An Analysis of Conceptions of Learning English Among College Students in China

In the field of second language acquisition, an increasing amount of research has been conducted on learner＇s beliefs. Few empirical studies, however, have been focused on students＇ conceptions of learning English （COLE）. This study aims to assess conceptions of learning particularly in the domain of English. Data were collected through the COLE questionnaire among 284 college students in China. Seven factors of COLE are identified, such as ＂memorizing＂, ＂testing＂, ＂drill and practice＂, ＂increasing knowledge＂, ＂understanding＂, ＂application＂, and ＂seeing in a new way＂. These findings also provide some pedagogical implications for English language instructors and researchers.

A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Conceptions of Effective Teaching in Tertiary Education

Effective teaching has always been a goal pursued by teachers as a part of education both from the western and eastern society,for it to some extend is considered an effective way to improve society.In this essay,both Chinese and western conceptions of teaching and learning will be discussed.In doing so,their differences and similarities can be seen clearly,which will help the cross-cultural educators to understand their teaching environment and learning styles.

Conceptions about Drinking Water of 10^(th) Graders and Undergraduates

Any everyday subject may trigger individual conceptions either scientifically correct or naively shaped (misconceptions, alternative conceptions). For any educator, knowledge about a pupil’s individual perception may strongly support teaching success. Within this context, we see the use of drinking water as daily behavior loaded with conceptions. We monitored the perceptions of two different samples, of high achieving 10th graders and of undergraduates in Biology. All participants responded to three closed and three open questions requesting individual statements about drinking water. All open questions were categorized via qualitative content analysis mainly revealing the perception of drinking water as a clean product, precisely controlled and drinkable with no need for worry. In general, some alternative conceptions did not seem differ in both samples over the time of about five years: For instance, many see our drinking water as purified in sewage plants. However, differences between individuals exist: For example, whether water is consumed as tap or bottled water. Here, some name water hardness as the reason to not drink tap water, because they think it is harmful (although the very same participants prefer bottled mineral water). Other conceptions seem to change over time, such as the estimation about the remaining time until our drinking water might be used up, or familiarity with the term “virtual water”. Summing up, we did find a positive attitude towards national drinking water policy, although major knowledge gaps need its mentioning. The relevance of these results and strategies for public and school teaching are discussed.

Classical Chinese Gardens and Their Artistic Conceptions

Elementary knowledge of classical Chinese gardens was introduced,its history was studied in 3 stages:initial phase,development phase and prosperous phase,component system of classical Chinese gardens was introduced from different perspectives,cultural background and specific demonstrations of its artistic conceptions were expounded as key points,and it was proposed that its artistic conceptions were actually reverence and respect for the nature,and also expressions of various philosophical doctrines and religious cultures.On this basis,construction techniques and connotations of artistic conception were researched as well as its components and expression ways.It was proposed that construction elements of artistic conceptions included buildings,hill stones,water and plants;image-building in the landscaping should be stressed,and artistic conception integrated into key points to bring out the theme,garden scenes and paintings combined.This study aimed at providing references for relevant researches through introducing classical Chinese gardens and their artistic conceptions.

Conceptions in Teaching and Didactic Activities and Assessment of University Teachers

The aim of this study was to detect and analyze the conceptions of teaching, learning activities and assessment of learning in classroom, and blended courses for university professor＇s face-to-face courses. The study design was non-experimental, descriptive, and mixed cut. The sample was not random with participation of 129 university professors＇ face-to-face courses. As was applied, the open questions questionnaire on teaching and learning conceptions of teachers and data reported six questions related to the conception of teaching, didactic activities and assessment of learning of courses in classroom and blended courses. The data were worked through content analysis and percentages. The findings showed a conception of classroom teaching with a focus on learning and a conception blended teaching with a strong focus on teaching. The most reported didactic activities in classroom courses at a decreasing hierarchy were： exposition and presentation, se, discussion forums, chat and Wikis. In classroom assessment participation, and research and blended courses the research, Wikis, teachers did not specify evaluation resources case study and mixed courses, technology per courses predominated, in the abstract tests, forums and blog,

The Association between Researchers’Conceptions of Research and Their Strategic Research Agendas

