China’s new creative strategy : the utilization of cultural soft power and new markets

This book examines different aspects of Asian popular culture, including films, TV, music, comedy, folklore, cultural icons, the Internet and theme parks. It raises important questions such as – What are the implications of popularity of Asian popular culture for globalization? Do regional forces impede the globalizing of cultures? Or does the Asian popular culture flow act as a catalyst or conveying channel for cultural globalization? Does the globalization of culture pose a threat to local culture? It addresses two seemingly contradictory and yet parallel processes in the circulation of Asian popular culture: the interconnectedness between Asian popular culture and western culture in an era of cultural globalization that turns subjects such as Pokémon, Hip Hop or Cosmopolitan into truly global phenomena, and the local derivatives and versions of global culture that are necessarily disconnected from their origins in order to cater for the local market. It thereby presents a collective argument that, whilst local social formations, and patterns of consumption and participation in Asia are still very much dependent on global cultural developments and the phenomena of modernity, yet such dependence is often concretized, reshaped and distorted by the local media to cater for the local market. Contents: Introduction: Asian Popular Culture: The Global (Dis)continuity Anthony Y.H. Fung Part 1: The Dominance of Global Continuity: Cultural Localization and Adaptation 1. One Region, Two Modernities: Disneyland in Tokyo and Hong Kong Micky Lee and Anthony Y.H. Fung 2. Comic Travels: Disney Publishing in the People’s Republic of China Jennifer Altehenger 3. When Chinese Youth Meet Harry Potter: Translating Consumption and Middle Class Identification John Nguyet Erni 4.New Forms of Transborder Visuality in Urban China: Saving Face for Magazine Covers Eric Kit-Wai Ma 5. Cultural Consumption and Masculinity: A Case Study of GQ Magazine Covers in Taiwan Hong-Chi Shiau Part 2: Global Discontinuity: The Local Absorption of Global Culture 6. An Unlocalized and Unglobalized Subculture: English Language Independent Music in Singapore Kai Khiun Liew and Shzr Ee Tan 7. The Localized Production of Jamaican Music in Thailand Viriya Sawangchot 8. Consuming Online Games in Taiwan: Global Games and Local Market Lai-Chi Chen 9. The Rise of the Korean Cinema in Inbound and Outbound Globalization Shin Dong Kim Part 3: Cultural Domestication: A New Form of Global Continuity 10. Pocket Capitalism and Virtual Intimacy: Pokémon as a Symptom of Post-Industrial Youth Culture Anne Allison 11. Playing the Global Game: Japan Brand and Globalization Kukhee Choo Part 4: China as a Rising Market: Cultural Antagonism and Globalization 12. China’s New Creative Strategy: The Utilization of Cultural Soft Power and New Markets Michael Keane and Bonnie Liu 13. Renationalizing Hong Kong Cinema: The Gathering Force of the Mainland Market Michael Curtin

Transnational distance education : cultural and quality considerations

There have now been two decades of rhetoric on the need for culturally and contextually appropriate perspectives in international education. However, the extent to which courses, provision and pedagogy have truly reflected differences in cultural characteristics and learning preferences is still open to question. Little attention has been paid to these matters in quality assurance frameworks. This chapter discusses these issues and draws upon Hofstede’s cultural dimensions framework and studies into Asian pedagogy and uses of educational technology. It proposes a benchmark and performance indicators for assuring cultural, contextual, educational and technological appropriateness in the provision of transnational distance education in Asia by Australian universities.

The experience of Indigenous students in a Bachelor of Nursing Program in Australia: cultural safety and decolonising nurse education

Background In Australia significant health inequalities, such as an 11year life expectancy gap, impact on the continent’s traditional owners, the Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. Evidence suggests links between improved Indigenous health and a greater proportion of Indigenous people employed in all sectors. Achieving a greater proportion of Indigenous people in health services and in the health education workforce, requires improved higher education completion rates. Currently Indigenous people are under-represented in higher education and attrition rates amongst those who do participate are high. We argue these circumstances make health and education matters of social justice, largely related to unexamined relations of power within universities where the pedagogical and social environment revolve around the norms and common-sense of the dominant culture. Project Research at Queensland University of Technology in 2010-2012, aimed to gain insights into attrition/retention in the Bachelor of Nursing. A literature review on Indigenous participation in higher education in nursing contextualised a mixed methods study. The project examined enrolment, attrition and success by an analysis of enrolment data from 1984-2012. Using Indigenous Research Assistants we then conducted 20 in-depth interviews with Indigenous students followed by a thematic analysis seeking to gain insights into the impact of students’ university experience on retention. Our findings indicate that cultural safety, mentorship, acceptance and support are crucial in student academic success. They also indicate that inflexible systems based on ethnocentric assumptions exacerbate the structural issues that impact on the students’ everyday life and are also part of the story of attrition. The findings reinforced the assumption that educational environments and processes are inherently cultural and political. This perspective calls into question the role of the students’ cultural experience at university in attrition rates. A partnership between the School of Nursing and the Indigenous Education Unit is working to better support Indigenous students.

Teaching educational leadership and administration in Australia

Despite the ubiquity of programmes in educational administration and leadership little is known about the resources used to teach them. This article reviews the sources currently employed in such programmes in Australia by examining the textbooks, book chapters and journal articles specified for 53 separate units (papers) offered at 15 of the key institutions that responded to requests for copies of their reading lists. Surprisingly, few of the units prescribed textbooks (35), relying instead on book chapters (243) and journal articles (362). While there was a very eclectic spread of sources across institutions, 10 major themes emerged. However, there appeared to be little emphasis on Australian research on educational leadership and little reference to major Australian authors of the previous decades. This may be because the field has become global. The second part of the article therefore examines an audit of the contributions made by Australian authors to the global literature represented by leading journals in the field. The audit shows that during the period 1977-2007 an average of 12-13% of papers in key journals were contributed by Australian authors, perhaps more than might be expected given the comparative size of the Australian community.

States, markets and communities : is there room for educational leadership?

This paper attempts a comparative analysis of classification and framing relationships as they are exemplified in the four papers presented in this Special Issue. In particular, it interrogates Bernstein's assertion that education is simply a relay for power relations external to it and examines approaches to educational leadership and administration that follow from such analysis. It is concluded that in different times and places power relationships external to education are often complex and contested, producing a variety of relays and attempts at classification and framing that serve differing interests and are articulated through policies containing significant internal contradictions. In such circumstances contingency and immediate local influence may affect the practice of educational leadership as well as offering scope for subversion, resistance, simulated consent and collective action. The possibility of a public pedagogy through which such complexities could be articulated is raised and its importance to the practice of educational leadership affirmed.

Investigation into the diffusion of innovation in technical and further education : implementing e-mail through action research

This research project examined the diffusion of change within one Victorian TAFE Institute by engaging action research to facilitate implementation of e-mail technology. The theoretical framework involving the concepts of technology innovation and action research was enhanced with the aid of Rogers's (1983) model of the diffusion of the innovation process. Political and cultural factors made up the initiation phase of innovation, enabling the research to concentrate on the implementation phase of e-mail Roger's (1983) model also provided adopter categories that related to the findings of a Computer Attitude Survey that was conducted at The School of Mines and Industries Ballarat (SMB), now the University of Ballarat—TAFE Division since amalgamation on 1st January 1998. Despite management rhetoric about the need to utilise e-mail, Institute teaching staff lacked individual computers in their work areas and most were waiting to become connected to the Internet as late as 1997. According to the action research reports, many staff were resistant to the new e-mail facilities despite having access to personal computers whose numbers doubled annually. The action research project became focussed when action researchers realised that e-mail workshop training was ineffective and that staff required improved access. Improvement to processes within education through collaborative action research had earlier been achieved (McTaggart 1994), and this project actively engaged practitioners to facilitate decentralised e-mail training in the workplace through the action research spiral of planning, acting, observing and reflecting, before replanning. The action researchers * task was to find ways to improve the diffusion of e-mail throughout the Institute and to develop theoretical constructs. My research task was to determine whether action research could successfully facilitate e-mail throughout the Institute. A rich literature existed about technology use in education, technology teaching, gender issues, less about computerphobia, and none about 'e-mailphobia \ It seemed appropriate to pursue the issue of e-mailphobia since it was marginalised, or ignored in the literature. The major political and cultural influences on the technologising of SMB and e-mail introduction were complex, making it impossible to ascertain the relative degrees of influence held by Federal and State Governments, SMB's leadership or the local community, Nonetheless, with the implementation of e-mail, traditional ways were challenged as SMB's culture changed. E-mail training was identified as a staff professional development activity that had been largely unsuccessful. Action research is critical collaborative inquiry by reflective practitioners who are accountable for making the results of their inquiry public and who are self-evaluating of their practice while engaging participative problem-solving and continuing professional development (Zuber-Skerritt 1992, 1993). Action research was the methodology employed in researching e-mail implementation into SMB because it involved collaborative inquiry with colleagues as reflective practitioners. Thoughtful questions could best be explored using deconstructivist philosophy, in asking about the noise of silence, which issues were not addressed, what were the contradictions and who was being marginalised with e-mail usage within SMB. Reviewing literature on action research was complicated by its broad definition and by the variability of research (King & Lonnquist 1992), and yet action research as a research methodology was well represented in educational research literature, and provided a systematic and recognisable way for practitioners to conduct their research. On the basis of this study, it could be stated that action research facilitated the diffusion of e-mail technology into one TAFE Institute, despite the process being disappointingly slow. While the process in establishing the action research group was problematic, action researchers showed that a window of opportunity existed for decentralised diffusion of e-mail training,in preference to bureaucratically motivated 'workshops. Eight major findings, grouped under two broad headings were identified: the process of diffusion (planning, nature of the process, culture, politics) and outcomes of diffusion (categorising, e-mailphobia, the survey device and technology in education). The findings indicated that staff had little experience with e-mail and appeared not to recognise its benefits. While 54.1% did not agree that electronic means could be the preferred way to receive Institute memost some 13.7% admitted to problems with using the voice answering service on telephones. Some 43.3% thought e-mail would not improve their connectedness (how they related) to the Institute. A small percentage of staff had trouble with telephone voice-mail and a number of these were anxious computer users. Individualised tuition and peer support proved helpful to individual staff whom action researchers believed to be 'at risk', as determined from the results of a Computer Attitude Survey. An instructional strategy that fostered the development of self-regulation and peer support was valuable, but there was no measure of the effects of this action research program, other than in qualitative terms. Nevertheless, action research gave space to reflect on the nature of the underlying processes in adopting e-mail. Challenges faced by TAFE action researchers are integrally affected by the values within TAFE, which change constantly and have recently been extensive enough to be considered as a 'new paradigm'. The influence of competition policy, the training reform agenda and technologisation of training have challenged traditional TAFE values. Action research reported that many staff had little immediate professional reason to use e-mail Theoretical answers were submerged beneath practical professional concerns, which related back to how much time teachers had and whether they could benefit from e-mail. A need for the development of principles for the sound educational uses of e-mail increases with the internationalisation of education and an increasing awareness of cultural differences. The implications for conducting action research in TAFE are addressed under the two broad issues of power and pedagogy. Issues of power included gaining access, management's inability to overcome staff resistance to technology, changing TAFE values and using technology for conducting action research. Pedagogical issues included the recognition of educational above technological issues and training staff in action research. Finally, seventeen steps are suggested to overcome power and pedagogical impediments to the conduct of action research within TAFE. This action research project has provided greater insight into the difficulties of successfully introducing one culture-specific technology into one TAFE Institute. TAFE Institutes need to encourage more action research into their operations, and it is only then that -we can expect to answer the unanswered questions raised in this research project.

Cultural and Educational Society of Muslims "Narodna Uzdanica" /"National Hope"/ 1923-1941

Ibrahim Kemura. The Muslim Cultural-Educational Society Narodna uzdanica from 1923/4 to 1941 One of the features of the cultural history of the Bosniacs between the two world wars (1918-1941) was a cultural and educational society named Narodna uzdanica, which was a significant institutional and cultural-intellectual centre of the Bosniac people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Narodna uzdanica expressed the aspirations and needs of the Bosniac citizens who were its main support and axis and was aimed at fulfilling their interests. This was reflected in an ideological-cultural orientation towards the West and the adoption of positive western achievements while at the same time stressing its Slavic origins and individuality, the education of young people and the formation of a European-type civic intelligentsia, adaptation to life in capitalist society, the development of modern trade and crafts, the emancipation of women, and cultural education based on European values. Thus conceived, the programme enjoyed the support of a wider circle of members, the reading public and the cultural consumers of those particular elements such as education and economic prosperity which it sought to achieve. The political involvement of Narodna uzdanica and its use as a platform for the leading Bosniac political party Jugoslovenska muslimanska organizacija (JMO - Yugoslav Muslim Organisation) which had founded the society, played a significant role in the socio-political life and development of Bosniacs. The opposition to the ruling regime, often expressed through close cooperation with similar Croat organisations and through the pro-Croat attitude of some of the society's leading figures, offered both the regime and Narodna uzdanica's political adversaries grounds for describing it as separatist and Croat and served as a pretext for repressive measures to hinder its normal operations. This research proved these accusations to be groundless, showing that the pro-Croat orientation was primarily political and cultural and that throughout its existence Narodna uzdanica was active in the cultural and educational renaissance of Bosniacs, helping to strengthen their national identity.

A technological framework based on automatic messaging for improving adherence of diabetic patients

