Evolution of racism in Spanish music textbooks: a real path towards interculturality through images?

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-329
Author(s):  
María del Mar Bernabé ◽  
Vladimir Martinez-Bello
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
Human Diversity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Law ◽  
Analysis Of The Images ◽  
Visual Depiction ◽  
Musical Activities

Purpose An analysis of the images in music education textbooks for primary education has shown how the images do not fully reflect the human diversity present in the classroom and, therefore, continue to perpetuate positions that can lead to racism. The purpose of this paper is the analysis of the images to carried out has demonstrated how little progress has been made in the representation of diversity and how, in the 21st century, stereotypes continue to persist in the representation of cultural diversity. Design/methodology/approach The quantitative and qualitative data collected after analysing more than 2,600 images have shown that despite the considerable increase in the use of images in music textbooks, typical clichés about what instruments are played in the world and how those who play them are represented are still present. Findings The results also show how the images reflect the migratory flows experienced in each country. All of this has led to important conclusions, among which the importance of human diversity in images for students to normalise cultural diversity from and with musical educational materials should be highlighted. Research limitations/implications The analysis of the 2,686 images showed how the use of the human figure has evolved up to the last educational reform. Firstly, the analysis of images focused on the evolution (year) of the presence of diversity (ethnicity) in the musical groupings represented (orchestra, band, choir, soloist or chamber group), as well as the evolution with respect to the type of instrument represented. Practical implications With the aim of analysing the evolution in the representation of diversity in music textbooks, the authors searched the most important publishing houses in Spain. To analyse the evolution of the visual depiction of diversity in music education textbooks in light of legislative and social changes related to race, the authors constructed several variables under the category labelled “Ethnicity”. Social implications The images analysed, especially those included under the Organic General Law on the Educational System of 4 October 1990 and the Organic Law 2/2006 on Education of 3 May, tended to pair certain instruments with people with physical characteristics associated with particular ethnic profiles. In terms of musical activities, the main results can be summarised as follows: although the completely homogenous depiction of White Europeans in musical activities has given way to modestly more diverse representation, images of composition are still dominated by this group. Originality/value The authors’ analysis has led to the following conclusions, which demonstrate the need to continue the progress seen in the past several decades. The representation of human diversity in music textbooks can be considered a reality, not only in terms of the instruments with which they are represented but also in terms of their representation in other situations depicted in these textbooks. The progressive increase of images in music textbooks reflects the culturally diverse society of the national territory. However, the increase in this representation is not as considerable as might be expected. The typified representation of instruments associated with certain physical characteristics is starting to wane.

Chinese restaurant employees’ perceptions of their nationals abroad: a comparative study

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Moufakkir ◽  
Yvette Reisinger
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Cultural Distance ◽  
Third Space ◽  
Service Encounter ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chinese Restaurant ◽  
Cultural Proximity ◽  
Restaurant Employees ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Service Gap

Purpose This study aims to further an understanding of hospitality employees’ perceptions of their customers in the context of service encounter by utilizing the concepts of contact hypothesis and cultural distance in a multi-ethnic environment. The study compares perceptions of Chinese immigrants working in restaurants of their British patrons (from a remote culture) and Chinese patrons (from a proximate culture). The service encounter takes place in the London Chinatown. The dynamics of Chinatown as a “third space” adds complexity to service encounter and employee perceptions. Design/methodology/approach A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 118 Chinese restaurant employees in the Soho area of the London Chinatown. Perception questions were based on interviews undertaken in an earlier phase of the research. A paired t-test was run to identify significant differences in the Chinese restaurant employees’ perceptions of the Chinese and British patrons. Discriminant analysis was performed to determine which perception variables discriminated the most between the two patron groups. Findings Despite cultural proximity, the perceptions held by Chinese restaurant employees of their nationals were negative compared to the perceptions of British patrons. Out of 16, in 15 areas of measurement, there were significant differences in the Chinese restaurant employees’ perceptions’ of their Chinese and British guests. Six variables that discriminated the most between the two groups of guests were no tips, not polite, loud, no compliment, messy and demanding. Research limitations/implications Research in ethnic and minority quarters, such as Chinatown in London, may suffer from “recall bias”, or in this case from making the difference between customer groups. Also, the Chinese are not a homogeneous group. For example, despite cultural similarity with mainstream culture, cultural and behavioral characteristics may exist between residents from the South, North and Hong Kong. Practical implications The cultural diversity of the industry’s employees necessitates managing cultural diversity effectively, especially in the sectors that rely heavily on guest–employee interaction. Perceptions affect attitudes and behavior. Training programs about perception and its roots may bridge the service gap in high-contact service encounters. Originality/value This study provides a ground for future empirical research into understanding the immigrant employees’ perceptions of their guests, nationals versus non-nationals and the ways for improving these perceptions. Taking the example of Chinatown as a dynamic “third space” is another approach to understanding the effects of “ethnoscape” on encounters in a more globalized village.

