Acculturation to the Global Culture, Ethnic Identification and the Adoption of Social Computing

Globalization is now felt in most parts of the world and its effects on culture are becoming a topic of interest to the academic community (Cleveland, 2006). There have been calls to address the issue of globalization and its cultural effects on the IS field (Myers and Tan, 2002). This paper contributes to filling this gap by reporting on the survey results of 171 members of the general public in a developing country which has been opening up to globalization in the last decade. The findings show that there is a significant direct relationship between acculturation to the global culture and the adoption of social computing and an indirect relationship mediated by subjective norms. There is no significant direct relationship between ethnic identification and social computing adoption; however, the relationship is significantly mediated by subjective norm

The Role of Information and Communication Technology in the Acculturation of Vietnamese Refugees

One of the most significant refugee populations in the United States is the Vietnamese. This group initially fled their native country to escape political oppression at the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975 and continued to flee in a series of separate waves that continued for more than three decades. As a relatively new immigrant group in the U.S., the Vietnamese still face a variety of challenges as they try to reestablish their lives and adapt in a new cultural environment. Acculturation is a complex process that is influenced by a number of factors. Throughout history, U.S. immigration policy has significantly affected the admission and adaptation of refugees. As shifts in the ideological frameworks, economic demands, and attitudes towards the rest of the world occurred in the twentieth century, which eventually brought the liberalization of immigration policy, this influence slowly decreased. This allowed for factors in the domestic political, economic, and social environments to become more powerful in affecting how refugees adapt in the U.S. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become integral aspects in both assisting and complicating the acculturation process for refugees. These technologies are helping Vietnamese refugees culturally adjust in American communities as well as maintain ties with their native culture; thus, illustrating the multifaceted nature of acculturation. However, the impact of ICTs is not uniform across all of the different waves of refugees who fled from Vietnam. This study demonstrates that interaction and communication are key aspects in cross-cultural adaptation and the importance of media in contemporary everyday life

The Role of Information and Communication Technology in the Acculturation of Vietnamese Refugees

One of the most significant refugee populations in the United States is the Vietnamese. This group initially fled their native country to escape political oppression at the conclusion of the Vietnam War in 1975 and continued to flee in a series of separate waves that continued for more than three decades. As a relatively new immigrant group in the U.S., the Vietnamese still face a variety of challenges as they try to reestablish their lives and adapt in a new cultural environment. Acculturation is a complex process that is influenced by a number of factors. Throughout history, U.S. immigration policy has significantly affected the admission and adaptation of refugees. As shifts in the ideological frameworks, economic demands, and attitudes towards the rest of the world occurred in the twentieth century, which eventually brought the liberalization of immigration policy, this influence slowly decreased. This allowed for factors in the domestic political, economic, and social environments to become more powerful in affecting how refugees adapt in the U.S. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become integral aspects in both assisting and complicating the acculturation process for refugees. These technologies are helping Vietnamese refugees culturally adjust in American communities as well as maintain ties with their native culture; thus, illustrating the multifaceted nature of acculturation. However, the impact of ICTs is not uniform across all of the different waves of refugees who fled from Vietnam. This study demonstrates that interaction and communication are key aspects in cross-cultural adaptation and the importance of media in contemporary everyday life

Acculturation and Dietary Pattern Among Iranian American Immigrants in the United States of America

ABSTRACT Acculturation of the Iranian American immigrants and its influence on dietary patterns of Iranian was investigated. Effect of exposure to the U.S. culture and Western diets and prevalence of chronic diseases were examined. Acculturation was measured using the Iranian Acculturation Scale, and total acculturation score is calculated. Dietary patterns were measured using the Block Brief Food Questionnaire (BFQ), total foods and beverages consumed over the past year, as specified in BBFQ, were studied. Two hundred seven (N=207) Iranian American immigrants completed the acculturation, food frequency and socio-demographic questionnaires. All participants were born in Iran, were 18 years of age or older and had lived more than one year in the U.S. About 37.5% of participants had acculturation scores indicating Iranian values; the majority (62.5%) had either adapted American values (26.5%) or had combined some American values (36%). Results indicate age at arrival, length of stay, English fluency, education and income are major factors determining level of acculturation, dietary patterns and prevalence of chronic diseases among Iranian American immigrants. Consumption of Western diet and level of acculturation was less among participants who lived longer (\u3e10 years) in the U.S. and were older when they arrived to the US. The rate of family history of diabetes among participants was 39.1%., though 9% had pre-diabetes and 4% reported being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. A majority of the participants (87%) reported no secondary health concerns related to dietary intake. As Iranian American immigrants grow older their consumption of red meats, fast foods, soft drinks, potatoes, salty snacks, refined grains and sweets were significantly decreased and they consumed more vegetables. Given growing Iranian immigrants in U.S., a deep understanding of factors influencing dietary patterns of Iranian immigrates is necessary. Our study with small sample size (207) has several limitations, which should be rectified by future researchers. Therefore, conclusion about association between level of acculturation, dietary patterns and prevalence of chronic diseases among participants is limited. New Iranian immigrants especially those with school-aged children may become more aware of consumption of Western diet and ill effects on their overall wellbeing

