for the same academic program. Based on the analysis of parallel factors and the comparison of the manual generated mode and the computer generated mode, the most time-consuming and experience-consuming steps are found. By providing supports to those steps automatically, a semi-auto computer generated testing paper system was designed and developed for reducing the workload of the experienced faculties to generate testing papers. The papers were generated based on a gradually constructed item-bank. The system offered multiple templates of the testing paper structure plan for assisting semi-auto paper generated procedure and guaranteeing the parallel of the generated papers. In order to construct an item-bank in a short time, an easy-to-use authoring tool with powerful functions was designed and developed. The system supported the spring entrance examination of SCECUGB in 2010 successfully. Faculties gave positive feedback toward the system. (Contains 8 figures and 4 tables.)

During attempts to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic in China, higher education programs shifted their traditional educational models to online models. This paper aimed to explore how Chinese universities organized online teaching and learning during the pandemic. It investigated the factors affecting the implementation of online teaching and provided policy recommendations for improving the quality of education in the post-pandemic period. The primary data for this study came from in-depth interviews with nine students and five teaching and administrative staff at eight major universities in mainland China. Literature was obtained in both English and Chinese from January 2020 to September 2021. Peer-reviewed journals, policy reports, and university documents regarding online education in Chinese universities were reviewed, and their challenges and countermeasures were investigated. The paper found that the implementation of online education was affected by various sources, including technologies, teachers' teaching skills, network information literacy, and students' learning motivations and self-directed learning skills. Based on the insiders' views, the paper suggested that to promote the quality of online education in the post-COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutes and programs could develop their infrastructure construction, improve teachers' quality of teaching, and focus on students' learning motivations.

The mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) is a well-established method of assessing trainees' clinical competence in the workplace. In order to improve the quality of clinical learning, factors that influence the provision of feedback are worthy of further investigation. A retrospective data analysis of documented feedback provided by assessors using the mini-CEX in a busy emergency department (ED) was conducted. The assessors comprised emergency physicians (EPs) and trauma surgeons. The trainees were all postgraduate year one (PGY1) residents. The completion rate and word count for each of three feedback components (positive feedback, suggestions for development, and an agreed action plan) were recorded. Other variables included observation time, feedback time, the format used (paper versus computer-based), the seniority of the assessor, the gender of the assessor and the specialty of the assessor. The components of feedback provided by the assessors and the influence of these contextual and demographic factors were also analyzed. During a 26-month study period, 1101 mini-CEX assessments (from 273 PGY1 residents and 67 assessors) were collected. The overall completion rate for the feedback components was 85.3% (positive feedback), 54.8% (suggestions for development), and 29.5% (agreed action plan). In only 22.9% of the total mini-CEX assessments were all three aspects of feedback completed, and 7.4% contained no feedback. In the univariate analysis, the mini-CEX format, the seniority of the assessor and the specialty of the assessor were identified as influencing the completion of all three components of feedback. In the multivariate analysis, only the mini-CEX format and the seniority of the assessor were statistically significant. In a subgroup analysis, the feedback-facilitating effect of the computer-based format was uneven across junior and senior EPs. In addition, feedback provision showed a primacy effect: assessors tended to provide only the first or second feedback components in a busy ED setting. In summary, the authors explored the influence of gender, seniority and specialty on paper and computer-based feedback provision during mini-CEX assessments for PGY1 residency training in a busy ED. It was shown that junior assessors were more likely to provide all three aspects of written feedback in the mini-CEX than were senior assessors. The computer-based format facilitated the completion of feedback among EPs.

The author conducted sampling and statistical analysis of papers on education policy research collected by the China National Knowledge Infrastructure in the period from the years 2004--2013. Under the current state of education policy research in China, the number of papers correlates positively with the year; the papers are concentrated in education journals; the researchers are primarily associated with institutions of higher education; and the studies cover a broad range of topics, while emphasizing the practice of education policy. The development trends of education policy research in China include a general rising trend for research on education policy; in the future, researchers from institutions of higher education will continue to be a dominant force in education policy research, and the authors' regional distribution will continue to be imbalanced; education policy research will focus more on educational equity and improved quality, and studies of foreign education policies will continue to be a topic of interest. [This article was translated by Carissa Fletcher.]

