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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the challenges international students face during their higher education in the USA. This research study was conducted at a private university in the Eastern region of the USA from October 2012 through May 2013 (Fall and Spring semesters) with undergraduate and graduate international students. International students for this study are defined as those students who are on an international student visa status (F1). Design/methodology/approach: This research adopts an online survey method to understand the challenges international students encounter in a single university. A total of 111 students responded providing a response rate of 33 percent. The results were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. Findings: The findings of this study suggest that the primary learning challenges of international students are inadequate writing skills, non-participation, and comprehension abilities. The predominant learning needs are writing academic papers, enhancing class participation, and having local mentors. The students recommend that professors offer detailed feedback, encourage nurturing environments, and provide informal feedback for assignments. The preferred pedagogies are class lectures, class discussions, and individual assignments. Practical implications: This study provides implications for both faculty and administrative staff in managing international students better. Originality/value: This paper provides a holistic picture of the challenges international students face during their higher education in the USA. Most of the research on this population focuses only on one of the elements addressed in this research. The results of this empirical study will help guide both local faculty and global academic institutions in understanding this student population better.

Purpose: This empirical research was conducted in a medium-sized private university located in the north-eastern region of the USA. The purpose of this paper was to understand whether demographic attributes (age, gender, country of origin and years of stay in the USA) of international students will predict any preferences for specific teaching methods. This study was conducted with international students from October 2012 through May 2013 (fall and spring semesters). Design/methodology/approach: This research paper provides hypotheses to explore whether there is any relationship between demographic factors and preferences for various teaching methods. This study analyzes the results using both Pearson's correlations and one-way ANOVA to reject or accept the hypotheses. Findings: The results demonstrated that there were no significant correlations between the demographic variables of international students and teaching methods. However, the one-way ANOVA analyses suggested that there are differences among age groups and their preferences for group projects, years of studying in the USA and their preferences for classroom discussions, and gender and their preferences for textbook assignments. Practical implications: This study suggests that scholars provide orientation or training on the host country's pedagogies so that international students can assimilate better into their academic communities. Originality/value: This pioneering paper examines the role between demographic variables of international students and teaching pedagogies. This specific concept has not been examined in this literature before. This understanding could contribute to a richer understanding of this population of students.

Purpose: This research paper aims to showcase current knowledge management (KM) practices via social media that is being adopted by organizations in India and China. India and China are considered leading economies in today's global market. Any understanding of management practices in these countries will help practitioners in doing businesses in these nations. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper analyzes KM practices in India and China using an in-depth analysis of the extant literature to provide a comparative perspective of KM policies in these two economies. This paper has used a wide range of scholarly and non-scholarly databases from ABI Global Inform to Business Source Complete to Google Scholar among others. Findings: This research offers valuable insights into characteristic KM trends followed by Indian and Chinese firms. This paper also highlights different approaches adopted by these two cultures in managing their KM practices. The study also provides hypotheses that can be tested by potential scholars. This paper also offers theoretical models to understand this concept better. Practical implications: This paper also provides implications for practice by identifying guidelines for global managers. These frameworks might serve as preliminary parameters for practitioners planning to establish KM practices in India and China. Originality/value: This paper compares and contrasts KM practices in one of the two largest BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies which have not been addressed in the literature before. It also combines two theoretical frameworks from different fields (information technology and human resource management) providing a richer viewpoint on the subject.

Purpose: The primary purpose of this research paper is to understand the role of national cultural dimensions on e-learning practices in India. India is considered a major player in the world economy today. US multinationals are significantly increasing their presence in India and understanding cultural preferences will help global companies transition better. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper uses the national cultural dimensions of the global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness project, which is identified as the most topical theoretical framework on culture. The national cultural scores are used to develop hypotheses for specific cultural dimensions. Examples from the literature are also used to strengthen the proposed hypotheses. Findings: This research proposes that national cultural dimensions of power distance, uncertainty avoidance, in-group collectivism, and future-orientation influence e-learning practices. This study distinguishes between synchronous and asynchronous methods of e-learning and the role of culture on the same. Future research can definitely empirically test the hypotheses proposed. Practical implications: This study provides strategic implications for multinationals with a guide sheet identifying the role of the various cultural dimensions on e-learning. The suggested strategies can be implemented by multinationals in other countries with similar national cultural dimensions also. Originality/value: This research also proposes a theoretical e-learning model identifying the impact of national cultural dimensions on e-learning practices. This research also provides practitioners a strategic implications model that could be implemented for e-learning initiatives in multinationals. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to enhance knowledge on debates as a pedagogical learning technique. Design/methodology/approach: This empirical research was conducted in a northeastern university in the USA on graduate and undergraduate business students taking human resource management (HRM) classes. This research was conducted in the spring summer, and fall semesters of 2009. A total number of 68 completed student surveys from both graduate and undergraduate students were collected over the entire year. This empirical paper provides the null and alternate hypotheses for understanding the relationship between debates and short- and long-term learning outcomes. This study uses the Pearson's correlations and significance levels to reject or accept the hypotheses. The means, SD, and percentages of students' responses with their open-ended comments are also provided to enhance understanding of the subject. Findings: This research suggests there are positive correlations between debates and short- and long-term learning outcomes. Further, most of the statements for short- and long-term learning outcomes and debates are significant at the 0.01 and 0.05 levels. Open-ended comments from students in the survey also enrich the data by providing relevant positive and negative comments. Practical implications: This study will help educators enhance the understanding of debates and also the impact of short- and long-term outcomes on student learning. This paper also provides debate prompts and formats that HRM professors could possibly adopt in their classes. Originality/value: This paper has integrated the learning taxonomies of Bloom's and Angelo and Cross' with the learning process of debates to provide a comprehensive theoretical understanding of this learning technique. (Contains 4 tables.)

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to detail staffing practices of five software companies located in India. Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative research paper uses purposeful sampling to provide rich data on senior-level staffing practices. The interviews conducted in India are tape-recorded and notes are also taken diligently. The interviews are coded to identify similar and dissimilar themes. Findings – This research identifies internal recruitment, employer references, succession planning, interviews, personality tests, newspaper recruitment, professional search agencies, and bio-data as the predominant senior-level staffing practices. Practical implications – The paper identifies successful staffing practices adopted by domestic software companies. As multinational companies significantly increase their presence in India, global practitioners can implement successful staffing practices by having a thorough understanding of local staffing practices. Originality/value – This paper identifies successful staffing practices of the Indian software organizations. This paper further provides a staffing model based on the Lepak and Snell staffing typology and details the main human resource management challenges of the Indian software industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binding equilibrium between β-cyclodextrin and phenolphthalein has been used to develop a method for the estimation of β-cyclodextrin in solution. From logarithmic plots of amounts of β-cyclodextrin against absorbance at 554 nm, a relation log X = (log A - log Y)/B was found, which gave an estimate of β-cyclodextrin in the concentration range 0.0045 mg mL-1 (3.96 μm) to 4.7 mg mL-1 (4.14 mm), where X = intercept and B = slope. This method was found to be highly reproducible and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]