| The purpose of the study is to gain insight into the intercultural communication of people from the various countries who are working together to build and operate the International Space Station. It is hoped that this study increases understanding of the intercultural communication process through examining a technical endeavor such as the Space Station Program. Insights gained through this study can be applied to other multinational groups and used to help train team members to communicate effectively across cultures.; The study addresses the following primary research questions: (1) How do cultural, normative and linguistic differences affect the communication process? (2) What type of shared culture is being negotiated?; This study is situated within a variety of intercultural communication theories that are brought together in a new model for intercultural communication. The study employs the critical ethnographic methods for an interview study, as taught by Dr. Phil Carspecken, Indiana University.; The individuals who participated in this study were from a variety of countries involved in the International Space Station Program residing at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. A total of twenty-two participants were selected for interviews, including engineers, trainers, flight directors, administrators and astronauts.; The study notes a number of cultural, normative and linguistic differences in how the partners establish trust, build relationships, form respect, show pride, save face/avoid embarrassment, communicate, make decisions, view age and gender, personal hygiene and free time. In order to work together as an effective team, the partners make sincere attempts to understand each other and reach compromises.; While a shared space ideology exists regardless of national origin, the partners do not share all of the same specific goals or objectives for participation. The study finds that politics and economics distort the shared culture by forcing people to make decisions that go against their better judgment. The partners, for the most part, feel good about their relationships with each other, with the exception of the American-Russian relationship, which both sides agree can be improved. The data indicate that a culture is being created in which all sides are struggling to understand one another and work together as a multinational team for the greater goal of space exploration and research. |
