KFC and McDonald’s are two representatives of American fast food brands who are operating in China.Considering the cultural differences between American and Chinese culture, whether and how they adaptthemselves to the Chinese culture caught the authors’ attention. This thesis aimed to explore the culturaladaptation patterns of these two brands, and find out what factors contribute to a successful culturaladaptation model from customers’ perspective.In order to find the answer, the authors based this study on academic theories and studies together withobjective information of KFC and McDonald’s, and carried on a survey based on Chinese market. Aftercombining empirical findings and analysis, two models were derived for KFC and McDonald’srespectively. After the analysis, this thesis also discussed implication and limitation of the results, andsuggestion for future study was presented.

<p>This analysis deals with the difficulties in translating a medical text from English into Swedish. As primary source, I have used a British textbook about geriatrics called Nursing Older People which is aimed at university students of nursing. The selected chapter is called Person-centred dementia care written by the authors Sue Davies, Barry Aveyard and Ian J. Norman. The translation difficulties have involved terminology and cultural aspects. This analysis shows how these problems were tackled by studying different translation theories, such as Munday (2001) who refers to Koller’s theory about equivalence and Vinay & Darbelnet’s model of direct translation and oblique translation as well as Ingo (2007) who accounts for text sort conventions.</p><p>The terminological problems involved choosing the most appropriate term for describing diagnosis, diseases, body organs and symptoms. There was a wide variety of terms from old Graeco-Latin terms to English terms coined in the 1990s. Other terms were related to the international field of epidemiology as well as the organisation of care for the elderly, based on the Swedish Social Services Act. A suitable choice was possible by considering aspects like frequent usage of field specific words and collocations in parallel texts.</p><p>The cultural aspects involved cultural references such as differences between Sweden and the UK as for national institutions and organisations. The solution was to find a cultural equivalent or, when this was not possible, explain the term in a footnote.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and study how Swedish managers manage cross-cultural differences and how their management style is adapted to foreign cultures. This thesis could contribute to getting a deeper understanding of how Swedish management is adapted to foreign cultures. The empirical material in this study has been collected through qualitative interviews with four different Swedish managers with experience of managing abroad. The theoretical framework is based on the concepts cultural dimensions, management and cross-cultural adaptation which also are the three concepts in our conceptual framework. The conceptual framework is present in the interview template, the empirical chapter and the analysis to provide the thesis with a clear line of argument. The empirical chapter describes how the Swedish managers have dealt with the challenges of working in a foreign culture and how they have adapted their management to another culture.In the analysis the empirical material is analyzed with the help of the theoretical framework. In the analysis the effect of cultural dimensions is discussed in relations to Swedish management and which challenges a Swedish manager encounter when managing abroad. The conclusion indicates that Swedish managers seem to adapt their management style to the extent that they have to be more clear and strict in their management and they have to make a lot more decisions. It seems to be a linkage between to what extent Swedish mangers have to adapt their management style to the local culture and what kind of management position they have.

The researcher conducted an ethnographic study looking at how employers can build more inclusive workplaces and support the adaptation of immigrants into the Canadian workplace culture. The research consisted of ethnographic interviews with 15 immigrant employees living and working in British Columbia. The focus of the research study was to investigate how the various aspects of the employer-sponsored programs influence the cross-cultural adaptation from the perspective of the immigrant employee. Results from the study support that immigrant friendly practices and initiatives facilitate the adaptation process of immigrant employees. Practical implications and recommendations for employers are also discussed in the study.

I report on the findings of an inductive, interpretive multiple-case study of organizational cross-cultural adaptation and answer the question of how foreign companies can overcome the challenges of fitting into their host environment. Based on in-depth interview data from nine Chinese firms operating in the United States, I explore the content and drivers of firm-level cross-cultural adaptation. The emergent framework demonstrates a dynamic and comprehensive process at the firm level, involving a multilevel and multidimensional adaptation to fit through social networking. The identified patterns of adaptors reveal the link between cross-cultural adaptation and functional fitness of firms in a foreign environment. The study also identifies the boundary conditions of the cross-cultural adaptation of foreign firms. In addition, the study highlights the previously underserved aspect of functional fitness in a foreign environment and its essential role in influencing a firm’s overseas performance.

