Search results

Special education in China has lagged behind regular education for many years, however, the past few decades, the government has made considerable efforts to develop and improve the special education system. While the citizens of China have had a generic moral interest in disability since ancient times, the development of special education schools did not occur until American and European missionaries started schools for the visually and hearing impaired in the 19th century. The next major influence in the development of the special education system occurred with China’s Cultural Revolution in 1978. Interestingly, there is not any exclusive legislation on special education but in the 1980s, the government started Learning in Regular Classrooms (LRC), which is China’s version of inclusion. LRC has progressed rapidly the past two decades; however, the quality of instruction is low due to a lack of specialists, a shortage of personnel, inadequate funding, and limited technology as well as other barriers that are delineated in the chapter. The chapter emphasizes the government’s recent efforts in in-service teacher training, the preparation of preservice teachers, working with families, developing community rehabilitation training programs, and implementing evidence-based practices. Special education in China today is at a good place but it has quite a way from the ideal situation.

This paper proposes that if a political system is more like to facilitate a unified government, to establish a strong executive body and to respond to the needs of the majority, financial reforms are more likely to emerge from the policymaking process and produce positive results. On the contrary, political systems that discourage those governing features are less likely to produce reforms. This chapter compares financial reform processes in China, Taiwan and New Zealand. All of them performed low level of financial reforms in the early 1980s but resulted in different situations later. In the mid-2000s, New Zealand heralded the most efficient and stable financial system; while Taiwan lagged behind and China performed the worst. Evidence showed that China’s authoritarian system may be the most superior in forming a unified government with a strong executive, but the policy priority often responds more to the interests of a small group of power elites; therefore the result of financial reform can be limited. Taiwan’s presidential system can produce greater financial reform when the ruling party controls both executive and legislative bodies, but legislative obstructions may occur under a divided government. New Zealand's Westminster system produces the most effective and efficient financial reform due to its unified government and a strong executive branch with consistent and stable supports from the New Zealand Parliament.

Using the theoretical frameworks of public diplomacy and public relations, we mapped how the Chinese government has used panda imagery to build its national brand on Twitter and how this ‘panda diplomacy’ has facilitated its para-diplomatic actions. Our findings uncover new attempts by the Chinese government to engage in digital diplomacy. Mobilizing panda imagery on Twitter enhanced friendly relations with foreign political leaders and people and established a friendly and peaceful image of China on Twitter.

The purpose of this study is to look at the factors that drive people to participate in the sharing economy (SE). Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the study proposes a mathematical model. The study’s ultimate objective is to help businesses attract more involved customers and promote collaborative consumption as a sustainable alternative to typical consumption patterns. The study offers a conceptual framework established via a thorough literature review to examine Indian customers’ use behavior toward SE platforms. A one-sample two-tailed t-test is used to assess the framework’s efficacy. The research fills gap in the literature on the SE by investigating the factors that determine subjective norms (SN), attitudes (A), and perceived behavioral control (PBC). A framework is provided that takes behavioral intention (BI) contemplated as a mediating variable. The research improves TAM and TPB by including new factors such as technical characteristics. This research adds to the body of knowledge on the digital SE by underlining the relevance of usage behavior in comprehending Indian customers, where A, SN, and PBC are important aspects. The research presents a paradigm for better understanding customers’ attitudes and behaviors toward various SE platforms, which might help academics, practitioners, and policy makers situate their initiatives within the larger field of sharing. The study’s categorizations of Indian consumers’ A, SN, PBC, and BI toward the SE might potentially advise on future research and government policies.

Purpose – This chapter will explore how Jean Quan was elected as Oakland’s first Asian American and woman mayor and the numerous challenges to lead the city’s governing coalition. Quan sought to build a diverse coalition to run the city. She has devoted her efforts to those in greatest need as she navigates the multiracial and multidynamic politics, and build her administration as progressive, inclusive, and universal.Design – This research uses voting records, U.S. Census data, media accounts, and interviews with local participants to study the research questions for this chapter; how and why did Jean Quan get elected as Mayor, and what has been her approach to leading the city’s governing coalition?Findings – This chapter’s preliminary findings after 18 months in office are that Mayor Quan has stabilized her governing coalition and has gotten back on track to begin to achieve her campaign goals.Research limitations and future research – The major limitation of this chapter’s research is Mayor Quan has been in office only 18 months, which is a short time to study Quan’s governing coalition and whether she will sustain this coalition in the coming years. Future research is needed to study how Quan compares to recent Oakland mayors and to other Asian American local elected leaders of large cities.Impact of research – This research builds upon previous research on Asian Pacific Islander elected officials at the local level and adds to the growing body of research on minority mayors and local elected officials.Value of research – As the United States grows increasingly diverse those who govern its cities have also become more diverse in the 21st century. This research makes an important contribution to the study of a fast growing population APIs and their elected leaders.

Mixed methods research is an approach for blending quantitative and qualitative data analyses in a single study. It emerged as an alternative to the dichotomy of qualitative and quantitative traditions in the past 20 years. Some strengths of mixed methods research include the ability to generate and test theory, the capability to answer complex research questions, and the possibility of corroborating findings.

We argue the mixed methods approach fits well with comparative education studies because they seek to acquire data to make sound and meaningful comparisons about the experience and performance of education systems in different countries. By nature, comparative education attempts to explain why educational systems vary and to explore how education relates to wider social factors and forces. It consists of both confirmatory and exploratory inquiries that are based on the fundamental belief that education can be improved in all nations. Essentially, the mixed methods approach can adequately support the goals of comparative education studies, with its quantitative components serving the confirmatory objectives and the qualitative components attending to the exploratory end.

In this study, we conducted a survey of articles published between 2000 and 2014 in Comparative Education Review, Comparative Education, and Compare to discern the changes in patterns and preferences of dominant research methods. By surveying the three major journals in the field, we hope to reveal the means by which comparative education is conducted in its constituency. At the very least, we believe our study can provide important reference points for speculation about where comparative education might be headed in terms of methodology and methods.

Cultural differences are often important motivators for tourism, but they may also be associated with increased risk perceptions. Different cultures may also perceive risk differently. Despite the importance of this topic for tourism research, few studies have aimed to systematize literature on cultural differences, tourism and risk. Therefore, the main goal of the present chapter is to elaborate a bibliometric analysis of this literature, more specifically, to quantify its sources and clusters of co-citation and terms. To achieve this goal, the publications indexed in Web of Science with the terms cultural differences and tourism (242) are analysed using VOSviewer. A qualitative analysis of the studies which focus specifically on risk is also performed.

This study examines the relationship between food experience, emotion, place attachment, and tourists' revisit behavioral intention. A survey questionnaire is conducted on-site in Lukang and distributed to 408 tourists. The dimensions of food experience are established through factor analysis, and a hypothesized model of the relationships between the constructs is tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that tourists' food experiences included local flavor, media recommendation, local learning, life transfer, and interpersonal sharing. In addition, food experience has a significant impact on emotion and place attachment, and emotion has a substantial effect on place attachment. Finally, place attachment significantly impacts tourists' revisit behavioral intention. The study makes a significant theoretical contribution by identifying food experience, emotion, and place attachment as the salient predictors of heritage tourists' revisit intention. Furthermore, the study suggests that food experiences enhance effective bonding at tourism destinations.