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It is increasingly recognised that attention should be paid to investigating the needs of a new test, especially in contexts where specific purpose language needs might be identified. This article describes the stages involved in establishing the need for a new assessment of English for professional purposes in China. We first investigated stakeholders’ perceptions of the target language use activities and the necessity of the proposed assessment. We then analysed five existing tests and six language frameworks to evaluate their suitability for the need of the proposed assessment. The resulting proposal is for an advanced-level English assessment capable of providing a diagnostic evaluation of the proficiency of potential employees in areas of relevance to multinationals operating in China. The study has demonstrated the value of following a principled procedure to investigate the necessity for and the needs of a new test at the very beginning of the test development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The social work certification system in China does not require a professional education in social work and makes compromises for a lack of higher education. This brief statement introduces a study we are currently conducting to analyze the impact of the government-led social work certification system on the professional competence of practitioners. As a 'level evaluation' rather than an 'admission requirement' qualification exam, social workers without professional backgrounds show significant improvement in their professional competence after obtaining a license. This provides a new perspective for the development of social work in other countries, promoting the rapid development of social work through government-led initiatives and lowering barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the worship of ancient wisdom affects economic progress in historical China, where the learned class embraced classical wisdom for millennia but encountered the shock of Western industrial influence in the mid-nineteenth century. Using the number of sage temples to measure the strength of classical worship in 269 prefectures, I find that classical worship discouraged intellectuals from appreciating modern learning and thus inhibited industrialization between 1858 and 1927. By contrast, industrialization grew faster in regions less constrained by classicism. This finding implies the importance of cultural entrepreneurship, or the lack thereof, in shaping modern economic growth. "The humor of blaming the present, and admiring the past, is strongly rooted in human nature, and has an influence even on persons endued with the profoundest judgment and most extensive learning." —David Hume (1754, p. 464). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study systematically investigates the spatio-temporal distribution, influential factors, and conservation significance of 413 traditional villages in Xiangxi, China. Employing methods such as ArcGIS spatial analysis, geographic statistical analysis, and historical literature review, this work meticulously delineates the intricate interplay of natural, societal, and cultural elements in shaping the evolution of village distributions. As pillars of China's rich traditional culture, these villages encapsulate profound historical, folkloric, and architectural values. Their spatial and temporal transformations are instrumental in unraveling Xiangxi's historical and cultural tapestry, thereby informing strategic conservation efforts. The research findings are as follows: (1) from a spatial perspective, traditional villages in Xiangxi, China, exhibit an overall clustering tendency, characterized by a distribution pattern of "more in the core, fewer on the periphery, with small clusters and significant dispersion." These villages are distributed in multiple bands along ancient postal routes, the Wuling Mountains, the Xuefeng Mountains, and river basins. (2) Traditional villages in Xiangxi primarily originated prior to the Yuan Dynasty, with a predominant north–south spatial orientation. Over successive dynasties, the distribution center gradually shifted northeastward, resulting in an expansion of the spatial distribution range and a decrease in directional bias. (3) The formation and distribution evolution of traditional villages are influenced by a combination of natural factors, socio-economic factors, and historical-cultural factors. Natural factors and cultural elements influence the selection and layout of traditional village sites, while socio-economic and historical-cultural factors impact their development and evolution. In conclusion, the distribution evolution of traditional villages in Xiangxi, China, underscores the intricate interplay of diverse factors, spanning the realms of nature, society, and culture. Recognizing this complexity is essential in comprehending the historical and cultural tapestry of Xiangxi and in formulating strategies for the preservation of these invaluable cultural and historical assets. The preservation of traditional villages transcends mere heritage conservation; it represents a pivotal step towards safeguarding the multifaceted heritage of Xiangxi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiology is a critical subject that bridges basic and clinical medicine. The reform of physiology education is crucial to improving the quality of teaching and supporting student learning; however, there is a lack of comprehensive data documenting the current state of physiology education in medical programs in China. This study conducted an online survey among experienced teachers from the top 100 medical schools in the Chinese mainland in 2022. A total of 89 valid questionnaires were included in this study. In 57.3% of the surveyed medical schools, 70% of the physiology teachers have a Ph.D. degree, while the number of faculty members with a medical background has tended to decrease in 53.9% of the surveyed medical schools. Of the 89 medical schools, 62 have implemented physiology course integration, with 69.4% of the respondents believing that curriculum integration could enhance students' knowledge acquisition and application. The lecture hours per term are 50-70 and 71-90 in 49.4% and 42.7% of the 89 medical schools, respectively. The ratio of course duration of lecture to laboratory was 2:1 in 47.2% of the surveyed medical schools, while the ratio was between 1:1 and 2:1 in 47.2% of the surveyed medical schools, and only 5.6% of medical schools opted for a 1:1 course arrangement. For teaching methods, about 60% of medical schools used problem-based learning, case-based learning, and taskbased learning (PBL/CBL/TBL) for clinical medicine students only, and 25.4% of medical schools applied PBL/CBL/TBL to all students. This study is conducive to promoting dialogue and communication among physiology teachers, administrators, and researchers. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study conducted a nationwide survey of the top 100 medical schools in the Chinese mainland in 2022 to provide first-hand data on the current situation and changes in physiology education and teaching in the Chinese mainland with focuses on the faculty composition, curriculum integration, teaching methods, and assessment modes, which is a microcosm of the reform and development of the medical education in the Chinese mainland, hoping to improve the quality of preclinical medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textbooks are the primary materials for teaching in the Greater China Region, including the teaching of Chinese as a second language. This qualitative study examined how two teachers of first to fifth grade students in an international school in Macao selected, used, and adapted textbooks to teach Chinese to non-native Chinese speakers. It also examined the beliefs that drove teachers' decisions and actions. Multiple forms of evidence were analyzed, including responses to interview questions posed at multiple points, responses to a questionnaire administered at the beginning of the study, school documents, and content analyses of lessons in the selected textbook series and materials teachers made to accompany textbook lessons. The two teachers in this study made a conscious decision to continue using two textbook series selected by others and used the year before. The selection and use of these textbooks were underpinned by a set of interrelated beliefs, including their views on effective instruction (e.g., clearly presented topic, appealing and motivating materials, effective learning activities, focus on Chinese culture); their students' needs and motivations; their own teaching capabilities and attitudes; their epistemological beliefs about learning and knowledge; and the importance of local, national, and international standards and assessments. The two teachers devoted considerable effort to adapting the textbooks by developing their own materials that added, reduced, deleted, restructured, replaced, and re-ordered textbook learning activities. These adaptations were driven by specific teacher beliefs (e.g., the need for more meaning focused activities). Recommendations for future research and implications for teaching are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing literature studying the 'non-traditional' type of international schools. However, a less explored and under-theorised area is the changing dynamics of the global-local interactions in the way these international schools are being redefined and shaped by local processes, regimes of control, and mechanisms. Drawing on empirical evidence from sixteen 'non-traditional' international schools in urban China, our paper contributes to the literature in three ways. Theoretically, we developed the notion of 'reining in the international' to draw analytic attention to the state power and social agency in controlling and directing the global flows of international schooling. Empirically, our paper provides concrete evidence to show the disjuncture occurring when the global/international is interrupted and transformed by local/national conditions. Third, we argue that in the case of China, the local has taken charge as the 'content supplier and negotiator' in the global-local confluence of forms adopted by international schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China (NEC) is an agricultural base of the country. It suffered a severe drought in 2014. During the drought, the western Pacific subtropical high is stronger than normal and stretches to the west. The warm and moist air in the southwest edge of the high transports northwestwards and thus cannot affect NEC. Over high latitudes, in the regions west and east to NEC, there are large anomalies in geopotential height, which favour meridional exchange and may lead to stronger‐than‐normal cold air intrusions. Because of the lack of warm and moist air supply from the south while the invasion of the cold and dry air from the north, the atmosphere over NEC is finally drier and colder than normal in saturation levels. Based on the physical relation between seasonal precipitation and relative humidity, along with the defined Cq and CT, indicators for measuring the changes in moisture and temperature, the effects of water vapour and air temperature on the drought can be linearly separated, and thus compared. Results reveal that, at middle and high levels, the dryness of the air, which plays a positive role in the drought, can offset the negative effect of the coldness, and the atmosphere over NEC then maintains a lower‐than‐normal relative humidity. In the near‐surface level, the air is drier and warmer than normal, which facilitates the drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we set out to explore the world's first major standardised examination system. In the field of language testing and assessment, works such as measured words (Spolsky, 1995), measured constructs (Weir, Vidakovic & Galaczi, 2013), and Cambridge English exams — the first hundred years (Hawkey & Milanovic, 2013) all point to the fact that contemporary tests reflect many years of accumulated knowledge and practice. Perhaps more importantly, they also remind us of the social and educational impact of the tests we develop. With this in mind, we explore the very first example of a standardised examination system — the Chinese imperial examination system (the Kējǔ — in Chinese Hanyu Pinyin 科举). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contradicting the existing refugee studies literature criticizing China's passive engagement in international refugee protection, China accepted as many as 300,000 Vietnamese refugees (难侨) of Chinese descent in the wake of the Vietnam War and resettled them on state-owned farms in southern China. By focusing on Vietnamese refugees on a state-owned farm on the Leizhou Peninsula, South China, this study examines the (im)mobility experience of resettled Vietnamese refugees in China, through which the fluctuation of citizenship is reflected. This paper brings the ignored dimension of the state into the analysis of (im)mobility. While showing how the resettlement regime shapes the mobility and immobility experience of Vietnamese refugees in China, this study demonstrates their agency in relation to the desire for four statuses of mobility and immobility. Meanwhile, this paper demonstrates the fluctuation of citizenship of the group of resettled Vietnamese refugees over the past four decades. In doing so, it expands the scope of existing literature on migration and refugee studies to an understudied country of destination, China, and helps us better understand the complexity of refugees' experiences within broader socio-economic and politicoinstitutional changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harbin, located in northeast China (NEC), has obvious monsoon climate characteristics due to the influence of its geographical environment. Under the control of the polar continental air mass, winter in Harbin is exceedingly cold and long, with the frequent invasion of the cold and dry air from the north. Because of its intensely cold climate in winter, Harbin has created a local form of tourism with its own characteristics: the snow and ice landscape attracts a large number of tourists. Therefore, the anomalies of air temperature and precipitation in winter have an important impact on the livelihood of the local people and economy. In the winter of 2018/2019, the ice and snow tourism in Harbin was harshly affected by the extreme weather, and the direct cause is the anomalies of atmospheric circulation. There is a center of strong positive geopotential height anomalies over east China, which favors the movement of warm air northwards to the NEC, resulting in warmer-than-normal air temperature. Anomalous precipitation is largely controlled by the anomalies of local water vapor and air temperature. The aim of this study was to determine whether the warmer-than-normal temperature, which made the atmosphere more resistant to saturation, was the primary cause of the reduced snowfall. The relative importance of water vapor and air temperature anomalies to the anomalous precipitation was compared. The results suggest that the warmer-than-normal temperature affected all levels, but its impact on the near-surface level was greater. At the middle and upper levels (above 850 hPa), in addition to the warmer-than-normal temperature, the amount of water vapor was less than normal. These conditions both reduced the amount of snow; however, by comparison, the dryness of the air contributed more significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the political, economic, and social environment in the Peoples' Republic of China has opened up to inflows of commerce and culture from around the world. Consequently, the physical cultural practices within China have undergone a double-dialectical shift—whereby performing bodies now influence, and are influenced by, a shifting body politic (e.g. sport and physical activity practices opening up to global markets and brands, transnational trade, and post-socialist political alignments, etc.) and also where the body politic has mutated as a result of, and to constitute, inflows and outflows of global capital, culture, and polity (e.g. cosmopolitan consumer culture, Westernization, etc.). In this article, we examine this double dialectic as a form of government within the performances, aesthetics, choreographies, and administration of Chinese DanceSport. DanceSport, a competitive and structured—arguably "sportified"—form of international dance, has in recent years supplanted traditional Chinese dance as the most popular form of dance in the Peoples' Republic. Using Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, we examine the operational and administrative discourses within the sport to explicate how organizational and governing bodies have constructed regimes of conduct through which dancers and dance performances might conform to, and negotiate, prevailing glocalized cultural physicalities. The results invite further analysis into how Chinese DanceSport has become increasingly, and perhaps paradoxically, more regulated and codified with respect to how "the West" is performed on the dance floors of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing discrepancy between a regional economy and transportation imposes higher requirements for their coordinated development. This paper utilized the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model and entropy method (EM) to quantitatively study the coupling coordination state between regional economy and transportation and its spatial distribution of 30 provinces in China from 2004 to 2017. The results show the following: (1) The comprehensive level of regional economy and transportation development in China has shown a growing trend, and the development of regional economy is faster than that of the transportation. (2) The CCD between regional economy and transportation in China is changing from incoordination to high-level coordination. The imbalance of CCD levels among the regions studied varies significantly. The CCD in the eastern regions is slightly higher than that in the central, western, and northeast regions. (3) In the region with a higher CCD, the discrepancy between the development of regional economy and transportation is higher than that in other regions. Moreover, suggestions are provided to promote the coordinated development from a regional perspective. This study provides references to policymakers to help them properly plan and design transportation systems while considering the regional economy, thus stimulating the coordinated and sustainable development between regional economy and transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increased attention for the financialization issue in the academic field, the extent literature offers limited knowledge about its potential consequence on the innovation outcomes of manufacturing firms in emerging markets. We endeavor to investigate the effect of