“Going down the Tower of Babel” through telecollaboration in the context of Internationalization at Home

Belli et al. (2018) explain that the myth of the Tower of Babel, described in the Holy Bible, alludes to the intercultural relations in today’s world, because the Tower was located in a major economic and cultural center of the ancient world. Telecollaboration, defined as the use of online technologies in the area of language teaching and learning between students who are geographically distant (O’DOWD, 2013a), plays an important role in promoting intercultural interactions in the Internationalization at Home (O’DOWD, 2019) context. The latter stands for a more inclusive internationalization, achieved by domestic activities, and not only by international academic mobility (CROWTHER et al., 2000). For Luna (2018b), the process of Internationalization of the Curriculum occurs in the light of the intercultural approach (KRAMSCH, 2014), whereas Gil (2016) argues that such approach should be conceptualized based on the interaction between language and culture. This study aims at discussing how the interaction between language and culture related to the intercultural approach can lead students “to go down the Tower of Babel” through telecollaborative activities in the context of Internationalization at Home. With respect to the results, two telecollaborative domestic actions, under the author’s coordination, appear to indicate that there have been opportunities towards the process of “going down the tower”, since many concerns related to the current world, e.g. cultural differences, stereotypes and the environment, where students can to take both an insider and an outsider’s perspective (KRAMSCH, 2011), are at the heart of the discussions.

The entrepreneurial advantages of experiencing foreignness: leveraging shocks for capability clusters

Purpose Drawing on the “shocks to the system” concept in image theory, a mid-range theoretical model is developed to illuminate understanding on why cross-cultural experience is so conducive to stimulating entrepreneurship yet has remained largely unexplained at the individual level.Design/methodology/approach The novel idea is put forth that experience of foreignness, in itself, can be harnessed as a powerful cognitive resource for entrepreneurship – particularly the nascent stages of new venture development. Providing cross-cultural exposures arouse “self-image shocks”, they manifest over time as skill clusters that reflect the sensing, seizing and transforming capabilities at the heart of entrepreneurship. This paper's pivot helps delineate a common mechanism to explain how a diverse range of seemingly disparate cross-cultural experiences can be processed in a way that enhances entrepreneurial pursuits.Findings The insights of this paper reinforce the need for educators and policymakers to encourage and provide opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to engage in cross-cultural and overseas exposures as they are influential for stimulating each of the core sets of entrepreneurial capabilities. The model and synthesis table also help to practically unpack how to design and plan such cultural experiences to optimize the enduring entrepreneurial advantages.Originality/value The author turns a long-standing assumption surrounding cultural differences in entrepreneurship on its head. The shocks and tensions arising from intercultural interactions are not always inevitable liabilities to be “managed away” or attenuated. Rather, cross-cultural experience can be explicitly leveraged as an asset for nascent venturing as the juxtapositions they evoke provide both proximal and distal enhancements to ways in which entrepreneurs think and develop skills at the core of venturing.

International experiences and the development of intercultural sensitivity among university students

International cultural immersion experiences are deemed one of the most effective ways to prepare multicultural and global citizens. The purpose of the study was to determine: (1) first-year and final-year university students’ levels of Intercultural Sensitivity (henceforth IS); (2) if there was a relationship between IS and experiences of intercultural contact; and (3) the variables that might predict the development of IS. A longitudinal method and a correlational-predictive design was used. The sample comprised 1645 (52.5% women and 47.5% men) undergraduate students from 8 public universities and one private university in Andalusia (Spain) with a mean age of 23.29 (SD = 4.99). The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used to measure IS, and the Intercultural Experiences Inventory (IEI) was administered to explore students' intercultural experiences. Findings highlighted that there is little change in the IDI scores among first-year and final-year students, and most students were found to be in the intermediate stages of intercultural development (the minimization stage according to Bennett’s model, characterized by the widespread belief that everyone is quite similar). The lack of development found in the students’ IS could have something to do with the lack of opportunity to reflect and think about cultural differences. Positive correlations were found between IS and mobility experiences and intercultural friendships, and negative correlations were found with the number of intercultural interactions and language knowledge. Having mobility experiences, being female, and having friends from other cultures were predictive variables of IS. Finally, the educational implications are discussed.

Management of Intercultural Relations in an Intercultural Organization

The chapter aims to reflect on the management of intercultural organizational relations. It explains the transition of homogenous organizations into the culturally heterogeneous organization and compares multiculturalism with cross-culturalism in its ability to harmonize the principles of cultural diversity with universal ethical principles. It explores the process of creation of a third culture to foster understanding and acceptance among diverse teams. It attempts to establish the impact of intercultural interactions/relations on the effectiveness of a diverse team of individuals interacting in concert to achieve common goals. The work also underpins some analysis of the creation, development, and management of organizational intercultural capital. Finally, the emergence of the model of strategic management of an intercultural organization focused on learning and training for proper operationalization and implementation is proposed, and some challenges that could antagonize the teams are looked into and proposals are formulated.

Old World Methods, New World Pots. The Introduction of the Potter’s Wheel to the Spanish Colonies of Concepción de la Vega and Cotuí (Dominican Republic 1495–1562)

Wheel-made ceramics from early colonial Caribbean sites (1492–1562) have traditionally been labelled as European imports. This paper challenges that assumption, as the intercultural interactions within colonies in the New World have led to the creation of new social identities and changing material culture repertoires. Macro-trace ceramic analysis from the sites of Concepción de la Vega and Cotuí (Hispaniola, present-day Dominican Republic) show that the potter’s wheel was in fact introduced to the Spanish colonies at an early stage. The evidence of RKE (rotative kinetic energy) on sherds and the discovery of parts of a potter’s wheel are the earliest traces of the potter’s wheel found in the Americas. Here we aim to present how the potter’s wheel was introduced within the context of transcultural pottery forming. This paper will show that traditional coiling techniques were supplemented with finishing techniques on the wheel. The transformation processes within ceramic repertoires are assessed through theories of colonialism and learning processes, combined with archaeological and ethnoarchaeological assessment of the ceramic chaîne opératoire. Evidence from ceramic analysis is combined with historical sources to understand social processes surrounding the technological changes behind the introduction of the potter’s wheel to the New World colonies.

