A Comparative Study of New Faculty Socialization in Tertiary Education in Taiwan and the U.S.

In order to have a better understanding of new faculty socialization, the purpose of this paper is to explore the experience of new faculty in the anticipatory socialization and entry stage of their career in the academic workplace. What are the experiences they encounter in the new academic environment? What characteristics do they have as new faculty to facilitate their transitions in the new environment? What difficulties do they typically encounter? How do they determine what is valued and what is not valued within institutional expectations?Although the practice of new faculty socialization may differ by variations across institutional types across the board, experienced faculty members of today have a significant responsibility to prepare and support new faculty members in academies. The various pressures and demands on the professoriate in academies may encourage us to reconsideration of the nature of faculty work and the question of how to prepare new faculty members for integrating the academy. The paper begins with an overview of the faculty career and the socialization process, particularly for new faculty and early faculty members (junior faculty) in higher education. Next, I discuss variations of socialization and strategies for new faculty and junior faculty in the academic workplace. Then I illustrate the research method used for this study, and finally comparing Taiwan and the U.S. in terms of socialization for new faculty and early faculty members

Particles in phrasal verbs — a cognitive linguistic approach to meaning construction in the EFL context

This study aimed to investigate the way in which Mandarin Chinese-speaking English learners construct meanings on three opposite sets of particles, consisting of ‘in’-‘out’, ‘on’-‘off’, and ‘up’-‘down’ within thirty ‘selected’ phrasal verbs via three cognitive linguistic approaches, i.e. image schemas, categorisation, and frame semantics in order to shed light on the context of Cognitive Linguistics and EFL. Forty-eight participants were recruited from universities in the UK and Taiwan for this study and all of them share the same L1, i.e. Mandarin Chinese. The present study utilized a qualitative-based methodology, comprising a questionnaire, a pre-test, a set of worksheets as teaching and learning materials used in a series of training sessions with the three cognitive linguistic approaches, a post-test, and an interview. A questionnaire was used to explore EFL learners’ leaning difficulty and learning strategies when it comes to the acquisition of phrasal verbs. A comparison of the results emerging from the pre-test and post-test and an analysis of the set of worksheets were employed to measure and evaluate the effects of cognitive linguistic approaches on three training groups (the Image schemas Training Group, the Categorisation Training Group, and the Frame Semantics Training Group) and also to identify the similar and unique meaning construction on particles in phrasal verbs between English and Mandarin Chinese. In addition, an interview with the participants from the three training groups was conducted to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the use of cognitive linguistic approaches in the acquisition of particles in phrasal verbs. Results demonstrated that none of the cognitive linguistic approaches was better than the others adopted in this study. The thesis discusses some aspects of the findings: (1) the similar and unique patterns of meaning construction on particles in phrasal verbs between native English users and Mandarin Chinese-speaking EFL learners, (2) the benefits of adopting cognitive linguistic approaches; (3) the types of difficulty that have remained after receiving the training sessions. This study makes several contributions to the practical application of cognitive linguistics and EFL pedagogical design. Despite some limitations, the study suggests that raising awareness of similar and unique meaning construction on particles in phrasal verbs between two languages via cognitive linguistic approaches can play a key role in assisting L2 learners to understand phrasal verbs

A Novel Three-Point Modulation Technique for Fractional-N Frequency Synthesizer Applications

This paper presents a novel three-point modulation technique for fractional-N frequency synthesizer applications. Convention modulated fractional-N frequency synthesizers suffer from quantization noise, which degrades not only the phase noise performance but also the modulation quality. To solve this problem, this work proposes a three-point modulation technique, which not only cancels the quantization noise, but also markedly boosts the channel switching speed. Measurements reveal that the implemented 2.4 GHz fractional-N frequency synthesizer using three-point modulation can achieve a 2.5 Mbps GFSK data rate with an FSK error rate of only 1.4 %. The phase noise is approximately -98 dBc/Hz at a frequency offset of 100 kHz. The channel switching time is only 1.1 μs with a frequency step of 80 MHz. Comparing with conventional two-point modulation, the proposed three-point modulation greatly improves the FSK error rate, phase noise and channel switching time by about 10 %, 30 dB and 126 μs, respectively

A Comparative Study on Need-Based Aid Policy in Higher Education between the State of Indiana and Taiwan

