The research questions of this study explore, first, the general patterns of Internet access and engagement among Korean immigrant adolescents, and second, the relationships between the adolescents’ culture-specific online activities and their (a) Korean cultural orientation, (b) American cultural orientation, and (c) bicultural competence. The separate examinations of Korean and American cultural orientations and the consideration of bicultural competence are based on the bicultural model to immigrant’s cross-cultural adjustment, which asserts that cultural orientations to the host and home countries develop and operate independently. Both types of cultural orientation are considered to be multidimensional, involving five distinct processes: cultural identity, knowledge of cultural values and norms, knowledge of popular culture, language proficiency, and cultural social support. Finally, a number of different culture-specific online activities—i.e., email, social networking, entertainment media, and information seeking activities performed on both Korean-language and English-language websites—are considered based on the assumption that different activities will engage different types and levels of cultural orientations and bicultural competence. The research questions are addressed by analyses of data collected through a quantitative survey of 168 Korean immigrant teenagers residing in Texas. The findings of this study demonstrate that these young Korean immigrants are privileged and active users of the Internet. Their online engagement is influenced by common youth-oriented interests as well as by their cultural orientations toward Korean and American cultures. Specifically, different types of culture-specific online activities invoke different aspects of the adolescents’ Korean and American orientations. In particular, the multiple dimensions of American (vs. Korean) orientation are more commonly associated with culture-specific online activities in general, negatively predicting Korean-website activities while positively predicting English-website activities. Of the multiple dimensions, knowledge of popular culture is most commonly associated with culture-specific online activities, while language proficiency is least associated. Further, levels of engagement with culture-specific online activities differ across groups of differing levels of bicultural competence. Particularly, individuals who are biculturally competent across multiple cultural orientation dimensions experience more engaged and diverse online experiences within English-language websites. This study offers theoretical and methodological implications for research on youth and online media and research on immigrants’ cross-cultural adjustment. / text

Cette thèse explore le rôle de multiculturels dans les multinationales. Les multiculturels sont connus pour leur compétence et leur potentiel culturels susceptibles de contribuer à l’efficacité d’une organisation. Peu d’études à ce jour ont examiné les multiculturels dans les multinationales et pratiquement aucune recherche n’a essayé de comprendre le rôle des multiculturels dans la facilitation d’un processus de travail d’équipe efficace. En vue d’étudier un phénomène qui n’a pas été suffisamment scruté, cette dissertation a mobilisé un travail de terrain ethnographique dans deux multinationales importantes sur une période de 10 mois. Elle étudie les rôles de multiculturels dans des équipes mondiales en se référant à trois contextes : (1) la compétence multiculturelle et son impact sur l’efficacité de l’équipe ; (2) comment les multiculturels influencent les processus de travail d’équipe ; (3) en quoi et comment des facteurs liés au contexte affectent l’aptitude des multiculturels à jouer des rôles. / This dissertation explores multiculturals in global corporations. To date, limited research helps us understand the role of multicultural individuals in facilitating the effective functioning of global teams. To investigate this under-examined phenomenon, this dissertation presents the first empirical study of the roles of multiculturals in organizations by facilitating 10-month ethnographic field work in two MNCs: a leading cosmetic MNC and an auditing and consulting MNC. This dissertation comprises three papers. The first paper develops the theoretical model of bicultural competence and its impact on multicultural team effectiveness. I define bicultural competence, determine its antecedents, and identify two roles that bi/multiculturals might play in promoting multicultural team effectiveness: boundary spanner and conflict mediator. The second paper examines multiculturals’ cultural brokerage role for team work processes in global new product development teams: how multiculturals influence teams’ knowledge processes and handle cross-cultural conflicts (not only collocated but also virtual between corporate headquarters and local subsidiaries). Multiculturals play a critical role that influence knowledge processes and cross-cultural conflict management within global teams where cultural and national heterogeneity seems more complicated than organizational researchers have recognized to date. The third paper investigates boundary conditions and how they impact multiculturals to enact their roles. I compare and contrast multiculturals in two MNCs in different industries. In particular, I identify boundary conditions that have impact on multiculturals in three levels of analysis: organizational; team; individual. Furthermore, I propose what factors challenge or enable multiculturals and accordingly, how multiculturals overcome challenges and use given opportunities in order to perform effectively or yield such challenges in organizations

