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Sample records for chinese-language climate change

  1. Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

    1999-05-01

    This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

  2. Selected Translated Abstracts of Chinese-Language Climate Change Publications; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cushman, R.M.; Burtis, M.D.

    1999-01-01

    This report contains English-translated abstracts of important Chinese-language literature concerning global climate change for the years 1995-1998. This body of literature includes the topics of adaptation, ancient climate change, climate variation, the East Asia monsoon, historical climate change, impacts, modeling, and radiation and trace-gas emissions. In addition to the biological citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Chinese. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest

  3. Impact of climate change on potential distribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis) in Nepal Himalaya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrestha, Uttam Babu; Bawa, Kamaljit S

    2014-01-01

    Climate change has already impacted ecosystems and species and substantial impacts of climate change in the future are expected. Species distribution modeling is widely used to map the current potential distribution of species as well as to model the impact of future climate change on distribution of species. Mapping current distribution is useful for conservation planning and understanding the change in distribution impacted by climate change is important for mitigation of future biodiversity losses. However, the current distribution of Chinese caterpillar fungus, a flagship species of the Himalaya with very high economic value, is unknown. Nor do we know the potential changes in suitable habitat of Chinese caterpillar fungus caused by future climate change. We used MaxEnt modeling to predict current distribution and changes in the future distributions of Chinese caterpillar fungus in three future climate change trajectories based on representative concentration pathways (RCPs: RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, and RCP 6.0) in three different time periods (2030, 2050, and 2070) using species occurrence points, bioclimatic variables, and altitude. About 6.02% (8,989 km2) area of the Nepal Himalaya is suitable for Chinese caterpillar fungus habitat. Our model showed that across all future climate change trajectories over three different time periods, the area of predicted suitable habitat of Chinese caterpillar fungus would expand, with 0.11-4.87% expansion over current suitable habitat. Depending upon the representative concentration pathways, we observed both increase and decrease in average elevation of the suitable habitat range of the species.

  4. The Fifth Milestone in the Development of Chinese Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mateja PETROVČIČ

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Chinese language has changed drastically in the recent century. Papers on the language development mainly stress four big events in the Chinese history that imposed changes in language, i.e. The May Fourth Movement (1919, establishment of the People’s Republic of China (1949, Cultural Revolution (1966, and China’s reform and opening (1978. According to the features of recent neologisms, we suggest that the widening gap between rich and poor should be considered as the fifth milestone for changes in Chinese language.

  5. The Analysis of the Relationship between Clean Technology Transfer and Chinese Intellectual Property Countering the Climate Changes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Min, Hao

    This report discusses the relationship between the Chinese intellectual property systems which counter with the climate change and the transfer of clean technology, and states how to encourage the developed countries transfer the clean technology to the developing countries according to the relat...... property countering the climate changes; the analysis of current technology transfer modes relating to the climate; the difficulties of Chinese countering climate changes technology transfer and strategic thinking....

  6. Climate Change Modelling and Its Roles to Chinese Crops Yield

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    JU Hui; LIN Er-da; Tim Wheeler; Andrew Challinor; JIANG Shuai

    2013-01-01

    Climate has been changing in the last fifty years in China and will continue to change regardless any efforts for mitigation. Agriculture is a climate-dependent activity and highly sensitive to climate changes and climate variability. Understanding the interactions between climate change and agricultural production is essential for society stable development of China. The first mission is to fully understand how to predict future climate and link it with agriculture production system. In this paper, recent studies both domestic and international are reviewed in order to provide an overall image of the progress in climate change researches. The methods for climate change scenarios construction are introduced. The pivotal techniques linking crop model and climate models are systematically assessed and climate change impacts on Chinese crops yield among model results are summarized. The study found that simulated productions of grain crop inherit uncertainty from using different climate models, emission scenarios and the crops simulation models. Moreover, studies have different spatial resolutions, and methods for general circulation model (GCM) downscaling which increase the uncertainty for regional impacts assessment. However, the magnitude of change in crop production due to climate change (at 700 ppm CO2 eq correct) appears within ±10%for China in these assessments. In most literatures, the three cereal crop yields showed decline under climate change scenarios and only wheat in some region showed increase. Finally, the paper points out several gaps in current researches which need more studies to shorten the distance for objective recognizing the impacts of climate change on crops. The uncertainty for crop yield projection is associated with climate change scenarios, CO2 fertilization effects and adaptation options. Therefore, more studies on the fields such as free air CO2 enrichment experiment and practical adaptations implemented need to be carried out.

  7. The power of advice: experts in Chinese climate change politics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wuebbeke, Jost

    2010-07-01

    This study examines the role of experts in Chinas climate change policy. With the beginning of the UNFCCC process, many semi-official institutes and universities emerged, dealing with the scientific, economic and political aspects of climate change. The major argument presented here is that experts are important actors in Chinese climate change politics, and that they have been underestimated in research on China. This analysis has two aims: first, applying a science, policy interface model from regime theory, it examines the political impact of various research organizations during different stages of the policy-making process. In the second step, analysis turns to the causes behind the degree of impact. These include the relevance of administrative links, the quality of knowledge, and personal ties. The results show that, in particular, semi-official institutes and certain universities can have a very high impact on political action.(auth)

  8. Taiwan's Chinese Language Development and the Creation of Language Teaching Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Cheng-Hui; Wang, Chuan Po

    2015-01-01

    Chinese Teaching in Taiwan in recent years in response to the international trend of development, making at all levels of Chinese language teaching in full swing, for the recent boom in Chinese language teaching, many overseas Chinese language learning for children also had a passion while actively learning Chinese language, and even many overseas…

  9. Climate Change and TESOL: Language, Literacies, and the Creation of Eco-Ethical Consciousness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goulah, Jason

    2017-01-01

    This article calls on the field of TESOL to respond to the planet's growing climatic and ecological crisis, conceptualizing climate change beyond just standards-based language and content curriculum. Climate change is also "cultural" and "religious," and thus warrants broader consideration in TESOL. Drawing on theories of value…

  10. Chinese climate policy - Institutions and intent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsay, William C.; Lesourne, Jacques

    2011-06-01

    Until the late 1990's, the balance of Chinese energy production and consumption was treated by the rest of the world as a net figure. No one knew what was going on inside the Chinese economy - it was a black box. As far as anyone was concerned, the Chinese would not soon be a major factor in world energy markets. Energy policy-makers realized how totally blind they were in 2004 when Chinese electricity production could not keep up with internal demand and the world experienced a surge in liquids demand as Chinese entrepreneurs fired up generator sets across the economy. No country has confronted the need to collect data and formulate coherent policy for nearly a billion and a half consumers. A number of institutional arrangements have succeeded each other until now, when stronger energy policy and administrative functions of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) are gaining traction. NDRC vice-chairman Zhang Guobao has maintained a steady hand on Chinese energy-policy evolution for several years - overseeing the increasing coherence of Chinese domestic and international energy policy - but the tension with powerful state enterprises and other vested interests still effectively defies efforts to truly centralize Chinese national-level energy policy and program authority. This study identifies the nature of the forces that drive or constrain change within China's energy sector, and explores the Chinese approach to climate change. Contents: 1. The Institutions of Energy Governance in china. 2. China's Foreign Energy Policy. 3. China's position and policy on climate change

  11. Chinese Tourists’ Perceptions of Climate Change and Mitigation Behavior: An Application of Norm Activation Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guiqiang Qiao

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available It is well recognized that tourism development is a prominent contributor to climate change, but is also a “victim” of climate change. Therefore, to mitigate climate change is of great importance for the sustainability of tourism. Yet extant studies regarding tourism and climate change tend to be dominated by a supply-side stance, albeit the core role of the tourist in the tourism industry. While researchers are increasingly adopting a tourist perspective, few seek to understand the linkage between climate change and tourists’ specific mitigation behaviors in a tourism context; this is especially so in China. This study investigates the impact of Chinese tourists’ perceptions of climate change on their mitigation behaviors based on norm activation theory. Drawing on 557 self-administrated questionnaires collected in China, it finds that tourists’ perceptions of climate change and perceived contribution of tourism to climate change both positively affect energy saving and carbon reduction behavior in tourism. Yet, compared with perceived contribution of tourism to climate change, tourists’ perceptions of climate change are found to be a much stronger predictor for energy saving and carbon reduction behavior. Therefore, it suggests that tourists’ perceptions of climate change in a general context is more strongly related to climate change mitigation behavior in tourism, calling for attention to go beyond the tourism context to alleviate the negative impacts of tourism on climate change.

  12. Home language shift and its implications for Chinese language teaching in Singapore

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Li

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In a bilingual society like Singapore, home language environment (HLE of Singaporean children is becoming increasingly concerned, especially for those who are yet to have formal education in schools. The reported rapid shift of family language has increased the tensions among families, schools and communities. This study examined some of the many facets of Singaporean Chinese preschoolers’ HLE, and further discussed how these facets are related to children’s Chinese language proficiency in oral and written forms. Three hundred and seventy-six Singaporean Chinese six-year olds completed Chinese oral and written language proficiency screening. Their parents completed a HLE survey. The findings revealed the possible trend of home language shift from Mandarin Chinese to English in the younger generation. Aside from home language use factors, the importance of other facets that form a rich language environment is also highlighted for children's language development.

  13. The Influence of Internet on Current-day Chinese Language with Special Reference to Internet Neologism

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    GAOFang

    2017-01-01

    This paper makes a study on language change in Chinese,mainly dealing with how the internet is changing Chinese language,quoting examples of new words and expressions from internet over the last decades.

  14. The Influence of Internet on Current-day Chinese Language with Special Reference to Internet Neologism

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    高芳

    2017-01-01

    This paper makes a study on language change in Chinese, mainly dealing with how the internet is changing Chinese lan-guage, quoting examples of new words and expressions from internet over the last decades.

  15. Personality expression in Chinese language use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Lin; Lu, Jiahui; Ramsay, Jonathan; Yang, Shanshan; Qu, Weina; Zhu, Tingshao

    2017-12-01

    To date, little research has investigated personality expressions in languages other than English. Given that the Chinese language has the largest number of native speakers in the world, it is vitally important to examine the associations between personality and Chinese language use. In this research, we analysed Chinese microblogs and identified word categories and factorial structures associated with personality traits. We also compared our results with previous findings in English and showed that linguistic expression of personality has both universal- and language-specific aspects. Expression of personality via content words is more likely to be consistent across languages than expression via function words. This makes an important step towards uncovering universal patterns of personality expression in language. © 2016 International Union of Psychological Science.

  16. Cultural and climatic changes shape the evolutionary history of the Uralic languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honkola, T; Vesakoski, O; Korhonen, K; Lehtinen, J; Syrjänen, K; Wahlberg, N

    2013-06-01

    Quantitative phylogenetic methods have been used to study the evolutionary relationships and divergence times of biological species, and recently, these have also been applied to linguistic data to elucidate the evolutionary history of language families. In biology, the factors driving macroevolutionary processes are assumed to be either mainly biotic (the Red Queen model) or mainly abiotic (the Court Jester model) or a combination of both. The applicability of these models is assumed to depend on the temporal and spatial scale observed as biotic factors act on species divergence faster and in smaller spatial scale than the abiotic factors. Here, we used the Uralic language family to investigate whether both 'biotic' interactions (i.e. cultural interactions) and abiotic changes (i.e. climatic fluctuations) are also connected to language diversification. We estimated the times of divergence using Bayesian phylogenetics with a relaxed-clock method and related our results to climatic, historical and archaeological information. Our timing results paralleled the previous linguistic studies but suggested a later divergence of Finno-Ugric, Finnic and Saami languages. Some of the divergences co-occurred with climatic fluctuation and some with cultural interaction and migrations of populations. Thus, we suggest that both 'biotic' and abiotic factors contribute either directly or indirectly to the diversification of languages and that both models can be applied when studying language evolution. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2013 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

  17. Elements of a chinese language game

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eliëns, A.P.W.; Mao, W; Vermeersch, L

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we elaborate on work presented at the Dutch crossmedia PICNIC festival, in a special symposium entitled: the China Language Bridge. We will discuss a number of online resources, including games, for learning the chinese language, including chinese characters which are also used in

  18. Community-level Language Planning for Chinese Heritage Language Maintenance in the United States

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    An Chung Cheng

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the development of Chinese heritage language in the United States from the perspective of language policy and planning. The case study examines the Chinese heritage language maintenance through community-based Chinese schools (CHS, and CHS’s relationships with Chinese American community, as well as governments and non-government organizations in China, Taiwan, and the United States. The paper starts with a theoretical discussion on the definition of language policy and planning, and then describes the history and heritage language education of Chinese Americans in the United States. The paper also presents micro-level planning activities initiated by CHSs in the Chinese American community and non-government organizations. Special focus is placed on the interaction between non-government organizations in the US and governmental bodies in Taiwan and mainland China and in the United States. This paper suggests that micro planning of heritage language maintenance is beneficial when initiated in the community, but it can only be developed and sustained within the wider scope of macro-level planning from governments

  19. A Brief Analysis of the Acrostic in Chinese Language in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lydia Anggreani

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Acrostic is a special phenomenon of the modern Chinese language. It is a combination of lexical and syntactical that across “vocabulary” and “grammar” categories. The morphemes can be combined and can also be separated by various form changes depending on its development. Acrostic is always been a crucial part in teaching Chinese language to foreigners and less developed than other parts of the teaching. This study used quantitative method to analyze the problems associated with the acrostic in teaching Chinese to foreigners. Source of the data was learners’ exercise and assignment. The discussion in this article was viewed from the perspective of the outside-oriented teaching, grouped into 3 main sections. The first was in terms of the usability characteristics to the acrostic developments in the acrostic grammar study. The second, based on the results of the questionnaire regarding the use of acrostic, research analyzed students’ main mistakes and their causes. The third was to observe the condition of teaching acrostic. This research is expected to help teachers and learners of Mandarin understand and overcome the difficulties in learning acrostic.

  20. Climate Change | Page 18 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Language English. Read more about DFID-IDRC Global Adaptation Research Program. Language English. Read more about Synthesizing Learning on Adaptation to Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Strengthening Local Capacity for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Bolivian Altiplano. Language ...

  1. Selected Translated Abstracts of Russian-Language Climate-Change Publications, II. Clouds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ravina, C.B.

    1994-01-01

    This report presents abstracts (translated into English) of important Russian-language literature concerning clouds as they relate to climate change. In addition to the bibliographic citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Russian. Author and title indexes are included, to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

  2. Looking Chinese and Learning Chinese as a Heritage Language: The Role of Habitus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mu, Guanglun Michael

    2016-01-01

    The identity-language link has been widely recognised. In Heritage Language research, the complex entanglement between Chinese ethnic identity and Chinese Heritage Language has gained increasing attention in recent decades. Both social psychological and poststructural schools have offered meaningful insights into this field, but have also received…

  3. Climate Change | Page 22 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Rural Urban Cooperation on Water Management in the Context of Climate Change in Burkina Faso. Language English. Read more about Adapting Fishing Policy to Climate Change with the Aid of Scientific and Endogenous ...

  4. English and Chinese languages as weighted complex networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Long; Li, Chunguang

    2009-06-01

    In this paper, we analyze statistical properties of English and Chinese written human language within the framework of weighted complex networks. The two language networks are based on an English novel and a Chinese biography, respectively, and both of the networks are constructed in the same way. By comparing the intensity and density of connections between the two networks, we find that high weight connections in Chinese language networks prevail more than those in English language networks. Furthermore, some of the topological and weighted quantities are compared. The results display some differences in the structural organizations between the two language networks. These observations indicate that the two languages may have different linguistic mechanisms and different combinatorial natures.

  5. Climate Change | Page 23 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Strengthening Local Agricultural Innovation Systems in Tanzania and Malawi. Language English. Read more about African Climate Change Fellowship. Language English. Read more about Adaptation aux changements ...

  6. How does language change as a lexical network? An investigation based on written Chinese word co-occurrence networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Heng; Chen, Xinying

    2018-01-01

    Language is a complex adaptive system, but how does it change? For investigating this process, four diachronic Chinese word co-occurrence networks have been built based on texts that were written during the last 2,000 years. By comparing the network indicators that are associated with the hierarchical features in language networks, we learn that the hierarchy of Chinese lexical networks has indeed evolved over time at three different levels. The connections of words at the micro level are continually weakening; the number of words in the meso-level communities has increased significantly; and the network is expanding at the macro level. This means that more and more words tend to be connected to medium-central words and form different communities. Meanwhile, fewer high-central words link these communities into a highly efficient small-world network. Understanding this process may be crucial for understanding the increasing structural complexity of the language system. PMID:29489837

  7. Climate Change | Page 15 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Language English. Read more about Platform for Exchange between African Research Scientists and Policymakers on Climate Change Adaptation. Language English. Read more about Integrated Climate Change Modelling and Policy Linkages for Adaptive Planning. Language English. Read more about Valuing Water in ...

  8. Climate Change | Page 3 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

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  9. Climate Change | Page 9 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Transfert de la responsabilité du Programme d'économie environnementale pour l'Asie du Sud-Est (EEPSEA). Language French. Read more about The African Climate Change Fellowship Program Phase III. Language English.

  10. Climate Change | Page 15 | IDRC - International Development ...

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  11. Climate Change | Page 2 | IDRC - International Development ...

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    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Climate leadership program: Building Africa's resilience through research, policy and practice. Language English. Read more about Climate adaptive action plans to manage heat stress in Indian cities. Language English.

  12. Saving Chinese-Language Education in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Cher Leng

    2012-01-01

    Three-quarters of Singapore's population consists of ethnic Chinese, and yet, learning Chinese (Mandarin) has been a headache for many Singapore students. Recently, many scholars have argued that the rhetoric of language planning for Mandarin Chinese should be shifted from emphasizing its cultural value to stressing its economic value since…

  13. Climate Change | Page 17 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Adaptation aux changements climatiques grâce à une gestion améliorée des bassins versants dans le bassin du Tensift, au Maroc. Language French. Read more about Climate Change and Water Adaptation Options. Language ...

  14. Language-specific memory for everyday arithmetic facts in Chinese-English bilinguals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yalin; Yanke, Jill; Campbell, Jamie I D

    2016-04-01

    The role of language in memory for arithmetic facts remains controversial. Here, we examined transfer of memory training for evidence that bilinguals may acquire language-specific memory stores for everyday arithmetic facts. Chinese-English bilingual adults (n = 32) were trained on different subsets of simple addition and multiplication problems. Each operation was trained in one language or the other. The subsequent test phase included all problems with addition and multiplication alternating across trials in two blocks, one in each language. Averaging over training language, the response time (RT) gains for trained problems relative to untrained problems were greater in the trained language than in the untrained language. Subsequent analysis showed that English training produced larger RT gains for trained problems relative to untrained problems in English at test relative to the untrained Chinese language. In contrast, there was no evidence with Chinese training that problem-specific RT gains differed between Chinese and the untrained English language. We propose that training in Chinese promoted a translation strategy for English arithmetic (particularly multiplication) that produced strong cross-language generalization of practice, whereas training in English strengthened relatively weak, English-language arithmetic memories and produced little generalization to Chinese (i.e., English training did not induce an English translation strategy for Chinese language trials). The results support the existence of language-specific strengthening of memory for everyday arithmetic facts.

  15. Research on Difficulty in Indonesia Students Learning Chinese Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lydia Anggreani

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Chinese has become the world’s second language. Each language has its own law, as is the Chinese. Indonesian students have difficulty in learning Chinese which are are not surprising. Every language has various characteristics, so do Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia. Article analyzes difficulties to learn Chinese, especially for Indonesian students, those are tone, grammar, sounds of “er hua” such as Alice retroflex. The respondents are 100 Indonesian students who are randomly selected for testing samples analyzed. Since there is no tone in Bahasa Indonesia, it makes a lot of Indonesian students in the learning process often appear in Chinese foreign accent phenomenon. This article expects to explore the problem by studying the formation of the causes and solutions. Indonesian students learning Chinese was designed to provide some teaching and learning strategies.

  16. Chinese Climate Policy - Institutions and Intent

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramsay, William C.; Lesourne, Jacques [Institut Francais des Relations Internationales - Ifri, 27 rue de la Procession, 75740 Paris Cedex 15 (France); Andrews-Speed, Philip [Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy, University of Dundee, Scotland (United Kingdom); Yishan, Xia; Dezhao, Chen [China Institute of International Studies (China)

    2011-06-15

    's energy sector. Not surprisingly, institutions and practices continue to reflect millennia of Chinese history, which in some measure focused on nurturing the authority of an emperor. Students of China, who have long recognized its 'command and control' economy, are now aware of the limits of those concepts and the consequences of a bureaucratic hierarchy living in a sometimes conflicted condominium with the Communist Party, even as the economy surges on. The second study seeks to answer the questions: What are the economic and strategic drivers of Chinese energy policy? How does China plan to manage its increasing reliance on foreign sources of oil, gas and now coal? How will these drivers shape the guiding principles of Chinese national companies and their relations with international operators and foreign sources of energy resources? How does China define and shape its international diplomacy and practices in order to succeed in its quest to secure access to upstream oil, gas, coal and uranium - just to mention the fuels? The third study explores the Chinese approach to climate change. The Chinese have long been victims of their own internal deserts and know only too well the challenges that the power of nature imposes on their society. The recent spectacular growth of the Chinese economy has left China with a plethora of weeping environmental wounds. While these are increasingly urgent short-term challenges, Chinese leaders are only too aware that, in the longer term, under any probable climate change scenario, China is a loser

  17. Chinese Climate Policy - Institutions and Intent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramsay, William C.; Lesourne, Jacques; Andrews-Speed, Philip; Yishan, Xia; Dezhao, Chen

    2011-06-01

    . Not surprisingly, institutions and practices continue to reflect millennia of Chinese history, which in some measure focused on nurturing the authority of an emperor. Students of China, who have long recognized its 'command and control' economy, are now aware of the limits of those concepts and the consequences of a bureaucratic hierarchy living in a sometimes conflicted condominium with the Communist Party, even as the economy surges on. The second study seeks to answer the questions: What are the economic and strategic drivers of Chinese energy policy? How does China plan to manage its increasing reliance on foreign sources of oil, gas and now coal? How will these drivers shape the guiding principles of Chinese national companies and their relations with international operators and foreign sources of energy resources? How does China define and shape its international diplomacy and practices in order to succeed in its quest to secure access to upstream oil, gas, coal and uranium - just to mention the fuels? The third study explores the Chinese approach to climate change. The Chinese have long been victims of their own internal deserts and know only too well the challenges that the power of nature imposes on their society. The recent spectacular growth of the Chinese economy has left China with a plethora of weeping environmental wounds. While these are increasingly urgent short-term challenges, Chinese leaders are only too aware that, in the longer term, under any probable climate change scenario, China is a loser

  18. Identity Construction of Native Chinese Language Teachers in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Chun

    Abstract This study reports on a qualitative research that investigated how three native Chinese language teachers (NCLTs) constructed their teacher identity as they entered the initial teaching practice in Denmark. Drawing upon a framework that underlines the discursive nature of identity...... stages of their teacher identity construction showed the negotiation of past experiences, present perception, and future ideals in regard to Chinese language, pedagogy and context. Key words: Native Chinese language teachers, teacher identity, discourse analysis, narrative...

  19. Climate Change | Page 17 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about CapaSIDS : Capacity Building and Knowledge on Sustainable Responses to Climate Change in Small Island States. Language English. Read more about CapaSIDS : renforcement des capacités et production de connaissances ...

  20. Climate Change | IDRC - International Development Research Centre

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Climate Change. Changements climatiques. Language English. Socially equitable climate action is essential to strengthen the resilience of all people, without which we cannot achieve women's empowerment. Read more about Building resilience through socially equitable climate action. Language English. Read more ...

  1. The regional characteristics of climatic change in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Longxun

    1994-01-01

    Using abundant historical records, the Chinese climatologists have analyzed regional climatic change during the past 2,000 years. Recently, more research on regional climatic change has been done by using the data of the instrumental period. The data show that Chinese climatic change has obvious regional characteristics. The average temperature in the whole country has kept increasing since the last century, and reached its highest value in the 1940s, then it decreased. Although there was a warming trend in the 1980s, the temperature declined again. Especially in the area south of 35 degree N and east of 100 degree E in the mainland China, the air temperature decreased continuously from the 1940s. So climatic change in China is not consistent with global warming, but has its own regional characteristics

  2. Study on climate change in Southwestern China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Zongxing

    2015-03-01

    Nominated by Chinese Academy of Sciences as an outstanding Ph.D. thesis. Offers a needed exploration of the temporal and spatial pattern of climate change in southwestern China. Explores the action mechanism among the large-scale atmospheric circulation system, the complicated topography, human activities and regional climate changes. Analyzes the response of glaciers to climate change from the aspects of morphology of the glacier, glacial mass balance and the process of hydrology. This thesis confirms many changes, including sharp temperature rise, interannual variability of precipitation, extreme climate events and significant decreases of sunshine duration and wind speed in southwestern China, and systemically explores the action mechanism between large-scale atmospheric circulation systems, the complicated topography, human activities and regional climate changes. This study also analyzes the response of glaciers to climate change so that on the one hand it clearly reflects the relationship between glacier morphologic changes and climate change; on the other, it reveals the mechanism of action of climate warming as a balance between energy and matter. The achievements of this study reflect a significant contribution to the body of research on the response of climate in cold regions, glaciers and human activities to a global change against the background of the typical monsoon climate, and have provided scientific basis for predictions, countermeasures against disasters from extreme weather, utilization of water and the establishment of counterplans to slow and adapt to climate change. Zongxing Li works at the Cold and Arid Region Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

  3. Study on climate change in Southwestern China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Zongxing

    2015-01-01

    Nominated by Chinese Academy of Sciences as an outstanding Ph.D. thesis. Offers a needed exploration of the temporal and spatial pattern of climate change in southwestern China. Explores the action mechanism among the large-scale atmospheric circulation system, the complicated topography, human activities and regional climate changes. Analyzes the response of glaciers to climate change from the aspects of morphology of the glacier, glacial mass balance and the process of hydrology. This thesis confirms many changes, including sharp temperature rise, interannual variability of precipitation, extreme climate events and significant decreases of sunshine duration and wind speed in southwestern China, and systemically explores the action mechanism between large-scale atmospheric circulation systems, the complicated topography, human activities and regional climate changes. This study also analyzes the response of glaciers to climate change so that on the one hand it clearly reflects the relationship between glacier morphologic changes and climate change; on the other, it reveals the mechanism of action of climate warming as a balance between energy and matter. The achievements of this study reflect a significant contribution to the body of research on the response of climate in cold regions, glaciers and human activities to a global change against the background of the typical monsoon climate, and have provided scientific basis for predictions, countermeasures against disasters from extreme weather, utilization of water and the establishment of counterplans to slow and adapt to climate change. Zongxing Li works at the Cold and Arid Region Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

  4. Climate Change | Page 13 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Read more about Reducing the Risk of Water Pollution in Vulnerable Coastal Communities of Cartagena, Colombia: Responding to Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Adaptation to Climate Change in two Rural Communities on the Plains and in the Mountains of Morocco. Language English. Read more ...

  5. Selected translated abstracts of Russian-language climate-change publications. 4: General circulation models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burtis, M.D. [comp.] [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center; Razuvaev, V.N.; Sivachok, S.G. [All-Russian Research Inst. of Hydrometeorological Information--World Data Center, Obninsk (Russian Federation)

    1996-10-01

    This report presents English-translated abstracts of important Russian-language literature concerning general circulation models as they relate to climate change. Into addition to the bibliographic citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Russian. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

  6. Selected translated abstracts of Russian-language climate-change publications: II, Clouds. Issue 159

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burtis, M.D. [comp.

    1994-01-01

    This report presents abstracts (translated into English) of important Russian-language literature concerning clouds as they relate to climate change. In addition to the bibliographic citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Russian. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

  7. Chinese Language Education in Europe: The Confucius Institutes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starr, Don

    2009-01-01

    This article explores the background to the Chinese government's decision to embark on a programme of promoting the study of Chinese language and culture overseas. This includes the impact of Joseph Nye's concept of "soft power" in China, ownership of the national language, the Confucius connection, and how these factors interact with…

  8. An Ethnographic Study of Chinese Heritage Language Education and Technological Innovations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minjuan Wang

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Research has increasingly uncovered the cognitive, cultural, and economic advantages of bilingualism and the positive impact of heritage language on children's second language acquisition (M:cLaughlin, 1995. As one type of heritage language education organizations, Chinese language schools have been in existence for decades in the U.S., but their practices have remained informal and not readily accessible to people from other cultures. In order to bridge this gap, this ethnographic study illustrates family and community involvement in promoting language proficiency in heritage language populations and explores language education methods practiced in Chinese community language schools in an urban Southern California area. The study examines the intricate issues affecting heritage language learning and explores the potential uses of technology in assisting young learners in acquiring their heritage language (Chinese. In addition, the study generates guidelines for adapting existing technology-assisted language programs (e.g., the Chinese Cultural Crystals for instructional uses.

  9. Climate Change | Page 10 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about The Economics of Adaptation and Climate-Resilient Development. Language English. Read more about Solutions d'adaptation liées aux changements climatiques et à l'eau. Language French. Read more about Adaptation to ...

  10. Language Cultural Specificity of the Language Units “Cat” and “Dog” in English and Chinese Languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Жером Багана

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the national and cultural features of zoonyms “cat” and “dog” in English and Chinese languages. The authors point out zoonyms’ main characteristics and their national cultural originality. Zoonyms represent the special features of national linguistic world view and values in the comparative analysis’ aspect The article represents interpretation of the language units in the monolingual explanatory dictionaries. The dictionary definitions of the terms phraseology and zoonym are given. The research is devoted to phraseology in the English and Chinese languages. The historical notes about the attitude toward cats and dogs in Britain and China are shown. Also some peculiarities of zoonyms function in English and Chinese animal fairy-tales are observed. Based on the differences the authors notice differences of phraseology between zoonyms “cat” and “dog”. Some examples in the English and Chinese languages are observed. The analysis represents universal and national specific semantic features of the present units in the languages so far as phraseology contains the most vivid representation of the national-cultural specificity of world view, connotative features and values peoples in Europe and Asia.

  11. The Comparative Analysis Between English and Chinese Advertising Language

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    程子润

    2017-01-01

    With the rapid development of economy, advertisements are seen everywhere. Meanwhile, language plays an important role in strengthening the advertisement's expressive force. Owing to many factors, Chinese and English advertisements have different styles and features. Thus, comparing Chinese and English advertising language is helpful to understand and use them better. This article will focus on the language similarities and differences between them.

  12. The contribution of Chinese exports to climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, Christopher L.; Peters, Glen P.; Guan, Dabo; Hubacek, Klaus

    2008-01-01

    Within 5 years, China's CO 2 emissions have nearly doubled, and China may already be the world's largest emitter of CO 2 . Evidence suggests that exports could be a main cause for the rise in Chinese CO 2 emissions; however, no systematic study has analyzed this issue, especially over time. We find that in 2005, around one-third of Chinese emissions (1700 Mt CO 2 ) were due to production of exports, and this proportion has risen from 12% (230 Mt) in 1987 and only 21% (760 Mt) as recently as 2002. It is likely that consumption in the developed world is driving this trend. A majority of these emissions have largely escaped the scrutiny of arguments over 'carbon leakage' due to the current, narrow definition of leakage. Climate policies which would make the developed world responsible for China's export emissions have both benefits and costs, and must be carefully designed to achieve political consensus and equity. Whoever is responsible for these emissions, China's rapidly expanding infrastructure and inefficient coal-powered electricity system need urgent attention

  13. Selected translated abstracts of Russian-language climate-change publications, III aerosols: Issue 164

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Razuvaev, V.N.; Ssivachok, S.G. [All-Russian Research Inst. of Hydrometeorological Information-World Data Center, Obninsk (Russian Federation)

    1995-10-01

    This report presents abstracts in Russian and translated into English of important Russian-language literature concerning aerosols as they relate to climate change. In addition to the bibliographic citations and abstracts translated into English, this report presents the original citations and abstracts in Russian. Author and title indexes are included to assist the reader in locating abstracts of particular interest.

  14. Educating Teachers of "Chinese as a Local/Global Language": Teaching "Chinese with Australian Characteristics"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Michael; Han, Jinghe

    2014-01-01

    How can the education of teacher-researchers from China be framed in ways so that they might make Chinese learnable for primary and secondary school learners for whom English is their everyday language of instruction and communication. The concept "making Chinese learnable" and the characters of the language learners are explained in the…

  15. Tackling air pollution and extreme climate changes in China: Implementing the Paris climate change agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tambo, Ernest; Duo-Quan, Wang; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

    2016-10-01

    China still depends on coal for more than 60% of its power despite big investments in the process of shifting to nuclear, solar and wind power renewable energy resources alignment with Paris climate change agreement (Paris CCA). Chinese government through the Communist Party Central Committee (CPCC) ascribes great importance and commitment to Paris CCA legacy and history landmark implementation at all levels. As the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter, China has embarked on "SMART" pollution and climate changes programs and measures to reduce coal-fired power plants to less than 50% in the next five years include: new China model of energy policies commitment on CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions reductions to less than 20% non-fossil energy use by 2030 without undermining their economic growth, newly introduced electric vehicles transportation benefits, interactive and sustained air quality index (AQI) monitoring systems, decreasing reliance on fossil fuel economic activities, revision of energy price reforms and renewable energy to less energy efficient technologies development. Furthermore, ongoing CPCC improved environmental initiatives, implemented strict regulations and penalties on local companies and firms' pollution production management, massive infrastructures such as highways to reduce CO2 expansion of seven regional emissions trading markets and programs for CO2 emissions and other pollutants are being documented. Maximizing on the centralized nature of the China's government, implemented Chinese pollution, climate changes mitigation and adaptation initiatives, "SMART" strategies and credible measures are promising. A good and practical example is the interactive and dynamic website and database covering 367 Chinese cities and providing real time information on environmental and pollution emissions AQI. Also, water quality index (WQI), radiation and nuclear safety monitoring and management systems over time and space. These are ongoing Chinese

  16. The Effect of Language Ability on Chinese Immigrants’ Earning in Hong Kong

    OpenAIRE

    Chi Man Ng

    2015-01-01

    After the handover of Hong Kong sovereignty to China in 1997, the language importance gap between English and Putonghua in Hong Kong has been narrowing, even English language is remain an international language and being adopted in legal documents, but foreign investors cannot avoid speaking Putonghua when doing business with Chinese enterprises, these language importance changes provide a new discourse to human capital theorists.  In Hong Kong, natives are desire to be proficient in Putonghu...

  17. Ethnic Contestation and Language Policy in a Plural Society: The Chinese Language Movement in Malaysia, 1952-1967

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao Sua, Tan; Hooi See, Teoh

    2014-01-01

    The Chinese language movement was launched by the Chinese educationists to demand the recognition of Chinese as an official language to legitimise the status of Chinese education in the national education system in Malaysia. It began in 1952 as a response to the British attempt to establish national primary schools teaching in English and Malay to…

  18. Comparing Local and International Chinese Students’ English Language Learning Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margreat Aloysious Anthony

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available According to Horwitz (1987 learners’ belief about language learning are influenced by previous language learning experiences as well as cultural background. This study examined the English Language Learning Strategies between local and international Chinese students who share the same cultural background but have been exposed to different learning experiences. Given the significant number of local and international Chinese students enrolled in educational institutions, there is a need to understand the differences and similarities in the learning strategies of these two groups. The sample for the study comprised of 60 local and 50 international Chinese students currently enrolled at a local private college. The Oxford Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL was administered as a measure of learning strategy preferences. The study reveals that language learning experiences as well as socioeconomic status impact the learning strategy adopted by both local and international Chinese students. The findings of this study point to the need to address the needs of these students in order to enhance their English language learning experience in Malaysia.

  19. Asking about climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jonas Østergaard; D'haen, Sarah Ann Lise

    2014-01-01

    and the number and types of interviews conducted are, for example, not always clear. Information on crucial aspects of qualitative research like researcher positionality, social positions of key informants, the use of field assistants, language issues and post-fieldwork treatment of data is also lacking in many...... with climate change? On the basis of a literature review of all articles published in Global Environmental Change between 2000 and 2012 that deal with human dimensions of climate change using qualitative methods this paper provides some answers but also raises some concerns. The period and length of fieldwork......There is increasing evidence that climate change will strongly affect people across the globe. Likely impacts of and adaptations to climate change are drawing the attention of researchers from many disciplines. In adaptation research focus is often on perceptions of climate change...

  20. Energy policy in China: implications for global climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    ZhongXiang Zhang [University of Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands)

    1998-12-31

    This is the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy. It evaluates the economics of climate change and provides national, cost-effective policies for climate change. The book consists of three main parts, firstly, an analysis of the Chinese energy system to increase awareness of the implications of this sector for China`s future carbon dioxide emissions, secondly, a macroeconomic analysis of carbon dioxide emissions limits using a newly-developed computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy; and finally, a cost-effective analysis of carbon abatement options by means of a technology-oriented dynamic optimization model.

  1. Evaluation of Limiting Climatic Factors and Simulation of a Climatically Suitable Habitat for Chinese Sea Buckthorn.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guoqing Li

    Full Text Available Chinese sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. sinensis has considerable economic potential and plays an important role in reclamation and soil and water conservation. For scientific cultivation of this species across China, we identified the key climatic factors and explored climatically suitable habitat in order to maximize survival of Chinese sea buckthorn using MaxEnt and GIS tools, based on 98 occurrence records from herbarium and publications and 13 climatic factors from Bioclim, Holdridge life zone and Kria' index variables. Our simulation showed that the MaxEnt model performance was significantly better than random, with an average test AUC value of 0.93 with 10-fold cross validation. A jackknife test and the regularized gain change, which were applied to the training algorithm, showed that precipitation of the driest month (PDM, annual precipitation (AP, coldness index (CI and annual range of temperature (ART were the most influential climatic factors in limiting the distribution of Chinese sea buckthorn, which explained 70.1% of the variation. The predicted map showed that the core of climatically suitable habitat was distributed from the southwest to northwest of Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, where the most influential climate variables were PDM of 1.0-7.0 mm, AP of 344.0-1089.0 mm, CI of -47.7-0.0°C, and ART of 26.1-45.0°C. We conclude that the distribution patterns of Chinese sea buckthorn are related to the northwest winter monsoon, the southwest summer monsoon and the southeast summer monsoon systems in China.

  2. Chinese as a Second Language, Level I: Teacher's Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lew, Helene

    The lessons in this booklet are developed for the Chinese Bilingual Pilot Program, San Francisco Unified School District. The main objective is to teach Cantonese to non-Chinese speaking children so that they can use this new language in a meaningful way such as, carry on a simple conversation in that language. The ultimate goal in the oral…

  3. Responding to the Diversity of Chinese Language Learners in Australian Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scrimgeour, Andrew

    2014-01-01

    Until recently Chinese language learning in Australian primary and junior secondary schools has been characterised by programs primarily designed for second language learners who have had no prior knowledge of or exposure to Chinese language. Participation in such programs by Australian-born children who speak Putonghua (Mandarin) or another…

  4. THE PRINCIPLES OF PHONOLOGICAL WORD STRUCTURE COMPARISON OF RUSSIAN AND CHINESE LANGUAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey N. Aleksakhin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the phonological structure of words of Russian and Chinese languages. With phonological point of view the word as a Central significant unit of language is a sequence of consonants and vowel phonemes. A comparative study shows that the phonological structure of the Russian words prevail consonant phonemes and the phonological structure of the Chinese words prevail vowel phonemes. The phonological system of the Russian language is characterized by consonant dominant, and the phonological system of the Chinese language Mandarin is characterized by vocal dominant. In the vowel system of the Russian language there are six vowel phonemes, in the vowel system of the Chinese language Mandarin there are thirty-one vowel phonemes. The typical sound pattern of words of the Chinese language consists of vowel combinations. The strong (vowels differ in different effective modes of vocal cords vowels are implemented in the even phonological position; the weak vowels are implemented in the left and right odd phonological positions of the syllabic matrix 0123. Consonant phonemes of the Chinese language are implemented only in the zero phonological position. The Sound variety of simple one-syllable words of the Chinese language is constructed by oppositions: twenty-five consonants in the zero position, thirty-one strong vowel phonemes in the even position, as well as three weak vowels in the left odd position and five weak vowels in the right odd position . The typical distribution of consonant and vowel phonemes is shown in the following examples of words: 0123 - guai «obedient», gudi «rotate», guài «strange». The opposition of weak vowels with a derivative phonological zero is also an effective method of making words: guai «obedient» - gai «must» - gua « blow» - ga «a dark corner». Both Russian and Chinese Synharmonia variety of sound words is supported by five derivative phonological zeros that are phonetically in

  5. The Principles Of Phonological Word Structure Comparison Of Russian And Chinese Languages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexey N. Aleksakhin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the phonological structure of words of Russian and Chinese languages. With phonological point of view the word as a Central significant unit of language is a sequence of consonants and vowel phonemes. A comparative study shows that the phonological structure of the Russian words prevail consonant phonemes and the phonological structure of the Chinese words prevail vowel phonemes. The phonological system of the Russian language is characterized by consonant dominant, and the phonological system of the Chinese language Mandarin is characterized by vocal dominant. In the vowel system of the Russian language there are six vowel phonemes, in the vowel system of the Chinese language Mandarin there are thirty-one vowel phonemes. The typical sound pattern of words of the Chinese language consists of vowel combinations. The strong (vowels differ in different effective modes of vocal cords vowels are implemented in the even phonological position; the weak vowels are implemented in the left and right odd phonological positions of the syllabic matrix 0123. Consonant phonemes of the Chinese language are implemented only in the zero phonological position. The Sound variety of simple one-syllable words of the Chinese language is constructed by oppositions: twenty-five consonants in the zero position, thirty-one strong vowel phonemes in the even position, as well as three weak vowels in the left odd position and five weak vowels in the right odd position . The typical distribution of consonant and vowel phonemes is shown in the following examples of words: 0123 - guai «obedient», gudi «rotate», guài «strange». The opposition of weak vowels with a derivative phonological zero is also an effective method of making words: guai «obedient» - gai «must» - gua « blow» - ga «a dark corner». Both Russian and Chinese Synharmonia variety of sound words is supported by five derivative phonological zeros that are phonetically in

  6. Challenging conflicting discourses of climate change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fleming, Aysha; Vanclay, Frank; Hiller, Claire; Wilson, Stephen

    2014-01-01

    The influence of language on communication about climate change is well recognised, but this understanding is under-utilised by those seeking to increase uptake of action for climate change. We discuss the terms, discourse, resistance, and agency, to assist in developing ways to progress social

  7. English in the Chinese foreign language classroom

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Danping

    2013-01-01

    Chinese is an ancient language, but the present scope of its global study is unprecedented. Comprehending the impacts of worldwide linguistic realities on 'Chinese as a Foreign Language' (CFL) teachers and students will be critical to its long-term success. The most important phenomenon has been the establishment of English as a lingua franca, especially in the expanding marketplaces of Asia. This book examines the role of English as a medium of instruction in CFL classrooms. It begins by integrating existing studies on the global spread of English with research on English as a medium of secon

  8. Home Literacy Environment and Its Influence on Singaporean Children's Chinese Oral and Written Language Abilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Li; Tan, Chee Lay

    2016-01-01

    In a bilingual environment such as Singaporean Chinese community, the challenge of maintaining Chinese language and sustaining Chinese culture lies in promoting the daily use of Chinese language in oral and written forms among children. Ample evidence showed the effect of the home language and literacy environment (HLE), on children's language and…

  9. Chinese Language Study Abroad in the Summer, 1990. Final Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Richard T.

    After an analysis of the changing numbers of Americans studying Chinese abroad and of Sino-American academic exchanges after the Tiananmen events of 1989, this paper reports on visits to summer language programs. Enrollments were down by 13 percent between the summer of 1988 and 1989, but down by 50 percent between 1989 and 1990. The following…

  10. English-Chinese Cross-Language IR Using Bilingual Dictionaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-01-01

    specialized dictionaries together contain about two million entries [6]. 4 Monolingual Experiment The Chinese documents and the Chinese translations of... monolingual performance. The main performance-limiting factor is the limited coverage of the dictionary used in query translation. Some of the key con...English-Chinese Cross-Language IR using Bilingual Dictionaries Aitao Chen , Hailing Jiang , and Fredric Gey School of Information Management

  11. Visual Arts and the Mandarin Chinese Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, John B.

    1985-01-01

    The ways in which the Chinese have used the homophonic nature of their language to express abstractions in concrete terms, especially to express daily wishes, are described. In Chinese, a value is assigned to an object because the pronunciation of the word for the object brings that implied value to the mind of the listener; for instance, vase in…

  12. Climate Change, Risk and Grain Production in China

    OpenAIRE

    Holst, Rainer; Yu, Xiaohua; Grun, Carola

    2010-01-01

    This paper employs the production function-based method proposed by Just and Pope (1978, 1979) to explicitly analyze production risk in the context of Chinese grain farming and climate change, and test for potential endogeneity of climate factors in Chinese grain production. Our results indicate that grain production in south China might, at least in the short run, could be a net beneficiary of global warming. In particular, we find that a 1 °C increase in annual average temperature in South ...

  13. A grand Chinese climate scheme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luetken, S.E.

    2010-11-15

    This article analyses Chinese climate policies and initiatives and argues that China can, and should, be seen as a climate 'champion' that has the potential to change the current market situation both for carbon credits and clean energy technologies. At COP15, China made an 'unconditional' commitment to reduce its carbon emission intensity by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2020, thus breaking away from its traditional stance of non-commitment in global climate negotiations. While the boldness of this emissions intensity target is debated, it is clear that it stands to radically change China's approach to, and benefit from, the CDM. Specifically, it can no longer be assumed that China will find it beneficial to export its CERs - indeed she is well positioned to withdraw her credits from the market. Such a move would serve a double purpose: it would help China meet its domestic intensity target by jump-starting a domestic Chinese carbon market; and it could create a credit shortage in the global carbon market, particularly if China can convince her allies in Brazil and India to follow suit, thus forcing particularly Europe to increase investments in renewable energy technology to replace emissions reductions that so far, through the CDM, have been created abroad. As China over the past few years has developed a significant renewable energy industry, she would, by withdrawing the credits, expand the market for her own technology. Yet another thought-provoking development is that state-owned Chinese developers have already expanded their activities in the African renewable energy sector by entering cooperation agreements with local power corporations and implementing hydro and other renewable energy projects. From here China could continue to be engaged in supplying CERs to a primarily European market, where she has in this scenario herself induced a credit shortage that may send carbon prices soaring and lead to a scramble for CERs from African

  14. ICT-supported language learning tools for Chinese as a foreign Language: a content review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tina Čok

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a meta-analysis of 37 scientific papers dealing with the use and adoption of ICT for learning and teaching Chinese as a foreign language. It has shown that systematic content reviews providing overall insight into the nature and level of development in the field are rare. The author tries to fill this content gap by answering three research questions: 1 What is the overall state of research in the field of ICT-assisted learning of CFL in terms of language teaching methods? 2 Which learning technologies are in use for the specific teaching and learning methods for Chinese as a foreign language? 3 Are some learning technologies used more often for practis ng specific language skills than others?

  15. Chinese language teachers’ beliefs about their roles in the Danish context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Li; Du, Xiangyun

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on how teachers of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) perceive their roles in the Danish context. In this qualitative study of twelve native and non-native Chinese-speaking language teachers, empirical data was collected from semi-structured interviews and classroom observations...

  16. Long-Term Experience with Chinese Language Shapes the Fusiform Asymmetry of English Reading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Leilei; Xue, Gui; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Chen, Chuansheng; Wei, Miao; He, Qinghua; Dong, Qi

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies have suggested differential engagement of the bilateral fusiform gyrus in the processing of Chinese and English. The present study tested the possibility that long-term experience with Chinese language affects the fusiform laterality of English reading by comparing three samples: Chinese speakers, English speakers with Chinese experience, and English speakers without Chinese experience. We found that, when reading words in their respective native language, Chinese and English speakers without Chinese experience differed in functional laterality of the posterior fusiform region (right laterality for Chinese speakers, but left laterality for English speakers). More importantly, compared with English speakers without Chinese experience, English speakers with Chinese experience showed more recruitment of the right posterior fusiform cortex for English words and pseudowords, which is similar to how Chinese speakers processed Chinese. These results suggest that long-term experience with Chinese shapes the fusiform laterality of English reading and have important implications for our understanding of the cross-language influences in terms of neural organization and of the functions of different fusiform subregions in reading. PMID:25598049

  17. On Chinese Loan Words from English Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Yun; Deng, Tianbai

    2009-01-01

    In the recent twenty years, with China's reform and opening policy to the outside world, there is a sharp increase in English loan words in Chinese. On the one hand, it demonstrates that China's soft power has been booming up. But on the other hand, some language pollution in the meanwhile is caused by non-standard use of loan words in Chinese.…

  18. Deducing Climatic Elasticity to Assess Projected Climate Change Impacts on Streamflow Change across China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jianyu; Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Yongqiang; Chen, Xi; Li, Jianfeng; Aryal, Santosh K.

