Beautification of Chinese Architectural Images in the New Media Age

From the perspective of communication science, the communication of architectural images in the new media age has an obvious beautifying trend. Due to the differences in politics, economics, and cultural environment between China and western countries, the beautification of architectural images in China is a unique phenomenon. This study classifies the beautification of Chinese architectural images into different types in terms of image communication: audience orientation, time orientation, space orientation, and cultural orientation. By investigating and analyzing relevant cases, this study explores the beautification of Chinese architectural images in the new media age and puts forward thoughts and evaluation, aiming to better comprehend the relationship between beautification and architectural communication.

Cultural Differences in Children’s Recommended Punishment of Moral Transgressions

The purpose of this research was to examine the severity of punishment recommended by children for moral transgressions. Using Hofstede’s (1980) distinction between individualism and collectivism, we examined the severity of punishment recommended by eight to twelve year old children for moral transgressions that violated a cultural value. Participants were children of various nationalities enrolled in a summer camp on the island of Mallorca, Spain. The children were classified as either individualist or collectivist using the Children’s Self-Construal Scale (Lewis et al. 2000). Each child reacted to nine moral transgressions, two of which were universal and seven of which reflected transgressions of either individualist or collectivist values. The results indicated that children classified as collectivists recommended harsher punishments for transgressions of collectivist values, whereas individualists did not vary in their recommended level of punishment for transgressions against both collectivist and individualist values. Keywords: individualism, collectivism, moral judgments, cultural orientation, moral transgressions

Online service failure: how consumers from emerging countries react and complain

Purpose E-commerce has experienced huge growth in emerging countries, but analysis of service failure/recovery for online retailers has been limited in this context. Hence, this study aims to investigate customers’ reactions to service failures in e-commerce and the influence of cultural dimensions on complaint intentions. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 553 customers from Brazil, India and China. A model was proposed and tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Results indicate that satisfaction with service recovery (SSR) increases repurchase intentions and reduces third-party complaints and negative word-of-mouth. This study also shows that the reactions of consumers to service failures in online situations are influenced by their cultural orientation (i.e. individualism, uncertainty avoidance and power distance) and contingent factors (i.e. relationship level, switching costs and the severity of the failure). Originality/value This study shows that the extent to which consumers from emerging countries complain after a service failure in online purchases will depend on their cultural orientation, previous experiences with the retailer, switching costs and the severity of the failure.

Exploring the Role of the Student Affairs Office in Enhancing the Cultural and Social Experiences of International Students in China

Many universities are hosting and enrolling international students as an important aspect of their internationalisation mission of higher education. However, many international students experienced significant problems adjusting into a host culture and social milieu. Informing this qualitative study were 45 international students in a top-tier comprehensive research university in Southeast China. The study focuses on the experience of international students towards the role played by international Fu Da Yuans (Counsellors) in enhancing the students’ cultural and social experiences at the university. The results indicate that the four most significant adjustment issues for international students are the language challenges, social interaction with Chinese students, cultural orientation programmes, and counselling services for international students. Building on the U-Curve adjustment theory (Oberg, 1960), the study revealed the importance of international Fu Da Yuans to provide cultural and social support to international students for easy adjustment into a new culture and social setting. The study bears practical implications to providing international Fu Da Yuans with important insights that can help to create an environment conducive to enhancing the cultural and social experiences of international students.

National Specificity of Dominance in Politicians’ Speech Behavior

The aim of the article is to analyze the dominant speech behavior of groups of parliamentarians, depending on the national and cultural specifics of the sender of the text, using the methodology adopted in Implicit Pragmalinguistics. The text of each speech is divided into small syntactic groups, which in Implicit Pragmalinguistics are considered the standard units of the analysis. In total, more than three thousand such units were analyzed during the study period. The material for the study of the politicians’ speech behavior was the texts of the speeches of 20 politicians speaking in English and Russian, presented in the period from 2019 to 2020 in their national parliaments, the British Parliament and the State Duma. The analysis shows that the majority of politicians are distinguished by a dominant type of behavior, which is expressed in the manifestation of a bright individuality. A successful politician is always a talented leader and organizer who has the prevalence of character traits that are associated with independence, decisiveness, authoritarianism and focus not only on himself/herself, but also on the audience. All selected groups of the politicians showed great confidence in what they are talking about, which indicates the signs of a successful and professional leader. In the course of a comparative analysis, we came to the conclusion that dominance in the speech of the politicians is manifested differently and depends on the nationality of the parliamentarians. Thus, the Russian-speaking politicians of both sexes confirm their collectivist cultural orientation in speech behavior, and the British generally follow the principles of individualism; the Russian-speaking female politicians are a little more categorical and confident in their speeches than the English-speaking ones.

Bilingualism (Multilingualism) in the Balkans: Bulgarian and Macedonian Exemplification

Bilingualism (Multilingualism) in the Balkans: Bulgarian and Macedonian ExemplificationThe paper attempts to find a broader language and identity context for the output of Grigor Prličev (1830/31–1893), out of an obligation created by the first Polish translation of his poem Skanderbeg (1862, Σκενδέρμπεης), by Małgorzata Borowska (Colloquia Humanistica 10, 2021). Prličev’s dramatic language and identity choices had their roots in the multilingualism in the Balkans, and a complete change of civilisational and cultural orientation in Balkan cultures during the nineteenth century. The Bulgarian and Macedonian exemplification is preceded by a Serbian illustration with some references to the Greek.Problem bilingwizmu (wielojęzyczności) na Bałkanach. Egzemplifikacja bułgarska i macedońskaNiniejszy artykuł jest w istocie próbą znalezienia szerszego językowo-tożsamościowego kontekstu dla twórczości Grigora Prličeva (1830/31–1893), do czego zobowiązuje pierwszy polski przekład jego drugiego poematu Rzecz o Skanderbegu (1862, Σκενδέρμπεης), którego autorką jest Małgorzata Borowska („Colloquia Humanistica” 10, 2021). Dramatyczne wybory językowo-tożsamościowe Prličeva zakorzenione w wielojęzyczności Bałkanów w XIX wieku, były pochodną całkowitej zmiany orientacji cywilizacyjno-kulturowej w kulturach bałkańskich. Egzemplifikacja bułgarska i macedońska została poprzedzona ilustracją serbską z pewnymi odniesieniami do greckiego kontekstu.

Thai and Serbian Student L2 Motivational Selves: A Contrastive Study

Applying L2 Motivational Self-System, the aim of this paper is to investigate how Thai and Serbian students construct their L2 motivational self-systems. A total of 543 students from Thailand and Serbia completed an 18-item questionnaire aimed at sampling relevant motivational factors. Although the students from both universities reported medium levels of motivated behaviour and a strong influence of their L2 learning experience, the most influential factors in the construction of self-systems were fundamentally different. While Serbian students construct their motivational self-systems on the basis of their ideal L2 selves, Thai students shape their motivational self-systems on the basis of ought-to L2 self. This difference points to the overall teaching approaches adopted in the investigated settings, where in Serbia learning experience is guided by the communicative approach to language teaching, while the Thai learning experience rests on a teacher-centred approach shaped by the collectivist cultural orientation.