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The significance of higher-order thinking (HOT) is becoming increasingly prominent in the twenty-first century, as reflected in the framework of most recent competency models. Blended learning models are universally recognized as promising endeavors to promote learners' HOT in the contemporary higher education field. To ensure that such learning models function as intended, a thorough and systematic study is required to determine the variables that most influence learners' development of HOT in a blended learning environment. A sample of 422 Chinese vocational college students with blended learning experience completed a survey in which their perceptions of teaching presence, social presence, self-regulated learning (SRL), information and communication technology (ICT) self-efficacy, and HOT were measured. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that students' SRL directly and significantly influenced their HOT in a blended learning environment. Furthermore, teaching presence, social presence, and ICT self-efficacy all indirectly affect HOT through their impact on SRL. Based on these findings, this study recommends that instructors teaching in a blended learning environment should focus on improving learners' SRL abilities, social interaction techniques, ICT competencies, and teaching presence to help learners develop HOT.

Language teachers cannot ignore the role of technology in young language learners' lives to engage and motivate them. Therefore, the current research investigated the mediating effect of students' learning and cognitive styles on the relationship between their emotions and situational motivation. 1089 respondents were selected from different colleges and universities, with different ages, genders, and levels. Four questionnaires (Cognitive Scale of the Human--Nature Relationship, Learners' Emotion Questionnaire, The Situational Motivation Scale, and Learning Style Questionnaire) were employed to collect the data. The researcher used Tencent QQ, a widely used communication platform in China, in conjunction with Wenjuanxing, an online survey tool, to distribute the questionnaire to all participants. The results showed that 54% of changes in students' situational motivation can be explained by interaction among their emotions, learning, and cognitive styles. In addition, it was revealed that less attention is paid to the mental and psychological aspects of students in technology-enhanced learning environments, and most educational environments do not have the necessary compatibility with the psychological characteristics of students. Implications are presented.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced higher education to enter into a phase of blended learning that combines in-person and mandatory online learning. This new combination has presented great challenges in promoting academic wellbeing. Anchored by the conservation of resources theory, this study undertakes to explore the contributions of personal resources to academic wellbeing. A total of 1934 undergraduates at a public university in China voluntarily participated in a survey during the 2022 spring semester. They were asked to rate their psychological capital (PsyCap) in general. They were also asked to rate their learning burnout, learning engagement, and academic buoyancy on the course level (namely through a course with English as a foreign language). Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used for the data analysis. The results confirm a direct positive association between PsyCap and students' learning engagement. In particular, the contribution of PsyCap to learning engagement is partially mediated by learning burnout. The moderation estimation reports that the positive effect of PsyCap on learning engagement is stronger for Chinese undergraduates with a higher academic buoyancy and that the negative link of learning burnout with either PsyCap or learning engagement is stronger for Chinese undergraduates with a lower academic buoyancy. This research is the first one to explore the beneficial joint roles of PsyCap and academic buoyancy in promoting academic wellbeing. The findings of this research offer novel and subtle insights into why and how PsyCap and academic buoyancy has contributed to easing learning burnout and boosting learning engagement in blended learning environments during the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Family income questions in general purpose surveys are usually collected with either a single-question summary design or a multiple-question disaggregation design. It is unclear how estimates from the two approaches agree with each other. The current paper takes advantage of a large-scale survey that has collected family income with both methods. With data from 14,222 urban and rural families in the 2018 wave of the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies, we compare the two estimates, and further evaluate factors that might contribute to the discrepancy. We find that the two estimates are loosely matched in only a third of all families, and most of the matched families have a simple income structure. Although the mean of the multiple-question estimate is larger than that of the single-question estimate, the pattern is not monotonic. At lower percentiles up till the median, the single-question estimate is larger, whereas the multiple-question estimate is larger at higher percentiles. Larger family sizes and more income sources contribute to higher likelihood of inconsistent estimates from the two designs. Families with wage income as the main income source have the highest likelihood of giving consistent estimates compared with all other families. In contrast, families with agricultural income or property income as the main source tend to have very high probability of larger single-question estimates. Omission of certain income components and rounding can explain over half of the inconsistencies with higher multiple-question estimates and a quarter of the inconsistencies with higher single-question estimates.

Although digital game-based vocabulary learning (DGBVL) has received increasing attention in the past two decades, the impacts of DGBVL on the depth of word knowledge are still not well understood, especially in regard to productive vocabulary learning and DGBVL's long-term efficacy. This study leverages a quasiexperimental research design to investigate DGBVL's long-term effects on receptive vocabulary (RV) and productive vocabulary (PV). Forty-eight Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) university students, assigned to the experimental and control groups, were instructed by a DGBVL approach and PowerPoint (PPT) lecturing, respectively, over the course of 18 weeks. Specifically, a mixed 2×2 repeated measures experimental design was conducted by adopting instruction type (DGBVL and PPT lecturing) and testing time (pretest and posttest) as the independent variables, with RV and PV proficiency as the respective dependent variables. The results suggest that instruction type and teaching time have significant effects on participants' RV and PV learning achievements. However, teaching time's effect size outweighs instruction type. The findings are highly encouraging for the use of DGBVL in the EFL classroom, as it may serve as an effective and long-lasting pedagogical tool within this context.