    2017-10-01

    Climatic elasticity has been widely applied to assess streamflow responses to climate changes. To fully assess impacts of climate under global warming on streamflow and reduce the error and uncertainty from various control variables, we develop a four-parameter (precipitation, catchment characteristics n, and maximum and minimum temperatures) climatic elasticity method named PnT, based on the widely used Budyko framework and simplified Makkink equation. We use this method to carry out the first comprehensive evaluation of the streamflow response to potential climate change for 372 widely spread catchments in China. The PnT climatic elasticity was first evaluated for a period 1980-2000, and then used to evaluate streamflow change response to climate change based on 12 global climate models under Representative Concentration Pathway 2.6 (RCP2.6) and RCP 8.5 emission scenarios. The results show that (1) the PnT climatic elasticity method is reliable; (2) projected increasing streamflow takes place in more than 60% of the selected catchments, with mean increments of 9% and 15.4% under RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 respectively; and (3) uncertainties in the projected streamflow are considerable in several regions, such as the Pearl River and Yellow River, with more than 40% of the selected catchments showing inconsistent change directions. Our results can help Chinese policy makers to manage and plan water resources more effectively, and the PnT climatic elasticity should be applied to other parts of the world.

  19. Dealing with Distinctiveness. Development of Chinese in the "Australian Curriculum: Languages"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scrimgeour, Andrew; Foster, Marnie; Mao, Weifeng

    2013-01-01

    This article explores some of the distinctive challenges in Chinese language education in schools and discusses how the development of the "Australian Curriculum: Chinese" has responded to these challenges. It details how the curriculum framework outlined in the "Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages" (ACARA, 2011)…

  20. Climate Change | Page 13 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Language English. Read more about Knowledge Sharing for Climate Change Adaptation in Africa. Language English. Read more about Transferring the Malaria Epidemic Prediction Model to Users in East Africa. Language English. Read more about Rainwater and Greywater Harvesting in Urban and Periurban Agriculture ...

  1. Climate Change | Page 6 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Floods, Droughts and Farming on the Plains of Argentina and Paraguay, Pampas and Chaco Regions. Language English. Read more about Using ICTs to Address Water Challenges in Uganda. Language English. Read more ...

  2. Adult Chinese as a Second Language Learners' Willingness to Communicate in Chinese: Effects of Cultural, Affective, and Linguistic Variables.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Meihua

    2017-06-01

    The present research explored the effects of cultural, affective, and linguistic variables on adult Chinese as a second language learners' willingness to communicate in Chinese. One hundred and sixty-two Chinese as a second language learners from a Chinese university answered the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scale, the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale, Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale, Chinese Learning Motivation Scale, Use of Chinese Profile, as well as the Background Questionnaire. The major findings were as follows: (1) the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scales were significantly negatively correlated with Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale but positively correlated with length of stay in China and (2) Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale was a powerful negative predictor for the overall willingness to communicate in Chinese and the Willingness to Communicate in Chinese Scales, followed by length of stay in China, Chinese Learning Motivation Scale, interaction attentiveness, and Chinese proficiency level. Apparently, students' willingness to communicate in Chinese is largely determined by their Chinese Speaking Anxiety Scale level and length of stay in China, mediated by other variables such as Chinese proficiency level and intercultural communication sensitivity level.

  3. A View from Within: A Case Study of Chinese Heritage Community Language Schools in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xueying, Ed.

    A collection of essays on Chinese heritage community language schools in the United States addresses these topics: the schools, their curricula, and organization (Theresa Hsu Chao); school administration and management (Chao, Lydia Chen, Edward Chang); academic curriculum (Pay-Fen Serena Wang); non-heritage Chinese learners: practices and…

  4. Assessing bilingual Chinese-English young children in Malaysia using language sample measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ooi, Carmen C-W; Wong, Anita M-Y

    2012-12-01

    One reason why specific language impairment (SLI) is grossly under-identified in Malaysia is the absence of locally- developed norm-referenced language assessment tools for its multilingual and multicultural population. Spontaneous language samples provide quantitative information for language assessment, and useful descriptive information on child language development in complex language and cultural environments. This research consisted of two studies and investigated the use of measures obtained from English conversational samples among bilingual Chinese-English Malaysian preschoolers. The research found that the language sample measures were sensitive to developmental changes in this population and could identify SLI. The first study examined the relationship between age and mean length of utterance (MLU(w)), lexical diversity (D), and the index of productive syntax (IPSyn) among 52 typically-developing (TD) children aged between 3;4-6;9. Analyses showed a significant linear relationship between age and D (r = .450), the IPsyn (r = .441), and MLU(w) (r = .318). The second study compared the same measures obtained from 10 children with SLI, aged between 3;8-5;11, and their age-matched controls. The children with SLI had significantly shorter MLU(w) and lower IPSyn scores than the TD children. These findings suggest that utterance length and syntax production can be potential clinical markers of SLI in Chinese-English Malaysian children.

  5. Engaging a "Truly Foreign" Language and Culture: China through Chinese Film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Cynthia

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the author shares how she uses Chinese film in her Chinese language and culture classes. She demonstrates how Chinese films can help students "navigate the uncharted universe of Chinese culture" with reference to several contemporary Chinese films. She describes how intensive viewing of films can develop a deeper and…

  6. Climate change mitigation in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu, Bo

    2012-07-01

    China has been experiencing great economic development and fast urbanisation since its reforms and opening-up policy in 1978. However, these changes are reliant on consumption of primary energy, especially coal, characterised by high pollution and low efficiency. China's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) being the most significant contributor, have also been increasing rapidly in the past three decades. Responding to both domestic challenges and international pressure regarding energy, climate change and environment, the Chinese government has made a point of addressing climate change since the early 2000s. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of China's CO{sub 2} emissions and policy instruments for mitigating climate change. In the analysis, China's CO{sub 2} emissions in recent decades were reviewed and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis examined. Using the mostly frequently studied macroeconomic factors and time-series data for the period of 1980-2008, the existence of an EKC relationship between CO{sub 2} per capita and GDP per capita was verified. However, China's CO{sub 2} emissions will continue to grow over coming decades and the turning point in overall CO{sub 2} emissions will appear in 2078 according to a crude projection. More importantly, CO{sub 2} emissions will not spontaneously decrease if China continues to develop its economy without mitigating climate change. On the other hand, CO{sub 2} emissions could start to decrease if substantial efforts are made. China's present mitigation target, i.e. to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45 % by 2020 compared with the 2005 level, was then evaluated. Three business-as-usual (BAU) scenarios were developed and compared with the level of emissions according to the mitigation target. The calculations indicated that decreasing the CO{sub 2} intensity of GDP by 40-45 % by 2020 is a challenging but hopeful target. To

  7. A preliminary investigation on the topology of Chinese climate networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ge-Li, Wang; Tsonis, Anastasios A

    2009-01-01

    Complex networks have been studied across many fields of science in recent years. In this paper, we give a brief introduction of networks, then follow the original works by Tsonis et al (2004, 2006) starting with data of the surface temperature from 160 Chinese weather observations to investigate the topology of Chinese climate networks. Results show that the Chinese climate network exhibits a characteristic of regular, almost fully connected networks, which means that most nodes in this case have the same number of links, and so-called super nodes with a very large number of links do not exist there. In other words, though former results show that nodes in the extratropical region provide a property of scale-free networks, they still have other different local fine structures inside. We also detect the community of the Chinese climate network by using a Bayesian technique; the effective number of communities of the Chinese climate network is about four in this network. More importantly, this technique approaches results in divisions which have connections with physics and dynamics; the division into communities may highlight the aspects of the dynamics of climate variability. (geophysics, astronomy and astrophysics)

  8. Oracle Bones and Mandarin Tones: Demystifying the Chinese Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor. Project on East Asian Studies in Education.

    This publication will provide secondary level students with a basic understanding of the development and structure of Chinese (guo yu) language characters. The authors believe that demystifying the language helps break many cultural barriers. The written language is a good place to begin because its pictographic nature is appealing and inspires…

  9. Learner motivation in teaching and learning Chinese as a foreign language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruan, Youjin

    -centred method, such as task-based teaching and learning or a method inspired by problem-based learning, can be employed as a motivating methodology to provide a supportive environment for language and culture learning (i.e., Chinese language and culture learning), particularly in an intercultural (or Danish......This PhD study explores the influence of teaching and learning methods on learner motivation in teaching Chinese as a foreign language in an intercultural (or Danish) context and illustrates how the learners are motivated to learn Chinese language and culture through task-based teaching...... and learning in a student-centred learning environment. Both qualitative and mixed methods approaches have been employed to examine learner motivation and the effects of certain teaching and learning methods (i.e. student-centred methods) in a given context. The findings have shown that a student...

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  11. How to Improve Pragmatic Competence of Students Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Chun

      It is not an easy task for teachers to teach Chinese as a foreign language to the students who have completed the foundation levels of Chinese language and are embarking on more specialized work. The level of these students can be roughly characterized as 'advanced'. One of the most challenging...... tasks is how to improve the pragmatic competence in Chinese language for the 'advanced' students. The solution to the task is to develop language skills in the course of focusing on thinking about Chinese and cultures. This paper takes teaching practice and teaching examples as starting points......, elucidating the instructional framework in how to design warm-up activities for students, the theoretical basis of teaching, as well as design focus from the perspective of cognitive science. Aiming at the students at advanced level, the design of warm-up activities should not only emphasize language points...

  12. The Impact of Biculturalism on Language and Literacy Development: Teaching Chinese English Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Barbara C.; Chen, Chia-I; Chang, Sara; Leclere, Judith T.

    2006-01-01

    According to the 2000 United States Census, Americans age five and older who speak a language other than English at home grew 47 percent over the preceding decade. This group accounts for slightly less than one in five Americans (17.9%). Among the minority languages spoken in the United States, Asian-language speakers, including Chinese and other…

  13. Climate change in China and China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luo Y.

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Since the first assessment report (FAR of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC in 1990, the international scientific community has made substantial progresses in climate change sciences. Changes in components of climate system, including the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, indicate that global warming is unequivocal. Instrumental records demonstrate that the global mean temperature has a significant increasing trend during the 20th century and in the latest 50 years the warming become faster. In the meantime, the global sea level has a strong increasing trend, as well as the snow coverage of Northern Hemisphere showed an obvious downward trend. Moreover, the global warming plays a key role in significantly affecting the climate system and social-economy on both global and regional scales, such as sea level rise, melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets, desertification, deforestation, increase of weather extremes (typhoon, hurricane and rainstorm and so on. The state of the art understanding of IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4 was most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in the concentrations of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Climate change issues, as a grave challenge to the sustainable development of the human society, have received ever greater attention from the international community. Deeply cognizant of the complexity and extensive influence of these issues and fully aware of the arduousness and urgency of the task of addressing climate change, the Chinese government is determined to address climate change in the process of pursuing sustainable development. The facts of climate change in China and its impacts, and China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change are introduced in this paper.

  14. Becoming a 'good' Chinese language teacher

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Chun

    ’s journals, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews over four years (2011-2015), the author explains the process of being and becoming ‘good’ Chinese language teachers in a Danish educational setting, concentrating on the factors which are associated with influencing the construction of teacher...

  15. The building of knowledge, language, and decision-making about climate change science: a cross-national program for secondary students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arya, Diana; Maul, Andrew

    2016-04-01

    The United Nations' declaration on climate change education in December 2014 has sparked a renewal of policies and programs initiated during the 'Decade of Education for Sustainable Development' (DESD, 2005-2014), aimed at promoting awareness, understanding, and civic action for environmental sustainability within learning communities all around the world. We present findings from a dialogic, multimodal, and literacies-based educational project designed to provide secondary students (N = 141) from four countries with the resources to read about and discuss evidence regarding climate change from seminal studies with peers and a core group of scientists (N = 7). Post-program interviews revealed a significant increase in language use related to evidence-based reasoning. Students also demonstrated an increased propensity to recycle. These findings support the hypothesis that providing opportunities for students to read and discuss seminal scientific sources incites positive changes in beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors related to climate change and climate science, and understandings of the nature of scientific evidence and argumentation.

  16. Language and Culture Pedagogy for Motivating Chinese Learning Beginners in the Danish context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Du, Xiangyun; Bao, Rui; Egekvist, Ulla Egidiussen

    Paper presented at International conference: From the specific patterns of Chinese language to its teaching, 12-13 January 2012......Paper presented at International conference: From the specific patterns of Chinese language to its teaching, 12-13 January 2012...

  17. Klimaschutz in China. Summary of experience from the existing environmental law relating to climate change and suggestions for China's climate change legislation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, Mingde

    2014-01-01

    This essay summarizes Chinese experiences from environmental law relating to climate change legislation and puts forward certain constructive advices, by a comprehensive and systematic examination of China's laws and policies in addressing the issue of climate change, and evaluation on their legal effects. On the basis of analysis and empirical research of this essay, it could be found that, there are many successful institutions in the existing policy systems and practices of China in respect of greenhouse gas emission reduction, including the planning and scheduling institution, the target responsibility institution, and the compulsory standard institution. These institutions should be amended, confirmed and fixed down in the laws, so as to bring their functions into full play. Simultaneously, climate change legislation should bring in and focus on promoting new institutions such as the institution of climate change environmental impact evaluation on construction projects, planning and policy strategies, carbon capture and storage technology promotion institution, carbon sinks trading or indemnification institution. Local governments have urgent demand for climate change legislation as well as obvious limitations, as a result, it is imperative for the launch of state-level comprehensive mode of climate change legislation. The basic principles of legislation may incorporate policy principles and introduce specific principles in the field. Furthermore, building a perfect administrative system and nailing down the legal responsibilities for addressing climate change are crucial for safeguarding the smooth implementation of laws. This study aims at providing early-stage preparations for China's climate change legislation, and a research foundation for drafting climate change laws. Research findings of this study involve three aspects, i.e. laws, policies and practice, by studying more than thirty resolutions of the general assembly of the United Nations, more than

  18. Going Beyond the Native Speaker in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Chun

    In recent years, researchers within the field of TCFL (teaching Chinese as a foreign language) have begun to examine the notion of Chinese language teacher identity (see e.g., Moloney, 2013; Gao, 2012; Wu et al., 2014); however, whilst insightful, this research has not addressed the ways in which...... a period of three years has been carried out. The study findings reveal that despite they teach Chinese in their own home cultures, the teachers face challenges in constructing their identities as CFL teacher, and that the challenges that arose with their Chinese learning trajectory and their intercultural...

  19. Negotiation of Meaning and Language-Related Episodes in Synchronous, Audio-Based Chinese-German eTandem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Renner, Julia

    2017-01-01

    The present paper examines negotiation of meaning and language-related episodes in Chinese-German eTandem interaction, focusing on Chinese as target language. Against the background of the interactionist approach to language learning and drawing upon Swain and Lapkin's (1998, Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French…

  20. Climate Change | Page 2 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Read more about West Indian Ocean Deltas Exchange and Research Network. Language English. Read more about Agricultural water innovations in the tropics – AgWIT. Language English. Read more about Climate change adaptation in informal settings: Understanding and reinforcing bottom-up initiatives in Latin ...

  1. The role of attitudinal motivations and collective efficacy on Chinese consumers' intentions to engage in personal behaviors to mitigate climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiao

    2018-01-01

    The Chinese government has recently pledged to reduce its CO 2 emissions by 2030. Industrial use of energy, however, is just one source of greenhouse gas emissions. Chinese consumers' more affluent lifestyles also lead to increased consumption of energy, which can result in greenhouse gas emissions. Based on a survey of 516 Chinese consumers, the present investigation examined whether their attitudinal motivations and collective efficacy are related to their intentions to engage in personal actions that may help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Results show that the utilitarian motivation related to the effectiveness of personal actions to alleviate climate change, motivation to express their moral values, self-esteem maintenance motivation, and collective efficacy predicted their attitudes toward these personal actions. Collective efficacy was in turn predicted by future orientation, norms, and the utilitarian motivation. Finally, attitudes and collective efficacy were two major considerations that predicted behavioral intentions. Implications for programs to promote low-carbon actions and lifestyles among Chinese consumers are discussed.

  2. North-south differences in Chinese agricultural losses due to climate-change-influenced droughts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiang, Zhang; Lanying, Han; Jingjing, Lin; Qingyan, Cheng

    2018-01-01

    One of the effects of global climate change is increase in the frequency and severity of drought, which strongly affects the Chinese agricultural production. In order to cope these changes more effectively, it is important to document and analyze the agricultural losses caused by drought. We collected and analyzed conventional meteorological data and agricultural statistics data, in order to outline trends in drought occurrence and decline in agricultural yield. Data were assembled for the period 1960-2010. The study pays particular attention to regional differences between northern and southern China. Our results show the drought-caused agricultural loss rates (DCALR) in China have increased by approximately 0.5% per decade in the past 50 years. The study area in this paper is for the whole of the People's Republic of China, minus the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau; when we analyzed regional differences, we found that losses increased by approximately 0.6% per decade in northern China, close to twice the increase in southern China. Moreover, drought risks and agricultural losses are rising faster in northern China. Our results also indicate that the agriculture in northern China is more sensitive to changes in precipitation, whereas the agriculture in southern China is more sensitive to temperature changes.

  3. Communication through Foreign Languages: An Economic Force in Chinese Enterprises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildebrandt, Herbert W.; Liu, Jinyun

    1991-01-01

    Second-language use by Chinese business managers illustrates that second-language competence is driven partly by economic and political forces. Although Russian language knowledge is typical of the older managers, English and Japanese are favored by younger managers, reflecting the wane of Russian political influence and the growing importance of…

  4. The Influence of Chinese Character Handwriting Diagnosis and Remedial Instruction System on Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsiao, Hsien-Sheng; Chang, Cheng-Sian; Chen, Chiao-Jia; Wu, Chia-Hou; Lin, Chien-Yu

    2015-01-01

    This study designed and developed a Chinese character handwriting diagnosis and remedial instruction (CHDRI) system to improve Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) learners' ability to write Chinese characters. The CFL learners were given two tests based on the CHDRI system. One test focused on Chinese character handwriting to diagnose the CFL…

  5. Standardizing Chinese Sign Language for Use in Post-Secondary Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Christina Mien-Chun; Gerner de Garcia, Barbara; Chen-Pichler, Deborah

    2009-01-01

    There are over 100 languages in China, including Chinese Sign Language. Given the large population and geographical dispersion of the country's deaf community, sign variation is to be expected. Language barriers due to lexical variation may exist for deaf college students in China, who often live outside their home regions. In presenting an…

  6. The Learning of Chinese Idioms through Multimedia Storytelling Prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ee Hui; Hew, Soon Hin; Choo, Siew Hwa

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, the growth of China has successfully boosted the Chinese language to be studied by people from different language-speaking societies. The Chinese language has become the most preferred second or third language among non-Chinese native novices due to the great development of China and global economic change. The Chinese idiom is…

  7. Stability in Chinese and Malay heritage languages as a source of divergence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aalberse, S.; Moro, F.; Braunmüller, K.; Höder, S.; Kühl, K.

    2014-01-01

    This article discusses Malay and Chinese heritage languages as spoken in the Netherlands. Heritage speakers are dominant in another language and use their heritage language less. Moreover, they have qualitatively and quantitatively different input from monolinguals. Heritage languages are often

  8. Stability in Chinese and Malay heritage languages as a source of divergence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aalberse, S.; Moro, F.R.; Braunmüller, K.; Höder, S.; Kühl, K.

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses Malay and Chinese heritage languages as spoken in the Netherlands. Heritage speakers are dominant in another language and use their heritage language less. Moreover, they have qualitatively and quantitatively different input from monolinguals. Heritage languages are often

  9. Klimaschutz in China. Summary of experience from the existing environmental law relating to climate change and suggestions for China's climate change legislation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cao, Mingde [China Univ. of Political Science and Law, Peking (China). Climate Change and Natural Resources Law Center

    2014-07-01

    This essay summarizes Chinese experiences from environmental law relating to climate change legislation and puts forward certain constructive advices, by a comprehensive and systematic examination of China's laws and policies in addressing the issue of climate change, and evaluation on their legal effects. On the basis of analysis and empirical research of this essay, it could be found that, there are many successful institutions in the existing policy systems and practices of China in respect of greenhouse gas emission reduction, including the planning and scheduling institution, the target responsibility institution, and the compulsory standard institution. These institutions should be amended, confirmed and fixed down in the laws, so as to bring their functions into full play. Simultaneously, climate change legislation should bring in and focus on promoting new institutions such as the institution of climate change environmental impact evaluation on construction projects, planning and policy strategies, carbon capture and storage technology promotion institution, carbon sinks trading or indemnification institution. Local governments have urgent demand for climate change legislation as well as obvious limitations, as a result, it is imperative for the launch of state-level comprehensive mode of climate change legislation. The basic principles of legislation may incorporate policy principles and introduce specific principles in the field. Furthermore, building a perfect administrative system and nailing down the legal responsibilities for addressing climate change are crucial for safeguarding the smooth implementation of laws. This study aims at providing early-stage preparations for China's climate change legislation, and a research foundation for drafting climate change laws. Research findings of this study involve three aspects, i.e. laws, policies and practice, by studying more than thirty resolutions of the general assembly of the United Nations

  10. Implementation of Task-based Language Teaching in Chinese as a Foreign Language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bao, Rui; Du, Xiangyun

    2015-01-01

    -structured interviews were carried out with 18 participants from two beginning-level Chinese classes. Qualitative analysis of the data indicates that TBLT benefits learners in terms of increasing participation, creating more opportunities for speaking, easing learners’ anxiety, and enhancing enjoyment. However, TBLT...... encountered challenges such as lack of Chinese pronunciation practice, difficulty in balancing learners’ different preferences for learning strategies, and a lack of sufficient instructional time support. Possibilities for improving TBLT and proposals are discussed. This study provides further evidence...... that TBLT is not a one-size-fits-all method, but rather interacts with various contextual factors in its application, and suggests that the features of the Chinese language need to be taken into consideration as well....

  11. Stop the climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tissot, B.

    2003-04-01

    This book tries to answer today's main environmental questions relative to the climatic change: how our massive petroleum and coal consumption has led to a greenhouse effect? What will happen tomorrow when Chinese and Indian people will reach the same energy consumption levels as people of western countries? Is it too late to reverse the trend? If solar energy is the long-term solution, what can we do in the meantime? The author presents the conditions we must fulfill to keep the Earth in a good environmental condition: 1 - a brief story of energy; 2 - the climatic changes and their secrets; 3 - the greenhouse effect: necessary for life but worrying for the future; 4 - the energy demand and the stakes; 2 - fossil fuels: abundance or shortage? 6 - can we fight against greenhouse gases? 7 - the nuclear energy (reactors and wastes management); 8 - the renewable energies: a necessary contribution at the century scale and the unique answer at the millennium scale; 9 - the time of main choices is not so far; 10 - two questions (energy demand and climatic change) and a unique answer (sustainable development). (J.S.)

  12. Climate Change | Page 18 | IDRC - International Development ...

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    Home · Agriculture and Environment. Climate Change. Language English. Read more about Managing the Risk of Flooding and Sea-level Rise in Cape Town : the Power of Collective Governance. Language English. Read more about Gouvernance axée sur la collaboration : gestion des risques associés aux inondations et ...

  13. Designing between Pedagogies and Cultures: Audio-Visual Chinese Language Resources for Australian Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Yifeng; Shen, Huizhong

    2016-01-01

    This design-based study examines the creation and development of audio-visual Chinese language teaching and learning materials for Australian schools by incorporating users' feedback and content writers' input that emerged in the designing process. Data were collected from workshop feedback of two groups of Chinese-language teachers from primary…

  14. Investors, Managers, Brokers, and Culture Workers: How the "New" Chinese are Changing the Meaning of Chineseness in Cambodia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pál Nyíri

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available China has become the largest source of capital in Cambodia. Managers of state enterprises that construct hydropower plants and roads—as well as private investors and managers in mining, agricultural land concessions, and garment manufacturing—wield increasing influence and are beginning to shape labor practices. In this situation, mainland Chinese migrants are no longer seen by the Sino-Khmer as the marginal and suspect outsiders that they were twenty years ago. Rather, for both the increasingly entrenched Sino-Khmer elite and the struggling Sino-Khmer middle classes, they are a source of business opportunities or jobs. The Sino-Khmer have emerged as middlemen both between Chinese capital and the neopatrimonial Cambodian state and between Chinese managers and Khmer labor. This role is predicated upon a display of Chineseness whose form and content is itself rapidly changing under the influence of an increasing number of teachers and journalists who come from the mainland to run Cambodia’s Chinese-language press and schools. This paper will attempt to makes sense of the facets of this change.

  15. Exploring Potential Uses of ICT in Chinese Language Arts Instruction: Eight Teachers' Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Janet Mei-Chuen; Lee, Greg C.; Chen, Hsiu-Yen

    2004-01-01

    Eight experienced Chinese language arts teachers from a typical junior high school in Taiwan participated in this study to discuss the potential uses of information and communications technologies (ICT) in Chinese language arts instruction. After meeting for 12 roundtable sessions and using a web forum as a supplement for exchanging ideas, they…

  16. Genetic and environmental influences on Chinese language and reading abilities.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bonnie Wing-Yin Chow

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated the etiology of individual differences in Chinese language and reading skills in 312 typically developing Chinese twin pairs aged from 3 to 11 years (228 pairs of monozygotic twins and 84 pairs of dizygotic twins; 166 male pairs and 146 female pairs. Children were individually given tasks of Chinese word reading, receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, tone awareness, syllable and rhyme awareness, rapid automatized naming, morphological awareness and orthographic skills, and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. All analyses controlled for the effects of age. There were moderate to substantial genetic influences on word reading, tone awareness, phonological memory, morphological awareness and rapid automatized naming (estimates ranged from .42 to .73, while shared environment exerted moderate to strong effects on receptive vocabulary, syllable and rhyme awareness and orthographic skills (estimates ranged from .35 to .63. Results were largely unchanged when scores were adjusted for nonverbal reasoning as well as age. Findings of this study are mostly similar to those found for English, a language with very different characteristics, and suggest the universality of genetic and environmental influences across languages.

  17. Climate change and energy policies in Shanghai: A multilevel governance perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Francesch-Huidobro, Maria

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Multilevel governance is a useful framework to understand how resources, tasks and power are distributed for decision making. • Shifts in national climate and energy policy mandate local governments to develop climate change and energy policies. • Local governments have greater autonomy for incorporating climate and energy issues into development goals. • Climate mitigation and energy policy is dominated by hierarchical governance. - Abstract: Despite growing interest in China’s response to climate change and energy security, studies undertaken at the subnational level are rare. In the context of the multilevel governance paradigm, this article examines the governance of climate change and energy policy in Shanghai, a rapidly growing Chinese megacity highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Although the energy and carbon intensity of Shanghai’s economy have fallen significantly since China launched its economic reforms, overall carbon emissions in the municipality continue to rise. Through examining the Shanghai case, this article argues that Chinese subnational climate mitigation policy is dominated by hierarchical governance arrangements. Nevertheless, shifts in national climate and energy policy since 2007 have mandated provincial-level governments, including Shanghai, to develop their own climate and energy policies while offering greater local autonomy for incorporating climate and energy issues into development goals: is this attributable to a decentred form of multilevel governance? The article concludes that Shanghai’s climate mitigation and energy policy is dominated by hierarchical governance whereby policies are ‘downloaded’ from the central government. Perspectives for other cities and insights for policymakers are discussed.

  18. Addressing the trade-climate change-energy nexus: China's explorations in a global governance landscape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joachim Monkelbaan

    2014-12-01

    As a way forward, different approaches towards the governance of trade and climate change will be highlighted. Besides discussing the specific aspects of Chinese participation in global trade and climate change governance, this paper aims at offering broader insights into the nexus between trade, energy and climate governance in China.

  19. Motivational Effects of Standardized Language Assessment on Chinese Young Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Chuqiao

    2016-01-01

    This review paper examines how standardized language assessment affects Chinese young learners' motivation for second-language learning. By presenting the historical and contemporary contexts of the testing system in China, this paper seeks to demonstrate the interrelationship among cultural, social, familial, and individual factors, which…

  20. Cultural views, language ability, and mammography use in Chinese American women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Wenchi; Wang, Judy; Chen, Mei-Yuh; Feng, Shibao; Yi, Bin; Mandelblatt, Jeanne S

    2009-12-01

    Mammography screening rates among Chinese American women have been reported to be low. This study examines whether and how culture views and language ability influence mammography adherence in this mostly immigrant population. Asymptomatic Chinese American women (n = 466) aged 50 and older, recruited from the Washington, D.C. area, completed a telephone interview. Regular mammography was defined as having two mammograms at age-appropriate recommended intervals. Cultural views were assessed by 30 items, and language ability measured women's ability in reading, writing, speaking, and listening to English. After controlling for risk perception, worry, physician recommendation, family encouragement, and access barriers, women holding a more Chinese/Eastern cultural view were significantly less likely to have had regular mammograms than those having a Western cultural view. English ability was positively associated with mammography adherence. The authors' results imply that culturally sensitive and language-appropriate educational interventions are likely to improve mammography adherence in this population.

  1. Does Language Matter? Exploring Chinese-Korean Differences in Holistic Perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhode, Ann K; Voyer, Benjamin G; Gleibs, Ilka H

    2016-01-01

    Cross-cultural research suggests that East Asians display a holistic attentional bias by paying attention to the entire field and to relationships between objects, whereas Westerners pay attention primarily to salient objects, displaying an analytic attentional bias. The assumption of a universal pan-Asian holistic attentional bias has recently been challenged in experimental research involving Japanese and Chinese participants, which suggests that linguistic factors may contribute to the formation of East Asians' holistic attentional patterns. The present experimental research explores differences in attention and information processing styles between Korean and Chinese speakers, who have been assumed to display the same attentional bias due to cultural commonalities. We hypothesize that the specific structure of the Korean language predisposes speakers to pay more attention to ground information than to figure information, thus leading to a stronger holistic attentional bias compared to Chinese speakers. Findings of the present research comparing different groups of English, Chinese, and Korean speakers provide further evidence for differences in East Asians' holistic attentional bias, which may be due to the influence of language. Furthermore, we also extend prior theorizing by discussing the potential impact of other cultural factors. In line with critical voices calling for more research investigating differences between cultures that are assumed to be culturally similar, we highlight important avenues for future studies exploring the language-culture relationship.

  2. Does language matter? Exploring Chinese-Korean differences in holistic perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann Kristin Rhode

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Cross-cultural research suggests that East Asians display a holistic attentional bias by paying attention to the entire field and to relationships between objects, whereas Westerners pay attention primarily to salient objects, displaying an analytic attentional bias. The assumption of a universal pan-Asian holistic attentional bias has however recently been challenged in experimental research involving Japanese and Chinese participants, which suggests that linguistic factors may contribute to the formation of East Asians’ holistic attentional patterns. The present experimental research explores differences in attention and information processing styles between Korean and Chinese speakers, who have been assumed to display the same attentional bias due to cultural commonalities. We hypothesize that the specific structure of the Korean language predisposes speakers to pay more attention to ground information than to figure information, thus leading to a stronger holistic attentional bias compared to Chinese speakers. Findings of the present research comparing different groups of English, Chinese, and Korean speakers provide further evidence for differences in East Asians’ holistic attentional bias, which may be due to the influence of language. Furthermore, we also extend prior theorizing by discussing the potential impact of other cultural factors. In line with critical voices calling for more research investigating differences between cultures that are assumed to be culturally similar, we highlight important avenues for future studies exploring the language-culture relationship.

  3. The Psychological Effects of Climate Change on Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Susie E L; Sanson, Ann V; Van Hoorn, Judith

    2018-04-11

    We review recent evidence on the psychological effects of climate change on children, covering both direct and indirect impacts, and discuss children's psychological adaptation to climate change. Both the direct and flow-on effects of climate change place children at risk of mental health consequences including PTSD, depression, anxiety, phobias, sleep disorders, attachment disorders, and substance abuse. These in turn can lead to problems with emotion regulation, cognition, learning, behavior, language development, and academic performance. Together, these create predispositions to adverse adult mental health outcomes. Children also exhibit high levels of concern over climate change. Meaning-focused coping promotes well-being and environmental engagement. Both direct and indirect climate change impacts affect children's psychological well-being. Children in the developing world will suffer the worst impacts. Mental health professionals have important roles in helping mitigate climate change, and researching and implementing approaches to helping children cope with its impacts.

  4. Studies on climate change problems and response measures in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ruqiu, Y. [China National Environmental Protection Agency, Beijing (China)

    1995-06-01

    Climate has substantial influence on the development of human society. At the same time, the global climate is being affected by human activities. Since industrial revolution large amount of CO{sub 2} and other greenhouse gases have been emitted to the atmosphere, causing significant change in its composition. It is recognized that this change might be sufficient to cause change in global climate. Because of the importance of climate change issues, the Chinese government pays great attention to them. As climate change concerns almost all aspects of the social and economic development, in order to coordinate ministries and agencies of the government in their efforts to deal with climate change problems, the Coordinating Group on Climate Change under the Environmental Protection Committee of the State Council was established in February 1990. There are four working groups under the Coordinating Group, working on scientific assessment, impact assessment and response strategies, economic implication and international convention matters of climate change. A number of research and technological development projects related to climate change issues have been organized, including bilateral cooperation projects and projects supported by GEF, UNEP, UNDP, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other international organizations. (EG) 11 refs.

  5. Studies on climate change problems and response measures in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruqiu, Y.

    1995-01-01

    Climate has substantial influence on the development of human society. At the same time, the global climate is being affected by human activities. Since industrial revolution large amount of CO 2 and other greenhouse gases have been emitted to the atmosphere, causing significant change in its composition. It is recognized that this change might be sufficient to cause change in global climate. Because of the importance of climate change issues, the Chinese government pays great attention to them. As climate change concerns almost all aspects of the social and economic development, in order to coordinate ministries and agencies of the government in their efforts to deal with climate change problems, the Coordinating Group on Climate Change under the Environmental Protection Committee of the State Council was established in February 1990. There are four working groups under the Coordinating Group, working on scientific assessment, impact assessment and response strategies, economic implication and international convention matters of climate change. A number of research and technological development projects related to climate change issues have been organized, including bilateral cooperation projects and projects supported by GEF, UNEP, UNDP, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other international organizations. (EG) 11 refs

  6. An empirical analysis of overlap publication in Chinese language and English research manuscripts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph D Tucker

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: There are a number of sound justifications for publishing nearly identical information in Chinese and English medical journals, assuming several conditions are met. Although overlap publication is perceived as undesirable and ethically questionable in Europe and North America, it may serve an important function in some regions where English is not the native tongue. There is no empirical data on the nature and degree of overlap publication in English and Chinese language journals. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A random sample of 100 English manuscripts from Chinese institutions was selected from PubMed. Key words and institutions were searched in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, a comprehensive Chinese language research database. Unacknowledged overlap was a priori defined according to International Committee of Medical Journal Editor (ICMJE guidelines following examination by two individuals. 19% (95% CI 11-27 of English manuscripts from Chinese institutions were found to have substantial overlap with Chinese published work based on full text examination. None of the manuscripts met all of the criteria established by the ICMJE for an acknowledged overlap publication. Individual-level, journal-level, and institutional factors seem to influence overlap publication. Manuscripts associated with an institution outside of China and with more than one institution were significantly less likely to have substantial overlap (p<0.05. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Overlap publication was common in this context, but instances of standard ICMJE notations to acknowledge this practice were rare. This research did not cite the identified overlap manuscripts with the hope that these empirical data will inform journal policy changes and structural initiatives to promote clearer policies and manuscripts.

  7. (Dis)connections between Specific Language Impairment and Dyslexia in Chinese

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Anita M.-Y.; Ho, Connie S.-H.; Au, Terry K.-F.; Kidd, Joanna C.; Ng, Ashley K.-H.; Yip, Lesley P.-W.; Lam, Catherine C.-C.

    2015-01-01

    Specific language impairment (SLI) and dyslexia are found to co-occur in school-aged children learning Chinese, a non-alphabetic language (Wong, Kidd, Ho, & Au in "Sci Stud Read" 14:30--57, 2010). This paper examined the "Distinct" hypothesis--that SLI and dyslexia have different cognitive deficits and behavioural…

  8. Chinese Students' Attitudes toward English Language and Their ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    grade Chinese students and its relationship with the English performance in order to assist teachers in making learning the English language more effective for a larger group of learners. T-test was calculated to compare the means of students ...

  9. Let's tweet in Chinese! : Exploring how learners of Chinese as a foreign language self-direct their use of microblogging to learn Chinese

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hsiao, A.; Broeder, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Twitter is becoming increasingly popular as a medium for language learning. This study explores self-directed learning via social interactions that use Twitter as an interactive learning environment. The participants in this study were thirty university students of Chinese as a foreign language at

  10. Language Skills in Classical Chinese Text Comprehension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Kit-ling

    2018-01-01

    This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the role of lower- and higher-level language skills in classical Chinese (CC) text comprehension. A CC word and sentence translation test, text comprehension test, and questionnaire were administered to 393 Secondary Four students; and 12 of these were randomly selected to…

  11. Flipping the Classroom in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jia; Yin, Chengxu; Wang, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Through an in-depth analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, this article offers a case study of the advantages and challenges in the application of the flipped learning approach in the instruction of Chinese as a foreign language at the beginning level. Data were collected from two first-year Chinese classes (one in traditional and the…

  12. Comparative study on Climate Change Policies in the EU and China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bray, M.; Han, D.

    2012-04-01

    Both the EU and China are among the largest CO2 emitters in the world; their climate actions and policies have profound impacts on global climate change and may influence the activities in other countries. Evidence of climate change has been observed across Europe and China. Despite the many differences between the two regions, the European Commission and Chinese government support climate change actions. The EU has three priority areas in climate change: 1) understanding, monitoring and predicting climate change and its impact; 2) providing tools to analyse the effectiveness, cost and benefits of different policy options for mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts; 3) improving, demonstrating and deploying existing climate friendly technologies and developing the technologies of the future. China is very vulnerable to climate change, because of its vast population, fast economic development, and fragile ecological environment. The priority policies in China are: 1) Carbon Trading Policy; 2) Financing Loan Policy (Special Funds for Renewable Energy Development); 3) Energy Efficiency Labelling Policy; 4) Subsidy Policy. In addition, China has formulated the "Energy Conservation Law", "Renewable Energy Law", "Cleaner Production Promotion Law" and "Circular Economy Promotion Law". Under the present EU Framework Programme FP7 there is a large number of funded research activities linked to climate change research. Current climate change research projects concentrate on the carbon cycle, water quality and availability, climate change predictors, predicting future climate and understanding past climates. Climate change-related scientific and technological projects in China are mostly carried out through national scientific and technological research programs. Areas under investigation include projections and impact of global climate change, the future trends of living environment change in China, countermeasures and supporting technologies of global

  13. Using Web GIS "Climate" for Adaptation to Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordova, Yulia; Martynova, Yulia; Shulgina, Tamara

    2015-04-01

    A work is devoted to the application of an information-computational Web GIS "Climate" developed by joint team of the Institute of Monitoring of Climatic and Ecological Systems SB RAS and Tomsk State University to raise awareness about current and future climate change as a basis for further adaptation. Web-GIS "Climate» (http://climate.scert.ru/) based on modern concepts of Web 2.0 provides opportunities to study regional climate change and its consequences by providing access to climate and weather models, a large set of geophysical data and means of processing and visualization. Also, the system is used for the joint development of software applications by distributed research teams, research based on these applications and undergraduate and graduate students training. In addition, the system capabilities allow creating information resources to raise public awareness about climate change, its causes and consequences, which is a necessary step for the subsequent adaptation to these changes. Basic information course on climate change is placed in the public domain and is aimed at local population. Basic concepts and problems of modern climate change and its possible consequences are set out and illustrated in accessible language. Particular attention is paid to regional climate changes. In addition to the information part, the course also includes a selection of links to popular science network resources on current issues in Earth Sciences and a number of practical tasks to consolidate the material. These tasks are performed for a particular territory. Within the tasks users need to analyze the prepared within the "Climate" map layers and answer questions of direct interest to the public: "How did the minimum value of winter temperatures change in your area?", "What are the dynamics of maximum summer temperatures?", etc. Carrying out the analysis of the dynamics of climate change contributes to a better understanding of climate processes and further adaptation

  14. Climate Change | Page 32 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Language English ... Cities often tend to respond to climate change with complicated, expensive solutions. ... for community-level research and engagement with local stakeholders to inform the development and implementation of adaptation ...

  15. Dissimilation in the Second Language Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Tones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hang

    2016-01-01

    This article extends Optimality Theoretic studies to the research on second language tone phonology. Specifically, this work analyses the acquisition of identical tone sequences in Mandarin Chinese by adult speakers of three non-tonal languages: English, Japanese and Korean. This study finds that the learners prefer not to use identical lexical…

  16. Climate Change: Past, Present, and Future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, David S.; Davis, Michael G.

    2010-09-01

    Questions about global warming concern climate scientists and the general public alike. Specifically, what are the reliable surface temperature reconstructions over the past few centuries? And what are the best predictions of global temperature change the Earth might expect for the next century? Recent publications [National Research Council (NRC), 2006; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007] permit these questions to be answered in a single informative illustration by assembling temperature reconstructions of the past thousand years with predictions for the next century. The result, shown in Figure 1, illustrates present and future warming in the context of natural variations in the past [see also Oldfield and Alverson, 2003]. To quote a Chinese proverb, “A picture's meaning can express ten thousand words.” Because it succinctly captures past inferences and future projections of climate, the illustration should be of interest to scientists, educators, policy makers, and the public.

  17. Investigating the impacts of climate change on Chinese agriculture. China-UK collaboration project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Erda, Lin (ed.)

    2004-04-15

    The impact of climate change in China is expected to be considerable. A regional climate change model (PRECIS), developed by the UK's Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, was used to simulate China's climate and to develop climate change scenarios for the country. Results from this project suggest that, depending on the level of future emissions, the average temperature increase in China by the end of the 21st century may be between 3 and 4C.

  18. The Role of Radical Awareness in Chinese-As-A-Second-Language Learners' Chinese Character Reading Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Yu Ka

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the role of radical awareness in Chinese character reading development among young Chinese-as-a-second-language (CSL) learners is evaluated in terms of a structural property of the writing system: the distribution of elementary, one-radical (i.e. one-element) simple characters as against majority, multi-radical compound characters.…

  19. Transitioning Beliefs in Teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language: An Australian Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moloney, Robyn; Xu, HuiLing

    2015-01-01

    With the economic rise of China, there is global demand for effective teaching and learning of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). There has been limited sustained success in Chinese language learning in Australian schools, however, and this has been attributed, amongst other factors, to pedagogy employed by teachers. Today, it is commonplace to…

  20. Teaching Chinese as a Second Language: From Taiwan to the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Shuliang

    2014-01-01

    Teaching Chinese as a second language in Taiwan vs. in the United States. How are they different? What are the challenges to teachers? This article will bring to you interesting findings from the perspective of a native speaking Chinese teacher.

  1. The tongue in between: Some thoughts on the teaching of Chinese as a second language in Singapore

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chee Lay Tan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In Singapore’s unique and complex linguistic environment, it is common to have Chinese-language learners from many different backgrounds in the same school classroom, which is why Singapore is nicknamed as a “language laboratory.” In this paper, I hope to examine our linguistic environment and response strategies from different angles, including theories of second-language acquisition and Singapore’s teaching methods and distinguishing features. This paper argues that Singapore’s approach to teaching Chinese as a second language have to be highly diverse and specialized, in cohesion with Singapore’s constantly evolving sociolinguistic landscape and Chinese-language teaching environment.

  2. Different mechanisms in learning different second languages: Evidence from English speakers learning Chinese and Spanish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Fan; Sussman, Bethany L; Rios, Valeria; Yan, Xin; Wang, Zhao; Spray, Gregory J; Mack, Ryan M

    2017-03-01

    Word reading has been found to be associated with different neural networks in different languages, with greater involvement of the lexical pathway for opaque languages and greater invovlement of the sub-lexical pathway for transparent langauges. However, we do not know whether this language divergence can be demonstrated in second langauge learners, how learner's metalinguistic ability would modulate the langauge divergence, or whether learning method would interact with the language divergence. In this study, we attempted to answer these questions by comparing brain activations of Chinese and Spanish word reading in native English-speaking adults who learned Chinese and Spanish over a 2 week period under three learning conditions: phonological, handwriting, and passive viewing. We found that mapping orthography to phonology in Chinese had greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) than in Spanish, suggesting greater invovlement of the lexical pathway in opaque langauges. In contrast, Spanish words evoked greater activation in the left superior temporal gyrus (STG) than English, suggesting greater invovlement of the sublexical pathway for transparant languages. Furthermore, brain-behavior correlation analyses found that higher phonological awareness and rapid naming were associated with greater activation in the bilateral IFG for Chinese and in the bilateral STG for Spanish, suggesting greater language divergence in participants with higher meta-linguistic awareness. Finally, a significant interaction between the language and learning condition was found in the left STG and middle frontal gyrus (MFG), with greater activation in handwriting learning than viewing learning in the left STG only for Spanish, and greater activation in handwriting learning than phonological learning in the left MFG only for Chinese. These findings suggest that handwriting facilitates assembled phonology in Spanish and addressed

  3. A critical review of research on strategies in learning Chinese as both a second and foreign language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoli Jiang

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available This article critically reviews strategy research on learning Chinese both as a second and foreign language. Through a careful examination of major data bases in both the Chinese and English languages, the article summarizes research in the field and the principal research methods used in the studies reviewed. Moreover, key limitations in research designs, inconsistencies in reported findings, inappropriate use of research methods, and weaknesses in both Chinese- and English-language publications are discussed. The article concludes by calling for future research paying more attention to current language learning strategy theories and practices.

  4. Valuing Precaution in Climate Change Policy Analysis (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howarth, R. B.

    2010-12-01

    The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change calls for stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations to prevent “dangerous anthropogenic interference” (DAI) with the global environment. This treaty language emphasizes a precautionary approach to climate change policy in a setting characterized by substantial uncertainty regarding the timing, magnitude, and impacts of climate change. In the economics of climate change, however, analysts often work with deterministic models that assign best-guess values to parameters that are highly uncertain. Such models support a “policy ramp” approach in which only limited steps should be taken to reduce the future growth of greenhouse gas emissions. This presentation will explore how uncertainties related to (a) climate sensitivity and (b) climate-change damages can be satisfactorily addressed in a coupled model of climate-economy dynamics. In this model, capping greenhouse gas concentrations at ~450 ppm of carbon dioxide equivalent provides substantial net benefits by reducing the risk of low-probability, catastrophic impacts. This result formalizes the intuition embodied in the DAI criterion in a manner consistent with rational decision-making under uncertainty.

  5. Climate change, food, water and population health in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Shilu; Berry, Helen L; Ebi, Kristie; Bambrick, Hilary; Hu, Wenbiao; Green, Donna; Hanna, Elizabeth; Wang, Zhiqiang; Butler, Colin D

    2016-10-01

    Anthropogenic climate change appears to be increasing the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme weather events. Such events have already had substantial impacts on socioeconomic development and population health. Climate change's most profound impacts are likely to be on food, health systems and water. This paper explores how climate change will affect food, human health and water in China. Projections indicate that the overall effects of climate change, land conversion and reduced water availability could reduce Chinese food production substantially - although uncertainty is inevitable in such projections. Climate change will probably have substantial impacts on water resources - e.g. changes in rainfall patterns and increases in the frequencies of droughts and floods in some areas of China. Such impacts would undoubtedly threaten population health and well-being in many communities. In the short-term, population health in China is likely to be adversely affected by increases in air temperatures and pollution. In the medium to long term, however, the indirect impacts of climate change - e.g. changes in the availability of food, shelter and water, decreased mental health and well-being and changes in the distribution and seasonality of infectious diseases - are likely to grow in importance. The potentially catastrophic consequences of climate change can only be avoided if all countries work together towards a substantial reduction in the emission of so-called greenhouse gases and a substantial increase in the global population's resilience to the risks of climate variability and change.

  6. A Dual Coding Model of Processing Chinese as a Second Language: A Cognitive-Load Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sham, Diana Po Lan

    2002-01-01

    The research was conducted in Sydney and Hong Kong using students, from grades 5 to 9, whose first language or teaching medium was English, learning to read Chinese as second language. According to cognitive load theory, the processing of single Chinese characters accompanied by pictures should impose extraneous cognitive load and thus hinders…

  7. The Influence of Japanese Anime Language to Chinese Network Buzzwords

    OpenAIRE

    Cai Jin Chang

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, the influence of Japanese anime language to Chinese network buzzwords was studied, and the maturity and rigor were quoted. The Japanese anime language refined, creative can be so popular in the factors of psychologies also was analyzed. According to these studies, some suggestions were put forward that how to standardize the network buzzwords and how to raise its taste.

