Rural Education and Urbanization: Experiences and Struggles in China since the Late 1970s

China has adopted an unbalanced development economic policy to improve its domestic economy and international competiveness for more than three decades. During this process, rural education has undergone a series of reforms. With reference to compulsory education, this article argues that rural education in China is a pragmatic instrument for the state to expand and improve the quality of urbanization. Rural education can be used to serve urbanization, is influenced by the rural-urban disparities brought about by urbanization, and receives urban aids and support in exchange for following state guidelines. Due to deep-rooted disparities and long-standing unequal institutions, rural education still faces challenges and difficulties related to effectively financing rural education, handling urban-based curricula and evaluation standards, recruiting qualified and stable teachers, and the outflow of original rural residents. This article concludes by offering an explanation of its policy implications for the functions and constraints of state-directed rural education in serving urbanization

The higher education systems of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China : a comparative study.

This study explores the tension between the preservation of cultural and\ud political identity and economic modernization in the higher education systems\ud in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (ROC)\ud between 1949 and 1993.\ud Chapter One introduces the research problem, theoretical orientation,\ud main argument, and organization of this thesis.\ud Chapter Two examines the historical context of the higher education\ud systems of the PRC and the ROC, and identifies the similarities between the\ud pre-1949 higher education system and the two contemporary Chinese higher\ud education systems.\ud Chapter Three analyzes the contemporary (domestic and international)\ud contexts of higher education in the PRC and the ROC. The chapter highlights\ud the monolithic, state-supported, official value systems of both countries; the\ud domestic relations between the ruling party, the state, the economy and the\ud people; and the international relations of the two countries, as these affect the\ud higher education systems. Chapter Four investigates the cultural tasks of both higher education\ud systems, and reviews the ways in which they have institutionalized different\ud forms of cultural and political identity.\ud Chapters Five and Six analyze the economic tasks of both higher\ud education systems. Chapter Five examines the importation of science and\ud technology, and the social values of science and technology in both countries.\ud Chapter Six examines the processes of institutionalizing, in higher education,\ud different foreign models of science and technology.\ud Chapter Seven reviews the patterns of similarities and differences\ud between both higher education systems, and explores the specific and the\ud broader implications of the thesis

Gender, Popular Music, and Music Learning in China’s Shanghai

This study focused on the collective music experiences and practices of students’ involvement with Western and non-Western popular music in Shanghai. Data were gathered through a survey questionnaire given to 1,739 Shanghai students (802 females and 937 males attending Grades 7 through 12), supplemented by semi-structured interview data from a subset (50 females and 10 males attending Grades 7 through 12) of these participants. Statistical and qualitative analyses indicated that gender and preferences for popular music can impact some aspects of individual experiences and attitudes toward learning popular music in school. The implicit premise of this study was what classroom pedagogy and cultural change might reveal from the participation of music education in the continued production and reproduction of gendered music practices in the contemporary music classroom. Though further research may be necessary, the immediate implications of the present study are important for understanding the impact of cultural and racial identity formation of gender and music practices in the contemporary world

