Comics for inclusive English language learning: the CIELL app, supporting dyslexic English language learners

As teaching moves increasingly online, language teachers are faced with the challenge of how to support dyslexic students in an inclusive manner in and out of the classroom. This paper will focus on an innovative educational multi-modal, mobile application – Comics for Inclusive English Language Learning (CIELL) – supporting upper-intermediate and advanced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students with dyslexia when faced with language proficiency tests and academic writing tasks. A cyclical educational design research methodology (McKenney & Reeves, 2019) was used to include three cycles of feedback from stakeholders so that their views and suggestions would inform the development of an alpha, beta, and gamma version of the app, thereby maximising practical relevance. The discussion of the quantitative and qualitative feedback is supported by educational design research.

Adult EFL Learners’ Drives to Improve Their English in Private Language Schools

The present study investigated EFL adult learners' reasons behind learning English in a new setting with a mixed-design research methodology. The subjects of this study were forty adult English language learners, 20 males and 20 females, who were learning English as a foreign language in a private English language school in Istanbul. Necessary data regarding the participants’ reasons for learning English were collected through two instruments: questionnaires and interviews. The data analysis revealed that external factors such as finding a job and personal interests such as the desire to make friends urged and encouraged the participants to enrol in the private English language school to improve their English after a hard day of work or study. The study's findings concluded that both instrumental and integrative motivation played roles in the participants’ drives to study English.

THE INFLUENCE OF UKRAINIAN FILM POSTERS OF THE 1920s AND 1930s ON CONTEMPORARY GRAPHIC DESIGN

The purpose of the article is to analyse the influence of the system of compositional techniques and graphics of the All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration Film Poster School and Ukrainafilm on domestic graphic design. Research methodology. The author has applied historical, art history, and comparative analysis. Scientific novelty. Through the similarity matching in the world and Ukrainian design and the study of the use of design schemes, techniques and tools that are permanently used in graphic design, we reason the influence of the Ukrainian Poster School of the 1920s and 1930s on contemporary graphic design practice. Conclusions. Despite a long break for ideological grounds in the functioning and study of Ukrainian graphic design in the middle of the twentieth century, we record a noticeable influence of the means and techniques of Ukrainian poster art on modern trends. These are general compositional techniques: placing a formatted face or figure as a dominant on the entire plane of the image, designing a composition on the principle of a “playing card”, deliberately replacing grounds on the inverted perspective. There are local techniques: concentric circles as a compositional dominant, filling the main character’s glasses with visual elements or font content, and rhythmically repeating visual elements or font groups. The identified similarities can be valuable in the young designers training, taking into account the general development of Ukrainian graphics’ history and its single branch graphic design. It is also possible to use these schemes, techniques and tools in contemporary design education as a methodological basis for teaching poster design, designing, composition, layout and modelling.

Working across Boundaries in Urban Land Use and Services Planning—Building Public Sector Capabilities for Digitalisation

This article addresses the challenges and capability gaps confronted by public administrations concerning digital transformation and the use of novel tools in the context of land use, facilities and urban services planning. The present state of planning and management processes in Finland is introduced and reflected through experimental piloting conducted in two Finnish cities. Participatory action research and design research methodology was utilised to identify the main challenges as well as unravel the possibilities of digital transformation in the context of public services planning. The resulting analysis revealed the critical importance of facilitating integrative policies and coordination when working across knowledge boundaries between administrative domains. The paper contributes to a wider theoretical and conceptual understanding, as it discusses the advantages and feasibility of digital tools as boundary objects for cross-sectoral work in smart, people-centred urban governance. The authors see this direction of research as a fruitful ground for further investigations within the interdisciplinary urban planning research context.

Reframing the Arab Spring : On Data Mining and the Field of Arab Internet Studies

This chapter presents a basic genealogy of the existing literature on the 2010–2012 era of the Arab Spring within Middle East studies and media studies more broadly. The aim is to map the plurality of patterns, stories, ideas, and analyses networked across media forms. This chapter is designed to refute the possibility of a monolithic narrative about contemporary Egypt. It also situates the study within the growing scholarship on social media and political change and introduces key concepts in design research methodology.

