Researchers have placed the number of expatriates in the world at between forty and sixty million people in the years 2010 through 2013 (Finaccord, 2014; Firth, Chen, Kirkman and Kim, 2014). One segment of the ever-expanding expatriate population is that of international school leaders who guide learning for a culturally diverse community of expatriates around the world. The International School Consultancy Group (2014) estimated that there were upwards of 3.5 million students being educated in over 7,000 international schools. As the number of expatriates and expatriate families with school-age children increases, this challenge of leading education for a diverse international school community also increases. This ethnographic case study analyzed transition stories from international school leaders at one international school and addressed the following questions: ● How do international school leaders make their own journey to cultural awareness? ● How do international school leaders make sense of and identify the culture of their schools? ● How do international school leaders recognize beliefs and practices in their schools? Thematic analysis based on Boyatzis's (1998) Prior Research Driven Approach was used to analyze data. The findings are shared through a two-article manuscript style dissertation. The research produced findings that indicate that while local and expatriate international school leaders recognize international school culture as unique and follow similar patterns of reactions in their transitions, they do not perceive school culture through the same lens nor do they experience the same support in their cultural transitions. / Ph. D. / Researchers have placed the number of expatriates in the world at between forty and sixty million people in the years 2010 through 2013 (Finaccord, 2014; Firth, Chen, Kirkman & Kim, 2014). One segment of the ever-expanding expatriate population is that of international school leaders who guide learning for a culturally diverse community of expatriates around the world. The International School Consultancy Group (2014) estimated that there were upwards of 3.5 million students being educated in over 7,000 international schools. As the number of expatriates and expatriate families with school-age children increases, this challenge of leading education for a diverse international school community also increases. This study analyzed transition stories from international school leaders at one international school and addressed the following questions: ● How do international school leaders make their own journey to cultural awareness? ● How do international school leaders make sense of and identify the culture of their schools? ● How do international school leaders recognize beliefs and practices in their schools? The findings of this research study are presented through two articles. The research produced findings that indicate that while local and expatriate international school leaders recognize international school culture as unique and follow similar patterns of reactions in their transitions, they do not perceive school culture through the same lens nor do they experience the same support in their cultural transitions. These findings can be used to guide international leaders through future transitions and help international school plan transition support for new leaders.

Denna kvalitativa studie har i syfte att förstå hur stereotypa föreställningar påverkar unga kvinnor med ursprung i Mellanöstern. Studien är baserad på sex unga kvinnors tolkningar av samhällets stereotypa föreställningar kring denna grupp.  Resultatet visar att majoriteten av informanterna blev någorlunda påverkade av dessa föreställningar. Fyra av respondenterna påverkades mer och upplevde att de många gånger var i behov av att bevisa att de negativa föreställningarna inte alltid stämmer. Föreställningarna om invandrarfamiljen är enligt informanterna överdramatiserade. Majoriteten ansåg att reglerna som fanns i hemmet inte handlade om kontroll, istället betonade de att föräldrar gör det av omsorg. Dock påvisades det under intervjuernas gång att de negativa föreställningarna som de unga kvinnorna talade om ibland stämde överens med några av respondenternas familjeförhållande. Vidare visar studien på mångfald och variation bland de unga kvinnornas levnadssätt. Invandrarkvinnan som de unga intervjuade kvinnorna själva benämner sig som, är inte en homogen grupp, och behöver inte leva under samma villkor bara för att man kommer från samma land eller har en gemensam kultur eller religion. / This qualitative study aims to understand how stereotypes affect young women, with Middle Eastern roots, living in Sweden. The study is based on six young women's interpretations of society’s stereotypes regarding young women originating from the Middle East. The result shows that the majority of the respondents were somewhat affected by these stereotypes. A majority of the respondents also came to the conclusion that the social stereotypes were not accurate and they often felt the need to prove those negative perceptions wrong. Moreover, the respondents felt that the perceptions of the stereotypical immigrant family present in today’s society are exaggerated. The majority stated that the rules existing in those families were not about control of young girls. They instead highlighted that the perceived “controlling” aspect was grounded in the parents need for the care and protection of their children rather than having a cultural connection. It became however apparent during the interviews that some of the negative perceptions that the young women talked about, occasionally coincided with some of the respondents' family conditions. Furthermore, this study shows diversity and variation among the respondents and their ways of life. “Immigrant women”, as the respondents call themselves, aren’t a homogeneous group and its members do not necessarily live under the same conditions, even if they come from the same country or have a common culture or religion.

