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Diverse Cultures (diverse + culture)
Selected AbstractsEngaging Science Education Within Diverse CulturesCURRICULUM INQUIRY, Issue 3 2003James Gaskell At the heart of discussions about an appropriate school science in a diverse world are questions about the status of modern science versus other schemes for understanding the natural world. Does modern science occupy a privileged epistemological position with respect to alternative beliefs? There has been a movement from an emphasis on replacing students' ideas based on traditional cultures to one of respecting those ideas and adding to them an understanding of modern science ideas and an exploration of when each might be useful. Respecting both sets of explanations need not deny discussions about credibility in particular contexts. School science, however, is always located within wider educational and political structures. Broad elements of the community must be engaged in dialogue concerning what knowledge about the natural world is important, to whom, and for what purposes. [source] Head and neck cancer in India , review of practices for prevention policyORAL DISEASES, Issue 7 2009A Mishra India, with a population of over a billion is likely to increase global concern on cancer, particularly that of head and neck. The increasing immigration of Indians is likely to influence other parts of the world and an analysis of cancer-related practices could serve as a model for defining cancer-prevention strategies across the globe. The objective of this study was to review the anti- and pro-carcinogenic practices in India pertaining to head and neck cancer. The published literature on practices, compounds/chemicals/crude reparations related to the head and neck cancer in India was retrieved for analysis, while unauthentic or local information was discarded. The anti-carcinogenic practices prevalent in India consisted of classically varied diet being predominantly vegetarian, along with spices, condiments, beverages etc. The pro-carcinogenic practices predominantly include all shades of alcoholism and tobacco intake. Moreover, the diverse culture of the country reflects unique regional practices. The enormous diversity in practices related to head and neck cancer in India is very unique and interesting. Cancer prevention strategies need to focus on these trends to define a better global prevention. [source] Variation in Food Purchases: A Study of Inter-Ethnic and Intra-Ethnic Group Patterns Involving the Hispanic CommunityFAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001Geoffrey D. Paulin The Hispanic community in the United States is growing rapidly. Understanding food expenditure patterns for this group is of increasing importance. Yet, as implied by the term Hispanic community, most literature treats Hispanics as one group rather than as a collection of diverse cultures with some common linguistic and other characteristics. This article uses data from the 1995 and 1996 U.S. Consumer Expenditure Diary Surveys to examine food expenditure patterns for Hispanics as a group compared to non-Hispanics and for subgroups within the Hispanic community (i.e., families of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, or other Spanish origin). The data show not only that Hispanics in general have different food expenditure patterns than non-Hispanics, but also, and perhaps more important, that the subgroups within the Hispanic community are not homogeneous in their food expenditure patterns. Researchers should recognize the diversity in the Hispanic population when considering goals for nutritional and related policies. [source] A cross-cultural test of the work-family interface in 48 countriesJOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2004E. Jeffrey Hill This study tests a cross-cultural model of the work-family interface. Using multigroup structural equation modeling with IBM survey responses from 48 countries (N= 25,380), results show that the same work-family interface model that fits the data globally also fits the data in a four-group model composed of culturally related groups of countries, as well as a two-group gender model. This supports a transportable rather than a culturally specific or gender-specific work-family interface model: notably, job flexibility related to reduced work-family conflict, reduced family-work conflict, and enhanced work-family fit. Work-family fit related to increased job satisfaction. Findings suggest that investment by multinational companies in job flexibility initiatives may represent a dual-agenda way to benefit men, women, and businesses in diverse cultures. [source] African-American Developmental Disability Discourses: Implications for Policy DevelopmentJOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 1 2005Peggy S. Terhune Abstract, Formal developmental disabilities services are often underutilized, especially by low-income African-American families. This study examined the basis for interactions and service use preferences of African-American woman who cared for an adult female child with a disability. Diverse African-American perspectives were observed by analyzing the discourse of 11 low-income African-American carers using a direct informant interview technique. Two distinct discourses were identified: a "secular professional" discourse and a "spiritual kin" discourse. Families using the secular professional discourse made use of formal developmental disabilities services in a manner similar to European-American heritage families. Families using the spiritual kin discourse tended to rely on natural or informal supports rather than the developmental disabilities service system, as the system did not exemplify the values that these families profess. It was observed that the discourses result in two distinct worldviews, and two distinct ways of accessing the developmental disabilities system. Recommendations are proffered for changes within the developmental disabilities service system to accommodate diverse cultures and families. A key recommendation involves modifying the system to accommodate worldviews of disability other than the currently used scientific biomedical view. [source] Tool to classify stool consistency: Content validity and use by persons of diverse culturesNURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES, Issue 2 2003Donna Zimmaro Bliss PhD Abstract Developing and testing the quality of a research instrument, including its ability to be used by culturally diverse persons, is an important methodological objective. The present study determined the content validity and feasibility of culturally diverse persons to use an instrument to classify stool consistency that has been employed in research on fecal incontinence. Five multidisciplinary clinicians experienced in assessing stool consistency determined the tool to possess content validity. Twenty-four foreign nationals of diverse cultures who spoke English as a second language (ESL) classified the consistency of nine stools using word only or word plus diagram descriptions. The agreement of the ratings of the participants were compared with the those of an experienced investigator. There was no significant difference between the ratings of participants using either type of description. There was good agreement between the classifications of the participants and those of the investigator. The findings of this study contribute to the quality of our instrument and support its use by culturally diverse persons. [source] Perceptual Diversity: Is Polyphasic Consciousness Necessary for Global Survival?ANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Issue 1 2001Tara W. Lumpkin Perceptual diversity allows human beings to access knowledge through a variety of perceptual processes, rather than merely through everyday waking reality. Many of these perceptual processes are transrational altered states of consciousness (meditation, trance, dreams, imagination) and are not considered valid processes for accessing knowledge by science (which is based primarily upon quantification, reductionism, and the experimental method). According to Erika Bourguignon's (1973) research in the 1970s, approximately 90 percent of cultures have institutionalized forms of altered states of consciousness, meaning that such types of consciousness are to be found in most human societies and are "normal." Now, however, transrational consciousness is being devalued in many societies as it is simultaneously being replaced by the monophasic consciousness of "developed" nations. Not only are we are losing (1) biodiversity (biocomplexity) in environments and (2) cultural diversity in societies, we also are losing (3) perceptual diversity in human cognitive processes. All three losses of diversity (bio, cultural, and cognitive) are interrelated. Cultures that value perceptual diversity are more adaptable than cultures that do not. Perceptually diverse cultures are better able to understand whole systems (because they use a variety of perceptual processes to understand systems) than are cultures that rely only on the scientific method, which dissects systems. They also are better stewards of their environments, because they grasp the value of the whole of biodiversity (biocomplexity) through transrational as well as scientific processes. Understanding through perceptual diversity leads to a higher degree of adaptability and evolutionary competence. From the perspective of an anthropologist who has worked with development organizations, development will continue to destroy perceptual diversity because it exports the dominant cognitive process of "developed" nations, i.e., monophasic consciousness. Destroying perceptual diversity, in turn, leads to the destruction of cultural diversity and biocomplexity. Drawing from research I conducted among traditional healers in Namibia, I conclude that development organizations need to listen to those who use transrational perceptual processes and also need to find a way to incorporate and validate perceptual diversity in their theoretical and applied frameworks. [source] | |||||||||||||