Cultural Brokers Research Articles

Cultural Brokerage in Driving Mangrove Conservation for Climate Mitigation, Indonesia

Objective: To identify the agency of cultural brokers work to build mutual awareness, facilitate cross-cultural communication, and create a new culture for cilmate mtigstion. Theoretical Framework: The main teory is Ortner (2001) as an effort to understand the agency of cultural brokers to mobilize groups for self-managed conservation by local communities, how to understanding the influence of individuals within social and cultural contexts to build new values through mangrove conservation. Method: This research is qualitative, employing a phenomenological approach, with data collected over the years 2021 and 2023 through immersion in the community, conducting observations, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions. Data were analyzed descriptively based on thematic analysis. Results and Discussion: The cultural brokers play a vital role in independently driving mangrove conservation by building agency, facilitating communication, education, and mentoring, leading to the establishment of mangrove ecotourism.The communication conducted by cultural brokers involves not only two parties but multiple stakeholders, as this study shows cultural brokers connecting the interests of local communities with those of companies and international climate regimes. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are the development of the cultural broker concept, which not only brings together two major cultures, the concept of cultural brokers also plays a role in building the agency construction of the society that will be developed with new values in a new culture. Originality/Value: This research contributes academically to the development of the concept of cultural brokers and practically serves as a reference for conservation planning.

Translating Fairtrade. Contact zones and discursive power in the global production network of certified Darjeeling tea

Abstract The mechanisms through which voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) become effective as means of private governance and how they influence power relations in global production networks (GPNs) of certified goods are not well understood. Focussing on the last mile of VSS’ travel, we scrutinize the discursive dimension of power as it operates through the translation of Fairtrade in a local contact zone, namely Fairtrade trainings with workers at Indian tea plantations. Drawing on insights from postcolonial translation studies and actor-network-theory we show that the ways in which VSS are translated by cultural brokers are critical to processes of (dis)empowerment of workers. By showing how translation informs discursive power, our research offers a novel framework to unpack the power structures associated with private regulation as set within the context of multi-polar governance structures and the postcolonial legacies of places.

Cultural Brokering in Immigrant Families

ABSTRACTCultural brokering refers to the process of youth (i.e., children, adolescents, and emerging adults) from immigrant families interpreting cultural norms for others. Cultural brokering is not an acontextual, individual, or passive experience but varies by context (e.g., situational demands), is interpersonal (e.g., involves the broker and a social partner), and involves the cultural broker serving as a socializing agent. While researchers have sought to understand how cultural brokering affects the broker (i.e., the individual interpreting for others), findings vary. In this article, we advance the understanding of cultural brokering across development by drawing attention to pertinent aspects of this experience that have been largely overlooked. First, we review distinct forms of cultural brokering. Next, we consider how cultural brokering affects the psychological adjustment and well‐being of immigrant youth. Finally, we suggest research to deepen the understanding of cultural brokering across development.

Discourses of Heritagization in East-Central Europe

AbstractThe making of heritage is a complex contemporary process that permeates society from the normative contexts of the global as well as national level to local communities. It enters extremely diverse sites, since it is part of both rural and urban life-worlds, and it is present in the institutional space of museums as well. Cultural elements that have been detached from their former contexts and made into heritage are no less diverse. The symbolic valorization of different historical periods depends on the regional and local contexts of heritage-making. The prestige (acceptance or rejection) and meanings of the legacy of certain periods, relationship to tradition, as well as the ways in which ‘authenticity’ is interpreted are products of a constant re-defining process steered by various social actors, such as members of local communities, cultural brokers, and experts. These positions often represent intertwining roles (researcher, expert, mediator, active or passive local actors) that are difficult to distinguish from one another in the various situations in which heritage-making can be researched empirically.

