This thesis aimed to study and analyze the intercultural and intracultural encounters of students enrolled in an ESL writing class at a large community college in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Two basic questions guided the study: first, how did ESL students from Korea react to each other as well as to students from other countries while studying English in the United States; and second, how did these reactions affect Korean students' perceptions of their ESL classes? The purpose of this study was to investigate the intercultural experiences of Korean learners in an intensive ESL program, and based on its findings, to suggest ways to improve intercultural relations in such classes. The study used reflective journals to ascertain Korean learners' perceptions of their intercultural encounters with classmates. The study findings demonstrated a surprising candor and sophistication on the part of Korean learners to express themselves about these encounters. Based on the research findings, recommendations were made for incorporating intercultural relations sensitivity training into ESL course curricula. This descriptive study contributed to the body of education literature that advocates focusing more attention on students' perceptions of their learning environment.

Intercultural development is not an intentional goal or expected outcome for College Success courses. However, since such courses are designed to help students adapt to academic and campus cultures, an overlap and alignment between the development of intercultural skills and competence and the development of college competence might exist. This thesis investigated the degree to which intercultural learning was integrated into College Success courses at the curricular level, in instruction practices, and in the individual learning experiences of students, and it also identified current instructional activities most amenable to further targeting of intercultural learning. The research was guided by the following three questions. 1) What are the ways, if any, in which intercultural skills align with those skills seen as necessary for students' successful adaptation in academic and professional settings? 2) Do College Success instructors intentionally or unintentionally incorporate intercultural competence development into the curriculum and instruction? 3) What, if any, are the ways in which instructional practices in College Success courses contribute to intercultural skill development and help students leverage their current experiences with cultural differences? The research was focused on the study of one College Success class at a community college. Data was collected through multiple methods. Class sessions were observed. Interviews were conducted with students in the course, the instructor and the administrator responsible for the course. Documents, including the course syllabus, student learning outcomes, a selection of assignments and the course textbook were reviewed and analyzed. Research findings suggest that there is significant alignment between the development of college competence, as fostered in the College Success course studied, and the development intercultural competence, though such was unintentional and unrecognized by the instructor. The data also illuminated areas where course learning outcomes, curriculum, and instruction could be modified to further support the development of intercultural competency.

Many colleges and universities throughout the United States have a long history of encouraging and maintaining a diverse community of international students and scholars on their campuses. As a result of the interaction within this great mix of cultures, interpersonal conflict of an intercultural nature has understandably developed. To cope with the conflicts between cultures, many institutions have developed intercultural mediation programs and resources. This research examines what some U.S. universities do to respond to the issue of international student and scholar intercultural conflict mediation and resolution. The study was designed to explore the different types of resources and services that have been developed and to study some of them in greater detail to gain a better understanding of their approaches and resulting issues and successes. The overall objective of this research was to learn how the various ways mediation programs offered at the selected universities work in practice. The literature review was created to gain an overall understanding of conflict styles and conflict resolution approaches that are relevant to the many cultural groups who are in need of the mediation. My data collection process focused on how colleges and universities incorporate mediation programs into the campus at large. Data was gathered through 12 interviews with administrators who have experience working in the intercultural conflict mediation and resolution area; these programs were at the Universities of Washington and Minnesota, and Nevada, Reno and Michigan. From the interviews and the literature review, an annotated bibliography and guidelines were created to provide insights and recommendations for consideration by intercultural conflict mediation and resolution programs at educational institutions throughout the United States.

This research study explored how intercultural communication factors such as values and communication styles might affect the interaction between Tamil asylees and their U.S. social workers. For this qualitative study, I interviewed 11 Tamil asylees and conducted a focus group with 3 U.S. social workers at an agency serving the Tamil participants. Based on the findings of this research as well as the literature review, this thesis reveals culture-specific information about Tamil asylees and highlights the implications of the research to the fields of intercultural communication, refugee studies, and social work. Findings revealed the following: culture general assumptions overshadow the complexity of values and communication styles when examined in context, refugees are a unique immigrant population and therefore should be the focus of more intercultural research, competent social workers seem to possess culture-specific and general intercultural skills, and social workers can apply the methodology of this study to learn about the values and communication styles of new refugee clients.

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This study examined factors important in determining the acceptance of racially charged humor. It utilized a 2 x 3 design in which race of joke teller and group targeted by the jokes were manipulated. It measured people’s level of acceptance regarding the jokes and recorded participants’ behaviors. This study found that under the conditions in which comedians derogated their in-group, White participants demonstrated higher levels of acceptance and a greater likelihood to perform the jokes. This pattern was especially true when the comedian was Black.

