“One Country, Two Systems,” Three Law Families, and Four Legal Regions: The Emerging Inter-Regional Conflicts of Law in China

With accumulation of sovereign debt in many large OECD countries it seems that attention is heightened on how to manage public resources more effectively. High levels of sovereign debt are partly related to the aftermath of the latest financial crisis, where resolution for many big economies was to intervene and use public resources to put an end to the expansion of the crisis. Public real estate is one of those resources, which’s efficient management has high importance on general public sector efficacy. It seems that governments around the world have a way to go toward efficiency in public real estate management. There seem to be rather wide differences in management practices and quality. This thesis is an attempt to quantify some choices Estonian government could take in terms of its public real estate management. Four different scenarios are compared and Monte Carlo Simulation tool is used for that purpose. Two of the scenarios are related to private sector involvement and two are not. Privatization of public assets does not only mean cashing out for the government. It has wider consequences by introducing market forces where they weren’t before. One of the most important points of interest in this thesis is what effect can market forces and change in incentives have on public real estate management. There can be both, positive and negative effects, but which ones would prevail? The model built during the process of the thesis tries to measure those effects with aggregate net present value and its volatility by looking at 30 years ahead. Simulation analyses is used to vary input variables in the range that seems to be supported by the observations made in the literature and in some cases, where data is not available, also according to more subjective view that of the author’s. As input and their characteristics are different for scenarios, it is of interest to document how do the main outputs, mean NPV and its volatility, vary along with inputs

Etalon Array Reconstructive Spectrometry.

Compact spectrometers are crucial in areas where size and weight may need to be minimized. These types of spectrometers often contain no moving parts, which makes for an instrument that can be highly durable. With the recent proliferation in low-cost and high-resolution cameras, camera-based spectrometry methods have the potential to make portable spectrometers small, ubiquitous, and cheap. Here, we demonstrate a novel method for compact spectrometry that uses an array of etalons to perform spectral encoding, and uses a reconstruction algorithm to recover the incident spectrum. This spectrometer has the unique capability for both high resolution and a large working bandwidth without sacrificing sensitivity, and we anticipate that its simplicity makes it an excellent candidate whenever a compact, robust, and flexible spectrometry solution is needed

The impact of study abroad experiences on international students’ employability: a preliminary study on Chinese engineering students in US

[EN] This study aims to examine how study abroad experiences influence Chinese engineering students’ employability. Employability in this study is defined as capabilities, processes and performances before job search, during job search and after job search. This study aims to explore how study abroad experiences contribute to engineering students’ global competencies; how study abroad experiences influence engineering graduates’ job search process; what the long-term impact of study abroad experience on engineering graduates’ early careers are. This study adopts interpretative phenomenological approach via semi-structured interview. The preliminary findings include: firstly, study abroad experience is a premise for Chinese engineering students for being screened during job search both in China and abroad; secondly, study abroad allows students to discover their real interests which decided their career directions; thirdly, students kept learning and self-reflecting which contribute to their capabilities building; fourthly, study abroad trained engineering students with soft skills. Moreover, recommendation from professors and alumni facilitate the job search. Lastly, personal value and family reason influence graduates’ career decisions in working in China or abroad. Conclusion was drawn that study abroad experiences have positive impact on engineering students’ employability building, job search process and their early careers.Huang, Q. (2021). The impact of study abroad experiences on international students’ employability: a preliminary study on Chinese engineering students in US. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1157-1165. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.12751OCS1157116

Pre-Kindergarten Teachers’ Perspectives, Strategies, and Difficulties in Fostering Children’s Creativity

Along with the rapid accumulation of information and unpredictable changes in technology, creativity has been commonly recognized as a core competency and a most desirable skill for both individual success and society prosperity of the 21st century (Craft, 2010; Sawyer, 2011). Since creativity is in high demand for society, all levels of education carry the mission of fostering more creative thinkers in the classroom (Baldwin, 2010; Craft, 2010; Ewing & Tuthill, 2012). Early childhood, from birth to eight years old, has been identified as an essential period of the lifespan for brain and cognitive development (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The facilitation of creativity relates to children’s physical, social and cognitive skills and it is crucial for a child’s development as a whole child. Previous studies have demonstrated that every child has the potential of being creative and it is the teacher’s job to support such enrichment (Cheung, 2012; Esquivel, 1995; Ewing & Tuthill, 2012). However, how to drive children’s creativity is still a salient topic in early childhood classrooms. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how pre-K teachers defined and valued creativity in young children, the types of teaching strategies they implemented or considered necessary in supporting children’s creativity, and the difficulties they faced when pursuing creative enrichment in the classroom. To answer these questions, three full-time pre-K teachers, who had received a minimum of two years training with the United Way Bright Beginnings Program (UWBB), were recruited to participate in the study. The methodology of the study followed Carspecken’s (1996) first three stages of critical qualitative research, starting by observing each participant’s classroom instruction. Based on this, the interview protocol was designed to guide subsequent face-to-face, individual interviews. The audio-recorded interview data were transcribed and coded to generate the results. The findings suggested that pre-K teachers valued creativity and possessed a basic understanding of creativity in young children, yet their comprehension was neither adequate nor clear. Some teachers used strategies for children’s creativity facilitation, however they were unaware of the methodologies and struggled to describe the rationale behind the usage of such strategies. While some teachers faced difficulties and were unable to intentionally integrate creativity into lesson plans, this study added a useful resource and illuminated best practices in the field while prompting teachers to pursue a more suitable definition of creativity in young children, and to explore more useful teaching strategies aimed at children’s creativity. The findings also provided teacher educators and professional trainers with information regarding pre-K teachers’ current status, concerns and difficulties in teaching for creativity. Further, the study suggested to teacher educators and professional trainers of a need to incorporate more specific lessons and targeted topic trainings on creativity. If these specific trainings were put into practice, they would assist teachers in translating knowledge and ideas into action and positively impact children’s creativity.Curriculum and Instruction, Department o