Existence Of Cultural Differences Research Articles

Capital in Adaptation to Culture Shock in Overseas Students of Muhammadiyah University Surakarta

The existence of cultural differences in an area causes the phenomenon of culture shock. Capital becomes a person's need to carry out activities in an area or arena that has a different background in order to adapt. This study aims to find out how forms of capital adapt to culture shock in overseas students at the Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta. This research was conducted using a qualitative descriptive approach using case studies. The data collection method uses the Multiple Source of Evidence principle, by conducting in-depth interviews and participant observation of several students who experience culture shock. The results of the study show that there are three aspects of social capital that help to adapt to the environment of overseas students at the Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta. These three aspects are Ability to communicate, Socialization ability into culture, and Solidarity. These three aspects come from the cultural capital found in overseas students at the Muhammadiyah University of Surakarta in meeting the needs of culture shock adaptation in Solo.

Impact of Airbnb Host Profile Photos on Guest Star Ratings Based on Cultural Differences in China and the United States

This research analyzed the profile photos and star ratings of 45,000 Airbnb hosts in China and the United States, investigating cultural differences in host and guest behavior. The results indicated the existence of cultural differences in the degree of facial disclosure and in facial expressions and their influence on guest ratings. More specifically, first, fewer hosts in China revealed their faces in profile photos than hosts in the United States. Second, in China, star ratings given by guests to hosts who did not disclose their faces were lower than to hosts who did disclose their faces, but in the United States, there was an even greater reduction in ratings for hosts who did not disclose their faces. Third, the facial expressions of hosts in China did not look as happy as those in the United States. Fourth, happy facial expressions of hosts had a more positive impact on guest ratings in China than in the United States. These findings highlight the importance of using profile photos showing happy facial expressions and this is especially important in China.

Material Incentives and Effort Choice: Evidence from an Online Experiment Across Countries

We conduct in the an interactive online experiment framed as an employment contract between employer and worker. Subjects from the US and India are matched in pairs within and across countries. Employers make a one-period offer to a worker who can either decline or choose a high or low effort. The offer is made from within a restricted and variable set of possible contracts: high and low fixed wage; bonus and malus contracts; and bonus and malus with reneging. High effort is always efficient. Self-interest predicts a fraction of observed choices, but many choices indicate conditional or unconditional cooperation instead. Indian subjects are more likely to play unconditional cooperation and provide high effort more often. US subjects are more likely to follow self-interest. Indian subjects reach a more efficient outcome than US subjects in 5 of the 6 treatments. Survey data on demographics and attitudes to incentives is unable to predict behavioral differences between the two countries, suggesting the possible existence of cultural differences in the response to labor incentives.

A Genealogy Ontology Containing Turkish Kinship Terms for Traditional Families

Today, with the innovations brought by technology, many information, official documents, correspondence, and evaluation data kept in archives have been transferred to digital environment. One of the areas where the digitalization process has started and continues rapidly is population and registry information. However, the existing systems are sometimes insufficient to present the log information clearly. Existing systems used in relevant government institutions and libraries can only present kinship ties in a hierarchical structure due to the lack of necessary infrastructure resources. The family tree created is insufficient to establish parallel relationships. However, it is obvious that in most judicial and institutional cases, it will shed light on the current situation in parallel kinship relations. In addition, existing genealogies are insufficient to reveal semantic patterns between the concepts of family, person, place, time, and event while listing kinship relations. In addition to all these, the existence of cultural differences between nations and the expression of kinship relations with different terms require the definition of a common family tree. In this study, semantic web technologies, ontologies, and related data, which have been widely used in many fields in recent years, are structured to provide a clearer conceptualization of kinship relations. The study also discusses the alignment and reusability of the developed genealogical ontology with upper-level ontologies so that it can be used more broadly. Keywords: Genealogical Ontology, Semantic Web Technologies, Linked Data, Protégé, Ontology Methodologies DOI: 10.7176/JSTR/7-10-10

Conceptual variation in the linguistic expression of aesthetic emotions: Cross-cultural perspectives on an underexplored domain (Variación conceptual en la expresión lingüística de emociones estéticas: perspectivas interculturales en un campo poco estudiado)

ABSTRACT Research on emotional expressions has focused on our expressions for utilitarian emotions. Little is known about how speakers express aesthetic emotions. Aesthetic emotions, in fact, have been traditionally considered as lacking specific patterns of metaphoric and metonymic representation, so that our linguistic and gestural expressions for art-related emotions are frequently considered arbitrary and unsystematic. Recent research shows the existence of characteristic embodiment for most aesthetic emotions. Using this embodied understanding of aesthetic emotions, I have analysed a corpus of travellers’ reviews by native speakers of Japanese and English. The study of these expressions shows that both Japanese- and English-speaking travellers frequently rely on similar conceptual patterns. However, this study also indicates the existence of cultural differences in the way these emotions are described by speakers from each linguistic area. Furthermore, the use of expressions for some of these emotions is restricted to one sub-corpus, which might be revealing a cultural disposition to experience these emotions in the context of this historic site. In sum, this research contributes to a better understanding of how aesthetic emotions may be influenced by culture.

