Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Aging – Cross-cultural studies – Case studies'

  

ABSTRACT

 

Aim: Despite the domestic and international importance of services the research about the internationalization of services it is limited. Compared to products, services differ in nature. They are intangible and heterogeneous, meaning they are usually consumed at the point of purchase and are performed, as well as perceived differently. When a service provider wants to market its offerings in culturally distant country, the local country's culture is an important factor during the process of adaptation/standardization of the service. What is acceptable in one country might not be acceptable in another. Thus, this study aims to identify how adaptation/standardization of a service in a foreign country takes place, how the problems of intangibility and heterogeneity are handled.

 

Method: This study presents the single case of the Swedish medical systems company Elekta and its efforts to market its Gamma Knife Technology, a neurosurgical method, to Brazil. It is based on secondary data, in form of topic related books, scientific articles and internet sources, only. For gathering primary data, an exploratory research design was chosen to conduct a qualitative research. Structured interviews were chosen to acquire data since they are particularly helpful when dealing with complex issues. The interviews were sent in form of email questionnaires to a contact person at Elekta's head quarter in Sweden, as well as the Swedish/Brazilian co-operation. However, both interviewees did not respond contrary to prior agreements.

 

Result & conclusion: The analysis of the findings revealed that, according to Hofstede's  Five Cultural Dimensions both countries differ greatly in culture. Whilst some service characteristics are likely to be fully or mainly standardized, others will have to be adapted in order to fit the local culture. The service itself, as well as the service's process, its people involved and its physical evidence offer great potential for standardization, whereas pricing and promotion tend to be affected strongly by income and language and thus, is likely to require adaptation. Clearly, the local culture plays an important role during the process of adaptation/standardization. Cultural adaption can make service offering more tangible by reducing the gap of misunderstanding. Service providers should standardise service offerings, ideas, values and beliefs connected to the quality of a service and adapt factors related to the market. Standardisation and adaptation can both be implemented successfully in the market. A balanced combination makes services more homogenous and tangible.

Suggestion for further research: There is limited research available concerning the internationalization of services, with special regards to the process of adaptation /standardization. This study is based only on a single case, without primary research. Further research in Trust and Networking is required to complete the model. Furthermore, lacking primary sources from both companies, further research regarding of how both companies are providing services are required.

Contribution of the thesis: This work seeks to make a contribution towards a clearer understanding of international services marketing and the process of adaptation/standardization of services. It emphasizes on the importance of culture during the process of adaptation/standardization with regards to the intangibility and heterogeneity of services. It is based on previous research conduct by Hyder & Fregidou-Malama (2007) focusing on the adaptation/standardization of Elekta's services in Egypt.

Key words: International services marketing, service, adaptation, standardization, culture, intangibility and heterogeneity

 

Adjustment to a new culture is a slow and step-wise process, which can be facilitated by cross-cultural training. First, a comprehensive review of current theories about cross-cultural adjustment and different training techniques is presented. Then, the study looks at the preparation and training of expatriates at Ericsson in relation to these theories. In-depth interviews with two Area Managers at Ericsson have been carried out in order to establish how the company’s training program is structured. We found that Ericsson follows a sequential model with both pre-departure and post-arrival training, mainly didactic in nature. The pre-departure training is very culturegeneral, whereas the post-arrival training is more specific for the host culture. The post-arrival training is, however, not offered in all host countries. Language training is also offered, and expatriates are encouraged to visit the host country prior to the departure. Many components in Ericsson’s training program are supported by theory,but several other techniques described in the theory are not in use. A suggestion is made to further formalize the post-arrival training and make the overall training more culture-specific.

Existing research on multilingual acquisition indicates that multilingual learners confront challenges not only in mastering new linguistic forms, but also in forming new identities, and especially when the languages concerned are socially and linguistically distant. This study shows that ethnic minority students in China (referred in particular as ‘ethnic multilingual learners’ or EMLs in this study) at universities can face more challenges than the ethnic majority, Han, when they choose to study English as their major subject. The Han’s content and method in English learning are straitjacketed upon them. The environment is unfamiliar to EMLs, and the EMLs are often regarded as “strangers” to the place. Their problems include the national examination system, medium of instruction, learning difficulties, psychological issues and cultural exclusion. The current educational policies in China intend to protect the educational rights of ethnic minorities, but ignore the role of education in inheriting and capitalizing their ethnic cultures. The current university curricula mainly focus on subject knowledge building and patriotic education. As a result, the “cultural self-consciousness” and “cultural capital” of EMLs are less emphasized and encouraged. Data are collected on two female ethnic minority students at Yunnan University of Nationalities (YUN) through ethnographic interview, autobiography, oral narrative, online chatting and field observation. It provides information at a micro level, on how the two students, who have successfully navigated through Chinese education system to the tertiary level, try their best to excel in the education system of YUN with English language as their major subject and construct their multiple identities, and what important factors are affecting such identity construction. The findings suggest that they negotiate their multiple identities successfully through their active engagements on and off the university campus to become legitimate participants in various “communities of practice”. These identities are shaped partly by their own heritage and partly by the present sociopolitical realities in China. Drawing mainly on poststructuralist and multicultural education theories, the study also examines the power relationship exercised in YUN and discusses the impact of this power relationship on the identities formation of the target informants. The national and local policies as well as the curriculum structures of YUN are analyzed to identify the implicit power relationship that mainly causes tensions to the education and language learning of EMLs. It is argued that multiculturalism, as a discourse of education, may help to ease the tension between being an ethnic minority and a Chinese national, and reduce the danger of assimilation and marginalization of these EMLs. To achieve the goal of multilingual education based on the notion of multiculturalism, a “collaborative” power relationship which facilitates the empowerment rather than disempowerment of EMLs should be the goal in China according to the framework of “ethnic diversity within national unity”. It is envisaged that with such multicultural mentality, EMLs will be more able to act not only as manpower for raising productivity of the country, but also as agents for social transformation and in the end become citizens of the cosmopolitan world.
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Education
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Doctor of Philosophy

Universities admit students from diverse backgrounds and have an obligation to accommodate all the students in various educational programmes to ensure that they acquire relevant skills and knowledge. The provision of Textile, Clothing and Design programmes to students with diverse academic backgrounds in universities of technology in Zimbabwe has led to various concerns raised by the textile and clothing stakeholders. The concerns include poor performance of students, high student failure rate, high student drop out, late completion of programmes by students, and other problems emanating from curriculum implementation approaches used by the lecturers. This study therefore, sought to find out how students with diverse academic backgrounds are catered for in the provision of TCD programmes in the two sampled universities of technology in Zimbabwe, with a view to assist the students and to enhance the quality of TCD provision. The study adopted a post-positivism paradigm and used a mixed method research approach that integrated concurrent qualitative and quantitative procedures in data collection, analysis and interpretation. A questionnaire, interviews and document analysis were used to collect data from respondents. Purposive sampling procedure was used to select 36 TCD lecturers, 2 universities’ quality assurance directors, 2 TCD faculty deans of studies, and 2 department chairpersons. Collected data were analyzed using statistical and non-statistical procedures. The study revealed that catering for students with diverse academic backgrounds was practiced in the two universities despite the absence of a curriculum implementation policy to guide the provision of TCD programmes to students with diverse academic backgrounds at university level. It emerged that catering for students with diverse academic backgrounds in implementing TCD curricular at the two sampled universities was faced with various challenges that include lack of lecturer training with regard to catering for students from diverse academic backgrounds and inadequate lecturer training in depth TCD subject content knowledge and ICT teaching technology packages. The study also revealed that there is not enough university and stakeholder participation with regards to supporting and monitoring curriculum implementation process to cater for students with diverse academic backgrounds. Although there were challenges encountered in catering for students with diverse academic backgrounds, the study reveals that there are pockets of good practice in some curriculum implementation strategies implemented by the two institutions such as use of student centered teaching and instructional approaches, university support and lecturer commitment to assist the students. The study findings conclude that although catering for TCD students with diverse academic backgrounds was being practiced in the two universities of technology, there are very critical issues observed over the programmes implementation process that include absence of curriculum implementation policy, lack of training of lecturers and inadequate participative TCD stakeholder involvement. Based on the study findings and reviewed literature, the researcher suggests an alternative curriculum implementation framework for catering for students with diverse academic backgrounds that may help improve effectiveness of university programmes implementation.

Agricultural and educational researchers recognize the critical value of an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to education in building a food-secure world, reducing poverty, and conserving and enhancing natural resources. However, schools generally contribute little to communities in the context of food growing and environmental learning. The main objective of this qualitative research was to explore the role of school-community relationships in enabling environmental learning in the context of food growing activities. Findings suggest that the role of school-community links in enhancing environmental learning is more likely where community members are actively involved in school programs that have an emphasis on an experiential learning approach. However, this depends to a large extent on the availability of parents or concerned community members and their willingness to engage in voluntary school-based activities. Factors that could potentially strengthen the role of school-community links in supporting environmental learning include: allowing space for informal learning, mediating learning in civil society settings, ongoing facilitation by a committed coordinator, community buy-in and accountability, and addressing public interests through tangible benefits. A major challenge is to find an appropriate balance between social justice and practical food security concerns, while remaining true to ecological considerations.

