Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 December 2020

Noor Azam Haji-Othman

This article explores the concept of ‘linguistic landscape’ (Landry & Bourhis, 1997) and applies it to the Tutong Town Centre, which was depicted briefly in the film Gema Dari

Abstract

This article explores the concept of ‘linguistic landscape’ (Landry & Bourhis, 1997) and applies it to the Tutong Town Centre, which was depicted briefly in the film Gema Dari Menara (1968). Due to the cursory and grainy depiction on screen, a study of the present linguistic landscape of the town featured in the film is far more practical than a detailed comparison of the linguistic landscape of Tutong town then and now. In essence the film has provided a geographical scope for linguistic/ semiotic analysis presented in this paper. The study of signs ‘in a given geographical location’ (Ben Rafael et al, 2006: 14), using the distributive count approach, lends itself to a greater understanding of the ethnolinguistic vitality and sociolinguistic interactions of the language groups living in what can be described as a multilingual and multiracial small town. Such evidence of language use in the public sphere results from an interplay of various factors within the town’s societal context, that could be related to Scollon & Scollons’ (2003:2) idea of ‘the social meaning of material placement of sign and discourses'. This study challenges the notion of ethnic languages’ 'disappearance' from public sphere, and instead raises questions about their ‘initiation’ into public use. The study also concludes that the supposed multilinguality of the Tutong Town population is not represented in the linguistic landscape.

Details

Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 20 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1819-5091

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 7 July 2021

Marwa Mohammad Masood and Md. Mahmudul Haque

Critical digital pedagogy (CDP) is an emerging field in education. The basic tenet of CDP involves taking learners' experiences into account and engaging them in critical thinking…

2926

Abstract

Purpose

Critical digital pedagogy (CDP) is an emerging field in education. The basic tenet of CDP involves taking learners' experiences into account and engaging them in critical thinking about social oppression. With the outbreak of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, CDP has got more currency and appropriacy in the current paradigm shift in learning and teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper scrutinizes different aspects of CDP including its origins, theoretical underpinnings and its implementation in different contexts. It also critically reviews Freire's (1972) problem-posing education and Morris and Stommel's (2017) model of CDP.

Findings

The article proposes a CDP model based on the previous ones, which includes the core concepts and criteria of CDP and focuses on EFL classrooms.

Research limitations/implications

One of the limitations of CDP is gaining the learners' approval in creating an environment of co-constructing knowledge moving away from traditional practices. In addition to that, the use of new media in the classroom can be intimidating for students and stakeholders alike. The lack of logistic support in many rural, remote and underdeveloped contexts cannot be ignored either

Practical implications

The paper provides recommendations for future research in CDP.

Originality/value

Critical pedagogy (CP) is a teaching approach in which the oppressed are basically focused and teachers and learners construct knowledge together. Recently, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, global education had to go online. Consequently, traditional teaching and learning had to undergo a paradigm shift. Along with other changes in traditional teaching and learning practices, there has been a significant change in teaching philosophy. This is how the CDP finds its currency in this emerging unprecedented teaching and learning situation.

Details

Saudi Journal of Language Studies, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2634-243X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 28 November 2017

Janina Brutt-Griffler

The shift in the function of English as a medium of instruction together with its use in knowledge construction and dissemination among scholars continue to fuel the global demand…

21566

Abstract

Purpose

The shift in the function of English as a medium of instruction together with its use in knowledge construction and dissemination among scholars continue to fuel the global demand for high-level proficiency in the language. These components of the global knowledge economy mean that the ability of nations to produce multilinguals with advanced English proficiency alongside their mastery of other languages has become a key to global competitiveness. That need is helping to drive one of the greatest language learning experiments the world has ever known. It carries significant implications for new research agendas and teacher preparation in applied linguistics.

Design/methodology/approach

Evidence-based decision-making, whether it pertains to language policy decisions, instructional practices, teacher professional development or curricula/program building, needs to be based on a rigorous and systematically pursued program of research and assessment.

Findings

This paper seeks to advance these objectives by identifying new research foci that underscore a student-centered approach.

Originality/value

It introduces a new theoretical construct – multilingual proficiency – to underscore the knowledge that the learner develops in the process of language learning that makes for the surest route to the desired high levels of language proficiency. The paper highlights the advantages of a student-centered approach that focuses on multilingual proficiency for teachers and explores the concomitant conclusions for teacher development.

Details

PSU Research Review, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-1747

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 May 2023

Hafizah Hamdan

This paper aims to investigate how Bruneian secondary school students employ code-switching in peer interactions. The functions of students' code-switching were analysed using…

1104

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate how Bruneian secondary school students employ code-switching in peer interactions. The functions of students' code-switching were analysed using Reyes' (2004) and Appel and Muysken's (2005) typologies.