  8. Teaching Chinese Film in an Advanced Language Class

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luying Chen

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Instructors often face a dilemma when using film in language classes. While film is appealing for the rich cultural and linguistic information it offers, finding the balance between teaching content and building language skills can present significant challenges for an instructor. Common approaches to using film in courses taught in English, such as screening one film a week, reading critical essays about the films, and class discussions and lectures, seldom offer the same benefits in a foreign language course due to the fact that students with only three years of foreign language study frequently lack the language skills necessary to discuss films in a foreign language. Yanfang Tang and Qianghai Chen, authors of the textbook 'Advanced Chinese: Intention, Strategy, & Communication '(2005, have argued that “[n]either interpreting textual meanings nor decoding linguistic patterns leads naturally to the productive skills needed” for communicating in the target language at the advanced level. They further suggest that “practice, in a conscious but meaningful way is the key to successful transformation of input knowledge into productive output skills.”

  9. Scientific psychology within the Chinese language and cultural context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Heyong

    2006-01-01

    The Scientific Psychology that was founded by Wilhelm Wundt appeared in China in the late nineteenth century. The scholars translated the name of psychology into Chinese as Xin-Li-Xue, for which the meaning of the words looks like "heartology," i.e., "the study of the heart." In Chinese, the same core structure related to "heart" (Xin) is found in most of the terms of psychology, such as emotion, thinking, will, forgetting, and memory. By translating Xin as "heart" instead of "mind," we maintain an embodied approach to understanding the "principles of the heart." Through a historical approach to the influence of Western psychology, a cultural analysis of the meaning of the term psychology in Chinese, and a focus on the meeting of Eastern and Western psychology, we can witness the significance of psychology in the Chinese language and cultural context. I will use three parts to present psychology in the Chinese cultural context: the origins of Chinese psychology, from a historical approach; the meaning of "psychology" in Chinese, using a cultural analysis; and the meeting of Eastern and Western psychology, focusing on the development and future.

  10. THE EFFECT OF TEACHER’S CREATIVITY ON NATIVE INDONESIAN STUDENTS’ SUCCESS IN LEARNING CHINESE LANGUAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Febi Nur Biduri

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Creativity is the ability of a person to produce something new; in the form of ideas or real works that are relatively different from what has been existed before. The problem formulated in this study is: Does the teacher's creativity have an effect on the success of learning Chinese as a foreign language? This research aims to: 1. Know the effect of the teacher's creativity on the success of learning Chinese language in the classroom, and 2. know the types and functions of the teacher's creativity to the Chinese learning process in the classroom. This research is useful for providing information about types and definition of creativity as well as what effect is drawn by a creative teacher to the learning process in the classroom. This research will also make it easier for the teacher to teach the Chinese language more creatively and appealingly. The research method used is descriptive qualitative that describes the situations that occurred in the classroom when the learning is going on with the creative teacher. The study was conducted in the Chinese Language subject in semester 8 at Japanese Literature Faculty of Darma Persada Universitas, Jakarta. The data collected were from observation, interview, and questionnaire.

  11. Chinese Climate and Vernacular Dwellings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feifei Sun

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The industrial and economic expansion of China, particularly its rapid urbanization, has resulted in dramatic increased consumption of energy resources and the resulting environmental impacts at local, regional and global levels. Although a national program aimed at the technological development of sustainable buildings with energy saving potential is ongoing, it is also appropriate to consult vernacular architectural tradition. This holds the potential to learn and adapt important cultural ideas developed over time on the art of balancing thermal comfort between climate and limited resources. This paper explores the five different climatic regions into which China is partitioned by the Chinese authorities: severe cold region, cold region, moderate region, hot summer and cold winter region, and hot summer and mild winter region. Analysis of each region covers the climate and its vernacular architecture with a special focus on how sustainability was addressed. Finally, regional climate scenario has been analyzed on the basis of data from Meteonorm V6.1 with special attention paid to passive design strategies.

  12. Basis of a formal language for facilitating communication among climate modelers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elia, Ramon de [Climate Analysis Team, Consortium Ouranos, Montreal, QC (Canada); Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Centre ESCER, Montreal, QC (Canada)

    2012-08-15

    The objective of this work is to present the basis for a formal language that aims to express in a concise way some fundamental beliefs held within the climate research community. The expression of this set of beliefs takes the form of relations, conjectures or propositions that describe characteristics of different aspects of climate modeling. Examples are constructed using topics that are much discussed within the climate modeling community. The article first introduces, as elements of this formal language, models considered a priori (the model as a code or algorithm) or a posteriori (the model as output), and then presents different relations between these elements. The most important relation is that of dominance, which helps to define the superiority of one model over another based on which model a rational agent will choose. Various kinds of dominance are considered. Also presented in a formal language are propositions and conjectures relating to model development, model calibration and climate change ensemble projections, each of which are held with diverse levels of acceptance within the climate modeling community. In addition, the relevance of defining elements - models - whose existence is improbable, such as bug-free model versions, is discussed. Although the potential value of this language is shown, there remains a need to improve the definitions presented here, as some of them remain unsatisfying. Still, we believe that this attempt may help us not only communicate more clearly but also to better distinguish different schools of thought that currently exist within the community. (orig.)

  13. Engaging Students In The Science Of Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhew, R. C.; Halversen, C.; Weiss, E.; Pedemonte, S.; Weirman, T.

    2013-12-01

    Climate change is arguably the defining environmental issue of our generation. It is thus increasingly necessary for every member of the global community to understand the basic underlying science of Earth's climate system and how it is changing in order to make informed, evidence-based decisions about how we will respond individually and as a society. Through exploration of the inextricable interconnection between Earth's ocean, atmosphere and climate, we believe students will be better prepared to tackle the complex issues surrounding the causes and effects of climate change and evaluate possible solutions. If students are also given opportunities to gather evidence from real data and use scientific argumentation to make evidence-based explanations about climate change, not only will they gain an increased understanding of the science concepts and science practices, the students will better comprehend the nature of climate change science. Engaging in argument from evidence is a scientific practice not only emphasized in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), but also emphasized in the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science (CCSS). This significant overlap between NGSS and CCSS has implications for science and language arts classrooms, and should influence how we support and build students' expertise with this practice of sciences. The featured exemplary curricula supports middle school educators as they address climate change in their classrooms. The exemplar we will use is the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence (OSS) for Grades 6-8: The ocean-atmosphere connection and climate change, which are curriculum units that deliver rich science content correlated to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Disciplinary Core Ideas and an emphasis on the Practices of Science, as called for in NGSS and the Framework. Designed in accordance with the latest

  14. The Influence of Japanese Anime Language to Chinese Network Buzzwords

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cai Jin Chang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the influence of Japanese anime language to Chinese network buzzwords was studied, and the maturity and rigor were quoted. The Japanese anime language refined, creative can be so popular in the factors of psychologies also was analyzed. According to these studies, some suggestions were put forward that how to standardize the network buzzwords and how to raise its taste.

  15. Aspects of the Two Language System and Three Language Problem in the Changing Society of Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsou, Benjamin K.

    1996-01-01

    Presents details of the language shifts among the various sections of the Chinese-speaking population in Hong Kong and analyzes patterns of allegiance. Notes that complex social, economic, and political pressures will affect future language in Hong Kong and that, within the domains of family, work, and others, the use of Modern Standard Chinese is…

  16. Climate Change | Page 79 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Climate Change. Changements climatiques. Language English. The Kenya Medical Research Institute has launched a tool aimed at predicting malaria outbreaks in any area ... Environmental economics can identify the underlying causes of environmental problems and point to solutions that benefit people and the planet.

  17. A Study of Changes in German Learning Motivation by Chinese University Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Meihua; Li, Mingming

    2018-01-01

    The present research examined the changes in Chinese university students' motivation to learn German during a 16-week semester. Analyses of the data showed that both at the beginning and toward the end of the semester, the participants held (fairly) positive attitudes towards German, were motivated to learn the language mainly for integrative and…

  18. An analysis of various scholarly approaches to the acquisition of Chinese characters by students of Chinese as a foreign language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ptaszynski, Signe Overgaard

    2007-01-01

    Wang Bixia et al. (1997) and Jiang Liping (1998) investigated what learning strategies students of Chinese as a foreign language employ when learning Chinese characters. On the basis of their research they suggest what pedagogical methods the teacher should apply in order to make the task easier...

  19. Can Learning a Foreign Language Foster Analytic Thinking?-Evidence from Chinese EFL Learners' Writings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jingyang; Ouyang, Jinghui; Liu, Haitao

    2016-01-01

    Language is not only the representation of thinking, but also shapes thinking. Studies on bilinguals suggest that a foreign language plays an important and unconscious role in thinking. In this study, a software-Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2007-was used to investigate whether the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) can foster Chinese high school students' English analytic thinking (EAT) through the analysis of their English writings with our self-built corpus. It was found that: (1) learning English can foster Chinese learners' EAT. Chinese EFL learners' ability of making distinctions, degree of cognitive complexity and degree of thinking activeness have all improved along with the increase of their English proficiency and their age; (2) there exist differences in Chinese EFL learners' EAT and that of English native speakers, i. e. English native speakers are better in the ability of making distinctions and degree of thinking activeness. These findings suggest that the best EFL learners in high schools have gained native-like analytic thinking through six years' English learning and are able to switch their cognitive styles as needed.

  20. Functional changes in people with different hearing status and experiences of using Chinese sign language: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Qiang; Xia, Shuang; Zhao, Fei; Qi, Ji

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess functional changes in the cerebral cortex in people with different sign language experience and hearing status whilst observing and imitating Chinese Sign Language (CSL) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 50 participants took part in the study, and were divided into four groups according to their hearing status and experience of using sign language: prelingual deafness signer group (PDS), normal hearing non-signer group (HnS), native signer group with normal hearing (HNS), and acquired signer group with normal hearing (HLS). fMRI images were scanned from all subjects when they performed block-designed tasks that involved observing and imitating sign language stimuli. Nine activation areas were found in response to undertaking either observation or imitation CSL tasks and three activated areas were found only when undertaking the imitation task. Of those, the PDS group had significantly greater activation areas in terms of the cluster size of the activated voxels in the bilateral superior parietal lobule, cuneate lobe and lingual gyrus in response to undertaking either the observation or the imitation CSL task than the HnS, HNS and HLS groups. The PDS group also showed significantly greater activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus which was also found in the HNS or the HLS groups but not in the HnS group. This indicates that deaf signers have better sign language proficiency, because they engage more actively with the phonetic and semantic elements. In addition, the activations of the bilateral superior temporal gyrus and inferior parietal lobule were only found in the PDS group and HNS group, and not in the other two groups, which indicates that the area for sign language processing appears to be sensitive to the age of language acquisition. After reading this article, readers will be able to: discuss the relationship between sign language and its neural mechanisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc

  1. A Critical Examination of Chinese Language Media’s Normative Goals and News Decisions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoping Li

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Ethnic media are an integral part of a multicultural communication infrastructure benefiting all Canadians, as they provide services pivotal to immigrants’ settlement, integration, and participation in Canadian society, yet numerous studies of ethnic media reveal deficiencies in their performance. This analysis informed by interview data examines Chinese language media’s normative goals in relation to news decision-making. Outlet news workers convey commendable goals, and those who stress citizen building dedicate themselves to journalistic roles despite unfavourable circumstances. Meanwhile, Chinese language media outlets operate according to norms of social responsibility divergent from mainstream media. Narrow definitions of social responsibility, audience tastes, and perceived community needs influence content and boundaries in and for Chinese language reportage on Canada. Market competition and profit concerns also shape reporting quality, with normative goals trumped by commercial aims. New Canadians with language barriers require informational help if they are to truly become part of Canadian society, exercise their rights, and live up to their responsibilities as citizens. Improvements include professional training for ethnic media workers, inclusion of minority narratives into mainstream media, and publically funded multilingual communications.

  2. Climate Change | Page 5 | IDRC - International Development ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Language English. IDRC's associate director for climate change recently addressed parliamentarians as the featured guest speaker at the popular Bacon and Eggheads breakfast lecture series. Speaking to a packed audience including MPs, senators, and senior public servants, Robert Hofstede shared results from some of ...

  3. Do Chinese Dyslexic Children Have Difficulties Learning English as a Second Language?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Connie Suk-Han; Fong, Kin-Man

    2005-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to examine whether Chinese dyslexic children had difficulties learning English as a second language given the distinctive characteristics of the two scripts. Twenty-five Chinese primary school children with developmental dyslexia and 25 normally achieving children were tested on a number of English vocabulary,…

  4. Chinese and Russian Policies on Climate Change: Implications for U.S. National Security Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    crop productivity in China by 2030 as a result of climate change, and a decline of up to 37 percent in rice, maize , and wheat yields after 2050...against global warming. Comparing and contrasting China’s and Russia’s climate change policies and programs may also help to identify gaps in...adequate measures to adapt agriculture to climate change, the annual economic loss from a decrease in climate-determined crop yield in Russia is

  5. The New Zealand-Born Chinese Community of Auckland: Aspects of Language Maintenance and Shift.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Susan

    1999-01-01

    Examines the Chinese immigrant community in Auckland, New Zealand and how they address the question of first language maintenance in their largely new English-speaking environment. Shows that language maintenance, especially the written language is going to be an uphill struggle. (Author/VWL)

  6. Catquest-9SF questionnaire: validation of Malay and Chinese-language versions using Rasch analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adnan, Tassha Hilda; Mohamed Apandi, Mokhlisoh; Kamaruddin, Haireen; Salowi, Mohamad Aziz; Law, Kian Boon; Haniff, Jamaiyah; Goh, Pik Pin

    2018-01-05

    Catquest questionnaire was originally developed in Swedish to measure patients' self-assessed visual function to evaluate the benefit of cataract surgery. The result of the Rasch analysis leading to the creation of the nine-item short form of Catquest, (Catquest-9SF), and it had been translated and validated in English. The aim is therefore to evaluate the translated Catquest-9SF questionnaire in Malay and Chinese (Mandarin) language version for measuring patient-reported visual function among cataract population in Malaysia. The English version of Catquest-9SF questionnaire was translated and back translated into Malay and Chinese languages. The Malay and Chinese translated versions were self-administered by 236 and 202 pre-operative patients drawn from a cataract surgery waiting list, respectively. The translated Catquest-9SF data and its four response options were assessed for fit to the Rasch model. The Catquest-9SF performed well in the Malay and Chinese translated versions fulfilling all criteria for valid measurement, as demonstrated by Rasch analysis. Both versions of questionnaire had ordered response thresholds, with a good person separation (Malay 2.84; and Chinese 2.59) and patient separation reliability (Malay 0.89; Chinese 0.87). Targeting was 0.30 and -0.11 logits in Malay and Chinese versions respectively, indicating that the item difficulty was well suited to the visual abilities of the patients. All items fit a single overall construct (Malay infit range 0.85-1.26, outfit range 0.73-1.13; Chinese infit range 0.80-1.51, outfit range 0.71-1.36), unidimensional by principal components analysis, and was free of Differential Item Functioning (DIF). These results support the good overall functioning of the Catquest-9SF in patients with cataract. The translated questionnaire to Malay and Chinese-language versions are reliable and valid in measuring visual disability outcomes in the Malaysian cataract population.

  7. [Information quality and health risks in Spanish-language retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tejedor-García, Noelia; García-Pastor, Coral; Benito-Martínez, Selma; de Lucio-Cazaña, Francisco Javier

    The growing use of purchase online via Internet retailers favours the access to potentially toxic natural products. It also contributes to the quick dissemination of the claims made by the retailers on efficacy and safety, these claims being not always based upon reliable information. Here, we have conducted an online search to find Spanish-language retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine and we have analysed them for the quality of product information and the potential health risks. i) Online search in Google España to find Spanish-language retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine in which we analysed both the claims regarding possible health benefits and adequate safe use indications ii) Identification of potentially toxic herbs in the websites iii) Quantification of Chinese herbal medicines withdrawn by the Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios (AEMPS). 1) Only one third of the 30 Spanish-language retail websites found which sell Chinese herbal medicine observe the law, given that the other websites include illegal Western disease claims as marketing tools, 2) Five websites provide some safety information, 3) Two websites offer potentially toxic herbs and 4) Chinese herbal medicine adulterated with sibutramine, silfenafil or their analogues make a considerable percentage of the total products withdrawn by the AEMPS. Online health seekers should be warned about misinformation on retail websites for Chinese herbal medicine and directed to a Spanish government Web site for guidance in safely navigating the Internet for buying Chinese herbal medicine. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  8. Recognizing Chinese characters in digital ink from non-native language writers using hierarchical models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Hao; Zhang, Xi-wen

    2017-06-01

    While Chinese is learned as a second language, its characters are taught step by step from their strokes to components, radicals to components, and their complex relations. Chinese Characters in digital ink from non-native language writers are deformed seriously, thus the global recognition approaches are poorer. So a progressive approach from bottom to top is presented based on hierarchical models. Hierarchical information includes strokes and hierarchical components. Each Chinese character is modeled as a hierarchical tree. Strokes in one Chinese characters in digital ink are classified with Hidden Markov Models and concatenated to the stroke symbol sequence. And then the structure of components in one ink character is extracted. According to the extraction result and the stroke symbol sequence, candidate characters are traversed and scored. Finally, the recognition candidate results are listed by descending. The method of this paper is validated by testing 19815 copies of the handwriting Chinese characters written by foreign students.

  9. English Phonological Awareness in Bilinguals: A Cross-Linguistic Study of Tamil, Malay and Chinese English-Language Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixon, L. Quentin; Chuang, Hui-Kai; Quiroz, Blanca

    2012-01-01

    To test the lexical restructuring hypothesis among bilingual English-language learners, English phonological awareness (PA), English vocabulary and ethnic language vocabulary (Mandarin Chinese, Malay or Tamil) were assessed among 284 kindergarteners (168 Chinese, 71 Malays and 45 Tamils) in Singapore. A multi-level regression analysis showed that…

  10. Non-native Chinese Foreign Language (CFL) Teachers: Identity and Discourse

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Chun

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Native Chinese foreign language (CFL) teacher identity is an emerging subject of research interest in the teacher education. Yet, limited study has been done on the construction of Non-native CFL teachers in their home culture. Guided by a concept of teacher identity-in-discourse, the pa......Abstract Native Chinese foreign language (CFL) teacher identity is an emerging subject of research interest in the teacher education. Yet, limited study has been done on the construction of Non-native CFL teachers in their home culture. Guided by a concept of teacher identity...... teachers face tensions and challenges in constructing their identities as CFL teachers, and the tensions and challenges that arose from Danish teaching culture could influence the Non-native CFL teachers' contributions to CFL teaching in their home cultures. The findings further show that in order to cope...

  11. Pinyin and English Invented Spelling in Chinese-Speaking Students Who Speak English as a Second Language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Yi; Liu, Ru-De; McBride, Catherine A; Fan, Chung-Hau; Xu, Le; Wang, Jia

    2018-05-07

    This study examined pinyin (the official phonetic system that transcribes the lexical tones and pronunciation of Chinese characters) invented spelling and English invented spelling in 72 Mandarin-speaking 6th graders who learned English as their second language. The pinyin invented spelling task measured segmental-level awareness including syllable and phoneme awareness, and suprasegmental-level awareness including lexical tones and tone sandhi in Chinese Mandarin. The English invented spelling task manipulated segmental-level awareness including syllable awareness and phoneme awareness, and suprasegmental-level awareness including word stress. This pinyin task outperformed a traditional phonological awareness task that only measured segmental-level awareness and may have optimal utility to measure unique phonological and linguistic features in Chinese reading. The pinyin invented spelling uniquely explained variance in Chinese conventional spelling and word reading in both languages. The English invented spelling uniquely explained variance in conventional spelling and word reading in both languages. Our findings appear to support the role of phonological activation in Chinese reading. Our experimental linguistic manipulations altered the phonological awareness item difficulties.

  12. The impacts of climate change on crops in China: A Ricardian analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yongfu; Wu, Zhigang; Okamoto, Katsuo; Han, Xinru; Ma, Guoying; Chien, Hsiaoping; Zhao, Jing

    2013-05-01

    This paper assesses the impact of climate change on China's agricultural production at a cross-provincial level using the Ricardian approach, incorporating a multilevel model with farm-level group data. The farm-level group data includes 13,379 farm households, across 316 villages, distributed in 31 provinces. The empirical results show that, firstly, the marginal effects and elasticities of net crop revenue per hectare with respect to climate factors indicated that the annual impact of temperature on net crop revenue per hectare was positive, and the effect of increased precipitation was negative when looking at the national totals; secondly, the total impact of simulated climate change scenarios on net crop revenues per hectare at a Chinese national total level, was an increase of between 79 USD per hectare and 207 USD per hectare for the 2050s, and an increase from 140 USD per hectare to 355 USD per hectare for the 2080s. As a result, climate change may create a potential advantage for the development of Chinese agriculture, rather than a risk, especially for agriculture in the provinces of the Northeast, Northwest and North regions. However, the increased precipitation can lead to a loss of net crop revenue per hectare, especially for the provinces of the Southwest, Northwest, North and Northeast regions.

  13. Effects of language experience and expectations on attention to consonants and tones in English and Mandarin Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Mengxi; Francis, Alexander L

    2014-11-01

    Both long-term native language experience and immediate linguistic expectations can affect listeners' use of acoustic information when making a phonetic decision. In this study, a Garner selective attention task was used to investigate differences in attention to consonants and tones by American English-speaking listeners (N = 20) and Mandarin Chinese-speaking listeners hearing speech in either American English (N = 17) or Mandarin Chinese (N = 20). To minimize the effects of lexical differences and differences in the linguistic status of pitch across the two languages, stimuli and response conditions were selected such that all tokens constitute legitimate words in both languages and all responses required listeners to make decisions that were linguistically meaningful in their native language. Results showed that regardless of ambient language, Chinese listeners processed consonant and tone in a combined manner, consistent with previous research. In contrast, English listeners treated tones and consonants as perceptually separable. Results are discussed in terms of the role of sub-phonemic differences in acoustic cues across language, and the linguistic status of consonants and pitch contours in the two languages.

  14. Localization of the native Chinese speakers language cortex by magnetic source imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Jilin; Wu Jie; Li Sumin; Wu Jing; Zhao Huadong; Wu Yujin; Liu Lianxiang

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To localize the language cortex associated with Chinese word processing by magnetic source imaging (MSI). Methods: Eight right handed and one left handed healthy native Chinese speakers, including 5 men and 4 women, aged from 14 to 32 years, were examined by magnetoencephalography (MEG) and 1.5 T MR unit. All subjects were given 50 times pure tone stimuli (intensity was 80 dB sound pressure level), then 150 pairs of Chinese words (the meaning of the words was related or not related) auditory stimuli (intensity was 80 dB sound pressure level), and then 50 times pure tone stimuli at last (intensity was 80 dB sound pressure level). Evoked response fields (ERFs) time locked to the pure tone and Chinese words were recorded in a magnetically shielded room using a whole-head neuromagnetometer (Model Vectorview 306, made by 4-D Neuroimaging company, Finland) in real-time. The acquired data were averaged by the acquisition computer according to the response to the pure tone, related pairs of words and not related pairs of words. The data obtained by the MEG could be superimposed on MRI. Results: There were two obvious higher magnetic waves named M50 and M100 (two peaks occurred about 50 ms and 100 ms after giving the subjects binaurally stimuli). M50 and M100 in all subjects were localized in the bilateral transverse temporal gyri. The responses to the pairs of Chinese words (the meaning of the words was related or not related) were similar in the same hemisphere of the same subjects. There was a higher peak during 300-600 ms in the right hemisphere in the left handed subject, but there was no peak during 300-600 ms in his left hemisphere. It indicated that the language dominant hemisphere localized in the right hemisphere. Superimposing the MEG data on MRI, the language area was localized in the Wernicke's areas. There were two 300-600 ms response peaks in the bilateral hemispheres (the amplitude of the 300-600 ms response peaks in the bilateral hemisphere was

  15. Developing Course Materials for Technology-Mediated Chinese Language Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubler, Cornelius C.

    2018-01-01

    This article discusses principles involved in developing course materials for technology-mediated Chinese language learning, with examples from a new course designed to take into account the needs of distance and independent learners. Which learning environment is most efficient for a given learning activity needs to be carefully considered. It…

  16. THE CHARACTERISTIC OF JAPANESE NEOLOGISM-LOANWORDS IN CHINESE PUBLICISTIC DISCOURSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Фу Цзе

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of writing this article is investigation of the basic ways of meaning changing of Japanese words in Chinese publicistic discourse - active assimilation is associated with Chinese youth’s lifestyle changes and, consequently, it’s related to the mental part of Chinese society.The most deep and quick changing in modern world is reflected in publicistic, this is the reason why we considered Chinese publicistic discourse as a topical resource, that reflects lighting fast changing in modern language. Learning common neologism-loanwords in Chinese publicistic discourse is new field of learning the issue in assimilation Japanese neologism-loanwords in Chinese language.The results of analysis of basic ways in the meaning changing of Japanese words in Chinese publicistic discourse reveals the following: extension of meaning, contraction of meaning, rhetorical meaning changing: positive or negative, conversion of the initial and secondary meaning.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-2-36

  17. Reading, Writing, and Animation in Character Learning in Chinese as a Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yi; Chang, Li-Yun; Zhang, Juan; Perfetti, Charles A.

    2013-01-01

    Previous studies suggest that writing helps reading development in Chinese in both first and second language settings by enabling higher-quality orthographic representation of the characters. This study investigated the comparative effectiveness of reading, animation, and writing in developing foreign language learners' orthographic knowledge…

  18. Designing ICT Training Material for Chinese Language Arts Teachers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Janet Mei-Chuen; Wu, Cheng-Chih; Chen, Hsiu-Yen

    The purpose of this research is to tailor the design of information and communications technology (ICT) training material to the needs of Chinese language arts teachers such that the training they receive will be conducive to effective integration of ICT into instruction. Eighteen experienced teachers participated in a Delphi-like survey that…

  19. A Critical Review of Research on Strategies in Learning Chinese as Both a Second and Foreign Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Xiaoli; Cohen, Andrew D.

    2012-01-01

    This article critically reviews strategy research on learning Chinese both as a second and foreign language. Through a careful examination of major data bases in both the Chinese and English languages, the article summarizes research in the field and the principal research methods used in the studies reviewed. Moreover, key limitations in research…

  20. TEACHING THE GRAMMAR OF RUSSIAN LANGUAGE AS FOREIGN IN RUSSIAN TEXTBOOKS FOR BEGINNERS (OPINION OF THE CHINESE TEACHER)

    OpenAIRE

    Zeng, T.

    2017-01-01

    Increased interest towards studying the Russian language in China evokes the interest of Chinese teachers of the Russian language to educational and methodological materials created by their Russian colleagues. First and foremost, Chinese philologists are interested in nationally oriented textbooks. In this article, we discuss the main features of grammar in Russian textbooks aimed at Chinese students who are just beginning to learn Russian. This paper compares nationally oriented textbooks “...

  1. NOT CARELESS BUT WEAK: LANGUAGE MIXING OF MALAYSIAN CHINESE IN A BUSINESS TRANSACTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuang Ching Hei

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Language is an inevitable tool for business transactions and regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, age and social class, interlocutors depend on it to conduct their daily dealings. In multilingual and multicultural Malaysia, it is not uncommon to hear a business transaction being conducted in various languages depending on who the participants are and what the context involves. This study focussed on the phenomenon of language (code mixing within a business transaction that involved four Malaysians of Chinese descent. The study aimed to detect at what level language mixing occurred and what their functions would be. Data were video recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Mandarin utterances were documented in Chinese and Han Yu Pin Yin and provided with translations. Utterances containing a mixture of languages were then extracted for analysis. Findings suggest that language mixing occurred at the word, phrase, sentential and tag level. Language mixing was applied as a strategy to sustain the conversation mainly because of the interlocutors’ weak proficiency in specific languages. It was also employed for various functions such as for distancing or narrowing the social status, making emphasis and projecting a higher personal identity. A follow up interview is required in order to verify the extent of the participants’ low or high proficiency level in the various languages used in this context.

  2. The effect of sign language structure on complex word reading in Chinese deaf adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Aitao; Yu, Yanping; Niu, Jiaxin; Zhang, John X

    2015-01-01

    The present study was carried out to investigate whether sign language structure plays a role in the processing of complex words (i.e., derivational and compound words), in particular, the delay of complex word reading in deaf adolescents. Chinese deaf adolescents were found to respond faster to derivational words than to compound words for one-sign-structure words, but showed comparable performance for two-sign-structure words. For both derivational and compound words, response latencies to one-sign-structure words were shorter than to two-sign-structure words. These results provide strong evidence that the structure of sign language affects written word processing in Chinese. Additionally, differences between derivational and compound words in the one-sign-structure condition indicate that Chinese deaf adolescents acquire print morphological awareness. The results also showed that delayed word reading was found in derivational words with two signs (DW-2), compound words with one sign (CW-1), and compound words with two signs (CW-2), but not in derivational words with one sign (DW-1), with the delay being maximum in DW-2, medium in CW-2, and minimum in CW-1, suggesting that the structure of sign language has an impact on the delayed processing of Chinese written words in deaf adolescents. These results provide insight into the mechanisms about how sign language structure affects written word processing and its delayed processing relative to their hearing peers of the same age.

  3. The effect of sign language structure on complex word reading in Chinese deaf adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aitao Lu

    Full Text Available The present study was carried out to investigate whether sign language structure plays a role in the processing of complex words (i.e., derivational and compound words, in particular, the delay of complex word reading in deaf adolescents. Chinese deaf adolescents were found to respond faster to derivational words than to compound words for one-sign-structure words, but showed comparable performance for two-sign-structure words. For both derivational and compound words, response latencies to one-sign-structure words were shorter than to two-sign-structure words. These results provide strong evidence that the structure of sign language affects written word processing in Chinese. Additionally, differences between derivational and compound words in the one-sign-structure condition indicate that Chinese deaf adolescents acquire print morphological awareness. The results also showed that delayed word reading was found in derivational words with two signs (DW-2, compound words with one sign (CW-1, and compound words with two signs (CW-2, but not in derivational words with one sign (DW-1, with the delay being maximum in DW-2, medium in CW-2, and minimum in CW-1, suggesting that the structure of sign language has an impact on the delayed processing of Chinese written words in deaf adolescents. These results provide insight into the mechanisms about how sign language structure affects written word processing and its delayed processing relative to their hearing peers of the same age.

  4. Analysis for Drought Resilience of Monoculture on Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Seungkwon; Kang, Hyunjoong; Maeng, Seungjin

    2015-04-01

    Damage occur frequently around the world on climate change, and Korea is no exception. Drought of natural disasters caused by climate change is having a significant impact on crops. Therefore, established for adaptation measures of drought are needed. Recently resilience concept is based on the study to analyze the natural disaster has conducted actively. Uses a different definition for each researcher because of the complexity of resilience concept on the studies of the natural disaster and commonly contains the meaning of "Ability to resist changes in pressure by external force. In this study, the cabbage-growing areas in the Chungcheong utilizing Statistical Annual Report(2013) from past 2007 to 2012 were analyzed by region per unit area yield of Chinese cabbage. Determination of the occurrence and intensity of the drought were utilizing SPEI(Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration). Configure the drought scenario was based on the result that SPEI index, cabbage yield per unit area (kg/10a) analyzed the regional drought resilience for a single crop by comparison. As a result, the average Chinese cabbage yield per unit area is the same when drought occurs Cheongyang, YeSan, SeoSan, Asan, GongJu, CheongJu came out in the order, Chungnam Chinese cabbage yield (kg / 10a) was higher than 10% of the value of Chungbuk in Republic of Korea. Acknowledgement This research was supported by a grant (12-TI-C01) from Advanced Water Management Research Program funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean government.

  5. The economics of energy policy in China. Implications for global climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhongxiang Zhang

    1998-01-01

    This book is the first systematic and comprehensive attempt to deal with the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy in the light of the economics of climate change. The book provides 1) an analysis of the Chinese energy system in order to shed light on its implications for China's future CO 2 emissions; 2) a macroeconomic analysis of CO 2 emission limits for China, using a newly-developed computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy; and 3) a cost-effective analysis of carbon abatement options in China's electricity sector by means of a technology-oriented dynamic optimization model. (UK)

  6. Simulation of landscape disturbances and the effect of climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baker, W.L.

    1993-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to understand how changes in climate may affect the structure of landscapes that are subject to periodic disturbances. A general model useful for examining the linkage between climatic change and landscape change has been developed. The model makes use of synoptic climatic data, a geographical information system (GRASS), field data on the location of disturbance patches, simulation code written in the SIMSCRIPT language, and a set of landscape structure analysis programs written specifically for this research project. A simplified version of the model, lacking the climatic driver, has been used to analyze how changes in disturbance regimes (in this case settlement and fire suppression) affect landscape change. Landscape change lagged in its response to changes in the disturbance regime, but the lags differed depending upon the character of the change and the particular measure considered. The model will now be modified for use in a specific setting to analyze the effects of changes in climate on the structure of flood-disturbed patches along the Animas River, Colorado

  7. How Do Chinese ESL Learners Recognize English Words during a Reading Test? A Comparison with Romance-Language-Speaking ESL Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hongli; Suen, Hoi K.

    2015-01-01

    This study examines how Chinese ESL learners recognize English words while responding to a multiple-choice reading test as compared to Romance-language-speaking ESL learners. Four adult Chinese ESL learners and three adult Romance-language-speaking ESL learners participated in a think-aloud study with the Michigan English Language Assessment…

  8. Ambient air pollution, climate change, and population health in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kan, Haidong; Chen, Renjie; Tong, Shilu

    2012-07-01

    As the largest developing country, China has been changing rapidly over the last three decades and its economic expansion is largely driven by the use of fossil fuels, which leads to a dramatic increase in emissions of both ambient air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). China is now facing the worst air pollution problem in the world, and is also the largest emitter of carbon dioxide. A number of epidemiological studies on air pollution and population health have been conducted in China, using time-series, case-crossover, cross-sectional, cohort, panel or intervention designs. The increased health risks observed among Chinese population are somewhat lower in magnitude, per amount of pollution, than the risks found in developed countries. However, the importance of these increased health risks is greater than that in North America or Europe, because the levels of air pollution in China are very high in general and Chinese population accounts for more than one fourth of the world's totals. Meanwhile, evidence is mounting that climate change has already affected human health directly and indirectly in China, including mortality from extreme weather events; changes in air and water quality; and changes in the ecology of infectious diseases. If China acts to reduce the combustion of fossil fuels and the resultant air pollution, it will reap not only the health benefits associated with improvement of air quality but also the reduced GHG emissions. Consideration of the health impact of air pollution and climate change can help the Chinese government move forward towards sustainable development with appropriate urgency. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Can Learning a Foreign Language Foster Analytic Thinking?—Evidence from Chinese EFL Learners' Writings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jingyang; Ouyang, Jinghui; Liu, Haitao

    2016-01-01

    Language is not only the representation of thinking, but also shapes thinking. Studies on bilinguals suggest that a foreign language plays an important and unconscious role in thinking. In this study, a software—Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2007—was used to investigate whether the learning of English as a foreign language (EFL) can foster Chinese high school students’ English analytic thinking (EAT) through the analysis of their English writings with our self-built corpus. It was found that: (1) learning English can foster Chinese learners’ EAT. Chinese EFL learners’ ability of making distinctions, degree of cognitive complexity and degree of thinking activeness have all improved along with the increase of their English proficiency and their age; (2) there exist differences in Chinese EFL learners’ EAT and that of English native speakers, i. e. English native speakers are better in the ability of making distinctions and degree of thinking activeness. These findings suggest that the best EFL learners in high schools have gained native-like analytic thinking through six years’ English learning and are able to switch their cognitive styles as needed. PMID:27741270

  10. Exploring the Multifaceted Topic of Climate Change in Our Changing Climate and Living With Our Changing Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brey, J. A.; Kauffman, C.; Geer, I. W.; Mills, E. W.; Nugnes, K. A.; Stimach, A. E.

    2015-12-01

    As the effects of climate change become more profound, climate literacy becomes increasingly important. The American Meteorological Society (AMS) responds to this need through the publication of Our Changing Climate and Living With Our Changing Climate. Both publications incorporate the latest scientific understandings of Earth's climate system from reports such as IPCC AR5 and the USGCRP's Third National Climate Assessment. Topic In Depth sections appear throughout each chapter and lead to more extensive, multidisciplinary information related to various topics. Additionally, each chapter closes with a For Further Exploration essay, which addresses specific topics that complement a chapter concept. Web Resources, which encourage additional exploration of chapter content, and Scientific Literature, from which chapter content was derived can also be found at the conclusion of each chapter. Our Changing Climate covers a breadth of topics, including the scientific principles that govern Earth's climate system and basic statistics and geospatial tools used to investigate the system. Released in fall 2015, Living With Our Changing Climate takes a more narrow approach and investigates human and ecosystem vulnerabilities to climate change, the role of energy choices in affecting climate, actions humans can take through adaption, mitigation, and policy to lessen vulnerabilities, and psychological and financial reasons behind climate change denial. While Living With Our Changing Climate is intended for programs looking to add a climate element into their curriculum, Our Changing Climate is part of the AMS Climate Studies course. In a 2015 survey of California University of Pennsylvania undergraduate students using Our Changing Climate, 82% found it comfortable to read and utilized its interactive components and resources. Both ebooks illuminate the multidisciplinary aspect of climate change, providing the opportunity for a more sustainable future.

  11. From the transnational to the Sinophone: lesbian representations in Chinese-language films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Alvin Ka Hin

    2012-01-01

    This article theorizes global lesbian cinema in Chinese-language films through regionalism, diaspora studies, and Sinophone studies. Through an inter-regional analysis of Butterfly (Yan Yan Mak, 2004, Hong Kong) and diasporic and Sinophone readings of Saving Face (Alice Wu, 2005, USA), I argue that Mak's film illustrates a Hong Kong regional retranslation of a Taiwanese lesbian story, which complicates any claim to a stable "Chinese" identity. Finally, Wu's representation of lesbianism also troubles the politics of Chineseness by pointing to the ways diasporic reproduction of "community" works through the disciplining of other non-normative sexualities.

  12. Minority Language Issues in Chinese Higher Education: Policy Reforms and Practice among the Korean and Mongol Ethnic Groups

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Weiyan XIONG; W.James JACOB; Huiyuan YE

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to compare Korean and Mongol minorities in the People's Republic of China in terms of their native language preservation and educational experiences at the higher education level,and to investigate differences and similarities between Korean and Mongol minorities' language issues.Content area experts on Chinese minority education from China,South Korea,and the United States were interviewed for this study.Findings include suggestions for helping to formulate government educational policies regarding issues related to language in Chinese minority education at the higher education level.This information is helpful to better understand and educate others in school and home settings where Chinese ethnic minority students reside.The advancement of Chinese minority education knowledge related to higher education will significantly strengthen and empower individuals,families,and communities throughout the People's Republic of China.

  13. RAPPORT-BUILDING THROUGH CALL IN TEACHING CHINESE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenying Jiang

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Technological advances have brought about the ever-increasing utilisation of computer-assisted language learning (CALL media in the learning of a second language (L2. Computer-mediated communication, for example, provides a practical means for extending the learning of spoken language, a challenging process in tonal languages such as Chinese, beyond the realms of the classroom. In order to effectively improve spoken language competency, however, CALL applications must also reproduce the social interaction that lies at the heart of language learning and language use. This study draws on data obtained from the utilisation of CALL in the learning of L2 Chinese to explore whether this medium can be used to extend opportunities for rapport-building in language teaching beyond the face-to-face interaction of the classroom. Rapport's importance lies in its potential to enhance learning, motivate learners, and reduce learner anxiety. To date, CALL's potential in relation to this facet of social interaction remains a neglected area of research. The results of this exploratory study suggest that CALL may help foster learner-teacher rapport and that scaffolding, such as strategically composing rapport-fostering questions in sound-files, is conducive to this outcome. The study provides an instruction model for this application of CALL.

  14. A Standalone but Not Lonely Language: Chinese Linguistic Environment and Education in Singapore Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Huang; Kangdi, Cheng

    2016-01-01

    Bilingual education policy in Singapore permits the students learn both English as working language and mother tongues, such as Chinese, as L2 anchoring to culture heritage. Starting from historical and sociolinguistic reasons, this paper is intended to provide a panoramic view of Chinese education in Singapore, clarify and compare Chinese…

  15. Investigating Climate Change Issues With Web-Based Geospatial Inquiry Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dempsey, C.; Bodzin, A. M.; Sahagian, D. L.; Anastasio, D. J.; Peffer, T.; Cirucci, L.

    2011-12-01

    In the Environmental Literacy and Inquiry middle school Climate Change curriculum we focus on essential climate literacy principles with an emphasis on weather and climate, Earth system energy balance, greenhouse gases, paleoclimatology, and how human activities influence climate change (http://www.ei.lehigh.edu/eli/cc/). It incorporates a related set of a framework and design principles to provide guidance for the development of the geospatial technology-integrated Earth and environmental science curriculum materials. Students use virtual globes, Web-based tools including an interactive carbon calculator and geologic timeline, and inquiry-based lab activities to investigate climate change topics. The curriculum includes educative curriculum materials that are designed to promote and support teachers' learning of important climate change content and issues, geospatial pedagogical content knowledge, and geographic spatial thinking. The curriculum includes baseline instructional guidance for teachers and provides implementation and adaptation guidance for teaching with diverse learners including low-level readers, English language learners and students with disabilities. In the curriculum, students use geospatial technology tools including Google Earth with embedded spatial data to investigate global temperature changes, areas affected by climate change, evidence of climate change, and the effects of sea level rise on the existing landscape. We conducted a designed-based research implementation study with urban middle school students. Findings showed that the use of the Climate Change curriculum showed significant improvement in urban middle school students' understanding of climate change concepts.

  16. Tourists’ Environmentally Responsible Behavior in Response to Climate Change and Tourist Experiences in Nature-Based Tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ju Hyoung Han

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Nature-based tourism destinations—locations in which economic viability and environmental responsibility are sought—are sensitive to climate change and its effects on important environmental components of the tourism areas. To meet the dual roles, it is important for destination marketers and resources managers to provide quality experiences for tourists and to induce tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior in such destinations. This study documents the importance of perceptions toward climate change and tourist experiences in determining tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior while enjoying holidays at nature-based tourism destinations in Jeju Island, South Korea. Two hundred and eleven Korean and 204 Chinese tourists marked dominant tourist arrivals to the island, and responded to the survey questionnaire. Results showed that perceptions toward climate change and tourist experiences affect Korean tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior intentions, whereas tourist experiences—not perceptions toward climate change—only significantly affect Chinese tourists’ behavior intention. In a nature-based tourism context under the pressure of climate change and adverse environmental effects as consequences of tourism activities, resources managers and destination marketers need to develop environmental campaigns or informative tourist programs to formulate environmentally responsible behavior as well as to increase tourist quality experiences among domestic and international tourists.

  17. Towards Homogeneity in Home Languages: Malay, Chinese Foochow and Indian Tamil Families in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ting, Su-Hie; Mahadhir, Mahanita

    2009-01-01

    This preliminary study examines the languages used by parents with their children in Malay, Chinese Foochow and Indian Tamil families to find out how the similarity or dissimilarity in parents' ethnic language influenced the choice of language transmitted to children and how far standard languages have permeated the family domain in Kuching City…

  18. The Significance of Bilingual Chinese, Malay, and Tamil Children's English Network Patterns on Community Language Use Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saravanan, Vanithamani

    2001-01-01

    Surveyed groups of Chinese, Malay and Tamil families, their use of community languages or mother tongue, and their speaking, reading, and writing proficiency. Found that when parents' community language proficiency in speaking is lower they tend to choose English as preferred language. Children's language confidence affected their language choice.…

  19. The economics of energy policy in China. Implications for global climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhongxiang Zhang [Groningen Univ., Dept. of Economics and Public Finance, Groningen (Netherlands)]|[Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Centre for Environment and Development, Beijing (China)

    1998-08-01

    This book is the first systematic and comprehensive attempt to deal with the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy in the light of the economics of climate change. The book provides 1) an analysis of the Chinese energy system in order to shed light on its implications for China`s future CO{sub 2} emissions; 2) a macroeconomic analysis of CO{sub 2} emission limits for China, using a newly-developed computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy; and 3) a cost-effective analysis of carbon abatement options in China`s electricity sector by means of a technology-oriented dynamic optimization model. (UK)

  20. Climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1990-01-01

    In this paper, the authors discuss in brief the magnitude and rate of past changes in climate and examine the various factors influencing climate in order to place the potential warming due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in context. Feedback mechanisms that can amplify or lessen imposed climate changes are discussed next. The overall sensitivity of climate to changes in forcing is then considered, followed by a discussion of the time-dependent response of the Earth system. The focus is on global temperature as an indicator for the magnitude of climatic change

  1. Climate change 101 : understanding and responding to global climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    To inform the climate change dialogue, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Pew Center on the States have developed a series of brief reports entitled Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change. These reports...

  2. Climate Change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn; Hansen, Ernst Jan de Place

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents the effects of climate change relevant for Denmark, including the change in mean year values as well as the extent of maximum and minimum extremes. Described by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the assumptions that the scenarios are based on were outlined...... and evaluated in a Danish context. The uncertainty of the scenarios leaves major challenges that, if not addressed and taken into account in building design, will grow far more serious as climate change progresses. Cases implemented in the Danish building stock illustrate adaptation to climate change...... and illustrate how building design can include mitigating measures to counteract climate change. Cases studied were individual buildings as well as the urban environment. Furthermore the paper describes some of the issues that must be addressed, as the building sector is investing in measures to adapt to climate...

  3. Putting Climate Change Adaptation in the Development Mainstream. Policy Brief

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agrawala, S.; Paris, R.

    2005-03-01

    Climate change poses a serious challenge to social and economic development. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable because their economies are generally more dependent on climate-sensitive natural resources, and because they are less able to cope with the impacts of climate change. How development occurs has implications, in turn, for climate change and for the vulnerability of societies to its impacts. Climate change adaptation needs to be brought into the mainstream of economic policies, development projects, and international aid efforts. Considerable analytical work has been done on how development can be made climate-friendly in terms of helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions which cause climate change, although implementation remains a challenge. Much less attention has been paid to how development can be made more resilient to the impacts of climate change. In a narrow engineering sense, this could involve taking climate changes into account in the siting and design of bridges and other infrastructure. At a policy level, it could involve considering the implications of climate change on a variety of development activities including poverty reduction, sectoral development, and natural resource management. Bridging the gap between the climate change adaptation and development communities, however, is not easy. The two communities have different priorities, often operate on different time and space scales, and do not necessarily 'speak the same language'. Specific information is therefore needed on the significance of climate change for development activities along with operational guidance on how best to adapt to its impacts, within the context of other pressing social priorities. This Policy Brief looks at how far current development policies and programmes are taking climate change risks into account, as well as at ways to improve the 'mainstreaming' of adaptation to climate change in development planning and assistance

  4. Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Climate is the average weather in a place over a period of time. Climate change is major change in temperature, rainfall, snow, ... by natural factors or by human activities. Today climate changes are occurring at an increasingly rapid rate. ...

  5. A scoping review of medical professionalism research published in the Chinese language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Wang

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Chinese Medical Doctors Association (CMDA adopted the Charter of Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium (Charter and published the Chinese Medical Doctor Declaration (Declaration. This is an important step to re-building medical professionalism in China at a time when the commercialization of health care has led to a decline in physician accountability and public trust in the profession. In response, authors have begun to examine and promote medical professionalism in China. This study aims to present the key research themes, identify research gaps and offer recommendations from reviewing the increasing pool of Chinese-language literature on medical professionalism. Methods A scoping review of Chinese language papers was conducted using the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (including China Academic Journals Full-text Database, China Doctoral Dissertations Full-text Database, Masters’ Theses Full-text Database, China Core Newspapers Full-text Database, and China Yearbooks Full-text Database (CNKI database. Results Four major research themes were identified in Chinese discourse: (1 teaching professionalism, (2 practicing professionalism, (3 conceptualizing professionalism and (4 assessing professionalism. Overall, authors were concerned with the cultivation of humanism in physicians and emphasized the importance of communication skills to improve the physician-patient relationship in China. They explored the role of traditional Chinese values, such as Confucian and Taoist values, as well as the Communist Party’s political values, in promoting professional behaviour. Conclusions Authors demonstrate increasing interest in medical professionalism in China. The literature is of variable quality and further empirical studies are required in order to evaluate teaching interventions and guide professionalism assessment. A common professionalism framework is absent and could be developed with consideration to

  6. A Balancing Act: China's Role in Climate Change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hallding, Karl; Guoyi Han; Olsson, Marie (Stockholm Environment Inst., Stockholm (Sweden))

    2009-03-15

    At a time when climate change is at the top of the global political agenda, China has come to a point where continued economic growth must be balanced with environmental limitations. Through the implementation of ambitious national targets that bear on climate mitigation, the Chinese leadership is showing that it is willing to actively participate in the global climate game. China understands its role in global climate change and is fully aware of the fact that, at a minimal level, OECD countries will need some kind of assurance that China is sufficiently 'in' for there to be a realistic chance of containing global emissions. In return, at a minimal level, China will insist on developed countries demonstrating sufficient commitment (e.g., significant mid-term targets, clear response to China's proposal on technology transfer and adaptation). With those two minimal requirements met, trust building may start, and that is where the ultimate hope lies for an effective green deal

  7. Phonological and Visual Similarity Effects in Chinese and English Language Users: Implications for the Use of Cognitive Resources in Short-Term Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, Rachel L.; Pickering, Susan J.

