Search

Online program design is important for cross-cultural learning and cultural awareness and responsiveness. Because of the importance of these areas in journalism and similar fields, this research studies an intercultural "bridge" project with journalism and media-related students at a southwest U.S. university and four universities in Yemen. The paper presents an analysis of the students' experience of the cultural exchange on the platform, Slack, of journalism, and other types of media. Data demonstrated the impact of learning about each culture, and interculturally, through students' and instructors' perspectives versus news coverage provided by mainstream media. Intercultural bridge building and relationship development through collective activities and journalistic work also offered promise. The study also revealed impediments to seamless cultural exchanges and learning, and barriers to effective intercultural communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercultural communication at Bawaka often brings ŋäpaki, non-Indigenous visitors, into a series of new relationships – with Yolŋu people, with each other, with place, and with themselves. From a Bawaka Yolŋu ontology, this is part of bala ga' lili, giving and taking, co-creating balance through relationships of reciprocity and responsibility. This paper is a collaboratively written piece by Yolŋu hosts and non-Yolŋu academics as part of Bawaka Country and reflects our own efforts at embodying bala ga' lili. It considers how visitors to Bawaka come into relationship with themselves, their hosts, each other, and place. It discusses the opportunities and limitations of these relationships and emphasizes the importance of multi-directional, embodied, more-than-human communication. Through an analysis of a student fieldtrip and discussion of Yolŋu hosts' expectations and aspirations, it argues that with communication and the formation of new relationships comes responsibilities to translate new understandings across time and place, assisting with the important, although only ever incompletely possible, work of breaking unjust systems and contributing to more just and sustainable processes and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Leadership has an impact on the work culture of companies, this is the product of the communication flows that emerge within it. Objective. To compare the relationship between leadership and organizational culture of two international maquiladora companies, one located in Mexico and the other in South Korea. Materials and methods. A quantitative case study was made from 283 questionnaires. The variables of interest were organizational culture and leadership. Results. There is a positive link between leadership and the organizational culture of companies. Regarding the context of the company, the geographical location has a great influence, not only due to the physical environment that surrounds it, but also due to cultural, economic and political factors that affect its way of operation. Conclusion. The closer the leader is to his collaborators; the culture will be strengthened and there will be better labor synergy. Despite the fact that different leaderships prevail in the two companies studied, in none of the cases was an authoritarian or transforming leadership observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research focus on the divergences in linguistic action patterns and the effect of intercultural communication through in conversations in lingua franca. The above in order to identify speech acts produced in the social interactions between members of different cultures, specifically Chinese and Colombian. Therefore, an analytical methodology was applied in relation to the dyadic conversation among a Chinese and a Colombian teacher who interacted in English. The results show the obstacles overcoming among both participants, who took into account cultural dimensions, as well as signs of gestural and body language to solve any difficulties presented by verbal communication. However, the lack of knowledge about linguistic rules in relation to the use of language and the cultural standards, such as stereotypes, social distances, besides the cultural iceberg could cause certain difficulties in the pragmatics of communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the acculturation stress created by migratory flows in the peoples of the city of Guayaquil. With a quantitative approach and with a descriptive exploratory scope, behavioral differences, affective, cognitive and procedural factors that produce inequality and imbalance in contact between the immigrant and the native are analyzed, starting from the concepts of perceived threat. The Acculturation Stress Scale in Native Americans (Carmen Ramírez et al., 2012) was used as the study instrument. The results showed the reliability and validity of the questionnaire in the Guayaquil context. The factors that cause the most stress are: competition for resources, preferential programs for migrants; as well as elements of group identity. However, the responses showed favorable reactions in favor of social interaction and social desirability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the work is the identification of the elements of intercultural communication through the stories about the experience of Living in Chile of eighth grade students from Antofagasta, Chile. The method is biographical-narrative based on oral reports of a school case study, semi-structured interviews and content analysis of eight stories of adolescent students between 13 and 14 years old of the eighth grade of the basic year. The results reflect the need for a communicative immersion period at school for effective intercultural communication interaction in the verbal and non-verbal dimension. It is concluded that, in the entry, permanence and graduation of students to