Ayenachew Aseffa Woldegiyorgis is a research assistant and doctoral student of higher education at the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College. His research interest includes internationalization of higher education in developing countries, academic and research partnerships, quality assurance in higher education and the developmental role of higher education institutions.
Interest has grown in the role of diaspora in advancing higher education and scientific research ... more Interest has grown in the role of diaspora in advancing higher education and scientific research as academic mobility continues to generate more transnational communities a with high educational profile. The academic literature is picking up on how diasporas and their organisations facilitate academic and research collaboration between institutions in their ‘host’ and ‘home’ countries. However, this discourse largely focuses on those residing in industrialised countries, particularly Europe and North America. There is limited research on the diasporic relationship between and within regions in the Global South, and even less on diaspora mediated academic collaboration between Africa, Asia and Latin America. Against this backdrop, this article explores the role of diaspora in academic and scientific collaboration within and between these regions. It highlights some historical and contemporary migratory relations between them, along with student mobility as a means of formation of aca...
Journal of Studies in International Education, 2018
The internationalization of research has increasingly become an area of focus for higher educatio... more The internationalization of research has increasingly become an area of focus for higher education institutions but has received less scholarly attention in the study of internationalization in higher education. Drawing on the literature, this article outlines a range of key considerations and concerns for the continued internationalization of research, first by documenting the various rationales for—and factors affecting—international research collaboration and then by examining how internationalization in research might be measured. The article documents a number of key challenges, and highlights that the internationalization of research is influenced by the complex intersection of factors relating to the individual faculty member, to their discipline, to their institution, and to a range of external factors, such as funding. The authors conclude by questioning the likely success of national and institutional strategies for greater internationalization of research, and by calling ...
Modern higher education in Ethiopia has a short history of a little over six decades. Over the pa... more Modern higher education in Ethiopia has a short history of a little over six decades. Over the past two decades there have been tremendous reforms that aimed at expanding and modernizing the higher education subsector so that it would make meaningful contributions for the country’s development. However, despite the rapid expansion of the sector, its process and roles have not become a research agenda to assess whether Ethiopia is following the ‘right path’ of the developmental state model in its various economic and social policies. Therefore, this study attempts to shed light on the nature of the Ethiopian higher education taking the perspective of the developmental state paradigm. Based on the method of document analysis, the findings of the study indicate that the Ethiopian higher education shows strong manifestations of the characteristics which were evident in those developmental states in early stage. Strong state control, central admission process, focus on certain priority a...
International Journal of African Higher Education, 2021
The literature on diaspora engagement in higher education focuses on broadenvironmental, policy, ... more The literature on diaspora engagement in higher education focuses on broadenvironmental, policy, and institutional issues as critical determinants ofthe scope and efficiency of engagement. Using data from interviews with 16Ethiopian diaspora academics in the United States, this article undertakesa micro-examination of factors in their personal spaces and immediateenvironment that influence such engagement. Using a phenomenologicalapproach, it examines how professional, personal, familial and otherindividual attributes shape the trajectories of diaspora engagement. Itdemonstrates how nuances in personal and micro-environmental factorsshape motivation for, and sustenance of, engagement, while they maintaina complex and interdependent relationship. The article concludes byhighlighting the importance of a holistic approach to the study of diasporaengagement in higher education that pays attention to personal and microenvironmentalfactors as well as institutional, legal, and political is...
Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is a post-cold war phenomenon developed with the advent and pop... more Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is a post-cold war phenomenon developed with the advent and popularization of theories like New Public Management (NPM) and Alternate Service Delivery (ASD). It has become one of the important developmental tools and many countries have also gained significant results by effectively using public-private partnerships in higher education. In addition to the various practical benefits public-private partnership provides both to the public and the private sectors, to the government, to the general public and others, in Ethiopia there are a number of reasons for such partnerships to be established, developed and utilized. More over, the level of higher education development in Ethiopia provides a very wide opportunity for public- private partnerships. Yet, the state of public-private partnership in Ethiopian higher education is very low and unorganized and thus requires lots of effort from all stakeholders.
