Managing academic skills development and english language learning and use: The case Of Chinese postgraduate coursework students studying in Australia

The challenges confronting Chinese students studying in Anglophone universities are well documented (e.g. Durkin, 2008; Huang, 2008; Ryan, 2010). Effective communication in English across different language modes and through different text-types is identified as problematic. In response, and in order to support Chinese and other international students in their learning, arguments have been made for the adoption by academics in Anglo-European universities of pedagogies that are culturally inclusive (Jackson, Watty, Yu, & Lowe, 2006), blended (Zhu, 2010), and/or open-ended (Sharma, 2006). Discussion and actions associated with the uses of such pedagogies are directed towards honouring students’ home languages and cultures, and have the aim of benefiting a universal student body. Whilst such aspirations and actions are no doubt both admirable and honourable, this paper argues that notions of inclusivity and blending may be incommensurable with the disparate pedagogical strategies that exist in China and Australia. It is therefore incumbent on academics in Australia to devise and adopt approaches that make explicit ‘difference’ in terms of disparate educational contexts, the often conflictual learning expectations and the different disciplinary discourses and text types which Chinese students, particularly those involved in postgraduate coursework programs, are required to both negotiate and perform in their studies in Australia. This paper reports on the early findings of a collaborative project between two Chinese and five Australian universities where qualitative research has been conducted in both countries in order to identify and articulate how approaches which are socially, culturally and educationally responsible might be developed to support Chinese postgraduate coursework students. Findings indicate that factors such as established understandings of university discourses, and compressed timeframes for study necessitate explicit articulation and negotiation of difference as a mechanism to support Chinese students

TRANSPORT COSTS IMPACTS ON THE FRESH MARKET FOR PEACHES - WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON THE NORTHEAST

An interregional transportation model was constructed using ordinary least squares and reactive programming to evaluate the short-run economic impact of changing transportation rate on the U.S. interregional equilibrium and, in particular, the Northeast's competitive position for fresh peaches. Using fixed regional supplies, uniquely determined regional per capita consumption and existing transportation rates the reactive programming algorithm obtains solutions to the spatial equilibrium problem including: overall regional quantities supplied and demanded, prices, consumers' outlays, producers' revenues and opportunity, transfer and shipping costs. Transportation rates were varied 20 percent above and below the current rates to examine the short-run economic impact on the prevailing equilibrium. The East Coast was a relatively isolated market and therefore was not significantly affected by changes in transportation rates. The most significant changes in producers' revenues and trade flow patterns occurred in the remaining regions that traded mostly amongst themselves.Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

Collaborating for Success: Enhancing the transition of Chinese communication/media students into Australian postgraduate education

This international project involved three partner universities -­‐ Murdoch University, Victoria University and Communication University of China – and a range of other higher education institutions in Australia and China. The project sought to enhance the capacity of academics and institutions in Australia and China in intercultural competency, learning support, and international collaboration and has been successful in achieving this. As a result, on postgraduate media and communication courses associated with the project students from mainland China who are studying in Australia have begun to develop proficiency in negotiating between different academic cultures and therefore are better equipped to be successful learners in the Australian academic context. Academics in Australia and China have gained a greater understanding of cultural difference and how this influences student learning, notably during their transition from study in China to postgraduate study in Australia. The project has strengthened established international partnerships and stimulated new international relationships in higher education and industry. In the Australian partner institutions, there is evidence of an increase in capacity to provide quality international education together with more effective support for Chinese students in their transition into Australian postgraduate study. ... The project has made and will continue to make a significant contribution to knowledge in a number of important areas. These include knowledge about mainland China’s education philosophy, pedagogical practices, learning behaviours and expectations, and a recommended approach to constructing and adapting research-­‐based resources for the international learning and teaching arena. It has also advanced knowledge about the types of pedagogical strategies and resources that are effective in supporting Chinese students on their journey towards becoming proficient learners on Australian postgraduate courses in media and communication

Negotiating difference through research and teaching strategies in China and Australia

In the seminar, we will identify the process and challenges of conducting this research, and highlight some of the key findings. We will argue that disparate pedagogical strategies exist in China and Australia with consequences for the lecturer - student relationship in Australia, and the success or otherwise of Chinese students studying communication, media and management. If time allows, we will also work through some of the socially, culturally and educationally responsible pedagogical strategies and innovative resources devised by the project specifically to address this situation

An agenda for change: Supporting Chinese postgraduate students studying media and communication in Australia

Recent years have seen increasing educational ties between China and Australia. Australian government statistics report that 40.6% of international students studying at tertiary level in May 2012 came from China (AEI, 2012). This situation has prompted many Australian and Chinese universities, including Schools of Media and Communication, to actively seek to develop mutually advantageous partnering opportunities within the globali sed education market..

