A cross-cultural confirmation of the dimensions of intercultural effectiveness

This study attempted to further our understanding of the construct of “intercultural effectiveness.” Specifically, the study compared the dimensions of intercultural effectiveness found in Hammer, Gudykunst, and Wiseman (1978) using American sojourners with the dimensions found using Japanese sojourners. The results revealed five dimensions for the Japanese sample: (1) the ability to communicate interpersonally, (2) the ability to adjust to different cultures, (3) the ability to deal with different societal systems, (4) the ability to establish interpersonal relationships, and (5) the ability to understand another. Both similarities and differences were found between the American perceptions and the Japanese perceptions of intercultural effectiveness. The implications of these results were then discussed.     

Phenomenology and hermeneutics: Evolving approaches to the study of intercultural and international communication

The thought models and theories of many individuals and disciplines have contributed to the study of human communication. In recent years scholars have become increasingly aware of the fact that methodologies superimposed upon the actual event of human communication have significantly shaped our perceptions of these events. Going beyond methodological approaches or quarrels, a phenomenological basis requires direct encounter with the event and an attempt to let methodology evolve out of that direct encounter, rather than attempting a so-called objective approach. Self, experience, values, and human relationships are of primary concern to the phenomenologist who sees meaning and interpretation as a unitary concept. Phenomenology thus concerns itself with understanding, and the bases for such understanding, rather than with the mere application of methodology. At the same time, phenomenology by its very approach, concerns itself not merely with the discovery of some abstract truth, but must be deeply concerned also with the improvement of the human condition founded in conscious experience. Behavior and meaning thus become conjoined. The ultimate aim of phenomenological studies becomes a concern with the ontological as well as the epistemological bases of human understanding.     

Text and metatext in Hersey's A Single Pebble from the perspective of intercultural communication

An interdisciplinary study of a literary text from the perspectives of both literary scholarship and communication studies is possible under the conditions of expanding applicability of communication models to other fields and the broadening of literary studies to include approaches formerly excluded. This study was undertaken to show the relevance of issues of intercultural communication and models of communication in general to the analysis of issues of concern to the student of literary texts, and to demonstrate the blending of two methodological standpoints. The novel A Single Pebble by John Hersey presents textual structures which complement its ostensible content of interaction by a member of one culture with the members of another. This complementarity may be examined through a model of the interplay of text and metatext in narrative fiction applied to the analysis of an incident in the plot centering upon the disappearance of the protagonist's watch. Because the watch is referred to in a peculiar metaphor at one point, a series of observations on its relationship to the characters, the narrator, and the author are generated in the process of reading out its significance. This is related to the basic situation of the experience of an individual in penetrating an alien culture. The metaphor in which reference to the watch is couched can be taken as emblematic of an ironic authorial stance in Hersey's account of a largely unsuccessful attempt at communication across cultures.     

Intercultural communication for health personnel

In order to develop successful health care delivery systems, both in the United States and abroad, health service workers need to understand various cultural orientations and to communicate effectively within the cultures. The authors discuss the cultural implications of health problems in three countries, the need for training health science professionals in intercultural communication, and describe an intercultural communication course designed especially for health science students at California State University, Northridge.     

Japanese intercultural communication competence and cross-cultural adjustment

This study explores the relationship between language and communication skills and patterns of success and failure in the cross-cultural adjustment of Japanese university students. Seven interpersonal communication skills which were selected by Ruben and Kealey as important to cross-cultural adjustment were examined: empathy, respect, role behavior flexibility, orientation to knowledge, interaction posture, interaction management, and tolerance for ambiguity. Besides these skills, language was taken into consideration as a major component influencing Japanese intercultural communication. The behavioral assessment method developed by Ruben was utilized to measure communicative performance and behaviors of Japanese university students who visited the United States for 4 weeks for their English training. In order to assess the language skills of these individuals, listening, speaking, structure and written expression, and vocabolary and reading comprehension skills were measured. At the end of their stay in the United States, the dimensions of culture shock, psychological adjustment, and interactional effectiveness were examined. Comparisons of pre- and post-test measures indicated that six out of the seven communication behaviors observed in the Japanese students did not predict success or failure in adjustment to the United States. Only ambiguity tolerance yielded correlation with culture shock. However, speaking and listening skills were closely correlated with interactional effectiveness.     

