Overseas Studies Research Articles

Determining mental health literacy of undergraduate nursing students to inform learning and teaching strategies.

There is limited research on mental health literacy among undergraduate nursing students in Australia. Overseas studies indicate significant gaps in students' knowledge and practice. The aims of this study were to (1) assess mental health literacy knowledge in undergraduate nursing students and compare these across year levels, and to (2) identify students' learning needs about mental health literacy in practice. A convenience sample of 114 Bachelor of Nursing students studying at one Australian University completed the online survey. Results showed that third-year students reported higher levels of mental health literacy compared to first- and second-year students. Almost 40% of students felt they did not have sufficient understanding of mental health literacy for practice. Most respondents (66.7%) wanted more information on different types of mental illnesses, treatments, how to reduce mental health stigma, and how to care for and communicate with people with mental illness. Students identified that mental health first aid training should be compulsory for all nursing students. Mental health literacy is a crucial area to be addressed in undergraduate nursing education. Explicit content and skill development are required to improve students' awareness of health literacy and inform their practice.

Do Overseas Returnees Excel in the Chinese Labour Market?

AbstractOverseas study is a global phenomenon and a major business internationally. But does overseas study pay off? Using data from the 2015 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we examine the labour market performance of overseas returnees in China. To obtain more accurate results, we matched each returnee with a local so that the domestic group is as similar as possible to the returnee group. We then conducted empirical analyses of the matched data. We find that compared with domestic postgraduates, returnee postgraduates earn about 20 per cent more annually. Moreover, the salary premiums paid for foreign graduate degrees can be attributed principally to the superior human capital gained from overseas education rather than from any “signalling” effect. Also, returnees with graduate degrees are more likely to enter high-income professions and foreign-funded ventures, and to reach higher positions in those organizations. However, we find no significant differences in income, occupation choices and positions between returnee and local bachelor's degree recipients. As such, we suggest that Chinese students and their families are best served when the students obtain a local undergraduate degree and then go overseas for graduate training.

“You are not as localised as I need”: employability of Chinese returning graduates

PurposeInternational student employability has been accorded increased emphasis in the internationalisation agendas, especially in major destination countries as it shapes universities' attractiveness to prospective international students. Having insights into returning graduates' employability in their home country has become critical given that a majority of international graduates return home after their overseas study. This study responds to this critical need by examining how foreign credentials are valued by employers in the field of accounting in China, based on in-depth interviews with employers, alumni and policymakers.Design/methodology/approachThis study draws on a qualitative approach involving literature review and in-depth interviews with 28 key stakeholders: employers, returning graduates and policymakers in China and India. The key research question of the study is how foreign credentials are valued by employers in the field of accounting in China and India. This article focuses on the Chinese context. In-depth interviews with employers and policymakers focused on eliciting nuanced socio-cultural understandings as to perceptions and decisions associated with desirable graduate attributes and the relative value of credentials. Interviews with returning graduates aimed to understand how different capitals were mobilised to gain employment in the Chinese labour market.FindingsThe empirical findings of the study show that Chinese returning graduates could be seen to lack the localised knowledge needed to work in Chinese companies and ability to adapt to the local environment. However the possible development of a dual local and international guanxi through overseas study can be regarded as a marker of distinction in the home labour market. The associated value of such a dual guanxi signals the importance for Chinese international students to develop transnational networks while simultaneously maintaining their kinship, social and business networks locally during their overseas education.Originality/valueThe study provides fresh insights into a marked shift in China, with less of a preference for Western credentials, as compared to 10 years ago when overseas credentials were often regarded more favourably. Even though overseas study generally provides Chinese graduates with an exposure to international practices and global perspectives, whether such an overseas exposure and foreign language competency would be an advantage also depends on the business needs and sometimes the business model of organisations.

