This study focuses on confrontational behavior patterns exhibited by Japanese and U.S. college students in the Portland Metropolitan area. Four questions are addressed: 1) is there a difference Japanese and U.S. confrontation styles? 2) do Japanese use differing confrontation styles depending upon whom they are interacting with? 3) do U.S. individuals use differing confrontation styles depending upon whom they are interacting with? and 4) is there a significant gender difference between Japanese and U.S. confrontation styles? In addition, correlations between the Japanese and U.S. reported confrontation styles and their demographic data are examined.

In this study, various communicative strategies that young children employed to create and develop pretend play with peers in the block center were examined. Two preschools, one in Korea and the other in the United States, were selected. Subjects were children in the 4-year-old classroom in each school. The average age of the children at the time of the investigation was 59 months. For data collection, videotaping, audiotaping, field-note taking, interviews with teachers, and school enrollment records were used. During pretend block play, children created talk and actions in order to deal with challenges related to various aspects of play (e.g., accessory play materials, construction, plot, and enactment). Accordingly, children's communicative strategies were categorized as follows: (a) material communication, (b) construction communication, (c) plot communication, and (d) enactment. Also, subcategories under each category were developed. It was found that, in different phases of play in which they faced different types of challenges, children used certain strategies more often (communication about material selection and construction definition were most frequently used in the initiation phase of play). In terms of cultural aspects of the pretend play, in the Korean setting, the following were noticed: (a) a rigidly formed participant structure in which several positions were available, (b) the use of various comparison strategies, and (c) an overwhelmingly prevalent play theme: "The good guys winning over the bad guys." In the American setting, the following aspects were common: (a) frequent calling for the teachers when conflicts involving the ownership issue arose, (b) negotiable play atmosphere, and (c) consequent ample negotiation. Implications for educators as to how to encourage children to participate more in pretend play with peers in the block center were provided. Recommendations for further research pertained to the following: (a) methodological progress in studying children's play, (b) use of categories developed in this study, and (c) detecting individual differences that could shed light on optimal assistance of child development.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This research stems from the problems that may be encountered in an attempt to accompany the non-adult towards proper adulthood in the absence of both communication and educative intervention in the educative occurrence. The educator may fail to render his educative task adequately without communieating with the child and intervening educati vely in his life; and the child may be deprived of his opportunity of becoming a responsible adult. A human child, particularly in the industrialised societies, is confronted by various phenomena with which he often fails to communicate normatively. This investigation is an endeavour to reveal the essentiality of communication during the educative intervention, that is, in guiding the child to refrain from immoral, non-normative and unacceptable activities and all that violates cultural adulthood according to the norms, values and standards prevailing in that particular community. It further aims at disclosing that communication in the educative sense implies educative intervention, failing which communication becomes meaningless. Educative intervention and communication are, in truth, inseparable during the educative occurrence and they should supplement and enhance each other, because their separation may imply the nullification of the educative guidance on the part of the educator and the denial of the child's opportunity of attaining acceptable adulthood. In order to assist the child to gradually actualise his adulthood, the educator who intervenes in his life should be a devoted communicator who strives to communicate (verbally and non-verbally) his knowledge, feelings, beliefs and attitudes to the child while upholding his status of adulthood. It is not expected of the true educator to communicate well about normative adulthood verbally and simultaneously violate this through his nonverbal communication which includes all unacceptable physical activities which erode the dignity of adulthood. It implies, therefore, that in his attempt to guide the child to comply and respect the aspects, conditions and criteria of adulthood the educator should respect and comply with them verbally and non-verbally. A responsible person is expected to maintain and promote adulthood through both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Fundamental Pedagogics)