Kiowa forty-nine singing: A communication perspective

Kiowa Forty-Nine singing is a social activity in which important aspects of Kiowa culture are performed and revealed through traditional communicative activities. The purpose of this study was to examine forty-nining as it serves to reveal cultural patterns of interaction. Rooted in ethnomethodology, this field research combined personal interviews and content analysis. The data first provided a general characterization of forty-nining; subsequent analysis produced distinguishable, but interrelated, sets of rules which regulate the nature and structure of forty-nines. Patterns identified in the fortynines can be extended to other intratribal interaction, as well as to intercultural communication. Better conception of these interactive patterns may foster better understanding of Kiowa intercultural relations.     

Bilingualism,federal policy on bilingual education and intercultural relations

Bilingualism, or facility in two languages, is one of the most powerful tools employed in cross-cultural communication. Its effect is far greater than the simple improvement of understanding between two groups. Rather, bilingualism is a complex concept with demographic, socioeconomic, and political overtones. Though not always the case in the past, most governments are now sensitive to the questions surrounding bilingualism and are aware of the consequences of misguided policies. This paper discusses the background of bilingualism and bilingual education both within and outside of the United States. It presents an analysis of current federal government policy toward bilingual education and the implications for intercultural relations in the United States. These implications are discussed in terms of language use, education, employment, equal opportunity, politics, and international relations.     

The intercultural reentry: Conceptualization and directions for future research

While there has been extensive research on the cultural adjustment of sojourners to a foreign culture, there has been a dearth of literature examining the adjustment of returning sojourners to their home culture (reentry). In order to further understanding of this phenomenon, this article discusses the reentry process as one type of cultural adjustment. First, reentry is defined and described. Secondly, research investigating the two processes of adjustment to a foreign culture and readjustment to the home culture is reviewed, and the two processes are compared and contrasted. Finally, suggestions are made concerning future research.     

Finding and explaining differences: A reply to Gudykunst and Hammer

A rejoinder to Gudykunst and Hammer's critique of a recent paper is presented. We argue that their position is based on two mutually exclusive propositions and cannot therefore be credible. We continue to maintain that the evidence on intercultural effectiveness shows both culture-general and culture-specific components.     

Toward a unified conception of intercultural communication: An integrated systems approachVers un approche systemique et unifié de la communication interculturelle

Intercultural Communication theorizing appears to be divided into two schools, one stressing the personal psychological level, the other stressing the interpersonal process level of the communication vehicle itself. Neither is in itself sufficient for future theory building in the field. Towards a unifying systemic approach in intercultural, different theoretical perspectives are briefly reviewed in regard to these schools and a conception entailing intrapersonal (cognitive), interpersonal (interpretive) and systemic (synthetic) categories are derived. This approach clarifies and integrates some present theoretical insights of the field into a more comprehensive whole.     

Institutional completeness and communication acculturation: A comparison of Korean immigrants in Chicago and Hartford

This paper addresses the question of whether the institutional completeness of an ethnic community affects the communication acculturation patterns of the members of that ethnic community. The study examines the effects of institutional completeness upon the ethnic interpersonal and mass communication patterns. The research question was tested by applying some of the methods used in a study of a very institutionally complete ethnic group, the Chicago Korean community, studied by Young Kim, to a less institutionally complete ethnic group, the Greater Hartford Korean community. The results indicate that there are differences in some of the communication patterns which can be seen as evidence that the institutional completeness of an ethnic community influences certain aspects of the communication acculturation patterns of the immigrants within that community.     

International perceptions across the sea: Patterns in Japanese young adults

The international perceptions of Japanese young adults were explored in 172 professional education students in two Tokyo colleges. They classified 30 nations according to their “current” and “future” affinity to Japan. Little difference was detected in the Q-sorts between institutions arid sexes, while the “current” and “future” sorts correlated .96 with each other. In cluster analyses, many two-nation units (e.g., Czechoslovakia-Yugoslavia) were found to be the building blocks for the overall pattern. The total configuration consisted of three broad groups: mostly Western European nations, problematical nations (China, Russia, Israel, Egypt, etc.), and remote and neutral nations. Structurally, the results were similar to those for American young adults, but the contents were different. The notion of cultural metastereotypes thus received tentative support.     