Constructions of agency in children’s cultural and linguistic brokering practices

Constructions of children’s agency have been an influential and dominant arena for discussion since the emergence of the ‘new’ paradigm of childhood in the 1990s. Cross-disciplinary studies recognise the different social, cultural and temporal influences upon perceptions of childhood and acknowledge the impact of such constructions on how children’s agency is understood and realised. Many of the definitions of agency reflect Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states the child’s right to be involved in decisions affecting them. However, as with other articles of the convention, Article 12 is prone to subjective adult interpretation predicated on assumptions of competence and capability, and subject to the same uneasy tension between participation, protection and provision which characterises the convention more broadly. Furthermore, the presumed relationship between children’s involvement in decision making as an indicator of agency is misleading. This paper argues that children’s agency is a poorly defined concept, whose lack of clarity contributes to children being constrained as active change agents within and beyond contexts which directly affect them. Using the context of child language brokers, the paper argues that despite offering children the ‘socio-culturally mediated capacity to act’ brokering practices frequently take place in response to adult-determined objectives, rather than in contexts freely chosen by the child, potentially compromising their agentic potential. This paper draws upon the findings from Crutchley’s doctoral thesis which used Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method to explore the retrospective narratives of adults who assumed the role of cultural and linguistic brokers during their childhoods.

Brokering war: Afghan interpreters, western soldiers and unequal encounters in crisis

ABSTRACT Crisis scholarship has so far remained inattentive to the uneven entanglements and encounters that operate in what are designated as times or spaces of crisis, such as conflict and war. Indeed, scholarship on crisis suffers from a division between scholars who study the effect of crisis on privileged groups and locations and those who research marginalized communities. This has led the first to approach crisis as an exceptional moment, and the latter to argue that crisis is a semi-permanent condition. The lack of exchange between these two bodies of crisis scholarship has resulted in insufficient consideration of the divergent experiences of the nature and temporalities of crisis by unequally situated actors. This article looks at the contact zone forged by the 2001–2021 Afghanistan war to demonstrate that temporalities of crisis manifest themselves in varied and uneven ways, depending on the positionality of actors. Empirically, this article draws on interviews conducted with western Afghanistan veterans and with Afghan interpreters who worked as linguistic and cultural brokers. By contrasting the experiences of Afghan interpreters with that of the international soldiers who were dependent on their brokerage, I show how differential structures of power and privilege shape what constitutes a crisis, who is touched by it and how and when crisis makes itself felt. Close analysis of the narratives of Afghan interpreters also challenges scholarship which presents brokers as crisis opportunists, who subsequently experience an existential crisis and tragic demise (Distiller and Samuelson 2005, Gaskill 2023). Instead, I develop the argument that brokers’ relationship to crisis can be better understood when the relational and spatio-temporal frames to situate their actions are expanded. I suggest that the cliché of the tragic broker is unsettled when tracing the strategies of Afghan interpreters over time and with attention to the interactions with those for whom they broker.

How to undertake research with refugees: lessons learned from a qualitative health research programme in Southern New Zealand.

Background Refugee health is an issue of global importance. Refugees have high and complex mental, physical and social needs and poor health outcomes. There is a clear need for more research prioritising refugees' perspectives of health care in their settlement countries; however, a number of methodological and ethical challenges can make this process difficult. Methods This methodological paper is an analysis of our recent experience conducting qualitative research with former refugees in Southern New Zealand. We utilized our research team's discussions, reflections and fieldnotes and the relevant literature to identify the key processes of our successful engagement with former refugees. Results Successful engagement with former refugees in qualitative health research entails: establishing relationships, recognising interpreters as cultural brokers, having a responsive suite of methods and finding meaningful ways to communicate. Conclusions This paper offers suggestions and guidance on conducting qualitative health research with former refugees.

Cleaning up shaʿbi: Music and class-cultural divides in cairo

Egyptian shaʿbi music is typically positioned as a somewhat vulgar style produced and consumed by the working-class masses. But in practice, numerous individuals have long been attempting to sanitise it to appeal to audiences deemed more elite. This article, based on 21 months of ethnographic fieldwork with musicians and producers in Cairo, investigates how this mainstream, mass-mediated, commercially successful version of shaʿbi, known as ‘clean shaʿbi’ ( shaʿbi nadif) is produced and distributed. I explore how three different cultural brokers try to clean up shaʿbi in distinctive ways. I argue that their success does not reveal a straightforward crossing of class-cultural divides, as it might at first appear; in each instance boundaries are in some ways crossed, and in other ways reinforced. Cleaning up shaʿbi does not necessarily benefit the musicians: the processes through which their music is sanitised and mediated are often exploitative, serving to entrench pre-existing social inequalities.

