Minority Cultures and Social Media: Magnifying Garifuna

This paper looks at social media use by the Garifuna people. It explores how they are using social media to create a supraterritorial cyberscape. Despite the claim that global media is marginalising minority cultures and causing global homogenisation, this research found that newer forms of social media are in fact creating virtual cultural cyberscapes that are extending minority cultures. The Garifuna cultural response to social media can be demonstrative of the positive impact of social media minority perspectives. The larger implication, though, is that traditional geographical models of cultural space are becoming obsolete. In this research, a total of 60 Garifuna in locations all across the United States and Honduras were selected for participation. Their access to and use of media were examined.     

Intercultural Communication Training for English Language Teachers: A Case Study of an Immersion Program for South Korean Teachers

Little research has been conducted that explores connections between the fields of intercultural communication and English-language instruction. To address this gap, we report on an intercultural communication course delivered as an integral part of a short-term professional development immersion program for English-language teachers from South Korea. Study results indicate that intercultural communication training served to enhance participants’ pragmatics awareness along with sensitivity regarding sociocultural influences on communication that they experienced in situ. After the four-week course, most of the participants expressed desire and readiness to integrate intercultural communication into their teaching in South Korea. Intercultural communication training promises to complement pragmatics instruction aiming at improving English-language learning and teaching.     

Intergroup Contact,Media Exposure,and Racial Attitudes

The present investigation uses intergroup contact and media systems’ dependency theories to illuminate the relative significance of various sources of information in shaping Caucasian-American attitudes toward African-Americans. It uses empirical data from an exploratory survey of college students to build a chain of related variables that link primary sources of information (face-to-face versus mediated) to stereotypical beliefs, perceived internal causal attributions for African-Americans’ failures, and prejudicial feelings toward African-Americans. Results suggest that face-to-face sources of racial/ethnic out-group information are more effective than mediated sources in prejudice reduction. The discussion includes theoretical and practical implications of the findings.     

Cultural Diplomacy,Branding and the American Film Institute's Project: 20/20

The Global Cultural Initiative (GCI) was a flagship cultural diplomacy effort introduced by the Bush Administration in the mid-2000s; one project of this initiative was the American Film Institute's Project: 20/20, a program of 19 films from five continents scheduled to tour the United States and abroad. This paper is a historical exploration into how the Bush Administration reconstructed American identity and culture through framing, and how that framing was embedded within cultural diplomacy initiatives like the GCI. This paper contributes to an understanding of how intercultural dialogue is often based on key messages and constructed ideas.     

传播学视域下民族传统体育文化传承发展的困境与疏解*

基于传播学视角,分析民族传统体育文化传承发展的困境,主要体现在：传播主体定位存在偏差;传播路径较为狭窄;传播运行机制不畅;传播技巧缺乏创新性。提出了疏解对策,主要是：创新理念,科学定位;强化媒介,拓宽路径;完善机制、双方互动;创新方法、提升质量,推动民族传统体育创造性传承和创新性发展。     

Editor's introduction to the forum on defining applied communication scholarship

Although public meetings are a frequent method of public participation and risk communication, little research investigates what citizens think about their use in environmental management. To examine satisfaction with public meetings, residents of two neighboring communities received questionnaires following a public meeting about a local landfill. Respondents included residents who did and did not attend the meeting. Irrespective of whether respondents had ever attended a public meeting, meeting expectations and perceptions of relational/informational communication at meetings, including whether respondents thought meeting organizers were genuinely interested in participants' comments or meetings were informative, predicted satisfaction. Perceived risk associated with the recent meeting's topic and credibility of government agencies that frequently conduct meetings also predicted satisfaction.     

Does cross-cultural training in tertiary education enhance cross-cultural adjustment? A systematic review

The increasing cultural diversity within tertiary education and workplace environments requires students and graduates to be knowledgeable and effective in cross-cultural adjustment and managing potential acculturative stress. One of the ways to increase their cross-cultural adjustment is via cross-cultural training (CCT). Given the predominantly business-oriented nature of previous reviews, this paper systematically examined whether CCT was effective when applied to tertiary students. The analysis of different types of CCT and its outcomes was guided by Ward, Bochner, and Furnham’s (2001) ABC (Affective, Behavioural, and Cognitive) model that comprehensively explained the affective, behavioural, and cognitive facets of cross-cultural adjustment. We reviewed 35 CCT studies published post-1990 with control group design or pre-post training evaluation. CCT in tertiary education has become increasingly multi-method and experiential. CCT programs with behavioural components had the most consistent evidence of effectiveness. Programs with both behavioural and cognitive components were more effective than cognitive- and didactic-alone programs. CCT appeared to be particularly effective in enhancing tertiary students’ academic and career performance. Practical implication and suggestions for future research directions are discussed.     

The Anonymity Effect: The Influence of Anonymity on Perceptions of Sources and Information on Health Websites

The study reported here examined the influence of anonymous sources on health websites on the perceptions and attitudes of information seekers. It was hypothesized that, despite the warnings and guidelines established by health organizations, anonymous sources would be perceived to be as credible and influential as sources that were identified. The anonymity effect, drawn from the similarity principle in attribution theory, was forwarded as a theoretical mechanism to explain responses to anonymous sources. The results indicated that anonymous sources were generally perceived by participants to be as credible and influential as identified sources, although the anonymity effect explanation was not supported. The implications of these findings for information seekers and health practitioners are considered.     

Redefining Hijab: American Muslim Women's Standpoints on Veiling

Feminist standpoint theory suggests that, although powerful discourses attempt to define women on the “margins” of society, women's cultural positions provide them with heightened understandings of the contradictions between their experiences and the ways the dominant group defines them. Thus, while many Americans believe hijab—also called a “veil” or “headscarf”—functions to oppress women, veiled women probably possess alternative understandings. In this study, 13 veiled American Muslim women share their experiences, and under the lens of standpoint theory, the participants' definition of hijab emerges. Specifically, the women inscribe hijab with meanings shaped by their unique cultural standpoints. Hijab functions to define Muslim identity, perform a behavior check, resist sexual objectification, afford more respect, preserve intimate relationships, and provide freedom.