Search

In introducing the special issue on international advertising, this paper assesses progress made in international research. It begins with an examination of the content of international advertising papers published in the Journal of Advertising during the past ten years. The content of these more recent research articles is then compared to those that appeared earlier in the Journal's history. This paper also surveys four earlier reviews of the international advertising literature and assesses whether issues posed in the reviews have been adequately addressed. A new agenda for international advertising researchers is offered, consisting of eight research questions and some admonitions relating to data collection and collaboration among researchers. The contributions of papers in this issue are then detailed in the context of the proposed research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the differences of managerial competencies among MBA students from American and European business schools. The results of this research suggest that there are certain differences of not only nationality but also gender. The study also points out the need for different managerial competency profiles to better assess MBA students looking for future career development. The results of this study indicate that there is a difference at the national level between assessed managerial competencies of American and European MBA students that can be attributed to cultural factors. This conclusion confirms the findings of Chong (2008) and Akinola, Martin, and Phillips (2018). Secondly, at the organisational level, cultural differences manifest themselves in some but not all assessed managerial competencies. These research findings provide empirical evidence which suggests that, in managing and advising international and global future managers, one ought to distinguish between external, interpersonal and personal managerial competencies which are applicable across cultures and which are prone to cultural differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale research projects, conducted in a cross-European context, are increasingly attractive to educational researchers and policy-makers. However, this form of comparative research across cultures brings problems concerning the standardization of data collection and analysis, particularly where ethnographic research is concerned, as it prioritizes a full range of qualitative research strategies. This paper outlines the use of a universal model and the approaches recently taken by two research teams and contrasts these with another recent nine-partner comparative European study that used ethnographic methods. We then describe the analytical procedures used in the project, which encouraged participant observation and individual researcher interpretation in order to generate grounded accounts and outline how they were culturally sensitive and meaningful to research teams who used varied analytical approaches. However, this raised difficult issues for the 'final' analysis and the production of a loosely coupled research report. Our pragmatic solution was a process of 'qualitative synthesis' whereby individual partner reports were collated by the Project Director and treated as data and a grounded theory approach was applied to generate tentative theory in respect of creative learning. The paper concludes by arguing that data generated by a loosely coupled approach to qualitative comparative research which uses a wide range of data collection methods can be effectively analysed with a qualitative synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some of the most difficult problems facing governments today are linked to their increasing involvement in the global economy. One of the most pressing problems faced by developed economies is chronically high youth unemployment. As labour markets have tightened, the jobs which have disappeared, and look unlikely to re-emerge as labour markets become more buoyant, are the jobs which young people have traditionally held - unskilled entry level jobs. The creation of the French Baccalauréat Professionnel saw the development of a programme that balanced the needs of a vocational qualification with those of a general education. This paper will look briefly at the background to the debate between general education and vocational education, in particular the low status of vocational education. The paper looks at the manner in which two developed countries in different hemispheres, France and Australia, have attempted to solve an increasingly complex problem: the transition from school to work. It suggests how the McGaw Report [(1997) Shaping Their Future ( Sydney, Department of Training and Education Co-ordination)] tackles this problem of high and low status educational pathways in Australia. The use of 'school-workplace learning' in Australia represents a relatively new specific programme, highlighting the NSW government's direction in school to work transition. In France the Baccalauréat Professionnel (Bac Pro) will be used as an example of a diploma that provides a useful bridge between the vocational and general education streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the importance of government advertising regulation, there has been limited research exploring the common ground between government regulations in different countries. This paper begins by proposing a theoretical framework for comparing government regulations, and then uses the framework to analyze the similarities and differences between advertising regulations in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. It concludes that harmonization of regional advertising regulation in Greater China is an attainable goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a new methodological framework to guide researchers attempting to quantitatively assess how a pluralistic audience perceives a standardized television advertisement. Rasch (1960) measurement theory is introduced as an alternative to the more commonly employed multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approach to assessing cross-cultural scalar equivalence. By analyzing a multicultural data set, we are able to make various inferences concerning the scalar equivalence of Schlinger's confusion scale. The methodology reveals the limits of the scale, which in all probability would not have been detected using traditional approaches. For researchers attempting to develop new scales, or even to refine existing scales, strict adherence to established guidelines of item generation together with the application of the proposed methodology should ensure better results for both theorists