This study investigated certain aspects of the cross-cultural adaptation process of Afghan returnees who have repatriated from Iran to Afghanistan. The study’s particular focus is the issue of cross-cultural adaptation in the current context of Afghanistan; that is, what challenges face Afghans returning from Iran to their country of origin following years of exile in Iran. Afghan immigration to Iran has a long history. Using Young Yun Kim’s cross-cultural adaptation theory as the leading theoretical framework, the researcher investigated the cultural adaptation of those who have lived in Iran for more than 10 years and have repatriated voluntarily to Afghanistan at least three years before the data for this thesis were gathered. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for collecting primary data from participants for the thesis. Twelve young returnees from Kabul City, aged 18 to 40, volunteered to take part in the interviews. Results revealed that language barriers, cultural knowledge and environmental challenges were some of the dominant difficulties that returnees experienced after their repatriation. Furthermore, the findings showed that the three main strategies used by the young returnees to adapt to their unfamiliar, new environment of Kabul City included social interaction, using mass media, and keeping an open mind on current issues. The findings of the interviews revealed the ongoing changing nature of identity formation of the returnees after their repatriation to Afghanistan and, also the majority of participants (9 out of 12) voiced a strong sense of belonging and attachment to Afghanistan.

Global diasporas caused by wars carry many streams of people - in the 1970s one of these streams contained orphans from Vietnam delivered to white parents in the West. On arrival, the social expectation was that these children would blend seamlessly into the culture of their adoptive parents. Now some adoptees, as adults, reflect on their lives as 'Asian' or racially 'Other' children in white societies, charting the critical points in their maturation. This thesis interrogates their life histories to explore the role of birth-culture in the self-definition of people removed from that culture at birth or in childhood. Thirteen adult adopted Vietnamese participants were interviewed. These interviews provided qualitative data on issues of racial and cultural identity. These data were developed and analysed, using a framework drawn from symbolic interactionism and cultural studies, in order to reveal the interpersonal dynamics in which people were involved, and the broader cultural relations that sustained them. The findings reveal that in early childhood the adopted Vietnamese identity process was shaped by a series of identifications with, and affirmations of, sharing their adoptive parents racial and cultural identity. Such identifications were then challenged once the adoptees entered society and were seen by others as different. The participants' attempts to locate a secure sense of self and identity within the world they are placed in are disturbed by numerous uncertainties surrounding racial and cultural difference. One of the most crucial uncertainties is the adopted Vietnamese knowledge about their cultural background. While most felt they lacked positive knowledge about Vietnam and racial diversity, their sense of identity was unsettled by experiences with racism and negative cultural stereotypes throughout their late childhood to adolescence. As their recognition and acceptance of their difference develops in adulthood, they experience a degree of empowerment due to their being able to access more knowledge about their cultural background and a greater appreciation of racial diversity. Many participants have formed closer ties with other people born in Vietnam, most notably other adoptees; most returned to visit Vietnam. The thesis concludes that those adoptees who were able to develop an understanding of the Vietnamese and other backgrounds to their complex identities, tended to be more integrated as adults than those who either rejected or were unable to come to terms with their Vietnamese ancestry.

The purpose of this grant proposal is to develop a toolkit to support school teams in the development and implementation of culturally responsive Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS). The toolkit is necessary to help school teams address lingering disparities in discipline and to improve school climate. Exclusionary discipline, such as out of school suspensions and expulsion, disproportionately affects ethnically and racially diverse students, and has a devastating effect on student outcomes, including academic achievement, attendance, and graduation. Ethnically and racially diverse students are also more likely to be given a disciplinary consequence for behaviors that require a subjective interpretation of the student’s behavior, which can be influenced by implicit bias. In schools that have implemented PBIS, exclusionary discipline has been shown to decrease overall, but disproportionate discipline persists. The development of a culturally responsive toolkit will support the efforts of school PBIS teams to decrease disproportionate discipline outcomes. The toolkit will assist school teams with the cultural adaptation of core features of PBIS by providing a process for addressing contextual fit of the school and soliciting feedback from the school community. The methodological approach for this project includes both qualitative and quantitative processes. An expert panel will be convened to address the complexities of implementation and cultural adaptation within the context of PBIS. The culturally responsive PBIS toolkit will consist of a comprehensive series of recommended practices, contextual considerations, evaluation tools, and resources, to be used concurrently with analysis of schoolwide data. The toolkit will be piloted in schools in the Pacific Northwest and then disseminated.

