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This study aims to present the results of a curriculum design intervention, which was undertaken to address the inhibitors and enablers facing international (mainly Chinese) students on a capstone undergraduate strategic management module at a UK university business school.

Using an action research approach, the pre-intervention phase identified two main concerns: low levels of student engagement and avoidance of generic academic and language support. The module was subsequently redesigned around a group-based strategic business simulation (requiring collaborative participation of all students), with embedded language and academic support, plus the involvement of bilingual teaching staff.

Post-intervention results from the four-year study indicated enhanced academic engagement of international students and a narrowing of the performance (grade) gap between domestic and international students.

Overall findings should provide strong support for the inclusion of active learning pedagogies in undergraduate business course deliveries, also complementing educational literature that advocates the effectiveness of constructivist pedagogies in mixed-nationality classrooms.

This study exemplifies a form of participatory action research. The juxtaposition of comments from support and specialist tutors, along with those of students, highlights the validity of views from each stakeholder group.

Marine experts have recognised the importance of on-board teamwork for a ship’s safe operation. The purpose of the study is to develop a framework of “on-board team effectiveness” as perceived by the seafarers with the help of conceptual categories discovered from the study. It describes and explain how members of floating shipboard team operates in a global environment which is dynamic, complex and full of challenges.

Qualitative research design was used to study wherein the grounded theory approach was adopted for data analysis. A purposive sample of 44 Indian seafarers covering all ranks and departments of the shipboard team were selected for the study. Primary data were collected through long interviews and focused group discussions with the respondents. Secondary data were collected through industry periodicals.

Ten conceptual categories were developed, and their interplay was identified to understand various aspects of shipboard team working in different contexts.

The insights gained from the study can be used to enhance shipboard team’s working and safe operation of the ship.

The study is unique in addressing team effectiveness issues of shipboard teams. Understanding teamwork effectiveness of a culturally diversified shipboard team shall facilitate safe working practices and act as a deterrent to human errors, which causes accidents and incidents.

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in team‐related behaviours, skills, attitudes and values on the part of female Arab students with different educational experiences.

A survey instrument was administered to two female Arab student groupings: one from a single‐gender, single‐nationality university (n=77), the second from a co‐educational, mixed nationality university (n=41). Based on a literature review, respondents were asked to recall their most recent team experience and respond to a number of items relating to team member demographics, team performance and individual team‐related behaviours and attitudes.

The findings show significant differences between the two groups in relation to individual behaviours and attitudes to teamwork, and in reports of team performance. Those students working in homogenous teams reported healthier levels of team performance, and a more positive attitude to working in teams. However, they were also found to be significantly more likely to engage in behaviours detrimental to effective team functioning, such as hiding true voice and changing views to accommodate the team, and expressed lower preference for working in heterogeneous teams.

Given the multi‐cultural and mixed gender nature of (much of) the workplace within the Gulf region, and government policy aimed at increasing the number of females active in the workforce, the observed differences in team behaviours and attitudes have implications for both education policy and the development of teamworking skills, and workplace management, in terms of employee recruitment, selection and placement, socialisation and training.

Females are playing an increasing role in the workforce of many Arab nations. However, to date little research has been carried out into the work‐related values and attitudes of Arab females. This is especially so in the area of working in multi‐cultural and mixed gender teams. The present paper helps address this gap.

This paper aims to provide insights into the female transformational leadership behaviours within a socially dynamic environment. Research was conducted in the State of Qatar, a country that is going through a rapid social change.

The research framework was based on the transformational leadership framework (TLF) initially proposed by Burns (1978) and further developed by Bass (1985). A respondent set, consisting of 25 Qatari female managers, was taken from the largest public university in the State of Qatar. In-depth interviews were the main source of collected data. The data were analysed using NVivo 11.

Predominantly, Qatari female leadership behaviours were reflective of transformational leadership. In their dealings, Qatari female managers displayed motherly instincts, encouraged open communication, used relationship adaptations and used trust. From time to time, Qatari female managers displayed non-transformational leadership behaviours. This occasional leadership style switch was part of behavioural flexibility that was required in a mixed age, mixed gender, mixed experience and mixed nationalities work environment. The key reason for the change in transformational leadership approach came as a reaction to subordinates’ attitude. In particular, the male-dominated work environment required behavioural adjustments (such as being more assertive and autocratic) to deal with masculine subordinates.

A range of respondent perceptions were related to defining leadership. There was some overlapping between the tested determinants. For example, idealised influence and individualised consideration shared a degree of similarity in terms of how they were perceived.

