Cross-Cultural Pedagogy: Practical Strategies for a Successful Interprofessional Study Abroad Course

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Jieru; Larimer, Susan; Riner, Mary Beth

2016-01-01

This article discusses some practical strategies for designing and implementing a cross-cultural interprofessional study abroad course, including pre-departure preparation, facilitating small groups with local students, establishing a weekly theme, utilizing role-play and reflective assignments, and implementing meaningful evaluation strategies.…

The Interaction of Local Context and Cultural Background

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Rikke Skovgaard; Holmqvist, Emma; Dhalman, Hanna

2015-01-01

Immigrants' housing position is often explained by (lack of) resources or differences in cultural backgrounds. Recent studies have included the importance of local context. The aim of this paper is to examine Somalis' perceptions of their possibilities in four Nordic capitals' housing markets...... and sometimes conflict with each other, but that the negotiation between cultural background and local context was individual. The conclusion is that local context and cultural background are important factors for understanding differences between Somalis on different housing markets, thus emphasising...

A radical-local approach to bringing cultural practices into mathematics teaching in Ghanaian primary schools, exemplified in the case of measurement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davis, Ernest Kofi; Chaiklin, Seth

2015-01-01

on a study that drew on aspects of the radical-local approach to teaching and learning (Hedegaard & Chaiklin, 2005), to teach the idea of measurement to primary four school children from an average rural school in Cape Coast Metropolis of Ghana. The first four teaching sessions with a primary four class......The main aim of this article is to put forward the idea of the general value of the radical-local approach to teaching and learning for the development of mathematics teaching in Ghana, both in relation to classroom teaching and for teacher training. To illustrate this idea, this article reports...... are described. Each of the teaching sessions drew on the social and cultural practices of the children to help them form an idea of what measurement is and which physical properties could be measured from given objects. Qualitative analysis of the teaching sessions revealed that the teaching approach enabled...

Gender isn't an issue! Case studies of exemplary practice in promoting gender equality and diversity in local authorities

OpenAIRE

Broussine, M.; Fox, P.

2005-01-01

Report of an inquiry, the aims of which were:\\ud \\ud 1)Develop case studies which demonstrate exemplary practice in progress towards gender equality in five selected local authorities. \\ud \\ud 2)Identify the systemic and cultural factors, working styles and practices and processes that contribute to good practice in gender equality and diversity. \\ud \\ud 3)Point local authorities to best practice so that they might learn from a process which has identified and celebrated achievement.

Understanding Global / Local Cultural Leadership : Issues and Methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kolsteeg, Johan

2017-01-01

Cultural leaders sail between the Scylla and Charibdis of aggregated trans- and supranational cultural-political discourses and the cultural needs of local communities. How do these dynamics influence the work of cultural leaders? How can we understand the work of cultural leaders to connect

The effects of professional development on science teaching practices and classroom culture

Science.gov (United States)

Supovitz, Jonathan A.; Turner, Herbert M.

2000-11-01

The current science education reform movement emphasizes the importance of professional development as a means of improving student science achievement. Reformers have developed a vision for professional development based upon intensive and sustained training around concrete tasks that is focused on subject-matter knowledge, connected to specific standards for student performance, and embedded in a systemic context. Using data from a National Science Foundation Teacher Enhancement program called the Local Systemic Change initiative, this study employs hierarchical linear modeling to examine the relationship between professional development and the reformers' vision of teaching practice. The findings indicate that the quantity of professional development in which teachers participate is strongly linked with both inquiry-based teaching practice and investigative classroom culture. At the individual level, teachers' content preparation also has a powerful influence on teaching practice and classroom culture. At the school level, school socioeconomic status was found to influence practice more substantially than either principal supportiveness or available resources.

Local practice and global data: loyalty cards, social practices, and consumer surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zurawski, Nils

2011-01-01

Monitoring of consumers has become the most widespread mode of surveillance today. Being a multi-billion dollar business, the collected data are traded globally without much concern by the consumers themselves. Loyalty cards are an element with which such data are collected. Analyzing the role of loyalty cards in everyday practices such as shopping, I discuss how new modes of surveillance evolve and work and why they eventually make communication about data protection a difficult matter. Further, I will propose an alternative approach to the study of surveillance. This approach is concerned with local practices, focusing on subjective narratives in order to view surveillance as an integral part of culturally or socially manifested contexts and actions and not to view surveillance as something alien to society and human interaction. This will open up other possibilities to study modes of subjectivity or how individuals situate themselves within society.

Strategy and Culture: Hidden Secrets and Soft Skills in Supply Chain Best Practices from Africa

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Esther Kibuka-Sebitosi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The paper identifies strategy and cultural hidden secrets and soft skills pertaining to supply chain management in African contexts that are pertinent to supply chain and operations management. Africa is increasingly becoming attractive for not only multi-nationals but supply chain businesses that either want to diversify or expand their foot print. The market is complex, turbulent and highly competitive (Porter, 1986 and requires significant knowledge and understanding of the local context but also culture (Johnson, 1987; 1992; 2000, diversity and institutional dynamics (Ogbonna et al., 2002. Due to the complex nature of the emerging markets, the paper draws from multiple-disciplines (Sociology, Business, Management and theoretical approaches namely: culture and strategy; Ubuntu, stakeholder theory and systems thinking, to elicit best practices. Utilizing qualitative methods comprising case study, interviews, focus group discussions and extensive document analysis, the study covers a variety of management practices ranging from strategy, culture to hyper market management. This paper highlights lessons from successful supermarket chains in Africa particularly the hidden secrets and soft skills that are often ignored in mainstream operations and supply chain management or strategy research. Findings underscore the lessons of understanding strategy and culture implementation through practicing cultural values, treating the customer as a queen/king, knowing political skills, being a learning organisation and implementing continuous improvement. It contributes to management theory for academics, researchers & managers through strategy and culture, proposing inclusion of the cultural diversity into strategy implementation as a critical force affecting the behaviour of people inside the organization. Managers should take into account the cultural context and use it to promote organizational business excellence. These lessons for business excellence

Promoting Sustainability Transparency in European Local Governments: An Empirical Analysis Based on Administrative Cultures

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Andrés Navarro-Galera

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the transparency of governments with respect to the sustainability of public services is a very interesting issue for stakeholders and academics. It has led to previous research and international organisations (EU, IMF, OECD, United Nations, IFAC, G-20, World Bank to recommend promotion of the online dissemination of economic, social and environmental information. Based on previous studies about e-government and the influence of administrative cultures on governmental accountability, this paper seeks to identify political actions useful to improve the practices of transparency on economic, social and environmental sustainability in European local governments. We perform a comparative analysis of sustainability information published on the websites of 72 local governments in 10 European countries grouped into main three cultural contexts (Anglo-Saxon, Southern European and Nordic. Using international sustainability reporting guidelines, our results reveal significant differences in local government transparency in each context. The most transparent local governments are the Anglo-Saxon ones, followed by Southern European and Nordic governments. Based on individualized empirical results for each administrative style, our conclusions propose useful policy interventions to enhance sustainability transparency within each cultural tradition, such as development of legal rules on transparency and sustainability, tools to motivate local managers for online diffusion of sustainability information and analysis of information needs of stakeholders.

Is the Hegemonic Position of American Culture Able to Subjugate Local Cultures of Importing Countries? A Constructive Analysis on the Phenomenon of Cultural Localization

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Tien-Hui

2014-01-01

It has been argued that globalization assists the USA to gain a hegemonic position, allowing it to export its culture. Because this exportation leads to the domination by American culture of the local cultures of importing countries, which are the key element in sustaining their citizens' national identity, citizens of these countries are…

Adoption of sun safe workplace practices by local governments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallis, Allan; Andersen, Peter A; Buller, David B; Walkosz, Barbara; Lui, Lucia; Buller, Mary; Scott, Michael D; Jenkins, Rob

2014-01-01

Outdoor workers are especially susceptible to skin cancer--the most common, but also one of the most preventable, forms of cancer. Colorado, the location of the study, has the second highest rate of skin cancer deaths in the nation. Local government managers in Colorado-in municipalities, counties, and special districts-were surveyed to ascertain the extent to which they engage in formal (written) and informal practices to protect their outdoor workers against excessive exposure to sun. The survey consisted of 51 questions assessing awareness of formal or informal practices for sun protection of outdoor workers. An index of practices--the study's dependent variable--was created that was composed or practices such as providing employees free or reduced-cost sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, long-sleeved work shirts, long work pants, and temporary or permanent outdoor shade shelters. Proscriptive policies, such as restricting the use of broad brimmed hats, were subtracted from the index. Surveys were completed by 825 administrators representing 98 jurisdictions. Responses from administrators in the same jurisdiction were averaged. More than 40% of responding jurisdictions indicated that they engaged in informal sun safety practices. Tests conducted to determine what variables might account for the adoption of these sun protection practices found that the degree to which a community could be regarded as cosmopolite and as having an individualistic political culture were significant predictors. Type of government was also significant. Although, higher community income was a significant predictor, neither local government budget nor size was significant. The adoption of sun safe practices bears low costs with potentially high returns. Findings from this study suggest that awareness campaigns might most effectively target cosmopolite communities, but that the greatest impact might be achieved by targeting localite communities. Government size and budget do not

Parenting Practices in Cultural Context: An Ecological Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Zarnegar, Zohreh

2015-01-01

Despite general consensus that parenting practices influence the developmental processes of children, many questions about the impacts of parenting practices on child development within the cultural context remain unanswered. This article presents how cultural templates influence parenting practices and developmental processes of young children.…

SHARIA AS LOCAL THEOLOGY: REFLECTION ON ACEHNESE CULTURE AND IDENTITY

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Saifuddin Dhuhri

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This article elucidates local theology, which encapsulates in the work of shari’a in Acehnese contexts. The argument of this article is grounded in the Acehnese historical epochs in which Acehnese cultural identity were formulated. I argue that Acehnese shari’a is the set of local rituals, beliefs and ideas as the production of local interpretation of Islam, which responds to local cultural identity. That version of Islam works as local theology, which embodies sacred and divine values and is perceived as local identity and ideology. Building on Tibi’s, Salim’s and Nuim’s argument on shari’a and Hall’s perspective on identity and ideology, I examine the work of shari’a in Acehnese historical times, and its relation to Acehnese culture and ideology. There are four indications that shari’a holds central role in formulating the Acehnese theology, where local cultural identity and ideology are seen as part of Islamic religiosity, namely the process of Islamization of Southeast Asia, the function of local Islamic traditional boarding education (dayah, the distribution of local power, and the work of local arts.

Cultural awareness in veterinary practice: student perceptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Jennifer N; Volet, Simone; Fozdar, Farida

2011-01-01

Australian veterinary classrooms are increasingly diverse and their growing internal diversity is a result of migration and large numbers of international students. Graduates interact with other students and increasingly with clients whose attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors differ from their own. An understanding and respect for these differences has an impact on client communication and health care outcomes. The present study explored how students understand and are likely to deal with issues of cultural diversity in veterinary professional practice as well as the educational needs that students feel should be met in regard to preparation to engage productively with diversity in professional practice. The present study also explored the extent to which the rich diversity of the undergraduate student population constitutes an educational resource. A class of final-year veterinary students was invited to participate in a workshop exploring intercultural confidence in veterinary consultation. Twelve groups of six to eight students discussed a fictitious scenario involving a challenging clinical encounter with a client from a different culture. Students were reticent to see the scenario in terms of cultural difference, although they generally recognized that awareness of cultural issues in veterinary practice was important. They also tended to not see their own ethnicity as relevant to their practice. While some felt that veterinary practice should be culture blind, most recognized a need to orient to cultural difference and to respond sensitively. Their suggestions for curricular improvements to address these issues are also included.

Cultural Practices, Oppression, and Morality.

Science.gov (United States)

Turiel, Elliot

1998-01-01

Argues that contested meanings, multiple judgments, and conflicts are part of cultures and the individual's thoughts and actions. Contends that people make moral judgments that may affirm or contradict cultural norms and practices, and sometimes invoke concepts of welfare, justice, and rights. Notes that some key aspects of Baumrind's neo-Marxist…

Games culture and media practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pau Alsina

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Our aim in this article is to explore the relationship between videogames and other practices related to audiovisual media in everyday life; we are specifically interested in examining how far videogames, as a cultural form that combines audiovisual narrative with the fun of a game, may be useful in understanding broader cultural transformations in relation to cultural production in the new media context opened up by information and communication technologies.

Negotiating Culture, Economics and Community Politics: The Practice of Lei Yue Mun Tourism in Postcolonial Hong Kong

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Shun-Hing Chan

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This article is based on an on-going research project that examines how tourism is constructed in Hong Kong by using the specific tourist spot, Lei Yue Mun, as a case study. The article’s aim is to demonstrate how the local agents of a small, squatter-based community with a distinctive history and cultural traditions may, without making any claim to indigenousness or aboriginality, manage a local economy and engage in cultural negotiation at the metropolitan, national and global levels. Their economic practices lead the authors to enquire whether preservationism or invoking historical traditions from the margins is the most significant form or strategy of cultural tourism.

Local cultural conservation to support sustainable tourism in Kuta tourist area

Science.gov (United States)

Murni, NGN S.; Kanca, I. N.; Antara, D. M. S.

2018-01-01

Cultural conservation is very important in the tourism area to support sustainable tourism. This study uses the cultural studies approach and tourism. The specific purposes of this research are (1) to know the forms of cultural conservation conducted by the people of Kuta Traditional Village (Desa Adat Kuta), (2) to know the impact of tourism on the conservation of local culture, (3) to find out the strategy in preserving local culture for the sustainability of tourism in Kuta tourist area. The method used is qualitative interpretative method. Data collection conducted through direct observation in 13 banjar (sub-village), through in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results showed (1) the forms of cultural conservation are traditional arts such as dance, music orchestra,. Crafts, traditional song, classical barong and calonarang art performance, and local culture pancayadnya (five offerings). (2) the impact of tourism on cultural conservation is positive impacts such as increase of culture creativities, conservation of local culture, and the negative impact such as loss of culture space, decrease traditional subak, reduce fishermen, change of cultural value, and life style.(3) Strategy of Desa Adat in preserving culture by carrying out the festival annually, Kuta Cultural Art Festival (FBK) and Kuta Beach Festival (KBF).

Past and present practices of the Malay food heritage and culture in Malaysia

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Mohd Nazri Abdul Raji

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Malay heritage varies from north to south; however, there are various similarities and differences. Essentially, Malay heritage food is influenced by a myriad of cultures, such as Arab, Indian, Chinese, Siamese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and others. Different regions in Malaysia are known for their unique or signature dishes, such as beef rendang, laksa, nasi lemak, and tapai. Indeed, it is noted that Malay food is identical in terms of its spiciness. This can be seen from the prepreparation, methods of cooking, and availability and use of prominent ingredients, such as local aromatic herbs and spices. This article highlights the regional Malay food, past and present practices of Malay food culture, and characteristics of Malay food. In addition, this article also discusses the different occasions and table etiquette practices among Malay communities. The reported findings are expected to contribute to the literature on food culture, specifically in Malay heritage food.

The cultural heritage of pastoralism - local knowledge, state identity and the global perspective: the example of local breeds in Morocco.

Science.gov (United States)

Ben Hounet, Y; Brisebarre, A-M; Guinand, S

2016-11-01

Over the past few decades, the heritage designation process has come to impact on the way of life of many nomadic pastoralists across the world. Since the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted in 1972, policies for the conservation of protected areas have been implemented under the aegis of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), especially in countries of the South, with a varying impact on the practices and perceptions of pastoral communities. Heritage policies were further extended by the establishment of the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage (the Convention was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in October 2003 and came into force in 2006) and the list of Cultural Landscapes (adoption in 1992, with the first site listed in 1993). This enthusiasm for heritage, which is felt by States and local communities alike, provides an opportunity to study the contradictions and changing perceptions of the nomadic and pastoral identity. In this context of wholesale heritage designation, it is interesting to examine how local knowledge - especially that on hardy animal breeds - is promoted and safeguarded. The authors focus on the case of Morocco, where the national association of sheep and goat breeders (ANOC) oversees breed selection and health policy for local breeds, in order to demonstrate that greater recognition of farmers' knowledge and their ability to identify hardy animals can ensure the sustainability of farms in both South and North from a socio-economic, genetic and health standpoint.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ON THE CONCEPT OF MARKETING ASSIMILATION AND OPERATIONALIZATION BY LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PRACTICE

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Luminita Zait

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In the last 10 years the Romanian society was in a long process of change, all the economic, social, political factors knowing a new dynamic in trying to adapt to conditions specific to new marketing environment. An important feature of Romanian society, which is relevant in the context of the proposed article, is that the economy encourages and facilitates the penetration of transnational organizations in the domestic markets with involved advantages and disadvantages. This article is part of a larger study that targeted the issue of assimilation and operationalization of the marketing concept and market orientation vision of the local organizations in the context of market globalization, to identify, on the one hand, the influence of transnational organizations on the local organizations practices, through the incorporation of marketing vision and culture, and, on the other hand, the extent to which local organizations have specific practices aligned to transnational organizations practices acting on the market in Romania.

Restoring local spiritual and cultural values in science education: The case of Ethiopia

Science.gov (United States)

Faris, Solomon Belay

It has been repeatedly observed that home and local context matter in the education of children. A smooth transition between home and classroom prepares children for enjoyable and meaningful life-long learning. Knowledge building in children is influenced by previous experience, values, beliefs and sociocultural factors associated with community. Against this theoretical background, the thesis examined the integration of local spiritual and cultural values to improve science education in Ethiopia. This autoethnographic research used in-depth interviews, supplementary observations and focus group discussion and my biography to identify the perception and practice of common and unique spiritual and cultural values. The study examined whether these values were included and/or excluded in the school curriculum and explored the possibilities for incorporating values in science education and the anticipated tensions resulting from their inclusion. Students, science teachers, parents, employers, curriculum experts, policymakers, elders, and religious leaders participated in the research, conducted in a randomly selected secondary school in Addis Ababa. The sampling followed a kind of snowball method, with a total of twenty key informants participating in interviews, fifteen classroom observations, and one focus group discussion. The data collection aimed at generating stories, which underlie the auto-ethnography methodology. Findings indicated that belief in and fear of God animated and sustained the Ethiopian way of life. Although spiritual teachings derived from sacred writings were the initial foundation for Ethiopian cultural norms, the two merged together later, creating a mosaic pervading every aspect of life in Ethiopia. Education was sustained on this merger of spiritual and cultural norms and values. It was also shown that the now century-old system of formal education did not incorporate those local spiritual and cultural values. Current science education also

Teaching English Using Local Culture Content Short Story

OpenAIRE

Sanda, Silfi

2009-01-01

This paper is mainly about the use of local culture content short story in developing students' English proficiency and some activities that can be employed for this purpose. The local culture exposed in the short story is the traditional woven clothes of Palembang, Songket in term of process and product. The short story used in this topic is Cek Ipah "The Palembang Songket Weaver". This short story is authors' original work telling about everyday live of palembang songket weaver which covers...

Review of: Legal practice and cultural diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinding, Niels Valdemar

2010-01-01

This anthology comprises contributions from a conference on legal practice and cultural diversity held in London in July 2007, but the editors take their cue from the speech made in February 2008 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. The questions central to the book are the same...... that arose after the speech by the Archbishop: whether or to what extent cultural difference should be recognized by legal systems. Legal practice and cultural diversity, edited by Ralph Grillo, Roger Ballard, Alessandro Ferrari, Andre´ J. Hoekema, Marcel Maussen, and Prakash Shah, Farnham, UK, Ashgate, 2009...

The practical implementation of safety culture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Touzet, Rodolfo [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Buenos Aires. (Argentina)

2008-07-01

When, during the review of the Chernobyl accident, the INSAG Committee introduced the term 'Safety Culture', it spread very quickly. Later on, as a result of activities sponsored by the IAEA, the original Safety Culture concept was extended to include a large number of issues that are typical requirements of Quality Assurance Unfortunately, the way in which certain organizations approached this subject has not helped to find the right way for it to be implemented. Safety Culture is not mentioned at all in ICRP-60 and in the new recommendations of 2005 it does not even appear in the principal body and only a minor reference exists. The IAEA's Basic Safety Standards deal with the requirements for Safety Culture and for Quality Assurance as absolutely individual issues; however, Safety Culture should be considered as a part of the Quality System. Very recently the situation was strongly improved by the release of the new standard 'The Management System for Facilities and Activities' Safety Requirements GS-R-3. The EURATOM 97/43 Directive, used in the European Community for the preparation of regulations for medical practice, which, while inspired by ICRP-73, does not even mention Safety Culture. Increasing personnel training is not enough if, at the same time, there are no activities aimed at improving their attitude towards quality and safety. To achieve a change in Culture in the organization or to implant the new concept, there must be a suitable supporting Methodology to allow it to be put into practice. If not, the Safety Culture will only be a simple expression of wishes without any chance of success. Criteria, methodology and effective practical tools must be available. Two basic principles for the management system (GSR-3): a) All the tasks may be considered as 'a system of interactive processes'; b) All persons must take part in order to achieve safety and quality. These two principles are the basis of the strategy for the development of a Safety Culture

The practical implementation of safety culture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Touzet, Rodolfo

2008-01-01

When, during the review of the Chernobyl accident, the INSAG Committee introduced the term 'Safety Culture', it spread very quickly. Later on, as a result of activities sponsored by the IAEA, the original Safety Culture concept was extended to include a large number of issues that are typical requirements of Quality Assurance Unfortunately, the way in which certain organizations approached this subject has not helped to find the right way for it to be implemented. Safety Culture is not mentioned at all in ICRP-60 and in the new recommendations of 2005 it does not even appear in the principal body and only a minor reference exists. The IAEA's Basic Safety Standards deal with the requirements for Safety Culture and for Quality Assurance as absolutely individual issues; however, Safety Culture should be considered as a part of the Quality System. Very recently the situation was strongly improved by the release of the new standard 'The Management System for Facilities and Activities' Safety Requirements GS-R-3. The EURATOM 97/43 Directive, used in the European Community for the preparation of regulations for medical practice, which, while inspired by ICRP-73, does not even mention Safety Culture. Increasing personnel training is not enough if, at the same time, there are no activities aimed at improving their attitude towards quality and safety. To achieve a change in Culture in the organization or to implant the new concept, there must be a suitable supporting Methodology to allow it to be put into practice. If not, the Safety Culture will only be a simple expression of wishes without any chance of success. Criteria, methodology and effective practical tools must be available. Two basic principles for the management system (GSR-3): a) All the tasks may be considered as 'a system of interactive processes'; b) All persons must take part in order to achieve safety and quality. These two principles are the basis of the strategy for the development of a Safety Culture

Cultural Differences in Sleeping Practices--Helping Early Childhood Educators Understand.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez-Mena, Janet; Bhavnagri, Navaz Peshotan

2001-01-01

Discusses cultural differences in sleeping practices, focusing on how child caregivers can provide developmentally appropriate and culturally sensitive care. Describes co-sleeping as an accepted practice in many cultures with several benefits. Discusses the role of cultural values, beliefs, priorities, and goals and the importance of…

Incorporating organisational safety culture within ergonomics practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bentley, Tim; Tappin, David

2010-10-01

This paper conceptualises organisational safety culture and considers its relevance to ergonomics practice. Issues discussed in the paper include the modest contribution that ergonomists and ergonomics as a discipline have made to this burgeoning field of study and the significance of safety culture to a systems approach. The relevance of safety culture to ergonomics work with regard to the analysis, design, implementation and evaluation process, and implications for participatory ergonomics approaches, are also discussed. A potential user-friendly, qualitative approach to assessing safety culture as part of ergonomics work is presented, based on a recently published conceptual framework that recognises the dynamic and multi-dimensional nature of safety culture. The paper concludes by considering the use of such an approach, where an understanding of different aspects of safety culture within an organisation is seen as important to the success of ergonomics projects. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: The relevance of safety culture to ergonomics practice is a key focus of this paper, including its relationship with the systems approach, participatory ergonomics and the ergonomics analysis, design, implementation and evaluation process. An approach to assessing safety culture as part of ergonomics work is presented.

Organizational Culture and ISD Practices: Comparative Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Ovaska, Päivi; Juvonen, Pasi

This chapter reports results from a study that aims to analyze and compare the literature related to custom IS, packaged, and open source software organizational cultures, and their systems development practices. The comparative analysis is performed using a framework for organizational culture as lenses to the literature. Our study suggests that the beliefs and values of these three communities of practice differ remarkably and make their organizational culture and systems development practices different. The most important differences were found in business milieu, ISD team efforts, ISD approaches, and products and quality. Based on the study we can question the widely held wisdom of methods, techniques, and tools in systems development and managing its efforts. Our study has several implications for research and practice, which are discussed in this chapter.

Impact on quality culture of total quality management practices factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Faihan Mosaad Saud Alotaibi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This study investigated total quality management practices and quality culture of Saudi Arabian contractors. Improving the quality can be achieved through implementation of total quality management although studies and researches work regarding this improvement is still lacking. A quantitative approach using the survey method was employed. With assistance from the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, survey questionnaires were distributed to selected contractors in Saudi Arabia. The collected data were analysed using correlation, and multiple regression analyses. The key findings were the confirmation of significant relationships between all total quality management practices and quality culture and a positive relationship between quality management practices and quality culture. Furthermore, total quality management practices were found to be able to explain 68.1% of the variance in quality culture, while quality culture explained 12.5% of the variance in competitiveness. Quality culture was found to only partially mediate the relationship between total quality management practices and competitiveness.

Local Political Culture and Use of Local Media: Is There a Relationship?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoff, Jens Villiam

this model also turned out to be quite apt in explaining variation in local media use, the citizen role model was at least as good as this model in explaining these variations. Thus, our model of the four citizen roles/four different local cultures seems to be very robust when it comes to explaining...

Cultural and social practices regarding menstruation among adolescent girls.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Anant; Srivastava, Kamiya

2011-01-01

The study attempts to find out the existing social and cultural practices regarding menstruation, awareness levels, and the behavioral changes that come about in adolescent girls during menstruation, their perception about menarche, how do they treat it, and the various taboos, norms, and cultural practices associated with menarche. The study was conducted on 117 adolescent girls (age 11-20 years) and 41 mothers from various communities and classes in Ranchi comprising residential colonies and urban slums. The findings unfolds many practices: cultural and social restrictions associated with menstruation, myth, and misconception; the adaptability of the adolescent girls toward it; their reaction, reaction of the family; realization of the importance of menstruation; and the changes that have come in their life after menarche and their resistance to such changes. The article also suggests the strategies to improve menstrual health and hygiene among adolescent girls. The study concludes that cultural and social practices regarding menstruation depend on girls' education, attitude, family environment, culture, and belief.

Organizing Construction Practices in Different Cultural Contexts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thuesen, Christian; Rasmussen, Christian K. S.

2013-01-01

a number of characteristics and challenges related to the cultural context have been identified highlighting a central issue in existing and future construction practices due to the globalization and thereby increasing importance of cultural understanding in project-based organizing. The empirical findings......This paper presents in-depth case studies of construction practices with a specific focus on understanding the emergent and dynamic nature of construction management in different cultural contexts. The cases are based on actual working-experiences by the author as an assistant project manager...... participating in the construction management on site working for three different contractors in different cultural contexts: (1) Construir Futuro S.A. in Quito, Ecuador; (2) Anker Hansen & co. A/S in Copenhagen, Denmark; and (3) E. Pihl & Soen A/S in Stockholm, Sweden. Based on these explorative case studies...

Reconceptualizing Cultural Globalization: Connecting the “Cultural Global” and the “Cultural Local”

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Stephen Magu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Scholars generally are in agreement that the pace of globalization is rapidly accelerating. Globalization’s impact, beyond the socio-economic and political discourses, is affecting conceptions of culture and cultural studies, and changing and restructuring spaces, global, national and personal interactions and relationships. The “texts” and artifacts borne of culture—activities, events and our conception thereof are a mechanism for the propagation of culture. Simultaneously Westernization/Americanization impacts local cultures through consumerism, which obfuscates local traditions, knowledge and experiences. This research argues that culture is a dynamic, adaptive concept and practice, “borrowing” liberally from ideological and technological innovations of other cultures and integrating these borrowed aspects into the construction and modification of culture across spatial and geographical divides to ensure particular cultures’ survival. The research shows that the local affects the global, and vice versa. It selects local communication “texts” to show that cultures are not “victims” of globalization or the proliferation of mass media. Cultures actively adopt and integrate globalization’s technological artifacts. Globalization’s positive effects are dynamic and span cultural interactions and permeate structures of authority at personal, national and global levels.

Dirty and 40 days in the wilderness: Eliciting childbirth and postnatal cultural practices and beliefs in Nepal.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sheetal; van Teijlingen, Edwin; Hundley, Vanora; Angell, Catherine; Simkhada, Padam

2016-07-05

Pregnancy and childbirth are socio-cultural events that carry varying meanings across different societies and cultures. These are often translated into social expectations of what a particular society expects women to do (or not to do) during pregnancy, birth and/or the postnatal period. This paper reports a study exploring beliefs around childbirth in Nepal, a low-income country with a largely Hindu population. The paper then sets these findings in the context of the wider global literature around issues such as periods where women are viewed as polluted (or dirty even) after childbirth. A qualitative study comprising five in-depth face-to-face interviews and 14 focus group discussions with mainly women, but also men and health service providers. The qualitative findings in Nepal were compared and contrasted with the literature on practices and cultural beliefs related to the pregnancy and childbirth period across the globe and at different times in history. The themes that emerged from the analysis included: (a) cord cutting & placenta rituals; (b) rest & seclusion; (c) purification, naming & weaning ceremonies and (d) nutrition and breastfeeding. Physiological changes in mother and baby may underpin the various beliefs, ritual and practices in the postnatal period. These practices often mean women do not access postnatal health services. The cultural practices, taboos and beliefs during pregnancy and around childbirth found in Nepal largely resonate with those reported across the globe. This paper stresses that local people's beliefs and practices offer both opportunities and barriers to health service providers. Maternity care providers need to be aware of local values, beliefs and traditions to anticipate and meet the needs of women, gain their trust and work with them.

Formative Assessment in Confucian Heritage Culture Classrooms: Activity Theory Analysis of Tensions, Contradictions and Hybrid Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Thanh Pham, Thi Hong; Renshaw, Peter

2015-01-01

Formative assessment has recently become a preferred assessment strategy in educational institutions worldwide. However, it is not easy to implement in Asian classrooms, because local cultures and institutional constraints potentially hinder the practice. This one-semester study aimed to use the "third space", as the core of the third…

Local Residents’ Perceptions of Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism in Mangochi, Malawi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix G. BELLO

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to examine residents’ perceptions of the socio-cultural impacts of tourism in Mangochi, Malawi. This paper is based on results of a survey of 196 households together with ten key informant interviews. A concurrent triangulation mixed method was used to ensure well-validated and substantiated findings. The study findings indicate that local residents perceive specific positive and negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism in their community. Some of the positive sociocultural impacts of tourism include the provision of jobs; improved personal incomes; stimulation of the local economy and improved security in the destination area. However, the study also revealed two major negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism: the migration of people to the area in search of jobs; and the influence of Western visitors on local culture and “the way of life” of local people due to the demonstration effect. The paper indicates the degree to which local residents perceive different socio-cultural impacts of tourism development in an African local community setting. Therefore, the paper will assist tourism planners and local government in the planning and implementation of tourism development strategies for the area aiming at consolidating local residents’ support for tourism.

Adoption of Sun Safe Work Place Practices by Local Governments

Science.gov (United States)

Wallis, Allan; Andersen, Peter A.; Buller, David B.; Walkosz, Barbara; Lui, Lucia; Buller, Mary; Scott, Michael D.; Jenkins, Rob

2014-01-01

Context Outdoor workers are especially susceptible to skin cancer, the most common, but also one of the most preventable, forms of cancer. Colorado, the location of the study, has the second highest rate of skin cancer deaths in the nation. Objective Local government managers in Colorado—in municipalities, counties and special districts—were surveyed in order to ascertain the extent to which they engage in formal (written) and informal practices to protect their outdoor workers against excessive exposure to sun. Design The survey consisted of 51 question assessing awareness of formal or informal practices for sun protection of outdoor workers. An index of practices--the study's dependent variable--was created that was comprised or practices such as providing employees free or reduced-cost sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, long-sleeved work shirts, long work pants, and temporary or permanent outdoor shade shelters. Proscriptive policies, such as restricting the use of broad brimmed hats, were subtracted from the index. Surveys were completed by 825 administrators representing 98 jurisdictions. Responses from administrators in the same jurisdiction were averaged. Results Over 40 percent of responding jurisdictions indicated that they engaged in informal sun safety practices. Tests conducted to determine what variables might account for the adoption of these sun protection practices found that the degree to which a community could be regarded as cosmopolite and as having an individualistic political culture were significant predictors. Type of government was also significant. Although, higher community income was a significant predictor, neither local government budget nor size was significant. Conclusions The adoption of sun safe practices bears low costs with potentially high returns. Findings from this study suggest that awareness campaigns might most effectively target cosmopolite communities, but that the greatest impact might be achieved by targeting

A tough-love pedagogy in rehabilitation: integration of rehabilitation ideology with local cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ling-Hui; Wang, Jye

2009-09-01

This study problematizes a unique therapeutic relationship in rehabilitation and how the interaction reflects the integration of rehabilitation ideology with local cultures. The data drew from a larger ethnographic study of a rehabilitation unit in Taiwan. Participants included 21 patient-caregiver pairs and their rehabilitation professionals. They participated in in-depth interviews and participant observation. A tough-love pedagogy emerged as a unique therapeutic relationship in the unit. Patients were asked to interpret the stress with therapy as an inevitable, beneficial experience toward recovery. A prevalent supposition that equated poor physical performance with weak morale legitimized the approach. Cultural metaphors used to describe and define rehabilitation transformed the stress that patients experienced with strenuous exercises into a beneficial substance that aids recovery. The transformation of the therapeutic relationship into a pedagogical one helped connect rehabilitation to shared educational experiences. In the unit, the complicit practice of therapists, caregivers, and patients established and perpetuated the practice of a tough-love pedagogy. The congruence between this tough-love approach and traditional Chinese pedagogical principles made the approach legitimate and desired.

Religion and Culture Encounters in Misool Raja Ampat: Marine Ritual Practice of Sasi Laut

Science.gov (United States)

Suardi Wekke, Ismail; Aghsari, Diah; Evizariza, Evizariza; Junaidi, Junaidi; Harun, Nurlaila

2018-05-01

The acculturation of religion and culture in such a way are gradually accepted without causing the loss of the native culture in one community will influence the social process. When religion and culture arise and merged into one, it can be clear to be found in their rituals. This ethnography study on qualitative in nature was conducted to see how the existence, practices, and acculturation between local culture and Islam in, Sasi marine rituals in Misool Raja Ampat in West Papua Indonesia. Data collection was done through observation, in-depth interview including library research on community manuscript and local government database. Using snowball sampling technique, this study is able to gain solid information from native people in Misoo that willing to take part as the informants. The informants in this study were found as influences native people in Misool community e.g; the head of Fafanlap village, community figures, female figures and youth figures. This study considers Misool community which still strongly maintains their cultures including sasi laut as a sign to start and stop harvesting the specific sea resources to maintain the sustainability of nature. The acculturation between the culture of Islam runs smoothly in changing the native mindset to eliminate the things that can cause syirik but did not eliminate the characteristics and the main part of the ritual of sasi laut.

Cultural Practices and the HIV Epidemic in Swaziland: Student\\'s ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

International Journal of Educational Research ... Cultural Practices and the HIV Epidemic in Swaziland: Student\\'s Perspectives and Challenges for School Counsellors ... Keywords: Cultural Practices, HIV Epidemic; Behaviour Change.

GENDER GENEALOGY OF READING AS CULTURAL PRACTICE

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N. Yu. Kryvda

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The article is devoted to the cultural aspect of texts using in European culture. The paper found out methodological basis of correctly interpreting the term "practice" in the philosophical and sociological discourses. In the first case the concept reveals human nature; appealing to the field of ethics and intersubjective interactions. In sociological approach the term practice is contrasted to institutional life. It seems to be an organic; vital relevance of actions for contrast to the mechanically regulated community life. Methodology. The paper considered the typology of human intellectual conditions according to Kant’s divided into pure and practical reason. The last one directs action-willed individual efforts so as to meet the universal relevance and ethical coherence. Gottlieb Fichte interpreted practice reason as the way to combine intellectual intentions and material conditions of human being. G. W. F. Hegel enriched the concept with terms of "objectification" and "alienation” of labour. Karl Marx formulated the main features of activity approach to the human nature exploring. In sociological discourse the term practice is opposed to mechanically done actions (according to institutional normativity. Given the philosophical and sociological methodological contexts the reading is studied as activity that aimed emotional and volitional contact with sense. Originality. The paper analysed the genealogy of reading practices. There were selected two types of text perception – rapid "masculine" and prudent "women's" reading. Women salon environment of the XVIII-th century capitalistic Europe was the main condition for the forming of literary-aware public. The authors analysed the process of reading of the text-as-satisfaction and text-as-pleasure (R. Barthes. The work presents the overview of classical studies of sociocultural field: Thorstein Veblen; Vladimir Toporov; Rolan Barthes and contemporary researchers such as T. Markova

Cultures in orbit: Satellite technologies, global media and local practice

Science.gov (United States)

Parks, Lisa Ann

Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, satellite technologies have had a profound impact upon cultures around the world. "Cultures in Orbit" examines these seemingly disembodied, distant relay machines in relation to situated social and cultural processes on earth. Drawing upon a range of materials including NASA and UNESCO documents, international satellite television broadcasts, satellite 'development' projects, documentary and science fiction films, remote sensing images, broadcast news footage, World Wide Web sites, and popular press articles I delineate and analyze a series of satellite mediascapes. "Cultures in Orbit" analyzes uses of satellites for live television relay, surveillance, archaeology and astronomy. The project examines such satellite media as the first live global satellite television program Our World, Elvis' Aloha from Hawaii concert, Aboriginal Australian satellite programs, and Star TV's Asian music videos. In addition, the project explores reconnaissance images of mass graves in Bosnia, archaeological satellite maps of Cleopatra's underwater palace in Egypt, and Hubble Space Telescope images. These case studies are linked by a theoretical discussion of the satellite's involvement in shifting definitions of time, space, vision, knowledge and history. The satellite fosters an aesthetic of global realism predicated on instantaneous transnational connections. It reorders linear chronologies by revealing traces of the ancient past on the earth's surface and by searching in deep space for the "edge of time." On earth, the satellite is used to modernize and develop "primitive" societies. Satellites have produced new electronic spaces of international exchange, but they also generate strategic maps that advance Western political and cultural hegemony. By technologizing human vision, the satellite also extends the epistemologies of the visible, the historical and the real. It allows us to see artifacts and activities on earth from new vantage points

Economy and job contract as contexts of sickness absence practices: revisiting locality and habitus.

Science.gov (United States)

Virtanen, P; Vahtera, J; Nakari, R; Pentti, J; Kivimäki, M

2004-04-01

This study revisits two Finnish local governments-Raisio and Nokia-that in an earlier study showed different sickness absence rates in the early 1990s. The locality difference was interpreted sociologically, within a framework inspired by Bourdieu's theory of social field, habitus and practice. The same framework is applied in the present study, starting out from the hypothesis that a constant historical and cultural locality context tends to reproduce prevailing sickness absence practices. The hypothesis was tested by extending the context beyond the locality to the macroeconomic fluctuations that occurred during the 1990s and to the type of employment contract. In both localities a 30% rise was observed in levels of sickness absence from 1991-1993 to 1997-2000. At the beginning of the 1990s the absence rate among permanent employees was 1.86 times higher in Nokia than in Raisio; at the end of the decade the corresponding rate ratio was 1.88. The absence rates were significantly lower among fixed-term employees than permanent employees, but the locality difference was seen in their case, too. Both results support the hypothesis. In spite of major changes taking place in the national economy, the differences between the two towns' sickness absence rates persisted, which in this particular case probably reflects the persisting working-class character of Nokia and middle-class character of Raisio. The theory also applies to the difference between permanent and fixed-term employees: the peripheral power position of the latter on work related social fields leads to the observed practices, i.e. to the relatively low absence rate. The results of our revisit give reason to recapitulate and elaborate upon our theoretical interpretation with a view to deepening our understanding of the social origins of sickness absence practices in the post-industrial workplace, which is characterised by increasing atypical employment and growing job insecurity.

