The One Child Policy and Family Formation in Urban China

The Chinese government implemented the One Child Policy (OCP) in an attempt to ameliorate the population explosion and its potential negative economic consequences on their infant economy in 1979. Here the consequences of this policy for marital matching and family size decisions are examined. A simple General Equilibrium model demonstrates how constraints on marital output on the quantity of children dimension raises the marginal benefit of increased positive assortative matching, and greater investment in children. These theoretical predictions are examined empirically in a variety of ways. The prediction of intensified positive assortative matching was examined using Distributional Overlap and Stochastic Dominance Tests and provided support for intensified assortative matching amongst the urban population. To support this positive finding, we next examined if the policy was indeed binding. The extent to which parental family size decisions were bound by the OCP were examined using Poisson regression techniques and the results suggest that the OCP principally affected the quantity of children decision by suppressing parental preference for male heirs and they suggest that after the OCP was implemented births beyond the first child are purely accidental among younger mothers. In addition, we also found some evidence of increased educational attainment among children reflecting increased parental investments in children post OCP further supporting the view that the One Child Policy altered significantly familial decisions in urban China.Family Formation, Rationing, Matching

Qualified Equal Opportunity and Conditional Mobility: Gender Equity and Educational Attainmant in Canada

Interest in Economic and Social Mobility is rooted in a societal aspiration for equal opportunity. The aspiration is based upon an Egalitarian Political Philosophy which approves of differential outcomes when they are the consequence of differential effort and disapproves of differential outcomes when they are the consequence of differential circumstance and results in “level playing field” policies. In the absence of any other imperative, such policies would result in increased upward mobility for the poorly endowed and increased downward mobility for the richly endowed. Adding a Utilitarian imperative (the inheriting generation should not be made worse off in a first order dominance sense) to societal objectives results in a “Qualified Equal Opportunity or Conditional Mobility” policy which calls for rethinking the approach to mobility measurement. Techniques for evaluating the impact of such policies (both in terms of generational regressions and transition matrices) are proposed and exemplified in considering the issue of Gender Equity in educational attainment in Canada over the last 20 years. The evidence is that women have more than caught up with men and that, in closing the gap, it is the poorly endowed women who have made the most progress in terms of mobility whilst the mobility of males has remained relatively constant across the endowment spectrum consistent with a Qualified Equal Opportunity program.Mobility and Equal Opportunity

Making Inferences About Rich Country - Poor Country Convergence: The Polarization Trapezoid and Overlap measures.

Underlying the unresolved debate over whether the gap between rich and poor country GNP per capita has narrowed is a concern for wellbeing. The issue is really about the changing shapes of distributions of wellbeing indicators. As limiting cases con- vergence between rich and poor country groups can be brought about by countries within groups becoming less alike without any diminution of growth rate differentials between them or it can be brought about by reductions in these differentials without any diminution of within group identity. In essence the debate is about the extent to which rich and poor countries are polarizing, a subject first theoretically explored by Esteban and Ray (1994). The empirical issue is about whether separate groups can be identified in the overall distribution and whether they are tending toward common or distinct equilibria. This paper proposes two simple statistics for the problem, the Overlap measure and the Trapezoidal measure, changes in which reflect a combination of increasing (decreasing) subgroup location differences and decreasing (increasing) subgroup spreads which are the characteristics of polarization (convergence). The former statistic is of use when the sub-distributions are identified, while the latter can be used whether or not the subgroups are identified. These techniques are applied to the examination of convergence in GDP per capita between rich and poor nations when growth is viewed either as a wellbeing index or a technology index (i.e. the data are, or are not, population weighted). It turns out that such a distinction matters, viewed technologically there is divergence, viewed in a wellbeing sense there is convergence. As a collection of countries Africa is diverging from the rest of the world whatever the perspective of growth.Convergence, Polarization, Trapezoid Measure, Overlap measure

Perceptions of Primary School Principals in Singapore about Their Role as Justice Agents

Justice in school is central to both the Catholic church and the government of Singapore. Both institutions have expectations of principals as justice agents to serve the needs of every student by means of equality and equity in educational provision to all students. There is limited research on how principals of Catholic and government primary schools in Singapore perceive their role as justice agents and how they fulfill this expectation. This qualitative research examined the experiences of primary school principals in Singapore in their enactment of educational leadership for justice. Of the 10 principals interviewed, 4 were principals of Catholic schools and 6 were principals of government schools. Interviews were conducted according to guided questions focused on participants’ perceptions of leadership for justice, the origins of their beliefs about justice, how their beliefs about justice shaped school culture, and ways educational policies, programs, and practices in these schools promoted justice. The results indicated that participants embraced their responsibilities as citizens and public servants and subscribed to the role of education as a social leveler. As public servants, participants recognized the significance of the mission of the Singapore education service to mold the future of the nation and articulated their commitment to it. Leadership for justice in Singapore entailed serving the holistic development of every student including socioemotional development and character formation. Principals as justice agents strived to provide equal opportunities for all students and intentionally pursued equity to equalize students with higher needs. Enactment of leadership for justice necessitates questioning the status quo of structures and leading structural change to promote just practices. Justice for teachers is essential to leadership for justice and encompasses respect for teachers as individuals with personal and professional needs. Principals built trusting relationships with teachers to create a culture of care and advanced the professional development and career growth of teachers. Because the values and beliefs of principals determine their leadership practice, it is essential that the selection process of educators for the principalship is able to provide insights into potential candidates’ moral compass, self-awareness, and understanding of their own impact and influence

