Native English speaking teachers and Taiwanese English teachers' professional identity

The study found that Native English Speaking Teachers (NESTs) helped Taiwanese English teachers define their weaknesses, strengths, roles and values through relationality. NESTs brought competing discourses to the profession. In addition, team teaching has become a site of tension threatening Taiwanese English teachers in activating their professional agency.

Teacher change in exploring representational approaches to learning science

The researcher worked closely with two biology-trained teachers to plan three teaching sequences in the topics of forces, substances and astronomy that were subsequently taught to Year 7 students. The sequences sought to develop a model of classroom practice that foregrounds students’ negotiation of conceptual representations.

The difficulties encountered by individuals in learning science point to the need for a very strong emphasis of the role of representations in learning. There is a need for learners to use their own representational, cultural and cognitive resources to engage with the subject-specific representational practices of science. Researchers who have undertaken classroom studies whereby students have constructed and used their own representations have pointed to several principles in the planning, execution and assessment of student learning (diSessa, 2004; Greeno & Hall, 1997). A key principle is that teachers need to identify big ideas, key concepts, of the topic at the planning stage in order to guide refinement of representational work. These researchers also point out the need for students to engage with multiple representations in different modes that are both teacher and student generated. A representation can only partially explain a particular phenomenon or process and has both positive and negative attributes to the target that it represents. The issue of the partial nature of representations needs to be a component of classroom practice (Greeno & Hall, 1997) in terms of students critiquing representations for their limitations and affordances and explicitly linking multiple representations to construct a fuller understanding of the phenomenon or process under study. The classroom practice should also provide opportunities for students to manipulate representations as reasoning tools (Cox, 1999) in constructing the scientifically acceptable ideas and communicating them.

Research question: What impact was there on the participating teacher’s practice through the adoption of a representational focus to teaching science?

Data collection included video sequences of classroom practice and student responses, student work, field notes, tape records of meetings and discussions, and student and teacher interviews based in some cases on video stimulated recall. Video analysis software was used to capture the variety of representations used, and sequences of representational negotiation.

The teachers in this study reported substantial shifts in their classroom practices, and in the quality of classroom discussions, arising from adopting a representational focus. The shifts were reported by them as a three-fold challenge. First, there was an epistemological challenge as they came to terms with the culturally produced nature of representations in the topics of force, substance and astronomy and their flexibility and power as tools for analysis and communication, as opposed to their previous assumption that this was given knowledge to be learnt as an end point. The second challenge was pedagogical, in that this approach was acknowledged to place much greater agency in the hands of students, and this brought a need to learn to run longer and more structured discussions around conceptual problems. The third challenge related to content coverage. The teachers sacrificed coverage for the greater depth offered by this approach, and were unanimous in their judgment that this had been a change that had paid dividends in terms of student learning.

Web-text : perceptions of digital reading skills in the ESL classroom

New strategies required in Web reading and digital writing cause previous notions of literacy to be reshaped and compel teachers to rethink classroom reading practice. The aim of this paper is to compare student perceptions of reading skills needed in the traditional print- text mode with the skills needed to read and gather information on the Web. Do students perceive reading as different on the Web? Are there implications for reading classroom teachers? This research was conducted in a medium-sized suburban government primary school of 580 students from 72 different countries. The participants were 48 students in two grade-six classes, with a focus on 12 English as second language (ESL) students' responses. These students came from Taiwan, China, India, Malaysia, Poland and Bhutan. The study was replicated in an adult ELICOS language centre environment with the authors own class of 18 students from China, Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan. Different student expectations of Web-text compared to paper-text were evident. This research adds to our constantly evolving notions of literacy embracing technology and can be applied to primary, secondary and tertiary levels of ESL teaching practice.

Introducing health information systems to aged care in Vietnam

Similar to many other countries worldwide, Vietnam is facing a challenge of an ageing population. This challenge is even more difficult to overcome because Vietnam is a developing country lacking an established aged care infrastructure and system. Many aspects of aged care have largely been relied on families of aged people due to a strong influence of Confucian philosophy. Looking after aged parents has always been seen as a responsibility and filial piety of children and their extended families. Therefore, providing healthcare for aged people in their family and community context is important. The paper offers a rich description and an analysis of the current situation of the health state of and healthcare for aged people in Vietnam. The paper also suggests directions for integrating information communication technology into aged care in Vietnam.

People management challenges to multinational companies in Asia

This book discusses the contextual factors such as cultural and institutional settings that impact on effective people management practices in Asia. The challenges of multinational companies (MNCs) in the particular areas of attraction and retention, training and career development of the local skilled labour workforce are analyzed using the data of 529 MNCs in six Asian countries (namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand). The degree of challenges varies by country and sector. This book draws conclusions from the empirical research stating that cultural and institutional theories, as well as the convergence and divergence theses can explain at best, partially, reasons behind the different outcomes of people management or human resource management (HRM) practices across MNCs in different operations in the region.

Exploring training issues of multinational companies in Asia

Effective employee training is important to organisations as it improves quality of human resources, which in turn help achieve better organisational outcomes. The literature on education, training and other aspects of human resource development (HRD) among multinational companies (MNCs) in Asia is quite limited. This paper intends to explore training expenditure, training programs offered and training concerns indicated by companies, using a survey of 529 MNCs operating in six Asian countries (namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan). The findings show that the majority of MNCs surveyed recognised the benefits of employee training and invested heavily on training different types of employees in local subsidiaries. Organisational variables such as size, industry, parent source and proportion of international activity also affected training practices of MNCs. The paper identified some quality and relevance issue related to formal and externally-conducted training programs.

