Few can escape the current scrutiny given to Australia’s university sector. On 3rd May 2019 our massive export market of International students, especially from Mainland China, was the subject of an ABC 4 Corners report. Furthermore, the rhetoric was far from positive. Plagiarism, the lowering of English language standards and high levels of foreign student […]

Previously I wrote a blog about how stress has a negative effect on our creativity and mid last year my blog focused on key reasons why people struggle with empathy. However, during a recent conference, I listened to Dr Trisha Stratford discuss how stress seriously affects our ability to be empathetic. I felt that my last blog had missed the obvious […]

It’s the first day for a young Chinese intern ‘Li Wei’ at a Sydney based architectural firm. Li Wei has achieved steady results throughout his post-graduate studies at a major Sydney based university. As with many international students studying in Australia, Li Wei has had to overcome language challenges. Li Wei’s first language is Cantonese, […]

During my career as a cultural awareness educator and coach, I am often asked the question ‘why do we have to change?’ Why can’t the call center, students, the outsourced staff or even sometimes the client adapt to us? Recently the Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop, gave stark warnings to Chinese students studying in Australia […]

In my former years as a student studying China’s impact on security within the Asia-Pacific region, we were told never to underestimate the security risk separated by the Taiwan Straits. The Straits receive far less media coverage than many other contentious areas of the world, making it easy to forget the deep-rooted hegemonic disputes between China […]

As the world recovers from the shock US election result, speculation starts regarding the trajectory of Trump’s presidency.  Among many of Trump’s outlandish statements are his proposed tariffs on Chinese imports of up to 45%. Such a claim falls foul of WTO regulations which would seemingly make it impossible to implement. However, as the election […]

In 1995 Daniel Goleman coined the phrase ‘Emotional Intelligence’, or EQ. As he defined it, Emotional Intelligence measured how an individual could regulate and master his or her own emotions. Perhaps for the first time the assessment of an individual’s intelligence was taken beyond their intellectual talent, and using traditional intelligence tests to assess someone’s […]

As the election approaches, the popular vote-catching topic of stopping the leaky boats full of asylum seekers hits the headlines. Each side of the political spectrum puts their case for how to stop/control the onslaught of masses heading for our shores. Only a small amount of research will enlighten anyone who cares to check the […]

Market turmoil precedes the UK citizens’ marginal decision to leave the EU. Stock markets have tumbled and Sterling has plummeted. Some are even predicting that Britain will slide further into recession. In such times it is important for Australia to keep considering new opportunities instead of dwelling on the possible misfortune. However, we are unlikely […]

To really understand a different culture it is imperative to look at how it has been shaped by history.  Living under a hard core communist regime is going to create very different cultural survival traits to living under a newly formed democracy. Having to endure colonial rule will take different survival skills to growing up […]