Speech and Hearing Science Commons^™

Conflict Is Optional, Difference Is Not : Toward A Difference-Based Approach To Interpersonal Communication, James Arthur Gieseking Jr

Dissertations and Theses

An examination of the discussion of conflict in general, interpersonal and small group communication texts indicates that the conceptualization of conflict theory in the U.S. is increasingly dependent upon three theoretical pillars: the qualities of ubiquity, utility and necessity. A critical, deconstructive analysis of these operational characteristics in relation to the actual human experience of conflict reveals that they are more appropriately associated with the essential condition of difference, rather than conflict, and the concepts of conflict and difference are generally conflated in U.S. communication texts. The synergistic interaction of a variety of specific cultural constructs can be seen as …

Toward A Phenomenological-Based Perspective Of Acculturation With Application To Scottish Immigrants, Dorothy M. Sermol

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is an attempt to construct a perspective of the acculturation of immigrants drawing on certain communication- based phenomenological assumptions. From these phenomenological assumptions a Framework of Acculturation is constructed as a guide through which to examine the acculturation process. The Framework of Acculturation is then applied to the particular group of Scottish immigrants who live in the Northwest of the United States.

Contrasting Cultural Orientations Among The Indian, Chinese, And Euro-American Peoples And Some Effects On Intercultural Communication, Gregory See-Chay Chan

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to lay the foundation for a better understanding between the East and the West by (l) a broad overview of the traditional value systems and thought patterns (sometimes referred to as cultural orientations) of the Indians, Chinese, and Euro-Americans, (2) comparing and contrasting these value systems and thought patterns, and (3) showing the effects of the contrasts of the Asian and Western cultural orientations on intercultural communication.

The differences in the traditional heritages that affect the way that the three major cultures look at the world are discovered by drawing together descriptions from classical …