In this paper I will critically reflect upon an intercultural experience connected with appearance, dress, and the different mutual perceptions of 'others' in public space in current Moscow and Vienna. I will construe this experience as fundamentally different attitudes towards informal behaviour, appearance and gender ambivalence. One of the main causes of this situation I have located in the 1960s, a period of anti-authoritarian subcultural upheaval in the Soviet Union as well as 'the West'. The very different social, economic and political contexts of their emergence and their further ('socialist' vs. capitalist) trajectories are, as I will argue, at the root of the perceptions and connotations of casual wear and behaviour in the public spaces of present-day Moscow and Vienna.(author´s abstract) / Series: WU Online Papers in International Business Communication / Series One: Intercultural Communication and Language Learning

The area of Järvafältet in the northern parts of Stockholm is one of the many large-scale investments into Swedish residency executed in the 60’s and 70’s, and which got the name Miljonprogrammet. Not until today these buildings have been restored, and frustration has been brewing in these areas for some time. Järvadialogen is the name of a communication program connected to the housing restoration in the area of Husby, which is a part of Järvafältet, and functions as a promotional and informational dialogue between residents in the area and those responsible for the communication program. The cultural diversity in the area of Husby is significant, and with theories on intercultural communication, change communication and power we study the performed communicative process and the manner in which it is received. How is the communication program Järvadialogen shaped and performed, and how are the messages sent received and interpreted? This following study looks at how the communication program Järvadialogen is designed and carried out, as well as how the communication is received. It questions what happens to the opinions? and by performing an extensive text analysis complemented by personal interviews along with group interviews the study explores both sender and receiver perspectives. Methods and theories bring to light the importance of building a relationship among sender and receiver, power relations and change communication. Cultural aspects are evaluated and criticized in regards to communication performance, and more specifically this study shows that the existing frustration in connection to the communication program in Husby is not a result of miscommunication, but of a sense of exclusion, which originates in socio- and economic differences. / Dagens Sverige präglas av en ökad mångfald där samhällsdebatten allt oftare behandlar frågor om integration, segregation och utanförskap. I samband med upprustningen av miljonprogrammen, Järvalyftet, Vision Järva 2030, har Järvadialogen uppkommit som kommunikationsinsats. Kritik har dock riktats mot kommunikationsarbetet relaterat till upprustningen av Järvaområdet. Vi vill därför analysera hur förändringen kommunicerats till de boende på Järva i relation till upprustningsprojektet Järvalyftet. Vår studies frågeställning är: Hur har Järvadialogens kommunikationsgenomförande sett ut och mottagits bland boende i Husby? Med hjälp av teorier inom interkulturell kommunikation och strategisk kommunikation analyserar vi textmaterial som distribuerats i olika forum med koppling till dialogen, samt analyserar genomförda intervjuer med boende och ansvariga för Järvadialogen. Resultatet av detta har blivit en studie i hur ett dialogarbete i en förändringsprocess sett ut och upplevts, samt hur man arbetat med det i detta mångkulturella Husby. Slutligen ser vi att den kritik som riktats mot Järvadialogen som kommunikationsinsats inte har sin grund i bristande kommunikationsarbete, ett aktivt relationsarbete har skett med fokus på lokalförankring i området. Vi ser snarare att det bristande kommunikationsarbete kommer från ansvariga politiker då många boende idag vänder sig till Svenska Bostäder för att få svar på exempelvis frågor gällande skolan och brottslighet i området. Återkoppling från politikerhåll avseende samhällsfrågor och hur de åtgärdas har varit bristfällig och därför bidragande faktor till den kritik Järvadialogen fått.

Speakers of Persian, like speakers of other languages, utilise Routine Politeness Formulae (RPF) to negotiate central interpersonal interactions. RPF in Persian have not received any systematic description as to their forms, their functions, their typical conditions of use and their discourse structure rules. Bridging this gap, for the first time, RPF from five frequently-used speech acts – namely, greeting, leave-taking, apologizing, thanking and requesting – are documented in this thesis. Data were derived from Persian soap operas and from role-plays with native speakers, and were entered into a database for further analysis. The analysis is qualitative and the data are conceived of as phraseological units to be represented as dictionary entries. The study of the aforementioned speech acts and their related array of RPF reveals the dynamics of interpersonal polite behaviour among Persians, reflecting the following socio-cultural values prevalent in Iranian society: (i) its group-oriented nature, (ii) a tendency towards positive (solidarity) politeness, (iii) sensitivity to remaining in people’s debt, (iv) sensitivity to giving trouble to others, (v) a high premium on reciprocity in interpersonal communications, (vi) the importance of seniority in terms of age and social status, and (vii) differentiation between members of the ‘inner circle’ and the ‘outer circle’. This thesis also reveals the dominance of the strategy of self-lowering and other-elevating. Almost all RPF in Persian allow for the use of this pervasive strategy, which is also manifested by two further sub-strategies: (i) a propensity to exaggerate favours received from others, and (ii) giving precedence to others over oneself. Finally, it is suggested that Islamic teachings have significantly influenced the formation and use of certain RPF. The dictionary resulting from this work can serve as a resource for researchers in sociolinguistics and pragmatics, and for the teaching of Persian to non-Persian speakers.