and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a cross-cultural study which tests the robustness of the approach developed by Gupta and Gould (1997) concerning use of product placements in movies. Using their American data as a comparison point, additional data using the same questionnaire were collected in Austria and France. As an international medium in which movies freely cross borders, product placement is also a less adaptable one, relative to commercials since it remains in the movie regardless of the nation where it is shown. Applying a three-pronged framework which considered country, product and individual differences and their interactive effects, the results of this study indicate the ways in which all three have an impact on the acceptability of product placements and on potential purchase behavior. Finally, implications for managing and further researching product placements based on this framework are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-cultural dialog is frequently treated as either unnecessary or else impossible. It is said to be unnecessary, because we all are the same or share the same 'human nature'; it is claimed to be impossible because cultures seen as language games or forms or life are so different as to be radically incommensurable. The paper steers a course between absolute universalism and particularism by following the path of dialog and interrogation—where dialog does not mean empty chatter but the exploration of the 'otherness' of interlocutors on the far side of either assimilation or exclusion. Such dialog is the heart of hermeneutics as formulated by Hans-Georg Gadamer. The paper explores the question whether hermeneutical interpretation can be transferred from textual readings to the domain of cross-cultural encounters. After discussing both the historical development and the basic meaning of contemporary hermeneutics, the paper draws attention to the intimate linkage between interpretive understanding and 'application', or 'practical philosophy.' Drawing on the insights of Gadamer and some more overtly political thinkers, the paper then shows the relevance of hermeneutics for cross-cultural studies, as an antidote to the looming 'clash of civilizations.' It turns to some writings by Maurice Merleau-Ponty in order to emphasize the necessary linkage between interactive dialog and concrete embodied engagement. Undercutting purely mentalist or 'idealist' misconstruals of dialog, this linkage shows the mutual compatibility between Gadamerian hermeneutics and existential phenomenology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural research designs are increasingly employed in the New Zealand context to investigate a range of complex social and environmental issues. However, there is little guidance for researchers who work for mainstream organisations and hapū (subtribe(s)) and iwi (tribe(s)) on how to undertake cross-cultural collaborative research. Trust is a key issue that makes cross-cultural research possible and it is surprising that issues relating to trust have not featured widely in the literature. In this paper, we reflect on our experiences working cross-culturally and collaboratively with a hapū in Northland, New Zealand. We discuss how a mainstream research organisation worked with a community health trust and developed a working relationship with a hapū, forming the basis of a community-driven collaborative evaluation of a central government-funded project. Key findings were the establishment of a tuākana-tēina relationship (where teacher and learner are interchangeable) between the members of the collaborative research team and the employment of appropriate research methods to develop a research agenda that ensured everyone would benefit from the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an historical case study is presented of the transplanting of curricular and instructional practices from the United States to Australia. The case study draws upon a collection of education policy documents (syllabuses, policy statements and correspondence) and oral histories recorded with key curriculum workers in Queensland (one of eight states and territories in Australia) from 1969 to 1989. Analyses of these data provide valuable insights into the complexities and intricacies of two eras of curriculum development and reform, and more broadly, into the validity or otherwise of significant historical assumptions and explanations held about those and other reform efforts, The paper advocates the use of conceptual constructs (social and cross-cultural perspectives) and methodological approaches (document analysis and interview-based fieldwork in the form of "oral histories") in further empirical research on the transplanting of social studies across societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Egocentricity acts both to orient and disorient us in space. It is manifest in different forms through childhood and adolescence, and although we rend to outgrow it, it can persist and even reappear in old age. This paper reviews some of the literature on egocentricity, emphasizing its influence on styles of geographic orientation and related wayfinding ability. A model of geographic orientation is constructed from the perspective of cross-cultural research on field dependence and cerebral specialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The philosophical investigation of consciousness has a long-standing history in both Indian and Western thought. The conceptual models and analyses that have emerged in one cultural framework may be profitably reviewed in the light of another. In this context, a study of the notion of consciousness in the transcendental phenomenology of Edmund Husserl is not only important as a focus on a remarkable achievement in the context of Western thought, but is also useful for an appreciation of the concern with this question in the Indian philosophical tradition, and especially in the tradition of Advaita Vedānta of Ādi Śamkara. The starting point for this paper is the belief that phenomenology has a recognizably common face for both these traditions. This paper investigates the possibility of a parallel notion of consciousness in the transcendental phenomenology of Husserl and the Advaita Vedānta of Śamkara, with particular emphasis on Husserl `s 'Transcendental I' and Śamkara's 'Witness Consciousness' (Sākshi Caitanya). In the process, it explores the phenomenological relevance of the concept of consciousness in Indian philosophy, with special reference to the concept of pure consciousness as one of the essential criteria for any sound theory of knowledge. It more importantly highlights the Advaitic understanding of pure consciousness