China-style tourism in Indonesia: prospects for people-to-people bonds

ABSTRACT This article explores the geo-economic implications of China’s mass tourism strategy in Indonesia, particularly in Bali and Manado, since 2017. The interplay between China’s economic and political interests and Indonesia’s tourism development is evident. However, the unique China-style tourism approach, guided by non-resident local actors as cultural brokers, raises concerns about cultural mismatch. Our central argument emphasizes the crucial role of ‘people-to-people bonds’ in building meaningful connections between Chinese tourists and local actors in frequented areas. Fieldwork in Bali and Manado reveals that neglecting genuine affinity in people-to-people connectivity can create a diplomatic gap, potentially leading to negative responses from the Indonesian populace over time. The article highlights the need for a nuanced and culturally sensitive approach to mass tourism to ensure the sustainability of the China–Indonesia tourism partnership. While economic and political advantages are evident, overlooking the importance of authentic connections risks straining diplomatic relations and jeopardizing the long-term success of tourism initiatives. Prioritizing people-to-people exchange is a crucial factor in bridging cultural gaps and fostering a positive relationship between Chinese tourists and the Indonesian population.

Addressing Conflicts and Role Responsibilities in the Special Education Service Delivery Process: Adult Sibling Involvement and Facilitation as Cultural and Linguistic Brokers

This case study explores the role of adult siblings in bridging and brokering cultural and linguistic gaps in special education on behalf of their sibling with a disability. Focusing on the Le family, the study explores how Eunice Le, an adult sibling, is navigating communication between their Vietnamese-speaking family and the school, and advocating for their brother Kai, a culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) student with autism. The case is premised on two key provisions within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that center on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team configuration and parent participation. This case reveals the difficulties that arise when schools and families have divergent approaches to supporting students with disabilities and their extended families from racialized and minoritized communities.

Story Circles of Black Doulas, Cultural Brokers for Birthing People in Healthcare.

Doula care services (in-person, hybrid, and virtual) during the COVID-19 pandemic may vary. The purpose of this study was to explore doulas' experiences as birthing professionals and epistemological resources assisting Black birthing families during the pandemic. Virtual qualitative story circles were conducted with 11 Black doulas who attended births as doulas from January 2020 to December 2021. Participants were recruited in California. The story circles were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using content analysis, with attention to the influence of epistemic injustice (types of injustices inflicted on marginalized groups) on service provision. Additionally, we employed Patricia Hill Collins' Black Feminist Theory which describes "Black women's ways of knowing" that disrupts and challenges existing epistemologies. Narrative data revealed (1) doulas are positioned as possessors of epistemic influence in birthing spaces with intersecting social identities, (2) a pervasive oppression of doulas' knowledge, (3) epistemological resilience and disruption, and (4) a commitment to Black indigenous practices. Despite these epistemic unfair structures, systems, and experiences, Black doulas reimagine and establish pathways for birthing families to navigate the healthcare system during intrapartum care.

Blue Sunglasses and New Habits: Female Correspondence Networks and the Irish Religious Diaspora

Abstract During the nineteenth century female Irish religious orders established missions across the Irish diaspora which were designed with flexibility and adaptation in mind. The Sisters of Mercy's personal letter networks allowed these women, who were often very young, to continue their religious and technical “apprenticeship” while abroad. These letters enabled women in the diaspora to maintain a sense of consistency and belonging across the oceans: with their sisters in Ireland and elsewhere in the world on an ethnic and institutional level. Engaging with these letters as both intimate conversations and professional reflections presents opportunities for investigating how long-distance institutional memory was developed and a continuing connection to Ireland and Irishness maintained. This article moves the focus of ethnic culture brokers from the priest and bishop to the formal and informal networks of women religious who worked within a system designed for men. In doing so, it demonstrates that these letters provided an important extra layer to public global Irish networks, a layer which acted as both a whisper network and an opportunity for reflection on efficient methods for varied work in large, fluctuating, and cross-class ethnic communities.