Rural women in development: Veil of invisibility,world of workFemmes rurales et le developpement: Voile d'invisibilite,monde de travailLas mujeres rurales en el desarrolo: El velo de las invisibilidad,en mundo del trabajo

Over the last decade, evidence has been accumulating that the process of development has resulted more frequently in greater economic marginalization than benefits for poor rural women in much of the Third World. Yet recent efforts aimed at incorporating these poor non-urban women into development have been hampered by the “veil of invisibility” hiding their past and present conditions and contributions. This article formulates some hypotheses concerning female invisibility as well as productivity, and then contrasts the extant view of rural Third World women as relatively unproductive with (1) evidence drawn from evolutionary history, and (2) data from new micro-level and UN studies. The former indicates that women were the primary producers in most pre-agrarian human groups. The latter indicate that women continue to produce approximately half the world's food, although there is dramatic regional variation. The article concludes with an analysis of the statistical biases and stereotypes that obscure these contributions and briefly indicates the cost of this invisibility to the countries involved as well as to the women themselves.     

The effect of a planned intercultural experience on the attitudes and behavior of the participants

This study examines changes in a group of Australian student teachers and staff members who participated in a relatively short but planned educational visit to Israel. The touring group and a control group completed questionnaires before and after the tour, including semantic differential scales on concepts relevant to Israel and Australia. As a result of the tour, the participants adopted some changes in behavior and became aware of their own culture; they became more tolerant towards other peoples and cultures and developed a stronger opinion that travel is a broadening experience.     

The impact of intercultural contact on host families

This paper reports the results of programmatic research focusing upon the host family component of the Council of International Programs (CIP) exchange program that brings human service professionals to the United States each year. The study shows that four major dimensions of intercultural contact identified in intercultural literature (personal development, intimacy, international networks, and better understanding of foreign affairs) are clearly promoted through the CIP host family experience. The study supports the usefulness of a host family component as part of intercultural exchange programs.     

Images of life in America: The impact of American T.V. in Israel

The present study sets out to uncover young Israelis' perceptions of the American reality using the postulates and methodology of the cultivation analysis approach to mass communication. The comparison of the perceptions of “light” and “heavy” T.V. viewers with measures of the actual reality reveals that heavy viewers demonstrate a strong and consistent tendency to paint a rosier picture of life in the U.S., in terms of wealth and standard of living, even when other factors (age, gender, residence and ethnic group) are held constant. The findings of this study have methodological implications concerning the study of media effects as well as theoretical implications regarding the ongoing debate on “media imperialism.”     

Interethnic perception and the communication behavior among five ethnic groups in Hawaii

The purpose of this paper was to explore interethnic perception in an ethnically mixed society, and to examine the relationship between the degree of stereotyping toward certain ethnic groups and interethnic interpersonal communication and social capacity variables, such as education, age, occupational status, length of stay in the U.S., and English fluency. The study focused on three major aspects of stereotyping: homogeneity, polarity, and favorableness of interethnic attitudes. Homogeneity was defined as the degree to which an individual differentiates dimensions of perception, while polarity was the degree of extremity—either positive or negative—of perception. Favorableness was the degree of positive attitude toward other ethnic groups.The study was based upon a random survey conducted from 1978 to 1979 of five ethnic groups in Hawaii, including 401 Koreans, 203 Japanese, 200 Caucasians, 199 Samoans, and 208 Filipinos. Six bipolar dimensions of perception were explored: responsible-irresponsible, friendly-unfriendly, independent-dependent, good-bad, hard working-lazy, and wise-foolish. The results indicated that interethnic interpersonal communication had the strongest relationship with the level of favorableness. The hypothesized relationships between the social capacity variables and stereotyping were statistically significant, although the magnitude of the relationships were small.