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Purpose: With the evolving demands of the global and Chinese economies, cultivating critical thinking and creativity has become imperative for social and economic development. However, contemporary educational practices have not kept pace with this essential need. This study examines the effects of project-based learning and project-based flipped classrooms on critical thinking and creativity in higher vocational colleges. Moreover, this research delves into the disparity and comparative analysis between the two approaches. Methodology: A between-group quasi-experimental study was designed. Data were collected from 120 respondents from one higher vocational college in Shanxi District using cluster sampling. The Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking test and District creativity test were used to collect data for further analysis. Data were analysed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and paired-sample t-test. Paired sample t-tests are employed to test the effects of two teaching methods, while ANCOVA is used to compare the discrepancy between the two methods. With the combination of paired sample t-test and ANCOVA, the more effective teaching method can be determined. Findings: The results indicated that project-based learning and flipped classrooms significantly affected critical thinking and creativity. Besides, the project-based flipped classrooms had a larger effect on critical thinking and creativity, proving to be a more effective teaching approach to transform the present curriculum pedagogy. Significance: This study theoretically integrates class activities into higher-order thinking skills and guides teachers and educators to cultivate talents in higher vocational education.

Research evidence indicated that a specific type of augmented reality-assisted (AR-assisted) science learning design or support might not suit or be effective for all students because students' cognitive load might differ according to their experiences and individual characteristics. Thus, this study aimed to identify undergraduate students' profiles of cognitive load in AR-assisted science learning and to examine the role of their distinct profiles in self-efficacy together with associated behavior patterns in science learning. After ensuring the validity and reliability of each measure, a latent profile analysis confirmed that 365 Chinese undergraduates carried diverse dimensions of cognitive load simultaneously. The latent profile analysis findings revealed four fundamental profiles: Low Engagement, Immersive, Dabbling, and Organized, characterized as carrying various respective cognitive loads. The multivariate analysis of variance findings revealed different levels of the six AR science learning self-efficacy dimensions across profiles. Low Engagement students displayed the lowest self-efficacy among all dimensions. Organized students recorded better conceptual understanding and higher-order cognitive skills than Dabbling ones. Students with the Immersive profile had the highest science learning self-efficacy. The lag sequential analysis results showed significant differences in behavior patterns among profiles. Among them, profiles with social interaction, test, and reviewing feedback behavior had a significantly higher score for self-efficacy than those patterns mainly based on test learning and resource visits. This finding provides a unified consideration of students' diverse profiles and can inform interventions for effective design of AR-assisted science learning to match appropriate strategies to facilitate the science learning effect.

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to identify primary school teachers' perceptions of leveraging social media-based microlearning to improve students' English-speaking abilities. Background: The value of social media as an effective educational tool for English language learning has been recognized by educators in higher education in China. However, there is a lack of investigation into primary school teachers' perceptions of using social media to improve English in China, especially English speaking, which has long been a weak component for Chinese EFL learners. Microlearning, as an effective learning approach for training, has been effectively adopted in various fields. Therefore, exploring the Chinese primary school teachers' perceptions of social media-based microlearning to improve students' English-speaking abilities may contribute to innovative learning for EFL speaking. Methodology: This study served as a case study, particularly a single-case design, in investigating how in-service Chinese primary school teachers perceived the role of social media-based microlearning in improving students' speaking skills. Data was gathered through an online qualitative survey and analyzed via Thematic Analysis using NVivo 14. Twenty participants were recruited through convenience sampling from a primary school in Chengdu, Sichuan, in southwest China. Contribution: This study contributed to the awareness of using social media-based technologies to improve Chinese college students' English-speaking abilities by providing the teachers' perspectives. Findings: The analysis yielded several subthemes for the six primary themes, namely Disparities, Affordances, Drawbacks, Challenges, Suitable Content Types, and Helpful Suggestions. Specifically, the affordances of social media-based microlearning included Flexibility in Learning Pace, Accessibility and Convenience, Diverse Learning Resources, and Authentic Language Exposure. Additionally, there are five suitable content types: Multimedia-based Stories and Content, Practical English, Popular Channels, and Learning Skills. The analysis of drawbacks and challenges indicated that the learner-centered design of social mediabased microlearning still needs improvement. Lastly, focusing on the creation of a supportive learning community, several subthemes were listed for Helpful Suggestions. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings revealed that social media-based microlearning is a promising approach to English-language learning in primary schools. Relevant guidelines, challenges, and suggestions found in this study should also be taken into consideration for effective application. Recommendations for Researchers: For researchers in the field of instructional technology, it is essential to realize that this study primarily focuses on teachers' perspectives in terms of the use of social media-based microlearning for learning, which means that incorporating the viewpoints of students and experts may be necessary for an in-depth needs analysis. Impact on Society: Leveraging social media-based microlearning to enhance students' English-speaking abilities presents advantages and disadvantages. Yet the potential for effective social media-based English learning, if well designed, becomes promising. Future Research: More empirical studies investigating social media-based microlearning modules on students' English speaking should be conducted for future research, along with integrating new technologies or teaching paradigms, such as social mediabased collaborative learning.

This study explored the latent profiles of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies (cognitive, metacognitive, and motivational regulation) endorsed by Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) readers in a high-stakes testing environment, and also their associations with individual factors (gender, grade, reading proficiency, and motivational beliefs). With a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, students in grades 11 and 12 (n = 1,113) completed a reading comprehension test and a questionnaire regarding their strategy use and individual factors, and some (n = 16) were randomly selected for follow-up semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed three SRL profiles, characterized by high, medium, and low levels of SRL-strategy use. Self-efficacy and extrinsic motivation most powerfully predicted an individual's profile membership; all the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation variables were significantly higher for learners from the higher strategy-use profile. Moreover, reading proficiency did not significantly predict profile membership, but more self-regulated students still achieved higher reading scores as a group tendency.

This study investigated the important roles of metacognitive skills and enthusiasm (both teaching and subject enthusiasm) in teachers' self-regulation in learning (informal teacher learning) and teaching (adaptive instruction) throughout their teaching careers. Using multi-group structural equation modelling and a mediation analysis of a sample of 5,056 primary teachers in China, this study found that metacognitive skills had significant effects on informal teacher learning and adaptive instruction. In addition, teaching enthusiasm had a stronger mediating effect than subject enthusiasm on the relationship between teachers' metacognitive skills and their self-regulated behaviour. Among the five informal teacher learning activities considered, learning through student interaction had the strongest influence on novice teachers' adaptive instruction, and learning through reflection was the most important for mid- and late-career teachers. The practical implications of the findings for improving teachers' self-regulation in learning and teaching at different stages of their careers are discussed.

