Emotional experiences of preservice science teachers in online learning : the formation, disruption and maintenance of social bonds

The enactment of learning to become a science teacher in online mode is an emotionally charged experience. We attend to the formation, maintenance and disruption of social bonds experienced by online preservice science teachers as they shared their emotional online learning experiences through blogs, or e-motion diaries, in reaction to videos of face-to-face lessons. A multi-theoretic framework drawing on microsociological perspectives of emotion informed our hermeneutic interpretations of students’ first-person accounts reported through an e-motion diary. These accounts were analyzed through our own database of emotion labels constructed from the synthesis of existing literature on emotion across a range of fields of inquiry. Preservice science teachers felt included in the face-to-face group as they watched videos of classroom transactions. The strength of these feelings of social solidarity were dependent on the quality of the video recording. E-motion diaries provided a resource for interactions focused on shared emotional experiences leading to formation of social bonds and the alleviation of feelings of fear, trepidation and anxiety about becoming science teachers. We offer implications to inform practitioners who wish to improve feelings of inclusion amongst their online learners in science education.

Social and cultural drivers of incentive effectiveness in infrastructure projects

Formal incentives systems aim to encourage improved performance by offering a reward for the achievement of project-specific goals. Despite argued benefits of incentive systems on project delivery outcomes, there remains debate over how incentive systems can be designed to encourage the formation of strong project relationships within a complex social system such as an infrastructure project. This challenge is compounded by the increasing emphasis in construction management research on the important mediating influence of technical and organisational context on project performance. In light of this challenge, the research presented in this paper focuses on the design of incentive systems in four infrastructure projects: two road reconstructions in the Netherlands and two building constructions in Australia. Based on a motivational theory frame, a cross case analysis is conducted to examine differences and similarities across social and cultural drivers impacting on the effectiveness of the incentive systems in light of infrastructure project context. Despite significant differences in case project characteristics, results indicate the projects’ experience similar social drivers impacting on incentive effectiveness. Significant value across the projects was placed on: varied performance goals and multiple opportunities to across the project team to pursue incentive rewards; fair risk allocation across contract parties; value-driven tender selection; improved design-build integration; and promotion of future work opportunities. However, differences across the contexts were identified. Results suggest future work opportunities were a more powerful social driver in upholding reputation and establishing strong project relationships in the Australian context. On the other hand, the relationship initiatives in the Dutch context seemed to be more broadly embraced resulting in a greater willingness to collaboratively manage project risk. Although there are limitations with this research in drawing generalizations across two sets of case projects, the results provide a strong base to explore the social and cultural influences on incentive effectiveness across different geographical and contextual boundaries in future research.

Theorising the impacts of digitally mediated social interaction on diasporic identity formation: A case of Chinese diaspora in Australia

With the scope of Chinese diaspora in Australia, this paper theorises the impacts of digitally mediated social interaction on diasporic identity formation in the new media landscape. People’s identity is the outcome of their social interactions with other individuals. In the new media landscape, digital media technologies are changing the way in which people communicate with others. On one hand, space and time are unprecedentedly compressed by media technologies so people can maintain more frequent and instant connections with others than before. On the other hand, the digital media technologies have constructed a virtual social space that might withdraw people from their physical social interactions. As we witness today, our social interactions are increasing digitally mediated, in the forms of posts and comments in social network sites, as well as the messages in social apps. As to the diasporic groups, this new media landscape is presenting a challenge to their identity formation. They physically live in the host countries but still keep close social and cultural connections with their homelands. Facilitated by digital media technologies, they are facing two platforms in which they can practice different identity performances: one is the digitally mediated social network; the other is the physical social network. In the case of Chinese diaspora, the situation is more complex due to the language factor and media censorship in Mainland China, which will be articulated in the main text. This paper aims to fill a gap between media studies and diaspora research. Most of existing research on the relationship between diasporic identity and media primarily focuses on the development of ethnic media institutions, and the production and consumption of ethnic media in the pre-digital media context. However, the process of globalisation and digital media technologies are increasing the homogeneity and hybridity of media content worldwide. In this new context, attributing the formation of different identities to the consumption of media content is arguable to some extent. Therefore, the overlapped area of new media studies and diaspora research still has space deserves further investigation.

