Riding Critical and Cultural Boundaries

2010 ◽  
pp. 71-82
Author(s):  
Julie Faulkner ◽  
Bronwyn T. Williams
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
American Students ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
On Line ◽  
Television Study ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores the impact of new technologies on young peoples’ literacy practices, with a particular focus on humour as text. Acknowledging ways in which rapidly-changing cultural and technological conditions have reshaped how people work and play, the authors work within expanded definitions of literacy, or multiliteracies. Exploring the potential of humour to interrogate cultural assumptions, Australian and American students participated in a cross cultural television study. They viewed a ‘foreign’ sitcom, asking to what extent knowledge of the sitcom’s cultural norms was fundamental to an appreciation of the intended humour of the series. The student cohorts then communicated on line, developing their reading of the sitcoms in a cross cultural forum. The study asks how the students’ multiliterate practices, including their critical interpretations of television comedy, hold implications for literacy education.

“I’m not Always Laughing at the Jokes”

2011 ◽  
pp. 108-121
Author(s):  
Julie Faulkner ◽  
Bronwyn T. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
American Students ◽  
The Us ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
On Line ◽  
Television Study

Humor in popular culture plays with our perceptions and sense of dislocation. The inherently ambiguous logic of humor allows for multiple interpretations of social phenomena, and constructs the world as arbitrary, multiple, and tenuous (Mulkay, 1988). At the same time, humor is one of the central elements of much of what young people find appealing in popular culture. Exploring the potential of humor to interrogate cultural assumptions, Australian and American students participated in a cross-cultural television study. The student cohorts then communicated on line, developing their reading of the sitcom in a cross-cultural forum. Their responses highlight the disruption to accepted patterns of social order that the play upon form, or parody, delivers. Through exploring ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ readings of a television parody, this chapter explores how humorous conventions function to reflexively position readers, and thus invite critical readings of popular and engaging texts. It also examines broader questions of the role of the US in producing and distributing popular culture, and how readers might find creative and critical ways to deal with culturally disparate world views.

scholarly journals Cultural diversity in unequal societies sustained through cross-cultural competence and identity valuation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Bunce
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
Majority Culture ◽  
Common Strategy

AbstractIn much contemporary political discourse, valued cultural characteristics are threatened by interaction with culturally distinct others, such as immigrants or a hegemonic majority. Such interaction often fosters cross-cultural competence (CCC), the ability to interact successfully across cultural boundaries. However, most theories of cultural dynamics ignore CCC, making cultural diversity incompatible with mutually beneficial inter-group interaction, and contributing to fears of cultural loss. Here, interview-based field methods at an Amazonian ethnic boundary demonstrate the prevalence of CCC. These data motivate a new theoretical mathematical model, incorporating competing developmental paths to CCC and group identity valuation, that illuminates how a common strategy of disempowered minorities can counter-intuitively sustain cultural diversity within a single generation: Given strong group identity, minorities in a structurally unequal, integrative society can maintain their distinctive cultural norms by learning those of the majority. Furthermore, rather than a rejection of, or threat to, majority culture, the valuation of a distinctive minority identity can characterize CCC individuals committed to extensive, mutually beneficial engagement with the majority as members of an integrative, multi-cultural society.

scholarly journals Cultural Diversity in Unequal Societies Sustained Through Cross-Cultural Competence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A Bunce
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Cultural Dynamics ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
Ethnic Boundary ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
Common Strategy

In much contemporary political discourse, valued cultural characteristics are threatened by interaction with culturally-distinct others, such as immigrants or a hegemonic majority. Such interaction often fosters cross-cultural competence (CCC), the ability to interact successfully across cultural boundaries. However most theories of cultural dynamics ignore CCC, making cultural diversity incompatible with mutually-beneficial inter-group interaction, and contributing to fears of cultural loss. Here, simple field methods at an Amazonian ethnic boundary demonstrate the prevalence of CCC. These data motivate new theory, incorporating competing developmental paths to CCC and group identity valuation, that illuminates how a common strategy of disempowered minorities can counter-intuitively sustain cultural diversity: Given strong group identity, minorities in a structurally-unequal, integrative society can maintain their distinctive cultural norms by learning those of the majority.

scholarly journals Negotiating In Cross-Cultural Contexts

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-191
Author(s):  
Alexandra-Florenţa Costin
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Global Culture ◽  
International Media ◽  
Business Context ◽  
Cross Cultural Communication ◽  
Cultural Variables ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
Cultural Negotiations

Abstract Accentuated by globalization, the overlapping and the dissemination of values, beliefs and perceptions pertaining to different cultures have reached an unprecedented level, phenomenon which, with the contribution of new technologies and the international media, led to the creation of a new global culture. The constant movement of large masses of people with different personal goals has brought into contact individuals coming from various cultures, who found themselves in the position of trying to understand, filter and harmonize new cultural practices as well as developing skills for coping with them; due to widespread businesses spanning national borders, negotiation practitioners frequently encounter business opponents from unfamiliar cultures and resort to strategies and tactics meant to cross cultural boundaries and the obstacles of the business context. The paper is an overview of concepts and findings regarding the origin of the global culture as cultural co-existence in the international space, with an emphasis on the concepts of cross-cultural communication and cross-cultural competence, cultural variables and their impact on cross-cultural negotiations.

scholarly journals The Legal Profession in the Era of Digital Capitalism: Disruption or New Dawn?