education, the importance of the support of the speech therapy professional for mediation and immersion in intercultural communication at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to determine the importance of communication, non-verbal language, and cultural awareness in preparing peace support operations and military training. To this end, it analyzes communicative competencies and their importance in these operations, as well as interculturality and nonverbal communication, discussing the elements involved in the nonverbal language in detail. Finally, it concludes that training and awareness on the correct use of communication and nonverbal language that considers interculturality is essential in effectively developing a peace support operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The following article presents an analysis of the use of educational radio in intercultural education contexts and how, from its implementation, elements of media and information literacy are noticed, which facilitates and encourages the construction of adequate intercultural communication. The research has been carried out in Chile, specifically in rural schools in the communes of San Juan de la Costa and San Pablo, with the participation of students and teachers of basic and high school education, mostly of Mapuche huilliche origin, a native people of the south from that country. The methodology used has a qualitative approach, having as data collection strategies semi-structured interviews with key informants, participant observation in situ (both face-to-face and virtual) and virtual ethnography. The main results have shown that: Educational radio can generate training content to enhance the processes of cultural emancipation, generating, at the same time, spaces for reflection and critical thinking in students. Media and information literacy is pertinent as a pedagogical tool to mainstream the teaching and learning processes in the Chilean educational context, as it allows taking from the media, elements for the construction of democratic societies. And as communication intercultural, the ability of students to create and produce radio content from their own realities, which can be disseminated and put at the service of their cultures while promoting their ways of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercultural communication is considered a progressively developing trend, both abroad and in modern Russia. The concept of Western research on this topic is interdisciplinary approaches this situation is conditioned by the need for a multilateral analysis of the processes taking place in this field. Attention is focused on studying the barriers to communication of representatives of many socio-cultural systems. The information reflects the experience of using Western methodology to analyze the problems of intercultural interaction. The main barriers that reduce the effectiveness of interactions are the differences in cognitive schemes that are relevant for representatives of certain cultures (in particular linguistic and non-verbal schemes, moments of public consciousness). The results of the study do not allow the dissemination of conclusions to an extremely broad social context. But due to the experience of interpreting the problems of intercultural communication, information is useful for organizations that function in the field of education, as well as leading dialogue between Russia and the West. It was possible to identify approaches to the definition of intercultural communication as an important branch of knowledge in the context of globalization, analyzing domestic and foreign traditions. The factors that predetermine the effectiveness of communication, as well as methods for overcoming complexities in the course of intercultural communication, are listed. The approaches that form the basis of the process of preparing people for life and work in a multicultural society, in the context of intercultural communication, are at the center of attention. Thanks to the culture of communication, it is possible to achieve mutual understanding between different nations, to form national self-consciousness, as well as the effective development of traditional cultures. A valuable social function is to translate not just the national and ethnic culture, but also to introduce the younger generation to common values, the world cultural process, of which the culture of any people is considered a part. For this, a dialogue of cultures is established, inter-ethnic communication appears. Nowadays there are quite a lot of nationalistic tendencies explaining the desire of the ethnoses to revive and preserve, develop personal cultural traditions and language, and to establish modern culture at the personal and group level thanks to national forms and symbols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the role of traditional folk songs and dances in the development of intercultural communication among elementary school children. Since we live in a multicultural society, it is necessary to develop the awareness of young people regarding the need to nurture harmonious relations among nations. The paper outlines the results of the empirical research aimed at determining whether the eighth-grade students from Central Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija know which nations live in their region and what their traditional songs and dances are. The results of the survey show that most students know the nations living in their vicinity but do not know their traditional songs and dances. This indicates that this kind of information and teaching content were not recognized and used as a means of interethnic connection, getting familiar with and understanding other nations. Traditional songs and dances can be a significant factor of successful intercultural communication in elementary schools if teachers recognize and use