A FRAMEWORK TO DESIGN MASCOT CHARACTER AS SUPPORTING TOOL FOR CITY BRANDING BASED ON YURU-CHARA CONCEPT

AbstrakPemanfaatan maskot, yang juga disebut "Yuru-chara", untuk place branding. adalah hal yang biasa dilakukan di Jepang. Dalam beberapa kasus, seperti Kumamon yang digunakan sebagai maskot kota Kumamoto, terbukti sukses. Beberapa tahun terakhir kota-kota di Indonesia seperti Surabaya, Malang, dan Balikpapan telah mencoba menggunakan maskot dalam membentuk citra kotanya. Meski demikian, sebagian besar maskot tersebut tidak diterima dengan baik oleh masyarakat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan kerangka kerja praktis dalam merancang maskot yang efektif untuk city branding yang menarik bagi publik dan merepresentasikan kota dengan baik. Framework tersebut dibuat dengan mengadopsi pendekatan desain yang digunakan untuk mendesain Yuru-chara di Jepang dengan menggunakan Metodologi Penelitian Desain. Hasilnya, kerangka kerja desain yang terdiri dari empat tahap, yaitu 1) menentukan pesan, (2) membuat penamaan, (3) mendesain, (4) menciptakan dan memelihara visibilitas dapat dikembangkan. Berdasarkan evaluasi yang dilakukan oleh para desainer dan ahli, ditemukan bahwa framework tersebut dapat dimengerti dan berguna untuk menciptakan desain maskot yang menarik, tetapi memiliki kelemahan untuk memenuhi tujuan city branding. Sebagai rekomendasi, perlu ditambahkan tahapan penelitian yang mendalam sebagai proses pendefinisian pesan yang digunakan sebagai dasar ide desain. Kata Kunci: yuruchara, desain maskot, desain karakter, city branding, metode desain AbstractThe utilization of a mascot called “Yuru-chara” for place branding is a common practice in Japan. In several cases, for instance, Kumamon, the mascot of Kumamoto city proven to be successful. In recent years, cities in Indonesia such as Surabaya, Malang, and Balikpapan have tried to use mascots in their city branding. Nevertheless, most of the mascots are not well-received by the public. This research intends to find a practical framework to design an effective mascot for city branding that is appealing to the public and properly represents the city. The framework is created by adopting the design approach that is used for designing Yuru-chara in Japan, using Design Research Methodology. As a result, a design framework that consists of four phases, which are 1) specifying message, (2) creating naming, (3) designing, (4) creating and maintaining visibility to developed. Based on the evaluation performed by designers and experts, it is discovered that the framework is understandable and useful for creating appealing mascot design, but has a weakness to fulfill the city branding purpose. As a recommendation, an in-depth research phase needs to be added as a process for defining the message used for the basis of the design idea. Keywords: yuru-chara, mascot design, character design, city branding, design method

The Circular Business Framework for Building, Developing and Steering Businesses in the Circular Economy

The need for a transition towards a circular economy (CE) is evident, as the current economic model is based on the exploitation of far more resources than the planet can replenish sustainably. A significant part of this economic transition is the inception of new, CE-oriented startups and business activities. While business model frameworks (BMF), such as the Business Model Canvas (BMC), were at the center of discussions about structuring business ideas in the beginning of the millennium, the conversation must now shift towards circular BMFs (CBMF). This paper follows the Design Research Methodology (DRM) for an empirical approach to devising a novel CBMF, including expert interviews as well as a first application of the framework with a startup. Throughout this process, a new and innovative tool called Circular Business Framework (CBF) was created and tested based on CE principles.

Developing anatomy demonstrations of the future: The role of team-teaching

Recent decades have seen cadaveric anatomy teaching decline and shift from traditionally team-taught practicals in large dissection laboratories to sole-taught classes in smaller laboratories. Such changes may alter teaching quality due to loss of peer teacher interactions in class. The current study aimed to compare experiences of team-taught versus sole-taught practicals in the same course across two campuses. This paper presents on the staff experiences. The study utilised educational design research methodology for an iterative approach to solving the problem of optimising cadaveric-based teaching. Classes at the metropolitan campus were team-taught (lead demonstrator, clinical demonstrator and near-peer demonstrator, n=18) and sole-taught at the regional, smaller campus (lead demonstrator only, n=5). Demonstrators completed an anonymous online survey that explored their teaching experiences and thematic analysis of survey data was conducted. Benefits of team-teaching were captured under the themes learn-observe-support, more time with students and catering for student differences. While most team-teaching staff reported no challenges, some noted the need for time to establish effective team dynamics. Sole-teaching staff reported the benefit of consistency in teaching but challenges in providing adequate support to all students. While sole-teaching facilitates consistency in teaching, team-teaching enables staff to develop teaching expertise and anatomical knowledge from interactions with a range of demonstrators during practicals. Team-teaching facilitates knowledge transfer between staff, and this holds important workforce implications for developing anatomy teachers of the future.

Biological Practices and Fields, Missing Pieces of the Biomimetics’ Methodological Puzzle

Facing current biomimetics impediments, recent studies have supported the integration within biomimetic teams of a new actor having biological knowledge and know-how. This actor is referred to as the “biomimetician” in this article. However, whereas biology is often considered a homogenous whole in the methodological literature targeting biomimetics, it actually gathers fundamentally different fields. Each of these fields is structured around specific practices, tools, and reasoning. Based on this observation, we wondered which knowledge and know-how, and so biological fields, should characterize biomimeticians. Following the design research methodology, this article thus investigates the operational integration of two biological fields, namely ecology and phylogenetics, as a starting point in the establishment of the biomimetician’s biological tools and practices. After a descriptive phase identifying specific needs and potential conceptual bridges, we presented various ways of applying biological expertise during biomimetic processes in the prescriptive phase of the study. Finally, we discussed current limitations and future research axes.