Aug 20, 2015
Selen [email protected]
Teachers College, Columbia University
Cultural intelligence What is it? Why do we need it?
Virtual worlds for fostering cultural intelligence
Cultural intelligence in context - D.I.D.I Initiative
Discussion and Conclusion
IQ SQ (Thorndike&Stein, 1937) PQ (Sternberg, et al., 2000) Theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner,
1983) EQ (Coleman, 1995) CQ (Ang&Earley, 2003)
Intelligence is more than cognitive ability (Sternberg et al, 1986)
Background
Globalization, advancement in information, communication, transportation, logistic
=> Smaller and flat world (Friedman, 2005)
=> increased cultural diversity in work place => increased cultural diversity in student base at schools.
Background/CQ
An individual’s capability to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity (Ang, Van Dyne, & Koh, 2005; Earley & Ang, 2003; Earley & Mosakowski, 2005).
Allows individuals to understand and act appropriately across a wide range of cultures (Thomas, 2006).
Background/CQ
Multi-dimensional construct (Ang&Earley, 2003)
Background/CQ
Poor CQ leads to stereotyping, unnecessary conflict, delays and leadership failure.
High levels of CQ leads to strong mastery and sense of emotional display and physical presence.
People with high CQ are very good at getting along with people from other cultures (Thomas, 2006) Necessary for those aim to work in foreign markets.
Related to interpersonal trust, acceptance and integration by other team members and development of a global identity(Shokef &Erez, 2008)
Background/CQ
Language acquisition Diversity of social contacts International work/studying abroad
experiences
(Shannon&Begley, 2008)
Background/CQ
Content Artifacts (i.e. clothing, environment…)
Multi-modality See pictures and graphics Hear language, music Read
ImmersiveAvatars
Gestures, Animations
Background/Virtual Worlds
Virtual forbidden city – immersive replica of Forbidden City in Beijing (a partnership between the Palace Museum and IBM)
Simulations to train soldiers to get familiar with Arab cultures-
funded by Department of Defense.
(Taylor&Sim,2009)
Cultures in Second Life
Background/Virtual Worlds
IBM uses SL for hosting employee meetings, conduct employee training and even evaluates managers on their cross-cultural/geography skills.
Useful in connecting people around the globe to drive collaboration.
IBM has built 12 "virtual islands" in SL Aims to use them to explore how to
conduct business in the virtual world.
Background/Virtual Worlds
TURKEY – BOSPORUS IN SL MEXICO
Background/Virtual Worlds
• Values of people and belief about the place• Greetings and noob welcome• Intimacy • Changing appearance
(Tirthali, 2010)
Background/Virtual Worlds
• How to portray ‘Indian’?• Bollywood as the ‘homogenized’ Indian culture
“…. Bollywood Music [The large collection of Indian Clothes](Saree Salwar Kurta Sherwani Bindi Lehenga Sari Mehendi and other accessories)”
(Tirthali, 2010)
Background/Virtual Worlds
User Created Content is Good! Cultural Artifacts
▪ Buildings▪ Music▪ Items▪ Clothing
Having Avatars is Good! Animations Gestures Maybe use NPCs if someone cannot be at the
place 24/7
Background/Virtual Worlds
Cultural intelligence is not static but evolves continuously through learning from social interactions (Thomas et al., 2008). Therefore,
To what extend can virtual worlds foster individuals’ (especially teens’) cultural intelligence?
How can we enhance individual’s cultural intelligence in virtual worlds? (Formal training? Role playing? Etc.)
What are the affordances of virtual worlds for enhancing individuals’ CQ and how effective are they?
Background/Study
About the Project
Dream It. Do It Initiative’ http://www.genv.net/didi
Project Partners & Funders Global Kids
www.globalkids.org
Youth Venturewww.genv.net
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• Examine to what extent a virtual medium can promote youth changemaking
• Explore online/offline cross pollination of youth development and changemaking
• Determine the extent to which online endeavors affect youths’ mindsets about leadership and initiative
• Test whether Youth Venturers could efficiently tip a virtual world from a culture of self-interest to promoting societal good
Background/Study
Background/Study
Dream It. Do It. WorkshopSetting the ground rules
How does D.I.D.I. Work?
Background/Study
Dream It. Do It. WorkshopYouth connecting problems they have identified with their passions and skills
How does D.I.D.I. Work?
Background/Study
When teams are ready to launch, D.I.D.I. provides:
• Seed funding (up to US $1,000 per team) • Ongoing tools and support• Peer Mentors to provide expertise and support• A network of fellow Venturers both within and outside of
TSL• An identity as part of the global Youth Venture
movement (GenV.net)
Selection Panel
How does D.I.D.I. Work?
