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In Pursuit of Intercultural Competency During Study Abroad
Get PDFHigher education institutions often promote their study abroad programs as a way for their students to achieve intercultural competency, which is seen as an important skill to have as the world becomes more globalized. The belief is that study abroad programs will lead to a greater chance of students gaining intercultural competency by having a large amount of in-person interactions with others from different backgrounds. Authors such as Deardorff (2008) and Benet (2009) note that if a student has a high level of intercultural competency, they not only have the desire to interact with those of other cultural backgrounds, but they are also able to communicate effectively, shift their frame of reference and behave appropriately in intercultural situations. However, once the student goes abroad, the sending institution often does not know if the student is actually achieving this competency. This qualitative study sought to answer the question of how undergraduate students might develop intercultural competency while studying abroad, and what steps can be taken to increase students’ intercultural competency. This work also contributes to the field by including a number of students’ voices, an element that is often lacking in similar studies. Findings from interviews with 11 students and two staff members at a small, public college show that a number of factors such as cultural mentors, interaction with international and local students, and the type of courses students take abroad can lead to greater intercultural competency gain. The student’s development and motivation while abroad also impacted the level of intercultural competency the student achieved
Expanding Learning While Away: Intercultural Communication Course
Get PDFToday’s society is becoming more interconnected and globalized, making intercultural communication competence (ICC) a necessary competence. Universities are responding to this demand through study away programs. Many students are encouraged to study away during their undergrad years. However, as Alfred and Bryarm (2002) found there is no guarantee a student will enhance their ICC through a study away experience. This capstone project outlines an ICC learning opportunity for students while on the Italy study away program, run through Lorenzo de Medici (LdM) International Institute in Florence, Italy. Lorenzo de Medici is a study abroad institute at which Keene State College (KSC) students are directly enrolled in Florence, Italy.
The capstone project proposes the one credit Intercultural Communication through Study Away (ICTSA) course designed as a co-curriculum to the student’s Italy study away program. The course will be a foundation for ICC learning that will consist of intercultural communication, culture, identity and forms of communication theories and topics. Milton Bennett’s (1986, 1993, 2004, 2013) developmental model of intercultural sensitivity (DMIS) is a key theory which will be used throughout the course. The course will draw upon lecture, dialogue, cross-cultural experiences and guest speakers to deliver key concepts. The foundation students receive through this session will provide guidance in understanding their interactions, their new culture and their own culture. This will create movement across Bennett’s (1986) developmental model of intercultural sensitivity. This movement will also allow students to communicate more effectively across cultures, allowing them to have a better quality experience. The objective of this course is to develop a deeper understanding of ICC through the use of each student’s everyday study away experiences, theory and intentional reflection. To meet course objectives, Kolb’s experiential learning theory (1984) and a learner-centered learning environment will provide necessary framework.
Keywords: Intercultural communication competence, study away, study abroad, higher education, curriculu
Addressing Racism in Urban Agriculture: The Case for an Urban Agriculture Land Trust in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Get PDFCities across the United States have started to adopt urban agriculture zoning ordinances which provide access to land and encourage food production in low-income black and brown communities. However, many cities fail to use an anti-racist lens in the creation and implementation of these policies. According to scholars and activists, anti-racist practices in urban agriculture zoning require that first, community organizations and policy makers co-create policy with black and brown communities and second, develop secure land tenure arrangements for urban agriculture. In this case study of the development of an urban agriculture zoning ordinance by the Bridgeport Connecticut Food Policy Council, I argue that neither of these two conditions have been met. Marginalized low-income black and brown community members who live within Bridgeport should lead in decision making, yet they are only minimally involved. Furthermore, anti-racist practice requires that food justice organizations understand and address the racial history of a place; however, I have found that most are largely ignorant of this history. The city of Bridgeport has a legacy of using policies, such as redlining, to create an unequal division of wealth and access to resources including land. A secure form of land tenure would need to acknowledge this legacy, address the high cost of urban land, and remove land from the speculative market. This paper will argue that the Bridgeport Food Policy Council must promote equitable access to land for food production by developing a community land trust that is owned by marginalized nonwhite communities and protects public land from development. Without attention to these two key elements, this ordinance will not address the hardships many black and brown people experience when attempting to obtain access to land for food cultivation