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated the encoding strategies employed by Chinese and English language users when recalling sequences of pictured objects. The working memory performance of native English participants (n = 14) and Chinese speakers of English as a second language (Chinese ESL; n = 14) was compared using serial recall of visually-presented…

  8. "Do You Know Your Language?" How Teachers of Punjabi and Chinese Ancestries Construct Their Family Languages in Their Personal and Professional Lives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beynon, June; Ilieva, Roumiana; Dichupa, Marela; Hirji, Shemina

    2003-01-01

    Focuses on how teachers of minority ancestries construct and represent their family language identities. Drawing on poststructural, postcolonial and sociocultural theory on culture, identity, and language, examined the complex nature of linguistic identities of 25 teachers of Chinese and 20 teachers of Punjabi ancestries. (Author/VWL)

  9. Teachers' Perceptions of Principals' Motivating Language and Public School Climates in Kuwait

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alqahtani, Abdulmuhsen Ayedh

    2015-01-01

    Research has shown that the overall climate in a school can encourage or deter learning. One significant factor promoting a positive climate is the use of motivational language by school leaders. This article presents empirical evidence of teachers' perceptions of motivational language used by school principals and the effects of this language on…

  10. Dyslexia in Chinese Language: An Overview of Research and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Kevin K. H.; Ho, Connie S. H.

    2010-01-01

    Dyslexia appears to be the most prevalent disability of students with special educational needs in many mainstream classes, affecting around 9.7% of the school population in Hong Kong. The education of these students is therefore of great concern to the community. In the present paper research into dyslexia in the Chinese language is briefly…

  11. Climate change velocity underestimates climate change exposure in mountainous regions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Sean A. Parks

    2016-01-01

    Climate change velocity is a vector depiction of the rate of climate displacement used for assessing climate change impacts. Interpreting velocity requires an assumption that climate trajectory length is proportional to climate change exposure; longer paths suggest greater exposure. However, distance is an imperfect measure of exposure because it does not...

  12. Students Learn about Chinese Culture through the Folktale "Yeh-Shen": Emphasizing Figurative Language Interpretation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Barbara C.; Sun, Lingzhi; Leclere, Judith T.

    2012-01-01

    This article will analyze the figurative language that reflects Chinese traditional society and culture in "Yeh-Shen." The authors will consider both the figures of speech and the figures of thought (to include symbolism) that provide insight into an understanding of the Chinese culture through a reading of "Yeh-Shen." This analysis can be used by…

  13. Understanding climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fellous, J.L.; Gautier, C.; Andre, J.C.; Balstad, R.; Boucher, O.; Brasseur, G.; Chahine, M.T.; Chanin, M.L.; Ciais, P.; Corell, W.; Duplessy, J.C.; Hourcade, J.C.; Jouzel, J.; Kaufman, Y.J.; Laval, K.; Le Treut, H.; Minster, J.F.; Moore, B. III; Morel, P.; Rasool, S.I.; Remy, F.; Smith, R.C.; Somerville, R.C.J.; Wood, E.F.; Wood, H.; Wunsch, C.

    2007-01-01

    Climatic change is gaining ground and with no doubt is stimulated by human activities. It is therefore urgent to better understand its nature, importance and potential impacts. The chapters of this book have been written by US and French experts of the global warming question. After a description of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, GIEC in French) consensus, they present the past and present researches on each of the main component of the climate system, on the question of climatic change impacts and on the possible answers. The conclusion summarizes the results of each chapter. Content: presentation of the IPCC; greenhouse effect, radiation balance and clouds; atmospheric aerosols and climatic change; global water cycle and climate; influence of climatic change on the continental hydrologic cycle; ocean and climate; ice and climate; global carbon cycle; about some impacts of climatic change on Europe and the Atlantic Ocean; interaction between atmospheric chemistry and climate; climate and society, the human dimension. (J.S.)

  14. Textbooks of Doubt: Using Systemic Functional Analysis to Explore the Framing of Climate Change in Middle-School Science Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Román, Diego; Busch, K. C.

    2016-01-01

    Middle school students are learning about climate change in large part through textbooks used in their classes. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how the language employed in these materials frames this topic. To this end, we used systemic functional analysis to study the language of the chapters related to climate change in four sixth grade…

  15. CLIMATE CHANGE, Change International Negociations?

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Gao Xiaosheng

    2009-01-01

    @@ Climate change is one of key threats to human beings who have to deal with.According to Bali Action Plan released after the 2007 Bali Climate Talk held in Indonesia,the United Nations Framework on Climate Change(UNFCCC) has launched a two-year process to negotiate a post-2012 climate arrangement after the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012 and the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference will seal a final deal on post-2012 climate regime in December,2009.For this,the United Nation Chief Ban Ki Moon called 2009"the year ofclimate change".

  16. Using a task-based approach to teaching and learning Chinese as a Foreign Language in a university beginner's level class

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruan, Youjin; Duan, Xiaoju; Wang, Li

    2015-01-01

    to learning Chinese as a foreign language. Chinese culture elements were also integrated into the tasks and the learning process. By analysing seven items of a post-course survey, this paper investigates the learners’ opinions toward the task-based language teaching and learning method, as well as the methods......The task-based method is regarded as an effective approach for promoting interaction and collaboration in language learning. In a beginner Chinese language course offered as an elective at Aalborg University, Denmark, a selection of tasks was designed and used to attract the students’ interests...... used in integrating culture with the language learning in this course. The results indicated that course participants were generally positive about their learning experiences and processes during the course. They appreciated not only the task-based method, but also the ways in which culture...

  17. Developmental dyslexia in Chinese and English populations: dissociating the effect of dyslexia from language differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Wei; Lee, Hwee Ling; Zhang, Qiang; Liu, Tao; Geng, Li Bo; Seghier, Mohamed L.; Shakeshaft, Clare; Twomey, Tae; Green, David W.; Yang, Yi Ming

    2010-01-01

    Previous neuroimaging studies have suggested that developmental dyslexia has a different neural basis in Chinese and English populations because of known differences in the processing demands of the Chinese and English writing systems. Here, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we provide the first direct statistically based investigation into how the effect of dyslexia on brain activation is influenced by the Chinese and English writing systems. Brain activation for semantic decisions on written words was compared in English dyslexics, Chinese dyslexics, English normal readers and Chinese normal readers, while controlling for all other experimental parameters. By investigating the effects of dyslexia and language in one study, we show common activation in Chinese and English dyslexics despite different activation in Chinese versus English normal readers. The effect of dyslexia in both languages was observed as less than normal activation in the left angular gyrus and in left middle frontal, posterior temporal and occipitotemporal regions. Differences in Chinese and English normal reading were observed as increased activation for Chinese relative to English in the left inferior frontal sulcus; and increased activation for English relative to Chinese in the left posterior superior temporal sulcus. These cultural differences were not observed in dyslexics who activated both left inferior frontal sulcus and left posterior superior temporal sulcus, consistent with the use of culturally independent strategies when reading is less efficient. By dissociating the effect of dyslexia from differences in Chinese and English normal reading, our results reconcile brain activation results with a substantial body of behavioural studies showing commonalities in the cognitive manifestation of dyslexia in Chinese and English populations. They also demonstrate the influence of cognitive ability and learning environment on a common neural system for reading. PMID:20488886

  18. Cognitive and psychological science insights to improve climate change data visualization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harold, Jordan; Lorenzoni, Irene; Shipley, Thomas F.; Coventry, Kenny R.

    2016-12-01

    Visualization of climate data plays an integral role in the communication of climate change findings to both expert and non-expert audiences. The cognitive and psychological sciences can provide valuable insights into how to improve visualization of climate data based on knowledge of how the human brain processes visual and linguistic information. We review four key research areas to demonstrate their potential to make data more accessible to diverse audiences: directing visual attention, visual complexity, making inferences from visuals, and the mapping between visuals and language. We present evidence-informed guidelines to help climate scientists increase the accessibility of graphics to non-experts, and illustrate how the guidelines can work in practice in the context of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change graphics.

  19. The challenges and opportunities of Chinese-language media in Vancouver: A case study of Coast Mountain Publishing & Media Management Corporation

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, Xiaojun

    2018-01-01

    This report introduces how Chinese-language media based in Vancouver have experienced ups and downs, and how they seized the moment to dominate their market with the developing and expanding ethnic Chinese group. By taking Coast Mountain Publishing & Media Management Corporation as an example, this report analyses a typical Chinese-language media’s surviving strategies and revenue models in details. Going through the history and observing the existing circumstances closely, this report tr...

  20. International language management and diversity climate in multicultural organizations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

    2012-01-01

    Increasing globalization has made the use and management of language a vital element of engaging in international business activities. Despite this fact, empirical surveys with many respondents examining language management are extremely rare. Another equally important issue related to internatio......Increasing globalization has made the use and management of language a vital element of engaging in international business activities. Despite this fact, empirical surveys with many respondents examining language management are extremely rare. Another equally important issue related...... to internationalization is how to develop and support an environment that is tolerant of the diversity which exists in multicultural organizations. Based on questionnaire responses from 489 members of academic multicultural departments, we examined the relation between the management of a common language and a positive...... diversity climate. Results showed that consistency in English management communication had strong positive relationships with all of the four investigated diversity climate variables; openness to linguistic, visible, value, and informational diversity. English communication consistency had a positive...

  1. Climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cronin, Thomas M.

    2016-01-01

    Climate change (including climate variability) refers to regional or global changes in mean climate state or in patterns of climate variability over decades to millions of years often identified using statistical methods and sometimes referred to as changes in long-term weather conditions (IPCC, 2012). Climate is influenced by changes in continent-ocean configurations due to plate tectonic processes, variations in Earth’s orbit, axial tilt and precession, atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, solar variability, volcanism, internal variability resulting from interactions between the atmosphere, oceans and ice (glaciers, small ice caps, ice sheets, and sea ice), and anthropogenic activities such as greenhouse gas emissions and land use and their effects on carbon cycling.

  2. Ideological changes identified in and through Linguistic expressions: what should stand for Korea in Chinese, chaoxian1 or Hanguo ? Ideological changes identified in and through Linguistic expressions: what should stand for Korea in Chinese, chaoxian1 or Hanguo ?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanley Zhongwei Song

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an attempt to explain changes of China’s dominant ideology, the socialist ideology identified in and through linguistic expressions. By analysing from a historical perspective the meanings potential of the word Korea with its correlated expressions in Chinese, it highlights how deeply the way of referring to two Koreas has been influenced under the traditional ideology of the Chinese society, manipulated by the communist ideology in socialist China and challenged by less powerful yet emerging ideologies in market-oriented China. With the major linguistic references in Chinese to two political entities in the Korean peninsula, North and South Korea, the paper studies the relationship between ideological changes in modern Chinese society and linguistic expressions that, as part of the system of language, reflect ideological investments in and political implications of the changes. Added with a translation-related case study with a focus of emphasis on the word Korea, it concludes that with a flourishing of cultural pluralism in China, usually a forerunner of political pluralism, less dominant ideologies do compete with the official ideology in various ways and forms, and the competition can be traced and identified in and through linguistic expressions. In other words, given the political and economic dynamics of China in the past half century, change of linguistic expressions may indicate, in one way or another, the wax and wane of the Chinese dominant socialist ideology in a dialectical sense. This paper presents an attempt to explain changes of China’s dominant ideology, the socialist ideology identified in and through linguistic expressions. By analysing from a historical perspective the meanings potential of the word Korea with its correlated expressions in Chinese, it highlights how deeply the way of referring to two Koreas has been influenced under the traditional ideology of the Chinese society, manipulated by

  3. Climate Change: Making the Best Use of Scientific Information

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN. Geneva

    2012-01-01

    Climate science regularly makes headlines in the media, usually after an extreme weather event or a disaster, or in the wake of campaigns by think tanks about the science of climate change. In this presentation, I discuss four specific challenges that are posed to climate scientist when communicating with the public: (i) The widening gap between the scientific literacy of the public and the communication literacy of the scientists; (ii), the multiplicity of scientific information conduits; (iii), information of, and under, uncertainty; and (iv), the requirement to be precise without using technical language. It turns out that these challenges are quite generic to science communication. Climate scientists have learned from the regular international assessments they perform under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and have accumulated a collective experience of more than 20 years. In this presentation I discuss the most important lessons learned from this experience and their relevant...

  4. Climate variability and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rind, D.

    1990-01-01

    Changes of variability with climate change are likely to have a substantial impact on vegetation and society, rivaling the importance of changes in the mean values themselves. A variety of paleoclimate and future climate simulations performed with the GISS global climate model is used to assess how the variabilities of temperature and precipitation are altered as climate warms or cools. In general, as climate warms, temperature variability decreases due to reductions in the latitudinal temperature gradient and precipitation variability increases together with the intensity of the hydrologic cycle. If future climate projections are accurate, the reduction in temperature variability will be minimized by the rapid change in mean temperatures, but the hydrologic variability will be amplified by increased evapotranspiration. Greater hydrologic variability would appear to pose a potentially severe problem for the next century

  5. Communicative Language Teaching in Second Language Class

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xiao Juan

    2010-01-01

    IntroductionReturn the class to the students and let the students be the masters of the class.This is what I have changed during the last three years in my class.I have been using Communicative Language Teaching method instead of Grammar Translation method.In the Grammar Translation method, students only study grammar and learn lists of words and then translate what they have learned into Chinese.In the classroom,the teacher uses the students' first language to explain the grammar and vocabulary in the text and then helps the students to translate it.This method is based on the idea that language is made up of words and that language changes according to the grammar rules.

  6. Do Climate Change Policies Promote or Conflict with Subjective Wellbeing: A Case Study of Suzhou, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miaomiao Liu

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available As public expectations for health rise, health measurements broaden from a focus on death, disease, and disability to wellbeing. However, wellbeing hasn’t been incorporated into the framework of climate change policy decision-making in Chinese cities. Based on survey data (n = 763 from Suzhou, this study used Generalized Estimation Equation approach to model external conditions associated with wellbeing. Then, semi-quantitative analyses were conducted to provide a first indication to whether local climate change policies promote or conflict with wellbeing through altering these conditions. Our findings suggested: (i Socio-demographic (age, job satisfaction, health, psychosocial (satisfaction with social life, ontological security/resilience and environmental conditions (distance to busy road, noise annoyance and range hoods in the kitchen were significantly associated with wellbeing; (ii None of existing climate change strategies in Suzhou conflict with wellbeing. Three mitigation policies (promotion of tertiary and high–tech industry, increased renewable energy in buildings, and restrictions on car use and one adaption policy (increasing resilience brought positive co–benefits for wellbeing, through the availability of high-satisfied jobs, reduced dependence on range hoods, noise reduction, and valuing citizens, respectively. This study also provided implications for other similar Chinese cities that potential consequences of climate change interventions for wellbeing should be considered.

  7. Do Climate Change Policies Promote or Conflict with Subjective Wellbeing: A Case Study of Suzhou, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Miaomiao; Huang, Yining; Hiscock, Rosemary; Li, Qin; Bi, Jun; Kinney, Patrick L; Sabel, Clive E

    2016-03-21

    As public expectations for health rise, health measurements broaden from a focus on death, disease, and disability to wellbeing. However, wellbeing hasn't been incorporated into the framework of climate change policy decision-making in Chinese cities. Based on survey data (n = 763) from Suzhou, this study used Generalized Estimation Equation approach to model external conditions associated with wellbeing. Then, semi-quantitative analyses were conducted to provide a first indication to whether local climate change policies promote or conflict with wellbeing through altering these conditions. Our findings suggested: (i) Socio-demographic (age, job satisfaction, health), psychosocial (satisfaction with social life, ontological security/resilience) and environmental conditions (distance to busy road, noise annoyance and range hoods in the kitchen) were significantly associated with wellbeing; (ii) None of existing climate change strategies in Suzhou conflict with wellbeing. Three mitigation policies (promotion of tertiary and high-tech industry, increased renewable energy in buildings, and restrictions on car use) and one adaption policy (increasing resilience) brought positive co-benefits for wellbeing, through the availability of high-satisfied jobs, reduced dependence on range hoods, noise reduction, and valuing citizens, respectively. This study also provided implications for other similar Chinese cities that potential consequences of climate change interventions for wellbeing should be considered.

  8. Etude Climat no. 38 'The economic tools of Chinese climate and energy policy at the time of the at the time of the 12. five-year plan'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Di; Delbosc, Anais

    2013-01-01

    Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Reports' offer in-depth analyses on a given subject. This issue addresses the following points: The largest developing country and the main source of GHG emissions in the world, China has undertaken in its 12. five-year plan (2011-2015) to strengthen the strategy initiated in the 11. five-year plan. It proposes making the Chinese economy more flexible - hence its change of name to five-year 'guide'-, particularly through increased use of market instruments. This change applies across all fields, including energy and climate policies. Economic instruments are especially expected to help achieve the 2020 strategic energy and climate objectives which China committed to at the Copenhagen Conference in 2009. The five-year plan forms a programmatic document requiring translation into law to develop details of the measures required to achieve the objectives set out. Following the publication of the 12. five-year plan, the Chinese central government therefore introduced a series of regulations to promote energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including at a regional and sectoral level. Local governments are particularly expected to participate, by incorporating progress in achieving their climate and energy policy objectives into the system of administrative appraisal. In relation to energy policy, the economic tools put in place exist side by side with pre-existing administrative tools and remain subject to very strong administrative control. They concern the adjustment of both the production pattern - reinforcement of exchanges of production rights and renewable energy production quotas - and the structure of energy consumption - market for energy savings certificates coordinated at a regional level. In terms of climate policy, the Chinese government is testing a range of instruments, including market and taxation mechanisms. The 12. five-year plan notably includes the development of a

  9. The Impacts of Theme-Based Language Instruction: A Case Study of an Advanced Chinese Intensive Program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Song Jiang

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Theme-based language teaching under Content-Based Instruction (CBI is a pedagogical approach that emphasizes learning professional content along with language skills. This paper reports a case study on the impacts of a theme-based advanced Chinese intensive program in a university setting. It begins with a review of CBI and its theme-based approach and then discusses the program design, curriculum development, and instructional practice of the program. The impacts of the theme-based approach are examined based on the pre- and post-proficiency test results, learners’ self-reported surveys on the themes and topics, and the reading strategies covered in the program. Qualitative analysis of learners’ self-reflections and program evaluations is also presented. Based on the evidence collected, this paper argues that the theme-based model has positive impacts on improving language proficiency, preparing for academic and professional language use, cultivating strategic language learners, and revitalizing Chinese teaching at the superior level.

  10. Climate for Change?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wejs, Anja

    Cities rather than national governments take the lead in acting on climate change. Several cities have voluntarily created climate change plans to prevent and prepare for the effects of climate change. In the literature climate change has been examined as a multilevel governance area taking place...... around international networks. Despite the many initiatives taken by cities, existing research shows that the implementation of climate change actions is lacking. The reasons for this scarcity in practice are limited to general explanations in the literature, and studies focused on explaining...... the constraints on climate change planning at the local level are absent. To understand these constraints, this PhD thesis investigates the institutional dynamics that influence the process of the integration of climate change into planning practices at the local level in Denmark. The examination of integration...

  11. The Value of a Valuation Perspective for Theorizing about Social Change and Climate Change: A Study on Carbon Pricing in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anita Engels

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This study combines three purposes: to advance a valuation perspective for theorizing about social change and climate change; to contribute to the general debate on pricing as the dominant policy to meet climate mitigation goals; to improve our understanding of potential decarbonization processes in China. We apply a valuation perspective to an in-depth case study of an emerging carbon market in Hubei Province in Central China. The study builds on original data collected during field trips to Hubei (2014, 2015 and additional documents covering recent developments in the Chinese carbon market. It shows how putting a price on carbon in China emerges as the outcome of a long-term cultural and institutional process in which China's high-carbon growth model is increasingly contested. We emphasize the work that was required before a carbon price could emerge as a market price, and focus on the uncertainty that needed to be overcome in the complex multilevel Chinese system. We suggest that China's introduction of low-carbon policies are a side effect of other political, economic and social pressures, and that it is largely facilitated because such policies are consistent with many other changes that are occurring simultaneously both in the Chinese context and globally.

  12. Climate variability and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rind, D.

    1991-01-01

    Changes of variability with climate change are likely to have a substantial impact on vegetation and society, rivaling the importance of changes in the mean values themselves. A variety of paleoclimate and future climate simulations performed with the GISS global climate model is used to assess how the variabilities of temperature and precipitation are altered as climate warms or cools. In general, as climate warms, temperature variability decreases due to reductions in the latitudinal temperature gradient and precipitation variability increases together with the intensity of the hydrologic cycle. If future climate projections are accurate, the reduction in temperature variability will be minimized by the rapid change in mean temperatures, but the hydrologic variability will be amplified by increased evapotranspiration. Greater hydrologic variability would appear to pose a potentially severe problem for the next century. 19 refs.; 3 figs.; 2 tabs

  13. INSTITUTIONAL Change as Cultural Change. An Illustration by Chinese Postsocialist Transformation

    OpenAIRE

    EL KAROUNI, Ilyess

    2007-01-01

    Culture of a society reflects its social values. So, through Chinese experience, we want to show that institutional change is not only an economic or a political process but fundamentally a cultural one. It is therefore based on a change in values and mentalities. Like in a chemical reaction, we discern initial conditions, factors which triggered the reaction, catalysts and elements of synthesis. Chinese institutional change per se derived from a cultural shock induced by the Chinese economic...

  14. White matter structure changes as adults learn a second language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlegel, Alexander A; Rudelson, Justin J; Tse, Peter U

    2012-08-01

    Traditional models hold that the plastic reorganization of brain structures occurs mainly during childhood and adolescence, leaving adults with limited means to learn new knowledge and skills. Research within the last decade has begun to overturn this belief, documenting changes in the brain's gray and white matter as healthy adults learn simple motor and cognitive skills [Lövdén, M., Bodammer, N. C., Kühn, S., Kaufmann, J., Schütze, H., Tempelmann, C., et al. Experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3878-3883, 2010; Taubert, M., Draganski, B., Anwander, A., Müller, K., Horstmann, A., Villringer, A., et al. Dynamic properties of human brain structure: Learning-related changes in cortical areas and associated fiber connections. The Journal of Neuroscience, 30, 11670-11677, 2010; Scholz, J., Klein, M. C., Behrens, T. E. J., & Johansen-Berg, H. Training induces changes in white-matter architecture. Nature Neuroscience, 12, 1370-1371, 2009; Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuirer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427, 311-312, 2004]. Although the significance of these changes is not fully understood, they reveal a brain that remains plastic well beyond early developmental periods. Here we investigate the role of adult structural plasticity in the complex, long-term learning process of foreign language acquisition. We collected monthly diffusion tensor imaging scans of 11 English speakers who took a 9-month intensive course in written and spoken Modern Standard Chinese as well as from 16 control participants who did not study a language. We show that white matter reorganizes progressively across multiple sites as adults study a new language. Language learners exhibited progressive changes in white matter tracts associated with traditional left hemisphere language areas and their right hemisphere analogs. Surprisingly, the most significant changes

  15. Research on characteristics of Chinese language in the presentation of “Face”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Lifang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available with the development of society, interpersonal relation has become more and more complicated. “Face” has been defined as “public self-image” and occupies a very important position in interpersonal communication. Therefore, this thesis mainly studies the characteristics of Chinese language in the presentation of “face”. At first, it referred to current situation of face studies overseas. It can be seen that the “defense-protect” face work theory proposed by Goffman is the important foundation for face problem studies under different angles in academic world. Then, it discussed identity theory based on social psychology in combination of our traditional culture. At last, it selected 85 groups of effective linguistic data according to characteristics of Chinese language; and studied face work. Moreover, it conducted questionnaire survey in combination of face work theory. Thus, it obtained the core factors of face and other important conclusions.

  16. Impact of Future Emissions and Climate Change on Surface Ozone over China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, C. T.; Westervelt, D. M.; Fiore, A. M.; Rieder, H. E.; Kinney, P.; Wang, S.; Correa, G. J. P.

    2017-12-01

    China's immense ambient air pollution problem and world-leading greenhouse gas emissions place it at the forefront of global efforts to address these related environmental concerns. Here, we analyze the impact of ECLIPSE (Evaluating the Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Short-Lived Pollutants) future emissions scenarios representative of current legislation (CLE) and maximum technically feasible emissions reductions (MFR) on surface ozone (O3) concentrations over China in the 2030s and 2050s, in the context of a changing climate. We use a suite of simulations performed with the NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's AM3 global chemistry-climate model. To estimate the impact of climate change in isolation on Chinese air quality, we hold emissions of air pollutants including O3 precursors fixed at 2015 levels but allow climate (global sea surface temperatures and sea ice cover) to change according to decadal averages for the years 2026-2035 and 2046-2055 from a three-member ensemble of GFDL-CM3 simulations under the RCP8.5 high warming scenario. Evaluation of the present-day simulation (2015 CLE) with observations from 1497 chiefly urban air quality monitoring stations shows that simulated surface O3 is positively biased by 26 ppb on average over the domain of China. Previous studies, however, have shown that the modeled ozone response to changes in NOx emissions over the Eastern United States mirrors the magnitude and structure of observed changes in maximum daily average 8-hour (MDA8) O3 distributions. Therefore, we use the model's simulated changes for the 2030s and 2050s to project changes in policy-relevant MDA8 O3 concentrations. We find an overall increase in MDA8 O3 for CLE scenarios in which emissions of NOx precursors are projected to increase, and under MFR scenarios, an overall decrease, with the highest changes occurring in summertime for both 2030 and 2050 MFR. Under climate change alone, the model simulates a mean summertime decrease of 1.3 ppb

  17. Standardising the Chinese Language in Singapore: Issues of Policy and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Guowen; Zhao, Shouhui

    2017-01-01

    The selection of standards and norms constitutes the first and most important step for language standardisation. In this paper, we examine the standard establishment for Huayu (or Singapore Mandarin), a new Chinese variety that has emerged in Singapore as a result of centralised planning and inter-linguistic contact. Huayu is the officially…

  18. Signs of the Land: Reaching Arctic Communities Facing Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparrow, E. B.; Chase, M. J.; Demientieff, S.; Pfirman, S. L.; Brunacini, J.

    2014-12-01

    In July 2014, a diverse and intergenerational group of Alaskan Natives came together on Howard Luke's Galee'ya Camp by the Tanana River in Fairbanks, Alaska to talk about climate change and it's impacts on local communities. Over a period of four days, the Signs of the Land Climate Change Camp wove together traditional knowledge, local observations, Native language, and climate science through a mix of storytelling, presentations, dialogue, and hands-on, community-building activities. This camp adapted the model developed several years ago under the Association for Interior Native Educators (AINE)'s Elder Academy. Part of the Polar Learning and Responding Climate Change Education Partnership, the Signs of the Land Climate Change Camp was developed and conducted collaboratively with multiple partners to test a model for engaging indigenous communities in the co-production of climate change knowledge, communication tools, and solutions-building. Native Alaskans have strong subsistence and cultural connections to the land and its resources, and, in addition to being keen observers of their environment, have a long history of adapting to changing conditions. Participants in the camp included Elders, classroom teachers, local resource managers and planners, community members, and climate scientists. Based on their experiences during the camp, participants designed individualized outreach plans for bringing culturally-responsive climate learning to their communities and classrooms throughout the upcoming year. Plans included small group discussions, student projects, teacher training, and conference presentations.

  19. The role of early language abilities on math skills among Chinese children.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Zhang

    Full Text Available The present study investigated the role of early language abilities in the development of math skills among Chinese K-3 students. About 2000 children in China, who were on average aged 6 years, were assessed for both informal math (e.g., basic number concepts such as counting objects and formal math (calculations including addition and subtraction skills, language abilities and nonverbal intelligence.Correlation analysis showed that language abilities were more strongly associated with informal than formal math skills, and regression analyses revealed that children's language abilities could uniquely predict both informal and formal math skills with age, gender, and nonverbal intelligence controlled. Mediation analyses demonstrated that the relationship between children's language abilities and formal math skills was partially mediated by informal math skills.The current findings indicate 1 Children's language abilities are of strong predictive values for both informal and formal math skills; 2 Language abilities impacts formal math skills partially through the mediation of informal math skills.

  20. A major change in precipitation gradient on the Chinese Loess Plateau at the Pliocene-Quaternary boundary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Wenbin; Nie, Junsheng; Wang, Zhao; Qiang, Xiaoke; Garzanti, Eduardo; Pfaff, Katharina; Song, Yougui; Stevens, Thomas

    2018-04-01

    Spatiotemporal variations in East Asian Monsoon (EAM) precipitation during the Quaternary have been intensively studied. However, spatial variations in pre-Quaternary EAM precipitation remain largely uninvestigated, preventing a clear understanding of monsoon dynamics during a warmer climatic period. Here we compare the spatial differences in heavy mineral assemblages between Quaternary loess and pre-Quaternary Red Clay on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) to analyze spatial patterns in weathering. Prior studies have revealed that unstable hornblende is the dominant (∼50%) heavy mineral in Chinese loess deposited over the past 500 ka, whereas hornblende content decreases to climate at Jiaxian must have been initiated since ∼2.7 Ma, preventing hornblende dissolution to amounts change in climatic patterns at ∼2.7 Ma to decreased northward moisture transportation associated with Northern Hemisphere glaciation and cooling in the Quaternary. This study therefore demonstrates the potential usefulness of employing heavy mineral analysis in both paleoclimatic and paleooceanographic reconstructions.

  1. LANGUAGE CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT: HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trisna Dinillah Dinillah Harya

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Language can change and develop by itself slowly. Language can change and development because of adaptation of development and pattern change and system of society life, such as level of education, social, culture and technology mastery. Language change and development can occur internally and externally. In this article the changes internally and language development will be reviewed by looking through the study of historical change and development language based on the history of its development. While changes in external and development will be explored through the study of Sociolinguistics by examining and looking at changes and developments that language is influenced by socio-cultural factors that occur in society. Changes internally initially occurred in the behavior of speakers in their everyday lives to adjust to each other, and followed by a tendency to innovate in groups of people who are already familiar, then followed by other changes in sequence, which ultimately makes a language different each other, although originally derived from a single language family. Changes in the external language change and language development is caused by the contact of a language with other languages, where humans as social beings who have been cultured either interconnected or inter-ethnic nations in the world in a country. Key words: Language Changes, Internal Change, External Change, Historical linguistics

  2. Weather anomalies affect Climate Change microblogging intensity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molodtsova, T.; Kirilenko, A.

    2012-12-01

    There is a huge gap between the scientific consensus and public understanding of climate change. Climate change has become a political issue and a "hot" topic in mass media that only adds the complexity to forming the public opinion. Scientists operate in scientific terms, not necessarily understandable by general public, while it is common for people to perceive the latest weather anomaly as an evidence of climate change. In 1998 Hansen et al. introduced a concept of an objectively measured subjective climate change indicator, which can relate public feeling that the climate is changing to the observed meteorological parameters. We tested this concept in a simple example of a temperature-based index, which we related to microblogging activity. Microblogging is a new form of communication in which the users describe their current status in short Internet messages. Twitter (http://twitter.com), is currently the most popular microblogging platform. There are multiple reasons, why this data is particularly valuable to the researches interested in social dynamics: microblogging is widely used to publicize one's opinion with the public; has broad, diverse audience, represented by users from many countries speaking different languages; finally, Twitter contains an enormous number of data, e.g., there were 1,284,579 messages related to climate change from 585,168 users in the January-May data collection. We collected the textual data entries, containing words "climate change" or "global warming" from the 1st of January, 2012. The data was retrieved from the Internet every 20 minutes using a specially developed Python code. Using geolocational information, blog entries originating from the New York urbanized area were selected. These entries, used as a source of public opinion on climate change, were related to the surface temperature, obtained from La Guardia airport meteorological station. We defined the "significant change" in the temperature index as deviation of the

  3. Second Language Acquisition of Mandarin Chinese Vocabulary: Context of Learning Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lan, Yu-Ju; Fang, Shin-Yi; Legault, Jennifer; Li, Ping

    2015-01-01

    In an increasingly multilingual world, it is important to examine methods that may lead to more efficient second language learning, as well as to analyze the mechanisms by which successful learning occurs. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how different learning contexts can impact the learning of Mandarin Chinese as a second…

  4. Climate Change Mitigation A Balanced Approach to Climate Change

    CERN Document Server

    2012-01-01

    This book provides a fresh and innovative perspective on climate change policy. By emphasizing the multiple facets of climate policy, from mitigation to adaptation, from technological innovation and diffusion to governance issues, it contains a comprehensive overview of the economic and policy dimensions of the climate problem. The keyword of the book is balance. The book clarifies that climate change cannot be controlled by sacrificing economic growth and many other urgent global issues. At the same time, action to control climate change cannot be delayed, even though gradually implemented. Therefore, on the one hand climate policy becomes pervasive and affects all dimensions of international policy. On the other hand, climate policy cannot be too ambitious: a balanced approach between mitigation and adaptation, between economic growth and resource management, between short term development efforts and long term innovation investments, should be adopted. I recommend its reading. Carlo Carraro, President, Ca�...

  5. Cinematic climate change, a promising perspective on climate change communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakellari, Maria

    2015-10-01

    Previous research findings display that after having seen popular climate change films, people became more concerned, more motivated and more aware of climate change, but changes in behaviors were short-term. This article performs a meta-analysis of three popular climate change films, The Day after Tomorrow (2005), An Inconvenient Truth (2006), and The Age of Stupid (2009), drawing on research in social psychology, human agency, and media effect theory in order to formulate a rationale about how mass media communication shapes our everyday life experience. This article highlights the factors with which science blends in the reception of the three climate change films and expands the range of options considered in order to encourage people to engage in climate change mitigation actions. © The Author(s) 2014.

  6. Managing Climate Change Refugia for Climate Adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daly, Christopher; Dobrowski, Solomon Z.; Dulen, Deanna M.; Ebersole, Joseph L.; Jackson, Stephen T.; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Millar, Constance I.; Maher, Sean P.; Monahan, William B.; Nydick, Koren R.; Redmond, Kelly T.; Sawyer, Sarah C.; Stock, Sarah; Beissinger, Steven R.

    2016-01-01

    Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change. PMID:27509088

  7. Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morelli, Toni L.; Jackson, Stephen T.

    2016-01-01

    Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of valued physical, ecological, and socio-cultural resources. We differentiate historical and contemporary views, and characterize physical and ecological processes that create and maintain climate change refugia. We then delineate how refugia can fit into existing decision support frameworks for climate adaptation and describe seven steps for managing them. Finally, we identify challenges and opportunities for operationalizing the concept of climate change refugia. Managing climate change refugia can be an important option for conservation in the face of ongoing climate change.

  8. Planning for Development or Decline? Education Policy for Chinese Language in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curdt-Christiansen, Xiao Lan

    2014-01-01

    This article examines how political discourse, language ideologies, recent Chinese curriculum reforms, and their representations in the media are inextricably related. Using the "Speak Mandarin Campaign" as background for the inquiry, I focus on textual features of the various media sources, TV advertisements, campaign slogans, official…

  9. Teaching of the Japanese and Chinese Language in Extracurricular Courses for Children, Adolescents and Adults in Slovenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karmen FEHER MALAČIČ

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The presentation includes a brief history of Japanese and Chinese teaching and learning at Pionirski dom and the current trends. On the one hand, it explores the reasons why so many youngsters decide to learn Japanese or Chinese, what is their main interest and what is they want to achieve. On the other hand, it tackles the points of view of teachers of the Japanese and Chinese language towards language teaching and the issues raised while teaching. Pionirski dom is probably the only institution in Slovenia with so many young learners and teenagers enrolled in Japanese courses and with a decade of experience in the area. Much attention is, therefore, put on quality programmes and the choice of suitable teachers.

  10. Continuous Chinese sign language recognition with CNN-LSTM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Su; Zhu, Qing

    2017-07-01

    The goal of sign language recognition (SLR) is to translate the sign language into text, and provide a convenient tool for the communication between the deaf-mute and the ordinary. In this paper, we formulate an appropriate model based on convolutional neural network (CNN) combined with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network, in order to accomplish the continuous recognition work. With the strong ability of CNN, the information of pictures captured from Chinese sign language (CSL) videos can be learned and transformed into vector. Since the video can be regarded as an ordered sequence of frames, LSTM model is employed to connect with the fully-connected layer of CNN. As a recurrent neural network (RNN), it is suitable for sequence learning tasks with the capability of recognizing patterns defined by temporal distance. Compared with traditional RNN, LSTM has performed better on storing and accessing information. We evaluate this method on our self-built dataset including 40 daily vocabularies. The experimental results show that the recognition method with CNN-LSTM can achieve a high recognition rate with small training sets, which will meet the needs of real-time SLR system.

  11. Language Choices of CEOs of Chinese Family Business in Sarawak, Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ting, Su-Hie

    2017-01-01

    The study investigated the language choices of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Chinese family business and the factors guiding their choices. Interviews were conducted with 17 CEOs of family businesses located in Sarawak, some of whom are the sons and grandsons of the founder of the business. The results showed that all the CEOs can speak their…

  12. Changing heathlands in a changing climate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ransijn, Johannes

    Atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperatures are rising and precipitation regimes are changing at global scale. How ecosystem will be affected by global climatic change is dependent on the responses of plants and plant communities. This thesis focuses on how climate change affects heathland...... plant communities. Many heathlands have shifted from dwarf shrub dominance to grass dominance and climatic change might affect the competitive balance between dwarf shrubs and grasses. We looked at heathland vegetation dynamics and heathland plant responses to climatic change at different spatial...... between C. vulgaris and D. flexuosa in the same climate change experiment and 5) a study where we compared the responses of shrubland plant communities to experimental warming and recurrent experimental droughts in seven climate change experiments across Europe. Heathland vegetation dynamics are slow...

  13. Climate change and climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfsen, Knut H.; Kolshus, Hans H.; Torvanger, Asbjoern

    2000-08-01

    The climate issue is a great political and scientific challenge for several reasons: (1) There are many uncertain aspects of the climate problem, such as future emission of climate gases, the response of the climate system upon these gases, and the effects of climate changes. (2) It is probable, however, that anthropogenic emission of climate gases, deforestation etc. will cause noticeable climate changes in the future. This might be observed as increased frequency of extreme weather situations. This appears to be a greater threat than a gradual increase of temperature and precipitation. (3) Since the climate system is large and react only relatively slowly on changes in for instance the emission of climate gases, the climate problem can only be solved by means of long-term measures. (4) The climate changes may be irreversible. A rational short-term strategy is to ensure maximum flexibility, which can be done by ''slowing down'' (curtailing emissions) and by avoiding irreversible actions as much as possible. The long-term challenge is to develop an economically responsible alternative to the present fossil-based energy system that permits carbon-efficient technologies to compete on price with coal and unconventional oil and gas. Norway is in a special position by being a large exporter of fossil fuel and at the same time wanting to appear responsible in environmental matters. This combination may incur considerable expenses upon Norway and it is therefore important that environmental commitments like the Kyoto agreement can be honoured to the lowest possible cost. The costs can be minimized by: (1) minimizing the measure costs in Norway, (2) working to make the international quota price as low as possible, and (3) reducing the loss of petroleum income as much as possible. This report describes the earth's climate history, the forces behind climatic changes and what the prospects for the future look like. It also reviews what is being done to curtail the emission of

  14. Two languages, two personalities? Examining language effects on the expression of personality in a bilingual context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Sylvia Xiaohua; Bond, Michael Harris

    2010-11-01

    The issue of whether personality changes as a function of language is controversial. The present research tested the cultural accommodation hypothesis by examining the impact of language use on personality as perceived by the self and by others. In Study 1, Hong Kong Chinese-English bilinguals responded to personality inventories in Chinese or English on perceived traits for themselves, typical native speakers of Chinese, and typical native speakers of English. Study 2 adopted a repeated measures design and collected data at three time points from written measures and actual conversations to examine whether bilinguals exhibited different patterns of personality, each associated with one of their two languages and the ethnicity of their interlocutors. Self-reports and behavioral observations confirmed the effects of perceived cultural norms, language priming, and interlocutor ethnicity on various personality dimensions. It is suggested that use of a second language accesses the perceived cultural norms of the group most associated with that language, especially its prototypic trait profiles, thus activating behavioral expressions of personality that are appropriate in the corresponding linguistic-social context.

  15. Foreign language classroom anxiety : A study of Chinese university students of Japanese and English over time

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jin, Yinxing

    2016-01-01

    This PhD project mainly aimed at exploring the relationship between foreign language (FL) anxiety and FL proficiency development, the sources of FL anxiety, and the stability of FL anxiety over time and across target languages. To this end, 146 L1 Chinese university students, who had been learning

  16. Climate Trends and Impacts in China

    OpenAIRE

    Chris Sall

    2013-01-01

    This discussion paper summarizes observed and projected trends in extreme weather events, present-day climate variability, and future climate change and their impacts on China's different regions. Findings are presented from China's national assessment report on climate change (2007) and second national assessment report on climate change (2011) as well as other studies by Chinese and inte...

  17. Using a Radical-Derived Character E-Learning Platform to Increase Learner Knowledge of Chinese Characters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hsueh-Chih; Hsu, Chih-Chun; Chang, Li-Yun; Lin, Yu-Chi; Chang, Kuo-En; Sung, Yao-Ting

    2013-01-01

    The present study is aimed at investigating the effect of a radical-derived Chinese character teaching strategy on enhancing Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners' Chinese orthographic awareness. An e-learning teaching platform, based on statistical data from the Chinese Orthography Database Explorer (Chen, Chang, Chou, Sung, & Chang,…

  18. The changing Chinese SEA indicator guidelines

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gao, Jingjing; Christensen, Per; Kørnøv, Lone

    2014-01-01

    general trends in the development of SEA and other environmental policies in a recent, Chinese context. Beside a more top-down, intentional approach specifying indicators for different sectors based on Chinese experiences from the preceding years, another significant change, following the new guidelines...

  19. Exploring Mobile Technologies for Learning Chinese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jing Wang

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available The present study aimed to reveal how learners of Chinese as a foreign language use mobile technology to study Chinese outside the classroom. Researchers used sociocultural perspectives to frame the study and grounded theory to analyze data. Eleven English-speaking students who had learned Chinese for different years at a midwestern university participated in the study. They answered 23 major questions by submitting journal entries and participating in an interview. Compared with computer assisted language learning, mobile devices bring changes to tutorial functions, social computing, and gaming. Participants heavily explored tutorial functions, used mobile devices differently from computers for social computing, and showed interest in gaming. Although participants were enthusiastic about using mobile devices to learn Chinese, the number of applications they used and the variety of activities they engaged in were limited. Findings suggest that the effective incorporation of mobile devices to learn Chinese depends on collaboration and scaffolding

  20. Climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perthuis, Ch. de; Delbosc, A.

    2009-01-01

    Received ideas about climatic change are a mixture of right and wrong information. The authors use these ideas as starting points to shade light on what we really know and what we believe to know. The book is divided in three main chapters: should we act in front of climatic change? How can we efficiently act? How can we equitably act? For each chapter a series of received ideas is analyzed in order to find those which can usefully contribute to mitigate the environmental, economical and social impacts of climatic change. (J.S.)

  1. A Chinese version of the Language Screening Test (CLAST for early-stage stroke patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongyan Yang

    Full Text Available There is a severe lack of aphasia screening tools for bedside use in Chinese. A number of aphasia assessment tools have recently been developed abroad, but some of these scales were not suitable for patients with acute stroke. The Language Screening Test (which includes two parallel versions [a/b] in French has been proven to be an effective and time-saving aphasia screening scale for early-stage stroke patients. Therefore, we worked out a Chinese version of the LAST taking into consideration Chinese language and culture. Two preliminary parallel versions (a/b were tested on 154 patients with stroke at acute phase and 107 patients with stroke at non-acute phase, with the Western Aphasia Battery serving as a gold standard. The equivalence between the two parallel versions and the reliability/validity of each version were assessed. The median time to complete one preliminary Chinese version (each had some item redundancy was 98 seconds. Two final parallel versions were established after adjustment/elimination of the redundant items and were found to be equivalent (intra-class correlation coefficient: 0.991. Internal consistency is(Cronbach α for each version [a/b] was 0.956 and 0.965, respectively good. Internal validity was fine: (a no floor or ceiling effect/item redundancy; (b construct validity revealed a 1-dimension structure, just like the French version. The higher educated subjects scored higher than their lower educated counterparts (p<0.01. The external validity: at the optimum cut-off point where the score of version a/b <14 in higher educated group(<13 in lower: the specificity of each version was 0.878/0.902(1/1 in lower and sensitivity was 0.972/0.944(0.944/0.944 in lower. Inter-rater equivalence (intra-class correlation coefficient was 1. The Chinese version of the Language Screening Test was proved to be an efficient and time-saving bedside aphasia screening tool for stroke patients at acute phase and can be used by an average

  2. Dietary changes to mitigate climate change and benefit public health in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Guobao; Li, Mingjing; Fullana-I-Palmer, Pere; Williamson, Duncan; Wang, Yixuan

    2017-01-15

    Dietary change presents an opportunity to meet the dual challenges of non-communicable diseases and the effects of climate change in China. Based on a food survey and reviewed data sets, we linked nutrient composition and carbon footprint data by aggregating 1950 types of foods into 28 groups. Nine dietary scenarios for both men and women were modeled based on the current diet and latest National Program for Food and Nutrition. Linear uncertainty optimization was used to produce diets meeting the Chinese Dietary Reference Intakes for adults aged 18-50years while minimizing carbon footprints. The theoretical optimal diet reduced daily footprints by 46%, but this diet was unrealistic due to limited food diversity. Constrained by acceptability, the optimal diet reduced the daily carbon footprints by 7-28%, from 3495 to 2517-3252g CO 2 e, for men and by 5-26%, from 3075 to 2280-2917g CO 2 e, for women. Dietary changes for adults are capable of benefiting China in terms of the considerable footprint reduction of 53-222Mt.CO 2 eyear -1 , when magnified based on the Chinese population, which is the largest worldwide. Seven of eight scenarios showed that reductions in meat consumption resulted in greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. However, dramatic reductions in meat consumption may produce smaller reductions in emissions, as the consumption of other ingredients increases to compensate for the nutrients in meat. A trade-off between poultry and other meats (beef, pork, and lamb) is usually observed, and rice, which is a popular food in China, was the largest contributor to carbon footprint reductions. Our findings suggest that changing diets for climate change mitigation and human health is possible in China, though the per capital mitigation potential is slight lower than that in developed economies of France, Spain, Sweden, and New Zealand. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Investigating Mobile-Assisted Oral Feedback in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Qi; Peng, Hongying

    2017-01-01

    This article reports on an exploratory study investigating mobile-assisted oral feedback in teaching Chinese as a second language (CSL). It is aimed at exploring the characteristics of mobile-assisted feedback on oral production with the smartphone social communication app WeChat as a case in point and examining learners' perceptions of…

  4. Climate change governance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Knieling, Joerg [HafenCity Univ. Hamburg (Germany). Urban Planning and Regional Development; Leal Filho, Walter (eds.) [HAW Hamburg (Germany). Research and Transfer Centre Applications of Life Science

    2013-07-01

    Climate change is a cause for concern both globally and locally. In order for it to be tackled holistically, its governance is an important topic needing scientific and practical consideration. Climate change governance is an emerging area, and one which is closely related to state and public administrative systems and the behaviour of private actors, including the business sector, as well as the civil society and non-governmental organisations. Questions of climate change governance deal both with mitigation and adaptation whilst at the same time trying to devise effective ways of managing the consequences of these measures across the different sectors. Many books have been produced on general matters related to climate change, such as climate modelling, temperature variations, sea level rise, but, to date, very few publications have addressed the political, economic and social elements of climate change and their links with governance. This book will address this gap. Furthermore, a particular feature of this book is that it not only presents different perspectives on climate change governance, but it also introduces theoretical approaches and brings these together with practical examples which show how main principles may be implemented in practice.