Global influencers’ content creation strategies: Negotiating with platform affordances to practice vernacular creativity

We examine how globally oriented-influencers from India utilize specific strategies of content creation to negotiate with the dominant logic of platform affordances to engage with global audiences. It involves individual negotiations by the influencers with the platform affordances in creating content that foregrounds their cultural realities and aspirations while remaining relevant to global audiences. We do so by deploying the critical technocultural discourse analysis (CTDA) framework to understand influencers’ strategic choices and discursive practices as they interact and negotiate with the platform affordances. Our analysis shows two processes that help the influencers communicate their content to the global audience and sustain their local connections and followership: (1) Templatization: a process through which influencers from the global South attune themselves to the technological possibilities of the platform and utilize its features to produce content with a set of replicable patterns, formats, and practices; and (2) Cultural brokering: a negotiation strategy which allows the influencers to foreground and express their quotidian lived realities and cultural experiences in an increasingly globalized digital environment.

Equity in practice: Integrating cross cultural health brokers for culturally safe primary care for immigrants and refugees in British Columbia.

Umbrella Multicultural Health Co-op is a community health centre serving cultural communities of immigrants/refugees in British Columbia. It uses Cross Cultural Health Brokers (CCHBs), multicultural workers bridging patients and the healthcare system, to better meet the primary care needs of immigrant/refugee populations. Through the Team Primary Care initiative, Umbrella Co-op: (1) added new CCHBs alongside allied health practitioners; and (2) implemented team workshops and evaluation for quality improvement. The learning health system framework guided project activities. Comprehensive, culturally responsive primary care for immigrants and refugees benefits from a team-based approach that includes the integration of CCHBs. Team development activities improved team function. Co-developing evaluation with the interprofessional team enabled meaningful participation. Health system design for equity-oriented team-based primary care for immigrants and refugees should include resources for CCHBs and team development infrastructure.

Leveraging community-based mental health services to reduce inequities for children and families living in United States who have experienced migration-related trauma.

Trauma systems therapy for refugees (TST-R) is a trauma-focused, culturally responsive mental health prevention and intervention model designed to meet the needs of children and families who are fleeing their home countries and seeking humanitarian refuge. TST-R provides trauma-focused mental health treatment and addresses problems in part exacerbated by harsh U.S. immigration policies (e.g., poor mental health, stigma, fear) that have implications for the psychosocial well-being of immigrant children and families, especially those who have experienced migration-related trauma. Informed by a community-based participatory research approach, TST-R was developed as an adaptation of trauma systems therapy to address common barriers to care experienced by those of refugee and immigrant backgrounds, including mental health stigma, distrust of service systems, and cultural and linguistic barriers. TST-R is a multitiered and phase-based intervention that strategically addresses stressors and needs across levels of the social ecology. Most TST-R services are delivered in easily accessible, nonstigmatizing settings (e.g., school) by a cultural broker and a clinician who work in partnership. TST-R has been disseminated and implemented with multiple cultural groups (e.g., Somali, Bhutanese) across the United States and Canada. Given the unique stressors, strengths, and needs of immigrant children and their families, mental health services must be equitable, community based, and sustainable. TST-R demonstrates promise as a prevention and intervention model especially for those experiencing immigration policy-related stressors and may serve as a guide for developing child mental health policies and immigration policies that promote mental well-being for immigrant families. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

More than just non-professional translators: The public perception of Chinese fansubbers in an English as a Lingua Franca world

This study explores the public perception of Chinese fansubbers in an English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) world. The analysis draws from a survey gathering both quantitative and qualitative data from 327 respondents. In an ELF world, Chinese audiences have demonstrated increasing linguistic competence in their appreciation of fansubbing, which has in turn enhanced their language acquisition. While fansubbers are often seen as amateur translators when compared with their professional counterparts, this study suggests that this distinction, already somewhat blurred within academic discourse, is of little concern to the public. In addition to their role as translators, fansubbers are perceived as cultural brokers and language educators who not only teach but also inspire a new generation of viewers to engage with foreign languages, cultures and translation. The public perception of Chinese fansubbers extends beyond translation quality to include broader and more positive attributes. The findings lead to a new understanding of the social impact of fansubbers.