En todo el mundo se ha observado un crecimiento exponencial en la incidencia de enfermedades crónicas como la hipertensión y enfermedades cardiovasculares y respiratorias, así como la diabetes mellitus, que causa un número de muertes cada vez mayor en todo el mundo (Beaglehole et al., 2008). En concreto, la prevalencia de diabetes mellitus (DM) está aumentando de manera considerable en todas las edades y representa un serio problema de salud mundial. La diabetes fue la responsable directa de 1,5 millones de muertes en 2012 y 89 millones de años de vida ajustados por discapacidad (AVAD) (OMS, 2014). Uno de los principales dilemas que suelen asociarse a la gestión de EC es la adherencia de los pacientes a los tratamientos, que representa un aspecto multifactorial que necesita asistencia en lo relativo a: educación, autogestión, interacción entre los pacientes y cuidadores y compromiso de los pacientes. Medir la adherencia del tratamiento es complicado y, aunque se ha hablado ampliamente de ello, aún no hay soluciones “de oro” (Reviews, 2002). El compromiso de los pacientes, a través de la participación, colaboración, negociación y a veces del compromiso firme, aumentan las oportunidades para una terapia óptima en la que los pacientes se responsabilizan de su parte en la ecuación de adherencia. Comprometer e involucrar a los pacientes diabéticos en las decisiones de su tratamiento, junto con expertos profesionales, puede ayudar a favorecer un enfoque centrado en el paciente hacia la atención a la diabetes (Martin et al., 2005). La motivación y atribución de poder de los pacientes son quizás los dos factores interventores más relevantes que afectan directamente a la autogestión de la atención a la diabetes. Se ha demostrado que estos dos factores desempeñan un papel fundamental en la adherencia a la prescripción, así como en el fomento exitoso de un estilo de vida sana y otros cambios de conducta (Heneghan et al., 2013). Un plan de educación personalizada es indispensable para proporcionarle al paciente las herramientas adecuadas que necesita para la autogestión efectiva de la enfermedad (El-Gayar et al. 2013). La comunicación efectiva es fundamental para proporcionar una atención centrada en el paciente puesto que influye en las conductas y actitudes hacia un problema de salud ((Frampton et al. 2008). En este sentido, la interactividad, la frecuencia, la temporalización y la adaptación de los mensajes de texto pueden promover la adherencia a un régimen de medicación. Como consecuencia, adaptar los mensajes de texto a los pacientes puede resultar ser una manera de hacer que las sugerencias y la información sean más relevantes y efectivas (Nundy et al. 2013). En este contexto, las tecnologías móviles en el ámbito de la salud (mHealth) están desempeñando un papel importante al conectar con pacientes para mejorar la adherencia a medicamentos recetados (Krishna et al., 2009). La adaptación de los mensajes de texto específicos de diabetes sigue siendo un área de oportunidad para mejorar la adherencia a la medicación y ofrecer motivación a adultos con diabetes. Sin embargo, se necesita más investigación para entender totalmente su eficacia. Los consejos de texto personalizados han demostrado causar un impacto positivo en la atribución de poder a los pacientes, su autogestión y su adherencia a la prescripción (Gatwood et al., 2014). mHealth se puede utilizar para ofrecer programas de asistencia de autogestión a los pacientes con diabetes y, al mismo tiempo, superar las dificultades técnicas y financieras que supone el tratamiento de la diabetes (Free at al., 2013). El objetivo principal de este trabajo de investigación es demostrar que un marco tecnológico basado en las teorías de cambios de conducta, aplicado al campo de la mHealth, permite una mejora de la adherencia al tratamiento en pacientes diabéticos. Como método de definición de una solución tecnológica, se han adoptado un conjunto de diferentes técnicas de conducta validadas denominado marco de compromiso de retroacción conductual (EBF, por sus siglas en inglés) para formular los mensajes, guiar el contenido y evaluar los resultados. Los estudios incorporan elementos del modelo transteórico (TTM, por sus siglas en inglés), la teoría de la fijación de objetivos (GST, por sus siglas en inglés) y los principios de comunicación sanitaria persuasiva y eficaz. Como concepto general, el modelo TTM ayuda a los pacientes a progresar a su próxima fase de conducta a través de mensajes de texto motivados específicos y permite que el médico identifique la fase actual y adapte sus estrategias individualmente. Además, se adoptan las directrices del TTM para fijar objetivos personalizados a un nivel apropiado a la fase de cambio del paciente. La GST encierra normas que van a ponerse en práctica para promover la intervención educativa y objetivos de pérdida de peso. Finalmente, los principios de comunicación sanitaria persuasiva y eficaz aplicados a la aparición de los mensajes se han puesto en marcha para aumentar la efectividad. El EBF tiene como objetivo ayudar a los pacientes a mejorar su adherencia a la prescripción y encaminarlos a una mejora general en la autogestión de la diabetes mediante mensajes de texto personalizados denominados mensajes de retroacción automáticos (AFM, por sus siglas en inglés). Después de una primera revisión del perfil, consistente en identificar características significativas del paciente basadas en las necesidades de tratamiento, actitudes y conductas de atención sanitaria, el sistema elige los AFM personalizados, los aprueba el médico y al final se transfieren a la interfaz del paciente. Durante el tratamiento, el usuario recopila los datos en dispositivos de monitorización de pacientes (PMD, por sus siglas en inglés) de una serie de dispositivos médicos y registros manuales. Los registros consisten en la toma de medicación, dieta y actividad física y tareas de aprendizaje y control de la medida del metabolismo. El compromiso general del paciente se comprueba al estimar el uso del sistema y la adherencia del tratamiento y el estado de los objetivos del paciente a corto y largo plazo. El módulo de análisis conductual, que consiste en una serie de reglas y ecuaciones, calcula la conducta del paciente. Tras lograr el análisis conductual, el módulo de gestión de AFM actualiza la lista de AFM y la configuración de los envíos. Las actualizaciones incluyen el número, el tipo y la frecuencia de mensajes. Los AFM los revisa periódicamente el médico que también participa en el perfeccionamiento del tratamiento, adaptado a la fase transteórica actual. Los AFM se segmentan en distintas categorías y niveles y los pacientes pueden ajustar la entrega del mensaje de acuerdo con sus necesidades personales. El EBF se ha puesto en marcha integrado dentro del sistema METABO, diseñado para facilitar al paciente diabético que controle sus condiciones relevantes de una manera menos intrusiva. El dispositivo del paciente se vincula en una plataforma móvil, mientras que una interfaz de panel médico permite que los profesionales controlen la evolución del tratamiento. Herramientas específicas posibilitan que los profesionales comprueben la adherencia del paciente y actualicen la gestión de envíos de AFM. El EBF fue probado en un proyecto piloto controlado de manera aleatoria. El principal objetivo era examinar la viabilidad y aceptación del sistema. Los objetivos secundarios eran también la evaluación de la eficacia del sistema en lo referente a la mejora de la adherencia, el control glucémico y la calidad de vida. Se reclutaron participantes de cuatro centros clínicos distintos en Europa. La evaluación del punto de referencia incluía datos demográficos, estado de la diabetes, información del perfil, conocimiento de la diabetes en general, uso de las plataformas TIC, opinión y experiencia con dispositivos electrónicos y adopción de buenas prácticas con la diabetes. La aceptación y eficacia de los criterios de evaluación se aplicaron para valorar el funcionamiento del marco tecnológico. El principal objetivo era la valoración de la eficacia del sistema en lo referente a la mejora de la adherencia. En las pruebas participaron 54 pacientes. 26 fueron asignados al grupo de intervención y equipados con tecnología móvil donde estaba instalado el EBF: 14 pacientes tenían T1DM y 12 tenían T2DM. El grupo de control estaba compuesto por 25 pa cientes que fueron tratados con atención estándar, sin el empleo del EBF. La intervención profesional tanto de los grupos de control como de intervención corrió a cargo de 24 cuidadores, entre los que incluían diabetólogos, nutricionistas y enfermeras. Para evaluar la aceptabilidad del sistema y analizar la satisfacción de los usuarios, a través de LimeSurvey, se creó una encuesta multilingüe tanto para los pacientes como para los profesionales. Los resultados también se recopilaron de los archivos de registro generados en los PMD, el panel médico profesional y las entradas de la base de datos. Los mensajes enviados hacia y desde el EBF y los archivos de registro del sistema y los servicios de comunicación se grabaron durante las cinco semanas del estudio. Se entregaron un total de 2795 mensajes, lo que supuso una media de 107,50 mensajes por paciente. Como se muestra, los mensajes disminuyen con el tiempo, indicando una mejora global de la adherencia al plan de tratamiento. Como se esperaba, los pacientes con T1DM recibieron más consejos a corto plazo, en relación a su estado. Del mismo modo, al ser el centro de T2DM en cambios de estilo de vida sostenible a largo plazo, los pacientes con T2DM recibieron más consejos de recomendación, en cuanto a dietas y actividad física. También se ha llevado a cabo una comparación de la adherencia e índices de uso para pacientes con T1DM y T2DM, entre la primera y la segunda mitad de la prueba. Se han observado resultados favorables para el uso. En lo relativo a la adherencia, los resultados denotaron una mejora general en cada dimensión del plan de tratamiento, como la nutrición y las mediciones de inserción de glucosa en la sangre. Se han llevado a cabo más estudios acerca del cambio a nivel educativo antes y después de la prueba, medidos tanto para grupos de control como de intervención. Los resultados indicaron que el grupo de intervención había mejorado su nivel de conocimientos mientras que el grupo de control mostró una leve disminución. El análisis de correlación entre el nivel de adherencia y las AFM ha mostrado una mejora en la adherencia de uso para los pacientes que recibieron los mensajes de tipo alertas, y unos resultados no significativos aunque positivos relacionados con la adherencia tanto al tratamiento que al uso correlacionado con los recordatorios. Por otra parte, los AFM parecían ayudar a los pacientes que no tomaban suficientemente en serio su tratamiento en el principio y que sí estaban dispuestos a responder a los mensajes recibidos. Aun así, los pacientes que recibieron demasiadas advertencias, comenzaron a considerar el envío de mensajes un poco estresante. El trabajo de investigación llevado a cabo al desarrollar este proyecto ofrece respuestas a las cuatro hipótesis de investigación que fueron la motivación para el trabajo. • Hipótesis 1 : es posible definir una serie de criterios para medir la adherencia en pacientes diabéticos. • Hipótesis 2: es posible diseñar un marco tecnológico basado en los criterios y teorías de cambio de conducta mencionados con anterioridad para hacer que los pacientes diabéticos se comprometan a controlar su enfermedad y adherirse a planes de atención. • Hipótesis 3: es posible poner en marcha el marco tecnológico en el sector de la salud móvil. • Hipótesis 4: es posible utilizar