Methods for the measurement of micro material evidence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Mingtai; Wang Wen; Wu Lunqiang; Dai Changsong

2012-01-01

The micro material evidence has been used in judicature litigation successfully, that must base on impersonal authentication with the advanced and proper methods. The basic principle, main trait, applicable range, analysis minimum and sensitive limit of twelve type instruments used in micro material evidence analysis have been related. Those could supply optional proper methods for micro material evidence. (authors)

Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Rock Art from the Mongolian Altai: The Material and its Cultural Implications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esther Jacobson-Tepfer

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Rock-pecked images from the northern Mongolian Altai attest to the presence of human communities within the high valleys of that region during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. The material provides evidence that is hitherto largely missing from the archaeological record of that region. This paper reviews the rock art, its find sites and larger physical contexts and uses evidence from paleoenvironmental studies to propose dating and cultural significance. The material is compared with other sites said to have Paleolithic imagery from Mongolia and the adjoining Russian Altai. The body of presented material offers a major resource for the study of early hunter-gatherer communities at the interface of Central and North Asia.

Developing Culturally Targeted Diabetes Educational Materials for Older Russian-Speaking Immigrants.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Son, Catherine R

2014-07-01

Older adults who immigrate late in life face many challenges adapting to a new country. Immigrants bring their cultural beliefs and behaviors with them, which can influence their ability to make dietary changes required when they have type 2 diabetes. Culturally targeted patient education materials are needed to improve immigrants' health literacy and abilities to self-manage diabetes. Currently, there is a scarcity of diabetes patient education materials to meet the educational needs of the Russian-speaking immigrant group. The purpose of this article is to describe a project in which culturally targeted diabetes education materials for older Russian-speaking immigrants were designed and developed. Culturally targeted patient education materials are essential if they are to be accepted and used by clients from different ethnic minority populations. The creation of culturally relevant materials requires a team effort and community stakeholder input. The availability of materials on the internet facilitates access and use by health care providers. Culturally targeted education materials are an important component in addressing health literacy in ethnic minority populations. Next steps require that these materials be evaluated to test their impact on diabetes self-management behaviors and clinical outcomes such as adherence, amount of physical activity, and blood glucose levels. © 2014 The Author(s).

Security Culture in Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Susyanta-Widyatmaka; Koraag, Venuesiana-Dewi; Taswanda-Taryo

2005-01-01

In nuclear related field, there are three different cultures: safety, safeguards and security culture. Safety culture has established mostly in nuclear industries, meanwhile safeguards and security culture are relatively new and still developing. The latter is intended to improve the physical protection of material and nuclear facility. This paper describes concept, properties and factors affecting security culture and interactions among these cultures. The analysis indicates that anybody involving in nuclear material and facility should have strong commitment and awareness of such culture to establish it. It is concluded that the assessment of security culture outlined in this paper is still preliminary for developing and conduction rigorous security culture implemented in a much more complex facility such as nuclear power plant

Implementing the Integrated Strategy for the Cultural Adaptation of Evidence-Based Interventions: An Illustration.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidani, Souraya; Ibrahim, Sarah; Lok, Jana; Fan, Lifeng; Fox, Mary

2018-01-01

Background Persons' cultural beliefs about a health problem can affect their perceived acceptability of evidence-based interventions, undermining evidence-based interventions' adherence, and uptake to manage the problem. Cultural adaptation has the potential to enhance the acceptability, uptake, and adherence to evidence-based interventions. Purpose To illustrate the implementation of the first two phases of the integrated strategy for cultural adaptation by examining Chinese Canadians' perceptions of chronic insomnia and evidence-based behavioral therapies for insomnia. Methods Chinese Canadians ( n = 14) with chronic insomnia attended a group session during which they completed established instruments measuring beliefs about sleep and insomnia, and their perceptions of factors that contribute to chronic insomnia. Participants rated the acceptability of evidence-based behavioral therapies and discussed their cultural perspectives regarding chronic insomnia and its treatment. Results Participants actively engaged in the activities planned for the first two phases of the integrated strategy and identified the most significant factor contributing to chronic insomnia and the evidence-based intervention most acceptable for their cultural group. Conclusions The protocol for implementing the two phases of the integrated strategy for cultural adaptation of evidence-based interventions was feasible, acceptable, and useful in identifying culturally relevant evidence-based interventions.

Object Lessons: Material Culture on the World Wide Web.

Science.gov (United States)

Mires, Charlene

2001-01-01

Describes the content of a course on material culture for undergraduate students that was separated into two sections: (1) first students read books and analyzed artifacts; and (2) then the class explored the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) in 1876, applying material culture methods and constructing a Web site from their…

Cultural Sensitivity in English Language Teaching Materials

OpenAIRE

MEHMET, Sean Collin

2008-01-01

This expository paper will begin by uncovering and examining some lesser known, Western journal articles, ones that deal specifically with the issue of cultural sensitivity in language classrooms. This opening discussion will attempt to reveal that cultural sensitivity in teaching materials is by no means an issue limited solely to the Western world. After this, the discussion will focus on Edward Said's widely-known Culture and Imperialism. Said's monograph will be used as a springboard to e...

Perceptions of Emotion from Facial Expressions are Not Culturally Universal: Evidence from a Remote Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Gendron, Maria; Roberson, Debi; van der Vyver, Jacoba Marietta; Barrett, Lisa Feldman

2014-01-01

It is widely believed that certain emotions are universally recognized in facial expressions. Recent evidence indicates that Western perceptions (e.g., scowls as anger) depend on cues to US emotion concepts embedded in experiments. Since such cues are standard feature in methods used in cross-cultural experiments, we hypothesized that evidence of universality depends on this conceptual context. In our study, participants from the US and the Himba ethnic group sorted images of posed facial expressions into piles by emotion type. Without cues to emotion concepts, Himba participants did not show the presumed “universal” pattern, whereas US participants produced a pattern with presumed universal features. With cues to emotion concepts, participants in both cultures produced sorts that were closer to the presumed “universal” pattern, although substantial cultural variation persisted. Our findings indicate that perceptions of emotion are not universal, but depend on cultural and conceptual contexts. PMID:24708506

The Evolution of Polystyrene as a Cell Culture Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Lerman, Max J; Lembong, Josephine; Muramoto, Shin; Gillen, Greg; Fisher, John P

2018-04-10

Polystyrene (PS) has brought in vitro cell culture from its humble beginnings to the modern era, propelling dozens of research fields along the way. This review discusses the development of the material, fabrication, and treatment approaches to create the culture material. However, native PS surfaces poorly facilitate cell adhesion and growthin vitro. To overcome this, liquid surface deposition, energetic plasma activation, and emerging functionalization methods transform the surface chemistry. This review seeks to highlight the many potential applications of the first widely accepted polymer growth surface. Although the majority of in vitro research occurs on 2D surfaces, the importance of 3D culture models cannot be overlooked. Here the methods to transition PS to specialized 3D culture surfaces are also reviewed. Specifically, casting, electrospinning, 3D printing, and microcarrier approaches to shift PS to a 3D culture surface are highlighted. The breadth of applications of the material makes it impossible to highlight every use, but the aim remains to demonstrate the versatility and potential as both a general and custom cell culture surface. The review concludes with emerging scaffolding approaches and, based on the findings, presents our insights on the future steps for PS as a tissue culture platform.

Teaching Religion and Material Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Carp, Richard M.

2007-01-01

Because religions discipline and interpret bodies; create and define sacred spaces; generate, adore and study images in all media; regulate the intake of food; structure temporal experience; and in general interpenetrate and are permeated by the cultural landscapes in which they exist, religious studies must engage material religion and religious…

Low technology tissue culture materials for initiation and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Low technology tissue culture materials for initiation and multiplication of banana plants. ... African Crop Science Journal ... locally available macronutrients, micronutrients, sugar, equipment and facility reduced the cost of consumable material

Culture and attention: evidence from brain and behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Ketay, Sarah; Aron, Arthur; Hedden, Trey

2009-01-01

Research has demonstrated that our experiences, including the culture in which we are raised, shape how we attend to and perceive the world. Behavioral studies have found that individuals raised in Western cultures tend toward analytic processing and prefer tasks emphasizing independent contexts rather than tasks emphasizing interdependent contexts. The opposite is true for individuals raised in East Asian cultures, who tend toward holistic processing and prefer tasks emphasizing interdependent contexts. Recently, cognitive neuroscientists have extended these behavioral findings to examine the brain activity of individuals from different cultures during the performance of cognitive tasks. Results from these initial studies indicate that culture may shape how the brain processes even very abstract stimuli and may influence the features of the environment to which individuals attend. The present chapter reviews evidence that culture influences attention and related systems, which, in turn, impact other cognitive and social processes and their neural correlates.

Analyzing the Heterogeneous Hierarchy of Cultural Heritage Materials: Analytical Imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Trentelman, Karen

2017-06-12

Objects of cultural heritage significance are created using a wide variety of materials, or mixtures of materials, and often exhibit heterogeneity on multiple length scales. The effective study of these complex constructions thus requires the use of a suite of complementary analytical technologies. Moreover, because of the importance and irreplaceability of most cultural heritage objects, researchers favor analytical techniques that can be employed noninvasively, i.e., without having to remove any material for analysis. As such, analytical imaging has emerged as an important approach for the study of cultural heritage. Imaging technologies commonly employed, from the macroscale through the micro- to nanoscale, are discussed with respect to how the information obtained helps us understand artists' materials and methods, the cultures in which the objects were created, how the objects may have changed over time, and importantly, how we may develop strategies for their preservation.

Culturally adapting an evidence-based parenting intervention for Latino immigrants: the need to integrate fidelity and cultural relevance.

Science.gov (United States)

Parra Cardona, Jose Ruben; Domenech-Rodriguez, Melanie; Forgatch, Marion; Sullivan, Cris; Bybee, Deborah; Holtrop, Kendal; Escobar-Chew, Ana Rocio; Tams, Lisa; Dates, Brian; Bernal, Guillermo

2012-03-01

Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the United States. However, the cultural adaptation and dissemination of evidence-based parenting interventions among Latino populations continues to be scarce despite extensive research that demonstrates the long-term positive effects of these interventions. The purpose of this article is threefold: (1) justify the importance of cultural adaptation research as a key strategy to disseminate efficacious interventions among Latinos, (2) describe the initial steps of a program of prevention research with Latino immigrants aimed at culturally adapting an evidence-based intervention informed by parent management training principles, and (3) discuss implications for advancing cultural adaptation prevention practice and research, based on the initial feasibility and cultural acceptability findings of the current investigation. © FPI, Inc.

Incorporating Local Culture in English Teaching Material for Undergraduate Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wijaya Mahardika I Gusti Ngurah Agung

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the incorporation of local cultural material in a teaching material developed for the students of the Hinduism Education Department of IHDN Denpasar. Teaching material plays an important part in teaching learning process, yet inappropriate teaching materials may become more harmful than useful. The unique nature of the HED students warranted the need for a tailor-made teaching material. The study found that the use of culturally familiar materials is beneficial for the students learning process. The result of the study also highlighted students’ needs and prior knowledge as the main factors to be considered when developing teaching material.

Assessing the cultural in culturally sensitive printed patient-education materials for Chinese Americans with type 2 diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Evelyn Y; Tran, Henrietta; Chesla, Catherine A

2015-01-01

Type 2 diabetes affects Chinese Americans at an alarming rate. To address this health disparity, research in the area of cultural sensitivity and health literacy provides useful guidelines for creating culturally appropriate health education. In this article, we use discourse analysis to examine a group of locally available, Chinese- and English-language diabetes print documents from a surface level and deep structure level of culture. First, we compared these documents to research findings about printed health information to determine whether and how these documents apply current best practices for health literacy and culturally appropriate health communication. Second, we examined how diabetes as a disease and diabetes management is being constructed. The printed materials addressed surface level culture through the use of Chinese language, pictures, foods, and exercises. From a deeper cultural level, the materials constructed diabetes management as a matter of measurement and control that contrasted with previous research suggesting an alternative construction of balance. A nuanced assessment of both surface and deeper levels of culture is essential for creating health education materials that are more culturally appropriate and can lead to increased health literacy and improved health outcomes.

Reflections on Visual and Material Culture: An Example from Southwest Chicago

Science.gov (United States)

Ulbricht, J.

2007-01-01

Although several art educators have called our attention to the importance of studying visual culture, others have widened the discussion to include material culture and its effects on our lives. Because of growing concern for the value of exploring the personal and social functions of visual and material culture, the purpose of this article is to…

The Current Evidence for Hayek’s Cultural Group Selection Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brad Lowell Stone

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In this article I summarize Friedrich Hayek’s cultural group selection theory and describe the evidence gathered by current cultural group selection theorists within the behavioral and social sciences supporting Hayek’s main assertions. I conclude with a few comments on Hayek and libertarianism.

Culturally Adapting an Evidence-Based Parenting Intervention for Latino Immigrants: The Need to Integrate Fidelity and Cultural Relevance1

Science.gov (United States)

Cardona, Jose Ruben Parra; Domenech-Rodriguez, Melanie; Forgatch, Marion; Sullivan, Cris; Bybee, Deborah; Holtrop, Kendal; Escobar-Chew, Ana Rocio; Tams, Lisa; Dates, Brian; Bernal, Guillermo

2011-01-01

Latinos constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the US. However, the cultural adaptation and dissemination of evidence-based parenting interventions among Latino populations continues to be scarce in spite of extensive research that demonstrates the long-term positive effects of these interventions. The purpose of this article is threefold: (a) justify the importance of cultural adaptation research as a key strategy to disseminate efficacious interventions among Latinos, (b) describe the initial steps of a program of prevention research with Latino immigrants aimed at culturally adapting an evidence-based intervention informed by parent management training (PMT) principles, and (c) discuss implications for advancing cultural adaptation prevention practice and research, based on the initial feasibility and cultural acceptability findings of the current investigation. PMID:22428711

Teaching Students to Infer Meaning through Material Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Ernest Andrew; Fritzer, Penelope

2011-01-01

Social studies students can learn to glean historical information from the study of material culture through active engagement as curators. Teachers can guide students through a pre-survey of helpful reading materials and then through selecting items of personal significance to them: creating labels that objectively describe the chosen items as to…

Material Culture of Multilingualism and Affectivity

Science.gov (United States)

Aronin, Larissa

2012-01-01

Affectivity is an important dimension in humans' social and individual lives. It is either a stimulating or hindering aspect of language learning. This article aims to draw attention to material culture as a powerful, but mostly neglected source of data on the use and acquisition of languages, and demonstrates the close and intricate links between…

Improving Elementary School Students’ English Vocabulary Through Local Cultural Content Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frans Manurung

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Elementary students of a certain public school in Indonesia had difficulties in learning English. One of the crucial problems was learning English vocabulary. In an attempt to help the students learn and improve English vocabulary, the researchers decided to use CAR to teach English vocabulary with local cultural content materials. The aim of this study was to investigate how the teaching of English vocabulary with local cultural content materials contributed to the improvement of the students’ English vocabulary mastery. The topics covered in the materials were selected based on schemata theory. Vocabulary learning process was done through several activities provided in the materials: classroom and outside vocabulary learning. The results showed that the teaching of local cultural content materials have contributed to the improvement of the Elementary students’ vocabulary mastery. The schematic knowledge found in the familiar topics has aroused the students’ interest and motivation in learning English vocabulary. Students who were more familiar with the topics could respond to the vocabulary learning better than those who were not familiar with. The vocabulary mastery was more successful only if the students participated in both classroom and outside vocabulary learning process. Keywords: Vocabulary Mastery, Vocabulary Improvement, Local Cultural Content Materials, Vocabulary Learning, Schemata

Cultural and Ideological Roots of Materialism in China

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Song; Stening, Bruce W.

2012-01-01

This study examines the role of cultural values and political ideologies in the development of materialism, and the impact of materialism on subjective well-being, in the Chinese context. A survey was conducted of 487 persons in two cities in China and the results analyzed using structural equation modeling. The findings show that China's…

Culture, mind, and the brain: current evidence and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitayama, Shinobu; Uskul, Ayse K

2011-01-01

Current research on culture focuses on independence and interdependence and documents numerous East-West psychological differences, with an increasing emphasis placed on cognitive mediating mechanisms. Lost in this literature is a time-honored idea of culture as a collective process composed of cross-generationally transmitted values and associated behavioral patterns (i.e., practices). A new model of neuro-culture interaction proposed here addresses this conceptual gap by hypothesizing that the brain serves as a crucial site that accumulates effects of cultural experience, insofar as neural connectivity is likely modified through sustained engagement in cultural practices. Thus, culture is "embrained," and moreover, this process requires no cognitive mediation. The model is supported in a review of empirical evidence regarding (a) collective-level factors involved in both production and adoption of cultural values and practices and (b) neural changes that result from engagement in cultural practices. Future directions of research on culture, mind, and the brain are discussed.

Building a Culture of Evidence: A Case Study of a California Community College

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Jill H.; Sax, Caren L.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to better understand the practices associated with building a culture of evidence and to identify the factors influencing the success of such an endeavor. By definition, a culture of evidence is based upon practices employing data and research to inform decision making at all levels of the institution, with the…

Culture, Materiality, Memory: Collective Ownership and Action In Romanian Mutual Funds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Narcis TULBURE

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the tensions between collectivist and corporatist forms of ownership for Romanian mutual funds. Drawing on my research among retail investors of funds that ended up in bankruptcy throughout the postsocialist period, I document the material practices and graphic artefacts they deploy in litigation as ways to make claims and produce evidence regarding their ongoing financial involvement and the rights to compensations. I focus specifically on the files documenting their personal histories (providing moral reasons for pursuing “speculative” investments as well as those materializing the memory of their involvement with the capital market. I conclude that material practices are constitutive of vernacular forms of financial and legal knowledge. Furthermore, they engender specific types of property that serve as premises for the defense of investor rights and as grounds for emerging forms of collective action. Methodologically, the conclusion of the paper is that qualitative methods constitute alternative approaches and a valuable complement of quantitate research methods for the behaviors of mutual fund investors illustrating some of the cultural components giving specific dynamics to the popular participation to the capital market that can be subsequently quantified.

The use of material culture to establish the ethnic identity of victims in genocide investigations: a validation study from the American Southwest*.

Science.gov (United States)

Komar, Debra A; Lathrop, Sarah

2008-09-01

Successful prosecution of genocide requires that the victims constitute one of four protected groups: national, religious, ethnic, or racial. Establishing victim identity in prior trials has relied on positive identification of decedents, been largely presumptive, or was based on untested methodology. This report details a validation study of one untested method: the use of material culture in establishing ethnic identity. Classes of clothing and personal effects were scored on 3,430 individuals of known Hispanic or White ancestry from autopsy records in New Mexico. Significant differences were seen in evidence of language, nationality, and religious affiliation between the two groups, as well as clothing types and currency. Predictive models used to estimate ethnic identity in random, blind subsets produced an overall accuracy of 81.5% and estimates of 61-98% in specific subsets. Results suggest material culture, when present, can provide reliable evidence of ethnic affinity in genocide investigations.

Zimbabwe culture before Mapungubwe: new evidence from Mapela Hill, South-Western Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

Chirikure, Shadreck; Manyanga, Munyaradzi; Pollard, A Mark; Bandama, Foreman; Mahachi, Godfrey; Pikirayi, Innocent

2014-01-01

Across the globe, the emergence of complex societies excites intense academic debate in archaeology and allied disciplines. Not surprisingly, in southern Africa the traditional assumption that the evolution of socio-political complexity began with ideological transformations from K2 to Mapungubwe between CE1200 and 1220 is clouded in controversy. It is believed that the K2-Mapungubwe transitions crystallised class distinction and sacred leadership, thought to be the key elements of the Zimbabwe culture on Mapungubwe Hill long before they emerged anywhere else. From Mapungubwe (CE1220-1290), the Zimbabwe culture was expressed at Great Zimbabwe (CE1300-1450) and eventually Khami (CE1450-1820). However, new fieldwork at Mapela Hill, when coupled with a Bayesian chronology, offers tremendous fresh insights which refute this orthodoxy. Firstly, Mapela possesses enormous prestige stone-walled terraces whose initial construction date from the 11th century CE, almost two hundred years earlier than Mapungubwe. Secondly, the basal levels of the Mapela terraces and hilltop contain élite solid dhaka (adobe) floors associated with K2 pottery and glass beads. Thirdly, with a hilltop and flat area occupation since the 11th century CE, Mapela exhibits evidence of class distinction and sacred leadership earlier than K2 and Mapungubwe, the supposed propagators of the Zimbabwe culture. Fourthly, Mapungubwe material culture only appeared later in the Mapela sequence and therefore post-dates the earliest appearance of stone walling and dhaka floors at the site. Since stone walls, dhaka floors and class distinction are the essence of the Zimbabwe culture, their earlier appearance at Mapela suggests that Mapungubwe can no longer be regarded as the sole cradle of the Zimbabwe culture. This demands not just fresh ways of accounting for the rise of socio-political complexity in southern Africa, but also significant adjustments to existing models.

The effect of corporate culture on firm performance: Evidence from China

OpenAIRE

Hailin Zhao; Haimeng Teng; Qiang Wu

2018-01-01

This study examines whether corporate culture promotion affects firm performance in China in terms of firm market value, firm financial performance and innovation output. We find consistent evidence that corporate culture promotion is negatively related to firm market value, positively related to innovation output and not significantly related to firm financial performance. In addition, the negative effect of corporate culture promotion on firm market value is driven by small firms and firms ...

Assessment of cellular materials generated by co-cultured ‘inflamed’ and healthy periodontal ligament stem cells from patient-matched groups

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tang, Hao-Ning [State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an (China); Department of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of the Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048 (China); Xia, Yu [State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an (China); Department of Stomatology, The 309th Hospital of Chinese People' s Liberation Army, Beijing 100091 (China); Xu, Jie; Tian, Bei-Min; Zhang, Xi-Yu [State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an (China); Chen, Fa-Ming, E-mail: cfmsunhh@fmmu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Department of Periodontology, School of Stomatology, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi' an (China)

2016-08-01

Recently, stem cells derived from the'inflamed’ periodontal ligament (PDL) tissue of periodontally diseased teeth (I-PDLSCs) have been increasingly suggested as a more readily accessible source of cells for regenerative therapies than those derived from healthy PDL tissue (H-PDLSCs). However, substantial evidence indicates that I-PDLSCs exhibit impaired functionalities compared with H-PDLSCs. In this study, patient-matched I-PDLSCs and H-PDLSCs were co-cultured at various ratios. Cellular materials derived from these cultures were investigated regarding their osteogenic potential in vitro and capacity to form new bone following in vivo transplantation. While patient-matched I-PDLSCs and H-PDLSCs could co-exist in co-culture systems, the proportion of I-PDLSCs tended to increase during in vitro incubation. Compared with H-PDLSC monoculture, the presence of I-PDLSCs in the co-cultures appeared to enhance the overall cell proliferation. Although not completely rescued, the osteogenic and regenerative potentials of the cellular materials generated by co-cultured I-PDLSCs and H-PDLSCs were significantly improved compared with those derived from I-PDLSC monocultures. Notably, cells in co-cultures containing either 50% I-PDLSCs plus 50% H-PDLSCs or 25% I-PDLSCs plus 75% H-PDLSCs expressed osteogenesis-related proteins and genes at levels similar to those expressed in H-PDLSC monocultures (P>0.05). Irrespective of the percentage of I-PDLSCs, robust cellular materials were obtained from co-cultures with 50% or more H-PDLSCs, which exhibited equivalent potential to form new bone in vivo compared with sheets generated by H-PDLSC monocultures. These data suggest that the co-culture of I-PDLSCs with patient-matched H-PDLSCs is a practical and effective method for increasing the overall osteogenic and regenerative potentials of resultant cellular materials. - Highlights: • Co-culturing H-PDLSCs with I-PDLSCs led to rapid cell expansion. • H-PDLSCs and I-PDLSCs co-cultured

Assessment of cellular materials generated by co-cultured ‘inflamed’ and healthy periodontal ligament stem cells from patient-matched groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Hao-Ning; Xia, Yu; Xu, Jie; Tian, Bei-Min; Zhang, Xi-Yu; Chen, Fa-Ming

2016-01-01

Recently, stem cells derived from the'inflamed’ periodontal ligament (PDL) tissue of periodontally diseased teeth (I-PDLSCs) have been increasingly suggested as a more readily accessible source of cells for regenerative therapies than those derived from healthy PDL tissue (H-PDLSCs). However, substantial evidence indicates that I-PDLSCs exhibit impaired functionalities compared with H-PDLSCs. In this study, patient-matched I-PDLSCs and H-PDLSCs were co-cultured at various ratios. Cellular materials derived from these cultures were investigated regarding their osteogenic potential in vitro and capacity to form new bone following in vivo transplantation. While patient-matched I-PDLSCs and H-PDLSCs could co-exist in co-culture systems, the proportion of I-PDLSCs tended to increase during in vitro incubation. Compared with H-PDLSC monoculture, the presence of I-PDLSCs in the co-cultures appeared to enhance the overall cell proliferation. Although not completely rescued, the osteogenic and regenerative potentials of the cellular materials generated by co-cultured I-PDLSCs and H-PDLSCs were significantly improved compared with those derived from I-PDLSC monocultures. Notably, cells in co-cultures containing either 50% I-PDLSCs plus 50% H-PDLSCs or 25% I-PDLSCs plus 75% H-PDLSCs expressed osteogenesis-related proteins and genes at levels similar to those expressed in H-PDLSC monocultures (P>0.05). Irrespective of the percentage of I-PDLSCs, robust cellular materials were obtained from co-cultures with 50% or more H-PDLSCs, which exhibited equivalent potential to form new bone in vivo compared with sheets generated by H-PDLSC monocultures. These data suggest that the co-culture of I-PDLSCs with patient-matched H-PDLSCs is a practical and effective method for increasing the overall osteogenic and regenerative potentials of resultant cellular materials. - Highlights: • Co-culturing H-PDLSCs with I-PDLSCs led to rapid cell expansion. • H-PDLSCs and I-PDLSCs co-cultured

Material Culture and Cultural Meanings: Current Studies of Archaeological Ceramics and in Ce­ramic Ethnoarchaeology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles C. Kolb

2000-05-01

Full Text Available Pottery and People: A Dynamic Interaction. James M. Skibo and Gary M. Feinman (editors. Founda­tions of Archaeological Inquiry. Salt Lake City. University of Utah Press. 1999. 260 pp. 91 figures. 30 tables. ISBN 0-87480-576-7. $55.00 (cloth; 0-87489-577-5. $25.00 (paperback. Material Meanings: Critical Approaches to the Interpretation of Material Culture. Elizabeth S. Chilton (editor. Foundations of Archaeological Inquiry. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. 1999.179pp. 35 figures. 11 tables. ISBN 0-87480-632-1. $55.00 (cloth; 087480-633-X. $35.00 (paperback. The description and interpretation of material culture may be regarded as the essence of archaeology, a discipline that seeks to recover, describe, document, and interpret past human culture. More recently, understanding that actions occur in a material world that is constituted symbolically, archaeological explanations are often framed in sociocultural meanings, the analysis of agencies, practices and behaviors. I shall subsequently return to this issue. Because of their longevity in the archaeological record, lithic and ceramic artifacts are crucial to the endeavor to interpret human culture. Objects fashioned from clay and subjected to intentional artificial sources of heat made their initial appearance in the archaeological record more than 26.000 years ago. Ceramic objects have been created in a seemingly endless variety of shapes and forms, varying from fertility figurines. to cooking and food storage vessels. lamps, smoking pipes, medicinal pastilles, tokens, beehives, and coffins to modern whitewares and pyroceramics.

Early evidence of San material culture represented by organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

d'Errico, Francesco; Backwell, Lucinda; Villa, Paola; Degano, Ilaria; Lucejko, Jeannette J; Bamford, Marion K; Higham, Thomas F G; Colombini, Maria Perla; Beaumont, Peter B

2012-08-14

Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that pigment use, beads, engravings, and sophisticated stone and bone tools were already present in southern Africa 75,000 y ago. Many of these artifacts disappeared by 60,000 y ago, suggesting that modern behavior appeared in the past and was subsequently lost before becoming firmly established. Most archaeologists think that San hunter-gatherer cultural adaptation emerged 20,000 y ago. However, reanalysis of organic artifacts from Border Cave, South Africa, shows that the Early Later Stone Age inhabitants of this cave used notched bones for notational purposes, wooden digging sticks, bone awls, and bone points similar to those used by San as arrowheads. A point is decorated with a spiral groove filled with red ochre, which closely parallels similar marks that San make to identify their arrowheads when hunting. A mixture of beeswax, Euphorbia resin, and possibly egg, wrapped in vegetal fibers, dated to ∼40,000 BP, may have been used for hafting. Ornaments include marine shell beads and ostrich eggshell beads, directly dated to ∼42,000 BP. A digging stick, dated to ∼39,000 BP, is made of Flueggea virosa. A wooden poison applicator, dated to ∼24,000 BP, retains residues with ricinoleic acid, derived from poisonous castor beans. Reappraisal of radiocarbon age estimates through bayesian modeling, and the identification of key elements of San material culture at Border Cave, places the emergence of modern hunter-gatherer adaptation, as we know it, to ∼44,000 y ago.

The evolution and cultural transmission of percussive technology: integrating evidence from palaeoanthropology and primatology.

Science.gov (United States)

Whiten, Andrew; Schick, Kathy; Toth, Nicholas

2009-10-01

We bring together the quite different kinds of evidence available from palaeoanthropology and primatology to better understand the origins of Plio-Pleistocene percussive technology. Accumulated palaeoanthropological discoveries now document the Oldowan Complex as the dominant stone tool making culture between 2.6-1.4 Ma, the earlier part of this contemporaneous with pre-Homo hominins. The principal types of artefacts and other remains from 20 Early Stone Age (Oldowan and earliest Acheulean) localities in Africa and elsewhere are reviewed and described. To better understand the ancestral behavioural foundations of this early lithic culture, we examine a range of recent findings from primatology. In particular, we attempt to identify key shared characteristics of Homo and Pan that support inferences about the preparedness of our common ancestor for the innovation of stone tool culture. Findings of particular relevance include: (i) the discovery of an expanding repertoire of percussive and other tool use based on directed use of force among wild chimpanzees, implicating capacities that include significant innovatory potential and appreciation of relevant causal factors; (ii) evidence of material cultural diversity among wild chimpanzees, indicating a readiness to acquire and transmit tool use innovations; and (iii) experimental studies of social learning in chimpanzees and bonobos that now encompass the acquisition of nut cracking through observation of skilled use of hammers and anvils by conspecifics, the diffusion within and between groups of alternative styles of tool use, and the adoption of free-hand stone-to-stone percussion to create useful flakes for cutting to gain access to food resources. We use the distributions of the inferred cultural traits in the wild to assess how diffusion relates to geographic distances, and find that shared traits drop by 50% from the approximately eight characteristic of close neighbours over a distance of approximately 700 km

Material Culture and Daily Hygiene in Córdoba in the Nineteenth Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cecilia Moreyra

2017-06-01

Full Text Available From the history of everyday life and material culture studies, in this paper we describe and analyze household cleaning practices in the city of Cordoba (Argentina. We look for the presence (or absence of material objects and rooms for the daily hygiene in post mortem inventories. Changes in material culture and the domestic architecture allow us to recognize both changes as stays in the sensibilities and the ideas of cleanliness and dirtiness.

Ramón Reichert and Annika Richterich, eds., Digital Material/ism Vol. 1, Issue 1 – Digital Culture and Society

OpenAIRE

Pournara, Lizzy

2017-01-01

Ramón Reichert and Annika Richterich, eds., Digital Material/ism Vol. 1, Issue 1 – Digital Culture and Society Bielefeld: [transcript] Verlag, 2015. ISBN 978-3-8376-3153-1. Lizzy Pournara Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The issue Digital Material/ism edited by Ramón Reichert and Annika Richterich inaugurates the first volume of the journal Digital Culture & Society. The significance of this volume’s work lies in its attempt to redress the concept of materiality in digital environments an...

Big brains, small worlds: material culture and the evolution of the mind.

Science.gov (United States)

Coward, Fiona; Gamble, Clive

2008-06-12

New developments in neuroimaging have demonstrated that the basic capacities underpinning human social skills are shared by our closest extant primate relatives. The challenge for archaeologists is to explain how complex human societies evolved from this shared pattern of face-to-face social interaction. We argue that a key process was the gradual incorporation of material culture into social networks over the course of hominin evolution. Here we use three long-term processes in hominin evolution-encephalization, the global human diaspora and sedentism/agriculture-to illustrate how the cultural transmission of material culture allowed the 'scaling up' of face-to-face social interactions to the global societies known today. We conclude that future research by neuroimagers and archaeologists will need to investigate the cognitive mechanisms behind human engagement with material culture as well as other persons.

Teaching Cross-Cultural Psychology: Providing the Missing Link.

Science.gov (United States)

Cushner, Kenneth H.

1987-01-01

This article describes the development and evaluation of materials designed to facilitate the teaching of cross-cultural psychology to students who are internationally and interculturally naive. The materials consist of 100 cross-cultural incidents contained in 18 essays. Two incidents are described and evaluative evidence is presented.…

Translation, cross-cultural adaption and measurement properties of the evidence-based practice profile

OpenAIRE

Titlestad, Kristine Berg; Snibsoer, Anne Kristin; Stromme, Hilde; Nortvedt, Monica Wammen; Graverholt, Birgitte; Espehaug, Birgitte

2017-01-01

Background The evidence-based practice profile (EBP2) questionnaire assesses students? self-reported knowledge, behaviour and attitudes related to evidence-based practice. The aim of this study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt EBP2 into Norwegian and to evaluate the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the Norwegian version. Methods EBP2 was translated and cross-culturally adapted using recommended methodology. Face validity and feasibility were evaluated in a pilot on bache...

German Language and Culture: 9-Year Program Classroom Assessment Materials, Grade 4

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Education, 2008

2008-01-01

This document is designed to provide assessment materials for specific Grade 4 outcomes in the German Language and Culture Nine-year Program, Grades 4-5-6. The assessment materials are designed for the beginner level in the context of teaching for communicative competence. Grade 4 learning outcomes from the German Language and Culture Nine-year…

Punjabi Language and Culture: 9-Year Program Classroom Assessment Materials, Grade 4

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Education, 2008

2008-01-01

This document is designed to provide assessment materials for specific Grade 4 outcomes in the Punjabi Language and Culture Nine-year Program, Grades 4-5-6. The assessment materials are designed for the beginner level in the context of teaching for communicative competence. Grade 4 learning outcomes from the Punjabi Language and Culture Nine-year…

Improving Elementary School Students’ English Vocabulary Through Local Cultural Content Materials

OpenAIRE

Frans Manurung; Ignatius Harjanto

2015-01-01

Abstract Elementary students of a certain public school in Indonesia had difficulties in learning English. One of the crucial problems was learning English vocabulary. In an attempt to help the students learn and improve English vocabulary, the researchers decided to use CAR to teach English vocabulary with local cultural content materials. The aim of this study was to investigate how the teaching of English vocabulary with local cultural content materials contributed to the improvement ...

Teaching the First Ladies using Material Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Edith P.

2001-01-01

Addresses two aspects of the First Lady's role that are applicable to the use of material culture in the classroom: (1) the First Lady's social role, its impact on the presidential administration, and its use as a reflection of the changing status of the nation; and (2) the First Lady's role as campaigner. (CMK)

Copper minerals and archaeometallurgical materials from the Vinča culture sites of Belovode and Pločnik: Overview of the evidence and new data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radivojević Miljana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The Vinča culture sites of Belovode and Pločnik have been attracting scholarly attention for decades now, due to numerous discoveries indicative of copper mineral and metal use in these settlements, which are confirmed as, currently, the earliest worldwide and very likely developed independently in Eurasia.1 The authors attempt to give an overview of already published data along with new results stemming from the recently completed doctoral research of the primary author.2 All materials related to copper mineral use and pyrometallurgical activities are presented through the concept of metallurgical chaîne opératoire, following the established sequence of operations,3 which is adjusted for this specific case study and divided into three categories: copper mineral processing, (smelting debris, and the making and working of finished metal objects. The qualitative overview of available data is therefore focused mainly around the material side of the studied samples and provides an insight into the technological choices for making copper mineral ornaments and copper metal artefacts in the sites of Belovode and Pločnik. Accordingly, it provides a model for the understanding of similar material assemblages that occur in other Vinča culture sites, or beyond. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br.177012: Society, spiritual and material culture and communications in the prehistory and early history of the Balkans

CULTURAL ADAPTATIONS OF EVIDENCE-BASED HOME-VISITATION MODELS IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiratsuka, Vanessa Y; Parker, Myra E; Sanchez, Jenae; Riley, Rebecca; Heath, Debra; Chomo, Julianna C; Beltangady, Moushumi; Sarche, Michelle

2018-05-01

The Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (Tribal MIECHV) Program provides federal grants to tribes, tribal consortia, tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations to implement evidence-based home-visiting services for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) families. To date, only one evidence-based home-visiting program has been developed for use in AI/AN communities. The purpose of this article is to describe the steps that four Tribal MIECHV Programs took to assess community needs, select a home-visiting model, and culturally adapt the model for use in AI/AN communities. In these four unique Tribal MIECHV Program settings, each program employed a rigorous needs-assessment process and developed cultural modifications in accordance with community strengths and needs. Adaptations occurred in consultation with model developers, with consideration of the conceptual rationale for the program, while grounding new content in indigenous cultures. Research is needed to improve measurement of home-visiting outcomes in tribal and urban AI/AN settings, develop culturally grounded home-visiting interventions, and assess the effectiveness of home visiting in AI/AN communities. © 2018 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

Cross-cultural emotional prosody recognition: evidence from Chinese and British listeners.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulmann, Silke; Uskul, Ayse K

2014-01-01

This cross-cultural study of emotional tone of voice recognition tests the in-group advantage hypothesis (Elfenbein & Ambady, 2002) employing a quasi-balanced design. Individuals of Chinese and British background were asked to recognise pseudosentences produced by Chinese and British native speakers, displaying one of seven emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happy, neutral tone of voice, sad, and surprise). Findings reveal that emotional displays were recognised at rates higher than predicted by chance; however, members of each cultural group were more accurate in recognising the displays communicated by a member of their own cultural group than a member of the other cultural group. Moreover, the evaluation of error matrices indicates that both culture groups relied on similar mechanism when recognising emotional displays from the voice. Overall, the study reveals evidence for both universal and culture-specific principles in vocal emotion recognition.

Festive culture in pre-reformation rural Suffolk

OpenAIRE

Jewell, Katharine Louise

2014-01-01

This thesis is a study of the relationship between festive culture and rural communities in the pre-Reformation period. Using a wide range of evidence, both material and documentary, it uses the county of Suffolk as a case-study. This thesis argues against the prevailing view that festive culture constituted a distinct break from everyday life. It demonstrates that festive culture was an important part of the quotidian working routine and, as such, takes as its starting point evidence of fest...

East-West Cultural Differences in Context-Sensitivity are Evident in Early Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

Imada, Toshie; Carlson, Stephanie M.; Itakura, Shoji

2013-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that North Americans tend to focus on central objects whereas East Asians tend to pay more attention to contextual information in a visual scene. Although it is generally believed that such culturally divergent attention tendencies develop through socialization, existing evidence largely depends on adult samples.…

Towards cultural materialism in the medical humanities: the case of blood rejuvenation

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

This paper argues for an approach within the medical humanities that draws on the theoretical legacy of cultural materialism as a framework for reading cultural practices and their relationship to the social and economic order. It revisits the origins and development of cultural materialism in cultural studies and literary studies between the 1970s and 1990s and considers how, with adaptation, this methodology might facilitate ideological criticism focused on material formations of health, disease and the human body. I outline three key characteristics of a medicocultural materialist approach along these lines: (a) interdisciplinary work on a broad range of medical and cultural sources, including those drawn from ‘popular’ forms of culture; (b) the combination of historicist analysis with scrutiny of present-day contexts; (c) analyses that engage with political economy perspectives and/or the work of medical sociology in this area. The subsequent sections of the paper employ a medicocultural materialist approach to examine conjectural understandings of, and empirical investigations into, the capacity of transfused human blood to rejuvenate the ageing body. I trace textual faultlines that expose the structures of power which inform the movement of blood between bodies in ‘medical gothic’ fictions from the 19th-century fin de siècle, including Mary Elizabeth Braddon's ‘Good Lady Ducayne’ (1896) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). I conclude with a critique of biomedical innovations in blood rejuvenation in the era of medical neoliberalism, before considering the potential applications of medicocultural materialism to other topics within the field of the medical humanities. PMID:28495908

The Structure of the Chinese Material Value Scale: An Eastern Cultural View

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiangqun Liao

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the structure of the Chinese Material Value Scale (MVS. A two-factor structure, rather than the original three-factor structure, was proposed for China by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Direct evidence showed that the dimensions of success and happiness could be merged together. Both explicit and implicit methods were used to examine the relationship between success and happiness based on possession. In particular, as an implicit method, the dot-probe paradigm recording participants’ response time supported the idea that the two-factors could be merged together. The results also showed that for Chinese people, success to an extent means happiness, while the converse is not necessarily true. Chinese are much more concerned about social evaluation than their own feelings, and this cultural characteristic is reflected in our findings.

Behavioral Variation in Gorillas: Evidence of Potential Cultural Traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Martha M; Ando, Chieko; Fawcett, Katherine A; Grueter, Cyril C; Hedwig, Daniela; Iwata, Yuji; Lodwick, Jessica L; Masi, Shelly; Salmi, Roberta; Stoinski, Tara S; Todd, Angelique; Vercellio, Veronica; Yamagiwa, Juichi

2016-01-01

The question of whether any species except humans exhibits culture has generated much debate, partially due to the difficulty of providing conclusive evidence from observational studies in the wild. A starting point for demonstrating the existence of culture that has been used for many species including chimpanzees and orangutans is to show that there is geographic variation in the occurrence of particular behavioral traits inferred to be a result of social learning and not ecological or genetic influences. Gorillas live in a wide variety of habitats across Africa and they exhibit flexibility in diet, behavior, and social structure. Here we apply the 'method of exclusion' to look for the presence/absence of behaviors that could be considered potential cultural traits in well-habituated groups from five study sites of the two species of gorillas. Of the 41 behaviors considered, 23 met the criteria of potential cultural traits, of which one was foraging related, nine were environment related, seven involved social interactions, five were gestures, and one was communication related. There was a strong positive correlation between behavioral dissimilarity and geographic distance among gorilla study sites. Roughly half of all variation in potential cultural traits was intraspecific differences (i.e. variability among sites within a species) and the other 50% of potential cultural traits were differences between western and eastern gorillas. Further research is needed to investigate if the occurrence of these traits is influenced by social learning. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating cultural traits in African apes and other species to shed light on the origin of human culture.

Does Culture Affect Divorce Decisions? Evidence from European Immigrants in the US

OpenAIRE

Almudena Sevilla-Sanz; Delia Furtado and Miriam Marcen

2010-01-01

This paper explores the role of culture in determining divorce decisions by examining differences in divorce rates by country of origin of immigrants in the United States. Because immigrants who arrived in the US at a young age are all exposed to a common set of American laws and institutions, we interpret cross-ancestry differences in divorce rates as evidence of the effect of culture. The quantitatively significant estimated effects of culture are robust to controlling for a large number of...

IMPLEMENTING A STUDENT-CENTERED PEDAGOGY THROUGH THE USE OF INTERESTING AND CULTURALLY CONTEXTUALIZED AUTHENTIC MATERIALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tabitha Kidwell

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The selection and use of appropriate materials is one of the most critical challenges facing English teachers today. In this article, we tell the stories (vignettes of some of the major challenges we have faced as educators in this regard, and we offer a research base and practical suggestions related to each vignette. Selection of interesting and culturally contextualized authentic materials can go a long way towards creating a student-centered peddagogy. This will help to increase student motivation, achievemnt, and retention. Our first recommendation is to cultivate interst in the classroom. Interest can be elicited by selecting materials that lead to individual interest, students‘ personal interests, situational interest, the inherant interest in a specific situation like amystery or a puzzle, or topic interest, interest in the subject of the activity. An excellent way to elicit student interest is through the use of authentic materials. Teachers should endeavor to create interst in their classrooms by choosing interesting topics and texts, editing those texts, and using suspense and surprise. Our second suggestion is to use culturally contextualized authentic materials. These can come from two directions: either they can be situated in the culture of the students (the ―home‖ culture, or they can be situated in the culture of native speakers (the ―target‖ culture. Use of both types of cultural materials is important, and both can be termed ―authentic.‖ The most important point is that the materials are authentic, and therefore more meaningful to students.

Using research evidence to inform staff learning needs in cross-cultural communication in aged care homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillham, David; De Bellis, Anita; Xiao, Lily; Willis, Eileen; Harrington, Ann; Morey, Wendy; Jeffers, Lesley

2018-04-01

Developed countries worldwide are facing an unprecedented demand for aged care services, with recent migrants of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds increasingly recruited as care workers while at the same time there is growing cultural diversity among aged care residents. This situation is compounded by rapidly changing technology and varied educational levels of care workers from diverse backgrounds. The objectives were threefold: to identify staff learning needs to enable them to provide high-quality cross-cultural care; to improve team cohesion; and identify preferred learning approaches. An interpretive qualitative study utilising focus group and interview data informed the development of an education resource. Fifty six care workers from four residential aged care facilities participated in either focus groups or interviews conducted in private meeting rooms within the care facilities. Participants included personal care attendants, registered and clinical nurses, managers, hospitality staff and allied health professionals. Focus group and interview data were categorised and thematically analysed. Data relevant to cross-cultural care, team cohesion and preferred learning approaches informed education resource development, including case studies. Major themes identified the need to promote cultural awareness and understanding, and strategies for cross-cultural care and communication. Themes related to team cohesion demonstrated that staff were already sympathetic and sensitive to cross-cultural issues, and that culturally and linguistically diverse staff add value to the workforce and are supported by the organisation. Staff required clear, uncomplicated education resources to equip them with skills to address problematic cultural situations. Preferred learning approaches varied and highlighted the need for varied educational materials and approaches, as well as time efficient, opportunistic education strategies for the busy workplace. An education

Behavioral Variation in Gorillas: Evidence of Potential Cultural Traits

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Martha M.; Ando, Chieko; Fawcett, Katherine A.; Grueter, Cyril C.; Hedwig, Daniela; Iwata, Yuji; Lodwick, Jessica L.; Masi, Shelly; Salmi, Roberta; Stoinski, Tara S.; Todd, Angelique; Vercellio, Veronica; Yamagiwa, Juichi

2016-01-01

The question of whether any species except humans exhibits culture has generated much debate, partially due to the difficulty of providing conclusive evidence from observational studies in the wild. A starting point for demonstrating the existence of culture that has been used for many species including chimpanzees and orangutans is to show that there is geographic variation in the occurrence of particular behavioral traits inferred to be a result of social learning and not ecological or genetic influences. Gorillas live in a wide variety of habitats across Africa and they exhibit flexibility in diet, behavior, and social structure. Here we apply the ‘method of exclusion’ to look for the presence/absence of behaviors that could be considered potential cultural traits in well-habituated groups from five study sites of the two species of gorillas. Of the 41 behaviors considered, 23 met the criteria of potential cultural traits, of which one was foraging related, nine were environment related, seven involved social interactions, five were gestures, and one was communication related. There was a strong positive correlation between behavioral dissimilarity and geographic distance among gorilla study sites. Roughly half of all variation in potential cultural traits was intraspecific differences (i.e. variability among sites within a species) and the other 50% of potential cultural traits were differences between western and eastern gorillas. Further research is needed to investigate if the occurrence of these traits is influenced by social learning. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating cultural traits in African apes and other species to shed light on the origin of human culture. PMID:27603668

East-West cultural differences in context-sensitivity are evident in early childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Imada, Toshie; Carlson, Stephanie M; Itakura, Shoji

2013-03-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that North Americans tend to focus on central objects whereas East Asians tend to pay more attention to contextual information in a visual scene. Although it is generally believed that such culturally divergent attention tendencies develop through socialization, existing evidence largely depends on adult samples. Moreover, no past research has investigated the relation between context-sensitivity and other domains of cognitive development. The present study examined children in the United States and Japan (N = 175, age 4-9 years) to investigate the developmental pattern in context-sensitivity and its relation to executive function. The study found that context-sensitivity increased with age across cultures. Nevertheless, Japanese children showed significantly greater context-sensitivity than American children. Also, context-sensitivity fully mediated the cultural difference in a set-shifting executive function task, which might help explain past findings that East Asian children outperformed their American counterparts on executive function. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Evidence for universality and cultural variation of differential emotion response patterning.