Publishing English papers in journals listed in Science Citation Index (SCI) has become a requirement for degree conferment for doctoral science students at many universities in China. The publication requirement engenders high pressure for doctoral students and their supervisors and shapes the politics of the relationship between the two parties. This is illustrated in the present paper which reports a study conducted at a prestigious university in east China. Focusing on the case of a research group in biochemistry led by an expert writer (the supervisor), the study aimed to find out, from the supervisor's perspective, what revising papers for the students means to him, and what the students learn as a result of their papers being revised. It is shown that the students depend on the supervisor to meet the publication requirement, and the supervisor believes an average student cannot write a publishable paper. The paper discusses the disempowering effect of the publication requirement, and concludes that there is a role for a course on academic English writing, and that the focus on "publishing SCI papers or no degree" should be shifted at the policy level and long-term planning should go into the training of EAP-qualified language professionals.

A study is reported of the performance and attainment of 32 students from overseas studying elementary Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in a Chinese university. With an AB-BA design, they were asked to use two forms of writing media to present two essays: one a word-processed essay entitled "My Favourite Female" and the other a conventional hand-written essay entitled "My Favourite Male". The essays were marked by experienced Chinese language experts and the learners' impression of using each type of writing medium was gathered via questionnaires and interviews. Inferential statistics showed that the students performed significantly better when using a word-processor, and they thought that completing writing tasks using pencil-and-paper and word-processors were markedly different. Most of them felt that their work was more professional when produced on a word-processor. A small number of students considered that writing by hand in Chinese was aesthetically pleasing, but they appreciated the convenience of writing in words spelled and written correctly by the computer. Inter-marker consistency was more homogeneous for essays written on the computer. In conclusion, word-processors are suggested as the preferred writing medium for beginning learners of CFL.

Using CiteSpace to draw a keyword co-occurrence knowledge map for 1,048 research papers on the quality of higher education from 2000 to 2014 in the Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index database, we found that over the past 15 years, research on the quality of Chinese higher education was clearly oriented toward policies, and a good interactive relationship formed between research and policy. Looking at research topics, apart from macrodiscussions of the spirit of several educational reforms, the relevant topics are mainly focused on higher education quality issues in the massification stage, issues of higher education academic management, issues of student cultivation, and issues of ensuring and evaluating higher education quality. Of these, issues of ensuring and evaluating higher education quality have continually been the mainstream of research on Chinese higher education quality, and there has been an increasing trend of emphasizing ensuring internal quality within schools, emphasizing student participation, and evaluating the effectiveness of student learning. Scholars had a renewed focus on the topics of higher education academic management and student cultivation after 2010, and truly improving the quality of higher education will become a future hot topic of study, however there is an urgent need for further study.

Corporate mission, a core part of corporate culture, plays an important role in the development and competition of companies. The study of mission statements is beneficial to both companies and stakeholders. This paper explores corporate mission from the perspective of linguistics on the basis of speech act theory and adaptation theory and reveals that assertives account for a large proportion with a small proportion of commissives and zero proportion of directives, expressives and declarations. Some skills can be used to polish the language of mission statements, like pun, personification and parallel structures. And some high frequency words are summarized. Several characteristics and writing skills are summarized about mission statements. The criteria of judging whether the mission statements are good or not are given in this paper.

We utilized cross tabulation statistics, word frequency counts, and content analysis of research output to conduct a bibliometric study, and used CiteSpace software to depict a knowledge map for research on entrepreneurship education in China from 2004 to 2013. The study shows that, in this duration, the study of Chinese entrepreneurship education experienced a progression through three stages, an "exploratory stage of learning from foreign models," a "developmental stage geared toward employment problems," and a "transformative stage promoting cultivation of student abilities," and featured three primary characteristics, "multidisciplinary fusion," "imbalanced regional distribution," and "policy orientation." In the future, popular fields in the study of entrepreneurship education are to be concentrated in the three areas, namely "entrepreneurship education and talent cultivation," "entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial environments," and "entrepreneurship education and innovation education."

Theory-practice gap has been a long-standing challenge in teacher education, however, there has been scarce attention to student teachers' theory learning experiences. This ethnographic study aimed to examine Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) M.E.d. student teachers' perceptions of the value of theory and their experiences of theory learning on the Master of Education programme. Four triangulated sources of data were employed, including student teachers' portfolios of written responses to academic papers and reflections on their two-stage school experiences, longitudinal participant observations, course evaluations, and focus groups. It was found that the student teachers held paradoxical perceptions about theory learning. They endorsed the importance of theories, but resisted the mainstream theory learning methods which heavily relied on de-contextualised lecturing by teacher educators. To enhance student teachers' theory learning experiences requires teacher educators' overall instructional transformations, increased opportunities for reflective learning-to-teach experiences, and student teachers' attitudinal change and sustained efforts.

