Cultural Context (cultural + context)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Humanities and Social Sciences

Kinds of Cultural Context

  • different cultural context


  • Selected Abstracts


    Breast Cancer Genes and the Gendering of Knowledge: Science and Citizenship in the Cultural Context of the "New" Genetics by Sahra Gibbon

    AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Issue 1 2008
    JULIET M. MCMULLIN
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    Organisational Justice and Citizenship Behaviors: A Study in the Portuguese Cultural Context

    APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
    Arménio Rego
    Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that justice and organisational citizenship behaviors (OCB), as well as the relationship between them, are not culture free. However, most studies have been carried out in parts of Asia and Northern Europe, and especially in the USA, shedding little understanding on the dynamics of justice and OCB in less-studied contexts. We show how four dimensions of organisational justice predict four dimensions of OCB in an under-studied context,Portugal, a feminine, collectivistic, high power distance and low performance-oriented culture,a profile that is antipodal to that of US culture. A sample of 269 employees reported their justice perceptions, their OCBs being described by supervisors. The findings suggest that: (a) employees are more sensitive to the interactional dimensions of justice than to the procedural and distributive ones; (b) among the interactional dimensions, the interpersonal one is more predictive of some OCB dimensions than the informational one. Des données théoriques et empiriques suggèrent que la justice et les comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle (OCB), tout comme la relation entre eux, ne sont pas sans base culturelle. Toutefois, la plupart des études ont été menées dans certaines parties de l'Asie, de l'Europe du Nord, et plus particulièrement aux USA, ce qui restreint la compréhension des dynamiques de la justice et des OCB qui peuvent être appréhendés dans d'autres contextes. Nous montrons comment 4 dimensions de la justice organisationnelle prédisent 4 dimensions des OCB dans un contexte peu étudié,le Portugal, une culture féminine, orientée vers la collectivité, avec une forte distance au pouvoir et de faibles performances,, un profil aux antipodes de la culture américaine. Chacun des 269 employés de l'échantillon indique ses perceptions de la justice, ses OCB ont été décrits par ses supérieurs. Les résultats montrent que (a) les employés sont plus sensibles aux dimensions interactionnelles de la justice qu'à celles procédurales et distributives (b) parmi les dimensions interactionnelles, l'interpersonnelle est plus prédictive de certaines dimensions des OCB plutôt que l'informationnelle. [source]


    Introduction to the Special Section,Gendered Power in Cultural Contexts: Capturing the Lived Experience of Couples

    FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 1 2009
    CARMEN KNUDSON-MARTIN PH.D.
    First page of article [source]


    REMEDIATION AND LOCAL GLOBALIZATIONS: How Taiwan's "Digital Video Knights-Errant Puppetry" Writes the History of the New Media in Chinese

    CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
    TERI SILVIO
    This article analyzes the Pili International Multimedia Company's "digital video knights-errant puppetry" serials, a popular culture genre unique to Taiwan, to answer two questions. First, how do digital technologies, originally developed to meet the needs of the American military and entertainment industries, become embedded in a different cultural context? Second, how does this embedding allow media technologies to become something through which distinctly local models of globalization itself may be imagined? Analyzing both the style of the serials and the discourse of producers and fans, I argue that new media technologies, despite their foreign origins, may not only be adapted or resisted, but may also come to be imagined as emerging from local aesthetics and local needs. Through the specific ways they utilize both digital and traditional technologies, the Pili producers and fans construct a utopian vision of what globalization might look like if Taiwan were at the center. [source]


    Never the Twain Shall Meet: A Memetic Analysis of Poverty Perceptions

    DEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 2 2009
    Federica Misturelli
    Poverty, as defined within development discourse, does not fully capture the reality in which the poor live, which is formed also by values and beliefs specific to a given culture and setting. This article uses a memetic approach to investigating the reality of poverty among pastoralists and urban dwellers in Kenya. By distinguishing the semantic space and the cultural context in which the definitions are framed, it enables the researcher to make sufficient generalisations while also recognising the differences between cultures. The results demonstrate how pastoralists and urban dwellers conceptualise poverty differently particularly in regard to causes. Further, the article suggests that development actors often utilise a Western construct which does not entirely reflect the values and beliefs of the poor. [source]


