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A growing body of research has examined the relations of dispositions toward information and communication technology (ICT) to intercultural competence among university students. However, there is little research exploring the associations between ICT-related dispositions and intercultural competence among adolescent students. The mechanism of such relationships also remains unknown. Therefore, from a self-determination theory perspective, this study investigated the relationships of perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness in ICT usage with global competence--intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes--among 17,055 15-year-old students from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan in PISA 2018. Results of Multilevel Structural Equation Modelling (MSEM) analyses indicated that perceived autonomy in ICT use, perceived competence in ICT use and perceived relatedness in ICT use all positively affected intercultural knowledge, skills and attitudes. Further, the results of the study revealed that the use of social media was a partial mediator in the relationship between perceived autonomy/competence in ICT use and intercultural knowledge/skills; and between perceived relatedness/competence in ICT use and intercultural attitudes. Our findings emphasized the importance of satisfying students' ICT-related needs and acknowledged the role of the use of social media in cultivating their global competence. Implications for teachers, schools and parents were discussed.

Metacognitive judgment of one's online search process (calibration) is an important element of searching efficiency. This study investigated Chinese university students' calibration during online information search. Fourteen students s were asked to search answers for three assigned tasks. Immediately after the search, all participants attended individual interviews about their search behavior. Based on eye-tracking data of the actual search process, three profiles of searchers were identified: surface explorers, deep explorers, and smooth searchers. Eye-tracking and retrospective interview data were analyzed to examine the participants' level of calibration. Results showed that the participants were not able to calibrate well on their searching process, with a mean score of 3.64 out of 10.0 (SD = 1.91), suggesting a mediocre level of calibration capacity. A moderate level of positive relationship (r = 0.42, p > 0.05) was also found between calibration scores and search performance scores, implying a general pattern wherein the high calibration group tended to perform better than the low calibration group. The findings called for integrating metacognitive judgment as a component of improving computer information literacy which, accordingly, could be used to enhance students' ability to think critically about seeking and evaluating information.

Due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in China, a large number of Chinese students resorted to online learning resources. The increasingly widespread online education enables the investigation of public opinion about this large-scale untraditional mode of learning during this critical period. Sina Weibo Microblogs (the Chinese equivalent of Twitter) related to online education were collected in three distinctive phases: from July 01, 2019 to January 09, 2020 (pre-pandemic); from January 10, 2020 to April 30, 2020 (amid-pandemic); and from May 01, 2020 to Nov 30, 2020 (post-pandemic), respectively. The aim was to obtain broad insight into how online learning was viewed by the public in the Chinese educational landscape. The public opinion during these three periods were analysed and compared. The findings facilitated a better understanding of what the Chinese public perceived about this online learning mode in becoming the dominant channel for teaching and learning during critical periods.

The rapid development of science and technology worldwide has promoted a boom in STEM education in China, increasing the demand for competent STEM teachers and creating new challenges for training STEM teachers. Teaching competence is crucial to the implementation and quality of STEM education in school, and is influenced in turn by teachers' learning experiences during their preparation programs. This study investigated the longitudinal effects of teacher training experiences on new teachers' perceived teaching competence, with their teaching beliefs as a mediator. Based on the model of Baumert and Kunter (2013), the study collected data from 219 beginner teachers from different K-12 schools in China. The findings showed that knowledge training and teaching practice during teacher education programs, as well as the teachers' beliefs about teaching, were positively related to STEM teachers' perceptions of their teaching competence. Meanwhile, teaching beliefs mediated the relationship between teaching practice and perceived teaching competence. Multigroup analysis revealed similar relationships for both primary and secondary school teachers between teacher training and perceived teaching competence, and between teaching beliefs and perceived competence. However, the relationship between teacher preparation and teaching beliefs was different for the two teacher cohorts, and a significant indirect effect of teaching practice on perceived teaching competence, mediated by teaching beliefs, was observed only in secondary school teachers.