Determinants of e-learning adoption among students of developing countries

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of e-learning adoption (ELA) among students in the University of Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research approach comprising of a survey of 337 students was adopted. Data were collected using questionnaires designed in conjunction with 13 factors (computer self-efficacy (CSE), perceived ease of use (PEOU), perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude towards use (ATTU)) in the conceptual model of the study. Data analysis was conducted using structural equation modelling. Findings – The result revealed that PU and ATTU had a direct effect on ELA whilst, PU and PEOU also had a direct relationship on ATTU. Other variables such as CSE and PEOU had an indirect relationship on ELA though they were found to have an insignificant direct relationship on ELA. Practical implications – The level of significance of each construct identified in the study provide practical guidance to school administrators and instructors as to which factors to pay close attention to when implementing e-learning projects within their respective institutions. Originality/value – This study provides insight into ELA from the students’ perspective, through an extension of the TAM model in a developing country context given the existence of cultural differences and societal idiosyncrasies which exist in different contexts, particularly in Africa.

Key Ethical Issues Discussed at CDC-Sponsored International, Regional Meetings to Explore Cultural Perspectives and Contexts on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness and Response

Background: Recognizing the importance of having a broad exploration of how cultural perspectives may shape thinking about ethical considerations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded four regional meetings in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Eastern Mediterranean to explore these perspectives relevant to pandemic influenza preparedness and response. The meetings were attended by 168 health professionals, scientists, academics, ethicists, religious leaders, and other community members representing 40 countries in these regions. Methods: We reviewed the meeting reports, notes and stories and mapped outcomes to the key ethical challenges for pandemic influenza response described in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) guidance, Ethical Considerations in Developing a Public Health Response to Pandemic Influenza: transparency and public engagement, allocation of resources, social distancing, obligations to and of healthcare workers, and international collaboration. Results: The important role of transparency and public engagement were widely accepted among participants. However, there was general agreement that no "one size fits all" approach to allocating resources can address the variety of economic, cultural and other contextual factors that must be taken into account. The importance of social distancing as a tool to limit disease transmission was also recognized, but the difficulties associated with this measure were acknowledged. There was agreement that healthcare workers often have competing obligations and that government has a responsibility to assist healthcare workers in doing their job by providing appropriate training and equipment. Finally, there was agreement about the importance of international collaboration for combating global health threats. Conclusion: Although some cultural differences in the values that frame pandemic preparedness and response efforts were observed, participants generally agreed on the key ethical principles discussed in the WHO’s guidance. Most significantly the input gathered from these regional meetings pointed to the important role that procedural ethics can play in bringing people and countries together to respond to the shared health threat posed by a pandemic influenza despite the existence of cultural differences.

Uma análise das diferenças em termos da cultura a partir do projeto de substituição da IAS 39: financial instruments - recognition and measurement

The accounting culture of individual countries is frequently considered as an obstacle to complete accounting harmonization. This study intends to analyze the differences in terms of culture based on the respondents’ participation in the issuing/change process of the standards of the International Accounting Standard Board (Iasb). Therefore, the comment letters sent to the Iasb where analyzed in the context of the first part of the replacement process of the International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39: Financial Instruments - Recognition and Measurement by the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 9. The respondent countries were identified in function of the classification proposed by Gray (1988). Next, the collected data were submitted to the non-parametric chi-square test. The results of this study evidence the existence of cultural differences in the responses obtained from the countries, particularly in the context of the accounting value of conservatism, without identifying evidences of these differences for the values of secrecy, professionalism and uniformity. Thus, it is concluded that the countries classified as conservative prefer more conservative measuring practices, based, namely, on the cost or amortized cost, to the detriment of fair value-based measuring criteria. These study results are intended to support decision making by international standard setters and the national entities responsible for subscribing to these standards.

Entrepreneurial intentions in diverse development contexts: a cross-cultural comparison between Senegal and Spain

This article compares entrepreneurial intention and its antecedents in two diverse economic and cultural contexts: Senegal and Spain. Starting from the Theory of Planned Behavior, a tailor-made instrument is developed and used to measure the entrepreneurial intention of a sample of 810 individuals from both countries. Findings indicate the existence of cultural differences between both countries in the determination of entrepreneurial intention. Spain showed personal attitude as the main antecedent, whereas in Senegal, it was perceived behavioral control. Moreover, the results appear to indicate that in contexts of less economic development, like Senegal, the role of the perceived social pressure (subjective norms) to carry out or not an entrepreneurial behavior loses its capacity to explain entrepreneurial intentions.