Science.gov (United States)

Scherer, K R; Wallbott, H G

1994-02-01

The major controversy concerning psychobiological universality of differential emotion patterning versus cultural relativity of emotional experience is briefly reviewed. Data from a series of cross-cultural questionnaire studies in 37 countries on 5 continents are reported and used to evaluate the respective claims of the proponents in the debate. Results show highly significant main effects and strong effect sizes for the response differences across 7 major emotions (joy, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, shame, and guilt). Profiles of cross-culturally stable differences among the emotions with respect to subjective feeling, physiological symptoms, and expressive behavior are also reported. The empirical evidence is interpreted as supporting theories that postulate both a high degree of universality of differential emotion patterning and important cultural differences in emotion elicitation, regulation, symbolic representation, and social sharing.

Plant Materials are Sustainable Substrates Supporting New Technologies of Plant-Only-Based Culture Media for in vitro Culturing of the Plant Microbiota.

Science.gov (United States)

Mourad, Elhussein F; Sarhan, Mohamed S; Daanaa, Hassan-Sibroe A; Abdou, Mennatullah; Morsi, Ahmed T; Abdelfadeel, Mohamed R; Elsawey, Hend; Nemr, Rahma; El-Tahan, Mahmoud; Hamza, Mervat A; Abbas, Mohamed; Youssef, Hanan H; Abdelhadi, Abdelhadi A; Amer, Wafaa M; Fayez, Mohamed; Ruppel, Silke; Hegazi, Nabil A

2018-03-29

In order to improve the culturability and biomass production of rhizobacteria, we previously introduced plant-only-based culture media. We herein attempted to widen the scope of plant materials suitable for the preparation of plant-only-based culture media. We chemically analyzed the refuse of turfgrass, cactus, and clover. They were sufficiently rich to support good in vitro growth by rhizobacteria isolates representing Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. They were also adequate and efficient to produce a cell biomass in liquid batch cultures. These culture media were as sufficient as artificial culture media for the cultivation and recovery of the in situ rhizobacteria of barley (Hordeum murinum L.). Based on culture-dependent (CFU plate counting) and culture-independent analyses (qPCR), mowed turfgrass, in particular, supported the highest culturable population of barley endophytes, representing >16% of the total bacterial number quantified with qPCR. This accurately reflected the endophytic community composition, in terms of diversity indices (S', H', and D') based on PCR-DGGE, and clustered the plant culture media together with the qPCR root populations away from the artificial culture media. Despite the promiscuous nature of the plant materials tested to culture the plant microbiome, our results indicated that plant materials of a homologous nature to the tested host plant, at least at the family level, and/or of the same environment were more likely to be selected. Plant-only-based culture media require further refinements in order to provide selectivity for the in vitro growth of members of the plant microbiome, particularly difficult-to-culture bacteria. This will provide insights into their hidden roles in the environment and support future culturomic studies.

Towards cultural materialism in the medical humanities: the case of blood rejuvenation.

Science.gov (United States)

Oakley, Catherine

2018-03-01

This paper argues for an approach within the medical humanities that draws on the theoretical legacy of cultural materialism as a framework for reading cultural practices and their relationship to the social and economic order. It revisits the origins and development of cultural materialism in cultural studies and literary studies between the 1970s and 1990s and considers how, with adaptation, this methodology might facilitate ideological criticism focused on material formations of health, disease and the human body. I outline three key characteristics of a medicocultural materialist approach along these lines: (a) interdisciplinary work on a broad range of medical and cultural sources, including those drawn from 'popular' forms of culture; (b) the combination of historicist analysis with scrutiny of present-day contexts; (c) analyses that engage with political economy perspectives and/or the work of medical sociology in this area. The subsequent sections of the paper employ a medicocultural materialist approach to examine conjectural understandings of, and empirical investigations into, the capacity of transfused human blood to rejuvenate the ageing body. I trace textual faultlines that expose the structures of power which inform the movement of blood between bodies in 'medical gothic' fictions from the 19th-century fin de siècle, including Mary Elizabeth Braddon's 'Good Lady Ducayne' (1896) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897). I conclude with a critique of biomedical innovations in blood rejuvenation in the era of medical neoliberalism, before considering the potential applications of medicocultural materialism to other topics within the field of the medical humanities. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Cultural Literacy Based Critical Reading Teaching Material with Active Reader Strategy for Junior High School

Science.gov (United States)

Damaianti, Vismaia S.; Damaianti, Lira Fessia; Mulyati, Yeti

2017-01-01

This article describes the findings of a study aimed at producing a set of cultural literacy-oriented critical reading teaching material. This material is developed as a countermeasure to the increasingly thin sensitivity of society, especially the students toward noble values of religion, custom, and culture. With this material student get a…

Cultural Adaptation and Translation of Outreach Materials on Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Grinker, Roy R.; Kang-Yi, Christina D.; Ahmann, Chloe; Beidas, Rinad S.; Lagman, Adrienne; Mandell, David S.

2015-01-01

In order to connect with families and influence treatment trajectories, outreach materials should address cultural perceptions of the condition, its causes, and post-diagnostic care. This paper describes the cultural adaptation and translation of the Autism Speaks First 100 Days Kit into Korean for the purpose of improving autism spectrum disorder…

Fixed, Fluid, and Transient: Negotiating Layers of Art Classroom Material Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Woywod, Christine

2015-01-01

Objects of material culture have meaning. American flags, worktables, bulletin boards, interactive whiteboards, and large white-faced clocks signify "classroom" while color wheels, cupboards, cabinets, sinks, drawing supplies, and that particular scent that lingers after years of exposure to painting materials even more specifically…

Cultural Changes and Chronology from the Transition Late Bronze to Iron Age in Palestine: New Evidence from Tell Abu al-Kharaz, Jordan Valley

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, P. M.

2012-01-01

The 12th century BCE was a period of turmoil in the Southern Levant. The Canaanite Late Bronze Age culture - during several hundred years dominated by Egypt - received quite abruptly strong influences from the Eastern Mediterranean. The bearer of these new cultural elements, the so called Sea Peoples who included the Philistines, settled in Palestine after attacking Egypt. The changes that took place in Palestine are best reflected in the material culture which demonstrates Aegean and Cypriote elements. The exact date of their arrival in Palestine is a matter of recurrent discussion but the majority of scholars agree that it happened in the 12th century BCE. Philistine culture is usually associated with the area around today's Gaza. Nevertheless, the current excavations at Tell Abu al- Kharaz in the Transjordanian Jordan Valley provide evidence of Eastern Mediterranean/Philistine culture and a number of radiocarbon dates from first class find contexts. (author)

THE FEDERAL LIST OF EXTREMIST MATERIALS AS A CULTURAL ARTEFACT “FAN-FICTION”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Salnikov

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article suggests the analysis of problem of counteraction to distribution of extremist materials. According to the author, a strictly legal interpretation of the Federal list of extremist materials ignores the problem of the nature of extremist materials and the question of the applicability of this concept. As a result extremist materials can be understood as phantom, determined by fight the power with its political opponents. Overcoming this negative interpretation is possible through the interpretation of extremist materials in the context of the practices of the prohibition of texts that took place in society at different historical stages. Qualitative difference of extremist materials from other forms of censorship sets a postmodern culture in which there is a transformation of the concept of the author of the text up until his disappearance. This is the epitome of cultures fan-fiction – free community of persons who in their literary works – fanfiction – develop, modify or refine some of the original idea, embodied in a book, film, computer game. The author offers the interpretation of extremist materials as of fanfics object, where the list of extremist materials sets the boundaries of the field of extremist ideas, acting as a marker of the space limitation of the creative generation of information in the world of mass culture.

Application of stem-cell media to explant culture of human periosteum: An optimal approach for preparing osteogenic cell material.

Science.gov (United States)

Uematsu, Kohya; Nagata, Masaki; Kawase, Tomoyuki; Suzuki, Kenji; Takagi, Ritsuo

2013-01-01

As part of our clinical tests on bone regeneration using cultured periosteal sheets, here, we prepared cultured periosteal sheets in two types of stem-cell culture media, STK1 and STK3. Human periosteum was expanded either in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1 for 28 days, in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1 for 14 days followed by 1% human serum-supplemented STK3 for 14 days (1% human serum-supplemented STK1+3), or in 10% fetal bovine serum-supplemented Medium 199 for 28 days (control). Cultured periosteal sheet diameter and DNA content were significantly higher, and the multilayer structure was prominent in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1 and 1% human serum-supplemented STK1+3. The messenger RNA of osteoblastic markers was significantly upregulated in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1+3. Osteopontin-immunopositive staining and mineralization were evident across a wide area of the cultured periosteal sheet in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1+3. Subcutaneous implantation in nude mice following expansion in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1+3 produced the highest cultured periosteal sheet osteogenic activity. Expansion in 1% human serum-supplemented STK1+3 successfully induced cultured periosteal sheet growth while retaining osteogenic potential, and subsequent osteoblastic induction promoted the production of homogeneous cell material.

Culture through Comparison: Creating Audio-Visual Listening Materials for a CLIL Course

Science.gov (United States)

Zhyrun, Iryna

2016-01-01

Authentic listening has become a part of CLIL materials, but it can be difficult to find listening materials that perfectly match the language level, length requirements, content, and cultural context of a course. The difficulty of finding appropriate materials online, financial limitations posed by copyright fees, and necessity to produce…

[Authentication of Trace Material Evidence in Forensic Science Field with Infrared Microscopic Technique].

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zhi-quan; Hu, Ke-liang

2016-03-01

In the field of forensic science, conventional infrared spectral analysis technique is usually unable to meet the detection requirements, because only very a few trace material evidence with diverse shapes and complex compositions, can be extracted from the crime scene. Infrared microscopic technique is developed based on a combination of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopic technique and microscopic technique. Infrared microscopic technique has a lot of advantages over conventional infrared spectroscopic technique, such as high detection sensitivity, micro-area analysisand nondestructive examination. It has effectively solved the problem of authentication of trace material evidence in the field of forensic science. Additionally, almost no external interference is introduced during measurements by infrared microscopic technique. It can satisfy the special need that the trace material evidence must be reserved for witness in court. It is illustrated in detail through real case analysis in this experimental center that, infrared microscopic technique has advantages in authentication of trace material evidence in forensic science field. In this paper, the vibration features in infrared spectra of material evidences, including paints, plastics, rubbers, fibers, drugs and toxicants, can be comparatively analyzed by means of infrared microscopic technique, in an attempt to provide powerful spectroscopic evidence for qualitative diagnosis of various criminal and traffic accident cases. The experimental results clearly suggest that infrared microscopic technique has an incomparable advantage and it has become an effective method for authentication of trace material evidence in the field of forensic science.

Analytical techniques for characterization of raw materials in cell culture media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharma Chandana

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Raw materials are a critical part of any cell culture medium; therefore, it is of utmost importance to understand and characterize them for high-quality product. The raw material characterization (RMC program at SAFC focuses on individual screening of raw materials both analytically and biologically. The goal of the program is to develop the best-in-class knowledge base of the raw materials used in SAFC’s media formulations and their impact on performance of products.

Assessing environmental effects on organic materials in cultural heritage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boyatzis, Stamatis; Ioakimoglou, Eleni; Facorellis, Yorgos

2015-01-01

Under the auspices of INVENVORG (Thales Research Funding Program – NRSF), and within a holistic approach for assessing environmental effects on organic materials in cultural heritage (CH) artefacts, the effect of artificial ageing on elemental and molecular damage and their effects...... on the structural integrity of bone was investigated. Metapodial roe deer bone samples were artificially aged under humidity and atmospheres of sulfur and nitrogen oxides in room temperature. Elemental micro-analysis of bone material through SEM-EDX and molecular investigations through FTIR and Raman spectroscopy...

Contingencies and metacontingencies: Toward a synthesis of behavior analysis and cultural materialism

Science.gov (United States)

Glenn, Sigrid S.

1988-01-01

A synthesis of cultural materialism and behavior analysis might increase the scientific and technological value of both fields. Conceptual and substantive relations between the two fields show important similarities, particularly with regard to the causal role of the environment in behavioral and cultural evolution. Key concepts in Marvin Harris's cultural materialist theories are outlined. A distinction is made between contingencies at the behavioral level of analysis (contingencies of reinforcement) and contingencies at the cultural level of analysis (metacontingencies). Relations between the two kinds of contingencies are explored in cultural practices from paleolithic to industrial sociocultural systems. A synthesis of these two fields may offer the opportunity to resolve serious problems currently facing modern cultures. PMID:22478011

Does Culture Affect Divorce Decisions? Evidence from European Immigrants in the US

OpenAIRE

Furtado, Delia; Marcén, Miriam; Sevilla-Sanz, Almudena

2011-01-01

This paper explores the role of culture in determining divorce decisions by examining country of origin differences in divorce rates of immigrants in the United States. Because childhood-arriving immigrants are all exposed to a common set of US laws and institutions, we interpret relationships between their divorce tendencies and home country divorce rates as evidence of the effect of culture. Our results are robust to controlling for several home country variables including average church at...

Color categories are not universal: new evidence from traditional and western cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Roberson, Debi D.; Davidoff, Jules; Davies, Ian R. L.

2002-06-01

Evidence presented supports the linguistic relativity of color categories in three different paradigms. Firstly, a series of cross-cultural investigations, which had set out to replicate the seminal work of Rosch Heider with the Dani of New Guinea, failed to find evidence of a set of universal color categories. Instead, we found evidence of linguistic relativity in both populations tested. Neither participants from a Melanesian hunter-gatherer culture, nor those from an African pastoral tribe, whose languages both contain five color terms, showed a cognitive organization of color resembling that of English speakers. Further, Melanesian participants showed evidence of Categorical Perception, but only at their linguistic category boundaries. Secondly, in native English speakers verbal interference was found to selectively remove the defining features of Categorical Perception. Under verbal interference, the greater accuracy normally observed for cross-category judgements compared to within-category judgements disappeared. While both visual and verbal codes may be employed in the recognition memory of colors, participants only make use of verbal coding when demonstrating Categorical Perception. Thirdly, in a brain- damaged patient suffering from a naming disorder, the loss of labels radically impaired his ability to categorize colors. We conclude that language affects both the perception of and memory for colors.

Organizational Culture and Climate and Mental Health Provider Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practice

OpenAIRE

Aarons, Gregory A.; Sawitzky, Angelina C.

2006-01-01

Mental health provider attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice (EBP) are associated with organizational context and provider individual differences. Organizational culture and climate are contextual factors that can affect staff acceptance of innovation. This study examined the association of organizational culture and climate with attitudes toward adopting EBP. Participants were 301 public sector mental health service providers from 49 programs providing mental health services for ...

Do we overemphasize the role of culture in the behavior of racial/ethnic minorities? Evidence of a cultural (mis)attribution bias in American psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Causadias, José M; Vitriol, Joseph A; Atkin, Annabelle L

2018-04-01

Although culture influences all human beings, there is an assumption in American psychology that culture matters more for members of certain groups. This article identifies and provides evidence of the cultural (mis)attribution bias: a tendency to overemphasize the role of culture in the behavior of racial/ethnic minorities, and to underemphasize it in the behavior of Whites. Two studies investigated the presence of this bias with an examination of a decade of peer reviewed research conducted in the United States (N = 434 articles), and an experiment and a survey with psychology professors in the United States (N = 361 psychologists). Archival analyses revealed differences in the composition of samples used in studies examining cultural or noncultural psychological phenomena. We also find evidence to suggest that psychologists in the United States favor cultural explanations over psychological explanations when considering the behavior and cognition of racial/ethnic minorities, whereas the opposite pattern emerged in reference to Whites. The scientific ramifications of this phenomenon, as well as alternatives to overcome it, are discussed in detail. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

A Growing Disconnection From Nature Is Evident in Cultural Products.

Science.gov (United States)

Kesebir, Selin; Kesebir, Pelin

2017-03-01

Human connection with nature is widely believed to be in decline even though empirical evidence is scarce on the magnitude and historical pattern of the change. Studying works of popular culture in English throughout the 20th century and later, we have documented a cultural shift away from nature that begins in the 1950s. Since then, references to nature have been decreasing steadily in fiction books, song lyrics, and film storylines, whereas references to the human-made environment have not. The observed temporal pattern is consistent with the explanatory role of increased virtual and indoors recreation options (e.g., television, video games) in the disconnect from nature, and it is inconsistent with a pure urbanization account. These findings are cause for concern, not only because they imply foregone physical and psychological benefits from engagement with nature, but also because cultural products are agents of socialization that can evoke curiosity, respect, and concern for the natural world.

Silk, porcelain and lacquer: China and Japan and their trade with Western Europe and the New World, 1500-1644. A survey of documentary and material evidence

OpenAIRE

Llorens Planella, Maria Teresa (Teresa Canepa)

2015-01-01

This dissertation focused on the prolific early European trade and consumption of three Asian manufactured goods: Chinese silk and porcelain, and Japanese lacquer in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and has shown how the material cultures of late Ming China and Momoyama/early Edo Japan became inextricably linked with the West. Multiple sources provided new and unexpected documentary and material evidence of this trade by the Iberian Kingdoms of Portugal and Spain, and the tradin...

Gelatin methacrylamide as coating material in cell culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Egger, Michael; Tovar, Günter E M; Hoch, Eva; Southan, Alexander

2016-06-13

Unmodified gelatin (uG) is widely used as a coating material in cell culture for improving surface properties. In this study, the authors investigated if gelatin methacrylamide (GM) with a medium degree of methacrylamide modification (GM1.5) and a high degree of methacrylamide modification (GM4) are equally suitable for this purpose. Therefore, gold surfaces were coated with uG, GM1.5, and GM4 by adsorption of the polymers on the surfaces. Coating success was confirmed by spectroscopic ellipsometry, contact angle measurements, surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPRS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The authors found that upon adsorption of uG, GM1.5, a nd GM4 on gold, thin films with thicknesses of 2.95 nm, 2.50 nm, and 2.26 nm were formed. The coated surfaces showed advancing contact angles of 46° (uG and GM1.5) and 52° (GM4) without alteration of the surface roughness determined by AFM. Protein adsorption taking place on the coated surfaces was measured during contact of the surfaces with fetal calf serum by SPRS. Protein adsorption on the coated surfaces was reduced by the factor of 6.4 (uG), 5.4 (GM1.5), and 4.6 (GM4) compared to gold surfaces. Human fibroblasts cultured on the surfaces showed excellent viability shown by water soluble tetrazolium salt assay as well as live/dead staining with propidium iodide and fluorescein diacetate. No cytotoxic effects of the GM coated surfaces were observed, giving rise to the conclusion that GMs are suitable materials as coatings in cell culture.

Teaching Material Culture and Chinese Gardens at American Colleges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Han

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The paper reflects on the experience of designing and teaching a course on material culture and Chinese gardens. Involving traditional philosophy, ethics, religion, painting, calligraphy, craft, literature, architecture and horticulture, a classical Chinese garden can be considered a microcosm of Chinese culture. This essay discusses the textbooks and general organization of the course, particularly focusing on how students study the key elements (rocks, water, plants and architecture in building a Chinese garden. Some Chinese literature with representations of gardens that can be used for this class is also introduced. In addition, this essay uses two classical Chinese gardens built in the United States (the Astor Court and the Garden of Flowing Fragrance to discuss the appropriation of “Chinese-ness” in different geographical, physical and cultural environments. Finally, some available online resources and technologies that have enhanced student understanding of the subject matter are introduced.

Looking at, Engaging More: Approaches for Investigating Material Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Blandy, Doug; Bolin, Paul E.

2012-01-01

Objects of material culture are not always those items most commonly explored in the art classroom, and are, instead, the frequently overlooked things in people's everyday world. They are the items people collect in their homes, carry with them in backpacks, purses, and pockets, and stow on shelves in the back of closets--often the things they…

Acting and Collecting: Imagining Asia through material culture and musical theatre

OpenAIRE

Peter Thorley

2015-01-01

This paper explores the link between Asian-inspired material culture and musical theatre through the collections of Anglo-Australian performer Herbert Browne (1895-1975). Brown played lead roles in 1920s Australian musical theatre productions of The Mikado and Chu Chin Chow and re-lived his connection with oriental theatre by collecting and responding to objects performatively in the Chinoiserie room of his Melbourne home. Oriental musical theatre blended exotic cultures and locales in visual...

Acting and Collecting: Imagining Asia through material culture and musical theatre

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Thorley

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the link between Asian-inspired material culture and musical theatre through the collections of Anglo-Australian performer Herbert Browne (1895-1975. Brown played lead roles in 1920s Australian musical theatre productions of The Mikado and Chu Chin Chow and re-lived his connection with oriental theatre by collecting and responding to objects performatively in the Chinoiserie room of his Melbourne home. Oriental musical theatre blended exotic cultures and locales in visually spectacular productions which bore little resemblance to reality. The taste for escapist fiction in the theatre took place against a backdrop of museum collecting which aimed to reproduce authentic Asian and Other cultures. In this paper, I draw on French philosopher Merleau-Ponty’s observations on the relationship between thought and the body’s interaction with space to interpret the influence of Browne’s theatricality on collecting choices. From this perspective, objects materialize particular understandings of the world which originate in the body and the body’s performative engagement with space.

Organizational Culture and Climate and Mental Health Provider Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Aarons, Gregory A; Sawitzky, Angelina C

2006-02-01

Mental health provider attitudes toward adopting evidence-based practice (EBP) are associated with organizational context and provider individual differences. Organizational culture and climate are contextual factors that can affect staff acceptance of innovation. This study examined the association of organizational culture and climate with attitudes toward adopting EBP. Participants were 301 public sector mental health service providers from 49 programs providing mental health services for youths and families. Correlation analyses and multilevel hierarchical regressions, controlling for effects of provider characteristics, showed that constructive culture was associated with more positive attitudes toward adoption of EBP and poor organizational climates with perceived divergence of usual practice and EBP. Behavioral health organizations may benefit from consideration of how culture and climate affect staff attitudes toward change in practice.

Conceptualising 'materialities of care': making visible mundane material culture in health and social care contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Buse, Christina; Martin, Daryl; Nettleton, Sarah

2018-02-01

'Materialities of care' is outlined as a heuristic device for making visible the mundane and often unnoticed aspects of material culture within health and social care contexts, and exploring interrelations between materials and care in practice. Three analytic strands inherent to the concept are delineated: spatialities of care, temporalities of care and practices of care. These interconnecting themes span the articles in this special issue. The articles explore material practice across a range of clinical and non-clinical spaces, including hospitals, hospices, care homes, museums, domestic spaces, and community spaces such as shops and tenement stairwells. The collection addresses fleeting moments of care, as well as choreographed routines that order bodies and materials. Throughout there is a focus on practice, and relations between materials and care as ongoing, emergent and processual. We conclude by reflecting on methodological approaches for examining 'materialities of care', and offer some thoughts as to how this analytic approach might be applied to future research within the sociology of health and illness. © 2018 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness.

Japanese Language and Culture: 9-Year Program Classroom Assessment Materials, Grade 4

Science.gov (United States)

Alberta Education, 2008

2008-01-01

This document is designed to provide assessment materials for specific Grade 4 outcomes in the Japanese Language and Culture Nine-year Program, Grades 4-5-6. The assessment materials are designed for the beginner level in the context of teaching for communicative competence. Grade 4 learning outcomes from the Japanese Language and Culture…

Forensic DNA methylation profiling from evidence material for investigative leads

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hwan Young; Lee, Soong Deok; Shin, Kyoung-Jin

2016-01-01

DNA methylation is emerging as an attractive marker providing investigative leads to solve crimes in forensic genetics. The identification of body fluids that utilizes tissue-specific DNA methylation can contribute to solving crimes by predicting activity related to the evidence material. The age estimation based on DNA methylation is expected to reduce the number of potential suspects, when the DNA profile from the evidence does not match with any known person, including those stored in the forensic database. Moreover, the variation in DNA implicates environmental exposure, such as cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, thereby suggesting the possibility to be used as a marker for predicting the lifestyle of potential suspect. In this review, we describe recent advances in our understanding of DNA methylation variations and the utility of DNA methylation as a forensic marker for advanced investigative leads from evidence materials. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(7): 359-369] PMID:27099236

Effects of Pop Culture as Authentic Materials toward Students’ Writing Skill

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ratnawati Ratnawati

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Writing, one of the four skills which has to be taught by educators in language learning. Starting from classroom observation implied that students confronted the difficulties in writing involving generating ideas, organizing words, and making compositions. This study supposes to explore some effects of pop culture as authentic materials for English language teaching in improving students‘ writing skill. Due to pop culture relates to students‘ life and experience, it is considered to be a stimulus for gaining students‘ ideas, information, motivation, and interest in teaching writing. The students of secondary school were involved in this study and descriptive case study was employed to observe the importance of pop culture in writing class. Also, questionnaires and students‘ works are the instruments to measure its effects. Both students‘ works and result of the questionnaires pointed out that significantly improvement obtained after applying pop culture. In line with findings, it can be said that pop cultures have significant effects toward students‘ writing skill. So, educators need to apply pop culture as their choices in future planning lesson.

Evidence for a Cultural Influence on Field-Independence in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Hwan Cui; Milne, Elizabeth

2012-01-01

Field-independence, or weak central coherence, is a recognised phenotype of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is also evidence of cultural variation in this perceptual style, as neurotypical individuals from Western nations are more field-independent than neurotypical individuals from East-Asian nations. The majority of research on perceptual…

19 CFR 10.121 - Visual or auditory materials of an educational, scientific, or cultural character.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Visual or auditory materials of an educational... RATE, ETC. General Provisions Visual Or Auditory Materials § 10.121 Visual or auditory materials of an... the articles are visual or auditory materials of an educational, scientific, or cultural character...

Cultural Materialism and Behavior Analysis: Common Problems and Radical Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Marvin

2007-01-01

This article presents a transcribed audio recording of the invited address the author gave to Sigrid Glenn on the relations between cultural materialism and radical behaviorism at the 12th annual conference of the Association for Behavior Analysis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 23rd, 1986. In his address, the author emphasizes that the necessity…

Neural evidence for cultural differences in the valuation of positive facial expressions

Science.gov (United States)

Park, BoKyung; Chim, Louise; Blevins, Elizabeth; Knutson, Brian

2016-01-01

European Americans value excitement more and calm less than Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans value excited and calm states similarly, whereas Chinese value calm more than excited states. To examine how these cultural differences influence people’s immediate responses to excited vs calm facial expressions, we combined a facial rating task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. During scanning, European American (n = 19) and Chinese (n = 19) females viewed and rated faces that varied by expression (excited, calm), ethnicity (White, Asian) and gender (male, female). As predicted, European Americans showed greater activity in circuits associated with affect and reward (bilateral ventral striatum, left caudate) while viewing excited vs calm expressions than did Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans responded to excited vs calm expressions similarly, whereas Chinese showed greater activity in these circuits in response to calm vs excited expressions regardless of targets’ ethnicity or gender. Across cultural groups, greater ventral striatal activity while viewing excited vs. calm expressions predicted greater preference for excited vs calm expressions months later. These findings provide neural evidence that people find viewing the specific positive facial expressions valued by their cultures to be rewarding and relevant. PMID:26342220

Does culture affect divorce? evidence from European immigrants in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Furtado, Delia; Marcén, Miriam; Sevilla, Almudena

2013-06-01

This article explores the role of culture in determining divorce by examining country-of-origin differences in divorce rates of immigrants in the United States. Because childhood-arriving immigrants are all exposed to a common set of U.S. laws and institutions, we interpret relationships between their divorce tendencies and home-country divorce rates as evidence of the effect of culture. Our results are robust to controlling for several home-country variables, including average church attendance and gross domestic product (GDP). Moreover, specifications with country-of-origin fixed effects suggest that immigrants from countries with low divorce rates are especially less likely to be divorced if they reside among a large number of coethnics. Supplemental analyses indicate that divorce culture has a stronger impact on the divorce decisions of females than of males, pointing to a potentially gendered nature of divorce taboos.

National Agendas and Local Realities: Festive Material and Ritual Culture, Nationalism, and Modernity in the Chita Region of Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sean McPherson

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The reworking of religious space in modern Japan encompassed the reinvention of the spatial, material, and ritual culture of matsuri 祭り(festivals. After a period of relative official disfavor, festivals in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were reinvigorated by changes in ritual process and spatial scope, as well as by shifts in the architecture and sculpture of dashi 山車 (wheeled festival floats. The incorporation of matsuri into broader discourses of national cultural identity was driven by the affective potential of their supposed cultural authenticity. This reinvention of festivity is evident in the Tokoname Matsuri of Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture, where after the 1905 Russo-Japanese conflict several Edo-period shrine festivals were merged into a shōkonsai 招魂祭 (festival for the war dead. The spatial scope and ritual process, as well as the architecture and sculptural iconography, of the six dashi built for the new Tokoname Matsuri tied this regional city into national discourses of cultural authenticity, racial purity, and martial valor. The ideological resonance in prewar Japan of the Tokoname Matsuri and other festivals with nationalist imagery sprang from their indelibly local origins; matsuri were not controlled entirely from the top down, but rather were mediated at multiple levels.

PREFACE: Modern Archaeoastronomy: From Material Culture to Cosmology

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Daniel

2016-02-01

The Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting (NAM) 2014 was hosted by the Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (ICG) at the University of Portsmouth. It was held from June 23-26 2014 and was sponsored by the RAS, STFC, SEPnet and Winton Capital. As part of this meeting a session stream titled Modern Archaeoastronomy: From Material Culture to Cosmology took place on Monday 23rd proposed and organized by Brian Sheen (Roseland Observatory) and Daniel Brown (Nottingham Trent University). It consisted of an illustration of the many aspects of archaeoastronomy or cultural-astronomy as it has developed and embraced areas such as anthropology, public engagement and sociology. Anita Heward (Press Officer NAM) stated that 'sessions on the history of astronomy have been a feature of many NAM programmes over the years, but NAM 2014 was the first to include a dedicated session on archaeoastronomy.' It was motivated from past decades where our understanding of astronomy of our ancestors has become more strongly based on factual data. As such it allowed researchers to identify possible traces of astronomical knowledge in archaeological remains and artefacts. Archaeoastronomy is an ideal example of the advancement in this area as well as the power of interdisciplinary work that in recent times has started to interpret these findings through cultural, anthropological and educational research. This session will offer an opportunity to present a multitude of different approaches of analyzing the perception and origins of astronomy in ancient and modern cultures, and also bring together young researchers and students in the field to present their research to a wider community.

Valuing Stuff: Materials Culture and Artifactual Literacies in the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Randall, Régine; Mercurio, Mia Lynn

2015-01-01

Recent interest in materials culture and artifactual literacies has helped the authors of this article rethink how they teach preservice and inservice teachers and collaborate with K-12 teachers. Each discipline has its own stuff that can help students understand the products and practices of a field beyond what they might be able to glean from…

Examining Student Work for Evidence of Teacher Uptake of Educative Curriculum Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Bismack, Amber Schultz; Arias, Anna Maria; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify evidence in student work of teachers' uptake of educative features in educative curriculum materials. These are features in curriculum materials designed with the specific intent of supporting teacher learning and enactment. This study was prompted by previous work on educative curriculum materials and the…

Journeys of our ancestors: Conservation science approaches to the analysis of cultural material

Science.gov (United States)

O'Grady, Caitlin Rose

The application and use of non-destructive portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis is a critical tool in the preservation and interpretation of cultural material. Portable XRF instrumentation produce elemental compositional data that is used to reconstruct current artifact composition, which can be related to materials and methods of manufacture, technological practice, as well as object condition and presence of corrosion surfaces. Portable XRF analysis is used to assess a variety of material classes utilized in artifact manufacture. The dissertation research is based on a series of three case studies that represent typical groups of material culture commonly encountered in conservation and conservation science research. Conservators and conservation scientists frequently undertake analysis and interpretation of disparate groups of materials. Often, these objects are tied together by research questions or themes directed by outside influences including preservation issues requiring action; curatorial research interests; museum exhibition programs; as well as many other cultural heritage stakeholders. To this end, both non-destructive and destructive tools that provide measurements of interest play critical roles in analysis. The case studies have been designed to answer common compositional questions relating to (a) bulk analysis of Chinese coins, (b) characterization of Southwestern ceramic colorants, and, (c) chemical examination of post-depositional manganese dioxide accretions occurring on archaeological ceramic materials. They evaluate the value of data produced using effectiveness of non-destructive portable XRF analysis for the interpretation of archaeological materials. The case studies provide a template for the development of conservation science research, predicated on object preservation, which produce meaningful data for the interpretation and conservation of the analyzed archaeological artifacts. Portable XRF provides useful data that is used to

Reinvigorating Ethnic Cultural Identity Through Mother-Tongue-Teaching Materials in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Su-chiao

1996-01-01

Explores to what extent a mother-tongue educational program can reinvigorate Taiwan's ethnic cultural identity. Content of mother-tongue materials used in Taipei county for Taiwanese, Hakka, and Ataylic students is analyzed, and interviews with members from each ethnic group are also conducted as a supplement. (JL)

Double pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy applied to natural and artificial materials from cultural heritages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brai, Maria; Gennaro, Gaetano; Schillaci, Tiziano; Tranchina, Luigi

2009-01-01

The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an applied physical technique that has shown in recent years its great potential for rapid qualitative analysis of materials. Thanks to the possibility to implement a portable instrument that perform LIBS analysis, this technique is revealed to be particularly useful for in situ analysis in the field of cultural heritages. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potentiality of LIBS technique in the field of cultural heritages, with respect to the chemical characterization of complex matrix as calcareous and refractory materials for further quantitative analyses on cultural heritages. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses were used as reference. Calibration curves of certified materials used as standards were obtained by XRF analyses. The LIBS measurements were performed with a new mobile instrument called Modi (Mobile Double pulse Instrument for LIBS Analysis). The XRF analyses were performed with a portable instrument ArtTAX. LIBS and XRF measurement were performed on both reference materials and samples (bricks and mortars) sampled in the ancient Greek-Roman Theatre of Taormina. Although LIBS measurements performed on reference materials have shown non linear response to concentrations, and so we were not able to obtain quantitative results, an integrated study of XRF and LIBS signals permitted us to distinguish among chemical features and degradation state of measured building materials.

Double pulse laser induced breakdown spectroscopy applied to natural and artificial materials from cultural heritages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brai, Maria; Gennaro, Gaetano [Dipartimento di Fisica e Tecnologie Relative, Universita di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed.18, 90128 Palermo (Italy); Schillaci, Tiziano, E-mail: tschillaci@unipa.i [Dipartimento di Fisica e Tecnologie Relative, Universita di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed.18, 90128 Palermo (Italy); Tranchina, Luigi [Dipartimento di Fisica e Tecnologie Relative, Universita di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed.18, 90128 Palermo (Italy)

2009-10-15

The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an applied physical technique that has shown in recent years its great potential for rapid qualitative analysis of materials. Thanks to the possibility to implement a portable instrument that perform LIBS analysis, this technique is revealed to be particularly useful for in situ analysis in the field of cultural heritages. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potentiality of LIBS technique in the field of cultural heritages, with respect to the chemical characterization of complex matrix as calcareous and refractory materials for further quantitative analyses on cultural heritages. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyses were used as reference. Calibration curves of certified materials used as standards were obtained by XRF analyses. The LIBS measurements were performed with a new mobile instrument called Modi (Mobile Double pulse Instrument for LIBS Analysis). The XRF analyses were performed with a portable instrument ArtTAX. LIBS and XRF measurement were performed on both reference materials and samples (bricks and mortars) sampled in the ancient Greek-Roman Theatre of Taormina. Although LIBS measurements performed on reference materials have shown non linear response to concentrations, and so we were not able to obtain quantitative results, an integrated study of XRF and LIBS signals permitted us to distinguish among chemical features and degradation state of measured building materials.

Fumonisin concentrations and in vivo toxicity of nixtamalized Fusarium verticillioides culture material: evidence for fumonisin-matrix interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Burns, T D; Snook, M E; Riley, R T; Voss, K A

2008-08-01

The toxic potential of nixtamalized foods can be underestimated if, during cooking, reversible fumonisin-food matrix interactions reduce the amount of mycotoxin that is detected but not the amount that is bioavailable. Fusarium verticillioides culture material (CM) was nixtamalized as is (NCM) or after mixing with ground corn (NCMC). Additional portions were sham nixtamalized without (SCM) or with corn (SCMC). Nixtamalization and sham nixtamalization reduced FB(1); CM, NCM, and SCM diets contained 9.08, 2.08, and 1.19 ppm, respectively. FB(1) was further reduced in the NCMC (0.49 ppm) but not the SCMC (1.01 ppm) diets compared to their NCM and SCM counterparts. Equivalent weights of the cooked products, uncooked CM, corn (UC) or nixtamalized UC (NUC) were fed to rats for up to three weeks. Kidney lesions in the NCM-fed group were less severe than in the CM-fed, positive control group and no lesions were found in the NCMC and other groups. Group kidney sphinganine (biomarker of fumonisin exposure) concentrations decreased in the order: CM (absolute concentration (nmol/g)=600-800)>NCM (400-600)>SCM and SCMC (30-90)>NCMC, UC and NUC (<8). Together, these results suggest that mycotoxin-corn matrix interactions during nixtamalization reduce the bioavailability and toxicity of FB(1).

Neural evidence for cultural differences in the valuation of positive facial expressions.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, BoKyung; Tsai, Jeanne L; Chim, Louise; Blevins, Elizabeth; Knutson, Brian

2016-02-01

European Americans value excitement more and calm less than Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans value excited and calm states similarly, whereas Chinese value calm more than excited states. To examine how these cultural differences influence people's immediate responses to excited vs calm facial expressions, we combined a facial rating task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. During scanning, European American (n = 19) and Chinese (n = 19) females viewed and rated faces that varied by expression (excited, calm), ethnicity (White, Asian) and gender (male, female). As predicted, European Americans showed greater activity in circuits associated with affect and reward (bilateral ventral striatum, left caudate) while viewing excited vs calm expressions than did Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans responded to excited vs calm expressions similarly, whereas Chinese showed greater activity in these circuits in response to calm vs excited expressions regardless of targets' ethnicity or gender. Across cultural groups, greater ventral striatal activity while viewing excited vs. calm expressions predicted greater preference for excited vs calm expressions months later. These findings provide neural evidence that people find viewing the specific positive facial expressions valued by their cultures to be rewarding and relevant. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Titanium or steel as osteosynthesis material : Systematic literature search for clinical evidence].

Science.gov (United States)

Joeris, Alexander; Goldhahn, Sabine; Rometsch, Elke; Höntzsch, Dankward

2017-02-01

The selection of the appropriate implant material, stainless steel or titanium, is still the decision of the surgeon and/or the affiliated institution. Additionally, remarkable international differences can be found between the different markets, which cannot really be explained. A systematic literature search was performed to verify whether there is clinical evidence for the preference of one material over the other. The systematic literature search was performed utilizing the internet databases PubMed, Cochrane and Web of Science. Comparative studies were included that reported on adult patients with osteosynthesis of extremities after trauma using either stainless steel or titanium implants. Information was extracted about infection rates, incidence of clinically relevant allergies, problems with implant removal and other complications. A total of 18 publications were identified to be eligible and 2 referenced articles were added. In summary, there is insufficient clinical evidence that the use of titanium or steel implants has a positive or negative effect on fracture healing, shows different rates of allergies, different rates of infections or mechanical failure. No supporting evidence could be identified for the difficulties with removal of titanium implants reported by surgeons. This systematic literature search did not provide any clinical evidence for material-related differences between titanium or stainless steel implants for fracture fixation. Based on the current clinical evidence both titanium and steel implants can be considered to be of equal value. The reported difficulties with implant removal are not reflected in the published literature.

Single cells for forensic DNA analysis--from evidence material to test tube.

Science.gov (United States)

Brück, Simon; Evers, Heidrun; Heidorn, Frank; Müller, Ute; Kilper, Roland; Verhoff, Marcel A

2011-01-01

The purpose of this project was to develop a method that, while providing morphological quality control, allows single cells to be obtained from the surfaces of various evidence materials and be made available for DNA analysis in cases where only small amounts of cell material are present or where only mixed traces are found. With the SteREO Lumar.V12 stereomicroscope and UV unit from Zeiss, it was possible to detect and assess single epithelial cells on the surfaces of various objects (e.g., glass, plastic, metal). A digitally operated micromanipulator developed by aura optik was used to lift a single cell from the surface of evidence material and to transfer it to a conventional PCR tube or to an AmpliGrid(®) from Advalytix. The actual lifting of the cells was performed with microglobes that acted as carriers. The microglobes were held with microtweezers and were transferred to the DNA analysis receptacles along with the adhering cells. In a next step, the PCR can be carried out in this receptacle without removing the microglobe. Our method allows a single cell to be isolated directly from evidence material and be made available for forensic DNA analysis. © 2010 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Culture modulates the brain response to human expressions of emotion: electrophysiological evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pan; Rigoulot, Simon; Pell, Marc D

2015-01-01

To understand how culture modulates on-line neural responses to social information, this study compared how individuals from two distinct cultural groups, English-speaking North Americans and Chinese, process emotional meanings of multi-sensory stimuli as indexed by both behaviour (accuracy) and event-related potential (N400) measures. In an emotional Stroop-like task, participants were presented face-voice pairs expressing congruent or incongruent emotions in conditions where they judged the emotion of one modality while ignoring the other (face or voice focus task). Results indicated that while both groups were sensitive to emotional differences between channels (with lower accuracy and higher N400 amplitudes for incongruent face-voice pairs), there were marked group differences in how intruding facial or vocal cues affected accuracy and N400 amplitudes, with English participants showing greater interference from irrelevant faces than Chinese. Our data illuminate distinct biases in how adults from East Asian versus Western cultures process socio-emotional cues, supplying new evidence that cultural learning modulates not only behaviour, but the neurocognitive response to different features of multi-channel emotion expressions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Infusing Culture into Practice: Developing and Implementing Evidence-Based Mental Health Services for African American Foster Youth

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, Harold Eugene; McBeath, Bowen

2010-01-01

The lack of culturally appropriate health and mental health care has contributed to the large number of African American youth and families involved in the child welfare system. This article reviews the consequences of the insufficient access to culturally sensitive, evidence-supported interventions for African American foster youth. The authors…

Culture as a problem in linking material inequality to health: on residential crowding in the Arctic.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauster, Nathanael; Tester, Frank

2010-05-01

Two problems are noted in the process of measuring material inequality and linking it to health across cultural boundaries. First, comparative measurements may be used as the basis for policy making, which ends up disciplining cultural minorities. In this way, policies intended to relieve disparities can actually have the effect of extending the power of the dominant group to define appropriate cultural understanding of the world for the minority group. Second, comparative measurements may inaccurately inform theories of how inequality works to influence health and well-being. To the extent that culture mediates the relationship between inequality and outcomes of interest to researchers, those ignoring cultural differences will fail to adequately assess the impact and significance of material inequality. In this paper we discuss and illustrate these problems with reference to the study and measurement of overcrowding and its effects on health and well-being for Inuit communities in Nunavut, Canada. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural alternatives. A material reading of the mourning of 11th-M / Alternativas de la cultura. Una lectura material del duelo del 11-M

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pilar Jimeno Salvatierra

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Since the human ecology approach occurs a break in the forms of studying culture or its accomplishments. The novelty has to do with the need to examine it not in itself or in their performances, but as an element of the ecological system is interconnected with the rest of their material elements. This material functional analysis model is described as a substantive by its main theoretical. Thus the cultural behaviours are responses to disturbances belonging to the system environment. One of the most interesting for the study of social and cultural are rituals, as part of retroactive mechanisms within any human ecological system. The aims of this paper is to theorize about the observation of the material aspects of collective behaviours, such as rituals, ceremonies, or others collective manifestations, that highlight the social importance and interpretative of these aspects. The article manifests both the creation and the orientation of “enactment of meanings” through the analysis of collective behaviours. It also shows an important part of social truth in material performances. Methodological applications such as Rappaport’s reference to material signs in his ritual theory, placing emphasize on the communication role of these are used to interpret the mourning ritual.

Material, behavioural, cultural and psychosocial factors in the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities in oral health.

