The purpose of this feminist critical discourse analysis was to uncover whether or not, and how, muteness of female-preferential voice occurs within written organizational computer-mediated communication. Qualitative textual analysis was used to analyze 18 discussion forums from three voluntary professional associations representing highly male-populated (mechanical engineering), gender neutral (training and development), and highly female-populated (nursing) industries. Discussion posting participants were categorized for using male-preferential (MP), female-preferential (FP), or neutral (N) language. MP and FP interactions were then analyzed for themes of muting and muteness. Seven major findings within three analytic categories emerged from this study. First, with regards to preferential language use by industry site, all three sites’ participants used FP language more than MP language. In fact, 158 of the 246 total participants were categorized as FP language users and 17 of the 18 forums were initiated by a FP participant. Additionally, although overall, modals and hedges were the most prevalent FP language characteristics and opinions were the most prevalent MP language characteristic, this differed across industry site. Implications for scaling preferential language dimensions along a continuum from highly feminine to highly masculine are discussed. Second, regarding strategies of maintaining male dominance (muting), it was found that MP language dimensions were used more often by MP participants when interacting with FP participants. Themes of muting strategies such as overstating one’s knowledge base were found in MP language. FP participants, on the other hand, cloak their opinions in subordinating language; thus understating their knowledge. This context allows MP language users to trivialize FP language users’ postings. Additionally, the use of masculine pronouns was equal to the use of feminine pronouns despite the majority of FP participants; and FP participants were overwhelmingly more likely to use masculine pronouns that MP participants were likely to use feminine pronouns. Finally, with regards to strategies of FP communication during interactions with MP language users (muteness), FP participants engaged mostly in respectful communication as a strategy to communicate. The communication strategy used least was confrontation. An emergent strategy of communication was the increased use of metaphors by FP participants when interacting with MP participants.

Cultural competency is theorized as the sensitivity of practitioners from the dominant culture towards the diverse cultural backgrounds of their patients. Less attention is placed on how communication between providers and patients can enable patients to share their health care beliefs. An evidence review of the literature around the conceptualization of cultural competency in health care was performed, and interviews were conducted aiming to understand what immigrant patients perceive as culturally competent care and its effect on the relationship between them and their providers. Definitions of cultural competence varied, and no conclusive studies linking cultural competence to improved health outcomes were found. Findings from the participant interviews helped to address gaps in the literature by confirming a preference for a patient-centred approach to culturally competent care, in addition to identifying pre-existing expectations for the health care encounter and patient-dependent factors as additional elements influencing the physician-patient relationship.

This essay outlines the problems in the cross-cultural communication between SKB International and the Korean market. After interviews with the vice president of SKB International and their representative in Korea I compare their strategy to cross-cultural communication theories and Korean business culture facts to see how their communication to Korea could be improved. In the results I state that the problem with getting a continuous dialogue is created by the big cultural difference between Sweden and Korea. If these differences can be tackled SKB International will be able to sell their public acceptance package to Korea to enable the project of a final repository. The biggest problems seem to be the difference of time horizons, way of building relations, hierarchy vs. flat organization and the Korean group dynamics in clash with Swedish individualism. As conclusion I state that the isolation of Korea has created a unique culture that needs special attention for successful cross-cultural communication. This calls for SKB International to develop a strategy for understanding Korean culture within the whole organization. The image of Korean culture needs to be continuously discussed through meetings or an intranet forum to get a correct image of how to communicate with Koreans. Also I find that SKB International need more staff to take care of all the Korean delegations that come on spontaneous visits. The best gateway into the Korean hierarchies was found to be through inter-governmental communication.

This study investigated how the speech act of refusal is realized in Egyptian Arabic by intermediate and advanced American learners of Arabic as a foreign language. It also compared the performance of the learners to that of native speakers of Egyptian Arabic and native speakers of American English. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the learners' language proficiency and their pragmatic competence. In addition, it examined the extent of pragmatic transfer from L1 and whether there was a relationship between the degree of pragmatic transfer and the level of L2 proficiency. The study also examined how refusals are structured and organized at the discourse level. Four groups participated in the study: 10 native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, 10 native speakers of American English, 10 American learners of Arabic at the intermediate level, and 10 at the advanced level. Data were collected using enhanced open-ended role plays which consisted of 6 scenarios eliciting refusals of offers and requests in equal and unequal status situations. Both quantitative and qualitative data analytic methods were used for analyzing the interactions. Results show that there were important differences between the two learner groups and the native speakers of Egyptian Arabic with regard to the frequency of direct and indirect strategies and individual strategy use. For example, the learners used a higher percentage of direct strategies and a lower percentage of indirect strategies than the native speakers of Egyptian Arabic, especially in higher status situations. The learners also used a higher percentage of the Statement of Regret and Request for Information/Clarification strategies and a lower percentage of the Postponement and Hedging strategies than the Egyptians. With regard to differences between the two learner groups, the advanced students were able to engage in more negotiation and use an overall lower percentage of direct strategies and a higher percentage of indirect strategies than their intermediate counterparts. Evidence of positive and negative pragmatic transfer was observed in the two learner groups; however a higher degree of transfer was observed in the advanced students. Individual differences among the learners were found to play a major role in how refusals were realized.

