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The Application of the Mindfulness Framework to the Study of Intercultural CompetenceAlthough a growing body of evidence has looked at the beneficial impact of mindfulness practice in a number of domains (e.g., improvement of mental health and psychological well-being, physical health, behavioral regulation, relationship and social interaction quality; see Baer, 2003; Brown et al., 2007), very little empirical research has been conducted or focused on the role that mindfulness could play in better understanding intercultural relations and related issues (e.g., intercultural competence development and training, intercultural adaptation and effectiveness). As such, the purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the relationship between mindfulness and intercultural competence, and more specifically investigate the extent to which there exists a direct or indirect relationship between these constructs. Although empirical evidence suggests that numerous mechanisms could be at play (see Shapiro et al., 2006), there are no theories or models specifically looking at the construct of mindfulness and the means by which it could potentially impact the development of intercultural competence. By drawing on the seminal work of Shapiro et al. (2006), two studies were conducted to test an integrative framework to highlight the presence of such a relationship and investigate the mediating role played by these different mechanisms, including (a) decentering, (b) exposure, (c) flexibility/rigidity, (d) self-regulation/self-management, and (e) value clarification. After steps were taken to ensure that the measurement properties of the different indices or psychometric instruments were meeting an acceptable standard across both studies, results generally indicated that mindfulness was indeed related to a number of intercultural competence indices, and that this relationship tended to be partially mediated by a number of mediating variables or mechanisms of action (i.e., exposure, flexibility/ rigidity, self-regulation/self-management, and value-clarification). Overall, these results tend to suggest that applying the mindfulness framework to the study of intercultural competence is likely to generate a number of interesting insights and greatly benefit both research and practice.
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Distance Education and Community Learning Networks linked by a Library of CultureHumans are relational beings with their modeled behavior as practical examples of cultural routines that they hear, see, read, and assemble on their own from communal pieces of information to answer the needs of their everyday lives (Bandura, & Jeffrey, 1973). Yet few researchers have looked at the differing synthesis of culture and generally assume that others share similar ideas/values that lead to particular events and worldviews (Lillard, p.5 1998). Informational and cultural contact zones can be created to support CLNs, universities, and individuals in a variety of roles to encourage their interactions so they might design, and challenge the fundamentals of these programs and seek to better cooperation amongst the public itself (Tremmel, 2000). By increasing communication and collaboration of educational systems throughout the community will begin to raise the standard of living for all people (Bohn, & Schmidt, 2008). This will begin to draw people out from the digital divide and increase the access of technology and information available to all people with the community. Utilizing CLNs to support and further education will allow an interconnected web of assessments, standards, and cooperative efforts that has the potential of increasing democracy by empowering people from their communities.
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Research of cross-cultural management of business activities in European marketsGlobalization of business, promotion of economic interests to the markets of other countries, processes of unification and creation of common economic space require knowledge of national customs and national culture. Culture is, first of all, predictability. The ability to understand and use the features of national cultures, interpersonal communications and business ethics in global business is an important task of cross-cultural management. The success of international companies in Europe in providing high quality products and services depends, on the one hand, on the dynamics of the growing economic environment and, on the other hand, on the adoption of global quality standards and procedures. As the European market becomes more and more global, the products and services offered by international companies around the world face the challenges of a multicultural environment, not only at the level of customer relations, but also deep inside the companies, at the level of employees. The article describes the characteristics of cross-cultural management of enterprises in the European markets, identifies the barriers to its implementation, and considers the most effective solutions in the field of cross-cultural personnel management. Cross-cultural management of enterprises in the European markets is, first of all, the creation and application of technologies for managing cultural diversity in the context of globalization, which successfully operate in different cultures, prevention of intercultural conflicts. As a solution, the development of intercultural competencies, training of global managers in Europe in key aspects of intercultural interaction, introduction and active use of advanced digital technologies, as well as building a management system are proposed. Knowledge management provides the necessary technological support for cross-cultural management of European enterprises to improve knowledge sharing, their effective use in the activities of multinational companies and international joint ventures in Europe.