Multiple Cultural Perspectives Research Articles

Philosophy & Aesthetics of Kendang in The Sundanese Concept of Life

The characteristics of Sundanese kendang in a review of multiple cultural perspectives are sufficient to provide space for exploration in the process of acculturation of traditional arts at national and international levels. Sundanese kendang has shown its existence as a collaborative local cultural product. However, the acculturation of Sundanese kendang which is currently growing has certain problems on the other hand. Through the various charms it offers, Sundanese kendang are now not only owned by the Sundanese people, but are already owned by other non-Sundanese people. Therefore, of the many changes in the process of development and distribution, identification of how the Sundanese kendang looks today is quite important to complement the Sundanese kendang literacy itself as a complete identity. Sundanese kendang as a cultural product are certainly inseparable from the Sundanese people as their owners. Periodically, Sundanese kendang have not found common ground about when, where, and who can be used as an accurate reference source for the interests of Sundanese kendang literacy itself, therefore this paper offers an approach through the pattern of rationality of Sundanese culture which allows it to be used as an option. in the study of Sundanese kendang as one of the cultural products of the Sundanese people. The philosophy of the Sundanese people will be reflected in the meaning contained in the Sundanese kendang as one of the cultural products it produces. By discovering the cultural values contained in Sundanese kendang, it will provide a new view of what, why and what is wrong with Sundanese kendang. 

International Article Retesting

It is strongly recommended to retest the integrated model of intercultural communication competence IMICC among multiple cultural perspectives

Performing in diverse settings: A diversity, equity, and inclusion approach to culture

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are being built into the fabric of today’s organizations, and utilizing such a lens is vital to understanding cross-cultural performance. Yet, most of the culture and diversity literature has grown in silos and is therefore not leveraging the many benefits that their integration could provide. To counter this gap, we advance a theoretical framework featuring a new definition of cross-cultural performance (CCP) from a DEI perspective, as a new angle for doing work across cultures. Specifically, CCP is defined as the integration of multiple cultural perspectives of individuals who work together with the goal of enabling a diverse, inclusive, and equitable work environment. By applying the DEI lens to CCP, we elevate the meaning of performance due to added consideration of compositional differences, the possible barriers to employees’ success, and the extent to which others’ perspectives are indeed valued. Accordingly, our framework identifies three main components of CCP: catalyzing cultural differences, taking part in engaging communication, and promoting allyship activities. Furthermore, we specify emotional management as the glue of these three components, and key outcomes at different levels of analysis. Last, we discuss the implications of our framework to both theory and practice as well as directions for future research.

Response—The Multiple Understandings in the Clinic Do Not Always Need to be Resolved

This article reflects on the assumption underlying the argument of Little et al. that "contested understandings" in the clinic are susceptible to reconciliation within a liberal framework described as "pragmatic pluralism". It is argued that no such reconciliation is possible or desirable because it is of the nature of the clinic that it provides a forum for multiple voices, ethical and cultural perspectives, and conceptual frameworks, and this is the source of its fecundity and creativity. Medicine itself cannot be represented by a single discourse, precisely because it is itself an unruly collection of practices that, despite their heterogeneity, are able to engage in productive dialogues with each other. The heteroglossia of the clinic, therefore, is not a problem to be overcome. Rather, it is a rich resource to be mobilized in accordance with its multiple inherent purposes.

Feedback as a balancing act: Qualitative insights from an experienced multi-cultural sample of doctoral supervisors in nursing