With the rise of new technologies, geographical and political boundaries between companies are disappearing. Managers within multinational organizations are faced with the challenge of adapting to new paradigms of leadership while leading employees who may share different backgrounds. With businesses becoming more globalized, it is important to know and understand how to lead and interact with people from other cultures. The purpose of the study is to explore and describe similarities or differences with managers from the United States and managers from Taiwan in relation to the 29 leadership traits overall as well as at individual management levels. As a result, this study also offers practical recommendations for managers of all levels and backgrounds to grow their international business opportunities through deeper knowledge of themselves and their international business partners.

Forced by the atrocities of war from their native country, Bosnian families came to United States seeking refuge and a new life. Immigrating to a new country, however, involves the process of acculturation which can dilute many native practices. Like many refugees that immigrated, Bosnians sought to adapt to the American way of life, while keeping their traditional ethnic customs, practices, and religion (Val & Iain-Walker, 2003). Many Bosnian refugee parents worked to keep the Bosnian practices prevalent in their first and second generation Bosnian American children. By doing so, Bosnian parents imbedded into their children the original customs, practices, and traditions of the Bosnian culture. Moreover, they raised their children to have great pride in their native country. Part of keeping the native culture alive, as an adult child of a refugee, involved marrying someone of the same ethnic and religious background (Inman, Howard, Beaumont, &Walker, 2007). Using Communication Acculturation Theory, this study examined the relationship between the degree of acculturation of Bosnian refugees in the United States and their preference and stress level in relational partner selection taking into consideration parental pressure and ethnic group community expectations. Results from this study find that acculturation is negatively correlated with the preference for a Bosnian mate but only the amount of interpersonal intimate communication the Bosnian members has with Bosnians and non-Bosnians is indicative of any mate selection stress experienced. Further, ethnic group community expectations and parental pressure are positively correlated with preference for a Bosnian mate, but only the expectations of the ethnic group and not pressure from parents was correlated with any stress the individual feels to find a Bosnian mate.

The theory of planned behavior is a great tool for understanding predictors of drug use, specifically marijuana. Although the theory has been applied in the U.S. and European context, research on the predictors of behavioral intention for marijuana use within the Arabian Gulf context is limited. This thesis provides an overview of the theory of planned behavior as used in the U.S. and European context. An argument for the need to better understand predictors of behavioral intentions to use drugs, in the Arabian Gulf Region, prior to developing interventions and preventions is presented. Data was collected from 95 participants between the ages of 18-25 who were from the six GCC countries. Participants had the option to complete the survey in English or in Arabic. Results of the study suggest attitudes are the strongest predictor for behavioral intentions to use marijuana. Knowledge and sensations seeking were not significantly related to behavioral intentions for marijuana use within the current sample.

This dissertation will explore how developing provinces within countries attract foreign direct investment. The policy implication to this study is important because it could account for the uneven distribution of growth in developing countries that so frequently leads to dual economies. To attract foreign direct investments, provincial governments compete among themselves trying to appeal to international investors. There is consensus in the economic development literature that both economic and political variables interact to advance a nation's economy. The ability for a country to provide a free market economy to exchange goods and ideas makes the environment more favorable for investors, hence it makes sense to focus on institutions that can attract FDI if the government is committed to developing its economy and compete in the global market. Political factors serves as an important component of strengthening a country's economy. Political variables such as political capacity have helped ensure the success of a growing economy. Governments must possess the ability to extract resources from its people, thereby pursuing policy goals to create a more favorable market environment for investors. Investors then feel more confident and comfortable investing in these economies. This political variable has helped countries redefine themselves in the global community as credible and safe countries for investment. However, this political variable alone is not enough to explain how to attract foreign direct investments in developing countries. Rather, governments must also possess the economic tools necessary, such as economic growth and an open economy. These economic tools combined with political capacity can effectively attract foreign direct investments. Many provinces in developing countries lack these variables, thereby jeopardizing the opportunity to attract foreign direct investments and compete in the global market. Hence, I look at both the political and economical variables as an interaction variable as a strong indicator to attract foreign direct investments. If my work is successful, I hope that these findings can serve as a policy tool for provinces of developing countries to effectively attract foreign direct investments in a competitive global market.

