Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cross-cultural engagements'

The challenges experienced by an individual operating within a cross cultural business setting arise from a number of factors related to and emanating from its context as a whole. This study explores the observations and experiences of design and engineering practitioners within the Chinese context and aspires to understand what factors affect their ability to function effectively and impact a potentially successful outcome to a project. It seeks to identify the historical, contextual and cultural factors which most affect the cross cultural experience both from an individual and a practice-based level and understand how the influence of Westernisation is changing the contextual characteristics of China, using observations and experiences communicated by participants. How practitioners learnt to respond to, plan for and adapt to the context and its challenges has been explored. The study also sought to identify how employees can be developed and supported in order to gain experience within this transforming context and identify the appropriate pedagogical strategy in order to achieve better contextual and cultural understanding. The study concluded that practitioners needed to experience the context first-hand in order to holistically understand the cultural issues and effectively adjust and respond the setting. Being in-context and having direct contact with their Chinese counterparts also afforded UK practitioners better opportunities to build relationships with them, which is shown to develop trust, improve communication and enhance the potential of a successful project outcome. Further, as data shows that companies are adopting an mentor-led experiential learning pedagogy in context in order to develop their staff for cross-cultural engagement, a degree of theoretical knowledge of culture, wider contextual issues and the implications of these would aid practitioners in being able to understand, interpret and thus respond effectively to the challenges which arise from the cross-cultural business setting.

In the wake of the Haiti earthquake response in 2010, crowdsourced humanitarian mapping has taken off, and today is considered an essential tool by many humanitarian agencies providing assistance in disaster-affected and under-resourced countries and contexts. But what happens when there is no information on a map to help agencies decide how to respond? If they cannot find roads to take to get there? If they do not know how many houses are in a village? What if the map is – missing?In response to this all-too-common problem, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), American Red Cross, British Red Cross and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) created and launched Missing Maps in 2014. A crowdsourced ICT4D tool designed to create accurate maps using satellite images, the initiative relies on volunteers – ‘digital humanitarians’ – to participate.So why participate? Previous research has looked at motivations for participation in open street mapping and other voluntary contribution-based tools, such as Wikipedia. Other research has described how to attract people to Missing Maps – and retain them. But until now, there has been no research exploring why people are motivated to volunteer for humanitarian ICT4D initiatives, and no researcher has tackled this subject from a cross-cultural perspective. Here I attempt to answer the question: what are the motivations for people to map? And more specifically, are the motivations of someone in the Global North to voluntarily map different from the motivations of someone in the Global South? In this paper, I outline the results of empirical research in the form of one-on-one interviews conducted across four cities I travelled to: London and Prague, to represent the Global North, and Beirut and Kampala, representing the Global South. In interviews in which a total of 21 participants were asked six standard questions about their interests, likes, motivations and challenges in mapping, I uncover clear differences between the motivations of not only people in the north versus south, but also amongst the young, and even between men and women. The results show that, while people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds are motivated by a multitude of reasons, young people, especially in the Global North, are more likely to map from slacktivism tendencies given their perceptions of the mapping software’s ease of use. People from the Global North – particularly young women – were also more likely to engage out of interest in humanitarian issues or organisations like MSF. Played right, organisers could groom these young people into the humanitarians of the future. Meanwhile, people in the Global South were more likely to participate for both community and personal – such as career and life – benefits. This partly reflects previous research that has shown local bias to be a strong motivating factor for participation across other platforms. Although people across all four cities expressed some of their motivations to be altruistic ones, those in the Global South were more likely to express this response. Taking these results, I explore themes of how an ICT4D tool like Missing Maps will not change the status quo of inequality in the world, while questioning whether that is important enough to undermine the initiative. I also investigate the likelihood of being able to turn today’s young digital humanitarians into the humanitarian leaders of tomorrow. I also explore the impact of mapping in the Global South, both for those doing the mapping and those being mapped. Finally, I look at what initiatives like Missing Maps mean in the world of communications for development.

Guided by a motivational framework derived from self-determination theory, a study was conducted to examine the role of academic engagement in helping to explain and ameliorate ethnic differences in school achievement. Building on decades of research that documents both the importance of engagement to learning in European American students as well as its malleability, this study relied on an ethnically diverse sample of 6th and 7th grade students to examine three questions (1) Are achievement differences across ethnic groups due to differences in engagement? (2) Does engagement predict achievement similarly or differently across ethnic groups? and (3) Are the predictors of engagement suggested by the motivational model the same or different for students from different ethnic groups? Participants were 194 African-American, Hispanic/Latino/a, Asian/Pacific Islander, and European American middle school students who provided information about their engagement, self-system processes (SSPs) of relatedness, competence, and autonomy, and their experiences with teachers in school; information about students' cumulative achievement (GPA) was extracted from school records. First, analyses revealed few ethnic differences in achievement (only Asian/Pacific Islander students' levels of achievement were higher than students from other ethnic groups), and no ethnic differences in engagement. In analyses designed to examine if controlling for variations in engagement would cause achievement differences between ethnic groups to disappear, a test of the simple main effects demonstrated that ethnic differences in achievement were found only at the lowest level of engagement (again Asian/Pacific Islander students outperformed all other student groups). However, at medium and high levels of engagement, there were no significant differences in achievement across the four ethnic groups. Second, analyses designed to examine whether engagement predicts achievement differently across ethnic groups, revealed that although engagement was an important predictor of achievement for all students, it was even more important for non-European American (compared to European-American) students. Third, analyses designed to examine whether potential facilitators (SSPs and contextual constructs) predicted students' engagement similarly or differently across ethnic groups revealed no group differences: All predictors were positively and significantly associated with engagement for students from all four ethnic groups. These findings are considered in the context of the study's strengths and limitations and the larger literatures on engagement and achievement in ethnic minority students. A important implication of the current study is that with a more comprehensive understanding of how to support the engagement of students from ethnic minority backgrounds, schools and teachers will be better equipped to address the engagement gap, and in so doing also eliminate the achievement gap.

