The central theme of this doctoral research is organisational knowledge creation in the cross cultural context of the post-socialist transition of former Eastern European (EE) countries towards a more liberal market structure and methods of working. This transition was particularly important for those countries seeking European Union (EU) accession such as Romania, and impacted on those organisations having a major role in accession such as the Romanian Border Police (RBP). The need for organisations to expand their knowledge of strategic decision making for change and development resulted in a plethora of EU-funded training interventions to fill the gap. The literature suggests that as a result of the dominance of Western ideology of the transitional process, cognitive dissonance and a general disconnect with the outcomes of EU-funded projects was a product of such interventions. This research explores how a more collaborative co-inquiry methodology with partners can bring about knowledge creation as a more sustainable and significant approach for organisational change. Specifically, it investigates the reflective capabilities of a group of Romanian Border Police (RBP) managers to reveal how they can create knowledge for organisational change and development in preparation for EU accession. Simultaneously a framework for facilitation was developed as a result of using the original research of Geppert and Clark (2002) and Breiter and Scardamalia (2000), as a foundation for the operationalisation of the research and in the attempt to move away from traditional models of knowledge transfer to further develop the changing dimensions of training interventions in the EE as suggested by Michaelova and Hollinshead (2007). It is offered as a purposeful method for the sustainable organisation, in preference to western style knowledge transfer projects. The findings result in a complex model of knowledge creation for the RBP and a better understanding of how Western trainers can work with EE organisations to achieve the desired outcomes for developing organisations. Moreover recommendations are made on how the EU can best utilise this research as a basis for funding future knowledge transfer projects, to guarantee that funding is having an impact on developing organisations at a time of austerity.

Hardiness é um conceito que está cada vez mais sendo usado com a finalidade de explicar as possíveis diferenças individuais no enfrentamento do stress. Os instrumentos de medida de hardiness são em língua inglesa, dos quais optou-se pela adaptação cultural da Hardiness Scale, original dos Estados Unidos da América, de autoria de Bartone, Ursano, Wright e Ingraham (1989). Sua finalidade é avaliar o quanto de atitudes Hardy as pessoas têm no enfrentamento de situações estressantes. É uma escala do tipo Likert, com escores que variam de 0 (nada verdadeiro) a 3 (totalmente verdadeiro), possui 30 itens que são distribuídos em três domínios (Compromisso, Controle e Desafio). Os objetivos deste estudo foram realizar a adaptação cultural da Hardiness Scale para a língua portuguesa do Brasil; avaliar a validade de construto e a confiabilidade da versão adaptada. As etapas propostas por Ferrer et al (1996) foram obedecidas, a saber: 1. Tradução para língua portuguesa (Consenso: Versão I em Português); 2. Avaliação pelo Comitê de Revisão (Versão II em Português); 3. Retradução (Back translation); 4. Avaliação semântica dos itens (Versão III em Português); 5. Pré-teste (Versão Final Português) e 6. Análise das propriedades da medida adaptada. A coleta de dados da aplicação do instrumento foi realizada junto aos enfermeiros do serviço público de saúde de dois municípios do interior do estado de São Paulo, totalizando 71 participantes. A confiabilidade interna medida com o uso de Alpha de Cronbach obteve os seguintes valores: para a composição da escala foi de 0,732, enquanto que os domínios apresentaram alfa de 0,683 para Compromisso, 0,632 para Controle e 0,441 para Desafio. Na análise da Escala de Hardiness adaptada quanto à validade de construto obteve-se relação positiva e significante com o Inventário de Estratégias de Coping de Folkman e Lazarus, e negativa e significante com o Inventário de Depressão de Beck. Pode-se concluir que a Escala de Hardiness apresenta-se adaptada para a língua portuguesa do Brasil, com consistência interna satisfatória e validade de construto na população estudada e seus achados corroboram com a literatura corrente / Hardiness is a concept that is increasingly being used in order to explain possible individual differences in the coping of stress. The instruments for measuring hardiness are in English language and of witch opted for the cultural adaptation of the Hardiness Scale, original United States of America, by Bartone, Ursano, Wright and Ingraham (1989). Its purpose is to assess how much Hardy attitudes the people have in coping with stressful situations. It is a Likert-type scale, with scores ranging from 0 (not true) to 3 (completely true), it contains 30 items that are distributed in three domains (Commitment, Control and Challenge). The objectives of this study were to perform cultural adaptation of the Hardiness Scale into Portuguese of Brazil, to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of the adapted version. The steps proposed by Ferrer et al. (1996) were followed, namely: 1. Translation to Portuguese language (Consensus: Version I in Portuguese), 2. Evaluation by the Committee of Review (Version II in Portuguese), 3. Back translation, 4. Semantics evaluation of the items (Version III in Portuguese), 5. Pre-test (Final Version Portuguese) and 6. Analysis of the properties of the adapted measure. The data from the application of the instrument was conducted with nurses from the public health service in two cities country side of São Paulo State, totalizing 71 participants. The internal reliability measured by use of Cronbach\'s Alpha achieved the following values: for the composition of the scale was .732, while the areas showed Commitment to .683, .632 for Control and 0.441 to Challenge. In the analysis of the adapted Hardiness Scale concerning the validity of construct obtained significant and positive relation with the Inventory of Coping Strategies of Folkman and Lazarus, and negative and significant with the Beck Depression Inventory. It can be concluded that the Hardiness Scale, it is adapted to the Portuguese language of Brazil, with satisfactory internal consistency and construct validity in the studied population and its findings corroborate with current literature