Background/Study
Participants in D.I.D.I.– Majority were between 13 and17 years old.– Teens from general TSL population– Teens from after-school programs (organized
groups), NYData Collection
– Pre-Post surveys– Action Plans of Teams– Workshop chat logs – will be– Interviews with team leaders– Survey administered to drop-outs
Analysis- Deductive and Inductive analysis of data using NVivo 8
Background/Study
About the Project : Participants & Data Collection
Study
Findings: Participants & Ventures
In 18 months,
DIDI reached 185 youths.
39 teams were formed. 37 teams created an action plan. 35 went to the selection panel. 24 launched ventures. 15 active launched ventures by May 2009. 13 teams had members from different
countries.
Ventures ranged wide areas spanning preventive health, social health, animal welfare and healthy atmosphere in SL
Goal – to find a common topic Talked about their local communities Hobbies Passions Worries
A common venture idea for many international teams were environment (especially climate change) or helping out new TSL residents
Study
Findings: What helped with increasing CQ -Searching for a venture idea
Study
Findings: Increased Metacognitive CQ and Motivational CQ
• “I liked working with diverse groups and learn about and from them… and I am from Africa” – Global Warming
• “It was fun. We learned some about the differences of communities. Also, we always had to consider everyone timezone when we wanted to have meeting, which can sometimes be a hard thing to do.” – Profound Hams
• “It was interesting as I had the privilege of socializing with people from other cultures….I would like to do that more in the future…” – Motion Mall
• “…there are others in the worlds who wants to do good things like I do. ” - Above It
“Expressing certain opinions or ideas among a team can be far more challenging compared to working alone, especially in a virtual world... It was not easy but we were able to agree on things” –Motion Mall
“You can access the large community of people around the world. It’s fun to work with them” – A New Tomorrow
Study
Findings: Increased Metacognitive CQ
S- Finding evidence of increased motivational and metacognitive CQ.
W - Did not use a test to measure (like Ang et al.(2007)’s 4 factor 20 item CQ inventory).
W -Studied CQ as a byproduct of the project. What happens if the aim is to increase
participants’ CQ?
Conclusion/Discussion
Discussion: Strength & Weakness of this study
Mindfulness in virtual teams tends to be higher than it is in their face-to-face counterparts, although face-to-face contact is an undeniable asset when building a relationship. The virtual context helps people focus and pay attention to the right issues (Maznevski,2008).
Need for projects to explore potential of virtual worlds for fostering CQ.
Need for a more robust study focuses on enhancing CQ with more robust measurements.
Need for culture inventories Animations, clothing, avatars
Conclusion/Discussion
Discussion: Future Studies?
Experiential learning is needed to form behavioral patterns which support cultural intelligence. Cases, role plays simulation
Understanding why a positive or a negative outcome occurred and how to repeat or avoid this outcome in the future is part of a life-long learning process-
Conclusion/Discussion
Discussion: Future Studies – Emphasize Experiential Learning
People learn new behaviors through not only their own experiences and the results of those experiences but also through observing the behaviors and consequences of others.
Social learning theory describes 4 elements necessary for learning : Attention Retention Reproduction Motivation
Conclusion/Discussion
Discussion: Future Studies – Emphasize Social Learning Theory
Initial qualitative analysis of data provided evidence that virtual worlds can be effective in improving individuals’ CQ.
Conclusion/Discussion
Conclusion: Virtual Worlds
• Increased globalization across most industries has prompted observers to pay attention to the need for augmenting cultural intelligence in workers.
• Exploiting cultural diversity is the key to unlimited innovation and growth.
Virtual worlds offer unique possibilities for a virtual team leaders to think differently (Kahai et al., 2007).
Conclusion/Discussion
Conclusion
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Taylor, G., & Sims, E. (2009). Developing Believable Interactive Cultural Characters for Cross-Cultural Training. Online Communities, 282–291.
Ng, K.-Y., & Earley, P. C. (2006). Culture + Intelligence: Old Constructs, New Frontiers. Group Organization Management, 31.
Adler N.J. & Gunderson, A. (Eds), International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior (pp. 126-156). Florence, KY: South-Western Educational Publishing
Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., & Koh, C.K.S. (2006). Personality correlates of the four factor model of cultural intelligence. Group and Organization Management, 31, 100-123.
Crowne, K.A. (2008). What leads to cultural intelligence. Business Horizons, 51, 391-399. Earley, P. C. (2002). Redefining interactions across cultures and organizations: Moving
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282-291). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Triandis, H.C(2008). Foreword:Cultural Intelligence. In Ang, S&Van Dyne, L. (Eds.)
Handbook of Cultural Intelligence: Theory,Measurement, and Applications (pp. xi-xiii). Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Selen [email protected]
Teachers College, Columbia University