As humanity reaches the 5.0 industrial revolution, education plays a critical role in boosting the quality of human resources. This paper reports bibliometric research on emerging TiP during 1993-2022 in the educational field to analyse its development on any level of education during the last three decades. This study employed a Scopus database. The findings are that the trend of TiP publication in educational fields has tended to increase every year during the past three decades and conference paper became the most published document type, the USA is the country which produces the most publications; "Students" being the most occurrences keyword and total link strength. The publication of the TiP is ranked to the Quartile 1, which implies that a publication with the cited performance is a publication with credibility because the publisher has a good reputation. Researchers can find the topics most relevant to other metadata sources such as Web of Science, Publish, and Perish.

The practice of Corrective Feedback (CF), which is situated within a Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Paradigm, is currently positioned towards an accuracy-orientated delivery based on native speaker norms. This is despite the recognition in different areas of linguistic research that there is considerable variation in the way that English is spoken around the world. This paper argues that the epistemological assumptions and methodological approaches to investigate CF within an SLA paradigm have various underlying weaknesses that undermine research findings. These findings purport to provide support for an accuracy-orientated CF in the English classroom. However, it is suggested in this paper that a meaning-orientated CF would be more reflective and beneficial for students given the transformative changes that have occurred to English over the past 30 years. This perspective is discussed in relation to one teacher's approach to CF who participated in a larger project which examined CF conducted in a British-Sino University.

The present study aims to identify the most productive countries, journals, authors, institutions and the most used keywords in the field of special education during 2011-2020, based on the WoS database. The widespread effects of the papers and how they are related were analyzed with the bibliometric analysis method. The findings of the study showed that the USA is inarguably the most productive country, followed by England and Australia. On the other hand, there was a very strong positive correlation (r = 0.929) between the number of papers published by countries and their h-index, a similar finding was also found to be present between the countries' h-index and GDP per capita (r = 0.790). Moreover, it was found that the journals with the highest quartile (Q1 and Q2) in the field of special education published significantly more papers than the journals with the lowest quartile (Q3 and Q4). Matson, JL (USA), Sigafoos, J (New Zealand) and Lancioni, GE (Italy) were determined as the most prolific authors, respectively. Autism, intellectual disability, and Down syndrome were the phrases most frequently used as keywords. Our findings provide key information regarding the developments that the research direction of special education field has recently taken. This study also serves a potential roadmap for future studies.

This paper examines whether and to what extent data-driven learning (DDL) activities can improve the lexico-grammatical use of abstract nouns in L2 writing. A topic-based corpus was compiled to develop concordance learning activities, and 40 Chinese students majoring in English were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental group. At the prewriting stage, both groups were given a list of five abstract nouns: the experimental group was provided with paper-based concordance lines to study the collocations of the words, while the control group was allowed to consult dictionaries for the usage of the words. The written texts of the pre-test, immediate post-test, and delayed post-test were analysed and compared between and within groups. The results showed that the written output by the experimental group, as compared with the control group, contained a higher variety of collocational and colligational patterns and had fewer linguistic errors in using the target abstract nouns. The post-experiment learning journals and questionnaires administered to the experimental group further confirmed that concordance activities encouraged usage-based learning, helped students notice the lexical collocations and prepositional colligations of the target words, and thus improved accuracy and complexity in their productive language. Despite these positive findings, potential problems of using concordance activities for independent learning were also reflected in the students' written output and reported in the learning journals.

This paper considers how "knowledge" of China was presented for Victorian and Edwardian children in "The Boy's Own Paper" ("BOP") between 1879 and 1914. It considers how genre affects the representation of China in the "BOP" by comparing travel narratives and adventure stories. First, it focuses on non-fiction about China, examining the rhetorical strategies employed by the authors of travel narratives. The travellers express confidence in their ability to survey the land and present readers with the idea that China is abundant in resources awaiting British discovery. Second, the article discusses adventure stories about opium and piracy written during a period when the tension between the British and the Chinese was particularly fraught over these issues. While the authors of the adventure stories created a strong contrast between the Chinese as villains and the British as heroes, the "BOP" travel writers provide contradictory statements within their narratives, reflecting an ambivalence about China and the Chinese. However, because the "BOP" contributors sought to instil a sense of patriotism, to inspire their readers to serve the British Empire, both the non-fiction travel narratives and the fictional adventure stories related to China were published not only to entertain readers with exotic facts and thrilling stories, but more importantly, to persuade them of the necessity of British intervention.