Recently, universities and colleges have gradually shifted from face-to-face teaching to small private online course-based teaching, which integrates massive open online courses with physical classroom teaching. However, learners often experience adjustment problems within this relatively new environment. This survey-based study evaluated the status of college students' learning adaptability and clarified the relationships between the factors influencing small private online course-based blended learning. With 3,050 participants from a Higher Vocational College in China, the researchers conducted an in-depth study using correlation analysis, regression analysis, and path analysis. The results revealed that students' learning adaptability was generally at the upper-middle level with females scoring higher than males, and there was no significant difference in learning adaptability based on the students' ages, grades, or Internet age. Regarding the impact of interest variables on learning adaptability, teaching support, learning platform, and curriculum setting had a significant positive effect; whereas learning attitude, autonomous learning, teaching methods, and learning environment did not have a significant positive effect. The teaching management had no significant impact either. Our findings have some implications for improving the efficacy of small private online course-based learning in educational institutions in China and elsewhere.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has gradually promoted blended teaching based on Small Private Online Course (SPOC) as a common teaching practice in most higher education institutions. Teachers play a critical role in the successful implementation of blended teaching. Questions regarding the factors that influence teachers' implementation strategies for SPOC-based blended teaching in higher vocational colleges, positively or negatively, are raised. This research investigated 63 English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from four higher vocational colleges in China who are implementing SPOC-based blended teaching, encoded the obtained data at three levels, explored factors influencing EFL teachers' implementation of SPOC-based blended teaching, and constructed a theoretical model of the factors influencing teachers' implementation of SPOC-based blended teaching in which SPOC-based teaching intention is a pre-influencing factor, whereas the school incentive mechanism and curriculum platform satisfaction serve as situational influencing factors. This study can help EFL teachers improve the implementation of SPOC-based blended teaching and further optimise SPOC-based blended teaching policies and measures for stakeholders in practice.

Background: Mathematics homework is highly prevalent in East Asia. Teachers and parents expect mathematics homework to improve students' performance; however, studies have not clearly defined the effectiveness of the assignment of different amounts of homework. Aims: This study analyses the differential effect of homework amount on various facets of Chinese students' mathematics achievement using a longitudinal design. It aims, thereby, to contribute to the existing knowledge of homework effectiveness and mathematics learning and to provide insights for student development. Sample: The sample included 2383 grade 9 students from a mid-sized city with a moderate level of economic and educational development in central China. Methods: We administered a student-reported questionnaire, collected school reports of mathematics achievements to track retrospective longitudinal variations in mathematics over half a year and analysed the differential effectiveness of homework on mathematics achievement at four hierarchical cognitive levels with Hierarchical Linear Model. Results: The results indicated that assigning more homework at the class level could enhance students' mathematics achievement at a low cognitive level, although this effectiveness tended to disappear when the set homework time reached about 1.5-2 h. We did not find evidence that assigning more homework enhances students' mathematics achievement at higher cognitive levels. Conclusions: Overall, this study provides evidence on the effectiveness of homework and offers implications for educational practice and future research.

Improving the management of principals has been proven to be an effective strategy to reduce preschool teachers' turnover. However, relevant empirical evidence for preschool teachers is still insufficient. A total of 3623 preschool teachers from the Chinese mainland participated in the current study through random cluster sampling and were administered self-report questionnaires to measure their principal's restrictive behavior, work-family conflict, effort-reward imbalance (ERI), and turnover intention. This study used serial mediation models to examine the direct relationship between the principal's restrictive behavior and preschool teachers' turnover intention, as well as the indirect relationship between the two variables through the independent and serial mediating roles of ERI and work--family conflict (including work-to-family conflict [WFC] and family-to-work conflict [FWC]). Results showed that among Chinese preschool teachers, (1) the direct relationship between the principal's restrictive behavior and turnover intention was significant; (2) ERI mediated the relationship between the principal's restrictive behavior and turnover intention; (3) WFC and FWC both mediated the relationship between the principal's restrictive behavior and turnover intention; and (4) a serial mediating effect of ERI and WFC/FWC was observed. The findings have theoretical and practical significance for interventions to reduce preschool teachers' turnover.

Smartphone multitasking is prevalent in university classrooms, yet the nature and characteristics of this behavior have not been sufficiently understood. This empirical study explores in-class smartphone multitasking behaviors using diverse research approaches to achieve a more authentic and holistic understanding of this pervasive behavior. First, semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the prevalence of in-class smartphone use, the types of smartphone tasks that students engaged in, and the modes of smartphone multitasking. Experience-sampling method (ESM) was used to capture the frequency and duration of smartphone use. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was applied to validate the data collected in the former stage. The results provide a detailed and comprehensive account of in-class smartphone multitasking behaviors, including its prevalence, task types, modes, frequency, and duration. These findings highlight the need for educational researchers and practitioners to consider this behavior from multiple perspectives and with a holistic approach.

Whilst China has become home to the second largest doctoral education system in the world, with over 20% of its doctoral graduates taking up postdoctoral researcher positions inside and outside of China, a lack of information regarding the expectations of these doctoral graduates in pursuing postdocs has resulted in a failure to meet their expectations, leading to insufficient institutional support for their career development. In order to improve this situation and provide more tailored institutional support for Chinese postdocs, we conducted interviews with 30 doctoral graduates from elite Chinese universities from February 2020 to December 2021 to understand their expectations for and experiences of postdocs. The data identified four expected-to-accumulated capitals during postdoc experiences: personal scientific capital, discipline-related social capital, institution-related social capital and family-related social capital. Among these, the primary consideration for engaging in postdocs is to enhance personal scientific capital in both qualitative and quantitative aspects. Chinese doctoral graduates who choose domestic postdocs have higher expectations for increasing institution-based social capital, while those who go abroad expect to develop discipline-related social capital within the international academic community. Understanding these expectations will be instrumental in developing optimal approaches to providing institutional support for the career development of Chinese postdocs.