The dominance of the traditional education as both a way of life and a foundation of the collecti... more The dominance of the traditional education as both a way of life and a foundation of the collective identity of the Ethiopian society, was so strong that there are rare accounts of challenges to it, or at-tempts of reform. This paper sketches an account on a philosophi-cal and reformist movement by a group of monks in the 15th centu-ry Ethiopia, and provide an overview of the history, structure, and philosophical foundations of the Ethiopian traditional education system. Finally, the paper points out the contradictory lines of thinking embedded in this traditional system, and argues that the 15th century movement of Dekike Estifanos was a missed chance of modernization Ethiopia is still paying for. La educacion tradicional etiope: fundamentos filosoficos y movimientos reformistas en el periodo medieval El predominio de la educacion tradicional, entendida como forma de vida y como fundamento de la identidad colectiva de la sociedad etiope, ha sido historicamente tan fuerte que ha sup...
While the Bologna Process in Europe is the leading example, regional efforts towards harmonizatio... more While the Bologna Process in Europe is the leading example, regional efforts towards harmonization of higher education are taking place in every corner of the world. In Africa, such a process has its roots from decades ago, although more coordinated activities are only recent phenomena. This paper looks back at the harmonization processes in Africa and Europe, and argues that although the process in Africa has been influenced by its European counterpart, the former has its own unique features, among other things, in its thematic and sub-regional initiatives. The paper notes similarities and differences between the two processes, appreciates the strengths and shortcomings of the African process, and highlights the importance for the African Union to more effectively utilize its leverage as a coordinating body, with a wider and more meaningful involvement of higher education institutions and other stakeholders. It also calls for more exploration into the potential strengths and risks ...
While Ethiopian higher education is hailed for its expansion in the past years, its quality remai... more While Ethiopian higher education is hailed for its expansion in the past years, its quality remains seriously challenged. The supply of low quality teachers and ill-prepared students, along with the high demand for new teachers forcing the government to massively recruit mediocre graduates, continues the vicious circle.
Interest has grown in the role of diaspora in advancing higher education and scientific research ... more Interest has grown in the role of diaspora in advancing higher education and scientific research as academic mobility continues to generate more transnational communities a with high educational profile. The academic literature is picking up on how diasporas and their organisations facilitate academic and research collaboration between institutions in their ‘host’ and ‘home’ countries. However, this discourse largely focuses on those residing in industrialised countries, particularly Europe and North America. There is limited research on the diasporic relationship between and within regions in the Global South, and even less on diaspora mediated academic collaboration between Africa, Asia and Latin America. Against this backdrop, this article explores the role of diaspora in academic and scientific collaboration within and between these regions. It highlights some historical and contemporary migratory relations between them, along with student mobility as a means of formation of aca...
Journal of Studies in International Education, 2018
The internationalization of research has increasingly become an area of focus for higher educatio... more The internationalization of research has increasingly become an area of focus for higher education institutions but has received less scholarly attention in the study of internationalization in higher education. Drawing on the literature, this article outlines a range of key considerations and concerns for the continued internationalization of research, first by documenting the various rationales for—and factors affecting—international research collaboration and then by examining how internationalization in research might be measured. The article documents a number of key challenges, and highlights that the internationalization of research is influenced by the complex intersection of factors relating to the individual faculty member, to their discipline, to their institution, and to a range of external factors, such as funding. The authors conclude by questioning the likely success of national and institutional strategies for greater internationalization of research, and by calling ...
Modern higher education in Ethiopia has a short history of a little over six decades. Over the pa... more Modern higher education in Ethiopia has a short history of a little over six decades. Over the past two decades there have been tremendous reforms that aimed at expanding and modernizing the higher education subsector so that it would make meaningful contributions for the country’s development. However, despite the rapid expansion of the sector, its process and roles have not become a research agenda to assess whether Ethiopia is following the ‘right path’ of the developmental state model in its various economic and social policies. Therefore, this study attempts to shed light on the nature of the Ethiopian higher education taking the perspective of the developmental state paradigm. Based on the method of document analysis, the findings of the study indicate that the Ethiopian higher education shows strong manifestations of the characteristics which were evident in those developmental states in early stage. Strong state control, central admission process, focus on certain priority a...