The Impact of Readily Detected- and Underlying Attributes on Social Integration in Cross-Cultural Settings

The benefits and drawbacks of homogeneity and heterogeneity have been debated at length. Whereas some researchers assert that heterogeneity is beneficial for groups that are engaged in complex problem solving, the other researchers emphasize the potential costs associated with diversity. The inconsistency is a result of the incomplete measurement of diversity and focus one or two types of diversity. Most research concentrates on the readily detected/visible characteristics, making the assumption that such characteristics are related to underlying attributes (e.g., attitudes and values). In many cases, the demographic characteristics do not covary perfectly with the psychological attributes. Thus both types of attributes need to be utilized to fully understand the impact of diversity. The present research with four essays takes into account both types of attributes and tests their impact on social integration in cross-cultural settings. The results indicate that: (1) readily detectable- and underlying attributes are not related; (2) diversity has overall a negative impact on social integration; (3) socio-cultural context potentially influences the salience of diversity; and (4) diversity and social integration influences the formation of social cognition in form of transactive memory directories. The limits of research and managerial implications are discussed.

Atravessando a Linha Vermelha: Programa Nova Baixada de Educação Infantil discutindo a diversidade étnico-racial e cultural na formação docente

Esta dissertação tem como objeto a incorporação do tema Diversidade Étnico-Racial e Cultural na formação docente para a Educação Infantil na Periferia. A partir da problematização do cotidiano enfocou-se questões como Racismo e Preconceito e a forma como são abordadas junto à Infância Pequena. Nesta pesquisa buscou-se analisar o desenvolvimento do Programa Nova Baixada de Educação Infantil e refletir sobre o lugar que ocupa nas políticas educacionais, tendo como campo de investigação a Baixada Fluminense. Orienta pelo propósito de compreender de que forma as discussões étnico-raciais e a diversidade cultural estão ou não inseridas nos espaços de formação adotou-se, metodologicamente, uma abordagem qualitativa, de natureza descritiva. As técnicas privilegiadas foram: análise documental, entrevistas estruturadas e semi-estruturadas. Os sujeitos da investigação foram docentes e gestores de instituições nas quais se implementaram o PNB, a saber: Creche Margarida da Silva Duarte e Vereador Nilo Dias Teixeira, ambas no bairro da Chatuba, em Mesquita, município emancipado da cidade de Nova Iguaçu em 1999. Fez-se levantar e analisar as contribuições da formação docente no processo de pensar o fazer educativo. O referencial teórico se fundamenta nos estudos de Trindade, Silva, Kramer, Faria, Lino e Hasenbalg que abordam o tema relações étnico-racial na educação infantil. Através de nossa pesquisa observou-se que há escassez de trabalhos que discutem essa questão, como também, nas matrizes curriculares dos cursos de formação de professores, onde a Educação Infantil ocupa um espaço de penumbra como objeto de reflexão. Por fim, conclui-se que o meio acadêmico se volta, predominantemente, para os aspectos desenvolvimentistas da formação infantil, relegando ao segundo plano, a discussão sobre a diversidade cultural, étnica e racial. No tocante às políticas públicas indicamos a pertinência da revisão, pelo Poder Público, dos critérios que orientam a definição de prioridades e que na prática se traduzem de modo muito limitado frente às conquistas mais recentes dos direitos de todas as crianças de 0 a 6 anos, entre eles, os de freqüentar creches e pré-escolas, lugar seu conquistado.

