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

Given the established role of parental talk in the growth of math knowledge in preschoolers, there has been an increasing focus on identifying ways to promote parental math talk at this stage of child development. The current study investigated how parental math talk is affected by features of play materials and contexts. The features were manipulated along two dimensions: homogeneity (whether the toys were unique or included identical sets) and boundedness (whether the number of toys was restricted). Parent-child dyads (n = 75, child's age: 4-6) from China were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: unique objects-unbounded range, homogeneous sets-unbounded range, and homogeneous sets-bounded range. In all conditions, dyads played games in two contexts that varied in the extent to which they were typically associated with math-party preparation and grocery shopping. As expected, more parental math talk was observed in the grocery shopping than in the party preparation context. Importantly, the manipulation of features within context also affected the amount and nature of parental math talk: homogeneity increased absolute magnitude talk, and boundedness increased relative magnitude talk. The results provide support for the cognitive alignment framework, underscoring the importance of aligning the features of materials with targeted concepts and demonstrating the possibility of impacting parental math talk through small manipulations of play materials.

Objectives: To characterize the health behaviors and outcomes of first-year international students (FYIS) studying in the U.S. Participants and methods: Three different cohorts of FYIS from a large midwestern university in the U.S. completed three laboratory visits between August and March. The study began in 2017 and ended in March 2020. Anthropometrics, acculturative stress, eating behaviors, sleep, physical activity, and eating habits were assessed. Results: Fifty-four students completed the study. Females had a significant increase in percent body fat (p = 0.036) and a decrease in sleep quality (p = 0.006) at the final visit vs. baseline, and uncontrolled (p = 0.006) and emotional (p < 0.001) eating behaviors were higher. FYIS who gained more than the median 1.2 kg over the study period experienced higher acculturative stress (p = 0.004) and a decline in sleep quality (p = 0.003). Conclusion: Reducing acculturative stress and improving sleep quality should be explored as interventions to protect against undesirable changes in adiposity among FYIS.

The global food crisis has made food waste reduction an important area for research and practice. In China, food is frequently wasted in university canteens. Identifying the factors involved is critical for reducing waste and preserving resources and the environment. In contrast to previous studies of canteen food waste, which have mainly used quantitative research methods, this study adopted a qualitative approach to reveal the self-reported causes of food waste by students who eat at the canteens of a university in South China. The study identified material, economic, psychological, social, cultural, and health dimensions that influence food waste in university canteens. The results validate some previous findings and add novel factors not previously identified. This study argues that food waste is embedded in a complicated socio-cultural context, and hence it is difficult to take simple and direct management measures to reduce waste. Measures should be implemented to improve both the consumers' consciousness of frugality and ecological conservation, and the quality and palatability of the served food.

Nowadays, unhealthy dietary habits, insufficient food knowledge, and lack of manual skills are typical issues among primary and secondary school students in China. To help students build up a strong constitution and life wisdom, Weifang Hansheng School of Shandong developed a food education course. This paper expounds on the course framework, contents of food education textbooks and the measures to implement the course.

This study examined the distribution of language expansion in parent-child (preschool aged) mealtime conversations in 30 Chinese middle-class families. The conversations were categorised into four types: "contextualised & conflicted," "contextualised & non-conflicted," "decontextualised & conflicted," and "decontextualised & non-conflicted." The language expansions were analysed using the systemic functional linguistic theory related to cohesive patterns in language expansion: "elaborations," "extensions," and "enhancements." While the parents dominated the conversations generally, the children were active contributors, initiating over one-quarter of the conversations. Initiation had an impact on the distribution of the conversational types: the proportions of "contextualised & non-conflicted" conversations was significantly higher in child-initiated conversations. The "contextualised & conflicted" conversations accounted for a higher proportion in parent-initiated conversations. It was the conversational type rather than initiation, which had an effect on the distribution of language expansion patterns. The least occurring "decontextualised & conflicted conversations" generated the most extensions. The frequently appeared "contextualised & non-conflicted" conversations, however, produced the fewest expanded messages. The implications from the findings for promoting high-quality mealtime conversations conducive to children's language learning are discussed.

