Study of Tourism Public Governance Vis-à-vis Crisis Management

This paper,taking into consideration the tour guides’protest actions in Guilin on July,26,2012 as an example,is a study on tourism public governance vis-à-vis crisis management.It holds that the basic goal of tourism public governance is the prevention of and resolution to public crises,wherefore the need to raise its scientific level of decision-making.It discusses the internal relations between the basic goal and the appraisal of the causes and effects of public policy on tourism governance,with the aim to present theoretical guidance on future actions and decisions,to improve on the current mode of tourism governance,towards the establishment of a new scientific system in this respect.     

A Study on Translation of Tourism Literature-from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

Tourism literature is a window for foreigners to know China and a medium for publicizing Chinese culture.Increasing the quality of translation of tourism literature is of great significance in promoting Chinese tourisms’ further development.This paper explores the strategies to deal with the translation of tourism literature,taking Skopos Theory as the theoretical base.     

The changing role of the state vis-à-vis higher education in a global context

Since the 1980s, a series of reforms that aimed to reconstruct the relationships among the government, the university, and the student (consumer) have been initiated in the systems of higher education. In varying degrees, these systems of higher education were affected by market forces. Given this, the relationship between the state and higher education has also been changed significantly. The purpose of this paper is to view recent changes in higher education in the historic context of globalization. It attempts to trace the source of these changes and to depict, against a new background, the new role of the state vis-à-vis higher education. It also seeks to illuminate the rationale behind the changing role of the state. By using the experiences of selected countries as illustrations, this paper will discuss the salient features of the state’s role change in various contexts. __________ Translated from Beijing Daxue Jiaoyu Pinglun 北京大学教育评论 (Peking University Education Review), 2007, 5 (1): 138–149     

The educational philosophy of Greek extensionists vis-à-vis contemporary extension thinking: a critical appraisal

Purpose: The current paper aims at the classification of Greek agronomists/extensionists in adult education philosophical frameworks; the exploration of frameworks’ changes in the last 40 years; and the assessment of their relevance vis-à-vis the current developments.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The research addressed a purposive sample of 30 agronomists divided into two groups (older - younger). Questionnaire-based survey was followed by a semi-structured interview.

Findings: The views of both groups of agronomists follow the same orientation and revolve around the progressive and behaviourist philosophies. In terms of practice, the intervention of older agronomists mainly relates to the progressive, the liberal and the behaviourist philosophy while that of younger agronomists around the liberal framework; evidence shows a small turn of younger agronomists towards participatory extension.

Practical Implications: The current piece of work puts forward the gaps and weaknesses of Extension in Greece both in terms of rhetoric and practice; notably, Greek agronomists do not seem capable to support bottom-up processes.

Theoretical Implications: Research detected the espoused orientation of extensionists and the ways they assist their constituencies in practice.

Originality/Value: The work reported here is considered one means of raising the awareness of the field’s needs in documenting extensionists’ educational philosophies and how they guide practice.     

The Psychology of Effective College Governance,Part 1 — The Management Skills

Summary

This is the first of two articles discussing how the thinking styles of FE college governors might affect dramatically the managerial effectiveness of the governing bodies on which they serve. In Part 1 we focus upon the topic of management skill, and in Part 2 (to be published in JFHE Spring 1993) we go on to demonstrate how every identifiable management skill depends upon a set of psychological skills to support it. This is a phenomenon which needs to be clearly understood by all those involved with FE's ongoing drive for better management standards. The position of the new ‘employment interest’ governors is found to be particularly problem‐ridden. Indeed, it is still far from guaranteed that they will be able to provide FE with the skills, energy, and flair we were once assured they would be bringing. The detailed reasoning behind this gloomy assessment is given and some practical suggestions for improvement made.     

