Developing intercultural competence and global citizenship through international experiences: academics’ perceptions

International education is a key priority for Australian universities, government and employer groups. For students, an international professional experience is uniquely placed in providing opportunities for developing intercultural learning, intercultural competence and global citizenship. Employers see graduates with international experiences as interculturally competent, viewing them as proficient in analysing and responding appropriately to culturally significant values and perceptions. This research seeks to understand how students are prepared for international experiences and how intercultural learning is integrated into course programmes. Academic staff responsible for international experiences were interviewed in one-on-one qualitative interviews about their practices and perceptions of preparing students for these experiences. Although all international programmes were procedurally well planned, we found that most participants did not include intercultural pedagogies into their programmes, nor did they purposefully seek to develop intercultural competence and global citizenship in their students. Professional development opportunities need to be created for academics to rethink their pedagogical intent regarding international experiences. Immersion in culture is not, on its own, an assurance of intercultural learning. Providing international experiences without a pedagogical framework that helps students to reflect on self and others can be a wasted opportunity and runs the risk of reinforcing stereotypical thinking and racist attitudes.     

Telling Our Stories: Narrative and Framing in the Movement for Same-Sex Marriage

Although framing and narrative are both well-documented discursive features of social movements, the difference between them is often overstated; where frames are treated as logical, authoritative, and abstract, the usefulness of narratives is frequently documented in relation to pre-mobilization phases of movement development such as identity and community building. Drawing on an analysis of Connecticut's Judiciary Committee hearings on same-sex marriage, I challenge this distinction and elucidate the relationship between storytelling and framing, showing how narrative is used to make packages of frames cohesive and compelling. In demonstrating how proponents of the legislation deployed narratives and frames simultaneously, this research contributes to scholarship on the function and configuration of discursive strategies for social movements.     

HIV Testing Among Heterosexual Young Adults: The Influence of Partners' Risk Behaviors and Relationship Dynamics

Using relational theory and survey data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (n = 665), this article examined whether individuals were tested for HIV while intimately involved in a current or recent heterosexual relationship. The analyses included the respondent's and partner's sexual risk factors (non-exclusivity and lifetime number of partners), relational variables, prior testing, and demographic characteristics. It was found that 39% of respondents had an HIV test while involved in their current or most recent sexual relationship, and women (47%), compared with men (29%), were significantly more likely to have been tested. Whereas some predictors operated similarly (number of sex partners and pressured to have sex), others displayed significant gender differences (partner's sexual exclusivity, sexual communication difficulties, and pregnancy), particularly related to women's testing behaviors. Excerpts from qualitative interviews with male respondents suggested that some relational dynamics, not well reflected in relational theory, played a role in their testing. Results highlight the need to consider gendered dynamics when targeting young adults for routine HIV testing.     

Relocating Prejudice: A Transnational Approach to Understanding Immigrants' Racial Attitudes

Immigration is changing the racial composition of many societies. Yet leading theories of racial prejudice, even in a multiracial context, focus on dynamics in a single nation‐state and fail to account for the experiences of the foreign‐born. We adopt a transnational approach that incorporates processes creating prejudice from both inside and outside the receiving society and that shows how attitudes move across borders through immigration, transnationalism, and globalization. We draw upon two in‐depth studies of immigrants and those who stay in the home countries, focusing on Koreans' and Dominicans' attitudes toward Black Americans. By situating existing theories of racial prejudice within a transnational framework, we illustrate how models of transnationalism are relevant not just within immigration scholarship, but to more general processes of social change.     

Why marry? Race and the transition to marriage among cohabitors

Our study investigates the transition to first marriage among cohabiting black and white men and women, drawing on data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Our results underscore the importance of economic factors on the transition to marriage for both black and white cohabitors. We also find that for black cohabitors, but not for whites, socioeconomic disadvantage during childhood reduces the odds of marriage. The presence of children in cohabiting unions tends to increase the chances of marrying a cohabiting partner for both blacks and whites. Our results demonstrate the importance of including cohabitation in research on the marriage process.     

Dealing with death in an educational context

While empirical investigations and the development of theories for studying intercultural communication are important for developing our understanding of what happens when people of diverse backgrounds come together, equally important are records of specific instances of contact as these provide opportunities to reflect on what we know; to validate or question theories; to critically consider the decisions made by those involved as well as the kinds of decisions we might have taken had we been in that specific situation. This essay represents this latter type of contribution to the field of intercultural communication and intercultural education by presenting a snapshot of some personal experiences I had while living in Japan over a period of 18 years. The focal point of this essay relates to the tragic death of a student – an event that was pivotal in my own acculturation process. It then introduces some other experiences before relating these to some general issues concerning intercultural awareness and intercultural educational practice.     

Emotional Labor and Health Care

We examine the literature on emotional labor and health care to demonstrate the potential for emotional labor research to inform how social and medical scientists think about health care and how examining healthcare contexts has contributed to the scientific understanding of emotional labor processes. In doing so, we first review the key terms and definitions that are used within the emotion management perspective and evaluate the ways in which power differences have remained largely implicit features of research on emotional labor in healthcare settings. Finally, we explore how the increasing economic rationalization of health care may be influencing the emotional experiences of today's healthcare professionals and the implications of this trend for future research on emotional labor and the health and well-being of care providers and their patients.