Music plays a crucial role in everyday life by enabling listeners to seek individual emotional experiences. To explain why such emotions occur, we must understand the underlying process that mediates between surface-level features of the music and aroused emotions. This thesis aimed to investigate how musical emotions are mediated by psychological mechanisms from a cross-cultural perspective. Study I manipulated four mechanisms by selecting ecologically valid pieces of music that featured information relevant for each mechanism. The results suggested that listeners’ emotions could be successfully predicted based on theoretically based manipulations of target mechanisms. However, Study I featured only listeners from a single culture, neglecting the possible role of contextual and individual factors. Study II investigated the prevalence of emotions, mechanisms, and listening motives in a web survey featuring listeners from both individualist and collectivist countries. Results indicated that patterns of prevalence of emotions and mechanisms were quite similar across cultures. Still, Study II found that certain emotions such as nostalgia and the mechanism episodic memory were more frequent in collectivist cultures. In contrast, sadness and the mechanism musical expectancy were more frequent in individualist cultures. Study II also suggested that listening motives were country-specific, rather than subject to the individualism-collectivism dimension. Study III explored how particular mechanisms are manifested within a collectivist cultural setting with great potential for deeply felt emotions: fado music in Portugal. Interviews with listeners provided in-depth information on how the cultural context might shape listening motives and emotions. The results revealed that listeners strived for musical experiences that would arouse culturally valued emotions. Music-evoked nostalgia and contextual factors were regarded as important and contributed to an enhanced sense of wellbeing. Study IV tested the influence of lyrics on the emotions induced by Swedish and Portuguese pieces of music. The results revealed cross-cultural differences in how lyrics influenced emotions. The differences were not related to the music’s origin, but to the listener’s origin, suggesting that the impact of lyrics depends on the cultural background of the listener. In conclusion, the thesis suggests that cultural factors serve as moderators of effects of biologically based mechanisms for emotion induction.

This study examines senior education officers' (SEOs) perceptions of the meanings and characteristics of the term 'leadership' both from their traditional PNG and Western perspectives. Data were drawn from questionnaires returned by 20 SEOs, 2 recorded interviews and a focus-group methodology. The purposes of the study are to: (i) define the meaning of leadership from the senior education officers' perspectives and through the review of the literature; and (ii) identify key characteristics and skills of the leadership role of senior education officers in PNG today, as a basis for improving practice and informing knowledge about leadership. Respondents were asked to define the meaning of the term leadership, and to describe their most memorable leadership experiences which may have helped to shape their understanding of leadership. They were also asked to identify and to list the key leadership functions, qualities and skills/abilities which they perceive to be most important in their roles today, and for the foreseeable future. Literature on leadership is complex and wide ranging. Those which provided data of particular significance in specific areas directly related to this study include: Rost (1991) on the definitions of leadership; Kouzes and Posner (1993 and 1987) in relation to characteristics of leadership; on educational leadership (Sergiovanni et al 1987, Turney et al 1992, and Fullan 1991 and 1992) in relation to the functions, qualities and related skills/abilities of educational leaders; on culture and cross-cultural studies (Hallinger and Leithwood 1996, Heck 1996, Bates 1992); and various ethnographic sources on PNG and Melanesian traditional and contemporary leadership. A number of significant findings have emerged through this research study. The first, relates to a firm view of traditional PNG/Melanesian leadership as a 'shared leadership', defined in this study as a shared influence relationship among members of a social unit through a mutual quest for their existence. The notion of shared leadership emphasises the importance of reciprocal generosity, cooperation and competition for Melanesians in their daily quest for their needs and aspirations based on mutual concern, care and devotion for one another. The great diversity of people and cultures of Melanesians also enriches the view of 'leadership as cultural practice' (Gerstner and O'Day 1995, Heck 1996, Bates 1992) and the interplay of 'education as cultural construction'. These insepearable concepts provide logical and promising framework both towards transcending knowledge, cultures and poeple, and an interest to engage in more cross-cultural research. This study identifies among the most pressing problems of contemporary leadership in PNG relates to the inability of leaders to transcend traditional knowledge and customary practices with the new Western knowledge and practices. In other words, the problems of transcending the notion of 'shared leadership' with Western leadership characterised by public accountability, credibility and integrity normally associated with leadership in public office cannot easily be matched and transferred. This study suggests a 'transcendent leadership model' as a potential solution toward achieving this end. Extending beyond one's own limits, to do something extraordinary and admirable for the common good is what transcendent leadership model suggests every leader must be able to do. The foundations of transcendent behaviour the literature suggests include: moral and ethical living (Starratt 1996); ambition, competence, and integrity (Bennis and Goldsmith 1994); and honesty, forward-outlook and inspiration (Kouzes and Posner 1993). The literature indicates that these qualities and skills require proper 'intellectual conditioning' (Ramoi 1987, Narakobi 1991), to produce 'educated persons' (Starratt 1996) who are able to understand, appreciate, critique, and participate in their cultures, traditions, and history. This study therefore investigates and defines the meanings, roles and functions of the concepts of leadership, culture and education in relation to the cross-cultural conditions of the work of SEOs in PNG.

Despite the globalization and cultures’ convergence, it is scholarly recognized that cross-cultural issues are important in a business context, especially for companies extending their activities internationally. However, existing theory does not provide an explicit answer of how cultural differences between countries influence customers’ perception of different aspects of marketing communication mix. That is why the underlying task of the current paper is to investigate if cross-cultural differences within the same geographic region are big enough to affect customers’ perception of marketing communication mix used. To facilitate a data collection, Central and Eastern European region represented by Ukraine and Czech Republic were chosen. As a reference tourism industry was used, due to its’ current significance, scale and global nature. Data was collected by conducting secondary and primary research, both having quantitative nature. Secondary data was collected through statistical offices and official on-line sources. For the primary research purposes a questionnaire survey was conducted among pre-defined target audience in Czech Republic and Ukraine. 300 responses obtained provided a solid basis for the further analysis.  Based on the relevant theory and secondary research findings four hypotheses were developed to address the research question “Does cross-cultural differences within Central and Eastern Europe affect the marketing communication mix in a specific industry?”. The study results provided that cultural differences exist not only between different regions, but also found within the same geographic region. When considered from marketing perspective, they are significant enough to influence customers’ preferences and perceptions of different aspects of marketing communication mix. The results obtained are specific for a particular case, so they can not be applied to some other countries. However, when it comes to marketing communication perceptions, the results can be used as guidelines by other industries then tourism