by Wan Yiu Ming, Wong Kwai Sang, Zhao Bin. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-44). / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.iii / LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / PREFACE --- p.vii / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Recent Economic Success In China --- p.1 / Cross-cultural Management Challenges in China --- p.3 / Chapter CHAPTER II --- BACKGROUND OF CULTURE --- p.5 / Definition of Culture --- p.6 / Definition of National Culture --- p.8 / Dimensions of Cultural Differences --- p.8 / Managerial Implications of the Cultural Dimensions --- p.11 / Chapter CHAPTER III --- GEERT HOFSTEDE'S RESEARCH ON CULTURE --- p.12 / Hofstede's Five Dimensions of National Culture --- p.12 / Hofstede's Research on Chinese Societies --- p.17 / Chapter CHAPTER IV --- CULTURAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN SAME SOCIETY --- p.20 / Convergence-divergence Approach --- p.21 / SUBCULTURAL APPROACH --- p.25 / Chapter CHAPTER V --- OUR SUGGESTED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK --- p.27 / Culture Shaping Factors --- p.28 / What are the Main Issues? --- p.31 / Culture Distance and Cross-culture Management --- p.32 / Chapter CHAPTER VI --- IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK TO CROSS- CULTURAL MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN CHINA --- p.34 / Expatriate Issues --- p.34 / Cross-cultural Training Issues --- p.35 / Regional Cultural Difference Within Mainland China --- p.36 / Chapter CHAPTER VII --- CONCLUSION --- p.38 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.40

Research on aesthetic perception of dance has been recently generating considerable interest within the field of Psychology of Aesthetics. There are, however, a number of methodological and conceptual gaps in our knowledge such as the application of the method of production, as well as understanding the role of motion smoothness, synchronous movement, and cultural factors in aesthetic perception. The present basic research addresses those gaps through five psychological experiments. In study 1, participants generated static sequences of images according their preference. Smooth continuation of meaningful objects was preferred when considering implied motion. In study 2, participants sorted images into moving sequences that they would like to see. Participants liked movements with smooth motion. In study 3, participants rated different schematic video animations depicting two dancers. Participants preferred smooth movements preformed in synchrony. In study 4, participants rated video animations depicting different types of motion performed by human body or abstract shapes. Participants preferred smooth synchrony. In study 5, British and Japanese participants watched synchronous and asynchronous actual dance video clips, rated the videos according their aesthetic judgement and answered questionnaires about motivations and individualism/collectivism. British participants preferred asynchronous dance while Japanese participants preferred synchronous dance. Studies 1 and 2 applied the method of production for the first time to study aesthetic preference for human movement, studies 1 to 4 support the neurocognitive model of aesthetic appreciation in the performing arts. Study 5 supports our cultural hypothesis: British participants preferred asynchrony (in line with analytical perceptual style, Western focus on individual movements), whereas Japanese participants preferred synchrony (holistic style, Eastern focus on group movement). Convergence between the neurocognitive model and the cultural hypothesis is discussed. The present research opens new lines of research in perception of human movement and performing arts: the method of production, motion smoothness, synchrony, and cross-cultural aesthetics.