Design/methodology/approach

The data collected are based on audio-recorded group discussions designed to elicit students’ code-switched utterances.

Findings

The results indicate that the students used 11 functions of code-switching: referential, discourse marker, clarification, expressive, quotation imitation, turn accommodation, insistence, emphasis, question shift, situation shift and poetic.

Research limitations/implications

As the study only focusses on a specific secondary school, results from this school will not represent secondary school students in Brunei.

Originality/value

This paper hopes to provide insight into how students' code-switching can be seen in a positive light. Moreover, understanding how students use code-switching in the classroom is essential for successful knowledge transfer and for cultivating competent bilinguals, which is what the country's education system aims for.

Details

Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, vol. 23 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1819-5091

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 January 2020

Sina K. Feldermann and Martin R.W. Hiebl

This paper aims to examine the current practice of reporting on translation issues in qualitative, interdisciplinary accounting research. Based on an analysis of the…

3742

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the current practice of reporting on translation issues in qualitative, interdisciplinary accounting research. Based on an analysis of the methodological consideration of the translation of quotations from non-English interviews and additional interviews with experienced researchers, the authors aim to develop recommendations for the reporting on such translation procedures in future accounting research relying on interviews not conducted in English.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on papers published in four highly ranked interdisciplinary accounting journals: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ), Accounting, Organizations and Society (AOS), Critical Perspectives on Accounting (CPA) and Qualitative Research in Accounting and Management (QRAM). The subjects of the analysis are publications of non-English-speaking researchers who conducted non-English interviews and therefore were confronted with translation issues when attempting to get published in these English-language journals. Additionally, to gain deeper insights into reporting decisions on language and translation issues, the authors conducted interviews with experienced researchers in the field of qualitative, interdisciplinary accounting research whose mother tongue is not English. The authors combine these empirical insights with current developments in translation studies.

Findings

As suggested by translation studies, translation is an act of sense making and reconstruction of meaning, and therefore is a complex task that needs to be carried out with caution. However, the findings suggest that in current interdisciplinary, qualitative accounting research, the reporting of language and translation issues, especially with regards to the translation of quotations from interview data, have so far received only limited attention. The authors therefore call for more awareness of and sensibility toward dealing with language and translation issues, which should be reflected in more transparent reporting on translation processes to support the credibility and authenticity of qualitative accounting studies based on non-English interviews.

Research limitations/implications

This paper is limited to the reporting on the methodological consideration of translating quotations from non-English interviews in papers published in AAAJ, AOS, CPA and QRAM between 2004 and 2015. For future accounting research that relies on such interviews, the authors call for more transparency and provide specific recommendations. This in turn should strengthen the awareness that language and translation are factors to be considered and reported.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to develop recommendations for the reporting of translation processes in accounting research studies, which are based on interviews not led in the English language.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 September 2018

Dominic Detzen and Lukas Loehlein

The purpose of this paper is to examine how professional service firms (PSFs) manage the linguistic tensions between global Englishization and local multilingualism. It achieves…

5413

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how professional service firms (PSFs) manage the linguistic tensions between global Englishization and local multilingualism. It achieves this by analysing the work of Big Four audit firms in Luxembourg, where three official languages co-exist: Luxembourgish, French, and German. In addition, expatriates bring with them their native languages in a corporate environment that uses English as its lingua franca.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper combines the institutionalist sociology of the professions with theoretical concepts from sociolinguistics to study the multifaceted role of language in PSFs. Empirically, the paper draws from 25 interviews with current and former audit professionals.

Findings

The client orientation of the Big Four segments each firm into language teams based on the client’s language. It is thus the client languages, rather than English as the corporate language, that mediate, define, and structure intra- and inter-organizational relationships. While the firms emphasize the benefits of their linguistic adaptability, the paper reveals tensions along language lines, suggesting that language can be a means of creating cohesion and division within the firms.

Originality/value

This paper connects research on PSFs with that on the role of language in multinational organizations. In light of the Big Four’s increasingly global workforce, it draws attention to the linguistic divisions within the firms that question the existence of a singular corporate culture. While prior literature has centred on firms’ global–local divide, the paper shows that even single branches of such firm networks are not monolithic constructs, as conflicts and clashes unfold amid a series of “local–local” divides.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 May 2022

Konstantinos Solakis, Vicky Katsoni, Ali B. Mahmoud and Nicholas Grigoriou

This is a general review study aiming to specify the key customer-based factors and technologies that influence the value co-creation (VCC) process through artificial intelligence…

11240

Abstract

Purpose

This is a general review study aiming to specify the key customer-based factors and technologies that influence the value co-creation (VCC) process through artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a theory-based general literature review approach to explore key customer-based factors and technologies influencing VCC in the tourism industry. By reviewing the relevant literature, the authors conclude a theoretical framework postulating the determinants of VCC in the AI-driven tourism industry.

