What Helped Nonprofits Weather the Great Recession?

This study examined the effectiveness of several financial strategies for nonprofit organizations in fighting the Great Recession. Using data from human services and community improvement organizations in the state of New Jersey, we tested hypotheses about the relationships between three measures of financial sustainability and various fundraising efforts and financial indicators. We found that (1) except for strong external funding relationships, funding efforts were generally not effective in enhancing financial sustainability during the crisis; (2) higher operating margin and equity ratio improved an organization's ability to generate revenue and maintain expense levels, but higher debt ratio and administrative cost ratio were generally harmful; and (3) revenue diversification might aggravate fiscal stress and cause more expense cuts in a severe crisis. These findings improve our understanding of the mechanics of nonprofit management during times of harsh fiscal conditions and suggest useful ways for nonprofit organizations to navigate future financial crises.     

The reproductive health indices and sex hormone levels in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men

Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the age-related recession trajectory of reproductive health indices in middle-aged and elderly Chinese men.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jiashan County, Zhejiang in 2012. Healthy men between 40 and 80 years of age were considered eligible for the study. Physical examination and the sex hormones were measured. The subjects were assessed based on the 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) for Erectile Dysfunction (ED), and Aging Males’ Symptoms (AMS) scale for Symptomatic Late-Onset Hypogonadism (SLOH).

Results: TG showed a decrease at age 60 years. Testis volume and TT did not show significant difference among the four age groups; cFT began to decrease at age 50 years and Bio-T decreased faster at age 50 years. SHBG and LH increased faster at age 50 and 70 years, respectively. IIEF5 score decrease faster at age 60 years. AMS scores increased faster at age 70 years. With the increase in age, the symptoms of ED and SLOH became severer.

Conclusion: Different indices on reproductive health of men showed turning points at different ages. At first, androgenic sex hormones decreased faster, and then erectile dysfunction got severer, and the last overall male syndromes declined.     

Culturally responsive teaching in China: instructional strategy and teachers’ attitudes

The aim of this study was to investigate the manner in which teachers facilitate the pedagogical process within a culturally diverse student population. The study focused on two primary schools in China; one located in a more fully developed city in eastern China (Case A), while the other was in a less developed city in rural western China (Case B). This allowed the researchers to compare and analyse the different instructional practices by means of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The findings indicate that: the teachers in Case A demonstrated overall affirmative attitudes towards ethnic minority cultures, as well as towards the students belonging to those cultures. However, the teachers also chose not to mention the specific ethnic identities and cultural differences of the students during the course of their instruction in order to ensure equal treatment for everyone. This leads to a kind of ‘cultural blindness’ in the classroom. In Case B, opinions regarding minority cultures were more varied. Compared with the teachers in Case A, more teachers in Case B found minority cultures to be inferior to the dominant Han culture. Some teachers also, counter intuitively, were of the opinion that the minority cultures were even superior. At the instructional level, school leadership developed courses on local culture and ethnicity for the teaching staff. This was done for a variety of reasons. The strongest evidence to support culturally responsive teaching in Case A does not stem from teaching and learning demands but from the necessity to pursue characteristics that make them distinctive from other schools at the same time, Case B’s practice of culturally responsive teaching was strongly supported by the government and UNICEF. Teachers in both schools indicated that they had integrated their knowledge of ethnic minority groups into the subject matter when it was necessary.     

The classing gaze and its gendering effects: (dis)‐respectability,emotional (in)‐competency,and the counselling experiences of domestically violent Taiwanese men

Research on domestically violent men typically takes an oppositional logic of gender. While the significance of class in researching domestically violent men is identified, class and gender are often treated as separate entities that do not complicate each other. Drawing upon group observations and in‐depth interviews, this paper identifies how intersections of class and gender manifest in the counselling experiences of domestically violent Taiwanese men. From a Bourdieusian feminist analysis, the authors analyse (1) how class distinctions serve to (re)produce gendered hierarchy; (2) how contradictory experiences of gender reveal a relational understanding of class; and (3) how the gendered nature of domestically violent men is inscribed with a meaning of (working) class specificity for maintaining middle‐class ‘purity’. In analysing men's multiple and conflicting experiences, this paper contributes to research on domestically violent men by showing how class and gender are actively constructed and not produced in a monolithic/invariant way.     

The effect of product-harm crisis situations on firms’ spokesperson strategies: Evidence from China's emerging market economy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence product-harm crisis situations have on, a firm's spokesperson strategies in China's emerging market economy. Through the content analysis of, 127 product-harm crises, crisis type is found to be a predictor of spokesperson strategies. Compared, with Chinese brands, foreign brands are less likely to employ top-executive spokesperson strategies, during product-harm crises. Crisis severity was found to have no impact on the adoption of, spokesperson strategies.     

城镇化发展与和谐文化建设

城镇化发展与和谐文化建设关系密切。城镇化发展既是和谐文化建设的重要条件,也是和谐文化建设的服务对象。和谐文化建设是城镇化发展的重要保障,为城镇化发展提供理论指导和精神支持。要将城镇化发展与和谐文化建设有机结合起来,不断增强城市的人文内涵,完善公共文化服务体系,统筹安排城乡社区和谐文化建设,促进城镇化的健康发展。     

浅析生态化的外语教学环境

本文指出教育生态学是探讨和揭示教育生态系统的基本规律的学科,对于构建和谐、兼容的教学环境有着重要的意义。     

浅议高职英语听力教学中的衔接和连贯

本文试图从语篇的衔接和联贯的角度出发来帮助学生从语篇分析的角度提高听力理解能力。     

社会工作介入退役军人安置工作的思考

将社会工作的理念、方法、技巧介入到军人退役安置工作,有助于促进安置问题的解决。     

哈萨克斯坦医疗保险制度改革问题研究

医疗保险制度改革是哈萨克斯坦医疗改革的重要组成部分。独立以后,在全民免费医疗无法维持的情况下,哈萨克斯坦政府先后实施了强制医疗保险制度和自愿医疗保险制度。然而,这两种医疗保险制度的运行效果远远没有达到政府和民众的预期。目前,哈萨克斯坦又出现了恢复强制医疗保险制度的倾向。纵观哈萨克斯坦医疗保险制度的发展过程,可以认为,这种改革缺乏持续性的政策和明确的目标。另外,如何妥善解决社会公平和效率之间的关系,以及转变民众的医疗卫生观念,是未来哈萨克斯坦医疗保险改革亟待解决的深层问题。