International Study Program Research Articles

Critical Pet Studies?

AntipodeVolume 38, Issue 5 p. 894-906 Critical Pet Studies? Heidi J Nast, Heidi J Nast International Studies Program, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA; hnast@depaul.eduSearch for more papers by this author Heidi J Nast, Heidi J Nast International Studies Program, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA; hnast@depaul.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 14 November 2006 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2006.00484.xCitations: 69Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume38, Issue5November 2006Pages 894-906 RelatedInformation

The Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA): Connecting Assessment to Instruction and Learning

ABSTRACT: This article reports on Beyond the OPI: Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) Design Project, a three‐year (1997–2000) research initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education International Research and Studies Program. The primary goal of the project was to develop an integrated skills assessment prototype that would measure students' progress towards the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (National Standards, 1999, 2006). A second goal of the project was to use the assessment prototype as a catalyst for curricular and pedagogical reform. This paper presents the Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) prototype, illustrates a sample IPA, and discusses how classroom‐based research on the IPA demonstrated the washback effect of integrated performance‐based assessment on teachers' perceptions regarding their instructional practices.

Consensus and Divergence in International Studies: Survey Evidence from 140 International Studies Curriculum Programs

There is a growing debate over the extent of consensus or divergence found within interdisciplinary International Studies (IS) programs. Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, this debate has taken place in the absence of empirical data. This article advances our understanding of the current state of IS curricula through an analysis of data generated from a survey of 140 interdisciplinary undergraduate IS majors across the United States. The surveyed programs comprise 63 Doctoral/Research institutions, 40 Master's institutions, and 37 Baccalaureate institutions found in 38 states and the District of Columbia. The 140 programs are analyzed in terms of six basic components: introductory course(s), research methods, capstone course(s), area and/or thematic concentrations, study abroad, and foreign language requirements. The findings demonstrate significant areas of both consensus and divergence in IS programs.

Design of pico-satellites for education in systems engineering

Pico-satellites offer excellent potential to introduce students to hands-on system design. Master and PhD students thus realized the satellite University Wuerzburg's Experimental satellite (UWE-1) with a mass below 1 kg, which is since 2005 in orbit. This article addresses technical details of subsystems, system design, and integration aspects. From the educational side, the integration into the university's computer science curriculum and into the international study program Spacemaster - Master in Space Science And Technology is presented

Expanding the Parameters of Service Learning: A Case Study

Service learning is an increasingly significant component of academic programs on many college campuses. International studies programs and study-abroad programs are becoming important frontiers in this trend. Today, many colleges and other organizations provide students with opportunities for service learning in international settings. However, a common assumption of such programs is that students will spend at least a full semester abroad. This article examines how service learning can be effectively incorporated into short-term programs—that is, programs lasting only 2 to 3 weeks. Referencing a particular 2-week study-abroad program in Jamaica and drawing from the literature on service learning, we discuss the special challenges that confront such programs and propose strategies for successfully grappling with those challenges.

Intercultural Attitudes Predict Favorable Study Abroad Expectations of U.S. College Students

This study focused on identifying intercultural attitudes associated with favorable expectations about participation in study abroad programs. A total of 282 U.S. 1st-year college students completed a questionnaire that included measures of ethnocentrism, intercultural communication apprehension, language interest and competence, prejudice, intolerance of ambiguity, and expectations about study abroad. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that favorable expectations about study abroad were best predicted by levels of language interest, followed by low ethnocentrism and low intercultural communication apprehension. Female participants were significantly more likely than male participants to have positive expectations of study abroad and indicated significantly less ethnocentrism and intercultural communication apprehension and greater language interest. These findings suggest that interest in international study programs may be facilitated in part by interventions addressing intergroup attitudes as well as programs that help students understand the value of language study.

US managers' willingness to accept a global assignment: do expatriate benefits and assignment length make a difference?

Drawing on key tenets of expectancy theory, the present research study investigates the degree to which twelve different expatriate benefits explain managerial willingness to accept short-term and long-term global assignments. Hypotheses regarding main and interaction effects were tested on a sample of 418 globally oriented graduates of a top-ranked master's of international business studies programme at a university in the south-eastern United States. Analysing the data with ANOVA, nine out of the thirteen hypotheses were supported with all of the expatriate benefits having either main or interactive effects. A discussion and areas for future research are presented.