Children exhibit a self-relevance effect whereby they share more candies with close friends and acquaintances than with strangers. The present study aimed to reduce the negative consequences of self-relevance effects by enhancing the behavioural control of sharing behaviour. This study initiated two behavioural control levels to investigate sharing behaviours in children aged 5-6 years. Results revealed that children with high-behavioural control had elevated sharing levels compared with those with neutral behavioural control. Compared with strangers and acquaintances, children shared more with those who have close relationships with them. Switching from neutral behavioural control to high behavioural control can improve the range of children's sharing level to strangers more than acquaintances and close friends. This suggests that the behavioural control did reduce the self-relevance effect, and the behavioural control was more effective in improving the children's sharing behaviour with strangers than acquaintances and close friends.

Chinese enterprise personnel are faced with the problem of intercultural adaptation. Based on Black's theory of "three-dimensional" model of intercultural adaptation, this paper proposes a "four-dimensional" model of intercultural adaptation, namely, life adaptation, work adaptation, interpersonal adaptation and Chinese image adaptation. The research method of semi-structured in-depth interview is used to interview 23 Chinese people from one Chinese enterprise in Saudi Arabia, who have worked there for at least one year. We get findings as follows: (1) Life adaptation: maladjustment is mainly reflected in religious restriction. Especially, religious regulations and taboos make the life of Chinese enterprise personnel restricted. However, there are also many aspects of adaptation, such as Saudi cuisine, living environment and leisure life, which bring the satisfaction of life demands to Chinese enterprise personnel. (2) Work adaptation: foreign companies must employ a certain proportion of local people to work in their companies; the roles of buyers and sellers in Saudi Arabia and in China are different; the concept of time is different. (3) Interpersonal adaptation: Chinese people in Saudi Arabia still have the most frequent contact with their Chinese compatriots, and it is difficult for them to develop close friendship with foreigners. Chinese people are good at creating harmonious interpersonal relationships for work through some after-work activities, such as drinking tea, eating out and holding football matches. (4) Chinese image adaptation: Chinese enterprise personnel in Saudi Arabia have decent income, and Saudi police fail to check Chinese cars, all of which make the Chinese people have a positive face value. In view of the above four adaptation situations of Chinese enterprise personnel in Saudi Arabia, the following suggestions are proposed: (1) Be strict with yourself in life, respect local social and religious customs, and also keep a careful attitude and actively deal with disadvantageous factors. (2) While benefiting from working or doing business in Saudi Arabia, we should make contributions for the development of local economy and society, providing employment and training for local people. (3) We should observe the local laws and regulations, and also follow the local and international market rules. (4) In interpersonal communication, we should combine the maintenance mode of Chinese "guanxi" (relationship) with western "principle" on the one hand, and make a difference between them on the other hand. (5) In terms of image adaptation, besides maintaining a good image politically and economically, it is also necessary to improve our individual quality and our cultural cultivation overseas, be a communicator bridging Chinese and foreign excellent culture, and build a positive national image and individual image.

Pointing out that language policy negotiations in classroom discourse are an understudied kind of "language-related episode", and proposing that Tim Ingold's notion of "meshwork" dissolves a boundary that typically encloses their analysis, this paper examines how a rich and indicative example of student group interaction on a British university campus in China becomes interwoven with multiple threads, including: different languages, Korean pop dance moves, coffee from the campus Starbucks, and the teacher's repeated attempts at English-Medium Instruction policy enforcement. Our example was discovered in corpus recordings of group activities during classes in English for Academic Purposes, then transcribed for embodied activity (primarily speech and gesture) and further explored in relation to the multiple threads which visibly and audibly became involved. Analysis of the episode shows how students' "relational-languaging" behaviours must negotiate, respond, and adapt to the policy enforcement, illustrating some of the tensions immanent to the transnational higher education experience.