el marco tecnológico como solución de salud móvil en un contexto real y tener efectos positivos en lo referente a indicadores de control de diabetes. La verificación de cada hipótesis permite ofrecer respuesta a la hipótesis principal: La hipótesis principal es: es posible mejorar la adherencia diabética a través de un marco tecnológico mHealth basado en teorías de cambio de conducta. El trabajo llevado a cabo para responder estas preguntas se explica en este trabajo de investigación. El marco fue desarrollado y puesto en práctica en el Proyecto METABO. METABO es un Proyecto I+D, cofinanciado por la Comisión Europea (METABO 2008) que integra infraestructura móvil para ayudar al control, gestión y tratamiento de los pacientes con diabetes mellitus de tipo 1 (T1DM) y los que padecen diabetes mellitus de tipo 2 (T2DM). ABSTRACT Worldwide there is an exponential growth in the incidence of Chronic Diseases (CDs), such as: hypertension, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as diabetes mellitus, leading to rising numbers of deaths worldwide (Beaglehole et al. 2008). In particular, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is largely increasing among all ages and constitutes a major worldwide health problem. Diabetes was directly responsible for 1,5 million deaths in 2012 and 89 million Disability-adjusted life year (DALYs) (WHO 2014). One of the key dilemmas often associated to CD management is the patients’ adherence to treatments, representing a multi-factorial aspect that requires support in terms of: education, self-management, interaction between patients and caregivers, and patients’ engagement. Measuring adherence is complex and, even if widely discussed, there are still no “gold” standards ((Giardini et al. 2015), (Costa et al. 2015). Patient’s engagement, through participation, collaboration, negotiation, and sometimes compromise, enhance opportunities for optimal therapy in which patients take responsibility for their part of the adherence equation. Engaging and involving diabetic patients in treatment decisions, along with professional expertise, can help foster a patient-centered approach to diabetes care (Martin et al. 2005). Patients’ motivation and empowerment are perhaps the two most relevant intervening factors that directly affect self-management of diabetes care. It has been demonstrated that these two factors play an essential role in prescription adherence, as well as for the successful encouragement of a healthy life-style and other behavioural changes (Heneghan et al. 2013). A personalised education plan is indispensable in order to provide the patient with the appropriate tools needed for the effective self-management of the disease (El-Gayar et al. 2013). Effective communication is at the core of providing patient-centred care since it influences behaviours and attitudes towards a health problem (Frampton et al. 2008). In this regard, interactivity, frequency, timing, and tailoring of text messages may promote adherence to a medication regimen. As a consequence, tailoring text messages to patients can constitute a way of making suggestions and information more relevant and effective (Nundy et al. 2013). In this context, mobile health technologies (mHealth) are playing significant roles in improving adherence to prescribed medications (Krishna et al. 2009). The tailoring of diabetes-specific text messages remains an area of opportunity to improve medication adherence and provide motivation to adults with diabetes but further research is needed to fully understand their effectiveness. Personalized text advices have proven to produce a positive impact on patients’ empowerment, self-management, and adherence to prescriptions (Gatwood et al. 2014). mHealth can be used for offering self-management support programs to diabetes patients and at the same time surmounting the technical and financial difficulties involved in diabetes treatment (Free et al. 2013). The main objective of this research work is to demonstrate that a technological framework, based on behavioural change theories, applied to mHealth domain, allows improving adherence treatment in diabetic patients. The framework, named Engagement Behavioural Feedback Framework (EBF), is built on top of validated behavioural techniques to frame messages, guide the definition of contents and assess outcomes: elements from the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), the Goal-Setting Theory (GST), Effective Health Communication (EHC) guidelines and Principles of Persuasive Technology (PPT) were incorporated. The TTM helps patients to progress to a next behavioural stage, through specific motivated text messages, and allow clinician’s identifying the current stage and tailor its strategies individually. Moreover, TTM guidelines are adopted to set customised goals at a level appropriate to the patient’s stage of change. The GST was used to build rules to be applied for enhancing educational intervention and weight loss objectives. Finally, the EHC guidelines and the PPT were applied to increase the effectiveness of messages. The EBF aims to support patients on improving their prescription adherence and persuade them towards a general improvement in diabetes self-management, by means of personalised text messages, named Automatic Feedback Messages (AFM). After a first profile screening, consisting in identifying meaningful patient characteristics based on treatment needs, attitudes and health care behaviours, customised AFMs are selected by the system, approved by the professional, and finally transferred into the patient interface. During the treatment, the user collects the data into a Patient Monitoring Device (PMD) from a set of medical devices and from manual inputs. Inputs consist in medication intake, diet and physical activity, metabolic measurement monitoring and learning tasks. Patient general engagement is checked by estimating the usage of the system and the adherence of treatment and patient goals status in the short and the long term period. The Behavioural Analysis Module, consisting in a set of rules and equations, calculates the patient’s behaviour. After behavioural analysis is accomplished, the AFM library and the dispatch setting are updated by the AFM Manager module. Updates include the number, the type and the frequency of messages. The AFMs are periodically supervised by the professional who also participates to the refinement of the treatment, adapted to the current transtheoretical stage. The AFMs are segmented in different categories and levels and patients can adjust message delivery in accordance with their personal needs. The EBF was integrated to the METABO system, designed to facilitate diabetic patients in managing their disease in a less intrusive approach. Patient device corresponds in a mobile platform, while a medical panel interface allows professionals to monitoring the treatment evolution. Specific tools allow professional to check patient adherence and to update the AFMs dispatch management. The EBF was tested in a randomised controlled pilot. The main objective was to examine the feasibility and acceptance of the system. Secondary objectives were also the assessment of the effectiveness of system in terms of adherence improvement, glycaemic control, and quality of life. Participants were recruited from four different clinical centres in Europe. The baseline assessment included demographics, diabetes status, profile information, knowledge about diabetes in general, usage of ICT platforms, opinion and experience about electronic devices and adoption of good practices with diabetes. Acceptance and the effectiveness evaluation criteria were applied to evaluate the performance of the technological framework. The main objective was the assessment of the effectiveness of system in terms of adherence improvement. Fifty-four patients participated on the trials. Twenty-six patients were assigned in the intervention group and equipped with mobile where the EBF was installed: 14 patients were T1DM and 12 were T2DM. The control group was composed of 25 patients that were treated through a standard care, without the usage of the EBF. Professional’s intervention for both intervention and control groups was carried out by 24 care providers, including endocrinologists, nutritionists, and nurses. In order to evaluate the system acceptability and analyse the users’ satisfaction, an online multi-language survey, using LimeSurvey, was produced for both patients and professionals. Results were also collected from the log-files generated in the PMDs, the professional medical panel and the entries of the data base. The messages sent to and from the EBF and the log-files of the system and communication services were recorded over 5 weeks of the study. A total of 2795 messages were submitted, representing an average of 107,50 messages per patient. As demonstrated, messages decrease over time indicating an overall improvement of the care plan’s adherence. As expected, T1DM patients were more loaded with short-term advices, in accordance with their condition. Similarly, being the focus of T2DM on long-term sustainable lifestyle changes, T2DM received more reminders advices, as for diet and physical activity. Favourable outcomes were observed for treatment and usage adherences of the intervention group: for both the adherence indices, results denoted a general improvement on each care plan’s dimension, such as on nutrition and blood glucose input measurements. Further studies were conducted on the change on educational level before and after the trial, measured for both control and intervention groups. The outcomes indicated the intervention group has improved its level of knowledge, while the control group denoted a low decrease. The correlation analysis between the level of adherences and the AFMs showed an improvement in usage adherence for patients who received warnings message, while non-significantly yet even positive indicators related to both treatment and usage adherence correlated with the Reminders. Moreover, the AFMs seemed to help those patients who did not take their treatment seriously enough in the beginning and who were willing to respond to the messages they received. Even though, patients who received too many Warnings, started to consider the message dispatch to be a bit stressful. The research work carried out in developing this research work provides responses to the four research hypothesis that were the motivation for the work: •Hypothesis 1: It is possible to define a set of criteria to measure adherence in diabetic patients. •Hypothesis 2: It is possible to design a technological framework, based on the aforementioned criteria and behavioural change theories, to engage diabetic patients in managing their disease and adhere to care plans. •Hypothesis 3: It is possible to implement the technological framework in the mobile health domain. •Hypothesis 4: It is possible to use the technological framework as a mobile health solution in a real context and have positive effects in terms of diabetes management indicators. The verification of each hypothesis allowed us to provide a response to the main hypothesis: The Main Hypothesis is: It is possible to improve diabetic adherence through a mHealth technological framework based on behavioural change theories. The work carried out to answer these questions is explained in this research work. The framework was developed and applied in the METABO project. METABO is an R&D project, co-funded by the European Commission (METABO 2008) that integrates mobile infrastructure for supporting the monitoring, management, and treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