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this research was to examine the potential outcomes of applying the outdoor transdisciplinary language instruction paradigm to primary school students' cognitive and emotional improvement with smart boards as an assessment tool. Background: Traditional approaches to teaching English in primary schools do not give particular consideration to outdoor transdisciplinary learning for students' cognitive and emotional improvement, especially in terms of effective assessment. Hence, in this study, outdoor drawing was integrated with teaching English to create a transdisciplinary paradigm and smart boards were adopted in the assessment. Methodology: A pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design using an equivalent control group was employed, in which learning performance, emotions (typically positive emotions), and reported satisfaction level were compared via an English vocabulary test, the Chinese version of PANAS, and a structured self-reported satisfaction instrument. E-prime 2.0 was used to register data for the three instruments and to complete the vocabulary identification phase while smart boards were adopted as an assessment tool to evaluate students' learning performance. The data collected were analyzed using an independent t-test and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test using SPSS 22.0. Contribution Unlike traditional research, which only utilized smart boards as presentation tools, this research provided evidence for the effective use of interactive technology as assessment tools for innovative language learning in primary school settings. Findings: Results indicated that outdoor transdisciplinary drawing developed more positive emotions and higher satisfaction among students and showed significantly higher learning performance compared with indoor transdisciplinary drawing. Moreover, smart board-based assessment scores showed that students were more effectively engaged as compared to E-prime-based assessment. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings suggest that instructors should try to allow students to have more opportunities to explore language activities in school-based outdoor environments, which benefits their cognitive and emotional improvement. Moreover, using smart board-based assessments should be encouraged since more authentic performance could be elicited. Recommendations for Researchers: This research mainly focuses on the effects of learning environments and assessment tools in transdisciplinary language instruction. Hence, researchers can employ an updated design to focus on the transdisciplinary setting to investigate more interesting outcomes. Impact on Society: Schools should adopt more new interactive digital technologies to improve assessment for students' innovative learning in different contexts, which can help students develop more transversal skills, benefiting their employers and making them even more competent. More critically, government support is needed to encourage schools to use emerging technologies for educational reform in the classroom, and linkages between technology vendors and schools could be encouraged to provide subsidies and other measures to less financially able schools. Future Research: Future research could explore the differences in the interaction effects of class type and learning environments on students' learning outcomes. In addition, longitudinal assessments to investigate the intensity of the experimental intervention could provide more interesting results on the long-term effects and suggest more sustainable use.

Past studies have shown that students' conceptions of learning science (CLS) are related to their approaches to learning science (ALS) and to their self-efficacy for learning science (SELS), but it has not yet been studied whether parents' CLS play a role in children's ALS and SELS. This research investigated 472 pairs of Chinese high school students and their parents to identify the new predictive relationships among parents' CLS and students' ALS and SELS. In this study parents' CLS was divided into reproductive and constructivist conceptions. Students' ALS consisted of four factors, whereas SELS only extracted one factor. We found that (1) parents' constructivist CLS was positively associated with students' deep approaches; (2) parental reproductive CLS could positively predict students' surface strategies, while it was likely that the more constructive conceptions that parents held, the less their children would adopt surface strategies; (3) parental constructivist and reproductive CLS were both significant positive predictors of students' surface motive; and (4) parental CLS could make an indirect prediction through students' ALS. The findings indicate that parents should be cautious about the CLS they are portraying in their words and deeds to help foster their children's deep learning motive and strategies.

This study aimed to investigate the differences between pre-service teachers' (PSTs) perceived TPACK given the different clusters of their epistemic beliefs collected via a questionnaire. The responses gathered from 807 Chinese PSTs were utilised to elicit such a relationship. All of the participants responded to the Pre-service Teachers' Epistemic Belief (PTEB) survey and the Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) survey. The results of the cluster analysis revealed that the PSTs were characterised into three clusters according to their responses to the PTEB, labelled as the Positivist, Partial Constructivist and Constructivist clusters. The ANOVA revealed that the pre-service teachers in both the Positivist and Partial Constructivist clusters had stronger perceptions of their TPACK than did the Constructivist PSTs. The results imply that more nuanced approaches are needed to develop PSTs' TPACK with reference to their epistemic profiles. In addition, it seems that the epistemic nature of creating TPACK may need to be discussed explicitly to foster PSTs' epistemic developments.

Empowering pregnant women is a crucial process that healthcare providers should evaluate, as empowerment is a meaningful indicator that can reflect the impact of health promotion and education in antenatal care. The Empowerment Scale for Pregnant Women (ESPW) is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring empowerment. The cross‐sectional study was conducted to translate and validate the psychometric properties of the ESPW among 526 pregnant women in China. The forward‐backward method was used to translate the English version of the ESPW into the Chinese version. Reliability was examined with the internal consistency and test‐retest coefficients. Validity was analyzed with structural, dimensionality, convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. The Cronbach's α value of 0.97 and the intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI], [0.96, 0.99]) demonstrated excellent internal consistency and test‐retest reliability. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that five factors with eigenvalues > 1 explained 68.41% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis verified an acceptable model that fit the data exceptionally. The Chinese‐translated version of the ESPW (CV‐ESPW) had acceptable convergent and discriminant validity. Concurrent validity was supported by the correlation between the total scores of the CV‐ESPW and the Chinese version of the Patient Perceptions of the Empowerment Scale (r = 0.64, p < 0.001). The CV‐ESPW is a valid and reliable assessment tool for measuring pregnant women's empowerment in China and can potentially contribute to evaluating the effectiveness of programs that empower pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the migration aspirations of young people from the remote border area of Kinmen, Taiwan and their migratory trajectories—internal migration to the main island of Taiwan and cross‐border migration to China. Located between Taiwan and China, Kinmen is an offshore island with a long history of migration. Based on multi‐site ethnographic data from 30 young people, this paper explores their migratory trajectories and aspirations concerning the instability of socio‐political context and the growing social and cultural inequalities of today's globalised world, China's rise in particular. It contributes to the population geography literature by using migration aspiration as a critical lens to analyse how young people negotiate their borderland identity through mobility under the changing cross‐strait political economy. The paper emphasises the importance of considering the transformation of regional economy and culture when analysing youth migration experiences. In recognising the socially grounded aspects of migration aspiration, it highlights the fluid and transformative nature of migration to enrich our knowledge of how marginalised youth form subjectivities and negotiate complex identities through migration. The distinctive experiences of peripheral youth shed new light on the conceptualisation of border crossing, place and desires under the sway of globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saving is a main source of financing capital and R&D investment, which can facilitate economic growth and development. Saving also acts as a buffer against uncertainty and external shocks, which can smooth growth volatility and promote economic growth. Thus understanding the determination of saving is vital for policymaking. This paper evaluates the saving consequence of population aging in China, a fast growing economy that has been experiencing rapid population aging with high saving rates. However, whether and how population aging affects saving remains controversial. Instead of verifying whether population aging increases or decreases saving, this paper takes a step further to examine potential nonlinearity in the nexus, which allows one to address the reason for inconclusiveness. Using China's provincial data over the period 1989–2019, it indeed finds significant existence of nonlinearity. Household saving follows an inverted‐U process with population aging. The effect holds for regions with moderate saving rates. For regions with the least and highest saving rates, household saving follows a U‐shaped process. Similar results are found for total saving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated learners' conceptions of learning English and their online self-regulation in a web-based learning environment among. Two questionnaires, Conceptions of Learning English (COLE) and Online Self-regulation of English Learning (OSEL) were administered to 843 university students in China. Based on their different conceptions of learning English, participants were clustered into four groups. Two groups of students considered the process of learning English as understanding and seeing in a new way or being test-oriented. Another two groups consisted of students with high commitment to or low engagement in learning English. The results of ANOVA analysis and Scheffé's test revealed significant differences among the profiled participants in four groups. Students who considered learning English as understanding and seeing in a new way tended to have the strongest online self-regulatory competence. However, students who were test-oriented reported poorly in all aspects of online self-regulation. Our findings echoed previous studies on the relationship between conceptions of learning English and online self-regulation, particularly the negative association between learners' test-oriented conceptions of learning English and their online self-regulation. This research enables us to better understand English language learners in China, particularly in the era of information technology. Implications for practice or policy: (1) The research provided illuminating insights into four groups of learners about their conceptions of learning English and online self-regulation; (2) More challenging learning tasks should be assigned to students with high commitment and more interest-arousing learning tasks to students with low engagement; and (3) Teachers should guide learners who view learning English as seeing in a new way and being test-oriented, to balance their internal interests in learning English with concern about achieving success in examinations.