The aim of this research is to analyse how adaptation / standardisation, trust and network development counter the challenges created by intangibility and heterogeneity of service in the case of Philippine Gamma Knife Incorporated. This research used qualitative data that were gathered through unstructured interviews, direct observation and documents. The adaptation / standardisation, trust and network facilitate service visibility and decrease heterogeneity of a health care service. Among the variables adaptation / standardisation signifies an important role; however, trust manifestation was concluded more significant compared to network in a cultural environment such as that found in the Philippines. Moreover, culture was found to be an important role in the development of adaptation / standardisation, trust and network processes.

Organisations today are investing in the efficient management of their talented workforce, known as talent management (TM) in order to bear fruitful outcomes in terms of corporate sustainability. Some businesses choose to include all employees in their TM strategy-inclusive TM-whilst others only include the highest-performing employees-exclusive TM. It has been suggested that no matter which TM strategy they implement, contextual factors such as culture seem to drive the degree of their application. Thus, the rationale for this research is in determining the cultural factors that trigger the exercise of TM.This study's aim is to analyse the extent to which TM strategies are impacted by national and organisational culture. In addition, it seeks the critical exploration of TM in the context of key human resource practices (HRPs); the critical investigation of TM's application; the critical examination of national and organisational culture; and finally, the degree to which both types of culture affect TM's application. This study follows a conceptual framework which sets national culture as the independent variable, organisational culture as the mediating variable, and TM as the dependent variable. The body of theory overviewed is relevant to TM's concepts and its interrelation to both human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD). Predominant national and organisational cultural frameworks are also overviewed. This research's sample includes six case studies from northern, central and southern Greece and adopts a mixed-methods approach using primary data collected through questionnaires and interviews, and analysed through SPSS and thematic analysis. Among the key findings is that national culture indirectly drives the adoption of specific TM modes through the development of certain corporate cultures. Additional findings shed light on the contemporary conception of 'talent' and 'TM,' as well as on the association between national and corporate culture. This study significantly contributes to knowledge by bringing in evidence from the business environment while also discussing implications for practitioners regarding the parameters that influence both their decisions and actions.

The eye of the storm is the calm center amidst chaos where, metaphorically speaking, mediators often begin their work. Recent research has advocated for a more holistic, relational, culturally inclusive approach to the mediation process. Such an approach requires conflict fluency as well as cultural fluency for effective mediation. This thesis explores how the intervention strategies of mediation may be enhanced through increased cultural understanding. Current theories of intercultural conflict transformation and intercultural communication are reviewed. Conflict fluency is understood through a mediation perspective. Cultural fluency is understood through cultural identity, cultural values, communication styles, and conflict styles. A case study follows the theoretical review of the literature. In this case study, a small community mediation center illustrates what is happening in the field today regarding the relationship between culture and conflict. The case study involves a 6 holistic analysis of the organization, seeking to understand intercultural competence at all levels. This includes an analysis of keystone materials, a survey of mediators, Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) results, and interviews with mediators as well as organizational leadership. The thesis concludes with a list of recommendations that may be useful to this community mediation center as well as other similar organizations. Amongst these recommendations are potentially useful training items such as intercultural conflict styles, critical moment dialogues, and other intercultural tools designed to increase mediator competence in intercultural communication.

The current study focuses on customer relationship management initiatives in different organizations and in different countries. A proposed CRM model was adopted and used to evaluate the CRM initiatives of the chosen organizations in both Saudi Arabia and the UK. The scope of this research was affected by the differing levels of cooperation received from the organizations which participated in the case studies, thereby resulting in differing sizes of the said case studies. The adopted CRM conceptual model was used to evaluate the level of CRM maturity in the organizations studied. This model is believed to be a significant contribution to the theory and field of CRM. This model could be used by organizations to evaluate their CRM initiatives and assess their CRM readiness and status. The proposed CRM model specifies the basic parameters of the CRM sequential stages and their essential supporting conditions. Another important contribution of the study is that it identifies and highlights the potential effects of the cultural disparities existing between Saudi Arabia and the UK on CRM initiatives yet to be undertaken in both countries. In depth open-ended questions were used to collect the data. The analysis of the data gathered went through two main stages. The first stage was to transcribe the data collected from all the organizations chosen and produce detailed write-ups for each case. In every case the write-ups were similarly structured to help the researcher in the second stage, the cross-case analysis. The cross-case analysis was based on the researcher’s proposed conceptual CRM model. The central research question for this study is: Why and how do CRM initiatives succeed or fail? In order to answer this question, the following research questions were formulated and answers were deduced from the findings and results of the qualitative analysis conducted: RQ1: What are the critical success factors of CRM initiatives? The answers received resulted in the emergence of some critical success factors, such as: 1. Senior Management Support 2. Business Plan and Vision 3. Making the Change in Small Steps 4. Inter Departmental Collaboration 5. Clear Ownership of Data 6. Training for End-users 7. End Users' Acceptance of Change 8. Degree of Analysis and Customer Segmentation 9. Degree of Alignment 10. Language Considerations 11. Internet Presence RQ2: What are the common difficulties when adopting a CRM initiative? The answers came up with the following common difficulties: 1. Resistance to Change 2. Human Errors in Feeding the System 3. Governmental Legislation 4. Cultural Barriers RQ3: What does CRM mean for different organizations? The answers exposed a common interesting finding that different organizations considered CRM to be different things. Some considered CRM to be branded CRM software, others as call-centers, yet others as loyalty programs and/or simple tools to manage and satisfy customers. This confirmed that CRM meant different things to different organizations. RQ4: Is CRM the right solution for every organization? The answers proved that if branded software from recognized vendors only was to be recognized as CRM, then this standard and rigid kind of CRM could not always be implemented by all organizations. On the other hand, if the managerial concepts behind CRM were to be taken into consideration, then CRM could indeed be implemented by every organization.

Among the challenges that companies may face during the post M&A phase, cultural integration can be seen as one of the trickiest tasks. Cultural differences which are inevitable in any deal are always there. The link between how people from autonomous groups live together and the deal result is an interesting topic that needs to be investigated. Since we have an interest in developing the understanding of cultural differences during integration process in cross-border M&As, the research question “How do cultural differences arise in cross-border M&As during the integration process and do they impact the deal result?” is formulated.

This thesis presents a model that demonstrates elements of cultural differences from three levels, national, organizational and personal. In this model, these levels can be seen as interrelated to each other in which the inner layer is impacted by the outer one. As a result, personal culture, as the most inner layer, is doubly impacted by the other two, national and organizational levels. Given that the scope of our thesis is for cross-border M&As, after investigating these three levels of culture, we found that organizational and personal differences are real in any M&As no matter domestic or cross-border deals. Differences at national level, on the contrary, are the first element that should be mentioned as a root of cultural differences in companies from different nationalities.

From the understanding about emergence of cultural differences, we further study to see if they leave any effect on the deal result. In the empirical section, from the cultural gap analysis of each case, it was surprising to see that the relationship between cultural gap and deal result of two of four cases, are opposite to Rankine´s theory. At this point, we can see that M&As between companies similar in culture is not always successful or that failure between organizations having significantly different cultures is not always true, and then the empirical study on the acculturation dynamics made the further explanation that cultural differences are not the critical factor leading to success or failure, but rather how participants in integration perceive and respond to the cultural differences will impact the deal result.

This study is about young people (age 11-16) with diabetes. Based on fieldwork in a paediatric diabetes centre in Scotland, it describes the ways diabetes is lived and done by young people, their health carers and insulin pumps. This enactment is contrasted with other ways of doing diabetes, as observed on short fieldwork trips to paediatric centres in Brussels, Gothenburg and Boston. I explore the dynamics of diabetes care on two levels. I consider the interaction between health carers and patients. Comparative data from various paediatric centres make apparent how culturally and socially informed approaches towards adolescence, health and illness shape both care practices and patients' experiences, resulting in different medical outcomes. Concretely in the Scottish centre, a non-hierarchical holistic care approach by health carers emphasizing quality of life over health, informs the young people's perspective on diabetes. Being a free adolescent takes priority over managing diabetes, with the results of ill health and possible future complications. The existing dynamics in this care framework change as a third actor enters the scene: the insulin pump, a pager-sized technological device continuously attached to the body. I explore the balancing act between young people and their pumps. As the adolescents actively engage with their pumps not to search for better health but rather to pursue a better quality of life, the guiding question becomes: how can a technological device for insulin injection double as a tool towards a desired identity and a different illness? This work then, can be read as a concrete case study of how a uniform technological device is embedded and used in a specific cultural and social context. It can also be read as an argument for a re-orientation of paediatric diabetes care in the Scottish centre: care centred on collaboration and inclusion rather than focused on merely containing underlying conflict (between adults and adolescents, diabetes and life, health and quality of life). Centres in Brussels, Gothenburg and Boston, and the insulin pump concretely, show how collaboration can lead to good health and quality of life. To leave us to wonder: is 'doing diabetes differently' synonymous with 'doing a different diabetes'?

