How Environmentally Sustainable Is the Internationalisation of Higher Education? A View from Australia

In a world of increasing awareness of the many drivers of anthropogenic climate change, all of which fall under the larger rubric of global capitalism with its emphasis on profit-making, economic growth, and a strong dependence on fossil fuels, many universities, particularly in developed societies, have proclaimed a staunch commitment to the notion of environmental sustainability. Conversely, the growing emphasis on internationalisation of higher education, particularly in Australia, entails a considerable amount of air travel on the part of university staff, particularly academics but also support staff, and overseas students and occasionally domestic students. Australia is a generally highly affluent country which is situated in the driest inhabited continent and increasingly finds itself functioning as a “canary the coal mine” with respect to the ravages of anthropogenic climate change. Ironically, climate scientists and other observers often refer to various regions, such as the Arctic, low-lying islands, the Andes, and Bangladesh, inhabited by indigenous and peasant peoples as the canaries in the coalmines when it comes to the adverse impacts of anthropogenic climate change. It is often said that those people who have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions are the ones suffering the most from climate change, a more than accurate observation.

Epidemiological and nutritional transition in low- and middle-income countries

Issue/problem In the last decades, the number of deaths from non-communicable diseases in developing countries has risen to those observed in developed countries. Description of the problem Nutritional research in developing countries has primarily focused on under-nutrition, particularly among vulnerable population subgroups such as women and children. However, while economic growth has a significant social impact at population level, there is suggestive evidence of an ongoing nutritional transition leading to concurrent under- and over-nutrition in the population. Results The ongoing nutritional transition in these settings has been mostly linked to the rapid process of urbanisation and westernization. Data from several developing countries suggest that improvements in developmental indicators is accompanied by higher availability of highly processed poorly nutritious foods. Regarding socioeconomic factors, results demonstrated that better education and better living standards were associated with higher odds of overweight/obesity after adjusting for confounders, including urban vs. rural setting. This is likely a consequence of the ongoing nutritional and epidemiological transition occurring in these settings. In fact, developing countries have not yet reached the same phase of nutritional transition as an economically affluent country, and while high-calorie diets comprising fast-food are the more economically affordable option in the latter, such diets are still reserved for the more affluent individuals in some developing countries, where economic growth has only just begun to allow affluent individuals to afford fast-food. Conclusions Understanding the underlying ecological and socioeconomic roots of both extremes of the nutritional status is vital to design successful public health interventions.

Quality of lifestyle and luxury purchase inclinations from the perspectives of affluent Muslim consumers

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the influence of quality of lifestyle (QoL) on affluent Muslim consumers that in turn influences their interests or inclinations, either towards “relationship” or “materialistic” QoL, when purchasing luxury products or services. Design/methodology/approach – This research uses a questionnaire-based survey involving 233 Muslim customers. Data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings – The results show that relationship QoL of the consumers insignificantly affects their materialistic QoL. Thus, one way of achieving their quality lifestyle is through sharing and generosity and not through materialistic QoL. Also, their relationship QoL affects their basic necessity QoL through physical and community relationships but not through their social relationship. Furthermore, basic necessity QoL negatively affects both materialistic QoL and luxury purchase inclinations, indicating that they generally tend to go for material goods once their basic needs are fulfilled. Finally, there is a significant positive effect of materialistic QoL on their interest in purchasing luxury products or services. Research limitations/implications – The small sample size used in this research represents the main limitation of this research. This study provides further evidence that the preferences for luxury products/services are not the same across cultures. In the affluent country of Qatar, consumers initially prefer relationship QoL over materialistic QoL. After they have surpassed the basic necessity QoL, only then they would go for materialistic QoL and be inclined to go for luxury products/services. Practical implications – This study has found that there are great opportunities for international luxury product marketers to market their products and services to Muslim customers in the lucrative market of Qatar or in other affluent Muslim markets similar to that of Qatar. Social implications – The findings imply that the lifestyles of affluent Muslim consumers are slightly different from consumers in other societies/cultures in terms of their preference for luxury goods and services. Their interests in buying luxury products and services are somewhat guided by their religious convictions, which caused them to give preference to basic necessity QoL over materialistic QoL, at least at the initial stage of their lifestyle. Originality/value – The novelty of this study is its focus on understanding whether luxury consumption in a “new rich” Muslim developing country (Qatar) nourishes “materialistic” or “relationship” values of QoL. Also, although researches on materialistic QoL are in abundance, research on relationship QoL is somewhat limited. Thus, the major contribution to this study is the adoption of a more comprehensive approach to investigating QoL of consumers in an affluent Muslim country.

Hygiene Hypothesis: Is the Evidence the Same All Over the World?