AimTo better understand the views and experiences of experienced doctoral supervisors in nursing when providing feedback and critique to nursing doctoral students. Background: Feedback refers to information from a provider, intended to inform a receiver about the quality of their work in order for them to be able to see where improvements might occur and to signpost issues to be carried into future work. Feedback, particularly on student writing is central to successful doctoral supervision and is time consuming and labour-intensive for supervisors. Design: Qualitative. Methods: Following ethics approval and informed consent procedures, we gathered 962 min of interview data over a six-week period from 21 participants in four countries. During conversational-style interviews, participants shared their experiences of supervisionand elucidated on their experiences of providing feedback to doctoral students. Data were thematically analysed. Findings: Participants had more than 400 combined doctoral completions. As supervisors, participants aimed to strike a balance between helpful and empowering comments that motivated students to approach their work with renewed vigour and enthusiasm; and those that had the opposite effect of crushing and demoralising the student. ‘Feedback as a balancing act’ comprised four contributing themes with sub-themes. Findings reveal that feedback on student writing can remain a challenge for the duration of candidature. However, writing is an essential aspect of doctoral studies. It is through supervision that new nursing scholars are tutored and coached into the practices essential to creating disciplinary knowledge through writing. Our sample was drawn from multiple countries and included perspectives from various cultures. Despite the variation in countries and cultures, there was little variation in issues around feedback with all participants striving to provide clear, respectful feedback aimed at developing students and enhancing their skills. Conclusions: Supervision of doctoral student frequently involves working internationally and what while our sample was drawn from multiple countries and cultural perspectives, there was little variation in issues around provision of feedback to doctoral students. When considering feedback, our findings emphasise the importance of recognising feedback as a crucial educative process and one that is central to the production of a doctoral thesis. We argue that there is a need for nursing to move to developing and articulating meaningful and inclusive pedagogies of writing and doctoral supervision. We recommend universities support the development of such pedagogies and ensure that academic staff engaging in supervision are supported with the appropriate knowledge and skills to be optimally effective.

Learning from multi-paradigmatic sensitivity in cross-cultural management? Empirical and theoretical considerations

Paradigms are basic assumptions about how social reality is perceived, understood and explained. Whereas most research is based on a single paradigm, few empirical papers show the advantages of using multiple paradigms within a study. This article pleads for multi-paradigm studies in cross-cultural management research in order to reach a more multifaceted representation of cultural phenomena. This is particularly consistent with the field of cross-cultural management, because it would be ethnocentric to consider intercultural situations only from one perspective, usually that of one’s own culture. The argument corresponds to the ambition of cross-cultural management to respect and adopt multiple (cultural) perspectives and, analogously, to achieve a ‘paradigmatic ethnorelativism’. Based on an intercultural situation, and therefore going beyond meta-theoretical reasoning, this article demonstrates multi-paradigmatic sensitivity in terms of the functionalist, interpretive and critical paradigms. The use of these theoretical concepts leads to multiple angles and a less ‘ethnocentric’ position, and hence to more nuanced knowledge creation with regard to the intercultural situation. The ‘blind spots’ of each paradigm, but also their complementarities, are discussed. Consequently, this article raises theoretical and practical implications for cross-cultural management by offering a way to a richer understanding of intercultural situations through openness to different paradigms.

Debating ethical nominalism in Early Enlightenment thought on China

AbstractThis article discusses debates about the normative implications of nominalism by considering significant Enlightenment assessments of China’s society and politics. Enlightenment universalism has been criticized as an insufficient bulwark against nominalist tendencies towards cultural or subjective relativism, and (in its Anglo‐French formulations) as responsible for the ills of modernity which need to be overcome by a ‘spiritual turn’ in Critical Realism. Yet in response to the nominalist aspects of the philosophy of Thomas Hobbes (1588‐1679), the early Enlightenment thinkers Pierre Bayle (1647‐1706), Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646‐1716), and the Baron de Montesquieu (1689‐1755) countered the nominalist denial of the reality of universal concepts while conceding the validity of multiple cultural perspectives on the social and political world. Each thinker attempted to reconcile certain universal ethical standards with the fact of cultural and epistemic diversity as demonstrated by China, with differing levels of success. Indeed, their considerations on Hobbesian nominalism and views on China are tied to conceptions of the social as a sphere in many ways independent of the political order—a general development in western social and political theory in the late seventeenth to eighteenth centuries. Thus, the links between their responses to ethical nominalism and conceptions of the Chinese social and political order shed crucial light on debates internal to Enlightenment thought relative to non‐European cultures, and in turn on the development of classical social theory. Furthermore, their anti‐nominalist universalist theories which nevertheless accounted for particular and often incommensurable cultural frameworks can be seen as early modern precursors to ongoing efforts to navigate between extreme versions of universalism and relativism, and as constituting ‘philosophical under‐labour’ for contemporary social theory.