International Journal of African Higher Education, 2021
The literature on diaspora engagement in higher education focuses on broadenvironmental, policy, ... more The literature on diaspora engagement in higher education focuses on broadenvironmental, policy, and institutional issues as critical determinants ofthe scope and efficiency of engagement. Using data from interviews with 16Ethiopian diaspora academics in the United States, this article undertakesa micro-examination of factors in their personal spaces and immediateenvironment that influence such engagement. Using a phenomenologicalapproach, it examines how professional, personal, familial and otherindividual attributes shape the trajectories of diaspora engagement. Itdemonstrates how nuances in personal and micro-environmental factorsshape motivation for, and sustenance of, engagement, while they maintaina complex and interdependent relationship. The article concludes byhighlighting the importance of a holistic approach to the study of diasporaengagement in higher education that pays attention to personal and microenvironmentalfactors as well as institutional, legal, and political is...
Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is a post-cold war phenomenon developed with the advent and pop... more Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is a post-cold war phenomenon developed with the advent and popularization of theories like New Public Management (NPM) and Alternate Service Delivery (ASD). It has become one of the important developmental tools and many countries have also gained significant results by effectively using public-private partnerships in higher education. In addition to the various practical benefits public-private partnership provides both to the public and the private sectors, to the government, to the general public and others, in Ethiopia there are a number of reasons for such partnerships to be established, developed and utilized. More over, the level of higher education development in Ethiopia provides a very wide opportunity for public- private partnerships. Yet, the state of public-private partnership in Ethiopian higher education is very low and unorganized and thus requires lots of effort from all stakeholders.
The dominance of the traditional education as both a way of life and a foundation of the collecti... more The dominance of the traditional education as both a way of life and a foundation of the collective identity of the Ethiopian society, was so strong that there are rare accounts of challenges to it, or at-tempts of reform. This paper sketches an account on a philosophi-cal and reformist movement by a group of monks in the 15th centu-ry Ethiopia, and provide an overview of the history, structure, and philosophical foundations of the Ethiopian traditional education system. Finally, the paper points out the contradictory lines of thinking embedded in this traditional system, and argues that the 15th century movement of Dekike Estifanos was a missed chance of modernization Ethiopia is still paying for. La educacion tradicional etiope: fundamentos filosoficos y movimientos reformistas en el periodo medieval El predominio de la educacion tradicional, entendida como forma de vida y como fundamento de la identidad colectiva de la sociedad etiope, ha sido historicamente tan fuerte que ha sup...
While the Bologna Process in Europe is the leading example, regional efforts towards harmonizatio... more While the Bologna Process in Europe is the leading example, regional efforts towards harmonization of higher education are taking place in every corner of the world. In Africa, such a process has its roots from decades ago, although more coordinated activities are only recent phenomena. This paper looks back at the harmonization processes in Africa and Europe, and argues that although the process in Africa has been influenced by its European counterpart, the former has its own unique features, among other things, in its thematic and sub-regional initiatives. The paper notes similarities and differences between the two processes, appreciates the strengths and shortcomings of the African process, and highlights the importance for the African Union to more effectively utilize its leverage as a coordinating body, with a wider and more meaningful involvement of higher education institutions and other stakeholders. It also calls for more exploration into the potential strengths and risks ...
While Ethiopian higher education is hailed for its expansion in the past years, its quality remai... more While Ethiopian higher education is hailed for its expansion in the past years, its quality remains seriously challenged. The supply of low quality teachers and ill-prepared students, along with the high demand for new teachers forcing the government to massively recruit mediocre graduates, continues the vicious circle.
Background information of the creation of the NPM e-book
This e-book is a selected collection of... more Background information of the creation of the NPM e-book
This e-book is a selected collection of student papers on the course ‘New pubic management’ in MARIHE program. The course “New public management’, led by Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele and Prof. Dr. Volker Gehmilich from Osnabruck University of Applied Science, aims to enalble students to: 1) understand the rationales and objectives of the major changes in the tertiary education and research system towards new public management, deregulation, autonomy and marketization; 2) analyze these developments with theoretical approaches of New Public Management, institutional economics, governance theories and principal-agent theory, and gain insights from these approaches for practical problems of tertiary education and research management; 3) analyze and deal with the tensions between New Public Management and academic culture: 4) recognize and deal productively with the potentials and limitations of management tools and economic thinking in a tertiary education and research context; 5) be aware of the relationship between development of the system, governmental policy and institutional management. Through guiding students’ self-learning and group-work, lectures and workshops, the course introduces new public management as the starting point managerial reforms in the academic sector (as well as the starting point of MaRIHE program), discusses economic theories relevant for steering and management and application and applicability of management tools to higher education, potentials and limits of managerialism, and the use of market mechanisms in higher education and research, and also analyze several cases in the aspect of application of NPM, concerning the differences, as well as similarities, between higher education institutions and other public sectors, between tertiary education and primary and secondary education, and between different countries at system level.(MARIHE, 2013).
