International and Intercultural Communication Commons^™

The Impact Of Social Networking Sites On Online Boundaries And Relationship Satisfaction, Jay Ingram

Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to increase understanding of how the use of social networking and online boundaries affects relationship satisfaction. Because the literature has not yet addressed how social networking intrusion affects couples, this study draws on previous research of face-to-face boundary setting. An instrument was developed specifically for this study to measure the extent of intrusion of social networking use from factors of romantic jealousy, partner surveillance, and relationship conflict. Previous research found these factors to have a negative impact on relationship satisfaction in face-to-face situations.

Three hundred thirty-one participants completed the Relationship Assessment Scale, the Social …

Raising Cross-Cultural Awareness Among The Undergraduates Through Intentional Design In A Culture Course In The Us—An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Experimental Design, Hua Wang

Dissertations

The cultivation of intercultural competence is a growing trend globally, and integration of intercultural competence into coursework was widely acknowledged as a valid strategy to achieve this goal. The purpose of this study is to examine (1) the effects of the intervention of connecting one’s own culture to affect students' cross-cultural awareness development in American colleges; and (2) students’ perceptions of their own cultural‐awareness changes. Data was collected through pre-and post-questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. This study also compared between-group participants’ posttest ratings on a cross-cultural awareness scale, as well as pre- and post-test ratings within each group. The quantitative and …

Stitched Past, Sawyer Smith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

“Stitched Past” tells the stories of vulnerable women in Lima, Peru. Despite the emotional and physical impacts of poverty, the women seek mentorship, education, and job security through Krochet Kids International. Krochet Kids, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, offers women in Peru and Uganda the opportunity to create knitwear to be sold online. In addition to gaining a new job and skill, the women receive counseling, affordable childcare, and supportive community. Krochet Kids approaches empowerment from a holistic perspective. The mentors encourage growth in five categories: financial, intellectual, physical, social, and psychological. This model of personal development ensures that the women …

#Reviewbowlinggreen: Food And Attractions Guide For International Students, Kanyawee Skulsillapakorn

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Being in a different country, far away from home, surrounded by strangers that speak a different language than your mother tongue is daunting. Most international students often feel out of place when they arrive in America for the first time. What can we do to change international students’ perspective of Bowling Green from one of being a “boring, small town” to a vibrant growing community? This project will use social media platform like Facebook to promote restaurants and other attractions. Users can write reviews of restaurants, shops, and places to visit in Bowling Green. By including the hashtag #ReviewBowlingGreen on …

We Don't Hope That Helps: Satirical Facebook Pages As Counter-Institutional Resistance, Gavin Lawrence Kirkwood

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Through the examination of a satirical Facebook page called Hope that Helps (HTH) this study filled a gap in communication research on humor and resistance within online communities. The qualitative content analysis of the HTH page showcased satire’s role in acts of resistance. Using jokes, impersonation, and ridicule HTH resisted large corporations, government institutions, messages from public figures, and entitled American consumers. HTH also used humor to resist social constructs including Whiteness, transphobia, and American nationalism. Along with page creators, HTH followers were active participants in the humor and resistance acts on the page. HTH served as a space for …

A Quasi-Experimental Study Of Teaching Intercultural Sensitivity On Foreign Language Learning Motivation, Chunling Niu

Dissertations

Through an experimental intervention of a four-week cultural project based on the intergroup contact theory, this study sought to (a) explore the possible pedagogical effects on participants’ levels of Intercultural Sensitivity; and (b) investigate the complex interactions between learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity, Foreign Language Motivation, and their Language and Cultural Backgrounds. Sixty-eight Chinese learning students from a southcentral American university initially participated in the study, whereas only 43 participants completed the required activities and were pretested and posttested on Intercultural Sensitivity and Foreign Language Motivation. The 21 experimental group participants were instructed to complete four cultural assignments during February 2014, namely, …

Foreign Language Anxiety Among Japanese International Students In The U.S., Nana Okada

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study aims to investigate the foreign language anxieties Japanese international students at American universities have and the relationship between these anxieties and length of stay in the U.S. 151 Japanese international students answered a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) followed by demographic questions. The findings from the questionnaire were analyzed through SPSS 21 software. Results indicated a statistically significant relationship between students’ level of anxieties and the length of stay in the U.S. Implications for teachers and government officials in Japan, as well as for teachers and university administrators in …

A Case Study Of Internationalization At Western Kentucky University, Minh Dao

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The study investigates the student levels of satisfaction and engagement with internationalization at Western Kentucky University (WKU). This study surveyed 418 undergraduate students (84.50% domestic and 15.50% international students) on WKU’s main campus to examine how students perceive and interact with various components of the institution-wide internationalization efforts: international-related curriculum and extra-curricular activities, presence of international students and faculty, study abroad opportunities and cross-cultural friendships. Statistical methods were used to analyze student responses. Research findings show that students are more satisfied with international efforts at home when faculty actively engages in promoting international learning in the classroom. Furthermore, students who …

The Effects On Students' Intercultural Competence From Intensive Intercultural Service-Learning Through The $100 Solution™ Model, Nadia De León Sautú

Dissertations

This study evaluates the effects of an intensive intercultural service-learning program on the intercultural competence of undergraduate students enrolled in Cultural Diversity in the U.S., a general education course at Western Kentucky University. This program utilized The $100 Solution™ model, in which groups of students partnered with local immigrant and refugee families, to teach them about U.S. culture, learn about their cultures, and implement a project to assist them in their integration process. The program included two hours of out-of-classroom work for over twelve weeks. Through the principle of reciprocity, The $100 Solution™ model provided an interaction framework in which …

Conscious Reconstruction: The Effects Of Second Language Acquisition On Self-Perception Of Gender Identity, Geneva Ged

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Gender interacts with other facets of English Language Learners’ social identity like race and ethnicity to guide their learning experiences, desires, and outcomes; however, much of traditional Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) research has focused on how motivation and language learning beliefs differ between male and female English as a Second Language/English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) students with the intent to identify difference, if it exists. English Language Learners who are studying abroad or who have immigrated to the United States have already established a gender identity influenced and created by their experiences in their first language …

Ua68/1/3 Arts & Letters, Vol. 4, No. 2, Wku Potter College Of Arts & Letters

WKU Archives Records

Magazine created by WKU Potter College of Arts & Letters regarding faculty and student research, events and programs.