The purpose of this study was to investigate how a group of Chinese business students understood the nature and the purpose of the instruction techniques they were exposed to in Britain, and the attitudes the students, Chinese lecturers in China and British lecturers in Britain held towards seminar discussions. The study also investigated how and to what extent students’ prior learning experiences predisposed them to certain attitudes towards seminar discussions. The student participants in this study undertook Part I of their degree programme at a Chinese university for two years before transferring to Britain to study for one year, graduating with a British Bachelors Degree in International Business. Data was gathered from classroom observations, follow-up and exploratory interviews, and a questionnaire survey to discover more about the students’ learning experiences in Part I in China, and from classroom observations, audio-recordings, and follow-up and exploratory interviews to investigate the same group of students’ learning experiences in Part II in Britain. A ranking task and interviews were used to identify the preferences of Chinese students, British lecturers, and Chinese lecturers from China in terms of specific group discussion methods. The study identified three discussion methods used by students in British seminars: these have been termed ‘spiral’, ‘exploratory’ and ‘individual’ methods. The Chinese students tended to use the ‘spiral’ method, repeatedly bringing the discussion back to the question provided by the seminar tutor, whereas the non-Chinese students tended to use the ‘exploratory’ method, reformulating each other’s opinions and building on them by bringing in new information. When discussing within Chinese-only groups, the Chinese students used the ‘individual’ method whereby a group leader took responsibility for the outcomes of the discussion and the other members did not build upon each other’s contributions. Chinese and non-Chinese students sometimes misunderstood each others’ intentions, but were not likely to notice that miscommunication had occurred. The ranking task and the follow-up interviews revealed that the British lecturers preferred the ‘exploratory’ discussion method, whereas Chinese lecturers from China and Chinese students preferred the ‘spiral’ method. The British lecturers were found to adopt a constructivist approach to group discussion tasks, seeing them as a means by which students could obtain professional experience. They treated Business and Management knowledge as divergent and ‘soft’. Chinese lecturers and students, on the other hand, were found to perceive group discussion as a kind of assessment and were keen to find ‘correct’ answers to case study problems, treating Business and Management as convergent and hard disciplines which offered judgements on good practice. The Chinese lecturers in Part I of the programme organised group discussion so that students could exchange answers and check their accuracy, and, perhaps because of this, in Part I the students learnt in an exam-oriented way, strategically dividing up their tasks and working individually on their own task portions in order to find an acceptable answer as quickly as possible. These students were found to continue to employ these strategies during group work after they had transferred to the British component of their degree programme. The study has made a theoretical contribution to knowledge concerning the cultural influences on students’ classroom interactional practices. The findings from the study have implications for the teaching of intercultural business communication, and the enhancement of students’ learning experiences in international business programmes, in business English programmes in China, and whilst learning within groups.

The concept of positioning was first highlighted by Trout and Ries in an article published in 1971 and has since then been a well-studied subject. However, little study has been made regarding the way the positioning strategy changes depending on which country the company is about to enter. The purpose of this master dissertation is thus to investigate culture’s role as a driving force in international positioning.

The theoretical framework consists of the foundations of the positioning process and international marketing literature about cross-cultural theories. These theories are put together in an analytical model where a connection between the two theories is illustrated that will be used as a foundation in gathering and analysing the empirical data.

In a qualitative approach, the empirical data was gathered through semi-structured telephone interviews with the Marketing Directors or a corresponding title of five different Swedish international companies. These findings were also complemented with secondary data such as web pages and annual reports of the companies.

The findings of the study showed that cultural differences are considered to some extent and have resulted to an entirely new positioning strategy for one of the researched companies and to changes in the strategic tools made for consolidating the position in two additional companies. In the two remaining companies, culture has not been a driving force and the companies have thus not considered this in their positioning in international markets.

Nowadays, an increasing number of global retailers such as IKEA, Carrefour and Auchan, are expanding their business internationally: internationalization is seen as a way to face competitors as well as to enhance position on the market. In particular, emerging markets are becoming a fertile field for investing resources due to their fast economic development and growing disposable income of the local population. A number of market actors (or stakeholders) affect or are affected by the internationalization process, and therefore stakeholder management determines its success to a large extent. Thus, stakeholder management competences are becoming increasingly important in today’s business world. Our study addresses stakeholder management strategy applied by a Swedish global retailer (IKEA) when internationalizing to the Russian market. We also try to identify the main cultural differences between the focal organization and the Russian stakeholders, and the way in which the company faces and overcomes those diversities. Thus, we first give a brief overview of stakeholder management approach applied by IKEA on the corporate level, and then focus on particular practices adopted in Russia. Although the IKEA Group has internal and external stakeholder management framework, we find out that no explicit stakeholder management methodology is used in Russia. The strategy of managers is emergent and implicit, but within the company guidelines and code of conduct and in accordance with organizational culture and values. Although we outline IKEA Russia’s interaction with all main stakeholder groups on the Russian market, we examine more in detail the strategies applied towards the company’s three most critical stakeholders: government, suppliers and employees. Hence, IKEA Russia opts for long-term close collaboration with suppliers through knowledge and expertise exchange, close relationship-building, improvement of working standards, and even financial investments in some cases. Employees are granted good working conditions and respectful attitude, different compensation package, possibilities for personal and professional development. Government, identified by our respondents as the most challenging stakeholder, is approached through lobbying on different levels, development of personal relationships, exchange of experience and best practices. However, when interacting with authorities, IKEA also has to adapt, be “flexible within the limits”, and focus on the long-term. Having outlined real-life strategies applied by IKEA in Russia, we compare them with the results of theoretical modeling. In order to come up with theoretical propositions for stakeholder management of IKEA in Russia, we developed a stakeholder management model, which comprised all the most relevant theories. We, thus, discover that theoretical suggestions for stakeholder management are close to what is done by management in practice. However, the theoretical model overlooks “soft” aspects of dealing with stakeholders: local and organizational culture, turbulent business environment, fast pace of doing business. Moreover, it is difficult for a single stakeholder management framework to give a one-right stakeholder management approach: it is important to combine different theories and use them for complementing each other. This allows to get a more profound insight into managing stakeholders. We develop our research based on the information we could gather from IKEA’s representatives as well as secondary data sources, such as books, two doctoral theses, and a vast amount of journal articles. Our respondents were asked to answer questions throughout which their perceptions about the company’s stakeholders have been evaluated. This has helped the researchers to draw conclusions and answer the research questions.

As a result of globalization and increase interdependence of the world economies, people from different cultures are interacting more frequently. However, most problems and misunderstandings occur when members of one culture assumes that their own unconscious values and beliefs are equally appropriate in other cultures. Typically, this is more prominent in an international business setting where companies are increasingly operating outside their usual working environment and interacting more with people belonging to other cultures. Even though, there are a huge number of studies which have focused on assessing the behaviours prevailing in different cultures and countries, we have noticed that there is a lack of literature aiming to find the leadership behaviours and styles becoming prevalent when there is a shift from one culture to another. More specifically, we have observed that there is a theoretical gap in the literature for understanding the behaviours which leaders adopt when they move from a high power distance culture to operate in a country classified as low power distance. Additionally, even on the basis of the extensive literature review conducted, it has been noticed that there are no studies which have aimed to find out the reasons behind adopting the prevailing leadership behaviours and styles. To achieve the purpose of this study, a qualitative research design and semi structured interviews were conducted with twelve managers in two different companies. Typically, a French and a Japanese company (both classified with high power distance index) operating in Sweden (classified with low power distance index) were selected. The data was analyzed using grounded theory and appropriate coding (open and selective coding) was adopted to generate sub-categories and categories which would help to explain the phenomenon being studied. As a result of the analysis undertaken, we have found out that both companies belonging to the high power distance culture have adopted distinct leadership styles. Basically, the French company has adopted a directive leadership style owing to the increasing influence which it receives from the home culture whilst the Japanese company has adopted a participative leadership style. It has also been found that the prevailing leadership behaviours are because of a number of factors like; the management cultural beliefs, labour laws, local employees, decision making process, monitoring and supervision process and influence from the host culture.

The global competition and as the worldwide market has become more open a company’s ability to outsource activities to external companies based in other countries, i.e. offshore outsourcing, has increased dramatically. Companies are starting to transfer higher value-added activities that require certain skills, domain knowledge and experience, i.e. Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). These activities are getting more difficult and complex to manage compared with standardised activities such as payroll, and predict another kind of co-operation and communication between the companies. When the sender and receiver are based in different context, such as organisational and cultural, other aspects might be added to the difficulty. The purpose of this thesis is to describe, and analyse knowledge transfer in a cross cultural context based on three categories identified in the theoretical framework: character of knowledge, distances between sending and receiving context and mutual understanding. Also to answer how cultural differences might affect the knowledge transfer process. The objective of this study is mainly from a Swedish R&D company’s perspective that has an established relation with an external consultancy company based in India. The activities are within the area of dynamical changing software development of complex, communication and knowledge intensive products.

