International Academics Research Articles

Professional adaptation of international academics: a critical discussion through the lens of complexity theory

ABSTRACT The number of international academics in universities has increased steadily over the past decades, driven by universities’ internationalisation strategies to enhance their competitiveness in the global market and the academics’ desire for career advancement through broadening global experiences, international networks and collaboration. Despite their growing number, little attention has been given to the professional transition of international academics. This paper offers a critical discussion on the professional adaptation challenges, strategies and institutional support available to international academics using complexity theory as a lens. By conceptualising the university as a complex system, we argue that professional adaptation needs to be integrated into the entire system, a move from being largely international academics’ business to a bilateral and reciprocal approach. This has implications for host institutions to consider their own position towards international academics as well as review current support policies and practices for these individuals.

An update on the concept and importance of health literacy in young people

Abstract The burden of non-communicable diseases is a growing public health crisis that requires immediate action. As health literacy (HL) has been strongly linked with health behaviours and health outcomes, it has many potential implications for health care and health education. Although recent research has emphasised the importance of developing HL early in life, much of the research has focused on understanding and improving HL in adult populations. As young people socialise in different contexts and are exposed to different health-related situations, they require different HL competencies. As part of a wider project, this study aims to gather the perceptions of international academics and community-based practitioners on the concept and importance of HL in and for young people. Specifically, the study aims to (i) explore current understandings of the concept of HL in young people; (ii) examine the importance of HL for young people; (iii) identify those at risk of having low levels of HL; and (iv) determine the specific health behaviours that young people are currently struggling with. A stakeholder mapping exercise was used to recruit academic and community-based practitioners to take part in a one-to-one interview (n = 29). Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The preliminary findings suggest that HL is a very broad yet individualised concept that is critical to develop at an early age given the difficulty young people face in adopting healthy behaviours in their social and physical environment. Furthermore, the participants highlighted that minority groups, such as members of the travelling community and refugees, and those from low socioeconomic populations, are at greatest risk of low HL. Finally, the health issues that appeared to be of most concern in young people were vaping, social media use and poor mental health. These findings can be used to inform appropriate interventions and policies to target the HL of young people. Key messages • Health literacy is a very, yet individualised, concept that is critical to develop given the difficulty young people face in adopting healthy behaviours in their social and physical environment. • Minority groups, such as members of the travelling community, refugees, and those from low socioeconomic populations are at greatest risk of low levels of health literacy.

How can we support the development of health literacy in young people?

Abstract Over the past two decades, there has been an increased interest in Health literacy (HL) to improve health behaviours and health outcomes. Due to its potential impact, HL is considered one of the major issues in public health and is increasingly being recognised in recent policies and initiatives. Although, the research justifying the importance of HL continues to grow, there is a lack of research focusing on strategies to improve HL and challenges that are faced when supporting HL, particularly in young people. Thus, this study aimed to explore, from the point of view of international academics and community-based practitioners, (i) key considerations when supporting young people’s HL; (ii) major challenges to supporting young people’s HL; and (iii) possible solutions to overcome such challenges. A stakeholder mapping exercise was used to recruit academic and community-based practitioners to take part of in a one-to-one interview (n = 29). Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The preliminary findings suggest that: the participants feel the use of participatory approaches is essential when designing a HL-focused program; the importance of embedding HL education and awareness into schools; the value in using interactive style learning; and the importance of targeting those ‘hardly reached’ populations. The participants highlighted that accessibility to schools; difficulty in engaging young people; and ensuring programs are sustainable as major challenges. Solutions to overcome which challenges were posited, including professional development for teachers; the development of engaging and context specific programs that target the young person’s physical and social environment; and importance of influencing national policies to value HL. These findings can be used to inform interventions and policies to target the HL of young people. Key messages • The importance of adopting participatory approaches when developing health literacy interventions. • The importance of developing feasible, context specific and engaging health literacy curricula within schools.

