Factors that influence the intent to pursue a master's degree: evidence from Shandong Province, China.

Introduction: In recent years, the pursuit of a master's degree has become a social phenomenon of wide concern. It is essential to understand why large number of students choose to pursue master's degree. This study aims to empirically analyze the factors that influence the intent to pursue a master's degree. Method: Based on the extended theory of planned behavior, this study conducts a questionnaire survey of university students in Shandong Province, which has had the highest number of people taking the postgraduate entrance examination in China for several years. A total of 440 questionnaires were finally collected, including 417 valid questionnaires. And then ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to analyze the factors that influence the intent to pursue a master's degree. Results: In general, the intent to pursue a master's degree is positively influenced by attitude (ß = 0.161, p < 0.01) and subjective norms (ß = 0.208, p < 0.01), and negatively influenced by risk perception (ß = -0.084, p < 0.05). Compared with male students, female students' intent is more likely to be influenced by risk perception (ß = -0.144, p < 0.05) and social factors (ß = 0.140, p < 0.05). The intent of upperclass students tends to be positively influenced by perceived behavioral control (ß = 0.125, p < 0.05), whereas the negative impact of risk perception (ß = -0.219, p < 0.05) on the intent is significant for underclass students. The intent of students in rural areas are more sensitive to risk perception (ß = -0.194, p < 0.01) than those of students in cities. In private universities, social factors (ß = 0.445, p < 0.05) significantly affect the intent to pursue a master's degree. In ordinary public universities, the intent of students is more likely to be influenced by risk perception (ß = -0.082, p < 0.05). Conclusion: The study is helpful to strengthen the understanding of the influencing factors of the intent to pursue a master's degree. In general, the intent to pursue a master's degree is mainly influenced by attitude, subjective norms and risk perception. Moreover, the influencing factors vary among different groups (e.g., female vs. male, rural areas vs. cities). Furthermore, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, risk perception, and social factors have greater impacts on the intent of students from low-income households than those from high-income households. This study can provide policy implications for universities to take targeted educational measures to encourage students to make a choice that suits their own development after graduation.

Are House Prices Affected by PM2.5 Pollution? Evidence from Beijing, China.

With the progress of high-quality development in China, residents have begun to focus on the air quality of their residential areas in an effort to reduce the health threats of air pollution. Gradually, the risk associated with air pollution has become an important factor affecting housing prices. To quantitatively analyze the impact of air pollution on house prices, panel data, including data for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations, house prices and other auxiliary variables from 2009 to 2018, were collected from 16 districts in Beijing, China. Based on this dataset, ordinary least squares (OLS), moderating effect and threshold effect models were constructed for empirical investigation. Within the studied decade, PM2.5 pollution shows a significant decreasing trend of −3.79 µg m−3 yr−1 (p < 0.01). For house prices, the opposite trend was found. The empirical results indicate that PM2.5 pollution has a negative effect on house prices and that every 1% increase in PM2.5 causes an approximately 0.541% decrease in house prices. However, the inhibition of PM2.5 on housing prices is moderated by regional educational resources, especially in areas with high education levels. In addition, per capita disposable income can also cause heterogeneities in the impact of PM2.5 on house prices, whereby the threshold is approximately CNY 101,185. Notably, the endogeneity problems of this study are solved by the instrumental variable method, and the results are robust. This outcome suggests that the coordinated control of air pollution and balanced educational resources among regions are required for the future sustainable development of the real estate market.

[Research Progress of Medical Ultrasound Assessment of Placental Function].

Our country has been using maturity grading method, which was proposed by Grammum in 1979, to evaluate the placental function. However, this method is subjective to consequence because it totally depends on the observation and experiences of clinicians. With the development of ultrasound technology, therefore, we reviewed more novel applications in other aspects of placenta (such as blood flow, vascularization, etc). Over the past years, scholars in the world have done a lot of research around these topics. In this review we introduce placental maturity grading with B-mode ultrasound, placental vascularization qualitative and quantitative analysis with three-dimensional Doppler ultrasound and placental volume measurement, respectively.