The online and offline blended learning mode based on SPOC has gradually become a popular teaching mode in higher institutions due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in SPOC-based blended learning environments continue facing problems of low participation and persistent intention. In order to explore the influencing factors of EFL students' continuance intentions to learn under the SPOC blended learning environment, this study recruits 48 EFL students from three higher vocational colleges based on the grounded theory. Through the triple coding method of open, axis, and selective coding based on the grounded theory and the used of software Nvivo to conduct a triple coding analysis of the text data obtained from the in-depth interviews and focus group interviews, a theoretical model of the influencing factors of EFL students' continuous learning intention (pre-influencing factors, external situational factors, and continuance intention) is proposed. Besides, a systematic framework based on stakeholders response to improve EFL students' continuance learning intentions in SPOC-based blended learning environments is constructed accordingly. This study can provide reference for basic theory and variable selection for subsequent research on the influencing factors of EFL students' continuance learning intentions in China and elsewhere.

The present study is a reflective nexus analysis of classroom discourse practices that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic crisis induced online teaching and learning. Nexus analysis is an action focused approach to discourse analysis that incorporates aspects of ethnography to examine that actions that make up the discourse in complex social behavior. Through a series of case studies, we examine how teachers adapted to teaching and their reflections on the classroom discourse practices that emerged and their reflections on how students adapted to online learning. Using the initiation-response-evaluation sequence (IRE) as a means of comparison across the case studies we discuss how teachers developed novel practices in the online world where the IRE emerged in either flipped or blended practices. Both teachers and students had adapted to this new context in becoming online teachers and online learners navigating new subject positions that reflect Gee's big 'D' Discourse. The study also illustrates how nexus analysis can be used as a reflective analysis through an examination of the discourses in place, interaction order, and historical body(ies) that were affected by the move to online teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This study examines homeroom teachers' motivation and morality in their classroom-level leadership in China. Data are drawn from questionnaires completed by 137 junior middle school homeroom teachers from Tianjin city, and semi-structured interviews with 10 of them. The participating homeroom teachers saw themselves as having high levels of both motivation and teacher morality. And the variable -- teacher with a master's degree -- have significant correlations with teachers' perceptions of motivation. This study suggests a "morality-motivation-management" framework for understanding the interaction of motivation and morality in homeroom teachers' classroom-level leadership in China.

Exploring the relationship between teacher support and students' learning engagement in high school information technology courses can help improve students' learning ability. The researchers took 246 high school students from a city in China as the research subjects and used structural equation modeling to explore the relationship between teacher support and learning engagement in high school information technology courses from the perspective of computer self-efficacy. The results show that teacher support, computer self-efficacy, and learning engagement are positively correlated. Teacher support has a positive effect on information technology learning engagement, and computer self-efficacy plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between teacher support and information technology learning engagement.

There are limited studies involving the relationship between preschool teachers' job burnout and their professional engagement and career development aspirations. This study classified latent profiles according to job burnout indices for Chinese preschool teachers and examined the characteristics of each profile and how they affect professional engagement and career development aspirations. A cluster sample of 1000 preschool teachers (54 males and 946 females; average age = 30.93, SD = 9.91) was recruited to complete questionnaires regarding job burnout, professional engagement and career development aspirations. Results indicated that preschool teachers' job burnout can be divided into four latent classes: 1) low burnout (9%); 2) exogenous burnout (42%); 3) endogenous burnout (44%) and 4) high burnout (5%). The demographic variables such as gender, marital status, working years, preschool location and job category have a significant impact on the potential categories of preschool teachers' job burnout. Furthermore, the four categories of job burnout show significant differences in the level of professional engagement and career development aspirations and its dimensions, except the leadership aspiration dimension.

Students' epistemologies of experimental physics refer to how they understand the role of experimentation as well as the experimental operation and design and communication of results in physics. This research aimed to find whether students in inquiry-based physics laboratory activities show more expert-like epistemologies of experimental physics and better course performance relative to courses using cookbook guided laboratory activities. The participants consisted of two classes of students in a Chinese university. They were divided into control group and experimental group. The experimental group was taught with inquiry-based teaching, while the control group was using cookbook teaching. Each group was taught by the same lecturer. Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey for Experimental Physics were used to investigate students' epistemologies about the nature of experimental physics. It was found that students in a traditional cookbook guided laboratory showed significant negative shifts on personal epistemologies, and in contrast, students' epistemologies of experimental physics in inquiry-based laboratory had been significantly improved. The increase of scores in the control group was higher than the experiment group on experimental physics learning performance. The results were slightly different from other studies, some possible explanations were given.

