Educational assessments tests are often constructed using testlets because of the flexibility to test various aspects of the cognitive activities and broad content sampling. However, the violation of the local item independence assumption is inevitable when tests are built using testlet items. In this study, simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of item response theory models and testlet response theory models for both the dichotomous and polytomous items in the context of equating tests composed of testlets. We also examine (...) the impact of testlet effect, length of testlet items, and sample size on estimating item and person parameters. The results show that more accurate performance of testlet response theory models over item response theory models was consistently observed across the studies, which supports the benefits of using the testlet response theory models in equating for tests composed of testlets. Further, results of the study indicate that when sample size is large, item response theory models performed similarly to testlet response theory models across all studies. (shrink)

Enterprise philanthropy is practiced in a very unique and rudimentary form in China. Based on a unique random survey data on 3837 Chinese private enterprises conducted in 31 provinces of China in 2006, I find the significant positive relationship between enterprise philanthropy donation and enterprise profitability, and the result supports the political and institutional power view of enterprise philanthropy in the latest development of China. Simply put, Chinese private enterprises carried out philanthropy activities to better protect property rights and nurture (...) political connections, which in turn, leads to better enterprise profitability. The␣result is even stronger in institutions weaker provinces. (shrink)

Guanxi as one of the key factors leading to business success in China (PRC) has ironically been synonymous with bribery. This raises some serious questions: should Western foreign firms do business in China? How should they do business with Chinese firms? This study investigated the relationship between guanxi orientation and cognitive moral development in an attempt to determine whether the level of guanxi orientation of Chinese business people affects their ethical reasoning. Based on a classification of Chinese enterprises (Nee, 1992), (...) it was found that Chinese enterprises rely on guanxi for business to different extents. However, their levels of cognitive moral development are not significantly different, suggesting that guanxi orientation has very little to do with ethical reasoning (as captured through an established measure of cognitive moral development). Furthermore, time in profession was found to positively affect guanxi orientation; however, age failed to predict guanxi orientation and education turned out to be a negative predictor of guanxi orientation. (shrink)

Pylyshyn's effort in establishing the cognitive impenetrability of early vision is welcome. However, his view about the role of attention in early vision seems to be oversimplified. The allocation of focal attention manifests its effect among multiple stages in the early vision system, it is not just confined to the input and the output levels.

Guanxi (literally interpersonal connections) is in essence a network of resource coalition-based stakeholders sharing resources for survival, and it plays a key role in achieving business success in China. However, the salience of guanxi stakeholders varies: not all guanxi relationships are necessary, and among the necessary guanxi participants, not all are equally important. A hierarchical stakeholder model of guanxi is developed drawing upon Mitchell et al.’s (1997) stakeholder salience theory and Anderson’s (1982) constituency theory. As an application of instrumental stakeholder (...) theory, the model dimensionalizes the notion of stakeholder salience, and distinguishes between and among internal and external guanxi, core, major, and peripheral guanxi, and primary and secondary guanxi stakeholders. Guanxi management principles are developed based on a hierarchy of guanxi priorities and management specializations. The goal of this application of instrumental stakeholder theory is to construct, for Western business firms in China, a means to reliably identify guanxi partners by employing the principles of effective guanxi. These principles are described in the form of testable propositions that advance social scientific research in this area of international business ethics. (shrink)

Adherence to ethical principles in clinical research and practice is becoming topical issue in China, where the prevalence of mental illness is rising, but treatment facilities remain underdeveloped. This paper reports on a study aiming to understand the ethical knowledge and attitudes of Chinese mental health professionals in relation to the process of diagnosis and treatment, informed consent, and privacy protection in clinical trials.

An inclusive vision of mathematics-- its beauty, its humanity, and its power to build virtues that help us all flourish. For mathematician Francis Su, a society without mathematical affection is like a city without museums. To miss out on mathematics is to live without experiencing some of humanity's most beautiful ideas. In this profound book, written for a diverse audience but especially for those disenchanted by their past experiences, an award-winning mathematician and educator weaves personal reflections, puzzles, and stories to (...) show how mathematics meets basic human desires and cultivates virtues essential for human flourishing. Readers will explore mathematical concepts-- and see how mathematical thinking can even fulfill such longings as for love, play, freedom, justice, and community. Some lessons come from those who have struggled, including philosopher Simone Weil, whose own mathematical contributions were overshadowed by her brother's, and Christopher Jackson, who discovered mathematics as an inmate in a federal prison. Christopher Jackson's letters to the author appear throughout the book and show how this intellectual pursuit can-- and must-- be open to all. (shrink)

Major debates on democratic renewal suggest two ways of eliciting social change: either by strengthening vertical practices of representation or by expanding horizontal forms of participation. The article develops an argument for why there is a need to rethink democratic resistance beyond the vertical–horizontal divide. If contemporary forms of resistance encompass a strategic interplay between vertical and horizontal practices, then an alternative framework is required to capture this logic. Filling this gap, the article introduces the concept of ‘horizontal experimentalism’. Such (...) an idea comprehends an understanding of political means and ends as a continuum and as adjusting each other in an ongoing process of experimental inquiry. (shrink)

Jaina philosophical treatise with a Sanskrit commentary of Hemacandra Sūri, 12th cent.

