Understanding Evidence-Based Interventions for Cross-Cultural Group Work: A Learning Analytics Perspective

As the numbers of international students worldwide continue to rise, one common challenge is how best to socially integrate diverse groups of students. Indeed, research demonstrates that many students form social and learning relationships with those from the same cultural background, despite benefits of cross-cultural communication. This lack of social cohesion negatively affects students, particularly when it comes to their perceptions of collaborative group work. However, few studies have analysed measurable student behaviours in group work, such as with learning analytics, to determine how culture and existing social networks influence measurable differences in contributions. Similarly, little is known about what evidence-based interventions lead to more equal participation between diverse students. In this research, learning analytics is combined with social network analysis to determine the role of social connections on group work participation, and highlight replicable interventions that can help promote social cohesion in diverse classrooms

The Effect of Influence Tactics and Contingency Factors on the Adoption and Diffusion of IS/IT Innovations in Social Networks

Despite considerable research on the adoption and diffusion of information systems (IS)/ information technology (IT) innovations by individuals in organizations, very little is known about the processes underlying the adoption of innovations, and how those processes contribute to the diffusion and assimilation of innovations within organizations. Viewing processes as sequences of actions, this research conducted two studies to: a) uncover the adoption and influence processes employed by individuals, and b) identify the factors that influence diffusion and assimilation within social networks. The first study, situated at the individual level, involved field interviews with 27 individuals from ten organizations in a large mid-western city in the United States. Three categories of actions were identified from the interview data: contextual actions, influencer actions, and adopter (pre-adoption) actions. The actions from each interview were used to construct two sequences (for adoption and influence), which were then examined using optimal matching and cluster analysis. Taxonomies of three adoption processes (Conscious Quest, Requisite Compliance, and Piloted Trial) and three influence processes (Directed Assistance, Queried Disclosure, and Logical Persuasion) were empirically developed. These processes provide insights into the adoption of innovations by individuals. The second study, situated at the network level, involved an agent-based simulation. Building on the field interviews, the simulation modeled the behaviors of individuals within 5000 networks adopting multi-feature IS/IT innovations over 50 time periods. Cross-sectional time-series analyses of the resulting data supported 13 of the 20 hypotheses, and revealed that: a) diffusion was facilitated by: a centralized organization structure, an individualistic cultural orientation, and all three actions, b) assimilation was facilitated by: a centralized organization structure and an individualistic cultural orientation during the early periods but by a decentralized organization structure and a collectivistic cultural orientation during the later periods, and c) all three actions facilitated assimilation in the early periods but only contextual and adopter actions influenced assimilation during the later periods. Overall, this study yielded insights into the diffusion and assimilation of innovations within networks. Together, the two studies provided insights into the complex processes by which individuals within networks adopt IS/IT innovations with multiple features

Developing Capacity, Skills, and Tobacco Control Networks to address Tobacco-related Disparities: Leadership and Advocacy Institute to Advance Minnesota’s Parity for Priority Populations (LAAMPP)

Priority populations disproportionately experience tobacco-related disparities, despite population level declines in tobacco use. The Leadership and Advocacy Institute to Advance Minnesota’s Parity for Priority Populations (LAAMPP) recruits and trains African immigrants/African Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders, American Indians, Chicano/Latinos, and LGBTQ community members to develop leaders to address tobacco harms in their communities. This paper describes and evaluates the LAAMPP Institute, and discusses lessons learned through the Institute and future directions for community-based tobacco-control efforts. The mixed-methods evaluation included qualitative key informant interviews with LAAMPP Fellows and community and project contacts, a Skills Assessment Tool, project case studies, and a social network analysis of the Fellows’ tobacco-control social networks at baseline and follow-up. At follow-up, Fellows’ tobacco control networks were larger, more extensive and diverse, and included more actors perceived to be influential in tobacco control. Fellows’ skills increased in core competencies (tobacco control, advocacy, facilitation, collaboration, cultural/community competence) and Fellows used tobacco, advocacy and cultural/community competencies more frequently. Four of five cohorts successfully passed policies. The results of LAAMPP suggest that a cross-cultural leadership institute contributes to the successful development of capacity and leadership skills among priority populations and may be a useful model for others working toward health equity

Cultural Values and Cross-cultural Video Consumption on YouTube

Video-sharing social media like YouTube provide access to diverse cultural products from all over the world, making it possible to test theories that the Web facilitates global cultural convergence. Drawing on a daily listing of YouTube's most popular videos across 58 countries, we investigate the consumption of popular videos in countries that differ in cultural values, language, gross domestic product, and Internet penetration rate. Although online social media facilitate global access to cultural products, we find this technological capability does not result in universal cultural convergence. Instead, consumption of popular videos in culturally different countries appears to be constrained by cultural values. Cross-cultural convergence is more advanced in cosmopolitan countries with cultural values that favor individualism and power inequality

Cultivating learning and social interaction in an international classroom through small group work; a quasi-experimental study