their potential. Descriptive method as well as the analysis and synthesis were used in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this theoretical research is to analyze and explain the contribution of public relations in intercultural dialogue within social organizations. To do this we resorted to investigating the social conflicts occurred during 2020; as well as to describe how the use of communication tools, in particular intercultural dialogue, can promote understanding and empathy in the face of different social problems. The communicative management that a public relations professional must carry out through effective communication must aim at mutual understanding between government and citizens, highlighting the active participation of the community, emphasizing the active participation of the community and the value represented by the continuous debate between the citizens and their institutions. For public relations professionals, it is a challenge to carry out intercultural communication with the purpose of solving the serious problems of dialogue and lack of understanding, thus recognizing the importance of maintaining a strategic organizational communication, where the messages are bidirectional, generating thus greater interaction and, above all, the resolution of social conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of the Other, (which in this document will be presented in capital letters due to the deliberate intention of giving it dignity and value of equality), is the axis of the literary review in which it is exposed from the field of communication, that there is not possibility of dialogue without an Other. The Other is not seen as the antagonist or as the enemy, but as the very reason for the communicative fact. Thus, the literature of Husserl, Buber, Gadamer, Freire, Prieto, Quintanilla, Theunissen, Panikkar, among others, is traversed to recover their references made about the Other and the qualities resulting from dialogue as an experience of encounter with otherness. The relational encounter with the Other that the communicative experience becomes effective is assumed from both an existential and a humanistic dimension, showing the difference between a dialectical dialogue, telegraphic or unidirectional, and the dialogical dialogue, as a space and environment conducive to construction and equitable exchange of senses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is devoted to the problem of cultural adaptation of foreign undergraduate students upon admission to study at master's degree programs in Russian universities. The analysis of collected research data is performed based on the critical incident technique. The study involved conducting respondent interviews. The data obtained in the course of the study reveals the main indicators of stress, adaptation, and growth of communicative competence in various ethnic and cultural groups of respondents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is a description of modern national Tatar Literature beginning with the 1970s till the present. The methods of continuous sampling, linguistic description, and the comparative method have been the tools for this research. The object of this study is the reflection of the term "forest" in the national literature. Nowadays, the irreplaceable role of forests as an ecological framework of the biosphere, the main component of natural complexes determining the stability and ecological balance on the planet, is universally recognized. In modern literature, forests are reflected as a global spiritual crisis of mankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify strategies to manage cultural diversity and develop creativity at "Fertial Company" in Algeria, following a partnership with a Spanish partner that caused intercultural communication problems among multicultural competencies. As a solution, managers have worked on cultural diversity management methods to support external pressures arising from the external environment and internal pressures related to the functional combination of Cultural backgrounds. The study finds that multiculturalism enhances human and organizational capital, leads to organizational flexibility, and leads to creativity, multiple options, creative alternatives, and solves problems efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interculturality is often used in L2 Spanish didactics. However, its theoretical underpinnings are unclear and somehow ideologically biased. This paper clarifies intercultural issues as a core aspect in the field of second language teaching. To this end, it considers contributions from different fields (sociology, pedagogy, hermeneutics, or literature) which focus on the dialogical, social, and cultural condition of the human being. This approach invites a new conception of multiculturality in the humanistic-cultural classroom. Literature, this article proposes, overruns all intercultural boundaries as it represents universals beyond local issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the relationship between international cultural and communicative flows, taking as a reference the recommendations of the McBride report published in 1980 as a warning to the concentration of media power in the hands of a small number of countries, a situation that favored uniformity cultural on the planet. These pages aim to update that photograph made by said report from the dissection of the origin and control of the media landscape, as well as its main channels and audiences. Through a qualitative research of the main media conglomerates and the most widely spread international television channels in the world, it is established how the mechanisms of cultural influence on the planet work today. The results of the research do not differ substantially from those of the Mc Bride report and show how the control of the media of the main