The relation between knowledge and action has been a lengthy debate in philosophy which traces back to Descartes and Locke. Purism holds that the practical factors related to action are fundamentally independent of the standard of knowledge, while pragmatic encroachment argues that practical considerations about action can impact judgments about knowledge. This traditional debate was put front and center recently by discussions on some knowledge attribution cases and relevant empirical studies. This paper reports three empirical studies based on three pairs (...) of classic knowledge attribution cases on Chinese participants. The results indicate that folk's understanding of knowledge is more compatible with purism and suggest a conversational implicature account of the connection between judgments about knowledge and action. (shrink)

This study examined the relationship of intelligence mindsets to math achievement for primary school students in the Chinese educational context, as well as the mediating function of math self-efficacy and failure beliefs in this relationship. Participants included 466 fifth graders (231 boys and 235 girls) from two Chinese primary schools. Results indicated that boys had significantly higher mean levels of growth mindsets and math self-efficacy than girls, whereas boys had no statistically significant differences to girls on failure beliefs and math (...) grade. Further, intelligence mindsets had a significant positive effect on math achievement, and failure beliefs and math self-efficacy played a full mediating role in the relationship between intelligence mindsets and math achievement. Moreover, intelligence mindsets affected math achievement through the chain mediating role of failure beliefs and math self-efficacy. These above findings contribute to advance our knowledge about the underlying mechanisms through which intelligence mindsets affect math achievement, which are of great significance to students' growth and current educational practice. (shrink)

This research examines the impact of an online platform’s revenue model on consumers’ ethical inferences of the company. We demonstrate that consumers perceive online platforms that employ the advertising-based revenue model to be less ethical than platforms that employ the service-fee-based revenue model because platforms that adopt the advertising-based revenue model are thought to be less consumer-serving motivated. The unfavorable ethical inferences induced by the advertising-based revenue model further lower consumers’ intention to disclose personal information and the intention to generate (...) positive word of mouth for the company. We further find that allowing consumers to skip advertisements does not improve the less favorable ethical inferences while using resources for public-service advertisements does. These findings advance the understanding of consumers’ ethical inferences regarding business models and provide insights for managers to develop effective strategies to alleviate less favorable ethical inferences. (shrink)

1. Iyagipʻyŏn -- 2. Tʻamgu haksŭppʻyŏn.

Business simulation games (BSGs) have been widely used in entrepreneurship education with positive effects. However, there are still some deficiencies in the BSGs, such as limited guidance, low uncertainty and limited simulation environment, which make it impossible to exert the maximum effect. Artificial intelligence (AI) can solve the above shortcomings. The combination of AI and BSGs is the possible development direction of BSGs. But how to effectively combine BSGs with AI is still an open question. Using a quasi-experimental design, this (...) study uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to analyze how participants’ entrepreneurial attitude changes in BSGs. The results show that BSGs can effectively improve entrepreneurial attitude, and there are four types of promotion configurations. These four configurations consist of five antecedent conditions. According to the above conclusions, AI can improve entrepreneurial attitude in BSGs in various ways, such as simulating competitors, providing targeted feedback for failures, and improving game experience. The contribution of this paper is to highlight the possibility of combining AI with BSGs, and to provide suggestions on how AI can intervene in BSGs. (shrink)

Previous research has indicated that parenting factors affect the risk of maladaptive psychological outcomes, and that positive parenting is a prospective risk factor for maladaptive psychological outcomes. However, the mechanisms underlying the relationships between positive parenting, mindfulness, and maladaptive psychological outcomes remain unknown, as do the processes that mediate the effect of positive parenting on maladaptive psychological outcomes in adolescents. The objective of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal relationship between positive parenting, mindfulness, and maladaptive psychological outcomes in (...) middle school students, as well as the mediating effect of mindfulness in the relationships between positive parenting and depression, aggression, and suicidal ideation. In this study, 386 middle school children were tested three times over a period of 6 months. Positive parenting was assessed at Time 1, mindfulness at Time 2, and depression, aggression, and suicidal ideation at Time 3. Using structural equation modeling, positive parenting was revealed to be longitudinally associated with mindfulness and negatively associated with maladaptive psychological outcomes. More crucially, mindfulness mediated the relationship between positive parenting and maladaptive psychological outcomes. This research provides important insights into how to effectively decrease adolescent maladaptive psychological outcomes and highlights the importance of teaching mindfulness to youths. (shrink)