Science.gov (United States)

Duijster, Denise; Oude Groeniger, Joost; van der Heijden, Geert J M G; van Lenthe, Frank J

2017-12-19

This study aimed to assess the contribution of material, behavioural, cultural and psychosocial factors in the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities (education and income) in oral health of Dutch adults. Cross-sectional data from participants (25-75 years of age) of the fifth wave of the GLOBE cohort were used (n = 2812). Questionnaires were used to obtain data on material factors (e.g. financial difficulties), behavioural factors (e.g. smoking), cultural factors (e.g. cultural activities) and psychosocial factors (e.g. psychological distress). Oral health outcomes were self-reported number of teeth and self-rated oral health (SROH). Mediation analysis, using multivariable negative binomial regression and logistic regression, was performed. Education level and income showed a graded positive relationship with both oral health outcomes. Adding material, behavioural, cultural and psychosocial factors substantially reduced the rate ratio for the number of teeth of the lowest education group from 0.79 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.75-0.83) to 0.92 (95% CI: 0.87-0.97) and of the lowest income group from 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73-0.88) to 1.04 (95% CI: 0.96-1.14). Inclusion of all factors also substantially reduced the odds ratio for poor SROH of the lowest education group from 1.61 (95% CI: 1.28-2.03) to 1.12 (95% CI: 0.85-1.48) and of the lowest income groups from 3.18 (95% CI: 2.13-4.74) to 1.48 (95% CI: 0.90-2.45). In general, behavioural factors contributed most to the explanation of socioeconomic inequalities in adult oral health, followed by material factors. The contribution of cultural and psychosocial factors was relatively moderate. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

Pages of the phytomorphology history in the monuments of material culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viktor Yu. Barshteyn

2012-03-01

Full Text Available It was reviewed Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome sources of plants morphology, plant morphology knowledge in Renaissance age – scientific works of Andrea Cesalpino, Joachim Jungius, Marcello Malpighi and plant morphology formation as the separate branch of science due to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe scientific works and its reflection in the monuments of material culture.

Organizational transformation: a model for joint optimization of culture change and evidence-based design.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, D Kirk; Orr, Robin Diane; Raboin, W Ellen

2008-01-01

Healthcare organizations face continuous and accelerating external change and thus must be prepared to manage their own change initiatives proactively. Given that many believe that the U.S. healthcare system is broken and most healthcare organizations are dealing with pervasive problems, some organizations may choose to seek transformational change to achieve the six aims identified by the Institute of Medicine: healthcare that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. Transformational change will almost certainly involve organizational culture. Culture change may be most effective when linked to other organizational change initiatives such as organizational strategy, structure, policies, procedures, and recruiting. Significant organizational change often requires accompanying facility change. There is an interdependent relationship between facility design and organizational culture. They affect each other and both impact organizational performance. Sociotechnical theory promotes joint optimization of the social (culture) and technical (facilities) aspects of an organization to achieve sustained positive change. To achieve organizational transformation and to sustain positive change, organizations must be prepared to adopt collaborative efforts in culture change and facility design. The authors propose a model for accomplishing joint optimization of culture change and evidence-based facility design.

Estimation of raw material performance in mammalian cell culture using near infrared spectra combined with chemometrics approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hae Woo; Christie, Andrew; Liu, Jun Jay; Yoon, Seongkyu

2012-01-01

Understanding variability in raw materials and their impacts on product quality is of critical importance in the biopharmaceutical manufacturing processes. For this purpose, several spectroscopic techniques have been studied for raw material characterization, providing fast and nondestructive ways to measure quality of raw materials. However, investigations of correlation between spectra of raw materials and cell culture performance have been scarce due to their complexity and uncertainty. In this study, near-infrared spectra and bioassays of multiple soy hydrolysate lots manufactured by different vendors were analyzed using chemometrics approaches in order to address variability of raw materials as well as correlation between raw material properties and corresponding cell culture performance. Principal component analysis revealed that near-infrared spectra of different soy lots contain enough physicochemical information about soy hydrolysates to allow identification of lot-to-lot variability as well as vendor-to-vendor differences. The identified compositional variability was further analyzed in order to estimate cell growth and protein production of two mammalian cell lines under the condition of varying soy dosages using partial least square regression combined with optimal variable selection. The performance of the resulting models demonstrates the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy as a robust lot selection tool for raw materials while providing a biological link between chemical composition of raw materials and cell culture performance. Copyright © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Materializing Mind: The Role of Objects in Cognition and Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tylén, Kristian; McGraw, John J.

2014-01-01

, and distributed cognition, we review and classify a set of cognitive processes mediated by material representations. Specifically, we ask how—in a range of everyday cognitive and cultural practices—we employ objects (1) to scaffold memory, (2) to alter cognitive complexity, (3) to facilitate epistemic......If mind is investigated as the set of interactions that accomplish a cognitive task, that is, if mind is more than that which occurs inside the head, then how does the interplay of biological and environmental resources produce human cognition? Informed by active externalism, joint action...... experimentation, (4) to enable the division of cognitive labor, (5) to promote confidence and trust, (6) to consolidate social structure, and (7) to support dialogical coupling. We conclude that through cultural practices the stable, “manipulable”, and public properties of objects have come to afford...

An examination of cross-cultural systems implementing evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murray Laura K

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Implementation of evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches for youth with behavioral and/or emotional problems is rising to recognition worldwide. Feasibility research is critical to examine what characteristics of systems allow for success or barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practices into real-world settings, especially when working cross-culturally. This paper briefly reviews the experience of 4 international sites to understand how the overall structure and specific site variables directed the implementation of the World Health Organization and the World Psychiatry Association project. Discussion includes a thematic summary of the successes and challenges experienced by the sites, and future directions of feasibility studies.

Effects of Air Pollution on Materials and Cultural Heritage: ICP Materials Celebrates 25 Years of Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan Tidblad

2012-01-01

Full Text Available An overview is given of all results from the International Co-operative Programme on Effects on Materials including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials, which was launched in 1985. Since then, about twenty different materials have been exposed repeatedly in a network of test sites consisting of more than twenty sites with an extensive environmental characterisation and more than sixty official reports have been issued. Recent results on trends in corrosion, soiling, and pollution show that corrosion of carbon steel, zinc, and limestone is today substantially lower than 25 years ago, but while corrosion of carbon steel has decreased until today, corrosion of zinc and limestone has remained more or less constant since the turn of the century. Unique data are given on measured HNO3 concentrations from 2002-2003, 2005-2006, and 2008-2009, and the relative average decrease was about the same from 2002-2003 to 2005-2006 as it was from 2005-2006 to 2008-2009.

The Impact of Traditional Culture on Farmers’ Moral Hazard Behavior in Crop Production: Evidence from China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liguo Zhang

2016-07-01

Full Text Available To obtain higher yields, farmers may excessively use pesticides when they grow crops (like rice, vegetables, or fruit, causing moral hazard behavior. This paper examines how Chinese farmers’ moral hazard behavior in crop production is influenced by their traditional culture. A semi-parametric logistic model is used to investigate the impact of Chinese traditional culture on farmers’ moral hazard behavior. The results reveal that Chinese traditional culture has a positive effect on ameliorating the farmers’ excessive use of pesticides in crop production, which leads to a moral hazard in agro-product safety. Specifically, when we control for extraneous variables, the probability of moral hazard decreases by 15% if farmers consider their traditional culture in their production decisions. Moreover, the probability of moral hazard decreases by 17% if farmers consider the traditional culture as a powerful restraint regarding the use of pesticides. Our analysis provides some supportive evidence on the effect of Chinese traditional culture on mitigating farmers’ excessive use of pesticides.

The influence of workplace culture on nurses' learning experiences: a systematic review of qualitative evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Kate; White, Sarahlouise; Stephenson, Matthew

2016-06-01

A healthy workplace culture enables nurses to experience valuable learning in the workplace. Learning in the workplace enables the provision of evidence-based and continuously improving safe patient care, which is central to achieving good patient outcomes. Therefore, nurses need to learn within a workplace that supports the implementation of evidence-based, professional practice and enables the best patient outcomes; the influence of workplace culture may play a role in this. The purpose of this review was to critically appraise and synthesize the best available qualitative evidence to understand both the nurses' learning experiences within the workplace and the factors within the workplace culture that influence those learning experiences. Registered and enrolled nurses regulated by a nursing and midwifery board and/or recognized health practitioner regulation agency (or their international equivalent). This review considered studies that described two phenomena of interest: the nurses' learning experience, either within an acute healthcare workplace or a workplace-related learning environment and the influence of workplace culture on the nurses' learning experience (within the workplace or workplace-related learning environment). This review considered studies that included nurses working in an acute healthcare organization within a Western culture. This review considered studies that focused on qualitative evidence and included the following research designs: phenomenological, grounded theory and critical theory. Published and unpublished studies in English from 1980 to 2013 were identified using a three-step search strategy, searching various databases, and included hand searching of the reference lists within articles selected for appraisal. For studies meeting the inclusion criteria, methodological quality was assessed using a standardized checklist from the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (JBI-QARI). Qualitative data

The Beauty of Other Lives: Material Culture as Evidence of Human Ingenuity and Agency

Science.gov (United States)

Levstik, Linda S.; Henderson, A. Gwynn; Lee, Youngdo

2014-01-01

Elementary students are often hampered by a tendency to ascribe innovation to increasing human intelligence or individual agency rather than increased information, better access to information, or collective and institutional agency. As a result, they struggle to build evidence-based interpretations of the distant past. A fifth-grade…

Novel approach of signal normalization for depth profile of cultural heritage materials

Science.gov (United States)

Syvilay, D.; Detalle, V.; Wilkie-Chancellier, N.; Texier, A.; Martinez, L.; Serfaty, S.

2017-01-01

The investigation of cultural heritage materials is always complex and specific because unique. Materials are most often heterogeneous and organized in several layers such as mural paintings or corrosion products. The characterization of a complete artwork's stratigraphy is actually one of the questions of science conservation. Indeed, the knowledge of these layers allows completing the history of the work of art and a better understanding of alteration processes in order to set up an appropriate conservation action. The LIBS technique has been employed to study the stratigraphy of an artwork thanks to the ablation laser. However, as we know, atomic information could be insufficient to characterize two materials composed by the same based elements. Therefore, an additional molecular analysis, like Raman spectroscopy; is sometimes necessary for a better identification of the material in particular for organic coatings in cultural heritage. We suggest in this study to use Standard Normal Variate (SNV) as a common normalization for different kinds of spectra (LIBS and Raman spectroscopy) combined with a 3D colour representation for stratigraphic identification of the different layers composing the complex material from artwork. So in this investigation, the SNV method will be applied on LIBS and Raman spectra but also on baseline Raman spectra often considering as nuisance. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the versatility of SNV applied on varied spectra like LIBS, Raman spectra as well as the luminescence background. This original work considers the SNV with a 3D colour representation as a probable new perspective for an easy recognition of a structure layered with a direct overview of the depth profile of the artwork.

Beyond Cultural History? The Material Turn, Praxiography, and Body History

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iris Clever

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The body came to be taken seriously as a topic of cultural history during the “corporeal” or “bodily” turn in the 1980s and 1990s. Soon, however, critique was raised against these studies’ conceptualization of the body as discursively shaped and socially disciplined: individual bodily agency and feeling were felt to be absent in the idea of the material body. This article critically analyzes new approaches in the field of body history, particularly the so-called “material turn”. It argues that the material turn, especially in the guise of praxiography, has a lot to offer historians of the body, such as more attention to material practices, to different kinds of actors and a more open eye to encounters. Potential problems of praxiographical analyses of the body in history include the complicated relationship between discourses and practices and the neglect of the political and feminist potential of deconstructive discourse analyses. However, a focus on the relationship between practices of knowledge production and the representation of the body may also provide new ways of opening up historical power relations.

Cross-cultural differences in processing of architectural ranking: evidence from an event-related potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Mecklinger, Axel; Kriukova, Olga; Mühlmann, Heiner; Grunwald, Thomas

2014-01-01

Visual object identification is modulated by perceptual experience. In a cross-cultural ERP study we investigated whether cultural expertise determines how buildings that vary in their ranking between high and low according to the Western architectural decorum are perceived. Two groups of German and Chinese participants performed an object classification task in which high- and low-ranking Western buildings had to be discriminated from everyday life objects. ERP results indicate that an early stage of visual object identification (i.e., object model selection) is facilitated for high-ranking buildings for the German participants, only. At a later stage of object identification, in which object knowledge is complemented by information from semantic and episodic long-term memory, no ERP evidence for cultural differences was obtained. These results suggest that the identification of architectural ranking is modulated by culturally specific expertise with Western-style architecture already at an early processing stage.

Evidence of biogenic corrosion of titanium after exposure to a continuous culture of thiobacillus ferrooxidans grown in thiosulfate medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horn, J M; Martin, S I; Masterson, B

2000-01-01

Experiments were undertaken to evaluate extreme conditions under which candidate materials intended for use in a proposed nuclear waste repository might be susceptible to corrosion by endogenous microorganisms. Thiobucillus ferrooxidans, a sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, was grown in continuous culture using thiosulfate as an energy source; thiosulfate is oxidized to sulfate as a metabolic endproduct by this organism. Culture conditions were optimized to produce a high-density, metabolically active culture throughout a period of long term incubation in the presence of Alloy 22 (a high nickel-based alloy) and Titanium grade 7 (Tigr7) material coupons. After seven months incubation under these conditions, material coupons were withdrawn and analyzed by high resolution microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analyses. Alloy 22 coupons showed no detectable signs of corrosion. Tigr7, however, demonstrated distinct roughening of the coupon surface, and [presumably solubilized and precipitated] titanium was detected on Alloy 22 coupons incubated in the same T. ferrooxiduns culture vessel. Control coupons of these materials incubated in sterile thiosulfate medium did not demonstrate any signs of corrosion, thus showing that observed corrosive effects were due to the T. ferrooxidans metabolic activities. T. ferrooxidans intermediates of thiosulfate oxidation or sulfate may have caused the corrosive effects observed on Tigr7

Russian Folk Culture in the 20 th Century: Oral Evidence of the Villagers (On the Materials of Folklore Expeditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ekaterina A. Dorokhova

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Folk culture is capable of developing certain adaptation mechanisms that help it promptly react to the changing conditions of natural, socio-political, and economic environment. This is evidenced by the stories of the villagers recorded during folklore expeditions to different regions of Russia. The article highlights changes that took place in the traditional Russian culture under the influence of collectivization in the 1920s–1930s, the collapse of kolkhozes in the 1990s, the development of the rural club amateur performances in the Soviet time, the events of the World War II, modern military conflicts, and Chernobyl ecological catastrophe. The authors come to conclusion that representatives of traditional culture flexibly adapt to their new living conditions, while extreme conditions such as wars and ecological catastrophes often contribute to the actualization of folk culture and enable the return of its certain aspects to living practice.

Optimization of cell adhesion on mg based implant materials by pre-incubation under cell culture conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Willumeit, Regine; Möhring, Anneke; Feyerabend, Frank

2014-05-05

Magnesium based implants could revolutionize applications where orthopedic implants such as nails, screws or bone plates are used because they are load bearing and degrade over time. This prevents a second surgery to remove conventional implants. To improve the biocompatibility we studied here if and for how long a pre-incubation of the material under cell culture conditions is favorable for cell attachment and proliferation. For two materials, Mg and Mg10Gd1Nd, we could show that 6 h pre-incubation are already enough to form a natural protective layer suitable for cell culture.

Optimization of Cell Adhesion on Mg Based Implant Materials by Pre-Incubation under Cell Culture Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regine Willumeit

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Magnesium based implants could revolutionize applications where orthopedic implants such as nails, screws or bone plates are used because they are load bearing and degrade over time. This prevents a second surgery to remove conventional implants. To improve the biocompatibility we studied here if and for how long a pre-incubation of the material under cell culture conditions is favorable for cell attachment and proliferation. For two materials, Mg and Mg10Gd1Nd, we could show that 6 h pre-incubation are already enough to form a natural protective layer suitable for cell culture.

[On the Way to Culture-Sensitive Patient Information Materials: Results of a Focus Group Study].

Science.gov (United States)

Ries, Zivile; Frank, Fabian; Bermejo, Isaac; Kalaitsidou, Chariklia; Zill, Jördis; Dirmaier, Jörg; Härter, Martin; Bengel, Jürgen; Hölzel, Lars

2018-06-01

This study was part of a double-blind randomised controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effects of culture-sensitive patient information materials (PIM) compared with standard translated material. The study aimed to obtain the data for the development of culture sensitive PIM about unipolar depression for the 4 largest migrant groups in Germany (Turkish, Polish, Russian and Italian migration background). A qualitative study using 4 manual-based focus groups (FG), one for each migrant group, with 29 participants (9 with a Turkish (TüG), 8 with a Polish (PoG), 5 with a Russian (RuG) and 7 with an Italian (ItG) migration background) was conducted. The discussions were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. 7 categories were identified. For the (1.) development of a good culture-sensitive PIM an easy language, a clear structure, an assessable extent of information and the avoidance of stereotypes were highlighted cross-culturally in all four FG. RuG and PoG had the largest (2.) lack of information about the German health care system. Concerning the (3.) illness perception RuG named problems with recognizing and understanding depression. PoG, RuG and TüG thematized (4.) feared consequences of the illness and of professional helpseeking. ItG, PoG, RuG had fears concerning (5.) psychotropic drugs as a result from insufficient knowledge about medication. For (6.) doctor-patient relationship cultural specifics were identified in RuG and TüG and for (7.) migration or culture specific reasons for depression in RuG, ItG and TüG. Although the identified categories were relevant for all or for the majority of migrant groups, for most categories specific cultural aspects were discovered. These findings show the importance of a culture sensitive adaptation of PIM. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

On Tea Bowl from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: Material Culture and Intangible Culture in Cultural Diffusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianping Guan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available According to precise and scientific literature that recorded, Chinese tea culture has a documented history of more than 1700 years. During which period, Yuan Dynasty was considered a crucial turning-point with great changes. The current tea culture in China is an adoption and innovation of Ming and Qing dynasty, especially in the form of processing technology. For those elements inherited from Tang and Song dynasties, however, they were more directly adopted systematically by Japan. Ever since powdered tea culture from Song dynasty was accepted in Japan, Jianzhan, the tea bowl that gained renowned reputation in the Song tea culture was also introduced and became tenmoku (tianmu after localization. As the transformation of Chinese tea culture ended in Japan, Japanese tea culture of wabi-cha was shaped after the tenmoku’s obvious decline in value. Jianzhan’s prosper, and tenmoku’s emergence and transition, all proved a definitive impact from intangible culture.

Objects and identities : Dowry and material culture in Venetian Crete in regional and European context (1600-1645)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Markaki, T.

2018-01-01

This comparative study explores the socioeconomic and cultural meanings of the dowry movables in Venetian Crete and attempts to place the island in the broader context of European material culture studies; especially of those which are based on probate inventory research. Through qualitative and

Cultural events – does attendance improve health? Evidence from a Polish longitudinal study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorota Węziak-Białowolska

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although there is strong advocacy for uptake of both the arts and creative activities as determinants of individual health conditions, studies evaluating causal influence of attendance at cultural events on population health using individual population data on health are scarce. If available, results are often only of an associative nature. In this light, this study investigated causative impact of attendance at cultural events on self-reported and physical health in the Polish population. Methods Four recent waves (2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015 of the biennial longitudinal Polish household panel study, Social Diagnosis, were analysed. The data, representative for the Polish population aged over 16, with respect to age, gender, classes of place of residence and NUTS 2 regions, were collected from self-report questionnaires. Causative influence of cultural attendance on population health was established using longitudinal population representative data. To account for unobserved heterogeneity of individuals and to mitigate issues caused by omitted variables, a panel data model with a fixed effects estimator was applied. The endogeneity problem (those who enjoy good health are more likely to participate in cultural activities more frequently was circumvented by application of instrumental variables. Results Results confirmed positive association between cultural attendance and self-reported health. However, in contrast to the often suggested positive causative relationship, such a link was not confirmed by the study. Additionally, no evidence was found to corroborate a positive impact from cultural attendance on physical health. Both findings were substantiated by augmentation in the longitudinal perspective and causal link. Conclusions We showed the relation between attendance at cultural events and self-reported health could only be confirmed as associational. Therefore, this study provided little justification to encourage use

Production of bio-based materials using photobioreactors with binary cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Beliaev, Alex S; Pinchuk, Grigoriy E; Hill, Eric A; Fredrickson, Jim K

2013-08-27

A method, device and system for producing preselected products, (either finished products or preselected intermediary products) from biobased precursors or CO.sub.2 and/or bicarbonate. The principal features of the present invention include a method wherein a binary culture is incubated with a biobased precursor in a closed system to transform at least a portion of the biobased precursor to a preselected product. The present invention provides a method of cultivation that does not need sparging of a closed bioreactor to remove or add a gaseous byproduct or nutrient from a liquid medium. This improvement leads to significant savings in energy consumption and allows for the design of photobioreactors of any desired shape. The present invention also allows for the use of a variety of types of waste materials to be used as the organic starting material.

Post-Materialism as a Cultural Factor Influencing Entrepreneurial Activity across Nations

OpenAIRE

Uhlaner, L.M.; Thurik, A.R.; Hutjes, J.

2002-01-01

textabstractThe study of the determinants of entrepreneurship at the country level has been dominated by economic influences. The relative stability of differences in levels of entrepreneurship across coun-tries suggests that other forces such as certain institutional and/or cultural factors are at play. The objective of this paper is to explore how post-materialism explains differences in entrepreneurial activity across countries. Entrepreneurial activity is defined as the percent of a count...

Measuring Collaboration and Communication to Increase Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices: The Cultural Exchange Inventory

Science.gov (United States)

Palinkas, Lawrence A.; Garcia, Antonio; Aarons, Gregory; Finno-Velasquez, Megan; Fuentes, Dahlia; Holloway, Ian; Chamberlain, Patricia

2018-01-01

The Cultural Exchange Inventory (CEI) is a 15-item instrument designed to measure the process (7 items) and outcomes (8 items) of exchanges of knowledge, attitudes and practices between members of different organisations collaborating in implementing evidence-based practice. We conducted principal axis factor analyses and parallel analyses of data…

To Encounter, to Build the World and to Become a Human Being. Advocating for a Material-Cultural Turn in Developmental Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Moro, Christiane

2016-12-01

Why have material world of daily life and material objects in their conventional features or to say it in other words, why have the mundane world and mundane objects, in which the human beings live and children come to, encounter, experience and develop through, received so little attention from psychologists thus remaining a blind spot in mainstream developmental psychology? Certainly the object has not been totally forgotten (e.g. Piaget's constructivist paradigm) but it has been considered as theoretically determined by the categories of understanding (cf. Kant), and considered as a key to understanding the world in its physical properties by the infant. But the material world and the material objects that are used for everyday purposes (i.e. pragmatically) belonging to material culture, have been totally neglected by developmental psychologists. Reacting to the Kantian agenda of developmental psychology but also to heterodox non developmentalist thinkers such as Gibson who is a growing source of inspiration for developmental psychologists today, we challenge the taken-for-granted mundane world, arguing for the importance of material objects related to material culture in psychological development during the prelinguistic period. On the basis of recent research in early development grounded in the Vygotskian paradigm, we discuss this issue through Marxist Anthropology, Material Culture Studies and Phenomenology. As a consequence we advocate for a material-cultural turn in psychological development in order to place the issue of material world and material objects in their pragmatic and semiotic features on the agenda of developmental psychology.

Lost in transformation? Reviving ethics of care in hospital cultures of evidence-based healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Norlyk, Annelise; Haahr, Anita; Dreyer, Pia; Martinsen, Bente

2017-07-01

Drawing on previous empirical research, we provide an exemplary narrative to illustrate how patients have experienced hospital care organized according to evidence-based fast-track programmes. The aim of this paper was to analyse and discuss if and how it is possible to include patients' individual perspectives in an evidence-based practice as seen from the point of view of nursing theory. The paper highlights two conflicting courses of development. One is a course of standardization founded on evidence-based recommendations, which specify a set of rules that the patient must follow rigorously. The other is a course of democratization based on patients' involvement in care. Referring to the analysis of the narrative, we argue that, in the current implementation of evidence-based practice, the proposed involvement of patients resembles empty rhetoric. We argue that the principles and values from evidence-based medicine are being lost in the transformation into the current evidence-based hospital culture which potentially leads to a McDonaldization of nursing practice reflected as 'one best way'. We argue for reviving ethics of care perspectives in today's evidence practice as the fundamental values of nursing may potentially bridge conflicts between evidence-based practice and the ideals of patient participation thus preventing a practice of 'McNursing'. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Islamic Orient and the Development of Material Culture of Muscovy: Evaluation Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Belyaev Leonid A.

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The author discusses approaches to archaeological analysis of the Muslim contribution to the development of Muscovy, as well as the mere possibility of such analysis. So far, the studies focused on identifi cation of some interpenetrating elements of the material and artistic culture, which is necessary, but not quite suffi cient. New tasks must be formulated: to outline and characterize areas of intersection of various cultural streams; to identify forms and stages of such contacts; to understand ways for primary perception of impulses, which gave birth to distinctive national cultures in the Middle Ages and in the Modern era; to trace processing of such impulses further on; to try and understand whether there was a monocultural archaeological environment that existed in the past and belonged to the coexisting groups speaking different languages and belonging to different confessions.

Cultural immersion alters emotion perception: Neurophysiological evidence from Chinese immigrants to Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pan; Rigoulot, Simon; Pell, Marc D

2017-12-01

To explore how cultural immersion modulates emotion processing, this study examined how Chinese immigrants to Canada process multisensory emotional expressions, which were compared to existing data from two groups, Chinese and North Americans. Stroop and Oddball paradigms were employed to examine different stages of emotion processing. The Stroop task presented face-voice pairs expressing congruent/incongruent emotions and participants actively judged the emotion of one modality while ignoring the other. A significant effect of cultural immersion was observed in the immigrants' behavioral performance, which showed greater interference from to-be-ignored faces, comparable with what was observed in North Americans. However, this effect was absent in their N400 data, which retained the same pattern as the Chinese. In the Oddball task, where immigrants passively viewed facial expressions with/without simultaneous vocal emotions, they exhibited a larger visual MMN for faces accompanied by voices, again mirroring patterns observed in Chinese. Correlation analyses indicated that the immigrants' living duration in Canada was associated with neural patterns (N400 and visual mismatch negativity) more closely resembling North Americans. Our data suggest that in multisensory emotion processing, adopting to a new culture first leads to behavioral accommodation followed by alterations in brain activities, providing new evidence on human's neurocognitive plasticity in communication.

Material security, life history, and moralistic religions: A cross-cultural examination

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Cody T.; Apicella, Coren; Atkinson, Quentin D.; Cohen, Emma; McNamara, Rita Anne; Willard, Aiyana K.; Xygalatas, Dimitris; Norenzayan, Ara; Henrich, Joseph

2018-01-01

Researchers have recently proposed that “moralistic” religions—those with moral doctrines, moralistic supernatural punishment, and lower emphasis on ritual—emerged as an effect of greater wealth and material security. One interpretation appeals to life history theory, predicting that individuals with “slow life history” strategies will be more attracted to moralistic traditions as a means to judge those with “fast life history” strategies. As we had reservations about the validity of this application of life history theory, we tested these predictions with a data set consisting of 592 individuals from eight diverse societies. Our sample includes individuals from a wide range of traditions, including world religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, but also local traditions rooted in beliefs in animism, ancestor worship, and worship of spirits associated with nature. We first test for the presence of associations between material security, years of formal education, and reproductive success. Consistent with popular life history predictions, we find evidence that material security and education are associated with reduced reproduction. Building on this, we then test whether or not these demographic factors predict the moral concern, punitiveness, attributed knowledge-breadth, and frequency of ritual devotions towards two deities in each society. Here, we find no reliable evidence of a relationship between number of children, material security, or formal education and the individual-level religious beliefs and behaviors. We conclude with a discussion of why life-history theory is an inadequate interpretation for the emergence of factors typifying the moralistic traditions. PMID:29513766

77 FR 51562 - Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-24

... appropriate Indian tribe, has determined that the cultural items meet the definition of unassociated funerary... the Coconino National Forest that meet the definition of unassociated funerary objects under 25 U.S.C... evidence and material culture, Elden Pueblo (site NA 142) has been identified as a Northern Sinagua site...

"Their Little Wooden Bricks": A History of the Material Culture of Kindergarten in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Prochner, Larry

2011-01-01

This article explores the material culture of kindergarten in the United States in relation to the production and consumption of materials and kindergarten theory and pedagogy. The focus is on Friedrich Froebel's building gifts as they were manufactured and sold by the Milton Bradley Company from 1869 to 1939. A review of trade catalogues over the…

Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dean Wesley R

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. Methods Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. Results Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on

Cultural repertoires and food-related household technology within colonia households under conditions of material hardship.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Wesley R; Sharkey, Joseph R; Johnson, Cassandra M; St John, Julie

2012-05-15

BSTRACT: Mexican-origin women in the U.S. living in colonias (new-destination Mexican-immigrant communities) along the Texas-Mexico border suffer from a high incidence of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. Understanding environmental factors that influence food-related behaviors among this population will be important to improving the well-being of colonia households. This article focuses on cultural repertoires that enable food choice and the everyday uses of technology in food-related practice by Mexican-immigrant women in colonia households under conditions of material hardship. Findings are presented within a conceptual framework informed by concepts drawn from sociological accounts of technology, food choice, culture, and material hardship. Field notes were provided by teams of promotora-researchers (indigenous community health workers) and public-health professionals trained as participant observers. They conducted observations on three separate occasions (two half-days during the week and one weekend day) within eight family residences located in colonias near the towns of Alton and San Carlos, Texas. English observations were coded inductively and early observations stressed the importance of technology and material hardship in food-related behavior. These observations were further explored and coded using the qualitative data package Atlas.ti. Technology included kitchen implements used in standard and adapted configurations and household infrastructure. Residents employed tools across a range of food-related activities identified as forms of food acquisition, storage, preparation, serving, feeding and eating, cleaning, and waste processing. Material hardships included the quality, quantity, acceptability, and uncertainty dimensions of food insecurity, and insufficient consumption of housing, clothing and medical care. Cultural repertoires for coping with material hardship included reliance on inexpensive staple foods and dishes, and

Materials and techniques for coiling of cerebral aneurysms: how much scientific evidence do we have?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurre, W.; Berkefeld, J.

2008-01-01

Since coils were approved for aneurysm treatment, materials and techniques developed rapidly. It still remains an open question whether one material or method is superior. This article reviews the literature on various coil types and treatment approaches assessing the scientific evidence of its use. Studies on aneurysm treatment with Guglielmi detachable platinum coils, bioactive coils, hydrogel coated coils, and complex designs as well as balloon- and stent-assisted techniques were retrieved by a PubMed database search from 1990 until May 2008. Data were analyzed in terms of aneurysm occlusion, permanent morbidity and mortality, recanalization, and retreatment. We also assessed the level of evidence of the published studies. Only the International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial provides level I evidence proving the superiority of endovascular over surgical therapy in ruptured aneurysms. Randomized trials comparing bioactive or hydrogel coated devices with bare coils are ongoing. Other studies were based on registries or case series mainly conducted without control groups. Morbidity, mortality, and initial occlusion rates appear similar for all devices. No clear evidence exists for the superiority of bioactive- or hydrocoils regarding long-term stability. It remains ambiguous whether morbidity and mortality rises with the use of balloons and stents. There is no evidence that routine use of balloons improves treatment durability. Mid-term results of stent-assisted coiling of complex aneurysms appear favorable. There is a lack of studies with a high level of evidence comparing different coiling materials and techniques. Case series and registries were not able to prove the superiority of any device or method. (orig.)

Culture and entrepreneurial processses: evidence of influence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stienstra, Martin R.; Harms, Rainer; ten Ham, R.; Groen, Arend J.

2012-01-01

Processes that lead to the creation of new ventures are characterized by a combination of planned (causation) and emergent (effectuation) actions. Which one prevails is among others depending on contextual factors such as industry and national culture. Research on the impact of national culture on

Cross-cultural evidence for the two-facet structure of pride

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yan; Chung, Joanne M.; Cheng, Joey T.; Tracy, Jessica L.; Robins, Richard W.; Chen, Xiao; Zheng, Yong

2016-01-01

Across six studies conducted in Mainland China and South Korea, the present research extended prior findings showing that pride is comprised of two distinct conceptual and experiential facets in the U.S.: a pro-social, achievement-oriented “authentic pride”, and an arrogant, self-aggrandizing “hubristic pride”. This same two-facet structure emerged in Chinese participants’ semantic conceptualizations of pride (Study 1), Chinese and Koreans’ dispositional tendencies to experience pride (Studies 2, 3a, and 3b), Chinese and Koreans’ momentary pride experiences (Studies 3a, 3b, and 5), and Americans’ pride experiences using descriptors derived indigenously in Korea (Study 4). Together, these studies provide the first evidence that the two-facet structure of pride generalizes to cultures with highly divergent views of pride and self-enhancement processes from North America. PMID:27158171

Cross-cultural evidence for the two-facet structure of pride.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Yan; Chung, Joanne M; Cheng, Joey T; Tracy, Jessica L; Robins, Richard W; Chen, Xiao; Zheng, Yong

2015-04-01

Across six studies conducted in Mainland China and South Korea, the present research extended prior findings showing that pride is comprised of two distinct conceptual and experiential facets in the U.S.: a pro-social, achievement-oriented "authentic pride", and an arrogant, self-aggrandizing "hubristic pride". This same two-facet structure emerged in Chinese participants' semantic conceptualizations of pride (Study 1), Chinese and Koreans' dispositional tendencies to experience pride (Studies 2, 3a, and 3b), Chinese and Koreans' momentary pride experiences (Studies 3a, 3b, and 5), and Americans' pride experiences using descriptors derived indigenously in Korea (Study 4). Together, these studies provide the first evidence that the two-facet structure of pride generalizes to cultures with highly divergent views of pride and self-enhancement processes from North America.

A common basis for facilitated legitimate exchange of biological materials proposed by the European Culture Collections' Organisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dagmar Fritze

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Being charged with the task of accessioning and supplying of living microbiological material, microbial culture collections are institutions that play a central role between the interests of a variety of user communities. On the one side are the providers of living microbiological material, such as individual scientists, institutions and countries of origin and on the other side are the various kinds of recipients/users of cultures of microorganisms from academia and industry. Thus, providing access to high quality biological material and scientific services while at the same time observing donor countries' rights, intellectual property rights, biosafety and biosecurity aspects poses demanding challenges. E.g. donor countries rights relate to Article 15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity: "Contracting parties …. recognize the sovereign rights of states over their natural resources …. shall facilitate access to resources … and not impose restrictions that run counter to the aims of the Convention. Access to natural resources shall be by mutually agreed terms and subject to prior informed consent ..." The use of a proposed standard contract by culture collections is discussed as a way of contractually safeguarding the existing research commons, while observing the new rights established in the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as other existing and new legislation impacting on the accessibility of living microbial material.

Investigating longitudinal and cross cultural measurement Invariance of Inglehart’s short post-materialism scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ippel, L.; Gelissen, J.P.T.M.; Moors, G.B.D.

2014-01-01

Inglehart applies a four item ranking scale to measure post-materialism which is used for cross-cultural and cross-temporal comparative purposes. The aim of this research is to test measurement invariance of the scale to establish to what extent the scale produces comparable results in time and

Still and Moving Image Evidences for Mating of Echinococcus granulosus Reared in Culture Media.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tahereh Mohammadzadeh

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Echinococcus granulosus cultivation is very important for improvement of different aspect of medical and veterinary researches. Despite many advances in this case, there is a missing link for in vitro life cycle of adult worms and it is fertilization. Regarding the researchers' observations, self-fertilization can be done in worms living in dog intestine, but despite all sorts of experimental techniques, this phenomenon has never been observed in reared worms in culture media. Furthermore, cross fertilization has not been observed in vitro and even in parasites with dog intestinal origin; although it theoretically is possible. During a follow-up of cultivated adult worms, evidences of behaviors similar to self-mating (Type 2 and cross-mating were observed in our lab which will be presented here.Protoscoleces were aseptically removed from sheep hydatid cysts, washed twice with PBS and then cultivated in S.10E.H culture medium. The stages of parasite growth were observed using an inverted microscope for two months and all stages and behaviors were microscopically photographed. Different movies have also been made from these behavioral features.After around 55 days post cultivation, some evidences of behaviors similar to self-mating (Type 2 and cross-mating were observed in some of the mature adult worms. However, fertile eggs in these parasites have never been observed.Regarding the above observations, these parasites show tendency to unsuccessful self-mating/fertilization (type 2 which failure could be due to anatomical position and physiological maturation. Also lack of suitable conditions for self-fertilization causes the worms try to do unsuccessful cross- mating/fertilization in culture media.

Still and Moving Image Evidences for Mating of Echinococcus granulosus Reared in Culture Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadzadeh, Tahereh; Sadjjadi, Seyed Mahmoud; Rahimi, Hamidreza

2014-03-01

Echinococcus granulosus cultivation is very important for improvement of different aspect of medical and veterinary researches. Despite many advances in this case, there is a missing link for in vitro life cycle of adult worms and it is fertilization. Regarding the researchers' observations, self-fertilization can be done in worms living in dog intestine, but despite all sorts of experimental techniques, this phenomenon has never been observed in reared worms in culture media. Furthermore, cross fertilization has not been observed in vitro and even in parasites with dog intestinal origin; although it theoretically is possible. During a follow-up of cultivated adult worms, evidences of behaviors similar to self-mating (Type 2) and cross-mating were observed in our lab which will be presented here. Protoscoleces were aseptically removed from sheep hydatid cysts, washed twice with PBS and then cultivated in S.10E.H culture medium. The stages of parasite growth were observed using an inverted microscope for two months and all stages and behaviors were microscopically photographed. Different movies have also been made from these behavioral features. After around 55 days post cultivation, some evidences of behaviors similar to self-mating (Type 2) and cross-mating were observed in some of the mature adult worms. However, fertile eggs in these parasites have never been observed. Regarding the above observations, these parasites show tendency to unsuccessful self-mating/fertilization (type 2) which failure could be due to anatomical position and physiological maturation. Also lack of suitable conditions for self-fertilization causes the worms try to do unsuccessful cross- mating/fertilization in culture media.

Ureolytic/Non-Ureolytic Bacteria Co-Cultured Self-Healing Agent for Cementitious Materials Crack Repair

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyeong Min Son

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The present study investigated the CaCO3 precipitation performance of ureolytic and non-ureolytic bacteria co-cultured as a self-healing agent for cementitious materials crack repair. Three different inoculum ratios of ureolytic Sporosarcina pasteurii and non-ureolytic Bacillus thuringiensis (10:0, 8:2, or 5:5 were used. The effect of coculturing ureolytic and non-ureolytic bacteria on microbial metabolism was investigated by measuring the rate of growth in urea-containing medium and the rate of NH4+ and CaCO3 production in urea–calcium lactate medium. The self-healing efficiency of co-cultured bacteria was examined by exposing cement mortar specimens with predefined cracks to media containing single urease-producing or co-cultured bacteria. The obtained results provide new findings, where CaCO3 precipitation is improved by co-culturing ureolytic and non-ureolytic bacteria, owing to the relatively faster growth rate of non-ureolytic bacteria. The crack filling rate correlated with the width of crack, in particular, specimens with a smaller crack width showed the faster filling effect, indicating that the crack width can be a dominant factor influencing the CaCO3 precipitation capacity of co-cultured bacteria.

Recalling community: Using material culture and digital archives in Salford

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence Cassidy

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This article explores strategies for engaging geographically fragmented urban communities as active participants in conceptually re-mapping their former localities. It looks in detail at the ongoing Retracing Salford project in Salford, UK, which employs the use of everyday objects and oral histories to engage and enable former residents to reconnect with their recently demolished neighbourhoods and each other. The project also seeks to document an urban working class history largely overlooked by the large-scale institutions. The project is based on a PhD study undertaken by the author at The District Six Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, which examined the use of material artefacts in exhibitions and memory workshops at that museum (Cassidy 2009. Like District Six, Salford has undergone wide-scale demolition and population dispersal over the past 40 years. What began as relatively simple installations in museums, libraries and the like, has now grown to include digitised versions of the family snaps, street signs and oral histories, as a developing online Streets Museum archive (www.streetsmuseum.co.uk. This article reflects on how the methodology employed in the Retracing Salford project has helped rejuvenate and reconnect these dispersed communities. The article argues that the approach used is succeeding in widening the circle of participation and debate in relation to heritage issues, in particular the absence of commemoration of working-class community culture in the city. It has also increased awareness of urban land clearance issues. Its continued success depends on numerous factors, such as developing new strategies of engagement with the community, regularly gaining publicity and organising new exhibitions and workshops. Keywords: Material culture, community participation, urban working class history

Culture and creativity in the Otavalo region (Ecuador

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernarda Elisa Pupiales Rueda

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The article addresses some of the cultural manifestations of the people located in Otavalo (Ecuador, and witnesses the validity of the ancestral traditions of the ethnic groups that make it possible for the creativity to be interconnected with the popular expressions through an innate ability to the development of decorative, utilitarian, mythical or profane objects that constitute the handicrafts, clothing and the popular celebrations. Otavalo’s crafts is related to syncretic culture, sacred and profane, traditional and modern, ritual and playful. In addition, there are some similarities with the region of south Colombia. So, there are clear cultural links, either by the proximity, as well as the cultural roots they share. The study leads to a series of reflections on the traditions of a region with a high indigenous ethnic component and a rich and prolific material culture which evidences complex hybridizations and influences.

Supercritical CO2 Foaming of Thermoplastic Materials Derived from Maize: Proof-of-Concept Use in Mammalian Cell Culture Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo-de Santiago, Grissel; Portales-Cabrera, Cynthia Guadalupe; Portillo-Lara, Roberto; Araiz-Hernández, Diana; Del Barone, Maria Cristina; García-López, Erika; Rojas-de Gante, Cecilia; de los Angeles De Santiago-Miramontes, María; Segoviano-Ramírez, Juan Carlos; García-Lara, Silverio; Rodríguez-González, Ciro Ángel; Alvarez, Mario Moisés; Di Maio, Ernesto; Iannace, Salvatore

2015-01-01

Background Foams are high porosity and low density materials. In nature, they are a common architecture. Some of their relevant technological applications include heat and sound insulation, lightweight materials, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Foams derived from natural polymers are particularly attractive for tissue culture due to their biodegradability and bio-compatibility. Here, the foaming potential of an extensive list of materials was assayed, including slabs elaborated from whole flour, the starch component only, or the protein fraction only of maize seeds. Methodology/Principal Findings We used supercritical CO2 to produce foams from thermoplasticized maize derived materials. Polyethylene-glycol, sorbitol/glycerol, or urea/formamide were used as plasticizers. We report expansion ratios, porosities, average pore sizes, pore morphologies, and pore size distributions for these materials. High porosity foams were obtained from zein thermoplasticized with polyethylene glycol, and from starch thermoplasticized with urea/formamide. Zein foams had a higher porosity than starch foams (88% and 85%, respectively) and a narrower and more evenly distributed pore size. Starch foams exhibited a wider span of pore sizes and a larger average pore size than zein (208.84 vs. 55.43 μm2, respectively). Proof-of-concept cell culture experiments confirmed that mouse fibroblasts (NIH 3T3) and two different prostate cancer cell lines (22RV1, DU145) attached to and proliferated on zein foams. Conclusions/Significance We conducted screening and proof-of-concept experiments on the fabrication of foams from cereal-based bioplastics. We propose that a key indicator of foamability is the strain at break of the materials to be foamed (as calculated from stress vs. strain rate curves). Zein foams exhibit attractive properties (average pore size, pore size distribution, and porosity) for cell culture applications; we were able to establish and sustain mammalian cell cultures on zein

Supercritical CO2 foaming of thermoplastic materials derived from maize: proof-of-concept use in mammalian cell culture applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo-de Santiago, Grissel; Portales-Cabrera, Cynthia Guadalupe; Portillo-Lara, Roberto; Araiz-Hernández, Diana; Del Barone, Maria Cristina; García-López, Erika; Rojas-de Gante, Cecilia; de Los Angeles De Santiago-Miramontes, María; Segoviano-Ramírez, Juan Carlos; García-Lara, Silverio; Rodríguez-González, Ciro Ángel; Alvarez, Mario Moisés; Di Maio, Ernesto; Iannace, Salvatore

2015-01-01

Foams are high porosity and low density materials. In nature, they are a common architecture. Some of their relevant technological applications include heat and sound insulation, lightweight materials, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Foams derived from natural polymers are particularly attractive for tissue culture due to their biodegradability and bio-compatibility. Here, the foaming potential of an extensive list of materials was assayed, including slabs elaborated from whole flour, the starch component only, or the protein fraction only of maize seeds. We used supercritical CO2 to produce foams from thermoplasticized maize derived materials. Polyethylene-glycol, sorbitol/glycerol, or urea/formamide were used as plasticizers. We report expansion ratios, porosities, average pore sizes, pore morphologies, and pore size distributions for these materials. High porosity foams were obtained from zein thermoplasticized with polyethylene glycol, and from starch thermoplasticized with urea/formamide. Zein foams had a higher porosity than starch foams (88% and 85%, respectively) and a narrower and more evenly distributed pore size. Starch foams exhibited a wider span of pore sizes and a larger average pore size than zein (208.84 vs. 55.43 μm2, respectively). Proof-of-concept cell culture experiments confirmed that mouse fibroblasts (NIH 3T3) and two different prostate cancer cell lines (22RV1, DU145) attached to and proliferated on zein foams. We conducted screening and proof-of-concept experiments on the fabrication of foams from cereal-based bioplastics. We propose that a key indicator of foamability is the strain at break of the materials to be foamed (as calculated from stress vs. strain rate curves). Zein foams exhibit attractive properties (average pore size, pore size distribution, and porosity) for cell culture applications; we were able to establish and sustain mammalian cell cultures on zein foams for extended time periods.

Supercritical CO2 foaming of thermoplastic materials derived from maize: proof-of-concept use in mammalian cell culture applications.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grissel Trujillo-de Santiago

Full Text Available Foams are high porosity and low density materials. In nature, they are a common architecture. Some of their relevant technological applications include heat and sound insulation, lightweight materials, and tissue engineering scaffolds. Foams derived from natural polymers are particularly attractive for tissue culture due to their biodegradability and bio-compatibility. Here, the foaming potential of an extensive list of materials was assayed, including slabs elaborated from whole flour, the starch component only, or the protein fraction only of maize seeds.We used supercritical CO2 to produce foams from thermoplasticized maize derived materials. Polyethylene-glycol, sorbitol/glycerol, or urea/formamide were used as plasticizers. We report expansion ratios, porosities, average pore sizes, pore morphologies, and pore size distributions for these materials. High porosity foams were obtained from zein thermoplasticized with polyethylene glycol, and from starch thermoplasticized with urea/formamide. Zein foams had a higher porosity than starch foams (88% and 85%, respectively and a narrower and more evenly distributed pore size. Starch foams exhibited a wider span of pore sizes and a larger average pore size than zein (208.84 vs. 55.43 μm2, respectively. Proof-of-concept cell culture experiments confirmed that mouse fibroblasts (NIH 3T3 and two different prostate cancer cell lines (22RV1, DU145 attached to and proliferated on zein foams.We conducted screening and proof-of-concept experiments on the fabrication of foams from cereal-based bioplastics. We propose that a key indicator of foamability is the strain at break of the materials to be foamed (as calculated from stress vs. strain rate curves. Zein foams exhibit attractive properties (average pore size, pore size distribution, and porosity for cell culture applications; we were able to establish and sustain mammalian cell cultures on zein foams for extended time periods.

