Learning to live together: an exploration and analysis of managing cultural diversity in centre-based early childhood development programmes

This paper explores how early childhood development practitioners running centre-based programmes with children aged 3–6 years address the needs of an increasing number of children from diverse cultural backgrounds in their care. This is important as early childhood is a critical moment in which to create a positive awareness about diversity. A qualitative and interactive research design was employed to identify what values, attitudes, knowledge and strategies practitioners and families believe are important to promote the social integration of children from diverse backgrounds. In-depth interviews and participant observation were used to collect data from 10 practitioners working in two urban settlements in two provinces of South Africa, while focus group interviews were carried out with the families of children attending two of the centres. The findings showed that an intercultural education approach provides the necessary tools to address challenges faced by practitioners including promoting social integration, respect for diversity and multilingualism, and the prevention of racist, xenophobic and discriminatory attitudes and actions.

Este trabajo explora la manera en que los educadores, trabajando en centros de educación infantil con niños entre tres y seis años atienden las necesidades de cada vez mayor número de niños de orígenes culturales y lingüísticos diversos. Esto es importante porque la etapa de la infancia es un momento crítico para crear una conciencia positiva sobre la diversidad. Se utilizó un diseño de investigación cualitativa e interactiva para identificar cuales son los valores, actitudes, conocimientos y estrategias que los educadores y las familias creen que son importantes para promover la integración social de los niños de diversos orígenes. Se utilizaron entrevistas en profundidad y observaciones participativas para recopilar datos de diez educadores de dos comunidades urbanas situadas en dos provincias de Sudáfrica. Asimismo, se entrevistaron las familias de los niños que asisten a dos de dichos centros. Los resultados mostraron que el modelo de educación intercultural proporciona las herramientas necesarias para hacer frente a los desafíos que los educadores enfrentan: la promoción de la integración social, el respeto a la diversidad y el multilingüismo, y la prevención de actitudes y acciones racistas, xenófobas y discriminatorias.     

Do ‘soft law’ board gender quotas work? Evidence from a natural experiment

In a new era of “open governance”, in which societal and corporate change is taking place, 15 predominantly European countries, including Spain, enacted board gender quotas to increase the share of women on boards. In this paper, we explore the effectiveness of the European Union’s first “soft” quota – the 2007 Spanish Gender Equality Act recommending all large public and private Spanish firms to appoint a target of 40 percent of each gender to serve as board directors by 2015. The Act provides an incentive in that quota compliant firms may receive a preference for the tendering of public contracts. We draw on institutional and resource dependency theories to motivate the first empirical test of a “soft” quota which is distinct from Norway’s “hard law” board gender quota, and more similar to the proposed EU-wide quota. Using a large novel panel of 767 Spanish firms and 2786 firm-year observations from 2005 to 2014, we exploit the Spanish Act as a natural experiment and employ a difference-in-differences model. We find that less than nine percent of targeted firms fully comply with the quota. Firms that depend on public contracts are significantly more likely to increase female representation, although quota compliant firms do not actually benefit from the Act’s potential incentive. The results highlight the Spanish government’s lack of commitment to the quota, and that the quota’s normative obligations did not trigger the adoption of gender-balanced boards.     

The structure of everyday narrative in a city market: An ethnopoetics approach

This paper considers the value of Hymesian ethnopoetics as a means of analysing everyday narrative in conditions of mobility and change. The paper offers an account of the development of ethnopoetics as a means to make visible and valorize narrative in the Native American oral tradition, and as a method of revealing culturally specific relations of form and meaning. Hymes’ ethnopoetic approach viewed narrative structure as a reflection of a cultural tradition of meaning‐making. Hymes’ analysis proposed that traditional narrative was a culturally shaped way of speaking, and analysis of narrative structure could reveal and recreate culture. His orientation rested on an assumption that the culture of a group was more or less stable and fixed. This paper adopts an approach to analysis based on ethnopoetics, representing everyday narrative dramatically, organized not only as lines and verses, but also as scenes and acts. Representation in scenes and acts makes visible the dynamic nature of the narrative. The paper asks whether Hymes’ ground‐breaking work on ethnopoetics still has currency and purchase in 21st‐century conditions of mobility, change, and unpredictability. Analysis of everyday narrative in a city market concludes that, notwithstanding the complexity of notions of ‘culture’ and ‘language’ in such conditions, ethnopoetics can be productively applied to everyday contexts for the analysis of narrative.     