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / Communication is the basis of all relationships. Be it personal or professional, people cannot do without healthy and effective communication especially, when it comes to business. Good communication skills are of vital importance. While most countries do speak English, which is the globally accepted ‘business’ language, there are still big challenges with language as well as cultural differences. This study aimed to investigate the role of interpersonal communications in manag- ing South African – German business relationships. The objective of this study was, firstly, to identify which communication channels South African business organiza- tions use to communicate with German businesses and, secondly, to explore the associated problems experienced by South African business people. Based on the investigated problems, recommendations were provided on the technical level and the personal level as to how communication can be made more effective to improve South African and German business relationships. In order to accomplish the objectives of the study, a quantitative study was con- ducted by means of self-administered e-mail based questionnaires. In addition, a qualitative study was conducted using self-administered interviews based on the quantitative results of this study. In both cases, the respondents were purposively selected. Conclusions and recommendations were thereafter drawn from the findings of the study in comparison with the literature review. The results showed that effective communication in business is not as easy as it of- ten seems. There are problems in business communications between South African and German business partners mainly based on the cultural differences. The report recommended that companies should invest more in training and work- shops in order to help communication partners to understand cultures abroad and to understand the communication habits of overseas business people.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Affirming or positive family communication is an important aspect in helping families and individuals protect themselves against various life challenges (Greeff & Du Toit, 2009; Greeff & Van der Merwe, 2004; Norman, 2000). According to Barnes and Olson (1985), affirming family communication plays an important role in an adolescent’s development. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between affirming family communication and family functioning. The relationships between family functioning and the quality of communication between the adolescent and the father and mother respectively were also investigated. Then, as the main focus of the present study, affirming family communication was explored qualitatively from the perspective of the adolescents. A quantitative survey research design was combined with an exploratory, qualitative design. The quantitative data was collected with self-report questionnaires, while the qualitative data was gathered by recording a discussion of affirming family communication in focus groups. The participants were first-year Psychology students of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. A total of 83 females and 17 males took part in the quantitative component of the present study (N = 100). Fourteen of these 100 students also took part in the focus group discussions. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed a significant positive correlation between affirming family communication and family functioning. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between family functioning and openness in communication between the adolescent and the mother and father respectively. The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that openness in communication with the mother, affirming family communication and problems in communication with the father were important predictors of family functioning. Three core categories (with sub-categories) emerged from the content analysis of the focus group discussions on affirming family communication. These core categories were verbal affirming communication, non-verbal affirming communication and functional affirming communication. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of affirming family communication, especially in families with adolescent children, while also providing a description of affirming family communication from the adolescents’ perspectives. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Bevestigende of positiewe gesinskommunikasie is ’n belangrike aspek wat gesinne en individue in staat stel om hulself teen verskeie lewensuitdagings te beskerm (Greeff & Du Toit, 2009; Greeff & Van der Merwe, 2004; Norman, 2000). Volgens Barnes and Olson (1985) speel bevestigende gesinskommunikasie ’n belangrike rol in die ontwikkeling van ’n adolessent. Hierdie studie het gepoog om die verhouding tussen bevestigende gesinskommunikasie en gesinsfunksionering te bepaal. Die verhoudings tussen gesinsfunksionering en die kwaliteit van kommunikasie tussen die adolessent en elk van die ouers is ook ondersoek. Laastens is bevestigende gesinskommunikasie, as die hoof fokus van hierdie ondersoek, op ’n kwalitatiewe wyse vanaf die adolessent se perspektief ondersoek. ’n Kwantitatiewe opname-navorsingsontwerp is gekombineer met ’n eksploratiewe, kwalitatiewe ontwerp. Die kwantitatiewe data is met behulp van selfrapporteringsvraelyste ingesamel en die kwalitatiewe data is ingesamel deur ’n opname te maak van ’n bespreking van bevestigende gesinskommunikasie in fokusgroepe. Die deelnemers was eerstejaar Sielkunde-studente van die Universiteit van Stellenbosch in Suid-Afrika. ’n Totaal van 83 vroue en 17 mans het aan die kwantitatiewe komponent van die ondersoek deelgeneem (N = 100). Veertien van hierdie 100 studente het ook aan die fokusgroepbesprekings deelgeneem. Pearson korrelasiekoëffisiënte toon hoogs beduidende korrelasies tussen bevestigende gesinskommunikasie en gesinsfunksionering. Verder is daar ook hoogs beduidende korrelasies gevind tussen gesinsfunksionering en openheid in kommunikasie tussen die adolessent en die ma en pa onderskeidelik. Die resultate van die meervoudige regressieontledings het getoon dat openheid in kommunikasie met die ma, bevestigende gesinskommunikasie en probleme in kommunikasie met die pa belangrike voorspellers was van gesinsfunksionering. Op grond van die fokusgroepbesprekings oor bevestigende gesinskommunikasie het drie kernkategorieë (met subtemas) deur ’n inhoudsanalise na vore gekom. Hierdie kernkategorieë is verbale bevestigende kommunikasie, nie-verbale bevestigende kommunikasie en funksionele bevestigende kommunikasie. Die bevindinge van hierdie ondersoek beklemtoon die belangrikheid van bevestigende gesinskommunikasie, veral in gesinne met adolessente kinders, terwyl dit ook ’n beskrywing bied van bevestigende gesinskommunikasie vanuit die perspektief van adolessente.