communication conglomerates continues in the hands of a small group of Western countries and that their messages continue to contribute to the dissemination of economic, political models and hegemonic cultural Despite the prevalence of this dynamic, this article also echoes several responses at the local level, from the creation of communication media based on cultural ties and directed in many cases, to migrant communities in the diaspora, to the appearance of innovative opportunities linked to the development of the digital communication ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While mobile communication technologies have been exploited for instructional second and foreign language (L2) research, authentic mobile instant messaging (MIM) interactions remain virtually unexamined. As a result, decidedly little is known about L2 users' interlinguistic behavior in genuine MIM conversation. This type of communication may nevertheless be of interest to interlanguage pragmatics (ILP) research, particularly for what it may reveal about the intersection of cultures and electronically-mediated communities. This article traces the current state of related research and contemplates some preliminary conceptual and methodological considerations for future inquiries. It first reviews previous L1 and L2 studies involving mobile and instant messaging mediums. From among these, it notes two underexplored concepts which are relevant to ILP: namely, interculture and cultures-of-use. Respectively related to co-constructed culture and communities of practice, these aspects may shed light on and be illuminated by interlinguistic MIM interaction. Finally, the article looks to future investigations and, while not specifying analytical procedures, it recommends emic methods such as conversation analysis for examining these phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the challenges posed by the development of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in relation to teacher training in the postcolonial Chilean context. Through a review of bibliographic sources it is recognized that the preparation of new teachers (indigenous and non-indigenous) has failed to transversely implement an intercultural educational approach. This has allowed Chile to keep the hegemony of eurocentric monoculturality, resulting in these teachers' insufficient understanding of the cultures present in the classroom. In order to contribute to this critical discussion in the field, this paper reflects on the possibilities that ICC provides when seeking new ways of knowing and of communicating that confront monocultural education and develop intercultural educational processes, either in indigenous territories or in the new immigration contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the public statements sent out by Mapuche political prisoners on hunger strike between the months of March and May 2006 in La Araucanía Region, Chile. Because their goal is to encourage a favorable position on behalf of the Mapuche cause, these writings are considered to belong to the category of argumentative text. Their authors use the accumulation of information to convince through emotion and persuasion, among other mechanisms. In addition, the textual structure incorporates Mapudungun lexicon in order to expose the authors' ethnic identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 1996, and nearly a decade after becoming a member state of the European Union, Spain has experienced a substantial influx of immigrants, giving rise to new challenges with regard to intercultural communication. These populations arrived by land, sea, and air, bringing with them languages and cultures almost unknown or with little tradition in Spain. This resulted in a need for cultural and linguistic mediators, thereby facilitating communication between immigrants and Spanish nationals. It is the best time to conduct research on intercultural and interlingual communication. In 1997, the first article on one of the many forms in which intercultural communication is carried out was published also in Spain. I am referring to public service interpreting and translation (PSIT) (Valero Garcés, 1997: 267-277). Shortly thereafter, the research group called FITISPos (Training and Research in Public Service Interpreting and Translation) was formed. This interdisciplinary and multilingual group focuses on research and training, and their objectives have broadened upon undertaking subsequent projects and activities throughout the 21st century. One notable field of research that the FITISPos Research Group has delved into includes communication among immigrant populations in healthcare settings. The group members' contributions are further demonstrated by the numerous articles and books they have had published over the last 20 years. The overall goal of this article is to provide an overview of publications of the group centered on triad encounters with health staff, patients who cannot speak Spanish, and the intermediary (interpreter/mediator/translator) who enables communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays research on intercultural communication plays a key role in understanding and making easier the processes of globalization of organizations. This article aims at identifying the communication challenges perceived by expatriate managers in countries with different cultures, particularly in the context of Spanish companies located in Tangiers. This territory has been selected because it is one of the Moroccan enclaves with the largest number of Spanish companies, due to its geographical proximity and the excellent infrastructure that it offers. The initial hypothesis is that the communication problems between Spanish and Moroccan middle management executives derive from cultural differences. In order to reach the objectives, managers from both nationalities have