Chinese investors investment strategies in the Australian residential property market

Active participation by foreign investors in Australian residential property market is common subsequent to the Global Financial Crisis 2008. Many residential properties in the Australian capital cities were purchased by overseas buyers. An estimated 18% of new dwellings in Sydney and 14% in Melbourne were purchased by foreigners in 2014. Simultaneously, house prices rose by 6.0% in 2014 and 5.0% in 2015 in the Australian capital cities. The focus of this research is to uncover the emerging determinants for the Australian residential property market. Cross border semi-structured interviews were conducted in Shanghai (China), the first such undertaken in Australia. Some unique investment strategies of the private investors from China emphasised on non-capitalist factors, such as early education and residential tourism, were identified along with some insights on the Chinese government policies that have incentivised the cross border investments from China. It is believed that understanding these investment strategies will assist policy makers to effectively manage the overheated Australian residential property market without compromising the steady flow of Foreign Real Estate Investmen

International Students’ Perceptions and Experiences of British Drinking Cultures.

While the increased scale and importance of international students to the UK Higher Education sector is now well established, little is known about the ways in which students from non-UK countries experience and interact with the heavy drinking culture that predominates on and near many British universities. Drawing on qualitative interviews, this article analyses the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of British drinking cultures held by international students studying on postgraduate courses at a UK university. Students report prior awareness of alcohol consumption being important to British culture and recount both positive and negative experiences of witnessing and, for many, participating in drinking alcohol. Students make ready comparisons with the drinking habits and attitudes of their own culture. Further still, many made a distinction between the public house, or ‘pub’, as a welcoming and friendly social space and bars and nightclubs where a far greater risk of exposure to violence and harassment was perceived. The article provides theoretical insights to support future and more wide-ranging research into mobile drinking cultures and also suggests practical implications to inform stakeholders with interests in the welfare of international students in the UK in relation to the provision of effective and proactive policies which address the impact of British drinking cultures on international student integration and wellbeing

Expression of the SST receptor 2 in uveal melanoma is not a prognostic marker

Introduction: Uveal melanoma (UM) cells and neurohormone-producing cells both originate from the neural crest. Somatostatin receptors subtype 2 (SSTR2) are over-expressed in several tumors, often from neuroendocrine origin, and synthetic antagonists like octreotide and octreotate are being used as diagnostic or therapeutic agents. We investigated the SSTR2 expression in UM, and determined whether this expression was related to prognosis of the disease. Materials and methods: UM cell lines and fresh primary UM samples were tested for SSTR2 expression by autoradiography (AR) using 125I-Tyr3-octreotate. Furthermore, UM cell lines were analyzed for SSTR2 mRNA expression with quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Results: Using AR, cell-surface SSTR2 expression was demonstrated in two UM metastatic cell lines, but no expression was detected in three cell lines derived from primary UM. However, all primary and metastatic UM cell lines showed mRNA expression levels for SSTR2 using quantitative real-time RT-PCR. Only three of 14 primary UM demonstrated moderate SSTR2 expression, and this expression was not significantly associated with tumor-free survival or any tested prognostic factor. Conclusions: Based on the rare and low expression of SSTR2 found in primary UM specimens and in UM cell lines, we conclude that SSTR2 is not widely expressed in UM. Furthermore, SSTR2 expression was not associated with tumor-free survival and prognostic factors. Therefore SSTR2 is not suited as prognostic marker or therapeutic target in UM

International students??? intercultural sensitivity in their academic socialisation to a non-English-speaking higher education: a Korean case study

As global competition has intensified in Higher Education (HE) over the past decade, HE institutions of many non-English-speaking societies have strategically concentrated on internationalisation and increased the international population of their campuses. This case study investigated non-native English-speaking international students??? academic socialisation in a Korean engineering university devoted to internationalisation. A mixed method was adopted to analyse the questionnaire responses of 141 international students, along with qualitative interviews with ten of the respondents. The factors significant in their academic socialisation included their affective reactions to local cultures (intercultural sensitivity), in-class English-mediated interaction, and the need for the local language and social interaction. While their negative view of classroom interaction in the context of English-medium instruction was frequently associated with the use of the local language in class, their sensitivity to the local culture was found to exert a greater influence on their academic socialisation than the factor of the local language used by their local peers in a classroom. Notably, the negative correlation between attentiveness to the local culture and the need for social interaction illuminated the participants??? limited understanding of the local norms of interaction, such as politeness. The findings highlight a balanced approach towards locality and internationality which promotes intercultural interactions in both class and systemised language and culture education programs

Oligonucleotides complementary to c-myb messenger RNA inhibit growth and induce apoptosis in human Burkitt lymphoma cells

A 24-mer (antisense) phosphorothioate oligonucleotide (ODN) corresponding to the codons 2-9 of the c-myb gene was evaluated for its effects on the growth of a human Burkitt lymphoma cell line (Raji) in vitro. Raji cells incubated with different concentrations of c-myb antisense ODN (5-15 M-g/ml) for 24-72 h showed a significant dosedependent decrease in growth. The same concentrations of control (sense) or scrambled c-myb phosphorothioate ODNs did not inhibit Raji cell growth. The c-myb antisense ODN, but not the control ODNs, significantly decreased c-myb mRNA levels in treated cells as determined by RT-PCR. Additionally, the c-myb antisense ODN induced apoptosis of Raji cells as demonstrated by i) flow cytometry to enumerate the A0 (apoptotic cell population) population of propidium iodide stained cells; ii) electron microscopy to evaluate the cell morphology; and iii) DNA fragmentation pattern. Thus, an antisense c-myb ODN causes significant growth inhibition of Burkitt lymphoma cells, and one mechanism of growth inhibition is the induction of apoptosis of the lymphoma cells. In addition, antisense c-myb ODN did not reduce CFUGM or BFU-e colony-forming ability of normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Because the inhibition is sequence-specific and Burkitt lymphoma cell selective, evaluation of the therapeutic effects of c-myb antisense ODN against Burkitt lymphoma is warranted