Enhancing the Transformative Potential of Business Internships

Business internships involve students, sponsoring firms, and institutions of higher learning. As part of a program to enhance internships, we reviewed the experience of a small number of business interns working in Central Europe. Their experiences were characterized as essentially situation-specific learning, competence training, and affirmation of coursework. Student perceptions suggest prematurely defined boundaries that limit the theoretical advantages of internships. In order to enhance the internship experience, we suggest redesigning, sustaining, and evaluating internships emphasizing transferable learning, discovery of self in work, reflection and process, liminal experiences, and challenging espoused theory. We suggest that such redefined internships may optimize learning opportunities and the growth of human and social capital for all stakeholders, which are of particular benefit in the transforming business contexts of central and southern Europe.business internships, experiential learning, career, transitional economies, transforming education

Reconsidering Boyer\u27s Reconsideration: Paradigms, Sharing, and Engagement

Ernest Boyer provided a purpose for a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) although he might not have provided a description of the process. Boyer’s contribution concerned the nature of scholarship and research and, as such, it implicitly questioned existing assumptions, paradigms and epistemologies. Disciplinary paradigms are examined through the work of Thomas Kuhn in order to appreciate their strengths and limitations. An analysis of Boyer’s reconsideration of research and scholarship of engagement then provides purpose and direction for the scholarship of teaching. As an emergent discipline, SoTL finds itself defined and described. In that description there are concerns about paradigmatic exclusivity and exclusion and it is suggested that consideration be given to the inclusion of the voice of students and to dialogue with them as co-creators of knowledge

Troubling Metaphors and International Student Adjustment: Reflections from a Transnational Place

On many campuses, offices of International Student Affairs address the perceived needs of international students. However, a number of underlying assumptions and persistent metaphors shape these efforts and influence their outcomes. All students are uniquely different and face equally different challenges in adjusting to higher education. Labeling students “international” may make institutional sense, but it can potentially hinder their transition, adjustment, and ultimate success. Applying restrictive labels can perpetuate stereotypes, reinforce institutional silos, and potentially fracture international students from the rest of the student body. This article reflects on how students—irrespective of national origins—are viewed and assisted in a transnational setting that includes more than 70% of students who might, in other contexts, be classified as “international.

Wild Pansies, Trojan Horses, and Others: International Teaching and Learning as Bricolage

Educational change, predictable or unanticipated, occurs when student populations are altered. When an American college started an international program in Prague, it was anticipated that educational practice would change. To understand the implications for teaching, learning, and practice mentors explored the new educational landscape. The concept of bricolage informed much of that exploration and this paper considers bricolage, summarizes research outcomes, and reflects on the opportunity and ethics of engagement with Other

The Self, the Other, and the International Student

A sense of strangerhood, which is different from social isolation or cultural alienation, is common among many of the international students whom I encounter. In a world increasingly preoccupied with personal interaction and social exchange, many of these students perceive strangerhood as problematic and inherently negative. This brief reflection considers strangerhood from the perspective of Georg Simmel and argues that being a stranger has considerable positive value. Recognition of strangerhood is a critical element in developing a greater understanding of both the self and the Other. Legitimizing the experience of strangerhood, emphasizing its potential value, and empowering students to embrace it may provide significant short- and long-term benefits for international students in their personal and transformative journeys

Learning through Learning: Experiential Resonance in an Online Management Course

Experiential resonance is a pedagogic approach that allows learners to gaina deeper understanding of the subject matter theory by using that theorydirectly in the structure, dynamics, and learning spaces of the course. Learnersinformed about the application of course theory are asked to reflect onits use. In this preliminary study, management principles were embedded inthe learning spaces of two online distance learning management courses. Apost-course survey, although statistically limited because of the sample size,showed strong learner agreement that management theory had been a resonanttheme in the learning experiences and that its uses had been beneficial

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms