 |
Paradigmatic Issues in Intercultural Communication Studies:
An Afrocentric-Asiacentric Dialogue |
|
Author(s): Molefi Kete Asante and Yoshitaka Miike |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This article is a dialogue between an Afrocentrist and an Asiacentrist about paradigmatic issues in intercultural communication studies. Molefi Kete Asante, the founding theorist of Afrocentricity, chronicles his early career in rhetoric and intercultural communication, discusses the intellectual origin and development of Afrocentricity, and addresses issues of (1) cultural essentialism and strategic essentialism, (2) cultural hybridity and postmodern spaces, and (3) cultural romanticism and postcolonial conditions with Yoshitaka Miike, who was inspired by his paradigmatic idea and propounded the metatheory of Asiacentricity. The present article concludes the Afrocentric-Asiacentric dialogue by envisioning the future role that the field of intercultural communication can play in the post-Western age of globalization and localization. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 1-19] |
|
|
|
A Note on Photography in a Zen Key |
|
Author(s): Peter Zhang |
|
|
|
|
|
|
In an era when mainstream photographic artists automatically resort to high resolution and heavy-handed Photoshopping to enhance their artwork, this article presents “photography in a Zen key” as a minor, divergent species of photography that has the viewer’s satori as its raison d'etre and catalyzes such satori through its “coolness.” The article draws on Zen-spirited painting, poetry, and philosophy to further the discussion, and refers to a few pictures captured/composed by Wei-Shyuan (Stone) Peng to illustrate the point. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 20-27] |
|
|
|
Theory Building through Research: An Exposition from a Classical Sanskrit Text |
|
Author(s): Nirmala Mani Adhikary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Drawing on classical Sanskrit text Charaka Samhita, the paper explores a Bharatavarshiya version of theorization. The discourse on theory building in communication and other disciplines of knowledge has been Eurocentric. The tendency of considering theory as a product of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment of Europe traces the foundations of theorization to European classical philosophies. The paper sheds light on an alternative to such Eurocentric notion. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 28-32] |
|
|
|
Chinese Consumers’ Intentions to Purchase Foreign Products and Advertising in China
|
|
Author(s): Shuang Liu, Joanne R. Smith, and Cindy Gallois |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The influx of foreign products and brands into China has resulted in increased encounters with such products in Chinese consumers’ everyday lives. This study employs the expanded model of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to examine how self-identity, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influences Chinese consumers’ intentions to purchase foreign products. A large-scale online survey was administered to Chinese respondents (N = 3,171) across 21 cities and provinces in China. Path analysis using AMOS supports the ability of the expanded TPB model to predict Chinese consumers’ intentions to purchase foreign products and services. Given that social and normative factors emerged as a strong predictor of intentions, foreign firms that are positioned to promote their products in China may work to increase the perception that consumption is both common among fellow Chinese people and is approved of by other Chinese people. Opinion leaders in workplaces and communities who can extol the virtues of foreign products and services could contribute to advertising foreign products in China. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 33-41] |
|
|
|
Cultural Influences on Consumers’ On-Line Shopping Preferences: A Cross-Cultural Study of Taiwan and the United States
|
|
Author(s): Ming-Yi Wu |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Due to the processes of globalization and internationalization, cultural influence on Internet shopping behaviors has become a current research issue. This paper proposes a Cultural System Model, which summarizes the possible links between work-related cultural values and consumers’ on-line shopping preferences. Through the use of a survey questionnaire which investigates consumers’ work-related cultural values and on-line shopping preferences, this study surveyed 362 college students in Taiwan and 372 college students in the United States. Taiwan and the United States are chosen as research sites because the markets of Internet shopping are fast growing in both cultures. In addition, these two cultures contrast greatly in Hofstede’s (1984; 2001) cultural dimensions. The results of this study suggest that Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are predictors for consumers’ on-line shopping preferences. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 42-51] |
|
|
|
British and Chinese Television News: A Comparative Textual Study |
|
