Multinational Going Cultural: A Postcolonial Deconstruction of Cultural Intelligence

Abstract

Cultural intelligence (CQ) has emerged as a popular construct for understanding and dealing with the problems of cross-cultural adjustment and cross-cultural communication that transnational corporations face. In this article, we critique the discursive moves through which CQ is presented as a competitively advantageous tool for global organizations, deconstruct its theorization and measurement, and discuss its role in perpetuating transnational hegemony. This article thus exposes the implicit relationship between academic knowledge production and transnational organizational practice that maximizes profits while simultaneously downplaying transnational globalization's oppressive consequences such as job vulnerability, unemployment, and exploitation.     

When Transnational Civil Network Meets Local Context: An Exploratory Hyperlink Network Analysis of Northern/Southern NGOs' Virtual Network in China

Abstract

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are important communicators in the international arena, but few studies have explored the encounter between Northern NGOs (NNGOs) and Southern NGOs. This study examines how NNGOs build relationships with Chinese NGOs (CNGOs) online and how network positions affect the amount of local media coverage NNGOs receive. This study revealed three major findings: NNGOs occupied a disadvantageous network position; a close connection with CNGOs was crucial for NNGOs to attract media coverage; and NNGOs' and CNGOs' virtual networks demonstrated structural patterns similar to those of their offline networks. This study calls for attention to a mutually beneficial virtual communication structure.     

Cultural Similarities and Differences in Seeking Social Support as a Means of Coping: A Comparison of European Americans and Chinese and an Evaluation of the Mediating Effects of Self-Construal

Abstract

Two studies examined similarities and differences in how European Americans and Chinese view seeking social support as a strategy for coping with an upset. Participants (407 European Americans and 595 Chinese) completed instruments assessing the appropriateness of seeking social support and several self-reliant coping strategies (problem-solving, emotion management, avoidance) when confronting upsets. Both studies detected cultural and sex differences in support seeking. However, there were also substantial similarities in coping responses. Americans viewed seeking support as a more appropriate coping strategy than did Chinese. However, both Americans and Chinese viewed seeking support as more appropriate than the solitary coping strategies of avoidance and emotion management. Culture moderated sex differences in support seeking; American women viewed seeking social and emotional support as more appropriate than American men, whereas few sex differences were evident among the Chinese samples. Individual differences in interdependent and independent self-construals partially mediated cultural and sex differences in support seeking in Study 2; in addition, culture moderated the mediating effects of self-construal, with self-construal mediating sex differences among Americans but not among Chinese. The cultural and sex differences in self-construals, however, did not conform to theoretical expectations. Moreover, cultural and sex differences in self-construals were quite small in magnitude.     

Taiwan's Fifth Ethnic Group: A Study of the Acculturation and Cultural Fusion of Women who have Married into Families in Taiwan

Abstract

One of the under-studied effects of global migration has been an increase in transnational marriages. This phenomenon has greatly impacted Taiwan as women from Southeast Asian nations and Mainland China, through professional marriage brokers or personal contacts, enter into marriages with Taiwanese men. How well these women adapt to Taiwan's culture and learn its local languages is studied through the lens of two theories of intercultural communication: Kim's theory of cross-cultural adaptation and Kramer's theory of cultural fusion. Based upon in-depth interviews with 28 women, results show some support for both theories. However, the postulates of cultural fusion demonstrate a better fit: Learning is an additive process; long-term association with co-ethnics appears to correlate with greater satisfaction and adaptation; and women's negotiated identities follow a range of outcomes.     

Cultural intermediaries in the making of branded music events: digital cultural capital in tension

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have overlooked how intermediaries and their digital cultural capital enhance the relationship between brand values and consumer identities; their specific uses of digital technologies; and how those uses are displayed in activities where intermediaries create consumer experiences. This paper thus explores the role that cultural intermediaries (music bloggers and an advertising agency) and their digital cultural capital play in making and communicating a branded music event. Briefly, intermediaries used a set of digital technologies (social media, guest lists, blogs, and websites) to create and orchestrate an authentic and exclusive experience between brands and consumers. We draw on empirical material from interviews and ethnographic work conducted in Santiago, Chile. Our study identifies digital technologies used by cultural intermediaries in communicating branded music events, including as: promotional tools; advertising campaign efficacy evaluation mechanisms; and relational objects that connect advertising agencies, music bloggers, brands, and consumers. By exploring the tensions and conflicts that arise among bloggers and advertising executives, we shed light on the uses and exchanges of digital cultural capital for commercial purposes, resulting from the connections between intermediaries that come from different fields of cultural production.     

The Impact of Individual Differences and Group Diversity on Group Interaction Climate and Satisfaction: A Test of the Effective Intercultural Workgroup Communication Theory

Abstract

This study examined individual- and group-level effects of culture and cultural diversity on group interaction climate and satisfaction. Employees from 41 workgroups completed self-construal, face concern, interaction climate, and satisfaction questionnaires. Though analysis of ethnic diversity indicated that group diversity was positively related to perceptions of interaction climate, and had no association with satisfaction, multi-level analysis indicated that as ethnic diversity of the group increased, members of majority and minority ethnic groups had different perceptions of interaction climate and satisfaction. Results demonstrate the importance of considering individual-level manifestations of culture, group-level diversity, and the multi-level combination for workgroup analysis.     

城市历史文化街区的空间调查与活化利用途径探析 ——以绍兴鲁迅故里历史文化街区、八字桥历史文化街区为主例

历史文化名城绍兴的历史文化街区代表为鲁迅故里历史文化街区.但是因过去对历史文化街区认知的局限性,鲁迅故里历史文化街区在近30年的保护利用中有一些不足.如何从规划设计的角度去思考探索优化该街区的空间质量,发现其中的问题,从而给出较好的应对方法与措施是当前值得考虑的议题.根据实地走访与调研绍兴市鲁迅故里历史文化街区、八字桥...     

名城名校的文化教育社区综合体实践研究--以清华大学“苏世民学者项目(书院)”为例

在信息技术和现代社交网络转型的社会背景下,具有悠久历史文脉的著名大学已成为所在名城的文化遗产和景观资源。新时代的教育模式正转型为文化教育社区。提炼了国内外高等教育新的理论实践,以清华大学"苏世民书院"为研究对象,探讨文化教育综合体设计实践思路,即新型社交生态系统的文教社区模式。     

Still the Dark Continent: A Content Analysis of Research About Africa and by African Scholars in 18 Major Communication-Related Journals

Research about African communication and studies by African-affiliated authors remain scarce in the field of communication. To establish a comprehensive picture of the state of scholarship, 5,228 articles published in 18 top communication journals between 2004 and 2010 were reviewed. Articles were coded for topic nation, author affiliation, article type, category of communication studied, and research method. Thirty-nine Africa-focused articles including 25 authored by researchers from African institutions were found. Over half addressed health communication; most focused on Kenya and South Africa. Means are suggested by which the international scholarly community can partner to encourage African scholarship.