This study examines the correlations between perceived technology-assisted teacher support; student hardiness (i.e. individual commitment, challenge, and control); and technology-embedded scientific inquiry (TESI) using a mediational model approach. Data were gathered from the series of questionnaires administered to 1566 Chinese students with an average age of 11.5. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis results confirmed our assumption that when students perceived technology-assisted teacher support, this promoted their TESI hardiness, indirectly increasing their perceived TESI. Perceived technology-assisted teacher support and TESI were found to be positively correlated in this structural model. However, by including TESI hardiness in the mediational mechanism, its direct relationship with both perceived technology-assisted teacher support and perceived TESI was insignificant, while the mediating effects remained significant. Therefore, TESI hardiness is of considerable importance for delineating the relationship between perceived technology-assisted teacher support and perceived TESI. It was revealed that both the interpersonal variable (perceived technology-assisted teacher support) and the individual variable (TESI hardiness) are vital in determining the effectiveness of TESI. These findings enhance the understanding of and approach to the promotion of students' perception of scientific inquiry by emphasising the value of technology-assisted teacher support and hardiness.

Teacher self-efficacy is a key predictor of teacher attrition, but studies have primarily examined teacher self-efficacy via classroom teaching and overlooked other roles that teachers play in school. Accordingly, this study explores the relationships between, on the one hand, primary and secondary teachers' job satisfaction and occupational commitment and, on the other, their self-efficacy in three domains: classroom teaching, teacher-student relationships, and school decision-making. The participants included 1,424 primary and secondary teachers from Shanxi, Xinjiang, and Chongqing, China. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to ensure the validity of the survey instruments. The results of path analysis on the survey responses indicate that although all three types of self-efficacy showed a positive relationship with these teachers' satisfaction and commitment, self-efficacy in teacher-student relationships and self-efficacy in school decision-making both ranked as more important than self-efficacy in classroom teaching. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.

This study aims to identify the level of acculturative stress and to examine the correlations between acculturative stress or its subcategories and variables such as English language proficiency. The results show that international students were challenged by social interactions, lack of English language proficiency and financial issues. The results of this study and their possible implications for educational institutions in Singapore and Asia are considered.

Close links between students' conceptions of and approaches to learning were established in the past research. However, only a few quantitative studies investigated this relationship particularly with regard to mobile learning (m-learning). The correlation between learners' conceptions and approaches to m-learning was analysed using a partial least squares analysis applied to data obtained from a sample of 971 undergraduate students in China. The results indicated that students' conceptions of m-learning could be classified into reproductive, transitional, and constructive levels. Students may hold multiple m-learning applications than a predominant one; hence, examining m-learning as one monolithic entity may provide limited information. Latent profile analysis identified four learning profiles based on students' preferred m-learning applications: passive, mixed, surface-supportive, and high-engagement.. Moreover, a general trend was observed, whereby students with reproductive and surface-supportive learning profiles showed a tendency to adopt surface approaches, whereas those expressing constructive and mixed learning profiles were more inclined to adopt deep approaches. Interestingly, students with transitional conceptions and high-engagement learning profiles tended to take both surface and deep approaches.

To investigate the relationships between schools' ICT supporting conditions and ICT application, a total of 2567 primary and secondary schools from 47 prefecture-level cities were surveyed. The questionnaire was administered to collect the ICT supporting conditions in school (ISCS) and the ICT application in school (IAIS) for each school. Among the ISCS factors, the "ICT Environment and School Scale" were indicated as being significant predictors of IAIS. In addition, the significant predictive relationship between the ISCS and the IAIS factors for rural schools was much stronger than for urban schools. This indicates that the rural and urban schools in China are now at different ICT development stages. Furthermore, rural schools should focus on the improvement of physical ICT infrastructure and the quality digital resources, whereas urban schools should try to improve teachers' inadequate epistemic beliefs and design thinking ability. Nevertheless, there are other external and individual-level factors that could directly and indirectly influence schools' ICT application in education.

