8 mate preferences of turkish students

64 ISSN-2162-3104 Fall 2011 Vol.1 Issue 2

Journal of International Students

Character Strengths are Prominent asMate Preferences of Turkish StudentsElizabeth Michelle White, BS, Amy R. Pearce, PhD,

Irina Khramtsova, EdDDepartment of Psychology & Counseling

Arkansas State University, USAAbstract

This study addressed the traits and characteris-tics that Turkish students deem most important in along-term romantic partner. We collected quantitativeand qualitative data on characteristics desired inromantic partners from students attending BahçeşehirÜniversitesi in Istanbul, Turkey. Like our previouscross-cultural studies conducted in Japan, Russia andthe United States, results supported dependability andlove as the most important traits. Overall, positiveinternal attributes were rated as highly important andwe recommend the traits associated with the positivepsychology movement be more fully considered in futurestudies on mate preferences.

A growing body of research literature hasaddressed mate preferences across widely differing cul-tures. Studies on mate preferences began with the pio-neering work of postwar American psychologists, whofirst documented traits desired for long-term romanticpartners among college students. To set the context forthe present study, a brief overview is provided thatincludes the prevailing evolutionary perspective fol-lowed by an introduction to the perspective of positivepsychology in regard to mate preferences. Portions ofthis literature review also appear in Pearce, Chuikova,Ramsey and Galyautdinova (2010) and Pearce andKhramtsova (2010).Preferences from the Perspective of EvolutionaryPsychology

Over 65 years ago Hill (1945) surveyed univer-sity students for preferences in a potential marriagepartner and concluded that the most highly desirablepartner attributes were dependable character, emotionalstability, pleasing disposition, mutual attraction,good health, and desire for home and children. He noted women favored ambition and industriousness,education and general intelligence, and good financialprospects; whereas men emphasized good cooking andhousekeeping skills, attractiveness, and a desire forhome life and children. Such gender differences weresuccessfully replicated in subsequent studies (Hudson

& Henze, 1969; McGinnis, 1958). Although these studies exposed the rather stable natureof preferences, each of these studies’ samples consistedof North American university students. Such a limita-tion restricted identification of potential cross-culturalsimilarities and differences in mate preferences.

Buss and colleagues (Buss, 1989; Buss et al.,1990) systematically examined mate preferences acrossthe globe by studying 37 cultures within 33 countries.Buss, an evolutionary psychologist, highlighted the uni-versal similarities among cultures by focusing on gen-der differences and the adaptive role these mechanismsplay. For instance, Buss concluded that women in 36out of the 37 cultures rated good financial prospectsmore desirable in a mate than males, which supportedthe notion that women desire a partner who has the will-ingness and capacity to provide them and their offspringwith adequate resources (Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Theevolutionary significance of these findings becomesapparent as women around the world have historicallygravitated toward men with wealth and high status,thereby increasing the survival probability of any off-spring through the provision of resources.

In 34 cultures, women rated ambition and indus-triousness as more desirable than men (Buss, 1989). Suchevidence suggested that ambitious men were more likelyto have a higher earning capacity and ultimately be thesole provider for the family. Results also confirmed thatmen desired younger partners while women desired olderpartners and showed that males valued physical attractive-ness in their mates to a higher degree than their femalecounterparts. Furthermore, it was proposed that men maydesire these qualities because women who are young andattractive will have a higher reproductive capacity (Buss,1989; Buss & Schmitt, 1993). Many of Buss’s findingsconfirmed some of the earliest research on mate prefer-ences (Hill, 1945; Hudson & Henze, 1969; McGinnis,1958), strengthening the position that most modernhumans inherited and still display a specific set of matepreferences that are not easily modified by current social,economic, or cultural influences.Introduction of Positive Psychology Into Mate PreferenceStudies

Rather than emphasizing adaptive mechanismsand gender differences, research from the perspective ofpositive psychology seeks to understand what makes lifemost worth living by focusing on internal strengths ofcharacter and positive experiences (Seligman, 2002;Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000; Seligman, Steen,Park, & Peterson, 2005). Positive psychologists



examine aspects and qualities that lead people to happi-er and more fulfilling lives while downplaying the neg-ative characteristics associated with disease and mentalillness. Peterson and Seligman (2004) developed a clas-sification system of character strengths and virtues theybelieve promote and escalate human flourishing. Intheir book Character Strengths and Virtues: AHandbook and Classification, six overarching virtueswere identified that they contend can be recognized inalmost every human society: wisdom, courage, human-ity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Thesevirtues contain 24 measurable trait-like strengths thatcontribute to an individual’s life satisfaction.Purpose of Present Study

Previous mate preference studies are valuableand enlightening, but they fall short in two key areas.First, with few exceptions (Li & Kenrick, 2006), stud-ies have largely focused on gender differences and theexplanations for such differences while simultaneouslydownplaying the significance of similarities. Second,studies focused overwhelmingly on external items onsurvey research instruments (e.g., financial resources,social status), including physical characteristics (e.g.,attractiveness), with less attention to or more arbitraryselection of internal qualities (e.g., kindness and otherstrengths of personal character). Particularly theseissues arise among the field of evolutionary psychology,which has addressed the adaptive nature of a variety ofcharacteristics focused on the importance of and sexdifferences in external traits.

Our study constitutes an additional attempt tobroaden the literature base on mate selection by direct-ly comparing mate preference traits revealed fromresearch in evolutionary psychology with those from anattribute framework established by the emerging fieldof positive psychology. Within this perspective internaltraits are emphasized, such as happiness and fairness,and should be as important when people considerdesired qualities of prospective mates. Our study alsocontributes to the cross-cultural research literature onmate selection by examining long-term mate selectionpreferences of Turkish students. We hoped to gaininsight on the role and prominence of characterstrengths and virtues in mate preferences in this pre-dominantly Islamic subpopulation.

We collected preference data via self-reportsurveys from Turkish college students on characteristicsdesired in long-term romantic partners. Students rankedpotential traits taken from foundational research withinboth evolutionary and positive psychology. Following a

previous comparative study in the United States andRussia (Pearce, Chuikova, Ramsey, & Galyautdinova,2010) and a student population in Japan (Pearce &Khramtsova, 2010), we hypothesized: (a) results fromour study will support previous research on mate pref-erences linked to evolutionary psychology; (b) charac-ter strengths and virtues will feature prominently; (c)dependability and love will be among the most highlydesirable characteristics.

MethodologyParticipants

The sample consisted of 104 students (Men =22; Women = 81) enrolled in courses at BahçeşehirÜniversitesi located in Istanbul, Turkey. Ages rangedfrom 18 to 29 with a mean age of 20.72. Students iden-tified their religion as Buddhism (1.0%), Christian(3.8%), Islamic (78.8%), Judaism (1.9%), None(13.5%), or Other (1.0%). Students did not receive com-pensation for their participation in the study, and theproject was approved by the Arkansas State UniversityReview Board for the Protection of Human Subjects. Procedure

The questionnaire was created in English thentranslated into Turkish. Multiple drafts were exchangedto ensure accuracy of the items and definitions and thefinal version was distributed in classrooms underanonymous and voluntary conditions.Measurement

Participants completed two sections on thequestionnaire, “Demographics” and “Desired Traits.” InDemographics, information was collected on age, gen-der, student classification, race, and marital status. ForDesired Traits, 37 traits were listed that referred toattributes a partner may possess. These items wereadapted from the selection lists used in previousresearch (e.g., Buss & Barnes, 1986; Hill, 1945;Peterson & Seligman, 2004; Toro-Morn & Sprecher,2003). Roughly half the items (18) derived from matecriteria research linked with evolutionary psychologyand half the items (19) were specifically associated withresearch in the field of positive psychology. See Table 1.