Religion and Politics in Indonesia: The Role of Kyai in the 2024 Election, Case Study on Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB)

This qualitative case study investigates the impact of religious leaders' authority on Indonesian society. In this case, religious leaders possess exceptional and reliable religious expertise and a significant impact on society. The Indonesian populace formerly referred to them as Kyai. This study primarily examines the impact of the Kyai on the Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB) party following the Ijtima' Ulama Nusantara gathering. This gathering serves as a strategic maneuver by PKB to secure victory in the upcoming 2024 general election. This study examines the impact of the religious leaders' authority within the PKB party leading up to the 2024 general election. The author contends that religious leaders in Indonesia wield authority that extends beyond religious matters and encompasses all aspects of Indonesian culture, including politics. The author also aims to assert that the party utilizes the influence of the kyai to enhance its electability and garner support from the community. It has been demonstrated, among other ways, through the Ijtima 'Ulama Nusantara event hosted by the PKB party to secure victory in the 2024 general election. This study utilized a descriptive-analytic methodology. This study gathered written data from multiple literary works and crucial information or news from the media. This study employed Clifford Geertz's theory on religious experts as cultural brokers.

“Transience, Disruption, and Unfamiliarity in Refugee Journeys”: How Are Newly Arrived Refugee Families Supported in Their Children’s Transition to School in a Host Country?

ABSTRACT Newly arrived refugee families face cultural and linguistic difficulties when navigating their children’s transition to school in a host country. However, little is known about how families are supported in their child’s transition to school. Therefore, this article aimed to investigate how leaders and facilitators in community hubs and centers support refugee families in their child’s transition to school in Australia. Data gathered from interviews with 32 community hub leaders and center facilitators from three Australian states were analyzed thematically. The support provided to families fell into six themes: promoting children’s early learning; building families’ or mothers’ capital about starting school; promoting connections between school, families, and children; offering cultural and linguistic brokerage; providing soft entry support; and easing children’s and families’ transition to school via school-based transition activities and programs. The implications of this holistic model of support for educators that is built on place and strength-based approaches in facilitating newly arrived refugee children’s and families’ smooth start to school in their new communities are outlined.

Situating the English-Foreign-Language Press

The introduction to this special issue on “the English-language press abroad” builds on the different case studies to theoretically reflect on this rather neglected press category. The label applies to titles published in English in a country that did/does not have English as (one of) its de jure or de facto language(s) and that was not part of the British (formal) Empire. By situating those titles in a broader historical canvas that stretches back to the first-ever English-language serial abroad (1620, in the Netherlands), the introduction proposes three categories of (potentially overlapping) functions: titles that act as cultural brokers (including for an expat community), titles that act as agents of cultural diplomacy and/or informal imperialism and titles that use English as a lingua franca to conjure up cosmopolitan and supranational realities. The introduction argues that any discussion of such titles needs to connect scales, but can barely do away with the national. This also applies to issues of heritage and preservation, while the digital age creates manifold possibilities for rediscovering these titles in a critical manner.

Local Journalists as Brokers: Conceptualizing Information Relationships in Rural Communities

ABSTRACT This paper introduces the concept of brokerage to the scholarship of local news. Drawing on anthropological conceptions of actors that bridge gaps in social structure and help information flow across such gaps, we propose that local journalists act as cultural brokers in rural towns. Building upon Gould and Fernandez (1989, “Structures of Mediation: A Formal Approach to Brokerage in Transaction Networks.” Sociological Methodology 19:89. https://doi.org/10.2307/270949), we employ a typology of five brokerage functions to classify relationships between local journalists, their sources, and their audiences. In addition to coordinating, itinerant, representative, liaison, and gatekeeping brokerage, our analysis reveals a novel type of brokerage: relay brokerage. We argue that this typology is useful to conceptualize information relationships in rural communities and to understand how information flows change when local journalism ebbs. Empirically, the paper presents a comprehensive study of staffing at rural newspapers in Alberta, Canada, revealing that local media are stretched so thin in many geographic areas, there is little left to cut. For scholars, this simplified media ecosystem is an environment where relationships between reporters, sources, and audiences may be more easily analyzed.