The Manifestation of “The Other” and the Possibility of Self-Redemption - Reconsidering the Authenticity of Where Yellow Sails are Flying

Authenticity, as a research topic in the field of urban problems, is a concentrated reflection of many cultural anxieties caused by urbanization. This article selects the movie Where Yellow Sails Are Flying, trying to clarify the inherent logic and theoretical contexts of authenticity, including what it is, how to define its perceptual, imaginative and practical connotation in the ontology angle. And then pointing out that “human”, as the core of cognitive schemata in practice, has the meaning of otherness of others, so cannot be attributed to an object of “being” or theoretical reality. It not only contains Benjamin’s Messianic unknowable dimension, but also is closely related to the negation of the metaphysical system of presence in the post-modern context. Finally, authenticity, as a kind of cultural politics and practice, is considered to be a collection of blindness and insight, distorting the experience by generalizing and abstracting while displaying the fracture of the signifier and signified. It is only through multiple cultural perspectives can individuals escape from the history of “the other”. This paper also uses the relevant arguments of scientists or philosophers such as Slavoj Žižek, Zygmunt Bauman and Jacques Lacan to critically interpret the theory of authenticity.

Retesting integrated model of intercultural communication competence (IMICC) on international students from the Asian context of Malaysia

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is a need of today, for those who live in multicultural societies and have frequent interactions with culturally different individuals. It is strongly recommended to retest the integrated model of intercultural communication competence (IMICC) among multiple cultural perspectives. For this reason, this study adopted IMICC, retested it on the Asian context of Malaysia. The research employed a survey technique and collected data from 300 international students of a public university. The theoretical model of the research was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Most of the established paths of IMICC were supported. The findings show sensation seeking and attitude toward other culture (ATOC) directly influenced ICC. The mediating effect of ATOC was empirically justified through the findings. Nevertheless, the mediating effect of motivation to engage in intercultural communication (MTEIIC) towards sensation seeking and ethnocentrism with ICC was not established. The results are promising; however, it is the initial step toward the validation of IMICC on the Asian context. The research practically contributes usage of the model to the policymakers in order to develop future strategies/policies for international students. Further refinement and retesting of the model are necessary for future studies.

Refugee resettlement volunteers as (inter)cultural mediators?

ABSTRACT Refugee resettlement organizations hope that, by acting as intercultural mediators who navigate multiple cultural perspectives and translate them for others, volunteers will foster reciprocal adaptation by refugees and host nationals. However, intercultural mediation is challenging when divergent cultural frameworks generate discomfort or misunderstanding. Based on interviews with refugee resettlement volunteers, this study documents how volunteers positioned themselves in their narratives of interactions with and about refugees and how they attributed authority about what constituted appropriate cultural practices. Analysis of the varied “self” positions that volunteers adopted reveals that even motivated, knowledgeable individuals who want to respect diversity may inadvertently hinder adaptation.

Editors' Introduction

The inaugural issue of FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education begins a new chapter in the scholarly and professional discussion of comparative and international education research, policy, and practice. Comparative and international education research has become increasingly isolated from educational policymaking as well as school- and classroom-level decisionmaking as the amount and diversity of research in the field has grown. FIRE is an international, peer-reviewed publication, which seeks to bridge this gap by promoting interdisciplinary scholarship on the use of internationally comparative data for evidence-based and innovative change in educational systems, schools, and classrooms worldwide. FIRE provides an open source and widely accessible platform for disseminating research on education from multiple cultural, organizational and national perspectives. To introduce FIRE to the community of researchers, policymakers, and educators this introduction provides an overview of the journal

An Overview of Dominant Research Approaches to Measure Intercultural Communication Competence (ICC)

The aim of this paper is to discuss the several dominant research approaches incorporated by the intercultural researchers of the past. These approaches are elaborated into two different manners. Firstly, an overview of the six prominent theoretical approaches is discussed briefly along with the lacking and culture-specific elements in the approaches are witnessed. Secondly, culture general approaches are considered with their importance in the research practice regarding their culture general nature. Following with the remarkable contributions towards the current body of knowledge by Lily A. Arasaratnam in intercultural communication competence (ICC). In addition, it is also pointed out that how she developed such culture general models of ICC with a thorough discussion on the series of her culture general models. It is noticed from the literature on intercultural competence that previous approaches and culture general model are mostly addressed in the Western context. Even though context does matter a lot in the intercultural research. Therefore, it is suggested to explore these approaches and culture general models of multiple cultural perspectives, especially in Non-Western contexts to validate their culture-general nature