The relationship between supportive campus environment and cultural diversity in enhancing students’ sense of belonging in higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaw Owusu-Agyeman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Hierarchical Regression ◽  
Cultural Interaction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Campus Environment ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The current study examines the moderating effect of supportive campus environment on the relationship between cultural diversity and students’ sense of belonging in a university in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was designed and used to gather data from a sample of 2,026 registered undergraduate students. Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 software, the data gathered were analysed by way of hierarchical regression analysis. Findings Results of the hierarchical regression analysis revealed that supportive campus environment and cross-cultural interaction serve as strong predictors of students’ sense of belonging. Furthermore, a simple slope analysis showed that supportive campus environment enhance: the positive relationship between cross-cultural interaction and students’ sense of belonging; and the positive relationship between students’ interaction with diverse peers and their sense of belonging. Originality/value This study addresses important knowledge and practical gaps in the relationship between supportive campus environment, cultural diversity and students’ sense of belonging in higher education. The results further highlight the significance of institutional structures, policies and practices that aim at enhancing students’ sense of belonging and reducing possible feeling of otherlings that arise due to a lack of supportive campus structures.

Students' experiences of collaborative creation through songcrafting in primary school: Supporting creative agency in ‘school music’ programmes

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sari Muhonen
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Classroom Community ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
The Past ◽  
Creative Agency ◽  
School Music ◽  
Musical Activities

The study reported in this article investigates students’ experiences (n=41) of their primary school songcrafting, examining the potential to support creative agency within school music education programmes. Songcrafting refers to a collaborative composing practice in which everyone is considered to be a capable creator of melodies and lyrics, and where negotiation, collaboration, and openness to the situation are essential. Through semi-structured individual interviews with students who had experienced songcrafting in the past, analysed with qualitative methods, it was found that the students' narration of songcrafting included meanings related to general agency, creative agency, musical participation within the classroom community, and documented and shared collaborative musical products, or ‘oeuvres’.The results of this study illustrate the various often unforeseeable meanings produced through participation in collaborative musical activities. Furthermore, they highlight the potential to enrich meaningful teaching practices and pedagogy through the examination of students' experiences, and exploring the potentials in narrating one's musical stories. These findings suggest that music education practices could benefit from the inclusion of a broader range of opportunities for the students to create their own music, and the sensitive facilitation of collaborative music creation processes.

Personal values underlying halal food consumption: evidence from Indonesia and Malaysia

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (11) ◽  
pp. 2524-2538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poppy Arsil ◽  
Yeong Sheng Tey ◽  
Mark Brindal ◽  
Cun Uei Phua ◽  
Denisa Liana
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Food Consumption ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Consumption Decisions ◽  
Halal Food ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to uncover the personal values driving Indonesian and Malaysian Muslims’ consumption decisions with respect to halal food.Design/methodology/approachThe personal values of 130 Indonesian and 80 Malaysian Muslims have been analyzed, using a means-end chain (MEC) approach, in relation to halal food.FindingsPrimary personal values are identified as a better sense of personal security. This is ascribed as seeking “better future” and “go to heaven.” Other personal values are related to tradition, benevolence and achievement.Research limitations/implicationsSince this study was conducted in both the capital cities of Indonesia and Malaysia, this study might not take account of cultural diversity within the two countries’ Muslim communities.Practical implicationsAn understanding of the personal values governing Muslim consumption is a useful tool toward improving the promotion of halal certification and food products.Originality/valueThis study reveals the personal values of Indonesian and Malaysian Muslims with underpinning their consumption of halal food.