Kindergarten has the potential to influence children's food choices and habits at an early age and prevent nutrition-related diseases later in life. This paper comparatively analyzed the goals and requirements for kindergarten food and meal policies and guidelines in Norway and China based on the author's self-constructed 'NES' analytical framework, including nutritional, educational, and social aspects. The findings suggest that while Norway and China both acknowledge the importance of nutritional importance of food and meals in kindergartens, Norway has paid significant attention to the social aspects of meals. There were also a number of differences between Norway and China in terms of specific educational goals related to food and meals. This analysis aimed to inform future policy direction across the fields of public health and educational policy and practice in Norway, China, and beyond.

Chinese international students represent a significant social, economic and cultural force in Australian society. Research has demonstrated that Chinese students enrich Australia not only through their economic contribution, but through soft diplomacy and cultural links. Despite this, and the recent rapid growth in the number of Chinese international students to the country, only a small number of studies have focused specifically on understanding the health and employment experiences of Chinese students in Australia. This paper examines interview data from an ethnographic study involving ten Chinese international students pursuing higher education in New South Wales, Australia. Topics concerning work rights and exploitation, migration, and cultural differences are touched upon within their health and employment experiences. This paper provides insights for those working with Chinese international students in the areas of health education and promotion, diversity and inclusion, employment and mobility studies. The results contribute to broader insights into the inward/outward mobility of higher education students and Australia's "National Strategy for International Education 2025."

Background: Childhood malnutrition is commonplace among poor rural communities in China. In 2012, China launched its first nationwide school-feeding program (SFP) to address this problem. This study examines the prevalence of malnutrition before and after the SFP and identifies possible reasons for the trends observed. Methods: Ordinary least squares regression and propensity score matching were used to analyze data from 2 cross-sectional surveys of 100 rural primary schools in northwestern China. Participants were fourth-and fifth-grade students. Outcome measures include anemia rates, hemoglobin levels, body mass index, and height for age Z scores. Results: Three years after implementation of the SFP, malnutrition rates among sample students had not fallen. The SFP had no statistically significant effect on either anemia rates or BMI, but was linked to an increase in the proportion of students with below normal height for age Z scores. Meals provided to students fell far short of national recommendations that the SPF should provide 40% of the recommended daily allowance of micronutrients. Conclusions: Despite significant budgetary outlays between 2012 and 2015, China's SFP has not reduced the prevalence of malnutrition among sample students. To make the SFP more effective, funding and human resources both need to be increased.

The present study aims to explore the associations between food insecurity and school performance, and the serial mediation of depression and educational expectation on the focal association, among Chinese rural left-behind children. This study conducted a cross-sectional survey on 2128 students (Grades 5-9, mean age = 13.21 years) who reported one or both parents had migrated into the urban sector. They responded to questions on school performance, educational expectation, The Food Insecurity Experience Scale, and The Birleson Depression Self-Rating Scale. Serial mediation modelling was used to test the mediating role of depression and educational expectation. It is found that food insecurity was significantly associated with school performance. Moreover, depression and educational expectation functioned as serial mediators and were fully mediating the association between food insecurity and school performance. The findings as with the severity of childhood food insecurity in rural China as well as its association with the negative consequences in children's education provide empirical support for contentions that food insecurity problem should be taken into account in designing and implementing school-based intervention programs for left-behind children. Moreover, schools shall pay special attention to the mental health risks of food insecurity among rural left-behind children.

Using interview data from 11 international students, this paper compares international students' experiences at a single American university, and the acculturation issues that they encountered. The students assessed their experiences at the university, both positive and negative, and discussed their perceptions of American ways of doing things. The findings suggest that, when compared to students from other countries, students from China face considerable more difficulties both academically and socially, given the formidable language and cultural barriers. These challenges remain regardless of whether the students self-segregate with co-nationals or associate primarily with Americans. While individual-level factors (e.g., language fluency and coping ability) affect the international students' lived experiences and perceived satisfaction level while studying in the United States, this paper argues that environmental factors (e.g., the culture and reception of the host society) may be more important in shaping the experiences of international students, whether for better or worse.

Outdoor education programs are promoted to enhance connections between individuals and nature to foster pro-environmental behavior. However, behavioral change is a complex, and often difficult psychological process. This study aimed to determine if establishing nature clubs in schools could promote students' conservation behaviors by mitigating traditional hunting and insect eating in Xishuangbanna, China. Outcomes were assessed using questionnaires and interviews. The program enhanced adolescents' self-reported animal conservation through persuading others not to hunt birds and not eat native insects. Thus, we propose that nature kits and recommendations derived from this program can serve as guides for developing similar campaigns elsewhere.