Globalisation demands graduates to be culturally adept: cross-cultural experiences within an international classroom are an important part of contemporary higher education agendas (Kimmel & Volet, 2012; Montgomery, 2009; Rienties, Johan, & Jindal-Snape, 2014). The opportunities for learning from other cultures is noted as one of the reasons for international students studying abroad (Merrick, 2004). Patterson, Carrillo, and Salinas (2012) documented that cross-cultural learning could bring a number of advantages for both host-national and international students, such as understanding and appreciation of the world, ability to think critically, integrate multiple perspectives, acquiring global knowledge and hence to be able to work effectively in a global world. While studying abroad is increasingly common (Brisset, Safdar, Lewis, & Sabatier, 2010; Montgomery, 2009), research consistently suggests that international students continue to face a number of transitional challenges (Rienties, Beausaert, Grohnert, Niemantsverdriet, & Kommers, 2012; Ye, 2006; Zhou, Jindal-Snape, Topping, & Todman, 2008)

Using Learning Analytics to Implement Evidence-Based Interventions to Support Ethnic Minority and International Student Social Integrations

As universities in the UK become increasingly diverse, one common challenge is how best to socially integrate ethnic minority and international students into the classroom and larger campus. Indeed, research currently demonstrates that students most often form social and learning connections with peers from the same ethnicity or culture, despite the benefits of intergroup connections. However, few studies have looked at student social networks to determine how they influence actual behaviours in group learning activities. In this research, Social Network Analysis and Learning Analytics methods will be used to explore the role of social networks in classroom participation and attainment for ethnic minority and international students, highlighting replicable interventions that can help promote social cohesion in the UK

Heterogeneous effect of ethnic networks on international trade of Thailand: The role of family ties and ethnic diversity

Ethnic networks have been found to have a pro-trade effect in previous research. However, the heterogeneous effect of different ethnicities is under-studied. Drawing on the literature on social structure, this paper attempts to untangle the heterogeneous effect of ethnic networks on international trade using trade data of Thailand. We found that ethnic networks have a positive impact overall on trade, confirming the results of previous studies. However, the magnitude of the positive effect varies across different ethnicities along two dimensions. First, the strength of family ties in the culture of origin accelerates the pro-trade effect of its ethnic networks, suggesting ethnicities with stronger family ties have a cultural preference for trading within their own ethnic community. In comparison, ethnic diversity weakens the positive effect of ethnic networks on trade, suggesting an informational value of diverse ethnic structure in promoting trade between different ethnicities. Our study contributes new evidence of the enduring influence of social and cultural attributes on economic activities

Curiosity and its role in cross-cultural knowledge creation

This paper explores the role of curiosity in promoting cross-cultural knowledge creation and competence development. It is based on a study with four international higher educational institutions, all of which offer management and business education for local and international students. The reality of multicultural and intercultural relationships is researched using constructivist grounded theory method, with data collected through indepth interviews, long-term observation and participation, and discussion of the social reality as it was experienced by the participants. The study applies the concepts of cultural knowledge development, cross-cultural competence and cultural distance. Based on the comparative analysis, curiosity emerged as a personal condition conducive to the cultural knowledge development process. The paper presents a cross-cultural competence development process model, which takes into account the cultural curiosity of the learners. The paper also provides tentative recommendations for the steps that knowledge-creating multicultural organizations can take to develop cross-cultural exchange, cultural knowledge creation and cross-cultural competence development.peer-reviewe

A Comparison of Machine-Learning Methods to Select Socioeconomic Indicators in Cultural Landscapes

Cultural landscapes are regarded to be complex socioecological systems that originated as a result of the interaction between humanity and nature across time. Cultural landscapes present complex-system properties, including nonlinear dynamics among their components. There is a close relationship between socioeconomy and landscape in cultural landscapes, so that changes in the socioeconomic dynamic have an effect on the structure and functionality of the landscape. Several numerical analyses have been carried out to study this relationship, with linear regression models being widely used. However, cultural landscapes comprise a considerable amount of elements and processes, whose interactions might not be properly captured by a linear model. In recent years, machine-learning techniques have increasingly been applied to the field of ecology to solve regression tasks. These techniques provide sound methods and algorithms for dealing with complex systems under uncertainty. The term ‘machine learning’ includes a wide variety of methods to learn models from data. In this paper, we study the relationship between socioeconomy and cultural landscape (in Andalusia, Spain) at two different spatial scales aiming at comparing different regression models from a predictive-accuracy point of view, including model trees and neural or Bayesian networks

Chinese students' psychological and sociocultural adjustments to Britain: an empirical study

This paper reports an empirical study of the psychological and sociocultural adjustments of two cohorts of Chinese students taking a foundation course in English language at a British university. Using Zung's (1965) Self-Rating Depression Scale and a modification of Ward and Kennedy's (1999) Sociocultural Adaptation Scale, quantitative data were obtained on the students' adjustment experiences, and these were correlated with other variables such as grade point average, age and length of stay in Britain. Interview data provided a richer picture of their experiences. The study found that the majority of students had few psychological or sociocultural adjustment difficulties. Nevertheless, social interaction with non-Chinese was consistently identified as problematic and this, as well as difficulties in adjusting to daily life, were very highly correlated with psychological stress. End-of-course grade point average was found to be negatively correlated with the psychological stress experienced near the beginning of the academic year. The paper calls for further research to follow up these findings, and concludes with a list of suggestions for universities to help address overseas students' psychological and sociocultural adjustment needs