A Comparative Study of the Chinese Trickster Hero Sun Wukong

Sun Wukong is a fictional hero from the Chinese classic The Journey to the West. As a well-known trickster, Wukong has a lot of similarities with several other tricksters around the world. In order to analyze him, I try to explain both his similarities with, and differences from, other tricksters, especially in the Ancient Greek folklore and myth traditions. The first half of the paper focuses on the general characteristics of tricksters. As a very distinctive group in global mythology, tricksters have particular features. The definition and symbolization of tricksters are illustrated by comparing Wukong and major Greek tricksters, such as Hermes, Odysseus, and Prometheus. The second part of the paper is concentrated on the heroic features of tricksters and the cultural values reflected in the Wukong narrative. How tricksters become cultural heroes is the main theme of Chapter Three. I explain their evolution by elaborating on the change in their nature mentioned in the second chapter. The fourth chapter illustrates the reason why Wukong is an East Asian cultural hero.I explore the personalities of Wukong and see how they fit the dominant philosophy and cultural values of the region. The last chapter briefly shows how popular Wukong is in Chinese and the entire East Asian culture.

Serum cholesterol levels within the high normal range are associated with better cognitive performance among Chinese elderly

© 2016, Serdi and Springer-Verlag France.Objectives: The association between cognitive function and cholesterol levels is poorly understood and inconsistent results exist among the elderly. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association of cholesterol level with cognitive performance among Chinese elderly. Design: A cross-sectional study was implemented in 2012 and data were analyzed using generalized additive models, linear regression models and logistic regression models. Setting: Community-based setting in eight longevity areas in China. Subjects: A total of 2000 elderly aged 65 years and over (mean 85.8±12.0 years) participated in this study. Measurements: Total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration were determined and cognitive impairment was defined as Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score≤23. Results: There was a significant positive linear association between TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C and MMSE score in linear regression models. Each 1 mmol/L increase in TC, TG, LDL-C and HDL-C corresponded to a decreased risk of cognitive impairment in logistic regression models. Compared with the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of TC, LDL-C and HDL-C had a lower risk of cognitive impairment. The adjusted odds ratios and 95% CI were 0.73(0.62–0.84) for TC, 0.81(0.70–0.94) for LDL-C and 0.81(0.70–0.94) for HDL-C. There was no gender difference in the protective effects of high TC and LDL-C levels on cognitive impairment. However, for high HDL-C levels the effect was only observed in women. High TC, LDL-C and HDL-C levels were associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment in the oldest old (aged 80 and older), but not in the younger elderly (aged 65 to 79 years). Conclusions: These findings suggest that cholesterol levels within the high normal range are associated with better cognitive performance in Chinese elderly, specifically in the oldest old. With further validation, low cholesterol may serve a clinical indicator of risk for cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Analyzing and selecting tasks for mathematics teaching: a heuristic

In planning units and lessons every day, teachers face the problem of designing a sequence of activities to promote learning. In particular, they are expected to foster the development of learning goals in their students. Based on the idea of learning path of a task, we describe a heuristic procedure to enable teachers to characterize a learning goal in terms of its cognitive requirements and to analyze and select tasks based on this characterization. We then present an example of how a group of future teachers used this heuristic in a preservice teachers training course and discuss its contributions and constraints.

Doctoral programs and academic research: Mathematics education in the Spanish university

We have shown a description of the changes and innovations happened in Spain concerning the research on Mathematics Education during the last 25 years, highlighting specially the fast development of the last 10 years. Neither of these great and striking changes would have taken place if there was not been an evolution within the Spanish society, and particularly, within its educational system. Thanks to this, we have found the appropriate conditions for research development.

Basic components in the scienctific didactical training of the secondary school mathematics teachers

Secondary mathematics teacher training in Spain is currently the subject of a heated revision debate. The speed of social, cultural, scientific and economic changes have left a hundred years old teacher training model well behind. However, academical inertia and professional interests are impeding a real new training of the mathematics teacher as an autonomous mathematical educator. Teachers of Didactic of Mathematics and the Spanish Associations of mathematics teachers have recently been discussing the issue. Their conclusions are included here.

The role of technology in the study of semiotic representations in mathematics

En este trabajo resumimos algunas reflexiones sobre el papel que pueden desarrollar la tecnología en el estudio de sistemas semióticos de representación, y que constituyen el núcleo para la comprensión de los procesos de construcción del conocimiento matemático de los estudiantes. La cita corresponde con el resumen de una página publicado.

How mathematics is defined and measured in PISA 2003

In this report I present a summary of the three dimensions used in PISA 2003assessment in mathematics: Content, Process and Situation, and I includesome examples of items.

Proyecto "mete" (mathematics education traditions of europe): el foco matemático

Este artículo presenta los resultados de un estudio sobre las tradiciones de enseñanza en cuatro países europeos: Bélgica (Flandes), Inglaterra, Hungría y España. Se trata de un estudio a pequeña escala en el que se emplean métodos cuantitativos y cualitativos, y que, en lugar de pretender obtener generalizaciones, está orientado a arrojar alguna luz que posibilite la mejora de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de las matemáticas. Establece comparaciones con los resultados de los test TIMSS y PISA y extrae alguna conclusión para la formación inicial de maestros y profesores de matemáticas. Extraemos de éste los resultados relativos a los datos cuantitativos y nos centramos en el foco matemático.

The Experience of Security in Mathematics

In this paper, we report some findings from an investigation of a topic related to affect and mathematics which is not well-represented in the literature. For some mathematicians, mathematics itself is a source of security in an uncertain world, and we investigated this feeling and experience in the case of 19 adult mathematicians working in universities and schools in Greece. The focus reported here is on ways that a relationship with mathematics offers a sense of permanence and stability on the one hand, and an assurance of novelty and progress on the other.

How mathematics is defined and measured in PISA 2003

Description of some variables used in PISA 2003 project to asses competences.

Characterizing mentors’ performance in mathematics teacher education

This study describes the performance of the mentors in a blended graduate-level training program of teachers in the field of secondary school mathematics. We codified and analyzed the mentors’ comments on the projects presented by the groups of in-service teachers for whom they (the mentors) were responsible. To do this, we developed a structure of categories and codes based on a combination of a literature review, a model of teacher learning, and a cyclical review of the data. We performed two types of analysis: frequency and cluster. The first analysis permitted us to characterize the common actions shared by most of the mentors. From the second, we established three profiles of the mentors’ actions.

[Conference report] Magic and mathematics: The life and work of John Dee. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, 13-14 June 2003

Tony Mann provides a report of a two-day meeting "Magic and mathematics: The life and work of John Dee" held from 13-14 June 2003 at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

[Book review] Mathematics and Culture II

Review of Mathematics and Culture II. Visual Perfection: Mathematics and Creativity, Michele Emmer (Ed.), Springer, 2005 ISBN: 978-3-540-21368-0