ACCULTURATION AND POST-IMMIGRATION CHANGES IN OBESITY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, AND NUTRITION: COMPARING HISPANICS AND ASIANS IN THE WATERLOO REGION, ONTARIO, CANADA.

OBJECTIVES: The acculturation hypothesis speculates that as new immigrants get exposed to more obesogenic environments, they progressively acquire the unhealthy lifestyles of the host society, and their obesity risk gradually increases since time of arrival. However, the consistency of the presumed acculturation effect across immigrant groups and gender, and the reasons behind individual changes in lifestyle behaviors remain unclear. Thus, this study investigated the acculturation hypothesis in the Canadian context by comparing two foreign groups, Hispanics and East/Southeast Asians, which present contrasting post-settlement obesity patterns and behavioral trends. Methods: A 41-item questionnaire (including open-ended questions) was administered with 100 first-generation immigrants in the K-W Region to gather information on weight-relatedmeasures, acculturation levels, psychological stress, lifestyle behaviors, and perceived causes of changes in diet and physical activity. A logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the likelihood of being overweight-obese, while interview transcripts were analyzed to identify response themes and explore causal relationships. RESULTS: Hispanics exhibited considerably higher body mass index levels and larger weight gains, and a nearly nine times higher overweight risk than East/Southeast Asians. Overweight risk was also higher for males and less-educated immigrants. Data collected shows that weight gains were larger for newcomers with high average psychological stress scores, and 38% of Hispanic participants mentioned either stress or depression as causes for their weight gains. The acculturation analysis revealed that East/Southeast Asians were significantly less integrated into Canadian society and more likely to maintain their traditional diets, while both groups reportedperceived-increased levels of recreational physical activity, which contradicts the belief of a linear uniform adoption of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. DISCUSSION: Results support the notion that the impact of duration of residence does vary by ethnicity and gender. Future prevention efforts should focus on the foreign groups most likely to develop obesity, and pay particular attention to less-educated immigrants, who may be more likely to acquire unhealthy habits after settlement. Results also highlight the emergence of acculturative stress as a significant obesity-risk factor, and support the implementation of obesity preventive efforts that help immigrants manage post-settlement-related feelings of anxiety and depression through the inclusion of social integration strategies. In an increasingly diverse and multiethnic Canada, we expect the dissemination of the research findings to help recent and long-term immigrants to become more aware of obesity-relatedissues, and thus facilitate the adoption of healthier lifestyles after settlement in Canada

We Want it That Way: The Acculturation of Muslims in Multicultural and Pluralistic Societies from Minority and Majority Group Perspectives

