Suchergebnisse

This study explores communication apprehension among the Iranian Kurdish minority group. Based on a sample of 157 self-administered surveys, the study investigates the relative communication apprehension (CA) score of Iranian Kurds and the influence of sex, age, and education on CA. Results revealed Kurds are relatively less apprehensive than many other cultures. It was also revealed that women have significantly higher levels of dyadic, public, and total CA. Moreover, all CA contexts (dyadic, groups, meeting, and public) and total CA tended to increase after grade 9 and decrease after completing high school. Age however, only had a modest effect on meeting CA. The findings propose higher levels of social encounters reduce the amount of CA among Kurds. Implications, limitations, and areas of future research are posited.

A considerable amount of research has examined the extent to which members of dominant cultures perceive minority groups as threatening their way of life. While various instruments measure these perceptions of threat, few researchers have empirically analysed the statistical properties of these scales. Specifically, studies have not adequately explored social desirability of threat scales. The current study investigates the extent to which one set of threat scales is internally consistent or reliable (González et al., 2008), and explores social desirability within the González et al. (2008) integrated threat instruments by comparing self-reports to other reports (intimate other and friend reports). Results indicate the instruments are internally consistent and that self-reports and other reports of threat do not differ on most indices of threat.

Based in the assertion that different cultures value aspects of communication differently, this study explored the position of Singapore on the continuum of communication apprehension (CA), self-perceived communication competence (SPCC), and willingness to communicate (WTC). Responses were obtained from 209 self-identified ethnic-Chinese born in Singapore and 105 Malay immigrants. The results revealed ethnic-Chinese to have low self-reported CA, while Malays had high CA in comparison to regional neighbors. Malays and ethnic-Chinese both had low WTC and low SPCC levels in comparison to regional neighbors. The findings show a potential "immigrant effect," as Malay immigrants had much higher CA than ethnic-Chinese. Moreover, further studies on these communication traits should explore ingroup differences in CA, SPCC, and WTC.

Data from England, Finland, and Germany were used to explore national differences in communication apprehension (CA). Based on the traditions of oral communication training in each nation, and the history of cross-cultural comparisons in CA, it was proposed that national differences would emerge. English participants scored lower than Finnish and German participants on totalCA, publicCA, dyadicCA, and meetingCA; Finnish participants scored higher than all nations on totalCA, dyadicCA, and meetingCA; and German participants consistently scored in the middle on all aspects of CA, except for publicCA. The study of oral communication, conversational style, and politeness are discussed as potential variables relating to CA differences between the nations.

Media's ability to enhance the salience of certain topics for the public and affect governmental policy-setting processes is widely recognized. This is particularly evident in health communication, where newspapers are one of the most important sources of health information. This study compares media depictions of tick-borne disease in the United States and China. Both countries are experiencing an increase in tick-borne diseases and have vastly different media landscapes. To investigate US and Chinese newspaper coverage of tick-borne diseases, a content analysis was conducted of four US and four Chinese newspapers. The analysis considered length, tone, chief actors, and themes present in articles covering tick-borne diseases from 2010-2015. The findings reveal significant differences between the two nations on length of the articles, chief actors portrayed in the articles, and themes present in the articles. The data also show: tick-borne disease stories were overwhelmingly framed in a neutral way in both nations; newspapers in the US featured more celebrity-related stories compared to newspapers in China; and US stories as opposed to those in China focused more on health policies.

Purpose
This study aims to first explore the extent to which argumentativeness changed during the adaptation process among Muslim immigrants to France from 2006 to 2015 and, second, to examine the cultural fusion process. The study investigates the influence of intercultural contact on communication traits by exploring the extent to which members of the dominant cultural group adapt their argumentativeness over time.


Design/methodology/approach
Through a longitudinal panel study, the paper investigates the influence of intercultural contact on communication traits by exploring the extent to which members of the dominant cultural group adapt their argumentativeness over time. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling are used to assess the hypotheses and research question.


Findings
Results revealed a curvilinear relationship between argumentativeness and time. Argumentativeness increased from 2006 to 2009, remained constant from 2009 to 2012 and then decreased after 2012. Furthermore, data analysis revealed argumentativeness levels among members of the dominant culture did not change.


Research limitations/implications
The results are potentially limited by the sample being a convenience sample and the presence of extenuating factors.


Originality/value
Argumentativeness is viewed by many researchers as a functional form of communication. However, few studies have longitudinally studied how this trait can change over time.