Demographics of international contact lens prescribing

Knowledge of differences in the demographics of contact lens prescribing between nations, and changes over time, can assist (a) the contact lens industry in developing and promoting various product types in different world regions, and (b) practitioners in understanding their prescribing habits in an international context. Data that we have gathered from annual contact lens fitting surveys conducted in Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the USA between 2000 and 2008 reveal an ageing demographic, with Japan being the most youthful. The majority of fits are to females, with statistically significant differences between nations, ranging from 62 per cent of fits in Norway to 68 per cent in Japan. The small overall decline in the proportion of new fits, and commensurate increase in refits, over the survey periodmay indicate a growing rate of conversion of lens wearers to more advanced lens types, such as silicone hydrogels. � 2009 British Contact Lens Association.

The comparison of international and local sustainable assessment tools of landscape design for housing estate developments : case of Bangkok Metropolitan Region, Thailand

Various countries have been introducing sustainable assessment tools for real estate design to produce integrated sustainability components not just for the building, but also the landscape component of the development. This paper aims to present the comparison between international and local assessment tools of landscape design for housing estate developments in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), Thailand. The methodologies used are to review, then compare and identify discrepancy indicators among the tools. This paper will examine four international tools; LEED for Neighbourhood Development (LEED – ND) of United State of America (USA), EnviroDevelopment standards of Australia, Residential Landscape Sustainability of United Kingdom (UK) and Green Mark for Infrastructure of Singapore; and three BMR’s existing tools; Land Subdivision Act B.E. 2543, Environmental Impact Assessment Monitoring Awards (EIA-MA) and Thai’s Rating for Energy and Environmental Sustainability of New construction and major renovation (TREES-NC). The findings show that there are twenty two elements of three categories which are neighbourhood design, community management, and environmental condition. Moreover, only one element in neighbourhood designs different between the international and local tools. The sustainable assessment tools have existed in BMR but they are not complete in only one assessment tool. Thus, the development of new comprehensive assessment tool will be necessary in BMR; however, it should meet the specific environment and climate condition for housing estate development at BMR.

Human resource characteristics of international new ventures : the role of immigrant entrepreneurs

Immigrant Entrepreneurs (IE) are often portrayed as pushed into self-employment due to employment barriers in their adopted countries. But IE have human resources, like international experience, which can help them form international new ventures (INV). We question the role of IE in INV. We use randomly selected data from 561 young firms from the Comprehensive Australian Study of Entrepreneurial Emergence (CAUSEE) project. We find that IE are over-represented in INV and have many characteristics known to facilitate INV success including more founders, university degree, international connections and technical capability. These findings are relevant to policy makers, and nascent IE.

The Relative Efficiency of International, Domestic, and Budget Airlines : Nonparametric Evidence

This study determines whether the inclusion of low-cost airlines in a dataset of international and domestic airlines has an impact on the efficiency scores of so-called ‘prestigious’ purportedly ‘efficient’ airlines. This is because while many airline studies concern efficiency, none has truly included a combination of international, domestic and budget airlines. The present study employs the nonparametric technique of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to investigate the technical efficiency of 53 airlines in 2006. The findings reveal that the majority of budget airlines are efficient relative to their more prestigious counterparts. Moreover, most airlines identified as inefficient are so largely because of the overutilization of non-flight assets.

A review of the acculturation experiences of international students

Universities in Western countries host a substantial number of international students. These students bring a range of benefits to the host country and in return the students gain higher education. However, the choice to study overseas in Western countries may present many challenges for the international student including the experience of acculturative stress and difficulties with adjustment to the environment of the host country. The present paper provides a review of current acculturation models as applied to international students. Given that these models have typically been empirically tested on migrant and refugee populations only, the review aims to determine the extent to which these models characterise the acculturation experience of international students. Literature pertaining to salient variables from acculturation models was explored including acculturative stressors encountered frequently by international students (e.g., language barriers, educational difficulties, loneliness, discrimination, and practical problems associated with changing environments). Further discussed was the subsequent impact of social support and coping strategies on acculturative stress experienced by international students, and the psychological and sociocultural adaptation of this student group. This review found that the international student literature provides support for some aspects of the acculturation models discussed, however, further investigation of these models is needed to determine their accuracy in describing the acculturation of international students. Additionally, prominent acculturation models portray the host society as an important factor influencing international students’ acculturation, which suggests the need for future intervention.

Understanding the coping strategies of international students : a qualitative approach

International students encounter a range of additional challenges as a part of their tertiary study experience. A qualitative approach was used to understand the challenges faced by international students, coping strategies that promoted their personal resilience and advice they have for future international students. Twenty-two international students from an Australian university participated in four focus groups. The challenges identified by students included adjustment, social isolation, English language skills, academic difficulties, unmet expectations, employment, culture shock and psychological distress. Participants shared their own personal experiences and strategies used by them to cope and identified strategies that future students could use prior to leaving their home country and whilst in Australia to improve their adjustment. Uses of international student stories in prevention interventions are discussed.