Purpose:In studies of the research process,the association between how researchers conceptualize research and their strategic research agendas has been largely overlooked.This study aims to address this gap.Design/methodology/approach:This study analyzes this relationship using a dataset of more than 8,500 researchers across all scientific fields and the globe.It studies the associations between the dimensions of two inventories:the Conceptions of Research Inventory(CoRI)and the Multi-Dimensional Research Agenda Inventory—Revised(MDRAI-R).Findings:The findings show a relatively strong association between researchers’conceptions of research and their research agendas.While all conceptions of research are positively related to scientific ambition,the findings are mixed regarding how the dimensions of the two inventories relate to one another,which is significant for those seeking to understand the knowledge production process better.Research limitations:The study relies on self-reported data,which always carries a risk of response bias.Practical implications:The findings provide a greater understanding of the inner workings of knowledge processes and indicate that the two inventories,whether used individually or in combination,may provide complementary analytical perspectives to research performance indicators.They may thus offer important insights for managers of research environments regarding how to assess the research culture,beliefs,and conceptualizations of individual researchers and research teams when designing strategies to promote specific institutional research focuses and strategies.Originality/value:To the best of the authors’knowledge,this is the first study to associate research agendas and conceptions of research.It is based on a large sample of researchers working worldwide and in all fields of knowledge,which ensures that the findings have a reasonable degree of generalizability to the global population of researchers.

Research on Extraction Method for Taxonomic Relation among Conceptions of Tea-science Field Ontology

[Objective] Taking the knowledge of tea-science field as research object,an extraction method for the taxonomic relation of ontology conception was proposed in the paper.[Method] Through improving the rule based on language mode,generalized suffix tree was constructed for the concept set of tea-science field,forming hierarchical structure and taxonomic relation among conceptions.[Result and Conclusion] Moreover,corresponding prototype system was developed based on above method,and test result indicating that the method was effective.

Equivalent Bar Conceptions for Computer Analysis of Pantographic Foldable Structures

An equivalent bar conception is firstly developed for the computer analysis of pantographic foldable structures. The uniplet of two three node beam elements is assumed as a six bar assembly with respect to least norm least square solution for the elastic strain energy equality. The equilibrium equation is developed for the equivalent models, and the internal forces formulated sequently for backup calculation. This procedure is proved practical for some engineering, and some interesting concepts proposed. Finally, three numerical tests are presented.

Students’Misconceptions are Falsely Measured by Concept Inventory Tests While Lack of Prior Knowledge is Ignored

Concept inventory(CI)tests are used to measure students’misconception.This article investigated and concludes that the current format of these tests is unable to measure students’misconceptions since the answers choices do not reflect student lack of prior knowledge,time lapse between when they learned the subject matter and when they try to recall it,and the conditions through which students construct their knowledge.CIs are better suited as tools to evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical effectiveness and language in communicating the material to the students.

Concepts and Misconceptions in Climate Change Risk Assessment: Considerations for Sea Level Rise and Extreme Precipitation Risk

Flood extremes due to sea level rise and extreme precipitation are expected to increase in frequency and intensity. However, despite the need for accurate climate change risk assessment, significant misconceptions in key risk terms, including vulnerability and impact, could lead to risk miscalculations. These misconceptions around risk concepts derive from the lack of risk terms’ standardization and the gaps in an integrated and widely accepted methodology for assessing climate change risks. Risk assessment frameworks should follow the specialties of each element/sector it is applied on and the special features of each climate hazard. Also, risk assessment matrix should not follow specific design settings but it should better follow the needs of each study, so as to optimize the understanding of each risk. Through an extensive literature review, this is the first paper that identifies gaps, inconsistencies and misuses of climate risk concepts and suggests specific systemization and standardization of risk terms definitions. Finally, it develops a climate change risk assessment framework and matrix, focusing on sea level rise and extreme precipitation, which could be widely implemented in risk assessment of all elements at sea level rise and extreme precipitation risk.

Student Conceptions of Assessment:Regulatory Responses to Our Practices

Purpose:Universities assess and evaluate students concerning competence in essential disciplinary knowledge and skills.Those assessments impact learners’attitudes,beliefs,and emotions.Negative impacts may be overcome if students regulate their responses to assessment and feedback.Design/Approach/Methods:This article systematically locates research studies that cite three key early papers around student conceptions of assessment(SCoA).A narrative synthesis is based on 22 papers.Findings:In addition to the SCoA,11 different research inventories reveal a variety of regulatory responses that are enhanced when assessments are deliberately formative,fair,and trustworthy.There is broad interest in this phenomenon but little consistency in methods,and even the SCoA has little consistency in factor structure across jurisdictions.Only one study provided an objective behavioral measure to validate self-reports,which are the dominant form of research.Originality/Value:This review gives readers insights into how assessment influences student thinking and how student cognition can regulate success.

