The relationship between student sojourner perceptions of intercultural competencies and previous sojourn experience

This study investigated the relationship between perceived intercultural competence and sojourn experience. Three groups of student sojourners with varying amounts of intercultural experience (none, less than three months, 3–12 months) completed an 18-item questionnaire measuring four general areas of intercultural competence, drawn from previous literature. First, sojourner ratings were submitted to factor analysis which confirmed the four conceptual dimensions found in previous literature, with slight modifications: Awareness of Self and Culture, Awareness of Implications of Cultural Differences, Interpersonal Flexibility and Ability to Facilitate Communication. Scales were constructed from the individual items and ratings of the three sojourner groups were compared on ratings of their perceived competence on the four dimensions. Results of the statistical analysis revealed significant differences among the three groups on two of the four dimensions of intercultural competence: Sojourners with the most intercultural experience (3–12 months) rated their ability significantly higher than those with no experience on: Awareness of Self and Culture, and Ability to Facilitate Communication. Results are examined for implications for future research and application.     

The cultural correlates of learning poverty: The roles of long-term orientation and power distance

Learning poverty, defined as being unable to read and understand a simple text by the end of primary school, is a critical social problem. Past studies on learning poverty have mostly focused on the role of economic and demographic factors but have seldom explored the role of culture. To address this gap, we examined whether national cultural values (i.e., power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and indulgence) were associated with learning poverty in 45 countries. Ecological analyses indicated that among the different cultural values, long-term orientation was negatively associated with learning poverty, but power distance was positively associated with it. These associations remained robust after accounting for the roles of economic and demographic factors. These findings extend the literature on learning poverty by emphasizing the cultural correlates of learning poverty. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory: A conceptual framework and measure of intercultural conflict resolution approaches

Grounded in the pragmatics of human communication perspective, the current study examined how disagreements and emotion function across cultural context in resolving conflict. Specifically, the research effort developed the Intercultural Conflict Style (ICS) inventory, a 36-item measure of intercultural conflict resolution style based on two core dimensions: Direct vs. indirect approaches to dealing with disagreements and emotionally expressive vs. emotionally restrained patterns for dealing with the affective dimension of conflict interaction. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) found the proposed two-factor model was a good fit to the data. Analysis of the CFA findings identified a final set of 18 direct/indirect items and 18 emotional expressiveness/restraint items. The direct/indirect scale obtained a coefficient alpha of .73 and the emotional expressiveness/restraint scale achieved .85 reliability. Validity testing of the scales found no significant effects by gender, education or previous intercultural living experience. A theoretical framework for understanding differences in conflict resolution styles grounded in the development of this inventory, a practical, four-quadrant intercultural conflict resolution style model is proposed based on high/low levels of directness and high/low levels of emotional expressiveness: (1) discussion style (direct & emotionally restrained), (2) engagement style (direct & emotionally expressive), (3) accommodation style (indirect & emotionally restrained) and (4) dynamic style (indirect and emotionally expressive).     

Training issues in cross-cultural orientation

In this article the author presents an overview of the subsequent articles in this special issue of IJIR. The articles were originally presented as papers at a seminar held in Minneapolis in November 1984: “Cross-Cultural Orientation: Theories, Practices, Problems and Solutions. ” The author first reviews each article, highlighting the major contribution of each author and then identifies common themes that emerge in the papers. Finally, she presents several areas that need to be addressed by researchers and practitioners in conceptualizing, designing, and implementing cross-cultural orientation training.     

Intergroup contact in context: The mediating role of social norms and group-based perceptions on the contact–prejudice link

The prejudice-reducing effects of intergroup contact have been well documented. However few studies have investigated the importance of the broader context within which contact occurs. The current study examined the predictors of social distance from Muslims in a large sample of Australian secondary school children (N = 980). Intergroup contact was an important predictor of reduced social distance even after demographics and perceptions of parents, school, media and broader intergroup dynamics were taken into account. However, in part the contact–social distance relationship was mediated by perceived parental support for intergroup relations and perceived fairness of media representation. Student's perceptions of broader group dynamics relating to collective threat and differentiation between groups impeded the relationship. The findings attest to the importance of the broader context within which contact occurs. Having contact with outgroup members leads to reduced social distance to the outgroup, however perceived norms and outgroup perceptions play a pivotal role in explaining this relationship.     

Intercultural interaction and the categorization process: A conceptual analysis and behavioral outcome

Intercultural interaction is seen as a situation in which the way others' behavior is categorized (that is, given meaning) is often inaccurate or inappropriate due to unfamiliar cues. These errors cause incorrect expectation, which other research has found to cause decreases in problem solving ability, adaptability, and health. A better understanding of this phenomena can be gained through an awareness of how information is believed to be organized in meaningful ways in human thought: information is classified (categorized) on the basis of similarity. Since people vary in their category “width,” an understanding of “category width” should give useful insight into intercultural inferences. A review of three studies in fact supports the validity of this categorization approach in making predictions about individual's reactions to people of other cultures at both the attitudinal and behavioral level. Overall, the concepts of categorization and category width are seen as unifying constructs which bring together not only a number of intercultural phenomena but also have implications for understanding and training individuals in an intercultural context.     