Guarding Against the Threat of a Westernising Education: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Saudi Cultural Security Discourses and Practices Towards Overseas Study

ABSTRACT Cultural security has become a major watchword in the national security discourses of both the People’s Republic of China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Within this discourse, overseas study has been imagined as a conduit for cultural and ideological subversion threatening the authority of the prevailing regimes. At the same time, overseas study has been actively encouraged by both the Chinese and Saudi states as an important element in their modernization projects. In the past two decades, the Chinese and Saudi overseas student populations have been some of the largest in the world. The article seeks to explore these tensions by examining the conceptualization and practice of cultural security in the PRC and Saudi Arabia through their management of overseas study.

The Effect of Thai Majors’ Overseas Study on Intercultural Competence: A Case Study of Thai Majors of Yunnan Agricultural University

This study adopted both intercultural competence assessment and interview to analyze the effect of the “overseas study” learning mode on cultivating and improving students’ intercultural competence. The factors that influenced the development of college students’ intercultural competence were summarized. The study revealed that there were differences in the dimensions of native and Thai cultural knowledge, intercultural skills and awareness. It also demonstrated that gender, language capability and culture knowledge were responsible for the discrepancy. The study recommended that it is inevitable to strengthen culture comparison in overseas learning and strengthen female’s intercultural competence.

Public Debt Thresholds: Overseas Studies and the Armenian Reality

Public Debt Thresholds: Overseas Studies and the Armenian Reality

The research on the relationship between corporate innovation, enforcement and board characteristics on the background of artificial intelligence–taking chinese listed companies as an example

In this era of artificial intelligence and information, the transformation and upgrading of enterprises plays a crucial role in their development. This study analyzes the regulatory penalties of listed companies published by the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges from 1996 to 2017, and explores the relationship between the number of enforcements of these companies and their innovation ability. Existing research literature confirms that board characteristics, including the gender of the CEO and whether the CEO has an overseas background, will have a significant impact on the company’s ability to innovate and the likelihood of corporate penalties. Therefore, this study selects the two moderator variables of the chairman’s gender and whether the chairman has overseas study background. This study uses the To bit model and establishes three hypotheses to verify whether the company’s ability to innovate can significantly affect the number of times they are enforced, whether the chairman’s gender and whether the chairman’s overseas background will have a moderator effect on this relationship. The analysis results confirm these three assumptions.

The use of Hereford sires over mature Angus dams can add value to Angus cattle herds

Context Overseas studies have quantified production differences of Hereford × Angus compared with purebred Angus for a range of traits including growth, carcass and reproductive traits. Aim This study aims to provide a comparison of Hereford × Angus and purebred Angus under modern grazing conditions in southern Australia. Methods Thirty Hereford and 22 Angus sires were mated to 1100 Angus cows and heifers in a large commercial herd run on pasture at Musselroe Bay, Tasmania. Approximately 1650 calves were born. Steers were grown on pasture for an average of 23 months and then slaughtered. Results Hereford sired calves were heavier at birth (+8.8%) and weaning (+4.1%). Hereford-sired calves from heifers (but not from mature cows) had more assisted births (+8.2%) and more calf deaths (10.0% vs 5.1%). Hereford-sired steers had higher hot standard carcass weight (+4.1%) and eye-muscle area (+3.2%) but when hot standard carcass weight was fitted as a covariate, eye-muscle area was no longer significant. Carcass quality measures (AUSMEAT marbling –25.8%, Meat Standards Australia marbling –10.5%, Meat Standards Australia index –1.0%) were poorer for Hereford-sired steers and fat colour (+6.9%) was darker. Meat samples from Hereford-sired steers had significantly lower colour indicators (L and b). There was no difference in cooking loss and shear force, and intramuscular fat was lower (3.0% vs 4.1%). Conclusions Hereford × Angus calves were heavier at birth than were purebred Angus, but had more calving difficulty and deaths associated with heifer dams. Hereford × Angus carcasses were heavier but had lower indicators of quality than did purebred Angus. Implications As Hereford × Angus steers produced a 4.1% heavier carcass, pure Angus steers would need to attract a premium of at least 4.1% for the additional marbling to give more value. Hereford bulls could be mated to Angus cows and not Angus heifers to avoid calving difficulties. Alternatively, good calving Hereford bulls could be selected using estimated breeding values when mating to Angus heifers.

