News framing in different language versions of state-sponsored international media : A case of Russian and English versions in RT and Radio Liberty

The current paper examines the dissimilarities that have occurred in news framing by state-sponsored news outlets in their different language versions. The comparative framing analysis is conducted on the news coverage of the Russian intervention in Syria (2016) in RT and Radio Liberty in Russian and English languages. The certain discrepancies in framing of this event are found in both news outlets. The strongest distinction between Russian and English versions occurred in framing of responsibility and humanitarian crisis in Syria. The study attempts to explain the identified differences in a framework of public diplomacy and propaganda studies. The existing theories explain that political ideology and foreign policy orientation influences principles of state propaganda and state-sponsored international broadcasting. However, the current findings suggest that other influence factors may exist in the field – such as the local news discourse and the journalistic principles. This conclusion is preliminary, as there are not many studies with the comparable research design, which could support the current discussion. The studies of localized strategies of the international media (whether private networks or state-funded channels) can refine the current conclusions and bring a new perspective to global media studies.

Investigating Turkey's national innovation and learning system

The national systems of innovation (NIS) approach focuses on the patterns and the determinants of innovation processes from the perspective of nation-states. This paper reports on continuing work on the application of an NIS model to the development of technological capability in Turkey. Initial assessment of the literature shows that there are a number of alternative conceptualisations of NIS. An attempt by the Government to identify a NIS for Turkey shows the main actors in the system but does not pay sufficient attention to the processes of interactions between agents within the system. An operational model should be capable of representing these processes and interactions and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the NIS. For industrialising countries, it is also necessary to incorporate learning mechanisms into the model. Further, there are different levels of innovation and capability in different sectors which the national perspective may not reflect. This paper is arranged into three sections. The first briefly explains the basics of the national innovation and learning system. Although there is no single accepted definition of NIS, alternative definitions reviewed share some common characteristics. In the second section, an NIS model is applied to Turkey in order to identify the elements, which characterise the country’s NIS. This section explains knowledge flow and defines the relations between the actors within the system. The final section draws on the “from imitation to innovation” model apparently so successful in East Asia and assesses its applicability to Turkey. In assessing Turkey’s NIS, the focus is on the automotive and textile sectors.

The impact of national cultures and interpersonal factors on managerial communication

This study was undertaken for two primary purposes. The first was to discover whether or not two of the four cultural dimensions depicted by Hof-stede (1980), namely Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance, could be repeated using samples from seven organizations operating in three distinct cultural settings. The second was to assess the degree to which these dimensions affect superior-subordinate communication across the culturally-different groups. Also, the impact of the three interpersonal factors: Trust in Superior, Upward Influence and Mobility Aspirations was investigated cross-culturally. Participants were 291 managers from seven organizations; four Sudanese, two white British and an organization in Britain run by a group of British citizens of Pakistani extraction. It was hypothesized that the Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance of the three groups would replicate Hof-stede's. Specific implications of these dimensions for organizational communication and in particular for superior-subordinate communication were also hypothesized. Multiple regression analyses were performed with items of the two cultural dimensions and the three interpersonal factors (each in turn) forming the independent variables, while the organizational communication aspects formed the dependent variables. T-tests between means were also used to compare and contrast issues such as directionality of information flow across organizations operating in these settings. Work-related values of each of the three cultural groups provided support for Hofstede's model. However, only tentative support was given to the hypothesized relationships between the cultural dimensions and organizational communication. Similarly, weak associations were found between the three interpersonal factors and superior-subordinate communication behaviour. Some practical and theoretical implications are offered. An evaluation of the study and recommendation for further research are also given.

Theme and thematic patterns in Spanish and English history texts

The aim of this research project is to compare published history textbooks written for upper-secondary/tertiary study in the U.S. and Spain using Halliday's (1994) Theme/Rheme construct. The motivation for using the Theme/Rheme construct to analyze professional texts in the two languages is two-fold. First of all, while there exists a multitude of studies at the grammatical and phonological levels between the two languages, very little analysis has been carried out in comparison at the level of text, beyond that of comparing L1/L2 student writing. Secondly, thematic considerations allow the analyst to highlight areas of textual organization in a systematic way for purposes of comparison. The basic hypothesis tested here rests on the premise that similarity in the social function of the texts results in similar Theme choice and thematic patterning across languages, barring certain linguistic constraints. The corpus for this study consists of 20 texts: 10 from various history textbooks published in the U.S. and 10 from various history textbooks published in Spain. The texts chosen represent a variety of authors, in order to control for author style or preference. Three overall areas of analysis were carried out, representing Halliday's (1994) three metafunctions: the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual. The ideational analysis shows similarities across the two corpora in terms of participant roles and circumstances as Theme, with a slight difference in participants involved in material processes, which is shown to reflect a minor difference in the construal of the field of history in the two cultures. The textual analysis shows overall similarities with respect to text organization, and the interpersonal analysis shows overall similarities as regards the downplay of discrepant interpretations of historical events as well as a low frequency of interactive textual features, manifesting the informational focus of the texts. At the same time, differences in results amongst texts within each of the corpora demonstrate possible effect of subject matter, in many cases, and individual author style in others. Overall, the results confirm that similarity in content, but above all in purpose and audience, result in texts which show similarities in textual features, setting aside certain grammatical constraints.

Influence of ethical beliefs, national culture and institutions on preferences for HRM in Oman

Purpose – The paper seeks to investigate the association between ethical beliefs, aspects of national culture and national institutions, and preferences for specific human resource management practices in the Sultanate of Oman. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 712 individuals working in six organisations (both private and public sectors) responded to a self-administered questionnaire in the Sultanate of Oman. To test the raised research questions of the proposed framework, the methodology of structural equation models was used. Findings – The results highlight significant differences in the belief systems on the basis of different demographic characteristics. The findings also confirm impact of ethical beliefs, and aspects of national culture and national institutions on preferences for human resource management (HRM) practices. Research limitations/implications – Although the goodness-of-fit indexes confirmed the validity of the proposed operational model, some indices were attained at rather flexible levels. Practical implications – Studies on managerial beliefs and values can offer important insights into the extent that work is viewed as an integral life activity. Such information can help differentiate among managerial styles in various cultures, and in predicting managerial behaviour such as ethical decision-making. Based on such understanding, the findings can be used to educate government officials and outside consultants interested in Oman. Originality/value – The study contributes to the accumulation of knowledge about under-researched developing countries such as Oman, as limited data are available on HRM, value orientations and ethical beliefs' issues in this region.