Enhancing Accountability And Learning: An Organizational Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Capacity Assessment Tool (MELCAT)
No full textThe course-linked capstone paper sought to develop an organizational Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Capacity Assessment Tool (MELCAT) as a basis for enhancing organizational accountability and learning. To do so, two key questions guided the process and method of inquiry: (a) How might M&E capacity, processes and implementation within HIV&AIDS sector be better assessed and developed further? (b) Of the existing organizational development assessment tools available, how relevant are they for operationalizing M&E practices within HIV&AIDS programming in a way that enhances learning and accountability? To answer the questions, qualitative methods were used; (i) literature review on capacity development, organizational capacity assessment, and on monitoring and evaluation capacity of HIV&AIDS programs, (ii) analysis of six existing organizational capacity assessment tools, and (iii) key informant interviews to gain understanding of perceptions and practices of NGOs around M&E and the existing gaps in effective implementation of M&E. From both literature review and key informant interviews, it was first found that for organizations need financial and human resources allocated towards M&E to competently develop and implement M&E processes. Secondly, it was found that organizations need functional mechanisms or systems to implement M&E. Thirdly, organizations need leadership that values and promotes M&E implementation and utilization. In addition to this, organizations need mechanisms for both knowledge management and sharing, and for demonstrating accountability to all its relevant stakeholders. These findings were then used to develop a Monitoring Evaluation and Learning capacity assessment tool, which is hoped to be used to inform organizations of what aspects of their M&E needs to be developed further. The results of the assessment can formulate a basis for organizational capacity development that enhances its learning and accountability
The Taxonomy, Reproduction, and Distribution of Rare Plants: A Study of Magnolia sp. in the Río Zuñac Reserve, Ecuador
Get PDFEcuadorian cloud forests are biodiversity hotspots and centers of unprecedented levels of endemism, but they are also under-researched and under-protected. This study took place in the Río Zuñac Reserve, which is a reserve of about 850 ha located in the Tungurahua province of Ecuador, and is home to at least 20 endemic plant species. Three new species of Magnolia have been discovered in this reserve in the past five years: Magnolia llanganates, Magnolia vargasiana, and one species that has yet to be formally described. This study dealt with accurately locating and describing new individuals of these species over the course of three weeks. Twelve individuals of M. vargasiana were discovered, increasing the total number of registered individuals to 18. Seven new individuals of the newly discovered species were found, raising the total number to nine. Nine juvenile individuals were found, two of which were identified as being of the new species and five of which were M. vargasiana. A map of the distributions of the three species was created using GoogleEarth, which can be used by a drone to locate the individuals for remote research. The elevation range of M. llanganatensis was significantly lower than the other two species, which both overlap in their elevation ranges almost entirely. Visually, the leaf shapes of the three species are markedly different, which was supported by leaf ratio measurements of length to width. Flowers provide better data for comparison between Magnolia sp., but this study took place outside of the peak flowering season for all three species. Five flowers/buds were collected from the newly discovered species and observational comparisons were made between these and flower statistics of the other two species. Herbivory on magnolias between two of the ridges sampled from was significantly different and was also significantly higher in M. vargasiana than in the other two species.
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Los bosques nublados de Ecuador son áreas de alta biodiversidad y de niveles altos de endemismo de especies, pero a pesar de eso hay una falta de investigaciones científicas y de protección. Este estudio tuvo lugar en la Reserva Río Zuñac, la cual es una reserva de alrededor de 850 ha ubicada en Tungurahua, Ecuador y habitada por por lo menos 20 especies endémicas de plantas. Tres especies de Magnolia han sido descubiertas en los últimos cinco años: Magnolia llanganatensis, Magnolia vargasiana, y una especie que todavía no ha sido descrita. El estudio se ocupó de ubicar y describir individuos nuevos de estas tres especies durante tres semanas. Diez individuos de M. vargasiana fueron descubiertos, y ahora hay un total de 16 individuos registrados. Se encontraron siete individuos de la especie nueva para hacer un total de nueve individuos registrados. Nueve juveniles fueron descubiertos, de los cuales dos son de la nueva especie y cinco de M. vargasiana. Un mapa de la distribución de las tres especies