Genomic analysis of purebred and crossbred Angus cattle demonstrates opportunity for multi-breed evaluation

Context Overseas studies have quantified production differences of Hereford Angus crossbreds compared with purebred Angus for a range of traits including growth, carcass and reproductive traits. Aim This study aimed to quantify breed and heterosis effects using genomics. Methods Thirty Hereford and 30 Angus sires were mated to 1100 Angus cows and heifers in a large commercial herd run on pasture at Musselroe Bay, Tasmania. Approximately 1650 calves were born. Steers (743) were grown for an average of 23 months and then slaughtered. Results Heterozygosity effects were significant for birth, weaning and carcass weight and also loin eye-muscle area. On average, higher-quality (percentile) Hereford than Angus bulls were used. Breeding values were calculated for sires and could be compared with a common base given they also had BREEDPLAN breeding values published. Conclusions When heterozygosity was accounted for and when compared on a common base, progeny of average Angus sires were superior to progeny of Hereford sires for birthweight, carcass weight, eye-muscle area and intramuscular fat. Implications The method of benchmarking breeds using crossbred cattle and genomics provides a model for rapid adoption of multi-breed estimated breeding values, which is desirable for commercial beef producers.

ZHOU Yichuan, A Social History of Chinese Overseas Study in Japan during Modern Times

ZHOU Yichuan, A Social History of Chinese Overseas Study in Japan during Modern Times

Decoding the educational travel decision: destinations, institutions and social influence

ABSTRACT In a globalized world, the connection between studying abroad and career development has been widely recognized. This study analyses how students contemplating overseas study evaluate prospective destinations and institutions. It fills a knowledge gap by finding that students are pulled by both institutions and destinations and are subject to an internal push – destinations and hence tourism plays a mediating role in study abroad decision-making. The authors gathered primary data from inbound and outbound graduate students in Paris, France and used Structural Equation Modelling for the analysis. Drawing upon social influence theory, it was concluded that subjective norms are primarily derived from friends, family and online comments, rather than experts and rankings and influence internal push and destination pull, though not institutional pull. The strength of the mediation depends on whether the level of the pull motivation is higher or lower. The implications are discussed for multiple stakeholders including destination management organizations, higher education institutions and students and families.

Discovering America: Unpacking Popular Social Q&A for Prospective Chinese International Students

The global pandemic and recent shift to online learning has heightened the need to better understand how to support international students, especially across online and virtual platforms. However, a review of literature reveals a paucity of studies dedicated to international student use of internet-based platforms and services for seeking information and sharing experiences. One avenue for further research is Social Question & Answer Communities (SQACs), which are vast conduits of shared experiences and knowledge connecting hundreds of thousands of pre-application and pre-arrival students. In this study, content analysis was utilized to qualitatively observe the contents of the “Overseas Studies in The United States” section of Zhihu, and quantitatively count their features and characteristics. The study found that 58% of the questions and answers were devoted to Academic issues such as testing, admissions, learning and research, with another 13.0% on Crime, Law and Safety, and the remaining 29% of the questions were associated to a diverse array of topics associated with living and working in American society. The most popular answers were made up of mainly 4 main types: Sharing One’s Experience (32.0%), Advice (26.0%), Opinion (22.0%) and Critique (15.0%). Content analysis of three main answer features, namely the use of Imagery, Digital Resources, and Social feature, indicated that the Advice and Critique answer types contain the richest variety of features and that question context, textual styles and use of digital resources are important factors for understanding the answer popularity in SQACs.