Due to the recent phenomenon of globalization, the mobility of people has increased significantly. In a world where national and cultural borders are getting more blurred and undefinable, people from different parts of the world encounter individuals with different cultural backgrounds. Due to these different worldviews, perceptions and experiences, misunderstandings may arise when people engage in cross-cultural communication. This is true for recreational as well as professional cross-cultural communication. An individual who successfully interacts and communicates with people from other cultures possesses what has come to be known as cultural intelligence. In order to get a deeper understanding for how people perceive cross-cultural communication in the professional field, this study investigates how managers in the forestry based industry in Västerbotten have experienced communication with their international business partners. The investigation was conducted through personal interviews and a self-completion questionnaire was also distributed to make an attempt to measure the respondents’ cultural intelligence. The results point in the direction that cross-cultural communication is vital for organizations that operate on the global market. Both verbal communication and non-verbal communication do affect the collaboration, but there is no general answer to how. Every situation has to be dealt with in a unique way. This implies that the process of cultural learning and understanding is ongoing and dynamic.

Despite rapidly burgeoning diversity in the Canadian workforce, and demonstrable gains to be made as a result of increasing inclusion, organizations still struggle to create meaningfully inclusive workplaces. The traditional diversity management model has largely failed to fix this longstanding problem. A variety of research has identified successful strategies for increasing inclusion across disciplines such as social psychology, critical management studies, systems theory, and universal design. However, these overlapping strategies, as well as the commonalities of underlying structure, go unseen due to ideological and disciplinary siloing. Working from a foundation of theoretical pluralism, I present two linked ideas in this paper. First, I propose and justify a shift in language from the counter-productive <italic>diversity management</italic> towards <italic>meaningful inclusion</italic>. Second, using multi-disciplinary research I identify successful, broadly-applicable strategies for enhancing meaningful inclusion in the workplace, and describe an <italic>inclusion matrix</italic> of best practices that creates a practical road map organizations can use to enhance meaningful inclusion.

Though there is significant academic interest in the law of religious freedom in Canada, there has been little research into the experiences of participants in religious freedom litigation. Based on a qualitative analysis of participant interviews and legal documents in three decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, this dissertation explores the social processes at play in that litigation. At issue in the three cases were, respectively, (1) the right of Jewish condominium co-owners to install ritual huts (succoth) on their balconies; (2) the right of a Sikh student to wear a ceremonial dagger (kirpan) in a public high school; and (3) the right of a Hutterite group to be exempted from the photo requirement on driver’s licences for religious reasons. This dissertation adds to the existing academic commentary by looking beyond the judicial decisions and incorporating firsthand accounts of lawyers, litigants, and expert witnesses in these cases. The substantive analysis is divided in three sections. First, the dissertation examines themes of overlapping legal systems in participant narratives. Litigants understood themselves to be subjects of both state and religious laws, and the particular interactions between these legal systems help refine theories of legal pluralism. Second, the work analyzes religious freedom litigation as cross-cultural communication. Specifically, the dissertation employs the normative criteria of respect and self-awareness found in the literature on cross-cultural communication to approach participant narratives and judicial decisions, finding both successes and failures in this regard. Third, the dissertation engages issues of belonging to the Canadian civic community inherent in participant narratives. All litigants told the stories of their litigation as part of their larger immigration and integration narratives, and successful litigants were quick to give positive accounts in this regard. The unsuccessful litigants told more complex stories of integration, complicating the analysis of the impact of a judicial decision on their narratives of civic belonging. Nevertheless, the dissertation argues that the notion of civic belonging ought to be explicitly taken into account by Canadian judgments when dealing with issues of religious freedom.

Though there is significant academic interest in the law of religious freedom in Canada, there has been little research into the experiences of participants in religious freedom litigation. Based on a qualitative analysis of participant interviews and legal documents in three decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada, this dissertation explores the social processes at play in that litigation. At issue in the three cases were, respectively, (1) the right of Jewish condominium co-owners to install ritual huts (succoth) on their balconies; (2) the right of a Sikh student to wear a ceremonial dagger (kirpan) in a public high school; and (3) the right of a Hutterite group to be exempted from the photo requirement on driver’s licences for religious reasons. This dissertation adds to the existing academic commentary by looking beyond the judicial decisions and incorporating firsthand accounts of lawyers, litigants, and expert witnesses in these cases. The substantive analysis is divided in three sections. First, the dissertation examines themes of overlapping legal systems in participant narratives. Litigants understood themselves to be subjects of both state and religious laws, and the particular interactions between these legal systems help refine theories of legal pluralism. Second, the work analyzes religious freedom litigation as cross-cultural communication. Specifically, the dissertation employs the normative criteria of respect and self-awareness found in the literature on cross-cultural communication to approach participant narratives and judicial decisions, finding both successes and failures in this regard. Third, the dissertation engages issues of belonging to the Canadian civic community inherent in participant narratives. All litigants told the stories of their litigation as part of their larger immigration and integration narratives, and successful litigants were quick to give positive accounts in this regard. The unsuccessful litigants told more complex stories of integration, complicating the analysis of the impact of a judicial decision on their narratives of civic belonging. Nevertheless, the dissertation argues that the notion of civic belonging ought to be explicitly taken into account by Canadian judgments when dealing with issues of religious freedom.