Self-regulation develops rapidly during early childhood and is essential for academic and social adjustment. However, previous research has attempted to define the conceptualization and structure of self-regulation differently, leaving the field with an incomplete picture. The nature of the relations between self-regulation and early child outcomes and the factors that affect these relations are not well understood. This meta-analysis synthesized results from 57 studies (109 effect sizes; total n = 15,760, age range = 36-96 months) to investigate the relations between the behavioral, cognitive, and emotional aspects of self-regulation and academic and social competence. We also examined the moderating effects of individual and study characteristics. Results showed that the behavioral and cognitive aspects of self-regulation were associated with math, language, and literacy performance, and all aspects of self-regulation were related to social competence, but with varied magnitude. Moderating effects were identified in several associations in which the self-regulation assessment approach was the most important moderator, with parent-report measures consistently producing smaller effect sizes. Overall, the findings support the multidimensionality of self-regulation and reveal differential relations between its components and child outcomes. The mechanism of these associations and the choice of self-regulation measures and approaches, and implications for research and professional practices, are discussed.

Whether faculty research affects college student learning has long been the subject of debate. Previous studies use subjective measures of student learning; focus on correlation rather than causation; and typically focus on one college, thus lacking generalizability. Using unique, large-scale survey and assessment data that we collected from nationally representative samples of STEM undergraduates in China, India, and Russia, as well as a causal identification strategy that accounts for differential sorting of students to faculty, we present generalizable estimates of the effect of faculty research on objective, standardized measures of student learning. Results show that faculty research has a negative effect on student learning, suggesting direct trade-offs between the university's dual mission of producing research and learning.

With the rapid development of mobile information technology and social media networks, it is feasible for college English teachers to get access to social networks such as QQ, Email and MSN as a way of practicing English writing beyond classroom. Similarly, it is also possible for teachers to utilize WeChat Platform where online communities for students and teachers can be established to combine collaborative and mobile learning together as a complementary way of classroom writing teaching. WeChat Platform, as the most popular software in China, owns the advantages of transmitting instant message, videos and pictures, which supplies students more chances to collaborate and interact with each other/one another at different stages of writing tasks. This research explores the application collaborative learning of college English writing on WeChat Platform. Based on the one-semester research as well as the questionnaire of the pre-test and post-test, it is revealed that, although there are still a few challenges for students and teachers to face, this mode of college English writing contributes to cultivating the students' team spirit, enhancing their initiative, improving their writing efficiency and developing their critical thinking by engaging in student-student and student-teacher collaboration and interaction, information sharing, communicating and socializing with classmates.

This study attempts to provide an in-depth understanding of the influence of collaborative digital gameplay on students' behavioural, emotional and cognitive engagement in mathematics. This mixed-method study used pre- (N = 45) and post-test (N = 43) engagement surveys and photo-elicitation interviews (N = 6) to investigate how a six-day experiment involving collaborative digital gameplay on Wuzzit Trouble affects students' engagement in mathematics. The quantitative results showed collaborative digital gameplay did not elicit a significant increase in students' engagement in mathematics from pre-test to post-test. Moreover, the qualitative results of analyzing the measurement of three-dimensional engagement showed four factors -- learning achievement, teacher support, peer collaboration and task characteristics -- were associated with students' engagement in a collaborative digital gameplay classroom. The findings suggest the classroom context plays an important role in three-dimensional engagement, which efficiently improve students' conceptual understanding and arithmetic skills.

Minority education in contemporary China consists of two systems: a bilingual education system that greatly emphasizes the ethnic minority language, and a monolingual education system with instruction only in the Chinese language. These two different language-based programs have a significant influence on self-identity. This article, which is based on 57 in-depth interviews with young Mongols, Tibetans, and Uyghurs, examines the distinct conceptions of ethnicity held by ethnic-language-educated and Chinese-language-educated minorities and their distinct paths of ethnic identity formation. Language is central to the former group's self-identity, which is nurtured in community life and conferred by their ancestors. They revere tradition and have moral pride in preserving their ethnic culture. In contrast, the ethnic minorities educated in Chinese often view ethnicity as an individual calling. Their ethnic consciousness is enhanced through reflective learning, not communal participation. Education experiences, conditioned by social factors, result in the acquisition of different social and cultural capitals and largely explain this divergence. This study offers a reflection on the limitations of the two dominant paradigms--namely, cultural assimilation and linguistic nativism--that shape the study of language, education, and ethnic identity formation.

Framed by social learning theory, the study examines a set of personal and social factors determining off-task social media multitasking inside university classrooms. We aim to clarify the relationships between social media multitasking and self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, multitasking preference as well as peer distraction, and to elucidate the interactive relationships between these factors. Questionnaire data from 203 university students in China show that academic self-efficacy fully mediates the association between intrinsic motivation and off-task multitasking. Moreover, multitasking preference partially mediates the association between peer distraction and off-task multitasking during class time. The findings of the study contribute to a deeper understanding of why students multitask during class, which can inform the development of strategies for combating social media distraction and enhancing students' learning engagement.

This paper is a report of a cross-cultural online collaboration between two cohorts of pre-service teachers in Hong Kong, China and an American university in St. Paul, Minnesota. It explicates the pedagogical design and implementation of online tools for group collaboration and students' perceptions of the benefits and challenges. Multiple web-based tools (e.g. Slack, Zoom) were selected and recommended to the students to facilitate resource sharing, communication, and artefact construction. Overall, students valued the experience of collaborating in a global virtual team in spite of some challenges encountered. Findings from this study indicated that the merits and perils of cross-cultural online collaboration coexisted and centered on three aspects: cross-cultural communication, group collaboration, and technological tools. The students greatly appreciated the values of online tools and manifested the ability to appropriate the tools to fulfill the needs of group work. The implications for pedagogical design are also discussed and technological tools supporting cross-cultural online collaboration are recommended.

