by Gu Yongqi. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Bibliography: leaves 145-151.

The purpose of this study was to explore American and Chinese college student underlying cultural assumptions, which influence their perceptions and behaviors in various domains of life. The objectives of this study were to: (a) To generate timely knowledge of Chinese and American youth's cultural images, meanings, and frame of reference. (b) To evaluate the extent and nature of psycho-cultural difference between American and Chinese population samples. (c) To increase the cross-cultural awareness of both cultural groups and offer deeper insights of perceptions and belief system of their contemporaries. (d) To examine how the economic, social and political changes affect people's images and cultural frame of reference. (e) To provide a better tool to prepare future study abroad students. The methodology employed in this research includes Associate Group Analysis (AGA), focus groups, and participant observation. The data derived from 73 returned surveys on 25 stimulus words (42 from Chinese respondents and 31 from American respondents). These were analyzed using AGA. Focus groups and participant observation were used as follow-up research methods to clarify, extend, and qualify findings on the topics explored in the analysis. The findings revealed that American self-image and their attitudes towards family, education, values, conscience and other domains of life showed strong individualistic traits with an emphasis placed on self-reliance. Compared to American students, Chinese students' cultural assumptions are related to broad cultural factors derived from Chinese traditional beliefs about self-control and group harmony. Under the influence of western culture, Chinese youth have undergone certain changes in their perceptions and practices. They are experimenting with independent thinking and more concerned with developing their interests and potentials. They readily visualize their material goals and struggle for more personal freedom. However, in spite of the strong pull of western culture and materialism, Chinese students still hold the traditional aspirations of "group harmony," "reciprocity," "mutual obligation" and "self-cultivation," reflecting the stability of community norms over time. / Graduation date: 2003

To investigate how Chinese ESL learners feel about the peer review process in oral and email-based modalities and how Chinese cultural barriers such as concerns about face saving and shyness might impact their learning attitudes, I taught an ESL writing course to collect data and write this dissertation. Tools for investigation I used included two identical peer review attitude questionnaires that were conducted at two occasions (at the beginning and the end of the course), a Peer Review Guideline and Sign Test.Many published studies on peer review focus on how to implement computer technology in the classroom, but ignore cultural impacts on ESL. The results of the Sign Test revealed that a large number of the students preferred to do oral and email comments in an indirect way, because they felt that they would need group harmony.It was noted that some students would like to receive email comments from their partner, not provide the comments to him/her, because commenting on his/her essay would hurt him/her. In many participants' view, teacher's reviews are more important than their partner's, since cultural barriers such as face saving and shyness prevented them from voicing their own opinion. The results also indicated that the students reacted favorably to the e-mail modality, although some of them still thought that it was a waste of time. Therefore, this modality did serve some students to allay their concerns about face-saving. In the study, a few students favored "anonymous" peer reviews, which could be achieved through email peer review. / Department of English

Offshore programs have become increasingly popular in countries that are experiencing rapid economic growth and rising demand for higher education. There is no doubt that China is one of the largest markets for offshore programs. However, the offshore program market in China has become increasingly competitive. Currently, institutions from the USA, the UK, and Australia, to name just a few, are offering offshore programs ranging from the professional diploma level to higher degrees such as MA, MBA and PhD. Therefore, understanding how Chinese students select an offshore program is important for competing and surviving in this market place. This study examines the effects of image (i.e., country image and higher education image), attitude, subject norm and perceived behavior control (adopted from Ajzen's theory of planned behavior) in Chinese students' enrollment intentions towards offshore programs from Australia, the UK and the USA respectively. A total number of 1291 valid questionnaires were collected from China for this study. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) method was used for data analyses and modeling. This PhD's several major findings have significant theoretical and practical implication. One of the major findings was that country image or its related higher education image doesn't have significant effect on an offshore program evaluation in China. This finding has contradicted most previous studies which suggested that country image had significant impact on whether a consumer purchases the products or brands from a foreign country. The difference between this study and the other country-image studies may be due to the fact that this study studied multiple factors besides country image, while the other studies looked at only the effect of country image on purchasing intention. Although country image or higher education image did not play any significant role in offshore program enrollments, this study found that the image of the partnering or local institution had a significant effect on enrollment intention. Because Chinese students are unfamiliar with a foreign country or their higher education system, they relied heavily on the local institution (e.g., its reputation and quality) to evaluate an offshore program. The findings with respective to image have challenged most previous studies on country image and open a new arena for looking at the effect of country image in behavioral intention. Practically speaking, these findings make universities rethink their offshore program strategies in foreign countries, particularly developing countries. Most university marketers from western countries emphasize on the characteristics of its own (such as the history of the university, the quality of research) when promoting its offshore program overseas. However, this study suggested that the focus should be placed on selecting a good and suitable local partner, as well as emphasizing the characteristics of the local partner. Other major findings were related to the Theory of Planned behavior. This study found that all three components of the TPB, namely, attitude towards the program, subject norm and perceived behavior control had significant effects on enrollment intention. This suggested that for predicting behavioral intention in educational program enrollment, the TPB is a very powerful model.

The purpose of the study was to investigate cultural aspects that influence customer perception of service quality in the hotel industry, specifically those that influence Eastern and Western respondents. A questionnaire was developed to assess cultural differences on perceptions, which included a modified version of the SERVQUAL scales, an instrument used to measure service quality. The convenience sample consisted of students enrolled in the MBA program at a Western university (N=152; Eastern=57.9%, Western=34.9%, Other=7.2%). Findings indicated that there were no significant differences between Eastern and Western cultures in perceptions of service quality. A sample questionnaire is included.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Chinese students are the biggest ethnic group of international students in the United States. Previous studies have identified many unique problems of Chinese students during their acculturation process and a higher level of acculturative stress than international students from other countries. A systematic review of instruments that assess acculturative stress revealed that none of the existing scales apply to Chinese students in the United States, either because of language issues or validity problems. Thus, this study aims to develop a reliable and valid scale to accurately measure the acculturative stress of Chinese students in the United States. A 72-item pool was generated by interviewing eight Chinese students and borrowing items from existing literature and scales. The item pool was sent online to 607 Chinese students and 267 of them completed the survey. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted to empirically derive the factor structure of the Acculturative Stress Scale for Chinese Students (ASSCS). The results produced a 32-item scale in five dimensions, which were Language Insufficiency, Social Isolation, Perceived Discrimination, Academic Pressure, and Guilt toward Family. The ASSCS demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.939) and initial validity by predicting depression (Beta = 0.490, p<.001) and life satisfaction (Beta = -0.505, p<.001). It was the first Chinese scale of acculturative stress developed and validated among a Chinese student sample in the United States. Further studies need to be conducted to provide empirical support and confirm the validity for the scale. In the future, the scale can be used as diagnosing tool and self-assessment tool.