Meaningful Dialogue Research Articles

Integrating social justice-oriented content into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction: A case study

This study examines the integration of social justice-oriented content into English for Academic Purposes (EAP) instruction at a four-year university on the East coast of the United States. In the context of an Academic Writing course taught to emergent bilingual (EB) students, this article identifies the challenges and prospects of utilizing material that addresses past and present racial inequities in the United States— particularly when it comes to equipping EBs with essential background knowledge to engage in meaningful dialogues and critical writing about social issues that are entrenched in white supremacist and settler colonialist histories. It makes suggestions for TESOL educators who seek to adopt more equitable and inclusive teaching practices by leaning into rather than away from challenging classroom conversations with EB students and embracing the intersecting challenges and opportunities for new learning that may arise.

Mandatory corporate social responsibility in India: reporting reality, issues and way forward

PurposeSince 2013, the Indian Companies Act Section 135 has mandated corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting by Indian central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). CSR reporting is regulated by multiple Government of India ministerial agencies, each requiring different formats and often different data. This study aims to understand the impact of these multiple regulatory bodies on CSR reporting by Indian CPSEs; evaluate the expectation gap between regulators and the regulated; and investigate the compliance burden on CPSEs.Design/methodology/approachAn interview-based approach was adopted to evaluate the perspectives of both regulators and regulated CPSEs on the impact of the new regulations on CSR reporting quality. The authors use the lens of institutional theory to analyse the findings.FindingsDriven by coercive institutional pressures, CPSEs are overburdened with myriad reporting requirements, which significantly negatively impact CPSEs’ financial and human resources and the quality of CSR activity and reports. It is difficult for CPSEs to assess the actual impact of their CSR activities due to overlapping with activities of the government/other institutions. The perceptions of regulators and the regulated are divergent: the regulators expect CPSEs to select more impactful CSR projects to comply with mandatory reporting requirements.Originality/valueThe findings of this study emphasise the need for meaningful dialogue between regulators and the regulated to reduce the expectation gap and establish a single regulatory authority that will ensure that the letter and spirit of the law are followed in practice and not just according to a tick-box approach.

Signature feedback practices in the creative arts: integrating feedback within the curriculum

Without teacher and student feedback literacy, it is difficult for feedback processes to fulfil their potential. Feedback literacy development within the arts or humanities is, however, under-researched. The current study fills this gap by illustrating how educators in the performative creative arts designed signature feedback practices to facilitate the development of student feedback literacy. Opportunities for feedback literacy development were created via learning cultures that embedded emotional and relational support, discussed work-in-progress, and promoted peer feedback. Focus groups with educators highlighted how integrated assessment design and signature feedback practices provided opportunities for collaborative, critical and open learning environments conducive to the development of student feedback literacy. Students were afforded ongoing opportunities to perform their work-in-progress and see first-hand the work of peers, facilitating space in the curriculum for meaningful dialogue surrounding the enactment of feedback. Questionnaire data indicated that students understood the role of feedback in their learning but sometimes struggled to generate feedback for their peers and apply it to their own work. The main significance of the research lies in showing how signature feedback practices enable the integration of curriculum and assessment and carry potential to support the development of teacher and student feedback literacy.

Spaces for Native and Foreign-Born Parents: When Personal Thoughts Can Become an Opportunity for Learning

Globalization characterizes the century in which we live and in the light of its worldwide spread it affects a multiplicity of disciplines. As a result of this, within the qualitative research in family pedagogy, parents of foreign origin have been involved, from whose life stories it is interesting to discern the importance of recognizing themselves, though citizens of the world, as bearers of a unique history. A personal experience, narrated and shared, that is characterized by relationships, thoughts that have formed the subject and that in the present, in the host country, challenges him to a daily learning that however cannot be exhausted in self-reflection. Therefore, it is fundamental for them to be able to interface with other subjects, who in turn are asked to welcome. An attitude that requires being fearless, because a sense of security or fear towards others is an expression of the trust that a community has in itself. If one believes in one's ability to integrate other individuals within oneself, one has an attitude of openness towards the foreigner, one is not afraid of his culture. This propensity requires these parents to adopt a logic of globalization, with rights and duties, which is precisely challenging since the planetary dimension of citizenship is not on the way, however, without a commitment to thought, decision making and education. Sustainable ecologies have to do with relationships, culture, ethnicity and education. It is therefore important that within local realities spaces of encounter between parents are fostered - so that the thoughts of the individual are shared - in the awareness that human sustainability itself often has to do with creating sufficient hope in individuals and communities, building meaningful dialogue and an experience of communion, through the differences that must be valued. In these contexts, the subject as such lives a continuous educational and formative experience, which leads him/her towards the personal research, which is also social, of the knowledge of the self and of others. This experience is possible thanks to the capacity of reciprocal socialization on the part of parents of foreign origin, of sincere dialogue, of confrontation with the other - in this case with native parents - in the diversity and richness of which each one is the bearer.