Socially dynamic environment should be seen as an opportunity for female transformational leadership development. Social dynamism may result in an evolved TLF that could be more appropriate for Qatari organisations. Hence, experience and problem sharing between Qatari female managers may help in developing a socially and culturally fitting transformational leadership model.

The study presented a perspective of a socially dynamic environment where women were practicing transformational leadership primarily through behavioural flexibility and change management. The study suggests an extended version of TLF that would be more suitable for female leadership within a socially dynamic environment.

CISV (formerly Children’s International Summer Villages) is an international charity established in Cincinnati, USA, in 1950. It offers non-formal educational programmes for children and young people from 11 years. In its intercultural programmes English is used as Lingua Franca while space and opportunities are created for participants to use their first languages. A primary aim of the organisation is to promote intercultural friendship and understanding. This chapter has dual aims. Firstly, it provides a review of the impact of intercultural learning in CISV and its unique multilingual practice on development of friendship and Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) among children and youth. Secondly, it investigates the methodological issues in evaluating the development and changes in ICC, specifically, the under-reported problem of ‘inflated’ perceptions with regard to self-assessment questionnaires.

Existing research evidence corroborates the positive and long-term impact of CISV experience on participants’ social development (including friendship), cultural awareness, challenges are also identified. For example, how can programme and activity organisers encourage equitable and active participation when participants’ language proficiency in the shared language is varied? How do we explain the regression in self-assessment of ICC? In this chapter, we compare three different ways of measuring changes and propose a purposely designed predictive and reflective questionnaire (PaRQ). Open questions (‘narrative spaces’) in these questionnaires provide the opportunity for participants to comment on their own perceptions of learning and friendship development.

CISV differs from many other intercultural education organisations in that it offers opportunity for relatively young children, promotes learning and development in a multicultural environment and adopts a language practice that combines English as Lingua Franca (ELF) and a multilingual outlook. Understanding its successes and areas for improvement provides some insight into friendship development in multilingual and intercultural settings.

The purpose of this paper is to use virtue ethics to explore the dilemmas arising for shipowners facing the piracy threat off the coast of Somalia.

The ethical issues arising for the shipowners in the face of the piracy threat off the coast of Somalia are explored using a virtue theory perspective. In particular, the ethical issues facing shipowners in routing vessels through the danger zones, as well as the dilemmas that can arise when a ship has been boarded by pirates, such as whether or not the shipowners should pay the pirates' ransom demands.

Although individual shipowners can take some matters into their own hands by various initiatives and security measures, the conclusion is that the scourge of piracy can only be reduced by international co‐operation between shipowners and nation states.

Piracy on the high seas is an old problem that has begun to resurface and become more frequent and widespread in recent years. Several important ethical dilemmas for shipowners are discussed. Should shipowners put absolute priority on protecting the lives of the crew by keeping the ship and its cargo away from the zone of attack? What measures should be implemented to inform and protect the crew, the ship and its cargo? And, if the ship is attacked by pirates and captured, what should shipowners then do, should they resist or should they pay a ransom?

The paper aims to explore the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) embedding degree and education level on individual perception, as well as the moderating effect of nationality.

The paper first conceptualizes PBL embedding degree which means the extent of applying PBL. It takes an empirical study on an international MBA class in one of the first-class universities in China. An investigation is taken with the designed “PBL-based Cognitive Perception Scale” and an Ordered Probit Model is constructed.

The findings of this study are as follows: PBL embedding degree has a significant effect on the cognitive perception of student, which varies in different dimensions; the educational level of international student positively affects the cognitive perception toward PBL; and nationality may moderate the relationship between the PBL embedding degree and individual perception.

The paper replenishes the investigation and application of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning. By conceptualizing PBL embedding degree, the paper extends the research perspectives of PBL and proposes a subjective method on the evaluation of PBL. The paper also may provide a guidance for PBL curriculum design with sustainable development of education.

This chapter discusses innovation within the tourism small business sector and provides a case study of academic-industry research collaboration and knowledge transfer. Governments of many countries are interested in improving innovation in the tourism industry. Academics have important skills useful for developing innovative new products. However, collaboration between academic and industry partners is complex and difficult to effectively operationalize. A thriving and innovative new experience for Chinese tourists to Australia’s Gold Coast provides evidence of the characteristics of collaboration needed for successful academic-industry innovation.

This article demonstrates the relationship between the quality of an organisation′s workforce and the quality of its performance, and explores the implications for multinational companies, and local organisations in developing countries. It explores the particular problems of “localisation”, often mandated for such organisations and defines effective localisation. Obstacles are explored, and a ten‐point plan for effective localisation is set out.