What is wrong with silence in intercultural classrooms? An insight into international students’ integration at a UK university

Recent research has reported a common tendency for international students to be silent in the classroom, identifying language competence and cultural difference as main barriers to participation. However, insights into the integration of international students within the classroom context remain rather limited. Grounded in the framework of Lave and Wenger’s community of practice, this paper examines the issue of silence in verbal participation of postgraduate international students of different socio-cultural backgrounds in a UK university context. Findings reveal tensions in classroom activities resulting from different perceptions and attitudes towards oral participation. Comparative analyses in different classroom communities and peer interactions were carried out to provide implications for practice to better integrate international students within educational context

Going back, staying put, moving on : Brexit and the future imaginaries of Central and Eastern European young people in Britain

This paper explores the ways in which young people aged 12 to 18 who were born in Central and Eastern European EU countries but now live in the United Kingdom construct their future imaginaries in the context of Brexit. It reports on findings from a large-scale survey, focus groups and family case studies to bring an original perspective on young migrants’ plans for the future, including mobility and citizenship plans, and concerns over how Britain’s decision to leave the European Union might impact them. While most of the young people planned to stay in Britain for the immediate future, it was clear that Brexit had triggered changes to their long-term plans. These concerns were linked to uncertainties over access to education and the labour market for EU nationals post-Brexit, the precarity of their legal status and their overall concerns over an increase in racism and xenophobia. While our young research participants expressed a strong sense of European identity, their imaginaries rarely featured ‘going back’ to their country of birth and instead included narratives of moving on to more attractive, often unfamiliar, destinations. The reasons and dynamics behind these plans are discussed by drawing on theories of transnational belonging

The impact of place of origin on international and domestic graduates’ mobility in China

This article addresses the cumulative effect of graduate migration and opportunities for career development. Using data from an online survey of 756 master’s-level graduates educated in China and the UK, it examines their geographical mobility patterns and reveals significant differences between Chinese students who graduated from domestic universities and those who were educated abroad. Spatial autocorrelation analysis shows that international returnees, who usually had more privileged family backgrounds, clustered in China’s highly developed core cities of the Bohai Economic Rim and Yangtze River Delta regions, such as Beijing and Shanghai, while domestic graduates tended to work and live in less affluent medium-sized cities around these regions. Women international graduates were more mobile than their men counterparts. Our results provide new evidence that draws attention to migration’s role in graduate career development opportunities and highlights inherent economic discrimination within China, which is perpetuated by the national residency permit system — Hukou. The case of Chinese graduates shows that the mobility patterns of international and domestic graduates are influenced by and contribute to growing regional inequalities for career development in China

Conversations: Yulia Nesterova with Marta Moskal

No abstract available

Eastern European Young People in Brexit Britain : Racism, Anxiety and a Precarious Future [Research and Policy Briefing No.1]

Here to Stay? is a research project which explores the lives of young people who arrived in the UK as migrant children from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It focuses on young people aged 12-18 who migrated after the EU enlargement in 2004 and have lived in the UK for at least 3 years. The project explores how migration and current immigration policies are impacting their lives, how satisfied they are with local services, the quality of their relationships, and what are their feelings of identity and belonging in the UK. The study is important because it presents the first analysis since the Brexit Referendum on how current plans for Britain to leave the European Union are impacting on young Eastern Europeans’ lives. We have gathered the opinions and experiences of over 1,100 young people on a range of issues, including Brexit, their participation in communities and access to services, their experiences of racism and exclusion, their relationships, well-being and plans for future now that the UK is planning to leave the EU. These Briefings aim to inform a wide range of audiences on the experiences of young Eastern Europeans living in contemporary Britain. The Briefings should also help local authorities and other organisations develop policies and improve services for young people, taking into account their needs and experiences

2D-Raman correlation spectroscopy as a method to recognize of the interaction at the interface of carbon layer and albumin

In modern nanomaterial production, including those for medical purposes, carbon based materials are important, due to their inert nature and interesting properties. The essential attribute for biomaterials is their biocompatibility, which indicates way of interactions with host cells and body fluids. The aim of our work was to analyze two types of model carbon layers differing primarily in topography, and developing their interactions with blood plasma proteins. The first layer was formed of pyrolytic carbon C (CVD) and the second was constructed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes obtained by electrophoretic deposition (EPD), both set on a Ti support. The performed complex studies of carbon layers demonstrate significant dissimilarities regarding their interaction with chosen blood proteins, and points to the differences related to the origin of a protein: whether it is animal or human. However the basic examinations, such as: wettability test and nano sctatch tests were not sufficient to explain the material properties. In contrast, Raman microspectroscopy thoroughly decodes the phenomena occurring at the carbon structures in contact with the selected blood proteins. The 2D correlation method selects the most intense interaction and points out the different mechanism of interactions of proteins with the nanocarbon surfaces and differentiation due to the nature of the protein and its source: animal or human. The 2D correlation of the Raman spectra of the MWCNT layer+HSA interphase proves an increase in albumin β-conformation. The presented results explain the unique properties of the Clayers (CVD) in contact with human albumin