This study aimed to explore the relationships between students' perceived learning practices and associated self-efficacies regarding mobile-assisted seamless science learning. The learning practices for mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire was developed with three scales that denote learning supported by mobile technology. These scales included authentic learning, self-directed learning, and collaborative learning with information and communication technology. Associated self-efficacies promoted by mobile-assisted seamless science learning could include authentic problem-solving, creative thinking and academic self-efficacy. A sample of 312 primary school students from China responded to the mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the mobile-assisted seamless science learning questionnaire had high reliability and validity. The path analysis results analysed via a structural equation modelling technique implied that primary school students' perceived self-directed learning and authentic learning were important as positive predictors for authentic problem-solving efficacy, which may function as a partial mediation variable in the effect of students' perceptions of learning practices on the academic self-efficacy of mobile-assisted seamless science learning. The findings highlighted that learning practices (i.e. authentic learning and self-directed learning) and authentic problem-solving efficacy are both indispensable and mutually reinforcing. This can provide some insights for promoting mobile learning in science learning in the future.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest among language educators in implementing and researching collaborative learning in wiki-based learning environments. However, little empirical evidence has been reported about the role of EFL learners' online self-regulating capacity in their collaborative learning. This study used wiki-based literature circles as an instructional method to engage EFL learners in collaborative learning. Using a mixed research method, this study examined the under-researched relationship between learners' online self-regulation and their attitude toward learning through wiki-based literature circles activities. Quantitative data were collected from two surveys, the online self-regulated English learning (OSEL) and the attitude toward wiki-based literature circles (AWLC), among 228 university students in China. Qualitative data were collected from a follow-up interview of 13 participants to explore further the interplay between the students' online self-regulation and their attitude. The results indicated that students hold positive attitude toward learning through wiki-based literature circles in terms of perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, affection, and behavior. The findings partially confirmed the positive correlations between students' self-regulated learning strategies and their attitudes. More interestingly, stepwise regression analysis revealed that students' goal setting acted as a significant predicator of their perceived usefulness of and self-efficacy in completing wiki-based literature circles activities. Self-evaluation was found to be the variable to predict the learners' affection for and behavior in doing this task. This study highlighted the positive role of students' goal setting and self-evaluation for explaining their attitude toward wiki-based collaborative learning. Pedagogical implications and future work are also addressed.

BACKGROUND: Aerobic exercise is closely associated with the vital functions of patients with scoliosis. Infrared thermography (IRT) has been increasingly applied in physiological measurements in recent years. OBJECTIVE: This observational study aimed to use IRT to examine the back body surface temperatures of patients with idiopathic scoliosis during aerobic exercise. METHODS: Forty-two participants who completed a pre-test were divided into a scoliotic group and a non-scoliotic group. Both groups completed a 30-minute cycling exercise, during which their back body temperature was measured using IRT, and the root-mean-square of the back electromyography value after 30 minutes of aerobic exercise was analyzed. RESULTS: The back body temperature decreased significantly after 30 minutes of exercise in the non-scoliotic group. In contrast, the back body temperature (at the trapezius and quadratus lumborum muscles) was asymmetric or increased after exercise in the scoliotic group. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that when patients with scoliosis exercise, their back body temperature should be assessed thoroughly to prevent adverse physiological reactions potentially caused by back body temperature imbalances as well as the potential health problems caused by poor heat dissipation. In addition, such observations can be useful in the early screening of scoliosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of housing prices can play a pivotal role in shaping household behavior. Motivated by the limited research on the impact of housing prices on consumption structure upgrading in China, this paper presents a series of analyses that deploy panel data from 276 Chinese cities between 2005 and 2019 to scrutinize this impact. Firstly, fixed effect models were used to investigate the relationship between urban housing price and the consumption structure upgrading, and it was found that urban housing price has an inverted U-shaped effect on the consumption structure upgrading of Chinese urban residents, while it has an inhibitory effect on the consumption structure upgrading of Chinese rural residents. Then, we conducted multiple robustness tests, all of which corroborated the benchmark results' reliability. Finally, deeper than existing research, the mechanism of the impact of urban housing prices on the consumption structure upgrading was further explored and it was found that increasing urban housing prices can affect consumption structure upgrading by affecting residents' marginal propensity to consume in development and enjoyment. Our findings provide key alternatives for China's government to promote residents' consumption structure upgrading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To translate the Empowerment Scale for Pregnant Women (ESPW) into Chinese and to assess its linguistic validity. Methods: The integrative method of the translation process, the Delphi technique, and cognitive interviews were used to implement cross‐cultural adaptation and enhance comprehensibility and linguistic validation. This study recruited 14 experts in the expert review and cognitively reviewed 15 pregnant women. Results: The two‐round Delphi method created agreement on cultural applicability. The results of content validity achieved good levels: The item‐level content validity index (CVI) ranged from 0.78 to 1.00, and the scale‐level content validity index, calculated using two different formulas, were 0.97 and 0.81, respectively. Kappa values ranged from 0.74 to 1.00. Pregnant women could understand most of the items and response options in the cognitive interview. The revisions to the wording were made based on suggestions from experts and pregnant women. Conclusion: The prefinal simplified Chinese ESPW was semantically and conceptually equivalent to the English version, which was well prepared for further psychometric tests in the next stage of cross‐cultural adaptation. Patient or Public Contribution: This comprehensive method successfully developed a Chinese tool to measure the empowerment of pregnant women, indicating the international applicability of this tool and the methodological scientific nature. The simplified Chinese ESPW has the potential to support the identification of empowerment levels of pregnant women and the evaluation of the effectiveness of health education and promotion programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Second victim experiences have long‐term impacts on the personal and professional well‐being of nurses. Individual‐centered support is necessary to help nurses cope with the various stages of the second victim experience. Objectives. To explore personal and workplace factors that facilitate or hinder coping styles for second victim experiences from the perspectives of both frontline nurses and nurse managers. Design. This was a descriptive qualitative study that incorporated semistructured interviews. Methods. Purposive sampling was employed to enlist a total of eight nurses and seven nurse managers selected from five tertiary hospitals located in Hunan Province, China. The study participants included nurses who had suffered second victim experiences and nurse managers who had grappled with their nurses' second victim experiences. The data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. The analysis revealed four main themes that influenced nurses' ability to cope with second victim experiences: source of emotional trauma, personal factors, job stress, and support system. In contrast, emotional trauma from patients and relatives, negative personal traits, shadows from the second victim experience, and unsupportive workplace environments were obstacles to coping with second victim experiences. Conclusion. The study highlights facilitators and barriers that nurses cope with second victim experiences, providing insight to develop targeted interventions that support nurses and mitigate the negative impacts of second victim experiences. A comprehensive approach is more effective in supporting nurses in coping with second victim experiences, improving patient safety, and enhancing the quality of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Green consumption behaviour (GCB) has been advocated to mitigate the environmental consequences of traditional consumption patterns. Besides the current circumstances, Generation Z college students are a sizable consumer group who are likely to be concerned about the future. Thus, this study aims to examine the factors affecting the college students' GCB and the moderating effect of government support to provide new evidence from college students in China. Design/methodology/approach: In addition to environmental knowledge and social media influence as the variables, government support was used as a moderator to develop the extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model. Purposive sampling was used to obtain 328 valid responses from Chinese college students. The collected data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings: The findings indicated that subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, environmental knowledge and social media influence substantially affect students' GCB. Notably, the moderation analysis suggested that government support greatly strengthens the relationship between subjective norms and social media influence on the GCB of Chinese college students. Practical implications: The study provides several significant practical implications as the findings could be referred by stakeholders, such as government and businesses entities, in formulating policies and strategies to encourage the consumers' GCB in mitigating ecological consequences. Originality/value: The extended TPB model that integrated environmental knowledge and social media influence with the government support as the moderator contributes to the extant literature with the evidence derived from Generation Z in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify factors associated with female sexual dysfunction (FSD) among Hong Kong Chinese women in a gynaecology outpatient clinic. Methods: Chinese women aged 18 to 65 years who had been sexually active in the past 4 weeks before recruitment and attended the gynaecology clinic of Kwong Wah Hospital between October 2020 and July 2021 were invited to participate in a sexual health survey. Participant demographics were collected through the clinical management system. Sexual function in the previous 4 weeks was assessed using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Results: 206 women (mean age, 43.6 years) were included in the analysis. The mean total FSFI score was 23.44; 42% of participants were at risk of FSD, with a total FSFI score of =23.45. The score was lowest in the sexual desire domain (2.88) and highest in the coital pain domain (4.51). Participants were divided into three age groups based on their reproductive age status: 18 to 35 years (n=44), 36 to 50 years (n=116), and 51 to 65 years (n=46). Although older age groups tended to have higher risks of FSD, the differences between groups were not significant. Specifically, only the satisfaction domain score was lower in the age group of 36 to 50 years than in the age group of 18 to 35 years (4.16 vs 4.61, p=0.01). The coital pain domain score was lower in menopausal women than in premenopausal women (3.76 vs 4.51, p=0.03). Parous women had a lower sexual desire domain score (2.78 vs 3.04, p=0.04) and higher vaginal lubrication domain score (4.42 vs 3.74, p=0.02) than nulliparous women. Women using contraception had a higher vaginal lubrication domain score than women not using contraception (4.47 vs 3.91, p=0.02). Women with distress related to sexual function had a lower total FSFI score (19.74 vs 23.78, p=0.01), lower satisfaction domain score (3.80 vs 4.42, p=0.02), and lower coital pain domain score (3.38 vs 4.51, p=0.01), compared with women without distress related to sexual function. Conclusion: Although older women tend to be at higher risk of FSD, the correlation between age and FSFI score was not significant. Menopausal women had a lower coital pain domain score; women not using contraception had a lower vaginal lubrication domain score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To help students build twenty-first century learning skills, teachers must have reasonable perceptions about twenty-first century learning. To investigate Chinese teachers' perceptions of twenty-first century learning competencies (TP21CLC), we conducted a survey (N = 340) using the questionnaire "Teachers' Perceptions of 21st Century Learning Competencies." This scale consists of six subscales including "collaborative learning"; "self-directed learning"; "meaningful use of information and communication technology"; "critical thinking"; "creative thinking"; and "problem solving." Teachers rated each item on two forms of expression: perceptions of preferred learning and perceptions of actual learning. The results indicated that there was a clear gap between actual and preferred perceptions of twenty-first century learning. In addition, teachers' perceptions of meaningful use of information and communication technology (ICT) had significant, positive correlations with other factors of TP21CLC.