completed questionnaires to assess the problems they perceive in the process of interpersonal communication. The results, interpreted in the light of the cultural dimensions of Hofstede, determine that the main problems stem from uncertainty avoidance and power distance. The findings highlight the need to address cultural issues in the training of expatriate managers in order to improve interpersonal relationships that facilitate the international expansion of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has as objectives, propose the issue of the need for analog dialogue between Critical Theory with the Philosophy of Liberation, fundamentally among the new generations, towards a concerted effort a systematic criticism of capitalism and modernity. View some relationships that had place in XX century, between the thinkers of the Frankfurt School and Latin America that new generations should retake. And finally, see the conditions of possibility of such analog dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this short text, we reflect on the nature of intercultural communicative interaction. We reject the possibility of characterizing the space created in intercultural encounters from a subjectivist angle, i.e., as a simple sum of the subjective activities of the interactors involved. At the same time, we argue that this space is not structured in advance, either by elements of a universal pragmatics or by typical communication patterns of any of the cultures that enter into contact. As an alternative, we propose conceiving of intercultural communicative interaction as an entity sui generis that emerges autogenetically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the challenges and their causes in interactions between Western supervisors and international doctoral students, we conducted a self-study of our experiences as a Chinese international student and her Dutch supervisor during her doctoral research project. We found the supervisor and the student to differ in their expectations of the learning goals and procedure for the doctoral program. We analyze three types of misunderstandings, regarding how formal the supervision should be, how feedback and assessment should be provided and understood (e.g. strict versus implicit critiques, open praise for excellence versus praise to encourage), and how the student is expected to learn (e.g. expecting answers versus providing questions, learning from modeling versus learning by trial and error). We also illustrate how implicit these misunderstandings were in daily supervision interactions and how deeply they were rooted in the cultural (i.e. power distance, individualism, masculinity, and indulgence) and educational (i.e. education oriented toward qualification versus personal development, level of competition, and degree of teacher regulation) differences between the supervisor and the student. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 1872 the Ranqueles signed a peace treaty with missionaries and military leaders on the frontier-post of the Pampa. This peace treaty will be the last document to regulate the relationship between the Ranqueles, indigenous peoples of Mapuche descent, and the "Christians" in the argentine Pampa until in 1879 argentine troops invade the territory and take possession of it. An analysis of letters and other written documents from this period shows, that in this environment of intercultural communication bilingual persons, lenguaraces, played a major part, even though their participation in the communicational process is not always noted. The lenguaraz had the task to interact between two cultures using his cultural, idiomatic and expressive knowledge. Eugenio Coseriu's theory of surrounding fields is used here, to analyse how the participation of a translator, explicitly mentioned or omitted, has affected and found influence in the oral texts and written documents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging international system in the twenty-first century is characterised by a new phase of globalization in which, largely due to the explosion of information and communication technologies, the role and activity of a variety of actors –outside and within states– has been significantly strengthened. While the states remain as the main actors of the world system, the current configuration of the international order no longer responds to the Westphalian state-centric paradigm that shaped international relations until the end of the twentieth century. In this new scenario, the role of subnational actors is increasingly active, which opens a window of opportunity for developing nations to improve their competitive and cooperative insertion in the international system at both regional and global levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to address the emergence of ethnoscapes on the outskirts of Brasilia, located at the region of Samambaia Norte, with migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ghana. The proposal is getting back to the concept of ethnoscape. This need has been identified at fieldwork experience, for having found small changes that intercultural contacts develop on these locations, and moreover, pointing to the enriching power that the encounters with diversity provide. Therefore, along with the recreation of space, we would like to think the emergence of ethnoscapes on the outskirts of Brazilian cities to be able at discussing notions about solidarity, belonging, inclusion, through the contacts and encounters with the foreigners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research and practice connected to the use of empathic strategies in multicultural educational settings is emerging as one of the most effective ways to combat intergroup bias. The aim of this study is to design an instrument to measure the specific intercultural empathy in its affective component for the Spanish