This paper reviews the literature on comparing online and paper course evaluations in higher education and provides a case study of a very large randomised trial on the topic. It presents a mixed but generally optimistic picture of online course evaluations with respect to response rates, what they indicate, and how to increase them. The paper presents a case study of 1 university and finds that means for paper course evaluations tend to be higher than for online evaluations, that the standard deviations of online evaluations are typically larger than for paper evaluations, that online evaluations take longer to complete than their paper counterparts, that students prefer online evaluations, and that factor analysis shows similar and different numbers of factors for the 2 types of evaluation, even with the same instrument and the same population. Caution is advocated in assuming that the same online and paper evaluations yield similar results.

A demonstration is described of electrophoretic separation of carmine and sunset yellow with a paper-based device. The channel in the paper device was fabricated by hand with a wax pen. Electrophoretic separation of carmine and sunset yellow was achieved within a few minutes by applying potential on the channel using a simple and inexpensive power supply. This demonstration could not only motivate the students' passion in learning analytical chemistry but also introduce two important analytical techniques (microfluidic paper-based analytical devices and electrophoresis) to the classroom. With further modification and improvement, this demonstration may be suitable for students to perform as a laboratory experiment in the teaching lab.

• A closed-loop material flow analysis model is established for China's pulp and paper industry (CPPI), followed by a comprehensive quantitative analysis from both retrospective and prospective perspectives. • By implementing sound plans and stricter regulations and standards, China has improved recycling and material use efficiency, reduced the organic material with wastewater, and shifted towards recovered paper as a raw material over non-wood fiber. • Lowering the waste paper recycling rate to increase carbon storage is not suitable for China, due to the limited virgin fiber and growing demand. • The growing paper demand requires efforts from both ends of virgin fiber supply and waste paper management towards the sustainable development of CPPI. As the largest global producer and consumer of pulp and paper, China faces significant sustainability challenges in fiber supply and waste paper management. A comprehensive material flow analysis of China's pulp and paper industry (CPPI) is needed to understand the interaction between raw material supply and waste paper management. Here, we construct a closed-loop material flow analysis model for CPPI, examine the evolution patterns of material metabolism from 1990 to 2019, and explore the demand for paper production, waste paper recycling, and virgin fiber supply in 2030 and 2050 under multiple scenarios considering critical factors. Results show that the industry has undergone rapid expansion, increased material use efficiency, and a shift towards recycled pulp from 1990 to 2019. China's paper demand will grow to 186 Mt in the next 30 years, resulting in a significant increase in both demand for fibers (173 Mt) and the generation of waste paper (138 Mt). To ensure a sustainable fiber supply for CPPI, domestic waste paper recycling needs to be prioritized. However, attention should also be paid to the availability of virgin pulp supply and proper disposal of organic solid waste. Proper management of these factors is crucial for achieving a circular economy in the industry and reducing its environmental impact. The findings highlight the importance of addressing both raw material supply and waste paper management for CPPI's sustainable development. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article details an investigation into the onscreen marking (OSM) of Liberal Studies (LS) in Hong Kong--where paper-based marking (PBM) of public examinations is being phased out and wholly superseded by OSM. The study involved 14 markers who had previously rated Liberal Studies scripts on screen in the 2009 Hong Kong Advanced Level examination. In the study, the 14 markers re-marked, on paper, a number of the scripts they had marked on screen in the 2009 examination. Using multi-faceted Rasch analysis, a five-faceted design was employed, modeling markers, test takers, input questions, rating scales, and the marking medium. Results showed that all factors generally exhibited good data fit. With the major facet for investigation being the method of marking, logit values centred at zero emerged. The hypothesis that the method of marking does not intrude on scores awarded to test takers when scripts are marked on screen or on paper was therefore accepted. Since all public examinations in Hong Kong will be marked solely on screen in 2012, it is vital for professional and public confidence that the scores returned from the OSM marking system can be considered as reliable as those obtained from paper-based marking. Results from the current study suggest that this is so. Given that many countries and jurisdictions globally are considering the implementation of OSM technology--albeit not in the all-embracing manner of Hong Kong--the current study provides further validation for the worldwide adoption of such technology. (Contains 3 footnotes, 6 tables, and 1 figure.)