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has shown considerable promise, but thus far the literature has tended to focus on individual technological tools, without due regard for how the choice of one such tool over another impacts CSCL, either in outline or in detail. The present study, therefore, directly compared the learning-related uses of an online discussion forum against such use of a mobile instant-messaging app by the same group of 78 upper-division undergraduate pre-service teachers in China. The participants were asked to use one of the two communication tools during the first of three learning activities, then to switch to the other during the second, and to choose their preferred tool for the third. Based on the results of content analysis, social-network analysis and a survey of the students' attitudes, it was found that while both tools facilitated collaborative learning, they appeared to have different affordances. Specifically, using the online discussion forum resulted in more communication aimed at knowledge construction, while using the mobile instant-messaging app resulted in more social interactions.

With the increasing importance of adult and continuing education, the present study aimed to examine the factors that influence continuing web-based learning at work. Three questionnaires were utilised to investigate the association of the job characteristics from Karasek et al.'s (1998) job demand-control-support model and the self-regulated learning with web-based continuing learning; exploratory factor analyses indicate their adequate reliability and validity. A sample of 203 employees of an airline company completed three questionnaires. The path analysis reveals that job demands did not have any significant correlation with any other variables. However, job control, social support and self-regulated learning constituted significant predictors of attitudes towards web-based continuing learning. Furthermore, self-regulated learning mediated job characteristics and attitudes. In conclusion, this is one of the few studies to consider perceptions of both personal online learning (i.e., self-regulated learning and attitudes towards web-based continuing learning) and work-related variables (i.e., job characteristics). The study advances interdisciplinary perspectives on education, information and communications technology and psychology, which has implications for continuing adult education and successful implementation of online workplace learning.

This study explored the structural relationships among secondary school students' conceptions, self-regulation, and strategies of learning science in mainland China. Three questionnaires, namely conceptions of learning science (COLS), self-regulation of learning science (SROLS), and strategies of learning science (SLS) were developed for investigating 333 Chinese high school learners' conceptions, metacognitive self-regulation, and strategies in science. The confirmatory factor analysis results verified the validity of the three surveys. Moreover, the path analyses revealed a series of interesting findings. Learners with lower-level COLS, namely "memorizing," "testing," and "practicing and calculating," tended to use surface learning strategies such as "minimizing scope of the study" and "rote learning." However, learners' higher-level COLS, namely "increase of knowledge," "applying," "understanding," and "seeing in a new way," had complicated connections with their SROLS and SLS. On the one hand, learners' higher-level COLS had negative relations to "minimizing scope of the study" and "rote learning." On the other hand, their higher-level COLS were powerful predicators for their metacognitive self-regulation and further affected their use of "deep strategy" and "rote learning." Though Chinese secondary students with higher-level COLS usually have a negative view of "rote learning," the functioning of their metacognitive self-regulation may change their initial attitudes towards the surface strategy. Learners with higher-level COLS still used "rote learning" as a prior step for achieving deep learning. Therefore, we concluded that the SROLS played an important mediating role between the COLS and SLS and may change learners' original intention to utilize learning strategies.