    TOWARD A SEMIOTIC THEORY OF CHOICE AND OF LEARNING

    EDUCATIONAL THEORY, Issue 3 2006
    Andrew Stables
    Such a view, Stables and Gough argue, has the potential to displace or circumvent essentially Cartesian models currently dominant within learning theory (cognitivism and responses to it) and within neoclassical economics (rational choice and responses to it). It thus enables synergies between theories of learning and of economic behavior, allowing for greater consistency in thinking about (but not necessarily prescribing for) both educational policy and provision, on the one hand, and curriculum and pedagogy, on the other. In addition, the authors claim that giving semiotics a foundational role in educational thinking provides a basis for the broader development of liberal political thought within a postmodern cultural context. [source]


    Psychosocial Adjustment of People with Epilepsy in Hong Kong

    EPILEPSIA, Issue 9 2001
    Vanessa W. Y. Lau
    Summary: ,Purpose: In light of the issues associated with the psychosocial adjustment of people with epilepsy that have been widely reported, this study examined these issues within a Chinese cultural context. Methods: Fifty patients with epilepsy completed The Washington Psychosocial Inventory, the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations, and a questionnaire that assessed their psychosocial difficulties and coping styles. Multiple regression procedure was used to examine the strength of various medical and social factors in predicting the psychosocial adjustment problems of these participants. Results: Social factors, such as self-perception and coping strategies, were more powerful predictors of psychosocial adjustment in people with epilepsy than the medical factors associated with epilepsy. Conclusions: These findings showed that psychosocial maladjustment is a significant issue for people with epilepsy in Hong Kong. The emerging importance of social factors as predictors of psychosocial adjustment in epilepsy, as compared with medical factors, highlights the need for developing tailored counseling therapy and social support groups for people with epilepsy. [source]


    Decomposing the construct of ambivalence over emotional expression in a Chinese cultural context

    EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2005
    Sylvia Xiaohua Chen
    The present study examined the construct of ambivalence over emotional expression proposed by King and Emmons (1990) in the Chinese context, and identified a factor structure different from those proposed in previous Western studies. The results of this study provided discriminant validity for this newly extracted two-factor structure of ambivalence, viz., Emotional Rumination and Emotional Suppression. Emotional Rumination was significantly predicted by the personality scales of introversion and inferiority, and the belief dimension of fate control, whereas Emotional Suppression was predicted by the personality scales of diversity, face, and harmony, and the belief dimension of social complexity. The different effects of Emotional Rumination and Emotional Suppression in predicting life satisfaction showed that emotional experience has its own specific characteristics in Chinese culture, and that responding to its emic characteristics will yield a more culturally responsive understanding of emotional experience and expression. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Tracking ,Same,Sex Love' from Antiquity to the Present in South Asia

    GENDER & HISTORY, Issue 1 2002
    Rosemary Marangoly George
    This essay focuses on the anthology Same,Sex Love in India: Readings from Literature and History (2000), edited by Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai. Unlike many other recently published, celebratory ,gay anthologies', this book contributes to ongoing scholarly work on specific same,sex erotic practices and relations in historical and cultural context. We examine issues relevant to this anthology and other such projects: the use of ,love' and ,same,sex' as (stable) signifiers over centuries; the validity of interpreting social reality through literary texts from the period; the difficulties of locating ,love' in severely hierarchical, even slave,owning, societies; and the implications of using such anthologies in the classroom. [source]


    Geostatistical and multi-elemental analysis of soils to interpret land-use history in the Hebrides, Scotland

    GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007
    J.A. Entwistle
    In the absence of documentary evidence about settlement form and agricultural practice in northwest Scotland before the mid-18th century, a geoarchaeological approach to reconstructing medieval land use and settlement form is presented here. This study applies multielemental analysis to soils previously collected from a settlement site in the Hebrides and highlights the importance of a detailed knowledge of the local soil environment and the cultural context. Geostatistical methods were used to analyze the spatial variability and distribution of a range of soil properties typically associated with geoarchaeological investigations. Semivariograms were produced to determine the spatial dependence of soil properties, and ordinary kriging was undertaken to produce prediction maps of the spatial distribution of these soil properties and enable interpolation over nonsampled locations in an attempt to more fully elucidate former land-use activity and settlement patterns. The importance of identifying the spatial covariance of elements and the need for several lines of physical and chemical evidence is highlighted. For many townships in the Hebrides, whose precise location and layout prior to extensive land reorganization in the late 18th,early 19th century is not recoverable through plans, multi-elemental analysis of soils can offer a valuable prospective and diagnostic tool. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Direct luminescence chronology of the Epipaleolithic Kebaran site of Nahal Hadera V, Israel

    GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 4 2003
    D.I. Godfrey-Smith
    We report direct luminescence ages for the culture-bearing sediments of the Kebaran site of Nahal Hadera V (NHV) in the coastal plain of Israel. Although the site contains, in addition to rich lithic deposits, plentiful mammalian bone, it has proved to be undatable using radiocarbon dating, in spite of the fact that the cultural context places the time of occupation well within the range of radiocarbon dating. In contrast, luminescence dating of the site sediments proved successful. Luminescence ages were determined using the single aliquot additive-dose (SAA) method, applied to sand-sized quartz extracts to determine past equivalent doses (De). Dose rates (R) were calculated using thick source alpha counting for the uranium (U) and thorium (Th) concentrations and x-ray fluorescence analysis for the potassium (K20) concentration. Of the five samples collected at the site, four represent cultural and subcultural deposits and the fifth represents the geological substrate for the archaeological deposit, a quartz-rich, carbonate-cemented dune sand known as aeolianite or kurkar. The luminescence age of the kurkar is 42.7 ± 6.3 ka. Human occupation of the site occurred between 21.3 ka and 14.0 ka ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Violence, Masculinity and Self: Killing in Joseph Roth's 1920s Fiction

    GERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 2 2000
    Jon Hughes
    This essay focuses upon a little considered aspect of Joseph Roth's 1920s fiction , the depiction of the act of killing. I argue that this act should be viewed as central in Roth's portrayal of the damaged psyche of young war veterans, whose strategies of self-denial and self-transformation have terrible consequences for themselves and others. With this in mind, I examine the actions and motives of the fascistic protagonist of Das Spinnennetz (1923), and the revolutionaries in Die Flucht ohne Ende (1927) and Rechts und Links (1929), in their historical and cultural context. The continuities between their actions reflect, I suggest, an awareness on Roth's part of the continuum of male psychology. Drawing on concepts from the work of such cultural critics as Theweleit, Foucault, and Lacan, I discuss the significance of military training, the experience of combat, and political instability in displacing the masculine ego and creating the necessary conditions for violence. The essay concludes by challenging the assumption that Roth only intended to criticise his explicitly fascistic character, for all the texts considered close with personal misery for their characters: inability to relate to others, and dislocation from society. [source]


    Silenced voices: hearing the stories of parents bereaved through the suicide death of a young adult child

    HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2010
    Myfanwy Maple PhD
    Abstract The current paper reports findings from a qualitative research project that aimed to explore parents' experiences following the suicide death of their young adult child. Twenty-two Australian parents told of the suicide death of their son or daughter during the data collection period (2003 to late 2004). One narrative theme drawn from the interview data is reported here: the way in which suicide-bereaved parents feel unable to talk about their child's life and death, their experience of suicide and their resultant bereavement. Parents reported being silenced by others and silencing themselves in relation to talking about their bereavement. Parents' private stories are used to explain the difficulties they faced given the contemporary social and cultural context of grief and suicide. Then follows an examination of the impact these difficulties had on their ongoing grief narrative and availability of social support. Implications for health and social care intervention are presented to assist in better preparing support workers in their interactions with parents bereaved in this manner. [source]


    Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people's experiences of distress: resilience, ambivalence and self-destructive behaviour

    HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2008
    Jonathan Scourfield BA MA DipSW PhD
    Abstract The research presented in this paper set out to explore the cultural context of youth suicide and more specifically any connections between sexual identity and self-destructive behaviour, in the light of international evidence about the disproportionate risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people. The empirical basis for the paper is qualitative research that was carried out in the North West of England and South Wales. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with a total of 69 young people, with a purposive sample to reflect diversity of sexual identity, social class and regional and rural-urban location. The paper presents a thematic analysis of the data specifically relating to the experiences of LGBT young people. A range of strategies that LGBT young people employ in the face of distress are described. These are categorised as resilience, ambivalence and self-destructive behaviour (including self-harm and suicide). The potential implications for health and social care of these strategies include the need for ecological approaches and for sexual cultural competence in practitioners, as well as prioritisation of LGBT risk within suicide prevention policies. [source]


    The reward of public service: nineteenth-century testimonials in context

    HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 208 2007
    Simon Morgan
    Testimonials were a ubiquitous form of public ritual in nineteenth-century Britain, and probably the most important way in which individual public service was recognized and rewarded. This article charts the emergence, development and decline of the testimonial, using accounts in the press, biographies and privately printed pamphlets. By placing them in their cultural context, it demonstrates the complex patterns of meaning that could be developed through these rituals, and uses them to throw new light on the controversy over paternalism and deference in factory culture, arguing that the role of testimonial occasions in that culture has been fundamentally misunderstood. [source]


    Parents and infants in changing cultural context: Immigration, trauma, and risk

    INFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003
    Marie Rose Moro
    "Entre les bibliothèques et les bébés en détresse, il y a un grand fossé" (S. Fraiberg). "Between library and at-risk infants themselves lies a great gulf" (Fraiberg, 1999, p. 416). Whether they are African or Asian, children of immigrant families live in at-risk situations where they may be exposed to serious trauma. Immigrant families often live in extreme conditions. Although research describes these conditions, the field of intervention remains weak. How many times have I heard that work among these families does not address treatment, but only basic needs, noting that the families are preoccupied with survival,where to find food, where to sleep, where to bury their dead. Yet, the psychological care of immigrant children and families has much to teach us. In this article I will describe work that attempts to bridge the gulf that Fraiberg referred to by sharing what I have learned regarding immigrant families with infants. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health. [source]


    Consumer sensitivity to changes in tax policy on consumption of alcohol

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 3 2006
    David E. Smith
    Abstract Marketers and economists have followed the consumption patterns of alcoholic beverages for many years. Public officials have studied the negative effects of consuming alcohol and have advocated a variety of measures to curtail consumption. Previous studies have also measured the price elasticity. This comparative study is based on a 40-year analysis, and compares the consumption patterns for beer, spirits and wine in three Nordic countries. Although the cultural context of Denmark, Norway and Sweden are similar, nevertheless significant differences in the patterns of consumption and prices for alcoholic beverages have been evidenced overtime. A comparison of the per capita drinking patterns and the taxation effectiveness are presented. Even though the elasticities varied, the data indicate relative sensitivity to price changes and a decline in spirits consumption as well as switching effects to lower alcohol-content beverages. [source]


    Measurement of racial life events in schizophrenia: development of a new schedule , a pilot study

    INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF METHODS IN PSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH, Issue 3 2001
    Dinesh Bhugra
    Abstract The relationship between stressors and the onset of psychosis is well described in the literature. However, for minority ethnic groups in the UK the impact of racism and racial life events has not been studied to the same extent. In this paper we describe the development of a semi-structured interview , Racial Life Events Schedule (RALES) , in order to measure racial life events as well as continuing difficulties attributable to racial discrimination. The interview was piloted on 12 African-Caribbean and eight Asian patients presenting with first onset schizophrenia. The interview was useful in eliciting racial events but overall there were no differences between patients and community controls. We believe that this schedule is useful for understanding racial events in the individual's personal and cultural context. The development and the schedule are described in this paper. Copyright © 2001 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]