  5. An Exploration of Language Anxiety in L2 Academic Context for Chinese International Students in U.S. Universities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qing

    2013-01-01

    This mix-methods study examined the language anxiety levels that the Chinese international students perceived in second language (L2) academic context at four universities in the northeastern region of the United States of America; it explored the impact of language anxiety that these students perceived on their academic learning; it also…

  6. Growing sensitivity of maize to water scarcity under climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meng, Qingfeng; Chen, Xinping; Lobell, David B; Cui, Zhenling; Zhang, Yi; Yang, Haishun; Zhang, Fusuo

    2016-01-25

    Climate change can reduce crop yields and thereby threaten food security. The current measures used to adapt to climate change involve avoiding crops yield decrease, however, the limitations of such measures due to water and other resources scarcity have not been well understood. Here, we quantify how the sensitivity of maize to water availability has increased because of the shift toward longer-maturing varieties during last three decades in the Chinese Maize Belt (CMB). We report that modern, longer-maturing varieties have extended the growing period by an average of 8 days and have significantly offset the negative impacts of climate change on yield. However, the sensitivity of maize production to water has increased: maize yield across the CMB was 5% lower with rainfed than with irrigated maize in the 1980s and was 10% lower (and even >20% lower in some areas) in the 2000s because of both warming and the increased requirement for water by the longer-maturing varieties. Of the maize area in China, 40% now fails to receive the precipitation required to attain the full yield potential. Opportunities for water saving in maize systems exist, but water scarcity in China remains a serious problem.

  7. Climate change and mosquito-borne diseases in China: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Li; Morton, Lindsay Carol; Liu, Qiyong

    2013-03-09

    China has experienced noticeable changes in climate over the past 100 years and the potential impact climate change has on transmission of mosquito-borne infectious diseases poses a risk to Chinese populations. The aims of this paper are to summarize what is known about the impact of climate change on the incidence and prevalence of malaria, dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis in China and to provide important information and direction for adaptation policy making. Fifty-five papers met the inclusion criteria for this study. Examination of these studies indicates that variability in temperature, precipitation, wind, and extreme weather events is linked to transmission of mosquito-borne diseases in some regions of China. However, study findings are inconsistent across geographical locations and this requires strengthening current evidence for timely development of adaptive options. After synthesis of available information we make several key adaptation recommendations including: improving current surveillance and monitoring systems; concentrating adaptation strategies and policies on vulnerable communities; strengthening adaptive capacity of public health systems; developing multidisciplinary approaches sustained by an new mechanism of inter-sectional coordination; and increasing awareness and mobilization of the general public.

  8. Climate change and mosquito-borne diseases in China: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    China has experienced noticeable changes in climate over the past 100 years and the potential impact climate change has on transmission of mosquito-borne infectious diseases poses a risk to Chinese populations. The aims of this paper are to summarize what is known about the impact of climate change on the incidence and prevalence of malaria, dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis in China and to provide important information and direction for adaptation policy making. Fifty-five papers met the inclusion criteria for this study. Examination of these studies indicates that variability in temperature, precipitation, wind, and extreme weather events is linked to transmission of mosquito-borne diseases in some regions of China. However, study findings are inconsistent across geographical locations and this requires strengthening current evidence for timely development of adaptive options. After synthesis of available information we make several key adaptation recommendations including: improving current surveillance and monitoring systems; concentrating adaptation strategies and policies on vulnerable communities; strengthening adaptive capacity of public health systems; developing multidisciplinary approaches sustained by an new mechanism of inter-sectional coordination; and increasing awareness and mobilization of the general public. PMID:23497420

  9. Measuring social desirability across language and sex: A comparison of Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale factor structures in English and Mandarin Chinese in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurz, A Solomon; Drescher, Christopher F; Chin, Eu Gene; Johnson, Laura R

    2016-06-01

    Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country in which multiple languages are prominently spoken, including English and Mandarin Chinese. As psychological science continues to develop within Malaysia, there is a need for psychometrically sound instruments that measure psychological phenomena in multiple languages. For example, assessment tools for measuring social desirability could be a useful addition in psychological assessments and research studies in a Malaysian context. This study examined the psychometric performance of the English and Mandarin Chinese versions of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale when used in Malaysia. Two hundred and eighty-three students (64% female; 83% Chinese, 9% Indian) from two college campuses completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale in their language of choice (i.e., English or Mandarin Chinese). Proposed factor structures were compared with confirmatory factor analysis, and multiple indicators-multiple causes models were used to examine measurement invariance across language and sex. Factor analyses supported a two-factor structure (i.e., Attribution and Denial) for the measure. Invariance tests revealed the scale was invariant by sex, indicating that social desirability can be interpreted similarly across sex. The scale was partially invariant by language version, with some non-invariance observed within the Denial factor. Non-invariance may be related to differences in the English and Mandarin Chinese languages, as well as cultural differences. Directions for further research include examining the measurement of social desirability in other contexts where both English and Mandarin Chinese are spoken (i.e., China) and further examining the causes of non-invariance on specific items. © 2016 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  10. From English to Chinese, Japanese, and Russian: extending research visibility with language translations of a conference slide presentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffecker, Lilian; Abbey, Dana

    2017-01-01

    The research demonstrates that a conference slide presentation translated into non-English languages reaches significantly larger and different audiences than an English presentation alone. The slides of a presentation from the Medical Library Association annual meeting were translated from English to Chinese, Japanese, and Russian and posted along with the English version to SlideShare, an open slide-hosting website. View counts, traffic sources, and geographic origins of the traffic for each language version were tracked over a twenty-two-month period. Total view counts for all 4 language versions amounted to 3,357 views, with the Chinese version accounting for 71% of the total views. The trends in view counts over time for the Japanese, Russian, and English versions were similar, with high interest at the beginning and a rapid drop and low level of viewing activity thereafter. The pattern of view counts for the Chinese version departed considerably from the other language versions, with very low activity at the beginning but a sharp rise 10 months later. This increase in activity was related to access to the presentations via a Taiwanese website that embedded the SlideShare website code. Language translation can be a difficult and time-consuming task. However, translation of a conference slide presentation with limited text is an achievable activity and engages an international audience for information that is often not noticed or lost. Although English is by far the primary language of science and other disciplines, it is not necessarily the first or preferred language of global researchers. By offering appropriate language versions, the authors of presentations can expand the reach of their work.

  11. International aspects of climate change: The intergovernmental panel on climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brydges, T.; Fenech, A.

    1990-01-01

    The impact of various international conferences concerning global climate change on international opinions and attitudes is discussed. A number of conferences over the past two decades have drawn attention to the large socio-economic consequences of climate change. There has been increasing attention given to the likely affect of anthropogenically derived greenhouse gases on the global climate. Some early uncertainty over the likely long term changes in global temperature have been replaced by a scientific consensus that global temperatures are increasing and will continue to do so into the next century. Public awareness of the possibility of climate change and severe socio-economic consequences has been increasing and was given a major impetus by the Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere. An estimate of the possible time to solution of the climate change issue is given as 1988-2005, a span of 17 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has focused work into three working groups examining science, impacts and response strategies. 28 refs., 3 figs., 6 tabs

  12. Changing climate, changing frames

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vink, Martinus J.; Boezeman, Daan; Dewulf, Art; Termeer, Catrien J.A.M.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► We show development of flood policy frames in context of climate change attention. ► Rising attention on climate change influences traditional flood policy framing. ► The new framing employs global-scale scientific climate change knowledge. ► With declining attention, framing disregards climate change, using local knowledge. ► We conclude that frames function as sensemaking devices selectively using knowledge. -- Abstract: Water management and particularly flood defence have a long history of collective action in low-lying countries like the Netherlands. The uncertain but potentially severe impacts of the recent climate change issue (e.g. sea level rise, extreme river discharges, salinisation) amplify the wicked and controversial character of flood safety policy issues. Policy proposals in this area generally involve drastic infrastructural works and long-term investments. They face the difficult challenge of framing problems and solutions in a publicly acceptable manner in ever changing circumstances. In this paper, we analyse and compare (1) how three key policy proposals publicly frame the flood safety issue, (2) the knowledge referred to in the framing and (3) how these frames are rhetorically connected or disconnected as statements in a long-term conversation. We find that (1) framings of policy proposals differ in the way they depict the importance of climate change, the relevant timeframe and the appropriate governance mode; (2) knowledge is selectively mobilised to underpin the different frames and (3) the frames about these proposals position themselves against the background of the previous proposals through rhetorical connections and disconnections. Finally, we discuss how this analysis hints at the importance of processes of powering and puzzling that lead to particular framings towards the public at different historical junctures

  13. A Climate Change Board Game for Interdisciplinary Communication and Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenack, Klaus

    2013-01-01

    This article reports and reflects on the design and use of the board game KEEP COOL on climate change. The game covers and integrates central biophysical, economic, and political aspects of the issue. By using a board game as common language between students and scientists from different scientific cultures, knowledge of different disciplines can…

  14. Global vs climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, H.L.; Bach, M.C.; Goklany, I.M.

    1991-01-01

    The various agents of global change that will affect the state of natural resources 50-100 years from now are discussed. These include economic and population growth, technological progress, and climatic change. The importance of climatic change lies in its effects on natural resources and on human activities that depend on those resources. Other factors affecting those resources include the demand on those resources from an increasing population and from a growing economy, and a more efficient use of those resources that comes from technological changes and from the consequences of economic growth itself. It is shown that there is a considerable ability to adapt to climatic change, since humans already have an intrinsic ability to adapt to the wide variations in climates that already exist and since technological developments can make it easier to cope with climatic variability. It appears that agents other than climatic change are more significant to the future state of natural resources than climatic change. Criteria for selecting options for addressing climatic change are outlined. Technological change and economic growth are seen to be key response options, since the vulnerability to climatic change depends on economic resources and technological progress. Specific options to stimulate sustainable economic growth and technological progress are listed. 16 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs

  15. Climate for change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newell, P.

    2000-01-01

    Climate for Change: Non-State Actors and the Global Politics of the Greenhouse provides a challenging explanation of the forces that have shaped the international global warming debate. Unlike existing books on the politics of climate change, this book concentrates on how non-stage actors, such as scientific, environmental and industry groups, as opposed to governmental organisations, affect political outcomes in global fora on climate change. It also provides insights in to the role of the media in influencing the agenda. The book draws on a range of analytical approaches to assess and explain the influence of these non-governmental organisations in the course of global climate change politics. The book will be of interest to all researchers and policy-makers associated with climate change, and will be used on university courses in international relations, politics and environmental studies. (Author)

  16. Climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    This paper presented indicators of climate change for British Columbia (BC) with an emphasis on the coastal region. An overview of global effects of climate change was presented, as well as details of BC's current climate change action plan. Indicators examined in the paper for the BC coastal region included long-term trends in air temperature; long-term trends in precipitation; coastal ocean temperatures; sea levels on the BC coast; and the sensitivity of the BC coast to sea level rise and erosion. Data suggested that average air temperatures have become higher in many areas, and that Springtime temperatures have become warmer over the whole province. Winters have become drier in many areas of the province. Sea surface temperature has risen over the entire coast, with the North Coast and central Strait of Georgia showing the largest increases. Deep-water temperatures have also increased in 5 inlets on the South Coast. Results suggested that the direction and spatial pattern of the climate changes reported for British Columbia are consistent with broader trends in North America and the type of changes predicted by climate models for the region. Climate change will likely result in reduced snow-pack in southern BC. An earlier spring freshet on many snow-dominated river systems is anticipated as well as glacial retreat and disappearance. Warmer temperatures in some lakes and rivers are expected, as well as the increased frequency and severity of natural disturbances such as the pine mountain beetle. Large-scale shifts in ecosystems and the loss of certain ecosystems may also occur. BC's current climate plan includes cost effective actions that address GHG emissions and support efficient infrastructure and opportunities for innovation. Management programs for forest and agricultural lands have been initiated, as well as programs to reduce emissions from government operations. Research is also being conducted to understand the impacts of climate change on water

  17. Climate challenge 2012: growth and climate change - Socio-economical impacts of climate change. Conference proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orange-Louboutin, Mylene; Robinet, Olivier; Delalande, Daniel; Reysset, Bertrand; De Perthuis, Christian; Le Treut, Herve; Cottenceau, Jean-Baptiste; Ayong, Alain; Daubaire, Aurelien; Gaudin, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    The contributions of this conference session proposed comments and discussion on the relationship between climate change and 'green' growth, on the status of scientific knowledge on climate change (from global to local), on the way to perform carbon print assessment and to decide which actions to implement, on the costs and opportunity of impacts of climate change, on the economy of adaptation, on the benefits and costs of the adaptation policy, and on impacts of climate change on employment in quantitative terms and in terms of profession types

  18. Global Climate Change and Ocean Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spitzer, W.; Anderson, J.

    2011-12-01

    the Earth's climate system. The problem is not simply that the public lacks information. In fact, the problem is often that there is too much information available with much of it complicated and even contradictory. The news media, both print and electronic, tend to exacerbate this by aiming for "balance" even when there is an overwhelming scientific or policy consensus. An additional problem is "reinforcement bias," which tends to lead people to focus on information that supports what they already believe or think they know. Instead, we need an approach that facilitates "meaning-making." A "framing" approach to communication (Frameworks Institute, 2010) supports meaning-making by appealing to strongly held values, providing metaphoric language and models, and illustrating specific applications to real world problems. This approach translates complex science in a way that allows people to examine evidence, make well-informed decisions, and embrace science-based solutions. However, interpreters need specialized training, resources, up-to-date information, and ongoing support to help understand a complex topic such as climate change, its connections to the ocean, and how to relate it to the live animals, habitats and exhibits they interpret.

  19. Terrestrial mollusk records from Chinese loess sequences and changes in the East Asian monsoonal environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Naiqin; Li, Fengjiang; Rousseau, Denis-Didier

    2018-04-01

    The terrestrial mollusk fossils found in Chinese loess strata have been studied for over one hundred years. However, the greatest progress in these studies has been made only in the last two decades. In this paper, we review the advancements, advantages and limitations of terrestrial mollusk studies in Chinese loess deposits. Improvements in research methods and approaches have allowed the extraction of more detailed paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic information from mollusk assemblages. The broadened research scope and content have yielded many new findings and results. The mollusk record has thus become one of the most important proxies in the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstruction of loess-paleosol sequences in China. The greatest progress in the studies of terrestrial mollusks in Chinese loess sequences can be summarized as follows: (1) modern mollusk assemblages can be classified into four ecotypes, based on their temperature and humidity requirements, including eurytopic, semi-aridiphilous and sub-humidiphilous, cold-aridiphilous, and thermo-humidiphilous types; (2) Quaternary mollusk assemblages can be modified into the following three ecological types: glacial loess, interglacial paleosol, and interstadial weakly-developed paleosol assemblages; (3) mollusk records successfully reveal long-term climatic and environmental changes reflective of the history of East Asian monsoonal variations since the Late Cenozoic, and the succession of mollusk species also indicate short-term environmental changes such as millennial climate variability during Last Glacial Maximum and unstable climatic fluctuations during glacial and interglacial periods; and (4) more recently, new analytical approaches have offered increased research potential in areas such as paleotemperature reconstruction using the isotopic compositions of modern and fossil mollusk shells, combined with higher accuracy 14C dating of Quaternary loess deposits, which will greatly improve

  20. Economic and Energy Development in China: Policy Options and Implications for Climate Change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McElroy, M. B.; Nielsen, C.

    2003-01-23

    The Harvard University Center for the Environment and partner institutions in China established a multidisciplinary program of integrated research on energy-related environmental issues, local air pollution and global climate change, in China and their role in U.S.-Chinese relations. Major research streams included: (a) developing a dynamic, multi-sector model of the Chinese economy that can estimate energy use, emission, and health damages from pollution, and using this model to simulate broad economic effects of market-based pollution-control policies; (b) developing a regionally disaggregated model of technology and investment choice in the Chinese electric power sector; (c) applying an atmospheric chemical tracer transport model to investigate carbon uptake in Eurasis (notably China) and North America, and to inform observational strategies for CO{sub 2} in China and elsewhere.

  1. Co-Ethnic Network, Social Class, and Heritage Language Maintenance among Chinese Immigrant Families

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Donghui

    2012-01-01

    This ethnographic study investigated heritage language maintenance among two distinct groups of Chinese immigrant families (Mandarin and Fujianese) from the social network perspective. The results indicated that a co-ethnic network could be a double-edged sword, which works differently on children from different social classes. While the Mandarin…

  2. Reproducibility analysis to validate language processes involving Kanji and Chinese characters under different MRI scanner environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Shensing Annabel; Matsuo, Kayako; Tseng Wenyih Isaac; Hue Chiwei; Nakai, Toshiharu; Bagarinao, E.; Ho Moonho Ringo; Liou Michelle

    2009-01-01

    Reading Japanese kanji is similar to reading Chinese characters in that orthography-to-phonology conversion is required. However, a notable difference between kanji and Chinese characters or alphabets is that the majority of kanji are heterophonic-homographic characters, id est (i.e.), one character is mapped to more than one pronunciation. With the goal of developing a standardized functional MRI language task for Japanese and Chinese, we conducted a series of homophone judgment tasks in both populations. Since the Japanese and Chinese data were acquired using MRI scanners with different magnetic field strengths (1.5 T and 3 T, respectively), direct comparison of the activation maps from the two populations using conventional statistical methods was not appropriate. Informal evaluation of the group activations for the homophonic-heterographic condition showed that this homophone judgment task with similar content and standardized design elicited common areas of activation for language in general for the two populations. Further, it is interesting to note that strong activations in the left posterior superior and middle temporal regions were found to be unique to the Taiwanese population. To further investigate this, we applied reproducibility analysis to verify the likelihood that this finding is unique to the Chinese population. The results are presented and the possibility of using reproducibility analysis to evaluate and compare data from different populations and with different scanner strengths is discussed. (author)

  3. The Tongue in Between: Some Thoughts on the Teaching of Chinese as a Second Language in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chee Lay

    2014-01-01

    In Singapore's unique and complex linguistic environment, it is common to have Chinese-language learners from many different backgrounds in the same school classroom, which is why Singapore is nicknamed as a "language laboratory." In this paper, I hope to examine our linguistic environment and response strategies from different angles,…

  4. Climate change and precipitation: Detecting changes Climate change and precipitation: Detecting changes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Boxel, John H

    2001-01-01

    Precipitation is one of the most, if not the most important climate parameter In most studies on climate change the emphasis is on temperature and sea level rise. Often too little attention is given to precipitation. For a large part this is due to the large spatial en temporal variability of precipitation, which makes the detection of changes difficult. This paper describes methods to detect changes in precipitation. In order to arrive at statistically significant changes one must use long time series and spatial averages containing the information from several stations. In the Netherlands the average yearly precipitation increased by 11% during the 20th century .In the temperate latitudes on the Northern Hemisphere (40-60QN) the average increase was about 7% over the 20th century and the globally averaged precipitation increased by about 3%. During the 20th century 38% of the land surface of the earth became wetter, 42% experienced little change (less than 5% change) and 20% became dryer. More important than the average precipitation is the occurrence of extremes. In the Netherlands there is a tendency to more extreme precipitations, whereas the occurrence of relatively dry months has not changed. Also in many other countries increases in heavy precipitation events are observed. All climate models predict a further increase of mean global precipitation if the carbon dioxide concentration doubles. Nevertheless some areas get dryer, others have little change and consequently there are also areas where the increase is much more than the global average. On a regional scale however there are large differences between the models. Climate models do not yet provide adequate information on changes in extreme precipitations

  5. Subtlety of Ambient-Language Effects in Babbling: A Study of English- and Chinese-Learning Infants at 8, 10, and 12 Months

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chia-Cheng; Jhang, Yuna; Chen, Li-mei; Relyea, George; Oller, D. Kimbrough

    2016-01-01

    Prior research on ambient-language effects in babbling has often suggested infants produce language-specific phonological features within the first year. These results have been questioned in research failing to find such effects and challenging the positive findings on methodological grounds. We studied English- and Chinese-learning infants at 8, 10, and 12 months and found listeners could not detect ambient-language effects in the vast majority of infant utterances, but only in items deemed to be words or to contain canonical syllables that may have made them sound like words with language-specific shapes. Thus, the present research suggests the earliest ambient-language effects may be found in emerging lexical items or in utterances influenced by language-specific features of lexical items. Even the ambient-language effects for infant canonical syllables and words were very small compared with ambient-language effects for meaningless but phonotactically well-formed syllable sequences spoken by adult native speakers of English and Chinese. PMID:28496393

  6. Climate Change, Politics and Religion: Australian Churchgoers’ Beliefs about Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miriam Pepper

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available A growing literature has sought to understand the relationships between religion, politics and views about climate change and climate change policy in the United States. However, little comparative research has been conducted in other countries. This study draws on data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey to examine the beliefs of Australian churchgoers from some 20 denominations about climate change—whether or not it is real and whether it is caused by humans—and political factors that explain variation in these beliefs. Pentecostals, Baptist and Churches of Christ churchgoers, and people from the smallest Protestant denominations were less likely than other churchgoers to believe in anthropogenic climate change, and voting and hierarchical and individualistic views about society predicted beliefs. There was some evidence that these views function differently in relation to climate change beliefs depending on churchgoers’ degree of opposition to gay rights. These findings are of interest not only for the sake of international comparisons, but also in a context where Australia plays a role in international climate change politics that is disproportionate to its small population.

  7. Systematic review on adverse birth outcomes of climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parinaz Poursafa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Climate change and global warming have significant effects on human health. This systematic review presents the effects of the climate changes on pregnancy outcomes. Materials and Methods: The search process was conducted in electronic databases including ISI Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar using key words of "environmental temperature" "pregnancy" "low birth weight (LBW" "pregnancy outcome," "climate change," "preterm birth (PTB," and a combination of them. We did not consider any time limitation; English-language papers were included. The related papers were selected in three phases. After quality assessment, two reviewers extracted the data while the third reviewer checked their extracted data. Finally, 15 related articles were selected and included in the current study. Results: Approximately all studies have reported a significant relationship between exposure variable and intended outcomes including eclampsia, preeclampsia, cataract, LBW, PTB, hypertension, sex ratio and length of pregnancy. According to conducted studies, decrease in birth weight is more possible in cold months. Increase in temperature was followed by increase in PTB rate. According to most of the studies, eclampsia and preeclampsia were more prevalent in cold and humid seasons. Two spectrums of heat extent, different seasons of the year, sunlight intensity and season of fertilization were associated with higher rates of PTB, hypertension, eclampsia, preeclampsia, and cataract. Conclusion: Climate change has unfavorable effects on eclampsia, preeclampsia, PTB, and cataract. The findings of this review confirm the crucial importance of the adverse health effects of climate change especially in the perinatal period.

  8. The Association between Language Maintenance and Family Relations: Chinese Immigrant Children in Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tannenbaum, Michal; Howie, Pauline

    2002-01-01

    Investigated the relevance of emotional and familial factors to language maintenance in immigrant families. Information on the family relations of 40 children from Chinese-speaking immigrant families in Sydney, Australia. Analysis revealed that children likely to use their parents' mother tongue were those who perceived their family to be more…

  9. Climate changes your business

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    Businesses face much bigger climate change costs than they realise. That is the conclusion of Climate Changes Your Business. The climate change risks that companies should be paying more attention to are physical risks, regulatory risks as well as risk to reputation and the emerging risk of litigation, says the report. It argues that the risks associated with climate change tend to be underestimated

  10. Construction of climate change scenarios from transient climate change experiments for the IPCC impacts assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viner, D.; Hulme, M.; Raper, S.C.B.; Jones, P.D.

    1994-01-01

    This paper outlines the different methods which may be used for the construction of regional climate change scenarios. The main focus of the paper is the construction of global climate change scenarios from climate change experiments carried out using General Circulation Models (GCMS) An introduction to some GCM climate change experiments highlights the difference between model types and experiments (e.g., equilibrium or transient). The latest generation of climate change experiments has been performed using fully coupled ocean-atmosphere GCMS. These allow transient simulations of climate change to be performed with respect to a given greenhouse gas forcing scenario. There are, however, a number of problems with these simulations which pose difficulties for the construction of climate change scenarios for use in climate change impacts assessment. The characteristics of the transient climate change experiments which pose difficulties for the construction of climate change scenarios are discussed. Three examples of these problems are: different climate change experiments use different greenhouse gas concentration scenarios; the 'cold-start' problem makes it difficult to link future projections of climate change to a given calendar year; a drift of the climate is noticeable in the control simulations. In order to construct climate change scenarios for impacts assessment a method has therefore to be employed which addresses these problems. At present the climate modeling and climate change impacts communities are somewhat polarized in their approach to spatial scales. Current GCMs model the climate at resolutions larger than 2.5 x 3.75 degree, while the majority of impacts assessment studies are undertaken at scales below 50km (or 0.5 degree). This paper concludes by addressing the problems in bringing together these two different modeling perspectives by presenting a number of regional climate change scenarios. 35 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs

  11. Schizophrenia, culture and neuropsychology: sensory deficits, language impairments and social functioning in Chinese-speaking schizophrenia patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, L; Chen, S; Chen, C-M; Khan, F; Forchelli, G; Javitt, D C

    2012-07-01

    While 20% of schizophrenia patients worldwide speak tonal languages (e.g. Mandarin), studies are limited to Western-language patients. Western-language patients show tonal deficits that are related to impaired emotional processing of speech. However, language processing is minimally affected. In contrast, in Mandarin, syllables are voiced in one of four tones, with word meaning varying accordingly. We hypothesized that Mandarin-speaking schizophrenia patients would show impairments in underlying basic auditory processing that, unlike in Western groups, would relate to deficits in word recognition and social outcomes. Altogether, 22 Mandarin-speaking schizophrenia patients and 44 matched healthy participants were recruited from New York City. The auditory tasks were: (1) tone matching; (2) distorted tunes; (3) Chinese word discrimination; (4) Chinese word identification. Social outcomes were measured by marital status, employment and most recent employment status. Patients showed deficits in tone-matching, distorted tunes, word discrimination and word identification versus controls (all pneuropsychology and language among Mandarin-speaking schizophrenia patients. As predicted, patients were highly impaired in both tone and auditory word processing, with these two measures significantly correlated. Tonally impaired patients showed significantly worse employment-status function than tonally intact patients, suggesting a link between sensory impairment and employment status outcome. While neuropsychological deficits appear similar cross-culturally, their consequences may be language- and culture-dependent.

  12. Public health impacts of city policies to reduce climate change: Findings from the URGENCHE EU-China project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sabel, C.E.; Hiscock, R.; Asikainen, A.; Bi, J.; Depledge, M.; Van Den Elshout, S.; Friedrich, R.; Huang, G.; Hurley, F.; Jantunen, M.; Karakitsios, S.P.; Keuken, M.; Kingham, S.; Kontoroupis, P.; Kuenzli, N.; Liu, M.; Martuzzi, M.; Morton, K.; Mudu, P.; Niittynen, M.; Perez, L.; Sarigiannis, D.; Stahl-Timmins, W.; Tobollik, M.; Tuomisto, J.; Willers, S.

    2016-01-01

    Background: Climate change is a global threat to health and wellbeing. Here we provide findings of an international research project investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in urban environments. Methods: Five European and two Chinese city

  13. The paleo-climate change of Chaidam Basin during the last 2.85 Ma recorded by gamma-ray logging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Ye; Yuan Linwang; Liu Zechun

    2000-01-01

    The author deals with mainly the aspect of paleo-climate change of the basin. The approach used for the study consisted of (1) establishing the paleo-climate curve of the basin according to the climate indices, including the spore-pollen statistics, carbonate content and δ 18 O, obtained from the samples of the 760 m continuously-cored exploration holes sited in the basin, (2) comparing the paleo-climate curve with the natural gamma-logs of the same exploration holes, and (3) determining the paleo-climatic changes in the last 2.85 Ma on the basis of detailed geochronological calculations. These results are extremely important for comparison with the δ 18 O-based climate curve derived from the ODP659 in the Atlantic Ocean and with the cycles of paleosol in the Chinese loess

  14. Development of the language subtest in a developmental assessment scale to identify Chinese preschool children with special needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Anita M-Y; Leung, Cynthia; Siu, Elaine K-L; Lam, Catherine C-C; Chan, Grace P-S

    2011-01-01

    This study reports on the development of the language subtest in the Preschool Developmental Assessment Scale (PDAS) for Cantonese-Chinese speaking children. A pilot pool of 158 items covering the two language modalities and the three language domains was developed. This initial item set was subsequently revised based on Rasch analyses of data from 324 multi-stage randomly selected children between 3 and 6 years of age. The revised 106-item set demonstrated adequate measurement properties, including targeting and uni-dimensionality. The revised 106-item set successfully discriminated preschool children in the three age groups, and between preschool children and their age peers with special education needs (SEN). Results from this study support the collection of normative data from a larger population sample of children to examine its accuracy in identifying language impairment in children with SEN. Test development procedures reported in this study provide insight for the development of language subtests in multi-domain developmental assessment tools for children speaking other varieties of Chinese. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Understanding Language Change: Phonetics, Phonology and Child Language Acquisition

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Volk, Kevin

    1999-01-01

    Language change is a phenomenon that has fascinated scholars for centuries. As a science, linguistic theory has evolved considerably during the 20th century, but the overall puzzle of language change still remains unsolved...

  16. Our changing climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kandel, R.

    1990-01-01

    The author presents an overview of the changing climate. Attention is focused on the following: meteorology; weather; climate anomalies; changes in atmospheric composition and global warming; ozone; mathematical models; and climate and politics. In its conclusion, it asks researchers to stay out of a game in which, ultimately, neither science nor politics stands to gain anything

  17. Climate change and skin disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundgren, Ashley D

    2018-04-01

    Despite commanding essentially universal scientific consensus, climate change remains a divisive and poorly understood topic in the United States. Familiarity with this subject is not just for climate scientists. The impact of climate change on human morbidity and mortality may be considerable; thus, physicians also should be knowledgeable in this realm. Climate change science can seem opaque and inferential, creating fertile ground for political polemics and undoubtedly contributing to confusion among the general public. This puts physicians in a pivotal position to facilitate a practical understanding of climate change in the public sphere by discussing changes in disease patterns and their possible relationship to a changing climate. This article provides a background on climate change for dermatologists and highlights how climate change may impact the management of skin disease across the United States.

  18. Is it culture or is it language? Examination of language effects in cross-cultural research on categorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Li-Jun; Zhang, Zhiyong; Nisbett, Richard E

    2004-07-01

    Differences in reasoning styles between Chinese and European Americans held even when controlling for the language of testing. Bilingual Chinese organized objects in a more relational and less categorical way than European Americans, whether tested in English or in Chinese. Thus, culture affects categorization independent of the testing language. Nevertheless, language affected some Chinese bilinguals' categorization. The responses of Chinese from the Mainland and Taiwan were more relational when tested in Chinese than when tested in English. Responses of Chinese from Hong Kong and Singapore were equally relational when tested in Chinese and in English. Age and context of learning English are discussed to explain the differential language effects among different Chinese groups. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. Copyright 2004 American Psychological Association

  19. Quality Climate Change Professional Development Translates into Quality Climate Change Education (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzer, M. A.

    2013-12-01

    Perhaps one of the reasons we have so many climate change deniers in the United States is that to them climate change is not occurring. This is a valid claim about climate change deniers considering that the effects of climate change in the mid-latitudes are quite subtle as compared to those found in low-latitude and high-latitude regions. A mid-latitude classroom teacher is saddled with the challenge of enlightening students about our changing climate and empowering students to assist in making necessary lifestyle changes, all the while the students don't understand the urgency in doing so. Quality climate change data and resources from the Polar Regions and low latitudes, as well as connections to researchers from these regions help to bridge the understanding of our changing climate from the extreme latitudes to the mid-latitudes. Connecting science teachers with data, resources, and researchers is one way of ensuring our mid-latitude students understand the urgency in taking appropriate actions to adapt, mitigate, and show resilience. This presentation will highlight a few of the many impacts of an authentic research experience for teachers that not only provides teachers with data, resources, and researchers, but changes the way a science teacher teaches where the methods they use mirror the methods used by scientists. National projects like PolarTREC connect educators with the science of climate change as well as the reality of impacts of climate change. For example, research expeditions in the Arctic and in Antarctica connect teachers with the content and practices of climate change science preparing them to replicate their experiences with their students. A PolarTREC experience does not end with the close of the expedition. Teachers continue their connections with the program through their educator network, the integration of PolarTREC resources into their curriculums, and communications with their principal investigators either virtually or with school

  20. Trade and climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tamiotti, L.; Teh, R.; Kulacoglu, V. (World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva (Switzerland)); Olhoff, A.; Simmons, B.; Abaza, H. (United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (Denmark))

    2009-06-15

    The Report aims to improve understanding about the linkages between trade and climate change. It shows that trade intersects with climate change in a multitude of ways. For example, governments may introduce a variety of policies, such as regulatory measures and economic incentives, to address climate change. This complex web of measures may have an impact on international trade and the multilateral trading system. The Report begins with a summary of the current state of scientific knowledge on climate change and on the options available for responding to the challenge of climate change. The scientific review is followed by a part on the economic aspects of the link between trade and climate change, and these two parts set the context for the subsequent parts of the Report, which looks at the policies introduced at both the international and national level to address climate change. The part on international policy responses to climate change describes multilateral efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the effects of climate change, and also discusses the role of the current trade and environment negotiations in promoting trade in technologies that aim to mitigate climate change. The final part of the Report gives an overview of a range of national policies and measures that have been used in a number of countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy efficiency. It presents key features in the design and implementation of these policies, in order to draw a clearer picture of their overall effect and potential impact on environmental protection, sustainable development and trade. It also gives, where appropriate, an overview of the WTO rules that may be relevant to such measures. (author)

  1. Power Relations in the Enactment of English Language Education Policy for Chinese Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Minglin

    2017-01-01

    The scale of English language education in China is astounding, but recent research has shown that the latest national English education policy for Chinese schools has not been implemented successfully due to various reasons. One reason given for the lack of success is the impracticability of the top-down policy itself excluding teachers'…

  2. Health Implications of Climate Change: a Review of the Literature About the Perception of the Public and Health Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hathaway, Julia; Maibach, Edward W

    2018-03-01

    Through a systematic search of English language peer-reviewed studies, we assess how health professionals and the public, worldwide, perceive the health implications of climate change. Among health professionals, perception that climate change is harming health appears to be high, although self-assessed knowledge is low, and perceived need to learn more is high. Among the public, few North Americans can list any health impacts of climate change, or who is at risk, but appear to view climate change as harmful to health. Among vulnerable publics in Asia and Africa, awareness of increasing health harms due to specific changing climatic conditions is high. Americans across the political and climate change opinion spectra appear receptive to information about the health aspects of climate change, although findings are mixed. Health professionals feel the need to learn more, and the public appears open to learning more, about the health consequences of climate change.

  3. The climate is changing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfsen, Knut H.

    2001-01-01

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has finalized its Third Assessment Report. Among its conclusions is that we must expect continued changes in our climate, despite our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Planning for and adapting to climate change are therefore necessary. As a starting point, CICERO has written this short note on expected impacts in Norway. The main conclusions are that (1) Adaptation to climate change is necessary (2) Substantial impacts are expected for several important sectors in Norway (3) The local and central authorities should now consider and start planning for adaptation measures. (4) There is still a need for more knowledge about potential impacts of climate change in Norway. (author)

  4. Modeling responses of the meadow steppe dominated by Leymus chinensis to climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Yuhui; Zhou, Guangsheng; Wang, Yonghe

    2007-01-01

    Grassland is one of the most widespread vegetation types worldwide and plays a significant role in regional climate and global carbon cycling. Understanding the sensitivity of Chinese grassland ecosystems to climate change and elevated atmospheric CO2 and the effect of these changes on the grassland ecosystems is a key issue in global carbon cycling. China encompasses vast grassland areas of 354 million ha of 17 major grassland types, according to a national grassland survey. In this study, a process-based terrestrial model the CENTURY model was used to simulate potential changes in net primary productivity (NPP) and soil organic carbon (SOC) of the Leymus chinensis meadow steppe (LCMS) under different scenarios of climatic change and elevated atmospheric CO2. The LCMS sensitivities, its potential responses to climate change, and the change in capacity of carbon stock and sequestration in the future are evaluated. The results showed that the LCMS NPP and SOC are sensitive to climatic change and elevated CO2. In the next 100 years, with doubled CO2 concentration, if temperature increases from 2.7-3.9C and precipitation increases by 10% NPP and SOC will increase by 7-21% and 5-6% respectively. However, if temperature increases by 7.5-7.8C and precipitation increases by only 10% NPP and SOC would decrease by 24% and 8% respectively. Therefore, changes in the NPP and SOC of the meadow steppe are attributed mainly to the amount of temperature and precipitation change and the atmospheric CO2 concentration in the future

  5. Mobility and language change in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Monka, Malene

    featured substantial amounts of dialect features (Kristensen 1980; Pedersen 1986). In 2005 to 2010, researchers at the Danish National Research Center for Language Change in Real Time (LANCHART) and the University of Southern Denmark re-interviewed informants, thus providing data for investigating language......Mobility and language change in Denmark This paper demonstrates how mobility affects language change in real time and reports on the results of my PhD-thesis. In the thesis I made a real time panel study in three towns in distinct dialect areas in Denmark and examined language change in 23 speakers...... recorded in 1978 to 2010. The results emphasize the advantages of approaching mobility from different angles when investigating patterns of language change. The present paper focuses on six geographically and socially mobile informants. At the time of the early recordings, the three towns were in different...

  6. Climate Change Portal - Home Page

    Science.gov (United States)

    Science Partnerships Contact Us Take Action Climate change is already having significant and widespread of climate change. Business Businesses throughout California are taking action to address climate climate change impacts and informing policies to reduce greenhouse gases, adapt to changing environments

  7. Climate change and forest diseases

    Science.gov (United States)

    R.N. Sturrock; Susan Frankel; A. V. Brown; Paul Hennon; J. T. Kliejunas; K. J. Lewis; J. J. Worrall; A. J. Woods

    2011-01-01

    As climate changes, the effects of forest diseases on forest ecosystems will change. We review knowledge of relationships between climate variables and several forest diseases, as well as current evidence of how climate, host and pathogen interactions are responding or might respond to climate change. Many forests can be managed to both adapt to climate change and...

  8. Climatic change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1977-02-15

    In spite of man's remarkable advances in technology, ultimately he is still dependent on the Earth's climatic system for food and fresh water. The recent occurrences in certain regions of the world of climatic extremes such as excessive rain or droughts and unseasonably high or low temperatures have led to speculation that a major climatic change is occurring on a global scale. Some point to the recent drop in temperatures in the northern hemisphere as an indication that the Earth is entering a new ice age. Others see a global warming trend that may be due to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. An authoritative report on the subject has been prepared by a World Meteorological Organization Panel of Experts on Climatic Change. Excerpts from the report are given. (author)

  9. Climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-01-01

    In spite of man's remarkable advances in technology, ultimately he is still dependent on the Earth's climatic system for food and fresh water. The recent occurrences in certain regions of the world of climatic extremes such as excessive rain or droughts and unseasonably high or low temperatures have led to speculation that a major climatic change is occurring on a global scale. Some point to the recent drop in temperatures in the northern hemisphere as an indication that the Earth is entering a new ice age. Others see a global warming trend that may be due to a build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. An authoritative report on the subject has been prepared by a World Meteorological Organization Panel of Experts on Climatic Change. Excerpts from the report are given. (author)

  10. Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toni Lyn Morelli; Christopher Daly; Solomon Z. Dobrowski; Deanna M. Dulen; Joseph L. Ebersole; Stephen T. Jackson; Jessica D. Lundquist; Connie Millar; Sean P. Maher; William B. Monahan; Koren R. Nydick; Kelly T. Redmond; Sarah C. Sawyer; Sarah Stock; Steven R. Beissinger

    2016-01-01

    Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that...

  11. The Effects of Language on English Language Learners' Music Preferences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosselin, Pei-Ying Lin

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of songs in different languages on English language learners' (ELLs) music preferences. The participants (N = 62) were Chinese graduate students from a state university in the Midwestern United States. The survey contained nine excerpts from popular songs in three languages: Chinese (the…

  12. Contribution of Oral Language Skills, Linguistic Skills, and Transcription Skills to Chinese Written Composition among Fourth-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeung, Pui-sze; Ho, Connie Suk-han; Chan, David Wai-ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-hoa

    2013-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate the contribution of oral language skills, linguistic skills, and transcription skills to Chinese written composition among Grade 4 students in Hong Kong. Measures assessing verbal working memory, oral language skills, linguistic skills (i.e., syntactic skills and discourse skills), transcription skills (i.e.,…

  13. Climate variability and vulnerability to climate change: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thornton, Philip K; Ericksen, Polly J; Herrero, Mario; Challinor, Andrew J

    2014-01-01

    The focus of the great majority of climate change impact studies is on changes in mean climate. In terms of climate model output, these changes are more robust than changes in climate variability. By concentrating on changes in climate means, the full impacts of climate change on biological and human systems are probably being seriously underestimated. Here, we briefly review the possible impacts of changes in climate variability and the frequency of extreme events on biological and food systems, with a focus on the developing world. We present new analysis that tentatively links increases in climate variability with increasing food insecurity in the future. We consider the ways in which people deal with climate variability and extremes and how they may adapt in the future. Key knowledge and data gaps are highlighted. These include the timing and interactions of different climatic stresses on plant growth and development, particularly at higher temperatures, and the impacts on crops, livestock and farming systems of changes in climate variability and extreme events on pest-weed-disease complexes. We highlight the need to reframe research questions in such a way that they can provide decision makers throughout the food system with actionable answers, and the need for investment in climate and environmental monitoring. Improved understanding of the full range of impacts of climate change on biological and food systems is a critical step in being able to address effectively the effects of climate variability and extreme events on human vulnerability and food security, particularly in agriculturally based developing countries facing the challenge of having to feed rapidly growing populations in the coming decades. PMID:24668802

  14. Climate Change and Malaria

    OpenAIRE

    Goklany;, I. M.

    2004-01-01

    Sir David A. King's claim that "Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of terrorism" "Climate change is the most severe problem that we are facing today—more serious even than the threat of terrorism" ("Climate change

  15. Climate change and Finland. Summary of the Finnish research programme on climate change (SILMU)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-31

    Anthropogenic impacts on the Earth`s atmosphere are expected to cause significant global climate changes during the next few decades. These changes will have many consequences both in nature and on human activities. In order to investigate the implications of such changes in Finland, a six-year multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change, the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), was initiated in 1990. The key research areas were: (1) quantification of the greenhouse effect and the magnitude of anticipated climate changes, (2) assessment of the effects of changing climate on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and (3) development of mitigation and adaptation strategies

  16. Climate change and Finland. Summary of the Finnish research programme on climate change (SILMU)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    Anthropogenic impacts on the Earth's atmosphere are expected to cause significant global climate changes during the next few decades. These changes will have many consequences both in nature and on human activities. In order to investigate the implications of such changes in Finland, a six-year multidisciplinary national research programme on climate and global change, the Finnish Research Programme on Climate Change (SILMU), was initiated in 1990. The key research areas were: (1) quantification of the greenhouse effect and the magnitude of anticipated climate changes, (2) assessment of the effects of changing climate on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and (3) development of mitigation and adaptation strategies

  17. Chatham Islands Climate Change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullan, B.; Salinger, J.; Thompson, C.; Ramsay, D.; Wild, M.

    2005-06-01

    This brief report provides guidance on climate change specific to the Chatham Islands, to complement the information recently produced for local government by the Ministry for the Environment in 'Climate Change Effects and Impacts Assessment: A guidance manual for Local Government in New Zealand' and 'Coastal Hazards and Climate Change: A guidance manual for Local Government in New Zealand'. These previous reports contain a lot of generic information on climate change, and how to assess associated risks, that is relevant to the Chatham Islands Council.

  18. Measurement equivalence of patient safety climate in Chinese hospitals: can we compare across physicians and nurses?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Junya

    2018-06-11

    Self-report instruments have been widely used to better understand variations in patient safety climate between physicians and nurses. Research is needed to determine whether differences in patient safety climate reflect true differences in the underlying concepts. This is known as measurement equivalence, which is a prerequisite for meaningful group comparisons. This study aims to examine the degree of measurement equivalence of the responses to a patient safety climate survey of Chinese hospitals and to demonstrate how the measurement equivalence method can be applied to self-report climate surveys for patient safety research. Using data from the Chinese Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Climate from six Chinese hospitals in 2011, we constructed two groups: physicians and nurses (346 per group). We used multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses to examine progressively more stringent restrictions for measurement equivalence. We identified weak factorial equivalence across the two groups. Strong factorial equivalence was found for Organizational Learning, Unit Management Support for Safety, Adequacy of Safety Arrangements, Institutional Commitment to Safety, Error Reporting and Teamwork. Strong factorial equivalence, however, was not found for Safety System, Communication and Peer Support and Staffing. Nevertheless, further analyses suggested that nonequivalence did not meaningfully affect the conclusions regarding physician-nurse differences in patient safety climate. Our results provide evidence of at least partial equivalence of the survey responses between nurses and physicians, supporting mean comparisons of its constructs between the two groups. The measurement equivalence approach is essential to ensure that conclusions about group differences are valid.

  19. Climate Change Education: Student Media Production to Educate and Engage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rooney-Varga, J. N.; Brisk, A. A.; Ledley, T. S.; Shuldman, M.

    2011-12-01

    Climate change education offers many challenges, including the complexity of the natural and human systems involved, a need for a multi-disciplinary perspective, and the psychological barriers to learning that result from a problem that frequently elicits a sense of being overwhelmed and powerless. The implications of climate change impacts and/or solutions can be especially overwhelming for today's students, who are likely to be confronted with many projected changes within their lifetimes. We are developing approaches to incorporate video production by students at both the high school and university levels in order to overcome many of the challenges unique to climate change education. Through media production, students are asked to convey complex topics using clear, simple language and metaphor, so their content knowledge must be deep enough to educate others. Video production is a team effort (director, camera person, editor, etc.) and inherently creates an opportunity for learning in a social context, which has been shown to lead to better learning outcomes in climate change education. Video production also promotes the basic tenets of engagement theory, in which a small group of students is in constant contact with the content and, ideally, creates a product that can be disseminated broadly. Lastly, putting students behind the camera can give them a voice and a sense of empowerment, fostering active participation in the learning process. While video is a medium that is readily disseminated to a broad audience, our focus is on the process (i.e., learning outcomes of students directly involved in media production), not the product. However, we have found that providing students with a means to add their voices to the broader public's discussion of climate change has a positive impact on student engagement with climate change science and on public awareness this problem beyond the classroom. While student-produced media pieces are not intended to provide in

  20. Scaling Climate Change Communication for Behavior Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, V. C.; Lappé, M.; Flora, J. A.; Ardoin, N. M.; Robinson, T. N.

    2014-12-01

    Ultimately, effective climate change communication results in a change in behavior, whether the change is individual, household or collective actions within communities. We describe two efforts to promote climate-friendly behavior via climate communication and behavior change theory. Importantly these efforts are designed to scale climate communication principles focused on behavior change rather than soley emphasizing climate knowledge or attitudes. Both cases are embedded in rigorous evaluations (randomized controlled trial and quasi-experimental) of primary and secondary outcomes as well as supplementary analyses that have implications for program refinement and program scaling. In the first case, the Girl Scouts "Girls Learning Environment and Energy" (GLEE) trial is scaling the program via a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for Troop Leaders to teach the effective home electricity and food and transportation energy reduction programs. The second case, the Alliance for Climate Education (ACE) Assembly Program, is advancing the already-scaled assembly program by using communication principles to further engage youth and their families and communities (school and local communities) in individual and collective actions. Scaling of each program uses online learning platforms, social media and "behavior practice" videos, mastery practice exercises, virtual feedback and virtual social engagement to advance climate-friendly behavior change. All of these communication practices aim to simulate and advance in-person train-the-trainers technologies.As part of this presentation we outline scaling principles derived from these two climate change communication and behavior change programs.

  1. Climate engineering and the risk of rapid climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, Andrew; Damon Matthews, H

    2009-01-01

    Recent research has highlighted risks associated with the use of climate engineering as a method of stabilizing global temperatures, including the possibility of rapid climate warming in the case of abrupt removal of engineered radiative forcing. In this study, we have used a simple climate model to estimate the likely range of temperature changes associated with implementation and removal of climate engineering. In the absence of climate engineering, maximum annual rates of warming ranged from 0.015 to 0.07 deg. C/year, depending on the model's climate sensitivity. Climate engineering resulted in much higher rates of warming, with the temperature change in the year following the removal of climate engineering ranging from 0.13 to 0.76 deg. C. High rates of temperature change were sustained for two decades following the removal of climate engineering; rates of change of 0.5 (0.3,0.1) deg. C/decade were exceeded over a 20 year period with 15% (75%, 100%) likelihood. Many ecosystems could be negatively affected by these rates of temperature change; our results suggest that climate engineering in the absence of deep emissions cuts could arguably constitute increased risk of dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system under the criteria laid out in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

  2. Negotiating Power and Access to Second Language Resources: A Study on Short-Term Chinese MBA Students in America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Xingsong

    2011-01-01

    By looking into a group of 13 Chinese master's in business administration students' study abroad experience in the United States, this study contends that being situated in the second language (L2) communicative context does not guarantee international students complete access to language and cultural resources in the host society. Due to limited…

  3. Predictions of potential geographical distribution and quality of Schisandra sphenanthera under climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanlong Guo

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Climate change will significantly affect plant distribution as well as the quality of medicinal plants. Although numerous studies have analyzed the effect of climate change on future habitats of plants through species distribution models (SDMs, few of them have incorporated the change of effective content of medicinal plants. Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wils. is an endangered traditional Chinese medical plant which is mainly located in the Qinling Mountains. Combining fuzzy theory and a maximum entropy model, we obtained current spatial distribution of quality assessment for S. spenanthera. Moreover, the future quality and distribution of S. spenanthera were also projected for the periods 2020s, 2050s and 2080s under three different climate change scenarios (SRES-A1B, SRES-A2 and SRES-B1 emission scenarios described in the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The results showed that the moderately suitable habitat of S. sphenanthera under all climate change scenarios remained relatively stable in the study area. The highly suitable habitat of S. sphenanthera would gradually decrease in the future and a higher decline rate of the highly suitable habitat area would occur under climate change scenarios SRES-A1B and SRES-A2. The result suggested that in the study area, there would be no more highly suitable habitat areas for S. sphenanthera when the annual mean temperature exceeds 20 °C or its annual precipitation exceeds 1,200 mm. Our results will be influential in the future ecological conservation and management of S. sphenanthera and can be taken as a reference for habitat suitability assessment research for other medicinal plants.