Background Big Data Analytics take place in almost every sector of new business world. Nowadays, banks are also adopting Big Data to handle the huge number of data that generate every day. Big Data helps banks to provide a fast, personalised service in a cost efficient way. On the other hand, Big Data has some privacy issues as it deals with a lot of data that can be decoded by third party. It is also the case in online banking as it is involved with personal and financial information. Privacy concerns also vary among different cultures. PurposeThe purpose of this cross-cultural study is to investigate online privacy concerns in the context of Big Data MethodologyA quantitative approach has been followed and data were collected through an online survey to understand the relations between variables. ConclusionThe findings indicate that the relationship between the privacy concern and its antecedents differ between France and Bangladesh. Though for both countries, the desire upon transparency showed a significant positive relationship with online privacy concerns. Additionally, for both countries a high privacy concern will not conduct to lower consumer trust and consumer engagement in online baking. The findings involving moderator variables were not significant at al

Magister Artium - MA
This mini-thesis makes an argument for the significance of a female-dominated hidden tradition of experimental ethnographic writing in British social anthropology. It argues that the women anthropologists who experimented with creative forms of ethnography were doubly marginalised: first as women in an androcentric male canon in British social anthropology and American cultural anthropology, and second as creative writers whose work has been consistently undervalued in sombre scholarly circles. The study proposes that Hilda Beemer Kuper (1911-1995) and Edith Turner (1921-2016) should be regarded as significant in a still unexcavated literary tradition or subgenre with Anglo-American anthropology.

This theory-led case study investigated how a Queensland primary school is engaging parents from an Afghan refugee background. Employing sociologist Pierre Bourdieu's comprehensive approach to researching social fields, this research draws from interviews with school staff and parents to explore how parent engagement was approached and perceived by the participants, and how it was influenced by external forces. This study sheds light on the complexities of forging effective school-family relationships in increasingly diverse societies. Amongst the study's contributions are a 4-pillared ethical approach to cross-cultural research and a new sociological template for equitable parent engagement in culturally diverse schools.

Cette recherche a pour objectif d’examiner les effets des dynamiques interactionnelles entre systèmes de valeurs individuelles et organisationnelles sur le fonctionnement des entreprises, dans un contexte de diversité culturelle. Il s’agit d’identifier les valeurs culturelles des managers opérant dans des filiales de multinationales implantées en Tunisie et leur congruence avec les styles organisationnels. Notre intérêt porte particulièrement sur les dimensions liées à la culture et au climat organisationnels et leurs contributions dans le déploiement des comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle.Les résultats mettent en exergue un style organisationnel intégrateur reflétant une congruence entre les valeurs des managers et les valeurs de l’organisation. L’analyse des comportements et des attitudes des managers a permis d’identifier les styles organisationnels susceptibles de favoriser des comportements de citoyenneté. L’analyse corrélationnelle montre que le climat organisationnel est un bon prédicteur des comportements de citoyenneté
This research aims to study the effects of dynamic interactional between individual and organizational values system on how firms operate in a context of cultural diversity. It comes to identify the cultural values of managers working in multinational subsidiaries operating in Tunisia and their congruence with organizational styles. Our interest is particularly on dimensions related to organizational culture and climate and their contributions in the deployment of organizational citizenship behaviors. The results highlight an organizational integrator style reflecting congruence between the values of managers and values of the organization. The analysis of the behavior and attitudes of managers identified organizational styles might encourage citizenship behavior. The correlational analysis shows that the organizational climate is a good predictor of citizenship behavior

Nowadays SNSs grow in importance and still cross-cultural studies about the factors that influence the engagement of electronic word-of-mouth are limited. Therefore, this study explores the influence of social relationship variables on eWOM behaviors, between Ecuador and Portugal. An online survey was conducted among 145 Ecuadorian and 47 Portuguese, Generation Y, Facebook users. The findings displayed for Portuguese users, eWOM key motivating factors for opinion seeking is bridging social capital, while for sharing information bonding social capital and tie strength. Contrarily in Ecuador bridging social capital influenced three eWOM behaviors. For both cultures, bonding social capital predicted the desire to share.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Enrolments at the postgraduate coursework (PGCW) level are expanding both in terms of number and diversity, with Masters programs attracting increasing numbers of students from a widening range of backgrounds. Despite this, however, the individual differences literature largely fails to address learning at this educational level, or the issue of potential cultural variation. This study therefore profiled the epistemic, metacognitive and affective attributes of PGCW students at Australian universities, to profile the cohort’s disposition towards learning. An online survey measured attributes chosen to represent three dispositional domains: epistemic, metacognitive and affective. Results showed the PGCW cohort to be elite overall, but significant variation existed between both individuals and groups. Cluster analysis revealed three groups of participants that differed dispositionally, demographically and in terms of academic achievement. The dispositional profiles of the three clusters showed a clear two-part pattern of agentic and epistemic attributes. This was replicated in factor analysis, which identified two dispositional factors: agentic engagement and epistemic engagement. Of these, epistemic engagement best predicted achievement, with agentic engagement a necessary but insufficient condition for academic success. Cross-cultural comparison found that international students tended to hold less adaptive dispositional profiles, and achieved lower grades. This suggests that learners’ dispositions develop adaptively within a specific cultural context, and may not translate effectively to new contexts. This is the first study to describe the dispositional profile of a PGCW population, and the first to propose the two underlying dispositional dimensions of agentic and epistemic engagement. Although dispositional profiles varied significantly between learners from different cultural backgrounds, the two dimensions were cross-culturally consistent, supporting the idea of a culturally universal model of dispositional learning. The greater importance of epistemic engagement in this model suggests that epistemic attributes underpin successful metacognition at this level. Effective teaching should therefore address epistemic expectations explicitly, and this is particularly important for students from different cultural contexts.