This large-scale study used the extended technology acceptance model to examine the different factors influencing Chinese university students' intentions to use the Internet-based technology with a learning focus. Specifically, the subject norm was conceptualised as a three-dimensional construct consisting of teacher influence, peer influence and institutional support. The data were collected from 4561 university students from 16 universities in China. The results indicated that 64% of the variance in Chinese university students' behavioural intentions were explained by their perceptions of ease of use and that the subjective norm significantly influenced their perceptions of the usefulness of the Internet-based technology with a learning focus. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and the subjective norm significantly influenced students' attitudes towards using the Internet-based technology with a learning focus. In addition, Chinese university students' intentions to use the Internet-based technology with a learning focus were significantly influenced by attitude, perceived usefulness and the subjective norm. This study identified both theoretical and practical explanations for these relationships.

This article explores Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' attitudes toward technology use and the factors that influence their technology acceptance. A qualitative study was conducted with data obtained from semistructured, in-depth interviews of 14 university teachers from six provinces. The interview data revealed that Chinese EFL teachers generally maintained a positive attitude toward technology use in teaching. Facilitating conditions driven by modernization, perceived usefulness, subjective norm, and technology mania are major factors influencing their technology acceptance. It is worth noticing that the degree of reliance on technology varied in terms of age and experience. Overall, the findings were consistent with previous studies, while leading to a broader and deeper understanding of technology acceptance theories by analyzing contextual and cultural phenomenon in China. Implications for future research and suggestions to improve Continuing Professional Development were provided in order to promote technology integration among Chinese teachers.

Engagement in academic tasks is important. However, compared to the large body of research on task engagement, the number of studies on task disengagement is quite limited. The aim of this study is to examine the associations between the motivational (self-determination) and attitudinal antecedents (learning orientations) of task disengagement. The sample consisted of 347 fifth-graders in China. We tested two mediation models that incorporated self-determination (autonomous versus controlled), learning orientation (collaborative versus competitive), and task disengagement among Chinese primary school students in learning English. Results showed collaborative learning orientation mediated the link between autonomous motivation and task disengagement. Collaborative learning orientation was also found to be negatively related to task disengagement.

Limited research has examined the mediational role of coping strategy in students' motivation and procrastination. In this study, we examined the relationships among self-efficacy, achievement goals, boredom coping strategies and procrastination with 506 Chinese college students. Data were collected via questionnaires. Structural equation modelling results showed that both self-efficacy and approach goals significantly predicted approach-oriented coping strategies, and avoidance goals significantly predicted avoidance-oriented coping strategies. Among the different types of boredom coping strategies, only behavioural avoidance coping strategy significantly predicted procrastination. Hence, the mediating link was only found between avoidance goals, behavioural avoidance coping strategy and procrastination. Implications of the mediating role of behavioural avoidance coping strategy in the goal-procrastination relationship were further discussed.

The purpose of this study is to research how Chinese university students solve information-based problems. With the Search Performance Index as the measure of search success, participants were divided into high, medium and low-performing groups. Based on their web search logs, these three groups were compared along five dimensions of the search process for answers to the assigned tasks: frequency counts of different activities during search process, time allocation on each search activity, search patterns, search query as well as selection of information. The results documented students' varying abilities to search. The key factor that determines search performance is the effective use of search queries. Successful searchers made use of advanced search options such as extracting relevant and effective key terms from further reading, in contrast with simpler strategies by unsuccessful searchers like adding, removing unimportant words, or using synonyms. High-performing students also showed more monitoring awareness and strategy, such as changing search engines, reformulation of existing search queries as well as backtracking to task questions.

