Early definitions of cultural diversity focused primarily on race/ethnicity, with subsequent inclusion of age, gender, sexual orientation, class, religion, geography, and a combination of positionalities. More recently, social justice has resurfaced as a component of cultural diversity to explain experiences of people of color, women, and…

Describes a game called UPSIDE DOWN that is designed for use in higher education courses or in corporate training to sensitize participants to cultural issues when interacting with groups with different backgrounds. Both intragroup and intergroup interactions are described, suggestions for debriefing are given, and a complete set of rules is…

Describes the use of simulation games in cross-cultural training, noting that participants in these programs are usually adults. Highlights include a history of cross-cultural training; diversity training; learning processes; motivation; practice; shared experience; examples of simulation games used for cross-cultural training; and trainers who…

Presents a framework for identifying important issues for instructional design and delivery in global settings. Highlights include cultural factors in global training; an instructional design model; corporate globalization strategy; communication and training norms; language barriers; implicit value differences; and technical and legal…

This last in a series of articles describing IBM's Opportunity Management Program focuses on the transfer of training programs to different cultures. Problems with translating materials into other languages are discussed, helpful attitudes are suggested, continuity is considered, and an overview of all the articles in this series is provided.…

Education and training of management personnel in developing nations have been patterned after the American system. Unfortunately, efforts at transplanting such knowledge has neglected the cultural nuances unique to the various nations, resulting in incomplete success. Intercultural communication barriers can be posed by such cultural features as…

Discussion of cultural bias and cultural differences focuses on the need to acknowledge them and take them into account when planning and conducting training. An example of differences in preschool education in three countries is given; language and communication differences are considered; and possible solutions to cultural bias are suggested.…

Gives a working definition of culture and describes a training program for Canadian Indians designed to reinforce and clarify their cultural identity while developing marketable skills. The main features of the program are consultation with community leaders and participation of trainees in goal-setting and training design. (SK)

Describes a project organized by the Organization of American States to address educational needs in the areas of formal education, teacher training, and non-formal education in South America and the Caribbean. Personnel and training are explained, and failures of the project due to cultural differences are discussed. (LRW)

Major cultural differences impeded the smooth transfer of a 14 day management education program, which had been very successfully used in Western settings, to an Asian situation. Thirteen Chinese and two Caucasians, all of whom worked in Southeast Asia and had management degrees, attended the program to improve their skills in influencing those…

Explores the problems of international teaching assistants (ITA) in graduate education programs, stemming mostly from cultural, language, and educational philosophy differences. A case study of one university's attempts to investigate problems connected with ITA training identifies objectives for selection, admission, training, and retention of…

This final report describes the activities of Project Dakota Outreach, an early education program for children with disabilities designed to assist families living in Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Empowerment and Enterprise Zones in Texas, New York, and Minnesota. The major feature of the model is power-balancing, a concept…

Describes the Library Reference Assistant Program at the State University of New York College at Oswego that was developed to recruit and instruct students of color and nontraditional students in assisting librarians at the reference desk. Topics discussed include financial support; collaboration; costs; and training and evaluation. (Contains…

Four articles discuss library services to diverse user groups. Highlights include the Seattle Public Library's Human Diversity Training Program for library staff; cultural diversity at the University of Northern Colorado, including library collection development; information needs of physicists in special libraries; and library services to…

Purpose: To explain why cross-cultural negotiations simulations are an excellent, active, and dramatic means of training employees to be culturally adaptable and literate. Design/methodology/approach: Through a discussion of how drama plays an important role in creating learning that lasts, and by comparing passive, traditional classroom training…