Notes from IEEE IPCC99 Conference
New Orleans, Louisiana, September 7-10, 1999

Technical Communication Between East and West:
Re-Examining How We Practice International Technical Communication: Panel

Building a Theoretical Framework for Intercultural Communication in Technical Communication Pedagogy

Constance E. Kampf
University of Minnesota

The presenter has an M.A. in teaching English as a second language from the University of Minnesota, where she is pursuing a Ph.D. in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication. She has studied in Germany, France, Venezuela, and Tunisia; and has also traveled in Peru, Egypt, Jordan, Austria, and Switzerland.

Session Description: The presenter had the unenviable task of covering for her two co-presenters, both of whom had to cancel at the last minute. She responded well to the challenge, not only discussing her own topic but hitting the high points of theirs. "Building a Theoretical Framework" presented a number of intercultural communication frameworks that can help us formulate a coherent theoretical base for technical communicators to draw upon in developing a more sophisticated understanding of intercultural communication in the technical communication classroom, thereby preparing students for the global workplace.

• Culture as dimensional: unconscious framework... "software of the mind" (Hofstede, 1997)
• Culture as learnable: sets of knowledge and skills than can be learned and developed
• Culture as interactional: culture and intercultural communication are part of a dynamic system
• Hall's Dimensions
   
• Past vs future orientation. Cultures tend to place greater or lesser importance in one direction or the other (Western: future; Eastern: past)
• Monochronic vs. polychronic: In monochronic time, people tend to do one thing at a time (Germany); in polychronic, people tend to multi-task (France)
• High vs. low context: In homogeneous society (e.g., Japan), context plays a critical role in communication; less so in a heterogeneous society (e.g., U.S.), where more cues are necessary (low context)
• Hofstede's Dimensions of Organizational Culture
   
• Process- vs. results-oriented. Process vs. product (play vs. win)
• Employee vs. job. Human-centered vs. task-oriented.
• Parochial vs. professional. Family/social vs. work.
• Open vs. closed flow of information. Accessibility (all vs. hierarchically controlled)
• Loose vs. tight control. Matrix vs. vertical.
• Normative vs. pragmatic. Status quo vs. customer-driven.
• Learned nature of intercultural relationships: Culture A's initial impression of Culture B will actually be B2, a distant reflection of B, proceeding to B1 (a closer reflection) over a period of interaction... and eventually to a true impression (B2) (B).
  
  
  
• Bennett Model of Intercultural Sensitivity
   
• Ethnocentric category
   
• Denial: they don't exist
• Defense: they exist, but they're very different
• Minimization: they're not really so different after all
• Ethnorelative category
   
• Acceptance: they are different, but that's OK
• Adaption: change behavior to adjust to the differences
• Integration: total assimilation; biculturality (hard to achieve without having been raised across cultures)
• Culture as interactional: expose students to cross-cultural dimensions, developing their skills to adjust to cultural differences.
   
• First, provide knowledge (textbooks on intercultural communication)
• Then, provide scenarios/role-playing type of activities ("bafa-bafa" speech game) to help bridge the gap between theory and practice
• Ideally, students should get some overseas experience, but this is not always feasible from a cost standpoint

Towards a More International Union: Experience of Establishing Professional Organizations for Technical Communicators
in Europe and the Middle East

Saul Carliner
Bentley College

The author is an assistant professor at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. He is a past international president and associate fellow in the Society for Technical Communication.

Session Description: Carliner was not able to attend IPCC99 to make his presentation, but his paper is available in the Proceedings. The paper explores the challenges of establishing a chapter of a U.S.-based professional organization for technical communicators (STC) in an area outside of the United States.

The Message Sent vs. the Message Received: Designing Training Materials for Central and Eastern Europeans

University of Minnesota
Victoria M. Mikelonis

The author is a professor in the Rhetoric Department at the University of Minnesota. She has done extensive training in Central and Eastern European nations over the past 8 years.

Session Description: Mikelonis was not able to attend IPCC99 to make her presentation, but her paper is available in the Proceedings. The paper is a case study embedded in theory which discusses the problems inherent in the cross-cultural dissemination of ideas and transfer of technology. It provides insight into how target audiences perceive the messages we send through their own cultural lenses.