Folk conceptions of humanness: Beliefs about distinctive and core human characteristics in Australia, Italy, and China

The present research explores cultural understandings of what it means to be human. We used open-ended responses to examine whether the most culturally salient aspects of humanness are captured by two theoretical dimensions: human uniqueness (HU) and human nature (HN). Australians, Italians, and Chinese (N = 315) showed differences in the characteristics considered human and in the emphasis placed on HU and HN. These findings contribute to developing cross-cultural folk psychological models of humanness.

Current pre-hospital traumatic brain injury management in China

BACKGROUND Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with mo st trauma-related deaths. Secondary brain injury is the leading cause of in-hospital deaths after traumatic brain injury. By early prevention and slowing of the initial pathophysiological mechanism of secondary brain injury, pre- hospital service can signifi cantly reduce case-fata lity rates of TBI. In China, the incidence of TBI is increasing and the proportion of severe TBI is much higher than that in other countries. The objective of this paper is to review the pre-hospital management of TBI in China. DATA SOURCES A literature search was conducted in January 2014 using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Articles on the assessment and treatment of TBI in pre-hospital settings practiced by Chinese doctors were identified. The information on the assessment and treatment of hypoxemia, hypotension, and brain hern iation was extracted from the identifi ed articles. RESULTS Of the 471 articles identified, 65 met the selecti on criteria. The existing literature indicated that current practices of pre-hospital TBI management in China were sub-optimal and varied considerably across different regions. CONCLUSION Since pre-hospital care is the weakest part of Chinese emergency care, appropriate training programs on pre-hospital TBI management are urgently needed in China.

Practices and knowledge levels of prehospital doctors in traumatic brain injury management in Hubei, China

This thesis is a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of pre-hospital doctors' knowledge and practice of managing traumatic brain injury in two major cities of Hubei province, China. This study provides evidence for future research on improving the quality of pre-hospital management in China.

Cultural beliefs about societal change: A three-mode principal component analysis in China, Australia, and Japan

People’s beliefs about where society has come from and where it is going have personal and political consequences. Here, we conduct a detailed investigation of these beliefs through re-analyzing Kashima et al.’s (Study 2, n = 320) data from China, Australia, and Japan. Kashima et al. identified a “folk theory of social change” (FTSC) belief that people in society become more competent over time, but less warm and moral. Using three-mode principal components analysis, an under-utilized analytical method in psychology, we identified two additional narratives: Utopianism/Dystopianism (people becoming generally better or worse over time) and Expansion/Contraction (an increase/decrease in both positive and negative aspects of character over time). Countries differed in endorsement of these three narratives of societal change. Chinese endorsed the FTSC and Utopian narratives more than other countries, Japanese held Dystopian and Contraction beliefs more than other countries, and Australians’ narratives of societal change fell between Chinese and Japanese. Those who believed in greater economic/technological development held stronger FTSC and Expansion/Contraction narratives, but not Utopianism/Dystopianism. By identifying multiple cultural narratives about societal change, this research provides insights into how people across cultures perceive their social world and their visions of the future.

Representation and authenticity of historic landscapes in Australia and China

Histories of past communities are embedded in landscapes around the world but many are suffering from material change or neglect of their fabric. This study was aimed at discovering and representing the authentic intangible experience of two historic landscapes for conservation purposes. A 2500 year old site in Yangzhou, China and a 2000 year old site on St Helena Island in Moreton Bay were found to be managed under two culturally different regimes of authenticity. This research has contributed to challenging the notion that there is only one way to conserve authenticity in historic landscapes of the Asia Pacific.

A nationwide web-based automated system for early outbreak detection and rapid response in China

Timely reporting, effective analyses and rapid distribution of surveillance data can assist in detecting the aberration of disease occurrence and further facilitate a timely response. In China, a new nationwide web-based automated system for outbreak detection and rapid response was developed in 2008. The China Infectious Disease Automated-alert and Response System (CIDARS) was developed by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention based on the surveillance data from the existing electronic National Notifiable Infectious Diseases Reporting Information System (NIDRIS) started in 2004. NIDRIS greatly improved the timeliness and completeness of data reporting with real time reporting information via the Internet. CIDARS further facilitates the data analysis, aberration detection, signal dissemination, signal response and information communication needed by public health departments across the country. In CIDARS, three aberration detection methods are used to detect the unusual occurrence of 28 notifiable infectious diseases at the county level and to transmit that information either in real-time or on a daily basis. The Internet, computers and mobile phones are used to accomplish rapid signal generation and dissemination, timely reporting and reviewing of the signal response results. CIDARS has been used nationwide since 2008; all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China at the county, prefecture, provincial and national levels are involved in the system. It assists with early outbreak detection at the local level and prompts reporting of unusual disease occurrences or potential outbreaks to CDCs throughout the country.