Chapter 7 : The Removal, Reconstruction And Conservation Of The Gua Gunung Runtuh Skeleton: A Practical Guide.

Bone consists of collagen, a proteinous (organic) substance, and a mineral, principally a form of calcium phosphate, called apatite, together with water. The bones in a body have different functions and this difference is reflected in the degree of mineralisation

EFFICIENT ANALYSIS OF MICROWAVE POLARIZER WITH FINITE METALLIZATION THICKNESS AND NOVEL DESIGN OF POLARIZATION ROTATOR

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Community of Ownership of Learning

New model of teaching and learning was introduced in our school to meet the needs of our students who seek greater autonomy connectivity as well as opportunities for socio-experiential learning The Connected Learning Pedagogy CLP was designed to mine the learning potential of the new social and digital media domain to create a community of ownership of learning promoting collaboration and connectedness among students lecturers and parents To support the implementation of CLP laboratories were equipped with computers and tablet PCs Through them students were connected to various social and digital media such as Facebook Moodle YouTube and iDe Lite ITE video portal to conduct their required research and learning The tablet PCs provided lecturers with the added advantage of mobility during lessons allowing them to facilitate the learning process with ease Students were engaged in many exciting ways through Apps in the tablet PCs In addition parents were connected to students learning through PRISM ITE Parents Real-time Information System on Mobile With the mobile apps PRISM parents are connected to realtime data on their child s learnin

Online training in evidence-based medicine and research methods for GP registrars: a mixed-methods evaluation of engagement and impact

Abstract Background Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a core skillset for enhancing the quality and safety of patients’ care. Online EBM education could improve clinicians’ skills in EBM, particularly when it is conducted during vocational training. There are limited studies on the impact of online EBM training on clinical practice among general practitioner (GP) registrars (trainees in specialist general practice). We aimed to describe and evaluate the acceptability, utility, satisfaction and applicability of the GP registrars experience with the online course. The course was developed by content-matter experts with educational designers to encompass effective teaching methods (e.g. it was interactive and used multiple teaching methods). Methods Mixed-method data collection was conducted after individual registrars’ completion of the course. The course comprised six modules that aimed to increase knowledge of research methods and application of EBM skills to everyday practice. GP registrars who completed the online course during 2016–2020 were invited to complete an online survey about their experience and satisfaction with the course. Those who completed the course within the six months prior to data collection were invited to participate in semi-structured phone interviews about their experience with the course and the impact of the course on clinical practice. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the data from qualitative interviews. Results The data showed the registrars were generally positive towards the course and the concept of EBM. They stated that the course improved their confidence, knowledge, and skills and consequently impacted their practice. The students perceived the course increased their understanding of EBM with a Cohen’s d of 1.6. Registrars identified factors that influenced the impact of the course. Of those, some were GP-related including their perception of EBM, and being comfortable with what they already learnt; some were work-place related such as time, the influence of supervisors, access to resources; and one was related to patient preferences. Conclusions This study showed that GP registrars who attended the online course reported that it improved their knowledge, confidence, skill and practice of EBM over the period of three months. The study highlights the supervisor’s role on GP registrars’ ability in translating the EBM skills learnt in to practice and suggests exploring the effect of EBM training for supervisors

Cryo-EM and antisense targeting of the 28-kDa frameshift stimulation element from the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome

Drug discovery campaigns against COVID-19 are beginning to target the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome. The highly conserved frameshift stimulation element (FSE), required for balanced expression of viral proteins, is a particularly attractive SARS-CoV-2 RNA target. Here we present a 6.9 Å resolution cryo-EM structure of the FSE (88 nucleotides, ~28 kDa), validated through an RNA nanostructure tagging method. The tertiary structure presents a topologically complex fold in which the 5′ end is threaded through a ring formed inside a three-stem pseudoknot. Guided by this structure, we develop antisense oligonucleotides that impair FSE function in frameshifting assays and knock down SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in A549-ACE2 cells at 100 nM concentration