Virginia Snodgrass Rangel, Jerrod A. Henderson, Victoria Doan, Rick Greer and Mariam Manuel
The purposes of this study were to describe the roles mentors enacted as part of an afterschool science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program and how those roles…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this study were to describe the roles mentors enacted as part of an afterschool science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program and how those roles varied across three sites and to explain those differences.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a comparative case study design and collected data primarily from interviews with program mentors and observations of the sessions.
Findings
The authors found that the mentors played four roles, depending on the school site: teachers, friends, support and role models. Mentors interpreted cues from the environment in light of their own identities, which ultimately led them to construct a plausible understanding of their roles as mentors.
Research limitations/implications
The authors identify four mentoring roles that are somewhat consistent with prior research and demonstrate that the roles mentors enact can vary systematically across sites, and these variations can be explained by sensemaking. This study also contributes to research on mentoring roles by elaborating each identified role and offering a framework to explain variability in mentor role enactment.
Practical implications
The authors recommend that mentoring program directors discuss the roles that mentors may enact with mentors as part of their training and that they engage mentors in identity work and also recommend that program managers create unstructured time for mentors to socialize outside STEM activities with their mentees.
Originality/value
This study contributes to mentoring research by using sensemaking theory to highlight how and why mentoring roles differ across school sites.
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Rita Peihua Zhang, Helen Lingard, Jack Clarke, Stefan Greuter, Lyndall Strazdins, Christine LaBond and Tinh Doan
This paper describes the development of a digital role play game (RPG) designed to help construction apprentices to better communicate with their supervisors about issues with the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper describes the development of a digital role play game (RPG) designed to help construction apprentices to better communicate with their supervisors about issues with the potential to impact on their physical and psychological health and safety.
Design/methodology/approach
A participatory approach was adopted to utilise the knowledge and insights of the target users to inform the digital RPG development. Apprentices and supervisors were interviewed to identify characteristics of effective supervisor-apprentice communication, which became the RPG’s learning objectives. The scenarios constructed in the RPG were drawn from lived experiences shared by the apprentices in the interviews. During the development process, consultations were conducted with an advisory committee comprising of apprentices and supervisors to improve the realism of the RPG scenarios.
Findings
Three scenarios were developed for the RPG. In each scenario, players are asked to make decisions at various interaction points about how the characters should respond to the unfolding and challenging situations. Scripts were developed for the game, which were acted out and motion captured to animate digital MetaHuman characters embedded in a virtual construction site. Two example situations are introduced in this paper to illustrate the development process.
Originality/value
To our knowledge, the RPG introduced is one of the first applications of digital game-based training in the construction industry. The adoption of a participatory design approach ensures that the game content relates to real-world experiences. The digital RPG is highly interactive and engaging in nature and presents a novel approach to developing “soft” skills in construction.
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Chris Hattingh and Juan-Pierré Bruwer
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the factors that led to Cape Town’s gay village to transform from a “gaytrified” tourism mecca to a “heterosexualised” urban space, from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the factors that led to Cape Town’s gay village to transform from a “gaytrified” tourism mecca to a “heterosexualised” urban space, from a gay leisure space owner perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical observations of the six remaining gay leisure space owners in De Waterkant (population) are taken into account by using semi-structured interviews. All narratives are analysed in Altas.ti – qualitative data analysis software – to identify applicable factors, which participants believe are contributing to the “de-gaying” of Cape Town’s gay village.
Findings
From the conducted analyses, it becomes apparent that Western theorisation of the “de-gaying” of gay villages is not universally applicable as certain factors contributing to De Waterkant’s demise appear to be location-specific, suggesting that Western theory is insufficient to explain gay spatial realities in non-Western contexts such as South Africa. The identified factors responsible for the “de-gaying” of De Waterkant adversely affect Cape Town’s status as a gay capital and its ability to market this gay neighbourhood to attract the gay tourism market. This may result in lost socio-economic opportunities considering the financial contribution of gay travellers to the local tourist economy.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind to use first-hand narratives of the six remaining gay business owners in De Waterkant and marks the first attempt to investigate the factors, from a non-Western perspective, which led to the “de-gaying” of Africa’s only gay village. Taking into account the socio-economic value added by gay tourism, the findings provide the first non-Western perspective on the demise of Africa’s and South Africa’s only gay neighbourhood from a gay leisure space owner perspective, including the possible repercussions on Cape Town’s local tourist economy. Some tactical considerations and recommendations are suggested to ensure the continuation of gay tourism in the city.