The intercultural challenges of Chinese students and Australian lecturers on public relations programs

In recent years, there have been increasing numbers of international students studying on public relations coursework programs in Australia as well as the UK and USA. Students from China comprise one of the largest groups of international students in Australia where 40.6% are from China. Cross-cultural research indicates that persons exposed to novel and unfamiliar cultural environments – such as students, as well as public relations consultants who travel globally or who are take on international assignments – are subject to a range of challenges as they learn to cope with unfamiliar cultural environments. For postgraduate PR coursework students, the time span can be as short as one year in which to acquire not only the second-culture social skills but also to become accustomed to the learning and teaching practices of the host university as well as the discourse of the discipline. Chinese postgraduate students appear to face distinct challenges (Li 2012; Wang & Shan 2007), as do the communication and media academics who teach them. In this presentation, I outline findings from a project funded by the Australian Government Office of Teaching and Learning. The project involves collaborative research with universities in Australia and China and aims to examine the expectations and experiences of both students and teachers of public relations in China and Australia, with a view to developing learning materials and teaching strategies for use in both China and Australia that will assist students to successfully transition into public relations programs in Australia

Collaborating for success: Project outline and findings for Australia

This workshop draws on research conducted as part of the OLT Collaborating for Success project that involves a number of universities in Australia and China. Collaborative research has identified and explored the difficulties experienced by Chinese postgraduate students as they endeavor to adjust to the Australian university context, and successfully engage in academic life. Out of this research comes acknowled gement of the need for the explicit negotiation of difference if Chinese students are to be supported, and successful, in their study in Australia. The session will focus particularly on how some of the difficulties and differences, identified in the research, impact postgraduate supervision. Differences in expectations, understandings and experiences will be examined. In addition, a number of strat egies and approaches will be explored in order to support students and supervisors as they try to understand the complexity of their relationship, roles and responsibilities

Unequal investors: Questioning the ethicality of Australia’s financial sector

Corporate communications in Australia perpetuates an unequal separation of stakeholders in the financial sector, with an elite group of professional investors privileged over citizen investors who through their regular superannuation and pension savings are, in effect, the real owners of the capital that supports the country’s economy. Employing a critical discourse analytic approach, we examine the websites and reports of Australian listed companies and superannuation funds. We find that the listed companies in whom superannuation funds invest, and the superannuation funds themselves provide no mechanism for citizen investors to influence investment decisions. This has major implications for the social and economic fabric of Australia. Corporate communications cannot begin to be ethical and socially responsible, and business cannot be fully effective, until the hierarchical separation of financial stakeholders is eradicated and account taken of all views and voices, especially those of Australian citizens as legitimate investor stakeholders

Gender and public relations: Making meaning, challenging assumptions

The idea of compiling an edited collection around gender and public relations was seeded at the ‘Radical Public Relations: alternative visions and future directions’ roundtable held at the University of Stirling in 2008. This meeting of international scholars had a shared purpose to paradigmatically challenge dominant positivist understandings of public relations and open new research agendas by paying attention to the social and political contexts in which public relations is conducted. Thematically, the roundtable focused on the cultural effects and critical power relations in and between public relations and society. This book furthers these aims by exploring gender within and through public relations in order to generate new strands of knowledge that will challenge the status quo. As such, the intention is to open new avenues of research and new ways of thinking about public relations

The impact of marketisation on postgraduate career preparedness in a high skills economy

This study focuses on the consequences for high skills development of the erosion of the once clear demarcation between higher education and business. It contributes to the broader debate about the relevance of higher education for the well-being of the society of the future. The research explores the effects of marketisation on the postgraduate curriculum and students' preparedness for careers in public relations and marketing communications. Interviews with lecturers and students in two universities in the UK and Australia indicate that a tension exists between academic rigour and corporate relevancy. The consequences are a diminution of academic attachment to critique and wider social/cultural engagement, with a resulting impoverishment of students' creative abilities and critical consciences. Subsequently, graduates of public relations and marketing communications, and to some extent those from other profession-related disciplines, are insufficiently prepared for careers as knowledge workers in a future high-skills economy