Partner selection is the primary aspect of the formation of knowledge collaboration teams. We propose a method of partner selection for KCTs based on a weighted social network analysis method in which the individual knowledge competence and the collaboration performance of candidates are both considered. To select the desired partners, a biobjective 0-1 model is built, integrating the knowledge competence and collaboration performance, which is an NP-hard problem. Then, a multiobjective genetic algorithm is developed to solve the proposed model. Finally, (...) a real-world example is provided to illustrate the applicability of the model, and the MOGA is implemented to search for Pareto solutions of partner selection for KCT in this case. Moreover, some simulation examples are used to test the efficiency of the algorithm. The results suggest that the proposed method can support effective and practical partner selection. (shrink)

Although Korean society has begun to seek a way of utilizing advance directives, there is not much known about the factors influencing the average Korean person’s preference toward advance directives. The purpose of this study was to examine factors, in addition to demographic variables, influencing preferences regarding advance directives. These include: to what extent people’s awareness of advance directives, preferences of extending their life at the end of life, experience of illness and medical care, and family functioning independently influence the (...) preferences toward advance directives. The participants were 382 community-dwelling Korean people. The data analysis was performed using hierarchical multiple logistic regression analysis. The findings showed that a majority of Korean people had a positive preference on advance directives and the factors influencing their preferences for advance directives were the preferences against the use of life-sustaining treatment at the end of life, a good self-rated heath status, and an unsatisfactory family functioning. (shrink)

Setting up affiliated companies in tax havens is a legitimate, but ethically dubious, business practice. This study examines the conditions under which emerging business groups tend to use such a business practice. Business groups in emerging economies have been operating in weak institutional environments with substantial government intervention and ineffective market-supporting institutions. Having offshore companies in tax havens enables the groups to bypass some market transaction costs and institutional constraints, and it also provides them the opportunity to evade taxes and (...) hide illegal conduct, such as bribery. Empirical evidence based on a sample of Taiwanese business groups showed that business groups with a higher level of prosocial orientation established fewer offshore companies in tax havens, as manifested by their commitment of resources to establishing nonprofit organizations. In contrast, groups that have higher levels of product and international diversification tend to use this ethically dubious business practice. However, highly internationalized groups are less likely to do so when they have committed substantial resources to prosocial activities. (shrink)

Nurses who try to reduce inequalities in health care by defending individuals they care for should be able to perceive ethical situations sensitively as patient advocates. This study aimed to examine the effects of ethics education provided to nursing students on ethical sensitivity and patient advocacy. The study adopted a pre-test, post-test, one-group quasi-experimental design and was conducted at a public university in Turkey. The sample comprised 44 nursing students taking the Professional Ethics course. Data were collected from October 13, (...) 2021, to January 6, 2022, using a Descriptive Characteristics Form, the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, and the Patient Advocacy Scale for Nurses. The study was approved by an ethics committee. While no significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test mean Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire scores (t = 0.426, p > 0.05), a significant difference was noted between the total mean Patient Advocacy Scale for Nurses scores (Z = − 2.443, p < 0.05). The findings showed that ethics education provided to the nursing students did not affect ethical sensitivity but increased patient advocacy. (shrink)

Most e-commerce platforms allow consumers to post product reviews, causing more and more consumers to get into the habit of reading reviews before they buy. These online reviews serve as an emotional feedback of consumers’ product experience and contain a lot of important information, but inevitably there are malicious or irrelevant reviews. It is especially important to discover and identify the real sentiment tendency in online reviews in a timely manner. Therefore, a deep learning-based real online consumer sentiment classification model (...) is proposed. First, the mapping relationship between online reviews of goods and sentiment features is established based on expert knowledge and using fuzzy mathematics, thus mapping the high-dimensional original text data into a continuous low-dimensional space. Secondly, after obtaining local contextual features using convolutional operations, the long-term dependencies between features are fully considered by a bidirectional long- and short-term memory network. Then, the degree of contribution of different words to the text is considered by introducing an attention mechanism, and a regular term constraint is introduced in the objective function. The experimental results show that the proposed convolutional attention–long and short-term memory network model has a higher test accuracy of 83.3% compared with other models, indicating that the model has better classification performance. (shrink)

Due in large part to the trends towards economic globalization, English has become the most widely disseminated and ubiquitous international language. The purpose of the study was to investigate what Taiwan?s EFL teachers at the elementary level believe about the policy of English as a compulsory subject and how they perceive the benefits and obstacles of the policy?s implementation. Ten elementary English teachers in Tainan City and its suburban areas participated in this study. Data were collected through teachers? interviews, classroom (...) observation and document analysis. Results found that all ten teachers agreed with the policy for English as a compulsory subject at the elementary level. They observed both positive and negative sides of this top?down policy. Classroom observation and interview data revealed that EFL teachers had to plan their English classes with the constraints on a large class of students with mixed levels of proficiency, limited teaching hours and resources. Parents? expectations of and attitudes towards English learning also became an obstacle. (shrink)

In this paper, we address the model of global attractor formulated in the form of evolution differential inclusions with second order in Banach spaces. Firstly, based on the fixed point theorem, the existence result of mild solutions is deduced. Then, by implementing the measure of noncompactness, the existence of global attractor associated with m -semiflow is validated. Finally, a concrete application of the main result is demonstrated to enhance the practical signification.