Spatial Information in local society's cultural conservation and research

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, J.-J.; Liao, H.-M.; Fan, I.-C.

2015-09-01

Western parade, called " raojing " , the main spirit is passing through of these ranges in the process, to reach the people within bless range, many scholars and academic experts's folk research are dependent on such spatial information. 2012, GIS center applied WebGIS and GPS to gather raojing activities spatial information in cooperation with multi-units, aggregated seven sessions, 22 days, 442 temples had pass through . The atlas also published named "Atlas of the 2012 Religious Processions in the Tainan Region" in 2014. we also applied national cultural resources data form relevant government authorities, through the metadata design and data processing(geocoding), established cultural geospatial and thematic information ,such as 800 monuments, 1,100 historic buildings and 4,300 old trees data. In recent years, based on CRGIS technology and operational concepts, different domain experts or local culture-ahistory research worker/team had to cooperate with us to establish local or thematic material and cultural resources. As in collaboration with local culture-history research worker in Kinmen County in 2012, build Kinmen intangible cultural assets - Wind Lion God ,set metadata and build 122 wind lion god `s attribute data and maps through field survey, it is worth mention such fieldwork data integrity is more than the official registration data form Kinmen National Park, the number of is wind lion god more than 40; in 2013,we were in cooperation with academic experts to establish property data and map of the theatre during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan, a total of 170 theatres ; we were in cooperation with Japanese scholars, used his 44 detaile field survey data of sugar refineries during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan ,to produce a sugar refineries distribution map and extend to a thematic web(http://map.net.tw/) [The Cultural Heritage Maps of Taiwan Suger Factories in a Century]site according to CRGIS independent cultural concept. Deployment and operation

Social Inclusion and Local Practices of Belonging

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rob Garbutt

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Social inclusion has been conceptualised as having two key aspects: distributional aspects relating to access to resources including employment, and relational aspects which concern the connections between people and the wider society. While both are important, the emphasis in Australian social inclusion policy has been on distributional aspects. This paper focuses on the relational aspects of social inclusion, and argues that it is critically important to include relational considerations in social inclusion policy. Central to the relational aspects of social inclusion is achieving a sense of belonging, particularly at the everyday, local level. Belonging in this everyday sense can be thought of as an ongoing project achieved through everyday practices, rather than solely in terms of membership of a group. While many such practices, for example regularly engaging in team sports, are accepted ways of establishing and maintaining belonging, for others in a community practices of belonging may necessitate disrupting or at least broadening the established norms of how one belongs. To ground this discussion of inclusion and belonging, this paper draws on practices of belonging in a regional community. Established norms of belonging are examined through the idea of ‘being a local’, a way of belonging that appears to be based on membership. The paper then turns to two local projects which disrupt the exclusive bounds of local membership and establish new and inclusive practices of belonging. To conclude, parallels are drawn between the boundaries which define ‘the social’ in social inclusion and ‘the local community’ in being a local, to argue for the importance of including relational aspects of social inclusion within social inclusion policy debates and program formulation.

Understanding childbirth practices as an organizational cultural phenomenon: a conceptual framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Behruzi, Roxana; Hatem, Marie; Goulet, Lise; Fraser, William; Misago, Chizuru

2013-11-11

Understanding the main values and beliefs that might promote humanized birth practices in the specialized hospitals requires articulating the theoretical knowledge of the social and cultural characteristics of the childbirth field and the relations between these and the institution. This paper aims to provide a conceptual framework allowing examination of childbirth practices through the lens of an organizational culture theory. A literature review performed to extrapolate the social and cultural factors contribute to birth practices and the factors likely overlap and mutually reinforce one another, instead of complying with the organizational culture of the birth place. The proposed conceptual framework in this paper examined childbirth patterns as an organizational cultural phenomenon in a highly specialized hospital, in Montreal, Canada. Allaire and Firsirotu's organizational culture theory served as a guide in the development of the framework. We discussed the application of our conceptual model in understanding the influences of organizational culture components in the humanization of birth practices in the highly specialized hospitals and explained how these components configure both the birth practice and women's choice in highly specialized hospitals. The proposed framework can be used as a tool for understanding the barriers and facilitating factors encountered birth practices in specialized hospitals.

'Offensive' snakes: cultural beliefs and practices related to snakebites in a Brazilian rural settlement

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

This paper records the meaning of the term 'offense' and the folk knowledge related to local beliefs and practices of folk medicine that prevent and treat snake bites, as well as the implications for the conservation of snakes in the county of Pedra Branca, Bahia State, Brazil. The data was recorded from September to November 2006 by means of open-ended interviews performed with 74 individuals of both genders, whose ages ranged from 4 to 89 years old. The results show that the local terms biting, stinging and pricking are synonymous and used as equivalent to offending. All these terms mean to attack. A total of 23 types of 'snakes' were recorded, based on their local names. Four of them are Viperidae, which were considered the most dangerous to humans, besides causing more aversion and fear in the population. In general, local people have strong negative behavior towards snakes, killing them whenever possible. Until the antivenom was present and available, the locals used only charms, prayers and homemade remedies to treat or protect themselves and others from snake bites. Nowadays, people do not pay attention to these things because, basically, the antivenom is now easily obtained at regional hospitals. It is understood that the ethnozoological knowledge, customs and popular practices of the Pedra Branca inhabitants result in a valuable cultural resource which should be considered in every discussion regarding public health, sanitation and practices of traditional medicine, as well as in faunistic studies and conservation strategies for local biological diversity. PMID:20346120

The Microsociological Approach on Local Development Studies

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Lic. Domingos António-Lópes

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In the past two decades, societies, economies and cultures of the countries developed and developing have lived deep structural changes of marked breadth and impact processes in everyday lives.  Today we are witnessing a new era of technological and organizational restructuring that affects the ways to produce and manage local development. Sociology as a social science has begun to rethink development from the voices of a variety of actors, to strike with them rhythms and intensities of the social and cultural dynamics. This article is a sociological study on local development from the perspective of culture, placing the concepts of social space and socialization practices. An analysis of documentary sources which favoured the systematization of the concepts of development and local development.Keywords:  development, local development, socialization, cultural practices, social space, social capital.

A study of cultural diversity training practices in company-owned franchise restaurants

OpenAIRE

Lee, Chang-Uk Charles

1994-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural diversity training practices and to determine the deterrence factors associated instituting cultural diversity training. It attempted to measure the overall effectiveness of cultural diversity training in franchise restaurants. A total of 300 franchise restaurants were surveyed. Three practicing and fiftyeight non-practicing cultural diversity training companies participated in the study. The findings indicated that high tur...

Cultural Humility: An Active Concept to Drive Correctional Nursing Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Steefel, Lorraine

Correctional nursing practice is focused on a unique patient population: inmates who present with their own ethnicities and have an imposed culture from the prison structure. As such, culture must be considered to provide holistic care. Madeleine Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality, which maintains that care is the essence of nursing (without inclusion of culture, there is no care), suggests three nursing actions: to maintain the patient's culture, make accommodations for it, and/or repattern cultural ways that may be unhealthful. Given that correctional nurses work within the context (and culture) of custody, Leininger's nursing actions may not always be feasible; however, showing an underlying attitude of cultural humility is. In this article, cultural humility, the basis of culturally competent care, is described in a manner that can drive nursing practice in corrections.

Dimensions of patient safety culture in family practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Palacios-Derflingher, Luz; O'Beirne, Maeve; Sterling, Pam; Zwicker, Karen; Harding, Brianne K; Casebeer, Ann

2010-01-01

Safety culture has been shown to affect patient safety in healthcare. While the United States and United Kingdom have studied the dimensions that reflect patient safety culture in family practice settings, to date, this has not been done in Canada. Differences in the healthcare systems between these countries and Canada may affect the dimensions found to be relevant here. Thus, it is important to identify and compare the dimensions from the United States and the United Kingdom in a Canadian context. The objectives of this study were to explore the dimensions of patient safety culture that relate to family practice in Canada and to determine if differences and similarities exist between dimensions found in Canada and those found in previous studies undertaken in the United States and the United Kingdom. A qualitative study was undertaken applying thematic analysis using focus groups with family practice offices and supplementary key stakeholders. Analysis of the data indicated that most of the dimensions from the United States and United Kingdom are appropriate in our Canadian context. Exceptions included owner/managing partner/leadership support for patient safety, job satisfaction and overall perceptions of patient safety and quality. Two unique dimensions were identified in the Canadian context: disclosure and accepting responsibility for errors. Based on this early work, it is important to consider differences in care settings when understanding dimensions of patient safety culture. We suggest that additional research in family practice settings is critical to further understand the influence of context on patient safety culture.

Individualism and the cultural roots of management practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Hoorn, Andre

We study the cultural foundations of management practices, which are increasingly recognized as important determinants of firm performance. This research closes the loop on two developing literatures, one seeking cultural explanations for economic development and the other seeking to account for

Typography And Local Culture How Local Values Influence Batik Label Design In Yogyakarta And Surakarta

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Agung Zainal Muttakin Raden

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Batik was incorporated into the Indonesian culture since the Majapahit era. At that time the royal families of Majapahit Kingdom wore batik clothes for activities such as religious event or kingdom event. Since then batik was seen as a symbol of nobility. The growth of batik industry especially in Yogyakarta and Surakarta region has produced a diverse motive and fabric quality of batik clothes. To help differentiate between these batik clothes the owner of batik industries created batik labels with intricate design. This study focused on analysing the intricate design and typography found within three batik labels each from Yogyakarta and Surakarta Region to better understand the role of local culture and values in creating the batik label design using vernacular typography and cultural approach. The result shows that the local culture and values symbolically enforced by each keraton kingdom-like body and social system in Yogyakarta and Surakarta influenced the batik label design. The high cultured values of Yogyakarta keraton resulted in a more formal and rigid typefaces used in the batik label giving off a classical feeling. Meanwhile the more grass rooted values of Surakarta urban culture resulted in a fluid and flowing typefaces giving off a trendy casual feeling.

Workshop V: Cultural Perception and Bias/Science Practice and Ethics

Science.gov (United States)

Chuan, Kwek Leong; Lin, Jauyn Grace; Pierron-Bohnes, Veronique; Dawson, Silvina Ponce

2015-12-01

Despite the objectivity of science, the local work environment affects the daily activities of scientists. Differences in cultural perception can affect female scientists in the workplace directly. The pressure currently exerted on researchers, on the other hand, is altering how science is practiced and seems to affect women and men differently. In this paper we summarize the discussions that took place on this topic in Workshop V of the 5th IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics. We present some of the results of the 2010 Global Survey of Physicists analyzed by region and data from France and Taiwan. We also include the recommendations that were formulated at the end of the workshop.

Islamic Cultures: Health Care Beliefs and Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, Charles

1996-01-01

Presents an overview of Islamic health care beliefs and practices, noting health-related social and spiritual issues, fundamental beliefs and themes in Islam, health care beliefs and practices common among Muslims, and health-affecting social roles among Muslims. Cultural, religious, and social barriers to health care and ways to reduce them are…

25 tips for working through language and cultural barriers in your medical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, Laura Sachs

2009-01-01

The language and cultural barriers facing medical patients with limited English language proficiency pose tremendous challenges and risks. Moreover, medical practices today are more likely than ever to employ individuals whose first language is not English or who do not possess native-like knowledge of American culture. Knowing how to work through the language and cultural barriers you are likely to encounter in your medical practice has become increasingly more important. This article is written by a practice management consultant who has graduate-level linguistics training and second-language teaching credentials and experience. It offers 25 practical tips to help you communicate more effectively with individuals who are outside of your native culture and language. These include easy-to-implement tips about English language pronunciation, grammar, and word choice. This article also suggests what you can do personally to bridge the cultural divide with your patients and co-workers. Finally, this article includes a case study of one Virginia practice in which cultural differences interfered with the practice's smooth operation. It explains how the practice eventually worked through and overcame this cultural obstacle.

Cultural health beliefs in a rural family practice: a Malaysian perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Ariff, Kamil M; Beng, Khoo S

2006-02-01

Understanding the sociocultural dimension of a patient's health beliefs is critical to a successful clinical encounter. Malaysia with its multi-ethnic population of Malay, Chinese and Indian still uses many forms of traditional health care in spite of a remarkably modern rural health service. The objective of this paper is discuss traditional health care in the context of some of the cultural aspects of health beliefs, perceptions and practices in the different ethnic groups of the author's rural family practices. This helps to promote communication and cooperation between doctors and patients, improves clinical diagnosis and management, avoids cultural blind spots and unnecessary medical testing and leads to better adherence to treatment by patients. Includes traditional practices of 'hot and cold', notions of Yin-Yang and Ayurveda, cultural healing, alternative medicine, cultural perception of body structures and cultural practices in the context of women's health. Modern and traditional medical systems are potentially complementary rather than antagonistic. Ethnic and cultural considerations can be integrated further into the modern health delivery system to improve care and health outcomes.

Enhancing Reflective Practice in Multicultural Counseling through Cultural Auditing

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Sandra; Arthur, Nancy; Wong-Wylie, Gina

2010-01-01

Counselors work in an increasingly complex cultural milieu where every encounter with a client must be considered multicultural in nature. Reflective practice is a central component of professional competence and necessarily involves attention to culture. The cultural auditing model provides an effective and flexible reflective process for…

Ethical Culture and Financial Reporting: Understanding Financial Reporting Practice within Javanese Perspective

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Anis Chariri

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This study is a case study conducted in an Indonesian insurance company. The aim of the study is to understand the dynamics of financial reporting in the company. Ontologically, this study is built on a belief that financial reporting practice is a socially constructed reality. As a socially constructed reality, such a practice involves an interaction among social actors, and between organisational actors and the institutional and cultural environment in which the company operates. The main research question of this study is how organisational culture shapes the company on the construction of its financial reporting practice. This study reveals that the company is committed to quality financial reporting because such reporting can be used to gain legitimacy and to maintain social harmony. The company conducts itself in this way is because it reflects Javanese culture, a dominant culture in Indonesia. Furthermore, this study concludes that the way the actors in the company construct financial reporting practice is influenced by its organisational culture. The organisational culture of the company, which reflects Javanese culture, is able to shape the behaviour of its actors from the top level to lower levels to conduct ethical and transparent business practice. Thus, as Hines (1988 claims, this paper concludes that financial reporting practice is a socially constucted reality.

Effects of Cultural and Tourism Policies on Local Development: the Case of Food Trails in Medellín (Colombia

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Maria del Pilar Leal Londoño

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The emergence of Food Tourism worldwide has encouraged the rise of numerous food tourism strategies and initiatives everywhere, including Colombia. These are flourishing thanks to the tourism and cultural policies that recognise Colombian food processes and practices as intangible cultural heritage. One of the most representative strategies nowadays is the case of Medellín Sí Sabe (Medellín has a taste. The programme has been led by the local authorities and has been backed by different local organisations. This paper outlines an exploratory approach based on literature review, public documents, policies and the information obtained through nine semi-structured interviews applied to key stakeholders responsible for the implementation of this initiative in Medellín. The information provides some insights into how this strategy has had relevant effects on the local economic revitalisation by linking small and medium-sized food enterprises, which base their activity mainly on traditional dishes and products of the region. Firstly, it analyses the strategy’s structure and its link to national tourism and cultural policies based on the main concepts of territorial development: knowledge, learning and innovation. By analysing Medellín (Colombia as case study, it recognises the role played by local authorities in the promotion of food tourism.

Spatial Information in local society’s cultural conservation and research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.-J. Jang

2015-09-01

similar to Western parade, called " raojing " , the main spirit is passing through of these ranges in the process, to reach the people within bless range, many scholars and academic experts's folk research are dependent on such spatial information. 2012, GIS center applied WebGIS and GPS to gather raojing activities spatial information in cooperation with multi-units, aggregated seven sessions, 22 days, 442 temples had pass through . The atlas also published named "Atlas of the 2012 Religious Processions in the Tainan Region" in 2014. we also applied national cultural resources data form relevant government authorities, through the metadata design and data processing(geocoding, established cultural geospatial and thematic information ,such as 800 monuments, 1,100 historic buildings and 4,300 old trees data. In recent years, based on CRGIS technology and operational concepts, different domain experts or local culture-ahistory research worker/team had to cooperate with us to establish local or thematic material and cultural resources. As in collaboration with local culture-history research worker in Kinmen County in 2012, build Kinmen intangible cultural assets - Wind Lion God ,set metadata and build 122 wind lion god ‘s attribute data and maps through field survey, it is worth mention such fieldwork data integrity is more than the official registration data form Kinmen National Park, the number of is wind lion god more than 40; in 2013,we were in cooperation with academic experts to establish property data and map of the theatre during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan, a total of 170 theatres ; we were in cooperation with Japanese scholars, used his 44 detaile field survey data of sugar refineries during the Japanese colonial era in Taiwan ,to produce a sugar refineries distribution map and extend to a thematic web(http://map.net.tw/ [The Cultural Heritage Maps of Taiwan Suger Factories in a Century]site according to CRGIS independent cultural concept. Deployment and

Cross cultural dimensions to the learning and practice of learning ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper focused on the question of cultural dimension to learning and the practice of learning in different schools. It can be argues that values mould a culture and this influences the interactions through their adherence to the daily practices. Thus the different schools experience different kinds of conflicts between their ...

'Nursing research culture' in the context of clinical nursing practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøttcher Berthelsen, Connie; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi

2017-01-01

for efficiency, nurses’ barriers to research use and the lack of definition of the concept of nursing research culture make it difficult to establish. Design Concept analysis. Data sources Data were collected through a literature review in PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO during March 2016. Methods Walker and Avant......Aim To report an analysis of the concept of nursing research culture in the context of clinical nursing practice. Background Nursing research culture should be valued for its contribution to improving patient care and should be considered as a routine hospital activity. However, the demand......'s eight-step framework for concept analysis. Results Five defining attributes of nursing research culture in the context of clinical nursing practice were identified: strong monodisciplinary nursing professionalism, academic thinking and socialization, research use as a part of daily nursing practice...

Globalisation And Local Indigenous Education In Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Reinke, Leanne

2004-11-01

Globalisation is often viewed as a threat to cultural and linguistic diversity and therefore is a central concern of educational practices and policy. The present study challenges this common view by demonstrating that local communities can use global means to support and enhance their specific practices and policies. An historical exploration of education policy in Mexico reveals that there has been a continuing struggle by indigenous peoples to maintain locally relevant modes of teaching. Indigenous peoples have increasingly used technology to maintain their languages and local cultural practices. Such accentuation of the local in a global context is exemplified by the people of Chiapas: They live in subsistence-type communities, yet their recent education movements and appeals to international solidarity (such as in the Zapatista rebellion) have employed computer-aided technologies.

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

Workplace culture and the practice experience of midwifery students: A meta-synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Arundell, Fiona; Mannix, Judy; Sheehan, Athena; Peters, Kath

2018-04-01

To describe midwifery students' practice experience and to explore facilitators and barriers to positive clinical learning experiences. Practice experience is a vital component of every midwifery course. Course dissatisfaction and attrition of midwifery students has been attributed to sub-optimal practice experiences. Events or actions experienced by midwifery students that trigger dissatisfaction and attrition need to be identified. A meta-synthesis was based on that developed by Noblit and Hare. Students perceive workplaces as poorly prepared for their arrival and subsequent support. Students' experience in the practice setting is influenced by the existing workplace culture. Workplace culture influences institutional functioning and individuals within the culture. Enculturation of students into the midwifery culture and subsequent learning is affected by the support received. The practice experience of midwifery students was profoundly influenced by workplace culture. Students tended to have polarized accounts of their experience that were predominantly negative. To provide an optimal environment for midwifery students; midwifery managers and individual midwives need to be aware of the facilitators and barriers to midwifery student development in the practice setting. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Influence of Economic Literacyon Consumption Behaviour Mediated by Local Cultural Values and Promotion

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Aldila Septiana

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This research aims to know the influence of economics literacy on the students’ consumption behavior through local cultural values and promotions. The mediation used is based on the theories, the empirical studies and the previous studies.Quantitative approach was used in this study. The population was the Pamekasan Senior High Schools students (Class XI IPS, academic year 2012/2013. Proportional random sampling was conducted to take the samples in the population. The data was collected by using the questionnaire and test. Path analysis was used to analyze the data.The findings showe that the economic literacy level influences directly and significantly on the local cultural values, while affected negatively significant on the promotion. Also the economic literacy level influences directly and negatively significant on the consumption behavior. Contrary, the local cultural values influence directly, positively and significantly on the consumption behavior similar to the promotion. Moreover, the economic literacy level influences indirectly and significantly on the consumption behavior through the local cultural values. Similar to the local cultural values, the promotion aspect had the same influence direction. Therefore, this research provided evidence that the economic literacy affected consumption behaviour which are moderated through the value of local culture and promotion aspects

School Culture: Teachers' Beliefs, Behaviors, and Instructional Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Hongboontri, Chantarath; Keawkhong, Natheeporn

2014-01-01

This mixed-methods research project documents the school culture of Hope University's Language Institute and reveals the reciprocal relationship between the school culture and the instructional practices of the English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in this particular institute. Altogether, 62 EFL teachers agreed to complete a questionnaire.…

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 ...

European cultural landscapes: Connecting science, policy and practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hernandez Morcillo, Monica

their biocultural diversity and affecting their ability to provide these benefits. Developing indicators to improve accountability of cultural ecosystem services and connecting the multiple stakeholders’ knowledge involved in land use decisions would help to delineate more sustainable pathways. The aims of this Ph......D thesis are to: 1) examine the measures and potential of cultural ecosystem services and traditional ecological knowledge in Europe, and; 2) explore transdisciplinary methods to develop joint research-action agendas for European cultural landscapes. The findings indicate that local knowledge improves......European cultural landscapes are especially valued for the abundance of cultural ecosystem services and the richness of traditional ecological knowledge they provide to society. In recent decades, land use changes have dramatically altered cultural landscapes across Europe, reducing...

The Impact of Local Culture on Financial Performance in Property Firms in Bali

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I Putu Astawa

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The research studies local culture reflected through pray, hard work, honesty, tatwamasi and gotong royong influencing property sales and company assets. Fifty companies are qualified as sample of sixty one property companies actively operated in 2013. Data is collected through questionnaire having tested for its reliability and validity before distributed to those fifty companies. The collected data is analyzed with multiple  regression. Result shows that hard work, honesty, tatwamasi and gotong royong culture that well implemented are able to improve property sale and assets ownership. Result of the study has implication that in order to improve financial performance, local culture should be included as variable in performance measurement. Result of the study gives contribution to Schein’s organizational culture (2004 that colored with local culture; therefore, values believed in an organization are able to improve performance.

Perceptions of giving birth and adherence to cultural practices in Chinese women.

Science.gov (United States)

Callister, Lynn Clark; Eads, Megan Nicole; Yeung Diehl, Jenny Pui See

2011-01-01

To compare the childbirth experiences of Chinese women living in varied sociocultural contexts. Qualitative study of 34 Chinese women who had given birth in their country of origin (the People's Republic of China [PRC] or Taiwan) and Chinese women who immigrated to the United States. This research provides insights into the perspectives of mothers living in varied sociocultural contexts. Themes included expecting a child and defining birth expectations, experiencing giving birth, adhering to cultural beliefs and practices, and framing birth within sociocultural context. There are cultural beliefs and practices associated with giving birth in all cultures, and because there is such rich cultural diversity in the United States, it is important for nurses caring for childbearing women to understand Chinese cultural beliefs and practices in order to provide culturally competent care.

Open and Distance Learning: Cultural Practices in Nepal

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Pangeni, Shesha Kanta

2016-01-01

Nepali education culture is dominated by face-to-face tutoring. It has a long history starting from the Gurukul culture to the present formal schooling. Emerging practices of using technology in education have been promoting online learning as a form of distance education and gaining popularity. This paper focuses on digging out the contextual…

Practical Life: The Keystone of Life, Culture, and Community

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Ramani, Uma

2013-01-01

Uma Ramani's characterization of practical life is philosophical and anthropological, suggesting that "human history is the story of the evolution of our practical life activities." Practical life is a collaborative activity that creates community and culture. One's adaptation to life through the daily work of ordering our environment…

Children's Everyday Learning by Assuming Responsibility for Others: Indigenous Practices as a Cultural Heritage Across Generations.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández, David Lorente

2015-01-01

This chapter uses a comparative approach to examine the maintenance of Indigenous practices related with Learning by Observing and Pitching In in two generations--parent generation and current child generation--in a Central Mexican Nahua community. In spite of cultural changes and the increase of Western schooling experience, these practices persist, to different degrees, as a Nahua cultural heritage with close historical relations to the key value of cuidado (stewardship). The chapter explores how children learn the value of cuidado in a variety of everyday activities, which include assuming responsibility in many social situations, primarily in cultivating corn, raising and protecting domestic animals, health practices, and participating in family ceremonial life. The chapter focuses on three main points: (1) Cuidado (assuming responsibility for), in the Nahua socio-cultural context, refers to the concepts of protection and "raising" as well as fostering other beings, whether humans, plants, or animals, to reach their potential and fulfill their development. (2) Children learn cuidado by contributing to family endeavors: They develop attention and self-motivation; they are capable of responsible actions; and they are able to transform participation to achieve the status of a competent member of local society. (3) This collaborative participation allows children to continue the cultural tradition and to preserve a Nahua heritage at a deeper level in a community in which Nahuatl language and dress have disappeared, and people do not identify themselves as Indigenous. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Empowerment in Context: Lessons from Hip-Hop Culture for Social Work Practice

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Travis, Raphael, Jr.; Deepak, Anne

2011-01-01

Hip-hop culture can be used as a conduit to enhanced cultural competence and practice skills through the individual and community empowerment framework. This framework is introduced as a tool for direct practice that allows social workers to understand the competing messages within hip-hop culture and how they may impact youths by promoting or…

The influence of cultural practices on the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Zambia

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Nolipher Moyo

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Culture plays a significant role in people’s lives in Zambia and in Africa as a whole. Consequently, there is a need to take Zambian or African culture seriously in order to look at the salient elements of cultural practices in rites of passage that influence the spread of HIV and AIDS. This article analyses four rites of passage associated with birth, puberty, marriage and death. There are numerous rites of passage in Zambian culture. Some of these rites help to curb the spread of HIV and AIDS, whilst others exacerbate the spread of the virus. Using the Reformed Church in Zambia Bible Study Method of Subgroups, discussions were held that allowed victims of cultural practices to tell their stories using the narrative model. This article sought to shed light on cultural practices that exacerbate HIV and AIDS and more importantly, provide culturally sensitive alternatives to these harmful practices.

Forming Future Teachers’ Aesthetic Culture in Foreign Educational Practice

OpenAIRE

Sotska Galyna

2016-01-01

The article deals with a theoretical analysis of foreign educational experience in solving scientific problems of forming future teachers’ aesthetic culture. Given the current socio-cultural situation, it has been noted that a teacher who developed his/her aesthetic culture can make a direct contribution to the social and cultural challenges of a changing world. Based on the study of scientific and pedagogical literature, normative and legal support and the content of practical courses, the a...

Bringing together local culture and rural development: findings from Ireland, Pennsylvania and Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

M.A. Brennan; Courtney G. Flint; A.E. Luloff

2009-01-01

The developmental trajectories of communities are routinely explained by reference to economic history, human capital deficits, or the structure of local labour markets. The role of local culture in understanding community development or in interpreting empirical research has received less attention. We believe culture plays an important independent role in shaping...

Abstract: Cultural Humility in Nursing Practice | Nkurunziza ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract: Cultural Humility in Nursing Practice. ... For example, Rwandan colleagues work from a collectivist viewpoint. ... In contrast, the U.S. healthcare system is based on individualism, rooted in a belief in the separation and autonomy of ...

Traditional and Local Knowledge Practices for Disaster Risk Reduction in Northern Ghana

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Nsioh Macnight Ngwese

2018-03-01

Full Text Available In order to deal with recurrent disasters, like floods and droughts coupled with the limited adaptive capacity, in the semiarid regions of Northern Ghana, local communities have no choice but to apply traditional and local knowledge practices. This study seeks to identify such practices employed in selected rural communities in Northern Ghana and to investigate their effectiveness. Data were collected through key informant interviews, household questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions, and participant observations. The findings indicated that although diverse practices were applied to predict and manage local disaster events, skepticism prevailed among locals toward these practices regarding their effectiveness. Due to the lack of science-based tools and systems for disaster prediction and management, local communities continually depended on these knowledge systems and practices. Integrating local and traditional disaster risk reduction (DRR efforts into modern scientific knowledge should be encouraged in order to reduce the vulnerability of local communities to disasters with thorough effectiveness evaluation protocols.

Connecting Local Cultural Heritage Collections with ICT: the Case of ZBORZBIRK

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Špela Ledinek Lozej

2014-12-01

Full Text Available AbstractPurpose: The article discusses the digitisation and inventory of 34 local cultural heritage collections in the border region between the Alps and the Karst, and the establishment of a network of owners, guardians of collections and professionals from the field of museology, ethnology, digital humanities and informatics.Methodology/approach: In the framework of the project “ZBORZBIRK – Cultural heritage between the Alps and the Karst” 34 collections of cultural heritage of different type and contents, until then inaccessible to the general public and experts, were catalogued, contextualised and presented to the general and expert public in different media and on the project website.Results: A unified repository with metadata on objects (units was established containing also digital photographs and scans of images and textual objects (digital objects. There are 4583 units and 5190 digital objects in the repository. It is designed for researchers, experts and students from the fields of ethnology, cultural anthropology, history, linguistics as well for the general public, and above all to achieve greater recognisability of the region.Research limitation: The research and the results were limited by the material itself, i.e. the collections included into the project, as well as by different aspirations of collectors and various levels of specialised skills of registrars and recorders who documented and digitised the units and entered the data in the metadata database. The project addresses a wide scope of potential users thus the implementation of different solutions gave rise to the conflict of interests among target groups. The question was whether it should serve as a virtual museum or as a research archival repository. More attention was focused on archival and research standards than on presentation technologies.Originality/practical implications: The project ZBORZBIRK is one of the first projects in the Italian and Slovenian

Patterns of cultural consensus and intracultural diversity in Ghanaian complementary feeding practices.

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Kalra, Nikhila; Pelto, Gretel; Tawiah, Charlotte; Zobrist, Stephanie; Milani, Peiman; Manu, Grace; Laar, Amos; Parker, Megan

2018-01-01

Designing effective interventions to improve infant and young child (IYC) feeding requires knowledge about determinants of current practices, including cultural factors. Current approaches to obtaining and using research on culture tend to assume cultural homogeneity within a population. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of cultural consensus (homogeneity) in communities where interventions to improve IYC feeding practices are needed to address undernutrition during the period of complementary feeding. A second, related objective was to identify the nature of intracultural variation, if such variation was evident. Selected protocols from the Focused Ethnographic Study for Infant and Young Child Feeding Manual were administered to samples of key informants and caregivers in a peri-urban and a rural area in Brong-Ahafo, Ghana. Cultural domain analysis techniques (free listing, caregiver assessment of culturally significant dimensions, and food ratings on these dimensions), as well as open-ended questions with exploratory probing, were used to obtain data on beliefs and related practices. Results reveal generally high cultural consensus on the 5 dimensions that were assessed (healthiness, appeal, child acceptance, convenience, and modernity) for caregiver decisions and on their ratings of individual foods. However, thematic analysis of caregiver narratives indicates that the meanings and content of the constructs connoted by the dimensions differed widely among individual mothers. These findings suggest that research on cultural factors that affect IYC practices, particularly cultural beliefs, should consider the nature and extent of cultural consensus and intracultural diversity, rather than assuming cultural homogeneity. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Exploring Culture in Locally Published English Textbooks for Primary Education in Turkey

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Kirkgöz, Yasemin; Agçam, Reyhan

2011-01-01

Since language and culture are closely interwoven, the integration of culture into textbooks used for teaching English as a second/foreign language has become a widely accepted phenomenon. This study investigates the cultural elements in locally published English textbooks used for Turkish primary schools following two major curriculum innovations…

Cultural hair practices, physical activity, and obesity among urban African-American girls.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowen, Felesia; O'Brien-Richardson, Patricia

2017-12-01

Hair holds cultural meaning and value for women of African descent. The values placed on hair type and hair style date back to preslavery days. There is a small body of literature that addresses the relationship between cultural hair practices and physical inactivity among black women. Understanding this is important because inactivity during childhood and adolescent years contributes to increased weight-related morbidity and mortality during adult years. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between cultural hair practices, physical activity, and obesity among urban African-American adolescent girls. A convenience sample of 50 African-American girls completed questionnaires and were weighed and measured for body mass index (BMI) calculation. Cultural hair practices such as the amount of money (p = .047) and time (p = .015) spent on hair maintenance were associated with decreased physical activity but were not associated with BMI. Inactivity during adolescence can result in obesity, a major cause of chronic health conditions that contribute to morbidity and mortality as an adult. When nurse practitioners understand and appreciate the cultural differences and beliefs around cultural hair practices they will be able to develop culturally appropriate strategies that will aid in weight loss. ©2017 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

"La Historia de Mi Nombre": A Culturally Sustaining Early Literacy Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Nash, Kindel; Panther, Leah; Arce-Boardman, Alicia

2018-01-01

This article features a culturally sustaining practice that many early literacy teachers can adapt and use: "la historia de mi nombre"/the story of my name. The practice is described in the context of a second-grade bi/multilingual class as the Latinx students are learning about their names through culturally authentic literature,…

Clinical accuracy of point-of-care urine culture in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Anne; Cordoba, Gloria; Sørensen, Tina Møller

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical accuracy (sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive predictive value and negative predictive value) of two point-of-care (POC) urine culture tests for the identification of urinary tract infection (UTI) in general practice. DESIGN: Prospective diagnostic...... uncomplicated, symptomatic UTI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Overall accuracy of POC urine culture in general practice. (2) Individual accuracy of each of the two POC tests in this study. (3) Accuracy of POC urine culture in general practice with enterococci excluded, since enterococci are known to multiply...... general practices recruited 341 patients with suspected uncomplicated UTI. The overall agreement between index test and reference was 0.76 (CI: 0.71-0.80), SEN 0.88 (CI: 0.83-0.92) and SPE 0.55 (CI: 0.46-0.64). The two POC tests produced similar results individually. Overall agreement with enterococci...

Comparing Higher Education Practices and Cultural Competences in Kenya and the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Musamali, Kennedy; Martin, Barbara N.

2016-01-01

Examined within this paper are effective leadership practices across two cultures. Specifically, this study examined the relationship between cultural competency and effective leadership practices in higher education institutions. A quantitative design was used to investigate and compare effective practices of educational leaders in two distinct…

The Best Practices for Shaping School Culture for Instructional Leaders

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Jennifer; Asberry, Jacqueline; DeJarnett, Gregory; King, Gwendolyn

2016-01-01

School culture is the belief and attitude influencing every aspect of how a school functions. Culture shared by all school stakeholders makes the actualization of both short-and long-term objectives easier. In this context, the best practices for shaping school culture for professional educators are personal mastery, team learning, and building a…

Cultures of simulations vs. cultures of calculations? The development of simulation practices in meteorology and astrophysics

Science.gov (United States)

Sundberg, Mikaela

While the distinction between theory and experiment is often used to discuss the place of simulation from a philosophical viewpoint, other distinctions are possible from a sociological perspective. Turkle (1995) distinguishes between cultures of calculation and cultures of simulation and relates these cultures to the distinction between modernity and postmodernity, respectively. What can we understand about contemporary simulation practices in science by looking at them from the point of view of these two computer cultures? What new questions does such an analysis raise for further studies? On the basis of two case studies, the present paper compares and discusses simulation activities in astrophysics and meteorology. It argues that simulation practices manifest aspects of both of these cultures simultaneously, but in different situations. By employing the dichotomies surface/depth, play/seriousness, and extreme/reasonable to characterize and operationalize cultures of calculation and cultures of simulation as sensitizing concepts, the analysis shows how simulation code work shifts from development to use, the importance of but also resistance towards too much visualizations, and how simulation modelers play with extreme values, yet also try to achieve reasonable results compared to observations.

Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosch, Marije; Dijkstra, Rob; Wensing, Michel; van der Weijden, Trudy; Grol, Richard

2008-08-21

Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory) and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework), and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (beta = -0.04; p = 0.04), whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (beta = 5.97; p = 0.03). No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea that aspects of redesigning care such as teamwork and culture

Organizational culture, team climate and diabetes care in small office-based practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

van der Weijden Trudy

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Redesigning care has been proposed as a lever for improving chronic illness care. Within primary care, diabetes care is the most widespread example of restructured integrated care. Our goal was to assess to what extent important aspects of restructured care such as multidisciplinary teamwork and different types of organizational culture are associated with high quality diabetes care in small office-based general practices. Methods We conducted cross-sectional analyses of data from 83 health care professionals involved in diabetes care from 30 primary care practices in the Netherlands, with a total of 752 diabetes mellitus type II patients participating in an improvement study. We used self-reported measures of team climate (Team Climate Inventory and organizational culture (Competing Values Framework, and measures of quality of diabetes care and clinical patient characteristics from medical records and self-report. We conducted multivariate analyses of the relationship between culture, climate and HbA1c, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and a sum score on process indicators for the quality of diabetes care, adjusting for potential patient- and practice level confounders and practice-level clustering. Results A strong group culture was negatively associated to the quality of diabetes care provided to patients (β = -0.04; p = 0.04, whereas a more 'balanced culture' was positively associated to diabetes care quality (β = 5.97; p = 0.03. No associations were found between organizational culture, team climate and clinical patient outcomes. Conclusion Although some significant associations were found between high quality diabetes care in general practice and different organizational cultures, relations were rather marginal. Variation in clinical patient outcomes could not be attributed to organizational culture or teamwork. This study therefore contributes to the discussion about the legitimacy of the widespread idea

The cultural space between accounts & abilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fitriasari, Dewi; Kampf, Constance

Relations between global accounting standards and local accountability practices in Indonesia, a country with a rich history influenced by both the East and West, are examined from a cultural perspective.  Key constructs include Swidler's notions of settled and unsettled cultures and the notion...... of open cultural systems to explain the resources available for accounting practices in Indonesia. We examine the Global Reporting Initiative and International Accounting Standards Board websites as examples of unsettled cultures--looking at their ideologies expressed via the Internet, comparing studies...... of emerging economies. The characteristics specific to Indonesia open up further possibilities for understanding the role of diversity in accountability practices for emerging economies...

Enhancing Self-Awareness: A Practical Strategy to Train Culturally Responsive Social Work Students

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Nalini J. Negi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available A primary goal of social justice educators is to engage students in a process of self-discovery, with the goal of helping them recognize their own biases, develop empathy, and become better prepared for culturally responsive practice. While social work educators are mandated with the important task of training future social workers in culturally responsive practice with diverse populations, practical strategies on how to do so are scant. This article introduces a teaching exercise, the Ethnic Roots Assignment, which has been shown qualitatively to aid students in developing self-awareness, a key component of culturally competent social work practice. Practical suggestions for classroom utilization, common challenges, and past student responses to participating in the exercise are provided. The dissemination of such a teaching exercise can increase the field’s resources for addressing the important goal of cultural competence training.

