Identifying the Role of the International Consortium (MIT's LINC) in Supporting Tertiary Education in Emerging Countries

The purpose of the study is to identify if cultural difference affects learners information search, analysis and use particularly, on the technology-based learning environment. Recently, the theory has been proposed that an individual's thinking process is affected on account of differing cultural practices. Derived from the theory, the study assumes that East Asian learners' information search behavior (ISB) is different from European Westerns as cognitive style plays an important role on ISB. Through an empirical cross-method research design, the study results may show that East Asians information search and synthesis are based on functional/ part-whole relationships while European Westerns are based rather on category memberships.