Fay Sudweeks

Aim/Purpose
The research investigates the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) on Iranian refugees’ settlement in Australia.

Background
The study identifies the issues of settlement, such as language, cultural and social differences.

Methodology
The Multi-Sited Ethnography (MSE), which is a qualitative methodology, has been used with a thematic analysis drawing on a series of semi-structured interviews with two groups of participants (51 Iranian refugees and 55 people with a role in assisting refugees).

Contribution
The research findings may enable the creation of a model for use by the Aus-tralian Government with Iranian refugees.

Findings
The findings show the vital role ICT play in refugees’ ongoing day-to-day life towards settlement.

Recommendations for Practitioners
The results from this paper could be generalised to other groups of refugees in Australia and also could be used for Iranian refugees in other countries.

Recommendation for Researchers
Researchers may use a similar study for refugees of different backgrounds in Australia and around the world.

Impact on Society
ICT may assist refugees to become less isolated, less marginalized and part of mainstream society.

Future Research
Future research could look into the digital divide between refugees in Australia and main stream Australians.

Aim/Purpose To develop a framework for utilizing Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) to assist non-native English migrant women to acquire English vocabulary in a non-formal learning setting. Background The women in this study migrated to Australia with varied backgrounds including voluntary or forced migration, very low to high levels of their first language (L1), low proficiency in English, and isolated fulltime stay-at-home mothers. Methodology A case study method using semi-structured interviews and observations was used. Six migrant women learners attended a minimum of five non-MALL sessions and three participants continued on and attended a minimum of five MALL sessions. Participants were interviewed pre- and post-sessions. Data were analysed thematically. Contribution The MALL framework is capable of enriching migrant women’s learning experience and vocabulary acquisition. Findings Vocabulary acquisition occurred in women from both non-MALL and MALL environment; however, the MALL environment provided significantly enriched vocabulary learning experience. Future Research A standardised approach to measure the effectiveness of MALL for vocabulary acquisition among migrant women in non-formal setting

This paper documents the outcomes of a study that focused on identifying what motivates stu-dents to use mobile devices for learning and to engage in m-learning. An outcome of this study was to provide a better understanding of what educators should consider when adapting their course for mobile learners. The research included seven classes from three Australian universi-ties. The students in this study used laptops or tablet PCs, and in three of the classes, these were provided by the university as part of a laptop/tablet program. The findings indicated that mobility was the key motivator for the use of laptops, and the learning tasks that students found to be most motivating involved accessing information, authoring (e.g., writing, blogging, note taking) and communication.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of individual and group factors that facilitate successful collaborative work in e-learning environments. The aim of the paper is to develop a conceptual framework and a methodology for implementing the framework. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical framework is developed. The framework is an integration of two innovative methodologies (CEDA and RAPAD) which have been implemented in previous research. Findings – The operationalisation of the integrated methodology enables the development of a learning environment by structured reflection and negotiation on preferred learning related characteristics. Originality/value – The proposed approach facilitates student learning at the individual and group level. Extending the framework to training procedures locates the research to a broader societal context.

This paper suggests that for academics to be good teachers, especially in the context of e-Learning, they need to understand learning. This is especially important with the associated changes in higher education as we move towards the knowledge society. E-Learning is embedded in learning and, without an understanding of what learning encompasses, it can be difficult for academics to develop into good teachers. It is suggested that, although this may appear to be a simple aim, it is not necessarily understood or applied by university academics in their teaching. One inference is that university teachers need to develop a theory of learning and teaching. Academics may have a ‘philosophy of teaching’, but in many cases even this may not be consciously held or successfully implemented. A program for promoting conceptual change in academics’ approaches to teaching is outlined.

This research is an exploratory study of students ’ approaches to studying histology and pathology. With the introduction of virtual microscopes in Health Science at Murdoch University, Australia, in 2006, it was crucial to investigate how this new technology impacted on students ’ approaches to learning. The ASSIST survey was implemented at the beginning and end of the semester to identify any changes. Results indicate that, when the technology was integrated into the curriculum with appropriate learning activities, students using virtual microscopes moved more towards a strategic approach to learning but expressed a preference for a deep approach to teaching.

ProjectH, a research group of a hundred researchers, produced a huge amount of data from computer mediated discussions. The data classified several thousand postings from over 30 newsgroups into 46 categories. One approach to extract typical examples from this database is presented in this paper. An autoassociative neural network is trained on all 3000 coded messages and then used to construct typical messages under certain specified conditions. With this method the neural network can be used to create “typical” messages for several scenarios. This paper illustrates the architecture of the neural network that was used and explains the necessary modifications to the coding scheme. In addition several “typicality sets” produced by the neural net are shown and their generation is explained. In conclusion, the autoassociative neural network is used to explore threads and the types of messages that typically initiate or contribute longer lasting threads.

The papers collected in this special issue on Communication, Culture and Praxis are drawn largely from presentations made at the International Conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC’02), co-chaired by Charles Ess and Fay Sudweeks. The conference, held in Montréal , Canada , 12-15 July 2002, was the third international conference in the CATaC biennial series. This conference series aims to provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of both theory and praxis on how diverse cultural attitudes shape our appropriation and use of information and communication technologies. Presenters and participants attending the CATaC’02 represented 20 countries

This collection of articles was originally inspired by several presentations at CATaC'041 and subsequent critical discussion of their use of the frameworks for cultural analyses developed by Edward T. Hall (1966, 1976) and Gert Hofstede (e.g., 1980, 1991). In response to these presentations and discussion, we developed this special thematic section for the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

The first conference on Cultural Attitudes towards Technology and Communication (CATaC) in 1998 was organized in response to a troubling recognition. On the one hand, contrary to the then-prevailing belief in technology as a value-free and culturally-neutral tool, it was becoming increasingly clear that cultural values and communication preferences played fundamental roles in the design, implementation, and responses to the technologies of computer-mediated communication (CMC) just as, after all, cultural values and communication preferences play such roles in every other aspect of our lives. On the other hand, there was very little attention to culture and communication vis-a-vis CMC, either on the level of theoretical analyses or on the level of empirical investigations into how these elements interacted with one another 'on the ground,' i.e., in specific cultural contexts. This relative dearth of discussion in both theory and praxis, of course, was in part precisely because of the view that prevailed in at least the English-language literature of the time- i.e., the view that technology is a value- and culturally-neutral tool.