Multilingual International Students From the Perspective of Faculty

This chapter explores the experiences and perceptions of 14 faculty members toward multilingual international students at River University—a large, research-focused university in Ontario. Data was collected through an online survey and analysed thematically. Responses were categorised under three broad categories with respect to faculty's (1) perceptions of multilingual international students' contributions to River's academic community, (2) challenges surrounding faculty's interactions with multilingual international students, and (3) strategies developed and implemented to support students' academic success. Overall, findings were consistent with those in the current research literature, in which language proficiency was identified by faculty as a major concern, and multilingual international students were considered important for the enhancement of cultural and intellectual diversity, and for the internationalisation of higher education.

The Diversity Dilemma

Racial and ethnic diversity can contribute to greater intellectual diversity, but there is no guarantee especially if one group is easily offended.

In Defense of Free Speech on Campus

A review of "Free Speech and Liberal Education: A Plea for Intellectual Diversity and Tolerance" by Donald Downs.

O papel do Desporto na Integração Social dos Jovens Com e Sem Diversidade Funcional/Intelectual

O desporto é visto como uma forma privilegiada de comunicação de diferentes países, distintas sociedades, distintas culturas e de diferentes estratos sociais. O presente artigo descreve um estudo com a finalidade de perceber de que forma é que o desporto contribui para o desenvolvimento emocional, motor e intelectual dos atletas com e sem diversidade funcional/Intelectual; compreender de que forma a prática desportiva promove a inclusão e integração social dos atletas com e sem diversidade funcional/intelectual, bem como para o desenvolvimento da sua autonomia, autoconfiança e independência. Deste modo, foi utilizada uma metodologia qualitativa através de questionários e foi realizada uma análise documental de diversas notícias sobre o desporto adaptado. Assim, será possível compreender as experiências vivenciadas entre os atletas com e sem diversidade funcional/ intelectual, bem como os benefícios que o desporto adaptado promove na vida das pessoas com diversidade funcional/intelectual ao nível do desenvolvimento cognitivo, motor e sócio-afetivo.Palavras-chave: Diversidade Funcional/Intelectual. Desporto. Integração Social. Desporto Adaptado.The role of sport in the social integration of young people with and without functional/intellectual diversityABSTRACTSport is seen as a privileged form of communication from different countries, different societies, different cultures and from different social strata. This article describes a study in order to understand how sport contributes to the emotional, motor and intellectual development of athletes with and without functional / intellectual diversity; understand how sports practice promotes the inclusion and social integration of athletes with and without functional / intellectual diversity, as well as for the development of their autonomy, self-confidence and independence. In this way, a qualitative methodology was used through questionnaires and a documentary analysis of several news about adapted sport was carried out. Thus, it will be possible to understand the experiences lived between athletes with and without functional / intellectual diversity, as well as the benefits that adapted sport promotes in the lives of people with functional / intellectual diversity in terms of cognitive, motor and socio-affective development.Keywords: Functional / Intellectual Diversity. Sport. Social integration. Adapted Sport.

If you do not deign to quantify, someone else will do it for you: In support of a balanced approach to the evaluation of science

This is a commentary in support of Olof Hallonsten’s historical-sociological argument for countering the growing distrust and governance of science. From this starting point, the problem of quantification in the evaluation of science is addressed and several examples of the unintended consequences of the currently available metrics are discussed. In particular, the issue of quantification is discussed in regard to the modality of scientific research, power and research and the peer relationship. Although in approval with Hallonsten’s argument for reversing the burden of proof, reasonable skepticism is expressed regarding the persuasiveness that this counter-rhetoric will have on members of parliament, public servants and university administrators. If this long-term goal is to be accomplished, it is argued that concrete actions must be pursued in the short and medium term. In this spirit, several suggestions are formulated to further this agenda, most notably greater support for intellectual diversity, greater participation and readership in science studies by science practitioners and the promotion of the comparative approach for understanding the different ways that metrics are actually used in practice. Finally, I argue that the refusal of participating in the quantification of science is bound to hinder applied critical thinking and will most likely and regrettably exacerbate its current perverse effects.