The effects of cultural distance on student socialization and departure decisions

Organizational socialization theory and university student retention literature support the concept that social integration influences new recruits' level of satisfaction with the organization and their decision to remain. This three-phase study proposes and tests a Cultural Distance Model of student retention based on Tinto's (1975) Student Integration Model, Louis' (1980) Model of Newcomer Experience, and Kuh and Love's (2000) theory relating cultural distance to departure from the organization. ^ The main proposition tested in this study was that the greater the cultural distance, the greater the likelihood of early departure from the organization. Accordingly, it was inferred that new recruits entering the university culture experience some degree of social and psychological distance. The extent of the distance correspondingly influences satisfaction with the institution and intent to remain for subsequent years. ^ The model was tested through two freshman student surveys designed to examine the effects of cultural distance on non-Hispanics at a predominantly Hispanic, urban, public university. The first survey was administered eight weeks into their first Fall semester and the second at the end of their first year. Student retention was determined through their re-enrollment for the second Fall semester. Path analysis tested the viability of the hypothesis relating cultural distance to satisfaction and retention as suggested in the model. Logistic regression tested the model's predictive power. ^ Correlations among variables were significant, accounting for 54% of variance in students' decisions to return for the second year with 96% prediction accuracy. Initial feelings of high cultural distance were related to increased dissatisfaction with social interactions and institutional choice at the end of the first year and students' intention not to re-enroll. Path analysis results supported the view that the construct of culture distance incorporates both social and psychological distance, and is composed of beliefs of institutional fit with one's cultural expectations, individual comfort with the fit, and the consequent sense of “belonging” or identifying with the institution. ^