The Food Safety Knowledge Network (FSKN) is a collaboration between Michigan State University, the Global Food Safety Initiative of the Consumer Goods Forum, and other food industry and public sector partners. FSKN's goal is to help strengthen the food industry's response to the complex food safety knowledge and training challenges that affect emerging markets by providing free access to high-quality, standardized learning resources. The resources were designed to be available on demand and as a structured learning experience which can support face-to-face training and fully online training. The pilots thus far have shown that participants in FSKN training demonstrate a significant increase in knowledge. The paper will share the processes used to set up an efficient open educational resources initiative including understanding licensing, using open software, establishing competencies and working with corporate and other international partners. (Contains 2 figures.)

Idioms is a special culture which is shaped in the daily lives of the local people, particularly the idioms of diet has a close relation with various elements, such as the eating custom, history, fairy tales, geographic situations. Also, different ways of translation on different diet idioms in English and Chinese will be analyzed in this article. As a result, it will be very important to know the great culture contents in the idioms of diet in order to do a better job in the research of cross-culture communication and the translation.

This study aimed to determine if boarding on campus benefited left-behind children's social-emotional competence (SEC). We developed a SEC scale for the Chinese context and culture using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and reliability analysis. Data were collected from 6638 school-aged children from 74 rural boarding schools in 11 provinces in western China. The results indicated that children's SEC was significantly affected by being left-behind, living on campus, and their cross-effects. Left-behind children had lower levels of SEC than those under parental guardianship. Children living on campus had fewer positive SEC skills than those who commuted between home and school. We also found that left-behind children living on campus had a higher negative SEC than left-behind children who were commuting every day. The SEC of left-behind but commuting children was higher than that of non-left-behind boarding school students. Food quality and caregivers' service attitudes also significantly affected children's SEC. Children who received good or medium quality food and good service from caregivers had higher SEC than those with poorer food and service. In conclusion, boarding on campus negatively affects left-behind children's SEC. This suggests that more attention should be directed to the negative effects of boarding on campus, and boarding condition, and improving food quality and caregivers' service.

With the increasing importance in the application of the molecular biological detection technology in the field of food safety, strengthening education in molecular biology experimental techniques is more necessary for the culture of the students in food quality and safety major. However, molecular biology experiments are not always in curricula of Food quality and safety Majors. This paper introduced a project "competition of molecular biological detection technology for food safety among undergraduate sophomore students in food quality and safety major", students participating in this project needed to learn the fundamental molecular biology experimental techniques such as the principles of molecular biology experiments and genome extraction, PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis analysis, and then design the experiments in groups to identify the meat species in pork and beef products using molecular biological methods. The students should complete the experimental report after basic experiments, write essays and make a presentation after the end of the designed experiments. This project aims to provide another way for food quality and safety majors to improve their knowledge of molecular biology, especially experimental technology, and enhances them to understand the scientific research activities as well as give them a chance to learn how to write a professional thesis. In addition, in line with the principle of an open laboratory, the project is also open to students in other majors in East China University of Science and Technology, in order to enhance students in other majors to understand the fields of molecular biology and food safety.

This study provides an in-depth look into the implementation process of visualization-based tools for structuring collaborative problem solving (CPS) in the classroom. A visualization-based learning platform--the semantic diagram for structuring CPS in a real classroom was designed and implemented. Metafora, the preliminary vehicle of the semantic diagram, was integrated into the "Food and Nutrition" CPS curriculum in a fifth-grade science classroom in east China. Data of a teacher's and her students' activities from the CPS classroom were analyzed to understand how Metafora could be integrated into the CPS instructional process, what roles Metafora and the teacher played in the CPS project, and to what extent Metafora might have affected the teacher's instruction and the students' learning activities in the CPS classroom. Results showed that the semantic diagram could be integrated into the CPS classroom adaptively and flexibly, and that it was important to keep a balance between the role of the semantic diagram and the role of the teacher. Implications for semantic diagram design and implementation for structuring CPS in the classroom, as well as future work about the semantic diagram will be discussed.