Participants were asked to respond to the ques-tion: “What is important in a long-term roman t i cpartner?” by indicating how important these 37 charac-teristics and traits were using a 5-point Likert impor-tance scale: 0 (unimportant), 1 (of little importance), 2(somewhat important), 3 (important), and 4 (indispens-able).



In addition, two open-ended questions asked them to selectfrom the list the most and least important qualities in along-term partner and to provide reasons for their selectionof these characteristics or traits.

Items were ranked in descending order and writ-ten responses translated from Turkish to English for con-tent analysis. PASW Statistics 18 software was used forquantitative data analysis.

ResultsAs in previous studies in Japan (Pearce &

Khramtsova, 2010), Russia, and the U.S. (Pearce, et al.,2010), dependability ranked among the highest, find-ings which were also supported by the qualitative dataanalyzed by content analysis. The remaining four of thetop five traits were associated with character strengths:love, cooperation, authenticity, and happiness. SeeTable 2. When examined by gender, the rankings weresimilar except that stability and fairness replaced coop-eration and authenticity in females.

To examine whether preferences differed as afunction of sex, an independent samples t test was con-ducted with the 37 items as dependent variables. Tocontrol for Type I errors, the significance level was setat p < .001. This analysis revealed significant differ-ences on several characteristics. See Table 3.

According to interviews conducted withTurkish students on the campus of Bahçeşehir Üniver-sitesi, dependability and love were at the core of matepreferences. One male student stated, “Being reliable[dependable] is very important. For me, reliance[dependability] is the thing that makes a relationship asit is.” Another female student emphasized the importanceof dependability by stating, “Reliability [dependability] isthe most important characteristic. You can be happy with aperson whom you trust. You are happy when you arepeaceful beside him and you are peaceful when you trusthis love.” While dependability was ranked the highest,love also was considered a highly desired trait amongTurkish students. A female student reported that love wasa highly desired trait for hers personally by saying herpartner would be “Full of love. I think if there is love,everything is possible.”

Both quantitative and qualitative results suggest-ed that positive internal states are among the most impor-tant qualities desired in a long-term romantic partner byTurkish students and lend support for these as universalpreferences.

DiscussionOur studies are unique from other studies on mate

preferences in that they address characteristics and traits

first proposed by both Hill (1945) which later influencedthe the field of evolutionary psychology, and those fromSeligman, et al (2005) associated with the positive psy-chology movement. . In the current study, support wasfound for all three of our initial hypotheses: (a) resultsfrom our study supported previous research on mate pref-erences linked to evolutionary psychology; (b) characterstrengths and virtues featured prominently, and; (c)dependability and love were among the most highly desir-able characteristics. In support of the first hypothesis, withthe exception of persistence, sex differences were as antic-ipated. That is, all significant differences between themales and females surveyed were noted on traits affiliatedwith evolutionary psychology.

In support of the second hypothesis results sug-gested positive internal states such as love, cooperation,authenticity and happiness are among the most importantqualities desired in a long-term romantic partner byTurkish students and these data, along with our previousstudies of students in the U.S., Russia (Pearce, et al., 2010)and Japan (Pearce & Khramtsova, 2010) lend additionalsupport for these as universal preferences. Overall, posi-tive attributes were rated as highly important and theattributes associated with evolutionary psychology wererated as less important.

Dependability and love were rated as highlyimportant, congruent with research conducted by both Hilland Seligman. We can only speculate why dependabilitywas rated as highly desirable in a long-term romantic part-ner by Turkish students. Turkey, which was historically aconservative Muslim country, has been increasinglyadopting a Western lifestyle. With the longevity of rela-tionships no longer dictated by cultural norms, individualsseek partners that would be reliable and trustworthy, whichwould guarantee stability and life-long commitment.

Unlike other studies of student preferences in theUnited States (Pearce, et al., 2010), religiosity was notrated as highly important here or in a similar study con-ducted in Japan (Pearce & Khramtsova, 2010), suggestingpossible cultural differences for this trait. In the case ofthis sample, the majority of respondents associated withIslam but we did not ask to what degree. It is possible thatthe trait of religiosity was taken as a given, meaning thatwhomever their partner was, they would also be of thesame religion thereby reducing the importance of this trait.We hope to address this limitation as well as translationissues and the possible gender bias in future studies.

Apart from dependability, four of the top fivetraits were personal characteristics from Seligman et al.(2005) and these were rated as more important in a poten-tial mate than the traits consistently studied in evolution-ary psychology over the past sixty years.



In all studies we have conducted thus far, dependabili-ty and love have ranked numbers one and two on theimportance scales. Such findings suggest that regard-less of the culture, students desire partners with whomthey can rely on and with whom they are in love.

We hope to expand our cross-cultural databaseexamining such preferences for similarities and differ-ences among cultures. We contend that future researchon mate preferences should integrate traits examined

within positive psychology, evaluate their impact onpeople seeking a long-term romantic partner, and con-sider more elaborate interpretations of fitness benefits.

ReferencesHill, R. (1945). Campus values in mate selection. The

Journal of Home Economics, 37, 554-558.Pearce, A. R., Chuikova, T., Ramsey, A., &

Galyautdinova, S. (2010).



A positive psychology perspective on mate preference in the United States and Russia. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 41(5-6), 742 –757.

Pearce, A. R., & Khramtsova, I. (2010). A positive psychology perspective on mate preferences in Japan. In a collection of conference papers titled Subyekt deyatelnosti, obscheniya i professionalnogo razvitiya: materialy nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii (The subject of activity, communication and professional development: Proceedings of theoretical and applied conference). Ufa, Russia.

Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford University Press: USA.

Toro-Morn, M., & Sprecher, S. (2003). A cross-cultural comparison of mate preferences among university students: The United States vs. the

People’s Republic of China. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 34, 151-170.

AcknowledgmentsWe gratefully acknowledge the ASU Middle EastStudies Committee and Dr. Selen İmamoğlu ofBahçeşehir Üniversitesi for making this collaborationpossible and Gokce Ergin and Muhsin Aydin for trans-lation assistance. We also thank Ms. Hannah Hollowayand Eleny Davis for assistance with data collection andanalysis._________________________________________About the authors:Elizabeth M. White is in the Mental Health Counselinggraduate program at Arkansas State University. Amy R.Pearce, PhD, and Irina Khramtsova, EdD, are associateprofessors of psychology at Arkansas State University.E-mail: [email protected]

Positions Opened for Reviewers:Journal of International Students is currently acceptingapplications for members of the editorial review board.The review members serve a two-year term (August2012 – August 2014) and can anticipate being asked toreview approximately five manuscripts per year. Thereview members hold doctoral degrees, have a mini-mum of one year experience in higher education, andhave expertise in writing and publication. Further, thereview members/copy editors agree to return reviewswithin three weeks of receipt and to assume a dual roleof gatekeeper and shaper of research in the field ofinternational students by providing a rigorous review ofmanuscripts submitted for publication by offering con-structive and encouraging feedback to mentor fellow

researchers. Individuals (including doctoral students)are invited to submit current curriculum vita withresearch interests to the Editor [email protected].

Contact:Journal of International StuentsPO BOX 1270 State University

AR 72467 (USA)The goal of Journal of International Students is to fea-ture narrative, theoretical and empirically-basedresearch articles, case studies, and book reviews rele-vant to international students and their cross-culturalexperiences and understanding.The Journal publishes biannually in spring (June) andfall (December).Currently, the Journal does NOT charge any member-ship or author fees. Reviewed and accepted manuscriptspublish subsequently without handling fees.Journal of International Students is a print publication.However, sample papers and information related to theJournal, edtorial members, and call for papers areonline. www.jistudents.wordpress.com______________Photo: Bill, Sanoya, Brandy, Sheena, Pam, Gauri, Krishna, AlexArkansas State University



Student ResearchArticles

The Bicultural I: A Social and CognitiveApproach for Understanding the

Psychology of AcculturationMichael Sapiro

Doctoral StudentJohn F. Kennedy University

Abstract This paper investigates the processes and challenges ofcreating a socially integrated, empowered immigrantidentity by exploring the concepts acculturation model.The author examines the psychology of acculturationand the processes for creating a socially integratedbicultural self for immigrants who retain cultural tradi-tions while adapting to new social norms and practices.The complexity of this process embraces principles fromboth social and cultural psychological paradigms andemphasizes a non-dual approach for creating meaningfor a bicultural individual acculturating into a newsociety.

