Hidden Differences


Book Description

World-renowned anthropologist Edward T. Hall and his wife Mildred Reed Hall have written a fascinating examination of the unstated rules of Japanese-American business relations. Hidden Differences identifies the major cultural patterns which could be potential problems for American business executives and helps them to avoid the hidden traps of intercultural communication.




Spot the Differences


Book Description

Kids seeking challenging and fun puzzles will find them inside this colorful book as they look for differences between two seemingly identical and busy scenes. More than 50 spot-the-difference activities include cute picture puzzles that feature everything from pirates to pets, robots to rockets, and dinos to rhinos. Answers appear in the back of the book.




Understanding Visible Differences


Book Description

This book provides an evidence-based guide to working with visible difference in therapeutic practice. It explores how appearance problems intersect with other concerns causing mental health issues and provides clear guidance on treatment plans and related topics. Visible difference is a bigger cause of mental distress than is often realised. One in five people have an appearance that is considered ‘different’ to the normal population. The category of ‘visible difference’, previously described as ‘disfigurement’ or simply ‘disability’ captures a range of conditions with varying aetiology, severity, and extent. Differences in appearance can be the result of a birth anomaly, or be caused later in life through illness, physical trauma, or behaviour. Whatever the cause, visible difference can have a negative effect on how individuals are perceived and view themselves. This timely work arrives at a moment of rising professional interest, due to the growth of social media use and the focus this puts on appearance (“the amplification of appearance bias”), and also influenced by the implications new research. The author draws on these findings together with her own research and practice to examine best practice and key issues in addressing visible difference. Particular consideration is given to establishing a good working therapeutic relationship. Whether a trainee, a recently qualified therapist, or an experienced professional wanting to broaden their understanding, this is the ideal text for anyone wanting to better understand this growing area of therapeutic practice.




Managing Cultural Differences


Book Description

In today’s global business environment, it is vital that individuals and organizations have sophisticated global leadership skills. Communication and understanding of different cultures are paramount to business success. This new edition of the bestselling textbook Managing Cultural Differences guides students and practitioners to an understanding of how to do business internationally, providing practical advice on how competitive advantage can be gained through effective cross-cultural management. The digitization of the workplace, the integration of artificial intelligence into workplace cultures, cultural responses to crisis, and the value of diversity and inclusion are just a few examples of contemporary issues discussed in this text. This latest edition also begins with a completely new introductory chapter, which provides an overview and connects the themes between chapters for an integrated understanding of the topic. With a wealth of new examples, case studies, and online materials, this textbook is required course reading for undergraduates, postgraduates, and MBA students alike, as well as being a vital tool for anybody selling, purchasing, traveling, or working internationally.




Managing Cultural Differences


Book Description

Publisher Description




Cross-theoretical Explorations of Interlocutors and their Individual Differences


Book Description

This book examines the role of interlocutors and their individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) development from four theoretical lenses: the cognitive-interactionist approach, sociocultural theory, the variationist approach, and complex dynamic systems theory. A theoretical overview to each approach is written by a preeminent scholar in the framework, and each overview is followed by an empirical study that demonstrates how interlocutor IDs can be fruitfully researched within that framework. To maximize readability and impact, the chapters follow common organizing questions, inviting the engagement of L2 researchers, students, and teachers alike.Collectively, the chapters in the current volume initiate a cohesive discussion of the theoretical roles of the interlocutor within these four popular approaches to SLA; illustrate how interlocutor IDs influence L2 opportunities and/or development; present innovative, original empirical research on interlocutors and their IDs within each approach; and provide theoretical, empirical, and methodological guidance for future research on interlocutors and their IDs. A powerful contribution of this volume, highlighted in the concluding chapter’s synthesis, is the common call across all four approaches for the irrefutable role and need for research on interlocutors and their IDs. The volume also demonstrates how, despite theoretical and methodological differences, the four approaches are advancing congruently toward a more robust understanding of the multifaceted and dynamic nature of all interlocutors and their IDs, and thus toward a more complete and accurate picture of their influence on L2 development.