A qualitative case study has been performed based on open target interviews. The findings show that the character of knowledge is an important factor to consider when establishing the knowledge transfer process. It was a need to transfer knowledge not only related to the product itself but also knowledge embedded in organisational routines, processes, practises and norms. This is related to distances between sending and receiving context: organisational and knowledge differences shown in organisational skills and previous experience, and cultural differences mainly visible in communication such as raising problems and an expected top-down approach by managers. The geographical distance adds to the difficulty due to the missing face-to-face contact. The sending company must therefore be very active and can not just expect the receiving company to handle the activity, and especially when the companies’ prerequisites differ as much as in this case. Culture awareness and mutual understanding are factors that improve knowledge transfer.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates how linguistic super diversity is managed in a higher education context in Tanzania. Specifically, the use of language in lectures to large classes made up of students with linguistically diverse backgrounds at the University of Dar es Salaam is in focus. Considering the multilingualism of the students as well as the lecturers, and a language-in-education policy, which prescribes English as the language of teaching and learning, the study is interested in the perceptions and practices of those teaching big numbers of students in large lecture halls. The data comprised eight recorded lectures and interviews with the respective lecturers. The intention was to identify, describe, document and analyse interactional strategies that lecturers use, particularly the discourse strategies that lecturers use in conveying new information at a relatively sophisticated level of academic rhetoric, and to facilitate interaction between them and students. With large numbers of students in the audience, and given that they are first year students new to the university-spoken register, lecturers are likely to make remarkable language choices consciously or unconsciously. Conversational Analysis (CA) and Discourse Analysis (DA) approaches facilitated the identification and analysis of conversational and discursive features of lectures as part of spoken registers that are generically used in university teaching. The analysis particularly considered the linguistic diversity of the participants in the higher education context in Tanzania and how lecturers use language to cater for such diversity. The sample involved eight lecturers, four from each of two departments regarded among those with the highest student numbers in the College of Arts and Social Sciences of the University of Dar es Salaam, namely the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology. The findings indicate that lecturers use a selected number of both propositional and structural discourse strategies during lecture sessions. The three most notable propositional discourse strategies are repetition, use of questions, and use of code switching between English and Kiswahili. Lecturers use phrasal and clausal types of repetition to achieve cohesion, topic continuity and emphasis. They use tag, rhetorical, open and closed types of questions to check for comprehension, to stimulate higher level thinking, to manage classroom behaviour as well as to encourage students' participation and independent study. They also use inter and intra sentential types of code switching to engage with students, to translate some concepts, explain, and manage students' behaviour and to advise or encourage students. Regarding structural discourse strategies, the study shows that lecturers notably use discourse markers so and now as cohesive devices, marking such textual functions as framing, linking and showing consequential relationships. They use the discourse markers so and now to achieve similar communicative goals as those achieved using propositional discourse strategies. In referring to themselves or their audience, they use specific pronouns you, we, and I, to perform different functions. They use the pronoun you not only as an interactive device, but also as an explanatory device of significance in classroom interaction. They use the pronoun we not only as a solidarity device, but like you, also as a strong explanatory device. They also use the pronoun I to mark speaker's knowledge and his or her stance about it, and speaker's circumstance and experience. This study not only describes generic features and language practices in big lectures; it also engages critically with some of the established practices and in so doing adds to the literature on individual and societal multilingualism and how lecturers manage it in an African higher education context.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie is 'n studie van die wyses waarop talige superdiversiteit binne 'n konteks van hoër onderwys in Tanzanië bestuur word. Meer spesifiek, word aandag gegee aan die gebruik van tale gedurende lesings vir groot klasse wat bestaan uit studente met talig diverse agtergronde. Met inagneming van die veeltaligheid van die studente sowel as die dosente, asook 'n taal-in-onderrig-beleid wat Engels as die taal van onderrig en leer voorskryf, stel die studie belang in die persepsies en praktyke van diegene wat groot getalle studente in groot lesinglokale onderrig. Die studie is kwalitatief dáárin dat dit gewerk het met 'n beperkte aantal opnames van lesings en van onderhoude met die dosente wie se klasse opgeneem is. Die bedoeling was om die mees opvallende interaksionele strategieë wat by die Universiteit van Dar es Salaam aangewend word, te identifiseer, te beskryf, te dokumenteer en ook te analiseer. Veral is gekyk na die diskoersstrategieë wat dosente gebruik om nuwe inligting op 'n redelik gesofistikeerde vlak van akademiese retoriek oor te dra, en om interaksie tussen die dosent en die studentegehoor te fasiliteer. Die generiese eienskappe van hierdie lesings is geïdentifiseer deur die hele reeks opnames na te gaan. Die groot getal studente in die gehoor en die gegewe dat hulle eerstetaalsprekers van 'n verskeidenheid verskillende gemeenskapstale is, sal dosente noodwendig, bewustelik of onbewustelik, interessante taalkeuses maak. Die feit dat beide Engels en Swahili amptelike tale in Tanzanië is, dat die meerderheid studente vlot sprekers van Swahili is, selfs al het hulle hulle hoërskoolonderrig deur die medium van Engels ontvang, lei tot die aannames dat (i) Swahili 'n sterk lingua franca tussen sprekers van verskillende eerstetale is, en (ii) voortgesette hoër onderrig deur die medium van Engels onproblematies behoort te wees. Die benaderings van Gespreksanalise (GA) en Diskoersanalise (DA) het die identifikasie en analise van gesprekseienskappe en diskursiewe eienskappe van lesings as deel van die gesproke registers wat generies in universiteitsonderrig gebruik word, gefasiliteer. Die analise het veral in die talige diversiteit van die deelnemers in die konteks van hoër onderrig in Tanzanië en in die wyse waarop die dosente vir hierdie diversiteit voorsiening maak, belanggestel. Die deelnemers aan hierdie studie was agt dosente, vier elk uit twee departemente met die hoogste studentetal by die Kollege van Kuns en Sosiale Wetenskappe van die Universiteit, naamlik die Departement Politieke Wetenskap en Publieke Administrasie en die Departement Sosiologie en Sosiale Antropologie. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat dosente gereeld en generies 'n telbare aantal proposisionele en strukturele diskoersstrategieë gedurende lesings gebruik. Die drie mees opvallende proposisionele diskoersstrategieë is herhaling, die gebruik van vrae en die gebruik van kodewisseling tussen Engels en Swahili. Dosente gebruik frase- sowel as klousherhaling om kohesie, kontinuïteit van die onderwerp en klem te bewerkstellig. Hulle gebruik einddeel-, retoriese en oop en geslote tipe vrae om begrip te toets, om 'n hoër denkvlak te stimuleer, om die gedrag in die klaskamer te beheer, asook om die studente se deelname en onafhanklike studie aan te moedig. Hulle gebruik ook kodewisseling binne en tussen sinne ten einde nouer met die studente te skakel, sekere konsepte te vertaal, studente se optrede te verduidelik, te vertaal en te beheer en studente te adviseer of aan te moedig. Betreffende die strukturele diskoersstrategieë toon die studie aan dat die diskoersmerkers so en now wyd deur dosente gebruik word as kohesiemeganismes wat tekstuele funksies soos raming, skakeling en oorsaaklike verhoudinge aandui. Hulle wend die diskoersmerkers so en now aan om dieselfde kommunikatiewe doelwitte te bereik as dié wat bereik is met die gebruik van proposisionele diskoersstrategieë. In verwysing na hulleself of die toehoorders, span hulle spesifiek die voornaamwoorde you, we en I in om verskillende referensiële funksies of aanspreek funksies te verrig. Die voornaamwoord you word nie slegs as 'n interaktiewe meganisme gebruik nie, maar ook as 'n beduidende verklarende meganisme in klaskamer interaksie. Hulle gebruik die voornaamwoord we nie net as 'n samehorigheids-meganisme nie, maar ook, soos you, as 'n sterk verklarende meganisme. Hulle gebruik ook die voornaamwoord I om sprekerskennis te merk en sy/haar houding daaromtrent uit te druk, asook die spreker se omstandighede en ervaring. In die analise word aandag gegee aan relevante aspekte van tweetalige onderrig, die gebruik van Engels as 'n lingua franca, en die verskynsel van kodewisseling in akademiese diskoers binne 'n veeltalige onderrigkonteks. Die studie beskryf nie alleen generiese eienskappe en taalpraktyke in groot groep lesings nie; dit oorweeg ook sekere gevestigde gebruike in groot lesings dra daarmee by tot die literatuur oor invividuele en gemeenskaplike veeltaligheid en hoe dit hanteer word deur dosente in 'n hoër onderwyskonteks in Afrika.
The African Doctoral Academy (ADA) for awarding me a full scholarship for full time doctoral study; the financial assistance the University of Dar es Salaam furnished me with through the Directorate of Research and Publication.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2018
The post-apartheid socio-cultural, economic and political dispensation in South Africa have prompted a high-level perceived potential inclusion in sport-participating in different aspect of self-development regardless of culture, economic and social difference across the nation. However, little is understood, from an empirical viewpoint, about the potential challenges and limits towards the successful participation in sport in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between socio-cultural factors and sport participation at Germiston High School in the Gauteng Province. A quantitative research was conducted using case study research design method. A Non-probability sampling method was done through purposive sampling method to select Grade 8 to Grade 12 students from. Data collection was done using self-administered questionnaires. There were one hundred and forty-seven students that participated in a survey of self-administered questionnaires at Germiston High School. The findings of the study reveal that sport-participation is highly linked to socio-cultural and economic aspects among students. For students, teachers are expected to be involved in sport-participation and be of the forefront of inclusiveness. It also was found that sport preference among students is linked to their important others. Thus, a full experience of sport-participation through resources available at school is compromised for many students. Schools, the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture together with sponsors and parents are encouraged to intervene in promoting sport participation.