Multilateralism, Multipolarity, and Regionalism: The French Foreign Policy Discourse

Norman Bowen is associate professor of political science at the California State University-Hayward and director of the university's International Studies Program.

Can International Studies Research Be the Basis for an Undergraduate International Studies Curriculum? A Response to Ishiyama and Breuning

Ishiyama and Breuning's “A Survey of International Studies Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities in the Midwest: Characteristics and Correlates” (2004) points to a series of critical issues in International Studies (IS) Education: the increasing popularity of IS majors, the variety of curricular strategies employed in those majors, and the potential reasons that universities pursue an IS major in the first place. I applaud the authors for taking on a much‐needed task in IS: beginning to catalog the occurrence and variation in IS programs around this country and indeed the world. In spite of the explosion of interdisciplinary majors in US universities, and the prominence of IS and Global Studies among them, there remains a glaring lack of support for and information about such programs. There is no “Association of International Studies Programs” to which IS interdisciplinary programs can belong. Indeed, the International Studies Schools Association promotes and serves only elementary and secondary IS education. The International Studies Association (ISA) has made important strides towards supporting IS education in both the “International Education” and the “Active Learning in International Affairs” sections, the latter of which grew out of a Pew Faculty Fellowship dedicated to improving pedagogy in international education at the post‐secondary level. But neither of these is specifically dedicated to the interdisciplinary nature that makes IS programs unique. The “Comparative Interdisciplinary Studies” section promotes interdisciplinarity, but its focus is on research rather than on pedagogy. In sum, the absence of an association devoted to interdisciplinary IS programs means that their directors, faculty and students have no central source providing data about existing IS programs or helpful advice for improving them. Ishiyama and Breuning's article is thus exactly the type of research we need, for it begins to document the frequency and structure of IS programs, at least in …

A Survey of International Studies Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities in the Midwest: Characteristics and Correlates

International studies majors have become increasingly popular at liberal arts colleges and universities in the Midwest. What are the features of various international studies programs, particularly regarding the degree of “structure” in the major? What factors appear to be related to whether a liberal arts college or university offers an international studies major in the first place? What explains the variations that exist that characterize international studies majors? This paper empirically investigates these questions by surveying sixty-six liberal arts and sciences colleges and universities in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. We find that although international studies majors are somewhat prevalent in the “heartland,” there is considerable variation in how they are structured. Further, the results suggest that whether or not an institution has an international studies program is largely a function of whether an institution has a graduate program in a field that allows for a concentration in international affairs. We conclude with some observations that might promote future discussion on development of international studies majors.

Tax Reform in Transition Economies: Experiences and Lessons

International Studies Program, Working paper 97-6, Prepared for the International Seminar in Public Economics, Tokyo, August 1997, SSRN-id470841

Work-Study Abroad Courses in International Development Studies: Some Ethical and Pedagogical Issues

ABSTRACT A strong presumption in many international development studies programs appears to be that field or work placements are intrinsically effective and good. But what does it really mean to put relatively affluent, mostly white undergraduates in a “real world” situation abroad for a short stint of time? What are the specific risks in terms of development ethics and educational goals? This article considers possible contradictions between common practice and general statements of ethical guidelines for international exchanges and research. It then suggests strategies to make teaching, assessment, and follow-up in work-study programs more self-aware and consistent with the advanced ethical standards.

