<p>Among the challenges that companies may face during the post M&A phase, cultural integration can be seen as one of the trickiest tasks. Cultural differences which are inevitable in any deal are always there. The link between how people from autonomous groups live together and the deal result is an interesting topic that needs to be investigated. Since we have an interest in developing the understanding of cultural differences during integration process in cross-border M&As, the research question “How do cultural differences arise in cross-border M&As during the integration process and do they impact the deal result?” is formulated.</p><p>This thesis presents a model that demonstrates elements of cultural differences from three levels, national, organizational and personal. In this model, these levels can be seen as interrelated to each other in which the inner layer is impacted by the outer one. As a result, personal culture, as the most inner layer, is doubly impacted by the other two, national and organizational levels. Given that the scope of our thesis is for cross-border M&As, after investigating these three levels of culture, we found that organizational and personal differences are real in any M&As no matter domestic or cross-border deals. Differences at national level, on the contrary, are the first element that should be mentioned as a root of cultural differences in companies from different nationalities.</p><p>From the understanding about emergence of cultural differences, we further study to see if they leave any effect on the deal result. In the empirical section, from the cultural gap analysis of each case, it was surprising to see that the relationship between cultural gap and deal result of two of four cases, are opposite to Rankine´s theory. At this point, we can see that M&As between companies similar in culture is not always successful or that failure between organizations having significantly different cultures is not always true, and then the empirical study on the acculturation dynamics made the further explanation that cultural differences are not the critical factor leading to success or failure, but rather how participants in integration perceive and respond to the cultural differences will impact the deal result.</p>

Among the challenges that companies may face during the post M&amp;A phase, cultural integration can be seen as one of the trickiest tasks. Cultural differences which are inevitable in any deal are always there. The link between how people from autonomous groups live together and the deal result is an interesting topic that needs to be investigated. Since we have an interest in developing the understanding of cultural differences during integration process in cross-border M&amp;As, the research question “How do cultural differences arise in cross-border M&amp;As during the integration process and do they impact the deal result?” is formulated. This thesis presents a model that demonstrates elements of cultural differences from three levels, national, organizational and personal. In this model, these levels can be seen as interrelated to each other in which the inner layer is impacted by the outer one. As a result, personal culture, as the most inner layer, is doubly impacted by the other two, national and organizational levels. Given that the scope of our thesis is for cross-border M&amp;As, after investigating these three levels of culture, we found that organizational and personal differences are real in any M&amp;As no matter domestic or cross-border deals. Differences at national level, on the contrary, are the first element that should be mentioned as a root of cultural differences in companies from different nationalities. From the understanding about emergence of cultural differences, we further study to see if they leave any effect on the deal result. In the empirical section, from the cultural gap analysis of each case, it was surprising to see that the relationship between cultural gap and deal result of two of four cases, are opposite to Rankine´s theory. At this point, we can see that M&amp;As between companies similar in culture is not always successful or that failure between organizations having significantly different cultures is not always true, and then the empirical study on the acculturation dynamics made the further explanation that cultural differences are not the critical factor leading to success or failure, but rather how participants in integration perceive and respond to the cultural differences will impact the deal result.

abstract: Individuals' experiences, environment, and education greatly impact their entire being. Similarly, a designer is affected by these elements, which impacts how, what and why they design. In order for design education to generate designers who are more socially aware problem solvers, that education must introduce complex social matters and not just design skills. Traditionally designers learned through apprenticing a master. Most design education has moved away from this traditional model and has begun incorporating a well-rounded program of study, yet there are still more improvements to be made. This research proposes a new Integrated Transformational Experience Model, ITEM, for design education which will be rooted in sustainability, cultural integration, social embeddedness, and discipline collaboration. The designer will be introduced to new ideas and experiences from the immersion of current social issues where they will gain experience creating solutions to global problems enabling them to become catalysts of change. This research is based on interviews with industrial design students to gain insights, benefits and drawbacks of the current model of design education. This research will expand on the current model for design education, combining new ideas that will shed light on the future of design disciplines through the education and motivation of designers. The desired outcome of this study is to incorporate hands on learning through social issues in design classrooms, identify ways to educate future problem solvers, and inspire more research on this issue. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2011