Chaos or complex systems? Identifying factors influencing the success of international and NESB graduate research students in Engineering and Information Technology Fields

The paper explores the results an on-going research project to identify factors influencing the success of international and non-English speaking background (NESB) gradúate students in the fields of Engineering and IT at three Australian universities: the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), the University of Western Australia (UWA), and Curtin University (CU). While the larger study explores the influence of factors from both sides of the supervision equation (e.g., students and supervisors), this paper focusses primarily on the results of an online survey involving 227 international and/or NESB graduate students in the areas of Engineering and IT at the three universities. The study reveals cross-cultural differences in perceptions of student and supervisor roles, as well as differences in the understanding of the requirements of graduate study within the Australian Higher Education context. We argue that in order to assist international and NESB research students to overcome such culturally embedded challenges, it is important to develop a model which recognizes the complex interactions of factors from both sides of the supervision relationship, in order to understand this cohort‟s unique pedagogical needs and develop intercultural sensitivity within postgraduate research supervision.

The taxation of international maritime leasing profits : has the commissioners ship come in?

In light of McDermott Industries (AUST) Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation, and Draft Taxation Ruling TR 2006/D8, this article considers the current Australian taxation position of profits arising from the cross-border leasing of vessels in the maritime industry. It focuses on the tax treaties to which Australia is a party, in particular the application of the business profits provisions of those treaties, and the deemed existence of a permanent establishment where substantial equipment, owned by a fiscal non-resident, is used within Australian waters.

Teaching planning beyond the national context : pedagogic analyses of international fieldtrip experiences

Urban and regional planners, in the era of globalization, require being equipped with skill sets to better deal with complex and rapidly changing economic, socio-cultural, political and environmental fabrics of cities and their regions. In order to provide such skill sets, urban and regional planning curriculum of Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane, Australia) offers regional planning practice in the international context. This paper reports the findings of the pedagogic analyses from the regional planning practice fieldtrips to Malaysia, Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, and discusses the opportunities and constraints of exposure of students to regional planning practice beyond the national context.

Freshwater, habitats and ecosystems

While the Ramsar Convention for the Protection of Wetlands of International Importance was the first habitat-based treaty, much of the recent focus of international attention in the area of freshwater has been on the regulation of watercourses. Attention is only beginning to be given to the interconnectedness of freshwater, habitats and ecosystems. This chapter explores and analyses the context, structure and substantive rules for the couservation and managemet of freshwater, habitats and ecosystems across the complex range of multilateral environmental agreements.

Coming to belong : a narrative analysis of international students’ experiences in an Australian university

This thesis reports on an interview study with 17 international students about their experiences of coming to belong in an Australian university. All used English as an additional language (EAL). The students’ narratives of ‘coming to belong’ are conceptualised through the theory of Bourdieu, in particular the concepts of field, capital, habitus and legitimation; and the methodological premises of critical realism’s layered ontology. The literature review argues that access to and accrual of a range of capital is critical to successful adaptation to a new educational system. This, and processes of legitimation by others in the fields, affects the senses of belonging for students of various linguistic backgrounds, of different countries of origin, studying from primary to higher education in diverse parts of the world. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews and email dialogues at three points during the students’ first year of study in Australia. The analysis shows how the students’ empirical experiences were ordered in terms of narrative structure—orientation, complication, evaluation, resolution and coda—and highlight the emotions generated by the sequence of events. The findings show that EAL international students sought new field positions through legitimation in multiple senses across (sub-)fields. They also show that academic, social and linguistic legitimacy granted by others produced a spectrum of belonging: in the centre, at the margin, and/or to meaningful intercultural encounters. This study makes a contribution to the growing literature around the experience of international students in higher education, and to empirical literature using Bourdieu to understand educational relations.

Content analysis of international research in geographical and environmental education : eighteen years of academic publishing

This paper examines the history of the IRGEE Journal in terms of its sustainable future. The development of geographical and environmental education is evaluated, as reflected from the articles published in the Journal “International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education” (IRGEE). A content analysis of all papers and forum sections which have appeared in the journal since Volume 1 Number 1 was published in 1992 has been conducted, examining the content of as many as 526 articles. The method was a content analysis, and revealed themes which have experienced an increasing or declining interest over the 18 years of publication of IRGEE (1992-2009), while other themes have remained current during this period. The main findings of this analysis are: a) the total number of articles has increased more than threefold, b) articles related to geographical education (sensu stricto) outweighed those related to environmental education, c) the themes “syllabi, textbooks, curricula” and “values, attitudes” attract the attention of researchers with increasing strength and d) emerging subjects, such as GIS and sustainability have appeared dynamically in the last years.

Statistical and scientometric analysis of international research in geographical and environmental education

Certain statistic and scientometric features of articles published in the journal “International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education” are examined in this paper, for the period 1992-2009, by applying nonparametric statistics and Shannon’s entropy (diversity) formula. The main findings of this analysis are: a) after 2004 the research priorities of researchers in geographical and environmental education seem to have changed, b) “teacher education” has been the most recurrent theme throughout these 18 years, followed by “values & attitudes” and “inquiry & problem solving” c) the themes “GIS” and “Sustainability” were the most “stable” throughout the 18 years, meaning that they maintained their ranks as publication priorities more than other themes, d) citations of IRGEE increase annually, e) the average thematic diversity of articles published during the period 1992-2009 is 82.7% of the maximum thematic diversity (very high), meaning that the Journal has the capacity to attract a wide readership for the 10 themes it has successfully covered throughout the 18 years of its publication.