By path analysis, it was found that only self-efficacy and subjective norm, but not general attitudes, significantly predicted individuals' BID across all samples. Moreover, in contrast to the hypothesis, results showed that after-death anxiety predicted self-efficacy but not attitudes. Low after-death anxiety, accurate knowledge regarding organ donation, and high subjective norm promoted self-efficacy. Altruism was the main determinant of attitudes but its indirect impact on BID was weak. The applicability of the model on all four samples was acceptably high, and the configural invariance of the model was generally supported across three ethnic groups. / Previous studies have shown that the general public exhibits favorable attitudes toward posthumous organ donation, but a low donor card signing rate. Hence, positive attitudes may not be a good predictor of the behavioral commitment to donate organs. This dissertation was a cross-cultural study on the actual behaviors of signing or taking away the donor card (i.e. b&barbelow;ehavioral i&barbelow;ntentions to d&barbelow;onate organs after death (BID). It aimed at proposing an integrative, content-specific but culture-general model for posthumous organ donation. The model was composed of two levels of influences on BID, namely, the proximal level (including self-efficacy toward signing the donor card, general attitudes toward posthumous organ donation, and subjective norm for posthumous organ donation) as well as the distal level (including knowledge regarding posthumous organ donation, altruism, and after-death anxiety). The model was first tested and refined among 517 Chinese college students (Study 1), and was then further validated with 290 Chinese community adults (Study 2) in Hong Kong. The applicability of the model was also examined with a Western control sample of 217 Caucasian American college students (Study 3) and a non-Chinese Asian sample of 670 Japanese college students (Study 4). Psychosocial characteristics of three college samples were then compared, and ethnic differences on predictive values of psychosocial factors on BID were studied (Study 5). / The ANOVA results challenged the old assumption of underlying similarities in psychosocial characteristics across Asian ethnic groups. As expected, Americans were the most likely to show BID, followed by Chinese, while Japanese had the lowest tendency to show BID. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) / Wu Man Sze Anise. / "May 2005." / Adviser: Catherine S. K. Tang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: B, page: 0604. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 122-136). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

This study seeks to understand the social interaction of small talk in two different countries. Defining small talk as 'phatic communion' and 'social talk' as contrasted to 'core business talk' and 'work-related talk,' Holmes (2000) claims that small talk in the workplace is intertwined with main work-talk. Small talk can help build solidarity and rapport, as well as maintain good relationships between workers. Much of the research on small talk has been focused on institutional settings such as business and service interactions; thus, there is a need for research on non-institutional small talk between participants without established relationships. This study compared how native English and Japanese male speakers interact in small talk that occurs during the initial phase of relationship formation, when interlocutors who have just met are waiting for a shared purpose. I analyzed their unmonitored small talk interaction in order to examine what types of topics they discuss and how conversations actually occur. I also conducted interviews to obtain information on perceptions of small talk and examined how these perceptions reflect different social norms and values pertaining to small talk in real-life settings. The data on the characteristics of small talk come from the pre-interview conversation between two participants, and the data on perceptions about small talk come from the interviews. The topics discussed differed between the U.S. and Japanese pairs. The U.S. pairs had "Informational Talk" elaborating on class details such as professors, systems, materials, or class content. The Japanese pairs, on the other hand, had "Personal Informational Talk," talking about personal matters such as study problems, worries, gossip, and stories. Furthermore, the Japanese pairs tended to have many pauses/silences compared to their English-speaking counterparts (the average frequency of pauses per conversation were 6 for the U.S. participants and 16 for the Japanese), presenting the impression that the Japanese pairs might have been uncomfortable and awkward. However, one similarity was that both groups discussed topics on which they shared knowledge or discussed the research study in which they were participating in order to fill silence during small talk with strangers. The most prominent result from the interviews is that interactions with strangers are completely normal for the U.S. participants, while for the Japanese participants such small talk with strangers makes them feel surprised and uncomfortable. The U.S. participants have numerous experiences with and are aware of the small talk occurring in everyday life, and they commonly discuss impersonal subjects; that is, their talks tend to be about factual information. The Japanese males, on the other hand, reported that they do not commonly talk with strangers; they need a defined place or reason to talk in order to converse openly and exchange personal information. However, in the actual pre-interview small talk, they incrementally came to know each other and started to discuss personal concerns and gossip about friends. This study has shown that small talk can be viewed as a locus where cultural differences in social norms are reflected.

