International Course Research Articles

Automatic Final-Product Assessment of Virtual Reality Mastoidectomy Performance: A Validity and Reliability Study.

Assessment is key in modern surgical education to monitor progress and document sufficient skills. Virtual reality (VR) temporal bone simulators allow automated tracking of basic metrics such as time, volume removed, and collisions. However, adequate performance assessment further includes compound rating of the stepwise bony excavation, and exposure and preservation of soft tissue structures. Such complex assessment requires further development of automated assessment routines in the VR simulation environment. In this study, we present the integration of automated mastoidectomy final-product assessment with validation against manual rating. At two international temporal bone courses, 33 ORL trainees performed anatomical mastoidectomies in the Visible Ear (VR) Simulator with automatic performance assessment using a newly implemented rating routine based on the modified Welling Scale. Automated assessment was compared with manual ratings by experts using absolute agreement, intraclass correlation, and generalizability analysis to establish validity and reliability. The overall average agreement between manual and automatic assessment was 83.9% compared with the inter-rater agreement of 88.9%. A majority of items (15 out of 26) showed high agreement between automated and manual rating (>85%). Intraclass correlation coefficients were found to be high. Generalizability analysis with D-studies found that five repetitions per participant are needed for a G coefficient >0.8, which is considered necessary for high-stakes assessments. We have demonstrated the feasibility, validity, and reliability of an automatic assessment system integrated into a VR temporal bone simulator. This can prove to be an important tool for future self-directed training with skills certification.

Embedding Sustainability in Tourism Education: Bridging Curriculum Gaps for a Sustainable Future

The evolving challenges in the tourism industry, particularly those related to sustainability, demand significant revisions to current degree programs. This paper presents the design of a higher education curriculum for tourism studies at a Spanish university, responding to industry needs for broader, high-level knowledge and skills, with a strong emphasis on sustainability, digital transformation, and socially responsible practices. The curriculum prioritizes critical and strategic thinking alongside liberal reflection to empower students to lead in sustainable tourism development. Developed collaboratively with the entire tourism faculty, the curriculum design was informed by an extensive analysis of 105 international university courses, 204 job offers, feedback from 195 alumni, and ongoing consultations with professionals and community partners. Grounded in the concept of curriculum space and the philosophic practitioner framework, the curriculum integrates knowledge, soft skills, and attitudes to foster an innovative, sustainable learning ecosystem that prepares graduates to tackle the complexities of modern tourism with a focus on long-term environmental and social impacts.

The Neotropical Biodiversity Mapping Initiative: Transforming Venezuelan biodiversity monitoring and capacity building

Tropical Latin America is home to an enormous share of the world's biodiversity. Despite its immense natural wealth, the region faces a significant deficit of reliable biodiversity data and lacks the local capacity necessary to collect such data. The Neotropical Biodiversity Mapping Initiative (NeoMaps or NeoMapas) is a long-term biodiversity monitoring program. NeoMaps has not only addressed these gaps in biodiversity data in one of the megadiverse tropical countries, Venezuela, but has also emerged as a model for efficiently surveying biodiversity while strengthening the local capacity needed to conduct these surveys. After three nationwide systematic surveys and international field courses in 2006, 2009, and 2010, NeoMaps assembled an invertebrate collection and biodiversity database with over 170,000 records of occurrence and abundance for birds, dung beetles, and butterflies. NeoMaps activities lead to direct outcomes by reducing biodiversity knowledge gaps for three taxonomic groups and training more than 60 conservationists from Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, and Spain. NeoMaps had a broader impact on national capacity building programs, and made important contributions for improving, sharing and applying national biodiversity knowledge.

