Pinyin is a phonological encoding system used to spell modern Chinese Mandarin due to the phonological opacity of Chinese characters. The present study examined the role of Pinyin spelling in the reading abilities of adolescents learning Chinese as a foreign language. A total of 158 Indonesian senior primary students were tested on Pinyin spelling, character production, listening comprehension, depth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension. Pinyin spelling skills were assessed by two measures, Pinyin Dictation and Pinyin Tagging. Path analysis revealed (...) that even after controlling for the effect of character production, Pinyin dictation performance influenced reading comprehension through the mediating effect of listening comprehension and the depth of vocabulary knowledge, and Pinyin tagging performance also influenced reading comprehension through the mediating effect of the depth of vocabulary knowledge. The results highlight the importance of Pinyin skills for Chinese reading abilities of CFL learners. As a reliable and explicit indicator of specifying Chinese phonological representations and processing, Pinyin spelling has a long-term and multifaceted influence on higher-level CFL abilities. (shrink)

BackgroundThe Quality of Life in Life-threatening Illness-Family Carer Version has been proven to be a brief, reliable, and valid instrument for measuring the caregivers’ QOL in western cultures. However, whether it is suitable to be used in Chinese culture is unclear. This study aimed to test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of.Materials and methodsA total of 202 family caregivers of advanced cancer patients from Fujian Provincial hospice care center were investigated using the Chinese version of QOLLTI-F-CV from (...) September 2019 to August 2020. The questionnaire was evaluated using an exploratory structural equation model. Its psychometric properties were examined in terms of factor structure, convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability.ResultsDifferently from the seven-domain original QOLLTI-F, its Chinese version had only three domains including caregiver’s self-feelings, caregiver’s stress, and caregiver’s outlooks. The total variance explanation rate for the domains was 55.4%. The Chinese version fitted well with the structure model ; its comparative fit index was 0.971; Tucker–Lewis index was 0.954; and the root mean square error of approximation was 0.072. The success rate of its convergent and discriminant validity calibration test was 100%. Its Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire and three domains was from 0.650 to 0.874, and test–retest reliability was 0.836.ConclusionThe 3-domain QOLLTI-F-CV is a valid and reliable instrument for identifying QOL concerns of FCs of advanced cancer patients in China. The refactoring structure optimally matches Chinese culture and value system well. (shrink)

This paper incorporates fairness concerns and consumer reference price effects into a two-echelon building-material closed-loop supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer. By establishing four differential game models, we investigate the sustainable operations and cooperation of this supply chain. The four game models are a Nash noncooperative game, Stackelberg game with cost sharing, Stackelberg game with fairness concerns and cost sharing, and centralized decision model. By using dynamic models and optimal control theory, we obtain the two members’ optimal (...) equilibrium strategies in the supply chain. Analytical results show that the consumer reference price effect has a positive impact on the manufacturer’s effort level, retailer’s publicity level, and product brand goodwill, which can improve the supply chain performance. The retailer’s partial commitment to cost sharing can enhance the production enthusiasm of the manufacturer, improve the brand reputation of the product, and enhance the two members’ individual profitability. The distributional fairness concerns of the manufacturer not only prevent the manufacturer and retailer from achieving Pareto improvement but also lead to the decline of the manufacturer’s effort level and profitability. The research conclusions of this paper can provide some insights into the cooperation and sustainable development of the supply chain. (shrink)

Ben shu dui Luling Wang xue de yan jiu, zhu yao cong yi xia liang fang mian zhan kai: shou xian, zhong dian jie shao le ti chu Luling Wang xue de li lun yi ju he Luling Wang xue fa zhan de ge ge jie duan de jie ding, te dian ji qi zhu yao de dai biao ren wu. Qi ci, ju ti lun shu le Luling Wang xue fa zhan de ge ge jie duan de zui zhu (...) yao dai biao ren wu de zhi xue li lu, xin xue si xiang, jing xue te dian. Tong guo dui Luling Wang xue zong ti shang de yan jiu, gai kuo he zheng li yi ji dui ge ge fa zhan jie duan zhu yao de dai biao ren wu Wang xue si xiang de bu tong shi jiao de tan tao chan fa, cong zong ti shang rang shi ren jiao wei xi tong de liao jie Luling Wang xue de gai mao ji qi cao chuang, fa zhan, ding sheng ji shi wei de li shi guo cheng he zhong yao dai biao ren wu de Wang xue si xiang. Tong shi, zai qian mian yan jiu de ji chu shang, dui Luling Wang xue zai Jiang you Wang xue nai zhi Yangming hou xue fa zhan guo cheng zhong de zhong yao di wei yi ji dui zhong wan Ming ru xue si xiang fa zhan de ying xiang zuo le zong jie. (shrink)

The Negative Problem Orientation Questionnaire is a widely used tool for assessing negative problem orientation. However, its construct and measurement invariance has not been adequately tested in adolescents. The present study explored the possible construct of the NPOQ and its measurement invariance in a sample of 754 Chinese adolescents. The results supported a bifactor model of the NPOQ that consists of a general factor NPO and three domain-specific factors including perceived threat, self-inefficacy, and negative outcome expectancy. A multiple-group CFA indicated (...) that the bifactor model showed strict invariance across gender and age. The general and domain factors showed unique variance in indexes of worry, depression, anxiety, and stress, which supported well incremental validity of them. This study confirms for a bifactor conceptualization of the NPOQ and its measurement invariance across gender and age in Chinese adolescents. Additionally, it is recommended that the total score should be used to assess NPO in Chinese adolescents. (shrink)