The aim of this study is to determine whether the targeted university students have a more equal picture regarding Africa than what the Swedish society in general has, which by Sida’s researches has shown to be an oldfangled picture. The research is based on a quantitative method in terms of a survey that in total reached out to 286 responding students at the Linnaeus University in Växjö. The theoretical framework is based on the Digital Divide, Diffusion of Innovation and The model of Newsworthiness. The research discusses the oldfangled picture of Africa that remains within the Swedish society, why it remains and what different characters that is to be blamed for the formation, as well as it presents optional efforts that could be used to update the picture of Africa. The result from the survey shows that neither do Swedish students at the Linnaeus University possesses a more updated picture, even though they are said to belong to a privileged group in the society, in the manner of access to information from both media, education, Internet and other diverse sources. We conclude that there is a gap in the information distribution regarding Africa, what information that is available for the Swedish society is mostly negative and oldfangled. What can be argued to be an optional solution to this remaining problem is a closure of the digital divide, which would provide an important interpersonal communication channel that is missing today. This is further explained in the thesis with support of earlier researches together with theories and result.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / English / Master / Master of Philosophy

This dissertation advances the affordance utilization model (AUM), which addresses the use of communication modes affordances in personal relationships. Drawing from social penetration theory and research regarding two communication mode affordances--asynchronicity and reduced cues--the AUM predicts that these affordances are positively associated with certain conversational outcomes (specifically, conversational effectiveness and appropriateness, and self-disclosure breadth and depth) but that these associations vary as a function of relationship development. As relationships become more developed, the AUM predicts that communication mode affordances exert less impact on conversational effectiveness, conversational appropriateness, and self-disclosure in conversations in relationships. As a result, the associations between communication mode affordance use and these conversational outcomes are attenuated by relationship development. Regarding self-disclosure depth, the AUM predicts that the association between communication mode affordance use and self-disclosure depth is greatest at moderate levels of relationship development. The AUM also predicts that both use and perceived importance of affordances as a proportion of communication in relationships will decrease as those relationships become more developed. Two studies were conducted to test the AUM. The first surveyed participants regarding their most recent conversation in either a friendship (N = 147) or romantic relationships (N = 166). The second study was a diary study in which participants (N = 64) filled out a short survey after every conversation with their partner for four days. The results of the two studies provide mixed support for the AUM. Although importance of affordances was not associated with relationship development, use of affordances was generally negatively associated with relationship development, as predicted. In general, conversational appropriateness was positively associated with the use of communication mode affordances, and conversational effectiveness, self-disclosure breadth, and self-disclosure depth were negatively associated with affordances. In Study 1, increased relationship development attenuated the association between perceived asynchronicity and both conversational appropriateness and self-disclosure breadth in romantic relationships. In Study 2, increased relationship development attenuated the association between perceived reduced cues and conversational effectiveness. These findings and their implications for the AUM are discussed, and future research directions for the AUM are suggested.