Good cell culture practices &in vitro toxicology.

Science.gov (United States)

Eskes, Chantra; Boström, Ann-Charlotte; Bowe, Gerhard; Coecke, Sandra; Hartung, Thomas; Hendriks, Giel; Pamies, David; Piton, Alain; Rovida, Costanza

2017-12-01

Good Cell Culture Practices (GCCP) is of high relevance to in vitro toxicology. The European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV), the Center for Alternatives for Animal Testing (CAAT) and the In Vitro Toxicology Industrial Platform (IVTIP) joined forces to address by means of an ESTIV 2016 pre-congress session the different aspects and applications of GCCP. The covered aspects comprised the current status of the OECD guidance document on Good In Vitro Method Practices, the importance of quality assurance for new technological advances in in vitro toxicology including stem cells, and the optimized implementation of Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Laboratory Practices for regulatory testing purposes. General discussions raised the duality related to the difficulties in implementing GCCP in an academic innovative research framework on one hand, and on the other hand, the need for such GCCP principles in order to ensure reproducibility and robustness of in vitro test methods for toxicity testing. Indeed, if good cell culture principles are critical to take into consideration for all uses of in vitro test methods for toxicity testing, the level of application of such principles may depend on the stage of development of the test method as well as on the applications of the test methods, i.e., academic innovative research vs. regulatory standardized test method. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural Differences in Educational Practices: The Case of a Korean Graduate Student

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Nazmiye Gürel

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Cultural differences in educational practices can be regarded as one of the major causes of struggle and failure. If these practices take place in foreign language settings where the medium of communication is carried out solely in the foreign language, the severity of the struggle on the part of the students rises significantly. In this study, cultural differences in educational practices are examined through the experiences of a Korean graduate student who studies in a north-eastern American university. The data is collected through in-depth face-to-face interviews which yielded to significant implications. Classroom activities, power relations, and expectations are presented through cultural lenses and how the differences in cultures affect the success of a foreign student are presented.

Trans-Cultural, Trans-Language Practices: Potentialities for Rethinking Doctoral Education Pedagogies

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Sarojni Choy

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Over the last decade, there has been a rapid increase in doctoral enrolments of Asian international students in Australian universities. While policies have been developed to meet the needs of these students, there seems to be some confusion around the terms internationalisation, globalisation, bi-cultural, inter-cultural, multi-cultural, and trans-cultural within these policies. In this paper, we define these terms and advocate for a policy position which orients to a futurist definition of culture. We then review the work of Michael Singh and his research team at Western Sydney University who have responded to this rapid increase in Asian international student doctoral enrolments in Australian universities by developing pedagogic principles around notions of trans-language and trans-cultural practices. In the final section of the paper, we then draw on our own experiences of doctoral supervision in Australian universities to reflect on our positioning within the pedagogic principles around trans-language and trans-cultural practices.

Popular Culture in Transglossic Language Practices of Young Adults

Science.gov (United States)

Sultana, Shaila; Dovchin, Sender

2017-01-01

Based on virtual conversations drawn from two separate intensive ethnographic studies in Bangladesh and Mongolia, we show that popular cultural texts play a significant role in young adults' heteroglossic language practices. On the one hand, they borrow voices from cultural texts and cross the boundaries of language, i.e., codes, modes, and…

Local Organisation and Cultural Identity in Greenland in a National Perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dybbroe, Susanne

1991-01-01

Important contributions have been made to understand the function of locality in the construction of cultural identity. Focus has variously been directed at the role of place and the role of aspects of social organisation in creating a symbolic bond between members of local communities. The article...

Cultural affordances: Scaffolding local worlds through shared intentionality and regimes of attention

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Maxwell James D. Ramstead

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper we outline a framework for the study of the mechanisms involved in the engagement of human agents with cultural affordances. Our aim is to better understand how culture and context interact with human biology to shape human behavior, cognition, and experience. We attempt to integrate several related approaches in the study of the embodied, cognitive, and affective substrates of sociality and culture and the sociocultural scaffolding of experience. The integrative framework we propose bridges cognitive and social sciences to provide (i an expanded concept of ‘affordance’ that extends to sociocultural forms of life, and (ii a multilevel account of the socioculturally scaffolded forms of affordance learning and the transmission of affordances in patterned sociocultural practices and regimes of shared attention. This framework provides an account of how cultural content and normative practices are built on a foundation of contentless basic mental processes that acquire content through immersive participation of the agent in social practices that regulate joint attention and shared intentionality.

The promotion of mental health through cultural values, institutions, and practices: a reflection on some aspects of botswana culture.

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Sabone, Motshedisi B

2009-12-01

Botswana has seen rapid socioeconomic development since the 1970s that has contributed to the erosion of the values, institutions, and practices that are believed to be supportive of mental health. In this paper, the author argues that the aspects of culture that are supportive of mental health have been diluted by the process of urbanization and the interactions of Batswana (the indigenous people of Botswana) with other cultural groups, particularly those from the western hemisphere. The paper further highlights some of the values, institutions, and practices native to Botswana and describes how they promote mental health. Lastly, recommendations for reviving the cultural values, institutions, and practices of Botswana are discussed.

National Reform Programs in Local Practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjelholt, Morten; Jensen, Tina Blegind

. In particular, we emphasize the practices in which national strategic formulations are legitimized and accepted or abandoned by the actors involved. Building on a case study conducted over a two-year time span, we show how a local actor engages with and promotes a national reform program by evoking a discourse...

Tryptophan Levels during Grape Ripening: Effects of Cultural Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Ruiz-Rodríguez

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Some cultural practices that are carried out during the grape ripening period are associated with vine stress, including leaf removal, grape bunch removal, and vegetable cover crops. Additionally, several nitrogen and sulfur supplements have also been used directly on leaves during the last stage of the ripening period. In the work described here, five different cultural practices and the reference were applied in three replicates in the same vineyard. The evolution of tryptophan levels was evaluated from just after grape veraison until the harvest date. In some cases, certain specific treatments were also evaluated after the regular harvest date. The cultural techniques that involved the application of nitrogen led to higher levels of tryptophan at the harvest day when compared to other cultural techniques. It was also found that the application of nitrogen without sulfur had a faster effect on the level of tryptophan. It was established that a period of around 20 days is needed for the grapes to show clear differences in tryptophan levels after the application of nitrogen.

Cultural Lessons for Clinical Mental Health Practice: The Puyallup Tribal Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Guilmet, George M.; Whited, David L.

1987-01-01

Discusses the integration of American Indian cultural perspectives within counseling and mental health services. Outlines several issues illustrating cultural lessons for clinical practices: family and social structure, ritual, cultural values and conflict, sense of time and self, communication styles, anger, and traditionalism. Contains 47…

The role of culture in breast health practices among Chinese-Australian women.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwok, Cannas; Sullivan, Gerard; Cant, Rosemary

2006-12-01

Exploring how cultural meanings of the breast impact on perceived images of breast cancer and breast health practices. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 Chinese-Australian women in their native language (Cantonese). The findings revealed that the meanings of the breast are constructed within the women's social and cultural context where breasts are associated with sex; and talking about, being concerned with or expressing curiosity about breasts is considered inappropriate. These views have a significant impact on (1) the way the informants viewed breast cancer; (2) perceptions of breast health practices; and (3) the explanations of breast cancer and associated risk perception. Understanding the nature of culturally-based barriers to utilization of breast cancer screening is the first step to discovering solutions for making screening tests more acceptable to women from other cultures. This study provides insight about obstacles for breast health promotion practices and for developing culturally appropriate health education programs and counselling strategies.

Bangladeshi parental ethnotheories in the United Kingdom: Towards cultural collaborations in clinical practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Bose, Ruma

2016-07-01

Parental meaning systems (ethnotheories) constitute a very important part of the context in which children live and develop. Parental ethnotheories are in turn shaped by implicit cultural ideals that organize parental beliefs and actions and frame child-rearing practices. The article presents a qualitative research into Bangladeshi parental ethnotheories in the United Kingdom, which illustrates both the rich cultural meanings that orientate parental action and also demonstrates how parents generate new meanings following migration and culture change. Professional understandings about children's developmental needs, of child rearing and parenting, are not culture free and an examination of the cultural frames of professional theories is important as parenting is often taught as a universal technique that takes little account of the cultural context and of what parents think. An engagement with other cultural theories about child development can enhance critical reflexivity in clinical practice by provoking reflection on the cultural constructions of professional theories. Creating a context for the expression of parental ethnotheories is necessary for developing cross-cultural collaborations in clinical practice as it empowers families and redresses the power relationship between the therapist and the parent. © The Author(s) 2014.

LEGITIMIDADE CULTURAL LOCAL NAS PRÁTICAS ESTRATÉGICAS DE PMES

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Henrique Muzzio

2011-12-01

Full Text Available O objetivo deste ensaio é analisar a relação entre as estratégias de Pequenas e Médias Empresas (PMEs com os valores culturais e as práticas institucionais locais na busca pela competitividade. Correntes teóricas como organização industrial (PORTER, 1980, baseadas em recursos (BARNEY, 1991 e capacidades dinâmicas (TEECE; PISANO e SHUEN, 1997, possuem distintas explicações para as organizações tornarem-se competitivas. A legitimidade cultural local trabalha com a perspectiva de que as práticas estratégicas são socialmente construídas e precisam estar legitimadas pelos stakeholderes locais. Dada a natureza deste trabalho, apresentamos uma discussão teórica amparada nas teorias: institucional (DIMAGGIO e POWELL, 1983, do agente (EMIRBAYER e MISCHE, 1998 e cultural (SMIRCICH, 1983. Suas conclusões enfatizam que as PMEs poderiam desenvolver estratégias baseadas na legitimidade cultural local como meio adicional de alcançar competitividade frente a grandes empresas. Indicam-se ainda pesquisas que possam suprir as lacunas do campo.

Cultural Differences in Educational Practices: The Case of a Korean Graduate Student

OpenAIRE

Nazmiye Gürel

2011-01-01

Cultural differences in educational practices can be regarded as one of the major causes of struggle and failure. If these practices take place in foreign language settings where the medium of communication is carried out solely in the foreign language, the severity of the struggle on the part of the students rises significantly. In this study, cultural differences in educational practices are examined through the experiences of a Korean graduate student who studies in a north-eastern America...

CULTURAL IMPACT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES IN THE ADOPTION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES

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Ariza-Aguilera, Dora A.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Project management is a knowledge area that counts with the definition of best practices and methodologies, around the world. However, the use of these practices, is affected by social norms within an organization (Alavi, Kayworth & Leidner, 2005 and by the interpretation made by individuals, about the usefulness of these practices (Stare, 2012. This work seeks to establish the cultural effect of the values in the extent to which people adopt the project management practices in organizations. From the literature review, honesty, formalization, responsibility and justice were identified as values associated to behaviors that include the use of project management practices. A questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 55 companies located in Bogotá, Colombia, from various sectors of industry. Positive relationships between cultural values and the adoption of project management practices was evidenced. It was found that the extent, to which these practices are adopted, is a function of formalization. The theoretical contribution of this research is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between cultural values and project management practices, since there are no studies about this relation. Its utility is to provide guidance to organizations on the need to promote the formalization as cultural value, to increase the use of project management practices. This integration lead to greater effectiveness (Rosenthal & Masarech, 2003.

Cultural transition of international medical graduate residents into family practice in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Triscott, Jean A C; Szafran, Olga; Waugh, Earle H; Torti, Jacqueline M I; Barton, Martina

2016-05-04

To identify the perceived strengths that international medical graduate (IMG) family medicine residents possess and the challenges they are perceived to encounter in integrating into Canadian family practice. This was a qualitative, exploratory study employing focus groups and interviews with 27 participants - 10 family physicians, 13 health care professionals, and 4 family medicine residents. Focus group/interview questions addressed the strengths that IMGs possess and the challenges they face in becoming culturally competent within the Canadian medico-cultural context. Qualitative data were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Participants identified that IMG residents brought multiple strengths to Canadian practice including strong clinical knowledge and experience, high education level, the richness of varied cultural perspectives, and positive personal strengths. At the same time, IMG residents appeared to experience challenges in the areas of: (1) communication skills (language nuances, unfamiliar accents, speech volume/tone, eye contact, directness of communication); (2) clinical practice (uncommon diagnoses, lack of familiarity with care of the opposite sex and mental health conditions); (3) learning challenges (limited knowledge of Canada's health care system, patient-centered care and ethical principles, unfamiliarity with self-directed learning, unease with receiving feedback); (4) cultural differences (gender roles, gender equality, personal space, boundary issues; and (5) personal struggles. Residency programs must recognize the challenges that can occur during the cultural transition to Canadian family practice and incorporate medico-cultural education into the curriculum. IMG residents also need to be aware of cultural differences and be open to different perspectives and new learning.

Effects of a team-based assessment and intervention on patient safety culture in general practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, B; Müller, V; Rochon, J

2014-01-01

Background: The measurement of safety culture in healthcare is generally regarded as a first step towards improvement. Based on a self-assessment of safety culture, the Frankfurt Patient Safety Matrix (FraTrix) aims to enable healthcare teams to improve safety culture in their organisations....... In this study we assessed the effects of FraTrix on safety culture in general practice. Methods: We conducted an open randomised controlled trial in 60 general practices. FraTrix was applied over a period of 9 months during three facilitated team sessions in intervention practices. At baseline and after 12...... months, scores were allocated for safety culture as expressed in practice structure and processes (indicators), in safety climate and in patient safety incident reporting. The primary outcome was the indicator error management. Results: During the team sessions, practice teams reflected on their safety...

Axonal and dendritic localization of mRNAs for glycogen-metabolizing enzymes in cultured rodent neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeiffer-Guglielmi, Brigitte; Dombert, Benjamin; Jablonka, Sibylle; Hausherr, Vanessa; van Thriel, Christoph; Schöbel, Nicole; Jansen, Ralf-Peter

2014-06-04

Localization of mRNAs encoding cytoskeletal or signaling proteins to neuronal processes is known to contribute to axon growth, synaptic differentiation and plasticity. In addition, a still increasing spectrum of mRNAs has been demonstrated to be localized under different conditions and developing stages thus reflecting a highly regulated mechanism and a role of mRNA localization in a broad range of cellular processes. Applying fluorescence in-situ-hybridization with specific riboprobes on cultured neurons and nervous tissue sections, we investigated whether the mRNAs for two metabolic enzymes, namely glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen phosphorylase (GP), the key enzymes of glycogen metabolism, may also be targeted to neuronal processes. If it were so, this might contribute to clarify the so far enigmatic role of neuronal glycogen. We found that the mRNAs for both enzymes are localized to axonal and dendritic processes in cultured lumbar spinal motoneurons, but not in cultured trigeminal neurons. In cultured cortical neurons which do not store glycogen but nevertheless express glycogen synthase, the GS mRNA is also subject to axonal and dendritic localization. In spinal motoneurons and trigeminal neurons in situ, however, the mRNAs could only be demonstrated in the neuronal somata but not in the nerves. We could demonstrate that the mRNAs for major enzymes of neural energy metabolism can be localized to neuronal processes. The heterogeneous pattern of mRNA localization in different culture types and developmental stages stresses that mRNA localization is a versatile mechanism for the fine-tuning of cellular events. Our findings suggest that mRNA localization for enzymes of glycogen metabolism could allow adaptation to spatial and temporal energy demands in neuronal events like growth, repair and synaptic transmission.

Bringing Cultural Diversity to Feminist Psychology. Theory, Research, and Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Landrine, Hope, Ed.

This book focuses on the theoretical, empirical and practice-based implications of recognizing cultural diversity in the psychology of women. Contributors to this volume share the common objective of keeping feminist psychology robust and useful. Chapters in the first section, "Cultural Diversity in Theory and Methodology in Feminist…

The Development of Novice Teachers' Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Patish, Yelena

2016-01-01

While extensive research has been conducted on classroom management little research exists on culturally responsive classroom management. The primary purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how four novice teachers developed their culturally responsive management practice (CRCM) to better meet the needs of their students. My analysis was…

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.

Analysis of the Determinant Factors Development of Maintenance Culture in Malaysian Local Authorities

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Sani S.I.A.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Malaysia is a fast growing developing country and its vision is becoming a developed country with a first class infrastructure. Towards this vision, the assets and facilities were developed, owned or leased by public sector especially buildings, constructions and infrastructures to fulfill administrative and social needs as well as economic responsibilities to general public. In Malaysia, public asset and facilities is owned by three major levels of government, which are the federal government, state government and the local government also known as local authority. Between these three forms of government, Local Authorities hold a large number of facilities that place demands on resources. They have a responsibility to use and maintain a wide range of property assets including classified and heritage buildings, single purpose facilities and state of the art multipurpose facilities. Over the years, the local authorities in Malaysia currently have been soundly criticized by public caused poor maintenance culture. The assets especially public buildings and infrastructures are not maintained properly. Thus, developing the maintenance culture is essential to increase the awareness about maintenance activity on public facilities and assets in Malaysian Local Authorities. Regarding this scenario, the purpose of this study is to determine the determinant factors affecting development of maintenance culture identified based on the review of previous research. As a guide to achieve the research objective, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the significance of ten determinant factors identified in the research study and their related affecting to development of maintenance culture in local authority as a respondent in this research. The collected data was then analyzed using quantitative approaches such as mean analysis, relative important index as well as others.

Applying Best Practices to Florida Local Government Retrofit Programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McIlvaine, J. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Sutherland, K. [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

2013-12-01

In some communities, local government and non-profit entities have funds to purchase and renovate distressed, foreclosed homes for resale in the affordable housing market. Numerous opportunities to improve whole house energy efficiency are inherent in these comprehensive renovations. BA-PIRC worked together in a multi-year field study making recommendations in individual homes, meanwhile compiling improvement costs, projected energy savings, practical challenges, and labor force factors surrounding common energy-related renovation measures. The field study, Phase 1 of this research, resulted in a set of best practices appropriate to the current labor pool and market conditions in central Florida to achieve projected annual energy savings of 15-30% and higher. This report describes Phase 2 of the work where researchers worked with a local government partner to implement and refine the 'current best practices.' A simulation study was conducted to characterize savings potential under three sets of conditions representing varying replacement needs for energy-related equipment and envelope components. The three scenarios apply readily to the general remodeling industry as for renovation of foreclosed homes for the affordable housing market. Our new local government partner, the City of Melbourne, implemented the best practices in a community-scale renovation program that included ten homes in 2012.

Applying Best Practices to Florida Local Government Retrofit Programs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McIlvaine, J. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC), Cocoa, FL (United States); Sutherland, K. [Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC), Cocoa, FL (United States)

2013-12-01

In some communities, local government and non-profit entities have funds to purchase and renovate distressed, foreclosed homes for resale in the affordable housing market. Numerous opportunities to improve whole house energy efficiency are inherent in these comprehensive renovations. BA-PIRC worked together in a multiyear field study making recommendations in individual homes, meanwhile compiling improvement costs, projected energy savings, practical challenges, and labor force factors surrounding common energy-related renovation measures. The field study, Phase 1 of this research, resulted in a set of best practices appropriate to the current labor pool and market conditions in central Florida to achieve projected annual energy savings of 15%-30% and higher. This report describes Phase 2 of the work where researchers worked with a local government partner to implement and refine the "current best practices". A simulation study was conducted to characterize savings potential under three sets of conditions representing varying replacement needs for energy-related equipment and envelope components. The three scenarios apply readily to the general remodeling industry as for renovation of foreclosed homes for the affordable housing market. The new local government partner, the City of Melbourne, implemented the best practices in a community-scale renovation program that included ten homes in 2012.

A moveable feast: Contemporary relational food cultures emerging from local food networks.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Kane, Gabrielle

2016-10-01

Although the globalised food system delivers unparalleled food variety and quantity to most in the developed world it also disconnects consumers from where, how and by whom food is grown. This change in the food system has resulted in an acceptance of an anonymous and homogeneous food supply, which has contributed to over-consumption and the rise in diet-related diseases. 'Nutritionism' responds to this issue by maintaining that a 'healthy diet' can be achieved by consuming the correct balance of energy and nutrients, but with limited success. Yet, some food cultures can moderate the effects of the environmental drivers of increasing global obesity rates. This paper draws on this premise and presents an alternative eco-dietetic response, exploring people's meaning-making of food and food culture through local food networks. This research used narrative inquiry methodology and purposive sampling to gather stories through focus group conversations. Twenty people attended focus groups comprised of food procurers from one of three local food networks in the Canberra region: community gardens, a modified Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and farmers' markets. The findings showed that those using local food networks enjoyed a 'contemporary relational food culture' that highlighted the importance of people, place and time, in their visceral experiences of food. The community gardeners made meaning of food through their connections to the earth and to others. The farmers' market and CSA food procurers valued the seasonal, local and ethical food produced by their beloved farmer(s). This paper provides qualitative evidence that local food networks enable people to enjoy multi-dimensional relationships to food. Further research is required to examine whether experiencing a contemporary relational food culture can lead to improved health outcomes for people and the planet. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

IMMATERIAL CULTURAL ELEMENTS PATRIMONIAZATION AND LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

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Alejandro Martínez-de la Rosa

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Tourism and heritage studies in Mexico are mainly focused on two major areas: specific ecological areas and historical edifications. However, in the last ten years they have proposed initiatives to consider the practices related to the state and federal levels immaterial. Until today there are seven elements in the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage belonging to Mexico. From conceptual review of the terms used to justify the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in international conventions of the past fifty years, it will reflect on the relationship between processed of patrimonialization and sustainable development projects, first from a general point of view about specific problems of application in Mexico for later review.

JAVANESE CULTURAL WORDS IN LOCAL NEWSPAPERS IN CENTRAL JAVA AS A LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE MODEL

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Deli Nirmala

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Javanese cultural words are the linguistic units which are very specific to Javanese culture and society. This article aims at describing what Javanese cultural words that are found in the local newspapers, what they represent, and why they are used in the local newspapers in Central Java. Non-participant observation is used to present the data for analysis, continued with page-filing and note-taking techniques. Referential, reflective-introspective, and abductive inferential methods are used to analyze the data. The result indicates that the Javanese cultural words found in the local newspapers represent festivals, rituals, Javanese ways of life, social activities, actions, feelings, thoughts, behavior, and experiences. The words become the indicators that the journalists of the local newspapers in Cental Java have positive attitudes toward Javanese words. This becomes a model for language maintenance of Javanese. This implies that the words are stored in the long-term memory, that become mental image, which are used when needed by the user for communication. The existence of the concepts residing in the mind will make the Javanese language maintenance possible, which is supported by the attitudes of the Javanese.

Management Documentation: Indicators & Good Practice at Cultural Heritage Places

Science.gov (United States)

Eppich, R.; Garcia Grinda, J. L.

2015-08-01

Documentation for cultural heritage places usually refers to describing the physical attributes, surrounding context, condition or environment; most of the time with images, graphics, maps or digital 3D models in their various forms with supporting textural information. Just as important as this type of information is the documentation of managerial attributes. How do managers of cultural heritage places collect information related to financial or economic well-being? How are data collected over time measured, and what are significant indicators for improvement? What quality of indicator is good enough? Good management of cultural heritage places is essential for conservation longevity, preservation of values and enjoyment by the public. But how is management documented? The paper will describe the research methodology, selection and description of attributes or indicators related to good management practice. It will describe the criteria for indicator selection and why they are important, how and when they are collected, by whom, and the difficulties in obtaining this information. As importantly it will describe how this type of documentation directly contributes to improving conservation practice. Good practice summaries will be presented that highlight this type of documentation including Pamplona and Ávila, Spain and Valletta, Malta. Conclusions are drawn with preliminary recommendations for improvement of this important aspect of documentation. Documentation of this nature is not typical and presents a unique challenge to collect, measure and communicate easily. However, it is an essential category that is often ignored yet absolutely essential in order to conserve cultural heritage places.

Cultural safety and the challenges of translating critically oriented knowledge in practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, Annette J; Varcoe, Colleen; Smye, Victoria; Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl; Lynam, M Judith; Wong, Sabrina

2009-07-01

Cultural safety is a relatively new concept that has emerged in the New Zealand nursing context and is being taken up in various ways in Canadian health care discourses. Our research team has been exploring the relevance of cultural safety in the Canadian context, most recently in relation to a knowledge-translation study conducted with nurses practising in a large tertiary hospital. We were drawn to using cultural safety because we conceptualized it as being compatible with critical theoretical perspectives that foster a focus on power imbalances and inequitable social relationships in health care; the interrelated problems of culturalism and racialization; and a commitment to social justice as central to the social mandate of nursing. Engaging in this knowledge-translation study has provided new perspectives on the complexities, ambiguities and tensions that need to be considered when using the concept of cultural safety to draw attention to racialization, culturalism, and health and health care inequities. The philosophic analysis discussed in this paper represents an epistemological grounding for the concept of cultural safety that links directly to particular moral ends with social justice implications. Although cultural safety is a concept that we have firmly positioned within the paradigm of critical inquiry, ambiguities associated with the notions of 'culture', 'safety', and 'cultural safety' need to be anticipated and addressed if they are to be effectively used to draw attention to critical social justice issues in practice settings. Using cultural safety in practice settings to draw attention to and prompt critical reflection on politicized knowledge, therefore, brings an added layer of complexity. To address these complexities, we propose that what may be required to effectively use cultural safety in the knowledge-translation process is a 'social justice curriculum for practice' that would foster a philosophical stance of critical inquiry at both the

Integrating Cultural Heritage into Contemporary Life. The Perspective of Local Communities: The Case of Arcadia, Greece

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Alexandra Lappa

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The current study aims to highlight the importance of integrating cultural heritage into contemporary life as a means to contribute to the economic and tourism development of a historical area and as an asset to local development. The study focuses on the cultural goods of Arcadia in central Peloponnese, Greece, an area of great history and rich architectural heritage, which gives a distinct cultural identity to the region. The overall objective of the current research is to describe how the different kinds of cultural benefits, derived by tourism, are perceived by the local community. A questionnaire based survey, conducted in Arcadia during the period 2012-2014, demonstrates that the locals strongly support the promotion of the architectural richness of the region in order to become an attraction for visitors, contributing both to the improvement of the quality of life, as well as the economic and tourism development of the area. The survey results confirm that cultural tourism is seen as an opportunity to contribute to the economic and cultural sustainability of the area and the local community. The implementation of a linear regression model shows that education is the key factor influencing the residents’ view regarding the promotion of cultural tourism in the region.

Radical-Local Teaching and Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hedegaard, Mariane; Chaiklin, Seth

radical-local teaching and learning approach. The first half of the book introduces the idea of radical-local teaching and learning and develops the theoretical background for this perspective, drawing on the cultural-historical research tradition, particularly from Vygotsky, El'konin, Davydov......, and Aidarova. The second half of the book addresses the central concern of radical-local teaching and learning - how to relate educational practices to children's specific historical and cultural conditions. The experiment was conducted for an academic year in an afterschool programme in the East Harlem......Radical-Local Teaching and Learning presents a theoretical perspective for analyzing and planning educational programmes for schoolchildren. To realize both general societal interests and worthwhile personal development, the content of educational programmes for children must be grounded...

Reggio Emilia as Cultural Activity Theory in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

New, Rebecca S.

2007-01-01

This article situates Reggio Emilia's municipally funded early childhood program within the city's cultural traditions of resistance and collaboration and considers what it is about this highly localized program that is appealing and useful to contemporary school reform initiatives. Five features of Reggio Emilia's approach to early education are…

Self-assessment of safety culture in nuclear installations. Highlights and good practices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-11-01

This report summarizes the findings of two IAEA Technical Committee Meetings on Safety Culture Self-Assessment Highlights and Good Practices. The meetings took place on 3-5 June 1998 and 23-25 October 2000 in Vienna, and involved an international cross-section of representatives who participated both in plenary discussions and working groups. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the practical implications of evolutionary changes in the development of safety culture, and to share international experience, particularly on the methods used for the assessment of safety culture and good practices for its enhancement in an organization. The working groups were allocated specific topics for discussion, which included the following: organizational factors influencing the implementation of actions to improve safety culture; how to measure, effectively, progress in implementing solutions to safety culture problems; the symptoms of a weakening safety culture; the suitability of different methods for assessing safety culture; the achievement of sustainable improvements in safety culture using the results of assessment; the potential threats to the continuation of a strong safety culture in an organization from the many challenges facing the nuclear industry. The working groups, when appropriate, considered issues from both the utility's and the regulator's perspectives. This report will be of interest to all organizations who wish to assess and achieve a strong and sustainable safety culture. This includes not only nuclear power plants, but also other sectors of the nuclear industry such as uranium mines and mills, nuclear fuel fabrication facilities, nuclear waste repositories, research reactors, accelerators, radiography facilities, etc. The report specifically supplements other IAEA publications on this subject

How Positive Practices Can Accelerate Transformation To a Lean Improvement Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Rasmus; Hansen, David; Lilja, Johan

2016-01-01

With increasing pressure on creating more value with fewer resources, many organizations pursue continuous improvement culture and practices in daily operations.In operations management Lean and the Toyota Way have been continuous improvement role models for describing tools and culture. However...

Globalization and Localization of Heritage Preservation in Taiwan - an Analysis Perspective under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, C.-C.; Fu, C.-C.

2015-08-01

The key contribution to the legislation of heritage preservation in Taiwan primarily derived from the historical monument movements in the 1970s. Specific legislation results include the establishment of Council for Cultural Affairs and the implementation of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act in 1982. Although the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act is the first subjective cultural act, its lack of structure during the initial commencement stages made it un-conducive to heritage preservation and thus unable to meet the people's expectations. Therefore, throughout the 33 years after the implementation of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, the Act has been amended 6 times. These amendments reflect the degree of importance that the society has attached to heritage preservation, and the innovative system also showcases the progress in preservation concepts and methods. These innovative orientations, such as emphasizing on the authenticity and integrity of heritage preservation, intangible cultural heritage, and cultural diversity, conform to the international preservation trends. They are also local trends such as encouraging community participation, adaptive-reuse, or enhancing the local governments' powers to implement local cultural governance. This is particularly true for the fifth comprehensive revision in 2005, which has symbolic significance because its contents epitomized the heritage preservation work while moving Taiwan's heritage preservation system towards globalization and localization. Therefore, we analyzed the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act amendment and revision processes over the past 33 years to highlight the innovations in Taiwan's cultural heritage work and illustrate their globalization and localization features. Finally, we proposed recommendations for Taiwan's preservation work in the future as the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act is about to undergo its seventh amendment in 2015.

[Cultural diversity and stereotyping: implication for the medical practice].

Science.gov (United States)

Durieux-Paillard, S; Loutan, L

2005-09-28

Increasing number of migrants worldwide brings doctors to treat patients of various origins. Patients' diversity enriches health professionals but also induces a risk of mutual incomprehension, due to cultural and language barriers. Multicultural context stimulates unwittingly stereotyping, based on a simplistic assessment of the patient's culture. Stereotyping is also influenced by the political and media coverage. Studies underscored that universally, minorities patients have an unequal access to health care in host countries. Health professionals should be aware that racial stereotyping exists in medical practice: it is a first step to bridge cultural gap between them and their patients.

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.

When culture clashes with individual human rights: A practical theological reflection on the dignity of widows

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Gift T. Baloyi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the nature of human beings (men and women as an egalitarian one even beyond cultural expectations. It argues against some cultural practices on women, especially widows, which claim supremacy and bind the widows to its ritual processes among the Tsonga people. It stresses the importance of human individual that overtakes everything from God�s creation, including cultural rituals which are created by human beings. It claims that the existence of culture depends solely on the existence or presence of human beings and their communities. Therefore, culture cannot use humans to shape itself and to transform the community. It is humans themselves who use culture to identify themselves and ultimately change their communities. Although the paper is theological in its approach, it argues for individual human rights to be respected and weighed above all cultural practices. It further concludes that such cultural practices are not static and that they can be removed from the rest of culture.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article, from a practical theological view, challenges the African cultural rituals that claim authority over women�s rights and dignity. The interdisciplinary nature of this article indicates the sanctity of human individuals especially widows and thereby calls for paradigm shift to deconstruct certain oppressive teachings and practices against widows among African women. This article concludes thus, cultural deconstruction is possible.

Building a local community of practice in scientific programming for Life Scientists

OpenAIRE

Stevens, Sarah; Kuzak, Mateusz; Martinez, Carlos; Moser, Aurelia; Bleeker, Petra; Galland, Marc

2018-01-01

For most experimental biologists, handling the avalanche of data generated is similar to self-learn how to drive. Although that might be doable, it is preferable and safer to learn good practices. One way to achieve this is to build local communities of practice by bringing together scientists that perform code-intensive research to spread know-how and good practices. Here, we indicate important challenges and issues that stand in the way of establishing these local communities of practice. F...

Reinscribing the Goddess into the Culturally Relative Minutiae of Tantric Texts and Practices: A Perennialist Response to Tantric Visual Culture

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Jeffrey S. Lidke

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A celebration and critical evaluation of Sthaneshwar Timalsina’s brilliant book, Tantric Visual Culture: A Cognitive Approach. In this groundbreaking work, Timalsina utilizes the lens of cognitive studies to shed interpretive light on the Tantric visualization practices that he knows both as a scholar and lifetime practitioner. Timalsina argues that mastery of Tantric practice requires immersion in the culturally relative metonymic and holographic logic framed by the Tantric ritual texts. The conclusion that arises from his analysis is that Tantric “truths” are bound to the linguistic and cultural systems that frame them. In response, I herewith offer a perennialist critique and argument for a more nuanced consideration of the transcendent “truth” or “being” that is the stated aim of Tantric practice.

Developing safety culture in nuclear activities. Practical suggestions to assist progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-01-01

The term 'safety culture' was introduced by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) in Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident published by the IAEA as Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-1 in 1986, and expanded in Basic Safety Principles for Nuclear Power Plants, Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-3 in 1988. This publication supplements INSAG-4 published in 1991 which includes the definition and concept of safety culture describing practices valuable in establishing and maintaining a sound safety culture in a number of countries. It is intended for those who design, construct, manufacture, operate, maintain or decommission nuclear facilities. It should be practically useful for all those involved in operating nuclear facilities. It will also provide a reference for groups such as regulators who have an interest in developing, improving and evaluating safety culture training and individuals engaged in nuclear activities, and for bodies such as ethics review committees who should take into account safety culture issues for certifying professional excellence in the medical field

Developing safety culture in nuclear activities. Practical suggestions to assist progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

The term 'safety culture' was introduced by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) in Summary Report on the Post-Accident Review Meeting on the Chernobyl Accident published by IAEA as safety Series No. 75-INSAG-1 in 1986, and expanded in Basic Safety principles for Nuclear Power Plants, Safety Series No. 75-INSAG-3 in 1988. This publication supplements INSAG-4 published in 1991 which includes the definition and concept of safety culture describing practices valuable in establishing and maintaining a sound safety culture in a number of countries. It is intended for those who design, construct, manufacture, operate, maintain or decommission nuclear facilities. It should be practically useful for all those involved in operating nuclear facilities. It will also provide a reference for groups such as regulators who have an interest in developing, improving and evaluating safety culture training and individuals engaged in nuclear activities, and for bodies such as ethics review committees who should take into account safety culture issues for certifying professional excellence in the medical field

Localizing apps a practical guide for translators and translation students

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Roturier, Johann

2015-01-01

The software industry has undergone rapid development since the beginning of the twenty-first century. These changes have had a profound impact on translators who, due to the evolving nature of digital content, are under increasing pressure to adapt their ways of working. Localizing Apps looks at these challenges by focusing on the localization of software applications, or apps. In each of the five core chapters, Johann Roturier examines:The role of translation and other linguistic activities in adapting software to the needs of different cultures (localization);The procedures required to prep

Localized Induced Current Stimulation to Neuronal Culture Using Soft Magnetic Material

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Atsushi; Saito, Aki; Moriguchi, Hiroyuki; Kotani, Kiyoshi; Jimbo, Yasuhiko

To establish precisely focused magnetic stimulation, we developed a Mu-meal based low-frequency localized induced current (LIC) stimulation system with micro-fabricated dual cell-culture chamber. The dual cell-culture chamber was arranged in a concentric circle manner. Between the inner and outer chambers, 4 or 8 connecting micro-channels were fabricated using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Rat cortical neurons were separately cultured in outer and inner chambers. Through the micro-channels, functional synaptic connections were formed. Mu-metal that has very high magnetic permeability was aligned along the outer circle, which allowed us of LIC stimulation to the cells in the outer chamber. Applying low-frequency magnetic fields to the Mu-metal, induced currents were generated and the electrical activity of the cells in the outer chamber was modified depending on the stimulation intensity. Following the modified activity in the outer circles, the cells in the inner chamber also showed slightly depressed activity patterns. These results suggested that our system would be promising for localized stimulation of neuronal networks and highly regulation of network activities.

Cultural Competence in the Treatment of Addictions: Theory, Practice and Evidence.

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Gainsbury, Sally M

2017-07-01

Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) populations often have high rates of addictive disorders, but lower rates of treatment seeking and completion than the mainstream population. A significant barrier to treatment is the lack of culturally relevant and appropriate treatment. A literature review was conducted to identify relevant literature related to cultural competence in mental health services delivery and specifically treatment for addictive disorders. Several theoretical models of cultural competence in therapy have been developed, but the lack of rigorous research limits the empirical evidence available. Research indicates that culturally competent treatment practices including providing therapy and materials in the client's language, knowledge, understanding and appreciation for cultural perspectives and nuances, involving the wider family and community and training therapists can enhance client engagement, retention and treatment outcomes for substance use and gambling. Further methodologically rigorous research is needed to isolate the impact of cultural competence for the treatment of addictions and guide research to determine treatment efficacy within specific CALD populations. Training therapists and recruiting therapists and researchers from CALD communities is important to ensure an ongoing focus and improved outcomes for CALD populations due to the importance of engaging these populations with addiction treatment. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: The treatment needs of culturally diverse individuals with addictions are often not met. Theoretical models can guide therapists in incorporating cultural competence. Culturally targeted treatments increase recruitment, retention and treatment outcomes. Cultural competence includes matching clinicians and clients on linguistic and cultural backgrounds as well as being mindful of the impact of culture on client's experience of addiction problems. Few methodologically

Cultural Diversity Training: The Necessity of Cultural Competence for Health Care Providers and in Nursing Practice.

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Young, Susan; Guo, Kristina L

2016-01-01

The purpose of this article is to discuss the need to provide culturally sensitive care to the growing number of diverse health care consumers. A literature review of national standards and research on cultural competency was conducted and specifically focused on the field of nursing. This study supports the theory that cultural competence is learned over time and is a process of inner reflection and awareness. The domains of awareness, skill, and knowledge are essential competencies that must be gained by health care providers and especially for nurses. Although barriers to providing culturally sensitive care exist, gaining a better understanding of cultural competence is essential to developing realistic education and training techniques, which will lead to quality professional nursing practice for increasingly diverse populations.

Transformation Strategies for the Operation and Management of Local Cultural Museums in Nantou County

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Kuo-Wei Hsu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Affected by economic recession, reductions in government subsidies, and changes in visitors’ needs and contributions, museums in Taiwan have begun to strengthen their recreational and economic functions. Nantou, which has 13 museums that showcase local cultural industries, is the county most obviously affected by declining tourist numbers and reduced cultural consumption and cultural tourism. Through surveys and interviews, this study examines the current conditions of operational management of these venues and proposes feasible strategies for their future development. Specifically, it reveals that the operation and management of Nantou’s local cultural museums are negatively impacted by the lack of (1 relevant management experience, (2 inter-museum coordination and integration, and (3 financing mechanisms. The recommended development strategies include the establishment of cross-disciplinary value-added platforms.

Organisational culture: an important concept for pharmacy practice research.