Independent effectiveness: A reconsideration of cross-cultural orientation and training1

Despite the good intentions, high energy and unquestionable commitment of most people in the field, cross-cultural orientation and training programs are all too often ineffective because of unintended outcomes. There is a need for a new model, one which will move people toward developing/enhancing the skills they need to become independently effective cross-cultural sojourners. In order to achieve this aim, training and orientation programs must focus on “learning how to learn” rather than on learning a particular fact or set of information. The skill training, described in this article, allows sojourners to develop the means to deal with new situations after the program has ended. It grows out of rigorous experiential training methodology that is in turn based on sound principles of adult education. Rather than leading people toward conclusions (“Don't you think that…?”) or telling participants what they will learn from living abroad, this model requires of trainers an unusually disciplined combination of study, feedback and in-depth knowledge of the educational process.     

The “learning how to learn” approach to cross-cultural orientation

Since no amount of specific cultural information can prepare sojourners for every eventuality, orientation participants would benefit from “learning how to learn” about intercultural interaction. This paper discusses how to set goals, design curricula, and organize instruction for orientation programs wishing to teach participants to “learn how to learn.” An adaptation of Kolb's “Learning Cycle” is suggested as a format to assist program planning. The author would like to thank Judith Martin and R. Michael Paige for their suggestions on a draft of this paper.     

Social dominance orientation and differential affect toward immigrant origin groups: Evidence from three immigration-receiving countries

Recent evidence suggests that majority group members in immigration-receiving societies express differential levels of prejudice and stereotyping toward various immigrant origins. However, there is little research on whether this tendency to differentiate between more vs. less liked immigrant groups is informed by essential psychological motivations and systematically related to individual differences. In this paper, I test whether majority group members’ propensity to express greater differences in affect toward immigrant origins is associated with social dominance orientation. Using survey studies carried out in the Netherlands, the United States, and Britain, I demonstrate that majority group members’ tendency to express differential affect toward immigrant origins holds across national contexts. I also show that individual-level inclination to differentiate between more and less liked immigrant groups is consistently related to social dominance orientation in all three countries. Overall, my findings confirm the group-specific character of anti-immigration attitudes and highlight the role of social-dominance motivations in prejudice toward immigrants.     

Positive and negative intergroup contact and willingness to engage in intergroup interactions among majority (Han) and minority (Uyghur) group members in China: The moderating role of social dominance orientation

The present study investigated whether the associations of positive and negative intergroup contact with behavioral intentions (intentions to have contact with the outgroup in the future) are moderated by social dominance orientation (SDO), by considering the perspective of both majority and minority group members in China. Participants were 325 Han (majority) and 373 Uyghur (minority) members, who completed a self-report questionnaire. Results indicated that positive contact was associated with more positive behavioral intentions among high-SDO majority group members, whereas SDO did not moderate the association between positive contact and behavioral intentions among minority group members. In addition, negative contact was associated with lower behavioral intentions among high-SDO majority group members, and among low-SDO minority group members. This study suggests that attention should be placed simultaneously on positive and negative contact and on individual difference variables relevant to social ideologies, such as SDO.     

金沙江：中国西部龙——金沙江文化论稿之一

被人们称为“中国西部龙”的金沙江是长江的上游。金沙江化是长江化的一个重要组成部分。生息在金沙江流域的各族人民不仅创造和保存了丰富多彩的民族化，而且都认同是“龙的传人”，有着悠久的龙崇拜(包括蛇、鱼、马等灵物崇拜)的传统习俗。金沙江流域自古盛产黄金，所以又被称为“中国西部金龙”。同属于古蜀明不同阶段的三星堆遗址与金沙村遗址先后出土了极其丰富的黄金器物。过去，其来源被认为是一个谜。深入开展金沙江化研究，也许能为解开“黄金来源之谜”提供方向。     

The Singing Postman: The Mobility of Traditional Culture in Nineteenth-Century France

Nineteenth-century French traditional culture was not immobile. Nor was it a conservative impediment to ‘modernization’. Focusing on the ethnographic work of two folklorists – Félix Arnaudin (1844-1921) in the Landes, and Victor Smith (1826-1882) – this article explores the ways that traditional culture circulated, and the people that carried it. Far from sedentary ‘peasants’, many of the singers and storytellers the folklorists collected from were actively involved in modern transport networks and worked in new occupations. These hybrid networks suggest a picture of nineteenth-century culture ‘from below’ that flows along informal, regional conduits, both within and beyond the borders of France.     

寒夜捣衣

中国古代诗歌中咏“捣衣”，出现于魏晋南北朝时期，如晋·曹毗《夜听捣衣》诗：“寒兴御纨素，佳人治衣衾。冬夜清且永，皓月照堂阴。纤手叠轻素，朗杵叩鸣砧……”唐诗中有大量的捣衣诗，如杜甫的《捣衣》：“亦知戍不返，秋至试清砧。已近苦寒月，况经长别心。宁辞捣衣倦，一寄塞垣深。用尽闺中力，君听空外音。”刘长卿的《月下听砧》：“夜静掩寒城，清砧发何处?声声捣秋月，肠断卢龙戍。未得寄征人，愁霜复愁露。”杜荀鹤的《秋夜闻砧》：“荒凉客舍眠秋色，砧杵家家弄月明。不及巴山听猿声，三声中有不愁声。”古人捣衣诗均系借景寄…