My dissertation explores people’s responses to cultural crossing, exploring when and why it is admired or admonished. One form of crossing is cultural accommodation, which occurs when a recently arrived foreign visitor behaves like a local, adhering to host-country norms of behavior rather than those of his/her heritage country. The second is cultural borrowing, which occurs when ideas from multiple cultural traditions are integrated into a product, performance or activity. I propose that people’s background beliefs about cultural differences (i.e., diversity ideologies) influence their evaluations of the actions of other people who cross cultures, as well as their own decisions to cross cultures. My studies consider two well-studied diversity ideologies—colorblindness and multiculturalism. In addition, I also consider polyculturalism, a more novel ideology that, like multiculturalism, celebrates cultural differences. However, polyculturalism differs in that it embraces cultural change. I develop novel methods for empirically distinguishing consequences of the mindset of polyculturalism as opposed to classical multiculturalism. In Chapter 1, I explore how diversity ideologies affect people’s acceptance of foreign visitors’ accommodation to the local culture. Multiculturalism, which holds cultural traditions to be separate legacies that should be preserved, was associated with negative evaluations of high accommodation. When polyculturalism (vs. multiculturalism) was experimentally primed, high accommodation was evaluated more positively. Further, I examine the underlying effects of diversity ideology on evaluations by focusing on trust judgments and find that multiculturalists’ distrust of high accommodators involves judgments of low ability and of identity contamination. In Chapter 2, I develop the argument that diversity ideologies guide people’s first-person decisions about whether to accommodate when entering a new cultural context. Polyculturalism facilitated cultural accommodation and longer-term cultural adjustment by reducing concerns about contamination of heritage identity, whereas colorblindness and multiculturalism had no consistent effects. In Chapter 3, I theorize and demonstrate that diversity ideologies also affect how people draw upon knowledge from foreign cultures in their problem-solving. Polyculturalism encouraged participants’ inclusion of foreign ideas when solving problems, which enhanced their creativity. However, colorblindness, which views ethnicity/culture as a mirage that is best ignored, inhibited participants’ incorporation of foreign ideas, thereby reducing creativity. No effect was found for multiculturalism. Taken together, the chapters of my dissertation contribute to a more nuanced understanding of cultural crossing: when people do it, and when people admire or admonish others for doing so. Also, these empirical findings advance research on polyculturalism and spark future research questions.

Abstract Through a two-phase process an instrument was created to measure the cognitive domain as proposed by King and Baxter Magolda in their Developmental Model of Intercultural Maturity (2005). The first phase involved expert panels who identified the competencies which exist in the cognitive domain, identified situations which might exist between individuals from different cultures, validated scenarios created from the identified situations, and created responses which corresponded to the three developmental levels (Initial, Intermediate, and Mature) defined in the Developmental Theory of Intercultural Maturity. Within the second phase, the created instrument was administered to 371 individuals representing eight geocultural world divisions (Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, North America, South/Latin America, South Pacific/Polynesia, and Sub-Saharan Africa). The initial instrument contained 8-12 interactive demographic questions and 20 scenario-based questions which were created to measure the four identified competencies (Ability to Shift Cognitive Perspectives, Flexibility in Thinking, Willingness to Seek Knowledge about Other Cultures, and Willingness to Consider Others' Viewpoints as Valid). Through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), the instrument was analyzed and a final 12-item instrument was identified which corresponded to three competencies: Ambiguity, Acclimation, and Acceptance. Overall, the final instrument functioned with minimal gender bias. Some differences in world regions were noted. The Caribbean was the only region who had consistently different scores from the other regions. While some significant differences were noted in scores of those who had lived abroad and those who had not, time spent outside one's home region was not correlated to scores on the instrument. Low reliability scores, factor pattern coefficients, and communality estimates indicated that opportunities to improve the instrument exist. Additional opportunities for further research include the creation of additional instruments to measure all three domains (Cognitive, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal) and thus measure Intercultural Maturity in full. Recommended uses for the instrument are in the creation of intercultural curriculum to prompt discussion or to create metacognitive opportunities within intercultural training and classrooms.