Siden angrepene mot USA i 11. september 2001, har forholdet mellom majoritetsgruppemedlemmer og muslimske minoriteter i vesten fulgt en sirkel av anti-muslimske og anti-vestlige holdninger. I mange vestlige land har media og offentlig debatt skildret muslimers tilstedeværelse og deres religiøse praksis som uforenlig med vestlige demokratiske stater, som har gitt opphav til sosial eksklusjon, mistillit og mistro mot muslimer. Dette stadig mer anti-muslimsk klima oppfattes og oppleves av muslimske minoriteter som en trussel mot deres religiøse kultur og sosiale kategorisering som muslimer. Følgelig har dette fikk noen muslimer til å distansere seg og i noen tilfeller løsrive seg fra samfunnet, gi opphav til anti-vestlige følelser og oppførsel i form av radikalisering og voldelig ekstremisme. Som et resultat negative synspunkter mot det muslimske samfunnet blant majoritetssamfunnet ar forsterket. Basert på disse argumentene har denne oppgaven som mål å omfattende undersøke forholdet mellom muslimske minoriteter og deres samfunn. Denne oppgaven undersøker intergruppeforhold gjennom akkulturasjon, ved å se på religiøse og majoritetssamfunnskulturer. De underliggende elementene i det anspente forholdet blir undersøkt ved bruk av intergroup threat theory, intergroup emotions theory og perspektiver fra koalisjonell psykologi. Hovedmålene for denne oppgaven er todelt: 1 ) Denne oppgaven søker å undersøke prosessen med akkulturering hos muslimske minoriteter og de underliggende faktorene som påvirker forholdet til majoritetssamfunnet fra et muslimsk minoritetsperspektiv. 2 ) Den har til hensikt å undersøke hvordan akkultureringsprosessen til muslimer oppfattes av majoritetssamfunnet og hvordan denne oppfatningen påvirker intergruppeforhold i deres respektive samfunn. Forskningsdata i denne oppgaven er hentet fra tre studier utført i tre forskjellige land: Norge, Storbritannia og Canada, og blant fire forskjellige grupper: muslimer i Norge og Storbritannia, og de britiske og kanadiske majoritetsgruppemedlemmene. Paper 1 tar det muslimske minoritetsperspektivet og undersøker hvorfor trussel oppfatninger fra majoritetssamfunnet kan føre til høyere voldelige atferds intensjoner blant muslimer basert på distinkte akkulturasjonsorienteringer. Den tester antagelsen i to utvalg som består av norske (N = 253) og britiske muslimer (N = 194). Resultatene indikerer at jo mer norske muslimer oppfatter realistisk trussel, jo mer voldelige atferds intensjoner de viser, men dette forholdet er ikke mediert av akkulturering. Blant britiske muslimer, mainstream akkulturasjonsorientering er relatert til mer voldelige intensjoner, mens trussel ikke er det. I begge utvalg symbolsk trussel er assosiert med mer støtte for muslimsk militær vold og dette forholdet er mediert av religiøs akkulturering i Storbritannia. Symbolsk trussel er knyttet sammen med mindre personlige intensjoner om å begå vold i Storbritannia, mediert av religiøse akkulturasjon. Komplementære analyser som beregner akkulturasjonsstrategier indikerer det assimilerte, og til en viss grad integrerte, muslimer i begge land har en tendens til å vise det høyeste voldelige atferds intensjoner. Derimot viser separerte individer det høyeste nivået av støtte til muslimsk militær vold. Paper 2 er forhåndsregistrert eksperimentell forskning, som undersøker den formidlende rollen til oppfattet (ill)lojalitet av britiske muslimer som underliggende prosess med intergruppe forholdet mellom muslimer og majoritetssamfunnet fra en majoritetsgruppe perspektiv. 334 ikke-muslimske hvite britiske deltakere i studie 1 og 810 i studie 2 ble spurt å indikere deres akkultureringsforventninger overfor muslimer. De var da tilfeldig tildelt å lese en tekst som beskrev muslimer i en fiktiv by som enten (a) vedlikeholde deres religiøse kultur eller (b) tilegne den mainstream britiske kulturen, eller de leser ( c ) en nøytral kontrolltekst. Som forventet, i studie 1, da muslimer ble presentert for å opprettholde deres religiøse kultur, reduserte tilliten sammenlignet med kontrollgruppen. Motsatt, når muslimer ble beskrevet å tilegne mainstream-kulturen, økte tilliten mens støtten til overvåking av muslimer ble redusert. Begge effektene ble formidlet av oppfatningen om at muslimer var illojale eller lojale mot Storbritannia i begge studiene. Oppfattet lojalitet til sin religiøse gruppe viste ikke betydelig effekt. Vi repliserte disse funnene i studie 2. I tillegg resultater viser at det å beskrive muslimer som å opprettholde sin religiøse kultur reduserte tilliten og økte støtte til overvåking spesielt blant deltakere som forventet muslimer til å gi opp sin religiøse kultur. Moderasjonsanalyse viste at disse effektene var delvis formidlet av opplevd lojalitet til Storbritannia. Paper 3 tar også en majoritetsgruppe perspektiv og vurderer eksperimentelt effekten av Muslimers akkulturasjonsstrategier som oppfattet av majoritetsgruppen og hvordan den påvirker sosial eksklusjon av og religiøs ergrelse mot Muslimer i Canada. Utvalget besto av 190 ikke-muslimske kanadiere. Resultatene viser at når muslimer ble sett på som assimilert i det kanadiske samfunnet, sosial eksklusjon av muslimer og religiøs ergrelse mot Muslimer reduserte. Videre medierer religiøs ergrelse assosiasjonen mellom Muslimers oppfattet akkulturasjonsstrategier og sosial eksklusjon bare når de var oppfattet som assimilert. Avslutningsvis bekrefter funnene fra denne oppgaven sirkelen av anti-muslim og anti-vestlig holdninger og oppførsel blant majoritetsgruppemedlemmer og den muslimske minoriteten i vestlige samfunn, påvirket av hendelser i fortiden. Denne oppgaven er relevant for muslimske ledere og organisasjoner som representerer muslimske minoriteter og majoritetsgruppen, organisasjoner som fokuserer på å utvikle og implementere politikk og programmer for sosial samhørighet, og de som jobber å motvirke fiendskap mot muslimsk minoritet og majoritetsgrupper.Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, the relationship between majority group members and Muslim minorities in the West has followed a cycle of anti-Muslim and anti-Western attitudes and behavior. In many Western countries, media and public debate have portrayed Muslims’ presence and their religious practices as incompatible with Western democratic states, which have generated biased behaviors and attitudes in the form of social exclusion, distrust, and suspicion toward the Muslim community by the majority society. Furthermore, the majority group has extensively debated factors that might lead Muslim minority group members to support violence by foreign extremist states or to commit violence themselves. This increasingly anti-Muslim climate is perceived and experienced by Muslim minorities as a threat to their religious culture and social categorization as Muslims. Consequently, this has caused some Muslims to distance themselves and, in some cases, disengage from society, giving rise to anti-Western sentiments and behavior in the form of radicalization and violent extremism. As a result, negative views toward the Muslim community intensified among the majority group members. Based on these arguments, this thesis aims to comprehensively examine the intergroup relationship between Muslim minorities and their wider society. This thesis investigates intergroup relations through the process of acculturation, with respect to religious and majority society cultures. The underlying elements of the tense relationship are examined using intergroup threat theory, intergroup emotions theory and perspectives from coalitional psychology. The main goals of this thesis are twofold: 1) This thesis seeks to investigate the process of acculturation in Muslim minorities and the underlying factors that impact their relationship with the majority society from a Muslim minority perspective. 2) It intends to examine how the acculturation process of Muslims is perceived by majority society and how this perception influences intergroup relationships in their respective societies. The research data in this thesis are drawn from three studies carried out in three different countries: Norway, the U.K., and Canada, and among four different groups: Muslims in Norway and the U.K., and the British and Canadian majority group members. Paper 1 takes the Muslim minority perspective and investigates why threat perceptions from majority society may lead to higher violent behavioral intentions among Muslims based on distinct acculturation orientations. It tests this proposition in two samples comprising of Norwegian (N = 253) and British Muslims (N = 194). Results indicate that the more Norwegian Muslims perceive realistic threat, the more violent behavioral intentions they show, but this relation is not mediated by acculturation. Among British Muslims, mainstream acculturation orientation is related to more violent intentions, while threat is not. In both samples, symbolic threat is associated with more support for Muslim military violence and this relationship is mediated by religious acculturation in the U.K. Symbolic threat is linked with less personal intentions to commit violence in the U.K., mediated by religious acculturation. Complementary analyses calculating acculturation strategies indicate that assimilated, and to some extent integrated, Muslims in both countries tend to show the highest violent behavioral intentions. By contrast, separated individuals show the highest level of support for Muslim military violence. Paper 2 is pre-registered experimental research, which examines the mediating role of perceived (dis)loyalty of British Muslims as underlying process of biased intergroup relationship between Muslims and the majority society from a majority group perspective. A total of 334 non-Muslim White British participants in Study 1 and 810 in Study 2 were asked to indicate their acculturation expectations toward Muslims. They were then randomly assigned to read a text that described Muslims in a fictional town as either (a) maintaining their religious culture or (b) adopting the mainstream British culture, or they read (c) a neutral control text. As expected, in Study 1, when Muslims were presented as maintaining their religious culture, trust decreased compared to the control group. Conversely, when described as adopting the mainstream culture, trust increased while support for surveillance of Muslims decreased. Both effects were mediated by the perception of Muslims being disloyal or loyal to the U.K in both studies, respectively. Perceived loyalty to their religious group did not significantly mediate any effect. We replicated these findings in Study 2. Moreover, the results show that describing Muslims as maintaining their religious culture decreased trust and increased support for surveillance especially among participants who expected Muslims to give up their religious culture. Moderated mediation analysis showed that these effects were partly mediated by perceived loyalty to the U.K. Paper 3 also takes a majority group perspective and experimentally assesses the effects of Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies by the majority group on the social exclusion of Muslims in Canada, and to what extent religious resentment mediates the relationship between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion. The sample consisted of 190 non-Muslim Canadians. The results show that when Muslims were viewed as assimilated in Canadian society, social exclusion of Muslims and religious resentment toward Muslims decreased. Furthermore, religious resentment mediates the association between Muslims’ perceived acculturation strategies and social exclusion only when they were perceived as assimilated. In conclusion, the findings of this thesis confirm the cycle of anti-Muslim and anti-Western attitudes and behavior among majority group members and the Muslim minority in Western societies, influenced by past events. This thesis is relevant to Muslim leaders and organizations representing Muslim minorities and the majority group, organizations that focus on developing and implementing social cohesion policies and programs, and those who work to counter animosity toward Muslim minority and majority groups.Doktorgradsavhandlin