The question of how the government can best support access to postsecondary education has become a critical issue for education policymakers around the globe, as the practice of cost sharing for funding postsecondary education has been more widely adopted. In this context, this study explores the approaches to implementing current need-based financial aid policies in higher education in Indiana and Taiwan using G.Z.F. Bereday’s (1964) comparative method as the framework. Using a comparative cross-national perspective, the authors explored cost sharing, Rawls’ theory of social justice, and the economic principles of horizontal and vertical equity. This review revealed that need-based aid programs in both Indiana and Taiwan were founded on the principle of vertical equity, which aims to equalize educational opportunity for low-income students and minorities. However, the increased popularity of cost sharing and its consequent heavy burden on students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds have made it necessary to reexamine the financial aid systems intended to hold open the door of opportunity for these students. These findings have implications for examining financial aid policy within a global context, as well as asserting the value of cross-national comparisons in postsecondary education. Governments and postsecondary institutions should examine the effects of financial aid systems on college attendance and completion from a longitudinal perspective to allow for a better understanding of the impact of policy changes and to prevent further erosion educational opportunities for students who aspire to a college education

The Relationships among Senior High School Teacher Perceptions on Professional Learning Community, Self-efficacy, School Type, and Gender

Teacher’s professional learning community (TPLC) and self-efficacy(SE) are considered to enhance student learning in various dimensions. Teacher perceived PLC and SE might be influenced by school contexts and teachers’ demographic factors. This study investigated the relationships between teacher’s professional learning community (PLC), self-efficacy (SE), school type, and gender in Taiwan context. The findings are expected to provide valuable information in this field and to enhance understanding of PLC and self-efficacy in different cultural contexts. Descriptive statistics, t-test, product-moment correlation, and multiple regression analysis were applied to analyze the data. The findings indicated that a significant difference was found between public school teachers and private school teachers in two PLC dimensions, core element and human and social resources, and in one SE dimesnion, classroom management. Another significant differences were found between male teachers and female teachers in three SE dimensions, teaching strategy, classroom management, and student involvement. However, no significant differences was found between both in PLC dimesnions. Moreover, perceived PLC and SE were positive correlated. Perceived PLC could predict perceived SE. These results suggested that PLC appears to play a role in teachers’ reported levels of SE and provided initial evidence that the variation between schools in PLC may be explained by the SE. Keywords: Gender, school type, self-efficacy, professional learning community, senior high school teacher

The Relationship between Secondary School Students’ Emotional Intelligence and Learning Motivation

In recent years, emotional intelligence has been highly regarded because of its ability to control emotions, develop talented potential, build high-quality relationships, and have leadership skills. Learning motivation is the motivation of achievement in learning, a psychological need for individuals to pursue success, and also one of the main factors affecting learning achievement. Both of them are very important to young adults. However, rare studies discuss the correlation between middle school students’ emotional intelligence and learning motivation. The purposes of this study were to explore the relationships between secondary school students’ emotional intelligence and learning motivation. Participants were 877 secondary school students selected from central Taiwan. A questionnaire was applied to collect data. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product-moment correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings of this study were as follows: First, the students’ perception of the current situations of emotional intelligence and learning motivation were above a moderate level. Second, there was a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and learning motivation. Third, emotional intelligence could predict learning motivation and the level of self-motivation was the best predictor. Conclusion and discussion were also included in this study. Keywords: Secondary school student, Emotional intelligence, Learning motivation DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-5-02 Publication date: February 28th 202

Pharmacological effects of Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) on cerebral infarction

Danshen, the dried root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, is a Chinese medicine used to promote blood flow and treat vascular disease. The present article reviews the pharmacological effects of Danshen on cerebral infarction and possible interactions between Danshen and Western drugs. Danshen may reduce or prolong the development of atherosclerosis and may have anti-hypertensive and anti-platelet aggregation effects, which prevent cerebral infarction. Danshen may enhance endogenous anti-oxidative enzyme activities such as the expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and may scavenge oxygen free radicals. Prevention and treatment of cerebral infarction by Danshen involves multiple pathways, including anti-atherosclerosis, anti-hypertension, anti-platelet aggregation, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects

The efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy on huge hepatocellular carcinoma unsuitable for other local modalities