Developing Musical Creativity Through Activity Theory in an Online Learning Environment

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Feng Chien ◽  
Brent G. Walters ◽  
Ching-Yieh Lee ◽  
Ching-Jung Liao
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
General Education ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Digital Learning ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
Musical Creativity ◽  
Musical Activities

An online general education platform, e-Holistic (e-HO), was developed to support digital learning. Following Burnard's (2007) adoption of Activity Theory (AT) in designing music education to galvanize learners' creativity, the authors' study extended her theoretical framework through a hypothetical model they designed. From AT, this article investigates a number of elements—musical activities (tools), e-HO (community), emotional arousal (object), and musical creativity (outcome). Through the operation of the AT system, 733 students immersed in musical activities in e-HO were able to compose music even without any musical background. The purpose of this article is to report how an e-HO online activity helps arouse students' emotions and inspire their musical creativity. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis indicates that all research hypotheses were supported, and the musical activities on e-HO predicted 71.6% of students' self-assessed musical creativity. Finally, the implications of the authors' findings are reported for the future development of online musical education.

scholarly journals 22. The relation between orbits and physical characteristics of meteors

1968 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 217-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ľ. Kresák
Keyword(s):  
Major Axis ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asteroid Belt ◽  
Angle Of Incidence ◽  
Semi Major Axis ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Broad Variety ◽  
Bona Fide

The relation of physical characteristics of meteors to their orbital elements is investigated using Harvard Super-Schmidt data. A set of characteristic indices is defined, allowing for the effects of geocentric velocity, angle of incidence, magnitude and mass, wherever a correction appears appropriate according to the correlations found by Jacchia et al. (1967). The medians for representative meteor samples are plotted in the semi-major axis/eccentricity diagram and the distribution of each parameter is derived. Although the differences are moderate compared to the measuring errors, six regions of different nature can be distinguished.The existence of two families of asteroidal meteors is indicated, one of them brought to crossing with the Earth's orbit by drag effects and the other by collision effects in the main asteroid belt. These meteors are characterized by low and uniform beginning heights, high fragmentation, low ablation, low deceleration, and bright wakes. A direct counterpart to this is represented by meteors moving in short-period orbits of higher eccentricity and shorter perihelion distance, which bear resemblance to the long-period and retrograde cometary meteors. Meteors with perihelion distances of less than 0·15 AU tend to resemble the bona fide asteroidal meteors by a progressive increase of fragmentation and decrease of reduced beginning heights and decelerations as the perihelion approaches the Sun. This is attributed to the selective destruction effects of solar radiation.With the exception of the Draconids, the mean characteristics of meteor showers agree well with those of sporadic meteors moving in similar orbits. It is suggested that the Draconid stream includes a broad variety of meteoric material and that the two peculiar Super-Schmidt meteors on record represent only the less resistive, short-lived component which has already been eliminated from the other showers.

Exploring Diverse Voices in the Classroom

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-99
Author(s):  
Chiao-Wei Liu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Student Population ◽  
Music Programs ◽  
Ethnic Stereotypes ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
Diverse Student Population ◽  
Racial Ethnic

With the increasing diverse student population in the United States, schools across the country face the challenge of addressing cultural diversity in the classroom. While this topic is not new in the field of music education, researchers argue that voices of minoritized groups remain absent in most music programs. Even if different music cultures are introduced, they often reinforce existing racial/ethnic stereotypes. In this column, I would like to share one concept that I found helpful in addressing diversity in the classroom. Through my own work, I learned that the music with which students engage outside the classroom affords rich potential to discuss issues related to diversity. Inviting students to bring in music that matters to them helps them develop their own voices and to recognize and respect different voices, through which we acknowledge the complexity and multiplicity of how diversity plays out in human experiences.