A Culturally Relevant Approach to Food Customs in the German Curriculum

AbstractTo facilitate a more affirming classroom, this article highlights the implementation of culturally relevant and critical pedagogies of language learning to address issues related to social awareness in the language classroom. By appealing to cultural backgrounds of students and cultural backgrounds of diverse German‐speaking populations, students learn more about social and cultural realities in the diverse world around them. In a culturally relevant classroom, educators increase opportunities for social awareness and meaningful dialogue about social issues by making German classrooms sites of diversity learning and relevant places for critical exchange. This article shares one component of our ongoing efforts to make our entire degree program more diverse by using culturally relevant pedagogy.

환경관련 기술규제의 적법성분석을 통한 신기후체제의 대응방안에 관한 연구

First, it is necessary to participate in meaningful negotiations with the affected foreign countries in relation to technical regulations to harmonize environmental policies and to resolve administrative difficulties in implementing the technical regulations under consideration in the other country. Second, as a basic requirement of technical regulation, it is necessary to consider and exclude less restrictive alternatives. Third, when designing technical regulations, ensure that the same considerations are given to all regulated subjects, both domestic and foreign. Finally, with respect to the challenges at hand, it is necessary to build some flexibility in regulation when the regulatory conditions and capabilities of trading partners differ significantly.

Co-Designing Meaningful Dialogues on Sexual Harassment

We live in a dysfunctional world led by white-male dominated, patriarchal and capitalist societies that perpetuate continuous oppression. The public space is culturally perceived as a man’s world while women have been traditionally confined to the private one. Because claiming a safe public space for all is a political act, I want to actively cultivate a creative experience that facilitates dialogue, ideation and agency for self-identified women to reclaim their right to exist safely in it. My paper will focus on this creative experience, as a collective resistance, that started in Gainesville, FL at the Civic Media Center and has now become an ongoing, online and worldwide endeavour.

Taming the tiger ofhwaduabsolutism: Kanhwa Sŏn/Chan practices understood from the perspective of ritual practice and experience

Kanhwa Sŏn has often been perceived as iconoclastic and impervious to theorizing. Furthermore, its critique of “hermeneutical rigidity” and “ hwadu absolutism” point to the impossibility of a meaningful dialogue between its practitioners and scholars of Buddhism. It has even been argued that such characteristics of kanhwa Sŏn have compromised the possibility of its practice becoming adoptable in contemporary life. But kanhwa Sŏn practiced in the summer and winter Sŏn/Chan retreats has all the trappings of ritual. In an effort to build a methodological bridge, this article attempts to provide the grounds for discussing kanhwa Sŏn practices from the perspective of social science. With this in mind, this article will highlight the experiences of the practitioners in the context of ritual practice while perceiving those experiences as socially determined manifestations. The reason for this attempt is that there seems to be much similarity in the soteriological structure of kanhwa Sŏn practice with the structure of ritual practice that involves constructing and eliciting transformative experiences. Further similarities are in the motif of returning from the ritual/retreat having been transformed into a person with a new identity. By framing the practice of kanhwa Sŏn as ritual practice and experience, one can bring the discussion of kanhwa Sŏn into the wider discourses of the academic study of religion.

Bridging the gap between markers’ tacit knowledge and students’ assessment literacy

There has been an increasing emphasis within higher education on the need for explicit articulation of assessment standards and requirements and for these to be communicated effectively to students (O’Donovan et al., 2004; Sadler, 2010; Bloxham et al., 2011; McGrath et al., 2019). However, in practice, this can be difficult to achieve, depending, firstly, on markers’ abilities to effectively articulate their tacit knowledge and expectations and, secondly, on the knowledge and understanding of assessments that students bring with them into their degree. This student ability often depends on their previous varied educational experiences. Both students and staff may therefore find this a matter of challenge and frustration.This case study is based on discussions with students on the Childhood and Youth Studies (Extended) programme at the University of Greenwich and with staff across the University, as well as on the researcher’s personal reflections on the findings. It highlights: how important it is for staff to work in partnership with students early on in their studies, so as to develop their understanding of assessment language and the standards expected; how staff consider the experiences students have had with assessment and academic writing; and how they draw implications for assessment practices in their teaching context. Furthermore, the study aims to provide innovative recommendations for how markers can develop a continuing, meaningful dialogue with students, to enable them to build an understanding of their markers’ tacit knowledge about assessment and feedback in their discipline.