Objective: To obtain information on the current clinical research training status and evaluate the training needs comprehensively for medical staff in hospitals. Methods: This survey was initiated and conducted by the Health and Family Planning Commission of Shenzhen in conjunction with the Peking University Clinical Research Institute (Shenzhen) from Sep 2016 through Nov 2016. It was planned that no less than 10% of the total staff from each participating hospital were invited to complete the survey. All participants filled out the questionnaire anonymously and voluntarily. Results: A total of 644 subjects from 12 hospitals completed the survey with the response rate of 28.7%. The majority of respondents (80%) have attended training related to clinical research knowledge and skills, however, medical research ethical aspects and statistics knowledge have been provided only for 40% and 27% of respondents, respectively. With regard to preference on training subjects and contents, Protocol design and development (74%) is ranked first, followed by the data analysis and summary (59%) among those researchers from medical professions. Project management and quality control course are mostly demanded for technicians and nurses (53%). Unpredictably, no more than 40% of the respondents consider that it is necessary to receive "Regulation and Research ethics" course even for those Principal investigators. Conclusions: Our survey results indicated that training subjects on protocol design and research ethics are urgently needed and relatively inadequate in China. An appropriate clinical research competency training model should be developed and provided for hospital staffs in China.

Precise protein supplementation strategies for muscle improvement are still lacking. The timing or type of protein supplementation has been debated as a window of opportunity to improve muscle mass, strength, and physical performance. We conducted a network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials with protein supplements and resistance training. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and SPORTDiscus databases were searched until May 1, 2023. We included 116 eligible trials with 4,711 participants that reported on 11 timing and 14 types of protein supplementation. Compared with placebo, protein supplementation after exercise (mean difference [MD]: 0.54 kg [95% confidence intervals 0.10, 0.99] for fat-free mass, MD: 0.34 kg [95% confidence intervals 0.10, 0.58] for skeletal muscle mass) and at night (MD: 2.85 kg [0.49, 5.22] for handgrip strength, MD: 12.12 kg [3.26, 20.99] for leg press strength) was most effective in improving muscle mass and strength, respectively (moderate certainty). Milk proteins (milk, whey protein, yogurt, casein, and bovine colostrum), red meat, and mixed protein were effective for gains in both muscle mass and strength (moderate certainty). No timing or type of protein showed a significant enhancement in physical performance (timed up-to-go test, 6-min walk test, and gait speed). Pre/postexercise and Night are key recommended times of protein intake to increase muscle mass and strength, respectively. Milk proteins are the preferred types of protein supplements for improving muscle mass and strength. Future randomized controlled trials that directly compare the effects of protein timing or types are needed. This trial was registered at International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews as CRD42022358766. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Clinical nurses play a vital role in healthcare. Their innovative behavior is crucial for improving patient care, advancing the profession, and ensuring the healthcare industry's continued success. Many studies have highlighted the importance of nurse innovative behavior, but the link between their innovative behavior, structural empowerment, and decent work perception remains unclear. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between innovative behavior, structural empowerment, and decent work perception among the Chinese clinical nurses and identify the mediating role of decent work perception. Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was employed, and from July 2023 to April 2024, 1,513 clinical nurses were recruited from 8 tertiary grade-A hospitals across three cities in China. Data from the Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire, the Nurse Innovation Behavior Scale, the Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, and the Decent Work Perception Scale were collected through convenience sampling and analyzed using descriptive statistics, univariate correlation, and process plug-in mediation effect analyses. Results: The total scores of innovative behavior, structural empowerment, and decent work perception were 28.36 ± 6.25, 51.15 ± 12.63, and 42.97 ± 9.25, respectively. Innovative behavior was significantly, moderately and positively correlated with structural empowerment (r = 0.657, p < 0.01) and decent work perception (r = 0.618, p < 0.01); decent work perception played a partial mediating role between innovative behavior and structural empowerment (52.5%). Conclusion: The innovative behavior, structural empowerment, and decent work perception among the Chinese clinical nurses were relatively moderate, indicating a need for improvement. Structural empowerment perception can, directly and indirectly, impact innovative behavior through decent work perception among Chinese clinical nurses. Nursing managers should promote innovative behavior of clinical nurses by raising structural empowerment and decent work perception to improve the quality of clinical nursing. Thus, it can be improved by creating a positive empowerment climate for clinical nurses and providing them with the information, resources, support, and opportunities for their jobs and improving their level of structural empowerment and decent work perception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurse shortage has become an ongoing and urgent problem worldwide. The high turnover rate of new nurses, who are the primary backup personnel for the nursing force, exacerbates the possibility of this situation. Transition shock has been demonstrated to be critical in influencing new nurses' retention intention. However, the mechanisms underlying this impact remain unclear. Objectives: This study aims to explore transition shock's effect mechanism on retention intention among new nurses, and to clarify the career calling's mediating role and the resilience's moderating role in this relationship. Methods: This is a multicenter cross-sectional study. From January 28 to February 20, 2024, an online questionnaire survey was administered among 739 new nurses from 11 hospitals in Shanxi Province, China, using convenience sampling. The survey included a demographic information questionnaire, the Transition Shock of Newly Graduated Nurses Scale, the Medical Staff Resilience Scale, the Career Calling Scale, and the Nurses' Intention to Stay Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and the PROCESS Macro Model 4 and 7 for the regression. Results: Transition shock was significantly negatively correlated with retention intention (p < 0.001). Career calling played a partial mediating role between transition shock and retention intention, accounting for 63.53% of the total effect. Further, resilience moderated transition shock's effect on career calling; thereby, a moderated mediation model was developed. Conclusions: Transition shock reduces retention intention by decreasing new nurses' levels of career calling, while resilience moderates this mechanism. Nursing managers can adopt measures to increase retention intention among new nurses by reducing their transition shock and enhancing their career calling education and resilience training. Trial and protocol registration: This study was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (http://www.chictr.org/cn/) under the following ID: ChiCTR2400080373. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The introduction of Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instruction at Higher Vocational Colleges (HVCs) signifies a shift in education. Understanding the factors that affect deep learning in this SPOC context is crucial for improving educational outcomes. Objectives: By employing grounded theory, we seek to explore the key factors that shape deep learning experiences for students in SPOC learning environments at HVCs and clarify the interrelationships among these influencing factors. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 18 EFL students and 4 teachers and NVivo 11 software was utilised to aid in the qualitative analysis of the collected data. Through a rigorous three‐tier coding analysis, an "environment‐person‐mediation ‐behaviour" (EPMB) model was constructed, aiming to clarify the mechanisms that influence deep learning among EFL students in HVCs. Results: Our findings reveal that intrinsic motivation and cognitive abilities are crucial for deep learning among EFL students in HVCs. Blended learning settings, English curriculum satisfaction, and English teachers' teaching methods serve as situational influencing factors. These factors are interconnected, mediating positive or negative effects on deep learning through various intermediaries like continuity, attraction, guidance, motivation, and regulation. Implications: The findings offer pedagogical insights for HVC stakeholders, enabling them to enhance students' deep learning experiences. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: SPOCs are reshaping EFL instruction in HVCs, emphasising active student involvement and instructor guidance.Challenges in SPOC‐based blended learning include concerns about depth due to temporal and spatial separation.Current foreign language designs lack the integration of deep learning concepts, revealing gaps in understanding influencing factors. What this paper adds: The study introduces an "environment‐person‐mediation ‐behaviour" (EPMB) model to uncover intricate factors influencing deep learning in SPOC environments.Intrinsic motivation and cognitive abilities are identified as fundamental factors, with situational contributors such as blended‐learning settings and curriculum satisfaction.Logical relationships among major factors are unveiled, explaining how continuity, attraction, guidance, motivation, and regulation mediate deep learning experiences. Implications for practice or policy: Stakeholders in HVCs can use pedagogical insights to enhance students' deep learning experiences in SPOC environments.Curriculum providers should prioritise practical, professional, and student‐specific English curriculum designs.Teachers should integrate English language learning with professional course content and create specialised materials to enhance language learning practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Contour farming technology plays a key role in reducing soil erosion, enhancing water use efficiency, and fostering sustainable agricultural development. Despite being a straightforward yet efficacious farming technique, it has not seen widespread implementation in China. Considering the deteriorating quality of arable lands in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China (BSR-NEC), it is necessary to investigate spatial patterns and identify suitable areas for contour farming in this region. To achieve this objective, spatial autocorrelation and grouping analysis methods were employed to classify the land into four categories of suitability for contour farming: highly suitable, moderately suitable, generally suitable, and unsuitable. The results reveal that: 1) the contour farming suitable area in BSR-NEC covers 89 861.32 km2, accounting for 21.59% of arable land as of 2020. Heilongjiang Province owns the largest suitable area of 32 853.68 km2, and Inner Mongolia has the highest proportion of 28.89%. 2) In terms of the spatial distribution, regions with higher suitability for contour farming are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region, particularly Nenjiang City (Heilongjiang Province), which has the highest area of 2593.07 km2. Areas with a high proportion of suitable arable lands for contour farming are mainly found in the Da Hinggan Mountains and Changbai Mountains regions, with Ergun City (Inner Mongolia) having the highest proportion at 47.2%. Regions with higher suitability and proportion are concentrated in the Da Hinggan Mountains region, primarily covering the Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang. 3) Regarding spatial clustering, both the area and proportion of suitable contour farming areas exhibit noticeable clustering effects, though not entirely consistent. 4) Group analysis results designate 148 counties in BSR-NEC as highly suitable areas, predominantly located in the Changbai Mountains region, Liaodong Peninsula, Hulun Buir Plateau, and the north and south regions of the Da Hinggan Mountains. The zoning of suitable areas for contour farming in BSR-NEC informs the strategic development of policies and measures, allowing for the implementation of targeted policies in distinct areas suitable for contour farming. This provides a valuable reference for promoting contour farming technology more effectively and efficiently.re effectively and efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unmet need for mental health care is a global concern. There is a lack of cross-cultural studies examining adolescent help-seeking behavior from both formal and informal sources, including both high-and lower-income countries. This study investigates mental health help-seeking behavior in eight Asian and European countries. Data from 13,184 adolescents aged 13–15 (51% girls) was analysed using mixed-effects logistic regression with school-wise random intercepts to compare countries and genders. Although a significant proportion of adolescents considered getting or sought informal help, formal help-seeking remained exceptionally low, especially in middle-income countries (< 1%), while it ranged from 2 to 7% in high-income countries. Among adolescents with high emotional and behavioral problems (scoring above the 90th percentile on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), 1–2% of those in middle-income countries and 6–25% of those in high-income countries sought formal help. Girls generally seek more help than boys. The study shows the most adolescents do not receive formal help for mental health problems. The unmet need gap is enormous, especially in lower-income countries. Informal sources of support, including relatives, peers, and teachers, play a crucial role, especially in lower-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether listening comprehension played a mediator role between vocabulary and reading comprehension. 127 Mandarin-speaking children were longitudinally assessed at 6;4, 6;10, 7;4, and 7;10. Data were collected in four batteries of tests implemented at the beginning of first grade (T[subscript 1]); at mid-first grade (T[subscript 2]); at the beginning of the second grade (T[subscript 3]); and at mid-second grade (T[subscript 4]). Participants' IQ, decoding, vocabulary breadth and depth knowledge were measured at T[subscript 1], listening comprehension at T[subscript 2], and reading comprehension at T[subscript 3] and T[subscript 4] respectively. Path analysis was utilized for analysis. Vocabulary breadth was found to contribute to reading comprehension via a full mediator role of listening comprehension with a lapse of 1 and 1.5 years; however, vocabulary depth directly influenced reading comprehension with the same time lapse over the effect of decoding and listening comprehension.