Not Everyone Will Be Taken into the Future? The Role of Forecasting in International Relations Theory

The 2010s witnessed intensified debates in international academia on the relationship between theory and forecast, but Russian scholarship remained detached from these discussions. This article intends to examine the contribution of theory to forecasting in IR, identifying prospects for combining the prescriptive, explanatory, interpretive and predictive functions of science. It reveals the origins of both theoretical skepticism about prediction and the countercriticism of futile theorizing. The article reveals the limitations of both the hypothetico-deductive model of scholarship, which dominates the discipline, and the statistical inductivism that opposes it. The analysis begins by identifying the different classes of theories in international relations studies. It demonstrates that the basic assumptions of normative, deconstructive, and interpretive theorizing are poorly compatible with prediction. The article further scrutinizes the ambivalent attitude of explanatory theories towards the matter, claiming the fundamental unpredictability of social interactions. It explores the growth in expectations since the late 2000s that the accumulation of big data and the advancement of methods for processing them will provide predictions without relying on explanatory inferences. Nevertheless, the value of scholarship for foreign policy practice requires a combination of theoretical explanations and predictive studies. This article suggests that for theory to play a major role in forecasting, forecasts must play a major role in theorizing. In this sense, reluctance to test their logical inferences with predictions exemplified by scholars poses a barrier to the development of IR studies.

Research on Environmental Legal Risks in Foreign Investment of Chinese Transnational Corporations

Since the development of the trend of economic globalization, the number of China's overseas investment projects has risen sharply, but at the same time, the potential environmental problems and risks in the investment process have become evident. This essay discusses the environmental legal risks faced by Chinese transnational enterprises in the process of outbound investment and analyzes the specific impact of host country environmental regulation risk and multilateral treaty environmental regulation risk. As global environmental problems become increasingly serious, the investment activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) may be harmful to the local environment while promoting local economic development. This essay summarizes the current status of research on environmental legal in Chinese and international academia, emphasizes that home countries should take responsibility for environmental protection in their investment places when promoting overseas investment. This essay proposes a strategy covering three dimensions--international level, home country and TNCs, in order to promote the sustainable development of TNCss overseas investment.

Assessing the impact of multichannel sales integration on the efficiency and competitiveness of Ukrainian retail in the context of digital commerce

One of the most significant changes the business world is currently experiencing is the progressive development and adoption of digital commerce. Taking into account the rapid development of web and Internet technologies, e-commerce is increasing volumes on a global scale and is being formed as a separate branch of the economy. Every year from 30 % to 70 % businesses of all countries (regardless of their level of development) are moving to the online environment. This is especially true for business entities that carry out trading activities. The object of the study is the process of integrating multichannel sales in retail trade in Ukraine, with a focus on its impact on the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises in the market. The problem under consideration is to determine the most effective methods and strategies for implementing e-commerce in the Ukrainian economy, which is under the influence of martial law and other socio-economic factors. The main results of the study show that the integration of online and offline sales channels significantly increases business productivity. It was found that the use of omnichannel platforms can significantly improve customer interaction and increase sales. In particular, the analysis showed that properly integrated sales channels can increase the efficiency of enterprises by 20–30 %. These results can be explained by the high level of adaptability of Ukrainian companies to new technologies and their ability to quickly integrate digital platforms into their business processes. The study also confirmed that businesses that actively use omnichannel strategies achieve higher levels of efficiency and competitiveness. In practice, these results can be applied to the real-life conditions of Ukrainian retailers. This is especially true for small and medium-sized enterprises seeking to increase their market presence through the introduction of modern technologies and the integration of various sales channels. Using the data obtained will allow companies to optimise their business models, develop effective marketing campaigns and improve customer interaction. The findings can also be applied to the analysis of omnichannel retailing and digital commerce in other countries at different stages of retail development. This study also provides practical recommendations that may be useful for international companies and academics interested in improving retail performance.

A complex-valued encoding golden jackal optimization for multilevel thresholding image segmentation

Multilevel thresholding image segmentation is not only an indispensable component of image computation and machine vision but also a fundamental element of image analysis and feature extraction, which has received extensive attention from many domestic and international academics in recent years. However, the threshold level rises in direct proportion to the computational complexity. Therefore, this paper presents a complex-valued encoding golden jackal optimization (CGJO) established on Kapur’s entropy to accomplish this issue, and the intention is to split the available image into a multitude of conspicuous salient portions that illustrate concepts and procedures of the pertinent object. The golden jackal optimization (GJO) employs the cooperated foraging of the jackals to imitate prey searching, enclosing and pouncing to generate the optimum solution. The complex-valued encoding employs the diploid’s notion to alter the real and imaginary of the search agent, which amplifies the information multiplicity and reinforces the inherent parallelism to motivate productive search and inhibit voracious convergence. The functionality and viability of the CGJO are confirmed by comparison with BWOA, DOA, COA, LCA, OOA, SABO, GJO and CRWOA. The experimental results reveal that the CGJO explores and exploits to acquire a superior convergence speed, greater numerical precision and stronger segmentation quality. Additionally, the CGJO offers excellent practicability and stability to address image segmentation successfully.