Ambient temperature and the rates of adverse reactions of pertussis vaccines

To the Editor—Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis whole-cell (DTwP) and acellular (DTaP) vaccines are the 2 main pertussis-contained vaccines. DTwP, developed in the 1930s, has contributed to the reduction of pertussis, but has often been associated with vaccine-related adverse reactions (ARs) [1]. This had severely affected the public confidence in immunization programs, followed by decreased vaccine coverage and pertussis outbreaks in many industrialized countries in the 1970s [2]. DTaP, which was developed in the 1980s and replaced DTwP in developed countries in the 1990s, has been associated with fewer ARs due to removal/reduction of endotoxin [1]. China began replacing DTwP with DTaP in its national immunization programs in December 2007, and its passive Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) surveillance system was established in 2005 [3]. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report indicates that the planet is warming at...

Developing creative services industries in Hangzhou, China

Creativity is changing the People’s Republic of China according to Li Wuwei (2011), a leading Chinese economist and policy advisor. The nation is learning to embrace a “third industrial revolution” (Rifkin, 2011) while banking the economic capital of the carbon-dependent manufacturing economy. Urbanisation is also driving change and consumer culture (Gerth, 2010). Most of China’s high-value creative service industries are found in the large urban centres of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the coastal provinces. China’s second-tier cities, including Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, are also seeking to make capital out of culture, albeit with different strategies than the coastal hubs. The Hangzhou metropolitan area is the fourth largest in China, with 8.8 million residents. Zhejiang province was once known as the “land of rice and fish.” However, with the increased emphasis on productivity in China’s economic reforms since 1978, the province became an economic heavyweight, characterised by small and medium-sized enterprises often working together to produce complementary products...

Malaria imported from Ghana by returning gold miners, China, 2013

During May-August 2013, a malaria outbreak comprising 874 persons in Shanglin County, China, was detected among 4,052 persons returning from overseas. Ghana was the predominant destination country, and 92.3% of malarial infections occurred in gold miners. Preventive measures should be enhanced for persons in high-risk occupations traveling to malaria-endemic countries.

The cluster effect in China: Real or imagined?

Policy makers, urban planners and economic geographers readily acknowledge the potential value of industrial clustering. Clusters attract policy makers’ interest because it is widely held that they are a way of connecting agglomeration to innovation and human capital to investment. Urban planners view clustering as a way of enticing creative human capital, the so-called ‘creative class’, that is, creative people are predisposed to live where there is a range of cultural infrastructure and amenities. Economists and geographers have contrived to promote clustering as a solution to stalled regional development. In the People’s Republic of China, over the past decade the cluster has become the default setting of the cultural and creative industries, the latter a composite term applied to the quantifiable outputs of artists, designers and media workers as well as related service sectors such as tourism, advertising and management. The thinking behind many cluster projects is to ‘pick winners’. In this sense the rapid expansion in the number of cultural and creative clusters in China over the past decade is not so very different from the early 1990s, a period that saw an outbreak of innovation parks, most of which inevitably failed to deliver measurable innovation and ultimately served as revenue-generating sources for district governments via real estate speculation. Since the early years of the first decade of the new millennium the cluster model has been pressed into the service of cultural development.

The Wuzhen Theatre, Zhejiang, China: An architectural review

Designed by Taiwanese architect Kris Yao of Artech Architects for the Wuzhen Tourism Development Company, the Wuzhen Theatre is situated in Wuzhen, a historic scenic water town located in east China's Zhejiang Province. This theatre stands as an architectural beacon for Wuzhen, and is to be considered an important place on the global atlas of theatre and China's epicentre of theatre, culture and arts.

Learning English pragmatics in China: An investigation into Chinese EFL learners’ perceptions of pragmatics

This paper reports the findings of a study investigating Chinese English language learners’ perceptions of pragmatics in the EFL learning context in China. A total of 237 Chinese EFL first-year university students participated in the study. A questionnaire and focus group interviews were used to collect data about learners’ pragmatics insights during their English language acquisition process. The findings of the study have provided empirical evidence for English educators and practitioners in China, indicating that there have been substantive changes in Chinese university students’ perceptions of English pragmatics. Except for organizational knowledge, they have a strong desire to acquire English pragmatic knowledge in their English language learning process, and would like to be pragmatically competent language users. This inquiry emphasizes the necessity to introduce pragmatics use and practice, which can effectively facilitate Chinese English learners to achieve pragmatic competence in communication.