Author(s): Zeng Rong |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This article explores Chinese and British television journalism through a comparison of the news products of Phoenix Television and BBC World (BBCW). A number of studies based on content analysis have compared news in the context of differing cultural backgrounds. This has generally been done by examining news reporting on a specific issue (Shoemaker et al., 2005; Natarajan & Hao, 2003; Traquina, 2004). This kind of focus is effective in setting up a common ground for comparison, but does not provide a comprehensive picture of news reporting, which normally covers all kinds of important themes and events. This article therefore concentrates on the content of the two channels’ respective news bulletins. It examines the general characteristics of these bulletins through a quantitative examination of the primary areas of the coverage; it looks at how the two sets of journalists go about using the tools of their medium to narrate their stories; and it examines the reporters’ respective tendencies to commentate on the news they are presenting. This article attempts to explain why commonalities and differences exist between BBCW and Phoenix news, and hypothesises on the process, routines and values of the news production at these two television networks. In particular, it focuses on the differences in the roles of the journalists.1 [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 52-63] |
|
|
|
A Case Study of Audi's Brand Repositioning in China |
|
Author(s): Lu Zheng |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Based on a comprehensive review of Audi's press releases published from 1999 to 2007 and in-depth interviews with Audi's public relations professionals, this case study identified media relations, event sponsorship, and corporate social responsibility as Audi's main public relations strategies for its brand repositioning in the Chinese market. Each strategy and related tactics were first illustrated by specific examples and then surveyed in the light of contemporary public relations and mass communication theories. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 64-73] |
|
|
|
Training the Trainers: What do Professional Communicators Need to be Aware of in Intercultural Communication?
|
|
Author(s): Jing Sun |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This paper investigates a few potential barriers in intercultural professional communication and how these issues were treated or not treated in the training, a project designed by a school district in the U.S. to train the staff selected by community organizations to conduct regular workshops for non-English speaking parents. This paper tries to answer three questions: 1) Is this training on parenting skills related to intercultural communication? 2) If yes, what are the potential barriers the professional communicators need to be aware of? 3) Did the training help increase the professional communicators’ cultural awareness and develop their intercultural communication competence? It is claimed that professional communicators working with non-English speaking parents need to increase their awareness of the potential barriers and intercultural communication competence in order to handle the complex issues and conflicts. Intercultural communication should be one of the important components in the training on parenting skills provided for intercultural professional communicators. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 74-83] |
|
|
|
Researching Health Communication in China: Thematic
Orientations, Methodological Approaches, and Topical Enactments
|
|
Author(s): Zixue Tai, Yonghua Zhang, Dianying Wang, and Jin Lin |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This paper offers a systematic analysis of a total of 74 articles in the subspecialty of health
communication published with six premier communication journals in China for a ten-year period from 2002
through 2011, with a particular emphasis on research topics, methodological approaches and theoretical orientations.
It identifies emerging research fronts and major trends, pinpoints popular areas of research interest, and discusses a
variety of contextual factors behind patterns of productivity. It concludes with reflexive assessment on the state of
the discipline and offers pragmatic suggestions for future endeavors in moving the field of Chinese health
communication forward. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 84-95]
|
|
|
|
A Book Review: Shao, Periren and Yang, Liping. Geography of Media: Mass Media as Cultural Landscape. Beijing: Communication University of China Press, 2010. Pp. 318 |
|
Author(s): Guofeng Wang and Chenbo Luo |
|
|
|
|
|
|
[China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 96-98] |
|
|
|
The Impact of an Individual’s Spirituality on Communication in the Workplace |
|
Author(s): Priscilla Lynne Young and Guo-Ming Chen |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This study investigates how individuals practice spirituality in the workplace. Ethnographies are conducted of 20 full-time employees in a college who follow a religious or spiritual practice. Results illustrate individuals’ belief in and desire for connection. Participants believe that one’s religion or spirituality is central to one’s life, serving as a moral compass for behavior that impacts relationships with others and one’s relationship with a higher power or “source.” Participants’ spontaneous communication in the workplace is not always informed by their religiosity or spirituality, though they desire that it would be. More often than not, participants’ communication is mediated by a conscious decision to pause, reflect, and then respond. This mindful behavior directly relates to individuals’ desire for connection with other human beings through positive, open, nonjudgmental, and interpersonal communication. A model of spiritually-informed communication in the workplace is established based on the results. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed. [China Media Research. 2013; 9(3): 99-110] |
|