The experience of moving to another town oracross the country is stressful. There is discomfort ofnot knowing neighbors, being a new student at school,having no mental map of the surrounding communities,and wondering if other residents are multiculturallycompetent. However, what is the psychological processlike for immigrants moving to another country, immers-ing themselves into a new culture, language andsociopolitical ecology? The additional pressures oflearning a new language and culture, while possiblydealing with oppression, racism, and marginalization

enforced by xenophobic policies can be overwhelmingfor immigrants without institutional support (Berry,Kim, Minde & Mok, 1987; Solomon, Greenberg &Pyszczynski, 2000).

Acculturation is an individual and social expe-rience, and relying on cultural and social psychologicalperspectives can facilitate a dynamic constructiveapproach for understanding the cognitive processesinvolved. Acculturation models will be reviewed andconcepts of social integration and frame switching(Hong, Morris, Chiu & Benet-Martinez, 2000) as theyapply to the acculturation of immigrants will beexplored. While addressing all aspects of acculturationis beyond the scope of this paper, I hope to criticallyinvestigate the processes and challenges of creating asocially integrated and empowered immigrant identity.

AcculturationBerry (1990) defines acculturation as “the process bywhich individuals change both by being influenced bycontact with another culture and by being participants inthe general acculturative changes underway in theirown culture” (p. 235). Berry’s model (1980) offersfour stages of acculturation: assimilation, separation,marginalization, and integration. Assimilation occurswhen immigrants adapt to the dominant culture andabandon their cultural practices and beliefs.

Separation means the minority members retaintheir traditional culture at the expense of assimilatinginto the newer dominant culture. Marginalization hap-pens when the dominant society alienates newcomers,resulting in socio-cultural oppression of immigrants.Integration is where an immigrant’s identity is a bal-anced blend of traditional and current values, beliefsand behaviors (Mana, Orr & Mana, 2009). Researchsuggests successful integration results in lower rates ofstress and depression, while encouraging resiliency andempowerment (Berry et al, 1987). Swartz-Kulstad andMartin (1999) also suggest that immigrants who suc-cessfully adapt to the standards of behavior in the dom-inant culture while upholding their own traditional val-ues and beliefs are considered socially integrated andare more able to function with greater positive mentalhealth.

Bourhis and colleagues (1997) use theInteractive Acculturation Model (IAM) as a social psy-chological framework for understanding that accultura-tion is essentially relational in nature. They suggest thatacculturation is interaction between immigrants and thehost country itself, and this process is naturally bidirec-tional. Bourhis and colleagues (1997) define



acculturation by the limits the State places on immi-grants trying to assimilate or acculturate in the hostcountry. If the State declares that immigrants holdingcertain visas or other official documents are temporaryor permanent aliens of that host country, as well aswhen and if they become citizens, then the immigrant’srelationship to that country is legally and politically setby the State. Therefore, acculturation is not simply apsychosocial process of rehabituating to newer valuesand behaviors, but one of bondage to the host State(Bourhis et al. 1997).

Gordon (1964) proposes a unidimensionalassimilation model, stating immigrants’ experiences ofacculturation depend on how they adapt to the dominantculture, and if they fail to assimilate, they are to blame.However, this does not account for how social struc-tures and policy interact and influence an immigrant’sperceived success at integrating cultures, and Bourhis etal. argue for a bidimensional model of acculturation toaccount for the influences of the State on the immigra-tion process. Because acculturation is multidimension-al and involves complex psychosocial processing, howdoes an immigrant’s social identity develop?

Social IdentitySocial identity includes a cultural self, and introspectivedialogue is needed to facilitate the structural and prag-matic mental changes necessary for redefining identityduring acculturation (Mana et al., 2009). Becausechanges happen within, but are reflected externally,there must be strategies in place for immigrants toprocess the internal psychological shifts while simulta-neously integrating into new surrounding cultures(Amiot et al. 2001). Tajfel and Turners’s (1979, 1986)social identity theory (SIT) defines identity as a myriadof aspects of self that relate to others, and as to immi-grant identity formation, Tajfel would argue that theimmigrant, or “the minority self,” has to find commonthemes with the “majority selves” of the native popula-tion to acculturate with less stress (Tajfel, 1981; Tajfel& Turner, 1979). Tajfel defines social identity as “thatpart of the individual’s self-concept which derives fromhis or her knowledge of membership to a social grouptogether with the value and the emotional significanceattached to it” (1981, p. 255). Because one person canidentify with multiple aspects of multiple groups, animmigrant should identify and coagulate aspects of hisor her previous culture with characteristics of the newculture.

The problem for acculturating immigrantscomes when the dominant population exercises their

privileges or beliefs unskillfully and forcefully(Yakushko, 2009; Yeh, Kim, Pitus & Atkins, 2008).Immigrants deal with basic acculturation stresses andissues of oppression simultaneously, which can lead todepression and anxiety (Park, 2010). Social integrationmodels and frame switching (Hong, et al. 2000) providethe tools for an empowering acculturation process forimmigrants redefining their identities. Phinney ,Korenczyk, Liebkind and Vedder (2001) find a strongsense of national pride and ethnic identity are the mark-ers for healthy, adaptive cognitive processes and accom-plished social integration.

Mana et al. (2009) writes, “Immigrant identitiesare defined here as the repertoire of immigrants’ cultur-al and social positions vis-a vis those of the host major-ity group. The identity of a group, in this sense, tran-scends the level of individual minds and is a collectivephenomenon” (p. 450). Immigrants can only makesense of their new world through the “complex set ofrelationships between social groups,” and to understandthe nature of forming a new social identity, throughsocial integration, one must adapt to or adopt the behav-iors of the groups he or she is joining. While relying onboth the SIT and BAM models, and understanding theacculturation process, Mana et al. (2009), warn readersto be aware of the assumptions that those theories arefounded on, “SIT assesses how group members (immi-grants in our case) overcome a conflict between theirquest for self-esteem and their low status and low socialpower, whereas BAM presumes a more harmonioussocial world in which immigrants may choose how torelate to the host group” (p. 466).

In both theories, assumptions do not take intoaccount the variables of social pressure, oppression andxenophobia that could influence one’s social integrationand acculturation development. Social integration andreconstructing social identity has psychological andemotional costs and benefits. Some benefits includebeing accepted into a new community and culturalevents, learning new languages, encouraging neuroplas-ticity, exposure to new customs, foods and traditions. Awide range of benefits for social integration promotespsychological well-being and emotional resiliency.

Some costs are depression from leaving one’s“natural” culture behind, stress from difficulties learn-ing or resisting new behaviors, and anxiety over thesense of losing cultural identity. Other costs come froma xenophobic society that mandates that immigrantsassimilate or leave. These pressures can be over-whelming for someone trying to readjust personal iden-tity, leaving him or her isolated and oppressed.



Hong et al. (2000) can provide the cognitive frameworkneeded to adapt, integrate and advocate for accultura-tion needs.

Frame SwitchingFrame switching, intrapsychically weaving two or morecognitive cultural concepts at one time, allows an indi-vidual to hold space for his or her primary culture whilesimultaneously acting out (or thinking within) aspectsof another culture. However, the adopted social groupalso maintains power over the cognitive process of anindividual creating an individual identity (Hong et al,2000). Like code switching where individuals from onelinguistic group change the dialect, speed and tone oftheir language to meet the dominant majority’s expecta-tions, frame switching involves the psychological adap-tation of one’s individual intracultural processing inresponse to “cues in the social environment” (Hong etal., 2000, p. 709).

