Cross-cultural comparison of motor competence in children from Australia and Belgium

Motor competence in childhood is an important determinant of physical activity and physical fitness in later life. However, childhood competence levels in many countries are lower than desired. Due to the many different motor skill instruments in use, children's motor competence across countries is rarely compared. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor competence of children from Australia and Belgium using the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK). The sample consisted of 244 (43.4% boys) Belgian children and 252 (50.0% boys) Australian children, aged 6-8 years. A MANCOVA for the motor scores showed a significant country effect. Belgian children scored higher on jumping sideways, moving sideways and hopping for height but not for balancing backwards. Moreover, a Chi squared test revealed significant differences between the Belgian and Australian score distribution with 21.3% Belgian and 39.3% Australian children scoring "below average." The very low levels reported by Australian children may be the result of cultural differences in physical activity contexts such as physical education and active transport. When compared to normed scores, both samples scored significantly worse than children 40 years ago. The decline in children's motor competence is a global issue, largely influenced by increasing sedentary behavior and a decline in physical activity.

Cultural intelligence (CQ) in virtual, cross-cultural interactions: generalizability of measure and links to personality dimensions and task performance

Previous studies have focused on investigating CQ in face-to-face contexts but very few have assessed CQ in virtual, cross-cultural interactions. This study highlights the relevance of cultural intelligence (CQ) as an intercultural capability in cross-cultural communications that are virtual. This two-study research (study 1: n = 274; study 2: n = 223) conducted in call centers in the Philippines (a) assesses the generalizability of the four-factor CQ model (i.e., cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and behavioral CQ) as applied in the virtual context and (b) tests the relationship between CQ, personality dimensions (i.e., openness to experience and extraversion) and supervisor’s ratings of task performance. Study 1 results show that the structural validity of the four-factor CQ model was supported with minor issues in some ofthe items indicating the need to modify the CQ measure when utilized in the virtual context. Study 2 results show that CQ is positively and significantly related to openness to experience and extraversion. In addition, results show that CQ predicts task performance highlighting the importance of developing CQ among call center representatives and other working professionals who virtually engage and interact with clients and customers from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Migrant youth and social policy in multicultural Australia: exploring cross-cultural networking

This chapter explores the extent to which the direction of Australia’s official multicultural and civic integration policies, reflects the social attitudes and networking practices of migrant youth. The chapter pays particular attention to the Federal Government’s “Anti-Racism Strategy” announced in 2012 as part of its Multicultural Policy. On a theoretical level, direct efforts to mitigate racism have the potential to augment strategies that reaffirm pluralism and address disadvantage often associated with the migrant experience. On an empirical level, it is important to explore the extent to which such top-level discourses have actual founding in the social lives of migrant youth. Therefore this chapter presents the empirical findings of an empirical longitudinal on “Social Networks, Belonging and Active Citizenship among Migrant Youth” (Australian Research Council Linkage project 2009–2013). Migrant youth in this study pointed to a number of instances of racism, which act as significant barriers to cross-cultural networking. Analysis of the data shows, among other things, that there is a persistent tendency among migrant youth to point to their social distance from the metaphorical “Aussie Aussie” people of Anglo origins who are perceived as symbolising Australia’s mainstream. Such manifestations of racial discrimination preclude the emergence of a genuinely inclusive society that supports and nurtures cultural diversity as a significant part of the Australian national identity, as well as the stated objectives of its social policy repertoire.

Cross-cultural team effectiveness for MBA students studying in an immersion program

We focus on cross-cultural team effectiveness for MBA students involvedin an immersion program, examining the development of knowledgeabout cultural traits, the challenges associated with teamwork, andfactors that promote or hinder team performance, based on qualitativeresults of a survey of 20 students who participated in the program. Keyobserved traits included; Indonesians were perceived to becollectivist/relationship, Australians were laid back, informal but taskfocused, and Americans were hard working and outspoken. Keychallenges faced by students included managing cultural differences,culturally embedded decision-making styles and communication/language hurdles. Team performance was facilitated by acknowledgingand addressing cultural issues from the start, not being ethnocentric,valuing team diversity, and focusing on task completion.