Biculturals are increasingly recognized as an important segment of managers, yet U.S.-based global organizations’ limited knowledge and recognition of this group’s distinctive experiences and related implications within their work environment limit the value placed on bicultural managers’ leadership of multicultural teams and the use of their competencies and skills to improve the effectiveness of multicultural teams. Notwithstanding, traditional leadership models are lacking in diversity and unanswered questions remain regarding the role of multiculturalism in global leadership and team effectiveness. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to gain deeper understanding of the management experiences of biculturals in U.S.-based global organizations and the implications of their bicultural competencies and skills in leading multicultural teams. This study was framed by 3 concepts: bicultural competence, boundary spanning by bicultural managers, and leadership emergence in multicultural teams. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 7 participants, reflective field notes, and archival data. Identifiable themes emerged through thematic analysis of the textual data and cross-case synthesis analysis. Five conceptual categories that enclosed a total of 16 themes were identified. The conceptual categories are (a) bicultural competence, (b) boundary spanning, (c) cultural intelligence, (d) global identity, and (e) leading multicultural teams. Findings may drive social change by challenging the status quo in existing formal work structures and promoting diversity in the workplace creating emerging avenues for business growth and building bridges of communication between the business world and society.

Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka och beskriva kuratorers arbete med döva och hörselskadade klienter. Frågeställningar som undersöktes var:-Hur beskriver kuratorerna sitt arbete med döva och hörselskadade klienter?-Vilka arbetsmetoder används av kuratorerna i arbetet med döva och hörselskadade klienter?-Vad innebär en kulturkompetens och en bikulturell kompetens enligt kuratorerna?Författaren ville belysa ämnet utifrån ett perspektiv där den professionella är teckenspråkig då hon anser att detta perspektiv saknas i litteraturen. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med tre kuratorer som är teckenspråkiga och verksamma inom dövområdet. Resultatet visar att kuratorernas arbete består av praktiska åtgärder och stödsamtal. De har ett eklektiskt förhållningssätt i tillämpningen av arbetsmetoder, t.ex. att arbetet kan vara systematiskt med kognitiva inslag. Kuratorerna ansåg att det var viktigt att vara teckenspråkig och ha särskilda kunskaper om döva (kulturkompetens) för att kunna bemöta och bedriva behandlingsarbete med döva klienter. De ansåg också att kunskaper om den hörande världen och det svenska språket var betydelsefullt för att kunna ge information till hörande och döva om varandra (bikulturell kompetens). Resultatet visar också att kuratorerna uppfattade att annan typ av kommunikation än den teckenspråkiga var viktig att vara medveten om och reflektera över, så som den icke verbala kommunikationen. / The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the counselors’ work with deaf and hard of hearing clients. The issues examined were: -How do the counselors describe their work with deaf and hard of hearing clients?-What are the working methods used by the counselors at work with deaf and hard of hearing clients? -What does a cultural competence and a bicultural competence means according to the counselors? The author wanted to illustrate the subject form a perspective in which the professional can communicate in sign language since she believes that this perspective is lacking in the literature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three counselors who know sign language and work in the deaf area. The results show that the counselors’ work consists of practical measures and counseling. They have an eclectic approach in the application of the methods, for example that the work can be systematically with cognitive elements. The counselors thought it was important to know sign language and have specific knowledge about the deaf (cultural competence) in order to meet and engage in treatment with deaf clients. They also thought knowledge of the hearing world and the Swedish language was important in order to provide information to the hearing and deaf about one another (bicultural competence). The results also show that the counselors understood that other types of communication than the sign language communication was important to be aware of and to consider, as the non-verbal communication.

This study examined ethnic identity and academic achievement among urban African-American adolescents and investigated how bicultural competence may be related to these variables. There is a dearth of literature in school psychology on how these variables relate to best practices for closing the achievement gap. Seventy-two students in the sixth through eighth grades from three urban parochial schools and one urban charter school participated in the study including African Americans (n=43) and students of other ethnicities (n=29). Students included in the Other category included those who self-identified as Latino, Mixed, Other, Asian American, and Native American. The sample was 65.3% female (n=47) and 34.7% male (n=25) with students who ranged in age from 11 to 15 years of age. Using a correlational design, the participants were interviewed at their schools using a brief demographics questionnaire and the Revised Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). Standardized test scores for each participant and information on socioeconomic status were also examined. No significant relationships were found between ethnic identity and any other variable in African-American adolescents or adolescents from other groups. As their grade levels increased, African-American students' levels of bicultural competence increased while their math achievement decreased. Students from other ethnicities who were high in bicultural competence had higher math achievement scores. Adolescent girls from the Other ethnicities group who were higher in bicultural competence tended to achieve more highly in math. Students from other ethnicities who were high in bicultural competence were less likely to receive free or reduced-price lunch. Students from other ethnicities whose parents were born in the United States were higher in bicultural competence than students in the same group whose parents were born outside the United States. This study indicated that academic achievement among urban adolescents can be consistent with a number of combinations of ethnic identities and levels of bicultural competence. The results of the present study suggest that, in order to help close the achievement gap, school psychologists and other decision makers should take socio-cultural and socioeconomic factors such as bicultural competence into consideration when making decisions for individual students and when affecting policy at the systems level. / School Psychology