abstract: Today, in the internet-age with global communication every day, it is more important than ever to learn how best to communicate across cultures. However, a review of literature and localization research reveals no studies comparing written communication preferences between cultures using the English language. This gap in research led me to my question–How do localization needs or preferences differ between English-speakers in the U.S. and Canada? To answer my research question, I created a study focused on written communication using a quality measure after consulting the IBM rubric (Hofstede, 1984). I incorporated a demographics questionnaire, a sample document of an Alberta Government brochure, and a survey to measure participant perceptions of quality for use with the sample document. Participants for the study were recruited from Phoenix, Arizona and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. All participants reviewed the Canada-based sample document and answered the questions from the survey. The survey responses were designed to obtain data on culturally specific variables on contexting, which were critical in understanding cultural differences and communication preferences between the two groups. Results of the data analysis indicate differences in cultural preferences specific to language, the amount of text, and document organization. The results suggest that there may be more significant differences than previously assumed (Hall, 1976) between U.S. and Canadian English-speaking populations. Further research could include a similar study using a U.S.–based document and administering it to the same target population. Additionally, a quality-based measure could be applied as a way of understanding other cultures for localization needs, since inadequate localization can have an adverse impact on perceptions of quality. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Technical Communication 2018

Hardiness é um conceito que está cada vez mais sendo usado com a finalidade de explicar as possíveis diferenças individuais no enfrentamento do stress. Os instrumentos de medida de hardiness são em língua inglesa, dos quais optou-se pela adaptação cultural da Hardiness Scale, original dos Estados Unidos da América, de autoria de Bartone, Ursano, Wright e Ingraham (1989). Sua finalidade é avaliar o quanto de atitudes Hardy as pessoas têm no enfrentamento de situações estressantes. É uma escala do tipo Likert, com escores que variam de 0 (nada verdadeiro) a 3 (totalmente verdadeiro), possui 30 itens que são distribuídos em três domínios (Compromisso, Controle e Desafio). Os objetivos deste estudo foram realizar a adaptação cultural da Hardiness Scale para a língua portuguesa do Brasil; avaliar a validade de construto e a confiabilidade da versão adaptada. As etapas propostas por Ferrer et al (1996) foram obedecidas, a saber: 1. Tradução para língua portuguesa (Consenso: Versão I em Português); 2. Avaliação pelo Comitê de Revisão (Versão II em Português); 3. Retradução (Back translation); 4. Avaliação semântica dos itens (Versão III em Português); 5. Pré-teste (Versão Final Português) e 6. Análise das propriedades da medida adaptada. A coleta de dados da aplicação do instrumento foi realizada junto aos enfermeiros do serviço público de saúde de dois municípios do interior do estado de São Paulo, totalizando 71 participantes. A confiabilidade interna medida com o uso de Alpha de Cronbach obteve os seguintes valores: para a composição da escala foi de 0,732, enquanto que os domínios apresentaram alfa de 0,683 para Compromisso, 0,632 para Controle e 0,441 para Desafio. Na análise da Escala de Hardiness adaptada quanto à validade de construto obteve-se relação positiva e significante com o Inventário de Estratégias de Coping de Folkman e Lazarus, e negativa e significante com o Inventário de Depressão de Beck. Pode-se concluir que a Escala de Hardiness apresenta-se adaptada para a língua portuguesa do Brasil, com consistência interna satisfatória e validade de construto na população estudada e seus achados corroboram com a literatura corrente / Hardiness is a concept that is increasingly being used in order to explain possible individual differences in the coping of stress. The instruments for measuring hardiness are in English language and of witch opted for the cultural adaptation of the Hardiness Scale, original United States of America, by Bartone, Ursano, Wright and Ingraham (1989). Its purpose is to assess how much Hardy attitudes the people have in coping with stressful situations. It is a Likert-type scale, with scores ranging from 0 (not true) to 3 (completely true), it contains 30 items that are distributed in three domains (Commitment, Control and Challenge). The objectives of this study were to perform cultural adaptation of the Hardiness Scale into Portuguese of Brazil, to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of the adapted version. The steps proposed by Ferrer et al. (1996) were followed, namely: 1. Translation to Portuguese language (Consensus: Version I in Portuguese), 2. Evaluation by the Committee of Review (Version II in Portuguese), 3. Back translation, 4. Semantics evaluation of the items (Version III in Portuguese), 5. Pre-test (Final Version Portuguese) and 6. Analysis of the properties of the adapted measure. The data from the application of the instrument was conducted with nurses from the public health service in two cities country side of São Paulo State, totalizing 71 participants. The internal reliability measured by use of Cronbach\'s Alpha achieved the following values: for the composition of the scale was .732, while the areas showed Commitment to .683, .632 for Control and 0.441 to Challenge. In the analysis of the adapted Hardiness Scale concerning the validity of construct obtained significant and positive relation with the Inventory of Coping Strategies of Folkman and Lazarus, and negative and significant with the Beck Depression Inventory. It can be concluded that the Hardiness Scale, it is adapted to the Portuguese language of Brazil, with satisfactory internal consistency and construct validity in the studied population and its findings corroborate with current literature