Using the vignette methodology as a tool for exploring cultural identity positions : European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) Special Interest Group 21: Learning and Teaching in Culturally Diverse Settings: Moving through cultures of learning

In this paper we will examine how the vignette methodology can aid understanding of cultural identity. Vignettes are typically short stories about a fictional character or fictional scenario appropriate to a particular study. The story places the behaviour of the character in a concrete context and allows the researcher to explore participants? positions and perspectives on the issues arising from the situation. We argue that within a framework of cultural development theory and the dialogical self theory (Hermans, 2001) identity positions can be explained in relation to the sociocultural context. To do so we report on part of wider study about representations of children who work. In particular this paper will focus on language brokering which involves translating or interpreting on behalf of family members who do not speak the host language. Language brokering requires the child to engage in both the cultural contexts of the host culture and the home culture and as such, the child must negotiate new cultural identities. Those interviewed were young people aged between 15-18 years, some of whom were brokers and others who were not. When looking at the language broker vignette scenario these young people often positioned the parents, teachers and friends of the language broker in the scenario in particular ways. Through notions of adequacy and inadequacy, visibility and invisibility, theoretical ideas around cultural identity theory and the dialogical self theory can provide an understanding of how the young people moved through different (often conflicting) identity positions

The SACE Review panel's final report : significant flaws in the analysis of statistical data.

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is a credential and formal qualification within the Australian Qualifications Framework. A recent review of the SACE outlined a number of recommendations for significant changes to this certificate. These recommendations were the result of a process that began with the review panel 'scrutinizing carefully [existing SACE structures for] continuing validity and effectiveness'. This paper critiques the 'careful examination' of statistical trends and patterns used to build the case for reform. Central to these trends and patterns are measures of retention, socio-economic status and student achievement, all of which are problematic. This paper also challenges the appropriateness of the statistical techniques used in the review. The paper concludes by arguing that making significant policy changes based upon such limited and flawed analyses is problematic

Phenomenology and the online : the importance of studying experience

&nbsp;Phenomenological research into the online experience offers real value to Internet Studies and Digital Humanities scholars for three key reasons. Firstly, as an explicitly qualitative approach, it offers a way to gain insights into the experience of going online that are not identified by those who study behaviour alone. Secondly, as phenomenological studies focus on the individual rather than the collective, the resulting small sample size means that the investment required in terms of time spent with participants is minimised. Finally, the interpretation that emerges through the phenomenological research process produces categorisations that could form the basis on which larger scale, Big Data, quantitative research projects could be built.This paper will explore the above ideas through the lens of my doctoral research, which uses hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate the experience of persona construction by artists on the fringes of the traditional art world, specifically craftivists, tattoo artists, street artists, and performance poets. By incorporating the interpretive categorisations that have come from my early discussions, I will demonstrate the strength of a phenomenological approach to investigating the experience of using the world and social media to present the self to the world.<br /

A Glimmer of Light in the Great Depression: Women's Agency at the Southern Highlands Craft Guild in the 1930s and 1940s

During the Great Depression southern women’s economic opportunities were mainly limited to farm work or mill labor, with little to no economic equality or security. The Southern Highland Craft Guild of the Appalachian region was a unique entity made up of individual craft producing centers that hired women equally alongside men. Interest in this area stems from the overlooking of the guild in the southern economic narrative. By examining individual accounts of women working within the guild, this paper explores the experiences of rural women who were able to use this organization to achieve independence through craftwork and contributed to a widespread cultural movement throughout Appalachia