population towards the population of Moroccan origin. Thus, this instrument makes possible the measurement of this feature or capability before implementing educational strategies in multicultural contexts. Therefore, two samples of University students were used to carry out a cross validity study through exploratory (Factor 9.20) and confirmatory factor analysis (SPSS-AMOS). Then, a 3-factor structure was obtained: empathic concern, understanding and affection. The goodness of fit indices, together with the validity and reliability revealed by multidimensional analysis prove that the model is optimal. Eventually, it is discussed the desirability of designing specific instruments that take into account the profile of the populations under this study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the role played by the indigenous knowledges of the People of the Centre -a multiethnic indigenous group of Colombian Amazonia- in the Witoto Ethnic Safeguarding Plan of Leticia (PSE). This is one of the 34 Plans that the Colombian Constitutional Court compelled the State to create and implement to protect indigenous peoples threatened by internal forced displacement. Drawing on anticolonial and decolonizing research and on subaltern perspectives on human rights, the paper focuses on the PSE as an intercultural and unequal dialogue that forces indigenous people to express themselves in the State and Court's discourses of rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This audience study explores how a group of children from Southeast Mexico, perceive the animated cartoon «Dexter's Laboratory». The objective is to observe the ways in which a young local audience, still in the process of building its cultural identity, perceives an American television program. A qualitative approach was applied: 44 children between 8 and 11 years old participated in a series of semi-structured interviews and focus groups, which took place in a provincial city in Mexico (Villahermosa, Tabasco). In each session, the participants watched an episode of the cartoon dubbed into Latin Spanish. Afterwards, it was assessed if they were able to notice cultural elements present in the series (texts in English, traditions, ways of life, symbols, etc.), which are different from their own culture. It was also observed if age, gender and social background had any impact on the degree of awareness. The results showed that most of the participants were aware of the fact that they were watching a foreign program, that they could recognize elements of American culture and that they applied diverse strategies to make sense of these foreign narratives. Older children, and those studying English as a second language, were able to make more sophisticated comparisons between the cultures of Mexico and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the participation of immigrant parents in the schools attended by their children. Its main contribution lies in the fact that audiovisual narratives have been used for portraying the relationship between school and community. We present the first results of the project which investigates the nature of the relationships between a group of these families with the educational institution, promoted by verbal and photographic narratives group meetings initiated and supported in school classrooms and continued in their family and social contexts. During the school year 2011/12, we worked with families of a group of 4th Primary Education students in the Jaime Vera School in Madrid, Spain. Among the pupils enrolled, 89% share an immigrant background. Meetings provide discussion intended to narrate the stories. In addition to observation and audio recording of its manifestations in spontaneous storytelling sessions, informal interviews with participating families were carried out to validate the study. Families gave their approval for these sessions to be recorded. Among the conclusions of this study it should be noted that both the school's director and the tutor played a determinant role in engaging families to participate. We have found that there is a noticeable contrast between the superficial knowledge that parents have expressed about each other at the beginning of the school year, and the closer relationship that existed among them at the end of that period. Finally, the positive impact of the questions asked during the participants' narratives on their mutual understanding should be highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project seeks to highlight certain basic problems that the use of specific terminology may create in the provision and understanding of information in the Mental Health ambit. The paper has been divided into two parts. The first one presents different theoretical basis from which some linguistic difficulties may arise. The subsequent section extrapolates these issues to an interlinguistic scenario in order to formulate proposals that may be useful to solve them through translation processes. The final goals of this project are i) to raise awareness among readers of the positive and negative impact that language may have on those persons suffering mental disorders and ii) to provide the basis for more accurate translations that may result in a more fluent and effective communication among patients and healthcare services, either in monolingual or interlinguistic communicative environments where English and Spanish are the languages involved. In addition, we will suggest extending some of these guidelines to closely-related disciplines such as interpreting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores the way in which the cultural dimension of individualism is reflected in the interactional discourse of Spanish and us business websites. This cultural dimension is concerned with the way individuals from a particular culture define their own identity and their relationship with