Hong et al. (2000) describe frame switching asa cognitive process where relevant cultural constructs,each made of various categories influence behavior and“come[s] to the fore in the individual’s mind and guidesinterpretation[s]” (p. 711). So if one’s primary cultureteaches a specific set of behaviors for one construct andthe adopted culture specifies other behaviors, the social-ly integrated individual will preconsciously frameswitch perspectives to replicate what is expected in thatparticular culture. Frame switching can become a con-sciously cognizant process when the bicultural individ-ual becomes aware of his or her own frame-switchingschema. Here, frame switching is a healthy response tolocating one’s identity within a new cultural ecologicalframework that includes interpersonal, communal andsocially constructed relationships.

ConclusionsUnderstanding the psychology of acculturation processembraces principles from social and individual psycho-logical paradigms and creates a non-dual approach

for creating meaning for a bicultural individualacculturating into a new society. Ascribing meaning toa cultural event is a phenomenon that depends on a myr-iad of factors: how one’s culture and inclusion in a par-ticular social group influences cognition, behavior andaffect; a bicultural individual’s ability to frame switchbetween constructs and their inherent categorical vari-ables; and how that individual pragmatically opera-tionalizes those constructs to help create meaning and anew, adaptive identity.

During my service in the PeaceCorps, I strug-gled with my self-concept for two years. Initially, I was

more interested in maintaining a distinct boundarybetween “my” culture and the Thai culture, which mar-ginalized me from the possibility of successful socialintegration. It was not until I became cognizant of thiserror that I could remove those internal barriers andallow the Thai culture to permeate within. Thus I beganto frame switch, dream in Thai, see the inherent con-nection between language and culture, and enjoy myselfas an integrated part of the community and society Ijoined rather than as a awkward uni-cultural bystander.

ReferencesAmiot, C., de la Sablonnière, R., Terry, D., & Smith, J.

(2007). Integration of social identities in the self: Toward a cognitive-developmental model. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11(4), 364-388.

Berry, J. W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In H. C.Triandis, & R. W. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology: Social psychology(Vol. 5, pp. 211–279). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Berry, J. W. (1990). Psychology of acculturation. In J. Berman (Ed.), Cross-cultural perspectives: Nebraska symposium on motivation (pp. 201–235). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Minde, T., & Mok, D. (1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review, 21, 491–511.

Bourhis, R., Moise, L., Perreault, S., & Senecal, S. (1997). Towards an interactive acculturation model: A Social Psychological Approach. International Journal of Psychology, 32(6), 369-386.

Gordon, M.M. (1964). Assimilation in American life. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hong, Y., Morris, M. W., Chiu, C., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2000). Multicultural minds:A dynamic constructivist approach to culture and cognition. American Psychologist, 55, 709-720.

Mana, A., Orr, E., & Mana, Y. (2009). An integrated acculturation model of immirgrants’ social identity. The Journal of Social Psychology, 149(4), 450-473

Park, H. (2010). Acculturative stress and depression among Korean immigrants in the United States. Abstract retrieved from http://ncc1701.libprox.jfku.edu:2053



Phinney, J. S., Horenczyk, G., Liebkind, K., & Vedder, P. (2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: An interaction perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 57, 493-510.

Solomon, S., Greenberg, J., & Pyszczynski, T. (2000). Pride and prejudice:Fear of death and social behavior. Current Directions in PsychologicalScience, 9, 200-204.

Swartz-Kulstad, J., & Martin, W. (1999). Impact of culture and context on psychosocial adaptation: The cultural and contextual guide process. Journal of Counseling and Development, 77, 281-293.

Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories. Cambridge, England: CUP.

Tajfel, H. (1982). Social psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1-39.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity

theory of intergroup behaviour. In S. Worchel & W. G. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7–24). Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall.

Yakushko, O. (2009). Xenophobia: Understanding the roots and consequences of negative attitudes toward immigrants. The Counseling Psychologist, 37(1), 36-66.

Yeh, C.J., Kim, A.B., Pituc, S.T., & Atkins, M., (2008). Poverty, loss, and resilience: The story of Chinese immigrant youth. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 55(1), 34-48.

__________________________________About the Author:Michael Sapiro has a Master’s in English with a focuson social justice and feminist pedagogy and is currentlyworking toward his PsyD in Clinical Psychology fromJFK University in California. He is on the Board ofDirectors for the Institute for Spirituality andPsychology and teaches workshops on the intersectionof psychology, spirituality and social justice.

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Internet Fraud: Information forTeachers and Students

Gabriel Hudson NkotaguArkansas State University – Jonesboro

[email protected]

Internet fraud takes a number of forms with the respon-sible individuals changing tactics rapidly to avoiddetection. The perpetrators rely on telemarketing,emails, as well as presenting themselves personally tounsuspecting people. The evolution of internet market-ing as well as ecommerce and the ease of connectivitycreate increasing opportunities for fraudsters while atthe same time placing more unsuspecting internet usersat risk of falling prey to these schemes. There exists athriving economy online with large sums of moneychanging hands online. It is therefore important for anyinternet user to easily identify when they are exposed tointernet fraud schemes and as such avoid being a vic-tim.

Internet UsesThe internet is important as it provides an

avenue as well as a backbone for electronic commerce,research, communication, and education. It providesinformation ranging from full books to journals, all ofwhich are important to teachers and students. Researchfor instance can be very difficult if the informationpresent in online databases was not available. Apartfrom educational use, students as well as teachers par-ticipate in communication through social networks,electronic mail, as well as voice communication suchas Skype.

Risks of Using InternetUse of the internet may expose both teachers

and students to many risks ranging from identity theft,fraud, and exposure to malware that can easily result



in harm to the users. The presence of unlimited connec-tivity often results in students spending considerableamounts of time online thus increasing the risks ofbeing prey to fraudsters (Nikitkov & Bay, 2008). Thepossibility of falling victim to fraud is always highespecially if one is unaware of the existence of internetfraud. Many international students and teachers aremore susceptible to online fraud, as some have had lit-tle access to unlimited connectivity prior to joiningschools overseas. Some international students andteachers may not know that the internet can be used todeceive and swindle them out of their money or evensteal personal information. Many users use the servicewithout taking any precautions, especially on unsecuredauction websites (Mohatar & Sierra Cámara, 2007).

Unrestricted web use often leads students towebsites that participate in fraudulent activities thusexposing them to a risk of being scammed. A search fora particular textbook for instance could lead a student toan online auction website where the book is offered.Pressure from teachers and need for the book can sim-ply lead an individual to buy it from the website expos-ing him/her to the possibility of being a victim of fraudif (Hache & Ryder, 2011).

Forms of Internet FraudInternet fraud takes a number of forms with perpetratorscurrently relying on telemarketing, emails, and present-ing themselves personally to unsuspecting people metin online chat rooms or social networks. The evolutionof internet marketing as well as e-commerce hasincreased opportunities for fraudsters. There exists athriving economy online for these scammers, making ita necessity for international students and teachers tohave skills for early detection of fraud. Unfortunately,this detection happens when it is too late. This is due tolack of proper training on safe use of the internet(Brown, 2011).

The most common form of online fraud occursthrough sale or advertisements of goods and servicesthat do not exist. International students are more likelyto fall prey as they have a desperate need for manyproducts not sold locally. They end up giving away theircredit card information to buy those products. Most ofthe time however, goods and services paid for are notdelivered to the buyer. This common occurrence hasseen many students and teachers lose money to fraud-sters. Early detection is possible and can result in thereimbursement of funds if reported immediately to thebank issuing the credit or debit card.