This project investigates in depth and from a multi-disciplinary perspective the phenomenon of deviant burials and anomalous disposal of the dead with emphasis on necrophobia (fear of the dead; the term is introduced by the author for use in the disciplines of anthropology and archaeology). A list of criteria and a recording form for the identification of deviancy in burial contexts have been compiled and are suggested as a potential general methodology scheme. Theories of death, deviancy, and necrophobia are examined and are elaborated with case studies from Greece and cross-cultural comparison data. The project also evaluates whether the burial or disposal context and the physical condition & health status of the body are related, if their analysis reveals information on the individual's social status in life and death, and how necrophobia influences burial customs. An attempt has been made to: 1. Explain the deviant treatment of human remains considering and combining the burial customs, socio-religious factors including superstitious beliefs and social violence, burial context, and the palaeodemographical & palaeopathological data;2. Give emphasis to the concept of necrophobia and to its relation to cases of unusual burial treatment;3. Investigate temporal and spatial patterns of deviancy in the burial record;4. Emphasise the need for precise recording of burials and their context;5. Identify the limitations of the project. The project provides a novel multidisciplinary approach to the study of deviancy and necrophobia in the burial record; such a study has not, to the author’s knowledge, previously been conducted on as wide a scale against a detailed contextual background, and it is the first comprehensive study on Greek unusual burials. The research has potential for future development through the study of additional empirical data from different cultures & periods, and its theory and methodology may have forensic applications. Isotope analysis of the deviant individuals is also suggested as a method to provide information on diet and place of origin.

This study investigates the practices of four museums in two countries in relation to the notion of social inclusion and how their museum professionals reflect about the topic. The aim is to provide an empirical grounding of Sandell’s theory about the three levels of impact within which museums can address social exclusion: with individuals, specific communities and wider society. The practices of four museums will be analysed and discussed: Västmanlands läns museum and Västerås Konstmuseum in Västerås, Sweden and Musei Civici and Fondazione Palazzo Magnani in Reggio Emilia, Italy. To answer the research questions, nine qualitative semi-structured interviews were performed. The informants selected are museum professionals responsible for different public practices at their institutions. The interviews were taped and at a later stage transcribed. Additionally, documentation from different sources completes the empirical data. A qualitative analysis has been employed to analyse the data. Text analysis and thematic analysis were selected to scrutinize the data. I employed the deductive method to trace Sandell’s theory on the data. The findings show that the notion of social inclusion is a subjective concept. Nonetheless, all the informants’ ideas of social inclusion are consistent with Sandell’s definition. The practices enhanced by the museums to address social inclusion are different in nature but mirror the understanding of the concept expressed by the museum professionals and it is in line with Sandell's model. Therefore, his theory about the three levels of impact that museums can achieve implementing inclusive practices is verified by the empirical data. Moreover, my hypothesis about the link between the social inclusion enact by museums and the socio-cultural context is proved too. This is a two years master's thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies.
Denna uppsats undersöker på vilket sätt fyra museer i två länder arbetar med social inkludering samt hur deras medarbetare resonerar kring detta. Syftet var att se huruvida det går att empiriskt belägga Sandells teori, som handlar om att museer kan bekämpa social exkludering på tre nivåer: med fokus på individer, särskilda grupper eller samhället i stort. Den publika verksamheten i fyra museer har analyserats och diskuterats: Västmanlands läns museum samt Västerås Konstmuseum i Västerås, Sverige; Musei Civici samt Fondazione Palazzo Magnani i Reggio Emilia, Italien. För att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar gjordes nio semi-strukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med musei-arbetare. Informanterna arbetar i olika publika verksamheter inom dessa museer. Intervjuerna spelades in och transkriberades sedan. Utöver dessa har olika dokument från andra källor använts som komplettering. Analysen gjordes med hjälp av textanalys samt tematisk analys utifrån en deduktiv ansats, för att undersöka Sandells teori.  Resultatet av denna studie visar att begreppet social inkludering har olika subjektiva innebörder. Icke desto mindre överensstämmer alla informanters idéer med Sandells definition av social inkludering. Museers publika aktiviteter kopplade till social inkludering är olika till sin natur men speglar museiarbetares förståelse av konceptet och är i linje med Sandells modell. Därför stödjer forskningsresultaten hans teori om att museer kan bekämpa social exkludering på tre nivåer. Dessutom styrks även uppsatsens hypotes om sambandet mellan museernas sociala inkludering och det sociokulturella sammanhanget.  Detta är en masteruppsats i musei- och kulturarvsvetenskap.

Previous studies in child language socialization have adopted the approach of studying how children become competent members of their social groups through the use of language. This study began as an attempt to study child language socialization within selected Tucson U.S. Mexican households within this prevailing paradigm. During the course of fieldwork, it was found that the complexities of Borderlands structural and hegemonic relationships could not be adequately addressed within a theoretical assumption of homeostatic and monosemic communities. The ambiguities of "Mexican-ness" do not provide a consensually agreed upon or collectively implicit framework for language socialization. Instead, fluid domains are contested and negotiated as language socialization is construed as a constitutive process of "selfhood" for the child. Rather than replicating and reproducing previously transmitted information, certain parents and caregivers were found to actively engage in constructing an ethos for their own childhood experiences. Multivocality within multiple interactive spheres was identified as parents and caregivers often alternated between symbolic resistance and opposition, and accomodation. Additionally, an affective base for language socialization is postulated. An "emotion of minority status" that is structurally constituted and embedded within regional hegemonic relations is presented as a formative backdrop for children in this population. The essential methodology involved lengthy ethnographic observations coupled with audiocassette recordings of naturally occurring speech. Caregivers were supplied with tape recorders and cassettes and were asked to record interaction within the households, specifically at mealtime, bed time and homework sessions. In-depth open-ended interviews were taped with parents, and in some cases, grandparents, regarding their own perceptions of child-rearing, language habits, and value orientations. Extensive household histories, detailing residential, labor and family history, were also collected.

This thesis discusses the impact of economic globalisation on Thai higher education and society. Thailand's severe economic crisis in the second half of 1997 through 1998 has led to education reform at all levels. Since the crisis, Thailand has been focusing on the development of its human potential and creativity and enhancing the capability of communities, societies and the nation as a whole. The education system of Thailand is being redirected away from nation-building objectives towards 'human capital' creation; education is seen as a form of economic investment. Thailand, like its industrialising neighbours in Southeast Asia and close Western neighbours, is striving to adjust to the pressures of economic globalisation. As a result, Thailand's higher education system is undergoing significant intellectual and strategic reorientation to meet the demands of the modern global economy. Urged by government and employers to produce graduates with more globally relevant knowledge and skills, Thai universities are attempting to redefine their relevance with increased emphasis on proficiency in English. This imperative explains the expansion of full-fee English-medium education and the emergence of government policies encouraging the internationalisation of curricula. Since the mid-1990s, successive Thai governments have paid some attention to the concept of internationalisation but have yet to produce a clear statement of what internationalisation means in the Thai context. Thailand's internationalisation policy, such as it is, aims to cultivate a globally skilled workforce and has directly encouraged the establishment of English-medium business graduate programs, branded as 'international' at a number of leading universities in Bangkok. This thesis examines concerns as to the level of English proficiency achieved by students passing through these programs and questions the appropriateness of the term 'international' for programs, many of which appear to be cloned from business studies degrees offered in major native English-speaking countries. While government policies assert the need to reform education at all levels, both the idea and the parameters of 'internationalisation' remain ill-defined. Consequently, this thesis maps out the scope of internationalisation in education from a global and a local Thai perspective to present a more integrated framework for analysing the implications of the policies. The approach taken presents a multilayered and holistic reading of significant economic and cultural change taking place in Thailand through the lens of higher education reforms and public debates about globalisation and education. More specifically, this thesis examines internationalisation of Thai higher education as an aspect of globalisation and 'global' practice at the 'local' level, observable in the policies, statements, actions and intentions expressed by political leaders, government officials, university administrators, teachers, students and employers. Significantly, Thai cultural characteristics have a profound impact on these key acto rs' attitudes towards practice of international education, particularly in the cross-cultural teaching and learning settings. This thesis argues that a more holistic and integrated approach to internationalisation across all related policy domains is needed if the country is to more effectively respond to the challenges of a globalising world.

World perceptions are culturally determined, manifested in different cultural patterns of behaviour and in relationships between humans and their natural environments. Resource use and management reflect the values and priorities of a specific society. Conflicts may arise when different societies, with divergent attitudes and relationships with the land, are competing for resources. Cultural geographers and moral philosophers have explored ideas pertinent to such conflicts. A native community in Quebec's commercial forest area presents opportunity for an applied ethical inquiry into resource management: addressing the conflicting traditional and contemporary patterns of forest use of native and non-native groups. Yi-Fu Tuan and Paul W. Taylor explore issues of space, respect, and resource use, substantiating the assertion that cross-cultural resource conflict resolution necessitates moral inquiry. Taylor's six point value concept categorization is applied to show the perceptual differences between the groups, thereby affecting an assessment of the ethical roots and dimensions of the conflict.