Lolu lucwaningo olumayelana neqhaza elingabanjwa ubuciko namasiko ukukhuthaza ukuzwana nokubekezelelana ngokwamasiko nokuvuselela ubuntu phakathi kwezinhlanga ezahlukene KwaZulu-Natal. Kulolu cwaningo kucutshungulwa izindlela ezingasetshenziswa ukwenza izizwe zamasiko ehlukahlukene zikwazi ukwazana kangcono nokungaholela ekuhloniphaneni kanye nasekuhlalisaneni ngokuzwana. Ngasekuqaleni kwalolu cwaningo, kuye kwahlahlelwa kabanzi amagama abumbe isihloko salolu cwaningo ngenhloso yokuveza ukubaluleka kwalolu cwaningo. Kuye kwavela izincazelo ezahlukene ezichaza isiko, kuvele umongo wesiko njengomthetho wesizwe oyinkolelo yokwakha umphakathi, ukuzazisa nokwehluka kwesizwe kwezinye, ubugugu, ukuziphatha kanye nendlela yokuphilisana ngokwabelana kwabantu nokuhlanganisa impilo yabantu. Kulolu cwaningo kubhekwe iqhaza elibanjwe ngumkhakha wezobuciko namasiko ukuphumelelisa impokophelo yoMnyango Wezemfundo KwaZulu-Natal nokuyilapho kuye kwavela khona ukugqugquzela nokulondoloza amagugu esizwe kanye nokuthuthukisa imisebenzi yezobuciko namasiko njengeminye yemisebenzi esemqoka yalolu phiko. Kuye kwacutshungulwa eminye yemikhosi egujwa yisizwe samaZulu okubalwa phakathi kweminye, uMkhosi woMhlanga; uMkhosi weLembe (inkosi uShaka) kanye noMkhosi woKweshwama. Lapha kuye kwacutshungulwa umsuka kanye nomongo womkhosi ngomkhosi ngenhloso yokuthola ukufana okuqukethwe nokungaholela ekwakheni ukwazana kangcono ngenxa yomongo ofanayo oqukethwe yisiko lesizwe nesizwe. Lokhu kwenzeke ngokubheka neminye yemikhosi egujwa yisizwe samaNdiya okubalwa kuyo umgubho woBuciko Bomlomo; umgubho kaDiwali kanye naleyo egujwa ngokuhlanganyela kwezinhlanga ezahlukene zaKwaZulu-Natal okubalwa kuyo umgubho woKunambitha kanye noWesitimela. Phakathi kolwazi oluqoqiwe Iwalolu cwaningo, kuye kwavela lokhu okulandelayo njengalokho okungabamba iqhaza ukukhuthaza ukuzwana nokubekezelelana ngokwamasiko nokuvuselela ubuntu: ukufundisa ngamasiko; ukusebenzisa ubuciko namasiko ukuvuselela ubuntu; ukuthuthukisa izilimi zomdabu; ukuziqhayisa kwentsha ngesiko; ukukhuthaza ubusikoningi kanye nobuliminingi. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

In the 21st century, the mobility of world population has posed greater challenges to healthcare practitioners, since they are facing an increasingly diverse patient population from all over the world. At the same time, patients also find it difficult to access and utilize quality health care services in a culturally diverse context. This study examines the role of culture in Chinese international students’ health-seeking behaviours in Canada. The study explores any barriers/perceived barriers that Chinese international students may confront when accessing health care which can prevent them from obtaining quality health care services in Canada. To this end, an intercultural health communication model was employed as a theoretical framework, and semi-structured interviews were used as a data collection tool. While contributing to existing literature on health communication and culture, this study also hopes to contribute to providing Canadian universities and institutions important information regarding Chinese international students’ access to and utilization of health care services with the hope of enhancing the quality of ethnic health care and promoting better health outcomes.

Die zum Fremdsprachenerwerb wesentliche Vermittlung interkultureller Kommunikationskompetenzen wird in den verfügbaren Lehrplänen in Manitoba für Deutsch als Fremdsprache vorausgesetzt. Eine Umfrage unter den Deutschlehrern sowie repräsentative Interviews zeigen, dass interkulturelle Kommunikationskompetenzen in der Praxis oft nicht ihrem Wichtigkeitsgrad entsprechend in den Unterricht integriert werden. Der Erfolg des DaF-Programms in Manitoba hängt dementsprechend von der Sensibilisierung der Lehrer sowie einer Reform und Modernisierung von erforderlichen Prüfungsmöglichkeiten und Qualitätssicherung der Vermittlungsinhalte ab.