Other online sellers create false statements

about their goods and services with products delivered.Generally, fraudsters make online auctions look legiti-mate and tailor them to attract foreign students who areyet to learn how online fraud happens. All informationprovided by the seller is assumed true in online trade, asa buyer cannot physically see or inspect the goods.Online traders all over the world are however floutingthis rule (Roddel, 2008).

Other online auction sites include hidden fees.This results into buyers paying more than what theyexpected (Hu, Liu & Sambamurthy, 2011).

Another form of fraud comes in the form ofphishing. This occurs when spam mails are sent tounsuspecting individuals. Scammers usually pretend tocome from a company or organization that is wellknown. Phishing is soliciting personal information thatcan be used to steal an individual’s identity as well asinformation related to banking that can result in loss offunds through credit card purchases that are unautho-rized. One example of such an email is the recent phish-ing done with the aim of getting individuals to divulgetheir PayPal account details (Chua, Jonathan, & Daniel,2007). Addresses from which the emails were sent werecreated from the Google email service, Gmail, whichpointed directly to phishing. Many individuals repliedto the mail and this led to the eventual loss of fundsfrom their accounts.

Vishing is another concept where phone callsare made with the caller pretending to be from a finan-cial or banking institution that the victim uses. In thisway, an individual unknowingly divulges bankingdetails (Brown, 2011). Another form of online fraud isidentity theft. Theft of an individual’s identity is donewith the aim of stealing money from them (Frank &Paul, 2011). Possible use of identities can be bank fraudwhere an individual’s personal information is presentedin a bank and used to acquire large loans. The loans gounpaid prompting the bank to make follow-ups in thiscase following the real owner of the identity who islargely unaware of the occurrence (Natalita, Maria &Marian, 2011).

Others include subscriptions which appear to beone-off purchases but which later on result in individu-als unknowingly paying money every month or everyscheduled period of time (Christou et al. 2011). Thecompanies involved in this simply continue deductingfunds from an individual’s credit card, an event that cango unnoticed for a very long time. International studentsare at a risk of falling prey to this simply because thesesubscription services are tailored to appear as cheapone-off purchases.



Precautionary Measures

In spite of all the loopholes presented by the internet, itis possible to avoid being a victim of fraud. Taking pre-cautionary measures is a step toward ensuring safety onthe internet (Hintze, 2011). Introduction of safe use ofthe internet, especially for international students,remains important to ensure safety from online fraud.

The following are things to look for beforeaccessing any website (especially ones that ask for cred-it card information). Students can verify safety of web-sites by ensuring that all websites used for online pay-ments or banking are registered under companies withphysical addresses that are accurate and present at thetime of payment (Chang & Chang, 2011). The time thecompany has been in operation as well as the time thewebsite has been online is also an important aspect tonote. This information is available from several sourceson the internet. Secure websites normally have a smallpadlock symbol as well as the wording https just beforethe URL to the site (Gavish & Christopher, 2008). Alsothese websites should have some form of policy, whichshould always be read prior to making any transaction.Online trading websites should also have return policiesfor products.

It is a common rule that information solicitedover the phone or through websites is not given if one isunsure of the individual asking for it. Sensitive infor-mation should not be given out just because a servicerequests for it. The lure of buying products at a cheapprice as well as the promise to make money or simplifyprocesses as in the case of vishing is responsible formany losses. Lack of knowledge on the issue of internetfraud makes international students easy prey for theseschemes. Payments made online can be secured by useof escrow services to ensure that products are deliveredto the buyer before releasing any money to the seller(Thomas, 2010).

ConclusionsInternational students and teachers need to ensure thatthey conduct research prior to investing online or carry-ing out any other transactions (Dinew, 2006). Every daynew methods to defraud people are being devised andthis simply places people at a risk of falling prey toonline fraud schemes. Knowing when one is a victim isan important step if the culprits are to be caught.Logging in to online accounts regularly, subscribing tonotifications of account activity, as well as regularlychanging passwords is important to ensure fraudsters donot access information one owns. If one discovers that

bank statements show deductions they are not aware of,then they might be possible victims of bank fraud.International students are likely to fall prey especially toauctions as they are used to making purchases fromshops so the thrill of buying items online can be over-whelming. Enlightening them of the possible loss ofmoney online is an important step to bringing themcloser to avoiding fraud (Frank & Paul, 2011).

ReferencesBrown, E. (2011). Internet law in the courts. Journal

of Internet Law, 12(7), 22-25.Chang, W., & Chang, J. (2011). A novel two-stage

phased modeling framework for early fraud detection in online auctions. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(9), 11244-11260.

Christou, I. T., Bakopoulos, M. M., Dimitriou, T. T., Amolochitis, E. E., Tsekeridou, S. S., & Dimitriadis, C. C. (2011). Detecting fraud in online games of chance and lotteries. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(10), 13158-13169.

Chua, C. E. H., Jonathan, W., & Daniel, R. (2007). The role of online trading communities in managing internet auction fraud. MIS Quarterly, 31(4), 759-781.

Dinew, T. (2006). Why spoofing is serious internet fraud. Communications of the ACM, 49(10), 77-82.

Frank, S., & Paul, W. (2011). Understanding scam victims: Seven principles for systems security. Communications of the ACM, 54(3), 70-75.

Gavish, B., & Christopher, L. T. (2008). Reducing internet auction fraud. Communications of the ACM, 51(5), 89-97.

Hache, A., & Ryder, N. (2011). 'Tis the season to (be jolly?) wise-up to online fraudsters. Criminals on the web lurking to scam shoppers this Christmas: A critical analysis of the United Kingdom's legislative provisions and policies to tackle online fraud. Information & Communications Technology Law, 20(1), 35-56.

Hintze, J. (2011). Beware online banking thieves. Retrieved from www.treasuryandrisk.com

Hu, N., Liu, L., & Sambamurthy, V. (2011). Fraud detection in online consumer reviews. Decision Support Systems, 50(3), 614-626.

Mintz, P. A., & Steve, F. (2002). Web of deception: Misinformation on the Internet. New York: Information today.



Mohatar, O., & Sierra Cámara, J. M. (2007). New directions in online fraud. AIP Conference Proceedings, 963(2), 973-976.

Natalita, M. S., Maria, E., & Marian, E. (2011). Challenges of managing e-commerce. Economics Management and Financial Markets, 6(2), 194-199.

Nikitkov, A., & Bay, D. (2008). Online auction fraud: Ethical perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 79(3), 235-244.

Roddel, V. (2008). The Ultimate Guide to Internet

Safety. New York: Lulu. Thomas, B. (2010). Simple precautions reduce risk of

online financial fraud. Retrieved from http://www.hackerjournals.com

___________________________About the author:Gabriel Hudson Nkotagu is an undergraduate studentfrom the United Republic of Tanzania at ArkansasState University.

***



Professional Book ReviewsUnderstanding the International

Student Experience.Catherine Montgomery (2010). Palgrave Macmillan,

February 2010, £22.99. 5 (UK), $27.05 (US), 224 pages ISBN: 978-1-4039-8619-1

Reviewed by Krishna Bista, Arkansas State UniversityCatherine Montgomery has depicteda clear picture of how internationalstudents encounter both social andcultural, academic differences andlearn positively as a result of cross-cultural experiences while studyingas abroad sojourns in her book,Understanding the International

Student Experience. She has established a strong rela-tionship with foreign students who pursue higher edu-cation overseas with home cultures, languages, andlearning backgrounds.

Montgomery has examined social factors andlearning environments of international students becauseshe believes "learning takes place in contexts beyondthe classroom and beyond university walls" (p. xiii).Through the lenses of constructivist approach, she con-ceives that international students establish an authenticmeaning of their learning from their own perspectivesas being embedded in social and cultural contexts. Sheaddresses the dichotomy of the culture of international-ization in higher education as "East" versus "West" andcultural perspectives of students, faculty and interna-tional student advisors as "insiders" and "outsiders".