The purpose of this thesis is to develop an understanding of if/how national cultural differences influence communication and transmission channels in cross-border transfer of organizational knowledge. To develop such an understanding a single case study has been conducted on Q-Med AB, a Swedish knowledge intensive biotechnology/medical device company. The case study is based on two theories; Gupta & Govindarajan’s (2000) work of four forces that affect effective knowledge transfer and Project GLOBE’s nine cultural dimensions. Our findings confirm that national cultural differences do influence communication and transmission channels when transferring knowledge cross-borders. More specifically, our case study shows that the cultural differences influencing Q-Med AB’s communication and transmission channels are: Power Distance, Institutional Collectivism, In-Group Collectivism, Assertiveness and Performance Orientation. Also language differences are regarded as an important factor by Q-Med AB. However, the results of this thesis are specific for the company studied. Therefore our study only contributes with insights, regarding the influence of cultural differences on communication and transmission channels when transferring knowledge cross-borders, for other knowledge intensive companies facing global challenges. Our findings and conclusions are summarized in our own theoretical model, which brings together the two internationally well-acknowledged theories mentioned above and the results of our case study.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att skapa en förståelse för om/hur nationella kulturella skillnader påverkar kommunikation och överföringskanaler i gränsöverskridande organisatorisk kunskaps-överföring. För att skapa denna förståelse har vi genomfört en fallstudie på Q-Med AB, ett svenskt kunskapsintensivt bioteknologiskt/medicintekniskt företag. Fallstudien baseras på två teorier; Gupta & Govindarajan:s (2000) studie om fyra faktorer som påverkar effektiv kunskapsöverföring och Project GLOBE:s nio kulturella dimensioner. Våra resultat bekräftar att nationella kulturella skillnader i hög grad påverkar kommunikation och överföringskanaler vid gränsöverskridande kunskapsöverföring. Mer specifikt visar vår fallstudie att de kulturella skillnader som påverkar Q-Med AB:s kommunikation och överföringskanaler är: Power Distance, Institutional Collectivism, In-Group Collectivism, Assertiveness och Performance Orientation. Språkliga skillnader anses också vara viktiga enligt Q-Med AB. Dock är resultaten från denna studie specifika för det undersökta företaget. Därmed bidrar vår uppsats endast med insikter om hur kulturella skillnader påverkar kommunikation och överföringskanaler i gränsöverskridande kunskapsöverföring för andra kunskapsintensiva multinationella företag. Våra slutsatser är sammanställda i vår egen teoretiska modell som kombinerar de två ovan nämnda, internationellt erkända teorier och resultaten från vår fallstudie.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013
Gender inequality has always been a problem in the developing countries, and South Africa is no exception. There is pragmatic evidence about the level of gender inequality within households pre 1994 which was very high due to the discrimination and gender violence that were present within the country. Moreover, tradition and culture helped in the manifestation of gender inequality. However, the South African government has enacted to curb the manifestation of gender inequality within both the households and in the labour market. The Constitution of South Africa, 1996, Domestic Violence Act, 1998, Employment Equity Act (EEA), 1998, Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and Affirmative Action policy are the Acts and policies that were enacted to reduce gender inequality in the country. Women’s representation in the labour market was very low. Women also could not make decision within the households. The study investigates the construction of gender inequality within the households in the context of democratic dispensation in a rural community of Makanye village in Limpopo Province. The study argues that the past traditional and cultural customs in rural Makanye village created patriarchal structures and household hierarchies where women were at the bottom of the hierarchy. Thus, the hierarchical and patriarchal structures helped in the manifestation of gender inequality within the households. The findings of the survey from Makanye village proved that the women are still not fully liberated from the past oppression and marginalisation. The persistence of domestic violence within Makanye village indicates that women are still given the lowest status within the households. In other words, the past patriarchal structures and hierarchies are still visible in rural areas and not many women are taking part in decision making within the households. The multiple roles women play within the households remains a huge challenge in rural areas. The persistence of gender inequality in Makanye village helps in the manifestation of poverty. The implementation of Affirmative Action policy and Employment Equity Act, 1998 will result in the achievement of gender equality in the labour market and within households.In conclusion, the improper implementation of Affirmative Action Policy and EEA, 1998 in South Africa will empower women, making them become independent, thus eradicating gender inequality and poverty

In listening to members of different cultures, it is possible to feel bad, even while recognising that the speaker is trying to speak politely. Sometimes we do not feel very comfortable with someone else’s speech, even though their expressions might be very polite with the choice of specific linguistic forms to show a high level of formality such as terms of address and specific types of formulaic expression such as ' I (don 't) think ... ' or ' I (don't) believe' . The speaker may be intending to speak politely in a considerate way. But the hearer's reaction may be quite different.

This research thesis set out to better understand the professional knowledge bases of Western teachers working in offshore education in Indonesia. This research explored what two groups of Western teachers said about the students they taught, their own role, professional and social identity, the knowledge transmitted, and their pedagogical strategies whilst teaching offshore. Such an investigation is significant on a number of levels. Firstly, these teachers were working within a period of rapid economic, political, cultural and educational change described as ‘New Times’ (Hall, 1996a). Secondly, the experiences of teachers working in offshore education have rarely been reported in the literature (see Johnston, 1999). A review of the literature on teachers’ professional knowledge bases (Shulman, 1986a, 1986b, 1987; Turner-Bisset, 1997, 1999) concluded that, in general terms, teachers draw on three main interrelated and changing knowledge bases: knowledge of content, knowledge of teaching processes and knowledge of their students. This review also explored the notion that teachers had an additional knowledge base that was in a continual state of negotiation and closely related to the aforementioned knowledge bases: teachers’ knowledge of their own and students’ pedagogic identities (Bernstein, 2000). A theoretical framework appropriate to exploring the overarching research problem was developed. This framework drew on models of teachers’ knowledge bases (Elbaz, 1983; Shulman, 1986a, 1986b, 1987; Nias, 1989; Turner-Bisset, 1997, 1999), the sociology of knowledge (Bernstein, 1975, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000), and notions of pedagogic identity (Bernstein, 2000). This framework theorised the types of knowledges taught, categories of teaching process knowledge, and the range of pedagogic identities made available to teachers and students in new times. More specifically, this research examined two case studies (see Stake, 1988, 2000; Yin, 1994) of Western teachers employed by Australian educational institutions who worked in Central Java, Indonesia, in the mid-to-late 1990s. The teacher participants from both case studies taught a range of subjects and used English as the medium of instruction. Data for both case studies were generated via semi-structured interviews (see Kvale, 1996; Silverman, 1985, 1997). The interviews focused on the teachers’ descriptions of the learner characteristics of Indonesian students, their professional roles whilst teaching offshore, and curriculum and pedagogic design. The analyses produced four major findings. The first major finding of the analyses confirmed that the teacher participants in this study drew on all proposed professional knowledge bases and that these knowledge bases were interrelated. This suggests that teachers must have all knowledge bases present for them to do their work successfully. The second major finding was that teachers’ professional knowledge bases were constantly being negotiated in response to their beliefs about their work and the past, present and future demands of the local context. For example, the content and teaching processes of English lessons may have varied as their own and their students’ pedagogic identities were re-negotiated in different contexts of teaching and learning. Another major finding was that it was only when the teachers entered into dialogue with the Indonesian students and community members and/or reflective dialogue amongst themselves, that they started to question the stereotypical views of Indonesian learners as passive, shy and quiet. The final major finding was that the teachers were positioned in multiple ways by contradictory and conflicting discourses. The analyses suggested that teachers’ pedagogic identities were a site of struggle between dominant market orientations and the criteria that the teachers thought should determine who was a legitimate teacher of offshore Indonesian students. The accounts from one of the case studies suggested that dominant market orientations centred on experience and qualifications in unison with prescribed and proscribed cultural, gender and age relations. Competent teachers who were perceived to be white, Western, male and senior in terms of age relations seemed to be the most easily accepted as offshore teachers of foundation programs for Indonesian students. The analyses suggested that the teachers thought that their legitimacy to be an offshore teacher of Indonesian students should be based on their teaching expertise alone. However, managers of Australian offshore educational institutions conceded that it was very difficult to bring about change in terms of teacher legitimisation. These findings have three implications for the work of offshore teachers and program administrators. Firstly, offshore programs that favour the pre-packaging of curricula content with little emphasis on the professional development and support needs of teachers do not foster work conditions which encourage teachers to re-design or modify curricula in response to the specific needs of learners. Secondly, pre-packaged programs do not support teachers to enter into negotiations concerning students’ or their own pedagogic identities or the past, present and future demands of local contexts. These are important implications because they affect the way that teachers work, and hence how responsive teachers can be to learners’ needs and how active they can be in the negotiation process as it relates to pedagogic identities. Finally, the findings point to the importance of establishing a learning community or learning network to assist Western teachers engaged in offshore educational work in Asian countries such as Indonesia. Such a community or network would enable teachers to engage and modify the complexity of knowledge bases required for effective localised offshore teaching. Given the burgeoning increase in the availability and use of electronic technology in new times, such as internet, emails and web cameras, these learning networks could be set up to have maximum benefit with minimal on-going costs.

