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

Software component testing : a standard and the effectiveness of techniques

This portfolio comprises two projects linked by the theme of software component testing, which is also often referred to as module or unit testing. One project covers its standardisation, while the other considers the analysis and evaluation of the application of selected testing techniques to an existing avionics system. The evaluation is based on empirical data obtained from fault reports relating to the avionics system. The standardisation project is based on the development of the BC BSI Software Component Testing Standard and the BCS/BSI Glossary of terms used in software testing, which are both included in the portfolio. The papers included for this project consider both those issues concerned with the adopted development process and the resolution of technical matters concerning the definition of the testing techniques and their associated measures. The test effectiveness project documents a retrospective analysis of an operational avionics system to determine the relative effectiveness of several software component testing techniques. The methodology differs from that used in other test effectiveness experiments in that it considers every possible set of inputs that are required to satisfy a testing technique rather than arbitrarily chosen values from within this set. The three papers present the experimental methodology used, intermediate results from a failure analysis of the studied system, and the test effectiveness results for ten testing techniques, definitions for which were taken from the BCS BSI Software Component Testing Standard. The creation of the two standards has filled a gap in both the national and international software testing standards arenas. Their production required an in-depth knowledge of software component testing techniques, the identification and use of a development process, and the negotiation of the standardisation process at a national level. The knowledge gained during this process has been disseminated by the author in the papers included as part of this portfolio. The investigation of test effectiveness has introduced a new methodology for determining the test effectiveness of software component testing techniques by means of a retrospective analysis and so provided a new set of data that can be added to the body of empirical data on software component testing effectiveness

The learning process in intercultural collaboration: evidence from the eChina-UK Programme

The eChina-UK Programme was established in 2002 and originally comprised a small number of projects in which British and Chinese teams worked collaboratively to develop and pilot e-learning materials in the field of education. Phase 1 of the Programme spanned the period 2003 to 2005 and produced a number of practical outputs (Spencer- Oatey 2007). Three follow-on projects were funded in Phase 2, which started in October 2005, and these included research reflecting on issues of pedagogy as well as the creation of further teaching and learning materials. These projects ran until 2007 and, in December of that year, Phase 3 of the Programme was put in place to capture insights from the experiences of all of the completed projects. The goal of Phase 3, therefore, was to draw out the learning from Phases 1 and 2 of the eChina-UK Programme with respect to the management of intercultural aspects of international education projects. In addition to the learning to be gained from the eChina-UK projects, the Phase 3 work included new research both into data generated in Phases 1 and 2 and into other sources of knowledge relating to intercultural effectiveness. The focus was on situating the learning from the eChina-UK projects into a wider intellectual context. The intention was to maximise the understanding of the intercultural management of international education projects and enable the production of resources for those engaged in current and future projects of this kind (Reid et al. 2009). This paper presents findings from one strand of the research carried out during Phase 3 of the eChina-UK Programme. The objective of this strand was to draw on data from eChina- UK and related studies in order to produce theoretical and practical insights into the nature of intercultural collaboration as a learning process. The focus on learning was primarily determined by the realisation (from analysis of the eChina-UK data and other studies of intercultural collaboration) that building intercultural competencies required significant attention to individual and group learning. Any practical recommendations and resources developed in Phase 3 of the programme would therefore need to pay attention to how participants managed their learning during an international partnership. Similarly, we might usefully be able to demonstrate how those planning such collaborations could benefit from embedding good learning practices from the outset of their work. The purpose of this paper is to summarise and analyse the findings from the empirical work carried out within this strand of Phase 3 research. I have set out elsewhere the theoretical background to this research and specifically to the development of the learning process model utilised here (Reid 2009a). That model will constitute part of the material available to researchers, managers and other practitioners through the Global People Resource Bank (www.globalpeople.org.uk) developed in Phase 3 of the eChina-UK Programme. None of this work would have been possible without the sustained support and co-operation of our colleagues in the various eChina-UK projects and at our funding body, the Higher Education Funding Council for England

Symposium on Llangrose Lake: the ecology and conservation of a large nutrient-rich lake in South Wales

This paper summarises a meeting which discussed the ecology and conservation of Llangorse Lake in South Wales. The meeting was organised by the British Ecological Society (Aquatic Ecology Group), in association with the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Brecon Beacon National Park Authority (BBNPA) and Environment Agency Wales. It took place on 22 October 1998