as one of the major contributions to the field of comparative philosophy that forms a vantage point for cross-cultural comparison. While pointing to significant differences in their respective approaches to understanding, the nature of consciousness, the exploration finally unveils the common thesis for both Śamkara and Husserl that `pure consciousness' is essentially foundational, evidencing and absolute for any epistemic act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethnographic literature on literacy is marked by a characteristic divide between 'ideological' and 'autonomous' positions, the former being associated with the sociocultural approach adopted within the 'New Literacy Studies' (NLS) and the work of Brian Street, and the latter with the work of Jack Goody. The polarization between the approaches has led to certain themes associated with the work of Goody and his 'literacy thesis' being excluded from ethnographic writing and theory. Such themes included the attributes and consequences of literacy as a 'technology', and the association of literacy acquisition with social mobility and progressive forms of social change. The article is based on ethnographic fieldwork in Bangladesh and a review of the recent ethnographic literature from a range of cultural settings. It examines the case for a more inclusive and comparative approach based on the emergent 'situated' perspective. It suggests revisionist readings of ethnographic accounts recognizing cross-cultural patterns of utility, and the significance of literacy for human agency, gender relations, and well-being. Presenting an ethnographic case study of women's literacy in N/W Bangladesh it draws out the theoretical significance of such a shift in how we research and understand the consequences of literacy acquisition. The paper concludes by suggesting some implications of such a perspective for adult literacy policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It can be argued that the main debate within cross-cultural or crossnational management research is between two opposite approaches labeled here as universalism and particularism. This theoretical debate is vital for scholars and managers alike, as it is not only of conceptual relevance but also has practical consequences. The first question is whether there are "best practices" in management that are of universal validity and can be borrowed by companies of one country from companies of another country (universalism) or whether differences in particular cultures and other contextual factors make this impossible (particularism). The second question is whether multinational corporations (MNCs) should use universally standardized practices when doing business around the world (universalism) or whether they should adapt to each particular local context (particularism). This paper contributes to overcoming this dualism, not by declaring one position more valid than the other, but by integrating the opposing approaches in a way that allows scholars and managers alike to structure universal and particular contextual factors into one framework. The proposed model should ultimately assist in determining what makes a national economy competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses distinctions made by married Mexican women in the USA and Mexico between withdrawal and rhythm, as well as differences between women who use these traditional methods and those who use more 'modern' ones. Findings derive from an ethnographic study of gender and reproductive health in a Mexican transnational community. The primary method used was life histories, complemented by 15 months of participant observation. The sample consisted of 13 systematically selected pairs of women; one woman in each pair lived in Atlanta and the other lived in the sending community in western Mexico. While research on fertility regulation frequently classifies rhythm and coitus interruptus as traditional methods, this study showed that those who use these methods may base their classificatory system on other conceptions, including a contraceptive method's ideal properties. Generational changes in ideologies of marriage and intimacy and migration-related changes shape women's ideas about the meaning of sexual intimacy and the symbolic properties of contraceptive methods. This research shows, therefore, that ideology and social context need to be taken into account when exploring how women interpret shared ideas about sexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper sets out to compare the reaction from two cultures (Japan and the United Kingdom) to very similar training programs aimed at the development of organizational change agent skills and to speculate on the implications of, and reasons for, some of the differences in these reactions. It is unfortunately not possible to compare identical programs, as there were slight differences in design in programs run in each country. These differences were in part due to the designers' assumptions about what would be acceptable within each culture. What follows is, therefore, simply an account of personal experiences put forward as the basis for discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key challenge for the cross-cultural researcher is how to maintain authenticity in the stories of participants, paying careful attention to any inherent power imbalances. In this article, we share our respective experiences of conducting research with Pacific students and their families in Aotearoa New Zealand as non-Pacific researchers. We discuss tensions we encountered regarding power and positionality, highlighting the importance of engaging with Pacific perspectives and methodologies to help counter these tensions. In our respective studies, we aimed to promote the voices of our participants and conduct research which prioritised Pacific values. We further appreciated that we must not let our own research agenda override the needs of our participants. We explain why we believe these ideas to be so important and draw tentative conclusions on ways to engage in research with Pacific families based on what we have learnt. The data presented from our respective studies highlight our approaches and present some of the challenges, as well as our efforts to engage in reciprocal, respectful relationships with our participants and their families. We hope that, in sharing our reflections, we may offer some useful insight to other researchers embarking on a similar journey to us. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including cultural and transcultural memory, chief aspects of cultural memory and transnational background, and spatial sense making through transnational context.

