The roles of different executive functioning skills in young children’s mental computation and applied mathematical problem-solving

This study investigated the relationships of four executive functioning skills (including verbal working memory, spatial working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility) with young children’s mental computation and applied mathematical problem-solving. Two hundred and twenty-five Chinese kindergarteners were tested with a battery of general cognitive, executive functioning and mathematics skills. Results showed that when children’s age, gender, non-verbal intelligence, and listening comprehension skills were controlled, verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility were significant correlates of mental computation, whereas verbal working memory, spatial working memory, and cognitive flexibility were significant correlates of applied mathematical problem-solving. Inhibitory control was not significantly associated with the two domains of mathematics under investigation. The findings highlight the differential roles of different executive functioning skills in early mathematical skills and offer practical implication for helping young children in learning complex mathematical skills.     

陆军初级指挥院校新学员潜在能力测验及其选拔模式的研究

针对陆军初级指挥院校在选材方面的现状，通过百名专家问卷调查，参阅国际现行的有关标准及我军多年来能力培养方面的研究成果．比照陆军初级指挥院校教学大纲所提出的能力培养要素及其要求，构建了陆军初级指挥院校新学员的选拔摸式，确立了淘汰标准。     

Communicating with Children about Sexuality: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Brief Parenting Discussion Group

Journal of Child and Family Studies - This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a brief, group-based parenting intervention for parents of children aged three to 10 years, in improving parental...     

The Influence of Learning Style on English Learning Achievement Among Undergraduates in Mainland China

Learning style is one of the main factors that determines how students learn English and has a significant influence on students’ learning strategy selection, which further affects their learning outcomes (Ehrman and Oxford in Mod Lang J 74(3):311–327, 1990; Oxford in Language learning styles and strategies: an overview, 2003. http://web.ntpu.edu.tw/~language/workshop/read2.pdf). This study examines the learning style preferences of Chinese university students and whether those preferences influence their English achievements. Four hundred undergraduates from one university in eastern mainland China participated in this study. Data from 329 valid questionnaires were analysed. The results revealed that the Chinese university students preferred the visual learning style the most, followed by the auditory and kinaesthetic styles. However, no learning style preference was found to influence the students’ English proficiency. Cultural reasons are discussed to explain the findings, which contradict those of previous studies of learning style theories and practices. This study recommends that Chinese scholars consider issues of English teaching and learning in China and to adopt appropriate teaching methods to effectively improve English teaching.     

Hesitation in communication: Does minority status delay responses?

Past studies indicated that people in a minority (vs. majority) position are slower to express their public/political opinion, and the larger the difference between the size of the two positions, the slower the response. Bassili termed this the minority‐slowness effect (MSE). In the current study, two experiments were conducted to demonstrate that MSE extends to people's understanding of utterances and explored the cognitive basis for this. Participants were asked to judge if an utterance is a ‘direct’ or an ‘indirect’ expression. The results show that participants in the minority (vs. majority) took longer to respond, and the larger the difference between the size of majority and minority, the longer the response latency (Study 1a). Furthermore, participants were aware of their own minority position (Study 1b). In Study 2, when participants were deprived of cognitive resources, MSE disappeared, presumably because participants lack the cognitive resources required to conform to utterance interpretation as favoured by the majority.     

THE EFFECT OF THE AVAILABILITY OF A SIMILAR TOY ON COMPLIANCE WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO SURRENDER A TOY AMONG PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

We evaluated the effect of the availability of a similar toy on compliance with an instruction to surrender a toy among three preschool children. First, high‐preference and medium‐preference toys were identified for each participant. During the treatment evaluation, reversal designs were used to examine compliance with an instruction to surrender these toys when a toy similar to the target toy was added to the environment. The results indicated that, for two participants, the similar toy intervention increased compliance to moderate levels; a consequence‐based intervention was then added to the similar toy intervention and resulted in high levels of compliance. For the third participant, the similar toy intervention did not increase compliance. A separate consequence‐based intervention was necessary to increase compliance and to demonstrate experimental control. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

构思策略教学改善小学写困生故事文质量的实验研究

采用实验组、控制组前后测实验设计,运用SRSD策略教学模式,对23名小学写困生进行构思策略的训练。实验结果表明,在训练之前,实验组与控制组学生在故事文的长度、6项分质量指标及总体质量上的得分差异均不显著;但在接受策略教学后,实验组学生所写的后测故事文在情节吸引力、条理清晰度和总体质量上的平均得分均显著优于控制组学生,其总体质量的改善效应为0.80。因此,构思策略的教学能显著改善小学写困生的故事文写作质量。     

不同人群对留守儿童问题行为的认知差异研究

通过问卷调查探索不同人群对留守儿童问题行为的认知差异。对五个年级的265名学生及其班级任课教师、监护人及社会一般人群进行问卷团体施测。结果显示:不同人群对留守儿童问题行为认知差异极其显著,其中教师与家长评价最低,一般人群评价次之,学生自评最好;不同群体均认为留守儿童男性问题行为严重于女性;对留守男性儿童,教师评价最低,对留守女性儿童,儿童自评最好;年级主效应极其显著,即随年级增高,问题行为评价越严重。     

American and Chinese Similarities and Differences in Defining and Valuing Creative Products

This review of the literature explores how Americans and Chinese view creativity and what they expect from creative products. American and Chinese explicit beliefs about creativity (i.e., expert opinions) share many similarities. Implicit beliefs, however, show more divergence: Americans tend to value novelty and more “groundbreaking” types of creativity, whereas Chinese tend to appreciate creativity within constraints, such as reworking a traditional concept. The context of how people respond to creativity obviously varies by culture, although there are also some communal and universal creative ideals.     

APC及p63在人口腔鳞状细胞癌发生中的表达及病理意义

为了探讨抑癌基因APC及p63在口腔鳞状细胞癌中的蛋白表达水平和病理意义,实验收集46例人口腔鳞癌石蜡包埋组织,采用elivision染色法检测口腔正常黏膜上皮、上皮异常增生和口腔鳞癌组织中的APC及p63的表达变化,最后将各组份的免疫组化结果与各病例的临床病理学资料使用Kruskal- Wallis检验或Spearman相关性检验,进行统计学处理.结果显示APC蛋白胞浆表达水平与口腔鳞癌的分化呈正相关(P＜0.05),p63蛋白胞核表达水平与口腔鳞癌的分化呈负相关(P＜0.05).APC与其淋巴结有否转移无相关性,而p63与其淋巴结转移有否呈负相关(P＜0.05).因此,APC及p63的表达与口腔鳞癌的发生密切相关,而且与口腔鳞癌的分化程度有关,提示APC和p63可作为口腔鳞癌的发生和预后的检测指标.