With a sample of Grade 4 Chinese students, the present study examined whether the electronic version was comparable to the paper-and-pencil version of the Wallach-Kogan Creativity Tests (WKCT). It was found that the two versions generated similar patterns of reliability coefficients and inter-correlation coefficients for the eight creativity measures (verbal and figural fluency, flexibility, uniqueness, and unusualness). Results of MANOVA and subsequent ANOVA revealed that there were no significant differences in the means of all the eight creativity measures assessed by the two versions. These results provided some preliminary evidences for the comparability of the two versions of the WKCT. The availability of the electronic version of the WKCT is in step with the rapid advances in test computerization and it will definitely facilitate creativity research and theorization. (Contains 3 tables.)

Chinese sayings within the context of transnational education have not been extensively explored within higher education. In this qualitative study, which utilized semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 24 participants to explore their transnational study experience. Chinese sayings, framed within a rich Confucian history, provide a culturally appropriate way for participants to understand their transnational learning experience. By using Chinese sayings and metaphors, the participants found meaning in their transnational education experience for personal growth and to strengthen their communities. The article provides a discussion of implications for higher education contexts and recommendations.

Background: The advent of Personalized Medicine (PM) holds significant promise in revolutionizing healthcare by tailoring treatments to individual patients based on their data. However, its successful implementation requires the seamless integration of innovative technologies and presents formidable challenges in terms of sustainability. To tackle these challenges head-on, the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine (ICPerMed) was established, and the IC2PerMed project, as part of this consortium, seeks to foster collaboration between the European Union (EU) and China in the field of Personalized Medicine. Based on the results collected by the project, the objective of this study is to discern the key priorities for the implementation of Personalised Medicine concerning Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Big Data and digital solutions, with a particular emphasis on data management and protection. Methods: A Delphi survey was conducted to gather expert's consensus on the main priorities for actions on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Big Data and digital solutions in the field of Personalized Medicine. Results: The survey identified seven priorities in the area of Big Data and digital solutions, including data interoperability, standards, security measures, and international partnerships. Additionally, twelve priorities were identified for the innovation-to-market process, emphasizing cost-effectiveness, need assessment, and value definition in resource allocation. Conclusions: The effective implementation of new technologies in Personalized Medicine research and practice is essential for the advancement of healthcare systems in both the European and Chinese contexts. The identified priorities play a pivotal role in promoting the sustainability of health systems and driving innovation in the implementation of Personalized Medicine. Addressing challenges related to data interoperability, standards, security, international collaboration, cost-effectiveness, and value assessment is of utmost importance in order to propel the progress of Personalized Medicine in healthcare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Over the last decade, the emergence and spread of personalized medicine (PM) have defined a substantial revolution in healthcare. In principle, healthcare system sustainability is challenged by the investments required for research and development, as well as the adoption of PM techniques in routine clinical care. The "Integrating China in the International Consortium for Personalized Medicine" (IC2PerMed) EU-funded project aims to integrate China into the "International Consortium for Personalized Medicine" (ICPerMed). IC2PerMed aims to align the EU and China's research agendas in this field to enable a swift development of approaches in the EU and China with strong leverage upon EU-Chinese collaborations. Methods: Within this project, we first mapped relevant policies on PM in both the EU and China, and then we involved European and Chinese experts in PM in workshops and Delphi surveys in order to identify relevant priorities for the implementation of PM in sustainable healthcare. Results: As a result of this process, we identified nine overarching priorities, each addressing specific aspects of the sustainability of healthcare systems and PM implementation, with the main goal of supporting policymakers in integrating PM approaches in the EU and China. Discussion/conclusion: The implementation of PM in health systems is appealing in terms of improved accuracy in diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of disease, as well as reduction of the side effects resulting from inefficient use of drugs. Research, development, and implementation of needed techniques require time and resources that can slow the adoption of PM in healthcare systems. The nine priorities we identified address some of the most critical points, trying to lay the foundations for a comprehensive approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's rising role in the global economic market, both local and international employers seek graduates with well-developed communication skills in at least one additional language to complement their specific knowledge and abilities. University graduates are taught English for Specific Purposes (ESP) within their particular disciplines. This article reflects on the first author's action research, using student presentations as a pedagogical practice with first year postgraduate students not majoring in English in a Chinese university. The authors propose that ESP pedagogy needs to progress beyond the monological Chinese Confucian model of education to a dialogic, inclusive, and hospitable model of the classroom as an imagined third space where creative, critical thinking is encouraged. This research aims to contribute to Chinese ESP pedagogy, to inform international educators of developments in the education of graduates for internationalized business practice, and to contribute to the global discourse on ESP pedagogy.