De/colonizing Educational Research

Decolonizing educational research encompasses the understanding and entanglement of colonialism and decolonizing agendas. Such an understanding includes the colonial history of the world, in which once-colonized and settler colonial nations configure varied, divergent, and overlapping decolonial agendas that can inform educational research. However, such divergent agendas are always in relation to resisting colonizing forces and imagining a utopian future free of colonizing and other interconnected structures of oppression. To represent the shuttling between the present and the utopian imagination, de/colonizing is written with a slash and theorized. De/colonizing educational research requires understanding western intellectual canon-building dating back to the European Enlightenment and disrupting such superiority of knowledge construction through knowledge democracy, intellectual diversity, and pluriversity. De/colonizing educational research is committed to negating and erasing the ontoepistemic violence caused by colonizing and related structures of oppression. Engaging de/colonial approaches to inquiry in education requires restructuring both education and educational research. De/colonizing educational research must include a global agenda while simultaneously marking specific localized agendas. This is how the violence in settler colonial and once-colonized nations can be disrupted, mitigated, and eradicated in educational research, education, and nation-states. Calling for liminal and border work and recognizing that colonizing forces of oppression are not static, de/colonizing educational research advocates for an understanding of fluidity in resistance.

Changing Character of Political Islam in Pakistan

Pakistan's confessional parties are re-inventing themselves. The Parties that are carrying a legacy from the time before partition are struggling to keep themselves relevant in mainstream political discourse. Pakistan's political landscape is changing because of the rise of Tehreek-i-Insaf, a progressive center-right political party that has altered the electioneering environment in Pakistan. Two main confessional parties Jamaat Islami (JI) and Jamiat Ulma e Islam Fazal Ur Rehman (JUI-F) are trying to develop an inclusive and pluralist political agenda. JI is a hierarchical Islamic party whereas JUI-F is a network Islamic party. Political Islam is in the process of shrinking in Pakistan because of the rise of political alternatives and outdatedness of the political and electoral discourse of confessional parties. Political Islam in Pakistan is changing by improving its ideological, political, and organizational structure in relation to its contemporary rivals. Changes in political Islam are not because of intellectual diversity and growth within confessional parties but to manage and compete for the rise of competing domestic political perspectives. Transnational connections with like-minded Islamist groups have scaled-down as the like-minded religio-ideological partners are termed as extremists and terrorists.

Cooperative Division of Cognitive Labour: The Social Epistemology of Photosynthesis Research

How do scientists generate knowledge in groups, and how have they done so in the past? How do epistemically motivated social interactions influence or even drive this process? These questions speak to core interests of both history and philosophy of science. Idealised models and formal arguments have been suggested to illuminate the social epistemology of science, but their conclusions are not directly applicable to scientific practice. This paper uses one of these models as a lens and historiographical tool in the examination of actual scientific collectives. It centres on the analysis of two episodes from the history of photosynthesis research of the late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth centuries, which display a wide and coordinated intellectual diversity similar to Kitcher’s “division of cognitive labour” (1990). The concept, I argue, captures important aspects of the photosynthesis research communities, but the underlying process unfolded in ways that differ from the model’s assumption in interesting ways. The paper unravels how the self-organised interplay of cooperation and competition, and the dynamics of individual and collective goals within scientific communities were influential factors in the generation of knowledge. From there, some thoughts are developed on how historical and philosophical approaches in the analysis of science can productively interact.

Multilingual International Students From the Perspective of Faculty

This chapter explores the experiences and perceptions of 14 faculty members toward multilingual international students at River University—a large, research-focused university in Ontario. Data was collected through an online survey and analysed thematically. Responses were categorised under three broad categories with respect to faculty's (1) perceptions of multilingual international students' contributions to River's academic community, (2) challenges surrounding faculty's interactions with multilingual international students, and (3) strategies developed and implemented to support students' academic success. Overall, findings were consistent with those in the current research literature, in which language proficiency was identified by faculty as a major concern, and multilingual international students were considered important for the enhancement of cultural and intellectual diversity, and for the internationalisation of higher education.