Crime event 3D reconstruction based on incomplete or fragmentary evidence material--case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Maksymowicz, Krzysztof; Tunikowski, Wojciech; Kościuk, Jacek

2014-09-01

Using our own experience in 3D analysis, the authors will demonstrate the possibilities of 3D crime scene and event reconstruction in cases where originally collected material evidence is largely insufficient. The necessity to repeat forensic evaluation is often down to the emergence of new facts in the course of case proceedings. Even in cases when a crime scene and its surroundings have undergone partial or complete transformation, with regard to elements significant to the course of the case, or when the scene was not satisfactorily secured, it is still possible to reconstruct it in a 3D environment based on the originally-collected, even incomplete, material evidence. In particular cases when no image of the crime scene is available, its partial or even full reconstruction is still potentially feasible. Credibility of evidence for such reconstruction can still satisfy the evidence requirements in court. Reconstruction of the missing elements of the crime scene is still possible with the use of information obtained from current publicly available databases. In the study, we demonstrate that these can include Google Maps(®*), Google Street View(®*) and available construction and architecture archives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural objects as objects: materiality, urban space, and the interpretation of AIDS campaigns in Accra, Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonnell, Terence E

2010-05-01

AIDS media lead unexpected lives once distributed through urban space: billboards fade, posters go missing, bumper stickers travel to other cities. The materiality of AIDS campaign objects and of the urban settings in which they are displayed structures how the public interprets their messages. Ethnographic observation of AIDS media in situ and interview data reveal how the materiality of objects and places shapes the availability of AIDS knowledge in Accra, Ghana. Significantly for AIDS organizations, these material conditions often systematically obstruct access to AIDS knowledge for particular groups. Attending to materiality rethinks how scholars assess the cultural power of media.

General principles of researching the lexicon of traditional material culture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nedeljkov Ljiljana

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses a linguistic research of terminological systems connected with basic fields of human life and work which, in modern conditions, are either transformed into contemporary modern forms or gradually disappear due to changes in the way of life and work. The lexicon of material culture of native inhabitants of Vojvodina is examined, resulting in monographs on the terminologies of fishing, cartwrighting, shepherding and houses and furniture, all of which have in common the fact that the starting point was the research of the lexicon in question by semantic fields. The paper shows the lexicological and lexicographical procedures used while researching these terminological systems.

Exploring the implications of the influence of organisational culture on work-life balance practices: evidence from Nigerian medical doctors

OpenAIRE

Adisa, Toyin Ajibade; Modi, Chima; Osabutey, Ellis L. C.

2017-01-01

Purpose - Whilst significant evidence of western work-life balance (WLB) challenges exists, studies that explore Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are scarce. This article explores how organisational culture in Nigerian medical organisations influences doctors’ WLB and examines the implications of supportive and unsupportive cultures on doctors’ WLB. \\ud \\ud Methodology - The paper uses qualitative data gleaned from semi-structured interviews of 60 medical doctors across the six geo-political zones of...

IMPLEMENTING A STUDENT-CENTERED PEDAGOGY THROUGH THE USE OF INTERESTING AND CULTURALLY CONTEXTUALIZED AUTHENTIC MATERIALS

OpenAIRE

Tabitha Kidwell; Hanung Triyoko

2017-01-01

The selection and use of appropriate materials is one of the most critical challenges facing English teachers today. In this article, we tell the stories (vignettes) of some of the major challenges we have faced as educators in this regard, and we offer a research base and practical suggestions related to each vignette. Selection of interesting and culturally contextualized authentic materials can go a long way towards creating a student-centered peddagogy. This will help to increase student ...

Seleccionando materiales adecuados cultural y linguisticamente: Sugerencias para los proveedores de servicios (Selecting Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Materials: Suggestions for Service Providers). ERIC Digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Rosa Milagros; Reese, Debbie

The population of the United States is growing more culturally diverse each year, and this diversity is clearly evident among families with young children; however, individuals who work in early childhood programs are not as diverse as those they serve. Moreover, many early childhood professionals have little preparation for working with families…

Laser-induced emission, fluorescence and Raman hybrid setup: A versatile instrument to analyze materials from cultural heritage

Science.gov (United States)

Syvilay, D.; Bai, X. S.; Wilkie-Chancellier, N.; Texier, A.; Martinez, L.; Serfaty, S.; Detalle, V.

2018-02-01

The aim of this research project was the development of a hybrid system in laboratory coupling together three analytical techniques, namely laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and Raman spectroscopy in a single instrument. The rationale for combining these three spectroscopies was to identify a material (molecular and elemental analysis) without any preliminary preparation, regardless of its organic or inorganic nature, on the surface and in depth, without any surrounding light interference thanks to time resolution. Such instrumentation would allow characterizing different materials from cultural heritage. A complete study on LIBS-LIF-Raman hybrid was carried out, from its conception to instrumental achievement, in order to elaborate a strategy of analysis according to the material and to be able to address conservation issues. From an instrumental point of view, condensing the three spectroscopies was achieved by using a single laser for excitation and two spectrometers (time-integrated and not time-integrated) for light collection. A parabolic mirror was used as collecting system, while three excitation sources directed through this optical system ensured the examination of a similar probe area. Two categories of materials were chosen to test the hybrid instrumentation on cultural heritage applications (copper corrosion products and wall paintings). Some examples are reported to illustrate the wealth of information provided by the hybrid, thus demonstrating its great potential to be used for cultural heritage issues. Finally, several considerations are outlined aimed at further improving the hybrid.

Materializing Culture - Culturizing Material. On the Status, Responsibilities and Function of Cultural Property Repositories within the Framework of a "Transformative Scholarship"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Markus Hilgert

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Certain theoretical streams in the cultural and social sciences that are occasionally subsumed under the term “New Materialism” 2 (see Witzgall, as well as recent social, political, cultural and media technology developments require a theoretical and research-political repositioning of academic object repositories. For it is obvious that under the influence of these multi-layered, partly interwoven processes, the status, responsibilities, as well as the function and spheres of activity of these object or cultural property repositories with research commitment (on the term see section 2 below are currently undergoing long-lasting change. For the respective institutions, these changes not only result in complex challenges regarding contents and structure, but also present extraordinary opportunities for the fulfillment of their academic, social and political responsibilities. The appropriate handling of these challenges and opportunities can substantially contribute to the sharpening of the academic and social profile of these institutions and increase their visibility on both a national and international level.

From basic raw material goods to cultural and environmental services: the Chinese bamboo sophistication path

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Ruiz Pérez

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Bamboo has deep cultural and economic roots in China, the country with the largest bamboo resources in the world. Over the last three decades bamboo has evolved from a supply of raw material for basic goods into the material base of an increasingly diversified array of products and, more recently, into a potentially important source of cultural and environmental services. Based on a general literature review and the lessons learned from detailed case studies in different regions of China, we explored the changing roles of bamboo, and its effects on local economies and farmers' livelihood strategies. As the country develops and new economic activities continue to appear, bamboo production has shifted from a superior income-generating opportunity that largely benefited the better-off to a less attractive option left for those who have no other choice. The nature of the work has also changed, from families working directly on their bamboo plots to an emphasis on hired labor, with prosperous bamboo owners devoting most of their time to more lucrative activities. A similar process can be observed in bamboo processing in counties where previous industrial structures hinged around raw material harvests, but which have now entered into other secondary and tertiary industry activities. At the same time, bamboo has attracted new opportunities as a source of cultural, aesthetic, and leisure-related activities, as well as some potentially important climatic, watershed, and biodiversity functions. We analyze the complementarity between goods and services provided by bamboo and discuss some research issues and future trends that may help in overcoming these conflicts.

Building a Unit-Level Mentored Program to Sustain a Culture of Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Breckenridge-Sproat, Sara T; Throop, Meryia D; Raju, Dheeraj; Murphy, Deborah A; Loan, Lori A; Patrician, Patricia A

2015-01-01

This study tested the effectiveness of a dynamic educational and mentoring program, facilitated by unit-level mentors, to introduce, promote, and sustain an evidence-based practice (EBP) culture among nurses in a military healthcare setting. The need to identify gaps in practice, apply principles of EBP, and advance scientific applications in the pursuit of quality nursing care is as important to military healthcare as it is in the civilian sector. The Advancing Research through Close Collaboration Model guided the intervention and study. Three instruments were used: the Organizational Readiness for System-wide Integration of Evidence-Based Practice, EBP Beliefs, and EBP Implementation scales. The study took place in 3 military hospitals simultaneously undergoing facility and staff integration. Data were collected from staff nurses in the inpatient nursing units before and after a facilitated education and mentoring intervention. Three hundred sixty nurses (38%) completed baseline, and 325 (31%) completed follow-up surveys. Scores improved on all 3 measures following implementation of the program; however, the differences were statistically significant only for the Organizational Readiness for System-wide Integration of Evidence-Based Practice scale (70.96 vs 77.63, t = -3.95, P culture may diffuse among individuals in an organization, even while experiencing significant change. It also demonstrates that a unit-level mentored EBP program is sustainable despite changes in organizational structure and workforce composition.

Penn gap rule in phase-change memory materials: No clear evidence for resonance bonds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Shimakawa

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Although a proposal of resonance bonds in crystalline phase-change materials based on the GeSbTe system has been provided, we do not find any clear evidence in favor of the proposal. The ellipsometric study demonstrates that a change in the high frequency dielectric constant ε∞ between the amorphous and crystalline phases is only scaled by the average bandgap (the Penn gap rule. Even for a pure antimony film, regarded as a prototype resonance bonding material, ε∞ was found to follow the Penn gap rule. Experimentally, we did not find any evidence of a significant change in the optical transition matrix element during the phase change, which is necessary to support the idea of resonance bonds.

Emotions, Development and Materiality at School: a Cultural-Historical Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Muller Mirza, Nathalie

2016-12-01

In the school context, feelings and emotions are generally perceived as obstacles to learning. Today, however, the introduction of complex real-world issues in lessons of Geography, History or civic education, such as international migration or cultural diversity, blurs the classic boundaries between emotions and cognition when they prompt students' personal opinions and experiences. In the frame of a research on teaching and learning practices in education for cultural diversity, this paper examines how students' personal emotions were elicited in the lessons, and how they were semiotized, transformed in the course of social interactions. We analyze empirical data gathered in 12 Primary and Junior school classrooms in Switzerland. 12 teachers and 232 students (from 11 to 16 years old) participated. We adopt a cultural-historical perspective inspired by Vygotsky and his followers and show the interactional processes by which the emotions undergo semiotization and influence the unfolding of the students' psychological processes. In the sequences we analyze, using the Valsiner's schema (Human Development, 44, 84-97, 2001), we identify three different modalities of semiotization: 1) the students' feelings are simply verbalized and linked to the speaker's affective world; 2) the verbalized emotions are reframed and interwoven with factual information; 3) the verbalized emotions are linked to information and reframed with collective emotional experiences. These processes are described, illustrated and discussed. We shed light on the central role of the verbal interventions of the teacher (who supports but also hinders the processes sometimes) and of materiality, here photographs, which mediated the teacher-student interactions.

Effects of Apollo 12 lunar material on lipid levels of tobacco tissue and slash pine cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Weete, J. D.

1972-01-01

Investigations of the lipid components of pine tissues (Pinus elloitii) are discussed, emphasizing fatty acids and steroids. The response by slash pine tissue cultures to growth in contact with Apollo lunar soil, earth basalt, and Iowa soil is studied. Tissue cultures of tobacco grown for 12 weeks in contact with lunar material from Apollo 12 flight contained 21 to 35 percent more total pigment than control tissues. No differences were noted in the fresh or dry weight of the experimental and control samples.

What works for wellbeing in culture and sport? Report of a DELPHI process to support coproduction and establish principles and parameters of an evidence review.

Science.gov (United States)

Daykin, Norma; Mansfield, Louise; Payne, Annette; Kay, Tess; Meads, Catherine; D'Innocenzo, Giorgia; Burnett, Adele; Dolan, Paul; Julier, Guy; Longworth, Louise; Tomlinson, Alan; Testoni, Stefano; Victor, Christina

2017-09-01

There is a growing recognition of the ways in which culture and sport can contribute to wellbeing. A strong evidence base is needed to support innovative service development and a 3-year research programme is being undertaken to capture best evidence of wellbeing impacts and outcomes of cultural and sporting activities in order to inform UK policy and practice. This article provides an overview of methods and findings from an initial coproduction process with key stakeholders that sought to explore and agree principles and parameters of the evidence review for culture, sport and wellbeing (CSW). A two-stage DELPHI process was conducted with a purposeful sample of 57 stakeholders between August and December 2015. Participants were drawn from a range of culture and sport organisations and included commissioners and managers, policy makers, representatives of service delivery organisations (SDOs) and scholars. The DELPHI 1 questionnaire was developed from extensive consultation in July and August 2015. It explored definitions of wellbeing, the role of evidence, quality assessment, and the culture and sport populations, settings and interventions that are most likely to deliver wellbeing outcomes. Following further consultation, the results, presented as a series of ranked statements, were sent back to participants (DELPHI 2), which allowed them to reflect on and, if they wished, express agreement or disagreement with the emerging consensus. A total of 40 stakeholders (70.02%) responded to the DELPHI questionnaires. DELPHI 1 mapped areas of agreement and disagreement, confirmed in DELPHI 2. The exercise drew together the key priorities for the CSW evidence review. The DELPHI process, in combination with face-to-face deliberation, enabled stakeholders to engage in complex discussion and express nuanced priorities while also allowing the group to come to an overall consensus and agree outcomes. The results will inform the CSW evidence review programme until its

Written culture: reading pratices and printed book

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidia Eugenia Cavalcante

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The history of the written culture and the reading practices is the subject argued in this article. It aims at to understand the trajectory of the printed book in its materiality, as well as the processes delineated from the undisputed cultural presence and politics of this support for the modern society. Search to evidence the reading practices, the phenomena and the mutations that fortify such support per centuries, approaching the “book crisis”, its causes and effects. Therefore, it deals with the particularitities of the written culture, that if they had accomplished in the Siècle des Lumières and if they had consecrated in “acting” of the spirit of the authors and the readers of that time, whose propagation influenced the western person. It analyzes the sociological and historical conditions of the place of the modern reader between Science, Philosophy and Romance, continuously transformed for the renewal of the thought and the culture.

Is 'modern culture' bad for our health and well-being?

Science.gov (United States)

Hanlon, Phil; Carlisle, Sandra

2009-12-01

Evidence is accumulating that well-being in high-income societies may be static or in decline. One influential theory argues that this is because 'modern' societies are influenced by values of materialism, individualism and consumerism. Does this intellectual critique resonate with ordinary people? This article reports on interviews with purposefully selected groups in Scotland, where the relevance of the cultural critique was explored. Participants in the study believed that cultural values such as individualized consumerism do exert a damaging influence on well-being. They suggested that such values are given particular power in the context of widespread social change and increasing inequalities. Nevertheless, they also believed that individuals and communities possess the capacity to resist such trends. This article concludes that efforts to achieve material improvement for disadvantaged people may not suffice in redressing deep-seated inequalities, if the contribution of some subtle but pernicious effects of contemporary culture remains neglected. However, the research does suggest that positive responses are also possible.

Secular gains in fluid intelligence: evidence from the Culture-Fair intelligence test.

Science.gov (United States)

Colom, Roberto; García-López, Oscar

2003-01-01

There is no doubt about the reality of the secular increase in cognitive test scores. However, there is disagreement about a key issue: does the observed increase reflect a genuine upward trend in intelligence? Evidence from the Raven test is clear, although there are some doubts about its adequacy as a fine-grained measure of fluid intelligence. Evidence from the so-called 'method of correlated vectors' is much less clear. When a crystallized battery is considered, the results leave little doubt: the increase does not reflect gains in general intelligence. However, when a fluid battery is analysed, the increase does reflect gains in general intelligence. The present study uses one of the best available measures of fluid intelligence (the Culture-Fair intelligence test) to provide new evidence for the secular increase in fluid intelligence, beyond the findings from the Raven test and the method of correlated vectors. A total of 4498 Spanish high school students and high school graduates were tested within a time interval of 20 and 23 years, respectively. The results show that there is a clear upward trend in intelligence. Moreover, students show an average increase equivalent to 6 IQ points, while graduates show an average increase of 4 IQ points. Therefore, more selected people (graduates) show a smaller increase than less selected people (students). Some implications are discussed.

Hetero-cellular prototyping by synchronized multi-material bioprinting for rotary cell culture system.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Jessica; Son, Ae Rin; Hamid, Qudus; Wu, Honglu; Sun, Wei

2016-01-13

Bottom-up tissue engineering requires methodological progress of biofabrication to capture key design facets of anatomical arrangements across micro, meso and macro-scales. The diffusive mass transfer properties necessary to elicit stability and functionality require hetero-typic contact, cell-to-cell signaling and uniform nutrient diffusion. Bioprinting techniques successfully build mathematically defined porous architecture to diminish resistance to mass transfer. Current limitations of bioprinted cell assemblies include poor micro-scale formability of cell-laden soft gels and asymmetrical macro-scale diffusion through 3D volumes. The objective of this work is to engineer a synchronized multi-material bioprinter (SMMB) system which improves the resolution and expands the capability of existing bioprinting systems by packaging multiple cell types in heterotypic arrays prior to deposition. This unit cell approach to arranging multiple cell-laden solutions is integrated with a motion system to print heterogeneous filaments as tissue engineered scaffolds and nanoliter droplets. The set of SMMB process parameters control the geometric arrangement of the combined flow's internal features and constituent material's volume fractions. SMMB printed hepatocyte-endothelial laden 200 nl droplets are cultured in a rotary cell culture system (RCCS) to study the effect of microgravity on an in vitro model of the human hepatic lobule. RCCS conditioning for 48 h increased hepatocyte cytoplasm diameter 2 μm, increased metabolic rate, and decreased drug half-life. SMMB hetero-cellular models present a 10-fold increase in metabolic rate, compared to SMMB mono-culture models. Improved bioprinting resolution due to process control of cell-laden matrix packaging as well as nanoliter droplet printing capability identify SMMB as a viable technique to improve in vitro model efficacy.

Reconciling evidence-based practice and cultural competence in mental health services: introduction to a special issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Gone, Joseph P

2015-04-01

The calls for evidence-based practice (EBP) and cultural competence (CC) represent two increasingly influential mandates within the mental health professions. Advocates of EBP seek to standardize clinical practice by ensuring that only treatment techniques that have demonstrated therapeutic outcomes under scientifically controlled conditions would be adopted and promoted in mental health services. Advocates of CC seek to diversify clinical practice by ensuring that treatment approaches are designed and refined for a multicultural clientele that reflects a wide variety of psychological orientations and life experiences. As these two powerful mandates collide, the fundamental challenge becomes how to accommodate substantive cultural divergences in psychosocial experience using narrowly prescriptive clinical practices and approaches, without trivializing either professional knowledge or cultural difference. In this Introduction to a special issue of Transcultural Psychiatry, the virtue of an interdisciplinary conversation between and among anthropologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social work researchers in addressing these tensions is extolled. © The Author(s) 2015.

Effects of culture-sensitive adaptation of patient information material on usefulness in migrants: a multicentre, blinded randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Hölzel, Lars P; Ries, Zivile; Kriston, Levente; Dirmaier, Jörg; Zill, Jördis M; Rummel-Kluge, Christine; Niebling, Wilhelm; Bermejo, Isaac; Härter, Martin

2016-11-23

To evaluate the usefulness of culture-sensitive patient information material compared with standard translated material. Multicentre, double-blind randomised controlled trial. 37 primary care practices. 435 adult primary care patients with a migration background with unipolar depressive disorder or non-specific chronic low back pain were randomised. Patients who were unable to read in the language of their respective migration background were excluded. Sufficient data were obtained from 203 women and 106 men. The largest group was of Russian origin (202 patients), followed by those of Turkish (52), Polish (30) and Italian (25) origin. Intervention group: provision of culture-sensitive adapted material. provision of standard translated material. Primary outcome: patient-rated usefulness (USE) assessed immediately after patients received the material. patient-rated usefulness after 8 weeks and 6 months, symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), back pain (Back Pain Core Set) and quality of life (WHO-5) assessed at all time points. Usefulness was found to be significantly higher (t=1.708, one-sided p=0.04) in the intervention group (USE-score=65.08, SE=1.43), compared with the control group (61.43, SE=1.63), immediately after patients received the material, in the intention-to-treat analysis, with a mean difference of 3.65 (one-sided 95% lower confidence limit=0.13). No significant differences were found for usefulness at follow-up (p=0.16, p=0.71). No significant effect was found for symptom severity in depression (p=0.95, p=0.66, p=0.58), back pain (p=0.40, p=0.45, p=0.32) or quality of life (p=0.76, p=0.86, p=0.21), either immediately after receiving the material, or at follow-up (8 weeks; 6 months). Patients with a lower level of dominant society immersion benefited substantially and significantly more from the intervention than patients with a high level of immersion (p=0.005). Cultural adaptation of patient information material provides benefits over high quality

Cross-Cultural Effects of Cannabis Use Disorder: Evidence to Support a Cultural Neuroscience Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Prashad, Shikha; Milligan, Amber L; Cousijn, Janna; Filbey, Francesca M

2017-06-01

Cannabis use disorders (CUDs) are prevalent worldwide. Current epidemiological studies underscore differences in behaviors that contribute to cannabis use across cultures that can be leveraged towards prevention and treatment of CUDs. This review proposes a framework for understanding the effects of cross-cultural differences on psychological, neural, and genomic processes underlying CUDs that has the potential to inform global policies and impact global public health. We found that cultural factors may influence (1) the willingness to acknowledge CUD-related symptoms among populations of different countries, and (2) neural responses related to the sense of self, perception, emotion, and attention. These findings leverage the potential effects of culture on neural mechanisms underlying CUDs. As the number of individuals seeking treatment for CUDs increases globally, it is imperative to incorporate cultural considerations to better understand and serve differing populations and develop more targeted treatment strategies and interventions.

Spontaneous trait inference is culture-specific: behavioral and neural evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Jinkyung; Kitayama, Shinobu

2011-08-01

People with an independent model of the self may be expected to develop a spontaneous tendency to infer a personality trait from another person's behavior, but those with an interdependent model of the self may not show such a tendency. We tested this prediction by assessing the cumulative effect of both trait activation and trait binding in a diagnostic task that required no trait inference. Participants first memorized pairings of facial photos with trait-implying behavior. In a subsequent lexical decision task, European Americans showed clear evidence of spontaneous trait inference: When they were primed with a previously studied face, lexical decision for the word for the implied trait associated with that face was facilitated, and the antonym of the implied trait elicited an electrophysiological sign associated with processing of semantically inconsistent information (i.e., the N400). As predicted, however, neither effect was observed for Asian Americans. The cultural difference was mediated by independent self-construal.

Cross-Cultural Effects of Cannabis Use Disorder: Evidence to Support a Cultural Neuroscience Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Prashad, Shikha; Milligan, Amber L.; Cousijn, Janna; Filbey, Francesca M.

2017-01-01

Purpose of review Cannabis use disorders (CUDs) are prevalent worldwide. Current epidemiological studies underscore differences in behaviors that contribute to cannabis use across cultures that can be leveraged towards prevention and treatment of CUDs. This review proposes a framework for understanding the effects of cross-cultural differences on psychological, neural, and genomic processes underlying CUDs that has the potential to inform global policies and impact global public health. Recent findings We found that cultural factors may influence (1) the willingness to acknowledge CUD-related symptoms among populations of different countries, and (2) neural responses related to the sense of self, perception, emotion, and attention. These findings leverage the potential effects of culture on neural mechanisms underlying CUDs. Summary As the number of individuals seeking treatment for CUDs increases globally, it is imperative to incorporate cultural considerations to better understand and serve differing populations and develop more targeted treatment strategies and interventions. PMID:29062679

Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann and Michael North (eds., Mediating Netherlandish Art and Material Culture in Asia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claartje Rasterhoff

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Book notice of: Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann and Michael North (eds., Mediating Netherlandish Art and Material Culture in Asia (Amsterdam Studies in the Dutch Golden Age Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2014. 348 pp. ISBN 978-90-8964-569-2. € 99,00.

Cross-cultural similarities and differences in person-body reasoning: experimental evidence from the United Kingdom and Brazilian Amazon.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Emma; Burdett, Emily; Knight, Nicola; Barrett, Justin

2011-01-01

We report the results of a cross-cultural investigation of person-body reasoning in the United Kingdom and northern Brazilian Amazon (Marajó Island). The study provides evidence that directly bears upon divergent theoretical claims in cognitive psychology and anthropology, respectively, on the cognitive origins and cross-cultural incidence of mind-body dualism. In a novel reasoning task, we found that participants across the two sample populations parsed a wide range of capacities similarly in terms of the capacities' perceived anchoring to bodily function. Patterns of reasoning concerning the respective roles of physical and biological properties in sustaining various capacities did vary between sample populations, however. Further, the data challenge prior ad-hoc categorizations in the empirical literature on the developmental origins of and cognitive constraints on psycho-physical reasoning (e.g., in afterlife concepts). We suggest cross-culturally validated categories of "Body Dependent" and "Body Independent" items for future developmental and cross-cultural research in this emerging area. Copyright © 2011 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Material culture across the Aleutian archipelago.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatfield, Virginia L

2010-12-01

The material evidence from sites across the Aleutian Islands reflects colonization events, subsequent adaptations, and influxes of ideas and/or people from the east. The occurrence in the eastern Aleutians of bifacial technology around 7000 BP, of artifacts similar to the Arctic Small Tool tradition between 4000 and 3500 BP, and of slate and jet objects around 1000 BP reflects repeated surges of influence or movement of peoples from further east into the eastern end of the chain. In the central and western Aleutians, influence or perhaps colonization from east of the Aleutians is also marked by the occurrence of bifacial technology about 6500 BP and the appearance of slate artifacts after 1000 BP, suggesting the movement of ideas or people from further east. Basic trends across the archipelago include a decrease in formal chipped-stone tools, an increase in the use and the complexity of bone technology, and the increase in use and variety of ground-stone tools. In addition, increasing village site sizes and denser midden deposits are seen later in time throughout the archipelago. The similarity in sites and assemblages, albeit with regional variations, reflects trends that are seen across the chain and indicates that these island communities were not isolated from one another or from mainland Alaska.

Introgression of genetic material from Zea mays ssp. Mexicana into cultivated maize was facilitated by tissue culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, L.; Gu, X.; Qu, M.; Luan, J.; Zhang, J.

2012-01-01

Zea mays ssp. mexicana, a wild relative of cultivated maize (Z. mays ssp. mays), is a useful gene resource for maize breeding. In this study, two populations were generated by conventional breeding scheme (population I) or tissue culture regime (population II), respectively, to introgress genetic material of Z. mays ssp. mexicana into maize. Karyotype analysis showed that the arm ratios of 10 pairs of chromosomes in parent maize Ye515 and derivative lines from 2 different populations with 26% and 38% chromosome variation frequencies, respectively. Alien chromatin was detected in the root tip cells of progeny plants through genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). There were 3.3 chromosomes carrying alien chromatin on average in population I and 6.5 in population II. The hybridization signals were located mainly at the terminal or sub terminal regions of the chromosomes and the sizes were notably variant among lines. Based on those results, it is concluded that the introgression of genetic material from Z. mays ssp. mexicana into cultivated maize was facilitated by tissue culture, and subsequently some excellent materials for maize breeding were created. (author)

Quasi-Appropriation of Dialectical Materialism: A Critical Reading of Marxism in Vygotskian Approaches to Cultural Studies in Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, André; Camillo, Juliano; Mattos, Cristiano

2014-01-01

In this review essay we examine five categories of dialectical materialism proposed by Paulo Lima Junior, Fernanda Ostermann, and Flavia Rezende in their study of the extent to which the articles published in "Cultural Studies of Science Education," that use a Vygotskian approach, are committed to Marxism/dialectical materialism. By…

Colloid and materials science for the conservation of cultural heritage: cleaning, consolidation, and deacidification.

Science.gov (United States)

Baglioni, Piero; Chelazzi, David; Giorgi, Rodorico; Poggi, Giovanna

2013-04-30

Serendipity and experiment have been a frequent approach for the development of materials and methodologies used for a long time for either cleaning or consolidation of works of art. Recently, new perspectives have been opened by the application of materials science, colloid science, and interface science frameworks to conservation, generating a breakthrough in the development of innovative tools for the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage. This Article is an overview of the most recent contributions of colloid and materials science to the art conservation field, mainly focusing on the use of amphiphile-based fluids, gels, and alkaline earth metal hydroxide nanoparticles dispersions for the cleaning of pictorial surfaces, the consolidation of artistic substrates, and the deacidification of paper, canvas, and wood. Future possible directions for solving several conservation issues that still need to be faced are also highlighted.

Cultural Adaptation of an Evidence-Informed Psychosocial Intervention to Address the Needs of PHIV+ Youth in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Pardo, Gisselle; Saisaengjan, Chutima; Gopalan, Priya; Ananworanich, Jintanat; Lakhonpon, Sudrak; Nestadt, Danielle Friedman; Bunupuradah, Torsak; Mellins, Claude Ann; McKay, Mary McKernan

2017-01-01

Globally, pediatric HIV has largely become an adolescent epidemic. Thailand has the highest HIV prevalence in Asia (1.2%), with more than 14,000 children living with HIV. There is growing demand for evidence-based psychosocial interventions for this population that include health and mental health support and sexual risk reduction, which can be integrated into HIV care systems. To address this need, a multidisciplinary team of Thai and US researchers adapted an existing evidence-informed, family-based intervention, The Collaborative HIV Prevention and Adolescent Mental Health Program + (CHAMP+), which has been tested in multiple global trials. Using community-based participatory research methods, changes to the intervention curriculum were made to address language, culture, and Thai family life. Involvement of families, youth, and stakeholders in the adaptation process allowed for identification of salient issues and of program delivery methods that would increase engagement. Participants endorsed using a cartoon-based curriculum format for fostering discussion (as in CHAMP+ South Africa) given stigma around discussing HIV in the Thai context. The Thai version of CHAMP+ retained much of the curriculum content incorporating culturally appropriate metaphors and story line. Sessions focus on family communication, coping, disclosure, stigma, social support, and HIV education. This paper explores lessons learned through the adaption process of CHAMP+ Thailand that are applicable to other interventions and settings. It discusses how culturally informed adaptations can be made to interventions while maintaining core program components.

Grist and mills: on the cultural origins of cultural learning

Science.gov (United States)

Heyes, Cecilia

2012-01-01

Cumulative cultural evolution is what ‘makes us odd’; our capacity to learn facts and techniques from others, and to refine them over generations, plays a major role in making human minds and lives radically different from those of other animals. In this article, I discuss cognitive processes that are known collectively as ‘cultural learning’ because they enable cumulative cultural evolution. These cognitive processes include reading, social learning, imitation, teaching, social motivation and theory of mind. Taking the first of these three types of cultural learning as examples, I ask whether and to what extent these cognitive processes have been adapted genetically or culturally to enable cumulative cultural evolution. I find that recent empirical work in comparative psychology, developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience provides surprisingly little evidence of genetic adaptation, and ample evidence of cultural adaptation. This raises the possibility that it is not only ‘grist’ but also ‘mills’ that are culturally inherited; through social interaction in the course of development, we not only acquire facts about the world and how to deal with it (grist), we also build the cognitive processes that make ‘fact inheritance’ possible (mills). PMID:22734061

Collective animal navigation and migratory culture: from theoretical models to empirical evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Dell, Anthony I.

2018-01-01

Animals often travel in groups, and their navigational decisions can be influenced by social interactions. Both theory and empirical observations suggest that such collective navigation can result in individuals improving their ability to find their way and could be one of the key benefits of sociality for these species. Here, we provide an overview of the potential mechanisms underlying collective navigation, review the known, and supposed, empirical evidence for such behaviour and highlight interesting directions for future research. We further explore how both social and collective learning during group navigation could lead to the accumulation of knowledge at the population level, resulting in the emergence of migratory culture. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Collective movement ecology’. PMID:29581394

The in vitro viability and growth of fibroblasts cultured in the presence of different bone grafting materials (NanoBone and Straumann Bone Ceramic).

Science.gov (United States)

Kauschke, E; Rumpel, E; Fanghänel, J; Bayerlein, T; Gedrange, T; Proff, P

2006-02-01

Different clinical applications, including dentistry, are making increasing demands on bone grafting material. In the present study we have analysed the viability, proliferation and growth characteristics of fibroblasts cultured in vitro together with two different bone grafting materials, NanoBone and Straumann Bone Ceramic, over a period of 24 and 28 days respectively. Viability was measured at least every 72 hours by using the alamarBlue assay, a test that measures quantitatively cell proliferation and viability but does not require cell fixation or extraction. After one week of culture fibroblast viability was as high as in controls for both grafting materials and remained high (> 90%) for the duration of the experiment. Cell growth was evaluated microscopically. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a dense fibroblast growth at the surface of both bone grafting materials after three weeks of in vitro culture. Generally, our in vitro analyses contribute to further insights into cell - scaffold interactions.

American Material Culture: Investigating a World War II Trash Dump

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Julie Braun

2005-10-01

The Idaho National Laboratory: An Historical Trash Trove Historians and archaeologists love trash, the older the better. Sometimes these researchers find their passion in unexpected places. In this presentation, the treasures found in a large historic dump that lies relatively untouched in the middle of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will be described. The U.S. military used the central portion of the INL as one of only six naval proving grounds during World War II. They dumped trash in dry irrigation canals during and after their wartime activities and shortly before the federal government designated this arid and desolate place as the nation’s nuclear reactor testing station in 1949. When read critically and combined with memories and photographs, the 60-year old trash provides a glimpse into 1940s’ culture and the everyday lives of ordinary people who lived and worked during this time on Idaho’s desert. Thanks to priceless stories, hours of research, and the ability to read the language of historic artifacts, the dump was turned from just another trash heap into a treasure trove of 1940s memorabilia. Such studies of American material culture serve to fire our imaginations, enrich our understanding of past practices, and humanize history. Historical archaeology provides opportunities to integrate inanimate objects with animated narrative and, the more recent the artifacts, the more human the stories they can tell.

Oral exposure to culture material extract containing fumonisins predisposes swine to the development of pneumonitis caused by Pasteurella multocida

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halloy, David J.; Gustin, Pascal G.; Bouhet, Sandrine; Oswald, Isabelle P.

2005-01-01

Fumonisin B 1 (FB 1 ) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum that commonly occurs in maize. In swine, consumption of contaminated feed induces liver damage and pulmonary edema. Pasteurella multocida is a secondary pathogen, which can generate a respiratory disorder in predisposed pigs. In this study, we examined the effect of oral exposure to fumonisin-containing culture material on lung inflammation caused by P. multocida. Piglets received by gavage a crude extract of fumonisin, 0.5 mg FB 1 /kg body weight/day, for 7 days. One day later, the animals were instilled intratracheally with a non toxin producing type A strain of P. multocida and followed up for 13 additional days. Pig weight and cough frequency were measured throughout the experiment. Lung lesions, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell composition and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated at the autopsy. Ingestion of fumonisin culture material or infection with P. multocida did not affect weight gain, induced no clinical sign or lung lesion, and only had minimal effect on BALF cell composition. Ingestion of mycotoxin extract increased the expression of IL-8, IL-18 and IFN-γ mRNA compared with P. multocida infection that increased the expression of TNF-α. The combined treatment with fumonisin culture material and P. multocida delayed growth, induced cough, and increased BALF total cells, macrophages and lymphocytes. Lung lesions were significantly enhanced in these animals and consisted of subacute interstitial pneumonia. TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-18 mRNA expression was also increased. Taken together, our data showed that fumonisin culture material is a predisposing factor to lung inflammation. These results may have implications for humans and animals consuming FB 1 contaminated food or feed

Oral exposure to culture material extract containing fumonisins predisposes swine to the development of pneumonitis caused by Pasteurella multocida

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Halloy, David J [Department of Functional Sciences, Unit of Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Liege (Belgium); Gustin, Pascal G [Department of Functional Sciences, Unit of Pharmacology, Pharmacotherapy and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liege, Liege (Belgium); Bouhet, Sandrine [INRA, UR66, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 180 Chemin de Tournefeuille, BP3, 31931 Toulouse (France); Oswald, Isabelle P [INRA, UR66, Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 180 Chemin de Tournefeuille, BP3, 31931 Toulouse (France)

2005-09-15

Fumonisin B{sub 1} (FB{sub 1}) is a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium verticillioides and F. proliferatum that commonly occurs in maize. In swine, consumption of contaminated feed induces liver damage and pulmonary edema. Pasteurella multocida is a secondary pathogen, which can generate a respiratory disorder in predisposed pigs. In this study, we examined the effect of oral exposure to fumonisin-containing culture material on lung inflammation caused by P. multocida. Piglets received by gavage a crude extract of fumonisin, 0.5 mg FB{sub 1}/kg body weight/day, for 7 days. One day later, the animals were instilled intratracheally with a non toxin producing type A strain of P. multocida and followed up for 13 additional days. Pig weight and cough frequency were measured throughout the experiment. Lung lesions, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell composition and the expression of inflammatory cytokines were evaluated at the autopsy. Ingestion of fumonisin culture material or infection with P. multocida did not affect weight gain, induced no clinical sign or lung lesion, and only had minimal effect on BALF cell composition. Ingestion of mycotoxin extract increased the expression of IL-8, IL-18 and IFN-{gamma} mRNA compared with P. multocida infection that increased the expression of TNF-{alpha}. The combined treatment with fumonisin culture material and P. multocida delayed growth, induced cough, and increased BALF total cells, macrophages and lymphocytes. Lung lesions were significantly enhanced in these animals and consisted of subacute interstitial pneumonia. TNF-{alpha}, IFN-{gamma} and IL-18 mRNA expression was also increased. Taken together, our data showed that fumonisin culture material is a predisposing factor to lung inflammation. These results may have implications for humans and animals consuming FB{sub 1} contaminated food or feed.

Using Foreign Virtual Patients With Medical Students in Germany: Are Cultural Differences Evident and Do They Impede Learning?

Science.gov (United States)

Walldorf, Jens; Jähnert, Tina; Berman, Norman B; Fischer, Martin R

2016-09-27

Learning with virtual patients (VPs) is considered useful in medical education for fostering clinical reasoning. As the authoring of VPs is highly demanding, an international exchange of cases might be desirable. However, cultural differences in foreign VPs might hamper learning success. We investigated the need for support for using VPs from the United States at a German university, with respect to language and cultural differences. Our goal was to better understand potential implementation barriers of a intercultural VP exchange. Two VPs were presented to 30 German medical students featuring a cultural background different from German standards with respect to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, ethical aspects, role models, and language (as identified by a cultural adaptation framework). Participants were assigned to two groups: 14 students were advised to complete the cases without further instructions (basic group), and 16 students received written explanatory supplemental information specifically with regard to cultural differences (supplement group). Using a 6-point scale (6=strongly agree), we analyzed the results of an integrated assessment of learning success as well as an evaluation of cases by the students on usefulness for learning and potential issues regarding the language and cultural background. The German students found it motivating to work with cases written in English (6-point scale, 4.5 points). The clinical relevance of the VPs was clearly recognized (6 points), and the foreign language was considered a minor problem in this context (3 points). The results of the integrated learning assessment were similar in both groups (basic 53% [SD 4] vs supplement 52% [SD 4] correct answers, P=.32). However, students using the supplemental material more readily realized culturally different diagnostic and therapeutic strategies (basic 4 vs supplement 5 points, P=.39) and were less affirmative when asked about the transferability of cases to a German

Toxicity of functional nano-micro zinc oxide tetrapods: impact of cell culture conditions, cellular age and material properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Papavlassopoulos, Heike; Mishra, Yogendra K; Kaps, Sören; Paulowicz, Ingo; Abdelaziz, Ramzy; Elbahri, Mady; Maser, Edmund; Adelung, Rainer; Röhl, Claudia

2014-01-01

With increasing production and applications of nanostructured zinc oxide, e.g., for biomedical and consumer products, the question of safety is getting more and more important. Different morphologies of zinc oxide structures have been synthesized and accordingly investigated. In this study, we have particularly focused on nano-micro ZnO tetrapods (ZnO-T), because their large scale fabrication has been made possible by a newly introduced flame transport synthesis approach which will probably lead to several new applications. Moreover, ZnO-T provide a completely different morphology then classical spherical ZnO nanoparticles. To get a better understanding of parameters that affect the interactions between ZnO-T and mammalian cells, and thus their biocompatibility, we have examined the impact of cell culture conditions as well as of material properties on cytotoxicity. Our results demonstrate that the cell density of fibroblasts in culture along with their age, i.e., the number of preceding cell divisions, strongly affect the cytotoxic potency of ZnO-T. Concerning the material properties, the toxic potency of ZnO-T is found to be significantly lower than that of spherical ZnO nanoparticles. Furthermore, the morphology of the ZnO-T influenced cellular toxicity in contrast to surface charges modified by UV illumination or O2 treatment and to the material age. Finally, we have observed that direct contact between tetrapods and cells increases their toxicity compared to transwell culture models which allow only an indirect effect via released zinc ions. The results reveal several parameters that can be of importance for the assessment of ZnO-T toxicity in cell cultures and for particle development.

Creating infrastructure supportive of evidence-based nursing practice: leadership strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Newhouse, Robin P

2007-01-01

Nursing leadership is the cornerstone of successful evidence-based practice (EBP) programs within health care organizations. The key to success is a strategic approach to building an EBP infrastructure, with allocation of appropriate human and material resources. This article indicates the organizational infrastructure that enables evidence-based nursing practice and strategies for leaders to enhance evidence-based practice using "the conceptual model for considering the determinants of diffusion, dissemination, and implementation of innovations in health service delivery and organization." Enabling EBP within organizations is important for promoting positive outcomes for nurses and patients. Fostering EBP is not a static or immediate outcome, but a long-term developmental process within organizations. Implementation requires multiple strategies to cultivate a culture of inquiry where nurses generate and answer important questions to guide practice. Organizations that can enable the culture and build infrastructure to help nurses develop EBP competencies will produce a professional environment that will result in both personal growth for their staff and improvements in quality that would not otherwise be possible.

The Impact of Latino Values and Cultural Beliefs on Brain Donation: Results of a Pilot Study to Develop Culturally Appropriate Materials and Methods to Increase Rates of Brain Donation in this Under-Studied Patient Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilbrey, Ann Choryan; Humber, Marika B; Plowey, Edward D; Garcia, Iliana; Chennapragada, Lakshmi; Desai, Kanchi; Rosen, Allyson; Askari, Nusha; Gallagher-Thompson, Dolores

2018-01-01

Increasing the number of Latino persons with dementia who consent to brain donation (BD) upon death is an important public health goal that has not yet been realized. This study identified the need for culturally sensitive materials to answer questions and support the decision-making process for the family. Information about existing rates of BD was obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Centers. Several methods of data collection (query NACC database, contacting Centers, focus groups, online survey, assessing current protocol and materials) were used to give the needed background to create culturally appropriate BD materials. A decision was made that a brochure for undecided enrollees would be beneficial to discuss BD with family members. For those needing further details, a step-by-step handout would provide additional information. Through team collaboration and engagement of others in the community who work with Latinos with dementia, we believe this process allowed us to successfully create culturally appropriate informational materials that address a sensitive topic for Hispanic/Latino families. Brain tissue is needed to further knowledge about underlying biological mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases, however it is a sensitive topic. Materials assist with family discussion and facilitate the family's follow-through with BD.

Identification of blue staining vaccine-derived material in inflammatory lesions using cultured canine macrophages.

Science.gov (United States)

Scruggs, Jennifer L; LeBlanc, Casey J

2015-03-01

Vaccine reactions are described in cytology textbooks as having eosinophilic to magenta colored globules within and admixed with inflammatory cells. Recently, we have seen increased numbers of inflammatory lesions containing blue to blue-gray globular material, with historical information suggesting an association with rabies vaccination. The purpose of the study was to confirm the blue-gray and the eosinophilic material observed microscopically in some inflammatory lesions as being vaccine-derived. Three different vaccines were cytocentrifuged and Wright stained. Vaccine aliquots were also added to the culture media of canine-derived macrophages for 24 hours and the cells subsequently harvested, cytocentrifuged, and Wright stained. The globular material present in both preparations was compared to that observed in vaccine-induced inflammatory lesions. Morin staining was used to identify metal within vaccine material in both in vitro- and in vivo-derived cytology samples. Vaccine-derived material has a characteristic color and appearance. Appearance of the material was consistent in cytologic samples, in cells incubated with the vaccine, and in cytocentrifuged preparations of the vaccine vial contents. The blue-gray globules stained positively for Morin stain, while the eosinophilic material did not stain. Vaccine-induced inflammatory lesions may contain blue to blue-gray or magenta stained globular material. Blue-gray material was associated with administration of rabies vaccine Imrab 3 TF and the observed material may be metal-containing adjuvant. Magenta material was associated with other vaccines and negative for Morin stain, suggesting a metal-free adjuvant. © 2014 American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology.

Cultural adaptation of an evidence-based nursing intervention to improve medication adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Ann B; Wang, Honghong; Burgess, Jane; Li, Xianhong; Danvers, Karina

2013-04-01

Adapting nursing interventions to suit the needs and culture of a new population (cultural adaptation) is an important early step in the process of implementation and dissemination. While the need for cultural adaptation is widely accepted, research-based strategies for doing so are not well articulated. Non-adherence to medications for chronic disease is a global problem and cultural adaptation of existing evidence-based interventions could be useful. This paper aims to describe the cultural adaptation of an evidence-based nursing intervention to improve medication adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS and to offer recommendations for adaptation of interventions across cultures and borders. SITE: The intervention, which demonstrated efficacy in a randomized controlled trial in North America, was adapted for the cultural and social context of Hunan Province, in south central China. The adaptation process was undertaken by intervention stakeholders including the original intervention study team, the proposed adaptation team, and members of a Community Advisory Board, including people living with HIV/AIDS, family members, and health care workers at the target clinical sites. The adaptation process was driven by quantitative and qualitative data describing the new population and context and was guided by principles for cultural adaptation drawn from prevention science research. The primary adaptation to the intervention was the inclusion of family members in intervention activities, in response to the cultural and social importance of the family in rural China. In a pilot test of the adapted intervention, self-reported medication adherence improved significantly in the group receiving the intervention compared to the control group (p=0.01). Recommendations for cultural adaptation of nursing interventions include (1) involve stakeholders from the beginning; (2) assess the population, need, and context; (3) evaluate the intervention to be adapted with attention to

Apollo 12 lunar material - Effects on lipid levels of tobacco tissue cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Weete, J. D.; Walkinshaw, C. H.; Laseter, J. L.

