Two Approaches,One Course: An Experience in Experiential Learning

In universities where experiential learning is not the norm, introducing this style of learning into undergraduate courses can be an intimidating process for both instructors and students. Instructors are often unsure of how to manage student experiences in the community, while a significant number of students react with skepticism toward this new type of course, as well as concern about their instructor's changing expectations for their performance. The following is a reflection of our first 2 years of teaching undergraduate courses from a distinctly experiential learning approach. Qualitative data is used to highlight the parallel learning processes that occurred over the semester, for students as well as for us as instructors. Our biggest challenges are explored in detail, and advice to instructors contemplating adapting an experiential approach to their own courses is presented.     

One Rising China,Multiple Interpretations: China's 60th anniversary celebration through the lens of the world's printed media

What does a rising China mean to the world? While some countries take China as a salient threat, others regard China as their role model for development and governance. However, limited research has offered a systematic comparative analysis in this regard. China's spectacular celebration of its 60th anniversary uniquely showcased its increasing military might, mounting economic wealth and carefully-maintained mass support. Taking advantage of simultaneous worldwide news coverage of this all-in-one event, we scrutinize how different societies responded to a rising China. We find significant variance in the news coverage from 42 top printed media in 21 sampled societies. Moreover, these societies' political features affect their newspapers' reporting styles the most. This analysis significantly enriches our understanding of the rise of China.     

Industrial productivity in China's state‐owned enterprises: The textile industry in Guangzhou, 1979–1993

This article examines productivity growth and effects of incentive payments on it in China's state‐owned enterprises. Data spanning the 1979–1993 period were taken from 20 large‐and medium‐scale state‐owned textile enterprises in Guangzhou. The empirical study finds that the sample enterprises experienced an average increase in total factor productivity growth by 1.8% annually. The analysis of the effects of incentive payments on productivity shows that total factor productivity growth is positively tied to increases in retained profits but it bears no significant relationship with increases in bonuses. Besides, the study suggests a positive time trend of total factor productivity growth by 0.8% per year.