Touring Tourism Enterprising : Mundane Practices of Tourism Development

Tourism enterprises play a vital role in tourism development. This has inspired scholarly and policy interest in the workings of tourism enterprises, particularly the small enterprises that account for the majority. The heterogeneity of small enterprises presents challenging terrain for scholars and policymakers concerned to understand and manage enterprise development and tourism development. Scholars have called for more research to deepen understanding of tourism enterprises and tourism development. The question is how to approach this complex terrain in research and practice.Recent lines of research suggest that answers may lay in the vicissitudes of practice. Entrepreneurship scholars have lately started to examine enterprises from the vantage of practice, the research concern shifting to the constructing action of enterprising. This vantage offers much promise to deepen understanding of tourism enterprises and tourism development. However, practice perspectives have rarely been used in studies of tourism enterprises and the link between enterprising practices and tourism development has not yet been made. Drawing inspiration from nascent practice perspectives lately emerging in entrepreneurship and tourism studies, this thesis takes up the practice modality of enterprising to explore the terrain of tourism enterprises and tourism development.Using a multimethod qualitative approach, the thesis tours sites of enterprising action to offer another view of tourism enterprises and tourism development. Visiting the enterprising action of innovating, constructing, performing, intervening, and reflecting, the tour sheds light on the everyday action of enterprising to unfold an image of mundane tourism development. Orienting to the vicissitudes of enterprising practice, this thesis provides another view of tourism enterprises and tourism development, opening new avenues for research and practice.Enterprising carries ontological, epistemological, and methodological implications for research. It urges for post-disciplinary research approaches characterised by theoretical and methodological diversity geared to producing practicable knowledge through close encounters with the vicissitudes of practice. Enterprising and mundane tourism development are travelling concepts with transformative potential – not conceptual destinations, but concepts to inspire further travel

People making things happen : Visiting the inter-action of lifestyle enterprising

This paper engages with the micro action of lifestyle enterprising from an interactionist perspective. The here-and-now action of enterprising is examined in the using the microsociology of Erving Goffman in a single observational case study of tourism lifestyle enterprising in Sweden. The findings illustrate the blurring of assorted personal and commercial domains in the performance of enterprising. Admittance to private spheres can be seen as a form of “deference” (Goffman, 1967), these marking realm transitions, and amounting to noncommercial forms of service. The multiplicity of faces and domains lens support to the notion of enterprising as performance that is not oriented to a single domain or field, spans a multiple domains and fields, enterprising occurring in a nested ‘field of fields’. A conceptual model of enterprising as ‘regarding space’ is proposed, reflecting the notion that enterprising performances unfold multiple realms or fields of practice

Cooperative Markets - Walls Optional: Innovative Approaches to Food Access in Rural America

What are cooperatives? They may take many forms, from brick and mortar stores to mobile markets to kiosks. Learn about the many different forms that cooperatives can take as well as what makes them work

Tourism and Design : Participatory Inquiry as a Possible Route to Innovation in Tourism

Innovation is essential in the complex and fluid social environment of tourism; for the practitioner, the essential capability is that of being able to learn and innovate, and to do so often. One must therefore reflect on how present methods of university education might equip tourism students (or indeed students in any social science) to develop the necessary innovation capability so as to meet the challenges of a complex, dynamic and essentially unpredictable world. Inspiration may arise from the field of design, wherein creativity and innovation are endemic. The design-inspired method of Participatory Inquiry may assist to bring about innovation in tourism firms and the use of Participatory Inquiry methods in education may provide a means to assist students to develop the innovative capability essential for future roles in the fluid, social arena or tourism

Cooperative Ownership as a Succession Strategy for Independent Grocers

The presenter introduces the cooperative business model and explores the potential advantages of a transition to cooperative ownership as a viable succession strategy for owners planning to retire or simply get out of the grocery business. I explain the issues that grocery store owners and the community should consider before committing to such a transition, including: The need to provide an adequate timeline for cooperative organizing Balancing owners’ need for confidentiality and the co-op’s desire for transparency The roles of current management and staff during and after transition Sources of capital for the buyout Evaluating potential long-term viability under cooperative ownership I then present an outline of the organizing and development process of the cooperative entity and the ways in which the evolving co-op needs to work with the current business owners. Although owners are often reluctant to commit to a lengthy process with uncertain outcomes, the co-op can organize most effectively when they have the owners’ support and participation. Both parties must evaluate the proposed sale—owners want to come out well financially and may have a reputation and legacy that they want to protect, and the co-op must ensure that the grocery store can be viable after the purchase and any new investments they make in the business. Key decision points will be discussed. This presentation addresses the need for viable succession planning in small rural communities, focusing on the conference objective of charting a path forward for rural healthy food access and familiarizing participants with a less-familiar model of grocery store ownership

Tourism and Design : Participatory Inquiry as a Possible Route to Innovation in Tourism

Innovation is essential in the complex and fluid social environment of tourism; for the practitioner, the essential capability is that of being able to learn and innovate, and to do so often. One must therefore reflect on how present methods of university education might equip tourism students (or indeed students in any social science) to develop the necessary innovation capability so as to meet the challenges of a complex, dynamic and essentially unpredictable world. Inspiration may arise from the field of design, wherein creativity and innovation are endemic. The design-inspired method of Participatory Inquiry may assist to bring about innovation in tourism firms and the use of Participatory Inquiry methods in education may provide a means to assist students to develop the innovative capability essential for future roles in the fluid, social arena or tourism