The aim of this research was to examine developmental, parental and pedagogical factors influencing young children's (aged 4-5 years) engagement levels in group musical activities in child care centres.
Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2009

碩士
國立東華大學
企業管理學系
105
This study examines the relationship between cultural intelligence and psychological capital, the role of cultural intelligence and psychological capital on the salience of study engagement, and subsequently explore the correlation between study engagement and its outcomes comprising academic satisfaction and well-being. Ninety and three foreign students who are currently studying in Taiwan Universities participated in the research. Using regression analysis for a causal model, the results show that: (1) cultural intelligence is positively related to psychological capital; (2) psychological capital is positively related to study engagement; (3) cultural intelligence is positively related to psychological capital, which in turn positively predict study engagement; (4) study engagement is positively related academic satisfaction. The results underscore the importance of the researches which guide the meaning of cultural intelligence concept and psychological capital, various indicators of personal resource on predicting study-related be-haviors as well as subsequent outcome such as academic satisfaction. The important findings lift the application of cultural intelligence concept and gradually pool the cross-cultural researcher`s party and enrich our knowledge of engagement concept which have precise meaning not only on common-work related researches but also uncommon-work study-related researches.

Despite a great deal of research on the international student experience, there is limited research examining internationalized classroom perspectives of domestic students. Existing studies have documented academic and personal issues that arise within the internationalized classroom such as: self-segregation, reluctance to work together, reduced interactions between domestic and international students, and limited academic engagement. This study explores experiences, perceptions and attitudes of students who are currently engaged in graduate programmes in internationalized classrooms. As shown in the data, the individual perspectives on culture, language, goals and expectations, gender and age, which are influenced by internationalization and instruction methods, help us to better understand the challenges associated with university internationalization in Canada. This study adds to the existing literature on the roles of universities in implementing specific strategies in order to provide an environment in which both international and domestic students can benefit from intercultural academic experience and help students develop intercultural competences and expand global citizenship.
Graduate
0525
0727
0745
jjoakes@uvic.ca

The purpose of this study was to explore how instructors of online courses accommodate and make provisions for culturally diverse learners in an online community of inquiry. Ten instructors from two Alberta higher education institutions participated in two phases of research. To explore this phenomenon in the CoI model, intercultural competency indicators were created to test how they could develop and expand teaching and social presence in a cross-cultural environment. In the first phase, analysis of the open-ended survey questionnaire (AMEQ) revealed that in the absence of any cross-cultural design, instructors use facilitation and open communication strategies to foster learning and prevent conflict. The second phase, informed by the first phase, involved augmenting the original 34-item CoI survey instrument. Additional roles that relate to instructor cross-cultural efficacy were incorporated into both teaching presence and social presence elements in the CoI survey instrument. The revised 37-item CoI survey instrument was then administered to the same respondents for face validity. Findings revealed that the incorporated cultural indicators correlated highly with the teaching and social indicators, indicating their usefulness to measure multicultural efficacy in the CoI model.
2012-April

碩士
大葉大學
國際企業管理學系碩士班
103
The purposes of this study were to examine the relationships between elementary school teacher perceived ethnical diversification and work engagement, to understand the moderator of cross-cultural sensitivity in the relationship between ethnical diversification and work engagement, and to compare demographic differences of elementary school teachers on those three variables. This study used the questionnaire method. The subjects were elementary school teachers in Taoyuan City. A total of 366 questionnaires were issued, 345 were retrieved and 332 were effective. After statistical analysis, the results of this study were as follows： 1. The level of work engagement and cross-cultural sensitivity of elementary school teachers were both on average. 2. The variables -“frequency of reading multicultural materials” and “experience of traveling abroad”- showed significant differences among elementary school teachers’ cross-cultural sensitivity. 3. The elementary teacher perceived ethnical diversification had significant negative effect on work engagement. 4. Cross-cultural sensitivity had a moderating effect in the relationship between ethnical diversification and work engagement. Finally, based on the research results, suggestions are made for further studies and practical management of school authorities.

The current dissertation aims to understand the impact of the cross-cultural effect on consumer-brand relationship and engagement through social media platforms. A netnography analysis was conducted concerning the interactions between the selected brand - the luxury brand Kérastase - and the respective online brand community on the Social Networking Site Facebook, during a specific period of time defined, in four different countries. The content gathering from this netnography methodology took place on the online brand community defined, and it allowed the compilation of a total of 1,547 interactions. Kérastase community members’ interactions were analysed considering these brand’s publications from January 2016 to August 2018. Our research findings revealed that all Kérastase Online Business Communities demonstrated a similar level of engagement towards the brand Social Network Site pages and seem to behave in an identical way. Notably, all countries consumers were shown to be particularly motivated by the brand overall posted content, thus suggesting a good digital marketing strategy. This research also shows that for a Luxury Brand such as Kérastase, information seeking, and people referral, emerge as the two most dominant reasons for the consumers to engage with the brand demonstrating a positive attachment. On the other hand, the less positive commentaries were related to some country operational aspects such as (new e-commerce channel, lack of product, etc). The results presented show that Companies using Facebook should look to increase the level of engagement by (1) preparing clear engagement strategies, (2) focusing on the delivery of relevant brand-related information, and (3) using people referrals on the comment sections to build a CRM data able to feed a VIP Club and create an affiliates. Despite the outcomes of the current research as well as the contributions it provides, there are some limitations that have to be considered such as a sample magnitude restricted, a limited number of Countries and social platform. In addition, this study did not a longitudinal evaluation. Acknowledging these limitations referred, the future studies should then consider them for the purpose of analysis.
A presente dissertação tem como objetivo compreender e medir o impacto dos valores culturais e influência na relação entre o consumidor e as marcas nas redes sociais. Primeiramente foi realizada uma análise netnográfica com objetivo de avaliar as interações entre a marca selecionada - a marca de luxo Kérastase - e a respectiva comunidade na rede social Facebook, em quatro países diferentes, durante um período de tempo definido. A recolha de conteúdos incidiu no processo de netnografia, que ocorreu nas comunidades online das marca definida e permitiu compilar um total de 1.547 interações. As interações dos membros da comunidade Kérastase foram analisadas considerando as publicações de janeiro de 2016 a agosto de 2018. Os resultados do estudo revelaram que de uma forma geral os consumidores Kérastase apresentaram um nível semelhante de envolvimento e apresentaram um comportamento similar. Notavelmente, todos os consumidores mostraram estar familiarizados com o conteúdo partilhado pela marca, o que revela uma boa estratégia de marketing digital. Este estudo mostra também que os consumidores estão claramente interessados em receber conteúdo da marca e partilhar esse mesmo conteúdo. Por outro lado, os comentários menos positivos estavam relacionados com algumas questões mais operacionais do país específico (um novo canal de e-commerce, falta de produto, etc). Os resultados apresentados mostram que as empresas que usam o Facebook devem aumentar o nível de envolvimento com os seus consumidores (1) através de estratégias de conteúdo, (2) partilha de informação relevante relacionada com a marca e (3) construir uma Base de Dados dos consumidores que mais interagem com a marca de forma a criar um Clube restrito, onde se encaixam os melhores clientes e um programa de afiliados. O presente estudo apresenta algumas limitações uma vez que se baseia numa amostra de consumidores não muito extensa, tendo em conta que teve como análise alguns países e foi utilizada numa rede social. Para além disso, este estudo não considerou uma avaliação longitudinal. Assim e reconhecendo as limitações referidas, os próximos desenvolvimentos na área deverão aproveitar estas lacunas.