This manuscript is dedicated to researching the link between language acquisition and cultural integration. As this has overtime become a glaring gap in multiple federal integration policy instruments, we carried out both theoretical reviews as well as fieldwork to answer this question. In so far as fieldwork goes, we recruited two contrasting participants twenty-two and thirty-five years old respectively, male and female, from different cultural groups but both sharing the overall goal of integration in Canada and enrolled in the Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) program. We carried out semi-structured interviews by way of a theory-based protocol and subsequently processed the data via thematic analysis techniques to arrive at our results. Empirically speaking, we synthesized our participants’ lived experiences and perceptions and found that language plays four distinct roles related to culture and cultural integration. First, it is a tool with which to transmit cultural information directly (the referential function). Second, it is the carrier of a second wave of pragmatic (e.g. body language, prosody) from which cultural norms and conventions can be inferred. Third, language is a tool for group differentiation on the basis of which prototypical members (i.e. native-speakers both in the source and destination culture) at times ostracize learners based on linguistic markers. Lastly, we find that it is precisely the experience of loss of membership, disembeddedness, and lack of belonging in previous and future speech groups which then drives newcomers to cultural integration patterns which are less than additive in nature such as intersection and compartmentalization.

abstract: Ultimately, the examples and foundation provided at home will impact the child as a student and lifelong learner. In Navajo society, there are some families who continue to instill the importance of heritage language and culture. And then there are those who choose not to, or who are not capable of doing so due to the lack of knowledge to share such teachings. Diné language and culture are vital elements of who we are as Diné. They are what identify us as a people. Our language and culture separate us from the western society. As parents and educators, our attitudes affect our homes, schools, and children. Our way of thinking may inhibit or perpetuate cultural teachings. However, no one knows how parents' attitudes affect cultural integration at an immersion school. This quantitative study examined parents' attitudes toward cultural integration in a Navajo language immersion school (Ts4hootsoo7 Diné Bi')lta' with the Window Rock Unified School District #8 in Fort Defiance, Arizona). Surveys were used to examine parents' attitudes about language and cultural integration. The survey asked about Navajo language and culture, about the extent to which it was practiced at home, and their opinions about how Navajo language and culture was being taught at school. The data were reported in basic descriptive statistics for the total group of respondents and then disaggregated by age, place of birth (on the reservation or off), gender, marital status, and highest grade completed in school. The data has shown that overall parents are supportive of Navajo language and culture. Their attitudes may vary based on age, place of birth, gender, marital status, and education. In spite of this, Navajo language and culture are in the home. However, the degree to which it is spoken or practiced is not measured. Parents are supportive of the school teaching Navajo language and culture. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

The following dissertation will consider the contemporary education of natural languages and explore its influences on designed space in an urban environment. The concept of weaving cultures together by using languages will be investigated in order to produce an architectural intervention of amalgamated infill and voids. The structure of natural languages willl be used as a departure point to propose a public facility on the University of Pretoria's main campus. This facility will fit into a network of public gathering spaces proposed in the area, and will be in the form of an interactive learning and information space that will provide the users with an opportunity to engage in intercultural cross pollination in various languages. The site was selected for its ability to enable the opportunity for social interaction and design exploration, and it is significantly located at a point where two major urban grid patterns touch each other. The proposed design celebrates this concept of convergence in which voids between cultures are filled with understanding. The success of the proposed project will depend on the ability of the language learning centre to integrate with the urban fabric and most importantly, facilitate the education of language, communication and cultural interaction. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Architecture / unrestricted