The conflict in Sudan reflects historic hatred and ethnic discrimination between Northern Arab Muslims and Southern African Christians and Animists. The longest and worst conflict began in 1983 and ended in 2005, when African Christians and Animists struggled to form an interim autonomous government. This conflict claimed 2 million lives from both sides and displaced almost 4 million people from the South. This thesis attempts to understand how people from Southern Sudan perceive the root causes and sustaining factors of the Sudanese conflict between Arab Muslims and African Christians. This research looks specifically into the roles of ethnic differences and religion. In this study, 10 emigrants from South Sudan were chosen to present their perceptions and views about the conflict, in the form of written responses to 22 questions. Analysis of their responses in light of conflict resolution literature suggests that the North-South Sudan conflict involves complex issues primarily fueled by ethnic and religious differences. This research reveals that South Sudanese refugees from varying backgrounds and professions expressed similar experiences of racial, religious discrimination and political and economic marginalization, and suggests that Sudan's July, 2011 declaration of independence, creating two separate nations, North and South Sudan, was a positive solution to achieving a just peace.

Science has been identified as a crucial element in the competitiveness and sustainability of America in the global economy. American citizens, especially minority populations, however, are not pursuing science education or careers. Past research has implicated `attitudes toward science' as an important factor in the public's participation in science. I applied Ajzen's (1991) Theory of Planned Behavior to attitudes toward science to predict science-related sustainability-action intentions and evaluated whether scientists and Native Americans differed in their general attitudes toward science, cultural values, and specific beliefs about science. Analyses revealed that positive attitude toward science and the cultural value of individualism predicted intentions to engage with science-related sustainability actions. Unexpectedly, scientists and Native Americans did not differ in their cultural values or positive attitude toward science. However, Natives Americans held significantly more negative attitude toward science than scientists. Implications for science education and attitudes towards science theory and application are discussed.

No description available.

This dissertation has investigated the impact of the acculturation and repatriation processes and the language experiences of French academic sojourners on their perceptions of cultural identity. This dissertation was based on three substantive themes: culture shock, reverse culture shock and cultural identity issues.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-151).

This study examined the experiences of five Korean American mothers in Oregon and California who have children with disabilities using qualitative research analysis. The mothers' adaptation processes were individually analyzed, and these mothers' overarching experiences were discussed with three major themes: (a) caring for family cohesiveness, (b) needs for social and professional support, and (c) positive transformation of life through religion Adaptation to the children's disabilities was a process for these participants. All mothers had their own demands, resources, and subjective interpretations of their situations. Analysis of the qualitative data disclosed that these five Korean American mothers transformed the negative life events of having children with disabilities into meaningful opportunities to grow personally and spiritually. These immigrant mothers' care-commitment for their families' cohesiveness strengthened their life long coping process. Several married mothers perceived emotional support from their husbands. Most of the mothers expressed the need for social support due to their immigrant status. These five Korean American mothers tried to adapt to their situation of raising a child with a disability within their intact family members. Two mothers from California utilized emotional and informational support from Korean parent support groups, which are more readily available in that state due to the large number of Korean American families with children with disabilities. Despite the lack of social and professional support, many of the mothers perceived their experiences of having children with disabilities positively through their religious beliefs. Raising a child with a disability reportedly strengthened the mothers' religious faith, and their strong religious beliefs gave them courage to successfully adapt to their situations. Several of the mothers stated that their worldviews were also changed. Although this study was limited to five participants, it yielded an enhanced understanding of Korean American mothers who have children with disabilities and provided direction for future research and practice. The findings suggest that special education providers should emphasize and support the strengths of a child's major caregiver. / Graduation date: 2004

This study analyzed intercultural communication competence between Malays and Chinese in organizational and social settings in Malaysia. Two groups: Malays and Chinese in organizations in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), were studied. The intent of this study was to find similarities and differences in Malays and Chinese' communication styles. A total of forty-six respondents were surveyed: twenty-three Malay executives and twenty-three Chinese executives, in organizations in Malaysia. The organizations were selected based on their function, size, number of employees, ethnic composition, and location. The open-ended questionnaire was written in English and pretested. The revised questionnaire was sent to Kuala Lumpur to be administered by two interviewers who were from each ethnic groups. All of the responses from the questionnaire were interpreted and categorized by two Malay and two Chinese individuals who acted as coders. This study used thematic content analysis to analyze the responses from the two groups. Respondents' descriptions and explanations of their perceptions on conflict were studied. Coders from both ethnic groups were asked to recall a conflict situation in both organizational and social settings. Each group varied in their definition and perception of conflict. The results showed some similarities in their perception of appropriate and effective verbal and nonverbal messages in organizational and social settings. The results also showed some similarities and differences in their perceptions of inappropriate and ineffective verbal and nonverbal across ethnic group lines. The similarities can be explained by shared orientations to uncertainty, large degrees of power distance and collectivism. The differences may be due to cultural dimensions that are situationally variant. The findings showed both groups' preference for clear and explicit verbal messages in task orientations, and for nonverbal messages in relational-orientations. / Graduation date: 1993

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Communication