other people. Considering the scores of Spain and the us on the individualism index, the objective of this study is twofold: (a) to analyse the type ofinteractional metadiscourse strategies used on the presentation pages of Spanish and us toy company websites, and (b) to determine whether the individualism index scores of Spaniards and North Americans are reflected in different interactional metadiscourse strategies when companies establish a social relationship and persuade a potential customer to purchase their products. The results obtained confirm that there are important differences in the interactional discourse of this digital genre, which may be a valuable source of information for export companies that wish to introduce their products abroad by means of their business websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the results of a content analysis of the image of immigrants portrayed in prime- time television fiction in Spain, based on the cultivation theory and research on ethnic minorities in the media. The data indicates immigrant characters clearly are underrepresented and tend to be depicted in a negative way that reinforces stereotypes about immigrants (e.g., performing criminal activities). The results are discussed in relation to the role television fiction could play in reducing prejudice through mediated intergroup contact (Park, 2012). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To be or have, to increase knowledge and get them valued. It seems a simple chained but the trio captures the essence of the process of communication between organizations and their external audiences, every time more dynamic because they assume that they can stop being the end of the communication chain from sender to receiver if they become proactive agents that seek, develop and broadcast content. The communication of the XXI century, organizations are forced to change their management priorities because they notice and understand that it is not enough to deal with the symbols of identity or to achieve a good positioning but it must base its external actions in the management and the relationships with audiences as and beneficiaries and evaluators of their offer in a saturated environment for proposals which is no longer enough to be but it is noteworthy to be seen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every time it is bigger the proliferation of advances of technology to improve the speed with which information reaches the target audience. But it happens that those who work as journalists are mired in economic pressures since media owners demand better results in journalism. This means that there must be newsworthy content juicy, tempting and seller. It is said over and over that a media is a business, not a school or a university. Results are claimed tangible in survey tuning, circulation or rating. This conflict between the quality of information, academic performance and professional journalist career versus entrepreneur's economistic claims already surpassed the century of discussions. The fact of living in full digital convergence only complicates things. Now there are new information platforms, the curiously named portability and the insane race for the speed of uploading the scoop of the network, far from giving higher quality and to maintain and improve a certain style information in appropriate formats, we are facing an improvisations race with more curious and picturesque effects every time. Is it true that what matters is that the segment of our target audience will always consume the information we deliver? It is only about increasing the consumption of support, no matter the accuracy or quality of the content. No matter whether we are dealing with prefabricated or invented issues, drawn from fiction or fantasy. It is irrelevant the respect towards the human condition dignity, it is not necessary to establish the truth as the foundation and if you can give a dose of poignancy and a touch of morbid irony, so much the better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study analyzes the most significant communication barriers, linguistic and cultural, that may be observed in healthcare regarding immigrant women of Moroccan (and, in general, Maghrebi) origin, particularly in relation to reproductive health. For that purpose, the experiences of intercultural mediators in a public hospital in the region of Castellón are examined, as well as the results obtained from discussion groups carried out with heal thcare staff and patients from that hospital. This information is compared to that published regarding healthcare for women of Moroccan origin, both in Spain and in Morocco. The results of this study point out the presence of complex communicative problems which require the implementation of community mediation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the literature, researchers use a wide range of more or less related terms to discuss and describe ‘intercultural competence'. They have in common the attempt to account for the ability to go beyond one's own culture and interact with other individuals from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds. In that sense, contact with other languages and cultures provides an excellent opportunity to foster the development of intercultural communicative competence and online transnational programmes play a unique role in offering students the opportunity to put into practice their intercultural competencies. In this article we summarize theory and research on intercultural competence, paying particular attention to existing approaches and tools for its assessment in online educational programmes. We also present the example of a case study: the setting up of a transnational education programme between college students in ULPGC, Spain, and ICES, France. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to expose the results of a recent research study developed in schools of primary and secondary schools in the province of Malaga (Andalusia, Spain) on interpersonal relations and the promotion of intercultural communication as key tools in the construction of intercultural and inclusive schools, where precisely the fluid and respectful communication between the different actors of the educational community is a key element in the generation of intercultural coexistence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we present the project we are carrying out in the 2010-2012 period (FIS: PS09/01449). This study is the continuation of the investigation we started in 2007 with the financing of the Consejeria de Salud of the Junta de Andalucia (the Andalusian Government Health Office) (PI424-2007) in which we analyze the Intercultural Communicative Competence of the Nursing professionals dealing with Muslim patients from the point of view of the professionals themselves. Now we aim at evaluating the Intercultural Communicative Competence of the Nursing professionals from the point of view of the Muslim immigrant users-patients. Objective: To know how the patients receiving the care value the Intercultural Communicative Competence of the nurses and nursing assistants. Methodology: Qualitative study, in-depth interviews and discussion groups as a data collecting strategy. Informants: men and women of Muslim tradition who have been hospitalized in one of the Public Hospitals of the province of Almería (Spain). Conclusion: Being aware of the perceived deficiencies will enable us to elaborate a series of suggestions-proposals for intervention aimed at improving the health care and attention offered to this collective of population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the possible influence of a reader's place of origin on the comprehension of health communication messages and on the formation of attitudes and intentions to behave in a precautionary manner. A measurement instrument with a reading comprehension, attitude and intention scale was administered to a group of individuals of Puerto Rican and Dominican origin (N=40) living in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The reading comprehension scale used two texts with different levels of difficulty (relatively easy and middle) in accordance with the Readability Formula for Spanish of Francisco Szigriszt Pazos. Statistical analyses revealed that no statistically significant differences (p>.05) were found in the arithmetic means of the correct answers when the two levels of difficulty were compared among the participants. There was no statistically significant difference (p>.05) among the sample for the relatively easy level of the reading test; however, for the middle level, there was a statistically significant difference (p<.05). Regression analyses run showed that comprehension and attitude together do not significantly predict the degree of intention to adopt healthy preventive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the biggest challenges facing interpersonal communication in public health is the growth of linguistic and cultural diversity of the populations it serves. This review seeks to make sense of and to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge that attends a population with great ethno-linguistic diversity, native or migrant, in health services, with the final objective to furnish information and to appraise the diverse legal aspects, strategies, resources, and good practices with which it is faced in Mexico, Spain, and the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of an evaluation study of the "Course of Critical Reception in Favor of the Better A. C." (a Mexican non-government organization). The experience took place in a little Otomi town (Jesus del Monte) in Michoacan in 2005. Drawing upon the theoretical-methodological perspective of cultural studies, the research used participant observation, group discussion and critical discourse analysis in order to identify and interpret the underlying ideology by a group of Otomi mothers. This focus also revealed the senses meanings given by these mothers to the use and content of the media of communication, as well as the characteristics of their relation -- and that of their school age children -- to them. The final recommendations stress the importance of substituting the communicational structure of the course (designed by an instructional model) for one that would permit the reflection and construction of knowledge on the basis of the rich cultural heritage and experience of the participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides information on a line of research rarely pursued in our local environment: the relationship between the media and the community, based on a study of a bilingual radio show (Spanish-Kichwa) and its target audience. The results consider elements such as public access and participation, and contribute information on other aspects of local communication, such as the relationship between education and cultural reinforcement, the weight of authorities versus common citizens on the airwaves, the correlation between the contents broadcast and what the public needs or wants, and how Kichwa-Saraguro teachers visualize interculturality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical proposal for the analysis of symbolic frontiers in situation of intercultural communication; this concept is not as a territorial limit between states, but a theoretical-methodological tool to be able to understand how the sense of own is constructed by constituting «ours» and «theirs». This article links the following concepts together: border, cultural front, hegemony, habitus and intercultural communication to be able to propose the internal border concept as an element to consider when speaking about resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]