fue creado con GoogleEarth, el cual puede ser usado por un drone para ubicar los individuos para hacer investigaciones remotas. La distribución de elevación de M. llanganatensis fue significativamente más baja que las otras dos especies, estas casi totalmente se sobreponen. Visualmente, las formas de las hojas de las tres especies son marcadamente diferentes, y esto es comprobado por las medidas del ratio de largo y ancho de las hojas. Sus flores proveen datos mejores para comparar entre las especies., pero este estudio ocurrió fuera de la estación de florecimiento de todas las especies. Cinco flores/botones fueron recolectados de la especie nueva y comparaciones observacionales fueron hechas entre estas flores y las estadísticas en cuanto a las flores de las otras especies. El nivel de herbivoría en las magnolias entre dos cuchillos en la reserva fue significativamente diferente y también fue significativamente más alta en M. vargasiana que en las otras dos especies
Investigation de regeneración natural de plantas vasculares en la Reserva Madrigal del Podocarpus / Investigation of natural regeneration of vascular plants in the Madrigal Reserve of the Podocarpus
No full textEn el Sur de Ecuador, hay una historia larga de incendio que está asociada con la historia de la agricultura y ganadería a causa de las técnicas de tala y quema para despejar áreas para campos y también quemaduras intencionales para fertilizar los suelos y mejorar productividad agrícola (Fernandez et al 2015). En los últimos días de Noviembre de 2016, un incendio quemó campos, la Reserva Madrigal de Podocarpus, y parte del Parque Nacional Podocarpus en Loja, Ecuador—el enfoque de este estudio. En este estudio: (1) se registraron las especies y distribución de plantas pioneras y sobrevivientes, (2) la se calculó la diversidad de plantas vasculares y (3) se hicieron comparaciones entre las áreas de Páramo antropogénico y también entre las áreas arbustivas. Se ubicaron los cuadrantes en cuatro áreas: (1) área arbustiva no quemada, (2) área arbustiva quemada, (3) Páramo antropogénico frecuentemente quemado, (4) y Páramo antropogénico no frecuentemente quemado. Era cinco cuadrantes de diez por dos en cada área. En cada cuadrante se registraron: la identificación de especie, el numero de individuos por especie, la ubicación general dentro de cuadrante, la cobertura de cada especie, el nivel de herbívoria y si la especie parece como una sobreviviente del incendio, o es una pionera. Para analizar diversidad se usaron el Sorenson Indice y el Exponential Shannon Weiner Entropy (Jost, 2006). Se usaron iNext y SpadeR también para determinar la cobertura de la muestra y predecir especies no ya encontradas. Se encontró una perdida grande de diversidad significativa estadísticamente en la área arbustiva y una composición de especies muy diferente del área abusiva no quemada. En todos áreas quemadas hubo muchas plantas sobrevivientes. No era una diferencia grande de diversidad entre los áreas del Páramo. En la área arbustiva, era una dominancia del helecho invasora Pteridium arachnoideum. Este estudio recomienda investigación continuado sobre los impactos de salud de Pteridium arachnoideum, la calidad de agua en la área del incendio, un analisis sobre el suelo en la reserva, y un estudio del largo plazo sobre la regeneración.
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In Southern Ecuador there is a long history of fire that is strongly associated with the practice of agriculture due to the common use of slash and burn as means to clear fields for farming as well as a means to refertilizes soil for improved agricultural productivity. In the last few days of November of 2016, there was a large fire that burned not only private land and fields, but also 60hectares the the ecological reserve of Reserva Madrigal de Podocarpus in Loja, Ecuador. This si the focus of this study. In this study (1) the species and distribution of pioneer and surviving plants were categorized, (2) the diversity of vascular plants in four different vegetation types was calculated, (3) and comparisons were made between the áreas of anthropogenic Páramo and the shrub áreas. Quadrats were located in the following four áreas: (1) unburned shrub área, (2) burned shrub área, (3) anthropogenic Páramo frequently burned, (4) and anthropogenic Páramo rarely burned. There were five quadrants for each área measuring ten per two meters in size. In each quadrat the following was recorded: the species identification, abundance, coverage, herbivoy, and if the species was primarily a survivor of the fire or a pioneer plant. To analyze diversity this study used the Sorenson Index and the Exponential Shannon Weiner Entropy (Jost, 2006). iNext and SpadeR were also used in order to determine sample coverage and predict remaining unfound species (Chao et al., 2016 iNext, Chao et al., 2015 SpadeR). A large loss of diversity was found in the burned shrub área that was found to be statistically significant. Species composition differed greatly between these two sites as well. In all áreas there were many surviving plants. There was not a big difference in diversity between the áreas of the Páramo. Finally, in the shrub área there was a dominance of the invasive fern Pteridium Arachnoideum. This study recommends further investigation regarding the potential health impacts of Pteridium Arachnoideum, water quality in the basin of the burn, an in depth soil analysis, and a long term regeneration study
The Methane-Oxidizing Capability of Pumice Biocovers on Icelandic Landfills