The selected course papers included in this e-book provide important perspectives of higher education governance as it takes place in countries from different continents. The discussion of diverse experiences, contexts, and on-going development paths of NPM in the setting of higher education enriches readers with insights from various corners of the world:
Mihut begins by discussing the governance equalizer and other conceptual delimitations to help set the scene. Each of the governance equalizer components are then brought to in-depth analysis by means of which Romania’s higher education governance is scrutinized. Mihut’s paper concludes by making rather critical remarks such as questioning the importance of all the governance equalizer elements for the Romanian context, challenging the completeness of the approach used to define the concept of stakeholders, calling for a growing awareness to the importance of nonlinear evolutions in the NPM approach, and suggesting the incorporation of international dimension as a separate element to the governance equalizer model.
Calugareanu also discussed the governance structure of Romanian higher education. She looked into the Romanian higher education system, starting with its history, the analysis of Romanian higher education system by applying governance equalizer, and closing with its strengths and weaknesses.
Nestorowicz examines the governance structure of the higher education system in Austria. Her paper is structured in two main parts. The first, more theoretically oriented part refers to the definition of the concept of governance in the context of Higher Education. Furthermore, the different dimensions of governance of universities will be identified which form the basis of the governance equalizer. The second part has a more practical approach by applying the governance equalizer to the specific case of the Austrian higher education system. Thus, the governance structure of the Austrian higher education system will be analysed over time in order to illustrate the development of the governance dimensions in the governance equalizer.
Holubek and Milutinović's paper analyses the governance mode of HE system in Serbia. This is done by positioning Serbia on five dimensions of governance (state regulation, stakeholder guidance, academic self-governance, managerial self-governance, and competition) and examining past, present and future expectations. Opinion of HE community in Serbia is also taken into consideration in outlining the governance mode in Serbian HE sector.
Geleski and Mihut use the governance equaliser framework to comparatively analyse and discuss the state of affairs of NPM in Slovenia, Romania, Serbia and Macedonia. Additionally, as the selected countries vary according to EU membership status, evidence suggesting the impact of the supranational institution on national higher education systems is discussed. Trends counterweighting to NPM ideals are presented for all selected countries, with the impact of EU membership status on the use of NPM in higher education governance being nonlinear and limited.
Tung brings some insight of higher education governance in Vietnam. Since 1993, after a resolution on radical education reform adopted by the Communist Party of Vietnam, the higher education system of the country has undergone a radical reform with a rapid growth in size but also in the number of problems and predicaments it has been facing. At the same time new actors and forces affecting the dynamics of governance in higher education have been introduced. This complexity makes it more difficult to find out which factors are pulling the strings in the new context and to what extent and more importantly which are causing problems. Often the new dynamics is interpreted too simply as the shift from state control to state supervision and the rise of market force. In other words, this could be interpreted that Vietnam HE Governance is adopting New Public Management (NPM). However by using The Governance Equalizer as an analytical instrument, Tung is able to break down and get to the core of the governance of Vietnam's higher education, and argues that Vietnam's higher education governance components are not approaching NPM configuration but balancing themselves, moving from extremes.
Zheng explores the Chinese university governance in the post-Mao era. This interesting paper centers its arguments at the very heart of conflict and dynamics between western impacts and the reality of Chinese. Zheng makes the case that China has been struggling to follow its own method governing its higher education in the face of a more “active” Western influence to adopt the NPM approach and the “subtle” impact of the ongoing process of globalization. The various rounds of educational governance reform in the Post-Mao period are discussed. This is followed by an overview of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the present Chinese higher education system. The paper then devotes most of its effort to analyzing how the Chinese higher education governance can be explained by based on the concepts embedded in the elements of the NPM model. By doing so, Zheng shows how the governance of higher education has been developing and transforming in this quickly growing nation.