Cultural issues in online learning - is blended learning a possible solution?

The emergence of cross-cultural classrooms has been steadily increasing in Australian tertiary institutions, due to the growing population of international students enrolling to complete their degrees. This increase in international students has signified a change in the student demographics, thus recognizing the differences in students’ learning styles, and indicating that a more flexible approach is needed for learner content delivery. Research has suggested that students from different cultures have varying compatibility with different learning environments. With tertiary institutions now expanding towards the online forum for delivery of units, these compatibilities of students are even more evident. Hence, in order to ensure that all students are able to participate in this domain, preparations are needed to accommodate all cultural types. Therefore with the emphasis on creating flexible learning environments for all students the blended learning approach has been suggested as a solution.

A self-representation analysis of the effects of individualist-collectivist interactions within organizations in individualistic cultures

Purpose – Increasingly, organizations in the Asia-Pacific region are recognizing the importance of cross-cultural management to the sustainability of their competitive edge. Although the literature is replete with cross-cultural studies of individualism and collectivism, little information is available on the factors that foster effective individualist–collectivist interaction (ICI) within organizations. This paper attempts to provide a theoretical description of individualists and collectivists at the individual
level of analysis, which offers specific testable hypotheses about the effect of self-representation on prejudice between individualists and collectivists (ICs).

Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, a theoretical model is presented in which intergroup prejudices and interpersonal prejudices mediate the effects of ICI and bicultural orientation toward cross-cultural experiences and, in which, the dissimilarity openness of the climate
moderates the level and outcome of prejudices flowing from ICI.

Findings – The model depicts that the outcomes of ICI are mediated by the intergroup prejudices of collectivists and the interpersonal prejudices of individualists, which are moderated by the extent of diversity-oriented HRM policies and practices and individuals’ orientation to cross-cultural experiences. When workforces become culturally diverse, organizations should modify HRM practices to enable the full use of the range of skills and talents available from the diversity, and to ensure affective and behavioral costs are minimized. As globalization and international competition will continue to increase, organizations including those in the Asia-Pacific region, should seriously reevaluate their HRM policies to adapt and take advantage of an increasingly culturally diverse workforce.

Originality/value – The model provides a useful basis upon which organization researchers and practitioners can base their respective agendas.

Cultural sustainability of the arts through cross cultural market segmentation

The cultural characteristics attributed to individuals in their country of birth are likely to change through immigration and acculturation processes taking place in the host country. Immigrants are likely to develop their own unique cultural styles through a blending of their old culture and the host culture. With slightly less than half of the population born overseas or with at least one parent born overseas, and with some 200 languages Australia has one of the most cosmopolitan populations in the world, with a relatively small population of 20 million. This paper considers the cross cultural nature of the Australian population and the sustainability of culture through the Arts. This paper also considers the marketing of the arts from a cross cultural segmentation perspective. In so doing the paper identifies segmentation issues associated with cross cultural segmentation.

Behavioral adaptation within cross-cultural virtual teams

With today's business environments no longer confined to national borders, much work is undertaken in global virtual teams. Such teams consist of members located in different countries that communicate via technology media to complete a project task. Much of the research in this area has been focused on the technological aspects of such environments; there is, however, a lack of research into the behavioral aspects and the issue of cultural differences in particular. It has been acknowledged that when cultural diversity is neither recognized nor acted upon, significant challenges can arise for the team. Current advice in the literature suggests that team members should adapt their normal working behavior in consideration of cultural differences. However, there is little indication of how team members should do so. This study investigated if and/or how team members adapt their behavior in cross-cultural virtual teams. The results of this study indicate that team members can adapt their behavior in both spoken and written communication as well as allowing for religious beliefs and time zone differences. This paper discusses specifically how behavior can be adapted, including a discussion of behaviors that caused concern. Finally, a framework of behavioral adaptations is presented for ways to improve cross-cultural virtual team interactions.