Aistear vis-à-vis the Primary Curriculum: the experiences of early years teachers in Ireland

Launched in 2009, the Aistear early years curriculum framework sought to complement and extend the primary school curriculum (PSC) at infant class level in the Republic of Ireland. While Aistear focuses on the development of attitudes, values and learning dispositions and is neither statutory nor inspected, the PSC centres on the acquisition of subject-based knowledge and the development of age-appropriate skills, and is subject to external inspection. To explore teachers’ experiences regarding the status of Aistear vis-à-vis the Curriculum, this study adopted a multi-method approach involving questionnaire surveys (n?=?104), one-to-one interviews (n?=?6) and classroom observations (n?=?6) to identify everyday practices in the classroom. Acknowledging the importance of play, there was little evidence that Aistear has transformed classroom teaching. Didactic teaching approaches remain dominant, with play afforded peripheral status. The study provides an original insight into the challenges teachers experience in meeting competing curricular demands.     

A regression analysis of elementary students’ ICT usage vis-à-vis access to technology in Singapore

This paper explores the relationship among ICT infrastructure (i.e., computing devices and Internet), one-to-one computing program and student ICT activities in school. It also looks into the differences of how ICT is being used in the teaching of English, mathematics and science at the elementary school level in relation to the availability of computing devices, Internet connection and one-to-one program. A total of 360 Grade 5 students from three schools (120 students from each school) in the western part of Singapore participated in a questionnaire adapted from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) ICT Familiarity Component for Student Questionnaire regarding students’ ICT use. One of the participating schools has implemented a school-based one-to-one computing program for all its students for the past nine years, with the school providing the necessary computing devices for all its Grade 1 to 3 students and a student computer ownership program to encourage all its Grade 4 students to procure their own computing devices to be used till completion of elementary education at Grade 6. The regression analyses suggest that how ICT is being used plays a more significant role in predicting the frequency of ICT use for the various subject areas than ICT infrastructure and one-to-one computing program. Further analysis also reveals that one-to-one computing program and availability of computing devices have a significant interaction effect on the frequency of ICT usage for English but not for mathematics and science—the presence of computing devices seem to have an impact for the usage of ICT for English but not the other two subject areas. The findings concur with earlier studies that there are differences in frequency and how ICT is being used in the teaching of English, mathematics and science.     

IT Entry knowledge and skills of university teachers vis-à-vis their interest levels: the case of the oldest university in Asia

Technology, considered as the new language of teaching and learning, is an irrevocable reality. Any institution of higher learning is expected to look into the future without losing sight of its core capabilities-the malleability of its faculty members. Today, more than ever, teachers are expected to operate in an environment where “hiteach”, “hi-touch” and “hi-tech” govern their instructional behaviors. It is in this light that this study was conducted to situate teachers coming from a time-tested institution, such as the University of Santo Tomas, the oldest university in Asia, in terms of their IT knowledge, skills, and interests with a view to identifying implications on how faculty development programs may be made more responsive to the present-day educational structure.     

A Study on The Present Status and Countermeasures of Inner Mongolia＇s Public Culture Service

完善公共文化服务是我国文化体制改革的重要内容和文化建设的重要目标。本文着眼于内蒙古目前公共文化服务的发展程度,指出内蒙古的公共文化服务当前还存在基础设施建设滞后、资金投入不足、城乡文化资源配置不均衡等问题,并从拓展公共文化服务的内容和范围,推进政府公共文化服务模式改革,以及实现对公共文化服务多主体参与等角度提出了完善内蒙古公共文化服务机制改革的相关建议。     

State-of-The-Art Technologies Used in Training Delivery and Administration at the Institute of Public Administration： Case Study

The Institute of Public Administration （IPA）, in Saudi Arabia, is a well renowned training institution designated for training civil servants in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This paper mainly discusses the uses of technologies in the administrative aspects of the IPA. The author also points out the obstacles faced and lessons learned from the implementation and use of these technologies.     