Despite the prevalence of aesthetic education as one of the main developmental objectives in curricular worldwide, the mainstream philosophical discourse on its definition is predominately framed by western philosophy due to a paucity of cross-cultural studies on the subject. The article aims to achieve a contemporary understanding of aesthetic education from both the Chinese and Western aesthetic perspectives. Through the lens of postmodernism, the relationship between Daoist aesthetics and the western postmodern aesthetic perspectives, particularly the Deleuzian concept of rhizome, is identified. Both aesthetic perspectives concern de-authorship and promote self-consciousness/self-awareness. The study reconceptualises the functions of aesthetic education with the Chinese aesthetic philosophy that promotes the nurture of better people through benevolence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As early as 1970, M. S. Archer argued that Bourdieu's sociology of education was the product of the particular conditions of the French educational system within which it was formulated. The same argument was subsequently advanced more generally by Richard Jenkins, who insisted that Bourdieu's sociology of culture, particularly the analysis contained in La Distinction/Distinction ( Bourdieu, 1979 , 1986 ), was an expression of the peculiarly French emphasis on taste as a basis for social differentiation. Bourdieu was himself interested in the relations between particular and universal explanation in social science, and in many of his later articles he focused specifically on the question of the transferability of his concepts, such as 'cultural capital'. The English Preface to Homo Academicus ( Bourdieu , 1988 ) is an explicit discussion of how the analysis presented in the text of French higher education should be read and adopted by English readers, while Practical Reason ( Bourdieu, 1994 , 1998 ) contained published lectures in which Bourdieu considered the applicability of La Distinction to Japanese society. The purpose of my proposed contribution is to trace the development of Bourdieu's sociology of education in the context of educational policy developments in France during his lifetime and, equally, to trace the ways in which his work has been used in the British context during the period between the first reception of his educational work in the United Kingdom in Knowledge and Control ( Young, 1971 ) to the reception of his more polemical political interventions of the 1990s, many of which implicitly invoked earlier educational thinking. The intention is that this discussion should revive interest in the relevance of Bourdieu's work to the British situation by reference to many of the later texts that appeared after the emphasis of the British field of reception had shifted from education to cultural studies. La noblesse d'état/State nobility ( Bourdieu, 1989 , 1996 ) and La misère du monde/The weight of the world (Bourdieu et al. , 1993, 1999 ) have direct implications for British thinking about education that are different from the implications of the texts of the 1960s, and it is important to disrupt the tendency still to see the importance of Bourdieu's educational work primarily in relation to Les héritiers/The Inheritors ( Bourdieu & Passeron, 1964b ; 1977 ) and La reproduction/Reproduction ( Bourdieu & Passeron, 1970 , 1977 ). Finally, the discussion will confront the question of transferability and ask whether the comparative conditions in Britain and France between 1960 and 2002 justify the transfer of his analyses and research methods across the cultures in the future beyond his death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threat of nuclear winter from a regional nuclear war is an existential hazard that must be actively addressed by policy makers to ensure the shared future of humanity. Here a cross-cultural analysis of 20 societies that experienced the Late Antique Little Ice Age (ca. 536–556CE) is performed in the hope of providing security policy makers with an empirical example of social resilience mechanisms. The climatic conditions of the Late Antique Little Ice Age are strikingly similar to those modelled as resulting from a regional nuclear war employing low-yield nuclear weapons, and thus provides a context in which mechanisms of resilience to nuclear winter might be empirically identified. It is argued that