Vibration Analysis using Finite Element Analysis (FEA): An Evaluation of Pico-Tubular Bulb Type Turbine Blades Fabricated in Composite Materials

Tubular turbines have been widely employed and evolved fast when its introduction in the 1930s due to their strong technical and economic qualities and application. Because its performance and structure differ from those of ordinary vertical shaft units, local and international academics worked extensively on research techniques and technological means using numerical simulation and model testing. The transmissions of a high quantity of power, which may cause unwanted vibrations that reduce efficiency, increase wear, and, in the worst-case scenario, cause serious damage. In this paper, the material propose in order to substantiate that the random excitations and excess vibration of the pico-turbine can be prevented is the use of CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymer) and PLA (polylactic acid). In this paper, ANSYS® Mechanical modal simulation is used to evaluate the structures’ robustness behavior of the composite materials that were used as the main material in the fabrication of turbine blades for bulb-type turbine application. The use CFD simulation in SOLIDWORKS® is needed to examine the pressure fluctuation caused by unsteady flow that can contribute in the unwanted pulsation and to conform the modal simulation results. To validate the results, pressure pulsation experimentation is conducted to evaluate the fluctuation of the pressure affecting the blades or in the rotating region and it is analyzed through frequency response domain. Hence, in this paper, it is proven that the vibration behavior of the material is acceptable since the resulting natural frequency provides resulting stress, strain, and deformation that is allowable and below its ultimate tensile strength.

Human Rights and Territories: Academic Perceptions of the 2030 Agenda

This study is the result of the debate sessions held at the 1st International Conference on Human Rights and Territories at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, aimed at analyzing the impact and the agenda itself in the territorial and local contexts. To conduct the research, five focus groups were organized, focusing on the five elements of the agenda: People, Peace, Planet, Prosperity, and Partnerships, with the participation of over 30 international academics, followed by an analysis of the recorded speeches. The results provide a critical epistemic perspective on the 2030 Agenda and its connection with territories, concluding the difficulty of establishing human rights processes in territories from agendas that are centered from the global to the local level.

Literature Review of Research on Biharis Issue in Bangladesh

During the partition of India, approximately 1.3 million Urdu-speaking Muslims, suffering communal riots, migrated to the former East Pakistan (Bangladesh). They were known as Biharis. The Pakistan ruling class prefered Biharis due to their Muhajir status. Therefore, they supported Pakistani domination consciously. Some Biharis joined the Pakistan army during the Bangladesh Liberation War. With the establishment of Bangladesh, all Biharis were considered traitors.A number of Biharis opted for Pakistan. Despite a repatriation process lasting over 20 years, many Biharis still stranded in Bangladesh. The Biharis were granted Bangladeshi citizenship in 2008. However, they continue to face challenges integrating into mainstream in terms of education, employment, travel and residence in Bangladesh.Since the 1970s, extensive research has been conducted by the international academic community on various aspects related to the origin of Biharis, repatriation efforts, identity issues and human rights. With the influence of international academics, there has been an increasing focus within Chinese academics on the plight of Biharis in Bangladesh.The Biharis issue in Bangladesh remains further study from various perspectives and angles. We can understand nation-state construction processes of Bangladesh as well as examining geopolitical dynamics within South Asia from an ethnic perspective.

PADMARAJAN’S CREATIVE ILLUSTRATION OF MASCULINITIES

Padmarajan is an eminent personality of Indian cinema whose passionate and exquisite oeuvre of films grappled with the minds of viewers in India but remains underexplored in international academia. This article focuses on the creative representation of masculinities by Padmarajan with the aid of varied masculinity theories starting from the foundational masculinity ideas of Raewyn Connell to the alternate masculinity concepts rooted in the South Asian socio-cultural milieu. The paper examines how skilfully Padmarajan presents different forms of masculinity primarily subverting the traditional depictions in his select films.