manufacturing firms' financialization behaviors on corporate innovation and its boundary conditions. Hypotheses of both direct and moderating effects are thus developed, and we test these hypotheses using 3373 observations of the public listed firms in China. By doing so, we thus shed light on an underappreciated antecedent (i.e., financialization) in an under‐theorized setting (emerging markets) over the topic of corporate innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on financial literacy has focused on the influence of teachers and parents in financial literacy education, which mediates the impact on students' financial behaviour. Much less attention has been given to the influence of traditional Chinese hierarchical culture on a child's identity as a student. This paper applies Lee's (2017) theory of identity grafting to examine how student self-identity towards personal financial management is reflected in their financial behaviour, and whether nurturing students with positive financial attitudes can improve the financial behaviour of students who are challenged by power distance values. We surveyed 1164 students from 39 secondary schools. We first focus on the influence of power distance on students that endorse the traditional Chinese values that superiors and subordinates should know their place and behave accordingly. Second, we focus on how students' positive financial attitude interact with power distance effects. The results from structural equation modelling show that that high endorsement of power distance has a negative impact on financial behaviour in spending and that positive financial attitude has a positive influence on financial behaviour in spending, protection and planning. Further, students who highly endorse power distance values but have positive financial attitudes can still demonstrate positive financial behaviour. This paper is the first to validate identity grafting effects on students via statistical study. The implications of the findings on identity grafting are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

However, examinations in many of these private centers are at the level of (or slightly above that of) routine prenatal ultrasound screening, causing these patients to lose the opportunity to undergo targeted prenatal screening for fetal malformations[[2], [6]]. While it is important to promote the value and significance of prenatal ultrasound screening, it is also necessary to ensure that the public understands that fetal malformation screening is a systematic process that includes not just prenatal ultrasound screening but a combination of factors, such as assessment of family risk factors and, potentially, invasive prenatal testing, cellular and molecular genetic testing and magnetic resonance imaging. Only after passing examinations and obtaining prenatal screening certification should sonographers be allowed to perform corresponding prenatal screening work. Furthermore, this will make it easier to evaluate objectively and fairly whether a sonographer has performed screening adequately, by determining whether protocol-based screening and preservation of data in accordance with the guidelines has taken place, rather than whether all fetal malformations have been detected[[6], [15]]. [Extracted from the article]

In the context of increasing interest in international teaching practicums, this study investigated the perceptions of Australian pre-service teachers, Chinese mentor teachers and Chinese school students vis-à-vis an international teaching practicum in Anshan, China. Utilising a case study design and thematic analysis methods, the authors critically investigate how the participants from Australia and China perceived the benefits and challenges associated with that practicum. The analysis draws on data from pre-service teachers' reflective reports, mentor teachers' interviews and local student questionnaires. The data show that this international teaching practicum was a mutually beneficial and valuable experience for all participants. However, the study revealed challenges and tensions with respect to the meeting of Australian and Chinese educational systems because of their very different social and cultural contexts. Recommendations are made for improving the experience of all participants in international teaching practicums into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Bioéthica is the property of Universidad de Chile, Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Bioetica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Epiphyton, Renalcis, and Girvanella are ubiquitous genera of calcified cyanobacteria/algae from Early Paleozoic shallow-marine limestones. One genus, Epiphyton, is characterized by a particular dendritic outline, and extensive research has revealed the morphology of calcified remains although little information on cellular structure is known. The mass occurrence of calcified Epiphyton in microbialites from Cambrian Miaolingian, the Mianchi area of North China is preserved as black clots within thrombolites and have dendritic and spherical outlines when viewed with a petrographic microscope. These remains, visible under scanning electron microscope (SEM), also comprise spherical or rectangle capsules. These capsules are made up from external envelopes and internal calcite with numerous pits, which closely resemble modern benthic coccoid cyanobacteria. These pits are between 2 μm and 4 μm in diameter and are interpreted here to represent the remnants of degraded coccoid cells, while the calcite that surrounds these pits is interpreted as calcified thin extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In contrast, associated capsular envelopes represent thick EPS mineralized by calcium carbonate with an admixture of Al-Mg-Fe silicates. Dendritic ‘thalli’ are typically stacked apically because of the repeated growth and calcification of these capsules. Carbon and oxygen isotope results are interpreted to indicate that both photosynthesis and heterotrophic bacterial metabolism (especially sulfate reducing bacteria) contributed to carbonate precipitation by elevated alkalinity. Epiphyton are therefore here interpreted as colonies of calcified coccoid cyanobacteria, and the carbonate-oversaturated seawater during the Cambrian was conducive to their mineralization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of