A Tribute to Jaume Porta Casanellas and His Influence on Soil Science

This article provides personal and professional assessments from disciples, colleagues and friends of Jaume Porta Casanellas (Barcelona, 1944; Lleida, 2023), a prominent soil scientist. He began his agricultural engineering studies at the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) where he met Marta López-Acevedo, his wife and outstanding collaborator. At UPM, he started his early work in soil science under the guidance of Professor Carlos Roquero who became his mentor and friend. Jaume Porta was a dedicated, passionate soil scientist who engaged extensively in teaching and research in Soil Science, while also excelling as a manager. He emerged as a leader due to his initiatives in promoting Soil Science in Catalonia and Spain, and for his forward-thinking vision, evident in his decisions as Rector of the University of Lleida, which have significantly contributed to the city’s development. From the beginning, he advocated for detailed (1:25,000) soil mapping of Catalonia to enhance territorial planning and agricultural progress. His primary research focus was on salt-affected soils and soils with gypsum, alongside soil erosion and conservation. Porta devoted a lot of effort to improve soil field descriptions with his Agenda de campo. He played a key role in standardizing soil analytical methods, establishing large series laboratories in Spain, notably the LAF in Sidamon (Lleida), and aligning Spanish soil labs with the international GLOSOLAN network. As president of the SECS, he energized activities and encouraged member participation. His educational publications, mainly his comprehensive textbook Edafología, are considered fundamental in Soil Science across Spanish-speaking countries, as is the Multilingual Dictionary of Soil Science, representing the pinnacle of his efforts to rigorously disseminate soil science concepts and terms in Spanish, Catalan, Galician, and Portuguese. He contributed significantly to international Soil Science courses in Mexico and played a key role in establishing the JADE postgraduate training program. He facilitated the creation and international visibility of the Spanish Journal of Soil Science. Additionally, he advocated for the establishment of the Soil Sciences Documentation Centre (Ce.SECS) to preserve historical publications and the legacy of soil scientists. Jaume Porta’s enduring impact, both professionally and personally, will be felt for years to come.

Teaching Reform of International Course on Seismic Data Interpretation in Universities under the Background of Big Data

Teaching Reform of International Course on Seismic Data Interpretation in Universities under the Background of Big Data

A transformative model for teaching and learning emotional intelligence for aspiring entrepreneurial leaders

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurial leaders, social-science researchers, and small business practitioners call for the early development of emotional intelligence (EI). Although several programs integrate key EI concepts, there are few examples of how to develop an integrated learning framework for teaching and learning EI skills for daily use. This article introduces a practical transformative model of emotional intelligence (TEI) that emphasizes the personally meaningful development of personal, emotional, relationship, and life skills that are so important for school, work, and life success. A 1-day seminar experience embedded in a European-based international summer school course in the School of Management Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland, generated new evidence for how a skills-based curriculum in EI can be used to empower future entrepreneurs and leaders. The study reveals new findings for integrating a practical approach for engendering TEI for leaders.

Emphasizing Sustainability in Entrepreneurship Education: Lessons Learned from a Case Study

In response to the growing imperative for sustainable entrepreneurship, this study investigates the efficacy of integrating targeted sustainability content into an action-learning-oriented international entrepreneurship course. This case study aimed to evaluate the impact of integrating sustainability content into an existing entrepreneurship course focusing on food-related business ideas to enhance students’ sustainability literacy and understanding of sustainable entrepreneurship. Self-reflection protocols of two consecutive student cohorts of the same course were compared before and after the curriculum modification. The results clearly show that both student groups have built up many competencies, and significant knowledge of, entrepreneurial skills. However, the first group built up fewer skills in sustainability. The findings serve as an essential insight for entrepreneurship lecturers who aim to enhance entrepreneurial and sustainability skills among their students, as well as a thorough understanding of impact entrepreneurship. They receive helpful advice on which content to add to their existing entrepreneurship courses to emphasize sustainability.

Gender and Advertising: Europe, Latin America, and North America

Abstract: This article captures the perspectives of three advertising experts who spoke at Michigan State University on gender and advertising for an international advertising course. Christina Noble Knight, executive creative director of UKnight in Sweden, discussed Sweden's advancements in gender equality, highlighting how advertising both reflects and shapes societal norms. She pointed out that while Sweden leads many countries in progressive policies like universal healthcare and parental leave, challenges such as gender pay gaps and limited numbers of women in leadership persist in advertising agencies, especially regarding race, ethnicity, and disability. Dr. Marta Mensa, from the University of North Texas, examined gender disparities in Latin American advertising, focusing on systemic barriers that women face in creative roles in Brazil, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. Her research revealed low female representation and pervasive discrimination. Dr. Jean Grow, professor emerita at Marquette University, critiqued the state of American advertising, especially after the #MeToo movement. Grow emphasized the industry's slow progress in addressing gender inequality and holding company's lack of accountability. Across the talks, the speakers stressed the importance of structural changes, the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in advertising, and the role that advertising can play in empowering underrepresented groups and promoting societal change.