Incorporating major foreign policy initiatives of leader Xi Jinping, Beijing completed its effort from the past two years with instructions in January on China's new approach to foreign affairs to Chinese foreign policy officials and others concerned. The new approach added authority and momentum to Beijing's emphasis since Xi's summit with US President Joe Biden last November on greater Chinese moderation and restraint as a "responsible" great power pursuing peace and development in dealing with Southeast Asian neighbors and elsewhere. Nevertheless, Beijing remains selective in how it applies moderation, and the record of the past two years shows great swings between moderation and truculence in its approach to foreign affairs, depending on circumstances which remain subject to change. The success of China's regional importance showed in Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies annual survey of regional elites with China viewed as both the leading economic and political-security power, overshadowing the United States, and the judgment that if forced to choose between them, more respondents would select China than the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet technology and data-driven innovations are changing the way people live and work, which could have an impact on real estate supply and demand. Therefore, this study focuses on the relationship between urban digital economy growth and urban house prices. First, the empirical model shows that the digital economy has an inverted U-shaped impact on urban housing prices. The mechanisms underlying this relationship were then examined. The results indicated that fixed asset investment, government expenditure, and the urban environment influence the relationship between digital economy growth and urban house prices. Finally, a heterogeneity analysis revealed that the digital economy does not affect house prices in Tier 1, New Tier 1, and Tier 2 Chinese cities, but increases house prices in Tier 3 cities. In Tier 4 and Tier 5 cities, this relationship was found to be inverted U-shaped. These findings offer valuable insights to policymakers in China in balancing the growth of the digital economy and the stability of house prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E-learning platforms (ELPs) are revolutionizing the higher education system, as they offer tremendous potential to fulfill instructional plans, safeguard students' learning rights, and improve teaching quality. Higher education institutions (HEIs) have to consider the selection of ELPs from an organizational perspective, which involves multiple stakeholders like university administrators, students, and educators. Therefore, one can take the ELP selection as a complex multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. This research proposes a new hybrid MCDM approach on the basis of the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) and the evaluation based on distance from the average solution (EDAS) method to select the best ELPs. First, from the organizational perspective, we extend the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework by adding an auxiliary resource (AR) dimension and define and prioritize 4 criteria and 14 criteria for evaluating and selecting ELPs. Second, the study uses the fuzzy set theory to process the language evaluation of experts, the FAHP method to determine criteria and sub-criteria weights, and EDAS to rank the alternatives. Finally, based on the importance-performance analysis (IPA) method, we identify the most appropriate strategic options for enhancing competitiveness. Three practical cases of China's ELP evaluation validate the proposed model's applicability and superiority by comparing to the two other classic evaluation models. In addition, through analysis, we obtain some encouraging results that provide some references for universities to formulate ELP selection policies and offer suggestions for platform producers to further optimize the design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Advance Care Planning Readiness Scale (ACPRS‐C) within the context of community‐dwelling older adults with chronic diseases residing in suburban counties in China. Design: Descriptive, cross‐sectional survey. Method s : The research method employed in this study is characterized as a methodological study. Self‐reported survey data were collected among community‐dwelling older adults with chronic diseases residing in suburban counties in China. Including the following psychometric characteristics, item analysis was performed using the decision value method and Pearson's correlation analysis. Content validity was assessed through expert panel evaluation. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient and corrected item‐total correlation. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was utilized to assess the construct validity of the ACPRS‐C. Results: A total of 228 older adults participated in this psychometric study from August to October 2023. The item content validity index ranged from 0.80 to 1.00, while the scale content validity index was 0.945. The scale demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.931), and the correlation between items and total score was satisfactory. The structural validity was deemed robust (CFA model fit: chi‐square/df = 1.121, comparative fit index = 0.992). Conclusion: The ACPRS‐C is a scale with strong psychometric properties to assess the ACP readiness within the context of community‐dwelling older adults with chronic diseases residing in suburban counties in China. Its reliability and validity hold considerable significance for both research and clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on self-efficacy has been a productive field while limited studies have explored language learners' formation of academic self-efficacy. This quantitative study developed an instrument with two questionnaires for assessing English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' formation of self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy. It further investigated the complex relationship among learners' sources of self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy and their English proficiency. The participants were 700 EFL learners at a comprehensive university in China, who took a compulsory language course for improving their overall English proficiency. The results validated the two questionnaires and further confirmed the correlations among the three constructs. It is very striking to see that the 'social persuasion' played the most significant and positive role for predicting learners' academic self-efficacy and all aspects of English proficiency. Moreover, 'physiological states' were found as a negative predictor for explaining learners' achievements in English listening and reading. The research highlights the importance of socio-cultural factors during learners' formation of academic self-efficacy in China, particularly the significant roles played by the influential social agents. Implications are provided for reducing EFL learners' physiological stress and sustaining their academic self-efficacy for improving their language proficiency.

The development of e-learning and digital campus has prompted more and more teachers to assign online homework to students. Consequently, teachers need to provide sufficient and relevant guidance for such homework. Teachers' online homework guidance (TOHG) is conceptually connected with their level of technological pedagogical content knowledge about educational use of Web (TPACK-W). This study employed two questionnaires: a self-developed questionnaire for TOHG and a revised TPACK-W questionnaire to study how TOHG is associated with TPACK-W through correlation and regression analysis. Two hundred and eighty-four teacher participants from China who had experience in assigning online homework were asked to complete the questionnaires. This study validated the questionnaires and established significant relationship between the TOHG and TPACK-W. The study expanded current understanding of TPACK through the factors associated with online homework. The findings showed that the level of teachers' online homework guidance was significantly related to their TPACK-W, and the two factors of Web-Pedagogical Knowledge and Web-Pedagogical-Content Knowledge in the TPACK-W questionnaire could predict the TOHG. Future teachers' professional development for the construction of TPACK-W should include discussions and guidelines of online homework.

Background: In spite of considerable advancements in our understanding of the different factors involved in achieving vocabulary-learning success, the overall pattern and interrelationships of critical factors involved in L2 vocabulary learning--particularly, the mechanisms through which learners regulate their motivation and learning strategies--remain unclear. Aims: This study examined L2 vocabulary learning, focusing on the joint influence of different motivational factors and learning strategies on the vocabulary breadth of adolescent learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in China. Sample: The participants were 107 tenth graders (68 females, 39 males) in China. Methods: The data were collected via two questionnaires, one assessing students' motivation towards English-vocabulary learning and the other their English vocabulary-learning strategies, along with a test measuring vocabulary breadth. Results: Structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that learning strategy partially mediated the relationship between motivation (i.e., a composite score of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and vocabulary learning. Separate SEM analyses for intrinsic (IM) and extrinsic motivation (EM) revealed that there were significant and positive direct and indirect effects of IM on vocabulary knowledge; and while EM's direct effect over and above that of learning strategies did not achieve significance, its indirect effect was significant and positive. Conclusions: The findings suggest that vocabulary-learning strategies mediate the relationship between motivation and vocabulary knowledge. In addition, IM may have a greater influence on vocabulary learning in foreign-language contexts.