1972-01-01

Tobacco tissue cultures grown in contact with lunar material from Apollo 12, for a 12-week period, resulted in fluctuations of both the relative and absolute concentrations of endogenous sterols and fatty acids. The experimental tissues contained higher concentrations of sterols than the controls did. The ratio of campesterol to stigmasterol was greater than 1 in control tissues, but less than 1 in the experimental tissues after 3 weeks. High relative concentrations (17.1 to 22.2 per cent) of an unidentified compound or compounds were found only in control tissues that were 3 to 9 weeks of age.

Culture, Cross-Role Consistency, and Adjustment: Testing Trait and Cultural Psychology Perspectives

OpenAIRE

Church, A. Timothy; Anderson-Harumi, Cheryl A.; del Prado, Alicia M.; Curtis, Guy J.; Tanaka-Matsumi, Junko; Valdez Medina, José L.; Mastor, Khairul A.; White, Fiona A.; Miramontes, Lilia A.; Katigbak, Marcia S.

2008-01-01

Trait and cultural psychology perspectives on cross-role consistency and its relation to adjustment were examined in two individualistic cultures, the United States (N = 231) and Australia (N = 195), and four collectivistic cultures, Mexico (N = 199), Philippines (N = 195), Malaysia (N = 217), and Japan (N = 180). Cross-role consistency in trait ratings was evident in all cultures, supporting trait perspectives. Cultural comparisons of mean consistency provided support for cultural psychology...

The effect of labour on ownership decisions in two cultures: developmental evidence from Japan and the United Kingdom.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanngiesser, Patricia; Itakura, Shoji; Hood, Bruce M

2014-09-01

Creative labour has an effect on children's and adults' ownership decisions in Western cultures. We investigated whether preschoolers and adults from an Eastern culture (Japan) would show a similar bias. In a first-party task (Experiment 1), in which participants created their own objects, Japanese preschoolers but not adults assigned ownership to creators. When participants watched videos of third-party conflicts between owners of materials and creators (Experiment 2), Japanese adults, but not preschoolers, transferred ownership to creators. In a British comparison group, both preschoolers and adults showed an effect of creative labour in the third-party task. A bias to attribute ownership on the basis of creative labour is thus not specific to Western culture. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Wonderful Things? A Consideration of 3D Modelling of Objects in Material Culture Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Molloy Barry

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The role of 3D modelling in archaeology is increasing exponentially, from fieldwork to architecture to material culture studies. For the study of archaeological objects the roles of digital and print models for public engagement has been much considered in recent literature. For model makers, focus has typically been placed on exceptional and visually striking objects with inherent appeal. In contrast, this paper explores some of the potential roles for 3D digital models for routine artefact research and publication. Particular emphasis is placed on the challenges this technology raises for archaeological theory and practice. Following a consideration of how 3D models relate to established illustration and photographic traditions, the paper evaluates some of the unique features of 3D models, focussing on both positive and negative aspects of these. This is followed by a discussion of the role of potential research connections between digital and craft models in experimental research. Our overall objective is to emphasise a need to engage with the ways in which this gradual development has begun to change aspects of longestablished workflows. In turn, the increasing use of this technology is argued to have wider ramifications for the development of archaeology, and material culture studies in particular, as a discipline that requires reflection.

Scientific methods and cultural heritage an introduction to the application of materials science to archaeometry and conservation science

CERN Document Server

Artioli, Gilberto

2010-01-01

Artioli provides an introduction to the methods and rationales of the scientific investigation of cultural heritage materials, with an emphasis placed on the analytical strategies, modes of operation and resulting information rather than on technicalities.

Navigating Online Selves: Social, Cultural, and Material Contexts of Social Media Use by Diasporic Gay Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Dhoest

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Social media not only create new opportunities but also pose new challenges for the ways people navigate their online selves. As noted by boyd, social media are characterized by unique dynamics such as collapsed contexts, implying that one’s distinct offline social worlds meet online. This creates particular challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ people, at least those who find it crucial to maintain distinct contexts in which they disclose or conceal their gender and/or sexual selves. However, the existing scholarship on social media use by LGBTQs is predominantly anchored in English-language Western contexts and tends to lose sight of the cultural specificities of Internet use. Therefore, in this article, we build on the scholarship to further investigate the role of context for disclosing or concealing gender and/or sexual selves online. More specifically, we ask, “How do social, cultural, and material contexts affect the ways LGBTQs navigate their selves on social media?” To investigate this question, we analyze in-depth face-to-face interviews with gay men who themselves, or whose parents, migrated to Belgium. Because their migration background forces them to negotiate different social, cultural, and material contexts, our focus on diasporic gay men helps to bring out the issue of context in social media use.

The Study about the Influence of the Pop Culture for the Japanese Fashion　：　The Historical Materials Collection about the Connection of Japanese Fashion and Pop Cultures after World War II

OpenAIRE

田中, 里尚; 中村, 仁; 梅原, 宏司; 齋木, 吉隆; 古賀, 令子

2010-01-01

The purpose of this research collect and arrange documents and historical materials to determine how pop culture influenced the fashion in Japan after World War II. In 2010, we firstly collected previous fashion and popular culture studies done in foreign countries. We found many intriguing studies, but we came upon one which was particularly noteworthy. As a means of clarifying the relationship between fashion and pop culture, we collected books written by Angela McRobbie. Second, we collect...

Written Evidence Submitted to the House of Commons-Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee’s Inquiry on Fake News

OpenAIRE

Fuchs, Christian

2017-01-01

Executive Summary This submission provides evidence on four aspects: 1. What do we know about fake news, fake profiles/accounts, and fake attention on social media? 2. What are the causes of fake news, political bots and fake social media accounts? 3. What are the problems and impacts of fake news, political bots and fake accounts? 4. What can be done against fake news culture? This submission gives special attention to the role of online advertising in fake news culture. (§§1.1-1.16) Reports...

Culture Wires the Brain: A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Denise C; Huang, Chih-Mao

2010-07-01

There is clear evidence that sustained experiences may affect both brain structure and function. Thus, it is quite reasonable to posit that sustained exposure to a set of cultural experiences and behavioral practices will affect neural structure and function. The burgeoning field of cultural psychology has often demonstrated the subtle differences in the way individuals process information-differences that appear to be a product of cultural experiences. We review evidence that the collectivistic and individualistic biases of East Asian and Western cultures, respectively, affect neural structure and function. We conclude that there is limited evidence that cultural experiences affect brain structure and considerably more evidence that neural function is affected by culture, particularly activations in ventral visual cortex-areas associated with perceptual processing. © The Author(s) 2010.

A first isotopic dietary study of the Greenlandic Thule Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nelson, D.E.; Lynnerup, Niels; Arneborg, J.

2012-01-01

The isotopic dietary method has been applied to samples of some 65 Thule Culture individuals from existing archaeological collections of Greenlandic human skeletal material. The aim was to use the Greenlandic Thule Culture as a test of the isotopic method, in that we know they were heavily...... was used as the basis for analysis. As expected, the results indicate that these people were almost entirely dependent on the marine biosphere for their protein. An exception is those from Northeast Greenland, whose isotopic signatures show evidence for consumption of terrestrial protein as well....... Not expected were the observed differences at the regional and local levels....

Creating organizational cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mouton, Nicolaas T.O.; Just, Sine Nørholm; Gabrielsen, Jonas

2012-01-01

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to re-conceptualize the relations between rhetorical strategies and material practices in the processes whereby leaders create or change organizational cultures. Design/methodology/approach – The authors compare and contrast two broad perspectives on cultural...... insights. The authors propose an integrated perspective in which material practices and rhetorical strategies are seen as two analytical sides of the same ontological coin. This enables a fuller and more detailed explanation of how organizational cultures are created or changed. A brief illustration...

Effectiveness of an Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Approach to Cultural Competence Training: The Veterans Affairs' "Caring for Women Veterans" Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Annie B; Hamilton, Alison B; Frayne, Susan M; Wiltsey-Stirman, Shannon; Bean-Mayberry, Bevanne; Carney, Diane; Di Leone, Brooke A L; Gierisch, Jennifer M; Goldstein, Karen M; Romodan, Yasmin; Sadler, Anne G; Yano, Elizabeth M; Yee, Ellen F; Vogt, Dawne

2016-01-01

Although providing culturally sensitive health care is vitally important, there is little consensus regarding the most effective strategy for implementing cultural competence trainings in the health care setting. Evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI), which involves adapting evidence-based practices to meet local needs, may improve uptake and effectiveness of a variety of health care innovations. Yet, to our knowledge, EBQI has not yet been applied to cultural competence training. To evaluate whether EBQI could enhance the impact of an evidence-based training intended to improve veterans affairs health care staff gender sensitivity and knowledge (Caring for Women Veterans; CWV), we compared the reach and effectiveness of EBQI delivery versus standard web-based implementation strategies of CWV and assessed barriers and facilitators to EBQI implementation. Workgroups at four diverse veterans affairs health care sites were randomized to either an EBQI or standard web-based implementation condition (SI). All EBQI sites selected a group-based implementation strategy. Employees (N = 84) completed pretraining and posttraining assessments of gender sensitivity and knowledge, and focus groups/interviews were conducted with leadership and staff before and after implementation. Reach of CWV was greater in the EBQI condition versus the SI condition. Whereas both gender sensitivity and knowledge improved in the EBQI condition, only gender sensitivity improved in the SI condition. Qualitative analyses revealed that the EBQI approach was well received, although a number of barriers were identified. Findings suggest that EBQI can enhance the uptake and effectiveness of employee trainings. However, the decision to pursue EBQI must be informed by a consideration of available resources.

Sweden in the Delaware Valley: Everyday Life and Material Culture in New Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Naum, Magdalena; Ekengren, Fredrik; Zagal Mach Wolfe, Ulla Isabel

2013-01-01

In 1637 the Swedish Crown, encouraged by Dutch merchants, developed a plan to establish a colonial outpost in America to tap into profitable tobacco and beaver pelt trade. The same year the first cargo ships left Sweden and sailed westwards to claim their piece of America along the Delaware River......, their perception and interactions with the neighbouring Native American groups. It discusses the ways material culture was used, exchanged and appropriated by the colonists and the local Lenape and Susquehannock in the processes of meeting, negotiations and daily coexistence....

Acceleration of the direct identification of Staphylococcus aureus versus coagulase-negative staphylococci from blood culture material: a comparison of six bacterial DNA extraction methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Loonen, A J M; Jansz, A R; Kreeftenberg, H; Bruggeman, C A; Wolffs, P F G; van den Brule, A J C

2011-03-01

To accelerate differentiation between Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), this study aimed to compare six different DNA extraction methods from two commonly used blood culture materials, i.e. BACTEC and BacT/ALERT. Furthermore, we analysed the effect of reduced blood culture incubation for the detection of staphylococci directly from blood culture material. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) duplex assay was used to compare the six different DNA isolation protocols on two different blood culture systems. Negative blood culture material was spiked with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Bacterial DNA was isolated with automated extractor easyMAG (three protocols), automated extractor MagNA Pure LC (LC Microbiology Kit M(Grade)), a manual kit MolYsis Plus and a combination of MolYsis Plus and the easyMAG. The most optimal isolation method was used to evaluate reduced bacterial incubation times. Bacterial DNA isolation with the MolYsis Plus kit in combination with the specific B protocol on the easyMAG resulted in the most sensitive detection of S. aureus, with a detection limit of 10 CFU/ml, in BacT/ALERT material, whereas using BACTEC resulted in a detection limit of 100 CFU/ml. An initial S. aureus or CNS load of 1 CFU/ml blood can be detected after 5 h of incubation in BacT/ALERT 3D by combining the sensitive isolation method and the tuf LightCycler assay.

Beyond reading level: a systematic review of the suitability of cancer education print and Web-based materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Finnie, Ramona K C; Felder, Tisha M; Linder, Suzanne Kneuper; Mullen, Patricia Dolan

2010-12-01

Consideration of categories related to reading comprehension--beyond reading level--is imperative to reach low literacy populations effectively. "Suitability" has been proposed as a term to encompass six categories of such factors: content, literacy demand graphics, layout/typography, learning stimulation, and cultural appropriateness. Our purpose was to describe instruments used to evaluate categories of suitability in cancer education materials in published reports and their findings. We searched databases and reference lists for evaluations of print and Web-based cancer education materials to identify and describe measures of these categories. Studies had to evaluate reading level and at least one category of suitability. Eleven studies met our criteria. Seven studies reported inter-rater reliability. Cultural appropriateness was most often assessed; four instruments assessed only surface aspects of cultural appropriateness. Only two of seven instruments used, the suitability assessment of materials (SAM) and the comprehensibility assessment of materials (SAM + CAM), were described as having any evidence of validity. Studies using Simplified Measure of Goobledygook (SMOG) and Fry reported higher average reading level scores than those using Flesh-Kincaid. Most materials failed criteria for reading level and cultural appropriateness. We recommend more emphasis on the categories of suitability for those developing cancer education materials and more study of these categories and reliability and validity testing of instruments.

Measuring organisational-level Aboriginal cultural climate to tailor cultural safety strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gladman, Justin; Ryder, Courtney; Walters, Lucie K

2015-01-01

Australian medical schools have taken on a social accountability mandate to provide culturally safe contexts in order to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to engage in medical education and to ensure that present and future clinicians provide health services that contribute to improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Many programs have sought to improve cultural safety through training at an individual level; however, it is well recognised that learners tend to internalise the patterns of behaviour to which they are commonly exposed. This project aimed to measure and reflect on the cultural climate of an Australian rural clinical school (RCS) as a whole and the collective attitudes of three different professional groups: clinicians, clinical academics and professional staff. The project then drew on Mezirow's Transformative Learning theory to design strategies to build on the cultural safety of the organisation. Clinicians, academic and professional staff at an Australian RCS were invited to participate in an online survey expressing their views on Aboriginal health using part of a previously validated tool. Survey response rate was 63%. All three groups saw Aboriginal health as a social priority. All groups recognised the fundamental role of community control in Aboriginal health; however, clinical academics were considerably more likely to disagree that the Western medical model suited the health needs of Aboriginal people. Clinicians were more likely to perceive that they treated Aboriginal patients the same as other patients. There was only weak evidence of future commitments to Aboriginal health. Importantly, clinicians, academics and professional staff demonstrated differences in their cultural safety profile which indicated the need for a tailored approach to cultural safety learning in the future. Through tailored approaches to cross-cultural training opportunities we are likely to ensure

Reasoning About Cultural and Genetic Transmission: Developmental and Cross-Cultural Evidence From Peru, Fiji, and the United States on How People Make Inferences About Trait Transmission.

Science.gov (United States)

Moya, Cristina; Boyd, Robert; Henrich, Joseph

2015-10-01

Using samples from three diverse populations, we test evolutionary hypotheses regarding how people reason about the inheritance of various traits. First, we provide a framework for differentiat-ing the outputs of mechanisms that evolved for reasoning about variation within and between (a) biological taxa and (b) culturally evolved ethnic categories from (c) a broader set of beliefs and categories that are the outputs of structured learning mechanisms. Second, we describe the results of a modified "switched-at-birth" vignette study that we administered among children and adults in Puno (Peru), Yasawa (Fiji), and adults in the United States. This protocol permits us to study perceptions of prenatal and social transmission pathways for various traits and to differentiate the latter into vertical (i.e., parental) versus horizontal (i.e., peer) cultural influence. These lines of evidence suggest that people use all three mechanisms to reason about the distribution of traits in the population. Participants at all three sites develop expectations that morphological traits are under prenatal influence, and that belief traits are more culturally influenced. On the other hand, each population holds culturally specific beliefs about the degree of social influence on non-morphological traits and about the degree of vertical transmission-with only participants in the United States expecting parents to have much social influence over their children. We reinterpret people's differentiation of trait transmission pathways in light of humans' evolutionary history as a cultural species. Copyright © 2015 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Culture of health of a person as a part of physical culture

OpenAIRE

A.P. Khalajtsan

2014-01-01

Purpose: to determine the general concepts of the theory and methods of physical education. On the basis of their form defining the components of physical culture and personality reflect the place of culture health of individuals among these components. Material: processed more than 40 references. Results: a definition of generalizing concepts of "culture", "health", "physical culture", "culture of health" formulated defining components of physical culture personality: health culture personal...

Right: Left:: East: West. Evidence that individuals from East Asian and South Asian cultures emphasize right hemisphere functions in comparison to Euro-American cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozin, Paul; Moscovitch, Morris; Imada, Sumio

2016-09-01

We present evidence that individuals from East or South Asian cultures (Japanese college students in Japan and East or South Asian born and raised college students in the USA) tend to exhibit default thinking that corresponds to right hemisphere holistic functions, as compared to Caucasian individuals from a Western culture (born and raised in the USA). In two lateralized tasks (locating the nose in a scrambled face, and global-local letter task), both Asian groups showed a greater right hemisphere bias than the Western group. In a third lateralized task, judging similarity in terms of visual form versus functional/semantic categorizations, there was not a reliable difference between the groups. On a classic, ambiguous face composed of vegetables, both Eastern groups displayed a greater right hemisphere (holistic face processing) bias than the Western group. These results support an "East - Right Hemisphere, West - Left Hemisphere" hypothesis, as originally proposed by Ornstein (1972). This hypothesis is open as to the degree to which social-cultural forces were involved in hemispheric specialization, or the opposite, or both. Our aim is to encourage a more thorough analysis of this hypothesis, suggesting both lateralization studies corresponding to documented East-West differences, and East-West studies corresponding to lateralization differences. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Animal culture: chimpanzee conformity?

Science.gov (United States)

van Schaik, Carel P

2012-05-22

Culture-like phenomena in wild animals have received much attention, but how good is the evidence and how similar are they to human culture? New data on chimpanzees suggest their culture may even have an element of conformity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mate value and self-esteem: evidence from eight cultural groups.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, Robin; Marshall, Tara; Fülöp, Marta; Adonu, Joseph; Spiewak, Slawomir; Neto, Felix; Hernandez Plaza, Sonia

2012-01-01

This paper explores self-perceived mate value (SPMV), and its association with self-esteem, in eight cultures. 1066 participants, from 8 cultural groups in 7 countries, rated themselves on 24 SPMVs and completed a measure of self-esteem. Consistent with evolutionary theory, women were more likely to emphasise their caring and passionate romantic nature. In line with previous cross-cultural research, characteristics indicating passion and romance and social attractiveness were stressed more by respondents from individualistic cultures, and those higher on self-expression (rather than survival) values; characteristics indicative of maturity and confidence were more likely to be mentioned by those from Traditional, rather than Secular, cultures. Contrary to gender role theory, societal equality had only limited interactions with sex and SPMV, with honesty of greater significance for male self-esteem in societies with unequal gender roles. These results point to the importance of cultural and environmental factors in influencing self-perceived mate qualities, and are discussed in relation to broader debates about the impact of gender role equality on sex differences in personality and mating strategies.

Mate value and self-esteem: evidence from eight cultural groups.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin Goodwin

Full Text Available This paper explores self-perceived mate value (SPMV, and its association with self-esteem, in eight cultures. 1066 participants, from 8 cultural groups in 7 countries, rated themselves on 24 SPMVs and completed a measure of self-esteem. Consistent with evolutionary theory, women were more likely to emphasise their caring and passionate romantic nature. In line with previous cross-cultural research, characteristics indicating passion and romance and social attractiveness were stressed more by respondents from individualistic cultures, and those higher on self-expression (rather than survival values; characteristics indicative of maturity and confidence were more likely to be mentioned by those from Traditional, rather than Secular, cultures. Contrary to gender role theory, societal equality had only limited interactions with sex and SPMV, with honesty of greater significance for male self-esteem in societies with unequal gender roles. These results point to the importance of cultural and environmental factors in influencing self-perceived mate qualities, and are discussed in relation to broader debates about the impact of gender role equality on sex differences in personality and mating strategies.

Evidence on dynamic effects in the water content – water potential relation of building materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scheffler, Gregor Albrecht; Plagge, Rudolf

2008-01-01

static and dynamic moisture storage data and the more pronounced was the corresponding dynamic hysteresis. The paper thus provides clear experimental evidence on dynamic effects in the water content – water potential relation of building materials. By that, data published by previous authors as Topp et......Hygrothermal simulation has become a widely applied tool for the design and assessment of building structures under possible indoor and outdoor climatic conditions. One of the most important prerequisites of such simulations is reliable material data. Different approaches exist here to derive...... the required material functions, i.e. the moisture storage characteristic and the liquid water conductivity, from measured basic properties. The current state of the art in material modelling as well as the corresponding transport theory implies that the moisture transport function is unique...

Extending Cultural Literacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Riecken, Ted J.; Court, Deborah

1992-01-01

Advocates defining cultural literacy to recognize the mass media's role in transmitting and maintaining cultural stereotypes and shaping values and beliefs. Distinguishes between ideational and material aspects of culture. Advocates teaching critical thinking and respect for persons in light of questionable moral perspectives in certain media…

On Chinese-English Translation of Tourist Attraction in Cross-cultural Perspective--Taking Qi Culture as An Example

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

张滕龙

2014-01-01

Tourist textsfeature vividness and distinctiveness and its translation is a typical cross-cultural activity.By applying cross-cultural consciousness to the tourist material's translation, foreigners can understand the cultural connotation easily. Therefore, cross-cultural consciousness plays an important role in the translation of tourist materials.This thesis, taking Qi culture as an exam-ple, explores some typical tourist attractions from perspectives of historical allusions and legend as well as traditional customs. The analysis of Qi cultural connotation concludes business culture, Pu culture and filial piety culture. So, in order to transmit the cul-tural information to foreign tourists accurately, it is necessary to apply inter-cultural consciousness to the translation of tourist texts.

The role of material evidence in architectural research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2011-01-01

The following texts explore the production of knowledge in architectural research. Focussing on a wide definition of practice led research, the aim for these texts is to discuss how the practices of architectural design; drawing, modelling, prototyping and building embody a particular set of know...... emerges are the fundamental crossovers between these practices. What we see here is that drawing is as much a practice of theoretical reflection as one of detailing, prototyping as much one of physical as conceptual testing.......The following texts explore the production of knowledge in architectural research. Focussing on a wide definition of practice led research, the aim for these texts is to discuss how the practices of architectural design; drawing, modelling, prototyping and building embody a particular set...... of knowledges that inform architectural thinking. Architectural reflection is allied with it media. It is through the drawing, the model and the built that architecture is conceived and developed. In practice based research working through design means reflecting through the production of material evidence...

Materials Developed from American Indian Culture-Based Curriculum Workshop (Tacoma, Washington, April 25-29, 1977). Book One.

Science.gov (United States)

Disney, Dick, Comp.

Materials presented in this resource guide are the direct result of an American Indian Culture-Based Curriculum Development Workshop. Activities consist of nine flannelboard stories (including The Fire War, How Coyote Made the Columbia River, Legend of the Mayan Moon God); two games (American Indian Games and Indian Picture Symbol Checkerboard);…

Materials Developed from American Indian Culture-Based Curriculum Workshop (Tacoma, Washington, October 24-28, 1978). Book Two.

Science.gov (United States)

Disney, Dick, Comp.

Developed as a result of the second 5-day American Indian Culture-Based Curriculum Workshop conducted in Tacoma, Washington, the resource guide presents materials oriented toward Native American dance, music, and games, which were the major thrust of the workshop. The guide provides four flannelboard stories/legends (How Man Was Created, The Gull…

Evidence-based medicine and epistemological imperialism: narrowing the divide between evidence and illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowther, Helen; Lipworth, Wendy; Kerridge, Ian

2011-10-01

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has been rapidly and widely adopted because it claims to provide a method for determining the safety and efficacy of medical therapies and public health interventions more generally. However, as others have noted, EBM may be riven through with cultural bias, both in the generation of evidence and in its translation. We suggest that technological and scientific advances in medicine accentuate and entrench these cultural biases, to the extent that they may invalidate the evidence we have about disease and its treatment. This creates a significant ethical, epistemological and ontological challenge for medicine. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Overview of security culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matulanya, M. A.

2014-04-01

Nuclear Security culture concept has been aggressively promoted over the past several years as a tool to improve the physical protection of the nuclear and radioactive materials due to growing threats of catastrophic terrorism and other new security challenges. It is obvious that, the scope of nuclear security and the associated cultures need to be extended beyond the traditional task of protecting weapons-usable materials. The role of IAEA is to strengthen the nuclear security framework globally and in leading the coordination of international activities in this field. Therefore all governments should work closely with the IAEA to take stronger measures to ensure the physical protection, the safety and security of the nuclear and radioactive materials. In the effort to reflect this new realities and concerns, the IAEA in 2008 came up with the document, the Nuclear Security Culture, Nuclear Security Series No. 7, Implementing Guide to the member states which urged every member state to take appropriate measures to promote security culture with respect to nuclear and radioactive materials. The document depicted this cultural approach as the way to protect individual, society and the environment. Among other things, the document defined nuclear security culture as characteristics and attitudes in organizations and of individuals which establishes that, nuclear security issues receives attention warranted by their significance. (au)

Culture and concepts of power.

Science.gov (United States)

Torelli, Carlos J; Shavitt, Sharon

2010-10-01

Five studies indicate that conceptualizations of power are important elements of culture and serve culturally relevant goals. These studies provide converging evidence that cultures nurture different views of what is desirable and meaningful to do with power. Vertical individualism is associated with a conceptualization of power in personalized terms (i.e., power is for advancing one's personal status and prestige), whereas horizontal collectivism is associated with a conceptualization of power in socialized terms (i.e., power is for benefiting and helping others). Cultural variables are shown to predict beliefs about appropriate uses of power, episodic memories about power, attitudes in the service of power goals, and the contexts and ways in which power is used and defended. Evidence for the cultural patterning of power concepts is observed at both the individual level and the cultural-group level of analysis.

Ineffable Cultures or Material Devices: What Valuation Studies can Learn from the Disappearance of Ensured Solidarity in a Health Care Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teun Zuiderent-Jerak

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Valuation studies addresses how values are made in valuation practices. A next - or rather previous - question becomes: what then makes valuation practices? Two oppositional replies are starting to dominate how that question can be answered: a more materially oriented focus on devices of valuation and a more sociologically inclined focus on ineffable valuation cultures. The debate between proponents of both approaches may easily turn into the kind of leapfrog debates that have dominated many previous discussions on whether culture or materiality would play a decisive role in driving history. This paper explores a less repetitive reply. It does so by analyzing the puzzling case of the demise of solidarity as a core value within the recent Dutch health care system of regulated competition. While "solidarity among the insured" was both a strong cultural value within the Dutch welfare-based health system, and a value that was built into market devices by health economists, within a fairly short time "fairness" became of lesser importance than "competition". This makes us call for a more historical, relational, and dynamic understanding of the role of economists, market devices, and of culture in valuation studies.

Making Material and Cultural Connections: the fluid meaning of ‘Living Electrically’ in Japan and Canada 1920–1960

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather Chappells

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This article explores how material and cultural ‘connections’ to households were crucial in defining historical pathways of domestic electrification in Canada and Japan. Though relatively overlooked in the history of energy, we contend that the intricacies of household connections are important in understanding convergence and divergence in electrified ways of life. Electricity’s arrival in urban and rural homes was an uneven process in part due to geographical diversity and the variable connection policies of public or private providers. Selective insights from our two countries show that spatial irregularities in grid expansion and social inequities in the meaning of electrical service further arose out of misalignments between developers’ visions and the diverse material cultures of households. This disparity manifested in the form of disconnections between non-standard wiring and equipment, as well as in the form of consumer resistance, protests and even illicit acts as people fought to get the electrical service they desired. Instead of seeing electrification as a single, universal ideal around which all countries eventually converged, we conclude that it has always been an open-ended, negotiable and culturally fluid process.

Blood culture-PCR to optimise typhoid fever diagnosis after controlled human infection identifies frequent asymptomatic cases and evidence of primary bacteraemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Darton, Thomas C; Zhou, Liqing; Blohmke, Christoph J; Jones, Claire; Waddington, Claire S; Baker, Stephen; Pollard, Andrew J

2017-04-01

Improved diagnostics for typhoid are needed; a typhoid controlled human infection model may accelerate their development and translation. Here, we evaluated a blood culture-PCR assay for detecting infection after controlled human infection with S. Typhi and compared test performance with optimally performed blood cultures. Culture-PCR amplification of blood samples was performed alongside daily blood culture in 41 participants undergoing typhoid challenge. Study endpoints for typhoid diagnosis (TD) were fever and/or bacteraemia. Overall, 24/41 (59%) participants reached TD, of whom 21/24 (86%) had ≥1 positive blood culture (53/674, 7.9% of all cultures) or 18/24 (75%) had ≥1 positive culture-PCR assay result (57/684, 8.3%). A further five non-bacteraemic participants produced culture-PCR amplicons indicating infection; overall sensitivity/specificity of the assay compared to the study endpoints were 70%/65%. We found no significant difference between blood culture and culture-PCR methods in ability to identify cases (12 mismatching pairs, p = 0.77, binomial test). Clinical and stool culture metadata demonstrated that additional culture-PCR amplification positive individuals likely represented true cases missed by blood culture, suggesting the overall attack rate may be 30/41 (73%) rather than 24/41 (59%). Several participants had positive culture-PCR results soon after ingesting challenge providing new evidence for occurrence of an early primary bacteraemia. Overall the culture-PCR assay performed well, identifying extra typhoid cases compared with routine blood culture alone. Despite limitations to widespread field-use, the benefits of increased diagnostic yield, reduced blood volume and faster turn-around-time, suggest that this assay could enhance laboratory typhoid diagnostics in research applications and high-incidence settings. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

From cumulative cultural transmission to evidence-based medicine: evolution of medicinal plant knowledge in Southern Italy

Science.gov (United States)

Leonti, Marco; Staub, Peter O.; Cabras, Stefano; Castellanos, Maria Eugenia; Casu, Laura

2015-01-01

In Mediterranean cultures written records of medicinal plant use have a long tradition. This written record contributed to building a consensus about what was perceived to be an efficacious pharmacopeia. Passed down through millennia, these scripts have transmitted knowledge about plant uses, with high fidelity, to scholars and laypersons alike. Herbal medicine's importance and the long-standing written record call for a better understanding of the mechanisms influencing the transmission of contemporary medicinal plant knowledge. Here we contextualize herbal medicine within evolutionary medicine and cultural evolution. Cumulative knowledge transmission is approached by estimating the causal effect of two seminal scripts about materia medica written by Dioscorides and Galen, two classical Greco-Roman physicians, on today's medicinal plant use in the Southern Italian regions of Campania, Sardinia, and Sicily. Plant-use combinations are treated as transmissible cultural traits (or “memes”), which in analogy to the biological evolution of genetic traits, are subjected to mutation and selection. Our results suggest that until today ancient scripts have exerted a strong influence on the use of herbal medicine. We conclude that the repeated empirical testing and scientific study of health care claims is guiding and shaping the selection of efficacious treatments and evidence-based herbal medicine. PMID:26483686

From cumulative cultural transmission to evidence-based medicine: evolution of medicinal plant knowledge in Southern Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Leonti, Marco; Staub, Peter O; Cabras, Stefano; Castellanos, Maria Eugenia; Casu, Laura

2015-01-01

In Mediterranean cultures written records of medicinal plant use have a long tradition. This written record contributed to building a consensus about what was perceived to be an efficacious pharmacopeia. Passed down through millennia, these scripts have transmitted knowledge about plant uses, with high fidelity, to scholars and laypersons alike. Herbal medicine's importance and the long-standing written record call for a better understanding of the mechanisms influencing the transmission of contemporary medicinal plant knowledge. Here we contextualize herbal medicine within evolutionary medicine and cultural evolution. Cumulative knowledge transmission is approached by estimating the causal effect of two seminal scripts about materia medica written by Dioscorides and Galen, two classical Greco-Roman physicians, on today's medicinal plant use in the Southern Italian regions of Campania, Sardinia, and Sicily. Plant-use combinations are treated as transmissible cultural traits (or "memes"), which in analogy to the biological evolution of genetic traits, are subjected to mutation and selection. Our results suggest that until today ancient scripts have exerted a strong influence on the use of herbal medicine. We conclude that the repeated empirical testing and scientific study of health care claims is guiding and shaping the selection of efficacious treatments and evidence-based herbal medicine.

From cumulative cultural transmission to evidence-based medicine: Evolution of medicinal plant knowledge in Southern Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco eLeonti

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In Mediterranean cultures written records of medicinal plant use have a long tradition. This written record contributed to building a consensus about what was perceived to be an efficacious pharmacopoeia. Passed down through millennia, these scripts have transmitted knowledge about plant uses, with high fidelity, to scholars and laypersons alike. Herbal medicine’s importance and the long-standing written record call for a better understanding of the mechanisms influencing the transmission of contemporary medicinal plant knowledge. Here we contextualize herbal medicine within evolutionary medicine and cultural evolution. Cumulative knowledge transmission is approached by estimating the causal effect of two seminal scripts about materia medica written by Dioscorides and Galen, two classical Greco-Roman physicians, on today’s medicinal plant use in the Southern Italian regions of Campania, Sardinia and Sicily. Plant-use combinations are treated as transmissible cultural traits (or memes, which in analogy to the biological evolution of genetic traits, are subjected to mutation and selection. Our results suggest that until today ancient scripts have exerted a strong influence on the use of herbal medicine. We conclude that the repeated empirical testing and scientific study of health care claims is guiding and shaping the selection of efficacious treatments and evidence-based herbal medicine.

Cultural Systems and Land Use Decision Making.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, Larry; Pressman, Rob

This material includes student guide sheets, reference material, and tape script for the audio-tutorial unit on Cultural Systems. An audio tape is used with the materials. The material is designed for use with Connecticut schools, but can be adapted to other localities. The materials in this unit consider components of cultural systems, land use…

Cultural management and government role

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edalat Nemati

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Culture plays an important role on human lives and it has been in four ancient civilizations of China, Iran, Egypt and Greece. The civilization achievements are normally categorized in two different groups of material and immaterial. Practical experience of the material, social objective is called as a civilization and the mental aspect of spiritual experiences, spiritual and personal is called culture. The purpose of this research is to find a framework for cross-cultural management. First, we define the cultural planning and we review the existing cultural examples in Iranian society and try to provide an overall analysis. The paper also investigates the role of government on creating adaptive culture within the society and explains that government must act as leadership in creating value added culture.

Considering the role of time budgets on copy-error rates in material culture traditions: an experimental assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Schillinger, Kerstin; Mesoudi, Alex; Lycett, Stephen J

2014-01-01

Ethnographic research highlights that there are constraints placed on the time available to produce cultural artefacts in differing circumstances. Given that copying error, or cultural 'mutation', can have important implications for the evolutionary processes involved in material culture change, it is essential to explore empirically how such 'time constraints' affect patterns of artefactual variation. Here, we report an experiment that systematically tests whether, and how, varying time constraints affect shape copying error rates. A total of 90 participants copied the shape of a 3D 'target handaxe form' using a standardized foam block and a plastic knife. Three distinct 'time conditions' were examined, whereupon participants had either 20, 15, or 10 minutes to complete the task. One aim of this study was to determine whether reducing production time produced a proportional increase in copy error rates across all conditions, or whether the concept of a task specific 'threshold' might be a more appropriate manner to model the effect of time budgets on copy-error rates. We found that mean levels of shape copying error increased when production time was reduced. However, there were no statistically significant differences between the 20 minute and 15 minute conditions. Significant differences were only obtained between conditions when production time was reduced to 10 minutes. Hence, our results more strongly support the hypothesis that the effects of time constraints on copying error are best modelled according to a 'threshold' effect, below which mutation rates increase more markedly. Our results also suggest that 'time budgets' available in the past will have generated varying patterns of shape variation, potentially affecting spatial and temporal trends seen in the archaeological record. Hence, 'time-budgeting' factors need to be given greater consideration in evolutionary models of material culture change.

COMPETENCIA CULTURAL E INTELIGENCIA CULTURAL. APORTES A LA MEDIACIÓN CULTURAL DOCENTE CULTURAL (COMPETENCE AND CULTURAL INTELLIGENCE. CONTRIBUTIONS TO CULTURAL MEDIATION FOR TEACHERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D'Antoni Maurizia

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Resumen:El ensayo nace como parte de una investigación mayor que se publicará sobre la inserción profesional docente en la Universidad de Costa Rica. Su finalidad en la investigación en curso es la de explorar los aportes de los estudios sobre competencia cultural e inteligencia cultural, para identificar planteamientos teóricos que fortalezcan nuevos espacios para la mediación cultural docente en la Universidad. Se concluye que el concepto de competencia cultural representa un aporte importante, si se revisa la idea de cultura que subyace y se le transforma en “competencia intercultural”. Luego, se define mediación cultural, evidenciándose la importancia de la nueva figura profesional en el contexto actual, los ámbitos de acción donde se ha empleado y se manifiesta la necesidad de promover mediadores y mediadoras culturales en Costa Rica también.Abstract: The essay comes as part of a larger investigation to be published about teachers’ professional integration at the University of Costa Rica. His purpose in the ongoing investigation is to explore the contributions of studies on cultural competency and cultural understanding, to identify new theoretical approaches and strengthen new cultural spaces for teaching mediation at the University. We conclude that the concept of cultural competence represents an important contribution, if we review the underlying idea of culture and it is transformed into "intercultural competence". The definition of cultural mediation points to the importance of the new professional figure in the current context, evidencing the areas of action where it has been used and showing the need to promote cultural mediators in Costa Rica as well.

Manuscript Cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

What do Mesoamerica, Greece, Byzantium, Island, Chad, Ethiopia, India, Tibet, China and Japan have in common? Like many other cultures of the world, they share a particular form of cultural heritage: ancient handwritten documents. In 2007, scholars from some20 countries around the world gathered...... at the University of Copenhagen for a workshop on manuscripts to compare notes. This event led to the publication of this volume, which brings together16 articles on philological, cultural, and material aspects of manuscripts in search for a common ground across disciplines and cultures....

Who is reducing their material consumption and why? A cross-cultural analysis of dematerialization behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitmarsh, Lorraine; Capstick, Stuart; Nash, Nicholas

2017-06-13

The environmental and economic imperatives to dematerialize economies, or 'do more with less', have been established for some years. Yet, to date, little is known about the personal drivers associated with dematerializing. This paper explores the prevalence and profile of those who are taking action to reduce consumption in different cultural contexts (UK and Brazil) and considers influences on dematerialization behaviours. We find that exemplar behaviours (avoiding buying new things and avoiding packaging) are far less common than archetypal environmental behaviours (e.g. recycling), but also that cultural context is important (Brazilians are more likely to reduce their material consumption than people in the UK). We also find that the two dematerialization behaviours are associated with different pro-environmental actions (more radical action versus green consumption, respectively); and have distinct, but overlapping, psychological (e.g. identity) and socio-demographic (e.g. education) predictors. Comparing a more traditional value-identity model of pro-environmental behaviour with a motivation-based (self-determination) model, we find that the latter explains somewhat more variance than the former. However, overall, little variance is explained, suggesting that additional factors at the personal and structural levels are important for determining these consumption behaviours. We conclude by outlining policy implications and avenues for further research.This article is part of the themed issue 'Material demand reduction'. © 2017 The Author(s).

A Runyakitara Culture Wiki

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Frederick Iraki

wiki as a tool for Runyakitara culture documentation, collaboration, sharing, ... collaboration in education and research are augmented by technology [2, 10, 11]; ... Runyakitara culture; and section 5 concludes and discusses future work. ..... material which reflects the Runyakitara culture, perspective, and reality; as compared.

Boosting Culture

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2011-01-01

Culture makes up an indispensable part of our lives, just like material comfort. It is thought of as an important source of a nation’s vitality and creativity, and constitutes a key factor uniting the nation,while making it distinctive from other countries. It is also said culture is a productiv

Cultural pathways through universal development.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenfield, Patricia M; Keller, Heidi; Fuligni, Andrew; Maynard, Ashley

2003-01-01

We focus our review on three universal tasks of human development: relationship formation, knowledge acquisition, and the balance between autonomy and relatedness at adolescence. We present evidence that each task can be addressed through two deeply different cultural pathways through development: the pathways of independence and interdependence. Whereas core theories in developmental psychology are universalistic in their intentions, they in fact presuppose the independent pathway of development. Because the independent pathway is therefore well-known in psychology, we focus a large part of our review on empirically documenting the alternative, interdependent pathway for each developmental task. We also present three theoretical approaches to culture and development: the ecocultural, the sociohistorical, and the cultural values approach. We argue that an understanding of cultural pathways through human development requires all three approaches. We review evidence linking values (cultural values approach), ecological conditions (ecocultural approach), and socialization practices (sociohistorical approach) to cultural pathways through universal developmental tasks.

Diversity effect in category-based inductive reasoning of young children: evidence from two methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Luojin; Lee, Myung Sook; Huang, Yulan; Mo, Lei

2014-02-01

Previous studies have shown that diverse pieces of evidence, rather than similar pieces of evidence, are considered to have greater strength in adults' inductive reasoning. However, this diversity effect is inconsistently recognized by children. Three experiments using the same materials but different tasks examined whether young children consider the diversity principle in their reasoning. Although Experiment 1 applied a data selection task showed five-year-old children in both China and Korea were not sensitive to the diversity of evidence, Experiments 2 and 3 employed an identification task and demonstrated that children as young as five years were sensitive to diverse evidence. These findings indicated that young children, less than nine years of age, may have diversity effect. Methodological and cultural differences were discussed.

Do societal values influence financial development? : New evidence on the effects of post materialism and institutions on stock markets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jordaan, J.A.; Dima, Dogdan; Goleț, Ionuț

2016-01-01

In this paper we present new evidence on the effects of social values on stock market development. Using panel data for a heterogeneous set of 43 countries, we use the Inglehart post materialism index to identify the relation between the degree of post materialism and the size of stock markets.

Intersubjective Culture: The Role of Intersubjective Perceptions in Cross-Cultural Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Chi-Yue; Gelfand, Michele J; Yamagishi, Toshio; Shteynberg, Garriy; Wan, Ching

2010-07-01

Intersubjective perceptions refer to shared perceptions of the psychological characteristics that are widespread within a culture. In this article, we propose the intersubjective approach as a new approach to understanding the role that culture plays in human behavior. In this approach, intersubjective perceptions, which are distinct from personal values and beliefs, mediate the effect of the ecology on individuals' responses and adaptations. We review evidence that attests to the validity and utility of the intersubjective approach in explicating culture's influence on human behaviors and discuss the implications of this approach for understanding the interaction between the individual, ecology, and culture; the nature of cultural competence; management of multicultural identities; cultural change; and measurement of culture. © The Author(s) 2010.

Personality, Organizational Culture, and Cooperation: Evidence from a Business Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatman, Jennifer A.; Barsade, Sigal G.

1995-01-01

Explored personal and situational sources of cooperation. Assessed MBA students' disposition to cooperate and randomly assigned them to simulated organizations emphasizing either collectivistic or individualistic cultural values. Coworkers rated cooperative subjects in collectivistic cultures as most cooperative. Cooperative people were most…

Cultural Continuity and Foreign Elements in Cajamarca, Northern Highlands of Perú: A Case Study of the Middle Horizon

OpenAIRE

Watanabe, Shinya

2012-01-01

In this paper I examine the distribution and movement of population during the Middle Horizon, using archaeological data of the Cajamarca region. I present excavation data from the El Palacio site which was a Wari administrative center in the Cajamarca Valley. There we found exotic elements in the form of architecture, funerary chambers and polychrome ceramics, while evidence of cultural fusion was unclear. Although Cajamarca was under direct dominion of the Wari state, local material culture...

The Changing Materiality of Music

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bødker, Henrik

A great deal of effort has gone into discussing issues of copyright in relation to the new materialities of the digital distribution of popular music; there has, however, been less focus on the changes that these new developments may invoke with respect to the cultural and social usages of music....... Against the backdrop of recent discussions of popular music as material culture it is argued that emergent usages must be seen in relation to accumulations of different materialities and that such a perspective highlights issues related to both aesthetic reflexivity and agency. Keywords: cultural...... commodity, materiality, reflexivity, music, MP3...

Cultural humility: measuring openness to culturally diverse clients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hook, Joshua N; Davis, Don E; Owen, Jesse; Worthington, Everett L; Utsey, Shawn O

2013-07-01

Building on recent theory stressing multicultural orientation, as well as the development of virtues and dispositions associated with multicultural values, we introduce the construct of cultural humility, defined as having an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented rather than self-focused, characterized by respect and lack of superiority toward an individual's cultural background and experience. In 4 studies, we provide evidence for the estimated reliability and construct validity of a client-rated measure of a therapist's cultural humility, and we demonstrate that client perceptions of their therapist's cultural humility are positively associated with developing a strong working alliance. Furthermore, client perceptions of their therapist's cultural humility were positively associated with improvement in therapy, and this relationship was mediated by a strong working alliance. We consider implications for research, practice, and training. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Culture and art: Importance of art practice, not aesthetics, to early human culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaidel, Dahlia W

2018-01-01

Art is expressed in multiple formats in today's human cultures. Physical traces of stone tools and other archaeological landmarks suggest early nonart cultural behavior and symbolic cognition in the early Homo sapiens (HS) who emerged ~300,000-200,000 years ago in Africa. Fundamental to art expression is the neural underpinning for symbolic cognition, and material art is considered its prime example. However, prior to producing material art, HS could have exploited symbolically through art-rooted biological neural pathways for social purpose, namely, those controlling interpersonal motoric coordination and sound codependence. Aesthetics would not have been the primary purpose; arguments for group dance and rhythmical musical sounds are offered here. In addition, triggers for symbolic body painting are discussed. These cultural art formats could well have preceded material art and would have enhanced unity, inclusiveness, and cooperative behavior, contributing significantly to already existing nonart cultural practices. © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cultural adaptation in translational research: field experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Dévieux, Jessy G; Malow, Robert M; Rosenberg, Rhonda; Jean-Gilles, Michèle; Samuels, Deanne; Ergon-Pérez, Emma; Jacobs, Robin

2005-06-01

The increase in the incidence of HIV/AIDS among minorities in the United States and in certain developing nations has prompted new intervention priorities, stressing the adaptation of efficacious interventions for diverse and marginalized groups. The experiences of Florida International University's AIDS Prevention Program in translating HIV primary and secondary prevention interventions among these multicultural populations provide insight into the process of cultural adaptations and address the new scientific emphasis on ecological validity. An iterative process involving forward and backward translation, a cultural linguistic committee, focus group discussions, documentation of project procedures, and consultations with other researchers in the field was used to modify interventions. This article presents strategies used to ensure fidelity in implementing the efficacious core components of evidence-based interventions for reducing HIV transmission and drug use behaviors and the challenges posed by making cultural adaptation for participants with low literacy. This experience demonstrates the importance of integrating culturally relevant material in the translation process with intense focus on language and nuance. The process must ensure that the level of intervention is appropriate for the educational level of participants. Furthermore, the rights of participants must be protected during consenting procedures by instituting policies that recognize the socioeconomic, educational, and systemic pressures to participate in research.