Innovation and Practice of Online-Offline Blended Bilingual Teaching in an International Finance Course

With the acceleration of globalization and the promotion of information education policies, the teaching approach for international finance courses in colleges and universities is undergoing unprecedented changes. Policies related to the development of national education information have clearly stated that school education should support the use of digital technology to innovate teaching and learning methods, emphasizing the improvement of education quality and efficiency. In this context, the innovation of the teaching mode of international finance courses is particularly important. International finance is an important discipline for cultivating compound talents with international vision and professional skills. As an innovative teaching method, online-offline hybrid bilingual teaching not only extends the boundaries of teaching resources in terms of time and space but also enhances the interactivity and practicality of teaching content. This approach has a significant impact on improving students' overall abilities and international competitiveness. It can be said that this teaching mode combines the flexibility of online learning with the interactive advantages of offline instruction, offering a new development direction for international finance courses in higher education. Based on this premise, the paper focuses on analyzing the significance of implementing online hybrid bilingual teaching in international finance courses and then introduces specific measures in detail.

Practice of Interactive Teaching Mode in International Finance Courses in Higher Vocational Education

As one of the important subjects in the teaching system of higher vocational education, the international finance course can effectively enhance the financial knowledge of vocational students and cultivate a group of vocational college talents with international perspectives and financial professional knowledge. Therefore, this article takes the interactive teaching mode as the starting point, explores the necessity and problems of the interactive teaching mode in the international finance curriculum of vocational colleges, and proposes practical strategies from relevant aspects to improve the quality level of the international finance curriculum.

Is it safe enough to be brave?

This qualitative study aimed to discover what students need for a positive learning experience on an international online platform. An elective international online course created by two social work schools, in Israel and Germany, was followed by an online questionnaire using SoSci Survey. The findings of a three-stage qualitative content analysis indicated that a safe space was generated throughout the course but that no brave space was created, because students avoided stressful issues. The study contributes to ISW educators worldwide by highlighting the need to create international safe spaces for students, but that these need not always be brave spaces, which might hinder students’ ability to study.

Virtual Gathering Platforms in Academic Teaching: Potential and Applications

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid shift towards online learning where educators and students had to quickly adapt to new digital formats. However, the core aspects of community building and social interaction that are essential to traditional classrooms became challenging to maintain. To address this issue, we were interested in testing Virtual Gathering Platforms (VGPs) Topia and WorkAdventure to see how effectively they could be adapted to various academic teaching and learning settings. These examples of Extended Realities (XR), adopted from the 2D metaverse, aim to improve communication and interactivity in a fun and engaging way, allowing users to create immersive worlds for socialising, and collaborating. Using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), Technological Self-Efficacy (TSE) and distributed scaffolding frameworks as a guide, we created adaptable templates of both platforms that not only introduced users to how they work, but also included features flexible enough to suit various academic disciplines and promote social engagement and collaborative learning. We then implemented a case study and invited university educators teaching international courses to adapt the templates and assess them within their own learning settings. In addition, it was important for us to use the on-boarding sessions as a focal point. Here, we introduced the templates through multiple resources and offered one-to-one support to develop their use within chosen learning scenarios which ranged from an icebreaker activity to an online student resource centre. Observations then documented the adapted templates being used with students in these settings, and feedback regarding user perceptions of the platforms and the support strategies used was gathered. The study reveals the complex interplay between user experiences, support strategies, and educational frameworks, emphasising the need for adaptable and collaborative approaches to optimise these platforms in higher education.

