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This paper presents student perceptions of higher education science and engineering learning communities derived from a cross-case analysis of four case studies across the New Zealand university and polytechnic sectors. Here we explore student expectations and experiences of the higher education sector and canvas their views as to the infrastructure and resources in their institutions of study, and how they see their learning serves their careers' aims. Student perceptions of pedagogies employed in their institutions along with their preferred pedagogies follows, including staff-student interactions and consideration of the importance of practical skill development. The paper finishes by considering student perceptions of support structures and an analysis of their understanding of aspects of the nature of science (NoS) and engineering. The research findings suggest the students feel they become more independent and responsible for their own learning, enjoy smaller class sizes and interactive learning activities such as practical work and tutorials, and they stressed the importance of establishing good relationships with their teachers. Polytechnic students were more positive about their learning and felt the practice features of their learning led to enhanced career prospects. Students from university and polytechnic sectors were aware of formal learning support structures but only used them as a last resort, instead they first worked with peers and teachers.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of loan concentration on the returns of Indonesian banks and examines whether bank ownership types affect the relationship between concentration and returns. Design/methodology/approach This research uses heuristic measures of concentration: The Hirschman–Herfindahl index and Deviation from Aggregated Averages are applied to Indonesian banks across all sectors. The data covers the pre and post global financial crises periods from 2003-2011 for 109 commercial banks in Indonesia. Panel feasible generalised least squares analysis was applied. Findings The findings show that loan concentration increases bank returns. The positive effect of concentration on returns tends to be more significant for domestic-owned banks. In addition, the interaction effect shows that the positive effect of concentration on returns is less for foreign-owned banks. Research limitations/implications The Indonesian central bank changes to the reporting format of sectoral loan allocation by banks since 2012 in terms of the Indonesian Banking Statistics Details of Enhancement matrix requires separate data analysis for 2012 onwards. The findings of this paper could be enhanced by more detailed data like interest rate expenses and bank level sectoral non-performing loans data. Practical implications The findings suggest that a focus strategy provides better returns. Moreover, bank ownership types is an important factor to consider when setting a bank lending policy. Originality/value This paper is among the few studies where different measures of loan concentration in combination with measures of return are applied in Indonesia as an emerging Asian country. The research also provides evidence of the impact of concentration on the interest earnings of the loan portfolios of banks in addition to return on assets and return on equity that are generally applied as measures of return in previous research.

Government-owned banks represent the smallest number of banks in Indonesia (25% of all banks) but have a dominant market share of almost 50% in the loan market. Studies previous to this one do not address the effect of size differences on the loan portfolio structures and performance of such banks. The objective of this study is to add to the literature in this area by determining whether small and large Indonesian government-owned banks differ in terms of their loan portfolio structures and performance. The study covers the 2003 to 2011 period. Descriptive statistics, univariate statistics and generalized least squares estimation are applied. The findings show that the loan portfolio structures and returns of small and large government-owned banks differ significantly.