Given that there exists in the literature relatively little research into student experiences in transnational higher education, this study seeks to identify the determinants of student satisfaction at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This quantitative study involved 247 undergraduate and postgraduate students at branch campuses in the UAE who completed a questionnaire using either hard copies or an online version. It was found that levels of student satisfaction at UAE branch campuses were generally high. The factors that were most influential in determining whether or not a student at a UAE branch campus was satisfied overall with their institution were quality of lecturers, quality and availability of resources, and effective use of technology. The findings indicate that there remains scope for UAE branch campuses to further increase levels of student satisfaction. Managers might use the findings to review their own institution's performance so that areas for improvement can be identified. Given that cultures, customs, traditions and social contexts vary considerably in different locations, the findings of this study are not generalisable across all international branch campuses globally. The logit model developed had an 87.4% success rate in predicting whether or not a student at a UAE branch campus was satisfied overall with their institution, demonstrating the potential usefulness of logistic regression as a predictive and explanatory tool in education management.

Purpose -Travel and tourism is the second largest global industry with daily international revenues of approximately US$2 billion, and investments of 12 percent of world GDP. Though this is a highly competitive industry, there is a paucity of academic research on destination branding. This paper aims to present a branding framework for designing successful destination strategies. This exploratory study seeks to determine key factors that affect the strategic branding of destinations. Design/methodology/approach -Similar fields like place marketing, destination marketing, services, product and corporate branding were reviewed along with destination case studies. Based on this review and its extrapolation to the "destination context", a framework for strategic branding of destinations was formulated. Findings -Successful strategic branding of destinations is dependent on several inter-related components, which are discussed. The paper highlights key issues in destination branding and provides a platform for future research. Originality/value -The value of the paper is high as it provides a practical framework for governing bodies to consider when investing time, money and effort when creating a global destination.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of social and organizational identification on student commitment, achievement and satisfaction in higher education. The sample comprised 437 students enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate programme in business or management. A model was developed and tested using structural equation modelling. It was found that organizational identification is a stronger predictor of student commitment, achievement and satisfaction than social identification. Although organizational identification was a strong predictor of student satisfaction, student commitment was better at explaining student achievement. The implications for higher education institutions are discussed. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the effects of organizational identification on student commitment, achievement and satisfaction. The key contribution of the research is in providing support for the hypothesis that organizational identification can influence the attitudes and behaviour of higher education students, as it has been shown to do with employees and consumers. Social identificationLearning is intertwined with social identification because learning is an experience of identity that transforms a person and what they can do (Wenger 1998, 215). Social identification exists when a person exhibits a common characteristic or behaviour with other individuals of the in-group. Students arrive at university with an academic selfconcept, which is their perception of their own academic competence. Undergraduate students who enter business schools with high grade point averages from their high school education will have a positive academic self-construct, which is associated with high goal setting, academic engagement, and academic outcomes (Bliuc et al. 2011b;Bong and Skaalvik 2003). Bornholt (2001) found that high school students' intentions to continue studying were based on self-perception rather than actual academic performance.Postgraduate management students are often career oriented, competitive and highly committed to achieving their goals. These students might be motivated to perform well on their programme in order to enrich their social identities and preserve their status in the high ability in-group. Students entering postgraduate programmes with work experience also bring common aspects of their social identity with them; for example, a successful track record as a junior or middle manager (Wortham 2004). Thinking of themselves as an 'already proven' or 'good manager' can be a salient aspect of identity that shapes how an individual behaves and interacts with other students, and also with professors.Markus and Nurius (1986, 954) employed the term 'possible selves' to describe representations of the self in the future that combine endured goals, aspirations, motives, fears, and threats. Individuals adopt behaviours that encourage positive possible selves and discourage negative possible selves. Dean and Jolly (2012) suggest that student engagement occurs when stud...

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The international branch campus has emerged as a popular form of transnational higher education but to date little research has been undertaken on student perceptions and experiences, other than the student feedback evaluations conducted by institutions. This research employed a survey questionnaire to investigate student perceptions of study at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country which hosts the largest number of branch campuses globally. Across the seven dimensions examined -programme effectiveness, quality of lecturers and teaching, student learning, assessment and feedback, learning resources, use of technology, and facilities/social life -it was found that students are largely satisfied. The findings refute many of the criticisms of international branch campuses in the literature, regarding quality, political or ideological issues.

The international branch campus has emerged as a prominent feature on the international higher education landscape. Although there exists a fairly substantial body of literature that has sought to identify the motivations or choice criteria used by international students to select countries and institutions, there has to date been little research on student motivations for studying at an international branch campus. This quantitative study, using the push-pull model of international student destination choice as its theoretical framework, involved 320 undergraduate and postgraduate students studying at branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was found that the main motivations of students who choose to study at an international branch campus are different to those students who choose to study at home campuses. Thus, we propose a revised model of international student destination choice, which incorporates two distinct sets of push and pull factors-one that applies to the home campuses of Western universities and one that applies to international branch campuses. In addition to developing the theory on international student choice, our findings may be used by higher education institutions to better understand both their existing and potential students, with the view to applying segmentation techniques in their marketing activities.

PurposeThis study matches destination brand components with motives and identifies those components that are most important for the consumer during various stages of the decision process. This study also aims to classify various functional and symbolic brand components. The findings take the customers' point‐of‐view in identifying those descriptors that affect consumer choice preference and create destination loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe research is exploratory. Through a detailed literature review, destination brand components are identified, simplified and then classified as symbolic or functional. They are also classified by motive. The review is followed by a quantitative study that uses open‐ended questions to find the relationship between destination brand components and the stage of decision making. This study also presents a conceptual model with taxonomy of brand components.FindingsFunctional brand components seem to play a major role in a consumer's description of place brands during the various decision making stages. This finding highlights the importance of stressing functional components in the destination's branding strategy.Originality/valueThis study is the first of its type and can serve as a platform for future research, practically helping destinations create more effective communication.

Purpose -This applied neuroscience study aims to understand how direct and unconscious emotional and cognitive responses underlie travel destination preferences. State-of-the-art neuroscience tools and methods were used, including stationary eye tracking and brain scanning electroencephalography (EEG) to assess emotional and cognitive responses to destination images and assets. To the researchers' knowledge, this study is the first applied neuroscience study in tourism research and thus opens a new path of research and enquiry to this area. This paper is an attempt to understand specific mental processes in human tourism behaviours, and it is suggest that unconscious emotional and cognitive responses are natural processes that need to be studied and understood, not as special cases, but embedded as natural parts of tourism research.Design/methodology/approach -To better understand consumers' unconscious responses to possible travel destinations, a 3 Â 5 factorial design was run with the factors being stimulus type (images, printed names and videos) and travel destination (Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, New York and London). Eyetracking calibration was done with a nine-point fixation test and the EEG calibration was done using functional localizer tests based on the ABM B-ALERT calibration process. This calibration procedure allows reliable tracking of emotional and cognitive responses over time. Thirty Emirati (nationals of the UAE) participants, consisting of equal numbers of males and females (15) were recruited from the UAE and signed informed consent. Each participant was positioned in front of an eye tracker and computer screen, and brainscanning equipment was mounted; then, each participant underwent eye-tracking and neuroimaging calibration procedures. A Tobii T60XL eye tracker and an ABM X-10 EEG brain scanner, both running iMotions v5.1 in a Windows 7 environment, were used.Findings -General emotional and cognitive differences were identified between the channels through which travel destinations are presented. Words about and names of travel destinations cause higher cognitive