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Scahill, Shane; Harrison, Jeff; Carswell, Peter; Babar, Zaheer-Ud-Din

2009-10-01

Throughout the developed world, community pharmacy is under considerable pressure to play a greater part in delivering effective primary health care. The requirement to adopt new roles continues to challenge community pharmacy and drive change. The factors that determine the ability of community pharmacy to effectively deliver services for health gain are complex and include; policy, professional, financial and structural elements. There is also evidence to suggest that organisational culture may influence the effectiveness of an organisation. In order to address this there is a need to understand the dimensions of organisational culture that lead to successful implementation of the change necessary for community pharmacy to become a more effective primary health care organisation. In this commentary, we introduce the concept of organisational culture, outline two frameworks for studying culture, and argue the benefits of pursuing an organisational culture research agenda for the evolution of pharmacy practice and research.

PROMOTING NATURA 2000 NETWORK BENEFITS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES BY PRACTICING ECOTOURISM AND AGROTOURISM

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Mirela STANCIU

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the benefits of the local communities across Natura 2000 sites. Human activities in these areas should take into account the economic, social, cultural, and environmental protection. It examines the most common problems encountered in forests, pastures and hayfields in the area of Natura 2000 sites. There are some examples of good practice exemplified by the activities of farmers living on the radius of Natura 2000 sites in different European countries. Natura 2000 sites are suitable for development of eco-tourism and agro-tourism based on tradition and organic products, which may lead to a brand. Tourism and specifically eco-friendly tourism industries (ecotourism, agrotourism, etc. are encouraging development areas at regional and national Natura 2000 sites as a sustainable opportunity for people and nature.

Social Work Practice with LGBT Elders at End of Life: Developing Practice Evaluation and Clinical Skills Through a Cultural Perspective.

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Arthur, Darren P

2015-01-01

This article focuses on culturally sensitive clinical issues related to best practices with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) elder patients at end-of-life (EOL) at key points in the therapeutic relationship. Vital concepts, including practice evaluation and clinical skills, are presented through a cultural and oncology lens. There is a paucity of LGBT research and literature as well as a shortfall of MSW graduate school education specific to social work palliative and end-of-life care (PELC) practice with LGBT elders. The content of this article is designed to be adapted and used as an educational tool for institutions, agencies, graduate programs, medical professions, social work, and students. Learning the unique elements of LGBT cultural history and their implications on EOL care can improve social work practice. This article provides an examination from assessment and engagement basics to advance care planning incorporating specific LGBT EOL issues.

Culture care meanings, beliefs, and practices in Rural Dominican Republic.

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Schumacher, Gretchen

2010-04-01

This ethnonursing study explored the meanings, beliefs, and practices of care for rural Dominicans in the Dominican Republic. Leininger's culture care diversity and universality theory, ethnonursing, and four-phase analysis method guided the study. Interviews were conducted with 19 general and 10 key informants. Analysis of interviews revealed three main themes: (a) family presence is essential for meaningful care experiences and care practices, (b) respect and attention are central to the meaning of care and care practices, and (c) rural Dominicans value and use both generic (folk) and professional care practices. Implications and recommendations for nursing practice, education, and research are described.

Learning Culture, Line Manager and HR Professional Practice

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Harrison, Patricia

2011-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to focus on the role of line management and learning culture in the development of professional practice for the human resource (HR) practitioner. Design/methodology/approach: Three-year longitudinal, matched-pair study involving five participants and their line managers. Findings: Two of the five participants experienced…

Cultural practices relating to menarche and menstruation among adolescent girls in Taiwan--qualitative investigation.

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Liu, H-L; Chen, K-H; Peng, N-H

2012-02-01

The aim of this study was to qualitatively record the cultural attitudes and practices associated with menarche and menstruation in Taiwanese girls, particularly with respect to coping mechanisms. Forty-eight adolescent girls participated. Adolescent girls were individually interviewed to investigate the effects of their cultural practices, coping mechanisms, and physiological symptoms during menarche and menstruation. The qualitative investigation revealed mixed reactions to menstruation, such as eating chocolate, using sanitary napkins, and feeling irritable or embarrassed. Cluster construction suggested that adolescents were prepared for menarche but required emotional support; in addition, the new generation employed the Internet to learn how to cope. A phenomenological approach showed that menarche and menstrual attitudes among Taiwanese adolescents were comprised in 4 dimensions: self-perception, information, and cultural practices with regard to menarche; physiological symptoms and psychological reactions during menstruation; coping mechanisms during menarche and menstruation; and methods for coping and cultural practices for menstruation. Cultural beliefs and the Internet have changed cross-cultural contacts. Educators and health professionals should seek to understand this generation of girls, who perceive the world as more flexible and available and have more creativity and new eating behaviors and hobbies. Copyright © 2012 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Popular music as cultural heritage: scoping out the field of practice

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Brandellero, A.; Janssen, S.

2014-01-01

This paper sets out to deepen our understanding of the relationship between popular music and cultural heritage and to delineate the practices of popular music as cultural heritage. The paper illustrates how the term has been mobilised by a variety of actors, from the public to the private sector,

Popular music as cultural heritage: scoping out the field of practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.M.C. Brandellero (Amanda); M.S.S.E. Janssen (Susanne)

2014-01-01

textabstractThis paper sets out to deepen our understanding of the relationship between popular music and cultural heritage and to delineate the practices of popular music as cultural heritage. The paper illustrates how the term has been mobilised by a variety of actors, from the public to the

National Cultures, Performance Appraisal Practices, and Organizational Absenteeism and Turnover: A Study across 21 Countries

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Peretz, Hilla; Fried, Yitzhak

2012-01-01

Performance appraisal (PA) is a key human resource activity in organizations. However, in this global economy, we know little about how societal cultures affect PA practices. In this study, we address this gap by focusing on 2 complementary issues: (a) the influence of societal (national) cultural practices on PA practices adopted by organizations…

The influence of culture on human resource management processes and practices: The propositions for Serbia

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Bogićević-Milikić Biljana

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper attempts to address the influence of national culture on HRM practices and processes in order to draw conclusions for Serbian HR practitioners, multinational corporations operating in Serbia, and any other country or organizational context that has similar cultural characteristics. To achieve this we first review the relevant literature to identify the interdependencies between Hofstede's cultural dimensions and HRM practices and processes. On the basis of recognized relationships we put forward 11 propositions about likely appropriate HRM practices (such as job analysis, recruitment and selection, human resource planning and career management for the Serbian cultural context, characterized by high Uncertainty Avoidance, high Power Distance, Collectivism and Femininity.

Importance of including cultural practices in ecological restoration.

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Wehi, Priscilla M; Lord, Janice M

2017-10-01

Ecosystems worldwide have a long history of use and management by indigenous cultures. However, environmental degradation can reduce the availability of culturally important resources. Ecological restoration aims to repair damage to ecosystems caused by human activity, but it is unclear how often restoration projects incorporate the return of harvesting or traditional life patterns for indigenous communities. We examined the incorporation of cultural use of natural resources into ecological restoration in the context of a culturally important but protected New Zealand bird; among award-winning restoration projects in Australasia and worldwide; and in the peer-reviewed restoration ecology literature. Among New Zealand's culturally important bird species, differences in threat status and availability for hunting were large. These differences indicate the values of a colonizing culture can inhibit harvesting by indigenous people. In Australasia among award-winning ecological restoration projects, restored areas beyond aesthetic or recreational use, despite many projects encouraging community participation. Globally, restoration goals differed among regions. For example, in North America, projects were primarily conservation oriented, whereas in Asia and Africa projects frequently focused on restoring cultural harvesting. From 1995 to 2014, the restoration ecology literature contained few references to cultural values or use. We argue that restoration practitioners are missing a vital component for reassembling functional ecosystems. Inclusion of sustainably harvestable areas within restored landscapes may allow for the continuation of traditional practices that shaped ecosystems for millennia, and also aid project success by ensuring community support. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Opisthorchiasis in Northeastern Thailand: Effect of local environment and culture

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Beuy Joob

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Opisthorchiasis is a kind of trematode infection. This parasitic infestation is a chronic hepatobiliary tract infection and can cause chronic irritation that will finally lead to cholangiocarcinoma. It is highly endemic in northeastern region of Thailand and contributes to many cholangiocarcinoma cases annually. The attempt to control the disease becomes a national policy. However, the sanitation becomes a major underlying factor leading to infection and meanwhile, the poverty and low education of the local people become an important concern. In this opinion, the authors discuss the effect of local environment and culture on opisthorchiasis in northeastern Thailand. Due to the pattern change of local environment, global warming and globalization, the dynamicity can be observed.

Cultural Variations in Global versus Local Processing: A Developmental Perspective

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Oishi, Shigehiro; Jaswal, Vikram K.; Lillard, Angeline S.; Mizokawa, Ai; Hitokoto, Hidefumi; Tsutsui, Yoshiro

2014-01-01

We conducted 3 studies to explore cultural differences in global versus local processing and their developmental trajectories. In Study 1 ("N" = 363), we found that Japanese college students were less globally oriented in their processing than American or Argentine participants. We replicated this effect in Study 2 ("N" =…

Exploratory Practice: Work at the Cultural Inglesa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Allwright, Dick; Lenzuen, Rosa

1997-01-01

Focuses on the aim of the Cultural Inglesa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is the development of a new, fully sustainable concept for classroom-based research--exploratory practice--and its assimilation into the normal working and professional-development practices of Rio Cultura teachers. (Author/VWL)

The Impact of Cultural Practices on Fighting against or for the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... etc.,34 but this is not enough. Investigations show that only 10% of the population use condoms for protection. Why the resistance? This article analyzes the alternative of cultural practices which are not always considered where the education of the people is concerned. Key words: AIDS/HIV, culture, propagation, fight ...

The Challenge of Cultural Competency in the Multicultural 21st Century: A Conceptual Model to Guide Occupational Therapy Practice

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Wesam Darawsheh

2015-04-01

Full Text Available bstract Background: Occupational therapists increasingly encounter clients from diverse cultural backgrounds and need to meet their professional obligation of delivering culturally competent practice. Yet the process of cultural competency is poorly understood in occupational therapy practice. There is a need for a clear understanding of the meaning and process of cultural competency as it is enacted in practice with a wide range of individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds. Aim: To investigate the process, stages, characteristics, and requirements of cultural competency as practiced by experienced occupational therapists. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 community occupational therapists experienced in delivering occupational therapy services in clients’ homes in a culturally diverse area in London, England. Findings: Interview data were analyzed and ordered into the format of a conceptual process model where cultural competency formed the core concept. The model of cultural competency that emerged from this study comprised six stages: cultural awareness, cultural preparedness, a cultural picture of the person, cultural responsiveness, cultural readiness, and cultural competence. Conclusion: Cultural competency is a complex process that needs to be based on underpinning occupational theory and actualized at the level of practice. Further research is needed to test out the model and illuminate the process of cultural competency in different areas of occupational therapy practice.

Enlivening Cultural Environments through Sharing and Gotong Royong (Mutual Cooperation

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Diane Butler

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The development of best practices and cooperative approaches that ensure the active participation of local communities in identifying and safeguarding tangible and intangible cultural heritage for the long-term has become a major aim of cultural policies in recent decades. This paper proposes that the value of sharing and custom termed gotong royong (mutual cooperation, still an intrinsic part of daily life in most villages in Indonesia and in several Southeast Asian nations, is a means by which traditional cultural environments can be enlivened in the present. In particular, art practices show the contemporary value and efficacy of traditional forms of social cooperation and can foreground the continuing role of local ethnic communities, as the caretakers of the various elements of tangible and intangible cultural heritage present in their territory. To illustrate why and how, I draw on examples of art practice from public participatory intercultural events held in Bali and Java, Indonesia as well as in other countries.

Culture, salience, and psychiatric diagnosis: exploring the concept of cultural congruence & its practical application.

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Rashed, Mohammed Abouelleil

2013-07-16

Cultural congruence is the idea that to the extent a belief or experience is culturally shared it is not to feature in a diagnostic judgement, irrespective of its resemblance to psychiatric pathology. This rests on the argument that since deviation from norms is central to diagnosis, and since what counts as deviation is relative to context, assessing the degree of fit between mental states and cultural norms is crucial. Various problems beset the cultural congruence construct including impoverished definitions of culture as religious, national or ethnic group and of congruence as validation by that group. This article attempts to address these shortcomings to arrive at a cogent construct. The article distinguishes symbolic from phenomenological conceptions of culture, the latter expanded upon through two sources: Husserl's phenomenological analysis of background intentionality and neuropsychological literature on salience. It is argued that culture is not limited to symbolic presuppositions and shapes subjects' experiential dispositions. This conception is deployed to re-examine the meaning of (in)congruence. The main argument is that a significant, since foundational, deviation from culture is not from a value or belief but from culturally-instilled experiential dispositions, in what is salient to an individual in a particular context. Applying the concept of cultural congruence must not be limited to assessing violations of the symbolic order and must consider alignment with or deviations from culturally-instilled experiential dispositions. By virtue of being foundational to a shared experience of the world, such dispositions are more accurate indicators of potential vulnerability. Notwithstanding problems of access and expertise, clinical practice should aim to accommodate this richer meaning of cultural congruence.

The Education in Local Islamic Culture of Maulid Nabi Tradition: a Case Study in Nurul Yaqin Ringan-Ringan Pakandangan Padang Pariaman Boarding School

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Ahmad Rivauzi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available A wave of globalization encourages intercultural contact more rapidly. This led to  an integration between the new values with the old ones that occur outside as well as inside the organization. This encourages the fusion of process and haziness value, even the erosion of the original values of the previously sacred and the identity of a nation. This paper focus on the tradition of Maulid Nabi as one of the local Islamic traditions in Nurul Yaqin Ringan-Ringan Pakandangan Padang Pariaman Boarding School. The tradition of the Maulid Nabi (Prophet's birthday is a particular religious practice as a result of the grounding the normative teachings of Islam into reality. Education through local Islamic culture is needed by a community in order to have resilience and ability to acquire the significance life such as found in the Nurul Yaqin Ringan-Ringan Pakandangan Pariaman Boarding School’s community. Keyword : Education, Local Islamic culture, and Warnings Birth of the ProphetCopyright © 2015 by Al-Ta'lim All right reserved

A culture of safety: a business strategy for medical practices.

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Saxton, James W; Finkelstein, Maggie M; Marles, Adam F

2012-01-01

Physician practices can enhance their economics by taking patient safety to a new level within their practices. Patient safety has a lot to do with systems and processes that occur not only at the hospital but also within a physician's practice. Historically, patient safety measures have been hospital-focused and -driven, largely due to available resources; however, physician practices can impact patient safety, efficiently and effectively, with a methodical plan involving assessment, prioritization, and compliance. With the ever-increasing focus of reimbursement on quality and patient safety, physician practices that implement a true culture of safety now could see future economic benefits using this business strategy.

Verbal Communication Culture and Local Wisdom: The Value Civilization of Indonesia Nation

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Tina Kartika

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Indonesia is a nation with cultural diversity and area. This caused a lot of the uniqueness of culture in everyday life. This uniqueness was generally a positive value to maintain the harmony of human beings and nature. The discussion of this article was the verbal communication, the study of the wisdom of the nation speech-language Indonesia, and local wisdom in civilization. The words expressed in the local wisdom among others are fearless (need fear only God Almighty, self-sacrificing or spirit of nationalism (patriotism, orderly, loyal, affectionate, hardworking, consensus, mutual help, and creative. Positive values here needed to be crystallized in people’s lives; it would be the identifier of the Indonesian people. This research was conducted in five districts of Pagaralam, South Sumatra. The method used was qualitative. Data collection techniques included participant observer/observation, observation without participation, in-depth interviews, and documentation. This article finds that if local wisdom actually exists in everyday life, the nation of Indonesia has carved beauty behave in civilization itself. The local wisdom of the nation begins values, the rule in the family, and then developed in the community. A positive value of local wisdom is the identifier of civilized society and the need to preserve Indonesia. 

How does the culture of medical group practices influence the types of programs used to assure quality of care?

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Kaissi, Amer; Kralewski, John; Curoe, Ann; Dowd, Bryan; Silversmith, Janet

2004-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that the culture of medical group practices greatly influences the quality of care, but little is known about how cultures are translated into specific types of programs focused on quality. This study explores this issue by assessing the influence of the organizational culture on these types of programs in medical group practices in the upper Midwest. Data were obtained from two surveys of medical group practices. The first survey was designed to assess the culture of the practice using a nine-dimension instrument developed previously. The second survey was designed to obtain organizational structure data including the programs identified by the literature as important to the quality of care in medical practices. Completed surveys were obtained from eighty-eight medical groups. The relationship of the group practice culture to structural programs focused on quality of care was analyzed using logistic regression equations. Several interesting patterns emerged. As expected, practices with a strong information culture favor electronic data systems and formal programs that provide comparative or evidence-based data to enhance their clinical practices. However, those with a quality-centered culture appear to prefer patient satisfaction surveys to assess the quality of their care, while practices that are more business-oriented rely on bureaucratic strategies such as benchmarking and physician profiling. Cultures that emphasize the autonomy of physician practice were negatively (but not at a statistically significant level) associated with all the programs studied. Practices with a highly collegial culture appear to rely on informal peer review mechanisms to assure quality rather than any of the structural programs included in this analysis. This study suggests that the types of quality programs that group practices develop differ according to their cultures. Consequently, it is important for practice administrators and medical directors to

PHILOSOPHICAL-CULTURAL CONCEPTION OF TELEVISION AS A VISUAL PRACTICES OF XX-XXI CENTURY

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A. M. Tormakhova

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the article is to analyze the philosophical and cultural ideas about television, which is a leading visual practice of XX century. It does not lose its relevance in the beginning of the XXI. The role of television lies in visual presentation and formation of the basic norms of taste and traditions of different social groups. Television is the leading communicative practice, which consideration is represented differently in modern science. Research methodology involves an appeal to the philosophical and cultural concepts, representing different approaches to the understanding of television. The paper considers the views of Western scholars, such as R. Arnheim, M. Wolff, A. Kroker, G. Lipovetsky, M. McLuhan, D. Mulvin, J. Mittell, N. Postman, L. Saffhil, J. Sterne, E. Thompson, J. Fiske, S. Shapiro. During analysis of the issue of the specific nature of television content the works of Russian scientists – T. Savitskaya, N. Samutina and Polish contemporary author – R. Sapenko were used. Originality lies in the depiction of the main approaches to the study of television as a visual communicative practice. Deployment of the author's position within the designated issues is presented as a historical digression – from the first attempts at understanding the phenomenon of television to the newest scientific theories that have found expression in contemporary American philosophical and cultural thought. Results of the study can be used in the training course "Visual communication and practices." Conclusions indicated that the majority of contemporary visual practices based on certain patterns, embedded TV. Despite the emergence of new media practices, TV does not lose relevance, everywhere present in the culture, which means that his research will allow a better understanding of the specificity of cultural creativity process.

Maternal cultural values and parenting practices: longitudinal associations with Chinese adolescents' aggression.

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Shuster, Michael M; Li, Yan; Shi, Junqi

2012-04-01

Interrelations among cultural values, parenting practices, and adolescent aggression were examined using longitudinal data collected from Chinese adolescents and their mothers. Adolescents' overt and relational aggression were assessed using peer nominations at Time 1 (7th grade) and Time 2 (9th grade). Mothers reported endorsement of cultural values (collectivism and social harmony) and parenting practices (psychological control and inductive reasoning) at Time 1. While controlling for Time 1 adolescent aggression, maternal collectivism and social harmony indirectly and longitudinally linked to adolescent aggression through maternal parenting practices. Specifically, maternal collectivism was positively related to inductive reasoning, which, in turn, negatively related to adolescent overt aggression at Time 2. Similarly, maternal social harmony negatively related to psychological control that positively predicted later adolescent relational aggression. Results of the present study shed light on mechanisms through which culture may indirectly influence adolescent aggression. Copyright © 2011 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Addressing Cross-Cultural Teamwork Barriers: Implications for Industry Practice and Higher Education Curricula

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Levitt, Steven R.

2016-01-01

This study explores cultural factors affecting international team dynamics and the implications for industry practice and higher education. Despite decades of studying and experience with cultural diversity, international work groups continue to be challenged by ethnocentrism and prejudices. Central to the context is that cultural differences in…

The Potential Of Cultural And Chemical Control Practices For ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The Potential Of Cultural And Chemical Control Practices For Enhancing ... and a significant (P < 0.05) increase in yield components of hands per bunch and finger ... Une étude de l\\'effet de la population de plantes, l\\'application des engrais, ...

Intracellular localization of pregnane X receptor in HepG2 cells cultured by the hanging drop method.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokobori, Kosuke; Kobayashi, Kaoru; Azuma, Ikuko; Akita, Hidetaka; Chiba, Kan

2017-10-01

Pregnane X receptor (PXR) is localized in the cytoplasm of liver cells, whereas it is localized in the nucleus of monolayer-cultured HepG2 cells. Since cultured cells are affected by the microenvironment in which they are grown, we studied the effect of three-dimensional (3D) culture on the localization of PXR in HepG2 cells using the hanging drop method. The results showed that PXR was retained in the cytoplasm of HepG2 cells and other human hepatocarcinoma cell lines (FLC5, FLC7 and Huh7) when they were cultured by the hanging drop method. Treatment with rifampicin, a ligand of PXR, translocated PXR from the cytoplasm to nucleus and increased expression levels of CYP3A4 mRNA in HepG2 cells cultured by the hanging drop method. These findings suggest that 3D culture is a key factor determining the intracellular localization of PXR in human hepatocarcinoma cells and that PXR that becomes retained in the cytoplasm of HepG2 cells with 3D culture has functions of nuclear translocation and regulation of target genes in response to human PXR ligands. Three-dimensionally cultured hepatocarcinoma cells would be a useful tool to evaluate induction potency of drug candidates and also to study mechanisms of nuclear translocation of PXR by human PXR ligands. Copyright © 2017 The Japanese Society for the Study of Xenobiotics. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Proposal of a Holistic Model to Support Local-Level Evidence-Based Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Said Shahtahmasebi

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In response to a central drive for evidence-based practice, there have been many research support schemes, setups, and other practices concentrating on facilitating access to external research, such as the Centre for Evidence Based Healthcare Aotearoa, the Cochrane Collaboration, and the York Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Very little attention has been paid to supporting internal research in terms of local evidence and internal research capabilities. The whole evidence-based practice movement has alienated internal decision makers and, thus, very little progress has been made in the context of evidence informing local policy formation. Health and social policies are made centrally based on dubious claims and often evidence is sought after implementation. For example, on record, most health care practitioners appear to agree with the causal link between depression and mental illness (sometimes qualified with other social factors with suicide; off the record, even some psychiatrists doubt that such a link is applicable to the population as a whole. Therefore, be it through misplaced loyalty or a lack of support for internal researchers/decision makers, local evidence informing local decision making may have been ignored in favour of external evidence. In this paper, we present a practical holistic model to support local evidence-based decision making. This approach is more relevant in light of a new approach to primary health care of “local knowledge” complementing external evidence. One possible outcome would be to network with other regional programmes around the world to share information and identify “best” practices, such as the “Stop Youth Suicide Campaign”(www.stopyouthsuicide.com.

Effect of local cultural context on the success of community-based conservation interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Waylen, Kerry A; Fischer, Anke; McGowan, Philip J K; Thirgood, Simon J; Milner-Gulland, E J

2010-08-01

Conservation interventions require evaluation to understand what factors predict success or failure. To date, there has been little systematic investigation of the effect of social and cultural context on conservation success, although a large body of literature argues it is important. We investigated whether local cultural context, particularly local institutions and the efforts of interventions to engage with this culture significantly influence conservation outcomes. We also tested the effects of community participation, conservation education, benefit provision, and market integration. We systematically reviewed the literature on community-based conservation and identified 68 interventions suitable for inclusion. We used a protocol to extract and code information and evaluated a range of measures of outcome success (attitudinal, behavioral, ecological, and economic). We also examined the association of each predictor with each outcome measure and the structure of predictor covariance. Local institutional context influenced intervention outcomes, and interventions that engaged with local institutions were more likely to succeed. Nevertheless, there was limited support for the role of community participation, conservation education, benefit provision, and market integration on intervention success. We recommend that conservation interventions seek to understand the societies they work with and tailor their activities accordingly. Systematic reviews are a valuable approach for assessing conservation evidence, although sensitive to the continuing lack of high-quality reporting on conservation interventions.

Bridging generic and professional care practices for Muslim patients through use of Leininger's culture care modes.

Science.gov (United States)

Wehbe-Alamah, Hiba

2008-04-01

The purpose of this article is to provide knowledge of traditional Muslim generic (folk) care beliefs, expressions and practices derived from research and descriptive sources, in order to assist nurses and other health care professionals to integrate generic (folk) into professional care practices. Muslim generic (folk) care beliefs and practices related to the caregiving process, health, illness, dietary needs, dress, privacy, modesty, touch, gender relations, eye contact, abortion, contraception, birth, death and bereavement were explored. A discussion involving the use of Leininger's culture care preservation and/or maintenance, culture care accommodation and/or negotiation and culture care repatterning and/or restructuring action modes to bridge the gap between generic (folk) and professional (etic) care practices and to consequently promote culturally congruent care is presented.

Managerial capacity and adoption of culturally competent practices in outpatient substance abuse treatment organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Guerrero, Erick G

2010-12-01

The field of cultural competence is shifting its primary emphasis from enhancement of counselors' skills to management, organizational policy, and processes of care. This study examined managers' characteristics associated with adoption of culturally competent practices in the nation's outpatient substance abuse treatment field. Findings indicate that in 1995, supervisors' cultural sensitivity played the most significant role in adopting practices, such as matching counselors and clients based on race and offering bilingual services. Staff's exposure to cross-cultural training increased from 1995 to 2005. In this period, positive associations were found between managers' cultural sensitivity and connection with the community and staff receiving cross-cultural training and the number of training hours completed. However, exposure to and investment in this training were negatively correlated with managers' formal education. Health administration policy should consider the extent to which the decision makers' education, community involvement, and cultural sensitivity contribute to building culturally responsive systems of care. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

History and Local Management of a Biodiversity-Rich, Urban Cultural Landscape

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Stephan Barthel

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Urban green spaces provide socially valuable ecosystem services. Through an historical analysis of the development of the National Urban Park (NUP of Stockholm, we illustrate how the co-evolutionary process of humans and nature has resulted in the high level of biological diversity and associated recreational services found in the park. The ecological values of the area are generated in the cultural landscape. External pressures resulting in urban sprawl in the Stockholm metropolitan region increasingly challenge the capacity of the NUP to continue to generate valuable ecosystem services. Setting aside protected areas, without accounting for the role of human stewardship of the cultural landscape, will most likely fail. In a social inventory of the area, we identify 69 local user and interest groups currently involved in the NUP area. Of these, 25 are local stewardship associations that have a direct role in managing habitats within the park that sustain such services as recreational landscapes, seed dispersal, and pollination. We propose that incentives should be created to widen the current biodiversity management paradigm, and actively engage local stewardship associations in adaptive co-management processes of the park and surrounding green spaces.

Room for improvement? Leadership, innovation culture and uptake of quality improvement methods in general practice.

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Apekey, Tanefa A; McSorley, Gerry; Tilling, Michelle; Siriwardena, A Niroshan

2011-04-01

Leadership and innovation are currently seen as essential elements for the development and maintenance of high-quality care. Little is known about the relationship between leadership and culture of innovation and the extent to which quality improvement methods are used in general practice. This study aimed to assess the relationship between leadership behaviour, culture of innovation and adoption of quality improvement methods in general practice. Self-administered postal questionnaires were sent to general practitioner quality improvement leads in one county in the UK between June and December 2007. The questionnaire consisted of background information, a 12-item scale to assess leadership behaviour, a seven-dimension self-rating scale for culture of innovation and questions on current use of quality improvement tools and techniques. Sixty-three completed questionnaires (62%) were returned. Leadership behaviours were not commonly reported. Most practices reported a positive culture of innovation, featuring relationship most strongly, followed by targets and information but rated lower on other dimensions of rewards, risk and resources. There was a significant positive correlation between leadership behaviour and the culture of innovation (r = 0.57; P improvement methods were not adopted by most participating practices. Leadership behaviours were infrequently reported and this was associated with a limited culture of innovation in participating general practices. There was little use of quality improvement methods beyond clinical and significant event audit. Practices need support to enhance leadership skills, encourage innovation and develop quality improvement skills if improvements in health care are to accelerate. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Assessing local resources and culture before instituting quality improvement projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkins, C Matthew

2014-12-01

The planning phases of quality improvement projects are commonly overlooked. Disorganized planning and implementation can escalate chaos, intensify resistance to change, and increase the likelihood of failure. Two important steps in the planning phase are (1) assessing local resources available to aid in the quality improvement project and (2) evaluating the culture in which the desired change is to be implemented. Assessing local resources includes identifying and engaging key stakeholders and evaluating if appropriate expertise is available for the scope of the project. This process also involves engaging informaticists and gathering available IT tools to plan and automate (to the extent possible) the data-gathering, analysis, and feedback steps. Culture in a department is influenced by the ability and willingness to manage resistance to change, build consensus, span boundaries between stakeholders, and become a learning organization. Allotting appropriate time to perform these preparatory steps will increase the odds of successfully performing a quality improvement project and implementing change. Copyright © 2014 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Managing the culturally diverse medical practice team: twenty-five strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, Laura

2014-01-01

A common misconception is that the phrase workplace diversity means meeting certain quotas in employee race or gender categories. In fact, diversity is much more than that. This article explores the unique benefits and challenges of managing a culturally diverse medical practice team and offers practice managers 25 practical strategies. It describes the two types of diversity training that are beneficial to practice managers and the kinds of policies, practices, and procedures that foster and promote diversity. This article also explores ethnocentrism, racism, ageism, sexism, stereotyping, and other potentially divisive issues among a diverse medical practice team. It provides an assessment instrument practice managers can use to evaluate their own diversity management skills. Finally, this article defines specifically what is meant by the term diversity and explores the top 10 diversity issues in workplaces today.

Greek Immigrants in Australia: Implications for Culturally Sensitive Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Georgiades, Savvas Daniel

2015-10-01

This exploratory research examined adjustment challenges, resiliencies, attitudes, emotional health, economic stability, criminal involvement, victimization and service experiences, and some cultural propensities of Greek Immigrants (GIs) in Australia using a convenient multi-generational sample (n = 123; response rate = .5). Data were collected via surveys, telephone, and personal-interviews in four major Australian cities. Among other things, the study revealed that Greek identity and cultural customs are often significant to first generation GIs. Adjustment challenges upon entry include primarily language, housing, and transportation difficulties, nostalgia for relatives and the motherland, unfamiliarity with socio-cultural systems, unemployment, money challenges, and lack of friendships. Christian faith, the extended family, family values and traditions, cultural pride for ancient Greek achievements, and a hard 'work ethic' are notable resiliencies that support GIs in their struggles and solidify their pursuit for happiness and success. Financial concerns, aging, and nostalgia for relatives and the motherland were the primary causes of socio-emotional instability. Attitudinal differences in the respondents based on age, gender, and socio-economic status, cross-cultural comparisons, and recommendations for culturally-sensitive practice with GIs are analyzed and methodological limitations illuminated. Future research needs in the field are also highlighted.

Radical-Local Teaching and Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hedegaard, Mariane; Chaiklin, Seth

Radical-Local Teaching and Learning presents a theoretical perspective for analyzing and planning educational programmes for schoolchildren. To realize both general societal interests and worthwhile personal development, the content of educational programmes for children must be grounded in the l......Radical-Local Teaching and Learning presents a theoretical perspective for analyzing and planning educational programmes for schoolchildren. To realize both general societal interests and worthwhile personal development, the content of educational programmes for children must be grounded...... radical-local teaching and learning approach. The first half of the book introduces the idea of radical-local teaching and learning and develops the theoretical background for this perspective, drawing on the cultural-historical research tradition, particularly from Vygotsky, El'konin, Davydov......, and Aidarova. The second half of the book addresses the central concern of radical-local teaching and learning - how to relate educational practices to children's specific historical and cultural conditions. The experiment was conducted for an academic year in an afterschool programme in the East Harlem...

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.

Local Management Practices for Dealing with Change and Uncertainty: A Cross-scale Comparison of Cases in Sweden and Tanzania

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Maria Tengö

2004-12-01

Full Text Available We investigated and compared management practices for dealing with uncertainty in agroecosystem dynamics in two cases of smallholder farming in different parts of the world: northeast Tanzania and east-central Sweden. Qualitative research methods were applied to map farmers' practices related to agroecosystem management. The practices are clustered according to a framework of ecosystem services relevant for agricultural production and discussed using a theoretical model of ecosystem dynamics. Almost half of the identified practices were found to be similar in both cases, with similar approaches for adjusting to and dealing with local variability and disturbance. Practices that embraced the ecological roles of wild as well as domesticated flora and fauna and the use of qualitative biological indicators are identified as tools that built insurance capital for change and enhanced the capacity to respond to changing agroecosystem dynamics. Diversification in time and space, as well as more specific practices for mitigating pest outbreaks and temporary droughts, can limit the effects of disturbance. In both Sweden and Tanzania, we identified social mechanisms for the protection of species that served important functions in the agroecosystem. We also found examples of how old practices served as a source of adaptations for dealing with new conditions and that new knowledge was adjusted to local conditions. The study shows that comparing management practices across scales and in different cultural settings can reveal insights into the capacity of farmers to adjust, respond to, and shape ecosystem dynamics. We emphasize the importance of continuous learning for developing the sustainable management of complex agroecosystems and securing agricultural production for the future.

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...

The LocaL Tradition of Magical Practices in Banten society

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Ayatullah Humaeni

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This article aims to discuss the cultural phenomenon of magical practices in the Muslim society of Banten which still exists up to the present. It is a part of my MA thesis research that has been combined with my recent field research using ethnography method based on the anthropological approach. Magical practices becomes cultural identity for Bantenese society.  Several sources on Banten mention that Banten as a central spot for magical sciences, besides it is also well- known as a religious area. The magical practices are still regarded important for Bantenese people, especially who live in the villages to solve their practical problems in their social life. Magic is a socio-religious phenomenon which has long, well-established roots in Banten society. It  is  traceable from many literatures that describes the uniqueness of Bantenese’s culture. Besides other magical practices debus is the most noticeable appearance of the magical tradition in Banten since the sultanate period until nowadays. The existence of debus Banten and other kinds of magical practices in Banten has strengthened the reputation of Banten as if ‘a haven of magical sciences’.   Tulisan ini mencoba mendiskusikan tentang fenomena kultural mengenai praktek magis pada masyarakat Muslim Banten yang masih ada hingga saat ini. Artikel ini merupakan bagian dari tesis Master saya yang sudah dikombinasikan dengan penelitian lapangan baru-baru ini dengan menggunakan metode etnografi berdasarkan pendekatan antropologis. Praktek magis sudah menjadi identitas kultural bagi masyarakat Banten. Beberapa sumber menyebut Banten sebagai pusat ilmu-ilmu gaib, di samping dikenal sebagai daerah yang religius. Praktek magis masih dianggap penting bagi masyarakat Banten, khususnya yang tinggal di pedesaan untuk menyelesaikan masalah-masalah praktis dalam kehidupan sosial mereka. Magis adalah sebuah fenomena sosio-kultural yang memiliki akar yang cukup lama dan sudah berakar kuat dalam

Cultural competence education for practicing physicians: lessons in cultural humility, nonjudgmental behaviors, and health beliefs elicitation.

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Kutob, Randa M; Bormanis, John; Crago, Marjorie; Harris, John M; Senf, Janet; Shisslak, Catherine M

2013-01-01

Although numerous studies have examined cultural competence training, debate still exists about efficacious approaches to this training. Furthermore, little focus has been placed on training and evaluating practicing physicians. A skills-based course on culturally competent diabetes care was developed and subsequently tested in a controlled trial of primary physicians caring for patients enrolled in one state's Medicaid program. We hypothesized that physicians completing the course would show higher levels of self-reported cultural competence as measured by a Cultural Competence Assessment Tool (CCAT) than those in the control group. Differences in CCAT subscale scores were also compared. Ninety physicians completed the study, with 41 in the control and 49 in the intervention group. Most were female (66%), with an average age of 44, and 12 years in practice. There were no significant differences on total CCAT score (212.7 ± 26.7 for control versus 217.2 ± 28.6 for intervention, p = .444) or subscales measuring cultural knowledge. There were significant positive differences on the subscales measuring physicians' nonjudgmental attitudes/behaviors (subscale score 2.38 ± 0.46 for control versus 2.69 ± 0.52 for intervention, p = .004) and future likelihood of eliciting patients' beliefs about diabetes and treatment preferences (3.11 ± 0.53 for control versus 3.37 ± 0.45 for intervention, p = .014). There was, however, a significant negative difference on the subscale measuring cultural self-awareness (3.48 ± 0.36 for control versus 3.26 ± 0.48 for intervention, p = .018). A predominantly skills-based approach to training physicians did not change aggregate measures of cultural competence, but did affect key attitudes and behaviors, which may better reflect the goals of cultural competence training. Copyright © 2013 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME

Geophagia among female adolescents as a culturally driven practice

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Geophagia, the deliberate ingestion of soil, is a culturally sanctioned practice common to the world's more tribally oriented people. Widely reported among pregnant and lactating women, geophagia is also practised by female adolescents (FA). This article presents preliminary findings on the incidence and reasons of ...

Local air quality management: some evidence of current practices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, Clare; Newton, Alex; Longhurst, Jim [University of the West of England, Air Quality Research Group, Bristol (United Kingdom)

1998-12-01

The recent legislative changes, notably the Environment Act 1995 and resultant National Air Quality Strategy have brought new powers and obligations to local authorities to reach specified air quality standards and objectives. Initially this will involve local authorities carrying out a review and assessment of air quality in their locality by December 1999. This paper will outline a project currently being undertaken within the University of the West of England investigating how this legislation is being put into practice and present the results from a nation-wide questionnaire survey of environmental health officers. The study found that local authorities are still at an early stage of the process. It seems probable that one possible barrier to the implementation of Air Quality Management will be communication and cooperation within local authorities. (Author)

Transnational Cultural Leadership as a Situated Practice : Dilemmas and Methods

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kolsteeg, Johan

2017-01-01

In a longitudinal transnational research project, a network of European research institutions and field organisations aims to understand how cultural managers mediate global and local pressures concerning creative autonomy, economy and ideology. Among the research questions are which variables

The Cultivation of Cross-Cultural Communication Competence in Oral English Teaching Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Chunyan

2015-01-01

This paper analyzes the main problems and difficulties in current college English oral English teaching practice, illustrates the relationship between oral English teaching and cross-cultural communication competence. On the one hand, cross-cultural communication plays an essential role in oral English teaching; besides, oral English teaching…

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of local inhabitants about ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: The present study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of local residents about insecticide treated nets (ITNs) for malaria control in an endemic area of Ethiopia Methods: A descriptive cross-survey was conducted from July 2008 to September 2008. A structured questionnaire collecting ...

Raymond Williams and local cultures

OpenAIRE

B Longhurst

1991-01-01

In this paper it is maintained that Raymond Williams's writings on culture are of great importance to current developments in cultural geography. His work is periodised into three stages and its different subject matters identified. An interpretation of Williams's theory of culture is offered which places particular emphasis on his concepts of 'structure of feeling' and 'knowable community'. The creative tension between Williams's holistic treatment of culture and his stress on cultural strug...

A Survey of Hygiene Practices of Bakers in Amuwo Odofin Local ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A Survey of Hygiene Practices of Bakers in Amuwo Odofin Local Government ... pest control, hygiene of personnel, storage and waste management. Important as this strategy is in the food industry, little has been reported on the practice of ...