Summer study abroad in Japan: Maximizing intercultural competency development through self‐guided cultural exploration and reflection tasks

AbstractThis study analyzes how self‐guided cultural exploration and reflection (SCER) tasks affect the development of intercultural competency (ICC) of students participating in a study abroad program. The Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) was used to measure students' ICC development before and after a 6‐week faculty‐led study abroad program in Japan. The SCER tasks encouraged students to examine Japanese history, cuisine, politics, architecture, economy, communication style, and behaviors, and gain a sophisticated understanding of the Japanese culture through the lens of unique Japanese perspectives. The results reveal significant gains in overall IES scales, in particular, student's continuous learning and interpersonal engagement saw the most change. Analysis of student reflections further demonstrates the positive impact of culturally bridging experiences on self‐awareness and cultural exploration. We argue that the impact of perspective‐shifting practices, combined with students' first‐hand intercultural experience improves student's level of hardiness. Finally, student reflections reveal the important role that the SCER tasks have on initiating a meaningful dialogue with their host families.

Narrating Intercultural Capital: Constructing Political Correctness, Negotiating Identity Capital, and Expanding Terrains of Possibility for Student Engagement

ABSTRACT How does identity capital influence student engagement in the classroom? This article examines the narratives of sixty-three first year undergraduate students enrolled in a cross-cultural communication course to provide a portrait of the ways students envision identity capital influences their ability and willingness to engage in meaningful dialogues. Through semi-structured interviews, students demonstrate the importance of real and perceived intercultural capital as a condition for engaging in intercultural dialogues. Through a lens grounded in political correctness and identity capital, student voices illuminate ways faculty can expand the terrains of possibilities for authentic intercultural communication, increase opportunities for the development of realistic cultural empathy, and enable the negotiation of intercultural capital that transcends cultural boundaries and allows for the continued exchange and accumulation of identity capital.

State Anti-Robbery Squad operations and restructuring in Nigeria: Semiotics of the #EndSARS protests

End State Anti-Robbery Squad (#EndSARS) protests represent symptoms of systemic issues in Nigeria. Those issues range from ideological differences of the various ethnic nationalities to the constitutional and structural imbalance in the political and economic equation. This paper attempts to put in perspective the implications of the over-centralisation of both political and economic powers. To do this, this research examines the events leading up to the #EndSARS protest, as well as the various signs and symbols emanating from the #EndSARS movement. Semiotics Theory is employed as conceptual framework and methodology to highlight the factors that ail Nigeria at the systemic level. Semioticians engage in a search for deep structures underlying the surface features of phenomena. With Semiotic theory as framework, this paper takes seriously the social conditions that led to the #EndSARS Protests, not neglecting the role of ideologies. The research has the potential to make useful contributions to both academic and socio-political cum economic knowledge for a meaningful national dialogue among contesting ethnic groups in Africa.

Digitizing the story-writing process for EFL primary learners: An exploratory study

The benefits of using digital storytelling are well documented in the literature. Whether and how these advantages can be extended to digital story-writing, especially for young learners, remains underexplored. Recent advancement in technology has the potential of streamlining the stages of planning and revising in a process approach to second language writing. The present study examined how English teachers in two Hong Kong primary schools adopted a process approach to teach digital story-writing. They planned eight writing lessons for 10 Primary 3–4 classes. Students were taught to use Google Slides to write their stories on iPads and complete a recording in small groups, which were then published on an online platform. Findings from focus-group interviews, lesson observations and student writings revealed that students were highly engaged in the lessons, and their writings also had fewer grammatical mistakes. However, they rarely engaged in meaningful dialogues during group work, whilst some teachers also expressed concerns about time constraints and their own readiness to use digital story-writing, which may hinder successful implementation of this innovative approach in classroom settings. Implications of how digital story-writing can be effectively deployed on young learners are discussed.

