Navigating with the Stars: Critical Qualitative Methodological Constellations for Critical Intercultural Communication Research

This collaborative essay seeks to chart new methodological pathways for intercultural scholars with a specific focus on Critical Race Theory and Decolonizing and Indigenous Research Methodologies; Activist/Engaged Methodologies; and Performative Methodologies. Each section begins from our own researcher subjectivity, then outlines the constellation within the development of Critical Intercultural Communication (CIC); identifies the constellation's methodological commitments, thematics, and concerns; highlights key exemplars; and raises key questions. At the end of the essay, we explore through a dialogic performance the larger implications that these methodological constellations hold for CIC as a field.     

Include Us Out—Economic Development and Social Policy in the Creative Industries

While Government claims about the UK as a ‘global creative hub’ continue to be made (Purnell, 2005), the contradictions and tensions in New Labour's policy in the creative industries have become more apparent. These include the tensions between a set of policies for global media businesses versus the support for small firms in local economic development (Gilmore, 2004; Hesmondhalgh & Pratt, 2005), and the tension between citizens and consumers in media and cultural policy (Hesmondhalgh, 2005). Equally apparent are the tensions between economic development of these sectors and social inclusion. In the UK, arguably more than other countries, the rhetoric of Creative Industries has been tied into political ideas about the links between economic competitiveness and social inclusion. The stated aims for creative industry development have thus been twofold—to increase jobs and GDP, while simultaneously ameliorating social exclusion and countering long-standing patterns of uneven economic development. Research, however, suggests that supporting the creative industries is, at best, a problematic way of tackling the issues of economic and social exclusion. The effects of gentrification on creative industry working and living space (Evans & Shaw, 2004); the patterns of informal hiring and career progression in these sectors (Leadbeater & Oakley, 2001) and the concentration of much economic activity in London and the South East, all suggest that the development of these sectors might exacerbate rather than address patterns of economic inequality.     

The national biological information infrastructure as an E-government tool

Coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a Web-based system that provides access to data and information on the nation’s biological resources. Although it was begun in 1993, predating any formal E-Government initiative, the NBII typifies the E-Government concepts outlined in the President’s Management Agenda, as well as in the proposed E-Government Act of 2002. This article—an individual case study and not a broad survey with extensive references to the literature—explores the structure and operation of the NBII in relation to several emerging trends in E-Government: end-user focus, defined and scalable milestones, public-private partnerships, alliances with stakeholders, and interagency cooperation.     

Developing a Growth Mindset through outdoor personal development: can an intervention underpinned by psychology increase the impact of an outdoor learning course for young people?

This study considers the impact of using a series of Mindset interventions during a five-day outdoor personal development (OPD) course. Self-efficacy, resilience and Mindset were measured pre course, post course and one month post course. It was hypothesised that both experimental and control groups would increase their self-efficacy and resilience, and that the Mindset (experimental) group would significantly increase beyond the levels of the control group, who took part in the standard OPD course. It was also predicted that the Mindset group would move towards a Growth Mindset, whereas the control group would not show any change in Mindset. Hypotheses were tested using a randomised, quasi-experimental method. Separate mixed analyses of variance were carried out for each dependent variable, followed by planned comparisons and post-hoc tests using a Bonferroni correction. Results showed that both groups increased self-efficacy over time; however, there was no further significance for the experimental group. Resilience only increased significantly in the experimental group while the control group made no significant gain, and students in the experimental group moved significantly towards a Growth Mindset while the control group did not.     

Designing Higher Education Curriculum to Increase Graduate Outcomes and Work Readiness: The Assessment and Mentoring Program (AMP)

Pre-service teacher programs have a responsibility to equip graduating students with more than the minimum skill sets required by governing bodies. The Assessment and Mentoring Program (AMP) is a four-way collaborative mentoring learning community underpinned by social constructivism. Conducted in Victoria, Australia during the 2014–2016 academic years, 25 final year physical education pre-service teacher mentors aged 19–23 years (M = 13; F = 12) participated in focus groups to discuss the perceived benefits of the program prior to commencing their mentoring role. The mentors considered AMP as a pathway to develop experience in assessment, engage in appropriate professional relationships through mentoring and further their professional learning experiences. Through the involvement in mentoring and developing and implementing assessment, mentors perceived they would have an opportunity to develop valuable work ready skills, immediately transferable to their future professional role as a teacher in a school.     

Children’s reading difficulties,language, and reflections on the simple view of reading

Reading comprehension is a complex task which depends on a range of cognitive and linguistic processes. According to the Simple View of Reading, this complexity can be captured as the product of two sets of skills: decoding and linguistic comprehension. The Simple View explains variance in reading comprehension and provides a good framework to guide the classification of reading disorders. This paper discusses how weaknesses in either or both of components of the Simple View are implicated in children’s reading comprehension difficulties. It concludes with reflections on the strengths and limitations of the Simple View as a theoretical and practical framework to guide our understanding of reading comprehension and its development.     

Shifting occupational identity: doing,being, becoming and belonging in the academy

Becoming more scholarly can be challenging for many in the academy, including for those transitioning from professional roles. This paper presents the initial findings of an ongoing action research project that set out to explore and develop aspects of identity among a group of Australian occupational therapy academics. Thirteen participants committed to collaboratively address a personal desire to become more scholarly and an institutional demand to be more productive in relation to research and publication. Through this first phase of an action research process, participants explored and qualitatively defined issues impacting on their occupation. Emergent themes that were explored using an occupational lens incorporating: doing, being, becoming and belonging, highlight identity confusion and regression, mixed perceptions about the comfort and camouflage of teaching and participants' desires to become and be more scholarly. Taking an occupational lens adds to the identity conversation, illuminating how doing within a supportive group nurtures belonging, being and becoming. Our findings, of relevance to academics following non-traditional pathways into the academy, suggest optimism around using action research for the active cultivation of scholarship and occupational theory to understand how academic identity may be developed within a supportive group.     

Women and Leadership in Higher Education in Australia

Senior academic women inAustralian Universities, as elsewhere, continueto experience both direct and indirectdiscrimination, with the narrow white Anglo-Celticmale management profile is a factor in thisdiscrimination. While higher education remainsa hostile work environment for senior academicwomen their participation rates are unlikely toincrease. This article explores the barriersthat senior academic women experience. It thenexamines whether or not diversity managementprogrammes might provide a useful managementtool to increase the participation of seniorwomen in higher education. If diversitymanagement can impact on the managementculture, more senior women may remain inuniversities and thereby impact on that culture.