  4. Enhancing international technology cooperation for climate change mitigation. Lessons from an electromobility case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhasin, Shikha

    2014-07-01

    As a global agreement on climate mitigation and absolute emissions reductions remains grid-locked, this paper assesses whether the prospects for international technology cooperation in low-carbon sectors can be improved. It analyses the case of international cooperation on electric vehicle technologies to elaborate on the trade-offs that cooperation such as this inherently attempts to balance- national growth objectives of industrial and technology development versus the global goods benefit of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It focuses on bilateral German-Chinese programmes for electric vehicle development, as well as multilateral platforms on low-carbon technology cooperation related to electric vehicles. Based on insights from these cases studies, this paper ultimately provides policy recommendations to address gaps in international technology cooperation at a bilateral level for ongoing German-Chinese engagement on electric vehicles; and at a multilateral level with a focus on the emerging technology cooperation framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

  5. Enhancing international technology cooperation for climate change mitigation. Lessons from an electromobility case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhasin, Shikha

    2014-01-01

    As a global agreement on climate mitigation and absolute emissions reductions remains grid-locked, this paper assesses whether the prospects for international technology cooperation in low-carbon sectors can be improved. It analyses the case of international cooperation on electric vehicle technologies to elaborate on the trade-offs that cooperation such as this inherently attempts to balance- national growth objectives of industrial and technology development versus the global goods benefit of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It focuses on bilateral German-Chinese programmes for electric vehicle development, as well as multilateral platforms on low-carbon technology cooperation related to electric vehicles. Based on insights from these cases studies, this paper ultimately provides policy recommendations to address gaps in international technology cooperation at a bilateral level for ongoing German-Chinese engagement on electric vehicles; and at a multilateral level with a focus on the emerging technology cooperation framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

  6. The Changing Face of Motivation: A Study of Second Language Learners' Motivation over Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Elizabeth; Storch, Neomy

    2011-01-01

    Motivation to learn a second language (L2) is considered a crucial individual factor in explaining success or lack thereof in second language learning. This study examined learners' motivation to learn Chinese as a second language (L2). The study was longitudinal and cross sectional. Interviews were conducted with learners at different year levels…

  7. Uncertainty and Climate Change

    OpenAIRE

    Berliner, L. Mark

    2003-01-01

    Anthropogenic, or human-induced, climate change is a critical issue in science and in the affairs of humankind. Though the target of substantial research, the conclusions of climate change studies remain subject to numerous uncertainties. This article presents a very brief review of the basic arguments regarding anthropogenic climate change with particular emphasis on uncertainty.

  8. Climate@Home: Crowdsourcing Climate Change Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, C.; Yang, C.; Li, J.; Sun, M.; Bambacus, M.

    2011-12-01

    Climate change deeply impacts human wellbeing. Significant amounts of resources have been invested in building super-computers that are capable of running advanced climate models, which help scientists understand climate change mechanisms, and predict its trend. Although climate change influences all human beings, the general public is largely excluded from the research. On the other hand, scientists are eagerly seeking communication mediums for effectively enlightening the public on climate change and its consequences. The Climate@Home project is devoted to connect the two ends with an innovative solution: crowdsourcing climate computing to the general public by harvesting volunteered computing resources from the participants. A distributed web-based computing platform will be built to support climate computing, and the general public can 'plug-in' their personal computers to participate in the research. People contribute the spare computing power of their computers to run a computer model, which is used by scientists to predict climate change. Traditionally, only super-computers could handle such a large computing processing load. By orchestrating massive amounts of personal computers to perform atomized data processing tasks, investments on new super-computers, energy consumed by super-computers, and carbon release from super-computers are reduced. Meanwhile, the platform forms a social network of climate researchers and the general public, which may be leveraged to raise climate awareness among the participants. A portal is to be built as the gateway to the climate@home project. Three types of roles and the corresponding functionalities are designed and supported. The end users include the citizen participants, climate scientists, and project managers. Citizen participants connect their computing resources to the platform by downloading and installing a computing engine on their personal computers. Computer climate models are defined at the server side. Climate

  9. How does language distance between L1 and L2 affect the L2 brain network? An fMRI study of Korean-Chinese-English trilinguals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Say Young; Qi, Ting; Feng, Xiaoxia; Ding, Guosheng; Liu, Li; Cao, Fan

    2016-04-01

    The present study tested the hypothesis that language distance between first language (L1) and second language (L2) influences the assimilation and accommodation pattern in Korean-Chinese-English trilinguals. The distance between English and Korean is smaller than that between Chinese and Korean in terms of orthographic transparency, because both English and Korean are alphabetic, whereas Chinese is logographic. During fMRI, Korean trilingual participants performed a visual rhyming judgment task in three languages (Korean: KK, Chinese: KC, English: KE). Two L1 control groups were native Chinese and English speakers performing the task in their native languages (CC and EE, respectively). The general pattern of brain activation of KC was more similar to that of CC than KK, suggesting accommodation. Higher accuracy in KC was associated with decreased activation in regions of the KK network, suggesting reduced assimilation. In contrast, the brain activation of KE was more similar to that of KK than EE, suggesting assimilation. Higher accuracy in KE was associated with decreased activation in regions of the EE network, suggesting reduced accommodation. Finally, an ROI analysis on the left middle frontal gyrus revealed greater activation for KC than for KE, suggesting its selective involvement in the L2 with more arbitrary mapping between orthography and phonology (i.e., Chinese). Taken together, the brain network involved in L2 reading is similar to the L1 network when L2 and L1 are similar in orthographic transparency, while significant accommodation is expected when L2 is more opaque than L1. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. Adult Age Differences in Eye Movements During Reading: The Evidence From Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jingxin; Li, Lin; Li, Sha; Xie, Fang; Chang, Min; Paterson, Kevin B; White, Sarah J; McGowan, Victoria A

    2018-04-16

    Substantial evidence indicates that older readers of alphabetic languages (e.g., English and German) compensate for age-related reading difficulty by employing a more risky reading strategy in which words are skipped more frequently. The effects of healthy aging on reading behavior for nonalphabetic languages, like Chinese, are largely unknown, although this would reveal the extent to which age-related changes in reading strategy are universal. Accordingly, the present research used measures of eye movements to investigate adult age differences in Chinese reading. The eye movements of young (18-30 years) and older (60+ years) Chinese readers were recorded. The older adults exhibited typical patterns of age-related reading difficulty. But rather than employing a more risky reading strategy compared with the younger readers, the older adults read more carefully by skipping words infrequently, making shorter forward eye movements, and fixating closer to the beginnings of two-character target words in sentences. In contrast with the findings for alphabetic languages, older Chinese readers appear to compensate for age-related reading difficulty by employing a more careful reading strategy. Age-related changes in reading strategy therefore appear to be language specific, rather than universal, and may reflect the specific visual and linguistic requirements of the writing system.

  11. China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Gao

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of win–win cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability; a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice; and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

  12. China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    GAO Yun

    2016-01-01

    The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of winewin cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability;a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice;and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

  13. A Real-time Face/Hand Tracking Method for Chinese Sign Language Recognition

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    无

    2002-01-01

    This paper introduces a new Chinese Sign Language recognition (CSLR) system and a method of real-time tracking face and hand applied in the system. In the method, an improved agent algorithm is used to extract the region of face and hand and track them. Kalman filter is introduced to forecast the position and rectangle of search, and self-adapting of target color is designed to counteract the effect of illumination.

  14. Language Acculturation, Acculturation-Related Stress, and Marital Quality in Chinese American Couples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Yang; Neff, Lisa A; Kim, Su Yeong

    2018-04-01

    The current study examines the longitudinal indirect pathways linking language acculturation to marital quality. Three waves of data were collected from 416 Chinese American couples over eight years ( M age.wave1 = 48 for husbands, 44 for wives). Actor-partner interdependence model analyses revealed that for both husbands and wives, lower levels of language acculturation were associated with higher levels of stress over being stereotyped as a perpetual foreigner. Individuals' foreigner stress, in turn, was directly related to greater levels of their own and their partners' marital warmth, suggesting that foreigner stress may have some positive relational effects. However, individuals' foreigner stress also was associated with increases in their own depressive symptoms, which predicted higher levels of marital hostility in the partner. Overall, these results underscore the complexity of how language acculturation and foreigner stress relate to marital quality and the importance of considering the interdependence of the marital system.

  15. On Chinese Culture Curriculum Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Catherine

    2006-01-01

    The importance of cultural elements in foreign language teaching has been widely accepted in recent years. This applies particularly to the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) to non-native Chinese speakers at tertiary level in mainland China. However, there is no commonly accepted blueprint that defines the parts of Chinese culture…

  16. Tasks and learner motivation in learning Chinese as a foreign language

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ruan, Youjin; Duan, Xiaoju; Du, Xiangyun

    2015-01-01

    This study focuses on how beginner learners in a task-based teaching and learning (TBTL) environment perceive what is motivating to them in the process of learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) at Aalborg University (AAU), Denmark. Drawing upon empirical data from surveys, group interviews...... and participant observation, this study explores which kinds of tasks are perceived as motivating from the students’ perspective and which characteristics the learners associate with motivating tasks. The study indicates that it is important to consider the learners’ affective factors and learning situation...... factors, which can boost learners’ intrinsic motivation, when designing a task, especially at a beginning stage of foreign language learning, and to integrate cultural elements into tasks as an added value to motivate learners. Finally, this study identifies challenges and barriers related to TBTL...

  17. Climate of Tajikistan in connection with global climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khakimov, F.Kh.; Mirzokhonova, S.O.; Mirzokhonava, N.A.

    2006-01-01

    The analysis of global climate change for different periods and its consequences on regional climate is given. The chronology of climate change in Tajikistan in various regions and the reasons leading or resulted to these changes are changes are shown as well

  18. Communities under climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nogues, David Bravo; Rahbek, Carsten

    2011-01-01

    The distribution of species on Earth and the interactions among them are tightly linked to historical and contemporary climate, so that global climate change will transform the world in which we live. Biological models can now credibly link recent decadal trends in field data to climate change......, but predicting future impacts on biological communities is a major challenge. Attempts to move beyond general macroecological predictions of climate change impact on one hand, and observations from specific, local-scale cases, small-scale experiments, or studies of a few species on the other, raise a plethora...... of unanswered questions. On page 1124 of this issue, Harley (1) reports results that cast new light on how biodiversity, across different trophic levels, responds to climate change....

  19. Mobility and language change in real time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Monka, Malene

    Diachronic studies of the interrelationship between mobility and language change leave us with some unanswered questions of causation. The most important question is whether language change is caused by mobility, or if mobile informants mark themselves linguistically different than their non-mobi...... mobile and non-mobile informants. I also suggest a human geographic approach to place to explain the differences between the language change of the mobile informants (e.g. Britain 2009; Johnstone 2004).......Diachronic studies of the interrelationship between mobility and language change leave us with some unanswered questions of causation. The most important question is whether language change is caused by mobility, or if mobile informants mark themselves linguistically different than their non......-mobile peers prior to being geographically and socially mobile (e.g. Andersson & Thelander 1994). In the presentation I discuss this question by presenting a real time panel-study of language change in 23 speakers from three municipalities in distinct dialect areas in Denmark. The language change of six mobile...

  20. Climate change research in Canada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawson, K.

    1994-01-01

    The current consensus on climatic change in Canada is briefly summarized, noting the results of modelling of the effects of a doubling of atmospheric CO 2 , the nonuniformity of climate change across the country, the uncertainties in local responses to change, and the general agreement that 2-4 degrees of warming will occur for each doubling of CO 2 . Canadian government response includes programs aimed at reducing the uncertainties in the scientific understanding of climate change and in the socio-economic response to such change. Canadian climate change programs include participation in large-scale experiments on such topics as heat transport in the ocean, and sources and sinks of greenhouse gases; development of next-generation climate models; studying the social and economic effects of climate change in the Great Lakes Basin and Mackenzie River Basin; investigation of paleoclimates; and analysis of climate data for long-term trends

  1. Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

    2013-01-01

    . This absence of an agreement calls for adaptation to climate change. Emphasis should be put on buildings, as they play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, the building stock deserves its own policy and implementation plans as well as tools that enable...... adequate and cost-efficient adaptation to climate change. This paper explains the need for climate change adaptation of the building stock and suggests a pattern for a strategic approach to how to reach the climate change adaptation needed. The suggested and presented need of a strategic approach is based...... on three main initiatives consisting of the need to examine the potential impacts of climate change on the building stock, the need to assess and develop a roadmap of current and future adaptation measures that can withstand the effects of climate change, and the need to engage relevant stakeholders...

  2. Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

    2014-01-01

    . This absence of an agreement calls for adaptation to climate change. Emphasis should be put on buildings, as they play a vital economic and social role in society and are vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, the building stock deserves its own policy and implementation plans as well as tools that enable...... adequate and cost-efficient adaptation to climate change. This paper explains the need for climate change adaptation of the building stock and suggests a pattern for a strategic approach to how to reach the climate change adaptation needed. The suggested and presented need of a strategic approach is based...... on three main initiatives consisting of the need to examine the potential impacts of climate change on the building stock, the need to assess and develop a roadmap of current and future adaptation measures that can withstand the effects of climate change, and the need to engage relevant stakeholders...

  3. Climate Change in China : Exploring Informants' Perceptions of Climate Change through a Qualitative Approach

    OpenAIRE

    Lipin, Tan

    2016-01-01

    Climate change is not only a natural phenomenon, but also a global social issue. Many studies try to explore the mechanisms behind climate change and the consequences of climate change, and provide information for developing the measures to mitigate or adapt to it. For example, the IPCC reviews and assesses climate-change-related scientific information produced worldwide, thus aiming to support decision-making from a scientific perspective. However, though various international and regional c...

  4. The social construct of climate and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stehr, N.

    1994-01-01

    Different time scales of climate change and their differential perception in society are discussed. A historical examination of natural climate changes during the past millennium suggests that short-term changes, especially crucial changes, trigger a significant response in and by society. Short-term changes correspond to the 'time horizon of everyday life', that is, to a time scale from days and weeks to a few years. The anticipated anthropogenic climate changes, however, are expected to occur on a longer time scale. They require a response by society not on the basis of primary experience but on the basis of scientifically constructed scenarios and ways in which such information is represented in the modern media for example. Socio-economic impact research relies on concepts that are based on the premise of perfectly informed actors for the development of optimal adaptation strategies. In contrast to such a conception, we develop the concept of a 'social construct of climate' as decisive for the public perception of scientific knowledge about climate and for public policy on climate change. The concept is illustrated using a number of examples. (orig.)

  5. Brain responses before and after intensive second language learning: proficiency based changes and first language background effects in adult learners.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erin Jacquelyn White

    Full Text Available This longitudinal study tracked the neuro-cognitive changes associated with second language (L2 grammar learning in adults in order to investigate how L2 processing is shaped by a learner's first language (L1 background and L2 proficiency. Previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs have argued that late L2 learners cannot elicit a P600 in response to L2 grammatical structures that do not exist in the L1 or that are different in the L1 and L2. We tested whether the neuro-cognitive processes underlying this component become available after intensive L2 instruction. Korean- and Chinese late-L2-learners of English were tested at the beginning and end of a 9-week intensive English-L2 course. ERPs were recorded while participants read English sentences containing violations of regular past tense (a grammatical structure that operates differently in Korean and does not exist in Chinese. Whereas no P600 effects were present at the start of instruction, by the end of instruction, significant P600s were observed for both L1 groups. Latency differences in the P600 exhibited by Chinese and Korean speakers may be attributed to differences in L1-L2 reading strategies. Across all participants, larger P600 effects at session 2 were associated with: 1 higher levels of behavioural performance on an online grammaticality judgment task; and 2 with correct, rather than incorrect, behavioural responses. These findings suggest that the neuro-cognitive processes underlying the P600 (e.g., "grammaticalization" are modulated by individual levels of L2 behavioural performance and learning.

  6. Brain Responses before and after Intensive Second Language Learning: Proficiency Based Changes and First Language Background Effects in Adult Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Erin Jacquelyn; Genesee, Fred; Steinhauer, Karsten

    2012-01-01

    This longitudinal study tracked the neuro-cognitive changes associated with second language (L2) grammar learning in adults in order to investigate how L2 processing is shaped by a learner’s first language (L1) background and L2 proficiency. Previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have argued that late L2 learners cannot elicit a P600 in response to L2 grammatical structures that do not exist in the L1 or that are different in the L1 and L2. We tested whether the neuro-cognitive processes underlying this component become available after intensive L2 instruction. Korean- and Chinese late-L2-learners of English were tested at the beginning and end of a 9-week intensive English-L2 course. ERPs were recorded while participants read English sentences containing violations of regular past tense (a grammatical structure that operates differently in Korean and does not exist in Chinese). Whereas no P600 effects were present at the start of instruction, by the end of instruction, significant P600s were observed for both L1 groups. Latency differences in the P600 exhibited by Chinese and Korean speakers may be attributed to differences in L1–L2 reading strategies. Across all participants, larger P600 effects at session 2 were associated with: 1) higher levels of behavioural performance on an online grammaticality judgment task; and 2) with correct, rather than incorrect, behavioural responses. These findings suggest that the neuro-cognitive processes underlying the P600 (e.g., “grammaticalization”) are modulated by individual levels of L2 behavioural performance and learning. PMID:23300641

  7. Brain responses before and after intensive second language learning: proficiency based changes and first language background effects in adult learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Erin Jacquelyn; Genesee, Fred; Steinhauer, Karsten

    2012-01-01

    This longitudinal study tracked the neuro-cognitive changes associated with second language (L2) grammar learning in adults in order to investigate how L2 processing is shaped by a learner's first language (L1) background and L2 proficiency. Previous studies using event-related potentials (ERPs) have argued that late L2 learners cannot elicit a P600 in response to L2 grammatical structures that do not exist in the L1 or that are different in the L1 and L2. We tested whether the neuro-cognitive processes underlying this component become available after intensive L2 instruction. Korean- and Chinese late-L2-learners of English were tested at the beginning and end of a 9-week intensive English-L2 course. ERPs were recorded while participants read English sentences containing violations of regular past tense (a grammatical structure that operates differently in Korean and does not exist in Chinese). Whereas no P600 effects were present at the start of instruction, by the end of instruction, significant P600s were observed for both L1 groups. Latency differences in the P600 exhibited by Chinese and Korean speakers may be attributed to differences in L1-L2 reading strategies. Across all participants, larger P600 effects at session 2 were associated with: 1) higher levels of behavioural performance on an online grammaticality judgment task; and 2) with correct, rather than incorrect, behavioural responses. These findings suggest that the neuro-cognitive processes underlying the P600 (e.g., "grammaticalization") are modulated by individual levels of L2 behavioural performance and learning.

  8. The neurobiology of climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Sean

    2018-01-06

    Directional climate change (global warming) is causing rapid alterations in animals' environments. Because the nervous system is at the forefront of animals' interactions with the environment, the neurobiological implications of climate change are central to understanding how individuals, and ultimately populations, will respond to global warming. Evidence is accumulating for individual level, mechanistic effects of climate change on nervous system development and performance. Climate change can also alter sensory stimuli, changing the effectiveness of sensory and cognitive systems for achieving biological fitness. At the population level, natural selection forces stemming from directional climate change may drive rapid evolutionary change in nervous system structure and function.

  9. The neurobiology of climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Donnell, Sean

    2018-02-01

    Directional climate change (global warming) is causing rapid alterations in animals' environments. Because the nervous system is at the forefront of animals' interactions with the environment, the neurobiological implications of climate change are central to understanding how individuals, and ultimately populations, will respond to global warming. Evidence is accumulating for individual level, mechanistic effects of climate change on nervous system development and performance. Climate change can also alter sensory stimuli, changing the effectiveness of sensory and cognitive systems for achieving biological fitness. At the population level, natural selection forces stemming from directional climate change may drive rapid evolutionary change in nervous system structure and function.

  10. Trees and Climate Change

    OpenAIRE

    Dettenmaier, Megan; Kuhns, Michael; Unger, Bethany; McAvoy, Darren

    2017-01-01

    This fact sheet describes the complex relationship between forests and climate change based on current research. It explains ways that trees can mitigate some of the risks associated with climate change. It details the impacts that forests are having on the changing climate and discuss specific ways that trees can be used to reduce or counter carbon emissions directly and indirectly.

  11. Climate Change Action Fund: public education and outreach. Change: think climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-05-01

    This illustrated booklet provides a glimpse of the many creative approaches being adopted by educators, community groups, industry associations and governments at all levels to inform Canadians about the causes and effects of climate change. It also provides suggestions about how each individual person can contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through residential energy efficiency, by participating in ride-share programs, by planting trees and a myriad of other community action projects and public awareness campaigns. The booklet describes educational resources and training available to teachers, science presentations, climate change workshops, public awareness initiatives, community action on climate change, and sector-specific actions underway in the field of transportation and in improving energy efficiency in residential and large buildings. Descriptive summaries of the activities of organizations involved in climate change advocacy and promotion, and a list of contacts for individual projects also form part of the volume

  12. Changing Climates @ Colorado State: 100 (Multidisciplinary) Views of Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, S.; Calderazzo, J.; Changing Climates, Cmmap Education; Diversity Team

    2011-12-01

    We would like to talk about a multidisciplinary education and outreach program we co-direct at Colorado State University, with support from an NSF-funded STC, CMMAP, the Center for Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Processes. We are working to raise public literacy about climate change by providing information that is high quality, up to date, thoroughly multidisciplinary, and easy for non-specialists to understand. Our primary audiences are college-level students, their teachers, and the general public. Our motto is Climate Change is Everybody's Business. To encourage and help our faculty infuse climate-change content into their courses, we have organized some 115 talks given by as many different speakers-speakers drawn from 28 academic departments, all 8 colleges at CSU, and numerous other entities from campus, the community, and farther afield. We began with a faculty-teaching-faculty series and then broadened our attentions to the whole campus and surrounding community. Some talks have been for narrowly focused audiences such as extension agents who work on energy, but most are for more eclectic groups of students, staff, faculty, and citizens. We count heads at most events, and our current total is roughly 6,000. We have created a website (http://changingclimates.colostate.edu) that includes videotapes of many of these talks, short videos we have created, and annotated sources that we judge to be accurate, interesting, clearly written, and aimed at non-specialists, including books, articles and essays, websites, and a few items specifically for college teachers (such as syllabi). Pages of the website focus on such topics as how the climate works / how it changes; what's happening / what might happen; natural ecosystems; agriculture; impacts on people; responses from ethics, art, literature; communication; daily life; policy; energy; and-pulling all the pieces together-the big picture. We have begun working on a new series of very short videos that can be

  13. Climate change

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Marchal, V.; Dellink, R.; Vuuren, D.P. van; Clapp, C.; Chateau, J.; Magné, B.; Lanzi, E.; Vliet, J. van

    2012-01-01

    This chapter analyses the policy implications of the climate change challenge. Are current emission reduction pledges made in Copenhagen/Cancun enough to stabilise the climate and limit global average temperature increase to 2 oC? If not, what will the consequences be? What alternative growth

  14. Changes in the Perceived Risk of Climate Change: Evidence from Sudden Climatic Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anttila-Hughes, J. K.

    2009-12-01

    In the course of the past two decades the threat of anthropogenic climate change has moved from a scientific concern of relative obscurity to become one of the largest environmental and public goods problems in history. During this period public understanding of the risk of climate change has shifted from negligible to quite large. In this paper I propose a means of quantifying this change by examining how sudden events supporting the theory of anthropogenic climate change have affected carbon intensive companies' stock prices. Using CAPM event study methodology for companies in several carbon-intensive industries, I find strong evidence that markets have been reacting to changes in the scientific evidence for climate change for some time. Specifically, the change in magnitude of response over time seems to indicate that investors believed climate change was a potentially serious risk to corporate profits as early as the mid 1990s. Moreover, market reaction dependence on event type indicates that investors are differentiating between different advances in the scientific knowledge. Announcements by NASA GISS that the previous year was a “record hot year” for the globe are associated with negative excess returns, while news of ice shelf collapses are associated with strong positive excess returns. These results imply that investors are aware of how different aspects of climate change will affect carbon intensive companies, specifically in terms of the link between warming in general and polar ice cover. This implies that policy choices based on observable public opinion have lagged actual private concern over climate change's potential threat.

  15. Chemistry and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernier, Jean-Claude; Brasseur, Guy; Brechet, Yves; Candel, Sebastien; Cazenave, Anny; Courtillot, Vincent; Fontecave, Marc; Garnier, Emmanuel; Goebel, Philippe; Legrand, Jack; Legrand, Michel; Le Treut, Herve; Mauberger, Pascal; Dinh-Audouin, Minh-Thu; Olivier, Daniele; Rigny, Paul; Bigot, Bernard

    2016-01-01

    In its first part, this collective publication addresses the decennial and centuries-old variations of climate: perspectives and implications of climate change for the 21. century, questions remaining about the understanding of climate change from its sources to its modelling, extreme climate variations and societies during the last millennium. The contributions of the second part outline how chemistry is a tool to study climate change: ice chemistry as an archive of our past environment, observations and predictions on sea level rise, relationship between atmosphere chemistry and climate. The third set of contributions discusses the transformation of the energy system for a cleaner atmosphere and the management of the climate risk: the chemical processing of CO_2, actions of chemical companies to support the struggle against climate change, relationship between barrel price and renewable energies, relationship between grid complexity and green energy. The last part outlines the role chemistry can have to be able to do without fossil fuels: chemistry in front of challenges of transformation of the energy system, the use of micro-algae, the use of hydrogen as a vector of energy transition

  16. The potential effects of climate change on amphibian distribution, range fragmentation and turnover in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Ren-Yan; Kong, Xiao-Quan; Huang, Min-Yi; Varela, Sara; Ji, Xiang

    2016-01-01

    Many studies predict that climate change will cause species movement and turnover, but few have considered the effect of climate change on range fragmentation for current species and/or populations. We used MaxEnt to predict suitable habitat, fragmentation and turnover for 134 amphibian species in China under 40 future climate change scenarios spanning four pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6 and RCP8.5) and two time periods (the 2050s and 2070s). Our results show that climate change may cause a major shift in spatial patterns of amphibian diversity. Amphibians in China would lose 20% of their original ranges on average; the distribution outside current ranges would increase by 15%. Suitable habitats for over 90% of species will be located in the north of their current range, for over 95% of species in higher altitudes (from currently 137-4,124 m to 286-4,396 m in the 2050s or 314-4,448 m in the 2070s), and for over 75% of species in the west of their current range. Also, our results predict two different general responses to the climate change: some species contract their ranges while moving westwards, southwards and to higher altitudes, while others expand their ranges. Finally, our analyses indicate that range dynamics and fragmentation are related, which means that the effects of climate change on Chinese amphibians might be two-folded.

  17. The potential effects of climate change on amphibian distribution, range fragmentation and turnover in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ren-Yan Duan

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Many studies predict that climate change will cause species movement and turnover, but few have considered the effect of climate change on range fragmentation for current species and/or populations. We used MaxEnt to predict suitable habitat, fragmentation and turnover for 134 amphibian species in China under 40 future climate change scenarios spanning four pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6 and RCP8.5 and two time periods (the 2050s and 2070s. Our results show that climate change may cause a major shift in spatial patterns of amphibian diversity. Amphibians in China would lose 20% of their original ranges on average; the distribution outside current ranges would increase by 15%. Suitable habitats for over 90% of species will be located in the north of their current range, for over 95% of species in higher altitudes (from currently 137–4,124 m to 286–4,396 m in the 2050s or 314–4,448 m in the 2070s, and for over 75% of species in the west of their current range. Also, our results predict two different general responses to the climate change: some species contract their ranges while moving westwards, southwards and to higher altitudes, while others expand their ranges. Finally, our analyses indicate that range dynamics and fragmentation are related, which means that the effects of climate change on Chinese amphibians might be two-folded.

  18. Development of a patient safety climate survey for Chinese hospitals: cross-national adaptation and psychometric evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Junya; Li, Liping; Zhao, Hailei; Han, Guangshu; Wu, Albert W; Weingart, Saul N

    2014-10-01

    Existing patient safety climate instruments, most of which have been developed in the USA, may not accurately reflect the conditions in the healthcare systems of other countries. To develop and evaluate a patient safety climate instrument for healthcare workers in Chinese hospitals. Based on a review of existing instruments, expert panel review, focus groups and cognitive interviews, we developed items relevant to patient safety climate in Chinese hospitals. The draft instrument was distributed to 1700 hospital workers from 54 units in six hospitals in five Chinese cities between July and October 2011, and 1464 completed surveys were received. We performed exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and estimated internal consistency reliability, within-unit agreement, between-unit variation, unit-mean reliability, correlation between multi-item composites, and association between the composites and two single items of perceived safety. The final instrument included 34 items organised into nine composites: institutional commitment to safety, unit management support for safety, organisational learning, safety system, adequacy of safety arrangements, error reporting, communication and peer support, teamwork and staffing. All composites had acceptable unit-mean reliabilities (≥0.74) and within-unit agreement (Rwg ≥0.71), and exhibited significant between-unit variation with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 9% to 21%. Internal consistency reliabilities ranged from 0.59 to 0.88 and were ≥0.70 for eight of the nine composites. Correlations between composites ranged from 0.27 to 0.73. All composites were positively and significantly associated with the two perceived safety items. The Chinese Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Climate demonstrates adequate dimensionality, reliability and validity. The integration of qualitative and quantitative methods is essential to produce an instrument that is culturally appropriate for Chinese hospitals

  19. Climate change refugia as a tool for climate adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Climate change refugia, areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change so as to increase persistence of valued physical, ecological, and cultural resources, are considered as potential adaptation options in the face of anthropogenic climate change. In a collaboration ...

  20. Applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in Foreign Language Reading: An Investigation with Chinese College English Language Learners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Feifei

    2017-01-01

    While some first language (L1) reading models suggest that inefficient word recognition and small working memory tend to inhibit higher-level comprehension processes; the Compensatory Encoding Model maintains that slow word recognition and small working memory do not normally hinder reading comprehension, as readers are able to operate metacognitive strategies to compensate for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation as long as readers process a reading task without time constraint. Although empirical evidence is accumulated for support of the Compensatory Encoding Model in L1 reading, there is lack of research for testing of the Compensatory Encoding Model in foreign language (FL) reading. This research empirically tested the Compensatory Encoding Model in English reading among Chinese college English language learners (ELLs). Two studies were conducted. Study one focused on testing whether reading condition varying time affects the relationship between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension. Students were tested on a computerized English word recognition test, a computerized Operation Span task, and reading comprehension in time constraint and non-time constraint reading. The correlation and regression analyses showed that the strength of association was much stronger between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension in time constraint than that in non-time constraint reading condition. Study two examined whether FL readers were able to operate metacognitive reading strategies as a compensatory way of reading comprehension for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation in non-time constraint reading. The participants were tested on the same computerized English word recognition test and Operation Span test. They were required to think aloud while reading and to complete the comprehension questions. The think-aloud protocols were coded for concurrent use of reading strategies, classified

  1. Climate change. Climate in Medieval time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Raymond S; Hughes, Malcolm K; Diaz, Henry F

    2003-10-17

    Many papers have referred to a "Medieval Warm Period." But how well defined is climate in this period, and was it as warm as or warmer than it is today? In their Perspective, Bradley et al. review the evidence and conclude that although the High Medieval (1100 to 1200 A.D.) was warmer than subsequent centuries, it was not warmer than the late 20th century. Moreover, the warmest Medieval temperatures were not synchronous around the globe. Large changes in precipitation patterns are a particular characteristic of "High Medieval" time. The underlying mechanisms for such changes must be elucidated further to inform the ongoing debate on natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change.

  2. Papers of the CWRA climate change symposium : understanding climate change impacts on Manitoba's water resources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    This symposium provided an opportunity for discussions on climate change issues with particular reference to the impacts on Manitoba's water resources. The presentations addressed issues of importance to governments, scientists, academics, managers, consultants and the general public. Topics of discussion ranged from climate change impacts on water quality, wetlands, hydropower, fisheries and drought, to adaptation to climate change. Recent advances in global and regional climate modelling were highlighted along with paleo-environmental indicators of climate change. The objective was to provide a better understanding of the science of climate change. The conference featured 16 presentations of which 1 was indexed separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

  3. Reading in Asian Languages: Making Sense of Written Texts in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Kenneth S., Ed.; Wang, Shaomei, Ed.; Iventosch, Mieko, Ed.; Goodman, Yetta M., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    "Reading in Asian Languages" is rich with information about how literacy works in the non-alphabetic writing systems (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) used by hundreds of millions of people and refutes the common Western belief that such systems are hard to learn or to use. The contributors share a comprehensive view of reading as construction…

  4. Climate change and human health

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Warren, John A; Berner, James E; Curtis, Tine

    2005-01-01

    In northern regions, climate change can include changes in precipitation magnitude and frequency, reductions in sea ice extent and thickness, and climate warming and cooling. These changes can increase the frequency and severity of storms, flooding, or erosion; other changes may include drought...... or degradation of permafrost. Climate change can result in damage to sanitation infrastructure resulting in the spread of disease or threatening a community's ability to maintain its economy, geographic location and cultural tradition, leading to mental stress. Through monitoring of some basic indicators...... communities can begin to develop a response to climate change. With this information, planners, engineers, health care professionals and governments can begin to develop approaches to address the challenges related to climate change....

  5. Climate Change Adaptation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hudecz, Adriána

    The European Union ROADEX Project 1998 – 2012 was a trans-national roads co-operation aimed at developing ways for interactive and innovative management of low traffic volume roads throughout the cold climate regions of the Northern Periphery Area of Europe. Its goals were to facilitate co......-operation and research into the common problems of the Northern Periphery. This report is an output of the ROADEX “Implementing Accessibility” project (2009-2012). It gives a summary of the results of research into adaptation measures to combat climate change effects on low volume roads in the Northern Periphery...... causes changes in other climatic variables such as rainfall, humidity and wind speed that impact on the functioning of infrastructure such road networks. This paper discusses the climate changes predicted by the world’s meteorological organisations and considers how these may impact on the public...

  6. Adapting the wine industry in China to climate change: Challenges and opportunities

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Yuanbo; Bardaji de Azcarate, Isabel

    2017-01-01

    Recently, China has become an exciting wine consumer market and one of the most important wine producers. China?s domestic wine industry is in the enviable position of contributing approximately 70 % of the total wine consumed with a 1.36 billion population market and the second largest world economy. Current studies of the Chinese wine industry are mostly focused on the wine market. However, global climate change, which affects the quantity, quality and distribution of wine, will have a stro...

  7. The Effects of Wiki-Based Recursive Process Writing on Chinese Narrative Essays for Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) Students in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chin, Chee Kuen; Gong, Cheng; Tay, Boon Pei

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports on the effects of using wiki-based process writing in Singapore's Chinese as a Second Language (CSL) scenarios. A group of 32 Secondary 1 (Seventh Grade) students ("Students") received various forms of online scaffolding at different steps of the writing process over two years. A whole set of teaching materials on 45…

  8. Analysis and detection of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thejll, P.; Stendel, M.

    2001-01-01

    The authors first discuss the concepts 'climate' and 'climate change detection', outlining the difficulties of the latter in terms of the properties of the former. In more detail they then discuss the analysis and detection, carried out at the Danish Climate Centre, of anthropogenic climate change and the nonanthropogenic changes regarding anthropogenic climate change the emphasis is on the improvement of global and regional climate models, and the reconstruction of past climates regarding non-anthropogenic changes the authors describe two case studies of potential solar influence on climate. (LN)

  9. Yukon Government climate change action plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-02-01

    This Climate Change Action Plan described the measures that are being taken by the Yukon Government to adapt to, understand, and reduce contributions to climate change. The action plan is the result of input received from more than 100 individuals and organizations and provides clear direction for a strategy that will minimize the negative impacts of climate change and provide economic, social and other environmental benefits through climate change mitigation. The Yukon government has already taken many actions that respond to climate change, such as: developing the Yukon Cold Climate Innovation Centre; supporting the Northern Climate Exchange for public education and outreach; funding community recycling depots and other groups that reduce waste generation, promote public awareness and divert solid waste; and working with provincial and territorial counterparts to enhance national building standards. The main objectives of the climate change actions are to enhance knowledge and understanding of climate change; adapt to climate change; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and lead Yukon action in response to climate change. tabs., figs.

  10. Climate change and nutrition: creating a climate for nutrition security.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tirado, M C; Crahay, P; Mahy, L; Zanev, C; Neira, M; Msangi, S; Brown, R; Scaramella, C; Costa Coitinho, D; Müller, A

    2013-12-01

    Climate change further exacerbates the enormous existing burden of undernutrition. It affects food and nutrition security and undermines current efforts to reduce hunger and promote nutrition. Undernutrition in turn undermines climate resilience and the coping strategies of vulnerable populations. The objectives of this paper are to identify and undertake a cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the existing mechanisms, strategies, and policies to address them. A cross-sectoral analysis of the impacts of climate change on nutrition security and the mechanisms and policies to address them was guided by an analytical framework focused on the three 'underlying causes' of undernutrition: 1) household food access, 2) maternal and child care and feeding practices, 3) environmental health and health access. The analytical framework includes the interactions of the three underlying causes of undernutrition with climate change,vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation. Within broad efforts on climate change mitigation and adaptation and climate-resilient development, a combination of nutrition-sensitive adaptation and mitigation measures, climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agricultural development, social protection, improved maternal and child care and health, nutrition-sensitive risk reduction and management, community development measures, nutrition-smart investments, increased policy coherence, and institutional and cross-sectoral collaboration are proposed as a means to address the impacts of climate change to food and nutrition security. This paper proposes policy directions to address nutrition in the climate change agenda and recommendations for consideration by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Nutrition and health stakeholders need to be engaged in key climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives, including science-based assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC

  11. An overview of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masson-Delmotte, V.; Paillard, D.

    2004-01-01

    We describe briefly here the main mechanisms and time scales involved in natural and anthropogenic climate variability, based on quantitative paleo-climatic reconstructions from natural archives and climate model simulations: the large glacial-interglacial cycles of the last million years (the Quaternary), lasting typically a hundred thousand years, triggered by changes in the solar radiation received by the Earth due to its position around the Sun; the century-long climatic changes occurring during last glacial period and triggered by recurrent iceberg discharges of the large northern hemisphere ice caps, massive freshwater flux to the north Atlantic, and changes in the ocean heat transport. We show the strong coupling between past climatic changes and global biogeochemical cycles, namely here atmospheric greenhouse gases. We also discuss the decadal climatic fluctuations during the last thousand years, showing an unprecedented warming attributed to the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. We show the range of atmospheric greenhouse concentrations forecasted for the end of the 21. century and the climate model predictions for global temperature changes during the 21. century. We also discuss the possible climatic changes at longer time scales involving the possibility of north Atlantic heat transport collapse (possibility of abrupt climate change), and the duration of the current interglacial period. (author)

  12. Confucius Institute Programming in the United States: Language Ideology, Hegemony, and the Making of Chinese Culture in University Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stambach, Amy

    2015-01-01

    This article explores how Confucius Institute teachers and U.S. students use language to index qualities of Chinese people and culture. The study draws on the model of "linguistic fact" to argue that students' and teachers' contextualized use of language occurs in relation to their different yet naturalized assumptions about a commonly…

  13. The Construction of Cultural Values and Beliefs in Chinese Language Textbooks: A Critical Discourse Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yongbing

    2005-01-01

    This article examines the discourses of cultural values and beliefs constructed in Chinese language textbooks currently used for primary school students nationwide in China. By applying story grammar analysis in the framework of critical discourse analysis, the article critically investigates how the discourses are constructed and what ideological…

  14. Climates Past, Present, and Yet-to-Come Shape Climate Change Vulnerabilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadeau, Christopher P; Urban, Mark C; Bridle, Jon R

    2017-10-01

    Climate change is altering life at multiple scales, from genes to ecosystems. Predicting the vulnerability of populations to climate change is crucial to mitigate negative impacts. We suggest that regional patterns of spatial and temporal climatic variation scaled to the traits of an organism can predict where and why populations are most vulnerable to climate change. Specifically, historical climatic variation affects the sensitivity and response capacity of populations to climate change by shaping traits and the genetic variation in those traits. Present and future climatic variation can affect both climate change exposure and population responses. We provide seven predictions for how climatic variation might affect the vulnerability of populations to climate change and suggest key directions for future research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Gender Issues in Language Change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Deborah

    2003-01-01

    Drawing on recent work in variationist sociolinguistics, sociology of language and linguistic anthropology, focuses on new approaches to explaining gender differentiated patterns of sound change and language shift, the success or failure of planned linguistic reforms, and changes in the social evaluation of gendered speech styles. (Author/VWL)

  16. The Inuit and climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fenge, T.

    2001-12-31

    Marked climate change has been forecast for regions in high latitudes by global climate models presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Observations and reports of significant alterations to the natural environment of Canada's north have been reported by Inuit and other indigenous peoples using their traditional ecological knowledge as a reference. Global climate change appears to be the cause for the changes noted. Many aspects of climate change need to be addressed, such as research, outreach, impacts, adaptations and international negotiations. Based on the strong partnership that had been developed between the Inuit and four federal agencies, three territorial governments and four indigenous people's organizations in support of the Northern Contaminants Program, Inuit are now seeking a partnership with the federal government to address the issues mentioned above concerning climate change. refs., 1 tab.

  17. Adapting to climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arndt, Channing; Strzepek, Kenneth; Tarp, Finn

    2011-01-01

    Mozambique, like many African countries, is already highly susceptible to climate variability and extreme weather events. Climate change threatens to heighten this vulnerability. In order to evaluate potential impacts and adaptation options for Mozambique, we develop an integrated modeling...... framework that translates atmospheric changes from general circulation model projections into biophysical outcomes via detailed hydrologic, crop, hydropower and infrastructure models. These sector models simulate a historical baseline and four extreme climate change scenarios. Sector results are then passed...... down to a dynamic computable general equilibrium model, which is used to estimate economy-wide impacts on national welfare, as well as the total cost of damages caused by climate change. Potential damages without changes in policy are significant; our discounted estimates range from US2.3 to US2.3toUS7...

  18. Flexible global ocean-atmosphere-land system model. A modeling tool for the climate change research community

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Tianjun; Yu, Yongqiang; Liu, Yimin; Wang, Bin

    2014-01-01

    First book available on systematic evaluations of the performance of the global climate model FGOALS. Covers the whole field, ranging from the development to the applications of this climate system model. Provide an outlook for the future development of the FGOALS model system. Offers brief introduction about how to run FGOALS. Coupled climate system models are of central importance for climate studies. A new model known as FGOALS (the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model), has been developed by the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LASG/IAP, CAS), a first-tier national geophysical laboratory. It serves as a powerful tool, both for deepening our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of the climate system and for making decadal prediction and scenario projections of future climate change. ''Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model: A Modeling Tool for the Climate Change Research Community'' is the first book to offer systematic evaluations of this model's performance. It is comprehensive in scope, covering both developmental and application-oriented aspects of this climate system model. It also provides an outlook of future development of FGOALS and offers an overview of how to employ the model. It represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working within the related areas of climate variability and change.

  19. Multilingual home environment and specific language impairment: a case-control study in Chinese children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheuk, Daniel Ka Leung; Wong, Virginia; Leung, Gabriel Matthew

    2005-07-01

    Specific language impairment (SLI) is a common developmental disorder in young children. To investigate the association between multilingual home environment and SLI, we conducted a case-control study in Hong Kong Chinese children over a 4-year period in the Duchess of Kent Children's Hospital. Consecutive medical records of all new referrals below 5 years of age were reviewed and children diagnosed with SLI (case) were compared with those referred with other developmental and behavioural problems who had been assessed as having normal language and overall development (control) using the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scale. SLI was defined as those with a language quotient more than one standard deviation below the mean and below the general developmental quotient in children with normal general developmental quotient, but without neurological or other organic diseases. We used binary and ordinal logistic regression to assess any association between SLI and multilingual exposure at home, adjusting for age and gender of subjects, parental age, education level and occupational status, number of siblings, family history of language delay and main caregiver at home. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine the effect of covariates on the language comprehension and expression standard scores assessed by the Reynell Developmental Language Scale. A total of 326 cases and 304 controls were included. The mean ages of cases and controls were 2.56 and 2.89 years respectively. Boys predominated in both groups (cases, 75.2%; controls, 60.2%). The children were exposed to between one and four languages at home, the major ones being Cantonese Chinese followed by English. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of SLI was 2.94; [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.82, 4.74] for multilingual compared with monolingual exposure. A significant linear dose-response relationship was found (OR of SLI = 2.58 [1.72, 3.88] for each additional language to which the child was exposed). Male

  20. Climate change research - Danish contributions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joergensen, A.M.K.; Fenger, J.; Halsnaes, K.

    2001-01-01

    The book describes a series of Danish scientific and technical studies. They broadly reflect the fields and disciplines embraced by assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but with an emphasis on natural sciences (i.e. climate investigations and impact studies). After the general introduction, that presents the issue and gives a summary of the content of the book, the chapters are organised in four parts: 1. The Climate System and Climate Variations. 2. Climate Change Scenarios. 3. Impacts of Climate Change. 4. Policy Aspects. Each chapter is indexed separately. (LN)

  1. Climate change impacts on crop yield and quality with CO2 fertilization in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erda, Lin; Wei, Xiong; Hui, Ju; Yinlong, Xu; Yue, Li; Liping, Bai; Liyong, Xie

    2005-01-01

    A regional climate change model (PRECIS) for China, developed by the UK's Hadley Centre, was used to simulate China's climate and to develop climate change scenarios for the country. Results from this project suggest that, depending on the level of future emissions, the average annual temperature increase in China by the end of the twenty-first century may be between 3 and 4 °C. Regional crop models were driven by PRECIS output to predict changes in yields of key Chinese food crops: rice, maize and wheat. Modelling suggests that climate change without carbon dioxide (CO2) fertilization could reduce the rice, maize and wheat yields by up to 37% in the next 20–80 years. Interactions of CO2 with limiting factors, especially water and nitrogen, are increasingly well understood and capable of strongly modulating observed growth responses in crops. More complete reporting of free-air carbon enrichment experiments than was possible in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Third Assessment Report confirms that CO2 enrichment under field conditions consistently increases biomass and yields in the range of 5–15%, with CO2 concentration elevated to 550 ppm Levels of CO2 that are elevated to more than 450 ppm will probably cause some deleterious effects in grain quality. It seems likely that the extent of the CO2 fertilization effect will depend upon other factors such as optimum breeding, irrigation and nutrient applications. PMID:16433100

  2. Climate engineering research : A precautionary response to climate change?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reynolds, J.L.; Fleurke, F.M.

