This article explores the methodological and ethical challenges of doing qualitative fieldwork in an authoritarian state. Drawing on a long-term project conducted in China, I discuss how my interaction with the participants was mediated by the pervasive state power. This phenomenon adds a new layer to the question "can the subaltern…

This paper explores ethnographic fieldwork as moral laboratories. Drawing upon two episodes in my field encounters in Southwest China, I illustrate the nature of our method as a form of moral striving and experimentation. Fieldwork is a stage where practical actions become vulnerable ethical dramas in search for the situated good. Fieldwork…

This study used a qualitative research methodology to classify and examine the large amount of information which was collected through field research. The research objective was to (1) An investigation of Hua'er song development in Gansu and Ningxia, China; and (2) Examine the characteristics of Hua'er song in Gansu and Ningxia, China. The…

This paper reports the practice of using the Mobile QQ and Oruxmaps mobile apps to assist in teaching general geology field practice and the results of evaluation experiments. A student subjective judgment questionnaire and a field test were used to obtain the experimental results. The key findings suggest that the proposed method has a…

In qualitative methods, there are various approaches that can be used to answer particular social questions, for example ethnography and case study. Two studies conducted by different researchers in China and Australia using these approaches were described and analysed in order to find out their similarities and differences in terms of…

Within the international higher education community there is not a system nor gold standard to identify the value of higher education institutions (HEIs). For the current research, the definition of value was determined through quantitative methods considering utility and cost. The research problem underscored the importance of valuing…

Being a good teacher depends on many cultural and linguistic assumptions. Dominant definitions of a good teacher are often based on these implicit assumptions. Probing notions of a good teacher, we examine the endeavors of a Chinese international pre-service teacher, Ling, to become a "good teacher" through her encounters with…

Research on engineering practice is scarce and sharing of qualitative research data can reduce the effort required for an aspiring researcher to obtain enough data from engineering workplaces to draw generalizable conclusions, both qualitative and quantitative. This paper describes how a large shareable qualitative data set on engineering…

Location, where geographic elements interwork spatially and dynamically, has been one of the enduring themes in geographic studies. There are a number of location theories to explain why things are located where they are. Alfred Weber's location theory stresses that the least cost of delivering products is a key factor in location selection, and…

This paper outlines the field of higher education research in China from its historical roots through to its current development. It is a case study of how the field of higher education research emerged and was co-constructed by the state and the academic community of higher education researchers to become an established and recognised discipline…

The Research Institute for Higher Education (RIHE) at Hiroshima University established a program of research on the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) in 2005. The first conference of this new project was held in Hiroshima in February 2011. This conference was organized by the Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University, Japan in…

Education in schools that serve nationalities consisting of comparatively small populations is currently a focal topic in relation to academia and international organizations. The issue of cultural choice in the schools--whether the function of education in these schools is ultimately dissemination of modern mainstream culture or transmission of…

Conducting collaborative fieldwork between American researchers and foreign scholars in developing countries is a difficult prospect for political scientists. Yet, we can use our knowledge and position at an American university to contribute to the academic community in our areas of study and establish lasting personal and institutional ties with…

The Research Institute for Higher Education in Hiroshima University started a program of research on the Changing Academic Profession (CAP) in 2005. The fourth and final conference was held in Hiroshima in January 2010. The following papers are presented at the conference: (1) Differentiation and Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning in…

General education is basic education and, in theory, is the general education that every citizen must undergo as well as the basic education that every type of specialization must have. It is undoubtedly fundamental and important to the entire educational system. However, specialized education is more directly related to, and plays a more…