Chinese Perspectives on International Relations: A Framework for Analysis (review)

Reviewed by: Chinese Perspectives on International Relations: A Framework for Analysis Harvey Nelsen (bio) Gerald Chan . Chinese Perspectives on International Relations: A Framework for Analysis. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991. xvii, 193 pp. Hardcover $65.00, ISBN 0-312-21909-1. This is a book in which it is easy to trace the author's intellectual journey. Gerald Chan began with the hope of providing the world's first English-language study of international relations as formulated and practiced in China. But he found that the Chinese are still in the early stages of development and sophistication in that academic field. So he changed the focus of the book to the foundations of Chinese foreign policy, although he does not announce this to his readers. He finds that in China the field of international relations is policy-driven rather than academically [End Page 75] driven as in the West. But Chan fails to take the last step and admit that the perception of international relations therefore becomes only one of several foundations for foreign-policy making. This does not mean that the author has failed, however. His extensive use of Chinese sources—including interviews—provides us with valuable materials on Chinese perceptions. He also analyzes in some depth the differences between Chinese and Western perspectives on international relations. The book is somewhat dated in the sense that globalization receives only three brief mentions. Since Western scholarship is obsessed with the topic, it is hard to believe that the Chinese are not devoting more effort to figuring out how China will fit into such an international system. At the end of the book, Chan comes back to international relations as a field in China, but that is anticlimactic. His description is disheartening: there have been but a handful of conferences and a score of scholars working in the field. And Chan is quick to point out that the heavy hand of the CCP restricts creativity. This is an excellent book for understanding how the Chinese perceive their role in the world. It would be useful as an assigned text in a graduate seminar on Chinese foreign policy, or perhaps for a student to report on in a graduate seminar on international relations. For an undergraduate text, I prefer In the Eyes of the Dragon: China Views the World, edited by Yong Deng and Fei-ling Wang (Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999). The latter does not try to provide the theoretical perspective emphasized by Chan, but it does cover a broad spectrum of Chinese perceptions and interests. In the Eyes of the Dragon also contains valuable normative perspectives, making explicit proposals about how the United States should view and treat China. [End Page 76] Harvey Nelsen Harvey Nelsen is a professor in the International Studies Program, Department of Government and International Affairs, University of South Florida. He has written on Chinese foreign policy, military affairs, and, more recently, on the Chinese state. Copyright © 2003 University of Hawai'i Press

International study in premedical education.

This study surveyed medical school admission deans about the desirability of international study. Most agreed that an international study program in the premedical years was beneficial, but most were neutral concerning science courses taken in international programs.

Institutional and individual dimensions of transatlantic group work in network-based language teaching

Network-based language teaching (NBLT) involves the application of global or local communication networks within foreign and second language education (Warschauer and Kern, 2000). In telecollaboration, a type of NBLT, distally located language learners use internet communication tools to support dialogue, debate, collaborative research and social interaction for the purposes of language development and cultural awareness (e.g. Kinginger et al., 1999). To date, the research on NBLT has been limited, focusing primarily on pedagogical implementations of technology and linguistic features of online communication. In particular, researchers have not robustly explored social and institutional dimensions of telecollaboration (Chapelle, 2000:217) nor have they adequately investigated the pervasive assumption that telecollaborative interaction will necessarily and unproblematically afford language learning (e.g. Kramsch and Thorne, to appear). Drawing on social realism (Layder, 1993), a sociological theory which emphasizes the inter-relationship between structure, i.e. society and institution, and agency, i.e. situated activity and psycho-biography, in researching and explaining social action, I present a sociocultural account of German-American telecollaboration. In particular, I explore the meanings that the macro features of (1) language valuation (Hilgendorf, 1996); (2) membership in electronic discourse communities (Gee, 1999); and (3) culturally determined classroom scripts (Hatch, 1992) may have for the differential functionality of virtual group work in this partnership. Differences in group functionality are reflected at the micro-interactional level in terms of (1) frequency and length of correspondence; (2) patterns of discursive behavior such as question-answer pairs; and (3) opportunities for assisted L2 performance and negotiation of meaning. Ethnographic data (e.g. interviews, electronic and classroom discourse, surveys and participant observations) on individual psycho-biographies are interwoven with macro-level descriptions and statistics to paint a rich picture of learner behavior in intercultural telecollaboration. This project is funded by a United States Department of Education International Research and Studies Program Grant (CFDA No.: 84.017A). The author is a research associate for the German component.

Beyond the area studies wars: toward a new international studies

Because International Studies programs bring together scholars from many disciplines and divergent views, they illuminate and intensify the intellectual fault lines of the American academy. Globally oriented theorists confront area studies specialists, humanists engage social scientists, language and culture specialists contend with rational choice adherents. Yet the underlying imperative of such programs -- to produce students of the 21st century who can act effectively in great variety of capacities in countries abroad -- requires that modus vivendi be reached. Beyond the Area Studies Wars offers rich overview of scholarly field engaged in remaking itself. Even as these essays point to seemingly intractable problems in shaping new International Studies, they yield note of implicit optimism by insisting that a multi-layered, multidisciplinary investigation of human behavior is not only necessary, but possible.

An intermediate complexity marine ecosystem model for the global domain

A new marine ecosystem model designed for the global domain is presented, and model output is compared with field data from nine different locations. Field data were collected as part of the international Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) program, and from historical time series stations. The field data include a wide variety of marine ecosystem types, including nitrogen- and iron-limited systems, and different physical environments from high latitudes to the mid-ocean gyres. Model output is generally in good agreement with field data from these diverse ecosystems. These results imply that the ecosystem model presented here can be reliably applied over the global domain. The model includes multiple potentially limiting nutrients that regulate phytoplankton growth rates. There are three phytoplankton classes, diatoms, diazotrophs, and a generic small phytoplankton class. Growth rates can be limited by available nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and/or light levels. The diatoms can also be limited by silicon. The diazotrophs are capable of nitrogen fixation of N2 gas and cannot be nitrogen-limited. Calcification by phytoplankton is parameterized as a variable fraction of primary production by the small phytoplankton group. There is one zooplankton class that grazes the three phytoplankton groups and a large detrital pool. The large detrital pool sinks out of the mixed layer, while a smaller detrital pool, representing dissolved organic matter and very small particulates, does not sink. Remineralization of the detrital pools is parameterized with a temperature-dependent function. We explicitly model the dissolved iron cycle in marine surface waters including inputs of iron from subsurface sources and from atmospheric dust deposition. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lily Braun, 1865-1916: German writer, feminist, socialist

Lily Braun, born to a prominent aristocratic family in 1865, became one of the leading German feminists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a very successful writer, both of feminist political tracts and of novelistic works. She played a leadership role in German feminism with such groups as the Verein Frauenwohl (Association for Women's Well-Being) and the Social Democratic Party; her efforts included lobbying for the establishment of maternity insurance and better education and housing for women. Despite her energetic activism, she came into increasing conflict with other leading socialist women - most notably Clara Zetkin - who were suspicious of her aristocratic origins and her relatively bourgeois brand of socialism. This led her to retreat from politics and pursue a longtime interest in writing with works such as the fictionalized account of her grandmother's life in Goethe's Weimar, Im Schatten der Titanen (In the Shadow of the Titans) and the later, thinly fictionalized Memoiren einer Sozialistin (Memoirs of a Socialist), based on her own life. Startlingly, by 1914 Braun was espousing nationalistic ideas that would later be taken up by the National Socialists, and had repudiated many of her long-held feminist stances. She was no longer a pacifist, and her 'feminism' now encompassed racial hygiene. Lischke provides a view of both the political and the literary sides of this enigmatic figure, as well as views of the German feminism and literary trends of the period.Ute Lischke is professor of German and co-ordinator of International Studies Programs at the University of Toronto.

Constraints to College Students' Participation in Educational Travel

International study programs can contribute a great deal to the educational and personal development of students. This study investigates constraints to student participation in an international study program. All students who requested information for a summer international study program at a major university were surveyed to determine the extent to which factors constrained participation. Based on leisure and travel constraint models and past research, factors that most constrained student participation were investigated. Results suggest that students are most constrained by structural factors such as cost and work commitments. Results can assist program directors and faculty to facilitate student participation in international study programs.

Flaws in the Conventional Wisdom on Acid Deposition: NAPAP Biennial Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsDon MuntonNancy Carson is a lecturer in economics at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. Don Munton is a professor of international studies and chair of the International Studies Program at the same institution. They may be contacted at the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada V2N 4Z9 (telephone: 250–960–6484 (Carson) and 250–960–6644 (Munton); e-mail: carson@unbc.ca and munton@unbc.ca).