The number of international schools hit the 6,000-mark in 2012, and the 13,000-mark in 2022. In spite of continuous growth and diversity of provision, paradoxically some literature continues to paint a largely negative sociological imagination, associating the arena with micro-politics, high turnover, and increasing precarity. At the same time, the social reality of working in the arena remains under-reported and under-theorised. The largest number of international schools are now in China, where two-thirds are of the 'non-traditional' type. Our paper focuses on the experiences of two expatriate teachers in that relatively new field. In order to address the questions of 'how do teachers cope?', and 'what strategies do they adopt?', our paper delves into the under-reported social reality of 'cliques'. By adopting a 'positive sociology' lens of inquiry, we begin to address the role that cliques-formation might have in dealing with precarity and insecurity, especially that of 'friendship precarity' caused by constant transitions and short-term contracts. It can be seen that cliques offer a natural, quick, and practical solution to addressing precarity, helping over time to create resilience, and should not be viewed solely within a negative sociological imagination.

Chinese has a rich and diverse vocabulary of terms, especially verbs, expressing power relationships. This paper selected 25 power relationship terms from the Chinese Proficiency Scale for International Chinese Education, and used a true-false format to test the differences in acquisition between international students from Confucian cultural circles and those from non-Confucian cultural circles. The study found that: (1) The acquisition levels of both groups are generally behind that of ordinary vocabulary; (2) There is a significant difference in the acquisition levels between the two groups, with the former performing better than the latter; and (3) There is a significant difference in the acquisition of these terms in administrative and family settings between the two groups, with the former performing better than the latter, but there is no significant difference in the acquisition of terms in other settings such as education. In response to these findings, the paper used interview data to provide mutual confirmation, and applied theories related to learning input, language transfer, and cultural circles to analyze and interpret the results. Finally, the paper made targeted suggestions for the teaching of power relationship terms.

The paper takes 414 graduates from ZJU in 2011 and 2012, NIT as a case, analyzing the status of their writing of graduation thesis. It is found that a considerable number of students have problems in selection and report of topics, writing of each part and debating in the whole process of graduation thesis. In view of the situation, based on the effective measures and some practical experience by English majors in NIT, ZJU, it is suggested we should raise both teachers' and students' awareness and consciousness in the importance in thesis writing, establish quality management and monitoring system, strictly check selection and report of topics, give play to the library, have topic verification and application guide, being familiar with the writing requirements of the abstract, optimize English curriculum and make professional management features outstanding and enhance the students' and teachers' ability, thereby improving the writing of the graduation thesis and reflecting subject construction in English major.

Yulin Normal University preschool education major existing children's game course instructional model more in passing test knowledge and practice test skills, students used to passively accept knowledge, rarely use critical thinking to treat knowledge, with a critical eye to question, thinking, and discovery, long-term students will not be able to adapt to the needs of the new era of social development of survival ability and professional competitiveness. Therefore, the objectives of this study were (1) to study the factors affecting the development of critical thinking ability, (2) to develop an instructional model based on experiential learning theory and six thinking hats, and (3) to compare the critical thinking ability of Third Year college students before and after the instructional model of experiential learning theory and six thinking hats. The sample group was 30 students from preschool education majors at Yulin Normal University. The research was conducted in three steps: studying the factors that affect the development of critical thinking ability, developing the instructional model, and the experimental and improvement process. The research instruments were a questionnaire about factors that affect the development of critical thinking ability, an interview form about factors that affect the development of college students' critical thinking ability, an observation form about student behavior, an interview form about opinions on teaching, lesson plans, and a critical thinking ability test. The study's results were 1) the main factors affecting the development of critical thinking ability include the instructional environment, the teachers, and the students, respectively, 2) the instructional model based on experiential learning theory and six thinking hats was developed consisting of four core components: a) principles, b) objectives, c) learning process, and d) results, and 3) after the implementation of the instructional model based on experiential learning theory and six thinking hats, the critical thinking ability scores of the students were higher than the critical thinking ability of the students before the experiment, with a statistical significance of 0.01 level. Finally, this paper strives to develop a based on Experiential Learning Theory and Six Thinking Hats instructional model to improve the critical thinking of preschool education students at Yulin Normal University.

English language education nowadays is not merely about the instruction and acquisition of linguistic knowledge and skills. Instead, it has progressed to the real-life applications of the target language, which further requires a mastery of cultural knowledge and skills. In terms of culture, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, compared to native speakers of English, own their unique native culture. Yet, since language teachers tend to focus on the delivery of English cultural knowledge, EFL learners' native culture is sometimes shadowed in the mainstream English classrooms worldwide. To this end, this exploratory paper aims to advocate attention to the importance of EFL learners' native culture awareness and share some practical teaching and learning experiences in an English course called "Multimedia and Foreign Language Learning." The paper outlines the pedagogical design of the course in China, providing classroom examples and practical suggestions to course designers, educators and instructors. We expect to give insights into integrating native culture into foreign language education in university settings.

