This paper discusses how persons of multicultural backgrounds describe in interviews their everyday experiences when using Finnish. The focus is on categories of linguistic (non)belonging described in interview interactions. The data consist of 23 single and pair interviews of 33 informants in total and come from two interview datasets. Data are…

Scholars studying intuition are frequently focusing on decision takers and to this day, they conceptualize intuition as a form of judgment. More recently, the notion of intuition in creativity has been challenged by the argument that although the creative process may contain intuitive judgments, any creative idea or solution is essentially the…

This paper explores the learning experiences and literacy practices of a group of female migrant domestic workers from Nepal, reporting on ethnographic data collected between 2008 and 2013. Drawing on the conceptualisation of literacy as a social practice, as well as the notion of translocational positionality, it examines the way in which the…

Mobile Learning (mLearning) is becoming popular in several parts of education. The increasing availability of mobile technology and devices is an important fact, which fosters this trend. However, even if it attracts more and more attention at huge enterprises it is not clear what small and medium enterprises (SMEs) think about Mobile Learning.…

The purpose of this paper is to provide another perspective on the problematic nature of the concept of skill and in particular a tendency to place a lower value on certain types of job in the service sector than those in other industries. Qualitative research was conducted in three service industries in Australia, comprising interviews with key…

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Russian became a commodity in the global service industry in the decade between 2004 and 2014 and, in some places, much earlier. I will begin with a discussion of sociolinguistic theory of "commodification of language", focusing on aspects critical for this case study. Then, I will trace the…

This paper examines opportunities for language learning in a cleaning job, which is a typical entry-level job for immigrants. An ethnographic case study approach is taken to investigate examples of the conditions that allow or prevent language learning for the focal participant, a sub-Saharan man who works as a cleaner in Finland. This case…

This Conversation Currents features Chef Kevin Gillespie, owner of Atlanta restaurant Gunshow, contestant on Bravo's "Top Chef Las Vegas" in 2009, and food activist for various organizations. He shares his journey to becoming a chef, ways to integrate healthy foods in schools, and the role of literacy in nutrition.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of 20 customer service agents regarding employee turnover. Building upon the Herzberg 2-factor theory, research was conducted to identify factors contributing to employee turnover. Data were collected through participant interviews and explored using…

Studies have shown that restaurant waitresses with hair ornamentation receive higher tips than waitresses without ornaments. However, the effect of such ornamentation on other behaviors has never been explored. In this study, the effect of a female interviewer's hair ornamentation on compliance with a survey request was examined. Male and female…

Traditionally cooking is considered to be women's work, yet the vast majority of professional chefs, particularly in the upper echelons of restaurant work, are men. These curious gendered patterns stimulated interest in delving more deeply into the gendered nature of restaurant work. Existing research on this topic has concentrated on the front of…

The purpose of this article is to examine how media-generated professional identities in the culinary sector are reflected in Danish male cookery students' narratives about their own identity, experiences and expectations about the trade. Hence, this study takes its starting point in studies that show how the broad popularity of the culinary…

Leading Chinese technology firms, from automobile manufacturer to information service provider, are evolving into some of the world's most innovative and competitive players, and dramatically changing the global business landscape. What underlies the rise of these firms is China's national strategy of transforming itself from a low-cost…

This grounded theory dissertation explores the educational experiences of funeral service students as they matriculate through the college of funeral service. Student interviews were utilized to explore the world of funeral service education. The analysis of the data led to the discovery of the theory, "Sustaining the Image of Life." The…

Since 2008, classroom learning activities on the working poor and the living wage have been included in an introductory core course that focuses on community services and professions in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2008 that 8.9 million people were classified as…