Articles
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Being a Non-Swedish Physician in Sweden: A Comparison of the Views on Work Related Communication of Non-Swedish Physicians and Swedish Health Care Personnel
Abstract: Sweden is rapidly changing from being a monocultural to a multicultural society. The effects of this process can also be seen in health care which has, up till now, been one of the most ethnically and gender segregated working places, compared to the industrial sector. Increasing multiculturality places the issue of intercultural communication on top of the agenda for Swedish society in general and for the health care sector in particular.... [...] Read more
Public authorities speak about immigrants
Abstract: In this article the discourse of immigrants at different authorities is studied. I have collected data from different authorities, the police authorities, the employment office, the social welfare service and the social insurance office in a medium-sized municipality in Sweden. Persons, who in their working as professionals meet immigrants, have answered an inquiry about feelings and thoughts about their meetings. With the data from these... [...] Read more
Professionalism in Intercultural Job Interviews?
Abstract: This is a slightly revised manuscript from my keynote speech at the NIC conference 2003 in Göteborg, Sweden. The aim of the speech was to put forward research towards a critical intercultural multiperspectivism in order to understand professional intercultural communication in multicultural societies. This will be discussed in relation to a case, a job interview with an untrained Danish interviewer and a Chinese candidate. In this written... [...] Read more
Learning more about cultures through free word association data
Abstract: The paper is discussing some issues connected with verbal codes of communication. It re-introduces one of the experimental methods of cultural studies. The author shows the opportunities provided by the use of free word association experiment in cultural, cross- and intercultural analyses. To investigate how languages reflect differences in the cultural values of the Americans and of the Belarusians the author compares the free word... [...] Read more
Speech acts as intercultural danger zones: A cross-cultural comparison of the speech act of apologising in Irish and Chilean soap operas
Abstract: Intercultural communication presents many challenges and one of them refers to the need to create awareness about the importance of understanding speech acts cross-culturally. Speech acts are what the writer or speaker is doing in uttering a particular form of words, and their focus is on meaning (speaker's intention). The recognition of the meaning of a particular speech act in a given cultural setting is at the heart of successful... [...] Read more
Managing migration: The applied psychology of international transitions
Abstract: Fact: Placing a skilled executive overseas for a three-year contract can cost as much as US$ 1 million. Fact: A significant number of overseas sojourns fail, leading to premature repatriation. Fact: Psychological adjustment to the new culture is the make or break of cross-cultural transitions. Managing migration successfully is, therefore, crucial. The paper will introduce the Mensana Model of Managing Migration. According to the model,... [...] Read more
Conscius recognition of the limitations of human knowledge as the foundation of effective intercultural communication
Abstract: In the ever-smaller contemporary world, intercultural communication plays an increasingly important role. This paper discusses how to set the contents of a relevant package of university courses, which, while giving appropriate attention to practical solutions of intercultural communication problems, at the same time strongly emphasizes the final limitations of all human philosophical, religious, ideological, and even scientific... [...] Read more