Expatriate academics’ adjustment experience at a higher education institution in South Africa

Orientation: Expatriate academics in higher education institutions (HEIs) face several socio-cultural and integration challenges that significantly influence their adjustment. Insufficient support and a non-conducive environment hamper their well-being.Research purpose: This study aims to describe the adjustment experiences of expatriate academics at a HEI in South Africa. Recommendations are made towards creating an enabling environment in which expatriate academics can better facilitate adjustment.Motivation for the study: This study aimed to compete globally, HEIs appoint international academics with scarce skills to enhance their teaching, learning, and research. Expatriate academics are driven by push and pull factors when accepting international opportunities. Entering an unfamiliar environment, implies disruption on a psychosocial, socio-economic and job adjustment level, and if not well-supported results in maladjustment affecting expatriate well-being and job performance.Research design, approach and method: An interpretive, qualitative approach was adopted. Five purposively selected expatriate academics partook in semi-structured interviews and the data were analysed through content analysis.Main findings: A lack of employer support and cultural diversity factors impede participants’ ability to adjust at work and in the community. Having grit and being resourceful in overcoming challenges resulted in better adjustment.Practical/managerial implications: Facilitating collaborative relationships between expatriates and host country nationals, and using supportive services and resources will enable better adjustment.Contribution/value-add: Expatriate academics share their lived experiences of what hindered their adjustment and several recommendations are made to HEIs and foreign academics towards creating an enabling environment promoting adjustment.

Paul D'ANIERI, Ukraine and Russia: From Civilized Divorce to Uncivilized War (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2023)

Russia’s ongoing military intervention in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, has attracted considerable attention from International Relations specialists, analysts, intellectuals, and academics. Russia's decision to go to war has been interpreted in a variety of ways. Some scholars have linked it to the country's imperial and Soviet history (Mankoff 2022; Rojeck 2022; Trenin 2022; Timothy 2022; Van Harpen et al. 2023), while others have seen it as a deliberate distraction from internal problems (Torbakov 2022).

Internationalisation of teaching, learning, and the curriculum in context: Emerging perspectives and new possibilities

The conceptualisation of internationalisation of the curriculum has evolved over the last 30 years. Simultaneously, its contextual foundation has also gradually shifted from being Euro-centric to encompass a broader landscape beyond the Western domain. Therefore, understanding of Internationalisation of the curriculum needs to include practices in these contexts. This special issue hence has invited researchers and practitioners in the field of higher education internationalisation to participate in this conversation. The focus of the discussion is on emerging and alternative understanding and practices of internationalising the curriculum which include incorporating local cultural values and perspectives in the curriculum. This Special Issue features articles that firmly situate the Internationalisation of teaching, learning, and the curriculum in their specific contexts and acknowledge the influence of important contextual factors on the motivations, processes, and outcomes of internationalisation. Closely associated with taking an inclusive lens in understanding internationalisation of the curriculum, we also discuss the inclusivity of communicating research in this field. Specifically, we discuss the challenges encountered by scholars working outside the English-speaking domain to communicate their research with English-speaking research communities. We hence call for support for international academics from the publication outlets. We hope that this Special Issue constitutes a step towards a more diverse and inclusive scholarship in the field of internationalisation in higher education.

Travelling in time, between places, and jobs: exploring temporal dimensions of academics’ international trajectories

ABSTRACT Based on the assumption that mobility has both spatial and temporal dimensions, the aim of this paper is to bring forth the often-neglected temporal dimensions of international academic mobility. We explore how time and temporality plays a role in the decisions and lived lives of international academics by analysing their experiences and mobility trajectories. We do so by drawing on qualitative interviews with 21 international academics differing in age, nationality, and career level employed at three Danish universities. The analysis shows that for many of our participants, mobility had little to do with internationalisation of higher education rationales. Rather their mobility rationales were embedded in personal needs and wants, often related to securing permanence for the less privileged and related to experiences and adventure for the privileged. By unfolding the stories about which decisions, coincidence, and sacrifices are part of academic mobile life, we show how citizenship-based hierarchies lead to spatial and temporal inequalities. The paper concludes that for the international academics, places are positioned not only geographically but also temporally in hierarchical ways and that the individual mobility trajectories are differently entangled in a global-temporal orientation.