The Influence of Socio-Cultural Factors on Leadership Practices for Instructional Improvement in Indonesian Schools

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Jawas, Umiati

2017-01-01

Empirical studies have shown that although leadership shares similar practices across East and West, some practices have inherently distinguished socio cultural characteristics. Understanding these characteristics is important in Asian contexts since socio-cultures are a major power in determining the success or failure of a change process. This…

Cultural Heritage Education for Intercultural Communication

OpenAIRE

Kokko, Sirpa; Kyritsi, Anna

2012-01-01

In this paper, cultural heritage is considered as an important aspect of intercultural communication and social cohesion, both in local communities as well as on the European level. In European societies of today, the role of the cultural heritage of arts and crafts is under discussion. Attention has turned to the importance of conserving and developing traditional knowledge and techniques. On the basis of this and the practical experiences from craft and cultural heritage projects in Finland...

Developing a Scale for Culturally Responsive Practice: Validation, Relationship with School Organizational Factors, and Application

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jae-Bum

2017-01-01

The primary goal of this dissertation is to develop and provide preliminary validation for a new measure of culturally responsive practice. This instrument, which is called the Culturally Responsive Practice Scale (CRPS), includes items that reflect ways that teachers teach multicultural students in their classrooms. To accomplish the goal, three…

Organizational Culture as Determinant of Knowledge Sharing Practices of Teachers Working in Higher Education Sector

Science.gov (United States)

Areekkuzhiyil, Santhosh

2016-01-01

The current study aims to explore the influence of organisational culture on the knowledge sharing practices of teachers working in higher education sector. The study hypothesized the impact of various aspects of organisational culture on the knowledge sharing practices of teachers working in higher education sector. The data required for the…

From local to global (and back): Towards glocal ethnographies of cultural tourism

OpenAIRE

Salazar, Noel B.

2010-01-01

Researching cultural tourism, covering the gamut from global standards of hospitality to dyadic host-guest interactions, is a fascinating but challenging endeavour. Since travel-for-leisure is a multi-layered phenomenon, many studies fail to understand and explain it adequately. Using a research project in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, as an example, I demonstrate how a “glocal ethnography” approach helps to capture the details of the local cultural tourism scene while at the same time it pays atten...

THE CONCEPT OF LOCAL-SMART-HOUSING: TOWARDS SOCIO-CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY OF VERNACULAR SETTLEMENTS

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AmirHosein GhaffarianHoseini

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The recent decades have witnessed the widespread manifestation of intelligent building design development around the world. Meanwhile, the concept of smart housing as one of the main issues of intelligent building design development has stimulated various architects and designers to make use of it for the sake of sustainable housing. However, this study represents a gap in smart housing design owing to the lack of a deep consideration on cultural values of users for ensuring the socio-cultural sustainability as one of the objectives of sustainable smart housing designs. Accordingly, the study puts forward the concept of local-smart-housing through utilization of appropriate vernacular architectural features and cultural values of vernacular settlements in smart housing design in order to reinforce the sociocultural sustainability. Meanwhile, this study is limited to the Malay context in order to identify the vernacular features of Malay vernacular settlement’s functional spaces for utilization in smart housing design to make them culturally responsive. Correspondingly, this study proposes the concept of local-smart-housing based on the incorporation of intelligent building design and utilization of vernacular features for enhancing the quality of life for users.

Hip-Hop(e): The Cultural Practice and Critical Pedagogy of International Hip-Hop. Adolescent Cultures, School, and Society. Volume 56

Science.gov (United States)

Porfilio, Brad J., Ed.; Viola, Michael J., Ed.

2012-01-01

Illuminating hip-hop as an important cultural practice and a global social movement, this collaborative project highlights the emancipatory messages and cultural work generated by the organic intellectuals of global hip-hop. Contributors describe the social realities--globalization, migration, poverty, criminalization, and racism--youth are…

Hygiene Practices among Workers in Local Eateries of Orolu ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The springing up of fast food shops and local eateries in nooks and crannies of South Western ... hygienic practices employed in this food marketing sector, restaurants and hotels ..... food overnight. 126. 53.6. Use preservative in storing cereal.

Legal Design of Domestic Workers Protection Based on Gorontalo Community Local Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Cherawaty Thalib, Mutia

2018-05-01

This study was conducted with an empirical juridical approach. The juridical approach was done by identifying community norms and legal policy related to the domestic workers existence, while the empirical approach was done by observing social phenomenon of housemaid and local culture that underlies the working relationship between employer and domestic workers (housemaid). In-depth interviews and group discussions were done to obtain the data. The result shows that the domestic workers existence in Gorontalo cannot be relied upon the domestic service market because it is increasingly eroded by socio-cultural changes that evolve in the rapid rise society awareness of human rights and technological development. Huyula’s culture values, timoa, ambu, bilohe, and tolianga remain as survival strategies for some domestic workers who last longer with their work. For new domestic workers, the bargaining position is increasingly high with the poor quality of work. Some of the rural workers who still hold the principle of “dila biasa” (uncustomary principle), moomu (unwilling), moolito / moqolito (shame), affect their resilience in working as domestic workers. On the other hand, domestic work relations as a social institution is not supported by strong instruments like the government. Consequently, it needs an integrated thinking and step by step designing of the form of protection for domestic workers based on the local culture values of Gorontalo people.

'Good culture, bad culture': polygyny, cultural change and structural drivers of HIV in Papua New Guinea.

Science.gov (United States)

Shih, Patti; Worth, Heather; Travaglia, Joanne; Kelly-Hanku, Angela

2017-09-01

Culture is often problematised as a key structural driver of HIV transmission in Papua New Guinea. Official HIV programmes, as well as church teachings, tend to focus on customary marital practices of polygyny and bride price payments as 'harmful traditions'. This focus can oversimplify the effects of current and historical nuances of cultural, political and economic change on sexual concurrency and gender inequality. Community-based healthcare workers in Southern Highlands Province explain that customary marital practices are now highly reconfigured from their traditional forms. A recent mining boom has financially advantaged local and travelling men, who are driving an increase of sexual concurrency, transactional sex and inflation of bride price payments. Healthcare workers suggest that the erosion of important social relationships and kinship obligations by the expanding cash economy has caused an intensification of individual male power while enhancing the vulnerability of women. Yet without the means to challenge the effects of uneven economic development, healthcare workers are left to target 'culture' as the central influence on individual behaviours. A commitment to address structural inequality by political leadership and in HIV prevention programmes and a careful contextualisation of cultural change is needed.

Cultural Safety Circles and Indigenous Peoples' Perspectives: Inclusive Practices for Participation in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Aseron, Johnnie; Greymorning, S. Neyooxet; Miller, Adrian; Wilde, Simon

2013-01-01

Indigenous experiences, as found within traditional ways and cultural practices, are an acknowledgement of traditional methods for sharing, learning, and collective knowledge development and maintenance. The application of Cultural Safety Circles can help provide a collective space where definitions for cultural and educational exchange can take…

Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany and Lochem (The Netherlands

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Thomas Hoppe

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The social dimension of the transition to a low carbon economy is a key challenge to cities. The establishment of local energy initiatives (LEIs has recently been attracting attention. It is of great importance to draw lessons from best practices when LEIs have been facilitated by local governments and made a substantial contribution to greening local energy systems. The main research questions in this paper are: What lessons can be drawn from successful local low carbon energy transition cases, and which strategies proved successful to support LEIs? We have used analytical notions from the Strategic Niche Management (SNM and grassroots innovation literature to analyze two best-practice cases: Saerbeck (Germany and Lochem (The Netherlands. Data collection involved a set of fourteen in-depth interviews and secondary data. The results show that three key factors from SNM (building networks, managing expectations, and facilitation of learning are of great importance. However, to a great degree it is also strategic, community serving, responsive, reflexive leadership and proper process management by public officials that spurred success, which would not have been possible without close interaction and mutual trust between local government and representatives of the local communities.

Examining How Proactive Management and Culturally Responsive Teaching Relate to Student Behavior: Implications for Measurement and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Kristine E.; Pas, Elise T.; Bradshaw, Catherine P.; Rosenberg, Michael S.; Day-Vines, Norma L.

2018-01-01

The discipline gap between White students and African American students has increased demand for teacher training in culturally responsive and behavior management practices. Extant research, however, is inconclusive about how culturally responsive teaching practices relate to student behavior or how to assess using such practices in the classroom.…

The Politics of Implementing Local Cultures in Music Education in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Wai-Chung

2006-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how the national development of Taiwan has shaped the context of music learning through the development of local cultures in current education reform. Through the examination of relevant literature, official documents, websites and a selection of music education publications that are commonly…

Local agenda 21 and planning practice: structural transformation or window dressing?

OpenAIRE

Doak, Joe

2001-01-01

Local Agenda 21 seeks the meaningful involvement of a wide range of local groups and stakeholders in the formulation and implementation of public policy and a free flow of communication and discussion between them and their respective local authorities (and other areas and levels of decision-making). This paper explores the reality of this process using case study evidence from local planning practice in Liverpool (in the north of England) and Reading (in the south of the country). It concent...

Cultural practice of the Midzichenda at cross roads:

OpenAIRE

Tinga, Kaingu Kalume

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the conflicts between some cultural practices of the Midzichenda (i. e. divination, healing and witchcraft) and the Kenyan Law. For decades, diviners and healers have been misconceived and condemned wholesale as `witchdoctors´, `wizards´ or `witches´. This misconception has seen many innocent diviners and healers mercilessly arrested, hurriedly arraigned in court, heavily fined and (or) eventually imprisoned, and their paraphernalia confiscated and finally destroyed by th...

Restructuring locality: practice, identity and place-making on the German-Polish border

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandberg, Marie

2016-01-01

Taking cities as analytical entry points for investigating practice, identity and place-making, this article explores the differential restructurings of locality in the twin cities of Görlitz and Zgorzelec on the German-Polish border. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, it shows how the local cities......′ leaderships are attempting to wrestle the cities out of their downmarket positioning in the global economy. Deploying a performative research strategy of methodological relationalism, the article examines intersections between these cities′ strategies of situating local youth within urban regeneration...... and cross-border projects and local youth′s preferences for engaging in other kinds of place-making. By ‘seeing’ the cities in border regions through practices of place-making within the multiscalar processes of urban regeneration, new insights about ‘place’ are generated in which city branding...

Culture Care Theory: a proposed practice theory guide for nurse practitioners in primary care settings.

Science.gov (United States)

McFarland, Marilyn M; Eipperle, Marilyn K

2008-04-01

Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality is presented as a foundational basis for the educational preparation, primary care contextual practice, and outcomes-focused research endeavours of advanced practice nursing. Discussion emphasises the value of care and caring as the essence of advanced practice nursing through the use of three modes of care, use of the Sunrise and other enablers, and the ethnonursing method. Education, research, practice, and key concepts of the theory are connected as essential components toward the provision of culturally congruent care to meet the healthcare needs of diverse individuals, families, groups, and communities by family nurse practitioners.

What Teachers Say about Addressing Culture in Their EFL Teaching Practices: The Vietnamese Context

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Long; Harvey, Sharon; Grant, Lynn

2016-01-01

This paper examines Vietnamese EFL teachers' beliefs about the role of culture in language teaching. It also considers how they address culture in their teaching practices in a Vietnamese university. Ethnographic data collected from semi-structured interviews indicated that opportunities for culture to find its way into EFL classroom activities…

Cultural and Economic Motivation of Pig Raising Practices in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Nahar, Nazmun; Uddin, Main; Gurley, Emily S; Jahangir Hossain, M; Sultana, Rebeca; Luby, Stephen P

2015-12-01

The interactions that pig raisers in Bangladesh have with their pigs could increase the risk of zoonotic disease transmission. Since raising pigs is a cultural taboo to Muslims, we aimed at understanding the motivation for raising pigs and resulting practices that could pose the risk of transmitting disease from pigs to humans in Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim country. These understandings could help identify acceptable strategies to reduce the risk of disease transmission from pigs to people. To achieve this objective, we conducted 34 in-depth interviews among pig herders and backyard pig raisers in eight districts of Bangladesh. Informants explained that pig raising is an old tradition, embedded in cultural and religious beliefs and practices, the primary livelihood of pig herders, and a supplemental income of backyard pig raisers. To secure additional income, pig raisers sell feces, liver, bile, and other pig parts often used as traditional medicine. Pig raisers have limited economic ability to change the current practices that may put them at risk of exposure to diseases from their pigs. An intervention that improves their financial situation and reduces the risk of zoonotic disease may be of interest to pig raisers.

Inter-comparison of safety culture within selected practices in Ghana utilising ionising radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faanu, A.; Schandorf, C.; Darko, E. O.; Boadu, M.; Emi-Reynolds, G.; Awudu, A. R.; Gyekye, P. K.; Kpeglo, D. O.

2010-01-01

The safety culture of selected practices and facilities in Ghana utilising radiation sources or radiation emitting devices has been assessed using a performance indicator, which provided status information on management and operating staff commitment to safety. The questionnaire was based on the following broad areas: general safety considerations, safety policy at the facility level, safety practices at the facility level, definition of responsibility, staff training, safety of the physical structure of the facility and the emergency plans. The analysis showed that the percentage levels of commitment to safety for the respective practices are as follows: conventional radiography, 23.3-90.0%; research reactor, 73.3 %; gamma irradiation facility, 53.3%; radiotherapy, 76.7%; X-ray scanner, 80.0%; gamma scanner, 76.7%; industrial radiography 86.7% and nuclear density practice, 78%. None of the practices or facilities was able to satisfy all the requirements that will ensure a 100% level of safety culture. (authors)

Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoppe, Thomas; Graf, Antonia; Warbroek, Wynzen Douwe Beau; Lammers, Imke; Lepping, Isabella

2015-01-01

The social dimension of the transition to a low carbon economy is a key challenge to cities. The establishment of local energy initiatives (LEIs) has recently been attracting attention. It is of great importance to draw lessons from best practices when LEIs have been facilitated by local governments

The formation of management culture of local fiscal service administrative staff (based on customs house data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Lipovskaya

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with management culture of administrative staff working at the local bodies of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, whose performance is considered to depend on the level of management culture. It is shown that economic activity, which is a cultural and historic phenomenon, determines the role of Customs House services and contributes to the originality of the management culture itself. Customs personnel is viewed in terms of social and cultural domains.

Group Music Therapy Methods in Cross-Cultural Aged Care Practice in Australia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ridder, Hanne Mette Ochsner

2011-01-01

When I worked as a music therapist in a Danish nursing home ten years ago there were no residents with an ethnic or cultural background other than Danish. There were 24 residents at this geronto-psychiatric unit and all had lived their lives in Denmark, most of them in the local area. It was often....... This situation, with a nursing home population who mainly are rooted in the same local area, is very different from the situation described by Ip & Grocke’s article where an “ever-increasing diversity of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds” in elderly Australians is seen. It has changed in Denmark as well...... as in the other European countries in the last decade, though. Now ten percent of school children in Denmark have a mother tongue other than Danish, and a growing number of the aged population has a CALD-background (Culturally And Linguistically Diverse). One percent of the population in Denmark +60 years has...

Local health practices and the knowledge of medicinal plants in a Brazilian semi-arid region: environmental benefits to human health.

Science.gov (United States)

Zank, Sofia; Peroni, Nivaldo; de Araújo, Elcida Lima; Hanazaki, Natalia

2015-02-23

The concept of eco-cultural health considers the dynamic interaction between humans and ecosystems, emphasizing the implications of the health of the ecosystem for the health and well-being of human populations. Ethnobotanical studies focusing on folk medicine and medicinal plants can contribute to the field of eco-cultural health if they incorporate the perspective and local knowledge of communities. We investigated the local health practices in three rural communities living within the vicinity of a protected area of sustainable use in a semi-arid region of Brazil. We analyzed the opinions of local health experts on the elements that influence human health and on how the environment contributes to this influence. We also analyzed and compared the local knowledge of medicinal plants, as knowledge of this type is an important factor when considering the interaction between environmental and human health. We performed structured interviews and free-listings with 66 local health experts. We used content analysis to systematize the elements of the influences on human health. We compared the richness of the plants cited among communities and analyzed the differences among the three communities regarding the ways in which the plants were obtained and the environments in which plants were collected. The local experts identified several influences of the environment on human health. These influences can be associated with ecosystem services, such as climatic conditions, water and air quality, recreation and medicinal and food resources. We identified 192 medicinal plant species, most of which were gathered from wild ecosystems. The most important environments for the three communities were the plateau mountain and backyards. The informants had a broad and integrated view of health, perceiving the importance of conserving the environment within the National Forest of Araripe for the health and well-being of the local populations.

Dermatoses due to Indian cultural practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Divya; Thappa, Devinder Mohan

2015-01-01

A wide prevalence of socio-religious and cultural practices in the Asian subcontinent often leads to multitude of skin diseases which may be missed by the dermatologists because of a lack of awareness. 'Henna' use causes IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions and contact dermatitis. 'Kumkum' application can result in pigmented contact dermatitis and lichen planus pigmentosus. Sticker 'bindis' and 'alta' induce contact leukoderma. Irritant and allergic contact dermatitis occurs after playing with 'Holi' colors. Threading and drawstring dermatitis lead to koebnerization of pre-existing dermatoses, infections and even squamous cell carcinoma of skin. Mild irritant reactions and contact sensitization occur secondary to balm and hair oil use. 'Mudichood' represents the comedogenic effect of hair oils combined with occlusion and humidity. Aromatherapy oils can cause contact dermatitis and photosensitive reactions. Heavy metal and steroid toxicity along with severe cutaneous adverse effects like erythroderma can occur as a consequent to the use of alternative medicines. Squamous cell carcinoma due to chronic heat exposure from the heating device "kangri" is seen in Kashmiris. Prayer nodules in Muslims and traction alopecia in Sikhs illustrate how religious practices can negatively affect the skin. With increasing globalization and migration, the practice of indigenous customs and traditions is no longer limited to regional territories, making it imperative for the dermatologists to be acquainted with the cutaneous side effects they can cause.

Primary school as the hub of the social and cultural life in the local community

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasna Mažgon

2016-04-01

Full Text Available For quite some time, Slovenian society has been preserving a specific model of social organisation rooted in the communal form. In functioning as a socio-cultural centre of the local community the school greatly surpassed its primary role of educating children. The process of urbanisation that has reached rural areas brought very interesting changes to the previously expanded function of the local school. We examined how, today, schools perceive a need to connect with and engage in their local environments. The perceptions of connections and their real modalities do differ and the ways in which schools respond to the needs of the localities (and vice versa depend on the prevalent model of social organisation. Exceptions to this are more significant in localities where the school might be one of very few public institutions or the only public institution present at the local level. Although the schools wish to motivate and engage local residents also in other environments, they often lack the time and energy to do so. The results of qualitative analysis indicated that merging or closing local schools could have negative demographic and socio-cultural consequences. At the same time, the analysis pointed to unrealised potential in the localities lacking tradition, such as new urban areas where the school could be the crucial element in the social organisation of the local community.

"Nothing special, everything is maamuli": socio-cultural and family practices influencing the perinatal period in urban India.

Science.gov (United States)

Raman, Shanti; Srinivasan, Krishnamachari; Kurpad, Anura; Razee, Husna; Ritchie, Jan

2014-01-01

Globally, India contributes the largest share in sheer numbers to the burden of maternal and infant under-nutrition, morbidity and mortality. A major gap in our knowledge is how socio-cultural practices and beliefs influence the perinatal period and thus perinatal outcomes, particularly in the rapidly growing urban setting. Using data from a qualitative study in urban south India, including in-depth interviews with 36 women who had recently been through childbirth as well as observations of family life and clinic encounters, we explored the territory of familial, cultural and traditional practices and beliefs influencing women and their families through pregnancy, childbirth and infancy. We found that while there were some similarities in cultural practices to those described before in studies from low resource village settings, there are changing practices and ideas. Fertility concerns dominate women's experience of married life; notions of gender preference and ideal family size are changing rapidly in response to the urban context; however inter-generational family pressures are still considerable. While a rich repertoire of cultural practices persists throughout the perinatal continuum, their existence is normalised and even underplayed. In terms of diet and nutrition, traditional messages including notions of 'hot' and 'cold' foods, are stronger than health messages; however breastfeeding is the cultural norm and the practice of delayed breastfeeding appears to be disappearing in this urban setting. Marriage, pregnancy and childbirth are so much part of the norm for women, that there is little expectation of individual choice in any of these major life events. A greater understanding is needed of the dynamic factors shaping the perinatal period in urban India, including an acknowledgment of the health promoting as well as potentially harmful cultural practices and the critical role of the family. This will help plan culturally appropriate integrated perinatal

"Nothing special, everything is maamuli": socio-cultural and family practices influencing the perinatal period in urban India.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanti Raman

Full Text Available Globally, India contributes the largest share in sheer numbers to the burden of maternal and infant under-nutrition, morbidity and mortality. A major gap in our knowledge is how socio-cultural practices and beliefs influence the perinatal period and thus perinatal outcomes, particularly in the rapidly growing urban setting.Using data from a qualitative study in urban south India, including in-depth interviews with 36 women who had recently been through childbirth as well as observations of family life and clinic encounters, we explored the territory of familial, cultural and traditional practices and beliefs influencing women and their families through pregnancy, childbirth and infancy. We found that while there were some similarities in cultural practices to those described before in studies from low resource village settings, there are changing practices and ideas. Fertility concerns dominate women's experience of married life; notions of gender preference and ideal family size are changing rapidly in response to the urban context; however inter-generational family pressures are still considerable. While a rich repertoire of cultural practices persists throughout the perinatal continuum, their existence is normalised and even underplayed. In terms of diet and nutrition, traditional messages including notions of 'hot' and 'cold' foods, are stronger than health messages; however breastfeeding is the cultural norm and the practice of delayed breastfeeding appears to be disappearing in this urban setting. Marriage, pregnancy and childbirth are so much part of the norm for women, that there is little expectation of individual choice in any of these major life events.A greater understanding is needed of the dynamic factors shaping the perinatal period in urban India, including an acknowledgment of the health promoting as well as potentially harmful cultural practices and the critical role of the family. This will help plan culturally appropriate

Sustainable building and local resources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Cristina Forlani

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The research comes from the deepest reasons of the crisis, in order to recognize in such reasons themselves the direction to come out, the new needs and the new challenges. The local resources (material and immaterial were reconsidered as patrimony, precious but limited, of each specific area to trace out a path of supportability able to rebuild new relations between project/production and environmental culture. The industrial production becomes a driving force for the economic renewal through an iterative cycle between research/science and economics aiming to smart building, meant as practice in evolution. This practise is careful to the local, environmental, cultural and economic situation, whose parameters are identity, energy, environment, mobility and economics that give back different scale answers.

From universal to local: perspectives on cultural landscape heritage in South Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cocks, M.; Vetter, S.; Wiersum, K.F.

2018-01-01

The concept of cultural landscapes relates to the multifaceted links between
people, place and identity. From a professional perspective, the concept
refers to a category of designated conservation areas with specific biocultural
heritage values. From a local perspective, it may refer to

Culture and Food Practices of African American Women With Type 2 Diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Sumlin, Lisa L; Brown, Sharon A

2017-12-01

Purpose The goals of this descriptive ethnographic study were to (1) describe the day-to-day selection, preparation, and consumption of food among African American women (AAW) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); (2) identify their typical food selections and consumption practices when dining out at restaurants and at social gatherings (ie, church functions, holidays); (3) highlight the valued behaviors and beliefs that influence these women's food practices; and (4) determine how social interactions influence those food practices. Methods Symbolic interactionism, a sensitizing framework, guided this study. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 20 AAW from 35 to 70 years of age diagnosed with T2DM who shopped and prepared meals for their families and attended church functions where food was served. Data collection consisted of one-on-one interviews and observations of participants during church fellowship dinners, grocery shopping, and food preparation. A social anthropological approach to content analysis was used to describe behavioral regularities in food practices. Results Informants exhibited a constant struggle in food practices, particularly within the home setting. Difficulties in making dietary modifications resulted from conflicts between the need to change dietary practices to control diabetes and personal food preferences, food preferences of family members, and AAW's emotional dedication to the symbolism of food derived from traditional cultural food practices passed down from generation to generation. Conclusions African American women are the gatekeepers for family food practices, holding the keys to healthy dietary practices. This study helps to fill the research gap regarding cultural dietary food practices within this population.

Study on agroforestry practices in Abak Local Government Area ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A study was carried out to assess the various agroforestry practices in Abak Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaires, physical observations and oral interview were used to collect data from agroforestry farmers (respondents) in the four clans (Abak, Otoro, Midim and ...

Culturally Diverse Students in Higher Education: Challenges and Possibilities within Academic Literacy Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Tkachenko

2016-10-01

Full Text Available With growing diversity in the population, higher education faces a new situation with increasing student diversity. In our paper, we will explore questions concerning the consequences student diversity has for higher-education institutions. Based on our experience from three different R&D projects, the differences in culture and academic literacy practices give culturally diverse students challenges that have often been ignored in academia. Some other studies also document that this group of students has a much higher risk of dropping out and underachieving than majority students (Andersen & Skaarer- Kreutz, 2007; Støren, 2009. In our paper, we are going to discuss the students’ challenges and discourse of remediation that is often associated with their challenges and suggest how higher-education institutions can adjust their practices to be more oriented to intercultural communication. Intercultural communication as a dialogic approach may create dynamics in academic tutoring and lead to mutual change/transformation instead of a one-way adaptation of existing academic literacy norms. We argue that all teachers should be aware of cultural differences in literacy practices in the education systems and strive to adjust their teaching practices to the diversity in the classroom. This approach, we believe, can contribute to a better learning environment for all students, independently of their backgrounds. 

Practical Issues of Conducting a Q Methodology Study: Lessons Learned From a Cross-cultural Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Teresa Elizabeth; Maguire, Jane; Kang, Sook Jung; Cha, Chiyoung

This article advances nursing research by presenting the methodological challenges experienced in conducting a multination Q-methodology study. This article critically analyzes the relevance of the methodology for cross-cultural and nursing research and the challenges that led to specific responses by the investigators. The use of focus groups with key stakeholders supplemented the Q-analysis results. The authors discuss practical issues and shared innovative approaches and provide best-practice suggestions on the use of this flexible methodology. Q methodology has the versatility to explore complexities of contemporary nursing practice and cross-cultural health research.

Guarding against land-expropriation-related mass incidents (LERMIs): Practical evidence from China's local governments

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Shukui; Wang, Siliang

2017-04-01

China is faced with serious challenges brought by large-scale social protests in the period of rapid urbanization and profound social transition. In rural areas, the vast majority of mass incidents were related with land expropriation. In this paper, we intend to show how China's local governments guard against land-expropriation-related mass incidents (LERMIs) at the practical level. We first construct a comprehensive three-dimensional theoretic framework to define the boundary, to uncover the incentives, and to recognize the features of involved practices, then, on the basis of description evidenced by detailed data and/or cases, break various local practices down into two categories, the common local practices which refer to the nationwide top-down responses to the unified deployment by the central authority that aims to mitigate discontentment of land-deprived peasants and reduce the probabilities of conflicts through regulating land expropriation behavior and safeguarding economic interests and participation rights of affected peasants, and the specific local practices which point to the innovative local government behaviors with heterogeneity, in general, the tactical approaches to reduce the probabilities of disputes or conflicts evolving into group actions. We further argue that both of them follow a central tenet of instrumental orientation. As to the former, it is corroborated by local governments' paying more attention to promote the stylization and quantification in the aspects of regulating procedure, formulating and renewing compensation standards, resolving disputes, and evaluating risks, while the latter is mainly reflected from the outcome-orientation organization strategies to maintain overall stability in a relatively short term.

[Practical advices in choosing local anesthesia tools in dentistry. Management of carpule's quality in local anesthesia in dentistry].

Science.gov (United States)

Kuzin, A V

2014-01-01

The equipment for local anesthesia is described in this article. Practical recommendations for the selection of the injection needle length, size, bevel type is given. Using dental needle for local anesthesia should be guided by the "one injection - one needle" rule, as a needle tends to deform by even the slightest contact with jawbone. Some of the shortcomings of carpule quality may be detected before use: signs of cup corrosion, the presence of sediment, air bubbles, rubber plunger disposition. In the case of such defects being identified all the package should not be used. The use of such carpule in clinical practice is unsafe.

Cross-Cultural Interactions and Changing Management Practices in Africa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kuada, John

2006-01-01

confronting Sub-Saharan African countries today. This paper argues in favour of an eclectic synthesis of ideas from multiple sources to provide African managers with novel perspectives of the realities facing them and approaches to address them. The term "hybrid" management" has been used to describe...... this approach to management development. This development of a learning culture and a network of centres of management research have been suggested as preconditions for the effective development of hybrid management in Africa......African societies demand and deserve visible economic benefits taht good management and governance can provide. But available evidence suggests that neither Western management practices nor thoe inspired by African culture can adequately address the socio-economic and political challenges...

Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Hassel, Emily Ayscue; Holly, Christen; Locke, Gillian

2014-01-01

To help all students reach their potential, district leaders must ensure that every student has consistent access to excellent teaching. Opportunity Culture compensation and career path structures help make that possible, and this guide shows how. "Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide" shows…

"A'ole" Drugs! Cultural Practices and Drug Resistance of Rural Hawai'ian Youths

Science.gov (United States)

Po'A-Kekuawela, Ka'Ohinani; Okamoto, Scott K.; Nebre, La Risa H.; Helm, Susana; Chin, Coralee I. H.

2009-01-01

This qualitative study examined how Native Hawai'ian youths from rural communities utilized cultural practices to promote drug resistance and/or abstinence. Forty-seven students from five different middle schools participated in gender-specific focus groups that focused on the cultural and environmental contexts of drug use for Native Hawai'ian…

Faculty Perspectives on Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices in Developmental Education

Science.gov (United States)

Raney, Kristen A.

2013-01-01

This mixed methods study examined the perspectives of developmental math faculty at a two-year technical college regarding culturally responsive beliefs and instructional practices. Thirteen faculty who taught the developmental class Elementary Algebra with Applications were surveyed. Nine of the 13 faculty responded. One section of Wisconsin's…

Symbolic Meanings of High and Low Impact Daily Consumption Practices in Different Cultures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ger, Güliz; Wilhite, Harold; Halkier, Bente

1998-01-01

. They influence our choices and practices whether it is by motivating or impeding them. In this study we will look at the symbolic meanings of high and low environmental impact consumption practices. In order to create desirable social markers for environmentally-friendly practices and/or to change high impact...... practices, we need to understand emergent practices and their existing cultural meanings. Thus we have chosen three fields of daily consumption practices - food consumption, transport and hygiene - and sorted out the relatively environmentally friendly (low impact) and the relatively environmentally...

Developments in urban local authority capability and practice in air quality management: a temporal comparison between practice in 1994 and 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, C.I.; Longhurst, J.W.S. [Univ. of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol (United Kingdom); Crabbe, H. [Middlesex Univ., Urban Pollution Research Centre, London (United Kingdom); Elsom, D.M. [Oxford Brookes Univ., AQM Research Group, Oxford (United Kingdom)

1999-07-01

Air Quality Management (AQM) is the process by which air quality control is being accomplished both in the UK and the European Union. One of the key components of the process is the explicit identification of a responsibility by municipalities for local action. Results from two questionnaire surveys of local authority environmental health departments (1994 and 1998) are presented in order to illustrate the changes in AQM practice in England over the 4 years. Monitoring, modelling and communication of air quality information by local authorities are examined in detail. The intervening period was a turbulent time for AQM legislation in the UK. The Environment Act 1995 (HM Government) prompted the publication of the National Air Quality Strategy in 1997 (DoE). Through the Air Quality Regulations (HM Government) local authorities have become legally responsible for meeting seven pollutant objectives by 2005. Local authorities have undergone a rapid advance in AQM practice and capability. There is now a greater standardisation of practice than in 1994 due substantially to the implementation of the recent legislation governing the AQM process. (Author)

The relationship between cultural competence education and increasing diversity in nursing schools and practice settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Pacquiao, Dula

2007-01-01

This article attempted to examine the relationship between cultural competence education and increasing diversity in nursing schools and practice settings. In addition to the review of the literature, a panel of experts was interviewed regarding institutional practices in response to the challenge of increasing diversity and cultural competence education. Evidence of positive outcomes of cultural competent care and impact of race and ethnic concordance between patients and providers are presented. The challenge of increasing underrepresented minorities in health care professions remains elusive. An ecological analysis is recommended to address the social and cultural barriers that transcend the micro system of the school and the macro system of the society. The challenge of increasing diversity and realizing outcomes of cultural competence education requires social and comprehensive remedies to level life inequities that perpetuate a history of disadvantages in some groups.

Pharmacy Service Orientation: a measure of organizational culture in pharmacy practice sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Bartholomew E; Mount, Jeanine K

2006-03-01

The importance of organizational culture in shaping everyday organizational life is well accepted, but little work has focused on organizational culture in pharmacy. Examining new pharmacists' experiences at various practice sites may help us to understand how these shape their professional ethos and practice habits. (1) Present development and assessment of the Pharmacy Service Orientation (PSO) measure, a tool for assessing pharmacists' impressions of pharmacy practice sites. (2) Use data gathered from a sample of new pharmacists to explore potential predictors of PSO, including type of practice site, type of pharmacy work experience, and type of pharmacy degree. Mail survey of randomly selected class of 1999 pharmacy graduates within 3 months of graduation (response rate: 259 of 1,850; 14%), each of whom reported on up to 6 different pharmacy practice sites for a total of 1,192 pharmacy observations. Pharmacy Service Orientation is scored on a 1-10 semantic differential scale and reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Predictors of PSO were explored using t test and ordinary least squares regression procedures. Reliability of the PSO across all observations was 0.86. When divided according to recency of experience and type of experience, reliabilities ranged from 0.78 to 0.87. Analysis of potential predictors of PSO showed that non-corporate-community sites had significantly greater pharmaceutical care-oriented cultures (mean PSOs of 7.42 and 5.13, respectively; PService Orientation is a reliable measure. Statistically significant differences in PSO comparisons by degree and by experience type are explained by significant differences between the PSOs of corporate-community and non-corporate-community sites.

A Model for Translating Ethnography and Theory into Culturally Constructed Clinical Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Schensul, Jean J.; Schensul, Stephen L.; Mekki-Berrada, Abelwahed; Pelto, Pertti J.; Maitra, Shubhada; Verma, Ravi; Saggurti, Niranjan

2015-01-01

This article describes the development of a dynamic culturally constructed clinical practice model for HIV/STI prevention, the Narrative Intervention Model (NIM), and illustrates its application in practice, within the context of a 6-year transdisciplinary research program in Mumbai, India. Theory and research from anthropology, psychology, and public health, and mixed-method ethnographic research with practitioners, patients, and community members, contributed to the articulation of the NIM for HIV/STI risk reduction and prevention among married men living in low-income communities. The NIM involves a process of negotiation of patient narratives regarding their sexual health problems and related risk factors to facilitate risk reduction. The goal of the NIM is to facilitate cognitive-behavioral change through a three-stage process of co-construction (eliciting patient narrative), deconstruction (articulating discrepancies between current and desired narrative), and reconstruction (proposing alternative narratives that facilitate risk reduction). The NIM process extends the traditional clinical approach through the integration of biological, psychological, interpersonal, and cultural factors as depicted in the patient narrative. Our work demonstrates the use of a recursive integration of research and practice to address limitations of current evidence-based intervention approaches that fail to address the diversity of cultural constructions across populations and contexts. PMID:25292448

A model for translating ethnography and theory into culturally constructed clinical practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Nastasi, Bonnie Kaul; Schensul, Jean J; Schensul, Stephen L; Mekki-Berrada, Abelwahed; Pelto, Pertti J; Maitra, Shubhada; Verma, Ravi; Saggurti, Niranjan

2015-03-01

This article describes the development of a dynamic culturally constructed clinical practice model for HIV/STI prevention, the Narrative Intervention Model (NIM), and illustrates its application in practice, within the context of a 6-year transdisciplinary research program in Mumbai, India. Theory and research from anthropology, psychology, and public health, and mixed-method ethnographic research with practitioners, patients, and community members, contributed to the articulation of the NIM for HIV/STI risk reduction and prevention among married men living in low-income communities. The NIM involves a process of negotiation of patient narratives regarding their sexual health problems and related risk factors to facilitate risk reduction. The goal of the NIM is to facilitate cognitive-behavioral change through a three-stage process of co-construction (eliciting patient narrative), deconstruction (articulating discrepancies between current and desired narrative), and reconstruction (proposing alternative narratives that facilitate risk reduction). The NIM process extends the traditional clinical approach through the integration of biological, psychological, interpersonal, and cultural factors as depicted in the patient narrative. Our work demonstrates the use of a recursive integration of research and practice to address limitations of current evidence-based intervention approaches that fail to address the diversity of cultural constructions across populations and contexts.

Working for the public health: politics, localism and epistemologies of practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Gemma; Green, Judith

2015-05-01

The recent move of public health back to English local government has reignited debates about the role of a medicalised public health profession. The explicit policy rationale for the move was that local government is the arena in which the social determinants of health can be addressed, and that public health specialists could provide neutral evidence to support action on these. However, if a discourse of 'evidence-based' policy is in principle (if not practice) relatively unproblematic within the health arena, within the more overtly politicised local government space, rather different policy imperatives come to the fore. Responding to calls for research on evidence in practice, this article draws on ethnographic data of local authorities in the first year of the reorganised public health function. Focusing on alcohol policy, we explore how decisions that affect public health are rationalised and enacted through discourses of localism, empiricism and holism. These frame policy outcomes as inevitably plural and contingent: a framing which sits uneasily with normative discourses of evidence-based policy. We argue that locating public health in local government necessitates a refocusing of how evidence for public health is conceptualised, to incorporate multiple, and political, understandings of health and wellbeing. © 2015 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2015 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Flexible working policies and environments in UK Local Authorities: current practice

OpenAIRE

Price, Ilfryn

2001-01-01

The research surveys the uptake of 'modern' or flexible working practices in UK Local Authorities, especially as it impacts on property and office accommodation.\\ud Nearly all permit flexible starting and finishing times for as many employees as is practical while forms of accredited hours working for at least some appropriate employees are policy in a majority. Flexible practices with property and ICT implications, working from home without a dedicated work station, formal policies, 'hot' de...

Assessing elemental mercury vapor exposure from cultural and religious practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, D M; Newby, C A; Leal-Almeraz, T O; Thomas, V M

2001-08-01

Use of elemental mercury in certain cultural and religious practices can cause high exposures to mercury vapor. Uses include sprinkling mercury on the floor of a home or car, burning it in a candle, and mixing it with perfume. Some uses can produce indoor air mercury concentrations one or two orders of magnitude above occupational exposure limits. Exposures resulting from other uses, such as infrequent use of a small bead of mercury, could be well below currently recognized risk levels. Metallic mercury is available at almost all of the 15 botanicas visited in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, but botanica personnel often deny having mercury for sale when approached by outsiders to these religious and cultural traditions. Actions by public health authorities have driven the mercury trade underground in some locations. Interviews indicate that mercury users are aware that mercury is hazardous, but are not aware of the inhalation exposure risk. We argue against a crackdown by health authorities because it could drive the practices further underground, because high-risk practices may be rare, and because uninformed government intervention could have unfortunate political and civic side effects for some Caribbean and Latin American immigrant groups. We recommend an outreach and education program involving religious and community leaders, botanica personnel, and other mercury users.

The Contributions of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Theory to Innovative Research and Practice Cultures in Social Work.

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Briggs, Harold Eugene; Sharkey, Caroline; Briggs, Adam Christopher

2016-01-01

In this article the authors tie the emergence of an empirical practice research culture, which enabled the rise in evidence-based practice in social work to the introduction of applied behavior analysis and behavioral theory to social work practice and research. The authors chronicle the: (1) scientific foundations of social work, (2) influence and push by corporatized university cultures for higher scholarship productivity among faculty, (3) significance of theory in general, (4) importance of behavioral theory in particular as a major trigger of the growth in research on effective social work practice approaches, and (5) commonalities between applied behavior analysis and evidence-based practice. The authors conclude with implications for addressing the dual challenges of building an enhanced research culture in schools of social work and the scholarship of transferring practice research to adoption in real world practice settings.