Cultural patterns in personality differences between child molesters and general population

The study evaluated the Five Factor Model (FFM) in populations of child molesting sexual offenders from the UK and Spain, comparing these FFM-based personality traits in relation to population norms for both countries. Our objective was to study if there exists cultural patterns in personality differences between child molesters and general populations. In this study were included two groups from the general population (United Kingdom-Spain) and two groups of child molester (United Kingdom-Spain). The results showed that the differences in Neuroticism between the general population and child molesters for both countries reflect the same pattern. Whereas some personality domains (Extraversion, Openness and Conscientiousness) between general population and sex offenders against children did not show the same pattern in both countries, this may reflect cultural differences. The current study provides evidence of: 1) existence of cultural differences in FFM characteristics between general population and child molester and 2) existence of personality characteristics of sex offenders against children (as high Neuroticism) that are independent of the culture.

Effects of motivation on employees' perceptions, behaviour and psychological orientation

There is a considerable interest and debate over the effectiveness of employees' motivation. An experimental design is used to test a series of hypotheses based on a sample of Indian and Egyptian employees. It has found that despite the existence of cultural differences at an ethnic level, culture does not appear to have a significant impact on the employee responses to motivation. This paper will look at the different characteristics of employees and then approaches which are generally used by managers towards these two different groups. This paper examines the impact of sub-culture on preferences of managerial motives. Finally, the study also provides further evidence that validates a scale used for the measurement of culture.

Cultural differences and entrepreneurial behaviour: an intra-country cross-cultural analysis in Cape Verde

Two recent research trends give rise to the current work: the need to extend the conclusions reached in entrepreneurship studies to other cultural contexts, particularly important given the interest in stimulating the creation of firms in recently industrialised and less developed countries; and the need to go beyond the axiom ‘nation=culture’ in favour of the multiple cultures perspective. With these antecedents, we present the current work, which aims to answer two research questions: (1) are the cultural values associated in the literature with venture creation generalisable to different cultural contexts? (2) are there intra-cultural differences in a country generating differences in the entrepreneurial behaviour of its population? Thus, this work contributes to extending knowledge about entrepreneurship and international cross-cultural management by taking the novel approach of studying the cultural values and the decision to create a venture from the intra-cultural differences perspective. A sample of 448 individuals, obtained in the Republic of Cape Verde and analysed in six territories within this country, allows us to confirm the existence of cultural differences in individualism between regions of the Republic of Cape Verde, as well as their capacity to explain entrepreneurial behaviour in these regions.

Communicative Action and the Accounting/Marketing Interface in Industry

Previous studies have investigated the accounting/marketing interface in industry and found the existence of cultural differences and a knowledge gap between the two groups of professionals. This paper contributes to this ongoing debate by focusing on the two groups at a broad professional level, an approach ignored in prior studies. Consistent with previous research, this paper relies on a survey methodology to investigate the existence/non-existence of cultural differences and a knowledge gap between accounting and marketing professionals working in industry. Responses from the members of the Australian Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Australian Marketing Institute support our hypotheses of the existence of cultural differences and a knowledge gap at the accounting/marketing interface in industry. Our interpretation of the results using Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action raises several issues concerning the need for accounting and marketing personnel to develop an understanding, c...

CHALLENGES IN INTERNATIONAL RETAILING: COMPARISON OF POLICY PREFERENCES OF FUTURE BUSINESS PERSONNEL

Cross‐cultural variations in the international ethical environment has the potential to hamper the international activities of the unwary international retailer. This study investigated differences in preferences for policies addressing potentially ethically troublesome retail sales situations among future business personnel from two differing cultures. The results suggest the existence of cultural differences in such preferences. Implications are discussed.

Japanese joint ventures with western multinationals: Synthesising the economic and cultural explanations of failure

Many research studies have been done to explain the reasons for the tensions and failures observed in joint ventures between Japanese and Western multinational enterprises. These studies have identified, with various degrees of sophistication, the existence of cultural differences as a primary determinant of failure. Alternative explanations focus upon a transaction cost approach, emphasising opportunism and the danger of cheating in such strategic alliances. This paper synthesises the literature through the development of a new conceptual framework. This framework, which distinguishes between economic and cultural reasons for failure, provides a new lens to view the literature. It is demonstrated that the simple view of cultural incompatibility needs to be replaced by an awareness of the combined impact of cultural and economic forces on the viability of joint ventures between Japanese and Western firms.