The demand for large-scale assessments in higher education, especially at an international scale, is growing. A major challenge of conducting these assessments, however, is that they require understanding and balancing the interests of multiple stakeholders (government officials, university administrators, and students) and also overcoming potential unwillingness of these stakeholders to participate. In this paper, we take the experience of the Study of Undergraduate Performance (SUPER) in conducting a large-scale international assessment as a case study. We discuss ways in which we mitigated perceived risks, built trust, and provided incentives to ensure the successful engagement of stakeholders during the study's implementation.

Expressive writing intervention has been demonstrated to yield health benefits for women. However, there is a dearth of studies examining the effects of such interventions on women who have experienced pregnancy loss, particularly in China. To investigate the potential effects of expressive writing intervention on grief alleviation, coping style improvement, and promotion of post-traumatic growth among women experiencing pregnancy loss. An open, randomized controlled trial was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Beijing, China. Eighty-two women who had recently experienced pregnancy loss were randomly assigned (1:1) to either the expressive writing intervention group or the control group. Over a period of five weeks following their discharge, women in the intervention group participated in weekly expressive writing sessions where they were instructed to produce at least three essays lasting fifteen to twenty minutes each, based on assigned themes. Assessments of grief, coping styles, and post-traumatic growth were conducted at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and one month post-intervention. The expressive writing intervention demonstrates a significant promotion of post-traumatic growth in women immediately after the intervention (P ＜0.05) and at the 1-month follow-up (P ＜0.05). However, it does not alleviate grief or improve coping styles among women. Expressive writing has demonstrated efficacy in facilitating women's post-traumatic growth and can be implemented as a clinical intervention. However, further investigation is warranted to explore the impact of expressive writing on grief and coping styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethnic minorities in China follow two major linguistic educational systems. They receive an education and write the college entrance exam in either Chinese or their own ethnic language. However, the existing literature views the expansion of Chinese education to the ethnic regions of China in recent decades as a forcible process of cultural and linguistic assimilation, so that Chinese-educated minority students become more sinicized (Han Chinese) and their own ethnic identity is eroded and eventually lost. This study examines this alleged assimilation process based on interviews with 30 Chinese-educated ethnic minority young people, including the Mongols, Tibetans, and Uighurs. Our study shows that the Chinese education process conditions the manners, skills and life goals of minority young people that facilitate them to access mainstream Chinese society. Nevertheless, they still retain ethnic ties through family life and many of them show a strong interest in their own ethnic culture.

