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Bridging borders: assessing the impact of semester-long study abroad programs on intercultural competence development in undergraduate engineering students
Get PDFBackground
Working and interacting with people from diverse backgrounds have become common in Engineering. Research has indicated that engineering graduates face challenges while working with a diverse workforce. Therefore, it is vital for higher education institutions to help engineering students develop intercultural competence skills by engaging them in intercultural learning activities. This study explores the impact of a semester-long study abroad program and its new curriculum on the intercultural learning gains of undergraduate engineering students. The study used a mixed methods design to assess the intercultural learning gains of the students enrolled in a study abroad program.
Results
The results of the study indicated that overall, as a group, students demonstrated significant gains in their Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) scores from the pre- to post-test. Moreover, hierarchical clustering was conducted to group students into three clusters based on their IDI scores. The results of the clustering helped us to understand the differential growth of students from their pre- to post-test. Based on clustering students were grouped into high, moderate and low intercultural learning clusters. Further inductive thematic analysis was conducted to understand the depth of intercultural awareness of the students in general and discipline specific for each cluster. The results of the thematic analysis revealed that students in cluster 1 showed a deeper understanding of cultural differences, mindfulness, and openness while interacting with people from other cultures, whereas the students in clusters 2 and 3 showed moderate to superficial level of intercultural awareness.
Conclusions
The implication of the study extends to both practice and theory. From the practice perspective, the study discusses the need for creating intentionally structured study abroad programs that encourage students to reflect on their intercultural experiences and internalize takeaways. From the theory perspective, the study contributes to the Intercultural Development Continuum model, as it emphasizes the importance of meaningful gains in intercultural competence. The study also suggests strategies to improve the intercultural learning experiences of students that could help them move towards more intercultural mindsets
Style Revisited
Get PDFThe resurgence of the concept of \u27style\u27 within the realm of artificial intelligence, particularly in the fields of image classification and style transfer, reignites age-old discussions in art history. Despite the success of algorithmic methods, this revival has been met with significant criticism from art historians. A thorough exploration of the history of the concept of style, its evolution, inherent ambiguities, and diverse applications underscores the challenges art history faces in integrating new computational approaches that aim to describe and analyze styles. This is the central theme of this issue of the Artl@s Bulletin, for which we invited a diverse group of scholars to explore style in all its complexity
No Need of Styles: Building Up Architectural Historiography
Get PDFIf styles lost impetus within the methodology of art historiography, in the (parallel) field of architecture, they were firmly rejected one century ago. One might consider that this more radical positioning (particularly in terms of epistemological tools) constituted the very reason for the undeclared but yet consumed divorce between the two disciplines. Attempting to define its specificity but also the autonomy of the discipline, architectural historiography followed a path less directly preoccupied with aesthetics and closer to functionality and technicity. My paper analyses how architectural historiography built up its idiosyncrasy.
Si les styles en tant que catégorie ont perdu de l’importance dans la méthodologie de l’historiographie de l’art, dans le domaine (parallèle) de l’architecture ils ont été entièrement rejetés depuis plus d’un siècle. On pourrait considérer que ce positionnement radical (surtout en termes d’épistémologie) a pu constituer la raison du divorce non déclaré mais néanmoins consommé entre les deux disciplines. Souhaitant affirmer sa spécificité ainsi que l’autonomie de la discipline, l’historiographie de l’architecture a suivi un chemin moins lié à l’esthétique et plus orienté vers la fonctionnalité et la technicité. Mon article s’intéresse à ce cheminement
Compost Comparison in High Tunnels
Get PDFCompost is frequently used in market garden production systems, both in the field and in high tunnels. This trial was conducted in northern Indiana to evaluate four composts for use in high tunnel tomato production, with primary emphasis on their value as sources of macronutrients. The results reported here document effects of the composts on tomato yield, leaf tissue nutrient concentrations, and soil nutrients at the end of one growing season
Benign Economic Statecraft in the Making: the Case of German Approach towards Africa
No full textThis reviews an article on contemporary German economic statecraft and assistance toward Africa. It recommends additional sources the authors could consult and provides guidance on additional topics the authors should pursue including investigating whether German public opinion supports such assistance at a time when Germany is confronting domestic economic constraints
Security at Too High an Environmental Cost?: The European Union\u27s Energy Independence Strategy and its Environmental Implications for Air Quality in Poland and Hungary
Get PDFAfter Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union worked to secure liquified natural gas (LNG) deals with third countries to abolish its dependence on Russian gas. In this article, I sought to determine the environmental implications of the European Union’s new LNG deals on the air quality in Hungary and Poland, two former communist states. Despite LNG being a cleaner fossil fuel, I hypothesized that it posed a threat to Hungary’s and Poland’s air quality as both countries endured rapid industrialization under Soviet control that forwent environmental protections. To prove this, I used qualitative data from before the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989), reports from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) before and after Hungary’s and Poland’s accession into the EU, and the European Commission’s 2022 Environmental Implementation Reviews to establish Hungary’s and Poland’s long history of mismanaging air pollution. Furthermore, I also built two timelines of Hungary’s Fidesz Party and Poland’s Law and Justice Party to support the notion that the new LNG deals strengthen both parties’ ability to deprioritize the EU’s decarbonization agenda. My results led me to the conclusion that, given Hungary’s and Poland’s past and present struggles to protect their air quality and the contentious relationship both countries’ ruling parties have with EU environmental policy, the EU’s pursuit of energy independence with new LNG gas deals could undo Hungary’s and Poland’s progress; therefore, the EU should consider additional measures to aid Hungary and Poland in meeting their emission reduction commitments
Effect of S-metolachlor and flumioxazin herbicides on sweetpotato treated with and without activated charcoal applied through transplant water
Get PDFFlumioxazin and S-metolachlor are widely used in conventional sweetpotato production in North Carolina and other states; however, some growers have recently expressed concerns about potential effects of these herbicides on sweetpotato yield and quality. Previous research indicates that activated charcoal has the potential to reduce herbicide injury. Field studies were conducted in 2021 and 2022 to determine whether flumioxazin applied preplant and S-metolachlor applied before and after transplanting negatively affect sweetpotato yield and quality when activated charcoal is applied with transplant water. The studies evaluated five herbicide treatments and two activated charcoal treatments. Herbicide treatments included two flumioxazin rates, one S-metolachlor rate applied immediately before and immediately after transplanting, and no herbicide. Charcoal treatments consisted of activated charcoal applied at 9 kg ha−1, and no charcoal. No visual injury from herbicides or charcoal was observed. Likewise, no effect of herbicide or charcoal treatment on no. 1, marketable (sum of no. 1 and jumbo grades), or total yield (sum of canner, no. 1, and jumbo grades) was observed. Additionally, shape analysis conducted on calculated length-to-width ratio (LWR) for no. 1 sweetpotato roots found no effect from flumioxazin at either rate on sweetpotato root shape. However, both S-metolachlor treatments resulted in lower LWR of no. 1 sweetpotato roots in 2021. Results are consistent with prior research and indicate that flumioxazin and S-metolachlor are safe for continued use on sweetpotato at registered rates