The value of design in craft for a more sustainable future

Key concepts of sustainability in the contemporary consumer society include cradle-to-cradle, slow-fashion, locally-made, re-use, recycle and re-make (or upcycle). Each of these concepts focuses on the design and manufacture of products that are essentially made to comply to a theoretical sustainable framework, thus enabling people to live in harmony with our planet. In an ideal world we would consume and waste less however, to be truly sustainable we also require a healthy economy and so there is dichotomy to be resolved in our consumption behaviours and economic needs; Craft practices have been identified as fitting the bill rather aptly allowing us, in theory, to consume goods at less expense to the environment. Currently we are experiencing a period of, let’s call it Crafts Nouveau, unlike the Arts and Crafts Movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries where craft was employed by designer-entrepreneurs, and unlike the Art Nouveau Movement which again harnessed the skills of designers and artists, today amateur craft-workers are joining the trained artisans in bringing hand-crafted items to the marketplace in their droves. Online platforms such as eBay and Etsy are helping such keen, but untrained producers of craft articles to set up micro businesses to sell their wares adding considerably to the amount of stuff available to consumers. As Luckman (2013: 260) states with regard to Etsy, there is ‘no gatekeeping around formal training’ and that this ‘inclusiveness’ potentially fixes a price of less value to all craft items, including the work of those with comparatively higher skill sets and expertise. The Craft Council (2014) reported 11,620 craft businesses operating in the UK employing around 43,250 people, of which, almost 17% are unregistered microbusinesses; while it is not to say that all of these unregistered businesses are run by amateur crafters, but the concept of devaluing skilled craft labour may still be appreciated within this. This paper explores the value of design in craft from a theoretical perspective, drawing on a broad range of texts beyond those confined to craft to bring about a more holistic understanding within the context of sustainable production, with the addition of observations and insights from personal experience. The personal insights originate from the researcher’s accounts and observations of the journey from crafter to trained designer to master class practitioner in order to better understand the role of design in craft in the applied sense. The researcher continues to practice secondary to academia for the purpose of pleasure, experimentation and for further learning and research purposes. Research approaches are used to develop this inquiry to evaluate the role of design in the wider concept of craft as a sustainable means, both economically and socially. While the larger body of research considers a range of crafts, the emphasis in this paper is on those related to textiles given the researcher’s experience and the relationship with fashion, trends and marketing, which must not be discounted as a driver of the current craft revival. As the research study is still in its infancy the purpose of this paper is to attempt to begin to consolidate a range of perspectives gained from theory and observational research in order to invite a critical debate around the value of design in craft and the new craft movement in the context of sustainable futures

Real-time optical manipulation of cardiac conduction in intact hearts

Optogenetics has provided new insights in cardiovascular research, leading to new methods for cardiac pacing, resynchronization therapy and cardioversion. Although these interventions have clearly demonstrated the feasibility of cardiac manipulation, current optical stimulation strategies do not take into account cardiac wave dynamics in real time. Here, we developed an all‐optical platform complemented by integrated, newly developed software to monitor and control electrical activity in intact mouse hearts. The system combined a wide‐field mesoscope with a digital projector for optogenetic activation. Cardiac functionality could be manipulated either in free‐run mode with submillisecond temporal resolution or in a closed‐loop fashion: a tailored hardware and software platform allowed real‐time intervention capable of reacting within 2 ms. The methodology was applied to restore normal electrical activity after atrioventricular block, by triggering the ventricle in response to optically mapped atrial activity with appropriate timing. Real‐time intraventricular manipulation of the propagating electrical wavefront was also demonstrated, opening the prospect for real‐time resynchronization therapy and cardiac defibrillation. Furthermore, the closed‐loop approach was applied to simulate a re‐entrant circuit across the ventricle demonstrating the capability of our system to manipulate heart conduction with high versatility even in arrhythmogenic conditions. The development of this innovative optical methodology provides the first proof‐of‐concept that a real‐time optically based stimulation can control cardiac rhythm in normal and abnormal conditions, promising a new approach for the investigation of the (patho)physiology of the heart

Cultural Psychology and Deconstructing Developmental Psychology

This paper looks at points of convergence and divergence between the different branches of cultural psychology and Burman's ideas in Deconstructing Developmental Psychology (DDP). The paper discusses the relationship between the developing ideas in cultural psychology over time and some of the shared theoretical and conceptual criticisms put forward in DDP. This takes into account some of the differences between symbolic approach, activity theory and an individualistic approach to cultural psychology. In turn, some of the bigger themes within the book are discussed such as the role of 'normalisation' and demarcation of age, and studying the child in context and how these relate to the different account of cultural psychology and the influence these themes have had on the author's own work. Since this paper details a personal research journey, examples are taken from work on home-school mathematics education, child language brokering and young caring. Using these examples, the paper examines how cultural psychology is interested in the mediation between culture and the person, whilst DDP asks us to question the stories and assumptions embedded within developmental psychology

ICS Materials. Towards a re-Interpretation of material qualities through interactive, connected, and smart materials.

The domain of materials for design is changing under the influence of an increased technological advancement, miniaturization and democratization. Materials are becoming connected, augmented, computational, interactive, active, responsive, and dynamic. These are ICS Materials, an acronym that stands for Interactive, Connected and Smart. While labs around the world are experimenting with these new materials, there is the need to reflect on their potentials and impact on design. This paper is a first step in this direction: to interpret and describe the qualities of ICS materials, considering their experiential pattern, their expressive sensorial dimension, and their aesthetic of interaction. Through case studies, we analyse and classify these emerging ICS Materials and identified common characteristics, and challenges, e.g. the ability to change over time or their programmability by the designers and users. On that basis, we argue there is the need to reframe and redesign existing models to describe ICS materials, making their qualities emerge