8411 research outputs found
Sort by
Measuring What Matters: Exploring Student Motivations to Inform International Student Recruitment
Get PDFOver the last decade, international students in the United States have surpassed the one million mark (Institute of International Education [IIE], 2016(a). Research found here highlights the goals and motivations of this growing constituency and examines factors that influence international students to choose educational experiences in the United States.
Two online surveys were distributed, one to international recruitment agents that work for UC Berkeley Extension, and another to international students. The paper examines survey responses along with existing research to offer data-driven theories on how international educators might more effectively approach student recruitment and program design. The research concluded that international students seek out information primarily from program websites. People such as family, friends, agents, and professors were also influential in student decision making, and were the primary way students first found out about study abroad opportunities.
Important student decision-making factors were the course or academic subject of interest, as well as the desired school. Factors like geographic location and return on investment―how the experience will improve job prospects in the host country―were also of interest. Job and potential career prospects are of great significance to international students, with career-focused activities and career services (Roy et al., 2016) shown to be quite important to this group.
Keywords: international students, student recruitment, international student recruitment, recruitment strategy, international education, international student trends, campus internationalization, marketing, global student mobility, international student mobility, international student decision making, international student motivations, understanding international students, what do international students want?, how to reach international students, digital marketing, international higher education, higher education marketing, strategic international student recruitment, communicating with international students, international student market, targeting international students, UC Berkeley Extension International Programs, UC Berkeley Extension International Students, Rebecca Lubitz-Marchen
Tsirik - fold the leaves so that others may be guided: A study of how the BriBri women are preserving their culture to ensure a sustainable future for their community
Get PDFBananas are one of Costa Rica’s largest exports, along with coffee, palm oil, and cocoa. The banana plantations are large-scale, are most often run by multinational companies, and are considered to be run as enclave economies (Equal Exchange, 2016). This monoculture crop production has been globally accused of human rights abuses said to include, but not be limited to, violating the rights of indigenous people and loss in culture and tradition. For this paper, I studied the effects that large-scale agricultural corporations have on the BriBri, a matriarchal and indigenous group who live on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. As I will show in this paper, the large-scale agricultural programs are affecting the health and fertility of the women of the tribe, as well as redefining gender roles. These changes have further policy implications for the culture and livelihood of the BriBri community. The BriBri have combated many of the negative effects of the commercialization of agriculture by creating and sustaining an agrotourism business model that is helping to preserve and revitalize the BriBri culture.
Many academics have speculated on the effects of tourism on indigenous peoples and ask whether tourism tourism in indigenous communities is a promising opportunity for development or a lurking undercover threat. In this study, I examine how agrotourism influences the identity of the BriBri people, specifically the women, as well as how it encourages the revitalization of the culture, tradition, and language of the BriBri. This paper will further provide recommendations of how the BriBri can continue to preserve their culture, and how the Costa Rican government can reinforce the treaties they signed to stand with indigenous people. The BriBri model has global significance because it stands as an alternative for other indigenous groups facing similar situations, by encouraging the use of tradition, culture, and lifestyle to find solutions to their own situations
Did You Get the Message?: Influence of Study Abroad Marketing to Prospective Students in Maryville College Study Abroad Demographics
Get PDFDespite the increased institutional marketing and outreach to students on study abroad benefits and the visibility of successful returned students, long-term and short-term study abroad program interest has not grown past 25% of each graduating class at Maryville College – a small, liberal arts institution in Maryville, Tennessee. To better understand how early exposure to study abroad information may influence students’ decisions to go abroad at Maryville College, I examined college promotional materials, admissions staff practices and study abroad perceptions, as well as students’ memories of study abroad marketing during their prospective phase and their decision-making process. The findings suggest four main barriers to study abroad at Maryville College, which include a lack of diversity and inclusion in marketing, little understanding of academic relevance of study abroad and the study abroad financial structure, along with over-emphasizing the international community at Maryville College
Summer of Culture: Jordan - A CROSS-CULTURAL EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM THE UNITED STATES AND JORDAN
Get PDFSince the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 and the ensuing degradation of relations between the Arab world and the West, tensions between these two regions have escalated on nearly every level of society. Popular cultural and media in the United States is flooded with references to radical Islamic terrorism, and the entertainment industry has reinforced the more prejudicial sentiments of Americans through a constant stream of television programs and feature films glorifying American military involvement in the region and those at home who combat this apparent plague on daily American life. Likewise across the Middle East and North Africa, students who take in Western and local media have become disillusioned with the West. They are trapped between an destabilizing region and a region that seems to fear them.