The multicultural classroom is a phenomenon now found in most countries. As a result of globalisation and the burgeoning transnational education market, university classrooms that span national borders are now commonplace. Within these classrooms the cultures of both the delivering and receiving countries converge, resulting in the creation of a new and complex cultural territory that is often unfamiliar to educators and students alike. Australia has been a key provider of transnational education in the South East Asian region, however little research has investigated the interplay of culture and pedagogy within Australian transnational programs, despite the cultural distance which exists between Australia and its Asian neighbours. This is surprising given the importance of transnational provision to both the Australian economy and the internationalisation agenda of Australian universities. / The unfamiliar cultural territory found within these transnational programs places high demands on educators and students, yet the impact of exposure to cultural difference and culture learning seems rarely considered in the development and delivery of such programs. This thesis examines one transnational program that was delivered in Singapore by an Australian university. An ethnographic methodology is employed, applying a ‘cultural lens’ to an analysis of the program. The author provides background information on the Australian and Singaporean education systems and reviews a range of previous research which focuses on culture and pedagogy in the region. Interviews and classroom observations reveal educator and student experiences of the program. The author concludes that cultural phenomena have a profound impact on participants’ experiences of transnational education programs and that this is substantially unrecognised by key actors in the process. Recommendations are made for changes in practice that could be incorporated in transnational programs in order to ameliorate negative impacts of cultural difference.

This study investigated: i) whether Indonesian students transfer their Indonesian (L1) schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaged in seminars in English (L2) in Indonesian academic contexts; ii) whether Australian students transfer their Australian English (L1) schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaged in seminar presentations in Indonesian (L2) in Australian academic contexts; iii) the extent to which and in what ways the respective schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions differ; iv) the functions of discourse markers in these seminars; and v) the use of signposts in presentations.The analysis of the schema, the rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions is limited to: i) the overall schema of a seminar; ii) the major components of a presentation; iii) the exchange structure of the question and answer sessions; iv) the rhetorical structure of presentation introductions; iv) the rhetorical structure of questions; and v) the rhetorical structure of answers.The data were obtained from tape and video recordings of four groups of student seminars as presented below.1. Indonesian students' seminars conducted in Indonesian in Indonesian academic settings.2. Indonesian students' seminars conducted in English in Indonesian academic settings.3. Australian students' seminars conducted in English in Australian academic settings.4. Australian students' seminars conducted in Indonesian in Australian academic settings.The Indonesian students' seminars in Indonesian and in English were held at the IKIP (Higher Institution for Teacher Training) Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia. The Australian students' seminars in English were held at Curtin University of Technology, Australia. The Australian students' seminars in Indonesian were held at Curtin University of Technology and Murdoch University, Australia. The ++ / seminars were part of students' course assignments. The topics of the seminars were social and educational issues. The age of the students ranged from 20 to 30 years old.A total of 67 seminars comprised the data. The findings have shown that:(i) Indonesian students transfer their Ll schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaging in seminars conducted in English in Indonesian academic settings.(ii) Australian students transfer their Ll schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions when engaging in seminars conducted in Indonesian in Australian academic settings.(iii) Indonesian students' schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions in seminars conducted in Indonesian differ from the Australian students' schema, rhetorical structures, and cultural conventions in seminars conducted in English.(iv) The equivalent discourse markers across the four groups have the same functions.(v) Indonesian students used more signposts in their presentations in English than the rest of the groups.The report of the study is presented in nine sections as shown below.Section A presents the introduction, review of the related literature, and methodology. Section B presents findings of the Indonesian data in Indonesian.Section C presents findings of the Australian data in English.Section D compares the findings of the Indonesian data in Indonesian and the Australian data in English.Section E presents the findings of the Indonesian data in English.Section F compares the findings between: i) the Indonesian data in Indonesian and the Indonesian data in English; and ii) the Indonesian data in English and the Australian data in English.Section G presents the findings of the Australian data in Indonesian.Section H compares the findings between: i) the Australian data in English and the Australian data in Indonesian; and ii) the Australian data in ++ / Indonesian and the Indonesian data in Indonesian.Section I presents conclusions, implications, and recommendations for further study.