Essay Instructions: please use simple English because I am an ESL student.
Please only use academic published books, journals and other reliable sources.
Unreliable or non-academic sources are not allowed.
written report that should help students develop intercultural awareness through critical analysis.
The focus should be reflection on China and Great Britain to report the BP oil spill 2010 accident.
For the individual report you will have to compare the way it is treated by the media of China and Great Britain throughout a period of six months, from October 2010 until March 2011.
In order to do so you must constantly collect evidence that you will then print and put in your report as an appendix (e.g. articles). You must have at least two articles per month, one from a news source in your country of origin (China) and the other one from a news source in your host country (Britain). Make sure that you download the English version of each of your articles.
While you collect your evidence, you must carry out the comparisons on the basis of the following aspects:
1) the use of language to construct social reality (e.g. how is language used? What are the most frequent expressions? What could be the reactions in the readers?)
2) the presence or absence of stereotypical elements and the implications that come from this (e.g. what stereotypes is the article drawing on? Why? If stereotypes are absent, what does that mean? What are the implications?)
3) the presence or absence of elements of cultural relativity and ethnocentrism and the implications that come from this (e.g. are there any issues of ethnocentrism? Where do they emerge from? What are the implications?)
4) the extent to which the relationships among the actors/organizations involved in the chosen issue are important for addressing the main problems or difficulties
5) the metaphors used and what those say about the two cultures
6) the prevailing discourse genres and what those genres say about the two cultures
As you would have noticed, the main aspects to emphasize in the assignment are tied to the lectures The electronic copy will allow us to verify word length and to check for plagiarism.
STYLE AND FORMAT
The style should be formal. Report format should be used with a table of contents, clear sections with headings, and appendices as appropriate. The report should be produced using Palatino Linotype or Book Antiqua
STRUCTURE
1 Executive Summary ??" a very brief description of the overall content of the report (max 250-300 words);
2 Introduction ??" here you should introduce the media issue you will analyse and the two countries you are going to focus on in your report (don’t duplicate the same information as in Appendix 1);
3 Analysis (Analytical Part) - this should be the main part of your report dedicated to a critical comparative cultural study of how the media issue you chose is dealt with by the media in the two countries. You must be analytical rather than descriptive in your approach in order to meet the main objective of ICE Report. Your work will be marked down if you just define the concepts and theories without evaluating the implications that emerge from applying them to the media issue object of your analysis!
4 Conclusions ??" in this section you should discuss the main implications that emerged from your critical analysis;
5 References - list of references (which should be extensive and wide ranging) using Harvard Referencing System (Guidelines available electronically from NTU Library website)
6 Appendices - these must include the two articles per month (at least 12 in total) that you downloaded and the Personal Development Plan (which format is on the NOW). It may also include further suggested reading that can unlock and further support the points you argued in the report.
Please remember!
All sources of theory and data must be fully referenced using the Harvard
System. Under no circumstances should websites and travel books be copied without full references being given. Changing just a few words is also unacceptable.
Of course you should direct the reader to relevant sources etc, but do not lift sentences or ideas without attribution. Any statements without supporting Harvard references will be deemed inadmissible.
If something has been observed, research should be carried out to find corroboration or otherwise in various sources (preferably not just one book or website). At the end, you should provide a List of References that demonstrates you have read widely from a range of sources: books, newspapers, academic articles and websites. For further guidance on plagiarism and how to avoid, please refer to the Student Support Guide on this subject.
SPECIFIC ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR THE ICE REPORT
1. Knowledge & Argument (60%) ??" the students should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of cultural theories, provide a critical evaluation of selected concepts, highlight the main differences when applying them to the media issue object of their analysis.
2. Critical Reflection (20%) ??" in the ‘conclusions’ students should be able to reflect upon the cultural implications that emerge from comparing the media issue in the two different settings.
3. Structure & Design (10%) - the style of the report should be formal following the recommended structure with attention to details such as title page, table of contents, headers, footers and appendices. The word limit should not exceed 3500 (+/- 10%). The written style should be mature and ideas and points should be communicated impressively.
4. References and Appendices (10%) ??" students should reference according to Harvard style and appendices should be used effectively to support the main body of the report.
RECOMMENDED READING
There is not one key text, which must be purchased, but there are several which cover different aspects of the material. These should be available in the library, although remember there are many of you and you should not leave preparation and reading until the last minute. Search for relevant articles too.
The following represents a list of primary sources of literature, but further suggested reading accompanies each lecture outline.
? SCOLLON, R., WONG SCOLLON, S. (2001). Intercultural Communication, 2nd Edition. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
? TIETZE, S., COHEN, L. and MUSSON, G. (2003). Understanding Organizations through Language. London: Sage.
? BROWAEYS, M., PRICE, R. (2008). Understanding Cross-cultural Management. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
? HODGETTS, R., LUTHANS, F. and DOH, J. (2006). International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behaviour, 6th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
? KOEN, C.I. (2005). Comparative International Management. London: McGraw Hill.
? BEAMER, L. and VARNER, I. (2001) Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace. 2nd ed. (sl):McGraw Hill Irwin.
? GUDYKUNST, W.B. TING-TOOMEY, S. and TSUKASA, N., eds. (1996). Communication in Personal Relationships across Cultures. CA: Sage.
? JOYNT, P. and WARNER, M. (2002). Managing Across Cultures: Issues and Perspectives. London: International Thomson Business Press.
? LEWIS, R. D. (2000). When Cultures Collide: Managing Successfully Across Cultures. 2nd ed. London: Nicholas Brealey.
? MEAD, R. (1998). International Management: Cross-cultural Dimensions. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell.
? SAMOVAR, L. and PORTER, R. (eds.) (2003). Intercultural Communication: A Reader. 10th ed. Belmont CA: Wadsworth. (Earlier editions also available, but content and contributors do vary.)
? TROMPENAARS, F. (1993). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Business. London: Nicholas Brealey.