This dissertation aims at studying underlying cultural conflicts in Corinth and Paul's approach thereto. Firstly, the cultural underlays in the congregation of Corinth are revisited, with special reference to the presence of Greeks, Romans and Jews in the congregation which came into being there. This theme is explored by studying the meaning of culture, the archaeological data, as well as Biblical data and other historical data regarding these cultures and Corinth. Furthermore attention is given to the way in which these three cultures were reflected in Paul's own background. In conclusion Paul's approach to the conflict is delineated in terms of positive and negative renderings of the concept "becoming a slave to fellow humans". Special focus is given to 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 as a key pericope in this regard. The deduction made in this dissertation is that Paul disregards his own cultural heritage and makes himself a slave to people on behalf of winning people for Christ, without allowing people (or cultural groups) to rule him as masters. / Thesis (M.Th. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006

Esta pesquisa tem o objetivo de apresentar a tradução da peça Desdêmona, do escritor Iraquiano Yousif El-Saigh, da língua árabe para a portuguesa. A peça é baseada em Otelo, O Mouro de Veneza, de William Shakespeare. Em 1989, Desdêmona venceu o prêmio de melhor texto teatral na quarta edição do Festival Dias de Teatro em Cartago, na Tunísia. Desdêmona é considerada um dos marcos do teatro iraquiano moderno. O estudo apresenta o talentoso escritor Yousif El-Saigh, figura importante na vida cultural do Iraque como dramaturgo, poeta e jornalista. As palavras de El-Saigh, aliadas às palavras de quem o conheceu, dão-nos a chance de investigar sua vida e o que influenciou suas obras. Em Desdêmona, El-Saigh envia um detetive e seu assistente, ambos de nosso tempo, para investigar o velho crime de Otelo, a quem ele chama de Otail. O detetive chega no momento em que Otail está tentando matar a esposa. Desta forma, as novas personagens encontram-se com as antigas e começa o processo de investigação. O estudo procura analisar o fator tempo e sua importância na peça através da técnica do flashback, recurso formal utilizado ao longo do processo de investigação e que permite ao detetive revelar novos fatos sobre as personagens e o crime. O estudo examina os motivos culturais que levaram El-Saigh a escrever Desdêmona. O autor oferece uma resposta a Shakespeare através da transformação das personagens principais da peça fonte, Otelo, e resgata a figura feminina de sua fraqueza, ao dar a ela um papel mais ativo na trama. Ao mesmo tempo, condena todas as personagens por participarem do crime de forma direita ou indireta. O suicídio de Desdêmona no final é uma forma simbólica de protesto que ela faz contra sua sociedade. A pesquisa quer corroborar a importância da tradução literária no processo de aproximação entre diferentes culturas como um meio de diálogo. / The objective of this study is to present the translation of the play Desdemona by Iraqi writer Yousif El-Saigh from Arabic to Portuguese. The play is based on Othello by William Shakespeare. In 1989 Desdemona won the prize for best theatrical text in the fourth edition of The Theatrical Days of Carthage Festival, in Tunisia. Desdemona is considered a landmark in modern Iraqi theater. The study presents the talented writer Yousif El-Saigh who was an important figure in the cultural life of Iraq as a playwright, poet and journalist. The words of El-Saigh together with the words of those who have known him can give us a chance to look into his life and his works. In Desdemona, El-Saigh sends a contemporary detective and his two assistants to investigate the old crime committed by Othello, whom he calls Otail. The detective arrives when Otail is trying to suffocate his wife. That is how the new characters, created by El-Saigh meet the old ones and the process of investigation starts. An analysis of the piece concentrates on the factor of time and the importance it acquires in the play through the insertion of flashbacks which are used along the investigation. Such formal device allows the detective to reveal new facts about the characters and the crime. The study examines Yousif El-Saigh\'s cultural motives in writing Desdemona. The author responds to Shakespeare by transforming the main characters of the resource play Othello and liberates the feminine figure of its weakness, giving it a more active role. At the same time, he condemns all the characters for participating directly or indirectly in the events that led to the crime. The suicide of Desdemona at the end is a symbolic protest which she makes against her society. The study aims at showing the importance of literary translation as a means to approximate and foster dialogue between different cultures.