Bioengineering of cultured epidermis from adult epidermal stem cells using Mebio gel sutable as autologous graft material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lakshmana K Yerneni

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Closure of burn wound is the primary requirement in order to reduce morbidity and mortality that are otherwise very high due to non-availability of permanent wound covering materials. Sheets of cultured epidermis grown from autologous epidermal keratinocyte stem cells are accepted world over as one of the best wound covering materials. In a largely populated country like ours where burn casualties occur more frequently due to inadequate safety practices, there is a need for indigenous research inputs to develop such methodologies. The technique to culturing epidermal sheets in vitro involves the basic Reheinwald-Green method with our own beneficial inputs. The technique employs attenuated 3T3 cells as feeders for propagating keratinocyte stem cells that are isolated from the epidermis of an initial skin biopsy of about 5 cm2 from the patient. The cultures are then maintained in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium strengthened with Ham's F12 formula, bovine fetal serum and various specific growth-promoting agents and factors in culture flasks under standard culture conditions. The primary cultures thus established would be serially passaged to achieve the required expansion. Our major inputs are into the establishment of (1 an efficient differential trypsinization protocol to isolate large number epidermal keratinocytes from the skin biopsy, (2 a highly specific, unique and foolproof attenuation protocol for 3T3 cells and (3 a specialized and significant decontamination protocol. The fully formed epidermal sheet as verified by immuno-histochemical and light & electron microscopic studies, is lifted on to paraffin gauze by incubating in a neutral protease. The graft is then ready to be transported to the operating theatre for autologous application. We have a capability of growing cultured epidermal sheets sufficient enough to cover 40 per cent burn wound in 28 days. The preliminary small area clinical applications undertaken so far revealed

Competencia cultural e inteligencia cultural. Aportes a la mediación cultural docente

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maurizia D'Antoni

2011-01-01

Full Text Available El ensayo nace como parte de una investigación mayor que se publicará sobre la inserción profesional docente en la Universidad de Costa Rica. Su finalidad en la investigación en curso es la de explorar los aportes de los estudios sobre competencia cultural e inteligencia cultural, para identificar planteamientos teóricos que fortalezcan nuevos espacios para la mediación cultural docente en la Universidad. Se concluye que el concepto de competencia cultural representa un aporte importante, si se revisa la idea de cultura que subyace y se le transforma en "competencia intercultural". Luego, se define mediación cultural, evidenciándose la importancia de la nueva figura profesional en el contexto actual, los ámbitos de acción donde se ha empleado y se manifiesta la necesidad de promover mediadores y mediadoras culturales en Costa Rica también.

Is looting-to-order “just a myth”? Open-source analysis of theft-to-order of cultural property

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Andrew Hardy

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Looting-to-order or theft-to-order of cultural assets has been widely dismissed as a myth. To test that, an open-source analysis of cases and testimony from law enforcement agents, perpetrators of cultural property crime and cultural heritage professionals was conducted. Web searches were conducted for reports that addressed looting, stealing or theft of cultural property on commission or to order; for material that discussed looters, robbers or thieves who had been contracted, employed, hired or paid to extract antiquities; and for academic publications that discussed “looting to order”, “theft to order” or any commodity “stolen to order”. Source-end employment/contracting that did not demonstrate a direct connection to market-end purchase and other cases that might have constituted “stealing to offer” were excluded, as were implicit and complicit orders that did not establish a contractual relationship. The analysis found historic and global evidence of commissioned theft of cultural property. It also found evidence that theft-to-order was a significant problem in some places and had served as a structure for conflict antiquities trading in Argentina, Cambodia and Syria. Since it is an exceptionally challenging form of an already difficult-to-police crime, the evidence of theft-to-order reinforces demands for increased market regulation through export and import licensing.

Culture, cross-role consistency, and adjustment: testing trait and cultural psychology perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Church, A Timothy; Anderson-Harumi, Cheryl A; del Prado, Alicia M; Curtis, Guy J; Tanaka-Matsumi, Junko; Valdez Medina, José L; Mastor, Khairul A; White, Fiona A; Miramontes, Lilia A; Katigbak, Marcia S

2008-09-01

Trait and cultural psychology perspectives on cross-role consistency and its relation to adjustment were examined in 2 individualistic cultures, the United States (N=231) and Australia (N=195), and 4 collectivistic cultures, Mexico (N=199), the Philippines (N=195), Malaysia (N=217), and Japan (N=180). Cross-role consistency in trait ratings was evident in all cultures, supporting trait perspectives. Cultural comparisons of mean consistency provided support for cultural psychology perspectives as applied to East Asian cultures (i.e., Japan) but not collectivistic cultures more generally. Some but not all of the hypothesized predictors of consistency were supported across cultures. Cross-role consistency predicted aspects of adjustment in all cultures, but prediction was most reliable in the U.S. sample and weakest in the Japanese sample. Alternative constructs proposed by cultural psychologists--personality coherence, social appraisal, and relationship harmony--predicted adjustment in all cultures but were not, as hypothesized, better predictors of adjustment in collectivistic cultures than in individualistic cultures.

Can we really use available scales for child and adolescent psychopathology across cultures? A systematic review of cross-cultural measurement invariance data.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevanovic, Dejan; Jafari, Peyman; Knez, Rajna; Franic, Tomislav; Atilola, Olayinka; Davidovic, Nikolina; Bagheri, Zahra; Lakic, Aneta

2017-02-01

In this systematic review, we assessed available evidence for cross-cultural measurement invariance of assessment scales for child and adolescent psychopathology as an indicator of cross-cultural validity. A literature search was conducted using the Medline, PsychInfo, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. Cross-cultural measurement invariance data was available for 26 scales. Based on the aggregation of the evidence from the studies under review, none of the evaluated scales have strong evidence for cross-cultural validity and suitability for cross-cultural comparison. A few of the studies showed a moderate level of measurement invariance for some scales (such as the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised, Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children, Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale, Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, Mood and Feelings Questionnaire, and Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale), which may make them suitable in cross-cultural comparative studies. The remainder of the scales either showed weak or outright lack of measurement invariance. This review showed only limited testing for measurement invariance across cultural groups of scales for pediatric psychopathology, with evidence of cross-cultural validity for only a few scales. This study also revealed a need to improve practices of statistical analysis reporting in testing measurement invariance. Implications for future research are discussed.

Development and testing of culturally sensitive patient information material for Turkish, Polish, Russian and Italian migrants with depression or chronic low back pain (KULTINFO): study protocol for a double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Hölzel, Lars P; Ries, Zivile; Zill, Jördis M; Kriston, Levente; Dirmaier, Jörg; Härter, Martin; Bermejo, Isaac

2014-07-04

Many of the approximately 15 million people with a migration background living in Germany (19% of the population) are inadequately reached by existing healthcare provision. In the literature, the necessity for cultural adaptation of information material for patients with a migration background is often cited as a measure for improving healthcare.In this study, culturally sensitive information material will be developed and evaluated for patients with a migration background and depression or chronic low back pain. In this respect, it will be examined whether culturally sensitive information material is judged as more useful by the patients than standard translated patient information without cultural adaptation. The implementation and evaluation of culturally sensitive patient information material will occur in the framework of a double-blind randomized controlled parallel-group study in four study centres in Germany. Primary care patients with a Turkish, Polish, Russian or Italian migration background with a diagnosis of depressive disorder or chronic low back pain will be included and randomly allocated to the intervention group or the control group. In the intervention group, culturally sensitive patient information will be handed to the patient at the end of the physician consultation, while in the control group, standard translated patient information material will be provided. The patients will be surveyed by means of questionnaires following the consultation as well as after 8 weeks and 6 months. In addition to the primary outcome (subjective usefulness), several patient- and physician-rated secondary outcomes will be considered. The study will provide an empirical answer to the question of whether persons with a migration background perceive culturally sensitive patient information material as more useful than translated information material without cultural adaptation. Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien (DRKS-ID) DRKS00004241 and Universal Trial Number

Morphology like science in the physical culture and its use as a teaching supporting material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valia Alina Crespo-Almeira

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Morphology is a branch of Biology that is part of the biomedical basic sciences; it fundamentally studies the structure, that is to say, the form of organization of the systems of organs. The poor bibliography existence for the content assimilation related with locomotive human system in the Physical culture career first year students, as well as, the access increase of computer equipment. This research proposes a teaching supporting material to teach the content of Morphology II, where the students can apply and check the acquisition and domain of these contents for the a better professional development. The investigation methods used were the historical tendencies, systemic and analysis and synthesis methods. The empiric methods were: the observation, the interview and documents analysis. The consulted theoretical and methodological referents about the treatment of the contents related with the human locomotive system confirm the necessity of these contents in Morphology as science in the career of Physical Culture.

CULTURAL TOURISM EXPERIENCE ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: EVIDENCE FROM THAILAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanchana Sukanthasirikul

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study examines the service quality of cultural tourism experience perceived by tourists on their satisfaction and further explores the relationships between perceived value, appraisal emotion, and customer satisfaction. A total of 327 respondents completed a survey conducted at two cultural festivals in Thailand. Using structural equation modeling (SEM technique, the results reveal the direct and positive effects of the service quality on perceived value, appraisal emotion, and customer satisfaction. This study summarizes the findings and offers some interesting implications for practitioners and researchers.

Family therapy for schizophrenia: cultural challenges and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Family therapy is an effective, evidence based intervention for schizophrenia. This literature review explores the impact of culture on family therapy as a treatment model for schizophrenia and examines how cultural beliefs impact on access to care. Although there is a good deal of evidence to suggest that certain principles ...

Teacher Perception of Cultural Difference in L2 Materials: Is Filtering Culture the Right Approach?

Science.gov (United States)

Hermessi, Tarek

2017-01-01

With the emergence of the intercultural approach to L2 teaching, several studies investigated teachers' attitudes and beliefs concerning the cultural dimension of L2 teaching in different foreign language settings. This study explored teachers' perceptions of the relationship between teaching English and culture in Tunisia, an EFL setting where…

'It's All Done With Mirrors': V.S. Ramachandran and the Material Culture of Phantom Limb Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Guenther, Katja

2016-07-01

This article examines the material culture of neuroscientist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's research into phantom limbs. In the 1990s Ramachandran used a 'mirror box' to 'resurrect' phantom limbs and thus to treat the pain that often accompanied them. The experimental success of his mirror therapy led Ramachandran to see mirrors as a useful model of brain function, a tendency that explains his attraction to work on 'mirror neurons'. I argue that Ramachandran's fascination with and repeated appeal to the mirror can be explained by the way it allowed him to confront a perennial problem in the mind and brain sciences, that of the relationship between a supposedly immaterial mind and a material brain. By producing what Ramachandran called a 'virtual reality', relating in varied and complex ways to the material world, the mirror reproduced a form of psycho-physical parallelism and dualistic ontology, while conforming to the materialist norms of neuroscience today.

LTDNA Evidence on Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Paul

2016-01-01

Adopting the interpretative/hermeneutical method typical of much legal scholarship, this article considers two sets of issues pertaining to LTDNA profiles as evidence in criminal proceedings. The section titled Expert Evidence as Forensic Epistemic Warrant addresses some rather large questions about the epistemic status and probative value of expert testimony in general. It sketches a theoretical model of expert evidence, highlighting five essential criteria: (1) expert competence; (2) disciplinary domain; (3) methodological validity; (4) materiality; and (5) legal admissibility. This generic model of expert authority, highlighting law's fundamentally normative character, applies to all modern forms of criminal adjudication, across Europe and farther afield. The section titled LTDNA Evidence in UK Criminal Trials then examines English and Northern Irish courts' attempts to get to grips with LTDNA evidence in recent cases. Better appreciating the ways in which UK courts have addressed the challenges of LTDNA evidence may offer some insights into parallel developments in other legal systems. Appellate court rulings follow a predictable judicial logic, which might usefully be studied and reflected upon by any forensic scientist or statistician seeking to operate effectively in criminal proceedings. Whilst each legal jurisdiction has its own unique blend of jurisprudence, institutions, cultures and historical traditions, there is considerable scope for comparative analysis and cross-jurisdictional borrowing and instruction. In the spirit of promoting more nuanced and sophisticated international interdisciplinary dialogue, this article examines UK judicial approaches to LTDNA evidence and begins to elucidate their underlying institutional logic. Legal argument and broader policy debates are not confined to considerations of scientific validity, contamination risks and evidential integrity, or associated judgments of legal admissibility or exclusion. They also crucially

LTDNA Evidence on Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Paul

2016-01-01

Adopting the interpretative/hermeneutical method typical of much legal scholarship, this article considers two sets of issues pertaining to LTDNA profiles as evidence in criminal proceedings. The section titled Expert Evidence as Forensic Epistemic Warrant addresses some rather large questions about the epistemic status and probative value of expert testimony in general. It sketches a theoretical model of expert evidence, highlighting five essential criteria: (1) expert competence; (2) disciplinary domain; (3) methodological validity; (4) materiality; and (5) legal admissibility. This generic model of expert authority, highlighting law's fundamentally normative character, applies to all modern forms of criminal adjudication, across Europe and farther afield. The section titled LTDNA Evidence in UK Criminal Trials then examines English and Northern Irish courts' attempts to get to grips with LTDNA evidence in recent cases. Better appreciating the ways in which UK courts have addressed the challenges of LTDNA evidence may offer some insights into parallel developments in other legal systems. Appellate court rulings follow a predictable judicial logic, which might usefully be studied and reflected upon by any forensic scientist or statistician seeking to operate effectively in criminal proceedings. Whilst each legal jurisdiction has its own unique blend of jurisprudence, institutions, cultures and historical traditions, there is considerable scope for comparative analysis and cross-jurisdictional borrowing and instruction. In the spirit of promoting more nuanced and sophisticated international interdisciplinary dialogue, this article examines UK judicial approaches to LTDNA evidence and begins to elucidate their underlying institutional logic. Legal argument and broader policy debates are not confined to considerations of scientific validity, contamination risks and evidential integrity, or associated judgments of legal admissibility or exclusion. They also crucially

Corporate governance, cultural factors and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from selected companies in Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Akhtaruddin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This research aims to test empirically the relationship between corporate governance, cultural factors and voluntary disclosure by the listed companies in Bangladesh. The corporate governance factors examined are proportion of independent non-executive directors (INDs, board leadership structure, management ownership, board size and audit committee size. The extent of voluntary disclosure level is measured using 68 items of information. Data are taken from annual reports of the listed companies in Bangladesh. The result shows a positive association between board size, board leadership structure, audit committee size and voluntary disclosure. However, no evidence is found to support the contention that independent directors are associated with increased disclosure, consistent with previous studies. Higher education of the CEO and CFO is positively related to the level of voluntary disclosure. The result also indicates that the extent of voluntary disclosures is negatively associated with a higher management ownership.

The Cultural Foundations of Family Business Management: Evidence from Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William D. BRICE

2008-01-01

Full Text Available This study empirically examines what makes Ukrainian family-firm culture unique by comparing the values and beliefs of Ukrainian family-business members with that of professional bank managers within Ukraine. Morck and Yeung (2003 suggest that the implications of family business are especially relevant for former planned economies such as Ukraine in that government’s social policy on the encouragement or discouragement of privately-held sectors of the economy is yet to be fully formed. Ukraine’s future course in this regard is particularly sensitive as the pre-Soviet Ukrainian economy was almost entirely held in private hands while the Soviet-era economy was almost entirely state-controlled. Family-firm literature stresses the differences between family-firm and professional management in terms of culture, goal-setting, and strategy. Family-firm culture is said to be a resource leading to competitive advantage. This study is based on a survey comparing 76 family-firm members and 99 professional managers. Statistically significant differences between the culture of members of family-owned firms and professional managers were found within Ukraine. Family-firm membership had a significant effect in five culture constructs. We can conclude that differences in Power Distance, Social Cynicism, Social Flexibility, Spirituality and Fate Control describe fundamental aspects of family-firms in Ukraine and may possibly contribute to family-firm competitive advantage as discussed in management literature.

A multilevel investigation of motivational cultural intelligence, organizational diversity climate, and cultural sales: evidence from U.S. real estate firms.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiao-Ping; Liu, Dong; Portnoy, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Adopting a multilevel theoretical framework, the authors examined how motivational cultural intelligence influences individual cultural sales--the number of housing transactions occurring between people of different cultural origins. Data from 305 real estate agents employed at 26 real estate firms in the United States demonstrated that an individual's motivational cultural intelligence is positively related to his or her cultural sales. This positive relationship is enhanced by the firm's motivational cultural intelligence and diversity climate. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of their findings in a workplace context that involves cross-cultural interpersonal interactions.

Rapid quantification and sex determination of forensic evidence materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Andréasson, Hanna; Allen, Marie

2003-11-01

DNA quantification of forensic evidence is very valuable for an optimal use of the available biological material. Moreover, sex determination is of great importance as additional information in criminal investigations as well as in identification of missing persons, no suspect cases, and ancient DNA studies. While routine forensic DNA analysis based on short tandem repeat markers includes a marker for sex determination, analysis of samples containing scarce amounts of DNA is often based on mitochondrial DNA, and sex determination is not performed. In order to allow quantification and simultaneous sex determination on minute amounts of DNA, an assay based on real-time PCR analysis of a marker within the human amelogenin gene has been developed. The sex determination is based on melting curve analysis, while an externally standardized kinetic analysis allows quantification of the nuclear DNA copy number in the sample. This real-time DNA quantification assay has proven to be highly sensitive, enabling quantification of single DNA copies. Although certain limitations were apparent, the system is a rapid, cost-effective, and flexible assay for analysis of forensic casework samples.

Wine and the vine in Upper Moesia archaeological and epigraphic evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pilipović Sanja

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Vine-growing and winemaking in the area of the Roman province of Upper Moesia are looked at based on the information supplied by the ancient sources, and the archaeological and epigraphic evidence (inscriptions, artistic depictions, vinedressing and winemaking implements, drinking and transport vessels. Viniculture is associated with the Greco-Roman cultural orbit, while the native central-Balkan tribes typically consumed alcoholic beverages made from cereals. Therefore the goal of the research is to shed as much light as currently possible on the significance of vine-growing and wine in the life of the inhabitants of Upper Moesia. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177012: Society, spiritual and material culture and communications in prehistory and early history of the Balkans

Does Cultural Capital Matter?: Cultural Divide and Quality of Life

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seoyong; Kim, Hyesun

2009-01-01

Since the remarkable work of Pierre Bourdieu, the concept of cultural capital has gained wide popularity along with theoretical and conceptual debates. This trend represents the social-structural change from materialism to postmaterialism. However, there are few empirical studies which find the cause and effect of cultural capital. Based on…

What Kind of Culture?

Science.gov (United States)

Knoll, Samson B.

The question of what should be taught as the cultural component of language instruction is discussed, with special reference to German. A present-directed humanism is urged, with emphasis on the relevance and immediacy of cultural materials. Mistaken and irrelevant directions in the teaching of German culture are discussed in some detail; similar…

Are osseous artefacts a window to perishable material culture? Implications of an unusually complex bone tool from the Late Pleistocene of East Timor.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, S; Robertson, G; Aplin, K P

2014-02-01

We report the discovery of an unusually complex and regionally unique bone artefact in a Late Pleistocene archaeological assemblage (c. 35 ka [thousands of years ago]) from the site of Matja Kuru 2 on the island of Timor, in Wallacea. The artefact is interpreted as the broken butt of a formerly hafted projectile point, and it preserves evidence of a complex hafting mechanism including insertion into a shaped or split shaft, a complex pattern of binding including lateral stabilization of the cordage within a bilateral series of notches, and the application of mastic at several stages in the hafting process. The artefact provides the earliest direct evidence for the use of this combination of hafting technologies in the wider region of Southeast Asia, Wallacea, Melanesia and Australasia, and is morphologically unparallelled in deposits of any age. By contrast, it bears a close morphological resemblance to certain bone artefacts from the Middle Stone Age of Africa and South Asia. Examination of ethnographic projectile technology from the region of Melanesia and Australasia shows that all of the technological elements observed in the Matja Kuru 2 artefact were in use historically in the region, including the unusual feature of bilateral notching to stabilize a hafted point. This artefact challenges the notion that complex bone-working and hafting technologies were a relatively late innovation in this part of the world. Moreover, its regional uniqueness encourages us to abandon the perception of bone artefacts as a discrete class of material culture, and to adopt a new interpretative framework in which they are treated as manifestations of a more general class of artefacts that more typically were produced on perishable raw materials including wood. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Embodied Cultures of Mobilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Ole B.

2010-01-01

and material artifacts. The paper target the complex relationship between the moving, sensing body and the material and built environment of infrastructures and mobility modes in order to explore what norms, and meanings, and everyday life mobility cultures are being produced and re-produced in this process....... A particular emphasis is put on how mobilities produce and re-produce norms, meanings and cultures in relation to the Everyday life perspective. By looking into walking, running, cycling, driving and mass transit mobilities different modes of embodied mobility is identified. The theoretical framework is based...... and interaction (Lynch). The argument is thus that understanding embodied cultures of mobilities from the vantage point of this paper lend is self to new interpretations, explorations and understandings of what it means to move within and between other social agents in particular material and physical...

Hetero-cellular prototyping by synchronized multi-material bioprinting for rotary cell culture system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snyder, Jessica; Son, Ae Rin; Hamid, Qudus; Sun, Wei; Wu, Honglu

2016-01-01

Bottom-up tissue engineering requires methodological progress of biofabrication to capture key design facets of anatomical arrangements across micro, meso and macro-scales. The diffusive mass transfer properties necessary to elicit stability and functionality require hetero-typic contact, cell-to-cell signaling and uniform nutrient diffusion. Bioprinting techniques successfully build mathematically defined porous architecture to diminish resistance to mass transfer. Current limitations of bioprinted cell assemblies include poor micro-scale formability of cell-laden soft gels and asymmetrical macro-scale diffusion through 3D volumes. The objective of this work is to engineer a synchronized multi-material bioprinter (SMMB) system which improves the resolution and expands the capability of existing bioprinting systems by packaging multiple cell types in heterotypic arrays prior to deposition. This unit cell approach to arranging multiple cell-laden solutions is integrated with a motion system to print heterogeneous filaments as tissue engineered scaffolds and nanoliter droplets. The set of SMMB process parameters control the geometric arrangement of the combined flow’s internal features and constituent material’s volume fractions. SMMB printed hepatocyte-endothelial laden 200 nl droplets are cultured in a rotary cell culture system (RCCS) to study the effect of microgravity on an in vitro model of the human hepatic lobule. RCCS conditioning for 48 h increased hepatocyte cytoplasm diameter 2 μm, increased metabolic rate, and decreased drug half-life. SMMB hetero-cellular models present a 10-fold increase in metabolic rate, compared to SMMB mono-culture models. Improved bioprinting resolution due to process control of cell-laden matrix packaging as well as nanoliter droplet printing capability identify SMMB as a viable technique to improve in vitro model efficacy. (paper)

IBA techniques: Examples of useful combinations for the characterisation of cultural heritage materials

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, L.; Pichon, L.; Moignard, B.; Guillou, T.; Walter, P.

2011-12-01

For many years, ion beam analysis techniques have successfully been used to the study of cultural heritage objects. The chemical composition of work art is usually determined by PIXE, but in many cases, RBS and/or PIGE can provide useful complementary information. RBS gives information about the depth distribution and concentration in light elements, such as carbon and oxygen. In the past years, the experimental facilities at the AGLAE (Accélérateur Grand Louvre d'Analyse Élémentaire) accelerator has been progressively developed in order to apply simultaneously PIXE, PIGE and RBS under optimal conditions using an external beam. This combination is now routinely used for point analyses or mappings. In this contribution, we present several examples of applications: manufacturing technology of lustre-decorated ceramics and silver plating, control of altered or restored surfaces, and quantification of organic phase in painting and bone. The final conclusion is that the association of PIXE with RBS is very attractive for the investigation of cultural heritage objects, in particular of materials containing both mineral and organic components or possessing a multilayered structure. The first results of the production of monochromatic X-rays for radiography purposes by PIXE are also presented.

IBA techniques: Examples of useful combinations for the characterisation of cultural heritage materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, L.; Pichon, L.; Moignard, B.; Guillou, T.; Walter, P.

2011-01-01

For many years, ion beam analysis techniques have successfully been used to the study of cultural heritage objects. The chemical composition of work art is usually determined by PIXE, but in many cases, RBS and/or PIGE can provide useful complementary information. RBS gives information about the depth distribution and concentration in light elements, such as carbon and oxygen. In the past years, the experimental facilities at the AGLAE (Accélérateur Grand Louvre d’Analyse Élémentaire) accelerator has been progressively developed in order to apply simultaneously PIXE, PIGE and RBS under optimal conditions using an external beam. This combination is now routinely used for point analyses or mappings. In this contribution, we present several examples of applications: manufacturing technology of lustre-decorated ceramics and silver plating, control of altered or restored surfaces, and quantification of organic phase in painting and bone. The final conclusion is that the association of PIXE with RBS is very attractive for the investigation of cultural heritage objects, in particular of materials containing both mineral and organic components or possessing a multilayered structure. The first results of the production of monochromatic X-rays for radiography purposes by PIXE are also presented.

Culture-sensitive psychotraumatology

Science.gov (United States)

Schnyder, Ulrich; Bryant, Richard A.; Ehlers, Anke; Foa, Edna B.; Hasan, Aram; Mwiti, Gladys; Kristensen, Christian H.; Neuner, Frank; Oe, Misari; Yule, William

2016-01-01

Background Although there is some evidence of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) construct's cross cultural validity, trauma-related disorders may vary across cultures, and the same may be true for treatments that address such conditions. Experienced therapists tailor psychotherapy to each patient's particular situation, to the nature of the patient's psychopathology, to the stage of therapy, and so on. In addition, culture-sensitive psychotherapists try to understand how culture enhances the meaning of their patient's life history, the cultural components of their illness and help-seeking behaviors, as well as their expectations with regard to treatment. We cannot take for granted that all treatment-seeking trauma survivors speak our language or share our cultural values. Therefore, we need to increase our cultural competencies. Methods The authors of this article are clinicians and/or researchers from across the globe, working with trauma survivors in various settings. Each author focused on one or more specific cultural aspects of working with trauma survivors and highlighted the following aspects. Results As a result of culture-specific individual and collective meanings linked to trauma and trauma-related disorders survivors may be exposed to (self-)stigma in the aftermath of trauma. Patients who are reluctant to talk about their traumatic experiences may instead be willing to write or use other ways of accessing the painful memories such as drawing. In other cultures, community and family cohesion are crucial elements of recovery. While awareness of culture-specific aspects is important, we also need to beware of premature cultural stereotyping. When disseminating empirically supported psychotherapies for PTSD across cultures, a number of additional challenges need to be taken into account: many low and middle income countries have very limited resources available and suffer from a poor health infrastructure. Conclusions In summary, culture

Comparison of the Osteogenic Potential of Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Endosequence Root Repair Material in a 3-dimensional Culture System.

Science.gov (United States)

Rifaey, Hisham S; Villa, Max; Zhu, Qiang; Wang, Yu-Hsiung; Safavi, Kamran; Chen, I-Ping

2016-05-01

The ability to promote osteoblast differentiation is a desirable property of root-end filling materials. Several in vitro studies compare the cytotoxicity and physical properties between mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Endosequence root repair material (ERRM), but not their osteogenic potential. Three-dimensional cultures allow cells to better maintain their physiological morphology and better resemble in vivo cellular response than 2-dimensional cultures. Here we examined the osteogenic potential of MTA and ERRM by using a commercially available 3-dimensional Alvetex scaffold. Mandibular osteoblasts were derived from 3-week-old male transgenic reporter mice where mature osteoblasts express green fluorescent protein (GFP) driven by a 2.3-kilobase type I collagen promoter (Col(I)-2.3). Mandibular osteoblasts were grown on Alvetex in direct contact with MTA, ERRM, or no material (negative control) for 14 days. Osteoblast differentiation was evaluated by expression levels of osteogenic genes by using quantitative polymerase chain reaction and by the spatial dynamics of Col(I)-2.3 GFP-positive mature osteoblasts within the Alvetex scaffolds by using 2-photon microscopy. ERRM significantly increased alkaline phosphatase (Alp) and bone sialoprotein (Bsp) expression compared with MTA and negative control groups. Both MTA and ERRM increased osterix (Osx) mRNA significantly compared with the negative control group. The percentage of Col(I)-2.3 GFP-positive cells over total cells within Alvetex was the highest in the ERRM group, followed by MTA and by negative controls. ERRM promotes osteoblast differentiation better than MTA and controls with no material in a 3-dimensional culture system. Alvetex scaffolds can be used to test endodontic materials. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cultural Resource Investigation for the Materials and Fuels Complex Wastewater System Upgrade at the Idaho National Laboratory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brenda R. Pace; Julie B raun Williams; Hollie Gilbert; Dino Lowrey; Julie Brizzee

2010-05-01

The Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) located in Bingham County at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in southeastern Idaho is considering several alternatives to upgrade wastewater systems to meet future needs at the facility. In April and May of 2010, the INL Cultural Resource Management Office conducted archival searches, archaeological field surveys, and coordination with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to identify cultural resources that may be adversely affected by the proposed construction and to provide recommendations to protect any resources listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. These investigations showed that one National Register-eligible archaeological site is located on the boundary of the area of potential effects for the wastewater upgrade. This report outlines protective measures to help ensure that this resource is not adversely affected by construction.

Universals and cultural variations in 22 emotional expressions across five cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Cordaro, Daniel T; Sun, Rui; Keltner, Dacher; Kamble, Shanmukh; Huddar, Niranjan; McNeil, Galen

2018-02-01

We collected and Facial Action Coding System (FACS) coded over 2,600 free-response facial and body displays of 22 emotions in China, India, Japan, Korea, and the United States to test 5 hypotheses concerning universals and cultural variants in emotional expression. New techniques enabled us to identify cross-cultural core patterns of expressive behaviors for each of the 22 emotions. We also documented systematic cultural variations of expressive behaviors within each culture that were shaped by the cultural resemblance in values, and identified a gradient of universality for the 22 emotions. Our discussion focused on the science of new expressions and how the evidence from this investigation identifies the extent to which emotional displays vary across cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultural Modulation and The Zero Originality Clause of Remix Culture in Australian Contemporary Art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ross Rudesch Harley

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Australian media artists particularly have been engaged in using found-footage strategies — as evidenced by work made over the past three decades and included in recent retrospective exhibitions such as 'SynCity: Remixing three generations of sample culture' (2006. Armed with techniques of cut and copy, these artists purposefully manipulate and hack found material for their own strategic purposes. In doing so, they dislocate archival material from its original techno-cultural location and re-animate global popular culture in their own personal/local style. Artists have always been plugged into archives, whether it be for inspiration, research purposes, or as a source of raw material. The present digitisation of archives into web databases and peer-to-peer networks has further accelerated this relationship of storage and cultural exchange. Tracing a conceptual bass-line that can be followed from the avant-garde filmmakers of the 20s, Situationist détournement and Burroughs’ cut-up techniques of the 1960s, 1980s Super8 strategies, contemporary VJ culture, creative commons, wikimedia, open source and P2P networks, this article lays out some of the stakes involved in remixing the archive in the bit-torrent age.

Cultural adaptation of preschool PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum for Pakistani children.

Science.gov (United States)

Inam, Ayesha; Tariq, Pervaiz N; Zaman, Sahira

2015-06-01

Cultural adaptation of evidence-based programmes has gained importance primarily owing to its perceived impact on the established effectiveness of a programme. To date, many researchers have proposed different frameworks for systematic adaptation process. This article presents the cultural adaptation of preschool Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) curriculum for Pakistani children using the heuristic framework of adaptation (Barrera & Castro, 2006). The study was completed in four steps: information gathering, preliminary adaptation design, preliminary adaptation test and adaptation refinement. Feedbacks on programme content suggested universality of the core programme components. Suggested changes were mostly surface structure: language, presentation of materials, conceptual equivalence of concepts, training needs of implementation staff and frequency of programme delivery. In-depth analysis was done to acquire cultural equivalence. Pilot testing of the outcome measures showed strong internal consistency. The results were further discussed with reference to similar work undertaken in other cultures. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Organ culture storage of pre-prepared corneal donor material for Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhogal, Maninder; Matter, Karl; Balda, Maria S; Allan, Bruce D

2016-11-01

To evaluate the effect of media composition and storage method on pre-prepared Descemet's membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK) grafts. 50 corneas were used. Endothelial wound healing and proliferation in different media were assessed using a standard injury model. DMEK grafts were stored using three methods: peeling with free scroll storage; partial peeling with storage on the stroma and fluid bubble separation with storage on the stroma. Endothelial cell (EC) phenotype and the extent of endothelial overgrowth were examined. Global cell viability was assessed for storage methods that maintained a normal cell phenotype. 1 mm wounds healed within 4 days. Enhanced media did not increase EC proliferation but may have increased EC migration into the wounded area. Grafts that had been trephined showed evidence of EC overgrowth, whereas preservation of a physical barrier in the bubble group prevented this. In grafts stored in enhanced media or reapposed to the stroma after trephination, endothelial migration occurred sooner and cells underwent endothelial-mesenchymal transformation. Ongoing cell loss, with new patterns of cell death, was observed after returning grafts to storage. Grafts stored as free scrolls retained more viable ECs than grafts prepared with the fluid bubble method (74.2± 3% vs 60.3±6%, p=0.04 (n=8). Free scroll storage is superior to liquid bubble and partial peeling techniques. Free scrolls only showed overgrowth of ECs after 4 days in organ culture, indicating a viable time window for the clinical use of pre-prepared DMEK donor material using this method. Methods for tissue preparation and storage media developed for whole corneas should not be used in pre-prepared DMEK grafts without prior evaluation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Bacterial cell culture

OpenAIRE

sprotocols

2014-01-01

### Materials 1. Glass culture tubes with metal caps and labels - Growth medium, from media room or customized - Glass pipette tubes - Parafilm ### Equipment 1. Vortexer - Fireboy or Bunsen burner - Motorized pipette - Micropipettes and sterile tips ### Procedure For a typical liquid culture, use 5 ml of appropriate medium. The amount in each tube does not have to be exact if you are just trying to culture cells for their precious DNA. 1. Streak an a...

New evidence for variation in colonisation, cultural transmission, and subsistence from Lapita (2900 BP) to the historic period in southwest Fiji

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cochrane, E.E.; Rivera-Collazo, I.C.; Walsh, E.

2011-01-01

Fiji was colonised approximately 3000 BP by populations with intricately decorated Lapita pottery. At nearly the same time, culturally related populations also colonised nearby Tonga and Samoa and the archaeology of each archipelago indicates continued contact, but also cultural divergence over time. Previous research in the far western islands of Fiji has also identified late Lapita colonisation deposits and subsequent cultural changes that have raised further questions about regional variation in the Fijian archaeological record. Here we present results of the first survey, excavation, and archaeological analyses from the islands of southwestern Fiji and interpret these findings relative to current research on the colonisation of Fiji-West Polynesia, changes in the spatial scale of cultural transmission in the region, and changes in foraging practices and environments. Survey and test excavations identified eleven sites and pushed back the colonisation of the far western islands to 2900 BP. Preliminary analyses of cultural materials from these sites indicate a complexly structured colonising population in Fiji-West Polynesia, variation over time in the frequency of contact between populations in Fiji, and subsistence practices likely influenced by environmental change and human competition. (author). 47 refs., 9 figs., 6 tabs.

The cultural construction of emotions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mesquita, B.; Boiger, M.; De Leersnyder, J.

A large body of anthropological and psychological research on emotions has yielded significant evidence that emotional experience is culturally constructed: people more commonly experience those emotions that help them to be a good and typical person in their culture. Moreover, experiencing these

Fluorescent in situ hybridization of pre-incubated blood culture material for the rapid diagnosis of histoplasmosis.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Roberto Moreira; da Silva Neto, João Ricardo; Santos, Carla Silvana; Cruz, Kátia Santana; Frickmann, Hagen; Poppert, Sven; Koshikene, Daniela; de Souza, João Vicente Braga

2015-02-01

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has been shown to be useful for the detection of Candida and Cryptococcus species in blood culture materials. FISH procedures for the detection of Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum have not been reported so far. This study describes the development and evaluation of fluorescently labeled rRNA-targeting FISH probes to detect and identify H. capsulatum in blood cultures. All three analyzed H. capsulatum reference strains and clinical isolates showed positive signals with the newly designed specific oligonucleotide probes for H. capsulatum, whereas negative reactions were observed for all three nontarget yeast species and the two nontarget bacteria. The assay was also successfully applied for detections of H. capsulatum cells in pre-incubated blood culture samples of patients with clinical suspicion of histoplasmosis (n = 33). The described FISH-based assay was shown to be easy to apply, sensitive, and specific (compared to polymerase chain reaction) for the detection and identification of H. capsulatum in this proof-of-principle analysis. Larger multicentric assessments are recommended for a thorough diagnostic evaluation of the procedure. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The International Society for Human and Animal Mycology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

[Evidence of facial palsy and facial malformations in pottery from Peruvian Moche and Lambayeque pre-Columbian cultures].

Science.gov (United States)

Carod-Artal, F J; Vázquez Cabrera, C B

2006-01-01

Moche (100-700 AD) and Lambayeque-Sicán (750-1100 AD) are pre-Columbian cultures from Regional States Period, developed in Northern Peru. Information about daily life, religion and medicine has been obtained through the study of Moche ceramics found in lords and priests tombs, pyramids and temples. To analyze archeological evidences of Moche Medicine and neurological diseases through ceramics. Representations of diseases in Moche and Lambayeque iconography and Moche pottery collections exposed in Casinelli museum from Trujillo, and Brüning National Archeological museum from Lambayeque, Peru, were studied. The most representative cases were analyzed and photographed, previous authorization from authorities and curators of the museums. The following pathologies were observed in ceramic collections: peripheral facial palsy, facial malformations such as cleft lip, hemifacial spasm, legs and arm amputations, scoliosis and Siamese patients. Male and females Moche doctors were also observed in the ceramics in ritual ceremonies treating patients. The main pathologies observed in Moche and Lambayeque pottery are facial palsy and cleft lip. These are one of the earliest registries of these pathologies in pre-Columbian cultures in South-America.

Court Culture during the Reign of Christian IV

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olden-Jørgensen, Sebastian

2007-01-01

Court culture can be defined as a range of cultural forms (festival culture, painting, literature, music, architecture) employed for the enhancement of princely status and the communication of political messages. Christian IV evidently set great store on court culture beginning with his magnificent...

BUILDING A CULTURE OF EVIDENCE-BASED PLANNING

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

The Nigeria Evidence-based Health System Initiative (NEHSI) is a ..... PAC structure was tested during the planning phase; the structure .... the research and training organization CIET, engaging ..... scorecards, equipment and office supplies.

A Cross-Cultural Perspective:An Integration of Traditional Chinese Cul-ture into College English Textbooks

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Ni

2014-01-01

Teaching language is teaching culture. English is an international language with local and global significance.In“New Horizon College English”, Chinese culture elements are deficient, which is not conducive to our country ’s higher education and cross-cultural communication skills and to achieve the goal of innovation of Chinese culture. As an important part of world cul⁃ture, Chinese culture should be integrated into college English education. College English teaching materials should include not only western cultural elements but also fully present Chinese culture elements.

Hyperspectral analysis of cultural heritage artifacts: pigment material diversity in the Gough Map of Britain

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Di; Messinger, David W.; Howell, David

2017-08-01

The Gough Map, one of the earliest surviving maps of Britain, was created and extensively revised over the 15th century. In 2015, the map was imaged using a hyperspectral imaging system while in the collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University. The goal of the collection of the hyperspectral image (HSI) of the Gough Map was to address questions such as enhancement of faded text for reading and analysis of the pigments used during its creation and revision. In particular, pigment analysis of the Gough Map will help historians understand the material diversity of its composition and potentially the timeline of, and methods used in, the creation and revision of the map. Multiple analysis methods are presented to analyze a particular pigment in the Gough Map with an emphasis on understanding the within-material diversity, i.e., the number and spatial layout of distinct red pigments. One approach for understanding the number of distinct materials in a scene (i.e., endmember selection and dimensionality estimation) is the Gram matrix approach. Here, this method is used to study the within-material differences of pigments in the map with common visual color. The application is a pigment analysis tool that extracts visually common pixels (here, the red pigments) from the Gough Map and estimates the material diversity of the pixels. Results show that the Gough Map is composed of at least five kinds of dominant red pigments with a particular spatial pattern. This research provides a useful tool for historical geographers and cartographic historians to analyze the material diversity of HSI of cultural heritage artifacts.

Culture, intangibles and metrics in environmental management.

Science.gov (United States)

Satterfield, Terre; Gregory, Robin; Klain, Sarah; Roberts, Mere; Chan, Kai M

2013-03-15

The demand for better representation of cultural considerations in environmental management is increasingly evident. As two cases in point, ecosystem service approaches increasingly include cultural services, and resource planners recognize indigenous constituents and the cultural knowledge they hold as key to good environmental management. Accordingly, collaborations between anthropologists, planners, decision makers and biodiversity experts about the subject of culture are increasingly common-but also commonly fraught. Those whose expertise is culture often engage in such collaborations because they worry a practitioner from 'elsewhere' will employ a 'measure of culture' that is poorly or naively conceived. Those from an economic or biophysical training must grapple with the intangible properties of culture as they intersect with economic, biological or other material measures. This paper seeks to assist those who engage in collaborations to characterize cultural benefits or impacts relevant to decision-making in three ways; by: (i) considering the likely mindset of would-be collaborators; (ii) providing examples of tested approaches that might enable innovation; and (iii) characterizing the kinds of obstacles that are in principle solvable through methodological alternatives. We accomplish these tasks in part by examining three cases wherein culture was a critical variable in environmental decision making: risk management in New Zealand associated with Māori concerns about genetically modified organisms; cultural services to assist marine planning in coastal British Columbia; and a decision-making process involving a local First Nation about water flows in a regulated river in western Canada. We examine how 'culture' came to be manifest in each case, drawing from ethnographic and cultural-models interviews and using subjective metrics (recommended by theories of judgment and decision making) to express cultural concerns. We conclude that the characterization of

Patient safety culture in care homes for older people: a scoping review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily Gartshore

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the role of safety culture in preventing incidents such as medication errors and falls. However, research and developments in safety culture has predominantly taken place in hospital settings, with relatively less attention given to establishing a safety culture in care homes. Despite safety culture being accepted as an important quality indicator across all health and social care settings, the understanding of culture within social care settings remains far less developed than within hospitals. It is therefore important that the existing evidence base is gathered and reviewed in order to understand safety culture in care homes. Methods A scoping review was undertaken to describe the availability of evidence related to care homes’ patient safety culture, what these studies focused on, and identify any knowledge gaps within the existing literature. Included papers were each reviewed by two authors for eligibility and to draw out information relevant to the scoping review. Results Twenty-four empirical papers and one literature review were included within the scoping review. The collective evidence demonstrated that safety culture research is largely based in the USA, within Nursing Homes rather than Residential Home settings. Moreover, the scoping review revealed that empirical evidence has predominantly used quantitative measures, and therefore the deeper levels of culture have not been captured in the evidence base. Conclusions Safety culture in care homes is a topic that has not been extensively researched. The review highlights a number of key gaps in the evidence base, which future research into safety culture in care home should attempt to address.

Developing a Culture of Assessment in Student Affairs

Science.gov (United States)

Schuh, John H.

2013-01-01

What is a culture of assessment? According to this author, in a culture of assessment, staff members recognize that they must collect evidence systematically to demonstrate accountability to their stakeholders, and that they must use that evidence to improve. Fundamental to the concept is the author's back-of-the-envelope definition of…

Perfusion based cell culture chips

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heiskanen, Arto; Emnéus, Jenny; Dufva, Martin

2010-01-01

Performing cell culture in miniaturized perfusion chambers gives possibilities to experiment with cells under near in vivo like conditions. In contrast to traditional batch cultures, miniaturized perfusion systems provide precise control of medium composition, long term unattended cultures...... and tissue like structuring of the cultures. However, as this chapter illustrates, many issues remain to be identified regarding perfusion cell culture such as design, material choice and how to use these systems before they will be widespread amongst biomedical researchers....

Nigerian cultural heritage: preservation, challenges and prospects ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nigerian is a country endowed with a lot of cultural heritages sourced from its multicultural communities. Contemporary status of most Nigerian cultural heritages (both material and non-material) is best described as endangered. This paper derives from a functionalist perspective which descriptively presents a historical, ...

Creating an evidence-based dentistry culture at Baylor College of Dentistry: the winds of change.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinton, Robert J; Dechow, Paul C; Abdellatif, Hoda; Jones, Daniel L; McCann, Ann L; Schneiderman, Emet D; D'Souza, Rena

2011-03-01

In the early years of the new millennium, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health began funding Oral Health Research Education Grants using the R25 mechanism to promote the application of basic and clinical research findings to clinical training and to encourage students to pursue careers in oral health research. This report describes the impact of an R25 grant awarded to the Texas A&M Health Science Center's Baylor College of Dentistry (BCD) on its curriculum and faculty development efforts. At BCD, the R25 grant supports a multipronged initiative that employs clinical research as a vehicle for acquainting both students and faculty with the tools of evidence-based dentistry (EBD). New coursework and experiences in all four years of the curriculum plus a variety of faculty development offerings are being used to achieve this goal. Progress on these fronts is reflected in a nascent EBD culture characterized by increasing participation and buy-in by students and faculty. The production of a new generation of dental graduates equipped with the EBD skill set as well as a growing nucleus of faculty members who can model the importance of evidence-based practice is of paramount importance for the future of dentistry.

Laws of Cultural Cognition and the Cultural Cognition of Law

OpenAIRE

Kahan, Dan M.

2004-01-01

Can empirical data generate consensus about how to regulate firearms? If so, under what conditions? Previously, we presented evidence that individuals’ cultural worldviews explain their positions on gun control more powerfully than any other fact about them, including their race or gender, the type of community or region of the country they live in, and even their political ideology or party affiliation. On this basis, we inferred that culture is prior to facts in the gun debate: empiri...

Media and Cultural Consumption by Young Students in the City of São Paulo, Brazil: Evidences of Digital Divide, Possibilities of Cosmopolitanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wilson Roberto Bekesas

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the initial findings of a Brazilian project, which is part of an international research group, studying youth cultures in the age of globalization. It aims to develop a comparative study from the cultural perspective of globalization on the construction of aesthetic cosmopolitanism among young people from France, Canada, Australia, and Brazil. Our aim here specifically is to understand the cultural consumption of young students from São Paulo and their uses of different media for this matter, in hybrid forms (mainly digital. The analysis of empirical data presented is built upon 52 exploratory questionnaires and 40 interviews conducted with young students (from 18 to 24 year old living in São Paulo, Brazil. In order to understand the Brazilian context in this analysis, we performed a triangulation with secondary data from “Brazilian digital youth” by IBOPE (2012 and “Connected youth” by Telefonica Foundation/USP (2014. Based on the analysis, we reflect on two central topics: 1 evidence of a digital divide, according to their socio-economic profile and their access to information/entertainment, and 2 possibilities of cosmopolitan encounters, through the consumption of international cultural products and the search of information regarding other countries and cultures.