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of Cyberknife stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and its effect on survival in patients with unresectable huge hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) unsuitable of other standard treatment option. METHODS: Between 2009 and 2011, 22 patients with unresectable huge HCC (≧10 cm) were treated with SBRT. dose ranged from 26 Gy to 40 Gy in five fractions. Overall survival (OS) and disease-progression free survival (DPFS) were determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Tumor response and toxicities were also assessed. RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 11.5 month (range 2–46 months). The objective response rate was achieved in 86.3% (complete response (CR): 22.7% and partial response (PR): 63.6%). The 1-yr. local control rate was 55.56%. The 1-year OS was 50% and median survival was 11 months (range 2–46 months). In univariate analysis, Child-Pugh stage (p = 0.0056) and SBRT dose (p = 0.0017) were significant factors for survival. However, in multivariate analysis, SBRT dose (p = 0.0072) was the most significant factor, while Child-Pugh stage of borderline significance. (p = 0.0514). Acute toxicities were mild and well tolerated. CONCLUSION: This study showed that SBRT can be delivered safely to huge HCC and achieved a substantial tumor regression and survival. The results suggest this technique should be considered a salvage treatment. However, local and regional recurrence remain the major cause of failure. Further studies of combination of SBRT and other treatment modalities may be reasonable

THE DETERMINANTS OF FDI IN RETAIL INDUSTRIES IN CHINA-THE CASE STUDIES OF CARREFOUR AND TESCO

This study examines the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail industries in China by using case studies of Carrefour and Tesco, and the purpose of this research is to utilise the limited successful leading retailers in China as case studies, Carrefour and Tesco, and other academic studies have been conducted about entry determinants in China's retail sector to find out the key determinants and entry strategies of foreign retailing firms. Furthermore, the motivation of this research is to figure out the most significant determinants for foreign retailers entering successfully in China by applying the most crucial factors and entry mode strategy from this research. Firstly, this research considers three main theories, including the eclectic paradigm theory, the transaction cost theory, and internationalisation theory to analyse and generalise FDI movements and activities of foreign firms worldwide and apply theories to the Chinese market. Additionally, in order to examine and assist the explanation and application of these theories, case studies of Tesco and Carrefour will be utilised as successful models in China's retail industry by collecting primary and secondary data from academic and official journals, corporate reports, financial statements, and other publications. Furthermore, a semi in-depth interview with open-ended questions with a top manager from Tesco China (Hymall) is conducted to find out specific information about successful MNE entry into China and to generalise to most significant determinants of FDI in China. Moreover, case studies of Carrefour and Tesco are further compared with other cases in China from other academic resources to provide the most effective and important FDI determinants in retail sector. This dissertation aim to offer a new perspective of the most crucial FDI determinants used retailing in China, benefiting future research with possible new findings concerning the effective considerations of an entry strategy and entry mode choice into China to foster corporate expansion in this prosperous but complex country

THE DETERMINANTS OF FDI IN RETAIL INDUSTRIES IN CHINA-THE CASE STUDIES OF CARREFOUR AND TESCO

This study examines the determinants of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail industries in China by using case studies of Carrefour and Tesco, and the purpose of this research is to utilise the limited successful leading retailers in China as case studies, Carrefour and Tesco, and other academic studies have been conducted about entry determinants in China's retail sector to find out the key determinants and entry strategies of foreign retailing firms. Furthermore, the motivation of this research is to figure out the most significant determinants for foreign retailers entering successfully in China by applying the most crucial factors and entry mode strategy from this research. Firstly, this research considers three main theories, including the eclectic paradigm theory, the transaction cost theory, and internationalisation theory to analyse and generalise FDI movements and activities of foreign firms worldwide and apply theories to the Chinese market. Additionally, in order to examine and assist the explanation and application of these theories, case studies of Tesco and Carrefour will be utilised as successful models in China's retail industry by collecting primary and secondary data from academic and official journals, corporate reports, financial statements, and other publications. Furthermore, a semi in-depth interview with open-ended questions with a top manager from Tesco China (Hymall) is conducted to find out specific information about successful MNE entry into China and to generalise to most significant determinants of FDI in China. Moreover, case studies of Carrefour and Tesco are further compared with other cases in China from other academic resources to provide the most effective and important FDI determinants in retail sector. This dissertation aim to offer a new perspective of the most crucial FDI determinants used retailing in China, benefiting future research with possible new findings concerning the effective considerations of an entry strategy and entry mode choice into China to foster corporate expansion in this prosperous but complex country