Factors predicting clinically significant functional gain and discharge to home in stroke in-patients after rehabilitation – A retrospective cohort study

ObjectiveThis study explored factors which predict stroke survivors who could achieve “clinically significant functional gain” and return home when being discharged from a local hospital after in-patient stroke rehabilitation programme.MethodsThis study included 562 inpatients with stroke who were residing at community dwellings before onset of stroke, and transferred to a convalescent hospital for rehabilitation from four acute hospitals over one year. The main outcome variables of prediction were (a) achieving “clinically significant functional gain” as measured by (a1) achievement of “minimal clinically important difference” (MCID) of improvement in Functional Independence Measure Motor Measure (FIM-MM)”, (a2) one or more level(s) of improvement in function group according to the patients’ FIM-MM, and (b) discharge to home. Sixteen predictor variables were identified and studied firstly with univariate binary logistic regression and those significant variables were then put into multivariate binary logistic regression.ResultsBased on multivariate regression, the significant predictors for “clinically significant functional gain” were: younger age <75 years old, higher Glasgow Coma Scale score at admission, with haemorrhagic stroke, intermediate FIM-MM function group. Those significant predictors for “discharge to home” were: living with family/caregivers before stroke, higher FIM score at admission, and one or more level(s) of improvement in FIM-MM function group.ConclusionsThis study identified findings consistent with overseas studies in additional to some new interesting findings. Early prediction of stroke discharge outcomes helps rehabilitation professionals and occupational therapists to focus on the use of appropriate intervention strategies and pre-discharge preparation.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on international higher education and student mobility: Student perspectives from mainland China and Hong Kong

The study critically examines how students in Mainland China and Hong Kong conceive overseas studies plans against the COVID-19 crisis. Amongst the 2739 respondents, 84 % showed no interest to study abroad after the pandemic. For those respondents who will continue to pursue further degrees abroad, Asian regions and countries, specifically Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan, are listed in the top five, apart from the US and the UK. The pandemic has not only significantly decreased international student mobility but is also shifting the mobility flow of international students. This article also discusses the policy implications, particularly reflecting on how the current global health crisis would intensify social and economic inequalities across different higher education systems.

Introduction to International Students and COVID-19

In this special edition, we address international students and COVID-19 in the higher education context. To begin with, three articles explore the sources of information used by Indonesian students interested in studying abroad, challenges faced by international students who studied in Indonesia, and the psychological well-being of Indonesian students studying in Taiwan. Although empirical studies reported in those three articles were undertaken before the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are still relevant to this edition because they address practical implications for post-pandemic overseas studies. Other articles look into different dimensions of international students’ academic and non-academic experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope that this special edition can provide a better understanding of international students in the COVID1-19 pandemic context and beyond.

Study abroad experiences count: Motivational profile of EFL listeners and its impact on top-down and bottom-up processing

Abstract Effective listening strategy use is crucial for second language (L2) learners as it facilitates listening comprehension. Although strategy use can be boosted from various ways (e.g. explicit instruction), we are uncertain whether L2 listening motivation can affect learners’ listening strategy use. The present study aims at examining the relationship between L2 listening motivation and L2 listening strategy use of learners with and without overseas study experience. We administered a L2 listening motivation questionnaire, measuring expectancy, importance and interest, and an English as a foreign language listening strategy inventory, focusing on top-down and bottom-up strategy use, with 465 Chinese undergraduate students. To supplement the quantitative results, a semi-structured interview was conducted with four participants to explore their L2 listening motivational profiles. The findings suggest that L2 listening motivation was positively correlated with bottom-up and top-down processing, except the relationship between importance and top-down processing. Learners with study abroad experience, who immersed themselves into real-time communication, were more aware of the importance of L2 listening thus employed more top-down strategies, whilst those without overseas experience, though acknowledged the cruciality of L2 listening, adopted fewer top-down strategies and were more examination driven. The findings shed light on L2 listening teaching and learning.