Cross-Cultural Effects of Cannabis Use Disorder: Evidence to Support a Cultural Neuroscience Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prashad, S.; Milligan, A.L.; Cousijn, J.; Filbey, F.M.

2017-01-01

Purpose of Review: Cannabis use disorders (CUDs) are prevalent worldwide. Current epidemiological studies underscore differences in behaviors that contribute to cannabis use across cultures that can be leveraged towards prevention and treatment of CUDs. This review proposes a framework for

Managing culture in IJVs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dao, Li

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to extend a cultural sense-making perspective to the context of international joint ventures. The dominant literature on cultural issues in this inter-firm setting has been criticized for relying on a narrow view of culture mainly as a country-level construct. The pap...... through individual sense-making and mutual learning and adjustment as key to the process of cultural negotiation.......The purpose of this paper is to extend a cultural sense-making perspective to the context of international joint ventures. The dominant literature on cultural issues in this inter-firm setting has been criticized for relying on a narrow view of culture mainly as a country-level construct. The paper...... argues that dynamic aspects of culture as enacted by key individual actors and constructed in a given context are far more relevant and critical for the joint venture’s managerial process. With evidence from four Danish – Vietnamese joint ventures, the paper proposes a way of managing culture in IJVs...

Nuclear safety culture evaluation model based on SSE-CMM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xiaohua; Liu Zhenghai; Liu Zhiming; Wan Yaping; Peng Guojian

2012-01-01

Safety culture, which is of great significance to establish safety objectives, characterizes level of enterprise safety production and development. Traditional safety culture evaluation models emphasis on thinking and behavior of individual and organization, and pay attention to evaluation results while ignore process. Moreover, determining evaluation indicators lacks objective evidence. A novel multidimensional safety culture evaluation model, which has scientific and completeness, is addressed by building an preliminary mapping between safety culture and SSE-CMM's (Systems Security Engineering Capability Maturity Model) process area and generic practice. The model focuses on enterprise system security engineering process evaluation and provides new ideas and scientific evidences for the study of safety culture. (authors)

Corporate culture and the culture of the labor collective: the methodology of distinguishing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Y. Dmytrenko

2014-07-01

The author points out the content and characteristics of corporate culture and the culture of the staff. The culture of the staff in the Late Modern constellations as well as corporate culture has both similarities and differences. Their common features are due to the influence of mass culture, subculture of the information society, organizational culture. Their differences are primarily of historical and anthropological nature. Corporate culture is defined as the essence of material, spiritual and social values created by the employees of the companies in the course of their activities and which reflect the uniqueness and individuality of this company. The author grounds the statement about the importance of working out methodological criteria for their differentiation.

Evidence of ritual entombment and architectural renovation in a plaza at Huaca Pucllana

OpenAIRE

Ríos Palomino, Nilton

2017-01-01

Archaeological excavations in the northeast sector of the archaeological site of Pucllana exposed an accumulation of cultural debris lying on the surface of a door. The context of these findings and the analysis of the building sequencedemonstrate that these materials came from the upper part of a sunken plaza. The analysis of the artifacts shows that they were remnants of large-scale food consumption and the result of a complex sequence of ritual performances.According to this evidence, we p...

Cultural Contrasts--A Broader Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Sidney L.

1975-01-01

This article describes various attempts at teaching and learning cross-cultural understanding through workshops; preparing instructional materials, including magazine advertisements, to be analyzed; and interdisciplinary lectures and programs. Aspects of German culture are emphasized. (CHK)

Culture, attention, and emotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Grossmann, Igor; Ellsworth, Phoebe C; Hong, Ying-yi

2012-02-01

This research provides experimental evidence for cultural influence on one of the most basic elements of emotional processing: attention to positive versus negative stimuli. To this end, we focused on Russian culture, which is characterized by brooding and melancholy. In Study 1, Russians spent significantly more time looking at negative than positive pictures, whereas Americans did not show this tendency. In Study 2, Russian Latvians were randomly primed with symbols of each culture, after which we measured the speed of recognition for positive versus negative trait words. Biculturals were significantly faster in recognizing negative words (as compared with baseline) when primed with Russian versus Latvian cultural symbols. Greater identification with Russian culture facilitated this effect. We provide a theoretical discussion of mental processes underlying cultural differences in emotion research.

Economic botany collections: A source of material evidence for exploring historical changes in Chinese medicinal materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, Eric; Leon, Christine; Nesbitt, Mark; Guo, Ping; Huang, Ran; Chen, Hubiao; Liang, Li; Zhao, Zhongzhen

2017-03-22

Many Chinese medicinal materials (CMMs) have changed over centuries of use, particularly in terms of their botanical identity and processing methods. In some cases, these changes have important implications for safety and efficacy in modern clinical practice. As most previous research has focused on clarifying the evolution of CMMs by analyzing traditional Chinese materia medica ("bencao") literature, assessments of historical collections are needed to validate these conclusions with material evidence. Historical collections of Chinese medicines reveal the market materials in circulation at a given moment in time, and represent an underexploited resource for analyzing the evolution of Chinese herbal medicines. This study compares specimens from a rare collection of CMMs from the 1920s with contemporary market materials; by highlighting examples of changes in botanical identity and processing that remain relevant for safe clinical practice in the modern era, this work aims to stimulate further research into previously unexplored historical collections of Chinese medicines. 620 specimens of CMMs that were collected from Chinese pharmacies in the Malay peninsula in the 1920s were examined macroscopically and compared with current pharmacopoeia specifications and authentic contemporary samples. These historical specimens, which are stored in the UK in the Economic Botany Collections (EBC) of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, were morphologically examined, photographed, and compared to authentic CMMs stored at the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Chinese Medicines Center at Hong Kong Baptist University, as well as authentic herbarium-vouchered specimens from the Leon Collection (LC) at the Kew EBC. Case studies were selected to illustrate examples of historical changes in botanical identity, used plant parts, and processing methods. This investigation confirmed that confusion due to shared common names and regional variations in the botanical identity of certain CMMs has been a

Revisiting diversity: cultural variation reveals the constructed nature of emotion perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Gendron, Maria

2017-10-01

The extent of cultural variation in emotion perception has long been assumed to be bounded by underlying universality. A growing body of research reveals, however, that evidence of universality in emotion perception is method-bound. Without the assumption of underlying universality, new lines of inquiry become relevant. Accumulating evidence suggests that cultures vary in what cues are relevant to perceptions of emotion. Further, cultural groups vary in their spontaneous inferences; mental state inference does not appear to be the only, or even most routine, mode of perception across cultures. Finally, setting universality assumptions aside requires innovation in the theory and measurement of culture. Recent studies reveal the promise of refinements in psychological approaches to culture. Together, the available evidence is consistent with a view of emotion perceptions as actively constructed by perceivers to fit the social and physical constraints of their cultural worlds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aromatherapy Oils: Commodities, Materials, Essences

OpenAIRE

Barcan, Ruth

2014-01-01

This article examines the essential oils that are the central tools of aromatherapy and uses them as a case study for different approaches to material culture. It considers the conceptual and political implications of thinking of essential oils as, in turn, commodities, materials and essences. I argue that both cultural studies and aromatherapy have something to learn from each other. Classic materialist approaches might do well to focus more attention on the material properties and effects o...

A critical review of cell culture strategies for modelling intracortical brain implant material reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilmour, A D; Woolley, A J; Poole-Warren, L A; Thomson, C E; Green, R A

2016-06-01

The capacity to predict in vivo responses to medical devices in humans currently relies greatly on implantation in animal models. Researchers have been striving to develop in vitro techniques that can overcome the limitations associated with in vivo approaches. This review focuses on a critical analysis of the major in vitro strategies being utilized in laboratories around the world to improve understanding of the biological performance of intracortical, brain-implanted microdevices. Of particular interest to the current review are in vitro models for studying cell responses to penetrating intracortical devices and their materials, such as electrode arrays used for brain computer interface (BCI) and deep brain stimulation electrode probes implanted through the cortex. A background on the neural interface challenge is presented, followed by discussion of relevant in vitro culture strategies and their advantages and disadvantages. Future development of 2D culture models that exhibit developmental changes capable of mimicking normal, postnatal development will form the basis for more complex accurate predictive models in the future. Although not within the scope of this review, innovations in 3D scaffold technologies and microfluidic constructs will further improve the utility of in vitro approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LTDNA Evidence on Trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Roberts

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Adopting the interpretative/hermeneutical method typical of much legal scholarship, this article considers two sets of issues pertaining to LTDNA profiles as evidence in criminal proceedings. Section 1 addresses some rather large questions about the epistemic status and probative value of expert testimony in general. It sketches a theoretical model of expert evidence, highlighting five essential criteria: (1 expert competence; (2 disciplinary domain; (3 methodological validity; (4 materiality; and (5 legal admissibility. This generic model of expert authority, highlighting law’s fundamentally normative character, applies to all modern forms of criminal adjudication, across Europe and farther afield. Section 2 then examines English and Northern Irish courts’ attempts to get to grips with LTDNA evidence in recent cases. Better appreciating the ways in which UK courts have addressed the challenges of LTDNA evidence may offer some insights into parallel developments in other legal systems. Appellate court rulings follow a predictable judicial logic, which might usefully be studied and reflected upon by any forensic scientist or statistician seeking to operate effectively in criminal proceedings. Whilst each legal jurisdiction has its own unique blend of jurisprudence, institutions, cultures and historical traditions, there is considerable scope for comparative analysis and cross-jurisdictional borrowing and instruction. In the spirit of promoting more nuanced and sophisticated international interdisciplinary dialogue, this article examines UK judicial approaches to LTDNA evidence and begins to elucidate their underlying institutional logic. Legal argument and broader policy debates are not confined to considerations of scientific validity, contamination risks and evidential integrity, or associated judgments of legal admissibility or exclusion. They also crucially concern the manner in which LTDNA profiling results are presented and explained to

Special Day Desserts: Importance in Terms of Cultural Tourism

OpenAIRE

SEVİMLİ, Yaşar

2017-01-01

Culture is generally described as all the items that a society has transferred to the next generation, which it creates materially and spiritually. Cultural transfer is possible with the existence of human life. For this reason, eating and drinking, which is physiological necessity, should be regarded the first of cultural element as a material item. Historically, societies have formed their own culinary culture as a result of eating and drinking. Culinary culture belonging to a society has b...

The Cultural Content of Business Spanish Texts.

Science.gov (United States)

Grosse, Christine Uber; Uber, David

A study examined eight business Spanish textbooks for cultural content by looking at commonly appearing cultural topics and themes, presentation of cultural information, activities and techniques used to promote cultural understanding, and incorporation of authentic materials. The texts were evenly divided among beginning, intermediate, and…

Cultures of choice: towards a sociology of choice as a cultural phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwarz, Ori

2017-09-07

The article explores different ways to conceptualize the relationship between choice and culture. These two notions are often constructed as opposites: while sociologies of modernization (such as Giddens') portray a shift from cultural traditions to culturally disembedded choice, dispositional sociologies (such as Bourdieu's) uncover cultural determination as the hidden truth behind apparent choice. However, choice may be real and cultural simultaneously. Culture moulds choice not only by inculcating dispositions or shaping repertoires of alternatives, but also by offering culturally specific choice practices, ways of choosing embedded in meaning, normativity, and materiality; and by shaping attributions of choice in everyday life. By bringing together insights from rival schools, I portray an outline for a comparative cultural sociology of choice, and demonstrate its purchase while discussing the digitalization of choice; and cultural logics that shape choice attribution in ways opposing neoliberal trends. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

Improved enrichment culture technique for methane-oxidizing bacteria from marine ecosystems: the effect of adhesion material and gas composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Vekeman, Bram; Dumolin, Charles; De Vos, Paul; Heylen, Kim

2017-02-01

Cultivation of microbial representatives of specific functional guilds from environmental samples depends largely on the suitability of the applied growth conditions. Especially the cultivation of marine methanotrophs has received little attention, resulting in only a limited number of ex situ cultures available. In this study we investigated the effect of adhesion material and headspace composition on the methane oxidation activity in methanotrophic enrichments obtained from marine sediment. Addition of sterilized natural sediment or alternatively the addition of acid-washed silicon dioxide significantly increased methane oxidation. This positive effect was attributed to bacterial adhesion on the particles via extracellular compounds, with a minimum amount of particles required for effect. As a result, the particles were immobilized, thus creating a stratified environment in which a limited diffusive gas gradients could build up and various microniches were formed. Such diffusive gas gradient might necessitate high headspace concentrations of CH 4 and CO 2 for sufficient concentrations to reach the methane-oxidizing bacteria in the enrichment culture technique. Therefore, high concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide, in addition to the addition of adhesion material, were tested and indeed further stimulated methane oxidation. Use of adhesion material in combination with high concentrations of methane and carbon dioxide might thus facilitate the cultivation and subsequent enrichment of environmentally important members of this functional guild. The exact mechanism of the observed positive effects on methane oxidation and the differential effect on methanotrophic diversity still needs to be explored.

Culture and social class.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyamoto, Yuri

2017-12-01

A large body of research in Western cultures has demonstrated the psychological and health effects of social class. This review outlines a cultural psychological approach to social stratification by comparing psychological and health manifestations of social class across Western and East Asian cultures. These comparisons suggest that cultural meaning systems shape how people make meaning and respond to material/structural conditions associated with social class, thereby leading to culturally divergent manifestations of social class. Specifically, unlike their counterparts in Western cultures, individuals of high social class in East Asian cultures tend to show high conformity and other-orientated psychological attributes. In addition, cultures differ in how social class impacts health (i.e. on which bases, through which pathways, and to what extent). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Organisational support for evidence-based practice: occupational therapists perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Sally; Allen, Shelley; Caldwell, Elizabeth; Whitehead, Mary; Turpin, Merrill; Fleming, Jennifer; Cox, Ruth

2016-02-01

Barriers to the use of evidence-based practice extend beyond the individual clinician and often include organisational barriers. Adoption of systematic organisational support for evidence-based practice in health care is integral to its use. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of occupational therapy staff regarding the influence of organisational initiatives to support evidence-based practice on workplace culture and clinical practice. This study used semi-structured interviews with 30 occupational therapists working in a major metropolitan hospital in Brisbane, Australia regarding their perceptions of organisational initiatives designed to support evidence-based practice. Four themes emerged from the data: (i) firmly embedding a culture valuing research and EBP, (ii) aligning professional identity with the Research and Evidence in Practice model, (iii) experiences of change: pride, confidence and pressure and (iv) making evidence-based changes to clinical practices. Organisational initiatives for evidence-based practice were perceived as influencing the culture of the workplace, therapists' sense of identity as clinicians, and as contributing to changes in clinical practice. It is therefore important to consider organisational factors when attempting to increase the use of evidence in practice. © 2016 Occupational Therapy Australia.

The role of traditional confinement practices in determining postpartum depression in women in Chinese cultures: a systematic review of the English language evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Josephine; Fisher, Jane

2009-08-01

The Chinese postpartum custom of "confinement" or "doing-the-month" involves formalised social support and recognition of the status of motherhood and has been presumed in anthropological literature to protect mothers of newborns from postpartum depression. The aim of this review was to examine systematically the evidence about the relationship between confinement practices and postpartum depression in Chinese cultures. A systematic search of the English-language literature. Sixteen studies met inclusion criteria. It was found that the role of confinement in postpartum depression is complex: eight studies concluded that it had a protective role; four that it increased risk of postpartum mood disturbance and four studies had inconclusive findings. Aspects of the confinement practice that could contribute to or fail to protect against postpartum depression include the generally diminished social support in contemporary society, conflict with a mother-in-law and the tension experienced by modern women as they work to balance traditional with contemporary values. Methodological differences limit meaningful comparisons between the reviewed studies and generalizations from them. There is little consistent evidence that confinement practices reduce postpartum depression in Chinese cultures. Specific components of confinement practices might reduce psychological distress in Chinese mothers of newborns, but these cannot be discerned from the existing evidence. Confinement cannot be presumed to be available to, welcomed by or effective for all Chinese women or to be a substitute for health service provision.

Measuring culture outside the head: a meta-analysis of individualism-collectivism in cultural products.

Science.gov (United States)

Morling, Beth; Lamoreaux, Marika

2008-08-01

Although cultural psychology is the study of how sociocultural environments and psychological processes coconstruct each other, the field has traditionally emphasized measures of the psychological over the sociocultural. Here, the authors call attention to a growing trend of measuring the sociocultural environment. They present a quantitative review of studies that measure cultural differences in "cultural products": tangible, public representations of culture such as advertising or popular texts. They found that cultural products that come from Western cultures (mostly the United States) are more individualistic, and less collectivistic, than cultural products that come from collectivistic cultures (including Korea, Japan, China, and Mexico). The effect sizes for cultural products were larger than self-report effect sizes for this dimension (reported in Oyserman, Coon, & Kemmelmeier, 2002). In addition to presenting this evidence, the authors highlight the importance of studying the dynamic relationships between sociocultural environments and psyches.

Understanding evidence: a statewide survey to explore evidence-informed public health decision-making in a local government setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Rebecca; Waters, Elizabeth; Moore, Laurence; Dobbins, Maureen; Pettman, Tahna; Burns, Cate; Swinburn, Boyd; Anderson, Laurie; Petticrew, Mark

2014-12-14

The value placed on types of evidence within decision-making contexts is highly dependent on individuals, the organizations in which the work and the systems and sectors they operate in. Decision-making processes too are highly contextual. Understanding the values placed on evidence and processes guiding decision-making is crucial to designing strategies to support evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM). This paper describes how evidence is used to inform local government (LG) public health decisions. The study used mixed methods including a cross-sectional survey and interviews. The Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Tool (EvIDenT) survey was designed to assess three key domains likely to impact on EIDM: access, confidence, and organizational culture. Other elements included the usefulness and influence of sources of evidence (people/groups and resources), skills and barriers, and facilitators to EIDM. Forty-five LGs from Victoria, Australia agreed to participate in the survey and up to four people from each organization were invited to complete the survey (n = 175). To further explore definitions of evidence and generate experiential data on EIDM practice, key informant interviews were conducted with a range of LG employees working in areas relevant to public health. In total, 135 responses were received (75% response rate) and 13 interviews were conducted. Analysis revealed varying levels of access, confidence and organizational culture to support EIDM. Significant relationships were found between domains: confidence, culture and access to research evidence. Some forms of evidence (e.g. community views) appeared to be used more commonly and at the expense of others (e.g. research evidence). Overall, a mixture of evidence (but more internal than external evidence) was influential in public health decision-making in councils. By comparison, a mixture of evidence (but more external than internal evidence) was deemed to be useful in public health decision

History, modernity, material and spiritual culture of Lemko, Boyko and Transcarpathian Rusyns in the problem field of interdisciplinary researches

OpenAIRE

Пронь, Тетяна Михайлівна

2016-01-01

The publication represents the interdisciplinary research professionals of social science and literature of Poland, Ukraine, Slovakia, the United States and Canada in history, modernity, material and spiritual culture Lemko, Boyko and Transcarpathian Rusyns disclose at the IV International scientific conference (23-24 September 2011 , Slupsk, Poland) and in the new collective proceedings of the Institute of Political Science Zelenogorsk University and the Institute of History Pomeranian Acade...

Fabricating the "Southern Belle": Assessing the Role of Imported Material Culture in the Confederacy

Science.gov (United States)

Schwalbe, Emily A.

2017-10-01

Confederate society was dependent on a rigidly defined hierarchy that assigned roles and appropriate behavior based on race, gender, and wealth. White, wealthy, southern women were dependent on material culture as a socially acceptable means of self-fashioning and making their status public. The Union naval blockade threatened this practice by preventing Confederate markets from accessing imported, status-affirming goods. The industry of blockade running rose to fill this need, often controversially prioritizing cargo space for civilian, luxury products over necessities for the military. This article examines the artifact assemblages of blockade runner sites off the coasts of Wilmington, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina through a theoretical framework of agency and costly signaling to make assessments about Confederate identity during the Civil War.

Heart Disease and Depression: Is Culture a Factor?

Science.gov (United States)

Gholizadeh, Leila; Davidson, Patricia M; Heydari, Mehrdad; Salamonson, Yenna

2014-07-01

This article seeks to review and discuss the evidence linking depression, coronary heart disease (CHD), and culture. PsychInfo, CINAHL, PubMed, and Google were searched for pertinent evidence linking depression, culture, and CHD, and retrieved articles were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Identified themes were the followings: depression is a factor in development and prognosis of CHD and affects the capacity to self-manage and adhere to treatment recommendations; culture mediates mental health/illness representations and treatment-seeking behaviors; screening and assessment of depression can be affected by cultural factors; and there is a need for culturally appropriate screening and therapeutic strategies. As depression is a predictor and moderating variable in the genesis and progression of CHD, understanding how factors such as culture affect screening and management of the disease is important to inform the development of culturally and linguistically competent strategies that ensure accurate screening, detection, and treatment of depression in cardiac patients in clinical practice. © The Author(s) 2014.

Building a culture of evidence-based planning in Nigeria

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

care, it is essential to base plans on evidence of what is ... For six years, the Nigerian Evidence- based Health ... best to respond to findings they participated in generating. Nigeria .... It also uses this data in evaluating ... Decision-makers work with researchers to plan the implementation ... of Nursing Services from Bauchi.

The winds of change revisited: progress towards building a culture of evidence-based dentistry.

Science.gov (United States)

Hinton, Robert J; McCann, Ann L; Schneiderman, Emet D; Dechow, Paul C

2015-05-01

In 2008, Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry launched a comprehensive four-year curriculum in evidence-based dentistry (EBD) along with a series of faculty development initiatives to create an EBD culture. The aim of this study was to determine the institution's success in achieving this goal. The assessment tool used was the PEAK instrument, which measures respondents' EBD Practices, Experience, Attitudes, and Knowledge. Two EBD-trained classes of students and one class untrained in EBD (approximately 100 students in each class) were assessed annually. The faculty were assessed before and after completion of the initiative. Nearly all students responded, with samples ranging from 87 to 102; the faculty response rates were 53% (62/117) in 2009 and 66% in 2013 (81/123). In the results, the trained students scored significantly higher in knowledge than the untrained students at each of the first three PEAK administrations (p≤0.001). Regarding confidence in appraising a research report, the first trained group significantly gained in appropriate use of statistical tests (pdentistry (p<0.001). Faculty comfort level with reading peer-reviewed articles increased significantly from 2009 to 2013 (p=0.039). Faculty members who participated in the summer EBD Fundamentals course (n=28) had significantly higher EBD knowledge scores than those who did not participate (p=0.013), and their EBD attitudes and practices were more positive (p<0.05). Students and faculty trained in EBD were more knowledgeable and exhibited more positive attitudes, supporting a conclusion that the college has made substantial progress towards achieving an EBD culture.

The Winds of Change Revisited: Progress Towards Building a Culture of Evidence-Based Dentistry

Science.gov (United States)

Hinton, Robert J.; McCann, Ann L.; Schneiderman, Emet D.; Dechow, Paul C.

2016-01-01

In 2008, Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry launched a comprehensive four-year curriculum in evidence-based dentistry (EBD) along with a series of faculty development initiatives to create an EBD culture. The aim of this study was to determine the institution's success in achieving this goal. The assessment tool used was the PEAK instrument, which measures respondents’ EBD Practices, Experience, Attitudes, and Knowledge. Two EBD-trained classes of students and one class untrained in EBD (approximately 100 students in each class) were assessed annually. The faculty were assessed before and after completion of the initiative. Nearly all students responded, with samples ranging from 87 to 102; the faculty response rates were 53% (62/117) in 2009 and 66% in 2013 (81/123). In the results, the trained students scored significantly higher in knowledge than the untrained students at each of the first three PEAK administrations (p≤0.001). Regarding confidence in appraising a research report, the first trained group significantly gained in appropriate use of statistical tests (pdentistry (p<0.001). Faculty comfort level with reading peer-reviewed articles increased significantly from 2009 to 2013 (p=0.039). Faculty members who participated in the summer EBD Fundamentals course (n=28) had significantly higher EBD knowledge scores than those who did not participate (p=0.013), and their EBD attitudes and practices were more positive (p<0.05). Students and faculty trained in EBD were more knowledgeable and exhibited more positive attitudes, supporting a conclusion that the college has made substantial progress towards achieving an EBD culture. PMID:25941143

New evidence for prehistoric copper metallurgy in the vicinity of Bor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kapuran Aleksandar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The last three years of archaeological investigations at the site Ru`ana in Banjsko Polje, in the immediate vicinity of Bor, have provided new evidence regarding the role of non-ferrous metallurgy in the economy of the prehistoric communities of north-eastern Serbia. The remains of metallurgical furnaces and a large amount of metallic slags at two neighbouring sites in the mentioned settlement reveal that locations with many installations for the thermal processing of copper ore existed in the Bronze Age. We believe, judging by the finds of material culture, that metallurgical activities in this area also continued into the Iron Age and, possibly, into the 4th century AD. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 177020: Archaeology of Serbia: Cultural identity, integration factors, technological processes and the role of the central Balkans in the development of European prehistory

Analysis of teaching materials of civic education is characterized by the value of character in building an anti-corruption culture

Science.gov (United States)

Sarmini; Suyanto, Totok; Nadiroh, Ulin

2018-01-01

In general, corruption is very harmful to society. One of the efforts in preventing corruption is by the culture of Anti-Corruption Education in the young generation through teaching materials in schools. The research method used is qualitative description. The sample in this research is 60 junior high school teachers of Citizenship Education in Surabaya. Data analysis technique used in this research is descriptive statistic with percentage technique. The result of this research is that it is very important that the value of the character of anti-corruption education in teaching materials to grow in the young generation.

Playing up and playing down cultural identity: Introducing cultural influence and cultural variability.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Gail M; Nguyen, Jacqueline; Iturbide, Maria I

2017-01-01

Cultural variability (CV) is introduced as an overlooked dimension of cultural identity development pertaining to emphasizing and de-emphasizing the influence of a single cultural identity (i.e., cultural influence [CI]) on daily interactions and behaviors. The Cultural IDentity Influence Measure (CIDIM) is introduced as a novel measure of CI and CV, and hypothesis-driven validation is conducted in two samples along with exploration of associations between CV and well-being. A multicultural sample of 242 emerging adults participated in a daily diary study (Mage = 19.95 years, SDage = 1.40) by completing up to eight daily online surveys containing the CIDIM, criterion measures (ethnic identity, other group orientation, ethnic identity salience and daily variability in salience, social desirability), and measures of personal and interpersonal well-being. A second validation sample (n = 245) completed a 1-time survey with the CIDIM and a subset of criterion measures. Results using both samples show evidence of CI and CV and demonstrate the validity, reliability, and domain-sensitivity of the CIDIM. Further, CV made unique and positive contributions to predicting interaction quality after accounting for ethnic salience and variability in ethnic salience. An analytic approach utilizing standard deviations produced near-identical results to multilevel modeling and is recommended for parsimony. Ethnic minority and majority individuals make daily adjustments to play up and play down the influence of cultural identity on their social interactions and behaviors, and these adjustments predict interpersonal well-being. Cultural influence and cultural variability contribute to our emerging understanding of cultural identity as dynamic and agentic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Culture, executive function, and social understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Charlie; Koyasu, Masuo; Oh, Seungmi; Ogawa, Ayako; Short, Benjamin; Huang, Zhao

2009-01-01

Much of the evidence from the West has shown links between children's developing self-control (executive function), their social experiences, and their social understanding (Carpendale & Lewis, 2006, chapters 5 and 6), across a range of cultures including China. This chapter describes four studies conducted in three Oriental cultures, suggesting that the relationships among social interaction, executive function, and social understanding are different in these cultures, implying that social and executive skills are underpinned by key cultural processes.

Materializing Mourning: Dickens, Funerals, and Epitaphs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine Waters

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Dickens was fascinated with the material culture of the nineteenth century — with things, and the way in which they mediate feelings, relationships, and identities. While satirized as ‘Mr Popular Sentiment’ for some of his deathbed scenes, it is the material culture of mourning that most persistently engages his imagination. Alongside precious objects that attempt to bind the living and the dead in his fiction, we find other forms of commemoration which raise questions about the authenticity of the sentiments memorial objects are meant to express, questions that seem to have a particular urgency in the context of a rapidly developing commodity culture. This essay investigates some of the ways in which Dickens’s ambivalent attitude towards the material culture of mourning emerges in his writing.

Philosophy in Dialogue with Culture through Hermeneutics ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Man as a product of the society is a bye-product of culture; and man also uses culture as material in the quest to live well and understand the environment and the world around him. This interplay accentuates the correlation between man and culture. Due to the critical role culture plays for man, culture as a dynamic scheme ...

Systematic Transcreation of Self-Help Smoking Cessation Materials for Hispanic/Latino Smokers: Improving Cultural Relevance and Acceptability.

Science.gov (United States)

Piñeiro, Bárbara; Díaz, Diana R; Monsalve, Luis M; Martínez, Úrsula; Meade, Cathy D; Meltzer, Lauren R; Brandon, Karen O; Unrod, Marina; Brandon, Thomas H; Simmons, Vani N

2018-01-01

Smoking-related illnesses are the leading causes of death among Hispanics/Latinos. Yet, there are few smoking cessation interventions targeted for this population. The goal of this study was to "transcreate" an existing, previously validated, English language self-help smoking cessation intervention, titled Forever Free ® : Stop Smoking for Good, for Spanish-speaking smokers. Rather than simply translating the materials, our transcreation process involved culturally adapting the intervention to enhance acceptability and receptivity of the information. We utilized a multiphase qualitative approach (focus groups and learner verification interviews) to develop a linguistically and culturally relevant intervention for the diverse sub-ethnic groups of Hispanic/Latino smokers. Focus group findings indicated a need to underscore several additional cultural characteristics and themes such as the need to address familism and unique stressors faced by immigrants and to provide information regarding nicotine replacement therapy. Learner verification findings indicated a need to further emphasize financial and social benefits of quitting smoking and to discuss how family and friends can support the quit attempt. These steps led to the development of a Spanish-language smoking cessation intervention titled, Libre del cigarillo, por mi familia y por mí: Guía para dejar de fumar, that is currently being tested in a national randomized controlled trial.

Characterization of pigments applied on archaeological material from Chincha's Culture by x-rays fluorescence and transmission electronic microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez M, Alcides; Olivera, Paula

2007-01-01

The elementary characterization of some pigments applied in the decoration of recipients used by our ancestors of the Chincha Culture by Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF)method was allowed. Additionally, the morphological and crystalline characterization by Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM) method has been possible. The results have allowed identifying the presence of mercury sulphur (HgS) (cinnabar) in the red pigment on the 'mate'; the black and white pigments are constituted by materials of organic aspect; in the case the dark brown one they are constituted by organic matter and ferric oxide. This work also demonstrates that a portable EDXRF spectrometer is the most suitable for the study of pieces of our cultural patrimony, mainly of those that are difficult to transport from an archaeological place or museum to an analytic laboratory by reason of its dimensions and conservation conditions. (author)

Aromatherapy Oils: Commodities, Materials, Essences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruth Barcan

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This article examines the essential oils that are the central tools of aromatherapy and uses them as a case study for different approaches to material culture. It considers the conceptual and political implications of thinking of essential oils as, in turn, commodities, materials and essences. I argue that both cultural studies and aromatherapy have something to learn from each other. Classic materialist approaches might do well to focus more attention on the material properties and effects of things. Aromatherapy, on the other hand, could benefit from the enriched political understanding associated with classic materialist critique. New materialist strains of cultural studies may also find the vibrancy of matter that underpins many CAM/New Age practices worthy of examination.

Culture-Based Arts Education That Teaches against the Grain: A Model for Place-Specific Material Culture Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Bequette, James W.

2014-01-01

When 50 Midwest teachers in two public schools and one Reservation school worked in respectful, knowledgeable, and power-sharing ways with local Indigenous elders, artists, and academics, the outcome was often culture-based arts education that teaches against the grain. This collaboration and the culturally responsive pedagogy it inspired led to…

TECHNICAL CULTURE AND HUMAN AXJOSPHERE

OpenAIRE

­Krystyna Chałas

2014-01-01

Technical culture is the value of each historical period. It is the subject of the ongoing development. While it is a value which is associated with different categories of values, mainly material, cognitive, social. Between culture and these three categories of values ​ there is a cognitive effect. Technical culture determines the quality of human axjosphere. The aim of this study is to show the relationships and dependencies between technical culture and the structures in which a person liv...

Quarks, culture, combogenesis

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Barry

2018-01-01

The value of Tyler Volk’s Quarks to Culture is evident when the book is placed against popular histories of the universe, dozens of which have provided evidence for an immense cosmic past. But such histories are often anecdotal, like early British histories of the kings of England. Unlike these works, Volk artfully presents the case for structural continuity and systematic cre­ativity across 13.8 billion years of cosmic history.

Applicability of Baumrind's Parent Typology to Collective Cultures: Analysis of Cultural Explanations of Parent Socialization Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Sorkhabi, Nadia

2005-01-01

This article reviews studies that have examined whether Baumrind's parenting styles are related to child outcomes similarly in cultures where independence is said to be emphasized versus cultures where interdependence is said to be emphasized. I present evidence showing that Baumrind's parenting styles have similar function in both collectivist…

IVF culture media: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Chronopoulou, Elpiniki; Harper, Joyce C

2015-01-01

The advances in the world of IVF during the last decades have been rapid and impressive and culture media play a major role in this success. Until the 1980s fertility centers made their media in house. Nowadays, there are numerous commercially available culture media that contain various components including nutrients, vitamins and growth factors. This review goes through the past, present and future of IVF culture media and explores their composition and quality assessment. A computerized search was performed in PubMed regarding IVF culture media including results from 1929 until March 2014. Information was gathered from the websites of companies who market culture media, advertising material, instructions for use and certificates of analysis. The regulation regarding IVF media mainly in the European Union (EU) but also in non-European countries was explored. The keyword 'IVF culture media' gave 923 results in PubMed and 'embryo culture media' 12 068 results dating from 1912 until March 2014, depicting the increased scientific activity in this field. The commercialization of IVF culture media has increased the standards bringing a great variety of options into clinical practice. However, it has led to reduced transparency and comparisons of brand names that do not facilitate the scientific dialogue. Furthermore, there is some evidence suggesting that suboptimal culture conditions could cause long-term reprogramming in the embryo as the periconception period is particularly susceptible to epigenetic alterations. IVF media are now classified as class III medical devices and only CE (Conformité Européene)-marked media should be used in the EU. The CE marking of IVF culture media is a significant development in the field. However, the quality and efficiency of culture media should be monitored closely. Well-designed randomized controlled trials, large epidemiological studies and full transparency should be the next steps. Reliable, standardized models assessing

Glocalization and Religious Communication in the Roman Empire : Two Case Studies to Reconsider the Local and the Global in Religious Material Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Alten, D.C.D.

2017-01-01

Over the period in which the ancient Roman empire grew to its greatest extent, religion in the provinces underwent change. In this article, the author argues that glocalization as an explicit modern conceptual framework has added value to the analysis of religious material culture. First, the

Center for Ukrainian Cultural Studies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Laarse, R.

2017-01-01

The Amsterdam-based Center for Ukrainian Cultural Studies (UCS) unites Dutch scholars in Ukrainian art, cinema, media, memory, language, and literature. Launched by the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture (AHM) and the University of Amsterdam’s Department of Slavic Languages

A compact μ-XRF spectrometer for (in situ) analyses of cultural heritage and forensic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vittiglio, G.; Bichlmeier, S.; Klinger, P.; Heckel, J.; Fuzhong, W.; Vincze, L.; Janssens, K.; Engstroem, P.; Rindby, A.; Dietrich, K.; Jembrih-Simbuerger, D.; Schreiner, M.; Denis, D.; Lakdar, A.; Lamotte, A.

2004-01-01

A compact, light weight and relatively inexpensive μ-XRF instrument that allows for non-destructive and local analysis of sub-mm samples with minor/trace level sensitivity was developed. Two versions of this prototype instrument exist: a table-top version that can be used in a laboratory environment while for in situ measurements a readily transportable version was constructed. Polycapillary lenses are used to focus the primary X-ray beam down to the level of 70-100 μm in diameter. Relative detection limits of transition elements in biological and glass matrices are situated at the 10-100 ppm level. These instruments are useful for characterization of various materials from the cultural heritage and forensic sector

KAMUTHE video microanalysis system for use in Brazil: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and evidence of validity and reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Schulz Gattino

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background KAMUTHE is a video microanalysis system which observes preverbal communication within the music therapy setting. This system is indicated for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD or multiple disabilities. The purpose of this study was to translate, adapt to Brazilian Portuguese language and analyze some psychometric properties (reliability and validity evidence of KAMUTHE administration in Brazil for individuals with ASD. Participants and procedure Translation, back translation, analysis by judges, and pilot application were performed to obtain evidence of content and face validity. The second part of this study was to administer KAMUTHE in 39 consecutive children with ASD. An individual session of improvisational music therapy was applied to assess the different behaviors included in KAMUTHE. The intra-rater reliability, concurrent validity and convergent validity were analyzed. Results Translation and cross-cultural adaptation were followed and some cultural adaptations were needed. Inter-rater reliability was very good (ICCs 0.95-0.99 for the three child’s behaviors analyzed. Criteria validity with a moderate negative association was found (r = –.38, p = .017 comparing the behavior “Gazes at therapist” and the level of ASD along with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS. Convergent validity was established between the behavior “Gazes at therapist” and the two nonlinguistic communication scales (social interaction and interests of the Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC with a moderate correlation (r = –.43, p = .005. Conclusions The administration of the KAMUTHE video microanalysis system showed positive results in children with ASD. Further studies are needed to improve the reliability and validity of the instrument in Brazil.

Adolescent Students' Intercultural Awareness When Using Culture-Based Materials in the English Class (La conciencia intercultural de estudiantes adolescentes al usar materiales con contenido cultural en la clase de inglés)

Science.gov (United States)

Castañeda Usaquén, Mireya Esther

2012-01-01

This article reports on a qualitative and interpretative case study conducted at a high school located in the southeast of Bogotá. The case is comprised of a group of fifty-one eighth graders who had had little contact with English. It aimed at exploring how these adolescents made sense of the culture-based materials implemented in the English…

Do senior management cultures affect performance? Evidence from Italian public healthcare organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Prenestini, Anna; Lega, Federico

2013-01-01

Healthcare organizations are often characterized by diffuse power, ambiguous goals, and a plurality of actors. In this complex and pluralistic context, senior healthcare managers are expected to provide strategic direction and lead their organizations toward their goals and performance targets. The present work explores the relationship between senior management team culture and performance by investigating Italian public healthcare organizations in the Tuscany region. Our assessment of senior management culture was accomplished through the use of an established framework and a corresponding tool, the competing values framework, which supports the idea that specific aspects of performance are related to a dominant management culture. Organizational performance was assessed using a wide range of measures collected by a multidimensional performance evaluation system, which was developed in Tuscany to measure the performance of its 12 local health authorities (LHAs) and four teaching hospitals (THs). Usable responses were received from 80 senior managers of 11 different healthcare organizations (two THs and nine LHAs). Our findings show that Tuscan healthcare organizations are characterized by various dominant cultures: developmental, clan, rational, and hierarchical. These variations in dominant culture were associated with performance measures. The implications for management theory, professional practice, and public policy are discussed.

Cultural Frame Switching and Emotion among Mexican Americans

Science.gov (United States)

Kreitler, Crystal Mata; Dyson, Kara S.

2016-01-01

Recent evidence indicates that bicultural individuals shift between interpretive frames rooted in different cultures in response to cues encountered in a given situation. The explanation for these shifts has been labeled "cultural frame switching." The current research sought to investigate the effect of priming culture among Mexican…

Culture Moderates Biases in Search Decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pattaratanakun, Jake A; Mak, Vincent

2015-08-01

Prior studies suggest that people often search insufficiently in sequential-search tasks compared with the predictions of benchmark optimal strategies that maximize expected payoff. However, those studies were mostly conducted in individualist Western cultures; Easterners from collectivist cultures, with their higher susceptibility to escalation of commitment induced by sunk search costs, could exhibit a reversal of this undersearch bias by searching more than optimally, but only when search costs are high. We tested our theory in four experiments. In our pilot experiment, participants generally undersearched when search cost was low, but only Eastern participants oversearched when search cost was high. In Experiments 1 and 2, we obtained evidence for our hypothesized effects via a cultural-priming manipulation on bicultural participants in which we manipulated the language used in the program interface. We obtained further process evidence for our theory in Experiment 3, in which we made sunk costs nonsalient in the search task-as expected, cross-cultural effects were largely mitigated. © The Author(s) 2015.

Cell Culturing of Cytoskeleton

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

Biomedical research offers hope for a variety of medical problems, from diabetes to the replacement of damaged bone and tissues. Bioreactors, which are used to grow cells and tissue cultures, play a major role in such research and production efforts. Cell culturing, such as this bone cell culture, is an important part of biomedical research. The BioDyn payload includes a tissue engineering investigation. The commercial affiliate, Millenium Biologix, Inc., has been conducting bone implant experiments to better understand how synthetic bone can be used to treat bone-related illnesses and bone damaged in accidents. On STS-95, the BioDyn payload will include a bone cell culture aimed to help develop this commercial synthetic bone product. Millenium Biologix, Inc., is exploring the potential for making human bone implantable materials by seeding its proprietary artificial scaffold material with human bone cells. The product of this tissue engineering experiment using the Bioprocessing Modules (BPMs) on STS-95 is space-grown bone implants, which could have potential for dental implants, long bone grafts, and coating for orthopedic implants such as hip replacements.

The PRIDE (Partnership to Improve Diabetes Education) Toolkit: Development and Evaluation of Novel Literacy and Culturally Sensitive Diabetes Education Materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolff, Kathleen; Chambers, Laura; Bumol, Stefan; White, Richard O; Gregory, Becky Pratt; Davis, Dianne; Rothman, Russell L

2016-02-01

Patients with low literacy, low numeracy, and/or linguistic needs can experience challenges understanding diabetes information and applying concepts to their self-management. The authors designed a toolkit of education materials that are sensitive to patients' literacy and numeracy levels, language preferences, and cultural norms and that encourage shared goal setting to improve diabetes self-management and health outcomes. The Partnership to Improve Diabetes Education (PRIDE) toolkit was developed to facilitate diabetes self-management education and support. The PRIDE toolkit includes a comprehensive set of 30 interactive education modules in English and Spanish to support diabetes self-management activities. The toolkit builds upon the authors' previously validated Diabetes Literacy and Numeracy Education Toolkit (DLNET) by adding a focus on shared goal setting, addressing the needs of Spanish-speaking patients, and including a broader range of diabetes management topics. Each PRIDE module was evaluated using the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) instrument to determine the material's cultural appropriateness and its sensitivity to the needs of patients with low literacy and low numeracy. Reading grade level was also assessed using the Automated Readability Index (ARI), Coleman-Liau, Flesch-Kincaid, Fry, and SMOG formulas. The average reading grade level of the materials was 5.3 (SD 1.0), with a mean SAM of 91.2 (SD 5.4). All of the 30 modules received a "superior" score (SAM >70%) when evaluated by 2 independent raters. The PRIDE toolkit modules can be used by all members of a multidisciplinary team to assist patients with low literacy and low numeracy in managing their diabetes. © 2015 The Author(s).

Culture, attribution and automaticity: a social cognitive neuroscience view.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Malia F; Morris, Michael W

2010-06-01

A fundamental challenge facing social perceivers is identifying the cause underlying other people's behavior. Evidence indicates that East Asian perceivers are more likely than Western perceivers to reference the social context when attributing a cause to a target person's actions. One outstanding question is whether this reflects a culture's influence on automatic or on controlled components of causal attribution. After reviewing behavioral evidence that culture can shape automatic mental processes as well as controlled reasoning, we discuss the evidence in favor of cultural differences in automatic and controlled components of causal attribution more specifically. We contend that insights emerging from social cognitive neuroscience research can inform this debate. After introducing an attribution framework popular among social neuroscientists, we consider findings relevant to the automaticity of attribution, before speculating how one could use a social neuroscience approach to clarify whether culture affects automatic, controlled or both types of attribution processes.

Cultural regulation of emotion: individual, relational, and structural sources.

Science.gov (United States)

De Leersnyder, Jozefien; Boiger, Michael; Mesquita, Batja

2013-01-01

The most prevalent and intense emotional experiences differ across cultures. These differences in emotional experience can be understood as the outcomes of emotion regulation, because emotions that fit the valued relationships within a culture tend to be most common and intense. We review evidence suggesting that emotion regulation underlying cultural differences in emotional experience often takes place at the point of emotion elicitation through the promotion of situations and appraisals that are consistent with culturally valued relationships. These regulatory processes depend on individual tendencies, but are also co-regulated within relationships-close others shape people's environment and help them appraise events in culturally valued ways-and are afforded by structural conditions-people's daily lives "limit" the opportunities for emotion, and afford certain appraisals. The combined evidence suggests that cultural differences in emotion regulation go well beyond the effortful regulation based on display rules.

The co-evolution of cultures, social network communities, and agent locations in an extension of Axelrod’s model of cultural dissemination

Science.gov (United States)

Pfau, Jens; Kirley, Michael; Kashima, Yoshihisa

2013-01-01

We introduce a variant of the Axelrod model of cultural dissemination in which agents change their physical locations, social links, and cultures. Numerical simulations are used to investigate the evolution of social network communities and the cultural diversity within and between these communities. An analysis of the simulation results shows that an initial peak in the cultural diversity within network communities is evident before agents segregate into a final configuration of culturally homogeneous communities. Larger long-range interaction probabilities facilitate the initial emergence of culturally diverse network communities, which leads to a more pronounced initial peak in cultural diversity within communities. At equilibrium, the number of communities, and hence cultures, increases when the initial cultural diversity increases. However, the number of communities decreases when the lattice size or population density increases. A phase transition between two regimes of initial cultural diversity is evident. For initial diversities below a critical value, a single network community and culture emerges that dominates the population. For initial diversities above the critical value, multiple culturally homogeneous communities emerge. The critical value of initial diversity at which this transition occurs increases with increasing lattice size and population density and generally with increasing absolute population size. We conclude that larger initial diversities promote cultural heterogenization, while larger lattice sizes, population densities, and in fact absolute population sizes promote homogenization.

