Red Cross Society in Imperial China, 1904–1912: A Historical Analysis

The Red Cross Society was introduced to China in the 1900s, when the nation was under the authoritarian reign of Qing dynasty. Famines and rebellions, along with the invasion of foreign military forces, created tremendous humanitarian crises that the corrupted imperial government was incapable to address. The Red Cross model was found to be a pragmatic solution by Chinese philanthropists. Using archived press releases, correspondences, and government statements, the study reconstructs the founding process of the first Chinese Red Cross organization from 1904 to 1912. The analysis reveals that the organization reflected the congruent interest of the imperial court and social elites in preserving the sovereignty and was therefore promoted by key players from both political and civil spheres. The trajectory of Red Cross movement in imperial China supports the synergism perspective of institutional theories. It demonstrates how micro-level factors such as leadership ties and alliances contribute to the interdependence of public and private sectors and facilitate the transformation of traditional charity to modern philanthropy.     

Characteristics of atmospheric PM2.5 in stands and non-forest cover sites across urban-rural areas in Beijing,China

Urban Ecosystems - Monitoring air pollution at a city scale is essential for controlling urban air pollution in cities, especially megacities, in China. In this paper, data for 1 city center site...     

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.     

Wiki-worthy: collective judgment of candidate notability

The use of socio-technical data to predict elections is a growing research area. We argue that election prediction research suffers from under-specified theoretical models that do not properly distinguish between ‘poll-like’ and ‘prediction market-like’ mechanisms understand findings. More specifically, we argue that, in systems with strong norms and reputational feedback mechanisms, individuals have market-like incentives to bias content creation toward candidates they expect will win. We provide evidence for the merits of this approach using the creation of Wikipedia pages for candidates in the 2010 US and UK national legislative elections. We find that Wikipedia editors are more likely to create Wikipedia pages for challengers who have a better chance of defeating their incumbent opponent and that the timing of these page creations coincides with periods when collective expectations for the candidate's success are relatively high.     

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.     

Lurking Behavior in Online Psychosocial Discussion Forums: Theoretical Perspectives and Implications for Practice

Improving outcomes of telebehavioral psychoeducation requires rethinking program design when delivered wholly or partially for self-directed participation. Discussion forum participation often follows the “90-9-1 Rule” where 90% of participants lurk, rather than contribute content. A theoretical perspective on the behavior can help explain its adaptive functions, as well as the threats that this behavior poses to the lurker. Implications for practice require program redesign that actively links individual skills training and group-based discussion. The proposed linking design can synergize individual and group participation to support the development of mutual aid, as well as greater interaction with psychoeducation content and materials.     

Third-Person Effect,Religiosity and Support for Censorship of Satirical Religious Cartoons

The violent attack on the staff of Charlie Hebdo and an earlier plot to kill cartoonists from the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten raise the issue of censorship of satirical religious cartoons to avoid potential retaliatory violence from those offended by the cartoons. With third-person effect (TPE) as the theoretical underpinning, this study examined the relationship among TPE, religiosity, and support for censorship of religious satirical cartoons. Data were collected in May 2015. A national sample of participants (N=374) was acquired through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. The results show that individuals with a higher degree of religiosity are more likely to support censorship of satirical religious cartoons, and though TPE is not positively correlated to support for censorship, respondents’ perception of the effect of the cartoons on themselves may indicate an increased propensity for supporting censorship.