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Samhället förändras och blir allt mer mångkulturellt och det skapar ett större behov av att kunna kommunicera. Mitt syfte var att undersöka hur den interkulturella kommunikationen fungerar mellan pedagoger och föräldrar.I min undersökning intervjuade jag två pedagoger och fem föräldrar på en mångkulturell förskola, där jag gjorde tre observationer. Pedagogerna är mycket positiva i sin kommunikation med föräldrarna. När inte det talade språket räcker till använder man hela sin kropp och tecken, alltså pekar och ritar och ber barnen hjälpa att tolka för att kommunicera, sa en av pedagogerna. Det händer att man inte förstår varandra och det kan skapa frustration när man inte kan förmedla sitt budskap till den andra. Pedagogerna upplever att det kan vara svårt att förmedla information till invandrarföräldrarna som inte kan tala svenska. Även kulturella skillnader kan påverka kommunikationen. Hur lång tid det tar för föräldrarna att bli delaktiga i det svenska samhället påverkades av olika aspekter som orsaken till invandringen, utbildning, tidigare arbetserfarenheter och hur aktiva de varit i sin eget samhälle.De intervjuade föräldrarna kunde tala svenska och deras uppfattning var att kommunikationen fungerar bra. De upplever att de förstår och kan göra sig förstådda och att de får tillräckligt med information runt deras barn. De flesta av de intervjuade föräldrarna har bott en längre tid i Sverige.Pedagogerna önskar mera kunskap om invandrarföräldrarnas bakgrund och kultur för att bättre kunna bemöta dem i samarbetet runt deras barn. Hur nyanlända invandrare känner och uppfattar kommunikationen med pedagogerna kan jag inte uttala mig om, eftersom jag inte fick möjlighet att intervjua dem. De ville inte delta. / The intercultural meeting at preschool between adultsSociety is changing and becoming increasingly multicultural, it creates a deeper need to communicate. My aim was to explore how intercultural communication works between teachers and parents.In my investigation I interviewed two teachers and five parents at a multicultural preschool where I also made three observations. The teachers are very positive in their communication with the parents. When spoken language is not sufficient enough they use body language to communicate and some times they ask the children to help interpret. It happens that we do not understand each other and it can create frustration when you can not convey your message to one an other. Teachers find that it can be difficult to convey information to the immigrant parents who do not speak Swedish. Even cultural differences affect communication. How long it takes for parents to become involved in the Swedish society is affected by different aspects such as the reason for immigration, education, prior work experience and how active they were in their own society.The parents that I interviewed speak the Swedish language and they feel that communication with the teachers works well. They feel that they understand each other and that they receive adequate information about their children. Most of the parents interviewed have lived a long time in Sweden. The teachers want more knowledge about the parents´ background and culture in order to better be able to collaborate with them on the subject of their children. How newly arrived immigrants feel and perceive communication with the teachers I can not comment on because I did not have the opportunity to interview them. They did not want to participate.

This paper explores communicative trends in an online, facilitated course for intercultural learners. We examine participation rates and communicative interactivity between culturally diverse learners, and find that participation rates differ by cultural grouping, by gender and by role, and that online interactions are dominated by facilitator- learner exchanges (rather than by peer-to-peer communications). Ongoing case study analysis will examine the ways that differences in facilitator practices, the use of story, identity construction, and facilitator/learner expectations conspire to facilitate or hinder interaction and participation in the online culture of this e-learning environment.

This thesis explores how musical recordings circulate within various sites of metacultural analysis, such as print music publications, music blogs, community-based campus radio music programmes and music podcasts. Drawing on theories about cultural production, the circulation of cultural objects, and metaculture (circulation of ideas about cultural objects, rather than the objects themselves), the author traces how an independent record label discursively positions musical recordings for movement towards and within these meaning-making spheres. Print music publications and music blogs facilitate recognition and consecration of recordings in different capacities, particularly in relation to music publicity. Community-based campus (c/c) radio and music podcasts situate recordings within new cultural objects--radio texts--that engage with listeners in different ways. In this manner, all sites are stakeholders in shaping the meaning of a musical recording and propel its actual and metacultural circulation along various trajectories. / Cette thèse explore comment les enregistrements musicaux circulent à travers différents lieuxd'analyse métaculturelle, comme les publications imprimées traitant de musique, les bloguesmusicaux, les émissions de musique des radios communautaires et universitaires ainsi que lesbaladodiffusions musicales. Basé sur les théories de la création de la culture, de latransmission des objets culturels et métaculturel (la circulation d'idées à propos d'objetsculturels plutôt qu'à propos des objets eux-mêmes), l'auteur démontre les méthodesdiscursivement employées par une étiquette indépendante afin d'encourager le mouvement deses enregistrements musicaux au sein de ces sphères créatrices de sens. Les publicationsimprimées et les blogues musicaux facilitent la reconnaissance et la consécration desenregistrements musicaux, notamment à travers la promotion de la musique. Les radioscommunautaires et universitaires ainsi que les baladodiffusions musicales placent cesenregistrements à l'intérieur d'un nouvel objet culturel- le contenu radiophonique -lesquelsattirent l'attention de l'auditoire de différentes façons. Ainsi, tous ces environnementscontribuent à donner un sens à l'enregistrement musical et à le propulser, au sens propre et ausens métaculturel, vers ses trajectoires variées.

