Page 179 - Culture Technology Communication

162 Concetta Stewart, et al.

minorities, can participate more equally. This lack of participation in
the GII has implications for the economic and social well-being of
those excluded as well as for the larger global community. This work,
therefore, also has implications at a global level as we look at the
lack of participation of developing nations in the evolution of a global
information infrastructure.

Cross-Cultural Communication

Cross-cultural communication can be defined as consisting of inter-
cultural, multi-domestic, and cross-gender communication or gen-
derlect communication (Tannen 1990). Key issues in cross-cultural
communication research include styles of conflict and negotiation
(Ting-Toomey 1985) and construction of identity and self-disclosure
(Ting-Toomey 1988) in interpersonal and group contexts. In cross-
cultural communication, meaning and interpretations are derived
both collectively and individually through interaction: collectively, in
the sense that meanings are negotiated between communicators
and, individually, because the process of interaction is mediated by
individual perceptions that are subject to one’s identity and expecta-
tions which are in turn guided by culture (Gudykunst and Kim
1996). Thus, it may be argued that the culture in which norms are
developed will be reflected in all interactions regardless of the com-
munication medium. It has been widely recognized in cross-cultural
research that people derive different meaning and often key infor-
mation, however, from the contextual aspects of the interaction (Hall
1976). Consequently, it is critical to determine how such cultural
norms affect communication processes in the context of mediated
communication. Unfortunately, though, while there are significant
bodies of research on both intercultural and mediated communica-
tion, cross-cultural communication via electronic media has largely
been overlooked (Ma 1996).

High- and Low-Context Cultures and Communication
Based on his extensive study of cultures around the world, Hofstede
(1983) identified four common dimensions upon which cultures could
be compared: power distance or the extent to which less powerful
members of society accept that power is distributed unequally; mas-
culinity or when there are clearly defined sex roles with male values
of success, money and possessions as dominant; uncertainty avoid-