The prerequisite for doctoral students in Chinese universities to obtain their degrees was to publish a certain number of papers in designated journals, which is the main pressure on doctoral students in China. This study focused on the publication pressure of doctoral students in pedagogy in China under the policy of breaking the 'five only', which aims to diversify the evaluation criteria for academic quality and reduce the reliance on paper publications. The study analyzed the data of 36 pedagogical CSSCI journals from 2016 to 2020, and examined the trends and patterns of publishing pedagogy articles in these journals. The study also explored the factors that influence the publication pressure of doctoral students in pedagogy, such as the admission system, the expansion of doctoral enrollment, and the recruitment system for young teachers. The results show that Chinese pedagogy CSSCI journals are declining in number and are dominated by well-known scholars and institutions. Doctoral students in pedagogy face a more severe academic situation than university teachers, as they have to publish papers to graduate and compete for limited journal space. They also face the pressure of publication under the applicationappraisal system and the system of "promote or leave". The study suggests that colleges and universities need to break through the quantitative evaluation system of doctoral students' academic achievements and pay more attention to the training system and academic culture that promote their physical and mental health and academic development.

Building on a theoretical model of decision-making under risk and uncertainty, this paper examines how Chinese college students made decisions about international moblity or immobility during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper finds that among the 118 interviewees, most continued to choose to study abroad, whilst some gave up after getting offers from prestigious Western universities. We further analysed the divergent patterns of two choices which can be explained by resilience to risks and uncertainties and lack of thereof. For those who have given up studying abroad, the symbolic capital and labor market advantages brought by degrees (especially master degrees) from Western universities have become uncertain and offset by the risk of the epidemic. These findings suggest that, in addition to safety, college students will prefer certainty more than before when choosing whether to go abroad and the study abroad landscape may change based on this mindset.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the potential of implementing an action competence teaching model as a framework for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) in higher education. The paper seeks to draw insights from the students on the potential of this teaching model. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopted a quantitative research design in exploring the potential of an action competence teaching model. This study used self-report measures to obtain insights into the objective of the study. Findings: The action competence teaching model was seen as useful in equipping students with knowledge about a problem, confidence and willingness to act. However, some issues like the design of the projects, teamwork and instructional practices were identified and discussed. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to implement an action competence teaching model to help draw insights from students on its potential. This paper documents certain aspects of action competence that require attention before being implemented in higher education. This information so far lacking in scientific literature contributes to ongoing discussions on SDGs while unveiling strengths and weaknesses to be considered.

Landscape garden design is an important design foundation course for undergraduate students of landscape architecture in China, but the current classroom teaching has the problem of limited spatial dimension of the course. This paper proposes a virtual scene model construction method through the computer software with the creation of the need to display the scene. This virtual reality technology has immersive, interactive, and risqué characteristics. This paper focuses on the key points of virtual reality technology, discusses the specific implementation method of virtual reality technology in the "landscape garden design" course, and introduces the interactive control principle. The results of the research show that virtual reality technology to assist teaching can cultivate students' spatial thinking and enhance students' spatial simulation experience, greatly reducing the cost of traditional teaching.

The innovation capability largely determines the initiative for future development of a region. Higher school is the main position for training innovative talents. Accurate and comprehensive assessment of innovation cultivation capability is an important basis of higher schools for continuous improvement. Thus, this paper focuses on assessing innovative talent cultivation capability. First, by CIPP model (Context, Input, Process and Product Evaluation), an assessment indicator system is built, consisting of 89 indicators in 21 categories. Then, based on indicator characteristics, this paper uses public data statistics, database retrieving, student survey, teacher survey, support personnel and expert investigation, to collect indicator values. After this, by a powerful machine learning algorithm, gradient Boosting regression tree, a capability assessment model is established. And based on collected data, established model is compared with several regression models in innovative talent cultivation capability assessing. Results confirm the performance superiority of our solution.