An effective stress-based DSC model for predicting hydromechanical shear behavior of unsaturated collapsible soils subjected to initial shear stress

Evaluation of hydromechanical shear behavior of unsaturated soils is still a challenging issue. The time and cost needed for conducting precise experimental investigation on shear behavior of unsaturated soils have encouraged several investigators to develop analytical, empirical, or semi-empirical models for predicting the shear behavior of unsaturated soils. However, most of the previously proposed models are for specimens subjected to the isotropic state of stress, without considering the effect of initial shear stress. In this study, a hydromechanical constitutive model is proposed for unsaturated collapsible soils during shearing, with consideration of the effect of the initial shear stress. The model implements an effective stress-based disturbed state concept (DSC) to predict the stress-strain behavior of the soil. Accordingly, material/state variables were defined for both the start of the shearing stage and the critical state of the soil. A series of laboratory tests was performed using a fully automated unsaturated triaxial device to verify the proposed model. The experimental program included 23 suction-controlled unsaturated triaxial shear tests on reconstituted specimens of Gorgan clayey loess wetted to different levels of suctions under both isotropic and anisotropic stress states. The results show excellent agreement between the prediction by the proposed model and the experimental results.

Teaching Reform of Environmental Engineering Microbiology Based on OBE Concept in the Context of New Engineering Disciplines

In response to meeting the needs of cultivating applied talents in the construction of new engineering disciplines,based on the concept of Outcome-Based Education(OBE),this study analyzes the problems existing in the teaching of the course Environmental Engineering Microbiology,and put forward some corresponding curriculum reform schemes.According to the target points of professional graduation requirements,the scheme proposes revising the syllabus of Environmental Engineering Microbiology,clarifying the curriculum objectives,updating the teaching content,and reforming the teaching methods.Through these measures,it is intended to achieve the unity of teachers way of"teaching"and students way of"learning",construct a new teaching mode,fully stimulate students subjective initiative,and enhance students innovative consciousness and practical ability.Besides,in this study,a"whole process-diversification"evaluation system is established to comprehensively evaluate students performance in theoretical knowledge learning and practical application,comprehensively evaluate students learning situation,and analyze the teaching effect in real time,so as to achieve continuous improvement,and ultimately achieve the goal of improving classroom quality.

Different Conceptions and a General Concept of Human Rights

In this study, I show that human fights are historical projects. They are legal inventions and institutional structures and respond to historical injustices and serious atrocities suffered by people, or which threaten them. It is useful therefore to first distinguish, both historically and systematically, different conceptions of human fights from a concept of human fights. I will distinguish three conceptions： national, international and transnational. Included in national conceptions are the human fights declarations of North America （1776） and France （1789）. The starting event of the international conception is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations after the Second World War in 1948. And it can be argued that a transnational conception of human fights that better fits the globalised world and the already global developments in intemational law and governance is needed.

A conceptual analysis of facilitation to improve clinical outcomes in critical care units

Objectives:Effective facilitation is crucial to improve critical care outcomes in life-threatening conditions through improved teamwork,caring,decision-making,and problem-solving.The meaning of facilitation remains unprecise in a critical care context despite its frequent usage in nursing education and clinical practice.This study aimed to report a thorough concept analysis to clarify the meaning of facilitation in the critical care context by formulating attributes,antecedents,and consequences and providing model cases related to facilitation.Methods:This analysis was performed by searching online sources published from 1999 to 2023.EBSCOhost,CINAHL,PubMed,and Google Scholar databases were searched using online search engines.The analysis also included the manual search of books,thesaurus and dictionaries that showed relevance to facilitation.Walker and Avant’s eight-step approach was applied to explore and analyze the meaning of facilitation in critical care units.Results:A total of 68 articles were included in the analysis of this study.Eleven attributes,six antecedents,and seven consequences related to facilitation were formulated.The attributes included dynamic,interactive processes,creating a positive environment,mobilizing resources,assistance,studentcentered,shared goals,collaboration,engagement,participation,and feedback.Antecedents were facilitator qualities,motivation,a positive learning environment,student-facilitator relationship,time availability,and specified learning outcomes.The consequences of facilitation were identified as follows:change,professional development,competency,quality development,increased job satisfaction,staff retention,and self-confidence.Conclusions:The findings from the analysis indicated that effective facilitation results in nurses and critical care staff developing competency,caring,critical thinking,and independence.Therefore,clinical outcomes in critical care environments are improved through teamwork,decision-making,and problemsolving in life-threatening situations.

Reform of Hospitality English Teaching Based on the Educational Concept of Outcome-Based Education(OBE)

The Outcome-Based Education(OBE)educational concept,proposed by renowned American educator Spady,aims to guide students in mastering learning laws and ultimately achieving expected learning outcomes.The application of OBE educational concept in Hospitality English curriculum not only can effectively enhance the learning effect but also promote the reform of the Hospitality English curriculum,thus improving students’learning enthusiasm.Therefore,taking the Hospitality English curriculum as an example,this paper points out the existing problems in the teaching of this course and suggests the reform measures based on the OBE teaching concept,hoping to provide guidelines for related educational work.