How values of individualism and collectivism influence impulsive buying and money budgeting: the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Czarnecka, B, Schiviniski, B and Keles, S (2020) How values of individualism and collectivism influence impulsive buying and money budgeting: the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, which will be published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14791838. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions This study examined the effects of individual-level cultural values of individualism and collectivism on impulsive buying and money budgeting, and the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture. By applying the person-environment fit theory and acculturation theory, we argue that people who hold cultural values congruent with the culture they come into contact with are more likely to acculturate to it, and that those who acculturate to global consumer culture (GCC) are more likely to display consumption behaviors stimulated by GCC, namely impulsive buying and poor money budgeting. The findings show that consumers acculturated to GCC report higher impulsive buying and lower money budgeting, and that it is not the distinction between individualism and collectivism, but rather between the vertical and horizontal values that determines the acceptance of GCC and the studied consumption behaviors. Results revealed that vertical individualists (those who believe in competition between individuals and who prioritize their needs over the needs of others) and vertical collectivists (those who believe in the subordination of individuals to groups) were more likely to be acculturated to GCC. Thus, the acceptance of inequality between individuals amongst other individuals, or within groups, is related to the acceptance of GCC and impulsive buying and money budgeting. The level of acculturation to GCC mediates the relations between vertical individualism and collectivism values and impulsive buying and money budgeting. Theoretical contributions to the research on horizontal/vertical individualism/collectivism, acculturation to GCC, and person-environment fit theory, as well as practical implications for marketers are discussed