The purpose of the study was to develop an effective method of facilitating intercultural communication and understanding for school personnel (administrators, counselors, teachers) and to design a training tool which would assist in this task.Based on the body of literature in theory, research, and training of intercultural communication, the study synthesized the findings to determine the most effective methodology to accomplish this purpose.The following research questions were studied:1. What are the barriers to effective intercultural communication?2. What is the most effective intercultural training model (in terms of learner achievement of competencies)?3. How does one become an independent, effective intercultural communicator (what are the competencies, attributes, specific knowledge, and behaviors)?4.How does one evaluate one's competency and effectiveness in intercultural communication?1. Barriers to effective intercultural communicationwere identified as: language and non-verbal communication problems, preconceived ideas and stereotypes, ethnocentrism, differences in learning and approach to problem solving, differences in values and beliefs, lack of knowledge about oneself and others, perceptual distortions, role prescriptions, differences in individuals, past experiences, and technology.2. Several intercultural training models were analyzed: intellectual, area training, self-awareness, cultural awareness, multidimensional, developmental experiential, intercultural sensitizer, culture-general assimilator, and independent effectiveness. The author developed the SSSSS (SixStep Sequential Self-Structured) Model which integrated intellectual and experiential learning.A training tool was also developed, a videotape, which presented incidents of intercultural interaction. The video, entitled Creating Empathy Through Film, is to be used in conjunction with the SSSSS Model as a means of training school personnel in effective intercultural communication.3.Competencies of independent, effective interculturalcommunicators were identified as: understanding one's own cultural background and the backgrounds of those who areculturally different, openness, tolerance of differences, empathy, flexibility, global awareness, ability to cope in stressful situations, and the capability to function effectively in multicultural environments.4. The self-evaluation method developed for trainees uses three concentric circles within which gummed tabs are placed. This evaluative method will enable trainees to measure their own effectiveness in intercultural communication in terms of attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education

The conceptual space formed by the experience of being in-between cultures is a fluid one. The boundaries of this space resist being fixed or defined, as experiences of cultural dislocation vary from person to person and alter over time. It is in this space that my project is located, and that my research seeks to explore. / Thesis (MVisualArts)--University of South Australia, 2001.

As a result of globalisation there are many international business activities that span the world. Organisations realise that a good global project management approach can run highly complex projects with quick response and flexibility. / Research and studies into successful international projects have found the top four challenges for international project managers are communication skills, culture, technology and project management leadership. Communication skills has ranked the highest of the all challenges and critical to the success of international projects. / Therefore international project managers need the necessary skill to have 'soft' management skills to break down the cultural barriers and coordinate projects simultaneously across multiple countries. In these circumstances relying on 'hard' management skills alone is insufficient; therefore communication is a vital skill for international project managers. / This thesis used interviews as the primary research tool to collect data from project managers, who have participated in projects where either they need to be based overseas or have global teams based around the world. / Project managers are aware that communication breakdowns in international projects allude to differences in culture, leadership styles, technology and close mindedness; however, the lesson learnt only occurs after the incident has happened. The awareness of these problems has motivated project managers into increasing their skills by enrolling in courses or finding confidantes to gain more knowledge of local business cultures, laws and customs. / It is recommended that international project managers remember that they communicate with people that are different to them and by keeping an open mind, respecting cultures and customs and taking the time to embrace a culture will reap rewards. Communication also depends on the amount of feedback that one can receive. Face-to-face provides the best feedback, but being aware of the limitations of technology for communication will also nurture good communication skills for successful international projects. / Thesis (MProjectManagement)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Good medical care depends on effective communication between patient and health professional. Misunderstandings can occur in any medical setting but can be further compounded by language and cultural factors in those interactions which occur in a cross-cultural context. The medical consultation is an institutional interaction and as such can involve additional, taken-for-granted evaluative and interpretive criteria which are applied by interactants automatically, without conscious reflection. Non-native speakers who may have a good functional control of the language and have few problems at the level of propositional content may experience significant difficulties at the necessary interpretative level. / Questions act to allow the questioner a degree of interactional control and when patients ask questions they not only increase their access to information but also indicate to the doctor that they wish to play a more active role in the consultation. This thesis examines the discourse of doctor-patient interactions and in particular the ways in which questions are framed and presented by patients and, because the patients in this case are children, their parents. Fifty three medical consultations were observed from both public and private pediatric clinics with patients and their parents comprising 33 native and 20 non-native speakers of English. Data for the study comprise 28 of those consultations. The data include post-consultation interviews with patients and their parents, and interviews with the treating doctors. / The analysis indicates that there are considerable differences in the patterns of questioning behaviour of native speakers and non-native speakers, and that the questioning behaviour of patients and parents seems to be influenced by the communication style of the doctor. / These findings indicate that the questioning behaviour of non-native speaking parents in medical consultations has the potential to lead to less access to information, fewer explanations about their child's condition and a less active role overall in the medical consultation. This in turn can lead to different outcomes for those parents such as lower levels of satisfaction and, potentially, lower levels of compliance with medical advice and directives. These findings also indicate that the needs of non-native speakers in such circumstances are more successfully addressed by a doctor-centred approach. / Finally, this study argues that the observed differences in the patterns of questioning behaviour between native speakers and non-native speakers is more than simple lack of linguistic resources but rather is a result of the clash between the often subtle differences in communicative competence of non-native speakers and the specialised inferential frameworks inherent in institutional discourse.

The conceptual space formed by the experience of being in-between cultures is a fluid one. The boundaries of this space resist being fixed or defined, as experiences of cultural dislocation vary from person to person and alter over time. It is in this space that my project is located, and that my research seeks to explore. / Thesis (MVisualArts)--University of South Australia, 2001.