Though pedagogical beliefs have been identified as critical factors in the success of technology integration, very few studies have included them in technology-adoption models. The present study revises the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by adding teachers' pedagogical beliefs, and tests the revised model among university-level English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers in China. Specifically, the revised model examines how teachers' constructivist and/or transmissive pedagogical beliefs influence four key constructs of the TAM: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward use, and intention to use. Survey data were collected from 202 Chinese EFL teachers and analyzed using path analysis. The revised model showed a good model fit. The results indicated that the sampled teachers' pedagogical beliefs were more constructivist-oriented than transmissive-oriented, and that the former type of beliefs had a significant positive influence on three of the above-mentioned TAM constructs (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude toward use). Teachers' transmissive pedagogical beliefs, on the other hand, did not have any significant impact on their attitudes toward information and communication technology (ICT) or their perceptions of its usefulness, though such beliefs did significantly affect their perceptions of how easy ICT was to use. Implications of these findings for teacher education and professional training are discussed.

Recent years have witnessed an increasing interest in the flipped classroom model, and many flipped programs have been funded and implemented to explore the effectiveness of this new model. However, previous studies centering on comparative assessment have indicated that it is not always entirely successful in terms of promoting students' performance and/or satisfaction, which warrants further research on the contributing factors and driving mechanism accounting for students' perceptions of flipped settings. In order to fill this gap, in this study, a students' satisfaction model for the flipped classroom was constructed based on the experiential learning theory. A total of 178 undergraduate students in Mainland China participated in 32-week College English flipped classes, from whom 146 valid questionnaires were obtained. The proposed research model was evaluated through longitudinal surveys followed by the structural equation modeling technique. The results indicated that, compared with the designs of Personalized Learning Climate, learners' Prior Learning Experience is a far more significant antecedent for predicting their satisfaction. Furthermore, Perceived Quality (with five first-order dimensions) and Perceived Value are two vital mediators to student satisfaction. The implications of this study are also discussed.

Numerous studies have been published heralding the benefits of physical education in school education. Sport and physical activities form the major content in learning and the arrangement serves as the major source of development in students. This paper identifies "quality" as an internationally concerned issue and within the concept, the perceptual framework in learning is then placed with focus. To conduct this study, a sample of N = 799 ("11 Asian cities") physical education professionals working in different levels were invited to participate in a questionnaire survey with 37 items designed to forge the conceptualization of quality learning in physical education. Results from statistical analysis showed 24 items grouped in 3 subfactors being retained after EFA, of 37 items that were framed through content analysis to assess the quality physical education learning among the PE professionals. The retained three factors from the EFA were further assessed with robust confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The 3-factor model demonstrated a good fit with the data (CMIN/DF = 7.367, NFI = 0.888, CFI = 0.901, PCFI = 0.748, RMSEA = 0.089). In this sample, the QPEL demonstrated an acceptable three-factor structure, internal consistency and inter-factor correlation. These items were appropriate to provide the necessary understanding of the diversified practice in the learning of quality physical education.

