Page 197 - Culture Technology Communication

180 Concetta Stewart, et al.

will not be a disincentive against buying foreign brands.
Would anybody like to comment on the implications, or re-
port relevant news items from other parts of the world?

M5, an Asian male, replies:

As I have seen and witnessed the trade in India. The idea
here is that it is imminent that the economy will become
that of a global engine. It, in many respects already is.
Multi-national corporations are utilizing offshore facilities to
create a Virtual Financial Sovereignty; this directly affecting
governmental and social concerns. The world, if it is to fulfill
the cycles of progression must succumb to the economy—as
a global animal. To do business in the world today means
dealing with the monster Capitalism. Indian Products are
not the superior and, definitely not the less expensive. Im-
port Tariffs exceed 300%. That means that if you buy a tele-
vision here for 300.00 (U.S.$), it would cost you 900.00 (U.S.)
to take it into India. This is done to encourage the purchase
of domestic products. BAH HUMBUG.
I’ll buy the better of the two products. Thank you.

There are no replies to M5’s message nor are there further com-
ments on F4’s original message. In addition, F4’s participation drops
sharply for the remainder of the listserv discussion.

Discussion and Implications

Some striking differences in communication patterns were observed
on this listserv—by gender and by culture and perhaps there was
also an interaction between culture and gender. The magnitude of
these differences is particularly noteworthy, since they occurred de-
spite the instructors’ efforts to create an open, free-flowing commu-
nication environment. As outlined previously, these differences in
communication patterns can be interpreted based on the systematic
linguistic differences attributable to gender and culture. In other
words, these patterns of communication on the listserv could be said
to simply be replicating patterns of interaction that are seen in tra-
ditional face-to-face situations. These patterns do not simply mirror
traditional communication environments, where males dominate fe-
males and white American culture dominates others. There are pro-