broad political participation fostering bridging ties between communities, agencies, and organisations was a key element of social resilience to the Late Antique Little Ice Age, and may indicate a means to foster resilience to nuclear winter today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present cross-cultural study examined the factor structure, measurement invariance, and convergent validity of the Stress-Symptom and Well-Being Scales from the Stress and Coping Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (SSKJ), originally in German, across gender and for five newly developed language versions: English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian. Children and adolescents (N = 5,227) from Germany, France, Russia, the Dominican Republic, Ukraine, and several English-speaking countries participated in the survey study. The SSKJ Stress-Symptom and Well-Being Scales capture stress symptomatology and well-being with five subscales: Somatic Symptoms, Anger, Sadness, Anxiety, and Well-Being. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used for validation. The factorial structure (five factors) was confirmed. In multi-group comparisons, confirmatory factor analyses showed partial metric invariance across the different languages. Regarding gender, results showed scalar invariance for all languages, except for Spanish. Gender differences were shown with girls scoring higher on somatic symptoms, sadness, anxiety (German-, French-, Russian-speaking samples), anger (French), and well-being (German, Ukrainian). Correlations with indicators of mental health and behavioral problems demonstrated convergent validity. The SSKJ Stress-Symptom and Well-Being Scales showed psychometric evidence for equivalence across the different languages and gender. Thus, this instrument is a useful tool for cross-cultural research in children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a review of cross-cultural studies on prostitution and its impact on AIDS prevention programs in different countries. It argues that efforts to understand prostitution and AIDS have been hampered by reliance on an epidemiological paradigm which is poorly suited to the task of finding avenues for prevention. This frame of reference has prevented researchers from engaging with social meanings and functions of prostitution in relation to broader economic, political and gender issues which vary from culture to culture. The article aims to show that the social, historical and cultural dimensions of prostitution heavily condition sustainable strategies for risk reduction among women in prostitution and their clients. Psychologists, anthropologists and social historians have increasingly shown that it is possible to reclaim the whole, to illuminate sexual behavior, including forms of sexual economic exchange, as expressions of and adaptations to specific constellations of socio-cultural, economic and personal motivations and pressures.

Discusses the Consortium for Cross-cultural Research in Education, a research partnership of ten research teams, each at a different higher education institution in a different country. Development of the Consortium; Rationale for the study; Major concepts of the study; General aims of the research for each participating country; Conceptual model for the study; Instrumentation and sampling.

Introduces a series of articles on crosscultural management.

The article discusses translation problems in cross-cultural research. This article argues that translation is always a potential problem for sociological research. It also illustrate the difficulties arising from inattention to the translation problem in mono-cultural investigations with reference to a widely known published research report and suggests some parallels between techniques for coping with translation problems in cross-cultural research and those appropriate for mono-cultural use. Comparative research is much more common than frequently assumed. Comparison may be either explicit or implicit. Explicit comparison would involve actual study of organizations in two or more societies and direct comparison of observed characteristics. The distinction, clearly, is one of the degree of relative explicitness in particular instances. This is an important distinction, since investigators whose comparison is largely implicit may fail to recognize the comparative nature of their analysis.

Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using celebrities to promote products is a popular advertising technique around the world. However, little is known about how the implementation of celebrity endorsement varies according to dominant cultural values. This study content-analyzed television commercials featuring celebrities from two diametrically different countries--the United States and Korea--in terms of two fundamental cultural dimensions: (1) low versus high context, and (2) individualism versus collectivism. Findings of this study suggest that the strategic use and creative executions of celebrity endorsement mirror the respective prevalent cultural orientations in the two countries, although some similarities do exist. Extensive discussion and suggestions for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a cross-cultural examination of interactivity on U.S., U.K., Japanese, and South Korean corporate Web sites. Each Web site was content-analyzed for use of various interactivity functions. Using cultural difference criteria of high versus low context, power distance, and individualism-collectivism, this study compares three dimensions of interactivity on the Web sites of each country's top 50 advertisers. Twenty-five interactivity functions/indicators, classified into three interactivity dimensions, were used in the final data analysis to test three research hypotheses, Our findings indicate that Western Web sites tend to emphasize consumer-message (HI) and consumer-marketer interactivity (H2), whereas Eastern Web sites highlight consumer-consumer interactivity (H3). Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using subjects from Korea and the United States, this study reports the results of an experiment designed to discover links between national culture, self-construals, and the effectiveness of comparative advertising. First, the effect of national culture on comparative advertising effectiveness was investigated. Then, using self-construals as individual-level variables in a path model, the study investigated their mediating effects on the influence of national culture on the effectiveness of comparative advertising. Results indicated not only that national culture influences the effectiveness of comparative advertising, but also that self-construals have mediating effects on attitudes toward the advertisement (Aad) for both indirect comparative advertising and noncomparative advertising. Thus, the study goes beyond the post hoc explanations that so many studies have used to link differences in the effectiveness of advertising to cultural variability, and thereby contributes to theory on the mediating effects of self-construals. The findings also have implications for advertising managerial practices and public policy on the regulation of advertising. But perhaps the main contribution of the study is a research design using self-construals to demonstrate how individual-level variables can mediate the influence of national culture on advertising effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares television advertisements from Japan, Russia, Sweden, and the United States are compared. Consistent with Hofstede's framework which suggests that countries may be characterized along a continuum from masculine to feminine, the authors found that television advertisements from feminine countries featured more depictions of relationships for male and female characters than did masculine countries. Expectations of fewer gender differences in feminine countries than in masculine countries and of greater depictions of productivity being found in television advertisements from masculine countries were not realized, however. Implications of these findings for the international advertiser are considered, and future directions for research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of cross-cultural differences in ethical perceptions can be explained by Hofstede's typology of cultural dimensions. To test hypothesized differences, we conducted a survey of practitioners at Korean advertising agencies and compared their responses with results from previous surveys in the U.S. Evaluations of ethical issues in hypothetical scenarios that are consistent with the two cultures' relative levels of musculinity/femininity and individualism/collectivism. Agency practitioners in the two countries also vary in the ethical problems they face in their daily work. Differing perceptions that the problems are a concern of top management, or are a hindrance to performance and relations with coworkers, are consistent with relative levels of power distance, long-term orientation and individualism/collectivism. The findings illustrate the influence of cultural dimensions on ethical perceptions and practices in the advertising industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural group support systems (GSS) field studies are scarce. Although the state of knowledge and theory development in this area warrants a focus on descriptive field explorations, most cross-cultural GSS research has taken place in laboratory environments. The study reported here represents the first detailed descriptive field study of GSS application in Africa. A grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyze data on eleven projects in which GSS meetings were organized in Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. From the data emerged a model of GSS acceptance in the cultures investigated that extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in terms of a specification of a number of relevant external factors. These factors include the endorsement of top management, computer literacy, oral communication preference, referent power, and satisfaction with use. Furthermore, the findings suggest that there is potential for applying GSS in Africa to support capacity-building efforts, which tops the agenda of international development agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a cross-cultural content analysis framework to examine underlying cultural dimensions: individualism/collectivism, time orientation, relationship with nature, and contextuality. Most cross-cultural content analyses have inferred that differences in execution have been due to assumed cultural differences in the societies examined (often based on the work of Hofstede [1980]); the development of the structure proposed here will allow the direct investigation