With a supportive campus network or commu-nity of international students, Montgomery firmlybelieves that students and educators of overseas stu-dents can develop meaningful cross-cultural experi-ences. She dissects existing stereotypes, assumptionsand bias of foreign students and their cultures from an

outsider perspective. Lack of cross-cultural experience,according to Montgomery, is the main barrier for edu-cators, teachers and staff for not understanding foreignstudents and their needs and issues.

Montgomery is an outsider who has offeredauthentic and realistic research portrayals of foreignstudents carried at a university in the United Kingdom.This is due to fact that most of the existing literature andresearch on foreign students are carried by insiders,international scholars. Through several in-depth fieldobservations and interviews collected during six month,she concludes that foreign students are matured, moti-vated and prepared to study and value the experience ofearning degrees overseas. Her study challenges conven-tional thinking about foreign students as they are slowlearners with poor English, limited class-participationskills and inability to think critically.

She acknowledges the values of the education-al backgrounds and cultural identities that internationalstudents bring to the United Kingdom and demonstrateshow eager they are to layer new learning experiencesand new identities on top of home cultures. As a resultof her research, Montgomery explores the cross-cultur-al experience which prepares foreign students and theireducators to live and work productively anywhere in theworld.

Montgomery's book can educate scholars andstaff of international students about the real experiencesof overseas students. In her qualitative research, sheincluded seven students from China, India, Nepal,Indonesia, Italy and the Netherlands. Montgomery isunflinching of her assessment of foreign students' expe-riences with rich and recent reviews of existing litera-ture. She has added a postscript for "a broader and morecritical awareness and understanding of the social con-text of the travelling student" (p. 144).

Her book prepares teachers, students and sup-port staff in the Office of Internal Programs to under-stand several unresolved issues of international stu-dents, including language proficiencies, mediocrefinances, sub-standard housing, loneliness and racism inthe institutions of higher education.



This book satisfies an academic audience of interna-tional education, and encourages both insiders and out-siders to share their perspectives and critical frame-works of policymakers, practitioners and educators whodirectly and indirectly work with international studentsin the world.___________________________About the Reviewer:Krishna Bista is founder of Journal of InternationalStudents. He works at the Center for Excellence inEducation, Arkansas State University. His interests areglobal and comparative education, learning styles, inter-national student affairs, and English as a SecondLangauge. E-mail: [email protected].

***Intercultural Sensitivity in Foreign

Student Advising: A Quantitative Analysisof Ethnocentrism within the Profession in

the Post 9/11 Era. Jeff Davis (2011). VDM Verlag Dr. Mülle pp., 84,

$76.35. ISBN-10: 3639320972Reviewed by Charlotte Foster, Missouri Western State University (USA)

Amrita Bhandari, Int’l Faith Theo.Seminary (USA)Jef Davis' book InterculturalSensitivity in Foreign StudentAdvising could be helpful to inter-national student advisors and other

professionals in two ways. First, it may help advisorsunderstand the issues and concerns of international stu-dents who bring their diverse social and cultural back-grounds to American institutions of higher education.After the 9/11 attack in 2001, it was assumed that for-eign students perceived social and cultural bias becauseof their nationality, religion, gender, or language.Following the 9/11 attacks, American colleges and uni-versities did seem to experience significant changes inmonitoring and regulating international student visasand the student exchange visitor information system(SEVIS). The role of foreign student advisor is significant toaddress the needs and concerns of international stu-dents, especially immigration rules and visa informa-tion. In his book, Davis discusses the value of inter-cultural sensitivity among advisors to "increase self-

awareness, awareness of one's own culture and world-view, awareness of one's own biases and prejudices,interests in other cultures and different worldviews, fas-cination with new people, situations and events" (p. 42).International students experience adjustment problemsand culture shock in their new location. Davis describesa plethora of research that focuses on why advisors ofinternational students need to understand the uniqueneeds of students in American institutions of highereducation (Chapters 1 and 2).

Advisors of international students can also usethis book to better understand the challenges anddemands of the profession from the perspective of fieldresearch. Davis explores the dynamic roles of academicadvisors who must deal with students and update theirreports of these students to stakeholder governmentagencies. In one example, Davis described a study of300 advisors who worked directly with internationalstudents across the United States and investigated theintercultural sensitivity of these advisors (Chapters 4and 5). His findings not only brought attention to thelatest updates on the professional network of foreignstudent advisors (NAFSA) but they also illustrated howthe roles of advisors were shifting in the context of post9/11. Davis found that intercultural sensitivity, alsoknown as intercultural competence, was highly relatedto the political orientation of advisors, their length oftime spent as an advisor, academic study in the field ofintercultural relations, and levels of education. He alsofound that the majority of foreign student advisors oper-ated from an ethnocentric worldview.

It would have been a valuable contribution tothe field if the author had included detailed demograph-ics of international students who adopted the roles ofadvisors. Furthermore, addressing challenges in thefield, and comments and feedback from advisors wouldhave been useful instead of merely presenting informa-tion as a technical report that emanated from a surveystudy conducted at Boston College in 2009. However,the book does shed lights on the intercultural sensitivi-ty of foreign student advisors which has never been pre-viously studied empirically. This book is helpful read-ing for international education professionals, teachers,policy makers, and researchers._________________________________About the Reviewers:Charlotte Foster is founder member of Jouranl ofInternational Students. She belongs to the College ofEducation at Missouri Western State University, USA. Herinterests are multicultural education and math educa-tion. Her e-mail is [email protected].



Teaching International Students:Improving Learning for All.

Janette Ryan (Author), Jude Carroll (Author) andJanette Ryan (Editor) London: Routledge. $49.18

ISBN: 0415350662Reviewed by Lauren Miller Griffith, Central Michigan University(USA)

The fourteen contributors to thisedited volume put forth a power-ful concept. They argue that thestruggles faced by internationalstudents in the classroom can bea barometer for the rest of ourstudents, or, as the title of the firstchapter puts it, “canaries in thecoal mine.” Being attuned to theneeds and difficulties of interna-tional students can often be an

early alert system for the rest of the class.While some of the challenges that international

students face seem to be unique, in reality, most of themhave correlates with domestic students’ experiences.For example, international students may be strugglingto overcome a language barrier, but native speakers tooare learning the nuance of a disciplinary language.Using “plain English” or providing a glossary of keydisciplinary jargon are two suggestions from the bookthat would help both groups of learners. Of course,readers should remember that it is not just a differencein language but differences in communication styles canalso impede intercultural communication (see alsoTannen, 1990, p. 201-2). In a similar example, theauthors point out that most college students experiencestress as they move into this new phase of cognitive andemotional development. However, international stu-dents must do so in a new culture without their usualsupport network all the while knowing that continuedrenewal of their visas is dependent upon adequate aca-demic progress.

Because pressure to succeed is high, interna-tional students are at an increased risk for stress relatedproblems, including mental health issues, and needappropriate support. This is especially true during theirinitial year of study and faculty/staff working withinternational students should be aware of the signs ofculture shock. Framing the international student's expe-rience in terms of three levels of shock is valuable forthinking about how the culture, language, and academ-ic setting might contribute to disequilibrium in the new

environment. It is unfortunate that this framework onlyappears in the final chapter of the text, but it is nonethe-less a useful heuristic.

With a focus primarily on the UK, Americanreaders might find it surprising to learn that our per-centage of international students is relatively smallcompared to institutions of higher education in Englandor Australia. According to the text, international stu-dents comprise a mere three percent of our students, yetmost of us with classroom experience in the US canattest to the importance of recognizing international stu-dent' unique needs such as understanding norms aboutplagiarism. What I had not realized prior to reading thisvolume was the alignment between best practices foreducating international students and general instruc-tional design (see Chickering & Gamson, 1987).