Musıc educatıon and musıcal experıences ın Hong Kong

 Abstract: In the last two decades, educational and curricular reforms in Hong Kong have been designed to prepare students for the challenges following the return of Hong Kong’s sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the development of national identity and patriotism in school education, and has at the same time introduced Chinese cultural values into the school curriculum. This article explores how the dynamics and complexity of the relationships between the state and cultural identity in Hong Kong are re-shaping music education and music experiences in response to contemporary sociopolitical changes. The first problem for the HKSAR is how to incorporate Chinese music into a Western-orientated music curriculum; and the second is how to cultivate national identity and social harmony through school music education. Questions of how to integrate such musical experiences in school music education will remain a challenge for the future.Keywords: Music education. Musical experiences. National identity. Chinese music. Western music. Hong KongEducação musical e experiências musicais em Hong KongResumo: Nas duas últimas décadas, reformas educacionais e curriculares em Hong Kong tem sido elaboradas para preparar os discentes para os desafios decorrentes da devolução de Hong Kong para a República Popular da China pelo Reino Unido em 1997.  O Governo da Administração Regional de Hong Kong tem repetidamente enfatizado a importância do desenvolvimento da identidade nacional e do patriotismo na educação escolar, e ao mesmo tempo introduzido valores culturais chineses no currículo escolar.  Este artigo explora como a dinâmica e complexidade da relação entre o estado e a identidade cultural estão reformulando a educação musical e experiências musicais em resposta às mudanças sócio-políticas contemporâneas.  O primeiro problema para o governo é como incorporar a música chinesa num currículo de música com orientação ocidental; e o segundo é como cultivar a identidade nacional e a harmonia social através da educação musical.  Questões de como integrar tais experiências musicais na educação musical nas escolas será um desafio para o futuro.Palavras-chave: Educação musical. Experiências musicais. Identidade nacional. Música chinesa. Música ocidental. Hong Kong   Educación musical y experiencias musicales en Hong KongResumen: En las últimas dos décadas, han sido elaboradas en Hong Kong reformas educacionales y curriculares para preparar a los estudiantes ante los retos derivados de la decolución de Hong Kong a China por el Reino Unido en 1997. El Gobierno de la Administración Regional de Hong Kong ha destacado reiteradamente la importancia del desarrollo de la identidad nacional y del patriotismo en la educación escolar, y al mismo tiempo introducido valores culturales chinos en el currículo escolar. Este artículo explora cómo la dinámica y la complejidad de la relación entre el estado y la identidad cultural están transformando la educación musical y las experiencias musicales en respuesta a los cambios socio-políticos contemporáneos. La primera problemática para el gobierno es cómo incorporar la música china en un plan de estudios de música con una tendencia occidental; y la segunda es cómo cultivar la identidad nacional y la armonía social a través de la educación musical. Cuestiones sobre cómo integrar estas experiencias musicales en la educación musical en las escuelas serán un desafío para el futuro.Palabras clave: Educación musical. Experiencias musicales. Identidad nacional. Música china. Música occidental. Hong Kon

Education, Work, and Citizenship of Youth in China: Strategies, Achievements, and Challenges

This article examines China’s strategies for and constraints on protecting and implementing children’s and young people’s rights to education, employment and social and political participation. It shows that the 1978 policy of reform and opening to the world brought forth significant domestic economic and social changes and exposed China and its people to the world. All this, in turn, created new demands and concerns for the development of youth education, work and citizenship. The article further shows that in China, these three domains of youth have been influenced by changing domestic and global contexts, and the state has played a vital role in facilitating these changes in three major spheres of youth. China, however, has also been confronted with equity issues arising from new developments in these domains

Isolation and characterization of a human heart cDNA encoding a new member of the small heat shock protein family — HSPL27

AbstractA novel cDNA clone was isolated from a human adult heart cDNA library. This cDNA clone is similar to the small heat shock protein (smhsp) in both DNA and amino acid sequences, especially in the conserved region. Sequence analysis has shown that the putative novel smhsp, named 27 kDa heat-shock-protein-like protein (HSPL27) is a protein of 241 amino acids with a deduced molecular mass of 26.7 kDa and a deduced pI of 8.0. We have expressed the HSPL27 in E. coli and the expressed protein was found to be present in the soluble fraction of the bacterial cell lysate. Chromosomal mapping data shows that the HSPL27 gene is located at human chromosome 5q11.2

Reactivation of Epstein–Barr virus by a dual-responsive fluorescent EBNA1-targeting agent with Zn2+-chelating function

EBNA1 is the only Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) latent protein responsible for viral genome maintenance and is expressed in all EBV-infected cells. Zn2+ is essential for oligomerization of the functional EBNA1. We constructed an EBNA1 binding peptide with a Zn2+ chelator to create an EBNA1-specific inhibitor (ZRL5P4). ZRL5P4 by itself is sufficient to reactivate EBV from its latent infection. ZRL5P4 is able to emit unique responsive fluorescent signals once it binds with EBNA1 and a Zn2+ ion. ZRL5P4 can selectively disrupt the EBNA1 oligomerization and cause nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor shrinkage, possibly due to EBV lytic induction. Dicer1 seems essential for this lytic reactivation. As can been seen, EBNA1 is likely to maintain NPC cell survival by suppressing viral reactivation

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely