Articles
-
Interpreters in Intercultural Health Care Settings: Health professionals’ and professional interpreters’ cultural knowledge, and their reciprocal perception and collaboration
Abstract: To learn how health professionals and interpreters perceive each other and collaborate. Based on this discuss the role of professional interpreters. Method : Narrative interviews with nurses, focus group interviews and questionnaire studies of medical nurses, psychiatric health professionals, and professional interpreters. Findings : Communication problems may be caused by language and by different horizons of understanding, medical... [...] Read more
The Ambiguities of Intercultural Dialogue: Critical Perspectives on the European Union’s New Agenda for Culture
Abstract: Throughout the last couple of decades various aspects of culture seems to affect the lives of European citizens more and more. As a reply the European Union (EU) in 2007 endorsed ' A European agenda for culture in a globalising world ’, evidently their first-ever strategy for culture. Zooming in on three areas – intercultural dialogue, culture as a catalyst to creativity, and culture as part of foreign relations – culture had for... [...] Read more
Interview without a subject: The Russian doll question and cultural encounters
Abstract: This article contributes to the rethinking of qualitative interview research into intercultural issues. It suggests that the application of poststructuralist thought should not be limited to the analysis of the interview material itself, but incorporate the choice of interviewees and the modalities for the accomplishment of interviews. The paper focuses on a discussion of theoretical and methodological considerations of... [...] Read more
Communication challenges in a multicultural learning environment
Abstract: Culture is an intricate concept, with many different classifications. Simply put, "culture" refers to a group or community with which we share common experiences that shape the way we understand the world. Each of us is shaped by many factors, and culture is one of the powerful forces that influence our lives. This paper offers a critique of problems experienced in multicultural learning environments and explores factors that inhibit... [...] Read more
Changing Stereotypes in Iran and Canada Using Computer Mediated Communication
Abstract: As part of a university course activity, one group of Canadian and one group of Iranian students were randomly partnered to exchange e-mail messages via the Internet for seven weeks. Before beginning their correspondence, all students completed a questionnaire measuring their stereotypes, attitudes, and knowledge about the people and culture of their prospective e-pals. Students from both countries then exchanged messages and photos. In... [...] Read more
The Hegemonic Role of the United States in the U.S.-China Copyright Disputes
Abstract: This paper examines the U.S. hegemonic role in imposing its copyright standards onto the Chinese, who hold fundamentally different cultural perceptions of copyright in terms of innovation, fair use, and the public domain. A thematic analysis of the transcripts of 45 in-depth interviews of the Chinese copyright holders and consumers via the theoretical lens of hegemony reveals the following. To obtain bigger market access and better protection... [...] Read more
Avatars and Sojourners: Explaining the Acculturation of Newcomers to Multiplayer Online Games as Cross-Cultural Adaptations
Abstract: Only in recent years have formal theories of immigrant and sojourner acculturation been developed. Could these theories be employed to study the acculturation of newcomers into the virtual cultures of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs)? These gameworlds are inhabited by millions of people worldwide and have emerged as societies with their own cultural myths, schemata, argot, and communication practices. As such, new players may be... [...] Read more