The Relationship between TRP (Total Physical Response) with Memory of Chinese Characters

Chinese characters are considered by many people as one of the most difficult words to read. The purpose of this project is to exam if Total Physical Response (TPR) strategy improves non-native speakers’ memory of Chinese characters. The action research took place in a high school class which was composed by 4 girls and 5 boys. In the first two weeks, regular vocabulary teaching methods were offered and several vocabulary quizzes were taken by students. For the next two weeks, TPR strategy was added to the vocabulary teaching and students took a couple quizzes again. The comparisons between the two groups of data show the vocabulary learning with TPR strategy was more efficient than without it. The research project supports the belief that TPR strategy should be used for Chinese vocabulary teaching in Chinese classrooms

The role of Guanxi networks in vegetable supply chains: Empirical evidence from Jiangsu Province, P.R. China

This study at tempt s to empirically investigate the effect of guanxi networks on buyer - seller relationships and on firm performance in vegetable industry in P.R. China. We interviewed 167 vegetable producers and 84 companies to test our conceptual relationship mo del. Results demons t rate that guanxi networks significantly improve buyer - seller relationships regarding interpersonal trust and transaction specific investment s. Buyer - seller relationships show significant impacts on chain performance. Results imply that the effects of guanxi networks differ for producers and companies in the chains. Study also revealed that transaction related at tributes (risk, channel requirements and transaction conditions) also influence buyer - seller relationships and chain performance jointly with guanxi networks. Paper ends with several managerial implications regarding the use of guanxi networks in business practices.Guanxi Network, Buyer - Seller Relationship, Performance, Vegetable, China, Agribusiness,

Conceivability and Possibility — Conceivability as an Epistemic Guide to Possibility

In this dissertation, I evaluate whether conceivability can be regarded as an epistemic guide to possibility

Do land markets improve land-use efficiency? evidence from Jiangsu, China

Inefficient use of scarce and fragmented land challenges the sustainability of agriculture. Land markets may improve land-use efficiency. In recent years, China has employed various instruments to promote land markets. This paper investigates whether land markets affect households' land-use efficiency, based on data from 1,202 farm households in Jiangsu Province. The measure of land-use efficiency was derived from a stochastic frontier production function, and a control function approach was employed to correct for selection bias. The results indicated that many households are using land inefficiently. While renting in land increases land-use efficiency, it is not affected by renting out land, implying that households are not giving up land for efficiency gains. We also provide suggestive evidence that the positive effect of renting in land results from abundant agricultural labour due to labour market failure

Consumers’ preferences for micronutrient strategies in China : a comparison between folic acid supplementation and folate biofortification

AbstractObjectiveDespite public health efforts, folate deficiency is still largely prevalent in poor, rural populations and continues to cause a large burden of disease. The present paper determines and compares consumer preferences for two folate strategies: folic acid supplementationv.folate biofortification, i.e. the enhancement of the folate content in staple crops.DesignExperimental auctions with non-repeated information rounds are applied to rice in order to obtain willingness-to-pay for folate products. Thereby, GM or non-GM folate-biofortified rice (FBR) is auctioned together with rice that is supplemented with free folic acid pills (FAR).SettingShanxi Province (China) as a high-risk region of folate deficiency.SubjectsOne hundred and twenty-six women of childbearing age, divided into a school (n60) and market sample (n66).ResultsDespite differences according to the targeted sample, a general preference for folate biofortification is observed, regardless of the applied breeding technology. Premiums vary between 33·9 % (GM FBR), 36·5 % (non-GM FBR) and 19·0 % (FAR). Zero bidding behaviour as well as the product choice question, respectively, support and validate these findings. The targeted sample, the timing of the auction, the intention to consume GM food and the responsibility for rice purchases are considered key determinants of product choice. A novel ex-post negative valuation procedure shows low consistency in zero bidding.ConclusionsWhile the low attractiveness of FAR provides an additional argument for the limited effectiveness of past folic acid supplementation programmes, the positive reactions towards GM FBR further support its potential as a possible complementary micronutrient intervention.</jats:sec

Increased fibroblast functionality on CNN2-loaded titania nanotubes

Infection and epithelial downgrowth are major problems associated with maxillofacial percutaneous implants. These complications are mainly due to the improper closure of the implant–skin interface. Therefore, designing a percutaneous implant that better promotes the formation of a stable soft tissue biologic seal around percutaneous sites is highly desirable. Additionally, the fibroblast has been proven to play an important role in the formation of biologic seals. In this study, titania nanotubes were filled with 11.2 kDa C-terminal CCN2 (connective tissue growth factor) fragment, which could exert full CCN2 activity to increase the biological functionality of fibroblasts. This drug delivery system was fabricated on a titanium implant surface. CCN2 was loaded into anodized titania nanotubes using a simplified lyophilization method and the loading efficiency was approximately 80%. Then, the release kinetics of CCN2 from these nanotubes was investigated. Furthermore, the influence of CCN2-loaded titania nanotubes on fibroblast functionality was examined. The results revealed increased fibroblast adhesion at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours, increased fibroblast viability over the course of 5 days, as well as enhanced actin cytoskeleton organization on CCN2-loaded titania nanotubes surfaces compared to uncoated, unmodified counterparts. Therefore, the results from this in vitro study demonstrate that CCN2-loaded titania nanotubes have the ability to increase fibroblast functionality and should be further studied as a method of promoting the formation of a stable soft tissue biologic seal around percutaneous sites