Over the past decade there has been an increase in scientific publications addressing intercultural competence (IC) of students. The sheer volume of publications available makes it difficult to determine the extent, breadth, and nature of research within the area. The aim of this scoping review was to describe the state of peer reviewed research related to IC, including academic disciplines addressing the issue, regions of the world conducting research, types of interventions used to foster IC and how outcomes are being evaluated. Six databases were searched, resulting in 15,128 articles. A total of 464 met the inclusion criteria. A trend was observed towards studying IC in interdisciplinary student populations as well as a post-COVID-19 trend towards more online interventions. Most research was conducted in North America (n = 198; 42.7%) within the discipline of education (n = 87; 18.8%). The most common intervention was pedagogical approaches delivered at the students’ home institution (n = 161; 34.7%). Results highlight a gap in research from the Global South and a lack of consensus regarding appropriate tools for evaluating IC. Continued work is required to determine the effects of specific interventions and to support educators in identifying appropriate tool(s) for measuring outcomes.

Background

Health promotion services need to be developed to respond to the needs of an ageing population. Lifestyle Redesign(R) (LR(R)) is an occupational therapy intervention that has been addressed as cost-effective in the USA.

Aims/objectives

This scoping review aimed to identify how the LR(R) has been implemented and what the results have been with older adults living independently in countries other than the USA.

Material and methods

Sixteen studies were included. Quantitative results were interpreted through the numeric data and qualitative results through inductive thematic analysis.

Results

The delivery of the LR(R) shared both similarities and differences with the original LR(R), and the variations concerned interventions length, facilitators, and the outcome measures used. In the quantitative results, there was often a positive trend in intervention groups' health-related quality of life, mental health, and occupational performance; in qualitative results, there was improvement in self-esteem and possibilities in building new communities.

Conclusions and significance

The original LR(R) was often transferrable into cultural settings other than the USA and many positive outcomes in the health and well-being of older adults were addressed. However, to understand the feasibility and effectiveness of the LR(R), scientific research and publications need to be enhanced.

Introductory paragraph: Globalisation and technological development are steadily reshaping the landscape of higher education (HE) and making new demands on higher education institutions (HEIs) to prepare their graduates for the challenge of living and working in a globally connected world. According to the OECD (2018), global awareness and social and cross-cultural skills are highlighted as 21st-century skills that students need to succeed in their future careers.

This virtual exchange program, consisted of 2 Asian and 2 European universities, and let students meet via zoom from the first semester of education. Despite language and different communication-styles, students could build their own professional network on an international level and start to build on their international understanding and intercultural competence.

Globalization and technological development are steadily reshaping the landscape of higher education (HE) and making new demands on higher education institutions (HEIs) to prepare their graduates for the challenge of living and working in a globally connected world. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), social challenges including globalization, migration, and increased social and cultural diversity, will affect the future of education. Global awareness and social and cross-cultural skills were highlighted as 21st-century skills that students need to succeed in their future careers (OECD, 2018). Universities can address these challenges and foster active, responsible, and engaged global citizens by incorporating deliberate interventions within their formal curriculum. Accordingto Leask (2015), an internationalized curriculum has the power to acknowledge the importance of intercultural and international skills and knowledge, as well as cultural awareness and the ability to think in a local, national, and global context. Data from the Global Survey Report of the International Association of Universities (IAU) indicated that 88% of HEIs globally considered Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC) as important (Marinoni, 2019). Yet, most HEIs find it challenging to pursue an inclusive and systematic approach toward the IoC (Killick & Foster, 2021).

This article explores current Internationalization of the Curriculum practices and perceptions among teaching staff at a middle-sized Swedish University. Further, this article elaborates on enablers and blockers that local teaching staff face in their efforts to internationalize the curriculum. This work will serve as a foundation for stimulating the reflection and discussion amongst teams of teaching staff about the IoC in their disciplines and how to navigate future opportunities to further internationalize curricula.

I dag lever över 130 000 personer med en demenssjukdom i Sverige och antalet ökar. Att delta i mentalt stimulerande aktiviteter kan vara ett sätt att hantera dagliga utmaningar och anpassa sig till minnesproblematik. Demens berör inte bara de som insjuknar utan också deras anhöriga och det finns ett behov av att erbjuda aktiviteter där även anhöriga inkluderas. Ett exempel på en mentalt stimulerande aktivitet för personer med demens och deras anhöriga är den anpassade konstvisningen Möten med minnen som bedrivs på flera museer i Sverige. Visningarna sker i grupp och innebär att titta på och utbyta tankar om konst eller föremål, och associera till egna upplevelser, utifrån olika teman. Förutom konstrelaterade ämnen kan visningarna också utgå från till exempel bygdehistora och bruksföremål. Syftet med föreliggande studie var att utvärdera om en visningsaktivitet i grupp inom hembygdsföreningar kan påverka sinnesstämning hos personer med mild eller medelsvår demens. Vidare var syftet att utvärdera anhörigas upplevelser av gruppaktiviteten. Rekrytering av deltagare skedde genom personal från demensteam i kommunal verksamhet och regionsjukvård. Totalt bestod studien av nio personer med demenssjukdom och nio anhöriga, som också var partners, till dessa personer. Första visningsaktiviteten startade september 2019 på Norrahammars industri-och bygdemuseum och fortsatte januari 2020 samt oktober 2021 i Aneby Hembygdsförening. Grupperna träffades en gång i veckan under tre veckor och varje träff varade två timmar. Föremål och tavlor som gestaltade vardagen förr i tiden presenterades för deltagarna och gruppledarna uppmuntrade deltagarna att associera till föremålen och minnas hur de hade använts. För att ta reda på om visningsaktiviteten hade någon inverkan på sinnesstämningen observerades personerna med demens samt att de själva fick skatta sitt stämningsläge före och efter aktiviteten. Förutom att de anhöriga också skattade sitt stämningsläge, deltog de också i en intervju. Resultatet visade att både personer med demens och deras anhöriga var gladare efter visningsaktiviteten än före. Personerna med demens visade också aktivt intresse och positiva känsloyttringar under de två timmarna som visningsaktiviteten pågick. De anhöriga uppskattade att göra en aktivitet utanför hemmet och att få göra något tillsammans med sin partner. På grund av kognitiv svikt var behållningen för personerna med demens oftast bunden till stunden, men projektet visade ändå på ett givande sätt att öka både sinnesstämningen och relationen mellan partnerna.

Higher education institutions’ work with internationalisation is often managed by a small group of people who decide about the strategic direction and priorities. But what happens if we open the door for discussion to all staff? This article describes how a virtual Appreciative Inquiry summit can support the implementation of the ‘Internationalisation at Home’ strategy at the institution-wide level.