Double edge experiences of expatriate acculturation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to bring to light the double edges faced by individuals who have international and multicultural experiences. The implication is that these individuals encounter acculturation challenges, and also gain from their multiculturality. The authors adopt Berry’s (2011) integration and multiculturalism framework to analyze the experiences and challenges that multi-culturals face. This paper suggests ways to glean the silver lining within organizations to help manage and master multicultural experiences in the workplace to benefit both individuals and organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used empirical materials from expatriates who have worked across multiple cultural contexts. Based on these the authors present three examples to illustrate how expatriates and multicultural individuals place themselves in situations where they experience contact and challenges associated with adopting multiple cultures. The authors then analyze these examples to show how the experiences involve psychological-level integration challenges for Multi- and n-culturals.FindingsThe three multicultural expatriate examples suggest that individuals with international and multicultural experiences who are successful at managing their experiences develop cognitive and behavioral complexity. However, these individuals also face continuous acculturation including cognitive and ethno-cultural identity conflicts such as, rejection from multiple cultural perspectives because they continually cross-multiple cultural microcosms. Suggestions are presented to help maintain one’s sense of self-worth and minimizing ethno-cultural conflicts.Research limitations/implicationsNotwithstanding the value of analyzing the examples of expatriate acculturation experiences, the limitation to the examples is that it is limited to the experience of three individuals. However, the examples were effective in raising points to discuss relevant challenges and/or the double-edged reality faced by boundary spanners, multi-, and n-culturals.Practical implicationsThe paper presents possible ways multi- and n-culturals navigate through their multiculturalism, including suggestions to help individuals who struggle with their multiculturalism through mentoring.Social implicationsThe paper highlights the challenges of acculturation and suggests ways that individuals can overcome these challenges. It further suggests how organizations can take advantage of such individuals by utilizing existing personnel within the organization.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the few that acknowledge multiculturalism is highly challenging even for successful multi-culturals and n-culturals. Currently the literature is scant concerning how individuals can manage and master multicultural experiences in the workplace. The paper suggests a number of useful strategies for individuals and organizations to manage the challenges.

Approaches to multiculturalism in teacher education programs in Georgia

ABSTRACTThis article examines teachers’ education programs in eight state universities in Georgia that prepare them to provide students with multicultural instruction. Qualitative research methods, content analysis, and focus group discussions were used to analyze these programs. The study showed that multicultural teacher education is context based. The Georgian context for delivering multicultural teacher education results in different classifications of programs, and we developed a four-layer typology of these programs: (1) Rejective, (2) Additive, (3) Assimilative, and (4) Transformative. Based on the results, the authors argue that higher educational institutions in Georgia must transform their teacher education programs and prepare teachers who will be able to change school curricula to promote the development of relevant skills and their students’ ability to think from multiple cultural perspectives.

Book Review: From Bricolage to Métissage: Rethinking Intercultural Approaches to Indigenous Environmental Education and Research

Gregory Lowan-Trudeau’s book From Bricolage to Métissage: Rethinking Intercultural Approaches to Indigenous Environmental Education and Research offers insights into métissage as a research methodology and explores issues of identity and ecology. His book provides a readily accessible understanding of who the Métis people in Canada are, and how taking what he calls the spirit of métissage, an approach which weaves multiple cultural perspectives together, can lead to greater and deeper understandings. This practice can also be built into teaching practices and be used to solve problems in various fields. The chapters which introduce Lowan-Trudeau’s research participants feel somewhat disjointed with the rest of the text, but provide various perspectives which will be of interest to those working in environmental education.