of those cultural issues. Television commercials from the U.S. and Korea were selected as being representative of North American and East Asian commercials. Both countries are present-time oriented, and while individualism and collectivism are prevalent in both cultures, individualism is more dominant in the U.S. Korean commercials stress oneness-with-nature slightly more than U.S. commercials, and U.S. commercials use more direct approaches. Directions for refinement and future research are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using content analysis, the author examined sex role stereotyping in television commercials aimed at children in the United States and Australia. The goals of the study were to: (1) provide current data on level and content of gender stereotyping, (2) compare levels of stereotyping in two countries, and (3) assess stereotyping of self-presentational behaviors. Results are consistent with those of previous research in that boys were depicted as being more knowledgeable, active, aggressive, and instrumental than girls. Nonverbal behaviors involving dominance and control were associated more with boys than girls. Country-related differences in ratios of boys to girls in the commercials and demonstrations of licensed withdrawal, function ranking, and utilitarian contact were observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of music and lyrics in commercials run in the United States is compared with their use in commercials run in the Dominican Republic (D.R.). The authors briefly review present theoretical perspectives on the role of music in advertising and address the need to conceptualize music as a culturally situated variable. They discuss the structure of Dominican TV media and examine the influence of U.S. media culture in the D.R., then develop a set of propositions about cross-cultural differences in the extensiveness of music and lyrics in commercials, the style of music used, and the product meanings conveyed in lyrics. The propositions are tested in a content analysis of commercials. The findings support the propositions and indicate a need for sociological and interpretive approaches to the study of the role of music in advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining the cross-national applicability of advertising measures is becoming increasingly important, especially in rapidly changing countries such as Russia. Therefore, our study's purpose is first to demonstrate recommended procedures for testing the cross-national equivalence of advertising belief and attitude measures. Then, we conduct an initial cross-national comparison of beliefs and attitudes toward advertising in general between student samples from both the U.S. (n = 148) and from Russia (n = 64). Results indicate that, while Russian respondents felt advertising is more essential, U.S. respondents felt advertising resulted in greater negative social effects. Also, U.S. respondents were more favorable toward the institution of advertising (its purpose and effects), with no differences for the instrument of advertising (its methods and practices). Russian respondents' attitudes toward advertising in general were more favorable than those of U.S. respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the current research in the area of television advertising to children deal entirely with white populations. This exclusion of black subjects exists in spite of an abundance of research in education, sociology and psychology which suggests differences in the socialization of black and white children. The present article reviews major studies of television and children and black versus white child development. The authors conclude with several suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various papers published within the issue including one on justifications for art in school curriculum by Vincent Lanier and another on cross-cultural research by Elliot W. Eisner.

Trauma-focused interventions for children could be administered more efficiently and effectively if posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related symptoms were first investigated by a reliable and valid instrument. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Children and Adolescents (CAPS-CA) is the gold standard for the assessment of PTSD. Until now no cross-cultural validation study has been published in an English peer-reviewed journal. This study aimed at the cross-cultural validation of the Dutch CAPS-CA. A total of 112 children between the age of 8 and 18 were recruited at two trauma centers. Children were interviewed with the CAPS-CA and the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule Child (ADIS-C) version, and each filled out the Children's Revised Impact of Events Scale (CRIES-13), the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS), and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). One caretaker of each child was also interviewed by means of the ADIS Parent (ADIS-P) version and filled out the RCADS and SDQ. The Dutch CAPS-CA showed as good internal consistency, inter-rater reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and concurrent validity as the original English version. Similar to the original version, we found better psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and convergent validity for children 13 years and older than for children younger than 13 years. The Dutch CAPS-CA is as reliable and valid as the original English version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Western scientific method used in cross-cultural and ecological investigation. It cites the research partnership between the Rakiura Mãori and the ecologists/statisticians at the University of Otago that brought together the teachings of the Mãtauranga Mãori and Western science knowledge systems to study the problems that confront the titi (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus). The Western science's concepts of hypothesis, predictions and protocols are also cited.

The article discusses the developments and challenges in the advancement of cross-cultural environmental research and management. It explores the context of the so called, Mãtauranga Mãori (Mãori knowledge), which deals with all aspects of Te Ao Mãori (the Mãori world view), such as the so called Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), traditional knowledge, local knowledge, ethnoscience or ethnobiology.

