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Collecting feedback from students through course, program and other evaluation questionnaires has become a costly and time consuming process for most colleges. Converting to data collection through the internet, rather than completion on paper, can result in a cheaper and more efficient process. This article examines several research questions which need to be answered to establish that results collected by the two modes of administration are equivalent. Data were gathered for a program evaluation questionnaire from undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. Students were able to choose between completion on paper or through the internet. In six of the seven Faculties the number of responses through each mode was roughly the same. Students in the Engineering Faculty favored the internet. Scores on the 14 out of 18 scales in the instrument showed small differences by mode of response, which became smaller still with controls for pertinent demographic variables. The main response question addressed in the study was whether there was any difference in the way respondents to the two modes interpreted the questions. The study demonstrated the equivalence of the two data sets by showing that both could be fitted to a common model with structural equation modeling (SEM). Five levels of tests of invariance further confirmed the comparability of data by mode of administration. This study, therefore suggests that changing to internet collection for course and program evaluations will not affect the comparability of ratings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until recently, modern science had been dominated by a handful of Western countries. However, since the turn of the millennium, the global science landscape has undergone dramatic changes. The number of nations where a significant proportion of research done is of high international standard has now increased considerably. China particularly stands out and is today one of the leading science nations in the world. Overall, Chinese research collaborations with countries in the Western world exemplify the general trend towards increasing complexity in the global research landscape. It has gradually become obvious that differences between institutional settings need to be managed more systematically to promote cross-border research cooperation for shared benefits, from individual to institutional levels. An informed discussion of managing complex conditions necessitates an understanding of the relationship-level dynamics of research collaborations. In order to identify what aspects of international research collaborations are the most pertinent to systematically manage at individual and institutional levels, this paper investigates projects in a bilateral Swedish–Chinese funding program. The paper finds that the majority of collaborations funded had yielded positive impact in terms of publications, strengthened research capacity in research groups, and resource accumulation. The challenges found in the collaborations are related to needs such as improving transparency, ethical concerns, and imbalances in reciprocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative study which investigated a group of English as a second language (ESL) university students' perceptions of their global identities in intercultural English as a lingua franca (ELF) communication at an international university in Hong Kong. Drawing on data collected via in-depth interviews and elicited journals, the paper found that these students shared a number of similarities in how they perceived and characterized their global identities in ELF contexts on campus. The analysis revealed that the expression of their global identities involved not only identification with the wider global community, but also acceptance of linguistic variation in the global use of English, display of communicative competence to ensure mutual understanding in lingua franca communication, and positive orientations toward hybrid linguistic practices in ELF settings. The findings reported in this paper will contribute to our understanding of the linguistic and cultural dimensions in the expression of global identities among ESL university students in ELF communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's rapidly expanding university system aims to balance quantity and quality through a variety of measures, including internationalization. This paper employs data from a survey of 1264 students from 39 higher education institutions in order to understand students' view on institutional approaches to internationalization. The data show that 'the Project 985' universities (elite research universities in China) have used internationalization to sustain two objectives: elite education and innovative research for quality, because there are high levels of agreement on three indicators with internationalization of these universities: student and faculty mobility, internationalizing curriculum and program, and international research collaboration and partnership. In 'the Project 211' universities (second-tier research universities), the data show that internationalization activities are highly related to curriculum reforms and faculty mobility. While the other degree-offering universities provide less opportunity for internationalization, the non-degree-offering institutions find their distinct way for institutional internationalization by providing more 'international internship' opportunities. Our analysis also indicates that institutional internationalization is disciplinary oriented. In disciplines like law and art, students do not think that many activities are taken for internationalization by their institutions, while such disciplines as economics, management, and education have a higher level of internationalization. The paper will explain these findings in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the learning analytics on the initial stages of a large-scale, government-funded project which inducts university students in Hong Kong into consideration of academic integrity and ethics through mobile Augmented Reality (AR) learning trails-Trails of Integrity and Ethics (TIEs)-accessed on smart devices. The trails immerse students in collaborative problem solving tasks centred on ethical dilemmas, addressed in real, actual locations where such dilemmas might arise, with contextually appropriate digital advice and information available on hand. Students play out the consequences of their decisions which help reinforce the links between the theoretical concept of academic integrity and ethics and the practical application in everyday contexts. To evaluate the effectiveness of the TIEs, triangulation of different sets of data is adopted and these datasets include user experience surveys, qualitative feedback, clickstream data, and text mining of pre-/post-trail discussion. Thousands of students' responses and related data gathered are analysed to ascertain the effectiveness of these mobile learning trails in enhancing students' awareness of AIE issues. The positive learning outcome