When, in homestays abroad, mealtime is understood as key to the maintenance and development of family identity and involves routine gathering for nourishment and convivial talk, students attribute much of their language learning to these events. In this project, we adopt a microgenetic approach to the study of mealtime discourse as a learning opportunity for three American high school students of varying proficiency in Chinese and their Chinese hosts. Specifically, analysis of contextualized language practices at mealtime reveals the qualities of these interactions for learning Chinese and American culinary practices, related language, and associated ideologies. Our findings suggest that even short-term homestays can be particularly rich environments for language learning as hosts and students explore divergent views on the aesthetic, moral, and health-related dimensions of eating.

This article examines international students' cultural adaptation at a major national university in China. A survey was designed to measure international students' adaptation to the Chinese sociocultural and educational environments in terms of five dimensions: (1) cultural empathy, (2) open-mindedness, (3) emotional stability, (4) social flexibility and (5) language proficiency. International students (n = 330) from 57 countries participated in the survey. The findings here support the existing proposition that the first year is the critical period for cultural adaptation as there are significant changes in some adaptation indicators (especially emotional stability) over the first year and thereafter changes in these indicators became less and less significant. The present study discusses the adequacy of existing theories in explaining these results and their implications for international students' adaptation as a culture-specific experience in China.

In this paper, I will tell two of my personal stories to try to explore the secret or opaque space between the original telling and retelling of stories in narrative inquiry. Based upon my difficult struggles with the two stories of tea, school, and narrative, I suggest that narrative inquiry has to be a complex loop of relationship, reflexivity, responsibility, and recursion.

Fifty-six students studying at a Chinese college in a southern province were surveyed for this study and asked to describe their experiences if they were to wake up one day to find themselves in the United States as U.S. citizens. A content analysis was performed for the final analysis of the raw data. Chinese students' views on the U.S. varied but mainly focused on the positive aspects of life in America. This researcher therefore concluded that Chinese students surveyed through this study did not have realistic views of life in the U.S. (Contains 1 table.)

There is a small body of research which shows how intercultural communication is constituted in and through talk-in-interaction, and can be made relevant or irrelevant by interactants on a moment-by-moment basis. Our paper builds on this literature by investigating how cultural assumptions of national food-eating practices are deployed, contested and co-constructed in an online, voice-based chat room. Using conversation analysis, findings show how assumptions about cultural practices sequentially unfold in a setting where the interactants are strangers. Additionally, we show how assumptions about cultural practices can be used for rhetorical purposes, and can be treated as simple and complex in a single exchange. (Contains 7 notes.)

China has the world's largest population, now over 1.3 billion, but its land area (much of it high mountains or desert) is about the same as that of the United States, which has less than one-fourth as many people. So Chinese farmers have learned to use every inch of their fertile land intensively. Pressure on the land has required extremely efficient farming and resulted in a vast mosaic of food cultures, intimately related to local climate (even micro-climate) and water-soil resources. Some products may be found in all of China's agricultural regions, but most places are known for, and take pride in, a local cuisine. For food is never just "what the land can produce," so local preferences--taste and culinary history--play important roles in people's choices. This essay discusses how the regional cuisines of China reflect topography, climate, and people's ability to extract both calories and taste from the land and water. (Contains 3 online resources.)

Objective: To explore intergenerational health habits and compare differences between urban and rural families. Methods: A total of 2500 families with children ages 6-18 in China were surveyed regarding their health habits. Results: Urban families reported significantly greater food variety and more time exercising (for fathers and children) than did rural families. Children's exercise time was associated with fathers' exercise time, whereas children's drinking and smoking were associated with mothers' drinking and smoking. Conclusions: These linkages across generations in health habits highlight the need to develop preventive strategies with consideration for intergenerational influences and rural-urban differences.