Aims: To evaluate the sleep quality of patients with atrial fibrillation and its influencing factors, and explore whether illness perception mediates the relationship between family function and sleep quality. Design: Cross‐sectional survey conducted from November 2020 to November 2021. Methods: A total of 191 participants validly completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Family APGAR Index and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t‐tests, one‐way ANOVA, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Bootstrapping was used to detect the mediating role of illness perception. Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation reported poor sleep quality, good family function and a moderate level of illness perception. The better the family function, the lower the level of illness perception and the better sleep quality in patients with atrial fibrillation. Patients with commercial medical insurance had lower levels of sleep quality relative to self‐financed patients. EHRA III and EHRA IV patients had worse sleep quality than EHRA II patients. Illness perception played a significant mediating role in the relationship between family function and sleep quality. Conclusions: Patients with atrial fibrillation have poorer sleep quality, and the type of medical insurance and EHRA score are independent indicators related to their sleep quality. Future health education and interventions need to focus on strengthening and improving the emotional support of family members in order to improve family function and reduce illness perception, thereby improving sleep quality of patients with atrial fibrillation. Impact: This study provides further evidence that nurses need to enhance their awareness and provide ongoing education to better identify patients with AF who have family dysfunction and perceived high levels of illness threat perceptions, as these factors negatively impact sleep quality. Reporting Method: This study was reported in strict compliance with the strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) guideline. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's healthcare system faces significant challenges, notably the underutilization of primary healthcare resources and the inefficient distribution of healthcare services. In response, this article explores the effectiveness of the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NRCMS) in improving healthcare accessibility and primary care utilization. Employing a multi-period difference-in-differences model and using data from the China Family Panel Studies spanning 2012-20, it aims to empirically examine how health insurance policy incentivizing primary care influences rural residents' health-seeking behaviour and enhances the efficiency of resource utilization. Results indicate that NRCMS significantly improves the probability of rural residents seeking healthcare services at primary healthcare centres (PHCs), especially for outpatient services. This effect can be attributed to the substantially higher outpatient reimbursement rates at PHCs compared to higher-level medical institutions. Conversely, the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance fails to increase urban residents' engagement with primary care, reinforcing the role of price sensitivity in healthcare choices among insured lower-income rural population. Furthermore, the study reveals a stronger preference for PHCs among younger, less-educated insured residents and highlights a synergistic effect between the availability of primary healthcare resources and insurance coverage on primary care utilization. These findings offer crucial implications for refining health insurance policies to improve healthcare service accessibility and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To explore women's and health professionals' views on the development of a midwifery‐led mHealth app intervention in antenatal care and their demands for app functionality. Design: Descriptive qualitative research was utilized. Methods: In total, 15 pregnant or postpartum women were interviewed via in‐depth interviews and 10 health professionals including obstetricians, midwives and obstetric nurses were invited to participate in a focus group discussion (FGD). All interviews and the FGD were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Four key themes emerged from the data, including (1) limitations of current maternity care services; (2) potential benefits for mHealth app‐based midwifery care; (3) possible challenges for providing midwifery care through mHealth apps and (4) suggestions and needs for developing a midwifery‐led mHealth app. Participants agreed on the potential need of developing a midwifery‐led mHealth app in antenatal care to increase access to midwifery care services and to meet women's diverse needs. Participants preferred to develop professional, reliable, full‐featured and interactive mobile applications. The main functions of midwifery‐led mHealth apps included personalized assessment and health education, self‐monitoring and feedback, data sharing and interactive functions. Women mentioned that online communication and consultation with midwives could help them receive continuous support outside facilities. Health professionals expressed it would be of great convenience and timeliness to send personalized messages to women and to inform them of healthy lifestyles during pregnancy. The challenges included a shortage of human resources, medico‐legal risks associated with mHealth and data security risks. Conclusions: This study explores the individual views and functional needs of target users and healthcare providers for developing a midwifery‐led mHealth app in antenatal care, which will serve as a reference for future application development. Impact: Our study has important and practical implications for guiding the development of future midwifery‐led mHealth app interventions. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a multi-ethnic country, but inter-ethnic disparities in alcohol-related harm to children have not been described. In this study, we assessed differences in prevalence of self-reported alcohol-related harm to children in Yi and Han households in Chuxiong Yi Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. We conducted a cross-sectional study among caregivers in households with a child age less than 18 years using structured questionnaire interview. Participants included 241 Yi caregivers and 610 Han caregivers (overall refusal rate = 1.1%). Heavy drinking was more common in Yi households than Han households (41.9% vs. 30.8%, respectively), but there was no difference in alcohol-related harm to children (21.2% vs. 17.9%; Adjusted OR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.65, 1.46). Caveats such as social desirability in reporting sensitive issues and the cross-sectional study design should be considered in the interpretation of the study findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development and utilization of solar energy have become one of the effective ways to achieve the goal of “carbon neutrality and emission peak” in China. China has high-quality solar photovoltaic (PV) resources and huge potential for rural rooftop PV installations. However, the current amount of rural rooftop PV installation is very small, so it is important to reveal the key influencing factors and promotion policies for rural residents to retrofit rooftop PV. Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), after adding cultural concepts and environmental awareness adjustment variables, this paper constructs a regression model of rural residents’ willingness to retrofit rooftop PV on 375 valid questionnaire data from 27 provinces and autonomous regions in China. The results show that: (1) Perceived trust, perceived ease of use, and subjective norms significantly influence the willingness of rural residents to adopt rooftop PV retrofits. (2) Cultural concepts and environmental awareness significantly moderate adoption intention and related pathways. Finally, this paper proposes policy recommendations accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supervision is a key link in social work practice and plays an important role in the cultivation of social work professionals. This study investigated the impact of social work internship supervision on the employment intention of 271 social work interns from five universities in Guangxi, China. The results show that the employment intention of male students is higher than that of female students, and the employment intention of interns with urban household registration is higher than that of interns with rural household registration; internship investment and school–enterprise cooperation have a positive impact on the exertion of the supervision function, but internship investment plays a full mediating role between the supervision function and employment intention, whilst school–enterprise cooperation regulates the relationship between the supervision function and internship investment. Real factors, such as economy and social status, continue to be important factors influencing social work students' employment intention. When conducting social work internship educational activities, schools should create a favourable internship environment and working conditions for interns and maintain good cooperation with internship organisations. This will facilitate internship supervision and enhance employment intention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of China's initiative to construct a new power system focusing on new energy, optimizing power grid investment holds significant importance. This study aims to investigate whether the application of artificial intelligence (AI) contributes to power grid investment efficiency. By considering diverse factors, power grid investment efficiency in China is assessed by using a Slack-based measure model. Then we analyze the relationship between AI and power grid investment efficiency, as well as their nonlinear threshold effect. We find a notable increase in China's power grid investment efficiency, accompanied by evident regional differences. In addition, the utilization of AI exerts a significantly positive effect on power grid investment efficiency. Particularly, such a promoting effect is more pronounced in the China Southern Power Grid cohort and remains significant during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Moreover, grid investment exhibits a double-threshold effect, and it diminishes the contributing effect of AI on power grid investment efficiency. AI shows a single threshold effect on power grid investment efficiency as electricity sales increase, and the positive impact manifests only when electricity sales surpass a specific threshold. These insights are important for the strategic deployment of power grid projects through using AI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]