A real strength of this text is the prevalence ofpractical steps that can be taken to enhance learning forinternational students as well as the rest of the class.Upon a cursory reading it might seem as if the authorsare suggesting we reduce rigor by excessively scaffold-ing students’ learning; however, they emphaticallyreject such an interpretation. Rather, they are askingtheir readers to carefully review their teaching practicesand assessment criteria to ensure that they are notunfairly disadvantaging one group of students. Thisapplies not only to our international students, but also toother nontraditional or underrepresented groups thatmay not yet have the cultural capital demanded by ourinstitutions (Collier & Morgan, 2008; see also Gabriel,2008).

The authors’ focus on cultural capital is an out-standing feature of this book. This perspective demandsthat we critically consider the nonmonetary assets thatallow one to progress through a specific social field.The authors point out that international students havedeveloped a great deal of cultural capital that is func-tional within their home environments; however, it isoften poorly aligned with the cultural capital most val-ued in the academic setting of their host country. Ratherthan treating these students as if they are deficient, weshould aid them in converting this so-called capital intoa form that is more adaptive for their new social field.Learning to navigate a new academic context is likelearning to play a game that has new rules and strate-gies. Teachers can help their international students bybeing as explicit as possible about the rules of the game.

One of the weaknesses of this book is that theauthors, while stressing the applicability to all students,seem to focus predominately on Asian students. Thereader is warned that while acquiring information about



student's home cultures is valuable, when done in apiecemeal fashion the resulting picture may be more ofa stereotype than true understanding. Kam Louie,author of the chapter “Gathering cultural knowledge:useful or use with care,” suggests that instructorsengage in a cultural critique of themselves at the sametime that they ask international students to do so. Theideal approach here, according to the author, is to helpstudents develop a meta-cultural sensitivity, allowingthem to see various cultures as systems with both affor-dances and constraints that can be used to navigatesocial life in their host country. This is a wonderful sug-gestion; however, subsequent chapters occasionally fallinto the very traps described by Louie, reducing cultur-al complexity to a list of stereotypical behaviors andattitudes.

Another criticism of the book perhaps stemsfrom my context as an American educator who hastaught at a series of predominately white institutions(PWIs) with a relatively small percentage of interna-tional students. As I read this book, I couldn't help pic-turing the classes that each of the authors were describ-ing. In my mind’s eye, each class has a significant num-ber of international students. Some of the learning tasksthey describe might work extremely well in such sce-narios, but in a classroom with only one or two interna-tional students, the same activities would either beunfeasible or be subject to criticism that the teacher issingling out the international students and forcing themto represent an entire cultural group.

In conclusion, this book represents a genuineattempt at integrating an often-marginalized student

population into the center of our classroom efforts. Theauthors make a sound case for how such practices canbenefit all students, whether or not internationalizingthe curriculum is an explicit goal of the institution.While the volume’s utility probably increases in directproportion to the number of international students inone’s classroom, it is nonetheless an excellent read forany instructors seeking to improve their practice.

ReferencesCarroll, J., & Ryan, J. (2005). Teaching International

Students: Improving learning for all. London: Routledge.

Chickering, A. W., & Gamson, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. AAHE Bulletin , 3-7.

Collier, P. J., & Morgan, D. L. (2008). Is that paper really due today?: Differences in first-generation and traditional college students' understandings of faculty expectations. Higher Education , 55, 425-446.

Gabriel, K. F. (2008). Teaching unprepared students: Strategies for promoting success and retention in higher education. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Tannen, D. (1990). You just don't understand!: Women and men in conversation . New York : Harper.

_______________________________About the Reviewer:Lauren Miller Griffith, PhD, is an instructional designer at the Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching,Central Michigan University. Dr. Griffith may be reachedat [email protected]

Academic Writing: A Handbook forInternational Students (3rd Ed.).

Stephen Bailey (2011). London and New York:Routledge. 292 pages. ISBN 978-0-415-59581-0,$36.26Reviewed by Krishna Bista and Pamela ShultzArkansas State University, U.S.A.

For many international students, academic writ-ing is a significant challenge because of the rules usedin Standard English. Writing in academia consists ofproducing college essays, reflections, reports, andresearch papers which all require a working knowledgeof the English language. Nevertheless, EnglishComposition instructors, English as a Second Language

(ESL) program staff, andfreshmen internationalstudents will findBailey’s book AcademicWriting text a helpfulresource manual both inand out of class.

A c a d e m i cWriting is organized intofour sections: the firstintroduces the stages ofthe writing process; parttwo is related to writingskills; part three discuss-es accuracy; and part four provides sample writings andwriting templates. The selected readings and referencescome from authentic texts and journals. Additionallearning materials such as extra readings, practice



exercises and answer keys, plagiarism quizzes, and a writingglossary are offered through the book’s website.

A large number of students from various parts of theworld travel to study in the U.S., the U.K., and other destina-tions every year. In the ESL and Making Connections class-es, teachers find the writing proficiency of international stu-dents very low (Firkins, Forey & Sengupta, 2007; Kuo, 2011;Sawir, 2005) Sometimes students assume wrongly that teach-ers are sympathetic to their writing styles because English isnot their native language. Despite the cultural and linguisticdifferences, all students are required to write college essays,reports, and reflections as clearly and accurately as possiblethrough the use of Standard English.

Using Bailey’s Academic Writing, college freshmenand ESL international students can articulate college writingskills that include learning critical approaches to writing thatavoid plagiarism, use appropriate citations and references,and techniques for re-writing and proof-reading manuscripts.The book also offers practical examples of writing a curricu-lum vitae, formal letters, emails, reports, case studies, andextended essays.

The author has taught for several years in the U.K.,the Czech Republic, Japan, Malaysia, and Spain. As a result,readers might experience British instead of American writingstyles. For instance, samples of résumés and curricula vitae,

references and citations may vary between the two writingpatterns.

From a student perspective, Academic Writing, how-ever, is precisely written with plenty of examples and illus-trations. Both international students and their teachers canfind this book helpful at all levels of teaching and writing.

ReferencesFirkins, A., Forey, G., Sengupta, S. (2007). Teaching

writing to low proficiency EFL students. ELT Journal, 61(4), 341 352.doi: 10.1093/elt/ccm052

Sawir, E. (2005). Language difficulties of international students in Australia: The effects of prior learning experience. International Education Journal, 6(5), 567-580.

Kuo, Y. (2011). Language challenges faced by international graduate students in the United States. Journal of International Students, 1 (2), 38-42.

___________________________________________About the Reviewers:Krishna Bista and Pamela Shultz are editorial board mem-bers of Journal of International Students at the Center forExcellence at Arkansas State University.

Strategic Finance for Criminal Justice Organizations.

Daniel Adrian Doss, with William Sumrall, III and Don Jones(2011). CRC Press, 272 pages $99.95 ISBN: 9781439892237

Reviewed by Ernest C. Fields, PhD Law enforcement professionals are trained to systemat-

ically approach criminal justice. Few, however, are ever trainedin the world of finance and strategic decision-making, and theyare therefore uncomfortable navigating through the complexworld of organizational budgeting and planning. Doss, Sumrall,and Jones have tackled this gap in traditional criminal justiceeducation with Strategic Finance for Criminal JusticeOrganizations.

The authors bring a strategic management approach tocriminal justice organizations. In particular, this book provides aquantitative analysis of the strategic attributes of financial deci-sions. Written for the law enforcement student and professional,the text demonstrates the use of budgeting techniques and rede-fines capital budgeting as a determining factor in the effective-ness of law enforcement agencies as they fulfill their missions.

The authors call upon their diverse backgrounds asthey attempt to open up the often Byzantine world of financialdecision-making to the criminal justice professional. Intended tobe more than a financial budgeting workbook, the text delvesinto quantitative methods usually reserved for the corporateboardroom. The criminal justice professional is provided a solidfoundation in capital decision-making and in the concepts thatmake for successful strategic financial management.