This paper empirically investigates the role of social trust in the long-term performance of the initial public offerings (IPOs) in China, controlling for the formal institutional environment. We find that privately owned or smaller IPO firms experience significantly better post-IPO performance when they are incorporated in regions with more social trust. The state-owned and bigger IPO firms, on the other hand, experience better long-term post-IPO performance when they are incorporated in regions with stronger formal institutions (e.g. court enforcement and contract holding). Political pluralism turns out to benefit all IPOs in the long term. In addition, our evidence shows that stronger social trust substitutes for the quality of court enforcement but complements the role of contract holding. These results are robust after controlling for alternative definitions of ownership, outliers, non-linear effects of institutions, and the potential endogeneity of institutions in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-Typhi Salmonella (NTS) infection is critical to children's health, and the ceftriaxone is the important empirical treatment choice. With the increase resistance rate of ceftriaxone in Salmonella , the molecular epidemiology and resistance mechanism of ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella needs to be studied. From July 2019 to July 2020, a total of 205 NTS isolates were collected, 195 of which (95.1%) were cultured from stool, but 10 isolates were isolated from an extraintestinal site. Serogroup B accounted for the vast majority (137/205) among the isolates. Fifty-three isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, and 50 were isolated from children younger than 4years of age. The resistance rates for ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, and levofloxacin were significantly higher in younger children than the older children. The resistance genes in the ceftriaxone-susceptible isolates were detected by PCR, and ceftriaxone-resistant Salmonella were selected for further whole-genome sequencing. Whole-genome analysis showed that serotype Typhimurium and its monophasic variant was the most prevalent in ceftriaxone-resistant isolates (37/53), which comprised ST34 (33/53), ST19 (2/53), and ST99 (2/53), and they were close related in the phylogenetic tree. However, the other isolates were diverse, which included one Enteritidis (ST11), one Indiana (ST17), one Derby (ST40), four Kentucky (ST198), two Goldcoast (ST2529, ST358), one Muenster (ST321), one Virchow (ST359), one Rissen (ST469), one Kedougou (ST1543), two Uganda (ST684), and one Kottbus (ST8839). Moreover, CTX-M-55 ESBLs production (33/53) was found to be mainly responsible for ceftriaxone resistance, followed by bla CTX-M-65 (12/53), bla CTX-M-14 (4/53), bla CTX-M-9 (2/53), bla CTX-M-64 (1/53), bla CTX-M-130 (1/53), and bla CMY-2 (1/53). IS Ecp1 , IS 903B , IS Kpn26 , IS 1F , and IS 26 were connected to antimicrobial resistance genes transfer. In conclusion, the dissemination of ESBL-producing Salmonella isolates resulted in an increased prevalence of ceftriaxone resistance in young children. The high rate of multidrug resistance should be given additional attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aim: The present study was aimed at assessing the characteristics of children with nosocomial multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii complex (MDR ABC) in a tertiary hospital of eastern China. MDR ABC poses a serious threat to public health. However, information on nosocomial MDR ABC in children is lacking. Method: This study retrospectively reviewed the cases in a tertiary hospital of eastern China between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2014 (excluding outpatients). Results: A total of 377 non-duplicated nosocomial ABC isolates were collected from various samples including 200 (53.1%) MDR ABC isolates. Moreover, 158 of the 200 MDR ABC isolates were collected from intensive care units (ICUs; MDR constituent ratios, 62.5%), while 98 of the 200 MDR ABC isolates were collected from children older than 1 year (MDR constituent ratios, 62.8%). Multivariate logistic analysis revealed that being in the surgical intensive care unit (SICU), prolonged hospital stay, surgical intervention, and mechanical ventilation were independent risk factors for MDR acquisition among children with nosocomial ABC. The interleukin (IL)-6 level of children with nosocomial MDR ABC was significantly lower than that of the children with nosocomial non-MDR ABC. Conclusion: Nosocomial MDR ABC infection is a serious concern in pediatric patients. Being in the SICU, prolonged hospital stay, surgical intervention, and mechanical ventilation increased the risk of nosocomial MDR ABC. IL-6 might be involved in developing nosocomial MDR ABC among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the literature on foreign strategic investors (FSIs) by examining the influence of FSIs on non-interest activities. Using data from China's banks for 2001–2016, we find that FSI entry is associated with significantly increased non-interest activities, especially commission and fee activities, of Chinese banks. Furthermore, local banks with directors appointed by FSIs have increased non-interest activities. Moreover, in state-owned banks, the effects of FSIs and directors assigned by FSIs on non-interest activities are both weaker. We also find that non-interest activities have not significantly changed after the exit of FSIs. These empirical findings will be informative and relevant to both policymakers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]