The present exploratory study, framed in agenda-setting theory, analyzes the way European and US newspapers frame racism and ethnocentrism issues, on the background of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, 2 research hypotheses and 9 research questions were explored. The results showed the distribution of articles that used a positive frame and the ones that used a negative frame was relatively equal across geographical regions. The US media have shown as the most ethnocentric nationality the Spanish, while the European media, the Scottish. There is an agreement across different geographical regions that the French and the German have the most tolerant or anti-discriminatory actions or attitudes. The most prominent theme to describe nationalities’ tolerant attitudes was the power of football to unify peoples and to enhance global understanding. Both the American and the European media described the Argentinean team mostly in terms of athletic skill.

This thesis examines communication patterns between the English and U.S. Americans in a work environment. These two cultural groups engage in significant business, economic, and political relationships, and though they share many similarities, the cultural and communication differences can lead to misunderstandings and conflict. This study investigates the perceptions of 32 English nationals about their interactions with U.S. Americans in order to better understand the differences between their workrelated preferences and processes. The English participants completed a selfadministered written questionnaire that elicited their thoughts about the following: English and U.S. American communication and work behaviors, perceived cultural differences, and skills deemed most effective for successful working relationships between the two cultures. Forty-one percent of the participants also participated in a follow-up telephone interview. The results showed that the majority of the participants felt that national and individual cultural differences contributed to communication challenges at work. Some of the significant areas of difference include: language usage, preferred ways to deliver and receive information, use of humor, and approaches to decision-making and managing conflict. Suggested recommendations based on the findings of this study are intended to help professionals enhance stronger working partnerships between the English and U.S. Americans.

This thesis investigated the success of global awareness co,curricular programming as a tool for increasing intercultural knowledge at a liberal arts college. The study asked the following question: do internationally themed campus-wide events increase student interest in, and appreciation of, difference? Students in this study were involved in two activities: a semester-long series of South Asian themed events (the Wooster Forum and the Forum Auxiliary Events) and the First Year Seminar in Critical Inquiry (FYS). Two sections ofFYS had themes related to that of the Wooster Forum while the other two did not. Levels of student openness to difference and intercultural awareness were measured by the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (Kozai, 2009a) both before and after exposure to the events of the Wooster Forum. An additional institutionally designed questionnaire was also administered to determine students' participation in the events and to allow them to share their perspectives of the programming offered. Results indicated that the majority of students at the start of the study demonstrated a lack of interest in and awareness of the differences that exist between cultures. At the end of study, those students in sections of FYS without strong links to the theme of the Wooster Forum showed greater movement on the elements of the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale that indicate intercultural openness than the students in sections with close links. Surprisingly, this movement was likely to be negative. Survey results revealed the importance of both friendship groups and the perception of fun as students decided which events in which to participate. Both instruments indicated the need for clear context setting for each event, and for opportunities for structured - ~ reflection and discussion in order to maximize intercultural learning. The study concluded with recommendations regarding future global awareness programming in this specific institutional context

With this study, we intend to seek knowledge about how educators perceive and relate to norm conflicts in preschool. The aim of the study is to focus on what educators say about norm conflicts based on their work and how they believe that they can create relationships between children and their parents and colleagues among themselves. In this study, we have chosen to start from the following questions: How do educators perceive norm conflicts, what are they about and how can they arise? How do norm conflicts affect the work of educators in preschool activities? What do educators think is needed to deal with norm conflicts? We have chosen to do a qualitative study based on qualitative interviews with eight educatorsin preschools located in different geographical areas in Stockholm - Sweden. By educators we mean four preschool teachers and four educator workers. The result of our study is based on analyses from the social constructivist theory and perpectives on interculturality. Social constructivist theory is a social science perspective that has its basis on people reproducing new perceptions of reality and self-understanding in interaction with each other and with the environment around them. Interculturality can be explained by Pirjo Lahdenperä as a social interaction, a process, or an overstep, since "inter" means interpersonal interaction and"culture" means meaning systems of meaning, which gives meaning and a special focus in aperson's life. The result of the study shows that all informants, regardless of position, are aware of the meaning of norms and values and agree that everyone should start from everyone's equalvalue. The social consensus theory that has helped us to understand the informants' different perceptions of norm conflicts that were highlighted as social phenomena, from the linguistic interaction to understand why individuals clash with norm conflicts due to language difficulties and misconceptions in communication in collegiate work.