60,010 research outputs found
Complex systems and applied linguistics
This book introduces and develops the potential of complex systems as a metaphor or supra-theory for systems in applied linguistics. Change and heterogeneity are central to complex systems theory and to the resonances that we find between complex systems and applied linguistics systems. The book explores these resonances and what happens when complex systems theory is used to make sense of central areas of applied linguistic concerns: language, language learning, discourse and the language classroom. Principles of complex systems theory are explained, drawing on work that has been most developed in the biological sciences and that is being extended into the social sciences, developmental psychology and other applied disciplines. These principles importantly include descriptions of change over time (system dynamics) that work for all levels and scales: movement from temporary and relative stability through adaptive behaviours and self-organisation to the emergence of new patterns that are not amenable to reductive explanations. Seeing applied systems as complex, adaptive and dynamic opens up new conceptualisations of properties and activities, enables new questions about how people use, learn and teach languages, and demands new ways of investigating behaviour and development
The learning process model for intercultural partnerships
This paper addresses the issue of how learning can support intercultural effectiveness and is
one of the outputs of the eChina-UK Programme. In this paper I synthesise theory and
evidence from a number of fields in order to propose a practical model of learning that can
be applied to intercultural collaborations. The aim is not to replace existing theories and
models of learning but to draw on them in order to present a simple description that might
be of value to those planning and managing international partnerships. Although much of
what is said here relates specifically to intercultural collaboration I believe that many of the
observations remain true of cross-sectoral partnership (which is, anyway, often intercultural
as well) and of inter-professional learning too: indeed, there might be an argument for
asserting principles of learning that contribute to effectiveness in working across boundaries
in any long-term collaboration.
The paper is divided into an Introduction and four further sections. Section 2 reviews the
various streams of literature which have informed the current study and presents an
argument for the particular approach to learning promoted in this paper on the basis of
established and complementary research in a number of different disciplines. Section 3
contains a description of the learning model for intercultural collaboration which has been
developed as part of our current research at the University of Warwick. The practical
application of this model, and the implications for policy in cultural collaboration, are
discussed briefly in Section 4. The final section summarises the work and looks forward to
further research and development around the issue of learning in intercultural collaboration
Investigating the learning transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge from an academic literacy course to business studies: Exploring the potential of dynamic assessment
Academic literacy courses aim to enable higher education students to participate in their chosen academic fields as fully as possible. However, the extent to which these students transfer the academic skills taught in these courses to their chosen disciplines is still under-researched. This article reports on a study that investigated the potential of dynamic assessment (an assessment approach that blends instruction into assessment) in the transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge among undergraduate business studies students in a UK public university. The data includes three students’ written assignments (N = nine), interviews (N = three) and business studies tutor (N = three) feedback. Drawing on Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning and a genre theory based on Systemic Functional Linguistics, the data were analysed. The findings suggest that dynamic assessment may contribute to the transfer of genre features and conceptual knowledge to a new assessment context. Implications of this for academic literacy instruction and assessment design are presented
'Getting out of the closet': Scientific authorship of literary fiction and knowledge transfer
Some scientists write literary fiction books in their spare time. If these
books contain scientific knowledge, literary fiction becomes a mechanism of
knowledge transfer. In this case, we could conceptualize literary fiction as
non-formal knowledge transfer. We model knowledge transfer via literary fiction
as a function of the type of scientist (academic or non-academic) and his/her
scientific field. Academic scientists are those employed in academia and public
research organizations whereas non-academic scientists are those with a
scientific background employed in other sectors. We also distinguish between
direct knowledge transfer (the book includes the scientist's research topics),
indirect knowledge transfer (scientific authors talk about their research with
cultural agents) and reverse knowledge transfer (cultural agents give
scientists ideas for future research). Through mixed-methods research and a
sample from Spain, we find that scientific authorship accounts for a
considerable percentage of all literary fiction authorship. Academic scientists
do not transfer knowledge directly so often as non-academic scientists, but the
former engage into indirect and reverse transfer knowledge more often than the
latter. Scientists from History stand out in direct knowledge transfer. We draw
propositions about the role of the academic logic and scientific field on
knowledge transfer via literary fiction. We advance some tentative conclusions
regarding the consideration of scientific authorship of literary fiction as a
valuable knowledge transfer mechanism.Comment: Paper published in Journal of Technology Transfe
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