This study aims to investigate on the social and cultural integration experiences of Afghan women in Sweden, in terms of their social networks and their socio-cultural practices. In addition, this paper questions where the Afghan women feel belonging to and what factors shape this sense of belonging. For this reason, a qualitative methodology is applied and the data is compiled through semi-structured interviews with ten Afghan women residing in Malmö, Sweden, with using both focus group interviews and individual interviews as the data collecting procedures. The concepts of socio-cultural integration, sense of belonging and social network have been utilized as the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the study. With regards to social networks, this research intends to investigate on the social interactions of the participants with people of their own ethnic group and also with Swedes. Regarding the socio-cultural practices, the eating habits and the holiday celebration and participation of Afghan women participating in the research are examined as indicators of their cultural integration. The findings of the study reveal that language proficiency is considered as the key factor for socio-cultural integration among the participants. In general, the participants experience different levels of social interactions both with other Afghans and with Swedes. The study also shows that while the participants are committed to the Afghan cultural practices such as eating Afghan foods and celebrating their holidays, they also welcome some of the Swedish cultural practices. In addition, mutual respect has a fundamental place in Afghan women‟s interactions with the host culture and values. Moreover, the participants of this study experience different notions of belonging, and factors such as their family ties, safety, and discrimination vs. acceptance shape their feeling of belonging to both Sweden and Afghanistan. In general, the findings of this study confirm Beg‟s statement (2005) that Afghan women are not a homogenous group, and experience different varieties of socio-cultural integration and different notions of belonging.

This report studies three storytelling subprojects within the field of cultural heritage to see how storytelling, co-design and cultural heritage can strengthen immigrants’ personal identity and contribute to their socio-cultural integration. It also aims to examine what factors contribute to a successful collaboration. The subprojects about local homeland culture include filmmaking with newly arrived children at Skövde Municipality’s mother tongue and reception unit, a storytelling project at Hjo folk high school and a digital book of recipes and stories within Cross media higher vocational education program at DaCapo in Mariestad Municipality. To answer the research questions semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants, potential users, and professionals. Additionally, a survey was carried out with participants of one of the subprojects.

The aim of this study is to analyze how the EU perceives a European cultural heritage and its role in the EU project during the period 1970-2020. These perceptions do something with the notion of ”the Europeanness” and are part of a narrative construction that expresses conceptions of a European place. This European place is a place beyond territorial locability and something that this thesis seeks to investigate. Attentions is brought to how changes in EU’s cultural heritage discourse are interwoven partly with notions of crisis, partly with renegotiation of a European diversity. Even though, during the 2010s, the EU begun to stress interconnections between ”the Europeanness” and its ”other”, I argue that this interconnectivity is based on a conception of a unique European past. In contrast to previous research I thereby highlight a paradoxical tension between the EU’s perceptions of a European past and a European ”today”. Moreover, this thesis goes beyond the dominant trend in cultural heritage studies and its preoccupation on what is declared to be a heritage, as well as the concentration on what EU wants us to remember. Thereby this study provides an alternative perspective on the EU’s construction of a European cultural community. It’s a perspective that gives emphasize to how a sense of European situatedness is created through notions of a European cultural heritage.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&amp;As) are crucial strategies for global business expansion, but they often face high failure rates due to complex integration challenges, especially in cross-border deals. Cultural misalignment is a substantial factor in these failures, underscoring the need for effective cultural integration. This research investigated the impact of cultural alignment on the post-acquisition integration phase in cross-border M&amp;As, aiming to provide insights into managing cultural dynamics to foster successful integrations and mitigate associated risks. The results of our analysis revealed that cultural alignment is highly influential on the success or failure of cross-border M&amp;As. Three main aspects, leadership, communication, and employee engagement require specific attention as they are the most influential factors when blending the culture of two different companies into one unified entity. This study contributes to the literature on the impact of cultural alignment during the integration process of two companies, suggesting that new research in this field can be conducted to understand more in depth the effect of cultural variables during this integration process and to offer practical guidance for future merging companies.