China's growth prospects and the 'two' Chinas

In the first three decades of the former Soviet Union its rate of urbanisation was approximately the same as it has been in China since 1978. Yet despite plenty of platitudes from Western academics, politicians and members of the media, the Soviet Union eventually collapsed under the weight of its own contradictions. While it was easy to centrally plan urbanisation and the growth of its industrial sector from a low base, the Soviet Union never managed to take the requisite next step towards entrepreneurship and services - led growth. To do so would have necessitated abandoning much of what had worked for it in previous decades, allowing market forces and the incentives they create to respond to the tastes of consumers rather than that of the nomenklatura . This is the position that China faces today and has done since its double digit growth dipped in 2009, impacting on both its domestic economy and on global growt

Institutions, efficiency and the organisation of seaports: A comparative analysis

Ports form an essential part of a country's infrastructure by facilitating trade and ultimately helping to reduce the cost of goods for consumers. They are characterised by solidity in physical infrastructure and legislative frameworks – or high levels of “asset specificity” – but also face the dynamics of constantly changing global market conditions requiring flexible responsiveness. Through a New Institutional Economics lens, the ports of Port Hedland (Australia), Prince Rupert (Canada), and Tauranga (New Zealand) are analysed. This dissertation undertakes a cross-country comparative analysis, but also extends the empirical framework into an historical analysis using archival data for each case study from 1860 – 2012. How each port's unique institutional environment – the constraints, or “rules of the game” – affected their development and organisational structure is then investigated. This enables the research to avoid the problem where long periods of economic and political stability in core institutions can become the key explanatory variables. The study demonstrates how the institutional pay-off structure determines what organisational forms come into existence at each port and where, why and how they direct their resources. Sometimes, even immense political will and capital investment will see a port flounder (Prince Rupert); or great resource booms will never be captured (Port Hedland); other times, the port may be the victim of special interest pressure from afar (Tauranga). All of these failures, and eventual successes, are traced to changes in each port's institutional environment over time. This work is particularly relevant to those involved in port planning of all forms, whether dealing with higher-level governance issues or everyday allocation problems. The thesis concludes that for ports, institutions do matter: without understanding the institutional constraints a particular port faces at a particular point in time, even the best laid plans may go awry

An (interpretive) phenomenological analysis of nursing professionals experience of developing a transnational curriculum

Aim : The purpose of this phenomenological study is to reveal how senior staff who have engaged in the development of a transnational nursing curriculum make sense of the opportunity. Background : Merging two, country specific curricula for a dual award bachelor degree nursing program, taught exclusively in China through ‘flying faculty’ model is an innovative way to deliver a global nursing education. As with any innovation, lessons can be learned through reflection, to streamline future institutional investments which are responsive to country specific needs. Methods : Four senior staff involved in curriculum development were recruited through purposive sampling. Semi structured interviews were undertaken to elicit data on their experiences during the merger. Discussion : Five main themes were key to participant’s sense making during the curriculum development process. These were: managing and overcoming differences in expectations and pedagogy, meeting deadlines, engaging stakeholders and the need to think creatively. All participants revealed there had been a significant learning curve during the process, and highlighted the benefits of this in their own development. Conclusions : Participants perceived transnational education curriculum development as complex. They cited differences in learning, teaching, pedagogy and quality processes as factors to address and identified the most crucial elements to success, were communication, mutual engagement, meeting deadlines and the ability to think creatively. Their continual efforts to understand systems and processes allowed them to make sense of this complex undertaking

Managing international branch campuses: what do we know? [forthcoming]

peer-reviewedOver the last decade, the growth of the international branch campus (IBC) has been one of the most striking developments in the internationalisation of higher education. There are now over 200 IBCs across the world, mostly in the Middle East and East and South‐east Asia. Despite the growing numbers of IBCs and the considerable financial and reputational risk they pose to their home universities, relatively little is known about the challenges of managing these foreign outposts. This paper reviews the growing, but still fragmented, literature in this increasingly important sector of higher education. It finds that managers of IBCs are faced with a range of challenges, which primarily stem from dealing with key stakeholder groups: students, staff, home and host country quality regulators, the home university and the host government, as well as the IBC's local joint venture partners. It concludes that further work is required to better understand the factors which influence and constrain IBC managers in balancing the competing interests of stakeholders.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

The design of international dual degree programmes as effective transnational education experiences

International Dual Degree (IDD) programmes recently emerged as an attractive transnational education (TNE) opportunity for both prospective students and higher education institutions. Students can experience different education systems, increase their international networks, and ultimately boost their employability. Organizations can develop their international presence, exchange best practices, and exploit efficiencies. Despite their numerous advantages and some distinguished cases of success, IDD programmes remain marginal in the global offer of TNE. Multiple processes intertwine to configure them as complex ventures that often intimidate education managers. The chapter builds on a case study to present decision-makers with a framework for designing and implementing a successful IDD programme. The WHEEL framework aims at equipping education managers with practical signposts for successfully engaging with such strategic opportunity

The exploitation of youth: An alternative history of youth policy in Australia

This thesis argues against the prevailing orthodox view that governments in Australia have only recently recognised a need to isolate and address youth as a distinct population. Focusing particularly on Commonwealth policy, it provides evidence of a long and sustained history of government interventions with youth. (Attention is concentrated less on the implementation of these policies than on the rhetoric of the policy-makers: the sorts of reasons used in defence of government interventions, particularly in parliamentary debate.) This approach facilitates examining the way power is exercised over youth through the concepts in terms of which young people are identified and thought about and reveals an enduring logic underpinning government youth policy. The thesis argues that youth policy is characterised by the recognition of youth as a potential force or resource of the state to be developed and harnessed. But it goes beyond suggesting that youth is simply utilised in the national interest. Concentrating on the identity and roles politicians construct for youth in their rhetoric, it argues that this policy area marks out a generational interest, so that the old govern the young in the interests of preserving their own power. Youth policy is informed by the recognition of youth as a threat to the status quo. It is shaped by the need of each 'ruling generation' to oblige the young to accept its discipline and contribute to the maintenance and preservation of 'its' state. So the thesis ultimately argues that youth policy does not usually take the form of a benevolent intervention on behalf of youth, but is more commonly developed in the interests of its makers

Teaching and Learning in Australian Transnational Higher Education: Distilling Principles of Quality from Stakeholder Accounts

This article provides an overview of the progress of efforts to formulate quality frameworks for Australian higher education delivered overseas, notably in the Asian region. With the quest for quality frameworks for Australian transnational higher education established as the context, the article then traces our work to draw out and establish principles of quality that might inform such frameworks. Distinguishing this work is the endeavor to extract understandings about the constitution of quality in Australian transnational higher education. The article reports initial findings of ongoing empirical research into academic stakeholders' perspectives on issues of quality in teaching and learning in transnational programs aimed at developing principles to enhance quality frameworks

Quality, identity and practice in offshore university programmes: issues in the internationalization of Australian higher education

This paper reports the findings of qualitative case studies aimed at exploring student experiences of offshore programmes delivered in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia by Australian universities. The paper draws on a cross-case analysis of the studies to develop propositions about student experience and identity formation in the context of offshore education. The propositions are that: offshore students consider international education to be part of a long-term trajectory of identity formation, with the choice of programme delivery being a strategy to progress along the trajectory; offshore students seek identity as members of the educational community through pursuing local ways of belonging; and offshore students deal with the demands of family, work and study by prioritizing and compartmentalizing roles and activities. The findings provide insights into student perspectives on what makes a quality educational experience for international students studying offshore