Lutein and zeaxanthin (L/Z) were related to macular health. With respect to increasing life expectancy, age-related macular disease (AMD) has become a concern on public health. The objective was to investigate dietary L/Z intake and its related food preference in populations living in different areas. A three-day dietary record and a supplement survey were designed to obtain data. A non-randomized, biased sampling of 240 college students were recruited in this study, 137 of them enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles (LA) and the other 93 were in China Medical University in Taichung, Taiwan (TW). LA consisted of 101 females and 36 males and TW consisted of 71 females and 22 males. LA and TW consumed average 4149.4 plus or minus 467.5 and 4994.2 plus or minus 533.4 mcg of L/Z, respectively. The outcome revealed that there was neither significant difference on dietary L/Z intake nor on the use of L/Z supplement between these two populations. It is noteworthy that although the food preferences related to L/Z intake were quite distinct between groups, yet the total intakes of L/Z were found to be lower than the recommended intake (L/Z) of 6000 mcg/day. The result indicated that more nutritional education regarding these two eye-health nutrients should be provided to the general public to prevent AMD. (Contains 4 tables.)

This paper reports research findings from a project funded by the European Commission. The research used case studies and surveys to identify gaps between Europe and China in the level of Internet adoption in fresh-produce supply chains. The project reveals barriers to Internet adoption in China in this industry, and employs a transnational knowledge transfer approach to reduce these barriers. In a wider context, the paper analyses the features involved in this knowledge transfer from a knowledge management perspective. Specifically, it outlines the main activities, key actors and the transfer stages involved. The insights gained help further our understanding of knowledge transfer in transnational contexts. The implications of these findings for academia, managers and policy makers are summarized. (Contains 1 figure.)

Objective: To test the feasibility and effectiveness of social marketing on the improvement of women's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding iron-fortified soy sauce (FeSS). Design: A community-based intervention was conducted among 4 groups, experimental rural (E[subscript R]), control rural (C[subscript R]), experimental urban (E[subscript U]), and control urban (C[U]). Setting: Urban and rural areas in Guizhou province, China. Participants: Women 19 to 70 years old (n = 193 in rural areas and n = 179 in urban areas). Intervention: A mass-media campaign to promote use of FeSS was conducted throughout Guizhou province. In the intervention areas, social marketing strategies using integrated 6 Ps (product, price, place, promotion, policy, and partnership) were implemented from December 2004 to February 2006. Main Outcome Measures: Knowledge of FeSS; benefits, barriers, and intention to purchase; availability of FeSS; behaviors regarding purchase and use of FeSS. Analysis: Analysis of covariance, paired T test and cross-tabulations were used. The [alpha] level was set at 0.05. Results: Compared with the baseline, perceived benefits of FeSS, barriers (BARRI) and intention to buy (INTEN) significantly improved within both experimental groups (P less than 0.01 or 0.001). The only improvement in control groups was for BARRI in CR (P less than 0.001). Availability of FeSS increased in all areas. Purchase and use of FeSS in rural and urban intervention groups increased by nearly 30% more than those in control groups. Conclusion and Implication: Social marketing of FeSS is feasible and effective to improve knowledge, perception (perceived benefits and overcoming barriers), intention to purchase, and consumption of FeSS among women in Guizhou, China.

The Great Leap Forward disaster, characterized by a collapse in grain production and a widespread famine in China between 1959 and 1961, is found attributable to a systemic failure in central planning. Wishfully expecting a great leap in agricultural productivity from collectivization, the Chinese government accelerated its aggressive industrialization timetable. Grain output fell sharply as the government diverted agricultural resources to industry and imposed an excessive grain procurement burden on peasants, leaving them with insufficient calories to sustain labor productivity. Our analysis shows that 61 percent of the decline in output is attributable to the policies of resource diversion and excessive procurement.