Globalization and the public provision of higher education: Empirical evidence from selected countries

This research study was designed to examine the relationship between globalization as measured by the KOF index, its related forces (economic, political, cultural and technological) and the public provision of higher education. This study is important since globalization is increasingly being associated with changes in critical aspects of higher education. The public provision of education was measured by government expenditure and educational outcomes; that is participation, gender equity and attainment. The study utilized a non-experimental quantitative research design. Data collected from secondary sources for 139 selected countries was analyzed. The countries were geographically distributed and included both developed and developing countries. The choice of countries for inclusion in the study was based on data availability. The data, which was sourced from international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank, were examined for different time periods using five year averages. The period covered was 1970 to 2009.^ The relationship between globalization and the higher education variables was examined using cross sectional regression analysis while controlling for economic, political and demographic factors. The major findings of the study are as follows. For the two spending models, only one revealed a significant relationship between globalization and education with the R 2 s ranging from .222 to .448 over the period. This relationship was however negative indicating that as globalization increased, spending on higher education declined. However, for the education outcomes models, this relationship was not significant. For the sub-indices of globalization, only the political dimension showed significance as shown in the spending model. Political globalization was significant for six periods with R2 s ranging from .31 to .52.^ The study concluded that the results are mixed for both the spending and outcome models. It also found no robust effects of globalization on government education provision. This finding is not surprising given the existing literature which sees mixed results on the social impact of globalization.^

Authentic Experiences Assessment Instrument: The Case of Millennial Students and Cultural Attractions in Central Florida

Three types of authenticity were chosen to analyze cultural attractions—they were: staged or real authenticity, sensory authenticity, and existential authenticity. A group of millennium students that visited Orlando’s cultural attractions from the University of Central Florida were part of this study. Results show that the term “culture” is unclear among students. Also gender might play a role in determining what is perceived as “authenticity.” In general the focus group discussion had a consensus that these three types of authenticity were the right ones to measured cultural attractions, people, and behaviors.