Background: It has been a long-standing tradition of using herbal tea for preventive and therapeutic healthcare in Hong Kong and South China and Five Flowers Tea is one of the most popular herbal teas. Based on the principle of traditional Chinese medicine, the pharmacological functions are to clear heat and dispel dampness in the body. Heat and dampness are thought to contribute to a range of health problems, especially during the hot and humid season in South China and Hong Kong. The most prevalent herbs in the formula contain bioactive compounds including flavonoids, alkaloids and terpenoids, which have a wide range of pharmacological properties including anti-inflammation, antivirus, antidiarrhoea, antibacteria, and antioxidation. However, with the composition varies widely, the ethnopharmacological benefits described may not be delivered uniformly. This study is to provide a comprehensive analysis on the composition of the Five Flowers Tea sold in Hong Kong and investigate the rationale behind the selection of herbs used in the formula. This study also provides information on the variation and quality of the Five Flowers Tea in the market. Methods: Thirty-three Five Flowers Tea samples were collected from various locations in Hong Kong. The size, texture, colour and organoleptic properties were documented. Macroscopic and molecular authentication methods were employed to identify the individual components. Results: Macroscopic identification revealed there were 23 herbs belonging to 18 plant families. The most prevalent herb was Bombax ceiba L., followed by Chrysanthemum morifolium. Ten adulterants and the existence of insect Lasioderma serricorne were confirmed by DNA barcoding techniques. Conclusion: This study employed a comprehensive approach to authenticate the herbs in Five Flowers Tea samples collected from various locations in Hong Kong. Macroscopic and molecular methods were used to identify the herbs and adulterants. The findings revealed the varied composition in Five Flowers Tea and the occurrence of adulterants in some samples. This shows that quality assurance of Five Flowers Tea is essential for the effective use of this popular folk medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's digital public diplomacy on social media and the ways in which Chinese diplomats communicate have received international attention and generated academic interest. As the first study to conduct country-specific investigation on how Chinese diplomats in Germany practice digital public diplomacy on Twitter, this article examines their communication strategies based on Twitter data collected from verified accounts of Chinese diplomats in Germany during the part of the pandemic from January 2020 to February 2021. The study also identifies discrepancies between the actual practices of China's Twitter diplomacy in Germany and media perception of China's Twitter diplomacy represented by relevant news articles from two German mainstream newspapers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Süddeutsche Zeitung in 2020. The discrepancies, the author claims, can be attributed to the process of othering China, i.e. framing China as the other, that eventually compromises the effectiveness of China's communication strategies. Seeing China's Twitter diplomacy as network-centric public diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, this article depicts the ways in which the case of Germany contributes to the understanding of the global communication network of China's public diplomacy on Twitter by showing its country-specific communication strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Occupational function assessment is essential for rehabilitation of severe mental illness but lacks comprehensive tools. Method: This study examines the psychometric properties of the Chinese versions of the Vocational Cognitive Rating Scale (VCRS) and the Work Behavior Inventory (WBI) in 60 chronic patients from a psychiatric daycare center and identifies clinical correlates of occupational function measured on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Results: The Chinese VCRS and WBI showed adequate internal consistency, interrater and test–retest reliability, and good convergent validity with the Comprehensive Occupational Therapy Evaluation Scale. Factor analysis favored a one-factor solution of the VCRS; and a four-factor structure in the WBI including Efficiency, Social Interaction, Appropriateness, and Regularity. The VCRS and Efficiency were predicted by fewer disorganization but greater affective symptoms. Social Interaction was negatively predicted by resistance symptoms. Appropriateness was associated with all but negative symptoms. Regularity was predicted by fewer negative symptoms. Considering work behavior altogether, WBI total scores were predicted by fewer negative, fewer disorganization, and greater affective symptoms. Conclusions and Implication for Practice: Findings suggest that the Chinese VCRS and WBI have sound psychometric properties and are suitable for both clinical trials and for planning personalized rehabilitation programs. Impact and Implications: This study provided the first validation of the Vocational Cognitive Rating Scale and the Work Behavior Inventory—two functional assessment tools regarding work performance specific to patients with mental illness—in an Asian country. We derived a new factor structure for finding unique relationships between clinical profiles and each facet of various work behaviors. The findings provide evidence to support a more delicate assessment of occupational function while providing a fundamental foundation for developing future personalized rehabilitation programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manual ground searches and cadaver dogs are traditional methods for locating remains, but they can be time‐ and resource‐intensive, resulting in the decomposition of bodies and delay in victim identification. Therefore, thermal imaging has been proposed as a potentially useful tool for detecting remains based on their temperature. This study investigated the potential of a novel search technique of thermal drones to detect surface remains through the detection of maggot mass temperatures. Two trials were carried out at Selangor, Malaysia, each utilizing 12 healthy male Oryctolagus cuniculus European white rabbits and DJI Matrice 300 RTK drone China, equipped with a thermal camera; Zenmuse H20T to record the thermal imaging footage of the carcasses at various heights (15, 30, 60–100 m) for 14 days for each trial. Our results demonstrated that the larval masses and corresponding heat emissions were at their largest during the active decay stage; therefore, all the carcasses were observable in thermal images on day 5 and remained until day 7. Statistical analyses showed that (1) no statistically significant differences in thermal images between clothed and unclothed subjects (p > 0.05); (2) 15 m above ground level was proven to be the optimal height, as it showed the greatest contrast between the carcass heat signature and the background (p < 0.005). Our data suggested the potential window of detection of thermal signatures was detectable up to 7 days post‐deposition. This could be an important guideline for the search and recovery teams for operational implementation in this tropical region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With China's economic rise and influence, financial statecraft has increasingly been deployed to serve the country's national interest. The growth of China's financial statecraft in the region has drawn greater media and academic attention. Notwithstanding the abundant literature on China's financial statecraft in Southeast Asia, the previous studies lack a detailed analysis of various financial statecraft instruments deployed by China. To get a better understanding of China's deployment of financial statecraft over the years under Xi Jinping's administration, this article fills the gap in the existing literature by delving into various factors that influenced various financial statecraft instruments with respect to the objectives, trends or patterns and agencies involved in the region. Given Xi's successful bid for continued political rule by eliminating a term limit on the presidency as well as the escalating China-US strategic rivalry, it is important to examine how the interaction of domestic and international forces has shaped the evolution of financial statecraft in Southeast Asia. Due to the changes in domestic politics and shifts in the geopolitics and geoeconomics, an important question that deserves our attention is how these changes has influenced China's deployment of various financial statecraft instruments in different Southeast Asian countries. The paper focuses on two middle-income countries (i.e., Malaysia and Thailand) and two low-income countries (i.e. Cambodia and Laos) in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decades, abundant and wellpreserved vertebrate fossils, known as the Urho Pterosaur Fauna, have been recovered from the Lower Cretaceous Tugulu Group in Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, NW China. Excavated materials belong to pterosaur, plesiosaur, dinosaur, crocodylomorph, and turtle taxa. As such, they provide key insights into the evolutionary history of several critical vertebrate groups in the Early Cretaceous. The Junggar assemblages have been interpreted as belonging to the Jehol Biota sensu lato, representing its northwesternmost known geographic extent. This research presents a new chemical abrasion--isotope dilution--thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-Pb age of 135.2 ± 0.9 Ma (2σ internal error) from a tuffaceous bed stratigraphically below the fauna-bearing layers, indicating a Valanginian maximum age for the Urho fauna. Combined with available biostratigraphic data, the results bear several important paleobiologic implications for the Early Cretaceous vertebrates. First, the Dsungaripterus pterosaur and Psittacosaurus ornithischian fauna appear to have emerged earlier than previously believed. Second, the data suggest that the oldest carcharodontosaurids in Asia appeared during the Valanginian Stage and extend the age range of basal coelurosaurs and basal crocodyliforms. Our results do not support the notion of the Jehol Biota sensu lato migrating as far west as the Junggar Basin in their later stages. The new information calls into question the temporal and spatial bases for the conventional, threestage evolutionary theory of the Jehol Biota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of Hong Kong's failed attempt to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in 2019 and China's enactment of the 2020 National Security Law for Hong Kong, many countries have voiced unease about their extradition agreements with China. Some, out of concern over potential adverse impacts on human rights, have even suspended their extradition agreements with Hong Kong. In this article, we investigate factors affecting the signing of extradition agreements between China and other countries. We hypothesize that third countries are more likely to conclude an extradition agreement with China if they are more economically engaged with China or are already cooperating with China in civil and criminal matters. In contrast, countries more strongly committed to the rule of law, or those which maintain a Common Law system, are less likely to sign an extradition agreement with China. Statistical analyses of the 57 Chinese extradition agreements signed between 1993 and 2019 support our hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research attempts to explore how reverse logistics (RL) and sustainable supply chain initiatives (SSCI) affect sustainability performance (SP) in the manufacturing industry under the moderating effects of organisational learning capability (OLC). At the same time, this study is expected to allow manufacturers to advance towards a high level of model generation in the green economy. Design/methodology/approach: The data for this study was obtained from 451 manufacturing companies in the Hebei Province, China. This study develops a model and tests all hypothesised relationships using partial least square–structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with two-step analytical procedures. Findings: The results indicate that SSCI and RL have a positive relationship with SP, and SSCI is positively related to RL. Moreover, the OLC moderates the relationship between RL and SP as well as the relationship between SSCI and SP. Research limitations/implications: The findings of the study yield valuable managerial insights on how the effective implementation of green practices, coupled with the utilisation of learning capabilities, can contribute to improving the sustainability of manufacturing firms. The study has certain limitations that suggest potential avenues for future research, the most significant of which is our reliance on data from a single country, which may impede the generalisability of the findings. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing literature on SP by considering RL and SSCI and offers a unique theoretical argument that describes the relationships by considering the moderating effect of OLC, which has not been empirically explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]