Articles
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Intercultural Communication Competence in Business: Communication between Japanese and Americans
Abstract: This paper summarizes the results of interviews and questionnaires of 20 American business people who have experience in doing business with Japanese people and discusses how Americans with a high degree of intercultural awareness made compromises or could make compromises in order to conduct business negotiations more efficiently. While acknowledging that one’s intercultural communication competence is context-dependent and there is no... [...] Read more
Impediments to cultural teaching in EFL programmes at a Saudi University
Abstract: Literature in a given language is the ultimate culmination of cultural expression. However, in Saudi universities, the literature of the English language, mainly British and American, is meagrely taught due to dogmatic religious considerations. This study reviews relevant research on culture and literature teaching in EFL, and further delves into an exploration of the perceptions and attitudes of faculty and students with regard to why... [...] Read more
Looking at You Looking at Me: An Autoethnographic Account of a Tattooed Female and (Re)appropriation of the Tourist Gaze
Abstract: As noted through Ury’s (2002) work, the tourist gaze serves as a literal and metaphorical construct describing the process involved in viewing the interculturally different Other. However, traditional understandings of the tourist gaze do not account for the reciprocity involved in the gazing process. Through the use of autoethnography enhanced with visual ethnographic artifacts, this essay dissects the presumed linear nature of the gaze,... [...] Read more
Television Exposure, Model Minority Portrayals, and Asian-American Stereotypes: An Exploratory Study
Abstract: This exploratory study examines how television exposure influences White-American viewers’ attitudes toward Asian-Americans. Prior research reveals that the dominant image of Asian-Americans in contemporary television is that of the "model minority." Drawing on social identity, intergroup communication, and attributional theories, this study explores the negative outcomes of the seemingly positive Asian-American model minority stereotype.... [...] Read more
Health Service Provision in a Huichol Community in Mexico: an issue of Intercultural Communication
Abstract: In Mexico, there is a high incidence of health-related problems among indigenous ethnic groups that are otherwise prevented and have a low impact in non-indigenous rural communities. The Mexican Ministry of Health acknowledges that this problem may be in part due to the fact that the vision of the indigenous patient regarding health issues has been omitted from official programmes. In this paper we show that although understanding cultural... [...] Read more
A Comparative Study of Native and Non-native Body Language: The Case of Americans’ Kinesics vs. Persian English Speakers
Abstract: Body language is considered as one of the most fundamental components of communication. Many factors including culture, gender, age, and psyche can affect the use of body language among different people. However, related literature shows that culture and gender are more effective in causing variability of kinesics. This study is an attempt to examine the effect of these two factors on the nonverbal behavior of Persian EFL learners. In other... [...] Read more
More Different Than Similar: Values in Political Speeches of Leaders from Developed and Developing Countries
Abstract: With globalization, the understanding of different values and cultures has become vital. This study investigates differences and similarities in the use of values of political speeches from developed and developing countries. A content analysis was conducted on 48 political speeches of six leaders. Applying the list of Basic Human Values, we found that "benevolence," "universalism," "stimulation," "self-direction," and "achievement" were most... [...] Read more