Bridging Japanese/North American Differences


Book Description

[William B. Gudykunst and Tsukasa Nishida] synthesize a mass of information on intercultural communication theory and similarities and differences in communication patterns in the United States and Japan. Numerous excerpts, notes, and about 220 references attest to the comprehensiveness Gudykunst and Nishida seek. . . . This is an important guide for effective cross-cultural communication between the Japanese and North Americans, meticulously organized, thoroughly researched, and simply stated. Upper-division undergraduate and above. --Choice More than language skills are needed for a North American to effectively communicate with a Japanese. Comprehensive in its approach, Bridging Japanese/North American Differences applies Gudykunst′s world-renowned intercultural communication method to the specifics of Japanese/North American communication. William B. Gudykunst and Nishida first provide an overview of the various fundamental intercultural communication theories and then explain the similarities and differences between communication patterns in Japan and the United States. Next, they demonstrate how understanding the similarities and differences can help Japanese and North Americans communicate more effectively. By examining such areas as attitudes and stereotypes, the authors suggest ways to heighten understanding of Japanese behavior. They conclude by examining the factors that influence motivation, knowledge, and skills to increase communication effectiveness. The ideal volume for any North American interested in improving his or her ability to communicate with a Japanese colleague, friend, student, or business associate, Bridging Japanese/North American Differences is straightforward, practical, and easy to absorb.




Engaging Cultural Differences


Book Description

Liberal democracies are based on principles of inclusion and tolerance. But how does the principle of tolerance work in practice in countries such as Germany, France, India, South Africa, and the United States, where an increasingly wide range of cultural groups holds often contradictory beliefs about appropriate social and family life practices? As these democracies expand to include peoples of vastly different cultural backgrounds, the limits of tolerance are being tested as never before. Engaging Cultural Differences explores how liberal democracies respond socially and legally to differences in the cultural and religious practices of their minority groups. Building on such examples, the contributors examine the role of tolerance in practical encounters between state officials and immigrants, and between members of longstanding majority groups and increasing numbers of minority groups. The volume also considers the theoretical implications of expanding the realm of tolerance. Some contributors are reluctant to broaden the scope of tolerance, while others insist that the notion of "tolerance" is itself potentially confining and demeaning and that modern nations should aspire to celebrate cultural differences. Coming to terms with ethnic diversity and cultural differences has become a major public policy concern in contemporary liberal democracies, as they struggle to adjust to burgeoning immigrant populations. Engaging Cultural Differences provides a compelling examination of the challenges of multiculturalism and reveals a deep understanding of the challenges democracies face as they seek to accommodate their citizens' diverse beliefs and practices.




Geographies of Difference, Indifference and Mis-difference


Book Description

World-renowned scholar of human geography, development, and environmental change Antonio Ioris presents an original reconceptualisation of the notions of difference and indifference and their impacts on social structures. Drawing on a wide range of philosophical debates, and offering groundbreaking new insights into geographically specific trends through the lens of indigenous geographies, Ioris explores how political actors use notions of difference to foster indifference for the purposes of domination, which ultimately crystallizes in what he terms mis-difference: a calcified, difficult-to-overcome obstacle to concord and fairness that underpins capitalist relations of property and production. At the same time, Ioris shows how some social actors use the concept of difference for reconciliation, for overcoming indifference and mis-difference, and suggests how these moves can help to fight against ideologies that produce our unequal world and facilitate land-grabs. Ioris elucidates all of this in concrete terms through a study of the Guarani-Kaiowa people in Brazil: of how they have been oppressed by state-sanctioned indifference and misdifference, and of how they are resisting through a contestation of what difference can mean, and how it can function, in the contemporary world.




Left Brain - Right Brain Differences


Book Description

This volume integrates past clinical findings with the latest research on cerebral asymmetry in order to identify why humans process information in different ways. A must for anyone who wants to understand human cognitive nature further, specifically the reasons why we are "wired" a certain way and whether these cortical circuits are flexible enough to be altered, this book presents the most up-to-date information on hemispheric differences within normal and clinical populations. Its focus on sex, handedness, and developmental differences is critical to the derivation of a better perspective on how future research should be conducted in this expanding science. Iaccino begins by explaining basic brain structures and types of cognitive styles assigned to each hemisphere. He then details studies involving various clinical populations -- psychophysiological, split-brain, dyslexic, and psychotic -- to support the claim that the two hemispheres are different, morphologically and functionally speaking. Applying this clinical research to the more normal population, the author uncovers striking cortical variations between the sexes and between the handedness groups, along with developmental changes which occur as a function of time. Finally, he provides a detailed summary of the previous chapters and highlights where asymmetrical research may be headed in the future.