Does Cross-cultural Competence Matter when Going Global: Cultural Intelligence and Its Impact on Performance of International Students in Australia

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is a critical competency in the modern world. By examining 189 international students from an Australian university, this study investigates the impact of CQ and cultural exposure on intercultural adjustment and academic performance. Significant positive relationships are found between facets of CQ and Interactional Adjustment and General Adjustment, but a significant negative relationship with Academic Performance. We also demonstrate the validity of a new construct of Cultural Exposure (CE) including three dimensions (Geographical, Environmental, and Inherited) with both Geographical and Environmental dimensions producing a strong positive correlation with Academic Performance.     

Examining between‐group and within‐group effects of a peer‐assisted reading strategies intervention

The present study sought to evaluate the effects of a reading strategy instructional program on the reading competence of third‐grade students. Students were instructed in fluent and strategic reading by trained research assistants in whole class settings and subsequently worked on expository text material together with peers. Their reading competence was assessed continuously: in the baseline phase prior to the intervention (4 times), while the intervention was in place (8 times), and after the end of the intervention (4 times). Additionally, reading competence in the wait list control students was assessed 8 times during the same time period. Accordingly, within‐ and between‐group comparisons of students’ test scores were conducted on the data, with both resulting in significant positive effects on the reading competence of intervention students. This research provides an example of how to strengthen the validity of quasiexperimental intervention research through the addition of design features like multiple measurement points.     

Learning the principles of simulation using the birthday problem

Using the famous Birthday problem, we present here a practical activity that allows students to perceive the basic reasoning behind simulation and explore its potential. Through a playful approach with probabilities, students are led along a path that illustrates difficulties with intuition and introduces them to theoretical results for sample proportions.     

A systematic analysis of performance measures for classification tasks

This paper presents a systematic analysis of twenty four performance measures used in the complete spectrum of Machine Learning classification tasks, i.e., binary, multi-class, multi-labelled, and hierarchical. For each classification task, the study relates a set of changes in a confusion matrix to specific characteristics of data. Then the analysis concentrates on the type of changes to a confusion matrix that do not change a measure, therefore, preserve a classifier’s evaluation (measure invariance). The result is the measure invariance taxonomy with respect to all relevant label distribution changes in a classification problem. This formal analysis is supported by examples of applications where invariance properties of measures lead to a more reliable evaluation of classifiers. Text classification supplements the discussion with several case studies.     

Leading for social justice in challenging school contexts

This article is part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) and aims to analyse the success factors of two Spanish secondary school principals working in the line of social justice in challenging contexts. The factors are arranged in traits and beliefs of principals and in the strategies they used to bring successful leadership. The article concludes by showing a model of leadership that emphasizes both personal and professional characteristics of principals and their central role as agents of social change.     

Attitudes towards inclusion in higher education in a Portuguese university

In this article, we present data concerning the inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education (HE) at a Portuguese university. This research is part of a wider project designed to understand the trajectories and experiences of students with disabilities at the University of Algarve. This exploratory study raises questions about inclusion and discusses this concept based on the perspectives of academic and non-academic staff. A qualitative approach was used to provide an informative exploration of attitudes towards inclusive education and recommendations for promoting best practices therein. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. We found positive perceptions of university staff members about the inclusion of the students with disabilities. However, more effort is needed to provide these students with opportunities to continue their academic career in HE and to promote inclusion, personal development and participation in social and economic life. Although inclusive education is on political and educational agendas, the perception of disabilities as deficits prevails. The findings of this study, therefore, reveal that changes must be implemented to effectively adopt the social and educational model of disability.     

Untangling the conflation of ‘young adults’ and ‘young people’ in STI and sexual health policy and sex education

Young adults, aged 18–30 years, are disproportionally mentioned in sexually transmissible infection surveillance data both in Australia and internationally. This contributes to categorising young adults as an ‘at risk’ group in health policy. How young adults are framed in policy, and what informs this, have direct implications for policy priorities and responses, including the development of health promotion programmes. In this paper, we provide a case study of Australia’s National Strategies for Blood Borne Viruses and Sexually Transmissible Infections from 2005 to 2017. We identify how ‘young adults’ as a population are masked by, and subsumed within, the broader category of ‘young people’ within these strategies. As a result, young adults become framed by default as a ‘risk category’ that requires education to correct its deficits, regardless of personal experience. For health promotion to advocate, mediate and enable better sexual health outcomes, a policy environment is needed that reflects the changing social and cultural contexts and sexual independence that young adults experience. Sexual health policies should reflect the complexity and opportunities of young adulthood if we are to offer an enabling policy environment for innovative and nuanced health promotion strategies, including adult appropriate health education.