Grosse, C. U. (2002). Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams. Business Communication Quarterly, 65(4), 22–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/108056990206500404

As global companies increasingly rely on virtual teams to conduct short- and long- term projects, business students need to be prepared to manage the communication of intercultural teams. Communicating across cultures using technology can be a difficult task. It requires understanding the advantages and limitations of technol ogy and how to build relationships via technology. Virtual team members need to choose an appropriate communication channel for their purposes and be sure to balance distance work with face-to-face communication. Team leaders should encourage open communication and brainstorming, and avoid assignment of blame. Other strategies for success include: 1) develop a network of good relation ships built on trust and understanding, 2) show respect for other cultures and lan guages, and 3) understand how diversity strengthens the team.

Aliakbar Jafari & Christina Goulding (2013) Globalization, reflexivity, and the project of the self: a virtual intercultural learning process, Consumption Markets & Culture, 16:1, 65-90, DOI: 10.1080/10253866.2012.659435

In this paper, the authors examine the consumption practices of young adult Iranians in the context of cultural globalization. Based on the analysis of qualitative data collected through participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and focus groups with 28 individuals in Tehran and Karaj, the authors demonstrate how, through its cultural flow (circulation of images, signs, products, etc.) globalization stimulates reflexivity in “an ongoing process of virtual intercultural learning” through which people reconstitute their lives and change their everyday consumption practices and lifestyle choices. The key contribution of the study lies in the fact that it examines consumers’ subjective consumption experiences in a society where the traditional/institutional dynamics enforce their own values and ideal lifestyles on individuals.

In this community-building activity geared toward workplace professionals, participants identify the competing values at their organization and propose strategies for achieving balance between them. 

In this community-building activity geared toward workplace professionals, participants analyze the cultural behaviors of others in their organization and identify positive cultural behaviors that they aspire to. 

In this community-building activity geared toward workplace professionals, participants envision a mascot for their organization as a way to construct some aspirational cultural values. 

In this community-building activity geared toward workplace professionals, participants use a MadLibs style worksheet to characterize what makes their organizational culture unique. 

In this community-building activity geared toward workplace professionals, participants analyze another organization's culture and identify the elements that they would like to either emulate or avoid within their own organization. 

In this community-building activity geared toward workplace professionals, participants characterize the stated values of their organization and attempt to analyze the organizational culture and values from an outsider's perspective. 

Sometimes the best way to cope with the negative physical, mental, emotional, and social impacts of adaptation processes, sometimes called culture shock, is to gain more self-awareness of your reactions. This mindfulness allows for reflection on potential causes and solutions. A medical model of culture shock is employed in this activity to help learners think through the implications of employing short vs long-term strategies for “treating” the symptoms of transitioning into an unfamiliar cultural environment.

A brief memoir by Dr. Neal Goodman, CEO of Global Dynamics. He describes his journey to creating Global Dynamics. 

This list of articles (with links) covers the following topics:

• Cultural competence
• Global teams and organizations
• Neuroscience
• Global leadership
• Global diversity
• Language and accents
• Inclusion
• Unconscious bias
• Harassment
• Racism
• Hospitals & Healthcare
• Leadership
• Measurement
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Organizations

The International Journal of STEM Education is a multidisciplinary journal in subject-content education that focuses on the study of teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It is being established as a brand new, forward looking journal in the field of education. As a peer-reviewed journal, it is positioned to promote research and educational development in the rapidly evolving field of STEM education around the world.

Cultural Studies of Science Education is a peer reviewed journal that provides an interactive platform for researchers working in the multidisciplinary fields of cultural studies and science education. By taking a cultural approach and paying attention to theories from cultural studies, this new journal reflects the current diversity in the study of science education in a variety of contexts, including schools, museums, zoos, laboratories, parks and gardens, aquariums and community development, maintenance and restoration.

As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year, new fast-spreading variants have caused a surge in infections in many countries, and renewed lockdowns. The devastation of the pandemic — millions of deaths, economic strife and unprecedented curbs on social interaction — has already had a marked effect on people’s mental health. Researchers worldwide are investigating the causes and impacts of this stress, and some fear that the deterioration in mental health could linger long after the pandemic has subsided. Ultimately, scientists hope that they can use the mountains of data being collected in studies about mental health to link the impact of particular control measures to changes in people’s well-being, and to inform the management of future pandemics.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession have negatively affected many people’s mental health and created new barriers for people already suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders. During the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, a share that has been largely consistent, up from one in ten adults who reported these symptoms from January to June 2019.

In this activity, participants will play Among Us, an online multiplayer (4-10) social deduction game where individuals are categorized as either crewmate or imposter. Each round everyone either completes tasks or, as an imposter, they must kill the other crewmates without being discovered. When a body is discovered, or someone calls an emergency meeting, everyone has to explain what they were doing, and the imposter must lie and protect their identity. Players of the game are quickly aware of the other players’ various communication styles and often have to adapt a different style to successfully play the game. For example, will they be quieter when everyone converses to hide their deeds? Do they tend to talk over individuals to demonstrate their innocence? Are the pauses between their sentences something to be suspicious of?

This activity is based on the chapter by Toni Schmader, William Hall, and Alyssa Croft, “Stereotype threat in intergroup relations” (see citation below). This activity will help participants recognize the mechanisms that cause negative impacts of stereotyping. This activity explores the ways to combat negative performance by identifying and removing stereotype threats. This activity and handout is especially beneficial to instructors and program leaders in addressing issues of academic performance among marginalized and minority students.

This activity helps participants prepare to look for themes in their data and build an argument around those themes.

A recent trend in corporate marketing is to attract consumers through social responsibility. This strategy typically involves demonstrating how the company makes a difference in the community or raising awareness of a social justice issue related to the product or service that the company sells. This activity focuses on commercials created by two different companies—Gilette and Egard—and how those commercials use social responsibility to promote cultural values and beliefs surrounding masculinity.

One aspect of cultural difference is the use of land/space, which is often dictated by both formal laws and informal practices. This activity uses regional variation in what are called fence laws (“fence in” or “fence out”) to get participants talking about how their own and other cultures think about and use land/space. The facilitator will first introduce the concept of fence in/fence out and provide examples from both ends of the spectrum. Then, participants will identify where their own culture falls on the spectrum and reflect on how historical and cultural norms/values determine the use of land/space.

In this activity, participants will engage with an intercultural concept, continuum, or scale to articulate the complexity surrounding cultural norms. Participants will go on a media scavenger hunt where they will look for examples that demonstrate a “typical” value or norm associated with their culture. Then, they will search for counter-examples that defy that norm.

Real-time word cloud builders can be used to generate discussion surrounding intercultural learning concepts. This activity provides general guidance for how facilitators can use word clouds to get participants talking about intercultural learning concepts in both face-to-face and virtual environments. These word clouds will demonstrate themes/patterns in the participants thinking about the concept, as well as the concept’s complexity.

In this activity, participants will first analyze an “Emotion Labor in Careers” case study in small groups. Then, they will design their own case for the future occupation of one or more participants in their groups using the existing cases as a model.

In this activity, participants will discuss the concept of emotional labor and reflect on the emotional labor that they and others perform in various situations. They will first think of a situation where they felt intense feelings and then discuss what it would be like to have to either suppress those feelings or pretend that they shared those feelings with someone else. This will then lead into a discussion about coping with situations where emotional labor is required.