Exploring the adjustment of international university students in relation to dietary practices

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 2947-2974 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Pilar Martínez-Ruiz ◽  
Christian Tirelli ◽  
Alicia Izquierdo-Yusta ◽  
Ricardo Gómez-Ladrón-De-Guevara
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Adjustment Process ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
External Influences ◽  
International University

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the influences of different variables on the dietary adjustment process of international university students. More specifically, the authors investigate how ethnocentrism, perceived risk, and external influences affect their adjustment processes by considering three different temporal stages and exploring adjustment in relation to dietary practices. Design/methodology/approach – After performing an in-depth review of the relevant literature, a structural equation analysis is conducted. This analysis relies on data from a sample of 139 international students enrolled in a Spanish university. Findings – The results reveal that ethnocentrism is significant only in the second stage of the adjustment process. The level of perceived risk decreases during the adjustment process but also depends on the features international students have in common with the host culture; in contrast, external influences are important in all stages. Research limitations/implications – International students should not be treated the same way during different stages of their adjustment. For example, during the first stage, the focus should be on minimizing their perceived risk and guaranteeing a safe environment in which they feel comfortable with buying. The role of the media and the training of salespeople should be highlighted in the second stage of adjustment. Practical implications – The dietary adjustment for this group of short-term migrants is different than other groups, which tend to return to their country of origin. In contrast, international university students try to assimilate the host culture and be part of it. Social implications – In the context of consumption, because international university students are influenced by all constructs detailed in this study, it is necessary to formulate a specific approach for each stage. Originality/value – This research evidences how there is a great opportunity for diverse operators (e.g. universities, food retail chains) to influence the consumption habits of international university students, because they are more receptive than other migrant groups.

scholarly journals International students’ university preferences: how different are Malaysian and Chinese students?

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norazlyn Kamal Basha ◽  
Jillian C. Sweeney ◽  
Geoffrey N. Soutar
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Delivery Mode ◽  
Content Type ◽  
University Level ◽  
International University ◽  
Malaysian Students ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine factors that influenced international university preference, looking at country of origin (COO), that is the COO of the course and program modes (PMs). This study specifically focusses on differences in perceptions across students from Malaysia and China. Design/methodology/approach – Conjoint analysis was used to examine the relative importances and part-worth scores of these attributes on international university preferences. Findings – PM and country of design (COD) had a major influence on Malaysian and Chinese students’ preferences for international universities. Online distance learning was the least preferred option, while offshore campuses were more acceptable to Malaysian students compared to Chinese students. Malaysian students preferred to study in the UK, while Chinese students favored Australia. Malaysian students were also found to be more cost sensitive compared to Chinese students, while the latter were more motivated by job prospects offered by an institution. Research limitations/implications – Limitations include the specific sample, pre-university students only from developed countries (Malaysia and China), which limits the generalizability to students from other countries. Practical implications – This study offers insights in the effect of COD and PM on students’ preferences for international universities, as well as other previously studied university-level attributes in a higher education setting. With a better understanding of factors affecting these preferences, higher educational institutions are better placed to implement a suitable marketing strategy to attract more international students. Originality/value – This study examines the impact COD, Delivery Mode (DM) and other university level attributes have on Malaysian and Chinese pre-university students ' preferences for international universities. COD and DM were found to be extremely important factors that dominated the students ' preferences. The study highlights the need to focus on different university attributes in different markets and to consider COD and DM issues in order to gain a larger market share of international students.

Picture This: A Photovoice Study Of International Students’ Food Experience in Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Amos ◽  
Daphne Lordly
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
International Student ◽  
Culture Shock ◽  
Traditional Foods ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Canadian Universities ◽  
Food Experience ◽  
International University

Purpose: International student enrolment in Canadian universities is increasing. As international university students acculturate, they experience a culture shock in which food plays a major role. International university students’ Canadian food experiences therefore were explored. Methods: A Photovoice methodology was used with 15 international undergraduate and graduate university students, who were recruited to take pictures of their food experiences. They also participated in two focus group discussions that included an analysis of their photos. Results: Seven themes related to the significance of food in acculturation were revealed: the paradox of Canadian convenience, the equation of traditional foods with health, traditional food quality and accessibility, support networks, food consumption for comfort, ethnic restaurants, and the exploration of non-traditional foods. Maintaining cultural identity with traditional foods was an overarching theme related to acculturation. Conclusions: International students acculturating to Canada have emotional and physical needs, which can be met through food. Opportunities exist to improve their acculturation experiences. Canadian universities can incorporate food acculturation strategies into campus events and menus. Nutrition professionals on campus can facilitate a positive food environment and nurture culture identity formation.