Cross cultural engagement: teaching African music to Australian students

This paper reports on research that examined the effectiveness of introducing rhythmic concepts through an unfamiliar musical genre to Australian generalist prim my teacher education students. The genre selected was African music, in particular action songs, dance and instrumental improvisation. The methodologies of Orff, Kodaly and Dalcroze were taught through the repertoire of African music in order to foster a closer relationship between pedagogical theory and practice and to teach rhythm through cross-cultural engagement. Through analyses of questionnaire and interview data, it was demonstrated that African music had a positive effect on students' conjidence as non-specialists music teachers and enhanced their skills in staff, sol-fa, hand notation and performance. Also students were not only highly motivated to engage with this new musical genre, but also gained an increased understanding of African culture. It is argued that African music was perceived by students not so much as a "novelty", but as a source of genuine motivation, interest and enjoyment. Its potential for extending student understanding of rhythm as well as taking a significant step towards internationalizing the curriculum for a cohort of predominantly Anglo-Celtic, pre-service teachers is also explored.

Blended learning for cross-cultural e-learning

The emergence of cross-cultural classrooms has been steadily increasing in Australian tertiary institutions, thus signifying a change in the student demographics. This change has acknowledged that a more flexible approach is needed in the way that the unit content is conveyed to the learner. Studies have indicated that students from different cultures responded variably in different learning environments, the two most clearly identifiable learning environments being instructor-centered and student centered. Students from various cultures have shown their levels of compatibility to these learning environments through their interaction and participation. However tertiary institutions are now expanding towards the online forum for delivery of units. Therefore to ensure that all students are able to participate in this new learning domain, preparations have to be made to accommodate all cultural types. Therefore with the importance on creating flexible learning environments for all students the blended learning approach has been selected for application.

Video lectures for cross-cultural use: a three phase model

This paper will discuss the contributing factors of; increasing numbers of international students, and the advancement of learning technologies; that lead to the development of an exploratory research study into the creation of a three phase online lecture model. Aspects such as the differences between the major cultural groups currently enrolled in Australian Universities, indicates the variations that can be expected in student learning styles. This research study aims at determining the educational value of the inclusion of online lectures for a diverse and distributed cross-cultural audience.

The re-emergence of the public accountancy profession in China: a contextual analysis

Little has been published on the professionalisation projects in non-English speaking countries. In particular, where these countries operate under a non-capitalist environment, the role of accountants and their professionalisation process have been relatively under-explored. This paper seeks to contribute to addressing this apparent gap by choosing the public accountancy profession in China as the subject matter of the research. This paper draws on Gramsci's concept of hegemony to examine the circumstances leading to the re-emergence of the public accountancy profossion in China. In particular, the paper attempts to understand the political ana' ideological influence upon the professionalisation process of the Chinese accountants. To this aim, the paper examines the social and cultural environment of China highlighting the importance attached to propagating the political ideology by the hegemonic ruling class in the history of China. The paper concludes that while the re-emergence of the CPA profession is a by-product of the government's push for economic reconstruction, the real contextual factor that led to the revival of the public accountancy profession is the political ideologies, which were propagated by the ruling political force in an attempt to establish hegemony.

Personal values of international postgraduate students from Asia : a cross cultural study

Australian universities face a challenging task to service an increasingly diverse international student community in the globally competitive education market. The pressure on universities to successfully negotiate cultural diversity arising from nationality differences and to improve service quality will continue to increase with further expansions in the international student market. Such a scenario requires insights into the individual backgrounds of students. Personal values are one way in which insights can be gained of students, particularly with regard to their needs and preferences. Using Factor Analysis, ANOVA and MANOVA, this study analyses the national differences on the basis of underlying value domains of Selfefficacy, Power, Inner harmony, Aspiration and Hedonism. The results indicate significant differences in personal values amongst the student cohorts, which suggest that universities may need to adopt different approaches in servicing international students.

Creating a blended learning model for cross-cultural e-learning: putting theory into practice

This paper will discuss how blended learning has been used in cross-cultural classrooms as a means to improve the International students learning. Issues such as interaction and reuse of unit resources have been the focus of this research. This paper is about putting the theory of blended learning into practice with two teaching artifacts; an ice-breaker exercise and online lectures. Through the implementation of the two blended learning artifacts we are able to assess how the theory of blended learning really impact cross-cultural learning.