The Impact of Social media on family communication from the parents' point of view A field study in Mosul

The aim of the research is to know the impact of social networking sites on family communication from the parents' point of view, and to achieve the goals of the research, a questionnaire was designed consisting of (13) paragraphs. After confirming the honesty and consistency, it was applied to a sample consisting of (60) respondents from individuals representing heads of families, male and female. (Father. Mother) in the city of Mosul, with its left and right sides, they were randomly selected, and after statistically processing the data, the research reached a number of results, the most important of which is that social media in the city of Mosul is a method that has reduced family communication within the family and that it is a direct cause in multiplying social family relationships , And there were many differences in the relationship between the spouses within the family, as it did not meaningful dialogue and caused freezing of feelings and emotions and contributed to widening the gap between the children.

The IWill MCW Campaign: Individual Actions to Advance Gender Equity.

Advancing equity for women remains an urgent and complex problem at academic health centers. Attempts to mitigate gender gaps have ranged widely and have been both slow to occur and limited in effect. Recognizing the limitations of previously attempted solutions and fueled by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) stepped outside known approaches (e.g., women's leadership plans and programming) to design and implement a strategic campaign that promotes gender equity through fostering change in systems and social norms. This campaign, IWill MCW (launched in 2019), emphasizes the power of individual responsibility for positive change. The IWill MCW campaign employs a 2-pronged approach. The first is the creation of personal call-to-action public pledges focused on 5 aspects of gender equity, along with the provision of supportive resources to reinforce positive change. The second is the use of those pledges to raise awareness of gender inequity in academic medicine by fostering meaningful dialogue meant to alter mental models of equity, relationships, and power dynamics. In the initial 6-week phase of the IWill MCW campaign, leaders reached out to all MCW faculty (2,002), staff (4,522), and learners (1,483) at multiple campuses. This outreach resulted in nearly 1,400 pledges, including 30% (n = 420) from men. The effort also engaged over 90% (n = 101) of members of MCW senior leadership teams. The feedback from the initial campaign has been positive. Lessons learned include realizing the importance of public pledges, engaging male allies, and following up. The authors suggest that the IWill MCW campaign provides a model for academic health centers to advance gender equity and shape an environment in which people of all genders can thrive.

Ethical perplexities of researching with children in uncertain times: a dialogic approach

ABSTRACT In this article I compare two studies, one pre- and one post-COVID-19, to consider the ethics of researching with children, especially during uncertain times. I argue that ethics are entwined with assumptions about children, ‘voice’, relational dynamics and representation. To reflect upon those assumptions and their ethical implications, I draw upon three Bakhtinian dialogical principles: that the self is in its nature responsive and never fully knowable or complete; that meaning-making is a complex, dynamic, situated activity; and that finalisation is deeply unethical. I propose a dialogic approach to researching with children as an ethical orientation which respects our common humanity and agency and allows for trust, sensitivity, responsive meaning-making, openness and inarticulacy. I also consider the perplexities of achieving dialogic relationships and meaningful dialogue with children, especially at times when researcher and participants may be separated physically in space and time and when methodological compromises may be unavoidable.

Are Large Carnivores the Real Issue? Solutions for Improving Conflict Management through Stakeholder Participation

Social conflicts around large carnivores are increasing in Europe, often associated to the species expansion into human-modified and agricultural landscapes. Large carnivores can be seen as an added value by some but as a source of difficulties by others, depending on different values, attitudes, livelihoods, and everyday activities. Therefore, the effective involvement of the different interest groups is important to identify and shape tailored solutions that can potentially be implemented, complementing top-down approaches that might, on their own, result in lack of implementation and buy-in. To improve dialogue in conflictual situations, as part of a European project promoted by the European Parliament, we assessed the practical implementation of participatory processes in three sample areas in Europe where wolves and bears have recently been increasingly impacting human activities. Our results demonstrate that collaboration among different and generally contrasting groups is possible. Even in situations where large-carnivore impacts were seen as unsatisfactorily managed for many years, people were still willing and eager to be involved in alternative discussion processes hoping this would lead to concrete solutions. An important and common highlight among the three study areas was that all the management interventions agreed upon shared the general scope of improving the conditions of the groups most impacted by large carnivores. The process showed the importance of building trust and supporting dialogue for knowledge co-production and mitigation of conflicts between stakeholders and that controversial environmental issues have the potential to trigger a meaningful dialogue about broader societal issues. The direct involvement and support of competent authorities, as well as the upscaling of this process at larger administrative and social scales, remain important challenges.

