Crossing borders . . . shifting sands: An investigation of Chinese students’ study experiences in the UK and China

In the current landscape of higher education in the UK, international students play a key role. It is an environment in which they not only cross borders physically but also transition through various identities as they develop their professional and linguistic confidence and skills to fully access and contribute to their programme of study and beyond. The aim of this paper is to outline the results of an empirical investigation into Chinese students’ perceptions of their study experiences in the context of student mobility and English-medium instruction in higher education. It reports on a study of two groups of Chinese students – one group studying in an English-speaking environment, the other in their home country where instruction is delivered through the medium of English. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted at each site which focused on the transition of “crossing borders” for educational purposes. The data was analysed using thematic analysis (Clarke & Braun, 2016). The main finding was that both groups experienced remarkably similar learning issues, despite being located in very different learning environments and crossing different types of borders

High-Pressure High-Temperature Exploration of Phase Boundaries Using Raman Spectroscopy

Metastability of states can provide interesting properties that may not be readily accessible in a material’s ground state. Many materials show high levels of polymorphism, indicating a rich energy landscape and a potential for metastable states. Melt crystallization techniques provide a potential route to these states. We use a resistively heated diamond anvil cell (DAC) with fine control of a system’s pressure and temperature to explore these systems. Raman spectroscopy is used to track subtle structural changes across phase boundaries. Organic systems, such as glycine and aspirin, were our initial interest due to their high polymorphism and reported low melting temperatures; however, complications with these systems ultimately showed that they are not ideal candidates for this technique. Metallic systems with allowed Raman modes are better samples for this method. We successfully map the phase stability of β-tin under high pressure and temperature conditions using Raman spectroscopy

Cascading Effect Of Recent Fires On Moth Abundance Alters Pollen Transport Networks In Rosemary Bald Habitats

Fire frequency and severity have increased dramatically due to anthropogenic activity including historic fire suppression leading to fuel build-up. Investigating the influence of fire and fire-related characteristics (frequency, severity, spread, etc.) on organisms and their ecosystem services is therefore of high importance. This work is especially pertinent for arthropods, which constitute a large portion of global diversity and offer important ecosystem services, including pollination. Existing literature has demonstrated the susceptibility of many Lepidoptera to fire, but this has been variable across studies, underscoring the need to consider how fire-related variables impact survival. In addition, there continues to be a global decline of nocturnal moths, which are important but understudied floral visitors. I investigated the community structure and pollen transport networks of nocturnal moths along a time-since-fire gradient within the endangered rosemary balds of central Florida. I observed a decrease in moth abundance at sites burned one year ago, which contributed to communities being distinct from those from sites burned two years ago or left unburned. Declines in abundance had cascading effects on moth pollen transport networks as the number of pollen-transporting moths was smaller at sites burned one year ago. Yet, networks from burned sites were more complex and the proportion of moths transporting pollen remained constant across the gradient of time-since-fire. Overall, moth communities had extremely quick recovery times with all calculated diversity indices returning to pre-fire conditions after just two years. This relatively quick rebound in community structure might provide these fire-vulnerable organisms the chance to re-establish in between ever-increasing fire events

Cascading Effect Of Recent Fires On Moth Abundance Alters Pollen Transport Networks In Rosemary Bald Habitats

Fire frequency and severity have increased dramatically due to anthropogenic activity including historic fire suppression leading to fuel build-up. Investigating the influence of fire and fire-related characteristics (frequency, severity, spread, etc.) on organisms and their ecosystem services is therefore of high importance. This work is especially pertinent for arthropods, which constitute a large portion of global diversity and offer important ecosystem services, including pollination. Existing literature has demonstrated the susceptibility of many Lepidoptera to fire, but this has been variable across studies, underscoring the need to consider how fire-related variables impact survival. In addition, there continues to be a global decline of nocturnal moths, which are important but understudied floral visitors. I investigated the community structure and pollen transport networks of nocturnal moths along a time-since-fire gradient within the endangered rosemary balds of central Florida. I observed a decrease in moth abundance at sites burned one year ago, which contributed to communities being distinct from those from sites burned two years ago or left unburned. Declines in abundance had cascading effects on moth pollen transport networks as the number of pollen-transporting moths was smaller at sites burned one year ago. Yet, networks from burned sites were more complex and the proportion of moths transporting pollen remained constant across the gradient of time-since-fire. Overall, moth communities had extremely quick recovery times with all calculated diversity indices returning to pre-fire conditions after just two years. This relatively quick rebound in community structure might provide these fire-vulnerable organisms the chance to re-establish in between ever-increasing fire events

Religious Moderation based on Theological Value: A Qualitative Sociological Study in Islamic Boarding Schools (Pesantren) in Southeast Sulawesi Indonesia