This thesis seeks to shed some light on the study and practice of visual communication across cultural boundaries, Using a semiotic approach, it examines how a selected range of Western brand images that are promoted in the People's Republic of China are 'read' and interpreted by the local urban population. The case studies include symbolic images, such as logomarks and logotypes, as well as iconic images such as photographic material in advertisements. The political, economic and social context, and cultural aspects, such as attitudes, values and various cultural codes, are considered as influencing factors tha t affect the decoding of the meaning of visual unages. The research indicates that the intended and perceived meanings of a branding image rarely match when there is a significant difference between the cultures in which the image is encoded and decoded. While in a few instances the local population interprets the Western brand images in the manner intended by the Western communicator, most are interpreted differently. Some images are interpreted with a positive, albeit different, connotation, others are seen as rather negative. In the worst-case scenario, the messages are severely misunderstood and totally rejected by the readers due to cultural incompatibility. Rather unexpectedly, symbolic images, acknowledged as arbitrary and culture-specific in nature, are more readily interpreted in a positive way and close to the intended meaning than are the iconic images. The latter tend to be interpreted almost exclusively in the reader's (rather than the author's) cultural context and thus may be prone to misunderstanding or even rejection. The thesis concludes that the challenge in communicating visually across cultural boundaries is to recognise cultural differences, and draw on cultural compatibility to generate shared meaning and avoid cultural clashes that cause negative interpretation

This thesis investigates development of generic capabilities in an RMIT undergraduate logistics degree program. Generic capabilities are those general graduate attributes that are not specifically discipline-focused, examples being communication and teamwork skills. A major research objective of this thesis is the extent to which graduates perceived that generic capabilities were developed in their RMIT logistics undergraduate program, specifically in a cross-cultural context spanning a range of organisations differing in size and ownership structure. The thesis involves two studies. In Study 1 managers from eight organisations, ranging in size from multi-national to small public and private (family-owned) companies were interviewed to develop a series of qualitative organisational case studies using grounded theory methodology. Study 2 is a quantitative survey of 31 Australian and 25 Asian (Singapore and Hong Kong) logistic graduates from 1996 to 2002. In Study 1, generic capabilities rankings in different organisations varied, depending on whether managers being interviewed were operational or human resource management specialists, but there was general agreement that communication, problem-solving, initiative and enterprise, and teamwork skills were highest priority. Study 2 results indicate that the views of both Asian and Australian graduates are in line with the management rankings, and are consistent with those reported by Australian and OECD government and industry research organisations. Both graduate groups agree that generic capabilities are covered in the RMIT logistic program, but ratings are generally in an 'adequate' to 'good' range, with no outstanding features. Although cultural diversity in the student body is seen as a major benefit, there are little data indicating a high level of Australian and Asian student networking, and a number of respondents are critical of a lack of international focus in the present program. A major issue is a n eed for more emphasis on presentation and problem-solving skills so graduates are able to carry through a project from initiation to completion.

A major question asked is whether literacy skills from a first language are able to be transferred to a second language that does not share the same writing features, grammar, graphic conventions or even the same type of writing system. The purpose of this study was to analyse the role of first language literacy in second language acquisition where languages are quite different. Specifically, it was designed to investigate the relationships between first language(Persian) writing skills and second language(English) writing performance. That is, it investigated the extent to which Iranian primary school children who were already literate in their first language drew upon literacy skills and concept knowledge of literacy from their first language to use in their second language. It was hypothesised that second language learning might be affected by both learners' and parents' attitudes and motivations. Subjects for the study were 70 Iranian students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who attended NSW state primary schools plus Persian School on Saturday and Sunday. Results of the study indicated that the first language Farsi writing skills specifically linguistic and holistic skills were transferred to the English language. Parents' influence on children's English writing skills were not found to be an important determinate in linguistic and holistic writing measures, although there was a relationship between the active parental influence variable and students' English writing technical skills. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Errata inserted facing t. p. Bibliography: leaves 406-457. A comparative investigation of language usage and language attitudes in relation to Filipino/Tagalog, Philippine languages other than Tagalog and English among senior high school students and their parents in two countries, the Philippines and Australia. The study provides an historical overview of the development of national language policies in Australia and in the Philippines, focussing on the way in which multiculturalism in Australia influenced language policies, and on the reasons for the adoption of the Bilingual Education Program in the Philippines.