As psychologists continue to engage the growing diversity within the United States and around the world, there is an imperative need for psychological services that are specific to cultural needs and integrate relevant sociohistorical and community factors. Currently, ethnocentrism in psychological interventions, research, and graduate training limit psychologists’ international engagement and perpetuate a focus on U.S. psychology. For graduate programs in health service psychology (i.e., clinical, school, and counseling psychology), there is a dearth of literature on their methods of preparation of health service professionals engaging in psychological work outside of the U.S. However, graduate training programs have opportunities to intervene on the field’s colonialism by preparing professionals to effectively engage internationally. Addressing ethnocentrism in training is a critical next step for the field of health service psychology.

This dissertation is comprised of two distinct chapters that are conceptually related. In the first chapter, I review health service psychology’s current international engagement. As psychologists engage outside of the United States, the field of psychology and the training community must critically examine the applicability of psychological interventions, research, and graduate education to international contexts. I propose six recommendations for training programs to deconstruct colonialism and enhance preparation of graduates for competent work outside of the U.S.

In the second chapter, I report an original, empirical study, using qualitative descriptive methodology, which critically examines how U.S. training prepares graduates to work internationally. Through semi-structured interviews, I explored internationally based psychologists’ reflections on their training experiences and preparation for their current roles in teaching, practice, research, consultation and policy, and psychological infrastructure. Data analysis utilized consensual qualitative research methodology (CQR). Results provided valuable information regarding psychologists’ professional roles outside of the U.S., factors contributing to their vocational experiences, country-specific mental health attitudes, values, and practices, the impact of U.S.-centric psychology in the country of location, lessons taken from their graduate training, and recommendations for international work. Findings provided recommendations to the training community to incorporate more of an international focus and enhance preparation of students for work outside of the U.S.

Nowadays consumers spread and seek opinions of peers through social networks like Facebook. Marketeers need to understand consumers’ online engagement and the factors that influence such electronic word-of-mouth behaviour (eWOM). Culture specifically plays a vital role, however, has been paid limited attention in previous research studies. This study undertook an online survey with 107 German and 48 Portuguese Facebook users, focusing on Millennials, to understand how engagement in opinion seeking, giving and passing differs between both nationalities and which factors influence the behaviours respectively, namely the social relationship variables bridging and bonding social capital, trust and tie strength. The findings revealed no significant differences for Germans and Portuguese in the engagement and for the factor social capital. More importantly, differences were found in the characteristics of the social relationships within the network. For German eWOM, key influencing factors are bridging and bonding social capital, perceived tie strength and strong ties. Bridging social capital and weak ties regression wise predicted German opinion seeking and passing. For Portuguese, only strong ties and bridging social capital were found to influence eWOM, while regression analysis revealed no significant predictors. The findings suggest that users’ eWOM engagement needs to be fostered by marketeers with targeted, engaging content.

Réalisée en milieux défavorisés, cette étude porte sur l’engagement scolaire des élèves de troisième cycle du primaire (5e et 6e années au Québec) dans un contexte d’utilisation pédagogique des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC). L’objectif de cette recherche est d’analyser l’engagement d’élèves utilisant les TIC. Elle vise à décrire les pratiques pédagogiques d’intégration des TIC de dix enseignants, de relater la qualité de l’engagement de leurs 230 élèves lors de tâches TIC et de mesurer l’évolution et la qualité de leur engagement scolaire selon le degré de défavorisation de leur école. Pour ce faire, cette recherche s’est inspirée d’un cadre de référence traitant l’engagement scolaire selon les dimensions affective, comportementale et cognitive. De plus, cette étude multicas essentiellement de nature interprétative et descriptive a utilisé une méthodologie mixte de collecte et d’analyse des données. Les résultats montrent notamment que les enseignants accordent une valeur pédagogique importante aux TIC tant dans la fréquence de leur utilisation, dans les usages valorisés que dans la façon de les intégrer en classe. Les enseignants privilégient largement le traitement de texte et la recherche sur Internet, mais très peu d’autres usages pertinents sont mis de l’avant de manière soutenue. La majorité des enseignants interrogés préférerait se servir de quatre ordinateurs en classe pour utiliser les TIC plus facilement que d’avoir uniquement accès au laboratoire de leur école. De plus, ils perçoivent de manière unanime que l’utilisation des TIC exerce une influence importante sur la dimension affective de leurs élèves lors d’activités préparées, assez bonne sur la dimension comportementale et plus discutable sur la dimension cognitive. Plus globalement, les élèves eux-mêmes affichent en général un engagement scolaire relativement élevé. En six mois, la qualité de l’engagement affectif des élèves est restée stable, leur engagement comportemental a progressé, mais leur engagement cognitif a baissé légèrement. Les résultats montrent aussi que la qualité de l’engagement des élèves de milieux défavorisés évolue différemment selon le degré de défavorisation de leur école. Dans cette recherche, l’importance de l’utilisation des TIC sur la qualité de l’engagement est marquante et s’avère parfois meilleure que dans d’autres types de tâches. Sans pouvoir généraliser, cette étude permet aussi de saisir davantage la qualité et l’évolution de l’engagement scolaire des élèves de la fin du primaire en milieux défavorisés. Des recommandations pour le milieu et des pistes de recherches futures sont présentées en tenant compte des limites et des forces de cette thèse inédite réalisée par articles.
Conducted in low socio-economic environments, this study looks at student engagement among third cycle elementary pupils (5th and 6th grade in Québec) in the context of the pedagogical use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at school. The goal of this multiple case study was to analyze the engagement of those students using ICTs at school. Thereby we have attempted to describe ten teachers’ pedagogical ICT integration practices, to report the quality of engagement of their 230 students during ICT tasks, and to measure the evolution and quality of their engagement in accordance with the school’s socio-economic status. A cross-cultural exploratory validation of a psychometric questionnaire was therefore carried out. This essentially interpretive and descriptive research employed a mixed methodology of data collection and analysis. This research notes that the concerned teachers granted an important pedagogical value to the use of ICTs varying in the frequency of their use, those uses most valued, and in the manner in which they are integrated in class. They largely privilege word processing and Internet research, yet few other significant uses are steadily applied. The majority preferred using four in-class computers for easier use of ICTs, rather than only having access to the school laboratory. Furthermore, they unanimously perceive that the use of ICTs has an important influence on their students’ emotional dimension during planned activities, a moderate influence on their behavioral dimension, and a more disputable influence on their cognitive dimension. More globally, the students themselves display a relatively high academic engagement. In six months, the quality of their emotional engagement remained stable, the behavioral aspect was on the rise, but the cognitive engagement declined. The results also demonstrate that those students from underprivileged environments displayed a different evolution in the quality of their engagement in accordance with their school’s level of income. This research therefore demonstrates the importance the use of ICTs has on the quality of engagement during ICT tasks, the latter often proving to be better than in other types of learning tasks. Without being able to generalize, this study also allows one to greater grasp how student engagement is qualified and evolves for pupils at the end of elementary school in underprivileged settings. Recommendations for the setting and paths for future research are presented taking into account the limits and strengths of this doctoral thesis presented by articles.

Historically, most research on Indigenous peoples has been framed by Western empirical positivism which fundamentally conflicts with Indigenous circular ways of knowing. Current research governing bodies, scholars, and Indigenous communities have generated new theories and guidelines for research structures that support respectful and meaningful practices with Indigenous peoples. Participatory action research (PAR) attempts to address the unequal power structures inherent in research relationships: participants set the agenda for the research and are co-researchers in the project. In this study, I placed PAR theory into action to problematize research practices and to generate new discourses for research within an Indigenous context. The Lil’wat Nation and I collaborated on a PAR project in 2006-2007 that led to the formation of the Lil’wat Girls’ and Women’s Affirmation Group. Through the process of reflection-in-action we identified several opportunities for growth as we examined PAR theory in practice. Using decolonizing research methods and a metaphor of the Lil’wat s7istken (pit house), the model of practice wove between three distinct worlds with divergent protocols and pedagogies: the worlds of the Lil’wat, academia, and the researcher’s racialized lived experiences. This model of practice aimed to disrupt the essentialized dichotomies of Indigenous and non-Indigenous relationships and to problematize research practices for the academic and research communities to consider for their practice. The findings exposed several lessons at sites of praxis pertaining to the intersection of PAR theory and practice: definition of the community; ethics in the community; racialized researcher space; and PAR incongruence. The model was intended not as a “how to” manual, but as an entry point for discussions to advance respectful decolonizing research practices.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
This study explored the lived experiences of family case managers who routinely work with families who are culturally different from themselves. The purpose was to understand and interpret the meaning of culture and cultural difference as it relates to the engagement process with families. The research also sought to understand whether cultural insensitivity or bias may contribute to the overrepresentation of children of color in the child welfare system. The author conducted 10 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with graduates of a large, research-intensive Midwestern university’s Title-IV-E Social Work Program, who also were employed as family case managers in public child welfare. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and the analytic process of the hermeneutic circle. Results suggest the concept of culture is a complex term that encompasses many characteristics and a number of dimensions. In addition, four themes were identified as underlying the engagement process with culturally different families. These themes routinely overlapped, and family case managers often had to attend to each of the thematic areas simultaneously. At nearly every step in the engagement process, family case managers modulated their interactions in order to find balance and stability in their relationship with the family. Finally, poverty was revealed to be the most salient cultural difference in working with families involved in the child welfare system. These results have important implications for social work education, child welfare practice, and research on the overrepresentation of children of color in the child welfare system.