An investigation of consumers’ purchase intentions towards omni-channel shopping

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 959-976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ipek Kazancoglu ◽  
Hatice Aydin
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Retail Store ◽  
Purchase Intentions ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Privacy Concern ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceived Trust ◽  
Shopping Behaviour

Purpose The growth of omni-channel retailing is causing consumers to change their habits and shopping behaviour. It is essential to understand the factors on purchase intention within the consumer context. The purpose of this paper is to explore factors that are influencing consumers to use omni-channel in their shopping behaviour – specifically in the apparel sector in Turkey as an emerging country. Design/methodology/approach Designed as exploratory research, this study used four different focus groups. Focus groups were conducted with university students who have experienced the company’s omni-channel applications. The study sample included a total of 30 purposefully selected university students in Izmir, Turkey, who previously shopped at the same store. The selected retail store is the leading domestic shopping brand and the pioneer in omni-channel in the apparel and fashion sector in Turkey. The participants were given three company-related scenarios which were used to help the students to better understand omni-channel applications of the company. Then, they were asked to discuss their perceptions and intentions towards omni-channel shopping. Content analysis was used for analysing transcripts. Findings The findings of the focus groups have revealed 12 themes about the intentions of the university students towards omni-channel shopping. Among 12 themes, it is observed that 6 of them have similarities with the variables of the UTAUT2 model. The findings of the study showed that, beside the additional themes, the predetermined variables of the UTAUT2 model within the literature; which are “performance expectancy”, “effort expectancy”, “facilitating conditions”, “hedonic motivation”, “habit” and “price value” have affected purchasing intentions towards omni-channel shopping. This study proposed six additional themes which were not revealed in the previous studies on purchase intentions in an omni-channel shopping in apparel sector. The six additional themes proposed in this study are; “perceived trust”, “situational factors”, “perceived risk”, “anxiety”, “need for interaction” and “privacy concern”. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to the focus group interviews held in only one university with students from the same programme. The findings are obtained also only valid for the relevant retail store and city, and cannot yet be generalised. Practical implications The relationships suggested in this exploratory study can further be analysed by quantitative study. It is also claimed that the findings of this study can act as a framework to extend the UTAUT2 model by integrating perceived trust, situational factors, perceived risk, anxiety, need for interaction and privacy concern. This model will enable retailers to understand consumer expectations towards omni-channel shopping and to focus on integrating these factors through whole purchasing process in order to increase omni-channel sales. Originality/value The literature on omni-channel has concentrated on the retailers’ perspective, whereas this study aims to reveal an insight from the consumer perspective. The contribution of the study is to provide a framework for understanding the themes on consumer viewpoint in the omni-channel shopping behaviour.

scholarly journals Psychological Distress in International University Students: An Australian Study

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigar Gohar Khawaja ◽  
Jenny Dempsey
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Intervention Programs ◽  
Common Symptom ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Australian Study ◽  
Mental Health Issues ◽  
International University

AbstractAustralia is a much sought-after destination of study for many thousands of international university students. However, tertiary study brings with it many challenges that may potentially precipitate psychological distress in international students. Psychological distress may be experienced in various ways. The aim of this study was to investigate the manner in which psychological distress is manifested in international students and the factors that contribute to their psychological distress. The participants consisted of 86 international students enrolled at a Queensland university who completed a battery of 9 self-report questionnaires. Results showed that obsessive–compulsiveness reflected by worry, ruminations and perfectionist tendencies was the most common symptom of psychological distress in international students. Dysfunctional coping was the only factor contributing to psychological distress. These findings have important implications for the international students with reference to the assessment of their mental health issues and the designing of suitable intervention programs.

scholarly journals Promotional Tools Employed by Medical Insurance Companies to Attract International University Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Faith Rudairo Chibvura ◽  
Darry Penceliah
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Medical Insurance ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
The South ◽  
Insurance Cover ◽  
International University