New tools for learning airway management

INTRODUCTION Game-based learning, also called edutainment, has been promoted as an alternative to the unidirectional, passive teaching of traditional medical education. Solving enigmas and problems through creativity and critical thinking, which is encapsulated in ‘escape rooms’, has been adapted to teach medicine as a way to enhance the mental models of proceeding. We considered an educational escape room as an activity to promote teaching and training in airway management, integrating knowledge, technical and nontechnical skills and collaborative teamwork during crisis situations. METHODS No published experience on this topic was found. Therefore, we created an educational escape room focused on airway management. We describe the steps undertaken from the design and development of the escape room process (as part of the curriculum of an international airway course) to the results of a survey completed by the participants at the end of the escape room process. RESULTS Satisfaction with the experience was rated at least 8 points (0 to 10 numerical rating scale) by 80% of the 147 course participants. Two thirds also rated the experience as at least 8 points (0 to 10 Likert scale) as being helpful in improving behaviour in real cases, and enhance organisational teamwork skills. CONCLUSION The airway escape room was feasible for training in airway management. Participants rated it as valuable to gain team competencies. The experience encourages further development and its possible use in other clinical settings.

Perspective Transformation of Cultural Awareness: A Qualitative Study on Research Students’ Experiences of International Cross-Institutional Webinars

Twenty-first century transformations have taken place within the framework of globalisation of the economy, the spread of information technology and global migration resulting in increased cultural diversity in many societies. This qualitative study investigated perspective transformation in 18 research students, from Australia, Hong Kong SAR, and Sweden, participating in an international online course by using Mezirow’s theory of perspective transformation and Kiely’s six forms of transformative change (intellectual, moral, political, cultural, personal, and spiritual). The approach to learning facilitated global networking and a commitment to support growth in the students’ research practice. Validating the link between research students’ learning experiences and perspective transformation theory encourages educators to develop future online educational materials to promote cognitive flexibility and reflexivity and increase students’ cultural awareness to inform their research practices.

An educational approach to develop intercultural nursing care for refugees from Ukraine: A qualitative study.

To describe how nurses and nursing students in Poland and the United States perceive the practice of intercultural care of refugees from Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainian citizens sought safety in other countries when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Nurses in Poland and the United States are positioned to provide nursing care for refugees from Ukraine yet lack intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes to meet refugee needs. This education-focused qualitative description study was conducted in Spring 2023. Eighteen MSN and BSN students from one university in Poland and one university in the United States completed an international virtual exchange course that concentrated on the health and well-being of refugees from Ukraine. Students' reflection papers generated the data for this study. Content analysis was used to systematically structure the data, and themes were inductively derived for an initial understanding of intercultural care for refugees. The COREQ guidelines were followed for reporting study findings. Major themes were troubled communication, overlooked trauma-informed care, and compromised vaccine status. Language differences, a gap in nursing knowledge, and cultural variations impeded intercultural care. To address intercultural care for refugees from Ukraine, macro- and microlevel factors should be considered. Healthcare facilities need certified interpreters or adequate language-access technology for nurses. Nursing programs might evaluate content on trauma-informed care and cultural competency to meet the needs of war-affected refugees. Leaders from Ukrainian refugee communities could partner with nurses to deliver culturally relevant information to increase vaccine uptake. Nurses should advocate for inclusion of the WHO competency standards of care for refugees in healthcare policies with emphasis on communication and evidence-informed practice. Placing Ukrainian community leaders on health councils could bridge the gap between refugees and mainstream society.

Motivation Differences Between Different Groups of International Business Students in Guangdong Communication Polytechnic

This study investigated the motivations of 332 students from Guangdong Communication Polytechnic, conceptualizing the students’ motivations for studying international business. The students answered a motivation questionnaire with 30 Likert-type questions. This questionnaire was built to collect information about students’ motivations to study international business for international business teachers and researchers. The questionnaire was adopted from Glynn (2009). The grading of the questionnaire was reliable and related to the students’ preparation before entering the polytechnic, their grade point averages in international business courses, and their faith in the relevance of international business courses for their future occupations. The conceptualization of motivation for studying international business was divided into five aspects, including internal motivation and individual relevance, self-efficiency and judgement anxiety, independence, occupation motivation, and degree motivation (Glynn, 2009). The result of this study showed that in their final year, international business students achieved the best performance in internal motivation and individual relevance, self-efficiency, and independence for international business learning. Second-year students had the best extrinsic motivation. The freshmen reported the most anxiety in assessments.

