The current study explored coping strategies toward the context of discovering a partner's sexual infidelity. There were two primary goals for the current study. First, the current study examined the gender and national differences in conflict styles toward the context of discovering a partner's sexual infidelity. Second, the current study examined the relationship between face concerns and commitment. There were national and gender differences on self-construal face concern, face-concern and conflict styles in the current study. The current findings also suggested that face concern is moderating the relationship between commitment and conflict styles. The limitation and future directions were discussed as well as the clinical implications in the current study. / Ph. D.

Costume play (i.e. cosplay) is a performance of fandom rife with rituals and communication practices. Cosplay roleplaying performances are cultural practices that reveal how cosplayers interact with one another and among non-cosplaying members of their fandoms. This study examines the expectations that cosplayers hold for roleplay, the forms of roleplay, and the ways in which roleplay can become an instigator of harassment. Through the lens of Face-Negotiation Theory, the author discusses how roleplay functions to maintain or threaten the public images of cosplayers and their audiences, and what strategies cosplayers implement to avoid the loss of face.

It is well known that international project teams and collaboration partners are operating in complex cultural settings influenced by factors such as postcolonial power dynamics, communication differences and dissynergies in motivation. Such discrepancies may have impeding effects on end-results, according to some scholars of intercultural communication. This paper aims to explore similarities and differences in communication and collaboration perspectives through the lens of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) and Face Negotiation Theory (FNT). It does so by analysing qualitative data collected through in depth interviews with project team members from the NGO sector and the government in Cambodia. The project serving as an example case for this study is “An Inclusive Labour Market in Cambodia - Support to People with Disabilities 2021-2023”. The project is a collaboration between a Swedish government agency, five Cambodian NGOs, and a Finnish NGO as well as a number of international organisations operating in Cambodia. The Cambodian government, in particular National Employment Agency, (NEA), are also involved to anchor project results on a systematic level and create sustainability after the end of the project implementation period. The study agrees with postcolonial perspectives of international development and puts the Cambodian project partners’ perspective at the core of the analysis. In doing so, the aim is to outline and analyse differences and similarities found among representatives from different Cambodian stakeholders. In short, the key findings focus on how to strengthen communication and collaboration for more sustainable outcomes. In doing so, the study hopes to make a valuable contribution towards disability inclusion on the Cambodian labour market.