Cultura corporal: pesquisa com adolescentes do Centro Cultural Cartola (CCC) Rio de Janeiro

A definição mais plausível para esta pesquisa é aquela onde a adolescência se estabelece de acordo com a história de vida e o contexto sociocultural no qual o sujeito está inserido, que envolve, na transição para a fase adulta, transformações na mente, na personalidade, no comportamento e principalmente no corpo. O grupo das adolescentes pesquisadas encontra-se numa fase da vida de descobertas, mudanças (psicológicas identitárias e acima de tudo corporais) assim como todo e qualquer sujeito que encontra-se nessa fase da vida. Com a entrada na adolescência, ocorre a formação de grupos no qual as adolescentes vão se identificar. Cada grupo tem a sua marca, o seu estilo, e o corpo parece ser o grande tradutor dessa nova fase, os efeitos de comparação começam a surgir, o medo de não ser aceita pelo grupo faz com que a adolescente recorra a métodos que acredita ser eficazes na busca de um eu ideal e consequentemente um corpo ideal. Esta pesquisa discute as idealizações corporais das jovens encontradas durante a realização da pesquisa de campo, e as ligações que existem entre essa idealização e as constituições desse ideal sob a concepção do movimento corporal. A análise de dados se baseou em interpretações psicológicas acerca dos desenhos realizados pelas adolescentes. Visto que a Comunidade da Mangueira é um espaço multicultural (estilos de músicas, danças, esportes, entre outros), mas que em comum tem o corpo como o principal tradutor dessas vivências. A busca pelo corpo ideal está longe de ser integralmente satisfeito, sendo a cultura a grande responsável pela elaboração emocional, mental e principalmente corporal das adolescentes do grupo de Jazz do CCC. A aplicação da metodologia do Grupo Operativo teve como um dos objetivos desconstruir e reestruturar o imaginário das adolescentes o conceito de corpo ideal, que atualmente é visto de forma rígida e estereotipada pela sociedade contemporânea. Tal ferramenta foi muito útil no processo de desconstrução do conceito de corpo ideal por parte das meninas. As dinâmicas utilizadas tiveram como objetivos despertar novos olhares sobre o corpo, assim como criar situações onde as jovens pudessem buscar o melhor de si, mas sem fugir da própria realidade corporal.

Brincadeira e arte: patrimônio, formação cultural e samba de coco em Pernambuco

Esta proposta de estudo aborda questões relativas a políticas públicas de cultura. Tem por referente o samba de coco nas comunidades afrodescendentes de Castainho e Atoleiros, situadas nos municípios de Garanhuns e Caetés, do agreste de Pernambuco, região que se constitui parcela de território do antigo quilombo dos Palmares, um dos principais focos de resistência dos escravos negros do Brasil colonial, que se manteve incólume durante quase um século. Na região atribuída à existência do antigo quilombo estão vários grupos autointitulados remanescentes, que fazem dos ideais de força e resistência quilombola sua própria vida. O título do estudo é Brincadeira e arte: patrimônio, formação cultural e samba de coco em Pernambuco. O objetivo geral é relacionar o processo de criação em manifestações artísticas populares com as políticas institucionais empreendidas, numa perspectiva intercultural e transdisciplinar, tomando como referencial empírico a brincadeira de samba de coco nos municípios de Garanhuns e Caetés, em Pernambuco, respectivamente nas comunidades Sítio Castainho e Sítio Atoleiros, através da Banda Folclore Verde do Castainho e do Samba de Coco Santa Luzia. A ideia é viabilizar um estudo que se reporta ao conceito de patrimônio cultural étnico brasileiro, percebendo cultura como uma construção histórica da humanidade e compreendendo a manifestação artística como patrimônio imaterial. Trata-se de uma análise sobre grupos brincantes do chamado samba de coco como manifestação plural, de características diversificadas, que ambiciona influenciar políticas públicas destinadas a artistas populares ligados à música, ao canto, à dança e à literatura popular, encarnada em letras de canções, cujo conteúdo é repassado às novas gerações através da oralidade ou por ações de formação cultural, como iniciativas do poder público. Políticas públicas de cultura, patrimônio e formação cultural para preservação são as palavras-chave para identificação das condições atuais da relação entre artistas e gestão pública, considerando a perspectiva de educação não formal, no sentido atribuído pela UNESCO, referenciando-se em depoimentos como principal fonte. Conhecer algumas dimensões do imaginário mítico-simbólico que envolve produtores e gestores, é fundamento para o estudo, que se constitui a partir do levantamento, caracterização e análise da relação entre artistas e instituições de cultura, em diversas instâncias, considerando ideais de modernidade, permanências e transformações observadas no exercício, difusão e gestão da brincadeira. Os produtores do Povoado Atoleiros são criadores do samba de coco, brincadeira de adultos que se traduz em espaço de confraternização e comunhão e recebe interferência do poder público municipal, em Caetés, um dos municípios do entorno de Garanhuns, na periferia do qual está também o Sítio Castainho. Este, a partir de formas diversas de articulação, é contemplado por ações das gestões públicas municipal, estadual e federal, especificamente dentro do Festival de Inverno de Garanhuns FIG. A abordagem contempla a situação das duas comunidades, mas não elimina o reconhecimento de outros locais para a brincadeira do samba de coco e ações de preservação a ela direcionadas, como partes de um processo cultural que é também e necessariamente educativo e, em suas possibilidades de rupturas e continuidades, forma gerações.