This is an ethnographic case study, based in participant observation, which investigates and analyzes how the everyday relationships between Europeans, South Americans expatriates & Angolan nationals, are structured in a common transnational labor community in Angola, named Cambambe. This study investigates if there are any features of post-colonial power relations that affect and shape the interactions between those three communities. Thus, if the contemporary forms of relationship, as expressed by this community, can still be compared to that old hard power stereotype namely labor relations from the colonial past, or if those have changed with modernity. In doing so, this study equally analyzes not only how the interactions between the three communities is expressed in terms of identity, culture and ethnic belonging, but also how such expressions bring about tangible consequences for the groups relating to their social and institutional positions inside the working community. Furthermore, this study examines if the three group populations are able to go beyond their ethnic and cultural boundaries in order to create common zones of togetherness and empowerment, and if so, how these zones are shaped. To do so, the analysis observes how the intergroup perceives power into their relational context, focusing in four dimensions, namely; rationality, perceived justice, material resources and identity. Moreover, this is a multidisciplinary analysis which makes use of the theoretical lenses provided by the post-colonial theory, psychology of intergroup relations and power theories in international relations, to shed light into the understanding of contemporary labor communities and in the position of the post-colonial subjects in society in a North to South perspective.

This research thesis set out to better understand the professional knowledge bases of Western teachers working in offshore education in Indonesia. This research explored what two groups of Western teachers said about the students they taught, their own role, professional and social identity, the knowledge transmitted, and their pedagogical strategies whilst teaching offshore. Such an investigation is significant on a number of levels. Firstly, these teachers were working within a period of rapid economic, political, cultural and educational change described as 'New Times' (Hall, 1996a). Secondly, the experiences of teachers working in offshore education have rarely been reported in the literature (see Johnston, 1999). A review of the literature on teachers' professional knowledge bases (Shulman, 1986a, 1986b, 1987; Turner-Bisset, 1997, 1999) concluded that, in general terms, teachers draw on three main interrelated and changing knowledge bases: knowledge of content, knowledge of teaching processes and knowledge of their students. This review also explored the notion that teachers had an additional knowledge base that was in a continual state of negotiation and closely related to the aforementioned knowledge bases: teachers' knowledge of their own and students' pedagogic identities (Bernstein, 2000). A theoretical framework appropriate to exploring the overarching research problem was developed. This framework drew on models of teachers' knowledge bases (Elbaz, 1983; Shulman, 1986a, 1986b, 1987; Nias, 1989; Turner-Bisset, 1997, 1999), the sociology of knowledge (Bernstein, 1975, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000), and notions of pedagogic identity (Bernstein, 2000). This framework theorised the types of knowledges taught, categories of teaching process knowledge, and the range of pedagogic identities made available to teachers and students in new times. More specifically, this research examined two case studies (see Stake, 1988, 2000; Yin, 1994) of Western teachers employed by Australian educational institutions who worked in Central Java, Indonesia, in the mid-to-late 1990s. The teacher participants from both case studies taught a range of subjects and used English as the medium of instruction. Data for both case studies were generated via semistructured interviews (see Kvale, 1996; Silverman, 1985, 1997). The interviews focused on the teachers' descriptions of the learner characteristics of Indonesian students, their professional roles whilst teaching offshore, and curriculum and pedagogic design. The analyses produced four major findings. The first major finding of the analyses confirmed that the teacher participants in this study drew on all proposed professional knowledge bases and that these knowledge bases were interrelated. This suggests that teachers must have all knowledge bases present for them to do their work successfully. The second major finding was that teachers' professional knowledge bases were constantly being negotiated in response to their beliefs about their work and the past, present and future demands of the local context. For example, the content and teaching processes of English lessons may have varied as their own and their students' pedagogic identities were re-negotiated in different contexts of teaching and learning. Another major finding was that it was only when the teachers entered into dialogue with the Indonesian students and community members and/or reflective dialogue amongst themselves, that they started to question the stereotypical views of Indonesian learners as passive, shy and quiet. The final major finding was that the teachers were positioned in multiple ways by contradictory and conflicting discourses. The analyses suggested that teachers' pedagogic identities were a site of struggle between dominant market orientations and the criteria that the teachers thought should determine who was a legitimate teacher of offshore Indonesian students. The accounts from one of the case studies suggested that dominant market orientations centred on experience and qualifications in unison with prescribed and proscribed cultural, gender and age relations. Competent teachers who were perceived to be white, Western, male and senior in terms of age relations seemed to be the most easily accepted as offshore teachers of foundation programs for Indonesian students. The analyses suggested that the teachers thought that their legitimacy to be an offshore teacher of Indonesian students should be based on their teaching expertise alone. However, managers of Australian offshore educational institutions conceded that it was very difficult to bring about change in terms of teacher legitimisation. These findings have three implications for the work of offshore teachers and program administrators. Firstly, offshore programs that favour the pre-packaging of curricula content with little emphasis on the professional development and support needs of teachers do not foster work conditions which encourage teachers to re-design or modify curricula in response to the specific needs of learners. Secondly, pre-packaged programs do not support teachers to enter into negotiations concerning students' or their own pedagogic identities or the past, present and future demands of local contexts. These are important implications because they affect the way that teachers work, and hence how responsive teachers can be to learners' needs and how active they can be in the negotiation process as it relates to pedagogic identities. Finally, the findings point to the importance of establishing a learning community or learning network to assist Western teachers engaged in offshore educational work in Asian countries such as Indonesia. Such a community or network would enable teachers to engage and modify the complexity of knowledge bases required for effective localised offshore teaching. Given the burgeoning increase in the availability and use of electronic technology in new times, such as internet, emails and web cameras, these learning networks could be set up to have maximum benefit with minimal on-going costs.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Both democracy and civil society is seen to be dysfunctional in many African countries. Political leaders are not accountable to the people and citizens’ participation in the democracies is low. Particularly, women have often been neglected both within formal politics and the civil society. The aim of this thesis has been to investigate the role of the women’s movements in Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. The study has focused on the relationship between the women’s movement and the state, and further addressed the extent to which the women’s movements have been able to direct the state and influence policymaking for improved women’s rights and gender equality in the respective countries. The thesis has found that the relationship between the women’s movements and the state in the three countries inhibits very different characteristics that give rise to varying degrees of success from the work of the women’s movements. Further, the relationship has been subjected to changes in accordance with the overall political developments in the three countries. In Uganda and South Africa the political transitions of the mid 1980s and early 1990s, each respectively represented a period of good connection and communication between the women’s movements and the state. The women’s movements were able to present a strong voice and, thereby, were able to influence the state for the adoption of national gender machineries. After the political transitions, the relationship between the women’s movements and the state in both Uganda and South Africa has, however, become more constrained. In South Africa, the debates on women’s rights and gender equality have been moved from the terrain of the civil society and into the state, leading to a seemingly weakened voice for the women’s movement outside the state. In Uganda, the women’s movement have come to be subjected to pressure for co-optation by the government. The government does not genuinely uphold a concern for increased women’s rights and gender equality, and the women’s movement has at times been directly counteracted. Further, in Kenya, the women’s movement’s relationship with the state is characterised by competition rather than communication. The women’s movement is subjected to high degrees of repression, attempts of cooptation and silencing from the state, and the women’s movement have been effectively restricted from presenting a strong voice and influence the state to any great. The three case- studies illustrates that the political opportunity structures present at a particular time influence the extent to which women’s movements can work effectively in different contexts.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Menige Afrikaland se demokrasie sowel as burgerlike samelewing word as disfunksioneel beskou. Politieke leiers doen geen verantwoording aan die mense nie, en burgers se deelname aan demokrasie is gebrekkig. Veral vroue word afgeskeep in die formele politieke sfeer én die burgerlike samelewing. Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die rol van die vrouebewegings in Uganda, Suid-Afrika en Kenia te ondersoek. Die studie konsentreer op die verhouding tussen die vrouebeweging en die staat, en handel voorts oor die mate waarin die verskillende vrouebewegings die staat kan lei en beleidbepaling kan beïnvloed om beter vroueregte en gendergelykheid in die onderskeie lande teweeg te bring. Die tesis bevind dat die verhouding tussen die vrouebewegings en die staat in die drie lande onder beskouing baie uiteenlopende kenmerke toon, wat wisselende grade van sukses in die vrouebewegings se werk tot gevolg het. Voorts verander dié verhouding namate die oorkoepelende politieke bestel in die drie lande verander. Uganda en Suid-Afrika se politieke oorgange in die middeltagtiger- en vroeë negentigerjare onderskeidelik het ʼn tydperk van goeie bande en kommunikasie tussen die vrouebewegings en die staat verteenwoordig. Die vrouebewegings se stem het groot gewig gehad en kon dus die staat beïnvloed om nasionale beleid en werkswyses met betrekking tot gender in te stel. Ná die onderskeie politieke oorgange is die verhouding tussen die vrouebeweging en die staat in sowel Uganda as Suid-Afrika egter aansienlik ingeperk. In Suid-Afrika het die debat oor vroueregte en gendergelykheid van die gebied van die burgerlike samelewing na die staat verskuif, wat die vrouebeweging se stem buite die staat aansienlik verswak het. In Uganda is die vrouebeweging weer onderwerp aan druk van koöpsie deur die regering. Die regering blyk nie werklik besorg te wees oor beter vroueregte en gendergelykheid nie, en die vrouebeweging word by tye direk teengewerk. Daarbenewens word die Keniaanse vrouebeweging se verhouding met die staat gekenmerk deur kompetisie eerder as kommunikasie. Die vrouebeweging het te kampe met heelwat onderdrukking en koöpsie- en muilbandpogings van die staat, en word in effek daarvan weerhou om hul menings te lug en die staat in enige beduidende mate te beïnvloed met die oog op groter doelgerigtheid en beter beleidbepaling wat vroueregte en gendergelykheid betref. Die drie gevallestudies toon dat die politieke geleentheidstrukture op ʼn bepaalde tydstip ʼn uitwerking het op die mate waarin vrouebewegings doeltreffend in verskillende kontekste kan funksioneer.