Dermatoses due to indian cultural practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Divya Gupta

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A wide prevalence of socio-religious and cultural practices in the Asian subcontinent often leads to multitude of skin diseases which may be missed by the dermatologists because of a lack of awareness. ′Henna′ use causes IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions and contact dermatitis. ′Kumkum′ application can result in pigmented contact dermatitis and lichen planus pigmentosus. Sticker ′bindis′ and ′alta′ induce contact leukoderma. Irritant and allergic contact dermatitis occurs after playing with ′Holi′ colors. Threading and drawstring dermatitis lead to koebnerization of pre-existing dermatoses, infections and even squamous cell carcinoma of skin. Mild irritant reactions and contact sensitization occur secondary to balm and hair oil use. ′Mudichood′ represents the comedogenic effect of hair oils combined with occlusion and humidity. Aromatherapy oils can cause contact dermatitis and photosensitive reactions. Heavy metal and steroid toxicity along with severe cutaneous adverse effects like erythroderma can occur as a consequent to the use of alternative medicines. Squamous cell carcinoma due to chronic heat exposure from the heating device "kangri" is seen in Kashmiris. Prayer nodules in Muslims and traction alopecia in Sikhs illustrate how religious practices can negatively affect the skin. With increasing globalization and migration, the practice of indigenous customs and traditions is no longer limited to regional territories, making it imperative for the dermatologists to be acquainted with the cutaneous side effects they can cause.

Teaching and training for global engineering perspectives on culture and professional communication practices

CERN Document Server

Flammia, Madelyn

2016-01-01

Provides a foundation for understanding a range of linguistic, cultural, and technological factors to effectively practice international communication in a variety of professional communication arenas This book presents a range of perspectives, examples, and concepts for teaching international professional communication in different settings. Industry professionals and academic researchers alike have written entries for Teaching and Training for Global Engineering: Perspectives on Culture and Professional Communication Practices, which have been organized into four cohesive, context-based sections that examine central issues associated with offering effective instruction on communication in global settings. The first section presents approaches for teaching issues of language and visual design related to international communication. The second section reviews aspects of software use and ethical practices associated with communicating globally. The third ection discusses how educators can use information a...

Sustaining a quality improvement culture in local health departments applying for accreditation.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Pooja; Moran, John W

2014-01-01

This article focuses on local health departments (LHDs) that are advanced in accreditation and quality improvement (QI) efforts and the barriers and facilitators associated with sustaining improvements and building an organizational culture of QI. To understand the barriers and facilitators associated with building and sustaining progress toward a QI culture in LHDs. Quantitative data from a self-reporting survey and qualitative data from telephone interviews. Twenty-two LHDs across the United States responded to the survey. Ten of the 22 LHD respondents participated in telephone interviews. QI lead staff at LHDs that are advanced in accreditation preparation and QI. Self-reported LHD survey ratings against indicators for a QI culture, and the identified barriers and facilitators around sustaining QI initiatives. Of the 6 domains of a QI culture measured in the survey, the percentages of respondents that scored themselves highly to at least 1 indicator in each domain are as follows: leadership commitment (100%); employee empowerment (100%); teamwork and collaboration (100%); continuous process improvement (86%); customer focus (72%); and QI infrastructure (64%). Qualitative data from 10 telephone interviews revealed that key barriers to sustaining progress around QI included staff turnover, budget cuts, and major crises or events that arise as priority. Key facilitators included leadership commitment, accreditation, and dedication of resources and staff time to QI. When engaging in QI, LHDs should consider investing efforts in gaining leadership support and dedicating staff time early in the QI journey to ensure that QI efforts and initiatives are sustained. Local health departments interested in developing a QI culture should also consider pursuing accreditation, as it provides a structured framework for continuous improvement. They should also actively develop QI knowledge and skills among all staff members to minimize the negative impact of staff turnover.

Structural and Cultural Approaches Towards Studying the Diffusion of Management Practices

OpenAIRE

Scheiber, Florian

2013-01-01

This dissertation combines so called structural and cultural approaches within diffusion research from organizational theory in order to contribute to gaining a deeper understanding for the spread of management practices. Therefore, three empirical cases are assessed using both qualitative and quantitative research methods: (1) The diffusion of codes of conduct among 287 firms in the German textile and apparel industry, (2) the diffusion of modern management practices among 272 German SMEs an...

Singapore International Schools: Best Practice in Culturally Diverse Music Education

Science.gov (United States)

Cain, Melissa Anne

2010-01-01

This paper explores the preliminary outcomes of research into the place and role of cultural diversity in primary music classes at five International Schools in Singapore. It highlights the ways in which school philosophy, policy, curriculum and in-service training influence teacher practice. The research provides insights into the challenges…

PNRA: Practically Improving Safety Culture within the Regulatory Body

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhatti, S.A.N.; Habib, M.A.

2016-01-01

The prevalence of a good safety culture is equally important for all kind of organizations involved in nuclear business including operating organizations, designers, regulator, etc., and this should be reflected through the processes and activities of these organizations. The need for inculcating safety culture into regulatory processes and practices is gradually increasing since the major nuclear accident of Fukushima, Japan. Accordingly, several international fora in last few years repeatedly highlighted the importance of prevalence of safety culture in regulatory bodies as well. The utilisation of concept of safety culture remained applicable in regulatory activities of PNRA in the form of core values. After the Fukushima accident, PNRA considered it important to check the extent of utilisation of safety culture concept in organizational activities and decided to conduct its “Safety Culture Self-Assessment (SCSA)” for presenting itself as role model in-order to endorse the fact that safety culture at regulatory authority plays an important role to influence safety culture at licenced facilities. Considering the complexity of cultural assessment starting from visual manifestations to the basic assumptions at the deeper level, PNRA decided to utilise IAEA emerging methodology for assessment of culture and then used modified IAEA normative framework (made it applicable for regulatory body) for assessing safety culture at a regulatory body. PNRA SCSA team utilised safety culture assessment tools (observations, focus groups, surveys, interviews and document analysis) for collecting cultural facts by including all level of personnel involved in different activities and functions in the organization. Different challenges were encountered during implementation of these tools which were tackled with the background of training on SCSA and with the help of experts during support missions arranged by IAEA. Before formally starting the SCSA process, pre-launch activities

Shared Values and Socio-Cultural Norms: E-Learning Technologies from a Social Practice Perspective

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Shih, Patti; Velan, Gary M.; Shulruf, Boaz

2017-01-01

From a perspective of social practice, learning is a socially constituted practice that is imbued with socio-culturally significant meanings and shaped by the values and norms shared within a community of learners. This focus group study examines the role of e-learning technologies in mediating the social practice of learning among coursework…

Effect of Practice Ownership on Work Environment, Learning Culture, Psychological Safety, and Burnout.

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Cuellar, Alison; Krist, Alex H; Nichols, Len M; Kuzel, Anton J

2018-04-01

Physicians have joined larger groups and hospital systems in the face of multiple environmental challenges. We examine whether there are differences across practice ownership in self-reported work environment, a practice culture of learning, psychological safety, and burnout. Using cross-sectional data from staff surveys of small and medium-size practices that participated in EvidenceNOW in Virginia, we tested for differences in work environment, culture of learning, psychological safety, and burnout by practice type. We conducted weighted multivariate linear regression of outcomes on ownership, controlling for practice size, specialty mix, payer mix, and whether the practice was located in a medically underserved area. We further analyzed clinician and staff responses separately. Participating were 104 hospital-owned and 61 independent practices and 24 federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). We analyzed 2,005 responses from practice clinicians and staff, a response rate of 49%. Working in a hospital-owned practice was associated with favorable ratings of work environment, psychological safety, and burnout compared with independent practices. When we examined separately the responses of clinicians vs staff, however, the association appears to be largely driven by staff. Hospital ownership was associated with positive perceptions of practice work environment and lower burnout for staff relative to independent ownership, whereas clinicians in FQHCs perceive a more negative, less joyful work environment and burnout. Our findings are suggestive that clinician and nonclinician staff perceive practice adaptive reserve differently, which may have implications for creating the energy for ongoing quality improvement work. © 2018 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

Beyond Tradition: Culture, Symbolism, and Practicality in American Indian Art

Science.gov (United States)

Sorensen, Barbara Ellen

2013-01-01

Indigenous people have always created what colonial language labels art. Yet there is no Native word for "art" as defined in a Euro-American sense. Art, as the dominant culture envisions, is mostly ornamental. This is in sharp juxtaposition to a Native perspective, which sees art as integrative, inclusive, practical, and constantly…

Reducing unnecessary culturing: a systems approach to evaluating urine culture ordering and collection practices among nurses in two acute care settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Redwood

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inappropriate ordering and acquisition of urine cultures leads to unnecessary treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB. Treatment of ASB contributes to antimicrobial resistance particularly among hospital-acquired organisms. Our objective was to investigate urine culture ordering and collection practices among nurses to identify key system-level and human factor barriers and facilitators that affect optimal ordering and collection practices. Methods We conducted two focus groups, one with ED nurses and the other with ICU nurses. Questions were developed using the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS framework. We used iterative categorization (directed content analysis followed by summative content analysis to code and analyze the data both deductively (using SEIPS domains and inductively (emerging themes. Results Factors affecting optimal urine ordering and collection included barriers at the person, process, and task levels. For ED nurses, barriers included patient factors, physician communication, reflex culture protocols, the electronic health record, urinary symptoms, and ED throughput. For ICU nurses, barriers included physician notification of urinalysis results, personal protective equipment, collection technique, patient body habitus, and Foley catheter issues. Conclusions We identified multiple potential process barriers to nurse adherence with evidence-based recommendations for ordering and collecting urine cultures in the ICU and ED. A systems approach to identifying barriers and facilitators can be useful to design interventions for improving urine ordering and collection practices.

ICOM-ICTOP 14 October 2015 Workshop : Applying Global Theory to Local Practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ariese, C.E.; Con, Aguilar E.O.; Martin, J.A.

2015-01-01

This workshop is connected to the presentation ‘Transforming global theory to local practice: Case studies from museums and education in the Caribbean’ and provides a practical and creative exercise for participants. The objective of the workshop is to support participants in exploring how to apply

“Nothing Special, Everything Is Maamuli”: Socio-Cultural and Family Practices Influencing the Perinatal Period in Urban India

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Raman, Shanti; Srinivasan, Krishnamachari; Kurpad, Anura; Razee, Husna; Ritchie, Jan

2014-01-01

Background Globally, India contributes the largest share in sheer numbers to the burden of maternal and infant under-nutrition, morbidity and mortality. A major gap in our knowledge is how socio-cultural practices and beliefs influence the perinatal period and thus perinatal outcomes, particularly in the rapidly growing urban setting. Methods and Findings Using data from a qualitative study in urban south India, including in-depth interviews with 36 women who had recently been through childbirth as well as observations of family life and clinic encounters, we explored the territory of familial, cultural and traditional practices and beliefs influencing women and their families through pregnancy, childbirth and infancy. We found that while there were some similarities in cultural practices to those described before in studies from low resource village settings, there are changing practices and ideas. Fertility concerns dominate women’s experience of married life; notions of gender preference and ideal family size are changing rapidly in response to the urban context; however inter-generational family pressures are still considerable. While a rich repertoire of cultural practices persists throughout the perinatal continuum, their existence is normalised and even underplayed. In terms of diet and nutrition, traditional messages including notions of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ foods, are stronger than health messages; however breastfeeding is the cultural norm and the practice of delayed breastfeeding appears to be disappearing in this urban setting. Marriage, pregnancy and childbirth are so much part of the norm for women, that there is little expectation of individual choice in any of these major life events. Conclusions A greater understanding is needed of the dynamic factors shaping the perinatal period in urban India, including an acknowledgment of the health promoting as well as potentially harmful cultural practices and the critical role of the family. This will

Ethnomedicinal and cultural practices of mammals and birds in the vicinity of river Chenab, Punjab-Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Altaf, Muhammad; Javid, Arshad; Umair, Muhammad; Iqbal, Khalid Javed; Rasheed, Zahid; Abbasi, Arshad Mehmood

2017-07-12

Although, use of animal species in disease treatment and culture practices is as ancient as that of plant species; however ethnomedicinal uses and cultural values of animal species have rarely been reported. Present study is the first report on the medicinal uses of mammals and bird species in Pakistan. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were applied to collect qualitative and quantitative data from local informants (N = 109). Relative frequency of mention (RFM), fidelity level (FL), relative popularity level (RPL), similarity index (SI) and rank order priority (ROP) indices were used to analyzed the data. One hundred and eight species of animals, which include: 83% birds and 17% mammals were documented. In total 30 mammalian and 28 birds' species were used to treat various diseases such as rheumatic disorders, skin infections and sexual weakness among several others. Fats, flesh, blood, milk and eggs were the most commonly utilized body parts. Bos taurus, Bubalus bubalis, Capra aegagrus hircus, Felis domesticus, Lepus nigricollis dayanus and Ovis aries (mammals) and Anas platyrhynchos domesticus, Columba livia, Coturnix coturnix, Gallus gallus and Passer domesticus (birds) were the highly utilized species. Medicinal and cultural uses of 30% mammals and 46% birds were reported for the first time, whereas 33% mammals and 79% birds depicted zero similarity with previous reports. Present study exhibits significant ethnozoological knowledge of local inhabitants and their strong association with animal species, which could be helpful in sustainable use of biodiversity of the region. Additionally, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of biological activities in the mammalian and birds' species with maximum fidelity level and frequency of mention could be important to discover animal based novel drugs. Some commonly used mammals and birds species of the study area.

Deconstructing dementia and delirium hospital practice: using cultural historical activity theory to inform education approaches.

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Teodorczuk, Andrew; Mukaetova-Ladinska, Elizabeta; Corbett, Sally; Welfare, Mark

2015-08-01

Older patients with dementia and delirium receive suboptimal hospital care. Policy calls for more effective education to address this though there is little consensus on what this entails. The purpose of this clarification study is to explore how practice gaps are constructed in relation to managing the confused hospitalised older patient. The intent is to inform educational processes in the work-place beyond traditional approaches such as training. Adopting grounded theory as a research method and working within a social constructionist paradigm we explored the practice gaps of 15 healthcare professionals by interview and conducted five focus groups with patients, carers and Liaison mental health professionals. Data were thematically analysed by constant comparison and theoretical sampling was undertaken until saturation reached. Categories were identified and pragmatic concepts developed grounded within the data. Findings were then further analysed using cultural historical activity theory as a deductive lens. Practice gaps in relation to managing the confused older patient are determined by factors operating at individual (knowledge and skill gaps, personal philosophy, task based practice), team (leadership, time and ward environmental factors) and organisational (power relationships, dominance of medical model, fragmentation of care services) levels. Conceptually, practice appeared to be influenced by socio-cultural ward factors and compounded by a failure to join up existing "patient" knowledge amongst professionals. Applying cultural historical activity theory to further illuminate the findings, the central object is defined as learning about the patient and the mediating artifacts are the care relationships. The overarching medical dominance emerges as an important cultural historical factor at play and staff rules and divisions of labour are exposed. Lastly key contradictions and tensions in the system that work against learning about the patient are

Formative Assessment as a Vehicle for Changing Classroom Practice in a Specific Cultural Context

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jingping

2015-01-01

In this commentary, I interpret Xinying Yin and Gayle Ann Buck's collaborative action research from a social-cultural perspective. Classroom implementation of formative assessment is viewed as interaction between this assessment method and the local learning culture. I first identify Yin and Buck's definition of the formative assessment, and then…

IT Mangement for Transforming Local Government - a Danish Collaborative Practice Research Project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kræmmergaard, Pernille; Agger Nielsen, Jeppe

2011-01-01

The aim of this paper is to present the methodology and preliminary findings from an on-going Danish collaborative practice research project concerning IT-Management in Transformational e-Government - DISIMIT. The ambition of the DISIMIT project is to improve IT management in local governments...... (municipalities) and to contribute with knowledge about IT-Management to the IS literature in general and to the e-government literature in particular. The paper reports on the process of conducting collaborative practice research and the selected findings from the empirical research activities. Up till now...... of eGovernment maturity and diagnosed the six main challenges faced by local governments in their efforts of realizing transformational e-Government. From these challenges, the project chose three challenges to investigate further according to the principles from Collaborative Practice Research...

A Study of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices of Adult ESOL and EAP Teachers

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Rhodes, Christy M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine how frequently adult education English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers in Florida used specific culturally responsive teaching practices and how important they believed those practices were to their teaching. Using Ginsberg and Wlodkowski's…

Cross-Cultural Approach of Postpartum Depression: Manifestation, Practices Applied, Risk Factors and Therapeutic Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Evagorou, Olympia; Arvaniti, Aikaterini; Samakouri, Maria

2016-03-01

It is a well known fact that postpartum depression (PPD) is a global phenomenon that women may experience, regardless of cultural identity and beliefs. This literature review presents the cultural beliefs and postnatal practices around the world, in each continent and people's origins, looking through the extent to which they contribute positively or negatively to the onset of the disease. 106 articles were used in this research, through a systematic electronic search of Pubmed (Medline) and Scopus. Comparison is also made between the prevalence, the risk factors and the different ways of appearance of the disease around the world and among immigrants. Finally, the initiatives and interventions made so far by the governments and institutions with a view to prevent and address this global problem are presented. The results showed (a) that different cultures share the same risk factors towards the disease (b) significant differences in the prevalence of the disease among both Western and non Western cultures and between the cultures themselves (c) more tendencies for somatization of depressive symptoms in non-Western cultures, (d) different postnatal practices between cultures, which are not always effective (e) the more non-West a culture is, the less interventions concern on mental health; the same phenomenon is observed on populations burdened by immigration. The beliefs held by culture should be taken seriously in detecting of PPD, as well as the assessment of the needs of women who have recently given birth.

How Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry prepare students for culturally competent practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Truong, Mandy; Bentley, Sharon A; Napper, Genevieve A; Guest, Daryl J; Anjou, Mitchell D

2014-11-01

This study is an investigation of how Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry prepare students for culturally competent practice. The aims are: (1) to review how optometric courses and educators teach and prepare their students to work with culturally diverse patients; and (2) to determine the demographic characteristics of current optometric students and obtain their views on cultural diversity. All Australian and New Zealand schools of optometry were invited to participate in the study. Data were collected with two surveys: a curriculum survey about the content of the optometric courses in relation to cultural competency issues and a survey for second year optometry students containing questions in relation to cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity and attitudes to cultural diversity. Four schools of optometry participated in the curriculum survey (Deakin University, Flinders University, University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales). Sixty-three students (22.3 per cent) from these four schools as well as the University of Auckland participated in the student survey. Cultural competency training was reported to be included in the curriculum of some schools, to varying degrees in terms of structure, content, teaching method and hours of teaching. Among second year optometry students across Australia and New Zealand, training in cultural diversity issues was the strongest predictor of cultural awareness and sensitivity after adjusting for school, age, gender, country of birth and language other than English. This study provides some evidence that previous cultural competency-related training is associated with better cultural awareness and sensitivity among optometric students. The variable approaches to cultural competency training reported by the schools of optometry participating in the study suggest that there may be opportunity for further development in all schools to consider best practice training in cultural competency. © 2014 The

Cultural Adaptation of a Neurobiologically Informed Intervention in Local and International Contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Pakulak, Eric; Hampton Wray, Amanda; Longoria, Zayra; Garcia Isaza, Alejandra; Stevens, Courtney; Bell, Theodore; Burlingame, Sarah; Klein, Scott; Berlinski, Samuel; Attanasio, Orazio; Neville, Helen

2017-12-01

The relationship between early adversity and numerous negative outcomes across the lifespan is evident in a wide range of societies and cultures (e.g., Pakulak, Stevens, & Neville, 2018). Among the most affected neural systems are those supporting attention, self-regulation, and stress regulation. As such, these systems represent targets for neurobiologically informed interventions addressing early adversity. In prior work with monolingual native English-speaking families, we showed that a two-generation intervention targeting these systems in families improves outcomes across multiple domains including child brain function for selective attention (for detail, see Neville et al., 2013). Here, we discuss the translation and cultural adaptation (CA) of this intervention in local and international contexts, which required systematic consideration of cultural differences that could affect program acceptability. First, we conducted a translation and CA of our program to serve Latino families in the United States using the Cultural Adaptation Process (CAP), a model that works closely with stakeholders in a systematic, iterative process. Second, to implement the adapted program in Medellín, Colombia, we conducted a subsequent adaptation for Colombian culture using the same CAP. Our experience underscores the importance of consideration of cultural differences and a systematic approach to adaptation before assessing the efficacy of neurobiologically informed interventions in different cultural contexts. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cultural landscapes as heritage in Malaysia: Potentials, threats, and current practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ahmad, R.

2013-01-01

The rural cultural landscape in Malaysia is relatively under-researched. The current heritage practices focus on built heritage as national heritage, which implies the everyday landscapes of the rural areas have been neglected as potential heritage and have received little attention from politicians

Literacy in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Implications for Policy and Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Street, B.

This paper reviews some of the issues in the new literacy studies and the questions, from an anthropological perspective, of self, person, and identity that affect literacy practices. It is suggested that in discussing literacy, it is better to start from a cultural viewpoint rather than an educational one. The traditional autonomous model of…

On the Borders: Adjusting to Academic, Social and Cultural Practices at an Australian University

Science.gov (United States)

Buchanan, John; Ljungdahl, Lesley; Maher, Damian

2015-01-01

Adjustment to university is challenging for students as they navigate a path through new academic, social and cultural practices. Some may feel on the borders, marginalised by their background. Issues such as adjustment to university life, independence, performance expectations, establishing friendships, technological competence, cultural capital,…

The impact of Islamic culture on business ethics : Saudi Arabia and the practice of Wasta

OpenAIRE

Algumzi, Areej; Zhang, Haina; Dimitratos, Pavlos

2017-01-01

The following PhD study contributes to the business ethics field in Islamic context by developing a critical approach to studying the influence of Islam and Saudi traditions in real-life contexts from managerial and organisational perspectives. Bourdieu’s theory of practice is applied to deliver insight into the cultural contexts in which managerial values and daily practices are constituted, introducing the issue of wasta within Saudi culture. Despite wasta being a sensitive topic, few studi...

Autoradiographic localization of a gluten peptide during organ culture of human duodenal mucosa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fluge, G.; Aksnes, L.

1983-01-01

An 125I-labeled subfraction of Frazer's fraction III (molecular weight, 8,000) was added to the culture medium during organ culture of duodenal biopsies from two patients with celiac disease in exacerbation. The isotope-labeled gluten peptide was localized by autoradiography after 6, 12, and 24 h of culture. At 6 h, labeling was located mainly in the basal layers of the biopsies. The tissue was well preserved. After 12 h in culture, the labeling had spread to the lamina propria and the crypts. A few grains were located over enterocytes and desquamated cells. Moderate histological signs of toxicity were observed. After 24 h, there was marked toxic deterioration, comparable to that seen after culture with alpha-gliadin. Labeling had spread throughout the entire section. There seemed to be no specificity of the binding, for the entire section was affected. Culture with the identical gluten fraction, in the radionegative state, produced histological deterioration comparable to that seen after exposure to the isotope-labeled peptide. Gluten peptides are presented to the target cells in a unique way during organ culture, different from in vivo conditions. This may influence the results when the organ culture method is used to investigate the pathogenesis of celiac disease

Autoradiographic localization of a gluten peptide during organ culture of human duodenal mucosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fluge, G.; Aksnes, L.

1983-01-01

An 125I-labeled subfraction of Frazer's fraction III (molecular weight, 8,000) was added to the culture medium during organ culture of duodenal biopsies from two patients with celiac disease in exacerbation. The isotope-labeled gluten peptide was localized by autoradiography after 6, 12, and 24 h of culture. At 6 h, labeling was located mainly in the basal layers of the biopsies. The tissue was well preserved. After 12 h in culture, the labeling had spread to the lamina propria and the crypts. A few grains were located over enterocytes and desquamated cells. Moderate histological signs of toxicity were observed. After 24 h, there was marked toxic deterioration, comparable to that seen after culture with alpha-gliadin. Labeling had spread throughout the entire section. There seemed to be no specificity of the binding, for the entire section was affected. Culture with the identical gluten fraction, in the radionegative state, produced histological deterioration comparable to that seen after exposure to the isotope-labeled peptide. Gluten peptides are presented to the target cells in a unique way during organ culture, different from in vivo conditions. This may influence the results when the organ culture method is used to investigate the pathogenesis of celiac disease.

Religious culture and health promotion: care, practice, object

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viola Timm

2015-06-01

Full Text Available At the margins of modern medical practice, pushing the very limits of science, and indefatigably rendering the precincts of public discourse, still functional remnants of Christian civilization continue to provide care for the hopeless, perform healing sacraments for the incurable, and curate objects of votive devotion for the suffering and needy. These public services go largely unaccounted for, though they secure an ordered world, structure perception, and serve as ontological anchors. Lost in the vague, scientifically unrarified notions of spirituality that brace a general, undifferentiated worldwide metaphysical experience and disregard immense cultural, functional, geographic and performative distinctness, Catholic sacramental practices aimed at alleviating suffering and promoting healthy lifestyles are receiving only marginal mention in scientific literature(1, despite the fact that they make up daily reality in large parts of contemporary Europe and Latin America. Writing this editorial from the Northeast of Brazil, where traditional religious practice has sustained generations through the calamities of severe droughts, slavery, extreme poverty, high child mortality, failed political orders, and a harsh global economic reality, it is difficult to underestimate the power of sacramental experience to sustain a cultural identity. It was defined the concept of care of the sick in the context of the religious experience of the Northeast of Brazil which is historically relevant to health promotion. Until the emergence of national health care in the late nineteenth century, it was largely the order of the Franciscan friars that was charged with promoting healthy lives in the region. The Catholic concept of care that guided their efforts structures three procedural reality principles: the psychological reality of the transference to the person in one’s charge (care/caritas, the performative practice of religious sacrament such as the anointment

Korean older intimate partner violence survivors in North America: cultural considerations and practice recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shim, Woochan S; Nelson-Becker, Holly

2009-01-01

While literature on elder abuse has expanded, elder abuse by intimate partners has been less investigated. Even less is known about intimate partner violence among older Koreans living in North America. This article identifies important cultural considerations for individuals helping the Korean older adult community, beginning with the definition of intimate partner violence in this community and barriers to leaving that include traditional views of the East Asian self. Current practice interventions are discussed and recommendations for future practice such as healing han, the accumulated suffering from years of abuse, are suggested. The ultimate goal of this paper is to expand awareness in order to develop the best culturally competent prevention and intervention practice for Korean older intimate partner violence survivors in North America.

PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF OSAI METHODOLOGY IN ASSESSING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE OF AN ENGINEERING COMPANY

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Aleksandra Biletskaya

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article is intended to generalize and highlight the practical application of certain science-based approaches to assessment of an engineering company’s organizational culture. The OSAI method application has enabled determining the type of the organizational culture existing within a company and the desirable type thereof, i.e. the one which would produce a positive effect on the competitive status of a company, as well as on the utilization of its human resources. This is important because an appropriate level of the organizational culture within a company would enhance the psychological climate within a company and would provide an opportunity for improving its performance. Methodology. In order to attain the goal of our research, it is necessary to diagnose the type of the organizational culture of some selected companies and draw a conclusion as to amendment of their organizational culture. In order to ensure the successful outcome of the corporate organizational culture diagnosing procedure, let us use the OSAI tool to determine the foundation of such culture. This organizational culture assessment tool helps to define the organizational culture which members of a company are to achieve in order to meet the demands and to respond to the dynamic changes in the business environment. The results showed that the assessment of organizational culture using the method made it possible to determine the OSAI required type of organizational culture on the test plants. Practical implications. Definition of recommendation type of organizational culture has enabled the leadership to change the style of his behavior and better motivate the labor collective. Pay attention to the existing problems and improve the psychological atmosphere in the team, as well as improve the efficiency of plant personnel. Value/originality. The data obtained for the four businesses lead to the conclusion that it is the method of evaluation the optimum procedure for

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.

"Body Practices--Exposure and Effect of a Sporting Culture?" "Stories from Three Australian Swimmers"

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Jenny; Penney, Dawn; Dinan-Thompson, Maree

2012-01-01

This paper contributes to sport, sociology and the body literature by exploring the "exposure and effect" of culture, in particular bodily practices placed on three adolescent swimmers immersed in the Australian swimming culture using an ethnographic framework. The research reported is particularly notable as it addresses two distinct…

Machismo in two cultures: relation to punitive child-rearing practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Deyoung, Y; Zigler, E F

1994-07-01

The relationship of culture, personality traits, and punitive child-rearing practices to machismo was examined in 40 Guyanese and 40 Caucasian parents with children aged four to 12 years. Guyanese parents were found to adhere more strongly to machista attitudes and beliefs and to employ controlling, authoritarian, and punitive child-rearing techniques more often than did Caucasian parents.

Perceptions of Norwegian physiotherapy students: cultural diversity in practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Fougner, Marit; Horntvedt, And Tone

2012-01-01

At the Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo University College there is a growing recognition of the need for cultural competency training among students at the bachelor programmes. At the Mensendieck-physiotherapy bachelor programme the students are engaged in leading physical activity groups for Muslim women. This qualitative study describes ethnically Norwegian students experiencing cultural diversity in practice. Twenty-two female physiotherapy students participated in the interviews; 6 students were interviewed individually by telephone, and 16 students were interviewed in person in 8 pairs. The students' framework for dealing with diversity is based on preconceived notions about Muslim women and is reflected in two particular ways. One is how the values and norms of Norwegian "ideology of sameness" are pursued by the students. The other is how the students constructed images of the women as "the others." The interview responses indicate difficulties in uniting the reality of diversity and the "need" for integration. The curriculum requires additional attention on cultural competency for health care professionals in a multicultural society.

The Role of Cultural Compatibility in Effective Management The Application of Cultural Four-dimensional Model in Transnational Corporations

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

成哲

2015-01-01

Cross-cultural management is often regarded as a discipline of international management focusing on cultural encounters between the organization and the nation-state, and providing tools to tackle cultural difl＇erences seen as sources of conflict, friction or misunderstanding. Based on Greet Hofstede＇ s Cultural Model, this paper attempts to shed some light on effective corporation management through cultural analysis of the difl＇erences between China and western countries. The paper puts more emphasis on the impact of cultural compatibility on effective corporation man- agement through the case study of China, Japan, Germany and America. The author argues that managers and employ- ees involved in companies with diverse cultural backgrounds should be integrated and developed into a specific local context through interlocking their cultural identifications and the organizational practices.

Emotions in “the world”: cultural practices, products, and meanings of anger and shame in two individualist cultures

Science.gov (United States)

Boiger, Michael; Deyne, Simon De; Mesquita, Batja

2013-01-01

Three studies tested the idea that people’s cultural worlds are structured in ways that promote and highlight emotions and emotional responses that are beneficial in achieving central goals in their culture. Based on the idea that U.S. Americans strive for competitive individualism, while (Dutch-speaking) Belgians favor a more egalitarian variant of individualism, we predicted that anger and shame, as well as their associated responses, would be beneficial to different extents in these two cultural contexts. A questionnaire study found that cultural practices promote beneficial emotions (anger in the United States, shame in Belgium) and avoid harmful emotions (shame in the United States): emotional interactions were perceived to occur more or less frequently to the extent that they elicited culturally beneficial or harmful emotions. Similarly, a cultural product analysis showed that popular children’s books from the United States and Belgium tend to portray culturally beneficial emotions more than culturally harmful emotions. Finally, a word-association study of the shared cultural meanings surrounding anger and shame provided commensurate evidence at the level of the associated response. In each language network, anger and shame were imbued with meanings that reflected the cultural significance of the emotion: while culturally consistent emotions carried relatively stronger connotations of emotional yielding (e.g., giving in to anger and aggressing against the offender in the United States), culturally inconsistent emotions carried relatively stronger connotations of emotional containment (e.g., a stronger emphasis on suppressing or transforming shame in the United States). PMID:24367340

Plurilingual reading practices in a global context: Circulation of books and linguistic inequalities

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Marie Rivière

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Media consumption is commonly seen as a major way of appropriating languages and cultures. Availability and accessibility of material are essential conditions for developing plurilingual cultural practices. Transnational circulation of cultural goods has reached a particular intensity in today’s world but is still marked by deep language inequalities. Combining sociolinguistic, language education, cultural sociology, and multiliteracy approaches, this study examines how plurilingual readers access books in their different languages. This qualitative analysis is based on 24 in-depth interviews with both migrant and non-migrant adults living in Western Europe. The findings indicate that printed and digital books in dominant languages circulate more easily, and through more visible and formal channels than books in dominated languages. In addition, the local and online book supply in dominant languages is generally cheaper and more varied, thus being more attractive. However, a wider range of means of access to books, and the active participation of the readers themselves in the circulation of cultural goods enable book-reading practices in less disseminated languages. Pedagogical recommendations for language teachers to encourage autonomous cultural practices among learners according to global evolutions and local specificities are provided.

Management of Corporate Culture through Local Managers' Training in Foreign Companies in China: A Qualitative Analysis

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Zhao, Crystal L.

2005-01-01

Corporate culture is a complex phenomenon in foreign companies located in the People's Republic of China. For the management team of an international enterprise, it is a challenging task to manage cultural differences. Education and training provided to local managers might be one of the important solutions. Therefore, this study explores the…

Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide--Summary

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Hassel, Emily Ayscue; Holly, Christen; Locke, Gillian

2014-01-01

To help all students reach their potential, district leaders must ensure that every student has consistent access to excellent teaching. Opportunity Culture compensation and career path structures help make that possible, and this guide shows how. "Teacher Pay and Career Paths in an Opportunity Culture: A Practical Policy Guide" shows…

Social Action in Practice: Shifting the Ethnocentric Lens in Cross-Cultural Art Therapy Encounters

Science.gov (United States)

Kapitan, Lynn

2015-01-01

With the advance of globalization and changing demographics, an intercultural perspective that is self-reflexively aware of ethnocentric bias is increasingly important for art therapists. This article draws from cross-cultural art therapy in the international service realm to consider the nature of art therapy as a distinctly cultural practice.…

A Culturally Responsive Practice Model for Urban Indian Child Welfare Services.

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Mindell, Robert; Vidal de Haymes, Maria; Francisco, Dale

2003-01-01

Describes a collaboration among a university, a state child welfare agency, and a Native American community organization to develop a culturally driven practice model for urban, Native American child welfare. Identifies challenges and opportunities in addressing the needs of urban Native American communities. Concludes with principles for…

Variations in Beliefs and Practices: Teaching English in Cross-Cultural Contexts

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Qing

2010-01-01

This article examines variations in beliefs and practices between British English language teaching (ELT) specialists and their Chinese colleagues in a cross-cultural educational development project which used interviews and a questionnaire survey to gather the perceptions and retrospective experiences of Chinese tertiary teachers and expatriate…

Perception approaches and practices of local farming and development: an anthropological approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadi, S.A.; Chaudhry, A.G.

2015-01-01

The study focused on recognizing the local approaches of farming in designing and implementation of development projects. These approaches are representative of a particular ecological, social, economical, and political system, shaped by the constraints and opportunities associated to the area. Effective and successful development projects must include the local perceptions, their approaches and practices, as the locals are the ones most representative of their issues and have the most workable solution to them. The traditional agriculture has completely been clutched into the nexus of modern farming methods, due to which they are being abandoned by the farmers. Modern farming which is representative of development has increased the competition, transitioning, breaking the community into people experimenting on modern technology and those who are still finding means to adapt their traditional agriculture to the fast changing needs of the societies. The research was carried out in the villages of Ghora Gali and Aruka through qualitative and quantitative methods. Sustainable development in Pakistan thus needs to be reinvented in the local perspective considering approaches and practices and, eradicating the alien chains of development completely. (author)

Adapting Bioretention Construction Details to Local Practices in Finland

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Outi Tahvonen

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Bioretention is a method of storm water management that includes several processes following the natural hydrological cycle. Bioretention, or variations of it, include rain gardens and bioswales, infiltrates, filtrates, evapotranspirates, and help to store and manage storm water run-off. A bioretention cell retains water, removes pollutants, and provides water elements for urban green areas. Although bioretention is a promising method for multifunctional storm water management, its construction details should not be copied from other climatic areas. A direct application may dismiss local conditions, materials, and construction practices. This study aimed to adapt construction details for bioretention to Finnish local practices and conditions and to formulate bioretention constructions that balance water, soil, and vegetation. First, construction details were reviewed, then local adaptations were applied, and finally, the application and two variations of growing media in two construction depths were tested in a test field in Southern Finland. Sandy growing media allowed the efficient retention of water during the first year, but failed to provide vital growth. The use of topsoil and compost in the growing media improved growth, but held high electrical conductivity after infiltration. All the experimental cells in the test field showed activity during the melting periods, both during winter and spring. If bioretention plays a multifunctional role in urban design and engineered ecology, the design parameters should not only focus on storm water quantity, but also on quality management and vegetation growth.

Managing cultural diversity in healthcare partnerships: the case of LIFT.

Science.gov (United States)

Mannion, Russell; Brown, Sally; Beck, Matthias; Lunt, Neil

2011-01-01

The National Health Service (NHS) Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) programme was launched in 2001 as an innovative public-private partnership to address the historical under-investment in local primary care facilities in England. The organisations from the public and private sector that comprise a local LIFT partnership each have their own distinctive norms of behaviour and acceptable working practices - ultimately different organisational cultures. The purpose of this article is to assess the role of organisational culture in facilitating (or impeding) LIFT partnerships and to contribute to an understanding of how cultural diversity in public-private partnerships is managed at the local level. The approach taken was qualitative case studies, with data gathering comprising interviews and a review of background documentation in three LIFT companies purposefully sampled to represent a range of background factors. Elite interviews were also conducted with senior policy makers responsible for implementing LIFT policy at the national level. Interpreting the data against a conceptual framework designed to assess approaches to managing strategic alliances, the authors identified a number of key differences in the values, working practices and cultures in public and private organisations that influenced the quality of joint working. On the whole, however, partners in the three LIFT companies appeared to be working well together, with neither side dominating the development of strategy. Differences in culture were being managed and accommodated as partnerships matured. As LIFT develops and becomes the primary source of investment for managing, developing and channelling funding into regenerating the primary care infrastructure, further longitudinal work might examine how ongoing partnerships are working, and how changes in the cultures of public and private partners impact upon wider relationships within local health economies and shape the delivery of patient care

Music, Meaning and Culture

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Richard Widdess

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This paper situates musical meaning in culture, addressing music as social symbol and as ongoing process of meaning creation. Three examples of non- Western musical practice are used to illustrate the embedding of musical meaning in cultural context. The performance of an Australian Aboriginal song is shown to exemplify the interdependence of song style and social structure as a matrix for the emergence of cultural meanings; an example of North Indian performance is adduced to demonstrate the multi-layered nature of meaning as embodied in musical performance; and an example of collective festival performance from Nepal illustrates ways in which the structure of musical performance can mirror local cultural forms. Each of the three examples lends weight to the idea that music's meanings are often non-linguistic and reflect foundational schemas that are specific to the cultures from the musics are drawn.

Culture and Accounting Practices

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Carataș Maria Alina

2017-01-01

Besides the financial statements, rules, and calculations, the accounting also impliesprofessional reasoning, and the organizational culture promoted within the firm influences theaccounting decisions. We analyzed and identified several of accounting policies determined by thecorporate governance and organizational culture influence.