Civil Protection in Europe: Towards a Unified Command System? Update on knowledge-sharing work and future actions

In the context of climate change, increasing disaster severity and extension, the paper suggests to DGECHO, agency managing the European civil protection mechanism, an improvement for joint operations command-and-control practices. It constitutes an update of Monet et al. (2020) paper, enhancing the work progresses in terms of analysis, applicability, monitoring and training. In this perspective, the work of the authors is completely dedicated to the improvement of interoperability when different (national) civil protection forces work together, to respond to emergencies or disasters. Building on theoretical comparative studies, this opinion paper now relies on an interoperability monitoring tool and consolidates the ways on defining the future for an “European Command System”, proposing innovative operational practices by associating knowledge exchange and operational training. Actually, the presentation will depict how to organize a training strategy at European level, alternating international and regional courses, to pave the way for future harmonization.

New angles and long walks: building regional networks through union education

PurposeThis article examines the role the Australian Trade Union Training Authority (TUTA) played in international education through the provision of trade union courses and exchanges. We consider how an investigation of trade union networks contributes to a richer understanding of international education linkages.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on research conducted for an Australian Research Council (ARC)-funded project: Trade union training: reshaping the Australian industrial landscape (ARC LP180100500). This research involved a critical analysis of 60 semi-structured oral history interviews and textual archives, including the official records held by the National Archives of Australia and papers held by the Noel Butlin Archives, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and in private collections.FindingsTUTA was established primarily as a national union training organisation, but from its inception, it also acted as a hub for the development of regional and international labour networks. The nature of TUTA’s work placed it at the intersection of international trade union and educational domains. Although there were some points of contact with formal international programs (e.g. Japan–Australia and Kellogg Foundations, the Colombo Plan and US Department of Labour exchanges schemes), the specific contribution of TUTA is overlooked in the educational exchange literature. The role of TUTA is revealed through institutional connections and individual experiences.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is required to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of TUTA from the perspective of former participants in international TUTA course and current and former trade unionists in the Asia–Pacific.Originality/valueThis article builds new knowledge by examining the connections forged in the Asia–Pacific region at the intersection of trade union and educational networks, an area often overlooked in the literature on educational exchange.

A Study of the Heterogeneous Application of China-Based Teaching Methods in International Trade and Business Law Courses

For China's teaching methods in international trade and business law courses, the audience's professional knowledge system framework, China's teaching methods in international trade and business law courses in the heterogeneity of the application of the basis lies in the professional way of thinking differences. Since the reform and opening up, the domestic trade has been closely integrated with the development of China's economy and the need for foreign trade activities, China wants to develop trade and strengthen economic exchanges with countries around the world, should understand and comply with the international commercial law and international trade practices, prior to the negotiation of the contract should strive to be detailed and clear, specific and complete, and should be strictly abide by the terms and conditions of the process, and should not be all to our own, since a set of, and thus causing many problems and losses and affecting the credibility of the country. Many problems and losses and affect the credibility of the country. This is particularly important for students of international trade and business law, the importance of international trade and business law programme. As for the teaching methods in China, there are two kinds of teaching methods in international trade and business law: the heterogeneous application of direct teaching method is reflected in the differentiated explanation of the basic concepts and principles of international trade and business law, while the heterogeneous application of case teaching method is shown in the differentiation of the case selection and implementation process. For the above two methods, the author proposes other teaching methods for reference.

Transforming International Marketing Education in the Digital Economy Era: A Paradigm Shift and Targeted Exploration

With the advent of the digital economy era, new technologies have given rise to new economies and business models. This has led to a shift in the economic landscape of business education services, transitioning from the industrial economy to the digital economy. Consequently, the field of business education requires innovation and transformation in its models and methods of instruction due to the emergence of new knowledge and skills. The new economy has brought about fresh objectives and demands for business education, necessitating active adaptation and reform in the teaching of international marketing courses to align with technological advancements and the development of the digital economy. This paper analyzes the background of international marketing course development in the context of the new era, emphasizing the need for a paradigm shift in education. It identifies existing shortcomings in current teaching processes and proposes targeted exploration plans for the reform of international marketing courses.