Tese de doutoramento em Psicologia, na especialidade de Psicologia das Organizações, do Trabalho e dos Recursos Humanos, apresentada à Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação da Universidade de Coimbra
A presente dissertação apresenta a investigação realizada com o objetivo de estudar as relações entre Trabalho Digno (TD), Motivação para o trabalho e Capital Psicológico em trabalhadores do conhecimento portugueses e brasileiros. Nos estudos aqui realizados, o TD é entendido como um trabalho (e um contexto laboral) que possibilita ao profissional exercer uma atividade realizante e produtiva; com perspetivas de desenvolvimento pessoal e profissional; na qual percebe que são tomadas decisões justas e equitativas; onde é tratado com respeito e aceitação; tem liberdade de expressão; recebe uma remuneração que permite viver com autonomia e dignidade; está socialmente protegido; e são respeitadas as condições de saúde e segurança, com adequadas distribuição do tempo e carga de trabalho (ILO, 1999; Ferraro, Pais, Dos Santos & Moreira, 2016). A Motivação para o trabalho é aqui estudada na perspetiva da Teoria da Auto-determinação. Esta abordagem assume a Motivação para o trabalho como um conceito multidimensional, no qual diferentes tipos de motivação podem ser incentivados ou inibidos, num continuum entre a amotivação e a motivação intrínseca (Gagné & Deci, 2005; Gagné et al, 2015). Por fim, a consideração conjunta de quatro estados psicológicos positivos (auto-eficácia, esperança, otimismo e resiliência) configura a perspetiva por nós adotada no que concerne ao Capital Psicológico dos trabalhadores (Luthans, Youssef-Morgan & Avolio, 2015). Para uma melhor compreensão das relações entre as variáveis estudadas foram desenvolvidos estudos teóricos e empíricos. Os referidos estudos originaram dois artigos teórico-conceptuais já publicados, um artigo referente a um dos estudos empíricos já aceite para publicação e três outros artigos, relativos aos demais estudos empíricos, já submetidos a revistas da especialidade. A apresentação dos diversos estudos é o elemento base orientador da estrutura de redação do trabalho que começa com a introdução geral, exposta no capítulo 1. A tarefa de perspetivar o constructo de ‘Trabalho Digno’ ao longo do seu percurso histórico consubstancia o capítulo 2 que integra o primeiro estudo teórico-conceptual. Este permite compreender o longo caminho recheado de acontecimentos históricos e recomendações legais que estiveram na origem deste conceito e que são determinantes da sua pertinência e atualidade. Estas tangibilizam-se num conjunto de implicações para a gestão das organizações igualmente referido neste capítulo. Importantes aspetos conceptuais do Trabalho Digno, elementos constituintes do segundo estudo teórico-conceptual realizado, são evidenciados e discutidos no capítulo 3: a responsabilidade de múltiplos stakeholders para a sua promoção; as diferenças culturais que podem interferir na expressão do Trabalho Digno; o seu aspeto dinâmico, evoluindo em decorrência dos avanços científicos; e a relevância da interdependência global para que seja possível atingir o Trabalho Digno plenamente. Os estudos conceptuais referidos fundamentaram o passo seguinte: a operacionalização do conceito que viabilizou a construção e validação do questionário de Trabalho Digno (em inglês: Decent Work Questionnaire, DWQ), apresentadas no capítulo 4 e que traduz o trabalho realizado no primeiro estudo empírico. A validação do DWQ envolveu 1675 participantes, 636 na amostra portuguesa e 1039 na amostra brasileira. Na sua primeira versão, o DWQ era constituído por 72 itens que foram submetidos a análises fatoriais exploratória e confirmatória, conduzindo a uma versão final mais parcimoniosa de 31 itens. Foram identificados sete fatores, correspondentes a sete subscalas, e um escore global de DW. A validade convergente e a validade discriminante foram avaliadas, assim como a invariância da medida nas duas amostras (Portugal e Brasil). No capítulo 5 é apresentado o segundo estudo empírico, referente às relações entre o Trabalho Digno e a Motivação para o Trabalho, analisadas através de correlações canónicas, e entre o Trabalho Digno e o PsyCap, através de regressão linear. Na recolha de dados, para além do DWQ, foram utilizados a Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS), desenvolvida com base na Teoria da Auto-determinação (Gagné et al, 2015), e o PsyCap Questionnaire (PCQ) (Luthans, Youssef & Avolio, 2007), para mensuração, respectivamente, da Motivação para o trabalho e do Capital Psicológico. A amostra deste estudo é constituída por 2912 participantes (1327 portugueses; 1585 brasileiros) e os resultados indicam que o TD pode ter um importante papel como preditor da Motivação para o trabalho e do Capital Psicológico. Neste sentido, foram identificadas duas funções canónicas significativas que associam o Trabalho Digno à promoção das motivações mais autónomas e à prevenção da amotivação, assim como permitiram a identificação dos fatores de Trabalho Digno que mais se relacionam com o desenvolvimento do PsyCap. O terceiro estudo empírico, apresentado no capítulo 6, evidencia a relação do Trabalho Digno com a Motivação para o trabalho, o Engajamento no trabalho e o Burnout num grupo específico de trabalhadores do conhecimento (TC), os médicos. Na recolha de dados, envolvendo 605 participantes, recorreu-se ao DWQ, à Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá & Bakker, 2002) e à subescala de Personal Burnout do Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen & Christensen, 2005). Recorrendo à análise de correlações canónicas, foram encontrados três mecanismos em funcionamento na amostra dos médicos portugueses (n=300) e dois mecanismos na amostra dos médicos brasileiros (n=305). Uma vez mais, os resultados sugerem que o Trabalho Digno tem um papel relevante na promoção das motivações para o trabalho mais autónomas e na diminuição da amotivação; tendo ainda um papel importante na promoção do Engajamento no trabalho e na prevenção do Burnout. A percepção dos médicos do seu próprio trabalho como sendo realizante e produtivo parece ter um papel de destaque nos efeitos observados nas duas amostras. O capítulo 7 apresenta o quarto estudo empírico desenvolvido e é relativo ao teste de um modelo estrutural das relações entre o Trabalho Digno, a Motivação para o trabalho e o PsyCap. A amostra deste estudo é constituída por 3004 participantes, tendo a amostra portuguesa 1353 participantes e a brasileira 1651. Os instrumentos utilizados na recolha de dados foram o DWQ, a MWMS e o PCQ, já anteriormente referenciados. Os resultados mostram um modelo ajustado, com o Trabalho Digno como preditor das motivações para o trabalho de natureza mais autónoma e inibidor da amotivação, contando com o PsyCap como mediador parcial das relações que se estabelecem com as motivações mais autónomas e, apenas na amostra portuguesa, com a regulação externa. Na amostra brasileira, apenas a presença do PsyCap como mediador torna significativa a interação do Trabalho Digno com a Regulação Externa, destacando-se o seu papel nesta mediação completa. No capítulo 8 sistematizam-se e discutem-se os principais resultados, explicitam-se as limitações dos estudos realizados e apresentam-se as implicações deles decorrentes para a gestão das organizações em geral e a relativa aos recursos humanos em particular. Por fim, são apresentadas as considerações finais e as perspetivas de desenvolvimento da investigação neste domínio. Os resultados alcançados nos estudos, teóricos e empíricos, realizados representam um contributo original e inovador. Este contributo expressa-se, antes de mais, pela possibilidade de mensurar o Trabalho Digno por recurso a um instrumento validado que considera o nível individual de análise. Por seu intermédio, acede-se às perceções dos trabalhadores/profissionais quanto ao trabalho que realizam e ao contexto profissional em que este é realizado. Trata-se de algo tão mais relevante quanto a mensuração do Trabalho Digno tem ocorrido, exclusivamente, através de labour surveys, census ou monitorização das condições de trabalho por recurso a indicadores económicos e de enquadramento legal focados num nível macro de análise. Adicionalmente, o contributo dado expressa-se pelos resultados obtidos nos diversos estudos empíricos que fizeram emergir o trabalho realizante e produtivo como fator do TD com particular relevância nas amostras estudadas. O papel do TD como promotor da Motivação para o trabalho e do PsyCap é outro resultado a destacar e que configura, igualmente, um contributo relevante. O desenvolvimento futuro dos estudos sobre Trabalho Digno numa perspetiva da Psicologia das Organizações, do Trabalho e dos Recursos Humanos poderá constituir um importante contributo numa lógica de melhoria da qualidade de vida no trabalho, do bem-estar dos diversos profissionais e consequentemente da sua performance.