Adaptive co-management and Participatory action Research (PAR) promotes social ecological resilience by simultaneously protecting wildlife and its habitat and promoting capacity and motivation for sustainable harvest management by communities. we report here on a case study of learning through a partnership (1994-2009) between science and Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to determine the sustainability of titi (sooty shearwater, Puffinus griseus) harvests by Rakiura Maori in southern New Zealand. Testimony of Maori elders and titi harvesters (birders), members of the Rakiura Titi islands administering Body, researchers and participants in workshops and meetings were recorded throughout the 14-year research project to identify critical determinants of success of the partnership. a large majority of participants supported the research, mainly because it expanded their knowledge by investigating the reasons for declining bird numbers and the means of ensuring the continuation of their muttonbirding heritage. initial concerns about the research included fear that prohibition or quota would be imposed through political pressure from external groups; the intrusion of strangers on the islands; the misconception that the research was being promulgated by government regulatory agencies; and scepticism about research findings. Research also precipitated conflict and division within the Rakiura community, and some birders feared that science might displace matauranga Maori (TEK) of the Rakiura people for guiding harvest management. Core conditions for community engagement included trust between parties, effective communication of the science, equitable decision-making responsibility, and building scientific capability and monetary support to enable meaningful participation. The most fundamental requirement is mutual respect for each party's knowledge. attention to this inclusive, equitable, slow and prolonged process makes it more likely that the community will uptake results to improve sustainability of harvesting. The research has heightened awareness within the harvesting community of conservation issues facing the titi and of potential options to mitigate them. eradication or control of weka (Gallirallus australis), and reducing titi harvest levels from around a quarter of the manu (family birding territories), are the main practical ways of increasing sustainability, but the magnitude and direction of climate change impacts on the shearwater population remains uncertain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International surveys have documented wide variation in religious beliefs and practices across nations, but does this variation in the national religious context make a difference? Building on existing theory, we explain why religion should have both micro- and macro-level effects on morality not sanctioned by the state and why the effects of religion differ from other forms of culture. Using two international surveys and hierarchical linear modeling techniques we sort out the effects of national context and personal beliefs on morality with and without legal underpinnings. We find that national religious context, the respondent's age, and religious beliefs and practices are the most consistent predictors of the sexual morality index. For morality sanctioned by the state, however, the effects for personal beliefs and practices are attenuated, and the effects of the national religious context are no longer significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous researchers have used the attitudes toward lesbians and gay men (ATLG) scale (Herek, 1988) and reported their own reliability coefficients and validity measures, but research on this subject is scarce in Chile. In order to determine if ATLG scale was a reliable and valid instrument in our country, we adapted and examined the psychometrics properties using a sample composed of 142 psychology and economics undergraduate students. This study found the ATLG scale to be reliable (a = .90) and valid for the Chilean population and is a recommended instrument for measuring attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a model of teaching diversity in social work education that includes significant content on White privilege. The authors first discuss some limitations of social work's current multicultural framework. Next, they introduce concepts and pedagogical strategies concerning White identity and privilege that are drawn from multicultural teacher training programs. Based on this literature, the authors argue that teaching about White privilege is fundamental to understanding the systematic oppression of people of color and raising self-awareness about social workers' roles and responsibilities with culturally diverse clientele. Concrete suggestions are offered for infusing this material across the curriculum and grappling with student resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding why critical incidents emerge and interpreting their importance in cross-cultural interactions requires novel constructs of culture. Therefore, we suggest cultural standards as a new tool for research. With reference to the Parsons and Shils' theory of action, we reflect on the interrelations of cultural standards with cultural dimensions and personality traits, which constitute those constructs that are most widely used in the English-language literature. Finally, in the context of management, we develop a model of cross-cultural learning and adjustment, triggered by critical incidents and performance achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following a comparative model of fascism developed by Robert O. Paxton, this article explores the similarities between a fascist cycle in Italy (1920–1924) and Zimbabwe (2000–2005). The comparison focuses on the following areas: the state's use of paramilitary organisations, or militias, to maintain or regain control; the abuse of legislative and judicial powers to protect ruling party interests; party membership as a prerequisite for involvement in basic areas of social and economic life; and the primacy of political survival over strategic economic planning. This article also explores the historical authoritarian and fascist models from pre-Independence white-minority governments, and investigates the wider significance of an older fascist political tradition for understanding the current crisis. While drawing a comparison of this ‘fascist cycle’ in Italy and Zimbabwe, this article suggests that those outside Zimbabwe who support the current regime as pan-Africanist are misreading the relationship between older ideologies of race-defined liberation movements and current strategies by a conservative elite to maintain control of the state and economy. Similarly, those western observers who seek to use the Zimbabwean crisis as an example of ‘failed’ governance miss the specific political logic of the past five years. By emphasising Paxton's comparative concept of a ‘fascist cycle’, this article questions explanations of the crisis based either on race or a particularly ‘African’ political style. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the history and contemporary directions of psychotherapy in China. Influence of cultural environment and social attitudes on Chinese people's understanding and perception of neurotic disorders; Perspectives on the cultural impact of mental disorders and psychological problems; Influence of cultural environment on the manifestation of specific symptoms and syndromes.