Consuming Royalty

Consuming Royalty

Women in Latin American Academia

This article discusses the gender inequality female researchers and university professors face in the social sciences in four Latin American countries: Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. The objective is to understand the forms of discrimination these women face in their work environment and analyze how these forms operate and impact their labor marginalization. It also seeks to characterize the difficulties faced by female academics in reconciling their reproductive and care responsibilities with professional practice. The second section sets out the theoretical framework and defines the concept of gender inequality. The third analyzes the gender gap in international academia, contrasting the most recent data from the Global North and South on the obstacles faced by women in professional academic settings. The fourth reviews case studies in Chile, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina and offers a characterization of this problem in these countries. The final section presents four analytical-interpretative conclusions.

Repositioning Nordic film culture in Beijing, China: The Wandering in Scandinavia symposium

The Wandering in Scandinavia symposium, held at the UCCA Centre for Contemporary Art in Beijing in December 2023, invited international experts, scholars and young academics to present new research on Nordic/Scandinavian film and television in China. The symposium offered an unprecedented opportunity to discuss the relevance of Nordic cinema in mainland China. While Nordic films are often considered niche products in the Chinese market, in an era of rapid globalization, Chinese scholarship offers a distinctive perspective on how Nordic films connect with and influence audiences and creatives in this vital market. Papers focused on Nordic feature films, including animation, and documentaries, examining these films from diverse perspectives, including auteurist studies, ecological research and historical investigation. The Young Scholars Forum introduced fresh perspectives on topics ranging from queer cinema to war films and new technologies, providing innovative examples of how Nordic cinema travels transnationally.

Tokenized but remaining: how do international academics make sense of their decision to remain in Japanese universities?

AbstractDespite challenging and uncertain circumstances and the perception of being tokenized symbols in Japanese universities, the majority of international academics are more inclined to remain in their affiliations. The study intends to elucidate how international academics make sense of their decision to remain in Japanese universities. The data are from a qualitative dataset examining the integration experiences of international academics in Japan. Following the philosophical foundations of purposive sampling in interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), which was applied as a methodological framework, the study recruited a total of 30 participants. The study reveals varied sensemaking strategies among the interviewees, characterized as survivors, pragmatists, and ambitionists. Survivors refer to those who were compelled to remain in their current affiliations often due to constraints related to their academic roles or age restrictions. Pragmatists prioritize the practical benefits of their positions or affiliations, deriving from professional aspects, sociocultural dimensions, and personal considerations. Ambitionist academics generally view experiences in their current affiliations as a stepping stone toward future professional opportunities elsewhere. The study suggests that insufficient dedication to recruiting and retaining international academics may pose potential long-term risks for Japanese higher education institutions (HEIs) in the global academic sphere, affecting their internationally competitive standing and resilience in an evolving academic landscape. The study provides theoretical and practical implications to researchers, university administrators, and policymakers.

International academics in national research institutes in Korea and Japan: contributions, reasons for migration, and challenges

This study aims to explore and compare the experiences of international academics in government-funded research institutes in Korea and Japan and focuses on their integration through primary roles and contributions, reasons to stay, and the challenges they face in their academic and daily lives. Although international academics are critical human resources in academia, their experiences in northeast Asian research institutes, instead of universities, require thorough investigation. Additionally, policy initiatives and projects in these countries tend to emphasize international academics in universities instead of those in research institutes. The study conducted semi-structured interviews between October 2020 and July 2021 with 15 international academics from government-funded research institutes in Korea and Japan. We intend to illuminate their experiences outside of universities and demonstrate that a clear academic role, a (relatively) horizontal organizational culture, and systemic support are the major reasons for their decision to stay and integrate. We also highlight the challenges they face in relation to policy, language, and family issues. International academics help create an internationalized work environment, although they frequently struggle to bridge domestic and international academia. All interviewees were male academics working in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields; thus, further studies are required to explore the experiences of female international academics and those working in other areas and to compare between the academic cultures of universities and research institutes in Korea and Japan.