A concept analysis of vicarious resilience in mental health nursing

Objective:The introduction of the vicarious resilience concept in psychology and mental health nursing literature is a highly promising advancement.By utilizing this novel concept,experts in various domains can enhance their comprehension of how to foster resilience in individuals by observing and learning from the resilience of others.This concept analysis aims to elucidate the concept of vicarious resilience in mental health nursing by defining its related attributes,antecedents,and consequences.Methods:Walker and Avant’s strategy for concept analysis method was used.This review specifically examined mental health nurse providers.A comprehensive literature search was performed in the PubMed,Medline,the Cochrane Library,and CINAHL databases.The inclusion criterion was Englishlanguage documents on vicarious resilience within mental health nursing.Results:A total of 24 articles were included.The concept’s attributes were empathy,hope,resourcefulness,awareness,and spirituality.Antecedents were associated with listening to patients’trauma narratives,self-care,self-awareness,and support from colleagues.Consequences were enhanced well-being,changes in life goals,adaptation,personal growth,and increased personal resilience.Currently,there is only one tool in the empirical reference.Conclusion:Interpreting the concept of vicarious resilience in mental health nursing and determining its characteristics can be utilized to design nursing interventions to develop vicarious resilience and enhance the quality of care in mental health facilities.

Rule acquisition of three-way semi-concept lattices in formal decision context

Three-way concept analysis is an important tool for information processing,and rule acquisition is one of the research hotspots of three-way concept analysis.However,compared with three-way concept lattices,three-way semi-concept lattices have three-way operators with weaker constraints,which can generate more concepts.In this article,the problem of rule acquisition for three-way semi-concept lattices is discussed in general.The authors construct the finer relation of three-way semi-concept lattices,and propose a method of rule acquisition for three-way semi-concept lattices.The authors also discuss the set of decision rules and the relationships of decision rules among object-induced three-way semi-concept lattices,object-induced three-way concept lattices,classical concept lattices and semi-concept lattices.Finally,examples are provided to illustrate the validity of our conclusions.

Extreme Responses of An Integrated System with A Semi-Submersible Wind Turbine and Four Torus-Shaped Wave Energy Converters in Different Survival Modes

Offshore wind power is a kind of important clean renewable energy and has attracted increasing attention due to the rapid consumption of non-renewable energy.To reduce the high cost of energy,a possible try is to utilize the combination of wind and wave energy considering their natural correlation.A combined concept consisting of a semi-submersible wind turbine and four torus-shaped wave energy converters was proposed and numerically studied under normal operating conditions.However,the dynamic behavior of the integrated system under extreme sea conditions has not been studied yet.In the present work,extreme responses of the integrated system under two different survival modes are evaluated.Fully coupled time-domain simulations with consideration of interactions between the semi-submersible wind turbine and the torus-shaped wave energy converters are performed to investigate dynamic responses of the integrated system,including mooring tensions,tower bending moments,end stop forces,and contact forces at the Column-Torus interface.It is found that the addition of four tori will reduce the mean motions of the yaw,pitch and surge.When the tori are locked at the still water line,the whole integrated system is more suitable for the survival modes.

Spatial Differentiation and Convergence Trend of High-quality Development Level of China’s Tourism Economy

This paper aims to interpret the connotation of high-quality development of tourism economy(HQTE)from the perspective of the new development concepts of innovation,coordination,green,openness and sharing,and then to evaluate the spatial differenti-ation of China’s HQTE based on provincial panel data from 2009 to 2018.Specifically,we employ the spatial convergence model to ex-plore the absolute and conditionalβconvergence trends of HQTE in the whole country and the eastern,central and western regions of China.Our empirical results reveal that:1)within the decade,from 2009 to 2018,regions of China with the highest HQTE index is its eastern region followed by the central region and then the western region,but the fastest growing one is the western region of China fol-lowed by the central region and then the eastern region.2)Whether or not the spatial effect is included,there are absolute and condition-alβconvergence in HQTE in the whole country and aforementioned three regions.3)The degree of government attention as well as the level of economic development and location accessibility are the positive driving factors for the convergence of HQTE in the whole country and the three regions.The degree of marketization and human capital have not passed the significance test either in the whole country or in the three regions.The above conclusions could deepen the understanding of the regional imbalance and spatial conver-gence characteristics of HQTE,clarify the primary development objects,and accomplish the goal of China’s HQTE.