Raising Students’ Cultural Awareness and Developing Their Intercultural Communicative Competence: The Case of the Greek State Primary School EFL Textbooks

The present study focuses on the critical evaluation of the cultural content incorporated in the 5th and 6th grade English textbooks, which are taught in the Greek state primary school. Given that we are living in the era of increasing globalization, it is deemed essential that aspects of diverse cultures should be reflected in the English textbooks, thus enabling contemporary EFL learners to master the ability to use the English language efficiently in their intercultural interactions regardless of their socio-cultural background. The research findings succinctly reveal that the vast majority of state EFL teachers in Greece are fervent proponents of an intercultural approach in their teaching practices. However, they are not reliant on the prescribed textbooks under scrutiny for promoting the intercultural dimension in their educational methodology, since their cultural input is assessed as deficient and inadequate for dynamic intercultural instruction.

Different Voices and Luminosities

The author of this article will put an emphasis on museum practices that have encouraged the reconciliation process and dialogue in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans. Moreover, this article will contribute to the ongoing discussions in museum and cultural studies expressing the need for reconsidering the values and roles of museum practices. It is about the comprehensive range of innovative approaches that can foster dialogue and reconciliation processes in the context of today’s Western Balkans societies, which are marked by distrust, prejudices, misunderstandings and numerous divisions and indoctrinations. This will be an attempt to verify two clear examples of museum practices emphasising the specific thesis about museums as the ‘new educational institutions’, their comprehensive and alternative roles in the construction of ‘new knowledge’ nurturing dialogue, intercultural interactions and exchange of opinions, ideas and experiences. The main question is whether this concept is sustainable and broadly possible in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans, due to the lack of cultural policy and political consensus that will support this indispensable process.

Capturing potential learning sequences in intercultural interactions through telecollaboration

Telecollaboration allows for students to develop foreign/second language competences linguistically, culturally, and interculturally. The use of platforms, such as WhatsApp and Zoom, is now more frequently exploited in foreign language education to ensure that a wider cross section of students, including Jamaicans, can develop global competences. This paper reports on Phase 4 of ClerKing, a six-week Franco-Jamaican telecollaborative project, which occurred between Applied Foreign Languages (AFL) students of English from University Clermont Auvergne (UCA), France, and students of various disciplines taking French courses in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Jamaica. Telecollaboration consisted in 45 participants of mixed ages and genders discussing different intercultural topics in groups. Using the exploratory approach, we seek to identify moments of Potential Learning Sequences (PLS). Preliminary findings show that PLS could be made apparent through vocabulary and syntax development, culture-specific knowledge, and negotiation of meaning.

Penggambaran Qilin pada Mimbar Masjid Gedhe Mataram Kotagede: Kajian Arkeologi Seni

Interaksi antarbudaya dalam kajian arkeologi seni memungkinkan corak budaya tertentu muncul di artefak budaya lain. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah mengetahui latar belakang kemunculan ornamen figur qilin pada mimbar Masjid Gedhe Mataram Kotagede, beserta teknik penggambaran dan prinsip-prinsip seni yang melekat padanya. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini ialah kualitatif deskriptif dengan pendekatan arkeologi seni dan ikonografi. Dari hasil wawancara diketahui bahwa ornamen qilin merupakan pemberian dari Sultan Palembang. Ornamen ini menjadi bukti adanya pengaruh Tiongkok di Nusantara. Qilin pada mimbar Masjid Gedhe Mataram Kotagede digambarkan dengan teknik denaturalistis atau stilasi. Penggambaran qilin memperhatikan prinsip-prinsip seni rupa. Prinsip-prinsip tersebut antara lain kesatuan, keseimbangan, irama, dan kesebandingan simbol. Intercultural interactions, in relation to the study of art archeology, have allowed certain cultural features to appear in other cultural artefacts. The aim of this study was to put forward the reasons behind the appearance of the qilins on the pulpit of the Masjid Gedhe Mataram in Kotagede, along with the depiction techniques and art principles attached to it. The research method used in this study was descriptive qualitative with an art archaeological and iconographical approach. The study indicated that the pulpit was a gift from Sultan of Palembang, demonstrating Chinese influence in this archipelagic nation (Nusantara). The qilins were portrayed using denaturalization or stylized techniques, highlighting the principles of fine art such as unity, balance, rhythm, and proportionality of symbol.

Resilience and Intercultural Interactions of Italian Erasmus Students

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) have been examined in the literature, nevertheless yet few studies have combined situational and personal aspects to enhance the comprehension of this construct, and none have considered resilience. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of international Erasmus students’ resilience, the length of the experience and the intercultural interactions of Italian Erasmus students in the relationship with CQ. Data were collected from 791 outgoing Italian Erasmus students using a self-report questionnaire. The findings suggested the existence of a significant relationship between resilience and all dimensions of CQ, showing, with the exception of the behavioural dimension, large betas. Forming friendships with international students was positively and moderately related to motivational and metacognitive CQ. Establishing relationships with locals was only positively and weakly related to cognitive CQ. The time of sojourn was only positively weakly associated with the metacognitive CQ. Developments in international academic mobility policies are discussed.