An Exploration of Cultural Factors and Their Influence on Saudi Arabian University Deans’ Leadership Perceptions and Practices

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Yousef Abu Alsuood

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This article reports an investigation into societal and organizational cultural influences on academic leadership in Saudi Arabian higher education, a previously underexplored area. In Saudi Arabia, it is currently unclear how university deans are negotiating the balance between organizational cultural values and contemporary influences, and how the values they embrace may influence their leadership practices and effectiveness. The study has been conducted in eight main governmental universities under the Ministry of Education. Qualitative data has been collected, involving interviews with fifteen university deans, with data scrutinized by an interpretive thematic analysis. The deans’ responses indicated dissatisfaction with the broad societal culture around them and the negative influence this had on leadership practices. Tensions were apparent between traditional values and change, and the influence of family and tribal backgrounds. Five organizational cultural themes were identified as influences on deans’ leadership—a centralized environment, strict regulations, the authority of top management, selection and promotion issues, and reputational factors. The study’s outcomes contribute to the understanding of leadership perceptions and practices within a particular cultural context.

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 ...

The Influence of Organizational Culture on Affinity for Knowledge Management Practices of Registered Nurses

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Gregory

2013-01-01

This study addressed the problems of hospitals' duplicated effort and ad hoc knowledge management (KM) practices. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the focus and type of organizational culture in order to describe and predict the relationship between organizational culture and the affinity for KM of nurses working in health…

Creating a Culture of Prevention in Occupational Safety and Health Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yangho; Park, Jungsun; Park, Mijin

2016-06-01

The incidence of occupational injuries and diseases associated with industrialization has declined markedly following developments in science and technology, such as engineering controls, protective equipment, safer machinery and processes, and greater adherence to regulations and labor inspections. Although the introduction of health and safety management systems has further decreased the incidence of occupational injuries and diseases, these systems are not effective unless accompanied by a positive safety culture in the workplace. The characteristics of work in the 21(st) century have given rise to new issues related to workers' health, such as new types of work-related disorders, noncommunicable diseases, and inequality in the availability of occupational health services. Overcoming these new and emerging issues requires a culture of prevention at the national level. The present paper addresses: (1) how to change safety cultures in both theory and practice at the level of the workplace; and (2) the role of prevention culture at the national level.

Creating a Culture of Prevention in Occupational Safety and Health Practice

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Yangho Kim

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The incidence of occupational injuries and diseases associated with industrialization has declined markedly following developments in science and technology, such as engineering controls, protective equipment, safer machinery and processes, and greater adherence to regulations and labor inspections. Although the introduction of health and safety management systems has further decreased the incidence of occupational injuries and diseases, these systems are not effective unless accompanied by a positive safety culture in the workplace. The characteristics of work in the 21st century have given rise to new issues related to workers' health, such as new types of work-related disorders, noncommunicable diseases, and inequality in the availability of occupational health services. Overcoming these new and emerging issues requires a culture of prevention at the national level. The present paper addresses: (1 how to change safety cultures in both theory and practice at the level of the workplace; and (2 the role of prevention culture at the national level.

Practicing Preventive Health: The Underlying Culture among Low-Income Rural Populations

Science.gov (United States)

Murimi, Mary W.; Harpel, Tammy

2010-01-01

Context: Health disparities on the basis of geographic location, social economic factors and education levels are well documented. However, even when health care services are available, there is no guarantee that all persons will take preventive health measures. Understanding the cultural beliefs, practices, and lifestyle choices that determine…

Culturally Competent Practice: A Mixed Methods Study Among Students, Academics and Alumni of Clinical Psychology Master’s Programs in the Netherlands

Science.gov (United States)

Geerlings, Lennie R. C.; Thompson, Claire L.; Kraaij, Vivian; Keijsers, Ger P. J.

2018-01-01

This is the first research into preparation for multicultural clinical psychology practice in Europe. It applies the theory of multicultural counselling competency (MCC) to a case study in the Netherlands. It was hypothesized that cross-cultural practice experience, identification as a cultural minority, and satisfaction with cultural training was associated with MCC. The Multicultural Awareness Knowledge and Skills Survey was completed by 106 participants (22 students, 10 academics, 74 alumni) from clinical psychology masters’ programs. MANOVA detected a main effect of cross-cultural experience on MCC for all groups and universities. The data were enriched with exploratory qualitative data from 14 interviews (5 students, 5 academics, 4 alumni). Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis revealed three themes: limitations of clinical psychology, strategies for culturally competent practice, and strategies for cultural competency development. These outcomes suggest that cultural competency continues to require attention in master’s programs. The paper makes recommendations for further research enquiry related to training clinical psychologists to practice in Europe’s multicultural societies. PMID:29899800

Situational Analysis and Engineering Work Practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buch, Anders; Andersen, Vibeke

2013-01-01

boundaries in order to investigate the dynamics of cultural reproduction in expert work practices. The paper will propose a new research agenda that – inspired by George Marcus’ multi-sited ethnographic methodology (Marcus 1998) and Adele Clarke’s situational analysis (Clarke 2005) – analyze (and contrasts...... of analysis and allowing the situation to be scalable. Likewise, it aspires to overcome the widespread dualism of ‘text’ and ‘con-text’ that pervades contemporary social science methods. We will argue that expert work practices – although reproduced and enacted in local settings – are also enactments......Studies of work practices of scientists and engineers inspired by Science and Technology Studies (STS) provide new material for a richer understanding of expert cultures and expert work practices. However, the specific and strictly situated focus of many of these studies threatens to limit...

A socio-cultural approach to learning in the practice setting.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

White, Ciara

2010-11-01

Practice learning is an essential part of the curriculum and accounts for approximately 60% of the current pre-registration nursing programmes in the Republic of Ireland. The nature and quality of the clinical learning environment and the student nurses\\' experience of their practice placements is recognised as being influential in promoting the integration of theory and practice. However, the problem experienced by many learners is how to relate their theoretical knowledge to the situation-at-hand within the practice setting. Socio-cultural or activity theories of learning seek to explain the social nature of learning and propose that knowledge and learning are considered to be contextually situated. Lave and Wenger (1991) argue that learning is integrated with practice and through engagement with a community of practice, by means of sponsorship; students become increasingly competent in their identity as practitioners. This paper examines the changes which have occurred within the pre-registration nursing curriculum in the Republic of Ireland with the transition from the apprenticeship system to the graduate programme, and the resulting reduction in clinical learning hours. It also examines the potential impact on the development of student learning with the implementation of the concepts proposed by Lave and Wenger to learning in the practice setting.

Social capital practices as adaptive drivers for local adjustment of new public management in schools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Kristian Gylling; Hasle, Peter; Sørensen, Ole H.

2016-01-01

local adjustments of the reform initiatives, while also revealing some ambiguities. The results demonstrate that some reform initiatives can lead to new collaborative leadership and management practices in schools that solve the central school leadership and management tasks of coordination and planning....... This indicates that collaborative leadership and management practices may emerge from NPM reforms, and that such practices can prevent negative outcomes of such reforms....... on empirical case studies from two Danish municipal schools and the concept of organisational social capital, we investigate how two reform initiatives – ‘student plan-based school–home collaboration’ and ‘teamwork’ – were locally adjusted into collaborative practices. The analysis demonstrates surprising...

CULTURAL ASPECTS IN TRANSLATION (A MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE BASED ON ENGLISH, INDONESIAN, AND LOCAL LANGUAGES CONTEXTS

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Rudi Hartono

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Translation is an activity of transferring information from one language into another. In transferring the message, a translator not only renders a language form but also replaces a cultural content. Practically it is because translation itself an activity that involves at least two languages and two cultures (Toury in James: 2000. Translating the text that contains a cultural content and message is more difficult than translating an ordinary text that only has literal meanings. Cultural aspects that include in stereotypes, speech levels, pronouns, idioms, even in proverbs are things that can lead difficulties for translators to translate. He or she sometimes should look for the closest meaning in order the translation products can be accepted in the target language culture.

Conserving Local Knowledge in Traditional Healing through Knowledge Transfer

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Lah Salasiah Che

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Local knowledge (LK basically refers to the knowledge that people in a given community have developed over time, and continues to develop, through practices and based on experiences. Local beliefs pertaining to ilmu, a central concept in Malay culture that refers to knowledge, is essential among the traditional healers. The vast repository of knowledge and its relevance to locality and local situation makes the conservation of LK a necessity.However, due to the dominance of modern knowledge, diminished inter-generational knowledge transfer has led to LK being threatened with extinction. The fact that LK is practiced by only a few these days could be due to lack of knowledge transfer to the younger generations from the traditional healers who are knowledgeable in the communities. The common transfer mode of local knowledge, usually via words of mouth, may not be sustainable because the LK could vanish when knowledgeable elders die before it is transferred or during resettlements of individuals or communities. The need to conserve LK through knowledge transfer is also pertinent for the continued sustenance of their culture by recognizing, protecting and enforcing the rights of local communities to have continued access to biological resources as well as by protecting their LK, acquired over thousand of years of experimentation and experience, about the uses of these biological resources in traditional healing. Therefore, it is important to have a governance framework to effectively protect this LK of the local communities for the continued sustenance of their culture. This conceptual paper attempts to highlight the significance of conserving LK in traditional healing via effective knowledge transfer method, which should thereafter be translated into a working governance framework that protects the knowledge as well as the holders of such knowledge.

LAS POLÍTICAS CULTURALES DE LOS GOBIERNOS LOCALES EN LA ARGENTINA

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Pablo Mendes Calado

2012-06-01

The objective of this article is to present the work that the Argentine National University of Tres de Febrero has been developing in the practically unexplored field of public engagement with culture, based on a research project on Cultural Policies in Local Governments*. This piece of research consists of a study of cases using various methodological tools, such as in-depth interviews, observations, focal groups, budget analysis and participant observations. From 2007 to the present, twelve municipalities have been the object of study in Argentina. This article presents reflections about some of the results obtained so far, which are organized under the following themes: institutional development, objectives, nomination of target groups, and resource availability. Finally, a balance is made regarding the current situation that local governments in Argentina present in terms of cultural policies and which could be some pathways to follow in order to turn local cultural policies into a source of development and a means to construct social bonds.

LOCAL GENIUS AS SOCIO-CULTURAL CAPITAL FOR EMPOWERING THE BAJO ETHNIC PEOPLE RESIDING AT THE COASTAL AREA OF BUNGIN PERMAI VILLAGE, SOUTH EAST SULAWESI

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La Ode Ali Basri

2012-11-01

Full Text Available In this dissertation the local genius as socio-cultural capital for empowering theBajo ethnic people residing at the costal area of Bungin Permai Village, TinanggeaDistrict, South Konawe Regency, South Sulawesi Province is discussed. The Bajo ethnicpeople have a set of local genius within their socio-cultural system which is reflected intheir belief, tradition and custom and is used as the reference for conceiving andexplaining the objective and essence of life and the world. However, such local geniushas not functioned optimally yet as they are still marginalized.This research is focused on (1 what forms of local genius serve as the sociocultural capital for empowering the Bajo ethnic group residing at the coastal area?; (2how the local genius is developed to empower the Bajo ethnic people residing at thecoastal area?; and (3 what factors which may support and obstruct the local genius usedas the socio cultural capital for empowering the Bajo ethnic people residing at the coastalarea? Qualitative method is employed in this study with the approach of cultural studies.The theories used are the post colonial theory, structural theory, generative theory,hegemony theory and semiotic theory. The techniques used for collecting the data neededare participative observation, in-depth interview, library research, and focus groupdiscussion. The data obtained are analytically and descriptively processed and arepresented in the forms of narration, tables and visual illustration.The results of the study show that the Bajo ethnic people residing at BunginPermai Village have a set of local genius which may be potentially used as the sociocultural capital for empowering their community such as (1 indigenous skills andknowledge; (2 working culture; and (3 local organizations. The development of theindigenous skills and knowledge (pengetahuan dan ketrampilan asli; hereon abbreviatedto PKA and the revitalization of their local organizations may be used as the

Where Corporate Culture and Local Markets Meet. Music and Film Majors in the Netherlands, 1990-2005

OpenAIRE

Kamp, Miriam

2009-01-01

textabstractSince the 1980s, media and entertainment companies have developed into large cross-media multinationals. Their international structure, strategy and operation have been investigated extensively. However, these majors operate globally by having local offices in various markets. So far, little attention has been paid to this aspect. In Where Corporate Culture and Local Markets Meet, Miriam van de Kamp addresses the local operation of international music and film corporations in the ...

Relationship between Organizational Culture and Performance Management Practices: A Case of University in Pakistan

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Ul Mujeeb Ehtesham

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to expand the base of knowledge and empirically test the relationship between the components of organizational culture and performance management practices. The study adopted the exploratory research approach to explore the impact. In this study, primary data was collected through questionnaires from 140 employees at the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology. The sample consists of both male and female faculty members. The regression and correlation statistical analysis were used. The results from the statistical analysis show that, involvement is highly correlated with consistency and adaptability. Similarly, the other dimensions of organizational culture have a positive significant relationship with the performance management practices.

Human ResourceManagement Practices and Organizational Performance: Evidence from Japanese and US Subsidiaries/Joint Venture in Bangladesh

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Mohammad Khasro Miah

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to examine the conditions of home and host country culture as well as country of origin effect of HRM practices and its result on organizational performance (OP. The empirical findings showed that Japanese and U.S subsidiaries and joint ventures adapt localization practices with their modifying home host technique with the local business environment. The findings recommend that managers in the US and Japanese subsidiaries and joint ventures in Bangladesh are more strongly influenced by its host country’s national culture (as an adoptive host country national and corporate culture. Finally, it can be stated that foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures are trying to achieve the location advantage to create a particular type of HRM practices, with a combined and confined HRM practice that can fit for better organizational performance.

Towards an Inclusive Pedagogical Culture: Experiences from University Practice

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Iliana María Fernández-Fernández

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we deal with conceptual and methodological elements to develop the pedagogical inclusive competence of the professors of higher education in Ecuador. We analyze the current conceptions and the main drawbacks related to the inclusion process in the university environment nowadays. We support a theoretical procedural model, and from the practical standpoint, we implemented the methodological procedures structured in a map of processes to reach an inclusive formative process. The main results are given in the development of the pedagogical inclusive competence and the increase of the inclusion culture at the university, and revealed in the improvement of university curriculum from an inclusive approach, the betterment of the physical and technological infrastructure, the permanent upgrading of professors and putting into practice policies of affirmative action.

The factor of local cultural specificity and process of globalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudnev, Viacheslav

2012-12-01

Cultural polymorphism is a difficult phenomenon, which has multiform influence on the society's life. The active interest of society to local folk knowledge in life-support activities and Nature using is one of the distinctive marks of modern time. This interest has fallen on the period of active transformations of environment as a result of industrial society's pressing on Nature, and the generating of new approaches in the studying of Nature and human activity based on the "technologies" of wild life. The success of humankind in creating artificial surroundings has led to both great success in improving the quality of peoples' lives, and also to problems with renewable resources and human health and to changing for the worse ecology. In 1992 the Unites Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) set fixed standards defining global violations of the environment. The zAgenda 21', adopted at this Conference, focused on the necessity of new solutions for problems of the relationships between Nature and Society, mentioning interdisciplinary research as a positive way to search for solutions to new problems, and citing as a goal a zbalance of Nature, Society and Humans'. Pre-industrial society had a different experience in using Nature and solving problems of life-support activity under a regime of sparing nature. Experience has shown that Folk knowledge and Folk technology can, in a number of instances, actually assist in solving high level problems caused by human impact on the environment, e.g., farming methods, and, as a result offering possibilities for a more sound and at the same time effective basis for long-term sustainable production at the local level. The traditional cultures of Eurasia were engaged in agricultural pursuits and had acquired unique experiences in maintaining soil fertility and a technology which limited the impact they were having on the environment. The value of Folk heritage in exploiting the environment

The adaptive nature of culture. A cross-cultural analysis of the returns of local environmental knowledge in three indigenous societies.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes-García, Victoria; Guèze, Maximilien; Díaz-Reviriego, Isabel; Duda, Romain; Fernández-Llamazares, Álvaro; Gallois, Sandrine; Napitupulu, Lucentezza; Orta-Martínez, Martí; Pyhälä, Aili

2016-12-01

Researchers have argued that the behavioral adaptations that explain the success of our species are partially cultural, i.e., cumulative and socially transmitted. Thus, understanding the adaptive nature of culture is crucial to understand human evolution. We use a cross-cultural framework and empirical data purposely collected to test whether culturally transmitted and individually appropriated knowledge provides individual returns in terms of hunting yields and health and, by extension, to nutritional status, a proxy for individual adaptive success. Data were collected in three subsistence-oriented societies: the Tsimane' (Amazon), the Baka (Congo Basin), and the Punan (Borneo). Results suggest that variations in individual levels of local environmental knowledge relate to individual hunting returns and to self-reported health, but not to nutritional status. We argue that this paradox can be explained through the prevalence of sharing: individuals achieving higher returns to their knowledge transfer them to the rest of the population, which explains the lack of association between knowledge and nutritional status. The finding is in consonance with previous research highlighting the importance of cultural traits favoring group success, but pushes it forward by elucidating the mechanisms through which individual and group level adaptive forces interact.

Technological, mediatic and cultural hybridisation: Cultural mediations in the context of globalisation

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Laan Mendes de Barros

2009-12-01

Full Text Available We live in a context of borders that are dissolving in many senses, of the convergence and hybridisation of technologies, mass media and cultures. The context is the resizing of practical time, of movements and links between the local and the global. In these times of interculturality, communication plays a very important role; not so much in its technological media dimension, but particularly in the dynamics of cultural mediations that are dividing off from mediatised relations. This article aims to reflect on the transformations in present-day communication processes, marked by strong movements of hybridisation, as well as examining how to consider interculturality in the context of cultural mediations, based on dialogue between Latin American and French authors. Also, using media material, the article presents illustrations of the Brazilian cultural scene, which is marked by a long history of hybridisation that is filled with intercultural dynamics.

Ethical Culture and Financial Reporting: Understanding Financial Reporting Practice within Javanese Perspective

OpenAIRE

Anis Chariri

2009-01-01

This study is a case study conducted in an Indonesian insurance company. The aim of the study is to understand the dynamics of financial reporting in the company. Ontologically, this study is built on a belief that financial reporting practice is a socially constructed reality. As a socially constructed reality, such a practice involves an interaction among social actors, and between organisational actors and the institutional and cultural environment in which the company operates. The main r...

Locally Simple Models Construction: Methodology and Practice

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I. A. Kazakov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available One of the most notable trends associated with the Fourth industrial revolution is a significant strengthening of the role played by semantic methods. They are engaged in artificial intelligence means, knowledge mining in huge flows of big data, robotization, and in the internet of things. Smart contracts also can be mentioned here, although the ’intelligence’ of smart contracts still needs to be seriously elaborated. These trends should inevitably lead to an increased role of logical methods working with semantics, and significantly expand the scope of their application in practice. However, there are a number of problems that hinder this process. We are developing an approach, which makes the application of logical modeling efficient in some important areas. The approach is based on the concept of locally simple models and is primarily focused on solving tasks in the management of enterprises, organizations, governing bodies. The most important feature of locally simple models is their ability to replace software systems. Replacement of programming by modeling gives huge advantages, for instance, it dramatically reduces development and support costs. Modeling, unlike programming, preserves the explicit semantics of models allowing integration with artificial intelligence and robots. In addition, models are much more understandable to general people than programs. In this paper we propose the implementation of the concept of locally simple modeling on the basis of so-called document models, which has been developed by us earlier. It is shown that locally simple modeling is realized through document models with finite submodel coverages. In the second part of the paper an example of using document models for solving a management problem of real complexity is demonstrated.

Cultivating and Development — 30 Years Practice of Safety Culture in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, L.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, W.; Xu, G.

2016-01-01

The safety culture has been cultivated and promoted in China since its very beginning by IAEA. The 1st stage—stage of start and exploration—was from 1984 to 2007, in which the international concept of safety culture was imported and studied, with the process of combination and convergence with the positive elements of Chinese traditional culture. The basic ideas, such as the principles and directing ideas for the nuclear safety, were established in China. The 2nd stage — stage of practice and growing — was from 2007 to 2014, where safety culture was promoted by the Government, and the regulatory body NNSA established its basic supervision value based on the safety culture. The Chinese nuclear industry was encouraged to develop their of safety culture in a vivid form of presenting. The 3rd stage — stage of fast development — is from 2014 to now. The Chinese president Xi announce the Chinese Nuclear Safety View in The Hague in March 2014, showing the states position regarding the nuclear safety and safety culture. The policy declaration was issued and the nuclear safety promotion special action was carried out by NNSA. Safety culture is widely accepted and acknowledged by the nuclear and radioactivity relevant industry. (author)

"Yeah, and What's the Problem?" : Embodiment, Cultural Practices and Working out in a Dutch Gym

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sossa Rojas, A.

2017-01-01

In this paper, I present empirical data from ethnographic work carried out in a Dutch gym, where people, especially students, from different countries work out, interact and explore ideas and practices related to their cultures and to other people’s cultures. I will analyse and explain four things:

Knowing, believing, living in Africa: A practical theology perspective of the past, present and future

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Gordon E. Dames

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The new democratic era in South Africa brought Western cultural influences forcefully into public and private living domains. This dichotomy deformed African cultures in many ways (Bujo & Muya. Local communities were previously ‘public people’ living and worshipping in transformative hermeneutical communities. This scenario has changed and local communities are steadily being driven into private spaces. The task of practical theology is to question what the undergirding epistemology and beliefs for this shift are and to reinterpret it in the light of the gospel. The impact of Western culture on African traditional villages is telling in so far as traditional African values and practices are being lost at the expense of Western ideology, technology, media, et cetera (Bujo & Muya. We argue that the former dominant monodisciplinary approach of practical theology contributed to a growing private individualist worldview. Practical theology has since developed into an interdisciplinary approach. This newfound reciprocity in the social sciences led to constructive change in church and society (Dingemans. Practical theology in Africa has to deal with an individualised, pluralistic world and tendencies of discontinuity, uncertainty, violence and destruction. In South Africa, practical theology is called upon to redress the dichotomies and defaults of Western and African cultures, respectively.

The Jollywood Manifesto: Trans-local Film Cultures in Haiti's Emerging Cinemas

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Doris Posch

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Taking into account Haiti’s peripheral and/or temporary position within World Cinema’s politics, this paper focuses on a recent phenomenon of cinematographic productions of Haiti’s emerging filmmaker’s generation: Jollywood. The Ciné Institute is the only film school in the French-speaking part of the West Indies that currently provides training to a young generation of filmmakers and videographers. Its Jollywood Manifesto is based on the political, cultural and societal as well as media-related vision of a self-sustaining film market in Haiti. Based on lowest-budget productions made possible by the huge rise of digital film, this recent phenomenon not only asks for new modes of production, circulating distribution and reception. It also stands for a reconsideration of film and media theory for “internationalized” World Cinemas on a discursive level. This level will be approached by interlacing a twofold concept: On the one hand, theories on (Post- Third Cinemas that have been known since their inception in the late 1960s in Latin America and that have subsequently been adapted in the Asian and African Cinemas. On the other hand, today’s assumptions of considering cinema in its political message on a transglobal space are called into question. The global film market, mostly dominated by the triad of Bollywood, Nollywood and Hollywood, also questions the margins of hegemonic centerlines of power relations. Haiti’s cinematic productions are located at the interstices of local and national(ist  imaginaries in line with a (postcolonial independent film industry. This ambiguity stands for the resulting translocal and transcultural attributions of Haiti’s emerging film cultures and the ambiguous formations of the notions of being and belonging. The analysis of the Jollywood phenomenon on transnational/-local/-cultural levels aims at a methodological detangling of geopolitical spaces and temporalities in the media.

Cultura Organizacional na Perspectiva Cultural Regional BrasileiraOrganizational Culture under the Perspective of the Brazilian Regional CultureCultura Organizacional en la Perspectiva Cultural Regional Brasileña

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MUZZIO, Henrique

2010-12-01

diversified country it seems that there isn’t the same expression in the rural areas. In Brazil there isn’t the same intensity of effort of research. Besides, in our country the cultural diversity is recognized, and the analyses that consider the influences of the culture variable can potentially contribute for the efficiency of the organization’s internal and external relations. It is defended that organizations need to contemplate in their actions what it is called local cultural legitimacy, especially when these organizations work in distinct contexts, respecting the local values and cultural practices. Brazil has different cultural regions where it is possible finding different consumers and employees and distinct cultural codes that indicate the need of different forms of management.RESUMENEste ensayo tiene como objetivo analizar el contexto cultural brasileño y su influencia en el universo organizacional desde una perspectiva cultural regional que no se limite a la visión funcionalista, y avance por medio de conceptos contemporáneos como las corrientes culturales y los códigos culturales locales. Desde el punto de vista internacional los estudios comparativos que trabajan con la perspectiva de adaptación cultural ya presentan significativa magnitud de investigaciones que acentúan la distinción entre regiones o naciones. Pero, cuando se trata esa perspectiva dentro de países con diversidad cultural, parece que todavía no hay en el campo la misma expresión. En los países en los que se reconoce la diversidad cultural, como Brasil, los análisis que tengan en cuenta las influencias de esta variable pueden contribuir a la eficiencia de las relaciones internas y externas de la organización. Defendemos la necesidad de que las organizaciones contemplen en sus acciones lo que llamamos legitimidad cultural local, cuando las organizaciones actúan en distintos contextos respetando los valores y las prácticas culturales locales. Las diferentes culturas regionales

Enhancing Local Community’s Involvement and Empowerment through Practicing Cittaslow: Experiences from Goolwa, South Australia

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Park Eerang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study attempted to investigate how and the extent to which Cittaslow philosophy and practice enhanced local community’s involvement and empowerment in relation to tourism development from the sustainability’s perspective. As an empirical study, a series of in-depth interviews with key stakeholders including local government, local business, and local community’s members were conducted in Goolwa, the first Australian accredited Cittaslow town since 2007, located in South Australia. The results indicated that to a greater extent the accreditation and practice of Cittaslow philosophy in Goolwa increased a stronger and more effective collaboration amongst local community, business and residents as an essential element for achieving sustainability in tourism development. Not only did it encourage the local community’s participation in decision making process from the beginning of tourism development, but also revitalised the locality and sense of place of Goolwa through promoting local specialities and produces, in particular food and wine products. The results also suggested that psychological and social aspects of local community’s empowerment have been significantly enhanced after the establishment of Cittaslow. Yet, the economic empowerment of the local community was less experienced.

Healthcare at the Crossroads: The Need to Shape an Organizational Culture of Humanistic Teaching and Practice.

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Rider, Elizabeth A; Gilligan, MaryAnn C; Osterberg, Lars G; Litzelman, Debra K; Plews-Ogan, Margaret; Weil, Amy B; Dunne, Dana W; Hafler, Janet P; May, Natalie B; Derse, Arthur R; Frankel, Richard M; Branch, William T

2018-05-08

Changes in the organization of medical practice have impeded humanistic practice and resulted in widespread physician burnout and dissatisfaction. To identify organizational factors that promote or inhibit humanistic practice of medicine by faculty physicians. From January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2016, faculty from eight US medical schools were asked to write reflectively on two open-ended questions regarding institutional-level motivators and impediments to humanistic practice and teaching within their organizations. Sixty eight of the 92 (74%) study participants who received the survey provided written responses. All subjects who were sent the survey had participated in a year-long small-group faculty development program to enhance humanistic practice and teaching. As humanistic leaders, subjects should have insights into motivating and inhibiting factors. Participants' responses were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Motivators included an organizational culture that enhances humanism, which we judged to be the overarching theme. Related themes included leadership supportive of humanistic practice, responsibility to role model humanism, organized activities that promote humanism, and practice structures that facilitate humanism. Impediments included top down organizational culture that inhibits humanism, along with related themes of non-supportive leadership, time and bureaucratic pressures, and non-facilitative practice structures. While healthcare has evolved rapidly, efforts to counteract the negative effects of changes in organizational and practice environments have largely focused on cultivating humanistic attributes in individuals. Our findings suggest that change at the organizational level is at least equally important. Physicians in our study described the characteristics of an organizational culture that supports and embraces humanism. We offer suggestions for organizational change that keep humanistic and compassionate patient

Influence of culture on dietary practices of children under five years among Maasai pastoralists in Kajiado, Kenya.

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Chege, Peter M; Kimiywe, Judith O; Ndungu, Zipporah W

2015-10-08

Globally, children aged under five years are prone to malnutrition. Maasai are a nomadic community in Kenya still upholding traditional and has a high rate of child undernutrition. Consideration of cultural practices is a pre-condition for ensuring appropriate dietary practices. However, information on the influence of culture on dietary practices among Maasai children is minimal. The possible influence of culture on dietary practices among these children was investigated. Six focus group discussions sessions each consisting of 10 mothers were conducted from two randomly selected villages in Sajiloni location, Kajiado County. Results from this study showed that children mainly consume cereals and legumes. Nomadism makes animal products inaccessible to most children. Livestock are considered a sign of wealth, thus mainly slaughtered on special occasions. Additionally, selling of animals or animal products is not encouraged limiting income that would improve the food basket. Some food taboos prohibit consumption of wild animals, chicken and fish limits the household food diversity. Consumption of vegetables is limited since they are perceived to be livestock feed. The belief that land is only for grazing contributes to low crop production and consumption thus the diets lack diversification. Maasai culture encourages introduction of blood, animal's milk and bitter herbs to infants below six months, which affects exclusive breast feeding. The men are prioritized in food serving leading to less and poor quality food to children. The consumption of raw meat, milk and blood is likely to lead to infections. The practice of milk fermentation improves bioavailability of micronutrients and food safety. Socialism ensures sharing of available food while believe in traditional medicine hinder visit to health facilities thus no access to nutrition education. This study concludes that culture influence the dietary practices among children under five years. It recommended

Myth and Creolisation of Cultures and Performing Arts in the Mediterranean

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Tomaž Toporišič

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Theatre today speaks for a new type of cultural manifoldness, for a broad range of new differences that are developing. Creolisation is the intermingling of two or several formerly discrete traditions or cultures; it is an interweaving of similar and different threads of various colours, deriving from myths shared throughout the Mediterranean basin. Within such an understanding of culture theatre needs to speak out not only against domination but also needs to highlight the importance of marginality, otherness, and local contexts. It should not be hemmed in by literary-minded applications. As Benjamin Lee writes, “we have reached a time when no values from any single cultural perspective can provide frameworks adequate to understanding the changes affecting all of us”, which entails the decolonisation of cultural practices. We must think globally and act locally, be aware of universal myths, while remaining aware of the local circumstances and myths that surround us. In other words, a fruitful dialectical relation can ensue. In Slovenia, scholars often complain that, aside from specialists, nobody is “internationally” interested in local myths or national topics. This is not true: what is necessary is to find an appropriate way to present local or national topics within an international and global setting.

Formation of positive motivation as the basis of students will qualities’ perfection in physical culture practicing

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I.O. Dudnyk

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to theoretically substantiate and test experimentally pedagogic conditions of positive motivation’s formation as the basis for students will and physical qualities’ perfection in physical culture practicing. Material: 244 first year students participated in experiment. At the beginning and at the end of experiment levels of manifestation of students’ will and physical qualities were assessed. Results: we have proved successfulness of will training if this process is naturally coincides with formation of positive motivation and perfection of motor fitness. It was found that motivation for physical culture practicing result from different demands: demand in motion, demand in fulfillment of student’s duties and demand in competition functioning. Conclusions: we have offered the following pedagogic conditions: application of game and competition methods: setting of appropriate for students tasks of training; usage of sufficient sport equipment and apparatuses; forcing of students for independent physical culture practicing through system of encouragement.

The Empowerment Model: A Critical Reflection of Empowerment in Chinese Culture

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Yip, Kam-shing

2004-01-01

The empowerment model has long dominated social work practice in Western countries. Many social workers in Hong Kong use this model regardless of the social or cultural context. In this article the author shares local social work practice experiences in Hong Kong and suggests that the empowerment model may need adaptation in Chinese communities.…

Culture and Local Development: the Interaction of Cultural Heritage and Creative Industries

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Valery Gordin

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to examine the various forms of interaction between cultural heritage and creative industries to support the development of various types of cultural clusters in St. Petersburg. The study was based on a model, which provides several types of partnership cultural heritage (CH could have with the creative industries (CI: CH as a “decoration” for the CI, as “content”, as a “brand”, as the creator of the needs. Authors’ classification of cultural clusters in St. Petersburg is described, including clusters of cultural heritage, ethnic cultural clusters, the mass-cultural (consumer-oriented cultural clusters, art - incubators. One of the main findings is the low willingness of many public cultural institutions to have any form of interaction with the creative industries. The second group of findings concerned the ability to attract creative industries to provide services for residents of St. Petersburg in cooperation with public institutions of culture. 

Transformation of organic N newly added to red soil treated with different cultural practices

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZhangQin－Zheng; YeQing－Fu; 等

1998-01-01

By using 15N tracer method,transformation of organic N,which wqas newly added to red soil treated with different cultural practices,was studied under thelaboratory incubation condition.The experimental results showed that the transformation of N from newly added organic matter and soil native pool during incubation was influenced by cultural practice treatment beforeincubation.Fallow was favorable to the mineralization of newly added organic N and soil N compared with the planting wheat treatment.Planting wheat greatly increased the loss of soil N.Application of fertilizers stimulated the mineralization of newly added organic N and application of organic matter reduced the mineralization,but stimulated microbialtransformation of newly adde4d organic N.

Good practices in Local Government - A first overview of Portuguese reality

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalhosa, P.; Portela, F.; Machado, J.; Santos, M. F.; Abelha, A.

2017-03-01

Good practices in eGov are being increasingly used by Local Governments being that it is considered by them as an advantage. The main goal is providing to the town hall a differentiation point and approximate their services to the citizens. For this, it is necessary to define and apply innovative strategies in order to increase the use of services by the citizens. This paper is framed in a research work and it presents a first overview of the existing good practices in eGov, taking in consideration the Portuguese’s reality. The good practices identified were distinguished with many awards and with a positive response from the target audience. The use of digital marketing strategies aims to increase their membership and coming closer the municipalities of its citizens through the dissemination of the good practices. At this moment the data collected are almost exclusively of good practice in Portugal, however some international practices were also identified. As a result of this study the community has a list of good practices that can be applied in their municipalities.

Characteristic corporate culture of the Telkom way 135

Science.gov (United States)

Utami, D. A.; Noviyanti

2018-01-01

The corporate globalization brought an attention consequence related to the global perspective balancing against local flexibility. It also made local Organizations to keeps aware to both continuously and fast global changing and development in order to maintain its existences. One of the things need to be strengthened was the strong corporate culture, which is acceptable, understood and applied culture by every single member of the corporate. This study was aimed to describe characteristics of The Telkom Way 135 corporate culture and its implementation in PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk., Regional Division V East Java. It was descriptive research with a qualitative approach and conducted it by observation, documentation, and documentation techniques. Data validity was conducted using credibility, transmittable, dependable and special criteria. Results of the study are as follows; the characteristic of The Telkom Way 135 corporate culture is an integral corporate culture. Also, by combination of this characteristic, corporate culture could classify into the strong and adaptive corporate culture so that it able to supports PT. Telkom to win the external adaptation and reached its internal integration if there is a harmonization between the corporate culture’s characteristics with the managerial practices.

Think Global, Act Local : Cultural Policies of Dundee from World Cultural Perspective

OpenAIRE

Hietala, Verneri

2017-01-01

Despite growing interest in neo-institutionalism and world culture theory in recent years, few studies have researched urban cultural policies from this perspective. By far the most research on urban cultural policy-making relies on rational choice and structural theoretical perspectives. The purpose of this thesis is to acquire new knowledge on urban cultural policies by examining the main justifications of cultural policies in Dundee from world cultural theoretical perspective. This th...

A Brave New World: Theory to Practice in Participatory Culture and Music Learning and Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Waldron, Janice; Mantie, Roger; Partti, Heidi; Tobias, Evan S.

2018-01-01

The four perspectives in this paper were first presented as an interactive research/workshop symposium at RIME 9. The purpose of the symposium was to connect new media scholar Henry Jenkins's theory of 'participatory culture' (1992, 2006, 2009) to possible practices of 'participatory culture' in diverse music teaching and learning contexts. We…

Culture care theory: a major contribution to advance transcultural nursing knowledge and practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Leininger, Madeleine

2002-07-01

This article is focused on the major features of the Culture Care Diversity and Universality theory as a central contributing theory to advance transcultural nursing knowledge and to use the findings in teaching, research, practice, and consultation. It remains one of the oldest, most holistic, and most comprehensive theories to generate knowledge of diverse and similar cultures worldwide. The theory has been a powerful means to discover largely unknown knowledge in nursing and the health fields. It provides a new mode to assure culturally competent, safe, and congruent transcultural nursing care. The purpose, goal, assumptive premises, ethnonursing research method, criteria, and some findings are highlighted.

Relationships between Total Quality Management Practices, Organizational Culture and Teacher’s Performance: Study from Seventh Day Adventist High Schools in West Indonesia

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Ronny Buha Sihotang

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Teacher’s performance is the main key of school organization’s success. As the key, teachers’ genuineness is highlighted to be the most demanding of the school operations. They are actors, patrons, front liner workers, and models for the future. It shows that the role of teachers is the center of school operations. In the same situations, school operations are affected by school culture and quality management practices that enhance the teachers to do their duties properly. Teachers’ performances are tied to the culture and total quality management practices of the schools. The purpose of this research is to elaborate the relationships between implementation of total quality management practices, organizational culture and teacher’s performance. The research results indicate that there is a strong relationship between total quality management practices and teacher’s performance. Also there is a moderate relationship between organizational culture and teacher’s performance. While the relationship between total quality management and oganizationa culture is moderate relationship. Both total quality management practices and organizational culture positively and significantly affect teacher’s performance.

The Effectiveness of Practical Work in Lower Secondary School Mathematics: A Cultural Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Triadafillidis, T. A.

1996-01-01

Discusses reasons why practical work is used only sporadically in lower secondary school math classes. Presents results of a comparative study between Greece and Scotland, focusing on culture as a differentiating factor of students' performance. (AIM)

Science, Policy, and Practice: Three Cultures in Search of a Shared Mission.

Science.gov (United States)

Shonkoff, Jack P.

2000-01-01

Discusses how child development research, social policy design, and human service delivery for children and families reflect three separate yet related cultures. Argues that transmitting knowledge from the academy to social policy and practice could be facilitated by a simple taxonomy differentiating established knowledge from both reasonable…

Acoustic Source Localization and Beamforming: Theory and Practice

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Chen Joe C

2003-01-01

Full Text Available We consider the theoretical and practical aspects of locating acoustic sources using an array of microphones. A maximum-likelihood (ML direct localization is obtained when the sound source is near the array, while in the far-field case, we demonstrate the localization via the cross bearing from several widely separated arrays. In the case of multiple sources, an alternating projection procedure is applied to determine the ML estimate of the DOAs from the observed data. The ML estimator is shown to be effective in locating sound sources of various types, for example, vehicle, music, and even white noise. From the theoretical Cramér-Rao bound analysis, we find that better source location estimates can be obtained for high-frequency signals than low-frequency signals. In addition, large range estimation error results when the source signal is unknown, but such unknown parameter does not have much impact on angle estimation. Much experimentally measured acoustic data was used to verify the proposed algorithms.

