The authors examine the theoretical influence of culture on interpersonal communication. They provide a framework for guiding future, and for interpreting past, research in the field. Because cross-cultural comparisons of interpersonal communication must be theoretically based, culture must be treated as a variable in research. This concept is presented in the first two chapters and then applied to specific areas of research. Previous research is reinterpreted in the light of this concept, and explanations are provided on how culture has influenced specific areas such as situational factors, verbal and nonverbal communication styles, interpersonal and intergroup relationships.
This volume provides an up to date overview and assessment of intercultural communication theories. Advancements stimulated by empirical research resulting from the 1983 title in the same series, Intercultural Communication Theory, are reflected in this volume. In addition to revised chapters on such topics as constructivist theory, coordinated management theory, convergence theory, and adaptation in intercultural relationships, a number of new perspectives have been developed, including discussions on intercultural tranformation and network theory. Contributors from UK and Australia serve to broaden the scope. Just as the earlier volume helped to define the field, Theorizing Intercultural Communication is an important contribution pointing to areas of further research, the need for continued refinements of existing approaches, and increased efforts at integration.
This provocative volume deals with one of the chief criticisms of ethnographic studies, a criticism which centres on their particularism or their insistence on context -- the question is asked: How can these studies be generalized beyond the individual case? Noblit and Hare propose a method -- meta-ethnography -- for synthesizing from qualitative, interpretive studies. They show that ethnographies themselves are interpretive acts, and demonstrate that by translating metaphors and key concepts between ethnographic studies, it is possible to develop a broader interpretive synthesis. Using examples from numerous studies, the authors illuminate how meta-ethnography works, isolate several types of meta-ethnographic study and provide a theoretical justification for the method's use.
The essays in this book provide the elements for a new theory of spatial development to explain the new socio-territorial reality produced by global restructuring in the 1970s and 1980s. The contributors all account for the contemporary territorial units by focusing on global economic dynamics and the history of particular places. The book looks at restructuring in the automobile and electronics industries; the significance of migrant labour and the informal economy; the consequences of female proletarianization in Southeast Asia; the implications for regional development of the incorporation of Mexico and Malaysia in the world economy; the internationalization of commercial capital and the development of financial centres; and the connection between global restructuring and urban politics in the United States.
Here are the life stories of the men and women who have led the labor movement in America from Reconstruction to recent times, from William H. Sylvis, the first major labor leader, to Cesar Chavez, who organized California's farm workers in the 1960s. All of the chapters have been written expressly for this volume by leading authorities, several ......
Family researchers are developing ever more sophisticated methods for studying the family, yet few people have attempted to synthesize these methodological techniques. In this concisely-written work, Miller does just that. He describes the entire research process -- from design to data collection, sampling and data analysis -- to explain to undergraduates and first year graduate students just how family research is done.
Throughout the 19th century, the phenomena of "Irish Catholicism" became an important part of the religious landscape in the entire English-speaking world. Extending beyond the Roman Catholic Church in England and Scotland, the developing values and mores of Irish Catholicism strongly influenced the Church in the United States and many other ......
A practical guide for human service workers and students which describes and shows techniques for use in assessing families. The author reviews a conceptual basis of family assessment in chapters that focus on the family as a system, the family and its environment, and the family life cycle. She goes on to describe such methods of assessment as the ecomap, the genogram, family sculpture, and the use of observation and checklists. Throughout the guide, case examples are used to illustrate concepts and show the techniques in use. A special feature of particular value is the self-teaching exercises designed to give the reader practice in applying these ideas and methods. A concluding chapter relates family assessment to treatment or intervention.