changes in the return to human capital on the fertility-education relationship. The setting is in Anhui Province, China in the thirteenth to twentieth centuries. Over this period, key changes occurred in the civil service examination system, providing a means to test whether incentives for acquiring education influenced fertility decisions. I form an intergenerationally linked dataset from over 43,000 individuals from all social strata to examine the evidence for a child quantity-quality tradeoff. First, as the civil service examination system became more predictable and less discretionary starting in the seventeenth century, raising the return to human capital, I find evidence that households with a lower number of children had a higher chance that one of their sons would participate in the state examinations. This finding is robust to accounting for differences in resources, health, parental human capital, and demographic characteristics. Importantly, the finding is not limited to a small subset of rich households but present in the sample as a whole. Second, the negative relationship between fertility and education disappeared as the lower chance to become an official during the nineteenth century implied a decline in the return to human capital. Taken together, my findings support the hypothesis that fertility choices respond to changes in the return to human capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on how part of traditional educated literati transformed into modern teachers. It argues that teachers’ schools became a tool of social transformation that recast surplus officials and old literati into public resources as educators and professional teachers. It was teachers’ schools that provided a considerable number of individuals who were trained for imperial civil service examinations with a new and independent identity, and supplied the state more manpower for the expansion of its educational activities than it ever had before in twentieth-century China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim The aim of our study was to assess the levels of human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) with the common tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125) in the diagnosis and monitoring of therapy for primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC). Methods Serum HE4 and CA125 levels from 82 PFTC patients and 154 patients with benign pelvic masses as the control were measured by Roche electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. HE4 determinations for surgery response and recurrence monitoring were assessed in PFTC patients. Results Serum HE4 and CA125 concentrations were significantly higher in PFTC patients compared with those seen in patients with benign pelvic masses ( P < 0.001). Compared with CA125, HE4 had higher specificity, but lower sensitivity whether at early or advanced stage, and the combination of HE4 + CA125 led to higher sensitivity and specificity. HE4 + CA125 performed significantly better than CA125 or HE4 alone in early stage patients. In early stage the sensitivity was 35.7% for HE4 and 64.3% for CA125, while sensitivity for the combination of HE4 and CA125 could reach 71.4%. Furthermore, the two markers were associated with the progression and histology of PFTC. Serum HE4 level was closely correlated with surgical therapy. PFTC patients displayed a greater decline in the level of HE4 compared with CA125 (76.4% vs 55.7%). Combined with CA125, HE4 elevation better predicted recurrence in PFTC patients. Conclusions This study indicated that serum HE4 levels are closely associated with PFTC and the outcome of surgical therapy and recurrence in Chinese patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IELTS scores are widely used in combination with academic results as a way of judging whether non-English background students should be admitted to degree-level courses in Anglophone contexts. However, successful study at university requires more than language competence and intellectual ability and international students often seem to start from a different place from similarly qualified local students. This study investigated how an IELTS preparation course helped Chinese students taking an Economics A-level course to achieve a similar level of academic socialisation to local students. The participants were six students on the programme, their Economics teacher and their English teacher. The data sets were field notes of the Economics and IELTS classes, interviews with the students and teachers, teaching materials and students’ writing. We found that the IELTS classes helped expand the students’ vocabulary and developed their confidence in speaking. Other features of the courses such as the use of local accents, colloquial language, the ability to use sources, extensive reading and, more generally, independent study were less obviously addressed. Despite these gaps, the students completed their pre-university and university studies successfully, at least partly because of three factors unrelated to the IELTS course: (1) interaction with a range of groups that supported academic socialisation, (2) the Economics teacher’s attitude to the students’ participation and (3) the students’ resources, which meant they were aware of what was needed for academic success, had a desire to succeed and had, or could develop, the appropriate skills for appropriate academic socialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Through a case study of Zhao Xianke's 趙獻可 One Principle through Medicine (Yiguan 醫貫) (1617?) and Xu Dachun's 徐大椿 (1693–1771) denouncements of this text, my article zooms in on divergent discourses on the safety and efficacy of medicinal substances and compounds in late imperial China. Although Xu Dachun's fierce attacks on the popular 'warming and replenishing' (wenbu 溫補) therapies can be situated in an epistemic shift from the cosmology of 'Song learning' (songxue 宋學) towards the philology of 'Han learning' (hanxue 漢學) and 'evidential research' (kaozheng 考證), I argue that more complex issues were at stake as well. Changed political, social, ethical, and economic realities shaped new and multifaceted perceptions of the nature of medicine, the medical profession, and the usage of medicinals in the aftermath of the Ming to Qing transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]