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Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System’s model, this study documented acculturation and parental involvement in low-income Chinese immigrant homes that serve as predictors of parental mediation. By surveying 165 parents of 3–13-year-old immigrant children, this study found that low-income Chinese parents enacted restrictive mediation the most and exhibited a slow acculturation process even after an average of seven years of emigration. Higher parental acculturation was related to a higher use of active and restrictive mediation. Additionally, different aspects of parental involvement also served as predictors of the three mediation strategies. Chinese cultural emphasis on academic excellence and success was used to help interpret the findings. Future research should consider implementing research-based adult media literacy programs for immigrant parents to help them practice their parental mediation skills in the host culture.

This chapter offers a case study of the distinctive political activism in Taiwanese metal by analysing the intertextuality of Just Not Meant to Be (還君明珠) (2015) by Crescent Lament (恆月三途). From the perspective of a cultural insider, the author examine the socio-cultural dynamics underlying this activism and explain how Taiwanese metal attempts to tackle the troubled past of Taiwan. The author brings attention to Just Not Meant to Be's commentary about the activism it takes part in, and reflect on problematics inherent to political activism in Taiwanese metal. Finally, the author explicates the problematics in the context of metal subculture in general. Pivotal throughout this chapter are the questions: Why does Taiwanese metal replicate forms of domination it seeks to counter? What can metal subculture in general learn from Taiwanese metal and its political activism?

Purpose – To review the place of bicycle transportation within the Chinese national objective of sustainable development.

Methodology – The chapter provides an analysis of the evolution of bicycle transportation policies in China, and a discussion of the latest developments in the function and operation of public bicycle hire schemes.

Findings – Due to high population density, the prevailing mix of land use and a lack of affordability of cars and motor scooters, bicycle transportation has historically been very common in the urban areas of China. However, since the 1990s, many Chinese cities implemented restrictive policies on the development of bicycle transportation and the modal share of bicycles has reduced sharply.

Practical implications – The chapter suggests that China would need to create favourable conditions for bicycle transportation in urban areas through means such as policy support, land use planning, use of economic levers and through creating an acceptable social and cultural atmosphere for cycling. Finally, the maintenance of a relatively high proportion of bicycle traffic would need to be regarded as an index for sustainable urban development.

The kindergarten curriculum in mainland China has evolved through four periods and the current reform began in the end of 1980s. The reform aimed to transform kindergarten practice by shaping ideologies including respect for individual child, active learning, and play-based integrated curriculum. This review of research literatures shows that compared with the practice before the reform, many kindergarten teachers organize classrooms in learning centers, provide more play materials, pay time, and freedom for free play, and pay more attention to individuals. But indoor space organized in rice-seedling-bed model, teacher-led group instruction and teacher-controlled interactions are still often observed after three decades of reform efforts; there still exist great variations among kindergartens of different sponsoring bodies and in different regions. The problems resulted from the innate deficiencies of the top-down and value-priority reform, the conflicts between the advocated value and the traditional Chinese culture with emphasis on Ming-Fen, testing, and the value of children for the whole family and nation, and the unequal distribution of public resources decided by the educational institutions. Therefore, the curriculum reform is not a separate endeavor from other social changes, but a comprehensive and systematic change. To guarantee the success of the curriculum reform, the Chinese society needs cultural transformation and institutional reconstruction.