Effect of middle managers’ cultural intelligence on firms’ innovation performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1015-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarra Berraies
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Cultural Intelligence ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Least Square Method ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the metacognitive, cognitive, motivational and behavioral dimensions of the middle managers’ cultural intelligence (CQ) on firms’ innovation performance in a context of cultural diversity and the mediating role of knowledge sharing in this relationship. The author deepens the analysis by exploring the moderating role of collaborative climate (CC) on the link between CQ and KS. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted on 186 foreign middle managers working in Tunisian firms. The data analysis was performed via the partial least square method. Findings The results revealed that middle managers’ metacognitive CQ has a positive effect on KS, which in turn enhances firms’ innovation performance. In this line, KS partially mediates the relationship between metacogntive CQ and innovation performance. Findings also indicate that CC moderates the link between three dimensions of CQ, namely metacognitive, behavioral and motivational CQs and KS. Originality/value The paper sheds lights on the contribution of middle managers’ CQ and the CC within firms to the KS and innovation performance in a context of cultural diversity. At the best of the author’s knowledge, the links among these variables had not been empirically examined, especially involving samples of middle managers. This study offers important insights for managers by providing them with tools to improve KS and firms’ innovation.

scholarly journals The coordination and balance of economic structure is a major theoretical innovation of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics in the new era

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
Di Xie ◽  
Xiao Kong
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Economic Structure ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
Socialist Economy ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Era ◽  
General Law ◽  
Chinese Characteristics ◽  
Theoretical Innovation

PurposeThe proportional distribution of social labor is a general law governing human social and economic activities, also a law discovered by Marxist political economy that governs socialist economic operations and development based on public ownership.Design/methodology/approachThis law draws on Marx's vision of future society, but how it is adopted is not only subject to the way a country's economy interacts but also to the influence of a country's historical and cultural traditions. Generations of the CPC and state leaders since Mao Zedong have made unremitting explorations for its application.FindingsAs socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core adheres to the standpoints, viewpoints and methods of Marxist political economy, draws from the splendid Chinese traditional culture that values integrity, peace and harmony of all, builds on the reality of China's socialist market economy development, has summed up the features of socialist economy development with Chinese characteristics, and has proposed the five-sphere integrated plan, the four-pronged comprehensive strategy.Originality/valueThe new development concept of “innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing” for socialism with Chinese characteristics, all reflecting the Party's deepening understanding of coordinated development, the gradual formation of the general thought and policy methods of the country's economic regulations based on the coordination and balance of economic structure, the continuous explorations to open a new chapter of contemporary Marxist political economy, China's experience and wisdom, and the Party's confidence in the theories it applies, the road it takes, its system and its culture. The coordination and balance of economic structure are a major theoretical innovation of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

scholarly journals Cultural diversity drives innovation: empowering teams for success

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-343
Author(s):  
Graham Jones ◽  
Bernardita Chirino Chace ◽  
Justin Wright
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Cultural Awareness ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Thinking Styles ◽  
Team Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Diversity ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Innovation Teams ◽  
Science Of Team Science

Purpose Though there is broad agreement on the beneficial impact of diversity in management and leadership roles, much of the innovative capacity of an organization is realized at the unit level in working teams. Recent research points to cultural diversity having an especially significant impact on innovation team performance. The reports also highlight the need for the optimal team operating principles to derive maximum benefit. To prepare such innovation teams for success, it is valuable to understand the dynamics of team diversity at the project level and the underlying barriers and opportunities presented. Design/methodology/approach This paper reviews the literature and case studies on cultural inputs to ideation and innovation, assessing team diversity through readily available instruments and the deployment of the science of team science (SciTS) principles in innovation teams. Findings The key learnings include the importance of establishing communication standards, SciTS principles, team assessment of thinking styles and the utility of cultural awareness instruments. Practical implications Diversity provides a creative advantage for innovation teams. However, team dynamics play an important role in maximizing these advantages, and cross-cultural competence of team members is required. Deployment of appropriate assessment tools and team methodologies enhances the likelihood of successful outcomes including in remote team settings. Originality/value Literature from diverse functional areas is summarized including the science of team science, organizational management, diversity and inclusion methodologies and ethnocultural dynamics. It provides pointers for the optimal formation and operating principles with highly culturally diverse teams.

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