of the TIEs suggests that this approach can be adopted and applied to a wider scope of the academic curriculum and co-curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines gender differences in risk aversion among Chinese university students. Chinese females are proposed to be more risk averse and require a higher risk premium when faced with a gamble option in the gain-domain frame as compared to Chinese males. Two groups of 100 participants each (male = 100 and female = 100 in total) were recruited to fill up questionnaires that included items relating to objective probability lotteries. Within each group, it was found that Chinese males and females did not differ in their risk aversion. However, results show that Chinese males tend to react more readily to rising risk premium by taking up options with higher expected values when compared to Chinese females. Current findings will have useful implications to marketers (particularly, promoters of gambling products) and problem gambling counselors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the out-of-class learning activities undertaken, at the students' volition, by groups of students. Data were gathered through 57 individual and 15 focus group interviews with university students in Hong Kong. Group activities reported included: copying, sharing material, consulting peers, consulting teachers, studying and working together, revising together before examinations, discussing, collaborating across years, forming study groups and participating in extracurricular activities. Activities could be placed on a spectrum from low to high task-involvement. Some activities, such as copying, occurred at only one end of the spectrum. Most occurred in somewhat different forms across the spectrum. It was possible to categorise these activities into two categories labelled avoider and engager behaviour. Avoider behaviour was displayed by those who collaborated to minimise the time individual members spent on assigned tasks. Engager behaviour was characterised by seeking to reach a communal understanding of course content. Adoption of either behaviour was influenced by the teaching and learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing body of research has investigated the vital effects of urban greening. However, the green space on campus, also recognized as an important element of urban greening and providing many benefits to college students, has gained very limited attention. In developing China, after nearly 20 years of campus construction climax, the speed of expansion has dropped significantly and the focus of a sustainable and optimized green campus has emerged. Improving the accessibility, availability, and attractiveness is a control determining if the green spaces can realize their values. Therefore, this study, taking a case, aims to explore and better understand students' usage conditions, perceptions, and demands about campus green spaces. On Yijin campus in Hangzhou, China, through the questionnaire among 590 students, and accessibility analysis based on Space syntax theory, we have revealed that the negative usage condition of green spaces: most students rarely or occasionally visit the green space, and the visit time is concentrated in the afternoon and after class but rarely in the morning. Besides, students' gender and growth surroundings have little influence on the perception of campus green space, but the plant configuration, seasonal color richness, and facilities required at different spaces will affect. In addition, the ranking of accessibility analyzed by Space syntax theory is similar to campus convenience considered by students. In the conclusions, suggestions are made about how to fulfill students' requirements and improve the attractiveness and accessibility of campus green spaces so that they may inform to the growth of emerging colleges and universities in other cities and countries undergoing campus construction climax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Chinese university students' perceptions of plagiarism have been extensively investigated, those of their teachers have been surprisingly under-researched. This study sought to address this gap by investigating 112 Chinese university English teachers' knowledge of and attitudes towards plagiarism. While 57 participating teachers had overseas academic experience, the remaining ones received all their education in mainland China. They completed a perceptions of plagiarism survey that elicited their knowledge of several common forms of plagiarism in Anglo-American academia, perceptions of various possible causes of plagiarism, and attitudes towards plagiarism induced by different causes and plagiarism in general. The study found that the teachers reported varying knowledge of different types of transgressive textual practices, variegated perceptions of the different causes of plagiarism, but clearly punitive attitudes towards plagiarism. It also revealed significant differences between teachers with and without overseas academic experience in knowledge of and stances on plagiarism. These findings highlight the complexity of plagiarism as an intertextual phenomenon and point to the important role of cultural practices and academic socialisation in shaping perceptions of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report describes the development and validation of an instrument, the University Mathematics Classroom Environment Questionnaire (UMCEQ), for assessing the mathematics classroom environment in tertiary institutions in China. Through the use of multiple methods, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, on two independent samples of 1,476 and 1,024 tertiary students, results show that the 48-item UMCEQ finalised in this study has a stable factor structure and good psychometric qualities, including reliability, discriminant validity and construct validity. The concurrent validity of the UMCEQ is also examined through its correlations with students' approaches to learning. These eight factors cover all three categories for conceptualising human environments, i.e. relationship, personal development and system maintenance and change. Four dimensions are suggested to understand the characteristics of classroom environment in Chinese tertiary institutions. The implications and suggestions for future research are finally put forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a sample of Chinese college students (n = 216), the present study showed that future-oriented coping negatively correlated with perceived pressure and positively correlated with successful job hunting. The relationship between proactive coping and preventive coping was also explored. Structural equation modeling suggested that a sequence model was better than a parallel model; that is, proactive coping mediated the effect of preventive coping on perceived pressure and successful job hunting. They are sequential stages of one process rather than two separate processes. Students' appraisal of job hunting and their preparing and hunting behaviors were also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]