Development and Validation of a Novel Nomogram for Individualized Prediction of Survival in Cancer of Unknown Primary.

Prognostic uncertainty is a major challenge for cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Current models limit a meaningful patient-provider dialogue. We aimed to establish a nomogram for predicting overall survival (OS) in CUP based on robust clinicopathologic prognostic factors. We evaluated 521 patients with CUP at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC; Houston, TX; 2012-2016). Baseline variables were analyzed using Cox regression and nomogram developed using significant predictors. Predictive accuracy and discriminatory performance were assessed by calibration curves, concordance probability estimate (CPE ± SE), and concordance statistic (C-index). The model was subjected to bootstrapping and multi-institutional external validations using two independent CUP cohorts: V1 [MDACC (2017), N = 103] and V2 (BC Cancer, Vancouver, Canada and Sarah Cannon Cancer Center/Tennessee Oncology, Nashville, TN; N = 302). Baseline characteristics of entire cohort (N = 926) included: median age (63 years), women (51%), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (ECOG PS) 0-1 (64%), adenocarcinomas (52%), ≥3 sites of metastases (30%), and median follow-up duration and OS of 40.1 and 14.7 months, respectively. Five independent prognostic factors were identified: gender, ECOG PS, histology, number of metastatic sites, and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio. The resulting model predicted OS with CPE of 0.69 [SE: ± 0.01; C-index: 0.71 (95% confidence interval: 0.68-0.74)] outperforming Culine/Seve prognostic models (CPE: 0.59 ± 0.01). CPE for external validation cohorts V1 and V2 were 0.67 (± 0.02) and 0.70 (± 0.01), respectively. Calibration curves for 1-year OS showed strong agreement between nomogram prediction and actual observations in all cohorts. Our user-friendly CUP nomogram integrating commonly available baseline factors provides robust personalized prognostication which can aid clinical decision making and selection/stratification for clinical trials.

Charity Fundraising and the Ethics of Voice: Cancer Survivors’ Perspectives on Macmillan Cancer Support’s “Brave the Shave” Campaign

ABSTRACT “Brave the Shave”, a campaign by the UK charity Macmillan Cancer Support, encourages people to seek sponsorship to shave off all their hair and share the event on social media. Brave the Shave has attracted fierce criticism from a group of breast cancer survivors who have made it clear that they find the campaign deeply offensive and insensitive. Despite the controversy, Macmillan is continuing with this fundraising initiative, arguing that it is financially successful and provides much-need resources for its services. Its line of defense amounts to the argument that the ends justify the means. This apparent refusal to hear and act upon the complaints forms the central focus of this article. Macmillan’s denial sits uneasily with its mission to improve the lives of cancer survivors. The case invites ethical questions around how much voice clients have, the lack of recognition for cancer survivors’ experiences and the general power deficit in the donor-recipient relationship. The article argues that a commitment to a meaningful dialogue and a willingness to be transparent with clients about campaign strategies would be a potentially important step toward avoiding offensive fundraising narratives which deny the suffering of the very people charities aim to assist.

TEOLOGIA E PENSAMENTO DECOLONIAL

No Brasil, o diálogo entre a teologia e o pensamento decolonial está restrito aos ambientes acadêmicos de forma tímida e embrionária. As teorias da decolonialidade carecem de aprofundamento por parte de uma teologia que almeje diálogos pertinentes para a construção de outro mundo possível. Neste artigo, propomos alimentar ainda mais esta troca de saberes. O pensamento decolonial ensina que não basta ter consciência dos mecanismos de colonização do poder, do ser e do saber. É preciso avançar e propor um fazer decolonial capaz de efetivar uma libertação genuína. Impulsionado por esta tarefa, o texto a seguir é fruto do encontro entre a teologia e o pensamento decolonial com o objetivo de propor novos lugares para a enunciação da fé cristã. O artigo se divide em dois momentos. No primeiro, fazemos provocações à teologia disposta ao diálogo com outras áreas do conhecimento, visando uma tarefa pública e pertinente. No segundo, avançamos das provocações para diálogos fecundos entre a decolonialidade e o fazer teológico. O momento é marcado pela consciência dos espaços marginalizados e por rupturas epistemológicas que desafiam a teologia.