Underlying thematic analysis are a few fundamental human cognitive processes, such as categorizing, prototyping and metaphorical mapping. By unpacking these basic processes of human cognition, this paper hopes to provide a cognitive basis for thematic analysis as a foundational method in data analysis for qualitative research. In particular, it hopes to address the gap between qualitative methodologists' assumption of thematic analysis as a subjective, creative and flexible process and editors/reviewers' expectation that thematic analysis shall be objective, reliable and rigorous. By consciously and purposefully applying these cognitive processes, thematic analysis can be subjective and yet disciplined, creative and yet rigorous, flexible and yet reliable. The ultimate goal of this paper is to demystify, delineate and further demarcate the thematic analysis process for young and novice qualitative researchers.

There is growing evidence to support the normalisation of performativity. However, what has been less remarked on are the tensions that emerge when teachers seek to implement performative learning in a post-performative teaching context. This paper draws on interviews with 9 Chinese teachers undertaking Cambridge's Professional Development Qualification (PDQ) within the context of private language schooling in China to nuance the notion of performativity. Findings show that tensions can still emerge when differing performative modalities intersect. In this instance, the modalities refer to teachers' performative learning and their teaching context (a private language school that deploys performative technologies). This finding suggests that performativity does not take on a global form, but might be seen as a loose assemblage of technologies that are often in tension. This paper also shows that even when a programme focuses on critical reflection, the focus can still be on neoliberal notions of performativity, with critical reflection being given a new meaning in the neoliberal agenda to mean something different from its customary transformative meaning.

This paper addresses the roles of job position in relation to early childhood leadership (ECL) and school type as a potential moderator of this relationship in China. A sample of 918 research participants, including 149 principals/vice-principals, 108 middle leaders and 661 teachers, was investigated. A three-factor model of ECL including staff management and development (SMD), peer learning and support (PLS) and communication with parents (CP) was used. By conducting linear regression analyses, it was found that the higher the job position an individual held, the more ECL practices he or she performed. The interaction terms (job position × school type) were statistically significant related to SMD and CP but not statistically significant related to PLS. In the case of public school type, the relationship between job position and CP became slightly negative. For private school type, however, it showed a curve-linear relationship. This paper indicates that teachers rarely participates in school-level decision-making due to the top-down management structure, especially in public preschools. It also suggests that the traditional preschool management system leads to preschool teachers in China are socialized as followers with no responsibilities outside classrooms.

Purpose: Microteaching is a teacher training method based on microclasses (groups of four or five students) and microlessons lasting no more than 5-20 min. Since it was first explored in the late 20th century in experiments at Stanford University, microteaching has evolved at the interdisciplinary level. The purpose of this paper is to examine the networks found via an analytical bibliometric study of the scientific output related with microteaching in teacher training, through a study and examination of the Web of Science database. Design/methodology/approach: This research was conducted with the VOSviewer tool for content analysis through data mining and scientific network structure mapping by means of the normalisation technique. This technique is based on the association strength indicator, which is interpreted as a measurement of the similarity of the units of analysis. Findings: Two hundred and nine articles were thus obtained from the Web of Science database. The networks generated and the connections among the various items, co-authorship and co-citation are presented in the results, which clearly indicates that there are significant authors and institutions in the field of microteaching. The largest cluster is made up of institutions such as Australian Catholic University. The most often-cited document is by Rich and Hannafin. Allen (1968), who defines microteaching as a technique based on microclasses and microlessons, is the author most often cited and has the largest number of connections. Research limitations/implications: This research's limitations concern either aspects that lie beyond the study's possibilities or goals that have proved unattainable. The second perspective, which focuses on skill transfer, contains a lower percentage of documents and therefore has a weaker central documentary structure. Lastly, the authors have also had to bear in mind the fact that the scientific output hinges upon a highly specific realm, the appearance and/or liberalisation of digital technologies and access to those technologies in the late 20th century. Originality/value: This research shows that microteaching is a promising area of research that opens up vast possibilities in higher education teacher training for application in the realm of technologies. This paper could lead to several lines of future research, such as access to and the universal design of learning from the standpoint of different communication and pedagogical models based on microteaching.

Educational reform in China has brought about many Western educational approaches for teachers to consider as part of their pedagogy. An example of this is the theory of multiple intelligences (MI theory). This paper presents how a theory grounded in a Western context is locally reconceptualised by kindergarten teachers who grew up in a different context. A qualitative case study was selected to investigate seven kindergarten teachers' understandings of MI theory in China. Three methods were employed to gather data; semi-structured interviews, field observations and documentation. Evidence from the three sources were analysed using a thematic approach. This paper reports contextual factors that had an influence on the teachers' understandings of MI theory and thus its implementation, and argues that the introduction of new educational theories or approaches should be grounded in the local context in which the teaching will be embedded.