Get PDFPumice has been shown in laboratory biofilter experiments to improve the oxidation of methane (Pratt et al. 2012, Pratt, Tate, & Deslippe 2012). Pumice biocovers were tested on two Icelandic landfills, Kirkjuferjuhjáleiga and Álfsnes. Seven biocover plots were dug and filled with a 50:50 blend of pumice and native soil. CH4 and CO2 were measured using the static chamber method before and after biocover placement. After one week, the CH4:CO2 ratio was reduced on four of the seven plots, weakly indicating that pumice biocovers may be an effective way to better oxidize landfill methane
Foreign Business Entrepreneurship in Cape Town: How To Start A Business - Stories Of 6 Cape Town Based Immigrants
Get PDFSouth Africa has become a shelter for immigrants from all over the world (Wilkinson, 2015). Combined with its internationally recognized economy, it is a tempting location for foreigners to establish a business (“Starting a Business in South Africa as a Foreigner – A Complete Guide”, n.d.). With this in mind, the intent of this study is twofold. First, this project aims at analyzing how foreigners establish businesses in Cape Town. Its objective is to trace the entrepreneurial process from the initial stages to its recent development. Second, it aims at outlining their experiences in Cape Town, thus serve as a platform for sharing the experiences of six foreigners from different countries.
This research was conducted during a four-week period in Cape Town, South Africa. The primary method used for data collection was semi-structured interviews, thus the content deviated based on the interviewee’s eagerness to share. This study includes interviews with 6 foreigners conducted in their safe working space. All interviews were privately conducted and lasted between 30 minutes and two hours.
The findings of this research determined that there are multiple ways of establishing a business while maintaining one’s legal status. Although some came illegally, while others came for studying or working; they are currently residing in Cape Town. Subsequently, immigrants from different countries face various challenges, and with the exception of one interviewee, they have all experienced some form of violence or xenophobia attack due to being foreign. Overall, their relocation to Cape Town had been justified, but half of them see themselves going back to their country of origin
El estudio del viejismo en la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires desde la perspectiva de los adultos mayores con diferentes coberturas de salud \ The Study of Ageism in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires from the Perspective of Older Adults with Different Health Coverage
No full textArgentina is a country with that has a growing population of older adults as the life expectancy continues to increase. Because the population of older people continues to grow, ageism is a topic of concern. Ageism, or discrimination against older people because of their age, can affect one’s mental health, one’s auto-perception of identity and abilities, one’s relationship with his or her doctor, and can contribute to maltreatment and abuse. In this present research I explored how older adults in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires perceive stereotypes of older people in society, how these stereotypes can lead to discrimination, and if they perceive discriminatory attitudes in doctors.
In order to explore these concepts, I distributed a brief survey to older adults who attend various senior centers in the City of Buenos Aires, to older adults who participate in the homestay portion of the SIT academic program and to other older adults through word of mouth. Through this survey I collected demographic information (age, gender and level of education) and data on types of health coverage, perceptions of older people and if those perceptions affect treatment, perceptions of doctor’s beliefs, if one has experienced a listed example of discrimination and who was responsible for the discrimination.
The results from the investigation include that more the majority of the participants have not suffered discrimination due to their age. Those who have suffered discrimination describe it as rejection, isolation, lack of respect and trouble in the job market. The person most elected, as the one responsible for an act of discrimination, was family. More women than men believe that generalized concepts about people of old age affect one’s treatment, a greater percentage of the younger group of participants believe that generalized concepts about people of old age affect one’s treatment than the older participants. Lastly, more people that have PAMI health coverage, in comparison to private pre-paid coverage or a social work plan, agree with the statements that describe doctor’s discriminatory beliefs towards older peopl
The Economic Legacies of Lingering Colonialism: A Case Study in Identity and Multiculturalism in Northern Morocco and the Spanish Enclaves
Get PDFFounded in ancient times, the twin Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla combined comprise just 11.8 square miles and have fewer than 200,000 inhabitants. Despite their rather insignificant sizes, they are important because they serve as the only land borders between the European Union and the African continent, generating a host of complicated questions. This research explores the role of smuggling as a form of micro-economy and identity. Through interviews of Moroccans with ties to smuggling as well as interviews with residents of Ceuta, this case study begins to examine the role smuggling plays in the debates about the sovereignty of the two cities, among other issues