Chinese and North American Culture: a New Perspective in Linguistics Studies

We explored the two cultures in the two countries. There has been discussed on Chinese culture and North American culture. Chinese language, ceramics, architecture, music, dance, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts, philosophy, business etiquette, religion, politics, and history have global influence, while its traditions and festivals are also celebrated, instilled, and practiced by people around the world. The culture of North America refers to the arts and other manifestations of human activities and achievements from the continent of North America. The American way of life or simply the American way is the unique lifestyle of the people of the United States of America. It refers to a nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

The influence of ethnic embeddedness on the gender role attitudes and division of household labor of married Hispanic women

In this study I examine the effects of both network structure and network function on the gender role attitudes and division of household labor among Hispanic women. Using a representative sub-sample drawn from the first wave of the National Study of Families and Households, I determine to what extent network processes help explain the gender role attitudes and behaviors of Hispanic women. Specifically, I focus on how embeddedness within a Hispanic community, as well as a woman’s level of social support exchange with kin and non-kin help explain her current gender role attitudes and household labor allocation. I found that ethnic embeddedness during adolescence best explained gender role attitudes while current ethnic embeddedness was a more substantive determinant of household labor allocation. I conclude that factors regarding a woman’s level of assimilation, as well as more precise measures of ethnic embeddedness may help better explain the relationship between ethnic embeddedness and gendered attitudes and behaviors

Analysing acculturation to sustainable food consumption behaviour in the social media through the lens of information diffusion

Drawing on theories of acculturation and information diffusion, this paper examines whether social media usage, intergroup contacts and information dissemination influence the cultural adaptation of three ethnic groups, and its implications on sustainable consumption behaviour. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews containing multiple dimensions of social media uses, acculturation, food consumption behaviour, and information diffusion were administered to a sample of Indians (living in the home country), British Indians (living in the host country for more than 10 years) and White British (natives of Britain) users of social media. Our findings suggest that there is a clear link between the integrated strategy of acculturation and information diffusion on social media, which influences acculturation to sustainable food consumption behaviour among social media users. Managerial implications of this research finding are that intervention in information diffusion aids acculturation through the social media, which serves to infuse social media and sustainability strategist with knowledge to best influence the consumers in developing sustainable food consumption behaviour. This research also identifies opportunities to expand this academic research and contribute further to the theories of remote acculturation on which limited research has been done