    Comic Relief: Using Political Cartoons in the Classroom

    INTERNATIONAL STUDIES PERSPECTIVES, Issue 3 2002
    Beth K. Dougherty
    Political cartoons are an excellent classroom tool to build students' critical thinking skills, to generate lively classroom discussions, and to get students excited about politics. Cartoons should be treated as serious commentary on political affairs. Interpreting a cartoon requires that the viewer be familiar with current issues and debates, savvy about the cultural context, and capable of analytical judgments. This technique capitalizes on the visual learning style of many students and interjects an added interactive dimension to classroom discussions. This article discusses some of the challenges of using cartoons in the classroom, including where to locate them. The text is accompanied by several representative cartoons. [source]


    Attitudes of intensive care nurses towards brain death and organ transplantation: instrument development and testing

    JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 5 2006
    Jung Ran Kim BN MClinN DipN RN
    Aims., This paper reports the development and testing of an instrument assessing attitudes of Korean intensive care unit nurses. Background., Reluctance by healthcare professionals to identify brain-dead patients as a potential donor is one reason for a shortfall in transplantable organs in all countries. Organ donation from brain-dead patients is a particularly contentious issue in Korea, following recent legal recognition of brain death within the cultural context of Confucian beliefs. Method., A 38-item instrument was developed from the literature and key informant interviews, and validated by an expert panel and a pilot study. A survey was conducted with Korean intensive care unit nurses (n = 520) from October 2003 to January 2004. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity. Item-to-total correlations and Cronbach's coefficient alpha were used to determine the scale's internal consistency and unidimensionality. Results., The scale demonstrated high internal consistency (alpha = 0·88). Principal component analysis yielded a four-component structure: Discomfort, Enhancing quality of life, Willingness to be a donor and Rewarding experience. Overall, Korean intensive care unit nurses showed positive attitudes towards organ transplantation, despite some mixed feelings. Conclusion., The attitude scale was reliable and valid for this cohort. Areas were identified where professional development may enhance positive attitudes towards organ transplantation from brain-dead donors. Effective education for intensive care unit nurses is necessary to increase the organ donor pool in Korea. Further research could test the instrument with other populations. [source]


    From critical care to comfort care: the sustaining value of humour

    JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 8 2008
    Ruth Anne Kinsman Dean PhD
    Aims and objectives., To identify commonalities in the findings of two research studies on humour in diverse settings to illustrate the value of humour in team work and patient care, despite differing contexts. Background., Humour research in health care commonly identifies the value of humour for enabling communication, fostering relationships, easing tension and managing emotions. Other studies identify situations involving serious discussion, life-threatening circumstances and high anxiety as places where humour may not be appropriate. Our research demonstrates that humour is significant even where such circumstances are common place. Method., Clinical ethnography was the method for both studies. Each researcher conducted observational fieldwork in the cultural context of a healthcare setting, writing extensive fieldnotes after each period of observation. Additional data sources were informal conversations with patients and families and semi-structured interviews with members of the healthcare team. Data analysis involved line-by-line analysis of transcripts and fieldnotes with identification of codes and eventual collapse into categories and overarching themes. Results., Common themes from both studies included the value of humour for team work, emotion management and maintaining human connections. Humour served to enable co-operation, relieve tensions, develop emotional flexibility and to ,humanise' the healthcare experience for both caregivers and recipients of care. Conclusions., Humour is often considered trivial or unprofessional; this research verifies that it is neither. The value of humour resides, not in its capacity to alter physical reality, but in its capacity for affective or psychological change which enhances the humanity of an experience, for both care providers and recipients of care. Relevance to clinical practice., In the present era which emphasises technology, efficiency and outcomes, humour is crucial for promoting team relationships and for maintaining the human dimension of health care. Nurses should not be reluctant to use humour as a part of compassionate and personalised care, even in critical situations. [source]


    "I Know I'm a Freierit, But,": How a Key Cultural Frame (En)genders a Discourse of Inequality

    JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2005
    Linda-Renée Bloch
    This article investigates how a key frame of interaction establishes and reinforces gendered social relations within a given culture. It analyzes how the concept of the freier (roughly glossed as "sucker") is used in Israel, interpersonally and via the mass media, to demonstrate how gender is constructed through communication and inextricably bound to the specific cultural context in which it is located. This work exposes how the frame reinforces the underlying dynamics of gender inequality in society, examines the oppositional ways in which it is employed by women, and argues that its use in any form further entrenches the social bias. The article calls for analyses of discourse focusing on nondominant groups, within their specific cultural context, in order to examine the practical distribution of power in society. [source]


    Exploring social capital in rural settlements of an islander region in Greece

    JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
    Anastasia Zissi
    Abstract This paper reports on a large scale cross-sectional study examining subjective perceptions of community social life held by a randomly selected sample of residents (n,=,428) in all small rural settings (n,=,89) of the region of North Aegean Sea. The notion of social capital was used as a conceptual tool in order to explore different aspects of the relational life of contemporary rural communities. This study has two aims: First to provide an account of rural residents' perceptions of village life in terms of interpersonal support, mutual aid, trust, social cohesion and community competence, and second to examine the suitability of the social capital notion within the specific cultural context. A combination of data collection procedures and a range of sources were employed, such as key informants, rural residents and researchers' field observations. The findings indicate that small farming communities of high devotion with deep roots and strong sense of belonging face severe demographic imbalance and experience low civic power given the limited links with external agents. The mainstream notion of social capital as an unconditionally beneficial factor is thus questioned. The findings call for revisiting its relevance across communities with varying capacities and needs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Uncovering beliefs embedded in the culture and its implications for practice: the case of Maltese married couples

    JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 1 2005
    Angela Abela
    Given the low incidence of marriage breakdown in Malta, this study investigates the level of marital satisfaction among Maltese couples and how they manage conflict between them. One particular interest in conducting this study has been that of exploring how cultural beliefs shape marital relationships and to what extent Maltese clinicians can rely on the Anglo-American literature in their clinical work with married couples. Three hundred and fifty-four randomly selected couples answered a self-administered questionnaire simultaneously and separately. A number of findings, namely the influence of a child-oriented family in the level of marital satisfaction and the predominance of a constructive style of conflict resolution, differed from those we normally find in the Anglo-American literature. The study addresses the importance of taking into account the cultural context when working with couples. The implications for practice of the various beliefs embedded in the culture are highlighted. [source]


    Understanding families in their own context: schizophrenia and structural family therapy in Beijing

    JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY, Issue 3 2002
    Lawrence Hsin Yang
    Evidence from a number of family intervention strategies demonstrates a beneficial impact on the course of schizophrenia. It appears that different family interventions have generic features that aid the patient to avoid relapse and improve functioning. A significant challenge for researchers is to modify these generic strategies to be sensitive to different cultural groups in order to ensure their effectiveness. Chinese culture, with its distinct cultural norms governing family interaction and intense stigma towards the mentally ill, would seem to raise a particular challenge. This paper offers an account of an eclectic model of structural family therapy that incorporates psychoeducation and behavioural treatments for schizophrenia as a theoretical guide to working in a cross,cultural context. A Beijing family, consisting of parents and their daughter with schizophrenia, were seen for sixteen months during a trial of family intervention in China. Through structural family concepts, China's sociocultural context of treatment resource constraints, population policy and stigma are examined and the impact of the illness on family organization is explored. [source]


    A possible role of stigma and fears in HIV infection

    JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2010
    Adebowale Will Akande
    Abstract At the onset of AIDS in 1981, it caught everybody (by surprise), with their pants down, openly, scientifically and literally. Fear /Stigma associated with HIV/AIDS continues to avert responses to the epidemic. Data (obtained in Tshwane metropolis) were used to test stigma/fear dimensions of an instrument. Factor analysis identified five foci of fear and stigma. There were significant differences on the factor scale measuring fear of sex, with females and younger respondents having significantly greater fear. Results were interpreted within a cultural context that realises that decreasing AIDS stigma is a vital step in stemming the pandemic. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Organizational level as a moderator of the relationship between justice perceptions and work-related reactions