Discusses a trip to China by students of Mandarin Chinese at Prince Alfred College, Australia, in order to learn about the language and culture of the host country. Some continuing features of the stay were shopping, food, and attitudes of the local populace toward the foreigners. (Author/CK)

The Senegal Project is the culminating project in a unit on cultural foods in an 8th grade family and consumer sciences (FCS) course. Initially, students take a quick world tour by studying and cooking foods from Mexico, Italy, China, and India followed by a "more depth and less breadth" study of Senegal, a country with a culture vastly different than their own. The project reinforces research skills, including the use of technology, identifying resources, and note-taking in an effort to discourage students from merely copying and pasting information for a report. To practice critical thinking skills, students use graphs and information to reflect on data that address differences and similarities between Senegal and the United States. The Senegal Project fosters best pedagogical practices by combining technology and a hands-on approach. The project can be readily adapted to other countries, drawing upon the experiences and expertise of one's own travel, the cultural background of colleagues, international visitors, or students. (Contains 2 online resources.)

This paper discusses the framework of China's food safety standards and provides a brief overview of the problems and developmental characteristics of food safety in China. The composition and characteristics of China's food safety standards are revealed by an analysis of the changes in China's general food standards, an overview of the characteristics of the hygiene requirements in the production and operation process, and an introduction to food product and test method standards. In conclusion, Chinese food safety standards are still being improved, but they must also be effectively implemented and followed up in real time in order to continuously improve the quality of food and reduce food safety incidents. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Homegardens are small-scale land use systems with significant implications for local livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development due to their diverse flora and fauna. Conducting homegarden surveys enables researchers to gain insights into the traditional ecological knowledge of indigenous communities, preserve homegarden biodiversity, and promote sustainable livelihoods. This study has two objectives: first, to collect, record, and organize data on homegarden plants and related traditional knowledge from three communities in the Laershan Plateau, and second, to analyze the species and functional diversity of homegarden plants in the region while exploring the factors that contribute to the heterogeneous distribution of these plants among the communities of three townships. Methods: This research employed field surveys in the Laershan Miao Autonomous Region in Xiangxi, China, from September 2021 to August 2023. Data were collected through observation and semi-structured interviews. The study utilized descriptive statistics and quantitative analysis, including the Relative Importance Value (RI), Use Value Index (UV), Jaccard Index (JI), and Comprehensive Index of Land Use Degree (La), to examine the diversity of local homegarden plants and related traditional knowledge, as well as community heterogeneity. Results: The study area exhibited rich biodiversity, with 152 plant species recorded belonging to 62 families and 124 genera. These findings highlight the importance of homegarden plants in maintaining ecological balance and enhancing system resilience against disturbances. Homegarden plants serve multiple functions such as food, ornamental, medicinal, and fodder purposes, with edible and trade plants having the most abundant knowledge. Furthermore, this research revealed that communities with similar forest resource compositions may have similar homegarden plant compositions, demonstrating the connection between cultural exchange among different communities and patterns of plant species distribution. Conclusions: The Laershan region boasts diverse homegarden plant species crucial for ecological balance and resilience. Their multifunctionality reflects human impact. Plant diversity varies with residents' lifestyles, needs, and cultural exchanges. The close connection between plants and local life is clear. Factors like resource distribution, cultural exchange, and lifestyle influence plant distribution. Further research is needed for conservation and sustainable development. Future research should focus on culturally valuable plant species and traditional knowledge applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, the most populous country across the globe, has emerged as one of the biggest economies; however, regarding food production, water, uplifting the income level, and attaining environmental sustainability, the policymakers are still concerned. China's government has worked immensely on eradicating poverty through increasing food production, ensuring access to clean water, and using land resources. Similar steps are taken about environmental protection. In this regard, China needs more empirical evidence to tackle such an environmentally destructive issue and sustainable natural resource use. The present study investigates the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) while considering the importance of natural resources, food production and export, and water productivity in environmental quality. This research also explores the impact of tourism, energy use, and renewable energy output on carbon emissions in China during 1990–2021. This research authenticates the variables' stationarity and the long‐term equilibrium