Missing friendships: understanding the absent relationships of local and international students at an Australian university

In recent years, research on higher education has increasingly examined the realities of internationalisation, with a particular focus on international students’ experiences and internationalisation at home programs. These studies have explored the friendships of international students, including their relationships with both locals and internationals from other countries. However, local students’ perspectives and experiences of friendship are largely absent from this literature. The few accounts examining local students’ lives explicitly focus on improving their cross-cultural knowledge and engagement, or on rare cases of local–international student friendships. The overriding assumption in this literature is that the understandings and social practises of local students are major barriers to their relationships with internationals. This paper addresses this gap by exploring local students’ perspectives on the absence of friendships with their international peers. We utilise findings from a research project on internationalisation at home, involving interviews and focus groups with local and international students and staff at an Australian university. Focusing on locals’ discussions of potential friendships with internationals, we propose that these missing friendships are an important area of study. We find that these friendships are missing for several interrelated reasons: local–international friendships are considered unnecessary and are therefore unimagined by locals, who tend to assume that similarity and affinity naturally lead to friendships, and the structures and spaces that might facilitate friendships are absent. Ultimately, uncovering why these friendships are missing sheds fuller light on how relationships might be facilitated, potentially informing and improving universities’ internationalisation initiatives.     

浅论如何提高普通高校公体课中长跑教学质量

本文研究了韶关学院公共体育课学生耐力素质较差的原因,提出在教学中应根据学生特点,提高其自觉性练习的方法,对公共体育课中长跑教学法具有重要意义.     

The Role of Visual-Spatial Abilities in the Performance of Certain Motor Skills

Abstract

Forty-two college women were used to study the relationship of visual-spatial orientation, visualization, and perceptual speed to the performance of specific gross motor skills at successive stages of learning. Analysis of the data indicated that visual-spatial orientation was related to performance of a two-hand speed pass in the early stages of learning, and to practice on a balance beam routine throughout the period of learning. Perceptual speed appeared to be related to performance on both skills, while visualization could not be shown to have an effect on either of them.     

The Jumpstart Model: The Contours of a New Force in Early Literacy

Jumpstart is a growing literacy program that is now active in 17 states in addition to the District of Columbia. The Jumpstart Model pairs children of low-income families with college mentors in the child's typical learning environment. Despite the prevalence and importance of Jumpstart, little has been written about either the general model of Jumpstart or the positive impacts the program has on both the children and the AmeriCorps members.     

生态立区 产业发展 努力实现林业“双增”目标——关于广西林业发展情况的调研报告

近10年来,特别是十一五时期是广西林业发展又好又快的时期,森林资源和林地等实现稳步增长。广西林业的发展之路,为全国实现胡锦涛总书记提出的林业发展双增目标积累了许多成功的经验。当然,实现双增目标还面临一些实际困难。因此,建议采取分解任务,将林业发展双增目标落实到地方政府;坚持营造林基础地位不动摇;开展分类经营试点示范等对策。     

Effect of a labratory manual design incorporating visual information-processing aids on student learning and attitudes

The elements of visual information-processing theory were applied to the design of a chemistry laboratory manual. The effectiveness of this approach on content learning, practical skill mastery, and attitudes of university students in a general chemistry course was assessed. Two versions of a laboratory manual were developed: an experimental version that promotes visual information processing by integrating pictures or diagrams with text, and a control version identical to the experimental version in both activities and structure, but without pictures or diagrams. Three assessment instruments were used: an achievement test to assess cognitive outcomes, an attitude survey to assess affective outcomes, and a manipulative skills observation checklist to assess psychomotor outcomes. Results showed that the manual incorporating visual information-processing characteristics helped students gain significantly higher scores on measures of achievement and psychomotor skills, and also stimulated students to develop more favorable attitudes toward the laboratory activities. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 891–904, 1997.