Tempos diferentes coexistindo nos pilares e no currículo do Centro Cultural Sobradinho

O presente trabalho é fruto de uma pesquisa qualitativa, a partir de um estudo de caso. Parte das questões enfrentadas na produção curricular do processo de formação dos cursos de artes de um centro cultural, em Quissamã, município situado em uma região periférica no interior do estado do Rio de Janeiro. O trabalho aborda questões que interferem na formulação dos currículos, que se dão no cotidiano. O currículo não é escrito é dado na demanda do processo formativo e se apresenta como espaço discursivo. O estudo se inscreve no campo político da dimensão cultural da realidade social, tornando possível, na sua discussão, a absorção das contribuições dos estudos pós-coloniais. O trabalho depesquisa sobre o objeto aproxima a atuação do centro cultural às posturas contra-hegemônicas globais a partir de uma ação local. Está instalado em um sobrado construído no século XIX. O seu espaço físico é um prédio histórico, que no passado foi uma residência da aristocracia rural local. Este espaço foi ressignificado e hoje é um espaço livre às novas descobertas que discute nossa contemporaneidade sem perder de vista o seu passado. A restauração do prédio e a criação do centro cultural pertencem a um movimento, no qual valores e sentidos foram descolados e passaram a ter nova significação, o que interfere na ação política da instituição.

Experiências subjetivas e perspectivas de futuro: a juventude do Centro Cultural Cartola - RJ

Esta pesquisa se construiu a partir do encontro com a ONG Centro Cultural Cartola da comunidade da Mangueira, no Rio de Janeiro. Nós refletimos sobre algumas questões relativas aos processos subjetivos com os quais se relacionam as crianças e jovens que participam de atividades culturais do centro, a partir justamente das experiências vividas neste espaço. Nosso foco se concentra nas crianças e jovens que integram a orquestra de violinos, grupo que denominamos grupo orquestra. Concretizamos nosso intento através de pesquisa participativa, focalizando, sobretudo, as perspectivas de futuro desses sujeitos em relação à inserção na sociedade e no mundo do trabalho. Nós buscamos nos aproximar da realidade do campo para conhecer como se dava a participação desses jovens nas atividades culturais e artísticas, e entender como elas contribuíam para o processo de produção de subjetividade e formação de uma concepção sobre a vida profissional deles. Realizamos encontros de grupos operativos que procuraram investigar como cada jovem enxerga sua situação atual e seu projeto de futuro. Nesta dissertação, fruto de tal intervenção, tecemos uma discussão sobre os aspectos das experiências subjetivas emergentes no centro cultural, bem como sobre os processos de produção de subjetividade e a temática da identidade cultural. Abordamos também o conceito de grupo e sua relação com a formação e transformação do sujeito. Além disso, refletimos sobre a função do trabalho para a configuração e reconfiguração do mundo social

Angewandte Kulturwissenschaften – Überlegungen zum Studienprogramm einer akademischen Disziplin nach dem cultural turn im Hinblick auf berufliche Perspektiven

The author tries to attract attention for the careers ant the education of that what we call applied Cultural Studies after the cultural turn in the Humanities. He refers to some empirical studies and tries to put it out how differs the several institutes especially in the German spoken academic world. After all the conclusion of the author could be that there is an big demand for specialists in the area of applied cultural studies. The formation or education has to refer widely to a conception or the terminus of every-day-culture, so that it could be a big help in economic, social and education professions.

Christian Witness on the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon: Narrative, Nonviolence, and the Formation of Character

This dissertation analyzes the theological and ethical convictions that led the people of the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon to shelter thousands of refugees between 1939 and 1945. It does so by examining the themes of narrative identity, hospitality, character formation, nonviolence, and the contextual witness of church tradition. Though a number of studies have been published about the rescue activity in this region of France during World War II, none have thoroughly analyzed the theological nature of this activity. Using the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon as a case study in theological ethics, the dissertation draws on historical sources as well as the work of contemporary theologians and ethicists to understand, interpret, and analyze the witness of this community. After situating its rescue and resistance work within the Huguenot narrative of persecution and exile, I examine the theological convictions of the Reformed pastor of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, André Trocmé, who played a key role in making the Plateau a place of refuge during the Holocaust. The study highlights the importance of narrative in the actions of this community and discusses the relationship between narrative, character, and ethics. It then examines the nonviolent commitments of key leaders of the rescue effort, using this analysis as a springboard to engage in broader theological reflection about the ethics of nonviolence. After examining the radical hospitality practiced on the Plateau in light of biblical narratives and Reformed history, I investigate the counter-cultural nature of Christian hospitality. The study concludes by analyzing the nature and witness of the church in light of the legacy of the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon. The dissertation suggests that increased academic and ecclesial attention be given to the relationship between narrative and character, the counter-cultural shape of Christian hospitality, and the active nature of nonviolence. It presents an in-depth analysis of the theological and ethical convictions of the people of the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon, arguing that their witness has ongoing significance for communities of faith as they grapple with how to form disciples, relate to the wider society, welcome strangers, and communicate God's shalom in a world of violence.

Conversion as transformative experience: a sociological study of identity formation and transformation processes

This thesis contributes to the understanding of the processes involved in the formation and transformation of identities. It achieves this goal by establishing the critical importance of ‘background’ and ‘liminality’ in the shaping of identity. Drawing mainly from the work of cultural anthropology and philosophical hermeneutics a theoretical framework is constructed from which transformative experiences can be analysed. The particular experience at the heart of this study is the phenomenon of conversion and the dynamics involved in the construction of that process. Establishing the axial age as the horizon from which the process of conversion emerged will be the main theme of the first part of the study. Identifying the ‘birth’ of conversion allows a deeper understanding of the historical dynamics that make up the process. From these fundamental dynamics a theoretical framework is constructed in order to analyse the conversion process. Applying this theoretical framework to a number of case-studies will be the central focus of this study. The transformative experiences of Saint Augustine, the fourteenth century nun Margaret Ebner, the communist revolutionary Karl Marx and the literary figure of Arthur Koestler will provide the material onto which the theoretical framework can be applied. A synthesis of the Judaic religious and the Greek philosophical traditions will be the main findings for the shaping of Augustine’s conversion experience. The dissolution of political order coupled with the institutionalisation of the conversion process will illuminate the mystical experiences of Margaret Ebner at a time when empathetic conversion reached its fullest expression. The final case-studies examine two modern ‘conversions’ that seem to have an ideological rather than a religious basis to them. On closer examination it will be found that the German tradition of Biblical Criticism played a most influential role in the ‘conversion’ of Marx and mythology the best medium to understand the experiences of Koestler. The main ideas emerging from this study highlight the fluidity of identity and the important role of ‘background’ in its transformation. The theoretical framework, as constructed for this study, is found to be a useful methodological tool that can offer insights into experiences, such as conversion, that otherwise would remain hidden from our enquiries.

