Parental Aspirations for Their Children’s Educational Attainment: Relations to Ethnicity,Parental Education,Children’s Academic Performance,and Parental Perceptions of School Climate

This study examined parental aspirations for their children’s educational attainment in relation to ethnicity (African American, Asian, Caucasian, Hispanic), parental education, children’s academic performance, and parental perceptions of the quality and climate of their children’s school with a sample of 13,577 middle and high school parents. All parents had relatively high educational aspirations for their children, and within each ethnic subgroup, parental education and children’s academic performance were significantly and positively related to parental aspirations. However, moderating effects were found such that Caucasian parents with lower levels of education had significantly lower educational aspirations for their children than did parents of other ethnicities with similar low levels of education. Although the strength of the relationship between parental perceptions of school-related factors and parental aspirations for their children’s educational attainment was not strong, it was most predictive of non-Caucasian parental aspirations for their children.

Health behavior stage and the prevalence of health risk behaviors in inner Mongolian secondary school students: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

This study evaluated stages of health behavior change and the prevalence of physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, poor stress management, alcohol consumption, and smoking in Inner Mongolian secondary school students. The relationship between engaging in health risk behaviors and demographic characteristics was also explored. In total, 2,794 students, largely in the contemplation and preparation stages, were enrolled. The prevalence of physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, poor stress management, alcohol consumption, and smoking were 31%, 33%, 46.8%, 18.6%, and 8.4%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis identified differences according to school grade, sex, ethnicity, residence areas, and school. Poor stress management in students is a serious health concern in Inner Mongolia.     

Violent Video Games as Exemplary Teachers: A Conceptual Analysis

This article presents conceptual and empirical analyses of several of the “best practices” of learning and instruction, and demonstrates how violent video games use them effectively to motivate learners to persevere in acquiring and mastering a number of skills, to navigate through complex problems and changing environments, and to experiment with different identities until success is achieved. These educational principles allow for the generation of several testable hypotheses, two of which are tested with samples of 430 elementary school children (mean age 10 years), 607 young adolescents (mean age 14 years), and 1,441 older adolescents (mean age 19 years). Participants were surveyed about their video game habits and their aggressive cognitions and behaviors. The first hypothesis is based on the principle that curricula that teach the same underlying concepts across contexts should have the highest transfer. Therefore, students who play multiple violent video games should be more likely to learn aggressive cognitions and behaviors than those who play fewer. The second hypothesis is based on the principle that long-term learning is improved the more practice is distributed across time. Therefore, students who play violent video games more frequently across time should be more likely to learn aggressive cognitions and behaviors than those who play the same types of games for equivalent amounts of time but less frequently. Both hypotheses were supported. We conclude by describing what educators can learn from the successful instructional and curriculum design features of video games.

东北地区资源利用效率及对策研究

我国"十一五"规划明确指出,"十一五"期间我国要把节约资源作为基本国策,加快建设资源节约型社会。东北地区由于长期以资源开发和产品初加工产业为龙头的粗放型的经济增长方式,使其自然资源的优势逐渐丧失。经济增长方式转变的根本点在于提高资源利用效率,用较少的资源消耗获得较高的经济产出。以能源为例,对东北地区资源利用效率进行分析,历年的计算结果显示:东北地区能源消费总量增长减缓,能源消费结构逐步得到优化,能源利用效率逐年提高,但从绝对值看,仍低于全国平均水平。为构建资源节约型社会,可以通过优化能源消费结构、提高能源利用效率、优化产业布局等,促进东北地区经济发展与人口、资源与环境的全面协调。     

制约我国消费信用发展的阻碍因素及其对策

消费信用是现代信用的一种重要形式,对我国目前启动消费、扩大内需、刺激经济的发展意义重大,而要使消费信用在我国真正形成气候,还有一定难度。要促进我国消费信用的发展,必须明确消费信用政策的指向性,培植多类型、多层次的消费信用体系,逐步建立个人信用制度;必须在政府的积极参与下,搞好配套改革,创造良好的消费信用环境。     

东盟5国能源消费与经济增长关系——基于生产型模型时间序列分析

基于生产型模型,采用时间序列协整分析和因果关系检验方法,对东盟5国1971—2007年能源消费与国内生产总值之间的关系进行实证分析。结果表明,从短期来看,马来西亚与新加坡是从能源消费到经济增长单向因果关系,印尼存在从经济增长到能源消费因果关系,菲律宾和泰国则存在双向因果关系。从长期来看,东盟5国都存在长期能源消费到经济增长的单向因果关系。最后,根据研究结果给出政策建议。     

我国未成年人犯罪的立法现状及其完善建议

未成年人的行为是“非人行为”,处理未成年人犯罪时应当关注的是“人”而非“行为”。所以,在处理未成年人犯罪的问题时,应当注重对未成年人的教育、改造和挽救而非简单的惩罚。因此,转变刑罚观念,进一步规范和改进我国未成年人犯罪的立法制度,制定一部系统的专门处理未成年人犯罪的法律规范才是解决问题的关键所在。     

基于消费视角的当代中国中产阶层透析

近几年,中产阶层作为一个新兴阶层在我国崛起,而且中产阶层在消费上的前卫姿态已经突显出来。政府也在有意识地鼓励、引导这种消费潮流。中国的中产阶层是何现状?其消费特征是什么?他们的生活真像人们想象的那样光鲜亮丽么?     

杜亚泉的“奢俭观”论析

杜亚泉"奢俭观"的核心内容是倡导"节俭"。首先,"节俭"对人类文明有着重大促进作用;其次,奢、俭之判定应依据社会经济发展的一般水平及消费所产生的影响;"节俭"并不等于悭吝;第三,根据国情,中国仍需秉持"节俭主义"。杜亚泉倡导的"节俭",实质是理性消费。他强调消费要满足人的发展需求与社会的发展需求;并结合近代中国实际,强调"节俭"对于经济发展与安全、政治清明与稳定具有积极意义。在消费旺盛、物欲横流的今天,倡导理性消费这一宝贵的思想遗产仍值得珍视。     

我国非合理性三公消费产生的原因及治理对策

三公消费问题由来已久,并随着我国社会转型和经济发展越来越凸显。特别是近几年,非合理性三公消费增长迅速且花样百出,以致成为久治不愈、广受诟病的"顽症"。究其原因,主要涉及个人思想与认识问题,也包括我国现有预算、监督、问责和法律法规等体制与机制的缺失与不足等。治理三公消费问题,须构建合理的三公消费价值观,重视职业伦理教育,强化财政预算约束,加强社会监督,通过法律法规加大问责力度。