Collections & Connections, Jennifer Wilson

Collections & Connections

This spring/summer 2013 issue features Al and Jeane Baker honored for their in-kind gift to the libraries' centennial mural as well as Dr. Nicholson who won this year's Kentucky Literary Award for his book about Derby. The issue also highlights the 2013 SOKY Book Fest that brought in 130 authors. It reports the newly renovated Commons at Cravens and the just installed web-based service StackMap, which can visually guide users to the stacks of books in Cravens Library using their smart phones. As usual, all of the Libraries’ literary events have been mentioned in the issue, particularly the new grant-supported …

Has Safeer Improved Sacm's Work And Helped Saudi Students In The Usa Resolve Their Needs Quickly, Faisal M. Alzomily

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examined efficiency of the Safeer by gathering and analyzing the perception of 131 Saudi students from Bowling Green, KY. The purpose of the study was to ensure that the system is able to perform its function as the bridge between different institutions and Saudi students studying in the US who require assistance in processing their academic requirements. A self-administered survey using five scale points was employed. Results were summarized using descriptive statistics at 95% confidence level. The result confirmed the hypothesis that the use of the Safeer program provides quality service delivery within SACM, which in turn benefits …

Collections & Connections, Jennifer Wilson

Collections & Connections

This is the Fall 2013-Winter 2014 issue of the biannual newsletter of the Western Kentucky University Libraries. It headlines WKU Manuscript/Folklife Archives Coordinator Jonathan Jeffrey's collection of the remembrances of JFK's visit to Bowling Green in 1960 and an excerpt from Ann Denes Wagner's recollection of her father Nick Denes, head coach at Western Kentucky State during the 1960s. Other major events featured in this issue include the Libraries' co-sponsorship of the International Film Series, its participation in the university's homecoming activities, its continued effort in offering the Far Away Places speaker series and the SOKY Reads program, and the …

Using Ubuntu: A New Research Trend For Developing Effective Communication Across Cultural Barriers, Cecile W. Garmon, Mandhla Mgijima

Communication Faculty Publication

Language and communication provide great challenges in a global world. New trends in communicating effectively across cultural and geographic boundaries face inherent and often subtle barriers. Generally, communicators do not even realize that they have missed hidden cues until the occasion and opportunity have passed. Enhancing communication requires an individual or group to understand the underlying concepts upon which the language and communication practices depend; these concepts also serve as the basic elements for developing social, economic, educational, political, and other related structures. These underlying concepts form our world views. Comprehending the complex interconnections between language and communication and these …

Passing The Salt: How Eating Together Creates Community, Rebecca Katz

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Sharing a meal is a simple, yet sacred occasion. It is a universal act that is important to building relationships within people groups. Intentionally eating together creates time and space to engage in the spiritual and intellectual levels that are unique to human beings. Sharing food cultivates community because the implications of the meal extend beyond the time of eating together. While there are other places people meet, gathering around a meal is the most accessible because if nothing else, everyone must eat. Through participant observation and personal interviews, this CE/T project explores four meals to determine how eating together …

Exploring The Relationship Between Facebook, Face-To-Face And Intercultural Communication, Rebecca Schaefer

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

My Capstone Experience/Thesis project seeks to explore and examine the effects of Facebook on communication between American and international students. The use of social media as a means to communicate with others is increasing at an amazing rate. Facebook has become my generation’s favorite way to communicate with friends and family and “to Facebook” has unofficially become a verb that many college students will use. While social media, such as Facebook and Linked-In, may encourage American college students to communicate with international students beyond the classroom and campus, it seems that Facebook is on the way to becoming a substitute …

People Like Me : Analyzing Universal Themes Of The Holocaust Through A Culture-Specific Lens, Jennifer Corum

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sustained academic and popular interest in the Holocaust depends largely on the ability of educators to communicate its universality. At Holocaust memorials around the world, educators make strategic rhetorical choices in pursuit of this imperative. However, as communicators present narratives, documentation, and visual rhetoric at memorials, they filter each message through a unique cultural lens. This unavoidable human tendency raises questions concerning the degree to which culture shapes Holocaust narratives. Given that Holocaust memorials may offer pivot insights into modern and future genocides, cultural influences on Holocaust rhetoric seem worthy of renewed evaluation. Burke's dramatistic pentad provides a valuable tool …

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xv, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies committee regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xiv, No. 2, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xiv, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xiii, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2/1 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xii, No. 2, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xii, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

The Interlanguage Of Advanced Speakers: Implications & Suggestions, Madeline Garr

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This thesis details a study of the interlanguage of advanced speakers of English as a Second Language. The purpose of the study was to see what errors these students made when speaking the language in a communicative environment. In approaching the issue of interlanguage, the writer surveys the research in language acquisition as well as in interlanguage, error analysis and language learning theories. Based on this research and the results of this study, the writer explores the implications of both the research and the study and offers suggestions to teachers of advanced conversation classes.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Xi, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. X, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Ix, No. 2, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Ix, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. Viii, No. 1, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.