This research thesis set out to better understand the professional knowledge bases of Western teachers working in offshore education in Indonesia. This research explored what two groups of Western teachers said about the students they taught, their own role, professional and social identity, the knowledge transmitted, and their pedagogical strategies whilst teaching offshore. Such an investigation is significant on a number of levels. Firstly, these teachers were working within a period of rapid economic, political, cultural and educational change described as 'New Times' (Hall, 1996a). Secondly, the experiences of teachers working in offshore education have rarely been reported in the literature (see Johnston, 1999). A review of the literature on teachers' professional knowledge bases (Shulman, 1986a, 1986b, 1987; Turner-Bisset, 1997, 1999) concluded that, in general terms, teachers draw on three main interrelated and changing knowledge bases: knowledge of content, knowledge of teaching processes and knowledge of their students. This review also explored the notion that teachers had an additional knowledge base that was in a continual state of negotiation and closely related to the aforementioned knowledge bases: teachers' knowledge of their own and students' pedagogic identities (Bernstein, 2000). A theoretical framework appropriate to exploring the overarching research problem was developed. This framework drew on models of teachers' knowledge bases (Elbaz, 1983; Shulman, 1986a, 1986b, 1987; Nias, 1989; Turner-Bisset, 1997, 1999), the sociology of knowledge (Bernstein, 1975, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000), and notions of pedagogic identity (Bernstein, 2000). This framework theorised the types of knowledges taught, categories of teaching process knowledge, and the range of pedagogic identities made available to teachers and students in new times. More specifically, this research examined two case studies (see Stake, 1988, 2000; Yin, 1994) of Western teachers employed by Australian educational institutions who worked in Central Java, Indonesia, in the mid-to-late 1990s. The teacher participants from both case studies taught a range of subjects and used English as the medium of instruction. Data for both case studies were generated via semistructured interviews (see Kvale, 1996; Silverman, 1985, 1997). The interviews focused on the teachers' descriptions of the learner characteristics of Indonesian students, their professional roles whilst teaching offshore, and curriculum and pedagogic design. The analyses produced four major findings. The first major finding of the analyses confirmed that the teacher participants in this study drew on all proposed professional knowledge bases and that these knowledge bases were interrelated. This suggests that teachers must have all knowledge bases present for them to do their work successfully. The second major finding was that teachers' professional knowledge bases were constantly being negotiated in response to their beliefs about their work and the past, present and future demands of the local context. For example, the content and teaching processes of English lessons may have varied as their own and their students' pedagogic identities were re-negotiated in different contexts of teaching and learning. Another major finding was that it was only when the teachers entered into dialogue with the Indonesian students and community members and/or reflective dialogue amongst themselves, that they started to question the stereotypical views of Indonesian learners as passive, shy and quiet. The final major finding was that the teachers were positioned in multiple ways by contradictory and conflicting discourses. The analyses suggested that teachers' pedagogic identities were a site of struggle between dominant market orientations and the criteria that the teachers thought should determine who was a legitimate teacher of offshore Indonesian students. The accounts from one of the case studies suggested that dominant market orientations centred on experience and qualifications in unison with prescribed and proscribed cultural, gender and age relations. Competent teachers who were perceived to be white, Western, male and senior in terms of age relations seemed to be the most easily accepted as offshore teachers of foundation programs for Indonesian students. The analyses suggested that the teachers thought that their legitimacy to be an offshore teacher of Indonesian students should be based on their teaching expertise alone. However, managers of Australian offshore educational institutions conceded that it was very difficult to bring about change in terms of teacher legitimisation. These findings have three implications for the work of offshore teachers and program administrators. Firstly, offshore programs that favour the pre-packaging of curricula content with little emphasis on the professional development and support needs of teachers do not foster work conditions which encourage teachers to re-design or modify curricula in response to the specific needs of learners. Secondly, pre-packaged programs do not support teachers to enter into negotiations concerning students' or their own pedagogic identities or the past, present and future demands of local contexts. These are important implications because they affect the way that teachers work, and hence how responsive teachers can be to learners' needs and how active they can be in the negotiation process as it relates to pedagogic identities. Finally, the findings point to the importance of establishing a learning community or learning network to assist Western teachers engaged in offshore educational work in Asian countries such as Indonesia. Such a community or network would enable teachers to engage and modify the complexity of knowledge bases required for effective localised offshore teaching. Given the burgeoning increase in the availability and use of electronic technology in new times, such as internet, emails and web cameras, these learning networks could be set up to have maximum benefit with minimal on-going costs.

This study works with Rotary Youth Exchange to investigate the role of predeparture intercultural training in preparing students to study abroad so that they 5 positively integrate their experience to become interculturally competent people. The Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) along with an intercultural background survey were administered to each student during the first one to four months of his or her exchange to measure his or her intercultural competency development and to learn li about the student's intercultural background. Developing explicit evidence for the role of intercultural training through this study proved unsuccessful because of the students' Jack of knowledge about the subject. However, through analysis of students' answers to decipher the quality of training received and comparing that information to the students' IES scores, the vital role of intercultural training in predeparture orientation is implied.

This thesis explores the question of intercultural personhood in two 'mainstream' Australian cases within interpersonal, intercultural relations in Australian contexts in the second half of the twentieth century. The problem is viewed through three disciplinary lenses: those of communication, psychology and sociology. A qualitative, interdisciplinary approach integrates these through an inductive biographical research design. Within cross-cultural communication studies, a host culture such as that of the Anglo-Australian majority is seen in a monolithic and static way to which Australians of other cultural backgrounds are seen to adapt. These studies give no place to the changes which members of the majority undergo. 'Intercultural personhood', a term coined by Kim (1988, 2001), describes the kinds of 'ethnic' individuals who through negotiating their identities within personal, social and mass communication contexts, both host and ethnic, move beyond the bounds of their own cultural heritage to embrace both their former cultural identity and the new 'host' (viz Australian) identity. In this thesis, the elements of cross-cultural adaptation theory and of 'intercultural personhood' are applied to the intercultural experience of 'mainstream' Australians. From preliminary memory work workshops and focus groups, the cases of two mainstream individuals who show some evidence of 'intercultural personhood' and make identity claims comparable with 'ethnic' adapters are then developed through biographical method. Their life accounts are drawn on for the exploration of issues of identity and personhood within interpersonal, intercultural relations. Major focus is given to the social psychology of Harre (1983, 1993, 1998), whose work provided both a conceptualisation and a methodological tool for the problem. In Harre's work, three dimensions of personhood, namely consciousness, agency and biography are identified together with the psycho-social processes through which an individual's identity and orientation to their culture is appropriated, transformed and publicised. This publication is then rejected or incorporated into the culture through processes of conventionalisation. These four psycho-social processes are explored in my study through an adaptation of assisted biography method (De Waele & Harre, 1979). The strength of the psycho-social approach of Harre lies in its ability to get below the surface behaviours to an analysis of the theory of self which individuals, as 'singular' beings, bring into play in their interactions within themselves and with one another. While this approach draws on social contexts to support the transformations, it is not designed to explicate to a sufficient degree the conditions under which such theories of self are activated and within which changes in identity occur and are maintained. For this reason it is essential to incorporate a sociological framework to understand the influence of the conditions within which such experiences are played out. Bourdieu's (1984, 1987) cultural, relational sociology is coupled with Harre's (1983, 1993, 1998) theory of personal and social being in that it brings together the individual and the society in a way which proves fruitful for ongoing analysis of the biographical data collected within the communication and psycho-social framework of the earlier research. Bourdieu's critique of a methodology based on biography points to the 'illusion' that is created through a biographical interview process. Taking this critique of biography into the study of interpersonal, intercultural relations meant a shift from the communication interactions and psycho-social analysis undertaken to an analysis of the various social constructions evident within the elements of the life account and a search for the cognitive imprint of social structures as durable dispositions within the persons. These dispositions are evident from within a social trajectory of the life and they are applied to the intercultural encounters recounted by the participants in their autobiographies. The addition of Bourdieu's (1984, 1987) sociology strengthens the ability to view the individual and the society through a single lens and to position the individual life course as secondary within a broader and primary analysis of social structure and social structuring as a means of interpreting lives. Its weakness lies in the degree of 'voluntariness' brought into effect as individuals both chart their course through life and are pushed and pulled by the various social forces at work within their trajectories. Within the scope of this thesis, these two approaches, that is, a psychological and a sociological one, are illustrated and incorporated into an interdisciplinary model for the study of interpersonal, intercultural relations. Further rigorous research to validate the components and the relationships of the model and to investigate these strengths and weaknesses more thoroughly is foreshadowed. This interdisciplinary model of interpersonal, intercultural relations is the major contribution of this work to the field of intercultural communication. Advances which are achieved through use of psychology, sociology and biographical research method as a tool through this study are also identified. The thesis concludes with a review of the contributions of the thesis and a discussion of the implications for future research on interpersonal, intercultural relations.