When Internationalization Funding Feels Tight: Satisfaction With Funding and Campus Internationalization Strategies

This study investigated predictors of satisfaction with an institution’s strategy for campus internationalization among international affairs staff (N = 1,520) and compared the varying perceptions of their institution’s funding to fulfill this mandate. This study identified factors that influenced these individuals’ sense of their institution’s internationalization strategy. Among international affairs staff who were most dissatisfied with their institution’s funding, satisfaction with how their institution managed the outsourcing of university functions, and perceived competition with other universities most influenced their perceptions of strategy. For those moderately satisfied with funding, retention of senior university leadership most influenced their perceptions of strategy. Support from senior administration, communication with faculty, and capacity to support increased student enrollment influenced perceptions of strategy for all respondents. The results of this study suggest the negotiation of the educational and entrepreneurial rationales for internationalization are far more complex—and dependent on far more factors—at institutions where international affairs staff perceive fewer human and financial resources to be available

Shifting Positionalities Across International Locations: Embodied Knowledge, Time-Geography, and the Polyvalence of Privilege

Despite a robust body of scholarship on positionality, the practice of international higher education research often neglects engagement with the varied, fluid, and complex positionalities of researchers across national boundaries. Through a series of vignettes, the authors argue for reflexivity that extends beyond rigid social identities and towards embodied knowledge, or selfunderstanding that is mutable and context-responsive. For international mobile researchers especially, new affinities can evolve through propinquity and social custom, and gradually become incorporated into self-knowledge with the passing of time. Beyond mere cultural competency, this article raises the importance of symbolic competency that simultaneously negotiates the multiple dimensions of language, various forms of capital, as well as evolving social identities in conducting research in different contexts

Causal exposure-response curve estimation with surrogate confounders: a study of air pollution and children's health in Medicaid claims data

In this paper, we undertake a case study in which interest lies in estimating a causal exposure-response function (ERF) for long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM$_{2.5}$) and respiratory hospitalizations in socioeconomically disadvantaged children using nationwide Medicaid claims data. New methods are needed to address the specific challenges the Medicaid data present. First, Medicaid eligibility criteria, which are largely based on family income for children, differ by state, creating socioeconomically distinct populations and leading to clustered data, where zip codes (our units of analysis) are nested within states. Second, Medicaid enrollees' individual-level socioeconomic status, which is known to be a confounder and an effect modifier of the exposure-response relationships under study, is not available. However, two useful surrogates are available: median household income of each enrollee's zip code of residence and state-level Medicaid family income eligibility thresholds for children. In this paper, we introduce a customized approach, called \textit{MedMatch}, that builds on generalized propensity score matching methods for estimating causal ERFs, adapting these approaches to leverage our two surrogate variables to account for potential confounding and/or effect modification by socioeconomic status. We conduct extensive simulation studies, consistently demonstrating the strong performance of \textit{MedMatch} relative to conventional approaches to handling the surrogate variables. We apply \textit{MedMatch} to estimate the causal ERF between long-term PM$_{2.5}$ exposure and first respiratory hospitalization among children in Medicaid from 2000 to 2012. We find a positive association, with a steeper curve at PM$_{2.5} \le 8$ $\mu$g/m$^3$ that levels off at higher concentrations.Comment: 38 pages,5 figure

The cyanobacterial circadian clock follows midday in vivo and in vitro

Circadian rhythms are biological oscillations that schedule daily changes in physiology. Outside the laboratory, circadian clocks do not generally free-run but are driven by daily cues whose timing varies with the seasons. The principles that determine how circadian clocks align to these external cycles are not well understood. Here, we report experimental platforms for driving the cyanobacterial circadian clock both in vivo and in vitro. We find that the phase of the circadian rhythm follows a simple scaling law in light-dark cycles, tracking midday across conditions with variable day length. The core biochemical oscillator comprised of the Kai proteins behaves similarly when driven by metabolic pulses in vitro, indicating that such dynamics are intrinsic to these proteins. We develop a general mathematical framework based on instantaneous transformation of the clock cycle by external cues, which successfully predicts clock behavior under many cycling environments

International students seeking political stability and safety in South Africa

Given the increasing rate of South to South migration and South Africa’s leading role as a host for internally displaced migrants as well as Africa’s international students, this study examined this intersection of international students who selected the country for political stability and safety. The findings revealed that while these students were generally more highly prepared academically, more satisfied with university facilities and staff, and experienced fewer academic hurdles than their international student counterparts, they encountered greater challenges in regard to finances, living support and discrimination. The study calls for clearer acknowledgement in policy and specialized support for refugee and asylum seekers’ unique situations and needs.https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/413072020-11-25hj2020Education Management and Policy Studie