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Le-Vinh-Lam Doan and Alasdair Rae
With access to the large-scale search data from Rightmove plc, the paper firstly indicated the possibility of using user-generated data from online property portals to predict…
Abstract
Purpose
With access to the large-scale search data from Rightmove plc, the paper firstly indicated the possibility of using user-generated data from online property portals to predict housing market activities and secondly embraced a GIS approach to explore what people search for housing and what they chose and investigated the issue of mismatch between search patterns and revealed patterns. Based on the analysis, the paper contributes a visual GIS-based approach which may help planners and designers to make more informed decisions related to new housing supply, particularly where to build, what to build and how many to build.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper used the 2013 housing search data from Rightmove and the 2013 price data from Land Registry with transactions made after the search period and embraced a GIS approach to explore the potential housing demand patterns and the mismatch between searches and sales. In the analysis, the paper employed the K-means approach to group prices into five levels and used GIS software to draw maps based on these price levels. The paper also employed a simple analysis of linear regression based on the coefficient of determination to investigate the relationship between online property views and values of house sales.
Findings
The result indicated the strong relationship between online property views and the values of house sales, implying the possibility of using search data from online property portals to predict housing market activities. It then explore the spatial housing demand patterns based on searches and showed a mismatch between the spatial patterns of housing search and actual moves across submarkets. The findings may not be very surprising but the main objective of the paper is to open up a potentially useful methodological approach which could be extended in future research.
Research limitations/implications
It is important to identify search patterns from people who search with the intention to buy houses and from people who search with no intention to purchase properties. Rightmove data do not adequately represent housing search activity, and therefore more attention should be paid to this issue. The analysis of housing search helps us have a better understanding of households' preferences to better estimate housing demand and develop search-based prediction models. It also helps us identify spatial and structural submarkets and examine the mismatches between current housing stock and housing demand in submarkets.
Social implications
The GIS approach in this paper may help planners and designers better allocate land resources for new housing supply based on households' spatial and structural preferences by identifying high and low demand areas with high searches relative to low housing stocks. Furthermore, the analysis of housing search patterns helps identify areas with latent demand, and when combined with the analysis of transaction patterns, it is possible to realise the areas with a lack of housing supply relative to excess demand or a lack of latent demand relative to the housing stock.
Originality/value
The paper proves the usefulness of a GIS approach to investigate households' preferences and aspirations through search data from online property portals. The contribution of the paper is the visual GIS-based approach, and based on this approach the paper fills the international knowledge gap in exploring effective approaches to analysing user-generated search data and market outcome data in combination.
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Samuel Oluwaseyi Olorunfemi and Adetayo Olaniyi Adeniran
This study examined the factors militating against walking as a form of active mobility in Akure, Nigeria. For questionnaire administration, from the 548,315 population of Akure…
Abstract
This study examined the factors militating against walking as a form of active mobility in Akure, Nigeria. For questionnaire administration, from the 548,315 population of Akure, two hundred and seventy-four (274) household heads representing 0.05% of the entire population of Akure were sampled with the aid of a structured and self-administered questionnaire using a systematic sampling technique. The elicited data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. From the analysis, the major impediments to walking were the socio-cultural belief that anybody walking was poor, followed by accessibility to motorised transport, and inadequate pedestrian facilities. These situations have significantly deterred people from seeing walking as an active form of mobility in the study area. Thus, the study recommends a strong sensitisation and awareness programme to robustly enlighten people on the need to embrace walking as a form of urban mobility. Also, the government should adequately and sustainably invest more in pedestrian facilities that will promote the culture of walking among people and/or road users in Akure, Nigeria. More importantly, for inclusiveness in urban planning, road infrastructure should be designed alongside other road elements to ensure seamless negotiations between pedestrians and vehicles without any form of conflict.
