Chinese and North American Culture: a New Perspective in Linguistics Studies

We explored the two cultures in the two countries. There has been discussed on Chinese culture and North American culture. Chinese language, ceramics, architecture, music, dance, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts, philosophy, business etiquette, religion, politics, and history have global influence, while its traditions and festivals are also celebrated, instilled, and practiced by people around the world. The culture of North America refers to the arts and other manifestations of human activities and achievements from the continent of North America. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

Sustainable development as a framework for ethics and skills in higher education computing courses

The impact of sustainable development on the curriculum remains variable, and in some disciplines the inclusion is considered by some to be inappropriate or not relevant. This paper considers the ways in which sustainable development can be embedded within the curriculum, with the dual aims of showing how it can be made both relevant to students within the context of their discipline, and how sustainable development can provide a framework for developing an appreciation of the legal, social, ethical and professional (LSEP) aspects of the discipline and to develop awareness of sustainability values in students, i.e. the meaning and aspects of sustainable development. The paper focusses on a case study in embedding sustainable development within Computer Science degree programmes, where the LSEP requirements are recognised by accrediting bodies and by many employers as essential characteristics and skills in graduates. The paper will describe how sustainable development provides an overarching framework within which to explore these issues. Moreover, the paper will include some examples of how this is successful in engaging students who may otherwise struggle to appreciate the LSEP topics. The success will be demonstrated through some objective data showing the impact of this approach to students understanding and acknowledgment of sustainability and how this may be applied to other disciplines and national contexts

Mission (im-)possible? Increasing the participation of female students in university computing courses

In 1990 the Australian Federal government set a target for a 40% enrolment rate of females in all non-traditional areas of study including computer science. In view of this target, the low enrolment of females in computer science at Victoria University is a persisting concern: enrolment rates have continued to decline from 30% in the early 1990s to less than 20% in recent years, despite significant attempts to arrest the decline by introducing annual student recruitment events such as school visits, career nights, and University Open Days. This suggested that the issue of encouraging females to study computing needed to focus more directly on factors deterring females from pursuing computing courses. Misperceptions about the nature of computing studies have long been regarded as such a factor. Accordingly, last year a different initiative was launched. Focusing on girls from the neighbouring high schools, it aimed to dispel the misperceptions, and encourage girls to pursue computing studies, by demonstrating how interesting, easy, and female-friendly computing is at Victoria University. The girls were invited to spend a day in the shoes of a computing student at the University by participating in specially designed classroom activities, interacting with female university students, and lunching at the student cafeteria. While the event proved a winner on the day, it remains to be seen if it will translate into improved female enrolments in the future. However, the effort involved in organising the event and the difficulties encountered in the process revealed the extent and complexity of the struggle for increased participation of females in computing studies. The following questions arose: Who is interested in pursuing the cause? Who is prepared to support it? What would it take to make a change? This paper reflects on these issues

Gender digital divide and challenges in undergraduate computer science programs

Previous research revealed a reduced number of female students registered in computer science studies feeling isolated, having reduced confidence, and underperforming. This article explores differences between female and male students in undergraduate computer science programs in a mid-size university in Ontario. Based on Kelly's (2008) three levels of digital divide (resources, instruction, and culture specific knowledge), we explored gender specific challenges for each level. The research shows that, while the first level of digital divide is difficult to detect and the second layer is easily detectable, the third layer of digital divide is particularly pervasive and has a disconcerting outcome.  Key words: digital divide; computer science education; higher education; gender equity.Des recherches antérieures ont révélé un nombre réduit d'étudiantes inscrites dans les études d'informatique. En outre, les élèves restants se sentent isolées, ont réduit la confiance, et sous-performer. Cet article explore les différences entre les étudiants et étudiantes de premier cycle dans les programmes d'informatique dans une université de moyenne dimension en Ontario. Sur la base de Kelly (2008), trois niveaux de la fracture numérique (ressources, l'enseignement et la culture des connaissances spécifiques), nous avons exploré les défis spécifiques au genre pour chaque niveau. La recherche montre que, tandis que le premier niveau de la fracture numérique est difficile à détecter et la deuxième couche est facilement détectable, la troisième couche de la fracture numérique est particulièrement répandue et a un dénouement déconcertant.Mots clés: fracture numérique, enseignement de l'informatique, l'enseignement supérieur, l'équité entre les sexe

Contemporary developments in teaching and learning introductory programming: Towards a research proposal

The teaching and learning of introductory programming in tertiary institutions is problematic. Failure rates are high and the inability of students to complete small programming tasks at the completion of introductory units is not unusual. The literature on teaching programming contains many examples of changes in teaching strategies and curricula that have been implemented in an effort to reduce failure rates. This paper analyses contemporary research into the area, and summarises developments in the teaching of introductory programming. It also focuses on areas for future research which will potentially lead to improvements in both the teaching and learning of introductory programming. A graphical representation of the issues from the literature that are covered in the document is provided in the introduction

The attitudes of university students towards a feminine style of internet language in email: a quantitative study in the south of China

This study focuses on the feminine language style widely used on the Internet by the younger generation in China at the present time and investigates the attitudes of 211 university students with respect to three emails employing different levels of feminine Internet language:minimally feminine Internet language (MiL), moderately feminine Internet language (MoL) and highly feminine Internet language (HiL). The results show that the informants held positive attitudes towards HiL, especially in terms of solidarity, whereas MiL was evaluated comparatively highly in terms of status. The social variable of gender had no impact on the positive evaluation of HiL, which provides grounds for suggesting that the younger Chinese generation is likely to accept and adopt feminine style Internet language, regardless of their own gender

Preservice teachers’ Internet addiction in terms of gender, Internet access, loneliness, and life satisfaction

Abstract The aim of this study is to investigate pre-service teachers' Internet addiction in terms of gender, Internet accessibility, loneliness and life satisfaction. Statistical analyses were completed on the data by the 247 preservice teachers that filled the surveys completely. According to findings, pre-service teachers' level of loneliness and Internet addiction scores is low while their life satisfaction scores are high. Male participants are more addicted to the Internet than female participants. Also those, males and females, who had Internet access, had more tendencies to be addicted to the Internet. There is evidence to indicate a positive correlation between loneliness and Internet addiction, and negative correlation between life satisfaction and Internet addiction. Based on the results several different suggestions are made for continuing research in this field

Gaming and computer science: Bridging the gender-gap

>Magister Scientiae - MScAccording to the literature, women are still unrepresented in the field of information technology. Although many women study computer science at first year level, the dropout rate for women—before they graduate—is high, and if they graduate many decide neither to continue with their studies nor to work in the field of information technology. Research has shown that women who have been exposed to computing at some point during their school career or early in their lives, tend to be more open to choosing a career in computer science and are in many cases successful at it. The aim of this research is to understand what factors influence women to choose a career within computer science and to consider whether gaming would encourage young women to enter the field. Design Science Research was the methodology employed. It was chosen since an artefact was developed. For each of the five steps of this methodology a different method was chosen to address the research question. Surveys were administered to first year computer science students and both IT high school teachers and computer science honours students were interviewed. Non-computer science students were involved in the participatory design process