    2013-01-01

    In the face of dire forecasts for anthropogenic climate change, climate engineering is increasingly discussed as a possible additional set of responses to reduce climate change’s threat. These proposals have been controversial, in part because they – like climate change itself – pose uncertain risks

  3. Variation in adult stress resistance does not explain vulnerability to climate change in copper butterflies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klockmann, Michael; Wallmeyer, Leonard; Fischer, Klaus

    2017-03-15

    Ongoing climate change is a major threat to biodiversity. However, although many species clearly suffer from ongoing climate change, others benefit from it, for example, by showing range expansions. However, which specific features determine a species' vulnerability to climate change? Phenotypic plasticity, which has been described as the first line of defence against environmental change, may be of utmost importance here. Against this background, we here compare plasticity in stress tolerance in 3 copper butterfly species, which differ arguably in their vulnerability to climate change. Specifically, we investigated heat, cold and desiccation resistance after acclimatization to different temperatures in the adult stage. We demonstrate that acclimation at a higher temperature increased heat but decreased cold tolerance and desiccation resistance. Contrary to our predictions, species did not show pronounced variation in stress resistance, though plastic capacities in temperature stress resistance did vary across species. Overall, our results seemed to reflect population-rather than species-specific patterns. We conclude that the geographical origin of the populations used should be considered even in comparative studies. However, our results suggest that, in the 3 species studied here, vulnerability to climate change is not in the first place determined by stress resistance in the adult stage. As entomological studies focus all too often on adults only, we argue that more research effort should be dedicated to other developmental stages when trying to understand insect responses to environmental change. © 2017 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  4. The state of climate change adaptation in the Arctic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, James D; McDowell, Graham; Jones, Julie

    2014-01-01

    The Arctic climate is rapidly changing, with wide ranging impacts on natural and social systems. A variety of adaptation policies, programs and practices have been adopted to this end, yet our understanding of if, how, and where adaptation is occurring is limited. In response, this paper develops a systematic approach to characterize the current state of adaptation in the Arctic. Using reported adaptations in the English language peer reviewed literature as our data source, we document 157 discrete adaptation initiatives between 2003 and 2013. Results indicate large variations in adaptation by region and sector, dominated by reporting from North America, particularly with regards to subsistence harvesting by Inuit communities. Few adaptations were documented in the European and Russian Arctic, or have a focus on the business and economy, or infrastructure sectors. Adaptations are being motivated primarily by the combination of climatic and non-climatic factors, have a strong emphasis on reducing current vulnerability involving incremental changes to existing risk management processes, and are primarily initiated and led at the individual/community level. There is limited evidence of trans-boundary adaptations or initiatives considering potential cross-scale/sector impacts. (letter)

  5. Zika virus: A call to action for physicians in the era of climate change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Tony Yang, Sc.D., LL.M., M.P.H.

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In February 2016, the World Health Organization declared the mosquito-borne Zika virus to be a “public health emergency of international concern” as the disease linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil spreads rapidly. The distribution of the Aedes mosquitos has drastically increased over the past few decades, which have been the hottest decades on Earth in more than 1000 years based on climate proxy measures. Although a combination of factors explains the current Zika virus outbreak, it's highly likely that the changes in the climate contribute to the spread of Aedes vector carrying the Zika virus, the pathogen causing serious birth defects. Physicians, both individually and collectively, as trusted and educated members of society have critical roles to play. In addition to clinical management and prevention of Zika, physicians should communicate about the health benefits of addressing climate change in straightforward evidence-based language to their local communities and policymakers, and make clear their support for policies mitigating climate change.

  6. Climate change, conflict and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowles, Devin C; Butler, Colin D; Morisetti, Neil

    2015-10-01

    Future climate change is predicted to diminish essential natural resource availability in many regions and perhaps globally. The resulting scarcity of water, food and livelihoods could lead to increasingly desperate populations that challenge governments, enhancing the risk of intra- and interstate conflict. Defence establishments and some political scientists view climate change as a potential threat to peace. While the medical literature increasingly recognises climate change as a fundamental health risk, the dimension of climate change-associated conflict has so far received little attention, despite its profound health implications. Many analysts link climate change with a heightened risk of conflict via causal pathways which involve diminishing or changing resource availability. Plausible consequences include: increased frequency of civil conflict in developing countries; terrorism, asymmetric warfare, state failure; and major regional conflicts. The medical understanding of these threats is inadequate, given the scale of health implications. The medical and public health communities have often been reluctant to interpret conflict as a health issue. However, at times, medical workers have proven powerful and effective peace advocates, most notably with regard to nuclear disarmament. The public is more motivated to mitigate climate change when it is framed as a health issue. Improved medical understanding of the association between climate change and conflict could strengthen mitigation efforts and increase cooperation to cope with the climate change that is now inevitable. © The Royal Society of Medicine.

  7. The Role of Motivation in Self-regulated Learning and Language Learning Strategy: In the Case of Chinese EFL Learners

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Banisaeid

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Although self-regulation, derived from educational psychology, is a new topic in the second language learning field, language learning strategy was the main focus of many studies in the last two decades. Also, among the L2 individual differences, motivation plays an important role in achieving the educational goals. In this research, motivation is investigated from self-determination theory by which five types of motivation are presented. No study was found to investigate the role of motivation in both self-regulation and language learning strategy. For such a purpose, 49 Chinese EFL learners respond to SILL, MSLQ and LLOS_IEA respectively proposed by Oxford (1990, Pintrich et al (1991 and Noel et al (2000. The results running Pearson correlation showed that there is a significant relationship between motivation, self-regulation and language learning strategies. It is also revealed that Chinese EFL learners use memory, social and affective strategy more than the other ones. The most common motivational orientation is identified regulation. Among self-regulated learning strategies, effort regulation is highly used by them. At the end some implication is considered.

  8. Forestry Canada's perspectives on climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hall, J.P.; Carlson, L.W.

    1990-01-01

    The impacts of climatic change on Canada's forestry sector are discussed, in the context of major research priorities relating to forecasting climate, forecasting forest responses, monitoring changes, mitigating effects, and understanding the forest carbon balance. There are five major concerns that affect policy decisions: effects of climatic change on forests; adaptation to climate change; impacts of changing crops on forestry; changing forestry values in changing sociological settings; and international implications of the changing climate. A scientific program to respond to climate change issues is required, and should include the following concentrations of research effort. Planning requires projections of likely future climates, and efforts should concern relations between pre-historic climates and forest ecosystems and integrating data into predictive models. Forecasting of response of forests should include tree physiology, factors controlling reforestation, variations in forest trees, effects of pollutants, damage to forests, and forest decline

  9. Birth Cohort Changes in Chinese College Students' Loneliness and Social Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Sufei; Xin, Ziqiang

    2016-01-01

    With the dramatic recent changes in Chinese society, Chinese college students' average levels of loneliness and social support might also have changed across their birth cohorts. The present cross-temporal meta-analysis of 56 studies (N = 21,541) found that Chinese college students' scores on the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) increased…

  10. Climate Change Indicators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Presents information, charts and graphs showing measured climate changes across 40 indicators related to greenhouse gases, weather and climate, oceans, snow and ice, heath and society, and ecosystems.

  11. Differential Influences of Parental Home Literacy Practices and Anxiety in English as a Foreign Language on Chinese Children's English Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin; Chui, Barbie Hiu-Tung; Lai, Michael Wei-Chun; Kwok, Sylvia Y. C. L.

    2017-01-01

    This study investigated the differential influences of maternal and paternal factors on Chinese children's English as a foreign language development. It took into account both behavioral (i.e. parental home literacy practices, HLP; and children's vocabulary knowledge) and emotional (i.e. parental and children's foreign language reading anxiety,…

  12. When climate science became climate politics: British media representations of climate change in 1988.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte

    2014-02-01

    Climate change has become a pressing environmental concern for scientists, social commentators and politicians. Previous social science research has explored media representations of climate change in various temporal and geographical contexts. Through the lens of Social Representations Theory, this article provides a detailed qualitative thematic analysis of media representations of climate change in the 1988 British broadsheet press, given that this year constitutes an important juncture in this transition of climate change from the domain of science to that of the socio-political sphere. The following themes are outlined: (i) "Climate change: a multi-faceted threat"; (ii) "Collectivisation of threat"; (iii) "Climate change and the attribution of blame"; and (iv) "Speculative solutions to a complex socio-environmental problem." The article provides detailed empirical insights into the "starting-point" for present-day disputes concerning climate change and lays the theoretical foundations for tracking the continuities and discontinuities characterising social representations of climate change in the future.

  13. Foreign Language Teachers' Language Proficiency and Their Language Teaching Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Heather; Conway, Clare; Roskvist, Annelies; Harvey, Sharon

    2013-01-01

    Teachers' subject knowledge is recognized as an essential component of effective teaching. In the foreign language context, teachers' subject knowledge includes language proficiency. In New Zealand high schools, foreign languages (e.g. Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish) have recently been offered to learners earlier in their schooling,…

  14. AHP 44: DEVELOPMENT OF DAOHUA: SOCIAL CONTEXTS OF A CHINESE-TIBETAN CREOLE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Litong Chen 陳利砼

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Daohua is a recently-discovered Chinese-Tibetan creole spoken in Yajiang County, Sichuan Province, China. While its lexicon is predominantly Chinese, its grammar is basically Tibetan. This study investigates the social contexts of the development of Daohua in the past three centuries, which is divided into two stages. The watershed is the early 1950s, when Chinese language classes started to be consistently taught in Yajiang. In each stage, Daohua presents specific characteristics and is compared with other well-known creoles. In the first stage, the formation process of Daohua resembles natural second language acquisition (SLA. Due to constant input of the superstrate language by continuous Chinese immigrants, Daohua in this stage developed as an intermediate creole without processes of radical restructuring. In the second stage, the formation of Daohua changed to a combination of both natural SLA and monitored SLA. Demographic evidence from historical records, especially local annals, supports this argument.

  15. Managing for climate change on federal lands of the western United States: perceived usefulness of climate science, effectiveness of adaptation strategies, and barriers to implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kerry B. Kemp

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Recent mandates in the United States require federal agencies to incorporate climate change science into land management planning efforts. These mandates target possible adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, the degree to which climate change is actively being considered in agency planning and management decisions is largely unknown. We explored the usefulness of climate change science for federal resource managers, focusing on the efficacy of potential adaptation strategies and barriers limiting the use of climate change science in adaptation efforts. Our study was conducted in the northern Rocky Mountains region of the western United States, where we interacted with 77 U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management personnel through surveys, semistructured interviews, and four collaborative workshops at locations across Idaho and Montana. We used a mixed-methods approach to evaluate managers' perceptions about adapting to and mitigating for climate change. Although resource managers incorporate general language about climate change in regional and landscape-level planning documents, they are currently not planning on-the-ground adaptation or mitigation projects. However, managers felt that their organizations were most likely to adapt to climate change through use of existing management strategies that are already widely implemented for other non climate-related management goals. These existing strategies, (e.g., thinning and prescribed burning are perceived as more feasible than new climate-specific methods (e.g., assisted migration because they already have public and agency support, accomplish multiple goals, and require less anticipation of the future timing and probability of climate change impacts. Participants reported that the most common barriers to using climate change information included a lack of management-relevant climate change science, inconsistent agency guidance, and insufficient time and resources to access

  16. Our knowledge on climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Turkenburg, W.C.; Van Wijk, A.J.M.

    1991-01-01

    A workshop was organised to evaluate and discuss the report 'Scientific Assessment of Climate Change (1990)' of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thirty prominent Dutch experts in the field attended the workshop. The introductions and discussions held on our knowledge of climatic change as a result of the growth of the greenhouse effect caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from human actions are presented. It is concluded that the IPCC-report shows in a clear and balanced way the certainties and uncertainties in our knowledge of climate change. There is a large chance that the earth's climate will change considerably, if the policy remains unamended. 15 figs., 2 apps

  17. Factors associated with foreign language anxiety : A study of Chinese university learners of Japanese and English

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jin, Yinxing; de Bot, Kees; Keijzer, Merel

    2015-01-01

    This paper reports a study that investigates and compares the effects of foreign language proficiency, social status of a learner’s family, self-esteem, and competitiveness on FL anxiety. Chinese university students (N = 146), who were learning Japanese and English, participated in this study.

  18. Climate change: biological and human aspects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jonathan Cowie

    2007-07-15

    The textbook provides a broad review of past, present and likely future climate change from the viewpoints of biology, ecology and human ecology. Contents are: 1. An introduction to climate change; 2. Principal indicators of past climates; 3. Past climate change; 4. The Oligocene to the Quaternary: climate and biology; 5. Present climate and biological change; 6. Current warming and likely future impacts; 7. Human ecology of climate change; 8. Sustainability and policy; Appendix 1. Glossary and acronyms; Appendix 2. Bio-geological timescale; Appendix 3. Calculations of energy demand/supply, and orders of magnitude; Index. 69 figs.

  19. Our Changing Climate: A Brand New Way to Study Climate Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brey, J. A.; Kauffman, C.; Geer, I.; Nugnes, K. A.; Mills, E. W.

    2014-12-01

    Earth's climate is inherently variable, but is currently changing at rates unprecedented in recent Earth history. Human activity plays a major role in this change and is projected to do so well into the future. This is the stance taken in Our Changing Climate, the brand new climate science ebook from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). Our Changing Climate investigates Earth's climate system, explores humans' impact on it, and identifies actions needed in response to climate change. Released in August 2014, Our Changing Climate is the result of a year's worth of intensive research and writing, incorporating the latest scientific understandings of Earth's climate system from reports such as IPCC AR5 and the Third National Climate Assessment. To encourage additional exploration of climate science information, scientific literature, from which chapter content was derived, is cited at the conclusion of each chapter. In addition, Topic In Depth sections appear throughout each chapter and lead to more extensive information related to various topics. For example, a Topic In Depth in Chapter 11 describes the effect of climate extremes on ranching enterprises in Nebraska. Climate science is multi-disciplinary and therefore Our Changing Climate covers a breadth of topics. From understanding basic statistics and geospatial tools used to investigate Earth's climate system to examining the psychological and financial reasons behind climate change denial, the AMS believes that a multi-disciplinary approach is the most effective way to increase climate literacy. Our Changing Climate is part of the AMS Climate Studies course which is intended for undergraduate-level students. Other course materials include an eInvestigations Manual and access to the RealTime Climate Portal, both of which provide weekly activities corresponding to that week's chapter content. The RealTime Climate Portal also has links to climate data as well as societal interactions and climate policy

  20. Climate change and One Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinsstag, Jakob; Crump, Lisa; Schelling, Esther; Hattendorf, Jan; Maidane, Yahya Osman; Ali, Kadra Osman; Muhummed, Abdifatah; Umer, Abdurezak Adem; Aliyi, Ferzua; Nooh, Faisal; Abdikadir, Mohammed Ibrahim; Ali, Seid Mohammed; Hartinger, Stella; Mäusezahl, Daniel; de White, Monica Berger Gonzalez; Cordon-Rosales, Celia; Castillo, Danilo Alvarez; McCracken, John; Abakar, Fayiz; Cercamondi, Colin; Emmenegger, Sandro; Maier, Edith; Karanja, Simon; Bolon, Isabelle; de Castañeda, Rafael Ruiz; Bonfoh, Bassirou; Tschopp, Rea; Probst-Hensch, Nicole; Cissé, Guéladio

    2018-06-01

    The journal The Lancet recently published a countdown on health and climate change. Attention was focused solely on humans. However, animals, including wildlife, livestock and pets, may also be impacted by climate change. Complementary to the high relevance of awareness rising for protecting humans against climate change, here we present a One Health approach, which aims at the simultaneous protection of humans, animals and the environment from climate change impacts (climate change adaptation). We postulate that integrated approaches save human and animal lives and reduce costs when compared to public and animal health sectors working separately. A One Health approach to climate change adaptation may significantly contribute to food security with emphasis on animal source foods, extensive livestock systems, particularly ruminant livestock, environmental sanitation, and steps towards regional and global integrated syndromic surveillance and response systems. The cost of outbreaks of emerging vector-borne zoonotic pathogens may be much lower if they are detected early in the vector or in livestock rather than later in humans. Therefore, integrated community-based surveillance of zoonoses is a promising avenue to reduce health effects of climate change.

  1. Chinese Translation Errors in English/Chinese Bilingual Children's Picture Books

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Qiaoya; Chen, Xiaoning

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was to review the Chinese translation errors in 31 English/Chinese bilingual children's picture books. While bilingual children's books make definite contributions to language acquisition, few studies have examined the quality of these books, and even fewer have specifically focused on English/Chinese bilingual books.…

  2. Drought, Endurance and Climate Change 'Pioneers': Lived Experience in the Production of Rural Environmental Knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deb Anderson

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the politicisation of environmental knowledge on rural Australia, in an analysis of discourse on the lived experience of drought. It draws on research conducted in dryland farm communities in the Mallee wheat-belt of Victoria – where rural histories have presented spirited sagas of community perseverance in ‘battling’ a harsh climate – during a period of marked shift in public awareness of climate change (2004-07. Indeed climate change projections have intensified debate over rural futures in Australia, where droughts have played a powerful role in the mythologizing of rural battlers and landscapes, and where drought discourse has been dominated by the language of war. Cultural engagement with climate is, however, under constant renegotiation, as rural cultural research is apt to reveal.

  3. Europeans' attitudes towards climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-07-01

    This report presents the results of a survey on Europeans' attitudes towards climate change which was carried out in January and February 2009. The survey focuses on: Citizens' perceptions of climate change in relation to other world problems; Citizens' perceptions of the seriousness of climate change; The extent to which citizens feel informed about climate change - its causes, consequences and ways of fighting it; Citizens' attitudes towards alternative fuels and CO2 emissions; Whether citizens feel that climate change is stoppable or has been exaggerated, and what impact it has on the European economy; Whether citizens have taken personal action to fight climate change. This Eurobarometer survey was carried out by TNS Opinion and Social network between 16 January and 22 February 2009. The interviews were conducted among 26,718 citizens in the 27 Member States of the European Union, the three candidate countries for accession to the European Union (Croatia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and in the Turkish Cypriot Community.

  4. Climate change and climate policy; Klimaendringer og klimapolitikk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alfsen, Knut H.; Kolshus, Hans H.; Torvanger, Asbjoern

    2000-08-01

    The climate issue is a great political and scientific challenge for several reasons: (1) There are many uncertain aspects of the climate problem, such as future emission of climate gases, the response of the climate system upon these gases, and the effects of climate changes. (2) It is probable, however, that anthropogenic emission of climate gases, deforestation etc. will cause noticeable climate changes in the future. This might be observed as increased frequency of extreme weather situations. This appears to be a greater threat than a gradual increase of temperature and precipitation. (3) Since the climate system is large and react only relatively slowly on changes in for instance the emission of climate gases, the climate problem can only be solved by means of long-term measures. (4) The climate changes may be irreversible. A rational short-term strategy is to ensure maximum flexibility, which can be done by ''slowing down'' (curtailing emissions) and by avoiding irreversible actions as much as possible. The long-term challenge is to develop an economically responsible alternative to the present fossil-based energy system that permits carbon-efficient technologies to compete on price with coal and unconventional oil and gas. Norway is in a special position by being a large exporter of fossil fuel and at the same time wanting to appear responsible in environmental matters. This combination may incur considerable expenses upon Norway and it is therefore important that environmental commitments like the Kyoto agreement can be honoured to the lowest possible cost. The costs can be minimized by: (1) minimizing the measure costs in Norway, (2) working to make the international quota price as low as possible, and (3) reducing the loss of petroleum income as much as possible. This report describes the earth's climate history, the forces behind climatic changes and what the prospects for the future look like. It also reviews what is being done

  5. Climate change: against despair

    OpenAIRE

    McKinnon, Catriona

    2014-01-01

    In the face of accelerating climate change and the parlous state of its politics, despair is tempting. This paper analyses two manifestations of despair about climate change related to (1) the inefficacy of personal emissions reductions, and (2) the inability to make a difference to climate change through personal emissions reductions. On the back of an analysis of despair as a loss of hope, the paper argues that the judgements grounding each form of despair are unsound. The paper concludes w...

  6. Climate change matters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macpherson, Cheryl Cox

    2014-04-01

    One manifestation of climate change is the increasingly severe extreme weather that causes injury, illness and death through heat stress, air pollution, infectious disease and other means. Leading health organisations around the world are responding to the related water and food shortages and volatility of energy and agriculture prices that threaten health and health economics. Environmental and climate ethics highlight the associated challenges to human rights and distributive justice but rarely address health or encompass bioethical methods or analyses. Public health ethics and its broader umbrella, bioethics, remain relatively silent on climate change. Meanwhile global population growth creates more people who aspire to Western lifestyles and unrestrained socioeconomic growth. Fulfilling these aspirations generates more emissions; worsens climate change; and undermines virtues and values that engender appreciation of, and protections for, natural resources. Greater understanding of how virtues and values are evolving in different contexts, and the associated consequences, might nudge the individual and collective priorities that inform public policy toward embracing stewardship and responsibility for environmental resources necessary to health. Instead of neglecting climate change and related policy, public health ethics and bioethics should explore these issues; bring transparency to the tradeoffs that permit emissions to continue at current rates; and offer deeper understanding about what is at stake and what it means to live a good life in today's world.

  7. Students’ oral involvement in the Chinese university classroom: A comparison between classes of Chinese and international students

    OpenAIRE

    Muhammad Abid Malik; Guoyuan Sang

    2017-01-01

    The current research investigates the notion that Chinese students are orally less involved in the classroom as compared to international students. Most of the previous research on this topic focuses on the Chinese students in English language classes or those studying in other countries where the language barrier and foreign culture might influence such behaviour. Using observations, this research compares two Chinese and two international classes in a Chinese university to investigate this ...

  8. Language Travel or Language Tourism: Have Educational Trips Changed So Much?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laborda, Jesus Garcia

    2007-01-01

    This article points out the changes in organization, students and language learning that language trips, as contrasted with educational trips (of which language trips are a subgroup) have gone through in the last years. The article emphasizes the need to differentiate between language trips and language tourism based on issues of additional…

  9. Climate Change and Natural Disasters

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Merkouris, Panos; Negri, Stefania; Maljean-Dubois, Sandrine

    2014-01-01

    Only 21 years ago, in 1992, the first ever convention on climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed. The science behind studying climate change and its effects on the environment is not only mind-boggling but still in its infancy. It should come

  10. Climate Change Education in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sussman, A.; Fletcher, C. H.; Sachs, J. P.

    2013-12-01

    The Pacific Islands Climate Education Partnership (PCEP) serves the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) Region. The international entities served by PCEP are the state of Hawai';i (USA); three Freely Associated States (the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau), and three Territories (Guam, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa). These Pacific Islands spread across 4.9 million square miles and include diverse indigenous cultures and languages. Many USAPI students live considerably below the poverty line. The Pacific Island region is projected to experience some of the most profound negative impacts considerably sooner than other regions. Funded by NSF, the PCEP aims to educate the region's students and citizens in ways that exemplify modern science and indigenous environmental knowledge, address the urgency of climate change impacts, and honor indigenous cultures. Students and citizens within the region will have the knowledge and skills to advance their and our understanding of climate change, and to adapt to its impacts. The PCEP Strategic Plan incorporates a range of interconnected strategic goals grouped into four priority education areas: Climate Education Framework --Implement a next-generation Climate Education Framework that focuses on the content and skills necessary for understanding the science of global and Pacific island climates, as well as the adaptation to climate impacts in the USAPI region. Indigenous Knowledge and Practices --Gather appropriate local indigenous knowledge based on the cultural stories and traditional practices related to environmental stewardship, climate, and local climate adaptation strategies. Learning and Teaching--Enhance conditions for learning about climate change in K-14 classrooms with the CEF through college-based, credentialed climate education programs; professional learning opportunities for teachers; and increased teacher

  11. Climate change, climatic variation and extreme biological responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Georgina; Platts, Philip J; Brereton, Tom; Chapman, Jason W; Dytham, Calvin; Fox, Richard; Pearce-Higgins, James W; Roy, David B; Hill, Jane K; Thomas, Chris D

    2017-06-19

    Extreme climatic events could be major drivers of biodiversity change, but it is unclear whether extreme biological changes are (i) individualistic (species- or group-specific), (ii) commonly associated with unusual climatic events and/or (iii) important determinants of long-term population trends. Using population time series for 238 widespread species (207 Lepidoptera and 31 birds) in England since 1968, we found that population 'crashes' (outliers in terms of species' year-to-year population changes) were 46% more frequent than population 'explosions'. (i) Every year, at least three species experienced extreme changes in population size, and in 41 of the 44 years considered, some species experienced population crashes while others simultaneously experienced population explosions. This suggests that, even within the same broad taxonomic groups, species are exhibiting individualistic dynamics, most probably driven by their responses to different, short-term events associated with climatic variability. (ii) Six out of 44 years showed a significant excess of species experiencing extreme population changes (5 years for Lepidoptera, 1 for birds). These 'consensus years' were associated with climatically extreme years, consistent with a link between extreme population responses and climatic variability, although not all climatically extreme years generated excess numbers of extreme population responses. (iii) Links between extreme population changes and long-term population trends were absent in Lepidoptera and modest (but significant) in birds. We conclude that extreme biological responses are individualistic, in the sense that the extreme population changes of most species are taking place in different years, and that long-term trends of widespread species have not, to date, been dominated by these extreme changes.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. © 2017 The Authors.

  12. Accounting for multiple climate components when estimating climate change exposure and velocity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadeau, Christopher P.; Fuller, Angela K.

    2015-01-01

    The effect of anthropogenic climate change on organisms will likely be related to climate change exposure and velocity at local and regional scales. However, common methods to estimate climate change exposure and velocity ignore important components of climate that are known to affect the ecology and evolution of organisms.We develop a novel index of climate change (climate overlap) that simultaneously estimates changes in the means, variation and correlation between multiple weather variables. Specifically, we estimate the overlap between multivariate normal probability distributions representing historical and current or projected future climates. We provide methods for estimating the statistical significance of climate overlap values and methods to estimate velocity using climate overlap.We show that climates have changed significantly across 80% of the continental United States in the last 32 years and that much of this change is due to changes in the variation and correlation between weather variables (two statistics that are rarely incorporated into climate change studies). We also show that projected future temperatures are predicted to be locally novel (using climate overlap compared to 1·4 km yr−1 when estimated using traditional methods.Our results suggest that accounting for changes in the means, variation and correlation between multiple weather variables can dramatically affect estimates of climate change exposure and velocity. These climate components are known to affect the ecology and evolution of organisms, but are ignored by most measures of climate change. We conclude with a set of future directions and recommend future work to determine which measures of climate change exposure and velocity are most related to biological responses to climate change.

  13. Language and Language Policy in Singapore.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baxter, William H., III

    1985-01-01

    Singapore's language policy must balance the wishes of the various ethnic groups, the political situation in the regions, and the needs of economic development. Malay, Mandarin Chinese, English, and Tamil are all recognized as official languages. Malay has special symbolic status as the national language. (RM)

  14. Biodiversity and Climate Change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onyango, J.C.O.; Ojoo-Massawa, E.; Abira, M.A.

    1997-01-01

    Biological diversity or biodiversity is crucial for ecological stability including regulation of climate change, recreational and medicinal use; and scientific advancement. Kenya like other developing countries, especially, those in Sub-Saharan Africa, will continue to depend greatly on her biodiversity for present and future development. This important resource must, therefore be conserved. This chapter presents an overview of Kenya's biodiversity; its importance and initiatives being undertaken for its conservation; and in detail, explores issues of climate change and biodiversity, concentrating on impacts of climate change

  15. Climate and Global Change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duplessy, J.C.; Pons, A.; Fantechi, R.

    1991-01-01

    The present volume contains the lessons delivered at the course held in Arles, France, on the subject Climate and Global Change: natural variability of the geosphere and biosphere systems, biogeochemical cycles and their perturbation by human activities, monitoring and forecasting global changes (satellite observations, modelling,...). Short presentations of students' own research activities are also proposed (climatic fluctuation in the Mediterranean area, climate/vegetation relations, etc.)

  16. Climate change experiments in Hamburg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gubasch, U [DKRZ, Hamburg (Germany)

    1996-12-31

    Nowadays the anthropogenic climate change is been simulated world wide with a fair number of coupled ocean atmosphere general circulation models (IPCC, 1995). Typical model problems do not only blur the estimates of the anthropogenic climate change, but they also cause errors in the estimates of the natural variability. An accurate representation of the natural variability of the climate system is, however, essential for the detection of the anthropogenic climate change. All model simulations world wide show, even though they differ considerably in their technical details and the experimental setup and the forcing data, similar amplitudes and pattern of the predicted climate change. In the model world it is already at the beginning of the next century possible to detect the anthropogenic climate change in the global mean. If the model results are applied in a `fingerprint analysis`, then it is possible to prove that the climate change during the last 30 years is with a significance of 95 % larger than any other climate change during the last 100 years. The experiments performed in Hamburg show that the experimental conditions are of great importance for the estimate of the future climate. The usual starting point of most of the simulations with present day conditions (1980-1990) is too late, because then a considerable part of the warming since the beginning of the industrialization (ca. 1750) has been neglected. Furthermore it has only recently become clear that the sulphat-aerosols play an important role in the present day climate and in the future climate. The effect of the sulphat aerosols has first been simulated in a number of equilibrium simulations with mixed layer models, but nowadays with globally coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation models

  17. Climate change experiments in Hamburg

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gubasch, U. [DKRZ, Hamburg (Germany)

    1995-12-31

    Nowadays the anthropogenic climate change is been simulated world wide with a fair number of coupled ocean atmosphere general circulation models (IPCC, 1995). Typical model problems do not only blur the estimates of the anthropogenic climate change, but they also cause errors in the estimates of the natural variability. An accurate representation of the natural variability of the climate system is, however, essential for the detection of the anthropogenic climate change. All model simulations world wide show, even though they differ considerably in their technical details and the experimental setup and the forcing data, similar amplitudes and pattern of the predicted climate change. In the model world it is already at the beginning of the next century possible to detect the anthropogenic climate change in the global mean. If the model results are applied in a `fingerprint analysis`, then it is possible to prove that the climate change during the last 30 years is with a significance of 95 % larger than any other climate change during the last 100 years. The experiments performed in Hamburg show that the experimental conditions are of great importance for the estimate of the future climate. The usual starting point of most of the simulations with present day conditions (1980-1990) is too late, because then a considerable part of the warming since the beginning of the industrialization (ca. 1750) has been neglected. Furthermore it has only recently become clear that the sulphat-aerosols play an important role in the present day climate and in the future climate. The effect of the sulphat aerosols has first been simulated in a number of equilibrium simulations with mixed layer models, but nowadays with globally coupled ocean-atmosphere circulation models

  18. Ozone, air quality and climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Noije, T.

    2008-01-01

    Changes in climate due to increased greenhouse gas emissions differ per region. Regional climate changes can also be caused by regional changes in air quality, though. On the other hand, global and regional changes in climate also lead to changes in air quality without any changes in sources of pollution. This article discusses the various aspects of the interaction between air quality and climate change with extra focus on the role of ozone. [mk] [nl

  19. Evaluative Language Used by Mandarin-Chinese-Speaking Dyads in Personal Narratives: Age and Socioeconomic Differences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Wen-Feng; Chen, Yen-Yu

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the effects of age and family socioeconomic status (SES) on the evaluative language performance of Mandarin-Chinese-speaking young children and their mothers. The participants were 65 mother-child dyads recruited in Taiwan. Thirty-four of these dyads were from middle-class families and 31 were from…

  20. Greenland climate change

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Swingedouw, Didier; Landais, Amaëlle

    2012-01-01

    Climate archives available from deep-sea and marine shelf sediments, glaciers, lakes and ice cores in and around Greenland allow us to place the current trends in regional climate, ice sheet dynamics, and land surface changes in a broader perspective. We show that during the last decade (2000s......), atmospheric and sea-surface temperatures are reaching levels last encountered millennia ago when northern high latitude summer insolation was higher due to a different orbital configuration. Concurrently, records from lake sediments in southern Greenland document major environmental and climatic conditions...... regional climate and ice sheet dynamics. The magnitude and rate of future changes in Greenland temperature, in response to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, may be faster than any past abrupt events occurring under interglacial conditions. Projections indicate that within one century Greenland may...

  1. Climate changes over the past millennium: Relationships with Mediterranean climates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mann, M.E.

    2006-01-01

    Evidence is reviewed for climate change and its causes over the interval spanning roughly the past millennium. Particular emphasis is placed on patterns of climate change influencing Mediterranean climates of the Northern Hemisphere. The evidence is taken from studies using high-resolution climate proxy data sources, and climate modeling simulations. The available evidence suggests that forced changes in dynamical modes of variability including the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) have played a key role in the patterns of climate variability in Mediterranean regions over the past millennium

  2. Promoting lifestyle changes for Chinese Australians with Type 2 diabetes

    OpenAIRE

    SUET TING CHOI

    2017-01-01

    Providing translated diabetes education from English to Chinese is not enough to promote healthy lifestyle changes among Chinese Australians with type 2 diabetes. This thesis explored the behaviour patterns of Chinese patients during diabetes education and identified the most successful education approaches. The research involved a review of literature and an exploratory qualitative study across three countries. The findings suggest health professionals working with Chinese Australian patient...

  3. L2 Chinese: Grammatical Development and Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mai, Ziyin

    2016-01-01

    Two recent books (Jiang, 2014, "Advances in Chinese as a second language"; Wang, 2013, "Grammatical development of Chinese among non-native speakers") provide new resources for exploring the role of processing in acquiring Chinese as a second language (L2). This review article summarizes, assesses and compares some of the…

  4. Climate Change and Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Home / News / Fact sheets / Detail WHO /A. Craggs Climate change and health 1 February 2018 ","datePublished":"2018-02- ... in improved health, particularly through reduced air pollution. Climate change Over the last 50 years, human activities – particularly ...

  5. Adaptability and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sprague, M.W.

    1991-01-01

    The potential social, economic and environmental impacts of climate change are reviewed, with emphasis on agricultural implications. Impact analyses must be done on the scale of watersheds or river basins. For agriculture, climate change effects on water resources are likely to be more important than temperature changes, and climatic variability is also equally important. Another set of critical climatic variables are the frequencies, magnitudes and timing of extreme events such as floods, droughts, etc. A carbon dioxide enriched atmosphere will increase water use efficiency and confer increased tolerance to drought, salinity and air pollution. Better understanding and accounting is required for the effects of increased carbon dioxide on all plant life, including crops. Adaptability of agriculture to change must be taken into account in predicting impacts of climate change, with technological innovation and infrastructure giving agriculture a dynamic nature. Limitations and adaptations must be considered when formulating public policy, to ensure that marginal costs do not exceed marginal benefits. Monoculture plantation forests may be the most efficient sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide, yet widespread reliance on them may harm biological diversity. Actions the U.S. is currently taking under a no-regrets policy are summarized

  6. Challenges and solutions for climate change

    CERN Document Server

    Gaast, Wytze

    2012-01-01

    The latest scientific knowledge on climate change indicates that higher greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere through unchecked emissions will provoke severe climate change and ocean acidification threatening environmental structures on which humanity relies. Climate change therefore poses major socio-economic, technical and environmental challenges which will have serious impacts on countries’ pathways towards sustainable development. As a result, climate change and sustainable development have increasingly become interlinked. A changing climate makes achieving Millennium Development Goals more difficult and expensive, so there is every reason to achieve development goals with low greenhouse gas emissions. This leads to the following five challenges discussed by Challenges and Solutions for Climate Change: To place climate negotiations in the wider context of sustainability, equity and social change so that development benefits can be maximised at the same time as decreasing greenhouse gas emissi...

  7. Struggle against climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    This document first proposes a presentation of the cross-cutting policy defined for the struggle against climate change. It notably presents its various programs. It describes the implemented strategy which aims at reducing on a short term greenhouse gas emissions with the available technologies, at making the climate challenge a driver for economic competitiveness, at developing the knowledge on climatic change and at preparing the necessary adaptation measures, and at stating on the international scene the French commitment and its dynamic role in front of the climate challenge

  8. Climate change issues in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ye Ruqiu (China National Environmental Protection Agency, Beijing (China))

    China is vulnerable to global climate change because of its specific geographical and climatic conditions. Recent climate change trends in China are briefly described. To deal with climate change and reduce the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, a set of strategic measures aimed at harmonizing environmental protection and economic development have been worked out. Special attention has been given to the analysis of problems of energy efficiency and energy structure. Preliminary policy consideration is discussed. 8 refs., 3 tabs.

  9. Climate change and the biosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    F. Stuart Chapin

    2008-01-01

    Scientific assessments now clearly demonstrate the ecologic and societal consequences of human induced climate change, as detailed by the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Global warming spells danger for Earth's biomes, which in turn play an important role in climate change. On the following pages, you will read about some of...

  10. Climate change: Recent findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hesselmans, G.H.F.M.

    1993-08-01

    In the late eighties several reports have been published on climate change and sea level rise. In the meantime insights may have changed due to the availability of better and more observations and/or more advanced climate models. The aim of this report is to present the most recent findings with respect to climate change, in particular of sea level rise, storm surges and river peak flows. These climate factors are important for the safety of low-lying areas with respect to coastal erosion and flooding. In the first chapters a short review is presented of a few of the eighties reports. Furthermore, the predictions by state of the art climate models at that time are given. The reports from the eighties should be considered as 'old' information, whereas the IPCC supplement and work, for example, by Wigley should be considered as new information. To assess the latest findings two experts in this field were interviewed: dr J. Oerlemans and dr C.J.E. Schuurmans, a climate expert from the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). Their views are presented together with results published in recent papers on the subject. On the basis of this assessment, the report presents current knowledge regarding predictions of climate change (including sea-level rise) over the next century, together with an assessment of the uncertainties associated with these predictions. 14 figs., 11 tabs., 24 refs

  11. Geopolitics of climate change: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bošnjaković Branko

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper reviews the geopolitical elements of the emerging discourse on how to control, and cope with climate change. Two complementary approaches may be distinguished: the actor-related approach analyses the positioning of states and interest groups, which develop strategies on coping with climate change; the other approach addresses processes and problem areas (physical, economic, demographic… emerging in the geographic space as a consequence of, or linked to climate change. With failing mitigation policies and instruments, the urgency of adaptation to climate change is increasing. Assessment of regional consequences of climate change includes the perceptions and motivations of presumed losers or winners. New security implications related to climate change are emerging in the Arctic, South-East Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Energy supply security is a dominant factor in geopolitical considerations. The geopolitics of climate change is inextricably linked to many other issues of globalization. Significant shift of global power raises the discussion of ethical responsibility. Climate change is evolving as a testing ground for competitiveness and innovation potential of political and economic models in achieving sustainability.

  12. Responsible investors acting on climate change. Investors acting on climate change. Climate: Investors take action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simon, Marie; Blanc, Dominique; Husson-Traore, Anne-Catherine; Amiell, Alison; Barochez, Aurelie de; Conti, Sophie; Kamelgarn, Yona; Bonnet, Olivier; Braman, Stuart; Chenet, Hugues; Fisher, Remco; Hellier, Mickael; Horster, Maximilian; Kindelbacher, Sophie; Leaton, James; Lieblich, Sebastien; Neuneyer, Dustin; Lenoel, Benjamin; Smart, Lauren; Torklep Meisingset, Christine

    2015-02-01

    Some investors are willing to lower the carbon emission financed by their investment, recognizing that climate change has financial impacts. At first they measure the carbon footprint of their portfolio, than initiate shareholder engagement actions at oil and gas companies, publish list of exclusion composed of the most carbon-intensive companies and ask for ex fossil fuels indices. In June 2015, Novethic launches the first actualisation of its study released on February 2015 on the mobilisation of investors on climate change over the whole 2015 year. The trend is gaining momentum since more than 200 additional investors publicly disclosed commitments to integrate climate risk into their investment and management practices. In September 2015, for its second update of the report on how investors are taking action on climate change, more than 800 entities were screened. As a key result, investor's actions gain momentum: approaches are growing in number and becoming more expert, divestments are widespread in Europe, and green investments promises are more ambitious. The last edition of November 2015 highlights and scans an exclusive panel of 960 investors worth Euro 30 trillion of assets who have made steps forward to tackle climate change. During the last 8 months, their number has almost increased twofold. This document brings together the first edition of Novethic's study and its three updates

  13. Flexible global ocean-atmosphere-land system model. A modeling tool for the climate change research community

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Tianjun; Yu, Yongqiang; Liu, Yimin; Wang, Bin (eds.) [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, (China). Inst. of Atmospheric Physics

    2014-04-01

    First book available on systematic evaluations of the performance of the global climate model FGOALS. Covers the whole field, ranging from the development to the applications of this climate system model. Provide an outlook for the future development of the FGOALS model system. Offers brief introduction about how to run FGOALS. Coupled climate system models are of central importance for climate studies. A new model known as FGOALS (the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model), has been developed by the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (LASG/IAP, CAS), a first-tier national geophysical laboratory. It serves as a powerful tool, both for deepening our understanding of fundamental mechanisms of the climate system and for making decadal prediction and scenario projections of future climate change. ''Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System Model: A Modeling Tool for the Climate Change Research Community'' is the first book to offer systematic evaluations of this model's performance. It is comprehensive in scope, covering both developmental and application-oriented aspects of this climate system model. It also provides an outlook of future development of FGOALS and offers an overview of how to employ the model. It represents a valuable reference work for researchers and professionals working within the related areas of climate variability and change.

  14. Global climate change and international security

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rice, M.

    1991-01-01

    On May 8--10, 1991, the Midwest Consortium of International Security Studies (MCISS) and Argonne National Laboratory cosponsored a conference on Global Climate Change and International Security. The aim was to bring together natural and social scientists to examine the economic, sociopolitical, and security implications of the climate changes predicted by the general circulation models developed by natural scientists. Five themes emerged from the papers and discussions: (1) general circulation models and predicted climate change; (2) the effects of climate change on agriculture, especially in the Third World; (3) economic implications of policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (4) the sociopolitical consequences of climate change; and (5) the effect of climate change on global security.

  15. Climate Change Through a Poverty Lens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rozenberg, J.; Hallegatte, S.

    2017-12-01

    Analysis of the economic impact of climate change typically considers regional or national economies and assesses its impact on macroeconomic aggregates such as gross domestic product. These studies therefore do not investigate the distributional impacts of climate change within countries or the impacts on poverty. This Perspective aims to close this gap and provide an assessment of climate change impacts at the household level to investigate the consequences of climate change for poverty and for poor people. It does so by combining assessments of the physical impacts of climate change in various sectors with household surveys. In particular, it highlights how rapid and inclusive development can reduce the future impact of climate change on poverty.

  16. Climate change in Nova Scotia : a background paper to guide Nova Scotia's climate change action plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-10-01

    Climate change causes changes in the temperature of the earth, the level of the sea, and the frequency of extreme weather conditions. The province of Nova Scotia recently released an act related to environmental goals and sustainable prosperity. Addressing climate change is a key element in achieving Nova Scotia's sustainable prosperity goals outlined in the act. The Nova Scotia Department of Energy is working towards developing both policy and action, to help meet its target of a 10 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases from 1990 levels by the year 2020. Two major plans are underway, notably a climate change action plan and a renewed energy strategy. This report provided background information on Nova Scotia's climate change action plan. It discussed climate change issues affecting Nova Scotia, air pollutants, energy sources in Nova Scotia, energy consumers in the province, and Nova Scotia's approach to climate change. The report also discussed actions underway and funding sources. It was concluded that in order for the climate change action plan to be successful, Nova Scotians must use energy more efficiently; use renewable energy; use cleaner energy; and plan for change. 13 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs., 4 appendices

  17. Capturing Tweets on Climate Change: What is the role of Twitter in Climate Change Communication?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, A. M.; McNeal, K.; Luginbuhl, S.; Enteen, J.

    2015-12-01

    Climate change is a major environmental issue that is often discussed throughout the world using social media outlets such as Twitter. This research followed and collected tweets about climate change as they related to two events: (i) the June 18, 2015 release of the Encyclical by Pope Francis which included content about climate change and (ii) the upcoming COP21 conference, a United Nations climate change conference, to be held on Dec. 7-8, 2015 in Paris. Using a Twitter account and Ncapture we were able to collect tens of thousands of climate change related tweets that were then loaded into a program called Nvivo which stored the tweets and associated publically available user information. We followed a few major hashtags such as COP21, UNFCCC, @climate, and the Pope. We examined twitter users, the information sources, locations, number of re-tweets, and frequency of tweets as well as the category of the tweet in regard to positive, negative, and neutral positions about climate. Frequency analysis of tweets over a 10 day period of the Encyclical event showed that ~200 tweets per day were made prior to the event, with ~1000 made on the day of the event, and ~100 per day following the event. For the COP21 event, activity ranged from 2000-3000 tweets per day. For the Encyclical event, an analysis of 1100 tweets on the day of release indicated that 47% of the tweets had a positive perspective about climate change, 50% were neutral, 1% negative, and 2% were unclear. For the COP21 event, an analysis of 342 tweets randomly sampled from 31,721 tweets, showed that 53% of the tweets had a positive perspective about climate change, 12% were neutral, 13% negative, and 22% were unclear. Differences in the frequency and perspectives of tweets were likely due to the nature of the events, one a long-term and recurring international event and the other a single international religious-oriented event. We tabulated the top 10 tweets about climate change as they relate to these two

  18. Prospects for future climate: A special US/USSR report on climate and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacCracken, M.C.; Budyko, M.I.; Hecht, A.D.; Izrael, Y.A.

    1990-01-01

    Starting with the US-USSR Agreement on Protection of the Environment signed in 1972, the two nations have cooperated in joint research on atmospheric and environmental problems. The result of these efforts has been an innovative approach to projecting future climate change based on what has been learned about past warm periods and what can be learned from models. The chapters in this document explore the following: past changes in climate, both paleoclimatology and changes in the recent past; changes in atmospheric composition; estimates of greenhouse-induced change including the use of both empirical methods and climate models; impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in the two countries; and prospects for future climate changes

  19. Investigating the Target Language Usage in and outside Business English Classrooms for Non-English Major Undergraduates at a Chinese University

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Qing

    2017-01-01

    This article reports an investigative study on the target language use in and outside business English classrooms for non-English major undergraduates in a Chinese university context. The aims of the study are to identify the actual situation of target language use in business English teaching and to suggest ways for improvements. The study uses…

  20. Identity, Language Learning, and Social Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norton, Bonny; Toohey, Kelleen

    2011-01-01

    In this review article on identity, language learning, and social change, we argue that contemporary poststructuralist theories of language, identity, and power offer new perspectives on language learning and teaching, and have been of considerable interest in our field. We first review poststructuralist theories of language, subjectivity, and…

  1. Global Climate Change Pilot Course Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuenemann, K. C.; Wagner, R.

    2011-12-01

    In fall 2011 a pilot course on "Global Climate Change" is being offered, which has been proposed to educate urban, diverse, undergraduate students about climate change at the introductory level. The course has been approved to fulfill two general college requirements, a natural sciences requirement that focuses on the scientific method, as well as a global diversity requirement. This course presents the science behind global climate change from an Earth systems and atmospheric science perspective. These concepts then provide the basis to explore the effect of global warming on regions throughout the world. Climate change has been taught as a sub-topic in other courses in the past solely using scientific concepts, with little success in altering the climate change misconceptions of the students. This pilot course will see if new, innovative projects described below can make more of an impact on the students' views of climate change. Results of the successes or failures of these projects will be reported, as well as results of a pre- and post-course questionnaire on climate change given to students taking the course. Students in the class will pair off and choose a global region or country that they will research, write papers on, and then represent in four class discussions spaced throughout the semester. The first report will include details on the current climate of their region and how the climate shapes that region's society and culture. The second report will discuss how that region is contributing to climate change and/or sequestering greenhouse gases. Thirdly, students will discuss observed and predicted changes in that region's climate and what impact it has had, and could have, on their society. Lastly, students will report on what role their region has played in mitigating climate change, any policies their region may have implemented, and how their region can or cannot adapt to future climate changes. They will also try to get a feel for the region

  2. Innovations in Language Learning: The Oregon Chinese Flagship Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carl Falsgraf

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Language learning in the United States suffers from a culture of low expectations. Lacking bilingual role models around them, students often view language class as, at best, a way to become a tourist in a country with a language different from their own. Monolingual policymakers assume that learning another language fluently is impossible and inconsequential, since they themselves are capable professionals with one language. Educators, discouraged by years of inadequate funding and support, have come to hope for nothing more than incremental improvements. The National Flagship Language Program (NFLP aims to break this cycle of low expectations and low results by providing funding to institutions willing to accept the challenge of producing Superior (Level 3 language users through a radical re-engineering of the language learning enterprise. The need for fundamental change in language education is longstanding, but the events of September 11 brought the importance of this need to the awareness of national policymakers. Due to the emphasis of critical languages, responsibility for carrying out this fundamental re-examination of language learning has fallen to those engaged in the less commonly taught languages. 1

  3. Examining the potential impacts of climate change on international security: EU-Africa partnership on climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodo, Mahamat K

    2014-01-01

    Climate Change like many global problems nowadays is recognized as a threat to the international security and cooperation. In theoretical terms, it is being securitized and included in the traditional security studies. Climate change and its accompanying environmental degradation are perceived to be a threat that can have incalculable consequences on the international community. The consequences are said to have more effects in small island developing nations and Africa where many States are fragile and overwhelmed with mounting challenges. In recent years, the security implications of the climate change are being addressed from national, regional and multilateral level. Against this backdrop, this paper intends to contribute to the debate on climate change and international security and present a broader perspective on the discussion. The paper will draw from the EU-Africa partnership on climate change and is structured as follows: the first part introduces the background of the international climate change policy and its securitization, the second part covers the EU-Africa relations and EU-Africa partnership on climate change, and the third part discusses the Congo Basin Forest Partnership as a concrete example of EU-Africa Partnership on Climate Change. Lastly, the paper concludes by drawing some conclusions and offers some policy perspectives and recommendations. Q54; 055; 052; 01;

  4. Politics of climate change belief

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Donald Trump's actions during the election and his first weeks as US president-elect send a strong message about his belief in climate change, or lack thereof. However, these actions may reflect polarization of climate change beliefs, not climate mitigation behaviour.