    JOURNAL OF ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR, Issue 6 2006
    Thomas M. Begley
    In this study, we examined the role of organizational level as a moderator of the relationships of procedural and distributive justice with seven employee attitudes and behaviors. Based on social identity and resource allocation theories, we suggested an allocational model of authority in organizations. We posited that lower rank encourages a more process-oriented perspective that emphasizes procedural concerns while higher rank imbues a more result-oriented perspective that emphasizes distributive outcomes. We considered the cultural context that characterized work relationships in our sample of respondents from a Chinese state-owned enterprise. Significant sets of interactions supported the predicted relationships of procedural justice with three outcomes at lower levels and distributive justice with four outcomes at higher levels. Implications and extensions of these findings are considered. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Trait Psychology and Culture: Exploring Intercultural Comparisons

    JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 6 2001
    Robert R. McCrae
    Personality traits, studied for decades by Western personality psychologists, have recently been reconceptualized as endogenous basic tendencies that, within a cultural context, give rise to habits, attitudes, skills, beliefs, and other characteristic adaptations. This conceptualization provides a new framework for studying personality and culture at three levels. Transcultural research focuses on identifying human universals, such as trait structure and development; intracultural studies examine the unique expression of traits in specific cultures; and intercultural research characterizes cultures and their subgroups in terms of mean levels of personality traits and seeks associations between cultural variables and aggregate personality traits. As an example of the problems and possibilities of intercultural analyses, data on mean levels of Revised NEO Personality Inventory scales from college age and adult samples (N = 23,031) of men and women from 26 cultures are examined. Results showed that age and gender differences resembled those found in American samples; different subsamples from each culture showed similar levels of personality traits; intercultural factor analysis yielded a close approximation to the Five-Factor Model; and factor scores were meaningfully related to other culture-level variables. However, mean trait levels were not apparent to expert raters, casting doubt on the accuracy of national stereotypes. Trait psychology can serve as a useful complement to cultural perspectives on human nature and personality. [source]


    Successfully Translating Language and Culture when Adapting Assessment Measures

    JOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2010
    Juan Bornman
    Abstract A need exists for culturally valid and reliable developmental assessment tools for children with disabilities that are able to accommodate multiple languages. One way in which this goal can be achieved is through test translations. The purpose of this preliminary study was to examine the use of translations of select developmental assessment instruments from English to Afrikaans and from one cultural context to another (Western to South African). Specifically, we examined children's performance on two measures of development: the Mullen Scales of Early Learning and the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ). Both measures were completed for 47 typically developing South African preschool children between 3 and 6 years of age. The Mullen was completed by a speech and language therapist and the ASQ by a parent. Both of the measures used yielded similar results, and compared favorably with the existing norms. The procedures provide a framework for expanding such adaptations in other applications. [source]


    The experiences of carers in Taiwanese culture who have long-term schizophrenia in their families: a phenomenological study

    JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH NURSING, Issue 10 2009
    X.-Y. HUANG rn msc dnsc
    Accessible summary ,,Carers in families with long-term schizophrenia in Taiwanese culture are suffering several burdens, such as burdens of caring and emotional burdens. ,,Strategies of coping, cognitive and religious coping strategies were used by carers in order to cope with their burdens. ,,The awareness of such traditional cultural values would help people to provide care in a culturally sensitive manner. Abstract Schizophrenia is a severe illness with little hope of recovery and requires long-term care. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of carers who live with someone with long-term schizophrenia, within the cultural context of Taiwan. The study was conducted in a community setting in central Taiwan. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to explore the experiences of carers. Purposive sampling was used by selecting the carers who were close relatives of the clients, had lived with the clients for at least 1 year and bore most of the responsibilities. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect the data and narratives were analysed using Colaizzi's (1978) seven-step method. Data saturation was achieved after interviewing 10 carers. Three themes and eight sub-themes were identified: burdens of caring (helping clients' illness, lack of professional support and family conflicts), emotional burdens (sadness, worry and fear) and strategies of coping (cognitive and religious coping strategies). Our study supported the importance for nurses to understand the cultural aspects of mental illness, particularly the widespread cultural beliefs and patterns of help seeking behaviours, in order to provide culturally sensitive health care. [source]