Eastern European Young People's Use of Services in the UK

Here to Stay? is a research project which explores the lives of young people who arrived in the UK as migrant children from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It focuses on young people aged 12-18 who migrated after the EU enlargement in 2004 and have lived in the UK for at least 3 years. The project explores how migration and current immigration policies are impacting their lives, how satisfied they are with local services, the quality of their relationships, and what are their feelings of identity and belonging in the UK. The study is important because it presents the first analysis since the Brexit Referendum on how current plans for Britain to leave the European Union are impacting on young Eastern Europeans’ lives. We have gathered the opinions and experiences of over 1,100 young people on a range of issues, including Brexit, their participation in communities and access to services, their experiences of racism and exclusion, their relationships, well-being and plans for future now that the UK is planning to leave the EU. These Briefings aim to inform a wide range of audiences on the experiences of young Eastern Europeans living in contemporary Britain. The Briefings should also help local authorities and other organisations develop policies and improve services for young people, taking into account their needs and experiences

Eastern European Young People's Political and Community Engagement in the UK

Here to Stay? is a research project which explores the lives of young people who arrived in the UK as migrant children from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). It focuses on young people aged 12-18 who migrated after the EU enlargement in 2004 and have lived in the UK for at least 3 years. The project explores how migration and current immigration policies are impacting their lives, how satisfied they are with local services, the quality of their relationships, and what are their feelings of identity and belonging in the UK. The study is important because it presents the first analysis since the Brexit Referendum on how current plans for Britain to leave the European Union are impacting on young Eastern Europeans’ lives. We have gathered the opinions and experiences of over 1,100 young people on a range of issues, including Brexit, their participation in communities and access to services, their experiences of racism and exclusion, their relationships, well-being and plans for future now that the UK is planning to leave the EU. These Briefings aim to inform a wide range of audiences on the experiences of young Eastern Europeans living in contemporary Britain. The Briefings should also help local authorities and other organisations develop policies and improve services for young people, taking into account their needs and experiences

An Early Neolithic House in the Foothills:A Case Study of Pottery and Lithic Artefacts from the Biskupice Site 18 (Wieliczka Foothills, Southern Poland)

Highlights•Biskupice site (S Poland) represents the late Želiezovce phase (5300 to 5000 BCE).•Pottery was produced locally, and showed a use of animal fats for cooking.•The face vessel was of local origin, but influenced by Transcarpathian style.•Obsidian artefacts originated from the Carpathian 1a/1b chemical type, S-E Slovakia.•Transcarpathian contacts between LBK and Bükk culture were discussed.AbstractThe paper presents a comprehensive analysis of pottery and lithic materials found in archaeological features associated with an Early Neolithic house from Biskupice (southern Poland) to shed light on exchange networks of the first farmers in Central Europe. The research began with the discovery of a unique fragment of a face vessel made in the Želiezovce style, a motif primarily found in Moravia and north-eastern Austria. Therefore, specialised analyses were undertaken to determine whether the Biskupice fragment was locally produced or originated from areas south of the Sudetes and Carpathians. The study involved an examination of raw clay material and the technology used to create the anthropomorphic vessel, aiming to establish its provenance (local production versus import). Petrographic methods were employed to analyse a diverse group of vessel types for comparison. Additionally, a selected group of pottery fragments, including the face vessel, underwent lipid residue analysis to determine their potential use. The combination of microscopic examinations and lipid residues analysis was utilised to study the link between the physical properties and function of the vessels. Finally, the archaeological context of other artifacts from the same house, including lithic assemblages, was investigated to determine the presence of both local and imported raw materials in Biskupice. The main conclusion of the study indicates local production of pottery, including the face vessel, and lithic implements. Conversely, a Transcarpathian transfer of some technological and decorative ideas, as well as imports of raw material such as obsidian, were confirmed

Language and cultural capital in school experience of Polish children in Scotland

This article addresses the complex relationship between migration and education in the context of recent intra-European labour mobility. It considers how this mobility impacts the education and life chances of migrant students attending schools in Scotland, UK. By examining the experiences of Polish migrant children and youth at schools in Scotland, the article engages with the issues of language, cultural capital transferability and social positioning. Drawing on qualitative data from 65 in-depth interviews with school children aged 5–17 years, their parents and teachers, as well as observations in the contexts of school and home, the article points to a range of factors affecting the transition of migrant pupils to new schools and social environments