Factors Influencing Postsecondary STEM Students’ Views of the Public Communication of an Emergent Technology: a Cross-National Study from Five Universities

Recent efforts in the science education community have highlighted the need to integrate research and theory from science communication research into more general science education scholarship. These synthesized research perspectives are relatively novel but serve an important need to better understand the impacts that the advent of rapidly emerging technologies will have on a new generation of scientists and engineers including their formal communication with engaged citizenry. This cross-national study examined postsecondary science and engineering students’ (n?=?254 from five countries: Austria, Finland, France, Israel, and USA) perspectives on the role of science communication in their own formal science and engineering education. More broadly, we examined participants’ understanding of their perceived responsibilities of communicating science and engineering to the general public when an issue contains complex social and ethical implications (SEI). The study is contextualized in the emergent technology of nanotechnology for which SEI are of particular concern and for which the general public often perceives conflicting risks and benefits. Findings indicate that student participants’ hold similar views on the need for their own training in communication as future scientists and engineers. When asked about the role that ethics and risk perception plays in research, development, and public communication of nanotechnology, participants demonstrate similar trajectories of perspectives that are, however, often anchored in very different levels of beginning concern. Results are discussed in the context of considerations for science communication training within formal science education curricula globally.     

What Could Have Been Done? Circuit City: A Case Study of Management and Employee Performance Failure

This case study is an employee performance analysis that utilizes Gilbert's behavior engineering model (Gilbert, 2007 ) as a theoretical framework to examine the events that caused Circuit City to fail in 2008. Additionally, the case study views the events through a systemic lens. As management implemented changes, employee morale and performance faltered, which in turn affected customer perceptions and attitudes. Taken together, these actions resulted in a negative feedback loop that greatly contributed to the demise of the company.     

Probe into the Innovation-oriented Talents Cultivation Mode of Graduate Students Catering for the Development of Beibu Gulf Economic Zone --Taking Guangxi＇s Tourism Management for example

专业学位研究生教育是根据当前社会经济发展需要而设立的一种学位教育,它迎合了近年来国家大力倡导的应用型、创新型人才培养的需要。文章就广西旅游管理专业学位研究生创新型人才培养模式构建的要素进行论述,以期为包括广西在内的泛北部湾省区旅游管理专业学位研究生的培养提供参考借鉴。     

Language and Identity Construction of China’s Rural-Urban Migrant Children: An Ethnographic Study in an Urban Public School

This article investigates the identity construction process of China’s rural-urban migrant children through analyses of their discourses and of their use of language. Rural children have relocated to the urban centers with their parents on a massive scale over the past decades as China has undergone rapid economic changes. Many migrant children are able to attend urban public schools, and their identity construction emerges as an important issue that attracts increasing public and scholarly attention. This study draws on ethnographic data and presents four examples to illustrate the complex process of migrant identity construction. The results show that the migrant children deploy a range of linguistic features and claim multiple identities; in order for their identities to be established in social reality, they have to go through negotiation processes in which their identities are evaluated, ratified, challenged, or denied. Language is at the center of such processes.     

Total Quality Management in Engineering Education—A Case Study from University College Dublin (National University of Ireland-Dublin)

The last 3 years have seen extensive time and resources invested in quality assessment/quality improvement (QA/QI) within the Irish university sector. The introduction of a formalized QA/QI programme in the 1998/99 academic year at University College Dublin (UCD) of Ireland-Dublin, will mean that every department in College will have a direct and compulsory involvement in the quality assurance programme in the coming years. There is limited experience of formalized quality assessment in the higher education sector in Ireland, and several pilot projects have been running which represent a first step in establishing a methodology suited to conditions prevailing within the Irish context. The Universities Act 1997 in Ireland will drive the issue of quality assessment in the university sector and ensure that emphasis is placed on the attainment of the highest possible standards in teaching and research. The universities are responding to this new challenge by adopting a pro-active approach and implementing the QA/QI schemes as a matter of some urgency. This paper outlines details of key pilot projects undertaken in recent times.     

A Review of: “Campus Crisis Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning,Prevention, Response,and Recovery By Zdziarski,Eugene, L., II,Dunkel, Norbert,W., & J. Michael Rollo & Associates”

In this article the move toward international education in the community college is questioned. Who benefits when two-year schools are globalized? An alternative to the current international approach is suggested. The case is made that community colleges serve the public interest when curricula are centered on solving problems unique to the communities that host and support them.