Trends and Prospects of Domestic and Overseas Studies on Earth Energy Storage Minerals

Trends and Prospects of Domestic and Overseas Studies on Earth Energy Storage Minerals

THE STUDY ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF DISPUTE AGREEMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS

The legal issues in this study are aimed to determine the legal provisions for returning compensation to Yayasan Slamet Riyadi Yogyakarta (YSRY) in an overseas study assignment agreement. Furthermore, this study is to determine and analyze the dispute resolution efforts that best provide a sense of justice for both parties. This research is a normative juridical that uses secondary data and uses qualitative data analysis and deductive conclusion techniques. The results show that First, there is a need for material and good faith guarantees from employees who carry out the assignment agreements. Second, non-litigation efforts need to be done in addition to a litigation effort undertaken by YSRY.

A local refinement purely meshless scheme for time fractional nonlinear Schrödinger equation in irregular geometry region* *Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11501495, 51779215, and 11672259), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 2015M581869 and 2015T80589), and the Jiangsu Government Scholarship for Overseas Studies, China (Grant No. JS-2017-227).

A local refinement hybrid scheme (LRCSPH-FDM) is proposed to solve the two-dimensional (2D) time fractional nonlinear Schrödinger equation (TF-NLSE) in regularly or irregularly shaped domains, and extends the scheme to predict the quantum mechanical properties governed by the time fractional Gross–Pitaevskii equation (TF-GPE) with the rotating Bose–Einstein condensate. It is the first application of the purely meshless method to the TF-NLSE to the author’s knowledge. The proposed LRCSPH-FDM (which is based on a local refinement corrected SPH method combined with FDM) is derived by using the finite difference scheme (FDM) to discretize the Caputo TF term, followed by using a corrected smoothed particle hydrodynamics (CSPH) scheme continuously without using the kernel derivative to approximate the spatial derivatives. Meanwhile, the local refinement technique is adopted to reduce the numerical error. In numerical simulations, the complex irregular geometry is considered to show the flexibility of the purely meshless particle method and its advantages over the grid-based method. The numerical convergence rate and merits of the proposed LRCSPH-FDM are illustrated by solving several 1D/2D (where 1D stands for one-dimensional) analytical TF-NLSEs in a rectangular region (with regular or irregular particle distribution) or in a region with irregular geometry. The proposed method is then used to predict the complex nonlinear dynamic characters of 2D TF-NLSE/TF-GPE in a complex irregular domain, and the results from the posed method are compared with those from the FDM. All the numerical results show that the present method has a good accuracy and flexible application capacity for the TF-NLSE/GPE in regions of a complex shape.

The cost to perform splenic artery embolisation following blunt trauma: Analysis from a level 1 Australian trauma centre

IntroductionSplenic artery embolisation (SAE) has been shown to be an effective treatment for haemodynamically stable patients with high-grade blunt splenic injury. However, there are no local estimates of how much treatment costs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cost of providing SAE to patients in the setting of blunt abdominal trauma at an Australian level 1 trauma centre. MethodsThis was a single-centre retrospective review of 10 patients who underwent splenic embolisation from December 2017 to December 2018 for the treatment of isolated blunt splenic injury, including cost of procedure and the entire admission. Costs included angiography costs including equipment, machine, staff, and post-procedural costs including pharmacy, general ward costs, orderlies, ward nursing, allied health, and further imaging. ResultsDuring the study period, patients remained an inpatient for a mean of 4.8 days and the rate of splenic salvage was 100%. The mean total cost of splenic embolisation at our centre was AUD$10,523 and median cost AUD$9959.6 (range of $4826-$16,836). The use of a plug as embolic material was associated with increased cost than for coils. Overall cost of patients requiring ICU was mean AUD$11,894 and median AUD$11,435.8. Overall cost for those not requiring ICU was mean AUD$7325 and median AUD$8309.8. ConclusionSplenic embolisation is a low-cost procedure for management of blunt splenic injury. The cost to provide SAE at our centre was much lower than previously modelled data from overseas studies. From a cost perspective, the use of ICU for monitoring after the procedure significantly increased cost and necessity may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Further research is advised to directly compare the cost of SAE and splenectomy in an Australian setting.