Background: The hygiene hypothesis refers to where modern living conditions are responsible for the increasing incidences of immune-related diseases including the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Improved hygiene may result in decreased enteric microbiota diversity and dysbiosis, which may be responsible for the development of IBD. Key Messages: The rising incidence of IBD is well documented in developing regions of the world, in accordance with the hygiene hypothesis. What is unknown, however, is whether the hygiene hypothesis is applicable all over the world. Hygiene cannot be easily measured and proxy markers need to be used. These include regional data such as a country's gross domestic product or an individual's affluence or exposure to infection risk factors. A comparative case-control study of Caucasian Australian IBD subjects versus migrants from the Middle East to Australia identified that environmental risk factors are different in the 2 populations. Among Australian Caucasians, hygiene-related environmental risk factors are no longer relevant in the development of IBD. Given the country's high affluence, there has been high hygienic standard for several generations. However, migrants from less affluent countries exposed to hygiene-related environmental factors are at increased risks of developing IBD, especially in the second generation migrants born in the affluent country. Divergent risk factors include the use of antibiotics in childhood increasing the risk of IBD in developed societies but being a risk factor for developing IBD in migrants. In India, risk factors associated with infections were found to be positively associated with the development of ulcerative colitis, rather than protective. Conclusions: The hygiene hypothesis is not applicable to all populations worldwide, being most relevant in societies undergoing increasing affluence or following migration from less to more affluent countries. This review examines data from around the world that link the hygiene hypothesis with the development of IBD and in particular the divergent results arising from data from affluent countries versus less-affluent countries.

Community interpreting and translation in the Arab World

Community interpreting and translation enable public service providers and users to communicate in situations where they do not share the same language. These professions are essential for social equity and egalitarian access to legal, health, education and other services. Many countries with significant numbers of migrants or autochthonous language minorities have developed more or less satisfactory services and standards in this burgeoning subfield of translation and interpreting. Instances can be identified of countries that have made significant progress (e.g., Australia, Canada and Sweden) as well as of those which started only recently (e.g., Spain and Italy). In Arab countries, however, one can hardly find a reference to this subfield of translation studies, although situations requiring such interpreting and translation services are numerous. This paper describes and raises awareness of the status quo of community interpreting and translation in the Arab World. Three examples are focused on: Morocco as a country with a national language minority, the United Arab Emirates, as an affluent country hosting migrants, and Saudi Arabia, a country with a special religious position which hosts millions of pilgrims every year. The paper also includes recommendations based on migration and pilgrimage statistics and the experiences of the pioneering countries above.

Global Poverty, Human Rights and Correlative Duties

Does the fact that my actions cause someone to lack access to the objects of her human rights make me a human rights violator? Is behaving in such a way that we deprive someone of access to the objects of her human rights even when we could have avoided behaving in such a way, sufficient to maintain that we have violated her human rights? When an affluent country pursues domestic policies that will foreseeably cause massive deprivation abroad in order to improve its already prosperous economy, has this country violated the human rights of the very poor just by doing so? If international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization pursue policies that lead to an increase in the global poverty rate, are such organizations human rights violators? Can an individual undertaking certain actions in the market place that render insecure the access of the worst-off to the objects of their human rights be blamed for violating their rights?In this article I discuss the thesis that claims that whenever we cause, or contribute to the cause of, someone else’s lack of access to the objects of her human rights, we are human rights violators. I contend that this thesis, which seems to underpin the arguments of many cosmopolitan authors taking part of the global justice debate, is mistaken. In order to achieve this end, I analyze several alternative formulations of the causal thesis. My conclusion is that before it can be said that an agent has violated someone else's human rights, it has to be proven that this agent has caused, or contributed to the cause of, a state of affairs where someone lacks access to the object of some of her human rights, by infringing a duty not to do so. Furthermore, I maintain that this must be a perfect, as opposed to an imperfect, duty.

Kuria Cattle Raiding: Capitalist Transformation, Commoditization, and Crime Formation Among an East African Agro-Pastoral People

Among the agro-pastoral Kuria people, whose population straddles the border between Tanzania and Kenya, many young men are actively engaged in an illicit livestock trade in which cattle stolen in Tanzania—from other Kuria, as well as from neighboring peoples such as the Luo, Ngoreme, and Maasai—are sold to buyers, mainly butchers, inside Tanzania or else are run across the border for cash sale in neighboring Kenya. Kenya is a more affluent country than Tanzania—consequently, the demand for beef is greater there and beef prices are considerably higher. The beef and hides from these stolen Tanzanian cattle also fuel Kenya's meat-packing and tanning industries, and live animals as well as canned beef are reportedly also shipped to buyers in Scandinavian countries and the Persian Gulf.

Session: Hemophilia Therapy: A Challenge to the World Blood Resources” Topic: “How can the Problem be Solved? Is Blood a World Resource?”

The production of factor VIII is only one of many interdependent commitments of the Blood Transfusion Service, and is unlikely to be the final determining factor in limiting the total commitment. The real challenge of Haemophilia Therapy cannot be met by any amount of effort by plasma fractionators - it lies in the gaining and retaining of the willing co-operation of the volunteer donor, and of the ordinary citizen who directly or indirectly supports the haemophiliac by his contribution to national wealth. There must be a comprehensive programme to utilise human blood and blood products in which haemophilia therapy is only a part. I do not think this challenge can be met by regarding blood as a World Resource. It is a Community or National resource. The practice of moving surplus blood or blood products from one affluent country to another is of doubtful wisdom, in the long term, for either participant.