Spatial distance and mobile business social network density

Following the increasing adoption of mobile communication, scholars have shown interest in the role of place on the structure of mobile social networks. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between spatial distance and the closure and diversity of businesses mobile social networks. We used a database that aggregates actual mobile communication patterns of business users of a large Israeli cell phone company (n?= 16,199). Our findings, among a large sample of businesses, provide support for the place and mobile communication perspective. The results reveal a negative association between spatial distance and mobile business communication networks. As spatial distance between business network members increases, business social ties through mobile communication decreases. Furthermore, the results also revealed a negative association between spatial distance and mobile network density. As the spatial distance between business users increases, the density of the mobile communication network diminishes. Physical proximity promotes the development of dense business networks. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Whose history should be dealt with in a pluricultural context – immigrant adolescents’ approach

This study focuses on migrant adolescents’ perspective on history education with special reference to their families’ home country. The data consist of qualitative interviews with 36 students from various migrant groups (aged 14–16 years). The history of the home country seemed to be significant for the students and they would have wanted to hear about it in school; but in most cases, the main source of information had been family or media.     

转机与初兴的“1956”——意识形态视域下的两岸三地影业

在中国电影发展史上,总有一些特殊的年份因其影业在技术体系、艺术形式、美学品格、运转机制上呈现出来的转变与超越而被后人书写、铭记,“电影史的1956”即是如此。自1949年两岸分治以来,三地电影业呈现出个别经营、独自发展的特异格局与历史奇观,但在1956年这一时代节点却同时迎来了影业的转机与初兴。所谓转机,是指三地电影业摆脱了分治七年来的困惑、停滞、整顿的局势,迎来改革、重构、立新的曙光;所谓初兴,即是说整个中国影业在影片的创作产量与艺术质量、题材类型与风格样式、文化自省与市场拓展上都达到了自立与成长中的新纬度。     

Trends and issues in language policy and language education in Crimea

This work identifies and discusses developments in language policy and language education in Crimea since the peninsula’s incorporation into the Russian Federation in March 2014. Working on the assumption that post-Soviet reforms and changes in language and education policies cannot be understood outside their historical context, the article starts by briefly outlining some of the defining features of the historical and sociolinguistic situation of Crimea until March 2014. It then presents the changing linguistic situation of the peninsula since its accession into Russia and discusses present developments in light of the broader context of post-Soviet language ideologies, policies and practices. It suggests that the new Crimean authorities are following a double strategy: the imposition of monolingual educational and linguistic policies, accompanied by largely symbolic concessions to the demands of local ethnic communities.     

Assessing Cultural Competence in a BSW Student Population

Bachelor’s level social workers serve a population that is becoming more diverse. Social work educators must respond with adapted teaching methods, theories, and exercises to reflect the growing need for cultural competence in our practitioners. The 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) outline the knowledge, value, and skills competencies central to social work education. These competencies include thorough integration of cultural competence in social work education; the ways in which this content is taught likely vary greatly between programs. This study assessed whether students gained competence as a result of taking a bachelor’s level social work (BSW) course in cultural diversity at a mid-sized public university. Furthermore, the study assessed whether their level of competence was related to student demographics, such as being from an urban or rural community. One hundred twenty-three students completed the California Brief Multicultural Competence Scale (CBMCS) at the beginning and end of a course specifically dedicated to cultural competence. Results indicate that the course itself is effective in increasing significantly student’s self-reported cultural competence. Study results lay the foundation for future research that will (1) assess more broadly the implications of a specific cultural competence course and (2) aid in the development of a social work-specific measure of cultural competence.     

Explaining relationships between ethnic diversity and informal social capital across European countries and regions: Tests of constrict, conflict and contact theory

In this study we focus on the relationship between ethnic diversity and informal social capital. As this refers to rather strong social ties in the intimate domain, it is a strict test of Putnam’s claim that ethnic diversity would decrease social capital. In order to explain these relationships, we derived mediating mechanisms from conflict and contact theory. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002/2003), we applied multilevel analyses considering three levels: individuals, regions and countries. Our results revealed a direct positive effect of ethnic diversity at the country level on informal helping, yet no indirect effect via the mediating variables. At the regional level, we only found an indirect effect of ethnic diversity. Here, ethnic diversity increases the likelihood of intergroup contact that in turn is positively related to both informal social meeting and helping. Perceived ethnic threat turned out to have a negative effect on informal social meeting.     

文化全球化:文化共融与发展的历史契机

在全球化的历史进程中,文化与经济的结合促进了世界文化、经济的日益发展,文化全球化与经济全球化相伴相生,而且文化作为基于国家实力之上的“软权力”,其地位与作用日益上升。全球化在给本土文化带来挑战的同时,也为多样文化的共融与发展提供了契机。