Like every other sector of the economy, those in publicadministration face the basic economic problem of nearly unlim-ited demands that must be met with extremely limited resources.

The concepts of scarcity and accountability reign throughout theworld of criminal justice and public administration, and thisbook follows the same course. Those tasked with making strate-gic decisions must not only juggle the demands of various stake-holders, they must also fulfill their agency’s mission. Too often,the leaders of these agencies find themselves ill-equipped todelve into the world of corporate finance.

The book provides real-world examples of the financialprinciples under discussion. Each chapter introduces theory butquickly moves into relatable examples of the principles at work.With this approach, solutions to problems are demonstrated in astraightforward fashion. The examples assume that readers havelittle existing knowledge of corporate or non-profit finance andshould be helpful to the non-finance student.

The authors begin with a discussion of finance and howmoney works. Emphasis is placed upon finance as part of thestrategic planning process of an organization, and special atten-tion is given to understanding the important place of finance infulfilling the organization’s mission. Space is also allotted toconsiderations of the decision-making process within companiesand organizations, again with special emphasis on strategicfinancial planning.

The book satisfies the academic need to introduce the-ory while providing relevant real-world application. It providesa logical progression through the world of organizational finan-cial decision-making, and is geared to the non-finance major. Italso provides insight into strategic best practices and is adaptableto audiences at the local, regional, and international levels. _________________________About the Reviewer:Dr. Fields, Jr., is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Universityof Memphis and he teaches Education courses at BelhavenUniversity.

81 ISSN-2162-3104


ADVISORY BOARDAmany SalehProfessor of Curriculum & Instruction, Arkansas State UniversityDon JonesDirector of Admissions & Student Services, Belhaven UniversityGorege FoldesyProfessor of Education & Director, Center for Excellence in EducationArkansas State UniversityRuss HannahAssociate Vice Chancellor for Finance, Arkansas State University

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERSAnanta Mainali, Kathmandu University, NepalArnaud Prevot, Argosy University, Seattle, USAAshley Buchman, ASU Newport Technical Center, USAAzia Asgari, University of Putra Malaysia, MalaysiaBarry S. Davidson, Troy University, Troy Campus, USABasu Panthi, Trinity University, Texas, USABrandy Stone, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, USABurcu Ates, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA**Charles B. deWitt, III, Belhaven University, Memphis, USACharles R. Harris, Missouri Southern State University, USACharlotte Foster, Western Missouri State University, USA*Cheryl DoBose, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, USA*Christopher Bond, Roehampton University Business School, UK**Chrystal E. R. Jansz, University of Nebraska- Lincoln, USAClayton Smith, University of Windsor, CanadaCristian Murdock, Arkansas State University, USAD. Adrian Doss, The University of West Alabama, Livingston, USADannielle J. Davis, Alabama State University, Montgomery, USADavid Zyngier, Monash University, AustraliaDeepak Adhikari, AF Press, Kathmandu, NepalDiana Barterlli Carlin, Saint Louis University, MO, USA**Elizabeth F. Hallmark, University of Rochester, NY, USA**Felicia Castro-Villarreal, The University of Texas at San Antonio, USAFigen Ebren, Akdeniz University, TurkeyGauri-Shankar Guha, Arkansas State University, AR, USA*Glenda A. Riley, Indiana Institute of Technology, IN, USA**Hari Adhikari, Illinois State University, USAHe Huang, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USAHeba Alsaed Albadawy, Taiba University (KSA), EgyptHidayet Tok, Zirve University, Turkey*Hongping Xia, University of Hong Kong, Hong KongHuei-Chen Helena Yeh, St. John's University, TaiwanJames Hudson, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, USA*Jason Hoi Yuen Chan, University of Wyoming, Laramie, USAJeff Koloze, University of Phoenix, Ohio Campus, USA*Jennifer Hoyte, Florida International University, FL, USAJeremy Couch, Palm Beach Atlantic University, USAJoAnn Y. Fisher, NOVA Southeastern University, USA**John K. Grandy, Buffalo, New York, USA*

Jose Cristina M. Parina, De La Salle University Manila, PhilippinesJune A. Gordon, University of California, Santa Cruz, USA*Karen Young, Clayton State University, USA*Kelly L'Heureux, The Evergreen State College, WA, USA**Kerri Bennett, Arkansas State University, USAKiran Lamichhane, University of North Texas, USA*Krishna Bista, Arkansas State University, USAKristen Brodie, Walden University, TX, USALauren Miller Griffith, Central Michigan University, MI, USALeah Gustilo, De La Salle University Manila, PhilippinesLeigh Pritchard, Brock University, Ontario, CanadaLisa Kahle-Piasecki, University of Toledo, Ohio USAMalefane Monyane, Tshwane University of Technology, South AfricaMarohang Limbu, Michigan State University, USAMartha Vungkhanching, California State University, Fresno, USAMatthew Coulter, Arkansas State University, USA*Maurice Dawson, Alabama A&M University, AL, USA**Maya Sugita, University of Alberta, Canada **Melissa Sue Mincic, innovation Research & Training, Inc, NC, USA **Minmin Fan, Seton Hall University, USA*Natalie Xuejiao Diao, University of Cincinnati, OH, USANguyen Luong Ngoc, Banking University, Ho Chi Minh City, VietnamNilay Yildirim, Syracuse University, NY, USANoah Kasraie, University of the Incarnate Word, USANorman VanNostrand, Belhaven University, Memphis, USAPamela Shultz, Arkansas State University, USARahma Al-Mahrooqi, Sultan Qaboos University, OmanRamona R. Santa Maria, Buffalo State College (SUNY), USA*Reza Pishghadam, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, IranRolf Holtz, Troy University, Troy Campus, USA**Rosana Alagamy, Taibah University, KSA*Rui Cheng, Nazareth College, New York, USA*Russ Hannah, Arkansas State University, USA*Sandria Officer, University of Toronto, ON, Canada**Sanoya Amienyi, Arkansas State University, USASaqib Sachani, The University of Western Ontario, CanadaShaohua Wang, Monash University, AustraliaSheena Terrell, Arkansas State University, USASpencer Robinson, The Ohio State University, USA**Susan Edgar-Smith, Eastern University, PA, USA**Susan Hines, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, MN,USATatiana Suprum, Moscow Lomonosov State University, RussiaTeresa A. Johnson, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USAUttam Gaulee, University of Pittsburgh, USA*Valarie Hilson, Arkansas State University, USAVeena S. Kulkarni, Arkansas State University, USA*William Lange, Arkansas State University, USAYah Binti Awg Nik, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, MalaysiaYa-Hui Kuo, Wenzao Ursuline College of Languages, TaiwanYi (Leaf) Zhang, Iowa State University, USAYoung-Kyung Min, University of Washington at Bothell, WA, USAYuni Sari Amalia, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA

*Reviewed one or more papers in 2011 **Copy editors/reviewers for 2012-14

Printed with the Support of

www.belhaven.edu

The Office ofInternational

ProgramsArkansas State University


Asian Dances:From the top:India, China, Japan, S. Korea, Taiwan,Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, SriLanka, Philippines and Thailand.Source: Google Image

Contributors in This Volume2011

Amrita BhandariAmy R. PearceArlene S. YoungCharlotte Foster

Christopher BondDeepak Adhikari

Elizabeth M. WhiteGabriel Hudson

Hailie AllenIrina Khramtsova

Krishna BistaLauren M. Griffith

Marc Ting-Chun HsuMarohang LimbuMichael SapiroPamela Shultz

Ya-Hui Kuo

Editor-in-ChiefKrishna Bista

Arkansas State University

Contact Address

Journal of International StudentsPO Box 1270 State University

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