Laws ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Caserta ◽  
Mikael Rask Madsen
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
The Public ◽  
Digital Capitalism ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Large Sets ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

This article investigates the impact of what we label “digital capitalism” on the structure and organization of the legal profession. We explore whether the rise of digital capitalism is transforming the dynamics of the legal field by the introduction of new actors and ways of practicing law, which might challenge the traditional control (and monopoly) of jurists on the production of law. We find that not only have new service providers already entered the legal market, but also new on-line tools for solving legal disputes or producing legal documents are gaining a foothold. Similarly, we also find that new intelligent search systems are challenging the role of junior lawyers and paralegals with regard to reviewing large sets of documents. However, big data techniques deployed to predict future courts’ decisions are not yet advanced enough to pose a challenge. Overall, we argue that these developments will not only change legal practices, but are also likely to influence the internal structure and organization of the legal field. In particular, we argue that the processes of change associated with digitalization is further accelerating the economization and commodification of the practice of law, whereby lawyers are decreasingly disinterested brokers in society and defenders of the public good, and increasingly service firms at the cutting edge of the capitalist economy. These developments are also triggering new forms of stratification of the legal field. While some legal actors will likely benefit from digitalization and expand their business, either by integrating new technologies to reach more clients or by developing new niche areas of practices, the more routinized forms of legal practice are facing serious challenges and will most likely be replaced by technology and associated service firms.

How social support style affects financial risk-taking behavior: A cross-cultural study

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1305-1313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Wang ◽  
Danping Zhou ◽  
Liang Hu
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
North American ◽  
Chinese Students ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Financial Behaviors ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
American Students ◽  
Emotional Social Support ◽  
The Impact

The impact of the level of social support on risky financial behaviors has been extensively investigated. However, the impact of different styles of social support on these behaviors has so far been ignored by researchers. We examined whether or not different styles of social support are related to risky financial behaviors. Participants in our descriptive correlational study were a convenience sample of White North American (n = 149) and Chinese (n = 173) university students. Results showed that the Chinese students received more guidance and less emotional social support than did the White North American students, and that the Chinese students were more likely to take risks in financial domains than the White North American students were. Results also showed that emotional social support was negatively related to risky financial behaviors, but guidance was positively related to risky financial behaviors. More important, the results demonstrated that cross-cultural differences in social support can partly mediate cross-cultural differences in risky financial behaviors.

scholarly journals Ageism Across Cultures and Interest in Geropsychology Among International Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 594-595
Author(s):  
Jessica Strong ◽  
Kirsten Graham
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
International Students ◽  
North American ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
American Students ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Ageist attitudes are concerning when considering who will enter the geriatric workforce. The impact of ageism on intent to work with older adults (OAs) between North American and non-North American individuals is unclear. We collected data from N=186 students (n=153 N. American, n=33 non-N. American), examining ageist attitudes and intent to work with OAs. We found significant differences between groups in ageist attitudes; North American students had more positive views of aging (M=88.64, SE=0.72) than non-North American students (M=85.33, SE = 1.42; t (167) = 2.04, p = 0.04, d=0.39), but there were no differences between groups for intent to work with OAs (t (174) = 0.09, p = 0.93). Ageist attitudes predicted intent to work with OAs for North American students only (F (2, 112) = 8.82, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.14). We discuss implications of ageism and intent to work with OAs from a cross-cultural lens.

Values and goals of Chinese sport consumers contrary to American counterparts

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
DongHun Lee ◽  
Yinghui Zhang ◽  
Michael Cottingham ◽  
JungKun Park ◽  
Ho Yeol Yu
Keyword(s):  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Consumer Involvement ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Cultural Variation ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sport Consumption ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
Perceived Values ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Existing studies suggest the importance of research related to values and goals and their impacts on consumer involvement. However, cross-cultural examination of values and goals in the context of sport is scarce. To broaden our understanding of the cultural impact of values and goals on sport involvement, the purpose of this paper is to compare perspectives between Easterners (Chinese) and Westerners (Americans). Design/methodology/approach This exploratory research utilized both online and written surveys to collect two convenience samples from 281 American and 636 Chinese participants. Analysis included descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses. Findings Results indicated both populations perceived values and goals differently; Chinese responded less favorably to values and goals than American counterparts. Values and goals predicted cognitive and behavioral sport involvement with variance in each population. Results generally supported a large cultural variation between the cultures. Lastly, similarities and differences in the perceived importance of values and goals and their subsequent impacts on cognitive and behavioral sport involvement suggest a need for a unique managerial approach when American businesses enter new cultural boundaries like China. Originality/value This research is significant because studies exploring values and goals and their influences on sport consumption at the cross-cultural level are still limited in sport literature. Furthermore, an empirical examination of the impact of values and goals on sport consumers across cultures will help increase generalizability of the findings to sport literature.

Airline Sales and Distribution Channels: The Impact of New Technology

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Morrell
Keyword(s):  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
Distribution Costs ◽  
Travel Agents ◽  
Best Response ◽  
Pricing System ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Impact

Airline sales and distribution costs have been increasing faster than other costs over the past decade, particularly travel agent commissions and incentive payments. At the same time ticketless travel and the development of on-line services offer airlines an apparent solution to the dilemma of achieving both increased market share and reductions in sales costs. It is argued here, however, that travel agents will maintain their dominant position in airline sales distribution, because they will continue to offer the consumer the best response to their disadvantages of small size, ignorance and immobility. This will involve agents making full use of new technologies, offering a wider range of value added services, and moving to a pricing system which will be more acceptable to both travellers and airlines.

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