A cultural study on communication and technology with specific reference to media in China

This dissertation examines the role of communications technology in social change. It examines secondary data on contemporary China arguing that many interpretations of events in China are unsuitable at best and at worst conceptually damages our understanding of social change in China. This is especially the case in media studies under the ‘democratic framework’. It proposes that there is an alternative framework in studying the media and social change. This alternative conceptual framework is termed a zone of interpretative development offering a means by which to discuss events that take place in a mediated environment. Taking a theoretical foundation using the philosophy of Mikhail Bakhtin this dissertation develops a platform with which to understand communication technology from an anthropological perspective. Three media events from contemporary China are examined. The first examines the Democracy Wall event and the implications of using a public sphere framework. The second case examines the phenomenon of the Grass Mud Horse, a symbol that has gained popular purchase as a humorous expression of political dissatisfaction and develops the problems seen in the first case but with some solutions. Using a modification of Lev Vygotskiĭ’s zone of proximal development this symbol is understood as an expression of the collective recognition of a shared experience. In the second example from the popular TV talent show contests in China further expressions of collective experience are introduced. With the evidence from these media events in contemporary China this dissertation proposes that we can understand certain modes of communication as occurring in a zone of interpretative development. This proposed anthropological feature of social change via communication and technology can fruitfully describe meaning-formation in society via the expression and recognition of shared experiences.

Folkbiology doesn’t come from Folkpsychology: evidence from Yukatek Maya in cross-cultural perspective

Nearly all psychological research on basic cognitive processes of category formation and reasoning uses sample populations associated with large research institutions in technologically-advanced societies. Lopsided attention to a select participant pool risks biasing interpretation, no matter how large the sample or how statistically reliable the results. The experiments in this article address this limitation. Earlier research with urban-USA children suggests that biological concepts are (1) thoroughly enmeshed with their notions of naive psychology, and (2) strikingly human-centered. Thus, if children are to develop a causally appropriate model of biology, in which humans are seen as simply one animal among many, they must undergo fundamental conceptual change. Such change supposedly occurs between 7 and 10 years of age, when the human-centered view is discarded. The experiments reported here with Yukatek Maya speakers challenge the empirical generality and theoretical importance of these claims. Part 1 shows that young Maya children do not anthropocentrically interpret the biological world. The anthropocentric bias of American children appears to owe to a lack of cultural familiarity with non-human biological kinds, not to initial causal understanding of folkbiology as such. Part 2 shows that by age of 4-5 (the earliest age tested in this regard) Yukatek Maya children employ a concept of innate species potential or underlying essence much as urban American children seem to, namely, as an inferential framework for understanding the affiliation of an organism to a biological species, and for projecting known and unknown biological properties to organisms in the face of uncertainty. Together, these experiments indicate that folkpsychology cannot be the initial source of folkbiology. They also underscore the possibility of a species-wide and domain-specific basis for acquiring knowledge about the living world that is constrained and modified but not caused or created by prior nonbiological thinking and subsequent cultural experience.

Inland shell midden site-formation:Investigation into a late Pleistocene to early Holocene midden from Trang An, Northern Vietnam

Over the course of the past two decades there has been growing research interest in the site formation processes of shell middens. This stands along-side and is being used to inform cultural, dietary and palaeo-environmental reconstructions. Just as midden site formation processes have turned out to be many and varied, however, the kinds of shell-bearing sites that past human communities created are likely to have been no less diverse. Subsuming such sites under a single category - shell middens - normalises that variation and may lead to the misinterpretation of site function. The greater part of research in this field also continues to focus on coastal shell middens; comparatively little attention has been paid to middens containing freshwater and especially terrestrial molluscs from hinterland locations. As a result, much of the current understanding about shell-midden sites carries a spatial as well as a functional bias. This paper hopes to contribute towards discussion on both fronts. It presents a detailed examination of the formation processes that went into the creation of a land snail-dominated late- to post-glacial midden from northern Vietnam, and considers the role that it may have played in the early settlement of this area. The data presented comes from ongoing archaeological excavations at Hang Boi, a cave located in the sub-coastal karstic uplands of Trang An park, in the Vietnamese Province of Ninh Binh. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.