This thesis uses an action research methodology to develop a framework for improving independent scholarly reporting about interventions addressing social or environmental conflict. As there are often contradictory interpretations about the causes and strategic responses to conflict, the problem confronting scholar-reporters is how to address perceptions of bias and reflexively specify the purpose of reporting. It is proposed that scholar-reporters require grounding in conventional realist-based social theory but equally ability to incorporate theoretical ideas generated in more idealist-based peace research and applied conflict resolution studies. To do this scholar-reporters can take a comparative approach systematically developed through an integrated framework as described in this thesis. Conceptual and theoretical considerations that support both conventional and more radical constructions are comparatively analysed and then tested in relation to a case study. In 2000 Aboriginal people throughout South Australia deliberated whether their native title claims could be better accorded recognition through conservative court processes or a negotiation process to allay deep-seated conflict. The author, in a scholar-reporter capacity, formulated a report attributing meaning to this consultative process. As such a report could have been formulated according to alternative paradigms, methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks, the analysis of the adopted framework highlights how different approaches can bias the interpretation of the process and prospects for change. Realist-based conservative interpretations emphasise 'official' decision-making processes where legitimacy is expressed through political and legal frameworks based on precedent. Idealist-based interpretations emphasise that circumstances entailing significant conflict warrant equal consideration being given to 'non-official' 'resolutionary' problem-solving processes where conflict is treated as a catalyst for learning and outcomes are articulated as understanding generated about conflict and how different strategies can transform it. The developed integrated framework approach establishes the independence of scholarly reporting. Its purpose goes beyond perpetuating scholarly debate about alternative 'objective' understandings of conflict; it focuses primarily on communicating a more inclusive understanding of the contradictions inherent in a particular conflict. It increases the capacity to understand when, where, why and how conflict precipitates social change, and articulates possibilities for reconceptualising what might be the more sustainable direction of change.

Thesis (M.Th. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

The current study examined the links and mechanisms associated with intergenerational cultural conflict, psychological distress, and the intergenerational differences in acculturation and model minority stereotype (MMS) endorsement for South Korean immigrants. Specifically, Korean American adolescents’ (ages 12-19, M = 15.3, SD = 1.71) and their mothers’ (N = 209 dyads) acculturation difference and MMS endorsement difference were measured and analyzed as predictors of intergenerational cultural conflict and psychological distress for adolescents. Furthermore, the study analyzed intergenerational cultural conflict as a mediator in the acculturation gap-distress and the MMS endorsement-distress paths. Results indicated that when mothers and their adolescents differed in their acculturation, they also differed in their endorsement of the MMS. Next, as expected, the adolescents who had mothers who were not as acculturated to the American culture, experienced more cultural conflict with their parents and, in turn, felt more psychological distress. Furthermore, the adolescents who had mothers who endorsed the MMS to a greater degree, experienced more cultural conflict with their parents and, in turn, felt more psychological distress.

This dissertation aims at studying underlying cultural conflicts in Corinth and Paul's approach thereto. Firstly, the cultural underlays in the congregation of Corinth are revisited, with special reference to the presence of Greeks, Romans and Jews in the congregation which came into being there. This theme is explored by studying the meaning of culture, the archaeological data, as well as Biblical data and other historical data regarding these cultures and Corinth. Furthermore attention is given to the way in which these three cultures were reflected in Paul's own background. In conclusion Paul's approach to the conflict is delineated in terms of positive and negative renderings of the concept "becoming a slave to fellow humans". Special focus is given to 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 as a key pericope in this regard. The deduction made in this dissertation is that Paul disregards his own cultural heritage and makes himself a slave to people on behalf of winning people for Christ, without allowing people (or cultural groups) to rule him as masters. / Thesis (M.Th. (New Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006

This thesis explores the management of cross-cultural conflict by Resident Advisors (RA) at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. A total of twelve RAs were interviewed on the policies and expected practices of RAs, how these policies are implemented and whether these policies are effective in resolving cross-cultural conflict. This research analyzes and demonstrates that besides conflict itself, the discourse of conflict--how one speaks about conflict--and its representation are equally important. In many circumstances, the cultural discourse and its representation are not only a major part of the problem, but even a source of it. I argue that a narrow conceptualization of culture in the expected dispute resolution practices of RAs constrains the management of disputes between residents. Examples of disputes pertaining to nationality, racial and sexual discrimination, drugs, and alcohol illustrate the use of culture as a controlling factor in conflict, defining culture as bounded and discrete. This neglects the underlying structural issues at play, serving only to reproduce conflict and to ensure that social and economic inequities are passed on.

This thesis explores the management of cross-cultural conflict by Resident Advisors (RA) at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada. A total of twelve RAs were interviewed on the policies and expected practices of RAs, how these policies are implemented and whether these policies are effective in resolving cross-cultural conflict. This research analyzes and demonstrates that besides conflict itself, the discourse of conflict--how one speaks about conflict--and its representation are equally important. In many circumstances, the cultural discourse and its representation are not only a major part of the problem, but even a source of it. I argue that a narrow conceptualization of culture in the expected dispute resolution practices of RAs constrains the management of disputes between residents. Examples of disputes pertaining to nationality, racial and sexual discrimination, drugs, and alcohol illustrate the use of culture as a controlling factor in conflict, defining culture as bounded and discrete. This neglects the underlying structural issues at play, serving only to reproduce conflict and to ensure that social and economic inequities are passed on.