Afterword : Beyond the naïve mantra of criticality in education (research)?

In this chapter Chen and Dervin suggest moving beyond a simplistic mantra of criticality, explaining that claiming and performing criticality does not mean one is really critical in (education) research. The authors start by referring to a group of Finnish students’ reflections about interculturality, for whom criticality meant: asking questions, questioning, reconsidering one’s assumptions, and unthinking. Chen and Dervin claim that, for other students, anywhere else in the world or from a different major at the same university, criticality might mean the same or something different. They thus advocate turning one’s attention to the question whose criticality can assess criticality? They also suggest an open-ended perspective whereby educators and researchers must accept contradictions, debates, and the symbolic violence of being questioned, of having their criticality critiqued. For the authors, this also means thinking for oneself to avoid being enslaved by pet theories, gurus and analytical stereotypes (amongst others) and to stop thinking that ‘one’s’ criticality is better than others’.Peer reviewe

Probing the dynamics and structure of confined benzene in MCM-41 based catalysts

A combination of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) experiments has been used to investigate the dynamics and structure of benzene in MCM-41 based catalysts. QENS experiments of benzene as both an unconfined liquid and confined in the catalyst Pt/MCM-41 find that the mobility of benzene decreases upon confinement as shown by the decreased diffusion coefficients. Complementary MD simulations on benzene in MCM-41 show agreement with the QENS experiments when using a novel fully flexible model of MCM-41. Structural information from the MD simulations show that benzene in MCM-41 has a significantly different structure from that of the bulk liquid; with benzene molecules closer together and no prefered orientation

Information seeking behavioural paths of physicians for diabetes mellitus care: a qualitative comparative analysis of information needs, sources, and barriers

This study addresses diabetes physicians’ information seeking behavioural paths (digital, conventional, interpersonal) which lead to information needs satisfaction and the barriers encountered in this process. The study was based on empirical evidence from a survey of 159 physicians. Theoretical analysis was informed by Wilson’s model of information seeking behaviour. The data were analysed using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method. The method was successful in identifying five behavioural paths leading to physicians’ information needs satisfaction (professional/health coaching) which demonstrate different relationships between information sources (conventional/interpersonal/digital) and information barriers (personal/digital illiteracy) and five behavioural paths that are not leading to satisfaction

Adaptive Appointment Systems with Patient Preferences

Patients\u27 satisfaction with an appointment system when they attempt to book a nonurgent appointment is affected by their ability to book with a doctor of choice and to book an appointment at a convenient time of day. For medical conditions requiring urgent attention, patients want quick access to a familiar physician. For such instances, it is important for clinics to have open slots that allow same-day (urgent) access. A major challenge when designing outpatient appointment systems is the difficulty of matching randomly arriving patients\u27 booking requests with physicians\u27 available slots in a manner that maximizes patients\u27 satisfaction as well as clinics\u27 revenues. What makes this problem difficult is that booking preferences are not tracked, may differ from one patient to another, and may change over time. This paper describes a framework for the design of the next generation of appointment systems that dynamically learn and update patients\u27 preferences and use this information to improve booking decisions. Analytical results leading to a partial characterization of an optimal booking policy are presented. Examples show that heuristic decision rules, based on this characterization, perform well and reveal insights about trade-offs among a variety of performance metrics important to clinic managers

Chinese overseas doctoral student narratives of intercultural adaptation

This study aims to explore how Chinese overseas doctoral students adjust to a different academic, social and cultural environment, using Giddens’ theoretical framework of self-identity (1991). The findings indicate the participants proactively used various coping strategies in meeting challenges, and adapting to new social environments. Continuity and stability of self-identity were achieved either culturally or academically through self-reflexivity, autonomy, creativity, authenticity, and reliance on an ontological identity. The result is to challenge the grand narrative of essentialised “problematic Chinese learners”

Intercultural ethics: questions of methods in language and intercultural communication

This paper explores how questions of ethics and questions of method are intertwined and unavoidable in any serious study of language and intercultural communication. It argues that the focus on difference and solution orientations to intercultural conflict has been a fundamental driver for theory, data collection and methods in the field. These approaches, the paper argues, have created a considerable consciousness raising industry, with methods, trainings and ‘critical incidents’, which ultimately focus intellectual energy in areas which may be productive in terms of courses and publications but which have a problematic basis in their ethical terrain. Dieser Artikel untersucht wie ethische und methodische Fragen nicht nur ineinander greifen, sondern in keiner ernstzunehmenden Studie ueber Sprache und interkulturelle Kommunikation ausgelassen werden duerfen. Es wird hier argumentiert, dass der Schwerpunkt auf Verschiedenheit und Problemorientierung im interkulturellen Konflikt einen wesentlichen Einfluss auf theoretische Entwicklungen, Datenerhebung und Methoden in diesem Bereich hatte. Dieser Artikel legt auch dar, wie diese Ansaetze eine betraechtliche ‘Bewusstseinsbildungs – Branche' erzeugt haben, mit Methoden, Trainings, und ‘kritischen Interaktionssituationen’, welche letztendlich allen intellektuellen Arbeitseifer auf Bereiche konzentriert hat, die zwar ertragreich sind in Bezug auf Kurse und Publikationen, jedoch eine problematische Grundlage im ethischen Bereich aufweisen

Erasmus Language students in a British University – a case study

Students’ assessment of their academic experience is actively sought by Higher Education institutions, as evidenced in the National Student Survey introduced in 2005. Erasmus students, despite their growing numbers, tend to be excluded from these satisfaction surveys, even though they, too, are primary customers of a University. This study aims to present results from bespoke questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with a sample of Erasmus students studying languages in a British University. These methods allow us insight into the experience of these students and their assessment as a primary customer, with a focus on language learning and teaching, university facilities and student support. It investigates to what extent these factors influence their levels of satisfaction and what costs of adaptation if any, they encounter. Although excellent levels of satisfaction were found, some costs affect their experience. They relate to difficulties in adapting to a learning methodology based on a low number of hours and independent learning and to a guidance and support system seen as too stifling. The results portray this cohort’s British University as a well-equipped and well-meaning but ultimately overbearing institution, which may indicate that minimising costs can eliminate some sources of dissatisfaction