Traveller presents the higher education governance in the context of a country from the continent Australia. Traveller examines the situation in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean island of New Zealand. He starts off by giving a brief overview of the major economic transformations that led New Zealand from a welfare state to an early pioneer of neo-libralism whereby a push to a more market-oriented agenda of liberalization, deregulation, and privatization were made. The country’s diverse tertiary education sector is also pinpointed. The meaning of the NPM approach and the governance equalizer model then is explained. In the main part of the paper, Traveller extensively analyses the mix of governance equalizer of New Zealand. For each equalizer element, he scrutinizes what has happened in the past, what is happening at present, and to which direction in the future the situation is going regarding the country’s higher education governance.
The discussion of higher education governance in Ethiopia – in the horn of Africa – is made by Woldegiyorgis. The paper begins by making three major points in setting its scene. He gave an overview of the history of Ethiopian higher education and the progress to a “massive expansion”. The dynamics of the “precarious relationship” between higher education and politics of the country is also noted. This is followed by a discussion of the concept of the governance equalizer. Woldegiyorgis then presents an in-depth analysis of the Ethiopian higher education from the perspectives of the five major elements of the governance equalizer model. Past, present and future circumstances are well scrutinized. In the end, critical concluding remarks are made and the way for better higher education governance is pointed.
MARIHE Quality Management Module
This book contains a selection of some of the best essays submit... more MARIHE Quality Management Module This book contains a selection of some of the best essays submitted as the final assignment of the MARIHE Quality Management Module. The book is a reflection of the quality of the students’ work but also gives credit to the engagement and passion with which the students addressed issues relating to quality management in higher education. The students come from a wide range of countries from across the world and this diversity is reflected in the subject matter of the essays.
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This e-book is a selected collection of student papers on the course ‘New pubic management’ in MARIHE program. The course “New public management’, led by Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele and Prof. Dr. Volker Gehmilich from Osnabruck University of Applied Science, aims to enalble students to: 1) understand the rationales and objectives of the major changes in the tertiary education and research system towards new public management, deregulation, autonomy and marketization; 2) analyze these developments with theoretical approaches of New Public Management, institutional economics, governance theories and principal-agent theory, and gain insights from these approaches for practical problems of tertiary education and research management; 3) analyze and deal with the tensions between New Public Management and academic culture: 4) recognize and deal productively with the potentials and limitations of management tools and economic thinking in a tertiary education and research context; 5) be aware of the relationship between development of the system, governmental policy and institutional management. Through guiding students’ self-learning and group-work, lectures and workshops, the course introduces new public management as the starting point managerial reforms in the academic sector (as well as the starting point of MaRIHE program), discusses economic theories relevant for steering and management and application and applicability of management tools to higher education, potentials and limits of managerialism, and the use of market mechanisms in higher education and research, and also analyze several cases in the aspect of application of NPM, concerning the differences, as well as similarities, between higher education institutions and other public sectors, between tertiary education and primary and secondary education, and between different countries at system level.(MARIHE, 2013).
The selected course papers included in this e-book provide important perspectives of higher education governance as it takes place in countries from different continents. The discussion of diverse experiences, contexts, and on-going development paths of NPM in the setting of higher education enriches readers with insights from various corners of the world:
Mihut begins by discussing the governance equalizer and other conceptual delimitations to help set the scene. Each of the governance equalizer components are then brought to in-depth analysis by means of which Romania’s higher education governance is scrutinized. Mihut’s paper concludes by making rather critical remarks such as questioning the importance of all the governance equalizer elements for the Romanian context, challenging the completeness of the approach used to define the concept of stakeholders, calling for a growing awareness to the importance of nonlinear evolutions in the NPM approach, and suggesting the incorporation of international dimension as a separate element to the governance equalizer model.
Calugareanu also discussed the governance structure of Romanian higher education. She looked into the Romanian higher education system, starting with its history, the analysis of Romanian higher education system by applying governance equalizer, and closing with its strengths and weaknesses.