Acceleration of direct identification of S.aureus versus Coagulase Negative Staphylococci from blood culture material: a comparison of six bacterial DNA extraction methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prof. Dr. C.A. Bruggeman; Drs H. Kreeftenberg; Dr. Ir. P.F.G. Wolffs; Drs A.J.M. Loonen; Dr. A.J.C. van den Brule, van den; Drs A.R. Jansz

2010-01-01

To accelerate differentiation between Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CNS), this study aimed to compare six different DNA extraction methods from 2 commonly used blood culture materials, i.e. BACTEC and Bact/ALERT. Furthermore, we analyzed the effect of reduced blood

PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE HISTORICAL CRITICAL PEDAGOGY AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATIONAL OF PSYCHOLOGY HISTORICAL-CULTURAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ligia Marcia Martins

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents the theoretical and methodological unity between the historical-critical pedagogy and cultural-historical psychology. It highlights, in addition to the membership of both theories to historical-dialectical materialism, the basic premises that point toward the affirmation of school education as a condition of humanization of individuals, as well as the transmission of historically systematized knowledge as one of the requirements for the achieving this purpose. In this direction, we aim to demonstrate that the historical-critical pedagogy contains, in its innerness, a solid psychological foundation, consistently built by a cultural-historical conception of man, society and educative nature that guides the relationship between them through the human vital activity, that is, through the work. It is in the core of those fundamentals that the alliance between this pedagogical theory and cultural-historical psychology is evident.

Genetic Transformation of Metroxylon sagu (Rottb.) Cultures via Agrobacterium-Mediated and Particle Bombardment

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Evra Raunie

2014-01-01

Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) is a perennial plant native to Southeast Asia and exploited mainly for the starch content in its trunk. Genetic improvement of sago palm is extremely slow when compared to other annual starch crops. Urgent attention is needed to improve the sago palm planting material and can be achieved through nonconventional methods. We have previously developed a tissue culture method for sago palm, which is used to provide the planting materials and to develop a genetic transformation procedure. Here, we report the genetic transformation of sago embryonic callus derived from suspension culture using Agrobacterium tumefaciens and gene gun systems. The transformed embryoids cells were selected against Basta (concentration 10 to 30 mg/L). Evidence of foreign genes integration and function of the bar and gus genes were verified via gene specific PCR amplification, gus staining, and dot blot analysis. This study showed that the embryogenic callus was the most suitable material for transformation as compared to the fine callus, embryoid stage, and initiated shoots. The gene gun transformation showed higher transformation efficiency than the ones transformed using Agrobacterium when targets were bombarded once or twice using 280 psi of helium pressure at 6 to 8 cm distance. PMID:25295258

Genetic Transformation of Metroxylon sagu (Rottb. Cultures via Agrobacterium-Mediated and Particle Bombardment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evra Raunie Ibrahim

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu is a perennial plant native to Southeast Asia and exploited mainly for the starch content in its trunk. Genetic improvement of sago palm is extremely slow when compared to other annual starch crops. Urgent attention is needed to improve the sago palm planting material and can be achieved through nonconventional methods. We have previously developed a tissue culture method for sago palm, which is used to provide the planting materials and to develop a genetic transformation procedure. Here, we report the genetic transformation of sago embryonic callus derived from suspension culture using Agrobacterium tumefaciens and gene gun systems. The transformed embryoids cells were selected against Basta (concentration 10 to 30 mg/L. Evidence of foreign genes integration and function of the bar and gus genes were verified via gene specific PCR amplification, gus staining, and dot blot analysis. This study showed that the embryogenic callus was the most suitable material for transformation as compared to the fine callus, embryoid stage, and initiated shoots. The gene gun transformation showed higher transformation efficiency than the ones transformed using Agrobacterium when targets were bombarded once or twice using 280 psi of helium pressure at 6 to 8 cm distance.

From Cultural Tourism to Creative Tourism : European Perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richards, G.W.

2002-01-01

Cultural tourism is seen as a major growth market in Europe, although empirical evidence is still relatively sparse. An analysis is presented of the ATLAS survey data for 2002 as well as research conducted at the Rotterdam Cultural Capital Event in 2001. These data indicate that cultural tourism

Elasticity and breaking strength of synthetic suture materials incubated in various equine physiological and pathological solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kearney, C M; Buckley, C T; Jenner, F; Moissonnier, P; Brama, P A J

2014-07-01

Selection of suture material in equine surgery is often based on costs or subjective factors, such as the surgeon's personal experience, rather than objective facts. The amount of objective data available on durability of suture materials with regard to specific equine physiological conditions is limited. To evaluate the effect of various equine physiological and pathological fluids on the rate of degradation of a number of commonly used suture materials. In vitro material testing. Suture materials were exposed in vitro to physiological fluid, followed by biomechanical analysis. Three absorbable suture materials, glycolide/lactide copolymer, polyglactin 910 and polydioxanone were incubated at 37°C for 7, 14 or 28 days in phosphate-buffered saline, equine serum, equine urine and equine peritoneal fluid from an animal with peritonitis. Five strands of each suture material type were tested to failure in a materials testing machine for each time point and each incubation medium. Yield strength, strain and Young's modulus were calculated, analysed and reported. For all suture types, the incubation time had a significant effect on yield strength, percentage elongation and Young's modulus in all culture media (Ptype was also shown significantly to influence changes in each of yield strength, percentage elongation and Young's modulus in all culture media (Ptype of fluid have significant effects on the biomechanical properties of various suture materials. These findings are important for evidence-based selection of suture material in clinical cases. © 2013 EVJ Ltd.

Safety culture of nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Beixin

2008-01-01

This paper is a summary on the basis of DNMC safety culture training material for managerial personnel. It intends to explain the basic contents of safety, design, management, enterprise culture, safety culture of nuclear power plant and the relationship among them. It explains especially the constituent elements of safety culture system, the basic requirements for the three levels of commitments: policy level, management level and employee level. It also makes some analyses and judgments for some typical safety culture cases, for example, transparent culture and habitual violation of procedure. (authors)

Organizational Culture and Entrepreneurial Performance in Business Administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loredana Narcisa POSTEUCĂ

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In the market economy an overview is visible, according to which organizational culture is correlated with the entrepreneurial performance. Therefore, the economic actors’ behaviour is an essential component in the formation and development of entrepreneurial performance, and also is evident the correlation between the theoretic field and practices, regarding the relationship between an organizational culture and the entrepreneurial performance Moreover, methodological openings towards the new paradigms reflect different ways of approaching the knowable contents. It is about the objective analysis of the contextual situations, analysis which reflects the transmission and reception of entrepreneurial typologies that are effective on the social level. Furthermore, adopting a consensual methodology to the level of entrepreneurial dimensions legitimize precisely those social responsibilities designed to support efficiency and educational performance. For this purpose, we consider that it should be granted an important role to the connection between entrepreneurship methodology and knowledge system, depending on which the strategies initiated are operationalized. Therefore, such connections depend on the strategies assumed in the process of materialize the business performance.

A Survey of Cultural Infrastructure and Performance in Medical Sciences Universities of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmood Feizi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available ​Background and objectives: Recently, the role of universities in developing and education of culture is considered increasingly but Iranian universities have great distance in achieving the desired objectives in this context. So, this study aimed to survey the cultural infrastructure and performance in medical sciences universities of Iran. Material and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that was done using researcher-made checklist which its face and content validity were approved by the cultural experts' opinion via statistical indicators. The study was conducted in census method by responses of 25 managers of cultural affairs in medical sciences universities of Iran. The obtained data were analyzed descriptively and results were reported as frequency (percentages for qualitative and mean (standard deviation for quantitative variable. Results: The study results were presented in four areas: “the general status of universities in cultural affairs”, “cultural facilities of the universities”, “the activity of cultural organizations and publications in universities” and “performance of cultural deputies”. The results showed that although there are considerable strengths, the significant weaknesses are evident in all areas. The results of the present study were focused solely on the quantity of functions, and quality evaluation of each activity requires special attention and further investigations and interventions. Conclusion: Researchers hope that the authorities and planners use the results of this study and similar studies especially in quality of cultural practices of universities and move towards improving the status of culture in medical sciences universities in developing Iranian-Islamic culture.

Implementation of a study material for economic culture from cooperative education issues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariel Gámez Iglesias

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As part of the process of updating the Cuban economic model, our country has decided to articulate a serie of transformations directed, among other issues, to the strengthening of the cooperative sector, therefore forming human capital with knowledge and skills for this achievement is a challenge that has today higher education, therefore contributing to the learning of the contents related to cooperatives and its transformations in Cuba from the Agricultural Economics subject in the Degree in Education. Economy that is developed in the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences of the University of Pinar del Río is a priority to respond to this challenge. In this sense, the main objective of the research is to develop a support material to contribute to the economic culture from the issues of cooperative education in the third year students of this career. The experience was applied in the educational practice with satisfactory results, in addition it was submitted to the criterion of the specialists and they consider it is viable.

Effects of asymmetric cultural experiences on the auditory pathway: evidence from music.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Patrick C M; Perrachione, Tyler K; Margulis, Elizabeth Hellmuth

2009-07-01

Cultural experiences come in many different forms, such as immersion in a particular linguistic community, exposure to faces of people with different racial backgrounds, or repeated encounters with music of a particular tradition. In most circumstances, these cultural experiences are asymmetric, meaning one type of experience occurs more frequently than other types (e.g., a person raised in India will likely encounter the Indian todi scale more so than a Westerner). In this paper, we will discuss recent findings from our laboratories that reveal the impact of short- and long-term asymmetric musical experiences on how the nervous system responds to complex sounds. We will discuss experiments examining how musical experience may facilitate the learning of a tone language, how musicians develop neural circuitries that are sensitive to musical melodies played on their instrument of expertise, and how even everyday listeners who have little formal training are particularly sensitive to music of their own culture(s). An understanding of these cultural asymmetries is useful in formulating a more comprehensive model of auditory perceptual expertise that considers how experiences shape auditory skill levels. Such a model has the potential to aid in the development of rehabilitation programs for the efficacious treatment of neurologic impairments.

Sugarcane in vitro culture technology: Opportunities for Kenya's ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

free clonal materials. Successful protocols for shoot tip culture, callus culture, embryo culture, virus free plant production and somatic embryogenesis have already been established. Thus, in vitro technology can be used to enhance ...

Tribological comparison of materials

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Bing

Approximately 600,000 total joint replacement surgeries are performed each year in the United States. Current artificial joint implants are mainly metal-on-plastic. The synthetic biomaterials undergo degradation through fatigue and corrosive wear from load-bearing and the aqueous ionic environment of the human body. Deposits of inorganic salts can scratch weight-bearing surfaces, making artificial joints stiff and awkward. The excessive wear debris from polyethylene leads to osteolysis and potential loosening of the prosthesis. The lifetime for well-designed artificial joints is at most 10 to 15 years. A patient can usually have two total joint replacements during her/his lifetime. Durability is limited by the body's reaction to wear debris of the artificial joints. Wear of the artificial joints should be reduced. A focus of this thesis is the tribological performance of bearing materials for Total Replacement Artificial Joints (TRAJ). An additional focus is the scaffolds for cell growth from both a tissue engineering and tribological perspective. The tribological properties of materials including Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coated materials were tested for TRAJ implants. The DLC coatings are chemically inert, impervious to acid and saline media, and are mechanically hard. Carbon-based materials are highly biocompatible. A new alternative to total joints implantation is tissue engineering. Tissue engineering is the replacement of living tissue with tissue that is designed and constructed to meet the needs of the individual patient. Cells were cultured onto the artificial materials, including metals, ceramics, and polymers, and the frictional properties of these materials were investigated to develop a synthetic alternative to orthopedic transplants. Results showed that DLC coated materials had low friction and wear, which are desirable tribological properties for artificial joint material. Cells grew on some of the artificial matrix materials, depending on the

Are National and Organizational Cultures Isomorphic? Evidence from a Four Country Comparative Study

OpenAIRE

Rune Ellemose Gulev

2009-01-01

This pilot study investigates whether organizational practices as observed through differing organizational cultures systematically replicate or reject national values. It is among the first to project delineated, narrow national cultural portrayals of Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Denmark against pattern-specific organizational cultures. Through country cluster analysis and correlation tests, the results achieve significance along all three dimensions. Trust allocations, authority perceptio...

Freeman's transorbital lobotomy as an anomaly: A material culture examination of surgical instruments and operative spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Brianne M; Stam, Henderikus J

2015-05-01

In 1946, Walter Freeman introduced the transorbital ice pick lobotomy. Touted as a procedure that could be learned and subsequently performed by psychiatrists outside of the operating room, the technique was quickly criticized by neurosurgeons. In this article, we take a material culture approach to consider 2 grounds upon which neurosurgeons based their objections-surgical instruments and operative spaces. On both counts, Freeman was in contravention of established normative neurosurgical practices and, ultimately, his technique was exposed as an anomaly by neurosurgeons. Despite its rejection, the transorbital lobotomy became entrenched in contemporary memory and remains the emblematic procedure of the psychosurgery era. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Cultural bases for self-evaluation: seeing oneself positively in different cultural contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Maja; Vignoles, Vivian L; Owe, Ellinor; Easterbrook, Matthew J; Brown, Rupert; Smith, Peter B; Bond, Michael Harris; Regalia, Camillo; Manzi, Claudia; Brambilla, Maria; Aldhafri, Said; González, Roberto; Carrasco, Diego; Paz Cadena, Maria; Lay, Siugmin; Schweiger Gallo, Inge; Torres, Ana; Camino, Leoncio; Özgen, Emre; Güner, Ülkü E; Yamakoğlu, Nil; Silveira Lemos, Flávia Cristina; Trujillo, Elvia Vargas; Balanta, Paola; Macapagal, Ma Elizabeth J; Cristina Ferreira, M; Herman, Ginette; de Sauvage, Isabelle; Bourguignon, David; Wang, Qian; Fülöp, Márta; Harb, Charles; Chybicka, Aneta; Mekonnen, Kassahun Habtamu; Martin, Mariana; Nizharadze, George; Gavreliuc, Alin; Buitendach, Johanna; Valk, Aune; Koller, Silvia H

2014-05-01

Several theories propose that self-esteem, or positive self-regard, results from fulfilling the value priorities of one's surrounding culture. Yet, surprisingly little evidence exists for this assertion, and theories differ about whether individuals must personally endorse the value priorities involved. We compared the influence of four bases for self-evaluation (controlling one's life, doing one's duty, benefitting others, achieving social status) among 4,852 adolescents across 20 cultural samples, using an implicit, within-person measurement technique to avoid cultural response biases. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses showed that participants generally derived feelings of self-esteem from all four bases, but especially from those that were most consistent with the value priorities of others in their cultural context. Multilevel analyses confirmed that the bases of positive self-regard are sustained collectively: They are predictably moderated by culturally normative values but show little systematic variation with personally endorsed values.

School Culture and Physical Activity: A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Rickwood, Greg

2013-01-01

This review examines literature on aspects of school culture and students' physical activity participation. The following questions were addressed: (1) what aspects of school culture have been examined in relation to physical activity, (2) what is the weight of evidence concerning the relationships between school culture factors and physical…

Is a structured, manualized, evidence-based treatment protocol culturally competent and equivalently effective among American Indian parents in child welfare?

Science.gov (United States)

Chaffin, Mark; Bard, David; Bigfoot, Dolores Subia; Maher, Erin J

2012-08-01

In a statewide implementation, the manualized SafeCare home-based model was effective in reducing child welfare recidivism and producing high client satisfaction. Concerns about the effectiveness and acceptability of structured, manualized models with American Indians have been raised in the literature, but have rarely been directly tested. This study tests recidivism reduction equivalency and acceptability among American Indian parents. A subpopulation of 354 American Indian parents was drawn from a larger trial that compared services with versus without modules of the SafeCare model. Outcomes were 6-year recidivism, pre/post/follow-up measures of depression and child abuse potential, and posttreatment consumer ratings of working alliance, service satisfaction, and cultural competency. Recidivism reduction among American Indian parents was found to be equivalent for cases falling within customary SafeCare inclusion criteria. When extended to cases outside customary inclusion boundaries, there was no apparent recidivism advantage or disadvantage. Contrary to concerns, SafeCare had higher consumer ratings of cultural competency, working alliance, service quality, and service benefit. Findings support using SafeCare with American Indians parents who meet customary SafeCare inclusion criteria. Findings do not support concerns in the literature that a manualized, structured, evidence-based model might be less effective or culturally unacceptable for American Indians.

Mesenchymal stromal cells of osteosarcoma patients do not show evidence of neoplastic changes during long-term culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Buddingh, Emilie P; Ruslan, S Eriaty N; Reijnders, Christianne M A; Szuhai, Karoly; Kuijjer, Marieke L; Roelofs, Helene; Hogendoorn, Pancras C W; Maarten Egeler, R; Cleton-Jansen, Anne-Marie; Lankester, Arjan C

2015-01-01

In vitro expanded mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are increasingly used as experimental cellular therapy. However, there have been concerns regarding the safety of their use, particularly with regard to possible oncogenic transformation. MSCs are the hypothesized precursor cells of high-grade osteosarcoma, a tumor with often complex karyotypes occurring mainly in adolescents and young adults. To determine if MSCs from osteosarcoma patients could be predisposed to malignant transformation we cultured MSCs of nine osteosarcoma patients and five healthy donors for an average of 649 days (range 601-679 days). Also, we compared MSCs derived from osteosarcoma patients at diagnosis and from healthy donors using genome wide gene expression profiling. Upon increasing passage, increasing frequencies of binucleate cells were detected, but no increase in proliferation suggestive of malignant transformation occurred in MSCs from either patients or donors. Hematopoietic cell specific Lyn substrate 1 (HLCS1) was differentially expressed (fold change 0.25, P value 0.0005) between MSCs of osteosarcoma patients (n = 14) and healthy donors (n = 9). This study shows that although HCLS1 expression was downregulated in MSCs of osteosarcoma patients and binucleate cells were present in both patient and donor derived MSCs, there was no evidence of neoplastic changes to occur during long-term culture.

How does materiality shape Childbirth? An explorative journey into evidence, childbirth practices & Science and Technology Studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Jette Aaroe

2010-01-01

" for those positioned in evidence based medicine and midwifery about the use of technology in childbirth. The empirical material is developed during a field study at a maternity ward. Noisy stories about the use of epidurals and fetal monitors are used as resources. Noisy stories are stories that do......The randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the golden standard in evidence based medicine (EBM), it is used to address the problem of intervention and the use of technology in childbirth. This dissertation discusses the relationship between RCTs and everyday birthing practices. The point of departure...... is Science and Technology Studies (STS). (Post) Actor Network Theory and postphenomenology is used as theoretical resources to help formulate questions to EBM, midwifery and birthing practices. A central theoretical resource is the Dutch Philosopher Annemarie Mol’s concept of mul-tiplicity. Mol argues...

Culture, innovation and periphery: a theoretical sketch and some evidence from different portuguese contexts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Brito Henriques

1997-11-01

Full Text Available The present paper tries to look at the culture-innovation nexus in periphery. Starting with a theoretical discussion on this issue, in which the role of culture in current capitalism is analysed, we raise the question whether the increasing imporance of culture in the present economic context has been creating new opportunities for peripheral regions to innovate, namely by the valorization of tradition.The paper will highlight the results of four case studies from the handicraft pottery sector. These achievements will then be confronted with an exemple of cultural political promotion in an urban area - Lisbon'94, European Cultural Capital, in order to unravel the political logic of cultural and innovation in the periphery. The final section provides a brief conclusion, placing emphasis on the ambivalences which characterise peripherical modernisation processes and their cultural dimension. We argue that the ability of periphery to sustain development strategies based on the valorization of tradition depends primarily upon a successful management of these ambivalences.

Cultural regulation of emotion: Individual, relational, and structural sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jozefien eDe Leersnyder

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The most prevalent and intense emotional experiences differ across cultures. These differences in emotional experience can be understood as the outcomes of emotion regulation, because emotions that fit the valued relationships within a culture tend to be most common and intense. We review evidence suggesting that emotion regulation underlying cultural differences in emotional experience often takes place at the point of emotion elicitation through the promotion of situations and appraisals that are consistent with culturally valued relationships. These regulatory processes depend on individual tendencies, but are also co-regulated within relationships—close others shape people’s environment and help them appraise events in culturally valued ways—and are afforded by structural conditions—people’s daily lives limit the opportunities for emotion, and afford certain appraisals. The combined evidence suggests that cultural differences in emotion regulation go well beyond the effortful regulation based on display rules.

Material and cultural assets. Part of radiation protection of the environment?; Sach- und Kulturgueter. Teil eines Strahlenschutzes der Umwelt?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gellermann, R.G. [Nuclear Control and Consulting GmbH, Braunschweig (Germany); Loebner, W.

2015-07-01

Since several years the protection of the environment has been discussed at various international levels as part of radiation protection. ICRP has published a number of recommendations which relate primarily to the evaluation of radiation exposures to non-human species. Nevertheless, not least because of the declaratory mention of the environment in national legislative documents, the question arises how the environment can be integrated into the radiation protection or whether the radiation protection must be even expanded to new fields. A less discussed aspect here covers material and cultural assets that are classified in environmental law as objects worthy of protection. The paper describes some issues that arise in this context and outlines a framework for the consideration of material assets in radiation protection.

The cultural contagion of conflict

Science.gov (United States)

Gelfand, Michele; Shteynberg, Garriy; Lee, Tiane; Lun, Janetta; Lyons, Sarah; Bell, Chris; Chiao, Joan Y.; Bruss, C. Bayan; Al Dabbagh, May; Aycan, Zeynep; Abdel-Latif, Abdel-Hamid; Dagher, Munqith; Khashan, Hilal; Soomro, Nazar

2012-01-01

Anecdotal evidence abounds that conflicts between two individuals can spread across networks to involve a multitude of others. We advance a cultural transmission model of intergroup conflict where conflict contagion is seen as a consequence of universal human traits (ingroup preference, outgroup hostility; i.e. parochial altruism) which give their strongest expression in particular cultural contexts. Qualitative interviews conducted in the Middle East, USA and Canada suggest that parochial altruism processes vary across cultural groups and are most likely to occur in collectivistic cultural contexts that have high ingroup loyalty. Implications for future neuroscience and computational research needed to understand the emergence of intergroup conflict are discussed. PMID:22271785

LESLIE A. WHITE Y LA MEDICIÓN OBJETIVA DEL CAMBIO CULTURAL DE LA HUMANIDAD (Leslie A. White and the Objective Measurement of Human Culture Change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pascual Izquierdo-Egea

2018-12-01

Full Text Available Esta breve comunicación arroja luz sobre una cuestión tan fundamental como la medición objetiva del cambio cultural de la humanidad a través del registro funerario. Aunque son numerosas las evidencias materiales que confirman la significatividad y fiabilidad de la técnica cuantitativa empleada para medir el avance o retroceso de las sociedades antiguas, aquí solo se muestran los datos de la serie temporal proveniente de la cuenca del río Balsas, México, representativa de la Mesoamérica prehispánica. ENGLISH: This brief communication sheds light on the fundamental question of the objective measurement of human culture change through the mortuary record. Although there are abundant material evidence that confirms the significance and reliability of the quantitative technique used to measure the advancement or retreat of ancient societies, only the time series data from the basin of the Balsas River, Mexico, representative of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica, are shown here.

Social Errors in Four Cultures: Evidence about Universal Forms of Social Relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiske, Alan Page

1993-01-01

To test the cross-cultural generality of relational-models theory, 4 studies with 70 adults examined social errors of substitution of persons for Bengali, Korean, Chinese, and Vai (Liberia and Sierra Leone) subjects. In all four cultures, people tend to substitute someone with whom they have the same basic relationship. (SLD)

Oppositional Culture Theory and the Delusion of Colorblindness

Science.gov (United States)

Berlowitz, Marvin J.; Hutchins, Brandi N.; Jenkins, Derrick J.; Mussman, Mark P.; Schneider, Carri A.

2006-01-01

Oppositional culture theory is a widely accepted explanation for disparities in academic performance between middle class Whites and middle class African Americans. The authors make the case that oppositional culture theory has its roots in cultural deficit theory popularized in the early 1960s and present a significant body of evidence to refute…

[Influence of promotional material on hand hygiene in the safety culture of a tertiary hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Molina-Cabrillana, J; Dorta-Hung, M E; Otero Sanz, L; Henández Vera, J R; Martín-Rodríguez, M M; García de Carlos, P

2016-06-01

In order to increase safety culture about hand hygiene by means of messages and reminders about its importance in preventing nosocomial infections, we developed a new set of materials in the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario Insular Materno-Infantil of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, constitued by two centres with 450 beds each and acredited for medical internal residents training. We hired a well-known caricaturist, who adapted the messages to the local way of speaking, by using characters that used to appear in his artwork in the local newspaper. Also, we continued to work with other graphic design professionals. We monitored adherence and consumption of products for hand rubbing. We noted an increase in both indicators in the following months after the implementation of this strategy. Moreover, we revised the infrastructures for hand hygiene, and were able to demonstrate improvements in most of the patient care areas. The material was well accepted by professionals, patients and visitors. No other interventions were made, so we think improvements can be attributable to this strategy in our setting. Copyright © 2016 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Culture and spirituality: essential components of palliative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Speck, Peter

2016-06-01

Palliative care advocates a holistic, multiprofessional approach to the care of people with life-threatening disease. In addition to the control of physical symptoms attention should also be paid to psychosocial, cultural and spiritual aspects of the patient's experience of illness. Guidance documents and research evidence reflect the complexity of the patient's journey and the need to regularly assess these areas of need over time. Cultural background can shape how patients respond to life-threatening illness, as can the beliefs held by the patients, whether religious or more broadly spiritual. Research evidence shows the importance of identifying and addressing cultural and spiritual aspects of care held by patients, families and staff. These are often neglected in clinical practice due to the focus on biomedical concerns and staff discomfort in engaging with beliefs and culture. Recent studies have highlighted gaps in the research, and some methodological difficulties and indicate many patients welcome healthcare staff enquiring about the importance of their beliefs and culture. Identifying research priorities is necessary to guide future research and strengthen the evidence base. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Cultural and gender convergence in adolescent drunkenness: evidence from 23 European and North American countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntsche, Emmanuel; Kuntsche, Sandra; Knibbe, Ronald; Simons-Morton, Bruce; Farhat, Tilda; Hublet, Anne; Bendtsen, Pernille; Godeau, Emmanuelle; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2011-02-01

To investigate time-trend changes in the frequency of drunkenness among European and North American adolescents. Cross-sectional surveys in the 1997/1998 and 2005/2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC). High schools in 23 countries. A sample of 77 586 adolescents aged 15 years was analyzed by means of hierarchical linear modeling. The frequency of drunkenness. We observed a significant increase of about 40% in the mean frequency of drunkenness in all 7 participating Eastern European countries. This increase was evident among both genders, but most consistently among girls. Meanwhile, it declined in 13 of 16 Western countries, about 25% on average. Declines in Western countries were particularly notable among boys and in North America, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. Despite this gender convergence, with few exceptions (Greenland, Norway, United Kingdom) boys continued to have a higher frequency of drunkenness in 2005/2006 than girls. The confirmed cultural convergence implies that adoption and implementation of evidence-based measures to mitigate the frequency of adolescent drunkenness such as tax increases and restricting alcohol access and advertisement should get the same priority in Eastern European countries as in Western countries. Policy measures that might facilitate decreases in drunkenness such as server training and the promotion of alcohol-free leisure-time activities should be reinforced in Western countries. The gender convergence implies that prevention policy should be less exclusively focused on male adolescents.

Refuah Shlema: a cross-cultural programme for promoting communication and health among Ethiopian immigrants in the primary health care setting in Israel: evidence and lessons learned from over a decade of implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Levin-Zamir, Diane; Keret, Sandra; Yaakovson, Orit; Lev, Boaz; Kay, Calanit; Verber, Giora; Lieberman, Niki

2011-03-01

The Refuah Shlema programme was established to reduce health disparities, promote health literacy and health indicators of the Ethiopian immigrant community in Israel, and included: (i) integrating Ethiopian immigrant liaisons in primary care as inter-cultural mediators; (ii) in-service training of clinical staff to increase cultural awareness and sensitivity; and (iii) health education community activities. Qualitative and quantitative evidence showed improvements in: (i) clinic staff–patient relations; (ii) availability and accessibility of health services, and health system navigation without increasing service expenditure; (iii) perception of general well-being; and (iv) self-care practice with regards to chronic conditions. Evidence significantly contributed to sustaining the programme for over 13 years.

Developing Culturally Responsive Teaching through Professional Noticing within Teacher Educator Modelling

Science.gov (United States)

Averill, Robin; Anderson, Dayle; Drake, Michael

2015-01-01

Much evidence exists that culturally responsive and equitable teaching practices are challenging to develop. Evidence exists that in-the-moment coaching of "rehearsals" of practice can help foster mathematics teaching strategies, but how such coaching can assist the development of culturally responsive practice is less clear. Drawn from…

Evidence-Based Psychological Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bornstein, Robert F

2017-01-01

In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice in psychology (EBPP), and as is true in most health care professions, the primary focus of EBPP has been on treatment. Comparatively little attention has been devoted to applying the principles of EBPP to psychological assessment, despite the fact that assessment plays a central role in myriad domains of empirical and applied psychology (e.g., research, forensics, behavioral health, risk management, diagnosis and classification in mental health settings, documentation of neuropsychological impairment and recovery, personnel selection and placement in organizational contexts). This article outlines the central elements of evidence-based psychological assessment (EBPA), using the American Psychological Association's tripartite definition of EBPP as integration of the best available research with clinical expertise in the context of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences. After discussing strategies for conceptualizing and operationalizing evidence-based testing and evidence-based assessment, 6 core skills and 3 meta-skills that underlie proficiency in psychological assessment are described. The integration of patient characteristics, culture, and preferences is discussed in terms of the complex interaction of patient and assessor identities and values throughout the assessment process. A preliminary framework for implementing EBPA is offered, and avenues for continued refinement and growth are described.

Music, empathy and cultural understanding

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Eric; DeNora, Tia; Vuoskoski, Jonna

2015-12-01

In the age of the Internet and with the dramatic proliferation of mobile listening technologies, music has unprecedented global distribution and embeddedness in people's lives. It is a source of intense experiences of both the most intimate and solitary, and public and collective, kinds - from an individual with their smartphone and headphones, to large-scale live events and global simulcasts; and it increasingly brings together a huge range of cultures and histories, through developments in world music, sampling, the re-issue of historical recordings, and the explosion of informal and home music-making that circulates via YouTube. For many people, involvement with music can be among the most powerful and potentially transforming experiences in their lives. At the same time, there has been increasing interest in music's communicative and affective capacities, and its potential to act as an agent of social bonding and affiliation. This review critically discusses a considerable body of research and scholarship, across disciplines ranging from the neuroscience and psychology of music to cultural musicology and the sociology and anthropology of music, that provides evidence for music's capacity to promote empathy and social/cultural understanding through powerful affective, cognitive and social factors; and explores ways in which to connect and make sense of this disparate evidence (and counter-evidence). It reports the outcome of an empirical study that tests one aspect of those claims, demonstrating that 'passive' listening to the music of an unfamiliar culture can significantly change the cultural attitudes of listeners with high dispositional empathy; presents a model that brings together the primary components of the music and empathy research into a single framework; and considers both some of the applications, and some of the shortcomings and problems, of understanding music from the perspective of empathy.

Music, empathy and cultural understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Eric; DeNora, Tia; Vuoskoski, Jonna

2015-12-01

In the age of the Internet and with the dramatic proliferation of mobile listening technologies, music has unprecedented global distribution and embeddedness in people's lives. It is a source of intense experiences of both the most intimate and solitary, and public and collective, kinds - from an individual with their smartphone and headphones, to large-scale live events and global simulcasts; and it increasingly brings together a huge range of cultures and histories, through developments in world music, sampling, the re-issue of historical recordings, and the explosion of informal and home music-making that circulates via YouTube. For many people, involvement with music can be among the most powerful and potentially transforming experiences in their lives. At the same time, there has been increasing interest in music's communicative and affective capacities, and its potential to act as an agent of social bonding and affiliation. This review critically discusses a considerable body of research and scholarship, across disciplines ranging from the neuroscience and psychology of music to cultural musicology and the sociology and anthropology of music, that provides evidence for music's capacity to promote empathy and social/cultural understanding through powerful affective, cognitive and social factors; and explores ways in which to connect and make sense of this disparate evidence (and counter-evidence). It reports the outcome of an empirical study that tests one aspect of those claims, demonstrating that 'passive' listening to the music of an unfamiliar culture can significantly change the cultural attitudes of listeners with high dispositional empathy; presents a model that brings together the primary components of the music and empathy research into a single framework; and considers both some of the applications, and some of the shortcomings and problems, of understanding music from the perspective of empathy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evidence for cultural dialects in vocal emotion expression: acoustic classification within and across five nations.

Science.gov (United States)

Laukka, Petri; Neiberg, Daniel; Elfenbein, Hillary Anger

2014-06-01

The possibility of cultural differences in the fundamental acoustic patterns used to express emotion through the voice is an unanswered question central to the larger debate about the universality versus cultural specificity of emotion. This study used emotionally inflected standard-content speech segments expressing 11 emotions produced by 100 professional actors from 5 English-speaking cultures. Machine learning simulations were employed to classify expressions based on their acoustic features, using conditions where training and testing were conducted on stimuli coming from either the same or different cultures. A wide range of emotions were classified with above-chance accuracy in cross-cultural conditions, suggesting vocal expressions share important characteristics across cultures. However, classification showed an in-group advantage with higher accuracy in within- versus cross-cultural conditions. This finding demonstrates cultural differences in expressive vocal style, and supports the dialect theory of emotions according to which greater recognition of expressions from in-group members results from greater familiarity with culturally specific expressive styles.

A Guide to Using Popular Culture to Teach Composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Smelstor, Marjorie, Ed.

The purpose of this guide is to offer possible answers to questions concerning popular culture that teachers might have and to offer suggestions on utilizing popular culture materials that are available. Lesson plans are presented using materials from advertising, newspapers, comics, film, television, popular music, radio, popular literature,…

Cultural Understanding: Spanish Level 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Reid

The teacher's attention is focused on selected elements of Spanish culture which may be taught integrally with instructional materials found in the first-year Spanish texts "Entender y Hablar", "La Familia Fernandez", and "A-LM Spanish, Level One". Items are cross-referenced for 42 cultural concepts ranging from nicknames to streets, roads, and…

Canadian Cultural Materialism: Personal Values and Television Advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Surlin, Stuart H.; Squire, Larry A.

A study examined the relationship between social and material values and attitudes toward television advertising. Using the Rokeach Value Survey Form E, 157 Canadian college students ranked the 18 terminal and 18 instrumental values in order of their importance as guiding principles for life. The values were classified as either material, social,…

Quasi-appropriation of dialectical materialism: a critical reading of Marxism in Vygotskian approaches to cultural studies in science education

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, André; Camillo, Juliano; Mattos, Cristiano

2014-09-01

In this review essay we examine five categories of dialectical materialism proposed by Paulo Lima Junior, Fernanda Ostermann, and Flavia Rezende in their study of the extent to which the articles published in Cultural Studies of Science Education, that use a Vygotskian approach, are committed to Marxism/dialectical materialism. By closely examining these categories ("thesis, antithesis and synthesis," "unity of analysis," "History," "revolution," "materialism") we expect to enrich the general discussion about the possible contributions of Marxism to science education. We perceive part of science education practice as orientating toward positivism, which reduces human beings—teachers, learners and researchers—to isolated individuals who construct knowledge by themselves. The very same approach aggravates the inner contradiction of the capitalist society demanding commitments from researchers to continually build innovative science education from human praxis. Nevertheless, it is necessary to situate ourselves beyond a formal commitment with dialectical materialism and hence reach the heart of this method. Besides understanding the researchers' commitments, we question the extent to which the respective research helps to radically refresh the current view on science, science education practice, and research in science education.

Impact of starting material (fresh versus cryopreserved marrow) on mesenchymal stem cell culture.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaplan, Alesia; Sackett, Katie; Sumstad, Darin; Kadidlo, Dianne; McKenna, David H

2017-09-01

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) continue to be investigated in multiple clinical trials as potential therapy for different disorders. There is ongoing controversy surrounding the clinical use of cryopreserved versus fresh MSCs. However, little is known about how cryopreservation affects marrow as starting material. The growth kinetics of MSC cultures derived from fresh versus cryopreserved marrow were compared. Data were reviewed on the growth kinetics of MSCs derived from fresh versus cryopreserved marrow of nine donors. Marrow harvested from each donor was separated into four aliquots (one fresh and three cryopreserved for culture). Data on the date of mononuclear cell cryopreservation/thaw, MSC counts at Passages 1 and 2, MSC doubling, MSC fold expansion, viability (of mononuclear cells and final MSCs), and on flow cytometry markers of mononuclear cells and final MSCs were analyzed for the fresh and cryopreserved marrow groups. In total, 21 MSC lots (seven fresh and 14 cryopreserved) were obtained. The average age of cryopreserved mononuclear cell product was 295 days (range, 18-1241 days). There were no significant differences between MSC numbers at Passage 1 (p = 0.1), final MSC numbers (p = 0.5), MSC doubling (p = 0.7), or MSC fold expansion (p = 0.7). A significant difference was observed in viability by flow cytometry for both mononuclear cells (p = 0.002) and final MSCs (p = 0.009), with higher viability in the fresh marrow group. This study demonstrates that MSCs derived from cryopreserved marrow have the same growth characteristics as fresh marrow-derived MSCs. Further studies are needed to explore potential differences in clinical efficacy. © 2017 AABB.

Development of emotions as organized by culture

OpenAIRE

Trommsdorff, Gisela

2006-01-01

Emotions can be seen as both biologically prepared and socio-culturally shaped. Evidence on cultural differences in manifestations of emotion abound; however, the role of culture in emotion development has not yet been systematically studied and integrated in a theory on the socialization of emotions. Emotion development includes the understanding of emotions and their meaning, appraisal of emotion-evoking situations, knowledge of appropriate emotion expression, and regulation of emotions. Em...

Culture and psychiatric diagnosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis-Fernández, Roberto; Aggarwal, Neil Krishan

2013-01-01

Since the publication of DSM-IV in 1994, neurobiologists and anthropologists have criticized the rigidity of its diagnostic criteria that appear to exclude whole classes of alternate illness presentations, as well as the lack of attention in contemporary psychiatric nosology to the role of contextual factors in the emergence and characteristics of psychopathology. Experts in culture and mental health have responded to these criticisms by revising the very process of diagnosis for DSM-5. Specifically, the DSM-5 Cultural Issues Subgroup has recommended that concepts of culture be included more prominently in several areas: an introductory chapter on Cultural Aspects of Psychiatric Diagnosis - composed of a conceptual introduction, a revised Outline for Cultural Formulation, a Cultural Formulation Interview that operationalizes this Outline, and a glossary on cultural concepts of distress - as well as material directly related to culture that is incorporated into the description of each disorder. This chapter surveys these recommendations to demonstrate how culture and context interact with psychiatric diagnosis at multiple levels. A greater appreciation of the interplay between culture, context, and biology can help clinicians improve diagnostic and treatment planning. Copyright © 2013 APA*

Cross-cultural leadership: leading around the world.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanges, Paul J; Aiken, Juliet R; Park, Joo; Su, Junjie

2016-04-01

Situational models of leadership have been discussed since the mid-1960s. In this paper, we review the evidence concerning one such contextual variable, societal culture. The traditional cross-cultural literature shows how culture affects the kind of leadership characteristics, attributes, and behaviors desired and believed to be important in a society. The research also shows that culture moderates the outcomes resulting from different styles of leadership. The newly emerging global leadership literature focuses on leadership when followers are culturally diverse. We review the current state of these literatures and provide research suggestions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural and biological factors modulate spatial biases over development.

Science.gov (United States)

Girelli, Luisa; Marinelli, Chiara Valeria; Grossi, Giuseppe; Arduino, Lisa S

2017-11-01

Increasing evidence supports the contribution of both biological and cultural factors to visuospatial processing. The present study adds to the literature by exploring the interplay of perceptual and linguistic mechanisms in determining visuospatial asymmetries in adults (Experiment 1) and children (Experiment 2). In particular, pre-schoolers (3 and 5 year-olds), school-aged children (8 year-old), and adult participants were required to bisect different types of stimuli, that is, lines, words, and figure strings. In accordance with the literature, results yielded a leftward bias for lines and words and a rightward bias for figure strings, in adult participants. More critically, different biases were found for lines, words, and figure strings in children as a function of age, reflecting the impact of both cultural and biological factors on the processing of different visuospatial materials. Specifically, an adult-like pattern of results emerged only in the older group of children (8 year-old), but not in pre-schoolers. Results are discussed in terms of literacy, reading habits exposure, and biological maturation.

Sound as Popular Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

The wide-ranging texts in this book take as their premise the idea that sound is a subject through which popular culture can be analyzed in an innovative way. From an infant’s gurgles over a baby monitor to the roar of the crowd in a stadium to the sub-bass frequencies produced by sound systems...... in the disco era, sound—not necessarily aestheticized as music—is inextricably part of the many domains of popular culture. Expanding the view taken by many scholars of cultural studies, the contributors consider cultural practices concerning sound not merely as semiotic or signifying processes but as material......, physical, perceptual, and sensory processes that integrate a multitude of cultural traditions and forms of knowledge. The chapters discuss conceptual issues as well as terminologies and research methods; analyze historical and contemporary case studies of listening in various sound cultures; and consider...

Environmental controls on the boron and strontium isotopic composition of aragonite shell material of cultured Arctica islandica

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y.-W. Liu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Ocean acidification, the decrease in ocean pH associated with increasing atmospheric CO2, is likely to impact marine organisms, particularly those that produce carbonate skeletons or shells. Therefore, it is important to investigate how environmental factors (seawater pH, temperature and salinity influence the chemical compositions in biogenic carbonates. In this study we report the first high-resolution strontium (87Sr / 86Sr and δ88 / 86Sr and boron (δ11B isotopic values in the aragonite shell of cultured Arctica islandica (A. islandica. The 87Sr / 86Sr ratios from both tank water and shell samples show ratios nearly identical to the open ocean, which suggests that the shell material reflects ambient ocean chemistry without terrestrial influence. The 84Sr–87Sr double-spike-resolved shell δ88 / 86Sr and Sr concentration data show no resolvable change throughout the culture period and reflect no theoretical kinetic mass fractionation throughout the experiment despite a temperature change of more than 15 °C. The δ11B records from the experiment show at least a 5‰ increase through the 29-week culture season (January 2010–August 2010, with low values from the beginning to week 19 and higher values thereafter. The larger range in δ11B in this experiment compared to predictions based on other carbonate organisms (2–3‰ suggests that a species-specific fractionation factor may be required. A significant correlation between the ΔpH (pHshell − pHsw and seawater pH (pHsw was observed (R2 = 0.35, where the pHshell is the calcification pH of the shell calculated from boron isotopic composition. This negative correlation suggests that A. islandica partly regulates the pH of the extrapallial fluid. However, this proposed mechanism only explains approximately 35% of the variance in the δ11B data. Instead, a rapid rise in δ11B of the shell material after week 19, during the summer, suggests that the boron uptake changes when a thermal

75 FR 34199 - Notice of Meeting of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-16

... Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material from the Pre-Hispanic Cultures of the Republic... Republic of Bolivia concerning the Imposition of Import Restrictions on Archaeological Material from the Pre-Columbian Cultures and Certain Ethnological Materials from the Colonial and Republican Periods of...

The development of children's prelife reasoning: evidence from two cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Emmons, Natalie A; Kelemen, Deborah

2014-01-01

Two studies investigated children's reasoning about their mental and bodily states during the time prior to biological conception-"prelife." By exploring prelife beliefs in 5- to 12-year-olds (N = 283) from two distinct cultures (urban Ecuadorians, rural indigenous Shuar), the studies aimed to uncover children's untutored intuitions about the essential features of persons. Results showed that with age, children judged fewer mental and bodily states to be functional during prelife. However, children from both cultures continued to privilege the functionality of certain mental states (i.e., emotions, desires) relative to bodily states (i.e., biological, psychobiological, perceptual states). Results converge with afterlife research and suggest that there is an unlearned cognitive tendency to view emotions and desires as the eternal core of personhood. © 2014 The Authors. Child Development © 2014 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Great Importance Attached to Intangible Cultural Heritage

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2005-01-01

@@ Intangible Cultural Heritage on Verge of Extinction? With the acceleration of globalization and modernization, dramatic changes have taken place in China's cultural ecology: intangible cultural heritage is confronted with great challenges and a lot of orally and behaviorally transmitted cultural heritage disappear one after another; a great deal of traditional craftsmanship is on the verge of extinction; a large number of precious objects and materials of historical and cultural values are destroyed,deserted or lost in foreign countries; arbitrary misuse and excessive exploitation of intangible cultural heritage occur from time to time. Therefore, the protection of intangible cultural heritage brooks no delay.

Culture and psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Burton-Bradley, B G

1993-03-01

The painstaking and always tentative effort to discover the universal characteristics of the human species differs in motive and attitude according to the arrogant anxiety-abating need for each of us to impose our own cultural categories upon others. When stemming from Europe this is seen by some as a form of psychiatric imperialism, by others as the fallacy of universalism and the primary of culture. Evidence from Papua New Guinea and other groups elsewhere show quite clearly that the noetic domains of those groups with different languages are so organized that the notion of a universal consensual science cannot be sustained.

Culture-specific first meeting encounters between virtual agents (Honourable Mention)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rehm, Matthias; Nakano, Yukiko; André, Elisabeth

2008-01-01

We present our concept of integrating culture as a computational parameter for modeling multimodal interactions with virtual agents. As culture is a social rather than a psychological notion, its influence is evident in interactions, where cultural patterns of behavior and interpretations mismatch...

Science-Based Thematic Cultural Art Learning in Primary School (2013 Curriculum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Warih Handayaningrum

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study is aimed at discussing the development result of thematic cultural art subject’s learning material based on science for primary school (2013 curriculum. This study is expected to inspire teacher to develop learning material that may explore artworks exist in our living environment (based on the context of children’s environment. This study applies steps in developmental research collaboration by Borg & Gall (1989 and Puslitjaknov (2008 to create the product. The development stages comprise observation in several primary schools in Surabaya, Gresik, and Sidoarjo that has implemented 2013 curriculum that is followed up by stages of development. Furthermore, prototype of cultural and art thematic learning material development results are verified by learning material experts, material expert, primary school teacher, and revised afterwards. The result of this research development is a set of teacher and student books. Science-based cultural art here means cultural art learning as the main medium to introduce local culture products (music, drawing, dance, and drama by integrating mathematics, sciences, Bahasa Indonesia, and local language subjects. Cultural art products in the form of dance, music, drawing, dramas will help children to understand a simple mathematical concept, such as: two-dimensional figure, geometry, comparing or estimating longer-shorter, smaller-bigger, or more-less.

Apes have culture but may not know that they do