124
conclusion and give suggestions to the local water authority about how to solve
the environment problem that they fi nd. The local water authority also gives
feedback and comments to the students. Although fi eld experiments make a limited
contribution to solving local environmental problems, the students’ ability to
fi nd and solve problems has improved.
The fi eldwork is in the process of improving. The fi eldwork had been performed during the summer from 2009 to 2012 in the Heihe River basin. There are
some big differences between these four fi eldwork exercises. Knowing these differences is important for us to develop a new cooperation plan. On one hand,
beforehand preparation is very important for a successful fi eldwork. Especially, it
is important to fi nd concrete research topics, which can save time and greatly
improve working effi ciency during fi eld survey. The students who joined fi eldwork in 2009 were better prepared than the students of other years. On the other
hand, the active participation of CAREERI students is important for a successful
fi eldwork. The Chinese students just acted as guides in 2009. However, they participated in the fi eldwork fully in 2010–2012. They discussed and worked together
with UT students during the whole process from preparation, survey, until fi nal
report writing.
Based on the comparisons on these four times of fi eld exercise units, the following suggestions can be made to improve collaboration with UT.
1. The preparation of the fi eld exercise unit can be improved by making a feasible
proposal that can be applied on site by both UT and CAREERI students. The
proposal needs to include the background, purpose, research content, experimental design, and anticipated results. Both UT and CAREERI students need to
spend enough time to prepare this proposal during the preparation phase.
2. There were three different research topics in each year and two study areas in
2010. One common research topic is enough for each fi eldwork although the
investigation or measurement can be divided into two or three parts. However,
different parts should be around the same topic. The students should try to obtain
more samples of the questionnaire survey and the measurements, which can
improve the persuasiveness of conclusive results and suggestions to the local
water authority.
3. A Chinese student from UT side is necessary for each student group. A Chinese
student can offer a lot of help to the other students during the whole process of
the fi eldwork program. For example, background information can be obtained
more easily because of the limitations caused by language barrier.
4. Comparisons of the methodologies and results can be carried out among the different fi eldwork areas.
5. If the survey contents are close to the specialties of the Chinese students, our
students can be more involved in the preparation work. If possible, these students could participate in making the fi eldwork plans in Japan during the
preparation stage.
N. Baromey et al.
conclusion and give suggestions to the local water authority about how to solve
the environment problem that they fi nd. The local water authority also gives
feedback and comments to the students. Although fi eld experiments make a limited
contribution to solving local environmental problems, the students’ ability to
fi nd and solve problems has improved.
The fi eldwork is in the process of improving. The fi eldwork had been performed during the summer from 2009 to 2012 in the Heihe River basin. There are
some big differences between these four fi eldwork exercises. Knowing these differences is important for us to develop a new cooperation plan. On one hand,
beforehand preparation is very important for a successful fi eldwork. Especially, it
is important to fi nd concrete research topics, which can save time and greatly
improve working effi ciency during fi eld survey. The students who joined fi eldwork in 2009 were better prepared than the students of other years. On the other
hand, the active participation of CAREERI students is important for a successful
fi eldwork. The Chinese students just acted as guides in 2009. However, they participated in the fi eldwork fully in 2010–2012. They discussed and worked together
with UT students during the whole process from preparation, survey, until fi nal
report writing.
Based on the comparisons on these four times of fi eld exercise units, the following suggestions can be made to improve collaboration with UT.
1. The preparation of the fi eld exercise unit can be improved by making a feasible
proposal that can be applied on site by both UT and CAREERI students. The
proposal needs to include the background, purpose, research content, experimental design, and anticipated results. Both UT and CAREERI students need to
spend enough time to prepare this proposal during the preparation phase.
2. There were three different research topics in each year and two study areas in
2010. One common research topic is enough for each fi eldwork although the
investigation or measurement can be divided into two or three parts. However,
different parts should be around the same topic. The students should try to obtain
more samples of the questionnaire survey and the measurements, which can
improve the persuasiveness of conclusive results and suggestions to the local
water authority.
3. A Chinese student from UT side is necessary for each student group. A Chinese
student can offer a lot of help to the other students during the whole process of
the fi eldwork program. For example, background information can be obtained
more easily because of the limitations caused by language barrier.
4. Comparisons of the methodologies and results can be carried out among the different fi eldwork areas.
5. If the survey contents are close to the specialties of the Chinese students, our
students can be more involved in the preparation work. If possible, these students could participate in making the fi eldwork plans in Japan during the
preparation stage.
N. Baromey et al.