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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]

This article examines the evolution of national research policy in China over the past three decades and its recent shift in emphasis from 'import' to 'import-export' oriented internationalization. Based on a policy review and interviews with three groups of academics-six journal editors in the humanities and social sciences, two directors from top-tier Chinese university Departments of Scientific Research Administration, and six scholars from different disciplines-the article investigates the impact of national research policy and its recent shift towards 'going out' on scholarly publishing in China. The paper reveals Chinese academia's quandary with regard to internationalization and discusses the link with larger debates about uni- and bi-directionality in academic knowledge exchange. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The search continues for a Chinese research university model that can balance quality and quantity in research and teaching. This paper argues that finding one depends upon deepening internationalization, defining educational sovereignty, and expanding university autonomy. The paper does this by examining selected aspects in the development of the research university systems of the Chinese mainland and China's Hong Kong, particularly with respect to the governance of research and teaching. [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]

Titanium diboride wettable cathodes are regarded as ideal for aluminum reduction because of their excellent wettability with molten aluminum. The TiB2 inert wettable cathode materials for aluminum reduction may be divided into three groups: pure TiB2 ceramic cathode, TiB2 composite cathode, and TiB2 coating. This paper briefly describes international research progress on TiB2 inert wettable cathodes as well as problems faced, and concentrates on the activities of Central South University, Changsha, China, in researching the ambient-temperature solidified TiB2 cathode coating. At the same time, the results of the coating applied in many aluminum smelters in China are presented, and the pattern of cathode surface of160 kA cells coated with the ambient- temperature-solidified TiB2 cathode coating after one year operation is discussed in comparison with the normal cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although studies have been conducted on educators' perceptions of assessment practices, few studies explored students' perceptions of the ethical issues in classroom assessment. A mixed design research method was used to examine factors associated with students' perceptions of the ethicality of classroom assessment practices. A sample of 1996 undergraduate students enrolled in 177 colleges and universities in China participated in the quantitative phase of the study to complete a survey measuring students' perceptions regarding the ethicality of classroom assessment. In the qualitative phase, 579 participants responded to the open-ended questions concerning their justification of the ethicality of the individual assessment situations. Quantitative analyses indicated that students' gender, grade level, major, and program were associated with their perceptions of the ethicality of multiple assessment practices (i.e., multiple assessment, surprise items, considering effort and attendance in grading, and giving feedback). Qualitative analyses showed that conflicting needs of different stakeholders in classroom assessment (i.e., student needs vs. assessment needs, teacher needs vs. assessment needs, student needs vs. student needs) were associated with their perceptions. Findings of the current study offer insights for teachers regarding how to make classroom assessment practices ethical based on diverse needs of stakeholders involved in assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]