  5. Eye tracking and climate change: How is climate literacy information processed?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, C. C.; McNeal, K. S.

    2011-12-01

    The population of the Southeastern United States is perceived to be resistant to information regarding global climate change. The Climate Literacy Partnership in the Southeast (CLiPSE) project was formed to provide a resource for climate science information. As part of this project, we are evaluating the way that education materials influence the interpretation of climate change related information. At Mississippi State University, a study is being conducted examining how individuals from the Southeastern United States process climate change information and whether or not the interaction with such information impacts the interpretation of subsequent climate change related information. By observing the patterns both before and after an educational intervention, we are able to evaluate the effectiveness of the climate change information on an individual's interpretation of related information. Participants in this study view figures describing various types of climate change related information (CO2 emissions, sea levels, etc.) while their eye movements are tracked to determine a baseline for the way that they process this type of graphical data. Specifically, we are examining time spent viewing and number of fixations on critical portions of the figures prior to exposure to an educational document on climate change. Following the baseline period, we provide participants with portions of a computerized version of Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Sciences that the participants read at their own pace while their eye movements are monitored. Participants are told that they will be given a test on the material after reading the resource. After reading the excerpt, participants are presented with a new set of climate change related figures to interpret (with eye tracking) along with a series of questions regarding information contained in the resource. We plan to evaluate changes that occur in the way that climate change related information is

  6. Climate change issues in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye Ruqiu

    1994-01-01

    China is vulnerable to global climate change because of its specific geographical and climatic conditions. Recent climate change trends in China are briefly described. To deal with climate change and reduce the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, a set of strategic measures aimed at harmonizing environmental protection and economic development have been worked out. Special attention has been given to the analysis of problems of energy efficiency and energy structure. Preliminary policy consideration is discussed. (author). 8 refs, 3 tabs

  7. Climate Trends and Farmers' Perceptions of Climate Change in Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulenga, Brian P; Wineman, Ayala; Sitko, Nicholas J

    2017-02-01

    A number of studies use meteorological records to analyze climate trends and assess the impact of climate change on agricultural yields. While these provide quantitative evidence on climate trends and the likely effects thereof, they incorporate limited qualitative analysis of farmers' perceptions of climate change and/or variability. The present study builds on the quantitative methods used elsewhere to analyze climate trends, and in addition compares local narratives of climate change with evidence found in meteorological records in Zambia. Farmers offer remarkably consistent reports of a rainy season that is growing shorter and less predictable. For some climate parameters-notably, rising average temperature-there is a clear overlap between farmers' observations and patterns found in the meteorological records. However, the data do not support the perception that the rainy season used to begin earlier, and we generally do not detect a reported increase in the frequency of dry spells. Several explanations for these discrepancies are offered. Further, we provide policy recommendations to help farmers adapt to climate change/variability, as well as suggestions to shape future climate change policies, programs, and research in developing countries.

  8. Climate change with Korea as the center

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Yeon Ok

    1998-04-01

    This book deals with climate change with Korea as the center, which is divided into ten chapters. It explain climate change by human life. The contents of this book are climate change, climate before human period, great ice age of prehistoric period, prehistoric times of last glacial era, climate change in historical era, change during observation time for 100 years, warming period, global environment period, the cause of climate change and climate and human. It has reference and an index.

  9. Quantitative approaches in climate change ecology

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brown, Christopher J.; Schoeman, David S.; Sydeman, William J.

    2011-01-01

    Contemporary impacts of anthropogenic climate change on ecosystems are increasingly being recognized. Documenting the extent of these impacts requires quantitative tools for analyses of ecological observations to distinguish climate impacts in noisy data and to understand interactions between...... climate variability and other drivers of change. To assist the development of reliable statistical approaches, we review the marine climate change literature and provide suggestions for quantitative approaches in climate change ecology. We compiled 267 peer‐reviewed articles that examined relationships...

  10. Response of spatial vegetation distribution in China to climate changes since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Siyang; Xu, Xiaoting; Shrestha, Nawal; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; Tang, Zhiyao; Wang, Zhiheng

    2017-01-01

    Analyzing how climate change affects vegetation distribution is one of the central issues of global change ecology as this has important implications for the carbon budget of terrestrial vegetation. Mapping vegetation distribution under historical climate scenarios is essential for understanding the response of vegetation distribution to future climatic changes. The reconstructions of palaeovegetation based on pollen data provide a useful method to understand the relationship between climate and vegetation distribution. However, this method is limited in time and space. Here, using species distribution model (SDM) approaches, we explored the climatic determinants of contemporary vegetation distribution and reconstructed the distribution of Chinese vegetation during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 18,000 14C yr BP) and Middle-Holocene (MH, 6000 14C yr BP). The dynamics of vegetation distribution since the LGM reconstructed by SDMs were largely consistent with those based on pollen data, suggesting that the SDM approach is a useful tool for studying historical vegetation dynamics and its response to climate change across time and space. Comparison between the modeled contemporary potential natural vegetation distribution and the observed contemporary distribution suggests that temperate deciduous forests, subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests, temperate deciduous shrublands and temperate steppe have low range fillings and are strongly influenced by human activities. In general, the Tibetan Plateau, North and Northeast China, and the areas near the 30°N in Central and Southeast China appeared to have experienced the highest turnover in vegetation due to climate change from the LGM to the present. PMID:28426780

  11. Language-universal sensory deficits in developmental dyslexia: English, Spanish, and Chinese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goswami, Usha; Wang, H-L Sharon; Cruz, Alicia; Fosker, Tim; Mead, Natasha; Huss, Martina

    2011-02-01

    Studies in sensory neuroscience reveal the critical importance of accurate sensory perception for cognitive development. There is considerable debate concerning the possible sensory correlates of phonological processing, the primary cognitive risk factor for developmental dyslexia. Across languages, children with dyslexia have a specific difficulty with the neural representation of the phonological structure of speech. The identification of a robust sensory marker of phonological difficulties would enable early identification of risk for developmental dyslexia and early targeted intervention. Here, we explore whether phonological processing difficulties are associated with difficulties in processing acoustic cues to speech rhythm. Speech rhythm is used across languages by infants to segment the speech stream into words and syllables. Early difficulties in perceiving auditory sensory cues to speech rhythm and prosody could lead developmentally to impairments in phonology. We compared matched samples of children with and without dyslexia, learning three very different spoken and written languages, English, Spanish, and Chinese. The key sensory cue measured was rate of onset of the amplitude envelope (rise time), known to be critical for the rhythmic timing of speech. Despite phonological and orthographic differences, for each language, rise time sensitivity was a significant predictor of phonological awareness, and rise time was the only consistent predictor of reading acquisition. The data support a language-universal theory of the neural basis of developmental dyslexia on the basis of rhythmic perception and syllable segmentation. They also suggest that novel remediation strategies on the basis of rhythm and music may offer benefits for phonological and linguistic development.

  12. Creationism & Climate Change (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newton, S.

    2009-12-01

    Although creationists focus on the biological sciences, recently creationists have also expanded their attacks to include the earth sciences, especially on the topic of climate change. The creationist effort to deny climate change, in addition to evolution and radiometric dating, is part of a broader denial of the methodology and validity of science itself. Creationist misinformation can pose a serious problem for science educators, who are further hindered by the poor treatment of the earth sciences and climate change in state science standards. Recent changes to Texas’ science standards, for example, require that students learn “different views on the existence of global warming.” Because of Texas’ large influence on the national textbook market, textbooks presenting non-scientific “different views” about climate change—or simply omitting the subject entirely because of the alleged “controversy”—could become part of K-12 classrooms across the country.

  13. [Dendrochronology of Chinese pine in Mulan-Weichang, Hebei Province: a primary study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Ming-xing; He, Xing-yuan; Chen, Wei; Chen, Zhen-ju; Zhou, Chang-hong; Wu, Tao

    2008-11-01

    Dendroclimatic methods were used to investigate the relationships between the growth of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) and the climatic parameters in Mulan-Weichang of Hebei Province. The results showed that Chinese pine presented high sensitivity to climatic changes, and its earlywood width showed the highest sensitivity. There was a significant negative correlation between the tree-ring width chronology of Chinese pine and the air temperature in May-June. The precipitation and relative humidity in June had strong positive effects on the growth of earlywood, the precipitation from September to next September had significant positive effects on Chinese pine growth, and the relative humidity in winter more strongly affected the growth of latewood than of earlywood. There was a definite correlation between the tree-ring width chronology of Chinese pine and the large scale climate fluctuation. From 1951 to 2006, the increase of air temperature in study area was significant, and the sensitivity of Chinese pine to the variations of local temperature and precipitation decreased, presenting an inverse transforming trend with increasing temperature. Greater differences were observed between the reconstructed and observed data of mean temperature in May - June in a century scale, suggesting that the tree-ring growth of Chinese pine in study area had a greater fluctuation of sensitivity to the variation of climatic factors.

  14. Climate Change and Transportation

    OpenAIRE

    Yevdokimov, Yuri

    2010-01-01

    As stated at the beginning of this chapter, the relationship between transportation and climate is two-directional. Based on our statistical analysis performed for Canada, we can make some general conclusions about this relationship. On the one hand, transportation is one of the largest contributors to GHG emissions which, in turn, cause various changes in climate. On the other hand, these climate changes negatively affect transportation in terms of its infrastructure and operations. Therefor...

  15. Adapting agriculture to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howden, S Mark; Soussana, Jean-François; Tubiello, Francesco N; Chhetri, Netra; Dunlop, Michael; Meinke, Holger

    2007-12-11

    The strong trends in climate change already evident, the likelihood of further changes occurring, and the increasing scale of potential climate impacts give urgency to addressing agricultural adaptation more coherently. There are many potential adaptation options available for marginal change of existing agricultural systems, often variations of existing climate risk management. We show that implementation of these options is likely to have substantial benefits under moderate climate change for some cropping systems. However, there are limits to their effectiveness under more severe climate changes. Hence, more systemic changes in resource allocation need to be considered, such as targeted diversification of production systems and livelihoods. We argue that achieving increased adaptation action will necessitate integration of climate change-related issues with other risk factors, such as climate variability and market risk, and with other policy domains, such as sustainable development. Dealing with the many barriers to effective adaptation will require a comprehensive and dynamic policy approach covering a range of scales and issues, for example, from the understanding by farmers of change in risk profiles to the establishment of efficient markets that facilitate response strategies. Science, too, has to adapt. Multidisciplinary problems require multidisciplinary solutions, i.e., a focus on integrated rather than disciplinary science and a strengthening of the interface with decision makers. A crucial component of this approach is the implementation of adaptation assessment frameworks that are relevant, robust, and easily operated by all stakeholders, practitioners, policymakers, and scientists.

  16. Climate change in China and China’s policies and actions for addressing climate change

    OpenAIRE

    Luo Y.; Qin D.; Huang J.

    2010-01-01

    Since the first assessment report (FAR) of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990, the international scientific community has made substantial progresses in climate change sciences. Changes in components of climate system, including the atmosphere, oceans and cryosphere, indicate that global warming is unequivocal. Instrumental records demonstrate that the global mean temperature has a significant increasing trend during the 20th century and in the latest 50 years the warmi...

  17. Hard choices : climate change in Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coward, H.; Weaver, A.J. (eds.)

    2004-07-01

    This book explains the nature of climate change, the options to respond to it and the virtues of Canada's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol. It includes a collection of essays by prominent Canadian scientists and scholars who discuss the impacts of climate change on Canada from physical, social, technological, economic and political perspectives. Climate change assessments have been made possible by monitoring and recording changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. As a result of these assessments, climate change has become an issue on policy agendas. Advanced computer models have convinced much of the scientific community that climate change will bring with it droughts, floods, hurricanes, forest fires, ice storms, blackouts, and increased warming in countries in high latitudes, including Canada, despite remaining uncertainties about how human activities will affect the climate. The authors cautioned that climate change response strategies can only be refined once these uncertainties are significantly reduced. refs., tabs., figs.

  18. Challenges Facing Chinese Academic Staff in a UK University in Terms of Language, Relationships and Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Hui-hua

    2012-01-01

    The recruitment of international academic staff is viewed as one of the strategies to internationalise the universities. International academic staff, however, usually encounter many challenges when in a foreign context. This study aims to investigate the challenges of Chinese academic staff teaching in the UK in terms of language, relationships…

  19. Climate change and marine life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Richardson, Anthony J.; Brown, Christopher J.; Brander, Keith

    2012-01-01

    A Marine Climate Impacts Workshop was held from 29 April to 3 May 2012 at the US National Center of Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara. This workshop was the culmination of a series of six meetings over the past three years, which had brought together 25 experts in climate change...... ecology, analysis of large datasets, palaeontology, marine ecology and physical oceanography. Aims of these workshops were to produce a global synthesis of climate impacts on marine biota, to identify sensitive habitats and taxa, to inform the current Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC......) process, and to strengthen research into ecological impacts of climate change...

  20. Coping with climate change and China's wind energy sustainable development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    De-Xin He

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause of today's climate change. To address this problem, the world is in an era of new round energy transformation, and the existing energy structure is being reformed. In this paper, according to the Chinese government's action plan for coping with climate change, the China's wind energy sustainable development goals and development route are discussed, and the countermeasures and suggestions are put forward. Wind energy is currently a kind of important renewable energy with matured technology which can be scale-up developed and put into commercial application, and in this transformation, wind energy will play a key role with other non-fossil energy sources. The development and utilization of wind energy is a systematic project, which needs to be solved from the aspects of policy, technology and management. At present, China is in the stage of transferring from “large wind power country” to “strong wind power country”, opportunities and challenges coexist, and the advantages of China's socialist system could be fully used, which can concentrate power to do big things and make contribution in the process of realizing global energy transformation.

  1. Financing climate change adaptation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwer, L.M.; Aerts, J.C.J.H.

    2006-01-01

    This paper examines the topic of financing adaptation in future climate change policies. A major question is whether adaptation in developing countries should be financed under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or whether funding should come from other sources.

  2. Research Advances of Impacts of Climate Changes on Crop Climatic Adaptability

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    无

    2011-01-01

    Agriculture received most direct influences from climate changes. Because of climate changes, agricultural climate resources changed and thus influenced climate adaptability of agricultural products. The growth and output of crops were finally affected. The calculation method and application of agricultural products in recent years were summarized. Several questions about the response of agricultural crops to climate elements were proposed for attention.

  3. Witnesses of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-11-01

    After having evoked the process of climate change, the effect of greenhouse gas emissions, the evolution of average temperatures in France since 1900, and indicated the various interactions and impacts of climate change regarding air quality, water resources, food supply, degradation and loss of biodiversity, deforestation, desertification, this publication, while quoting various testimonies (from a mountain refuge guardian, a wine maker, a guide in La Reunion, an IFREMER bio-statistician engineer, and a representative of health professionals), describes the various noticed impacts of climate change on the environment in mountain chains, on agriculture, on sea level rise, on overseas biodiversity, and on health

  4. Technology and climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrison, R.; Layzedl, D.; McLean, G.

    2002-01-01

    This paper was the major one of the opening plenary session at the Climate Change 2 conference. The paper provides a context for assessing the needs for technologies to reduce the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere. It looks at sources, sinks and trends for GHG, in the world at large and in Canada, and at efforts to develop new technologies to achieve the goals of climate change policy. The paper focusses on transport, electricity and biomass as sectors of interest, both because of their potential for contributing to climate change policy goals within Canada, and also because of research interests

  5. The development of climatic scenarios for assessing impacts of climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carter, T; Tuomenvirta, H [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland); Posch, M [National Inst. of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven (Netherlands)

    1996-12-31

    There is a growing recognition that mitigation measures for limiting future global changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are unlikely to prevent some changes from occurring. Thus, if climate changes appear to be unavoidable, there is an increased need to evaluate their likely impacts on natural systems and human activities. Most impacts of climate change need to be examined at a regional scale, and their assessment requires up-to-date information on future regional climate changes. Unfortunately, accurate predictions of regional climate are not yet available. Instead, it is customary to construct climatic scenarios, which are plausible representations of future climate based on the best available information. This presentation outlines seven principles of climatic scenario development for impact studies, briefly describing some of the strengths and weaknesses of available methods and then illustrating one approach adopted in Finland

  6. The development of climatic scenarios for assessing impacts of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, T.; Tuomenvirta, H.; Posch, M.

    1995-01-01

    There is a growing recognition that mitigation measures for limiting future global changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are unlikely to prevent some changes from occurring. Thus, if climate changes appear to be unavoidable, there is an increased need to evaluate their likely impacts on natural systems and human activities. Most impacts of climate change need to be examined at a regional scale, and their assessment requires up-to-date information on future regional climate changes. Unfortunately, accurate predictions of regional climate are not yet available. Instead, it is customary to construct climatic scenarios, which are plausible representations of future climate based on the best available information. This presentation outlines seven principles of climatic scenario development for impact studies, briefly describing some of the strengths and weaknesses of available methods and then illustrating one approach adopted in Finland

  7. The development of climatic scenarios for assessing impacts of climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carter, T.; Tuomenvirta, H. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland); Posch, M. [National Inst. of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven (Netherlands)

    1995-12-31

    There is a growing recognition that mitigation measures for limiting future global changes in climate due to the enhanced greenhouse effect are unlikely to prevent some changes from occurring. Thus, if climate changes appear to be unavoidable, there is an increased need to evaluate their likely impacts on natural systems and human activities. Most impacts of climate change need to be examined at a regional scale, and their assessment requires up-to-date information on future regional climate changes. Unfortunately, accurate predictions of regional climate are not yet available. Instead, it is customary to construct climatic scenarios, which are plausible representations of future climate based on the best available information. This presentation outlines seven principles of climatic scenario development for impact studies, briefly describing some of the strengths and weaknesses of available methods and then illustrating one approach adopted in Finland

  8. Climate Change and Agricultural Vulnerability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, G.; Shah, M.; Van Velthuizen, H.

    2002-08-01

    After the introduction Chapter 2 presents details of the ecological-economic analysis based on the FAO/IIASA agro-ecological zones (AEZ) approach for evaluation of biophysical limitations and agricultural production potentials, and IIASA's Basic Linked System (BLS) for analyzing the world's food economy and trade system. The BLS is a global general equilibrium model system for analyzing agricultural policies and food system prospects in an international setting. BLS views national agricultural systems as embedded in national economies, which interact with each other through trade at the international level. The combination of AEZ and BLS provides an integrated ecological-economic framework for the assessment of the impact of climate change. We consider climate scenarios based on experiments with four General Circulation Models (GCM), and we assess the four basic socioeconomic development pathways and emission scenarios as formulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its Third Assessment Report. Chapter 3 presents the main AEZ results of the impact of climate change on agriculture. Results comprise environmental constraints to crop agriculture; climate variability and the variability of rain-fed cereal production; changes in potential agricultural land; changes in crop-production patterns; and the impact of climate change on cereal-production potential. Chapter 4 discusses the AEZ-BLS integrated ecological-economic analysis of climate change on the world food system. This includes quantification of scale and location of hunger, international agricultural trade, prices, production, land use, etc. It assesses trends in food production, trade, and consumption, and the impact on poverty and hunger of alternative development pathways and varying levels of climate change. Chapter 5 presents the main conclusions and policy implications of this study

  9. Slovene-English Language Contact and Language Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nada Šabec

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on Slovene - English language contact and the potential language change resulting from it. Both the immigrant context (the U.S. and Canada and Slovenia, where direct and indirect language contact can be observed respectively, are examined from two perspectives: social on the one hand and linguistic on the other. In the case of Slovene Americans and Canadians the emphasis is on language maintenance and shift, and on the relationship between mother tongue preservation and ethnic awareness. The linguistic section examines different types of bilingual discourse (borrowing, code switching, showing how the Slovene inflectional system in particular is being increasingly generalized, simplified and reduced, and how Slovene word order is gradually beginning to resemble that of English. In the case of Slovenia we are witnessing an unprecedented surge in the influence of English on Slovene, especially in the media (both classic and electronic, advertising, science, and the language of the young. This influence will be discussed on a number of levels, such as lexical, syntactic and intercultural, and illustrated by relevant examples.

  10. Fair adaptation to climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paavola, Jouni; Adger, W. Neil

    2006-01-01

    This article identifies social justice dilemmas associated with the necessity to adapt to climate change, examines how they are currently addressed by the climate change regime, and proposes solutions to overcome prevailing gaps and ambiguities. We argue that the key justice dilemmas of adaptation include responsibility for climate change impacts, the level and burden sharing of assistance to vulnerable countries for adaptation, distribution of assistance between recipient countries and adaptation measures, and fair participation in planning and making decisions on adaptation. We demonstrate how the climate change regime largely omits responsibility but makes a general commitment to assistance. However, the regime has so far failed to operationalise assistance and has made only minor progress towards eliminating obstacles for fair participation. We propose the adoption of four principles for fair adaptation in the climate change regime. These include avoiding dangerous climate change, forward-looking responsibility, putting the most vulnerable first and equal participation of all. We argue that a safe maximum standard of 400-500 ppm of CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere and a carbon tax of $20-50 per carbon equivalent ton could provide the initial instruments for operationalising the principles. (author)

  11. Influence of additional language learning on first language learning in children with language disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    To, Carol K S; Law, Thomas; Li, Xin-xin

    2012-01-01

    Multilingualism can bring about various positive outcomes to typically developing children. Its effect on children with language difficulties is not yet clear. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of multilingual learning as a medium of instruction (MOI) on first language (L1) acquisition of children with language disorders (LD). Nineteen Cantonese-speaking students aged 5;8-6;8 who were diagnosed with LD were recruited from a school that used Putonghua (an alternative Chinese dialect) as the MOI when learning Chinese language and were compared with 18 age-and-gender-matched Cantonese-speaking students with LD from a school that used Cantonese as the MOI when learning Chinese language. All the students also learned English (L2) as a subject at school. Proficiency in Cantonese was tested at the beginning and the end of the semester in Grade One in terms of: (1) grammar, (2) expressive vocabulary, (3) auditory textual comprehension, (4) word definition and (5) narration. Mixed-model ANOVAs revealed an effect of time on language proficiency indicating positive gains in both groups. Interaction effects between time and group were not significant. There was a trend that children learning Putonghua showed slightly more improvement in auditory textual comprehension. Proficiency gains were similar across groups. The study found no evidence that a multilingual learning environment hinders the language proficiency in L1 in students who have LD. © 2011 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

  12. DTU climate change technologies. Recommendations on accelerated development and deployment of climate change technologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larsen, Hans; Halsnaes, K [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Risoe National Lab. for Sustainable Energy, System Analysis Div., Roskilde (Denmark); Nielsen, Niels Axel; Moeller, J S; Hansen, Jakob Fritz; Froekjaer Strand, I [Technical Univ. of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby (Denmark)

    2009-09-15

    During 2009, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) has held a number of international workshops for climate change. Participants came from industry, research institutions and government. The workshops focused on sustainable energy systems and climate change adaptation. The summary of conclusions and recommendations from the workshops constitutes a comprehensive set of technology tracks and recommended actions towards accelerated development and deployment of technology within these two key areas. The workshop process has led to three main conclusions. A. Radical changes are needed to develop sustainable energy systems. B. Tools and processes that climate-proof societal planning and management are needed in order to adapt to climate change. C. Partnerships concerning innovation and deployment (research, development and deployment) are required to meet time constraints.

  13. The economics of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jones, T.

    1992-01-01

    Perhaps the most startling aspect of the debate on climate change is the speed with which it has climbed the international political agenda. In 1985, climate change was viewed almost entirely as a scientific issue. Only seven years later, most industrialized countries have made some sort of political pledge to abate their emissions of greenhouse gases over a specific timetable. And earlier this year, 154 countries signed a Framework Convention on Climate Change at the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro. What is the present 'state of play' in the economics of climate change. And what priorities are now emerging in 'post-Rio' policy. 11 ref

  14. Perception, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change: a survey among CDC health professionals in Shanxi province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Junni; Hansen, Alana; Zhang, Ying; Li, Hong; Liu, Qiyong; Sun, Yehuan; Bi, Peng

    2014-10-01

    A better understanding of public perceptions, attitude and behavior in relation to climate change will provide an important foundation for government׳s policy-making, service provider׳s guideline development and the engagement of local communities. The purpose of this study was to assess the perception towards climate change, behavior change, mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the central government among the health professionals in the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in China. In 2013, a cross-sectional questionnaire survey was undertaken among 314 CDC health professionals in various levels of CDC in Shanxi Province, China. Descriptive analyses were performed. More than two thirds of the respondents believed that climate change has happened at both global and local levels, and climate change would lead to adverse impacts to human beings. Most respondents (74.8%) indicated the emission of greenhouse gases was the cause of climate change, however there was a lack of knowledge about greenhouse gases and their sources. Media was the main source from which respondents obtained the information about climate change. A majority of respondents showed that they were willing to change behavior, but their actions were limited. In terms of mitigation and adaptation measures issued by the Chinese Government, respondents׳ perception showed inconsistency between strategies and relevant actions. Moreover, although the majority of respondents believed some strategies and measures were extremely important to address climate change, they were still concerned about economic development, energy security, and local environmental protection. There are gaps between perceptions and actions towards climate change among these health professionals. Further efforts need to be made to raise the awareness of climate change among health professionals, and to promote relevant actions to address climate change in the context of the proposed policies with local

  15. Research on climate effects. Effects of climate changes. Proceedings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fischer, W.; Stein, G.

    1991-01-01

    Global changes affecting the earth are at the forefront of public interest, possibly caused by climate alterations amongst other things. The public expects appropriate measures from politics to successfully adapt to unavoidable climate changes. As well as an investigation into the causes of climatic changes and the corollaries between the different scientific phenomena, the effects on the economy and society must also be examined. The Federal Minister for Research and Technology aims to make a valuable German contribution to international Global Change Research with the focal point ''Effects of Climate Changes on the Ecological and Civil System''. The aim of the workshop was to give an outline of current scientific knowledge, sketch out research requirements and give recommendations on the focal point with regard to the BMFT. (orig.) [de

  16. Climate change, environment and development

    OpenAIRE

    Okereke, Chukwumerije; Massaquoi, Abu-Bakar S.

    2017-01-01

    Climate change, a quintessential environmental problem, is generally recognised as the most important development challenge in the 21st century (IPCC, 2014). In addition to acknowledging its many significant direct consequences, climate change is increasingly used to frame discussions on other important global challenges, such as health, energy and food security. This chapter provides understanding of the intricate and complex relationship between climate change, environment and development.

  17. Climate change and compensation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karsten Klint; Flanagan, Tine Bech

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a case for compensation of actual harm from climate change in the poorest countries. First, it is shown that climate change threatens to reverse the fight to eradicate poverty. Secondly, it is shown how the problems raised in the literature for compensation to some extent...... are based on misconceptions and do not apply to compensation of present actual harm. Finally, two arguments are presented to the effect that, in so far as developed countries accept a major commitment to mitigate climate change, they should also accept a commitment to address or compensate actual harm from...... climate change. The first argument appeals to the principle that if it is an injustice to cause risk of incurring harm in the future, then it is also an injustice to cause a similar harm now. The second argument appeals to the principle that if there is moral reason to reduce the risk of specific harms...

  18. Climate indices of Iran under climate change

    OpenAIRE

    alireza kochaki; mehdi nasiry; gholamali kamali

    2009-01-01

    Global warming will affect all climatic variables and particularly rainfall patterns. The purpose of present investigation was to predict climatic parameters of Iran under future climate change and to compare them with the present conditions. For this reason, UKMO General Circulation Model was used for the year 2025 and 2050. By running the model, minimum and maximum monthly temperature and also maximum monthly rainfall for the representative climate stations were calculated and finally the e...

  19. A University-Level Curriculum in Climate Change for SE Asia and the Asian Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furniss, M. J.; Saah, D. S.; Hines, S. J.; Radel, C. A.; McGroddy, M. E.; Ganz, D. J.

    2014-12-01

    A university-level curriculum has been developed for the SE Asia and Asia Pacific region and is currently being implemented by 12+ universities; in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea. The curriculum is supported by USAID (U.S. Agency for International Development) through the LEAF program (Lowering Emissions in Asian Forests), under the technical leadership of the U.S. Forest Service. Four modules have been developed: Basic Climate Change, Low-Emissions Land Use Planning, Social and Environmental Soundness, and Carbon Measurement and Monitoring. This presentation will focus on the Basic Climate Change module. This is a survey course that covers a wide range of climate change topics, including causes, effects, and responses. The level of detail in each of the covered topics is calibrated to current issues in the region. The module is elaborated in English and will be translated into the national language of the participating countries. The module is designed to be flexible and can be tailored to both degree and non-degree programs; as well as for trainings for natural resources professionals and policy-makers. Important training topics can be selected as short course trainings for practitioners and leaders working on climate change.

  20. Reading Comprehension Difficulties in Chinese-English Bilingual Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Xiuhong; McBride, Catherine; Shu, Hua; Ho, Connie Suk-Han

    2018-02-01

    The co-occurrence of reading comprehension difficulties for first language (L1) Chinese and second language (L2) English and associated longitudinal cognitive-linguistic correlates in each language were investigated. Sixteen poor comprehenders in English and 16 poor comprehenders in Chinese, 18 poor readers in both, and 18 children with normal performance in both were identified at age 10. The prevalence rate for being poor in both was 52.94%, suggesting that approximately half of children who are at risk for Chinese reading comprehension difficulty are also at risk for English reading comprehension difficulty. Chinese word reading, phonological, and morphological awareness were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in Chinese. English word reading and vocabulary were longitudinal correlates of poor comprehension in English. Chinese phonological awareness was an additional correlate of poor comprehension in English. Moreover, poor comprehenders in both Chinese and English showed slower rapid automatized naming scores than the other groups. Findings highlight some factors that might be critical for reading comprehension in L1 Chinese and L2 English; fluency is likely to be a critical part of reading comprehension across languages. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  1. Late Quaternary changes in climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Holmgren, K; Karlen, W [Stockholm Univ. (Sweden). Dept. of Physical Geography

    1998-12-01

    This review concerns the Quaternary climate with an emphasis on the last 200 000 years. The present state of art in this field is described and evaluated. The review builds on a thorough examination of classic and recent literature. General as well as detailed patterns in climate are described and the forcing factors and feed-back effects are discussed. Changes in climate occur on all time-scales. During more than 90% of the Quaternary period earth has experienced vast ice sheets, i.e. glaciations have been more normal for the period than the warm interglacial conditions we face today. Major changes in climate, such as the 100 000 years glacial/interglacial cycle, are forced by the Milankovitch three astronomical cycles. Because the cycles have different length climate changes on earth do not follow a simple pattern and it is not possible to find perfect analogues of a certain period in the geological record. Recent discoveries include the observation that major changes in climate seem to occur at the same time on both hemispheres, although the astronomical theory implies a time-lag between latitudes. This probably reflects the influence of feed-back effects within the climate system. Another recent finding of importance is the rapid fluctuations that seem to be a normal process. When earth warmed after the last glaciation temperature jumps of up to 10 deg C occurred within less than a decade and precipitation more than doubled within the same time. The forcing factors behind these rapid fluctuations are not well understood but are believed to be a result of major re-organisations in the oceanic circulation. Realizing that nature, on its own, can cause rapid climate changes of this magnitude put some perspective on the anthropogenic global warming debate, where it is believed that the release of greenhouse gases will result in a global warming of a few C. To understand the forcing behind natural rapid climate changes appears as important as to understand the role

  2. Late Quaternary changes in climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holmgren, K.; Karlen, W.

    1998-12-01

    This review concerns the Quaternary climate with an emphasis on the last 200 000 years. The present state of art in this field is described and evaluated. The review builds on a thorough examination of classic and recent literature. General as well as detailed patterns in climate are described and the forcing factors and feed-back effects are discussed. Changes in climate occur on all time-scales. During more than 90% of the Quaternary period earth has experienced vast ice sheets, i.e. glaciations have been more normal for the period than the warm interglacial conditions we face today. Major changes in climate, such as the 100 000 years glacial/interglacial cycle, are forced by the Milankovitch three astronomical cycles. Because the cycles have different length climate changes on earth do not follow a simple pattern and it is not possible to find perfect analogues of a certain period in the geological record. Recent discoveries include the observation that major changes in climate seem to occur at the same time on both hemispheres, although the astronomical theory implies a time-lag between latitudes. This probably reflects the influence of feed-back effects within the climate system. Another recent finding of importance is the rapid fluctuations that seem to be a normal process. When earth warmed after the last glaciation temperature jumps of up to 10 deg C occurred within less than a decade and precipitation more than doubled within the same time. The forcing factors behind these rapid fluctuations are not well understood but are believed to be a result of major re-organisations in the oceanic circulation. Realizing that nature, on its own, can cause rapid climate changes of this magnitude put some perspective on the anthropogenic global warming debate, where it is believed that the release of greenhouse gases will result in a global warming of a few C. To understand the forcing behind natural rapid climate changes appears as important as to understand the role

  3. Topic prominence in Chinese EFL learners’ interlanguage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaopeng Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study aims to investigate the general characteristics of topicprominent typological interlanguage development of Chinese learners of English in terms of acquiring subject-prominent English structures from a discourse perspective. Topic structures mainly appear in Chinese discourse in the form of topic chains (Wang, 2002; 2004. The research target are the topic chain, which is the main topic-prominent structure in Chinese discourse, and zero anaphora, which is the most common topic anaphora in the topic chain. Two important findings emerged from the present study. First, the characteristics of Chinese topic chains are transferrable to the interlanguage of Chinese EFL learners, thus resulting in overgeneralization of the zero anaphora. Second, the interlanguage discourse of Chinese EFL learners reflects a change of the second language acquisition process from topic-prominence to subject-prominence, thus lending support to the discourse transfer hypothesis.

  4. U.S. Navy Climate Change Roadmap

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    Climate change is a national security challenge with strategic implications for the Navy. Climate change will lead to increased tensions in nations...with weak economies and political institutions. While climate change alone is not likely to lead to future conflict, it may be a contributing factor... Climate change is affecting, and will continue to affect, U.S. military installations and access to natural resources worldwide. It will affect the

  5. iSeeChange: Crowdsourced Climate Change Reporting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drapkin, J. K.

    2012-12-01

    Directly engaging local communities about their climate change experiences has never been more important. As weather and climate become more unpredictable, these experiences provide a baseline for community decisions, developing adaptation strategies, and planning for the future. Typically, climate change is documented in a top-down fashion: a scientist has a question, makes observations, and publishes a study; in the best case scenario, a journalist reports on the results; if there's time, a local anecdote is sought to put the results in a familiar context. iSeeChange, a public media project funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, reports local environmental change in reverse and turns community questions and conversations with scientists into reported stories that promote opportunities to learn about climate change's affects on the environment and daily life. iSeeChange engages residents of the North Fork Valley region of western Colorado in a multiplatform conversation with scientists about how they perceive their environment is changing through the course of a year - season to season. By bringing together public radio, a mobile reporting and cellular engagement strategy, and a custom crowdsourcing multimedia platform, iSeeChange provides a central access point to collect observations (texts, photographs, voice recordings, and video), organize conversations and interviews with scientists, and report stories online and on air. In this way, iSeeChange is building a dynamic crowdsourced reservoir of information that can increase awareness of environmental problems and potentially disseminate useful information about climate change and successful adaptation strategies. Ultimately, by understanding the community's information needs in a localized question-driven context, the iSeeChange platform presents opportunities for the science community to better understand the value of information and develop better ways to tailor information for communities to use

  6. Potential Impacts of Climate Change in Kenya

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogola, J.S.; Abira, M.A.; Awuor, V.O.

    1997-01-01

    According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), climate change is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that alter the composition of the global atmosphere. It is a phenomenon that is still inadequately understood by the general public. Planners, policy makers and even within institutions of learning, but one which is bound to affect our environment and development activities. There is therefore need for information dissemination, systematic research, policy formulation, and development of strategies for managing climate change. The book is divided into five parts, Part I presents basic information on climate change; Part II looks at climatic change and natural resources; Part III discusses implications of climate change; Part IV presents ethical issues related to climatic change; and Part V deals with responses to climate change

  7. Iranian English Language Teachers' Job Satisfaction and Organisational Climate in Public and Private Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razavipour, Kioumars; Yousefi, Moslem

    2017-01-01

    Organisation issues rarely feature in the English language education literature, since language education is seemingly mostly concerned with the individual learner or teacher. As such, the impact that school climate might have on Iranian English language teachers remains an uncharted territory. This mixed-method study explores the relationship…

  8. Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Academics' Perceptions about Research in a Transitional Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Li; Millwater, Jan; Hudson, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Research capacity building has become a prominent theme in higher education institutions in China and across the world. However, Chinese Teaching English as a Foreign Language academics' research output has been quite limited. In order to build their research capacity, it is necessary to understand their perceptions about research. This case study…

  9. Climate Change: From Science to Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Nicola; Watts, Nick

    2018-03-01

    Climate change poses a significant threat to human health. Understanding how climate science can be translated into public health practice is an essential first step in enabling robust adaptation and improving resiliency to climate change. Recent research highlights the importance of iterative approaches to public health adaptation to climate change, enabling uncertainties of health impacts and barriers to adaptation to be accounted for. There are still significant barriers to adaptation, which are context-specific and thus present unique challenges to public health practice. The implementation of flexible adaptation approaches, using frameworks targeted for public health, is key to ensuring robust adaptation to climate change in public health practice. The BRACE framework provides an excellent approach for health adaptation to climate change. Combining this with the insights provided and by the adaptation pathways approach allows for more deliberate accounting of long-term uncertainties. The mainstreaming of climate change adaptation into public health practice and planning is important in facilitating this approach and overcoming the significant barriers to effective adaptation. Yet, the immediate and future limits to adaptation provide clear justification for urgent and accelerated efforts to mitigate climate change.

  10. Psychometric Evaluation of Chinese-Language 44-Item and 10-Item Big Five Personality Inventories, Including Correlations with Chronotype, Mindfulness and Mind Wandering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carciofo, Richard; Yang, Jiaoyan; Song, Nan; Du, Feng; Zhang, Kan

    2016-01-01

    The 44-item and 10-item Big Five Inventory (BFI) personality scales are widely used, but there is a lack of psychometric data for Chinese versions. Eight surveys (total N = 2,496, aged 18-82), assessed a Chinese-language BFI-44 and/or an independently translated Chinese-language BFI-10. Most BFI-44 items loaded strongly or predominantly on the expected dimension, and values of Cronbach's alpha ranged .698-.807. Test-retest coefficients ranged .694-.770 (BFI-44), and .515-.873 (BFI-10). The BFI-44 and BFI-10 showed good convergent and discriminant correlations, and expected associations with gender (females higher for agreeableness and neuroticism), and age (older age associated with more conscientiousness and agreeableness, and also less neuroticism and openness). Additionally, predicted correlations were found with chronotype (morningness positive with conscientiousness), mindfulness (negative with neuroticism, positive with conscientiousness), and mind wandering/daydreaming frequency (negative with conscientiousness, positive with neuroticism). Exploratory analysis found that the Self-discipline facet of conscientiousness positively correlated with morningness and mindfulness, and negatively correlated with mind wandering/daydreaming frequency. Furthermore, Self-discipline was found to be a mediator in the relationships between chronotype and mindfulness, and chronotype and mind wandering/daydreaming frequency. Overall, the results support the utility of the BFI-44 and BFI-10 for Chinese-language big five personality research.

  11. Climate Change 2014: Technical Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, Chrisopher B.; Barros, Vicente; Mach, Katherine; Mastrandrea, Michael; van Aalst, Maarten; Adger, Niel; Arent, Douglas J; Barnett, Jonathan; Betts, Richard; Bilir, Eren; Birkmann, Joern; Carmin, Joann; Chadee, Dave; Challinor, Andrew; Chaterjee, Monalisa; Cramer, Wolfgang; Davidson, Debra; Estrada, Yuka; Gatusso, Jean-Pierre; Hijioka, Yasuakai; Yohe, Gary; Hiza, Margaret; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove; Huang, He-Qing; Insarov, Gregory; Jones, Roger; Kovats, Sari; Lankao, Patricia Romero; Larsen, Joan Nymand; Losada, Iñigo; Marengo, José; McLean, Roger; Mearns, Linda; Mechler, Reinhard; Morton, John; Niang, Isabelle; Oki, Taikan; Olwoch, Jane Mukarugwiza; Opondo, Maggie; Poloczanska, Elvira; Pörtner, Hans -O.; Reisinger, Andy; Revi, Aromar; Schmidt, Daniela; Shaw, Rebecca; Solecki, William; Stone, Dáithí; Stone, John; Strzepek, Ken; Suarez, Avelino G.; Tschakert, Petra; Valentini, Riccardo; Vicuna, Sebastian; Villamizar, Alicia; Vincent, Katharine; Warren, Rachel; White, Leslie; Wilbanks, Thomas; Wong, Poh Poh

    2014-01-01

    Human interference with the climate system is occurring (WGI AR5 SPM Section D.3; WGI AR5 Sections 2.2, 6.3, 10.3 to 10.6, 10.9). Climate change poses risks for human and natural systems. The assessment of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability in the Working Group II contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report (WGII AR5) evaluates how patterns of risks and potential benefits are shifting due to climate change. It considers how impacts and risks related to climate change can be reduced and managed through adaptation and mitigation. The report assesses needs, options, opportunities, constraints, resilience, limits, and other aspects associated with adaptation. It recognizes that risks of climate change will vary across regions and populations, through space and time, dependent on myriad factors including the extent of adaptation and mitigation. For the past 2 decades, IPCC’s Working Group II has developed assessments of climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. The WGII AR5 builds from the WGII contribution to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report (WGII AR4), published in 2007, and the Special Report on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation (SREX), published in 2012. It follows the Working Group I contribution to the AR5. The WGII AR5 is presented in two parts (Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects, and Part B: Regional Aspects), reflecting the expanded literature basis and multidisciplinary approach, increased focus on societal impacts and responses, and continued regionally comprehensive coverage. [1.1 to 1.3] The number of scientific publications available for assessing climate change impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability more than doubled between 2005 and 2010, with especially rapid increases in publications related to adaptation, allowing for a more robust assessment that supports policymaking (high confidence). The diversity of the topics and regions covered has similarly expanded, as has

  12. Regional climate change scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somot, S.

    2005-01-01

    Because studies of the regional impact of climate change need higher spatial resolution than that obtained in standard global climate change scenarios, developing regional scenarios from models is a crucial goal for the climate modelling community. The zoom capacity of ARPEGE-Climat, the Meteo-France climate model, allows use of scenarios with a horizontal resolution of about 50 km over France and the Mediterranean basin. An IPCC-A2 scenario for the end of the 21. century in France shows higher temperatures in each season and more winter and less summer precipitation than now. Tuning the modelled statistical distributions to observed temperature and precipitation allows us to study changes in the frequency of extreme events between today's climate and that at the end of century. The frequency of very hot days in summer will increase. In particular, the frequency of days with a maximum temperature above 35 deg C will be multiplied by a factor of 10, on average. In our scenario, the Toulouse area and Provence might see one quarter of their summer days with a maximum temperature above 35 deg C. (author)

  13. Feframing Climate Change for Environmental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weems, Caitlin; Subramaniam, Prithwi Raj

    2017-04-01

    Repeated warnings by the scientific community on the dire consequences of climate change through global warming to the ecology and sustenance of our planet have not been give appropriate attention by the U.S. public. Research has shown that climate change is responsible for catastrophic weather occurrences--such as floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and heat waves--resulting in environmental and public health issues. The purpose of this report is to examine factors influencing public views on climate change. Theoretical and political perspectives are examined to unpack opinions held by the public in the U.S. on climate change. The Health Belief Model is used as an example to showcase the efficacy of an individual behavior change program in providing the synergy to understand climate change at the microlevel. The concept of reframing is discussed as a strategy to alter how the public views climate change.

  14. Climate Change and Poverty Reduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, Simon

    2011-08-15

    Climate change will make it increasingly difficult to achieve and sustain development goals. This is largely because climate effects on poverty remain poorly understood, and poverty reduction strategies do not adequately support climate resilience. Ensuring effective development in the face of climate change requires action on six fronts: investing in a stronger climate and poverty evidence base; applying the learning about development effectiveness to how we address adaptation needs; supporting nationally derived, integrated policies and programmes; including the climate-vulnerable poor in developing strategies; and identifying how mitigation strategies can also reduce poverty and enable adaptation.

  15. Working memory and sentence comprehension of Hong Kong Chinese children with specific language impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siu, Elaine; Man, David W K

    2006-09-01

    Children with Specific Language Impairment present with delayed language development, but do not have a history of hearing impairment, mental deficiency, or associated social or behavioral problems. Non-word repetition was suggested as an index to reflect the capacity of phonological working memory. There is a paucity of such studies among Hong Kong Chinese children. This preliminary study aimed to examine the relationship between phonological working memory and Specific Language Impairment, through the processes of non-word repetition and sentence comprehension, of children with Specific Language Impairment and pre-school children with normal language development. Both groups of children were screened by a standardized language test. A list of Cantonese (the commonest dialect used in Hong Kong) multisyllabic nonsense utterances and a set of 18 sentences were developed for this study. t-tests and Pearson correlation were used to study the relationship between non-word repetition, working memory and specific language impairment. Twenty-three pre-school children with Specific Language Impairment (mean age = 68.30 months; SD = 6.90) and another 23 pre-school children (mean age = 67.30 months; SD = 6.16) participated in the study. Significant difference performance was found between the Specific Language Impairment group and normal language group in the multisyllabic nonsense utterances repetition task and the sentence comprehension task. Length effect was noted in Specific Language Impairment group children, which is consistent with the findings of other literature. In addition, correlations were also observed between the number of nonsense utterances repeated and the number of elements comprehended. Cantonese multisyllabic nonsense utterances might be worth further developing as a screening tool for the early detection of children with Specific Language Impairment.

  16. Climate change and respiratory health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerardi, Daniel A; Kellerman, Roy A

    2014-10-01

    To discuss the nature of climate change and both its immediate and long-term effects on human respiratory health. This review is based on information from a presentation of the American College of Chest Physicians course on Occupational and Environmental Lung Disease held in Toronto, Canada, June 2013. It is supplemented by a PubMed search for climate change, global warming, respiratory tract diseases, and respiratory health. It is also supplemented by a search of Web sites including the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, World Meteorological Association, National Snow and Ice Data Center, Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, and the World Health Organization. Health effects of climate change include an increase in the prevalence of certain respiratory diseases, exacerbations of chronic lung disease, premature mortality, allergic responses, and declines in lung function. Climate change, mediated by greenhouse gases, causes adverse health effects to the most vulnerable patient populations-the elderly, children, and those in distressed socioeconomic strata.

  17. Gender Perspectives on Climate Change & Human Security in India: An Analysis of National Missions on Climate Change

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jyoti K Parikh

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Women play a crucial role in many activities essential for coping with climate change. Indian women appear to be more vulnerable than men to differential impacts of climate change because they share most of the household managing responsibilities but have limited access to participation in decision making and governance. Most of the policies for climate change adaptation and mitigation do not specifically address the vulnerability of women. The National Action Plan for Climate Change (NAPCC, formulated to shape future discourse of climate change adaptation and development, recognizes the differential impacts of climate change on society, but incorporates merely a few gender specific measures. The paper suggests gender specific measures for each mission of the NAPCC to make the adaptation and development process more inclusive and sustainable in India.

  18. Land use and climate change

    OpenAIRE

    Koomen, E.; Moel, de, H.; Steingröver, E.G.; Rooij, van, S.A.M.; Eupen, van, M.

    2012-01-01

    Land use is majorly involved with climate change concerns and this chapter discusses and reviews the interrelationships between the vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation aspects of land use and climate change. We review a number of key studies on climate change issues regarding land productivity, land use and land management (LPLULM), identifying key findings, pointing out research needs, and raising economic/policy questions to ponder. Overall, this chapter goes beyond previous reviews ...

  19. Wine and Climate Change

    OpenAIRE

    Ashenfelter, Orley; Storchmann, Karl

    2014-01-01

    In this article we provide an overview of the extensive literature on the impact of weather and climate on grapes and wine with the goal of describing how climate change is likely to affect their production. We start by discussing the physical impact of weather on vine phenology, berry composition and yields, and then survey the economic literature measuring the effects of temperature on wine quality, prices, costs and profits and how climate change will affect these. We also describe what ha...

  20. Uncertainties and climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Gier, A.M.; Opschoor, J.B.; Van de Donk, W.B.H.J.; Hooimeijer, P.; Jepma, J.; Lelieveld, J.; Oerlemans, J.; Petersen, A.

    2008-01-01

    Which processes in the climate system are misunderstood? How are scientists dealing with uncertainty about climate change? What will be done with the conclusions of the recently published synthesis report of the IPCC? These and other questions were answered during the meeting 'Uncertainties and climate change' that was held on Monday 26 November 2007 at the KNAW in Amsterdam. This report is a compilation of all the presentations and provides some conclusions resulting from the discussions during this meeting. [mk] [nl

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