The Summer of Culture: Jordan program is a joint initiative between the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR), King’s Academy in Jordan, and several public school districts in rural Pennsylvania. Through a hybrid curriculum that combines numerous theories on individual and group development with a use of communications technology and group dialogue facilitation, the program aims to address cultural prejudice and provide students with a safe space in which to explore their own stereotypes and misconceptions of their international peers.
This pilot program will challenge students to learn about another culture, process that learning through first-hand experience, and then share their conclusions with others through guided reflection and dialogue. Upon completion of the program, students will engage their communities to become advocates for cultural learning and openness. Through the experiences of these students, communities will start the slow process of becoming more aware of cultural reality in the face of global alarmism, and eventually, these global citizens may guide their countries towards renewed friendship
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: SUPPORTING WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT IN SUKHBAATAR, MONGOLIA: A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of Women in Sukhbaatar Province, Mongolia To Understand The Need for and Opportunities for Women’s Empowerment
Get PDFKofi Annan, 7th Secretary General of the United Nations has said, “There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.” There is growing research focused on women’s empowerment in the world representing many different cultures, but that literature does not include Mongolia or much of East Asia. Furthermore, there are many successful women’s empowerment centers around the world, but few collections of those centers’ best practices. This research hopes to change that.
This is the first women’s empowerment research focused on Mongolia using both qualitative and quantitative methods, combined with best practices from women’s empowerment centers around the world. This research seeks to understand how women’s empowerment is being done successfully, what needs and desires exist in Sukhbaatar province for women’s empowerment resources and how those resources might be provided through a center. This research builds upon the work that has been done in the field and attempts to fill in some of the gaps in the literature since these studies have never been done in Mongolia.
The current study examined through interviews and surveys in the field the understanding, opinions and needs of women in Sukhbaatar, Mongolia. The results showed that the vast majority of women surveyed showed a strong desire to have more programs and resources women’s empowerment in the province and a center following the best practices outlined in the research could be very successful. This has important implications for the future of the women’s empowerment movement and the developing country of Mongolia
ARMENIA’S SOCIAL SECTOR: AN ANALYSIS OF ARMENIA’S NONPROFITS
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to explore and analyze the common traits and operational methods of Nonprofits in regions located outside of Armenia’s capital, Yerevan. A comprehensive organizational analysis using The Six Practices Framework by Crutchfield and Grant (2012), along with additional frameworks and theories were utilized to assess Kapan Women’s Resource Center Nonprofit Organization (KWRC NGO). From the analysis, a strategic plan was developed as well as the projected impact implementation of the plan would have on KWRC NGO, their partners, and their community. Nine other organizations were surveyed to gain a better understanding of prevailing operations and obstacles NGOs in the regions face.
NGOs in the regions are often isolated and lack any form of sustainability due to scare resources and lower populations. A polarization exists amongst NGOs that deters collaboration and leads to the duplication of efforts. This inductive study uses a holistic approach to connect the Six Practices Framework to methods employed by the 10 NGOs in this study to see if it is a realistic framework that Armenian NGOs could utilize. The qualitative research methods utilized in this study are, one-on-one interviewing, visual analysis, and field research. The data analysis revealed numerous internal and external challenges as well as tactics used to address those challenges. The findings suggest inconsistencies between the self-reporting of the organization and the data collected. Recommendations for stronger NGOs in Armenia include, real collaborations, specific/well defined mission statements, community-based initiatives, and implementing Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART) organizational goals
Homefulness: The Cultural Safety Net in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Get PDFAbstract
This exploratory study aims to answer the basic question of why the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan appears to be without homelessness. A developing nation coping with economic, ecological, and geopolitical instability has somehow managed to create a society where homelessness seems to not exist. The study begins with a review of literature on homelessness and theory in order to conceptualize this complex issue, followed by a review of data on homelessness in developing countries, and an overview of the Islamic thought on poverty. The guiding theory of this research is social collectivism and how Jordan fits into this cooperative framework. The researcher hypothesizes: first, that Jordanian culture is collectivist and creates sympathy for the homeless; second, that this collectivism derives from Jordan’s Islamic heritage; and third, that these cultural and religious components generate a network of organizations and government programs that effectively house the homeless. The significance of this study is due to the ubiquity and obduracy of homelessness in both developing and developed countries worldwide, while Jordan appears to be uniquely free of the problem. Interviews were conducted with individuals with respective expertise in culture, religion, NGOs, and government staff to get a thorough understanding of the topic. A survey was also conducted to lend public opinion to the study. In conclusion, the Jordanian government and Islam have little to do with the actual reasons why homelessness doesn’t exist. Rather, the familial/tribal culture motivates Jordanians to make sure none of their family or tribe goes without the basic necessity of housing, and the social theory needed to fully conceptualize this social structure does not yet exist. This research adds dimension to the study of global homelessness by detailing the rare case of its elimination, and by revealing a major paucity of social theory for understanding atypical societies
From Rural to Global: Public High School Internationalization Efforts in Rural Wyoming
No full textThe presence of internationalization efforts is primarily concentrated at the higher institutional level, excluding a certain demographic of students that do not attend college. Yet, if the overall objective of internationalization is to contribute to a more interconnected and interdependent world, then internationalization efforts need to extend to the public high school domain so that all of our youth can develop the skills and aptitudes needed to succeed in a globally connected world. This internationalization course-linked capstone analyzes current internationalization efforts that are integrated into the curriculum at the public high school level; specifically, at JACKSON HOLE HIGH SCHOOL located in rural Wyoming.