The South African Immigration Act 19 of 2004 requires that all international students have proof of medical insurance cover for the academic year of study. The medical insurance cover must be from a registered provider with the South African Council for Medical Schemes. Some medical insurance companies provide gifts to students to gain a larger market share within the educational institutions. Health insurance products are very crucial in the lives of university students and therefore the students must be familiar with medical product benefits and exclusions. It seems that many students lack relevant knowledge of health insurance products. Students seem to have a perception that medical insurance products cover all healthcare expenses. Dissatisfied customers may tarnish the image of the respective medical insurance company and result in customers seeking alternate products. The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of promotional tools in creating awareness amongst international university students’ selection of medical insurance products. The study was descriptive and quantitative in nature. Four hundred international students studying at two state universities in Durban, South Africa completed a structured questionnaire. The results indicate that the respondents are very sensitive to price and the majority of them are influenced by advertising and word of mouth. The results of the study indicated that medical insurance companies should consider the quality of service and price as being very important factors when designing a promotional mix. Awareness creation is the backbone of sales growth and market share.

scholarly journals Academic Listening Skills of the International University Students in Turkey

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Mevlüt Elli̇alti ◽  
Zekerya Batur
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Academic Language ◽  
Academic Literacy ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Listening Skills ◽  
Listening Levels ◽  
International University

The number of international university students in Turkey is growing, thus more research is needed on teaching Turkish as an academic language and on academic literacy. This study aims to investigate (i) the international students’ views of the difficulties of the academic language skills, (ii) the efficacy level of the skills for their academic success, (iii) the academic listening and academic literacy status of the students, and (iv) the relationship between academic listening levels with some variables. In order to analyse the self-efficacy perceptions of the students, the data were collected by using the Turkish adaptation (Cronbach’s alpha value =0.943) of the Academic Listening Self-rating Questionnaire (ALSAQ), developed by Aryadoust and Goh (2017) and adopted by Ellialtı and Batur (2021). The questionnaire consists of 39 items that embody six factors. These factors are lecture structure, cognitive processing skills, linguistic components and prosody, relating input to other materials, memory and concentration, and note-taking. In the study, the participants were 221 international students studying at various academic programs in 33 state universities in Turkey. The data were analysed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program. The results of the study showed that (i) listening is an easy skill for students to develop, (ii) listening is important for the students’ academic success, (iii) out of 39 items, 13 aspects were not at a good level in academic listening, and (iv) academic listening levels of the international students were not significantly different in terms of their gender, study area, and the number of the known languages.

International students' achievements and adaptation to the United States' culture

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nahla Mohamed Moussa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Achievement ◽  
International Students ◽  
Research Study ◽  
International Higher Education ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host Culture ◽  
Qualitative Research Study ◽  
Arab Students

PurposeAs there are many Arab students seek to earn an international degree, this research article aims to explore the factors that influence Arab students' adaptation to the foreign cross-culture of the USA and how it is related to their academic achievement. Exploring these factors will introduce different insights into the effectiveness of adaptation and studying in a foreign country and earning an international degree. Besides, this study contributes to the body of knowledge of international higher education by including Arab students as a less-researched group. Arab students' adaptation process is explained in terms of the Cross-cultural Adaptation Theory (Kim, 2001).Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research study was conducted using a focus group discussion (FGD). Multiple face-to-face interviews were conducted to obtain data from the participants. Participants were divided into four groups, each female group contained nine participants and each male group contained seven participants. The researcher explained to each group independently about their perception, beliefs and attitude toward earning international degrees, the adaptation to the host culture and their academic achievement. The researcher carried out five FGDs for each group. Each interview continued for 60 minutes in length. All participants received a consent form. The discussions were audio-recorded and then transcribed.FindingsArab students are a group of enthusiastic learners; however, their feelings of homesickness enable them to develop overwhelming sorrowful emotions, howbeit their communication with their ethnic group facilitates the adaption and acceptance of the host cultures, which requires quite some time to adjust to new surroundings. Arab students are recognized with high academic achievements; nevertheless, they require prolonged periods to complete course assignments. American society gives international students a warm welcome; this may encourage other Arab students to consider earning an American degree and prepare themselves for this intercultural transition.Research limitations/implicationsThis is subjective qualitative data; some limitations need to be addressed when interpreting the findings. Participants are English as a Second Language (ESL)learners, which may influence their word choice during the discussion. Interesting future research could be related to designing an assessment model to evaluate the academic achievement of ESL in different methods that focus on their achievement motivations and communication skills.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, professors can integrate the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to help multi-cultural students to learn and earn an international higher education degree.Social implicationsHigher education institutions can offer more social multi-cultural opportunities to include multi-cultural students and develop their social skills to facilitate the adaptation process to the new host culture.Originality/valueThis qualitative research study represents an original work of the researcher, and it has not submitted elsewhere. All research ethical codes were followed by the researcher and participants. There is no fund for this research project.