This dissertation presents the research carried out aiming to study relationships between Decent Work (DW), Work Motivation and Psychological Capital in Portuguese and Brazilian knowledge workers. In the studies made here, DW is understood as work (and a work context) that lets the professional perform a fulfilling and productive activity; with prospects for personal and professional development; in which they perceive fair and equitable decisions are made; where they are treated with respect and acceptance; having freedom of expression; receiving remuneration that lets them live with autonomy and dignity; with social protection; and respect for health and safety conditions, with appropriate distribution of working time and workload (ILO, 1999; Ferraro, Pais, Dos Santos & Moreira, 2016). Work motivation is studied here from the perspective of Self-Determination Theory. This approach assumes Work motivation as a multidimensional concept, in which different types of motivation can be encouraged or inhibited, along a continuum between amotivation and intrinsic motivation (Gagné & Deci, 2005; Gagné et al, 2015). Finally, joint consideration of four positive psychological states (self-efficacy, hope, optimism and resilience) forms the perspective we adopt concerning workers’ Psychological Capital (Luthans, Youssef-Morgan & Avolio, 2015). For better comprehension of relationships between the variables studied, theoretical and empirical studies were developed. Those studies originated two theoretical-conceptual articles already published, one article referring to one of the empirical studies already accepted for publication and three other articles related to the other empirical studies, already submitted to specialized journals. Presentation of the various studies is the basic element orienting the structure of the written work which begins with the general introduction, appearing in Chapter 1. The task of following the construct of ‘Decent Work’ throughout its historical development forms Chapter 2 including the first theoretical-conceptual study. This allows understanding of the long path marked by many historical events and legal recommendations that were at the origin of this concept and are determinants of its relevance and topicality. These form a number of implications for organizations’ management, also referred to in this chapter. Important conceptual aspects of Decent Work, elements included in the second theoretical-conceptual study carried out, are shown and discussed in Chapter 3: the responsibility of multiple stakeholders for its promotion; the cultural difference that can interfere in the expression of Decent Work; its dynamic aspect, evolving alongside scientific advances; and the relevance of global interdependence in making Decent Work fully achievable. The conceptual studies mentioned were the basis of the next step: operationalization of the concept, which made it possible to construct and validate the Decent Work Questionnaire (DWQ), presented in Chapter 4 and representing the work carried out in the first empirical study. Validation of the DWQ involved 1675 participants, 636 in the Portuguese sample and 1039 in the Brazilian one. In its first version, the DWQ was made up of 72 items which were subject to exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, leading to a shorter final version of 31 items. Seven factors were identified, corresponding to seven sub-scales, and a global DW score. Convergent validity and discriminant validity were assessed, as well as invariance of the measure in both samples (Portugal and Brazil). Chapter 5 presents the second empirical study, referring to relationships between Decent Work and Work Motivation, analysed through canonical correlations, and between Decent Work and PsyCap, through linear regression. In data-collection, besides the DWQ, the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS), developed based on Self-Determination Theory (Gagné et al, 2015), and the PsyCap Questionnaire (PCQ) (Luthans, Youssef & Avolio, 2007) were used to measure, respectively, Work Motivation and Psychological Capital. The sample of this study is made up of 2912 participants (1327 Portuguese; 1585 Brazilian) and the results indicate that DW can have an important role as a predictor of Work motivation and Psychological Capital. In this connection, two significant canonical functions were identified associating Decent Work with promotion of more autonomous motivations and prevention of amotivation, also identifying the factors of Decent Work most related to development of PsyCap. The third empirical study, presented in Chapter 6, shows the relationship between Decent Work and Work motivation, Work engagement and Burnout in a specific group of knowledge workers (KW), physicians. In data-collection, involving 605 participants, the DWQ, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES; Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá & Bakker, 2002) and the Personal Burnout sub-scale of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI; Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen & Christensen, 2005) were used. Through analysis of canonical correlations, three mechanisms were found in the sample of Portuguese doctors (n=300) and two mechanisms in the sample of Brazilian doctors (n=305). Once again, the results suggest that Decent Work has a relevant role in promoting more autonomous work motivations and in reducing amotivation; also having an important role in promoting work engagement and prevention of burnout. Doctors’ perception of their own work as being fulfilling and productive seems to have a prominent role in the effects observed in both samples. Chapter 7 presents the fourth empirical study developed and relates to the test of a structural model of relationships between Decent Work, Work Motivation and PsyCap. The sample of this study is formed of 3004 participants, the Portuguese sample having 1353 participants and the Brazilian one 1651. The instruments used in data-collection were the DWQ, the MWMS and the PCQ, as mentioned above. The results show an adjusted model, with Decent Work as a predictor of Work motivations of a more autonomous nature and inhibiting amotivation, with PsyCap as a partial mediator of the relationships formed with more autonomous motivations and, only in the Portuguese sample, with external regulation. In the Brazilian sample, only the presence of PsyCap as a mediator makes the interaction between Decent Work and External Regulation significant, its role in this full mediation standing out. Chapter 8 systemizes and discusses the main results, describes the limitations of the studies carried out and presents the resultant implications for organizational management in general and human resources in particular. In concluding, final considerations and perspectives for research development in this domain are presented. The results obtained in the theoretical and empirical studies represent an original and innovative contribution. This contribution is expressed, first of all, by the possibility of measuring Decent Work using a validated instrument that considers the individual level of analysis. It gives access to the perceptions of workers/professionals regarding the work they do and the professional context in which it is performed. This is extremely relevant given that measurement of Decent Work has resorted exclusively, through labour surveys, censuses or monitoring of working conditions, to economic indicators and legal frameworks focused on a macro-level of analysis. Furthermore, the contribution made is expressed in the results obtained in the various empirical studies which highlighted fulfilling and productive work as a particularly relevant factor of DW in the samples studied. The role of DW as a promoter of work motivation and PsyCap is another result to highlight, also representing a relevant contribution. Future development of studies on Decent Work from a perspective of Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology can be an important contribution with a view to improving the quality of working life, the well-being of diverse professionals and consequently their performance.
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) - Processo Nº BEX 9703/13-6