After conducting interviews with teachers and administrators at the high school in combination with local research, the study revealed that JACKSON HOLE HIGH SCHOOL executes a few international efforts into their curriculum, however they are not following a conceptual or operational policy that supports comprehensive internationalization. This is a consequence of professional development barriers, inequities in regards to student access to engage in courses with an international component, and the disinclination of some stakeholders.
Throughout this capstone, I present a conceptual framework that suggests certain adjustments and isolated changes that the high school can take to begin a transformation process towards internationalization. This study aims to encourage not only JACKSON HOLE HIGH SCHOOL but all public high schools in rural locations, to expand and implement more internationalization undertakings in order for students to achieve a mindset of shared responsibility and collaboration
Local Perspectives of Sustainable Development
Get PDFAbstract
The mainstream school of thought and literature surrounding sustainable development contains numerous terms, assumptions, and perspectives which creates a myriad of meanings. As the academic literature attempts to understand this wide field of study, the perspectives have only grown instead of solidifying into a consensus. This paper first presents a literature review which explores current views and perspectives of how the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘development’ independent of each other are used and how, by combining these terms, create even more perspectives and concepts with sometimes conflicting meanings. This paper then discusses the difficulties of using the term sustainable development as a practitioner of sustainable development ‘in the field’ and proposes practitioners should have a meta-knowledge of the wide uses of the term(s) for the purpose of creating a locally contextual meaning of sustainable development through the use of local knowledge. The author uses an ethnomethodological approach to interview International Non-Governmental Organization’s host country national staff to create mean-making of the term, its use, and its impact within the country of Sierra Leone. The result of this meaning-making shows that while parts of the local perspective of sustainability connect to the current literature, their views are uniquely divergent in some aspects. The locally created view of sustainable development is uniquely different. This divergence should compel practitioners to not only have a thorough understanding of the various literature on Sustainable development, but also develop what I think of as ‘contextual empathy’ of the local perspectives and usage of the term Sustainable Development
What, where, why: a survey of Felidae populations at Enashiva Nature Refuge, Tanzania
Get PDFAs felid populations worldwide continue to deteriorate due to human activities, understanding how felid species utilize various landscapes, along with what factors affect such use or disuse, becomes essential to the preservation of these species. While previous research has examined felid populations around the world, many species and locations remain understudied. This study surveyed felid species at Enashiva Nature Refuge (ENR) in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem to determine (1) what felid species are present at ENR, (2) where these species generally occur, and (3) why felids reside at ENR in low or high numbers. Through the use of opportunistic camera trapping, path sign surveys, and direct searches, the general abundance and habitat usage of felid species was investigated, along with the presence of felid prey and potential competitor species. Five species of felids were documented at ENR to varying degrees of frequency, with the caracal (Caracal caracal) proving absent. Many prey and competitor species were also recorded, including high numbers of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Additionally, staff reports and literature comparisons indicated four main elements impacting ENR felid populations. Overall, understanding felid utilization of ENR may help expand knowledge of resident felid populations and inform local conservation efforts, which may assist in facilitating sustainable compromises between human and wildlife needs