Beyond the Flesh: Contemporary Representations of the Black Female Body in Afro-Brazilian Literature

Abstract This essay takes an intersectional and transnational approach to analyze how selected poetic texts by contemporary Afro-Brazilian writers Conceição Evaristo, Esmeralda Ribeiro Cristiane Sobral, Miriam Alves, and Elisa Lucinda (re)design portrayals of Afro-descendant/black female bodies. As cultural artifacts, I argue that these poetic/political constructs give evidence of Afro- Brazilian female bodies as historical: on one hand, they represent the embodiment of “otherness” as they historically differ from the standards of (white) “normalcy;” on the other hand, they carry both the silenced histories of racial and sexual exploitation and the appeal of hyper-sexualized and exoticized stereotypes. I am also interested in discussing how these writings/writers articulate notions and images connected to discourses of mestiçagem in order to rewrite black women's bodies into new historical perspectives; how they question long-established national narratives of racial harmony; and how they build dialogues with a more diasporic understanding of black women's cultural and political networking across the Americas. Finally, this essay explores the ways in which contemporary Afro-Brazilian literature opens to the reaffirmation of black female subjectivities from multiple cultural perspectives and identities.

The refugee experience of acquiring a family doctor

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore refugees’ experiences of the barriers and facilitators involved in finding a regular family doctor. Design/methodology/approach – Hermeneutic phenomenology was used to produce an integrated description sensitive to the lifeworlds of refugees who came from multiple cultural perspectives. Participants consisted of refugees from Iran, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Latin America who arrived in Canada between 2005 and 2007. Texts for analysis came from first language focus group discussions and interviews with the interpreters for those groups. Findings – The principal themes that emerged from the experience of barriers were “futility,” “dependence,” and “relevance.” Themes related to the experience of facilitators were “inclusion,” “congruence,” and “benefit to family.” These themes provide key messages about sources of patient decisions to seek or not seek care, not comply, attend irregularly, and not disclose symptoms, which can be used by doctors and other health providers to enhance care planning. Practical implications – The factors that facilitate refugees’ access to a regular family doctor have implications for the development of culturally appropriate healthcare information, policies that support adequate interpreter services, and cultural sensitivity training for physicians. Originality/value – Previous research documents barriers such as lack of language access, differences in health beliefs, and lack of knowledge about western healthcare systems. However, little is known about how refugees experience these barriers, nor how they overcome them. This study contributes a rich and deeper understanding of how refugees experience these barriers and elucidates factors that facilitate their process of obtaining a regular family doctor.

Performing India in America through Pragma-Cultural Markers

Intercultural Communication is marked in literary discourse in numerous ways. Diasporic literary discourse representing intercultural communication uses pragma-cultural markers such as food and music as tools of intercultural communication. This paper attempts to examine intercultural communication foregrounding these pragma-cultural markers as represented in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Queen of Dreams within the framework provided by Relevance Theory (:249). This paper foregrounds the manner in which writers like Divakaruni deploy pragma-cultural markers to express multiple linguistic and cultural perspectives in their literary narratives, thereby portraying an amalgamation of America and India and facilitating intercultural communication which is a dialectical process, as on the one hand the “America” that is in the hearts, minds, and words of these writers shapes their expressions and on the other, their growing presence in terms of their literary output is changing the definition of American art and culture.

Making sense of being between languages and cultures: a performance narrative inquiry approach

This paper explores how French native speakers experience moving between languages and cultures internationally for work purposes. Examining the narratives of professionals who have relocated to Australia from France using performance narrative inquiry methods, I argue that bilingual speakers strategically draw on multiple linguistic and cultural perspectives in interactions in the host culture. The theoretical reference points that underpin the argument draw on the work of Ricoeur on narrative phenomenology, Bourdieu's notion of symbolic capital and Goffman's dramaturgical view of the self.

Cultural Exploration Through Mapping

Increasing diversity in the United States means that all students must understand multiple cultural perspectives and identities. Educators need to facilitate learning engagements that highlight the complexities of culture and cultural identity, going beyond surface characteristics such as foods, holidays, and clothing that are often the focus in schools. Culture is a complex concept that includes linguistic and communicative patterns, belief systems, values, and many other aspects. Because it is so complex, students need multiple opportunities to explore the concept of culture and how it shapes their own lives and the lives of others. One way to do this is through mapping engagements that explore family and community traditions, the role of technology, and the development of particular aspects of cultural identity. These maps, which can be created based on the students’ own lives or on book characters, foster discussion and thoughtful consideration of how culture impacts the way we live our lives.