Research Interests

My research interests in a broad sense are related to understanding the development of social theory in a historical context. In my studies of Spanish history, I have been especially interested in the censorship phenomenon, not only by analyzing censorship criteria and mechanisms, but also its repercussions in the development of political and social theory.

More recently my attention has shifted to Intercultural Communication. I found that the explanation of cultural differences in this new discipline is weak or non-existent (“historically eclectic”, as Hofstede states). I am interested in understanding whether observing and measuring cultural behaviour lead to valid conclusions, and to what extent these observations are determined by cultural perspective.

At the same time, my professional interest in the development of higher education curricula has led me to explore the relation between academic learning and professional performance. I especially seek to understand the development of managerial expertise and to apply these findings in the design of hospitality programs.

Dostoyevski Murals too grim

Pictures of the new Dostoyevski murals in the new Moscow metro station. As many other stations, it looks impressive and somewhat intimidating. I hope we actually get to see the greyscale marbles, in spite of the fear of side-effects.

According to the Moscow Times, the opening of the new Dostoyevskaya station in the Moscow metro was cancelled over fears that the grim murals may lead to suicides. The controversy started after pictures of the construction site (including the murals) were published on a blog at http://d0cent.livejournal.com/124730.html:

I-Shou University

Last May 6 and 7 I visited I-Shou University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. I gave two guest lectures on "Intercultural Communication" and "Learning Management and Becoming a Manager: Two Different Things".

I-Shou University is part of a large complex on the outskirts of Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second city, with the University (15,000 students), an international school, a hospital, a 4 and a 5 star hotel, a mall and a theme park (both to be opened soon), all owned by the same investor. I understand that the "E" in E-Da World (name of the theme park and mall) refers to the owner, "Da" standing for "big". As all (167!) Taiwanese universities, I-Shou faces the problem of adverse demographics and has opted for an active internationalization policy. Our cooperation is the result of this, and I hope this experience will be extended to the international school and ours in Madrid.

My visit was to the International College of the university. Hard to tell, from a short visit, how good a university really is; facilities are hardly an indicator. I was impressed by the I-Shou students, who not only showed up in large numbers on their (lecture-free) Friday, right before the Mothers' Day weekend, but also asked serious questions. The first thing, almost unthinkable in Europe, the latter very rare; one should expect this to be even harder for more introverted students.

We have two students now doing their internship at the Crowne Plaza during its (sometimes chaotic) opening stage. "After this", they confided me, "we can face any challenge in the world".

Come on, kids, there is the garbage truck!

A cross-cultural experience in Taiwan.

A happy melody sounds through the streets, kids come running out of their houses. In stead of coins for the ice-cream vendor they hold garbage bags.

A Sampling of Chinglish

For the last two years, the Shanghai Commission for the Management of Language Use has been trying to clean up English-language signs and menus to rid them of their malapropisms, like these examples.

Source: New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/03/world/asia/20100503_CHINGLISH.html