Keeping talents for advancing service firms in Asia

Purpose – Skill shortages worldwide have intensified the need for talent management. Few papers examine the pattern of human resource (HR) and talent management practices that help retain competent employees among service multinational companies (MNCs) in Asia. The purpose of this paper is to map out a number of HR practices used by service companies and to examine the effect of talent retention as perceived by MNC managers on service delivery capacity and business growth.

Design/methodology/approach – A survey data of 281 service MNCs in six Asian countries (namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand) are used to compare country and sectoral differences. Standard multiple regression analysis is conducted to test the link between HR practices, employee retention, and service firm performance.

Findings – The results confirm that there are statistically significant linkages between HR practices, talent retention and firm performance. In particular, various skill training and development programs are seen to be significantly associated with capacity to deliver quality service and on firm growth as perceived by managers surveyed. Informal recruitment methods that are used more by Asian-bred firms have contributed to better retention rates. Not all formalised HR practices lead to talent retention; and the degree to which HR is perceived to have impacted on firm performance varies.

Research limitations/implications – The paper focuses on examining the perceptual impacts of human resource management (HRM) practices on firm performance, rather than actual HRM impacts. The interpretation of results should be taken with caution.

Originality/value – Talent management is influenced by country specific variables. This paper shows how important it is for service firms to focus on strategic selection of both formal and informal HR practices in order to deliver high quality service and to drive service firm growth.

Manufacturing to Asia : who will win the emerging battle for talent between Dragons and Tigers?

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the issues relating to recruiting highly skilled managerial and professional staff experienced by multinational companies (MNCs) manufacturing in six Asian countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Design/methodology/approach – Data collected from 529 MNCs were used to examine critical human resource planning and recruitment concerns of companies operating in high growth “Dragon” and newly developed “Tiger” economies. The study examined the differences in recruitment practices between manufacturing and service companies and the issues relating to how manufacturers maintain an adequate skills basis.

Findings – There appears a considerable extent of battle for talent among Dragon and Tiger economies with the latter required to be more aggressive as they attempt to sustain growth. Manufacturing companies are experiencing a higher demand for more job-related managerial and technical capabilities whilst competing with service companies that are also in need for more talent. To succeed, manufacturing MNCs will need to adopt a strategic approach for recruitment and retention, and internal capability training to maintain their skilled employees in order to sustain competitive advantage.

Originality/value – The results shown in the paper provide manufacturing MNCs with insights into managerial and professional recruitment trend in Asia.

English education for international students in local schools : practices of inclusion and discourses of exclusion

This paper is concerned with the ways secondary teachers in Victoria, Australia, speak about inclusive education for international students. Preliminary analysis of recent research shows teachers understand that English language teaching is crucial and are committed to its good practice. Nevertheless, further analysis suggests teacher approaches to education are contested, support a deficit view of teaching practice, and simplify notions of language and culture to their discrete and systemic characteristics vis-a-vis their embodied and ontological aspects. Even as teachers work to include all of their students, their efforts are mediated by discourses that negotiate the nexus between identity and difference, language and culture, and English language education. Together these discourses work to inscribe international students differently within the community, redefine the education provided to them, and constrain their access to contemporary and globalized life-worlds.

Cloud-point extraction of phenanthrene by nonionic surfactants

Extraction and preconcentration of the model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), phenanthrene, in aqueous solutions by two different kinds of nonionic ethoxylated alcohols, Tergitol 15-S-7 and Neodol 25-7, as extractants was studied at ambient temperature (22°C). Both surfactants have almost the same numbers of hydrocarbons and ethylene-oxide (EO) units, but differ in the location of the alcohols. Neodol 25-7 is a primary alcohol, while Tergitol 15-S-7 is a secondary one. The extraction process is based on the clouding phenomena of these two nonionic surfactants. Addition of sodium sulfate or sodium phosphate could decrease the cloud point temperatures of the surfactant solutions below the ambient temperatures, so that the cloud-point extraction process could be facilitated. Increasing the salt concentration or decreasing the surfactant concentration could improve the preconcentration factor, which is attributable to the decrease in the volume of surfactant-rich phase. Consequently, the recovery efficiency higher than 96% was achieved for phenanthrene in aqueous solution.

CESE 2011 - abstracts book : the fourth annual conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering

Abstract Book of the Conference on the Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering - CESE 2011, 25th - 30th Sept., Tainan City, Taiwan

What drives stock markets over short horizons? Evidence from emerging markets

The goal of this paper is to examine the importance of permanent and transitory shocks in explaining variations in stock prices for Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea using a trend-cycle decomposition technique. This study is novel in that in measuring the impact of shocks we not only impose common trend restrictions but also common cycle restrictions. We later undertake a post-sample forecasting exercise to confirm the efficiency gains from imposing common cycle restrictions. We find that over short horizons, transitory shocks are the dominant source of variations in stock prices for South Korea, while permanent shocks explain the bulk of the variations in stock price of Singapore and Taiwan.