Findings

This paper identifies customers' perceptions, attitudes, trust, social influence, hedonic motivations, anthropomorphism and prior experience as customer-based factors to VCC through the use of AI. Service robots, AI-enabled self-service kiosks, chatbots, metaversal tourism and new reality, machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) are technologies that influence VCC.

Research limitations/implications

The results of this research inform a theoretical framework articulating the human and AI elements for future research set to expand the models predicting VCC in the tourism industry.

Originality/value

Few studies have examined consumer-related factors that influence their participation in the VCC process through automation and AI.

Details

Journal of Tourism Futures, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2055-5911

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 29 April 2021

Billy Tak-ming Wong

This paper examines the pedagogical features of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for language learning–known as language MOOCs. The mainstream pedagogy of MOOCs typically…

1279

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the pedagogical features of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for language learning–known as language MOOCs. The mainstream pedagogy of MOOCs typically involves the provision of short videos and reading materials for self-study; discussion forums, mostly for peer-to-peer interaction on course content; and machine-graded quizzes for self-assessment. For language learning, which has been conventionally understood as skill development, the pedagogical features of relevant MOOCs have yet to be comprehensively surveyed.

Design/methodology/approach

This study surveyed a total of 123 language MOOCs from the major MOOC platforms. The pedagogical features shown in these courses were identified and categorised according to the types of course materials and learning activities as well as the participation of learners and instructors.

Findings

English was the most common language taught in the courses. Over 80% of the courses took not more than six hours to complete. Most of these courses followed the typical approach of xMOOC delivery, with video watching, reading and auto-graded assessment being the most common learning activities. Less than half of the courses included discussion as part of learning, and instructors were involved in less than 30% of the discussion.

Originality/value

The findings show that, despite the technological advances in course delivery, current language MOOCs do not differ substantially from conventional distance language learning. Yet, the utilisation of computer-assisted language learning technology and the massive student base of MOOCs for creating a virtual social community are opportunities for developing learners' language proficiency on this learning environment.

Details

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1858-3431

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 November 2019

Jan Bebbington, Henrik Österblom, Beatrice Crona, Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, Carlos Larrinaga, Shona Russell and Bert Scholtens

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the nature and relevance of debates around the existence of, and ramifications arising from, the Anthropocene for accounting…

8812

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to interrogate the nature and relevance of debates around the existence of, and ramifications arising from, the Anthropocene for accounting scholarship.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper’s aim is achieved through an in-depth analysis of the Anthropocene, paying attention to cross-disciplinary contributions, interpretations and contestations. Possible points of connection between the Anthropocene and accounting scholarship are then proposed and illuminated through a case study drawn from the seafood sector.

Findings

This paper develops findings in two areas. First, possible pathways for further development of how accounting scholarship might evolve by the provocation that thinking about the Anthropocene is outlined. Second, and through engagement with the case study, the authors highlight that the concept of stewardship may re-emerge in discussions about accountability in the Anthropocene.

Research limitations/implications

The paper argues that accounting scholarship focused on social, environmental and sustainability concerns may be further developed by engagement with Anthropocene debates.

Practical implications

While accounting practice might have to change to deal with Anthropocene induced effects, this paper focuses on implications for accounting scholarship.

Social implications

Human well-being is likely to be impacted if environmental impacts accelerate. In addition, an Anthropocene framing alters the understanding of nature–human interactions and how this affects accounting thought.

Originality/value

This is the first paper in accounting to seek to establish connections between accounting, accountability and the Anthropocene.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 5 February 2021

Ugochukwu Titus Ugwu

The purpose of this study is to examine gender and rural economic relations of the Nrobo of Southeastern Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to examine the subsistence…

1688

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine gender and rural economic relations of the Nrobo of Southeastern Nigeria. Specifically, the study was designed to examine the subsistence strategies, gendered role patterns and gender gaps in economic relations of the Nrobo.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used ethnographic methods of participant observation – adopting chitchatting and semi-structured interviews. Also, focus group discussion (FGD) was used to cross-check the validity of data from the other instrument.

Findings

This study found among other things, that although there is still verbal expression of gendered roles division, it does not mirror what actually obtains in society, except bio-social roles. Ideological superiority of men reflects the patrilineal kinship arrangement of society. Theoretically, some of the hypotheses of gender inequality theory were disputed for lack of adequate explanation of gender and economic relations in an egalitarian-reflected society such as Nrobo.

Originality/value

This study, to the best of my knowledge, is the first attempt to ethnographically examine gender and economic relations among this group. As such it adds to the corpus of ethnographies on the Igbo of Southeastern Nigeria.

Details

Journal of Humanities and Applied Social Sciences, vol. 4 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN:

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000