Nestorowicz examines the governance structure of the higher education system in Austria. Her paper is structured in two main parts. The first, more theoretically oriented part refers to the definition of the concept of governance in the context of Higher Education. Furthermore, the different dimensions of governance of universities will be identified which form the basis of the governance equalizer. The second part has a more practical approach by applying the governance equalizer to the specific case of the Austrian higher education system. Thus, the governance structure of the Austrian higher education system will be analysed over time in order to illustrate the development of the governance dimensions in the governance equalizer.
Holubek and Milutinović's paper analyses the governance mode of HE system in Serbia. This is done by positioning Serbia on five dimensions of governance (state regulation, stakeholder guidance, academic self-governance, managerial self-governance, and competition) and examining past, present and future expectations. Opinion of HE community in Serbia is also taken into consideration in outlining the governance mode in Serbian HE sector.
Geleski and Mihut use the governance equaliser framework to comparatively analyse and discuss the state of affairs of NPM in Slovenia, Romania, Serbia and Macedonia. Additionally, as the selected countries vary according to EU membership status, evidence suggesting the impact of the supranational institution on national higher education systems is discussed. Trends counterweighting to NPM ideals are presented for all selected countries, with the impact of EU membership status on the use of NPM in higher education governance being nonlinear and limited.
Tung brings some insight of higher education governance in Vietnam. Since 1993, after a resolution on radical education reform adopted by the Communist Party of Vietnam, the higher education system of the country has undergone a radical reform with a rapid growth in size but also in the number of problems and predicaments it has been facing. At the same time new actors and forces affecting the dynamics of governance in higher education have been introduced. This complexity makes it more difficult to find out which factors are pulling the strings in the new context and to what extent and more importantly which are causing problems. Often the new dynamics is interpreted too simply as the shift from state control to state supervision and the rise of market force. In other words, this could be interpreted that Vietnam HE Governance is adopting New Public Management (NPM). However by using The Governance Equalizer as an analytical instrument, Tung is able to break down and get to the core of the governance of Vietnam's higher education, and argues that Vietnam's higher education governance components are not approaching NPM configuration but balancing themselves, moving from extremes.
Zheng explores the Chinese university governance in the post-Mao era. This interesting paper centers its arguments at the very heart of conflict and dynamics between western impacts and the reality of Chinese. Zheng makes the case that China has been struggling to follow its own method governing its higher education in the face of a more “active” Western influence to adopt the NPM approach and the “subtle” impact of the ongoing process of globalization. The various rounds of educational governance reform in the Post-Mao period are discussed. This is followed by an overview of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the present Chinese higher education system. The paper then devotes most of its effort to analyzing how the Chinese higher education governance can be explained by based on the concepts embedded in the elements of the NPM model. By doing so, Zheng shows how the governance of higher education has been developing and transforming in this quickly growing nation.
Traveller presents the higher education governance in the context of a country from the continent Australia. Traveller examines the situation in the Southwestern Pacific Ocean island of New Zealand. He starts off by giving a brief overview of the major economic transformations that led New Zealand from a welfare state to an early pioneer of neo-libralism whereby a push to a more market-oriented agenda of liberalization, deregulation, and privatization were made. The country’s diverse tertiary education sector is also pinpointed. The meaning of the NPM approach and the governance equalizer model then is explained. In the main part of the paper, Traveller extensively analyses the mix of governance equalizer of New Zealand. For each equalizer element, he scrutinizes what has happened in the past, what is happening at present, and to which direction in the future the situation is going regarding the country’s higher education governance.
The discussion of higher education governance in Ethiopia – in the horn of Africa – is made by Woldegiyorgis. The paper begins by making three major points in setting its scene. He gave an overview of the history of Ethiopian higher education and the progress to a “massive expansion”. The dynamics of the “precarious relationship” between higher education and politics of the country is also noted. This is followed by a discussion of the concept of the governance equalizer. Woldegiyorgis then presents an in-depth analysis of the Ethiopian higher education from the perspectives of the five major elements of the governance equalizer model. Past, present and future circumstances are well scrutinized. In the end, critical concluding remarks are made and the way for better higher education governance is pointed.
This book contains a selection of some of the best essays submitted as the final assignment of the MARIHE Quality Management Module. The book is a reflection of the quality of the students’ work but also gives credit to the engagement and passion with which the students addressed issues relating to quality management in higher education. The students come from a wide range of countries from across the world and this diversity is reflected in the subject matter of the essays.