relationship between the study factors using the pre‐estimation diagnostic approaches. This study employed several parametric approaches and revealed that the EKC paradox is invalid in the case of China and vice versa in the presence of natural resources and food and water variables. Natural resources are the key hazard in attaining a sustainable regional environment and development. By contrast, increased economic growth and energy consumption also enhance the country's pollution level. In distinction, renewable electricity output, tourism industry, food production, and food export are the substantial drivers of attaining COP27 targets. Based on the study findings, this research recommends enhancement in sustainable food production and water management, improved production and consumption of renewables, reduced consumption of outdated energy, sustainable use of non‐renewable resources, and facilitated tourism across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: An increase in healthcare utilization in response to universal health coverage may leave massive economic burden on individuals and households. Identifying catastrophic health expenditure helps us understand such burden. This study aims to examine the incidence of catastrophic health expenditure at various thresholds, explore its trend over years, and investigate whether it varies across socioeconomic status (SES). Methods: Data used in this study were from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS): 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. SES was measured by annual per-capita household expenditure, which was then divided into quintiles (Quintile 1 (Q1): the poorest - Quintile 5 (Q5): the wealthiest). Catastrophic health expenditure was measured at both a fixed threshold (40%) and a set of variable thresholds, where the thresholds for other quintiles were estimated by multiplying 40% by the ratio of average food expenditure in certain quintile to that in the index quintile. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to analyze the determinants of catastrophic health expenditure at various thresholds. Results: A total of 6,953 households were included in our study. The incidence of catastrophic health expenditure varied across the thresholds set. At a fixed threshold, 10.90%, 9.46%, 13.23%, or 24.75% of households incurred catastrophic health expenditure in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018, respectively, which were generally lower than those at variable thresholds. Catastrophic health expenditure often decreased from 2011 to 2013, and an increasing trend occurred afterwards. Compared to households in Q5, those in lower quintiles were more likely to suffer catastrophic health expenditure, irrespective of the thresholds set. Similarly, having chronic diseases and healthcare utilization increased the odds of catastrophic health expenditure. Conclusions: The financial protection against catastrophic health expenditure shocks remains a challenge in China, especially for the low-SES and those with chronic diseases. Concerted efforts are needed to further expand health insurance coverage across breadth, depth, and height, optimize health financing mechanism, redesign cost-sharing arrangements and provider payment methods, and develop more efficient expenditure control strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited studies have examined the associations between diet quality and gestational weight gain (GWG) among Chinese pregnant women, adopting Chinese GWG guidelines. We prospectively investigate the associations of diet quality, using the Chinese Healthy Diet Index for Pregnancy (CHDI‐P), which assessed diet quality from 'Diversity', 'Adequacy' and 'Limitation' dimensions with overall 100 points, with GWG among participants enroled in Southwest China. Food consumption was collected by 24 h dietary recalls for three consecutive days and CHDI‐P scores were divided into tertiles. GWG was calculated according to the weight measured before delivery and classified into adequate weight gain (AWG), insufficient weight gain (IWG) and excessive weight gain(EWG) following Chinese GWG guidelines. Multinomial regression analyses and stratified analyses by pre‐pregnancy body mass index were performed to estimate the association between CHDI‐P and GWG. A total of 1416 participants were recruited in early pregnancy, and 971 and 997 participants were respectively followed up in middle and late pregnancy. The mean CHDI‐P score was 56.44 ± 6.74, 57.07 ± 7.44 and 57.38 ± 7.94 points in early, middle and late pregnancy, respectively. Women in the lowest CHDI‐P scores group had an increased risk of EWG in middle (OR = 1.53, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08–2.17) and late pregnancy (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.21–2.41) than women in the highest group, while overweight/obese women had a greater risk of EWG in late pregnancy (OR = 4.25, 95% CI = 1.30–13.90). No association was found between the CHDI‐P scores and IWG. Poor diet quality in middle and late pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of EWG. Key messages: Excessive gestational weight gain (EWG) is a more obvious problem than insufficient gestational weight gain (IWG) among Chinese pregnant women when evaluated by Chinese gestational weight gain (GWG) guidelines.Maternal diet is a key determinant of GWG, and inadequate intake of healthy food, such as whole grains and dark‐coloured vegetables, is a risk factor for EWG.Higher‐quality diet in middle and late pregnancy could reduce the risk of EWG, while its effect on IWG was not found.Overweight pregnant women defined as overweight/obese by pre‐pregnancy body mass index had a significantly increased risk of EWG when adhering to an unhealthy diet in late pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]