Places of popular music heritage: the local framing of a global cultural form in Dutch museums and archives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.J.C. van der Hoeven (Arno); A.M.C. Brandellero (Amanda)

2015-01-01

textabstractThrough the prism of popular music, this article examines how the preservation and display of this global cultural form positions itself at the nexus of the local and the global, and in so doing mediates attachment to place. Springing from the increasing cultural legitimacy of popular

MODERATE ISLAM IN LOMBOK: The Dialectic between Islam and Local Culture

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Mutawali Mutawali

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study looks into the concept of moderate Islam; describes the distinctive formation of moderate Islam in Indonesia and dialectical phenomena between culture and religion in the Muslim community of the Lombok island. Grounded in qualitative method involving participative observation, interview, documentation and critical discourse analysis, this study reveals that the dialectics and dynamics between the shari’a texts with reality and local traditions in Lombok have brought about the concept of Islam Nusantara characterizing wasatiyyah (moderate, tawazun (balance, tasamuh (tolerance, shura (priotizing dialogue, dan i‘tidal (justice. Islam Lombok illustrates the harmonious interfaith coexistence comprising pluralistic societies including diverse ethnicity, religion, and culture; and portrays Islam rahmatan lil ‘Alamin (Islam as a mercy of the universe. Overall, this study suggests that the concept of moderate Islam could be seen in Lombok and might be applied in other communities in Indonesia.

Estratégia, Institucionalismo e Cultura: Construção Teórica de uma Vantagem Competitiva Cultural Local

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Henrique Muzzio

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Esse artigo apresenta uma construção teórica sobre a vantagem competitiva cultural local. Usamos pressupostos da teoria estratégica, da teoria institucional e da teoria da cultura para construir um modelo aplicado em estratégias de internacionalização. Dada a complexidade de um contexto pós-moderno, cresce a demanda por legitimidade cultural no diferentes locais em que uma firma atua, necessitando esforços para orientar os atores nas relações interculturais. A legitimidade cultural local passa pela aceitação tácita e/ou explícita dos stakeholders locais, das práticas estratégicas desenvolvidas por uma firma que atue em um delimitado contexto mercadológico que precisam ter harmonia com os valores culturais locais. Como adequar estratégia global e valores culturais locais? Postura de relativo equilíbrio entre a matriz e a subsidiária nas definições estratégicas; valorização da perspectiva local, tanto entre os atores da firma subsidiária, como entre os stakeholders locais; agregação da perspectiva simbólica local nas definições estratégicas da firma; comunicação da subsidiária de acordo com os valores culturais locais; adaptação de produtos e/ou serviços às lógicas cognitivas coletivas etc. são algumas ações estratégicas possíveis que levariam à vantagem competitiva cultural local.

Local Cultural Heritage Sites and Spatial Planning for the Bantik Ethnic Community in Indonesia

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Egam, P. P.

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The course of a city’s development has an effect on both spatial and social aspects, and this situation affects ethnic communities. As a result of recent urban developments, the cultural values of a community that are embedded in living arrangements have been disturbed, thus obscuring, or even hiding, the rich cultural heritage therein. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the spatial characteristics of local neighborhoods based on a wealth of cultural heritage objects. This research focuses on the physical cultural heritage of the Bantik settlement in Malalayang. The spatial characteristics of cultural heritage objects are analyzed, based on physical and other characteristics. The results indicate that, although the Bantik ethnic community in Malalayang, Indonesia, has physical cultural heritage sites, it is unable to effectively develop these as significant cultural spaces because of the physical separation of their locations, the declining meaning of these sites to the community, and the lack of support from indigenous organizations. Distance is not the only determinant of the optimization of cultural space. Planning for cultural spaces involves three zones: 1 a promotion zone, 2 a core zone, and 3 a buffer zone. The greatest potential for developing a cultural space is in the vicinity of Minanga Road and the Niopo Stone, with the physical object reinforcement of similar sites. To improve cultural space, it is not enough to only rely on the existence of a physical object, it is necessary to create a close relationship between the object and the community with the support of indigenous organizations.

Compliance Culture or Culture Change? The role of funders in improving data management and sharing practice amongst researchers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Neylon

2017-06-01

over extended periods beyond grants. However there are also important differences in implementation. There is essentially no information available on the uptake and success of different policies in terms of compliance rates, or degrees of data availability. Many policies require a Data Management Plan as part of grant submission. This requirement can be enforced but there is disagreement on the value of this. One view is that requirements such as DMPs are the only way to force researchers to pay attention to these issues. The other is that such requirements lead to a culture of compliance in which the minimal effort is made and planning is seen as a “tick-box” exercise that has no further value. In this view requirements such as DMPs may actually be damaging the effort to effect culture change towards improved community practice. One way to bring these two views together is to see DMPs as living documents that form the basis of collaboration between researchers, funders, and data managers throughout the life of a research project. This approach is reflected in guidance on policy development that emphasises the importance of clarifying responsibilities of various stakeholders and ensuring that researchers are both recognised for good practice and see tangible benefits. More broadly this points to the need for the program of improving RDM and RDS to be shared project with the incentives for funders and researchers aligned as far as is possible. In the interviews successful policy implementation was often seen to be dependent on funders providing the required support, both in the form of infrastructure and resourcing, and via the provision of internal expertise amongst program managers. Where resources are limited, leveraging other support, especially from institutional sources, was seen as important as was ensuring the scope of policy requirements were commensurate with the support available and readiness of research communities. Throughout the desk research and the

Compliance Culture or Culture Change? The role of funders in improving data management and sharing practice amongst researchers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cameron Neylon

2017-10-01

over extended periods beyond grants. However there are also important differences in implementation. There is essentially no information available on the uptake and success of different policies in terms of compliance rates, or degrees of data availability. Many policies require a Data Management Plan as part of grant submission. This requirement can be enforced but there is disagreement on the value of this. One view is that requirements such as DMPs are the only way to force researchers to pay attention to these issues. The other is that such requirements lead to a culture of compliance in which the minimal effort is made and planning is seen as a “tick-box” exercise that has no further value. In this view requirements such as DMPs may actually be damaging the effort to effect culture change towards improved community practice. One way to bring these two views together is to see DMPs as living documents that form the basis of collaboration between researchers, funders, and data managers throughout the life of a research project. This approach is reflected in guidance on policy development that emphasises the importance of clarifying responsibilities of various stakeholders and ensuring that researchers are both recognised for good practice and see tangible benefits. More broadly this points to the need for the program of improving RDM and RDS to be shared project with the incentives for funders and researchers aligned as far as is possible. In the interviews successful policy implementation was often seen to be dependent on funders providing the required support, both in the form of infrastructure and resourcing, and via the provision of internal expertise amongst program managers. Where resources are limited, leveraging other support, especially from institutional sources, was seen as important as was ensuring the scope of policy requirements were commensurate with the support available and readiness of research communities. Throughout the desk research and the

[Patient safety culture in Family practice residents of Galicia].

Science.gov (United States)

Portela Romero, Manuel; Bugarín González, Rosendo; Rodríguez Calvo, María Sol

To determine the views held by Family practice (FP) residents on the different dimensions of patient safety, in order to identify potential areas for improvement. A cross-sectional study. Seven FP of Galicia teaching units. 182 FP residents who completed the Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire. The Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was chosen because it is translated, validated, and adapted to the Spanish model of Primary Care. The results were grouped into 12 composites assessed by the mentioned questionnaire. The study variables were the socio-demographic dimensions of the questionnaire, as well as occupational/professional variables: age, gender, year of residence, and teaching unit of FP of Galicia. The "Organisational learning" and "Teamwork" items were considered strong areas. However, the "Patient safety and quality issues", "Information exchange with other settings", and "Work pressure and pace" items were considered areas with significant potential for improvement. First-year residents obtained the best results and the fourth-year ones the worst. The results may indicate the need to include basic knowledge on patient safety in the teaching process of FP residents in order to increase and consolidate the fragile patient safety culture described in this study. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

THE EFFECTS OF CULTURE ON KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF MSC STATUS COMPANIES

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Charmaine Ryan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Knowledge is recognised as being an important asset in organisations these days. Despite this, many organisations are not doing enough to effectively manage this important asset for its competitive advantage. In response to this, knowledge management which is defined as a process that effectively creates, captures, shares and uses organisation-wide knowledge to improve the organisation’s performance was conceived and has since gained widespread acceptance the world over. Despite its widespread acceptance, little is known about the current levels of knowledge management within the Malaysian context, in particular amongst the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC status companies in Malaysia. Furthermore, the extent to which cultural factors impact upon knowledge management practice in these companies is not known. This study investigated the various cultural factors (collaboration, mutual trust, leadership and incentives/rewards using a multiple case study approach operating within a critical realism research paradigm and found that these factors have impact on the level of knowledge management practice. The study also established that cultural factors do play an important role in facilitating knowledge management practice in these MSC status companies in Malaysia. It was found that collaboration, mutual trust, leadership, kiasu-ism and incentives/rewards have significant impact on the level of knowledge management practice. In view of the findings of this study, it is suggested that the relevant authorities pay adequate attention on these cultural factors to ensure that the knowledge management initiatives undertaken by Malaysian companies are effectively deployed.

Cross-Cultural “Allies” in Immigrant Community Practice: Roles of foreign-trained former Montagnard health professionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Xin

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This pilot case study describes foreign-trained former Montagnard refugee physicians’ practice experiences in Vietnam and their current community health worker and “ally” roles within the Montagnard refugee community. It highlights key features that facilitate cross-culturally responsive health care. We interviewed five Vietnam-trained former Montagnard refugee physicians using an open-ended interview format during March, 2012. We used content analysis procedures to identify key themes characterizing Montagnard physicians’ former and current practice experiences and emphasizing the roles they currently play in their new homeland. Montagnard physicians were fighting infectious diseases in homeland Vietnamese communities. Since coming to the U.S., Montagnard physicians have reoriented their competencies to fit within a community health workers model, and have shifted practice to fighting chronic disease in this refugee community. Tasks now include describing and contextualizing unique characteristics of the Montagnard languages and cultures to outside constituents. They become cross-cultural allies to the U.S. health care and facilitate individuals’ medical adherence with mainstream physicians’ orders. They ensure accuracy of interpretation of Montagnard patients’ medical complaints during a medical visit. Our findings reveal the potential roles that can be ascribed to a cross-cultural ally and can be built into practice to fulfill the Montagnard community’s unmet health needs: oral historian, mediator, facilitator/negotiator, quality assurer, psychosocial confidant, and health advocate. Normal 0 false false false EN-US ZH-CN X-NONE

Analysis of the cultural tourism trends and perspectives in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriela TIGU

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Tourism brings a number of benefits, including the enhancement of economic opportunities by creating more jobs for local residents or the increase in income by stimulating and creating local and regional markets. Tourism can also help to protect natural and cultural heritage, preserve the values through education and interpretation, and help to support research and development of good environmental practices. This paper’s purpose is to analyse the cultural tourism in Romania, taking into consideration the potential of Romania’s cultural heritage and the benefits that tourism industry can bring to the country and to the local communities. The originality of this study is highlighted by the combination and correlation of statistics, including correlation and regression methods, that have as main purpose the computation and conclusions’ simplification, knowing that it is very difficult to quantify the multitude of all the factors that influence a specific phenomenon.

Review: Karl H. Hörning & Julia Reuter (Eds. (2004. Doing Culture. Neue Positionen zum Verhältnis von Kultur und sozialer Praxis [Doing Culture. New Positions On the Culture-Practice Relation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Till Westermayer

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The review discusses the proceedings of the 2003 conference on practice theory in the social sciences, published as "Doing Culture". It especially makes room for the presentation of the theoretically oriented parts of the volume—texts either comparing two different theories or working at the further development of practice theory. An overview is given about the other parts of the volume which present case studies or singular aspects. Concluding the review, open questions from the different texts are put together. "Doing Culture" is helpful if one wants to be informed about the current state of the "practical turn" in German-language sociology of technology and media. The heterogeneity of the volume—typical of congress proceedings—shows, on the one hand, the breadth of the contemporary discussion but shows, on the other hand, that "practice theory" as one singular theory with a widely used vocabulary still does not exist. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0602101

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COMPETITIVENESS IN THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAIN AND THE ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES

OpenAIRE

Matko, Andrea Emese; Berde, Csaba

2012-01-01

One of the five basic factors in the Lengyel-type pyramid model – institutions and social capital – is essential in the economic growth of the region. Economic success however, does not only depend on participants in the economy, but on social factors such as the roles played by local authorities, including their functions, operation and organisational culture, all of which are crucial factors. Based on the results obtained regarding organisational culture it can be stated that performanc...

The ritualization of life and the expansion of psy cultures in Colombia: the local and the barely transnational.

Science.gov (United States)

Uribe, Carlos Alberto

2017-11-01

This paper exposes the status of psy cultures in Colombia. It is shown how the country's official health system has transformed biomedical psychiatry and cognitive behavioral psychology into the dominant and hegemonic psy culture. However, far from being hegemonic, as presented, both serve to foster and sustain the existence of different "religious" or "sacred" therapeutic systems and practices that denaturalize human existential and psychological suffering. In general, the latter are ritual practices with a strong spiritualist, anti-materialist and antimonist content, that deal freely with a wide range of cosmologies, beliefs and symbols, even including the same concepts and practices of a biomedical origin. The result is a hyper-ritualization of daily life in the country.

Maternal Cultural Values and Parenting Practices: Longitudinal Associations with Chinese Adolescents' Aggression

Science.gov (United States)

Shuster, Michael M.; Li, Yan; Shi, Junqi

2012-01-01

Interrelations among cultural values, parenting practices, and adolescent aggression were examined using longitudinal data collected from Chinese adolescents and their mothers. Adolescents' overt and relational aggression were assessed using peer nominations at Time 1 (7th grade) and Time 2 (9th grade). Mothers reported endorsement of cultural…

Places of popular music heritage: the local framing of a global cultural form in Dutch museums and archives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Hoeven, A.; Brandellero, A.

2015-01-01

Through the prism of popular music, this article examines how the preservation and display of this global cultural form positions itself at the nexus of the local and the global, and in so doing mediates attachment to place. Springing from the increasing cultural legitimacy of popular music and the

Bonding and Bridging Social and Cultural Capitals: Perceived Factors Associated With Family Eating Practices Among Hmong, Latino, and White Mothers and Fathers.

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Abigail; Goto, Keiko; Zhao, Yanling; Wolff, Cindy

2015-01-01

To examine perceived social and cultural capitals associated with family eating practices among Hmong, Latino, and white mothers and fathers. Six focus groups composed of 52 Hmong, Latino, and white mothers and fathers of young children were conducted to examine parental perceptions of social and cultural capitals associated with eating practices. Whereas Hmong participants unanimously emphasized the healthfulness of their traditional food, Latino groups had divergent views on their traditional foods' healthfulness. Hmong parents highly valued their traditional foods whereas white and Latino mothers were more accepting of new foods from other cultures. Participants noted divergent views on gender roles in family eating practices and food culture preservation efforts. Identifying and promoting bonding and bridging of cultural assets for healthy dietary practices among different cultural groups may be important for developing successful nutrition education programs across ethnicities in the community. Copyright © 2015 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thinking about "culture": some programme pointers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawit, S; Busia, A

1995-02-01

This article exhorts development workers to develop an understanding of their own cultural heritage in order to understand how cultural subjectivity influences their work. While not endorsing "cultural relativism," the authors stress that women must work within their own cultures to develop empowerment and combat culturally legitimized practices which are harmful to women. Cultural constructs must be examined in order to understand such issues as the Northern tendency to encourage personal individualism and the Southern tendency to organize along communal lines. Gender identity is also a social construction which calls for a consideration of each situation (or harmful practice) as uniquely based in a given cultural context. General agreement exists, however, that in order to tackle gender oppression, women must be empowered and their status must be improved. Thus development initiatives should support longterm investment in research and programs, illiteracy rates must be decreased, and educational opportunities must be sought in every program. Women's groups must link up to share resources with each other and with traditional nongovernmental organizations. Governments should 1) integrate a gender component into every Ministry; 2) emphasize literacy for girls and women; 3) support local women's initiatives; 4) provide gender-sensitive training for professionals in critical fields; 5) increase attention to the needs of young women; and 6) offer more women visible official posts in public service.

Mutual expectation compacts: a means to link practice culture and vision.

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, Ivo; Slomski, Carol

2007-01-01

We describe the development of a mutual expectation compact in an academic department of surgery as a means of reinforcing the department's vision document and promoting cultural change. The compact makes explicit those implicit agreements that exist between a physician and his or her practice. It strengthens the relationship by avoiding the misunderstandings that can arise when agreements are implicit.

Personal value preferences, group identifications, and cultural practices of Palestinian Israelis working in close contact with Jewish Israelis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tartakovsky, Eugene; Abu Kheit, Ayat

2017-01-01

The present study investigates the connection between personal value preferences, group identifications, and cultural practices among Palestinian Israelis working in close contact with the Jewish population in Israel. One hundred twenty-two Palestinian Israelis participated in the study. The participants were employed in different professional positions in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area and were recruited to the study using the snowball technique. A stronger national identification was associated with a higher preference for the security and conformity values, and a lower preference for the humility values. A stronger ethnic identification was associated with a lower preference for the security, power, and stimulation values. Group identifications mediated the connection between personal value preferences and cultural practices. A longer time working in close contact with the majority group and less frequent visits home were associated with a greater adherence to the majority group's cultural practices but not with adherence to the ethnic group's practices and not with the group identifications.

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…

FORMATION OF SCHOOL MANAGERS: THEORETICAL-PRACTICAL CONTRIBUTIONS OF HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY

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Larissa Figueiredo Salmen Seixlack Bulhões

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This work reports the experience of training school managers based on the theoretical assumptions of historical-cultural psychology. The intervention took place as one of the actions of the Project Education Without Borders (PESF - a partnership between the Municipal Secretary of Education and the psychology department of a state University of São Paulo in assisting schools that have low IDEB (Basic Education Development Index. Study meetings were held monthly with the managers of the six participating schools and with representatives of the pedagogical department of the Municipal Secretary of Education. The themes of the meetings were established based on the demand of the group, which chose as study goals: 1. understanding the production of motives and interests for the students' learning and 2. understanding how the study activity is formed and developed as a main activity at school age. As a strategy of theoretical-practical articulation, the proposition of study tasks on the themes discussed in each meeting was adopted. As a reference, the concept of study task of Davydov and Markova (1987 was used. The results point out that the application of the theoretical assumptions of historical-cultural psychology to the concrete demands of the organization of teaching in the daily school life makes it possible to overcome the traditional dichotomy between theory and practice in teacher education and promotes the construction of new guidelines for pedagogical practice.

Identifying Socio-Cultural Factors That Impact the Use of Open Educational Resources in Local Public Administrations

OpenAIRE

Julia Stoffregen; Jan M. Pawlowski; Eric Ras; Snezana Scepanovic; Dragica Zugic

2016-01-01

The goal of this paper is to define relevant barriers to the exchange of Open Educational Resources in local public administrations. Building upon a cultural model, eleven experts were interviewed and asked to evaluate several factors, such as openness in discourse, learning at the workplace, and superior support, among others. The result is a set of socio-cultural factors that shape the use of Open Educational Resources in public administrations. Significant factors are, in...

Shared Knowledge and Mutual Respect: Enhancing Culturally Competent Practice through Collaboration with Families and Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Verdon, Sarah; Wong, Sandie; McLeod, Sharynne

2016-01-01

Collaboration with families and communities has been identified as one of six overarching principles to speech and language therapists' (SLTs') engagement in culturally competent practice (Verdon et al., 2015a). The aim of this study was to describe SLTs' collaboration with families and communities when engaging in practice to support the speech,…

Research with Sri Lankan fish farmers brings best practices home

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

generic best management practices aimed at reducing disease outbreaks and improving ... account a farmer's language, culture, gender, production cycle time, and local ... farms are owned by men and that discrimination makes it difficult for ...

Using cultural-historical activity theory to analyze social service practices evolving from the Norwegian HUSK projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Foot, Kirsten

2015-01-01

The HUSK projects catalyzed innovation in the practices of providing social services that could yield useful insights both within and outside of Norway if analyzed in these two ways: (a) retrospective analysis of the development of individual HUSK projects in light of their cultural-historical contexts, and (b) comparative analysis of the efforts to advance multi-sector collaboration in some of the HUSK projects. Such analyses require a practice-based research approach that takes into account culture and history. In this article the author explains how cultural-historical activity theory provides such an approach, illustrated via several HUSK cases. The author suggests five questions for future analyses of the HUSK projects and argues that insights gleaned from such analyses could contribute significantly to research on-and the provision of-social services.

Innovative practice: exploring acculturation theory to advance rehabilitation from pediatric to adult "cultures" of care.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Tram; Baptiste, Sue

2015-01-01

This perspective paper explores the application of acculturation and the inherent concepts and ideas associated with this theory in rehabilitation to provide a framework for interpreting patient circumstances, responses and behaviours as they move from one culture to the next. Traditionally acculturation theory has been use to examine changes in culture in an ethnic or country sense, however, this paper is among the first to apply acculturation theory to the rehabilitation service cultures from pediatric to adult care for youth with chronic health conditions. The objectives of this paper are threefold: (1) to critically appraise key literature in the development of acculturation theory, (2) to discuss how acculturation theory can be applied in rehabilitation practice through a clinical vignette, and finally (3) to discuss how acculturation theory can advance rehabilitation by enhancing client-centered practice. Acculturation theory can provide insight into how patients are experiencing a change in health care "cultures", in the context of their overarching life circumstances. This, coming from a broader societal perspective can in turn inform an optimal approach to client-centered practice, and the application of rehabilitation-specific team inputs. This theoretical framework can heighten practitioners' awareness of patients' unique worldviews related to their expectations for care and treatment thus reducing fear of diversity to establish positive partnerships between patients and clinicians. An understanding of patients' acculturation processes will add new insight into how we can best deliver services and supports to optimise health, opportunities and experiences for youth with chronic conditions.

Thailand Momentum on Policy and Practice in Local Legislation on Dengue Vector Control

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Adisak Bhumiratana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Over a past decade, an administrative decentralization model, adopted for local administration development in Thailand, is replacing the prior centralized (top-down command system. The change offers challenges to local governmental agencies and other public health agencies at all the ministerial, regional, and provincial levels. A public health regulatory and legislative framework for dengue vector control by local governmental agencies is a national topic of interest because dengue control program has been integrated into healthcare services at the provincial level and also has been given priority in health plans of local governmental agencies. The enabling environments of local administrations are unique, so this critical review focuses on the authority of local governmental agencies responsible for disease prevention and control and on the functioning of local legislation with respect to dengue vector control and practices.

Creating Inclusive Knowledges: Exploring the Transformative Potential of Arts and Cultural Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Sonn, Christopher; Baker, Alison

2016-01-01

Arts and cultural practice are gaining attention in numerous disciplines and sectors as a vehicle for community building, and to promote wellbeing and social change. In this article we overview the links between community and liberation psychologies, community arts, and public pedagogy. We put forward the notion of community pedagogies to capture…

Best practice in English Local Air Quality Management: principles illustrated by some examples of current practice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beattie, C.I.; Ling, K.; Longhurst, J.W.S. [Univ. of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol (GB)] [and others

1999-07-01

The Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) process, a holistic approach to management, is well underway in England. The process aims to tackle air pollution problems from a variety of diverse sources, operating over different time scales and spatial areas. Although technical guidance from the Government has been published over the last two years, little guidance has been available for the management aspects of the process. Arguably, the management of air quality will be the crucial test of the LAQM process. Only by collaboration can technologies and policy actions, such as traffic management schemes, be put into effective action. The authors present an overview of the process, including a model of current LAQM procedures in the UK. Current practice is illustrated by way of results from a questionnaire survey of local authorities, health authorities and the Environment Agency and also by reference to specific examples from local authorities. (Author)

Cultural aspects of decision-making in online purchases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalija Guseva

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Empirical studies and e-commerce practice have shown that even in the context of globalization customers still need to feel associated by culture with the seller or the service provider. The aim of this paper is to identify and bring together the main cultural and psychological aspects that influence decision-making in e-purchases. Cultural adaptation has a great potential for improving the efficiency of communication with customers; thus, localization of the e-offer has a positive impact on the customer-seller dialogue. The results of the conducted research show the main cultural aspects, which have to be considered when adapting e-offers to Baltic (Latvia, Lithuania and Russian markets.

Struggling for clarity : cultural context, gender and a concept of depression in general practice

OpenAIRE

Lehti, Arja

2009-01-01

Many depressed patients attend primary health care, and minority-group patients often see general practitioners for depressive symptoms. The diagnosis and classification criteria of depression and guidelines for management are based on symptoms. However,expressions of depression can vary with culture and gender but the diagnostic tools and guidelines are not adapted to gendered or cultural context and have shown to be poorly applicable in clinical practice. The purpose of this thesis was to a...

Establishing local rules for industrial radiography practice using radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ambrosio, N.

2012-04-01

Industrial Radiograph used for non-destructive testing of material or equipment constitutes one of the most important applications of radiation sources. Non-destructive testing (NDT) provides a means of verifying the physical integrity of equipment and structures such as vessels, pipes, welded joints, castings and other devices. The physical integrity of such equipment and structures affects not only the safety and quality of the products but also the protection of workers, the public and the environment, as operator of these devises could result in accidents. The development and maintenance of safety culture in an operating organization has to cover management systems, policies, responsibilities, procedures and organizational arrangements.The essence is to control radiation hazard, optimize radiation protection to prevent or reduce exposures and mitigate the consequences of accidents and incidents. To achieve high degree of professionalism, appropriate national and organizational infrastructure is required in addition to ensure effective training of workers, compliance with safety culture and effective quality control. Therefore, this report presents a model Local Rules and procedures necessary for the safe operation of Industrial Radiography devises in order to protect worker, the public and the environment. The model has been developed from examples from published reports. (author)

COMBINING EFFECTS OF CULTURAL PRACTICES AND RESISTANT CULTIVARS ON REDUCING THE INCIDENCE OF Meloidogyne spp. AND Thrips palmy Karny ON POTATO

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Wiwin Setiawati

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp. and melon thrips (Thrips palmy Karny are two serious pests on potato. These pests are conventionally controlled with synthetic pesticides. Cultural practices based on integrated pest management (IPM are alternative methods to control these pests. The study aimed to determine the effectiveness of combined applications of cultural practices and potato cultivars in reducing the incidences of nematode and thrips. Treatments evaluated were methods of nematode and thrips control by implementing IPM and conventional practices. A split-plot randomized complete block design with four replications was  sed. The main plots were IPM or cultural practices (subsoiling, soil solarization and use of trap crop of marigold Tagetes erecta and conventional practices using synthetic pesticides. The subplots were five potato cultivars, i.e. No. 095 (Herta x FLS–17, 720050/Kikondo, 676068/ I.1085, Granola, and Atlantic. The results showed that applications of cultural practices in combination with potato cultivars reduced Meloidogyne spp. population and potato tuber damage by 53.70% and 61.36%, respectively, as well as a significantly decreased thrips population. In the cultural control plots, thrips populations were below the action threshold (10.0 nymphs per leaf, therefore no single application of pesticide was used. This was in contrast to the conventional control treatments where insecticide was spayed 10 times until harvest. The subsoiling and solarization cut off the life cycle of the thrips and any survive thrips were trapped by marigold plant. Population of T. palmi on the five potato cultivars differed significantly; the lowest population was found on the cultivars No. 095 (Herta x FLS-17 and 676068/I.1085. The cultural control practices combined with potato cultivar No. 095 (Herta x FLS–17 were the best treatment for controlling Meloidogyne spp. and T. palmi on potato and also produced the highest yield (31.01 t

Practice what you preach: developing person-centred culture in inpatient mental health settings through strengths-based, transformational leadership.

Science.gov (United States)

Beckett, Paul; Field, John; Molloy, Luke; Yu, Nickolas; Holmes, Douglas; Pile, Emily

2013-08-01

The experience of nursing staff and consumers in inpatient mental health wards is often reported as being negative. Efforts to improve culture and practice have had limited success, with ineffective leadership, staff resistance, and unresponsive organisational culture identified as common barriers to change. Practice development has been promoted as an approach to developing person-centred culture that enables professional development through participation, learning and empowerment. For person-centred practice to flourish, organisational leadership at all levels must reflect the same principles. In preparation for the opening of a new integrated mental health service, an inpatient mental health team participated in a practice development project. An action research approach was used to facilitate a series of "away days," initially with the nursing team and then other members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT). Transformational leadership principles were adopted in the facilitation of team activities underpinned by strengths and solution-focused practices. Evaluation of the project by staff members was very positive and there was a high level of participation in practice development activities. The project resulted in the creation of a development plan for the ward, which prioritised five key themes: person-centred care, personal recovery, strengths-based principles, and evidence-based and values-based care. The project outcomes highlight the importance of leadership, which parallels the ideals promoted for clinical practice.

Under what conditions can local government nurture indigenous people’s democratic practice?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sareen, Siddharth; Nathan, Iben

2017-01-01

This paper asks whether and under what conditions participatory local government can best nurture indigenous peoples’ democratic practice. Based on fieldwork in two similar Ho communities in the Indian state Jharkhand, we show that their village assemblies function differently with regard...

Key practical issues in strengthening safety culture. INSAG-15. A report by the International Safety Advisory Group

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This report describes the essential practical issues to be considered by organizations aiming to strengthen safety culture. It is intended for senior executives, managers and first line supervisors in operating organizations. Although safety culture cannot be directly regulated, it is important that members of regulatory bodies understand how their actions affect the development of attempts to strengthen safety culture and are sympathetic to the need to improve the less formal human related aspects of safety. The report is therefore of relevance to regulators, although not intended primarily for them. The International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) introduced the concept of safety culture in its INSAG-4 report in 1991. Since then, many papers have been written on safety culture, as it relates to organizations and individuals, its improvement and its underpinning prerequisites. Variations in national cultures mean that what constitutes a good approach to enhancing safety culture in one country may not be the best approach in another. However, INSAG seeks to provide pragmatic and practical advice of wide applicability in the principles and issues presented in this report. Nuclear and radiological safety are the prime concerns of this report, but the topics discussed are so general that successful application of the principles should lead to improvements in other important areas, such as industrial safety, environmental performance and, in some respects, wider business performance. This is because many of the attitudes and practices necessary to achieve good performance in nuclear safety, including visible commitment by management, openness, care and thoroughness in completing tasks, good communication and clarity in recognizing major issues and dealing with them as a priority, have wide applicability

Design practices of the second half of the 20th century: Novi Sad cultural poster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mušić Miroslav A.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In the past few decades poster has imposed itself as a significant means of communicating messages, views and thoughts on current social and cultural life issues of the environment it originates in. It has tried to confirm by its rhetoric the engaged content in its own logical interrelation of the media: character/speech-sign-thought/message, placing emphasis on its genre feature: cultural poster. As the issue here is the means of development of ideas, critical thinking and social consciousness, in other words, the mediation of cultural values, I will try to shed some light on the phenomenon of cultural poster and to pinpoint its position among contemporary theoretical practices, as well as to point the ranges of design which have been created at the intersection of its artistic orientation and new commercial reality. One of the interesting and worthy prac­tices, Novi Sad Cultural Poster, originated in the sixties and reached its stellar status in the seventies and eighties, and in the past few decades its long tradition has yielded new names and exemplary works of world class. Novi Sad Cultural Poster can be viewed as a stylistically unique practice regardless of the diversity of artistic and design prin­ciples of its practitioners, their age or ways of thinking. Despite the attempts of some designers and professional circles, it still lacks appropriate methodological research and evaluation.

Practical reason in a technical culture. 90 years of VGB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gethmann, Carl Friedrich

2010-01-01

Speech on the occasion of the VGB Congress ''Power Plants 2010'' and the 90th anniversary of VGB. Considerations on the practical reason in a technical culture are ethical considerations. It must be realised that new technology has resulted in new types of conflicts: a tightened situation of acting in an environment of uncertainty, increased problems related to unequal distribution. In order to cope with these new problems, no new ethics is required but an ethical reflection on these problems. (orig.)

Culture, Leadership, and Activism: Translating Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning into Pedagogical Practice

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Jenkins, Toby S.

2016-01-01

Through the article, I share the theoretical foundations, structure, knowledge acquisition, and outcomes of a cultural leadership course. The process for course development integrates several theories and research methods into practice: L. Dee Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning, Feminist Theory, Critical Race Theory, and…

Guidelines for computer security in general practice

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Peter Schattner

2007-06-01

Conclusions This paper maps out a process for developing computer security guidelines for general practice. The specific content will vary in different countries according to their levels of adoption of IT, and cultural, technical and other health service factors. Making these guidelines relevant to local contexts should help maximise their uptake.

Improving Medical Decision Making and Health Promotion through Culture-Sensitive Health Communication: An Agenda for Science and Practice.

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Betsch, Cornelia; Böhm, Robert; Airhihenbuwa, Collins O; Butler, Robb; Chapman, Gretchen B; Haase, Niels; Herrmann, Benedikt; Igarashi, Tasuku; Kitayama, Shinobu; Korn, Lars; Nurm, Ülla-Karin; Rohrmann, Bernd; Rothman, Alexander J; Shavitt, Sharon; Updegraff, John A; Uskul, Ayse K

2016-10-01

This review introduces the concept of culture-sensitive health communication. The basic premise is that congruency between the recipient's cultural characteristics and the respective message will increase the communication's effectiveness. Culture-sensitive health communication is therefore defined as the deliberate and evidence-informed adaptation of health communication to the recipients' cultural background in order to increase knowledge and improve preparation for medical decision making and to enhance the persuasiveness of messages in health promotion. To achieve effective health communication in varying cultural contexts, an empirically and theoretically based understanding of culture will be indispensable. We therefore define culture, discuss which evolutionary and structural factors contribute to the development of cultural diversity, and examine how differences are conceptualized as scientific constructs in current models of cultural differences. In addition, we will explicate the implications of cultural differences for psychological theorizing, because common constructs of health behavior theories and decision making, such as attitudes or risk perception, are subject to cultural variation. In terms of communication, we will review both communication strategies and channels that are used to disseminate health messages, and we will discuss the implications of cultural differences for their effectiveness. Finally, we propose an agenda both for science and for practice to advance and apply the evidence base for culture-sensitive health communication. This calls for more interdisciplinary research between science and practice but also between scientific disciplines and between basic and applied research. © The Author(s) 2015.

Forming insights: assessment of the occupational therapy practice in a cultural context from experience with indigenous people

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Maria Daniela Corrêa de Macedo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article is the result of a reflection process on the issue of occupational therapy and culture through analysis of practical experiences of a extension project. It aimed to increase knowledge and reflections of occupational therapy and its technical actions in cultural contexts from the perspective of ethnicity issues. It is a documental and qualitative research was aiming to report the experience of students and an occupational therapist, obtained through their written reports between 2012 and 2014. Data were analyzed using the categorizations proposed by Bardin. The categories of analysis found are related to technical activities in occupational therapy, namely: cultural and ethnic action. The results showed that, in the experiences with the Guarani community, there are already significant and consolidated actions of occupational therapy in cultural contexts. The technical actions already performed confirm the relevance of the occupational therapist role in the cultural context and in the ethnicity context. These practices are, in turn, relevant for the production of knowledge, the theoretical and methodological scope and professional training in social and cultural contexts of occupational therapy. It is emphasized that technical procedures coherent with the ethnicity issues in a joint relationship, articulated by cultural mediation, can strengthen human doings and identity claims.

Implementing human factors in clinical practice

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Timmons, Stephen; Baxendale, Bryn; Buttery, Andrew; Miles, Giulia; Roe, Bridget; Browes, Simon

2015-01-01

Objectives To understand whether aviation-derived human factors training is acceptable and useful to healthcare professionals. To understand whether and how healthcare professionals have been able to implement human factors approaches to patient safety in their own area of clinical practice. Methods Qualitative, longitudinal study using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, of a multiprofessional group of UK NHS staff (from the emergency department and operating theatres) who have received aviation-derived human factors training. Results The human factors training was evaluated positively, and thought to be both acceptable and relevant to practice. However, the staff found it harder to implement what they had learned in their own clinical areas, and this was principally attributed to features of the informal organisational cultures. Conclusions In order to successfully apply human factors approaches in hospital, careful consideration needs to be given to the local context and informal culture of clinical practice. PMID:24631959

Leveraging State And Local Law Enforcement Maritime Homeland Security Practices

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-01

recreation, national defense, and tourism . To understand the maritime homeland security efforts put into place after 9/11 better, a study of the practices...fire service venturing beyond its fire suppression or emergency medical services role and asserted the value of having firefighters better integrated...national defense, and tourism , so too must be the approach to maritime homeland security. This research examined only the role of state and local law

Local Autonomy in Action: Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Policies

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Bill Chou

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates how Beijing governs its two special administrative regions (SARs of Hong Kong and Macau through leverages on their local autonomy. First, a conceptual analysis of local autonomy will be provided. Local autonomy is more than a zero-sum game between the central and local authorities over how much power should be granted or taken from the local authorities; it also concerns the space for cultural expression and the use of local customs in public administration. Second, the degree of local autonomy in Hong Kong and Macau will be critically examined. On paper, both SAR governments are able to freely make decisions on a wide range of policies. In practice, however, Beijing has the absolute authority to override the decisions of Hong Kong and Macau. It is argued that the autonomy in cultural expression can compensate for the institutional constraints on the two SARs’ decision-making power and is thus able to alleviate public discontent – as long as the constraints do not conflict with the people’s core values and ways of life.

Grooming and cultural socialization: A mixed method study of caregiving practices in Burma (Myanmar) and the United States†

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Thein-Lemelson, Seinenu M

2015-01-01

Grooming behaviours are thought to be a crucial aspect of parenting and integral to the sociality of non-human mammals, but there have been few empirical studies on how grooming might be relevant to parenting and socialization processes in humans. Study 1 is a quantitative cross-cultural comparison of grooming practices in two cultural settings: an urban centre in Burma (Myanmar) and an urban centre in the United States. The study uses naturalistic video data of 57 families to analyse grooming behaviours directed at children. A broad range of ages was sampled in each culture to examine the developmental trajectory of grooming behaviours. Results indicate that significant cultural differences exist between Burma and the United States, with Burmese children being groomed by their caregivers more often than U.S. children. Results also indicate that cultural differences in grooming practices begin early and remain constant across age. An unexpected finding was that Burmese families were more variable in their behaviour than U.S. families. Study 2 attempts to explain this variability by using ethnography to describe how sociodemographic changes in Burma are leading to changes in parental values and socialization practices in the schools, but how embodied primary care in the homes appear resistant to change. PMID:25530498

Efficient Cultures: Exploring the Relationship between Culture and Organizational Performance.

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Wilkins, Alan L.; Ouchi, William G.

1983-01-01

Arguing from a transaction costs perspective, this paper contends that local organizational cultures distinct from shared background cultures exist relatively infrequently. The relationship between local organizational culture and organizational efficiency is discussed, and it is concluded that changing organizations are more adaptive than is…

Cultural Routes and Networks of Knowledge: the Identity and Promotion of Cultural Heritage. The Case Study of Piedmont

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Silvia Beltramo

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The European project called “PER VIAM Pilgrims’ Routes In Action”, funded by the European Commission in 2012, is a significant opportunity of cultural and economic development for the whole Europe and also for the territory of Piedmont Region. The certainty of the need for transnational cooperation, which should create a network amongst the different territories in a perspective of working together and exchange of traveling, economic and cultural experiences – as well as best practices - nowadays calls for implementation tools such as European projects supported and sought for by the local authorities.The Piedmont is nowadays crossed by various cultural itineraries, many of which are certificated by the European Council: Via Francigena, the Route of the Cistercian Abbeys, the Transromanica, the itinerary of the historical thermal cities and the Saint Michael's way. Starting from a survey on the meaning of "cultural itinerary" expressed by the different European institutions (i.e. ICOMOS, UNESCO, Council of Europe and European Commission, this essay is proposing an analysis of the current status of such territory, highlighting the public policies in progress, the role and activities of the local associations and the valorisation of implemented projects as related to those itineraries which have already been recognized by the Council of Europe.This paper presents some significant experiences and best practices in the study of religious tourism, as they have been defined on the regional territory throughout the last few years, which can contribute to the debate and to the overall awareness on management and valorization of sustainable tourism.