scholarly journals Cross‐cultural impression management: a cultural knowledge audit model

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Spong ◽  
Caroline Kamau
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Impression Management ◽  
Cultural Adaptation ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Cultural Knowledge ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
The European Union ◽  
New Host ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Host Culture

PurposeMany people moving into a new culture for work or study do so without prior cross‐cultural training, yet successful cultural adaptation has important ramifications. The purpose of this paper is to focus on cross‐cultural impression management as an element of cultural adaptation. Does cultural adaptation begin by paying strong attention to nonverbal cues in a host culture? How is that attention converted into knowledge, and how do people use such knowledge management during impression management within the new culture?Design/methodology/approachThe method was qualitative. In total, ten international students at an English university were recruited. All originated outside the European Union and each took part in a one‐hour structured interview. The transcripts were analysed through thematic analysis.FindingsInternational students adopted cross‐cultural impression management strategies in order to enhance successful adaptation to the new host culture. Students consciously processed knowledge about nonverbal behaviour norms through everyday interactions. They audited knowledge deficits by detecting differences between the host norms and their home culture's norms. The motives for this included desiring to maximise rewards from situations.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings imply that being in a new culture makes people “high self monitors”. They are more aware than usual about their own and others' nonverbal behaviours. The findings tell us about how cultural adaptation begins.Originality/valueThis appears to be the first in‐depth qualitative research examining cross‐cultural impression management by international students and deducing implications for expatriates.

Influences of product attributes on sojourners' food purchase decisions

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Tirelli ◽  
María Pilar Martínez-Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Purchase Decisions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Food Purchase ◽  
Influence Of Food ◽  
International University

Purpose – To address a research gap regarding the role of food during academic sojourns by international students, the aim of this paper is to analyze the influence of food attributes on food purchase decisions. Design/methodology/approach – An extensive literature review suggested hypotheses pertaining to the influence of food attributes on the different stages of the buying decision process of academic sojourners. With data from 139 international university students enrolled in a Spanish university, factorial principal component analyses and linear parametric regressions were conducted. Findings – Three factors underlie food attributes and influence all stages of the food purchase decision process: sustainable production, appearance and accessibility, and then flavor. The greatest influence occurs in the choice stage. Research limitations/implications – The sojourners exhibit a strong tendency to purchase products that reflect sustainable practices. Practical implications – Useful information about the influence of food attributes on purchasing decisions can support more effective decisions in food distribution channels, including coherent image strategies, enhanced new product development, and better communications to target the growing market of sojourners. Originality/value – This research contributes to the minimal empirical research pertaining to the role of food for international university students, and describes the influence of food attributes on purchase decisions.

scholarly journals Promotional Tools Employed by Medical Insurance Companies to Attract International University Students

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (6(J)) ◽  
pp. 191-200
Author(s):  
Faith Rudairo Chibvura ◽  
Darry Penceliah
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
International Students ◽  
University Students ◽  
South African ◽  
Market Share ◽  
Medical Insurance ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
The South ◽  
Insurance Cover ◽  
International University

The South African Immigration Act 19 of 2004 requires that all international students have proof of medical insurance cover for the academic year of study. The medical insurance cover must be from a registered provider with the South African Council for Medical Schemes. Some medical insurance companies provide gifts to students to gain a larger market share within the educational institutions. Health insurance products are very crucial in the lives of university students and therefore the students must be familiar with medical product benefits and exclusions. It seems that many students lack relevant knowledge of health insurance products. Students seem to have a perception that medical insurance products cover all healthcare expenses. Dissatisfied customers may tarnish the image of the respective medical insurance company and result in customers seeking alternate products. The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of promotional tools in creating awareness amongst international university students’ selection of medical insurance products. The study was descriptive and quantitative in nature. Four hundred international students studying at two state universities in Durban, South Africa completed a structured questionnaire. The results indicate that the respondents are very sensitive to price and the majority of them are influenced by advertising and word of mouth. The results of the study indicated that medical insurance companies should consider the quality of service and price as being very important factors when designing a promotional mix. Awareness creation is the backbone of sales growth and market share.

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