This dissertation explores the relationship between culture and social media marketing. Differences in consumer behavior on social media are analyzed. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are employed to predict these differences between cultures. The data was organically gathered from 6750 posts from 225 different Facebook brand pages and 15 different countries. The gathered data included the engagement metrics such as the amount of likes, shares and comments and the various versions of likes such as: love, wow, funny, angry and sad. To the author’s knowledge this is the first study that uses real world organic data to analyze differences between cultures on social media. Descriptive results are displayed through charts and then the statistical significance is measured through linear regressions. Interesting differences were found that could be explained by Hofstede’s dimensions. One of these is that countries low in individualism and/or high in power distance share posts more than comment on them. Also, the use of the funny and wow emoticon responses seems to be related to higher scores on individualism. These findings have theoretical and practical implications. Some academics posit that cultures are converging, and cultural dimensions are becoming obsolete, because of new communication platforms such as social media (Sobol, Cleveland, & Laroche, 2018). Findings from this dissertation imply that Hofstede’s dimensions could still be powerful predictors of some consumer behavior patterns, even on Facebook. Managers could adopt more viral marketing campaigns in countries where posts get shared more and use invitations to tag friends in the opposite countries. Furthermore, they could become more aware of cultural differences in emoticon sentiment that might influence their success and cater to these expectations accordingly.
Esta dissertação explora a relação entre cultura e marketing de redes sociais. São analisadas as diferenças entre o comportamento do consumidor nas redes sociais. As dimensões culturais de Hofstede são utilizadas para prever as diferenças entre culturas. Os dados foram recolhidos organicamente de 6750 publicações de 225 diferentes marcas de páginas de Facebook e de 15 países diferentes. Os dados recolhidos incluíram as métricas de engajamento, como número de gostos, partilhas, comentários e as várias versões dos gostos, como: adoro, wow, riso, ira, triste. Para o conhecimento do autor, este é o primeiro estudo que usa dados orgânicos do mundo real para analisar as diferenças entre culturas nas redes sociais. Resultados descritivos são exibidos através de gráficos e, em seguida, a significância estatística é medida através de regressões lineares. Foram encontradas diferenças interessantes que poderiam ser explicadas pelas dimensões de Hofstede. Uma delas é que os países com baixo individualismo e/ou alto em distância ao poder, fazem mais partilha de publicações em vez de comentários. Além disso, o uso de reações como riso e wow parecem estar relacionadas com pontuações mais altas em individualismo. Estas descobertas têm implicações teóricas e práticas. Alguns académicos postulam que as culturas estão a convergir e as dimensões culturais estão a tornarse obsoletas, graças às novas plataformas comunicação como as redes sociais (Sobol, Cleveland, & Laroche, 2018). Os resultados desta dissertação indicam que as dimensões de Hofstede ainda podem ser poderosos indicadores de alguns padrões de comportamento do consumidor, mesmo no Facebook. Os gerentes podem adotar mais campanhas de marketing virais em países onde as publicações são mais partilhadas e usar os convites para identificar amigos em países opostos. Além disso, eles podem tornar-se mais conscientes das diferenças culturais no uso das reações emocionais que podem influenciar mais o seu sucesso e atender de acordo com essas expectativas.

Changing trends within the mental health system treatment practices demand exploration of the cultural context of assessment and treatment of Black/African Americans. Culturally competent assessments include a realistic integration of historical context. Clinicians counseling Black/African Americans must be prepared to assess and address PTSD, racial trauma, micro-aggressions, and other known (or unknown) issues that may affect Black/African Americans. In addition, clinicians must be prepared for the depth and permanence of race-based stress and trauma, as well as the idea that said stress and trauma can result from unaddressed environmental, familial, and/or individual factors. The purpose of this study is to explore cultural competence in the practices of clinicians working with Black/African Americans clients as it relates to assessment, treatment and engagement. Through the exploration of current multicultural counseling and assessment trends, the study explores the origins of stress and trauma in American descendents of African slaves, and proposes an evaluation of clinicians' mental health assessment for PTSD with said clients based on those implications. Exploring to what extent a culturally-proficient clinician engages Black/African Americans clients from initial through on-going assessment and treatment process in conjunction with the professional literature on treatment practices, research suggests that Black/African American clients do suffer from intergenerational trauma and are often mis- or under-diagnosed for mental health issues. With proper assessment of Black/African Americans, the reduction of misdiagnosed or under diagnosed cases of Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as other mental health conditions will occur.
Graduation date: 2012