This article focused on the study of religious moderation based on theological values in three Islamic Boarding Schools Pesantren in Southeast Sulawesi namely Pesantren al- Muhajirin Darussalam Konawe Pesantren Ummu Sabri Kendari and Pesantren Darul Mukhlisin Kendari This study used a qualitative approach with a case study design The data collection techniques used were in-depth interviews participatory observations field notes and documentation Data analysis in this study was done using interactive data analysis by Miles Huberman and Saldan

Native-speakerism: A Thorn in the Side of ELT

AbstractNative-speakerism, as Kumaravadivelu (2016, p. 82) famously noted, is a subject where “seldom in the annals of an academic discipline have so many toiled for so long and achieved so little”. There have been several suggestions for the reverse of this trend but none of them appear to have penetrated the mainstream industry. This article aims to reflect on this phenomenon by analysing the study of attitudes towards native-speakerism among students in Portugal and the UK with a particular emphasis on attitudes towards NS and NNS accents including features such as accuracy which included an evaluation of the students’ own accents in English and their goals for learning English in terms of acquisition/non-acquisition of a particular variety of English and attitudes towards English as a lingua franca. Overall, it was found that native-speakerism is widespread amongst students learning English, which corroborates other studies on this topic. Nevertheless, students in this study appear to show an interest in learning more about English varieties and World Englishes even though they are drawn to and hold the dominant standard - UK and American varieties - as the benchmark of acceptability and aspiration. By arguing that the frequently proposed measures cannot tackle native-speakerism on a truly global scale, this paper is meant to contribute to the body of research on native-speakerism and at the same time take a critical approach towards the perspectives of eliminating native-speakerism

A Qualitative Exploration of Drug and Alcohol Using Parents’ Experiences in Drug/Alcohol Treatment when Social Services are Involved.

noneThis thesis is concerned with the lives of drug and alcohol using parents, who access treatment for their addiction. Parents who are drug and alcohol users may experience stigma, fear, shame, and denial around their misuse, which means that many fail or feel fearful to access any treatment for fear of official intervention. This thesis aims to explore the narratives of Class A drug users and alcohol users who access drug and alcohol treatment and who have been referred to Children’s Social Services when a Child Protection issue has been raised. Qualitative data was generated during the three studies. Semi-structured interviews took place during each study (1, 2 and 3). Study 2 allowed the use of photographs taken by participants to be examined. Study 3 allowed the use of a journal to capture the experience of the participants. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied to the verbatim transcripts. Key findings are presented as four superordinate themes in chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8. Each chapter focused on one of the four superordinate themes that were identified in the data analysis, which combined data from all three studies. ‘Risk and vulnerabilities’ in Chapter Five suggested that when these parents were teenagers’ drugs and alcohol were easily accessible, and there was trauma in their lives, which meant exposure to drug and alcohol use was a way of escape. Parents described addiction as a cycle they were continually on, and regardless of what they did the power of this cycle made it difficult to break free. This, for some, developed into committing a crime to fund their addiction. The theme of drug and alcohol use and parenting is discussed in Chapter Six. This chapter suggested that parents’ mental health was severely impacted as a result of their drug and alcohol use. This left the parents feeling stigmatised and experiencing a tainted identity. Parents expressed grief and trauma about their experience and how this impacted on family attachments and affected partner relationships. Parent’s emotional reaction to Social Services and Child Protection in Chapter Seven suggested a loss of control and negative emotions such as anxiety, anger feeling embarrassed, scared, guilt, and frustration when professionals became involved. Parents wanted professionals to understand addiction, and they hoped the professionals supporting them would be supportive to help them change. Recovery and change in Chapter Eight suggested coming to the point of realisation that they had no choice but to change their behaviour. There was also an understanding that their behaviour had impacted their children. Parents expressed the difficulty of treatment without proper effective interventions and, at times, relapse and how this was frowned upon. The subordinate themes linked to one another and some similar themes appeared in several chapters. Chapter Nine, the final chapter summaries the thesis as it provides a glimpse into the complex nature of being a drug/alcohol addicted parent. Key findings suggest a change in professional practice to meet the needs of the user and the wider family.non

Digitized Collection in Higher Educational Institutions Around the Globe

The development of information and communication technology has paved the way to the development of electronic devices and has changed the traditional libraries to digital libraries. In which digitization of library collection has become a common activity. Digitization has opened up new audiences and services for libraries, that needs to be integrated into the plans and policies of any institution to maximize its effectiveness. With the help of digital technology institutions can share their research output globally by access and disseminate research information. This paper aims to explore and identify the role of digitized collection of the top 20 universities in the world according to the “Times Higher Education” World Rankings 2015-1