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Jiamin Gan and Helen Forbes-Mewett
International students commonly need to adjust to an unfamiliar environment while at the same time juggling with their education without traditional family support. Intercultural…
Abstract
International students commonly need to adjust to an unfamiliar environment while at the same time juggling with their education without traditional family support. Intercultural adjustment is often stressful for these students, thus contributing to a higher risk of a vulnerable mental and emotional state. The relocation to a foreign country presents a case of temporary migration during the time that they are away. This chapter looks at the challenges international students faced during relocation and adaptation. The study will also discuss how international students cope with mental health issues and the important role educational institutions have in mental health care. Interview data will be drawn on to present the perspectives of a group of international Singaporean university students in Melbourne, Australia, aged between 20 and 25 years old. However, the discussion about mental health issues cannot be assumed to be directly related to the challenges of relocation. Interview data will only represent the perspective of a group of international students and cannot be made generalisable to all international students. Similar to other studies, findings from this chapter reinforced the challenges international students face from their migration. While they acknowledged the importance of mental health care services, there are still barriers to seeking professional help. Future studies could look into how universities can continue to bridge this gap.
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Philip Hallinger, Allan Walker and Gian Tu Trung
The purpose of this paper is to review both international and domestic (i.e. Vietnamese language) journal articles and graduate theses and dissertations on educational leadership…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review both international and domestic (i.e. Vietnamese language) journal articles and graduate theses and dissertations on educational leadership in Vietnam. The review addresses two specific goals: first, to describe and critically assess the nature of the formal knowledge base on principal leadership in Vietnam, second, to synthesize findings from the existing literature on principal leadership in Vietnam.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employed a method for conducting systematic reviews of research. The authors conducted a detailed, exhaustive search for international and “local” papers from Vietnam, yielding 120 research sources. Information from these papers was extracted and evaluated prior to analysis. Data analysis included both quantitative description of the “review database” as well as critical synthesis of substantive findings.
Findings
The review supports and extends an earlier review which found that the practice of educational leadership in Vietnam remains largely “invisible” to the international community of scholars. The review also yielded a highly critical assessment of research perspectives and methods used in the “local” Vietnamese studies which comprised the bulk of the authors’ database. Synthesis of substantive findings highlighted the manner by which organizational, political, and socio-cultural forces in the Vietnamese context shapes the practice of school leadership.
Research limitations/implications
First, qualitative studies are recommended that seek to describe, in-depth, the enactment of leadership in the Vietnamese context. Second, broad-scale surveys of characteristics, attitudes, and beliefs of school leaders across Vietnam are warranted. Third, the authors encourage graduate students and scholars studying school leadership in Vietnam to undertake a new generation of theory-informed studies that connect with the global literature.
Practical implications
Due to the relatively weak nature of the existing knowledge base, the authors were unable to identify specific implications for leadership practice. However, practical implications are identified for developing the research capacity needed to improve research quality in Vietnam’s universities.
Originality/value
This review is the first systematic review of educational leadership and management conducted of the Vietnamese literature. Moreover, the authors suggest that the review is original in its comprehensive coverage of both the local and international literature on educational leadership in Vietnam.
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Huong Lan Nguyen, Belle Dang, Yvonne Hong and Andy Nguyen
This study aimed to utilize Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) for a thorough evaluation of policy documents concerning the digital transformation in Vietnam's higher education…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to utilize Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) for a thorough evaluation of policy documents concerning the digital transformation in Vietnam's higher education sector.
Design/methodology/approach
Adopting a quantitative ethnography approach, this research employed ENA to analyse a curated collection of 21 documents that specifically addressed higher education (HE) and digital transformation within Vietnam. The study also incorporated qualitative content analysis, utilizing the constant comparison method as outlined by Onwuegbuzie et al. (2009), for data coding. ENA facilitated the examination of connections among various policy aspects.
Findings
The study revealed a consistent overarching theme in Vietnam's digital transformation policies during and post-pandemic, focusing on key areas such as ADMINISTRATION, VISION, QUALITY, and INFRASTRUCTURE. However, a temporal shift in emphasis was observed: during the pandemic, policies were more focused on ADMINISTRATION and INFRASTRUCTURE, while post-pandemic, there was an increased emphasis on COLLAB, VISION, and TEACH_LEARN.
Originality/value
This research represents one of the initial efforts to showcase the utility and significance of ENA in analysing policy documents. It underscores ENA's potential in elucidating the complex interplay of policy elements in the context of digital transformation in higher education, particularly within a developing country setting.