Exploring Perceptions of Middle Class Urban Indian Women Regarding Socio-Cultural Deterrents Influencing Participation in Adult and Continuing Educational Programs

Unlike its childhood counterpart, adult and continuing education is a voluntary activity, where adult learners partake in educational programs for the sake of realizing some explicit or implicit goal. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between socio-cultural influences and deterrents to participation of middle class urban Indian women in adult and continuing educational programs. Darkenwald and Merriam’s (1982) theory of non-participation was selected as the theoretical lens used to guide this study. This study involved collecting qualitative data to analyze participant views and was collected through 16 semi-structured interviews to explore participants’ individual perceptions concerning socio-cultural deterrents influencing participation of middle class urban Indian women in adult and continuing educational programs. Qualitative data were analyzed to discover emerging themes and sub-themes. In the second phase of the study, a modified Deterrent to Participation Scale – General (DPS-G) was used to measure data collected from the surveys completed by participants, that included specific demographic questions. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the relationships between the demographic questions and the deterrent identified on the DPS-G. The interview and survey data were used convergently to understand the relationship between socio-cultural influences and deterrents impacting participant participation in adult and continuing educational programs. The findings of the study indicated that the biggest socio-cultural influence deterring participation among middle class urban Indian women in adult and continuing educational programs is marriage. It is an Indian social norm that comes with a set of pre-defined roles and expectations, and married women find themselves consumed by fulfilling the marital and familial expectations and responsibilities and participation in adult and continuing educational program is furthest from their mind. Middle class urban Indian women do realize the importance of educational pursuits, but do not feel that they can, after marriage. They are open, however, to pursuing adult educational programs in the form of short-term skill development programs leading to income generation, although they would lead primarily to home-based work enterprises.

Values and Beliefs Held About Parenting and Education by School Staff and Parents of Pupils with Special Educational Needs in the Context of Home- School Collaboration

Effective collaboration between school staff and parents of children identified as having special educational needs is considered to be an essential component of the child’s successful education. Differences in beliefs and perspectives adopted by the school staff and parents play an important role in the process of collaboration. However, little is known about the precise relationship between the beliefs and the process of collaboration. The purpose of this study was to explore the values and beliefs held by the school staff and parents in the areas of parenting and education. The study also explored the link between these beliefs and the process of collaboration within four parent-teacher dyads from mainstream primary schools. Focus groups and semi-structured interviews based on repertory grid technique were used. The findings highlighted an overall similarity in the participants’ views on collaboration and in their important beliefs about parenting and education. At the same time, differences in perspectives adopted by parents and teachers were also identified. The author discusses how these differences in perspectives are manifested in the process of collaboration from the point of Cultural Capital Theory. The factors such as power differentials, trust between parents and teachers, and limited resources and constraints of educational system are highlighted. Implication for practice for teachers and educational psychologists are discussed.

Cultural and gender politics in Australian education, the rise of edu-capitalism and the 'fragile project' of critical educational research

This paper draws on research by Australians on Australian education to explore the tension between being critical and being marginalised. In it, I examine how research is positioned in the changing field of education in relation to government, society and the economy in the context of the rise of edu-capitalism globally. I then explore the policy shifts framing the cultural and gender politics of the research/policy problematic in Australia from the perspective of policy critique, policy service and policy advocacy. I consider how the global reconfiguring and reframing of higher education is impacting on the nature and institutional base of educational research, and it’s gendered implications. Finally, I argue that critical educational research is what makes educational research distinctive and also ‘makes a difference’ within a democratic society.

Globalization and the Public Provision of Higher Education: Empirical Evidence from Selected Countries

This research study was designed to examine the relationship between globalization as measured by the KOF index, its related forces (economic, political, cultural and technological) and the public provision of higher education. This study is important since globalization is increasingly being associated with changes in critical aspects of higher education. The public provision of education was measured by government expenditure and educational outcomes; that is participation, gender equity and attainment. The study utilized a non-experimental quantitative research design. Data collected from secondary sources for 139 selected countries was analyzed. The countries were geographically distributed and included both developed and developing countries. The choice of countries for inclusion in the study was based on data availability. The data, which was sourced from international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank, were examined for different time periods using five year averages. The period covered was 1970 to 2009. The relationship between globalization and the higher education variables was examined using cross sectional regression analysis while controlling for economic, political and demographic factors. The major findings of the study are as follows. For the two spending models, only one revealed a significant relationship between globalization and education with the R2 s ranging from .222 to .448 over the period. This relationship was however negative indicating that as globalization increased, spending on higher education declined. However, for the education outcomes models, this relationship was not significant. For the sub-indices of globalization, only the political dimension showed significance as shown in the spending model. Political globalization was significant for six periods with R2 s ranging from .31 to .52. The study concluded that the results are mixed for both the spending and outcome models. It also found no robust effects of globalization on government education provision. This finding is not surprising given the existing literature which sees mixed results on the social impact of globalization.